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EU confirms unannounced inspections in German natural gas sector
The European Commission said on Thursday it conducted unannounced inspections on Tuesday at the offices of several companies in Germany active in the supply, transmission and storage of natural gas.
“The Commission has concerns that the inspected companies may have violated EU competition rules that prohibit abuse of a dominant position,” the EU Commission said in a statement.
Reuters yesterday reported that Russian gas company Gazprom (MCX:GAZP)’s offices in Germany were raided by EU antitrust regulators, as the EU watchdog ramped up its investigation into the company’s gas supplies to Europe.
Source: Reuters
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https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/eu-confirms-unannounced-inspections-in-german-natural-gas-sector/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:36Z
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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/361travel.com
| 2022-04-01T00:31:36Z
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https://sportspyder.com/nba/washington-wizards/articles/39012260
| 2022-04-01T00:31:37Z
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Diary of disturbing disinformation and dangerous delusions
This tweet:
We say: Ha! If the economy today were as “bad” as when Trump “mismanaged” it did, there’d be scant inflation, record-low unemployment, a runaway stock market and red-hot business activity across the nation. Even deficits might be lower — as all of Trump’s were, except for during the pandemic, when both Democrats and Republicans passed trillions in emergency spending. Instead, we’ve now got runaway inflation, a risk of recession, persistent supply-chain issues and oceans of red ink. If that’s putting “our fiscal house in order,” we’ll take Trump’s “fiscal mismanagement” any day.
Spot the difference:
We say: The Washington Post was vicious in its slapdown of the New York Post’s October 2020 stories about e-mails on Hunter Biden’s laptop, calling them “laughably weak” and “fake” news. But with Joe Biden now safely elected and other media finally admitting the stories were true all along — and as the FBI’s probe of Hunter heats up — the WaPo is suddenly singing a different tune and “confirming” The Post’s stories, 17 months later.
This column:
We say: Apparently, whites can’t be outraged by Will Smith’s slap without being racist. And never mind that plenty of blacks (including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar!) were also outraged. We guess when your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail — and when it’s the racism card, well . . . you can fill in the rest.
This headline:
We say: Boy, has MSNBC swallowed the Kool-Aid. It truly believes Americans are enjoying the best economy in years and is mystified as to why they don’t give President Joe Biden more credit for it. Earth to MSNBC: Inflation is the worst in 40 years, supply shortages continue to dog production and delivery of goods, there’s talk of food and energy shortages, an inverted yield curve in the bond market is signaling recession . . . and you think Americans should be grateful?
This remark:
“Anyone who thinks we do not have an oligarchy right here in America is sorely mistaken.”
— Sen. Bernie Sanders, March 30, 2022
We say: Leave it to Bernie Sanders (estimated worth: $3 million-plus) to suggest that because America has billionaires, it’s as evil as the nation that succeeded his beloved communist Soviet Union, even as Russia flattens Ukraine and kills thousands. Sanders was arguing for redistributing wealth away from the rich, but when his Soviets claimed to do that, the result was enormous suffering for the masses — and just as much (or even more) inequality.
— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board
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https://nypost.com/2022/03/31/the-week-in-whoppers-bidens-baloney-the-wapos-flip-flop-and-more/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:37Z
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The city of Colorado Springs recently agreed to pay $387,000 to settle a legal claim brought by a woman hit by a police cruiser.
Police Officer Jordan Parker told police he thought he was driving about 10 to 15 mph when he hit Deborah Crewe, 62, who was in the crosswalk at the intersection of North Hancock Avenue and East Boulder Street on March 7, 2020, according to the police report. The detective's report stated Parker likely hit Crew at about 8 mph.
Parker was turning left from Hancock onto Boulder in the 2006 Ford Crown Victoria and looking at the truck to the right of him because he was not sure if they were going to make a left turn also, the report said.
He was looking at the truck because it had its left turn signal on and could have been a hazard, the detective's report said.
The officer did not see Crewe before hitting her and did not brake, the police report said.
Parker immediately got out of the car to help Crewe and self-reported the accident, the documents said.
The crash broke two of Crewe's ribs and her nose, the police report said. She was on her way to work at the kitchen in UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central. She had just gotten off the city bus and had waited for the pedestrian signal before crossing the street when she was hit, Crewe told police.
The crash happened shortly before 3 p.m. on a clear day. The detective could not determine whether the pedestrian signal was on when she crossed, the report said.
Parker is still employed with Colorado Springs police, department spokesman Lt. Jim Sokolik said.
Crewe's attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
The Colorado Springs City Council approved the settlement with Crewe early in March without discussion.
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https://gazette.com/premium/colorado-springs-settles-with-pedestrian-hit-by-police-cruiser/article_26771650-b120-11ec-975e-cbc6f6401306.html
| 2022-04-01T00:31:37Z
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Raytheon Missiles & Defense awarded $651 million to produce SPY-6 radars for next-gen US Navy ships
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- RTX
The contract also includes four option years, worth additional $2.5 billion
TUCSON, Ariz., March 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a Raytheon Technologies (NYSE: RTX) business, was awarded a $651 million, with options totaling $2.5 billion, hardware, production and sustainment contract for full-rate production of the AN/SPY-6(V) Family of Radars. The contract, with options, totals $3.2 billion and five years of radar production to equip up to 31 U.S. Navy ships with SPY-6 radars.
Under the contract, RMD will produce solid state, fixed-face and rotating SPY-6 variants that will deliver unprecedented integrated air and missile defense capabilities for seven types of U.S. Navy ships over the next 40 years. Those vessels include the Navy's new Arleigh Burke class Flight III destroyers, aircraft carriers and amphibious ships; today's Flight IIA destroyers will be backfit with an upgraded radar.
"There is no other radar with the surface maritime capabilities of SPY-6," said Wes Kremer, president of Raytheon Missiles & Defense. "SPY-6 is the most advanced naval radar in existence, and it will provide our military a giant leap forward in capability for decades to come."
Since its inception, more than $600 million has been invested in the development and manufacturing of the SPY-6 family of radars. When compared to legacy radars, SPY-6 will bring new capabilities to the surface fleet, such as advanced electronic warfare protection and enhanced detection abilities.
SPY-6 array radar variants have between nine and 37 radar modular assemblies, known as RMAs. Common RMAs allow SPY-6 to be scalable and modular to support production for the U.S. and partner nations across all variants, to include the Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar. This commonality supports standardized logistics and training for those who work on the radars.
SPY-6 radar installation is complete on the Navy's first Flight III destroyer, the USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), which is scheduled to be operational in 2024. Radar array deliveries are complete for the next ship in the class, the future USS Ted Stevens (DDG 128).
About Raytheon Technologies
Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an aerospace and defense company that provides advanced systems and services for commercial, military and government customers worldwide. With four industry-leading businesses ― Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon Intelligence & Space and Raytheon Missiles & Defense ― the company delivers solutions that push the boundaries in avionics, cybersecurity, directed energy, electric propulsion, hypersonics, and quantum physics. The company, formed in 2020 through the combination of Raytheon Company and the United Technologies Corporation aerospace businesses, is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.
Media Contact
Tara Wood
rmdpr@rtx.com
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/raytheon-missiles--defense-awarded-651-million-to-produce-spy-6-radars-for-next-gen-us-navy-ships-301515422.html
SOURCE Raytheon Technologies
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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/raytheon-missiles-defense-awarded-651-225300400.html
| 2022-04-01T00:31:37Z
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Beef tycoon is named among five dead in horror helicopter crash at Melbourne's Mount Disappointment
- Meat industry tycoon Paul Troja among the dead in helicopter crash tragedy
- Police said five people died in incident at Mount Disappointment on Thursday
- Aviation expert provided possible cause of helicopter crash in regional Victoria
- Helicopter was one of two that left the Melbourne CBD for a business flight
- Passengers were reportedly meat farmers heading north to buy cattle
A beef industry titan is among five dead after a helicopter crashed in regional Victoria while viewing a potential new business venture.
Paul Troja, who is the chairman of Radfords Abattoir in Warragul, was killed when the helicopter he was riding in crashed at Mt Disappointment on Thursday.
The 73-year-old Albert Park man was well known within the agricultural industry. Radfords is a family owned business operating out of the West Gippsland region.
Mr Troja and three others were viewing an agricultural property in Ulupna on the Victorian border when their helicopter crashed, killing them all, The Herald Sun reported.
A 32-year-old pilot also died in the tragedy.
Paul Troja, who is the chairman of Radfords Abattoir in Warragul, was killed when the helicopter he was riding in crashed at Mt Disappointment on Thursday
An Inverloch woman, 50 and two men from NSW, aged 59 and 70, have not yet been publicly identified.
Avlaw Aviation consulting managing director Ron Bartsch said it was still too soon to determine the actual cause of the crash.
Mr Bartsch said the helicopter flight operator Microflite had a near perfect safety record and there was only one possible explanation for the crash.
'The aircraft is a very common type of aircraft,' he told Channel Nine's Today on Friday. 'Six passenger aircraft, very reliable.
Avlaw Aviation consulting managing director Ron Bartsch said it was still too soon to determine the actual cause of the crash at Mount Disappointment on Thursday
A pilot and their four passengers, believed to be meat farmers, died after the aircraft crashed near the popular picnic grounds at Blair's Hut
'The company indeed has a very good safety record and is very well managed with new aircraft.
'Really at this stage, without speculating, weather is probably the main consideration at this stage.'
Mount Disappointment recorded a high of 21C and winds of up to 36km/h.
Controlled forestry burns were being carried out in the area while there was also low cloud coverage throughout the day.
Mr Bartsch warned 'it may be some time' before investigators determined the exact cause of the crash.
'Unlike larger air transport aircraft, these aircrafts are not always fitted with blackboxes, flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder,' he said.
'I know the Australian Transport Safety Bureau is on the scene. Normally they will hand down a preliminary report in six to seven weeks.'
The helicopter was one of two that left the Melbourne City Helipad on Thursday morning, flying in convoy over Mount Disappointment.
Mr Bartsch said the other pilot was the best hope of understanding what happened to the doomed helicopter.
A police helicopter and air ambulance were sent to search for the missing chopper but the terrain hampered their efforts until 11.45am on Thursday when the wreckage was finally located.
The casualties included a 32-year-old man from Cheltenham, a 50-year-old woman from Inverloch, a 73-year-old man from Albert Park, and two men from New South Wales aged 59 and 70.
Mr Bartsch warned 'it may be some time' before investigators determined the exact cause of the crash (pictured, a tree split in half near the crash site)
A police helicopter, five Country Fire Authority vehicles and paramedics, including the air ambulance, were dispatched to the area on Thursday
The helicopter was owned by Microflite Helicopter Services, a family-owned business based in Victoria that offers private flights and premium tours.
Microflite executive general manager Rod Higgins said in a statement that the pilot operating the flight was 'highly respected'.
'The service had been travelling as part of a two-aircraft charter when it lost communication with the second aircraft just after 8am,' he said.
Mr Higgins said the incident was reported to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority as per industry protocols.
'We will work with the relevant authorities to conduct a comprehensive investigation into this incident,' he said.
The helicopter had picked up the meat farmers from Melbourne City Helipad before reportedly heading north to purchase cattle.
The second helicopter returned to Morrabbin Airport safely with all onboard accounted for and uninjured.
Smoke (pictured) from controlled forestry burns in the area and low cloud cover hampered initial search efforts on Thursday
Five Country Fire Authority vehicles, police and paramedics, including the air ambulance, were on scene at the crash site of the downed helicopter on Thursday.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is also investigating and has sent a team from its Canberra and Melbourne offices with expertise in helicopter operations and maintenance, and aerospace engineering, to the site.
The experts will inspect the wreckage and site surrounds before retrieving any relevant components to take them to Canberra for further examination.
The ATSB will also analyse any recorded data and conduct interviews with those who have knowledge of the flight.
A preliminary report from the watchdog is expected in about six to eight weeks.
|
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10674473/Mount-Disappointment-helicopter-crash-Meat-industry-tycoon-Paul-Troja-five-dead.html
| 2022-04-01T00:31:37Z
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12-year-old dies after being shot at South Carolina middle school, suspect in custody
A 12-year-old has died after being shot at a middle school in Greenville, South Carolina, on Thursday.
Community activist Bruce Wilson said Jamari Cortez Bonaparte Jackson, 12, died at the hospital.
Wilson released the following statement on behalf of the family:
"We are all devastated by today’s tragedy. We love Jamari dearly and we would ask that our privacy be respected as we grieve during this very difficult time."
Greenville County deputies said a school resource officer at Tanglewood Middle School requested backup just before 12:30 p.m.
More than 200 law enforcement officers arrived at the school.
A suspect, who is also 12 years old, was taken into custody near the school, Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis said.
He is is being charged with murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, possession of a firearm on school property and unlawful possession of a weapon by a person under the age of 18, Lewis said.
Because of his age, the suspect's name was not released.
"Unfortunately, these are two young men who attended school here," Lewis said. "We don't really know the specifics of why it occurred and why so many people resort to violence, especially with firearms."
Greenville County School Superintendent Burke Royster also spoke outside the school after the shooting.
"I’m not sure after a full and thorough law enforcement investigation anyone will really know what was going through the mind of that young person who took this rash act," Royster said.
Students from the school were taken to Brookwood Church by bus to be reunited with their families.
One mother told sister station WYFF that she was in the school parking lot when she saw police begin arriving.
"I was getting out and the police told me, ‘Get back, get back. You can’t come in,’ and I was like, ‘What’s wrong? What’s wrong?’" Angela said. "They wouldn’t tell me, he said, 'Get back in your car.’ When I was getting in my car, all the police came. Every police in Greenville County was there and ambulance. They were running in with guns, not handguns, rifles."
Angela’s daughter, Prentasia, said they were changing classes when the shooting happened.
"We heard a gunshot, and this boy had a gun and he shot at one boy in his side," Prentasia said. "We all pretty much went into a classroom and some people went outside. We were just in the classroom ‘til it was over."
Another mother spoke to WYFF shortly after she arrived at the school to pick up her son.
"But I was speechless," she said. "My stomach is still upset. I just want to see my son and hug him and just make sure he's fine."
That mother said she wishes there were metal detectors in school.
"So, I would love for Greenville County to do something and put metal detectors. They all come through the same door. They go to the cafeteria they do that. Why don't they put a metal detector and then at least detect there's something there," the mother said.
Greenville County School District spokesman Tim Waller said Tanglewood Middle will have an optional day on Friday. Teachers, students and staff can come and talk to each other and counselors but are not required to attend school on Friday.
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https://www.wesh.com/article/deadly-school-shooting-south-carolina/39603272
| 2022-04-01T00:31:38Z
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Association Announces Next-Gen Leaders
WASHINGTON, March 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The White House Association released a new episode of the 1600 Sessions podcast today, "The Next Generation: What the White House Means to Me," to announce its inaugural program, Next-Gen, a group of more than fifty influential young professionals from a wide variety of fields, bound together by a passion for history, civics, and education.
The Next-Gen Leaders include presidential descendants, members of Forbes' 30 Under 30, CEOs, military officers, a White House correspondent, a former Miss America, and several other individuals held in high esteem in their respective fields. Members will take part in a year-long cohort and attend Association events, in-person and virtual programming, and quarterly meetings.
In this podcast episode, White House Historical Association President and podcast host Stewart McLaurin speaks with eight of the Association's new Next-Gen Leaders.
Next-Gen Leaders were chosen either by recommendation or by research, vetted according to demonstrated dedication to education, history, and civics, accomplishments within their field, social media presence, and embracing the Association's nonpartisan mission.
The 1600 Sessions is available on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and Stitcher.
To watch or listen to the full episode, visit The1600sessions.org.
For more information, please contact press@whha.org.
Visit whitehousehistory.org to learn about the current Next-Gen group.
About The 1600 Sessions
In this podcast series, White House Historical Association President Stewart McLaurin interviews luminaries, historians, and eyewitnesses to history about America's most famous residence and office—the White House. Each episode includes a prominent guest or guests to discuss varying facets of White House history, including insights from former staff and many other topical issues.
About The White House Historical Association
First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy envisioned a restored White House that conveyed a sense of history through its decorative and fine arts. In 1961, the White House Historical Association was established to support her vision to preserve and share the Executive Mansion's legacy for generations to come. Supported entirely by private resources, the Association's mission is to assist in the preservation of the state and public rooms, fund acquisitions for the White House permanent collection, and educate the public on the history of the White House. Since its founding, the White House Historical Association has contributed more than $50 million in fulfillment of its mission. To learn more about the White House Historical Association, please visit www.whitehousehistory.org.
View original content:
SOURCE White House Historical Association
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https://www.kwtx.com/prnewswire/2022/03/31/new-episode-1600-sessions-podcast-next-generation-what-white-house-means-me/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:37Z
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https://seekingalpha.com/article/4499117-from-bar-to-barley-are-carbon-markets-clearing-for-liftoff
| 2022-04-01T00:31:40Z
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MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. (WNCT) – Some exciting news for Carteret County: a new mobile clinic is officially ready to hit the road to help patients in rural areas.
The Mobile Integrated Care Unit is aiming to do one thing, bring mental health and substance abuse services to those who need them but can’t always make the trip to get the help.
“We feel like transportation is a big issue in this county, and it feels good to be able to provide access somewhere that they might not be able to get access,” Clinic Supervisor at Port Health Services, Amanda Styron.
This is all happening through Port Health’s partnership with Trillium Health Resources.
“Port Health had worked with local leadership, county leadership and determined that Atlantic and Sea Level were two locations that they were going to be parking, the Integrated Care Units,” said Southern Regional Director for Trillium Health Resources, Dennis Williams.
This will specifically target Down East, which Styron, who is from that area, said is much needed.
“I think, we’ll be able to reach more people, and they’ll get the help that they need that might not be getting it might not even know that this exists,” said Styron.
This is one of six different mobile clinics launched across the state by Trillium to provide these services. The money for this comes from a grant from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
“We’ve also seen certainly a substantial increase in mental health needs substance use needs, has a result of the pandemic too. So, this is one way of trying to address that,” said Williams.
Port Health is ready to continue helping the community with the new ride and its features.
“We’ll be having telemedicine with our prescribers here at port and they’ll be through like a zoom app in order to virtually see the prescriber within the unit. If they are referred to individual therapy, we’ll be offering that through the unit as well,” said Styron.
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https://www.wnct.com/local-news/crystal-coast/new-mobile-clinic-launches-in-carteret-county-aiming-to-help-those-in-rural-areas/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:40Z
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Resources
State and local (Note: This is not an exhaustive list or an endorsement. It’s just intended to get you started. Ideally, you and your students will develop your own lists!)
- The Colorado Sun
- The Denver Post
- Colorado Politics
- Colorado Springs Gazette
- Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
- Aspen Times
- Aurora Sentinel
- Durango Herald
- Fort Collins Coloradoan
- Ouray County Plaindealer
- Pueblo Chieftain
- Complete Colorado
- Colorado Community Media’s 24 community newspapers
- Boulder Daily Camera
- Colorado Public Radio
- Rocky Mountain PBS
- Steamboat Pilot & Today
- Vail Daily
- KUNC and other public radio stations
- National and international:
- New York Times
- Washington Post
- Wall Street Journal
- Los Angeles Times
- Kyiv Independent
- CNN, MSNBC, Fox News
- The Economist
- The Atlantic
NLP resources
- Website: http://newslit.org
- NewsLitNation educator platform: https://newslit.org/newslit-nation/
- Is it legit? Five steps for vetting a news source: https://bit.ly/IsItLegitNLP
Today’s news landscape is fraught with several types of misinformation; sometimes it’s hard to know what information to trust. This infographic and quiz accompaniment developed by the news literacy experts at NLP will help you to identify the validity of the news you consume.
- “Eight tips to Google Like a Pro” infographic: https://newslit.org/educators/resources/eight-tips-to-google-like-a-pro/
NLP partnered with disinformation research expert Cindy Otis to bring you eight tips that can help you improve your search results and zero in on what you’re looking for more quickly.
Learn how to distinguish between five common types of misinformation with this infographic: https://newslit.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Misinformation_Nov2021.pdf
- In brief: Misinformation infographic: https://newslit.org/educators/resources/in-brief-misinformation/
This infographic is designed to help you get your bearings in the misinformation landscape. Why do people share misinformation? What is the difference between misinformation and disinformation? What are some of the different types of misinformation people regularly encounter online? What are some “red flag” phrases and other signs of dubious content that can help people recognize when to remain skeptical and proceed with caution.
- Some fact-checking organizations to consider:
- Snopes: https://www.snopes.com/
- Factcheck: https://www.factcheck.org/
- Politifact: https://www.politifact.com/
- Truth or Fiction: https://www.truthorfiction.com/
- Africa Check: https://africacheck.org
- Full Fact UK: https://fullfact.org/
- AFP Fact Check: https://factcheck.afp.com/
- Maldita.es: https://maldita.es/
- Lead Stories fact checker: https://leadstories.com/hoax-alert/
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https://coloradosun.com/newslit/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:40Z
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BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. officials on Thursday adopted a rule aimed at reducing deaths and environmental damage from oil and gas pipeline ruptures — a long-delayed response to fatal explosionsand massive spillsthat have occurred over decades in California, Michigan, New Jersey and other states.
But safety advocates said the move by the U.S. Transportation Department would not have averted the accidents that prompted the new rule. That’s because it applies only to newly constructed or replaced pipelines — and not to hundreds of thousands of miles of lines that already crisscross the country, many of them decades old and corroding.
The rule requires companies to install emergency valves that can quickly shut off the flow of oil, natural gas or other hazardous fuels when pipelines rupture. It came in response to a massive gas explosion in San Bruno, California, that killed eight people in 2010, and to large oil spills into Michigan’s Kalamazoo River and Montana’s Yellowstone River and other spills.
The National Transportation Safety Board since the 1990s has recommended the use of automatic or remote controlled valves on large pipelines — whether they are existing or new — to reduce the severity of accidents. Following a 1994 gas pipeline explosion and fire that destroyed eight buildings in Edison, Jersey, the safety board urged the Transportation Department to expedite requirements for shut-off valves in cities and natural areas.
But pipeline companies for years resisted new valve requirements because of the expense of installing them and concerns they could close accidentally and shut off fuel supplies.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the more stringent regulations for the industry were needed because too many people have been harmed by pipeline failures.
He said installation of the valves would also protect against large releases of methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas blamed for helping drive climate 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 over 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 50 years old.
“This rule falls far short of the NTSB recommendation and will offer no additional safety to communities living near existing pipelines,” said Bill Caram, executive director of the safety trust.
The government estimated it would cost a combined $5.9 million annually for companies to comply with Thursday’s rule. By comparison, industry representatives said a single valve on an existing line could cost up to $1.5 million and it would take billions of dollars to retrofit lines nationwide.
Industry representatives were closely involved in crafting the rule. Their request to allow valves to be more widely spaced along pipelines and remove the requirement for some low-risk pipes was rejected. However, transportation officials adopted some of industry recommendations that will give operators latitude to make adjustments to where valves are placed.
Association of Oil Pipe Lines Vice President John Stoody said the final rule still contains “arbitrary requirements” for pipeline operators that don’t reflect real-world operating conditions or the low risk of spills in some scenarios.
Amy Andryszak, president of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, said her organization and companies it represents were still reviewing the rule but were “generally supportive” of rules that encourage safety.
Experts say automatic valves can help eliminate some human-caused errors that contribute to accidents, such as a delay of more than 17 hours to confirm the 2010 Kalamazoo, Michigan, pipeline rupture because workers ignored alarms indicating a possible spill. The break released more than 800,000 gallons (3,600,000 liters) of crude oil and caused roughly $1 billion in property and environmental damage.
In San Bruno, a 30-inch (76-centimeter) gas pipeline exploded and burned like a massive blowtorch in a suburban California neighborhood for 89 minutes before a manual valve was used to shut it down. An AP investigation found that pipeline operator Pacific Gas & Electric Co. agreed as far back as 1997 that remotely operated valves did a better job of protecting public safety, but opted against using them widely because they weren’t necessary or required.
Officials with the Transportation Department’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration did not immediately respond to questions about the new rule.
Also missing from the new rule are standards for equipment that can detect when and where leaks hit, a recurring problem in pipeline accidents, Caram said.
Instead, the rule says pipeline companies must quickly take steps to confirm a spill if they get an alarm or other notification, but the confirmation process itself remains up to the company.
Faulty leak detection systems played a role in recent accidents including a 350,000 gallon diesel oil spill in December into a wetlandsoutside New Orleans and an underwater rupture off California’s coastlast October that fouled the ocean with tens of thousands of gallons crude oil.
___
Follow Matthew Brown: @matthewbrownAP
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https://www.wowktv.com/news/u-s-world/us-will-require-valves-on-new-pipelines-to-prevent-disasters/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:40Z
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https://www.leafly.com/brands/high-grade-az/products/high-grade-az-blueberry-shortcake-live-resin-3-5g-solvent
| 2022-04-01T00:31:39Z
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NEW YORK — More than 4 in 10 U.S. high school students said they felt persistently sad or hopeless during the pandemic, according to government findings released Thursday.
Several medical groups have warned that pandemic isolation from school closures and lack of social gatherings has taken a toll on young people's mental health.
“This really gives us the evidence to say with certainty that the pandemic was incredibly disruptive for young people and their families," said Kathleen Ethier of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The reports are based on anonymous online surveys of about 7,700 public and private high school students from 128 schools during the first six months of 2021. It is based on a similar survey the CDC conducts every other year in schools.
Among the findings:
—44% reported feeling persistently sad of hopeless during the past year. A similar survey before COVID-19 hit put the figure at 37%.
—66% said they found it more difficult to complete their schoolwork.
—29% said a parent or other adult in their home lost a job and 11% said they experienced physical abuse by a parent or other adult at home.
—24% said they went hungry during the pandemic because there was not enough food at home.
There likely was some underreporting, especially for certain questions about emotional or physical abuse in the home. Teens might be afraid that an abusive parent or other adult might see their responses, said Ilan Cerna-Turoff, a Columbia University researcher who studies children’s mental health.
CDC officials said that the pandemic did not affect teens equally. LGBT youth reported poorer mental health and more suicide attempts than others. About 75% said they suffered emotional abuse in the home and 20% reported physical abuse. By comparison, half of heterosexual students reported emotional abuse and 10% reported physical abuse, the CDC said.
“These data echo a cry for help,” said CDC Acting Principal Deputy Director Debra Houry “The COVID-19 pandemic has created traumatic stressors that have the potential to further erode students’ mental wellbeing. Our research shows that surrounding youth with the proper support can reverse these trends and help our youth now and in the future.”
If you or someone you know may be struggling with suicidal thoughts you can call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) any time of day or night or chat online.
___
The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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https://www.king5.com/article/news/nation-world/pandemic-teen-mental-health-cdc-study/507-9869ce38-e907-4784-ad84-1971f54eb7bb
| 2022-04-01T00:31:41Z
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The UK will bask in balmy climes for another few days, but temperatures are set to drop with some parts even likely to see snow before next weekend.People will get a “taste of most of the seasons within the space of a few days” as above-average summery weather makes way for more wintry conditions, a Met Office forecaster said.Clocks go forward overnight into Sunday, ushering in British Summer Time.Feeling warm this afternoon but with cloudier skies across eastern areas on Sunday, temperatures will be much lower pic.twitter.com/s7Xzjc0M65— Met Office (@metoffice) March 26, 2022In Glasgow, the temperature is due to drop...
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2556491067431/wednesday-march-30-morning-weather-forecast
| 2022-04-01T00:31:41Z
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eHarmony
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http://www.williambryce.com/202230477/although-unlike-some-matchmaking-apps-eharmony-4.html
| 2022-04-01T00:31:41Z
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You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
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https://sportspyder.com/nba/washington-wizards/articles/39012268
| 2022-04-01T00:31:43Z
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https://dan.com/buy-domain/81550000.com
| 2022-04-01T00:31:43Z
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LONDON • President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed a decree ordering 134,500 new conscripts into the army as part of Russia’s annual spring draft, but the defense ministry said the call-up had nothing to do with the war in Ukraine.
The order came five weeks into Russia’s invasion, which has run into fierce Ukrainian resistance. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday that none of those called up would be sent to any “hot spots”.
The issue of conscripts’ involvement in the war is highly sensitive.
On March 9, the defense ministry acknowledged that some had been sent to Ukraine after Putin had denied this on various occasions, saying only professional soldiers and officers had been sent in.
Putin’s spokesman said at the time that the president had ordered military prosecutors to investigate and punish the officials responsible for disobeying his instructions to exclude conscripts.
The annual spring military draft, which runs from April 1 to July 15, will affect Russian men between the ages of 18 and 27, Putin’s decree said.
Shoigu said on Tuesday that those called up would begin to be dispatched to their assigned bases in late May.
“Most military personnel will undergo professional training in training centers for three to five months. Let me emphasize that recruits will not be sent to any hot spots,” he said in remarks published on his ministry’s website.
However, Mikhail Benyash, a lawyer representing several members of Russia’s National Guard who refused an order to go to Ukraine, said that under Russian law conscripts could be sent to fight after several months of training.
Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it called a special military operation to demilitarize and “denazify” the country.
The war has killed thousands of people and uprooted millions.
In recent days Russia has reframed its objectives, saying it never intended to take the capital Kyiv and other major cities but is focused on “liberating” eastern areas where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting the Ukrainian army since 2014.
Its statements have been greeted skeptically by Ukraine and Western governments.
Military analysts have suggested the declared focus on the eastern Donbas region may be an attempt to make it easier for Putin to seek a face-saving exit.
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https://gazette.com/russia-drafts-134-500-conscripts-but-says-they-wont-go-to-ukraine/article_d0a61ebe-b12a-11ec-ba8c-9baad97c4a9a.html
| 2022-04-01T00:31:43Z
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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri nonprofit that was at the center of a corruption probe that involved several legislators is paying more than $8 million to the federal government and the state of Arkansas under an agreement with prosecutors announced Thursday.
Federal prosecutors announced the non-prosecution agreement with Preferred Family Healthcare, which agreed to forfeit more than $6.9 million to the federal government and pay more than $1.1 million in restitution to Arkansas.
The Missouri-based mental health care provider operated 50 clinics throughout Arkansas until October 2018 and no longer operates in the state. Prosecutors on Thursday said under the agreement, PFH admitted that its former officers and employees conspired to embezzle funds from the charity and bribe Arkansas legislators.
Several former executives from the charity, former Arkansas legislators and other have pleaded guilty in federal court as part of the corruption probe.
A lobbyist pleaded guilty in 2019 to bribing three Arkansas lawmakers, including the governor’s nephew, to benefit PFH. The lobbyist, Rusty Cranford, was sentenced to seven years in prison and in August was released to serve the remainder of his sentence from home.
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge in 2020 announced the firm had reached $6.5 million in federal and state settlements following an investigation by Rutledge's office into false Medicaid claims made by former PFH employees.
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https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Firm-paying-8M-to-Arkansas-feds-over-corruption-17049727.php
| 2022-04-01T00:31:43Z
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RF Acquisition Corp. Announces Closing of $15 Million Over-allotment Option
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- RFACU
WILMINGTON, Del., March 31, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RF Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: RFACU) (the “Company”) today announced that the underwriter of its previously announced initial public offering exercised its over-allotment option on March 30, 2022, to purchase an additional 1,500,000 units at a public offering price of $10.00 per unit. After giving effect to the exercise of the over-allotment option, a total of 11,500,000 units have been issued raising an aggregate of $115,000,000. The units, including those issued in connection with the over-allotment option, are listed on the Nasdaq Global Market (“Nasdaq”) under the ticker symbol “RFACU”. Each unit consists of one share of Class A common stock, one redeemable warrant, with each whole warrant exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock of the Company at a price of $11.50 per share, and one right to receive one-tenth of one share of Class A common stock. After the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the Class A common stock, warrants, and rights are expected to be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “RFAC,” "RFACW," and “RFACR,” respectively.
RF Acquisition Corp. is a blank check company whose business purpose is to effect a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us.
RF Acquisition Corp. is led by Tse Meng Ng, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the board of directors, and Han Hsiung Lim, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer. The Company's independent directors include Benjamin Waisbren, Simon Eng Hock Ong, and Vincent Hui Yang. The Company’s advisors include Chandra Tjan and Stephen Lee.
EarlyBirdCapital, Inc. acted as sole bookrunning manager of the offering.
A registration statement relating to these securities was declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on March 23, 2022. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.
The offering is being made only by means of a prospectus. When available, copies of the prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained from EarlyBirdCapital, Inc., Attn: Syndicate Department, 366 Madison Avenue, 8th Floor, New York, New York 10017.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains statements that constitute “forward-looking statements,” including with respect to the initial public offering and search for an initial business combination. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking statements. No assurance can be given that the offering discussed above will be completed on the terms described, or at all, or that the proceeds of the offering will be used as indicated. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section of the Company’s registration statement for the initial public offering filed with the SEC. Copies are available on the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law.
Company Contact:
Tse Meng Ng
Chairman and CEO
guo.lu@ruifengwealth.com
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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/rf-acquisition-corp-announces-closing-234100277.html
| 2022-04-01T00:31:43Z
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How eco-crazy councils turned our streets into Gridlock Britain: HARRY WALLOP examines how 'low-traffic neighbourhoods' have added to congestion on our roads
Matthieu Denjean, 13, adores transport.
‘He loves to be on a plane, train or boat, but it’s got to move or he becomes upset,’ says his mother, Elodie.
This is because Matthieu is disabled.
‘He has a rare genetic condition,’ continues Elodie.
‘He is profoundly deaf and has ASD [Autism spectrum disorder]. He has severe and complex needs and is very delayed cognitively.’
Despite Matthieu’s difficulties, Elodie and her husband, along with Matthieu’s two older siblings, ensure the boy has as full and rich a life as possible.
That includes being picked up by car every morning from home in Islington, North London, to his special-needs school in neighbouring Camden.
The four-mile journey used to take 25 minutes.
It now takes up to 50 minutes in slow-moving, sometimes solid traffic.
‘He doesn’t understand sitting in traffic and gets very agitated and becomes aggressive because he’s distressed,’ says Elodie.
A few weeks ago, an 11-mile round trip — from school to a hospital appointment then back home — took three hours.
Elodie shakes her head as she tries to explain the effect it has had on the family.
‘Matthieu is non-verbal. It’s very distressing to see your child upset at the best of times, but when you ask them, they can’t verbalise it. It’s tough.’
Why has the traffic suddenly become so bad?
Elodie believes it is because of new ‘low-traffic neighbourhoods’ (LTNs) in Islington.
LTNs see cars banned from certain side streets and forced to drive only on main roads.
Low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) see cars banned from certain side streets and forced to drive only on main roads Pictured: A cycle lane on Kensington High Street
These controversial measures have been implemented in cities and large towns across the country, not just in Islington, where the bicycle-loving local MP is one Jeremy Corbyn.
From York, Bath and Oxford to Sheffield, Manchester and Dundee, local councils have implemented schemes that aim to limit car traffic and promote cycling and walking.
Encouraged by charities and environmental pressure groups, the aim is to reverse the impact of the car.
Living Streets, one of the leading charities pushing for these schemes, points out that in 1970, there were 13 million vehicles on Britain’s roads driving 145 billion miles.
Last year, there were 38 million vehicles driving 329 billion miles.
LTNs have been wholeheartedly backed by the Government.
The Department for Transport announced in November 2020 an extra £175million in funding for councils to support cycling and walking schemes whilst saying eight out of ten consumers support lower car traffic.
But there is increasing disquiet from residents.
Many resent how schemes were rushed through under the guise of Covid social-distancing, without proper consultation or rigorous analysis.
Many cities introduced LTNs soon after the first lockdown in March 2020, then kept them later as part of their policy to reduce car traffic.
Often, no proper pre-LTN monitoring was undertaken.
Islington claims the zones were intended to ‘make our neighbourhoods better and safer, for living, working and playing, for everyone’.
But earlier this month the council was forced to admit that some of its findings about LTNs were ‘misleading’.
Islington confessed that data for one key section, near the council’s Holloway Road, ‘was found to be of unacceptably poor quality to use for analysis’.
It went on: ‘It is therefore recommended that any conclusions related to this site are revoked’.
Until now, Islington had been at pains to suggest its LTNs — while no doubt a huge inconvenience to families such as Matthieu’s — were making the air in London easier to breathe.
The ‘interim report’ predictably found that traffic fell on side-roads that saw cars banned under LTNs.
But, surprisingly, it also suggested that traffic fell on some of the main roads on which cars were still permitted.
The report claimed that the Holloway Road — a stretch of the A1, ultimately heading all the way to Edinburgh — saw a 42 per cent fall in traffic.
This claim was trumpeted on a leaflet sent out to residents, boasting that air quality had improved.
A Railton low traffic neighbourhood by Lambeth Council
But Elodie and many Islington residents smelled a rat.
‘I thought there was no way that was true,’ she says. ‘Because I have eyes.’
I knew she was right.
I too live in Islington and have sat far too often in stationary traffic on the Holloway Road.
I was equally sceptical about the claim that traffic had fallen on this thoroughfare.
When I dared to complain on Twitter, someone told me that slow traffic on the Holloway Road ‘is hardly the end of the world if it saves thousands of others from the constant noise, pollution and danger of rat-running traffic thundering down residential roads.’
In short, a bit of inconvenience is a small price to pay for saving the planet.
But had the air quality actually improved, as the council insisted?
No. Islington’s own detailed report — though not the rather one-sided leaflet posted to residents — showed that nitrogen dioxide levels, a key pollutant caused by cars, had soared 44 per cent outside Highbury Grove School, a secondary school on a main road.
So is Islington a one-off?
Or have councils up and down Britain brought in LTNs which have made the problem they purported to solve far worse?
Certainly, across Britain, the weight of opposition to LTNs is clear.
Take south Birmingham’s Kings Heath suburb and its bustling high street, the Alcester Road (A435), which features residential streets on either side.
In order to stop drivers using these side roads, the council implemented a series of LTNs in 2020. A year later, it asked locals to fill in feedback questionnaires.
The results?
‘The responses to this consultation show that the options we presented have some but not full support,’ says the official update, optimistically titled The Way Forward and published last month.
On further reading ‘some but not full support’ is something of a euphemism.
Kings Heath residents roundly rejected LTNs — 62 per cent were opposed to the LTN east of the High Street versus 26 per cent who backed it, with similar figures for the eastern side.
So is the council going to remove the large tree planters that are blocking the residential streets and admit the experiment has not worked?
No, not quite.
‘We are very clear that doing nothing is not an option. To reach net-zero carbon, to improve air quality and to enable our growing population to travel around the city efficiently, we must take action to reduce trips taken by private car,’ the report concludes.
One resident despondent at all this is Roger Palmer, 58.
He owns the Parkview gallery and picture framers on Vicarage Road, a boundary street still used by car drivers.
Roger loves the area but says it is ‘now turned into a misery because of the wall-to-wall traffic’ jams outside his home and shop. He lives above the gallery with his wife, Manjinder, and one of his daughters.
Cyclist on a City of London cycle 'superhighway' path in Billingsgate
‘I agree that doing nothing is not an option. But a poor option is worse,’ he says.
‘I just can’t bear to see all the traffic any more. It’s been horrendous.’
He has had to install blinds on his windows.
Some of Roger’s neighbours have moved home to escape the pollution apparently caused by the local LTNs.
‘But I can’t — this is my livelihood.’
Needless to say, his customers can’t cycle to his shop — they need a car to collect the framed pictures.
Roger calls the level of consultation from the council ‘shocking’, adding that the authority ‘denied there was a problem.’
The council responded saying that it had listened to residents and altered the design of its Places For People layout, replacing some tree planters with a one-way system, but it reiterated that ‘doing nothing is not an option’.
Islington’s faulty data was processed and written up by a company called Project Centre, part of a larger outfit called Marston Holdings.
This earns most of its money from enforcing court and parking fines and maintaining parking meters.
During the year to May 2021, Marston’s revenues fell from £287million to £255million, as lockdowns stopped people travelling.
But one division did well: Project Centre, where turnover jumped from £17.6million to £18.5million.
It is understood that Project Centre recognises that some errors, spotted in a subsequent audit, were contained in the interim report that it drew up for Islington, but that the erroneous Holloway Road data was caused by the technical issue of an unrelated third party, and Project Centre did not collect the relevant data.
It is also understood that the statements about improved air quality were not contained in the main report but featured in the executive summary as well as a leaflet that was posted to residents, neither being their responsibility.
Islington Council said: ‘A final decision has not yet been taken on the future of Highbury’s people-friendly streets schemes and the council will be listening carefully to feedback from local people on the trials.’
There is evidence to suggest that councils are making lots of money from LTN-related fines.
That is because while some councils have installed large planters to physically block traffic, many use a no-entry sign and camera.
(There’s no suggestion that Marston will win a borough’s parking fine contract if it successfully implements profitable LTNs in those councils.)
Southwark Council in South London received an astonishing £6.62 million from just five cameras in the Dulwich LTN during 2021.
In Hackney, between February 2020 and August 2021, a single street gathered £4.12million in fines after it became part of an LTN.
All of this pain would be acceptable if there was noticeable gain in air quality or in reducing traffic congestion.
But there rarely is.
In Oxford, another city where LTNs have been implemented, there is very little data to compare, for example, air pollution before and after LTNs.
And yet nobody doubts the huge inconvenience to drivers.
Oxford, as a university town in a flat river valley, has a lot of cyclists.
An LTN might be expected to have increased the number of cyclists as people left their cars at home.
But buried on page 385 of a 556-page report, the council reveals that average daily cycling rates within the Cowley LTN were actually lower than before installation —in eight of the nine months evaluated.
Flowers have been dug up and plants destroyed in in Dulwich Village, South London as part of a protest against Low Traffic Neighbourhoods
Richard Parnham is a legal researcher who helps run Reconnecting Oxford, which tries to interrogate some of the official data.
‘Is the medicine working? No, and it won’t work unless you remove all people in the area that drive and replace them with nice middle-class cyclists,’ he says.
Solicitor Sadiea Mustafa-Awan, 39, lives in Littlemore, a relatively poor suburb south of Oxford, with her husband, a van delivery driver, and two young children.
One of her children, Quasim, 8, has autism and ADHD.
Like Matthieu in Islington, Quasim gets agitated if his bus to his special school is late picking him up — as it now frequently is.
‘He can’t cycle to school,’ says Sadiea.
‘It’s just so unfair that he doesn’t get a choice about this.’ Sadiea is so furious that Oxford council seems to have ignored opposition to the LTNs that she has decided to stand as an independent councillor in the forthcoming local elections.
Oxfordshire County Council received about 2,400 responses in its LTN consultation. Of those, 63 per cent said they objected, 11 per cent had ‘concerns’, while 26 per cent supported the schemes.
But despite three-quarters of residents being negative about LTNs, the council intended to rubber-stamp the measures being made permanent last month.
It was only at the last moment, in the face of increasingly angry residents, that it agreed to delay the decision.
Oxfordshire County Council said: ‘Through the consultation process so far, we have received valuable feedback from people in these groups, which we will use to help shape the final plans for the LTNs.’
It is this reluctance to listen to residents that enrages so many people — those who want nicer streets, fewer cars and to encourage cycling.
But they also want to be listened to.
As Elodie in Islington says: ‘We live in a world where data is king. We need to focus on data. But then we discover bogus data about LTNs is being relied on, which shatters your confidence.
‘The trust between us residents and the council is absolutely broken. And that is a very dangerous place for the council to be in.’
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10674487/HARRY-WALLOP-low-traffic-neighbourhoods-added-congestion-roads.html
| 2022-04-01T00:31:43Z
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STAMFORD, Conn., March 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Stamford, CT based private equity firm Olympus Partners has acquired Omega Environmental Technologies ("Omega"), the market leading aftermarket distributor of climate control products and other mission-critical components across the light and heavy-duty automotive sectors, from AEA Investors, which will remain a minority equity investor and retain a board position in the Company. Omega serves thousands of customers globally across the wholesale distribution, OE service, and automotive retail channels. The Company is headquartered in Irving, Texas and has over 20 distribution centers across the United States and Canada.
"The replacement air conditioning market is very attractive, with steadily growing demand and high barriers to entry due to the technical nature and SKU intensity of the product. Omega is the leader in this category with a portfolio of powerful brands and complete end market coverage. We look forward to working with Peter, Randy, and the rest of the management team to continue grow the Company," said Jason Miller, Partner at Olympus.
Peter Butterfield, Chairman of Omega, added, "I would like to thank AEA for their support over the past few years and look forward to partnering with the Olympus team. I have never been more excited about the prospects of the Company."
Founded in 1988, Olympus Partners is a private equity firm focused on providing equity capital for middle market management buyouts and for companies needing capital for expansion. Olympus is an active, long-term investor across a broad range of industries including business services, consumer products, healthcare services, financial services, industrial services, and manufacturing. Olympus manages in excess of $8.5 billion mainly on behalf of corporate pension funds, endowment funds and state-sponsored retirement programs.
The Olympus team included Jason Miller, Matt Bujor, and Alex Pollera. Olympus was represented by Ben Clinger, Adam Wexner, and Kat Murphy from Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Antares Capital LP led debt financing for the transaction.
AEA Investors LP was founded in 1968 by the Rockefeller, Mellon and Harriman family interests and S.G. Warburg & Co. as a private investment vehicle for a select group of industrial family offices with substantial assets. AEA has an extraordinary global network built over many years which includes leading industrial families, business executives and leaders; many of whom invest with AEA as active individual investors and/or join its portfolio company boards or act in other advisory roles. Today, AEA's approximately 100 investment professionals operate globally with offices in New York, Stamford, San Francisco, London, Munich and Shanghai. The firm manages funds that have over $14 billion of invested and committed capital including the leveraged buyouts of middle market companies and small business companies, growth capital and mezzanine and senior debt investments. AEA Small Business is a strategy within AEA that currently manages $1.9 billion of invested and committed capital. The team seeks to help grow and transform companies at the lower end of the middle market by sponsoring growing companies with proven management teams and superior business models.
Olympus Partners is a private equity firm focused on providing equity capital for middle market management buyouts and for growing companies. Olympus manages in excess of $8.5 billion mainly on behalf of corporate pension funds, endowment funds and state-sponsored retirement programs. Founded in 1988, Olympus is an active, long-term investor across a broad range of industries including business services, food services, consumer products, healthcare services, financial services, industrial services and manufacturing.
View original content:
SOURCE Olympus Partners
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https://www.kwtx.com/prnewswire/2022/03/31/olympus-joins-cool-kids-with-acquisition-omega/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:44Z
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Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE:CLH – Get Rating) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 893,200 shares, a decrease of 22.3% from the February 28th total of 1,150,000 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 439,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.
Shares of NYSE:CLH traded down $0.96 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $111.64. 378,562 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 467,722. Clean Harbors has a 1 year low of $83.56 and a 1 year high of $118.89. The company has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.30 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 1.88. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.97.
Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.26. Clean Harbors had a return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 5.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 40.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Clean Harbors will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Clean Harbors in the 4th quarter valued at $52,844,000. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its holdings in Clean Harbors by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 2,555 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in Clean Harbors in the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Clean Harbors in the 4th quarter valued at $220,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Clean Harbors in the 4th quarter valued at $354,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.74% of the company’s stock.
CLH has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Clean Harbors in a report on Thursday, December 2nd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Clean Harbors in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Clean Harbors in a research report on Thursday, February 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Clean Harbors from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 25th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Clean Harbors from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Monday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.44.
Clean Harbors Company Profile (Get Rating)
Clean Harbors, Inc engages in the provision of environmental, energy, and industrial services. It operates through the Environmental Services and the Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions segments. The Environmental Services segment consists of the technical services, industrial services, field services, and oil, gas, and lodging businesses.
Further Reading
- Get a free copy of the StockNews.com research report on Clean Harbors (CLH)
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https://www.americanbankingnews.com/2022/03/31/clean-harbors-inc-nyseclh-sees-large-decline-in-short-interest.html
| 2022-04-01T00:31:45Z
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Nutrien (NTR) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
Nutrien (NTR) closed the most recent trading day at $103.99, moving +1.89% from the previous trading session. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.57%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 1.56%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.09%.
Coming into today, shares of the producer of potash and other fertilizers had gained 15.98% in the past month. In that same time, the Basic Materials sector gained 9.98%, while the S&P 500 gained 5.37%.
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from Nutrien as it approaches its next earnings report date. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.54, up 775.86% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $7.88 billion, up 69.14% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $12.86 per share and revenue of $35.98 billion. These totals would mark changes of +106.42% and +29.84%, respectively, from last year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Nutrien should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 18.67% higher. Nutrien is holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) right now.
Investors should also note Nutrien's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 7.94. This valuation marks a no noticeable deviation compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 7.94.
It is also worth noting that NTR currently has a PEG ratio of 0.99. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. NTR's industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.91 as of yesterday's close.
The Fertilizers industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 8, putting it in the top 4% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
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It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time.
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To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/nutrien-ntr-gains-as-market-dips%3A-what-you-should-know-1
| 2022-04-01T00:31:45Z
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GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — One young girl in Greenville has found a unique way to help out those in war-torn Ukraine.
Nola Kelly, 5, and her mother run a business selling sweet treats. When Nola learned about the war, she wanted to find a way to help.
Nola’s mother said they started the business as a way to teach entrepreneurship. Now, they are using the business to also raise funds for the Ukrainian people.
“There is a part in a world that we play in this big scheme of things in this big, gigantic world, and to know that, you know, we can make an impact even as one person,” said Nola’s mother, April Kelly.
She said they began the business, Nola’s Twisted Apple Pops, in December of 2021, and the idea came about because of Nola’s huge sweet tooth.
April Kelly said they felt a connection to Ukraine because of their friend Kate Ker, a Greenville local and entrepreneur originally from Ukraine, who has been finding ways to send donations and money to Ukraine since the conflict began.
“This is very touching for me because the war, it’s difficult to explain to kids, and it’s a sensitive topic, and when a child wants to help other kids, other families, this is very, very touching,” said Ker.
With Ker’s help, the Kellys are donating $5 to Ukraine for every item they sell.
“I contacted my friends, my classmates who are volunteering now in Ukraine, and I asked if we can send money directly to them. So they will purchase food and necessities and send it or distribute to people in villages and cities that need help,” said Ker.
Nola said she hopes it helps them to buy anything they need.
You can help out and buy some of Nola’s treats by visiting their Facebook page.
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https://www.wnct.com/local-news/greenville/greenville-five-year-old-helps-ukrainians-with-her-own-business/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:46Z
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TULALIP, Wash. (AP) — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday signed into law a bill that creates a first-in-the-nation statewide alert system for missing Indigenous people, to help address a silent crisis that has plagued Indian Country in this state and nationwide.
The law sets up a system similar to Amber Alerts and so-called silver alerts, which are used respectively for missing children and vulnerable adults in many states. It was spearheaded by Democratic Rep. Debra Lekanoff, the only Native American lawmaker currently serving in the Washington state Legislature, and championed by Indigenous leaders statewide.
“I am proud to say that the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s and People’s Alert System came from the voices of our Native American leaders,” said Lekanoff, a member of the Tlingit tribe and the bill’s chief sponsor. “It’s not just an Indian issue, it’s not just an Indian responsibility. Our sisters, our aunties, our grandmothers are going missing every day … and it’s been going on for far too long.”
Tribal leaders, many of them women, wore traditional hats woven from cedar as they gathered around Inslee for the signing on the Tulalip Reservation, north of Seattle. Afterward they gifted him with a handmade traditional ribbon shirt and several multicolored woven blankets.
The law attempts to address a crisis of missing Indigenous people — particularly women — in Washington and across the United States. While it includes missing men, women and children, a summary of public testimony on the legislation notes that “the crisis began as a women’s issue, and it remains primarily a women’s issue.”
Besides notifying law enforcement when there’s a report of a missing Indigenous person, the new alert system will place messages on highway reader boards and on the radio and social media, and provide information to the news media.
The legislation was paired with another bill Inslee, a Democrat, signed Thursday that requires county coroners or medical examiners to take steps to identify and notify family members of murdered Indigenous people and return their remains. That new law also establishes two grant funds for Indigenous survivors of human trafficking.
This piece of the crisis is important because in many cases, murdered Indigenous women are mistakenly recorded as white or Hispanic by coroners’ offices, they’re never identified, or their remains never repatriated.
A 2021 report by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office found the true number of missing and murdered Indigenous women in the U.S. is unknown due to reporting problems, distrust of law enforcement and jurisdictional conflicts. But Native American women face murder rates almost three times those of white women overall — and up to 10 times the national average in certain locations, according to a 2021 summary of the existing research by the National Congress of American Indians. More than 80% have experienced violence.
In Washington, more than four times as many Indigenous women go missing than white women, according to research conducted by the Urban Indian Health Institute in Seattle, but many such cases receive little or no media attention.
The bill signing began with a traditional welcome song passed down by Harriette Shelton Dover, a cherished cultural leader and storyteller. Dover recovered and shared many traditions and songs from tribes along Washington’s northern Pacific Coast and worked with linguists before her death in 1991 to preserve her language, Lushootseed, from extinction. Women performed an honor song after the event.
Tulalip Tribes of Washington Chairwoman Teri Gobin said Washington and Montana are the two states with the most missing Indigenous people in the U.S. Nearly four dozen Native people are currently missing in Seattle alone, she said.
“What’s the most important thing is bringing them home, whether they’ve been trafficked, whether they’ve been stolen or murdered,” she said. “It’s a wound that stays open, and it’s something that we pray with (for) each person, we can bring them home.”
Investigations into missing Indigenous people, particularly women, have been plagued by many issues for decades.
When a person goes missing on a reservation, there are often there are jurisdictional conflicts between tribal police and local and state law enforcement. A lack of staff and police resources, and the rural nature of many reservations, compound those problems. And many times, families of tribal members distrust non-Native law enforcement or don’t know where to report news of a missing loved one.
An alert system will help mitigate some of those problems by allowing better communication and coordination between tribal and non-tribal law enforcement and creating a way for law enforcement to flag such cases for other agencies. The law expands the definition of “missing endangered person” to include Indigenous people, as well as children and vulnerable adults with disabilities or memory or cognitive issues.
The law takes effect June 9 and some details are still being worked out. For example, it’s unclear what criteria law enforcement will use to positively identify a missing person as Native American and how the information will be disseminated in rural areas, including on some reservations, where highways lack electronic reader boards — or where there aren’t highways at all.
The measure is the latest step Washington has taken to address the issue. The Washington State Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Task Force is working to coordinate a statewide response and had its first meeting in December. Its first report is expected in August.
Many states from Arizona to Oregon to Wisconsin have taken recent action to address the crisis of murdered and missing Indigenous women. Efforts include funding for better resources for tribal police to the creation of new databases specifically targeting missing tribal members. Tribal police agencies that use Amber Alerts for missing Indigenous children include the Hopi and Las Vegas Paiute.
In California, the Yurok Tribe and the Sovereign Bodies Institute, an Indigenous-run research and advocacy group, uncovered 18 cases of missing or slain Native American women in roughly the past year in their recent work — a number they consider a vast undercount. An estimated 62% of those cases are not listed in state or federal databases for missing persons.
The law is already drawing attention from other states, whose attorney generals have called to ask how to enact similar legislation, said state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who called the law “truly groundbreaking.”
“Any time you’re doing something for the first time in this country, that’s an extra heavy lift,” he said. “This most certainly will not be our last reform to make sure that we bring everybody back home. .. There is so much more work that needs to be done and must be done.”
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Flaccus reported from Portland, Oregon.
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Follow Gillian Flaccus on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/gflaccus
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https://www.wowktv.com/news/u-s-world/washington-oks-1st-statewide-missing-indigenous-people-alert/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:46Z
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https://www.leafly.com/brands/high-grade-az/products/high-grade-az-bubblegum-chem-terp-sauce-cartridge-0-5g-cartridges
| 2022-04-01T00:31:46Z
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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
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https://www.king5.com/article/news/verify/money-verify/biden-projects-trillion-dollar-deficit-reduction-largest-ever/536-82b0158e-0851-49dd-a546-3dbef252c761
| 2022-04-01T00:31:47Z
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9m ago
Report: Canada striker Beckie to join Thorns
Canadian striker Janine Beckie is expected to join Portland Thorns FC on a "long-term deal," according Meg Linehan of The Athletic.
TSN.ca Staff
Canadian striker Janine Beckie is expected to join Portland Thorns FC of the NWSL on a "long-term deal," according Meg Linehan of The Athletic.
The 27-year-old, who helped the Canadian women's national soccer team capture gold this summer at the Olympics, has played with Manchester City since August 2018.
Beckie spent time with the Houston Dash and Sky Blue FC in the NWSL before moving to Europe, scoring five goals in 53 appearances. With Manchester City, Beckie netted six goals in 49 games.
In addition to her gold medal from the summer, Beckie helped Canada win bronze at the 2016 Olympics. Over 35 appearances with the Canadian national team, Beckie has eight goals and seven assists.
In Portland, Beckie will get the opportunity to play with Canadian soccer legend Christine Sinclair, who has played with the Thorns since 2013.
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https://www.tsn.ca/report-canada-striker-janine-beckie-to-join-portland-thorns-1.1779294
| 2022-04-01T00:31:48Z
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Thoughts While Shaving For March 30
McDonald’s girls All American game, seen around the world on ESPN2 last night, and coached by an All-Star coaches team from Bladen County, NC. Did you see the game? Talented young ladies from all across the US, molded into a team, in a short time. East team coached by Patty S....
bladenonline.com
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2556491684865/thoughts-while-shaving-for-march-30
| 2022-04-01T00:31:48Z
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No matter which profession you belong to, learning never ends. There is always the need to acquire more knowledge and upgrade your skills with time. Fortunately for nurses, a special RN to BSN program has been introduced that helps them to obtain advanced knowledge and continue learning despite those long tiring shifts and scheduling. Visit academicpartnerships.uta.edu/programs/rn-to-bsn.aspx to learn more about RN to BSN programs. Here are the four benefits that this program offers to the candidates.
- Flexibility and Convenience
First of all, this course offers you the flexibility to adjust and schedule your learning sessions according to your convenience. The coursework and lectures are accessible 24/7, which makes it the best choice for all those nurses who want to resume their studies along with their work.
- Career Advancement Opportunities
Nobody can deny that education and experience both are important for individuals to build their careers successfully. Both of these factors go hand-in-hand. Unfortunately, due to some reasons, people end up sacrificing one of these factors. However, thanks to the online learning trend, now things are getting better, and people can continue to work and learn simultaneously. The RN to BSN program helps the nurses enroll themselves for advanced studies and opens up many career opportunities for them even if they are currently employed.
- Interactive Learning Sessions
The online learning programs are expected to be more fun and interactive as compared to those traditional classrooms. The faculty members are always available to help you out during and even after the learning sessions. You can ask any query or have a discussion with them quite easily over the phone or through chat. The best thing is that if you are already employed, you could seek assistance and guidance from your online lecturers regarding any critical case that you have to deal with at work. You can imply the knowledge that you seek from them practically and handle the case in a much better way.
- Quality Education
The online learning platforms and programs such as the RN to BSN program are recognized worldwide for the quality and convenience that they offer. You are able to receive the same quality education that you would have received from any university or college by attending it physically. People often assume that the quality of education being offered on campus is far better than that being offered online, but this isn’t true entirely. If it was true, then these programs would not have received so much encouragement and appreciation on both national as well as international levels.
For a working individual, time is money, and this is the reason why most of us are unable to learn new methods, advanced techniques, or improve our skills. However, with the help of these online learning programs, not only can you learn with convenience but also save the traveling cost and time that you would have to invest if you had to attend the on-campus classes. You can utilize this time to enhance your skills and knowledge.
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https://thekatynews.com/2022/03/31/4-ways-an-online-rn-to-bsn-program-benefits-the-working-nurse/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:49Z
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https://sportspyder.com/nba/washington-wizards/articles/39012284
| 2022-04-01T00:31:49Z
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4-star Class of 2022 combo guard Judah Mintz commits to Syracuse
Daily Orange File Photo
Judah Mintz, a 6-foot-3 combo guard and four-star recruit, has committed to Syracuse, he announced at halftime of the GEICO Nationals quarterfinal game between La Lumiere and IMG Academy. Sitting in between two ESPN broadcasters during the halftime show, Mintz unzipped his Oak Hill pullover to reveal a Syracuse shirt and added an orange hat.
“Syracuse, it had a really good opportunity for me to come in and be a point guard as a freshman,” Mintz, ESPN’s No. 35 overall player in his class, said on the broadcast. “I get to play with other guards that I know — Quadir and Justin Taylor — so it was a great opportunity I couldn’t pass up on.”
He selected the Orange over Wake Forest, NC State and DePaul, and became the sixth member of an SU Class of 2022 recruiting cycle that includes Chris Bunch, Taylor, Quadir Copeland, Maliq Brown and Peter Carey. Before Mintz’s commitment, Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim had secured the No. 21 recruiting class for 2022 nationally and No. 7 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Mintz originally committed to Pittsburgh, but he opened his recruitment in November and took official visits to all four finalists between February and March, according to his 247Sports page. He transferred to Oak Hill (Virginia) Academy for the 2021-22 season after previously playing at Gonzaga College High School — where he averaged 16 points per game, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review — and has produced 15.2 points per game for the Warriors, shooting 53.2% from the field and 46.2% on 3-pointers. His percentage from beyond the arc is the highest on Oak Hill among players with more than four attempts, and Mintz has made 18-of-39 3s while dishing out four assists per game.
This past summer, Mintz played for Team Durant and averaged 18.2 points per game, according to On3.com, and he helped Oak Hill win 18 games in a row before falling to Link (Missouri) Academy in another quarterfinal game on Thursday. Mintz finished with 21 points and seven assists before announcing his college commitment just hours later.
Syracuse will lose at least two starters from its 2021-22 starting lineup, with both Buddy and Jimmy Boeheim graduating, and could lose another in Cole Swider, who reportedly hasn’t ruled out a return despite Boeheim saying that Swider doesn’t plan to return. Bourama Sidibe used his final year of eligibility this year, while Frank Anselem entered the transfer portal earlier on Thursday — thinning the Orange’s depth at center heading into the offseason.
Published on March 31, 2022 at 4:57 pm
Contact Andrew: [email protected] | @CraneAndrew
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https://dailyorange.com/2022/03/syracuse-mens-basketball-judah-mintz-commitment/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:49Z
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GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. — A 12-year-old boy has died after deputies in the upstate of South Carolina say he was shot inside a middle school by another boy Thursday afternoon.
More than 200 law enforcement officers, including deputies with the Greenville County Sheriff's Office in the upstate of South Carolina, responded to the shooting at Tanglewood Middle School, on Greenville's western side. NBC affiliate WYFF-TV said deputies confirmed the school's resource officer requested emergency backup around 12:30 p.m. after the student was wounded.
WYFF also said local community activist Bruce Wilson had identified the boy who died as Jamari Cortez Bonaparte Jackson. According to Wilson, Jackson passed away at an area hospital, and he released a statement on behalf of the family:
"We are all devastated by today’s tragedy. We love Jamari dearly and we would ask that our privacy be respected as we grieve during this very difficult time.”
The television station reports after the shooting happened, students were taken to a nearby church on school buses. The television station later confirmed with authorities a male found near the school was taken into custody. Deputies eventually confirmed both the suspect and victim were teenage students. The suspect reportedly left the school after the shooting and was found nearby.
Later in the day, Greenville County Sheriff Will Lewis confirmed via a statement the suspect was also a 12-year-old boy. Per Lewis, the suspect was found hiding under the deck of a nearby home. He was taken into custody, and a handgun was recovered. The boy is now charged with murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, possession of a firearm on school property, and unlawful possession of a weapon by a person under the age of 18. The boy will be transported to the Department of Juvenile Justice in Columbia.
A parent reportedly indicated to WYFF the shooting happened in the school's 7th-grade hallway. A student who spoke to the station said the shooting happened during a class change, and that the victim shot the suspect in the side. The gunfire prompted students to either get into classrooms or run outside.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster shared a tweet, saying he was briefed on the shooting by the Greenville County sheriff and the head of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. He praised first responders' work and requested prayers for those affected by the shooting.
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https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/crime/school-shooting-south-carolina-middle-school-greenville-county-crime-regional/275-fc2aad43-554e-421b-8b0a-d0237ebc2386
| 2022-04-01T00:31:49Z
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Reporter:
Staff reporter
Thursday 31 March 2022 21:58
Is this cold weather going to stay for another day?
Here's the Met Office weather report courtesy of Clare Nasir.
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http://ballycastlechronicle.virtualcms.it/news/2022/03/31/video/friday-s-weather-23459/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:49Z
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KYIV, Ukraine • Russian troops handed control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant back to the Ukrainians and began leaving the heavily contaminated site more than a month after taking it over, authorities said Thursday, as fighting raged on the outskirts of Kyiv and other fronts.
Ukraine’s state power company, Energoatom, said the pullout at Chernobyl came after soldiers received “significant doses” of radiation from digging trenches in the forest in the exclusion zone around the closed plant. But there was no independent confirmation of that.
The withdrawal took place amid growing indications the Kremlin is using talk of de-escalation in Ukraine as cover while regrouping, resupplying its forces and redeploying them for a stepped-up offensive in the eastern part of the country.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine is seeing “a buildup of Russian forces for new strikes on the Donbas, and we are preparing for that.”
Meanwhile, a convoy of buses headed to Mariupol in another bid to evacuate people from the besieged port city after the Russian military agreed to a limited cease-fire in the area. And a new round of talks was scheduled for Friday, five weeks into the war that has left thousands dead and driven 4 million Ukrainians from the country.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said it had been informed by Ukraine that the Russian forces at the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster had transferred control of it in writing to the Ukrainians.
Ukraine reported that three convoys of Russian forces had left toward Belarus, while the remaining troops were apparently planning to leave too, the agency said.
Energoatom gave no details on the condition of the soldiers it said were exposed to radiation and did not say how many were affected. There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin, and the IAEA said it had not been able to confirm the reports of Russian troops receiving high doses. It said it was seeking more information.
Russian forces seized the Chernobyl site in the opening stages of the Feb. 24 invasion, raising fears that they would cause damage or disruption that could spread radiation. The workforce at the site oversees the safe storage of spent fuel rods and the concrete-entombed ruins of the reactor that exploded in 1986.
Edwin Lyman, a nuclear expert with the U.S.-based Union of Concerned Scientists, said it “seems unlikely” a large number of troops would develop severe radiation illness, but it was impossible to know for sure without more details.
He said contaminated material was probably buried or covered with new topsoil during the cleanup of Chernobyl, and some soldiers may have been exposed to a “hot spot” of radiation while digging. Others may have assumed they were at risk too, he said.
Early this week, the Russians said they would significantly scale back military operations in areas around Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv to increase trust between the two sides and help negotiations along.
But in the Kyiv suburbs, regional governor Oleksandr Palviuk said on social media Thursday that Russian forces shelled Irpin and Makariv and that there were battles around Hostomel. Pavliuk said there were Ukrainian counterattacks and some Russian withdrawals around the suburb of Brovary to the east.
Chernihiv came under attack as well.
At least one person was killed and four were wounded in the Russian shelling of a humanitarian convoy of buses sent to Chernihiv to evacuate residents cut off from food, water and other supplies, said Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Lyudmyla Denisova
Ukraine also reported Russian artillery barrages in and around the northeastern city of Kharkiv.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said intelligence indicates Russia is not scaling back its military operations in Ukraine but is instead trying to regroup, resupply its forces and reinforce its offensive in the Donbas.
“Russia has repeatedly lied about its intentions,” Stoltenberg said. At the same time, he said, pressure is being kept up on Kyiv and other cities.
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https://gazette.com/russians-leave-chernobyl-area-after-soldiers-contaminated/article_78debb32-b148-11ec-ae63-1bb5adb44048.html
| 2022-04-01T00:31:49Z
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| 2022-04-01T00:31:48Z
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The housewives of Atlanta are back and they’re fighting in season 14’s trailer. There are many new changes with Porsha Williams and Cynthia Bailey leaving the franchise and Marlo Hampton finally getting her peach. In addition to those changes, Shereé Whitfield returns and Sanya Richards-Ross, a four-time Gold Medal Olympian, mother, wife, and businesswoman joins the cast. Though the cast has many changes, the girls are still bringing the drama.
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In the trailer, there are moments from the season where we will see the launch of SHE By Shereè, a Kandi versus Marlo fight, Marlo’s relationship with her nephews, and cameos from familiar faces like Apollo Nida, Phaedra Parks’ ex-husband. Bravo says that Monyetta Shaw will also appear as a friend of the show.
Season 14 of The Real Housewives of Atlanta premieres May 1 at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo. Check out the trailer below.
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The Girls Are Fighting In The Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 14 Trailer [WATCH] was originally published on rickeysmileymorningshow.com
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https://newstalkcleveland.com/3157932/the-girls-are-fighting-in-the-real-housewives-of-atlanta-season-14-trailer-watch/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:49Z
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HONOLULU (AP) — A man accused with his wife of trafficking a mother and teenaged girl to Hawaii from Guam pleaded not guilty Thursday.
Kevin Robert pleaded not guilty to labor trafficking charges, according to his attorney, Tim Rakieten. His wife, Pomerrine Robert, pleaded not guilty last week. Kevin Robert's arraignment was postponed then because he requested a Chuukese interpreter.
“I need sufficient time to review the case, and review with him, before I can comment any further,” Rakieten said.
State Public Defender James Tabe, whose office represents Pomerrine Robert, has previously declined to comment.
Police alleged in court documents that when the 15-year-old girl and her mother arrived in Honolulu, the Roberts took away their passports, forced them to work and beat them.
Court documents don't specify the country of the passports.
The girl and her mother lived in the couple's apartment, while the teen enrolled at a high school and the woman got a job at a deli where Pomerrine Robert also worked, the documents said.
The documents said Robert took away the mother’s money, the girl was expected to clean the apartment and Robert beat the girl and mother.
The couple locked the girl in a bedroom for several days and she reported it to a school counselor after she was let out, according to the documents.
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https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Husband-pleads-not-guilty-in-Hawaii-Guam-17049732.php
| 2022-04-01T00:31:49Z
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| 2022-04-01T00:31:49Z
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Shell Trinidad and Tobago delivers first gas from Colibri Project
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago, April 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Shell Trinidad and Tobago (through BG International, a subsidiary of Shell plc), today announces that production has started on Block 22 and NCMA-4 in the North Coast Marine Area (NCMA) in Trinidad and Tobago.
The start-up of Colibri follows the amendment to the Block 6 Production Sharing Contract for the Manatee field, marking yet another significant milestone in Shell's growth strategy in country. This will allow for the delivery of gas both domestically and internationally through Atlantic LNG.
"I am proud of the team in Trinidad and Tobago for their commitment to safely delivering this project on time." said Wael Sawan, Director of Integrated Gas, Renewable and Energy Solutions. "This reinforces the delivery of Shell's Powering Progress strategy in country, as we seek to provide more and cleaner energy solutions, globally. Colibri, along with other development projects, will see natural gas going into both the domestic petrochemical markets and into LNG exports, in line with the energy ambitions of Trinidad and Tobago."
Project Colibri is a backfill project that is expected to add approximately 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) (174 mmscf/d) of sustained near-term gas production with peak production expected to be approximately 43,000 boe/d (250 mmscf/d) through a series of four subsea gas wells, tied back to the existing Poinsettia Platform located in the NCMA acreage.
Notes to editors
First gas at Colibri was reached on March 30, 2022, and the estimated production for Colibri represents 100% total gross figures.
The Shell-operated Colibri development is co-owned with the Trinidad and Tobago national oil company Heritage Petroleum Company Limited which has a working interest of 10% and 20% respectively in Block 22 and NCMA-4 in the North Coast Marine Area (NCMA).
Colibri, when combined with Barracuda and existing developments, will deliver more gas to the Trinidad and Tobago domestic market and the LNG export markets.
Shell is a major shareholder in Atlantic LNG, a significant global producer of LNG. Our equity in the Atlantic plant ranges from 46% to 57.5% in each of the four trains at the facility.
Shell announced Final Investment Decision for Project Colibri in March 2020
Cautionary Note
The companies in which Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this press release "Shell", "Shell Group" and "Group" are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" are also used to refer to Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These terms are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular entity or entities. ''Subsidiaries'', "Shell subsidiaries" and "Shell companies" as used in this press release refer to entities over which Shell plc either directly or indirectly has control. Entities and unincorporated arrangements over which Shell has joint control are generally referred to as "joint ventures" and "joint operations", respectively. "Joint ventures" and "joint operations" are collectively referred to as "joint arrangements". Entities over which Shell has significant influence but neither control nor joint control are referred to as "associates". The term "Shell interest" is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by Shell in an entity or unincorporated joint arrangement, after exclusion of all third-party interest.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Shell to market risks and statements expressing management's expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as "aim", "ambition", ''anticipate'', ''believe'', ''could'', ''estimate'', ''expect'', ''goals'', ''intend'', ''may'', "milestones", ''objectives'', ''outlook'', ''plan'', ''probably'', ''project'', ''risks'', "schedule", ''seek'', ''should'', ''target'', ''will'' and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this press release, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell's products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, judicial, fiscal and regulatory developments including regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; (m) risks associated with the impact of pandemics, such as the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak; and (n) changes in trading conditions. No assurance is provided that future dividend payments will match or exceed previous dividend payments. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional risk factors that may affect future results are contained in Shell plc's Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2021 (available at www.shell.com/investor and www.sec.gov). These risk factors also expressly qualify all forward-looking statements contained in this press release and should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this press release, March 31, 2022. Neither Shell plc nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.
Shell's net carbon footprint
Also, in this press release we may refer to Shell's "Net Carbon Footprint" or "Net Carbon Intensity", which include Shell's carbon emissions from the production of our energy products, our suppliers' carbon emissions in supplying energy for that production and our customers' carbon emissions associated with their use of the energy products we sell. Shell only controls its own emissions. The use of the term Shell's "Net Carbon Footprint" or "Net Carbon Intensity" are for convenience only and not intended to suggest these emissions are those of Shell plc or its subsidiaries.
Shell's net-Zero Emissions Target
Shell's operating plan, outlook and budgets are forecasted for a ten-year period and are updated every year. They reflect the current economic environment and what we can reasonably expect to see over the next ten years. Accordingly, they reflect our Scope 1, Scope 2 and Net Carbon Footprint (NCF) targets over the next ten years. However, Shell's operating plans cannot reflect our 2050 net-zero emissions target and 2035 NCF target, as these targets are currently outside our planning period. In the future, as society moves towards net-zero emissions, we expect Shell's operating plans to reflect this movement.
Forward Looking Non-GAAP measures
This press release may contain certain forward-looking non-GAAP measures such as [cash capital expenditure] and [divestments]. We are unable to provide a reconciliation of these forward-looking Non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures because certain information needed to reconcile those Non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures is dependent on future events some of which are outside the control of Shell, such as oil and gas prices, interest rates and exchange rates. Moreover, estimating such GAAP measures with the required precision necessary to provide a meaningful reconciliation is extremely difficult and could not be accomplished without unreasonable effort. Non-GAAP measures in respect of future periods which cannot be reconciled to the most comparable GAAP financial measure are calculated in a manner which is consistent with the accounting policies applied in Shell plc's consolidated financial statements.
The contents of websites referred to in this press release do not form part of this press release.
We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this press release that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) strictly prohibits us from including in our filings with the SEC. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website www.sec.gov.
SOURCE Shell Trinidad and Tobago (through BG International)
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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/shell-trinidad-tobago-delivers-first-230500334.html
| 2022-04-01T00:31:49Z
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Australia answers Zelensky's call: Scott Morrison confirms Defence Force will donate the special gear Ukrainian President is begging for
- Australia has identified the weapons President Zelensky wants to fight Russia
- Ukrainian leader asked for Bushmaster armoured vehicles on Thursday
- Zelensky gave a rousing and historic speech to the Australian Parliament
- Peter Dutton said Govt. is 'pretty much open to whatever support we can'
Australia will send Bushmasters to Ukraine following a request by the war-torn nation's president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Scott Morrison confirmed he would ship up to four armoured vehicles in a presser on Friday morning to help Ukraine fend of Russian attacks.
'We are not just sending our prayers, we are sending our guns, ammunitions, humanitarian aid, all of this, our body armour, all of these things,' he said.
'We will send out armoured vehicles, Bushmasters as well and we will fly them over there in our C-17s to make sure they can be there to support.'
Mr Zelensky addressed the Australian parliament on Thursday, warning Russian aggression posed a direct threat to Australia and asking for tanks.
'You have very good armoured vehicles, Bushmasters, that could help Ukraine substantially, and other pieces of equipment could strengthen our position in terms of armaments,' he told the parliament.
'If you have an opportunity to share these with us, we would be very grateful. In Ukraine, they will do much more for our common freedom and common security than staying parked on your land.'
Australia will send Bushmasters (pitured) to Ukraine following a request by the war-torn nation's president Volodymyr Zelensky
Volodymyr Zelensky received a standing ovation from the likes of Prime Minister Scott Morrison (front row) and the entire Parliament on Thursday evening
Mr Dutton said Australia was reviewing the number of Bushmasters available and the logistics of sending them to Ukraine in the quantity needed, saying the government was 'pretty much open to whatever support we can'.
'The number they need obviously takes longer than what will be ideal. We have identified Bushmasters that we can send and we are going through the logistics of that now,' he told Sky News.
'We might only be able to upload three or four Bushmasters onto a C17 (military transport aircraft) at once. The other option is we can try and source something out of Germany or France or somewhere else in Europe.'
The defence minister noted timelines did not allow for the usual process of sending the vehicles by ship.
The federal government also announced a further $25 million in defensive military equipment for the besieged nation ahead of Mr Zelenskiy's address.
The package includes tactical decoys, unmanned aerial and ground systems, rations and medical supplies.
Mr Morrison used his opening remarks to the address to brand Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal.
Defence Minister Peter Dutton told Sky News said Australia has identified armoured vehicles it could send to Ukraine - although there will be logistical issues getting them on the ground
'Ukraine and Australia are separated by half the earth. Our languages, accents, histories and cultures are different but we share an affinity for democracy or freedom,' Mr Morrison told the president and the parliament.
'Mr President, you have our praise. But you also have our weapons, our humanitarian aid, our sanctions against those who seek to deny your freedom.'
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese likened Russia's invasion to the devastation wrought by Hitler in World War II, saying Putin's aggression was prefaced by a 'poisonous, nationalistic lie'.
'As you stand up to this latest tyrant, you are showing us what true courage is,' Mr Albanese said.
'It is the courage that is embodied by you (President Zelenskiy). You are fighting for your country and your people.'
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10674501/Zelensky-Australia-Defence-Minister-scrambles-gives-President-wants.html
| 2022-04-01T00:31:50Z
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Stanford soccer player who was found dead in campus residence died by suicide
A Stanford soccer player who was found dead in a campus residence died by suicide, her parents said on NBC’s “Today Show” Friday.
Stanford University soccer captain and goalkeeper Katie Meyer was found dead on campus Tuesday.
“She died by suicide,” said Gina Meyer, Katie Meyer’s mother. “The last couple days are like a parent’s worst nightmare and you don’t wake up from it. So it’s just horrific.”
She said she and Katie Meyer’s father, Steven Meyer, are still shocked at their daughter’s death and trying to understand what happened.
They said they believed the Stanford student received an email about disciplinary action she may be facing from the school for an incident that happened on campus.
“Katie, being Katie, was defending a teammate on campus over an incident and the repercussions of her defending that teammate [were possibly resulting in disciplinary action,” Steven Meyer said on “Today.”
“We have not seen that email yet,” Gina Meyer said. “She had been getting letters for a couple months. This letter was kind of the final letter that there was going to be a trial or some kind of something. This is the only thing that we can come up with that triggered something.”
Stanford said in a statement that “we are not able to share information about confidential student disciplinary matters. We as a university community continue to grieve with Katie’s family and cherish our memories of her,” according to Today.
Meyer was responsible for two saves that helped the school secure its third NCAA women’s soccer championship in 2019.
“The thoughts and hearts of the entire U.S. Soccer Federation are with the family, friends, teammates and loved ones of Katie Meyer,” U.S. Women’s Soccer said on Twitter after her death was announced.
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/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/597030-stanford-soccer-player-who-was-found-dead-in-campus-residence/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:49Z
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Almost two years to the day after the city of Mission first developed safety protocols in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the city is lifting its mask mandate for city facilities, including Sylvester Powell Jr. Community Center.
Why it matters: Effective Thursday, March 31, masks and social distancing measures are no longer required at the Powell Community Center, Mission City Hall, the city’s police station and all other city facilities.
In early January, the city joined Prairie Village and Roeland Park in stepping up COVID-19 mitigation protocols by enacting a citywide mask mandate. After cases dropped, the city allowed the mask mandate to expire in mid-February but continued requiring masks in indoor public facilities.
Considering the local COVID-19 case trends have lowered to about 3% positivity, the Mission City Council on Wednesday evening unanimously approved lifting the remaining mask mandate.
A few other takeaways:
- Mission will return to a mask mandate for all indoor public spaces if the community returns to a “high” level of COVID-19 transmission, as defined by the CDC.
- If the city reaches the CDC-defined “medium” level of COVID-19 transmission, the city council will first discuss next steps before taking action.
- Employees and members of the public can still wear masks if they want.
- The city still recommends employees get vaccinated for COVID-19.
- Cleaning and sanitization measures remain in place, and the city will continue to work on additional enhancements in public facilities such as touchless faucets and toilets in the restrooms.
Key quote: “I think we’ve been thoughtful and careful and conservative in our approach to many of these things, and I think it’s paid off in many cases. As we’ve had peaks and valleys throughout this pandemic, I think our employees have done a good job. We’ve not had outbreaks among our own employees. We’ve not had outbreaks here at the community center. And I think that’s a testament to the policies that you all had put in place and just the conscientiousness of our staff and the patrons in our facilities.” – City Administrator Laura Smith
A recording of the meeting is below.
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https://shawneemissionpost.com/2022/03/31/mission-masks-powell-center-143775/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:51Z
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Budget travel is undoubtedly challenging, which makes packing for the situation even more difficult. However, TikToker Megan Homme has cracked the code. As an airline employee as well as a travel enthusiast, Homme enjoys sharing buzzworthy travel tips with her fans.
Homme is all about inspiring adventurers to maximize their time jet-setting around the globe without breaking the bank. Whether it’s saving money on travel or being more comfortable in the airport, Homme spills the tea. However, one of her most recent travel tips has gone viral and garnered over 5.5 million views on TikTok.
So, what’s the noteworthy tip? A backpack that holds several days’ worth of luggage but counts as a personal item. In short, Homme found the ideal bag for travelers who don’t want to pay extra for their luggage.
The Only Travel Bag You’ll Ever Need
In part two of her TikTok video dubbed “random travel tips from an airline worker,” Megan Homme reveals the game-changing travel bag. She explains, “when you’re traveling on a really cheap ticket sometimes you can only bring a personal item that fits under the seat.”
For frequent budget travelers, trying to pack as much into a limited space is daunting. There is hardly any room in typical travel bags, and sticking to the rules is still important. In lieu of paying baggage fees, Homme says a coworker recommended eBags Mother Lode Travel Backpack.
Homme reveals that it’s not your ordinary backpack, explaining that, “it’s incredible because it zips open like a suitcase.” Unlike other travel bags, the Mother Lode exceeds Homme’s expectations. “This bag literally fits so much.” she says, “ I did 11 days in South America and I didn’t even wear everything I packed in it.”
Many viewers were concerned as to whether or not the Mother Lode bag would fit under the seat, but Homme set the record straight, saying, “I’ve used this backpack as my personal item on a ton of different airlines and it does fit under the seat.”
Other TikTokers who own the Mother Lode bag confirm this holy grail of bags can definitely fit under the seat. One helpful tip, however, is to make sure you don’t overpack your bag so much that it won’t fit. Instead of stuffing the bag to the brim, use packing cubes to maximize its space.
“If you want to travel really cheap but didn’t think you could do a trip with just a backpack you totally can,” Homme assures her viewers. If you pack this bag right, it may be all you need for your journey–as others have reported that it got them through a three-week trip through Europe. Now that’s impressive!
eBags Mother Lode Travel Backpack
- Available in Heather Graphite, Solid Black, Garnet, and Eggplant
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https://www.suggest.com/airline-employee-favorite-travel-bag-ebag-mother-lode-backpack/2631511/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:51Z
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Customer-facing departments participated in expert-led educational sessions, underscoring commitment to promoting responsible gambling habits
DENVER, March 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- For the third year in a row, PointsBet and its employees participated in Problem Gambling Awareness Month, a national campaign designed to increase awareness of problem gambling and offer prevention, treatment, and recovery services.
In the spirit of this year's theme, Awareness + Action, PointsBet hosted educational sessions for all its customer-facing departments. The trainings were designed to generate awareness of problem gambling and empower staff with clear strategies on how to identify and address problem gambling. Sessions were led in consultation with department heads to ensure staff would have a clear understanding of how their roles uniquely position them to recognize problem gambling red flags through a path of escalation regarding observed red flags.
"Responsible and problem gambling education for our staff is far more than just fulfilling a regulatory requirement," said Johnny Aitken, PointsBet USA Chief Executive Officer. "It is about sparking genuine dialogue and empowering our teams to discuss responsible gambling with our customers. We are proud to participate in Problem Gambling Awareness Month for the third consecutive year and look forward to our continued support of this important initiative in the years to come."
This month's trainings were part of an ongoing responsible gambling education plan, which includes an introductory level training for all new hires as part of the onboarding process, lived experience training, and responsible gambling presentations delivered during company-wide town hall meetings.
About PointsBet
PointsBet is a corporate bookmaker listed on the Australian Stock Exchange with operations in Australia, the United States, Canada and Ireland. PointsBet has developed a scalable cloud-based wagering platform through which it offers its clients innovative sports and racing wagering products, advance deposit wagering on racing (ADW) and iGaming.
Media Contact
Jeffrey Altstadter
Director, Publicity – PointsBet
Jeffrey.Altstadter@PointsBet.com
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SOURCE PointsBet
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https://www.kwtx.com/prnewswire/2022/03/31/pointsbet-increases-internal-responsible-gambling-education-initiatives-during-problem-gambling-awareness-month/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:51Z
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Maidan protests in 2014 in Kiev. GENYA SAVILOV / AFP – Getty Images
Bryce Greene
March 29, 2022
The history of U.S. involvement in Ukraine is rarely analyzed by corporate media. The desire to open Ukraine to finance capital, the 2014 U.S. backed coup, and the drive to expand NATO all played a role in creating the current crisis.
As tensions began to rise over Ukraine, US media produced a stream of articles attempting to explain the situation with headlines like “Ukraine Explained” (New York Times, 12/8/21 ) and “What You Need to Know About Tensions Between Ukraine and Russia” (Washington Post, 11/26/21 ). Sidebars would have notes that tried to provide context for the current headlines. But to truly understand this crisis, you would need to know much more than what these articles offered.
These “explainer” pieces are emblematic of Ukraine coverage in the rest of corporate media, which almost universally gave a pro-Western view of US/Russia relations and the history behind them. Media echoed the point of view of those who believe the US should have an active role in Ukrainian politics and enforce its perspective through military threats.
Originally published at FAIR.org
The official line goes something like this: Russia is challenging NATO and the “international rules-based order” by threatening to invade Ukraine, and the Biden administration needed to deter Russia by providing more security guarantees to the Zelensky government. The official account seizes on Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula as a starting point for US/Russian relations, and as evidence of Putin’s goals of rebuilding Russia’s long-lost empire.
Russia’s demand that NATO cease its expansion to Russia’s borders is viewed as such an obviously impossible demand that it can only be understood as a pretext to invade Ukraine. Therefore, the US should send weapons and troops to Ukraine, and guarantee its security with military threats to Russia (FAIR.org, 1/15/22 ).
The Washington Post asked: “Why is there tension between Russia and Ukraine?” Its answer:
In March 2014, Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine. A month later, war erupted between Russian-allied separatists and Ukraine’s military in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. The United Nations human rights office estimates that more than 13,000 people have been killed.
But that account is highly misleading, because it leaves out the crucial role the US has played in escalating tensions in the region. In nearly every case we looked at, the reports omitted the US’s extensive role in the 2014 coup that preceded Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Focusing on the latter part only serves to manufacture consent for US intervention abroad.
The West Wants Investor-Friendly Policies in Ukraine
The backdrop to the 2014 coup and annexation cannot be understood without looking at the US strategy to open Ukrainian markets to foreign investors and give control of its economy to giant multinational corporations. A key tool for this has been the International Monetary Fund, which leverages aid loans to push governments to adopt policies friendly to foreign investors. The IMF is funded by and represents Western financial capital and governments and has been at the forefront of efforts to reshape economies around the world for decades, often with disastrous results. The civil war in Yemen and the coup in Bolivia both followed a rejection of IMF terms.
In Ukraine, the IMF had long planned to implement a series of economic reforms to make the country more attractive to investors. These included cutting wage controls (i.e., lowering wages), “reform[ing] and reduc[ing]” health and education sectors (which made up the bulk of employment in Ukraine), and cutting natural gas subsidies to Ukrainian citizens that made energy affordable to the general public. Coup plotters like US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland repeatedly stressed the need for the Ukrainian government to enact the “necessary” reforms.
In 2013, after early steps to integrate with the West, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych turned against these changes and ended trade integration talks with the European Union. Months before his overthrow, he restarted economic negotiations with Russia, in a major snub to the Western economic sphere. By then, the nationalist protests were heating up that would go on to topple his government.
After the 2014 coup, the new government quickly restarted the EU deal. After cutting heating subsidies in half, it secured a $27 billion commitment from the IMF. The IMF’s goals still include “reducing the role of the state and vested interests in the economy” in order to attract more foreign capital.
The IMF is one of the many global institutions whose role in maintaining global inequities often goes unreported and unnoticed by the general public. The US economic quest to open global markets to capital is a key driver of international affairs, but if the press chooses to ignore it, the public debate is incomplete and shallow.
The US Helped Overthrow Ukraine’s Elected President
During the tug of war between the US and Russia, the Americans were engaged in a destabilization campaign against the Yanukovych government. The campaign culminated with the overthrow of the elected president in the Maidan Revolution—also known as the Maidan Coup—named for the Kiev square that hosted the bulk of the protests.
As political turmoil engulfed the country in the leadup to 2014, the US was fueling anti-government sentiment through mechanisms like USAID and National Endowment for Democracy (NED), just as they had done in 2004 .
In December 2013, Nuland, assistant secretary of state for European affairs and a long-time regime change advocate , said that the US government had spent $5 billion promoting “democracy” in Ukraine since 1991. The money went toward supporting “senior officials in the Ukraine government…[members of] the business community as well as opposition civil society” who agree with US goals.
The NED is a key organization in the network of American soft power that pours $170 million a year into organizations dedicated to defending or installing US-friendly regimes. The Washington Post‘s David Ignatius (9/22/91 ) once wrote that the organization functions by “doing in public what the CIA used to do in private.” The NED targets governments who oppose US military or economic policy, stirring up anti-government opposition.
The NED board of directors includes Elliott Abrams , whose sordid record runs from the Iran/Contra affair in the ’80s to the Trump administration’s effort to overthrow the Venezuelan government. In 2013, NED president Carl Gershman wrote a piece in the Washington Post (9/26/13 ) that described Ukraine as the “biggest prize” in the East/West rivalry. After the Obama administration, Nuland joined the NED board of directors before returning to the State Department in the Biden administration as undersecretary of state for political affairs.
One of the many recipients of NED money for projects in Ukraine was the International Republican Institute. The IRI, once chaired by Sen. John McCain, has long had a hand in US regime change operations. During the protests that eventually brought down the government, McCain and other US officials personally flew into Ukraine to encourage protesters.
US Officials Were Caught Picking the New Government
On February 6, 2014, as the anti-government protests were intensifying, an anonymous party (assumed by many to be Russia) leaked a call between Assistant Secretary of State Nuland and US ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt. The two officials discussed which opposition officials would staff a prospective new government, agreeing that Arseniy Yatsenyuk—Nuland referred to him by the nickname “Yats”—should be in charge. It was also agreed that someone “high profile” be brought in to push things along. That someone was Joe Biden.
Weeks later, on February 22, after a massacre by suspicious snipers brought tensions to a head, the Ukrainian parliament quickly removed Yanukovych from office in a constitutionally questionable maneuver. Yanukovych then fled the country, calling the overthrow a coup. On February 27, Yatsenyuk became prime minister.
At the time the call leaked, media were quick to pounce on Nuland’s saying “Fuck the EU.” The comment dominated the headlines (Daily Beast , 2/6/14; BuzzFeed, 2/6/14 ; Atlantic, 2/6/14; Guardian, 2/6/14 ), while the evidence of US regime change efforts was downplayed.
With the headline “Russia Claims US Is Meddling Over Ukraine,” the New York Times (2/6/14 ) put the facts of US involvement in the mouth of an official enemy, blunting their impact on the audience. The Times (2/6/14 ) later described the two officials as benignly “talking about the political crisis in Kiev” and sharing “their views of how it might be resolved.”
The Washington Post (2/6/14 ) acknowledged that the call showed “a deep degree of US involvement in affairs that Washington officially says are Ukraine’s to resolve,” but that fact rarely factored into future coverage of the US/Ukraine/Russia relationship.
Washington Used Nazis to Help Overthrow the Government
The Washington-backed opposition that toppled the government was fueled by far-right and openly Nazi elements like the Right Sector. One far-right group that grew out of the protests was the Azov Battalion, a paramilitary militia of neo-Nazi extremists . Their leaders made up the vanguard of the anti-Yanukovych protests, and even spoke at opposition events in the Maidan alongside US regime change advocates like McCain and Nuland.
After the violent coup, these groups were later incorporated into the Ukrainian armed forces—the same armed forces that the US has now given $2.5 billion. Though Congress technically restricted money from flowing to the Azov Battalion in 2018, trainers on the ground say there’s no mechanism to actually enforce the provision. Since the coup, the Ukrainian nationalist forces have been responsible for a wide variety of atrocities in the counterinsurgency war.
Far-right influence has increased across Ukraine as a result of Washington’s actions. A recent UN Human Rights council has noted that “fundamental freedoms in Ukraine have been squeezed” since 2014, further weakening the argument that the US is involved in the country on behalf of liberal values.
Among American neo-Nazis, there’s even a movement aimed at encouraging right-wing extremists to join the Battalion in order to “gain actual combat experience” in preparation for a potential civil war in the US.
In a recent UN vote on “combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fueling contemporary forms of racism,” the US and Ukraine were the only two countries to vote no.
As FAIR (1/15/22 ) has reported, between December 6, 2021, and January 6, 2022, the New York Times ran 228 articles that refer to Ukraine, but none of them reference the pro-Nazi elements in Ukraine’s politics or government. The same can be said of the Washington Post’s 201 articles on the topic.
There’s a Lot More to the Crimean Annexation
The facts above give more context to Russian actions following the coup, and ought to counter the caricature of a Russian Empire bent on expansion. From Russia’s point of view, a longtime adversary had successfully overthrown a neighboring government using violent far-right extremists.
The Crimean peninsula, which was part of Russia until it was transferred to the Ukrainian Soviet Republic in 1954, is home to one of two Russian naval bases with access to the Black and Mediterranean seas, one of history’s most important maritime theaters. A Crimea controlled by a US-backed Ukrainian government was a major threat to Russian naval access.
The peninsula—82% of whose households speak Russian , and only 2% mainly Ukrainian—held a plebiscite in March 2014 on whether or not they should join Russia, or remain under the new Ukrainian government. The Pro-Russia camp won with 95% of the vote. The UN General Assembly, led by the US, voted to ignore the referendum results on the grounds that it was contrary to Ukraine’s constitution. This same constitution had been set aside to oust President Yanukovych a month earlier.
All of this is dropped from Western coverage.
The US Wants to Expand NAT
In addition to integrating Ukraine into the US-dominated economic sphere, Western planners also want to integrate Ukraine militarily. For years, the US has sought the expansion of NATO , an explicitly anti-Russian military alliance. NATO was originally billed as a counterforce to the Warsaw Pact during the Cold War, but after the demise of the Soviet Union, the US promised the new Russia that it would not expand NATO east of Germany.
Despite this agreement, the US continued building out its military alliance, growing closer and closer to Russia’s borders and ignoring Russia’s objections.
This history is sometimes admitted but usually downplayed in corporate media. In an interview with the Washington Post (12/1/21 ), professor Mary Sarotte, author of Not One Inch: America, Russia and the Making of Post-Cold War Stalemate, recounted that after the Soviet collapse, “Washington realized that it could not only win big, but win bigger. Not one inch of territory needed to be off-limits to full NATO membership.” The US “all-or-nothing approach to expansionism…maximized conflict with Moscow,” she noted. Unfortunately, one interview does little to cut through the drumbeat of pro-NATO talking points.
In 2008, NATO members pledged to extend membership to Ukraine. The removal of the pro-Russian government in 2014 was a giant leap towards the pledge becoming a reality. Recently, NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg announced that the alliance stands by plans to integrate Ukraine into the alliance.
Bret Stephens in the New York Times (1/11/21 ) maintained that if Ukraine wasn’t allowed to join the organization, it would “break the spine of NATO” and “end the Western alliance as we have known it since the Atlantic Charter.”
The US Wouldn’t Tolerate What Russia Is Expected to Accept
Much has been written about the Russian buildup on the Ukraine border. Reports of the buildup have been intensified by US intelligence officials’ warnings of an attack. Media often echo the claim of an inevitable invasion. The Washington Post editorial board (1/24/22) wrote that “Putin can—and will—use any measures the United States and its NATO allies either take or refrain from taking as a pretext for aggression.”
But Putin has been clear about a path to de-escalation. His main demand has been for direct negotiations to end the expansion of the hostile military alliance to his borders. He announced , “We have made it clear that NATO’s move to the east is unacceptable,” and that “the United States is standing with missiles on our doorstep.” Putin asked, “How would the Americans react if missiles were placed at the border with Canada or Mexico?”
In corporate media coverage, no one bothers to ask this important question. Instead, the assumption is that Putin ought to tolerate a hostile military alliance directly across its border. The US, it seems, is the only country allowed to have a sphere of influence.
The New York Times (1/26/22 ) asked: “Can the West Stop Russia From Invading Ukraine?” but shrugs at the US dismissal of Putin’s terms as “nonstarters.” The Washington Post (12/10/21 ) reported: “Some analysts have expressed worry that the Russian leader is making demands that he knows Washington will reject, possibly as a pretext for military action once he is spurned.” The Post quoted one analyst, “I don’t see us giving them anything that would suffice relative to their demands, and what troubles me is they know that.”
Audiences have also been assured that Putin’s reaction to Western expansionism is actually a prelude to more aggressive actions. “Ukraine Is Only One Small Part of Putin’s Plans,” warned the New York Times (1/7/22 ). The Times (1/26/22 ) later described Putin’s Ukraine policy as an attempt at “restoring what he views as Russia’s rightful place among the world’s great powers,” rather than an attempt to avoid having the US military directly on its border. USA Today (1/18/22 ) warned readers that “Putin ‘Won’t Stop’ with Ukraine.”
But taking this view is diplomatic malpractice. Anatol Lieven (Responsible Statecraft, 1/3/22 ), an analyst at the Quincy Institute, wrote that US acquiescence to a neutral Ukraine would be a “golden bridge” that, in addition to reducing US/Russia tensions, could enable a political solution to Ukraine’s civil war. This restraint-oriented policy is considered fringe thinking in the Washington foreign policy establishment.
The Memory Hole
All of this missing context allows hawks to promote disastrous escalation of tensions. The Wall Street Journal (12/22/21 ) published an opinion piece trying to convince readers there was a “Strategic Advantage to Risking War In Ukraine.” The piece, by John Deni of the US Army War College, summarized the familiar hawkish talking points, and claimed that a neutral Ukraine is “anathema to Western values of national self-determination and sovereignty.”
In a modern rendition of Zbigniew Brzezinski’s Afghan Trap , Deni asserted that war in Ukraine could actually serve US interests by weakening Russia: Such a war, however disastrous, would “forge an even stronger anti-Russian consensus across Europe,” refocusing NATO against the main enemy, result in “economic sanctions that would further weaken Russia’s economy” and “sap the strength and morale of Russia’s military while undercutting Mr. Putin’s domestic popularity.” Thus escalating tensions is a win/win for Washington.
Few of the recent wave of Ukraine pieces recount the crucial history given above. Including the truth about US foreign policy goals in the post-Cold War era makes the current picture look a lot less one-sided. Imagine for one second how the US would behave if Putin began trying to add a US neighbor to a hostile military alliance after helping to overthrow its government.
The economic imperative for opening foreign markets, the NATO drive to push up against Russia, US support for the 2014 coup and the direct hand in shaping the new government all need to be pushed down the memory hole if the official line is to have any credibility. Absent all of that, it is easy to accept the fiction that Ukraine is a battleground between a “rules-based order” and Russian autocracy.
Indeed, the Washington Post editorial board (12/8/21 ) recently compared negotiating with Putin to appeasing Hitler at Munich. It called on Biden to “resist Putin’s trumped-up demands on Ukraine,” “lest he destabilize all of Europe to autocratic Russia’s advantage.” This wasn’t the only time the paper has made the Munich analogy; the Post (12/10/21 ) ran a piece by former George W. Bush speechwriter Marc Thiessen headlined “On Ukraine, Biden Is Channeling His Inner Neville Chamberlain.”
In the New York Times (12/10/21 ), Trump NSC aide Alexander Vindman told readers “How the United States Can Break Putin’s Hold on Ukraine,” and urged the Biden administration to send active US troops to the country. A “free and sovereign Ukraine,” he said, is vital in “advancing US interests against those of Russia and China.” Times reporter Michael Crowley (12/16/21 ) also framed the Ukraine standoff as another “Test of US Credibility Abroad,” after that credibility was supposedly damaged after ending the war in Afghanistan.
In a New York Times major feature (1/16/21 ) on Ukraine, the US role in bringing tensions to this point was completely omitted, in favor of exclusively blaming “Russian Belligerence.”
As a result of this coverage, the interventionist mentality has trickled down to the public. One poll found that, should Russia actually invade Ukraine, 50% of Americans support embroiling the US in yet another quagmire, up from just 30% in 2014. Biden, however, has said that no US troops will be sent to Ukraine. Instead, the US and EU have threatened sanctions or support for a rebel insurgency should Russia invade.
The past few weeks have seen several failed talks between the US and Russians, as the US refuses to alter its plans for Ukraine.
The US Congress is rushing a “lethal aid” package to send more weapons to the troubled border. Perhaps if the public were better informed, there would be more domestic pressure on Biden to end the brinkmanship and seek a genuine solution to the problem.
Originally published at FAIR.org
About the Author
Bryce Greene is a student at Indiana University/Bloomington.
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https://transnational.live/2022/03/31/bryce-greene-what-you-should-really-know-about-ukraine/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:51Z
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GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – A student died after being shot Thursday afternoon at a Greenville County middle school and another student was charged.
According to the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, the school resource officer at Tanglewood Middle School requested emergency backup at 12:23 p.m. after hearing shots were fired.
After arriving on scene, the sheriff’s office said deputies learned that the gunfire was from a 12-year-old student who shot another 12-year-old student in the 700 wing of the school.
The victim was shot at least one time and treated by the school resource officer and school staff before being taken to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Deputies began a search in the area of the school. Just before 1:30 p.m., they learned that the possible suspect was at a residence in the 3000 block of Old Easley Bridge Road.
When deputies arrived, they found the suspect hiding under a deck. He was taken into custody and a handgun was recovered.
The suspect is being charged with murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, possession of a firearm on school property and unlawful possession of a weapon by a person under the age of 18.
He is being transported to the Department of Juvenile Justice in Columbia.
The sheriff’s office said over 100 deputies were on scene trying to identify the shooter at one point.
Community activist Bruce Wilson, a family friend, identified the student as 12-year-old Jamari Cortez Bonaparte Jackson.
Wilson passed along a statement from the Jackson family asking for privacy while they grieve.
“We are all devastated by today’s tragedy,” said the family in a statement. “We love Jamari dearly and we would ask that our privacy be respected as we grieve during this very difficult time.”
“My heart breaks for this young boy’s family and my prayers are with them tonight,” said Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis in a statement. “Additionally, I will be praying for the other young boy who pulled the trigger and his family. I can not fathom what would cause someone to do this to another human being and especially at that age, but I know it’s a situation where we all need to turn to God.”
Greenville County Schools said deputies were not looking for any additional suspects and that the school building had been secured.
Deputies said that the two 12-year-olds were familiar with each other and that they are confident the incident was isolated.
Greenville County Schools Superintendent Dr. Burke Royster released this statement Thursday evening:
We are deeply saddened to hear that the student victim in the shooting at Tanglewood Middle School passed away. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, his fellow students, the staff members at the school and everyone who knew this child. This is an absolute tragedy, and we will continue to do whatever we can to support his family and the Tanglewood community as they mourn the young life that was lost today.
We want to recognize the tremendous response from Principal Walles and the staff at Tanglewood, the school resource officer, Sheriff Hobart Lewis, the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, EMS, and the multiple local, state and federal law enforcement agencies who all responded rapidly in accord with our emergency response plan.”
Dr. Burke Royster
The principal of Tanglewood Middle School, Dr. Graysen Walles, also released this statement:
My heart goes out to the family of our student who passed away, and my prayers are with them. Our entire Tanglewood family is hurting with this news and from the events that took place today. Our school is mourning and will work together to heal and process this tragedy.”
Dr. Graysen Walles
Students were taken to Brookwood Church in Simpsonville where parents were reunited with their children.
Greenville County Schools said Friday will be an optional day for students at Tanglewood Middle School in order to provide “counseling support for both students and staff.”
“Our goal with being open tomorrow is not to have a day of instruction, but so we can have supports available to both students and staff that would not be otherwise available at home,” said the district in a statement.
The school’s regular schedule will resume Monday, April 4.
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https://www.wnct.com/news/southeast-region/__trashed-106/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:52Z
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When Will Smith slapped Chris Rock over an Oscars ceremony punchline, other comedians felt the sting.
“I know Chris and I know what it’s like to be on a stage in front of an audience that doesn’t like your material,” said stand-up comedian Judy Gold. “But to be physically assaulted, that’s a whole other thing. It felt like every comedian was smacked across the face. It really felt like that.”
Smith’s act comes during a stressful time for comedy. While boundaries for humor constantly shift — think George Carlin’s 1972 monologue on seven so-called “dirty words” banned by TV — comics say they have felt increased pushback from audiences and society. Comedy great Dave Chappelle drew sharpcriticism last year for what some deemed anti-transgender humor in his Netflix special “The Closer.” Kathy Griffin’s careerwas derailed in 2017 when she was photographed holding a mock-up of former President Donald Trump’s head.
Some comedians expressed concern that Smith’s behavior might embolden other displeased audience members.
“No one went up to Chris Rock and said, ‘Are you OK?’” Sheryl Underwood, co-host of “The Talk,” said on the show Tuesday. “I’m going to say this as a comic, I am afraid now to get on a stage, because in my third show, when everyone’s been drinking, if you don’t like my joke, do you now believe that you can get up and slap me? There’s got to be accountability quicker.”
Griffin tweeted that “now we all have to worry about who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theaters.”
“Which is the worst crime here?” veteran comedian Gilbert Gottfried said in an interview with The Associated Press. “Chris Rock being physically assaulted? Or Chris Rock making a joke? That’s it, pure and simple. He made a joke.”
Dean Obeidallah, a lawyer and stand-up comic who hosts a show on the SiriusXM Progress channel, said there is never “a place for a violent response to a joke” but doubted there would be copycat behavior. In his time in comedy clubs, he’s seen yelling, screaming and, once, a glass thrown at somebody. But he’s never seen a punch thrown, nor a comedian slapped.
“If someone were to strike a comedian, they’re going to be prosecuted criminally. They don’t have the privilege that Will Smith has,” Obeidallah said.
The Los Angeles Police Department said Sunday that it was aware of the incident, but Rock had declined to file a police report. Smith stayed through the rest of the ceremony Sunday and received the best-actor Oscar.
Gold said she’s been confronted but never struck, and she knows other female comedians have faced difficult circumstances. “People have been getting on stage, people have thrown things,” she said.
Comedian-actor Yamaneika Saunders calls Smith’s behavior upsetting and Sunday a sad day for ”two beloved Black men in entertainment.” She also views what happened through the lens of a “Black woman in comedy.”
“I’m constantly being threatened….by some man who doesn’t like some (expletive) I said about being a woman, some white guy who doesn’t like some (expletive) I said about being Black,” she said.
Insult humor isn’t new to high-profile ceremonies, which call on comics to liven up what can be tedious events. Ricky Gervais made a meal of celebrities at successive Golden Globe ceremonies, and they grin — or grimace — and bear it. The most famous bad sport: Trump at the 2011 White House correspondents’ dinner, where he sat stone-faced during then-President Barack Obama’s extended ribbing of him.
Rock wasn’t the first to tweak Smith or wife Jada Pinkett Smith at Sunday’s Oscars. Ceremony co-host Regina Hall made what appeared to be a veiled joke about their marriage in trying, unsuccessfully, to draw Smith into a comedy bit.
Rock’s wisecrack was targeted at Pinkett Smith. “Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it,” the comedian said to Pinkett Smith, whose close-shaven head looked similar to Demi Moore’s in the 1997 movie. Whether Rock was aware that she has a hair-loss condition, alopecia, is unknown, but Smith reacted with the smack and an angry warning to “keep my wife’s name out your (expletive) mouth!”
A tearful Smith later accepted the top acting award for “King Richard,” his somewhat remorseful speech eliciting a standing ovation from the Dolby Theatre crowd. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has since condemned Smith’s attack and said it’s reviewing the matter.
Whatever the result, his actions indelibly marred the ceremony and ignited discussions about violence, toxic masculinity and the advantages of fame. Smith, who’d conspicuously left Rock out of his remarks Sunday, apologized to the comic and decried “violence in all of its forms” in a statement the next day issued by his publicist and posted on Instagram.
Pinkett Smith’s first public comment came in an Instagram post in which she said, “This is a season for healing and I’m here for it.”Rock referred briefly to the slap at a comedy show Wednesday in Boston, saying he was “still kind of processing what happened.” He appeared to become emotional as the audience gave him several standing ovations.
Whatever pushback comedians may encounter on stage, verbal or physical, they have to guard against censoring themselves to avoid it — and they will, said Obeidallah: “They shouldn’t change, and there’s nothing about this that tells me that they will change.”
They can’t because their role goes beyond providing laughs, as comedians see it.
“We are the truth tellers. We speak truth to power,” said Gold, author of the 2020 book, “Yes, I Can Say That: When They Come for the Comedians, We Are All in Trouble.”
Gottfried cites a favorite Carlin quote — “It’s the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately” — and can’t resist serving up a punchline.
“If Will Smith is reading this, dear God, please don’t come to my shows,” he said.
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AP Television Writer Lynn Elber reported from Los Angeles, AP Media Writer David Bauder from New York.
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https://www.wowktv.com/news/u-s-world/will-smiths-oscars-slap-felt-by-comedians-beyond-chris-rock/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:52Z
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| 2022-04-01T00:31:53Z
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(Newser)
–
Against a backdrop of changing marijuana laws and a worker shortage, more employees are testing positive for drug use. Quest Diagnostics, one of the largest testers, found that 3.9% of the 6 million urine tests it processed last year came back positive, up 50% from 2017. In that same period, the number of states where recreational use of marijuana is legal went from 8 to 18, plus the District of Columbia, the Wall Street Journal reports. Despite the increase in positive tests—or because of it—fewer employers tested for THC last year, Quest said.
"We've been seeing year-over-year declines in those recreational-use states," said Barry Sample of Quest, "but by far the largest drop we’ve ever seen was in 2021." Also, some states prohibit companies from considering test results in hiring decisions. Quest's annual analysis showed the percentage of specimens it tested for THC fell 6.7% nationwide last year and dropped 10.3% in states that allow recreational marijuana use. Overall, the share of American workers testing positive for one of the list of drugs Quest looks for hit 4.6% last year, the highest point since 2001.
A Detroit-based staffing agency said employers' attitudes have changed recently, especially when their jobs went begging. "So many of our clients were adamant, in pre-COVID, that they would not accept anyone that could not pass a drug test, even if it was THC," co-owner Tammy Turner said, per the Journal. With encouragement from the agency, some relaxed their position. They then "were able to fill many of those jobs," she said. The industry with the largest jump in positivity rates was transportation and warehousing, which climbed from 4.4% to 5.5%, per Safety & Health magazine. The only field to not show an increase was finance and insurance. (Read more drug testing stories.)
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https://www.newser.com/story/318789/pandemic-worker-shortage-change-employee-drug-testing.html
| 2022-04-01T00:31:53Z
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*Today, Thursday (03-31-22), marks the three-year anniversary of the shooting death of Grammy-award-winning rapper and Los Angeles native Nipsey Hussle, who was killed outside The Marathon, his clothing store in South L.A.
Today, fans on social media have already started paying tribute to the late star by looking back on some of his greatest hits and most memorable quotes and moments. Fans are also sending extra love and prayers to his family online.
One fan said, “Long live Nipsey Hussle the great. Three years ago, we lost a man who stood on principle and embodied his community. His message stands the test of time and his impact sparked so many brains and inspires us still. 💙⚜️” Another added, “thinking of Lauren London and the rest of Nipsey’s family today🙏🏾🌹” A third fan said, “Nipsey, That’s all we listenin’ to today. Celebrating the life of the GREAT.”
OTHER NEWS ON EURWEB: Apple Watts Update: ‘Love & Hip Hop’ Star Still Fighting For Life After Car Crash
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https://eurweb.com/2022/03/31/3rd-anniv-of-nipsey-hussles-death/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:53Z
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The counting is over in the second union election at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama. But it's too close to call.
There were 993 "no" votes and 875 "yes" votes, but more than 400 contested ballots remain. According to the National Labor Relations Board, there will be a hearing within a few weeks to decide if any of the challenged ballots will be opened and counted.
More than 6,100 workers were eligible to vote in the do-over election, which was ordered after the NLRB found that Amazon had improperly interfered in last year's tally.
Turnout in this year's vote was down from last year when over half of eligible voters cast ballots. But among those who actually voted this time around, there was greater support for the union. Last year, workers voted more than 2-to-1 against joining the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, a well-established national union.
"This time around we were able to educate more about unions," said Jennifer Bates, a warehouse employee, noting that organizers were able to get closer to workers now that the pandemic has eased.
The RWDSU called for every vote to be counted.
"The tenacity and courage of these workers never wavered in this unnecessarily long process," said RWDSU president Stuart Appelbaum in a statement. "Workers will have to wait just a little bit longer to ensure their voices are heard."
Meanwhile in a separate Amazon union election on Staten Island in New York, the vote count will continue Friday morning. Roughly 8,000 workers were eligible to vote on whether to join the Amazon Labor Union, an upstart organization led by former and current Amazon warehouse employees. With ballots still to count, the union is in the lead, with 1,518 voting yes so far, and 1,154 voting no.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
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https://www.kvnf.org/npr-news/2022-03-31/do-over-union-election-at-amazons-bessemer-warehouse-is-too-close-to-call
| 2022-04-01T00:31:53Z
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Ariana Grande is fed up with what she says are “disgraceful bills” targeting transgender youth. To mark International Transgender Day of Visibility on Thursday, the singer unveiled a new initiative aimed at helping those who would be impacted by such legislation.
Called the Protect & Defend Trans Youth Fund, Ariana announced, “Please join me in donating to this fund i’ve created with @pledge.to to support organizations providing direct services and advocating for the rights of trans youth.”
“Right now there are hundreds of disgraceful bills pending in state legislature that target trans youth and aim to curb their rights,” she continued. “This will provide critical funds to organizations advocating for the rights of trans youth.”
Ariana explained, “All funds will be split evenly between benefiting organizations… I will be matching all funds raised up to $1,500,000.”
Among the programs her initiative will fund are Gendernexus, House of Tulip, Black Trans Advocacy Coalition, JASMYN, and organizations centered in Florida, Iowa, Arizona, Tennessee, Texas and other states that have put forth anti-LGBT legislation.
The “Positions” singer has raised close to $100,000 as of Thursday afternoon, with more donations coming in every minute. Those interested in donating to Ariana’s cause can do so by visiting pledge.to/protect-defend-trans-youth-fund.
The news comes as Oklahoma and Arizona both signed laws banning transgender youth from participating in school sports that align with their gender identity. Other states imposing similar bans include Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
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https://www.ks95.com/ariana-grande-unveils-her-protect-defend-trans-youth-fund-slams-disgraceful-legislation/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:53Z
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https://www.leafly.com/brands/high-grade-az/products/high-grade-az-chernobyl-x-amf-og-cartridge-1g-cartridges
| 2022-04-01T00:31:53Z
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After Ukraine declared its independence in 1991 from the former Soviet Union, hundreds of thousands of Jews left for Israel and Western countries. But almost as many decided to stay. Since then, Jewish life has flourished in the country – mainly under the auspices of Chabad Lubavitch, a Hasidic sect that provides outreach to mainly secular Jews. Before Russia invaded Ukraine last month, there were 35 Chabad centers – stretching from Lvov in the west to the heavily bombed Mariupol.
Far from the war zones in Ukraine, local Chabad rabbis and their wives are hearing from their loved ones in harm’s way, as cities are bombed and residents cope without basic necessities. Within these stories are also first-hand accounts of heroism and bravery as their family members either escape or face down the Russian onslaught.
Chabad of the North Shore
Rabbi Yossi Lipsker, the regional director of Chabad of the North Shore, gets on the phone several times a week to check in with his cousin Rabbi Meir Stambler in Dnipro, Ukraine. Stambler, a native of Brooklyn, is the chairman of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine and arrived in the country in 1991.
“I was very concerned for him and his family’s safety, and finally about two weeks ago he told me he was able to get his wife and children out of the country. But he stayed,” said Lipkser.
Stambler barely sleeps these days. He works with Rabbi Shmuel Kaminetsky – the chief rabbi of Dnipro – whose wife, Chana, is also a cousin of Lipsker’s. The rabbis have been in charge of feeding the Jewish community and working with the Jewish Agency to arrange for thousands of Jews to leave for places like Poland and Romania. That hasn’t stopped the two rabbis from holding a huge Purim celebration, where hundreds attended, and also planning for seders for Jews throughout Ukraine and for the refugees in other countries. “They feel responsible for all Jews,” said Lipsker.
Tobin Bridge Chabad
Rabbi Sruli and Chaya (Wolff) Baron of Tobin Bridge Chabad in Everett are in daily communication with Chaya’s first cousin, Rabbi Yosef “Yossi” Wolff, who came to Kherson in 1993 to revitalize the Jewish community.
Kherson, an economic center on the Black Sea and Dnieper River, was the first city to fall to the Russians in early March. Wolff shifted his focus to keeping people alive in the shelled-out city. “There is nothing in the stores,” Wolff said in a recent video where he was distributing huge sacks of potatoes, carrots, onions, rice and flour.
By what miracle did Wolff come to find food in Kherson?
“A local man contacted Rabbi Wolff,” said Baron. “The man brought Yossi into a warehouse area and then, going hush-hush, led him downstairs into a cellar.” Rabbi Wolff couldn’t believe what was before his eyes. “He was baffled by the amount of food he saw,” said Baron. The man had been stockpiling basic staples in a ‘doomsday storage’ area under a warehouse. Wolff raised some $20,000 and purchased tons of goods for distribution in Kherson. He also risked his life, driving 80 miles from Kherson through roadblocks and checkpoints to Russian-controlled Crimea, and – while flying an Israeli flag from his borrowed van – delivered food and medicine to the city of Armyansk.
Chabad of Peabody Jewish Center
Raizel Schusterman of Chabad of Peabody Jewish Center is in touch with her first cousin, Dina Vishedski. Dina and her husband Rabbi Pinchas Vishedski have directed Chabad of Donetsk since 1993. When that city came under intense fighting in 2014, they fled to Kyiv where they regrouped – setting up a Jewish community with a shul, soup kitchen and orphanage.
“There’s a lot of need and they provided sustenance and spirituality through all those years and through different crises. When the bombing started in Kyiv this month, they didn’t leave right away,” said Schusterman. “They helped arrange buses to get people out. They stayed until it was absolutely dangerous and helped almost all of the people get out.”
Schusterman believes that after the buses reached Romania, they later headed for Israel.
“Dina takes it one step at a time, but she and her husband are devastated. They built these beautiful communities; they built shuls. Holocaust survivors came,” she said. “In Chabad, we’re inoculated that when you choose to go to a place to build a community, it’s deeper than building something with your bare hands. Your life’s measure is tied into this. And now it’s on hold. All of a sudden, you have to reconfigure.”
Schusterman said both her and Dina’s grandparents were from Ukraine. Dina and Pinchas went back, “to be part of it.”
Chabad of Cape Ann
Rabbi Avremi Raichik of Chabad of Cape Ann said his cousin, Rabbi Avraham Wolff, along with other rabbis evacuated 120 orphans from an orphanage in Odessa and made a harrowing three-day, 1,000-mile drive in a convoy of buses to safety in Berlin.
“The border was dangerous,” said Raichik. “They had to raise an enormous amount of money to hire drivers willing to risk driving to the border. They had to wait by the border for a long time before crossing. Orphans don’t have paperwork.”
Rabbi Avraham Wolff then returned to Odessa “to deliver food and medicine because otherwise the people remaining there have no one. There are many sick and elderly and Holocaust survivors who can’t make the journey across the border. They rely on the local Chabad – that’s their life source,” said Raichik.
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https://jewishjournal.org/2022/03/31/amid-war-chabad-rabbis-stay-connected-to-their-colleagues-and-relatives-in-ukraine/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:53Z
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1h ago
Report: Ginobili, Hardaway, Karl to be inducted into Basketball Hall of Fame
San Antonio Spurs legend Manu Ginobili, five-time All-Star Tim Hardaway and longtime coach George Karl will all be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of its class of 2022, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
TSN.ca Staff
San Antonio Spurs legend Manu Ginobili, five-time All-Star Tim Hardaway and longtime coach George Karl will all be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of its class of 2022, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
In addition, WNBA legend Swin Cash, who was named to four All-Star teams and won two Olympic gold medals for the United States, and former West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins will also be inducted.
Ginobili, a native of Argentina, played all 16 of his NBA seasons with the Spurs, helping them capture four league titles. The two-time All-Star averaged 13.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists over 1,057 career games.
Hardaway spent 13 years in the Association with the Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers. He averaged 17.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 8.2 assists. Hardaway's No. 10 jersey is retired in Miami.
Karl amassed a career 1175-824 record over 1,999 career games coaching the Cleveland Cavaliers, Warriors, Seattle SuperSonics, Milwaukee Bucks, Nuggets and Sacramento Kings. He is the sixth-winningest coach ever.
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https://www.tsn.ca/report-manu-ginobili-tim-hardaway-george-karl-to-be-inducted-into-basketball-hall-of-fame-1.1779258
| 2022-04-01T00:31:54Z
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Given its central role in utilizing light energy, photoinduced electron transfer (PET) from an excited molecule has been widely studied1,2,3,4,5,6. However, even though microscopic photocurrent measurement methods7,8,9,10,11 have made it possible to correlate the efficiency of the process with local features, spatial resolution has been insufficient to resolve it at the molecular level. Recent work has, however, shown that single molecules can be efficiently excited and probed when combining a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) with localized plasmon fields driven by a tunable laser12,13. Here we use that approach to directly visualize with atomic-scale resolution the photocurrent channels through the molecular orbitals of a single free-base phthalocyanine (FBPc) molecule, by detecting electrons from its first excited state tunnelling through the STM tip. We find that the direction and the spatial distribution of the photocurrent depend sensitively on the bias voltage, and detect counter-flowing photocurrent channels even at a voltage where the averaged photocurrent is near zero. Moreover, we see evidence of competition between PET and photoluminescence12, and find that we can control whether the excited molecule primarily relaxes through PET or photoluminescence by positioning the STM tip with three-dimensional, atomic precision. These observations suggest that specific photocurrent channels can be promoted or suppressed by tuning the coupling to excited-state molecular orbitals, and thus provide new perspectives for improving energy-conversion efficiencies by atomic-scale electronic and geometric engineering of molecular interfaces.
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2556492956420/super-on-surface-synthesis
| 2022-04-01T00:31:54Z
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Cambiar Investors LLC increased its position in shares of Cognyte Software Ltd. (NASDAQ:CGNT – Get Rating) by 39.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 159,269 shares of the medical device company’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,389 shares during the quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC owned 0.24% of Cognyte Software worth $2,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Man Group plc increased its position in Cognyte Software by 10.3% during the third quarter. Man Group plc now owns 10,804 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. Grace Capital increased its position in Cognyte Software by 7.6% during the third quarter. Grace Capital now owns 19,800 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in Cognyte Software by 13.7% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,611 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp purchased a new position in Cognyte Software during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Macquarie Group Ltd. purchased a new position in Cognyte Software during the third quarter worth $37,000. 86.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
CGNT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Cognyte Software from $36.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 22nd. Wedbush downgraded Cognyte Software from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $17.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Cognyte Software from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 21st. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Cognyte Software in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Cognyte Software from $40.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognyte Software has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.72.
Cognyte Software Company Profile (Get Rating)
Cognyte Software Ltd. provides security analytics software to governments and enterprises worldwide. The company's open software fuses, analyzes, and visualizes disparate data sets for security organizations. It offers investigative analytics, operational intelligence analytics, and threat intelligence analytics solutions.
Read More
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https://www.americanbankingnews.com/2022/03/31/cognyte-software-ltd-nasdaqcgnt-shares-purchased-by-cambiar-investors-llc.html
| 2022-04-01T00:31:55Z
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When talking about casinos today, the conversation doesn’t get juicy until you bring in cryptocurrency. Anyone still skeptical about cryptocurrency today is simply still living in the past. The truth is that cryptocurrency brings so much to the plate for casinos. There are many benefits of playing at a crypto casino, such as faster transactions, better security, anonymity, the ability to play from anywhere globally, and so much more. Sadly, not many countries are up to speed on the crypto trend. Hence, only a handful of countries support the crypto casino. If you want to get the most out of your gambling experience, here are five countries you should know that support the crypto casino.
United States
Topping our list is the United States, of course! One thing The United States is known for is now being left out of a trend. So, it shouldn’t be a shock if they are one of the most popular countries targeted by crypto casinos. The United States has one of the most significant numbers of investors in cryptocurrencies. As such, it is normal for crypto casino providers to target Americans. Apart from this, in The United States, there is little to no law making crypto casinos illegal. This contributes to the hundreds if not thousands of crypto casinos operating in this region. Moreover, Americans love to use cryptocurrency at online casinos because of its anonymity. So this also fuels the industry, making it a thriving ecosystem.
Canada
Canada is another country that made it on this list, perhaps because of its proximity to America. Or it could be that Canada is on this list because it houses some big names in the crypto industry. Whatever the case may be, if you are searching for a crypto casino to pass the time and make some money simultaneously, Canada is a one-stop shop for all you need. With top manufacturers such as Microgaming, Playtech, and Real Time Gaming based out of Canada, it is expected that you can get the best of the best online casino games firsthand at the Canadian crypto casino. Whether you fancy playing slot games, live dealer games, and more, you can find all you need at Canadian crypto casinos – and they keep getting more realistic by the minute.
United Kingdom
Similarly, in the United Kingdom, a few years ago, the only payment options available for punters were e-wallets and credit cards. But today, about 4% of British adults, male and female, own at least one type of cryptocurrency. Additionally, according to reports in the news, there is a potential that the government of the UK is even planning on exploring its cryptocurrency. This contributes to why many online casinos have integrated cryptocurrency as a payment option in the UK. So, if you search for crypto-friendly countries, the UK should be on that list. Moreover, several offshore bookies also prefer to set up shop in the United States because of their friendly laws and regulations.
Japan
Of all the countries in the east of Asia, Japan remains another destination that offers a crypto-friendly environment. Japan is very friendly with cryptocurrency to support the development of several businesses in its region. Moreover, some of the major firms and investors that have blossomed exponentially today resulted from Japan’s friendly laws on cryptocurrencies. The likes of bitFlyer and Rakuten are beneficiaries of the crypto-friendly nature of Japan. Unfortunately, the new law passed on crypto-assets may affect how the Japanese use cryptocurrency.
Australia
Last but not least, Australia is a very fruitful place to consider finding an ideal crypto casino that suits your need. Why Australia? Firstly, in Australia, its government has less rigid laws on gambling. Also, there are myriads of the crypto casino available in this region. So, if you are looking for a place to enjoy the fun of the crypto casino without the hassle that comes with gambling restrictions, you should consider choosing an Australia-based crypto casino. Australia is a good place to enjoy gambling as there are several punters like you. About 80% of Australian adults are involved in one form of gambling.
All in all, note that some countries are more crypto-friendly than others! So, when you want to enjoy online casino games from anywhere globally, the countries listed in this article are an excellent place to search for the ideal casinos.
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https://thekatynews.com/2022/03/31/five-most-popular-countries-that-accept-crypto-casino/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:55Z
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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.
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https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/nation-world/insulin-cap-35-dollars-month-bill/507-855508ee-6b9d-4ce8-9937-22fa115af232
| 2022-04-01T00:31:55Z
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WASHINGTON • Scientists say they have finally assembled the full genetic blueprint for human life, adding the missing pieces to a puzzle nearly completed two decades ago.
An international team described the first-ever sequencing of a complete human genome – the set of instructions to build and sustain a human being – in research published Thursday in the journal Science. The previous effort, celebrated across the world, was incomplete because DNA sequencing technologies of the day weren’t able to read certain parts of it. Even after updates, it was missing about 8% of the genome.
“Some of the genes that make us uniquely human were actually in this ‘dark matter of the genome’ and they were totally missed,” said Evan Eichler, a University of Washington researcher who participated in the current effort and the original Human Genome Project. “It took 20-plus years, but we finally got it done.”
Many — including Eichler’s own students — thought it had been finished already. “I was teaching them, and they said, ‘Wait a minute. Isn’t this like the sixth time you guys have declared victory? I said, ’No, this time we really, really did it!”
Scientists said this full picture of the genome will give humanity a greater understanding of our evolution and biology while also opening the door to medical discoveries in areas like aging, neurodegenerative conditions, cancer and heart disease.
“We’re just broadening our opportunities to understand human disease,” said Karen Miga, an author of one of the six studies published Thursday.
The research caps off decades of work. The first draft of the human genome was announced in a White House ceremony in 2000 by leaders of two competing entities: an international publicly funded project led by an agency of the U.S. National Institutes of Health and a private company, Maryland-based Celera Genomics.
The human genome is made up of about 3.1 billion DNA subunits, pairs of chemical bases known by the letters A, C, G and T. Genes are strings of these lettered pairs that contain instructions for making proteins, the building blocks of life. Humans have about 30,000 genes, organized in 23 groups called chromosomes that are found in the nucleus of every cell.
Before now, there were “large and persistent gaps that have been in our map, and these gaps fall in pretty important regions,” Miga said.
Miga, a genomics researcher at the University of California-Santa Cruz, worked with Adam Phillippy of the National Human Genome Research Institute to organize the team of scientists to start from scratch with a new genome with the aim of sequencing all of it, including previously missing pieces. The group, named after the sections at the very ends of chromosomes, called telomeres, is known as the Telomere-to-Telomere, or T2T, consortium.
Their work adds new genetic information to the human genome, corrects previous errors and reveals long stretches of DNA known to play important roles in both evolution and disease. A version of the research was published last year before being reviewed by scientific peers.
“This is a major improvement, I would say, of the Human Genome Project,” doubling its impact, said geneticist Ting Wang of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, who was not involved in the research.
Eichler said some scientists used to think unknown areas contained “junk.” Not him. “Some of us always believed there was gold in those hills,” he said. Eichler is paid by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which also supports The Associated Press’s health and science department.
Turns out that gold includes many important genes, he said, such as ones integral to making a person’s brain bigger than a chimp’s, with more neurons and connections.
To find such genes, scientists needed new ways to read life’s cryptic genetic language.
Reading genes requires cutting the strands of DNA into pieces hundreds to thousands of letters long. Sequencing machines read the letters in each piece and scientists try to put the pieces in the right order.
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https://gazette.com/scientists-finally-finish-decoding-entire-human-genome/article_941904ae-b12d-11ec-8aea-e3f1c7ad1bb7.html
| 2022-04-01T00:31:55Z
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Election set to be delayed due to ballot paper issues
Photo 122474508 / Ballot Paper © Tom Wang | Dreamstime.com
The forthcoming election is set to be postponed for a fortnight due to insufficient amounts of the correct type of ballot paper, we understand.
It is believed that the specific type of tree used to make the paper - Flora Plio – has been in short supply in recent months.
Paper production expert, Poppy Cox, explained why this specific type of tree was used for the production of ballot papers.
“It has a special waxy quality that prevents the mark you make on your ballot paper being rubbed out,” said Mrs Cox.
“That obviously adds an added level of security to the elections and stops people claiming that their ballot has been changed.”
Alternatives are now being sought and the two week delay in the vote will hopefully allow for the ballot to be printed on a different type of paper.
“It is possible that we could see a special kind of foolscap being used if a secure alternative can’t be found,” Mrs Cox added.
An official statement on the matter is due to be made at midday today (Friday, April 1).
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http://ballycastlechronicle.virtualcms.it/news/2022/04/01/news/election-set-to-be-delayed-due-to-ballot-paper-issues-23432/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:55Z
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ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland lawmakers passed a measure on Thursday to create a paid family leave program, sending the legislation to Gov. Larry Hogan.
The bill, approved by supermajority votes by Democrats who control the legislature, would enable workers to take up to 12 weeks of partially paid leave for specified personal family circumstances such as caring for a sick relative or having a baby. It would provide up to 24 weeks for a parent, if he or she has a serious health issue in the year of a child's birth.
“This has been a long time coming,” said Sen. Antonio Hayes, a Baltimore Democrat. He thanked supporters who have “come together and really advocated on behalf of Maryland families."
Republicans criticized the measure for failing to spell out how much employees and employers would have to contribute, leaving that for the state's labor department to define later. They said Democrats were rushing to get the bill to the Republican governor just to meet a deadline so lawmakers will still be in session if the bill is vetoed.
“We're pushing this bill as quick as we can to get it upstairs,” said Sen. J.B. Jennings, a Republican, who added: “We don't know the numbers ... this bill is a hot mess.”
Because lawmakers are in the last session of the four-year term, they would not have a chance to override the veto next year if they adjourn before the governor acts on legislation.
The measure would create an insurance pool. Employees and employers would contribute to fund the program. Under the bill, the state’s labor department would set contribution rates to pay for the program. Employers with fewer than 15 employees would not be required to contribute.
The measure also includes job protections to protect employees from retaliation or termination for using the leave.
Seven states and the District of Columbia have paid family and medical leave insurance programs, including California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Washington. Colorado and Oregon have approved programs that have not started yet.
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https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Maryland-paid-family-leave-program-bill-passed-to-17049782.php
| 2022-04-01T00:31:55Z
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Skeena Reports Fourth Quarter and Annual 2021 Financial Results
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- SKE
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2022 / Skeena Resources Limited (TSX:SKE)(NYSE:SKE) ("Skeena" or the "Company") reports fourth quarter and annual financial results for the year ended December 31, 2021. The Financial Statements, Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A"), and Annual Information Form ("AIF") are available on Skeena's website and have been posted under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and EDGAR at www.sec.gov.
About Skeena
Skeena Resources Limited is a Canadian mining exploration and development company focused on revitalizing the past-producing Eskay Creek gold-silver mine located in Tahltan Territory in the Golden Triangle of northwest British Columbia, Canada. The Company released a Prefeasibility Study for Eskay Creek in July 2021 which highlights an open-pit average grade of 4.57 g/t AuEq, an after-tax NPV5% of C$1.4B, 56% IRR, and a 1.4-year payback at US$1,550/oz Au. Skeena is currently completing both infill and exploration drilling to advance Eskay Creek to a full Feasibility Study in 2022.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of Skeena Resources Limited,
Walter Coles Jr.
President & CEO
Contact Information
Investor Inquiries: info@skeenaresources.com
Office Phone: +1 604 684 8725
Company Website: www.skeenaresources.com
The scientific and technical information in this press release was approved by Paul Geddes, P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 and Vice President, Exploration and Resource Development for the Company.
Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements
Certain statements and information contained or incorporated by reference in this press release constitute "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). These statements relate to future events or our future performance. The use of words such as "anticipates", "believes", "proposes", "contemplates", "generates", "targets", "is projected", "is planned", "considers", "estimates", "expects", "is expected", "potential" and similar expressions, or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "might", "will", "could", or "would" be taken, achieved, or occur, may identify forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Specific forward-looking statements contained herein include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the results of the PFS, completion of a feasibility study, processing capacity of the mine, anticipated mine life, probable reserves, estimated project capital and operating costs, sustaining costs, results of test work and studies, planned environmental assessments, the future price of metals, metal concentrate, and future exploration and development. Such forward-looking statements are based on material factors and/or assumptions which include, but are not limited to, the estimation of mineral resources and reserves, the realization of resource and reserve estimates, metal prices, taxation, the estimation, timing and amount of future exploration and development, capital and operating costs, the availability of financing, the receipt of regulatory approvals, environmental risks, title disputes and the assumptions set forth herein and in the Company's MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2021, and the Company's AIF dated March 31, 2022. Such forward-looking statements represent the Company's management expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events or circumstances on the date the statements are made, and are necessarily based on several estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the date hereof, are not guarantees of future performance. Actual events and results may differ materially from those described herein, and are subject to significant operational, business, economic, and regulatory risks and uncertainties. The risks and uncertainties that may affect the forward-looking statements in this press release include, among others: the inherent risks involved in exploration and development of mineral properties, including permitting and other government approvals; changes in economic conditions, including changes in the price of gold and other key variables; changes in mine plans and other factors, including accidents, equipment breakdown, bad weather and other project execution delays, many of which are beyond the control of the Company; environmental risks and unanticipated reclamation expenses; and other risk factors identified in the Company's 2021 MD&A and AIF, and in the Company's other periodic filings with securities and regulatory authorities in Canada and the United States that are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com or on EDGAR at www.sec.gov.
Readers should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake any obligations to update and/or revise any forward-looking statements except as required by applicable securities laws.
SOURCE: Skeena Resources Limited
View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/695578/Skeena-Reports-Fourth-Quarter-and-Annual-2021-Financial-Results
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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/skeena-reports-fourth-quarter-annual-230500437.html
| 2022-04-01T00:31:56Z
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https://dan.com/buy-domain/aikerunshu.com
| 2022-04-01T00:31:56Z
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Euronav Expects Tanker Oversupply to Ease Moving Forward
Euronav NV reported its final financial results today for the full year to 31 December 2021.
The return of oil consumption at a global scale was going to be a key driver to freight market recovery in 2021. When COVID vaccinations started being administered throughout the world, this recovery seemed to be imminent. Unfortunately, this did not evolve at the pace desired or expected.
The first half of 2021 was still impacted by a static and relatively low oil and related product consumption averaging just 96 million barrels per day. This compared to pre-COVID highs of more than 105 million barrels for Q4 2019. Some control over the virus from Q3 2021 onwards delivered small but sequential improvement in freight rates. Demand for oil was also boosted during Q4 by extreme price increases and volatility in energy and fuel prices. This prompted some substitution into oil and an increase in oil demand. While estimates vary, this event has resulted in an additional oil demand of 1 million barrels per day.
In early 2021, Euronav took the opportunity to counter cyclically invest by taking over a number of resale contracts for new vessels and proactively ordering new tonnage. This totalled 8 new vessels during 2021, with all vessels to be scrubber fitted and “future proofed” via investment in vessel infrastructure allowing later retrofitting of new technologies as and when they become available. Prices today are 25% higher for such tonnage and this investment represents a 15% increase in our fleet size on an underlying basis.
The year also saw global oil inventories decline significantly, and all major OECD hubs saw commercial crude oil stocks fall below the 5-year range. Replenishment of these reserves is necessary at a time when energy security has become a key issue following the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the end of the year.
Oil supply is another important factor in the recovery of the freight market. Production cuts began to taper in May 2021 and the OPEC alliance has gradually added more oil supply to the market progressively. This started to become visible to the tanker market going into the fourth quarter of 2021, as cargo numbers started to reflect the recovery in the oil market. The Arabian Gulf in particular is seeing crude cargo liftings on VLCCs approach the levels seen before the pandemic.
On the vessel supply side of the equation, the market remained oversupplied of tonnage. Historical precedents suggest that during periods of challenging freight rates, tanker owners are induced to recycle their older tonnage, therefore reducing the global trading fleet. While we saw some fleet exits during the year, this was not to the extent that history may have predicted. Some analysts suggest that older tonnage has instead been used for ‘illicit trade’ that has developed around sanctioned cargoes, therefore no longer being accessible for the regular commercial trade. A question remains as to whether these vessels will ever rejoin the commercial fleet, be it due to old age or because of now being earmarked as unlawful tonnage.
As for the contracting of new tonnage, the dual-fuel commitment from owners reflects the growing structural focus on emissions reduction from participants across the industry, from investors to charterers, to financiers. This will in turn increase pressure on older, higher emission tonnage with the potential to drive a strong phaseout programme at some point. In the second half of the year no new orders were placed in either segment. Alternative shipping sectors, such as container liners and dry bulk carriers, have experienced an earnings boom through 2021 and much of the extra cash has been invested in new tonnage of these types. This left tanker owners unable to compete with increasing newbuilding prices and many yards are now full into 2025. The new supply picture until then is therefore very clear and supportive of an improving tonnage balance in the near to medium term
2021 Key figures
In order to improve the relevancy of the accounting information of the income statement, the Company reclassified certain cost elements without impact on the profit (loss) for the period. These changes have been adopted in 2021 to improve comparability within the sector. It has been applied retrospectively and comparative information has been revised.
For the fourth quarter of 2021, the Company realized a net loss of USD 72.2 million or USD
0.36 per share (fourth quarter 2020: a net loss of USD 58.2 million or USD 0.29 per share). Proportionate EBITDA (a non-IFRS measure) for the same period was USD 38.8 million (fourth quarter 2020: USD 50.3 million).
TCE
The average daily time charter equivalent rates (TCE, a non IFRS-measure) can be summarized as follows:
Difference between the preliminary results and final results
The final result of USD (338.8) million reported is USD 0.4 million better than the preliminary results reported on 3 February 2022 of USD (339.2) million. This difference is related to the integration of 2021 results of our joint ventures TI LLC and TUKA Ltd. Furthermore, some balance sheet reclassifications have been processed without impact on the net result to improve presentation
Procedures of the independent auditor
The statutory auditor, KPMG Bedrijfsrevisoren – Réviseurs d’Entreprises, represented by Herwig Carmans, has confirmed that the audit procedures, which have been substantially completed, have not revealed any material misstatement in the accounting information included in the Company’s annual announcement.
Euronav highlights in 2021 January
On 11 January 2021 Euronav became a signatory of the ‘Neptune Declaration on Seafarer Wellbeing and Crew Change’.
On 27 January 2021, Euronav was included in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index
(“GEI”) for the fourth consecutive year and managed to improve her score.
February
On 3 February 2021 Euronav entered into an agreement for the acquisition through resale of two eco-Suezmax newbuilding contracts.
On 23 February 2021 Euronav announced that it has entered into a sale and leaseback agreement for the VLCC Newton (2009 – 307,284 dwt).
On 24 February 2021 Euronav held its second virtual naming ceremony for the inauguration of Doris and Dickens.
March
On 1 March 2021, Euronav became a member of the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network.
April
On 12 April 2021 Euronav signed an EUR 80 million unsecured revolving credit facility.
On 22 April 2021 Euronav entered into an agreement for the acquisition through resale of two VLCC newbuilding contracts (with the option to add a third).
June
On 7 June 2021, Euronav announced that the Suezmax Filikon (2002 – 149,989 dwt) was sold for USD 16.3 million and delivered to her new owners on June 4th.
July
On 6 July 2021 Euronav announced a Joint Development Program to help accelerate the development of dual fuel Ammonia (NH3) fitted VLCC and Suezmax vessels.
On 6 July 2021 Euronav confirmed that it has entered into new contracts for the construction of 3 Suezmax newbuildings and that it had lifted the option to build a third VLCC.
September
On 2 September 2021 Euronav Luxembourg S.A., a wholly owned subsidiary of Euronav NV, announced a successful placement of USD 200 million senior unsecured bonds.
On 28 September 2021 Euronav became a signatory of the ‘Call to Action for Shipping Decarbonization’.
October
On 7 October 2021 Euronav successfully completed a B30 biofuel test on the Suezmax Statia (2006 – 150,205 dwt).
November
On 18 November 2021 Euronav successfully concluded a four-month trial of a B50 biofuel blend on the Suezmax Marlin Sardinia (2019 – 156,607 dwt).
December
On 2 December 2021 Euronav signed an EUR 73.45 million unsecured revolving credit facility.
On 9 December 2021 Euronav obtained a ‘B’-score for taking coordinated action on climate issues by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).
On 14 December 2021 Euronav held its virtual naming ceremony to welcome Cedar and Cypress.
Events occurred after the end of the financial year ending 31 December 2021
In January, two newbuilding Suezmaxes, Cedar and Cypress, joined our fleet. Cedar was delivered on the 7th of January and Cypress on the 20th of January. Both were constructed at Daehan Shipbuilding (DHSC) in South Korea.
On 26 January 2022, Euronav announced that the company will book a USD 18 million capital gain on disposal of assets upon the redelivery of 4 VLCCs, which occurs at the maturity of a five-year sale and leaseback agreement. The four VLCCs are: the Nautilus (2006; 307,284 dwt), Navarin (2007; 307,284 dwt), Neptun (2007; 307,284 dwt) and the Nucleus (2007; 307,284 dwt). As the first ship was redelivered on 15 December 2021, USD 4.5 million was booked in the fourth quarter of 2021, whereas the remaining USD 13.5 million will be booked in the first quarter of 2022.
On January 27, Euronav was included in the annual Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI), for the fifth consecutive year. The GEI provides transparency in gender-based
practices and policies at publicly listed companies, increasing the breadth of environmental, social, governance (ESG) data available to investors.
Euronav is one of 414 companies with a combined market capitalization of USD 1 trillion, headquartered in 45 countries and regions across 11 sectors, that are included in this year’s index. The Company’s score is 62.84%, which is higher than the average score of the Transportation and Logistics sector of 47.61%.
On March 18, 2022, the Company announced that the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway has approved the base prospectus with appendices prepared by Euronav Luxembourg S.A. (“Euronav Luxembourg”) in connection with the listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange of Euronav Luxembourg’s USD 200 million senior unsecured bonds, due September 2026. The USD 200 million senior unsecured bonds, issued by Euronav Luxembourg and guaranteed by the Company, are listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange as of March 22, 2022
Recent developments in the Ukraine region have contributed to further economic instability in the global financial markets and international commerce. At the time of writing this press release, the outcome was not clear and the Company acknowledges that any escalation could potentially affect the shipping industry.
In February 2022, US and EU led economic sanctions against Russia in connection with the aforementioned conflicts in the Ukraine region. These sanctions may adversely impact our business, given Russia’s role as a major global exporter of crude oil and natural gas. Our business could also be adversely impacted by trade tariffs, trade embargoes or other economic sanctions that limit trading activities.
The invasion and subsequent war between Russia and Ukraine will impact our business in the following areas:
Freight rates – due to the self-sanctioning being performed by oil traders, refiners, and shippers of Russian petroleum products, the market has evolved short term towards longer tonnage and different cargo specifications. The longer-term prognosis is that ton miles may increase due to the adjustment of trade flows to compensate refineries and markets for the lack of Russian oil flows. The Company has suspended its operations with Russian customers, which represents an insignificant portion of the Company’s turnover (below 5%).
Bunker Fuel Cost – the price of marine fuels has increased as a consequence of the conflict and is anticipated to remain elevated for the foreseeable future. This is due to Russia supplying bunker markets with 20% of the global fuel demand in HSFO, VLSFO and MGO markets. These price increases will negatively impact the cost structure of the vessels, making it more expensive to ship freight on long haul voyages. The spread between HSFO and VLSFO was at a high level pre-invasion, but has begun to correct as the removal of Russian origin HSFO from the market has begun to tighten up supplies in Europe and in the Mediterranean.
Cybersecurity risks have increased, and the Company took additional measures.
Crew issues – the current conflict makes the ability to perform regular crew changes problematic, as travel may not be available nor the ability to repatriate a crew member to his or her home. This could impact operations of vessels as new officers and crews which may not have the familiarity of the vessel are joining. This could result in an extra crew cost on a yearly basis of max USD 500000.
Going forward, it remains difficult to estimate the future impact of this war situation in the economies where we are active, and hence difficult to quantify the impact these factors might have on our financial results.
COVID-19 update and impact on oil demand
The COVID-19 outbreak from early 2020 impacted many countries around the world and disrupted the lives of many millions of people. The Company has been taking the risks associated with the outbreak extremely seriously, and the safety and wellbeing of its employees is of paramount importance.
In that respect, the biggest operational challenge was to conduct crew changes. Apart from serious humanitarian and crew welfare concerns, there is an increasing risk that fatigue will lead to serious maritime accidents. To resolve the difficult situation, Euronav’s management decided to accommodate deviations by ships to facilitate crew changes.
Many Euronav employees shifted from office to remote working in no time. We explicitly want to mention and are proud of the reaction of our people, where our global workforce bonded together to support one another.
Going forward, it remains difficult to estimate the future impact of the pandemic on the economies where we are active, and hence the impact these factors might have on the financial results.
Financial calendar 2022
14 April 2022
Annual report 2021 available on website
12 May 2022
Announcement of first quarter results 2022
19 May 2022
Annual General Meeting of Shareholders
04 August 2022
Announcement of second quarter results 2022
9 August 2021
Half year report 2022 available on website
27 October 2022
Announcement of third quarter results 2022
02 February 2023
Announcement of fourth quarter results 2022
The Supervisory Board, represented by Carl E. Steen, its Chairman, and the Management Board, represented by Hugo De Stoop, Chief Executive Officer, and Lieve Logghe, Chief Financial Officer, hereby confirm, in the name and for account of Euronav that, to the best of their knowledge the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended 31 December 2021 presented herein were established in accordance with applicable accounting standards (IFRS as adopted by the EU) and give a true and fair view, as defined by these standards, of the assets, liabilities, financial position and results of Euronav NV.
Source: Euronav
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https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/euronav-expects-tanker-oversupply-to-ease-moving-forward/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:56Z
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Slug pellets are outlawed from today... so gardeners are advised to kill them with BEER instead
- There is now a ban on slug pellets, which have been used since the 1940s
- Gardeners looking to protect their plants are advised to use beer to trap them
- Slugs are 64 times more likely to be caught in a trap containing lager than water
They have been used against the slimy vandals of the vegetable patch since the 1940s.
But from today gardeners are banned from putting out slug pellets to tackle the pests.
Instead, they will have to rely on beer to kill the slugs that are targeting their prized vegetables and flowers.
Slug pellets can no longer be used or sold in the UK, as they can poison other animals like birds and dogs
Recently slugs and snails were no longer classed as pests by the Royal Horticultural Society, as they help to recycle dead leaves and other plant matter
Metaldehyde slug pellets can no longer be sold or used in the UK because they can poison birds and other animals that eat the creatures such as dogs.
Experts from horticultural charity Garden Organic say that slugs’ love of lager makes the drink the tastiest way to trap them.
Slugs are 64 times more likely to be caught in a trap containing lager than water, an experiment by the charity found.
Bitter is 53 times more effective than water and the gastropods will go for any beer brand, researchers found. But they will reject other alcohol including red and white wines, Cava and cider.
The smell of lager and bitter attracts slugs and can be used to trap them, as an alternative to slug pellets which have now been banned (stock photo)
Garden Organic’s findings came from 166 citizen scientists sinking glasses containing the different drinks below the soil surface for its ‘slug pub’ research project.
The charity’s head gardener, Emma O’Neill, said: ‘Slugs love lager. Many gardeners know that slugs are confirmed lager louts and their love of this tipple can certainly distract them from your plants. The smell of lager and bitter really seems to attract them.’
The charity also suggests using copper tape to protect plants from slugs or luring them underneath an old roof tile with a piece of lettuce. It recommends raised beds and containers to deter slugs, which tend to love munching hostas and delphiniums while leaving foxgloves and geraniums alone.
The Government was advised by the UK Expert Committee on Pesticides and the Health and Safety Executive that metaldehyde slug pellets pose an unacceptable risk to birds and mammals and a ban on their use was first announced by then Environment Secretary Michael Gove in 2018.
But the decision was successfully challenged in the High Court by slug pellet manufacturer Chiltern Farm Chemicals after the Government conceded its decision- making process had been flawed.
A new phased ban was announced in September 2020. And from today it is illegal to sell or use metaldehyde products in the UK.
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10674503/Slug-pellets-outlawed-today-gardeners-advised-kill-BEER-instead.html
| 2022-04-01T00:31:56Z
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Nicholas Ecker and Karlie Phelps, the father and mother of an infant boy killed in a Shawnee house fire earlier this year, both made court appearances on Thursday morning.
Both have been charged in the death of their 17-month-old son, who was killed in the February house fire that investigators say was intentionally set.
Ecker appeared remotely Thursday from the New Century Adult Detention Center near Gardner, where he is still being held on a $1 million bond.
He faces one charge of first-degree murder and another for aggravated arson in connection with the fire.
Phelps appeared via Zoom video conferencing Thursday from the Gold Bridge Treatment Center in Louisburg, Kansas.
She has been charged with felony involuntary manslaughter and endangering a child, a misdemeanor.
In early March, she was rearrested on two new misdemeanor charges, one for allegedly violating a protection order and the other for intimidation of a witness.
Thursday’s court appearances were for scheduling preliminary hearings.
See what court records reveal so far about the investigation into the fire.
Judge Timothy McCarthy set all of Ecker’s pending cases for Wednesday, August 10, at 1:30 p.m.
Phelps’ attorney Scott Toth told the court that he would like to see the case on a scheduling docket in about 45 days.
“Well, your honor, I think it’s more than likely that we’re going to end up disposing of the case, but right now, full disclosure, Ms. Phelps is in in-patient rehab,” Toth told the court.
Toth went on to say that when his client completes the 28-day rehab program, he will be meeting with the District Attorney’s office to discuss her cases.
Assistant District Attorney Will Hurst reminded the court that there is a non-compliance report on bond for Phelps. He said she had a positive urinalysis test and missed at least one other urinalysis required as a condition of her bond.
“I just want to make sure that the court saw that and addressed it as it saw fit,” Hurst said.
Phelps’ attorney Scott Toth said that Phelps checked herself into the treatment facility after the last urinalysis.
“We anticipate she’s going to do a follow-up in-patient stay at Mirror,” Toth said, referring to a drug and alcohol treatment facility with several locations in the Kansas City metro. “She’s working very hard on her sobriety at this point.”
Judge McCarthy said he saw the report and will take it under advisement during her next scheduling conference.
Phelps’s next scheduling appearance is set for Wednesday, May 18, at 11 a.m.
Mike Frizzell is a freelance crime and fire reporter who runs Operation 100 News.
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https://shawneemissionpost.com/2022/03/31/nicholas-ecker-karlie-phelps-court-143799/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:57Z
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Is American Pickers on the verge of cancellation? The A&E series seems to have fallen in viewership after Frank Fritz was removed from the show, leaving Mike Wolfe and his brother, Robbie, as the faces of the program. Gossip Cop investigates.
‘Pink-Slipped Picker Fred Gets Last Laugh’
According to the National Enquirer, the ratings for American pickers haven’t been doing well since Frank Fritz’s firing. Fritz’s final episode drew in 1.2 million viewers, the outlet notes, while only 830,000 viewers tuned in for its March 23 episode with the Wolfe brothers. After multiple surgeries and a stint in rehab, Fritz ended up announcing that he’d no longer be appearing in the show, sparking some of the messiest co-star drama on TV.
The sliding ratings apparently please Fritz, a source says. “He’s telling anyone who’ll listen that they’re getting their just rewards now.” The insider argues that he loves seeing his old friends spiral without him. The snitch concludes, “This is the viewers’ way of saying the show’s just not the same without Fred!”
Notice That Title?
Big letters at the top of this story say “Fred Gets Last Laugh.” The final sentence from a so-called source calls him Fred as well. His name is Frank, not Fred. How are we supposed to trust what this source says when it literally doesn’t even know the man’s name. Typos happen, but it’s very hard to trust a story when such an important detail gets ignored—especially given that the article calls him Fred five times.
There are two parts to this story. It’s true that ratings are down without Frank Fritz. The Enquirer unfairly compares his finale episode to a random weekly episode, but it doesn’t matter all that much. Ratings have been down all season for American Pickers, and have sunk below 1 million. It’s harder to believe that Fritz loves seeing the series fail as he’s got more pressing things to worry about. Fritz seems to be behind on his taxes and reportedly owes thousands to the government. Unfortunately, Fritz also lost six figures in a failed relationship a few years ago, so money woes have stalked him for some time.
Even though there’s real bad blood between Fritz and his old co-star Mike Wolfe, he has not been sounding off on American Pickers in a while. There’s nothing stopping him from publicly slamming the show, so there’s no evidence to back this story.
What’s Going On With ‘American Pickers’?
The trouble on American Pickers is music to the ears of tabloids. OK! claimed the crew was turning on Mike Wolfe, yet the season was filmed without a hitch. The Globe announced Wolfe’s relationship was getting sabotaged by Danielle Colby, but she’s a close friend. It’s surprising to see such a long-running series suddenly lead to so much drama, but here we are. Here’s hoping Fritz is welcomed back to the show for the sake of the fans.
More Stories From Suggest
- Norah O’Donnell Allegedly Headed For Departure From ‘CBS News’ Over $8M Salary, ‘Toxic Behavior,’ Network Insider Claims
- ‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Call For Mayim Bialik To Be Fired, Demand Former Frontrunner Replace Her
- Whoopi Goldberg’s ‘The View’ Co-Hosts Allegedly ‘Fed Up’ And Want Her Fired, Unverified Insider Says
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https://www.suggest.com/american-pickers-allegedly-struggling-after-nearly-35-drop-in-ratings-after-host-firing-anonymous-insider-says/2631502/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:57Z
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Brevard commissioner proposes culling manatees to curb starvation
Hundreds of manatees died in Brevard County over the last few months alone.
The main food source for the threatened marine mammals, sea grass, is becoming more scarce thanks to pollution and algae overgrowth.
County Commissioner Curt Smith floated an unconventional solution during last week’s commission meeting, thinning the herd through a cull, like an overpopulation of deer.
“You know and I know that would be very difficult with manatees. Because everybody loves manatees. If you killed a manatee, my God, the world would come to an end,” Smith said.
Thursday, the commissioner was asked if he thinks this is really an option to the problem.
“Everybody loves manatees. I love manatees. I love seeing them. It’s part of the scenery," Smith said. "But we have to get real and the reality is that there has never been a calculation of what the carrying capacity should be for this habitat.”
But those who study manatees say that killing some of them off won’t help the situation, since that’s already happening through starvation. Researchers say a cull would also impact other species.
“To have one of those commissioners to be so uninformed so ignorant of what the real problem is disconcerting. Certainly, the solution is not to have more manatees killed," Patrick Rose, with the Save The Manatee Club, said.
Smith agreed that the root problem is water pollution. But that’s an issue that will take a long time to correct.
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https://www.wesh.com/article/manatees-culling/39602718
| 2022-04-01T00:31:58Z
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https://seekingalpha.com/article/4499121-global-crossing-airlines-group-inc-jetmf-ceo-ed-wegel-on-q4-2021-results-earnings-call
| 2022-04-01T00:31:58Z
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March 29, 2022
A lot less, particularly when they’re victims of the US
As US news media covered the first shocking weeks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, some media observers—like FAIR founder Jeff Cohen (Common Dreams, 2/28/22)—have noted their impressions of how coverage differed from wars past, particularly in terms of a new focus on the impact on civilians.
To quantify and deepen these observations, FAIR studied the first week of coverage of the Ukraine war (2/24–3/2/22) on ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News.
We used the Nexis news database to count both sources (whose voices get to be heard?) and segments (what angles are covered?) about Ukraine during the study period.
Comparing this coverage to that of other conflicts reveals both a familiar reliance on US officials to frame events, as well as a newfound ability to cover the impact on civilians – when those civilians are white and under attack by an official US enemy, rather than by the US itself.
Originally published at FAIR.org on March 18, 2022
Ukrainian sources – no experts
One of the most striking things about early coverage has been the sheer number of Ukrainian sources. FAIR always challenges news media to seek out the perspective of those most impacted by events, and US outlets are doing so to a much greater extent in this war than in any war in recent history. Of 234 total sources—230 of whom had identifiable nationalities – 119 were Ukrainian (including five living in the United States).
However, these were overwhelmingly person-on-the-street interviews that rarely consisted of more than one or two lines. Even the three Ukrainian individuals identified as having a relevant professional expertise – two doctors and a journalist – spoke only of their personal experience of the war. Twenty-one (17% of Ukrainian sources) were current or former government or military officials.
Airing so many Ukrainian voices, but asking so few to provide actual analysis, has the effect of generating sympathy, but for a people painted primarily as pawns or victims, rather than as having valuable knowledge, history and potential contributions to determine their own futures.
Meanwhile, Russian government sources only appeared four times. Sixteen other Russian sources were quoted: 13 persons on the street, an opposition politician and two members of wealthy families.
Eighty sources were from the United States, including 57 current or former US officials. Despite the diplomatic involvement of the European Union, only two Western European sources were featured: the Norwegian NATO Secretary-General and a German civilian helping refugees in Poland. There were also eight foreign civilians featured living in Ukraine: three from the US, three African and two Middle Eastern.
And while political leaders certainly bring important knowledge and perspective to war coverage, so too do scholars, think tanks and civic organizations with regional expertise. But these voices were almost completely marginalized, with only five such civil society experts appearing during the study period.
All were in the United States, although one was Ukrainian-American Michael Sawkiw (CBS, 2/24/22), who represented the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (an organization associated with Stepan Bandera’s faction of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, which participated in the Holocaust during World War II).
In effect, then, US news media have largely allowed US officials to frame the terms of the conflict for viewers. While officials lambasted the Russian government and emphasized “what we’re going to do to help the Ukrainian people in the struggle” (NBC, 3/1/22), no sources questioned the US’s own role in contributing to the conflict (FAIR.org, 3/4/22), or the impact of Western sanctions on Russian civilians.
The bias in favour of US officials, and the marginalization of experts from the country being invaded – as well as civil society experts from any country – recalls US TV news coverage of another large-scale invasion in recent history: the US invasion of Iraq.
A FAIR study (Extra!, 5–6/03) at the time found that in the three weeks after the US launched that war, current and former US officials made up more than half (52%) of all sources on the primetime news programs on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox and PBS. Iraqis were only 12% of sources, and 4% of all sources were academic, think tank or NGO representatives.
In other words, though the bias is even greater when the US is leading the war, US media seem content to let US officials fashion the narrative around any war and to mute their critics.
Visible and invisible civilians
But there are striking differences as well in coverage of the two wars. Most notably, when the US invaded Iraq, civilians in the country made up a far smaller percentage of sources: 8% to Ukraine’s 45%.
US reporters, almost all of them embedded with the US military in Iraq at the beginning of the war, absorbed and regurgitated US propaganda that painted the war as liberating Iraqis, not killing them. There was little motivation, then, to talk to or feature them, except to show them praising the US—the kind of reaction that a journalist embedding with heavily armed soldiers was likely to produce.
Another noteworthy difference is the way US news media cover antiwar voices from the aggressor nation. Interestingly, Russian public opposition to the Ukraine war appears to be roughly similar to US public opposition to the Iraq War, in that while a majority in each country supported their government’s aggressive actions at the start of both wars, around a quarter opposed them (Gallup, 3/24/03; Meduza, 3/7/22).
But on US TV news, antiwar sentiment appeared starkly different in the two conflicts. Of the 20 Russian sources in the study, ten (50%) expressed opposition to the war, significantly higher than the proportion polls were showing. Meanwhile, antiwar voices represented only 3% of all US sources in early Iraq coverage (FAIR.org, 5/03), a dramatic downplaying of public opposition.
Civilian-centered war coverage
The brunt of modern wars is almost always borne by innocent civilians. But US media coverage of that civilian toll is rarely in sharp focus, such that recent reporting on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine offers an exceptional view of what civilian-centered war coverage can look like—under certain circumstances.
In our study, we looked not just at sources, but also the content of segments about Ukraine. In the first week of the war, the US primetime news broadcasts on ABC, CBS and NBC offered regular reports on the civilian toll of the invasion, sending reporters to major targeted cities, as well as to border areas receiving refugees.
Seventy-one segments across the three networks covered the impact on Ukrainian civilians, both those remaining behind and those fleeing the violence. Twenty-eight of these mentioned or centered on civilian casualties.
Many reports described or aired soundbites of civilians describing their fear and the challenges they faced; several highlighted children. A representative ABC segment (2/28/22), for instance, featured correspondent Matt Gutman reporting: “This little girl on the train sobbing into her stuffed animal, just one of the more than 500,000 people leaving everything behind, fleeing in cramped trains.”
Making the impact on civilians the focus of the story, and featuring their experiences, encourages sympathy for those civilians and condemnation of war.
But this demonstration of news media’s ability to center the civilian impact, including civilian casualties, in Ukraine is all the more damning of their coverage of wars in which the US and its allies have been the aggressors – or in which the victims have not been white.
‘They seem so like us’
Many pundits and journalists have been caught saying the quiet part loud. “They seem so like us,” wrote Daniel Hannan in the Telegraph (2/26/22). “That is what makes it so shocking.”
CBS News‘ Charlie D’Agata (2/25/22) told viewers that Ukraine
isn’t a place, with all due respect, like Iraq or Afghanistan, that has seen conflict raging for decades. This is a relatively civilized, relatively European—I have to choose those words carefully, too—city, one where you wouldn’t expect that, or hope that it’s going to happen.
“What’s compelling is, just looking at them, the way they are dressed, these are prosperous—I’m loath to use the expression—middle-class people,” marvelled BBC reporter Peter Dobbie on Al Jazeera (2/27/22):
These are not obviously refugees looking to get away from areas in the Middle East that are still in a big state of war. These are not people trying to get away from areas in North Africa. They look like any European family that you would live next door to.
While US news media have at times shown interest in Black and brown refugees and victims of war (e.g., Extra!, 10/15), it’s hard to imagine them ever getting the kind of massive coverage granted the Ukrainians who “look like us” – as defined by white journalists.
‘Give war a chance’
And one can certainly think of instances in which non-white refugees are given short shrift by US news. Despite their claims of deep concern for the people of Afghanistan as the US withdrew troops last year, for example, these same TV networks have barely covered the predictable and preventable humanitarian catastrophe facing the country (FAIR.org, 12/21/21). More than 5 million Afghan civilians are either refugees or internally displaced.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, named the world’s most neglected displacement crisis last year by the Norwegian Refugee Council (5/27/21), with 1 million externally and 5 million internally displaced, merited not a single mention in the last two years on US primetime news.
And in the 2000s, when an estimated 45,000 Congolese were dying of conflict-related causes every month, they mentioned it an average of less than twice a year (FAIR.org, 4/09).
At our country’s own borders, news coverage minimizes refugees’ voices, largely framing their story as a political crisis for the US, not a humanitarian crisis for the predominantly Black and brown refugees (FAIR.org, 6/19/21).
But being white does not automatically give civilian victims a starring role in US news coverage. In the Kosovo War, Serbian victims of NATO bombing were downplayed – and sometimes their deaths even egged on – by US journalists (FAIR.org, 7/99).
When NATO relaxed its rules of engagement, increasing civilian casualties, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman (4/6/99) wrote: “Twelve days of surgical bombing was never going to turn Serbia around. Let’s see what 12 weeks of less than surgical bombing does. Give war a chance.”
Similarly, Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer (4/8/99), critical of the “excruciating selectivity” of NATO’s bombing raids, cheered that “finally they are hitting targets – power plants, fuel depots, bridges, airports, television transmitters – that may indeed kill the enemy and civilians nearby.”
‘Designed to kill only targets’
As these examples suggest, while race might inform journalists’ feelings of identification with civilian victims, in a corporate media ecosystem that relies so heavily on US officials to define and frame events, the interests of those officials will necessarily shape which crises get more coverage and which actors more sympathy.
The Iraq War offers a clear contrast to Ukraine coverage. The US invaded Iraq on pretenses of concern about both Saddam Hussein’s supposed weapons of mass destruction and his treatment of the Iraqi people – pitching war as humanitarianism (FAIR.org, 4/9/21).
But Iraq Body Count recorded 3,986 violent civilian deaths from the war in March 2003 alone; the invasion began March 20, meaning those deaths occurred in under two weeks. (The IBC numbers—which are almost certainly an undercount—documented some 200,000 civilian deaths over the course of the war.) The US-led coalition was overwhelmingly responsible for these deaths.
(While the war ultimately resulted in over 9 million Iraqi refugees or internally displaced people, that displacement did not begin to reach its massive numbers until later on, so early coverage would not be expected to focus on refugees in the same way that Ukraine coverage does.)
During the first week of the Iraq War (3/20–26/03), we found 32 segments on the primetime news programs of ABC, CBS and NBC that mentioned civilians and the war’s impact on them – less than half the number those same news programs aired about Ukrainian civilians.
Remarkably, only nine of these segments identified the US as even potentially responsible for civilian casualties, while 12 framed the US either as acting to avoid harming civilians or as working to help civilians imperiled by Hussein’s actions.
NBC‘s Jim Miklaszewski (3/21/03), for instance, informed viewers that though “more than 1,000 weapons pounded Baghdad today…every weapon is precision-guided, deadly accuracy designed to kill only the targets, not innocent civilians.”
In Ukraine coverage, by contrast, these shows named Russia as the perpetrator in every single one of the 28 mentions of civilian casualties, except in one brief headline announcement about a tank crushing a car with a civilian inside (ABC, 2/25/22); that incident was expanded upon later in the show to clearly identify the tank as Russian.
‘A direct result of Saddam‘
Viewers of CBS Evening News did not hear until the very end of the first week of the US invasion of Iraq any mention of US-perpetrated harm to civilians—though they did hear that Iraqi fighters were dressing as civilians and then firing at US troops (3/23/03, 3/24/03); that in one city, US coalition forces “are not firing into the center of the city because we cannot risk the collateral damage” (3/25/03); and that in a nearby town, “allied forces bring the first water relief to desperate Iraqi civilians” cut off by Hussein (3/25/03).
The show briefly mentioned civilian casualties twice (3/24/03, 3/26/03) without identifying the side responsible for the injuries, though one (3/24/03) emphasized that the appearance of a wounded Iraqi family at a US camp “brought these [US] soldiers streaming out to give what aid they could.”
After US airstrikes ravaged a residential area of Baghdad on March 25, the US military’s carefully curated media management began to show some cracks—but not all outlets were ready to acknowledge US responsibility. To CBS‘s Dan Rather (3/26/03):
Scenes of civilian carnage in Baghdad, however they happened and whoever caused them, today quickly became part of a propaganda war, the very thing US military planners have tried to avoid.
Even in coverage that didn’t wave off civilian casualties as propaganda, journalists often danced around the responsibility for them, softening the critique. On one NBC segment (3/26/03), for instance, Peter Arnett never used an active voice to identify the perpetrator of strikes on civilians and civilian areas, circling around it with lines like: “We get the sense that Baghdad is becoming increasingly a target,” or “First, with the television station and now with bombing closer to the center of the city,” or “the whole area was devastated” or “When these missiles came into the city today, the city was relatively crowded.” Instead, at the end he described “American troops” as “massing to attack Baghdad”—as if the bombing described was not already an attack by American troops.
Combined with the repeated mentions of “human shields” and Iraqi fighters “dressing as civilians,” this kind of coverage directly fed the Pentagon line as enunciated by spokesperson Torie Clarke (C-SPAN, 3/26/03): “We go to extraordinary efforts to reduce the likelihood of those casualties. Any casualty that occurs, any death that occurs, is a direct result of Saddam Hussein’s policies.”
Iraqi civilians may well have been of less interest than Ukrainians to US reporters because they didn’t “seem like us.” But their deaths were certainly covered less because they didn’t fit with the official line journalists were parroting.
‘Perverse to focus too much on casualties’
The US launched the Iraq War almost 20 years ago, but news coverage of civilian victims of US aggression has changed little over time. Throughout the ongoing Syrian civil war, the US has intervened to varying degrees, with a major escalation under Donald Trump in 2017. From June through October of that year, a US-led coalition pummeled the densely populated city of Raqqa, which had been taken over by ISIS, with a brutal air war.
Amnesty International (4/19) accused the coalition of destroying the city with air and artillery strikes, killing more than 1,600 civilians—ten times the number the US and its allies admitted to—and wounding many more. More than 11,000 buildings were destroyed. As the New Yorker‘s Anand Gopal (12/21/20) wrote, “The decimation of Raqqa is unlike anything seen in an American conflict since the Second World War.”
During the five months in which the offensive took place, only 18 segments on the three networks’ primetime news shows mentioned civilians in Syria. On ABC and NBC, the only references to civilian casualties were mentions of Trump highlighting an earlier deadly chemical weapon attack by Syrian forces elsewhere in the country (ABC, 6/27/17; NBC, 6/27/17). (CBS also mentioned the attack in the study period—7/17/17.)
In fact, up to this day, neither ABC World News Tonight nor NBC Nightly News have made any mention of US attacks on civilians in Raqqa, despite the release of not one but two damning reports by Amnesty International (6/5/18, 4/19).
Only nine of the 17 segments mentioned civilians in Raqqa; all of them came from CBS, which was the only network of the three that bothered to send a correspondent to the city the network’s country was bombing. CBS correspondent Holly Williams filed eight reports that mentioned civilian casualties, from August 24 to October 17.
Six of these named US airstrikes as causing civilian deaths, but each report mentioned in the same breath ISIS brutality against civilians or use of human shields, as if to absolve the US or shift the blame to ISIS.
For instance, on October 10, Williams reported:
Without American airstrikes, defeating ISIS would have been near impossible. But some of those now escaping ISIS territory say it’s the strikes that are their biggest fear. The US coalition admits that more than 700 civilians have been inadvertently killed in Syria and Iraq, others claim the number is far higher.
For Renas Halep, though, anyone who wants to destroy ISIS is a friend. He told us ISIS falsely accused him of stealing and amputated his hand four years ago. It’s a punishment the extremists have used extensively.
This “balance” is suspiciously consistent. It’s worth remembering that during the Afghanistan War, CNN chair Walter Isaacson ordered his staff to offset coverage of civilian devastation with reminders of the Taliban’s brutality, saying it “seems perverse to focus too much on the casualties or hardship in Afghanistan” (FAIR.org, 11/1/01).
None of Williams’ on-camera sources criticized US coalition airstrikes, while many criticized ISIS—perhaps by CBS policy, or perhaps a function of Williams being embedded with coalition forces.
‘The booms of distant wars’
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine commenced, NBC anchor Lester Holt (2/25/22) mused:
Tonight, there are at least 27 armed conflicts raging on this planet. Yet so often the booms of distant wars fade before they reach our consciousness. Other times, raw calculations of shared national interests close that distance. But as we are reminded again in images from Ukraine, the pain of war is borderless.
Holt spoke as though journalists like himself play no role in determining which wars reach our consciousness and which fade. The pain of war might be borderless, but international responses to that pain depend very much on the sympathy generated by journalists through their coverage of it.
And Western journalists have made very clear which victims’ pain is most newsworthy to them.
Featured image: During the invasions of their countries, US TV news was much more likely to talk to civilians from Ukraine (left, ABC, 2/26/22) than from Iraq (right, CBS, 3/19/13).
Research assistance: Luca GoldMansour
Originally published at FAIR.org on March 18, 2022
About the author
Julie Hollar is FAIR’s senior analyst and managing editor. Julie has a Ph.D. in Political Science from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
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https://transnational.live/2022/03/31/julie-hollar-ukraine-how-much-less-newsworthy-are-civilians-in-other-conflicts/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:58Z
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WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – For some people, overdraft fees are a frustrating inconvenience. For others, they pose crippling costs. Some lawmakers now want to change how they’re charged altogether.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney introduced legislation called the “Overdraft Protection Act.” The bill includes provisions to cap the amount and number of fees a bank can charge.
“My bill tries to cut down on these unfair and deceptive practices,” the New York Democrat said.
Advocates like Elyse Crawford-Hicks with Americans for Financial Reform say overdraft fees hit low-income families and people of color the hardest.
“Overdraft fees are paid the most by people who can least afford them,” Crawford-Hicks said.
Others say over-drafting is a useful service because it can function like a short-term loan. Paul Kundert is the CEO of UW Credit Union, which recently reduced their overdraft fees and put more limits on how they charge them.
“When prices are fair, we believe consumers do benefit from access to the credit provided by overdraft fees,” Kundert said.
Recently, major banks like Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Bank of America have made changes themselves, by reducing their overdraft fees or eliminating them altogether.
Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, says that demonstrates the legislation is unnecessary.
“The market is naturally, naturally taking care of the issue without government intervention. And we do not need more rules from Washington,” Williams said.
Because banks make billions of dollars in revenue from overdraft fees, George Mason University Foundation Professor of Law Todd Zywicki argues the proposed changes would cost consumers.
“We’ll see higher bank fees, we’ll see higher minimum monthly deposits as basically insurance against over-drafting and we will see a loss of access to free checking,” Zywicki said.
Lawmakers like Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., are promising to continue pushing for the reforms.
“How can we perform such an abusive and predatory practice that punishes people simply for being poor?” Pressley said.
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https://www.wnct.com/news/washington-dc/bill-seeks-to-put-cap-on-overdraft-fees/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:58Z
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A nonprofit arm of West Virginia University took ownership of a shuttered pharmaceutical plant Thursday with the goal of improving area job and education opportunities.
WVU Medicine will work with the university through the WVU Innovation Corp. to oversee the 1.1-million-square-foot (102,190-square-meter) facility in Morgantown. Discussions with potential private industry tenants are ongoing, said WVU Health System President and CEO Albert Wright.
“There is significant interest from many parties in that building,” Wright said on a conference call. “We’re going to be working up a lot of different possibilities as to how we use that building over time.”
Wright said he envisions a few anchor tenants and other, smaller businesses in the building, as opposed to one big tenant. He said it’s possible that portions, but not all, of the building could be available for use as a pharmaceutical business.
“We’re looking to be an economic engine here,” Wright said. “We’re looking for some big-anchor tenants, but we’re also going to have a component to what we’re doing to be an incubator for startup businesses, to provide some of the infrastructure to get them going from the start.”
Prospective tenants don’t necessarily have to be health-care related, “but we’d like to tie it into the health science capability of the university,” Wright said. “So we have had a number of small startups that are interested.”
Viatris Inc. transferred the facility for $1 under a memorandum of understanding with the university. Viatris announced in December 2020 that it was laying off 1,500 workers at the plant, which was formerly operated by the generic drug company Mylan.
Mylan merged with Upjohn in 2020 to form the new company. Viatris, which announced it would slash 20% of its workforce worldwide, is now one of the world’s leading makers of generic drugs and maintains research and development operations in Morgantown.
“Our goal has always been to identify a responsible new steward for this unique site that would secure the best possible future for the facility, our impacted employees and the Morgantown community, a community that continues to play an important and vital role for Viatris,” company executive chairman Robert J. Coury said in a statement.
The plant closing left workers scrambling to find new jobs in a state that is often trying to lure new companies to uplift a stagnant economy once dominated by the coal industry.
Rob Alsop, WVU’s vice president for strategic initiatives, said former Mylan employees will be offered a tuition-free education at the university. Coupled with the state’s existing offer of free tuition at its community colleges, it will “make sure that those employees are ready for the new job opportunities that we hope come from this,” he said.
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https://www.wowktv.com/news/u-s-world/wvu-nonprofit-arm-takes-over-shuttered-plant-tenants-sought/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:58Z
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New Mexico man goes home after 550 days in hospital for COVID-19
A New Mexico man has been discharged from the hospital about a year and a half after being admitted for COVID-19, reported KOB 4.
Roswell resident Donnell Hunter was honored with a police escort when he finally left the hospital after 550 days.
“I can’t even put it into words,” Hunter said of being able to return home to his family after a period of more than 18 months, much of which was spent on a ventilator.
He added that he has had to re-learn basic functions as a result of his extensive illness.
Since returning home, Hunter has started to make up for lost time, including meeting his new grandson for the first time.
“The Lord knows what he has in store for me, I don’t, he brought me this far and I’m just going to trust in the lord whatever he brings my way that’s what I will deal with,” he said.
As of March, 472,426 COVID-19 cases have been categorized as recovered by the New Mexico Department of Health.
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/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/597083-new-mexico-man-goes-home-after-550-days-in-hospital-for-covid/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:57Z
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https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/shop/product/hopkins-narrow-bookcase-walnut-effect-10924810
| 2022-04-01T00:31:59Z
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Marvel Cinematic Universe's latest superhero is not, in the conventional sense, either "super" or a "hero," but he does have an unorthodox ailment and a weird skill-set to separate him from mere mortals. His name is Morbius, and while watching his origin story, you may get the feeling that somewhere in the cinematic multiverse, wires got crossed.
The film begins with a helicopter, transporting a cage to the sort of mist-shrouded isle you half expect King Kong to be inhabiting. But Dr. Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) is looking to capture smaller game as he approaches the mouth of a cave, hobbling with difficulty on two crutch-like canes.
Positioning himself behind the wires of the cage, he slices open the palm of his hand and, as a roar of batwings echoes from inside the cave, murmurs to the copter pilot "if you're gonna run, do it now."
A rare blood disease treated with a bit o' bat
It's tempting to say "consider yourself warned," but the film's first hour or so, while unremarkable, is decently crafted.
Born with a rare blood disease, Michael Morbius has spent his entire life working on two things — a cure, and origami paper-folding. Natch, it occurs to him to fold together bat and human DNA.
Because the FDA would be unlikely to approve human trials, he and his beautiful co-researcher Martine (Adria Arjona) head in a cargo ship for international waters off the coast of Long Island in the company of eight thuggish mercenaries — think bloodbags — and once Morbius has been injected with bat DNA, it's just a matter of time before things go vampiric.
Let it be said that some side-effects from dabbling in "chiropter-y" are less ghastly than others. Bat DNA evidently gives you great cheekbones and abs to go with increased strength and speed.
Less salutary effects include new fangs that sprout from his gums with decades of decay baked in, and claws that erupt from his fingers pre-filthed. I mean, sure...why not? Except this is a man whose hair has the kind of sheen that comes from brushing it three times a day.
One other thing: he now needs to drink human blood every six hours. Happily, on his way to declining a Nobel Prize, Dr. Morbius invented "artificial blood," though that only fools his system for a while.
Color coded smoke effects for a Jekyll and his Hyde
If you're expecting a conventional Marvel movie, you should be aware going in that what Director Daniel Espinoza and his writers have come up with is more a horror flick with Marvel bells and whistles.
That means Leto's Morbius gets purplish smoke effects to go with those fang-baring snarls as he's riding air currents in subway tunnels, while the similarly afflicted Hyde to his Jekyll – a schoolboy chum played as an adult by an amusingly hopped-up Matt Smith, gets blue-ish vapor trails and snappier lines.
But there isn't much tension to their story. Or logic. At one point, Morbius overhears some counterfeiters passing fake $100s, and commandeers their printing press to make what appears to be an artificial-blood machine — because the technologies for fake-bills and fake-blood match up? Maybe that works better in a comic book.
Bat guys everywhere you look
Speaking of which, when the DC Extended Universe first announced that Twilight star Robert Pattinson would play the lead in The Batman in their corner of the superhero multiverse, it seemed like a nice inside joke — from Vampire-teen to Bat-man. But now that the Marvelverse has Leto going full Dracula, it seems as if the casting maybe could've gone the other way 'round.
Leto is as persuasively haunted by the dark side of vigilantism as Pattinson was, and as a result of corporate positioning, is maybe more determined to avoid being a villain. Not unlike Venom, Morbius was a bad guy when he first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man comics, back in the 1970's. He needs to be at least an anti-hero now, if a franchise is to be built around him.
But bad guy/bat guy...who's to say? As the trailers reveal, another DC bat-guy, Michael Keaton, shows up in his non-batty baddie Marvel persona Adrian Toomes, just to mess with the heads of anyone trying to keep cinematic universes straight.
But bloodlines will have to be clarified in more robust "Morbius" episodes to come, this origin story being merely adequate, and by Marvel standards, slightly anemic.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
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https://www.kvnf.org/npr-news/2022-03-31/jared-leto-is-marvels-bat-man-in-the-vampiric-morbius
| 2022-04-01T00:31:59Z
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(Newser)
–
Police found five fetuses in the home of a self-proclaimed anti-abortion activist who was indicted this week on federal charges alleging that she was part of a group of people who blocked access to a Washington, DC, reproductive health center. The Metropolitan Police Department said officers were responding to a tip about possible potential bio-hazard material at a home in Southeast Washington on Wednesday when they located the five fetuses inside, the AP reports.
WUSA9 captured video of police searching the home and reported that the home belonged to Lauren Handy. The 28-year-old was one of nine people charged in an indictment that was made public on Wednesday that accused the group of traveling to Washington, blocking access to the reproductive health center and streaming the action on Facebook. The TV station said Handy told a reporter that "people will freak out when they hear" what detectives found in her house. Handy did not respond to a message sent to her Facebook profile seeking comment. Police said the five fetuses were collected by Washington’s medical examiner and the investigation is ongoing.
In the indictment, prosecutors said Handy had called the clinic pretending to be a prospective patient and scheduling an appointment. Once there, on Oct. 22, 2020, eight of the suspects pushed their way inside and began blocking the doors, according to the indictment. Five of them chained themselves together on chairs to block the treatment area as others blocked the employee entrance to stop other patients from coming in, the indictment alleges. Another suspect blocked people from coming into the waiting room, prosecutors charge. Handy and the eight others were charged with conspiracy against rights and violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.
(Read more
indictment stories.)
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https://www.newser.com/story/318790/5-fetuses-found-in-home-of-anti-abortion-activist.html
| 2022-04-01T00:31:59Z
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Britney Spears was freed from her 13-year conservatorship in November and credits her lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, for making it happen. Now, the attorney is explaining why he wanted to represent the singer in the first place.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Rosengart revealed, “I was concerned, even before getting involved, about why this woman appeared to have some of her fundamental rights and civil liberties stripped away.”
“As a former federal prosecutor, I had experience with criminal defendants who were charged with committing heinous crimes, and they had the right to choose their own counsel, yet Britney did not have that right,” he continued, equating Britney’s treatment to “bullying.”
Said Rosengart, “It was troubling to me both personally and professionally, and I felt I could help stop it, as a lawyer and otherwise. That’s a pledge I made.”
He said he went in with a “strategic” plan of attack to get Britney out of the conservatorship quickly, explaining, “I knew we’d be able to get a much faster hearing if we tried to bifurcate this — first moving to suspend the father [Jamie Spears] and removing that impediment on the way to termination.”
Rosengart said it was “one of the best days I had” when he was able to call Britney on September 29 and tell her Mr. Spears was suspended as her conservator. “She was away at the time, and I told her she’d be able to wake up the next morning — for the first time in 13 years — without her father being conservator of the estate. That was what she wanted, and she was elated,” he said.
While the experience has been “an incredibly arduous yet exciting journey,” Rosengart says the case is ongoing because “We are still looking at everything, including following the money.”
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
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https://www.ks95.com/britney-spears-lawyer-explains-why-he-took-on-her-case-i-was-concerned-even-before-getting-involved/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:59Z
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- Full year 2021 results include revenue of $612.2 million and adjusted EBITDA of $60.0 million
- Reported 24-month backlog at the end of Q4 2021 was $2.1 Billion, an increase of 22.0% over year end 2020
- Fourth quarter 2021 results include revenue of $147.1 million and adjusted EBITDA of $4.0 million
- Successfully completed four acquisitions and added significant new contract awards
BLUE BELL, Pa., March 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- QualTek Services Inc. ("QualTek" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: QTEK), a leading turnkey provider of infrastructure services to the North American 5G wireless, telecom, power grid modernization, and renewable energy sectors, announced today a strong 2021 fourth quarter and full-year financial results of its subsidiary QualTek HoldCo, LLC.
Fourth quarter 2021 revenue was up 11.0% to $147.1 million, compared to $132.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2020. Net loss from continuing operations for the fourth quarter 2021 was $81.1 million compared to net loss from continuing operations of $56.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Excluding one-time impairment of goodwill, Net loss from continuing operations for the fourth quarter 2021 was $28.6 million compared to a net loss from continuing operations of $27.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Fourth quarter 2021 adjusted EBITDA was $4.0 million compared to a loss of $13.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2020. Backlog at the end of the fourth quarter was $2.1 billion which is a 22% increase over the fourth quarter 2020.
Full year 2021 revenue was $612.2 million, a decline of 6.7% from $656.5 million for the full year 2020. Net loss from continuing operations for 2021 was $101.6 million compared to net loss from continuing operations of $94.2 million in 2020. Excluding one-time impairment of goodwill, Net loss from continuing operations for 2021 improved to $49.1 million compared to a net loss from continuing operations of $65.4 million in 2020. Full year 2021 adjusted EBITDA increased 356.9% to $60.0 million, compared to $13.1 million for the full year 2020. The increase in adjusted EBITDA was driven primarily by margin improvement initiatives across both the Telecom and Renewables & Recovery segments. On a pro-forma basis, assuming the recently closed acquisitions had been owned for the full year ending December 31, 2021, QualTek estimates adjusted EBITDA would be approximately 72.0 million. For the full year 2022, guidance remains unchanged.
As QualTek has indicated in the past, strong industry tailwinds including grid modernization and infrastructure improvements along with the C-band spectrum deployment are expected to drive major 5G infrastructure buildouts and provide significant growth opportunities across the business. The company is also seeing reductions in COVID-19 health and safety protocols in key regions allowing for a return to pre-covid scale and efficiency. QualTek expects continued growth in both segments during 2022 and beyond.
Scott Hisey, QualTek's Chief Executive Officer, said, "2021 was a critical year for the company. We successfully closed our SPAC transaction creating over $80 million of additional liquidity to allow us to execute on our strategic growth plan. Full year 2021 adjusted EBITDA grew to $60.0 million, a $47 million increase from 2020. QualTek remains on a path to be a significant industry player across the telecommunications and power industries. We successfully grew our rolling two-year backlog by 22% to $2.1 billion during the year. This growth is a testament to our strong performance and our customer's reliance on QualTek to play a critical role in building out 5G networks and participating in the long-term grid modernization initiatives. We are very excited for the future of QualTek."
Management will hold a conference call to discuss these results on Friday, April 1, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The call-in number for the conference call is 1 (888) 330 – 2454 or 1 (240) 789 - 2714 using passcode 2965812. Additionally, the call will be broadcast live over the Internet and can be accessed and replayed through the investor relations section of the Company's website at qualtekservices.com.
The following tables set forth the financial results for the periods ended December 31, 2021 and 2020:
The following tables set forth the financial results for the three-month periods ended December 31, 2021 and 2020:
Founded in 2012, QualTek is a leading technology-driven provider of infrastructure services to the 5G wireless, telecom, power grid modernization, and renewable energy sectors across North America. QualTek has a national footprint with more than 80 operation centers across the U.S. and a workforce of over 5,000 people. QualTek has established a nationwide operating network to enable quick responses to customer demands as well as proprietary technology infrastructure for advanced reporting and invoicing. The Company will report within two operating segments: Telecommunications and Renewables and Recovery. For more information, please visit qualtekservices.com.
This communication contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about the financial condition, results of operations, earnings outlook and prospects of QualTek. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as "plan," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "outlook," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "continue," "could," "may," "might," "possible," "potential," "predict," "should," "would" and other similar words and expressions, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.
The forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations of the management of QualTek and are inherently subject to uncertainties and changes in circumstances and their potential effects and speak only as of the date of such statement. There can be no assurance that future developments will be those that have been anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those discussed and identified in public filings made with the SEC by QualTek.
Should one or more of the risks or uncertainties materialize or should any of the assumptions made by the management of QualTek prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements.
All pro forma numbers are used for illustrative purpose only, are not forecasts and may not reflect actual results.
All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements concerning the matters addressed in this communication and attributable to QualTek or any person acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this communication. Except to the extent required by applicable law or regulation, QualTek undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this communication to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Media Contact:
QualTek IR/Communications
Gianna Lucchesi
PR@qualtekservices.com
(484) 804 - 4585
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE QualTek Services Inc.
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https://www.kwtx.com/prnewswire/2022/03/31/qualtek-announces-fourth-quarter-annual-2021-financial-results/
| 2022-04-01T00:31:58Z
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BOSTON — Last week marked a month since Russia invaded Ukraine. Since the beginning of the conflict, millions of Ukrainians have been displaced. However, Juan Gilces Coronel, manager of Global Jewry and Israel for Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, received some good news when a colleague informed him that 39 people with disabilities had been evacuated to CJP’s sister city of Dnipro en route to going further west.
“A lot of people are coming to Dnipro, not only to seek shelter, but also people in transit,” Gilces Coronel said. “They’re actually able to pick up a train from Dnipro and continue going west. The [Jewish] community [in Dnipro] has been essential to planning this specific type of logistics.”
Greater Boston Jewish community leaders are liaising with counterparts on the ground in Dnipro and elsewhere in Ukraine as they try to get help where it is needed most. To date, the emergency fund launched by CJP following the outbreak of war has raised $2.4 million, with $1.5 million already being put to use on the ground by its partners. According to CJP, more than 24,000 hot meals have been distributed in Dnipro, with three tons of food delivered to other communities.
“Evacuations are happening on a daily basis,” Gilces Coronel said. “People in the community are evacuating, I think in the hundreds every single day. It’s still ongoing. There are still people who can’t evacuate for many reasons.”
A city synagogue and its Jewish community center, the Menorah Center, have been repurposed to help the refugees coming to Dnipro. The city received more than 1,000 refugees over several days last week.
“The [Jewish] community has set up a very professional refugee center,” Gilces Coronel said. “It’s a place to come and be housed, get the food they need, the medical assistance they need, essentially helping vulnerable people, helping them evacuate.”
Other Boston-area Jewish organizations are getting involved, including the JCC of Greater Boston, Action for Post-Soviet Jewry, the Jewish Teen Initiative and Center Makor.
“We’re still providing financial assistance, more than we’ve ever done before,” said APSJ Executive Director Debbie Kardon, “for people to help offset some of the costs, as we get information from people on the ground, our coordinators. From those organizations, we are mobilizing to send things that are needed.”
APSJ mainly helps 300 elderly Jews in Ukraine, who range in age from 65 to over 90, with more women than men. The pensions they receive are frequently the equivalent of $2 to $3 a day.
“It’s a very resilient group, this group,” Kardon said. “Many of them were children during World War II and were evacuated or otherwise involved. They’re probably some of the most resilient, strong, hopeful people I have ever met in my entire life.”
She recalled a scary time when she lost contact with a coordinator in the hard-hit city of Mariupol for several weeks.
As it turned out, Kardon said, “She was just able to be part of a car caravan that left Mariupol last week. After many days, they made it to Dnipro. We are supporting her. She is identifying which elderly were able to make it out and which are still there.”
Center Makor president Vladimir Foygelman is also keeping in touch with colleagues in a challenging situation. He’s in touch with VAAD of Ukraine, a national Jewish federation based in the capital of Kyiv, and its president and executive director, Yosyf Zissels, whom he has known since the early 1990s.
“We’re dear friends,” Foygelman said.
He laments that another friend’s parents cannot leave Kyiv: “For them, it’s very difficult. They’re forced to stay in Kyiv.”
Locally, Center Makor has repurposed its audio-video recording studio to store humanitarian supplies destined for Ukraine.
“The Jewish community awareness here is doing a lot, really a lot,” Foygelman said. “The Jewish community is helping all Ukrainians, including Jews and non-Jews.”
CJP’s Gilces Coronel noted that Dnipro, save for some rocket fire, has escaped the conflict thus far, and that its Jewish community is able to offer assistance to other communities that are closer to the front lines, including in the city of Kharkiv.
“Dnipro has been really fortunate to be currently located not in the front lines of the war,” Gilces Coronel said. “We hear really terrible reports coming from Mariupol, and also of terrible things happening in Kherson, which is not far from Dnipro, a few hours away in driving distance.”
There are concerns that the conflict may escalate. Emily Channell-Justice, director of the Temerty Contemporary Ukraine Program at the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, noted that Ukraine has asked for a no-fly zone.
“For obvious reasons, the U.S. and other NATO allies are hesitant to do this,” she said. “[Vladimir] Putin has threatened to use nuclear weapons if that happens. Certainly, it’s something to be concerned with. We should also recognize there’s a truly massive humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, a massive civilian crisis. The number, I think, is going to skyrocket.”
Currently, the number includes approximately 10,000 Jewish refugees since the start of the conflict, according to Gilces Coronel, who noted that this total could be higher. Citing one of CJP’s partners, the Jewish Agency for Israel, he said that 1,950 Jewish refugees have arrived in Israel, and that around 5,000 are in Jewish Agency facilities in Europe.
“The Jewish Agency, of course, is providing shelter, meeting their needs, getting them processed for aliya,” he said.
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https://jewishjournal.org/2022/03/31/cjp-emergency-fund-for-ukraine-reaches-2-4-million/
| 2022-04-01T00:32:00Z
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8m ago
Knox uses four-birdie run for a one-stroke lead at Texas Open
Russell Knox recorded four straight birdies on the back nine and fired a 7-under 65 on Thursday for a one-shot lead after the opening round of the Valero Texas Open.
The Canadian Press
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Russell Knox recorded four straight birdies on the back nine and fired a 7-under 65 on Thursday for a one-shot lead after the opening round of the Valero Texas Open.
Knox closed out his round with a seven-foot putt to save par at the par-5 18th at TPC San Antonio, and was one shot ahead of Rasmus Hojgaard.
Hojgaard fired a 66 despite a double bogey on his final hole. Matt Kuchar is another stroke back after an opening 5-under 67 and is among a group that includes Denny McCarthy, Aaron Rei and J.J. Spaun.
Defending champ Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy finished at even-par 72. They were outside the top 60 after one round and could flirt with the cut line on Friday.
Bryson DeChambeau had a 1-over 73. After holing a bunker shot for eagle on his 11th hole and following with a birdie on the next, he made bogey on four of his last six holes.
Knox, a 32-year-old Scotsman with two career PGA Tour wins, started his birdie streak at No. 12. All of his birdie putts were inside 10 feet. At the 15th, he was about 20 feet away from a back pin position following his approach and chipped in from the fringe. It was his second chip-in in the round.
“That was one of those kind of bonus birdies that you need when you’re going to have a good day,” Knox said. “Obviously thrilled with the round. It’s been more of the way I want to play.”
Hogjaard, a 21-year-old from Denmark and two-rime winner on the European Tour, had his sights on the first-round lead heading to his closing hole. But, his drive sailed well left of the fairway. It took him four shots to reach the green on the par-4 ninth.
“I had to chip sideways back into the fairway,” he said. “Just was a little too aggressive after that. Yeah, short-sided myself and I didn’t get up and down and suddenly you walk away with double-bogey. Yeah, that was a bit annoying, but it happens.”
Kuchar was 5 under after 11 holes. Thirty feet away from the pin on the next hole, he failed to get up and down and missed a seven-foot putt for par. He got a shot back with a birdie on his 14th hole, and parred out, falling short in a bid to match his season-best round of 64 at the Sony Open, where he finished in the top 10.
“A lot of good and bad that can happen here on this course,” Kuchar said. “I was kind of managing early on in the round and then found a little something on about the fifth or sixth hole. I started having some birdie chances and converted on a few late in my first nine.”
Kuchar has won nine times on the PGA Tour. McCarthy, Rai and Spaun are looking for their first.
___
More AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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https://www.tsn.ca/russell-knox-one-stroke-lead-valero-texas-open-1.1779295
| 2022-04-01T00:32:00Z
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https://www.leafly.com/brands/high-grade-az/products/high-grade-az-chocolope-sugar-wax-1g-solvent
| 2022-04-01T00:31:59Z
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A dissertation is a piece of paper based on the finding of your research. Narrowing down the right topic for your dissertation is a demanding task. As a student of M.Ed, you have to choose a unique yet effective topic for the education domain as it is a vast field. You have to put extra effort into selecting your dissertation topic as it will directly impact your final grades.
Dissertation writing is a long and tiresome task that requires your time and effort, so it is crucial to choose your dissertation topic wisely. Selecting a dissertation topic requires some research to understand how relevant your chosen topic is and how much you are interested in the chosen topic. Choosing the best dissertation topic takes time; if you need expert help, you can opt for dissertation writing services to write a remarkable dissertation for you. Here are some tips to help you choose the right title for your dissertation.
Narrow Down Relevant Topic:
For writing an incredible dissertation, you must choose a familiar topic because you will be graded on the basis of how well you have written your dissertation. So, find interesting topics for your dissertation and select the topic that holds the most of your interest. It will give the potential to add some quality content to your dissertation. Find the research gaps to fill in with your incredible research in education.
Choose Something Different:
After narrowing down the relevant topics, look for the most recent and already-researched domains. Avoid selecting the most commonly used topic for a dissertation as it will only increase the chances of plagiarism, affecting your dissertation and grades.
Do Your Own Research:
Once you choose your topic, thoroughly research your own topic to collect the data, as in this way, you can ensure that you have selected the right topic. This way, you can find out how much information is needed to complete your dissertation, and you will find ways to expand your research and support your arguments. Do not use research questions that could be answered as yes or no. Opt for the questions that can help you get the relevant content for your research.
Avoid Being Vague:
Dissertation writing is a long research process that requires keen interest and clear concepts, so the topic should be broad enough to explore. Follow a clear structure as it will contribute to the argumentation that you will write in your dissertation. Do not select a too-small topic to meet your dissertation word count.
Be Objective:
Be considerate of the output of your idea; once you have finalized your topic, critically analyze your topic as a third person to know the consequences of your topic to make sure you are not holding onto a weak topic. If things go awry, you will have enough time to develop a new topic. Knowing the pros and cons of your chosen topic will ease you in creating arguments.
Ask for Advice:
After narrowing down the dissertation topic, take advice from your supervisor as they are assigned to guide you throughout your dissertation. So ask for feedback as your supervisor has years of experience in academics; he/she can guide you in adding some unique content to your dissertation. You can also ask for feedback from your seniors who have already gone through this tiresome process; to know what helps them write a good thesis and what you should do to avoid the mistakes they have made.
Choosing the right dissertation topic is essential because it will determine how long your research will be. The above-mentioned guide can help you in selecting the best dissertation topic. However, if you are still nervous and confused about which topic you should choose for the dissertation to stand out and how you should write the dissertation to get a good grade in your final year, you can take help from dissertation writing services.
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https://thekatynews.com/2022/03/31/how-to-choose-the-right-title-for-m-ed-dissertation/
| 2022-04-01T00:32:01Z
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Bus Evacuation Drill Today
Wayne County Schools will be conducting their third of four state-mandated bus evacuation drills on Wednesday, March 30 at 3:05 p.m. The regular routes and parent pick-up will run on the same schedule, as usual. The bus...
z93country.com
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2556493040440/bus-evacuation-drill-today
| 2022-04-01T00:32:01Z
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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
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https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/verify/money-verify/biden-projects-trillion-dollar-deficit-reduction-largest-ever/536-82b0158e-0851-49dd-a546-3dbef252c761
| 2022-04-01T00:32:01Z
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With just over a week to go until Opening Day, the Rockies' lineup is starting to take shape.
Recent additions of Kris Bryant, who signed a seven-year, $182 million deal with the Rockies, and Randal Grichuk, who was traded for Raimel Tapia, give the Rockies a boost in power. The Rockies have decided to not have a go-to designated hitter, and instead will rotate depending on pitching matchups and who needs a day off.
Here's how the Rockies are predicted to line up on April 8 against Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler:
1. RF: Charlie Blackmon. Rockies are going back to what works, sending Blackmon back to his old leadoff spot, a spot he held from 2014-2018. Blackmon is also a candidate for designated hitter, but has said that he doesn't want to be "half a player." He'll still see time as the DH.
2. 2B: Brendan Rodgers. After a breakout 2021, Rodgers has more than earned his spot as a daily starter. Some back tightness kept him out of a few games during spring training, but the expectation is that he'll be good to go come April 8.
3. LF: Kris Bryant. He's here because of his bat, and the new guy will find himself in the middle of the order. A natural third baseman, Bryant will shift to left so Ryan McMahon can keep his corner.
First at-bat in a #Rockies uniform, first hit for Kris Bryant pic.twitter.com/7Jh7xhEcoP
— Danielle Allentuck (@d_allentuck) March 22, 2022
4. 1B: C.J. Cron. Rockies took a chance on Cron in 2021, who was coming off a year of injuries. That investment paid off, and they watched him soar in the second half of the season.
5. 3B: Ryan McMahon. McMahon plays gold-glove caliber defense at third, but needs to find a way to stay consistent at the plate. He started off hot last year, but teetered off as the year went on.
6. CF: Randal Grichuk. Rockies wanted more power, so they traded a centerfielder for a centerfielder. He hit 22 home runs in 2021. That number will surely jump up now that he's playing half his games at Coors Field.
7. C: Elias Díaz. After a poor start, Díaz hit a surprise 18 home runs last year.
8. DH: Connor Joe. Joe emerged at the end of 2021, but doesn't have an obvious field position. He'll see time at first and left field, possibly even right. Rockies will find any way to get him into the lineup.
9. SS: José Iglesias. His defense is his main attraction. He hit .271 with the Angels and the Red Sox last year, providing a boost for the latter in their playoff push.
SP: Germán Márquez: He doesn't have to hit anymore, but he has his bat ready just in case.
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https://gazette.com/sports/colorado-rockies/predicting-how-the-rockies-will-line-up-on-opening-day-against-the-dodgers/article_6e186136-b124-11ec-adcf-93405fcc7b32.html
| 2022-04-01T00:32:01Z
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — The owner of a downtown Los Angeles building where an explosion injured 12 firefighters has been allowed to enter a judicial diversion program that allows him to avoid jail time and potentially have all charges dismissed.
A court commissioner on Wednesday granted the diversion request for Steve Sungho Lee. He and his companies must pay more than $125,000 in investigative fees, make sure the property meets fire and building codes and arranging for Fire Department training.
Lee owned a commercial building on East Boyd Street in the city's Toy District that caught fire on May 16, 2020. Firefighters had to run for their lives when a ball of flames shot out the building and scorched a fire truck across the street.
Firefighters inside the building had to run through a wall of flames he estimated as 30 feet (9 meters) high and wide, and those on the roof scrambled down a ladder that was engulfed in fire.
Fire officials said the building was a warehouse for Smoke Tokes, a wholesale distributor of supplies for smoking and vaping products including butane hash oil, a concentrated cannabis extract that can be eaten, smoked or vaped. Highly flammable butane is used in the manufacturing process.
Most of the injured firefighters still haven't returned to work and one, Capt. Victor Aguirre, was hospitalized for more than two months and all of his fingers had to be partially amputated, according to a lawsuit he filed against the building and business owners.
Aguirre alleged that the area contained “hundreds of illegally and improperly stored butane canisters and thousands of illegally and improperly stored nitrous oxide cylinders.”
A fire department report concluded that the blaze, which spread to a nearby building, was fueled by an “excessive quantity” of the containers.
Investigators from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives concluded that the fire started under a storage rack in the building and that a worker with a lit cigarette was seen in the area. The cause of the fire was ruled accidental.
However, city prosecutors filed more than 300 misdemeanor charges of violating fire and safety codes against Lee, his companies and owners of businesses in the building and nearby properties. That included more than 160 counts against Lee and his companies.
If Lee meets all conditions of his judicial diversion program for two years, the charges will be dismissed.
“Mr. Lee will be deemed by law to have never been charged," said his attorney, Blair Berk. “The exhaustive federal investigation of the tragic fire objectively concluded that the cause was accidental, and there was no finding of any wrongdoing by Mr. Lee or his companies.”
City Attorney Mike Feuer opposed diversion for Lee, noting the severity of the fire, the injuries suffered by the firefighters and Lee's alleged failure “to take steps which could have mitigated the extent of the blaze."
The owners of Smoke Tokes and another business, Green Buddha, agreed in November 2020 to pay $139,000 each to cover investigative costs and to move out of the building. Charges against them were later dismissed.
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https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/No-jail-for-LA-building-owner-over-explosion-that-17049830.php
| 2022-04-01T00:32:02Z
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Star Royalties Announces Strategic Investment by Agnico Eagle into Green Star Royalties
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- STRR
- STRFF
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 31, 2022 / Star Royalties Ltd. (the "Company" or "Star Royalties") (TSX-V:STRR)(OTCQX:STRFF) is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") of 15,384,620 common shares ("Green Star Shares") of its subsidiary, Green Star Royalties Ltd. ("Green Star Royalties"), at a price of C$1.00 per Green Star Share. Agnico Eagle Mines Limited ("Agnico Eagle") (AEM) has agreed to purchase 14,134,620 Green Star Shares for an aggregate purchase price of C$14.13 million. The Company's management team and Board of Directors (collectively, "Management") have agreed to purchase concurrently the remaining 1,250,000 Green Star Shares in the Private Placement for an aggregate purchase price of C$1.25 million.
Upon completion of the Private Placement, Green Star Royalties will have approximately 40.4 million Green Star Shares issued and outstanding, which will be owned in the approximate amounts as follows: 61.9% by Star Royalties, 35% by Agnico Eagle and 3.1% by Management.
The Private Placement is expected to close in April 2022 and is subject to certain closing conditions, including (i) the receipt of all necessary approvals of the TSX Venture Exchange, (ii) the satisfactory completion of due diligence by Agnico Eagle, (iii) the negotiation of a unanimous shareholders agreement among the shareholders of Green Star Royalties and a co-investment agreement pursuant to which Agnico Eagle will have the right to co-invest with Green Star Royalties in green projects, and (iv) the entering into of a management agreement between Green Star Royalties and Star Royalties.
Investment Highlights
Cornerstone shareholder: Agnico Eagle, a senior Canadian gold mining company, will become a 35% shareholder of Green Star Royalties and have certain rights to co-invest alongside Green Star Royalties.
Significant recognition of value: The Private Placement values the Company's 61.9% ownership of Green Star Royalties at C$25 million.
Pathway to grow Green Star Royalties: The Private Placement is expected to accelerate the Company's ability to pursue larger green opportunities and to establish a substantial pure-green royalty company that should attract capital from both generalist and ESG-focused investors.
Alex Pernin, Chief Executive Officer of Star Royalties, commented: "We are thrilled to establish a strategic relationship with Agnico Eagle and we look forward to jointly maximizing the potential of Green Star Royalties. We recognize the alignment between our and Agnico Eagle's commitments to sustainability and we welcome their expertise as not only a highly reputable senior Canadian gold mining company, but also a global ESG leader in their industry. The Private Placement supports the growing valuation of Green Star Royalties and represents a strong endorsement of our green royalty business model. We believe this support for our green strategy and increased scale following the Private Placement should accelerate our growth, which we expect would lead to a lower cost of capital going forward."
"Green Star Royalties is focused on the origination of top-quality carbon sequestration projects that will contribute to the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions. We innovated the first forest carbon credit royalty and we recently announced a scalable carbon credit royalty in regenerative agriculture with our partner Blue Source LLC, North America's leading carbon offset developer and marketer. We are also in discussions with respect to several significant regenerative agriculture and forestry carbon credit opportunities in North America that we intend to advance aggressively following the closing of the Private Placement."
Rationale for the Creation of Green Star Royalties
Since its inception, Star Royalties has been committed to funding sustainable environmental solutions for a carbon neutral economy and continues to view ESG-related investments as a highly scalable business model with attractive returns. As part of its original portfolio development strategy, Star Royalties targeted a long-term 80% capital allocation to precious metals with the remaining 20% reserved for predominantly green investments, including the development of carbon offset credit projects (nature-based and renewable energies) and green technology opportunities (diesel usage displacement).
Following the overwhelmingly positive response thus far to the Company's innovative green royalty model, numerous origination opportunities, and the superior potential returns, on October 18, 2021 Star Royalties announced the creation of a new subsidiary, Green Star Royalties, with the sole purpose to accelerate the growth of its green portfolio beyond the initial limitations of its 80/20 allocation framework.
A more rapid build-out of the green investment strategy will allow Star Royalties to maximize its strong relationships and first-mover advantage in carbon offset credit and ESG-related investments. The Company's current vision is to use existing management, infrastructure and oversight to grow Green Star Royalties at a minimal cost as a private subsidiary and, subject to market conditions, unlock additional value when an appropriate public market valuation is achieved.
About Agnico Eagle
Agnico Eagle is a senior Canadian gold mining company, producing precious metals from operations in Canada, Australia, Finland and Mexico. It has a pipeline of high-quality exploration and development projects in these countries as well as in the United States and Colombia.
CONTACT INFORMATION
For more information, please visit our website at starroyalties.com or contact:
Alex Pernin, P.Geo.
Chief Executive Officer and
apernin@starroyalties.com
+1 647 801 3549
Dmitry Kushnir, CFA
Director Head of Investor Relations
dkushnir@starroyalties.com
+1 647 287 3846
ABOUT STAR ROYALTIES LTD.
Star Royalties Ltd. is a precious metals and green royalty and streaming investment company. The Company created the world's first carbon negative gold royalty platform and offers investors gold exposure with an increasingly negative carbon footprint. The Company's objective is to provide wealth creation through accretive transaction structuring and asset life extension with superior alignment to both counterparties and shareholders.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
Certain statements in this news release may constitute "forward-looking statements", including those regarding future market conditions for carbon offset credits. Forward-looking statements are statements that address or discuss activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates may occur in the future. When used in this news release, words such as "estimates", "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "will", "believes", "intends" "should", "could", "may" and other similar terminology are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are made based upon certain assumptions and other important factors that, if untrue, could cause the actual results, performances or achievements of Star Royalties and Green Star Royalties to be materially different from future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily be an accurate indication of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results, performances or achievements to differ materially from such forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, changes in business plans and strategies, the ability of the parties to complete the Private Placement, market conditions, ongoing market disruptions caused by the Ukraine and Russian conflict, carbon pricing and carbon tax legislation and regulations, risks inherent to the development of the ESG-related investments and the creation, marketability and sale of carbon offset credits by the parties, the potential value of mandatory and voluntary carbon markets and carbon offset credits, including carbon offsets, risks inherent to royalty companies, title and permitting matters, operation and development risks relating to the parties which develop, market and sell the carbon offset credits from which Green Star Royalties will receive royalty payments, regulatory restrictions, activities by governmental authorities (including changes in taxation), currency fluctuations, the global, federal and provincial social and economic climate in particular with respect to addressing and reducing global warming, natural disasters and global pandemics, dilution, and competition. These risks, as well as others, could cause actual results and events to vary significantly. Accordingly, readers should exercise caution in relying upon forward-looking statements and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise them to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law.
SOURCE: Star Royalties Ltd.
View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/695591/Star-Royalties-Announces-Strategic-Investment-by-Agnico-Eagle-into-Green-Star-Royalties
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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/star-royalties-announces-strategic-investment-231000835.html
| 2022-04-01T00:32:02Z
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Hey, current NFL free agents!
Do you want to win? Do you want to help build something special? And do you want to get paid?
Then Robby Anderson and the Carolina Panthers might have a deal for you!
On Thursday morning, the 28-year-old wideout sent out a pretty simple recruiting pitch for any remaining players out on the open market. If you’re looking for dubs, camaraderie and cash—look no further, apparently . . .
All current @NFL free agents we are looking to win and build and get paid get at us @Panthers
— Robby Anderson (@chosen1ra) March 31, 2022
Say what you will about Anderson’s 2021 campaign—because, surely, it wasn’t great. He finished an emotion-filled season with career-lows in receiving yards (519) and yards per reception (9.8).
But you can’t say the wideout has never been down for the cause. From his callout of the team’s “fake fans” to his aspirations of actually being in the playoffs instead of watching them from his couch, Anderson has his focus locked in on a bounce-back 2022.
To Carolina’s credit, they’ve quietly done quite a job in free agency. Additions such as offensive linemen Austin Corbett and Bradley Bozeman, linebackers Damien Wilson and Cory Littleton, defensive lineman Matt Ioannidis, safety Xavier Woods as well as new deals for cornerback Donte Jackson and his buddy DJ Moore have the Panthers pretty well set up thus far.
Is there, however, more to come for the team with almost $9 million worth of cap space more than the next closest front office in the NFL?
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https://pantherswire.usatoday.com/2022/03/31/panthers-wr-robby-anderson-free-agency/
| 2022-04-01T00:32:02Z
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Here’s How To Adjust Your Motorcycle’s Saggy Chain
We won’t cut you any slack for a saggy chain.
Spring is around the corner and any motorcyclist who’s been forced to put their pride and joy into hibernation all winter is probably starting to get jittery. As horrible as it feels to be forced off two wheels, there is a silver lining to all this: You have the chance to get your bike as ready for the road as you are. Think of this as preseason training, but for your motorcycle.
One of the best parts of riding a bike is the feeling of connectivity. You’re one with the machine you straddle, and that feeling starts with the link between your wrist and the rear wheel. But once your chain sags below the manufacturer’s recommended range, so too does the relationship between you and your motorcycle.
Thankfully, tightening your chain isn’t a big job if you know what you’re doing, and The Drive’s crack team of experts are here to walk you through it step by step.
The Drive and its partners may earn a commission if you purchase a product through one of our links. Read more.
Adjusting Your Chain Basics
Estimated Time Needed: 15 minutes
Skill Level: Beginner
Vehicle System: Chain
Chain Adjustment Safety
Working on your bike can be dangerous and messy, so here’s exactly what you’ll need to ensure you don’t die, get maimed, or lose a finger and that you keep your jeans, shirt, and skin spotless — hopefully.
Everything You’ll Need To Adjust Your Chain
We’re not psychic, nor are we snooping through your toolbox or garage, so here’s exactly what you’ll need to get the job done.
Tool List
- Wrench set
- Torque wrench
- Ruler or chain slack measuring tool
- Rubber mallet
- Chain alignment tool
- Rear stand (maybe)
Organizing your tools and gear so everything is easily reachable will save precious minutes waiting for your handy-dandy child or four-legged helper to bring you the sandpaper or blowtorch. (You won't need a blowtorch for this job. Please don’t have your kid hand you a blowtorch—Ed.)
You’ll also need a flat workspace, such as a garage floor, driveway, or street parking. Check your local laws to make sure you’re not violating any codes when using the street because we aren’t getting your ride out of the clink.
Here’s How To Adjust A Motorcycle Chain
Let’s do this!
1. Get Set Up
Depending on your bike, you’ll either need to check the chain slack with it on its side stand, center stand/paddock stand, or with someone sitting on it (check your owner’s manual to see what the manufacturer recommends). Make sure your motorcycle is in neutral and that the chain and sprockets are in good condition before starting the adjustment.
2. Know Your Measurements
Refer to your owner’s manual to see what your chain slack should be. You might also find this information on the bike’s swingarm. Having 1.2-1.6 inches (30-40 mm) of slack is normal for most street bikes, but adventure and dirt bikes might need 1.4-2 inches (35-50 mm).
3. Check the Slack
Find the midway point between the front sprocket and rear axle bolt, as this is where you’ll measure the chain slack. Look for any tight spots in your chain by rotating the wheel and checking the chain slack at intervals. You should measure your chain’s free play from its tightest spot. At this spot, push the chain to its lowest and highest points and measure.
You can measure with a ruler or a chain slack measurement tool. If you’re using a ruler, push the chain to its lowest point and place the ruler at the link pin before moving the chain to its highest point and taking note.
4. Loosen the Axle Nut
Using a torque wrench, loosen the bike's axle nut enough for the axle to move freely, but don’t completely remove the nut. If you only have a short wrench, then you might need to give it a little bit of percussive persuasion (using your foot).
5. Adjust Your Chain
Different bikes will have different mechanisms to tighten the chain, but the principle remains the same. You’ll usually need two wrenches and a torque wrench, but some will require an Allen wrench instead of open wrenches. Most bikes will have a lock nut and an adjustment nut. First, you’ll need to loosen the lock nuts on both sides, and then you can start using the adjustment nuts to tighten your chain.
When tightening your chain, only move the adjustment nut a quarter turn at a time, then do the same on the other side. Ensuring that you make incremental, equal changes will help you keep your axle aligned (assuming it was when you began).
6. Recheck Your Slack
Every time you adjust the adjustment nuts by a quarter turn on each side, check the chain slack. Keep an eye on the indicators along the axle’s groove and ensure that the axle position matches on both sides. Repeat this process until your chain slack meets the manufacturer’s recommendations.
7. Make it Tight
Once you’ve correctly adjusted your chain, you can grab your rubber mallet and give the back of your tire a whack inwards (if you don’t have a mallet, check out some of our pro tips below). This ensures the axle and adjusters have made solid contact. Now check your chain’s free play again, and if it’s still correct, tighten the axle using your torque wrench and the lock nuts with your open wrench.
Tighten the axle nut to the recommended torque value (refer to owner’s manual) and make sure that you don’t alter the wheel’s alignment as you tighten it. Finally, check your chain slack one last time to ensure it didn’t change when you secured everything.
8. Straight as an Arrow
Before hitting the road, you need to make sure your wheel is properly aligned. Fit a chain alignment tool to a chain link that’s sitting on the top of your sprocket. Check the metal prong to ensure your chain is straight, but if it’s not, you’ll need to adjust your axle accordingly using the adjustment nuts.
Pro Tips to Adjust Your Chain
Here are a few tips to help guide you during the process.
- If you’re preparing your bike for a trip with a pillion, you’ll need to leave some extra play in your chain, as the added weight will cause your rear shock to compress more than usual.
- When pushing the chain upward, don’t do it with so much force that it lifts the section of the chain that sits above the swingarm. As soon as this section becomes taught, stop pushing upward.
- If you’ve loosened your bike’s axle nut but still can’t get it to budge in the direction you need, it’s time to give your tire a few encouraging love taps with a rubber mallet.
- If you don’t have a mallet to move your wheel inwards, you can place a screwdriver, Allen wrench, or a rag between your chain and sprocket and roll the wheel backward. This will cause the chain to tighten and pull the wheel inwards.
- If you don’t have a chain alignment tool, you can measure the distance from the axle bolt to the swingarm pivot point on both sides to see if your wheel is aligned properly.
- Even if your owner’s manual recommends adjusting your bike’s chain with the back wheel off the ground, it’s always best to check it again with the bike fully loaded. This includes any luggage you’ll carry and pillion passengers.
Video
Check out the video below, in which Ari Henning adjusts the chain on a Kawazaki Z125. As you can see, adjusting any motorcycle chain follows the same principles, whether it's a Z125 or an R1. He also shows you how to use the rag trick to tighten the axle against the adjustment nut.
FAQs About Adjusting a Motorcycle Chain
You’ve got questions. The Drive has answers!
Q. How often does a motorcycle chain need to be adjusted?
A. Check your chain slack every 500 to 1,000 miles and adjust it if necessary. Dirt bike chains need to be checked and adjusted more frequently than street bikes.
Q. How do I know if my motorcycle chain is too loose?
A. If your chain is too loose, then you might hear a grating or clicking noise as it runs over the sprockets. You might also hear the chain lash as it makes contact with the swingarm or chain guard when you accelerate or decelerate. A chain with too much free play will cause a jerky motion when you apply the throttle, as it goes from slack to taut.
Q. What happens when the chain is too tight on a motorcycle?
A. A chain that’s too tight will put excess pressure on the bike’s components, like the sprockets, and cause them to wear out more quickly. A tight chain also makes a bike’s engine work harder due to the force working against the engine through the front sprocket. Your motorcycle’s suspension will also be subjected to more resistance and might not work to its full potential. Finally, because a tight chain places more stress on the chain itself, it’ll cause it to wear out more quickly and could even result in it snapping while you’re riding.
Q. Does a motorcycle chain get tighter when you sit on the bike?
A. In short, yes. When you sit on a motorcycle, you compress the suspension. Compressing the rear suspension increases the distance between the front and rear sprockets, thus making the chain tighter.
Let’s Talk: Comment Below and Reach Out to the Guides & Gear Editors!
We’re here to be expert guides in everything How-To related. Use us, compliment us, yell at us. Comment below and let’s talk!
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https://www.thedrive.com/news/44773/heres-how-to-adjust-your-motorcycles-saggy-chain
| 2022-04-01T00:32:02Z
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https://dan.com/buy-domain/alishoubiao.com
| 2022-04-01T00:32:02Z
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Britain will send £1.3billion in aid to countries that won't join us in condemning Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine
- Britain will send over £1billion in aid to countries who have not criticised Putin
- China and India will receive millions despite abstaining from condemning Russia
- Tory MP said foreign aid policy should be reviewed as a 'matter of urgency'
Britain is sending £1.3billion of aid to countries which have failed to criticise Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.
Last month the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to condemn the aggression and call for an immediate withdrawal.
Of the 40 countries who either voted against the motion or abstained, 37 received development cash in 2021/22. Among those to abstain were China, handed £12.4million, and India and Pakistan, given £57.8million and £142.7million respectively.
All three countries have been accused of being far too close to Vladimir Putin since he sent in his troops – India has even set up a system to help Russia avoid the impact of Western sanctions. Millions have also been sent into Belarus, Eritrea, North Korea and Syria, even though their governments explicitly supported the invasion.
Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen (pictured) said the Foreign Office needed to review the allocations 'as a matter of urgency’, after it was revealed that Britain will send £1.3billion in aid to countries that didn't condemn Putin
Britain will still send millions to India, China and Pakistan despite the countries not condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Last night Tories demanded the Foreign Office, which now runs Britain’s aid programme, reviews its spending. Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen said: ‘Why on Earth would we want to be giving these countries aid, when they do not even vote to condemn the invasion of Ukraine?
‘The whole point of taking aid into the Foreign Office was that our aid programme would align with our foreign policy objectives. The Foreign Office clearly need to review these allocations as a matter of urgency.’
Just four countries sided with Russia in the UN vote – and all are recipients of British aid in 2021/22. Belarus received £80,000 and North Korea £15,000 to support postgraduate students willing to study in the UK.
Eritrea got £680,000 towards this same scheme and a humanitarian response fund. Some £53.5millon went to those caught up in the Syrian conflict, despite the country’s president Bashar al-Assad praising Russia’s invasion as a ‘correction of history’ and accusing the West of using ‘dirty methods to support terrorist in Syria and Nazis in Ukraine’.
The result of the UN vote to condemn Vladimir Putin, in which five countries voted against and 34 abstained
The £12.4million sent to China, which has said it understands Russia’s ‘legitimate security concerns’ over the eastern expansion of Nato, includes funds towards the China Prosperity Fund programme. It aims to bring British and Chinese businesses together and help China’s ‘transition to an inclusive, sustainable and productive economy’.
Aid money also went towards tackling the illegal wildlife trade, reducing poverty, promoting offshore renewable energy, and reducing the number of pigs catching influenza.
India, which gets 70 per cent of its arms from Russia, has remained studiously neutral in the war. Prime minister Narendra Modi has set up a mechanism to trade with Russia using rupees to avoid sanctions.
Last year Britain gave the country £57.8million towards projects to explore the ‘politics of hope’, to ensure low-income migrants get services in newly-expanding towns, and the survival of local foods in the city of Rampur. Other schemes concern the establishment of creches and a study of the way poverty and gender affect access to services.
Pakistan has also remained neutral and its prime minister, Imran Khan, hit out at the West over its fixation with Ukraine. Britain sent £142.7million to the country in 2021/22 for projects such as the privatisation of its largest commercial bank and a new online retailer.
More than £150,000 was sent to Iran, a country that has blamed the war on Nato provocation.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said last night: ‘We will be setting out aid allocations in due course.’
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10674583/Britain-send-1-3billion-aid-countries-wont-join-condemning-Vladimir-Putin.html
| 2022-04-01T00:32:03Z
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Susan Selby Pepperdine, 74, a longtime independent public relations executive in the Kansas City area, died unexpectedly Saturday, March 26, at home in Fairway, Kansas.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 2, at Unity Temple on the County Club Plaza. A reception at the Sheraton-Kansas City Plaza hotel will be held immediately following the service.
Susan was the consummate professional in her chosen field of work, a tireless advocate for causes both personal and universal, and an unselfishly loyal friend to the many, many people who are cherishing her memory.
She was born Susan Kay Selby on January 23, 1948, to Forrest and Virginia (Backer) Selby in Quincy, Illinois.
After high school there, she earned her Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Missouri in 1969 after just 3 years of studies that also included coursework at Quincy (Illinois) College, William Jewell College and Kansas State University.
Settling in the Kansas City area, she worked at Hallmark Cards and Crown Center Advertising, Marketing Resources of America, Barkley Evergreen and Kansas City Power & Light (now Evergy).
She opened her own firm, Pepperdine and Associates, in 1992, providing public relations and marketing communications for local, national and international clients.
“When I was growing up, my dad – a super salesman himself – always said I was a born promoter,” Susan recalled once. “It’s true, there’s nothing I enjoy more than getting great coverage for one of my clients.”
Beyond work, Susan was very active in spearheading organizations dedicated to humane treatment of animals. She was co-founder and president of Animal-Kind from 1973 to 1986 and on the board of directors of the Humane Society of the United States from 1984 to 1990.
She also was a director of the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame and was active in several military veterans’ groups including Friends in Service of Heroes, the Heartland Honor Flight and the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association.
Susan was a long-time volunteer for the Girl Scouts, worked on child safety with Kids and Cars and was a member of the Kansas City Freelance Exchange. She was also a devoted Jazzercizer.
Susan was preceded in death by her parents, husband Larry Pepperdine, stepfather Noel Campbell, stepbrother Bruce Campbell and her adopted uncle Dorwin Lamkin, whom she met through her involvement with veterans associations.
She is survived by three stepchildren: Kimberly, Cheryl and Bradley; grandchildren Jamie McCarthy (Sean), Veronica Wilson (Brandon) and three great-grandchildren: Logan and Alanna McCarthy and Miles Wilson.
Also surviving are her sister Virginia Dayle Mixer (Devon), brother Kenneth Selby (Carol), stepsisters Kay Criley (David) and Nancy Rude, stepbrother Clark Campbell, two nieces and many cousins.
In lieu of flowers, send donations to Susan’s favorite causes: Planned Parenthood Great Plains, Girl Scouts of Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri, National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame, and Kidsandcars.org.
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https://shawneemissionpost.com/2022/03/31/obituary-susan-pepperdine-143813/
| 2022-04-01T00:32:03Z
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Is Caitlyn Jenner upset that she wasn’t invited to star in The Kardashians, her family’s new Hulu show? One tabloid claims the former Olympian wanted to keep her reality TV career going. Let’s check in on Jenner.
Caitlyn Jenner ‘Seething’ Over Kardashians Snub?
This week, the National Enquirer reports Caitlyn Jenner isn’t pleased to be excluded from her family’s new reality TV show. “Caitlyn may say she’s happy to see her family doing so well with their new show, but privately she’s steaming she wasn’t asked to be part of it,” an insider spills. “It’s a total snub!” Sources say Jenner believes she played a major role in the success of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, so this exclusion is hard for her to swallow.
But apparently, Caitlyn’s ex-wife Kris Jenner isn’t going to let her anywhere near the new show. The tipster reveals that Kris has “never forgiven” Jenner for claiming she was “not entirely comfortable” with their sex life in her 2017 memoir. “Sure there were things Caitlyn didn’t like about the old show, but she’d do the new one in a heartbeat,” the snitch squeals. “And she’s gotten no joy from her daughters and stepdaughters, who go along with Kris because she negotiated them this nine-figure deal!”
Caitlyn Jenner ‘Steaming’ Over ‘The Kardashians’?
We aren’t buying this story for a couple of reasons. First of all, the outlet has no issue using transphobic rhetoric in its article that doesn’t bear repeating. It’s obvious from the magazine’s disrespectful language that it isn’t talking to anyone genuinely close to Caitlyn Jenner, so we have absolutely no reason to take it seriously. But we don’t even need the outlet’s input because we’re far more inclined to believe Jenner’s own words on the matter.
Earlier this month, Jenner tweeted in response to an announcement about The Kardashians: “I was there when this started from day one. I watched it grow. And doing the show for almost 20 seasons was one of the highlights of my life. To be able to work with my family for all those years, connect with the fans, it was incredible. Happy that it continues for my family.”
Then, Jenner doubled down on her support of her family while gently acknowledging that she wishes she could join them on their journey. “Of course at the same time it is unfortunate to not be given the opportunity to continue with the show. With that said, I cannot emphasize enough how happy I am for my family that it continues!” Jenner wrote.
More Hurtful Stories From The Tabloid
This is far from the first time the National Enquirer has attacked Caitlyn Jenner with an insulting story. Last year, the outlet reported Jenner was headed for bankruptcy after her family refused to donate to her political campaign. Then the magazine claimed Jenner was “breaking down” after her run for governor. And more recently, the publication alleged Jenner was in poor health and in critical need of plastic surgery. Obviously, the Enquirer has a bone to pick with Jenner and can’t be trusted to report accurately on the politician.
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https://www.suggest.com/caitlyn-jenner-backstabbed-kardashians-banned-hulu-show/2631336/
| 2022-04-01T00:32:03Z
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WINTERVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) – N.C. Governor Roy Cooper visited Pitt Community College on Thursday. He talked with Pitt Community College students who are recipients of the NC Longleaf Commitment grant.
“Helping people get over the top and get that degree or certificate that they need to get a lot of these new good-paying jobs that we have,” said Cooper. “So we want to make sure that these students have the education and the training that they need to be able to get these jobs. And the Longleaf Commitment grants help provide that.”
Cooper launched the Longleaf Commitment Community College Program grant in 2021. The purpose of the grant is to help community college students from low- and middle-class families still achieve their educational goals.
Seven Pitt Community College students who attended the talk are grant recipients. They talked with the governor about how the grant allows them to continue their education.
“I was able to come here and get my education. So it covers not only my tuition but access codes and you know, just other school supplies,” said Yamileth Espino, a PCC student and grant recipient. “And so since my parents are immigrants, they actually never got a chance to finish high school even maybe not even middle school.
“So it was even more important to me to pursue my education past high school. And so now here I am in college, hopefully going into social work.”
The Longleaf Commitment grant not only impacts the students that attended the governor’s talk but it enhances the PCC community.
“This helps our students to maintain and to graduate from Pitt Community College and hopefully go into the workforce, where they can provide for their families and maybe change even a generation from now,” said Dr. Lawrence Rouse, president of PCC. “So it’s very important that we provide this support for them, it’s an investment into our students that our students can then invest back into their communities.”
For more information about the grant and how to apply, visit North Carolina Longleaf Commitment Grant | NC Community Colleges.
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https://www.wnct.com/on-your-side/school-watch/gov-cooper-congratulates-longleaf-commitment-recipients-at-pcc/
| 2022-04-01T00:32:04Z
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WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – For some people, overdraft fees are a frustrating inconvenience. For others, they pose crippling costs. Some lawmakers now want to change how they’re charged altogether.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney introduced legislation called the “Overdraft Protection Act.” The bill includes provisions to cap the amount and number of fees a bank can charge.
“My bill tries to cut down on these unfair and deceptive practices,” the New York Democrat said.
Advocates like Elyse Crawford-Hicks with Americans for Financial Reform say overdraft fees hit low-income families and people of color the hardest.
“Overdraft fees are paid the most by people who can least afford them,” Crawford-Hicks said.
Others say over-drafting is a useful service because it can function like a short-term loan. Paul Kundert is the CEO of UW Credit Union, which recently reduced their overdraft fees and put more limits on how they charge them.
“When prices are fair, we believe consumers do benefit from access to the credit provided by overdraft fees,” Kundert said.
Recently, major banks like Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Bank of America have made changes themselves, by reducing their overdraft fees or eliminating them altogether.
Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, says that demonstrates the legislation is unnecessary.
“The market is naturally, naturally taking care of the issue without government intervention. And we do not need more rules from Washington,” Williams said.
Because banks make billions of dollars in revenue from overdraft fees, George Mason University Foundation Professor of Law Todd Zywicki argues the proposed changes would cost consumers.
“We’ll see higher bank fees, we’ll see higher minimum monthly deposits as basically insurance against over-drafting and we will see a loss of access to free checking,” Zywicki said.
Lawmakers like Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., are promising to continue pushing for the reforms.
“How can we perform such an abusive and predatory practice that punishes people simply for being poor?” Pressley said.
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https://www.wowktv.com/news/washington-dc/bill-seeks-to-put-cap-on-overdraft-fees/
| 2022-04-01T00:32:05Z
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