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DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Daily 3" game were:
8-2-1
(eight, two, one)
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Daily 3" game were:
8-2-1
(eight, two, one)
|
https://www.mrt.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Daily-3-game-17049786.php
| 2022-04-01T00:23:06Z
|
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa., March 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, SimiTree named Directors Erin Masterson and Mark Romano as Associate Principals. Masterson and Romano join a group of six managing principals and three principals who direct SimiTree in providing a wide range of proven solutions for compliance, growth, and profitability to home health, hospice, applied behavioral analysis, palliative care, and other post-acute organizations.
"Mark has worked in mergers and acquisitions for the past six years, performing financial due diligences of home health, hospice, behavioral health/ABA, and private duty companies, while Erin has a history of providing extensive revenue cycle and operations consulting to organizations of all sizes, exclusively in the homecare industry," said William Simione, SimiTree CEO and Managing Principal.
Masterson and Romano will collaboratively lead with SimiTree Managing Principals William J. Simione III, David Berman, Nick Seabrook, Mike Freytag, Eric Scharber, and Todd Montigney, as well as fellow Principals J'non Griffin, Jess Stover and Rob Simione.
"I'm honored and excited at the opportunity to join this group of truly innovative leaders, who have positioned SimiTree to provide solutions that help clients overcome challenges, grow and become more profitable," Masterson said.
"It is quite a privilege to join Erin in becoming a fellow member of this highly regarded group as we strive to further accelerate the success of our clients," Romano added.
Romano has nearly 20 years of industry experience, assuming multiple interim leadership roles ranging from billing manager to revenue cycle director and finance manager in home health, hospice, and private duty settings. He has extensive knowledge in revenue recognition and account receivable reconciliation, which allowed him to easily transition to Mergers and Acquisitions, where his primary focus is on financial due diligences, quality of earnings, and hospice cap. A member of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice, Romano is a graduate of Quinnipiac University with a Bachelor of Science in accounting.
Masterson has spent the past ten years consulting in operational and revenue cycle-focused engagements in the homecare industry with an emphasis on project management and leadership surrounding organizational structure redesigns, revenue cycle process efficiency and accounts receivable reductions. Masterson's accomplishments through interim management positions have led to increased revenue, improved processes and streamlined operations for home health and hospice agencies across the country. She is a graduate of Penn State University with a Bachelor of Science in finance and sits on several committees and task forces that promote mentorship, female empowerment, and philanthropic initiatives.
"Mark and Erin offer excellent examples of the caliber of leadership SimiTree strives to incorporate into its structure to ensure the ongoing quality and effectiveness of the resources, guidance and solutions we make available to our clients," Simione added.
About SimiTree
SimiTree, a consulting and outsourcing company serving the home health, hospice, applied behavioral analysis, palliative care, and other post-acute organizations, was created by the merger of Simione Healthcare Consultants and BlackTree Healthcare Consulting in May 2021.
In addition to clinical, financial, and operational consulting, SimiTree offers a robust suite of outsourced services, including billing, coding, OASIS, Review Choice Demonstration (RCD) and Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement (QAPI), and revenue cycle management; executive placement, interim management, retention consulting and other talent solutions; mergers and acquisitions support; compliance assessments and risk mitigation plans; sales and growth training; and benchmarking and data analytics.
SimiTree also prepares cost reports for Medicare-certified home health agencies and provides hospice cap reporting and hospice cap due diligence services.
For more information, visit www.SimiTreeHC.com.
Media Contact:
Kally Mavromatis
kmavromatis@simitreehc.com
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE SimiTree
|
https://www.13abc.com/prnewswire/2022/03/31/simitree-names-erin-masterson-mark-romano-associate-principals/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:05Z
|
Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services Inc.
WST,
-1.75%
slid 1.75% to $410.71 Thursday, on what proved to be an all-around grim trading session for the stock market, with the S&P 500 Index
SPX,
-1.57%
falling 1.57% to 4,530.41 and Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-1.56%
falling 1.56% to 34,678.35. The stock's fall snapped a three-day winning streak. West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. closed $64.64 short of its 52-week high ($475.35), which the company achieved on September 9th.
The stock underperformed when compared to some of its competitors Thursday, as Johnson & Johnson
JNJ,
-1.31%
fell 1.31% to $177.23, Medtronic PLC
MDT,
-0.55%
fell 0.55% to $110.95, and Stryker Corp.
SYK,
-0.67%
fell 0.67% to $267.35. Trading volume (798,364) eclipsed its 50-day average volume of 431,431.
Editor's Note: This story was auto-generated by Automated Insights, an automation technology provider, using data from Dow Jones and FactSet. See our market data terms of use.
|
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/west-pharmaceutical-services-inc-stock-falls-thursday-underperforms-market-01648762170-8c6ca78cdc9b
| 2022-04-01T00:23:06Z
|
Huggins to be Inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame
On Thursday, Senior NBA insider Shams Charania of The Athletic reported West Virginia University men's basketball coach Bob Huggins will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the 2022 class.
Huggins currently sits fourth on the all-time wins list with 916 and is the third active winningest coach behind Duke's Mike Krzyzewski and Jim Boeheim of Syracuse.
He has led his teams to 25 NCAA Tournament berths, including nine appearances in the Sweet Sixteen and two appearances in the NCAA Final Four. In 16 years as the head coach at the University of Cincinnati (1989-2005), Huggins led the Bearcats to eight Conference USA regular season championships, four Conference USA Tournament championships, was a three-time Conference USA Coach of the Year and was honored as the Conference USA Coach of the Decade in 2005. On the national level, he was tabbed as the Sporting News National Coach of the Year in 2000 and the ESPN.com National Coach of the Year in 2002.
The Morgantown native has accumulated a 324-182 record while at West Virginia with 10 NCAA tournament appearances, including five Sweet Sixteen's and a Final Four.
Read More
You can follow us for future coverage by following us on Facebook & Twitter:
Facebook - @WVUonSI
Twitter - @SI_WVU and Christopher Hall @WVHallBilly
|
https://www.si.com/college/westvirginia/basketball/huggins-to-be-inducted-into-the-naismith-hall-of-fame
| 2022-04-01T00:23:06Z
|
When you buy a domain name at Dan.com, you’re automatically covered by our unique Buyer Protection Program. Read more about how we keep you safe on our Trust and Security page.
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https://dan.com/buy-domain/yzhyjh.com
| 2022-04-01T00:23:06Z
|
The Public Health Agency of Canada has declared an outbreak of norovirus linked to the consumption of raw B.C. oysters.
The outbreak has impacted people in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario — though as of March 30, 262 of the 279 reported cases are in B.C. There have been no deaths associated with the outbreak.
Individuals became sick with norovirus after ingesting raw oysters farmed on B.C.’s west coast. Health Canada recalled certain brands of oysters that were believed to be related to the norovirus outbreak on Feb. 18, March 20, March 23, and March 27, 2022.
READ MORE: Health Canada recalls certain B.C. oysters due to norovirus contamination
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is continuing an investigation into the outbreak which could lead to further recalls. Any recall notices will be shared publicly.
To avoid norovirus infection from oysters, make sure they are cooked thoroughly to an internal temperature of 90 degrees celsius for 90 seconds before eating. Public health agencies do not recommend consuming raw oysters.
If you believe you became sick from consuming the recalled oysters, Health Canada recommends contacting a doctor. Anyone who believes they purchased the product should check to see if they have it in their home or business. Do not consume the recalled oysters — either throw them away or return them to the place of purchase.
When people become sick with norovirus they typically develop symptoms of gastroenteritis within 24 to 48 hours, but symptoms can start within 12 hours after exposure. Even after becoming infected with norovirus, you can become re-infected. The main symptoms include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and stomach cramps. Other symptoms may include a low-grade fever, headaches, chills, muscle aches and fatigue.
Most people start to feel better after a day or two, however in severe cases, some patients require hospitalization. Those most at risk of severe outcomes from norovirus infection include pregnant women, people with compromised immune systems, young children and seniors.
@SchislerCole
cole.schisler@bpdigital.ca
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
|
https://www.caledoniacourier.com/news/279-people-infected-with-norovirus-from-b-c-oysters-public-health-agency-says/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:06Z
|
US slaps sanctions on Russian tech firms, including largest chip maker
The United States hit a sequence of Russian tech firms with sanctions Thursday, together with the nation’s largest chip maker, within the newest punitive transfer towards Vladimir Putin’s “war machine.”
The US Treasury mentioned the sanctions focused networks and know-how firms that had been “instrumental” to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Mikron, the most important Russian producer and exporter of microelectronics, was amongst 21 entities and 13 people listed for penalties, together with the blocking of any property within the United States.
“Russia not only continues to violate the sovereignty of Ukraine with its unprovoked aggression but also has escalated its attacks striking civilians and population centers,” mentioned Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
“We will continue to target Putin’s war machine with sanctions from every angle, until this senseless war of choice is over,” she added.
Also named had been AO NII-Vektor, a software program and communication know-how agency, {hardware} sector firm T-Platforms in addition to Molecular Electronics Research Institute (MERI), which does work for the Russian authorities, Treasury mentioned.
As a results of the sanctions, all US property of the focused folks and companies is blocked and have to be reported to the US authorities.
The penalties additionally take goal at Moscow-based OOO Serniya Engineering, which Treasury mentioned is on the heart of a community that seeks to evade sanctions by working to cover ultimate customers of “critical Western technology,” similar to Russian intelligence and army businesses.
A sequence of individuals alleged to be engaged on behalf of Serniya had been named within the sanctions.
The Kremlin has scrambled to restrict the consequences on Russia’s financial system of the unprecedented measures, which have affected all the things from the central financial institution’s international reserves to McDonald’s.
Over one month into the invasion launched on February 24, Moscow has confronted heavy army losses in change for comparatively meagre progress on the bottom.
But analysts say elements together with the altering seasons and even an upcoming draft conscription consumption may encourage Putin to press the operation for months to come back.
Read extra: Middle East one of most vulnerable regions due to Russia-Ukraine war: IMF official
|
https://thewall.fyi/us-slaps-sanctions-on-russian-tech-firms-including-largest-chip-maker/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:07Z
|
WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday passed a bill capping the monthly cost of insulin at $35 for insured patients, part of an election-year push by Democrats for price curbs on prescription drugs at a time of rising inflation.
Experts say the legislation, which passed 232-193, would provide significant relief for privately insured patients with skimpier plans and for Medicare enrollees facing rising out-of-pocket costs for their insulin. Some could save hundreds of dollars annually, and all insured patients would get the benefit of predictable monthly costs for insulin. The bill would not help the uninsured.
But the Affordable Insulin Now Act will serve as a political vehicle to rally Democrats and force Republicans who oppose it into uncomfortable votes ahead of the midterms. For the legislation to pass Congress, 10 Republican senators would have to vote in favor. Democrats acknowledge they don't have an answer for how that's going to happen.
“If 10 Republicans stand between the American people being able to get access to affordable insulin, that's a good question for 10 Republicans to answer,” said Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., a cosponsor of the House bill. “Republicans get diabetes, too. Republicans die from diabetes.”
Public opinion polls have consistently shown support across party lines for congressional action to limit drug costs.
But Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., complained the legislation is only “a small piece of a larger package around government price controls for prescription drugs." Critics say the bill would raise premiums and fails to target pharmaceutical middlemen seen as contributing to high list prices for insulin.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Democrats could have a deal on prescription drugs if they drop their bid to authorize Medicare to negotiate prices. “Do Democrats really want to help seniors, or would they rather have the campaign issue?" Grassley said.
The insulin bill, which would take effect in 2023, represents just one provision of a much broader prescription drug package in President Joe Biden's social and climate legislation.
In addition to a similar $35 cap on insulin, the Biden bill would authorize Medicare to negotiate prices for a range of drugs, including insulin. It would penalize drugmakers who raise prices faster than inflation and overhaul the Medicare prescription drug benefit to limit out-of-pocket costs for enrollees.
Biden's agenda passed the House only to stall in the Senate because Democrats could not reach consensus. Party leaders haven't abandoned hope of getting the legislation moving again, and preserving its drug pricing curbs largely intact.
The idea of a $35 monthly cost cap for insulin actually has a bipartisan pedigree. The Trump administration had created a voluntary option for Medicare enrollees to get insulin for $35, and the Biden administration continued it.
In the Senate, Republican Susan Collins of Maine and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire are working on a bipartisan insulin bill. Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock has introduced legislation similar to the House bill, with the support of Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.
Stung by criticism that Biden's economic policies spur inflation, Democrats are redoubling efforts to show how they'd help people cope with costs. On Thursday, the Commerce Department reported a key inflation gauge jumped 6.4% in February compared with a year ago, the largest year-over-year rise since January 1982.
But experts say the House bill would not help uninsured people, who face the highest out-of-pocket costs for insulin. Also, people with diabetes often take other medications as well as insulin. That's done to treat the diabetes itself, along with other serious health conditions often associated with the disease. The House legislation would not help with those costs, either. Collins says she's looking for a way to help uninsured people through her bill.
About 37 million Americans have diabetes, and an estimated 6 million to 7 million use insulin to keep their blood sugars under control. It’s an old drug, refined and improved over the years, that has seen relentless price increases.
Steep list prices don't reflect the rates insurance plans negotiate with manufacturers. But those list prices are used to calculate cost-sharing amounts that patients owe. Patients who can’t afford their insulin reduce or skip doses, a strategy born of desperation, which can lead to serious complications and even death.
Economist Sherry Glied of New York University said the market for insulin is a “total disaster” for many patients, particularly those with skimpy insurance plans or no insurance.
“This will make private insurance for people with diabetes a much more attractive proposition,” said Glied.
|
https://www.wthr.com/article/news/nation-world/insulin-cap-35-dollars-month-bill/507-855508ee-6b9d-4ce8-9937-22fa115af232
| 2022-04-01T00:23:07Z
|
The Stratford A&P Association is encouraging people to grab their dirt bikes and come and have some fun at an upcoming fundraiser.
Organiser Renee Beck says "We want people to come and have fun before the seeds are sown. We harvested 24ha of maize and we need to reseed the paddocks to make it grass again."
The money raised from the fundraiser will help the Stratford A&P Association turn the maize area back to grass.
She says with a range of trail rides happening at the moment, it's great to offer people something local.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME."We love organising fun events for our local community."
The event will be family friendly, with two tracks operating, one for adults and a track for children.
Once people have had their fun and worked up an appetite, they can buy a sausage and a drink from the BBQ, which will run throughout the day.
The fundraiser runs from 10am to 7pm, giving people plenty of time to head to the flat track and have fun.
"A lot of people work on weekends so this time makes the event accessible to everyone."
The event will follow Covid-19 guidelines.
The details
What: Stratford A&P Association Flat Track Fundraiser
Where: Stratford A&P Showgrounds farm. Entry is 47 Flint Rd East.
When: April 2, 10am to 7pm.
Cost: $20 an adult and $10 a child
|
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/stratford-press/news/stratford-ap-association-fundraiser-encourages-people-to-have-fun/AZD32ECHBDQ5ZMLW4N4JH6XOWA/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:07Z
|
Ag stats: Wyoming crop progress and condition summary – week ending March 27, 2022
The majority of Wyoming experienced below average temperatures in March, according to the Mountain Regional Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service. In isolated areas, temperatures were as much as ten degrees below normal. Precipitation was also below normal for most of the state. According to the United...
kiowacountypress.net
|
https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2556452282219/ag-stats-wyoming-crop-progress-and-condition-summary-week-ending-march-27-2022
| 2022-04-01T00:23:07Z
|
FLASHBACK: Corinne Hall in Newcastle after receiving the Steve Waugh Rising Star Award in 2004-05. Picture: Jamie Wicks
By her own admission, Corinne Hall couldn't have written a better script.
Josh Callinan
Sports Journalist, Newcastle Herald
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
|
https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/7681224/corinne-hall-calls-time-after-historic-national-title/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:07Z
|
Serial Bank Robbery Suspect, Fernando Enriquez Federally Charged
(STL.News) An Albuquerque man suspected of committing a string of bank robberies across Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Mississippi, and California has been federally charged, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.
Fernando Enriquez, 35, was charged via criminal complaint on Wednesday with one count of bank robbery. He made his initial appearance Thursday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge John R. Parker.
According to the complaint, on Tuesday, Mr. Enriquez allegedly entered a Chase Bank in Abilene, Texas, brandished a firearm, demanded cash from the teller, and then fled the scene.
The teller, who activated her silent alarm during the robbery, later described the suspect as a heavy-set Hispanic man wearing a face mask, grey hoodie, jeans, and a baseball cap.
A witness who was inside the bank during the incident used his phone to record video footage of the suspect exiting the bank and entering a white Chevrolet suburban bearing Mississippi license plates. He immediately turned the video over to law enforcement.
Forty-five minutes later, Texas DPS and Abilene Police Department officers pulled over the suburban in Merkel, Texas and detained Mr. Enriquez and his girlfriend, Crystal Quispe. Inside the vehicle, officers found a firearm, a gray hoodie, baseball cap, and a significant sum of U.S. currency.
Law enforcement transported Mr. Enriquez and Ms. Quispe to the Abilene Police Department, where Ms. Quispe told FBI agents that over the past 14 months, she and Mr. Enriquez have lived in Arizona, Mississippi, New Mexico, and California. She stated that though Mr. Enriquez was not employed most of that time, he always seemed to have cash on hand.
She told officers that prior to the robbery, Mr. Enriquez left her and his children at a motel, stating he had to fill the car with gas. When he returned, she said, he rushed to get the vehicle loaded and leave. She described Mr. Enriquez’s driving during their departure from Abilene as faster and more erratic than usual.
Based on physical description and the modus operandi, investigators believed that the suspect who committed the Abilene robbery may have committed similar robberies in Arizona, Mississippi, New Mexico, and California. They showed Ms. Quispe two photographs from the other bank robberies, both provided by FBI Phoenix. Ms. Quispe identified the man in the photographs as Mr. Enriquez.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Like all defendants, Mr. Enriquez is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. (Ms. Quispe has not been charged with any crimes.)
If convicted, Mr. Enriquez faces up to 25 years in federal prison.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations’ Phoenix and Dallas Field Offices conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Abilene Police Department, and the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Tusing of the Northern District of Texas is prosecuting the case with significant support from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Arizona.
SOURCE: USDOJ.Today
|
https://www.stl.news/fernando-enriquez-charged-with-one-count-of-bank-robbery/511846/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:07Z
|
Laverne Cox Talks Protecting Trans Lives for Pride Month: Legacy Maker
All the world’s a stage, and Lennon Torres is going to dance her heart out on it.
The Dance Moms alum has seen some big changes in the past 12 months. On March 2, 2021, she began her medical transition. On May 30, 2021, she publicly came out as trans in a “life update” on TikTok. Since then, she’s become a inspirational voice in the LGBTQ+ community as she documents her journey on social media.
Now, one year since starting a new chapter in her life, Lennon sat down with E! News in an exclusive interview in honor of Transgender Day of Visibility to discuss the ups and downs she experienced during her transition and the importance of sharing trans stories.
“There are so many different steps you have to go through—some good, some bad,” the 23-year-old said of transitioning. “I’m happy to be here, but it can be really challenging.”
Read on for more of her story.
Rachel Rinsema
E! News: Take us back to March 2, 2021. What was that day like for you?
Lennon Torres: I remember that day very clearly for many reason, but primarily because it was the day after my mom’s birthday. It was just a really exciting time. Everyone in my family was working or had school, and so I actually went to my appointment by myself, which was weird but special. I remember getting in the car being like, “Am I driving to Walgreens to pick up my hormones right now?” It was such a cool day with so many different emotions.
E! News: And how was the journey to that day like?
|
https://www.clichemag.com/celebrity-news/dance-moms-lennon-torres-shares-the-standout-part-of-her-transition-one-year-latercmpidrss-000000-rssfeed-365-topstoriesutm_sourceeonlineutm_mediumrssfeedsutm_campaignrss_topstorie/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:07Z
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BRAINTREE, Mass. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the Massachusetts Lottery's "Numbers Evening" game were:
4-7-3-9
(four, seven, three, nine)
BRAINTREE, Mass. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the Massachusetts Lottery's "Numbers Evening" game were:
4-7-3-9
(four, seven, three, nine)
|
https://www.thehour.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Numbers-Evening-game-17049820.php
| 2022-04-01T00:23:08Z
|
Infowars host Alex Jones on Thursday defied a Connecticut judge’s order to show up for a deposition in Texas in a case brought by relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting who sued Jones for calling the massacre a hoax, according to the families’ lawyer.
It was the second straight day that Jones did not appear for the deposition in Austin, which was scheduled to be held Wednesday and Thursday. It wasn’t immediately clear what penalties he may face.
Jones’ lawyer, Norman Pattis, said Thursday that Jones was following his doctor’s guidance to not attend court proceedings because of undisclosed medical conditions.
“Mr. Jones was given conflicting imperatives: his physician told him to stay home; a judge told him to go to a deposition,” Pattis wrote in an email to The Associated Press. “He is following his doctor’s advice. I suspect most people sensible would do as Mr. Jones has done.”
But Connecticut Judge Barbara Bellis on Wednesday denied Pattis’ request to delay the proceeding and ordered Jones to appear Thursday. Bellis wrote in a ruling that letters from Jones’ doctors indicate his medical conditions aren’t serious enough to prevent him from attending the deposition. Bellis noted Jones wasn’t hospitalized and appeared on his web show earlier this week.
Bellis warned Jones that he would be in contempt of her order if he failed to show Thursday, and said the families’ lawyers could request sanctions against him and try to subpoena him in Texas.
Bellis found Jones liable for damages in November. A trial on how much he should pay the families is set to begin in August.
Twenty first graders and six educators were killed in the 2012 shooting. The families of eight of the victims and an FBI agent who responded to school sued Jones, Infowars and others, saying they have been subjected to harassment and death threats from Jones’ followers because of the hoax conspiracy. Jones has since said he believes the shooting did occur.
Christopher Mattei, a lawyer for the Sandy Hook families, said Jones did not show up for the deposition Thursday. He did not immediately say what the families’ next legal steps were. He previously said the families would seek a subpoena to compel Jones to appear at his deposition.
Also Wednesday, Bellis denied the families’ request to have Jones arrested and brought to the deposition if he failed to appear Thursday.
Pattis filed new court documents Wednesday that included letters from two doctors who said they advised Jones not to attend the deposition because of his medical conditions. Pattis wrote Jones’ doctor was so alarmed by his observations of Jones on Monday that he advised him to go to an emergency room or call 911. Jones refused and his doctor advised him to stay home, Pattis said.
On Tuesday, however, Jones broadcasted his daily website show at the Infowars studio in Austin, his lawyers said. He did not appear in person on the show Wednesday, but he provided commentary by phone including pre-recorded segments for portions of the program.
Jones underwent an exam by another doctor and medical testing Wednesday, Pattis said. The doctor, Amy Offutt, wrote in a letter that she examined Jones for “acute medical issues that were time-sensitive and potentially serious” and lab tests were pending.
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https://www.localsyr.com/entertainment-news/alex-jones-fails-to-show-again-at-sandy-hook-suit-deposition/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:07Z
|
West Virginia Must Find Answers with NIL
A dark cloud surrounded the West Virginia football program Thursday afternoon as head coach Neal Brown announced defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor entered the NCAA Transfer Portal. To be honest, the cloud has been forming for quite a while and it comes in the shape of Name, Image, and Likeness.
The announcement came as a shock to all involved, and while we do not know the reasoning behind the departure, and we may never will, it leaves us to believe money is the root of the problem, i.e., the new NIL rule.
It’s been the topic of discussion over the last year. College athletes making money off of their name is something they could have done for decades.
The NIL was inevitable, and Neal Brown embraced the challenges ahead putting programs into place to educate players and help set up potential NIL offers. Then, there is Country Roads Trust. As the name suggests, a trust fund set up by multiple Mountaineer greats to raise money to keep other programs from poaching players, like Tykee Smith bolting for Georgia. However, as players continue to leave, questions begin to arise: what is the going price for these players, and how much can West Virginia truly afford? However, the lack of transparency and players' eagerness to share details, where all left in the dark as craziness unfolds.
Seeing a junior in high school offered eight million dollars by the time he’s a junior in college seems absurd, but if someone is willing to pay it, well, that’s what the open market dictates, I guess.
Mesidor is a talented player no doubt about it, but the reality is, he was a second-team all-conference defensive lineman. I’m not trying to diminish his accomplishments but if there’s a trust in place to retain this type of talent to be developed into a first team all-conference selection, what happened?
It brings us to the next question, how is Neal Brown supposed to build a program if there’s no money to keep his talent? There must be some continuity and bringing in FCS or JUCO players for two or three years is not the formula for a consistent winner.
Read More
Currently, there’s more questions than answers, and quite honestly, it’s miserable for fans and it’s horrible for the college athletics.
I joke a lot about having a group of people to oversee the ins and outs of college of athletics, knowing damn well there sits the NCAA. Yes, that group. The same group fumbling every investigation they’re involved in, and nothing is consistent. They dragged their feet while NIL was charging in, and NCAA President Mark Emmert spent the pandemic in Washington D.C. trying to put a stop to it, which was obvious to most folks, it was wrong approach to take, because the same politicians were helping NIL along in their state so their school could have an advantage. Oh, and the conferences were left to fend for themselves during this period to put a season together. Yes, that NCAA. Another bang-up job.
Now, we all sit and watch as players go to the highest bidder pending any future guidelines, which, by then, will Power Five conferences break off if there is regulation? For now, Neal Brown has some decisions to make. Is he willing to work NIL deals in recruiting? Is he willing to overpay to retain talent? Can West Virginia even bring in that type of money?
The bottom line is, if you can't retain the talent from a sub .500 team, what chance do you have to bring home a conference championship?
You can follow us for future coverage by following us on Facebook & Twitter:
Facebook - @WVUonSI
Twitter - @SI_WVU and Christopher Hall @WVHallBilly
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https://www.si.com/college/westvirginia/football/west-virginia-must-find-answers-with-nil
| 2022-04-01T00:23:08Z
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BRAINTREE, Mass. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the Massachusetts Lottery's "Numbers Evening" game were:
4-7-3-9
(four, seven, three, nine)
BRAINTREE, Mass. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the Massachusetts Lottery's "Numbers Evening" game were:
4-7-3-9
(four, seven, three, nine)
|
https://www.myjournalcourier.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Numbers-Evening-game-17049820.php
| 2022-04-01T00:23:09Z
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Russia says it’s ready to halt military operations ‘in a moment’ if demands are met
Nearly two weeks after starting an unprovoked and violent siege of Ukraine, Russia has told Kyiv it is ready to quickly halt military operations if certain lofty demands are met, according to a Kremlin spokesman.
Those demands include requesting that Ukraine stop all military action, change its constitution to reject any intention to enter any bloc such as NATO or the European Union, acknowledge Crimea as Russian territory and recognize the two breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states, Dmitry Peskov said Monday, as reported by Reuters.
“We really are finishing the demilitarization of Ukraine. We will finish it. But the main thing is that Ukraine ceases its military action. They should stop their military action and then no one will shoot,” Peskov told Reuters.
“We have also spoken about how they should recognize that Crimea is Russian territory and that they need to recognize that Donetsk and Lugansk [Luhansk] are independent states. And that’s it. It will stop in a moment,” he added.
Ukrainian officials are aware of the demands, which were made during the first two rounds of talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations last week, Peskov said.
Kyiv has yet to respond to the stipulations, which are the most clear-cut list of demands Russia has made of the former Soviet state to stop its so-called special military operation that began on Feb. 24.
As of Sunday, Russia has sent into Ukraine nearly all of the more than 150,000 forces it had assembled near the border prior to the invasion, about 95 percent, according to a senior defense official.
Moscow has invaded Ukraine from the north, south and east, attacking major cities including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kherson and the port of Mariupol and causing more than 1 million people to flee.
The conflict, the worst land military action in Europe since World War II, has set off international outrage and led to heavy financial penalties on Russia.
Russia insists, however, that it was forced to invade Ukraine due to unfounded claims of threats from Kyiv.
Peskov said the attack was made to protect the 3 million Russian-speaking individuals in Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk, who he claimed were being threatened by 100,000 Ukrainian troops supplied with U.S. and British weapons, an assertion Ukraine has emphatically denied.
He also said Russia had to act to counter perceived threats from NATO, and it was “only a matter of time” before the alliance put missiles in Ukraine.
“We just understood we could not put up with this anymore. We had to act,” he said.
Delegations from Russia and Ukraine were set to meet on Monday for a third round of talks meant to end Moscow’s attack.
The Hill has removed its comment section, as there are many other forums for readers to participate in the conversation. We invite you to join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter.
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https://thehill.com/policy/international/597146-russia-says-its-ready-to-halt-military-operations-in-a-moment-if-demands/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:07Z
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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden marked Transgender Day of Visibility on Thursday by denouncing “hateful bills” being passed at the state level as the White House played host to “Jeopardy!” champion Amy Schneider, the first openly transgender winner on the popular quiz show.
Schneider met with second gentleman Doug Emhoff, who joined Rachel Levine, the assistant health secretary and the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the Senate, for a conversation with transgender kids and their parents.
Schneider used the moment in the Washington spotlight to speak out against bills affecting transgender people.
“They’re really scary and some of them in particular that are denying medical services to trans youth, those are, those are lifesaving medical treatments,” Schneider told reporters. “These bills will cause the deaths of children and that’s really sad to me and it’s really frightening.”
Biden, in a brief video message, said that “the onslaught of anti-transgender state laws attacking you and your families is simply wrong.” The president said his administration “is standing up for you against all these hateful bills. And we’re committed to advancing transgender equality in the classroom, on the playing field, at work, in our military and our housing and health care systems.”
The administration announced several actions to make the federal government more inclusive for transgender people and said the Health and Human Services Department will be the first agency to fly a trans pride flag.. The steps come as Republican leaders have advanced state measures targeting transgender people as part of a broader push to stoke culture wars heading into a critical election season.
The administration said the federal government will become more inclusive for transgender people, including through the use of a new “X” gender marker on U.S. passport applications, beginning on April 11, and new Transportation Security Administration scanners that are gender-neutral.
It is working to expand the availability of the “X” gender marker to airlines and federal travel programs and will make it easier for transgender people to change their gender information in Social Security Administration records.
Visitors to the White House complex soon will also be able to choose an “X” gender marker option in the White House Worker and Visitor Entry System, which is used to conduct screening background checks.
At airports, changes will be made to screening scanners along with the introduction of the use of an “X” for travelers going through Precheck who do not identify as male or female. Transportation Security Administration agents will receive new instructions on how to make screening procedures less invasive and will work with airlines to promote acceptance of the “X” gender marker.
“Jeopardy!” star Schneider spoke of “being a trans person out there that isn’t monstrous and isn’t threatening and is just a normal person, like we all are,” and said “the more that people like me can be seen, the harder it is to sustain the myths that are … kind of driving a lot of this hate and fear.”
In his video, Biden said there is work still to be done to end “the epidemic of violence against transgender women of color and girls of color” and to ensure that transgender seniors “can age with dignity.” He called anew on Congress to pass the Equality Act to help transgender people around the world “live free from discrimination and violence.”
Biden tried to reassure any transgender person who is struggling, telling them to remember that “you’re not alone.”
“You’re so brave. You belong. And we have your back,” Biden said.
The administration’s actions follow recent steps at the state level to limit activity by transgender people. At least 10 states have banned transgender athletes from participating in sports at all levels in a way that is consistent with their gender identity.
In Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who is seeking reelection, has ordered the state’s child welfare agency to probe reports of gender-confirming care for kids as abuse.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican who is running for reelection and considering a 2024 presidential bid, on Monday signed into law a measure that bars instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. The law has drawn intense national scrutiny from critics who argue it marginalizes LGBTQ people. Republicans and advocates of the law argue that discussion of these topics should be between parents and their children.
___
Associated Press writers Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, and Colleen Long and Ben Fox contributed to this report.
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https://www.wowktv.com/news/u-s-world/biden-to-mark-transgender-day-of-visibility-with-new-actions/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:08Z
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Welcome to Harry’s House, make yourself at home. There’s more than enough room to, anyway, based on the music video for Harry Styles’s new single, “As It Was.” For much of the artsy video, which runs for less than three minutes, Styles is twirling around on his own in a red sequined jumpsuit that matches his nails. He begins the video with a companion, a woman in a blue jumpsuit, but she’s constantly being pulled away from him. “In this world, it’s just us / You know it’s not the same as it was,” he sings. The song is the first taste of Styles’s third album, out on May 20. He announced the song with a theatrical trailer earlier this month — his latest endeavor into cinema following a role in the 2021 Marvel movie The Eternals and top billing in girlfriend Olivia Wilde’s upcoming Don’t Worry, Darling. Catch Harry out of the house in a few weeks when he headlines Coachella and gives some Harry’s House material a live debut.
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https://www.vulture.com/2022/03/harry-styles-as-it-was-music-video.html
| 2022-04-01T00:23:09Z
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California Reparations Plan Advances Movement, Advocates Say
By RUSS BYNUM and COREY WILLIAMS
FILE - Robin Rue Simmons, alderwoman of Evanston's 5th Ward and a fourth-generation Black resident poses for a portrait in her home in Evanston, Ill., Friday, April 9, 2021. A longtime reparations advocate, Simmons said reaching consensus on eligibility can be tough because policymakers should be as expansive and inclusive as possible, while also identifying specific harms that they’re seeking to address. (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar, File)
DETROIT (AP) — In the long debate over whether Black Americans should be granted reparations for the atrocity and injustices of slavery and racism, California took a big step this week toward becoming the first U.S. state to make some form of restitution a reality.
The state’s reparations task force tackled the divisive issue of which Black residents should be eligible — it narrowly decided in favor of limiting compensation to the descendants of free and enslaved Black people who were in the U.S. in the 19th century.
Whether Tuesday’s vote by the task force spurs other states and cities to advance their own proposals, and whether they adopt California’s still controversial standard for who would benefit, remains to be seen. Some veteran reparations advocates disagree strongly with proposals to limiting eligibility to only Black people who can prove they have enslaved ancestors, while excluding those who cannot and leaving out victims of other historic injustices, such as redlining and mass incarceration.
Still, one advocate noted California’s move is a step that could lend momentum to stalled reparation proposals elsewhere in the U.S.
“It’s precipitated a debate and it will influence communities,” said Ron Daniels, president of The Institute of the Black World 21st Century and administrator of the National African American Reparations Commission, an advocacy group of scholars and activists.
As to whether others will adopt the same approach to eligibility, Daniels said: “That’s to be decided. ...We think that ultimately a more expansive definition will prevail.”
The commission headed by Daniels has taken a position that limiting reparations to slave descendants, or to Americans whose ancestors were free Blacks living during the time of slavery, ignores the effects of racism that persisted for more than a century after emancipation.
“There are always going to be criteria” for reparations, Daniels said. “The problem is the harms have been so gross that almost no Black person is not eligible in some form or another.”
Although there is still debate among historians about when exactly the practice began, chattel slavery in what would become the U.S. dates back to 1619 when about 20 enslaved Africans were brought to Jamestown, Virginia — then a British colony. Over the next two centuries, more than 300,000 men, women and children were forcibly taken from Africa to work on plantations in southern colonies and later the Southern states, according to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, a project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and maintained by Rice University.
Slavery in the U.S. officially ended in 1865 with the ratification of the 13th Amendment. Union Army General William Sherman promised compensation to freed slaves in the form of land and mules to farm it — hence the phrase “40 acres and a mule” — after the North’s victory over the South in the Civil War. But President Andrew Johnson took away the offer.
More than 120 years later, then-Rep. John Conyers, a Detroit Democrat, first introduced H.R. 40, a bill that would create a federal commission to study reparations and make proposals. Conyers reintroduced it in every congressional session until he resigned in 2017. As a candidate, President Joe Biden said he supported creating the commission, but has yet to formally back it as commander-in-chief. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat, is currently the lead sponsor of the House bill.
Getting governmental leaders to openly consider slavery reparations has been daunting and taken decades. But progress has been made at both the state and local levels, particularly since the national reckoning on racial injustice that was sparked after the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
In Michigan, legislative proposals submitted earlier this year in the House of Representatives call for $1.5 billion in federal dollars to be placed in a racial equity and reparations fund within the state’s treasury. The funds would be issued to various state departments and agencies to provide grants, loans and other economic assistance for businesses and economic developments that promote the Black community.
The bills have yet to receive a hearing in the House.
Last year, Evanston, Illinois, — the first U.S. city to find a source of funding for reparations — began giving eligible Black residents $25,000 housing grants for down payments, repairs or existing mortgages. The program is meant to atone for the history of racial redlining and housing discrimination. Recipients were selected randomly from among the applicants, Black residents who lived in the city between 1919 and 1969.
And in Providence, Rhode Island, the mayor announced a city commission on reparations in February that will look to atone for the city’s role in slavery and systemic racism, as well as the mistreatment of Native Americans.
For Anita Belle, a grassroots activist in Detroit, where residents in the mostly Black city voted in November to create a city reparations commission, getting to this point in the pursuit of reparations is cause for celebration. But what happens next is worrisome, especially when it comes to who gets what and how much, she said.
“I am happy for all of us who have doing the groundwork for all these years,” said Belle, founder of the Reparations Labor Union. “We are somewhat afraid that these people who have jumped on the bandwagon are actually there to sabotage it and make reparations $12.62, if that. There will be those saboteurs — people who look like us but have hidden agendas.”
“You have some of that fear in California where the scope for reparations was narrowed to the people who can prove they were enslaved,” she added. “The people of California will be like ’why am I paying reparations for someone who was enslaved in Mississippi?’”
In California, the task force is taking the next step with economists to determine the cost of compensating more than 2 million Black residents, although all of them would not be eligible. Following slavery abolition, Black migration to California happened primarily in the immediate decades after World War II, with newly-arrived African Americans settling in cities like Oakland, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The Black population there rose from just under a half million residents, or 4.4% of the population, in 1950 to 1.4 million residents, or 7% of the population, by 1970. Decades later, the 2020 census recorded 2.1 million Black residents in California, or about 5.3% of the state’s population.
While proposals and who would be eligible appear to vary, they still are types of reparations, according to Rashawn Ray, senior fellow of Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution.
“California chose to focus on enslavement of Black people,” Ray said. “In Evanston, it’s red lining and housing segregation. Both are issues that need restitution to them based on what the wrong is.”
But, Ray added, “Federal reparations — without a doubt and hands-down — that’s what we need. What is happening in California should be happening in Congress.”
As a former alderman for the city of Evanston, Illinois, and a longtime reparations advocate, Robin Rue Simmons said reaching consensus on eligibility can be tough because policymakers should be as expansive and inclusive as possible, while also identifying specific harms that they’re seeking to address.
The big step taken by California could help spur action on reparations proposals in other cities and states, Simmons said, and perhaps add pressure for the federal government to act, which she sees as critical.
She doesn’t expect California’s lineage-based eligibility standard to become the norm.
“I don’t think any community should think that another has figured it out for them,” Simmons said, “because every community is going to have their own priorities and their specific history.”
___
Bynum reported from Savannah, Ga. AP writers Janie Har in San Francisco and Michael Schneider in Orlando contributed to this story.
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http://panafricannews.blogspot.com/2022/03/california-reparations-plan-advances.html
| 2022-04-01T00:23:09Z
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Which green wreath is best?
A green wreath has a classic aesthetic that will never go out of style. Its somewhat traditional design looks nice with many decor schemes. Whether you’re buying one for a specific holiday or for an entire season, you can find a green wreath that suits your tastes.
If you’re in need of the perfect green wreath, consider the Three Posts 24-Inch Red Berries, Pine Cones and Holly Leaves Lighted Wreath. Classic details like holly leaves and red berries give this wreath a look that’s strongly evocative of the holiday season.
What to know before you buy a green wreath
Natural vs. artificial
Live green wreaths will die after a few weeks or, at the most, a couple of months. They can also be quite expensive. While natural wreaths have a limited display time and they’re less affordable than artificial leaves, they offer certain benefits artificial wreaths do not. The pine-branch scent unique to live green wreaths is a top priority for some people and an aspect they are not willing to forgo. And to other people, even the most well-made synthetic wreaths can’t compete with the natural look of live wreaths.
That said, an exquisitely designed and constructed artificial green wreath can masterfully mimic the aesthetic of a natural wreath. Look for materials like silk, which create a more lifelike effect than materials like plastic. Synthetic wreaths also cost less than live wreaths. And you can display them year after year, because they’ll never die.
Year-round vs. seasonal
You might want to display your green wreath year-round or for the entirety of the winter, spring, summer or fall season. If this is the case, avoid wreaths with holiday-specific accents like ornaments, holly berries and mistletoe. Look for design details like ribbons, florals and white string lights instead.
Lit vs. unlit
Speaking of string lights, some green wreaths are pre-strung with them. And not just Christmas wreaths. The main benefit of a lighted wreath is the cheerful glow of the lights on the wreath itself and the surrounding area.
What to look for in a quality green wreath
Fullness
If you want a larger-than-life look from your green wreath, you should choose one with full foliage. Put simply, this means the foliage is substantial in thickness and quantity. As a result, the hole in the center will be smaller. If you prefer a more streamlined style, chances are good that you’ll favor sparse foliage.
Base material
The durability of a wreath is determined in large part by the material that composes the base. Wood and wire are used most frequently. Once the base has been constructed, pine boughs, wheat or straw are wound around it to provide camouflaging.
Type of foliage
The foliage used on a green wreath is determined by the style of the wreath. Leaves in bejeweled fall colors are perfect for autumn. Winter season-themed wreaths typically use pine boughs. And wreaths meant to display in the spring or summer often feature one or more varieties of flowers.
How much you can expect to spend on a green wreath
As stated above, natural wreaths are priced higher than artificial wreaths. A live green wreath might cost you anywhere from $80 to upward of $125. Synthetic wreaths range from $20-$100 in price.
Green wreath FAQ
What kind of design details look nice on a green wreath?
A. While the season ultimately determines the design details used, some are universal. These elements include leaves, fruit, ribbon, string lights and flowers. If you wish to display the wreath in the winter season, you might want to consider a green wreath embellished with white flocking that imitates snow.
What’s the best way to hang a green wreath?
A. You’re no longer limited to using nails to hang your wreath, although this is certainly an option. Instead, you might want to consider brick hangers, command hooks, suction cups, over-the-door wreath hangers or magnetic wreath hangers.
What’s the best green wreath to buy?
Top green wreath
Three Posts 24-Inch Red Berries, Pine Cones and Holly Leaves Lighted Wreath
What you need to know: Finished with design details that epitomize the winter holiday season, this wreath is festive yet understated.
What you’ll love: Faux red berries, pine cones and holly leaves trim the pine branch tips of this seasonal wreath. A light dusting of flocking imitates snowflakes, creating a wintry effect. Fifty pre-strung white LED lights emit a warm glow, welcoming family and friends to your home. The timer turns off the lights for you.
What you should consider: Quality-control issues with shipping were cited by a few buyers, who reported the wreath arrived bent out of shape.
Where to buy: Sold by Wayfair
Top green wreath for the money
The Holiday Aisle 17-Inch Pine, Magnolia and Apple Plastic Wreath
What you need to know: Red apples add a pop of color to this mini wreath, which is versatile enough to display all winter long.
What you’ll love: If you’re seeking a green wreath that has unique design details, consider this petite one. Artificial magnolia leaves and apples differ from the foliage used in the design of most wreaths. They give the wreath a look that’s suitable for the entirety of the winter season.
What you should consider: At least one buyer felt the wreath didn’t look realistic, and they were also disappointed in its small size.
Where to buy: Sold by Wayfair
Worth checking out
Greyleigh Gold Ornaments, Gold Leaves and Pine Cones Elegance Lighted Wreath
What you need to know: Sparkling gold accents inject this wreath with rich hues that elevate the design to elegant effect.
What you’ll love: Glittering gold artificial leaves with a cutout design, along with gold ornaments and pinecones embellished with a gold finish, make this wreath glamorous. The simplicity of the lines and the deep green hue of the pine branches ground the aesthetic keep it sophisticated. One hundred clear white LED lights provide a cheerful glow.
What you should consider: A handful of buyers felt the wreath looked different in real life than it did in the image online.
Where to buy: Sold by Wayfair
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Megan Oster writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved.
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https://www.kget.com/reviews/br/home-br/decor-br/best-green-wreath/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:09Z
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SANTA CRUZ — The recently reorganized and renamed Housing for Health Partnership met for the first time this year Wednesday to update participating agencies on local efforts to address homelessness.
Some 75 attendees gathered by video conference to hear about what is in store for the group formerly named the Homeless Action Partnership, a federally designated continuum of care encompassing Santa Cruz County. The group is the primary conduit for federal homeless funding and is organized by its lead partner, Santa Cruz County’s Housing for Health Division. In addition to its renaming, the governance of the group has been restructured to give local jurisdictions and people with lived experience more direct involvement in the partnership’s policy decisions. The partnership is actively recruiting new members, with a signup at housingforhealthpartnership.org.
During this week’s meeting, Housing for Health Division Director Robert Ratner said a major focus of the group’s revamping will be improvements to the standardized process meant to be used to homeless service providers across the county to identify who is prioritized for housing support.
The system also identifies the need for other resources and collects local data statistics. The county’s coordinated system of entry — known as Smart Path — currently relies on a standardized tool called the VI-SPDAT to score every person experiencing homelessness, regardless of whether or not they are likely to receive assistance, according to a meeting agenda report.
“In a recent focus group held with people experiencing homelessness, participants were more interested in a truthful understanding of their likelihood of getting housing (than) being added to a list that does not lead to help,” the report states.
Some goals of the system’s redesign will be to refocus on helping people identify immediate solutions rather than sitting on lists and to create a system that more accurately reflects existing and planned housing inventory, according to the report. What waiting lists will exist going forward will be limited in size and specific to a funded homeless “population,” such as those individuals who are veterans, who have families, who were former foster youth and who are disabled.
Ratner said that the county is awaiting news related to four pending state Project Homekey supportive housing project applications totaling about $55 million to create 150 new units. The City of Santa Cruz also is seeking public input on how it should spend about $1.2 million in federal HOME Investment Partnerships American Rescue Plan Program dollars related to homeless prevention activities. A survey is available online at cityofsantacruz.com/hudprograms.
Meeting attendee Rev. Joseph Jacobs, who serves as program manager for the Association of Faith Communities’ SafeSpaces overnight parking program, incredulously confirmed with Ratner how much money would be needed to provide just 150 housing spaces — averaging nearly $367,000 per unit.
“It is true. And that’s cheap,” Ratner said, explaining that the Project Homekey developments would include costs for things such as land purchases, renovations, construction and ongoing operations. “In general, the cost of doing an affordable housing development in Santa Cruz County is between $600,000 and $800,000 per unit, just to build it.”
The proposed coordinated entry system redesign would assist people who do not fit into an obvious housing supply waitlist by offering a “housing problem-solving conversation,” with support for immediate solutions such as move-in assistance, support to live with family or friends, transportation to a community where they have a place to live, etc. Others may be helped to create a housing action plan, outlining steps such as ways of increasing income, addressing credit or legal barriers, getting personal documents and more, which increase their ability to apply for and obtain housing.
Feedback gathered from Wednesday’s meeting will go next to the partnership’s 15-member policy board on April 20.
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https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2022/03/31/santa-cruz-county-rebuilds-shared-homeless-needs-assessment-governance/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:10Z
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MEMPHIS, Tenn.– A Memphis man has been indicted in the abduction and murder of an acquaintance last year, Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich announced Thursday.
Investigators said the victim, 41-year-old Ramarreo Prince Akins, whose legs had been amputated, was abducted at gunpoint while in his wheelchair outside a grocery store in the 4700 block of Horn Lake Road on Aug. 12, 2021.
Surveillance video showed two men putting him into a green SUV after one of them punched and slapped him and driving off, leaving the wheelchair behind.
Two days later, a father and his son were riding four wheelers when they discovered Akins’ body in a field in the 2000 block of West Shelby Drive.
The medical examiner said Akins was shot more than half a dozen times.
Jerome Nichols, 24, was developed as a suspect and arrested a month later.
Nichols was indicted on felony counts of premeditated first-degree murder, first-degree murder in the perpetration of a kidnapping, especially aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon and especially aggravated robbery resulting in serious bodily injury.
He is due in court April 28.
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https://wreg.com/news/local/suspect-indicted-in-disabled-mans-abduction-murder/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:11Z
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North Texas U.S. Service Academies Forum set for April 9
Congressional offices of North Texas have joined together to co-host the North Texas U.S. Service Academies Forum on April 9.
This event is free and open to the public. It is an opportunity for students interested in applying for a service academy to gather information and ask questions to representatives from each service academy and congressional staff.
Military Academies in the United States offer an option for students who are interested in serving their country and receiving a quality education at no cost. Students at these institutions typically receive free tuition, room and board, as well as a small stipend for expenses.
“I encourage anyone interested in serving our country to come to the North Texas U.S. Service Academies Forum and gather important and interesting information. Attending the Naval Academy was an honor and remains one of the greatest highlights of my life. If you are interested in attending a service academy, I urge you to come learn more about the process,” Ellzey said.
The North Texas U.S. Service Academy Forum invites high school and middle school students and their families to attend.
Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. program from 8 a.m. to noon at the I.M. Terrell Academy for STEM and VPA, 1900 I.M. Terrel Way, Fort Worth. For more information on this event or the Military Academy nomination process with the office of Ellzey, contact Kyler Murphy at 903-602-7860.
Each year, Ellzey will receive many inquiries from Congressional District 6 students who wish to attend a military service academy. One of the application requirements of all the United States service academies (except for the United States Coast Guard Academy) is nomination by a government official. The nominating official is usually a Member of Congress. The military service academies (Army, Navy and Air Force) also accept nominations from other government officials.
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https://www.waxahachietx.com/story/news/local/2022/03/31/north-texas-u-s-service-academies-forum-set-april-9/7231053001/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:11Z
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Nancy Pelosi Expresses Shock at California Gas Prices: "How Could This Be?"
Nancy Pelosi expressed shock and indignation on gas prices in California in a Thursday news conference.
“It costs a lot of money in California. If you drive around in California and see the cost, you think, ‘how could this be?'” the 82-year-old career politician questioned.
Nancy Pelosi SHOCKED by massive spike in gas prices in California:
“How could this be?” pic.twitter.com/zLvSBcHx4n
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) March 31, 2022
Gas prices in the Los Angeles metropolitan area have inched to six dollars a gallon.
In a stunning lack of self-awareness, Pelosi urged against solving the gas crisis by producing more domestic energy in the same press conference.
Nancy Pelosi: We cannot “use [high gas prices] as an excuse” to produce more American energy pic.twitter.com/txlUvEYVmS
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 31, 2022
“We cannot allow the fossil fuel industry to use this as an excuse to reverse everything we’re doing to save the planet,” Pelosi said.
In the same news conference, Pelosi blamed the skyrocketing gas prices on Vladimir Putin and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
While Putin’s invasion has seriously impacted gas prices, costs at the pump were skyrocketing well before the war began in late February.
.@SpeakerPelosi: “We have the Putin Price Hike at the pump … The price of, of oil and gasoline — gas at the pump started going up when he started circling Ukraine … There is very interest [sic] in our caucus in stopping price gouging on the part of the — of the industry.” pic.twitter.com/VK7c7WHifQ
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) March 31, 2022
The upward spike in gas prices began when Biden terminated the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline just after his inauguration.
Biden failed to support the American energy industry’s independence, leaving the nation all the more vulnerable to foreign instability in energy markets.
Biden also issued an executive order halting new permits to drill on federal lands.
Biden had gas prices going up since inauguration day. An his alt left jihad on oil and gas left us vulnerable to unstable countries and an event such as the Ukraine war pic.twitter.com/zWUmqRNjAk
— Rogue1-the Jeff Faria Project (@PatriotsOfMars) March 8, 2022
As one of the wealthiest members of Congress, Pelosi will be largely unaffected by the exorbitant prices of natural gas.
On Thursday, Biden announced a mass release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, passing the buck down the line amid rising criticism for his job performance on the economy.
Pelosi’s clueless exasperation doesn’t suggest she’s in a position to offer any positive solutions to pain at the pump.
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https://www.westernjournal.com/nancy-pelosi-expresses-shock-california-gas-prices/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=conservativeupdate&utm_campaign=cuwjpost&utm_content=2022-03-31
| 2022-04-01T00:23:09Z
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Daily Deals has opened a new location in west Fresno on Shaw and Marks.
The merchandise reseller gets pallets and pallets of return items, overstock items, and more from big box retailers and then sells them at a fraction of the original cost.
New items are put out on the stores 180 bins and priced at $9 on Fridays, each day after the price on everything drops until everything in the store is ¢25.
Daily Deals has two locations 170 W Shaw Ave in Clovis and 3131 W Shaw Ave. in Fresno.
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https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/cvt/find-deals-every-day-of-the-week-at-the-newest-daily-deals-location/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:11Z
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VILNIUS, Lithuania — Russia’s tech workers are looking for safer and more secure professional pastures.
By one estimate, up to 70,000 computer specialists, spooked by a sudden frost in the business and political climate, have bolted the country since Russia invaded Ukraine five weeks ago. Many more are expected to follow.
For some countries, Russia’s loss is being seen as their potential gain and an opportunity to bring fresh expertise to their own high-tech industries.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has noticed the brain drain even in the throes of a war that, according to the U.N. refugee agency, has caused more than 4 million people to flee Ukraine and displaced millions more within the country.
This week, Putin reacted to the exodus of tech professionals by approving legislation to eliminate income taxes between now and 2024 for individuals who work for information technology companies.
Some people in the vast new pool of high-tech exiles say they are in no rush to return home. An elite crowd furnished with European Union visas has relocated to Poland or the Baltic nations of Latvia and Lithuania.
A larger contingent has fallen back on countries where Russians do not need visas: Armenia, Georgia and the former Soviet republics in Central Asia. In normal times, millions of less-skilled laborers emigrate from those economically shaky countries to comparatively more prosperous Russia.
Anastasia, a 24-year-old freelance computer systems analyst from the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, chose Kyrgyzstan, where her husband has family.
“When we heard about the war on (Feb. 24), we thought it was probably time to leave, but that we might wait and see. On February 25, we bought our tickets and left,” Anastasia said. “There wasn’t much thinking to do.”
Like all the Russian workers contacted for this story, Anastasia asked to remain anonymous. Moscow was cracking down on dissent even before the invasion of Ukraine, and people living outside Russia still fear reprisals.
“As long as I can remember, there has always been fear around expressing one’s own views in Russia,” Anastasia said, adding that the war and “the background noise of patriotism” made the environment even more forbidding. “I left one day before they began searching and interrogating people at the border.”
The scale of the apparent brain drain was laid bare last week by Sergei Plugotarenko, the head of the Russian Association for Electronic Communications, an industry lobbying group.
“The first wave – 50,000-70,000 people – has already left,” Plugotarenko told a parliamentary committee.
Only the high cost of flights out of the country prevented an even larger mass exit. Another 100,000 tech workers nevertheless might leave Russia in April, Plugotarenko predicted.
Konstantin Siniushin, a managing partner at Untitled Ventures, a tech-focused venture capital fund based in Latvia, said that Russian tech firms with international customers had no choice but to move since many foreign companies are hastily distancing themselves from anything Russia-related.
“They had to leave the country so their business could survive, or, in the case of research and development workers, they were relocated by HQs,” Siniushin wrote in emailed remarks.
Untitled Ventures is helping in the migration; the firm charted two flights to Armenia carrying 300 tech workers from Russia, Siniushin said.
Some nearby countries are eager to reap the dividends.
Russian talent is primed for poaching. A 2020 Global Skills Index report published by Coursera, a leading provider of open online courses, found that people from Russia scored highest for skill proficiency in technology and data science.
As soon as the war started in Ukraine, the Central Asian nation of Uzbekistan radically streamlined the process for obtaining work visas and residence permits for IT specialists.
Anton Filippov, a mobile app programmer from St. Petersburg, and the team of freelancers with whom he works made the move to Tashkent, the Uzbek capital, where he grew up, even before those incentives were made public.
“On February 24, it was like we had woken up to this different terrible reality,” Filippov said. “We’re all young, less than 27 years old, and so we were afraid we might be called up to take part in this war.”
As in-demand tech workers explore their options, their diaspora resembles a roaming caravan. Some countries, like Uzbekistan, are picked as stepping stones because Russian citizens do not need visas for short-term stays. But young professionals like Filippov do not plan to necessarily stay where they first landed.
“If the conditions they find differ from the ones they were promised, they will simply move on,” he said.
In many cases, entire companies are looking to relocate to avoid the fallout from international sanctions. A senior diplomat from another Russian neighbor, Kazakhstan, made a naked appeal this week for fleeing foreign enterprises to come to his country.
Kazakhstan is eyeing high-tech investors with particular interest as the country tries to diversify its economy, which relies on oil exports. In 2017, the government set up a technology park in the capital, Nur-Sultan, and offered tax breaks, preferential loans, and grants to anybody prepared to set up shop there.
The uptake has been moderate so far, but the hope is that the Russian brain drain will give this initiative a major shot in the arm.
“The accounts of Russian companies are being frozen, and their transactions do not go through. They are trying to keep customers, and one available opportunity is to go to Kazakhstan,” said Arman Abdrasilov, chairman of Zerde Holding, an investment fund in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s business hub.
Not all countries are so eager, though.
“Russian companies or startups cannot move to Lithuania,” said Inga Simanonyte, an adviser to the Baltic nation’s Economy and Innovation Minister. “We do not work with any Russian company with their possible relocation to Lithuania, and the ministry has suspended all applications for startup visas since February 24.”
Security concerns and suspicion that Russians might spy or engage in cyber mischief abroad make some governments wary about welcoming the country’s economic refugees.
“The IT sector in Russia is very closely connected to the security services. The problem is that without an extremely strong vetting process, we risk importing parts of the criminal system of Russia,” Lithuanian political analyst Marius Laurinavicius told The Associated Press.
Siniushin, the managing partner at Untitled Ventures, is urging Western nations to throw open their doors so their employers can take advantage of the unusual hiring opportunity the war created.
“The more talent that Europe or the United States can take away from Russia today, the more benefits these new innovators, whose potential will be fully realized abroad, will bring to other countries,” he said.
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https://www.pressherald.com/2022/03/31/as-russia-sees-tech-brain-drain-other-nations-hope-to-gain-2/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:11Z
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Biden unleashes petroleum from U.S. strategic reserve to combat high gas prices
BERKELEY, Calif. - President Joe Biden on Thursday released one-fourth of the entire U.S. strategic petroleum reserve, in an attempt to calm rising gas prices brought about by ever rising demand and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Bay Area regular gas prices stand at $5.88. That's $1.92 more than last year; most of it coming in the last three months. "Putin's price hike; nearly a dollar more in less than three months," said President Joe Biden.
To combat that now and in the future, President Biden outlined a multi-point strategy: one, do things to bring prices down now by releasing oil from the strategic reserve. "One million barrels per day for the next six months; over 180 million barrels," said the president.
UC Berkeley Haas Energy Economist Severin Borenstein reacted to the announcement. "The strategic petroleum reserve is there to deal with these international geopolitical crises and we definitely have one right now," said Borenstein.
What about the price of gas? "A small effect on gas prices. Today the price of crude oil came down about $5 a barrel so far and that would translate to about 12 cents a gallon," said Borenstein.
Using the reserve buys time for oil producers to vastly ramp up U.S. production by fall. Right now, a lot of production wells are idle while other oil lays dormant or hoarded in already approved but unused, drilling leases.
"I'm calling for a use it or lose it policy," said Biden.
Some oil companies have said they will be able to produce a million barrels a day by fall. "It makes sense because you don't want companies holding onto leases that they aren't actually going to do anything with," said Borenstein.
MORE: Biden tapping oil reserve for 6 months to control surging gas prices
But, getting the necessary labor, equipment and parts needed are iffy because of scarce labor and supply chain shortages. OPEC may increase production a little, but that's because a little increase allows them to rake in far more money when prices are high, but not enough to immediately collapse prices. But, it will help consumers with prices while also undermining Russia's finances.
Finally: make America's energy future far less vulnerable to foreign influence and pressure. "I'm gonna use the Defense Production Act to secure American supply chains for the critical materials that going into batteries for electric vehicles and the storage of renewable energy," said Biden.
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The ever-changing oil futures market pegs oil prices $20 lower in the next six months to a year, but Russia remains the wild card.
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https://www.ktvu.com/news/biden-unleashes-petroleum-from-u-s-strategic-reserve-to-combat-high-gas-prices
| 2022-04-01T00:23:11Z
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WASHINGTON — An inflation gauge that is closely monitored by the Federal Reserve jumped 6.4% in February compared with a year ago, with sharply higher prices for food, gasoline and other necessities squeezing Americans' finances.
The figure reported Thursday by the Commerce Department was the largest year-over-year rise since January 1982. Excluding volatile prices for food and energy, so-called core inflation increased 5.4% in February from 12 months earlier.
Robust consumer demand has combined with shortages of many goods to fuel the sharpest price jumps in four decades. Measures of inflation will likely worsen in the coming months because Thursday's report doesn't reflect the consequences of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which occurred Feb. 24. The war has disrupted global oil markets and accelerated prices for wheat, nickel and other key commodities.
Squeezed by inflation, consumers increased their spending by just 0.2% in February, down from a much larger 2.7% gain in January. Adjusted for inflation, spending actually fell 0.4% last month. The decline partly reflected a shift away from heavy spending on goods to a focus on services, such as health care, travel and entertainment, which consumers had long avoided during the worst of the pandemic.
Spending on such services grew 0.6%, the most since July, while purchases of autos, furniture, clothes and other goods dropped 2.1%. Many economists had previously suggested that a shift away from goods purchases might loosen supply chain snarls and cool inflation. But prices are still rising rapidly for goods, including a 1.1% increase in February.
Americans' overall incomes rose 0.5% in February, the highest gain since November and up from just 0.1% in January. Wages and salaries jumped 0.8%, the most in four months.
Businesses have been raising pay to attract and keep employees — a trend that is benefiting workers but also giving employers cause to raise prices to offset their higher labor costs. That cycle is helping fuel inflation.
Last month, food costs climbed 1.4%, the most in nearly two years. Energy costs spiked 3.7%, the biggest such increase since October.
The Federal Reserve responded this month to the inflation surge by raising its benchmark short-term interest rate by a quarter-point from near zero, and it's likely to keep raising it well into next year. Because its rate affects many consumer and business loans, the Fed's rate hikes will make borrowing more expensive and could weaken the economy over time.
Michael Feroli of JPMorgan is among economists who now think the Fed will raise its key rate by an aggressive half-point in both May and June. The central bank hasn't raised its benchmark rate by a half-point in two decades, a sign of how concerned it has become about the persistent surge in inflation.
On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.6% from January to February, up slightly from the previous month's increase of 0.5% and matching the highest monthly figure since 2008. Core prices rose 0.4%, down from a 0.5% increase in January.
Gas prices have soared in the past month in the aftermath of Russia's invasion, which led the United Kingdom and the Biden administration to ban Russia's oil exports. The cost of a gallon of gas shot up to a national average of $4.24 a gallon Wednesday, according to AAA. That's up 63 cents from a month ago, when it was $3.61.
Michael Pearce, an economist at Capital Economics, estimated that the gas price spike will cost Americans an annualized $100 billion in March.
Americans will likely dig into their savings to cover the higher gas costs in the near term, he said. "But if higher gasoline prices are sustained, that will eventually weigh on spending in other areas."
On Thursday, President Joe Biden is expected to order the release of up to 1 million barrels of oil a day from the nation's strategic petroleum reserve in an effort to reduce gas prices.
Thursday's report follows a more widely monitored inflation gauge, the consumer price index, that was issued earlier this month. The CPI jumped to 7.9% in February from a year ago, the sharpest such increase in four decades.
Many economists still expect inflation to peak in the coming months. In part, that's because price spikes that occurred last year, when the economy widely reopened, will begin to make the year-over-year price increases appear smaller. Yet Fed officials project that inflation, as measured by its preferred gauge, will still be a comparatively high 4.3% by the end of this year.
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https://www.newspressnow.com/a-key-inflation-gauge-sets-40-year-high-as-gas-and-food-soar/article_181755ca-b13e-11ec-a7e9-9fca19254fea.html
| 2022-04-01T00:23:11Z
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The New Mexico Gay Men’s Chorus has had many themed performances over the years––ranging from marriage equality to trans rights. Now, they’re looking to open up a conversation about mental well-being.
KUNM’s Morning Edition host Bryce Dix spoke with Jim Williams, a singer with the chorus and the board chairman, to get a better understanding of how music can ease our inner struggles.
WILLIAMS: We’re in our 41st season, and three concerts a year. But this one is special, it's called: You Are Enough. We're sharing music, specifically talking about mental health, And opening up the conversations around that. So much has happened, you know, especially these last couple of years, people are going through a lot. There's sometimes kind of a stigma about talking about real life situations. We're putting that into our concert and kind of making it okay to hear about and talk about.
KUNM: Is there a specific reason this is front and center for you all?
WILLIAMS: Well, I think it happens to everyone. They say, I think, one in five Americans, ages 18 and older, live with mental health. And it's actually, they say 2.5 times more likely for LGBTQ people to experience depression, anxiety, substance misuse. It's just like that's in our community, but people don't talk about. There was a piece of music written, called: “You Are Enough,” which deals with that. It was sort of the impetus to start this whole idea of: Why don't we have these conversations? And how can we share this important information in a setting where people can relate to it?
KUNM: Can you elaborate more on music choice during these performances to, you said, help shake the stigma and maybe fear surrounding mental health and coming to terms with it?
WILLIAMS: Yeah, I mean, music speaks to so many people in so many ways. But, what we've done for years is sing about important things. The Gay Men's Chorus has talked about marriage equality, the HIV/AIDS crisis, trans rights. Something about putting words to music, and touching people at their heart of these songs that we're talking about challenges of depression or angst in the community, suicidal thoughts. It's okay to talk about it, that getting the word out there takes the stigma away, and people aren't afraid. And there's something about being in the concert setting when people are singing with you, singing to you. And it just hits a little deeper, I think.
The idea is that people are not alone in having these thoughts or feelings. And that wherever you are right now is okay. Like, the concert isn't trying to fix you. We're not giving you the answers of how to get better or healthy. But taking the time to think about it, connect with people, be honest about it, is okay. And that's a good step towards a healthier lifestyle. Songs like Cyndi Lauper's “True Colors,” talking about you're okay just where you are. And some music from a musical “Dear Evan Hanson,” dealing with a kid who kind of has these issues. It just helps you see a different side of that.
KUNM: Can you tell me a little bit about your involvement in this production, you have an artistic involvement?
WILLIAMS: I've been a singer for a number of years, but I'm also the stage director. Our artistic director picked the music and now we're putting it together with some little inner in-between pieces, talking about what ADHD is, how it is okay to talk about depression, and why people hide their feelings. I think the people are going to leave the concert knowing more and feeling a little less alone.
KUNM: All right. Jim Williams is with the New Mexico Gay Men's Chorus. Thank you for joining me.
WILLIAMS: Thank you.
The performances will be held in Santa Fe at the Lensic Performing Arts Center and at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque. Click here to find more information on tickets and times. And if you’re thinking about suicide, are worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, the Lifeline network is available 24/7 across the United States at 1-800-273-8255.
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https://www.kunm.org/local-news/2022-03-31/new-mexico-gay-mens-chorus-tackles-the-stigma-of-mental-health-through-song
| 2022-04-01T00:23:11Z
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Boston Bruins
Jeff Gorton Recalls Choosing Tuukka Rask Over Justin Pogge
The Boston Bruins will honor Tuukka Rask Thursday night giving him the ceremonial puck drop prior to their game against the New Jersey Devils. Rask retired from the NHL on Feb. 9.
For all the Boston Bruins fans out there who still think they weren’t blessed to have Tuukka Rask as the team’s starting goalie since the 2013-14 season, just ask yourself this:
Would you have preferred Justin Pogge, who played a total of seven NHL games and none since 2009 while Rask became the winningest goalie in Boston Bruins history?
Tuukka Rask or Pogge was the choice former Boston Bruins interim general manager Jeff Gorton was given at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft after Gorton let then Toronto Maple Leafs general manager John Ferguson Jr. know the Bruins were willing to part with former Boston Bruins goalie and 2004 Calder Trophy winner Andrew Raycroft. For Gorton and his scouting staff, acquiring Rask, and not Pogge, for Raycroft was a no-brainer after the Leafs took Rask 21st overall at the 2005 draft, one pick ahead of the Bruins who wanted the Finnish netminder at 22.
“Really more than anything it dated back to the previous draft when we thought we were going to take him,” Gorton, now the executive vice president of hockey operations for the Montreal Canadiens recalled in a phone interview with Boston Hockey Now Wednesday.
“He was there, we were late, and Toronto picked him one pick ahead of us. We looked down on the floor and they basically pulled out his jersey with Rask on it and we were like ‘Oh no!’ and so, we were going to take him and we ended up missing out on him. So a year after that, they had two pretty good goalies in Toronto. They had [Justin] Pogge – who was pretty impressive at the World Junior – and then they had Rask, but they had a need for kind of an accomplished No.1. So ‘Fergie’ had called me asking about Raycroft’s availability and we sorta got down to it and we basically had choice of those two guys. Obviously we loved Tuukka and it was kind of an easy choice for us. So it wasn’t anything more complicated than that. It was just their need for an established guy and they had two young guys.”
As Jeff Gorton pointed out, when the Boston Bruins came out of the 2005 lockout, they had quite a logjam between the pipes and that depth combined with how bad they still wanted Rask was why they still pulled the trigger on the deal.
“When we came back from the lockout, we had ‘Razor’, we had Hannu [Toivonen], we had Timmy [Thomas], we had a lot of stuff going on with the goalies,” Gorton pointed out. “So Razor became a guy we looked at to potentially move. We had kept track on Tuukka and we still really loved him so when the opportunity arose, we took it.”
After the trade, Gorton immediately headed over to Finland to meet his prized acquisition and he knew right away, that he and his scouts had nailed it in choosing Rask over Pogge and Raycroft.
“So after we got him, I remember going over to Finland to meet him and he was just so dialed in and just a great kid,” Gorton said. “He told us that all he ever wanted to be was a hockey player and you could see that for sure. On the ice as it played out, that’s how he was; calm movement, positioned well and dialed in like I said. He did have a mean streak as you may recall in Providence, but he channeled that well as he matured.”
What’s impressed Gorton, a Melrose MA native, since then, has been Rask’s consistency.
“It’s hard to have the kind of career he had and sustain it like he did,” Gorton said. “I mean if you look at it closely, he was pretty consistent and that consistency is probably what amazes me most. I mean if you look at a goalie’s career, most of the time they’re gonna have one or two seasons where they dip; maybe the save percentage goes in the .800 but not with him.”
Somehow though, that consistency (308-165-66, 2.28 GAA, .921 save percentage), has not been enough for a rather large contingent of Boston Bruins fans and some media. Gorton can understand why given the success the Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots have had over the last decade, but as he feels about his former goalie when he was general manager of the New York Rangers, Henrik Lundqvist, just because he and Rask (as a starter) didn’t win the Stanley Cup, doesn’t mean they weren’t winners.
“I mean, Timmy Thomas won, so he raised the bar, but it’s also what’s going on in the market,” Gorton pointed out. “But it’s also what’s going on in the market at the time. If you look around at every other sport in Boston, teams were constantly winning. You’re spoiled there in Boston! You had Tom Brady and the Patriots; Big Papi and the Red Sox, even the Celtics won a title so the other teams are winning and the fan base expects that.
What becomes deemed a winner in Boston might be different somewhere else because you’re spoiled right? So, with Tuukka, he was there twice and it didn’t work out but I mean, that St. Louis series could’ve gone a totally different way and it wasn’t on Tuukka by any means. So, if you look at his career, anyone that would suggest that he wasn’t a winner, would be crazy I think. So Timmy Thomas, he had a heck of a run and got the Stanley Cup, so good for him but that doesn’t mean Tuukka wasn’t great. We dealt with that a lot in New York with Henrik [Lundqvist] right? Does that mean he wasn’t a winner? No, of course not. Both of them two of the best goalies of their time.”
Absolutely loved this article ! We are so thankful Jeff got Tukka and gave us Hall of Fame goaltending for 14years!
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https://bostonhockeynow.com/2022/03/31/boston-bruins-jeff-gorton-recalls-choosing-tuukka-rask-over-justin-pogge/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:11Z
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Merger Charterchat Part 4
Instead of the much-anticipated ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil the shiny new model of a modern public media entity, fully future-proofed and hot-to-trot, Labour’s Broadcasting and Communications Minister, Kris Faafoi, proudly announced the creation of . . . drum roll . . . yet another committee of experts.
Called the “Strong Public Media Establishment Board” it is faced with making all the decisions left unresolved by its predecessors: the “Ministerial Advisory Group on Public Media”, established just over four years ago by Labour’s first broadcasting minister, Clare Curran, and the “Strong Public Media Business Case Governance Group” announced almost exactly three years later by her successor, the hapless Faafoi, on Wednesday 31 March 2021.
While following the classic political procrastination strategy of farming out difficult decisions to a committee, the appointees for the ministerial groups and boards set up by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage are not politicians, answerable to voters for their decisions, but so-called “experts”, mainly drawn from the television industry’s recycling bin of executives put out to graze on the lush pastures of consultancy.
The reason for the predominance of television managers and executives among the “experts” is the behind-the-scenes role played by the government’s broadcast funding agency, NZ on Air, one of the two driving forces behind the development of the so-called public media entity.
Within minutes of the minister’s unveiling of the new “Strong Public Media Establishment Board” at the Broadcasting School in Christchurch on Thursday 10 March, NZ on Air released a statement firmly nailing itself to the side of the new entity “created from TVNZ and RNZ, alongside NZ On Air” and describing it as “a significant investment in public media in Aotearoa.”
Welcoming “the endorsement of its vital role in ensuring market gaps in public media content can continue to be addressed through contestable funding across multiple commercial platforms,” NZ on Air came out from behind the Ministry for Culture and Heritage to claim credit as the prime mover and shaker behind the biggest shake-up in state broadcasting in 30 years.
But, wait, there’s more: “NZ On Air will continue to engage constructively with the process and bring a broader media eco-system perspective to the considerations,” said the statement, attributed to NZ On Air’s chief executive, Cameron Harland.
Citing ongoing research showing audiences “choosing to consume content on an ever-increasing range of platforms,” Harland said: “Alongside the new entity, NZ on Air will continue to innovate and find audiences on the platforms they are using.”
And so NZ on Air celebrated the success of its plan, hatched around 2014, to use the internet to expand its programme funding role and avoid its inevitable demise should the government decide to have a commercial-free television channel, adopting the model used in almost every other western country by funding the broadcaster directly.
At the same time as NZ on Air was manoeuvring, in the words of the current chairwoman Ruth Harley, to get their “big fat foot inside the policy machine”, Radio New Zealand’s board appointed a new chief executive who believed radio was a medium on its last legs.
“We are now in a different age,” Paul Thompson wrote in his speech notes for the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association Conference in Glasgow on 12 May 2014, “one that is characterised by information abundance and the ease
and affordability of its creation, distribution and access.
“The very term ‘broadcasting’ hints at our vulnerability as it speaks of a time when our control of the means of distribution — through transmitters and masts and the like — gave us control of our audience's attention.
“But we are now in a new age in which the means of distribution will increasingly be dominated by the publicly-owned internet.”
Radio stations and television channels would be replaced by multi-media platforms carrying video, audio and text.
The internet platform’s potential for carrying advertising in text and video would have appealed to Radio New Zealand’s board, appointed by a National Government with an irrational aversion bordering on superstition to taxpayer-funded broadcasting.
Radio New Zealand’s transition to transmission via the internet got the green light in 2016 when Amy Adams, National’s third broadcasting minister, amended its Charter to require the broadcaster “to take advantage of the most effective means of delivery” of its programmes.
The significance of this change, concerning transmission and having no place in a charter that should be solely about the nature and quality of content, is apparent in Radio New Zealand’s submission to the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Select Committee’s Inquiry into the next review of the public broadcaster’s charter last year.
“RNZ welcomes the opportunity for New Zealanders to give their views on how well RNZ has responded to changes introduced to the Radio New Zealand Charter by the Radio New Zealand Amendment Act 2016,” the submission began, like a butler welcoming visitors to his master’s home as if it was his own.
“The changes were very specific,” it continued, “and encouraged RNZ to make the transition from a traditional radio broadcaster to a modern multi-platform public service media organisation, producing, publishing and distributing a diverse and unique range of content and services that reflects and connects the communities of Aotearoa.”
While multi-media public service media organisations may find internet platforms “the most effective means of delivering” content, experience here and overseas shows that, for radio listeners in particular, they are the least effective means of actually receiving content.
While NZ on Air and Thompson may believe internet platforms are like a Swiss Army knife with multiple blades and tools they overlook the fact that you can only use one of them at a time.
And while they insist the new entity is needed to create new forms of content and reach different audiences, it is really about cutting distribution costs by moving transmission of programmes from broadcasting to the internet.
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https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL2204/S00001/merger-charterchat-part-4.htm
| 2022-04-01T00:23:11Z
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If you're an NFL team sitting in the cellar of your respective division this season, don't fret. Odds are, next year will be your year.
With a win or tie over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night, or a win or tie or Cowboys loss in any of the season's remaining games, the Philadelphia Eagles will become the 22nd team in the last 15 seasons to go from last place in their division to locking up first place in it. In fact, just once (2014) since 2003 has at least one last-place team not come back the following season to take home the division crown:
2003: Carolina went 11-5 after 7-9 2003: Kansas City went 13-3 after 8-8 (tied for last place)
2004: Atlanta went 11-5 after 5-11
2004: San Diego went 12-4 after 4-12 (tied for last place)
2005: Chicago went 11-5 after 5-11
2005: New York Giants went 11-5 after 6-10 (tied for last place)
2005: Tampa Bay went 11-5 after 5-11
2006: Baltimore went 13-3 after 6-10 (tied for last place)
2006: New Orleans went 10-6 after 3-13
2006: Philadelphia went 10-6 after 6-10
2007: Tampa Bay went 9-7 after 4-12
2008: Miami went 11-5 after 1-15
2009: New Orleans went 13-3 (won Super Bowl) after 8-8
2010: Kansas City went 10-6 after 4-12
2011: Denver went 8-8 after 4-12
2011: Houston went 10-6 after 6-10 (tied for last place)
2012: Washington went 10-6 after 5-11
2013: Carolina went 12-4 after 7-9 (tied for last place)
2013: Philadelphia went 10-6 after 4-12
2015: Washington went 9-7 after 4-12
2016: Dallas went 13-3 after 4-12
The Eagles might not be the only ones to join that list this year, either.
The Carolina Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Chargers all finished at the bottom of their divisions last season. All three are now either in or within one game of first place.
So if you're the New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers or the San Francisco 49ers and this year feels lost, have hope. In 12 months, it might just be you on this list in 2018.
|
https://www.nfl.com/news/worst-to-first-eagles-aim-to-clinch-division-sunday-0ap3000000886201
| 2022-04-01T00:23:11Z
|
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "Daily 4 Evening" game were:
4-1-9-1, FIREBALL: 1
(four, one, nine, one; FIREBALL: one)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "Daily 4 Evening" game were:
4-1-9-1, FIREBALL: 1
(four, one, nine, one; FIREBALL: one)
|
https://www.mrt.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Daily-4-Evening-game-17049718.php
| 2022-04-01T00:23:12Z
|
Shares of Western Digital Corp.
WDC,
-1.92%
slid 1.92% to $49.65 Thursday, on what proved to be an all-around poor trading session for the stock market, with the S&P 500 Index
SPX,
-1.57%
falling 1.57% to 4,530.41 and Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-1.56%
falling 1.56% to 34,678.35. This was the stock's second consecutive day of losses. Western Digital Corp. closed $28.54 short of its 52-week high ($78.19), which the company reached on June 4th.
The stock demonstrated a mixed performance when compared to some of its competitors Thursday, as HP Inc.
HPQ,
-6.54%
fell 6.54% to $36.30, Seagate Technology Holdings PLC
STX,
-1.61%
fell 1.61% to $89.90, and NetApp Inc.
NTAP,
-4.12%
fell 4.12% to $83.00. Trading volume (2.9 M) remained 1.2 million below its 50-day average volume of 4.1 M.
Editor's Note: This story was auto-generated by Automated Insights, an automation technology provider, using data from Dow Jones and FactSet. See our market data terms of use.
|
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/western-digital-corp-stock-falls-thursday-underperforms-market-01648762093-4d799e21aa1e
| 2022-04-01T00:23:12Z
|
Olivia Higgins (centre)
If you had of told Olivia Higgins she'd be wearing the No.9 jersey for the Sydney Roosters in 2022, she wouldn't have believed you.
Josh Callinan
Sports Journalist, Newcastle Herald
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
More from Local News
More from Local News
|
https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/7681254/olivia-higgins-relishes-first-shot-in-nrlw-finals/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:12Z
|
1MillionNFTs (1MIL) traded down 4.1% against the dollar during the 1 day period ending at 19:00 PM ET on March 31st. 1MillionNFTs has a total market capitalization of $65,218.78 and approximately $53,607.00 worth of 1MillionNFTs was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. One 1MillionNFTs coin can now be purchased for about $0.54 or 0.00001188 BTC on cryptocurrency exchanges. In the last seven days, 1MillionNFTs has traded 1.3% higher against the dollar.
Here’s how related cryptocurrencies have performed in the last 24 hours:
- Tether (USDT) traded down 0% against the dollar and now trades at $1.00 or 0.00002185 BTC.
- XRP (XRP) traded down 4.7% against the dollar and now trades at $0.82 or 0.00001789 BTC.
- Polkadot (DOT) traded down 4.7% against the dollar and now trades at $21.51 or 0.00046994 BTC.
- Shiba Inu (SHIB) traded down 4.8% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0000 or 0.00000000 BTC.
- Wrapped TRON (WTRX) traded 3% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0744 or 0.00000163 BTC.
- Lido stETH (STETH) traded 3.7% lower against the dollar and now trades at $3,257.98 or 0.07118670 BTC.
- EarnX (EARNX) traded 396,248.3% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0008 or 0.00000002 BTC.
- Bitcoin BEP2 (BTCB) traded down 2.6% against the dollar and now trades at $45,829.95 or 1.00138316 BTC.
- stETH (Lido) (STETH) traded flat against the dollar and now trades at $3,479.19 or 0.06807369 BTC.
- Filecoin (FIL) traded 6.4% lower against the dollar and now trades at $24.39 or 0.00053284 BTC.
1MillionNFTs Coin Profile
1MillionNFTs Coin Trading
It is usually not possible to buy alternative cryptocurrencies such as 1MillionNFTs directly using U.S. dollars. Investors seeking to trade 1MillionNFTs should first buy Ethereum or Bitcoin using an exchange that deals in U.S. dollars such as Gemini, Coinbase or Changelly. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Ethereum or Bitcoin to buy 1MillionNFTs using one of the exchanges listed above.
Receive News & Updates for 1MillionNFTs Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and updates for 1MillionNFTs and related cryptocurrencies with MarketBeat.com's FREE CryptoBeat newsletter.
|
https://www.americanbankingnews.com/2022/03/31/1millionnfts-1mil-24-hour-trading-volume-tops-53607-00.html
| 2022-04-01T00:23:12Z
|
Kaila Lemons and Maria Rios Cabrera are this year’s winners of the Ivory Prize for Excellence in Student Leadership and Community Engagement. Both students will receive a cash prize and a donation towards the recipients’ cause, team or initiative for positively influencing either student success on campus or for being a leader in community engagement.
Lemons is WSU’s first campus Zero Waste Coordinator and the president of Food Recovery Network. Over the last two years, Lemons organized 50 volunteers across campus to generate less waste and increase recycling efforts among university groups.
The volunteers Lemons recruited also worked with northern Utah’s largest homeless shelter, Lantern House, to donate almost 2,000 pounds of food that would have been wasted. Lemons has spent time organizing and managing clothing and supply swaps, a bicycle fix-it workshop and outdoor sustainability projects such as xeriscaping, tree planting and composting events.
WSU senior Cabrera, the student coordinator for the Disability Service Center’s Creating Achievement Through Transition program, leads a team of mentors who help students with learning disabilities in 11 high schools in the Weber, Davis and Morgan school districts’ transition to college.
At 9 years old, Cabrera immigrated from Honduras. Through her struggles with English, her own learning challenges and the culture, Cabrera relates to the adversities these students may face.
The Clark and Christine Ivory Foundation established the Ivory Prize in 2020 to encourage and recognize WSU students who are involved in their communities. Nominees are required to be currently enrolled or a graduate of the last five years at WSU.
The Center for Community Engaged Learning will host the CCELebration in the Shepherd Union Ballrooms on March 31 from 4-6 p.m.
|
https://signpost.mywebermedia.com/2022/03/28/recognizing-those-who-make-a-difference/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=recognizing-those-who-make-a-difference&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=recognizing-those-who-make-a-difference
| 2022-04-01T00:23:12Z
|
What can we learn from the first six weeks into the Russian invasion of Ukraine?
In the weeks and months leading up to the invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Putin repeatedly rejected accusations that he was planning to start a war. Putin lied, and he is most likely lying again about his army’s next moves. That is the message from NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. If Russia has indeed underestimated Ukraine and overestimated its own capabilities, how long would Moscow need to reorganize its attack?
QUESTION: Why is the world tolerating this tyrant? It is “most” of the world against Putin. This could end fast if the right people would make the right decisions. Societies around the world do not need this war and the world can’t afford a long drawn-out war.
Links:
|
https://www.stl.news/aiovg_videos/lessons-learned-first-six-weeks-of-war/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:12Z
|
Jason Aldean Calls Carrie Underwood One of the Best Singers
Eric Church isn’t making it easy for Jason Aldean.
After Church received backlash for canceling his April 2 tour to attend an NCAA basketball game, Aldean admitted to E! News’ Daily Pop that he actually understands the decision. Well, to an extent.
“I don’t know that I could cancel a show to make it to a game,” he told hosts Loni Love and Melissa Peterman. “I feel like people buying a ticket to come see your show, you kind of have to hold up your end of the deal on that.”
Not wanting to dive too deep into the drama, he wrapped up by sharing that he wouldn’t follow by Church’s example: “I don’t know if I could pull it off.”
And while Aldean won’t be at the 2022 Grammys April 3, he’s got a lot of faith in his “If I Didn’t Love You” duet partner Carrie Underwood.
“We’ve had a chance to perform this live a few times, and she nails it every time,” he shared. “She’s just one of the best female singers of our era, so it was fun to work with her.”
These days, he’s focused on his upcoming album, Macon, Georgia, dropping April 22. Named after his hometown, the disc gave the country superstar the opportunity to revisit his past.
Getty Images
As he explained, “It was cool to do that and be able to show my hometown some love.”
In addition to celebrating the new album, he recently celebrated his seventh wedding anniversary with wife Brittany Kerr on March 21.
|
https://www.clichemag.com/celebrity-news/jason-aldean-reacts-to-eric-church-s-concert-canceling-controversycmpidrss-000000-rssfeed-365-topstoriesutm_sourceeonlineutm_mediumrssfeedsutm_campaignrss_topstories/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:12Z
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SAN SIMEON, Calif. (AP) — California’s famous Hearst Castlewill reopen to the public in May after a two-year closure due to the pandemic and severe rainstorm damage that prompted a $13.7 million renovation.
The steep, curvy access road to the palatial home that media mogul William Randolph Hearst built on ranch land overlooking the Pacific was damaged by atmospheric rivers — storms fueled by long and wide plumes of moistures pulled in from the Pacific — in 2021.
The San Luis Obispo County castle designed by architect Julia Morgan includes a 115-room main house, as well as guesthouses, pools and cultivated gardens, according to the California State Parks. Construction dates back to 1919.
The access road, which rises 1,650 feet (503 meters) over 5 miles (8 kilometers), was “reconstructed and re-engineered” over 10 months, according to state officials. The project included replacing and enlarging clay pipe culverts from the 1920s that had been damaged by the rainstorms. Some historic stone retaining walls were also restored by hand.
The castle sees about 850,000 visitors annually, meaning about 22,000 bus trips traverse the access road each year. Some travel as often as every 10 minutes in the summer tourism season.
“Hearst Castle is a state treasure and we are thrilled to reopen this wonder to the public to enjoy in a safe and responsible manner,” California State Parks Director Armando Quintero said in a news release. “We are confident that these once-in-a-lifetime repairs and improvements to the road facility will serve countless generations to come.”
The castle will reopen May 11.
|
https://www.localsyr.com/entertainment-news/californias-hearst-castle-to-reopen-after-pandemic-damage/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:12Z
|
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https://www.leafly.com/brands/edipure/products/edipure-organic-watermelon-250mg-candy
| 2022-04-01T00:23:12Z
|
Succeeds Steve Hamman at States' Largest Health Plan
CHICAGO, March 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross and Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL), a division of Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), today announced Stephen Harris has been named the new Illinois president. Stephen will succeed Steve Hamman, who has left the company to pursue new endeavors. He will begin this new position immediately.
"Stephen has been instrumental in the company's ambitious growth strategy and has done tremendous work in stabilizing and growing our Medicaid business," said Maurice Smith, HCSC president and CEO. "He is an exceptional leader and will be outstanding in his new role working to improve the quality of life for Illinoisans by working with key partners in aligning the health care system around our members' and customers' varying needs."
Stephen has over 20 years of experience spearheading business development and performance improvement initiatives for top health care organizations. During his time at HCSC, he led the company's Medicaid line of business; responsible for driving growth, operational excellence, and financial performance. Prior to joining HCSC, Stephen was Regional Vice President of Health Plan Operations at Molina Healthcare. In his new role, he will lead a team that manages the Plan's commercial markets sales including group and individual, provider relations and network contracting, care management, regulatory and customer relationships and BCBSIL's hyperlocal community engagement initiatives.
"HCSC has an outstanding leadership team that is a result of a long-standing focus on attracting and growing top talent," said Smith. "Our continued focus on building our leadership bench strength allows us to capitalize on our position as a leader in the health care industry and to continue to deliver outstanding value to our customers, communities, and key partners."
"It is an exciting time to lead an organization that is well positioned to drive significant change in health care and continue to expand access to health care by strengthening relationships and working in close collaboration with providers, employers and other partners," said Harris. "I am both honored and excited to continue to work with the talented leaders at BCBSIL to build on its strong foundation to innovate and make the healthcare system work better for everyone."
Stephen is a certified public accountant and holds an MBA from the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School and a BA from Michigan State University.
About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) is committed to expanding access to quality, cost-effective health care to as many people as possible in Illinois. Covering nearly 9 million people, BCBSIL is dedicated to innovation and exploring, nurturing, and activating future possibilities to make the health care system work better for our members and our communities. BCBSIL is a division of Health Care Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company and an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois
|
https://www.13abc.com/prnewswire/2022/03/31/stephen-harris-named-president-blue-cross-blue-shield-illinois/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:12Z
|
When you buy a domain name at Dan.com, you’re automatically covered by our unique Buyer Protection Program. Read more about how we keep you safe on our Trust and Security page.
Next to our secure domain ownership transfer process, we strictly monitor all transactions. If anything looks weird, we take immediate action. And if the seller doesn't deliver on their part of the deal, we refund you within 24 hours.
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No matter what kind of domain you want to buy, we make the transfer simple and safe.
Here’s how it works
|
https://dan.com/buy-domain/yzjywh.com
| 2022-04-01T00:23:13Z
|
Imagine what it would be like if every car in Canada were to careen uncontrollably down a mountain, through a narrow corridor and into the ocean.
That’s approximately what the mass of rock that fell into Elliot Lake, turning a small creek above Bute Inlet into a raging torrent, equated to, according to a new report from researchers on the November 2020 Bute Inlet landslide. According to the paper, roughly 18 million cubic metres of rock descended 1,000 metres into a glacial lake at the head of Elliot Creek in the traditional territory of the Homalco First Nation north of Campbell River on the B.C. mainland coast. The landslide had a mass of 50 million tonnes — equal to the combined mass of every car in the country — and caused a 100 metre Tsunami in a small lake, and sent pretty much everything down the valley to the ocean.
“We expect large events to happen from time to time in areas like that. What’s a little bit unusual though, is the magnitude of the wave. We have seen it in other places too, but I think this is the largest wave we’ve seen in B.C. We haven’t witnessed or seen the effects of anything that has been more than 100 metres high,” said Marten Geertsema, a researcher with the Ministry of Forests. “What’s really remarkable is if you think about that small valley, you wouldn’t be able to outrun this. We lost four million cubic metres of material in that creek in about ten minutes. It eroded to a depth of about 50 metres below the creek bed in a few places. It’s hard to imagine that water power.”
Researchers were quick to head into the valley and collect as much data as possible. Over the past year, they have been compiling and analyzing that data and have recently published their findings.
RELATED: VIDEO: 100-metre wave causes massive washout in Bute Inlet
Researchers see learning opportunity as ‘silver lining’ of Bute Inlet slide
Part of Geertsema’s research is the effects of climate change on natural hazards. Some of the modelling data presented in the paper can be used to help people prepare for the effects of climate change, particularly as rock slides and rock avalanches tend to increase in the mountains as the glaciers that had formerly held the rocks in place melt away.
“We see an increase in rock slides in mountain areas, mainly in under two situations. One is when glaciers are receding, so they’re often on the walls above those glaciers or in the area of those glaciers. The other area is where we have mountain permafrost degradation,” Geerstema said. “We’re doing research in that area right now. We’re exploring, especially these areas where we think landslides could be more likely to increase — along the glacier margins. We’re looking for these kinds of deformations that may give us an indication that slopes may be ready to fail.”
As glaciers melt, they reveal lakes like Elliot Lake that were once hidden beneath ice. The report shows evidence of a similar rockfall in the same area, but since the lake was covered by the glacier at the time there was no catastrophic outburst flood.
“An older landslide scar that is visible in aerial photography reveals that a landslide occurred from the same location before the 1950s,” the report says. “The older landslide likely ran across the glacier before Elliot Lake formed and thus the catastrophic flood experienced during the recent event could not have occurred.”
Over the past hundred years, over 1,000 similar glacial lake outbursts have been recorded around the world, and over 12,500 people have died as a result. In 2017, an outburst flood in Greenland killed four and washed away most of the fishing village of Nuugaatsiaq.
In Canada, most of the events have been in remote areas that have not caused any injury to people, however, the researchers note that “there is no assurance that this will be true in the future, given increased development and tourism in these formerly remote areas.”
LiDAR data compiled by the Hakai Institute has allowed researchers to do modelling of the slopes, which can be used to indicate dangerous areas in the mountains.
“It was really fortunate that we got LiDAR from before the event and then after,” Geertsema said. “That LiDAR was provided by the Hakai Institute, so we’re pretty grateful to them.”
The Southern Coast Mountains of Western Canada has over 8,000 square kilometres of glacier-covered terrain, and it is seeing some of the fastest glacial loss rates in the world.
VIDEO: Quadra Island-based research station investigates Bute Inlet slide
Federal scientists eye Bute Inlet for research potential
Campbell RiverClimate changelandslideNewsStrathcona Regional District
|
https://www.caledoniacourier.com/news/bute-inlet-slide-was-equal-to-mass-of-every-car-in-canada/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:13Z
|
On Monday, President Joe Biden unveiled his proposal for the next federal budget.
Though Congress has the final say in the annual budget, presidents create a proposal highlighting their fiscal priorities. Then, the president typically spends time advocating for their plan to the public, arguing for those priorities.
While promoting his latest proposal, Biden tweeted, “This year, my administration is on track to cut the deficit by more than $1.3 trillion… that would be the largest one-year reduction in the deficit in U.S. history.”
THE QUESTION
Would a $1.3 trillion reduction in the deficit be the largest single-year reduction ever?
THE SOURCES
THE ANSWER
Yes, if the deficit shrinks by $1.3 trillion this year, that will be the largest single-year reduction in history.
WHAT WE FOUND
Both the Federal Reserve and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) track how much money the federal government takes in each year, and how much it spends. The Fed has records dating back to 1901, and the CBO dating to 1962.
If the government makes more than it spends, there’s a budget surplus. Since 1962, there have only been five years with a surplus, and none since 2001.
More commonly, the government spends more than it takes in. That’s a deficit, and it results in the U.S. borrowing money to make up the difference, which in turn adds to the federal debt.
According to the Fed and the CBO, the year in which the deficit shrank the most was 2013. In 2012, the budget was nearly $1.08 trillion in the hole, and in 2013, it was just under $679.8 billion. The deficit decreased by roughly $396.8 billion, more than in any other year in history.
If the deficit drops by $1.3 trillion in 2022 like Biden projected, it would indeed be the largest deficit reduction in American history, by a big margin.
The Fed and CBO track numbers on a fiscal-year basis, with the fiscal year ending on Sept. 30. So we won’t really know if Biden’s projections for 2022 are accurate until at least October.
But budget experts VERIFY spoke with agreed it’s likely the deficit reduction could wind up being more than a trillion dollars. However, they said that drop is mostly due to COVID-related spending programs expiring.
“It's not really due to any particularly aggressive policy action to, say, raise more revenue than we would have otherwise, or spend less. It's mostly just a factor of temporary things,” said Alex Muresianu, a federal policy analyst for the Tax Foundation.
“We had deficits that were over $3 trillion [in 2020], and one that was $2.8 trillion [in 2021]. That was as a result of a huge recession, and trillions of dollars that we were spending to fight COVID. So we will be dropping for sure. The deficit will be closer to a trillion dollars this year,” said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a non-profit group. “But that doesn't come from policies to reduce the deficit.”
More from VERIFY: No, Congress members did not give themselves a 21% pay raise in 2022
|
https://www.wthr.com/article/news/verify/money-verify/biden-projects-trillion-dollar-deficit-reduction-largest-ever/536-82b0158e-0851-49dd-a546-3dbef252c761
| 2022-04-01T00:23:13Z
|
Shares of Western Union Co.
WU,
-2.60%
slipped 2.60% to $18.74 Thursday, on what proved to be an all-around poor trading session for the stock market, with the S&P 500 Index
SPX,
-1.57%
falling 1.57% to 4,530.41 and Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-1.56%
falling 1.56% to 34,678.35. This was the stock's second consecutive day of losses. Western Union Co. closed $7.87 short of its 52-week high ($26.61), which the company achieved on April 26th.
The stock underperformed when compared to some of its competitors Thursday, as Mastercard Inc.
MA,
-1.34%
fell 1.34% to $357.38, Fidelity National Information Services Inc.
FIS,
-0.59%
fell 0.59% to $100.42, and Global Payments Inc.
GPN,
-0.49%
fell 0.49% to $136.84. Trading volume (5.8 M) remained 338,611 below its 50-day average volume of 6.1 M.
Editor's Note: This story was auto-generated by Automated Insights, an automation technology provider, using data from Dow Jones and FactSet. See our market data terms of use.
|
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/western-union-co-stock-underperforms-thursday-when-compared-to-competitors-01648762174-c6514666f36c
| 2022-04-01T00:23:14Z
|
Western Illinois University Online Calendar
MUSIC TEACHERS NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (MTNA) RECITAL. Description: This performance is free and open for limited, socially-distanced seating. Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor, BWV 1011 - Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)/arr. Douglas Yeo (b. 1955)...
www.wiu.edu
|
https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2556454734041/western-illinois-university-online-calendar
| 2022-04-01T00:23:14Z
|
Content brought to you by Fonterra
Fonterra has been doing a lot of work on environmental outcomes and this includes water use and water treatment, the co-op's Chief Operating Officer Fraser Whineray says.
Fonterra was recently granted the necessary consent to construct a new wastewater treatment plant at the co-op's Hautapu site in the Waikato.
Although the site was already a top performer in eco-efficiency and sustainability, Fonterra still saw room to make changes, Whineray told The Country Sport Breakfast's Brian Kelly.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME."That new facility on the site, it'll help improve that water quality because not all of the things we take off-farm get into product … there is some cleaning that needs to happen in a safe food plant."
Having a "sophisticated wastewater treatment plant" would also help with the sustainability of the Hautapu site, which had been there "for a very long time" Whineray said.
"It's a big commitment to the site for the long-term."
The plans for the new wastewater treatment plant will be finalised over the next 18 months and the co-op aims to begin construction in September next year.
Listen below:
The plant was expected to be fully operational in two years, Whineray said.
The move was all part of Fonterra's Long Term Strategy, with the co-op investing around $400 million over the next eight years to reduce water use and improve water treatment at its manufacturing sites throughout the country.
"We've recently completed the installation of a new plant at Whareroa ... in Taranaki and works are already underway in our Tirau and Te Awamutu sites," Whineray said.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME."Water is critical to all New Zealanders and we want to conserve, protect and reuse it because it's fundamental to all of our activities here."
Meanwhile, Fonterra recently announced its interim results, which was a great time for the co-op to reflect on "how we're travelling" for the first half of the financial year, Whineray said.
Fonterra had made "some very good progress" even with the added pressure of the Covid-19 pandemic, he said.
"We've looked after our people - that's been critical as we're still rolling through Omicron coming down the island - and we've delivered safe quality products to our customers [through] some challenges with the supply chain."
A big highlight from the interim results for Whineray was that, even after all these challenges, Fonterra had still managed to pick up "that great milk from our farmers".
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https://www.nzherald.co.nz/the-country/listen/fraser-whineray-on-how-fonterra-is-improving-its-water-use/PLA66US4Q4IYQP2526QUY6SSMU/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:13Z
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Western Australia's leading jockey William Pike struck late to seal a treble at Newcastle on Thursday, featuring Pappali in the Provincial Championships wildcard (1400 metres).
Josh Callinan
Sports Journalist, Newcastle Herald
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
More from Local News
More from Local News
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https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/7681262/wa-jockey-william-pike-strikes-late-treble-at-newcastle/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:14Z
|
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "Pick 3 Evening" game were:
3-8-4, FIREBALL: 5
(three, eight, four; FIREBALL: five)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "Pick 3 Evening" game were:
3-8-4, FIREBALL: 5
(three, eight, four; FIREBALL: five)
|
https://www.thehour.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Pick-3-Evening-game-17049719.php
| 2022-04-01T00:23:14Z
|
Bulls Finalized Injury Report Against The Clippers
The Chicago Bulls have announced their final injury report for Thursday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Chicago Bulls are hosting the Los Angeles Clippers in Illinois on Thursday evening, and for the game they have finalized their injury report.
The final injury report for the Bulls can be seen in the screenshot that is captured below from the NBA's official injury report.
Zach LaVine has been upgraded form probable to available for the contest, while everyone else remains ruled out.
The Bulls are the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 44-32 record int he 76 games that they have played this season.
The Related stories on NBA basketball
- KEMBA WALKER CAN STILL HELP A CONTENDING TEAM: Kemba Walker's tenure with the New York Knicks appears to have ended. However, I still believe that the four-time NBA All-Star can be a productive player. Especially on a team that is contending for an NBA Championship. He has played for the Charlotte Hornets, Boston Celtics and Knicks over his 11-year NBA career. CLICK HERE.
- CAN KRISTAPS STILL BE AN ALL-STAR? Ben Stinar and Haley Jordan sat down to talk about Washington Wizards star Kristaps Porzingis in a recent episode of Stinar For 3. Porzingis was traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Washington Wizards at the NBA Trading Deadline. He has not been an All-Star since 2018, when he was on the New York Knicks. CLICK HERE.
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https://www.si.com/fannation/nba/fastbreak/injuries/the-chicago-bulls-have-announced-their-final-injury-report-for-thursdays-game-against-the-los-angeles-clippers
| 2022-04-01T00:23:14Z
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Putin Threatens To Cut Europe’s Gas; NATO, Zelensky Claim Russia Regrouping For New Ukraine Attacks
Heavy fighting has continued on the outskirts of Kyiv and other zones amid claims that Russia is preparing new attacks in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Ukraine is seeing a buildup of Russian forces for new strikes in Donbas. Meanwhile, Putin has said that “unfriendly” countries, including all EU members, will need to set up ruble accounts to pay for gas deliveries from April. Germany – Russia’s largest EU customer – said it would not be blackmailed, while France said that it is planning to cut Russian gas deliveries. Soon after, US President Joe Biden announced the release of an unprecedented one million barrels of oil from the country’s strategic stockpiles.
Links:
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https://www.stl.news/aiovg_videos/putin-threatens-to-cut-europes-gas/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:14Z
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US will require valves on new pipelines to prevent disasters
U.S. officers are adopting a protracted delayed rule geared toward lowering deaths and environmental injury from oil and gasoline pipeline ruptures
BILLINGS, Mont. — U.S. officers on Monday adopted a protracted delayed rule geared toward lowering deaths and environmental injury from oil and gasoline pipeline ruptures in response to deadly explosions and large spills that occurred in California, Michigan and different states.
But security advocates mentioned the U.S. Transportation Department transfer wouldn’t have averted the accidents that prompted the rule as a result of it applies solely to new pipelines — and never the tons of of hundreds of miles of strains that already crisscross the nation.
The rule requires corporations to put in valves that may shortly shut off the move of oil, pure gasoline or different hazardous fuels when pipelines rupture. It got here in response to an enormous gasoline explosion in San Bruno, California, that killed eight folks in 2010, and to giant oil spills into Michigan’s Kalamazoo River and Montana’s Yellowstone River and different spills.
The National Transportation Safety Board for the reason that Nineties has really useful using computerized or distant managed valves on giant pipelines — whether or not they’re current or new — to scale back the severity of accidents.
But pipeline corporations resisted new valve necessities due to the expense of putting in them and issues they may shut by chance and shut off gas provides.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg mentioned the extra stringent rules for the trade have been wanted as a result of too many individuals have been harmed by pipeline failures.
He mentioned set up of the valves would additionally defend towards giant releases of methane, a extremely potent greenhouse gasoline blamed for serving to drive local weather change.
“Today we are taking an important step to protect communities against hazardous pipeline leaks — helping to save the lives, property, and jobs of people in every part of the country while preventing super-polluting methane leaks.” Buttigieg said.
The Pipeline Safety Trust, a Bellingham, Washington-based advocacy group, said the rule marked progress since Congress mandated more stringent pipeline regulations more than a decade ago.
But the group said exempting pipelines that are already in the ground means it would not prevent a repeat of the accident at San Bruno, which involved a pipeline that was more than 60 years old.
“This rule falls far short of the NTSB recommendation and will offer no additional safety to communities living near existing pipelines,” mentioned Bill Caram, government director of the protection belief.
———
Follow Matthew Brown: @matthewbrownAP
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https://thewall.fyi/us-will-require-valves-on-new-pipelines-to-prevent-disasters/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:13Z
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Why Meghan King & Cuffe Biden Owens REALLY Split
Meghan King says her marriage to Cuffe Biden Owens seemed like a good idea.
The Real Housewives of Orange County star told Jeff Lewis in an interview for his Sirius XM’s Jeff Lewis Live, that her union with her now estranged husband Cuffe felt like an arranged marriage.
Meghan said she decided to marry Cuffe—who is also President Joe Biden’s cousin—because she was “so ready for a partner” and needed help taking care of her three kids she shares with ex Jim Edmonds—Aspen King Edmonds, 5, Hart Edmonds, 3, Hayes Edmonds, 3.
“I just wanted some help and I want a partnership,” she said. “And so, you know, he said all the right things and I and the families were a good, good fit. And he seemed to grow up similarly to me and it was almost like an arranged marriage.”
But the arrangement didn’t last long. Meghan announced she would be splitting from Cuffe after two months of marriage in an Instagram Story on Dec. 27, saying, “I’ve been asked by many outlets and individuals to comment on the state of my marriage. I am rattled. This situation is profoundly devastating. This is obviously not what I imagined when I made my vows—and I’m shocked and saddened by the way things turned out.” She is now seeking annulment.
She also told Jeff about her previous marriages, saying that her relationship with her first husband Brad McDill “didn’t count” since they married when she was 22, adding, “That was like a practice.”
The first “real” marriage was with her ex-husband of about five years Jim.
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https://www.clichemag.com/celebrity-news/why-meghan-king-says-cuffe-biden-owens-relationship-was-like-an-arranged-marriage-cmpidrss-000000-rssfeed-365-topstoriesutm_sourceeonlineutm_mediumrssfeedsutm_campaignrss_topstorie/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:14Z
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — The first podcast from Prince Harry and Meghan’s partnership with Spotify will focus on harmful labels and stereotypes applied to women.
The “Archetypes” podcast will be hosted by Meghan and is expected to launch this summer.
The series will feature interviews with historians and experts to “investigate the labels that try to hold women back,” according to a summary posted on Spotify. The streaming service on Thursday released a minute-long teaser that opened with clips of peopleusing the words “slut” and “skanky” and talking about the stereotypes applied to women’s strength and intelligence.
“I’m Meghan and this is ‘Archetypes,’ the podcast where we dissect, explore and subvert the labels that try to hold women back,” the Duchess of Sussex says on the clip.
No lineup of guests has been announced.
Harry and Meghan have a multi-year deal to produce and host podcasts for Spotify under their production company Archewell Audio. In January the couple called on the streaming service to do more to combat COVID-19 misinformation.
It is one of several high-profile deals the couple has, including one with Netflix. Harry and Meghan stepped away from royal duties in March 2020 over what they described as intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media toward the duchess. They have since relocated to California, where they are raising their two children, Archie and Lili.
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https://www.localsyr.com/entertainment-news/meghans-1st-spotify-podcast-to-focus-on-female-stereotypes/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:14Z
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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "Pick 3 Evening" game were:
3-8-4, FIREBALL: 5
(three, eight, four; FIREBALL: five)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "Pick 3 Evening" game were:
3-8-4, FIREBALL: 5
(three, eight, four; FIREBALL: five)
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https://www.myjournalcourier.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Pick-3-Evening-game-17049719.php
| 2022-04-01T00:23:15Z
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DETROIT (AP) — In the long debate over whether Black Americans should be granted reparations for the atrocity and injustices of slavery and racism, California took a big step this week toward becoming the first U.S. state to make some form of restitution a reality.
The state’s reparations task force tackled the divisive issue of which Black residents should be eligible — it narrowly decided in favor of limiting compensation to the descendants of free and enslaved Black people who were in the U.S. in the 19th century.
Whether Tuesday’s vote by the task force spurs other states and cities to advance their own proposals, and whether they adopt California’s still controversial standard for who would benefit, remains to be seen. Some veteran reparations advocates disagree strongly with proposals to limiting eligibility to only Black people who can prove they have enslaved ancestors, while excluding those who cannot and leaving out victims of other historic injustices, such as redlining and mass incarceration.
Still, one advocate noted California’s move is a step that could lend momentum to stalled reparation proposals elsewhere in the U.S.
“It’s precipitated a debate and it will influence communities,” said Ron Daniels, president of The Institute of the Black World 21st Century and administrator of the National African American Reparations Commission, an advocacy group of scholars and activists.
As to whether others will adopt the same approach to eligibility, Daniels said: “That’s to be decided. …We think that ultimately a more expansive definition will prevail.”
The commission headed by Daniels has taken a position that limiting reparations to slave descendants, or to Americans whose ancestors were free Blacks living during the time of slavery, ignores the effects of racism that persisted for more than a century after emancipation.
“There are always going to be criteria” for reparations, Daniels said. “The problem is the harms have been so gross that almost no Black person is not eligible in some form or another.”
Although there is still debate among historians about when exactly the practice began, chattel slavery in what would become the U.S. dates back to 1619 when about 20 enslaved Africans were brought to Jamestown, Virginia — then a British colony. Over the next two centuries, more than 300,000 men, women and children were forcibly taken from Africa to work on plantations in southern colonies and later the Southern states, according to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, a project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and maintained by Rice University.
Slavery in the U.S. officially ended in 1865 with the ratification of the 13th Amendment. Union Army General William Sherman promised compensation to freed slaves in the form of land and mules to farm it — hence the phrase “40 acres and a mule” — after the North’s victory over the South in the Civil War. But President Andrew Johnson took away the offer.
More than 120 years later, then-Rep. John Conyers, a Detroit Democrat, first introduced H.R. 40, a bill that would create a federal commission to study reparations and make proposals. Conyers reintroduced it in every congressional session until he resigned in 2017. As a candidate, President Joe Biden said he supported creating the commission, but has yet to formally back it as commander-in-chief. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat, is currently the lead sponsor of the House bill.
Getting governmental leaders to openly consider slavery reparations has been daunting and taken decades. But progress has been made at both the state and local levels, particularly since the national reckoning on racial injustice that was sparked after the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
In Michigan, legislative proposals submitted earlier this year in the House of Representatives call for $1.5 billion in federal dollars to be placed in a racial equity and reparations fund within the state’s treasury. The funds would be issued to various state departments and agencies to provide grants, loans and other economic assistance for businesses and economic developments that promote the Black community.
The bills have yet to receive a hearing in the House.
Last year, Evanston, Illinois, — the first U.S. city to find a source of funding for reparations — began giving eligible Black residents $25,000 housing grants for down payments, repairs or existing mortgages. The program is meant to atone for the history of racial redlining and housing discrimination. Recipients were selected randomly from among the applicants, Black residents who lived in the city between 1919 and 1969.
And in Providence, Rhode Island, the mayor announced a city commission on reparations in February that will look to atone for the city’s role in slavery and systemic racism, as well as the mistreatment of Native Americans.
For Anita Belle, a grassroots activist in Detroit, where residents in the mostly Black city voted in November to create a city reparations commission, getting to this point in the pursuit of reparations is cause for celebration. But what happens next is worrisome, especially when it comes to who gets what and how much, she said.
“I am happy for all of us who have doing the groundwork for all these years,” said Belle, founder of the Reparations Labor Union. “We are somewhat afraid that these people who have jumped on the bandwagon are actually there to sabotage it and make reparations $12.62, if that. There will be those saboteurs — people who look like us, but have hidden agendas.”
“You have some of that fear in California where the scope for reparations was narrowed to the people who can prove they were enslaved,” she added. “The people of California will be like ’why am I paying reparations for someone who was enslaved in Mississippi?'”
In California, the task force is taking the next step with economists to determine the cost of compensating more than 2 million Black residents, although all of them would not be eligible. Following slavery abolition, Black migration to California happened primarily in the immediate decades after World War II, with newly-arrived African Americans settling in cities like Oakland, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The Black population there rose from just under a half million residents, or 4.4% of the population, in 1950 to 1.4 million residents, or 7% of the population, by 1970. Decades later, the 2020 census recorded 2.1 million Black residents in California, or about 5.3% of the state’s population.
While proposals and who would be eligible appear to vary, they still are types of reparations, according to Rashawn Ray, senior fellow of Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution.
“California chose to focus on enslavement of Black people,” Ray said. “In Evanston, it’s red lining and housing segregation. Both are issues that need restitution to them based on what the wrong is.”
But, Ray added, “Federal reparations — without a doubt and hands-down — that’s what we need. What is happening in California should be happening in Congress.”
As a former alderman for the city of Evanston, Illinois, and a longtime reparations advocate, Robin Rue Simmons said reaching consensus on eligibility can be tough because policymakers should be as expansive and inclusive as possible, while also identifying specific harms that they’re seeking to address.
The big step taken by California could help spur action on reparations proposals in other cities and states, Simmons said, and perhaps add pressure for the federal government to act, which she sees as critical.
She doesn’t expect California’s lineage-based eligibility standard to become the norm.
“I don’t think any community should think that another has figured it out for them,” Simmons said, “because every community is going to have their own priorities and their specific history.”
___
Bynum reported from Savannah, Ga. AP writers Janie Har in San Francisco and Michael Schneider in Orlando contributed to this story.
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https://www.wowktv.com/news/u-s-world/ca-reparations-plan-advances-broader-movement-advocates-say/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:15Z
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The US Navy is deploying six Growler electronic warfare aircraft to Germany.
The jets jam and destroy enemy air defence radar.
The Pentagon stresses the move’s aimed at bolstering NATO’s eastern flank and says the jets won’t engage with Russian forces.
Simon Newton reports.
Links:
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https://www.stl.news/aiovg_videos/the-growler-radar-jamming-us-aircraft-going-to-germany/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:15Z
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For everyone thirst-watching Moon Knight on Disney+ for Oscar Isaac, you might have been surprised (and/or delighted) to hear the Guatemala-born actor speak in a high-pitched British accent while playing a museum worker with dissociative identity disorder, Steven Grant. Well, Isaac told Variety he decided to give Grant the British touch himself, saying it was a way of “committing to completely different people.” Moon Knight was slated to be set in New York, like many other Marvel movies, but the setting was moved to London, and so went Isaac’s accent. Although fans are kind of into it, the accent didn’t initially meet with enthusiasm. “I was in a position — because I wasn’t actively looking to get back into something this big — to say, ‘This is how I see it, and if you guys don’t see it that way, that’s totally okay. But then maybe it’s not the right fit,’” he said.
In another power move, Isaac won’t have to remain tethered to the MCU after Moon Knight ends its run in May. “I had heard of the golden handcuffs,” he told Variety. “That was something I was reticent about. And luckily, we all agreed that this [show] is what we’re going to focus on. This is the story. And if there’s any kind of future, I think it just depends on if people like it, if people want to see more, and if we find a story that’s worth telling.” Inscrutable-accent era incoming.
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https://www.vulture.com/2022/03/oscar-issac-moon-knight-accent.html
| 2022-04-01T00:23:15Z
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China’s Xi Strongly Backs Afghanistan at Regional Conference
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi pose for photos next to Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi at left and Taliban-appointed Afghanistan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi at right during a meeting held in Tunxi district in eastern China's Anhui province on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday issued strong backing for Afghanistan at a regional conference, while making no mention of human rights abuses by the country's Taliban leaders. (Zhou Mu/Xinhua via AP)
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping issued strong backing for Afghanistan at a regional conference Thursday, while making no mention of human rights abuses by the country’s Taliban leaders. China’s foreign minister, meanwhile, led calls for the U.S. to unfreeze Afghan assets held abroad and end sanctions on the government.
Xi pledged China’s support in a message to a gathering of representatives from Afghanistan, China, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in a central Chinese city, spotlighting Beijing’s aspirations to play a leading role in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of U.S. forces last August.
A “peaceful, stable, developed and prosperous Afghanistan” is what Afghans aspire to, which “serves the common interests of regional countries and the international community,” Xi said.
“China has all along respected Afghanistan’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and is committed to supporting Afghanistan’s peaceful and stable development,” Xi said in his message to the gathering in Tunxi, a center of the tourism industry in Anhui province.
A joint statement issued after the meeting noted the importance of ensuring women’s rights and children’s education and protecting the rights of all ethnic groups. It also “urged the countries mainly responsible for the current predicament in Afghanistan” to fulfill their commitments on its economic recovery.
China’s Foreign Ministry said the sides agreed that the U.S. and NATO should “earnestly assume the primary responsibility for the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan, and return the property of the Afghan people as soon as possible,” in a reference to the $7 billion in frozen Afghan assets held by the U.S.
President Joe Biden has said his administration will unfreeze $3.5 billion of those funds for families of 9/11 victims against the strenuous protests of the Taliban and others.
Afghanistan’s economy is teetering on the brink of collapse after international money stopped coming into the country with the Taliban’s arrival. The United Nations warns that 1 million children are in danger of starving and 90% of Afghans live below the poverty level of just $1.90 a day.
In his comments, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi continued Beijing’s attacks on the U.S. over its handling of Afghanistan, saying that as the “initiator of Afghanistan’s predicament,” Washington should “take the major responsibility,” end its unilateral sanctions on the country and unconditionally return Afghanistan’s state assets.
Afghanistan has achieved “certain partial results” in boosting stability, improving livelihoods, and protecting human rights, Wang said, despite widespread reports of abuses and incompetent governance under the Taliban.
However, Afghanistan “has a long way to go to achieve lasting peace, sustainable development and to advance its foreign relations,” he said.
Neither Xi or Wang gave specifics on future Chinese assistance, although China has already shipped emergency aid to Afghanistan and is seeking to develop copper mining there.
China follows what it calls a strict policy of “non-intervention” in other countries’ internal affairs, including opposing those staged for humanitarian purposes unless sanctioned by the United Nations. Despite that, Beijing is frequently accused of meddling to further its own domestic and international interests.
Separately, Wang also attended a meeting of special envoys for Afghanistan from China, the United States and Russia, a group known as the “Extended Troika.” At that forum, Wang again called for an end to “unreasonable” sanctions and the unfreezing of Afghan assets, saying the U.S. should take “practical steps” on those matters.
Although it has yet to recognize the Taliban government, China has moved quickly to shore up its ties with the radical Islamic group.
A month before the Taliban took power, Wang hosted a high-powered delegation from the group for a July 28, 2021, meeting in the Chinese port city of Tianjin. He referred to the group as “pivotal” force important to peace and reconstruction in Afghanistan.
On that and other occasions, Chinese have pushed the Taliban for assurances they will not permit operations within Afghanistan’s borders by members of China’s Turkic Muslim Uyghur minority intent on overthrowing Chinese rule in their native region of Xinjiang.
Wang also made a surprise stop in Kabul last week to meet Taliban leaders, even as the international community fumed over the hard-line movement’s broken promise a day earlier to open schools to girls beyond the sixth grade.
China has studiously avoided mentioning the limits on girls’ education and other human rights abuses, particularly those targeting women, while keeping its Kabul embassy open.
The foreign ministers of Qatar and Indonesia have been invited to the meeting of neighboring states as guests. Taliban-appointed foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, is representing Afghanistan at the meeting.
Participants agreed to a mechanism for regular meetings of their special envoys for Afghanistan and three working groups to coordinate on political and diplomatic affairs, economics and humanitarianism, and security and stability.
Uzbekistan will host the fourth foreign ministers’ meeting.
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http://panafricannews.blogspot.com/2022/03/chinas-xi-strongly-backs-afghanistan-at.html
| 2022-04-01T00:23:15Z
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A man has been charged with more than 40 offences after police swooped on a Hamilton home on Thursday in relation to a fraud investigation.
Sage Swinton
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter, where she has worked as a journalist for the past seven years. She been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter, where she has worked as a journalist for the past seven years. She been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
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https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/7681300/man-charged-with-41-offences-after-hamilton-raid/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:15Z
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NEW YORK (AP) — Once a familiar voice on NPR, Audie Cornish says she signed on to the new CNN+ streaming service in part out of the sense she was helping to opena new frontier.
After much talk, nearly $100 million in development costs and some 500 employees assigned to the task — many, like Cornish, new hires — CNN+ is set to launch next Tuesday.
The company on Thursday revealed a typical day’s schedule, with a news countdown hosted by Kate Bolduan, a deep-dive news hour hosted by Sara Sidner, a Chris Wallace interview show, and hours on politics, international news and the media topped by Wolf Blitzer’s evening newscast.
“It’s so rare to have a legacy news organization pour resources into something like this, at this scale,” said Cornish, whose weekly interview show “20 Questions” will debut in May. “A lot of times people say they will pivot into something, and it can be half-hearted. I really appreciated that they were going all-in.”
She said that it’s “rare that anyone says come and do what you do for us. It’s usually, ‘come and do what we need.’”
CNN+ is a big swing, done at a tumultuous time in the company’s leadership, and there’s no shortage of skepticism in the industry about its chances. But CNN views streaming as the future, a way to engage younger consumers, and sees The New York Times as the model for a successful news subscription service.
It will cost $5.99 a month, but charter subscribers can lock in a $2.99 monthly charge in perpetuity if they act within a month of the launch.
“We think it will be incredibly attractive to the CNN fan, people who respond to our journalism, people who tune to us when there’s something going on in the world,” said Andrew Morse, executive vice president and chief digital officer at CNN. “At its heart, CNN+ will be about great journalism and story-telling.”
While news is the core, and CNN+ will have the ability to go live on big stories, the service is also relying on a growing library of original series and films, such as “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown” and “RBG.” CNN+ will also emphasize programs featuring people who have a specific, devoted following, like Alison Roman in cooking, Scott Galloway in business and Jemele Hill and Rex Chapman in sports and culture. CNN’s Anderson Cooper will have a show on parenting, and Jake Tapper, a seven-time author himself, will have a program focusing on books.
Two online series will be available at launch: “The Murdochs: Empire of Influence,” about media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and “The Land of the Giants: Titans of Tech,” profiles of the biggest high-tech firms.
Also planned is an interactive element where subscribers can put questions directly to show hosts.
News competitors are already in the paid streaming space. Fox Nation, another paid subscription service, is designed to appeal to those who like Fox’s opinion programming. MSNBC recently announced that it will make many of its programs available through Peacock.
The ABC, CBS and NBC broadcast news divisions offer news streaming products for free.
One analyst said CNN+ may receive a boost because the war in Ukraine is reminding many consumers of the company’s news muscles. CNN+ will be attractive to consumers who are cutting the cable cord but don’t want to lose access to news and information, said Alan Wolk, co-founder of TVREV, a media analysis firm.
With questions about the future of cable news given its older audiences, CNN+ is the latest big step in the news industry’s seemingly endless quest to reach more young people, he said.
Stephen Beck, managing partner of the consulting firm cg42, said he’s concerned that CNN+ will be caught in a consumer squeeze. People have only so much money to spend on streaming services and usually opt for behemoths like Netflix, Amazon or Disney.
He questions whether CNN+ will have enough juice to compete.
“From a content side, they don’t have big draws and, at the end of the day, that’s what gets you into the home and onto the screen,” Beck said.
The launch comes at a time of transition for CNN, often trouble for new ventures. The network’s chief executive, Jeff Zucker, was ousted in early February along with marketing executive Allison Gollust after they didn’t reveal their romantic relationship to corporate superiors.
They were expected to be forceful salespeople for CNN+. And what seemed to be a steady stream of prominent hires of people like Wallace, an ex-Fox News anchor, and Kasie Hunt of NBC News has dried up since Zucker, also a persuasive recruiter, left the building.
Morse said Zucker’s exit has not affected talent acquisition. Cornish, who joined CNN+ a month before Zucker’s exit, said she wasn’t recruited by him. Morse said other new hires will be announced soon, with health and wellness a focus.
He said he hasn’t discussed CNN+ with Chris Licht, who has been hired as Zucker’s replacement but hasn’t started yet. CNN is also awaiting a change in corporate ownership, with Discovery’s takeover from AT&T expected to get approval soon.
That impending change may have something to do with a hiring lull. Discovery’s ownership may also make more talent available to CNN+ and perhaps more importantly, an avenue to more customers if it could team with Discovery and HBO Max services.
For now, the focus starts at 7 a.m. Eastern on Tuesday with “5 Things with Kate Bolduan,” a countdown of the day’s top stories that is modeled after a popular CNN newsletter and podcast.
The daily schedule also includes “Go There,” which will travel around the world for news reports from CNN correspondents. The CNN+ news programming will not simulcast any current CNN television shows; contracts with cable and satellite providers forbid that.
Media correspondent Brian Stelter will have a daily version of his “Reliable Sources” show and Wallace, known for his political interviews on “Fox News Sunday,” will also venture into other subject areas on “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?”
Blitzer’s 7:30 p.m. Eastern newscast is the last scheduled live program of the day.
“We believe fundamentally the future is incredibly bright if we can build a global subscription product that values incredibly important journalism,” Morse said. “If we can do that, that will be really important to the future of CNN, but also really important to the future of the news business.”
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https://www.localsyr.com/entertainment-news/opening-day-cnn-streaming-service-ready-for-launch-tuesday/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:15Z
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Judo federation removes Putin’s titles
The International Judo Federation (IFJ) has stripped Vladimir Putin of his titles and positions over his war in Ukraine.
The federation also removed titles and jobs held by Russian businessman Arkady Rotenberg, a longtime supporter of the Kremlin and friend of Putin.
“The International Judo Federation announces that Mr. Vladimir Putin and Mr. Arkady Rotenberg have been removed from all positions held in the International Judo Federation,” the federation said in a statement.
The federation had already suspended Putin’s honorary presidency of the IJF last week due to “the ongoing war conflict in Ukraine,” the organization said. Rotenberg was a member of the IJF executive committee as “development manager.”
World Taekwondo previously removed the honorary black belt from Putin after declaring that the “brutal attacks on innocent lives” did not follow its motto: “Peace is More Precious than Triumph.”
The organization also said that it would prohibit the display of the Russian flag and ban its anthem from being played during events.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to an untold number of casualties and more than 1.7 million refugees who have fled their homes in the war-torn country.
The Hill has removed its comment section, as there are many other forums for readers to participate in the conversation. We invite you to join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter.
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https://thehill.com/policy/international/597149-judo-federation-removes-putins-titles/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:15Z
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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Tommy La Stella still says being ready to play on Opening Day is up in the air for him.
“I wouldn’t say there’s a change in that yet,” La Stella said.
But through two games of spring action so far, he’s making quite the case for himself.
As he comes back from Achilles surgery, La Stella had another action-packed outing even though he only played three innings, going 2-for-2 with a homer and playing second base for the first time in the spring.
“He swung the bat really well, obviously — Tommy-style at-bats,” Kapler said.
After going 1-for-2 with a well-hit flyout, a three-run double and a walk on Tuesday, La Stella started off Thursday by pulling a homer to right, just coming a few feet short of hitting the Charro Lodge. He added a single in the first and advanced station-to-station to score a run in the second, the fifth run in the Giants’ 13-2 win over the Rockies at Scottsdale Stadium on Thursday.
Playing at second base for the first time in a spring game, La Stella got tested in every which way in the third inning alone: running in to track a pop up, going to his left for a ground ball (that just went under his glove) and going to his right to snag a grounder on the run (though his throw back across his body to first was not in time for an out).
“Didn’t get cheated on defensively,” La Stella quipped before adding, “It was good to be out there and go side-to-side. And be able to rebound and come back on the next play. Whenever I am ready, that’s the stuff I’ve got to be able to do.”
Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford added, “I think he’d probably be the first one to say he probably wasn’t at his quickest out there, but just to get him moving around, that’s great.”
But Kapler said he was actually impressed in how La Stella — and other Giants veterans, too — has been able to not push himself and try to do too much, saying La Stella “was measured on both defense and on the bases, by design.”
“One of the things that I find really impressive is when a player is able to put a governor on [themselves],” Kapler said. “It makes us trust that, in that sort of situation in the regular season, we can understand that he’s not going to be beating out a ground ball, he’s not going to make a diving play up the middle or to his right and get up and throw a runner out. But then we’re going to get the high-quality at-bats.
If we need to do something like replace them on the bases or on defense, we’re willing to do that to have his bat around in shorter periods of time. He’s plenty capable of playing good defense, running the bases well, all of those things. But I think it’s worth noting that there are ways that we can protect him and we have protected him in the past.”
Even with those breaks in place, the swings are still looking sharp, which doesn’t come as a surprise to Crawford.
“He’s always had a pretty simple swing, so it’s probably not going to take him a whole lot of time in spring to get going,” Crawford said. “He has great eye-hand coordination and can handle the bat and is a great contact guy. To have him in the lineup is definitely a good thing for us.”
And as for the roster spot on Opening Day? “Nothing’s off the table,” Kapler said. “We keep everything on the table.”
Crawford’s tweaks at plate give instant pay-off
Right after La Stella’s first inning homer, Crawford stepped up next and added one of his own with a shot to right-center — even though he joked he wouldn’t have cared if it went out or not, given the time of year.
“I don’t really want to waste them in spring,” Crawford said.
But this particular one was a welcomed sight for Crawford, who entered Thursday 0-for-the-spring in 10 at-bats with six strikeouts. He finished the day with a .214 batting average after going 3-for-4 with the first inning homer, an RBI single in the second and an RBI double in the seventh.
Crawford said he worked on his swing on Wednesday and started feeling better during a live batting practice session right after. Seeing the tweaks carry over into the game was welcomed.
“Even if I hit a few balls hard and got out, honestly, I would have felt a lot better about where my swing is at, as far as timing and approach and swinging at the right pitches,” Crawford said. “Obviously, anything I’ll take a hit, but I prefer to hit the ball hard and feel good about my swing, confident about my swing.”
Wood welcomes the traffic in third spring outing
It’s only Logan Webb and Alex Wood who have made three starts in games this spring, and Wood’s Thursday outing came with the rapid pace he’s become known for.
But while the Giants offense was working the Rockies for five runs, six hits and four walks in the first two innings, Wood was anxiously waiting to get back out on the mound, reaching the rubber seemingly seconds after the final out of the bottom-half of the innings were recorded.
He finished the day throwing around 65 pitches in 4.1 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and a walk and striking out four. He gave up both runs and all but one of his hits in the third, but he actually was just fine with having to deal with the traffic on the bases, a good check on his mechanics — and his rhythm — out of the stretch.
“I’ve made a conscious effort the last two seasons to make sure I’m looking at runners, whether they’re there or not,” Wood said. “I felt pretty comfortable with guys on, but it was definitely nice to have a little traffic out there and have to work a little bit harder than you would in a clean inning.”
But yet Wood was still able to get through the trouble and into the fifth and helped push the spring game’s time to under three hours, something that aligns with the Giants’ pitching philosophy of working fast and throwing strikes.
“Funny how that tends to correlate,” Kapler quipped postgame.
And why is Wood so quick to the plate?
“It’s probably my personality,” Wood said with a smile. “To be honest, I don’t like to wait around. I’m not a very patient person. That’s one of my faults as a human being.”
But what can be considered a fault in some aspects of life is a strength in others, and defenders absolutely love playing behind Wood, with La Stella saying Wood’s quickness is “on another level” compared to any other pitchers he’s played behind.
Wood is set to make one more start in Arizona before the season begins, aiming to get to around 80 pitches. But Wood wasn’t sure if he’d face the A’s on Tuesday, as the schedule currently lines him up to do.
Meanwhile, with Alex Cobb set to start on Friday, the rotation would typically indicate that Logan Webb would start Saturday, when the Giants have their lone spring game against the Dodgers.
But even with the abbreviated spring making the in-game repetitions more valued, there will be no rematch on Saturday. Kervin Castro was officially listed as the starter, with Webb instead pitching a simulated game. It’s a bit of gamesmanship that Kapler hinted was possible.
“I think there’s still time to play around with that a little bit, I just don’t think it can be the number one priority at this point,” Kapler said on Wednesday. “Number one priority is getting our pitchers the innings they need to be ready to go as deep into games as possible and to handle as many pitches as possible.
“Doesn’t mean that the competition element or the gamesmanship element goes out the window, but I think we just stay focused on the other side of that right now.”
The Giants didn’t shy away from starting Wood against the Rockies or Carlós Rodon against the Padres on Tuesday. But after their season-long battle last year, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Giants are treating the Dodgers differently.
Giants keep focus on mental health ahead of season opener
The Giants organization has continued its focus on mental health, designating Thursday as Mental Health Day in camp. It’s something that the manager strongly believes in.
“This is important because we believe that everybody in our player population is suffering with something,” Kapler said. “It could be something that’s going on at home, a family rift, it could be anxiety issues, it could be depressing issues. And those are elevated at different times for different players. And frankly, it’s not just our players – it’s also our staff, it’s also our front office.
“It’s every member of our organization.”
The team wore shirts with “Strength isn’t always mental” on the front and #EndTheStigma as part of their efforts to increase mental health awareness, and Drew Robinson and Dr. Shana Alexander both addressed the team earlier in the morning, reiterating that “everyone is suffering” message.
“It takes the edge off for the people that are listening,” Kapler said. “Because whatever it is that you’re dealing with from a mental health perspective, oftentimes you feel like you’re the only person — and especially in a historically competition-driven environment, showing any sort of weakness has always been seen as a lack of strength. In reality, we believe it is the direct opposite of that. It’s an indication of strength.”
Robinson, the former minor leaguer who lost an eye from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 2020, is now in his capacity as a mental health advocate and Alexander — a clinical psychologist — as the Giants’ employee assistance program director. The Giants also have had Kellen Lee on staff since January 2020 as a minor league mental skills coach.
Kapler feels that the focus on mental health gives the Giants a leg up on the competition, but it’s one he’s happy to share with others.
“I think it’s definitely a competitive advantage, but also something we have to share because it’s the right thing to do,” Kapler said. “People are suffering, we can help them suffer less. There are some things that we want to keep quite proprietary. This is not one of them.”
Alexander was the one in charge of the t-shirts, which were initially just made for the team. But Kapler would be happy if the Giants decided to sell them: “No reason we wouldn’t want a lot of people wearing these shirts.”
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https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2022/03/31/sf-giants-notebook-tommy-la-stellas-bat-is-making-it-hard-to-keep-him-off-opening-day-roster/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:17Z
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Dolly Parton is sharing her support for those fighting the wildfires in Wears Valley and Sevier County.
On Thursday, Parton tweeted, “I’ve been keeping up with everything going on with the fires near my home area. It looks scary on TV, but I’m proud of how everyone in the area has pulled together like they always do. I’m especially proud of the brave men and women who are working to contain the fire.”
The fire has burned at least 3,700 acres and at least 500 people have been evacuated. The fire is still burning, with 30 percent contained. More evacuations were ordered late Thursday, more than 24 hours after the fire broke out on Hatcher Mountain in Wears Valley.
Parton also wrote, “I know there are some folks who have been affected, and I hope that you will join me in saying a prayer for them. During this time, I’ve also remained in touch with my people at Dollywood who have assured me everything is okay there.”
Pigeon Forge leaders said Thursday at a press conference that firefighters had kept the flames from entering the city limits.
To find out ways to help those impacted, click here.
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https://wreg.com/news/mid-south/dolly-parton-proud-of-wildfire-response-asks-prayer-for-victims/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:17Z
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The Inside Outside Guys: Increasing the amount of skilled workers
This question is just for the adults living in a home or apartment. In the past three years, have you had any difficulty finding skilled and trustworthy people to perform maintenance, repairs or building tasks in or around your home?
The answer is likely “yes” and there is a reason for it. During the Great Recession between 2007 and 2011 the construction industry lost more than 2 million workers and we are still paying the price for that loss.
The Midwest lost a higher proportion of those workers to southern climes and economies.
Great companies with more work than they can handle struggle to find a balance between keeping the employees they have and not burning them out while trying to find and train additional staff to help carry the load.
Based on a report issued by the Associated General Contractors of America in 2018, 80% percent of construction firms were having difficulty hiring craft workers. Our conversations with professionals today would have us peg that percentage nearer to 100%.
Adding to the problem is the fact that the current skilled labor force is getting older and moving to retirement. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 32% of construction laborers are between the ages of 45-64.
The industry is responding in several ways.
More companies are specializing in specific trades or product applications. Where we used to be primarily an association of generalists who could perform most any task in or around a house, firms today are more likely to become expert in a single trade whether its roofing, siding, windows, trim carpentry, or some other phase of building.
This strategy seems to benefit all parties in a busy economy as the specialists we encounter are more likely to understand the entire system of their segment of the work. For instance, a great roofing company will be affiliated with a specific product manufacturer who provides training, certification, and integrated product lines. This leads to better, longer-lasting roofs with better warranty.
The industry is also turning to technology. Modular assemblies delivered to the site can reduce the need for manpower, and robots have been developed to complete repetitive tasks such as brick laying and rebar tying. Autonomous heavy equipment can perform excavation, grading and other labor intensive tasks.
Other businesses are shrinking their geographic territory as a way to maximize human resources. As an example, where a firm may have historically traveled up to an hour away from their office to job sites, it is becoming more common for those same companies to only travel half an hour depending on population density. But we still need more people. More young people.
To answer this, groups like the Home Builders Association of Michigan are working with high school counselors to integrate curriculum into our K-12 Education system that highlights construction as a career alternative. Executive Vice President for Government Relations Dawn Crandall has worked tirelessly during the past several years to get this message out.
One publication she cites states that “as of 2020, the average student loan debt among graduates who have debt is $37,500.” Bloomberg reported in 2021 that there were some 8.7 million Americans over the age of 50 who were still paying off college loans.
Crandall challenges us with a great question, “What if a young adult could step out of high school and into a career that not only provides training and education, but also pays them for their effort?”
For example, ZipRecruiter says the average entry-level electrical apprentice job pays around $36,000 per year and provides training toward licensing and certification. A journeyman, after four years on the job, will average over $57,000 per year. After four years in college, a graduate will average $50,000 per year and is likely carrying heavy debt.
The professionals in the Washtenaw County area saw this as an issue decades ago when they partnered with the local school district to create a building trades program that is unique to the system.
While other school districts have cut or eliminated funding for such programs, the Ann Arbor Student Building Industry Program created an agreement with the school district. You provide a teacher, students and transportation to the building sites, and we will provide building lots, materials and marketing for the homes built by the students.
A recent tour of the current build project led by course instructor Mark Valchine proved the success of the venture. The students were focused and self-directed as several crews worked together to accomplish various tasks, from hanging a door to cutting and applying trim to windows.
Valchine explained that the program was more than a training ground for future builders. “We stress concepts like teamwork, communication, safe work practices and leadership along with the skills training we provide.”
There are many great careers waiting for your sons and daughters — and maybe even for you.
Contact your local high school counselor or Crandall at the Home Builders Association of Michigan – (517) 322-0224 - for further information on career opportunities.
And if you still need those great contractors? Go to Insideoutsideguys.com.
For housing advice and more, listen to the Inside Outside Guys every Saturday and Sunday on News/Talk 760, WJR-AM, from 10 a.m. to noon or contact us at insideoutsideguys.com.
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https://www.detroitnews.com/story/life/home-garden/2022/03/31/inside-outside-guys-increasing-amount-skilled-workers/7196753001/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:17Z
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Red Oak ISD's new formative assessment practice provides more frequent check-ins
Red Oak ISD continues to move forward with its new assessment system to ensure students don’t get left behind.
Melissa Sulak, executive director of curriculum and instruction, updated the ROISD Board of Trustees this past week on the district’s efforts to add an assessment practice to give teachers a more real-time feel for how their students are understanding the material.
In addition to the traditional summative assessment practice, which often includes a test at the end of a unit, semester or course, ROISD is phasing in a formative assessment process.
Formative assessments occur more frequently – possibly daily, weekly or even throughout a lesson. Sulak said formative assessments can be something informal, such as in-class discussion with students, or something more formal like a quiz.
“It’s information that teachers take to give them instruction and guidance on where to go next on instruction for individual students or for the class,” Sulak said. “It gives teachers timely feedback on student mastery and needs, it allows teachers to reflect on instruction and plan for future instruction, and it’s very customizable to the lesson to the class. It is ongoing.”
Sulak said formative assessment will be a focus for the district’s curriculum department and campus administrators into the 2022-23 school year.
“It’s the next logical step to our Texas Instructional Leadership process with our campuses,” Sulak said. “We did the lesson alignment piece this year and will focus heavily on formative assessment for next year.”
Sulak said there are two cohorts for the Texas Instructional Leadership process – the first one includes the high school, middle school and Red Oak Elementary, and they went through the lesson alignment and formative assessment last summer. The second cohort includes the other campuses and is going through the training this spring.
Sulak said 15-20 teachers have volunteered to be part of the progressive monitoring pilot group.
“They’re doing some things with that in their classrooms to test it out in Red Oak and get some people experienced with it so as we roll it out to more teachers they’ll be able to speak from first-hand experience,” Sulak said.
Sulak said the district is leaving it up to each campus as to when the process is implemented based on their needs. But she said she expects the process to progress further in 2022-23.
“As we move into next year we will continue to work with the lesson alignment and formative assessment process, really digging into its role in the instructional cycle and really taking on that aggressive monitoring and more information on formative assessment to help teachers be more comfortable with that and to use that information as they plan for instruction moving forward,” Sulak said.
She said ROISD will continue to offer academic support to students through tutoring, accelerated instruction, test preparation classes and programs, and online and virtual tools.
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https://www.waxahachietx.com/story/news/local/2022/03/31/red-oak-isd-adding-formative-assessment-process/7236045001/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:17Z
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Big Hat Days, the 2-day street festival that sprawls 15-blocks in Old Town Clovis, is happening this weekend April 2 and April 3.
The event is a tribute to Clovis’s western heritage and small-town values. It’s presented by the Clovis Chamber of Commerce and Chuckchansi Gold Resort and Casino.
There will be craft food and drink vendors, local makers, and live music.
84th Annual BIG Hat Days
April 2 and 3, 2022 in Old Town Clovis
Saturday, April 2nd 9am-6pm
Sunday, April 3rd 9am-5pm
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https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/cvt/the-84th-annual-big-hat-days-takes-over-old-town-clovis-this-weekend/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:17Z
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The University of New England announced Thursday that author and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt will deliver the address at the university’s 187th commencement exercise next month in Portland.
Haidt and David Evans Shaw, founder of IDEXX and visiting UNE lecturer, will each receive honorary degrees during the commencement ceremony, which will be held on May 21 at 10 a.m. at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland.
Haidt is a social psychologist at New York University’s Stern School of Business. His research includes examinations of morality and how morality varies across cultural and political divisions. He is the author of The New York Times bestsellers “The Righteous Mind” and “The Coddling of the American Mind.”
“At UNE, we believe that free expression, open inquiry, and respectful debate are crucial to our mission,” UNE President James D. Herbert said in a statement. “UNE’s culture of innovation is dependent on free expression and inquiry, and engaging in robust, sometimes controversial discourse is vital to ensuring a diverse and inclusive classroom environment, whereby students are free to share their ideas in a respectful and productive manner. Both Haidt and Shaw embody these important qualities in every aspect of their work, and I look forward to welcoming them both as we celebrate our talented Class of 2022 graduates.”
UNE will award more than 1,800 degrees in osteopathic medicine, dental medicine, pharmacy, health sciences, natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, human services, education and management during its commencement.
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Cops & Courts
Three people facing trafficking charges accused of hiding fentanyl in cans of beans
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News
Author and psychologist Jonathan Haidt to deliver UNE commencement address
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Feature Obituary
Nick Stanley, a Maine music fan who inspired musicians, dies at 43
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https://www.pressherald.com/2022/03/31/author-and-psychologist-jonathan-haidt-to-deliver-une-commencement-address/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:17Z
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WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday ordered the release of 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation's strategic petroleum reserve for six months, a bid to control energy prices that have spiked after the United States and allies imposed steep sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
The president said it was not known how much gasoline prices could decline as a result of his move, but he suggested it might be "anything from 10 cents to 35 cents a gallon." Gas is averaging about $4.23 a gallon, compared with $2.87 a year ago, according to AAA.
"The bottom line is if we want lower gas prices we need to have more oil supply right now," Biden said. "This is a moment of consequence and peril for the world, and pain at the pump for American families."
The president also wants Congress to impose financial penalties on oil and gas companies that lease public lands but are not producing. He said he will invoke the Defense Production Act to encourage the mining of critical minerals for batteries in electric vehicles, part of a broader push to shift toward cleaner energy sources and reduce the use of fossil fuels.
The actions show that oil remains a vulnerability for the U.S. Higher prices have hurt Biden's approval domestically and added billions of oil-export dollars to the Russian government as it wages war on Ukraine.
Tapping the stockpile would create pressures that could reduce oil prices, though Biden has twice ordered releases from the reserves without causing a meaningful shift in oil markets. Biden said Thursday he expects gasoline prices could drop "fairly significantly."
Part of Biden's concern is that high prices have not so far coaxed a meaningful jump in oil production. The planned release is a way to increase supplies as a bridge until oil companies ramp up their own production, with administration officials estimating that domestic production will grow by 1 million barrels daily this year and an additional 700,000 barrels daily in 2023.
The markets reacted quickly with crude oil prices dropping about 6% in Thursday trading to roughly $101 a barrel. Still, oil is up from roughly $60 a year ago, with supplies failing to keep up with demand as the world economy has begun to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic. That inflationary problem was compounded by Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, which created new uncertainties about oil and natural gas supplies and led to retaliatory sanctions from the U.S. and its allies.
Stewart Glickman, an oil analyst for CFRA Research, said the release would bring short-term relief on prices and would be akin to "taking some Advil for a headache." But markets would ultimately look to see whether, after the releases stop, the underlying problems that led to Biden's decisions remain.
"The root cause of the headache is probably still going to be there after the medicine wears off," Glickman said.
Biden has been in talks with allies and partners to join in additional releases of oil, such that the world market will get more than the 180 million barrels total being pledged by the U.S.
Americans on average use about 21 million barrels of oil daily, with about 40% of that devoted to gasoline, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That total accounts for about one-fifth of total global consumption of oil.
Domestic oil production is equal to more than half of U.S. usage, but high prices have not led companies to return to their pre-pandemic levels of output. The U.S. is producing on average 11.7 million barrels daily, down from 13 million barrels in early 2020.
Republican lawmakers have said the problem results from the administration being hostile to oil permits and the construction of new pipelines such as the Keystone XL. Democrats say the country needs to move to renewable energy such as wind and solar that could reduce the dependence on fossil fuels and Putin's leverage.
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., blasted Biden's action to tap the reserve without first taking steps to increase American energy production, calling it "a Band-Aid on a bullet wound."
Daines called Biden's actions "desperate moves" that avoid what he called the real solution: "investing in American energy production," and getting "oil and gas leases going again."
The administration says increasing oil output is a gradual process and the release would provide time to ramp up production. It also wants to incentivize greater production by putting fees on unused leases on government lands, something that would require congressional approval.
Oil producers have been more focused on meeting the needs of investors than consumers, according to a survey released last week by the Dallas Federal Reserve. About 59% of the executives surveyed said investor pressure to preserve "capital discipline" amid high prices was the reason they weren't pumping more, while fewer than 10% blamed government regulation.
In his remarks Thursday, Biden tried to shame oil companies that he said are focused on profits instead of putting out more barrels, saying that adding to the oil supply was a patriotic obligation.
"This is not the time to sit on record profits: It's time to step up for the good of your country," the president said.
The steady release from the reserves would be a meaningful sum and come near to closing the domestic production gap relative to February 2020, before the coronavirus caused a steep decline in oil output.
Still, the politics of oil are complicated with industry advocates and environmentalists both criticizing the planned release. Groups such as the American Petroleum Institute want to make drilling easier, while environmental organizations say energy companies should be forced to pay a special tax on windfall profits instead.
The administration in November announced the release of 50 million barrels from the strategic reserve in coordination with other countries. And after the Russia-Ukraine war began, the U.S. and 30 other countries agreed to an additional release of 60 million barrels from reserves, with half of the total coming from the U.S.
According to the Department of Energy, which manages it, more than 568 million barrels of oil were held in the reserve as of March 25. After the release, the government would begin to replenish the reserve once prices have sufficiently fallen.
News of the administration's planning was first reported by Bloomberg.
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https://www.newspressnow.com/biden-oil-move-aims-to-cut-gas-prices-fairly-significantly/article_b7be5bc8-b13e-11ec-a97d-0f454b8aa1ee.html
| 2022-04-01T00:23:17Z
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Shark vacuum review
Pets bring much to our lives — including extra messes. Pet parents need vacuums that have the added power necessary to clean up hair, dander and dirt trodden in on paws, and even though a heavy-duty vacuum cleaner can do the trick, it isn’t always necessary.
Shark claims its Rocket Pet Plus Corded Stick Vacuum offers power and versatility in a lightweight package. The company says it can tackle dirt deeply embedded in carpets and makes cleaning stairs and upholstery easy in the handheld mode.
We tested the Shark Rocket Pet Plus to see if there’s truth to these claims and if this vacuum is worth the buy.
Testing the Shark Rocket Pet Plus Corded Stick Vacuum
At BestReviews, we know that testing out a product for a couple of hours isn’t the same as using it day in, day out. That’s why we send products to our group of testers to use them over an extended period, test out the manufacturer’s claims and see how they really perform.
We sent the Shark Rocket Pet Plus to a tester who lives in a three-bedroom home with a short-haired dog. Our tester usually uses a Dyson V8 Animal vacuum, so they were able to compare it to another big brand. They tried it out for two weeks before reporting their findings.
What is the Shark Rocket Pet Plus Corded Stick Vacuum?
The Rocket Pet Plus is a stick vacuum, which is a type of lightweight vacuum cleaner. We found it extremely lightweight and modern compared to traditional upright vacuums. It converts into a hand vacuum for smaller cleaning tasks, stairs and upholstery. It’s also specifically designed as a pet vacuum and comes with a range of tools to make it easier to clean up after pets.
Shark Rocket Pet Plus Corded Stick Vacuum price and where to buy
The Shark Rocket Pet Plus costs around $180 and is available at Amazon.
How to use the Shark Rocket Pet Plus Corded Stick Vacuum
We found this Shark vacuum extremely easy to set up. It comes in three parts: the body, the stick and the cleaning head. All you need to do is fit one end of the stick to the body and the other end to the cleaning head and you’re ready to go. You can also set it up as a handheld vacuum by attaching the cleaning head or another cleaning tool directly to the body without the stick.
As it’s a corded vacuum, it must be plugged into an outlet before you can start vacuuming. It has just two modes to choose from, labeled I and II: I is a less powerful mode that we used for hard floors and II is a more powerful mode that we used for carpeted areas.
Shark Rocket Pet Plus Corded Stick Vacuum benefits
Maneuverability
We found this lightweight vacuum highly maneuverable. We had no problems navigating around furniture and squeezing the cleaning head into tight corners to get the best clean possible. It was just as lightweight and easy to maneuver as the Dyson V8 Animal, although lacking the convenience of being cordless.
Suction power
The suction power was good and we experienced no issues cleaning up the hair from a short-coated dog on both carpets and hard flooring. There’s an indicator light that turns red if there are any clogs, so it’s easy to solve issues that might affect suction power as they arise.
Cleaning modes
You can select between two cleaning modes. Mode I is a standard powered mode, while mode II gives you an extra boost. Although mode I is supposed to be for hard floors and mode II for carpet, we found both worked well for carpets and hard floors, so it’s more dependent on whether you need extra power.
LED headlights
The LED headlights illuminate your cleaning path to help you see dirt. This is especially useful in low-light conditions or for cleaning under furniture.
XL dust cup
While it isn’t as large as the dust cups you’d find on upright vacuums or in canister models, it has a large capacity for a stick vacuum, so you don’t need to empty it too often while cleaning. We found it easy to empty, especially when you remove the body of the vacuum from the stick.
Handheld mode
The handheld mode is great for tackling stairs, upholstery and for spot cleaning. It’s easy to convert into a hand vacuum and back into its regular configuration again, so it’s not a huge ordeal if you want to switch modes during a cleaning session. You can use the regular cleaning head or the other cleaning attachments in handheld mode.
Shark Rocket Pet Plus Corded Stick Vacuum drawbacks
Power cord
Although the power cord is long enough to vacuum large rooms without unplugging it and moving to another outlet, it’s still a pain to switch outlets when you clean your whole home and to coil it up when you’re done. We must say we prefer the convenience of a cordless vacuum, but many buyers are happy to stick with corded options to save money.
Loudness
This is a loud vacuum cleaner. We had the TV playing in the background while cleaning, and it was inaudible over the sound of the vacuum. The lower-powered mode I is somehow louder than the higher-powered mode II.
Top-heavy
We didn’t like the fact that it’s so top-heavy that you can’t leave it standing up if you take a break from cleaning. Even the best stick vacuum has this problem, so it isn’t unique to this one. However, some have sticks that fold in the center so they’ll balance standing or have rest notches to make leaning them easier, which are features this model lacks.
Should you get the Shark Rocket Pet Plus Corded Stick Vacuum?
It might not be the best Shark vacuum of all time, but the Shark Rocket Pet Plus is a good stick vacuum at an affordable price. If you’d rather not pay the premium for a cordless model, it’s an excellent choice, but some buyers long for the convenience of going cord-free. Of course, not every vacuum is right for every buyer, but this one is a solid mid-range option for homes with pets.
Consider other products
Black+Decker Powerseries Extreme Cordless Stick Vacuum
This cordless pet vacuum comes at a similar price to the Shark Rocket Pet Plus. It runs for up to 55 minutes on a full charge and has an anti-tangle brush roll for pet hair.
Sold by Amazon.
Dyson V8 Fluffy Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner
Thanks to its powerful motor, this vacuum makes light work of cleaning up after pets. It’s on the pricey side but worth the investment.
Sold by Amazon.
Shark Vertex Ultra-Lightweight Cordless Stick Vacuum
With an anti-allergen filter and a dedicated pet tool, it’s a great choice for homes with pets, plus there’s no cord to worry about.
Sold by Amazon.
Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Turbo Rewind Vacuum
If you don’t mind a bulkier upright design, this vacuum does an excellent job at removing pet hair from carpets and hard floors, with a reasonable mid-range price tag.
Sold by Amazon.
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https://www.kget.com/reviews/br/home-br/vacuums-br/shark-vacuum-review-can-this-vacuum-tackle-fur-and-other-pet-related-messes/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:16Z
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Parent of transgender child speaks out after Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signs anti-trans bills
PHOENIX - Republican Gov. Doug Ducey has signed bills banning transgender girls from playing on girls' sports teams and prohibiting gender reassignment surgeries for minors.
The governor described Senate bills 1138 and 1165 as legislation to "protect female athletes" and "to ensure that individuals undergoing irreversible gender reassignment surgery are of adult age."
"This legislation is common-sense and narrowly-targeted to address these two specific issues — while ensuring that transgender individuals continue to receive the same dignity, respect and kindness as every individual in our society," Ducey said in a Twitter thread.
Two GOP governors last week bucked conservatives in their party and vetoed bills in Indiana and Utah requiring trans girls to play on boys sports teams.
Republicans have said blocking transgender players from girls sports teams would protect the integrity of women’s sports, fearing that trans athletes would have an advantage.
Many point to the transgender collegiate swimmer Lia Thomas, who won an individual title at the NCAA Women’s Division I Swimming and Diving Championship last week.
But there are few trans athletes in Arizona schools. Since 2017, about 16 trans athletes have received waivers to play on teams that align with their gender identities out of about 170,000 school-based athletes in the state, according to the Arizona Interscholastic Association.
"This bill to me is all about biology," said Republican Rep. Shawnna Bolick, who said she played on a coed team in the 1980s but could not have made the high school boys team. "In my opinion, its unfair to allow biological males to compete with biological girls sports."
RELATED: Arizona lawmakers move forward with bill banning transgender girls on women's sports teams
Critics said the legislation dehumanizes trans youth to address an issue that hasn’t been a problem.
"We’re talking about legislating bullying against children who are already struggling just to get by," said Democratic Rep. Kelli Butler. fighting back tears.
Until two years ago, no state had passed a law regulating gender-designated youth sports. But the issue has become front-and-center in Republican-led statehouses since Idaho lawmakers passed the nation’s first sports participation law in 2020. It’s now blocked in court, along with another in West Virginia.
"This bill is creating a pointless and harmful solution to a non-existent issue," Skyler Morrison, a 13-year-old transgender girl, told lawmakers during a committee hearing earlier this month. "It’s obvious this bill is just an excuse to discriminate against transgender girls."
Republicans around the country have leaned into culture war issues including transgender rights. The debate and vote on the transgender sports legislation came the same morning the House considered and passed a ban on abortions after 15-week gestation. Republicans said little during debates on all three bills.
‘It is irreversible’
Arizona is one of 20 states that have considered legislation to restrict gender-affirming health care. The bill originally would have banned all such care for minors but was scaled back to restrict only irreversible procedures, such as surgeries related to gender reassignment.
Similar legislation passed the Idaho House earlier this month but it died in the Senate amid concerns from some Republicans about restricting parental rights.
Supporters of the Arizona bill said it would prevent children from making permanent decisions that they might later come to regret. Republican Rep. John Kavanagh compared the vote to the Legislature’s unanimous decision in years past to ban genital mutilation.
"We should stand the same way today because this is mutilation of children," Kavanagh said. "It is irreversible. It is horrific."
Critics said the decision should be left to parents, their children and the health care team caring for them. They said surgeries are only performed after extensive care and therapy.
"We’re talking about our kids, who are already going to be taking the proper steps with their parents to be able to be who they are," said Democratic Rep. Andres Cano.
The bill originally would have banned all gender-affirming care, including hormone therapies and puberty blockers but was scaled back in the Senate.
Similar legislation passed the Idaho House earlier this month but died in the Senate, where some Republicans said they were concerned about restricting parental rights.
Parents, advocates speak out
On March 30, a day after the bills were signed into law by Gov. Ducey, parents and advocates expressed their devastation.
"It was a punch," said Ai Binh Ho. "It takes away our rights to make decisions together with our children."
Ho's four-year-old daughter is transgender.
"For me to say ‘you’ll never be part of a team,' I just don’t even know what to say, how to tell her that," said Ho. "It takes away that hope that we have for her."
President Joe Biden, meanwhile, promised his administration will stand up for the transgender community.
"The onslaught of anti-transgender state laws attacking you and your families is simply wrong," said the President.
On March 30, the U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to states, warning it will go after states that practice unlawful discrimination based on gender identity. In response, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich tweeted ‘See you in court (again).'
In the meantime, some parents are now thinking about leaving Arizona, for the sake of their kids.
"You know when she reaches the age where she wants the surgery, and is ready for the surgery -- we know that the surgery decreases suicide, it is a lifeline for her -- I think we will have to move," said Ho.
More Arizona politics news
- Proposed Arizona law would ban cities from charging home rental taxes
- Arizona election audit: Final report finds no Maricopa County data issues
- Arizona Senate GOP revives controversial election bill
Tune in to FOX 10 Phoenix for the latest news
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https://www.ktvu.com/news/parent-of-transgender-child-speaks-out-after-arizona-governor-doug-ducey-signs-anti-trans-bills
| 2022-04-01T00:23:17Z
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Boston Bruins
Bruins Wrap: Rask To Be Honored; Keller Out For The Season
Tuukka Rask will be honored prior to the Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils game at TD Garden Thursday. What if Rask never became a Bruin at the 2006 NHL Draft and the Bruins acquired Justin Pogge for Andrew Raycroft instead?
Recently acquired defenseman Josh Brown will make his Boston Bruins debut on Thursday.
That and more in the latest Bruins Wrap:
Boston Bruins
After his team laid a dud against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy promised shake up his roster after practice Wednesday and on Thursday he confirmed that recently acquired defenseman Josh Brown will make his debut Thursday night against the New Jersey Devils at TD Garden. Mike Reilly will also draw in as Derek Forbort and Connor Brown watch from above as healthy scratches.
Former Boston College standout and Billerica native Marc McLaughlin will also be making his Bruins debut subbing in for Craig Smith, who is feeling under the weather coming out of Tuesday’s loss. Fourth line winger Anton Blidh will also draw in for left wing Nick Foligno, who is day-to-day with a lower body injury.
🎥 Coach Cassidy on Mike Reilly and Josh Brown subbing in vs. the Devils: "We'd discussed a while ago how to get all eight guys involved, they’ve been practicing together. I think that helps, keep them as a pair and then we’ll sort through as we go how it breaks after that." pic.twitter.com/9WHBTY6vt3
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) March 31, 2022
Prior to the game on Thursday night, the Boston Bruins will honor recently retired goalie Tuukka Rask and he will drop the ceremonial puck. On Wednesday, former Boston Bruins interim and assistant GM and current executive vice president of hockey operations for the Montreal Canadiens, Jeff Gorton discussed the trade he orchestrated that sent Rask from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Bruins in 2006.
Apologies for not including this yesterday: On Wednesday, the Boston Bruins signed NCAA free agent goalie Brandon Bussi (Western Michigan) to an Amatuer Tryout Agreement.
National Hockey Now
NYI: Is the development of New York Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin followoing the same path as that of New York Rangers goalie and Vezina Trophy candidate Igor Shesterkin?
Pittsburgh: Newly acquired Pittsburgh Penguins winger Rickard Rakell is playing with a hockey idol of his in Evgeni Malkin.
Philadelphia: Do the Philadelphia Flyers need to blow it up this offseason? Veteran Philly Hockey Now puck scribe Sam Carchidi thinks so.
Colorado: Injured Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon was skating and ‘Shooting pucks with full force’ on Wednesday.
Vegas: Vegas Golden Knights rookie goalie Logan Thompson earned his first shutout Wednesday night in a 3-0 win over the Seattle Kraken.
San Jose: Arizona Coyotes and former Boston University forward Clayton Keller suffered a scary injury and had to be stretchered off the ice in the San Jose Sharks‘ 5-2 loss to the Yotes Wednesday.
Keeping Clayton Keller in our thoughts and hoping for the best after a rough fall into the boards. pic.twitter.com/V12TyeUkjd
— Bally Sports Arizona (@BALLYSPORTSAZ) March 31, 2022
Keller has since tweeted that his season is over.
Want to thank my teammates, the fans, and medical personnel for the love and support last night! Unfortunately the season’s over for me, but I’m resting comfortably at the hospital in good spirits. I will be back better than ever for day 1 next season!!!! 🙏
— Clayton Keller (@ClaytonKeller37) March 31, 2022
Canada Hockey Now
Montreal: It appears the Montreal Canadiens got a keeper in Haverhill, MA native and now-former Northeastern defenseman Jordan Harris.
Vancouver: The Vancouver Canucks took another gut punch to their playoff hopes Wednesday, losing to the St. Louis Blues for the second time in less than a week.
NHL
Five-year-old cancer patient Ben Stelter continues to inspire Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers:
BEN !!! 💙🧡💙 pic.twitter.com/5MQNm6NEnP
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 31, 2022
"I had the opportunity to meet Ben earlier this year & I fell in love with him right away. He lights up every room he's in."
McDavid speaks on #Oilers super fan Ben Stelter & more ahead of tonight's game vs. LA.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/zNJIpGN5a6
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) March 30, 2022
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https://bostonhockeynow.com/2022/03/31/boston-bruins-wrap-rask-to-be-honored-keller-out-for-season/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:17Z
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DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Daily 4" game were:
3-0-6-8
(three, zero, six, eight)
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Daily 4" game were:
3-0-6-8
(three, zero, six, eight)
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https://www.mrt.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Daily-4-game-17049788.php
| 2022-04-01T00:23:18Z
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Whoopi Goldberg Erupts on 'The View' Co-Host Who Criticized Hollywood Elites
Whoopi Goldberg, one of the co-hosts of “The View,” has made headlines again for going after one of her other co-hosts who was labeling Hollywood as a group of “elites.”
While focusing on the incident of actor Will Smith slapping comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars, Tara Setmayer mentioned how she thought it was ridiculous that Smith got a standing ovation even after the incident.
“But then they give him a standing ovation, though, Whoopi. Which I think again goes back to why some people feel like Hollywood elites are a bunch of hypocrites. Because they go out there and they give these statements of moral superiority about things and political statement and then ….” Setmayer said, before Goldberg interrupted.
Goldberg criticized Setmayer for her view on the whole Smith-Rock slap and then said that she wants to “stop with this ‘elite’ stuff.”
“A lot of us work for a living. We work, we collect the check, we got families, we try to do the same thing, the good stuff that everybody else tries to do. And it really pisses me off when people start to talk about people who work in Hollywood,” Golberg said.
She objected to grouping all actors and anyone who works in Hollywood together and blaming them for things.
“If you’re pissed off about somebody or how they act, don’t put it on all of us, because that’s like saying all black people like chicken,” Goldberg added.
Whoopi Goldberg gets indignant when confronted with Hollywood’s elitism and moral hypocrisy.
“I just want to stop with this ‘elite’ stuff,” she whined. “Some of us work for a living … and it really pisses me off when people start to talk about people who work in Hollywood.” pic.twitter.com/NMkmJ6EKTz— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) March 31, 2022
Setmayer argued that, to average Americans, all the Hollywood people who make millions of dollars do look like one big group.
“I’m talking about how average Americans look at that and it does come across that way,” Setmayer said. “I think there’s an argument to be made about the industry.”
“Some are making millions of dollars, but not everybody,” Goldberg responded.
Co-host Joy Behar backed up Goldberg, telling Setmayer, “You can’t paint all Hollywood people with one brush.”
Despite not wanting to paint everyone in Hollywood as an “elite” making millions, Goldberg is one of those Hollywood workers who makes millions of dollars each year.
It has been estimated that Goldberg makes about $5 to $6 million per year for her position on “The View,” Parade reported.
Her net worth is estimated to be about $60 million.
There were complaints after Goldberg’s comments that she is out of touch.
@Theview @JoyVBehar @sunny @WhoopiGoldberg your guest host today hit the nail square on the head saying fans see Hollywood elite the way will showed himself to be! Thats why so many fans no longer care about their craft. Whoopi getting upset by that shows how out of touch she is
— Jae Williams (@jaej79) March 31, 2022
Hollywood: good
Middle America: bad-Whoopi
— Darth Joosboxx (@hellcat1377) March 31, 2022
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
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https://www.westernjournal.com/whoopi-goldberg-erupts-view-co-host-criticized-hollywood-elites/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=conservativeupdate&utm_campaign=cuwjpost&utm_content=2022-03-31
| 2022-04-01T00:23:17Z
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The country’s largest tribal nation, the Navajo Nation, is considering legislation to repeal its ban on same-sex marriage.
The Navajo Nation lies within Arizona, Utah and New Mexico and has approximately 400,000 members. The tribal government banned same-sex marriages almost 20 years ago via the Diné Marriage Act of 2005.
Alray Nelson heads the LGBTQ+ Indigenous advocacy group Navajo Nation Pride. He says the ban has created obstacles for partners who want to adopt, build a house, and have joint health insurance, among other rights afforded opposite-sex couples.
“In order for us to really feel safe in our own communities living on the Navajo Nation, the Nation has to open up those doors and send a message to the rest of the country that the largest tribal nation in the United States is inclusive, and you’re a part of our family,” Nelson said.
Nelson says LGBTQ+ people have always been a part of Navajo society, and yet he finds it contradictory when some tribal leaders see same-sex marriage and honoring transgendered individuals as foreign.
“That is completely wrong — it’s coming from a settler, colonial mindset. We need to destigmatize that and really focus on hózhó, which means ‘harmony and balance’ in Navajo,” Nelson said.
He estimates out of the 574 federally recognized tribal nations in the U.S., there are about a dozen bans still in place.
Next, the proposal to repeal the ban, Legislation 0054-22, will go to the tribe’s Health, Education, and Human Services Committee.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West in Montana, KUNC in Colorado, KUNM in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
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https://www.kunm.org/news/2022-03-31/navajo-nation-bill-would-repeal-its-same-sex-marriage-ban
| 2022-04-01T00:23:17Z
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Evolab is a pioneer in the use of chromatography and CO2 to produce pharmaceutical-grade cannabis extracts. The company manufactures a full range of cannabis extracts and infused products that are rich in terpenes and pure cannabinoids -- while remaining free of solvents, cutting agents and diluting additives.
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https://www.leafly.com/brands/evolab/products/evolab-blueberry-cbd-cartridge-0-5g-cartridges
| 2022-04-01T00:23:19Z
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Navigating college can be difficult and confusing, and deciding a major can be intimidating, but there are people who can help students with these big decisions. Several colleges within Weber State University have services to make it easy to navigate their majors’ requirements.
The Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities, Goddard School of Business & Economics and the College of Engineering, Applied Science & Technology have “open-door” policies, meaning students are free to walk in and speak with their advisers anytime.
“If you come in as a student who’s not sure what you want to study, I suggest you take a few gen-ed courses and go with the ones that sound the most interesting,” Deborah Uman, dean of Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities, said.
Uman emphasized the journey students take to find their major, and the college of arts and humanities has a diverse array of lower-division classes to meet the interests of most students.
Many students worry about the financial return they will make with their major. Uman pressed that it is a common misconception that arts and humanities majors can’t find work or don’t make money.
Uman explained multiple studies prove graduates of the arts and humanities make equal salaries as other disciplines, though she did say it can take longer to reach that point financially.
“Education in arts and humanities is all about spurring on your inspirations. We need, as a society, people with these creative skills,” Uman said.
The College of Arts & Humanities has classes that cultivate students’ creativity. According to the college’s website, the course list offers classes ranging from poetry to art history to dance.
“We are the most fun college. You really get to explore the big question about what makes us human, our cultures and the things that drive our communities and as individuals,” Uman said.
Brian Rague, assistant dean of the College of Engineering, Applied Science & Technology, emphasized the equity, inclusivity and diversity effort of the college. He encourages people of all genders, backgrounds and ethnicities to major in the STEM program.
“In STEM fields, if you don’t have diverse thinking, then you’re not serving the broader community in research and development,” Rague said.
Rague and the rest of the administration at the college are hoping the female-to-male ratio of students within their programs continues to grow. Rague believes the field will not develop if there isn’t equal inclusion through all perspectives of life.
According to Rague, a student with a STEM degree is very marketable post-graduation. He also claimed that salaries related to jobs that are in the STEM field are very high.
“We understand employment is a high priority of a student when entering college,” Rague said.
Rague explained that a way to combat the fear of technology advancing so quickly that the job supply runs low is to pursue a career in STEM. This allows students to influence the way technology advances and always be involved with it.
Matthew Mouritsen, dean of the Goddard School of Business & Economics, explained that the college is designed for the working professional. Mouritsen emphasized the college’s flexible course schedule.
Mouritsen said students are often a good fit for business and economics careers if they are good decision-makers.
“Our doors are open, our Zooms are open and it’s the personal touch that will make the difference in students’ lives,” Mouritsen said.
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https://signpost.mywebermedia.com/2022/03/28/the-colleges-of-campus/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-colleges-of-campus&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-colleges-of-campus
| 2022-04-01T00:23:18Z
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Russia’s blocking of humanitarian aid to Ukraine and its bombing of medical facilities should be the subjects of an international war crimes investigation, says Canada’s international development minister.
Harjit Sajjan offered that view as a half dozen extra RCMP investigators head to The Hague to assist in the International Criminal Court investigation of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity by Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.
“I have worked enough conflict areas and war zones to understand what international humanitarian law is. This is something that does need to be investigated. Civilians are not supposed to be harmed. That also includes when civilians need medical support, food support,” Sajjan said in an interview.
Sajjan, a former defence minister and Canadian Armed Forces veteran of the war in Afghanistan, was speaking ahead of the International Committee of the Red Cross announcement Thursday that it would be ready to start evacuating citizens from the besieged port city of Mariupol on Friday.
“For logistics and security reasons, we’ll be ready to lead the safe passage operation tomorrow, Friday, provided all the parties agree to the exact terms, including the route, the start time, and the duration,” the ICRC said in a statement on Thursday.
“It’s desperately important that this operation takes place. The lives of tens of thousands of people in Mariupol depend on it.”
Relentless Russian attacks on Mariupol have reduced massive sections of the city to rubble and have blocked efforts to get food, water and medicine to its estimated 430,000 residents, amid reports that some may have been abducted by invading troops.
Canada’s Parliament and others recognize as a genocide the acts perpetrated by Joseph Stalin that killed millions of Ukrainians in the 1930s, a tragic chapter of which Sajjan is mindful.
“The Ukrainians already have seen another Holocaust in their past with the Holodomor where the population was starved to death,” he said.
“This is just another time now, Russians using kind of a different tactic here. So, I hope that everything will be investigated thoroughly in this regard.”
Sajjan said carving out the corridors needed to get humanitarian supplies into Ukraine has been a difficult undertaking. Even when routes have been cleared, convoys have had to deal with booby traps and other hazards, he said.
“Every time you try and co-ordinate something, it’s been used for the Russians to start targeting folks in the corridor itself.”
Sajjan has travelled throughout eastern Europe to liaise with Canadian allies and international agencies, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Food Program. The food program reported recently it had helped feed its one millionth displaced Ukrainian.
An estimated 10 million Ukrainians have been forced out of their homes, while almost four million have sought asylum as refugees in the worst humanitarian disaster in Europe since the Second World War.
In a separate interview, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said the RCMP officers dispatched to assist the prosecutor’s office of the ICC — joining Mounties already deployed there on various investigations — will be seized with documenting the atrocities that are “continuing to occur in real time” in Ukraine.
Mendicino said he expected them to focus on digitally recording the destruction while eventually gathering testimony from the Ukrainians who have fled attacks.
“They are all living witnesses to what’s happened in Ukraine,” said Mendicino.
“Even while we continue to provide military aid and impose economic sanctions and (create) humanitarian corridors to allow those who are fleeing those atrocities to survive, we have to preserve the record.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that Russia should be kicked out of the G20, the group of leading nations charged with steering the world economy, echoing U.S. President Joe Biden’s call last week.
Trudeau said the G20, which also includes China, might include different countries with different approaches and “political structures” but its main function is to “manage and encourage economic growth.”
“Russia, right now, has with its illegal invasion of Ukraine upended economic growth for everyone around the world and can’t possibly be a constructive partner in how we manage in part the crisis created by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine,” he said.
“The bottom line is it can’t be business as usual to have Vladimir Putin just sitting around the table pretending that everything is OK, because it’s not OK and it’s his fault.”
Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland welcomed a delegation of five Ukrainian MPs for further discussions on what Canada can do to help Ukraine’s democratically elected government survive the Russian invasion.
“We want to be a symbol of victory, for democratic growth, for democratic values,” said Lesia Zaburanna, the delegation chair. She said it was a difficult decision “for us to leave our home, our people … but we have to because it’s our duty.”
—Mike Blanchfield, The Canadian Press
RELATED: $128 million raised for war-stricken people in Ukraine through Red Cross donations
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https://www.caledoniacourier.com/news/canadian-federal-ministers-cite-need-for-international-war-crimes-probe-of-russia/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:19Z
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SAN DIEGO , March 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Zalkin Law Firm has announced the selection of founding partner and attorney Irwin M. Zalkin to 2022 Super Lawyers®, a trusted legal ranking guide developed through a multiphase selection process. Attorney Zalkin has been long recognized in Super Lawyers®. In the 2022 edition, he was listed for his effective advocacy in San Diego, California in the practice area of "Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff."
Part of Thomson Reuters, Super Lawyers® lists no more than 5% of all private practice attorneys in the U.S. in its annual legal guide. It utilizes third-party nomination and two rigorous reviews to select listed lawyers. As such, its selection process is often regarded as a highly competitive, in-depth performance review.
The first review is conducted by the Super Lawyers® research team through independent research. Candidates are evaluated on a dozen categories of professional achievement, some of which include:
- Settlements and verdicts
- Representative clients
- Special licenses and certifications
- Awards and accolades
- Pro bono work
The second review is the peer review, or the Blue Ribbon Review. In this step, a panel of top-rated lawyers reevaluates the candidates. Each panelist focuses on reevaluating candidates within their own areas of practice. This ensures that each listed lawyer is respected by their peers.
A staunch advocate for sexual abuse survivors, Attorney Zalkin has long been regarded for his groundbreaking representation. He has taken on and won complex sex abuse and assault cases against the Catholic Church, Boy Scouts of America, Jehovah's Witnesses, colleges and universities, and more.
Congratulations to Attorney Zalkin on earning a listing in 2022 Super Lawyers®! His first listing was all the way back in the 2008 edition. He was listed again in 2011 and 2012, then in every edition since 2014. He is also recognized by Martindale-Hubbell, The National Trial Lawyers: Top 100, and the Public Justice Foundation, among others.
As one of the nation's most trusted sexual abuse law firms, The Zalkin Law Firm has won millions of dollars in compensation for survivors in California, New York, and nationwide. It has secured historic global settlements in high-profile cases against the world's most powerful organizations and institutions, as well. No matter the complexity, no matter the scale of the coverup, its attorney team is equipped to uncover the truth and fight for accountability in single- and multi-victim cases. Learn more at https://www.zalkin.com/. To find out more about Super Lawyers®, visit https://www.superlawyers.com/.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE The Zalkin Law Firm
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https://www.13abc.com/prnewswire/2022/03/31/super-lawyers-lists-attorney-irwin-zalkin-2022/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:19Z
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https://dan.com/buy-domain/yztcr.com
| 2022-04-01T00:23:19Z
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Shares of WestRock Co.
WRK,
-0.65%
dropped 0.65% to $47.03 Thursday, on what proved to be an all-around poor trading session for the stock market, with the S&P 500 Index
SPX,
-1.57%
falling 1.57% to 4,530.41 and Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-1.56%
falling 1.56% to 34,678.35. This was the stock's second consecutive day of losses. WestRock Co. closed $15.00 short of its 52-week high ($62.03), which the company achieved on May 17th.
The stock demonstrated a mixed performance when compared to some of its competitors Thursday, as International Paper Co.
IP,
-0.52%
fell 0.52% to $46.15, Packaging Corp. of America
PKG,
-0.48%
fell 0.48% to $156.11, and Mondi PLC ADR
MONDY,
-2.30%
fell 2.30% to $39.57. Trading volume (2.1 M) remained 610,908 below its 50-day average volume of 2.7 M.
Editor's Note: This story was auto-generated by Automated Insights, an automation technology provider, using data from Dow Jones and FactSet. See our market data terms of use.
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https://www.marketwatch.com/story/westrock-co-stock-falls-thursday-still-outperforms-market-01648762162-dd009a6c99ef
| 2022-04-01T00:23:20Z
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DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Poker Lotto" game were:
AD-7C-6D-8H-9H
(AD, 7C, 6D, 8H, 9H)
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Poker Lotto" game were:
AD-7C-6D-8H-9H
(AD, 7C, 6D, 8H, 9H)
|
https://www.thehour.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Poker-Lotto-game-17049789.php
| 2022-04-01T00:23:20Z
|
Bucks Finalized Injury Report Against The Nets
The Milwaukee Bucks have announced their final injury report for Thursday's game against the Brooklyn Nets.
The Milwaukee Bucks are in New York to take on the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on Thursday evening, and for the game they have announced there finalized injury report.
The full injury report for the Bucks against the Nets can be seen in the screenshot that is captured below from the NBA's official injury report.
The Bucks enter the night as the second seed in the Eastern Conference with a 47-28 record in the 75 games that they have played.
The Related stories on NBA basketball
- KEMBA WALKER CAN STILL HELP A CONTENDING TEAM: Kemba Walker's tenure with the New York Knicks appears to have ended. However, I still believe that the four-time NBA All-Star can be a productive player. Especially on a team that is contending for an NBA Championship. He has played for the Charlotte Hornets, Boston Celtics and Knicks over his 11-year NBA career. CLICK HERE.
- CAN KRISTAPS STILL BE AN ALL-STAR? Ben Stinar and Haley Jordan sat down to talk about Washington Wizards star Kristaps Porzingis in a recent episode of Stinar For 3. Porzingis was traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Washington Wizards at the NBA Trading Deadline. He has not been an All-Star since 2018, when he was on the New York Knicks. CLICK HERE.
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https://www.si.com/fannation/nba/fastbreak/injuries/the-milwaukee-bucks-have-announced-their-final-injury-report-for-thursdays-game-against-the-brooklyn-nets
| 2022-04-01T00:23:20Z
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Summer music camps offer youngsters the chance to be in the spotlight – Cache Valley Daily
LOGAN – Summer may still be months away, but the time is nonetheless ripe for Cache Valley youngsters to enroll in summer theater camps hosted by local performing arts groups. Those organizations include Music Theatre West (MTW), Pickleville Playhouse and Cache Theatre Company (CTC). Registration is now open...
kvnutalk.com
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2556454762522/summer-music-camps-offer-youngsters-the-chance-to-be-in-the-spotlight-cache-valley-daily
| 2022-04-01T00:23:20Z
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The new owner of Wisp Hill Station plans to grow trees for timber on about half of the 5500ha property and is not carbon farming.
Last year, the station was bought by Ingka Investments from Southland brothers Leonard and Graham Ward.
Ingka Group is the largest IKEA retailer and represents about 90 per cent of IKEA retail sales. It has three business areas: IKEA Retail, Ingka Centres and Ingka Investments.
Ingka Investments forestry portfolio manager Andriy Hrytsyuk said while agriculture had been an important part of the New Zealand economy, forestry also had a role to play.
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Advertise with NZME."Our approach to responsibly managed forestry provides jobs and economic growth on the same land while also making a positive impact on the climate, through carbon sequestration and biodiversity.
"Our objective in purchasing the Wisp Hill farm is to create a production forest, not carbon farming."
An area of 330ha was being planted with radiata pine seedlings and the long-term plan was to have a total of 3000ha, more than three million seedlings, planted in the next five years.
At the same time, the remaining 2200ha would naturally regenerate into native bush.
Wisp Hill Station was a long-term investment, and the first planned harvest would take place 29 years after planting, Hrytsyuk said.
"The property will require years of labour inputs, including preparing the soil, planting seedlings, pest and weed control, thinnings before harvesting takes place and the planting cycle begins anew.
"It will never be a 'plant-and-leave' operation."
The company also planned to plant native species in riparian areas.
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Advertise with NZME.Stakeholder meetings would be held to ensure groups, including the wider community, could give feedback on the company's plans, Hrytsyuk said.
"Our approach to forestry is to be responsible forestry managers, taking into consideration not only the economic side of things but also paying close attention to the environmental and social impact of our activities."
A lease-back requirement would allow the former owners to phase out their operations over a minimum three-year period.
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https://www.nzherald.co.nz/the-country/news/wisp-hill-station-new-owner-plans-to-plant-half-of-land-in-trees-for-timber/O5VXNLXMMPHGTNHZIAKMZUQRHY/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:20Z
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Victoria could spurn curriculum if ‘insular’ take on history prevails
Acting training minister Stuart Robert directed the Australian Curriculum and Assessment Authority in February to make modifications to the arithmetic and humanities elements of the draft curriculum, and to offer larger prominence to pupil psychological well being within the well being and bodily training curriculum.
On maths, he insisted that the curriculum should raise requirements “to ensure they match those of high-performing nations” similar to Singapore, the place 15-year-old college students are as a lot as two years forward of Australian college students on the Programme for International Student Assessment.
This consists of limiting college students’ reliance on a calculator and bringing ahead their mastery of foundational materials similar to occasions tables in major faculty.
Mr Robert additionally referred to as for a reduce to the quantity of fabric within the maths curriculum, “ensuring only those that show the most effective, evidence-based way to teach content are included”.
Victoria has its personal curriculum, which is utilized by all authorities and Catholic faculties and is underpinned by the nationwide curriculum, whereas most impartial faculties in Victoria use the Australian curriculum.
The first draft of the brand new curriculum – launched for session in April final 12 months – would have elevated concentrate on Australia’s First Nations historical past and tradition and lowered emphasis on the nation’s Christian heritage. It adopted a assessment that discovered the present curriculum didn’t embody sufficient “truth telling” concerning the experiences of Indigenous Australians since European arrival.
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The transfer to scale back emphasis on Australia’s Christian heritage provoked a immediate backlash from the Commonwealth. Mr Robert included in his checklist of instructions in February “a more balanced view of history”, together with the interval between 1750 and 1914 and Australia’s post-World War 11 migrant historical past.
“Our history curriculum must be balanced, properly teach students about the origins of Australia’s liberal democratic institutions and promote a strong understanding and pride in who we are as a nation,” he advised The Age Schools Summit in March.
The Morning Edition publication is our information to the day’s most necessary and fascinating tales, evaluation and insights. Sign up here.
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https://thewall.fyi/victoria-could-spurn-curriculum-if-insular-take-on-history-prevails/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:21Z
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DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Poker Lotto" game were:
AD-7C-6D-8H-9H
(AD, 7C, 6D, 8H, 9H)
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Poker Lotto" game were:
AD-7C-6D-8H-9H
(AD, 7C, 6D, 8H, 9H)
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https://www.myjournalcourier.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Poker-Lotto-game-17049789.php
| 2022-04-01T00:23:21Z
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Federal Jury Convicts Anchorage Man, Jason McAnulty of Heroin Distribution
(STL.News) A federal jury convicted an Anchorage man on two counts of distributing heroin following two controlled operations in June 2020.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Jason McAnulty, aka “Snoop,” 38, sold approximately 101 grams of heroin for $5,000 cash on June 17, 2020, and nine days later sold approximately 25 grams of heroin for $1,300 cash to a law enforcement source. Following the two controlled buys, law enforcement executed a search warrant at McAnulty’s residence in July 2020 where they found more than $34,000 cash and other drug distribution contraband.
“Opioids are fueling an addiction crisis that is killing Alaskans, destroying lives and causing unfathomable misery,” said U.S. Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr., of the District of Alaska. “For the sake of a few dollars, drug dealers like McAnulty willingly become instruments and facilitators of this tragic carnage. With our law enforcement partners, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will work to stop these dealers and protect the public with consequential prosecutions.”
“Part of keeping Anchorage safe is arresting those who distribute drugs on our streets. Our HIDTA unit is designed for this purpose,” said Anchorage Chief of Police Michael Kerle. “Because of HIDTA’s focus on drug trafficking along with our strong relationships with our law enforcement partners we are able to arrest dangerous drug traffickers like Jason McAnulty.”
McAnulty was indicted on the charges in September 2020. Following his conviction at trial, McAnulty faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison given his State of Alaska conviction for a serious violent felony – Robbery in the First Degree. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Anchorage Police Department (APD), in support of Alaska’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program, are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys George Tran and Stephan Collins are prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Alaska’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). HIDTA was established in 2018 to enhance and coordinate efforts among local state and federal law enforcement agencies, providing equipment, technology and additional resources to combat drug trafficking and its harmful consequences in critical regions of Alaska.
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https://www.stl.news/anchorage-jason-mcanulty-convicted-of-heroin-distribution/511840/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:22Z
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UN Authorizes New AU Mission in Somalia to Combat Extremists
By EDITH M. LEDERER
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Thursday to endorse the African Union’s new transitional mission in Somalia and authorized it to take action against al-Qaida and Islamic State extremist groups and conduct a phased handover of security responsibilities to Somalia’s government.
The African Union Transitional Mission in Somalia, known as ATMIS, replaces the African Union Mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM, which has been in the Horn of Africa nation for 15 years trying to build lasting peace and security.
While the resolution adopted by the council recognizes significant changes in the security situation since it authorized AMISOM in February 2007 and improvements in Somalia’s capability to respond to security challenges, it also reaffirms “the need to combat terrorist threats by all means.”
Only in the past few years has Somalia begun to find its footing after three decades of chaos from warlords to the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group and the emergence of Islamic State-linked extremist groups. Last year, a political crisis further postponed long-delayed elections and lower house elections which were to be completed on March 15 are still not complete, further delaying the vote for a new president.
The British-drafted resolution authorizes the new ATMIS mission to support the Somali forces “in providing security for the political process at all levels.”
The Security Council underscored that completing the electoral process without further delay and achieving “a peaceful transition of power” will help Somalia move ahead with its national priorities and support its 2021 transition plan which outlines steps toward the gradual handover of responsibilities for security from international forces to the government.
The council reiterated its objective “of enabling Somalia to take full responsibility for its own security, including through assuming the leading role in countering and addressing the threat posed by al-Shabab.”
The resolution authorizes ATMIS to conduct jointly planned operations with Somali security forces “to degrade al-Shabab and affiliates linked to ISIL,” an acronym for the Islamic State group.
The council authorized AU member nations to deploy up to 19,626 uniformed personnel, including a minimum of 1.040 police, until Dec. 31, and endorsed the AU Peace and Security Council’s decision to reduce the peacekeeping force by 2,000 by that date. It authorized a reduced force of 17,626 between Jan. 1 and March 31, 2023, and noted that a joint proposal including the AU and Somalia envisions further cuts to 14,626 in September 2023, 10,626 in June 2024 and “zero personnel” by the end of December 2024.
The resolution welcomes the Somali government’s intention to generate 3,850 new security forces by December 2022, 8,525 new forces by September 2023 and 10,450 new forces by June 2024.
AMISOM was funded by voluntary contributions, especially from the European Union, with logistical support from the United Nations. The Security Council urged U.N. member nations, including new donors, “to consider providing predictable, sustainable and multi-year support for ATMIS.”
After the vote, Britain’s deputy U.N. ambassador James Kariuki thanked council members for their support “in the adoption of this landmark resolution.”
U.S. deputy ambassador Richard Mills said the resolution “provides a vital opportunity to build on AMISOM’s efforts and take the next steps to roll back al-Shabaab, enabling Somalia to provide the security and stability required for the Somali people to achieve their aspirations.”
“Al-Shabab is a formidable and adaptable threat to Somalia, and to East Africa more broadly,” he said. “As al-Qaeda’s largest and best financed affiliate, al-Shabab represents a threat that requires a vigorous and broad-based response. The ATMIS mandate provides the opportunity to adapt and reinvigorate the African-led, international effort against al-Shabab.
Albania’s political coordinator Arian Spasse noted al-Shabab’s increased attacks on security forces and civilians in recent months and called on the government again to complete elections.
“It is crucial the newly elected government turn its focus to the deteriorating security situation, to the undertaking of reforms, and to the humanitarian crisis caused by the unprecedented droughts, which is plunging the population into another famine,” he said. “Further delays will give al-Shabaab more time to overshadow the government’s effort to provide peace and prosperity, and will fuel al-Shabab propaganda as an alternative to a democratically elected government.”
Somalia’s U.N. Ambassador Abukar Osman expressed disappointment that the council’s resolution didn’t provide more funding for its security forces, address the need for a unified and centralized command for ATMIS, and greater logistical support
Addressing these issues will ensure that the resolution is aligned with Somalia’s strategic document on security, he said.
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http://panafricannews.blogspot.com/2022/03/un-authorizes-new-au-mission-in-somalia.html
| 2022-04-01T00:23:22Z
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China warns US against Pacific NATO
China is cautioning against the U.S. supporting Taiwan and trying to build a Pacific version of NATO as the crisis in Ukraine draws renewed attention to the status of the Asian island.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi claimed Monday that the “real goal” of the United States’ plans in the Indo-Pacific was to develop Asia’s response to NATO, according to Bloomberg.
“The perverse actions run counter to the common aspiration of the region for peace, development, cooperation and win-win outcomes,” Wang said. “They are doomed to fail.”
China has previously accused the U.S. of attempting to suppress its growth via bloc coalitions, though the new remarks come after Russian President Vladimir Putin recently made similar accusations ahead of his invasion of Ukraine.
During the news conference on Monday, Wang also made some of China’s most direct comments against furthering U.S. relations with Taiwan, Bloomberg reported.
“This would not only push Taiwan into a precarious situation, but will also bring unbearable consequences for the U.S. side,” Wang said, asserting that “Taiwan will eventually return to the embrace of the motherland.”
Under the “One China” policy, the U.S. does not officially recognize Taiwan as a country, though has supported the island through defense aid.
Russia’s attack on Ukraine has drawn many comparisons to China and Taiwan, an assertion Wang called a “double standard.”
“Some, while being vocal about the principle of sovereignty on the Ukrainian issue, have kept undermining China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity on the Taiwan question — this is a blatant double standard,” Wang said.
Also on Monday, Wang referred to China’s relationship with Russia as “one of the most crucial bilateral relationships in the world.”
He also asserted that China’s Red Cross would provide aid to Ukraine “as soon as possible.” Though he did not provide details of that aid, his announcement marked the first time China has offered such assistance to the country since Russia’s invasion began.
The Hill has removed its comment section, as there are many other forums for readers to participate in the conversation. We invite you to join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter.
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https://thehill.com/policy/international/597156-china-warns-us-against-pacific-nato/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:22Z
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IT'S SEXY. It's dark, and a little unsettling.
Madeline Link
Journalist
Madeline Link is a journalist at the Newcastle Herald, with a focus on Lake Macquarie City Council. To keep up with my stories, follow my Twitter @madeline_link, for tips email madeline.link@newcastleherald.com.au.
Madeline Link is a journalist at the Newcastle Herald, with a focus on Lake Macquarie City Council. To keep up with my stories, follow my Twitter @madeline_link, for tips email madeline.link@newcastleherald.com.au.
More from Local News
More from Local News
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https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/7681498/step-inside-an-otherwordly-magic-night-of-champagne-fuelled-debauchery/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:22Z
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Abyss Token (ABYSS) traded flat against the dollar during the 24 hour period ending at 19:00 PM Eastern on March 31st. Abyss Token has a market cap of $3.45 million and $144,653.00 worth of Abyss Token was traded on exchanges in the last day. In the last week, Abyss Token has traded flat against the dollar. One Abyss Token coin can currently be bought for about $0.0151 or 0.00000144 BTC on popular cryptocurrency exchanges.
Here is how related cryptocurrencies have performed in the last day:
- Binance USD (BUSD) traded 0% lower against the dollar and now trades at $1.00 or 0.00002189 BTC.
- Polygon (MATIC) traded 3.8% lower against the dollar and now trades at $1.63 or 0.00003558 BTC.
- Polygon (MATIC) traded 1% higher against the dollar and now trades at $1.65 or 0.00004286 BTC.
- Crypto.com Coin (CRO) traded up 5% against the dollar and now trades at $0.41 or 0.00001075 BTC.
- Dai (DAI) traded down 0% against the dollar and now trades at $1.00 or 0.00002185 BTC.
- Chainlink (LINK) traded down 1.4% against the dollar and now trades at $16.99 or 0.00037158 BTC.
- Parkgene (GENE) traded flat against the dollar and now trades at $25.59 or 0.00045023 BTC.
- DREP (DREP) traded flat against the dollar and now trades at $1.96 or 0.00003398 BTC.
- DREP [old] (DREP) traded flat against the dollar and now trades at $1.96 or 0.00003399 BTC.
- FTX Token (FTT) traded 4.4% lower against the dollar and now trades at $49.00 or 0.00107164 BTC.
Abyss Token Profile
According to CryptoCompare, “Abyss Finance provides Decentralized (DeFi) and Centralized (CeFi) Finance solutions for projects in multiple industries. The Abyss is the platform where gamers can play games, socialize and get rewarded. We offer MMO/MMORPG games and share a part of our revenue with gamers. Come to The Abyss and earn from the referral system, gaming achievements, and other activities. “
Buying and Selling Abyss Token
It is usually not currently possible to buy alternative cryptocurrencies such as Abyss Token directly using US dollars. Investors seeking to trade Abyss Token should first buy Bitcoin or Ethereum using an exchange that deals in US dollars such as Coinbase, Changelly or GDAX. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Bitcoin or Ethereum to buy Abyss Token using one of the aforementioned exchanges.
Receive News & Updates for Abyss Token Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and updates for Abyss Token and related cryptocurrencies with MarketBeat.com's FREE CryptoBeat newsletter.
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https://www.americanbankingnews.com/2022/03/31/abyss-token-abyss-price-reaches-0-0151-on-exchanges.html
| 2022-04-01T00:23:22Z
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BEIJING (AP) — China’s manufacturing activity fell to a five-month low in March after most of Shanghai and two other industrial centers were shut down to fight coronavirus outbreaks, a survey showed Thursday.
The monthly purchasing managers’ index of the Chinese statistics agency and an industry group, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, fell to 49.5 from February’s 50.2 on a 100-point scale. Numbers below 50 show activity contracting.
Sub-indicators of new orders, new export orders, employment, production and business expectations all declined, the report said.
“Even if the outbreak is brought under control soon, it will still take a while for the economy to get back on track,” Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics said in a report.
Most businesses in Shanghai, China’s most populous city, have been ordered to closewhile millions of people are tested for the virus.
Access to Changchun and Jilin in the northeast has been suspended, forcing automakers and other factories to shut down. Restrictions also have been imposed on some smaller cities.
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https://www.wowktv.com/news/u-s-world/china-manufacturing-weakens-as-anti-virus-controls-tighten/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:21Z
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Care for your garden
Gardeners garden for many reasons. There are both similar and different purposes for growing edible and ornamental plants, but all gardening has the common goal of keeping plants alive.
That can be a challenge during prolonged periods of drought, which California’s gardeners are experiencing now.
For several months, we have received a series of local and statewide regulations on water conservation, including an emphasis on outdoor uses, which include garden irrigation and other activities that add to a large percentage of household water use. All gardeners should respect local water use regulations.
The most direct strategy for gardening during a drought is simply “use less water in the garden.’
We should, however, consider the broader purposes for our landscapes. A thoughtful advisor on this topic is entomologist Douglas Tallamy, who recommends four objectives for every landscape:
• Support the food web.
• Manage the water shed.
• Support pollinators by using a diversity of plants that the specialist pollinators need
• Sequester carbon.
Each of these objectives has implications that deserve unpacking, but for today’s column we focus first on the objective to manage the water shed.
The first consideration should be to use water wisely. For plant management, this means providing water only where and when the plants need moisture. This can be accomplished by hand watering, at least for small numbers of plants. For larger gardens, the recommended strategy is to use drip irrigation, rather than wide spraying, to deliver water to each plant’s roots. The corollary for plant irrigation is mulching. Maintaining a three- or four-inch layer of mulch around plants reduces evaporation of precious water and discourages weed growth.
Managing a drip irrigation system includes scheduling and regulating uses to meet each plant’s moisture needs and checking periodically for leaks. The loss of a single emitter on a drip system can waste a lot of water during each scheduled irrigation session.
An important guideline for water conservation in the landscape is to minimize lawn irrigation. Lawns have been normalized as elements of the residential landscape. Still, environmentalists and water conservationists criticize lawns. From their perspectives, lawns require substantial uses of water, artificial fertilizers, and broadleaf herbicides to maintain a desirable appearance. They also fault lawns as monocultures that do not support the food web and support pollinators.
If your garden includes a lawn area, California’s drought and other considerations suggest either reducing the size of the lawn or eliminating it altogether.
The third water conservation guideline is to select drought-tolerant plants, rather than “water hogs.” Tropical plants, e.g., orchids, are attractive to some gardeners and can be enjoyed in a greenhouse environment where water use can be controlled with care but including water-dependent plants in the landscape requires substantial amounts of water.
In this column, we have often recommended “summer-dry plants,” which are plants that have are adapted to the annual rain pattern that are typical of California and the world’s other Mediterranean climate regions. This category still includes some plants that grow best with moderate irrigation levels during the rest of the year, so it’s worthwhile to know each plant’s overall water needs (see “Advance Your Knowledge,” below).
With Tallamy’s objectives in mind, the ideal plants for gardening during a drought are California natives. They thrive in California’s climate, they are integral to Nature’s food web, and they have evolved with specialist pollinators that depend on our native plants.
For more on the relationship of native plants and pollinators, read Tallamy’s popular books, including “Bringing Nature Home,” “Nature’s Best Hope,” and “The Nature of Oaks.” He has also shared his ideas online: browse to Youtube.com and search for “Tallamy.”
This brings us to the upcoming plant sale by the Santa Cruz Chapter of the California Native Plant Society on Saturday, April 9, at the University of California, Santa Cruz’s Arboretum & Botanical Garden. The sale begins with a members-only session from 10-11 a.m. (you could join at the sale, I believe), and opens for the public from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The sale includes nine annual species and 141 perennial species. To study the lists of plants that will be available at the sale, visit cruzcnps.org/plant-sales/. There will be limited numbers of each plant species, so your early arrival will help you to acquire the plants you want.
This event provides an excellent opportunity for gardeners to prepare their gardens for drought conditions, support the food web, and support specialized pollinators.
Today’s column includes photos of California native plants, provided by the Society. These photos provide a mere glimpse of the Golden State’s extensive horticultural riches. Your selection of California native plants would be fine additions to your garden.
Advance your knowledge
To learn about California native plants, visit the Annual Wildflower Show presented by the Monterey Chapter of the California Native Plant Society on April 9 and April 10, at the Carmel Women’s Club, Ninth and San Carlos, Carmel-by-the-Sea. This show, which has a 60-year tradition, was suspended by COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021, and will have its glorious return in 2022. The event includes specimens of wildflowers that are blooming in Monterey County during the current drought period. It’s happening during the plant sale in Santa Cruz, so interested gardeners could make this a native plant weekend.
For plant-specific water needs information, discover WUCOLS IV, which the current version of the Water Use Classification of Landscape Species. The California Center for Urban Horticulture, University of California, Davis, developed the WUCOLS IV database, which includes 3,546 entries. Visit ucanr.edu/sites/WUCOLS/ to look up the water needs of any plant of your interest.
For assistance in plant selection, explore the Calscape Garden Planner (gardenplanner.calscape.org/). This is a very practical online tool for planning a garden of native plants. It is a resource within the California Native Plant Society’s online database of nearly 8,000 plants native to California (calscape.org/).
Garden-related webinar:
The Cactus & Succulent Society of America will present, “Growing Cacti and Succulents from Seed,” at 10 a.m. Saturday. Steven Brack, long-time owner of a plant nursery, now retired, will demonstrate ways to easily propagate plants from seed. His message includes seed propagation as an enjoyable form of gardening, a low-cost way to add plants to your garden, and access to acquiring rare species. To access info about this free event, and to register, browse to cactusandsucculentsociety.org/.
Enrich your gardening days
Reminder: The MontereyBay Dahlia Society’s Annual Tuber Sale happens is Saturday outside of the Red Apple Cafe in the Deer Park Shopping Center in Aptos, California.
The sale begins at 9 a.m. and concludes at 11 a.m.––just two hours! That’s an unusually short duration for a once-a-year plant sale for a reason: gardeners will line up well before the sale begins, and few (if any) tubers will remain on the tables after two hours.
Several causes inspire this “tuber rush” by local gardeners.
First, Dahlias are aesthetic attractions offering a wide variety of colors, sizes and blossom forms.
Second, these Mexican natives grow easily in the Monterey Bay area’s climate.
Third, they have moderate/medium water requirements, making them a suitable for our current sustained drought.
Fourth, the non-profit Society offers locally grown tubers at very reasonable prices as a community service.
Fifth, the event raises funds to support the Society’s educational activities, which include informative monthly in-person meetings. Visit http://www.mbdahlias.org/ to learn how to join the Society.
Dahlias bloom during the summer months, and peak in August. The Society has a history of annual shows when blooms are at their top form, to display their members best blooms. These shows present opportunities for gardeners to appreciate well-grown plants and see which varieties would please their senses and enhance their gardens.
The Society did not schedule their Dahlia shows in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID-19 restrictions. After this lengthy hiatus, the Society has announced its 2022 show for Aug. 27-28 at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds. Mark your calendar for this long-awaited special event.
Enjoy your garden!
Tom Karwin is past president of Friends of the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum, Monterey Bay Area Cactus & Succulent Society, and Monterey Bay Iris Society, and a Lifetime UC Master Gardener (Certified 1999–2009). He is now a board member and garden coach for the Santa Cruz Hostel Society. To view daily photos from his garden, https://www.facebook.com/ongardeningcom-566511763375123/. For garden coaching info and an archive of previous On Gardening columns, visit http://ongardening.com. Contact him with comments or questions at tom@karwin.com.
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https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2022/03/31/tom-karwin-on-gardening-gardening-during-a-drought/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:23Z
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The House on Thursday passed a bill capping the monthly cost of insulin at $35 for insured patients, part of an election-year push by Democrats for price curbs on prescription drugs at a time of rising inflation.
Experts say the legislation, which passed 232-193, would provide significant relief for privately insured patients with skimpier plans and for Medicare enrollees facing rising out-of-pocket costs for their insulin. Some could save hundreds of dollars annually, and all insured patients would get the benefit of predictable monthly costs for insulin. The bill would not help the uninsured.
But the Affordable Insulin Now Act will serve as a political vehicle to rally Democrats and force Republicans who oppose it into uncomfortable votes ahead of the midterms. For the legislation to pass Congress, 10 Republican senators would have to vote in favor. Democrats acknowledge they don’t have an answer for how that’s going to happen.
“If 10 Republicans stand between the American people being able to get access to affordable insulin, that’s a good question for 10 Republicans to answer,” said Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., a cosponsor of the House bill. “Republicans get diabetes, too. Republicans die from diabetes.”
Public opinion polls have consistently shown support across party lines for congressional action to limit drug costs.
But Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., complained the legislation is only “a small piece of a larger package around government price controls for prescription drugs.” Critics say the bill would raise premiums and fails to target pharmaceutical middlemen seen as contributing to high list prices for insulin.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Democrats could have a deal on prescription drugs if they drop their bid to authorize Medicare to negotiate prices. “Do Democrats really want to help seniors, or would they rather have the campaign issue?” Grassley said.
The insulin bill, which would take effect in 2023, represents just one provision of a much broader prescription drug package in President Joe Biden’s social and climate legislation.
In addition to a similar $35 cap on insulin, the Biden bill would authorize Medicare to negotiate prices for a range of drugs, including insulin. It would penalize drugmakers who raise prices faster than inflation and overhaul the Medicare prescription drug benefit to limit out-of-pocket costs for enrollees.
Biden’s agenda passed the House only to stall in the Senate because Democrats could not reach consensus. Party leaders haven’t abandoned hope of getting the legislation moving again, and preserving its drug pricing curbs largely intact.
The idea of a $35 monthly cost cap for insulin actually has a bipartisan pedigree. The Trump administration had created a voluntary option for Medicare enrollees to get insulin for $35, and the Biden administration continued it.
In the Senate, Republican Susan Collins of Maine and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire are working on a bipartisan insulin bill. Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock has introduced legislation similar to the House bill, with the support of Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.
Stung by criticism that Biden’s economic policies spur inflation, Democrats are redoubling efforts to show how they’d help people cope with costs. On Thursday, the Commerce Department reported a key inflation gauge jumped 6.4% in February compared with a year ago, the largest year-over-year rise since January 1982.
But experts say the House bill would not help uninsured people, who face the highest out-of-pocket costs for insulin. Also, people with diabetes often take other medications as well as insulin. That’s done to treat the diabetes itself, along with other serious health conditions often associated with the disease. The House legislation would not help with those costs, either. Collins says she’s looking for a way to help uninsured people through her bill.
About 37 million Americans have diabetes, and an estimated 6 million to 7 million use insulin to keep their blood sugars under control. It’s an old drug, refined and improved over the years, that has seen relentless price increases.
Steep list prices don’t reflect the rates insurance plans negotiate with manufacturers. But those list prices are used to calculate cost-sharing amounts that patients owe. Patients who can’t afford their insulin reduce or skip doses, a strategy born of desperation, which can lead to serious complications and even death.
Economist Sherry Glied of New York University said the market for insulin is a “total disaster” for many patients, particularly those with skimpy insurance plans or no insurance.
“This will make private insurance for people with diabetes a much more attractive proposition,” said Glied.
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https://wreg.com/news/nation-and-world/house-passes-35-a-month-insulin-cap/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:23Z
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WISD found positives with the STAAR test results despite a pandemic year
Despite the challenges of educating students during a pandemic Waxahachie ISD was able to find some bright spots from the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) tests taken in 2021.
There were several areas where WISD’s STAAR performances ranked above those in Region 10, of which WISD is a part. There were also areas where WISD improved its scores from 2019, the last year the STAAR test was taken.
Dawn Hilburn, director of assessment and accountability, discussed these achievements with the WISD Board of Trustees last week when presenting the Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR), which factors in the STAAR tests administered last spring.
Hilburn noted the scores both districtwide and broken down in each of the various student subcategories – African American, Hispanic, White, students two or more races, special education and economically disadvantaged.
Based on the test scores related to the expectations defined by the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards, the students received performance level designations of “does not meet standard,” “approaches standard,” “meets standard” or “masters standard.” “Approaches standard” is the minimum level the student has to meet.
Hilburn said one of the biggest accomplishments came in the STAAR social studies test, which was for eighth- and 11th-graders.
“This one knocked it out of the park,” Hilburn said. “This is one of those where we’ve struggled the last couple of years.”
Districtwide students saw an increase in masters the standard (30% to 35%), meets the standard (53% to 57%) and approaches the standard (79% to 80%).
In addition, four subcategories had increases in approaches, meets and masters the standard – African American, Hispanic, special education and economically disadvantaged. The White student category had increases in meets and masters standard.
WISD also surpassed the region in approaches, meets and masters the standard by at least five percentage points.
In math, which was for third- and eighth-graders and EOC ninth grade, the percentage of students that approached and met the standard outpaced the region (75% to 68%) and (46% to 41%), respectively.
In science, which was for fifth- and eighth-graders and biology EOC for ninth-graders, WISD surpassed the region in approaches (80% to 72%), meets (50% to 45%) and masters the standard (23% to 22%).
The percentage of students who mastered the standard in science increased from 2019 in the African American, Hispanic and two or more races categories.
In the reading test, which was for third- and eighth-graders, as well as ninth- and 10th-graders for the EOC, WISD had a higher percentage of students in approaches the standard than the region (73% to 69%) and meets the standard (47% to 46%).
In the writing test, which was for fourth- and seventh-graders, WISD also outperformed the region in those approaching the standard (66% to 60%) and those meeting the standard (36% to 31%). African American students had a higher percentage from 2019 in approaches the standard and meets the standard, and students of two or more races had increased the percentage of masters the standard.
“During the COVID year when our kids were already struggling and a lot were at home and our teachers were struggling, these are a lot of celebrations to look at,” Hilburn said.
Superintendent Jerry Hollingsworth agreed.
“That is a huge deal,” Hollingsworth said. “That in the midst of all the challenges that we’ve had … I would give kudos to this board and this administration before I got here for having the commitment to having kids in class. That’s a big, big deal to y’all, and that’s one of the reasons why Waxahachie (ISD) has seen growth when so many others saw declines.”
But, as could be expected in a pandemic year, there were some areas where WISD saw drops in scores. The percentage of students who approached, met or mastered the standard in reading, math and writing dropped districtwide.
Other TAPR highlights
Hilburn said another highlight from the TAPR report is the percentage of WISD students who took the STAAR test or Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) in 2021. She said 98 percent of the students districtwide took the exam last spring compared to 88 percent across the state and 92 percent in Region 10.
“Last year was a COVID year where a large percentage of our students that started off were at home,” Hilburn said. “And then we changed to that November timeframe and having students back face to face. It paid dividends right here.”
Hilburn said WISD’s teacher experience data also shows favorable numbers. She said teachers with six to 10, 11-20 and over 20 years of experience are higher than the state percentages for those time frames.
“What that tells me is once we get teachers to come to WISD they want to stay here and are committed to our district,” Hilburn said. “So that’s always a great thing.”
Typically districts and campuses receive an “A-F” rating based on factors, including STAAR test results. But because of the pandemic that has not been the case in the last two years. Hilburn said that is expected to resume for 2021-22.
She said the STAAR test is expected to change with only 75 percent of it able to be multiple choice.
But Special Education Determination has continued, and Hilburn said WISD’s designation increased from “needs improvement” to “meets requirements.”
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https://www.waxahachietx.com/story/news/local/2022/03/31/wisd-had-positives-staar-test-results-despite-pandemic-year/7198908001/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:23Z
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — James Bond didn’t get an Oscar nomination this year, but that doesn’t mean that he won’t be part of the ceremony.
It’s the 60th anniversary of the first 007 movie, after all, and the 50th anniversary of “The Godfather” and those landmarks will not go uncelebrated Sunday at the 94th Oscars.
“We have some surprises around that. Wink, wink,” Will Packer, who is producing the show, said Thursday.
It’s all part of the overriding theme of the year: “Movie lovers unite.”
“Movies are the one thing that actually do unite so many of us as a global community,” Packer said. “Movies make you feel something, they inspire you, they make you aspire.”
Packer was joined by hosts Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes, director Glenn Weiss, co-producer Shayla Cowan, Oscars production designer David Korins and musical director Adam Blackstone to preview the ceremony, which is just days away.
Amy Schumer, who is the third host of the evening, was not present but had a message that her colleagues delivered: “Don’t worry, it’s not COVID.”
They promised a crowd-pleasing night of escape and celebration, including a performance of the hit “Encanto” song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.” Latin music powerhouses Luis Fonsi and Becky G will join members of the film’s cast during a performance of the Lin-Manuel Miranda hit, which soared to No. 1 on the Billboard charts, the academy said.
Despite the success of “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” it will not vie for an Oscar on Sunday. The Spanish-language song “Dos Oruguitas” is nominated for best original song.
And while there might not be a Glenn Close “Da Butt” repeat planned, Sykes laughed that they talked about having Dame Judi Dench “do the worm.”
The show is aiming to recover from last year’s ratings low and have made drastic strides to keep the runtime to three hours, including the controversial decision to hand out eight awards before the show and edit into the live telecast.
“We’re going to make sure that everybody has their moment,” Packer said. “It’s about celebrating the most talented people and what they do.”
They will also return to the tradition of ending the night with the best picture category after last year’s experiment closing on best actor. And, Packer said, though they’ve announced an army of high-profile presenters, from Lady Gaga to Bill Murray, that they haven’t necessarily revealed yet who will be presenting the best picture award.
As for the hosts, Sykes said they want “everyone to have a good time” but aren’t “going to trash anyone … none of us are mean spirited.”
The three women will open the show together but also get solo moments to shine.
Packer said they will acknowledge the state of the world respectfully, including the pandemic and the war, but that he wants the evening to be first and foremost “a celebration, a release, an escape for people who really need it.”
Behind the scenes, the pandemic is still top of mind for those involved, especially after reports that some got COVID-19 after attending the BAFTAs in London. The Academy is requiring every attendee to submit two negative PCR tests before the show. Audience members also have to be vaccinated.
“We want to make sure that everybody is safe coming to the show,” said Packer, who declined to talk about whether he knew of any individual nominees who had COVID-19. “We have a lot of protocols in place … We want to pull off a show that keeps everyone safe.”
The Oscars will be broadcast live Sunday on ABC beginning at 8 p.m. EDT.
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For more on this year’s Oscars, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/academy-awards
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https://www.localsyr.com/entertainment-news/oscars-to-celebrate-godfather-bond-anniversaries/
| 2022-04-01T00:23:22Z
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