text string | url string | crawl_date timestamp[ms] | label int64 | id string |
|---|---|---|---|---|
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Mark Kotsay had a game ball on his desk and an Oakland Athletics uniform that reeked of beer in the hamper. Kotsay needed to change into shorts after his players sprayed him with suds for winning his first game as a big league manager.
In what could be a long season in Oakland, which is in rebuilding mode again, Kotsay will take the celebrations when they come.
“I haven’t had one of those since my rookie year,” he said of the alcohol shower.
Billy McKinney homered and Daulton Jefferies and four relievers combined on a three-hitter to lead the A’s past the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 on Sunday and avert a three-game sweep.
A’s catcher Austin Allen gave Kotsay the celebratory game ball.
“Kots is awesome. He’s like having another player out there,” Allen said. “He’s just leading the ship. His energy and everything is amazing. We all couldn’t be happier for him to be our manager and to get his first win for him.”
Kotsay, 46, was promoted from third base coach to manager and replaced Bob Melvin.
The A’s shut down a Phillies offense that scored 13 runs in the first two games of the series. The Phillies’ only two hits through the first five innings came from backups Garrett Stubbs and Johan Camargo.
Jean Segura hit his second homer off the season for the Phillies in the ninth off Lou Trivino.
Jefferies (1-0) tossed two-hit ball over five scoreless innings before he was yanked after he issued a leadoff walk in the sixth. Sam Moll, Domingo Acevedo and Kirby Snead tossed three shutout innings.
A’s pitchers threw eight or fewer pitches in four innings.
“I didn’t really have a problem with that because I felt we hit a number of balls hard,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi said.
Tony Kemp’s two-RBI single in the ninth that made it 4-0 sent most of what was left of 33,507 fans headed toward the exits on a chilly, windy day at the ballpark.
Elvis Andrus hit a one-out double off Bailey Falter (0-1) and scored on Seth Brown’s bloop single to left in the sixth that gave Oakland its first lead of the season.
McKinney, who became the 1,000th player in Oakland A’s history on Friday, hit a solo shot to right off Falter in the seventh. The 1,000-player milestone marks major history for the A’s in Oakland — even more than in Philadelphia. The A’s are in their 55th season in Oakland after playing 54 years in Philadelphia, from 1901-1954 (the A’s spent 13 years in Kansas City).
Phillies starter Zach Eflin, acquired from the Dodgers in 2014 in the Jimmy Rollins trade, made his first start since July 16 against Miami. He was scratched from his next scheduled start because of what the Phillies said was tendinitis in his right knee. The injury turned out worse than expected for the right-hander: Eflin had surgery in September to repair a tear in his right patellar tendon.
“It’s just one of those scenarios where I just have to remind myself what I’ve been though this offseason,” Eflin said. “It felt nice to get the training wheels off and move out there with no limitations.”
Eflin still needs time to build arm strength and return to form but was solid over 68 pitches and four shutout innings. He escaped his only jam in the third inning when he loaded the bases with no outs. Andrus lined one back to Eflin that he caught and whirled around to double Christian Pache off second. He retired Sean Murphy on a popup to keep the game scoreless.
SO FRESH, SO CLEAN
“I did shower for you guys.” — Kotsay to the media after a delay for his postgame news conference.
HEAVEN SENT
Girardi and the Phillies might have a little help from above this season.
Well, at least from Girardi’s top shelf inside the manager’s office, where a Sister Jean bobblehead keeps watch. Sister Jean Dolores-Schmidt has become the face of Loyola Chicago during the NCAA Tournament, and her figurine is part of Girardi’s collection as an inside joke.
Girardi played at Northwestern and remained close with his catching coach, Bob Behrns, who didn’t exactly pick Loyola to win it all.
“Bobby didn’t believe in the power of Sister Jean,” Girardi said with a laugh.
Behrns told him, “C’mon, there’s other Catholic and Christian schools playing in this.”
Girardi’s retort, “Sister Jean’s got like a hundred years on them.”
Girardi turned to an inside source to have fun at Behrns’ expense. Girardi asked his old coach’s son, Loyola sports information director Bill Behrns, for two bobbleheads — one for Girardi and his office and another “just to rub it in” and send to the former catching coach.
UP NEXT
The A’s head to Tampa Bay for the next four games of a 10-game road trip. They will send RHP Paul Blackburn (1-4, 5.87 ERA in 2021) to the mound on Monday against Rays RHP Luis Patino (5-3, 4.31 in 2021).
The Phillies welcome a more traditional rival and open a three-game set against the New York Mets. The Phillies send LHP Ranger Suarez (8-5, 1.36 ERA in 2021) to the mound against New York RHP Taijuan Walker (7-11, 4.47 ERA in 2021).
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.wric.com/sports/sports-headlines/mckinney-goes-deep-as-avert-sweep-in-4-1-win-over-phillies/ | 2022-04-11T19:38:41 | 0 | https://www.wric.com/sports/sports-headlines/mckinney-goes-deep-as-avert-sweep-in-4-1-win-over-phillies/ |
End of the road for a 32-year-old hobby shop in NJ
Maybe it’s not a big deal to the rest of New Jersey, and maybe it’s not a big deal if you didn’t frequently stop in to see the arcade games and pool tables, the remote control planes and cars. But for some in the Lumberton area, the closing of one business will be a very big deal. Part-of-their-childhood kind of a big deal.
Recreation Depot on the Mount Holly Bypass in Lumberton has been there for 32 years. That’s about the point where you start assuming a place will just be there forever.
It was recently announced on their Facebook page, “After 32 Years Recreation Depot will be closing. Pool Tables, Bars, Furniture, Darts, Hobby, Big Green Egg, all must go. Bring a truck and take it with you.”
Owner Tony DeSimone told NJ.com the closing is bittersweet but the change in consumer behavior and the slow death of the brick-and-mortar retail model was becoming too much.
An exact date wasn’t given but the store is expected to close by the end of this month.
Like I said, to the rest of New Jersey, maybe no big deal, although none of us should be happy to see a small business dry up. But to people there, it can sting.
I recently found out that Ted’s Pizza on Whittier Street in Rahway is no more. I grew up in this prison town and Ted’s was our go-to pizza joint for our family Sunday pizza nights as a kid. Decades later the writing was on the wall when it fell under new ownership that still sold the pizza made the same but was offering the rest of the menu as Mexican food. Sure enough, I learned the other day Ted’s went away and the same place dropped the pizza, is all Mexican cuisine and is now called Las Piñatas.
The Super Diner where my grandmother used to work as a waitress went away so many decades ago I can’t remember the year and the block where it sat is unrecognizable.
Soundarama record store (back when they had records and music was tactile) closed down at some point when I wasn’t looking.
Same for the Galaxy Diner on Saint Georges Avenue. It became another victim of the pandemic and never reopened.
Schatzman’s Toy Store on Main Street. Bell’s Drug Store on Irving. None of these mean anything to New Jersey. But if you grew up in Rahway at a certain time, they meant everything.
So it’s not just small businesses and tax ratables that are lost. For some of us it’s touchstones of our childhoods.
Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.
You can now listen to Deminski & Doyle — On Demand! Hear New Jersey’s favorite afternoon radio show any day of the week. Download the Deminski & Doyle show wherever you get podcasts, on our free app, or listen right now: | https://nj1015.com/end-of-the-road-for-a-32-year-old-hobby-shop-in-nj/ | 2022-04-11T19:38:43 | 0 | https://nj1015.com/end-of-the-road-for-a-32-year-old-hobby-shop-in-nj/ |
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — As much as the Tampa Bay Rays wanted Corey Kluber to have a shot at getting the victory in the pitcher’s debut with his new team, keeping the two-time Cy Young Award winner fresh and healthy is a bigger priority.
The 36-year-old right-hander looked good in his first game since joining the defending AL East champions, pitching 4 2/3 scoreless innings in an 8-0 victory that completed an opening sweep of the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday.
“I didn’t really control counts the way I’d like to eventually,” Kluber said. “But at the end of the day, I made good pitches when I needed to to keep them off the scoreboard.”
Brandon Lowe hit a two-run homer off Tyler Wells (0-1), while Wander Franco had his second three-hit game in three days and drove in a pair of runs as the Rays beat the Orioles for the 15th straight time and matched the fastest start to a season in club history.
Tampa Bay, which is 21-1 against the Orioles since the beginning of last year, also started 3-0 in 2002 and 2012.
Coming off a 110-loss season, Baltimore is 0-3 for the first time since 2007. The Orioles never led in the series, struck out 37 times — most through three games of a season in franchise history — and went 2-for-24 with runners in scoring position.
“They have really good pitching, but we didn’t do a very good job swinging the bats. We didn’t make them work much,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “We can improve our two-strike hitting, put more pressure on their defense. We have some guys scuffling early. I’d like to see them break out. We’re putting too much pressure on ourselves.”
Kluber, pitching on his birthday for the first time in his career, allowed three hits, walked four and struck out five in an 87-pitch outing. Sailing along with a 4-0 lead, he retired the first two batters in the fifth inning before walking Cedric Mullins and giving up a single to Ryan Mountcastle.
Manager Kevin Cash, who said before the game that one of his priorities this season will be managing Kluber’s workload and keeping the oldest player on his roster healthy, didn’t hesitate to turn to the bullpen.
Kluber went 5-3 with a 3.83 ERA in 16 starts with the New York Yankees last season, when he also spent three months on the injured list with a right shoulder strain. The Rays signed him to an $8 million, one-year deal during the offseason.
“We’d like all of our guys to get out there and pencil in 30 starts. But saying that, you have to manage the workload,” Cash said.
“I don’t want to put words in his mouth, but the days of throwing 220 innings are probably not there any more,” the manager added. “He understands that.”
Kluber, who won Cy Young Awards with Cleveland in 2014 and 2017, wasn’t upset with the manager’s decision.
“I don’t really concern myself with the workload or pitch count. I view it as I’m going to keep going out there until he takes the ball from me,” Kluber said. “I try to take it hitter by hitter and not try to look at the big picture like that.”
Lefty Jeffrey Springs (1-0) came on to get the only batter he faced to end the fifth. Jason Adam, Jalen Beeks and Matt Wisler held the Orioles scoreless the rest of the way, finishing a combined six-hitter.
Wells made his first major league start for the Orioles and didn’t get through the second inning. The Rays loaded the bases with two walks and an infield single, then chased the 27-year-old right-hander with Mike Zunino’s sacrifice fly, Manuel Margot’s RBI grounder and Lowe’s 437-foot homer to right-center.
Franco’s two-run single highlighted a four-run seventh against relievers Bryan Baker and Paul Fry. Franco joined Quinton McCracken in 1998 and Steve Cox in 2001 as the only Rays with muiltiple three-hit games during the first three games of a season,
Wells, 2-3 with a 4.11 ERA in 44 relief appearances as a rookie last season, threw 54 pitches and allowed four runs and three hits. He walked two and struck out two.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Orioles: Hyde said right-handed reliever Dean Kremer strained his left oblique muscle warming up in the bullpen during the game.
Rays: CF Kevin Kiermaier was not in the lineup, however Cash said it was a day of rest and not related to injury. The team is beginning the season with a stretch of 13 games in 13 days.
UP NEXT
Orioles: Return to Baltimore for home opener vs. Milwaukee. LHP Bruce Zimmermann (4-5, 5.04 ERA in 2021) gets the start, with the Brewers countering with RHP Adrian Houser (10-6, 3.22).
Rays: A seven-game homestand continues with RHP Luis Patiño (5-3, 4.31 in 2021) starting the first of four games vs. Oakland. RHP Paul Blackburn (1-4, 5.87) takes the ball first for the Athletics.
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.cenlanow.com/sports/kluber-looks-good-rays-beat-orioles-8-0-to-complete-sweep/ | 2022-04-11T19:38:42 | 1 | https://www.cenlanow.com/sports/kluber-looks-good-rays-beat-orioles-8-0-to-complete-sweep/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — Four wins in the final week sent the Brooklyn Nets surging up to seventh in the Eastern Conference.
One more win sends them to the playoffs.
“Now we get to carry some of that momentum on into Tuesday,” Kyrie Irving said.
Irving scored 35 points, Kevin Durant had 20 points, a career-high 16 assists and 10 rebounds and the Nets locked up seventh place with a 134-126 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
The Nets will host No. 8 Cleveland on Tuesday in the play-in tournament, with the winner moving into the playoffs as the No. 7 seed. The loser will have a second chance by hosting the winner of the game between the Nos. 9 and 10 seeds on Friday.
Brooklyn and Cleveland both finished 44-38, but the Nets won the season series to take the tiebreaker.
Durant shot just 5 for 17 from the field but finished with his fourth triple-double, his highest total in any season. Andre Drummond added 20 points, shooting 9 for 9, and 13 rebounds. Bruce Brown scored 21 points in the Nets’ fourth straight victory to wrap up the regular season.
The Nets began the final week in danger of finishing ninth or 10th, which would’ve meant needing two wins — at least one on the road — in the play-in to get into the postseason.
But they took advantage of a soft schedule in their final days, with victories over Houston and New York before beating Cleveland on Friday. The Nets needed to finish strong after an uneven regular season.
“We stayed with it. We all had one goal in mind and we saw it through,” Drummond said. “We finished off the year great.”
Oshae Brissett scored 28 points for the Pacers, who lost their final 10 games to finish 25-57. Indiana didn’t win after March 20. Buddy Hield added 21.
The Nets made 20 of their first 26 shots — Durant was 0 for 5, the rest of the team 20 for 21 — and opened a 47-29 lead just over a minute into the second quarter.
The Nets led 76-60 at halftime but the Pacers began the third quarter with a 17-2 run to make it a one-point game. Terry Taylor’s basket tied it at 91, but Irving made a 3-pointer before Durant scored and then threw a lob to Nic Claxton for a dunk that quickly pushed it back to 98-91.
“It’s tough playing against Irving and Durant, but guys just stayed with it and got back into the game, gave ourselves a chance,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.
The Pacers kept trying to come back, even after the Nets regained a double-digit lead, but Irving answered with baskets a couple times when it got close. He shot 15 for 20.
“That’s what makes them all-time greats,” guard T.J. McConnell said of Irving and Durant. “If someone thinks that they’re going to guard Kyrie 1 on 1 and be effective, I think you may have another thing coming.”
TIP-INS
Pacers: Duane Washington Jr. scored 18 points. Tyrese Haliburton had 17 points and 10 assists.
Nets: Seth Curry missed the game with left ankle soreness. … Coach Steve Nash said that G Goran Dragic, who missed his fifth straight game while in health and safety protocols, has been feeling better and could play Tuesday if he is cleared in time.
SIMMONS STATUS
Ben Simmons, who still hasn’t played for the Nets since being acquired from Philadelphia at the trade deadline, worked out on the court before the game. Nash provided a positive update on the 2016 No. 1 pick, who has been battling back problems that include a herniated disk.
“He’s doing a little bit of movement,” Nash said. “Still 1-on-0 stuff, so he still got a lot of milestones to reach, but it’s positive. At least he’s moving around a little bit.”
DEAL OF THE DAY
Kessler Edwards started on the day the Nets signed him to a standard NBA contract, making him eligible to play in the postseason. The second-round pick from Pepperdine had a two-way deal, which wouldn’t have allowed him to play next week. | https://www.wric.com/sports/sports-headlines/nets-beat-pacers-to-lock-up-7th-host-play-in-game-tuesday/ | 2022-04-11T19:38:48 | 1 | https://www.wric.com/sports/sports-headlines/nets-beat-pacers-to-lock-up-7th-host-play-in-game-tuesday/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred gifted major league players Bose headphones on opening day as a peace offering after a bitter 99-day lockout that delayed the start of the season.
Major League Baseball confirmed that headphones and a letter signed by Manfred were left at the locker of each player when teams began their seasons Thursday and Friday. The present was first reported by The Athletic.
“Please accept this gift as a small gesture of my appreciation for the hard work that comes with being a Major Leaguer and your respect for our incredible fans,” Manfred wrote. “Thank you for everything you do in a game that has such a rich history and deep meaning to our fans in the U.S. and around the world. Wishing you the best of luck for a successful season.”
Manfred’s relationship with players has grown increasingly icy since he succeeded Bud Selig as commissioner in 2014.
At the news conference announcing an agreement with the union to end this winter’s lockout, Manfred admitted that he’s failed in his role as a diplomat to players and pledged to improve the relationship.
Asked what Manfred could do to mend things this spring, players told The Associated Pressthe commissioner could do more to present himself as a steward of the game. At least one player, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright, said he thought the damage was irreparable.
“To just put it bluntly, he doesn’t do anything for us,” Wainwright said. “I know how that’s going to read, so Commissioner Manfred, don’t take it personal. That’s just how it looks from a players’ standpoint.”
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.cenlanow.com/sports/manfred-gifts-players-headphones-as-lockout-peace-offering/ | 2022-04-11T19:38:50 | 1 | https://www.cenlanow.com/sports/manfred-gifts-players-headphones-as-lockout-peace-offering/ |
Woman raped by 3 men who met her at Manalapan, NJ bar, cops say
Three men, each 24 years old, are accused of repeatedly raping a woman, not long after they met her at a bar in Monmouth County this month.
Andrew J. Gallucci, of Marlboro, Richard S. Gathy, of Manalapan, and Ronald W. Hondo, of Monroe Township have each been charged with first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault and third-degree criminal restraint, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey announced Monday.
The night of Saturday, April 2, Gallucci, Gathy and Hondo were at a bar in Manalapan, where they met the adult female and her male friend for the first time, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Sometime between that night and early Monday, the three men brought the woman and her friend back to Gallucci’s home.
The male friend was given a drink and became ill, according to the affidavit, at which point Gallucci and Gathy allegedly restrained the woman against her will in a bedroom and repeatedly sexually assaulted her, according to Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey.
'This was a disturbingly coordinated and predatory attack'
During the assaults, only two of the accused attackers were in the room at once, as the third was believed to be watching the woman’s friend, according to the affidavit.
“This was a disturbingly coordinated and predatory attack,” Linskey said in a written release.
“We commend the courage of the victim in coming forward to report what happened to her, and we look forward to bringing those responsible to justice.”
At some point, the woman was able to partially dress and run out of the room, finding her friend and saying they had to leave at once, according to the affidavit.
Surveillance footage from a nearby residence confirms the duo leaving the area of Galluci’s house in the early morning hours.
All three men were arrested on Friday and taken to Monmouth County jail, pending detention hearings in Monmouth County Superior Court.
Investigators are actively seeking additional information about the activities of Gallucci, Gathy and Hondo.
Anyone with potential information was urged to contact Detective Kayla Santiago of the MCPO Special Victims Bureau at 732-431-7160, ext. 3588 or Marlboro Township Police Department Detective Ed Ungrady at 732-536-0100.
Anonymous tips can also be submitted to the Monmouth County Crime Stoppers via confidential phone line at 1-800-671-4400, by downloading and using the free P3 Tips mobile app or online.
Every NJ city and town's municipal tax bill, ranked
Every NJ pizza joint Barstool's Dave Portnoy has reviewed
New Jersey's new legislative districts for the 2020s
Update: NJ arrests in Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot
Average SAT scores for all NJ high schools, 2020-21
Erin Vogt is a reporter and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach her at erin.vogt@townsquaremedia.com
Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story. | https://nj1015.com/gallucci-gathy-hondo-accused-of-repeated-rape-marlboro/ | 2022-04-11T19:38:50 | 0 | https://nj1015.com/gallucci-gathy-hondo-accused-of-repeated-rape-marlboro/ |
Hey Peeps haters, guess what NJ likes more than any other state
It’s almost Easter, and 77% of Americans will be buying candy. It’s one of those subjective things that is fun to debate the best and even more fun to argue the worst.
But as everyone’s taste buds are different there’s no truly right or wrong answer. Yet some candies are so polarizing you would think so.
Take Marshmallow Peeps. While not my favorite candy, I’ve said for years it has a place in the Easter basket whereas my broadcast partner Bill Doyle has often proclaimed, “No one likes Peeps!”
Now comes what may be shocking news. According to a recent Harris Poll, not only do enough people like them, guess who likes them more than any other state?
Yep. New Jersey.
The Garden State ranks number 1 in their love of the marshmallow treat dunked in extra sugar (because apparently marshmallows aren’t sugary enough) and dressed up with carnauba wax eyes.
Who is behind us in their aPeepsciation? (That was my lame portmanteau for appreciation of Peeps)
Pennsylvania is number 2, which is interesting when you consider that is where Peeps are made. They’re made by a candy company called Just Born in a factory in Bethlehem, Pa.. Number 3 is Rhode Island, number 4 West Virginia and number 5 New York.
To throw a bone to the Peeps haters out there, yes, not everyone sees their value. 33% say Peeps are among their least favorite candy. Yet 25% say they eat them out of Easter tradition.
Go figure.
But clearly they have enough fans that they aren’t going away anytime soon. 1.5 billion are consumed each spring.
And yes, the eyes really are made of carnauba wax, just as found in Turtle Wax for your car. But yes, it’s in many other candies too. No, it’s not going to kill you as it is in such a minuscule amount. Yes, the FDA does approve it fit for human consumption.
Yet it still freaks some people out. Those eyes.
Lifeless eyes. Black eyes. Like a doll’s eyes.
Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.
You can now listen to Deminski & Doyle — On Demand! Hear New Jersey’s favorite afternoon radio show any day of the week. Download the Deminski & Doyle show wherever you get podcasts, on our free app, or listen right now: | https://nj1015.com/hey-peeps-haters-guess-what-nj-likes-more-than-any-other-state/ | 2022-04-11T19:38:56 | 1 | https://nj1015.com/hey-peeps-haters-guess-what-nj-likes-more-than-any-other-state/ |
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler can play in the Masters forever now. That’s a perk that comes with winning at Augusta National.
Cameron Champ knows he can play at Augusta National in 2023. For him, that was a win as well.
Champ finished tied for 10th at the Masters, and that means he’ll be invited back next season. Augusta National has plenty of ways for players to qualify — wins, world ranking, performance in other majors — plus rewards those who do especially well at the Masters. Anyone in the top 12 one year can come back the following year, so Champ knows that invitation will be in the mail as next spring looms.
“It’s huge,” said Champ, whose Masters invite this year came by winning the 3M Open last July. “This year has been just a whirlwind really for me, with my injury to trying to play through the first four, five events to now feeling pretty decent the last few months. My game is going in the right direction.”
Champ shut down his season last fall while dealing with a left wrist injury. He came into this week ranked No. 133 in the world. He hadn’t had so much as a top-40 finish in 2022. A Masters return, barring a victory somewhere in the next 12 months, wasn’t exactly a certainty.
“Everything I’m dealing with off the course is finally going right, so first and foremost, that’s the most important,” Champ said. “It’s just life, man. I’m learning as I go. Right now, I’m just in a great spot.”
MONEY MATTERS
Rory McIlroy earned $1.62 million for finishing second, and that pushed his Masters career earnings to just about $4.2 million.
He is the seventh player in Masters history to eclipse the $4 million mark, joining Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson.
THIRD TRY
Scottie Scheffler won his first Masters in his third attempt. Only eight players did it in the first or second try, most recently Danny Willett in 2016.
The context only adds to Scheffler’s accomplishment.
Tiger Woods’ first Masters win came on his third visit to Augusta National. Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and Seve Ballesteros needed four tries. Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player needed five.
TIGER WATCH
Tiger Woods said Sunday that he will go to St. Andrews in mid-July and play the British Open.
It’s unclear if he’ll play anything before then — including the PGA Championship at Southern Hills in May and the U.S. Open at Brookline in June.
“I am looking forward to St. Andrews,” Woods said in his post-Masters interview with Sky Sports. “That is something that is near and dear to my heart. I’ve won two Opens there. It’s the home of golf. It’s my favorite golf course in the world. So, I will be there for that one. But anything in between that, I don’t know. I will try. There’s no doubt.”
Woods won British Opens at St. Andrews in 2000 and 2005. He played when the Open was last there in 2015 but missed the cut by eight strokes.
VARNER’S DAY
Harold Varner III saved his best for last in his first Masters: a 3-under round of 69 on Sunday. He finished 3 over for the week.
He was within six shots of the lead after 36 holes, then shot an 80 on Saturday. But he bounced back on Sunday, chalking it all up as part of his Masters education.
“I wouldn’t say a springboard. I just think it’s a part of the process,” Varner said. “It’s a part of having a chance to win. Yesterday was tough, obviously, what I shot, but just how can I grow from that and learn from that? The cool part about today is I think the pins will be in similar spots next year when I’m here, and I’ll know kind of what to do, get a good feel for what I need to do to score.”
BUSY WEEKEND
It might be an ideal weekend for sports fans: see a Premier League soccer match one day, attend the Masters the next.
Harry Kane did it one better.
Kane played in Tottenham’s 4-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday — and he was at the Masters as a patron on Sunday.
It was hardly the only golf-soccer crossover moment at Augusta National on Sunday. Seamus Power revealed that he was asking for scores — during his round. Given that nobody has phones on the course, scores weren’t exactly easy to come by.
DIVOTS
Masters champion Scottie Scheffler picked up $2.7 million for the victory, pushing his career total at Augusta National to just over $3 million in three appearances. That’s good for 13th in Masters history. … Rory McIlroy’s 64 on Sunday matched the best final round in Masters history, done on seven previous occasions. The others were Maurice Bembridge (1974), Hale Irwin (1975), Gary Player (1978), Greg Norman (1988), David Toms (1998), Bo Van Pelt (2012) and Jordan Spieth (2018). … The next Masters takes place April 6-9, 2023. … There was no silver cup presented to the low amateur this year, because none of the six who were in the field to start the week made the cut.
___
More AP Masters coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/the-masters | https://www.cenlanow.com/sports/masters-notebook-for-champ-10th-place-means-a-2023-invite/ | 2022-04-11T19:38:56 | 0 | https://www.cenlanow.com/sports/masters-notebook-for-champ-10th-place-means-a-2023-invite/ |
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gary Sánchez hit a grand slam into the third deck and Byron Buxton had two of Minnesota’s six home runs as the Twins slugged their way past the Seattle Mariners 10-4 on Sunday for their first victory of the season.
Carlos Correa launched his first homer for Minnesota. Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco also went deep, and Sánchez added an RBI double to give him five RBIs for the Twins, who totaled eight hits over 2-1 and 4-3 defeats on Friday and Saturday.
Bailey Ober logged five innings for the win, handed more than enough cushion to withstand a three-run homer in the third by Mitch Haniger.
Mariners left-hander Marco Gonzales gave up three homers, just as he did in his first start of 2021, and lasted only two innings. Four of the six runs against Gonzales were unearned, thanks to a two-out fielding error in the first inning by second baseman Adam Frazier.
Gio Urshela had to hop out of the way of the grounder as he hustled from first to second, creating a potential distraction for Frazier as he positioned himself for the ball in the shadow in shallow right field. Then Sánchez, who came to the Twins with Urshela last month in the trade that sent Josh Donaldson to the Yankees, crushed a 2-2 changeup from Gonzales an estimated 446 feet into the highest seats above left field for a 5-0 lead.
Sánchez watched the ball soar for a second before tossing his bat and flipping a casual thumbs-up toward his dugout as he started his jog around the bases.
Derided in New York for his substandard defense at catcher, Sánchez made an important play in the top of the first. He deftly blocked the plate with his left leg to keep Jesse Winker from scoring on Haniger’s double, ending the inning after the spot-on relay throw from Correa at shortstop.
Correa, the headliner acquisition of a bold and busy March in Minnesota’s front office, managed to outdistance Sánchez with a solo shot to the third deck in the sixth.
According to MLB’s Statcast data, Correa’s homer traveled 458 feet with an exit speed off the bat of 113 mph. That was the second-hardest-hit home run of his career on record, a fraction slower than one he hit for Houston six years ago.
THE BUCK DOESN’T STOP
Before all the trades and signings the Twins made last month, they logged their most impactful transaction with a seven-year, $100 million extension for Buxton, their prized center fielder whose enviable skills have only been slowed by injuries. After hitting a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth inning on Saturday, Buxton went deep in his first two at-bats against Gonzales on Sunday.
It was Buxton’s fifth career multi-homer game. Both of them were line drives after way-inside pitches that weren’t too far in for his fastball-killing swing to muscle them over the left-field wall.
ORDER AN OBER
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said the right-handed Ober, who made 20 starts last year in a solid rookie season, was the most stretched-out member of the six-man rotation the Twins have started with. The 6-foot-9 Ober allowed an RBI single to Frazier three batters before Haniger’s homer, but recovered to retire seven straight.
EXTRA FLEXIBILITY
The early-season 28-man roster limit gave Mariners manager Scott Servais the rare opportunity to start three different catchers in the first three games. Luis Torrens was crouched behind the plate on Sunday, after Cal Raleigh and Tom Murphy took the first two turns.
UP NEXT
The Mariners send RHP Chris Flexen to the mound Monday night to finish the four-game series, and RHP Dylan Bundy makes his debut for the Twins.
___
More AP MLB coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.wric.com/sports/sports-headlines/sanchez-slam-leads-twins-in-6-homer-surge-to-beat-mariners/ | 2022-04-11T19:38:55 | 0 | https://www.wric.com/sports/sports-headlines/sanchez-slam-leads-twins-in-6-homer-surge-to-beat-mariners/ |
RIVERDALE — A 27-year-old man was seriously injured after bailing out of a moving tractor-trailer on Route 287, State Police confirmed.
The incident happened just before 6 p.m. on Saturday, as a Kenworth tractor pulling a flatbed trailer was headed southbound on the highway in Riverdale.
David Chavez, of Livingston, was a passenger in the truck cab, when he "exited the vehicle" and hit the pavement around milepost 53.2, police said.
The truck was being driven by Chavez's father, as reported by the Daily Voice, who said that his son "just opened the door out of nowhere."
The incident remained under investigation as of Monday.
Moving ambulance incident
A similar incident happened nearly two months ago, involving a moving ambulance on Route 208 in Bergen County.
A 21-year-old male passenger, who worked for the private ambulance company, appeared to have bailed out of that vehicle after an argument with the driver on Feb. 24, Wyckoff Police said.
That man suffered internal injuries and possibly broken bones and was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital in Paterson for treatment.
NJ county fairs make a comeback: Check out the schedule for 2022
UPDATED 4/10: A current list of county fairs happening across the Garden State for 2022. From rides, food, animals, and hot air balloons, each county fair has something unique to offer.
(Fairs are listed in geographical order from South NJ to North NJ)
Every NJ city and town's municipal tax bill, ranked
A little less than 30 cents of every $1 in property taxes charged in New Jersey support municipal services provided by cities, towns, townships, boroughs and villages. Statewide, the average municipal-only tax bill in 2021 was $2,725, but that varied widely from more than $13,000 in Tavistock to nothing in three townships. In addition to $9.22 billion in municipal purpose taxes, special taxing districts that in some places provide municipal services such as fire protection, garbage collection or economic development levied $323.8 million in 2021.
These are the best hiking spots in New Jersey
A trip to New Jersey doesn't have to be all about the beach. Our state has some incredible trails, waterfalls, and lakes to enjoy.
From the Pine Barrens to the Appalachian Trail to the hidden gems of New Jersey, you have plenty of options for a great hike. Hiking is such a great way to spend time outdoors and enjoy nature, plus it's a great workout.
Before you go out on the trails and explore some of our listeners' suggestions, I have some tips on hiking etiquette from the
American Hiking Society.
If you are going downhill and run into an uphill hiker, step to the side and give the uphill hiker space. A hiker going uphill has the right of way unless they stop to catch their breath.
Always stay on the trail, you may see side paths, unless they are marked as an official trail, steer clear of them. By going off-trail you may cause damage to the ecosystems around the trail, the plants, and wildlife that live there.
You also do not want to disturb the wildlife you encounter, just keep your distance from the wildlife and continue hiking.
Bicyclists should yield to hikers and horses. Hikers should also yield to horses, but I’m not sure how many horses you will encounter on the trails in New Jersey.
If you are thinking of bringing your dog on your hike, they should be leashed, and make sure to clean up all pet waste.
Lastly, be mindful of the weather, if the trail is too muddy, it's probably best to save your hike for another day.
I asked our listeners for their suggestions of the best hiking spots in New Jersey, check out their suggestions:
New Jersey's new legislative districts for the 2020s
Boundaries for the 40 legislative districts for the Senate and Assembly elections of 2023 through 2029, and perhaps 2031, were approved in a bipartisan vote of the Apportionment Commission on Feb. 18, 2022.
The map continues to favor Democrats, though Republicans say it gives them a chance to win the majority.
NJ Diners that are open 24/7 | https://nj1015.com/passenger-out-of-moving-truck-route-287/ | 2022-04-11T19:39:02 | 0 | https://nj1015.com/passenger-out-of-moving-truck-route-287/ |
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Mark Kotsay had a game ball on his desk and an Oakland Athletics uniform that reeked of beer in the hamper. Kotsay needed to change into shorts after his players sprayed him with suds for winning his first game as a big league manager.
In what could be a long season in Oakland, which is in rebuilding mode again, Kotsay will take the celebrations when they come.
“I haven’t had one of those since my rookie year,” he said of the alcohol shower.
Billy McKinney homered and Daulton Jefferies and four relievers combined on a three-hitter to lead the A’s past the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 on Sunday and avert a three-game sweep.
A’s catcher Austin Allen gave Kotsay the celebratory game ball.
“Kots is awesome. He’s like having another player out there,” Allen said. “He’s just leading the ship. His energy and everything is amazing. We all couldn’t be happier for him to be our manager and to get his first win for him.”
Kotsay, 46, was promoted from third base coach to manager and replaced Bob Melvin.
The A’s shut down a Phillies offense that scored 13 runs in the first two games of the series. The Phillies’ only two hits through the first five innings came from backups Garrett Stubbs and Johan Camargo.
Jean Segura hit his second homer off the season for the Phillies in the ninth off Lou Trivino.
Jefferies (1-0) tossed two-hit ball over five scoreless innings before he was yanked after he issued a leadoff walk in the sixth. Sam Moll, Domingo Acevedo and Kirby Snead tossed three shutout innings.
A’s pitchers threw eight or fewer pitches in four innings.
“I didn’t really have a problem with that because I felt we hit a number of balls hard,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi said.
Tony Kemp’s two-RBI single in the ninth that made it 4-0 sent most of what was left of 33,507 fans headed toward the exits on a chilly, windy day at the ballpark.
Elvis Andrus hit a one-out double off Bailey Falter (0-1) and scored on Seth Brown’s bloop single to left in the sixth that gave Oakland its first lead of the season.
McKinney, who became the 1,000th player in Oakland A’s history on Friday, hit a solo shot to right off Falter in the seventh. The 1,000-player milestone marks major history for the A’s in Oakland — even more than in Philadelphia. The A’s are in their 55th season in Oakland after playing 54 years in Philadelphia, from 1901-1954 (the A’s spent 13 years in Kansas City).
Phillies starter Zach Eflin, acquired from the Dodgers in 2014 in the Jimmy Rollins trade, made his first start since July 16 against Miami. He was scratched from his next scheduled start because of what the Phillies said was tendinitis in his right knee. The injury turned out worse than expected for the right-hander: Eflin had surgery in September to repair a tear in his right patellar tendon.
“It’s just one of those scenarios where I just have to remind myself what I’ve been though this offseason,” Eflin said. “It felt nice to get the training wheels off and move out there with no limitations.”
Eflin still needs time to build arm strength and return to form but was solid over 68 pitches and four shutout innings. He escaped his only jam in the third inning when he loaded the bases with no outs. Andrus lined one back to Eflin that he caught and whirled around to double Christian Pache off second. He retired Sean Murphy on a popup to keep the game scoreless.
SO FRESH, SO CLEAN
“I did shower for you guys.” — Kotsay to the media after a delay for his postgame news conference.
HEAVEN SENT
Girardi and the Phillies might have a little help from above this season.
Well, at least from Girardi’s top shelf inside the manager’s office, where a Sister Jean bobblehead keeps watch. Sister Jean Dolores-Schmidt has become the face of Loyola Chicago during the NCAA Tournament, and her figurine is part of Girardi’s collection as an inside joke.
Girardi played at Northwestern and remained close with his catching coach, Bob Behrns, who didn’t exactly pick Loyola to win it all.
“Bobby didn’t believe in the power of Sister Jean,” Girardi said with a laugh.
Behrns told him, “C’mon, there’s other Catholic and Christian schools playing in this.”
Girardi’s retort, “Sister Jean’s got like a hundred years on them.”
Girardi turned to an inside source to have fun at Behrns’ expense. Girardi asked his old coach’s son, Loyola sports information director Bill Behrns, for two bobbleheads — one for Girardi and his office and another “just to rub it in” and send to the former catching coach.
UP NEXT
The A’s head to Tampa Bay for the next four games of a 10-game road trip. They will send RHP Paul Blackburn (1-4, 5.87 ERA in 2021) to the mound on Monday against Rays RHP Luis Patino (5-3, 4.31 in 2021).
The Phillies welcome a more traditional rival and open a three-game set against the New York Mets. The Phillies send LHP Ranger Suarez (8-5, 1.36 ERA in 2021) to the mound against New York RHP Taijuan Walker (7-11, 4.47 ERA in 2021).
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.cenlanow.com/sports/mckinney-goes-deep-as-avert-sweep-in-4-1-win-over-phillies/ | 2022-04-11T19:39:03 | 0 | https://www.cenlanow.com/sports/mckinney-goes-deep-as-avert-sweep-in-4-1-win-over-phillies/ |
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Cameron Smith closed his eyes once, closed them twice, then let his 9-iron slip from his right hand.
He knew right away.
Before Smith’s tee shot on the 12th hole during the final round of the Masters splashed into Rae’s Creek — taking the 28-year-old Australian’s hopes of winning his first major along with it — he was already looking away in disgust.
“It was a terrible swing,” Smith said.
One that cost him a chance at putting any pressure on eventual champion Scottie Scheffler down the stretch. An overcooked pitch shot from the penalty area, another blah pitch and two putts later, he tapped in for a triple bogey that dropped him six shots back of Scheffler, turning the final holes into a coronation for Scheffler and a learning experience for his playing partner.
Smith, the world’s sixth-ranked player, posted a 1-over 73 to finish tied for third with Shane Lowry.
“I’ll grow from this and be stronger from it,” he said.
The Brisbane-born Smith said he had hoped the folks back home would wake around 5 a.m. to watch him take aim at tracking down Scheffler. The early returns provided those who tuned in with a noncaffeinated jolt.
Smith birdied each of the first two holes to trim a three-shot deficit to just one. It would be as close as Smith would get. Scheffler chipped in for birdie on the par-4 third while Smith bogeyed from nearly the exact same spot. A bogey at the par-3 fourth dropped Smith four back. He calmly drained a 15-foot birdie on the difficult par-4 11th to move to three shots behind.
The momentum lasted all of five minutes.
The treacherous 12th is where countless hopes of victories at Augusta National have ended up in the bottom of the creek that snakes through the back nine.
Smith’s leaky tee shot that never made it all the way across added him to a list that includes Jordan Spieth in 2016, Greg Norman in 1996 and Francesco Molinari in 2019. Maybe that’s why Smith couldn’t really watch.
Everything was wrong. The swing. The line. The result.
“Wasn’t even trying to go near that pin,” he said.
Clearly rattled, Smith showed a brief flash of anger. He slammed his club into the turf after his pitch onto the 13th green landed well left of the hole, leading to a par when he desperately needed a birdie.
His tee shot on the 14th went into the trees on the left, leading to a bogey. In the span of 20 minutes, what looked potentially doable quickly morphed first to doubtful, then impossible.
While Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa were up ahead splashing in birdies from the greenside bunker at the 18th to leapfrog Smith on the leaderboard, he was bending his driver across his shoulders in frustration, the second-hottest golfer on the planet behind Scheffler stumbling under the pressure of the back nine at Augusta National.
He did recover to birdie the par-5 15th and par-3 16th to jump over Morikawa into a tie for third, his fourth top-10 finish in six visits to Augusta National.
Smith knows he’s close.
“I feel like I’ve played some of my best golf around here,” he said. “It’s quite frustrating, I guess, to not walk away with a win yet.”
The erratic round capped four days of wild swings for Smith. He arrived at the Masters well-rested, three weeks removed from a gritty one-stroke win at The Players Championship, then started with a 4-under 68 to trail Sungjae Im by just one shot.
An opening 39 on Friday led to a 2-over 74, leaving him six shots off Scheffler’s pace. He responded with a 68 in the unusual spring chill, the best round of a borderline miserable day to get him within three of Scheffler.
A duel between the two players who came in having won five tournaments combined this year appeared in the offing after Smith’s early birdies Sunday.
It quickly fell apart after that hot start. He’ll have a year to think about it. Just don’t expect the avid rugby fan and occasional fisherman to get consumed by it.
It was one bad swing. It was also one solid tournament for someone who is making a habit of playing among the final groups on spring Sundays underneath the Georgia pines and proving his trademark mullet isn’t nearly as compelling as his game.
“I love this place,” he said. “I’ll be back here next year and trying to put up another one.”
___
More AP Masters: https://apnews.com/hub/the-masters | https://www.wric.com/sports/sports-headlines/smith-has-1-iffy-swing-nightmarish-finish-at-masters/ | 2022-04-11T19:39:09 | 0 | https://www.wric.com/sports/sports-headlines/smith-has-1-iffy-swing-nightmarish-finish-at-masters/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — Four wins in the final week sent the Brooklyn Nets surging up to seventh in the Eastern Conference.
One more win sends them to the playoffs.
“Now we get to carry some of that momentum on into Tuesday,” Kyrie Irving said.
Irving scored 35 points, Kevin Durant had 20 points, a career-high 16 assists and 10 rebounds and the Nets locked up seventh place with a 134-126 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
The Nets will host No. 8 Cleveland on Tuesday in the play-in tournament, with the winner moving into the playoffs as the No. 7 seed. The loser will have a second chance by hosting the winner of the game between the Nos. 9 and 10 seeds on Friday.
Brooklyn and Cleveland both finished 44-38, but the Nets won the season series to take the tiebreaker.
Durant shot just 5 for 17 from the field but finished with his fourth triple-double, his highest total in any season. Andre Drummond added 20 points, shooting 9 for 9, and 13 rebounds. Bruce Brown scored 21 points in the Nets’ fourth straight victory to wrap up the regular season.
The Nets began the final week in danger of finishing ninth or 10th, which would’ve meant needing two wins — at least one on the road — in the play-in to get into the postseason.
But they took advantage of a soft schedule in their final days, with victories over Houston and New York before beating Cleveland on Friday. The Nets needed to finish strong after an uneven regular season.
“We stayed with it. We all had one goal in mind and we saw it through,” Drummond said. “We finished off the year great.”
Oshae Brissett scored 28 points for the Pacers, who lost their final 10 games to finish 25-57. Indiana didn’t win after March 20. Buddy Hield added 21.
The Nets made 20 of their first 26 shots — Durant was 0 for 5, the rest of the team 20 for 21 — and opened a 47-29 lead just over a minute into the second quarter.
The Nets led 76-60 at halftime but the Pacers began the third quarter with a 17-2 run to make it a one-point game. Terry Taylor’s basket tied it at 91, but Irving made a 3-pointer before Durant scored and then threw a lob to Nic Claxton for a dunk that quickly pushed it back to 98-91.
“It’s tough playing against Irving and Durant, but guys just stayed with it and got back into the game, gave ourselves a chance,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.
The Pacers kept trying to come back, even after the Nets regained a double-digit lead, but Irving answered with baskets a couple times when it got close. He shot 15 for 20.
“That’s what makes them all-time greats,” guard T.J. McConnell said of Irving and Durant. “If someone thinks that they’re going to guard Kyrie 1 on 1 and be effective, I think you may have another thing coming.”
TIP-INS
Pacers: Duane Washington Jr. scored 18 points. Tyrese Haliburton had 17 points and 10 assists.
Nets: Seth Curry missed the game with left ankle soreness. … Coach Steve Nash said that G Goran Dragic, who missed his fifth straight game while in health and safety protocols, has been feeling better and could play Tuesday if he is cleared in time.
SIMMONS STATUS
Ben Simmons, who still hasn’t played for the Nets since being acquired from Philadelphia at the trade deadline, worked out on the court before the game. Nash provided a positive update on the 2016 No. 1 pick, who has been battling back problems that include a herniated disk.
“He’s doing a little bit of movement,” Nash said. “Still 1-on-0 stuff, so he still got a lot of milestones to reach, but it’s positive. At least he’s moving around a little bit.”
DEAL OF THE DAY
Kessler Edwards started on the day the Nets signed him to a standard NBA contract, making him eligible to play in the postseason. The second-round pick from Pepperdine had a two-way deal, which wouldn’t have allowed him to play next week. | https://www.cenlanow.com/sports/nets-beat-pacers-to-lock-up-7th-host-play-in-game-tuesday/ | 2022-04-11T19:39:10 | 1 | https://www.cenlanow.com/sports/nets-beat-pacers-to-lock-up-7th-host-play-in-game-tuesday/ |
It lasted 174 days, required the usage of more players than any season in history primarily because of the ongoing challenge of playing through a pandemic, and saw playoff-positioning chases go all the way down to the final moments.
Now, move over, regular season.
The NBA’s postseason is finally here.
Kyrie Irving can play at home again, a change-of-heart regarding vaccination rules that was made a few weeks ago by the city of New York in a move that will have immediate impact on the race to the NBA championship. Irving and the Brooklyn Nets held off the Indiana Pacers 134-126 on Sunday, and will play host to the first play-in game of this year’s tournament when they face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.
That matchup wasn’t set until Sunday, nor was the other Eastern Conference play-in matchup: No. 9 Atlanta will play host to No. 10 Charlotte on Wednesday night. The winner of that game will play the Nets-Cavaliers loser on Friday to determine who’ll face No. 1 Miami in an East first-round series.
The Nets-Cavaliers winner will be seeded No. 7 and meet second-seeded Boston in the first round. The Celtics secured the No. 2 seed on Sunday night with a win in Memphis, combined with Milwaukee’s loss to Cleveland.
Charlotte will be without forward Gordon Hayward, announcing Sunday that he’s “out indefinitely with continued discomfort in his left foot.” Hayward’s foot will be placed in a cast for at least two weeks, meaning if the Hornets win twice in the play-in tournament and get into the postseason, he’ll likely miss most of Round 1, at minimum, as well.
OTHER MATCHUPS
Defending NBA champion Milwaukee will be seeded No. 3 in the East and will play No. 6 Chicago in a first-round series. Fourth-seeded Philadelphia will face fifth-seeded Toronto in another East matchup.
In the West, Golden State secured the No. 3 seed and will face No. 6 Denver in Round 1. Dallas — which lost Luka Doncic to a calf strain Sunday — will play No. 5 Utah in another first-round series out West.
SCORING TITLE
Joel Embiid of Philadelphia is the league’s scoring champion, averaging 30.6 points. He was held out of the 76ers’ finale Sunday, not that he needed it for any statistical reasons.
Embiid — who hails from Cameroon — becomes the first international player to win that title. Embiid is also the first center to win the scoring crown since Shaquille O’Neal in 1999-2000.
ONE LAST ROUT
The Los Angeles Clippers beat Oklahoma City 138-88 on Sunday. It was the fourth NBA game to be decided by at least 50 points this season — a new league record.
RACE TO 82
Only five players were in position to play on Sunday and officially appear in all 82 regular-season games with their team this season: Phoenix’s Mikal Bridges, Detroit’s Saddiq Bey, Washington’s Deni Avdija, Dallas’ Dwight Powell and the Warriors’ Kevon Looney.
They all appeared in games Sunday, completing the 82-game quest.
Having only five players get to 82 marked the fewest number of players in NBA history to have appeared in every game for a full regular season.
There were 11 players who appeared in all 72 games last season, which was shortened because of the pandemic. There were 14 every-game players in 2019-20, when teams played differing numbers of games, again because of the pandemic and then with not every team advancing to the restart bubble in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.wric.com/sports/sports-headlines/the-play-in-games-are-set-as-nba-looks-to-the-postseason/ | 2022-04-11T19:39:16 | 0 | https://www.wric.com/sports/sports-headlines/the-play-in-games-are-set-as-nba-looks-to-the-postseason/ |
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gary Sánchez hit a grand slam into the third deck and Byron Buxton had two of Minnesota’s six home runs as the Twins slugged their way past the Seattle Mariners 10-4 on Sunday for their first victory of the season.
Carlos Correa launched his first homer for Minnesota. Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco also went deep, and Sánchez added an RBI double to give him five RBIs for the Twins, who totaled eight hits over 2-1 and 4-3 defeats on Friday and Saturday.
Bailey Ober logged five innings for the win, handed more than enough cushion to withstand a three-run homer in the third by Mitch Haniger.
Mariners left-hander Marco Gonzales gave up three homers, just as he did in his first start of 2021, and lasted only two innings. Four of the six runs against Gonzales were unearned, thanks to a two-out fielding error in the first inning by second baseman Adam Frazier.
Gio Urshela had to hop out of the way of the grounder as he hustled from first to second, creating a potential distraction for Frazier as he positioned himself for the ball in the shadow in shallow right field. Then Sánchez, who came to the Twins with Urshela last month in the trade that sent Josh Donaldson to the Yankees, crushed a 2-2 changeup from Gonzales an estimated 446 feet into the highest seats above left field for a 5-0 lead.
Sánchez watched the ball soar for a second before tossing his bat and flipping a casual thumbs-up toward his dugout as he started his jog around the bases.
Derided in New York for his substandard defense at catcher, Sánchez made an important play in the top of the first. He deftly blocked the plate with his left leg to keep Jesse Winker from scoring on Haniger’s double, ending the inning after the spot-on relay throw from Correa at shortstop.
Correa, the headliner acquisition of a bold and busy March in Minnesota’s front office, managed to outdistance Sánchez with a solo shot to the third deck in the sixth.
According to MLB’s Statcast data, Correa’s homer traveled 458 feet with an exit speed off the bat of 113 mph. That was the second-hardest-hit home run of his career on record, a fraction slower than one he hit for Houston six years ago.
THE BUCK DOESN’T STOP
Before all the trades and signings the Twins made last month, they logged their most impactful transaction with a seven-year, $100 million extension for Buxton, their prized center fielder whose enviable skills have only been slowed by injuries. After hitting a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth inning on Saturday, Buxton went deep in his first two at-bats against Gonzales on Sunday.
It was Buxton’s fifth career multi-homer game. Both of them were line drives after way-inside pitches that weren’t too far in for his fastball-killing swing to muscle them over the left-field wall.
ORDER AN OBER
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said the right-handed Ober, who made 20 starts last year in a solid rookie season, was the most stretched-out member of the six-man rotation the Twins have started with. The 6-foot-9 Ober allowed an RBI single to Frazier three batters before Haniger’s homer, but recovered to retire seven straight.
EXTRA FLEXIBILITY
The early-season 28-man roster limit gave Mariners manager Scott Servais the rare opportunity to start three different catchers in the first three games. Luis Torrens was crouched behind the plate on Sunday, after Cal Raleigh and Tom Murphy took the first two turns.
UP NEXT
The Mariners send RHP Chris Flexen to the mound Monday night to finish the four-game series, and RHP Dylan Bundy makes his debut for the Twins.
___
More AP MLB coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.cenlanow.com/sports/sanchez-slam-leads-twins-in-6-homer-surge-to-beat-mariners/ | 2022-04-11T19:39:17 | 0 | https://www.cenlanow.com/sports/sanchez-slam-leads-twins-in-6-homer-surge-to-beat-mariners/ |
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The Masters patrons filled in every nook and cranny around the 18th green, awaiting the appearance of the man in red.
A scene that’s been so familiar to Tiger Woods on so many Sundays at Augusta National, but this one was different.
It wasn’t even 3 o’clock on the warm, sunny afternoon in east Georgia. Over on the adjacent first hole, leader Scottie Scheffler and closest pursuer Cameron Smith had just teed off in the final group.
Hunched over and limping noticeably, Woods climbed the deceptively steep hill leading up to the green as the fans slowly rose to their feet, the roar building as they saluted a remarkable comeback if not a fairy tale of a weekend.
“Way to hang in there, Tiger!” a man standing back in the crowd belted out.
From a strictly golfing viewpoint, this was hardly the Woods that so many remembered. The guy who’s won five green jackets, the last of them just three years ago. The guy who’ll go down as one of the greatest to ever play the game, even if he never strikes another shot. (Don’t worry, he’s not done.)
This Woods, the one hobbling on a rebuilt right leg that he could’ve lost in that horrific car crash 14 months ago, closed with back-to-back 78s that were the worst scores of his Masters career.
He even had to take a left-handed swing at the 13th after knocking his ball onto the pine straw behind the green, right up next to an azalea.
His battered body simply ran out of steam after an electrifying 71 on Thursday, when Woods made his return to competitive golf for the first time in more than 500 days.
He grinded out a 74 on Friday, ensuring he would make the Masters cut for the 22nd time in a row.
There was nothing left in the tank for the weekend.
Still, it was a gratifying experience, one that Woods clearly didn’t regret putting himself through even if he didn’t come close to winning a record-tying sixth green jacket.
“This tournament has meant so much to me and my family,” Woods said. “This is where all the great champions have ever played. They have walked these grounds.”
That Woods was able to walk the course again — for four days, no less — was a feat in itself.
After his wreck in February 2021, doctors told Wood that his shattered right leg might have to be amputated. They managed to save it, but he was confined to a hospital bed for three months. He’s still got screws and rods holding the bones in place.
Woods walked Augusta National with a limp that got more and more noticeable, sometimes using a club as a walking stick to help him get around.
Most telling, he couldn’t bend all the way over to read putts on Augusta’s tricky greens, which may explain why his stellar touch with the short stick seemed to abandon him on the weekend.
But excluding all the tournaments he’s won — especially those 15 major championships — this felt like his greatest achievement in golf.
“For not winning an event, yes. Yes, without a doubt,’ Woods said. ”I don’t think people really understand. The people who are close to me understand. They’ve seen it. Some of the players who are close to me have seen it and have seen some of the pictures and the things that I have had to endure. They appreciate it probably more than anyone else because they know what it takes to do this out here at this level.”
Everyone realizes how much Woods still means to the game, even if he is surely in the twilight of his career at age 46.
“You just pull so hard for him,” said Harold Varner III, who joined Woods and Cameron Champ to make this the first Masters with three Black players. “Obviously, he’s great for the sport. If he’s around, we’re going to make a lot of money.”
Woods told Sky Sports that he plans to play the British Open at St. Andrews in July. He isn’t sure about the next two majors: the PGA Championship, set for May 19-22 at Southern Hills, or the U.S. Open at Brookline in June.
“It’ll be just the big events,” Woods told Sky. “But I am looking forward to St. Andrews. That is something that is near and dear to my heart. I’ve won two Opens there, it’s the home of golf. It’s my favorite golf course in the world, so I will be there for that one.”
“See you down the road,” his caddie, Joe LaCava, shouted to media members gathered outside the clubhouse, waiting to speak to his boss.
Wherever that is, Woods plans to step up his rehab so his body has a better chance of holding up over four grueling days.
“We’re excited about the prospects of the future, about training, about getting into that gym and doing some other stuff to get my leg stronger, which we haven’t been able to do because it needed more time to heal,” he said. ”I think it needs a couple more days to heal after this, but we’ll get back after it.”
While Woods spoke, a roar went up that sounded like it came from way down in Amen Corner.
Woods loves those roars. He hadn’t heard them since his victory in 2019. The following year, the tournament was played in November with no fans because of the pandemic. Last year, of course, playing a golf tournament was the furthest thing from Woods’ mind.
“It’s exciting. It’s inspiring,” he said. “It’s fun to hear the roars.”
Woods hopes to create a few more of them before he’s done.
On this Sunday, he had to be content with the cheers that erupted one last time after he tapped in a short putt at the 18th hole for a 13-over 301 — his worst Masters performance as a professional by eight strokes.
Woods finished a whopping 23 shots behind Scheffler, who claimed his first major title. That matched the largest margin between the winner and Woods in any major championship, which previously occurred at the 2014 British Open, when he was blown away by Rory McIlroy.
He eclipsed his biggest blowout at the Masters, which was 19 strokes behind Dustin Johnson two years ago, when Woods was the defending champion.
As Woods doffed his cap and headed off to the clubhouse, the crowd around 18 began to disperse.
It was time to go watch the players who actually had a chance to capture the green jacket.
___
Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at https://twitter.com/pnewberry1963
___
More AP Masters: https://apnews.com/hub/the-masters | https://www.wric.com/sports/sports-headlines/tigers-masters-no-fairytale-ending-but-still-inspiring/ | 2022-04-11T19:39:24 | 0 | https://www.wric.com/sports/sports-headlines/tigers-masters-no-fairytale-ending-but-still-inspiring/ |
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Cameron Smith closed his eyes once, closed them twice, then let his 9-iron slip from his right hand.
He knew right away.
Before Smith’s tee shot on the 12th hole during the final round of the Masters splashed into Rae’s Creek — taking the 28-year-old Australian’s hopes of winning his first major along with it — he was already looking away in disgust.
“It was a terrible swing,” Smith said.
One that cost him a chance at putting any pressure on eventual champion Scottie Scheffler down the stretch. An overcooked pitch shot from the penalty area, another blah pitch and two putts later, he tapped in for a triple bogey that dropped him six shots back of Scheffler, turning the final holes into a coronation for Scheffler and a learning experience for his playing partner.
Smith, the world’s sixth-ranked player, posted a 1-over 73 to finish tied for third with Shane Lowry.
“I’ll grow from this and be stronger from it,” he said.
The Brisbane-born Smith said he had hoped the folks back home would wake around 5 a.m. to watch him take aim at tracking down Scheffler. The early returns provided those who tuned in with a noncaffeinated jolt.
Smith birdied each of the first two holes to trim a three-shot deficit to just one. It would be as close as Smith would get. Scheffler chipped in for birdie on the par-4 third while Smith bogeyed from nearly the exact same spot. A bogey at the par-3 fourth dropped Smith four back. He calmly drained a 15-foot birdie on the difficult par-4 11th to move to three shots behind.
The momentum lasted all of five minutes.
The treacherous 12th is where countless hopes of victories at Augusta National have ended up in the bottom of the creek that snakes through the back nine.
Smith’s leaky tee shot that never made it all the way across added him to a list that includes Jordan Spieth in 2016, Greg Norman in 1996 and Francesco Molinari in 2019. Maybe that’s why Smith couldn’t really watch.
Everything was wrong. The swing. The line. The result.
“Wasn’t even trying to go near that pin,” he said.
Clearly rattled, Smith showed a brief flash of anger. He slammed his club into the turf after his pitch onto the 13th green landed well left of the hole, leading to a par when he desperately needed a birdie.
His tee shot on the 14th went into the trees on the left, leading to a bogey. In the span of 20 minutes, what looked potentially doable quickly morphed first to doubtful, then impossible.
While Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa were up ahead splashing in birdies from the greenside bunker at the 18th to leapfrog Smith on the leaderboard, he was bending his driver across his shoulders in frustration, the second-hottest golfer on the planet behind Scheffler stumbling under the pressure of the back nine at Augusta National.
He did recover to birdie the par-5 15th and par-3 16th to jump over Morikawa into a tie for third, his fourth top-10 finish in six visits to Augusta National.
Smith knows he’s close.
“I feel like I’ve played some of my best golf around here,” he said. “It’s quite frustrating, I guess, to not walk away with a win yet.”
The erratic round capped four days of wild swings for Smith. He arrived at the Masters well-rested, three weeks removed from a gritty one-stroke win at The Players Championship, then started with a 4-under 68 to trail Sungjae Im by just one shot.
An opening 39 on Friday led to a 2-over 74, leaving him six shots off Scheffler’s pace. He responded with a 68 in the unusual spring chill, the best round of a borderline miserable day to get him within three of Scheffler.
A duel between the two players who came in having won five tournaments combined this year appeared in the offing after Smith’s early birdies Sunday.
It quickly fell apart after that hot start. He’ll have a year to think about it. Just don’t expect the avid rugby fan and occasional fisherman to get consumed by it.
It was one bad swing. It was also one solid tournament for someone who is making a habit of playing among the final groups on spring Sundays underneath the Georgia pines and proving his trademark mullet isn’t nearly as compelling as his game.
“I love this place,” he said. “I’ll be back here next year and trying to put up another one.”
___
More AP Masters: https://apnews.com/hub/the-masters | https://www.cenlanow.com/sports/smith-has-1-iffy-swing-nightmarish-finish-at-masters/ | 2022-04-11T19:39:30 | 0 | https://www.cenlanow.com/sports/smith-has-1-iffy-swing-nightmarish-finish-at-masters/ |
William Byron knew when he took over the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports that Martinsville Speedway was more than a little bit special.
If he had any doubts, a field trip with car owner Jeff Gordon made it clear.
“When I was a rookie, Jeff was like, ‘Hey, let’s ride up to Martinsville together.’ It wasn’t even a question, it was, ‘Hey, let’s ride up to Martinsville together. I want to show you some things,’” Byron said after becoming the first multiple winner of the season in NASCAR’s Cup Series at the track on Saturday night.
Gordon showed Byron around the 0.526-mile oval, shared some pointers and saw the trip pay off when Byron ran second in a race there to Martin Truex Jr.
Byron had three more top-10 runs in four subsequent visits, then put it all together on a cold night when the temperature made tire wear a non-factor. He also showed some chops as a front-runner, hanging onto the lead in a two-lap dash to the finish with Joey Logano trying to nudge him out of the way.
The victory in a race he led for 212 laps added a second grandfather clock trophy to his haul; he won the first in the Truck Series two nights earlier.
And it impressed the boss, who credits the chemistry Byron has with crew chief Rudy Fugle, and perhaps some of his own tutelage, with the success.
“I’ve just seen this team evolving,” said Gordon, who won nine times on the track. “They’ve been bringing great race cars. They’ve been leading laps. Now they’ve won two races already this year, and I think more are going to come.”
During the race, Byron and teammate Chase Elliott helped the Hendrick team reach 10,000 laps led on the shortest track in the series, becoming the first organization to manage that at any track. The team has won 27 races there, with seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson joining Gordon with nine of them.
The track also was the destination for an airplane that crashed in fog into a mountain in 2004, killing eight members of the organization, including team owner Rick Hendrick’s son, Ricky, and two crew members on a day when Johnson, unaware of what had happened, visited a solemn Victory Lane.
It was that 2018 trip with Gordon, though, that emerged front and center in Byron’s mind as the race unfolded, with him among the dominant cars.
“Definitely is special, and he’s got, what, 93 wins and however many clocks,” he said of Gordon, a four-time series champion. “We’ve got a lot of clocks to chase, but it’s cool to get that advice from him. Those little things that I picked up from him in my rookie year that I didn’t really use for a few years, and then as soon as I got towards the front I’m like, all right, that makes sense.”
Showing it by withstanding the challenge from Logano and leading as many laps as he did only makes Gordon more excited about the future of the 24.
___
More AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.wric.com/sports/sports-headlines/trip-with-gordon-paid-dividends-for-byron-at-martinsville/ | 2022-04-11T19:39:31 | 0 | https://www.wric.com/sports/sports-headlines/trip-with-gordon-paid-dividends-for-byron-at-martinsville/ |
It lasted 174 days, required the usage of more players than any season in history primarily because of the ongoing challenge of playing through a pandemic, and saw playoff-positioning chases go all the way down to the final moments.
Now, move over, regular season.
The NBA’s postseason is finally here.
Kyrie Irving can play at home again, a change-of-heart regarding vaccination rules that was made a few weeks ago by the city of New York in a move that will have immediate impact on the race to the NBA championship. Irving and the Brooklyn Nets held off the Indiana Pacers 134-126 on Sunday, and will play host to the first play-in game of this year’s tournament when they face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.
That matchup wasn’t set until Sunday, nor was the other Eastern Conference play-in matchup: No. 9 Atlanta will play host to No. 10 Charlotte on Wednesday night. The winner of that game will play the Nets-Cavaliers loser on Friday to determine who’ll face No. 1 Miami in an East first-round series.
The Nets-Cavaliers winner will be seeded No. 7 and meet second-seeded Boston in the first round. The Celtics secured the No. 2 seed on Sunday night with a win in Memphis, combined with Milwaukee’s loss to Cleveland.
Charlotte will be without forward Gordon Hayward, announcing Sunday that he’s “out indefinitely with continued discomfort in his left foot.” Hayward’s foot will be placed in a cast for at least two weeks, meaning if the Hornets win twice in the play-in tournament and get into the postseason, he’ll likely miss most of Round 1, at minimum, as well.
OTHER MATCHUPS
Defending NBA champion Milwaukee will be seeded No. 3 in the East and will play No. 6 Chicago in a first-round series. Fourth-seeded Philadelphia will face fifth-seeded Toronto in another East matchup.
In the West, Golden State secured the No. 3 seed and will face No. 6 Denver in Round 1. Dallas — which lost Luka Doncic to a calf strain Sunday — will play No. 5 Utah in another first-round series out West.
SCORING TITLE
Joel Embiid of Philadelphia is the league’s scoring champion, averaging 30.6 points. He was held out of the 76ers’ finale Sunday, not that he needed it for any statistical reasons.
Embiid — who hails from Cameroon — becomes the first international player to win that title. Embiid is also the first center to win the scoring crown since Shaquille O’Neal in 1999-2000.
ONE LAST ROUT
The Los Angeles Clippers beat Oklahoma City 138-88 on Sunday. It was the fourth NBA game to be decided by at least 50 points this season — a new league record.
RACE TO 82
Only five players were in position to play on Sunday and officially appear in all 82 regular-season games with their team this season: Phoenix’s Mikal Bridges, Detroit’s Saddiq Bey, Washington’s Deni Avdija, Dallas’ Dwight Powell and the Warriors’ Kevon Looney.
They all appeared in games Sunday, completing the 82-game quest.
Having only five players get to 82 marked the fewest number of players in NBA history to have appeared in every game for a full regular season.
There were 11 players who appeared in all 72 games last season, which was shortened because of the pandemic. There were 14 every-game players in 2019-20, when teams played differing numbers of games, again because of the pandemic and then with not every team advancing to the restart bubble in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.cenlanow.com/sports/the-play-in-games-are-set-as-nba-looks-to-the-postseason/ | 2022-04-11T19:39:37 | 1 | https://www.cenlanow.com/sports/the-play-in-games-are-set-as-nba-looks-to-the-postseason/ |
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Klay Thompson punctuated his regular season with a fist pump — a display of emotion stemming from far more than his latest flurry of fourth-quarter points.
Thompson made seven 3-pointers and scored a season-high 41 points for the Golden State Warriors, who landed the third seed in the Western Conference playoffs with a 128-107 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday night.
“What I battled through, I’ll never take a 40-ball lightly again,” said Thompson, who after being sidelined for more than two seasons with knee and Achilles injuries, now heads into the playoffs having scored 30-plus in three straight games.
“That’s hard to do in the NBA,” Thompson continued. “I don’t care who’s guarding you, who’s playing, 40 points is 40 points and that was a sweet night for myself.”
Jordan Poole added 22 for the Warriors, who opened up a 22-point lead in the second quarter and held on to close out the regular season on a five-game winning streak.
The Pelicans were already locked into the ninth spot in the Western Conference and limited the playing time for the usual starters ahead of their single-elimination play-in game on Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs. Brandon Ingram (right hamstring), Herbert Jones (bruised right tibia) and Jonas Valanciunas (sore right ankle) sat out, as well as top scoring reserve Devonte’ Graham.
Starting guard CJ McCollum played just five minutes in the first quarter before being given the rest of the night off. Naji Marshall led New Orleans with 19 points, while reserve Gary Clark added 17 points and rookie Trey Murphy III scored 15.
Pelicans coach Willie Green downplayed the Pelicans’ two losses to end the season, given that his team still has a chance to be part of the NBA playoffs after starting 3-16 and not having injured 2019 top overall draft pick Zion Williamson all season.
“We are proud of our group and where we are right now,” Green said. “The guys understand that they have worked extremely hard. They stayed together and we have a great opportunity.”
The Pelicans’ largely reserve lineup still whittled a 29-point deficit down to 11 late in the third quarter before Thompson put the game away with 15 points in a five-minute span early in the fourth period.
Thompson opened the spurt with an 11-foot turnaround, a reverse layup and then a driving floater as he was fouled, followed by a 15-foot pull-up and consecutive 3s to make it 108-86.
“He’s come back from this long two-and-a-half-year absence, so for him to look the way he has the last couple weeks but also kind of break this game open tonight in the last game of the regular season is significant,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “Tonight was sort of a metaphor for Klay being back to Klay.”
TIP-INS
Warriors: Thompson shot 50% from 3-point range against New Orleans. He has 14 games with at least 20 points and six with at least 30 since returning to the lineup on Jan. 9. … Golden State shot 60.5% overall (49 of 81) and 57.6% (19 of 33) from 3-point range. … Jonathan Kuminga scored 18 points and Damion Lee added 11.
Pelicans: Ingram missed his third straight game with the hamstring injury, which Green has described as a minor aggravation that shouldn’t keep him out of the play-in game. “He’s feeling much better,” Green said. “Our plan is for him to be ready to play Wednesday. But other than that, he’s working through it. He is getting better. But it just didn’t make sense to put him on the floor tonight.” … Undrafted rookie Jose Alvarado scored 12 points in a reserve role.
CURRY’S STATUS
It’s still not clear whether Warriors leading scorer Stephen Curry will be back for Golden State’s playoff opener. He missed the final 12 games of the regular season because of a sprained ligament in his left foot.
“We’ll see how everything goes with Steph next week. There’s a chance he’ll be ready for Game 1. There’s a chance he might not,” Kerr said. “As the week goes on, we’ll see where Steph is. But I imagine this will go right down to the wire as far as Game 1 is concerned, whether we know his availability or not.”
FREE-THROW LEADER
Poole closed out the season as the NBA leader in free-throw percentage at 92.5%, just ahead of Curry at 92.3%.
“I want to give a shoutout to my mom. Ever since I was young, she told me there was nobody guarding me at the free-throw line, so I shouldn’t be missing too many of them,” Poole said. “It’s pretty cool.”
IRON MAN
Warriors center Kevon Looney played in all 82 regular-season games, an accomplishment that Kerr praised in the context of Looney’s hip and neuropathy problems earlier in his career.
“It’s always an incredible badge of honor for a player to play 82 games and as a coach to be able to rely on somebody 82 times, it’s amazing,” Kerr said. “I’m thrilled for him.”
UP NEXT
Warriors: Open the first round of the playoffs at home against Denver on Saturday night.
Pelicans: Host a Western Conference play-in game against San Antonio on Wednesday night.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.cenlanow.com/sports/thompson-scores-41-warriors-top-pelicans-to-clinch-3rd-seed/ | 2022-04-11T19:39:44 | 0 | https://www.cenlanow.com/sports/thompson-scores-41-warriors-top-pelicans-to-clinch-3rd-seed/ |
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The Masters patrons filled in every nook and cranny around the 18th green, awaiting the appearance of the man in red.
A scene that’s been so familiar to Tiger Woods on so many Sundays at Augusta National, but this one was different.
It wasn’t even 3 o’clock on the warm, sunny afternoon in east Georgia. Over on the adjacent first hole, leader Scottie Scheffler and closest pursuer Cameron Smith had just teed off in the final group.
Hunched over and limping noticeably, Woods climbed the deceptively steep hill leading up to the green as the fans slowly rose to their feet, the roar building as they saluted a remarkable comeback if not a fairy tale of a weekend.
“Way to hang in there, Tiger!” a man standing back in the crowd belted out.
From a strictly golfing viewpoint, this was hardly the Woods that so many remembered. The guy who’s won five green jackets, the last of them just three years ago. The guy who’ll go down as one of the greatest to ever play the game, even if he never strikes another shot. (Don’t worry, he’s not done.)
This Woods, the one hobbling on a rebuilt right leg that he could’ve lost in that horrific car crash 14 months ago, closed with back-to-back 78s that were the worst scores of his Masters career.
He even had to take a left-handed swing at the 13th after knocking his ball onto the pine straw behind the green, right up next to an azalea.
His battered body simply ran out of steam after an electrifying 71 on Thursday, when Woods made his return to competitive golf for the first time in more than 500 days.
He grinded out a 74 on Friday, ensuring he would make the Masters cut for the 22nd time in a row.
There was nothing left in the tank for the weekend.
Still, it was a gratifying experience, one that Woods clearly didn’t regret putting himself through even if he didn’t come close to winning a record-tying sixth green jacket.
“This tournament has meant so much to me and my family,” Woods said. “This is where all the great champions have ever played. They have walked these grounds.”
That Woods was able to walk the course again — for four days, no less — was a feat in itself.
After his wreck in February 2021, doctors told Wood that his shattered right leg might have to be amputated. They managed to save it, but he was confined to a hospital bed for three months. He’s still got screws and rods holding the bones in place.
Woods walked Augusta National with a limp that got more and more noticeable, sometimes using a club as a walking stick to help him get around.
Most telling, he couldn’t bend all the way over to read putts on Augusta’s tricky greens, which may explain why his stellar touch with the short stick seemed to abandon him on the weekend.
But excluding all the tournaments he’s won — especially those 15 major championships — this felt like his greatest achievement in golf.
“For not winning an event, yes. Yes, without a doubt,’ Woods said. ”I don’t think people really understand. The people who are close to me understand. They’ve seen it. Some of the players who are close to me have seen it and have seen some of the pictures and the things that I have had to endure. They appreciate it probably more than anyone else because they know what it takes to do this out here at this level.”
Everyone realizes how much Woods still means to the game, even if he is surely in the twilight of his career at age 46.
“You just pull so hard for him,” said Harold Varner III, who joined Woods and Cameron Champ to make this the first Masters with three Black players. “Obviously, he’s great for the sport. If he’s around, we’re going to make a lot of money.”
Woods told Sky Sports that he plans to play the British Open at St. Andrews in July. He isn’t sure about the next two majors: the PGA Championship, set for May 19-22 at Southern Hills, or the U.S. Open at Brookline in June.
“It’ll be just the big events,” Woods told Sky. “But I am looking forward to St. Andrews. That is something that is near and dear to my heart. I’ve won two Opens there, it’s the home of golf. It’s my favorite golf course in the world, so I will be there for that one.”
“See you down the road,” his caddie, Joe LaCava, shouted to media members gathered outside the clubhouse, waiting to speak to his boss.
Wherever that is, Woods plans to step up his rehab so his body has a better chance of holding up over four grueling days.
“We’re excited about the prospects of the future, about training, about getting into that gym and doing some other stuff to get my leg stronger, which we haven’t been able to do because it needed more time to heal,” he said. ”I think it needs a couple more days to heal after this, but we’ll get back after it.”
While Woods spoke, a roar went up that sounded like it came from way down in Amen Corner.
Woods loves those roars. He hadn’t heard them since his victory in 2019. The following year, the tournament was played in November with no fans because of the pandemic. Last year, of course, playing a golf tournament was the furthest thing from Woods’ mind.
“It’s exciting. It’s inspiring,” he said. “It’s fun to hear the roars.”
Woods hopes to create a few more of them before he’s done.
On this Sunday, he had to be content with the cheers that erupted one last time after he tapped in a short putt at the 18th hole for a 13-over 301 — his worst Masters performance as a professional by eight strokes.
Woods finished a whopping 23 shots behind Scheffler, who claimed his first major title. That matched the largest margin between the winner and Woods in any major championship, which previously occurred at the 2014 British Open, when he was blown away by Rory McIlroy.
He eclipsed his biggest blowout at the Masters, which was 19 strokes behind Dustin Johnson two years ago, when Woods was the defending champion.
As Woods doffed his cap and headed off to the clubhouse, the crowd around 18 began to disperse.
It was time to go watch the players who actually had a chance to capture the green jacket.
___
Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at https://twitter.com/pnewberry1963
___
More AP Masters: https://apnews.com/hub/the-masters | https://www.cenlanow.com/sports/tigers-masters-no-fairytale-ending-but-still-inspiring/ | 2022-04-11T19:39:51 | 1 | https://www.cenlanow.com/sports/tigers-masters-no-fairytale-ending-but-still-inspiring/ |
William Byron knew when he took over the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports that Martinsville Speedway was more than a little bit special.
If he had any doubts, a field trip with car owner Jeff Gordon made it clear.
“When I was a rookie, Jeff was like, ‘Hey, let’s ride up to Martinsville together.’ It wasn’t even a question, it was, ‘Hey, let’s ride up to Martinsville together. I want to show you some things,’” Byron said after becoming the first multiple winner of the season in NASCAR’s Cup Series at the track on Saturday night.
Gordon showed Byron around the 0.526-mile oval, shared some pointers and saw the trip pay off when Byron ran second in a race there to Martin Truex Jr.
Byron had three more top-10 runs in four subsequent visits, then put it all together on a cold night when the temperature made tire wear a non-factor. He also showed some chops as a front-runner, hanging onto the lead in a two-lap dash to the finish with Joey Logano trying to nudge him out of the way.
The victory in a race he led for 212 laps added a second grandfather clock trophy to his haul; he won the first in the Truck Series two nights earlier.
And it impressed the boss, who credits the chemistry Byron has with crew chief Rudy Fugle, and perhaps some of his own tutelage, with the success.
“I’ve just seen this team evolving,” said Gordon, who won nine times on the track. “They’ve been bringing great race cars. They’ve been leading laps. Now they’ve won two races already this year, and I think more are going to come.”
During the race, Byron and teammate Chase Elliott helped the Hendrick team reach 10,000 laps led on the shortest track in the series, becoming the first organization to manage that at any track. The team has won 27 races there, with seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson joining Gordon with nine of them.
The track also was the destination for an airplane that crashed in fog into a mountain in 2004, killing eight members of the organization, including team owner Rick Hendrick’s son, Ricky, and two crew members on a day when Johnson, unaware of what had happened, visited a solemn Victory Lane.
It was that 2018 trip with Gordon, though, that emerged front and center in Byron’s mind as the race unfolded, with him among the dominant cars.
“Definitely is special, and he’s got, what, 93 wins and however many clocks,” he said of Gordon, a four-time series champion. “We’ve got a lot of clocks to chase, but it’s cool to get that advice from him. Those little things that I picked up from him in my rookie year that I didn’t really use for a few years, and then as soon as I got towards the front I’m like, all right, that makes sense.”
Showing it by withstanding the challenge from Logano and leading as many laps as he did only makes Gordon more excited about the future of the 24.
___
More AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.cenlanow.com/sports/trip-with-gordon-paid-dividends-for-byron-at-martinsville/ | 2022-04-11T19:39:58 | 1 | https://www.cenlanow.com/sports/trip-with-gordon-paid-dividends-for-byron-at-martinsville/ |
As Twitter’s newest board member and largest shareholder, Elon Musk is already floating suggestions for changes he’d like to see on the social media platform.
In a series of tweets late Saturday, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO said that the company should include an “authentication checkmark” as a feature of its Twitter Blue premium subscription service, which costs $2.99 a month.
Twitter adds a checkmark logo next to a user name when the account has been verified “authentic, notable and active.”
Musk also suggested Twitter make the authentication checkmarks of premium subscriber accounts different than those granted to official accounts belonging to public figures, for example.
Such a move, Musk said, would “massively expand” the pool of verified user accounts and discourage the proliferation of spam “bot” accounts, making them too expensive to maintain.
Musk also shared ideas for how Twitter should charge for its subscription membership, saying the fee “should be proportionate to affordability and in local currency,” and adding: “Maybe even an option to pay in Doge?” referring to the Dogecoin cryptocurrency.
“And no ads,” Musk tweeted. “The power of corporations to dictate policy is greatly enhanced if Twitter depends on advertising money to survive.”
Nearly 90% of Twitter’s revenue in 2021 came from advertising.
Musk’s latest tweets about Twitter, including posting polls asking his 81 million followers whether Twitter is “dying” and whether the company’s San Francisco headquarters should be converted into a homeless shelter “since no one shows up anyway,” followed a tweet earlier in the week asking if he should add an edit button on the platform.
Last week, Twitter disclosed in a regulatory filing that it entered into an agreement with Musk giving the billionaire a seat on the company’s board, with the term expiring at its 2024 annual shareholders meeting. The move came a day after it was disclosed that Musk took a 9% stake in the company.
Twitter declined to comment Sunday.
___
This story has been corrected to show a Twitter Blue subscription is $2.99 a month, not $3 a month. | https://www.cenlanow.com/technology/ap-technology/musk-suggests-twitter-changes-including-accepting-dogecoin/ | 2022-04-11T19:40:05 | 0 | https://www.cenlanow.com/technology/ap-technology/musk-suggests-twitter-changes-including-accepting-dogecoin/ |
Troopers wrap-up distracted driving initiative
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) -The Nebraska State Patrol has completed a week-long enforcement and education effort focused on distracted driving. The U Drive. U Text. U Pay. initiative was part of a nationwide effort during Distracted Driving Awareness Month.
“April is set aside to raise awareness of the dangers of distracted driving, but our troopers’ educational efforts continue year-round,” said Colonel John Bolduc, Superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol. “We urge all drivers to make safety their priority, eliminate distractions, and keep their focus on the road.”
During the effort, which ran from April 4 through April 10, troopers arrested 19 motorists for driving under the influence and issued citations for speeding (292), no seat belt (11), improper child restraint (5), open alcohol container (16), minor in possession (6), driving under suspension (29), no proof of insurance (26), and use of a handheld wireless communication device (1). Troopers also performed 312 motorist assists throughout the week.
This effort was made possible thanks in part to a grant for $14,160 from the Nebraska Department of Transportation – Highway Safety Office. The Nebraska Department of Transportation offers resources to educate young drivers on the dangers of distracted driving. To learn more, visit the Buckle Up Phone Down page on the NDOT website.
Troopers are also available to give educational presentations to young drivers throughout the state. To request a presentation or safety demonstration, contact your local troop area Community Service Officer. Contact information is available at the NSP website.
Copyright 2022 KOLN. All rights reserved. | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/11/troopers-wrap-up-distracted-driving-initiative/ | 2022-04-11T19:44:01 | 1 | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/11/troopers-wrap-up-distracted-driving-initiative/ |
Woman assaults Sonic carhop because her order took too long, police say
TULSA, Okla. (Gray News) – Police in Oklahoma arrested a woman who they said assaulted a Sonic employee and another customer because her food order took too long.
Tulsa police said Stacy Minihan was arrested for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and for trafficking meth.
According to police, officers were called to a Sonic on Saturday night for reports of an assault with a weapon. Investigators found that when the carhop delivered Minihan’s food, she became very upset because the order took too long.
When the employee tried to explain that the restaurant was short-staffed, Minihan got out of her car, slapped the food out of the carhop’s hands and punched the carhop in the chest, witnesses told police.
Police said that when another witness followed Minihan to get her license plate number, Minihan pulled over, got out of her car and shot the witness in the face with a pepper ball gun. The victim was also hit several times and was bleeding from their head.
Officers said Minihan then drove to a nearby gas station where she was stopped by police and arrested. Police seized the pepper ball gun, nearly 30 grams of meth and other drug paraphernalia.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/11/woman-assaults-sonic-carhop-because-her-order-took-too-long-police-say/ | 2022-04-11T19:44:02 | 0 | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/11/woman-assaults-sonic-carhop-because-her-order-took-too-long-police-say/ |
Then-U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham with her mother, Sonja Lujan, before the pandemic. The governor has been unable to see her mother, who lives in an assisted living facility in Albuquerque, during the pandemic.
The mother of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham died Sunday of natural causes, the Governor's Office announced Monday.
Sonja Lujan was 82, according to a news release.
In a statement, the governor paid tribute to her mother, calling her a role model — particularly as she cared for Lujan Grisham's disabled sister, Kimberly, who died at age 21.
“My mother was truly one of a kind," Lujan Grisham said. "Like so many caring and devoted mothers, she became a dedicated advocate for my sister Kimberly and children with disabilities across the country simply because there was no other choice.
"She worked to right every wrong and fought for the best standard of care, refusing to back down when she knew there was more that could be done," Lujan Grisham added. "Her tenacity and determination in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges has inspired me every single day of my adult life. She taught me to fight hard — to make sure no one is left behind, that no family is lacking the support they need and deserve."
Sonja Lujan also is survived by a son, Gregory Lujan.
Lujan Grisham often cited her mother as an inspiration for her own career and would often speak of her inability to visit with her during the COVID-19 pandemic when her mother was living in an assisted living facility in Albuquerque.
The Senate Republican Caucus issued a news statement offering its condolences to the governor as she mourns her mother.
Robert Nott has covered education and youth issues for the Santa Fe New Mexican. He is assigned to The New Mexican's city desk where he covers a general assignment beat.
Thank you for joining the conversation on Santafenewmexican.com.
Please familiarize yourself with the community guidelines. Avoid
personal attacks: Lively, vigorous conversation is welcomed and
encouraged, insults, name-calling and other personal attacks are
not. No commercial peddling: Promotions of commercial goods and
services are inappropriate to the purposes of this forum and can be
removed. Respect copyrights: Post citations to sources appropriate
to support your arguments, but refrain from posting entire
copyrighted pieces. Be yourself: Accounts suspected of using fake
identities can be removed from the forum. | https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/governors-mother-dies-at-82/article_61da633e-b9b6-11ec-a0fd-0b3bb6d06764.html | 2022-04-11T19:51:44 | 0 | https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/governors-mother-dies-at-82/article_61da633e-b9b6-11ec-a0fd-0b3bb6d06764.html |
Jury to decide whether to recommend death for Ormond Beach man convicted of killing son
The penalty phase began Monday in the trial against an Ormond Beach man who faces a possible death sentence after he was convicted last week of killing of his infant son.
Calib Justice Scott, 26, was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of his son, Daemon, who was not quite 5 months old and weighed about 12 pounds when he was killed.
A jury of six women and six men deliberated for more than five hours before returning guilty verdicts last week against Scott on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and child neglect causing great harm.
The jury must unanimously agree on the death penalty in order to give Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols the option of sentencing Scott to death. If the decision is not unanimous, then Nichols must sentence Scott to a mandatory life in prison without parole on the murder count.
Although he is facing a possible death sentence, Scott smiled a few times as he spoke with one of his attorneys and two other people in the courtroom during a break on Monday morning. When the jury returned to the courtroom, Scott faced straight ahead and showed little expression, as he has done throughout the trial.
Father convicted:Ormond Beach man guilty of killing son, faces possible death sentence
Trial begins:Death-penalty trial begins for Ormond father accused of beating infant son to death
Mother arrested:Ormond mom arrested in Michigan in baby’s death
In her opening statement, Assistant State Attorney Heather Trigones said that she and Prosecutor Andrew Urbanak would prove the following four aggravating circumstances which justify imposing the death penalty against Scott:
- The victim was younger than 12.
- The child was particularly vulnerable because he was killed by his father, the person who was responsible for caring for him.
- The child died while Scott committed another felony, aggravated child abuse.
- The child’s killing was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel.
Trigones told jurors how the child was dehydrated; had cuts to the nose and lips; had been burned; had damage to his gums; and suffered bleeding and contusions on the brain. She said the child had endured pain before his death.
Trigones said that while the defense would call experts to testify that tests indicated Scott had a brain injury, prosecutors had an expert who would testify he did not.
Assistant Public Defender Rosemarie Peoples asked jurors to spare Scott's life, saying the murder conviction meant he would spend the rest of his life in prison. Besides Peoples, Scott is represented by Assistant Public Defenders Larry Avallone and Brian Smith
Peoples recalled testimony about Scott's living conditions in a mobile home in Ormond. Ormond Beach Police have described the trailer as cluttered, filthy and soiled by dog feces.
“Calib Scott has a broken mind,” Peoples said.
“We are not going to ask you to forgive Calib Scott, but we are going to ask you for your compassion. We are going to ask you for mercy,” Peoples said.
Peoples’ first witness was Dr. Travis Snyder from Las Vegas, who testified that an MRI showed scarring to the right frontal lobe of Scott’s brain. The scarring was consistent with a “traumatic shearing injury” to the brain, he said.
Snyder said the right frontal lobe controls, among other things, decision-making and impulse control.
Snyder also testified that the right frontal lobe had decreased cortical volume in the area of the scarring, Snyder said. That was determined by a test that used radioactive sugar to determine brain activity, he said.
Under questioning by Peoples, Snyder testified he was paid $350 an hour and had earned $8,150.
During cross examination, Trigones asked him if that sum included his testimony on Monday. Snyder said it did not.
Trigones asked if he was aware of the position from the American College of Radiology about diffusion tensor imaging, which was one of the tests Snyder testified was performed on Scott.
Snyder said the college cautioned against using it in individual patients, but it could still be used.
Trigones also asked him about the Radiology Society of North America’s position on the imaging.
Snyder said it was the same opinion.
“Don't they caution you from using it to evaluate brain injuries at an individual level?” Trigones asked.
“That’s a part of it, yes,” he said.
“Would you agree with me that it’s not acceptable to be used for diagnosing or evaluating a traumatic brain injury,” Trigones asked.
Snyder replied that it was not used in Scott’s case to diagnose a brain injury, but it was a small part of evaluation along with other tests.
The crime
The investigation in Ormond Beach began after Scott called 911 early on the morning of June 11, 2019, to his mobile home at 19 N. Yonge St. after he said he noticed his son, Daemon, was having difficulty breathing, a report said.
The child was taken to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach where he was later pronounced dead.
An autopsy found that Daemon had suffered a “subdural hematoma,” according to the charging affidavit. A subdural hematoma is bleeding on the brain often caused by a severe head injury.
The child's mother, Stephanie Holly, 36, who was at work when police were called, was charged with neglect of a child causing great bodily harm, failure to report child abuse/neglect and culpable negligence. She has a hearing set for May 3 before Nichols.
According to a doctor who testified last week, the infant had lost tissue from his nose and suffered another injury to his lips. The infant also had cuts inside his mouth, bruises on his head and other injuries.
The medical examiner testified that another injury included a circular burn mark on one ear caused by a cigarette.
The trial's penalty phase continues on Tuesday. | https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/courts/2022/04/11/sentencing-underway-calib-scott-ormond-beach-man-who-killed-son/7273599001/ | 2022-04-11T19:55:10 | 1 | https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/courts/2022/04/11/sentencing-underway-calib-scott-ormond-beach-man-who-killed-son/7273599001/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — A COVID-19 patient was in respiratory distress. The Army nurse knew she had to act quickly.
It was the peak of this year’s omicron surge and an Army medical team was helping in a Michigan hospital. Regular patient beds were full. So was the intensive care. But the nurse heard of an open spot in an overflow treatment area, so she and another team member raced the gurney across the hospital to claim the space first, denting a wall in their rush.
When she saw the dent, Lt. Col. Suzanne Cobleigh, the leader of the Army team, knew the nurse had done her job. “She’s going to damage the wall on the way there because he’s going to get that bed,” Cobleigh said. “He’s going to get the treatment he needs. That was the mission.”
That nurse’s mission was to get urgent care for her patient. Now, the U.S. military mission is to use the experiences of Cobleigh’s team and other units pressed into service against the coronavirus pandemic to prepare for the next crisis threatening a large population, whatever its nature.
Their experiences, said Gen. Glen VanHerck, will help shape the size and staffing of the military’s medical response so the Pentagon can provide the right types and numbers of forces needed for another pandemic, global crisis or conflict.
One of the key lessons learned was the value of small military teams over mass movements of personnel and facilities in a crisis like the one wrought by COVID-19.
In the early days of the pandemic, the Pentagon steamed hospital ships to New York City and Los Angeles, and set up massive hospital facilities in convention centers and parking lots, in response to pleas from state government leaders. The idea was to use them to treat non-COVID-19 patients, allowing hospitals to focus on the more acute pandemic cases. But while images of the military ships were powerful, too often many beds went unused. Fewer patients needed non-coronavirus care than expected, and hospitals were still overwhelmed by the pandemic.
A more agile approach emerged: having military medical personnel step in for exhausted hospital staff members or work alongside them or in additional treatment areas in unused spaces.
“It morphed over time,” VanHerck, who heads U.S. Northern Command and is responsible for homeland defense, said of the response.
Overall, about 24,000 U.S. troops were deployed for the pandemic, including nearly 6,000 medical personnel to hospitals and 5,000 to help administer vaccines. Many did multiple tours. That mission is over, at least for now.
Cobleigh and her team members were deployed to two hospitals in Grand Rapids from December to February, as part of the U.S. military’s effort to relieve civilian medical workers. And just last week the last military medical team that had been deployed for the pandemic finished its stint at the University of Utah Hospital and headed home.
VanHerck told The Associated Press his command is rewriting pandemic and infectious disease plans, and planning wargames and other exercises to determine if the U.S. has the right balance of military medical staff in the active duty and reserves.
During the pandemic, he said, the teams’ make-up and equipment needs evolved. Now, he’s put about 10 teams of physicians, nurses and other staff — or about 200 troops — on prepare-to-deploy orders through the end of May in case infections shoot up again. The size of the teams ranges from small to medium.
Dr. Kencee Graves, inpatient chief medical officer at the University of Utah Hospital, said the facility finally decided to seek help this year because it was postponing surgeries to care for all the COVID-19 patients and closing off beds because of staff shortages.
Some patients had surgery postponed more than once, Graves said, because of critically ill patients or critical needs by others. “So before the military came, we were looking at a surgical backlog of hundreds of cases and we were low on staff. We had fatigued staff.”
Her mantra became, “All I can do is show up and hope it’s helpful.” She added, “And I just did that day after day after day for two years.”
Then in came a 25-member Navy medical team.
“A number of staff were overwhelmed,” said Cdr. Arriel Atienza, chief medical officer for the Navy team. “They were burnt out. They couldn’t call in sick. We’re able to fill some gaps and needed shifts that would otherwise have remained unmanned, and the patient load would have been very demanding for the existing staff to match.”
Atienza, a family physician who’s been in the military for 21 years, spent the Christmas holiday deployed to a hospital in New Mexico, then went to Salt Lake City in March. Over time, he said, the military “has evolved from things like pop-up hospitals” and now knows how to integrate seamlessly into local health facilities in just a couple of days.
That integration helped the hospital staff recover and catch up.
“We have gotten through about a quarter of our surgical backlog,” Graves said. ”We did not call a backup physician this month for the hospital team … that’s the first time that’s happened in several months. And then we haven’t called a patient and asked them to reschedule their surgery for the majority of the last few weeks.”
VanHerck said the pandemic also underscored the need to review the nation’s supply chain to ensure that the right equipment and medications were being stockpiled or to see if they were coming from foreign distributors.
“If we’re relying on getting those from a foreign manufacturer and supplier, then that may be something that is a national security vulnerability that we have to address,” he said.
VanHerck said the U.S. is also working to better analyze trends in order to predict the needs for personnel, equipment and protective gear. Military and other government experts watched the progress of COVID-19 infections moving across the country and used that data to predict where the next outbreak might be so that staff could be prepared to go there.
The need for mental health care for the military personnel also became apparent. Team members coming off difficult shifts often needed someone to talk to.
Cobleigh said military medical personnel were not accustomed to caring for so many people with multiple health problems, as are more apt to be found in a civilian population than in military ranks. “The level of sickness and death in the civilian sector was scores more than what anyone had experienced back in the Army,” said Cobleigh, who is stationed now at Fort Riley, Kansas, but will soon move to Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.
She said she found that her staff needed her and wanted to “talk through their stresses and strains before they’d go back on shift.”
For the civilian hospitals, the lesson was knowing when to call for help.
“It was the bridge to help us get out of omicron and in a position where we can take good care of our patients,” Graves said. “I am not sure how we would have done that without them.” | https://www.wric.com/health/coronavirus/pentagon-plans-for-next-pandemic-as-covid-mission-ends/ | 2022-04-11T19:55:10 | 1 | https://www.wric.com/health/coronavirus/pentagon-plans-for-next-pandemic-as-covid-mission-ends/ |
Volusia-Flagler-St. Johns High School Athlete of the Week poll: April 11
The polls are open!
It's time to vote for the Volusia-Flagler-St. Johns Athlete of the Week for the week of April 4-9. All in-season sports will be eligible.
Last week, Spruce Creek softball star Haley Yeary took home a decisive win with over 32% of the nearly 20,000 votes that were cast. The Stetson commit had three hits and three runs scored as the Hawks defeated DeLand 10-5.
The News-Journal and Record gather nominees from scores and stats e-mailed to the sports desk during the week by coaches across the area. Coaches can email nominees to sports@news-jrnl.com.
Voting begins each Monday and closes at 10 a.m. Thursday. Votes are restricted to once per device per hour.
To see the newest poll, click here.
Last week's results:Volusia-Flagler-St. Johns High School Athlete of the Week poll: April 4
Flag football stars:These 5 'electric' playmakers shined at the Volusia-Flagler Five Star flag football tournament
Baseball
Tyler Boyeson, Spruce Creek: The freshman shook off a crash into the outfield wall and delivered the go-ahead hit in the sixth inning as the Hawks defeated University 2-1 in the Five Star Conference tournament final.
Enrique Castillo, Tocoi Creek: The junior launched the first home run in school history in a 3-0 win over University Christian.
Hunter Pankey, Bartram Trail: The Stetson commit tossed a six hitter, striking out two in a 2-0 home win over Parkview (Ga.).
Softball
Madeline Manuel, Ponte Vedra: The senior went 4 for 5, doubled twice and drove in five runs as the Sharks knocked off rival Nease 13-5.
Veronica Puckett, Deltona: The junior had five hits, four runs scored, four RBIs and two stolen bases in Five Star tournament victories against Taylor and University.
Emma Wood, Matanzas: The Embry-Riddle commit tallied a pair of three-hit games last week, finishing a double shy of the cycle against Atlantic and scoring three runs against FPC.
Track and Field
Hailey Bruce, Father Lopez: The javelin thrower broke the school record Friday at the Carl Friedland Memorial Meet. She broke it on all three of her throws during the event.
Dylan Freet, Tocoi Creek: Freet finished second in the shot put and won the discus event at last week's meet.
Aidan Dixon, Atlantic: Finished the men’s 800m with a personal best and new school record of 1:56.98.
Paige Brammer, St. Joseph Academy: Ran a 5:40 mile at the Bolles Mile Showcase.
Tennis
Kayla McLaughlin, Ponte Vedra: Played a tense and difficult match against Spruce Creek to clinch a team victory. The match was tied 3-3 and McLaughlin's match was the last on the court. She pulled out the win at 5-7, 7-6 (7-3) (10-7).
McLaughlin is currently 12-2 at No. 2 doubles.
Melissa Perman, Spruce Creek: Won at No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles against Ponte Vedra on Friday to finish the regular season with an undefeated singles record of 16-0 and doubles record of 14-2.
Boys volleyball
Carson Pliapol, Spruce Creek: The sophomore had 28 kills in a four-set win over Creekside, upping his total to 385 for the season, in addition to 74 aces.
Lacrosse
Ryann Frechette, Bartram Trail: Had 20 points (12 goals, eight assists) along with 13 draw controls in three games last week. Frechette currently has 66 goals, 37 assists and 105 draw controls for the season.
Weightlifting
Jackson Oldham, Father Lopez: The regional champ had a 335 bench and 275 clean and jerk last week. | https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/sports/high-school/sports-awards/2022/04/11/athlete-week-volusia-flagler-st-johns-april-11-poll-open-baseball-volleyball-tennis-lacrosse/7278299001/ | 2022-04-11T19:55:16 | 0 | https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/sports/high-school/sports-awards/2022/04/11/athlete-week-volusia-flagler-st-johns-april-11-poll-open-baseball-volleyball-tennis-lacrosse/7278299001/ |
DENVER (KDVR) — A surgery using magnets helped doctors in Colorado save the life of a very premature baby.
Gabriella and Harper were born at 23 weeks in February of 2021 in Alliance, Nebraska. The twins needed the help of specialized doctors to survive, so they were transferred to the Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children in Denver, 250 miles away.
“Twenty-three weeks is really the extreme limits of possible viability,” said Dr. Steven Rothenberg, chief of pediatric surgery at the hospital.
Parents Kayla Hatch and Victor Jacobo credit the medical workers for saving Harper, who was born with an incomplete esophagus.
Rocky Mountain Hospital believes the procedure marks the first successful Esophageal Atresia surgery on a baby weighing less than a pound.
“The gap was so great, it was hard to get the two ends together,” Rothenberg said. “I believe Harper is the smallest baby ever to be born, with this pure Esophageal Atresia, to survive.”
Doctors waited until Harper was full-term before performing a minimally-invasive surgery, followed by another surgery. Eventually, magnets were used in January 2022, about a month before the twins’ first birthday. The magnets, which were eventually removed, brought the incomplete esophagus together.
“It worked,” Rothenberg said. “It worked extremely well.”
Hatch and Jacobo couldn’t be happier.
“To see them breathing, kicking … it’s just truly awesome,” Jacobo said. “We just can’t thank everyone enough for being there and helping us through these trying times.”
“For the rest of my life, I’m going to be thanking them,” Hatch said. | https://www.wric.com/health/smallest-baby-ever-born-with-incomplete-esophagus-survives/ | 2022-04-11T19:55:16 | 1 | https://www.wric.com/health/smallest-baby-ever-born-with-incomplete-esophagus-survives/ |
(NEXSTAR) — The very first Taco Bell location was no bigger than a two-car garage. It didn’t have indoor seating, it didn’t have a drive-thru, and it certainly didn’t have Doritos Locos Tacos, supreme or otherwise.
It did, however, have several menu items that are nowhere to be found among Taco Bell’s current offerings, including a “chili burger.”
Glen Bell, the chain’s founder, opened his first Taco Bell in Downey, California, in 1962. Bell had previously operated a number of fast-food restaurants throughout the ‘50s — including Bell’s Drive-In and Taco Tia — but he was envisioning something altogether different for Taco Bell. Specifically, he had an idea for a small walk-up taco stand surrounded by “shops, live music and fire pits,” according to Taco Bell.
The resulting restaurant, with its fire pits and a live-performance area in the back, bore little resemblance to the Taco Bells of today. There was also a walk-up window — and only a walk-up window — where customers could order whatever their hearts desired, so long as they desired one of five menu items.
The earliest official Taco Bell menu offered frijoles, tostados, chili burgers, burritos (red or green) and tacos, all for 19 cents apiece. Each of these items stuck around well into the ‘70s, while Bell and his franchisees went about expanding the chain throughout California and beyond.
Of course, there were a few changes along the way. In a photo of the restaurant’s overhead menu circa the early ‘70s, prices had jumped to a whopping 25 cents. “Tostados” also became “tostadas,” and “chili burgers” gave way to “Bellburgers,” which were described as having ground beef, lettuce, tomato and a “famous” Taco Bell sauce.
Many of these items persisted for decades in one form or another, but today only tacos and burritos remain from the first Taco Bell menu, and even those have evolved from their original incarnations.
But not everything has changed. The original Taco Bell restaurant, which closed in 1986, is still intact after being saved from demolition and moved to the Taco Bell headquarters in Irvine, California. (Good luck ordering a chili burger, though.) | https://www.wric.com/news/human-interest/food/taco-bells-first-restaurants-only-offered-5-items-and-most-are-no-longer-on-the-menu/ | 2022-04-11T19:55:22 | 1 | https://www.wric.com/news/human-interest/food/taco-bells-first-restaurants-only-offered-5-items-and-most-are-no-longer-on-the-menu/ |
(The Hill) — Two Buffalo police officers have been cleared of any wrongdoing after a video surfaced of them pushing over a 75-year-old man during a Black Lives Matter protest in June 2020.
Local station WIVB, an affiliate of Nexstar, reported on Sunday that Buffalo Police Department (BPD) officers Aaron Torgalski and Robert McCabe won’t face any charges over the incident.
The two officers were a part of a police line that was clearing protesters out of the area near the city hall when they approached demonstrator Martin Gugino.
In the video, both Torgalski and McCabe appear to shove Gugino, who then loses his balance and falls to the ground, cracking his head on the concrete pavement. Gugino spent multiple weeks at the hospital recovering from his wounds.
In a court ruling on Friday, arbitrator Jeffrey Selchick said that Gugino wasn’t an innocent bystander and that no evidence proved the two officers deliberately tried to injure him.
“Gugino, after the force was applied to him, appears to have not been able to keep his balance for reasons that might well have had as much to do with the fact that he was holding objects in each hand or his advanced age,” Selchick said.
Selchick also said in his ruling that the 75-year-old man may have surprised the officers, which could interfere with the officer’s performance of their duties, the ruling said.
In a statement to NBC affiliate WGRZ, the city’s Police Benevolent Association celebrated the arbitrator’s decision.
“Two good cops who initially got thrown under the bus are back to the profession they love and they’re doing it with a clean slate. No criminal charges, nothing administratively. They’re ready to hit the streets and go back to work for the citizens of Buffalo,” association attorney Thomas Burton said in a statement. | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/buffalo-police-officers-cleared-for-pushing-over-75-year-old-protester/ | 2022-04-11T19:55:28 | 0 | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/buffalo-police-officers-cleared-for-pushing-over-75-year-old-protester/ |
PHOENIX (AP) — Karla Finocchio’s slide into homelessness began when she split with her partner of 18 years and temporarily moved in with a cousin.
The 55-year-old planned to use her $800-a-month disability check to get an apartment after back surgery. But she soon was sleeping in her old pickup protected by her German Shepherd mix Scrappy, unable to afford housing in Phoenix, where median monthly rents soared 33% during the coronavirus pandemic to over $1,220 for a one-bedroom, according to ApartmentList.com.
Finocchio is one face of America’s graying homeless population, a rapidly expanding group of destitute and desperate people 50 and older suddenly without a permanent home after a job loss, divorce, family death or health crisis during a pandemic.
“We’re seeing a huge boom in senior homelessness,” said Kendra Hendry, a caseworker at Arizona’s largest shelter, where older people make up about 30% of those staying there. “These are not necessarily people who have mental illness or substance abuse problems. They are people being pushed into the streets by rising rents.”
Academics project their numbers will nearly triple over the next decade, challenging policymakers from Los Angeles to New York to imagine new ideas for sheltering the last of the baby boomers as they get older, sicker and less able to pay spiraling rents. Advocates say much more housing is needed, especially for extremely low-income people.
Navigating sidewalks in wheelchairs and walkers, the aging homeless have medical ages greater than their years, with mobility, cognitive and chronic problems like diabetes. Many contracted COVID-19 or couldn’t work because of pandemic restrictions.
Cardelia Corley, 65, ended up on the streets of Los Angeles County after the hours at her telemarketing job were cut.
“I’d always worked, been successful, put my kid through college,” the single mother said. “And then all of a sudden things went downhill.”
Corley traveled all night aboard buses and rode commuter trains to catch a catnap.
“And then I would go to Union Station downtown and wash up in the bathroom,” said Corley. She recently moved into a small East Hollywood apartment with help from The People Concern, a Los Angeles nonprofit.
A 2019 study of aging homeless people led by the University of Pennsylvania drew on 30 years of census data to project the U.S. population of people 65 and older experiencing homelessness will nearly triple from 40,000 to 106,000 by 2030, resulting in a public health crisis as their age-related medical problems multiply.
Dr. Margot Kushel, a physician who directs the Center for Vulnerable Populations at the University of California, San Francisco, said her research in Oakland on how homelessness affects health has shown nearly half of the tens of thousands of older homeless people in the U.S. are on the streets for the first time.
“We are seeing that retirement is no longer the golden dream,” said Kushel. “A lot of the working poor are destined to retire onto the streets.”
That’s especially true of younger baby boomers, now in their late 50s to late 60s, who don’t have pensions or 401(k) accounts. About half of both women and men ages 55 to 66 have no retirement savings, according to the census.
Born between 1946 and 1964, baby boomers now number over 70 million, the census shows. With the oldest boomers in their mid-70s, all will hit age 65 by 2030.
The aged homeless also tend to have smaller Social Security checks after years of working off-the-books.
Donald Whitehead Jr., executive director of the Washington-based advocacy group National Coalition for the Homeless, said Black, Latino and Indigenous people who came of age in the 1980s amid recession and high unemployment rates are disproportionately represented among the homeless.
Many nearing retirement never got well-paying jobs and didn’t buy homes because of discriminatory real estate practices.
“So many of us didn’t put money into retirement programs, thinking that Social Security was going to take care of us,” said Rudy Soliz, 63, operations director for Justa Center, which offers meals, showers, a mail drop and other services to the aged homeless in Phoenix.
The average monthly Social Security retirement payment as of December was $1,658. Many older homeless people have much smaller checks because they worked fewer years or earned less than others.
People 65 and over with limited resources and who didn’t work enough to earn retirement benefits may be eligible for Supplemental Security Income of $841 a month.
Nestor Castro, 67, was luckier than many who lose permanent homes.
Castro was in his late 50s living in New York when his mother died and he was hospitalized with bleeding ulcers, losing their apartment. He initially stayed with his sister in Boston, then for more than three years at a YMCA in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Just before last Christmas, Castro got a permanent subsidized apartment through Hearth Inc., a Boston nonprofit dedicated to ending homelessness among older adults. Residents pay 30% of their income to stay in one if Hearth’s 228 units.
Castro pays with part of his Social Security check and a part-time job. He also volunteers at a food pantry and a nonprofit that assists people with housing.
“Housing is a big problem around here because they are building luxury apartments that no one can afford,” he said. “A place down the street is $3,068 a month for a studio.” | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/more-of-americas-graying-homeless-population-retiring-on-streets/ | 2022-04-11T19:55:34 | 1 | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/more-of-americas-graying-homeless-population-retiring-on-streets/ |
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) — A human chain helped rescue four Bay County Sheriff’s deputies on Wednesday after a water rescue.
Law enforcement responded to help three distressed swimmers, but after that, they found themselves in a scary situation.
“The initial response for the swimmers in distress, they were able to get the swimmers out and then at that point it was getting themselves out as well,” said BCSO Captain, David Baldwin.
Baldwin said four deputies went into the water to help the swimmers.
Three were able to get out, but the fourth, a sergeant, was stuck in the current yelling for help. That’s when the other deputies got back in the water to assist.
“It just shows the danger that our personnel go into to one, rescue and save the civilians but then again, save themselves because we’re human too,” Baldwin said. “We’re trained to handle that type of water but you can’t sometimes fight against mother nature. She will win when you try to fight against her.”
A fifth deputy got in the water to help. Baldwin said beachgoers followed and formed the human chain. He said the deputy didn’t intend for that to happen.
“So we don’t encourage that but what we would say is thank you to the personnel and the citizens that showed up to help that deputy because they were in fact able to help those last three get out and then finally our sergeant who was the very last to come out as well,” Baldwin said.
Georgia resident and beachgoer, Jimmy Gaylor, said he’s only seen a human chain one other time in his life.
“When it started we were actually up in the condo whenever they started getting you know pulled out and we came down and by the time we came down, that’s when they were doing the human chain,” Gaylor said.
Gaylor said at first the Gulf seemed fine, but then things changed right before their eyes.
“Just all of a sudden you saw the actual tide change and it started going back out and if people are not aware of that, it’s easy to get caught up in it,” Gaylor said.
Captain Baldwin said people can come here and have a safe vacation. He said it is important to learn the flag system and when double red flags are flying stay out of the water.
Violators of the double red flag law can face a $500 fine or even arrest. | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/watch-human-chain-pulls-four-bcso-deputies-from-gulf/ | 2022-04-11T19:55:40 | 0 | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/watch-human-chain-pulls-four-bcso-deputies-from-gulf/ |
(The Hill) – The White House is bracing for “extraordinarily elevated” inflation numbers to be reflected in Tuesday’s data from the Labor Department, attributing it largely to rising energy costs stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Monthly data from the consumer price index (CPI), a key gauge of inflation, is due out on Tuesday, and White House press secretary Jen Psaki said officials are prepared for heightened numbers.
“Because of the actions we’ve taken to address the Putin price hike, we are in a better place than we were last month,” Psaki said, indirectly referring to releasing additional oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and calls for oil companies to avoid price gouging.
“But, we expect March CPI headline inflation to be extraordinarily elevated, due to Putin’s price hike,” Psaki continued, saying the impact of energy prices will largely be to blame.
The average cost of a gallon of regular gas is $4.11 as of Monday, according to AAA. That number is down slightly from a month ago, when the average price per gallon was $4.33, but it is still up roughly 50 cents from early March.
“I will say that anytime there’s heightened monthly data or inflation reporting or numbers, it is a reminder to us, our allies on the Hill and hopefully to many of the American people that we need to do more to reduce costs for the American people,” Psaki said.
She pushed for Congress to pass the administration’s proposals on prescription drug pricing, childcare and other areas that would reduce costs for families and help mitigate the effects of rising costs for energy and food.
Rising prices for food, energy, shelter and a wide range of consumer goods have squeezed household budgets amid an otherwise strong recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Administration officials have largely chalked it up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has roiled global energy markets and upended food supply chains. | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/white-house-braces-for-extraordinarily-elevated-inflation-numbers/ | 2022-04-11T19:55:46 | 1 | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/white-house-braces-for-extraordinarily-elevated-inflation-numbers/ |
The seats a record Cal Ripken homer reached and Mike Devereaux reached into are now as bygone as those magic Orioles moments. Designed to make the home run haven fairer and, perhaps, more appealing to free agent pitchers, Camden Yards’ new left field wall is taller, farther from home plate, and, near the foul pole, and, especially, the bullpens, more sharply angled. To get a feel for how it will play, drag the before-and-after slider above and dig into some essential stats below.
Oriole Park at Camden Yards’ new left field fence: By the numbers
2: Until now, number of times Oriole Park at Camden Yards’ dimensions had changed. (Home plate was moved back to create a larger playing field in 2001, then returned to its original location the next season.)
4: Number of names, and counting, suggested for the new right angle in left-center, including Adley’s Angle and Elrod’s Corner.
7: Height, in feet, of the old left field wall.
12: Approximate height, in feet, of most of the new left field wall, tied for the 6th tallest in the majors.
14: Percent of Camden Yards home runs the last seven seasons that would have stayed in play under the new layout, according to a Sun analysis.
30: Feet farther the new wall, approximately, is from home plate, than the old one.
82: Days between the announcement of the new wall on Jan. 14 and its unveiling on April 6.
333, 376: Feet from home plate to the left field foul pole and to the bullpens, each unchanged from the original distances.
384, 398: Feet from home plate to the left field corner and left-center field, each new, longer distances.
1,000: Number of seats removed to make room for the new wall, including the orange seat commemorating Cal Ripken’s 278th home run, which set a record for shortstops.
() | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/11/before-and-after-see-the-transformation-of-camden-yards-left-field-wall/ | 2022-04-11T19:57:17 | 0 | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/11/before-and-after-see-the-transformation-of-camden-yards-left-field-wall/ |
The Chicago Bulls will face the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the NBA playoffs, staying close to home to begin their first postseason appearance in five years.
The best-of-seven series will start Sunday at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. Game time and TV coverage are undetermined.
The Bulls (46-36) — who completed the regular season Sunday night with a 124-120 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves — became locked in to the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference last week after beginning 2022 at the top of the conference standings.
The defending NBA champion Bucks (51-31) were neck and neck with the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers but dropped to the third seed Sunday after resting most of their starters in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The rivalry between the Bulls and Bucks seemed to gain a new edge after Alex Caruso’s injury at the hands of Grayson Allen in January, but it has been a lopsided series ever since. The Bulls lost all four meetings with the Bucks this season, including 28- and 21-point blowouts in the last two games.
“They’re champions for a reason,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “They’re battle-tested. They’ve been through this. We will have to play very, very good basketball on both ends of the floor.”
Despite facing the hardest schedule in the league after the All-Star break, the Bucks posted a 15-7 record as they chase back-to-back titles.
Giannis Antetokounmpo poses an impossible problem for most teams, but the Bucks have thrived in recent wins over the Bulls on the strength of other players such as Brook Lopez and Jrue Holiday.
“They have a really good team and a complete team,” Zach LaVine said. “I think we do as well. We just have to attack them and figure out a way we can beat them. … We have to try to bring the fight to them because if we’re back on our heels, it’s not going to be good.”
() | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/11/chicago-bulls-will-face-the-defending-champion-milwaukee-bucks-beginning-sunday-in-the-1st-round-of-the-nba-playoffs/ | 2022-04-11T19:57:23 | 0 | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/11/chicago-bulls-will-face-the-defending-champion-milwaukee-bucks-beginning-sunday-in-the-1st-round-of-the-nba-playoffs/ |
In late January, as the Miami Dolphin slow-cooked their coaching hire, a team source was asked about the strangely sluggish pace.
“Just wait, this will be big,’ the source said.
The Dolphins hoped to land Super Bowl winners Tom Brady as quarterback and Sean Payton as coach, the South Florida Sun Sentinel confirmed. Their yearlong plans were undone in part by former coach Brian Flores’ discrimination lawsuit against the NFL that involves Dolphins owner Steve Ross.
All of which puts the Dolphins’ offseason spending splurge and perhaps their future in a different context. The hope was to marry Super Bowl winners like Payton and Brady with big-name free agents like receiver Tyreek Hill and tackle Terron Armstead and — voila! — become instant contenders.
Instant box-office hits, too. Brady? Payton? Their young players and free-agent buys? As one source said: “You’d have needed to add security at the ticket window.”
Instead, the Dolphins hired a first-time coach Mike McDaniel and endorsed Tua Tagovailoa as quarterback. But their what-might-have-been file over the past two decades of missed players and mistimed decisions adds perhaps its most seductive chapter of all.
Their chase of Brady and Payton, as first reported by Pro Football Talk and The Boston Globe, was real and would have been spectacular. All the timelines confirm the source and national reports. Payton resigned as New Orleans Saints coach on Jan. 25 but said he planned to coach again.
Brady stepped away from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Feb. 1, but didn’t say he was retired or file retirement paperwork with the NFL. The Dolphins planned to introduce Brady in team management before the Feb. 13 Super Bowl, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reported.
He’d initially be given an executive/ownership role similar to Derek Jeter had with the Marlins, Ben Volin of The Boston Globe reported, before deciding to play quarterback.
The role involved the specter of ownership, the Sun Sentinel confirmed, and grew out of Ross and owner-in-waiting Bruce Beal’s relationship with Brady. It also involved two deteriorating relationships: Ross with Flores, and Brady with Tampa Bay coach Bruce Arians.
Brady, as in New England, showed up each Tuesday morning with a game plan for the following Sunday, a source said. He expected coaches to do the same. Arians, busy with other work, wasn’t ready at that early point in a work week to complete a full game plan. It became representative of small-ish but significant problems between them.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins’ recruitment of Brady was supposed to be a three-pronged effort: Ross, who is the biggest donor to the University of Michigan, Brady’s alma mater; Beal, who is social friends with Brady and his wife, Gisele Bundchen; and Flores, who was a New England Patriots defensive assistant for 15 years when Brady was there.
The big picture could have included former Vic Fangio, considered to be one of the league’s top defensive coordinators, and Mike Westhoff, who was a legendary special teams coach with the Dolphins and New York Jets before working for Payton in New Orleans.
Ross and Beal did their part. Flores, though, wanted to trade for Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson, who remains involved in a civil suit for sexual misconduct allegations and has since been traded to Cleveland.
As Flores wrote in his lawsuit, Ross “began to pressure,” Flores to recruit “a prominent quarterback in violation of league tampering rules.”
The quarterback, who sources identified as Brady, arrived at a marina where Ross invited Flores to lunch Super Bowl Week in 2020 in Miami. It was the same week Brady attended a Beal party on Star Island. Ross and Dolphins legend Dan Marino also attended the party.
Flores said that marina incident and, more significantly, his refusal to lose games in 2019 were reasons that led to his ouster on Jan. 10, the first day after the season.
On Feb. 1, the same day Brady retired, Flores announced his lawsuit against the NFL. The Dolphins’ coaching interviews had noticeably stopped in days leading to that. They announced they would have second interviews the following week with two coaches no other teams were chasing in McDaniel and Dallas offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
“A little bit of a hiatus,’ NFL Network’s Ian Rappaport said of the Dolphins’ interviews when they interviewed Moore again on Feb. 4.
The reason for the delay is clear: The plan was for Payton to provide a winning partnership with Brady. Payton was still under contract with New Orleans. Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said New Orleans was asked for permission to talk to Payton but was denied.
Payton’s coming was contingent on Brady.
“Flores’ lawsuit stopped it all,’ a source said.
Why? Well, one allegation is Ross offered $100,000 to Flores to lose games. If that game-fixing charge is proven true, Ross could be forced to sell the team by the league. That would put all ownership in question — including Brady’s stake.
All of which leaves us where? Well, if that marina visit involved tampering charges, as Flores suggested in his lawsuit, this big plan to get Brady and Payton raises more issues. The question is how much Payton and Brady knew about being pursued. It’s hard to imagine these plans went anywhere without Brady’s approval.
The Dolphins hired McDaniel on Feb. 7, endorsed Tua and … well, there’s a new angle of pressure on each to perform with the big pieces once considered for Brady and Payton.
If the Dolphins don’t win this year, will Ross turn attention again to Payton and Brady? Brady turns 45 in August. He’s building a lavish home on Indian Creek in Miami Beach. His contract hasn’t been re-done yet in Tampa.
Until it is — if it is — the question will be out there around the Dolphins like some political ticket: Brady and Payton in 2023?
() | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/11/dave-hyde-pairing-tom-brady-and-sean-payton-was-the-dolphins-big-plan-until-flores-lawsuit-ruined-it/ | 2022-04-11T19:57:29 | 0 | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/11/dave-hyde-pairing-tom-brady-and-sean-payton-was-the-dolphins-big-plan-until-flores-lawsuit-ruined-it/ |
Jake Diekman needed just four pitches to finish off the Yankees Sunday night.
The Red Sox lefty faced Joey Gallo and got the Bombers left fielder to strike out on just four pitches to cap Boston’s 4-3 win at the Stadium. It was the fourth time in 10 at-bats he struck out this season. He has one hit in the first three games.
Despite Gallo’s rough start to his time in pinstripes after coming over to the Yankees last July at the trade deadline, Aaron Boone isn’t worried about him not finding any results.
“I would suggest he’s off to, at-bat-wise, a good start,” Boone told reporters after the game. “Controlling the zone. Getting on base. Smoked a couple of balls. Tonight, I thought, he had really good at-bats where he just missed the ball.
“He’s getting to pitches that he wasn’t getting to last year,” the Yankees manager said, pushing back against a question that suggested Gallo was struggling. “Just missed a ball to center. Hit a ball the other way hard to left. Smoked a ball to right. Another walk. Look at what he’s doing and I think we’re seeing a lot of good at-bats in a guy that, for me, has a lot more coverage right now.”
Gallo did hit some strikes hard Sunday, recording exit velocities of 113 and 110 miles per hour on outs.
The issue is that Gallo did struggle once he came to the Yankees last year. Gallo slashed .160/.303/.404 with a .707 OPS but did have 13 home runs in a Yankees uniform. He struck out 88 times in his 188 at-bats as a Yankee.
That is who the 28-year-old outfielder is as a hitter. In the past, his walk rate and power numbers made his high strikeout rate tolerable.
Boone, however, sees improvement from last year.
“I just feel like he’s putting good swings and good at-bats together right now,” Boone said.
Like Sunday night, Gallo was certainly not the only offensive issue last season. That resulted in the Yankees shaking up Boone’s staff and promoting Dillon Lawson from minor league hitting coordinator to big league hitting coach.
So far, the Yankees offense has not looked drastically different. They are in the middle of the pack with 13 runs scored through three games with the majority of that coming on home runs. The Bombers have hit seven homers this season.
Boone saw a lot of encouraging signs though.
“Just looking at the at-bats as a whole in the series,” Boone said, “I feel like we put a lot of good at-bats up. Even hit some balls on the screws today for outs. We want to create those opportunities. We couldn’t get that big one to really break anything open today. That’s part of it. But overall I like the way we’re swinging the bats and the at-bats the guys are having.
“We just keep giving ourselves that opportunity.”
() | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/11/joey-gallo-is-off-to-a-good-start-at-bat-wise-aaron-boone/ | 2022-04-11T19:57:35 | 0 | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/11/joey-gallo-is-off-to-a-good-start-at-bat-wise-aaron-boone/ |
U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, a Democrat from St. Paul, is leading a congressional delegation to Germany and Poland this week to get an assessment from military leaders about what Congress can do to help the Ukrainian people defend themselves from Russian military attacks.
“As the chair of the House Appropriations subcommittee on defense, I am leading my colleagues on a trip … to assess the status of Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine,” McCollum said in a news release. “Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was unprovoked, unjustified and has led to countless horrific scenes of civilian casualties.
“When our delegation is in Poland, we will meet and discuss with Ukrainians about how the U.S. and the European Union can continue to support refugees fleeing the violence. We must remain united with our allies in our commitment to protect our shared democratic values that are under threat from this deadly Russian aggression.” | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/11/mccollum-to-lead-delegation-to-germany-poland-about-war-in-ukraine/ | 2022-04-11T19:57:41 | 1 | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/11/mccollum-to-lead-delegation-to-germany-poland-about-war-in-ukraine/ |
Dominance must be established when you’re an elite-level athlete.
Whether it’s strength or speed, there can only be one man on the mountain top per team, so challenges occur often.
That’s why Miami Dolphins receiver Jaylen Waddle expected Tyreek Hill to challenge him to a race before the six-time Pro Bowl player, who is nicknamed The Cheetah, actually did so at his introductory news conference last month.
“Wherever I go, The Cheetah has always got to prove he’s the fastest on the team,” Hill said. “I mean that.”
It’s not surprising to Waddle, who’s accustomed to racing his teammates, going back to his days at the University of Alabama, where he was a teammate to four receivers who will be first-round picks if/when John Metchie III is among this draft’s top 32 selections.
“I already knew this was coming,” Waddle told me during a sit down with the “I Am Athlete” podcast. “I was literally in the middle of a workout when my trainer said, ‘Ya’ll just got Tyreek Hill.’”
What was Waddle’s reaction to the transaction that stripped Miami of five draft picks over the next two years, but landed the Dolphins a superstar, a talent who is arguably the NFL’s biggest playmaking receiver for the past six seasons?
“I’m running around the gym, ‘OK then!’” Waddle said explaining his celebration, which he admitted was somewhat self-serving.
Waddle’s smart enough to know that Hill’s presence on the football field, his reputation as a playmaker who can take quick hitch and turn it into a length of the field touchdown, will feed him a steady diet of one-on-one coverage each game.
“The next day I said [to myself], ‘I know he’s going to try to race. Let me get on these legs real quick,’” Waddle said, referring to a leg workout. “I already know a race is going to come.”
But Waddle, who set an NFL record as a rookie receiver by catching 104 passes and turning them into 1,015 receiving yards and six touchdowns, doesn’t just want to race Hill.
He’s interested in learning from the run-after-catch specialist, who has carved out a potential Hall of Fame career in his first six seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. Waddle is hoping that Hill takes him under his wing.
“Being my size, we’re not necessarily the same size, but we’re the same type of player. Same caliber of player,” Waddle said, referring to his run-after-catch skills he showcased at Alabama, which motivated the Dolphins to select him at No. 6 in the 2022 NFL draft.
Last year’s coaching staff turned Waddle into a slot receiver, primarily using him to move the chains, converting first downs by running quarterback-friendly option routes.
But the Dolphins have a new set of offensive coaches, led by first-year head coach Mike McDaniel, who view him differently. And with Hill and fellow newcomer Cedrick Wilson, who was used primarily as a slot receiver in Dallas, added to the team Waddle expects his role to change.
He hopes Hill can teach him some of the tricks of their trade, like how to read a cornerback’s stance and footwork and how to set up his routes.
“He’s going on his seventh year. He’s had tremendous success. I can learn a lot from him if he’s willing to teach it,” Waddle said of Hill, who has scored 67 NFL touchdowns. “I’m going to soak up all the game.”
And possibly snatch the reputation as the NFL’s fastest man.
Waddle said they’ll work on the particulars out of the race, including the distance and who all is participating. Waddle doesn’t want new tailback Raheem Mostert excluded, considering he’s been clocked at 23 mph in a game.
Maybe the race will conclude the Dolphins’ offseason program, which is beginning its second week, or open up training camp in August?
Maybe it’ll be for charity.
All of that is yet to be determined, and there’s time to work it out.
Waddle is game for whatever and excited to have a new running mate.
“He’s a furious competitor just like I am,” Hill said about Waddle, who was clocked running a 4.37 time on a 40-year-dash on a surgically repaired right ankle before last year’s draft. “Young guy who wants to compete, who loves the game, who just wants to get better. I’m excited to be part of that, and that’s going to fuel me to be better.”
() | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/11/omar-kelly-dolphins-jaylen-waddle-ready-to-race-new-teammate-tyreek-hill-and-hopefully-learn-from-him/ | 2022-04-11T19:57:47 | 1 | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/11/omar-kelly-dolphins-jaylen-waddle-ready-to-race-new-teammate-tyreek-hill-and-hopefully-learn-from-him/ |
Two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Ringo Starr will return to the road with the latest version of his All-Starr Band for a tour that hits Mystic Lake Casino on Oct. 2.
Ticket prices start at $89 and will go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday through Ticketmaster.
Starr was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Beatles in 1988. In 2015, he became the final of the four bandmates to be inducted as a solo act.
The man born Richard Starkey Jr., now 81, provided lead vocals for a handful of Beatles songs, including “Yellow Submarine,” “With a Little Help from My Friends,” “Don’t Pass Me By” and “Octopus’s Garden.”
When the Beatles split in 1970, Starr quickly released his first solo albums, the standards collection “Sentimental Journey” and the country-inspired “Beaucoups of Blues.” He found his greatest success with 1973’s “Ringo” and its hits “Photograph” and “You’re Sixteen.”
Starr founded the All-Starr Band in 1989 with the idea that “everybody on stage is a star in their own right.” In the years since, he has toured with 14 lineups of the group, which has featured a long line of musicians including Joe Walsh, Billy Preston, Peter Frampton, Jack Bruce, Sheila E., Billy Squier and Richard Marx. During shows, Starr plays selections from his own back catalog as well as tracks from his various bandmates.
In 2019, Starr released his 20th solo album, “What’s My Name.” In an interview last year with Esquire, Starr said it was likely his final full-length album and has since issued a pair of EPs, “Zoom In” and “Change the World.”
The current All-Star Band lineup features Colin Hay (Men at Work), Steve Lukather (Toto), Edgar Winter (“Frankenstein,” “Free Ride”), Hamish Stuart (Average White Band, Paul McCartney), Warren Ham (Bloodrock) and Gregg Bissonette (David Lee Roth). | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/11/ringo-starr-will-play-at-mystic-lake-casino-this-fall/ | 2022-04-11T19:57:53 | 1 | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/11/ringo-starr-will-play-at-mystic-lake-casino-this-fall/ |
Skip to content
WRIC ABC 8News
Richmond
73°
Richmond
73°
Toggle Menu
Open Navigation
Close Navigation
Search
Please enter a search term.
Primary Menu
NEWS
Local News
Virginia News
What’s Trending?
Crime
Sign up for email news alerts
Virginia Elections & Politics
Capitol Connection
Taking Action: 8News Investigates
Business
Coronavirus
U.S. and World
Russia and Ukraine Conflict
Weird News
BestReviews
Press Releases
WEATHER
Today’s Outlook
VIPIR Virginia Weather Radar
Hourly & 8-Day Forecast
Temperatures in Virginia
Richmond Weather Cams
Closings & Delays
Report a Closing
Weather Alerts
Sign up for StormTracker8 weather alerts
TRAFFIC
WATCH
Watch ABC 8News Live
Watch Live Events
Watch All Videos
TV Listings
Children’s Programming
COMMUNITY
Events Calendar
Positively Richmond
Travel Virginia and the Southeast
Showcase Richmond
Lottery
Horoscopes
804 EXPERTS
E-Waste Recycling Expert
Heating & Air Conditioning Expert
Home Generator Expert
Hospice Care Expert
Junk Removal Expert
Long-Term Care Planning Expert
Medicare Coverage Expert
Vascular Care Expert
Window Replacement Expert
Wood Floor Refinishing Expert
CONTESTS
VA Rep Beehive Sweepstakes
Gaylord National Spring Sweepstakes
Marcos Pizza Sweepstakes
Contest Winners
Sign up for contest email alerts
ABOUT 8NEWS
Contact Us
Meet the WRIC ABC 8News Team
Advertise With Us
Work for 8News
Sign up for email newsletters
Download the free 8News and StormTracker 8 mobile apps!
Regional News Partners
8News is on Alexa!
About BestReviews
Privacy Policy
Rescan your TV
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Search
Please enter a search term.
Pumps, Presses & Compressors
Best portable air compressors
Top Pumps, Presses & Compressors Headlines
Trending Stories
New special license plates coming to Virginia
Man critically injured after shooting on city line
Teenager fighting for life, shooting on Broad Street
Youngkin signs over 100 more bills into law
VSP identify 2 women shot and killed in murder-suicide
Secco Wine Bar to close at the end of April
Pusha T: Something in the Water will move to DC
Four teenagers shot in two days in Richmond, Henrico
Residents react to student shot, killed in Richmond
Chesterfield budget booms on rising home prices
More Trending Stories
Local Events | https://www.wric.com/reviews/br/lawn-garden-br/tools-br-lawn-garden-br/pumps-presses-compressors-br/ | 2022-04-11T19:58:51 | 0 | https://www.wric.com/reviews/br/lawn-garden-br/tools-br-lawn-garden-br/pumps-presses-compressors-br/ |
Skip to content
WRIC ABC 8News
Richmond
73°
Richmond
73°
Toggle Menu
Open Navigation
Close Navigation
Search
Please enter a search term.
Primary Menu
NEWS
Local News
Virginia News
What’s Trending?
Crime
Sign up for email news alerts
Virginia Elections & Politics
Capitol Connection
Taking Action: 8News Investigates
Business
Coronavirus
U.S. and World
Russia and Ukraine Conflict
Weird News
BestReviews
Press Releases
WEATHER
Today’s Outlook
VIPIR Virginia Weather Radar
Hourly & 8-Day Forecast
Temperatures in Virginia
Richmond Weather Cams
Closings & Delays
Report a Closing
Weather Alerts
Sign up for StormTracker8 weather alerts
TRAFFIC
WATCH
Watch ABC 8News Live
Watch Live Events
Watch All Videos
TV Listings
Children’s Programming
COMMUNITY
Events Calendar
Positively Richmond
Travel Virginia and the Southeast
Showcase Richmond
Lottery
Horoscopes
804 EXPERTS
E-Waste Recycling Expert
Heating & Air Conditioning Expert
Home Generator Expert
Hospice Care Expert
Junk Removal Expert
Long-Term Care Planning Expert
Medicare Coverage Expert
Vascular Care Expert
Window Replacement Expert
Wood Floor Refinishing Expert
CONTESTS
VA Rep Beehive Sweepstakes
Gaylord National Spring Sweepstakes
Marcos Pizza Sweepstakes
Contest Winners
Sign up for contest email alerts
ABOUT 8NEWS
Contact Us
Meet the WRIC ABC 8News Team
Advertise With Us
Work for 8News
Sign up for email newsletters
Download the free 8News and StormTracker 8 mobile apps!
Regional News Partners
8News is on Alexa!
About BestReviews
Privacy Policy
Rescan your TV
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Search
Please enter a search term.
Percussion Instruments
Best Zildjian cymbals
Top Percussion Instruments Headlines
Best castanets
Trending Stories
New special license plates coming to Virginia
Man critically injured after shooting on city line
Teenager fighting for life, shooting on Broad Street
Youngkin signs over 100 more bills into law
VSP identify 2 women shot and killed in murder-suicide
Secco Wine Bar to close at the end of April
Pusha T: Something in the Water will move to DC
Four teenagers shot in two days in Richmond, Henrico
Residents react to student shot, killed in Richmond
Chesterfield budget booms on rising home prices
More Trending Stories
Local Events | https://www.wric.com/reviews/br/music-br/percussion-instruments-br/ | 2022-04-11T19:58:57 | 1 | https://www.wric.com/reviews/br/music-br/percussion-instruments-br/ |
The 2021-2022 Northeast Mississippi Youth Foundation (NEMYF) distributed $5,520 in grant awards to 10 nonprofit organizations Sunday.
NEMYF announced the grant recipients and amounts during its annual press conference Sunday, April 10, at First United Methodist Church in Tupelo.
NEMYF was established by the CREATE Foundation to give teenagers in Northeast Mississippi a place to learn about giving back, getting involved, helping others and improving their region.
Since the founding in 2001, the NEMYF board members have grown the endowment to over $173,000. The priority of this funding is to support programs related to four focus areas — youth, special needs and human services, education, and the arts. Each year the cohort can spend up to 4% of the endowment on grants that help youth in our region. The group has collectively given over $53,000 in grants.
The NEMYF board of directors consists of 49 11th and 12th graders from 25 high schools across 14 counties. These counties include Alcorn, Calhoun, Chickasaw, Clay, Itawamba, Lafayette, Lee, Lowndes, Monroe, Oktibbeha, Pontotoc, Tippah, Tishomingo and Union.
Boys & Girls Club of Northeast Mississippi (Corinth and Iuka Clubs) of Alcorn and Tishomingo counties received $920. Clubs offer a variety of tested, proven, and nationally recognized programs designed to empower kids and teens to excel in school, become good community members and lead healthy, productive lives.
Sally Kate Winters Children’s Home of Calhoun and Clay counties was granted $920 towards its mission to offer the gift of humanity, love, and respect to children traumatized by child abuse and neglect. They take in children and give them a house, clothes and an education until they can find a good foster home.
Chickasaw County nonprofit Mission Okolona received a $460 grant. In the spirit of Jesus Christ, whose directives compel us, Mission Okolona’s purpose is to distribute available food to the needy in Okolona and surrounding counties.
Crossroads Ranch of Itawamba County was granted $460. The nonprofit provides high functioning, special needs adults a safe, loving environment with supervised independence. Our goal is to provide activities and learning experiences which will focus on each resident's abilities, rather than disabilities.
Lafayette County based nonprofit Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of North Mississippi received $460. CASA advocates for the best interests of abused and neglected children through the service of trained, court- appointed community volunteers.
Regional Rehabilitation Center (RRC) of Lee County were given a $460 grant. RRC provides outpatient physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, dyslexia treatment, audiology services and early childhood intervention to the communities of North Mississippi. As a privately funded nonprofit, RRC does not charge clients or their insurance companies.
Life Choices Pregnancy Center of Lowndes County received $460. The nonprofit purpose: An unplanned pregnancy can be tough, but not as tough as you are. Whether you feel overwhelmed, confused, excited, or more, we’re here to help! We offer free and confidential pregnancy services so you can make an empowered choice about your life and future.
Churches United Food Depot, a food pantry in Pontotoc County, received $460 towards its mission of providing nutritional food to residents of Pontotoc County who are in need.
My Choices Clinic of Tippah County, an outreach ministry committed to presenting the gospel of Jesus Christ to women with crisis pregnancies in both word and deed, was granted $460.
Agape Clinic of Union County was given $460. The clinic shares the love of Christ by providing free health care to those without medical insurance. | https://www.djournal.com/news/local/nemyf-awards-2022-grants/article_caa07776-39b7-568c-9f8c-ccc780c8a7a5.html | 2022-04-11T20:02:29 | 1 | https://www.djournal.com/news/local/nemyf-awards-2022-grants/article_caa07776-39b7-568c-9f8c-ccc780c8a7a5.html |
OXFORD – Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco will be the first to admit it – his Rebels are in a “funk.”
Following a three-game home sweep at the hands of Alabama over the weekend, Ole Miss (19-12, 4-8 SEC) has dropped four-straight games, six-straight home games and eight of 11 contests overall. Just a few weeks ago, the Rebels were the top-ranked team in college baseball; they are now ranked No. 25 by D1Baseball.
Join the conversation in our exclusive Facebook group for Rebel fans
Ole Miss hosts Murray State (15-15) Tuesday morning at the annual Kids Game before heading to South Carolina for a three-game series beginning Thursday. First pitch Tuesday is 11 a.m.
The Ole Miss pitching staff has been up and down all season, but a normally stingy bullpen has shown some signs of vulnerability recently. Against the Crimson Tide, relievers surrendered 16 runs, and no starting pitcher went more than 3 2-3 innings in his start.
But the offense has had its issues as well, scoring four or less runs in four of the last seven games. Fielding miscues have also popped up recently — Ole Miss has committed multiple errors in three of its last seven games.
“So when you get in a little funk like we have and you don’t play well, you don’t put it together in all three phases, you lose baseball games, especially if the other team plays well. Credit Alabama,” Bianco said. “But, at the end of the day, we’re just not playing well enough.”
It’s hard to find the glass-half-full perspective in the middle of a losing streak, but there is a positive Bianco wanted his team to understand — the effort the team played with, particularly in the final two games of the Alabama series — is the sort of fire that has to be there every single day.
In the second game against the Crimson Tide, Ole Miss battled back from a three-run deficit seven innings in to send the game to extras. In the finale, the Rebels cut a 3-0 Crimson Tide lead down to one run in the sixth, saw the deficit go up an additional run in the seventh and responded by cutting the lead back to a run before ultimately coming up short.
The Rebels might not always win, but the effort factor can be there day in and day out.
“You have to compete like the last few days. I mean, it wasn’t that we didn’t compete, we just didn’t play well enough to win,” Bianco said. “And we have to play with that kind of energy and that kind of heart every day, because that’s the one thing we can control.”
MICHAEL KATZ is the Ole Miss athletics reporter for the Daily Journal. Contact him at michael.katz@djournal.com. | https://www.djournal.com/sports/college/ole-miss/that-s-the-one-thing-we-can-control-ole-miss-making-sure-to-keep-up/article_b30976f3-3582-5a76-a10a-a100606c05f8.html | 2022-04-11T20:02:35 | 1 | https://www.djournal.com/sports/college/ole-miss/that-s-the-one-thing-we-can-control-ole-miss-making-sure-to-keep-up/article_b30976f3-3582-5a76-a10a-a100606c05f8.html |
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — Crooner Chris Isaak will perform at Fort Wayne’s Embassy Theatre this summer.
The “Wicked Game” singer will perform on the Embassy stage July 16 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.
“Over the course of his three-decade plus career, Platinum-selling and GRAMMY-nominated singer and actor Chris Isaak has performed to sold-out crowds across the globe with his longtime band Silvertone,” the Embassy wrote in a promotional release. “His music and film credits include nine critically acclaimed studio albums, twelve chart-topping singles along with several motion pictures such as The Silence of the Lambs and That Thing You Do! His work has also taken him behind the scenes, creating music for multiple film soundtracks including Eyes Wide Shut, True Romance, Wild at Heart, and Blue Velvet.”
Tickets for Chris Isaak’s show at the Embassy Theatre will be availalbe Friday at 10 a.m. at www.fwembassytheatre.org, www.ticketmaster.com and the Embassy Theatre box office. | https://www.wane.com/entertainment-news/chris-isaak-to-perform-at-embassy-theatre/ | 2022-04-11T20:05:21 | 1 | https://www.wane.com/entertainment-news/chris-isaak-to-perform-at-embassy-theatre/ |
Artem Severiukhin, a 15-year-old Russian go-kart driver, is under investigation by international motorsports' governing body for making what appeared to be a Nazi salute after his victory Sunday in the first round of the FIA Karting European Championship in Portimao, Portugal.
Severiukhin was competing with an Italian license because the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, which governs Formula One and other bodies, has banned Russian competitors since that country's invasion of Ukraine.
The Italian national anthem was playing as Severiukhin pounded his chest and extended his right arm as he stood on the podium following his victory. Footage of the incident has been widely shared and condemned.
FIA Karting in a statement called the incident "unacceptable" and said it "launched an immediate investigation" into what occurred at the FIA Karting European Championship at Kartodromo Internacional do Algarve. It promised that "further steps that will be taken in this case."
Severiukhin denied that he was doing anything other than celebrating with family and friends, who were at the podium.
"I would like to address everyone about yesterday's situation on the podium," he said via a Russian Automobile Federation spokesman and Motorsport.com. "I won the round of the European Championship and was very happy. I'm from Russia. I thanked the team and my relatives from Russia. Someone saw a bad gesture in my actions, but it's not. I just thanked them. I am Russian, I am from Russia and I stand by my country."
Ward Racing, his karting team, planned to end its relationship with him and said on Instagram that it "condemns the personal actions of pilot Artem Severiukhin during the award ceremony on April 10, 2022 in the strongest possible terms, as it considers them a manifestation of unsportsmanlike behavior, an unacceptable violation of the ethical and moral sports code."
It went on to add that, "on the basis of these considerations, Ward Racing sees no possibility for continued cooperation with Artem Severiukhin and will proceed with terminating his racing contract."
The RAF said it was looking into the incident as well, adding in a statement that it considers "unacceptable any, even an accidental, manifestation of fascism and Nazism in Russian motorsport and among Russian athletes." | https://www.unionleader.com/news/back_page/15-year-old-russian-go-kart-driver-under-fire-for-alleged-nazi-salute/article_6e0a8879-2353-5718-b788-021717b140f7.html | 2022-04-11T20:20:18 | 1 | https://www.unionleader.com/news/back_page/15-year-old-russian-go-kart-driver-under-fire-for-alleged-nazi-salute/article_6e0a8879-2353-5718-b788-021717b140f7.html |
Elon Musk gestures during a conversation with legendary game designer Todd Howard (not pictured) at the E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 13, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
Two of the world's richest people are pitching in ideas to tackle the issue of homelessness, suggesting that Twitter Inc. convert its headquarters to a shelter home.
Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos on Sunday backed an idea put forth by Elon Musk, who recently became Twitter's largest shareholder, to convert the social networking firm's San Francisco headquarters into a homeless shelter as few people are working there during the pandemic.
Bezos tweeted an article by technology-focused blog GeekWire from May 2020 about Amazon's eight-floor family homeless shelter attached to its Seattle headquarters, saying the initiative worked out great and makes it easy for employees who wish to volunteer.
Bezos also suggested converting at least a portion of Twitter's headquarters, if not all of it, into a homeless shelter. Musk agreed in another tweet, calling it a "Great idea."
Musk, who has more than 81 million followers on Twitter, started a poll on Saturday, asking users to vote if the building should be converted. The poll gained over a million votes in less than a day, with more than 90% saying yes.
The chief executive of electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc. , who frequently tweets about his company and other topics, has been known to leave people confused as to whether he is joking. However, Musk clarified this time he was not joking. "I'm serious about this one btw," he tweeted, following up on the topic on Sunday.
A separate poll by Musk on Sunday asked if "w" should be deleted from Twitter's name, leaving two voting options, "yes" and "of course."
Musk had suggested a raft of changes to the Twitter Blue premium subscription service on Saturday, including reducing its price, banning advertising and giving an option to pay in the cryptocurrency dogecoin. | https://www.unionleader.com/news/back_page/musk-polls-followers-on-converting-twitter-hq-to-homeless-shelter-bezos-likes-idea/article_e6aa3719-2135-53ca-8536-9ce58c463384.html | 2022-04-11T20:20:24 | 0 | https://www.unionleader.com/news/back_page/musk-polls-followers-on-converting-twitter-hq-to-homeless-shelter-bezos-likes-idea/article_e6aa3719-2135-53ca-8536-9ce58c463384.html |
It's one of the first high-stakes decisions a parent can make: What to name the baby? Parents must weigh questions of originality against tradition, ease of spelling and pronunciation, how to incorporate culture, whether they want their child's name to stand out or blend in or somewhere in between.
Some parents-to-be know the perfect name when they hear it. Others spend hours scouring books and websites, sounding out first and middle names and gaming out every possible burden each combination could bring. And others are guided by the family tree, naming every firstborn girl Margaret or every firstborn boy Junior.
But sometimes, no matter how carefully or confidently that name was selected, parents look at their bundle of joy and realize it just doesn't fit.
It happened to Kylie Jenner, who announced on social media last month that she and Travis Scott had changed their child's name. Born in February, the baby was initially named Wolf. However, Jenner said, "we just didn't really feel like it was him." The baby's new name has not been publicly shared.
The celebrity couple is hardly the first to realize that they chose wrong. The Social Security Administration recorded nearly 30,000 baby name changes in the past five years, according to data shared with The Post, including both spelling corrections and outright reversals. We heard from dozens of Washington Post readers who fell into the latter camp. Their responses, below, have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
- - -
Amethyst to Rose
We were going to name our daughter Amethyst and call her Amy. On her second day, on March 9, 1980, in Anchorage, the low sun reflecting on the snow outside created a pink glow everywhere, and her lips were like a tiny rosebud. Without any discussion whatsoever, my husband and I turned to each other and said her name must be Rose, and we called all of the relatives and changed it.
- Rita Eagle, 69, Anchorage
- - -
Mark to David
We named our baby Mark. But we live in Boston, so people called him "Maaak." When his uncles started calling him "Maaakie," I couldn't take it. When he was two months old, he became David. Of course Rhode Islanders call him "Davit," but it's better than "Maaakie."
- Barbara Fournier, 75, Milton, Massachusetts
- - -
Sean to Kevin
My youngest son was born March 12, 1991, about 1 a.m., a perfectly normal delivery. We had decided on the name Sean if we had a boy, and off I went with baby Sean to our hospital room, and off my husband Bob went to get some sleep and spread the news.
I distinctly remember holding this little person in the morning, looking at his face, and realizing his name was most definitely not Sean. The only way I can describe it is that it felt too "soft" and "vowely" for him. He needed a name that was firm and had hard consonants. He just looked like Kevin. So when my husband arrived later in the day, having told the known world that Sean had been born, I had to inform him that he "doesn't look like a Sean, he looks like his name is Kevin."
The aftermath? Bob had a bunch of phone calls to make, family and friends sent "Welcome Sean!" cards, and for years, Bob's best friend introduced our youngest as "Kevin, not Sean." When Kevin, now 31, wants to give me a hard time about something, he reminds me that "this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't switched my name."
- Mary Ellen Maher Harkins, 66, Pennsylvania
- - -
Gregory James to David Benjamin
He was born, and I remember being stunned, looking at my wife and saying, "I don't think that's his name," and she agreed with me. The thing that really surprised us is we didn't know that the kid got a vote or that they had personalities that quick. It was a really great way to start my parenting, realizing that this was not just a blank extension of my wife and myself. This was a human in his own right.
- Braden Bell, 50, Nashville
- - -
Eleanor to Glynnis
She is 33 now. When she was born, my husband vetoed every name I came up with. We ended up naming her Eleanor, after Eleanor Roosevelt, just to piss my in-laws off. When we got home, I switched on the TV and saw Glynnis Johns. Glynnis, that is an interesting name. So we changed it when she was two days old.
- Laura Cary, 67, Denver
- - -
Joyce to Grace
Joyce was the first name we picked for our daughter in 1992. A day later, we both looked at each other and said she wasn't a Joyce, so we changed it to Grace. It has been the perfect name for her."
- Steve Buchele, 62, Georgetown, Texas
- - -
Elizabeth Erin to Erin Elizabeth
My daughter was Elizabeth Erin when we brought her home from the hospital. We tried "Elizabeth" and "Beth" (and still have the Christmas stockings with those names), but after about six months, we decided she just wasn't an Elizabeth and reversed the names on her birth certificate. She is now Erin, as in Erin Elizabeth. When her daughter was born, she and her husband waited until the last possible minute to announce the new baby's name to "be sure it fit." They chose Olivia.
- Susan Kannel, 73, Denver
- - -
Francisca to Amelia
We named our second daughter Francisca. We called to tell my parents. My mother, who sounded disappointed, asked, "What was your second choice?" We told her Amelia. Mom told us that Amelia was her mother's sister's name. We said that was nice and moved on to calling other relatives. When we called my sister in law and told her we named our daughter Francisca, she said, "That's funny, I had a dream you named the baby Amelia." So right then the baby's name was changed to Amelia.
- Melanie McMurtry, 60, Manchaca, Texas
- - -
Joshua to Bryant
In 1979, we didn't know if it would be a boy or girl, but we chose the name Joshua if it was a boy. He was born at home, so we had time to make a decision before we filed the birth certificate. For several days, we called him Joshua. One day my husband and I looked at each other and said, "He is not a Joshua."
We talked and named him after my father, Bryant, and we already had a son who was named after his father and his paternal grandfather. He is a Bryant. He looks like my side of the family and my father. He has mannerisms that are like that of the members of my side. I can't imagine any other way.
Recently the same thing happened to my daughter and husband. They had two names picked out and tried both of them on their daughter. Neither worked so they chose a third name.
- Joy Grubb, 67, Lake Mary, Florida
- - -
Tanner to Collin
When my middle son was born, I was in the hospital for four days. We had a hard time coming up with a name for him as we had already used our preferred boy name on our first son. The administrators came by every day asking me for his name, and I kept sending them away. On the final day, they let me know if I didn't provide a name I'd have to go down to the records office myself, and it would be a bigger hassle than if I just did it in the hospital. So, finally, my husband and I agreed on the name Tanner.
My husband left the hospital, and I stared at our new baby boy Tanner. Something wasn't right. I called my husband who was no more than five minutes out the door. "His name isn't Tanner," I said. "It's not? What is it?" he asked. "It's Collin," I said. He paused for a minute. "Okay," he said finally, "But with two l's, not one." "Fine," I said. And that was how Tanner became Collin. The irony? We named our third son Tanner. It stuck.
- Kimberly Coerr, 52, Falls Church, Virginia
- - -
Samuel to Wendell
When we named our second kid, we couldn't decide between calling him Samuel or Wendell. Why choose? We named him Samuel Wendell. My husband, Cliff, is actually John Clifford. His parents planned to call him John but, as they tell it, once he was born, they realized he was actually Cliff, so we had family precedent for using the middle name as a backup in case the first didn't fit.
There was nothing wrong with Sam. We called him Sam until he was six months old, but then we took a trip to our local children's museum on a busy Saturday morning. At one point, we overheard a parent say, "Sam, don't do that!" followed by another parent saying, "Look, Sam, there's another Sam!" We looked at each other and thought, "Oh what have we done?"
Since our 6 month old still didn't know his name, we started calling him Wendell from that point on. He's four and a half now and very much Wendell. Though it's funny, when I think back to those first few months with him, he's still Sam in my memories.
- Jayme Dyer, 38, Durham, North Carolina
- - -
Nicholas to Riley
We had selected Nicholas for our second child. After an easy labor, my healthy, 10 pound baby was wrapped up and in my arms. I remember my husband looking down at me and saying very sweetly, "He looks like a Riley." Thirty years later, our 6'6" University of Michigan graduate, married, Viking god of a son Riley is building bridges in Hawaii. He really does live the life of Riley. Would he have had such a charmed life if we had named him Nicholas? I will never know.
- Sara Moran, 57, Dunkirk, Maryland | https://www.unionleader.com/news/back_page/names/article_92b86cbb-eb64-54d5-9698-55641b545da8.html | 2022-04-11T20:20:30 | 1 | https://www.unionleader.com/news/back_page/names/article_92b86cbb-eb64-54d5-9698-55641b545da8.html |
LONDON -- Hollywood star Nicolas Cage says his immediate reaction to being asked to play a version of himself in the new comedy action film "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent" was a resounding "no."
The movie is a love letter to the actor and his career, which spans over four decades. Cage stars as Nick Cage, an aging actor struggling to book new roles. Desperate, he accepts the offer to appear at a wealthy fan's birthday party in Europe in exchange for a $1 million paycheck.
Unbeknownst to him, the fan is a criminal and Cage gets enlisted by two CIA operatives to take him down. The task gets complicated when Cage and his target bond over their love for cinema, and Cage's daughter and ex-wife find themselves in the eye of the storm.
Co-writers Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten hoped against the odds that Cage would take on the role.
"I said 'no, no, no, no'. Nothing in my body, no muscle in my body told me to play myself in a movie. It was terrifying. It was a high wire act," Cage told Reuters, adding that a letter from Gormican, who also directed the film, made him change his mind.
"I was worried that it would be like an Andy Samberg SNL (Saturday Night Live) sketch, sort of a mockery. But he wanted to present a film that had characters that were more human, more sensitive, more personable and not just cartoon characters."
Tribute
"Massive Talent" pays tribute to Cage's wide-ranging career while also drawing inspiration from his off-screen antics and headline-making private life.
"The real challenge was that you're using some real things from Nicolas Cage's life that have been heavily reported, on the financial difficulties, where he's at in his career, and then some things that were complete works of fiction that impacted the real Nicolas Cage," Gormican said.
"We had to find this balance between who he really was and who we were presenting to the world."
While the film's lead character and his alter-ego, a younger "Nicky" are fictional, Cage said some aspects of his real self seeped into the story.
"The comedy, I like to be goofy at home. I like to make my wife laugh. I like to make my boys laugh. I am always a bit off the wall with my sense of humor, and I think that in the movie is similar to my own style of humor at home." "Massive Talent," which also stars Pedro Pascal, Lily Sheen, Tiffany Haddish, Neil Patrick Harris and Sharon Horgan, begins its global cinema rollout from April 20. | https://www.unionleader.com/news/back_page/nicolas-cage-plays-nick-cage-in-tailor-made-massive-talent/article_4940cdb9-fe2d-5095-8b8c-85123fcecf5e.html | 2022-04-11T20:20:36 | 1 | https://www.unionleader.com/news/back_page/nicolas-cage-plays-nick-cage-in-tailor-made-massive-talent/article_4940cdb9-fe2d-5095-8b8c-85123fcecf5e.html |
CONCORD -- A $500-a-day fine started accumulating on Monday against "River Dave" Lidstone, the 82-year-old hermit who has waged a protracted fight to stay on a homestead on land off the Merrimack River.
Two weeks ago, Merrimack County Superior Court Judge Andrew Schulman said the fine would start accumulating as of Monday. He set the fine after finding Lidstone in civil contempt for refusing to leave property and not showing up for a March 31 court hearing.
Lidstone has lived on the property on and off for about 27 years. A message left on his mobile phone was not returned.
Robert Albini, who lives in Canterbury and is a neighbor of Lidstone, said Lidstone is aware of the fine.
"That's terrible," he said about the fine. Albini said he is not at liberty to speak about Lidstone's whereabouts or his plans. Likewise, a filmmaker who is preparing a documentary on Lidstone avoided specifics.
"It's best if I don't say," said Rod Webber.
Last week, Lidstone picked up a check for more than $200,000 from a Concord bank, the proceeds from donations made on his behalf last summer when his plight made international news.
The money had ended up in a trust, but the trust dissolved this month as Lidstone battled with trustees over access to the funds.
A trust protects a person's fortune from debts and court judgments, but with the money now in hand, Lidstone will likely be forced to pay fines and other judgments authorized against him.
Trustees have been wary about disclosing the size of the trust. In previous articles, it's been described as more than $220,000 and shy of $250,000.
Lisa Snow Wade, the Concord lawyer who represents the landowner, did not return an email. Schulman awarded Wade, who charges $350 an hour, attorney fees associated with the March 31 court hearing regarding Lidstone.
She has said that the landowner, Leonard Giles of South Burlington, Vt., has spent more than $39,000 over several years trying to remove Lidstone from the property.
Schulman has ruled that the $500 daily contempt fine will will go to Giles. | https://www.unionleader.com/news/courts/contempt-fine-of-500-a-day-started-monday-against-river-dave-who-is-lying-low/article_771f887c-022a-566e-8bd7-914177bcced4.html | 2022-04-11T20:20:42 | 1 | https://www.unionleader.com/news/courts/contempt-fine-of-500-a-day-started-monday-against-river-dave-who-is-lying-low/article_771f887c-022a-566e-8bd7-914177bcced4.html |
Granite United Way launched its New Hampshire Ukraine Relief Fund over the weekend at Common Man restaurant locations around the state.
The campaign came about through a collaboration of several business leaders with ties to Ukraine, who approached the United Way looking for help pulling it all together, according to Patrick Tufts, President and CEO of Granite United Way.
One hundred percent of donations will be directed to relief efforts in Ukraine, through a partnership between Granite United Way and the Walesa Institute.
“This effort showcases how New Hampshire often uniquely addresses things,” said Tufts in a statement. “We are a state of visionary, compassionate and driven individuals. While we recognize that no single entity can solve one of the world’s most complex issues, we do know that together we can create true impact.”
The New Hampshire Ukraine Relief Fund is a collaboration of Sean O’Kane, former commissioner of the Department of Resources and Economic Development; David Tille, former New England Regional Administrator of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Alex Ray, owner of The Common Man Family in New Hampshire; John Tinios, owner of the Galley Hatch Popover Restaurants; Tufts; the Lech Walesa Institute in Poland; and Dean Kamen, founder of DEKA.
“It’s gone from a conversation to a humanitarian relief campaign we are launching,” said O’Kane in a statement.
Tille has strong ties to Ukraine as well. Over the summer, he hosted three members of the Ukraine Parliament here in New Hampshire. He has also helped to coordinate the upcoming visit of Lech Walesa, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who served as the president of Poland between 1990 and 1995, when he will receive an honorary degree from Tille’s alma mater, New England College in Henniker.
“The needs are being identified in real time. I am in touch daily with Ukraine members of parliament and aid workers in Ukraine,” said Tille. “Recently, I received a video from Roman Hryshchuk, a member of parliament who had been here just this summer, thanking New Hampshire while wearing his Boston Red Sox cap. There are real ways we can help them, right now.”
Donations for the New Hampshire Ukraine Relief Fund can be made through online giving at www.graniteuw.org or by texting NH4UKRAINE to 41444.
In addition to monetary support, a widespread collection drive for specific items that are immediately needed is being held.
Collection event dates are Thursday, April 14, Friday, April 15 and Saturday, April 16, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day at DEKA warehouse, 540 Commercial St. in Manchester.
Now through Sunday, April 17, Common Man restaurants throughout the state will also serve as a drop-off location for this effort. Donated items will be collected at each of their sites. View locations at theCman.com.
The list of new, unused items needed includes:
Tactical first aid kits; hemostatic gauze; tourniquets; occlusive tape; burn bandages; sterile wipes; elastic bandages; PPE; pill packs; tracheostomy kits; NPA masks; dressings; pain medications (Tylenol, ibruprofin); personal hygiene products; heavy duty hunting or military boots; heavy duty gloves; sleeping bags; insulated sleeping mats; diapers; sanitary wipes; boxes of tampons.
To learn more about the New Hampshire Ukraine Relief Fund, visit www.graniteuw.org. | https://www.unionleader.com/news/human_interest/nh-ukraine-relief-fund-launches/article_1df6921c-c712-58da-9ef6-6ec336c8cc8b.html | 2022-04-11T20:20:48 | 0 | https://www.unionleader.com/news/human_interest/nh-ukraine-relief-fund-launches/article_1df6921c-c712-58da-9ef6-6ec336c8cc8b.html |
Authorities in four Russian regions bordering Ukraine and in Russian-controlled Crimea announced they were stepping up security measures on Monday over what they said were "possible provocations" from the Ukrainian side.
Moscow, which sent thousands of troops into Ukraine in what it calls a "special military operation," has accused Ukraine of targeting its border regions, including by striking a fuel depot in the city of Belgorod earlier this month.
The authorities in the Belgorod, Voronezh, Bryansk and Krasnodar regions and in Crimea said they were boosting security and urged citizens to be more vigilant. Another region bordering Ukraine, Kursk, was the first to announce similar measures on Sunday.
"During the special operation by Russian forces on the territory of Ukraine, the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic, issues pertaining to anti-terrorist security have become more pressing due to possible provocations from Ukrainian nationalists," said Alexander Gusev, the governor of the Voronezh region, which shares a border with Ukraine's Luhansk region.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the Belgorod region, said it would implement additional security measures until April 25 to counter what he called terrorist threats. The region borders Ukraine's Sumy, Kharkiv and Luhansk regions.
Gladkov said the population should steer clear of crowded public places, carry identity documents on them, have an evacuation plan and pay special attention to strangers and unusual vehicles near residential buildings.
The Bryansk region, which shares a border with Ukraine's Sumy and Chernihiv regions, said it was also on alert for terrorist threats.
The governors of the Krasnodar region, across the Sea of Azov from east Ukraine, and of Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, said they were raising "terrorism alerts" and would strengthen law enforcement in several districts.
On Sunday, the governor of the Kursk region, Roman Starovoit, said police and military officers would set up checkpoints, less than a week after border guards allegedly came under fire in the region.
Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it called a special operation to degrade its southern neighbor's military capabilities and root out people it called dangerous nationalists.
Ukrainian forces have mounted stiff resistance and the West has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia in an effort to force it to withdraw its forces. | https://www.unionleader.com/news/military/russian-regions-bordering-ukraine-step-up-security/article_bc749d41-541e-5103-9cf9-3b1f649a4d20.html | 2022-04-11T20:20:54 | 0 | https://www.unionleader.com/news/military/russian-regions-bordering-ukraine-step-up-security/article_bc749d41-541e-5103-9cf9-3b1f649a4d20.html |
LVIV, Ukraine -- Ukraine said on Monday it expected Russia to launch a huge new offensive soon, as Moscow shifts its focus to seizing territory in the east after its invasion force was driven from the gates of Kyiv this month.
The first EU leader to meet Vladimir Putin face-to-face since the war began, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, gave a grim account of his talks with the Russian leader, held at a residence outside Moscow.
"I generally have no optimistic impression that I can report to you from this conversation with President Putin," he said. "The offensive (in eastern Ukraine) is evidently being prepared on a massive scale."
After withdrawing forces from northern Ukraine, including suburbs of Kyiv lain to waste under its occupation, Russia now says its main objective is eastern Ukraine. It is demanding Kyiv cede control of swathes of territory there, known as the Donbas, to separatist fighters. Kyiv says it is girding for a new battle.
"We forecast that active combat will begin in these areas in the nearest time," Ukraine's defense ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said.
A U.S. official said Washington believed Russia was trying to reinforce and resupply its troops in the Donbas.
The biggest prize Russia aims to capture in the Donbas is Mariupol, the main eastern port, where thousands of people are believed to have died under a near-seven week siege. If Russia finally captures it, it could better link troops advancing from the east with those from Crimea, and shift their focus to a new attempt to encircle the main Ukrainian force in the east.
In his latest plea for international support, President Volodymyr Zelensky told South Korea's parliament there were tens of thousands of dead in Mariupol, a figure that has not been confirmed independently. "But even despite this, the Russians are not stopping their offensive," he said.
Russia was concentrating tens of thousands of troops for its new assault, Zelensky said.
Ukraine's military commander-in-chief, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, insisted Mariupol's defenders were still holding out.
"We are doing the possible and impossible for the victory and the preservation of the lives of personnel and civilians in all directions," Zaluzhniy said. "Believe in the Armed Forces of Ukraine!"
Earlier, a post on the Facebook page of a brigade of marines holding out in Mariupol said they had run out of ammunition and were now facing death or capture, with Monday likely to be the "ultimate battle." Petro Andryushchenko, an aide to the Mariupol mayor, said the page had been hacked and the post was fake. Reuters could not independently verify it.
British intelligence said Ukrainian forces had already pushed back several Russian assaults in eastern regions.
Russia would not pause fighting for talks
Russia would not pause the fighting for any new round of peace talks, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
"A decision was made that during the next rounds of talks, there would be no pause (in military action) so long as a final agreement is not reached," Lavrov said.
Britain's defense ministry said Russian shelling continued in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which together form the Donbas. But Ukrainian forces had beaten back several assaults and destroyed Russian tanks, vehicles and artillery equipment, it said in its regular intelligence bulletin.
Russia's defense ministry said its sea-launched missiles on Sunday destroyed S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems which had been supplied to Ukraine by a European country. The systems were concealed in a hangar on the outskirts of Dnipro in central Ukraine, it said. Reuters could not confirm this.
As Russian forces have retreated from the outskirts of Kyiv they left behind evidence of Ukrainian civilians killed under their occupation, in what Western countries have condemned as war crimes. Moscow has rejected the accusations and denies targeting civilians.
Last week, Russia also killed 57 people, according to Ukrainian officials, in a missile strike on a train station in the Donetsk region, where thousands of civilians were trying to flee the expected new Russian advance. Moscow denied blame for the strike. The Russian missile that hit the station had the words "for the children" written on the side.
Luhansk Governor Serhiy Gaidai, speaking to Ukrainian television on Monday, said shelling in the region was increasing day by day.
"The most difficult situation is in Rubizhne and Popasna. They are being shelled constantly, round the clock," Gaidai said, referring to cities in the region.
He urged all civilians to evacuate.
"Those that wanted to leave have already left, while now many are left in bomb shelters who are perhaps frightened to come out of the shelters, or scared to lose their possessions."
Just outside the Donbas region, the main eastern city Kharkiv came under heavy shelling on Monday, causing multiple casualties including one child who was killed, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said in a televised interview.
Terekhov said that Ukrainian forces were focused and ready to defend the city if it comes under a new attack: "There is no panic in the city," he said.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, speaking before a meeting of European ministers in Luxembourg, said Berlin saw "massive indications" of war crimes in Ukraine.
Several EU ministers said on Monday the bloc's executive was drafting proposals for an oil embargo on Russia, although there was still no agreement to ban Russian crude. | https://www.unionleader.com/news/military/ukraine-expects-russian-assault-soon-in-east/article_6956de56-bc8c-5b1f-ab1d-29ad3fa72278.html | 2022-04-11T20:21:01 | 1 | https://www.unionleader.com/news/military/ukraine-expects-russian-assault-soon-in-east/article_6956de56-bc8c-5b1f-ab1d-29ad3fa72278.html |
Country
United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary
People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe | https://www.unionleader.com/news/safety/driver-injured-after-car-hits-kills-moose-in-carroll/article_064ac2d8-39c7-5200-b0dd-7ca1d26be8e2.html | 2022-04-11T20:21:07 | 1 | https://www.unionleader.com/news/safety/driver-injured-after-car-hits-kills-moose-in-carroll/article_064ac2d8-39c7-5200-b0dd-7ca1d26be8e2.html |
A local teenager whose body was found recently near a northside bike trail died by suicide due to an intentional drug overdose, officials say.
According to a Monday Howard County Coroner’s Office media release, toxicology results in the autopsy of Mea L. Rayls, 17, of Kokomo, revealed the teen had the prescription medication Methylphenidate in her system at the time of her death, and officials also stated that investigation conducted by the Kokomo Police Department revealed evidence that “indicated the teen’s intention to do self-harm.”
Howard County Coroner Dr. Steven J. Seele also noted Rayls’ exposure to the cold temperatures, which was anywhere from 21-degrees to 34-degrees at the time, the release stated.
Rayls was initially reported missing Feb. 8, 2022, after she was last seen two days earlier at her residence in the 2500 block of North Main Street, police reports stated at the time.
Rayls’ mother reportedly told officers that her daughter had never run away from home before, and it was unusual that she wouldn’t try to reach out or make contact.
A little over a month later — on March 14 — Rayls’ body was located in some brush in the 3000 block of North Washington Street, and an autopsy conducted the next day by a forensic pathologist from Central Indiana Forensics Associates revealed no evidence of trauma.
Authorities have never publicly mentioned where Rayls might have been between the time of her disappearance and the time her body was located or how long her body had been near the trail in the first place. | https://www.kokomotribune.com/news/police_and_fire/coroner-missing-teens-death-ruled-a-suicide/article_fe7acaae-b9c4-11ec-b89e-dbc5983c82e2.html | 2022-04-11T20:24:15 | 0 | https://www.kokomotribune.com/news/police_and_fire/coroner-missing-teens-death-ruled-a-suicide/article_fe7acaae-b9c4-11ec-b89e-dbc5983c82e2.html |
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Detectives with the VCU Police Department are looking for two suspects from a recent breaking and entering on the VCU’s Monroe Park Campus.
According to a VCUPD press release, the incident occurred around 8 p.m. on April 8 at VCU’s Williams House, located at 800 W. Franklin Street.
Officers reviewed camera footage from the area and found two male suspects leaving the building via the fire escape. They dropped papers on the ground that police said they had taken from the building.
At the scene, officers found an open office window.
Police said the documents that the suspects removed did not contain any personal information. Nothing else was reported missing.
Anyone with information pertaining to this incident can contact the VCU Police Department 24/7. For emergencies, call (804) 828-1234. For non-emergency tips, call (804) 828-1196. Tips can also be submitted to Metro Richmond Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000 or on the P3 Tips mobile app. | https://www.wric.com/news/crime/police-detectives-seek-suspects-in-vcu-breaking-and-entering/ | 2022-04-11T20:24:37 | 1 | https://www.wric.com/news/crime/police-detectives-seek-suspects-in-vcu-breaking-and-entering/ |
INDIANAPOLIS — Former state senator and Congressional candidate Brent Waltz pleaded guilty Monday to two felonies for allegedly accepting illegal campaign contributions from a casino executive and lying to the FBI, U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers announced.
Waltz, a Republican, was charged with violating federal campaign laws and other crimes in connection with his 2016 run to be the Republican nominee for the U.S. House's 9th District seat.
According to a federal indictment, Waltz and then-Centaur Gaming Vice President John S. Keeler routed $80,000 in illegal corporate contributions to Waltz's campaign through a Maryland-based political consultant and several straw donors in a scheme to skirt the federal limit on campaign donations. The straw donors, one of whom was Waltz himself, each gave maximum $2,700 contributions to Waltz's campaign and were later reimbursed by Keeler's casino company, the government said.
Waltz pleaded guilty to making and receiving conduit contributions, and making false statements to the FBI. He faces a sentence of up to five years in prison for each offense.
Keeler at the time was a executive for Centaur Gaming, which owned the horse-track casinos in Anderson and Shelbyville. Centaur sold the casinos to Caesars Entertainment in 2017.
Keeler is scheduled to go on trial April 18.
When the charges were announced in September 2020, Keeler was working for Indianapolis-based Spectacle Entertainment, which operated the Majestic Star Casino in Gary. Spectacle has since shut down and its casino license was transferred to Hard Rock International in August 2021.
WRTV has emailed attorneys for Waltz and Keeler seeking comment.
More: Former state senator indicted on campaign finance charges
The Associated Press contributed to the story.
Contact WRTV reporter Vic Ryckaert at victor.ryckaert@wrtv.com or on Twitter: @vicryc. | https://www.wrtv.com/news/local-news/former-state-senator-pleads-guilty-to-accepting-illegal-campaign-donations-lying-to-fbi | 2022-04-11T20:24:39 | 0 | https://www.wrtv.com/news/local-news/former-state-senator-pleads-guilty-to-accepting-illegal-campaign-donations-lying-to-fbi |
Britney Spears says she is pregnant with her third child.
In a post on Instagram, the pop star said she took a pregnancy test after noticing changes in her body upon returning from a trip to Hawaii.
The test apparently came back positive because Spears said, "I am having a baby."
Spears added that she won't be going out in public as much so she can avoid the paparazzi.
The 40-year-old also noted that she previously experienced perinatal depression during a prior pregnancy. This time, Spears said she will be doing yoga every day and "spreading lots of joy and love" to keep her spirit up.
Spears has two other children with her ex-husband Kevin Federline. They are reportedly 15 and 16 years old. | https://www.wrtv.com/news/national/britney-spears-announces-she-is-pregnant | 2022-04-11T20:24:45 | 1 | https://www.wrtv.com/news/national/britney-spears-announces-she-is-pregnant |
It took about 100 firefighters to fight a fire at a Home Depot store in California over the weekend that caused the evacuation of homes nearby.
According to the San Jose Fire Department, the five-alarm blaze was reported at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, apparently near the store's lumber supply, and took about six hours to contain.
Employees and customers were able to evacuate, and no injuries have been reported.
Fire officials said crews worked to ensure the flames did not spread to other businesses, including a vet hospital and an additional hardware store.
Fifteen homes and the animals at the vet hospital were safely evacuated, and a shelter-in-place was issued due to unhealthy air. The shelter-in-place was lifted Sunday afternoon.
According to the NWS, the fire was so intense that its heat signature was captured by a satellite in space.
😲Structure fire seen from space! GOES West Meso Sector 🛰 picking of a heat signature just south of San Jose #cawx #remotesensing pic.twitter.com/qUTaa4A1up
— NWS Bay Area 🌉 (@NWSBayArea) April 10, 2022
The Associated Press reported that the fire fed on flammable materials and chemicals.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
In an update on Monday, fire officials said in a tweet that crews were at the location monitoring for hot spots. | https://www.wrtv.com/news/national/enormous-fire-at-california-home-depot-seen-from-space | 2022-04-11T20:24:51 | 0 | https://www.wrtv.com/news/national/enormous-fire-at-california-home-depot-seen-from-space |
Gerber Baby is on the search for its next "spokesbaby."
The company said children up to four years old could enter the 2022 photo search, and the ideal candidate must have a playful smile that lights up a room.
An irresistible giggle is strongly preferred, in addition to an undeniable lovable personality, Gerber says.
One lucky winner will win $25,000 and earn the title of chief growing officer.
The child will also be featured on the company's social media accounts and its marketing campaigns throughout the year.
The baby food company says it'll match the grand prize by donating $25,000 to the March of Dimes for the first time this year.
The deadline to submit photos is Friday. | https://www.wrtv.com/news/national/gerber-baby-searching-for-its-next-spokesbaby | 2022-04-11T20:24:57 | 0 | https://www.wrtv.com/news/national/gerber-baby-searching-for-its-next-spokesbaby |
The city of Philadelphia will go back under an indoor mask mandate, the city's public health department announced on Monday.
In a statement, Philadelphia Public Health said on Twitter that the indoor mask mandate would be reinstated "due to increasing COVID-19 cases."
The statement said the city would move to a "Level 2," and that order would begin this week, but masks would be required in all indoor public spaces starting on Monday, April 18 to "provide a one-week education period for businesses."
🧵 Due to increasing COVID-19 cases, @PhiladelphiaGov will move to Level 2: Mask Precautions beginning today. In order to provide a one-week education period for businesses, masks will be required in all indoor public spaces as of Monday, April 18, 2022. (1/4)
— Philadelphia Public Health (@PHLPublicHealth) April 11, 2022
As WPVI reported, residents would be asked to report businesses that are not complying with the mandate to the city's 311 hotline.
City officials are hoping to mitigate another surge in hospitalizations, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Health Commissioner Cheryl Bettigole said on Monday, “If we fail to act now, knowing that every previous wave of infections has been followed by a wave of hospitalizations and a wave of deaths, it’ll be too late for many of our residents.” | https://www.wrtv.com/news/national/philadelphia-to-reinstate-indoor-mask-mandate-first-major-us-city-to-do-so-this-spring | 2022-04-11T20:25:03 | 1 | https://www.wrtv.com/news/national/philadelphia-to-reinstate-indoor-mask-mandate-first-major-us-city-to-do-so-this-spring |
DALLAS — Buried deep in a complex web of equations are the answers Dr. Michael Kilgard is looking for, as a researcher at UT Dallas his life’s research has been dedicated to helping Americans who have suffered from a stroke.
"It's very unlikely we’ll be able to develop a new cure for treatment, so what else can we do?" he said in a recent interview.
But Dr. Kilgard and his team have developed a revolutionary new device that could change everything for stroke victims.
For years, doctors have relied on a fairly large stimulator device implanted near the neck of a stroke victim to stimulate the vagus nerve during physical therapy. The nerve tells the brain how to do everything from gripping a fork, to walking. Now though, this team at UT Dallas has received approval to move forward with clinical trials for a much smaller device that's about the size of a penny.
"Our goal is to understand the brain to reprogram circuits so things that are happening that shouldn’t be happening, stop," Dr. Kilgard said.
During physical therapy sessions, patients wear a small necklace. It communicates to what's called the RESTORE device in their neck and then tells the brain to move beyond what stroke victims may be limited to.
"Most people can’t feel it. This is happening subconsciously to them," he added.
Rob Rennaker is also on the research team here. He is a former Marine who sees the potential of the device expanding beyond treatment for stroke victims. It's also been used to help veterans suffering from PTSD.
"Our device makes it so much simpler, you put it in, forget about it and it’s done," Rennaker.
For now, this team will continue with their clinical trials. Hoping that in the very near future this tiny device can make a big difference for stroke victims. | https://www.wrtv.com/news/national/this-tiny-chip-could-revolutionize-treatment-for-stroke-survivors | 2022-04-11T20:25:09 | 1 | https://www.wrtv.com/news/national/this-tiny-chip-could-revolutionize-treatment-for-stroke-survivors |
The University of Southern California is suing two YouTube performers who the school says created panic after barging into classrooms to film prank videos for their channels.
Court documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times claim the pair caused "terror and disruption" during three "classroom takeover incidents" in the university's Mark Taper Hall of Humanities. The YouTubers are not USC students.
A court filing says they interrupted a lecture on the Holocaust last month while pretending to be a "Russian Mafia" member and Hugo Boss, a known World War II Nazi uniform manufacturer. A judge on Friday issued a temporary restraining order banning the pair from USC's downtown Los Angeles campus.
According to the Associated Press, students reportedly ran from the classrooms, with some tripping over seats and leaving behind laptops and backpacks trying to flee “what reasonably appeared to them as a credible threat of imminent classroom violence,” court documents said. | https://www.wrtv.com/news/national/university-of-southern-california-sues-youtubers-over-pranks | 2022-04-11T20:25:15 | 0 | https://www.wrtv.com/news/national/university-of-southern-california-sues-youtubers-over-pranks |
The secretary who typed up the list of Jews German businessman Oskar Schindler saved during World War II has died.
Mimi Reinhard died Friday in Israel at 107, the Associated Press reported.
Born in Austria in 1915, she later moved to Poland before the war began. But when the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, she was sent to the Krakow ghetto and then moved to the Plaszow concentration camp in 1942.
While there, she worked in the administrative office. Then in 1944, she was made responsible for typing the names of those sent to work at Schindler's ammunition factory.
Schindler saved the lives of 1,200 Jews, including Reinhard's, by bribing Nazi authorities to let them work in his factories, according to the AP.
In an interview in 2008, Reinhard didn't know then how important that list would become.
The story was turned into the 1993 movie by director Steven Spielberg “Schindler’s List.” | https://www.wrtv.com/news/national/woman-who-typed-up-schindlers-list-mimi-reinhard-dies-at-107 | 2022-04-11T20:25:22 | 0 | https://www.wrtv.com/news/national/woman-who-typed-up-schindlers-list-mimi-reinhard-dies-at-107 |
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Rift Valley Foundation will be hosting an adult Easter egg hunt in Fayetteville’s Entertainment District to raise funds to support women and children in Kenya.
The Rift Valley Foundation is a nonprofit local organization that strives to improve the quality of life in Kenya's Rift Valley. It is made up entirely of volunteers and all funds raised go directly to the people who need them the most.
“We are excited to plan a fundraiser that benefits families in Kenya,” said Shenan Boit, Secretary for The Rift Valley Foundation. “The proceeds from this event will build toilets and shower areas for women and their children in Kenya”
The egg hunt will take place on April 16 at 5:30 p.m. The egg hunt will begin at C4 Bar and Lounge and participants will receive a Rift Valley reusable bag to use as an Easter basket when they check in.
The hunt will then continue on the Bunny Trail which is on and around Dickson Street at surrounding bars and businesses. Each location will hand out raffle tickets that can be used at the end of the night for big raffle prizes.
Eggs will be hidden at the following locations:
- C4 Nightclub & Lounge
- The AM/PM Bar
- CBD American Shaman
- Cork and Keg
- Marley's Pizzeria & Bar
- Bugsy's
- Smoke & Barrel
- Big Box Karaoke
- Pinpoint
After completing the bunny trail you can go back to C4 where the final raffle for big-ticket items will be held at 9 p.m.
Here is a map of the Bunny Trail!
The Easter Bunny will be on-site joined by some other bunny friends who will be around the area with baskets filled with eggs to giveaway.
The hidden eggs will be filled with all sorts of unique prizes.
Prizes in the eggs include:
- Gift cards
- Cash
- Golf passes
- Movie passes
- Cooking gear
- Massages
- Gym memberships
- Tickets to shows
- Razorback gear
- Clothes
- Restaurant gift certificates
- Raffle tickets to win: televisions, AirPods, or a surround sound system
Participants must be 21 or older to join and costs $40 with registration limited to 150 people.
There will also be a cash prize for the best-dressed bunny. To register, click here. | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/adult-easter-egg-hunt-fayetteville-entertainment-district-prizes-bar-nightclub/527-96746d0e-0004-4b92-9f8e-883efd4ec147 | 2022-04-11T20:28:35 | 1 | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/adult-easter-egg-hunt-fayetteville-entertainment-district-prizes-bar-nightclub/527-96746d0e-0004-4b92-9f8e-883efd4ec147 |
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is unveiling a completed rule aimed at reining in the proliferation of ghost guns, firearms without serial numbers that have been turning up at crime scenes across the nation in increasing numbers.
The White House and the Justice Department argue that regulating the firearms parts and requiring dealers to stamp serial numbers on ghost guns will help drive down violent crime and aid investigators in solving crimes. Gun groups, however, argue that the government is overreaching and that its rule violates federal law.
Here’s a look at ghost guns and the debate brewing in the U.S.
What are ghost guns?
They are privately-made firearms without serial numbers.
Generally, firearms manufactured by licensed companies are required to have serial numbers – usually displayed on the frame of the gun – that allow officials to trace the gun back to the manufacturer, the firearms dealer and original purchaser.
Ghost guns, however, are made of parts and are then assembled together. The critical component in building an untraceable gun is what is known as the lower receiver. Some are sold in do-it-yourself kits and the receivers are typically made from metal or polymer.
An unfinished receiver — sometimes referred to as an “80-percent receiver” — can be legally bought online with no serial numbers or other markings on it, no license required. Under the current rules, the federal government does not consider unfinished lower receivers to be firearms.
What does the rule do?
It changes the definition of a firearm and will require federal firearms dealers to add serial numbers to ghost guns that come their way.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has, for years, said that unfinished lower receivers don’t meet the legal definition of a firearm. And there is nothing illegal about building your own firearm.
It’s legal to make your own firearm if it’s for your personal use and you don’t intend to sell it. But if you open a business selling guns, you need a federal firearms license.
Under the new rule, the definition of a firearm would change to include unfinished parts, like the frame of a handgun or the receiver of a long gun. The rule also would require those parts to be licensed and include serial numbers. Dealers would also need to run background checks before a sale — just like they do with other commercially made firearms.
The requirement applies regardless of how the firearm was made, meaning it includes ghost guns made from individual parts, kits, or by 3D-printers.
It also will compel federally licensed dealers and gunsmiths who take in firearms without serial numbers to add serial numbers. That means, for example, if someone sells a ghost gun to a pawn broker – or other licensed dealer – the dealer must put a serial number on it before selling the gun to someone else.
How common are ghost guns?
Ghost guns aren’t new. But they are becoming a growing problem for law enforcement agencies across the U.S.
Federal officials have been sounding the alarm about the growing black market for homemade, military-style semi-automatic rifles and handguns. And guns without serial numbers have been turning up more frequently at crime scenes. They have also been increasingly encountered when federal agents buy guns in undercover operations from gang members and other criminals.
Ghost guns really popped into the public consciousness in 2013 when a gunman, John Zawahri, opened fire on the campus of Santa Monica College in California. Six people were killed, including Zawahri’s father and brother. The suspect had assembled an AR-15 after failing a background check at a gun dealer.
A gunman who killed his wife and four others in Northern California in 2017 had been prohibited from owning firearms, but he built his own to skirt the court order before his rampage. And in 2019, a teenager used a homemade handgun to fatally shoot two classmates and wound three others at a school in suburban Los Angeles.
The sale of ghost guns has exploded since then. It is hard to say how many are circulating on the streets, in part because in many cases police departments don’t contact the government about the guns because they can’t be traced.
Justice Department statistics show that nearly 24,000 ghost guns were recovered by law enforcement at crime scenes and reported to the government from 2016 to 2020. The New York Police Department said officers found 131 firearms without serial numbers since January.
What happens next?
The rule is typically enacted 60 to 90 days after completion. But it's likely the rule will be be met with heavy resistance from gun groups and draw litigation in the coming weeks. Even reaching the point of introducing a rule has taken more than a year. Biden announced plans to impose tighter regulations on ghost guns in April 2021.
Gun Owners of America vowed that it would immediately fight the rule and that it would sue the ATF “to halt the implementation of this rule.” | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/nation-world/ghost-guns-biden-rule/507-77e55466-5f43-4105-b20c-90f7d40e7cf4 | 2022-04-11T20:28:42 | 0 | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/nation-world/ghost-guns-biden-rule/507-77e55466-5f43-4105-b20c-90f7d40e7cf4 |
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers fired Frank Vogel on Monday after three seasons.
To say the Lakers underachieved this season would be an understatement. They finished 33-49, missing the playoffs and even the play-in tournament (where seeds 7-10 play for a chance to get in the NBA playoffs). This came just 18 months after the Lakers won the NBA Finals in Vogel's first season as head coach.
On Monday night's Locked On Lakers podcast, hosts Andy and Brian Kamenetzky discuss the treatment of Vogel on the way out and how that will impact their ability to recruit a prime coaching candidate to replace him.
Almost nothing has gone right in the ensuing two seasons for the rosters assembled by general manager Rob Pelinka and coached by Vogel, who went 127-98 in his three seasons running the club. He was under contract through next season.
“Frank is a great coach and a good man," Pelinka said in a statement. “We will forever be grateful to him for his work in guiding us to the 2019-20 NBA championship. This is an incredibly difficult decision to make, but one we feel is necessary at this point.”
SUBSCRIBE: The Locked On Lakers podcast is your daily podcast covering all things Los Angeles Lakers. Find it for free wherever you get your favorite shows
ESPN reported Vogel’s imminent firing immediately after the Lakers finished the season by beating Denver in overtime Sunday night. During an awkward postgame news conference, Vogel admitted he had not yet been told of the club’s decision before it was leaked to ESPN.
Despite another impressive season from the 37-year-old LeBron James, the Lakers never jelled this season with a roster including nine players over 30 and 11 players who weren’t with the team last season. Davis managed to play in only 40 of their 82 games, while Westbrook struggled mightily to fit into the Lakers' team concept during one of the worst seasons of his professional career.
James spoke to the media Monday morning before Vogel's fate was revealed by the Lakers' front office.
“I respect Frank as a coach, as a man,” James said. “Our partnership that we’ve had over the few years here has been nothing but candid, and great conversations. This is a guy that gives everything to the game and prepared us every single night. ... I don’t know what’s going to happen with Frank being here, but I’ve got nothing but respect for him.”
What's next for the Lakers?
With the firing of Vogel, including how it was handled with ESPN's report as the Lakers game ended Sunday night, and then Vogel's press conference, the narrative on Monday is one about disrespect in regards to the team's front office and its handling of Vogel and this tumultuous season.
This Lakers team was compiled of numerous offseason pick ups last summer, with nine players over the age of 30 rostered and 11 players rostered who weren't with the team last season.
On the Locked On Lakers podcast, Andy and Brian Kamenetzky discuss whether this disrespect in regards to Vogel, or at least perceived disrespect, will hamper the Lakers' ability to score big on a premier head coach this upcoming offseason.
"Whether or not they're able to get a premier head coach I think is actually up to some question," Brian Kamenetzky said on Locked On Lakers. "The Lakers are developing a reputation for treating coaches poorly, treating them as interchangeable, treating them as less important."
Brian Kamenetzky suggested Utah's Quin Snyder as someone who is potentially available after this season, depending on the Jazz's playoff performance, which would likely make him the top coach available.
"Is he going to be somebody that looks at where the Lakers are now and thinks that's where I want to go? I think this is where the Vogel tweet from (Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPN) right after the game. Whether it's fair or not to the front office, the perception is this is the way they treated a guy who helped them win a title two years ago...I have no problem from a job performance standpoint of Vogel being let go. But, how you treat a guy like that matters to the person who might replace him," Brian Kamenetzky said.
Other than Snyder, some names that are already being tossed around include Lakers assistant and former Grizzlies and Knicks head coach David Fizdale, former Lakers (and multiple other teams) head coach Mike D'Antoni, Warriors assistants Kenny Atkinson and Mike Brown, 76ers current head coach Doc Rivers, 76ers assistant Sam Cassell, and others.
AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham contributed to this report | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/sports/locked-on/nba-podcast/lakers-fire-title-winning-coach-frank-vogel-after-missing-nba-playoffs-woj-espn-los-angeles-lebron-james/535-3ab9d603-9961-4f95-afa3-5f7d11336b50 | 2022-04-11T20:28:48 | 0 | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/sports/locked-on/nba-podcast/lakers-fire-title-winning-coach-frank-vogel-after-missing-nba-playoffs-woj-espn-los-angeles-lebron-james/535-3ab9d603-9961-4f95-afa3-5f7d11336b50 |
The airlines with the most delays
(Stacker) - When you’ve already waited in line to check your luggage, waited to get through TSA screening, and then waited some more for overpriced coffee or bottled water, the last thing you want to do is wait even more for your plane to board and take off. The sad truth, however, is that air travel is a waiting game, especially if you fly with airlines or out of airports where delays are as commonplace as cramped onboard legroom and crying babies.
Stacker went through data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) to determine the percentage of delayed flights among all airlines. We looked at the most recent data available—reported by the airlines to the BTS from December 2020 to December 2021—and defined “delayed” as a flight that arrived at its destination at least 15 minutes after its scheduled arrival time. We also identified the most troublesome airport—the one with at least 100 flights during the reporting period and the highest percentage of delayed flights—for each airline.
Both mainline carriers and branded codeshare partners (airlines that only staff, maintain, and operate planes) were considered. You might wonder why Orlando and Aguadilla (Puerto Rico) are the only airports with the worst record for delays for two airlines each on our list.
#17. Endeavor Air Inc.
- On-time flights: 91%
- Airport with the most delayed flights: Orlando, FL: Orlando International
Delta-owned Endeavor Air, which operates Delta Connection planes, may be under the radar; but it boasts the distinction of having fewer delayed flights than any U.S. carrier on our list.
Its excellent on-time status is probably due to the fact that it operates mainly from regional airports, which are subject to fewer delays due to lighter air traffic. But it also operates out of major airports, including hubs in New York City, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Detroit, and Cincinnati—and super-busy Orlando. Its 192 regional jets service 140 destinations in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean with 900 daily flights.
#16. Hawaiian Airlines Inc.
- On-time flights: 91%
- Airport with the most delayed flights: Orlando, FL: Orlando International
Because so many Hawaiian Airlines flights go to the 50th state, where weather delays are relatively rare, its on-time record is exemplary. Hawaiian, in fact, routinely tops on-time performance lists and receives the fewest complaints about cancellations, overbooking, and baggage-handling problems.
With the continual expansion of its routes since its launch in 1941, it now flies throughout the Pacific and the continental U.S.-—even to Orlando, where Hawaiian Airlines passengers endure the most delays. Orlando has the second-worst on-time percentage (24%) of all major U.S. airports because it’s America’s leading family travel destination (i.e. home to Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort).
#15. Delta Air Lines Inc.
- On-time flights: 88%
- Airport with the most delayed flights: Kahului, HI: Kahului Airport
Delta is the only airline in the top eight on our list that ranks among the five largest U.S. airlines: second in passengers carried and miles flown, third in fleet size, and fifth in the number of routes and destinations. Infrequent delays represent one reason why Fodor’s ranks it as the #1 U.S. airline. Its flights to Kahului (Maui), where airport expansion has been debated for decades, are delayed most often.
#14. Horizon Air
- On-time flights: 87%
- Airport with the most delayed flights: Dallas, TX: Dallas Love Field
Horizon, Alaska Airlines’ regional carrier, serves dozens of destinations in the Western U.S., Canada, and Mexico, with Milwaukee the only destination east of the Mississippi. The light air traffic in Western outposts such as Wichita, Kansas; Walla Walla, Washington; and Dillingham, Alaska keep it on time almost all the time; only two of the 10 U.S. airports with the worst on-time stats are in the West. Horizon also flies to a handful of major Western cities, which does drag those stats down. Its hubs are Seattle, where it started out as a small regional carrier, and Portland, Oregon, while Dallas is the city where you’re most likely to be delayed on a Horizon flight.
#13. Republic Airways
- On-time flights: 87%
- Airport with the most delayed flights: Lansing, MI: Capital Region International
You know how some wineries produce wines from grapes purchased from growers in the next county—but the growers don’t get any credit when awards are handed out? You haven’t heard of Republic Airways.
The airline operates regional flights on behalf of United Express, American Eagle, and Delta Connection. Republic gets credit for its solid on-time percentage, even though the airline benefit from flying in and out of quiet airports like Bangor, Maine, and Lansing, Michigan—where snow and ice on the runways contribute to the frequency of delays.
#12. PSA Airlines Inc.
- On-time flights: 86%
- Airport with the most delayed flights: Traverse City, MI: Cherry Capital
PSA operated for a few years in the 1990s as an independent airline but now operates planes exclusively on American Eagle regional routes. Almost all of its nearly 100 destinations are small cities in the eastern half of the U.S. This focus on small cities like Traverse City, Michigan—where winter weather delays make it the airline’s most problematic airport—generally keep delays to a minimum.
#11. Envoy Air
- On-time flights: 85%
- Airport with the most delayed flights: Burlington, VT: Burlington International
Envoy, like PSA, is an airline you’ve never heard of because they “only” staff, maintain, and operate American Eagle planes, while American Airlines handles the sales, marketing, and scheduling of flights.
Also like PSA, Envoy flies primarily to smaller cities—more than 150 destinations throughout North and South America, making it American Airlines’ busiest regional partner. The snows of Burlington, Vermont, can be blamed for Envoy’s mediocre on-time percentage there.
#10. SkyWest Airlines Inc.
- On-time flights: 85%
- Airport with the most delayed flights: Panama City, FL: Northwest Florida Beaches International
Because it serves so many masters—operating flights for American, Alaska, United, and Delta—SkyWest is the busiest regional airline in the U.S. The airline delayed more than 1,300 flights in October 2021 due to a server outage.
#9. Alaska Airlines Inc.
- On-time flights: 84%
- Airport with the most delayed flights: Adak Island, AK: Adak
Alaska is nearly triple the size of Texas, leading many Alaskans to treat flying like most of us treat driving—although blizzards and icy runways can make flying there a challenge.
It’s safe to say that if an airline can make it in Alaska, it can make it anywhere; and Alaska Airlines has indeed “made it” as a major carrier throughout Canada, Mexico, and most of the other 49 states. Among major airlines, only Delta has a lower percentage of delayed flights. True to its roots, Alaska still flies to tiny Adak Island (pop. 326), where frequent delays can be attributed to the Aleutian island’s fierce winds and 173 annual days of fog.
#8. American Airlines Inc.
- On-time flights: 83%
- Airport with the most delayed flights: Lubbock, TX: Lubbock Preston Smith International
No U.S. airline transports more passengers than American. Its on-time performance is not bad, though rivals Delta and Alaska do better. Besides 230 U.S. destinations, the behemoth flies to 121 foreign destinations in 62 countries on every continent except Africa. A recent $42 million renovation of Lubbock Airport may help end its status as the worst destination in the U.S. for delays.
#7. United Airlines Inc.
- On-time flights: 83%
- Airport with the most delayed flights: Aguadilla, PR: Rafael Hernandez
United paid a record $1.9 million fine last year for subjecting the passengers of 25 flights between 2015 and 2021 to lengthy tarmac delays. And it hasn’t exactly improved over the years, slipping from an 85% on-time record (third-best among major U.S. airlines) in 2010 to 83.75% (only seventh-best) in 2020. Delays in the not-so-friendly United skies are most common in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, because it’s a popular beach getaway city with only one departure gate and a 1930s runway due to be replaced.
#6. Mesa Airlines Inc.
- On-time flights: 81%
- Airport with the most delayed flights: Montgomery, AL: Montgomery Regional
Mesa is a midsized airline that operates jets for American Eagle and United Express. It became America’s first regional airline to exclusively fly large jets in 2010, with most flights transporting passengers from small airports to six U.S. hub cities (Houston, Dallas, Phoenix, Cincinnati, Louisville, and Washington D.C.). If you’re itching to leave Alabama, though, you might need to cool your heels for a while as flight delays leaving Birmingham are common.
#5. Spirit Airlines
- On-time flights: 80%
- Airport with the most delayed flights: Aguadilla, PR: Rafael Hernandez
If Spirit played on a Little League team, it would be awarded the “most improved” trophy. In 2017, it was dead last (68%) among major U.S. airlines for on-time arrivals. Moving up to fifth-worst ain’t bad, though it’s still in the bottom half on our list. It’s America’s largest ultra-low-cost airline and is expected to merge this year with Frontier in a $6.6 billion deal.
#4. Southwest Airlines Co.
- On-time flights: 79%
- Airport with the most delayed flights: Chicago, IL: Chicago O’Hare International
Southwest endeared itself to many loyal passengers with its flexible ticketing policy and free checked bags, but its propensity for delays nearly eclipses those benefits. And it does no worse anywhere in the world than at famously frustrating Chicago O’Hare, where delays are something of a regular occurrence due to snow, severe rain, staffing shortages, and simply too many flights on any given day.
#3. Frontier Airlines Inc.
- On-time flights: 79%
- Airport with the most delayed flights: Newark, NJ: Newark Liberty International
There’s one list that Frontier tops by a wide margin, but you won’t see it in any of the airline’s ads. It was #1 by far in the number of complaints per passenger between July 2020 and September 2021. Those complaints weren’t only about delays, but its on-time record is far from stellar, as you can see by its position in this ranking. Worst-case scenario: Your flight is delayed for hours while you’re stuck in Newark—the U.S. airport with the worst record for delays.
#2. JetBlue Airways
- On-time flights: 75%
- Airport with the most delayed flights: Ontario, CA: Ontario International
Maybe there’s a reason for the name. Too many JetBlue passengers sing the “Jet Blues” while waiting, sometimes for hours, at their boarding gates. The budget airline flies to more than 100 destinations throughout the Americas (as well as London). Its on-time record is hurt by flying mostly to major cities with high air-traffic volume, but so do most of the major airlines that have better on-time stats, which led the Wall Street Journal to declare JetBlue the worst airline in the U.S.
#1. Allegiant Air
- On-time flights: 73%
- Airport with the most delayed flights: Myrtle Beach, SC: Myrtle Beach International
If a baseball team wins 73% of its games, it’s World Series-worthy. But if an airline is only on time 73% of the time, it’s … well, it’s Allegiant, which has a well-deserved reputation for delays and other problems (including an abysmal safety record revealed in a “60 Minutes” segment). In its defense, it’s an ultra-low-cost airline, so you’re essentially paying for the strong possibility that your flight won’t leave on time. On the bright side, if you’re in Myrtle Beach, where delays are most common, you might have time to hit the sand for some extra tanning.
Copyright 2022 Stacker via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/11/airlines-with-most-delays/ | 2022-04-11T20:28:52 | 1 | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/11/airlines-with-most-delays/ |
Beautiful sunshine today; windy with severe storms possible in the midweek
Severe storms will be possible Tuesday evening and Wednesday
ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – The bright, mild weather we enjoyed over the weekend will carry over to start our work week today, even though a cold front has moved through the region. The clouds and strong winds we dealt with earlier today have cleared out and now we’re enjoying mild sunshine and more of a moderate breeze. High temperatures will be in the upper 50s this afternoon with a slight westerly breeze.
Warm air will build into the region for Tuesday on gusty southeast winds ahead of a potent storm system that will be approaching from the west. We’ll have occasional sunshine and clouds throughout the day with winds reaching 40 miles per hour at times. High temperatures will be in the mid and upper 50s. A few isolated showers and thunderstorms will be possible in the afternoon with a larger threat of more widespread, potentially severe storms in the evening hours. The Storm Prediction Center has determined that the entire area is at an elevated risk for severe weather, mainly after 6:00 PM. Large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes will be possible with some downpours of heavy rainfall. The greatest risk locally will be in north Iowa where the risk is level three if five in the latest outlook.
A few isolated thunderstorms will be possible Wednesday, some early and a few isolated storms may redevelop in the afternoon just behind the storm system and there is a lower level of severe weather risk. We’ll have brisk southwest winds with partly sunny skies and high temperatures will be in the mid and upper 50s.
Colder air will blow into the region Thursday in the wake of the departing storm system. A few snow showers and sprinkles will be possible in the afternoon, but no accumulation is expected. High temperatures will only be in the upper 30s to low 40s and it will feel even colder than that because of strong northwest winds that will reach 50 miles per hour at times. Wind chill indices will only be in the teens and 20s.
After a bright and chilly stretch of weather Friday and Saturday, we’ll have a few more snow showers and perhaps a little light rain on Easter Sunday. High temperatures will be in the low 40s with brisk northeast winds.
Copyright 2022 KTTC. All rights reserved. | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/11/beautiful-sunshine-today-windy-with-severe-storms-possible-midweek/ | 2022-04-11T20:28:59 | 0 | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/11/beautiful-sunshine-today-windy-with-severe-storms-possible-midweek/ |
Discovery of radioactive liquid pauses work at US nuke dump
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — An area at the U.S. government’s nuclear waste repository in southeastern New Mexico was evacuated over the weekend after workers handling a shipping container discovered a small amount of radioactive liquid inside it.
There was no indication of airborne contamination and testing of workers’ hands and feet turned up no contamination after the discovery was made late Saturday in a bay where containers are processed before being taken underground for disposal, officials said in a statement.
“The event at the site has been secured. There is no risk of radiological release and there is no risk to the public or the environment,” plant officials said their most recent statement, issued late Saturday.
It wasn’t immediately clear where the liquid came from and which government facility had packed and shipped the waste. Bobby St. John, a spokesman for the contractor that manages the facility for the federal government, said Monday that more information would be provided later.
The repository is the backbone of a multibillion-dollar cleanup program that involves tons of Cold War-era waste from federal labs and defense-related sites around the country.
The waste — remnants of decades of nuclear research and bomb making — typically consists of lab coats, gloves, tools and debris contaminated with plutonium and other radioactive elements.
Independent federal investigators last month raised concerns about whether cost overruns and missed construction deadlines will continue at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.
A multimillion-dollar project is underway at the underground facility to install a new ventilation system so that full operations can resume, following a radiation leak in 2014 that forced the repository’s closure for nearly three years and led to major policy overhauls.
The container that caused that release had been inappropriately packed at Los Alamos National Laboratory in northern New Mexico.
Operations had to be reduced after the waste plant reopened in 2017 because areas of the facility were contaminated and airflow needed for mining and disposal operations was limited.
It was unclear Monday whether operations had resumed in the area where shipments are processed or what plans were in place to ensure worker safety.
The repository was carved out of an ancient salt formation about a half-mile (0.8 kilometer) below the ground because officials say that the shifting salt will eventually entomb the radioactive waste.
Its current footprint includes eight sections, which the U.S. Energy Department estimates will be filled in 2025.
State regulators are weighing a permit change that some critics have said could lead to expanded repository operations. A decision is expected later this year.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/11/discovery-radioactive-liquid-pauses-work-us-nuke-dump/ | 2022-04-11T20:29:05 | 0 | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/11/discovery-radioactive-liquid-pauses-work-us-nuke-dump/ |
California utility to pay $55 million for massive wildfires
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Pacific Gas & Electric has agreed to pay more than $55 million to avoid criminal prosecution for two major wildfires started by aging Northern California power lines belonging to the nation’s largest utility, prosecutors announced Monday.
PG&E does not admit wrongdoing in the two settlements reached with prosecutors for last year’s Dixie Fire — one of the biggest wildfires in California’s history — and the 2019 Kincade Fire in Sonoma County. The deals expedite damage payments to the hundreds of people whose homes were destroyed.
PG&E also will submit to five years of oversight by an independent monitor similar to the supervision it faced during five years of criminal probation after it was convicted for misconduct that contributed to its natural gas explosion that killed eight people in 2010.
Pacific Gas & Electric has been blamed for more than 30 wildfires since 2017 that wiped out more than 23,000 homes and businesses and killed more than 100 people. It previously reached settlements with wildfire victims of more than $25.5 billion.
The Dixie Fire burned nearly 1 million acres in Butte, Plumas, Lassen, Shasta, and Tehama counties and destroyed more than 1,300 homes and other buildings. The blaze was caused by a tree hitting electrical distribution lines west of a dam in the Sierra Nevada, where the fire began on July 13, 2021, according to investigators with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The settlement for the Dixie Fire was made by district attorneys in Plumas, Lassen, Tehama, Shasta and Butte counties, who had not yet filed charges.
Sonoma County prosecutors filed 33 criminal charges last year accusing PG&E of inadvertently injuring six firefighters and endangering public health with smoke and ash from the 2019 Kincade Fire.
Fire officials said a PG&E transmission line sparked the fire, which destroyed 374 buildings in wine country and caused nearly 100,000 people to flee as it burned through 120 square miles. It was the largest evacuation in the county’s history, prosecutors said, including the entire towns of Healdsburg, Windsor and Geyserville.
The utility’s federal probation ended in late January, raising worries from the judge who had been using his powers to oversee the utility to try to force management to reduce the fire risks posed by its crumbling power lines. At the time PG&E emerged from the probation, U.S. District Judge William Alsup warned PG&E remained a “continuing menace to California” and urged state prosecutors to try to rein in the company.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/11/pacific-gas-electric-pay-more-than-55-million-avoid-prosecution-california-wildfires/ | 2022-04-11T20:29:13 | 0 | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/11/pacific-gas-electric-pay-more-than-55-million-avoid-prosecution-california-wildfires/ |
Woman assaults Sonic carhop because her order took too long, police say
TULSA, Okla. (Gray News) – Police in Oklahoma arrested a woman who they said assaulted a Sonic employee and another customer because her food order took too long.
Tulsa police said Stacy Minihan was arrested for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and for trafficking meth.
According to police, officers were called to a Sonic on Saturday night for reports of an assault with a weapon. Investigators found that when the carhop delivered Minihan’s food, she became very upset because the order took too long.
When the employee tried to explain that the restaurant was short-staffed, Minihan got out of her car, slapped the food out of the carhop’s hands and punched the carhop in the chest, witnesses told police.
Police said that when another witness followed Minihan to get her license plate number, Minihan pulled over, got out of her car and shot the witness in the face with a pepper ball gun. The victim was also hit several times and was bleeding from their head.
Officers said Minihan then drove to a nearby gas station where she was stopped by police and arrested. Police seized the pepper ball gun, nearly 30 grams of meth and other drug paraphernalia.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/11/woman-assaults-sonic-carhop-because-her-order-took-too-long-police-say/ | 2022-04-11T20:29:23 | 0 | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/11/woman-assaults-sonic-carhop-because-her-order-took-too-long-police-say/ |
Britney Spears has shared that she and partner Sam Asghari are expecting a baby.
On Monday, Spears posted on her verified Instagram account that she had lost weight to go on her recent Maui vacation, only to gain it back.
She wrote that Asghari told her she was "food pregnant."
"So I got a pregnancy test ... and uhhhhh well ... I am having a baby," Spears wrote.
CNN has reached out to a representative for Spears for comment.
Spears and Asghari, who got engaged in September 2021, have been open about their desire to have a child together.
During court testimonies last year as Spears sought to end the conservatorship that had controlled her life for more than a decade, she testified that she wanted to have a baby but that her court-ordered conservators prohibited her from getting off of birth control.
In December, she teased followers with news of a "new addition to the family" before introducing the world to her Australian Shepherd puppy named Sawyer.
The singer posted on Monday that she "won't be going out as much" to prevent paparazzi from getting photos of her pregnant, which they sell to make money.
She is the mother of two teen sons, Sean and Jayden, with ex husband Kevin Federline.
The-CNN-Wire & 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.
Britney Spears announces she's pregnant in Instagram post
By Lisa Respers France, CNN | https://abc11.com/britney-spears-pregnant-kids-ages-perinatal-depression-sam-asghari/11737930/ | 2022-04-11T20:34:49 | 0 | https://abc11.com/britney-spears-pregnant-kids-ages-perinatal-depression-sam-asghari/11737930/ |
INDIANAPOLIS — Love good food plus a good theme?
The Culinary Crossroads 2022 Spring Dinner Series offers three-course meals, prepared by rock star local chefs, with a different theme each week.
Chef Erin Kem of Scarlet Lane Brewing Gastropub joined us Monday to talk about the Middle Eastern dinner she will be preparing May 10 with Chef Jonathan Brooks and Pastry Chef Youssef Boudarine.
She was joined by Larry Dickerson, who founded Culinary Crossroads in 2018 to bring awareness to Indiana’s emerging food scene.
The dinner series is once a week from April 19 to May 10 at Highland Golf & Country Club. A portion of the proceeds go to creating a culinary scholarship at Ivy Tech. | https://fox59.com/indy-now/indy-spring-dinner-series/ | 2022-04-11T20:37:09 | 1 | https://fox59.com/indy-now/indy-spring-dinner-series/ |
Bloomington native and saxophonist Peyton Womock performs in the Indy Now studio.
Known for performing popular covers and original pieces, Peyton’s deft saxophone skills allow him to cross multiple genres from jazz to funk to R&B to hip hop to pop.
Watch above and follow Peyton on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok for all his latest covers and performances. | https://fox59.com/indy-now/saxophonist-peyton-womock-dazzles-the-indy-now-studio/ | 2022-04-11T20:37:15 | 0 | https://fox59.com/indy-now/saxophonist-peyton-womock-dazzles-the-indy-now-studio/ |
INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis police are investigating the death of a 16-year-old boy as the city works to reduce violence across the city.
As the city entered into April, they saw the fewest number of homicides in a single month in nearly two years. Still, police and community leaders know there is still more work to be done.
So far in April, Indianapolis is seeing an increase in the number of homicides compared to where it was at the same time in 2021. By April 11, 2021, there were three homicides for the month. So far in 2022, there have been 5 homicides. Still, it remains just above average for the month of April.
From 2014 to 2022, Indianapolis has averaged 4 homicides for the month by April 11. The most common number of homicides by that date is 6.
To date, Indianapolis has seen a reduction in the number of homicides. By this time in 2021, Indianapolis had experienced 63 homicides. In comparison, the city has seen 50 homicides by the same time in 2022. This is the lowest number of homicides the city has seen at this time of year since 2019.
Of the 50 homicides so far in 2022, two were double homicides and 46 involved only one victim. In comparison, by this time in 2021, there were two double homicides, one homicide with four victims, one homicide with six victims, and 51 homicides that involved only one victim.
Gunshots remain the primary manner of death for homicides in 2022. Of the homicides, 38 had gunshot listed as the manner of death. Blunt force was the second most common manner of death that was known.
So far in 2022, the Eagledale, Martindale-Brightwood, Arlington Woods, and Far Eastside neighborhoods are tied for the most homicides. Each has experienced 4 homicides. In comparison, by this time in 2021, the Near Eastside and Far Eastside neighborhoods experienced 10 homicides each.
Several neighborhoods increased in the number of homicides in 2022 compared to 2021. Of these, the Eagledale neighborhood had the largest difference, going from no homicides in 2021 to 4 homicides in 2022. The Near Eastside neighborhood saw the largest decrease, going from 10 homicides by April 11 in 2021 to 1 homicide in 2022.
A majority of the homicides remain unsolved. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS. | https://fox59.com/news/crime-mapping-where-we-stand-now-after-3-homicides-in-a-weekend/ | 2022-04-11T20:37:21 | 1 | https://fox59.com/news/crime-mapping-where-we-stand-now-after-3-homicides-in-a-weekend/ |
INDIANAPOLIS — Central Indiana saw the first of potentially several severe thunderstorms for the week Monday. The Indiana Department of Public Works urges people to be prepared for more severe weather.
The National Weather Service says numerous showers and scattered thunderstorms are expected Monday into the night. This may include isolated severe storms with damaging winds. More storms are possible through Wednesday evening, including the potential for damaging winds, large hail, and tornadoes.
Having a plan is always important; before, during, and after a disaster.
The DPW said with heavy winds and rains people may experience high water on roads, downed tree limbs, or malfunctioning traffic signals. If they do, the department says people should call 317-327-4622.
Additionally, the Office of Public Health and Safety provides the following weather safety and preparedness tips to keep residents safe:
- Stay away from downed power lines and trees and report them immediately. Report fallen power lines and power outages to AES at 317-261-8111.
- Secure any outside furniture to minimize any property damage from high winds.
- If a tornado warning is issued, find shelter immediately. Stay away from windows, doors, and outside walls. If driving, do not stop under an overpass or bridge. A low, flat location is safer.
- When thunder roars, go indoors. A sturdy building is the safest place to be during a thunderstorm.
People can download the FOX59 Weather App to keep up-to-date on the weather.
Download the Weather Authority App for iPhone
Download the Weather Authority App for Android | https://fox59.com/news/how-to-prepare-for-severe-thunderstorms-this-week/ | 2022-04-11T20:37:27 | 0 | https://fox59.com/news/how-to-prepare-for-severe-thunderstorms-this-week/ |
SCRANTON, Pa. (WBRE/WYOU) — You may notice during your next trip to the grocery store that egg prices are much higher than usual. The wholesale prices for eggs is up nearly three times over this time last year, according to NBC News. At one point, the cost of a dozen eggs exceeded $3 for only the second time in history.
As of Friday, large grade A white eggs ran between $2.80-$2.89 per dozen on average, according to the USDA’s daily Midwest regional egg report. That’s more than double what they cost in March, according to CNN.
The recent increase is blamed, in part, on a bird flu outbreak that’s led to the death of millions of egg-laying birds. Supply chain issues and high feed costs have only compounded the problem.
Over the weekend, a grocery store in the Dallas area had a sign that labeled the issue a “national egg shortage.” The sign acknowledged the price increase and said, “we will continue to work with our suppliers to improve availability.”
The price change will hurt businesses that use large amounts of eggs, but the average customer may feel the pinch as well.
“Usually we buy a dozen a week,” said Pennsylvania shopper Tom Enkulenko..
Some shoppers at Gerrity’s Supermarket in Scranton, Pa. said they’re considering cutting back on their egg purchases.
“By far, this is the highest prices we’ve ever seen on eggs. Right now, we are sitting at double the price,” said Joe Fasula, co-owner of Gerrity’s Supermarkets.
Fasula fears these high prices might be here to stay for a while saying, “I don’t think anybody knows when that could end.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has reported grocery prices could go up another 4% before 2022 comes to a close.
According to the CDC, the risk to the general public from the avian flu outbreak is very low and there are no food safety issues. | https://fox59.com/news/national-world/heres-why-egg-prices-are-quickly-rising/ | 2022-04-11T20:37:39 | 1 | https://fox59.com/news/national-world/heres-why-egg-prices-are-quickly-rising/ |
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The mayor of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol said Monday that more than 10,000 civilians have died in the Russian siege of his city, and that the death toll could surpass 20,000, with corpses that were “carpeted through the streets.”
Speaking by phone Monday to The Associated Press, Mayor Vadym Boychenko also said Russian forces brought mobile cremation equipment to the city to dispose of the bodies, and he accused Russian forces of refusing to allow humanitarian convoys into the city in an attempt to conceal the carnage.
The mayor’s comments emerged as Russia claimed that it destroyed several Ukrainian air-defense systems in what appeared to be a renewed push to gain air superiority and take out weapons Kyiv has described as crucial ahead of an expected broad new offensive in the east.
In one strike, Moscow said it hit four S-300 launchers near the central city of Dnipro that had been provided by a European country it did not name. Slovakia gave Ukraine just such a system last week but denied it had been destroyed. Russia previously reported two strikes on similar systems in other places.
Moscow’s initial invasion stalled on several fronts as it met stiff resistance from Ukrainian forces, who prevented the Russians from taking the capital and other cities. The failure to win full control of Ukraine’s skies has hampered Moscow’s ability to provide air cover for troops on the ground, limiting their advances and likely exposing them to greater losses.
With their offensive in many parts of the country thwarted, Russian forces have relied increasingly on bombarding cities — a strategy that has left many urban areas flattened and killed thousands of people. The war has also shattered Ukraine’s economy, with the World Bank estimating it will shrink by more than 45% this year.
Ukrainian authorities accuse Russian forces of committing atrocities, including a massacre in the town of Bucha, outside Kyiv, airstrikes on hospitals and a missile attack that killed at least 57 people last week at a train station.
In Bucha on Monday, the work of exhuming bodies from a mass grave in a churchyard resumed.
Galyna Feoktistova waited for hours in the cold and rain in hopes of identifying her 50-year-old son, who was shot and killed more than a month ago, but eventually she went home for some warmth. “He’s still there,” her surviving son, Andriy, said.
Meanwhile, the U.N. children’s agency said that nearly two-thirds of all Ukrainian children have fled their homes in the six weeks since Russia’s invasion began, and the United Nations has verified that 142 children have been killed and 229 injured, though the actual numbers are likely much higher.
Elsewhere, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said he met Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for talks that were “very direct, open and tough.”
In a statement released by his office, Nehammer said his primary message to Putin was “that this war needs to end, because in war both sides can only lose.” Nehammer said he also raised the issue of war crimes committed by the Russian military and said those responsible “will be held to account.”
Austria is a member of the European Union and has backed the 27-nation bloc’s sanctions against Russia, though it so far has opposed cutting off deliveries of Russian gas. The country is militarily neutral and is not a member of NATO.
In other developments, the head of the separatist rebel government in Donetsk said Ukrainian forces have lost control of the port area of Mariupol.
“Regarding the port of Mariupol, it is now under our control,” Denis Pushilin, president of the Donetsk People’s Republic, told Russian state television, according to Russian news agencies. The claim could not immediately be confirmed.
Russia has appointed a seasoned general to lead its renewed push in the eastern Donbas region, where Moscow-backed separatists have been battling Ukrainian forces since 2014 and have declared independent states. Both sides are digging in for what could be a devastating war of attrition.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded for more Western aid, saying his forces need heavier firepower to resist the coming onslaught and push Russian forces back. Echoing his remarks in an AP interview, Zelenskyy said Sunday that the coming week could be crucial and that Western support — or the lack thereof — may prove decisive.
“To be honest, whether we will be able to (survive) depends on this,” Zelenskyy said in a “60 Minutes” interview. “Unfortunately, I don’t have the confidence that we will be receiving everything we need.” In a video address to South Korean lawmakers on Monday, he specifically requested equipment that can shoot down Russian missiles.
But those armaments could increasingly come under attack as Russia looks to shift the balance in the 6-week-old war.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said the military used cruise missiles to destroy the four launchers Sunday on the southern outskirts of Dnipro. He said the military also hit such systems in the Mykolaiv and Kharkiv regions.
The Russian claims could not be independently verified.
The Pentagon said it had seen no evidence to support Russia’s claims. A senior U.S. defense official said Russia did conduct an airstrike Sunday on the airport in Dnipro, destroying some equipment, but the official said the U.S. has seen no indication that an air-defense system was knocked out.
Lubica Janikova, spokeswoman for Slovakia’s prime minister, denied Monday that the S-300 system it sent Ukraine had been destroyed. She said any other claim is not true.
Ukraine has specifically asked for more S-300s in recent months, though it already had a number of the Soviet-built systems and other long-range air-defense systems. It also has received batches of portable, shoulder-fired Western anti-aircraft weapons like Stingers, which are efficient against low-flying aircraft.
Questions remain about the ability of depleted and demoralized Russian forces to conquer much ground after their advance on Kyiv was repelled by determined Ukrainian defenders.
Britain’s Defense Ministry said Monday that Ukraine has already beaten back several assaults by Russian forces in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions — which make up the Donbas — resulting in the destruction of Russian tanks, vehicles and artillery.
Western military analysts say Russia’s assault increasingly is focusing on an arc of territory stretching from Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, in the north, to Kherson in the south.
On Sunday, Russian forces shelled government-controlled Kharkiv and sent reinforcements toward Izyum to the southeast to try to break Ukraine’s defenses, the Ukrainian military said.
A residential area in Kharkiv was struck by incoming fire on Monday afternoon. Associated Press journalists saw firefighters putting out the fire and checking for victims following the attack, and saw that at least five people were killed, including a child.
Oleh Synyehubov, the regional governor of Kharkiv, said earlier Monday that Russian shelling had killed 11 people over the last 24 hours.
In Mariupol, Russia deployed Chechen fighters, reputed to be particularly fierce. Capturing the city on the Sea of Azov would give Russia a land bridge to the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia seized from Ukraine and annexed eight years ago.
Mariupol’s residents have lacked food, water and electricity since Russian forces surrounded the city. Hundreds of thousands have fled, though Russian attacks have also frustrated evacuation missions.
Vladislav Usovich, an 18-year-old conscript serving in Russia-backed separatist forces, advanced slowly with other fighters through residential areas around a factory Sunday in Mariupol.
“I thought it would go better. I thought it would be faster. Everything is going slowly,” he said. “The Ukrainians are prepared fighters. NATO trained them well.”
___
Anna reported from Bucha, Ukraine. Robert Burns in Washington, and Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report. | https://fox59.com/ukraine-crisis/mariupol-mayor-russian-siege-has-killed-more-than-10k-civilians/ | 2022-04-11T20:37:45 | 1 | https://fox59.com/ukraine-crisis/mariupol-mayor-russian-siege-has-killed-more-than-10k-civilians/ |
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)- New York is accepting applications for $70 million in federal funding for newly licensed, registered, or permitted child care programs in areas of the state considered child care deserts. Funding is part of the $100 million set aside in the 2021 enacted budget to address child care deserts, made available through the American Rescue Plan Act.
Only certain areas are eligible for the funding and given an RFA score, based on U.S. Census Bureau metrics. Child care deserts are census tracts (areas) where there are three or more children younger than five years old for each spot available in child care, or there are no spots available. Although areas with a score of between 30-40 are considered child care deserts, only areas with a score of 30 are eligible for the grant.
Capital Region areas available for grant
“All parents deserve access to high-quality child care regardless of where they live, and this funding will help address critical child care shortages in underserved areas—supporting parents as they pursue an education, thrive in the workforce, and contribute to New York State’s economic rebirth,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday.
Grant money can be used to cover start-up and personnel costs, as well as recruit, train, and retain staff. It can also be used to support staff in getting COVID-19 vaccines. The program will be administered through the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS).
“Child care is critical to continue building back our economy, and our families need as much support as possible,” said OCFS Commissioner, Sheila Poole. “Too many of our families are struggling to find care, and these desert grants will allow new providers to fill access gaps. And OCFS has ensured that diversity and equity components are built into these grants.”
Applications can be submitted through May 19 on the OCFS website. Award announcements are expected to be made in June. Applicants must complete an online orientation before applying. | https://www.wivb.com/news/child-care-desert-grant-ny-accepting-applications/ | 2022-04-11T20:40:42 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/child-care-desert-grant-ny-accepting-applications/ |
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Sen. Chuck Schumer visited Buffalo on Monday advocating for the region’s advanced manufacturing proposal, which was selected as a finalist for the Build Back Better Challenge, a federally run grant competition.
Empire State Development Corporation’s advanced manufacturing cluster project was named a finalist in 2021 after 529 proposals were submitted from across the country. The final application for the grant was due in March and 20 to 30 projects will be selected to receive up to $100 million dollars to support and industry sector.
The project has received regional and statewide backing and secured nearly $1.5 million in funds from New York State, the City of Buffalo and other partners.
The proposal outlines other organizations and efforts to boost the local workforce and economy, including the Northland Workforce Training Center on Buffalo’s East Side. This labor initiative aims to close the skills gap and provide employment tracks to Western New Yorkers. The advanced manufacturing proposal would work alongside these workforce development programs to bolster the economic growth on the East Side.
Empire Development also outlined their strategy to work with other local organizations such as Goodwill of Western new York, community colleges, BOCES and other job training groups. They also say they will work alongside University at Buffalo Innovation Hub, 43North, Launch NY, Startup NY and WNY Incubator Network to bring other start-up groups to Western New York.
The group plans to re-develop the region using the industrial footprint left behind from previous manufacturing plants. They sited the state’s investment in the former Bethlehem Steel plant in Lackawanna as a model for their project.
Schumer says this award could fast-track Buffalo to becoming a global tech hub. His goal is to bring jobs back to Western New York, after manufacturing jobs left the region.
In 2021, Buffalo-Niagara Falls metro region had 50,200 manufacturing jobs, which was an increase from 2020. According to the project plan, advanced manufacturing represents 10 percent of the Western New York economy.
Tara Lynch is a Buffalo native who joined the News 4 team as a reporter in 2022. She previously worked at WETM in Elmira, N.Y., a sister station of News 4. You can follow Tara on Facebook and Twitter and find more of her work here. | https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/buffalo/schumer-pushes-for-federal-grant-for-buffalo-manufacturing-site/ | 2022-04-11T20:40:48 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/buffalo/schumer-pushes-for-federal-grant-for-buffalo-manufacturing-site/ |
GOWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) — The New York State Department of Transportation announced Monday that lane closures will occur on Main Street in Gowanda, starting April 18, for bridge repair.
The announcement said the closures will begin at 7 a.m. on the U.S. Route 62 bridge, between Legion Drive and S. Water Street, and traffic will be restricted to one lane, both northbound and southbound.
The work will reportedly last about four months, but could be delayed due to inclement weather.
Adam Duke is a digital producer who has been part of the News 4 team since 2021. See more of his work here. | https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/erie-county/gowanda/dot-lane-closures-on-rt-62-in-gowanda-start-april-18/ | 2022-04-11T20:40:54 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/erie-county/gowanda/dot-lane-closures-on-rt-62-in-gowanda-start-april-18/ |
Britney Spears says she is pregnant
Published: Apr. 11, 2022 at 4:09 PM EDT|Updated: 8 minutes ago
(Gray News) - Britney Spears says she is pregnant with her first child with fiancé, Sam Asghari.
Spears made the announcement in an Instagram post.
“So I got a pregnancy test … and uhhhhh well … I am having a baby,” she said.
Spears also said she “won’t be going out as much” due to the paparazzi.
She opened up about having “horrible” perinatal depression in the past, and that she plans to practice yoga everyday.
Spears has two sons from a previous marriage to Kevin Federline.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wflx.com/2022/04/11/britney-spears-says-she-is-pregnant/ | 2022-04-11T20:41:15 | 1 | https://www.wflx.com/2022/04/11/britney-spears-says-she-is-pregnant/ |
Parkland families attend White House event on 'ghost guns'
Several Parkland parents were at the White House on Monday as President Joe Biden took aim at "ghost guns," privately made firearms without serial numbers.
Among the crowd at the Rose Garden event were Fred Guttenberg and Manuel Oliver, who both lost children during the Feb. 14, 2018, attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Oliver tweeted that he was wearing the shoes that his son was going to wear to his prom in 2018 before he was killed.
They were joined by other victims of gun violence, including a survivor of a high school shooting in Santa Clarita, California, in 2019.
That high school shooting was done with a "ghost gun," a firearm made in a mail-order kit and without any traceable serial number.
Biden said from now on "ghost guns" will have to have serial numbers.
"The NRA called this rule extreme. Let me ask, is it extreme to protect police officers? Is it extreme to protect our children? Is it extreme to keep guns out of the hands of people who couldn't pass a background check?" Biden asked at Monday's event.
"Ghost guns" are not illegal in Florida, and one gun store manager said they’re not hard to get and build.
"Not difficult [to build] but finicky. It takes time and effort to get it done and working properly," the gun store manager said.
But Biden said his administration will work to crack down on their use in the U.S.
Scripps Only Content 2022 | https://www.wflx.com/2022/04/11/parkland-families-attend-white-house-event-ghost-guns/ | 2022-04-11T20:41:23 | 1 | https://www.wflx.com/2022/04/11/parkland-families-attend-white-house-event-ghost-guns/ |
INDIANAPOLIS — Marion University’s new school of engineering opens this fall, and a summer camp is planned for high school students who want to learn more about a career in engineering.
Indy Now Host Jillian Deam sat down with Dr. Binh Tran, founding dean of the E.S. Witchger School of Engineering, who said it looks like enrollment numbers will exceed their target.
The residential summer camp, which takes place June 19-24 at the university, offers a real-life look at what engineers do from day to day, Tran said. Students will hear from local engineers, do design work in the classroom, and go to factories for site visits. The week wraps up with entertainment so the students can enjoy the experience of staying on a college campus.
“There’s a perception that engineers are a bunch of geeks sitting in a cubicle somewhere running a bunch of calculations, so we’re going to try and dispel that myth,” Tran said.
For more information about the engineering program or the summer camp, visit marion.edu/engineering. | https://fox59.com/indy-now/marion-university-engineering-school-update/ | 2022-04-11T20:41:31 | 1 | https://fox59.com/indy-now/marion-university-engineering-school-update/ |
NEW YORK (StudyFinds.org) – Familiar with your family tree? There’s a good chance you’re not. More than half of Americans don’t know the names of all four of their grandparents.
A recent survey of 2,113 U.S. adults, including 1,911 from the top 10 Nielsen market areas and 202 from Salt Lake City, found that there is a massive knowledge gap when it comes to recent family history. Knowledge of past generations varied by city, as 66 percent of Boston residents could name all of their grandparents, compared to only 26 percent of those in Philadelphia. San Francisco residents weren’t much better at 34 percent, while people in Chicago and Dallas only slightly higher at 36 percent.
As a whole, just 47 percent of respondents could correctly name all four grandparents.
The apple falls a bit far from the family tree
Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Ancestry, the survey also reveals that only four percent could name all eight of their great-grandparents. When it comes to knowing the most about their family history, three in four people in Salt Lake City say they feel knowledgeable compared to 46 percent of those in Philadelphia.
Despite the knowledge gap, most respondents expressed interest in learning more about their family history (66%). In particular, over half the poll (51%) want to know stories about when their ancestors were young and what their were like at the time.
Most people claim to know the bulk of their family history from parents (43%) or grandparents (40%) relaying stories.
“Listening to family stories is a great starting point to learn about your family’s past, but some details can get lost as they are passed down for generations,” says Crista Cowan, Corporate Genealogist at Ancestry, in a statement. “Digging deeper into records, such as census records, can help fill in the gaps and add rich historical context about more recent family history.”
Catching up with the Census
On April 1, the 1950 U.S. Census was made public. Ancestry is indexing the records state by state to make them searchable for everyone for free. The 151 million newly released records will provide key details about more recent generations.
With the release of the 1950 U.S. Census records, respondents are most interested to learn their ancestors’ employment details, including salary, status and hours worked (38%) and occupations (35%), followed by names (34%) and ages (34%).
“It’s exciting that younger generations now have the opportunity to learn more about family members they know, like parents and grandparents,” Cowan says. “The 1950 Census provides a fascinating look at an era in our collective history, marking the first time baby boomers appear in a U.S. census. The real magic happens when you discover a more complete picture of not only what your family member’s life was like at a moment in time, but also how it had changed over the decades.” | https://www.wfla.com/dont-miss/family-tree-stumped-most-americans-cant-name-all-4-of-their-grandparents/ | 2022-04-11T20:42:02 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/dont-miss/family-tree-stumped-most-americans-cant-name-all-4-of-their-grandparents/ |
TAMPA (NBC News) – Charlee Disney, one of the heirs of The Walt Disney Co., came out publicly as transgender and condemned anti-LGBTQ bills in a recent interview.
Disney, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, announced that their family would match up to $250,000 in donations to the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group, during the organization’s annual gala in Los Angeles last month.
Roy P. Disney, Disney’s father and the grandson of the company’s co-founder, upped that amount to $500,000 last week.
“Equality matters deeply to us,” Roy P. Disney said in a statement, according to the Los Angeles Times, “especially because our child, Charlee, is transgender and a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community.”
You can read the rest of this story on NBCNews.com. | https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/disney-heir-comes-out-publicly-as-transgender-condemns-anti-lgbtq-bills/ | 2022-04-11T20:42:08 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/disney-heir-comes-out-publicly-as-transgender-condemns-anti-lgbtq-bills/ |
LAKE COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – A Florida babysitter has been accused of putting a child in a dryer.
According to an affidavit obtained by WESH 2 News from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Amber Chapman, 35, has been charged with aggravated child abuse.
The 4-year-old child was brought to UF Health Leesburg Hospital where the boy reportedly suffered bruising on the boy’s head, abdomen and back.
According to the affidavit, the boy stated that “Miss Amber” put him in the dryer with towels, and he spun around.
A warrant was issued for Chapman on Friday, and she was arrested the next day. | https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/florida-babysitter-accused-of-putting-child-in-dryer/ | 2022-04-11T20:42:14 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/florida-babysitter-accused-of-putting-child-in-dryer/ |
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Bradenton man was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for manufacturing counterfeit currency on Monday.
According to the plea agreement, 58-year-old Anthony Wayne Smith made U.S. Federal Reserve notes at his home. During a search warrant law enforcement found a large quantity of counterfeit notes hidden throughout the home, along with texturized printing paper and printers.
Authorities also found digital images of U.S. Federal Reserve notes on Smith’s laptop.
Smith pleaded guilty to the charges on Jan. 14. He handed over a firearm and ammunition found in his home during the search as well. | https://www.wfla.com/news/local-news/manatee-county/bradenton-man-sentenced-for-counterfeiting-money/ | 2022-04-11T20:42:21 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/news/local-news/manatee-county/bradenton-man-sentenced-for-counterfeiting-money/ |
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Target is holding a car seat trade-in event next week for families to bring an old, expired or damaged car seat to be recycled for a coupon for a new car seat, stroller or select baby gear.
Car seats can traded in from April 18 through April 30. Those trading in will receive a 20% off coupon on their Target app or Target Circle account, which can be redeemed through May 14.
According to The Bump, those using a car seat for a child can tell if it is expired by looking for a small, white sticker somewhere on the seat with the date the seat expires. The website said other brands have information imprinted somewhere on the plastic shell of the seat. The Bump also offers information on where to find the date, listed by brand.
Materials from old car seats will be recycled by Waste Management.
Target hosts its car seat trade-in twice a year. A total of 1.7 million car seats have been recycled through Target since 2016, and 25.4 million pounds of materials have been recycled in that time.
More information on Target’s commitment to protecting the environment can be found on the company’s website. | https://www.wfla.com/news/local-news/target-car-seat-trade-in-how-to-get-a-free-coupon/ | 2022-04-11T20:42:27 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/news/local-news/target-car-seat-trade-in-how-to-get-a-free-coupon/ |
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — An Ohio man lost hearing after a cockroach crawled into his ear while he was asleep at a Myrtle Beach-area hotel, according to a lawsuit filed on March 21.
On July 30, 2021, Todd VanSickle, of Glenmont, Ohio, stayed at the Sands Ocean Club Resort, according to the lawsuit. While he was asleep, he claims he was awakened by a cockroach that crawled into his ear and caused severe pain.
The lawsuit accuses Sands Ocean Club of being negligent in failing to inspect for cockroaches and having a pest control service. The lawsuit also claims the property owners failed to clean his room and keep the area safe.
VanSickle claims the hotel’s negligence caused him to incur medical expenses and continued pain and discomfort, according to the lawsuit.
VanSickle is seeking unspecified damages. News13 reached out to the hotel for comment and is waiting to hear back. | https://www.wfla.com/news/national/ohio-man-lost-hearing-after-cockroach-crawled-into-ear-while-asleep-at-hotel-lawsuit-says/ | 2022-04-11T20:42:33 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/news/national/ohio-man-lost-hearing-after-cockroach-crawled-into-ear-while-asleep-at-hotel-lawsuit-says/ |
(The Hill) — Veteran actor Harry J. Lennix said that Will Smith must return his Oscar in the wake of Smith’s onstage altercation with comedian Chris Rock late last month.
In a Variety column published on Saturday, Lennix, a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, wrote that Smith needs to realize that actions have consequences, adding that the best option for him is to return his award.
“Smith needs to express-mail his golden trophy back to the Academy and publicly state something to the effect of: ‘Out of respect for the 94 years of honor conferred upon this award, I do not in good conscience feel worthy of being its custodian,’ ” Lennix wrote in his column.
“Of the many unsettling things said in the aftermath of the slap, the most galling to me was his reference to the influence of a higher power during his surreal acceptance speech after he won for his work in ‘King Richard’ less than an hour after his act of violence — and the Academy’s equally shocking decision not to eject Smith from the ceremony,” Lennix added.
Smith slapped Rock after the comedian joked about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith then won the best male actor Oscar later in the evening for his portrayal of Venus and Serena Williams’s father, Richard Williams, in the biopic “King Richard.”
Lennix also wrote that the incident stripped the “prestige” from the award ceremony, noting that other attendees gave Smith a standing ovation after he won the Oscar.
“The stain on the Motion Picture Academy cannot be easily remediated. The only hope for a justifiable grace must involve Smith voluntarily returning his award for best actor,” Lennix concluded in his column.
The academy’s Board of Governors announced on Friday they have placed Smith on a 10-year ban from attending any academy event as a result of his altercation with Rock.
In a statement to The Hill, Smith, who resigned as a member of the academy earlier this month, accepted the punishment handed to him by the Board of Governors, saying, “I accept and respect the Academy’s decision.” | https://www.wfla.com/news/national/veteran-actor-says-will-smith-must-return-oscar/ | 2022-04-11T20:42:39 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/news/national/veteran-actor-says-will-smith-must-return-oscar/ |
PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – Fire crews are currently battling a two-alarm fire in Largo.
According to the Largo Fire Department, the fire is taking place at 4801 Ulmerton Road in Largo.
According to a spokesperson with the fire department, there was never an actual fire at the location, but a smoldering white haze inside the building.
No one was injured, but one person was taken to the hospital.
This is a developing story check back for updates. | https://www.wfla.com/news/pinellas-county/fire-crews-battling-two-alarm-fire-in-largo/ | 2022-04-11T20:42:45 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/news/pinellas-county/fire-crews-battling-two-alarm-fire-in-largo/ |
SPRING HILL, Fla. (WFLA) — A man was arrested after deputies said he started a fire at his home that killed six pets inside.
The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office said on Thursday they received “numerous 9-1-1 calls” from a resident at a home on Collingswood Street in Spring Hill. Each time deputies responded 29-year-old Evan Saslaw was the only one at the home and refused to speak with or let deputies into the home.
Deputies said they planned to arrest Saslaw the next morning on a warrant for misuse of 9-1-1.
When the next morning came, deputies said they received calls from numerous individuals about an explosion and fire at Saslaw’s home. Witnesses also told deputies they saw Saslaw run from the home, potentially with a handgun.
Deputies said they found Saslaw a short distance away, where they detained him on the misuse of 9-1-1 warrant. Saslaw also had a handgun on him, according to deputies.
Hernando County Fire and Emergency Services put out the fire. According to the release, when firefighters searched the debris, they found three cats, two dogs and a snake died in the fire. A dog and cat survived.
Deputies said an investigation showed Saslaw poured gasoline in the garage area and lit it on fire. Saslaw told deputies he wanted to “cause a scene to get people to notice.”
The fire also damaged some windows of neighboring homes according to deputies.
Saslaw was arrested and taken to the Hernando County Detention Center on charges of misuse of 9-1-1, arson, criminal Mischief, and six counts of animal cruelty. | https://www.wfla.com/news/spring-hill-man-started-fire-that-killed-six-pets-deputies-say/ | 2022-04-11T20:42:51 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/news/spring-hill-man-started-fire-that-killed-six-pets-deputies-say/ |
PORTLAND, Ore. — Ball is life for West Linn junior Jackson Shelstad.
"I love the game. It's like poetry," Shelstad said. "You can put in so much time and always have something to get better at. I can't be in the gym enough"
The 6-foot-1 point guard has spent countless hours in the gym, working on his craft.
"He's been coming to the gym minimum, four days a week, since he's been in the third or fourth grade, every morning at 6:30," said West Linn boys basketball coach Eric Viuhkola.
A lot has changed since Shelstad made the varsity squad as a 14-year-old freshman.
"I've added muscle and now I feel like I can bully guys a little bit out there, instead of getting bullied like I was freshman year. So that's a big change," he said.
Shelstad capped off his junior season as the Gatorade Player of the Year in Oregon. He's a four-star recruit and the top rated player in the state for the class of 2023.
"He's probably the most athletic player I've ever coached," Viuhkola said. "The thing that I admire about him most, he's a top-50 player in the country recruited by UCLA, Gonzaga, Oregon, and he's the most humble, nicest kid you could ever meet."
Shelstad made it known he's staying home, committing to the University of Oregon.
"I love coach Dana Altman. I love the system he has there. Just playing for my home state. The love is amazing, playing in front of my family, so they can come to all of my home games," he said. "The entire coaching staff, I have a good relationship with. I'm close with them, I've known them for a long time, actually.
"Playing for my state means a lot, putting on for the state, hopefully I can do a lot of good things at the University of Oregon and make history there. I'm really looking forward to it."
But first, he's got his sights set on leading the Lions to a state title, just like another player who wore the number 3. Former Oregon Duck and current Boston Celtics point guard Payton Pritchard took West Linn to four consecutive state championships.
Pritchard and Shelstad go way back.
"He's been there in my corner ever since I've known him," Shelstad said. "He pushes me, we get a lot of workouts in and I just can't be any more thankful to have someone like him in my corner. How hard of a worker he is, he's a great role model to me."
Just a couple of kids from West Linn. Believing and achieving. Turning hoop dreams into reality.
VIDEO PLAYLIST: More sports coverage from KGW | https://www.kgw.com/article/entertainment/television/programs/sports-sunday/conversation-jackson-shelstad-west-linn-oregon-ducks/283-834d3544-9e8e-4f7b-b3ac-3c416d581001 | 2022-04-11T20:43:25 | 1 | https://www.kgw.com/article/entertainment/television/programs/sports-sunday/conversation-jackson-shelstad-west-linn-oregon-ducks/283-834d3544-9e8e-4f7b-b3ac-3c416d581001 |
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday took fresh aim at ghost guns, the privately made firearms without serial numbers that are increasingly cropping up in violent crimes, as he struggles to break through gridlock in Washington to address gun deaths and mass shootings.
Speaking at the White House, Biden highlighted the Justice Department's work to finalize new regulations to crack down on ghost guns, and announced the nomination of Steve Dettlebach, who served as a U.S. attorney in Ohio from 2009 to 2016, to run the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
“Law enforcement is sounding the alarm," Biden said of ghost guns, briefly holding one up for cameras to see in the Rose Garden. “Our communities are paying the price.”
He promised the new regulations would save lives.
Still, the announcement on guns highlights the limits of Biden’s influence to push a sweeping congressional overhaul of the nation’s firearm laws in response to both a recent surge in violent crime and continued mass shootings. Congress has deadlocked on legislative proposals to reform gun laws for a decade, and executive actions have faced stiff headwinds in federal courts — even as the Democratic base has grown more vocal in calling on Biden to take more consequential action.
Dettlebach’s confirmation, too, is likely to be an uphill battle. Biden had to withdraw the nomination of his first ATF nominee, gun-control advocate David Chipman, after it stalled for months because of opposition from Republicans and some Democrats in the Senate.
Both Republican and Democratic administrations have failed to get nominees for the ATF position through the politically fraught process since the director’s position was made confirmable in 2006. Since then, only one nominee, former U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones, has been confirmed. Jones made it through the Senate in 2013 but only after a six-month struggle. Jones was acting director when President Barack Obama nominated him in January 2013.
The Biden administration’s plan on guns was first reported by Politico.
For nearly a year, the ghost gun rule has been making its way through the federal regulation process. Gun safety groups and Democrats in Congress have been pushing for the Justice Department to finish the rule for months. It will probably be met with heavy resistance from gun groups and draw litigation in the coming weeks.
Gun Owners of America vowed that it would immediately fight the rule.
“Just as we opposed the Trump Administration’s arbitrary ban on bump stocks, GOA will also sue Biden’s ATF to halt the implementation of this rule," Aidan Johnston, the group’s director of federal affairs said in a statement. The group believes the rule violates the U.S. Constitution and several federal laws.
But gun safety advocacy groups, like Everytown for Gun Safety, which pushed the federal government for years to take action on ghost guns, applauded Biden's moves and insisted that both Dettlebach's appointment and the finalized rule will help combat gun violence.
"Ghost guns look like a gun, they shoot like a gun, and they kill like a gun, but up until now they haven’t been regulated like a gun,” said John Feinblatt, Everytown's president.
Christian Heyne, the vice president of policy at Brady, another gun control group, said Dettlebach was “an unimpeachable public servant who has spent a career using the levers of government to hold negligent or nefarious actors accountable.”
Justice Department statistics show that nearly 24,000 ghost guns were recovered by law enforcement at crime scenes and reported to the government from 2016 to 2020. It is hard to say how many are circulating on the streets, in part because in many cases police departments don’t contact the government about the guns because they can’t be traced.
The new rule changes the current definition of a firearm under federal law to include unfinished parts, like the frame of a handgun or the receiver of a long gun. It says those parts must be licensed and include serial numbers. Manufacturers must also run background checks before a sale — as they do with other commercially made firearms. The requirement applies regardless of how the firearm was made, meaning it includes ghost guns made from individual parts, kits, or by 3D-printers.
Federally licensed firearms dealers must retain key records until they shut down their business or licensed activity and then transfer the records to ATF as they are currently required to do at the end of licensed activity. Previously, these dealers were permitted to destroy most records after 20 years, making it harder for law enforcement to trace firearms found at crime scenes.
“A year ago this week standing here with many of you, I instructed the attorney general to write a regulation that would rein in the proliferation of ghost guns because I was having trouble getting anything passed in the Congress,” Biden said.
The rule goes into effect 120 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register
For years, federal officials have been sounding the alarm about an increasing black market for homemade, military-style semi-automatic rifles and handguns. As well as turning up more frequently at crime scenes, ghost guns have been increasingly encountered when federal agents buy guns in undercover operations from gang members and other criminals.
Some states, like California, have enacted laws in recent years to require serial numbers to be stamped on ghost guns.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who was attending Monday’s event at the White House, applauded the move and pointed to a serious uptick in ghost guns being found by police. Police in Philadelphia have seen nearly a 500% increase in the number of ghost guns recovered in the past two years, Shapiro said. And just last week, a police officer there was shot by a ghost gun-wielding 18-year-old, who police said had also shot three others.
“This loophole has caused our nation countless lives,” Shapiro said in an interview. “Today is a critically important step to close that loophole.”
He said the move is likely to help drive down violence and aid both police and prosecutors in bringing their cases. The rule is also likely to help bring down the number of people who shouldn’t be purchasing firearms before a gun lands in their hand, he said.
“There are two challenges: One, criminals can easily buy them without going through a background check. And two, they are unserialized and untraceable.”
The critical component in building an untraceable gun is what is known as the lower receiver, a part typically made of metal or polymer. An unfinished receiver — sometimes referred to as an “80-percent receiver” — can be legally bought online with no serial numbers or other markings on it, no license required.
Police across the country have been reporting spikes in ghost guns being recovered by officers. The New York Police Department, for example, said officers found 131 firearms without serial numbers since January.
A gunman who killed his wife and four others in Northern California in 2017 had been prohibited from owning firearms, but he built his own to skirt the court order before his rampage. And in 2019, a teenager used a homemade handgun to fatally shoot two classmates and wound three others at a school in suburban Los Angeles. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/nation-world/biden-ghost-gun-rule-atf/507-b6fd7877-fa1e-4282-aae7-1113f363579e | 2022-04-11T20:43:32 | 1 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/nation-world/biden-ghost-gun-rule-atf/507-b6fd7877-fa1e-4282-aae7-1113f363579e |
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is unveiling a completed rule aimed at reining in the proliferation of ghost guns, firearms without serial numbers that have been turning up at crime scenes across the nation in increasing numbers.
The White House and the Justice Department argue that regulating the firearms parts and requiring dealers to stamp serial numbers on ghost guns will help drive down violent crime and aid investigators in solving crimes. Gun groups, however, argue that the government is overreaching and that its rule violates federal law.
Here’s a look at ghost guns and the debate brewing in the U.S.
What are ghost guns?
They are privately-made firearms without serial numbers.
Generally, firearms manufactured by licensed companies are required to have serial numbers – usually displayed on the frame of the gun – that allow officials to trace the gun back to the manufacturer, the firearms dealer and original purchaser.
Ghost guns, however, are made of parts and are then assembled together. The critical component in building an untraceable gun is what is known as the lower receiver. Some are sold in do-it-yourself kits and the receivers are typically made from metal or polymer.
An unfinished receiver — sometimes referred to as an “80-percent receiver” — can be legally bought online with no serial numbers or other markings on it, no license required. Under the current rules, the federal government does not consider unfinished lower receivers to be firearms.
What does the rule do?
It changes the definition of a firearm and will require federal firearms dealers to add serial numbers to ghost guns that come their way.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has, for years, said that unfinished lower receivers don’t meet the legal definition of a firearm. And there is nothing illegal about building your own firearm.
It’s legal to make your own firearm if it’s for your personal use and you don’t intend to sell it. But if you open a business selling guns, you need a federal firearms license.
Under the new rule, the definition of a firearm would change to include unfinished parts, like the frame of a handgun or the receiver of a long gun. The rule also would require those parts to be licensed and include serial numbers. Dealers would also need to run background checks before a sale — just like they do with other commercially made firearms.
The requirement applies regardless of how the firearm was made, meaning it includes ghost guns made from individual parts, kits, or by 3D-printers.
It also will compel federally licensed dealers and gunsmiths who take in firearms without serial numbers to add serial numbers. That means, for example, if someone sells a ghost gun to a pawn broker – or other licensed dealer – the dealer must put a serial number on it before selling the gun to someone else.
How common are ghost guns?
Ghost guns aren’t new. But they are becoming a growing problem for law enforcement agencies across the U.S.
Federal officials have been sounding the alarm about the growing black market for homemade, military-style semi-automatic rifles and handguns. And guns without serial numbers have been turning up more frequently at crime scenes. They have also been increasingly encountered when federal agents buy guns in undercover operations from gang members and other criminals.
Ghost guns really popped into the public consciousness in 2013 when a gunman, John Zawahri, opened fire on the campus of Santa Monica College in California. Six people were killed, including Zawahri’s father and brother. The suspect had assembled an AR-15 after failing a background check at a gun dealer.
A gunman who killed his wife and four others in Northern California in 2017 had been prohibited from owning firearms, but he built his own to skirt the court order before his rampage. And in 2019, a teenager used a homemade handgun to fatally shoot two classmates and wound three others at a school in suburban Los Angeles.
The sale of ghost guns has exploded since then. It is hard to say how many are circulating on the streets, in part because in many cases police departments don’t contact the government about the guns because they can’t be traced.
Justice Department statistics show that nearly 24,000 ghost guns were recovered by law enforcement at crime scenes and reported to the government from 2016 to 2020. The New York Police Department said officers found 131 firearms without serial numbers since January.
What happens next?
The rule is typically enacted 60 to 90 days after completion. But it's likely the rule will be be met with heavy resistance from gun groups and draw litigation in the coming weeks. Even reaching the point of introducing a rule has taken more than a year. Biden announced plans to impose tighter regulations on ghost guns in April 2021.
Gun Owners of America vowed that it would immediately fight the rule and that it would sue the ATF “to halt the implementation of this rule.” | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/nation-world/ghost-guns-biden-rule/507-77e55466-5f43-4105-b20c-90f7d40e7cf4 | 2022-04-11T20:43:38 | 0 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/nation-world/ghost-guns-biden-rule/507-77e55466-5f43-4105-b20c-90f7d40e7cf4 |
If you’re suffering from an upset stomach, you might be wondering if COVID-19 is to blame. But another common virus could be causing your symptoms.
WebMD says U.S. outbreaks of norovirus, which is commonly referred to as the “stomach flu,” have “risen dramatically” since January 2022. Other news headlines are also claiming that norovirus cases have been on the rise in the U.S.
THE QUESTION
Have norovirus outbreaks increased in the U.S.?
THE SOURCES
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration
- Paul Auwaerter, M.D., professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and clinical director of the infectious diseases division
- Washington State Department of Health
THE ANSWER
Yes, norovirus outbreaks have increased in the U.S.
WHAT WE FOUND
Norovirus is one of a number of viruses that can upset a person’s stomach and cause intestinal discomfort, Paul Auwaerter, M.D., professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and clinical director of the infectious diseases division, said.
The virus is very contagious, and people can be infected from direct contact with someone who has the virus, eating or drinking contaminated food or water, or touching contaminated surfaces and putting their hands in their mouth, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says food contaminated with norovirus may look, smell and taste normal.
The CDC defines a norovirus outbreak as “an occurrence of two or more similar illnesses resulting from a common exposure” that is either suspected or confirmed to be caused by norovirus.
Norovirus outbreaks are common, with about 2,500 reported in the U.S. every year. They can happen anytime, but occur most often from November through April, according to the CDC. Norovirus is sometimes called the “winter vomiting disease,” Auwaerter said.
“It's an illness that can come on abruptly, and cause rather dramatic nausea, diarrhea or both in people, and often remits just as quickly in 24 to 48 hours,” he added.
The CDC tracks norovirus outbreaks reported by 12 state health departments. From Aug. 1, 2020 through March 5, 2021, there were 78 norovirus outbreaks reported by these 12 states. During the same time period in 2021-2022, the states reported 448 norovirus outbreaks.
The number of weekly norovirus outbreaks also rose from below 10 in early January to above 50 in early March, data reported to the CDC show.
Though norovirus outbreaks have increased in recent months, levels have been “lower than normal” during the COVID-19 pandemic, a CDC spokesperson told VERIFY. The number of outbreaks reported so far in 2021-2022 is also below the range reported during the same time period over the previous eight years, the public health agency says.
Auwaerter said the recent increase in norovirus cases could be tied to people interacting more regularly as COVID-19 cases decline in many areas of the country.
Some people in states throughout the U.S. have also contracted norovirus by eating contaminated food, though CDC data show this is usually a less common way of contracting the virus.
The FDA is warning people about a multi-state norovirus outbreak linked to raw oysters from British Columbia. Oysters that are potentially contaminated have been distributed to more than a dozen U.S. states, and it’s possible that additional states received them, too. Those who order oysters from a restaurant or retailer should verify that the source is outside of two British Columbia harvest areas, and retailers are being asked to stop selling the oysters.
In Washington state, more than two dozen residents have reported norovirus-like illness after eating oysters harvested from British Columbia, according to the state department of health.
More from VERIFY: No, cold or rainy weather cannot make you sick | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/verify/health-verify/norovirus-stomach-flu-outbreaks-united-states/536-99a21b3e-038e-4b73-8b72-f6e314aae8e4 | 2022-04-11T20:43:44 | 1 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/verify/health-verify/norovirus-stomach-flu-outbreaks-united-states/536-99a21b3e-038e-4b73-8b72-f6e314aae8e4 |