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Twenty-five years ago, television’s Sam Donaldson was interviewing Ted Turner. During that interview, Donaldson asked him, “What would you like to have written on your tombstone?”
Turner, who usually had something to say on every subject, responded, “I would like to have written on my tombstone: ‘I have nothing more to say.’”
When Jesus Christ was placed in the tomb after His death on the cross, God did not inscribe that epitaph on His tomb. He did not chisel into the stone that was rolled over the doorway to the tomb the words, “I have nothing more to say.” He did not write that because God had much more to say. In fact, when Sunday morning came and the empty tomb was discovered, God began to speak the most powerful message that the world has ever heard.
When the women arrived at the tomb that Sunday morning, they found the stone rolled away. They entered the open tomb and saw a young man sitting there who announced to them, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him” (Mark 16:6).
Through the angel, God continued to speak on Easter Sunday morning. With those words, “He is risen,” the history of the world was forever changed. With those three simple words, we received the news that God’s power is greater than death or any other challenge we face.
We need this word from God because we have all experienced the death of someone we loved. The funeral ended with such finality. But the message of every Easter morning is that we can have hope because God’s power is greater than death.
Another word that He continues to speak is that He is the God of the second chance. Peter and the other disciples had failed Him miserably at the time of the cross. In other words, they were very much like us. That’s what we continue to do. We keep making commitments to Christ, and we keep coming up short of those commitments.
What did God have to say about that? Does He write us off after we sin and come short of what we have promised Him? No, God did not write Peter and the other disciples off after their failure, and He does not write us off. The angel said to the women on that first Easter Sunday, “Go, tell his disciples and Peter, He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you” (Mark 16:7). He was still going to meet with them and use them! He is the God of the second chance for sinners like Peter, the other disciples, and us. It is a message of grace that He continues to speak every Easter Sunday! | https://www.djournal.com/lifestyle/religion/lynn-jones-god-continues-to-speak-through-easter/article_bc29f540-ec38-58df-82d2-e6882bd1bb57.html | 2022-04-15T09:39:28 | 0 | https://www.djournal.com/lifestyle/religion/lynn-jones-god-continues-to-speak-through-easter/article_bc29f540-ec38-58df-82d2-e6882bd1bb57.html |
The International Space Station is turning into a bit of a drive-thru with the goings and coming on three SpaceX Crew Dragons in the next two weeks.
First up is the return of the four Axiom Space crewmates on Crew Dragon Endeavour slated for Monday, April 18 after completion of the company’s historic 10-day mission for the first all-civilian trip to the ISS.
The AX-1 flight, which took off from Kennedy Space Center on April 8 brought three men who paid $55 million each to spend a little over a week on the ISS performing science experiments, but also enjoying the view. They were led by a former astronaut Michael López-Alegría commanding the flight, but now as an employee of Axiom Space.
It will be the first time a Crew Dragon spacecraft will have completed three trips to space having been the first to take astronauts to the ISS on the Demo-2 mission in May 2020 and having also flown on the Crew 2 mission in 2021.
Crew Dragons have several landing zone options both in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida. Upon splashdown, the AX-1 crew will be flown back to KSC.
Their departure from the ISS will make room for the planned launch at 5:26 a.m. Saturday, April 23 of the Crew-4 mission, which is flying up on a new SpaceX Crew Dragon named Freedom. A flight readiness review is slated for Friday, but potential launch windows are available on April 24 and 25 as well.
“It’s not routine,” said Benji Reed, director of crew mission management for SpaceX, speaking after the AX-1 launch. “In fact, one of my colleagues was saying ... every time we do crew launches, he feels like it takes a few years off of his life. You know, it’s that serious. And we have to take this — we’ve called it a sacred responsibility before and it is.”
Still, SpaceX has become a reliable provider to NASA for both crew and cargo launches to the ISS.
“So much of it’s about awareness and it’s definitely about fighting that complacency,” Reed said. “Everything matters every single time.”
The Crew-4 flight looks to take up NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines and Jessica Watkins along with ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy for the fourth operational crew change under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
With their arrival for a six-month stay, that will allow the return of Crew-3 — NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn and Kayla Barron along with ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer of Germany. The quartet will climb back aboard Crew Dragon Endurance that flew up to the ISS last November. It’s slated to return about five days after Crew-4’s arrival.
The NASA-run side of the space station has room for two crew vehicles at a time.
Go For Launch - Space News
With both private missions to the ISS as well as the normal crew rotations twice a year, the parking at the station is getting tight. Space is needed for the planned May 19 launch of the uncrewed reflight of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner for Orbital Flight Test 2 as well as the SpaceX cargo supply mission CS-25 coming up in June.
Boeing and SpaceX are supposed to be sharing the crew rotation flights to the ISS, but the Starliner has yet to make its first successful demonstration flight, having failed to dock with the ISS on its first try in December 2019. If the May trip is successful, a crewed demo flight could follow later this year.
SpaceX, meanwhile, will prep for the fall Crew-5 rotational trip to relieve the Crew-4 astronauts after their six-month stay while also serving up its four Dragon spacecraft for future civilian launches. AX-2 for Axiom Space could come in the fall as well.
Kathy Lueders, NASA’s Associate Administrator for Space Operations, said the station aims to have two Axiom missions a year, and joked with Axiom Space CEO Michael Suffredini, “When are you going get that port up there with a few extra docking ports for us?”
Axiom Space’s plans are to start building out their own add-on modules to the station beginning in 2024. Eventually, those added nodes will allow for dedicated docking space for its missions.
Until then the ISS will juggle cargo from SpaceX, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus and next year’s new player Sierra Space with its Dream Chaser spacecraft while also continuing Crew Dragon and Starliner dockings.
“This is one of those problems that we’ve been wanting to have for a while, and it’s good to see it staring us in the face,” she said. | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/space/os-bz-spacex-crew-dragon-ax1-crew-4-crew-3-update-20220415-fzqp3lc7c5avzhegmblvpjm4vu-story.html | 2022-04-15T09:39:33 | 1 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/space/os-bz-spacex-crew-dragon-ax1-crew-4-crew-3-update-20220415-fzqp3lc7c5avzhegmblvpjm4vu-story.html |
TUPELO • By Sunday, Easter celebrations will be winding down for most Christians. But for the members of St. Paul Orthodox Christian Church on East Main Street in Tupelo, Easter Sunday is still a week away.
Father David Bibeau is the priest at St. Paul, and he said the difference in dates for Easter goes all the way back to the Council of Nicea in 325 C.E. and before.
“We still determine our date for Easter based on the calendar that was used at the time of the Council of Nicea,” Bibeau said. “Easter was a huge thing for the early church, and the date for Easter was solidified at that council in 325.”
It’s not just the date that’s different for Easter, but the name as well, according to Bibeau.
“Easter is a German word,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with it, but in the Orthodox church we refer to Easter as Pascha. It’s an Aramaic word, derived from the Hebrew word ‘Pasach,’ which means Passover.”
During the season of Lent, Orthodox Christians continue to observe the fast that was once the common practice of all Christians, Bibeau said.
“It used to be that Western Christians fasted for all of Lent,” he said. “In the Eastern church, we still hold the whole fast for 40 days: no meat, no dairy, no wine. On certain days, we get to eat fish.”
The 40-day fast ends with a Saturday remembrance of the raising of Jesus’ friend, Lazarus, Bibeau said.
“Lent ends with Lazarus Saturday and then Palm Sunday a week before Pasach,” he said. “We go through the whole motion of Lazarus being raised from the dead. It’s because of Lazarus that the authorities finally say, ‘This is too big, we have to do something.’ That’s when they start plotting Christ’s death.”
In most Western traditions, Holy Week observances begin on Thursday with the somber Maundy Thursday service. Orthodox observances begin on Monday, Bibeau said, and incorporate sacramental elements from other seasons.
“On Monday and Tuesday, we do “Bridegroom Matins,’” he said. “On Wednesday, we have a service of Holy Unction, where we anoint people with oil and pray over them. It’s a big deal, and it’s seen as a sacrament or mystery in the Orthodox church.”
On Thursday evening, congregants gather to read the Passion narrative, followed by a burial vespers on Friday, which Bibeau said is especially moving.
“In Middle Eastern culture, women would follow a funeral procession making wailing noises,” he said. “We do that same thing, but it’s liturgical and scripted. It’s a beautiful service, especially if you can hear it in Aramaic.”
By Saturday of Holy Week, the mood of the services changes, Bibeau said.
“On Saturday, we start anticipating the resurrection of Christ,” he said. “We’ll have a baptismal liturgy, at which there will be two baptisms. It became popular in the early church to baptize on Easter because of the theology of baptism: “We are buried and raised with Christ, as Romans says.”
After the candlelit Service of the Holy Light and the Divine Liturgy (communion) late on Saturday night, the mood turns festive indeed.
“We have a celebration,” Bibeau said. “People will be dancing and drinking and feasting. If anything is worth having a party over, it’s Christ coming out of his tomb.” | https://www.djournal.com/lifestyle/the-holiest-week-tupelo-orthodox-church-prepping-traditional-holy-week-celebration/article_ecaabe73-9531-5df8-8248-b92e33805e3a.html | 2022-04-15T09:39:35 | 0 | https://www.djournal.com/lifestyle/the-holiest-week-tupelo-orthodox-church-prepping-traditional-holy-week-celebration/article_ecaabe73-9531-5df8-8248-b92e33805e3a.html |
Rihanna has been unapologetic in her bold, fashion-forward maternity looks since announcing her pregnancy with partner A$AP Rocky in January, delighting fans with her choice of crop tops, sheer dresses and belly chains. Now, she's the star of American Vogue's May issue, fronting the title in a fiery red lace bodysuit and matching gloves from AlaIïa.
In an accompanying interview for the magazine, the superstar opened up about her whirlwind past few months and the reason she's been emphasizing her body, rather than hiding it.
"When I found out I was pregnant, I thought to myself, There's no way I'm going to go shopping in no maternity aisle. I'm sorry -- it's too much fun to get dressed up," she told Vogue. "I'm not going to let that part disappear because my body is changing."
In the photo shoot by Annie Leibovitz, Rihanna poses in multiple looks in an ornate Parisian hotel room during the city's fashion week, displaying her bump in a dramatic veiled Jean Paul Gaultier couture gown, a red Rick Owens cropped jacket and long skirt ensemble, and a pillowy Marc Jacobs coat paired with her own Savage X Fenty briefs.
The cover story comes less than three months after Rihanna's first public photos as a mom-to-be, where she and A$AP Rocky posed lovingly in Harlem while she wore a vibrant vintage Chanel puffer coat, unbuttoned from the bottom, low-slung jeans and a Chanel chain belt. Since then, she's used every public appearance to debut a new head-turning outfit.
"I think I even say yes to more now because I know it will be different on the other side of this," she said in the interview. "At first I expected some magical change, but really I remain who I am...None of the dials are turned down."
'My body is doing incredible things right now'
For the entirety of fashion month, Rihanna was the star, showing up to the Gucci show in Milan with a latex crop top and oversized purple fur coat, followed by Dior in Paris, where she wore a sheer black lace slip with knee-high patent leather boots.
"To me that dress is actually the closest thing to maternity clothes that I've worn so far," Rihanna told Vogue of the all-black Dior look. She wore a pair of Savage X Fenty underwear for that daring outfit too, saying, "Listen, they were going to see my panties regardless. So they'd better be mine."
Rihanna said she and A$AP Rocky were not planning for a baby, "but certainly not planning against it," and explained how close they became during the early days of the pandemic while on a cross-country roadtrip. "He became my family in that time," she said, later adding, "I just feel like I can do any part of life by his side."
Though the word is still out on Rihanna's due date, she revealed to Elle last month that she was already in her third trimester. To Vogue, she said she hopes she's been able to "redefine what's considered 'decent' for pregnant women."
"My body is doing incredible things right now, and I'm not going to be ashamed of that," she said. "This time should feel celebratory. Because why should you be hiding your pregnancy?" | https://www.phillytrib.com/entertainment/rihanna-is-radiant-on-vogues-may-cover/article_8c290871-e976-552f-929e-de565a1b3bdd.html | 2022-04-15T09:39:40 | 1 | https://www.phillytrib.com/entertainment/rihanna-is-radiant-on-vogues-may-cover/article_8c290871-e976-552f-929e-de565a1b3bdd.html |
TUPELO • Steve Holland loves dogs; in fact, his entire family has had their share of canines running around their farms and homes. So, dogs hold a special place in his heart.
Holland is in the business of bringing closure to families for many years via his funeral home. Extending that to dogs – or any pet for that matter – is a natural fit.
"I brought the first crematory for humans to North Mississippi in 1991, and some folks though it was a revolutionary thing, while others though it was a devilish thing," he said. "But it's turned out well. I've always been forward-thinking, bringing every service that I could to the families I served as a funeral director."
In recent years, he's been contacted by veterinarians and pet owners about taking care of their deceased pets. He would oblige, taking the remains to pet crematories in either Oxford or Starkville.
Eventually, the requests became frequent enough that he thought it might be time to have a pet crematory of his own.
"We've got it now and I think it will be an invaluable service we'll be able to provide to families," he said.
Holland calls his pet crematory service Forever Friends, and the cost of cremation depends on the size of the pet, and whether the pet will be cremated individually or with three to four other pets.
A private cremation for a small pet weighing up to 49 pounds costs $250; for larger pets weighing 50 pounds and more , the cost is $325.
A semi-private cremation for a small pet costs $150, and for a large pet, $225.
In addition a communal cremation is available for small pets for $75.
For those who wish to scatter the ashes of their pets, the Sadie J. Holland Farm has the Forever Farm overlooking a tranquil pond and wooded area.
Forever Friends has an extensive line of urns, keepsakes, jewelry and other products to help customers memorialize their pets.
It should be noted that the crematory for humans is not the one used for pets. Holland was required to buy a separate crematory.
"The crematory industry is highly regulated, and state law also provides that you keep the two crematories separate, which we do," Holland said.
Adding the crematory is a service Holland thinks will do well. He knows from personal experience.
"I'm telling you, I grieve extensively when I lose a pet," he said. "They're family; sometimes they're the best family. So we wanted to make that service available to those members of the family as well."
Holland said residents can either go through their veterinarian for the Forever Friends service or they can come to the funeral home themselves.
"I've been in touch with most of the veterinarians around here and they're excited about it," he said. "None of them have crematories, and they grieve when the lost the pets they practiced on for years and they want them to have a dignified sendoff too."
Holland said pets are treated with the same dignity and respect that all family members deserve.
"We've had several pet services here," he said. "I've been asked to add a pet cemetery but I'm not there yet. The crematory is enough to handle for now." | https://www.djournal.com/news/business/forever-friends-hollands-funeral-directors-adds-pet-crematory/article_a8a9f0ed-2238-5488-ac98-883a7a33a2dd.html | 2022-04-15T09:39:41 | 1 | https://www.djournal.com/news/business/forever-friends-hollands-funeral-directors-adds-pet-crematory/article_a8a9f0ed-2238-5488-ac98-883a7a33a2dd.html |
Earning a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes, “Abbott Elementary” has officially become one of the highest-rated television shows on the site.
The score puts the ABC series firmly among the ranks of Rotten Tomatoes television royalty — amidst shows like Netflix’s “Bojack Horseman,” AMC’s “Breaking Bad,” and NBC’s “Brooklyn 99.”
“Abbott Elementary earns top marks for its empathetic yet sidesplitting critique of the U.S. education system, plus some extra credit for a deftly handled will-they-won’t-they dynamic,” Rotten Tomatoes, which bases its rankings through a curated consensus of hundreds of reviews by film and television critics, said about the series.
The network comedy, created by and starring Quinta Brunson, follows a group of teachers in an underfunded elementary school in Philadelphia. It has been a ratings success for ABC.
The show finished airing its first season on Tuesday, but it has already been renewed for Season 2. Though an official release date has yet to be set, Brunson told Entertainment Weekly she’s excited to see how the teachers grow in the upcoming season — which may see them confronting issues like retirement or finding love.
“I’m just excited to see these people grow as teachers, which also means watching them grow as individuals outside of the school,” Brunson said. | https://www.phillytrib.com/entertainment/television/abbott-elementary-earns-perfect-score-on-rotten-tomatoes/article_6e9482ae-260b-5e0e-bca2-3c960871d475.html | 2022-04-15T09:39:47 | 0 | https://www.phillytrib.com/entertainment/television/abbott-elementary-earns-perfect-score-on-rotten-tomatoes/article_6e9482ae-260b-5e0e-bca2-3c960871d475.html |
“But I’ll keep workin’/As long as my two hands are fit to use…” – Merle Haggard
I haven’t run away and joined the circus, but I am nearing the age when a financial safety net admittedly has the allure of the Sirens of Greek mythology.
Yes, before long, yours truly could conceivably abandon the rat race and apply for early Social Security benefits.
I would have to adjust to the reduced income very delicately. If I restricted my “riotous” lifestyle any further, it would be six feet under
But who am I kidding? I am reasonably healthy and hope to stick with my day job for another five to seven years. Why jettison a job you lo…a job you lo…let’s be friends, job!
I’m no quitter. Other than part-time positions, I have never voluntarily left a place of employment. (Or have I? Things are still murky about that stint at Concussions R Us.)
It’s not for me to question the judgment of those who do retire at the earliest opportunity. Many make an honest assessment of their genetic predisposition before they accept reduced benefits. (“Gimme the money! Considering Mom’s side of the family, there’s a 98% probability that I will hock up a lung and die at age 64.”) Oh, the hijinks that must ensue when you get half a dozen of these sunshine boys meeting for coffee at McDonald’s every morning!
Honestly, I do not begrudge my peers the chance to travel, spoil grandchildren or take up low-impact puttering. More power to them if they have worked hard for decades and choose to “take the money and…hobble.”
I simply realize that there’s more to retirement than fishing trips and sleeping until noon. Remaining gainfully employed gives you the perfect excuse for dodging endless requests. (“I’d love to straighten that picture frame for you, Ma; but, hey, those pencils aren’t going to sharpen themselves!”)
When I teased about early retirement, my wife lovingly presented me with a stack of books. Great! A nostalgic feast of lazily re-reading the complete World Book Encyclopedia! No, wait — it’s a bound collection of “honey do” lists! (“Hey, boss — any prospects for 25-hour workdays this week?”)
Speaking of my wife, I think couples appreciate their “together time” more when most of the week means commuting and laboring. Quality over quantity. Familiarity breeds contempt. There’s a fine line between “Precious and few are the moments we two can share” and “Hit the road, Jack, and don’t you come back no more no more no more…”
I realize I am just kicking the can down the road, but I am not in a hurry to join the “fixed-income rant” brigade. I don’t want to be known for muttering things such as “Back in my day, Fonzie had to ski through five miles of snow before he could jump the shark.” No, sirree, Bob! (Oops. Not okay, Boomer.)
Yes, I’ll keep on keeping my nose to the grindstone. (Hey, free exfoliation!) I have my inspirations. After thousands of years, the Sirens haven’t given up. I just saw one in front of an auto parts store beating up an inflatable dancing tube man for his job.
Ooo! That had to hurt! Hey, I’m suddenly having a flashback to when I got caught raiding the office refrigerator at Concussions R Us. Never saw the fruitcake coming until it was too late! | https://www.djournal.com/opinion/columnists/early-retirement-threat-or-menace/article_1a285f83-efb8-5b37-b26c-57d047205c2b.html | 2022-04-15T09:39:47 | 0 | https://www.djournal.com/opinion/columnists/early-retirement-threat-or-menace/article_1a285f83-efb8-5b37-b26c-57d047205c2b.html |
I tend not to worry.
My wife does, occasionally. I usually counter her concerns by saying, “What are the odds of… (insert potentially dangerous activity)?” Then, I follow by making up the odds.
“Oh, let the kids play with fireworks, honey. What are the odds they’ll get hurt?”
Actually, it’s one in 19,556, which is less dangerous than playing with a chainsaw (one in 4,464) but more dangerous than swimming with alligators (one in 53,000 chance of being bit).
By the way, I was way, way off with my figures on all three of the above. The odds I quoted were — getting injured by playing with fireworks: one in a million; odds of getting hurt by playing with a chainsaw: None whatsoever; and odds of getting bit by an alligator: one in a gazillion.
So, in the interests of utilizing accurate odds for these instances, I did some research and found the actual chances for catastrophe/accident, for usage by myself, and you, the curious reader, in our everyday reckoning.
So, the chance of you:
• Being struck by lightning: 1 in 576,000.
• Getting away with murder: 1 in 2.
• Winning an Olympic gold medal: 1 in 662,000.
• Getting hemorrhoids: 1 in 25.
• Dying from a shark attack: 1 in 300,000,000 (that’s 300 million).
• Dying from a falling coconut: 1 in 250,000,000.
• Dying from a dog attack: 1 in 700,000.
• Dying for falling down: 1 in 246.
• Winning the Mega Millions lottery: 1 in 135,145,920.
• Having your identity stolen: 1 in 200.
• Hitting a hole-in-one in golf (if you’re an amateur): 1 in 5,000.
• Hitting a hole-in-one in golf (if you’re a professional): 1 in 2,500.
• Being a victim of a serious crime in your lifetime: 1 in 20.
• Being injured while mowing your lawn: 1 in 3,623.
• Dying in an airplane accident: 1 in 354,319.
• Dying from heart disease: 1 in 3.
• Becoming president of the United States: 1 in 10,000,000.
• Dying from parts falling off an airplane: 1 in 10,000,000.
• Getting divorced: 1 in 3.
• Living to be 100 years old: 1 in 50.
• Dying from a bicycling accident: 1 in 140,845.
• Dying from a football injury: 1 in 1,850,000.
• Dying from jogging: 1 in 1,000,000.
• Dying from skiing: 1 in 1,400,000.
• Dying from a hunting accident: 1 in 68,000.
• Getting injured while shaving: 1 in 6,585.
• Dying from an alligator attack: o1e in 12,000,000.
• Getting colon cancer: 1 in 20.
• Being audited by the IRS: 1 in 175.
• Becoming a professional athlete: 1 in 22,000.
• Bowling a 300 game: 1 in 11,500.
• Getting the flu this year: 1 in 10.
Of course, I’m no statistician (although I did pretend to be one at a wedding recently). But I do think that if you have hemorrhoids, and are swimming with sharks, while on a lawn mower, after cutting yourself shaving, and barely survived a falling coconut, after being notified you’re being audited by the IRS, your chances of getting a divorce may increase. | https://www.djournal.com/opinion/columnists/watch-out-for-that-deadly-coconut/article_20a791ed-33e9-5de4-b01d-f14f53994f31.html | 2022-04-15T09:39:53 | 1 | https://www.djournal.com/opinion/columnists/watch-out-for-that-deadly-coconut/article_20a791ed-33e9-5de4-b01d-f14f53994f31.html |
The new East Wing drama, "The First Lady," exists to illustrate a fact most of us intuitively know: The women asked to play hostess, decorator, fashion plate and champion for unobjectionable causes as part of each administration's political theater tend to be much more interesting and complicated than the manicured images they project.
That's certainly the case for the trio of FLOTUSes whose lives are dramatized by the 10-part debut season of Showtime's anthology series: Eleanor Roosevelt (played by Gillian Anderson), Betty Ford (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Michelle Obama (Viola Davis). Well-behaved women seldom make history, goes the Second Wave saying - a maxim that extends to the White House.
The other reason "The First Lady" exists is to garner awards attention. So while it celebrates women who break the mold, the show itself is deeply - and dispiritingly - conventional. Created by Aaron Cooley, the decade-hopping drama seeks to inspire while lingering, sometimes morbidly so, on tragedy via countless flashbacks, never once seriously questioning an office that's not only come under increasing fire for its retrograde underpinnings, but frequently makes its own protagonists desperately unhappy. Then there's the unconvincing thesis of the series, stated in a letter from the fictionalized Betty to Michelle: "First ladies and their teams are often the vanguards of social progress in this country" - a liberal fantasy that willfully mistakes the anomalies as the norm.
Perhaps it's because Betty Ford's story is the least known among the three that her scenes are the most compelling. Sporting a stiff bouffant, Pfeiffer offers the showiest performance - some will deem it the most scenery-chewing - as a disappointed former dancer overwhelmed by loneliness, motherhood and a spiraling addiction to alcohol and painkillers in her husband Gerald's (Aaron Eckhart) near-constant absence. A moderate Republican who supports abortion rights and the Equal Rights Amendment and pushes her fellow ladies who lunch to read "The Feminine Mystique," Betty is repeatedly chastised for her outspokenness - including her taboo-breaking discussions of her breast cancer - by Gerald's wrongheaded aides, Dick Cheney (Rhys Wakefield) and Donald Rumsfeld (Derek Cecil), a Tweedledee and Tweedledum in slacks. The reminder of a pre-Reagan GOP that boasted ideological overlap with the Democrats is welcome, as are the revisits to the national conversation about women's health that the real-life Ford helped facilitate.
Obvious dental prosthetics and an unfortunately mannered turn by Anderson - though less strained than her effortful pantomime of Margaret Thatcher on "The Crown" - distract from a rewriting of Eleanor Roosevelt that's fairly bold, at least for a mainstream TV series. "The First Lady" foregrounds Eleanor's silver-spoon loftiness, with several scenes of her younger self (played by Eliza Scanlen) consoled by her uncle and former president Theodore (Jeremy Bobb). Nor does the series shy from the aloofness Eleanor showed her own family, especially her six children, while campaigning tirelessly on behalf of the wretched and the downtrodden. (Her preference for crowds and ideological allies over her blood relations may, in fact, be her most presidential quality.)
Biographers have debated for decades the nature of Eleanor Roosevelt's close friendship with pioneering reporter Lorena Hickok (Lily Rabe), a known lesbian. "The First Lady" posits their relationship as romantic and physically intimate - a midlife blossoming for Eleanor, who considers her husband Franklin (Kiefer Sutherland) closer to a "teammate" than a traditional spouse after his propriety-minded mother Sara (Ellen Burstyn) pressures them to stay together after a particularly painful betrayal on his part. But the steadfast deference that Franklin shows his wife, depicted not entirely persuasively, renders their marriage of convenience surprisingly modern, even easy to root for. In contrast, Eleanor and Lorena's relationship feels slapdash and underwritten, with Anderson and Rabe sharing less than a nanogram of chemistry.
In "The First Lady," Eleanor fights segregation, secures asylum for dozens of World War II refugees and plays an outsize role in the formation of the United Nations. Some decades later, Betty, too, defies the conventions of upper-class femininity by speaking out about her mastectomy and struggles with addiction. But Michelle Obama's legacy has yet to be fully written, which may be why, despite Davis's meticulous mimicry of her character's tics and movements, her scenes feel the least consequential.
Eleanor and Betty eventually win over hearts and minds by testing the limits of a role they never wanted. The series correctly observes that Michelle is under much greater scrutiny than her White predecessors; a rare misstep on the 2008 campaign trail instantly gets the "angry Black woman" label pinned on her. "The First Lady" is convincing enough when it traverses the cracks in the marriage between "Meesh," as she's called by her loved ones, and Barack (O.T. Fagbenle) - in Chicago, she finds his politics too idealistic, and in the Oval Office, his tactics overly cautious. There are also tantalizing hints that their approaches to Blackness often diverge; when they meet, she's a child of the South Side with a bone-deep familiarity with its injustices, while he's writing a book chronicling his search for his identity.
But much of present-day Michelle's plotlines are about how she's told to tamp herself down, most often by her husband's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel (Michael Aronov) - a realistic scenario, but not exactly riveting TV. Jayme Lawson steals every scene she's in as the younger Michelle, but even on a show as padded with extraneous incidents as this one, we don't need to see the future first lady being dissuaded from applying to Princeton by a prejudiced guidance counselor or mistaken for a maid by the mother of a college roommate. Michelle Obama's time in the White House simply needs more time for it to be satisfyingly narrativized; she has decades yet to finish her story.
"The First Lady" owes its eminent watchability to its episodic structure, which organizes each hour by theme: how they fell in love with their husbands, dealt with the pressing issues of the day and, finally, adjusted back to civilian life. (Having been waited on as the first lady for so long, Eleanor, for instance, is confounded by the kitchen appliances in the house she moves into after Franklin's death.) The throughlines between the women emphasize their similarities, especially in seeing their hopes for a life outside their husbands' ambitions dashed - and for Eleanor and Michelle, a more serious position in the White House never considered despite their prodigious talents and wealth of knowledge.
That's the central paradox of our veneration for first ladies: a job well done despite never wanting the responsibility - the cult of wifely self-sacrifice. (If a theoretical first lady confessed to coveting the role, she'd immediately be called a Lady Macbeth.) One has to wonder how much further we'll have to wait until female politicians - women who want more direct access to power and influence, rather than channeling their desires through an important man - are, on the whole, as beloved as first ladies.
For all the lavish production values, Emmy-baiting performances and quasi-feminist cheerleading of a series like "The First Lady," there's something abidingly desultory about a series premise that, rather than interrogating a brutal system, salutes the few women who endured it by carving out exceptions for themselves. But then again, what's more American than that?
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"The First Lady" premieres Sunday at 9 p.m. on Showtime. | https://www.phillytrib.com/entertainment/television/the-first-lady-turns-three-compelling-women-into-emmy-bait/article_69b4ed3d-f4a5-53c5-8298-f8ade4078e3c.html | 2022-04-15T09:39:53 | 1 | https://www.phillytrib.com/entertainment/television/the-first-lady-turns-three-compelling-women-into-emmy-bait/article_69b4ed3d-f4a5-53c5-8298-f8ade4078e3c.html |
The songwriting team of Ray Henderson and Mort Dixon proved prescient when they penned “Bye Bye Blackbird” in 1926 — at least according to the Tupelo story.
Back in 1986, millions of wintering blackbirds roosted in the trees of Tupelo, especially near what is the Tupelo Regional Airport and along Gun Club Road.
The year prior, city employees tried to frighten the birds by shooting off fireworks and broadcasting sounds of birds in distress. It worked, to a degree, forcing the “cloud” to move off about a half mile away.
Then, the city upped the ante in an attempt to kill the fowl by spraying them with a soapy mixture that would take the oil from their feathers and cause them to die of exposure in the cold. The merl left Tupelo that April unscathed because the winter temperatures didn’t cooperate.
By the fall 1986, city officials vowed to kill the birds, even putting about $30,000 in a budget line to do so. The plan: hire a helicopter loaded with detergent to spray the fowl and, then, have firefighter shoot the birds with water so they would freeze to death.
But the pesky blackbirds relocated, spreading out over more than 25 locations. This put a crux in the plan.
So, city officials decided to chop down cedar trees. Cedar trees are popular nesting places for various birds, including blackbirds. The so-called tree thinning ran into a blockade from the Natchez Trace Parkway that held the federal property where the birds roosted most of the time.
The superintendent at the time, Jim Bainbridge, told reporters he wouldn’t allow Tupelo employees to chop down any of the trees on the couple of acres in the city. Jack Marshall, Tupelo’s mayor, realized trying to talk the federal park folk into changing their minds would prove futile, so he decided to go directly to the people in the area to see if they would allow the city to slash their trees.
Yet, some residents had decided to take care of those birds in the proverbial bushes by shooting them. One Tupeloean said shooting the winged freeloaders allowed for great training for retrievers.
By 1987, the Tupelo Public Works Department had cleared 153 acres of cedar trees from the Wildwood subdivision near the Tupelo Regional Airport. Even the Federal Aviation Administration got in on the act when officials recommended closing the airport 45 minutes at sunset and 45 minutes at sunrise to jet and turboprop aircraft.
At the time, Tupelo had two commercial airlines serving the region. Both used turboprop and airport officials on the local and federal level worried that the birds would get sucked into the engines.
In previous years, airport officials had fired off cannon of natural gas as the birds attempted to return to their roosts.
Apparently, the tactics of tree slashing and cannon fire worked for Tupelo.
By December 1987, the flocks just moved out to Belden and Nettleton. Officials in Nettleton wanted to kill the birds, going so far as to asking the Environmental Protection Agency experts about baiting a poisoned soybean field to get rid of the birds, but the EPA stopped that, saying the poison would put other birds and mammals at risk.
Instead, the EPA suggested Nettleton invest in PA-14, an agency-registered chemical to control blackbirds and starlings. Between 1978 and 1987 the EPA recorded 39 spray operations in Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama with limited success according to an study called “Controlling Blackbirds and Starlings at Winter Roosts using PA-14.”
The mayor of Nettleton at the time, Charlie Cane, didn’t want to use the chemical because he deemed it cruel to the birds. “The chemical treatment is cruel and inhumane. The bird may lie there a whole day before he freezes to death. But if that’s my choice, I’ll do it,” he told a reporter at the time. | https://www.djournal.com/opinion/columnists/when-tupelo-bade-blackbirds-bye-bye/article_3f32632b-4641-51eb-aca2-b055564f2899.html | 2022-04-15T09:39:59 | 1 | https://www.djournal.com/opinion/columnists/when-tupelo-bade-blackbirds-bye-bye/article_3f32632b-4641-51eb-aca2-b055564f2899.html |
NEW YORK - You don't see the painting that is the beating heart of the Met's spring blockbuster, "Winslow Homer: Crosscurrents," until toward the end. That's as it should be: Homer himself understood the mechanics of suspense. He pulled you in from afar with robust, orderly compositions, sharp tonal contrasts and vivid blocks of color. Then, like a croupier dealing cards, he laid out all the stakes: each one a reason to keep looking.
Homer's "The Gulf Stream" is not something you can spy from afar and simply walk by. More than four feet across and more than two feet high, it shows a shirtless Black man sprawled across the deck of a small wooden boat, pitched steeply toward us by a rolling sea. Sharks thrash about in the turbid water between us and the man.
Homer (1836-1910) has you in his hands. A croupier? He's more like a campfire narrator, his nostrils tickled by firelight, unfurling his story by way of a dozen choice details.
Our hero's situation is desperate. The boat's mast has snapped off. Its cargo includes three or four long stalks of sugar cane (a reminder of the industry sustained both by slavery and the Gulf Stream). There are whitecaps. A massive waterspout swirls up from the horizon at right. At left, you can make out a sailing ship heading the wrong way. The water, meanwhile, is laced with ribbons of red seaweed resembling trails of blood.
Those sharks. You count them. Five might have been overkill. Four we're okay with. But Homer doesn't leave it there. On the right, six flying fish flash by like oversize dragonflies. Their brief appearance, rather than the circling sharks (to which the man appears accustomed), is what has his attention. What is Homer driving at? What do the flying fish represent? The possibility of escape? Of freedom?
The Met's show, which was organized by Stephanie L. Herdrich and Sylvia Yount and will travel to the National Gallery in London, is the largest overview of Homer's career since a 1995 retrospective at the National Gallery of Art in Washington. It's a knockout.
Without ignoring the Northeastern subjects with which Homer is most identified - his paintings and watercolors from Maine, the Catskills and Gloucester, Mass. - Herdrich and Yount emphasize works he made in locations farther south along the Gulf Stream - including Florida, Cuba and the Bahamas - along with some made in England.
"Crosscurrents" coincides with the release of an exemplary biography - "Winslow Homer: American Passage" by William R. Cross, who demonstrates that Homer emerged as a storyteller of enormous power and subtlety in a period - the 1860s - when America was casting around for the right story to tell about itself.
The "right story" always seems clear at a distance. The narrative America had to choose was - obviously! - the one that ended slavery and finally honored the country's founding narrative: that all people were created with an equal right to liberty. At the time, however, everything was roiling and turbid.
The nation's mast had snapped. A hurricane had blown it out to sea. More than 600,000 people were to die in battle before the Emancipation Proclamation won out, and still Black people were allowed to enjoy only a "brief moment in the sun," as W.E.B. Du Bois dubbed Reconstruction.
By the time Homer painted "The Gulf Stream," in 1899, white supremacist propaganda had rewritten the story of the Civil War (which Homer had witnessed as a war artist). Confederate soldiers were being glorified and Reconstruction recast as a tragic mistake. Convict leasing extended the practice of slavery, lynchings multiplied and a deluge of racist, dehumanizing stereotypes spread through popular culture.
Homer was attentive to all this. He had been in Boston in 1860 when Frederick Douglass was forcibly evicted by 50 policemen after telling a large crowd that "the freedom of all mankind was written on the heart by the finger of God." He had lived through the Civil War. He had crossed the Atlantic Ocean twice and traveled up and down the Atlantic coast. So he had been painting various aspects of race relations for several decades.
Examples in the Met show include "The Cotton Pickers," one of dozens of compassionate portrayals of female laborers Homer made over his career (Cross calls him a "proto-feminist"); the Met's own "Dressing for the Carnival," a beautiful, realist work of enormous subtlety and cultural complexity, painted at the end of Reconstruction; and "Near Andersonville," of which Cross writes: "Never before had an American painter placed an appealing Black woman at center, alone, the vessel of hope for her country."
The curators present "The Gulf Stream" as the culmination of these works. History has certainly judged it so. Alain Locke, known as the dean of the Harlem Renaissance, said "The Gulf Stream" "broke the cotton-patch and back-porch tradition" and "began the artistic emancipation of the Negro subject in American art." Contemporary Black artists, including Kara Walker and Kerry James Marshall, have paid complicated forms of homage to the work.
Asked for a description of "The Gulf Stream" by a staffer at his New York gallery, Homer replied: "I regret very much that I have painted a picture that requires any description." But he didn't leave it there. He took the trouble to make two things very clear: First, that he knew whereof he painted. "I have crossed the Gulf Stream ten times," he wrote - evidently in a huff - "& should know something about it." Second, that if he were a pictorial storyteller, he would not be the kind to wrap hard things up in pretty bows.
Homer told the gallerist (his pen drenched in sarcasm) that he could tell the "inquisitive schoolmarms" who want to know about "The Gulf Stream" that "the unfortunate negro who now is so dazed and parboiled, will be rescued & returned to his friends and home & ever after live happily."
So if "Gulf Stream" was a commentary on the predicament of Black people in the South - caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, eyes fixed on fleeting freedom - Homer didn't want to offer false hope. Rather, he wanted viewers to "draw their own conclusions."
Even more, I think, he wanted to paint the sea, some sharks, a boat and a man.
It is fun to be reminded, in Cross's biography, of all the criticism that came Homer's way. His manner of painting, he would read, was crude, sketchy, fatally lacking in finesse. Of course, all such criticisms pointed to a cleavage in the consensus around art that was bigger than Homer. Impressionist and other plein-air painters in France had already shattered the old criteria. But the ambivalence many critics expressed about Homer is nonetheless instructive. They seemed to sense in advance that the very qualities they singled out for criticism might soon be regarded as virtues.
Homer's work could be "horribly ugly," wrote Henry James, "but there is nevertheless something one likes about him" - namely, that "he naturally sees everything at one with its envelope of light and air."
A critic in the Nation, meanwhile, thought Homer's style too rough, and yet admitted that each work was "perfect in telling its story: character of hero, pertinence of surroundings, degree of expression, type, age, atmosphere, time of day, strength or reticence of color - every study is a rounded sonnet sufficient to itself."
These qualities - Homer's incisive sense of drama, his "natural" ability to convey unities of action and atmosphere, and, yes, his "roughness" (really just a healthy lack of fuss) - are the very things that distinguish him today as America's greatest 19th-century painter.
Homer's storytelling can sometimes lapse into rhetoric. The big oil paintings such as "The Life Line" (1884) and "Undertow" (1886) that did so much to boost his reputation during his lifetime look corny today. But Homer was also celebrated by contemporaries for his watercolors, which are unequaled by any American artist (except perhaps John Singer Sargent).
Fully half the works in "Crosscurrents" are watercolors (six are directly related to "The Gulf Stream"). Many depict southern locations, where sunlight sharpened Homer's color sense and tropical fecundity encouraged his brilliance with foliage. (Homer's palm trees almost deserve a show of their own.)
One of the show's most beautiful works is a close-up rendering in watercolor of five oranges growing on a tree. The design is asymmetrical, possibly influenced by Japanese aesthetics. The effect (orange against green, with blue shadows, the implied perfume of orange blossoms providing an olfactory descant) sings of piercing freshness.
It's also a reminder that Homer's storytelling, both his illustrator's taste for drama and his occasional forays into poetic metaphor, were tempered everywhere by a sunstruck sensuality, a physical delight in being in the world, that are for me, the deep source of all that makes him great.
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Winslow Homer: Crosscurrents Through July 31 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. metmuseum.org. | https://www.phillytrib.com/lifestyle/a-thrilling-new-take-on-winslow-homer---americas-favorite-artist/article_54ca15b1-6eb1-5c83-bc83-438522b12ced.html | 2022-04-15T09:39:59 | 1 | https://www.phillytrib.com/lifestyle/a-thrilling-new-take-on-winslow-homer---americas-favorite-artist/article_54ca15b1-6eb1-5c83-bc83-438522b12ced.html |
Sometimes the last five steps we need a turkey to take never happen. Inevitably, those are the ones we remember best.
The Boy has had an interesting turkey season. Two too-close encounters during spring break had us wary of sitting down to his next opportunity with an overly-open view of the world. When we’d located turkeys and made our plan before sunrise last Saturday, he and his grandfather placed a decoy and tucked themselves well away. I situated myself 50 yards to their rear in a spot that would soon offer a view of a neighboring field. As daylight grew, I could see my two companions and their decoy. They could see a long, narrow field of their own. Somewhere at its other end, a chorus of turkeys chattered away.
Our first locating owl hoot had drawn not a single sound, but the second provoked an explosion of gobbles and yelps that seemed to go on and on. I guess he just needed to hear it twice to be sure.
The gobbles and almost-gobbles we heard in the dark confirmed the presence of at least one longbeard and a troop of jakes, plus hens. All of these soon pitched down, not into the field, but into a deep hollow that ran along the field’s western side. The hollow curved gently as it ran past the place my companions sat before ending in a point very close to me.
Turkey hunting is a pursuit conducted mainly by ear, and Saturday’s exercise was no exception. Yelps and clucks from my father-in-law encouraged the birds steadily closer. Occasional replies from the mature gobbler in the group confirmed we were in the game, and yelping hens confirmed they were leading him our way. The majority of the commentary, though, came from the jakes.
Jakes are male turkeys less than two years old. They are the juvenile delinquents of the natural world. In some states during turkey season, they are fair game. Hunters age 15 and younger may shoot them in Mississippi, but generally they get a free pass, as they are the stock that will grow into mature birds for the season and seasons to follow. They are smaller than mature gobblers and their spurs are not yet developed, but three or four jakes working together can harass one mature longbeard into tranquility. In areas fortunate enough to have good populations of turkeys, they are both the boon and the bane of hunters. They promise good seasons in years to come while doing their best to spoil the season at hand.
We listened as the birds, out of sight but drawing closer, worked their way toward us. From the sounds that echoed up the hollow, I was pretty sure the turkeys were going to walk out to stand right at my feet. I had not issued a single yelp. There was no reason for them to come to me, but turkeys are contrary and follow paths of reasoning all their own. I pulled my hat bill down low and quietly squirmed myself into as much invisibility as physics would allow. Still, I knew if the birds had to circle past me to come back to my companions, it would require a long and major effort of breath-holding stillness to not spook them.
I was expecting this effort to have to begin any second when the first hen stepped out, not by me, but next to the decoy. A second and third hen soon followed. Somewhere behind them but definitely on his way, the longbeard gobbled. I took my first deep breath in a long time and thought we had a good chance going. Then, the jakes trooped onto the scene.
Male turkeys are physically aggressive among themselves. They fight for breeding opportunities. Between mature birds, this is settled in single combat, but something in the psyche of jakes leads them to band together to battle a bigger foe.
The longbeard was the last turkey to step into the field. He lingered only a moment, looked at the jakes as they strutted around our decoy, then dropped his own tail and walked back into the woods. An unfortunately-placed cedar bough blocked the Boy’s only brief chance for a shot.
The turkeys hung around tauntingly for another hour. When the longbeard returned to the field 75 yards downrange and began strutting the Boy’s way, the jakes intercepted him and sent him packing.
Every day in the woods is a learning opportunity, but some are packed with more new knowledge than others. The Boy certainly had plenty served up for him Saturday last. Thankfully, there is still time this spring for him to put it into practice, if the bane of jakes allow. | https://www.djournal.com/sports/outdoors/turkey-season-offers-never-ending-education/article_815ed4fd-82a1-5987-be00-74e0e5c0e34b.html | 2022-04-15T09:40:05 | 0 | https://www.djournal.com/sports/outdoors/turkey-season-offers-never-ending-education/article_815ed4fd-82a1-5987-be00-74e0e5c0e34b.html |
The fictional worlds spun in many TV shows, movies and video games can feel as real and as meaningful to fans as places with actual Zip codes. Think of Hogwarts, the magic-filled, honey-lit boarding school in the world of Harry Potter books and movies; the faraway galaxy of “Star Wars”; or even the lovably quirky small town of Stars Hollow in “Gilmore Girls.”
Wakanda, the wealthy, technologically advanced, mountain-ringed land of the “Black Panther” comics and blockbuster 2018 movie, though, occupies an even more rarefied role. It’s not just the setting for the action in a beloved franchise; it has become a symbol of African greatness, a mythical place that feels like an actual homeland to many people, and not just to comics geeks with posters of King T’Challa on their bedroom walls.
This week, the mythical country is seeing its culture expand with “The Official Wakanda Cookbook,” a collection of recipes sanctioned by “Black Panther” publisher Marvel.
“I definitely felt a combination of pressure and pride,” says Nyanyika Banda, the freelance writer and chef who created the cookbook. “The lore of Black Panther and what Wakanda means now socially is so important, not just for Black Americans but to people of African descent around the world.”
Banda, who has long been a student of the foodways of the African diaspora, developed both the 70-plus recipes and the story-within-the-story of the cookbook: It’s written from the perspective of a young woman who is plucked from her mother’s stall in the capital city’s marketplace to become the royal chef to King T’Challa, a woman who — like Banda — was influenced by the elder women in her family.
Aside from the challenges posed by satisfying an avid fan base and respecting a cultural touchstone, Banda faced another, more practical task. Often, a cookbook author writing about a region of the world is concerned about staying true to the dishes, the ingredients, the people and the history of the land. But what does it mean to be faithful to something that doesn’t actually exist?
Banda says that before signing on to the project, they had seen the movie but hadn’t read many of the comics. And so they delved in and also explored the deep well of fan-fueled websites, seeking to understand the characters and the landscape of Wakanda. Food doesn’t figure prominently in the comics or in the movie, so some creativity was in order.
Some ideas came more easily. Wakanda has a lake, Banda notes, so fish recipes would work. Produce and ingredients available in sub-Saharan Africa (where Wakanda is located, according to the comics), such as cassava, mangoes and goat (you can substitute lamb, Banda instructs), figure prominently. Vegetable dishes are also featured — in a recipe for eggplant and herbs, the narrator notes that “many Wakandans eat a predominantly vegetarian diet,” perhaps a reference to the moment depicted in the movie in which the tribal leader M’Baku threatens to feed a CIA agent to his children, before revealing the threat is just a joke. “I’m kidding,” he says. “We’re vegetarians.”
An important part of the kingdom’s story is that it is incredibly technically advanced, so Banda wanted a few recipes that incorporated gadgets, such as a sous vide machine or a dehydrator, to represent that.
One such dish, a smoked mushroom jerky, was inspired by the Dora Milaje, Wakanda’s elite team of female warriors. “I imagined it would be something that would be fueling but that would carry well,” Banda says.
Jennifer Simms, Banda’s editor at Insight Editions, the publisher of the Wakanda cookbooks as well as dozens of other pop-culture spinoff cookbooks, says that from the outset, she didn’t want to create a cookbook that was generically “African.” “We wanted to make sure we weren’t trying to represent Africa as having one food culture,” she says.
To create a cuisine that is fictional, yet feels specific, Banda drew not just on studies of African foodways, but on family recipes. One dish, braised kale with tomatoes, was cribbed directly from the last meal Banda cooked with their aunt, who, like Banda’s father, was born in Malawi. “We talked and laughed, and it was a special moment,” says Banda, whose aunt died in 2020. “I thought of her a lot while I was writing this.”
One of the trickier conditions imposed by the Black Panther narrative was that Wakanda, unlike many other African nations, was never colonized — according to its lore, it had long remained hidden from the rest of the world to protect itself, and the valuable metal it contained, from outsiders. And so Banda had to find storylines to explain Western influences.
Visits to Wakanda by Captain America explained a simple trout dish and an iced coffee laced with cocoa. Travels to New York by the narrator character, the fictional palace chef, explain a pasta dish. And the current king, T’Challa, was educated in America and Europe under an assumed name, and some dishes are described as being food he discovered while abroad.
Banda and Simms worked closely with the team at Marvel when developing the dishes and the stories around them. “We would talk about whether or not they felt like it would be a part of Wakanda,” Banda says. “I wanted there to be integrity within the dish, but also have integrity in terms of storytelling.”
Banda developed the recipes while staying with their 90-year-old grandmother in Amherst, Mass., during the pandemic. And all along, they considered how important the Black Panther story was to its most devoted admirers. “I was never not thinking about Black Panther fans, hoping they would see the time and thought that went into this,” Banda says.
Black Panther fans aren’t the only cooks that publishing houses are thinking about these days. The Wakanda cookbook is part of a growing trend of pop-culture cookbooks, based on popular franchises with loyal fan bases. Insight Editions CEO Raoul Goff said he first saw the potential for the genre after the success of a 2016 “World of Warcraft” cookbook based on the popular online role-playing game.
Since then, the publisher has produced dozens of titles tied to games such as “The Elder Scrolls” and “Street Fighter,” plus movies and TV, including “Star Wars,” “Friends,” “Downton Abbey,” and forthcoming cookbooks on “Seinfeld” and “Emily in Paris.”
Goff sees these books as more than just the present you give your game-obsessed nephew or Crawley fangirl friend for Christmas. Cooking, he says, helps fans connect with the stories and characters they love in a way that no T-shirt could. “It’s another aspect of getting immersed in that world, whatever it is,” he says.
Are there any shows for which he couldn’t imagine a cookbook spinoff? Maybe “The Walking Dead,” this reporter suggests? Surely there’s nothing appetizing about struggling to stay alive after a zombie apocalypse.
He laughs. “We’ve done that one,” he says. “It was a cookbook and survival guide. Fans loved it.”
“’OK, what about ‘Dexter?’ I challenge him, throwing out the name of the show whose serial-killer title character spends his evenings carving up human flesh.
There’s a pause, but Goff isn’t wiling to concede, entirely. “Dexter,” he says, “would be a tough one.” | https://www.phillytrib.com/lifestyle/in-the-new-wakanda-cookbook-black-panther-food-lore-comes-to-life/article_3f2b91af-8f11-5c7f-86d3-9f1094e258ab.html | 2022-04-15T09:40:05 | 0 | https://www.phillytrib.com/lifestyle/in-the-new-wakanda-cookbook-black-panther-food-lore-comes-to-life/article_3f2b91af-8f11-5c7f-86d3-9f1094e258ab.html |
Turkey season isn’t the last good excuse of the spring for taking a walk in the woods. Mississippi’s two-week spring squirrel season, open May 15 through June 1, is a great segue to summer.
After a fall and winter spent waiting out whitetails and a spring sitting still for turkeys, a return to the small game arena offers a welcome break. It’s an ideal opportunity to stretch your legs and see what the the woods have in store.
The first key to finding squirrels, in any time of year, is locating their food sources. These are not the same in the spring as they are in the fall. In the fall, squirrels are found by listening for the patter of chewed acorns, pecans and hickory nuts falling onto dry leaves at the forest’s floor. In the latter two weeks of May, there are no acorns or nuts to crunch. Squirrels and deer will have long since cleaned up last fall’s crop.
In the spring, squirrel food includes soft mast, buds on trees, early berries and seeds, soft and fresh ground plants and the like. This means they’re also at ground level more frequently than in the fall, a blessing that provides its own challenge.
As tree-dwellers, squirrels are at their most alert when they’re on the ground because they instinctively know that’s when they’re most vulnerable to predators. While they’re scratching around they’re easier to see and hear, and also easier to spook. Still, finding them is 85 percent of the challenge, and having them at ground level makes them easier to find.
At water’s edge
Some of the best spring squirrel hunting is found lakeside and creekside. Vines and berry plants flourish here and squirrels may be found generally in abundance, especially early and late in the day. When it’s cool and overcast but not very windy, squirrels may move throughout much of the day as well. When it’s hot, they den up and when it’s windy, they can’t hear as well and are more cautious.
Still, as small animals, they have to eat for a significant amount of time every day and they’re not nocturnal. That means the opportunities will be there at some point no matter what.
When you find a likely spot to sit and wait, give such an area 30 minutes or more, but don’t hesitate to walk and cover ground. A stroll in the woods before summer’s heat sets in is a large part of the hunt’s satisfaction.
Paddle away
A great and enjoyable strategy is to hunt from a canoe. This is an especially good tactic to involve youngsters. For safety’s sake, take only one gun and put the shooter in the middle of the canoe. Often there’s not a seat in the widest centerpoint of a canoe. If the canoe has a carry handle, use a life jacket to pad it as a seat back and have the shooter sit on the canoe’s bottom. Even better, a low folding beach chair makes an ideal seat that will keep the shooter from sitting in any water the bottom of the canoe may collect.
Fill a good sized ice chest with ice and drinks and secure it as far forward in the canoe as it will go. With the paddler at the rear, a canoe with no weight at the bow will often float with the leading edge of the keel just out of the water, which will make it hard to steer. A heavy ice chest will press the bow into the water and make it handle much better. Paddling a canoe with the bow out of the water is like steering a button. It can be done, but it’s a hassle. The extra weight will make paddling and steering easier, not harder.
Aim high
Where there’s no likely water handy, look high in the trees for squirrel nests. Spot dead trees and study them carefully for possible den holes. Any such area that is home to lots of squirrels will be an ideal spot to sit and wait, especially early and late in the day. Do not shoot into nests, as this is unethical. Hunting nearby however is certainly an acceptable tactic.
Don’t be afraid to try out calling techniques. There are a number of commercially-made calls on the market, and most are pretty inexpensive. While they won’t typically call up a squirrel stampede, they will make the critters curious. Find a comfortable setup, give the woods 10 or 15 minutes to get quiet, then offer a call sequence or two. That will be enough to make squirrels peep out and see what’s happening, helping locate your quarry.
If you don’t have a commercial squirrel call, try scratching in the leaves or making a cutting sound by grinding two sticks together, anything that makes a sound similar to those squirrels make while feeding. This can often be enough to do the trick.
Damp spring woods are a haven for mosquitoes, so don’t forget to take measures to fend them off. A Thermacell device may be the most valuable tool a spring squirrel hunter can have. | https://www.djournal.com/sports/outdoors/two-week-squirrel-season-a-special-opportunity/article_62b6d994-fe3f-5da4-948f-bf4e7b86e175.html | 2022-04-15T09:40:11 | 1 | https://www.djournal.com/sports/outdoors/two-week-squirrel-season-a-special-opportunity/article_62b6d994-fe3f-5da4-948f-bf4e7b86e175.html |
Jackie Robinson not only changed the landscape of our national pastime of baseball, he transformed our nation. His impact remains ever so prevalent even three-quarters of a century later.
Major League Baseball has celebrated Robinson integrating of the game on April 15, 1947 for several years now but a special commemoration is store this season.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier and every MLB club will participate in various activities throughout the weekend to mark the occasion.
“Our family is thrilled to see the many wonderful tributes to Jack’s historic moment 75 years ago,” Rachel Robinson told MLB.com. She was married to Jackie for 26 years and is founder of the Jackie Robinson Foundation. Rachel Robinson will be celebrating her 100th birthday in July.
“We will continue to honor his memory and legacy through our work with the Jackie Robinson Foundation. We are proud to have Major League Baseball and so many others as supporters of the young men and women we impact each year,” Rachel Robinson said.
Jackie Robinson, a four-sport athlete in high school and in college at UCLA, played for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1947 to 1956 and endured racism on and off the field. He became the first African-American player elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
Robinson’s number 42 jersey was retired in 1972, the same year he passed away but it wasn’t until 1997 which marked the 50th anniversary of Robinson stepping on a big league field that his number was retired by every MLB team as a tribute.
In 2009, the league suggested on every April 15, that players would voluntarily wear number 42 during the games on or closest to that date. For this year, the number will be stitched in Dodger Blue for each club, regardless of color scheme.
The Phillies will be on the road in Miami on April 15. Consequently, they will hold a Jackie Robinson salute on Saturday, April 23 during their next home stand at Citizens Bank Park in South Philadelphia.
MLB has released a new and exclusively produced video on mlb.com to commemorate Robinson’s achievements entitled ”PLAY, RUN, WIN, RISE.” The video is narrated by actor and singer Leslie Odom Jr., a Philadelphia native who grew up in the East Oak Lane section. The video will appear in all big league ballparks on Jackie Robinson Day and run on all MLB media platforms.
Last weekend, Temple University’s Claire Smith Center for Sports Media held their first Jackie Robinson Symposium, hosted by Smith, a Hall of Fame sportswriter.
Panelists included Doug Glanville (former Phillies outfielder and Penn alum) Sean Gibson (great-grandson of Negro Leagues legend Josh Gibson), Bob Kendrick (president of the Negro League Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri), Branch Rickey III (grandson of Branch Rickey who signed Robinson to the Dodgers organization in 1945), Larry Doby Jr. (son of Larry Doby, the first Black player in the American League) and keynote speaker Dusty Baker (current manager of the Houston Astros).
Even on the popular video game, “MLB The Show” users will see all player numbers changed to 42 to reflect real life on-field contests.
A call to action initiative named “42 Innings for 42”, will encourage the youth baseball and softball communities around the country to play a total of 42 innings during the weekend of April 15-17 and share content of the games utilizing the hashtag #Jackie42.
A 75th anniversary logo that includes Robinson’s signature and an illustration of his likeness has also been unveiled.
Although Robinson grew up in Southern California, he was born in Cairo, Georgia. In January, a historical marker was dedicated replacing one that was damaged by gunfire in 2021. | https://www.phillytrib.com/sports/baseball/nation-to-celebrate-jackie-robinsons-75th-anniversary-of-joining-mlb/article_af04129d-febb-59e9-96bc-40dbc5d988b0.html | 2022-04-15T09:40:11 | 1 | https://www.phillytrib.com/sports/baseball/nation-to-celebrate-jackie-robinsons-75th-anniversary-of-joining-mlb/article_af04129d-febb-59e9-96bc-40dbc5d988b0.html |
In January, 39 state attorney general offices announced that one of the nation’s largest student loan servicers would resolve allegations of widespread unfair, deceptive and abusive practices.
Lawsuits claimed that Navient improperly drove some federal student loan borrowers into forbearance instead of federal student loan relief programs. Allegations stated that the provider knew that borrowers attending predatory for-profit schools would be unlikely to be able to repay the high-interest private student loans.
The attorneys general reported that if the company had provided the help it promised, borrowers could have had payments reduced, received subsidies or attained debt forgiveness.
“Navient repeatedly and deliberately put profits ahead of its borrowers — it engaged in deceptive and abusive practices, targeted students who it knew would struggle to pay loans back, and placed an unfair burden on people trying to improve their lives through education,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Shapiro said in a statement. “Today’s settlement corrects Navient’s past behavior, provides much-needed relief to Pennsylvania borrowers, and puts in place safeguards to ensure this company never preys on student loan borrowers again.”
Although Navient has denied any wrongdoing and has admitted no liability as part of the agreement, the company will provide relief totaling $1.85 billion to settle litigation.
Navient will cancel the remaining balance on $1.7 billion in subprime private student loans owed by nearly 66,000 borrowers nationwide as part of the settlement. In addition, the company will make a total of $95 million in restitution payments of about $260 each to approximately 350,000 borrowers in certain types of long-term forbearances.
How To Qualify For Settlement Relief
If you are eligible for the private loan cancellation under the settlement, you do not need to take any action. Navient will notify eligible private loan borrowers in writing by July 2022.
However, since the settlement administrator will send postcards this spring, you are encouraged to ensure your contact information in your studentaid.gov account is current. You can create an account if you do not already have one.
Note that you must reside in one of the restitution-participating states in order to receive relief. Debt relief will primarily go to those borrowers who made loans through Sallie Mae, the name by which Navient was previously known, between 2002-2014, and had at least seven months of delinquent payments before June 30, 2021.
Some borrowers who continue to pay off their loans and remain in good standing with Navient have criticized this settlement, which offers them no relief despite the fact that they may have experienced fraud as well. If you are one of these people, you may wish to pursue you own litigation or seek financial relief through a “borrower defense to loan repayment” option.
For more information, visit the Navient AG Multi-State Settlement website.
This story originally appeared on Don't Waste Your Money. Checkout Don't Waste Your Money for product reviews and other great ideas to save and make money. | https://www.wmar2news.com/66k-borrowers-get-1-7-billion-student-debt-canceled | 2022-04-15T09:43:43 | 0 | https://www.wmar2news.com/66k-borrowers-get-1-7-billion-student-debt-canceled |
California’s state government is considering a bill that likely wouldn’t meet much resistance from many full-time workers.
Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, of Bell Gardens, and Assemblymember Evan Low, of San Jose, both Democrats, have introduced legislation meant to improve the work-life balance of millions of Californians. Bill AB-2932 seeks to amend part of the California Labor Code, formally changing the workweek from 40 hours to 32 hours.
Under the proposed legislation, workers would earn the same wages despite working eight fewer hours each week. The law would mean any time worked after the 32-hour mark has been met in a week must be compensated at a rate no lower than one-and-a-half times the regular pay rate.
Aimed at larger workplaces, only California companies with more than 500 employees are the ones that will have to comply if the bill passes. Also, the bill would not apply to workers covered by a collective bargaining agreement.
Garcia told the Los Angeles Times that the departure of employees during the pandemic, widely referred to as the Great Resignation, spurred the idea of the bill.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 47.4 million Americans voluntarily quit their jobs in 2021. By December 2021, there were 58 unemployed workers for every 100 job openings in the United States.
Garcia and other proponents of the bill state that many people left their jobs searching for a better quality of life.
“We’ve had a five-day workweek since the Industrial Revolution,” Garcia told the Los Angeles Times, “but we’ve had a lot of progress in society, and we’ve had a lot of advancements. I think the pandemic right now allows us the opportunity to rethink things, to reimagine things.”
Not everyone is in favor of the idea. For instance, the California Chamber of Commerce argued that the change would increase hiring costs and kill jobs in California.
Supporters of the bill point to case studies in Iceland and at companies such as Kickstarter indicating that reducing the shorter workweek would increase both productivity and profits.
Last year, U.S. Rep. Mark Takano, a Democrat from California, introduced a similar bill at the federal level.
“After a nearly two-year-long pandemic that forced millions of people to explore remote work options, it’s safe to say that we can’t — and shouldn’t — simply go back to normal, because normal wasn’t working,” Takano said after the bill was introduced. “People were spending more time at work, less time with loved ones, their health and well-being was worsening, and all the while, their pay has remained stagnant. This is a serious problem.”
AB-2932 is currently under review by California’s Labor and Employment Committee. The federal bill, H.R. 4728, is still awaiting a vote in the House Education and Labor Committee.
This story originally appeared on Don't Waste Your Money. Checkout Don't Waste Your Money for product reviews and other great ideas to save and make money. | https://www.wmar2news.com/california-bill-4-day-workweek | 2022-04-15T09:43:49 | 1 | https://www.wmar2news.com/california-bill-4-day-workweek |
ANNAPOLIS — Former Anne Arundel County Executive Laura Neuman announced Thursday she has decided not to run for governor and is endorsing Comptroller Peter Franchot in the Democratic primary.
Neuman, who spent most of her career as a tech entrepreneur, was the only woman running in the crowded Democratic primary.
Neuman, a former Republican who later changed her party affiliation, says Franchot has been a life-long advocate for working families, from fighting for better infrastructure and educational outcomes in schools, to being a champion for minority and women-owned businesses.
The candidate filing deadline is 9 p.m. Friday. The primary is July 19. | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/local-news/laura-neuman-decides-not-to-run-for-governor-of-maryland | 2022-04-15T09:43:56 | 1 | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/local-news/laura-neuman-decides-not-to-run-for-governor-of-maryland |
Do you often hear a soft, rhythmic knocking sound emanating from your local tennis courts? Do you sometimes spot cheerful folks toting large ping-pong paddles at the city park?
If so, pickleball has probably invaded your area. This homegrown sport is growing by leaps — USA Pickleball estimates that 4.8 million people in the U.S. play the game as of 2021, with a two-year growth rate of 39.3%.
People looking for outdoor pandemic fun probably helped that number, but the sport has other attractive qualities: It doesn’t require a lot of equipment. You don’t need to be super-athletic to play. And, heck, it’s just fun.
Read on to learn more about this increasingly popular pastime.
What Is Pickleball?
The simplest description of the sport is that it’s a smaller version of tennis. Or perhaps a larger version of ping-pong.
According to the International Federation of Pickleball, the regulation pickleball court measures 44 feet long by 20 feet wide, making it quite a bit smaller than a tennis court. It’s actually the same as a badminton court, but the net is set much lower, at 34 inches in the center.
Players, as singles or doubles, use paddles to smack the ball — a large wiffle ball — back and forth.
The Rules Of Pickleball
Scoring is familiar to racquet-sports fans: The serving team gets a point when the ball bounces on the receiving team’s court without a proper return.
Games are played to 11 points, and must be won by two points.
One wrinkle is the non-volley zone, also known as “the kitchen.” It’s a 7-foot space on each side of the net where players can’t return a ball without it bouncing first. This keeps play a little less aggressive.
There are finer points regarding serves and faults, which you can learn at the IFP website, but that’s the gist.
The Beginnings
One Saturday afternoon in 1965, a Washington state congressman named Joel Pritchard returned home from a round of golf to find his family languishing with summertime boredom.
Inspired, he and his golf buddy, a local businessman named Bill Bell, cobbled together a game for the gang using pieces of sports equipment they had on hand: ping-pong paddles, a plastic ball and a badminton court.
After a few rounds of play, they lowered the badminton net to take advantage of the ball’s bounce — moving from a badminton-type game to a smaller version of tennis.
Eventually, they introduced their pal Barney McCallum to their invention, and the three men worked up rules. Pickleball was born!
OK, But Why “Pickle” Ball?
This has been a source of dispute, but an investigation by Pickleball Magazine, published in 2021, uncovered the full story.
Joan Pritchard, the wife of Joel Pritchard, came up with the name. A fan of crew racing, she connected pickleball’s mishmash of sports to crew’s “pickle boat” — a just-for-fun collection of rowers who didn’t make it into the racing boats. The Pritchards’ son, Frank, confirmed the story.
“I feel strongly about giving my mom credit for naming the game — it’s her little piece of pickleball history,” he told Pickleball Mag.
So, if someone tells you the game is named for the Pritchards’ dog, Pickles, set them straight. (The family did have a dog named Pickles, but it came along after the game was invented.)
How To Play
First, gather your equipment: You can find pickleball paddles and balls on Amazon and at sporting-goods stores. Beyond that, you just need comfy clothes, sun protection and maybe some new pickleball shoes if you wish.
Parks and recreation centers across the country have installed pickleball courts over the years. A few clicks on USA Pickleball’s Places2Play website offers detailed info on indoor and outdoor courts near you.
In a pinch, you can use a tennis court, too. Chalk or tape can temporarily mark the pickleball lines, and the net should be lowered two inches — but that last bit probably isn’t necessary if you’re just playing for fun.
Be sure to get permission from the court’s management before you mark anything, however. And whatever you do, don’t use permanent marker.
Once you’re geared up and have a place to play, it’s time to hit the court. Happy pickling!
This story originally appeared on Don't Waste Your Money. Checkout Don't Waste Your Money for product reviews and other great ideas to save and make money. | https://www.wmar2news.com/what-is-pickleball-how-to-play | 2022-04-15T09:44:02 | 0 | https://www.wmar2news.com/what-is-pickleball-how-to-play |
BUFFALO’S BEST DETAILS
Buffalo’s Best is the official way to celebrate all things Buffalo and Western New York because this is where YOU decide the best of the best!
Join the thousands of people every week who make their voices heard. We need your expertise, your insight, your taste buds. Come on and tell us who is Buffalo’s Best!
Nominations
Each week we will have an open call for nominations on that week’s topic, which runs from 5 a.m. Friday until 9 a.m. Tuesday.
Voting
Voting on the top four nominees runs 12 p.m. Tuesday until 9 a.m. Thursday.
Big Reveal
The winner will be revealed, as voted on by you, Friday morning on News 4 Wake Up!
*Winning locations must be within the WIVB-TV viewing area.
Latest Posts
MORE | See the previous Buffalo’s Best winners here. | https://www.wivb.com/buffalos-best/where-is-buffalos-best-polish-dish/ | 2022-04-15T09:53:31 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/buffalos-best/where-is-buffalos-best-polish-dish/ |
Biden picks Michael Barr for Fed’s bank regulation post
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Friday he plans to nominate Michael Barr, the dean of the University of Michigan’s public policy school, to be the Federal Reserve’s vice chairman of supervision.
The selection of Barr comes after Biden’s first choice for the Fed post, Sarah Bloom Raskin, withdrew her nomination a month ago in the face of opposition from Republicans and one Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Raskin’s critics had argued that she would apply the Fed’s regulatory authority to climate change and possibly discourage banks from lending to energy companies.
But with Barr, Biden noted the importance of politics in a Friday statement that said his nominee had previously cleared the Senate on a bipartisan basis.
“Michael brings the expertise and experience necessary for this important position at a critical time for our economy and families across the country,” Biden said.
The Democratic president said that Barr “has spent his career protecting consumers, and during his time at Treasury, played a critical role in creating both the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the position for which I am nominating him.”
Barr is the dean of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. He was an assistant Treasury secretary for financial institutions during the Obama administration who helped design the 2010 Dodd-Frank regulations after the devastating 2008 financial crisis.
Barr, a Rhodes Scholar who clerked for Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court, also served during the Clinton administration at the White House, the Treasury Department and the State Department.
Despite those credentials, some liberal critics last year blocked Barr’s candidacy to become the Biden administration’s comptroller of the currency, a position that is responsible for regulating national banks. These critics viewed with suspicion Barr’s role on the advisory boards of the financial firms Lending Club and Ripple Labs. They also asserted that he had helped dilute proposals for stricter bank regulations during the Obama administration.
But Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, the Democratic chairman of the Banking Committee, voiced full support for Barr.
“Michael Barr understands the importance of this role at this critical time in our economic recovery,” Brown said. “I strongly urge my Republican colleagues to abandon their old playbook of personal attacks and demagoguery and put Americans and their pocketbooks first.”
Others offer strong praise for Barr and say he appears well suited for the Fed position.
David Dworkin, president of the National Housing Conference, which advocates for affordable housing, suggested that Barr’s understanding of Wall Street gives him the right mix of “centrist expertise and progressive policy views’' to win confirmation in a closely divided Senate.
Barr would be joining the Fed at an especially challenging and high-risk period for the central bank and the economy.
The Fed is set to raise interest rates aggressively in the coming months to try to reduce persistently high inflation. Yet it will be extraordinarily difficult for Fed Chair Jerome Powell — who is awaiting Senate confirmation for a second term — to slow inflation by raising borrowing costs without also weakening the economy and perhaps even causing a recession.
“This is about landing a very complicated plane on the runway smoothly,” Dworkin said. “It’s very hard to do.”
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/15/biden-picks-michael-barr-feds-bank-regulation-post/ | 2022-04-15T09:55:46 | 0 | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/15/biden-picks-michael-barr-feds-bank-regulation-post/ |
Biden picks Michael Barr for Fed’s bank regulation post
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Friday he plans to nominate Michael Barr, the dean of the University of Michigan’s public policy school, to be the Federal Reserve’s vice chairman of supervision.
The selection of Barr comes after Biden’s first choice for the Fed post, Sarah Bloom Raskin, withdrew her nomination a month ago in the face of opposition from Republicans and one Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Raskin’s critics had argued that she would apply the Fed’s regulatory authority to climate change and possibly discourage banks from lending to energy companies.
But with Barr, Biden noted the importance of politics in a Friday statement that said his nominee had previously cleared the Senate on a bipartisan basis.
“Michael brings the expertise and experience necessary for this important position at a critical time for our economy and families across the country,” Biden said.
The Democratic president said that Barr “has spent his career protecting consumers, and during his time at Treasury, played a critical role in creating both the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the position for which I am nominating him.”
Barr is the dean of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. He was an assistant Treasury secretary for financial institutions during the Obama administration who helped design the 2010 Dodd-Frank regulations after the devastating 2008 financial crisis.
Barr, a Rhodes Scholar who clerked for Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court, also served during the Clinton administration at the White House, the Treasury Department and the State Department.
Despite those credentials, some liberal critics last year blocked Barr’s candidacy to become the Biden administration’s comptroller of the currency, a position that is responsible for regulating national banks. These critics viewed with suspicion Barr’s role on the advisory boards of the financial firms Lending Club and Ripple Labs. They also asserted that he had helped dilute proposals for stricter bank regulations during the Obama administration.
But Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, the Democratic chairman of the Banking Committee, voiced full support for Barr.
“Michael Barr understands the importance of this role at this critical time in our economic recovery,” Brown said. “I strongly urge my Republican colleagues to abandon their old playbook of personal attacks and demagoguery and put Americans and their pocketbooks first.”
Others offer strong praise for Barr and say he appears well suited for the Fed position.
David Dworkin, president of the National Housing Conference, which advocates for affordable housing, suggested that Barr’s understanding of Wall Street gives him the right mix of “centrist expertise and progressive policy views’' to win confirmation in a closely divided Senate.
Barr would be joining the Fed at an especially challenging and high-risk period for the central bank and the economy.
The Fed is set to raise interest rates aggressively in the coming months to try to reduce persistently high inflation. Yet it will be extraordinarily difficult for Fed Chair Jerome Powell — who is awaiting Senate confirmation for a second term — to slow inflation by raising borrowing costs without also weakening the economy and perhaps even causing a recession.
“This is about landing a very complicated plane on the runway smoothly,” Dworkin said. “It’s very hard to do.”
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wflx.com/2022/04/15/biden-picks-michael-barr-feds-bank-regulation-post/ | 2022-04-15T10:03:19 | 1 | https://www.wflx.com/2022/04/15/biden-picks-michael-barr-feds-bank-regulation-post/ |
As Jackie Robinson prepared to take the field as the first Black player in modern baseball history on Opening Day 75 years ago this Friday, an Associated Press reporter asked if he had any butterflies in his stomach.
“Not a one,” Robinson replied, with a grin. “I wish I could say I did because then maybe I’d have an alibi if I don’t do so good. But I won’t be able to use that as an alibi.”
Some of Robinson’s teammates had organized a petition opposing playing with him. Rickey quickly snuffed out the protest, letting the players know he’d trade anyone who wasn’t on board. It was in that pressure-cooker atmosphere in the dugout that Robinson stepped out on the diamond on April 15 to break baseball’s color barrier.
As the team’s first baseman that day in 1947, Robinson saw action right from the start. Boston Braves hitter Dick Culler led off the game with a ground ball to third baseman John "Spider" Jorgensen, who threw to Robinson. As the ball smacked into his glove, fans roared their approval for this routine yet historic out. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/sports/what-happened-the-day-jackie-robinson-made-his-mlb-debut-75-years-ago/3647625/ | 2022-04-15T10:03:59 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/sports/what-happened-the-day-jackie-robinson-made-his-mlb-debut-75-years-ago/3647625/ |
The United States Football League relaunches Saturday, playing its first game since 1985. NPR's A Martinez talks to author Jeff Pearlman about the earlier rise and demise of the league.
Copyright 2022 NPR
The United States Football League relaunches Saturday, playing its first game since 1985. NPR's A Martinez talks to author Jeff Pearlman about the earlier rise and demise of the league.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.mainepublic.org/2022-04-15/a-football-league-that-collapsed-spectacularly-in-the-1980s-is-coming-back | 2022-04-15T10:07:29 | 1 | https://www.mainepublic.org/2022-04-15/a-football-league-that-collapsed-spectacularly-in-the-1980s-is-coming-back |
Jim Danoksy owner of a Bella Pizza in Allen Park, Mich., which is outside of Detroit, let the Gomez family use his kitchen rent free for six years while they started Detroit Salsa Company.
Copyright 2022 NPR
Jim Danoksy owner of a Bella Pizza in Allen Park, Mich., which is outside of Detroit, let the Gomez family use his kitchen rent free for six years while they started Detroit Salsa Company.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.mainepublic.org/2022-04-15/detroit-salsa-company-gets-off-the-ground-with-the-help-of-a-local-pizzeria | 2022-04-15T10:07:35 | 0 | https://www.mainepublic.org/2022-04-15/detroit-salsa-company-gets-off-the-ground-with-the-help-of-a-local-pizzeria |
A study suggests babies are aware that people who are willing to share saliva, through kissing or sharing spoons, have especially close relationships. (Story aired on ATC on Jan. 20, 2022.)
Copyright 2022 NPR
A study suggests babies are aware that people who are willing to share saliva, through kissing or sharing spoons, have especially close relationships. (Story aired on ATC on Jan. 20, 2022.)
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.mainepublic.org/2022-04-15/encore-babies-and-toddlers-know-that-swapping-saliva-is-a-sure-sign-of-love | 2022-04-15T10:07:41 | 0 | https://www.mainepublic.org/2022-04-15/encore-babies-and-toddlers-know-that-swapping-saliva-is-a-sure-sign-of-love |
Stephanie Grisham has moved to a remote, Trump-loving Kansas town, where she's crafting an argument against the former president that respects her neighbor's devotion to him.
Copyright 2022 KCUR 89.3
Stephanie Grisham has moved to a remote, Trump-loving Kansas town, where she's crafting an argument against the former president that respects her neighbor's devotion to him.
Copyright 2022 KCUR 89.3 | https://www.mainepublic.org/2022-04-15/ex-trump-whitehouse-press-secretary-is-now-working-against-the-former-president | 2022-04-15T10:07:47 | 0 | https://www.mainepublic.org/2022-04-15/ex-trump-whitehouse-press-secretary-is-now-working-against-the-former-president |
NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Louis Virelli, a law professor at Stetson University in Florida, about whether Supreme Court justices should recuse themselves from certain cases.
Copyright 2022 NPR
NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Louis Virelli, a law professor at Stetson University in Florida, about whether Supreme Court justices should recuse themselves from certain cases.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.mainepublic.org/2022-04-15/examining-whats-involved-with-a-supeme-court-justices-recusal | 2022-04-15T10:07:53 | 0 | https://www.mainepublic.org/2022-04-15/examining-whats-involved-with-a-supeme-court-justices-recusal |
How Jackie Robinson inspired one man 'to be somebody' Published April 15, 2022 at 5:16 AM EDT Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email It's been 75 years since Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier. In this week's StoryCorps, we hear from a man who watched him play. Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.mainepublic.org/2022-04-15/how-jackie-robinson-inspired-one-man-to-be-somebody | 2022-04-15T10:08:00 | 0 | https://www.mainepublic.org/2022-04-15/how-jackie-robinson-inspired-one-man-to-be-somebody |
The receipt dates back to an exhibition in the 1950s. French artist Yves Klein charged money to see his so-called invisible art. He later sold the art for gold and gave receipts.
Copyright 2022 NPR
The receipt dates back to an exhibition in the 1950s. French artist Yves Klein charged money to see his so-called invisible art. He later sold the art for gold and gave receipts.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.mainepublic.org/2022-04-15/in-paris-an-art-collector-paid-1-2-million-for-a-receipt | 2022-04-15T10:08:06 | 0 | https://www.mainepublic.org/2022-04-15/in-paris-an-art-collector-paid-1-2-million-for-a-receipt |
Inflation isn't just an American problem — it's happening in places around the world and stretching some countries to the point of political unrest.Many
Scott Horsley is NPR's Chief Economics Correspondent. He reports on ups and downs in the national economy as well as fault lines between booming and busting communities.
Carrie Kahn is NPR's International Correspondent based in Mexico City, Mexico. She covers Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America. Kahn's reports can be heard on NPR's award-winning news programs including All Things Considered, Morning Edition and Weekend Edition, and on NPR.org.
Lauren Frayer covers India for NPR News. In June 2018, she opened a new NPR bureau in India's biggest city, its financial center, and the heart of Bollywood—Mumbai. | https://www.mainepublic.org/2022-04-15/many-countries-are-seeing-the-worst-inflation-in-decades | 2022-04-15T10:08:12 | 0 | https://www.mainepublic.org/2022-04-15/many-countries-are-seeing-the-worst-inflation-in-decades |
Morning news brief By Steve Inskeep, Leila Fadel Published April 15, 2022 at 5:16 AM EDT Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Listen • 11:07 A damaged Russian warship sinks as it was being towed to a Black Sea port. Are the sanctions imposed on Russia working? Elon Musk launches a hostile $43 billion takeover attempt of Twitter. Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.mainepublic.org/2022-04-15/morning-news-brief | 2022-04-15T10:08:18 | 1 | https://www.mainepublic.org/2022-04-15/morning-news-brief |
East of Los Angeles, giant warehouses and distribution centers are replacing farms in an area known as the Inland Empire. The logistics industry is changing what was once an agricultural landscape.
Copyright 2022 NPR
East of Los Angeles, giant warehouses and distribution centers are replacing farms in an area known as the Inland Empire. The logistics industry is changing what was once an agricultural landscape.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.mainepublic.org/2022-04-15/prime-farmland-in-ontario-calif-is-being-overtaken-by-warehouses | 2022-04-15T10:08:24 | 1 | https://www.mainepublic.org/2022-04-15/prime-farmland-in-ontario-calif-is-being-overtaken-by-warehouses |
Russian President Vladimir Putin asserts that sanctions have failed By Steve Inskeep, Charles Maynes Published April 15, 2022 at 5:16 AM EDT Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Listen • 3:43 More than a month into sanctions against Russia for its war in Ukraine, we look at whether and how Russians are feeling the impact. Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.mainepublic.org/2022-04-15/russian-president-vladimir-putin-asserts-that-sanctions-have-failed | 2022-04-15T10:08:30 | 0 | https://www.mainepublic.org/2022-04-15/russian-president-vladimir-putin-asserts-that-sanctions-have-failed |
In January, 39 state attorney general offices announced that one of the nation’s largest student loan servicers would resolve allegations of widespread unfair, deceptive and abusive practices.
Lawsuits claimed that Navient improperly drove some federal student loan borrowers into forbearance instead of federal student loan relief programs. Allegations stated that the provider knew that borrowers attending predatory for-profit schools would be unlikely to be able to repay the high-interest private student loans.
The attorneys general reported that if the company had provided the help it promised, borrowers could have had payments reduced, received subsidies or attained debt forgiveness.
“Navient repeatedly and deliberately put profits ahead of its borrowers — it engaged in deceptive and abusive practices, targeted students who it knew would struggle to pay loans back, and placed an unfair burden on people trying to improve their lives through education,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Shapiro said in a statement. “Today’s settlement corrects Navient’s past behavior, provides much-needed relief to Pennsylvania borrowers, and puts in place safeguards to ensure this company never preys on student loan borrowers again.”
Although Navient has denied any wrongdoing and has admitted no liability as part of the agreement, the company will provide relief totaling $1.85 billion to settle litigation.
Navient will cancel the remaining balance on $1.7 billion in subprime private student loans owed by nearly 66,000 borrowers nationwide as part of the settlement. In addition, the company will make a total of $95 million in restitution payments of about $260 each to approximately 350,000 borrowers in certain types of long-term forbearances.
How To Qualify For Settlement Relief
If you are eligible for the private loan cancellation under the settlement, you do not need to take any action. Navient will notify eligible private loan borrowers in writing by July 2022.
However, since the settlement administrator will send postcards this spring, you are encouraged to ensure your contact information in your studentaid.gov account is current. You can create an account if you do not already have one.
Note that you must reside in one of the restitution-participating states in order to receive relief. Debt relief will primarily go to those borrowers who made loans through Sallie Mae, the name by which Navient was previously known, between 2002-2014, and had at least seven months of delinquent payments before June 30, 2021.
Some borrowers who continue to pay off their loans and remain in good standing with Navient have criticized this settlement, which offers them no relief despite the fact that they may have experienced fraud as well. If you are one of these people, you may wish to pursue you own litigation or seek financial relief through a “borrower defense to loan repayment” option.
For more information, visit the Navient AG Multi-State Settlement website.
This story originally appeared on Don't Waste Your Money. Checkout Don't Waste Your Money for product reviews and other great ideas to save and make money. | https://www.wrtv.com/66k-borrowers-get-1-7-billion-student-debt-canceled | 2022-04-15T10:08:36 | 1 | https://www.wrtv.com/66k-borrowers-get-1-7-billion-student-debt-canceled |
The Republican National Committee voted unanimously on Thursday to withdraw from the Commission on Presidential Debates, calling the organization biased.
Copyright 2022 NPR
The Republican National Committee voted unanimously on Thursday to withdraw from the Commission on Presidential Debates, calling the organization biased.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.mainepublic.org/2022-04-15/the-rnc-is-severing-ties-with-the-nonprofit-that-runs-presidential-debates | 2022-04-15T10:08:36 | 0 | https://www.mainepublic.org/2022-04-15/the-rnc-is-severing-ties-with-the-nonprofit-that-runs-presidential-debates |
California’s state government is considering a bill that likely wouldn’t meet much resistance from many full-time workers.
Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, of Bell Gardens, and Assemblymember Evan Low, of San Jose, both Democrats, have introduced legislation meant to improve the work-life balance of millions of Californians. Bill AB-2932 seeks to amend part of the California Labor Code, formally changing the workweek from 40 hours to 32 hours.
Under the proposed legislation, workers would earn the same wages despite working eight fewer hours each week. The law would mean any time worked after the 32-hour mark has been met in a week must be compensated at a rate no lower than one-and-a-half times the regular pay rate.
Aimed at larger workplaces, only California companies with more than 500 employees are the ones that will have to comply if the bill passes. Also, the bill would not apply to workers covered by a collective bargaining agreement.
Garcia told the Los Angeles Times that the departure of employees during the pandemic, widely referred to as the Great Resignation, spurred the idea of the bill.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 47.4 million Americans voluntarily quit their jobs in 2021. By December 2021, there were 58 unemployed workers for every 100 job openings in the United States.
Garcia and other proponents of the bill state that many people left their jobs searching for a better quality of life.
“We’ve had a five-day workweek since the Industrial Revolution,” Garcia told the Los Angeles Times, “but we’ve had a lot of progress in society, and we’ve had a lot of advancements. I think the pandemic right now allows us the opportunity to rethink things, to reimagine things.”
Not everyone is in favor of the idea. For instance, the California Chamber of Commerce argued that the change would increase hiring costs and kill jobs in California.
Supporters of the bill point to case studies in Iceland and at companies such as Kickstarter indicating that reducing the shorter workweek would increase both productivity and profits.
Last year, U.S. Rep. Mark Takano, a Democrat from California, introduced a similar bill at the federal level.
“After a nearly two-year-long pandemic that forced millions of people to explore remote work options, it’s safe to say that we can’t — and shouldn’t — simply go back to normal, because normal wasn’t working,” Takano said after the bill was introduced. “People were spending more time at work, less time with loved ones, their health and well-being was worsening, and all the while, their pay has remained stagnant. This is a serious problem.”
AB-2932 is currently under review by California’s Labor and Employment Committee. The federal bill, H.R. 4728, is still awaiting a vote in the House Education and Labor Committee.
This story originally appeared on Don't Waste Your Money. Checkout Don't Waste Your Money for product reviews and other great ideas to save and make money. | https://www.wrtv.com/california-bill-4-day-workweek | 2022-04-15T10:08:40 | 1 | https://www.wrtv.com/california-bill-4-day-workweek |
NPR's Leila Fadel speaks to Kate Klonick, a law professor at St. John's university in New York, about the possible impact on free speech if Elon Musk were to take over Twitter.
Copyright 2022 NPR
NPR's Leila Fadel speaks to Kate Klonick, a law professor at St. John's university in New York, about the possible impact on free speech if Elon Musk were to take over Twitter.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.mainepublic.org/2022-04-15/what-would-happen-to-free-speech-if-elon-musk-bought-twitter | 2022-04-15T10:08:43 | 0 | https://www.mainepublic.org/2022-04-15/what-would-happen-to-free-speech-if-elon-musk-bought-twitter |
Food delivery soared during the pandemic shutdowns, and now many of us don't want to give it up. After all, what's easier than sitting on your couch and ordering dinner, then having it show up a half-hour later?
Unfortunately, some people have discovered one shortcoming: restaurants closing early due to staffing shortages, but not alerting their apps or delivery drivers.
Orders online, then wait and wait and wait
Josh Stinson now visits his nearby Subway store in person when he wants his favorite sub sandwich. He says he no longer trusts online ordering after a bad experience.
"I ordered some sandwiches from the Subway app," he said. "They use DoorDash to deliver it."
His subway receipt shows his 8 p.m. order was "in the works," with a delivery time of 8:41 pm that evening. But he waited and waited and waited.
"They took my order, they took my money, and then about 40 minutes later I get a call from the driver saying they are not open, so there was nothing the driver could do," he said.
Worse, the $30 he spent for two subs and sides was gone, and he found it would take a lot of effort to get it refunded.
"I came into the store on Monday and asked about getting my money back," Stinson said, "but they told me I had to contact corporate, and there was nothing they can do at the store."
Online forums fill with complaints about early closings
It's not just Subway facing this complaint, as Redditt forums are filled with posts about fast food restaurants closing early, and no food waiting for the driver at pickup time.
When you open up a delivery app you should see all the restaurants near you, along with if they are open or closed, or closing soon.
But Stinson says some employees told him that if a franchise closes early, it might still take an order.
"They told me if they don't log out of their registers, it can accept orders even if they are not even open," he said.
We sent multiple emails and made several calls to Subway's corporate headquarters, but never received a call or message back. The franchise owner did not return our call either.
DoorDash states that if a restaurant is closed, it will pay half the driver's pay for his time lost, but customer refunds are up to the restaurant.
With most restaurants facing staffing shortages, early closings are a lot more common than before.
So you may want to:
- Check closing times before ordering.
- If it is almost closing time, you may want to call.
Stinson says he'll be more careful in the future, and you should too, so you don't waste your money. | https://www.wrtv.com/money/consumer/dont-waste-your-money/food-ordering-surprise-app-takes-order-but-restaurant-is-closed | 2022-04-15T10:08:45 | 1 | https://www.wrtv.com/money/consumer/dont-waste-your-money/food-ordering-surprise-app-takes-order-but-restaurant-is-closed |
INDIANAPOLIS — The hurt from the FedEx mass shooting still radiates through the Sikh community, including Amarjeet Johal's family.
One year after this tragedy, they're reflecting on the memory she leaves behind and the changes they want to see made moving forward.
Amarjeet's family describes her as a beloved mother, grandmother, and sister.
Someone whose absence will never be filled.
“They're not going to know the hole that we have… and it can't ever be filled,” said her son Narinder Johal.
"You lose a body part and your handicapped," he said. "That's what we are."
Narinder lost a piece of his heart on April 15, when the FedEx mass shooter took his mother's life. He said, "(she was the ) Greatest person ever… yeah."
Komal Chohan said she now has a void too because Amarjeet was more than just her relative.
"She represents like every mom, every grandma, that is so actively involved in the lives of their children and their grandchildren,” said Komal.
Pictures and home videos shared by family members show Amarjeet's prioritized her friends, community and most importantly, her family.
Chohan cooked and made everyone feel welcomed. Amarjeet woke up early just to see her grand baby's off to school. Then on that Thursday in April, she worked her usual shift.
It was her 66th birthday, on April 13. Her granddaughter's birthday was that Friday, April 16.
One year later, and the loss still brings tears to her family's eyes.
Narinder said, "She put up a big fight for our life to raise us… and it was our turn. And we just didn't have enough time."
Her kids gladly took care of her. She didn't need to work, but Narinder said her free time was stolen. Narinder said Amarjeet thought working at FedEx was a flexible way to keep busy and socialize.
At the time of the shooting, at least eight of their family members were inside working at 8951 Mirabel Road.
Now, Amarjeet's family say's they've joined a club no one wants to be a part of - of people that are often forgotten.
"Frustrated and like invisible, right. Like frustrated because it feels like the only people that ever advocate to deal with fun violence are the families that are affected and everybody else is gone,” said Komal
She said something must change. Komal believes the shooter's mother tried to get her son help, hoping the red flag law would work.
"Everybody's question is who are these laws being applied to, if they're not being applied in this situation?” said Komal.
For Amarjeet's family, employee safety fell short. "They've got security there behind the gate, to protect the merchandise," Komal said "There's no like security to enter into the actual facility."
Narinder said it's not about guns.
"I'm a gun owner, you know. But guns they're there to protect you, not to hurt somebody else,” said Narinder.
One year later, it's about making sure others don't lose a piece of their heart too, in a senseless mass shooting.
Narinder said, "I don't care about what people say, I just want people to learn… hey… don't hurt other people's family."
FEDEX ONE YEAR COVERAGE | First recipient named in Samaria Blackwell Memorial Scholarship | Mother of FedEx shooter supports lawsuit against FedEx, Securitas | Five families of FedEx victims file lawsuit | Sikh community honors victims of the FedEx shooting | https://www.wrtv.com/news/local-news/crime/fedex-shooting/fedex-victim-amarjeet-johals-family-says-her-death-left-a-big-hole-it-cant-ever-be-filled | 2022-04-15T10:08:46 | 1 | https://www.wrtv.com/news/local-news/crime/fedex-shooting/fedex-victim-amarjeet-johals-family-says-her-death-left-a-big-hole-it-cant-ever-be-filled |
INDIANAPOLIS — “Live a Good Story"
It’s a phrase the family of 32-year-old Matthew Alexander coined as they work through their grief, while also focusing on keeping his legacy alive.
“Because that is what Matt did for 32 years, he lived a good story,” Brad Alexander, Matt’s dad said.
Brad describes his son as a warm person who would do anything for you. The Butler University graduate was a bachelor, he loved to travel and bought his first home in Avon, his hometown, just a few years ago.
“There is a big void in our family now we miss him,” Debbie Alexander, Matt’s mom said.
Matt loved sports. His favorite NFL team was the Buffalo Bills.
“It just so happened this past year, the weekend before Thanksgiving the Colts played in Buffalo,” Debbie said.
Twelve of Matt’s friends drove to Buffalo and met the Alexander’s for the weekend. Along with them, a jersey with Matt’s nickname and high school baseball number.
“They had a Bills jersey made with Zander 16 on the back and that jersey went when they tailgated,” Debbie said.
Matt's birthday is March 11th. This year, his family celebrated at a place he would’ve loved to visit.
“We went to Topgolf because that's what he wanted to do last year and he was too stubborn to call and make reservations, so the wait was too long, so we went bowling,” Debbie said.
The Alexanders will continue to honor Matt and remember him and his love for sports through the Matthew Alexander Memorial Scholarship Fund
This spring they will give away the first scholarship. The amount, $16,000, in honor of #16 that Matt wore on the baseball field at Avon High School.
“We're going to be going to the high school games to watch the kids play looking for a young man that displays the same qualities that Matt did,” Debbie said.
Qualities like teamwork and kindness, that’s what they will be looking for in the player who receives the scholarship.
Wearing hoodies with the “Live a Good Story” printed on the front, Debbie & Brad, along with their daughter Michelle, Matt’s sister, met WRTV at the Avon Junior Athletic field. A place where they are honoring Matt, on the very fields he once played on.
On a wall at the field is a mural that reads “Live a Good Story - Matt Alexander #16.
This summer, they will hold another baseball tournament on July 16 and 17 at the AJA ball fields in order to continue raising money for the scholarship fund. A softball tournament will also be held in Avon later this summer.
FEDEX ONE YEAR COVERAGE | First recipient named in Samaria Blackwell Memorial Scholarship | Mother of FedEx shooter supports lawsuit against FedEx, Securitas | Five families of FedEx victims file lawsuit | Sikh community honors victims of the FedEx shooting | https://www.wrtv.com/news/local-news/crime/fedex-shooting/fedex-victim-matthew-alexanders-family-want-others-to-live-a-good-story-in-his-memory | 2022-04-15T10:08:46 | 0 | https://www.wrtv.com/news/local-news/crime/fedex-shooting/fedex-victim-matthew-alexanders-family-want-others-to-live-a-good-story-in-his-memory |
Updated April 15, 2022 at 2:00 AM ET
JERUSALEM — Palestinians clashed with Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem before dawn on Friday as thousands gathered for prayers during the holy month of Ramadan. Medics said that at least 152 Palestinians were wounded.
The holy site, which is sacred to Jews and Muslims, has often been the epicenter of Israeli-Palestinian unrest, and tensions were already heightened amid a recent wave of violence. Clashes at the site last year helped spark an 11-day war with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
The clashes come at a particularly sensitive time. Ramadan this year coincides with Passover, a major weeklong Jewish holiday beginning Friday at sundown, and Christian holy week, which culminates on Easter Sunday. The holidays are expected to bring tens of thousands of faithful into Jerusalem's Old City, home to major sites sacred to all three religions.
Hours after the clashes began, the police said they had put an end to the violence and arrested "hundreds" of suspects. They said the mosque was re-opened and that Friday's midday prayers would take place as usual. Tens of thousands of people were expected.
Israeli authorities said they had earlier held negotiations with Muslim leaders to ensure calm and allow the prayers to take place, but that Palestinian youths hurled stones at the Mughrabi Gate, which leads to the Western Wall, a major Jewish holy site, triggering the violence.
Palestinian witnesses, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of security concerns, said a small group of Palestinians threw rocks at police, who then entered the compound in force, setting off a wider conflagration.
Videos circulating online showed Palestinians throwing rocks and fireworks and police firing tear gas and stun grenades on the sprawling esplanade surrounding the mosque. Others showed worshippers barricading themselves inside the mosque.
Later in the morning, Israeli police entered the mosque itself. Israeli security forces rarely enter the building, and when they do it is seen by Palestinians as a major escalation.
The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service said it treated 152 people, many of them wounded by rubber-coated bullets or stun grenades, or beaten with batons. The endowment said one of the guards at the site was shot in the eye with a rubber bullet.
The Israeli police said three officers were wounded from "massive stone-throwing," with two evacuated from the scene for treatment.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said that dozens of masked men carrying Palestinian and Hamas flags had marched to the compound before dawn on Friday and gathered stones and other objects in anticipation of unrest.
"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.
Palestinians view any large deployment of police at Al-Aqsa as a major provocation.
Israel's national security minister, Omer Barlev, who oversees the police force, said Israel had "no interest" in violence at the holy site but that police were forced to confront "violent elements" that attacked them with stones and metal bars. He said Israel was committed to freedom of worship for Jews and Muslims alike.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, speaking at a holiday gathering with security officials, said authorities "are working to calm things on the Temple Mount and throughout Israel. At the same time, we are prepared for any scenario."
The mosque is the third holiest site in Islam. It is built on a hilltop in Jerusalem's Old City that is the most sacred site for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount because it was the site of the Jewish temples in antiquity. It has been a major flashpoint for Israeli-Palestinian violence for decades and was the epicenter of the 2000-2005 Palestinian intifada, or uprising.
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.
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, according to an Associated Press count, 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.
Weeks of protests and clashes in Jerusalem during Ramadan last year eventually ignited an 11-day war with Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules the Gaza Strip.
Israel had lifted restrictions and taken other steps to try and calm tensions ahead of Ramadan, but the attacks and the military raids have brought about another cycle of unrest.
Hamas condemned what it said were "brutal attacks" on worshippers at Al-Aqsa, saying Israel would bear "all the consequences."
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.
A radical Jewish group recently called on people to bring animals to the site in order to sacrifice them for Passover, offering cash rewards for those who succeeded or even tried. Israeli police work to prevent such activities, but the call was widely circulated by Palestinians on social media, along with calls for Muslims to prevent any sacrifices from taking place.
Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, the rabbi of the Western Wall, issued a statement calling on Muslim leaders to act to stop the violence. It also noted that "bringing a sacrifice to the Temple Mount today is in opposition to the decision of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel."
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.mainepublic.org/npr-news/2022-04-15/clashes-erupt-at-jerusalem-holy-site-over-150-palestinians-injured | 2022-04-15T10:08:49 | 1 | https://www.mainepublic.org/npr-news/2022-04-15/clashes-erupt-at-jerusalem-holy-site-over-150-palestinians-injured |
Last Sunday, U.S. officials confirmed that General Aleksandr Dvornikov had been appointed to lead Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in a grim omen that it may pursue even more ruthless tactics in the ongoing war.
Dvornikov has been called "the butcher of Syria," having lead a brutal campaign in Syria's civil war in 2015.
He has already been behind some of the most devastating attacks on Ukraine, including in the southern city of Mariupol, which has been all but obliterated, and the missile strike on a train station that killed at least 50 people.
In an interview on All Things Considered, Elizabeth Tsurkov, a fellow at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Foreign Policy, broke down Dvornikov's past experience as a military commander and what his new position could mean for the next phase of the war.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Interview Highlights
On who Dvornikov is and what he has done
Russia does not release information about the personality or special characteristics of the person, but we can judge him by his actions.
Dvornikov oversaw the start of the Russian intervention in the war in Syria from September 2015 until July 2016, when he was replaced by another general.
And looking at his record during that time, he oversaw a campaign that combined a great deal of disinformation and lies — presenting the fighting that is happening in Syria as one that is targeting terrorism and ISIS, even though he did not target ISIS.
On Dvornikov's reputation for being ruthless
The Russians ended up destroying eastern Aleppo to retake it from the rebels. This entailed use of unguided bombs that hit indiscriminately, as well as cluster munition, as well as thermobaric weapons.
These [thermobaric weapons] are weapons that are often mislabeled, including in the conflict right now in Ukraine, as white phosphorus.
[Ukrainians are] instead being hit by thermite, which is significantly hotter than white phosphorus. Thermite is used to melt metal, so you can only imagine what happens to the human body when it is hit with thermite.
And we are also seeing in Ukraine strikes on hospitals, on bakeries. These are all tactics that were used extensively under Dvornikov in Syria.
On whether Dvornikov faces a tougher fight in Ukraine
The conflict in Syria is matched by its brutality, to some extent, with the Ukrainian one, unfortunately.
But in other aspects, it is quite different. In Ukraine, the Russians are forced to fight a proper military that is well supplied and well organized, as opposed to disparate rebel groups that are not united, or are poorly supplied.
But when faced with a proper military, we're basically seeing really kind of embarrassing defeats that now apparently Dvornikov is supposed to prevent from recurring.
On what we should expect from his tenure
The conflict is likely to get bloodier, not because Dvornikov has been put in charge, per se, but because the Russians are unable to achieve the victory that they expected to achieve very quickly.
So now unable to achieve those military goals, they are basically returning to their kind of default mode, which is massive use of indiscriminate fire. When Dvornikov took over the command of Russian forces in Syria, [he basically destroyed] the city and lead to mass displacement that has not been addressed. People remain displaced from their homes till this day.
Hopefully in the case of Ukraine, when this war ends and people will be able to return to their homes, countries will provide resources to allow people to return and not perpetuate basically a situation of permanent displacement and exile that Syrians continue to suffer through.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.mainepublic.org/npr-news/2022-04-15/what-the-ruthless-new-commander-of-russias-military-in-ukraine-signals-for-the-war | 2022-04-15T10:08:55 | 1 | https://www.mainepublic.org/npr-news/2022-04-15/what-the-ruthless-new-commander-of-russias-military-in-ukraine-signals-for-the-war |
Do you often hear a soft, rhythmic knocking sound emanating from your local tennis courts? Do you sometimes spot cheerful folks toting large ping-pong paddles at the city park?
If so, pickleball has probably invaded your area. This homegrown sport is growing by leaps — USA Pickleball estimates that 4.8 million people in the U.S. play the game as of 2021, with a two-year growth rate of 39.3%.
People looking for outdoor pandemic fun probably helped that number, but the sport has other attractive qualities: It doesn’t require a lot of equipment. You don’t need to be super-athletic to play. And, heck, it’s just fun.
Read on to learn more about this increasingly popular pastime.
What Is Pickleball?
The simplest description of the sport is that it’s a smaller version of tennis. Or perhaps a larger version of ping-pong.
According to the International Federation of Pickleball, the regulation pickleball court measures 44 feet long by 20 feet wide, making it quite a bit smaller than a tennis court. It’s actually the same as a badminton court, but the net is set much lower, at 34 inches in the center.
Players, as singles or doubles, use paddles to smack the ball — a large wiffle ball — back and forth.
The Rules Of Pickleball
Scoring is familiar to racquet-sports fans: The serving team gets a point when the ball bounces on the receiving team’s court without a proper return.
Games are played to 11 points, and must be won by two points.
One wrinkle is the non-volley zone, also known as “the kitchen.” It’s a 7-foot space on each side of the net where players can’t return a ball without it bouncing first. This keeps play a little less aggressive.
There are finer points regarding serves and faults, which you can learn at the IFP website, but that’s the gist.
The Beginnings
One Saturday afternoon in 1965, a Washington state congressman named Joel Pritchard returned home from a round of golf to find his family languishing with summertime boredom.
Inspired, he and his golf buddy, a local businessman named Bill Bell, cobbled together a game for the gang using pieces of sports equipment they had on hand: ping-pong paddles, a plastic ball and a badminton court.
After a few rounds of play, they lowered the badminton net to take advantage of the ball’s bounce — moving from a badminton-type game to a smaller version of tennis.
Eventually, they introduced their pal Barney McCallum to their invention, and the three men worked up rules. Pickleball was born!
OK, But Why “Pickle” Ball?
This has been a source of dispute, but an investigation by Pickleball Magazine, published in 2021, uncovered the full story.
Joan Pritchard, the wife of Joel Pritchard, came up with the name. A fan of crew racing, she connected pickleball’s mishmash of sports to crew’s “pickle boat” — a just-for-fun collection of rowers who didn’t make it into the racing boats. The Pritchards’ son, Frank, confirmed the story.
“I feel strongly about giving my mom credit for naming the game — it’s her little piece of pickleball history,” he told Pickleball Mag.
So, if someone tells you the game is named for the Pritchards’ dog, Pickles, set them straight. (The family did have a dog named Pickles, but it came along after the game was invented.)
How To Play
First, gather your equipment: You can find pickleball paddles and balls on Amazon and at sporting-goods stores. Beyond that, you just need comfy clothes, sun protection and maybe some new pickleball shoes if you wish.
Parks and recreation centers across the country have installed pickleball courts over the years. A few clicks on USA Pickleball’s Places2Play website offers detailed info on indoor and outdoor courts near you.
In a pinch, you can use a tennis court, too. Chalk or tape can temporarily mark the pickleball lines, and the net should be lowered two inches — but that last bit probably isn’t necessary if you’re just playing for fun.
Be sure to get permission from the court’s management before you mark anything, however. And whatever you do, don’t use permanent marker.
Once you’re geared up and have a place to play, it’s time to hit the court. Happy pickling!
This story originally appeared on Don't Waste Your Money. Checkout Don't Waste Your Money for product reviews and other great ideas to save and make money. | https://www.wrtv.com/what-is-pickleball-how-to-play | 2022-04-15T10:08:56 | 1 | https://www.wrtv.com/what-is-pickleball-how-to-play |
Biden picks Michael Barr for Fed’s bank regulation post
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Friday he plans to nominate Michael Barr, the dean of the University of Michigan’s public policy school, to be the Federal Reserve’s vice chairman of supervision.
The selection of Barr comes after Biden’s first choice for the Fed post, Sarah Bloom Raskin, withdrew her nomination a month ago in the face of opposition from Republicans and one Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Raskin’s critics had argued that she would apply the Fed’s regulatory authority to climate change and possibly discourage banks from lending to energy companies.
But with Barr, Biden noted the importance of politics in a Friday statement that said his nominee had previously cleared the Senate on a bipartisan basis.
“Michael brings the expertise and experience necessary for this important position at a critical time for our economy and families across the country,” Biden said.
The Democratic president said that Barr “has spent his career protecting consumers, and during his time at Treasury, played a critical role in creating both the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the position for which I am nominating him.”
Barr is the dean of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. He was an assistant Treasury secretary for financial institutions during the Obama administration who helped design the 2010 Dodd-Frank regulations after the devastating 2008 financial crisis.
Barr, a Rhodes Scholar who clerked for Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court, also served during the Clinton administration at the White House, the Treasury Department and the State Department.
Despite those credentials, some liberal critics last year blocked Barr’s candidacy to become the Biden administration’s comptroller of the currency, a position that is responsible for regulating national banks. These critics viewed with suspicion Barr’s role on the advisory boards of the financial firms Lending Club and Ripple Labs. They also asserted that he had helped dilute proposals for stricter bank regulations during the Obama administration.
But Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, the Democratic chairman of the Banking Committee, voiced full support for Barr.
“Michael Barr understands the importance of this role at this critical time in our economic recovery,” Brown said. “I strongly urge my Republican colleagues to abandon their old playbook of personal attacks and demagoguery and put Americans and their pocketbooks first.”
Others offer strong praise for Barr and say he appears well suited for the Fed position.
David Dworkin, president of the National Housing Conference, which advocates for affordable housing, suggested that Barr’s understanding of Wall Street gives him the right mix of “centrist expertise and progressive policy views’' to win confirmation in a closely divided Senate.
Barr would be joining the Fed at an especially challenging and high-risk period for the central bank and the economy.
The Fed is set to raise interest rates aggressively in the coming months to try to reduce persistently high inflation. Yet it will be extraordinarily difficult for Fed Chair Jerome Powell — who is awaiting Senate confirmation for a second term — to slow inflation by raising borrowing costs without also weakening the economy and perhaps even causing a recession.
“This is about landing a very complicated plane on the runway smoothly,” Dworkin said. “It’s very hard to do.”
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/15/biden-picks-michael-barr-feds-bank-regulation-post/ | 2022-04-15T10:15:19 | 0 | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/15/biden-picks-michael-barr-feds-bank-regulation-post/ |
Easter Egg Roll returns after 2-year, COVID-induced hiatus
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is hoping to stir up some “egg-citement” when the Easter Egg Roll returns on Monday after a two-year, coronavirus-induced hiatus.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden expect to welcome some 30,000 kids and their adult chaperones for the egg roll, an egg hunt and other activities.
The first lady, who is a teacher, is calling it the “Egg-ucation Roll,” aides said, and is turning the South Lawn into a school community with a variety of educational stations.
It’s the first Easter Egg Roll to be hosted by the Bidens, who are expected to address the crowd and join in some of the activities, although rain was in Monday’s weather forecast.
The COVID-19 pandemic led the White House to cancel the event in 2020 and 2021.
Besides the egg roll and hunt, the all-day event will include a schoolhouse activity area, a reading nook, a talent show, a place to teach children how farmers supply food, a photo-taking station, a physical “egg-ucation” zone with an obstacle course and other exercise stations, and a “cafetorium” where children and their families will learn to make and eat treats.
The “egg-stravaganza” will get a celebrity splash through the participation of “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon, singer Ciara and actor-singer Kristin Chenoweth.
More than two dozen costumed characters will roam the grounds, including Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat, the Racing Presidents mascots for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball, Rosita and Cookie Monster from “Sesame Street” and Snoopy and Charlie Brown, among others.
Military families will be among the 30,000 participants, including crew members of the USS Delaware and their families. The first lady serves as sponsor of the nuclear attack submarine, which the president commissioned during a ceremony this month in Wilmington, Delaware.
Members of the general public received their tickets through an online lottery.
The egg roll will be the largest event to date at the Biden White House and will unfold in five waves beginning at 7:30 a.m. and ending at 6:30 p.m.
Resumption of this Easter tradition is a sign that the White House is opening up again, despite a recent spurt of COVID-19 cases among members of the Cabinet, the White House staff, Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband and members of Congress, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Some of those cases stemmed from the return this month of the Gridiron Club’s spring dinner.
Self-guided, public tours of the executive mansion are set to resume on Friday in a limited fashion, after they also were halted in 2020 because of the pandemic.
The White House Easter Egg Roll dates to 1878.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/15/easter-egg-roll-returns-after-2-year-covid-induced-hiatus/ | 2022-04-15T10:15:25 | 0 | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/15/easter-egg-roll-returns-after-2-year-covid-induced-hiatus/ |
Mayor Eric Adams, who continues isolating after testing positive for COVID-19, will preside virtually over the ceremony.
It comes as the suspected shooter remains in jail, held without bond.
Frank R. James made his first appearance Thursday in Brooklyn federal court, where cameras are not allowed.
James, who allegedly donned a gas mask, released a smoke bomb and opened fire on a crowded subway train in Sunset Park, did not enter a plea.
He was ordered held on a permanent order of detention, though the judge did not preclude a future bail application.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Winik told the judge that the 62-year-old James, who was taken into custody Wednesday after being found wandering around the East Village and may have called police on himself, terrified the entire city.
"The defendant, terrifyingly, opened fire on passengers on a crowded subway train, interrupting their morning commute in a way this city hasn't seen in more than 20 years," she said. "The defendant's attack was premeditated, it was carefully planned, and it caused terror among the victims and our entire city. The defendant's mere presence outside federal custody presents a serious risk of danger to the community and he should be detained pending trial."
The judge agreed and denied James bail for the time being.
"The complaint speaks for itself," he said.
RELATED | Frank R. James: What we know about Brooklyn subway shooting suspect
James' court appointed lawyer, Mia Eisner-Grynberg, agreed to his being held without bail, for now, but could seek bail later on.
New details emerged Thursday just hours after James' court appearance, in which investigators believe James may have rushed the attack he allegedly carried out on Tuesday, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
Investigators are working to determine whether James intended to carry out the attack as the train pulled into the 36 Street Station or whether he somehow got spooked and set off his smoke grenades sooner than intended, the sources said.
While James made no statements to arresting officers or at the precinct, it is however an avenue investigators are exploring.
As the subway car filled with smoke, it's believed James knelt on one knee to avoid the rising smoke and opened fire from that crouched position. Investigators believe that's why most of the gunshot wounds were to the legs or hands.
In a court filing ahead of his appearance, federal prosecutors called the shooting calculated and "entirely premeditated," saying that James wore a hard hat and construction worker-style jacket as a disguise and then shed them after the gunfire to avoid recognition.
Prosecutors suggested James had the means to carry out more attacks, noting that he had ammunition and other gun-related items in a Philadelphia storage unit.
While James's lengthy arrest record might seem "unremarkable," they said it paints "a picture of a person with a penchant for defying authority and who is unable or unwilling to conform his conduct to law."
Prosecutors called him a "severe and ongoing risk to the community."
Eisner-Grynberg also asked for her client to undergo psychiatric evaluation and noted he suffers leg cramps. The lawyers agreed to a permanent order of detention, pending a possible future bail application.
James briefly spoke during the hearing.
Asked if he understood his rights, he said, "Yes." Asked if he has seen the complaint, he said, "Yes, I have." Asked if he understands the charge, he said, "Yes."
NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said James was spotted by bystanders in the area of St. Marks Place and First Avenue, and that among the calls that came into Crime Stoppers was a person purporting to be the suspect himself.
According to police sources, James called the NYPD and told them that he was the man for whom police were looking and that he wanted to turn himself in.
"I think you're looking for me," the caller reportedly said. "I'm seeing my picture all over the news and I'll be around this McDonalds."
He was located nearby and taken into custody without incident.
"My fellow New Yorkers, we got him," Mayor Eric Adams said. "We got him."
RELATED | Man who spotted subway shooting suspect Frank R. James, flagged down officers speaks out
James is charged under a federal statute that prohibits terrorist and other violent attacks in mass transit system. The federal government is also charging him with crossing state lines.
"We hope this arrest brings some solace to the victims and the people of the city of New York," Sewell said. "We used every resource at our disposal to gather and process significant evidence that directly links Mr. James to the shooting. We were able to shrink his world quickly. There was nowhere left for him to run."
Officials say the investigation remains ongoing, and they urge anyone with additional information to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
James will face life in prison if convicted in the attack, which left at least 29 people shot or otherwise injured, shaking a city already unnerved by a sharp rise in crime.
Officials said any potential motive remains unclear, but witnesses said the lone gunman was seen mumbling to himself while wearing a reflective vest before putting on the gas mask and removing a canister from his bag that then filled the car with smoke. He then began shooting.
Ten people were struck by bullets, while 19 others were either grazed or hurt in the chaos that followed.
None of the injuries were life-threatening, and authorities said a magazine that jammed in the gun may have saved lives.
RELATED | Brooklyn subway shooting heightens fears about transit safety
After the shooting, NYPD Chief of Detective James Essig said James boarded an R train that pulled into the station and went one stop before exiting at the 25th Street station. After that, James was seen again at a Park Slope subway stop just under an hour later before fading from view.
Authorities have discovered no meaningful felony arrests in James' criminal history, only a number of misdemeanor charges. But James was known to the NYPD with a rap sheet spanning six years, 1992 to 1998, with nine prior arrests.
Profanity-laced social media posts from James seem to be highly critical of the mayor for his homeless policy, including videos filled with racist and sexist insults and rambling rants about Adams' crackdown on people living in the subway.
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Submit a News Tip | https://abc7ny.com/frank-james-subway-new-york-shooting-brooklyn-nyc/11750416/ | 2022-04-15T10:17:35 | 0 | https://abc7ny.com/frank-james-subway-new-york-shooting-brooklyn-nyc/11750416/ |
KYIV, Ukraine — Unbroken by a Russian blockade and relentless bombardment, the key port of Mariupol is still holding out, a symbol of staunch Ukrainian resistance that has thwarted the Kremlin's invasion plans.
More than six weeks after the Russian siege began, Ukrainian troops are continuing to fight the vastly superior Russian forces in ferocious battles amid the ruins of what once was a bustling city on the Sea of Azov coast.
The Ukrainians' fight against all odds has scuttled Moscow's designs, tying up significant Russian forces and delaying the start of a planned Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine's industrial heartland, Donbas. The Kremlin hopes that an attack in the east could reverse the battlefield fortunes for Russia after a humiliating failure of its attempt to quickly storm the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
Mariupol has been a key objective for Russia since the start of its invasion on Feb. 24. Capturing the city would allow Moscow to establish a land corridor to Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014 and deprive Ukraine of a major port and prized industrial assets.
The giant Azovstal steel mill and other industrial plants have been heavily damaged by the ferocious Russian bombardment that has flattened much of Mariupol, indiscriminately hitting homes, hospitals and other public buildings and killing thousands.
The victims include about 300 people killed in last month's Russian airstrike on the Mariupol Drama Theater that was being used as a shelter and had the word “CHILDREN” printed in Russian in huge white letters on the pavement outside to ward off aerial attack.
Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko told The Associated Press that at least 21,000 people were killed in Mariupol with bodies “carpeted through the streets.” He said that the Russians deployed mobile cremation equipment to Mariupol to methodically dispose of the victims' bodies in order to hide the evidence of the massacre and prevent international organizations from documenting "the horror the Russian army is responsible for.”
The discovery of hundreds of bodies of civilians apparently executed by Russian forces in Kyiv's suburbs after the Russian retreat from the area has fueled global outrage and accusations from Ukrainians and the West that Russia is committing war crimes in Ukraine.
Moscow has deployed fighters from Chechnya, known for their ferocity, to wage street battles in Mariupol. Chechnya’s Moscow-backed leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, has repeatedly boasted on his messaging app channel about defeating Ukrainians in Mariupol, but the fight has continued.
Boychenko said that several Ukrainian units are still fighting the Russians in Mariupol, including the 36th Marine Brigade, the Azov Regiment, some Interior Ministry troops and border guards.
The Azov Regiment, a seasoned volunteer force that is widely considered one of the country’s most capable units, is defending the mammoth Azovstal steel plant that covers an area of nearly 11 square kilometers (over 4.2 square miles). It has taken advantage of the plant's sprawling network of concrete buildings and underground facilities to repel continuous Russian attacks.
The 36th Marine Brigade was maintaining defensive positions at the Azovmash and Zavod Ilyicha factories until it ran out of supplies and ammunition and made a desperate attempt to break through the Russian blockade earlier this week.
In a post on the brigade's Facebook page, one of its officers described the unit's heroic resistance, saying that “for more than a month, the marines have been fighting without replenishing amunition, food and water supplies.” “The wounded accounted for nearly a half of the brigade's strength, but those who still had their limbs and were capable of walking reported back to duty," the post said.
Boychenko said that some of the marines managed to join the Azov regiment, while others were captured by the Russians. He didn't give any numbers.
The Russian military said Thursday that a total of 1,160 Ukrainian marines surrendered this week, a claim that couldn't be independently verified.
As the Ukrainian troops continue to offer fierce resistance in Mariupol, fears have grown that the exasperated Russians could resort to chemical weapons to deal with the remaining pockets of resistance at the Azovstal plant and other areas of the city.
Eduard Basurin, a Russia-allied separatist official in eastern Ukraine, appeared to call for that Monday, telling Russian state TV that the Russia-backed forces should block all the exits out of the factory and then "use chemical troops to smoke them out of there.” He later said that no chemical weapons were used.
The Azov Regiment claimed Monday, without providing evidence, that a drone had dropped a poisonous substance on its positions but inflicted no serious injuries. A Ukrainian defense official said the attack possibly involved phosphorus munitions.
Boychenko said that an estimated 120,000 of Mariupol's pre-war population of about 450,000 remain in the city.
Ukrainian authorities have said that the Russians have blocked humanitarian convoys from reaching Mariupol, keeping it without food, water and power since the siege started. The Russian troops have turned back buses sent to evacuate residents, but about 150,000 have been able to flee the city in their own vehicles.
Boychenko said that at least 33,500, and, possibly, up to 50,000 Mariupol residents have been taken to “filtration camps” in the separatist-controlled east before being forcibly sent to distant, economically depressed areas in Russia.
Mariupol has seen communications cut since the start of the siege, and as the Russians moved to capture sections of the city they launched radio broadcasts to brainwash the population.
“They unleashed propaganda, telling people that Kyiv and other cities have been captured and they have been abandoned,” Boychenko said.
The continuing fighting in Mariupol has forced the Russian military to keep a significant number of troops in the city, delaying the start of the planned new offensive in eastern Ukraine.
“As long as the street fighting is going on, Russia can't remove troops from Mariupol and deploy them to other areas, including Donbas,” Oleh Zhdanov, an independent military expert, told the AP.
“The Ukrainian troops in Mariupol are still fulfilling their main task by diverting the Russian forces from other areas. Mariupol remains a major symbol of the Ukrainian resistance." | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/nation-world/ukraine/mariupol-ukraine-war/507-8311964e-0af6-4ae3-8a85-f35ff45e34a4 | 2022-04-15T10:18:31 | 1 | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/nation-world/ukraine/mariupol-ukraine-war/507-8311964e-0af6-4ae3-8a85-f35ff45e34a4 |
Big or small, all items are the same price at this unusual downtown Chillicothe store
Behemoth-sized boxes filled with a shopper's dream of random items arrive in downtown Chillicothe by the truckload.
What's in the boxes, no one could say for sure until they're opened and rifled through by staffers who are just as surprised as anyone to find out what's inside.
It could be clothes, shoes, appliances, toys or general goods you'd find at any store. But these mystery boxes have also produced bathtubs, toilets, the occasional sword, Chinese cigarettes and anything else you could imagine.
Items are taken from the boxes by staff, sorted and then placed in the storefront of Sweet Finds in downtown Chillicothe. This is how business is done in a store that's quite unlike any other.
More:Two decades later, how Chillicothe's TIF district has revitalized the city's downtown
What is Sweet Finds, and how do they get their stuff?
Sweet Finds in downtown Chillicothe is described by its co-owner Tina Lesauskas-Caulfield, who owns the store with her sister Laura Diazdeleon, as if Amazon and Goodwill had a baby.
Sweet Finds stocks its store with overstocked, returned and discontinued items Amazon and big box stores don't sell or get rid of.
The catch at Sweet Finds is this: Everything, whether it's a pingpong ball or a swanky coffee maker, sells for the same price.
On Thursdays, Sweet Finds restocks its store with all the new items coming in from its newest shipment of stuff. On Friday morning, the store opens and everything inside, whatever you find, is $8. Every day, the prices on everything continue to decrease until prices hit 25 cents on Wednesday. When something is gone, it's gone.
"It's a little bit of a gamble element," Lesauskas-Caulfield said. "I love watching people play ... 'How long can I wait before I lose and someone else buys it?'"
The next Thursday, the store is restocked and the wild process that makes Sweet Finds what it is starts all over again.
Organization is key at the store, however. Unlike other retail stores, the sisters want their store to feel like a genuine boutique shopping experience.
"My whole thing is, this is chaos, it's like black Friday everyday and we want to control it, we don't want it to be people fighting over bins. It would turn ugly really fast," Lesauskas-Caulfield said.
You will not find much junk in their stores, either. They take an extra effort to make sure what makes it to the shelves in their store are quality products.
"That's the difference between us and other secondhand stores is, we care about the quality we bring to this community," Lesauskas-Caulfield said. "We want to make sure that what they receive is something we would put in our house, period."
'I need more room':Morton clothing boutique to double in size just months after opening
How Sweet Finds came to be
When online retail giant Amazon got in trouble for dumping its unsold products into landfills, Lesauskas-Caulfield got an idea. "How could she get her hands on those products Amazon wasn't selling?" she wondered.
After working through the proper channels, organizing with a friend who could handle logistics, the sisters were able to get their hands on some of Amazon's unsold items.
The items came in a massive, unorganized box. When the sisters saw the first box, they both cried.
"We were just like, 'Holy cow, what are we going to do with this?' Lesauskas-Caulfield said.
"It was hard," Diazdeleon said.
After sorting through the first box, they needed a plan for how to sell the items. They knew they did not want to be like similar overstock stores that just roll their items out in large bins and let people have at them.
Remembering their days as teenagers, spending entire days shopping at the mall, they decided their goal would be to make shopping fun again. They did not want their store to be chaotic.
"That was the formula. It was like, 'Let's do something where we have a multitude of things in a small space, but fun stuff," Lesauskas-Caulfield said.
More:With handmade goods and candle pouring, a Peoria duo sets up shop in Warehouse District
Business took off much faster than anticipated. Lesauskas-Caulfield had told her sister it would probably take about seven months for the store to catch on. Instead, it boomed immediately. Lines of people still show up outside the store on Friday mornings.
"We really did not anticipate this. My sister and I joke because businesses typically take between 15 months to 2.5 years to really solidify their formula, and I told her, 'You know in the first seven months we're going to be bored, we're going to be watching TV in the back, we'll have a little TV area ...' and from the moment we opened it has just been unbelievable growth," Lesauskas-Caulfield said.
Luckily, Sweet Finds had a lot of help from the surrounding small businesses in getting set up. The community "saw the bigger picture" in what Sweet Finds would mean for the rest of downtown and spent early mornings and late nights helping it get started.
"These small businesses around us, we are so lucky because they have helped us out from the get-go," Lesauskas-Caulfield said.
Now what started as a retirement plan has grown into one of Chillicothe's most thriving businesses.
"Some retirement plan, huh?" Lesauskas-Caulfield said. | https://www.pjstar.com/story/business/2022/04/15/resale-store-sweet-finds-sells-overstock-downtown-chillicothe/7236524001/ | 2022-04-15T10:20:25 | 0 | https://www.pjstar.com/story/business/2022/04/15/resale-store-sweet-finds-sells-overstock-downtown-chillicothe/7236524001/ |
From 2013 to 2022: A timeline of events leading up to the Navin Jones' death
PEORIA – The death of 8-year-old Navin Jones has shocked many and caused them to question if the system failed the little boy.
When he was found unresponsive in his parents' Peoria home, he weighed about 30 pounds. Authorities have described the treatment of the boy as "heinous." The terms skeletal and emaciated were used to describe his condition.
His parents, Stephanie Jones and Brandon Walker, face multiple counts of murder in his death, charges that could keep them in prison for the rest of their lives.
Below is a chronology of what has happened so far in the case.
Dec. 7, 2013
Navin was born and tested positive for opiates. Navin and his older brother were put into the custody of DCFS. Later, they were placed with their grandmother Laura Walker.
December 2017
There had been several reports to the DCFS hotline in 2017 and one of those, in December, was deemed valid. That involved an allegation that Stephanie Jones “spanked” Navin (age 4), causing bruises to his buttocks. That same year, his grandmother obtained legal guardianship.
July 10, 2021
Laura Walker went to Florida to care for one of her parents. She left Navin and his brother in the care of their parents. Navin, she has said, wanted to be with his brother, and she was driving to Florida. She was gone for a few weeks. She returned to the Peoria area on Aug. 1, according to a report from the Washington Police Department.
Aug. 17, 2021
DCFS opened an investigation after Stephanie Jones and Brandon Walker refused to return the two boys to Laura Walker. She had called the DCFS hotline to report poor conditions at the house, and that the parents were not returning the boys to her.
Laura Walker told the DCFS investigator she looked through the windows of the home of the parents and observed trash, clutter and old food inside. She also said Jones had a history of drug use and physical aggression toward Navin and his older brother.
That same day, Laura Walker also reached out to Peoria police to help her get the children back. Officers went to the house, according to a report obtained by the Journal Star, and left the children in the care of their parents after Laura Walker said she didn't want anything to do with the children.
In an interview, Laura Walker disputed that and said the officer who took the report refused to help her after several hours of trying.
More:'I just didn't do enough': Grandma of Peoria boy laments not being able to stop his death
Aug. 19, 2021
Laura Walker went to the Washington Police Department to seek help in getting the children back. She lived in that city, and the children went to school there. In the report, she said she had tried from Aug. 1 until Aug. 17, when she went to their house on North Gale Avenue in Peoria, to get the children back, but that the parents were uncooperative.
An officer contacted Brandon Walker, telling him Laura Walker was concerned about the children. He said he'd bring them back.
Two days later, the children had not yet returned to Laura Walker's house, and another call by an officer revealed that Stephanie Jones, Brandon Walker and the two boys were in the Chicago area.
On this same date, the case worker spoke with Peoria Public Schools and verified that neither child was registered to attend classes.
Aug. 24, 2021
Laura Walker went back to the Washington Police Department to report the children as missing. A detective called Brandon Walker, who stated he was out of the state and refused to tell the detective where he was. He vowed not to give the children back to Laura Walker, the report stated, and said that he had legal custody of the children as the Peoria police left them with Jones and himself.
The detective then spoke to Laura Walker, who said she never gave up guardianship and that she feared her son and Stephanie Jones had left for Florida. The detective talked to a DCFS caseworker, who said the children would be going into DCFS custody as soon as they were located.
Aug. 25, 2021
A Washington detective wrote in his report that he was told by a friend of Brandon Walker that Navin and his older brother were in Kissimmee, Florida. It wasn't clear when the children left Illinois from the report.
The detective also reached out to a prosecutor from the Tazewell County State's Attorney's Office as well as the DCFS caseworker to update them.
Oct. 14, 2021
After numerous unsuccessful attempts to locate the children, the DCFS caseworker spoke to Brandon Walker, who said the family had moved to Florida and was not coming back.
According to the caseworker, Brandon Walker said he was planning to return to Illinois on Oct. 21 as the children had a doctor's appointment. He agreed to let the caseworker see the children when he returned.
Oct. 15, 2021
The caseworker called the children's doctor and learned there was no appointment scheduled for either child. The older brother was last seen for a visit on June 30, 2021, while Navin was last seen on Dec. 30, 2019. Both were up to date, the caseworker learned, on their shots.
Nov. 3, 2021
DCFS determined the claim made on Aug. 17, 2021, by Laura Walker that the parents' home was an unsafe environment was unfounded and closed the investigation.
More:From 'unfounded' abuse reports to his death: DCFS documents detail Navin Jones' final months
Feb. 14, 2022
DCFS launched a new investigation based on an anonymous tip. It alleged that Navin had black eyes from falling down the stairs; he was locked in the basement when the mother didn't want to deal with him; Navin and his brother were not enrolled in school; and they were dirty.
DCFS attempted several visits with the children over the next week, all of which were unsuccessful. On this day, Brandon Walker called DCFS and said the children were not enrolled in school because he and Stephanie Jones did not have legal guardianship of them. He said the family had come home from Florida in January and was not able to re-establish guardianship.
Feb. 22, 2022
DCFS was allowed to visit with Navin and his older brother. Both said they felt safe at the home and denied being harmed. Navin was observed to be “sickly” in appearance; the caseworker noted he was thin and small in stature. Both Navin and his parents said he ate regularly but did not gain weight. He was seen by the caseworker eating a bag of popcorn during the visit.
During the visit, Navin said he wanted to stay with his parents rather than go back to Laura Walker's home. The caseworker discussed Navin's health issues and said the parents should take him to a doctor. Brandon Walker said they would like to take Navin to the doctor, but they did not have legal guardianship of him.
March 29, 2022
On March 29, the 8-year-old boy – who weighed 30 pounds when he died – was found unresponsive at his parents' home in the 1700 block of North Gale Avenue. His mother had called 911 and said she had put him into a downstairs shower to revive him after she noticed he was not breathing. Paramedics rushed him to a hospital, but the boy died a short time later.
March 30, 2022
Navin's parents were arrested on the charge of endangering the life of a child that resulted in a death.
March 31, 2022
Stephanie Jones and Brandon Walker had a bond hearing on charges of first-degree murder. A prosecutor said conditions were horrible at the house where Navin was found. The boy's room upstairs "reeked" of feces and urine. A rope was used to hold the door shut, keeping the boy inside while another rope was on a closet door.
Navin's older brother was taken into protective custody by DCFS, and later placed with a foster parent.
Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood said he was reopening the investigation into the 2007 death of Navin's half-brother Nigel Ragon, who died at his Washburn home. At the time, it was ruled as a death by natural causes.
More:After homicide of Peoria boy, investigation reopened into half-brother's death
More:Peoria parents acted in 'brutal and heinous' way, fatally neglecting son, prosecutor says
April 12, 2022
Stephanie Jones and Brandon Walker were indicted on six counts each of first-degree murder in connection with Navin's death. Some of the charges alleged they acted in a "brutal and heinous way, indicative of wanton cruelty," which could trigger a possible life sentence if they are convicted. | https://www.pjstar.com/story/news/crime/2022/04/15/navin-jones-peoria-what-happened-in-peoria-child-abuse-case/7319743001/ | 2022-04-15T10:20:31 | 1 | https://www.pjstar.com/story/news/crime/2022/04/15/navin-jones-peoria-what-happened-in-peoria-child-abuse-case/7319743001/ |
17 teams, 1 super-conference: Why these 2 small-school football leagues are merging
Survival has led to realignment for the Lincoln Trail and Prairieland conferences.
The two Peoria-area leagues will join forces in the fall of 2023 for a 17-team, football-only conference — tentatively named the Lincoln Trail-Prairieland Conference — with separate divisions based on enrollment. Each division winner will earn an automatic bid to the Illinois High School Association playoffs.
Princeville, Stark County, Abingdon-Avon, Annawan/Wethersfield, Havana, ROWVA/Williamsfield, Rushville-Industry, South Fulton and Monmouth United will be the small-school division members.
Large schools in the opposite division will be Elmwood/Brimfield, Farmington, Aledo Mercer County, Illini West, Knoxville, Lewistown/North Fulton, Macomb, and Warsaw West Hancock.
More:Big 12, Central State Eight partner for nonconference IHSA football games starting in 2023
How the merger came to be
Is this just putting a band aid on a growing problem or possibly a lasting relationship?
“Ideally," Farmington coach Toby Vallas said, "everything you take as long term until somebody’s unhappy with it."
Several factors played into the merger, but the biggest one was the number of schools seeing football participation dip so low that fielding 8-man teams was becoming the only option. In the last few years alone, the respective conferences had seen Peoria Heights, Bushnell-Prairie City, West Prairie, North Fulton, Biggsville West Central and, most recently, Ridgewood take up 8-man.
Last season, for example, South Fulton was unable to field a varsity squad in Week 8, giving Farmington a forfeit victory. Smaller enrollment schools like South Fulton, which hasn’t yet dropped to 8-man, would be in jeopardy of disappearing entirely from the 11-man landscape.
So, Vallas knew something had to be done.
“If schools start going 8-man, we’re going to lose teams,” he said.
Vallas and his athletics director, Jeff Otto, approached the LTC ADs about uniting the conferences. After crunching the enrollment numbers, their proposal including splitting the 17 teams by school size, landing with nine in the small division and eight for the large division.
ADs, coaches and administrators from both conferences were on board, paving the way for the new league.
“The Prairieland and LTC have always had a great working relationship,” Annawan/Wethersfield AD Jeff Parsons said. “We’ve had a great marriage. They’ve helped us when we needed help, and we’ve helped them when they needed help.”
More:Morton all-stater Seth Glatz commits to play football at Western Illinois
From a Lincoln Trail perspective, the conference had seen the addition of Abingdon/Avon and Knoxville from the Prairieland prior to the 2021 season, then lost Ridgewood to 8-man following the season. That left the LTC with eight schools, meaning each school would need to fill two holes in the schedule each season.
One game is already taken care of through a previous LTC/Prairieland partnership.
“The last thing you want to do as a group of ADs is post your schedule on (the) IHSA (website),” Parsons said, “and try to find a game because you’re going to be playing in Indiana, Missouri, Wisconsin, somewhere (out of state). Or you’re playing a suburb school that’s eight times your size.
“We’ll proudly continue that relationship. They had a need. We had a need.”
How the schedules will work
In 2023, an inter-division game will be played each season with large-division teams needing to find a single nonconference game per season. Weeks 1, 2, 8 and 9 will likely be left open for teams to pick up games, according to Vallas.
Eliminating those crossover mismatches between small- and large-division schools — while helping the small schools stay at 11-man — was a big emphasis in the proposal. Ultimately, the Prairieland schools had one goal in mind.
More:Peoria Notre Dame goal scorer, Pekin hurdler and more: Vote for athlete of the week
“By the time we came out of there, we all want nine games,” Vallas said. “That was the end all, be all for us.”
What may seem like an odd number (17) for a two-division conference, it comes with a built-in contingency plan. If a team were to drop to 8-man, then the divisions add one more crossover game, and no one has to find a nonleague opponent.
“What we’re doing right now is the worst-case scenario,” Vallas said of filling a single open date.
If the conference continues to shrink, scheduling will become easier and easier thanks to continued crossover games between the divisions.
Lincoln Trail-Prairieland Conference
Small-school division
Princeville
Stark County
Abingdon-Avon
Annawan/Wethersfield
Havana
ROWVA/Williamsfield
Rushville-Industry
South Fulton
Monmouth United
Large-school division
Elmwood/Brimfield
Farmington
Aledo Mercer County
Illini West
Knoxville
Lewistown/North Fulton
Macomb
Warsaw West Hancock
Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall. | https://www.pjstar.com/story/sports/high-school/football/2022/04/15/ihsa-football-prairieland-lincoln-trail-merge-2023-season/9470172002/ | 2022-04-15T10:20:37 | 1 | https://www.pjstar.com/story/sports/high-school/football/2022/04/15/ihsa-football-prairieland-lincoln-trail-merge-2023-season/9470172002/ |
This Illini Bluffs state champion pitcher and Bradley commit just keeps getting better
Ask Kristen Graham how many times she has caught Kierston McCoy, and she’ll need a minute to count.
“I would say probably at least 400 or 500,” the Illini Bluffs softball catcher said of her classmate and right-handed pitcher.
No one knows McCoy better than her battery mate and lifelong best friend. The all-state duo is in their final season together, helping IB navigate through a rain-plagued campaign all while embracing the target of being the reigning Class 1A state champions.
Graham has seen an increased level of confidence in every single pitch this season from McCoy.
“She knows in her own head that she’s going to dominate,” Graham said. “I think that’s really what has changed the most from last year to this year and what has really helped her.”
More:How a Tweet led to a showdown between 2 of the Peoria area's best softball teams
Bond between pitcher and catcher
What may have given McCoy a huge assist is Graham’s ability to call pitches.
This has been happening since junior high when the pair won the 2017 IESA Class A state title. Trust between the pitcher and catcher is paramount, especially in close games where one wrong pitch could change the entire outcome.
“I have complete and total confidence in Kierston,” Graham said. “… We aren’t always on the same page, but most of the time we are, so I know she has faith in me when I call a pitch. I know that I have complete and total faith in her when she shakes me off or wants to change a pitch.
“I know there’s a thought process going through her mind, and she knows there’s one going through mine.”
These two basically sisters shared an even deeper bond last month. Graham lost her grandfather, Bill Roof, and says she reached out to McCoy about the loss. She helped Graham through that low point without batting an eye.
“I knew that (Kierston) would be there for me no matter what, and she was,” the Lewis University recruit said.
McCoy, who entered Thursday with a 3-1 record and 29 strikeouts over 20 innings to go with a 2.10 ERA, has been a dominant force since entering high school. Her resume includes pitching in two state title games along with an impressive junior season where she was 17-1 with 137 strikeouts and a 1.02 ERA in 102.2 innings.
More:How this charity high school softball event made a comeback for 2022
Her bat has been equally impressive. She’s hit .462 with two doubles, two home runs, six RBIs and eight runs.
“Kierston is just one of those players that every coach dreams of,” IB coach Lindsey Lox said.
From Glasford to Bradley
Last November, McCoy signed with Bradley to continue her playing career in the Missouri Valley Conference. She’ll join former IB teammate Addie Welsh, who was recently named the MVC Newcomer of the Week.
Plus, her mom, Kari McCoy (David), played at BU from 1998-2000.
“She loved every minute of it,” the younger McCoy said of her mom’s tenure on the Hilltop. “She had a great experience. … (Bradley) just really felt like home, and I felt so comfortable always going and talking to everybody. They’re so open and honest about everything.
“With my mom playing softball there, it was just kind of a dream come true.”
Adding Katie David to the coaching staff has also been a huge help to McCoy. The former Illinois Central College and Lewis University pitcher brings a positive attitude, a demand for hard work and has added conditioning into the pitching drills.
More:Who are the top 6 high school softball teams in the Peoria area for 2022?
McCoy says the new IB pitching coach — and her cousin — is a perfectionist, but in the best way possible.
“She’ll make us do it until we get it,” she said. “I think it’s really beneficial having her there.”
Staying hungry in the down time
Illini Bluffs, which is ranked No. 4 in 1A, opened the season with a 4-1 loss to perennial Class 3A power East Peoria. The Tigers had a one-run lead heading into the bottom of the sixth when EP plated four runs on five hits off McCoy.
An 18-day stretch between games was a cause for reflection for IB. McCoy says the players had a meeting where they decided what needed to be done and help each other to achieve their goals.
“We promised each other we’d push each other in practice (to) become the best we could be,” McCoy said.
Hitting became the focus. McCoy put hers on display with a grand slam and a solo homer in 8-0 win over Farmington in early April. She added three more hits from the leadoff spot against Brimfield/Elmwood, then doubled against Delavan.
Four games don’t make a season as Graham and McCoy know fully well that a return to the state championship remains the ultimate prize.
“That’s the big goal,” Graham said, “but it’s more about making the smaller goals along the way — the improvements and seeing those throughout each game.”
Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall. | https://www.pjstar.com/story/sports/high-school/softball/2022/04/15/ihsa-softball-illini-bluffs-state-champ-pitcher-has-bradley-future/7305297001/ | 2022-04-15T10:20:43 | 1 | https://www.pjstar.com/story/sports/high-school/softball/2022/04/15/ihsa-softball-illini-bluffs-state-champ-pitcher-has-bradley-future/7305297001/ |
Biden picks Michael Barr for Fed’s bank regulation post
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Friday he plans to nominate Michael Barr, the dean of the University of Michigan’s public policy school, to be the Federal Reserve’s vice chairman of supervision.
The selection of Barr comes after Biden’s first choice for the Fed post, Sarah Bloom Raskin, withdrew her nomination a month ago in the face of opposition from Republicans and one Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Raskin’s critics had argued that she would apply the Fed’s regulatory authority to climate change and possibly discourage banks from lending to energy companies.
But with Barr, Biden noted the importance of politics in a Friday statement that said his nominee had previously cleared the Senate on a bipartisan basis.
“Michael brings the expertise and experience necessary for this important position at a critical time for our economy and families across the country,” Biden said.
The Democratic president said that Barr “has spent his career protecting consumers, and during his time at Treasury, played a critical role in creating both the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the position for which I am nominating him.”
Barr is the dean of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. He was an assistant Treasury secretary for financial institutions during the Obama administration who helped design the 2010 Dodd-Frank regulations after the devastating 2008 financial crisis.
Barr, a Rhodes Scholar who clerked for Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court, also served during the Clinton administration at the White House, the Treasury Department and the State Department.
Despite those credentials, some liberal critics last year blocked Barr’s candidacy to become the Biden administration’s comptroller of the currency, a position that is responsible for regulating national banks. These critics viewed with suspicion Barr’s role on the advisory boards of the financial firms Lending Club and Ripple Labs. They also asserted that he had helped dilute proposals for stricter bank regulations during the Obama administration.
But Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, the Democratic chairman of the Banking Committee, voiced full support for Barr.
“Michael Barr understands the importance of this role at this critical time in our economic recovery,” Brown said. “I strongly urge my Republican colleagues to abandon their old playbook of personal attacks and demagoguery and put Americans and their pocketbooks first.”
Others offer strong praise for Barr and say he appears well suited for the Fed position.
David Dworkin, president of the National Housing Conference, which advocates for affordable housing, suggested that Barr’s understanding of Wall Street gives him the right mix of “centrist expertise and progressive policy views’' to win confirmation in a closely divided Senate.
Barr would be joining the Fed at an especially challenging and high-risk period for the central bank and the economy.
The Fed is set to raise interest rates aggressively in the coming months to try to reduce persistently high inflation. Yet it will be extraordinarily difficult for Fed Chair Jerome Powell — who is awaiting Senate confirmation for a second term — to slow inflation by raising borrowing costs without also weakening the economy and perhaps even causing a recession.
“This is about landing a very complicated plane on the runway smoothly,” Dworkin said. “It’s very hard to do.”
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/15/biden-picks-michael-barr-feds-bank-regulation-post/ | 2022-04-15T10:22:52 | 1 | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/15/biden-picks-michael-barr-feds-bank-regulation-post/ |
Easter Egg Roll returns after 2-year, COVID-induced hiatus
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is hoping to stir up some “egg-citement” when the Easter Egg Roll returns on Monday after a two-year, coronavirus-induced hiatus.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden expect to welcome some 30,000 kids and their adult chaperones for the egg roll, an egg hunt and other activities.
The first lady, who is a teacher, is calling it the “Egg-ucation Roll,” aides said, and is turning the South Lawn into a school community with a variety of educational stations.
It’s the first Easter Egg Roll to be hosted by the Bidens, who are expected to address the crowd and join in some of the activities, although rain was in Monday’s weather forecast.
The COVID-19 pandemic led the White House to cancel the event in 2020 and 2021.
Besides the egg roll and hunt, the all-day event will include a schoolhouse activity area, a reading nook, a talent show, a place to teach children how farmers supply food, a photo-taking station, a physical “egg-ucation” zone with an obstacle course and other exercise stations, and a “cafetorium” where children and their families will learn to make and eat treats.
The “egg-stravaganza” will get a celebrity splash through the participation of “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon, singer Ciara and actor-singer Kristin Chenoweth.
More than two dozen costumed characters will roam the grounds, including Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat, the Racing Presidents mascots for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball, Rosita and Cookie Monster from “Sesame Street” and Snoopy and Charlie Brown, among others.
Military families will be among the 30,000 participants, including crew members of the USS Delaware and their families. The first lady serves as sponsor of the nuclear attack submarine, which the president commissioned during a ceremony this month in Wilmington, Delaware.
Members of the general public received their tickets through an online lottery.
The egg roll will be the largest event to date at the Biden White House and will unfold in five waves beginning at 7:30 a.m. and ending at 6:30 p.m.
Resumption of this Easter tradition is a sign that the White House is opening up again, despite a recent spurt of COVID-19 cases among members of the Cabinet, the White House staff, Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband and members of Congress, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Some of those cases stemmed from the return this month of the Gridiron Club’s spring dinner.
Self-guided, public tours of the executive mansion are set to resume on Friday in a limited fashion, after they also were halted in 2020 because of the pandemic.
The White House Easter Egg Roll dates to 1878.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/15/easter-egg-roll-returns-after-2-year-covid-induced-hiatus/ | 2022-04-15T10:22:58 | 0 | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/15/easter-egg-roll-returns-after-2-year-covid-induced-hiatus/ |
Prince Harry, Meghan make surprise visit to queen at Windsor
LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have visited Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle on their first joint visit to the U.K. since they gave up formal royal roles and moved to the U.S. more than two years ago.
The couple’s office says they visited the 95-year-old queen, Harry’s grandmother, Thursday on their way to the Netherlands to attend the Invictus Games. Harry is a founder and patron of the international sports competition for wounded military veterans.
Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior working royals and moved to North America in 2020, citing the unbearable pressure of their roles and racist attitudes of the British media.
The couple, also known as the duke and duchess of Sussex, lost their taxpayer-funded police guard when they walked away, and Harry is suing the British government for refusing to let him pay for his own police security on his visits to the U.K. His lawyers say Harry wants to bring his children — Archie, who is almost 3, and 10-month-old Lilibet — to visit his home country but that it is too risky without police protection.
Harry and Meghan are expected to attend a reception in The Hague on Friday for the Invictus Games, which run from Saturday to April 22.
The visit to the queen came on Maundy Thursday, a day in the week before Easter that the queen for decades marked by distributing silver coins known as “Maundy money” to pensioners at a church service. This year the queen, who has been experiencing mobility issues in recent months and came down with COVID-19 in February, did not attend. She was represented by her eldest son, Prince Charles, and his wife Camilla.
The monarch also is expected to miss the royal family’s Easter Sunday church service. She has continued to perform royal duties, including virtual audiences with politicians and diplomats.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/15/prince-harry-meghan-make-surprise-visit-queen-windsor/ | 2022-04-15T10:23:04 | 0 | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/15/prince-harry-meghan-make-surprise-visit-queen-windsor/ |
Brevard creatives use their art to support Ukraine through painting, tattoos and baking
More than 5,000 miles from her family, Evelina Petrenko finds solace in her paintings.
With parents in Russia and aunts and grandparents in Ukraine, the Viera woman, who learned to paint in Moscow as a child and spent her summers in Ukraine, swirls brightly colored acrylics on 9-by-12 canvases. She mixes the reds, blues and whites of old Russian folklore styles with sunflowers and other foliage to reflect Ukraine’s strength.
Sunflowers, the national flower of Ukraine and a major agricultural export, have been a symbol of the resistance of the Ukrainian people to the invasion by Russia that has destroyed cities and killed thousands. President Joe Biden has accused Russian troops of committing acts of genocide in Ukraine.
Half Ukrainian and half Russian, Petrenko's art has a purpose outside of the catharsis it provides. Like many creatives in Brevard, she hopes to use her art to support Ukraine by helping others understand what those facing the war are experiencing.
“A lot of Russians share their roots with Ukrainians and it's a lot of heavy feelings that are involved right now,” she said.
Her goal is to put her paintings on display in Brevard once the series is complete.
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Others around the county are using their creativity in a variety of ways to help support Ukraine, including donating portions of art sales from a Cocoa gallery; raffling tickets for an all-day tattoo session; and baking sunflower cupcakes at a Melbourne cottage bakery.
"I am a small business, I'm not a big deal of a person. I don't have a lot of Instagram followers (but) I'm not in it for those things," said Jeremy Scott, a tattoo artist who raised money for Ukraine at Endless Summer Tattoo on North Orlando Avenue in Cocoa Beach. "I enjoyed doing that because it's the humane thing to do. That's what anybody should do."
Art as catharsis and education
Petrenko, who came to the United States in 2004 and moved to Brevard in 2012, began working on a series earlier this year drawing on inspiration from Russian folk art and plant life. The pieces allowed her to contemplate her identity, she said, and express how she felt as tensions mounted between Russia and Ukraine.
When Russia bombed major cities in Ukraine Feb. 24, these themes continued with a darker tone, becoming a “mournful meditation” on the war, she said.
She worked to incorporate the joy she found in her identity, such as the folk art and flowers, while including darker tones as the war broke out. The mix of emotions is something that represented how a lot of people felt, she said.
“It's not just me, it's the story of many Russians,” she said. “There are a lot of us (who) have relatives in Ukraine. And so when the war happened, all of us experienced this shock and there was a lot of mixed feelings."
She felt anger, betrayal — because you don't agree with the decision of the government — and guilt, because you wonder how to make it up to Ukrainians, she said.
"There's nothing you could do to make it up to them," she said "You feel torn because a lot of us share families with that part."
Petrenko expects her series to be more than 10 paintings. While she isn’t sure when it will be finished, she plans to put it on display somewhere in Brevard. Her hope is that her art will help others understand the war from the perspective of someone with family in both countries.
“That's what I’m trying to communicate through my paintings — regardless of our origins, we as human beings and citizens of our country sometimes find ourselves dealing with emotional and psychological effects of the decisions of our leaders,” she said. “My paintings validate the complexity of those feelings and bring attention to (the) human side of things overall.”
Generational struggles
Devon Sheehan grew up listening to her grandmother and her great-grandmother speak Ukrainian. The daughter of a Ukrainian-Irish man and owner of Devon’s Desserts, a cottage bakery in Melbourne, said she was fascinated hearing the language, as well as the stories her grandparents told about escaping the Ukrainian famine in 1932, living in America during the Great Depression and housing Jewish refugees during World War II.
It was her family’s history that inspired her to use her baking to support Ukraine, Sheehan said.
“(My great grandmother) had to go through a lot of hardships and everything while she lived in Europe, and then moved here to the American Great Depression as well. So we wanted to make sure that we did something for people, because my family has struggled a lot through history and generationally," she said. "We’re trying to help other people that are struggling now.”
In early March, Sheehan began selling cupcakes decorated to look like sunflowers: piping petals made of yellow icing around a cookie on the top of each cupcake. Inside, the cake is dyed blue to match Ukraine’s national colors.
Initially, 20% of each order was donated to GlobalGiving, a states-based nonprofit that connects donors with grassroots projects around the world. Sheehan and her partner, Ashley Carbon, later upped the percentage to 30% as they saw the success of the cupcakes.
Despite being a small operation that began in October 2021, Sheehan said she still wanted to use her work to help contribute to Ukraine. She said raising money through her business would increase the amount she could donate.
“Rather than just giving my, like, $30 donation, I can have other people, (who) are getting a product that’s delicious, but then it’s also helping Ukrainian refugees at the same time,” she said. “To me it was like a win-win.”
'Everybody should just help'
While other creatives in Brevard lack a familial connection to Ukraine, they're still working to raise money.
Scott, the tattoo artist, held a raffle in March for an all-day tattoo session valued at about $2,000. Each ticket cost $20, and participants could enter as many times as they wanted.
Scott preferred the raffle idea over a GoFundMe or similar ways of raising money because he thought giving away a tattoo session might help motivate people to participate.
"It's kind of a win-win for everybody," Scott said. "Someone wins an all-day session with me, as well as, I can get the most amount of money I could possibly get from it."
Scott's fundraiser brought in a total $1,220, which Scott donated to United Nations Children's Fund to go to protecting Ukrainian children. The winner, who lives out of state, is working with Scott to set up a date to get the tattoo.
At Green Circle Art Gallery in Cocoa Village, owner Dennis Raby is rounding up every purchase to the next dollar, with the extra cents going to Red Cross for Ukraine. The fundraiser includes all art in the gallery, which is almost all made by locals.
"By (rounding up to the next dollar) — and you're welcome to do over and above that — then it makes it real easy, and we don't have to worry about artist participation," Raby said. "That way, every artist is in effect participating. There's nothing special that has to be done. That way I have 100% participation."
Raby's fundraiser, which began over the weekend of April 9, will continue through the month and possibly later.
Raby has helped run multiple fundraisers at the gallery over the years, and he said it was important to help out now.
"What's going on (in Ukraine) is just heartbreaking, and something the likes of which we haven't seen globally, really, probably since World War II," he said.
A tattoo artist for more than 13 years and father of three kids, Scott said seeing footage of the war — specifically its effects on families — motivated him to help.
"I can't imagine what it's like for those kids, let alone those parents with those kids and it just sucks. It completely destroyed me," he said. "I feel like everybody should just help anybody that has less than what they have."
Finch Walker is a Breaking News Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at 321-290-4744 or fwalker@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @_finchwalker | https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2022/04/15/brevard-artists-bakers-find-creative-ways-help-ukraine/7204685001/ | 2022-04-15T10:31:57 | 1 | https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2022/04/15/brevard-artists-bakers-find-creative-ways-help-ukraine/7204685001/ |
Lober replacement, tourism, Scrub lawsuit and EFSC Cocoa campus - Week in Review
Rob Landers
Florida Today
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Insiders say DeSantis may decide not to name a replacement for Commissioner Bryan Lober
Brevard County reports record tourism numbers, leading to optimism for rest of 2022
Lawsuit seems inevitable between Brevard County and Malabar over Scrub Jay sanctuary
Eastern Florida State College will pour $87 million into aging Cocoa campus
Rob Landers is a veteran multimedia journalist for the USA Today Network of Florida. Contact Landers at 321-242-3627 or rlanders@gannett.com. Twitter: @ByRobLanders | https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2022/04/15/lober-replacement-tourism-scrub-lawsuit-and-efsc-cocoa-campus-space-coast-florida-brevard/7318665001/ | 2022-04-15T10:32:03 | 0 | https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2022/04/15/lober-replacement-tourism-scrub-lawsuit-and-efsc-cocoa-campus-space-coast-florida-brevard/7318665001/ |
'We're going to remain optimistic': New rays of hope and dollars shine on Florida manatees
After Florida’s deadliest year for manatees, new blades of seagrass that spring usually brings and all the dollars donated have delivered slivers of hope for Florida's favorite at-risk creature, those tasked with saving them say.
But others assert that the threatened sea cows' plight is far from over, unless we're willing to spend much more.
"It's going to take billions and billions of dollars to turn this around," said Pat Rose, executive director of Save the Manatee Club. "It can't be done just at the county level. It's got to be done a federal level. It's going to take improving the water quality. We're going to remain optimistic until we see otherwise."
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Should we kill manatees to save them? Brevard County Commissioner argues Florida should kill manatees to save them
While the pace of the starvation deaths has slowed, through April 8 at least 488 manatees have died of all causes this year, compared with a 5-year average of 303 deaths for the same timeframe. Last year, 642 sea cows died over the same timeframe and at least 1,101 manatees died during all of 2021 — most from starvation and 358 of them in Brevard.
There's uncertainty over whether what slowed manatee deaths was a first-of-its-kind feeding program or luck of La Niña driving a warmer-than usual winter. But those most engaged in saving manatees are convinced the way to ensure their future is to elevate the Indian River Lagoon on par with how the federal government thinks about and funds the Everglades and Chesapeake Bay.
It helps that the manatee, a clumsy yet charismatic creature, has inspired a groundswell of sympathy and support from Floridians and donors across the globe.
Duane DeFreese, executive director of the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program, has estimated it will take $5 billion over 20 years to ecologically rehabilitate the lagoon. The 10-year Save Our Lagoon half-cent sales tax, passed in 2016, is only projected to raise 10% of that amount.
Meanwhile, non-profits are stepping up — big time.
The nonprofit Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida raised more than $168,000 from more than 1,300 donations across the globe.
"Everybody's real grateful we did this," said Michelle Ashton, spokeswoman for the nonprofit. "We felt like we needed to do something."
So did many other people in places nowhere near Florida. Donations poured into the wildlife foundation from Canada, Japan, Germany, Mexico and many other countries, Ashton said.
Her foundation has seen significant money come in for the Florida grasshopper sparrow, the Florida panther and other charismatic creatures, but nothing like this.
Things got so bad for manatees that Florida took the unprecedented step this past winter to feed them in the wild at a power plant in north Brevard County, where thousands of manatees congregate every winter at the plant's warm-water discharge.
"Nobody's done this before," Ashton said of the effort.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported they fed more than 202,000 pounds of lettuce to manatees this past winter.
State biologists maintain that it is a man-made famine that killed so many manatees by choking out seagrass — the manatee's main diet, because of all the nitrogen and phosphorus that comes from our sewage. Island outcroppings in Brevard became mass manatee graves during the pandemic. State biologists could not keep up. The death toll grew so bad that in April 2021, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared the die-off an Unusual Mortality Event.
It also prompted the feeding project, a first-of-its kind effort.
Florida's manatee feeding effort ends:Florida ready to wrap up manatee feeding efforts, leaving sea cows to fend for themselves
Why are so many manatees dying on the Space Coast? Brevard County remains epicenter of manatee die-off
Indian River Lagoon seagrass growth not improving:Indian River Lagoon scores abysmal grades in latest report card despite some improvement
'We've got to take every step we can'
Among other money raised by the Fish & Wildlife Foundation is some $900,000 toward seven seagrass rehabilitation sites in the lagoon region, $200,000 of it in one check received from a couple this week.
The replanted grass beds should expand rapidly and become an important food source for sea cows, foundation officials said.
“Eelgrasses are the lungs of the lagoon,” said foundation board chairman Carlos Alfonso. “Two-and-a-half acres of eelgrass can support as many as 100,000 fish and 100 million invertebrates, in addition to providing manatees with a crucial food source.”
The quotes from the foundation's donors show the strong bonds formed over many years between manatee and humankind:
- "Went on a diving trip with my girlfriend Laurie at Crystal River in 1993. Was nudged by a manatee calf and mother. Best diving excursion ever!"
- "In honor of the sweet manatee that Visited us in the Keys."
- "Barbie is my favorite manatee (with five gashes across her back). I used to call her 'my little Buddy', but this year she showed up with a baby. Hence, she became Barbie. I love my manatees!!"
FWC also plans to pump more money into saving sea cows, including some $3 million for restoring manatee habitat; a similar amount to expand its manatee care network; more than $700,000 for manatee rescue and mortality response; and $160,000 for manatee management.
As always, the emotions run raw when it comes to manatees, which is why so many dollars have flowed their way along with ideas on how to save them.
‘Save the manatees’:Decades-old debate about manatees’ future in Florida rages on as sea cows starve
Last month, Brevard County Commissioner Curt Smith said at a County Commission meeting that the die-off is because the manatee population outgrew the capacity of the Indian River Lagoon to support them and that Florida should consider thinning the manatee herd as it does with black bears via public hunts.
That drew an open letter to Smith from Save the Manatee Club Executive Director Pat Rose in FLORIDA TODAY.
"I submit to you that your callous statements advocating killing off manatees, our state marine mammal, is certainly not in the best interests of your constituents nor would it in any way aid in the recovery of the Indian River Lagoon," Rose wrote. "The facts are clear that the seagrass demise is a direct result of government actions and inactions that have knowingly allowed deadly amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus to pollute the lagoon waters for decades."
Boating advocacy groups, which have long bristled about go-slow zones to protect manatees, argue that one solution is to stop attracting manatees to the northern reaches of the lagoon by heating the water at FPL's Port St. John power plant.
"This practice, initiated decades ago, has long outlived its questionable value," said Bob Atkins, president of Citizens for Florida's Waterways, a boating advocacy group in Brevard. "Today the artificial warm water source is attracting manatees to the slow death of starvation."
For now, however, manatees appear to be finding grass to eat. But FWC officials and conservationists remain cautious about the impacts that malnourishment could have on the sea cow's long-term health and reproduction.
As of last week, there were 87 manatees in rehabilitation (19 identified as UME-related rescues) at 14 critical care or rehabilitation/holding facilities: 71 in Florida, 2 in Georgia, 12 in Ohio, 1 in Texas and 1 in Puerto Rico, FWC said. Of this total, 14 manatees are considered not-releasable, but the rest should be able to be returned to the wild.
Pat Rose of Save the Manatee Club worries about how other federal spending such at the war in Ukraine will shave the budgets of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other federal agencies tasked with protecting species and habitats that sustain them.
In August, Rose's group, along with the Center for Biological Diversity and Defenders of Wildlife filed a required notice of their intent to sue the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. They want the agency to recognize the biological factors threatening manatee habitat — such as seagrass loss, declining water quality and waning natural warm-water refuges — and expand the pre-existing critical habitat designation the agency outlined in 1976. Both sides are negotiating and thus far have been able to keep the matter out of court.
"I think the evidence is so strong," Rose said. "We've got to take every step we can."
Feeding manatees is banned by state and federal law. But emergency exemptions allow for authorized FWC and USFWS staff to provide food to manatees impacted by the Unusual Mortality Event. The short-term supplemental feeding trial is being done by experts in ways that prevent negative impacts to manatee behavior and habitat.
People can help manatees by making sure to go slow and looking out below while boating and reporting sightings of injured, sick or dead manatees to the FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline. For more ways to help, visit: https://myfwc.com/research/manatee/rescue-mortality-response/ume/.
Jim Waymer is an environment reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Waymer at 321-261-5903 or jwaymer@floridatoday.com. Or find him on Twitter: @JWayEnviro or on Facebook: www.facebook.com/jim.waymer
Support local journalism and local journalists like me. Visit floridatoday.com/subscribe | https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/environment/2022/04/15/florida-manatees-get-donations-international-wildlife-organizations-more-money-needed/9496887002/ | 2022-04-15T10:32:09 | 0 | https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/environment/2022/04/15/florida-manatees-get-donations-international-wildlife-organizations-more-money-needed/9496887002/ |
Norris Burkes: Easter and the failed insurrection | On Spirituality
No matter what you’ve read, I can promise you this — the insurrection was put down quickly and decisively. The anarchists occupying the garden never really had a chance.
They barely seemed to know it was coming when the occupying powers, caving to the demand of religious leaders, issued an arrest warrant for their insurgency leader.
“Bring this Jesus to me,” said Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect (governor) of Judaea. “Let’s see what kind of leader he claims to be. Does he think himself their king, their God? If so, I’ll make sure he becomes just another revolutionary nailed to a tree.”
Gaining Pilate’s approval, the deputized posse stormed the Gethsemane Garden, a place where Jesus was known to hang with the homeless. The officers expected a fight, or at least hoped to instigate one. They came armed with clubs and swords.
To be certain of their target, they bribed a Jesus insider, a real Judas, to plant an identifying kiss on Jesus’ cheek.
The subject himself offered no resistance. After all, no matter what the prostitutes and degenerate cripples said, Jesus was just a man.
The only struggle came when a sword-packing follower sliced off a deputy’s ear. Eyewitnesses claimed Jesus miraculously reattached it, but the religious leaders dismissed that as fake news.
Others claimed that Jesus’ quiet surrender paved his way to martyrdom. By the time their claim gained traction, Jesus would become much more than a martyr.
Early the next morning, the pathetic arrestee was hauled before Pilate where the governor asked him if he thought himself to be a king.
No response. Only unassuming surrender.
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"This is going to be easy,” Pilate must have thought. “I’ll make him king — King of Calvary’s Hill.”
So much for this petty uprising.
“Not so fast,” pleaded the first lady. “I had a bad dream about him. You shouldn’t have anything to do with him.”
“Dreams! Probably just something you ate,” Pilate told his wife.
Then, with a pontific wave, Pilate motioned Jesus into the hands of tormentors who mockingly crowned him with a wreath of puncturing thorns. Nice touch.
In the meantime, Pilate washed his hands. Just another day living in the dream seat of power. Insurrection squashed.
By Friday afternoon, it was a done deal. Even Jesus knew it by then: “It is finished!”
The government prosecution of the fledgling rebellion was far-reaching and absolute. The orders were signed and sealed, then executed with the utmost prejudice.
But Pilate had looked at this all wrong.
He, as well as the religious folks who’d concocted the charges, had operated under the misguided assumption that the coup would come by force.
You can’t blame them. It was also the shared assumption of Jesus’ disciples, including Judas, their disgruntled group treasurer.
It was only Friday, but Sunday was coming.
Such Friday assumptions are often shared by Christians 2,000 years later. There are people who claim in Jesus’ name that they must defend God’s Kingdom by force or intimidation.
They go to their school board meetings with open Bibles demanding that certain books be removed. Others threaten county supervisors while decisions are debated about health and quarantine.
Sadly, some even take their swords and clubs to the steps of the nation’s capital where they hope to reinstate their king.
Some seek to advance God’s Kingdom by packing the nation’s highest court in hopes wrongs will be overturned. Yet, they find that righteousness can’t be legislated.
Easter tells me that God’s Kingdom won’t be established through votes, protest marches, or mob rule by either side. Liberals will never bring the Kingdom of God by legislating an earthly utopia and conservatives cannot morph God’s Kingdom into Christian Nationalism.
Jesus made this point when he was asked in Luke 17:21 when the kingdom of God would come.
“The kingdom of God doesn’t come by counting the days on the calendar. Nor when someone says, ‘Look here!’ or, ‘There it is!’ And why? Because God’s kingdom is already among you” (message translation).
Sadly, some still look for the Kingdom insurrection in all the wrong places.
On that long-ago first Easter morning, when a few women dared enter Jesus’ empty tomb, they were confronted by angels, asking, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? The one you are looking for is risen” (Luke 24:6).
The words were final witness to the fact that God’s Kingdom has never been about an insurrection.
His Kingdom has always pointed toward the Resurrection, both his and ours.
Happy Easter.
Read Norris’s past columns at www.thechaplain.net Send comments to comment@thechaplain.net or 10566 Combie Rd. Suite 6643 Auburn, Calif. 95602 or via voicemail (843) 608-9715.
Support local journalism and become a subscriber. Visit floridatoday.com/subscribe | https://www.floridatoday.com/story/opinion/2022/04/15/norris-burkes-easter-and-failed-insurrection-spirituality/7318186001/ | 2022-04-15T10:32:21 | 1 | https://www.floridatoday.com/story/opinion/2022/04/15/norris-burkes-easter-and-failed-insurrection-spirituality/7318186001/ |
Will Florida dodge a major hurricane strike again in 2022? Forecast shows increased risk
Florida hasn't been hit by a major hurricane since October 2018, when Michael's 160-mph gusts devastated Mexico Beach and Tyndall Air Force Base as a historic Category 5 monster.
That was 42 months ago or 3½ years. But a prominent hurricane forecast shows the Sunshine State's streak of good fortune may run out this year.
Odds of a major hurricane striking within 50 miles of Florida in 2022 are 44% amid a busier-than-normal Atlantic season, Colorado State University's Tropical Meteorology Project predicted last week.
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During an average season, CSU forecasters peg the odds of a major hurricane strike within 50 miles of Florida at 29%, based on the 1880-2020 climatological average. So their 2022 outlook represents an ominous 52% increase in those odds.
"In the last couple of years, Florida has generally gotten quote-unquote lucky," said Phil Klotzbach, CSU's lead forecaster and research scientist.
"There have been a lot of storms around. And they've had some impacts. We had impacts from Eta in 2020. And then, certainly some impacts from Elsa, Fred and Mindy," Klotzbach said.
"But they weren't huge impacts. Obviously, Louisiana has been the state that has been kind of ground zero in the last two years," he said.
A major hurricane ranks as Category 3, 4 or 5, packing dangerous sustained winds of 111 mph or greater. The Atlantic hurricane season starts off June 1 and ends Nov. 30.
CSU researchers call for a seventh straight season of above-normal storm activity across the Atlantic. The forecast calls for 19 named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher) and nine hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher) this year, including four major hurricanes. More statistics from their initial forecast:
- Odds of a named storm striking Florida: 96% (average season is 86%).
- Odds of a hurricane striking Florida: 75% (average season is 56%).
- Odds of a major hurricane striking the continental United States: 71% (average season is 52%).
- Odds of a major hurricane striking the East Coast, including Florida: 47% (average season is 31%).
Odds of a major hurricane striking the Gulf Coast from the Florida Panhandle westward to Brownsville, Texas: 46% (average season is 30%).
Per NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, the average Atlantic season sees 14 named storms and seven hurricanes, including three major hurricanes. That data is based on the 30-year span from 1991-2020.
The CSU Tropical Meteorology Project will issue forecast updates on June 2, July 7 and Aug. 4.
In a Thursday update, Klotzbach tweeted that NOAA climatologists have reduced the already-low odds of El Niño atmospheric conditions from 10% to 7% from August to October — the peak of hurricane season.
Why is that important? "El Niño typically reduces Atlantic hurricanes via vertical wind shear," Klotzbach said in his tweet.
CSU forecasters also noted that Caribbean and subtropical Atlantic sea-surface temperatures are clocking in warmer than their long-term averages, boosting odds of storm formation.
Florida's major hurricane risk elevated
In an interview, Klotzbach cautioned that hurricane forecasts offer limited geographic accuracy.
"In general, more active seasons have more landfalling hurricanes. But say our forecast is perfect, and we get nine hurricanes. You could get lucky and have zero hit the U.S. — or you could get unlucky and have five hit the U.S.," Klotzbach said.
"Part of the odds of them making landfall is where exactly they form. Because obviously, something formed in the Gulf of Mexico is going to hit somebody. Whereas if a storm forms right off of Africa, oftentimes those just recurve and go out to sea," he said.
"Other times, they can steamroll all the way across like Irma. But the odds of a storm forming right off Africa hitting the U.S. are lower, relatively speaking," he said.
State-by-state chances of a major hurricane strike within 50 miles of its borders this season, according to the CSU report:
- Florida: 44% (up from average 29%).
- Texas: 25% (up from average 16%).
- Louisiana: 23% (up from average 14%).
- Alabama: 13% (up from average 8%).
- South Carolina: 13% (up from average 8%).
"Probabilities in Florida are elevated. One thing I always emphasize: Florida's probabilities are always higher than anyone else's, and that's just because there's a lot of coastline in Florida," Klotzbach said.
"Say you run a hurricane into Mississippi or Alabama. The entire coastline of Alabama is going to feel its impacts, because it's a very small coast," he said.
"Whereas in Florida, if you run a hurricane into the Keys, depending on how it's tracking it may not impact Jacksonville very much, or impact the Panhandle. So that's something to keep in mind when you're looking at probabilities," he said.
The 2021 Atlantic hurricane season ranked as the third most-active on record with 21 named storms and seven hurricanes, including four major hurricanes.
Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell fielded questions Wednesday during a press conference at the National Hurricane Conference in Orlando. A reporter from Tampa Bay told her most of his friends and neighbors don't take hurricane season seriously "because they think it's just going to miss us again."
"It's a scary mindset to have," Criswell replied.
"Disasters do not discriminate on where they're going to hit. And just because it hasn't hit your neighborhood in recent years, or it keeps steering one way or the other, does not mean that this is not the year that it's going to happen," Criswell said.
"Louisiana has been hit the last several years in a row — but they had many years (since) Katrina when they didn't have a significant impact. And so, we see the same thing around some of the coastal areas of Florida," she said.
"We all have to take it serious. These storms are getting worse. They are getting worse. They're causing more destruction. They are intensifying more rapidly. We're going to have less time to warn people so they can take appropriate measures," she said.
National Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham warned conference attendees to heed warnings and properly prepare for smaller storms — not only for Category 3, 4 and 5 major hurricanes.
To illustrate that point, Graham said more hurricane victims have died from carbon monoxide poisoning than from storm surge since 2017.
And since 2010, he said Category 1 hurricanes have caused 185 fatalities and $110 billion dollars in damages.
"There's no such thing as 'just a' Category 1 hurricane," Graham said.
Rick Neale is the South Brevard Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @RickNeale1 | https://www.floridatoday.com/story/weather/hurricanes/2022/04/15/hurricane-season-2022-florida-forecast-major-strike-risk-csu-predicts/9517783002/ | 2022-04-15T10:32:27 | 0 | https://www.floridatoday.com/story/weather/hurricanes/2022/04/15/hurricane-season-2022-florida-forecast-major-strike-risk-csu-predicts/9517783002/ |
Biden picks Michael Barr for Fed’s bank regulation post
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Friday he plans to nominate Michael Barr, the dean of the University of Michigan’s public policy school, to be the Federal Reserve’s vice chairman of supervision.
The selection of Barr comes after Biden’s first choice for the Fed post, Sarah Bloom Raskin, withdrew her nomination a month ago in the face of opposition from Republicans and one Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Raskin’s critics had argued that she would apply the Fed’s regulatory authority to climate change and possibly discourage banks from lending to energy companies.
But with Barr, Biden noted the importance of politics in a Friday statement that said his nominee had previously cleared the Senate on a bipartisan basis.
“Michael brings the expertise and experience necessary for this important position at a critical time for our economy and families across the country,” Biden said.
The Democratic president said that Barr “has spent his career protecting consumers, and during his time at Treasury, played a critical role in creating both the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the position for which I am nominating him.”
Barr is the dean of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. He was an assistant Treasury secretary for financial institutions during the Obama administration who helped design the 2010 Dodd-Frank regulations after the devastating 2008 financial crisis.
Barr, a Rhodes Scholar who clerked for Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court, also served during the Clinton administration at the White House, the Treasury Department and the State Department.
Despite those credentials, some liberal critics last year blocked Barr’s candidacy to become the Biden administration’s comptroller of the currency, a position that is responsible for regulating national banks. These critics viewed with suspicion Barr’s role on the advisory boards of the financial firms Lending Club and Ripple Labs. They also asserted that he had helped dilute proposals for stricter bank regulations during the Obama administration.
But Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, the Democratic chairman of the Banking Committee, voiced full support for Barr.
“Michael Barr understands the importance of this role at this critical time in our economic recovery,” Brown said. “I strongly urge my Republican colleagues to abandon their old playbook of personal attacks and demagoguery and put Americans and their pocketbooks first.”
Others offer strong praise for Barr and say he appears well suited for the Fed position.
David Dworkin, president of the National Housing Conference, which advocates for affordable housing, suggested that Barr’s understanding of Wall Street gives him the right mix of “centrist expertise and progressive policy views’' to win confirmation in a closely divided Senate.
Barr would be joining the Fed at an especially challenging and high-risk period for the central bank and the economy.
The Fed is set to raise interest rates aggressively in the coming months to try to reduce persistently high inflation. Yet it will be extraordinarily difficult for Fed Chair Jerome Powell — who is awaiting Senate confirmation for a second term — to slow inflation by raising borrowing costs without also weakening the economy and perhaps even causing a recession.
“This is about landing a very complicated plane on the runway smoothly,” Dworkin said. “It’s very hard to do.”
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/15/biden-picks-michael-barr-feds-bank-regulation-post/ | 2022-04-15T10:34:52 | 0 | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/15/biden-picks-michael-barr-feds-bank-regulation-post/ |
Heavy flames shot out a fifth floor window on Mulberry Street just before 4 a.m. Friday.
NewsCopter 7 was overhead as firefighters worked to contain the 2-alarm fire.
At least four people suffered injuries. They were taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital.
Two did not survive.
Two other people were treated for injuries believed to be minor.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
ALSO READ | Man who spotted subway shooting suspect Frank R. James, flagged down officers speaks out
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Easter Egg Roll returns after 2-year, COVID-induced hiatus
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is hoping to stir up some “egg-citement” when the Easter Egg Roll returns on Monday after a two-year, coronavirus-induced hiatus.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden expect to welcome some 30,000 kids and their adult chaperones for the egg roll, an egg hunt and other activities.
The first lady, who is a teacher, is calling it the “Egg-ucation Roll,” aides said, and is turning the South Lawn into a school community with a variety of educational stations.
It’s the first Easter Egg Roll to be hosted by the Bidens, who are expected to address the crowd and join in some of the activities, although rain was in Monday’s weather forecast.
The COVID-19 pandemic led the White House to cancel the event in 2020 and 2021.
Besides the egg roll and hunt, the all-day event will include a schoolhouse activity area, a reading nook, a talent show, a place to teach children how farmers supply food, a photo-taking station, a physical “egg-ucation” zone with an obstacle course and other exercise stations, and a “cafetorium” where children and their families will learn to make and eat treats.
The “egg-stravaganza” will get a celebrity splash through the participation of “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon, singer Ciara and actor-singer Kristin Chenoweth.
More than two dozen costumed characters will roam the grounds, including Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat, the Racing Presidents mascots for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball, Rosita and Cookie Monster from “Sesame Street” and Snoopy and Charlie Brown, among others.
Military families will be among the 30,000 participants, including crew members of the USS Delaware and their families. The first lady serves as sponsor of the nuclear attack submarine, which the president commissioned during a ceremony this month in Wilmington, Delaware.
Members of the general public received their tickets through an online lottery.
The egg roll will be the largest event to date at the Biden White House and will unfold in five waves beginning at 7:30 a.m. and ending at 6:30 p.m.
Resumption of this Easter tradition is a sign that the White House is opening up again, despite a recent spurt of COVID-19 cases among members of the Cabinet, the White House staff, Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband and members of Congress, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Some of those cases stemmed from the return this month of the Gridiron Club’s spring dinner.
Self-guided, public tours of the executive mansion are set to resume on Friday in a limited fashion, after they also were halted in 2020 because of the pandemic.
The White House Easter Egg Roll dates to 1878.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/15/easter-egg-roll-returns-after-2-year-covid-induced-hiatus/ | 2022-04-15T10:34:59 | 0 | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/15/easter-egg-roll-returns-after-2-year-covid-induced-hiatus/ |
Prince Harry, Meghan make surprise visit to queen at Windsor
LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have visited Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle on their first joint visit to the U.K. since they gave up formal royal roles and moved to the U.S. more than two years ago.
The couple’s office says they visited the 95-year-old queen, Harry’s grandmother, Thursday on their way to the Netherlands to attend the Invictus Games. Harry is a founder and patron of the international sports competition for wounded military veterans.
Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior working royals and moved to North America in 2020, citing the unbearable pressure of their roles and racist attitudes of the British media.
The couple, also known as the duke and duchess of Sussex, lost their taxpayer-funded police guard when they walked away, and Harry is suing the British government for refusing to let him pay for his own police security on his visits to the U.K. His lawyers say Harry wants to bring his children — Archie, who is almost 3, and 10-month-old Lilibet — to visit his home country but that it is too risky without police protection.
Harry and Meghan are expected to attend a reception in The Hague on Friday for the Invictus Games, which run from Saturday to April 22.
The visit to the queen came on Maundy Thursday, a day in the week before Easter that the queen for decades marked by distributing silver coins known as “Maundy money” to pensioners at a church service. This year the queen, who has been experiencing mobility issues in recent months and came down with COVID-19 in February, did not attend. She was represented by her eldest son, Prince Charles, and his wife Camilla.
The monarch also is expected to miss the royal family’s Easter Sunday church service. She has continued to perform royal duties, including virtual audiences with politicians and diplomats.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/15/prince-harry-meghan-make-surprise-visit-queen-windsor/ | 2022-04-15T10:35:06 | 1 | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/15/prince-harry-meghan-make-surprise-visit-queen-windsor/ |
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It happened Thursday morning on US-1 South coming off the Triangle Expressway near Apex.
An investigation determined that someone hit a pedestrian in the area and kept driving. That pedestrian died from their injuries.
@NCSHP is asking for the public's assistance to solve a fatal hit & run collision. pic.twitter.com/usI50aopqH
— NC Highway Patrol (@NCSHP) April 15, 2022
Investigators are now trying to find a 2006-2013 Chevrolet Impala with damage to the front passenger and passenger side mirror. Anyone who has any information that could help in this investigation should call 919-733-4400.
The identity of the victim who died in this hit-and-run has not been released. | https://abc11.com/hit-and-run-i540-crash-pedestrian-killed-i-540/11750690/ | 2022-04-15T10:38:45 | 0 | https://abc11.com/hit-and-run-i540-crash-pedestrian-killed-i-540/11750690/ |
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/usda-agent-discovers-body-while-monitoring-geese-in-richmond-township-creek/article_b5408180-bc3a-11ec-953a-630da47e6124.html | 2022-04-15T10:38:47 | 0 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/berks/usda-agent-discovers-body-while-monitoring-geese-in-richmond-township-creek/article_b5408180-bc3a-11ec-953a-630da47e6124.html |
PHILLIPSBURG, N.J. - The Murphy administration is taking a second look at a sex education curriculum that was supposed to be used at schools across New Jersey in the fall. It comes after some parents and politicians came across sample plans that they believe teach too much, too soon.
"Concerned parents in another district had emailed all the senators with some model curriculum that have been shared to them at their school district and that's what kind of started this whole blow up," said state Sen. Holly Schepisi, a Republican representing District 39.
New Jerseyans are debating what sex education to teach and when.
"There were very explicit lessons even about anatomy," said Schepisi. "Do we really need to be talking to 10-year-old kids in a mixed classroom about masturbation?"
Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement the Comprehensive Health and Physical Student Learning Standards were created with the help of parents, experts and teachers, before being approved in June of 2020.
"Rather than focus on resources for children for learning, loss and lag, our appointed State Board of Education adopted new standards," said Schepisi.
"It is paramount that our standards also promote inclusivity and respect for every child, including LGBTQ youth," Murphy said.
Murphy says some sample plans don't accurately represent the standards, and that he's having the Department of Education review them and provide further clarification.
"I'm very supportive of the LGBTQ community, but where my concerns really came into play is, one, the age appropriateness of what we're doing," said Schepisi. "I really do think that we need to have a more balanced approach on this. I think we need to get more into the center on some of these issues."
Murphy says parents can opt their kids out of any health lesson they'd rather teach themselves.
The Board of Education and Department of Education did not respond to 69 News' requests for interviews. | https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/western-newjersey/nj-governor-asks-education-department-to-re-examine-sex-education-standards/article_462f9a00-bc3b-11ec-93ce-e3ac22311269.html | 2022-04-15T10:38:50 | 1 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/western-newjersey/nj-governor-asks-education-department-to-re-examine-sex-education-standards/article_462f9a00-bc3b-11ec-93ce-e3ac22311269.html |
We all want a place to call home, and next week you can help Habitat for Humanity in Berks County build more homes by buying homes for birds.
You buy a birdhouse, and the money goes to Habitat for Humanity.
The 2022 Birdhouse Challenge is being held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Reading on Tuesday, April 19. You can bid on birdhouses, all built by local folks.
The unique birdhouses have been created by artists, students and craftspeople. Some of them are first-time builders.
The birdhouse challenge started back in 2016.
Between 25 and 30 birdhouses will be up for auction this year. The birdhouses were delivered to the DoubleTree earlier this week where they are now on display in the lobby.
Tickets for the event are $75. It includes food, an open bar and live music, and of course, the silent auction.
All the money raised goes to Berks County's Habitat for Humanity. They're hoping to raise $50,000. | https://www.wfmz.com/news/good-news/birdhouse-auction-benefits-habitat-for-humanity/article_5a52da22-bca1-11ec-9001-c3e791aff0ae.html | 2022-04-15T10:38:52 | 0 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/good-news/birdhouse-auction-benefits-habitat-for-humanity/article_5a52da22-bca1-11ec-9001-c3e791aff0ae.html |
The Olivet Boys and Girls Club in Reading is recognizing a local teen for her commitment to excellence.
Olivet's Youth of the Year award is the highest honor a teen club member can achieve.
This year, three Olivet teens were nominated as candidates. Each one gave a speech and was interviewed by a panel of judges.
At the end of the night, Twyla Ewen was chosen as the 2022 youth of the year.
Twyla is in 11th grade at Reading High School. She's been an active member at the PAL Center for the Arts for more than 10 years.
A talented musician and singer, she performs at Olivet and across Berks county. She plays guitar, flute and piano.
Olivet says Twyla's "musical talent, academic achievement, and involvement in the Club and local community are a shining example of the Boys & Girls Club America's initiatives of academic excellence, healthy lifestyle, and good character and citizenship."
Most recently, Twyla was selected as a finalist by the Boys and Girls Club of America's national talent search. The state competition is next.
As this year's winner, Twyla will attend Youth of the Year Pennsylvania State Competition in Harrisburg. There she'll compete with teens from other local Boys & Girls Club organizations. | https://www.wfmz.com/news/good-news/olivet-boys-girls-club-announces-2022-youth-of-the-year/article_182a326e-bc9f-11ec-b661-63bd81b32500.html | 2022-04-15T10:38:58 | 0 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/good-news/olivet-boys-girls-club-announces-2022-youth-of-the-year/article_182a326e-bc9f-11ec-b661-63bd81b32500.html |
BEIJING, April 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- At the intersection of energy and digital revolution, innovative business model is the trend leading changes in the era. In the forward-looking spirit of serving humanity, Route Vision Automobile, after implementing the Second Home Plan, takes the lead in launching the Mars vehicle product, which is the first human's vehicle on Mars and a multi-planet travel tool that meets the transportation needs on earth and Mars.
Human beings around the world are united in the technology iteration, aggregating global outstanding technology industries. In order to realize the dream of further exploring Mars and maintaining the sustainable living space of future generations, the world should shoulder the technical responsibility and financial mission together regardless of race and color. To that end, Route Vision Automobile releases the invitation for the world and welcome all of you to join the Mars vehicle DAO factory. Ranging from processing, accessories, software technology to design and users, each process is to contribute to the DAO factory's growth rate.
Mars vehicle release--roadmap:
Route Vision Automobile is leading the future because the vehicle system is the core of the future transportation; the Mars vehicle adopts Harmony OS and Tesla (Full self-driving) FSD system. The combining parts of the vehicle employ the architecture of Rivian's skateboard platform and the vehicle energy contains new energy, such as hydrogen and nuclear energy. It is a new transportation or flight tool on the surface of the earth. Its overall composition can be customized and assembled. This vehicle can be used on both earth and Mars across planets. The Metaverse Cloud Factory is responsible for the full process, ranging from placing orders, retroactive production to personalized generation. There are options to choose Earth delivery or Mars delivery; it can also be traded in the Metaverse ecosystem.
In terms of different energies and engines, Route Vision Automobile will gradually integrate global quality suppliers. The Earth will serve as a manufacturing base for the geomorphology characteristics of both Earth and Mars. More flexible payment methods will be available and we will embrace the future! The first batch of Mars vehicles will take the innovative way to subscribe and issue with NFT. Owning the NFT will allow to have vehicle pre-sale rights as well as Earth and Mars use rights. On top of that, upgrading virtual vehicles online is also available. Overall, each operation serves as a contribution to the DAO ecology to realize the completion of the Mars Home as soon as possible so that we can achieve the interplanetary migration.
DAO Factory
The imaged customers are groups who are enthusiastically involved in cryptocurrency and agree with the spirit of blockchain. They have maverick thinking, constantly optimize their own lives, and are full of imagination and participation in emerging things and models. Their logical thinking is in a distributed, blockchain style, and this decentralized perception has prompted us to make the factory decentralized as well.
DAO is responsible for organization and token for bookkeeping, and then the vehicles will be delivered to users afterwards. It can put all information on the chain and make them non-tampering, including orders, parts, and processes. It ensures everything is traceable, including every order, the whole process and all techniques. It helps build up a new ecological model. Not only is it transparent to consumers, but also there are benefits for parts manufacturers, and individual factories. The increased revenue are for every transaction, vehicle premium, and participant in the chain. It is a positive effect on production efficiency, quality control, and order volume throughput. That's how the brand is defined, a DAO factory producing Mars vehicles!
NFT Payment Method
We have adopted a more flexible and interesting payment method this time, using the purchase of NFT to pay for the vehicle. In other words, after owning a limited-edition NFT, you can have access to the pre-sale right of a Mars vehicle's and the right to explore the earth and Mars. Both the vehicle and NFT can continue to transaction, generating incremental revenue for each link in the production of this vehicle with a reward, which not only greatly brings great incentives to the producer and the buyer, but also considerably improves the production quality and optimizes as well as accelerates the vehicle iteration. Users who own NFT can choose to deliver on Earth or on Mars in the future; Metaverse can also continue to upgrade and customize the virtual vehicle online and it can achieve the smooth interactive experience online and offline.
Global Community
The Mars vehicle of Route Vision Automobile was first released in North America to advocate a new way of life from the perspective of openness, freedom and sustainable development. Our ideal community is a group of friends with similar values, who will work together to improve the DAO ecology, integrate technology, improve business models and production capabilities, and present the transportation, communication and housing aspects of the new living community in the interplanetary life. We will promote the landing on Mars and become the creator, supporter and member of the Mars community.
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hong-kongs-second-home-project---a-global-launch-of-the-first-mars-vehicle-301526509.html
SOURCE Route Vision Automobile | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_automotive/hong-kongs-second-home-project---a-global-launch-of-the-first-mars-vehicle/article_c73b3c79-f77e-586a-a628-ca3119264184.html | 2022-04-15T10:39:04 | 1 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_automotive/hong-kongs-second-home-project---a-global-launch-of-the-first-mars-vehicle/article_c73b3c79-f77e-586a-a628-ca3119264184.html |
GUANGHZOU, China, April 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The 131st Canton Fair formally raises its curtain to the public on April 15, 2022. Chinese home appliance manufacturer Changhong has established a presence at the exhibition with its full series of products, including a lineup of environmentally responsible, 5G-enabled home appliances as well as the M8-series TV, the Eva model air conditioner, and the Space Pro refrigerator and washing machine.
Visit Changhong Online Exhibition Hall: https://www.cantonfair.org.cn/en-US/shops/451692550933632?keyword=&_t=T8x&_t=7jl#/
Changhong will host several new product launches and live streaming events, in addition to displaying its product lineups in several VR exhibition halls and virtual exhibition venues, enabling interested buyers to get a full and detailed run-down on each product and on the product's features. Being an online event, all exhibits and exhibitors will be available 24 hours per day. Buyers can view products, engage in negotiations and order products at any time from any time zone, removing time and geographical restrictions.
Changhong has utilized its understanding of the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, and 5G to product R&D and production to produce trend-setting products that improve the user experience, such as the M8-series smart TV, the first-of-its-kind air conditioner Eva model that can respond to voice commands in multiple languages without needing to be connected to an online device, and the Space Pro refrigerator and washing machine, both of which are equipped with the world's leading ultra-thin technologies.
Despite the various uncertainties worldwide, Changhong's business outside its home market of China remains resilient. In 2021, the manufacturer's overseas business broke all previous records, with ex-China home appliance sales revenue climbing by more than 10% year-over-year, while sales of CHiQ branded products jumped some 20%.
Changhong has further optimized both its online and offline sales channels and is accelerating the establishment of additional channels in overseas markets as well as creating product portfolios customized to the audience demographic on leading e-commerce platforms worldwide.
As of the end of 2021, Changhong's CHiQ, with richer and more competitive product lineups, is now featured on over 20 countries/regions and 40 e-commerce platforms. Its e-commerce business recorded a year-on-year increase of more than 40% in sales revenue. CHiQ-branded TVs and refrigerators have been leaders among the best-selling products on Amazon's European platform, as well as on the platforms of Southeast Asia-based Shopee and Lazada.
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chinese-home-appliance-manufacturer-changhong-brings-full-lineup-of-products-to-online-edition-of-131st-canton-fair-301526510.html
SOURCE Changhong | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_business/chinese-home-appliance-manufacturer-changhong-brings-full-lineup-of-products-to-online-edition-of-131st/article_9efae9dc-cb19-5400-872a-088af5efce39.html | 2022-04-15T10:39:07 | 1 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_business/chinese-home-appliance-manufacturer-changhong-brings-full-lineup-of-products-to-online-edition-of-131st/article_9efae9dc-cb19-5400-872a-088af5efce39.html |
Inspect2go provides retail food inspection and permitting software to environmental health departments throughout the US. The software is designed to facilitate conformance with the FDA Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards.
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., April 15, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Many health departments in the USA would like to adhere to the nine FDA Retail Food Standards.
Inspect2go can help with these seven:
- Standard 1 - Regulatory Foundation: The Retail Food Code is imported into the Inspect2go software application for reference during inspections.
- Standard 3 - Inspection Program Based on HACCP Principles: Inspectors can take photos, mark violations, add comments and track inspection frequency based on risk.
- Standard 4 - Uniform Inspection Program: The software standardizes inspection procedures across all of the environmental health department's inspectors.
- Standard 5 - Foodborne Illness and Food Defense Preparedness and Response: Health department staff can record complaints and track their resolution.
- Standard 6 - Compliance and Enforcement: The software guides users through the agency's compliance and enforcement procedures.
- Standard 7 - Industry and Community Relations: The Public Portal facilitates outreach to the public, the media and consumer groups.
- Standard 9 - Program Assessment: Administrators can filter reports by facility, violation and other factors.
This new video explains the process https://inspect2go.com/fda-food-standards
Also, view the NEHA (National Environmental Health Association) News Release (https://www.neha.org/node/61968) to learn more about "Advancing Conformance With the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (VNRFRPS) by State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT) Retail Food Regulatory Agencies".
About Inspect2go
Inspect2go offers specialized software for city, county, state and federal government agencies. Clients include departments of health, departments of environmental health and other government agencies. Products and services include public citizen web portals, permitting and licensing software, paper/manual process to paperless/cloud database migration services, database development, hosting, inspection software and custom programming services to automate complex office workflows.
Media Contact
Paul Smith, Inspect2go, 1 9494294620, info@inspect2go.com
SOURCE Inspect2go | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_food_beverages/inspect2go-announces-software-for-the-fda-voluntary-national-retail-food-regulatory-program-standards/article_0a1d21f7-2e77-51b7-b0e6-2f80150489e7.html | 2022-04-15T10:39:13 | 1 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_food_beverages/inspect2go-announces-software-for-the-fda-voluntary-national-retail-food-regulatory-program-standards/article_0a1d21f7-2e77-51b7-b0e6-2f80150489e7.html |
NEW YORK, April 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- After stagnating during the height of the pandemic, physician salaries rebounded 7% towards the end of 2021, with increases seen in primary care and all other specialties, according to the results of the Medscape Physician Compensation Report 2022: Incomes Gain, Pay Gaps Remain, released today.
As medical practices reopened and patient volume returned to pre-pandemic levels, salaries also increased to an overall average of $339,000 (up from $299,999 in 2020), a jump of more than 29% since 2015. The highest-paid physicians were plastic surgeons ($576,000), orthopedists ($557,000), and cardiologists ($490,000), while primary care physicians, pediatricians, and public health & preventive medicine specialists reported the lowest compensation, at $255,000, $244,000 and $243,000, respectively.
But pay gaps along gender and racial/ethnic lines persisted across every specialty, remaining largely unchanged since 2017. In this year's report, male physicians in primary care earned 23% more than female physicians, and male specialists earned 31% more than female specialists. The specialty pay gap narrowed slightly from 37% in 2017, which may reflect efforts by professional specialty organizations to address gender recruitment and pay inequities. Caucasian/White physicians overall earned more than Latinx/Hispanic, Asian American physicians and African American/Black physicians.
To read the full report, click here: https://www.medscape.com/slideshow/2022-compensation-overview-6015043?faf=1
The annual Medscape Physician Compensation Report is the most comprehensive and widely used physician salary survey in the U.S., assessing compensation, hours worked, time spent with patients, and what they find most rewarding -- and challenging -- about their jobs. The 2022 report surveyed 13,000 physicians across 29 specialties from October 5, 2021 to January 19, 2022.
"After an extremely difficult two years, physicians are seeing a return to more routine patient practice, and their compensation increases are evidence of that," said Leslie Kane, MA, Senior Director, Medscape Business of Medicine. "That said, we're seeing little progress on pay equity – although women have made inroads into many of the higher-earning specialties--, and physicians continue to raise the issue of workload and administrative demands. " "We are encouraged to see continued efforts by the medical community.
Additional Report Highlights:
- Otolaryngologists, gastroenterologists, and dermatologists saw the largest salary increases, between 11% and 13%. Public health and preventative medicine specialists, oncologists, and critical care physicians saw the lowest increases, from 1% to 3%. Yet, public health specialists ranked highest in feeling adequately compensated as compared with other specialties.
- Despite an overall increase, one in five physicians (21%) reported that their salaries fell in 2021, with 70% citing the impact of pandemic-related office closures and loss of patient volume.
- About one in four physicians (25%) feel competition from nurse practitioners (NPs), physician assistants (PAs), naturopaths, and other non-physician practitioners; more than half use NPs in their practice.
- As in previous reports, nearly one in four physicians (23%) cited too many rules and regulations as the most challenging aspect of patient practice and 15% pointed to difficult patients and long hours.
Medscape Survey Methods:
The 2022 Medscape Physician Compensation Report was completed by 13,064 Medscape member physicians representing more than 29 specialty areas, currently practicing in the U.S. Participants were invited to respond to an online survey. The margin of error for the survey was +/- 0.86% at a 95% confidence level using a point estimate of 50%. The sampling error for full-time respondents is +/- 0.97%.
About Medscape
Medscape is the leading source of clinical news, health information, and point-of-care tools for healthcare professionals. Medscape offers specialists, primary care doctors, and other health professionals the most robust and integrated medical information and educational tools. Medscape Education (medscape.org) is the leading destination for continuous professional development, consisting of more than 30 specialty-focused destinations offering thousands of free C.M.E. and C.E. courses and other educational programs for doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals.
Media Contact: WebMD@dkcnews.com
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/medscapes-2022-physician-compensation-report-physician-salary-rebound-but-gender-and-racial-gaps-persist-301526112.html
SOURCE Medscape | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_health/medscapes-2022-physician-compensation-report-physician-salary-rebound-but-gender-and-racial-gaps-persist/article_fa796247-04a0-5cee-9ee6-7daadfb72554.html | 2022-04-15T10:39:19 | 0 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_health/medscapes-2022-physician-compensation-report-physician-salary-rebound-but-gender-and-racial-gaps-persist/article_fa796247-04a0-5cee-9ee6-7daadfb72554.html |
Catch the Webbula Wave: Webbula Puts Foundation in Place for Indispensable World-Wide Partner Ecosystem
WEXFORD, Pa., April 15, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Webbula, the Data Solutions Experts, has unveiled a new partner portal offering service and solution partners the opportunity to differentiate themselves from the competition, increase their reach, and ultimately, increase their revenue.
Webbula's Partnership Program focuses on adding value to our partners' brands and marketing efforts. Webbula strives to help email service providers, digital marketing agencies, data management platforms, demand-side platforms, and more to gain more market share.
Webbula's Partner Portal consists of two directories. Webbula's new Service Partner Portal connects end-users with marketing agencies and other service providers familiar with Webbula's services to provide third-party outsourced marketing expertise. The Solution Partner Portal houses technology partners, DMP and DSP partners, and future integration partners that can help organizations take their internal processes to the next level.
"Offering our partners a platform that allows them to define who they are and what they offer is really important to us. Our new advanced platform empowers partners to leverage video and images to further differentiate themselves in an ever-increasing competitive industry," said Jack Wrigley, VP of Partnerships at Webbula. "Paired with best in class co-marketing opportunities we enable our partners to increase their reach, and, ultimately, increase their revenue."
"We wanted to build not just a partner page, but a partner directory and ecosystem," said David Lewis, VP of Sales and Marketing.
"Ometria is thrilled to partner with Webbula. Their technology and support serve our clients very well by ensuring client messages are getting to real customers while also protecting client reputations. Webbula truly enables Ometria to deliver on our mission of helping retailers create marketing experiences their customers will love," said Joe Nicholas, VP of Global Partnerships at Ometria.
Additional opportunities available to Webbula's Partners through the Program:
- Thought leadership opportunities: Webbula allows you to provide an industry perspective and reach a broader audience.
- Integration of platforms: Since ease of use is the key to success, Webbula will empower joint customers to do more through powerful integrations.
- VIP customer support from the Webbula team: Webbula makes you a hero.
- Partner Spotlight opportunity: Webbula empowers you to share what makes your product special.
To learn more about Webbula's data solutions and partners, visit the portals at https://partners.webbula.com/solutions and https://partners.webbula.com/.
If you're interested in becoming a Webbula partner, visit: https://webbula.com/become-a-partner/#signup
About Webbula
For over ten years, customers have trusted Webbula to help them overcome complex data challenges, and is the undisputed leader in email hygiene, data enhancement, audience targeting, and identity-driven data solutions. Proudly headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, truth in data is at the heart of everything we stand for and will always be our passion.
Media Contact
Melissa McGaughey, Webbula, (814)572-7947, mmcgaughey@webbula.com
SOURCE Webbula | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_pennsylvania/webbula-launches-powerful-partner-portal-representing-diverse-industry-leaders-in-email-marketing/article_ac28f982-d9b7-596f-8798-9f54858b8946.html | 2022-04-15T10:39:25 | 0 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_pennsylvania/webbula-launches-powerful-partner-portal-representing-diverse-industry-leaders-in-email-marketing/article_ac28f982-d9b7-596f-8798-9f54858b8946.html |
- "Movement That Inspires" broadcast campaigns for Kia's Carnival MPV, EV6, K5, and Telluride earn EDO's first-ever Automotive TV Advertising Award for "Best Non-Luxury Auto Campaign"
- Times Square introduction of the all-electric Kia EV6 recognized by MediaPost as "Best Interactive Execution or Campaign"
IRVINE, Calif., April 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Two of Kia America's 2021 marketing initiatives were recognized this week with awards of excellence in automotive marketing communications.
Kia's "Movement That Inspires" broadcast campaign, a key component of the automaker's new brand identity in the U.S., was named the 2021's Best Non-Luxury Auto Campaign by EDO, a data measurement company that evaluates broadcast ad effectiveness and subsequent consumer engagement online. As recipient of the first-ever Automotive TV Advertising Awards presented by EDO, Kia's broadcast spots for the Carnival MPV, EV6, K5 and Telluride models were recognized for driving consumer engagement with the brand online.
In addition, marketing trade journal, MediaPost, named Kia's "Times Square Takeover" for the all-electric Kia EV6 "Best Interactive Execution or Campaign." With assistance from agency partners including David&Goliath, Gail & Rice, Innocean, and Zeno Group, Kia took over the iconic New York City location for an in-person US debut of the EV6.
"Having two of Kia's most ambitious marketing initiatives recognized as best in class by EDO and MediaPost is further proof of the growth and maturation of the Kia brand in the U.S. and provides us with inspiration for future marketing to continue path towards challenging convention and pushing boundaries," said Russell Wager, vice president, marketing, Kia America. "With the launch of 'Movement That Inspires' and the introduction of the all-electric EV6, Kia is well on its way to a leadership position in sustainable mobility."
Kia America - about us
Headquartered in Irvine, California, Kia America continues to top automotive quality surveys and is recognized as one of the 100 Best Global Brands. Kia serves as the "Official Automotive Partner" of the NBA and offers a range of gasoline, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electrified vehicles sold through a network of nearly 750 dealers in the U.S., including several cars and SUVs proudly assembled in America.
For media information, including photography, visit www.kiamedia.com. To receive custom email notifications for press releases the moment they are published, subscribe at www.kiamedia.com/us/en/newsalert.
EDO
EDO measures the spike in consumer engagement behaviors, such as online search for a brand in the moments after a TV ad airs. The larger the spike, the more consumers are engaging with the brand, and higher engagement is predictive of higher sales. EDO's outcomes-driven platform measures consumer actions and what drives them to purchase and provides brands with the data they need to effectively engage audiences through TV ad campaigns.
MediaPost Communications
MediaPost is an integrated publishing and conference company whose mission is to provide a complete array of resources for media, marketing and advertising professionals. MediaPost is the holding company for the following entities: MediaPost.com, 30+ industry conferences and events each year nationwide and in Europe, including the OMMA, Insider Summit, Marketing and Engage conference series, seven annual award shows, and a suite of 50+ industry-focused email newsletters & blogs.
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kia-america-wins-multiple-marketing-honors-during-2022-new-york-international-auto-show-301526454.html
SOURCE Kia America | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_stocks/kia-america-wins-multiple-marketing-honors-during-2022-new-york-international-auto-show/article_4fa142f9-4e34-565c-b608-65b81e1ce1e6.html | 2022-04-15T10:39:27 | 0 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_stocks/kia-america-wins-multiple-marketing-honors-during-2022-new-york-international-auto-show/article_4fa142f9-4e34-565c-b608-65b81e1ce1e6.html |
- "Movement That Inspires" broadcast campaigns for Kia's Carnival MPV, EV6, K5, and Telluride earn EDO's first-ever Automotive TV Advertising Award for "Best Non-Luxury Auto Campaign"
- Times Square introduction of the all-electric Kia EV6 recognized by MediaPost as "Best Interactive Execution or Campaign"
IRVINE, Calif., April 15, 2022 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ -- Two of Kia America's 2021 marketing initiatives were recognized this week with awards of excellence in automotive marketing communications.
Kia's "Movement That Inspires" broadcast campaign, a key component of the automaker's new brand identity in the U.S., was named the 2021's Best Non-Luxury Auto Campaign by EDO, a data measurement company that evaluates broadcast ad effectiveness and subsequent consumer engagement online. As recipient of the first-ever Automotive TV Advertising Awards presented by EDO, Kia's broadcast spots for the Carnival MPV, EV6, K5 and Telluride models were recognized for driving consumer engagement with the brand online.
In addition, marketing trade journal, MediaPost, named Kia's "Times Square Takeover" for the all-electric Kia EV6 "Best Interactive Execution or Campaign." With assistance from agency partners including David&Goliath, Gail & Rice, Innocean, and Zeno Group, Kia took over the iconic New York City location for an in-person US debut of the EV6.
"Having two of Kia's most ambitious marketing initiatives recognized as best in class by EDO and MediaPost is further proof of the growth and maturation of the Kia brand in the U.S. and provides us with inspiration for future marketing to continue path towards challenging convention and pushing boundaries," said Russell Wager, vice president, marketing, Kia America. "With the launch of 'Movement That Inspires' and the introduction of the all-electric EV6, Kia is well on its way to a leadership position in sustainable mobility."
Kia America - about us
Headquartered in Irvine, California, Kia America continues to top automotive quality surveys and is recognized as one of the 100 Best Global Brands. Kia serves as the "Official Automotive Partner" of the NBA and offers a range of gasoline, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electrified vehicles sold through a network of nearly 750 dealers in the U.S., including several cars and SUVs proudly assembled in America.
For media information, including photography, visit www.kiamedia.com. To receive custom email notifications for press releases the moment they are published, subscribe at www.kiamedia.com/us/en/newsalert.
EDO
EDO measures the spike in consumer engagement behaviors, such as online search for a brand in the moments after a TV ad airs. The larger the spike, the more consumers are engaging with the brand, and higher engagement is predictive of higher sales. EDO's outcomes-driven platform measures consumer actions and what drives them to purchase and provides brands with the data they need to effectively engage audiences through TV ad campaigns.
MediaPost Communications
MediaPost is an integrated publishing and conference company whose mission is to provide a complete array of resources for media, marketing and advertising professionals. MediaPost is the holding company for the following entities: MediaPost.com, 30+ industry conferences and events each year nationwide and in Europe, including the OMMA, Insider Summit, Marketing and Engage conference series, seven annual award shows, and a suite of 50+ industry-focused email newsletters & blogs.
Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1797897/Kia_New_Logo.jpg
SOURCE Kia America | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_stocks/kia-america-wins-multiple-marketing-honors-during-2022-new-york-international-auto-show/article_fc68edd3-1518-5e58-8d98-6684092abc4b.html | 2022-04-15T10:39:33 | 0 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_stocks/kia-america-wins-multiple-marketing-honors-during-2022-new-york-international-auto-show/article_fc68edd3-1518-5e58-8d98-6684092abc4b.html |
- The second largest app market in Korea has outperformed global competitors in the Korean market.
- It plans to expand its reach in the industry through strategic partnerships with leading global behemoths, such as Blizzard and Microsoft.
- "2022 will be the year of our successful IPO, and the beginning of ONE store's global business expansion," says CEO Lee Jae-hwan.
SEOUL, South Korea, April 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- ONE store (http://www.onestorecorp.com), Korea's second largest app market outperforming global competitors, will be expanding into Asia and Europe markets. ONE store stated it is actively developing its global platform and will launch within this year.
ONE store was established in 2016. Since Q3 of 2018, ONE store has revolutionized the industry with its groundbreaking decision to slash app market fees from the standard 30% down to 20%. According to MOBILEINDEX, a mobile big data analysis platform, ONE store's domestic app market share in 2021 was 13.8%, which ranked second and exceeds that of Apple app store (11.6%).
The company has shown tremendous growth since its app market fee reduction in 2018. In 2020, it turned a profit and recorded 38.3% growth, which is 3.5 times higher than that of the global app market by the first half of 2021. In Q3 of 2021, the total transaction volume grew 27.8% year- over-year, recording 13 consecutive quarters of transaction volume growth.
Developers have widely acknowledged the value of ONE store, which has contributed to its rapid growth. The transaction volume in Q3 of 2021 grew 3.3 times that of Q2 in 2018, which was before the reduced commission fee launch. By leveraging multi-homing, ONE store was able to expand its user base and the sales volume of developers. According to 2019 research conducted by ONE store, developers had increased their earnings by 27%, and their sales by 20% since joining ONE store.
Piggybacking off its Korean market success, ONE store will now go global. With a favorable commission structure for developers, wide-ranging benefits for users, and appealing Korean content that captures the world's attention, ONE store will expand internationally by adopting their successful domestic market strategy for the global market.
Along with its plan to enter the global market, ONE store has announced cross-platform services and content businesses as its key future revenue streams. In August 2021, the company unveiled its corporate vision as a "Global multi-OS content platform" to globally connect various services, devices, OS (operating systems) and business areas.
In line with this vision, ONE store has announced partnerships with a number of global companies, such as Blizzard, Microsoft and Tencent. It has also executed its business strategies, such as the introduction of the beta service "ONE GameLoop," a cross-platform that allows users to enjoy the same game experience on both mobile and PC, which was co-launched with Tencent.
In June 2021, ONE store received investments from Microsoft and "Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners" (DTCP), an investment company of Deutsche Telekom. The combined investment made by both partners was 16.8 billion KRW (about 15 million USD). The investment by global companies came three months after attracting investments from leaders in the Korean telecommunications market, KT and LGU+. Securing successful investments validates ONE store's scalability and potential in the app market business, and leveraging its positive feedback in the industry, ONE store is gearing up to get listed on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI).
"2022 will be the year we start establishing a bridgehead for global expansion," says Lee Jae-Hwan, CEO of ONE store. "As we also prepare to be listed on the KOSPI this year, we also have an eye on going beyond the Korean market to also secure competitive share in the global market."
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SOURCE ONE store | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_stocks/korean-app-market-one-store-announces-its-entry-into-the-global-market-this-year/article_9bc1c486-8e8b-5488-b667-f3cea9428d87.html | 2022-04-15T10:39:39 | 0 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_stocks/korean-app-market-one-store-announces-its-entry-into-the-global-market-this-year/article_9bc1c486-8e8b-5488-b667-f3cea9428d87.html |
Conference call scheduled for the same day at 10:00 a.m. ET
NEW YORK, April 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Newmark Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NMRK) ("Newmark" or "the Company"), a leading full-service commercial real estate services business, today announced the details of its first quarter 2022 financial results press release and conference call. The call will take place at 10:00 a.m. ET on Friday, April 29, 2022. The Company plans to issue an advisory press release regarding the availability of its consolidated quarterly financial results by 8:00 a.m. ET on Friday, April 29, 2022. Newmark's advisory release will notify the public that a full-text financial results press release will be accessible at any of the following pages:
http://ir.nmrk.com (PDF version of the full press release, PDF of a quarterly results investor presentation, and supplemental Excel financial tables)
https://ir.nmrk.com/investors/news-releases/financial-and-corporate-releases/default.aspx (PDF version of the full press release, PDF of a quarterly results investor presentation, and supplemental Excel financial tables)
https://www.nmrk.com/media/search?type=Press%20Releases (PDF only)
Newmark will host a conference call on Friday, April 29, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. ET to discuss its results.
Participants are encouraged to pre-register for the conference call to gain immediate access to the call and bypass the live operator. Pre-registration may be completed at any time by accessing the pre-registration link on Newmark's Investor Relations website, http://ir.nmrk.com, or by navigating directly to:
After pre-registering, you will receive your access details via email. Participants who have not pre-registered may join the call using the following information. Please note that those who do not pre-register may experience greater than normal wait times before being able to join the live call.
Note: If clicking the above links does not open a new webpage, you may need to cut and paste the URLs into your browser's address bar.
ABOUT NEWMARK
Newmark Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NMRK), together with its subsidiaries ("Newmark"), is a world leader in commercial real estate, seamlessly powering every phase of the property life cycle. Newmark's comprehensive suite of services and products is uniquely tailored to each client, from owners to occupiers, investors to founders, and startups to blue-chip companies. Combining the platform's global reach with market intelligence in both established and emerging property markets, Newmark provides superior service to clients across the industry spectrum. Newmark generated revenues in excess of $2.9 billion for the year ended December 31, 2021. Newmark's company-owned offices, together with its business partners, operate from approximately 160 offices with over 6,200 professionals around the world. To learn more, visit nmrk.com or follow @newmark.
DISCUSSION OF FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS ABOUT NEWMARK
Statements in this document regarding Newmark that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These include statements about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company's business, results, financial position, liquidity, and outlook, which may constitute forward-looking statements and are subject to the risk that the actual impact may differ, possibly materially, from what is currently expected. Except as required by law, Newmark undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. For a discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see Newmark's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors and Special Note on Forward-Looking Information set forth in these filings and any updates to such risk factors and Special Note on Forward-Looking Information contained in subsequent reports on Form 10-K, Form 10-Q or Form 8-K.
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SOURCE Newmark Group, Inc. | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_stocks/newmark-groups-first-quarter-2022-financial-results-announcement-to-be-issued-prior-to-market-open/article_ba4882de-92ac-5686-8aec-e1df4db1782d.html | 2022-04-15T10:39:45 | 1 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_stocks/newmark-groups-first-quarter-2022-financial-results-announcement-to-be-issued-prior-to-market-open/article_ba4882de-92ac-5686-8aec-e1df4db1782d.html |
BEIJING, April 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bairong Inc ("Bairong" or "the Company", 6608.HK), a leading independent AI-powered technology platform in China, announced that the Company has been granted a new patent for its smart method and system for marketing strategy generation, an industry-leading solution designed to help financial institutions address challenges in precision marketing and enable them to engage their customers with high accuracy and personalized strategies.
Bairong's precision marketing solution is a three-layer strategy ecosystem, with cloud-based SaaS fintech and smart analytics platforms serving as the foundation that grants technological capacities to Bairong's services and strategy outputs. Bairong's service matrix is built on four pillars, which consist of operational diagnostics, system implementation, smart analytics, and customer operations. The top layer — strategy outputs — offers systematic solutions based on the information filtered through the two lower layers, delivering optimized and fine-tuned strategy as well as actionable implementation plans.
A pioneering innovation capable of elevating customer experiences and boosting conversion rate and sales, the one-stop solution, which is built on Bairong's unmatched smart analytics ability, harnesses AI and cloud-based technology to provide multi-dimensional customer insights, holistic diagnostic tools as well as a package of bespoke and targeted services, empowering the financial sector to accelerate toward digital transformation.
The purpose-built solution helps financial institutions quickly shift to a customer-oriented strategy in establishing a full life-cycle customer management system incorporated with predictive analytical tools that cut through the complexity of targeting customers, helping them acquire new customers, boost high-value customer retention, reduce customer attrition.
Customers are the most strategic resources for financial institutions, with customer management sitting at the core of their business operations. However, their long-standing reliance on the product-oriented marketing strategy has hindered their ability to stay ahead of diverse customer demands and expectations in the digital age, which require real-time responses and differentiated marketing approaches. With its expertise in AI and cloud computing, Bairong has been spearheading the development of a strategy-driven precision marketing solution that can help users to seize new opportunities in what author Brett King calls, the era of "Bank 4.0."
As financial institutions are adopting the multi-channel approach in order to maximize customer reach, Bairong has built a unified and diversified marketing system integrated online and offline channels. The closed-loop system features data collection, analysis, decision-making, precise delivery, interaction, and dynamic feedback, creating a one-stop marketing hub that helps users to refine the management for different customer groups.
With a human-centric design, Bairong's solution is able to provide a personalized service experience for every customer. The Company leverages marketing engines to optimize the tagging system for customers, products and services, which, coupled with a smart decision-making capability based on expert rules and data models, can enable financial institutions to significantly increase labor efficiency in terms of customer acquisition, product recommendation, and service delivery. It can also establish multi-dimensional customer classification that pinpoints the needs of an individual, providing targeted services and comprehensively enhancing customer experience.
Digitized banking and financial services have become the norm in the Bank 4.0 era, but a lack of engagement in the non-human interaction that automated services provide often leads to confusion and low satisfaction rates. Bairong precision marketing solution tackles this pain point by offering powerful tools featuring highly intelligent robotic technologies that can deliver the customer experience on a par with human assistants, allowing financial institutions to refocus on expediting digitalization while simplifying complex service procedures and improving customer loyalty.
Looking forward, Bairong will continue to sharpen its focus on innovation and product optimization and develop a holistic solution integrated with software, strategy, models, and data, joining forces with its business partners and clients to drive the digital transformation of finance.
About Bairong Inc.
Founded in March 2014, Bairong is a leading independent AI-powered technology platform in China serving more than 5,700 financial services provider clients. Bairong was the largest independent financial big data analytics solutions provider in China. Adhering to the mission of empowering every financial services provider in China with smart and comprehensive data analytics, Bairong has built a cloud-native technology platform that supports the full business cycle of FSP clients, including smart analytics, decision-making support, smart consumer operation and wealth management solutions, enabling them to improve risk management ability, promote user activity and operational efficiency. Bairong also provides precision marketing and insurance distribution services that enable FSP clients to reach and serve their target customers more effectively.
For more information, please visit Bairong.
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bairongs-new-precision-marketing-solution-empowers-financial-institutions-to-make-data-driven-decisions-in-delivering-streamlined-personalized-customer-experience-301526507.html
SOURCE Bairong Inc | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_technology/bairongs-new-precision-marketing-solution-empowers-financial-institutions-to-make-data-driven-decisions-in-delivering/article_f92e27e6-c85a-520c-9fd1-638de247b359.html | 2022-04-15T10:39:47 | 0 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_technology/bairongs-new-precision-marketing-solution-empowers-financial-institutions-to-make-data-driven-decisions-in-delivering/article_f92e27e6-c85a-520c-9fd1-638de247b359.html |
NEW CASTLE, Del., April 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Karben Wallet is a contemporary spin on the classic leather or nylon wallet. Karben Wallet was recently introduced by the team at YEHYEH Limited to protect wallets from theft and deformation. The Karben Wallet is a wallet made of carbon fiber and aluminum that promotes attractiveness while also protecting users from theft. This material is a major selling factor because it outperforms leather, canvas, and polyester (to name a few).
The Karben Wallet features a sophisticated industrial style that looks equally at home in a museum as it does in the pocket. Karben, on the other hand, is more than just a gorgeous face—tough it's enough to survive for decades, compact enough to fit in any pocket, and packed with current design features that make it a delight to possess.
Purchasing a Karben Wallet is simple. Simply go to the firm's official website here.
The Karben Wallet is made of carbon fiber, which is 5 times stronger, twice as stiff, and weighs a sixth of the weight of steel. Temperatures of up to 500 degrees Celsius are no match for it. Fighter jets like the Lockheed Martin F-35 are built of the same material. Karben will look as good as the day the user acquired it, long after other wallets have worn out.
Sitting on a huge wallet in the back pocket for hours throws the pelvis and spine out of alignment, compresses the sciatic nerve, and causes lower back pain. The user doesn't have to be concerned about any of these with Karben! Its lightweight, compact form weighs only 42 grams and measures only 8 x 61 x 86mm! Karben Wallet is available on the company's official website and may be ordered there.
The Karben Wallet is small enough to fit in any pocket. It fits neatly in any fanny pack, backpack, or purse, but don't be fooled by its small size: the Karben Wallet can hold up to a dozen credit or debit cards, as well as a clip for carrying cash. It also comes with a lanyard loop for added convenience.
RFID-blocking technology is the most important feature of the Karben Wallet. Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID) stands for Radio Frequency Identification Devices. These can be found in passports, credit cards, and anything else that has a chip to help with transactions. Thieves can acquire access to personal information with a simple touch for people who are used to putting their wallets in their back pockets. RFID-blocking technology decreases the possibility of being spied on.
An NFC (near-field communication) sticker/chip is programmed inside the Karben Wallet. This feature can be thought of as an improved RFID that ensures easy data transfer. While access to the Karben App is deemed insignificant, it may be useful in some circumstances. The goal of the app, according to our editorial team, is to allow people to share their information with only a tap. To ensure a quick transfer, the receiver must have an NFC-enabled device (or access to the necessary QR code if they don't), and the distance between the two parties must be within a 4cm radius.
The current price of KARBEN is $49.99 and it is available on the official store. However, if ordered before December 31st, 2021, the buyer will receive a discount, making purchasing a Karben Wallet a no-brainer!
Contact Karben Wallet Team:
Contact Person: Robin Bruch
Role: MD
Address: YEHYEH LIMITED 221 N Broad St., Suite 3A Middletown, New Castle DE 19709 United States
Postal code: 19709
City: New Castle
Country: United States
Email: support@karbenwallet.com
Phone: 866 206 1457
Related Links: Karben Wallet Official Website Link
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/karben-wallet---a-wallet-that-gives-full-protection-from-theft--deformation-301526504.html
SOURCE Karben Wallet | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_technology/karben-wallet---a-wallet-that-gives-full-protection-from-theft-deformation/article_6fa9b647-d223-518f-8946-81e16326209c.html | 2022-04-15T10:39:53 | 1 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_technology/karben-wallet---a-wallet-that-gives-full-protection-from-theft-deformation/article_6fa9b647-d223-518f-8946-81e16326209c.html |
GlobalForms Spring Release makes creating web forms easier and enhances visibility into business processes.
NEW HAVEN, Conn., April 15, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Square 9 Softworks®, a leading provider of award-winning process automation solutions, has announced the latest release of their GlobalForms web forms design platform. The new release of GlobalForms simplifies web form creation through an extended no-code platform allowing business users to easily create advanced web forms for data capture while eliminating paper from their business processes.
With the Spring 2022 release, users will find it easier to leverage the extended functionality within GlobalForms through an updated feature set that utilizes simple drag and drop and drop-down menus for form creation. As a result, business users will be able to rapidly incorporate data calculations, conditional values, and more with web forms that truly transform business processes and meet ever-changing employee, customer, and partner needs.
"GlobalForms has always been a powerful tool to forge digital transformation in any business," said Stephen Young, President and CEO of Square 9 Softworks. "With the GlobalForms Spring 2022 release, we are empowering users with advanced features through a simplified design interface so they can build more dynamic forms on their own and in less time," said Young.
The GlobalForms Spring 2022 release provides increased visibility into form submissions by allowing users to create customized work queues or task lists. This increased visibility into the status of form submissions while they are still in process and delivers greater insights for managers while allowing users to aggregate all of their form activities into a single, customized view. The benefits of this flexibility will be felt throughout an organization as they gain a holistic view of their digitized business processes for improved decision-making.
Also included in the Spring 2022 release is a new language localization tool that creates a library of translated fields that can be used again and again in future form creation to further reduce the design effort. Forms users would simply toggle between languages based on their individual preferences.
With the GlobalForms Spring 2022 release, Square 9 remains committed to user feedback and demonstrating its continued dedication to customer innovation. For more information, please visit https://info.square-9.com/globalforms_spring2022.
About Square 9 Softworks:
Square 9 is a leading developer of award-winning enterprise content management solutions built to drive business efficiency through process automation. With both cloud-enabled and on premise document management solutions, Square 9 enables businesses of all sizes to take control of paper-intensive processes by managing, sharing, and securing their business content. Square 9 distributes its solutions internationally through a network of highly skilled Channel Resellers from its corporate office in New Haven, Connecticut. http://www.square-9.com.
Media Contact
Alexa Pritchard, Square 9 Softworks, 203-285-8577, apritchard@square-9.com
SOURCE Square 9 Softworks | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_technology/square-9-softworks-simplifies-common-business-tasks-with-globalforms-spring-2022-release/article_784ff54a-dfff-5543-b7b3-8bbffc6734e6.html | 2022-04-15T10:39:59 | 1 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_technology/square-9-softworks-simplifies-common-business-tasks-with-globalforms-spring-2022-release/article_784ff54a-dfff-5543-b7b3-8bbffc6734e6.html |
The renamed company offers solution development services for the Japanese and ASEAN markets
TOKYO, April 15, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- transcosmos inc. hereby announces that the company renamed transcosmos Technologic Arts Co., Ltd. a wholly-owned subsidiary that offers agile software development services in Vietnam, "transcosmos technology Vietnam co., ltd." on April 15, 2022. Daisuke Kamada became the CEO of the renamed company.
transcosmos Technologic Arts was established as a joint venture with Technologic Arts Co., Ltd. in 2014 and became a wholly-owned subsidiary of transcosmos in 2017. As an agile software development company, it offers solution development services for Japan and ASEAN nations. With many Drupal and Aqcuia certified engineers – both world-leading CMS platforms - and qualified PMPs (Project Management Professional), the company also provides serverless application development services as a certified AWS Partner.
Along with the change in the company name and organizational structure, transcosmos technology Vietnam plans to increase its engineers. By the fiscal year 2023, the company aims to go beyond Ho Chi Minh and enter new cities and open new sites. Going forward, transcosmos technology Vietnam will work more closely with transcosmos and develop platforms for transcosmos Group to deliver a range of outsourcing services (contact centers, BPO, digital marketing and e-commerce) in Japan and overseas. Ultimately, as a member of transcosmos Group, transcosmos technology Vietnam will offer the optimum One-Stop Services for transcosmos clients.
■ transcosmos technology Vietnam overview
Company name: transcosmos technology Vietnam co., ltd.
Representative: CEO Daisuke Kamada
Founded: November 21, 2014
Location: Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
Business: System development for call center and BPO businesses
Supported languages: Japanese, English, Vietnamese
URL: https://www.trans-tech.vn/
- transcosmos is a trademark or registered trademark of transcosmos inc. in Japan and other countries.
- Other company names and product or service names used here are trademarks or registered trademarks of respective companies.
About transcosmos inc.
transcosmos launched its operations in 1966. Since then, we have combined superior "people" with up-to-date "technology" to enhance the competitive strength of our clients by providing them with superior and valuable services. transcosmos currently offers services that support clients' business processes focusing on both sales expansion and cost optimization through our 173 bases across 30 countries/regions with a focus on Asia, while continuously pursuing Operational Excellence. Furthermore, following the expansion of e-commerce market on the global scale, transcosmos provides a comprehensive One-Stop Global E-Commerce Services to deliver our clients' excellent products and services to consumers in 48 countries/regions around the globe. transcosmos aims to be the "Global Digital Transformation Partner" of our clients, supporting the clients' transformation by leveraging digital technology, responding to the ever-changing business environment. Visit us here https://www.trans-cosmos.co.jp/english/
Media Contact
transcosmos inc., transcosmos inc., +81-3-6709-2251, pressroom@trans-cosmos.co.jp
SOURCE transcosmos inc. | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_technology/transcosmos-renames-its-agile-software-development-subsidiary-in-vietnam-transcosmos-technology-vietnam-co-ltd/article_16bc2afe-ac70-5457-b424-d81379ab4f4f.html | 2022-04-15T10:40:05 | 1 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_technology/transcosmos-renames-its-agile-software-development-subsidiary-in-vietnam-transcosmos-technology-vietnam-co-ltd/article_16bc2afe-ac70-5457-b424-d81379ab4f4f.html |
Thursday was day #2 of our summer preview and second straight day with 80-degree warmth, almost 20 degrees above our mid-April average high, which is actually in the low 60s.
We're heading back towards average over the weekend, and even cooler than average for the better part of next week, so hopefully you soaked up the summer rays while you had the chance.
The first of two cold fronts crossed the area early Thursday evening, sparking some showers and a few t-storms out ahead of it, and sweeping away the 80-degree high temperatures in the process. Behind front #1, it's certainly less warm than the past few days, but a sunny and still pleasantly mild Friday is on the way with highs back in the mid 60s.
Similar temperatures are expected Saturday, but our second cold front will bring an increase in clouds and some afternoon rain showers on Saturday.
Behind that front, it's sharply cooler with highs only in the low 50s come Easter Sunday, but it does look to be dry, albeit cool and brisk, for any Easter egg hunts or holiday plans.
Our next round of wet weather arrives later Monday into early Tuesday.
FRIDAY
Behind our cold front, it's a return to seasonable temperatures for mid-April, with still mild and pleasant highs in the mid and upper 60s on Friday with mostly sunny skies and a noticeable westerly breeze ushering in the somewhat cooler air.
Despite being about 15 degrees cooler compared to Thursday, Friday's highs will still actually be a hair above our average high for mid-April, which is in the low 60s.
SATURDAY
Our second cold front will approach later in the day, bringing an increase in clouds after some morning sunshine, as well as some scattered afternoon rain showers, with perhaps a rumble of thunder or some small hail as the leading edge of some sharply cooler air arrives. It's our last mild day for a while, with highs similar to Friday and in the mid 60s.
EASTER SUNDAY
Behind front #2, our Easter expectations are for a mix of sun and clouds on Sunday, but a cooler day as well with highs back in the low 50s, about 30 degrees colder than the last few days have been.
There will also be a cool northwest breeze around 10-15mph that will make it feel a bit cooler than it already is.
At least right now, the day does look to be mostly dry despite the sharp cool down, although a few morning flurries in the Poconos are possible.
EARLY NEXT WEEK
Cool air will remain king early next week, with highs only in the low to mid 50s Monday through Wednesday with brisk breezes and the chance for some rain Monday night into Tuesday morning. While partly sunny skies should prevail otherwise, it will be brisk and cool for this time of year, and especially compared to our recent summery surge. | https://www.wfmz.com/weather/mild-for-now-but-much-cooler-air-is-on-the-way-for-easter/article_f5cb0f12-bc9f-11ec-82cd-e3a8930520ef.html | 2022-04-15T10:40:07 | 1 | https://www.wfmz.com/weather/mild-for-now-but-much-cooler-air-is-on-the-way-for-easter/article_f5cb0f12-bc9f-11ec-82cd-e3a8930520ef.html |
Arizona man arrested after 183 dead animals found in freezer
GOLDEN VALLEY, Ariz. - An Arizona man faces animal cruelty charges after 183 dead dogs, rabbits, birds and other animals were found in a freezer, including some that were apparently frozen while alive, officials said.
Mohave County deputies and animal control officers found the animals in a garage freezer April 3 after a woman reported that Michael Patrick Turland, 43, hadn’t returned snakes she’d lent him for breeding, the Sheriff’s Office said Thursday in a statement. The freezer was at a home where Turland previously lived in Golden Valley, a rural community in far western Arizona.
The frozen animals included dogs, turtles, lizards, birds, snakes, mice, rats, and rabbits, the statement said. "Several of the animals appeared to have been frozen alive due to their body positioning."
The home's owner reportedly discovered the frozen animals while cleaning after Turland and his wife vacated the property. The owner then contacted the woman who notified the sheriff's office, the statement said.
Turland was arrested at the home Wednesday when deputies were told he had returned to the property, the office said.
"When interviewed, Turland eventually admitted to placing some of the animals in the freezer when they were still alive," the statement said.
Court records didn't list an attorney who could comment on behalf of Turland, who was arrested on 94 counts of animal cruelty.
More Arizona crime news:
- Phoenix toddler given 3 Narcan doses after ingesting fentanyl; parents arrested
- 2 suspected fentanyl suppliers arrested in northern Arizona
- Teen accused of making shooting threats to Scottsdale schools, businesses
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1st COVID-19 breath test given emergency use authorization by FDA
WASHINGTON - 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.
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"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." | https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/1st-covid-19-breath-test-given-emergency-authorization-by-fda | 2022-04-15T10:40:22 | 1 | https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/1st-covid-19-breath-test-given-emergency-authorization-by-fda |
Anthony Todt found guilty of murdering wife, 3 kids in Celebration
CELEBRATION, Fla. - Anthony Todt was found guilty Thursday night in the 2019 deaths of his wife, three kids, and a family dog, and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
A jury found him guilty on four counts of first-degree murder – one count each for the deaths of his wife and three kids – and one count of cruelty to animals in the death of a family dog.
The verdict came roughly seven hours after closing arguments ended Thursday morning and the jury began deliberating.
The judge sentenced Todt to life in prison without the possibility of parole on each murder charge and the maximum year sentence on the animal cruelty charge and stipulated that those sentences be served consecutively.
Todt pleaded not guilty to all counts.
He testified in his own defense during trial and claimed that his wife, Megan, was responsible for the deaths of their kids due to an apparent "apocalyptic death pact."
"He gave one complete statement to law enforcement and a completely different statement to you in court yesterday," prosecutor Danielle Pinnell said during closing arguments, referring to a recorded interview between Todt and police officers where Todt detailed how his wife and kids were killed.
RELATED: Anthony Todt murder trial: Todt claims his wife killed his children, not him
Todt told the court that he did not remember the interview and claimed that he had fallen down some steps and hit his head.
"Just because he’s taken responsibility for it, doesn’t mean he committed the acts and doesn’t mean he did it," said Todt's defense attorney Alesha Smith, claiming that Todt tried to protect his wife's alleged action.
WHAT DID ANTHONY TODT SAY IN COURT?
"I came home and my kids were dead," Todt said Wednesday in court, crying. "Most horrible day of my life."
"She had blood on her shirt and after I said a few uncolored words to her, I then discovered the kids, I went into their rooms and found them dead," he said.
He insinuated there was something in the dessert she made for the kids, which he didn't eat.
"When I found out what happened I puked, I cried," he said.
The Medical Examiner said all family members died by homicidal violence and that all of them had toxic amounts of Benadryl in their bodies.
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April showers kick off Easter weekend in Central Florida
ORLANDO, Fla. - Today's forecast high: Around 86º
Tonight's forecast low: 68º
Main weather threats:
Passing showers with an isolated storm or 2 especially after 1pm. Lightning and heavy rain could result from the stronger storms South of Cape Canaveral.
WHAT IS THE WEATHER FORECAST FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD, UNIVERSAL, AND SEAWORLD?
Mixed skies early with warming PM temps in the mid 80s. Showers possible really at anytime today but emphasis will be on the 11am and beyond timeframe.
WHAT IS THE WEATHER FORECAST FOR THE BEACHES IN FLORIDA?
Beach weather looks great locally today. Just watch for a few showers for the PM hours, mainly after 12pm. Rip current risk is MODERATE. Surf remains in the 1-2' range. High tide will occur this morning, dropping out low for the PM hours
LOOKING AHEAD:
Expect warm, muggy conditions to remain in play through the weekend with highs in the 85-90º range. Skies remain in a sun-cloud mix. Rain chances fall on Saturday to 10% only to rise on Easter Day afternoon with the
approach of a cold front.
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Monday brings a rain chance of 50% with scattered showers and storms across the region. By Tuesday, skies begin clearing and temps fall closer to the 80º mark for highs, lows near 62°. Winds will trend breezy during this time
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Biden administration unveils steps to boost racial equity, make government fairer for everyone
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Justice Department is improving language access to its programs to help people with limited English proficiency better report crimes. The Interior Department is providing technical assistance to Native American tribes to help them apply for grants. The Energy Department is helping low-income households access programs to weatherize their homes and save energy.
Those efforts are among hundreds of strategies and commitments the Biden administration released Thursday. They are the product of an executive order that President Joe Biden signed hours after taking office with the goal of advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities across the federal government.
The order was the first of its kind by a president, said Chiraag Bains, deputy assistant to the president for racial justice and equity.
"We set the mission and the mandate for every agency, the entire federal government, to center equity in all that we do," Bains told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
After more than a year of review, more than 90 federal agencies, including all major Cabinet departments, released their "equity action plans" on Thursday.
The plans outline more than 300 strategies and commitments that aim to make federal policies fairer for everyone, including poorer communities and communities of color; tribal, rural and LGBTQ communities; and people with disabilities and women and girls.
They were to be discussed at a White House event hosted Thursday by domestic policy adviser Susan Rice, budget director Shalanda Young and members of the Cabinet. Biden, a Democrat, has one of the most diverse Cabinets, with Black and Hispanic people and women leading major departments, including Defense, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Some of the equity plans have been announced, such as work by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to close the racial gap in homeownership, address disproportionate rates of homelessness among underserved communities and reduce bias in home appraisals.
Others strategies are being made public for the first time, such as Defense Department efforts to promote the use of artificial intelligence technology to reduce algorithmic bias by investing in the development of a more diverse AI workforce. That work includes partnerships with historically Black colleges and universities.
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Equity action teams at every agency led the reviews. Bains said that, taken together, the strategies "will advance equity and justice so that everybody can thrive in America." | https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/biden-administration-unveils-steps-to-boost-racial-equity-make-government-fairer-for-everyone | 2022-04-15T10:40:40 | 1 | https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/biden-administration-unveils-steps-to-boost-racial-equity-make-government-fairer-for-everyone |
Cadbury World chocolatiers make giant Easter egg equivalent to 889 chocolate bars
BIRMINGHAM, England - Two talented chocolatiers at Cadbury World spent three days crafting a massive Easter egg, which stands 3 feet tall and weighs over 88 pounds.
Dawn Jenks and Donna Oluban took three days to make the giant chocolate treat at Cadbury World, an attraction located outside of Birmingham, England, that shares all about the history and making of British confectioner Cadbury chocolate.
The egg is made of solid milk chocolate and features a detailed Easter scene, complete with an intricate array of flowers, grass and cherry blooms trees. It also features a hand-crafted owl, two bunny rabbits and a fox.
The company said it has the equivalent of 889 standard bars of Cadbury Dairy Milk.
"Dawn and Donna are renowned for creating egg-cellent Easter chocolate creations, and they’ve definitely continued the tradition with this year’s masterpiece," Diane Mitchell, a marketing manager at Cadbury World, said in a statement.
RELATED: 'Boozy Bunny' at Disney Springs is the Easter treat for grownups
The chocolate masterpiece is on display in Cadbury World’s Chocolate Making zone for visitors to see throughout the Easter holiday and until the end of April, the company said.
Cadbury first introduced its popular Easter egg in 1875, made with dark chocolate. It later unveiled the creme-filled egg in 1923, though the version most know today wasn’t sold on store shelves until 1971, according to its website.
The treat has since become somewhat of a sweet Easter staple, similar to the popularity of Peeps or chocolate bunnies.
RELATED: New Peeps flavors introduced ahead of Easter holiday
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Don't feed birds this spring!
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota is asking people to not fill bird feeders or birdbaths to help stop the spread of bird flu this spring.
In a post on Facebook, The Raptor Center’s Executive Director and Veterinary Epidemiologist, Dr. Victoria Hall urged the public to do everything they can to help prevent the gathering of songbirds.
Hall says the country is facing an unprecedented outbreak of avian influenza (HPAI) in wild birds.
While most research about bird flu’s effects centers around waterfowl, shorebirds and seabirds, since they are the birds that most often survive the illness, the Raptor Center is concerned about the virus’ effect on raptors as they often die from the virus.
"During these unprecedented times, we recommend doing anything that we can to try and help our wild bird populations. Because the science is unclear on the role of songbirds in this current H5N1 outbreak, one consideration is to not encourage birds to gather together at places such as bird feeders or birdbaths. These are places where things like viruses could easily be exchanged between individuals," Hall wrote.
Hall stresses the outbreak won’t last forever, but action now will help end it as quickly as possible.
Businesses, nonprofits take steps to curb spread of bird flu
The Easter season is a busy one at Anoka-Ramsey Farm and Garden for chick and duck sales.
"This weekend is probably our biggest weekend of the year for poultry," said owner Tom Tidrick.
But in the midst of a bird flu outbreak, they are taking safety seriously.
"Biosecurity is important to us so we are cleaning tanks between arrivals of the chicks, and just generally trying to keep the floors clean," said Tidrick.
The same is true at the Raptor Center in Saint Paul.
"We are doing everything possible to keep people from accidentally bringing it into the center," said executive director Victoria Hall.
They’ve closed their doors to visitors and are making sure workers and volunteers don’t track in any wild bird waste on their shoes.
According to Hall, this outbreak is very different than the one we saw in 2015.
"Same virus, very different way that it’s playing out…in this outbreak, we are seeing an incredible amount in wildlife and it’s geographically all across the country," said Hall.
They test every bird that’s brought to the Center with a swab -- similar to the way humans are tested for COVID-19.
Over the last few weeks, 40% have been positive for avian influenza.
"Anything we can do to help stop some of that transmission or accidentally help that transmission is only going to help our birds this spring," said Hall.
To curb the spread, the Raptor Center is now urging Minnesotans to take down their bird feeders and bird baths for the next month.
Any artificial gathering of birds has the potential to spread the virus, which kills 90-100% of the birds who catch it.
"Taking down your bird feeder just for a little bit is just like not going to the bar in the middle of a COVID surge," said Hall.
Bird flu does not like the heat, so the situation should get better as the weather gets warmer. For now, Hall believes taking down your bird feeder is a small step to help prevent things from getting any worse.
"We need to do everything we can to possibly help our avian friends," said Hall.
RELATED: Expect higher poultry, egg prices as bird flu wipes out Minnesota flocks
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FHP: Florida teen caught speeding over 110 mph wanted to impress girlfriend
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - A Brevard County teenager was caught on camera driving more than 100 miles an hour on I-95, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
The trooper said he had to go 125 mph just to catch 19-year-old Angelo Donnelly. The driver’s suspected motive? Showing off for his girlfriend!
"We were on our way to Cocoa and I was acting a fool," Donnelly reportedly is heard saying on the trooper's bodycam video.
Donnelly was handcuffed and put in the back of the patrol car. That’s when the trooper asked him why he was going 112 mph on the interstate, nearly hitting other cars.
Donnelly, who says he’s never been pulled over before, then reportedly made this confession.
Trooper: "What happened? Why were you driving like that?"
Donnelly: "You want to hear the honest truth? My girlfriend was driving behind me and I was trying to show off."
Donnelly was arrested for misdemeanor reckless driving. His car was towed and he was taken to jail.
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How the Titanic was taken down by a mirage
Her story puts many Greek tragedies to shame.
The Titanic was a beauty destined for greatness, but the fates were against her. On a cold April night in 1912, she fell from grace, sinking to her watery grave in the icy northern Atlantic.
But as is the case with any story, there’s more to this tale.
Although an iceberg famously led to the Titanic’s downfall, a background character — the weather — set the stage for a series of unfortunate events that ultimately culminated into a most historic disaster.
Foreboding weather
FILE - This terrible scene, painted by German artist Willy Stoewer, depicts the sinking of the Titanic, the proud British luxury liner which struck an iceberg off New Foundland, April 14, 1912, carrying 1,517 persons, many of them Americans, to their (Getty Images)
"The reason why we're all fascinated by the Titanic today, to a certain extent, is because her story is a kind of modern tragedy," said Tim Maltin, Titanic author and historian.
According to Maltin, the tragedy that befell the Titanic may have been caused by unusual atmospheric conditions.
"The weather, the night the Titanic sank, was absolutely extraordinary," he said. "It was one of the calmest nights and clearest nights in history."
That fateful night was on April 14, 1912. The Titanic was en route from Southampton, England to New York City, passing through the waters about 460 miles south of Newfoundland, Canada.
A red marker notes the approximate location of the Titanic when it sank off the southern coast of Newfoundland, Canada. (NOAA)
According to Maltin, in this particular part of the Atlantic Ocean, the warm waters of the Gulf Stream and cool waters of the Labrador Current collided and failed to mix together.
"This created what we call a thermal inversion, where you have much warmer air above very cold air, among the icebergs," he said.
Usually, warm air sits beneath a layer of cold air, as the sun heats the ground and air becomes cooler at higher altitudes. So when the opposite or inverted layering occurs, it is called a thermal inversion.
FILE - A large iceberg floats in the distance in the Atlantic Ocean, April 26, 2017 off the coast of Ferryland, Newfoundland, Canada. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The thermal inversion on the night the Titanic sank essentially turned the layer of warm air into a weighted blanket that pushed aerosol molecules down into the layer of cold air below. That created clear skies at high altitudes (where the warm air was), but a hazy veneer closer to sea level (where the cold air was).
"The problem is that the molecules themselves in the air actually had the effect of scattering light," Maltin said.
According to Maltin, this scattered light created an optical illusion called a "superior mirage." Unlike desert mirages, which are formed by warm air, superior mirages are formed by cold water.
FILE - The Green Flash at Sunset, Rarest Prismatic Colour Refracted by the Atmosphere', circa 1935. (The Print Collector/Getty Images)
Additionally, while desert mirages appear to pull the sky down below the horizon — and create the illusion of pools of water on the ground — superior mirages appear to raise the horizon into the sky.
"This had the effect of reducing the apparent angular size of the berg in the dark conditions that night," Maltin said. "And with the berg coming straight towards the lookouts, it unfortunately meant that the berg had to be that much nearer before it was seen."
And by the time the Titanic saw the iceberg, it was too late.
FILE - Rms Titanic Of The White Star Line Sinking Around 2 20 Am Monday Morning April 15 1912 After Hitting An Iceberg In The North Atlantic. ( Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
To make matters worse, the superior mirage caused by the thermal inversion thwarted rescue efforts.
The Titanic fired rockets into the air to signal their distress to nearby ships, but due to the mirage "lifting" the horizon upward, the rockets were too small to be seen.
This illusion also lifted the horizon to create a veil over part of the Titanic.
"There was a rescue ship called the Californian, only about 10 miles away from where Titanic sank," Maltin said. "But through a series of very tragic events, because the air was so clear, because the horizon appeared to be slightly raised beyond Titanic, instead of her being an 800-foot 10 miles away, they judged her to be a 400-foot ship 5 miles away."
FILE - Captain Stanley Lord of the SS Californian (front row holding spy glass) poses with three senior officers. (Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)
This judgment led the crew of the Californian to believe that they had not found the Titanic. Rather, they thought they found a small ship in the distance.
And because the crew thought the ship was merely a small vessel, they did not believe it had radio capabilities, as only large ocean liners were equipped with that technology at the time. Thus, the Californian did not use their radio to hail what was indeed the sinking Titanic.
The series of unfortunate events continued.
"They then got their Morse lamp signal out to try and Morse to this vessel that they thought didn't have radio," Maltin said. "Unfortunately, the layered air in the thermal inversion caused really a sort of scintillation."
FILE - Sailor with signaling lamp, 1939. (Daily Herald Archive/SSPL/Getty Images)
The low-lying aerosols of the thermal inversion caused the light emitted by Morse lamp symbols — calls for help — to scatter in the air.
"So, Titanic was saying, ‘We are the Titanic sinking, have your boats ready.’ And Californian was looking at Titanic and assuming that Titanic was burning flickering oil lamps when in fact, the Titanic, of course, was a very modern vessel with very solid electric lamps," Maltin said.
"These extraordinary atmospheric conditions not only caused the boat to be sighted critically just too late, but they also caused a ship only 10 miles away to fail to come to Titanic's aid."
Instead, another ship the Carpathia, came to help Titanic – but only arrived more than an hour after the ship had already sank.
The epilogue
FILE - The iceberg that sank the White Star Line's Olympic-class RMS Titanic which struck it on 12 April 1912 on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York with loss of over 1,500 lives. (Photo12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
That night, about 1,500 of the Titanic’s passengers and crew were lost to the sea.
Many lessons were learned from that fateful night and later implemented.
"After the Titanic sank, they did two things: They instituted 24-hour radio watch, which was extremely helpful. They also instituted the International Ice Patrol, which actually sends helicopters over this area to look for and plot and tell ships where the ice is," Maltin said.
FILE - A U.S. Coast Guard International Ice Patrol vessel conducts surface observations of icebergs which are then produced as twice daily broadcasts to ships in North Atlantic Lane routes. (Bettmann / CORBIS / Bettmann Archive / Getty Images)
As far as thermal inversions go, Maltin said ships are far more equipped to handle them today — however, they aren’t completely in the clear.
"There is evidence that radar struggles in this type of thermal inversion situation," he said. "I don't want to worry people, but it is possible that this kind of accident could happen again."
"Titanic symbolizes the fact that no matter how brilliant and creative humanity is, the world and the universe always has the upper hand."
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If you have COVID-related brain fog, these tips from a doctor may help
ATLANTA - It's been more than two years since 34-year-old Elana Cooper first contracted COVID-19 at her grandfather's funeral in March 2020.
She says she caught the virus again in January.
A PhD student in biomedical engineering at Georgia Tech, Cooper says she is really struggling with brain fog, one reason she came to AbsoluteCare in Buckhead, one of five long COVID clinics in Georgia.
Cooper is concerned her difficulty focusing and memory lapses may make it difficult to continue in her program.
"It kicks in at any point," Cooper says. "So, when you're in the middle of a conversation, and you have to, like, think for a word and pause, it's a little embarrassing. You're trying to find words, you're trying to think through problems, but you're moving slower, you're processing slower. And, that's hard to do in a PhD environment."
Dr. Joel Rosenstock, a veteran infectious disease physician in Atlanta, has worked with more than 150 patients with long-haul COVID at AbsoluteCare, and he says brain fog is one of the top challenges their patients face.
Symptoms can include memory difficulty concentrating, foggy thinking, confusion and headaches.
"So memory problems, automated things they have trouble with," Dr. Rosenstock says. "One of the classical findings is misnaming. So, they'll be talking, and a word will come out that's not the correct word. They misnamed the word."
There is no quick fix, or one-size-fits-all approach to easing brain fog, but Dr. Rosenstock says, several techniques have helped many of his patients.
The first step, he says, is getting your sleep back on track.
"Sleep is an absolute priority, and, if you're not sleeping because of fear and anxiety and depression, then you need to see somebody," Dr. Rosenstock says. "You don't necessarily have to go to a long COVID clinic, but you need to see your primary care doctor or your therapist or someone you trust, and work on techniques, there are many techniques, to get better sleep, and that's, that's critical."
If you are a master of multitasking, used to juggling several things at once, Rosenstock says, give your brain a break.
"You've got to stop it," he says. "You just have to stop it."
Instead, Rosenstock says, slow down and focus on one thing at a time.
"Give into your brain fog a little," he says. "Don't multitask: don't talk on the phone, while you're doing your computer and watching a movie at the same time. Those things don't work very well."
If you find yourself forgetting appointments, Rosenstock recommends making lists and creating reminders for yourself on your smartphone.
Elana Cooper gets her blood drawn at AbsoluteCare in Buckhead, one of five long COVID clinics in Georgia. (FOX 5)
Sticking up notes around your home or office can also help you stay on track.
Rosenstock says the reminders may also ease some of the anxiety that can come with memory loss.
"Whether it's work or your home life, it's to take care of those things, so that your brain can rest, so that you don't get as anxious" Rosenstock says. "Because, think about it. Just the anxiety related to 'I'm not thinking as well..." It's a vicious cycle."
At AbsoluteCare, Rosenstock recommends patients experiencing brain fog use BrainHQ.com, a subscription-based website that offers games and puzzles designed to exercise the brain.
Patients fill out a questionnaire to narrow down their cognitive challenges, then use the website for 10 minutes twice a day.
But, instead of playing games you are good at, Rosenstock recommends choosing ones that will challenge you.
"So, if you really like crossword puzzles, and you used to do them, don't do crossword puzzles, because that's your sweet spot," Rosenstock says. "Maybe you should do Sudoku, or something that you would not do, because that makes your brain think outside its comfort zone."
Rosenstock says he has seen claims on social media that supplements can ease brain fog.
"People will say vitamin D and vitamin C, and zinc and magnesium (can help)," he says. "Nothing has been shown as of yet, and they've been studying many of these things, but nothing has been shown in any evidence-based study to really change things."
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Kisses from your dog may contain deadly bacteria, study says
No question about it, we learn about unconditional love from our dogs. They are happy to see us no matter what and in many cases, they greet us with dog kisses at the door!
Which may be giving us more than slobber, according to a study from the Royal Veterinary College and the University of Lisbon.
The study has found that dogs, cats and their owners all share bacteria likely from letting our pets kiss us on the mouth or not washing our hands thoroughly enough after picking up their waste or cleaning the litter box.
That's not new.
BOSTON, MA. - OCTOBER 6: Colby Dame, of Rockland, gets pinned by his dog Olive on their way to winning the kissing contest at Dogtoberfest at Harpoon on October 6, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo By Mary Schwalm/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald) (
However, what is concerning is that researchers are finding that the bacteria being shared is resistant to antibiotics.
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Half of the infected pets they tested had antibiotic-resistant strains of bacterial infections, like E. coli. That does concern Urgent Care Specialists, like Dr. Nathan Newman, of the Medical Director of UrgentMED.
Dr. Newman said certain types of infections can be deadly to humans.
"I get that it’s hard not to accept those love licks," he said. "But think about that tongue licking, where the dog goes to the bathroom before it kisses you".
We checked in with the humans and dogs at the Redondo Beach Dog park. Check out our story to see what the word was, and feel free to share with us your (and your canines') opinion on this.
Tune in to FOX 11 Los Angeles for the latest Southern California news.
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Mexican woman dies tangled in Arizona border wall after using climbing harness
PHOENIX (AP) - Authorities are investigating the cause of death this week of a Mexican woman whose leg was entrapped while using a climbing harness and ended up hanging upside down off the border wall in eastern Arizona.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials offered few details, but the local sheriff’s office said the woman was a 32-year-old who was attempting to cross the wall Monday night near Douglas, Arizona. Her name was not released.
The Cochise County Sheriff’s office said she hung upside down "a significant amount of time."
The sheriff’s office said it was in contact with the local Mexican consulate and continues to investigate what happened.
Customs and Border Protection said its Office of Professional Responsibility is working with the sheriff’s office on the investigation and would release more information as it becomes available.
Migrants occasionally die while attempting to cross the border wall, including a man who died earlier this month from injuries he suffered when he fell from the barrier in Texas.
It was unknown if there was video surveillance in the area where the woman became entangled. Authorities did not describe the wall she was trying to climb over.
However, some of the last border wall construction carried out before the end of former President Donald Trump’s term was in the Douglas area, with 30-foot-tall (9-meter) steel columns erected on U.S. Bureau of Land Management property.
On April 1, two migrants fell from the border barrier near Clint, Texas, about 12 miles (19 km) west of the Tornillo port of entry.
Emergency medical technicians rendered first aid and took them to a hospital in El Paso.
One man arrived at the hospital unconscious and died at the hospital on April 5.
The second was treated for a fractured right hand and returned to Customs and Border Protection officials, who returned him to Mexico.
More immigration news
- First Texas bus drops off migrants blocks from U.S. Capitol in DC
- Agents rescue smuggled woman from duffel bag in burning car
- Biden administration to lift Title 42 on May 23; fears loom around potential migrant wave
For the latest local news, download the FOX 10 News app.
Tune in to FOX 10 Phoenix for the latest news:
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New Jersey to begin recreational marijuana sales next week, governor says
TRENTON - New Jersey residents over 21-years-old will be allowed to purchase recreational marijuana in the Garden State next week, according to Governor Phil Murphy.
Call it a coincidence, but the newly-reelected governor said New Jerseyans can purchase pot without a medical marijuana card starting on 4/21.
"This is a historic step in our work to create a new cannabis industry," Murphy said.
The news comes 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 permit recreational marijuana for people 21 and older.
New Jersey is one of 18 states, along with the District of Columbia, that have legalized recreational marijuana. There also are 37 states, including New Jersey, that have legalized medical marijuana.
Three of the seven facilities, known as alternative treatment centers, are in the northern part of the state. Three are in the south, and one is in central New Jersey.
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.
How much money the state will get in tax revenues 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%.
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Osceola County schools: Bus driver shortage, call-outs could cause delays on Friday
OSCEOLA,COUNTY, Fla. - FOX 35 is working to learn how many bus drivers have called out sick ahead of the holiday weekend in Osceola County.
District officials have been warning parents about this possibility all week. Officials say the district is already down 30 drivers without sick calls.
They are asking parents and students for patience saying buses could be running late because of bus drivers calling out, making their driver shortage worse.
The district says they typically get a high number of absences ahead of a holiday weekend. So officials urge parents to sign up for the bus bulletin on the district website, which allows parents to receive texts and calls about their child's bus.
They also recommend parents download the "Here Comes The Bus" app, so parents can track their child's bus.
Osceola County is already short at least 30 drivers for the 242 runs they have each day, which officials say caused problems earlier this week.
"In some cases on Tuesday morning, it ran about 30 to 40 minutes I think the students were late," Arby Creach, Osceola County Schools Transportation Director, told FOX 35.
About 27,000 students rely on school bus rides. The district is not asking parents to drive their kids to school – just to prepare for late buses.
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Patrick Lyoya shooting: Parents and Ben Crump speak after videos released, attorney calls it 'execution'
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - The family of Patrick Lyoya, the man shot in the back of the head by a Grand Rapids Police Officer earlier this month, held a press conference Thursday afternoon alongside civil rights attorney Ben Crump and attorney Ven Johnson.
Family members, Crump, and Johnson are all speaking just one day after Grand Rapids authorities released graphic video that showed the 26-year-old man being shot in the head after a traffic stop.
Patrick Lyoyla's father, Peter Lyoya (center), speaks through an interpreter on Thursday, April 14, 2022.
Lyoya was shot to death on April 4 by a Grand Rapids Police Officer after the two fought as the officer pulled him over for a license plate violation. In video released by authorities, the officer can be heard explaining that he pulled Lyoya over because the license plate on the car he was driving belonged on a different car.
Crump spoke first, stating that the video was difficult to watch but clearly shows the officer's use of force was unjustifiable and unnecessary.
"This video was very difficult to watch because what you see in that video is unnecessary, unjustifiable excessive use of fatal force," he said. "You see a police officer escalate a minor traffic stop into a deadly execution."
More: Here's what the Patrick Lyoya shooting videos showed
In the video, Lyoya and the unnamed officer fought over a Taser before the officer pulled out his service weapon and shot him in the back of the head.
Lyoya, an immigrant from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was seeking a better life for himself, according to Crump.
Crump said the evidence is clear that Patrick was having a difficult time understanding the officer.
"When you think about what you witnessed in that video, you see a confused person in Patrick who never takes a violent act against a police officer. yet the police officer escalates and continues to escalate the situation from a traffic stop," Crump said. "It was a traffic stop."
Instead, he said there ware multiple things that Crump could have and should have done.
"This officer failed to follow the basic training when he engages Patrick. He goes and puts hands on him and when Patrick goes to walk away, he could have just stepped back and called for backup," Crump said. "He had the car, he had the passenger in the car. All he had to do was to call for backup and wait, and this matter could have ended so differently."
Instead, the officer pulled out his Taser and used it twice. When Lyoya had his hands on the Taser, the officer commanded him to drop it multiple times. But Crump said it was a natural instinct to reach out and grab the Taser when they were that close together and that kind of weapon can only be fired twice.
"Once you fire it twice, unless you have another cartridge to put in the taser, it is ineffective. Had the officer been paying attention to his training he would have known that that taser, because he had fired it twice, was rendered ineffective at that time," Crump said.
"There was no reason for him to have any intimate fear of the taser being used against him."
As the two scuffled, the officer repeatedly told Lyoya to let go of the taser. Winstrom said it appeared that the officer and Lyoya both had a hand on the taser for about 90 seconds.
A passenger who was with Lyoya was filming the encounter. As the officer told Lyoya to let go of the taser and stop resisting, the man filming kept saying, "He's good," and "He didn't grab no taser."
The officer continued telling Lyoya to let go off the taser as the office got him facedown. While on Lyoya's back, the officer pulled out his gun and shot Lyoya once in the head, video showed. Police Chief Eric Winstrom confirmed that Lyoya was shot in the head.
Michigan State Police investigators are now handling the case. The officer is on paid leave right now.
Crump said that's not nearly enough and wants the officer charged and prosecuted for Lyoya's death.
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"We demand that the officer who killed Patrick not only be terminated for his use of excessive and fatal force, but be arrested and prosecuted for the violent killing of Patrick Lyoya." | https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/patrick-lyoya-shooting-press-conference-ben-crump | 2022-04-15T10:41:42 | 1 | https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/patrick-lyoya-shooting-press-conference-ben-crump |
Rescued puppy found with burnt plastic in fur to be fostered by firefighter
That is one lucky puppy.
The Sacramento Fire Department made a startling discovery after responding to an abandoned homeless debris fire underneath a bridge on April 12 – a tiny puppy.
The poor critter even had some melted plastic on his head and back just before he was taken to safety, according to video shared by the fire department.
After a bath and food, the puppy started to perk up and show his personality at the fire station. Now, he’s a tail-wagging, face-licking pup enjoying his time with his foster family.
Firefighter Mike Hawley volunteered to foster the puppy until the Front Street Animal Shelter finds him a "fur-ever" home.
It was not immediately known how the puppy ended up abandoned under the bridge.
Rescued puppy shown in freeze-frame image.
This isn’t the first time Thawley has fostered an abandoned dog, according to local news media.
In fact, in 2017, Thawley fostered a pit bull named Chunk who was found chained to a fence and left alone with no food or water.
Thawley told local news media that it was a shame someone would leave a puppy in such terrible conditions and hopes this puppy’s story will inspire more people to help rescued and shelter animals.
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