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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.middletownpress.com/sports/article/Knox-uses-4-birdie-run-for-a-one-stroke-lead-at-17049836.php
| 2022-04-01T00:38:50Z
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https://dan.com/buy-domain/hudakaoyan.com
| 2022-04-01T00:38:50Z
|
BERLIN (AP) — Germany says it has brought home 10 women and 27 children from a camp in northeastern Syria where suspected members of the Islamic State group have been held.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the group was repatriated from the Roj camp on Wednesday in what she called an “extremely difficult” operation. She said some of the mothers were taken into custody immediately after arriving in Germany.
“The 27 children are, at the end of the day, victims of IS, and they have a right to a better future far from its deadly ideology, and also to live in security, as we would wish for our own children,” Baerbock said in a statement. “The mothers must be held accountable for their actions.”
Germany previously repatriated 23 children and their eight mothers from Roj in October. At the same time, neighboring Denmark brought home 14 children and three women.
Baerbock thanked Kurdish authorities in Syria and “our U.S. partners, who once again provided us with logistical support.”
With Wednesday’s operation, “the majority of the German children whose mothers are willing to return to Germany have been brought to safety,” she said. “There are now only a few special cases for which we are continuing to work on individual solutions.”
Federal prosecutors said Thursday that four women had been arrested on arrival at Frankfurt Airport — three German citizens, identified in line with local privacy rules only as Nadine K., Gulseren T. and Emilie R., and a German-Moroccan dual citizen identified as Fatiha B.
All are accused of membership in a foreign terrorist organization and Nadine K. of other crimes — including keeping a Yazidi woman as a slave who allegedly was regularly sexually assaulted by the suspect’s husband, with her knowledge. Prosecutors said they traveled separately to Syria or Iraq in 2014 and joined IS.
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https://www.mystateline.com/news/international/germany-repatriates-women-children-from-syrian-camp/
| 2022-04-01T00:38:50Z
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Skippy Foods, LLC has recalled more than 9,000 cases of peanut butter "due to the possibility that a limited number of jars may contain a small fragment of stainless steel from a piece of manufacturing equipment," the company said in an announcement Thursday.
The specific Skippy brands included Skippy Reduced Fat Creamy Peanut Butter Spread, Skippy Reduced Fat Chunky Peanut Butter Spread and Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter Blended With Plant Protein all with "best if used by dates" of early May 2023. Those dates are located at the top of the lid.
The company said there have been no consumer complaints related to this issue and the recall is voluntary.
All retailers that received these particular products have been notified, the company said.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
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https://www.kdlg.org/as-heard-on-npr/2022-03-31/recall-issued-for-thousands-of-skippy-peanut-butter-cases-due-to-steel-fragments
| 2022-04-01T00:38:51Z
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https://www.leafly.com/brands/io-extracts/products/io-extracts-707-headband-sauce-1g-solvent
| 2022-04-01T00:38:51Z
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jeff Walz has had a lot of success getting players to transfer to Louisville over the last few years, including three starters on his Final Four team this season.
He’s not the only coach in the Final Four who has bolstered the roster by using the transfer portal as both South Carolina and UConn have found supplemental players from it.
Still Walz, Dawn Staley and Geno Auriemma think the amount of players looking to change schools is getting out of control.
“I always like to say, ‘The grass is greener on the other side because it’s fertilized with a bunch of bull,’” Louisville coach Jeff Walz said. “I think there are a lot of players that will jump into the portal after one year that don’t really have a good grasp of why they’re doing it.”
Staley likened the portal to Twitter, Instagram or TikTok.
“It’s a big ol’ fad that just keeps continuing,” she said. “Is it out of hand? It absolutely is. I don’t know how you control it. But it’s their way. It’s their way of controlling their own destinies.”
Both Staley and Auriemma noted that there were currently more players seeking to transfer than there were scholarships available across the country.
“You know those 850 people in the portal? Three hundred of them are not going to find a school to go to because they’re going to realize it’s not the school they just left,” Auriemma said.
Despite the reservations, they’re still playing along. Emily Engstler (Syracuse), Kianna Smith (California) and Chelsie Hall (Vanderbilt) have been key for Louisville. Engstler and Hall just joined the program this season.
When Engstler was considering the Cardinals, Walz went to Mykasa Robinson to discuss how her role would likely shrink if Engstler were to come and gauge her comfort level.
“She looked at me, and she’s like, ‘I’m tired of guarding her. If we can get her, yes, because she likes to win, and she wants to play with other good players,’” Walz said.
SOUTH CAROLINA SUPPORT
The Gamecocks have led the nation in average attendance for seven straight years, buoyed by a base of more than 10,000 season tickets. Despite the 1,200-mile distance from campus to downtown Minneapolis, there will be plenty of garnet-and-black-clad South Carolina fans voicing their support on Friday night when the Gamecocks take on Louisville.
“They’ve been with us when we weren’t a popular team or we weren’t a whole lot to cheer about,” Staley said. “This is my 14th year being at South Carolina, but the last probably 10, the fans have given us a ride that’s kind of irreplaceable.”
One of the catalysts for the attendance boom was giving fans as much as access to the program as they could, to build relationships and let the locals get to know the players as people.
“You really feel the love in the community,” guard Brea Beal said. “You can go to the store and run into somebody and they’re like, oh my gosh, just freaking out. It’s like a family.”
FOND MEMORY
Walz spent one season at Minnesota on his climb up the coaching ladder, serving as an assistant under current Maryland coach Brenda Frese.
That was 20 years ago, when Hall of Fame finalist Lindsay Whalen was a sophomore for the Gophers on a breakthrough team that reached the Final Four two seasons later. The women’s team at that time played in a smaller gym, the Pavilion, next door to Williams Arena where the Minnesota men’s team has played since 1928.
A water pipe burst that winter, moving the women’s team into the bigger venue. The Gophers were on a roll, and the first game in the building known as “The Barn” was packed to the rafters.
“From that point on, we continued the rest of the season playing in the Barn in front of unbelievable crowds,” Walz said.
___
More AP coverage of March Madness: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
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https://www.thestar.com/sports/basketball/ncaa/2022/03/31/final-four-coaches-feel-transfer-portal-is-out-of-control.html
| 2022-04-01T00:38:52Z
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Uganda ends mandatory Covid-19 border tests
Thursday March 31 2022
Travellers entering Uganda will no longer be required to test for Covid-19 at its border points as long as they are fully vaccinated, the health authorities have announced.
The government has also ordered private laboratories conducting the tests at various points of entry to vacate the premises.
The directives are contained in a letter dated March 28 by the director-general of Health Services at the Ministry of Health, Dr Henry Mwebesa. It is addressed to district health officers in border districts like Busia, Tororo, Kasese, Kabale, and Ntungamo.
“Covid-19 results are currently not required for fully vaccinated travellers, including truck drivers, to cross the land border of entry. This is, therefore, to request all private labs to exit border points of entry premises immediately as it is no longer necessary to conduct any Covid-19 tests at the border points,” Dr Mwebesa wrote.
The move, he said, is to ensure that Kampala complies with the East African Community Council of Minister’s directive for the meeting held in January, in which it was agreed to ease inter-country pandemic restrictions to fast-track regional economic recovery.
In a notice to the public dated March 29, Dr Mwebesa said that a top management meeting between the ministry and its partners had resolved that a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours remains a requirement for all passengers at the Entebbe International Airport.
Uganda, which instituted one of the world’s toughest Covid-19 restrictions, has been gradually opening up since January, ending a two-year ban on schools and night-time business activities.
The country has registered a gradual decline in new coronavirus cases from community transmissions and imported ones.
Authorities have also stepped up vaccination with mass drives, especially in rural areas, although there has been a countrywide low vaccine uptake.
As at March 30, the country had recorded a cumulative number of 163,892 cases since the pandemic outbreak.
A total of 18 million doses Covid-19 vaccines have been administered as of Thursday.
|
https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/uganda-ends-mandatory-covid-19-border-tests-3767254
| 2022-04-01T00:38:52Z
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The Malaysia stock market on Thursday snapped the three-day slide in which it had slipped almost 20 points or 1.3 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,585-point plateau although it figures to head south again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with oil and technology stocks expected to lead the way lower. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The KLCI finished slightly higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares and the telecoms.
For the day, the index rose 4.14 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 1,587.36 after trading between 1,576.09 and 1,589.06. Volume was 2.860 billion shares worth 2.363 billion ringgit. There were 530 gainers and 370 decliners.
Among the actives, Axiata and Digi.com both gained 0.26 percent, while Dialog Group spiked 1.11 percent, Genting rose 0.21 percent, Genting Malaysia and RHB Capital both advanced 0.34 percent, Hartalega Holdings soared 1.25 percent, IHH Healthcare rallied 0.65 percent, INARI tumbled 1.29 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong was up 0.08 percent, Maybank and MISC both jumped 0.68 percent, Maxis sank 0.76 percent, MRDIY added 0.29 percent, Petronas Chemicals climbed 0.42 percent, PPB Group perked 0.23 percent, Press Metal dipped 0.32 percent, Public Bank collected 0.43 percent, Sime Darby dropped 0.41 percent, Sime Darby Plantations slumped 0.60 percent, Telekom Malaysia surged 2.95 percent, Tenaga Nasional fell 0.33 percent and Top Glove, CIMB Group and IOI Corporation were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and the losses accelerated as the session progressed, finishing solidly in the red.
The Dow plummeted 550.46 points or 1.56 percent to finish at 34,678.35, while the NASDAQ plunged 221.76 points or 1.54 percent to close at 14,220.52 and the S&P 500 tumbled 72.04 points or 1.57 percent to end at 4,530.41.
Selling pressure picked up considerably in the final hour of the last trading day of the quarter, which marked the first negative quarter for the major averages since the first quarter of 2020.
For the first three months of 2022, the Nasdaq plummeted by 9.1 percent and the S&P 500 and Dow dove by 4.9 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively, although the major averages regained some ground in March.
Traders may also have been looking to safer havens ahead of the release of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly employment report later today.
Crude oil prices drifted plummeted on Thursday after U.S. President Joe Biden authorized the release of 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the next six months. West Texas International Crude oil futures for May ended lower by $7.54 or 7 percent at $100.28 a barrel, the lowest close since March 16.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis
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https://www.rttnews.com/3273304/renewed-selling-pressure-anticipated-for-malaysia-stock-market.aspx
| 2022-04-01T00:38:53Z
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In a recent Viruses review, researchers discuss the evolution and mechanisms of mutations that have occurred in the spike (S) protein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
Study: Mutations and Evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein. Image Credit: sanjaya viraj bandara / Shutterstock.com
The SARS-CoV-2 S protein
The SARS-CoV-2 S protein is the most studied structural protein of SARS-CoV-2, as it helps in target recognition and cellular entry that facilitates viral infection. As a result, the S protein has been the primary target for the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC) such as the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron variants.
The evolution and higher infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 VOCs are attributed to mutations that have occurred rapidly in the S protein over time. The D614G mutation, which was first identified in the middle of 2020, has been identified in all major SARS-CoV-2 VOCs and plays a major role in the increased infectivity of these strains.
The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant has a total of 34 mutations in its S protein as compared to the wild-type SARS-CoV-2 S protein. Given the rapid rate at which several mutations in the S protein have emerged, it has become increasingly important to understand the mechanisms behind the development of these mutations and their clinical impact on new infections.
SARS-CoV-2 viral particles into human cells, mediated by ACE2. (b) Cellular infection by ACE2- spike mediated cell-cell fusion. Infection in human (h) cells is used as an example. Figure 1. ACE2-mediated cellular infection by SARS-CoV-2. (a) Schematic of direct cellular entry of SARS-CoV-2 viral particles into human cells, mediated by ACE2. (b) Cellular infection by ACE2-spike mediated cell-cell fusion. Infection in human (h) cells is used as an example.
S protein structure and function
The SARS-CoV-2 S protein consists of two S1 and S2 subunits. The S1 subunit, which is further subdivided into an N-terminal domain (NTD) and C-terminal receptor-binding domain (RBD), is responsible for target recognition and binding. Comparatively, the S2 subunit consists of a fusion peptide (FP), two heptad repeats (HR1 and HR2), a transmembrane, and a C-terminal tail and plays a role in membrane fusion and endosomal escape.
The mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 infectivity is initiated by the RBD, as it allows for viral entry by recognizing the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor. Comparatively, the NTD assists in S protein structural conformation and, as a result, plays a significant role in the immune escape capabilities of the virus. After viral binding attachment through host ACE2, the FP, HR1, and HR2 subdomains form a conformation that allows entry of SARS-CoV-2 into the host.
The C-terminal subdomain of the S2 promotes the escape of the S protein from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), thereby causing aggregation of S proteins on the surface. This S protein aggregation helps in binding to other ACE2 receptors present on the healthy cells, subsequently leading to widespread infection.
Mutations within the NTD of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. (a) Structural representation of substitutions (red) within the NTD (green) of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. (b) Visual representation of mutations within the NTD of spike protein. (c) Frequency, residue distance from NTD “supersite”, modification in charge at physiological pH, and change in hydrophobicity at pH 7. Residue distance was calculated in PyMOL on the protein three-dimension structure (PDB-6ZGG), by measuring the distance between the nearest atom of “supersite” amino acids identified by Mccalum et al., 2021 [32] and the nearest atom of amino acids of interest.
S protein mutations
The characteristics associated with SARS-CoV-2 VOCs, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), include their increased transmissibility and varied disease presentation. Mutations in the S protein play a critical role in the increased fitness of these variants.
Mutations in the RBD can significantly affect the binding of the S protein to the ACE2 receptor, thus altering the infectivity of variants harboring these mutations. Recently, researchers found that instead of the binding affinity of the S protein to ACE2 being the primary factor for the positive selection of mutants, neutralization resistance plays a more dominant role. Similarly, another study suggested that mutations in the RBD cause changes in its hydrophobicity and charge, thus leading to increased immune escape.
Within the Omicron variant, 13 RBD mutations have been identified, of which ten have been detected in the defining sequence. In one recent study, researchers postulated that the five defining mutations of K417, E484, Q493, Q498, and N501 within the Omicron RBD may have arisen in murine species before returning to humans.
For the NTD domain, neutralizing antibodies target the antigenic “supersite,” thus contributing to positive selection for SARS-CoV-2. Two NTD mutations of T95I and ∆69–70 are considered to be responsible for the increased fitness and infectivity of the Omicron variant, which is likely due to the remodeling of the supersite by these mutations.
Aside from the S1 subunit, mutations that occur between the S1 and S2 subunits also influence the infectivity and fitness of a SARS-CoV-2 variant. The D614G mutation, for example, occurs outside the defined domains that alter RBD conformation and has been shown to enhance the binding affinity between the S protein and ACE2. Additionally, the P681 mutation, which occurs in the 680-689 amino acid stretch, increases the furin cleavage responsible for greater infectivity and disease severity in certain variants.
Other mutations of interest
Four S2 subunit mutations including T716I, D950N, S982A, and D1118H occur commonly in SARS-CoV-2 variants, except for the Omicron variant. Additionally, the D950N and S982A mutations in the heptad repeats HR1 may indicate their role in the positive selection of variants. Furthermore, the S982A mutation appears to increase the presentation of the “up” RBD state by preventing the interaction with T547, thereby stabilizing the “down” RBD state.
Conclusions
The current review article provides insight into the potential mechanisms that lead to common mutations of the S protein found in SARS-CoV-2 VOCs that enhance their fitness. The findings discussed here highlight the importance of studying SARS-CoV-2 mutations, their evolution, and potential therapies that could target particularly harmful mutations.
Journal reference:
- Magazine, N., Zhang, T., Wu, Y., et al. (2022) Mutations and Evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein. Viruses. doi:10.3390/v14030640.
|
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20220331/The-evolution-of-the-SARS-CoV-2-spike-protein.aspx
| 2022-04-01T00:38:53Z
|
PADUCAH — Climbing gas prices have impacted wallets nationwide. President Joe Biden is tapping into the nation's strategic oil reserves, which means lower gas prices could be around the corner.
While prices could drop at the pump, some are concerned that Biden is dipping into nearly 30% of the nation's reserves. That consists of 1 million barrels of oil each day for the next six months.
"It is by far the largest release of our national reserve in our history," Biden said Thursday.
Eran Guse, an economics professor at Murray State University, says it's all about supply and demand. Lower gas prices now could mean we might be looking at higher gas prices long term.
"Speculators could look at this and say, 'OK, the United States is using up 30% of its reserves. How is that going to impact the demand for it in the future?' They might believe that there's an increase in prices in the future," says Guse.
For now, Guse says we can expect lower prices at the pump fairly quickly.
"I think it would probably result in a quick decline, depending on how quick they can get that oil in to the hands of big producers of the gasoline," says Guse.
The purpose of the United States' oil reserve is for emergencies. Guse says this large dip into that supply could mean we don't have it if we need it in the future.
"It's nice to have those reserves. Just imagine having a pie. You bring home a pie and take away 30% of that pie. Well, there's less pie for everybody," says Guse.
There are many factors at play. Guse says replenishing the reserves could be more expensive. If prices go up, taxpayers could end up footing the bill. Biden did say this is the largest release of oil from the reserve in history. He says it's a historic amount of supply for a historic period of time.
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https://www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/gas-prices-could-decrease-after-biden-announces-release-of-oil-from-reserves/article_44fcd58e-b142-11ec-a0d8-4768705eea94.html
| 2022-04-01T00:38:53Z
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By Monique Gooch-Brown
NASHVILLE, TN — A Step Ahead of Middle Tennessee (ASA) is hosting a fundraising event, “Brunch and Bubbly” on April 9, 2022 at Millennium Maxwell House from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. The fundraising event allows ASA to place Long-Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) devices in women who request the service.
It costs A Step Ahead about $350 to serve one client with an implant or IUD (lasting 3-10 years). Out of pocket, the procedure would cost upwards of $1,500. It is estimated that for every $1 spent on preventing unplanned pregnancies, that taxpayers are saved $7.
Jenny Matthews, Executive Director of ASA says, “we cover LARC as it is the most effective (other than abstinence) form of contraception, but the most costly. We want to take cost out of the equation. About 72% of women would choose a LARC if cost was removed, but only about 11% of women of reproductive age use a LARC (due to cost).”
Matthews added, “We are all about opportunities for women to plan their future. We know that not every woman has access to the resources necessary for effective family planning, and we want to change that. Preventing unplanned pregnancy means: more stable families, better educational and economic outcomes, and increased health and happiness for women and children.”
ASA’s goal is to serve 100 women. One of the things that is not as popular as ASA members thought it would be is providing Lyft or Uber for the women to get to their appointment. Revida Rahman, Board President of ASA says, “That’s something that we offer but hasn’t been utilized as much, but it is something we provide.” ASA also works with certain clinics in the area. “We have about eight clinics in Middle Tennessee that provide services for us. We’ve served over 1,600 clients since we’ve been doing this in this area.” Rahman says.
Women served by ASA average around age 28 but that is getting lower and lower. On average, the typical client has two children when they receive services from ASA. About 45 percent of the agency’s clients are Latina and close to 25 to 30 percent are Caucasian while roughly 15 percent are African American. More than 75 percent of clients are not married and most of them fall below the poverty line.
“We’re really addressing a need in the community since so many clients are coming to us where finances are a stressor and also insurance is a stressor as well. We’re really filling a GAP that exist and addressing a need that otherwise isn’t met,” Matthews says.
This is ASA’s second fundraising event. “The first event happened right before the pandemic; this is actually our second event and we do plan to do this annually. This will be our first in-person event in a while. We’ve gotten approval on some advertisements. We’ll be able to utilize on how it will affect pregnancy rates here in TN.”
Rahman invites everyone to support the organization. “We’re very excited about being able to come and share this with the community. We’re really looking to engage with more families of color and really excited about the opportunity and hope we can make an impact.”
To donate or learn more about A Step Ahead, please visit: www.astepaheadofmiddletn.org.
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https://tntribune.com/asa-helps-women-control-the-plans-for-their-futures/
| 2022-04-01T00:38:53Z
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https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/businesswoman-workplace-office-portrait-during-break-2140986245
| 2022-04-01T00:38:52Z
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CDC: Pandemic Taking Toll On Teen Mental Health
NEW YORK (AP) – New research says more than 4 in 10 U.S. high school students said they felt persistently sad or hopeless during the pandemic.
The findings support earlier warnings that pandemic isolation from school closures and lack of social gatherings has taken a toll on young people’s mental health.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the reports Thursday.
They’re 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.
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https://www.whbc.com/cdc-pandemic-taking-toll-on-teen-mental-health/
| 2022-04-01T00:38:53Z
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OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — A $64.1 billion supplemental state budget that spends on statewide programs ranging from homelessness and behavioral health to the ongoing COVID-19 response was signed Thursday by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.
The supplemental plan builds off of the $59 billion, two-year spending plan adopted by the Legislature last year, and benefited from the significant influx of revenues the state has seen over the past year. Additionally, lawmakers used more than $1 billion in remaining pandemic-related federal relief funds in the budget.
While there are no general tax increases in the plan, there are also no across-the-board tax cuts, something Republicans had argued for throughout the legislative session that ended March 10.
A small business tax credit was included that would affect about 125,000 small businesses in the state, and was among the bills signed by Inslee Thursday.
Starting in January, businesses making less than $125,000 a year would pay no state business taxes, and those making up to $250,000 a year, business taxes will be cut in half.
The supplemental operating budget also spends state or federal money on things like adding more social supports like nurses and counselors for students, increasing rates to vendors providing services to people with developmental disabilities or long-term care needs and shoring up the state’s paid family leave program, which officials warned was nearing a deficit.
It also allots funding for raises for state workers. According to the Office of Financial Management, about 63,800 general government employees will get a 3.25% general wage increase, about 6,700 state corrections workers will get a 4% general wage increase and about 1,200 state patrol officers will get a 10% general wage increase. The last general wage increase for represented employees was July 1, 2020.
The operating budget also transfers more than $2 billion to the nearly $17 billion, 16-year transportation revenue package that Inslee signed last week. The plan leaves about $3 billion in total reserves.
Inslee had several full or partial vetoes of bills, including a section of a bill that would have expanded the state’s existing warehouse sales and use tax to include smaller warehouses of at least 100,000 square feet. In his veto notice, Inslee said that while he understood the importance of manufacturing and warehousing to rural economies, he said the tax incentives in the bill were overly broad.
Inslee on Thursday also signed a $1.5 billion state construction budget that spends on areas ranging from housing, homelessness, behavioral health facilities, and seismic upgrades at public schools.
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https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/article/Washington-governor-signs-64-1-billion-17049827.php
| 2022-04-01T00:38:54Z
|
74-year-old shoots teen during home invasion, police say
AKRON, Ohio (WOIO/Gray News) - Police investigators in Ohio say a 74-year-old man shot a teen suspect during a home invasion attempt early Tuesday morning.
Officers were dispatched to the home invasion just before 7:30 a.m. Tuesday on Johnston Street in Akron, Ohio, according to police. A 16-year-old boy was found inside the home with multiple gunshot wounds.
According to detectives, the homeowner told police that he discharged his gun during a confrontation with the teen, who forced entry into his home, striking him multiple times.
The 74-year-old homeowner, who identified himself to WOIO as “Lurch,” was not injured.
“I heard this hellacious crash, and he comes running right through my front door,” he said.
The homeowner said he was half asleep on his couch, but he had his gun close by. When the suspect did not leave, he opened fire.
“He dives down the basement as I put lead in him going down the steps,” he said.
Paramedics took the 16-year-old to Akron Children’s Hospital in stable condition.
“Those shots were good,” Lurch said during an interview. “I don’t like people breaking into my home.”
Police are still investigating the incident and will release any information on criminal charges at a later time.
Asked about the possibility of facing charges, Lurch said he can’t imagine why he would.
“I better not. I am in my own home, and he breaks into it,” he said.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Akron Police detectives at 330-375-2490.
Copyright 2022 WOIO via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.kswo.com/2022/03/30/74-year-old-shoots-teen-during-home-invasion-police-say/
| 2022-04-01T00:38:54Z
|
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.
|
https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Maryland-paid-family-leave-program-bill-passed-to-17049782.php
| 2022-04-01T00:38:55Z
|
Federal debt is unpopular until you get elected
Winning presidential candidates campaign to balance the federal budget and pay down debt. Yet the deficit continues to increase, and there has been a proliferation of debt over the past 20 years. Total federal government spending increased from $2.8 trillion to $7.2 trillion from 2000 to 2021, when adjusting for inflation, or from 18 percent of economic production to 33 percent. Federal debt increased from $8.9 trillion to $30.2 trillion. This happened despite campaign pledges from the winning candidates to avoid spending and debt.
The question facing federal fiscal policymakers in 2000 was what to do about revenues that were greater than expenses. This seems quaint now. “As President, Governor Bush will bring taxes down from their record high level and pay the debt down to a historically low level,” his campaign pledged on its website. The tax cuts happened. But debt did not drop to historically low levels. It jumped from $8.9 trillion to $12.6 trillion, when adjusting for inflation, from 56 percent of economic production to 68 percent.
Federal spending went from $236 billion in the black to $459 billion in the red as revenue increased by 25 percent and spending increased by 67 percent.
The recession was a big topic in the 2008 presidential race, and candidates pledged to be austere following temporary stimulus to help get the country out of the recession. “Once we get through this economic crisis, we’re going to have to embrace a culture of responsibility — all of us, corporations, the federal government and individuals who may be living beyond their means,” then-Sen. Barack Obama said in one of the 2008 debates.
The federal government did not live within its means after temporary stimulus efforts. The federal deficit spiked up to $1.3 trillion in 2011 and was $585 billion when President Obama left office. Federal debt increased from $12.6 trillion to $22.1 trillion, when adjusted for inflation, and was 105 percent of economic production.
As a candidate, Donald Trump sounded like a deficit hawk. “I would be very, very strong on the debt limit. And I could see asking for a very big pound of flesh if I were the Republicans,” he said in an interview. The debt limit increased three times over the next four years, and debt increased to $26.9 trillion. Spending increased from $3.9 trillion to $6.6 trillion.
Maybe the austerity charade is over. Joe Biden didn’t give the normal hat tips to it on the campaign trail and has shown little restraint in spending since his inauguration. Spending popped up to $7.2 trillion and the debt increased to $30.2 trillion in his first year in the White House.
Here’s what people ought to take from the 21st century presidents’ failure to follow through on their debt and spending promises. Limiting spending and paying down debt is still a generally popular stance. People want their elected officials to act like adults and live within their means. Yet presidents disregard that expectation when faced with the crisis of the day, which encourages them to spend more and go further into debt. War, recession, pandemics, or even making good on a different campaign pledge is a higher priority than budget cuts and extra debt payments. As the spending and debt trends show, spending stays up even when the temporary reasons end.
The lack of restraint is bolstered by another problem. There is an interest group behind every dollar of federal spending, and that group’s highest lobbying priority is to keep collecting cash. While it may be popular to reduce spending in general, cuts to particular areas can get messy. Both Republicans and Democrats opposed a recommendation from President Trump to reduce spending on the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, even though the program has no mandate to improve water quality, enhance biodiversity or even to get the lakes back to some previous state.
This is the problem of faction that James Madison wrote about in Federalist 10 — that governments create policy that benefits a subset of people when they should create policy that benefits the public good. “As long as the connection subsists between [man’s] reason and his self-love, his opinions and his passions will have a reciprocal influence on each other; and the former will be objects to which the latter will attach themselves,” Madison wrote.
Perhaps reviving the old civic virtues would reverse the trends that lead politicians to crank up spending and debt. Passing the costs of today’s programs onto tomorrow’s taxpayers ought to be unpopular. It ought to be unpopular enough that elected officials treat debt payments and spending restraint as goals for which the American people will hold them accountable.
James M. Hohman is the director of fiscal policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a research and educational institute in Midland, Mich. Follow him on Twitter @JamesHohman.
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.
|
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/596523-federal-debt-is-unpopular-until-you-get-elected/
| 2022-04-01T00:38:55Z
|
During his latest broadcast, Twitch streamer Nmplol played an exclusive sneak peek of the artist BBNO$'s (BabyNoMoney) upcoming song, giving his audience a taste of the new tune being released on April 8.
While he was streaming in his kitchen with his girlfriend Malena, Nick "Nmplol" received a message from the popular rap artist BBNO$ which included a new song he wanted to tease.
After reading the message out loud, he got the song ready to play on his streaming setup, as that way, viewers could hear it in perfect quality.
"Let me see what he said. "Play this in half, it's not out yet." Alright, this is unreleased BBNO$."
Nmplol plays exclusive sneak peek of new BBNO$ song
As soon as the song started playing, both Malena and Nick started bobbing their heads to the beat, clearly enjoying the song. They both grooved around the kitchen, dancing to the song's catchy vocals and an even catchier beat.
After about halfway through the song, they paused the music as BBNO$ requested, as to leave fans with something to wait for. They started giving their opinions on the small portion of the song they listened to, simply stating that it was good and catchy.
"I must say, that's very catchy." / "Yo, that was good."
Nick then joked that they don't know how to describe how much they liked the music, since they aren't in-tune with today's youth.
"I don't even know what to say, what do the kids say?"
When the clip was posted on Reddit, BBNO$ himself left a comment revealing the release date of the song, which is April 8, along with one reacting to himself being on the front page of r/LivestreamFail.
Plenty of people responded to the artist, giving their positive feedback on the unreleased song.
One comment even wanted BBNO$ to join the streamer group Nick and Malena are in, One True King (OTK), as the artist is friends with many of its members and has been featured on Mizkif's stream in the past.
While only half of the song was played on Nmplol's stream, it seems fans are excited to hear the rest when it releases. With BBNO$ successfully teasing his new song to fans and listeners, perhaps more musical artists may do something similar in the future to add hype to their upcoming release.
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https://www.sportskeeda.com/esports/nmplol-plays-sneak-peek-upcoming-bbno-song
| 2022-04-01T00:38:55Z
|
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — NCAA President Mark Emmert said investigations into allegations of major violations against several high-profile men's college basketball programs — including 2022 Final Four participant Kansas — have taken “way too long.”
What solutions might be on the table to speed it up, Emmert did not say, but there appears to be increasing acknowledgement that the current process is broken.
“It’s just been really slow in getting through that new independent process that’s wound up reinvestigating the entire case,” Emmert said, referring to the Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP).
The IARP was created out of proposals from the commission led by former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in 2018 to reform the sport. It began looking into allegations against Kansas, Arizona, LSU, Louisville and North Carolina State on the heels of a federal investigation into corruption in college sports that resulted in convictions of shoe company executives, a middle man who worked with them and some assistant college coaches.
Of those FBI cases nearly five years ago, only one -- North Carolina State, tied to its recruitment of one-and-done star Dennis Smith Jr. -- has actually gone through the IARP system to completion and received a ruling that resulted in probation for one year, some vacated victories and penalties for previous coaches.
The four other cases are still pending in the IARP structure, while Auburn went through the more traditional process and received four years of probation in December from an NCAA infractions committee panel.
In the meantime, this year's NCAA Tournament could be tainted should Kansas win the national championship and subsequently have an unfavorable decision come down in a now half-decade-old investigation.
Created to handle complex cases, the IARP includes independent investigators and decision-makers with no direct ties to NCAA member schools, and rulings cannot be appealed.
Emmert said NCAA institutions need to come up with a process that has “got to be fair. It’s got to be swift. And it’s got to not punish the innocent. ... That’s where the membership’s got to be in all of this, as they shape a new process or rebuild the one that’s in place.”
The Kansas case hinges on whether Adidas representatives were considered boosters — the school contends they were not — when two of them arranged payments to prospective recruits. Kansas does not dispute the payments. Kansas asked for referral to the IARP instead of having the NCAA's infractions committee handle the matter.
While the lengthy IARP process has been going on, Self agreed to a new contract on April 2, 2021, that will keep him with the school until he retires.
The five-year deal adds one additional year after the conclusion of each season — in effect, making it a lifetime contract. It guarantees him $5.41 million per year with a base salary of $225,000, professional services contract of $2.75 million and an annual $2.435 million retention bonus.
The contact also includes a clause that says the school cannot terminate him for cause “due to any current infractions matter that involves conduct that occurred on or prior to” the signing of the new contract. Instead, he would forfeit half of his base salary and professional services pay while serving any Big 12 or NCAA suspension.
Emmert declined to weigh on on Kansas' decision to double down on Self.
“I’ll leave it to the school to make decisions about their coaches’ contracts,” said Emmert, who also spoke at the women's Final Four on Wednesday. “That’s their business, obviously. They can do that as they see fit.”
The infractions process has also come up with the Division I Transformation Committee, which is working to recommend ways to modernize and reform NCAA governance and regulatory policies.
Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey, who chairs the committee along with Ohio athletics director Julie Cromer, said the group is looking at both the overall infractions process and the IARP structure as part of its work.
“I don’t know fully what was envisioned and what wasn’t envisioned,” said Sankey, who has served on the NCAA infractions committee. “But we have to have timely outcomes, both for those accused and for those competing against those who are accused. That has to be a point of emphasis.”
Later, Sankey added: “I was on an implementation working group, and I disagreed with elements of the approach. So I think some of these problems were foreseeable. We have an opportunity to correct and enhance the process. That doesn’t mean everybody will like the process.”
Among other topics Emmert addressed:
NATIONAL NIL RULES
Emmert offered an urgent plea to Congress to craft what he said was needed, uniform national legislation governing financial endorsements for athletes know known as name, image and likeness (NIL) deals.
“This tournament’s put on full display the beauty of college sport,” Emmert said. "People love it and enjoy it, and we’ve got to work with the schools and with Congress to make sure we can continue that.
“We’ve got again a relatively short window of time — in my estimate, one and two years,” Emmert continued. “These decisions have to be made because of the dynamics that are underway right now that are far beyond the control of schools, coaches, (athletic directors) or presidents.”
Currently, more than 30 states have been working on their own NIL laws.
TRANSGENDER LEGISLATION
With a number of states considering or passing legislation restricting participation of transgender athletes, Emmert was asked whether the NCAA would bar those states from hosting championship events.
The NCAA has largely followed the Olympic model that allows transgender athletes to compete if they've had certain biomedical treatments, including hormone therapies, meant to promote fairness.
Emmert said the NCAA currently requires communities which wish to host events “to explain how it is that they’re going to make sure that the participants in that sport will be allowed to do that in a nondiscriminatory way. ... If they can do that, then we’ll be in those states."
TRANFER RULES
Emmert said the current transfer rules continue to draw a lot of scrutiny and complaints from coaches and could be adjusted over time.
“The only thing that I can say right now is that it’s clear that students are getting more opportunities to play. They’re getting more freedom of movement in some respects,” Emmert said.
But he added that officials are keeping an eye on how the rules affect “students being able to finish their degrees in a timely fashion and go on and lead productive lives, because we know how few of them will be professional basketball players. It’s a constant point of discussion. I don’t anticipate it going away too soon.”
___
AP Sports Writers Aaron Beard, Dave Skretta and John Marshall contributed to this report.
___
More AP college basketball: http://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
|
https://www.thetelegraph.com/sports/article/NCAA-president-decries-pace-of-basketball-17049726.php
| 2022-04-01T00:38:56Z
|
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — NCAA President Mark Emmert said investigations into allegations of major violations against several high-profile men's college basketball programs — including 2022 Final Four participant Kansas — have taken “way too long.”
What solutions might be on the table to speed it up, Emmert did not say, but there appears to be increasing acknowledgement that the current process is broken.
“It’s just been really slow in getting through that new independent process that’s wound up reinvestigating the entire case,” Emmert said, referring to the Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP).
The IARP was created out of proposals from the commission led by former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in 2018 to reform the sport. It began looking into allegations against Kansas, Arizona, LSU, Louisville and North Carolina State on the heels of a federal investigation into corruption in college sports that resulted in convictions of shoe company executives, a middle man who worked with them and some assistant college coaches.
Of those FBI cases nearly five years ago, only one -- North Carolina State, tied to its recruitment of one-and-done star Dennis Smith Jr. -- has actually gone through the IARP system to completion and received a ruling that resulted in probation for one year, some vacated victories and penalties for previous coaches.
The four other cases are still pending in the IARP structure, while Auburn went through the more traditional process and received four years of probation in December from an NCAA infractions committee panel.
In the meantime, this year's NCAA Tournament could be tainted should Kansas win the national championship and subsequently have an unfavorable decision come down in a now half-decade-old investigation.
Created to handle complex cases, the IARP includes independent investigators and decision-makers with no direct ties to NCAA member schools, and rulings cannot be appealed.
Emmert said NCAA institutions need to come up with a process that has “got to be fair. It’s got to be swift. And it’s got to not punish the innocent. ... That’s where the membership’s got to be in all of this, as they shape a new process or rebuild the one that’s in place.”
The Kansas case hinges on whether Adidas representatives were considered boosters — the school contends they were not — when two of them arranged payments to prospective recruits. Kansas does not dispute the payments. Kansas asked for referral to the IARP instead of having the NCAA's infractions committee handle the matter.
While the lengthy IARP process has been going on, Self agreed to a new contract on April 2, 2021, that will keep him with the school until he retires.
The five-year deal adds one additional year after the conclusion of each season — in effect, making it a lifetime contract. It guarantees him $5.41 million per year with a base salary of $225,000, professional services contract of $2.75 million and an annual $2.435 million retention bonus.
The contact also includes a clause that says the school cannot terminate him for cause “due to any current infractions matter that involves conduct that occurred on or prior to” the signing of the new contract. Instead, he would forfeit half of his base salary and professional services pay while serving any Big 12 or NCAA suspension.
Emmert declined to weigh on on Kansas' decision to double down on Self.
“I’ll leave it to the school to make decisions about their coaches’ contracts,” said Emmert, who also spoke at the women's Final Four on Wednesday. “That’s their business, obviously. They can do that as they see fit.”
The infractions process has also come up with the Division I Transformation Committee, which is working to recommend ways to modernize and reform NCAA governance and regulatory policies.
Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey, who chairs the committee along with Ohio athletics director Julie Cromer, said the group is looking at both the overall infractions process and the IARP structure as part of its work.
“I don’t know fully what was envisioned and what wasn’t envisioned,” said Sankey, who has served on the NCAA infractions committee. “But we have to have timely outcomes, both for those accused and for those competing against those who are accused. That has to be a point of emphasis.”
Later, Sankey added: “I was on an implementation working group, and I disagreed with elements of the approach. So I think some of these problems were foreseeable. We have an opportunity to correct and enhance the process. That doesn’t mean everybody will like the process.”
Among other topics Emmert addressed:
NATIONAL NIL RULES
Emmert offered an urgent plea to Congress to craft what he said was needed, uniform national legislation governing financial endorsements for athletes know known as name, image and likeness (NIL) deals.
“This tournament’s put on full display the beauty of college sport,” Emmert said. "People love it and enjoy it, and we’ve got to work with the schools and with Congress to make sure we can continue that.
“We’ve got again a relatively short window of time — in my estimate, one and two years,” Emmert continued. “These decisions have to be made because of the dynamics that are underway right now that are far beyond the control of schools, coaches, (athletic directors) or presidents.”
Currently, more than 30 states have been working on their own NIL laws.
TRANSGENDER LEGISLATION
With a number of states considering or passing legislation restricting participation of transgender athletes, Emmert was asked whether the NCAA would bar those states from hosting championship events.
The NCAA has largely followed the Olympic model that allows transgender athletes to compete if they've had certain biomedical treatments, including hormone therapies, meant to promote fairness.
Emmert said the NCAA currently requires communities which wish to host events “to explain how it is that they’re going to make sure that the participants in that sport will be allowed to do that in a nondiscriminatory way. ... If they can do that, then we’ll be in those states."
TRANFER RULES
Emmert said the current transfer rules continue to draw a lot of scrutiny and complaints from coaches and could be adjusted over time.
“The only thing that I can say right now is that it’s clear that students are getting more opportunities to play. They’re getting more freedom of movement in some respects,” Emmert said.
But he added that officials are keeping an eye on how the rules affect “students being able to finish their degrees in a timely fashion and go on and lead productive lives, because we know how few of them will be professional basketball players. It’s a constant point of discussion. I don’t anticipate it going away too soon.”
___
AP Sports Writers Aaron Beard, Dave Skretta and John Marshall contributed to this report.
___
More AP college basketball: http://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
|
https://www.middletownpress.com/sports/article/NCAA-president-decries-pace-of-basketball-17049726.php
| 2022-04-01T00:38:56Z
|
Jerry Mills, age 77, of French Lick
Jerry Mills, age 77, of French Lick, Indiana entered into eternal rest on March 28th, 2022 at Springs Valley Meadows, French Lick, Indiana. He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on May 28th, 1944 to Leon and Edith (Case) Mills. Jerry married Donna Gibson on June 11th, 1998 and she...
www.witzamfm.com
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2556533309003/jerry-mills-age-77-of-french-lick
| 2022-04-01T00:38:56Z
|
Knox uses 4-birdie run for a one-stroke lead at Texas Open
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Russell Knox recorded four straight birdies on the back nine and fired a 7-under 65 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 (66). 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.
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https://kion546.com/news/2022/03/31/knox-uses-4-birdie-run-for-a-one-stroke-lead-at-texas-open/
| 2022-04-01T00:38:56Z
|
FLIP (FLP) traded flat against the U.S. dollar during the 24-hour period ending at 19:00 PM Eastern on March 31st. One FLIP coin can now be purchased for about $0.0122 or 0.00000019 BTC on major cryptocurrency exchanges. In the last week, FLIP has traded flat against the U.S. dollar. FLIP has a market capitalization of $683,828.84 and approximately $818.00 worth of FLIP was traded on exchanges in the last day.
Here is how other cryptocurrencies have performed in the last day:
- Binance USD (BUSD) traded up 0% against the dollar and now trades at $1.00 or 0.00002188 BTC.
- Polygon (MATIC) traded 3.9% lower against the dollar and now trades at $1.63 or 0.00003555 BTC.
- Polygon (MATIC) traded up 1% against the dollar and now trades at $1.65 or 0.00004286 BTC.
- Crypto.com Coin (CRO) traded up 5% against the dollar and now trades at $0.41 or 0.00001075 BTC.
- Dai (DAI) traded 0% lower against the dollar and now trades at $1.00 or 0.00002184 BTC.
- Chainlink (LINK) traded 1% lower against the dollar and now trades at $17.01 or 0.00037169 BTC.
- Parkgene (GENE) traded flat against the dollar and now trades at $25.59 or 0.00045023 BTC.
- DREP (DREP) traded flat against the dollar and now trades at $1.96 or 0.00003398 BTC.
- DREP [old] (DREP) traded flat against the dollar and now trades at $1.96 or 0.00003399 BTC.
- FTX Token (FTT) traded 4.3% lower against the dollar and now trades at $49.03 or 0.00107140 BTC.
About FLIP
According to CryptoCompare, “Gameflip is marketplace where gamers can buy and sell digital goods. Established in 2014, Gameflip will now leverage blockchain technology to provide a transparent, safe, and frictionless infrastructure for buying and selling of digital goods among gamers, allowing them to own and securely store their digital goods on the blockchain. FLIP is an ERC20 token used as the main currency in the Gameflip platform. “
FLIP Coin Trading
It is usually not presently possible to buy alternative cryptocurrencies such as FLIP directly using US dollars. Investors seeking to acquire FLIP should first buy Bitcoin or Ethereum using an exchange that deals in US dollars such as Gemini, GDAX or Coinbase. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Bitcoin or Ethereum to buy FLIP using one of the exchanges listed above.
Receive News & Updates for FLIP Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and updates for FLIP and related cryptocurrencies with MarketBeat.com's FREE CryptoBeat newsletter.
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https://www.americanbankingnews.com/2022/03/31/flip-price-reaches-0-0122-on-top-exchanges-flp-2.html
| 2022-04-01T00:38:57Z
|
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/huicaikuaixin.com
| 2022-04-01T00:38:57Z
|
DUNEDIN, Fla.—It had longed seemed a forgone conclusion that Jose Berríos would be on the mound for the Blue Jays come opening day, but when Charlie Montoyo made that news official Thursday, it was clear the manager believed there had been more than one contender for the job.
“(Hyun-Jin) Ryu’s done it, (Kevin) Gausman could be, of course (Alek) Manoah,” Montoyo said.
The mention from his manager is a sign of the meteoric rise Manoah has been on since being selected in the first round of the 2019 draft. The 24-year-old right-hander didn’t make his big-league debut until May 27 last season, yet Montoya apparently considered him for one of the most meaningful assignments of the year.
Manoah isn’t convinced. “It’s nice of him to say it,” the Florida native said with a big smile. “I knew I didn’t have a chance, though.”
He should one day if he continues on his current trajectory. That is among Montoyo’s goals for the pitcher this season. The manager has seen other players slump after a breakout rookie year and he hopes Manoah can avoid it.
“He looks the same, that’s good,” Montoyo said. “He worked as hard this off-season and he looks as good as he did last year.”
Manoah had a 3.22 earned-run average in 20 starts last season, with a 1.048 WHIP (walks and hits to innings pitched), and is hoping to log 30 or more starts this year. If 2021 was about fighting for his spot in the rotation, 2022 is about solidifying it.
“Mindset’s the same,” he said. “You’ve got to go out there and compete as hard as you can and give the team the best chance to win.”
Manoah did that Thursday, leading the Jays to a 5-3 home win over the Detroit Tigers. He was pleased with his mix of pitches, his effortless velocity, his consistent release point and the way he attacked the zone. After giving up a couple walks in his past few outings, Manoah was pleased to post a zero in that column of the box score.
Manoah, who threw 52 pitches over four innings, is on track to make his season debut against the Yankees in New York on April 11, if the weather in Florida this weekend doesn’t alter the Jays’ schedule.
Even the things Manoah didn’t like so much about his outing on Friday, like hitting a batter as he was working on being quick to the plate, were important to the pitcher. He believes his understanding of big-league hitters and their approaches, as well as his own strengths and weaknesses against them, gas improved. And he hopes a refined changeup, and the way he is now mixing his pitches, will keep hitters off-balance.
“Sometimes I tend to just get a little comfortable with the heater and throw it a lot and you kind of know it’s coming,” Manoah said.
It’s a good thing, then, that Manoah is familiar with coming out of nowhere. He’ll look to keep surprising as the season goes on.
“I never really think about going out and pitching bad,” he said. “I trust my work ethic, I trust my routine, I trust my stuff … There’s going to be some tough blows, it’s going to happen, it’s a long season, but I think as long as the goal stays the same, get better every day, and get better as the season goes on, I think we’ll be all right.”
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https://www.thestar.com/sports/bluejays/2022/03/31/jays-starter-alek-manoah-hopes-to-build-on-his-impressive-debut-season.html
| 2022-04-01T00:38:58Z
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Pulse Biosciences, Inc (PLSE) Reports Q4 Loss, Lags Revenue Estimates
Pulse Biosciences, Inc (PLSE) came out with a quarterly loss of $0.39 per share versus the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $0.50. This compares to loss of $0.54 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.
This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of 22%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this company would post a loss of $0.54 per share when it actually produced a loss of $0.42, delivering a surprise of 22.22%.
Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times.
Pulse Biosciences, Inc
The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.
Pulse Biosciences, Inc shares have lost about 66.5% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's decline of -3.4%.
What's Next for Pulse Biosciences, Inc?
While Pulse Biosciences, Inc has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?
There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.
Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.
Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Pulse Biosciences, Inc: mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is -$0.47 on $4.1 million in revenues for the coming quarter and -$2.03 on $18.2 million in revenues for the current fiscal year.
Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Medical - Instruments is currently in the bottom 39% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
Another stock from the same industry, Hologic (HOLX), has yet to report results for the quarter ended March 2022.
This medical device maker is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.55 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -40.2%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days.
Hologic's revenues are expected to be $1.28 billion, down 17.1% from the year-ago quarter.
Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
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.
This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.
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To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
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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/pulse-biosciences-inc-plse-reports-q4-loss-lags-revenue-estimates
| 2022-04-01T00:38:56Z
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ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A 33-year-old woman from southern Greece has been charged with the murder of her 9-year-old daughter, and the deaths of her two other daughters in the past three years are being reviewed in a case that has drawn national attention.
Flanked by riot police and in handcuffs, she appeared in court in Athens Thursday for her arraignment. She was wearing a hood and a protective vest as authorities held back a crowd of onlookers and journalists.
The suspect, who was not formally identified in accordance with Greek law, was arrested a day after being detained for questioning Wednesday. It followed the results of tissue tests that showed the presence of an anesthetic drug that had not been administered by the girl’s doctors.
The 9-year-old died in January following an eight-month hospitalization.
Protesters also gathered outside the mother’s home in the port city of Patras, 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Athens, where police again intervened to maintain order.
A panel of senior coroners is leading a review into the death of the suspect’s two other children: a 3-year-old girl from liver failure in 2019 and a 6-month-old girl in 2021 from a suspected heart defect.
Tissue samples retained from the two girls are now being re-examined, authorities said.
The suspect has denied any wrongdoing and is expected to formally respond to the charges on Monday.
In a private television interview last month, the suspect criticized news reports that described the three deaths as suspicious.
“I find myself in a position to defend myself against things that are unspeakable… this was a house that was filled with joy,” she said in the Feb. 17 appearance on private Star television. “How could I hurt my own children? I gave birth to them, raised them, and was always with them. It doesn’t make sense.”
In the same interview, the suspect’s husband described her as “a rock” for her children. Police investigators have been granted access to her private online communications.
“The emotional and moral burden of this event surpasses most if not all of us,” government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou said, congratulating the police on their work in the monthslong investigation.
“There are no words to express the pain this has caused. This requires considerable thought and reflection.” ___ Follow Gatopoulos at https://twitter.com/dgatopoulos
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https://www.mystateline.com/news/international/greek-woman-charged-with-murder-after-deaths-of-3-daughters/
| 2022-04-01T00:38:57Z
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https://www.leafly.com/brands/io-extracts/products/io-extracts-og-kush-live-resin-batter-1g-solvent
| 2022-04-01T00:38:58Z
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The Singapore stock market on Thursday snapped the six-day winning streak in which it had improved almost 95 points or 2.8 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 3,410-point plateau and it may take further damage on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with oil and technology stocks expected to lead the way lower. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The STI finished sharply lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.
For the day, the index dropped 34.09 points or 0.99 percent to finish at the daily low of 3,408.52 after peaking at 3,449.53. Volume was 1.48 billion shares worth 1.4 billion Singapore dollars. There were 270 decliners and 203 gainers.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT dropped 0.68 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust declined 1.32 percent, City Developments tumbled 1.50 percent, Dairy Farm International and Jardine Cycle both improved 0.36 percent, DBS Group weakened 0.83 percent, Genting Singapore retreated 1.21 percent, Hongkong Land plummeted 2.78 percent, Keppel Corp skidded 1.08 percent, Mapletree Commercial Trust tanked 1.56 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust stumbled 1.07 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation lost 0.56 percent, SATS slid 0.46 percent, SembCorp Industries surrendered 1.48 percent, Singapore Exchange advanced 0.81 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering fell 0.48 percent, SingTel sank 0.75 percent, Thai Beverage gained 0.70 percent, United Overseas Bank slumped 0.90 percent, Wilmar International plunged 2.69 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding shed 0.65 percent and Singapore Airlines, Singapore Press Holdings and Comfort DelGro were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and the losses accelerated as the session progressed, finishing solidly in the red.
The Dow plummeted 550.46 points or 1.56 percent to finish at 34,678.35, while the NASDAQ plunged 221.76 points or 1.54 percent to close at 14,220.52 and the S&P 500 tumbled 72.04 points or 1.57 percent to end at 4,530.41.
Selling pressure picked up considerably in the final hour of the last trading day of the quarter, which marked the first negative quarter for the major averages since the first quarter of 2020.
For the first three months of 2022, the Nasdaq plummeted by 9.1 percent and the S&P 500 and Dow dove by 4.9 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively, although the major averages regained some ground in March.
Traders may also have been looking to safer havens ahead of the release of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly employment report later today.
Crude oil prices drifted plummeted on Thursday after U.S. President Joe Biden authorized the release of 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the next six months. West Texas International Crude oil futures for May ended lower by $7.54 or 7 percent at $100.28 a barrel, the lowest close since March 16.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
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https://www.rttnews.com/3273305/singapore-stock-market-likely-to-see-continued-consolidation.aspx
| 2022-04-01T00:38:59Z
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Kentucky lawmakers on Wednesday sent a bill to Gov. Andy Beshear setting out a plan for highway construction projects in 2022 through 2024.
The measure, House Bill 242, sets aside more than $240 million for west Kentucky highways in the Local 6 area.
Across fiscal years 2022, 2023 and 2024, McCracken County will receive a total of about $45 million for highway construction, and Marshall County is set to receive more than $60 million.
The plan includes more than $40 million for Fulton County, more than $8.5 million for Hickman County, more than $1 million for Carlisle County, $16.4 million for Ballard County, about $7.5 million for Graves County, more than $20 million for Calloway County, more than $11.8 million for Livingston County, more than $9.9 million for Crittenden County, more than $6.3 million for Caldwell County and more than $15 million for Lyon County.
Download the document below to see the full plan, which includes information about the projects for which the money is slated. The information on highway projects and funding allotted begins on page two, and the counties are listed alphabetically.
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https://www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/general-assemblys-highway-construction-plan-allots-millions-for-west-kentucky-counties-in-local-6-region/article_e4b9277a-b143-11ec-b600-8b35a5e26c9c.html
| 2022-04-01T00:38:59Z
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LA VERGNE, TN — Charles R. Frazier is newly certified as an Estate Planning Law Specialist (EPLS) by the Estate Law Specialist Board, Inc., an organization accredited by the American Bar Association and affiliated with the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils. Frazier, one of only 30 estate planning law specialists in Tennessee, is currently the only African American with the distinction.
With offices in La Vergne, TN, and Brentwood, TN, Frazier is a former IRS Revenue Agent and tax attorney who holds two advanced tax degrees; a Master of Taxation from The Florida Atlantic University and a Master of Laws (LL.M taxation) degree from the University of Alabama. He is also a Certified Exit Planning Advisor to business owners. Frazier’s practice is devoted to tax planning, tax controversies, estate planning, and business succession planning. He represents fiduciaries and beneficiaries in estate and trust administration, and he works with nonprofits to obtain and maintain tax-exempt status.
“I am very pleased to be able to serve the residents of Tennessee in the areas of estate planning and tax law,” Frazier said. “I hope this new certification provides another layer of confidence to our clients that the Law Offices of Charles R. Frazier are prepared to successfully guide them through the process of obtaining wills, living wills, powers of attorneys and completing other estate planning matters. Also, our team stands ready to provide probate administration services to help clients meet the legal requirements of managing a deceased loved one’s estate.”
To become Board-certified as an Estate Planning Law Specialist (EPLS), an attorney must have devoted at least forty percent of his practice to estate planning for a minimum of five years. In addition to passing a comprehensive examination in estate planning law, the attorney must also receive recommendations from five colleagues and establish that he has at least 36 continuing legal education credits within the last three years.
The Law Offices of Charles R. Frazier provide legal counsel to individuals and businesses, and focuses on tax law and estate planning. The firm handles tax collections and tax audit matters before the IRS or Tennessee Department of Revenue, as well as tax planning and compliance. The firm’s estate planning practice helps guide clients through the process of obtaining wills, living wills, powers of attorneys and completing other estate planning matters. Since 2009, The Law Offices of Charles R. Frazier has saved its clients millions of dollars in taxes; given customers the peace of mind that comes with a thoughtful estate plan; and settled countless difficult probate estates.
For more information about the Estate Planning Law Specialist program, see the parent organization’s website at www.naepc.org.
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https://tntribune.com/frazier-is-tennessees-only-black-estate-planning-specialist/
| 2022-04-01T00:38:59Z
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BOSTON (AP) — After a 15-year career in which he etched his name on the Stanley Cup and the Vezina Trophy, Tuukka Rask is focusing now on avoiding the rink.
“Don’t even go there. Not yet,” the retired Bruins goalie said Thursday night when asked if his daughters had taken up hockey. “They’re into dance and whatnot. If I have to go and spend my days at hockey rinks, so be it. But not really at the top of my list.”
A two-time All-Star, and the winner of the 2014 Vezina as the NHL’s top goalie, Rask announced his retirement last month after a setback in his attempt to come back from a torn labrum in his hip. The Bruins invited him back to drop the ceremonial first puck before Thursday night’s game against the New Jersey Devils, and again – perhaps for the last time – the chants of “Tuuuuk!” echoed through the TD Garden.
Rask took the ice with his wife, and their three daughters dressed for a ballet class. He bumped fists with the players on the Bruins bench while both teams tapped their sticks on the ice to salute him.
“I don’t know what the future holds,” Rask told reporters beforehand, saying that he would be showing up at games and golf outings as a team ambassador. “Maybe I’ll get into coaching. Maybe not, but for now, I’ll be hanging out with sponsors.”
The franchise’s all-time leader in wins, Rask helped the Bruins allow the fewest goals in the NHL in the pandemic-interrupted 2019-20 season, when Boston finished with the most points in the league. He injured his hip during the 2021 playoffs and worked his way back to the team midway through this season.
But after just four starts, he aggravated his injury on Jan. 24 against the Anaheim Ducks. Two weeks later, he announced he was through.
“It was kind of time to be honest with yourself,” he said. “I just figured it was better for everybody to call it. I had a great career. No regrets.”
While his hip still has some good days, Rask said no one could talk him out of retirement. His immediate future will involve as much golf as he can squeeze in between shuttling his daughters to dance class and school.
He may need a hip replacement at some point.
“It was at a point where it affected my everyday life,” Rask said. “I’m a guy who makes pretty quick decisions, anyway. So I wasn’t dwelling on it too long.”
Rask was 308-165-66 with a 2.28 goals-against average and .921 save percentage in a franchise-leading 564 games. He was the backup goalie for the Bruins team that won it all in 2011, and he led the team to Stanley Cup Final appearances in 2013 and ’19.
Although coaching is not in his plans, Rask said he would be available if Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman wants him.
“I told him right after I retired: Tell me if you need anything,” Rask said. “Just make sure you don’t get too high or too low.”
—
More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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https://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/article/Bruins-honor-retired-goalie-Rask-after-injury-17049805.php
| 2022-04-01T00:39:00Z
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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.sfchronicle.com/news/article/No-jail-for-LA-building-owner-over-explosion-that-17049830.php
| 2022-04-01T00:39:01Z
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Alex Jones faces fines for skipping Sandy Hook deposition
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut judge said Wednesday Infowars host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones will be fined for each weekday that passes without him appearing for a deposition in a lawsuit brought by relatives of some victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
The penalties were in response to Jones defying court orders to attend a deposition last week, when he cited a health problem including vertigo that later turned out to be a sinus infection. His testimony is being sought ahead of a trial to determine how much he should pay in damages to the families for pushing a conspiracy theory that the massacre never happened.
The penalties will begin at $25,000 per weekday beginning Friday and increase by $25,000 per weekday until he appears for a deposition, Judge Barbara Bellis said. She found Jones in contempt of court orders and repeated her view Wednesday that letters submitted by Jones’ doctors did not include enough evidence that he was too ill to attend last week’s deposition. She noted Jones appeared on his website show — either in-person or by phone — every day last week.
“The court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant, Alex Jones, willfully and in bad faith violated without justification several clear court orders requiring his attendance at his depositions,” Bellis said during a court hearing held by video conference.
Bellis, a judge at Waterbury Superior Court, also ordered the deposition to be held at the Bridgeport, Connecticut, office of the families’ lawyers, instead of Austin, Texas, where it was scheduled last week. Austin is home to Jones and Infowars.
The judge, however, again denied a request by lawyers for the Sandy Hook families to order Jones arrested and detained until he could appear at a deposition. The attorneys first made the request last week.
Jones’ lawyer, Norman Pattis, criticized Bellis’ ruling and planned to appeal to the Connecticut Supreme Court on Thursday.
“The judge’s order is shocking and an insult to the medical doctor who advised Alex not to attend court proceedings,” Pattis said in an email to The Associated Press. “We regard the order as lawless and unprecedented.”
Christopher Mattei, a lawyer for the Sandy Hook families, said during the hearing that the families were seeking penalties because Jones violated court orders and appeared to be attempting to avoid the deposition.
“So what we’ve tried to do ... is change that calculus, make it clear to Mr. Jones that the penalties that will accrue to him as a result of his further noncompliance are not worth it and that he should sit for deposition in order to avoid them,” Mattei said.
A new deposition date was not immediately set. Cameron Atkinson, another Jones lawyer, said Jones would next be available to testify on April 11.
Twenty first-graders and six educators were killed in the December 2012 shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. The gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, killed his mother at their Newtown home before the shooting, and killed himself at the school as police arrived, officials said.
The families of eight of the victims and an FBI agent who responded to the school sued Jones, Infowars and others in Connecticut, saying they have been subjected to harassment and death threats from Jones’ followers because of the hoax conspiracy promoted on his show. Jones has since said he believes the shooting did occur.
On Tuesday, Jones’ lawyers filed court documents that offered to pay $120,000 per plaintiff to settle the lawsuit and offered an apology for “any distress his remarks caused.” The families’ lawyers rejected the offers.
Jones was found liable for damages to the families in the Connecticut lawsuit as well as to some Sandy Hook families who sued him in Texas. Judges in both states found Jones liable by default without a trial, saying he repeatedly refused to abide by court rulings and provide requested evidence to the families’ lawyers.
Jones and his lawyers said he has turned over thousands of documents to the families’ lawyers and sat for depositions in the Texas cases.
Trials are scheduled later this year in Connecticut and Texas to determine how much Jones should pay the families.
___
This story has been corrected to show that the fines Jones would face start at $25,000 per weekday and increase by $25,000 per weekday, not $25,000 to $50,000 per weekday.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.kswo.com/2022/03/30/alex-jones-faces-fines-skipping-sandy-hook-deposition/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:01Z
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Former top national security officials side with Apple in app store antitrust case
By Brian Fung, CNN
Former senior national security officials, including two ex-CIA directors and a past NSA director, are backing Apple’s app store practices as the iPhone maker fights a critical antitrust case.
The nearly two-dozen security experts and former US officials argued Thursday in a court filing that proposals to force open Apple’s mobile ecosystem — such as requirements that iPhones be able to install apps from outside the official app store — would harm user and national security.
The star-studded list of signatories includes Gen. Michael Hayden and John Brennan, the former CIA directors, along with Mike McConnell, the former director of national intelligence and NSA director. Others signing onto the friend-of-the-court submission include William Evanina, former director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center; the longtime national security expert Richard Clarke; and various others with past roles at the Pentagon, the White House and the Department of Homeland Security.
“Requiring Apple devices to accept third-party apps and app stores necessarily increases the risk of malware on iOS devices, which directly correlates to an increased risk to national security,” the former officials wrote.
The filing comes as Apple seeks to convince a federal appeals court to uphold a lower-court ruling that Apple does not run an illegal monopoly in iOS app distribution. The antitrust case, initially brought by “Fortnite”-maker Epic Games, has been closely watched due to its potential to upend the business models of Apple and Google, the world’s largest app store operators.
In arguing that Apple was a monopolist, Epic had called for the ability to offer its own app store as an alternative way to distribute iOS apps. In 2020, Epic openly flouted Apple’s developer rules on in-app payments, setting the stage for a legal confrontation.
Some of the same proposals demanded by Epic have also been introduced in the form of legislation in Europe, South Korea and the United States. Last week, EU lawmakers announced agreement on a bill that, among other things, could eventually force Apple to permit “sideloading,” or the installation of apps from non-official sources. In Congress, bills such as the Open App Markets Act seek a similar result.
“The national security implications of forced sideloading are front and center in debates on these bills,” the former national security officials wrote. “Rather than leave this kind of regulation to Congress, where it belongs, [Epic] invites the Court to jump into the legislative fray. The Court should decline that invitation.”
For its part, Epic has also benefited from a slew of high-profile friend-of-the-court briefs. In their own filings, dozens of state attorneys general and the Justice Department weighed in on the case in January. While they did not explicitly endorse Epic, they argued the lower court had misapplied US antitrust law in various ways in ruling for Apple.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.
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https://kesq.com/money/cnn-social-media-technology/2022/03/31/former-top-national-security-officials-side-with-apple-in-app-store-antitrust-case/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:01Z
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Title IX has been a passionate subject for Candace Parker ever since she learned of its impact while doing a paper on it in the eighth grade.
So, it is no surprise her first documentary as an executive producer is about the landmark legislation. On Saturday, “Title IX: 37 Words That Changed America,” will open coverage of the men’s Final Four on TBS at 1 p.m. EDT.
“I sit here because of Title IX. Although we have so many wins, we have so much further to go. That’s why we went with having the Title IX story told through my eyes so that you can see if Title IX didn’t exist, I wouldn’t exist,” Parker said.
Parker considers herself a first-generation benefactor of Title IX, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. It states: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
Parker’s mother, Sara, attended Iowa before Title IX became law. Candace’s 12-year old daughter, Lailaa Nicole Williams, will have more opportunities.
“It means a lot to be able to have my mom and my daughter be a part of this,” Parker said. “I have inspiration from my mom and her story. And then as well for my daughter, I want to continue to open up doors, and I don’t want her to see limitations.”
The documentary also comes as inequities between the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments are coming under intense scrutiny.
“Something as simple as March Madness, right? Like, now women can use that. That’s unbelievable. It’s 2022,” Parker said. “But things are changing. But it still doesn’t take away that we still have so much farther to go. I think that’s the whole point of doing this documentary is if you invest, it’s not a charity, it’s an investment. And it’s an honest investment of trying to make it work. And I think for so long, we just existed; women’s sports existed as something that had to be there. And now we look at it as an investment, and then I think we can start moving things forward."
Parker won a pair of NCAA championships at Tennessee while being coached by one of the pioneers of Title IX, the late Pat Summitt. Parker has parlayed that experience into a successful career as a two-time WNBA champion and MVP and two gold medals in the Olympics.
Parker is also an accomplished analyst for Turner Sports on its NBA and NCAA Tournament coverage since 2018. During discussions about a contract extension at Turner, Parker and her representatives first pitched the idea of a documentary. It got the green light for production last November.
The documentary includes interviews with Billie Jean King, Peyton Manning, Lisa Leslie, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
“There’s a number of influential voices that I think I have to pinch myself to realize that they’re a part of it,” Parker said. “To have Billie Jean King, like the 10-year-old girl that did a biography project on her, I just think it’s just so special.
“Title IX doesn’t just impact women. To watch Peyton Manning talk about how Pat really influenced his life, as a competitor and just as an individual. To see somebody that is an icon to say that I think speaks to how valuable women in leadership positions are.”
Having the documentary tip-off Turner’s Final Four coverage on Saturday should give it a broader audience. “The Arena” will air following the documentary and focus on the impact of Title IX on sports and society.
This is also the first project for Parker’s production company — Baby Hair Productions — and was also produced with Scout Productions.
“Having a diverse audience, that’s not just the women and girls, we want everyone to see how impactful and powerful women are in society,” Parker said. “To have this be something that we talk about, especially after with ‘The Arena' show, I think it speaks to just how important it is.”
___
More AP coverage of March Madness: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
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https://www.thetelegraph.com/sports/article/Parker-hopes-Title-IX-documentary-serves-as-17049750.php
| 2022-04-01T00:39:02Z
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Title IX has been a passionate subject for Candace Parker ever since she learned of its impact while doing a paper on it in the eighth grade.
So, it is no surprise her first documentary as an executive producer is about the landmark legislation. On Saturday, “Title IX: 37 Words That Changed America,” will open coverage of the men’s Final Four on TBS at 1 p.m. EDT.
“I sit here because of Title IX. Although we have so many wins, we have so much further to go. That’s why we went with having the Title IX story told through my eyes so that you can see if Title IX didn’t exist, I wouldn’t exist,” Parker said.
Parker considers herself a first-generation benefactor of Title IX, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. It states: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
Parker’s mother, Sara, attended Iowa before Title IX became law. Candace’s 12-year old daughter, Lailaa Nicole Williams, will have more opportunities.
“It means a lot to be able to have my mom and my daughter be a part of this,” Parker said. “I have inspiration from my mom and her story. And then as well for my daughter, I want to continue to open up doors, and I don’t want her to see limitations.”
The documentary also comes as inequities between the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments are coming under intense scrutiny.
“Something as simple as March Madness, right? Like, now women can use that. That’s unbelievable. It’s 2022,” Parker said. “But things are changing. But it still doesn’t take away that we still have so much farther to go. I think that’s the whole point of doing this documentary is if you invest, it’s not a charity, it’s an investment. And it’s an honest investment of trying to make it work. And I think for so long, we just existed; women’s sports existed as something that had to be there. And now we look at it as an investment, and then I think we can start moving things forward."
Parker won a pair of NCAA championships at Tennessee while being coached by one of the pioneers of Title IX, the late Pat Summitt. Parker has parlayed that experience into a successful career as a two-time WNBA champion and MVP and two gold medals in the Olympics.
Parker is also an accomplished analyst for Turner Sports on its NBA and NCAA Tournament coverage since 2018. During discussions about a contract extension at Turner, Parker and her representatives first pitched the idea of a documentary. It got the green light for production last November.
The documentary includes interviews with Billie Jean King, Peyton Manning, Lisa Leslie, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
“There’s a number of influential voices that I think I have to pinch myself to realize that they’re a part of it,” Parker said. “To have Billie Jean King, like the 10-year-old girl that did a biography project on her, I just think it’s just so special.
“Title IX doesn’t just impact women. To watch Peyton Manning talk about how Pat really influenced his life, as a competitor and just as an individual. To see somebody that is an icon to say that I think speaks to how valuable women in leadership positions are.”
Having the documentary tip-off Turner’s Final Four coverage on Saturday should give it a broader audience. “The Arena” will air following the documentary and focus on the impact of Title IX on sports and society.
This is also the first project for Parker’s production company — Baby Hair Productions — and was also produced with Scout Productions.
“Having a diverse audience, that’s not just the women and girls, we want everyone to see how impactful and powerful women are in society,” Parker said. “To have this be something that we talk about, especially after with ‘The Arena' show, I think it speaks to just how important it is.”
___
More AP coverage of March Madness: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
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https://www.middletownpress.com/sports/article/Parker-hopes-Title-IX-documentary-serves-as-17049750.php
| 2022-04-01T00:39:02Z
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Quintin "Quin69" shared on Twitter today that he was permanently banned from League of Legends after buying a new account to bypass the 14-day suspension he received yesterday.
The suspension he received yesterday was due to him "int-ing," a phrase the League community uses which means intentionally losing or dying in-game. The reason for him purposefully losing was because he was constantly suffering from enemies and friendly players "stream sniping" him, meaning they would watch his stream while playing against him.
This gave them insight on whatever Quin and his team were doing. While stream sniping is a banable offense in League, the automated ban system can't do anything about it unless players report the snipers, which certainly wasn't going to happen since he was in a game filled with them.
Int-ing, on the other hand, is something that many players will immediately report, as it ruins the game for everyone involved.
Quin69 permabanned on LoL after bypassing suspension
That's exactly what happened after Quin69 went AFK (away from keyboard) many times in multiple matches, being handed a 14-day suspension from the automated system. While he was upset that he was banned, he quickly purchased a new account to bypass the ban, which is a very serious offense against League's terms of service.
While purchasing an account may not seem like a banable offense, the fact that he bought the account to bypass his existing ban definitely violates Leagues rules and that too, when he was streaming himself playing the game earlier in the day.
He announced the news on Twitter by sharing a cropped screenshot of the ban notification, claiming that this was due to him being harassed by players exploiting the ban system.
In most other situations, his fans would try and defend him and try to get League to unban him, but considering his actions leading up to this permaban, they were quick to criticize his framing of the situation.
Many went on to reply to the tweet to leave their comments of disappointment, with some saying that if the suspension was unjust, he could have simply talked to the support team to get it removed instead of illegally purchasing a new account.
While the status of Quin69's main account is unknown as of now, it wouldn't be surprising if it was also given a permaban in the near future.
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https://www.sportskeeda.com/esports/quin69-permabanned-league-legends-fans
| 2022-04-01T00:39:02Z
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Nurses: Guilty verdict for dosing mistake could cost lives
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The moment nurse RaDonda Vaught realized she had given a patient the wrong medication, she rushed to the doctors working to revive 75-year-old Charlene Murphey and told them what she had done. Within hours, she made a full report of her mistake to the Vanderbilt University Medical...
www.wbal.com
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2556533523873/nurses-guilty-verdict-for-dosing-mistake-could-cost-lives
| 2022-04-01T00:39:02Z
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They fell in love on a Greyhound Bus 35 years ago. They’ve been together ever since
Francesca Street, CNN
When Tiffany Woods met Bridgette, she was at a crossroads.
It was February 1987 and Tiffany was 23. She’d got married two years previously. Now her marriage was on the rocks and divorce seemed imminent. Tiffany was training to become a police officer, but her heart wasn’t in it.
Tiffany, who is trans, had also yet to come out. For much of her life up to that point, she had tried to quash her identity.
Tiffany wasn’t sure where she was heading next. For now, she was simply focused on lining up at Sacramento Bus Station to catch the Greyhound bus back home to San Francisco.
Travelers were starting to deposit their bags in the bus hold. Tiffany wasn’t paying attention, but then a young woman further up the line reached over to hand Tiffany a luggage tag.
“You’re going to need one of these to check your bag in,” said the stranger, smiling.
“Oh thanks,” said Tiffany, breaking out of her reverie.
The woman with the extra luggage tag was Bridgette. Then 18, she was living and working in San Francisco, and on her way back there after a weekend visiting her parents in Sacramento.
Bridgette and Tiffany started chatting — first about the luggage tags, then about the journey ahead.
The person in between them, sensing this conversation wasn’t going to come to an end anytime soon, asked if they’d like to switch places so they could stand together. Why not, figured Tiffany and Bridgette, and they switched.
“We were just talking back and forth. And we were waiting for a long time in that line,” Bridgette, who has asked only to be referred to by her first name for personal reasons, tells CNN Travel.
The two were enjoying each other’s company. When they eventually boarded the bus, sitting together seemed the obvious next step.
Journeying from Sacramento to San Francisco by car usually takes around an hour and a half. But with the Greyhound’s multiple stops, and the inevitable traffic, the bus was on the road for several hours.
Tiffany and Bridgette talked the whole way.
Tiffany describes the interaction as one of “those conversations where you meet a stranger and you spend several hours with the stranger as if you’ve known them your whole life — and you also assume you’re never going to see them again, so your defenses are down.”
The two talked about everything, but also kept some things private. Tiffany didn’t mention she was still married. Bridgette added a few years to her age, telling Tiffany she was 21.
A couple of hours into the journey, a woman sat across from the pair, charmed by their obvious connection, cut in with a question:
“How long have you two been together?” she asked.
Tiffany and Bridgette turned to one another and laughed. Then Tiffany turned back to the woman, and told her they’d been together since kindergarten. Without skipping a beat, Bridgette named the fictitious teacher who’d taught the imaginary class where they’d supposedly met.
“We just started playing off each other like we had been together since kindergarten,” recalls Tiffany. “I guess we just had that chemistry.”
The bus eventually pulled into the steel surrounds of the San Francisco Transbay Terminal, where a friend of Tiffany’s was waiting to pick her up.
Bridgette had been planning to catch the Bay Area Rapid Transit train to her aunt’s house, where she was living at the time.
The bus’s late arrival meant she’d missed the last train, so Tiffany offered Bridgette a ride home.
En route they detoured to a pizza restaurant, then a bar and exchanged phone numbers. When Tiffany eventually dropped Bridgette home, she kissed her goodnight.
“That was very sweet,” recalls Bridgette. “And the rest is history, as they say.”
Openness and communication
Bridgette and Tiffany both had vague plans to travel back to Sacramento the following weekend. Sometime during the week, they connected on the phone and arranged to travel there together.
Bridgette planned to stay with her parents for the weekend, so she suggested Tiffany could crash there too. Tiffany agreed, and so less than a week after they’d met waiting for the bus, Tiffany was introduced to Bridgette’s parents.
“I spent the weekend with her. We went to her parents’ home then to her sister’s high school play. She introduced me to her friends afterwards,” recalls Tiffany.
Since that weekend, she adds “we’ve never not been together.”
That Friday evening, the two were curled up on the couch in Bridgette’s parents living room. It was 3 a.m., and everyone else was asleep. They’d been drinking champagne. The fire was crackling in the fireplace.
“She was stroking my hair and she’s like ‘Oh, what’s your favorite color?'” recalls Tiffany. “And I said: ‘Purple.'”
That was an unconventional choice for a cis, heterosexual man in 1987, suggests Tiffany. By telling Bridgette this fact about herself, she was hoping to incite a deeper conversation.
“I think I have gender issues,” she said.
The next morning, feeling slightly hungover, Tiffany panicked, and tried to backtrack on what she’d said.
“It’s okay, we’ll figure it out. You’re fine. You’re okay. You’re perfect the way you are. We’ll figure it out together,” was Bridgette’s response.
“Nobody had ever said that to me before,” recalls Tiffany today.
It was everything she’d ever hoped for.
“Because there wasn’t any expectation of the relationship or anything, there was such an openness, there weren’t any consequences — there was just a complete trust of whatever the natural understanding of each other was. And as that relationship grew, that just stayed there,” says Bridgette.
“We clearly always had, I think, the soul mate connection,” says Tiffany.
Growing together
As February slipped into March, Bridgette and Tiffany continued to get to know one another. Their relationship was deepening, but Tiffany wasn’t sure how to bring up the fact that she was still married.
She hadn’t mentioned it right away, and now it had become a secret.
Eventually, Bridgette found out. It was fraught.
“I was very angry,” says Bridgette. It took a while to work through. She says today that this memory “is one of the little scars.”
“I took complete ownership of it,” says Tiffany.
Tiffany and her ex-wife, who were already separated, got a divorce. By September 1987, Tiffany and Bridgette had moved into a small apartment in San Francisco.
The two started building a life together, working through what they wanted from their careers, families and for themselves.
Becoming a cop, Tiffany had decided, was not for her.
“I was going to be a police officer, because I couldn’t ever see a path of transition,” she recalls. “And so that’s what we did as trans folks in the 70s, 80s, 60s, we kind of went into hyper masculine professions.”
But the unconditional, supportive relationship she had with Bridgette allowed her to reevaluate. Together, Tiffany and Bridgette started looking into how Tiffany could be herself.
“If you don’t figure out your gender identity and your issues in a healthy way and start to build a healthy foundation, then it’s always going to be a struggle,” says Tiffany now.
In the late 1980s, there was no internet to turn to. There was also a lack of trans representation in the media or public eye.
“It was so different, there wasn’t resources, there was so much stigma, there still is now,” says Tiffany. “I mean, now we’ve come a long way — we’re still having obviously backlash of the trans visibility — but at that point, I was just trying to figure out if this was even a reality.”
But as the new decade drew in, the two found a new sense of belonging as they immersed themselves in San Francisco’s LGBTQ+ community.
“We just found a lot of kindred spirits and a place and belonging and a purpose,” says Tiffany.
It was a turning point, but the impact of the AIDS epidemic on their community, as well as the “double life” that Tiffany, who hadn’t come out to her family, says she was living at the time, was tough.
When she decided to fully transition, Tiffany stopped talking to her family altogether.
“Fear is a huge barrier,” she says. “I was afraid of rejection. So I rejected them first, because then I could control the rejection. But I also, I didn’t give them the opportunity to affirm me or support. That’s the flip side of that.”
A spontaneous wedding
Bridgette had always wanted to get married. Tiffany had been less sure — she’d already been married and it had ended badly.
But by 1996, the two were in agreement that it was the right thing for them both.
Backed by the enthusiasm of their gay friends, who were unable to marry at that time and told Bridgette and Tiffany they should “get married for us,” the two tied the knot on December 28, 1996.
Tiffany and Bridgette weren’t sure how the minister would react if they both dressed in a traditionally feminine way, so Tiffany wore a men’s tuxedo with soft make-up and a ponytail.
But afterward, the couple’s housemates, who were drag queens and experts in styling, helped Tiffany get ready for the evening celebrations. Then the newlyweds went out for food and cake with their close friends.
A few years later, with the dawn of the new millennium, Tiffany and Bridgette decided to have children.
Bridgette had always wanted kids, but Tiffany had taken longer to come to that decision.
“I figured the kids would reject me, because I didn’t know how to have those conversations — you know, at that time, there wasn’t a lot of trans parents,” she says.
The two decided the first step was to rebuild the relationship with Tiffany’s family.
“We wanted to change the narrative and create a new path that’s healthy for our family — also, knowing that we needed the support of our families, navigating a world as a trans woman and perceived as a lesbian couple,” says Tiffany.
After the years of silence, there was some hurt there, but Tiffany’s family were excited to support Tiffany and Bridgette through parenthood. The old wounds gradually healed.
Today, Bridgette and Tiffany have three teenage children.
Tiffany’s fears of rejection from their kids proved unfounded, as Bridgette always said they would be. They give her, Tiffany says, “nothing but unconditional love.”
‘Things happen for a reason’
Today, Tiffany and Bridgette say they’re focused on doing their best to make a difference in the world and raising their children to do the same.
Bridgette has her own company, while Tiffany works for the California Department of Public Health as the state’s transgender health specialist.
Tiffany is also on the executive board for the California Democratic Party, and is the LGBTQ Caucus co-chair.
Today, whenever they see a Greyhound bus on the road, the two think of their serendipitous meeting. They’ve not been on a Greyhound together since, but they enjoy road trips together from time to time.
Tiffany and Bridgette say they’re both proud of where they are today, and how they’ve grown together over their 35 year relationship.
“Anything is possible, you just have to believe you can make things work,” says Bridgette.
“Don’t be afraid to take chances,” agrees Tiffany. “I think we all meet each other for a reason, things happen for a reason. And we may not understand what the reason is, but be open to them. And don’t let fear hold you back.”
The-CNN-Wire
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https://kion546.com/news/2022/03/31/they-fell-in-love-on-a-greyhound-bus-35-years-ago-theyve-been-together-ever-since/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:02Z
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The original NFTs were tulips, not tokens
The next time you see Matt Damon or Larry David or LeBron James telling you to invest now in cryptocurrencies or non-fungible tokens (NFTs) because “fortune favors the brave,” remember this: The original NFTs were not tokens, but tulips.
Picture yourself in Amsterdam in the 1630s. There are no bicyclists careening along the canals, terrifying tourists like you. There are no clouds of marijuana smoke hovering over the pedestrian bridges, or junkies lying about on street corners. There are only the charming houseboats docked along the canals, the crenelated storefronts and townhomes and, almost everywhere you look, the sight of people exchanging tulips and tulip bulbs for goods as a form of currency. Since their arrival in the 1560s, tulips have become so entrenched in Dutch life that the greatest artist of his time, Rembrandt, features one that goes the 17th century equivalent of viral in a painting of his wife; it since has been known as the Rembrandt tulip.
But, tulip bulbs, you ask? As currency?
Of course, you are informed, why not? There is no such thing as an ascertainable intrinsic value, really; things are worth what we are collectively comfortable paying for them. By the 1630s, speculation in the value of tulip bulbs has migrated from a pastime of the rich to a mainstream commercial enterprise.
As Charles Mackay describes it in “Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds,” his 1844 classic, “At first, as in all these gambling mania, confidence was at its height, and everybody gained.” Demand for the odd commodity was fueled by con artists and hucksters, who “speculated in the rise and fall of the tulip stocks, and made large profits by buying when prices fell, and selling out when they rose.” Tulip desks were established on the stock exchange trading floors in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Leiden.
A whole society took the bait. “Nobles, citizens, farmers, mechanics, seamen, footmen, maidservants, even chimney sweeps … converted their property into cash, and invested it in flowers.”
As the fever reached its peak, someone was willing to exchange “4,600 florins, a new carriage, two grey horses, and a complete suit of harness” for a single Semper Augustus tulip bulb — known in slang of the time as an NFT, or non-fungible tulip. A single bulb of another NFT, the viceroy tulip, could be exchanged for four fat oxen, eight fat swine, 12 fat sheep, or 1,000 pounds of cheese. What did it matter, after all? They were worth whatever people could be persuaded to pay.
Except, well, not really. Eventually, as tulip capitalization penetrated the mainstream Dutch economy, Mackay tells us, “it was seen that somebody must lose fearfully in the end.” They may have been non-fungible, but they were, after all, still just tulips.
“Hundreds who, a few months previously, had begun to doubt that there was such a thing as poverty in the land, suddenly found themselves the possessors of a few bulbs, which nobody would buy… . The few who had contrived to enrich themselves hid their wealth from the knowledge of their follow-citizens, and invested it in the English or other funds… .”
Fortune, we are reminded incessantly these days in the marketing blitz for cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens, “favors the brave.” Matt Damon likens investing in crypto to the risk-taking of the great global explorers, the scalers of mountains, the travelers to outer space; Larry David poses as an ignoramus who had no interest in the telegraph, the electric light, the computer, and who now doubts the viability of cryptocurrencies. LeBron James counsels his younger self to be brave in going to the NBA, and likens that decision to investing in cryptocurrency.
Fortune sometimes may favor the brave. But it more frequently is cruel to the reckless. Think of George Custer giving the order to charge the unseen Sioux nation. People sending their children on the doomed children’s crusade. Napoleon or Hitler invading Russia, or Russia’s current criminal misadventure in Ukraine.
Think of the investors in Bernie Madoff, Enron, or the DeLorean. Brave folk all, to be sure. And they’re broke as well.
None of the celebrity-soaked ads for cryptocurrencies attempts to explain what they are and why they are valuable. I suspect the reason is that they can’t. Try it: Go on the internet and ask what you are buying when you expend your money on cryptocurrency or NFTs. What do you get for your money? You get a percentage of a “coin” recorded non-fungibly and anonymously on a blockchain register that can enable transactions more quickly. Really?
The best answer you’ll get is the one that Mark Cuban gave regarding his purchase of Dogecoin for his son: “That’s not to say it has any intrinsic value. It doesn’t.” You’re buying, essentially, the hope that this relentless marketing will persuade others to buy in, thus driving up the “value” of your anonymous fractional piece of an abstract ledger entry.
I’m sure there is a value proposition to encoding transactions on a blockchain ledger. I suspect that this value has been dangerously overhyped, is completely reliant on social media push marketing, is subject to untraceable manipulation and, like the Dot.com and subprime mortgage bubbles, is growing large enough to place our economic system at risk if we aren’t careful.
Tulips also had a valid value proposition. It emerged once speculation had been banished, and it lasts to this day: You can buy from Holland Bulb Farms a seven-Rembrandt bulb package. They charge a whopping $3.99.
John Farmer Jr. is director of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. He is a former assistant U.S. attorney, counsel to the governor of New Jersey, New Jersey attorney general, senior counsel to the 9/11 Commission, dean of Rutgers Law School, and executive vice president and general counsel of Rutgers University.
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/opinion/finance/596636-the-original-nfts-were-tulips-not-tokens/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:01Z
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https://dan.com/buy-domain/hzftzscl.com
| 2022-04-01T00:39:04Z
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https://www.leafly.com/brands/io-extracts/products/io-extracts-og-mix-live-resin-batter-1g-solvent
| 2022-04-01T00:39:04Z
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BERLIN (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted Thursday that the country’s natural gas must be paid for with rubles, a demand apparently intended to help bolster the Russian currency but one that European leaders say they will not comply with because it violates the terms of contracts and sanctions.
Putin said Russia will start accepting ruble payments Friday and gas supplies will be cut off if buyers don’t agree to the new conditions, including opening ruble accounts in Russian banks, from which the gas payments will be made.
“If these payments are not made, we will consider it a failure of the buyer to fulfill its obligations, with all the ensuing consequences,” Putin said.
European leaders cautiously insisted they will continue to pay for natural gas in euros and dollars and want to see the fine print of how the Kremlin will implement its decree. It came a day after the leaders of Italy and Germany said they received assurances from Putin about gas supplies.
Putin announced last week the countries deemed “unfriendly” for imposing sanctions on Russia over its war in Ukraine must pay for natural gas only in Russian currency. His proposal has caused natural gas prices to gyrate and raised fears it could be a prelude to an interruption of supplies to Europe, which is heavily dependent on Russian natural gas and would struggle with a sudden cutoff. At the same time, Russia depends on oil and gas sales for much of its government revenue at a time its economy is under severe stress from Western sanctions.
Putin’s demand appeared to be part of Russia’s efforts to boost the ruble after the currency plunged under Western sanctions. After dropping as low as 143 rubles to the dollar in early March, on Thursday it took 82 rubles to buy a dollar, around the same level as the day Russia launched its invasion.
Economists say switching the gas payments to rubles would do little to support the Russian currency, since gas exporter Gazprom has to sell 80% of its foreign currency earnings for rubles anyway. The White House said Thursday that the ruble is no longer a reliable measure of Russia’s economy because it’s being artificially propped up.
Analysts at Evercore ISI said Putin’s primary motive seems to be “to prove he can bend EU leaders to his will.” They also said that even if Russia is able to force the EU to pay for gas in rubles, the European countries could retaliate by imposing more tariffs on Russian oil imports or banning them outright. While Russia could eventually sell the oil, the price would likely be at a steep discount, the analysts said.
The decree Putin signed and state news agency RIA Novosti published says a designated bank will open two accounts for each buyer, one in foreign currency and one in rubles. Buyers will pay in foreign currency and authorize the bank to sell it for rubles on Moscow’s currency exchange. The rubles would then be placed in the second account, where the gas is formally purchased.
People are “wondering what Putin is up to,” said Tim Ash, senior emerging markets sovereign strategist at BlueBay Asset Management. Putin may have read the German government’s unwillingness to boycott Russian energy “as weakness and is now trying to engineer this energy crisis … the solution here is to call Putin’s bluff and say, sure, cut off energy supplies and see who breaks first.”
___
D’Emilio contributed from Rome. AP reporter Colleen Barry in Milan contributed.
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https://www.mystateline.com/news/international/italy-russia-wont-seek-payment-in-rubles-for-natural-gas/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:04Z
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri House has defeated a congressional redistricting plan passed by the state Senate — intensifying a stalemate that could lead to court intervention.
The vote Thursday by the House came after the Senate already had refused to negotiate over their differences.
Though Republicans hold overwhelming legislative majorities, Missouri is the only state that has not either enacted or at least passed a new congressional map after the 2020 census.
Maps also remain uncertain in a few other states because of vetoes or court challenges.
More details: https://bit.ly/3qQyRCM
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https://www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/missouri-house-rejects-congressional-map-as-standoff-worsens/article_378900fa-b140-11ec-a0d2-a3874219c10b.html
| 2022-04-01T00:39:05Z
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GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The pain was sharp and familiar. It reminded David Price of where he has been. It also told him he still might be able to be the pitcher the Los Angeles Dodgers thought they had nearly 26 months ago.
Price’s quiet spring began the way others have in the five-time All-Star’s 13-year career: His left elbow hurt after his first live batting practice a couple of weeks ago, and he knew the resumption of an old routine was underway.
“Always the elbow,’’ Price said. “It happens every year, all the way back to 2010. Now, everything feels good – arm, elbow and shoulder.’’
It was good enough to impress Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and anybody else who watched Price make his first spring appearance against Cleveland on Wednesday night. The left-hander worked only an inning, but he had two strikeouts and was clocked at 93 mph.
In an abbreviated camp, it wasn’t enough to determine his role. It did remind the Dodgers that Price is still in the mix.
From starter to bullpen, Price’s role with the Dodgers has been uncertain since they acquired the 2012 American League Cy Young Award winner from the Boston Red Sox in a three-team deal that included right-fielder Mookie Betts in February 2020.
Price didn’t pitch at all that year, opting out because of concerns about COVID-19. In 2021, he bounced between the starting rotation and the bullpen with 11 starts and 28 appearances as a reliever. His overall ERA was 4.03.
He arrived at camp in mid-March ready to do anything. Then Roberts mentioned him as a possible starter.
“I’m preparing that way, yeah,” said Price, who is in the final year of a seven-year, $217 million contract. “I think it’d be silly of me to prepare to be a reliever if I’m asked to start. So, I’m preparing to be a starter until otherwise.”
Otherwise looks to be the case. Roberts projects his starting rotation will be Walker Buehler, Julio Urias, Clayton Kershaw, Andrew Heaney and Tony Gonsolin. He cautioned that nothing is set in stone, mostly because pitchers were limited in a camp cut short by major league baseball’s lockout.
The Dodgers signed career starter Tyler Anderson in mid-March, just in case. As for Price, Roberts said: “I just think that David, right now, is not an option in the sense of, he’s not built up. It just doesn’t seem feasible right now.”
The 36-year-old left-hander could still have an immediate role, like one inning in relief early in the season, Roberts said, and moving up to multiple innings as he gets stronger.
“I’m confident in David in any role,’’ Roberts said. “I like his versatility. The role doesn’t matter. It’s just knowing that he’s going to pitch valuable innings in whatever role.”
NOTES
Cody Bellinger took batting practice Thursday on the minor-league side of the Dodgers’ camp. The 2019 National League MVP is 4 for 27 with 17 strikeouts this spring.
“I wouldn’t say I’m alarmed,’’ Roberts said. “I think ‘progressing’ is the word. We’ve got to continue to log at-bats to make him feel as comfortable as possible when the season starts.’’
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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https://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/article/David-Price-waiting-to-see-how-Dodgers-will-17049733.php
| 2022-04-01T00:39:06Z
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Annually, alumni, family, students, staff, faculty, and friends of Georgetown University travel to a different city to celebrate the university and the leaders it creates. The event is called the John Carroll Weekend. The weekend includes social, cultural, and intellectual events that allow participants to engage with the university faculty and leaders. There are tours, excursions, lectures, and receptions. There are also awards.
The John Carroll Award recognizes alumni whose achievements and record of service exemplify the ideals of Georgetown University and its founder. This year’s recipient of the award is J. Jacques Carter, class of 1979 from the Georgetown University School of Medicine.
A native of North Carolina, Dr. J. Jacques Carter grew up in Washington, D.C. He earned degrees from Howard University and George Washington University. After a five-year stint as a sanitarian and program manager with the D.C. Department of Public Health, he left to pursue medical studies at Georgetown. He completed his residency training in internal medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, followed by graduate work at the Harvard School of Public Health and a clinical fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital.
Carter currently serves as an attending physician on the medical service at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and is an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. Carter has been active in many civic and community organizations. He recently served on the Board of Directors of the United Way of Massachusetts Bay. Carter has a long history of volunteer leadership: he was previously the chairman of the Brookline Advisory Council on Public Health; president of the Board of Trustees of Family Service of Greater Boston; member of the Board of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; co-founder and former president of the Friends of Public Health; president of the Harvard School of Public Health Alumni Association; director of the Harvard Alumni Association; and a founding member of Georgetown’s African American Advisory Board. He is married to Luella Ferrill. They have two sons, Jacques Andre and Richard Ferrill.
Dr. Carter will be the honoree at the John Carroll Gala. There is also a brunch in his honor hosted by Tyree Jones. Mr. Jones is a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center, a member of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Committee on Law Center Affairs.
Mr. Jones is a 2019 recipient of the John Carroll Award.
This event will be held on the historic campus of Fisk University. It will be coordinated by Nashville’s own Terrance A. Hurd of The Hurd Agency.
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https://tntribune.com/georgetown-comes-to-nashville-tn/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:06Z
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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Niger Republic is seeking Nigeria’s financial support in the establishment of another outfit similar to the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to combat the menace of banditry in the North West region of the country.
President Mohammed Bazoum of Niger Republic made the request, yesterday, during his meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to him, the MNJTF created for the North East region had established relief within the region, adding that countries within the Sahel region would be delighted if Nigeria would support a replication of the outfit against bandits in the North West.
Meanwhile, Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle has backed the call to change the strategy in the fight against insurgency.
He said: “We have to change strategy, because like those of us that share border with Niger Republic, we have a joint task force between the Nigerian security and Nigerien security, which we have provided some logistics and cash for them to ease their operation.
On what can be done to end insurgency, Borno Governor State, Babagana Zullum said: “I think the most important thing is to enhance the means of livelihood of the communities that are living in Nigeria, especially in the northern part, because we need to address the underlying causes of the insurgency, which are not limited to increasing poverty, increasing infrastructure deficit and climate vulnerabilities.”
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https://www.sunnewsonline.com/niger-seeks-funding-for-new-military-jtf-borno-zamfara-back-call-for-new-strategy-against-insurgents/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:04Z
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Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS – Get Rating) Director Gary Joseph Smith sold 16,720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$62.03, for a total value of C$1,037,175.04. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$822,110.10.
TSE:FTS traded up C$0.26 on Thursday, reaching C$61.83. 1,552,829 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,588,464. The firm has a market capitalization of C$29.48 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.80. The company’s 50 day moving average is C$59.40 and its 200-day moving average is C$58.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 124.11. Fortis Inc. has a 1-year low of C$53.95 and a 1-year high of C$62.28.
Fortis (TSE:FTS – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 11th. The company reported C$0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.72 by C($0.09). The business had revenue of C$2.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$2.36 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Fortis Inc. will post 2.9899999 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Several brokerages have commented on FTS. CSFB boosted their target price on Fortis from C$60.00 to C$63.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 27th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Fortis from C$60.00 to C$61.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 27th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Fortis from C$61.00 to C$58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 31st. Credit Suisse Group upped their price objective on Fortis to C$63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 27th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a C$58.00 price objective on shares of Fortis in a research note on Monday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fortis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$60.12.
About Fortis (Get Rating)
Fortis Inc operates as an electric and gas utility company in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean countries. It generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 438,000 retail customers in southeastern Arizona; and 100,000 retail customers in Arizona's Mohave and Santa Cruz counties with an aggregate capacity of 3,485 megawatts (MW), including 53 MW of solar capacity and 252 MV of wind capacity.
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https://www.americanbankingnews.com/2022/03/31/fortis-inc-tsefts-director-sells-c1037175-04-in-stock.html
| 2022-04-01T00:39:07Z
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Oscars producer Will Packer said Los Angeles police were ready to arrest Will Smith after Smith slapped Chris Rock on the Academy Awards stage.
“They were saying, you know, this is battery, was a word they used in that moment," Packer said in a clip released by ABC News Thursday night of an interview he gave to “Good Morning America.” “They said we will go get him. We are prepared. We’re prepared to get him right now. You can press charges, we can arrest him. They were laying out the options.”
But Packer said Rock was “very dismissive” of the idea.
“He was like, ‘No, no, no, I’m fine,” Packer said. "And even to the point where I said, ‘Rock, let them finish.’ The LAPD officers finished laying out what his options were and they said, ‘Would you like us to take any action?’ And he said no.”
The LAPD said in a statement after Sunday night's ceremony that they were aware of the incident, and that Rock had declined to file a police report. The department declined comment Thursday on Packer's interview, a longer version of which will air on Friday morning.
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences met Wednesday to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Smith for violations against the group’s standards of conduct. Smith could be suspended, expelled or otherwise sanctioned.
The academy said in a statement that “Mr. Smith’s actions at the 94th Oscars were a deeply shocking, traumatic event to witness in-person and on television."
Without giving specifics, the academy said Smith was asked to leave the ceremony at the Dolby Theatre, but refused to do so.
Smith strode from his front row seat on to the stage and slapped Rock after a joke Rock made about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, when he was on stage to present the Oscar for best documentary.
On Monday, Smith issued an apology to Rock, the academy and to viewers, saying “I was out of line and I was wrong.”
The academy said Smith has the opportunity to defend himself in a written response before the board meets again on April 18.
Rock publicly addressed the incident for the first time, but only briefly, at the beginning of a standup show Wednesday night in Boston, where he was greeted by a thunderous standing ovation. He said “I’m still kind of processing what happened.”
___
Follow AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton
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https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Oscars-producer-says-police-offered-to-arrest-17049804.php
| 2022-04-01T00:39:07Z
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Arizona governor won’t say transgender people exist
By BOB CHRISTIE
Associated Press
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is refusing to say if he thinks transgender people actually exist. At a news conference Thursday, he twice dodged that exact question just a day after signing legislation limiting transgender rights. The Republican instead defended his signatures on bills barring transgender girls and women from playing on girls high school and women’s college sports teams and barring gender-affirming surgery for anyone under age 18. The Arizona director for the Human Rights Campaign says Ducey’s refusal to acknowledge trans people exist is “appalling.” The bills passed the Republican-controlled Legislature with no support from minority Democrats.
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https://kesq.com/news/2022/03/31/arizona-governor-wont-say-transgender-people-exist-2/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:07Z
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Biden receives 2nd booster, presses Congress on virus funds
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden called on Congress to pass billions of dollars in additional funding to fight the COVID-19 pandemic on Wednesday, as he received a second booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine a day after federal regulators approved a fourth shot for those aged 50 and older.
Biden spoke as his administration rolled out COVID.gov, designed to be a one-stop website to help people in the United States access COVID-19 tests, vaccines and treatments, along with status updates on infection rates where they live. Biden pressed lawmakers to provide additional funding “immediately” to ensure continued supply of the tools that have helped the nation begin to emerge from the pandemic.
“Congress, we need to secure additional supply now,” he said, warning of shortages of vaccines, tests and treatments. “This isn’t partisan, it’s medicine.”
Biden, 79, received the first series of two doses of the coronavirus vaccine shortly before taking office and a first booster shot in September. The additional booster dose was administered by a member of the White House Medical Unit.
“It didn’t hurt a bit,” Biden said.
The additional booster is meant to beef up the body’s protection against COVID-19 in populations most vulnerable to the coronavirus, which has killed more than 975,000 people in the U.S.
On Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cleared the way for another shot for anyone 50 and older, who can get the additional booster at least four months after their last vaccination. Severely immune-compromised patients, such as organ transplant recipients, as young as 12, are also eligible.
“We have enough supply to give booster shots, but if Congress fails to act we won’t have the supplies we need this Fall,” Biden warned, noting the possibility that regulators will approve a fourth shot for all Americans.
A subvariant of the highly transmissible omicron that scientists call BA.2 is now the dominant coronavirus mutant in the United States. It accounted for nearly 55% of new infections across the nation last week and an even greater proportion in the Northeast, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Scientists say one reason BA.2 has gained ground is that it’s about 30% more contagious than the original omicron. In rare cases, research shows it can sicken people even if they’ve already had an omicron infection. But it doesn’t seem to cause more severe disease than the original, and vaccines appear just as effective against it.
The unvaccinated, though, are at a far greater risk.
—
AP writers Darlene Superville in Washington and Laura Ungar in Louisville contributed.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.kswo.com/2022/03/30/biden-administration-launches-covid-website-1-stop-info/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:08Z
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Bokaro Blossoms Women (BOK-W) will take on Ranchi Roses Women (RAN-W) in the 13th match of the Jharkhand Women’s T20 2022 at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi on Friday.
Bokaro Blossoms Women are currently fourth in the standings with two wins and three losses to their name. Ranchi Roses Women have the same win-loss record, but are just above Bokaro in the points table.
BOK-W vs RAN-W Probable Playing 11 today
Bokaro Blossoms Women: Riya Raj (wk), Ritu Kumari (c), Garima Singh, Komal Kumari, Durga Kumari Murmu, Sanju Patel, Priyanka Chouhan, Mamatha Kanojia, Priti Tiwary, Simran Mansuri, Rini Burman
Ranchi Roses Women: Laxmi Murmu (wk), Anamika Kumari, Priyanka Sawaiyan, Urmila Kumari, Niharika, Anandita Kishor, Arti Kumari, Megha Kumari, Isha Keshri, Pallavi Kumari, Devyani Prasad
Match Details
BOK-W vs RAN-W, 13th Match, Jharkhand Women’s T20 2022
Date & Time: April 1st 2022, 8:30 AM IST
Venue: JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi
Pitch Report
The Jharkhand Women’s T20 Trophy 2022 hasn't been a high-scoring tournament so far, with the bowlers mostly dominating proceedings. While the pacers have found some movement early on, the spinners have got the ball to turn as well.
Today’s BOK-W vs RAN-W Dream11 Match Top Picks
Wicketkeeper
Laxmi Murmu can contribute decently with the bat and is safe behind the stumps as well.
Batters
Priyanka Sawaiyan has been in top form with both the bat and ball in the Jharkhand Women’s T20. She has accumulated 99 runs in addition to taking four wickets.
Anamika Kumari is Ranchi's leading run-scorer in the competition with 135 runs at an average of 45.00.
All-rounders
Durga Kumari Murmu has had a big impact with both bat and ball. She has scored 134 runs and has picked up three wickets.
Bowlers
Rini Burman has chipped in nicely all-round. She has got 47 runs with the bat and has picked up four wickets.
Top 5 best players to pick in BOK-W vs RAN-W Dream11 Prediction Team
Durga Kumari Murmu (BOK-W): 331 points
Niharika (RAN-W): 258 points
Priyanka Sawaiyan (RAN-W): 250 points
Anandita Kishor (RAN-W): 205 points
Rini Burman (BOK-W): 202 points
Important stats for BOK-W vs RAN-W Dream11 Prediction Team
Durga Kumari Murmu: 134 runs & 3 wickets
Rini Burman: 47 runs & 4 wickets
Niharika: 43 runs & 5 wickets
Priyanka Sawaiyan: 99 runs & 4 wickets
BOK-W vs RAN-W Dream11 Prediction (Jharkhand Women’s T20)
Fantasy Suggestion #1: Laxmi Murmu, Anamika Kumari, Priyanka Sawaiyan, Ritu Kumari, Niharika, Durga Kumari Murmu, Mamatha Kanojia, Anandita Kishor, Simran Mansuri, Rini Burman, Devyani Prasad
Captain: Durga Kumari Murmu. Vice-captain: Niharika.
Fantasy Suggestion #2: Laxmi Murmu, Anamika Kumari, Priyanka Sawaiyan, Garima Singh, Ritu Kumari, Niharika, Durga Kumari Murmu, Anandita Kishor, Priti Tiwary, Rini Burman, Devyani Prasad
Captain: Durga Kumari Murmu. Vice-captain: Priyanka Sawaiyan.
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https://www.sportskeeda.com/fantasy-cricket-mantra/bokaro-blossoms-women-vs-ranchi-roses-women-dream11-prediction-jharkhand-women-s-t20-trophy-2022
| 2022-04-01T00:39:08Z
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David Price waiting to see how Dodgers will deploy his arm
By NORM FRAUENHEIM
Associated Press
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Dodgers’ left-handed pitcher David Price isn’t quite sure what role he’ll play this season. The 36-year-old is a five-time All-Star. He reached 93 miles per hour in a one-inning appearance on Wednesday. Manager Dave Roberts believes Price could have an immediate role by pitching relief innings. But Roberts said Price is unlikely to start because he’s not “built up.” The Dodgers got Price in 2020 along with Mookie Betts from the Red Sox.
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https://kion546.com/news/ap-california/2022/03/31/david-price-waiting-to-see-how-dodgers-will-deploy-his-arm-2/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:09Z
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Presidential Search Engagement Session for Faculty & Staff
At prior Presidential Search early listening sessions, students, staff, faculty and alumni shared their thoughts on the...
www.wpi.eduAt prior Presidential Search early listening sessions, students, staff, faculty and alumni shared their thoughts on the...
www.wpi.edu
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2556533809376/presidential-search-engagement-session-for-faculty-staff
| 2022-04-01T00:39:09Z
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| 2022-04-01T00:39:10Z
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The IMF must ensure that Russia cannot access its financial lifeline
Last year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) celebrated the largest allocation of special drawing rights (SDRs) in its history. This extraordinary act of money creation was equivalent to approximately $650 billion and provided all IMF members with additional access to hard currency.
In contrast to the IMF’s and the World Bank’s general practice of conditioning assistance on policy, fiduciary and economic management parameters to ensure that funds are spent as intended, there are essentially no restrictions on how IMF members can use SDRs.
We recently warned that the immediate negative consequences of the latest SDR allocation outweighed its hypothetical benefits, and that the World Bank’s International Development Association was a better vehicle for channeling aid to the world’s poorest countries. This case has only strengthened in recent months, given the lack of evidence that wealthy countries and the IMF are delivering on the promises of SDR reallocations to poor countries that they used to justify the allocation in the first place.
Now, Russia’s brazen invasion of Ukraine has brought one of the worst results of the SDR allocation into focus.
The Trump administration opposed an SDR allocation because it must be distributed to all IMF members in proportion to their IMF shareholding, rather than targeted based on need. As a result of this formula, Russia received SDRs worth approximately $17 billion, or roughly the same share as all low-income countries combined. The complicit Belarusian government also received approximately $1 billion.
SDR proponents such as the United States and European Union (EU) now must face the question of how to deal with the SDRs that they helped hand to Russia (and other rogue regimes) just a few months ago.
To be sure, the new SDRs are only a small portion of Russia’s more than $600 billion in reserves. But increasing pressure on the Russian economy requires vigilance against all potential Russian financial resources, including SDRs.
Using SDRs requires finding an IMF member counter-party with which to trade. Fortunately, Russia most likely would have a hard time finding a counter-party as a result of the strong sanctions against the Central Bank of Russia announced by the United States and the EU. Even if there is no formal prohibition on Russian and Belarusian exchanges, the global response and outrage in the immediate aftermath of the invasion is likely to serve as a deterrent.
But the United States should still work to ensure formal agreement at the IMF that all member countries will refuse to exchange Russia’s or Belarus’s SDRs for hard currency or engage in any other financial transaction related to their SDRs.
As the conflict moves into a protracted phase, there will be sanctions fatigue on both sides. Russia will seek to evade sanctions and chip away at financial restrictions. As a preventative measure, it is critical to establish a default rule at the IMF that Russia and Belarus will not be able to use their SDRs without ending their aggression. On-background statements regarding the Treasury Department’s intent to prevent Russia from using its SDRs are helpful, but the United States should leverage international outrage over Russia’s behavior to formally establish such a prohibition at the IMF.
Additionally, the IMF should commit to immediate transparency regarding Russian or Belarusian SDR exchanges, even if an IMF member such as China refuses to abide by a prohibition on transfers. The IMF also must ensure that the Ukrainian government will continue to be able to access the financing available under its existing IMF program.
Similarly, the World Bank must decide how to engage with Ukraine. Thus far, it has offered strong rhetorical support for the Ukrainian people. Yet, difficult questions lie ahead if Russia’s aim of toppling the Ukrainian government succeeds, given the $1 billion in loans currently outstanding. The World Bank’s private-sector lending arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), provides roughly half of its investments to financial intermediaries, whose on-lending potentially could provide funding to entities with Russian ownership or affiliation. The IFC must not allow that to happen, and it also should steer investments away from all Russian companies.
Congress has been playing an important role in ensuring accountability, given how generously American taxpayers have supported these multilateral institutions over the past 75 years. As a result of the bipartisan consensus on the need to respond to Russia’s aggression through economic pressure, Congress, led by Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) and Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), is rightfully demanding an accounting from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen of how the Biden administration plans to work with the IMF to ensure that Russia is unable to benefit from its SDRs.
Congressional progressives should abandon their misguided push for the IMF to allocate an additional $2.1 trillion in SDRs. Most importantly, Congress should review the Special Drawing Rights Act and consider whether to require congressional approval for all SDR allocations given these latest developments. The act was last amended in 1983 and is past due for reconsideration, given the dramatic expansion in the use of SDRs since the 2007-08 financial crisis.
Longer term, the problems associated with SDRs revealed by Russia’s assault on Ukraine should serve as a warning against future calls for SDR allocations. Outside of acute balance of payments crises, the SDR is a solution in search of a problem.
DJ Nordquist served as U.S. executive director of the World Bank, 2019-21, and is a fellow at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business and a nonresident senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Follow her on Twitter @DJNordquist.
Dan Katz served as a senior adviser at the Treasury Department, 2019-21, and is a co-founder and portfolio manager at Amberwave Partners, an investment manager focused on U.S. jobs, security and growth. Follow Amberwave on Twitter @Amberwave.
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/opinion/finance/596965-the-imf-must-ensure-that-russia-cannot-access-its-financial-lifeline/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:09Z
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- Posts from an Anonymous-affiliated Twitter account singled out Western companies, demanding that they immediately cease operating in Russia.
- Some of the targeted companies said they had already publicly announced such decisions.
- Other companies have since withdrawn business activity from Russia, but many forces — such as moral obligations, mitigation of reputational damage, the cost of sanction compliance and franchise agreements — are at play.
The "hacktivist" collective known as Anonymous said it has a new target in its "cyber war" against Russia — Western businesses that are still doing business there.
A post on March 21 from a Twitter account named @YourAnonTV stated: "We call on all companies that continue to operate in Russia by paying taxes to the budget of the Kremlin's criminal regime: Pull out of Russia!"
The tweet, which has been liked more than 23,000 times, gave companies 48 hours to comply.
The threat, which was later echoed on other Anonymous-affiliated Twitter accounts, included a photo with the logos of some 40 companies, including household names such as Burger King, Subway and General Mills.
The account later tagged more companies to the post, ostensibly putting them on notice that they, too, could soon be targeted.
Money Report
Incorrectly targeted?
CNBC contacted the companies mentioned in this story for comment. Most responses mirrored companies' published press releases, which are linked throughout this story, that came after the posts.
Tire firm Bridgestone and Dunkin' said by the time they were targeted by Anonymous, they had already publicly announced that they were pulling business from Russia.
Both companies also replied directly to Anonymous on Twitter. Bridgestone's reply linked to a press release, and Dunkin' linked to media coverage of its decision, both which predated Anonymous' post.
Twitter users also pointed out that other companies, such as Citrix, had already announced similar measures. A blog posted on Citrix's website states: "Unfortunately, we see many incorrect reports in social and traditional media concerning Citrix operations in Russia."
Three targeted oil field service companies — Halliburton, Baker Hughes and Schlumberger — had also already issued announcements about their Russian business operations. The statements followed a Washington Post article that implored readers to stop investing in companies deemed to be "funding Putin's war."
Intentional or 'fog of war?'
Cyberattacks during the "fog of war" are dangerous, said Marianne Bailey, a cybersecurity partner at the consulting firm Guidehouse and former cybersecurity executive with the U.S. National Security Agency.
"A cyber strike back … could be directed to the wrong place," she said.
However, it's also possible Anonymous wasn't impressed by some of these company's pledges. Some companies — including Halliburton, Baker Hughes and Schlumberger — did not score well on a business list compiled by the Yale School of Management. The list categorizes some 500 companies according to whether companies halted or continued operations in Russia, giving them school-style letter grades.
Notably, Bridgestone's decision received an "A" and Dunkin' a "B" on Yale's list.
A second batch of targeted companies
Many companies that received "Fs" on Yale's list appeared on a second Anonymous Twitter post published March 24. This post targeted a new — and seemingly updated — list of companies, which included Emirates airline, the French gardening retailer Leroy Merlin and the essential oil company Young Living.
Several companies caught in Anonymous' crosshairs soon announced they were cutting ties with Russia, including the Canadian oilfield service company Calfrac Well Services and the sanitary product maker Geberit Group — the latter including hashtags for Anonymous and Yale in its Twitter announcement.
The French sporting goods company Decathlon this week announced it too was shutting stores in Russia. But Anonymous had already claimed credit for shuttering its Russian website, along with sites for Leroy Merlin and the French supermarket company Auchan.
Jeremiah Fowler, co-founder of the cybersecurity company Security Discovery, said his research determined that Anonymous also successfully hacked a database belonging to Leroy Merlin.
"I'm absolutely sure [Anonymous] found it," he said, saying that the collective left messages and references inside the data.
Anonymous also claimed last week that it hacked a database of another targeted company, the Swiss food and beverage corporation Nestle. However, Nestle told CNBC that these claims had "no foundation." The design and tech website Gizmodo reported that Nestle said it accidentally leaked its own information in February.
Nestle has since announced it is reducing its operations in Russia, but the measures were rejected as insufficient by at least one online Anonymous account.
Other forces at play
Whether threats by Anonymous influenced any corporate decisions to cease operations in Russia is unclear.
Indeed, other forces were also at play, including online calls to boycott some of the targeted corporations in recent weeks.
After being targeted by Anonymous, the French car manufacturer Renault announced it was suspending activities in a Moscow manufacturing plant. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly singled out Renault, as well as Nestle, during televised addresses to European governments and citizens.
A company spokesperson for Renault told CNBC its decision had nothing to do with Anonymous.
Other companies have made moral cases for continuing to operate in Russia. Auchan, in a press release issued this week, said Russians have "no personal responsibility in the outbreak of this war. Abandoning our employees, their families and our customers is not the choice we have made."
Another complication: Franchises
Franchise and other contractual agreements can also complicate a quick exit from the Russian marketplace, said international franchise lawyer Scott Antel, who lived and worked in Russia for more than 20 years.
That's the position that some targeted companies — such as Burger King, Subway and Reebok's owner Authentic Brands Group — said they are in.
Force majeure clauses — which allow parties to terminate a contract for circumstances such as natural disasters or acts of terrorism — don't apply here, said Antel. Neither do clauses covering sanctions, which when present, typically apply only if parties to the contract are sanctioned, not the country where they are located, he said.
Antel said franchisors likely have no legal right to shut down franchises in Russia. But he said he expects franchisors will do so anyway for a variety of reasons: moral decisions, to mitigate reputational damage and to avoid the cost of complying with sanctions, especially since Russia "is not a big percentage of sales" for most of these companies.
"Concerns over hackers and data protection … could be a good reason" too, he said.
He suspects franchisors will negotiate agreements to "share the pain," either by agreeing to temporarily stop operations, or through settlement fees to terminate the relationship, he said.
He said he's negotiated one contract — out of hundreds — where a hotel owner in Russia wanted the contractual right to walk away if an international incident made it detrimental to his broader business interests.
"God, we had to fight for it," said Antel.
However, he said he now expects contractual exit options to be much more common in the future.
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https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/business/money-report/anonymous-next-cyber-target-western-companies-still-doing-business-in-russia/2752275/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:10Z
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Local educators react to possibly posting lesson plans online for parents’ review
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Proposed legislation would require teachers in Iowa to post lesson plans months in advance for parent review.
As an elementary music teacher, Erin Bunge knows firsthand how much work goes into lesson planning. She fears this new bill could only hurt teacher retention in Iowa.
“The work-life balance is very stressful. I think this is absolutely going to add to that,” she told TV-9.
The one word she used to describe the added work: unnecessary.
“Teachers are, districts are already doing the work to align curriculum to the national standards. The national standards, our state’s standards, they are all out there to be viewed on the internet,” said Bunge.
The Solon school district says parents can already access many of the materials their students use in class.
“We don’t have them posted, but we’re open to anyone who wants to view our textbooks or materials that we use in our instruction and in our classrooms,” said Superintendent Davis Eidahl.
He says he doesn’t oppose this bill, and if it’s something parents want then they should have access to it.
“It really is very minimal and I think it’s just a great step in building trust at school and home so that we can continue to have those strong partnerships,” said Eidahl.
The Legislative Services Agency says if such a bill becomes law it will cost districts a combined 27.4-million dollars to pay for substitute teachers while classroom teachers upload materials.
Copyright 2022 KCRG. All rights reserved.
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https://www.kcrg.com/2022/03/31/local-educators-react-possibly-posting-lesson-plans-online-parents-review/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:10Z
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Game recognize game
One current and one former Broncos quarterback took in the Nuggets' game against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night, as Drew Lock and Peyton Manning both watched Denver roll to a 133-118 win. Altitude TV's Vic Lombardi caught up with Lock in the crowd to hear about his offseason plan, his work with Manning and his basketball skills. One thing's for sure: the two prolific passers must have enjoyed Nuggets star Nikola Jokic's deep throw to Gary Harris for a touchdown — we mean, layup.
A day to leap for joy
What comes to mind for you when you think about Leap Day on Feb. 29? Our minds went straight to Justin Simmons' jump over the Saints to block an extra-point attempt to clinch victory in 2016, or when Courtland Sutton hopped into the stands after a touchdown.
Wrapping up #HuddleFor100
The NFL's 100th season has come to a close, and with it, so too has the year-long effort to encourage widespread community engagement across the country. Broncos players, coaches, cheerleaders, staff members, fans and partners combined to contribute 904,380 minutes of volunteer work over 209 events!
Bummed you missed out? Don't fret — the Broncos are again giving fans the opportunity to help out in 2020 during the annual Denver Day of Service, which will be on June 5. Follow this link for more information on how you can participate!
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https://www.denverbroncos.com/news/thesqueeze/the-squeeze-peyton-manning-and-drew-lock-take-in-a-nuggets-game
| 2022-04-01T00:39:10Z
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MARSHALL COUNTY, KY — A one-mile section of a state road in Marshall County is closed Thursday evening because of flooding, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says.
KYTC District 1 says KY 1462/Benton-Birmingham Road is closed from mile marker 1 to mile marker 2 at the Clarks River Bridge in Marshall County.
The cabinet says signs have been posted to alert drivers about the closure.
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https://www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/section-of-benton-birmingham-road-closed-in-marshall-county-due-to-flooding/article_c2e61c4a-b150-11ec-985b-b3f3e1e7801a.html
| 2022-04-01T00:39:11Z
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The Star Entertainment Group chairman John O’Neill will temporarily pick up the chief executive role after the casino group’s boss abruptly resigned this week amid an explosive inquiry into its operations.
The company said on Friday that it had started the search for a new managing director and CEO following Matt Bekier’s resignation on Monday, and that Mr O’Neill would lead the company in the interim.
As executive chairman, Mr O’Neill will be paid $1.5 million per year - or $125,000 per month - on top of his existing package, bringing his annual pay to $2 million.
The Star also said that it “acknowledges the need for accelerated board change” and that it would make new director appointments in due course.
More to come
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https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/the-star-chairman-to-step-up-as-ceo-flags-board-renewal-20220401-p5aa0o.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed
| 2022-04-01T00:39:12Z
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BLOOMINGTON-NORMAL, Ill. (WMBD) — Universities in the twin cities are letting Lincoln College students know their options amid the announced closure of the college and its campuses.
Lincoln University operates its main campus in Lincoln and a campus in Normal. Both will close in May at the end of the semester without a substantial donation due to COVID-19 loss of funds.
The Normal campus is home to its Accelerated Bridge to Education (ABE) which gives non-traditional students an accelerated path toward earning a bachelor’s degree.
Both Illinois State University and Illinois Wesleyan said they will review and assist all Lincoln College students that show interest in their institutions.
ISU spokesperson Eric Jome said many students at ISU have transferred in from other institutions and ISU is prepared to assist any Lincoln College students that show interest in continuing their higher education in Normal.
Illinois Wesleyan University president Georgia Nugent released a statement that reads:
“We are saddened to learn of Lincoln College’s closing as a result of challenges that mounted for this transformative institution of higher learning. These are sobering realities for all of us in higher education who face a changing landscape. As our colleagues at Lincoln College work to support their students with transitional services, we at Illinois Wesleyan – as will our fellow institutions – are working to create opportunities for a seamless transfer to carry forward Lincoln students’ educational goals.”–Georgia Nugent, president IWU
Students interested in transferring to Illinois Wesleyan can find a list of resources on the school’s website.
More information on transferring to ISU and its process can be found on its admissions website.
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https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/local-news/lincoln-college-students-have-transfer-options-in-twin-cities/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:12Z
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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.wate.com/news/washington-dc/bill-seeks-to-put-cap-on-overdraft-fees/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:12Z
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Meta’s announcement that it will build an $800 million data center in Temple indicates that the city is becoming a destination point for regional economic growth and educational opportunities, civic and school leaders said Thursday.
The data center — to be built in Temple’s Industrial Park — will house Meta’s apps and services that include social media and virtual reality platforms, creating new jobs and adding to the city’s tax base, officials said.
“The pace of Temple’s growth is increasing — we are no longer a pass-through community along I-35,” Mayor Tim Davis said. “Temple is a destination for families looking for economic and educational opportunities. Meta knows that an educated workforce is the key to their continued growth and success. Meta has a track record of partnering with local school districts to provide innovative opportunities for our students.”
Bobby Ott, superintendent of the Temple Independent School District, said officials are “excited to welcome Meta, their respective families and children to our school system.”
The district looks forward to working with Meta to enhance Temple High School’s Career and Technical Education component, he said.
“We look forward to exploring new career pathways that will meet these newer occupational demands,” Ott said. “Our goal is to give our students a viable option to remain here after graduation – receiving great wages, pursuing degrees, and giving back to the community of Temple.”
The company is expected to receive several tax abatements, but none from Temple ISD. Analysts project that the district could receive about $50 million in new tax revenue over a 15-year period.
“Adding Meta to our commercial tax base helps our taxpayers tremendously,” Ott said. “Temple ISD already boasts the lowest tax rate among peer districts, but now with this announcement, we can continue minimizing tax impact while preparing for growth.
“Meta will effectively reduce the tax impact carried by the residential community for any future (TISD) bond because a majority of the bond will be paid for by our commercial tax base,” Ott said.
Temple City Council member Susan Long said the project would help transform the city and lead to other economic opportunities.
“For Temple, I think it is somewhat akin to the railroad coming initially, making Temple,” Long said.
Rod Henry, president and CEO of the Temple Chamber of Commerce, agreed.
“We are the destination community of Central Texas — and this points to that,” Henry said.
Meta’s arrival in the city was the coordinated work of Temple municipal and economic development officials over several years, Henry said.
“It just doesn’t happen overnight, to land a major megacorporation like this,” he said. “And the community just didn’t get prepared overnight. This is a multi-year process that culminated in that announcement.”
Temple impact
Adrian Cannady, president and CEO of the Temple Economic Development Corp., said the data center is expected to receive 75% tax abatements from the city and Bell County for a 10-year period. The center could also receive a 50% tax abatement from Temple College for 10 years. Government bodies are required to approve each agreement.
Meta will pay considerable taxes, even with the abatements, Cannady said.
A proposed tax abatement agreement states that Meta must invest at least $800 million for phase 1, which is required to commence construction no later than two years from the effective agreement date. Additionally, Meta must create and maintain at least 40 new full-time jobs. Meta may develop the project in phases over a period of years. If that occurs, Meta would be eligible for separate abatements each subsequent phase.
City Manager Brynn Myers said Meta could receive other abatements if the company builds out additional phases.
Meta said it will provide community grants for local schools, nonprofits and community projects that benefit areas where people live and work.
Supporting communities
Darcy Nothnagle, director of community and economic development at Meta, said the company’s focus is on three different areas: using technology for community benefit, provide opportunities to bring people together — online and off, and supporting Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education.
Veshell Greene, vice president of the United Way of Central Texas, said having a company like this in the city not only brings in possible grants but also employees who might like to donate to charitable causes as well
“When you are provided the opportunity to partner with someone with such a huge platform, it just benefits everyone,” Greene said.
Councilman Wendell Williams said the data center will help diversify the city economy.
“It is a different industry set for us. We have had some technology but this brings us closer to expanding our industry base and giving people opportunities in different sectors of the economy,” Williams said.
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https://www.tdtnews.com/news/business/article_46504ef0-b14e-11ec-92d7-8bcfae46de65.html
| 2022-04-01T00:39:12Z
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People who suffered from even mild cases of COVID-19 face an increased risk of being diagnosed with diabetes within a year of recovering from the illness, a new study reports.
Researchers found that people who had COVID-19 were about 40% more likely to develop diabetes within a year after recovering, compared to participants in a control group. The likelihood of developing diabetes grew if the patient suffered from a serious infection that led to hospitalization or a stay in intensive care.
"What's surprising is that it is happening in people with no prior risk factors for diabetes" before becoming infected with COVID-19, said Ziyad Al-Aly, the lead author of the study.
These latest findings add to a growing list of studies showing that people who suffered from COVID-19 are at risk of facing other long-term health problems. Those include heart and kidney ailments and chronic fatigue.
Al-Aly also helped lead the study that showed the prevalence of cardiac issues in people who survived COVID-19 infections.
This newest study, published Monday in the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal, analyzed data from more than 180,000 patients from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
The study's authors compared patients who tested positive for COVID-19 and survived the illness for more than a month with more than 4 million other people who didn't contract COVID in the same period. This data was also compared with another 4.28 million patients who were treated at the VA in 2018 and 2019.
The paper states that around 1% to 2% of people who have been infected with COVID will develop diabetes as a result. That may seem like a small number, but nearly 80 million people in the U.S. have had COVID, Al-Aly told NPR — meaning 800,000 to 1.6 million people developing diabetes who might not have otherwise.
"That translates to a really significant number of people with new onset diabetes in the U.S. and many, many more around the world," Al-Aly said.
Nationwide, approximately 34 million people had diabetes pre-COVID, according to Jorge Moreno, an internal medicine physician at Yale University who didn't work on Al-Aly's study. Doctors expect roughly 1.5 million new people to be newly diagnosed with diabetes each year during normal times, he told NPR.
What to look out for
This study shows that as a nation, more attention needs to be paid to the long-term effects of COVID-19, Al-Aly said. More vigilance can start at the doctor's office.
"We need to start treating COVID as a risk factor for diabetes," Al-Aly said, adding that each person who has come down with the virus needs to be screened.
Moreno told NPR he believes this study will create more awareness among general practitioners and endocrinologists, like himself, to screen patients who have had COVID for diabetes and other complications.
Those who've had COVID should also be closely monitoring their health and changes in their body, Moreno said, and should seek help at the first sign of an issue. Major symptoms for diabetes include increased thirst, frequent urination (which is not influenced by how much liquid consumed) and blurry vision. Major weight fluctuations are also a sign.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
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https://www.wrvo.org/2022-03-31/covid-19-infection-increases-your-risk-for-diabetes-a-new-study-says
| 2022-04-01T00:39:12Z
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Western Kentucky held their annual Pro Day showcase at Houchens-Industries Stadium on Thursday, attracting scouts from all 32 NFL franchises and three executives, despite cold and windy conditions.
WKU head coach Tyson Helton revealed that alongside representation from all 32 teams, there were also executives from several organizations in attendance. Those executives were Eliot Wolf from the New England Patriots, Jamaal Stephenson from the Minnesota Vikings and Ryan Cowden from the Tennessee Titans.
"I think we had all the scouts out here. I was really proud of our guys. They really tested well, really showed out well. It was great to have everybody out here. It was a great day for Western Kentucky."
— Tyson Helton
"It's been a fun process, this is something i've been dreaming for all my life, playing football since I was five. So, this has alaways been a dream of mine to be in this situation."
— Bailey Zappe
Former gunslinger Bailey Zappe was near-perfect, connecting with receivers on 55-of-56 passes in 20 mph chilling winds. Zappe's Pro Day showcase was impressive to many NFL scouts as Zappe booked a meeting with the Philadelphia Eagles after exiting the field.
"I felt like it was a really good day. 55-of-56, so almost perfect, but it was a great day for everybody."
— Bailey Zappe
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Zappe has been followed around by a few extra cameras for the past few months as he pursues an NFL career. Zappe revealed that he was being filmed for a show called "Hey Rookie," an ESPN exclusive show.
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"It's a show called Hey Rookie. They do a bunch of stuff every year with a few amount of rookies."
— Bailey Zappe
"It's been a long three months. I've been working, kinda wanted to prove some people wrong. Athletically, I think there were some doubts, but I did that today."
— Jerreth Sterns
Scouts also had the opportunity to observe former WKU wide receiver Jerreth Sterns, who put on a convincing performance in his last collegiate event at Western Kentucky.
In the first portion of Pro Day, Sterns recorded a 40-inch vertical jump (unofficially) and showed his explosive speed on the field going forward, completing multiple deep passes from Zappe, looking just as strong as he did last season, if not stronger.
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"I felt like it went really well. I was very well prepared. I felt like I went through the drill pretty fluently."
— DeAngelo Malone
Former WKU defensive end DeAngelo Malone, who put on 15 pounds since last season, showcased his toughness on the field early on, building on his recent performance in the Senior Bowl.
The 6-foot-4, 240-pound draft prospect finished off the day with impressive numbers, booking himself a meeting with the Philadelphia Eagles following the event.
Factoring in wind speed, Malone recorded a 4.53 for the 40-yard dash, a 6.9 in the cone drill and a 4.9 in his shuttle drills.
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|
https://wku.rivals.com/news/all-32-nfl-teams-represented-in-wku-s-pro-day-on-thursday?yptr=yahoo?src=rss
| 2022-04-01T00:39:12Z
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Kyle Busch Motorsports‘ multi-driver #51 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro will have a dirt ace as its pilot for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series‘ dirt race at Bristol Motor Speedway on 16 April. On Thursday, the team announced Michael “Buddy” Kofoid will drive the #51 in his maiden NASCAR start.
2021 saw Kofoid win the United States Auto Club (USAC) quarter midget national championship through a six-win campaign, as well as winning the USAC Indiana Midget Week. Other race victories came in the Lucas Oil POWRi National Midget Series and the Wild Wing Shootout. A member of Toyota Racing, he also ran ten late mode races which included finishing third in the prestigious All American 400‘s Pro Late Model division.
Four rounds into the 2022 USAC national midget season, he sits second in points. In January, Kofoid won a qualifying race in the legendary Chili Bowl Nationals after holding off dirt star and reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, and he went on to finish fourth in the A Main. The run was his third in the Chili Bowl and his best performance after falling short of the A Main in 2020 and 2021.
“Getting the opportunity to race the best equipment in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is a huge step in my career and I can’t thank Kyle Busch Motorsports, (sponsor) Mobil 1 and Toyota enough for giving me this chance,” commented Kofoid. “To be making my Truck Series début in such a unique event at an iconic venue like Bristol Motor Speedway is going to be really cool.”
Kofoid’s truck has the chassis (KBM-12) that Martin Truex Jr. drove to victory in the inaugural Bristol Dirt Truck race last year. KBM also has two wins in the dirt at Eldora Speedway courtesy of Bubba Wallace (2014) and Christopher Bell (2015).
It was not immediately announced if Kofoid will run the other Truck dirt event at Knoxville Raceway on 18 June. KBM had five-time Knoxville champion Brian Brown in the #51 for the 2021 race, where he finished eighth.
The #51 is being driven by Corey Heim for fifteen of the twenty-three races in 2021, while team owner Kyle Busch will run his annual five-race slate. Heim won at Atlanta in early March, and the entry is currently fourth in owner points.
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https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2022/03/buddy-kofoid-making-truck-debut-at-bristol-dirt-for-kbm/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:12Z
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https://www.leafly.com/brands/item-9-labs/products/item-9-labs-apollo-710-battery-batteries-power
| 2022-04-01T00:39:11Z
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Christmas arrives early for McGregor ISD teachers awarded grant money
WACO, Texas (KWTX) - It was Christmas in March for some teachers at the McGregor Independent School District as a prize patrol from the McGregor Education Foundation went classroom to classroom surprising educators with more than $64,000 in grants.
“Today is such a fun day,” said Kristen Koch, the foundation’s executive director. “It’s like Christmas.”
Christmas couldn’t have come sooner for the staff and those who support them after years of dealing with the stresses related to COVID-19.
Members of the Education Foundation rode buses campus to campus and made their grand entrances with cowbells and cheers Thursday morning.
“Due to COVID, we’ve had to do it at another location so, this year, we actually got to go into the classrooms and present the teachers with the money,” Koch said.
“They have gone through a lengthy process to write these grants and get innovative ideas going for the children of McGregor ISD.”
Tery Arp, the president of the board of directors, led the charge through the schools, walking to the front of the classrooms of each award winner with a plaque and the good news to share.
“We are happy to present Mrs. Hering with this grant which will purchase Clevertouch TVs,” Arp said as he surprised high school English teacher Lorna Hering.
The Clevertouch monitors provide much more interactive learning on a large screen for students. As Arp presented the award to Hering, he also talked to her students about the importance of grants.
“The school gets a whole lot of money from the state and the federal government, but that money has a lot of earmarks to it and they’re not able to always buy the things you need for your education,” Arp said. “We are able to spend money for you based on needs and grant applications.”
Jennifer Millsap, an instructional technologist at the junior high and high school who has worked with the district since 1999, was also awarded grants to purchase the smart monitors.
“With the Clevertouch TVs - it adds an interactive piece to the classroom where the teachers are up teaching and students can get up and interact with the board,” Millsap said. “I’m very honored to get this. It makes a huge difference in our classrooms, and I think that’s why it’s important.”
The excitement was shared by Media Center Specialist Colleen Henson, who received a $1,000 grant to support her book club “Project LIT.”
“This grant means that we can have another year of a reading culture that supports reading and readers on all different campuses of our district,” Henson said. “It also just kind of ignites the excitement for our book club members to continue reading and continue learning and understanding each other, their culture and just getting everyone excited about reading.”
The grants were made possible through donations by Howmet Aerospace, SpaceX, TFNB Your Bank for Life, Rocket Federal Credit Union, Jim Turner Chevrolet, Stanely Ford of McGregor and Tom and Mary Kirk.
Copyright 2022 KWTX. All rights reserved.
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https://www.kwtx.com/2022/04/01/christmas-arrives-early-mcgregor-isd-teachers-awarded-grant-money/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:12Z
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The last Russian troops left the Chernobyl nuclear plant early Friday, according to the Ukrainian government agency responsible for the exclusion zone around the plant.
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said the Russian troops who dug trenches in the forest “voluntarily received such doses of radiation that the consequences will be explained to them by doctors in special protective suits.”
“They totally deserve to be nominated for this year’s Darwin Awards,” she said on Facebook. “This is a case when the enemy inspires fear through the sawdust in his head.”
The website of the Darwin Awards says they “salute the improvement of the human genome by honoring those who accidentally remove themselves from it in a spectacular manner.”
The Ukrainian nuclear operator company Energoatom said Thursday that Russian troops were headed toward Ukraine’s border with Belarus.
Energoatom said that the Russian military was also preparing to leave Slavutych, a nearby city where power plant workers live.
___
KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:
— Heavy fighting rages near Kyiv as Russia appears to regroup
— Kremlin decree says foreign currency can still buy natural gas
— As Russia sees tech brain drain, other nations hope to gain
— Ukraine refugees encouraged to find work as exodus slows
— Ukrainians in US mobilize to help expected refugees
— Go to https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine for more coverage
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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
LVIV, UKRAINE — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after Russian troops withdrew from the north and center of the country, the situation has been heating up in the southeast where Russian forces are building up for new powerful attacks.
In his nighttime video address to the nation Thursday, Zelenskyy said it was heartening for all Ukrainians to see Russian troops retreating from north of Kyiv, from around the northern town of Chernihiv and from Sumy in the northeast. By he urged Ukrainians not to let up, saying the withdrawal was just a Russian tactic.
“We know their intentions. We know what they are planning and what they are doing,” Zelenskyy said. ““We know that they are moving away from those areas where we hit them in order to focus on other, very important ones where it may be difficult for us.
“We all want to win,” Zelenskyy added. “But there will be battles ahead. We still have to go through a very difficult path ahead to get everything we are striving for.”
Zelenskyy said he spoke Thursday with European Council President Charles Michel and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while his adviser spoke with U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
“We need more support from our partners right now when Russian troops are concentrating additional forces in certain areas,” Zelenskyy said.
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WASHINGTON — The top-ranking Ukrainian Catholic cleric in the United States warned Thursday that religious minorities in the Eastern European country stand to be “crushed” if Moscow gains control, as fighting raged on more than a month after the Russian invasion began.
Archbishop Borys Gudziak said groups at risk include Catholics, Muslims and Orthodox who have broken away from the patriarch of Moscow.
Gudziak also cited reports that Russian forces have damaged two Holocaust memorials and Moscow’s false portrayal of Ukraine as a “Nazi” state although Ukraine overwhelmingly elected a Jewish president in Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“What is at stake for the people of faith is their freedom to practice their faith,” Gudziak said during an online panel discussion on the war, hosted by the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University.
Gudziak is head of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia and president of Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, Ukraine. He also oversees external relations for the Kyiv-based Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
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WASHINGTON — The Pentagon says an initial half-dozen shipments of weapons and other security assistance have reached Ukraine as part of the $800 million package of aid that President Joe Biden approved on March 16.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Thursday that the shipments included Javelin anti-tank weapons, Stinger anti-aircraft missile systems, body armor, medical supplies and other material. He said the 100 Switchblade armed drones that Biden approved as part of the package have not yet been delivered.
Kirby said the $800 million in assistance is likely to be fully delivered within about two weeks. It also includes Mi-17 helicopters, small arms, ammunition, vehicles, secure communications systems, and satellite imagery and analysis capability.
Separately, Kirby said U.S. troops are not training Ukrainian troops in Poland but are acting as liaisons with Ukrainian personnel who cross the border into Poland to take possession of U.S. security assistance. He noted that the standard U.S. military training mission that had existed in Ukraine for years was suspended shortly before Russia invaded.
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DOHA, Qatar — A video showing the head of Ukrainian soccer wearing an armored vest on the streets of Kyiv brought the impact of Russia’s war into the FIFA Congress.
Andriy Pavelko used a recorded message to the gathering in Qatar on Thursday to talk about the deaths of footballers even as the sport “has taken a back seat in our country.”
The gathering in Doha featured delegates from Russia, including Alexey Sorokin, the chief executive of Russia’s 2018 World Cup organizing committee.
Russia won’t be in the draw for the World Cup on Friday after being disqualified from playing internationally by FIFA over the war. Ukraine can still qualify but its playoff semifinal against Scotland has been postponed until June with the hope the team will be in a position to return to the field by then.
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LVIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s ombudsperson says that at least one person has been killed and four others have been wounded in the Russian shelling of a humanitarian convoy.
Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Lyudmyla Denisova said those who came under the shelling on Thursday were volunteers accompanying a convoy of buses sent to the northern city of Chernihiv to evacuate residents.
She said that the Russian forces besieging Chernihiv have made it impossible to evacuate civilians from the city that has been cut from food, water and other supplies.
The Russian shelling continued two days after Moscow announced it would scale back military operations around Kyiv and Chernihiv.
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BERLIN — The International Atomic Energy Agency says it has been informed by Ukraine that the Russian forces which were in control of the Chernobyl nuclear plant have “in writing, transferred control” of the facility to Ukrainian personnel.
Ukraine said three convoys of Russian forces have already left the site toward Belarus, while the remaining troops were presumed to be preparing to leave, the agency said Thursday.
The IAEA added that it was in close consultations with Ukrainian authorities on sending a first assistance and support mission to Chernobyl in the next few days.
The agency said it has not been able to confirm reports of Russian forces receiving high doses of radiation while being inside the exclusion zone of the now-closed plant, but is seeking further information in order to provide an independent assessment of the situation.
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ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan renewed his offer to host a meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian leaders during a telephone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
A statement from Erdogan’s office said the Turkish president also told Zelenskyy Thursday that a meeting between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators who met in Istanbul earlier this week had given “a meaningful impetus” to efforts to end the fighting.
Earlier this week, Ukraine’s delegation laid out a framework under which the country would declare itself neutral and its security would be guaranteed by an array of nations, including Turkey.
Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said during a joint news conference with a top Turkish Cypriot official that Erdogan also is expected to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday said there’s “no clear evidence” that Vladimir Putin is scaling back military operations around Kyiv and suggested that the Russian president may have ordered some of his advisers fired or placed under house arrest.
Biden told reporters that “there’s some indication” that Putin has taken those steps against some of his advisers. He added, “But I don’t want to put too much stock in that at this time because we don’t have that much hard evidence.”
The White House on Wednesday released unclassified intelligence findings that Putin is being misinformed by his advisors about how badly the Russian military is performing.
The president made the comments after formally announcing that the U.S. would release 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation’s strategic petroleum reserve in hopes of easing surging gasoline prices.
Biden also reiterated that his administration remains skeptical that Russia will scale back operations around Kyiv as Moscow announced earlier this week.
Russian forces continued to shell Kyiv suburbs Thursday, two days after the Kremlin announced it would significantly scale back operations near both the capital and the northern city of Chernihiv.
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UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine says the United Nations and its partners have delivered supplies for thousands of people in the country’s northeast but have been unable to reach some encircled cities in the south.
Osnat Lubrani said Thursday that food rations from the humanitarian organization People in Need and the U.N. World Food Program will benefit nearly 6,000 people in Sumy and areas including Trostianets and Okhtyrka.
In addition, she said, basic household items including blankets and kettles from the U.N. refugee agency will support 1,500 people and sanitation kits will help 6,000 people with hygiene and drinking water.
Lubrani said medical supplies and trauma kits from the U.N. World Health Organization will treat 150 patients needing intensive care for serious injuries while other medical supplies will support 10,000 people for three months.
Shei said the U.N.-facilitated humanitarian notification system with Ukraine and Russia enabled safe passage for the convoy to Sumy on Thursday “but this is clearly not enough.” Efforts over the past month to reach Mauripol, Kherson and other encircled cities in the south have been unsuccessful because of safety concerns.
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BERLIN — The U.N. nuclear watchdog says its director-general has arrived in Russia’s Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad for talks with senior Russian officials.
The International Atomic Energy Agency didn’t specify in a tweet whom exactly Rafael Mariano Grossi will meet on Friday or give further details of his agenda.
He arrived in Kaliningrad Thursday following a visit to Ukraine, where he visited a nuclear power plant and conferred with the energy minister and other officials on efforts to ensure the safety of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants.
Ukraine has 15 active nuclear reactors at four plants — one of which, at Zaporizhzhia, is under the Russian military’s control.
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GENEVA — A team with the International Committee of the Red Cross has arrived in a Ukraine-held city where staff are preparing to take civilians out of the beleaguered port city of Mariupol.
Julien Lerisson, deputy director of operations for the ICRC, said Thursday that the team assembling in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, has medicines, food, water, hygiene items and other essentials.
He said the organization has high-level agreement for the mission but is focused on making sure “the order trickles down the chain of command,” allowing the team to enter and leave Mariupol safely.
The Russian military has said it committed to a cease-fire along the route from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia. Ukrainian authorities have said 45 buses would be sent to collect citizens and provide resources to those who remain.
Lucile Marbeau, a staff member with the ICRC team hoping to enter Mariupol, said on Thursday: “We’re here because really, we hope to be able to facilitate safe passage for civilians desperately wanting to flee Mariupol.”
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LONDON — Britain’s defense minister says Ukraine’s international allies have agreed to send more military equipment, including artillery ammunition and armored vehicles.
U.K. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace held a conference call Thursday with defense ministers from more than 35 countries, including the United States, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan.
Wallace said that as a result “there will be more lethal aid going into Ukraine.” He said that would include “more long-range artillery, ammunition predominantly,” to help counter Russia’s bombardment of Ukraine’s cities.
Wallace said Ukraine was “also looking for armoured vehicles of some types, not tanks necessarily, but certainly protective vehicles.”
He said allies were also “looking to see what more we can do” to help Ukraine defend its coastline.
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WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has sanctioned an employee of a state-affiliated Russian defense firm that developed malicious software that was used to target the energy sector.
The Treasury Department on Thursday sanctioned Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh. He was one of four Russians charged in Justice Department indictments unsealed last week that alleged the hacking by Russia of critical infrastructure around the globe, including in the U.S. energy and aviation sectors.
Among the thousands of computers targeted in some 135 countries were of a Saudi petro-chemical plant where the hackers overrode safety controls.
That hack is singled out in a Treasury Department release announcing sanctions against Gladikh and several other employees of the research firm. In total, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced that it was designating 21 entities and 13 individuals, including in the aerospace, marine and electronics sectors.
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LVIV, Ukraine — Russian troops were leaving the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and heading towards Ukraine’s border with Belarus, the Ukrainian nuclear operator company said Thursday.
The operator, Energoatom, said that the Russian military was also preparing to leave Slavutych, a nearby city where power plant workers live.
Energoatom also said reports were confirmed that the Russians dug trenches in the Red Forest, the 10-square-kilometer (nearly four-square-mile) area surrounding the Chernobyl plant within the Exclusion Zone, and received “significant doses of radiation.”
The Russian troops “panicked at the first sign of illness,” which “showed up very quickly,” and began to prepare to leave, the operator said. The claim couldn’t be independently verified.
Energoatom said the Russians have signed a document confirming the handover of the Chernobyl plant and stating that the plant’s administration doesn’t have any complaints about the Russian troops who were “guarding” the facility.
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LONDON — The head of Britain’s military says Russian President Vladimir Putin has “already lost” in Ukraine and is weaker than he was before the invasion.
Adm. Tony Radakin at a think-tank seminar Thursday in London said Moscow’s aim to “take the whole of Ukraine” fell apart. He added that the coming weeks “will continue to be very difficult” for Ukraine.
“But in many ways, Putin has already lost,” he said. “Far from being the far-sighted manipulator of events that he would have us believe, Putin has damaged himself through a series of catastrophic misjudgements.”
Radakin also said there was “disquiet” at all levels of Russia’s military about the campaign, from troops who were not told they were invading Ukraine up to senior commanders.
Western officials say Putin’s small inner circle is not giving him the true picture of the war, and his isolation may have contributed to miscalculating the strength of resistance Russian troops would meet.
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BERLIN — The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe expressed regret Thursday at Russia’s decision to veto the extension of its observer mission in Ukraine.
The OSCE’s special monitoring mission has been present in Ukraine since 2014, when fighting between Ukrainians and Russia-backed separatists broke out in the country’s eastern regions after Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, who holds the OSCE rotating chair, said the observers had played a “crucial role by providing objective information on the security and humanitarian situation on the ground and relentlessly working to ease the effects of the conflict on the civilian population” in Ukraine for the past eight year.
The Vienna-based body’s secretary general, Helga Maria Schmid, expressed gratitude to the mission’s members, several of whom were wounded or killed over the years.
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BERLIN — Germany’s economy minister says Europe should impose additional sanctions on Russia to prevent what he described as a “barbaric” war in Ukraine.
Robert Habeck said he discussed what further measures could be taken with his French counterpart during a bilateral meeting in Berlin on Thursday.
“The last package (of sanctions) doesn’t need to be the final one, it should not be the final one,” he told reporters, adding that he and French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire had “identified additional points that could be included in a (sanctions) package.”
Habeck declined to elaborate on what those points might be.
Speaking ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement on new rules requiring countries to pay for Russia’s natural gas sales in rubles, Habeck insisted that contracts would be adhered to. These stipulate payment in euros or dollars.
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BERLIN — The Austrian and German leaders have underlined their rejection of a halt to Russian energy deliveries at this point.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer noted that several central and eastern European countries depend to one extent or another on Russian gas deliveries.
He and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz argued that existing sanctions already are having a significant effect and said they need time to switch to new providers and renewable energy sources.
Nehammer said that “sanctions only make sense … when they hit those they are supposed to hit, and don’t weaken those who carry out sanctions.”
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ROME — A Kremlin decree says “unfriendly countries” can continue to pay for natural gas in foreign currency through a Russian bank that will convert the money into rubles.
The decree published Thursday by state media came a day after the leaders of Italy and Germany said they received assurances from President Vladimir Putin.
Putin talked tougher, saying Russia will start accepting ruble payments starting Friday for Western countries that imposed sanctions over its conflict with Ukraine. He said contracts will be stopped if buyers don’t sign up to the new conditions, including opening ruble accounts in Russian banks.
European leaders had rejected paying for deliveries in rubles, saying it would undermine sanctions imposed because of the war in Ukraine.
The decree Putin signed and published by state news agency RIA Novosti says a designated bank will open two accounts for each buyer, one in foreign currency and one in rubles. The buyers will pay in foreign currency and authorize the bank to sell that currency for rubles, which are placed in the second account, where the gas is formally purchased.
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ROME — Italy’s leader is urging Europe to “cultivate all available land” as a partial remedy to reductions in agricultural imports, especially of Russian grain, due to the war in Ukraine.
Premier Mario Draghi told reporters on Thursday that under existing agricultural practices in the European Union 10% of land is purposely left fallow, but that must now change as European countries search for ways to reduce dependency on farm imports.
It’s not clear whether Ukraine, one of the world’s largest exporters of wheat, maize and sunflower oil, might be able to salvage any of this planting season.
Meanwhile, Draghi noted that Western Europe will be looking to food producers like Canada, the United States and Argentina to help make up the shortfall of imports from Ukraine and Russia.
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STOCKHOLM — The deputy director of Sweden’s Military Intelligence and Security agency says Russia has made “a strategic miscalculation when invading Ukraine.”
Daniel Olsson said the invasion of Ukraine “has shown that the Russian leadership is ready to take great risks, larger than previously taken.”
The government agency’s analysis suggested a likely “a western containment of Russia,” including reducing trade in Russian energy.
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https://www.mystateline.com/news/international/live-updates-russia-ukraine-help-civilians-flee-mariupol/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:11Z
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NASHVILLE – The new Hillsboro Transit Center marked its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting Thursday, March 31.
Remarks were given by Nashville Mayor John Cooper, Director of Metro Nashville Public Schools Dr. Adrienne Battle, WeGo CEO Steve Bland, MNPS School Board Member Gini Pupo-Walker, Council Member Russ Pulley, Nashville MTA Board Chair Gail Carr Williams, Schuler Pelhan, Principal at Hillsboro High School, and MNPS student Xandria Bowen.
“We celebrate the grand opening of the Hillsboro Transit Center and thank all of our partners and key stakeholders for their support,” Carr Williams said. “The center will provide riders with a safe, efficient, and comfortable waiting experience.”
The center is adjacent to Hillsboro High School on 3812 Hillsboro Pike, Nashville, TN 37215. The project is a collaboration between WeGo Public Transit, Metro Nashville Public Schools, the Tennessee Department of Transportation, and the Nashville Department of Transportation.
The Hillsboro Transit Center will provide riders with the comfort of covered bus bays, climate-controlled waiting rooms, real-time bus information, phone charging stations, and exterior waiting areas. The ADA infrastructure is equipped with Wi-Fi, ticket vending machines, and lighting improvements. The area is currently served by route 7 Hillsboro Pike with future expansions of nearby routes, including 17 12th Avenue South on April 3.
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https://tntribune.com/hillsboro-transit-center-grand-opening-ceremony-draws-a-crowd/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:12Z
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Ford F-150 Lightning Conquers the Ike Gauntlet
When it comes to pushing trucks to their limits, TFLtruck throws down the gauntlet. Specifically, the Ike Gauntlet — a brutal towing test that proves a pickup’s worth in terms of pulling power. And lo and behold, the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning done went out there and took Ike’s best shot.
Ford Punches Up: First-ever F-150 Lightning is a heavy-hitter in terms of towing, horsepower
Back in February, Ford took preproduction extended-range F-150 Lightning electric trucks out to Colorado for a radical rite of passage. The Ike Gauntlet towing test covers 8 miles on I-70 and includes a 7 percent incline to reach 11,158 feet above sea level.
Oh, and as if that wasn’t enough, the windchills dipped well below zero. When the team set out, the temperature registered at minus 6 degrees. Over the course of the gauntlet, around 2 inches of snow fell. Yet the F-150 Lightning trucks towed SAE-grade test trailers maxed out at 10,000 pounds and met the challenges head-on.
Watch: Ford F-150 Lightning towing tests go to the extreme
Linda Zhang, the chief program engineer for the F-150 Lightning, said that taking on the Ike Gauntlet is yet another example of her team’s obsessive quest to perfect Ford’s first electric truck.
“We’ve spent hundreds of hours conducting real-world towing testing in this truck, but we want F-150 Lightning to set the bar for an all-new EV towing experience,” said Zhang.
Another prime example took place last summer when Ford conducted similar towing tests at David Dam. Davis Dam climbs from 550 feet to 3,500 feet above sea level in 11.4 miles, making the location challenging enough. Add in highs of 118 degrees during testing, and the F-150 Lightning once more proves its ability to handle extreme temperatures.
“From sweating in the desert to freezing in the Rocky Mountains, we have gone there to help prove what this all-electric truck can do for customers who want to tow,” said Ford F-150 Lightning Vehicle Engineering Manager Dapo Adewusi.
The 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning is set to hit dealerships this spring, and with reservations already well into the hundreds of thousands, it’s fair to say that all that hard work is paying off.
Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.
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https://thenewswheel.com/ford-f-150-lightning-ike-gauntlet-towing-test/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:12Z
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HOF Village Bringing Athletic Leagues from SportsDome to ‘Center for Performance’
Proposed Center for Performance at the Hall of Fame Village (Courtesy HOF Village)
CANTON, Ohio (News Talk 1480 WHBC) – More local athletes will be spending time at the Hall of Fame Village.
That’s now that the village has finalized a partnership with the SportsDome in Jackson Township.
The deal moves all their sports activities to the under-construction Center for Performance in Canton after the Spring sports season.
The 30-year-old SportsDome will then cease operations, according to the village.
The new facility is to open in July.
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https://www.whbc.com/hof-village-bringing-athletic-leagues-from-sportsdome-to-center-for-performance/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:13Z
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English sits out Masters while recovering from hip surgery
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Harris English has decided not to play in the Masters next week. He’s still recovering from surgery to repair a torn labrum. English won twice on the PGA Tour last year and finished third in the U.S. Open. He has not played since the Sony Open in Honolulu the second week of the year. English says he is progressing well from his hip surgery. He just wants to be cautious as he returns to competition. There are no alternates at the Masters. That puts the field at 90 players with one spot available for the Texas Open winner.
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https://kesq.com/news/2022/03/31/english-sits-out-masters-while-recovering-from-hip-surgery/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:14Z
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Saint-Etienne resume their Ligue 1 campaign post the international break as they entertain Marseille at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on Saturday.
The hosts failed to move out of the relegation zone as they held Troyes to a 1-1 draw in their previous league outing. They are just a couple of points behind 15th-placed Troyes and will be able to come out of the drop zone with a win here.
Marseille moved into second place in the league standings as they overcame Nice in a crucial top-of-the-table clash in their previous outing.
Saint-Etienne vs Marseille Head-to-Head
The two historic rivals have met 121 times in competitive fixtures so far. Only Bordeaux have faced the hosts on more occasions (119) than Marseille in Ligue 1.
Les Phocéens have been the better side in this fixture, having recorded 55 wins against Les Verts. The hosts have 44 wins to their name while 22 games have ended in draws.
They last met at Orange Vélodrome in league action in August. The then-hosts secured a 3-1 win in that fixture.
Saint-Etienne form guide (Ligue 1): D-D-W-L-D
Marseille form guide (all competitions): W-W-W-W-L
Saint-Etienne vs Marseille Team News
Saint-Etienne
Wahbi Khazri and Romain Hamouma are out with injuries for this game. Yvann Macon trained with the team for the first time in a month but he is not yet fit enough to take part. Falaye Sacko was injured in the game against Troyes and will be on the sidelines for at least a couple of weeks.
Sada Thioub and Yvan Neyou face late fitness tests, while Saiduo Sow's involvement in the game is doubtful. Enzo Crivelli has overcome health problems and is in contention to start here.
Injured: Yvann Macon, Romain Hamouma, Sada Thioub, Falaye Sacko, Wahbi Khazri
Doubtful: Yvan Neyou, Saidou Sow
Suspended: None
Marseille
Leonardo Balerdi has been ruled out for the remainder of the campaign with a shoulder injury. Arkadiusz Milik has picked up an injury while on international duty with Poland and will miss the trip to Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Luan Peres will serve a one-game suspension following an accumulation of yellow cards.
Injured: Leonardo Balerdi, Arkadiusz Milik
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Luan Peres
Saint-Etienne vs Marseille Predicted XI
Saint-Etienne Predicted XI (3-4-1-2): Paul Bernardoni (GK); Eliaquim Mangala, Harold Moukoudi, Mickael Nade; Timothee Kolodziejczak, Mahdi Camara, Lucas Gourna-Douath, Adil Aouchiche; Ryad Boudebouz; Denis Bouanga, Arnaud Nordin
Marseille predicted XI (4-3-1-2): Pau Lopez (GK); Pol Lirola, William Saliba, Duje Caleta-Car, Boubacar Kamara; Matteo Guendouzi, Valentin Rongier, Gerson; Dimitri Payet, Cengiz Under, Cédric Bakambu
$1,000 Risk-Free Bet at BetMGM SB
Saint-Etienne vs Marseille Prediction
The hosts have a long list of absentees for the game and might struggle here. Saint Etienne secured a league double over Marseille last season, so the visitors will be looking to return the favor with a win.
We expect the visitors to eke out a narrow win to capitalize on the hosts' poor form and weakened squad.
Prediction: Saint-Etienne 1-2 Marseille
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https://www.sportskeeda.com/football/saint-etienne-vs-marseille-prediction-preview-team-news-ligue-1-2021-22
| 2022-04-01T00:39:15Z
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Biden eyes boost to mining of minerals for electric vehicles
WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing higher oil prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, President Joe Biden is looking at invoking the Defense Production Act this week to increase the mining of critical minerals for the batteries used in electric vehicles.
That’s according to a person familiar with the White House plans who insisted on anonymity to discuss the likely policy move. The person said production will occur under strong environmental and labor standards as well as through tribal engagements, though some Democrats in Congress have concerns because the mining sector is regulated through a 150 year-old law.
Greater federal support for alternatives to fossil fuels would reduce the leverage of Russian President Vladimir Putin and others on matters of U.S. national and economic security, though it reflects a long-term play rather than an immediate response to the economic damage caused by the war.
Biden’s likely order employing the Defense Production Act would provide a meaningful financial incentive to develop a domestic supply chain for electric vehicles and enable the shift away from gasoline-fueled autos.
Putin’s assault on Ukraine began more than a month ago, rattling global energy markets for petroleum and natural gas in ways that would likely hurt growth worldwide. U.S. crude oil was trading at more than $107 a barrel on Wednesday morning, up from nearly $60 a year ago as inflation has emerged as a persistent threat.
The Democratic president is looking at invoking Title III of the 1950 Defense Production Act, which would provide the government with economic authorities to address industrial shortfalls. Mining companies could access money under the law for production of minerals including lithium, nickel, graphite, cobalt and manganese.
The government would not be issuing loans or directly purchasing minerals. The funding would instead cover feasibility studies, production at current operations and modernizing safety standards and production.
Lawmakers are divided on whether invoking the act is the best policy, as economic and national security issues may come into conflict with environmental protections despite assurances that standards would be followed.
A bipartisan group of senators, led by Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, have urged Biden to deploy the Defense Production Action to boost the domestic output of critical minerals such as lithium and graphite.
“The United States relies almost exclusively on foreign nations – many of them unfriendly and with nonexistent labor and environmental standards – to meet much of our present mineral demand,” the senators said in a letter to Biden this month. “Allowing our foreign mineral dependence to persist is a growing threat to U.S. national security, and we need to take every step to address it.″
Manchin, who chairs the Senate Energy Committee, is a key player on energy issues and singlehandedly blocked Biden’s signature social and environmental legislation known as Build Back Better. He has since said he is open to some of the bill’s climate and energy proposals, as long as they don’t punish fossil fuels such as natural gas.
The letter was also signed by Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Jim Risch of Idaho.
But some Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee urged Biden not to invoke the Defense Production Act, saying that increased mining projects on public lands could jeopardize public health and sacred sites in the West.
“As it turns out, the oil and gas industry isn’t the only one taking advantage of tragedy in Ukraine,” said Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, the panel’s chairman. “Like their fossil fuel peers, mining companies are making opportunistic pleas to advance a decades-old mining agenda that lets polluters off the hook and leaves Americans suffering the consequences. Fast-tracking mining under antiquated standards that put our public health, wilderness, and sacred sites at risk of permanent damage just isn’t the answer.”
The mining industry operates under the 150-year-old Mining Law of 1872. Under this statute, companies mining on public lands pay no federal royalties and are not held financially responsible for cleaning up the tens of thousands of toxic abandoned mine sites scattered across the United States.
Grijalva said he will propose legislation to reform the mining law later this spring.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.kswo.com/2022/03/30/biden-eyes-boost-mining-minerals-electric-vehicles/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:15Z
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Final Four coaches feel transfer portal is “out of control”
By The Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jeff Walz has had a lot of success getting players to transfer to Louisville over the last few years, including three starters on his Final Four team this season. He’s not the only coach in the Final Four who has bolstered the roster by using the transfer portal as both South Carolina and UConn have found supplemental players from it. Still Walz, Dawn Staley and Geno Auriemma think the amount of players looking to change schools is getting out of control.
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https://kion546.com/news/ap-california/2022/03/31/final-four-coaches-feel-transfer-portal-is-out-of-control/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:15Z
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After nearly half a decade yielding to other plans, the Snowmass Village Community Connectivity Plan is merging back onto the road toward formal adoption. Town Council members signaled at a March 21 meeting that they’re ready to set the wheels in motion on a finalized, updated version that will set priorities to help connect the town’s hubs with motorized and human-powered transportation in mind. Linking up the Snowmass Center, Base Village and the Snowmass Mall has been one of the foundations of the plan; likewise for pedestrian safety and accessibility and for a strong transportation network town-wide.
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2556533989702/the-rosenwald-connection-community-repairs-historic-mars-hill-school
| 2022-04-01T00:39:16Z
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https://sportspyder.com/nba/brooklyn-nets/articles/39011935
| 2022-04-01T00:39:16Z
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https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/31/politics/democrats-reaction-biden-immigration-plans/index.html
| 2022-04-01T00:39:16Z
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Cambiar Investors LLC decreased its stake in Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD – Get Rating) by 31.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,558 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 10,326 shares during the period. Cambiar Investors LLC owned 0.08% of Forward Air worth $2,732,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Liberty Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Forward Air by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC now owns 360 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Forward Air by 2,216.1% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,436 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 1,374 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Forward Air by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Heritage Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,586 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management purchased a new position in Forward Air during the 3rd quarter worth $217,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new position in Forward Air during the 3rd quarter worth $231,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.01% of the company’s stock.
A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on FWRD shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Forward Air from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 24th. Susquehanna Bancshares began coverage on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Thursday, December 9th. They issued a “positive” rating and a $132.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna began coverage on shares of Forward Air in a research note on Thursday, December 9th. They set a “positive” rating and a $132.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Forward Air from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Forward Air from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $136.67.
Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 9th. The transportation company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.12. Forward Air had a net margin of 6.37% and a return on equity of 20.80%. The business had revenue of $459.93 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $439.13 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. Analysts expect that Forward Air Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. This is a positive change from Forward Air’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Forward Air’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.94%.
Forward Air Company Profile (Get Rating)
Forward Air Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an asset-light freight and logistics company in the United States and Canada. It operates in two segments, Expedited Freight and Intermodal. The Expedited Freight segment provides expedited regional, inter-regional, and national less-than-truckload services; local pick-up and delivery services; and other services, which include final mile, truckload, shipment consolidation and deconsolidation, warehousing, customs brokerage, and other handling.
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https://www.americanbankingnews.com/2022/03/31/forward-air-co-nasdaqfwrd-shares-sold-by-cambiar-investors-llc.html
| 2022-04-01T00:39:17Z
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Police: 13-year-old runaway girl dies at hospital after found unresponsive at motel
D’IBERVILLE, Miss. (WALA/Gray News) - A 13-year-old girl has died in a Mississippi-area hospital after being reported as a runaway from Alabama earlier this month.
WALA reports the Mobile Police Department first reported Keyanna Sylvester as a runaway on March 21. She was then found unresponsive in a motel room in D’Iberville, Mississippi, on March 24, according to D’Iberville Police Capt. Jason King.
Sylvester was taken to the hospital but later died, according to police.
The 13-year-old spent time in Ocean Springs and Moss Point, Mississippi, according to reports.
King said it was too early in the investigation to decide whether foul play was involved in the girl’s death.
“We’re making sure we’re careful about not saying whether it’s criminal or not criminal,” he said.
King also said police are waiting for a report by the medical examiner.
“This hurts me real bad because Keyanna was my baby,” said neighbor Alexie Thames. “You all need to help find whoever did this to my baby. "
Anyone with further information on this case was urged to contact the D’Iberville Police Department at 228-396-4252.
Copyright 2022 WALA via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.kcrg.com/2022/03/31/police-13-year-old-runaway-girl-dies-hospital-after-found-unresponsive-motel/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:17Z
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https://dan.com/buy-domain/jinkangya.com
| 2022-04-01T00:39:17Z
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PADUCAH — Addressing the needs of the homeless population in the Paducah area: That's the priority as the warming center at Washington Street Baptist Church is set to close for the season on April 1.
The city of Paducah is working on a solution, but it’s still in its early phases.
The goal is to eliminate the need for warming center entirely. That starts with getting people into gainful employment and able to succeed on their own — a mission the warming center is working to get enough staffing to help with in the fall.
But, for the time being, the center is trying to make sure homeless people have what they need on April 1.
As the doors close for the season, Washington Street Baptist Pastor Raynarldo Henderson is sending off his homeless neighbors with supplies that will help them.
“Some tents, some sleeping bags. We've given flashlights. Anything that people think they might need, we made it possible for them to have,” says Henderson, who is also the warming center's organizer.
But that doesn't guarantee them a safer night's sleep.
“They have to get permission from people if they can pitch their tent, if they can sleep at a certain place with their sleeping bags,” says Henderson.
So what is the center doing to help? Henderson says they're working on a long-term solution to homelessness.
“We want to, and any community I think would want to put themselves out of business. Homelessness is not what we want to have to work with,” says Henderson.
The biggest push is employment opportunities for the people who stayed there. But job applications require an address.
“We've given all of our residents permission to use this address, 739 (Washington St.), as their mailing address. They're able to get their mail here. People are able to follow up with them,” Henderson says.
The center also plans to continue raising awareness about homelessness in our community all year.
The city of Paducah is committed to that.
“We’re not burying our head in the sand and acting like it doesn't exist. That's not what we're doing. We are attacking this issue head on,” says Henderson, who is also a Paducah City Commission member.
An event will be held on April 1 to update supporters about the services the warming center provided during this past winter season.
During the event, the center plans to lay out its exact plans for the fall as well.
Henderson says the center will continue to help the homeless population as much as possible throughout the year, and is always looking for volunteers.
If you're interested in volunteering, you can contact Washington Street Baptist Church at 270-442-8033.
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https://www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/washington-street-warming-center-continuing-to-fight-homelessness-even-after-doors-close-for-the-season/article_a3bd4646-b145-11ec-8c5b-fb83c8281982.html
| 2022-04-01T00:39:17Z
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- CNBC's Jim Cramer on Thursday broke down why Alto Ingredients is a risky buy while Gladstone Land is a complete miss.
- "You have my blessing to swing at Alto Ingredients for speculation, but Gladstone Land is coming in way too hot," the "Mad Money" host said.
CNBC's Jim Cramer on Thursday broke down why Alto Ingredients is a risky buy while Gladstone Land is a complete miss.
"You have my blessing to swing at Alto Ingredients for speculation, but Gladstone Land is coming in way too hot," the "Mad Money" host said.
Alto Ingredients stock fell 0.15% on Thursday to $6.82, reaching a 52-week high of $7.27 earlier in the day. The company, which makes specialty alcohols and other ingredients derived from crops, has been able to rally recently by focusing on ethanol, Cramer said, adding that ethanol is more competitive nowadays due to high oil prices.
"While I'm wary of anything that's up more than 40% for the year, Alto's … a $500 million enterprise with light analyst coverage," Cramer said. "This could be terrific material for speculation in the right environment," he added.
However, he cautioned that this doesn't mean he's recommending that investors start purchasing the stock in earnest.
Money Report
"In the end, it's pure speculation. If you believe oil prices can stay elevated, then I think Alto Ingredients could be worth betting on, but I recommend buying it in gradual small increments and only with money you can afford to lose," he said.
As for Gladstone, a farmland real estate company, Cramer said its stock price is currently too high to be a buy. The company's stock dropped 2.72% on Thursday to $36.42.
"Long-term, I believe it's an excellent business, and I'd be a buyer at the right price. But I don't think the right price is this price," Cramer said.
"I can't countenance buying Gladstone up here. Sometimes, you just have to admit that you've missed it," he added.
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https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/business/money-report/jim-cramer-says-one-of-these-red-hot-stocks-is-a-maybe-the-other-is-a-miss/2752258/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:16Z
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- Analysis
- Business
- The economy
- Inside China
The ‘China model’ is being put to the test
By Li Yuan
A year ago, while many countries were still reeling from COVID-19, China seemed to be one of few places prospering through the pandemic. It was also the only major economy that reported growth in 2020. Global investors were bullish on Chinese stocks even as Beijing’s regulatory crackdown on its private sector became more like a political campaign.
That led some people in China to argue that its one-party authoritarian rule offered a compelling alternative to traditional liberal democracy. The United States was declining politically and economically, they said, and the world was “gravitating toward China.” Many Chinese cheered the narrative online.
A year later, the tone within China is more one of anxiety, anger and despair. In the past month, hundreds of millions of people there have struggled under lockdowns as coronavirus outbreaks spread across the country. Foreign investors are dumping Chinese stocks over geopolitical, regulatory and pandemic uncertainties. And the government’s support of President Vladimir Putin of Russia as he wages war in Ukraine has risked the world’s criticism, and potentially sanctions.
It’s all leading to increasingly anxious questions about the country’s path — and even about whether too much power has been concentrated in the hands of the country’s leader, Xi Jinping, who is seeking a third five-year term at the Communist Party congress late in the year.
On social media, a growing number of citizens are accusing the Communist Party of breaching its social contract with the people. They had tolerated, and sometimes praised, one-party rule in exchange for economic growth and social stability. But its stringent lockdown measures, which are straining entire cities, and its regulatory crackdowns are costing many of them jobs and income and leaving their futures looking much more uncertain and gloomier than a few years ago.
In private, some academics and businesspeople are discussing growing concerns about Xi’s focus on rivalling the United States and proving the viability of the Chinese political model — a focus that some worry has become an obsession.
The competition between countries, Xi has said, is ultimately competition between political systems. The handling of the pandemic “made it evident which country’s leadership and political system is superior,” he told top cadres in January 2021. “Time and momentum are on our side.”
Chinese citizens have to be extremely careful in criticising Xi, some of whose critics have been sentenced to as long as 18 years in prison. So some are resorting to quoting former top leaders to express their frustration that Xi has stepped away from the proven path of reform and opening that provided the country with decades of prosperity.
The public’s pent-up anger is not likely to be enough to sway Beijing’s decision-making or to threaten the rule of the Communist Party, which is accustomed to keeping people in line by using indoctrination and intimidation. But it marks a departure from the heavy silence that has prevailed under Xi’s rule.
Two years ago, China celebrated the merits of its top-down ruling approach by pointing to its success in building a new hospital in just 10 days in Wuhan and containing the spread of the coronavirus in three months. Today, many people view the makeshift quarantine centres as a symbol of Beijing’s stubborn insistence on a costly coronavirus policy that seems to mainly serve the purpose of proving the superiority of its system.
The country’s unforgiving pandemic control measures are being called the “white terror,” a nod to the vast army of neighbourhood workers who wear white hazmat suits. People have shared videos and photos of protests in which demonstrators chanted, “We need to work!” and “We need to eat!”
Some commenters said Beijing wasted its early success in pandemic control because it believed that its political will alone would suffice to beat the virus. They questioned why the government had not spent the huge resources it deployed in mass testing and quarantines on a vaccination drive, especially among older people. They asked whether Beijing was irresponsible in not approving the more effective Western vaccines for the sake of national pride.
Many accused the government of failing to see the huge sacrifices that businesses and individuals had to make, or complained that people were struggling to get by and falling behind on mortgages and other personal loans. They were angry that some people died of heart attacks, asthma, cancer and other diseases because hospitals turned them away under COVID restriction guidelines.
“As long as you don’t die of COVID, you can die of any cause,” goes a viral online quip.
Beijing remains unwavering in the face of public resentment.
“In the past two years, China has fully demonstrated the significant advantage in its political system and its strong national capacity in containing the pandemic,” read a commentary in the state-run People’s Daily newspaper Monday. The zero-COVID policy is a “line of defence that a nation of 1.4 billion people will have to hold,” it said.
The only policy area that Beijing has relented on somewhat has been its regulatory crackdowns on the private sector. After a heavy sell-off of Chinese stocks in mid-March, China’s economic czar, Liu He, urged government agencies to roll out market-friendly policies and to show caution in introducing any measures that risked hurting the markets.
But China’s political-campaign style regulatory crackdown has done its damage. Mass job cutting, once rare in China, is happening in tech, real estate, education and online games, some of the industries that were hit the hardest by the crackdowns. Posts about unemployment are shared widely as a gloomy sentiment grips the educated middle class.
“Standing at this historic turning point, we look back to the Golden Age,” read an online post about China’s four decades of economic transformation and dreams of individual prosperity. “We all thought it would be our future,” it said. “It turned out to be an illusory dream.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.
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https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/the-china-model-is-being-put-to-the-test-20220401-p5a9yb.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed
| 2022-04-01T00:39:18Z
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LINCOLN, Ill. (WMBD) – Thursday, students at Lincoln College held a peaceful rally in response to the school’s planned closure this spring.
Wednesday, with just weeks left in the semester, students at Lincoln College learned of plans to close campus for good on May 13, barring a large gift.
The college’s administration said the reason for the shutdown is financial struggles created by COVID-19 and a December cyberattack.
“I was shocked and saddened by that news because being a freshman, I’ll have to find someplace for me to go, a new school, a new environment,” said Dariah Handy, a freshman at Lincoln College.
For students, especially international ones like sophomore Klaudia Blaszycyk from Poland, figuring out what comes next isn’t necessarily an easy task.
“For international students, it’s very hard because we need to care about our visas, how to get back to the country, and stuff like this. So it was very painful,” Blaszycyk said.
Students aren’t willing to give up on Lincoln College just yet. Thursday afternoon, a group of students marched to the president’s office in Lincoln to discuss the decision to close.
“I had one year left to get my degree here and the opportunity has now been taken from me,” said Morwin Coney, a junior at Lincoln College.
While students asked about the timing and reason for the announcement, Lincoln College president Dr. David Gerlach offered a teary response.
“I’ve been fighting hard to save this place, but resources are resources. We’ve done everything we possibly could,” Gerlach said.
With the school’s future hanging in the balance, Coney said saving Lincoln College is worth fighting for.
“Lincoln gave us plenty of opportunities to grow and prosper and now to think we have to go somewhere else to do it, it’s not going to be the same,” Coney said.
Blaszcyk said a group of students has committed to raising money to keep the campus open for at least one more semester.
Another student said they’re starting a social media campaign #SaveLincoln to raise awareness about the potential closure.
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https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/local-news/lincoln-college-students-hold-a-demonstration-in-reaction-to-planned-closure/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:18Z
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SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — On day two of the Hatcher Mountain Fire, firefighters were just trying to get a line established so it doesn’t spread any further.
They’re using aerial surveillance and helicopters to drop water on areas they might not be able to see from the ground.
Fire crews are creating what they call dozer lines, clearing areas with bulldozers around the perimeter of the wildfire. They’re also looking for snags, which are dead-standing trees. Those can cause significantly more danger if they were to fall or catch fire.
“It’s taking a little bit of time. We’re getting there, I hope, but only time will tell and the thing that’s just really hindering right now is the wind. We don’t have a wind advisory today it’s not quite that gusty. You know, yesterday we had 20 to 30 sustained with 30 to 60 mile an hour gusts, sometimes higher maybe 80 miles an hour at times. You know, today you know it’s 15 miles an hour, but sustained winds can still dry some things out,” said Nathan Waters, the Assistant District Forest Fire Operations said.
In the Valley Mountain Way community near Waldens Creek, crews continue to deal with hot spots and are trying to create fire lines. They’re able to go to a few staging areas to take a break when they’re not fighting fires.
Valley View Baptist Church has always opened its doors when this community is met with tragedy. Back in 2016 with the Gatlinburg Fire, this was one of several staging areas, and then here they are again today.
“I’m proud of them. We got a lot of people who’s been here their whole life and have shared with the community and do what we can. And a lot of peoples’ moved in. We’ve been blessed with a lot of people who moved in and so they’re good folks too,” said Willy Bryan with Valley View Baptist Church.
Willy Bryan said his home is safe from the fires at the moment. He says his priority is helping his community.
Besides the Valley View Baptist Church location, there is another command center at Pigeon Forge Elementary School.
According to firefighters, the winds on Thursday weren’t as bad as they were the night before, but it’s not helping the situation either.
Waters said, in regards to the Valley Mountain Way community, “they ran a dozer off of here. They went around this community and the fire went around all of these houses and they’re just trying to connect it to the wears valley side. We’re trying to box the fire in.”
“A lot of the times the homes will set where we have to put our fire lines and so that makes it difficult and that’s where the structural firemen are really integral because they’ve been able to get in here and foam down houses and water them down,” he added.
Firefighters say just a single amber from this fire could start another blaze.
Despite the rain Wednesday night, crews say the wind could dry it out by the end of the day, putting them back at square one.
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https://www.wate.com/news/wears-valley-wildfire/firefighters-spirits-remain-high-as-wears-valley-wildfires-smolder/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:18Z
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A Bell County grand jury indicted a Temple man Wednesday on several felony charges for allegedly videotaping three minors and three women during a winter storm and a family vacation without their knowledge.
Justin Blair Fuller, 42, was indicted on five counts of possession of child pornography, third-degree felonies, and nine counts of invasive visual recording, state jail felonies.
On July 30, 2021, Temple Police Investigator Kenneth McCrae interviewed two women who said Fuller confessed to allegedly placing a camera in the bathroom at three different residences without anyone knowing, according to an arrest affidavit filed by the department.
“Justin Fuller told (one of the women) he was curious about her body and had placed recording devices in the bathroom to see her body,” McCrae wrote on the affidavit.
The woman told McCrae that Fuller said the alleged recordings happened on Feb. 19-21, 2021, while people were sheltering at a residence during a winter storm and on July 4, 2020, during a vacation.
The second woman told McCrae that Fuller told her about the cameras but denied keeping any videos of the minors who stayed at the house.
During the investigation, McCrae learned Fuller had removed his computer from his home. Still, investigators were able to recover hard drives and storage devices that were examined by Texas A&M University – Central Texas IT Forensic Specialist Scott Lorenz.
“Lorenz found over 2 million images and tens of thousands of videos that needed to be reviewed by police because what they depicted was concerning to him,” McCrae wrote.
The images and videos — depicting nudity — were shown to three women who identified themselves, two young girls age 9 and 5, and an 8-year-old boy in the explicit content.
McCrae noted on the affidavit that the images were taken at three different residences, in the 10000 block of Becker Drive and the 10000 block of Cap Rock Drive, both in Temple, and at a Lake Travis rental home the families visited in the summer of 2020.
On Dec. 17, 2021, Fuller was arrested at the 200 block of Main Street in downtown Temple while officers served an arrest warrant.
Fuller’s initial bonds totaled $500,000, but court records showed 426th Judicial District Judge Steve Duskie reduced the bonds to $250,000 on Dec. 21.
Fuller was released from the Bell County Jail on Dec. 27 after posting his bonds.
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https://www.tdtnews.com/news/central_texas_news/article_55ff0aa6-b141-11ec-871f-a7a7f8fa3853.html
| 2022-04-01T00:39:18Z
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The FIA Formula 1 World Championship has revealed the newest circuit that is due to appear on the season calendar, this time being held in the streets of Las Vegas. Formula 1 has been racing at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas for over ten years now, and will see the first ever Miami Grand Prix held this year; but the latest addition to the calendar sees the sport continue to grow in the US.
The event will take place on a Saturday night (local time) in November “on the famous Las Vegas Strip with the track sweeping past some of the world’s most legendary landmarks, hotels and casinos.”
Formula 1 also claims that the circuit will feature fourteen corners, including a chicane and some high-speed corners. The track is 3.8 miles in length, as it travels around the streets of Las Vegas, and can see drivers reaching top speeds of over 212 miles per hour. The Saturday-night event will be 50 laps in length.
Stefano Domenicali – “This is an incredible moment for Formula 1”
CEO and president of Formula 1, Stefano Domenicali, said that a third US Grand Prix proves the amount of growth the sport has seen in recent years.
“This is an incredible moment for Formula 1 that demonstrates the huge appeal and growth of our sport with a third race in the US. Las Vegas is a destination known around the world for its excitement, hospitality, thrills, and of course, the famous Strip.”
“There is no better place for Formula 1 to race than in the global entertainment capital of the world and we cannot wait to be here next year. I want to thank everyone who helped deliver this event, especially Governor Sisolak, the Clark County Commission, Steve Hill at the LVCVA, and our local partners,” the Italian concluded.
Greg Maffei – Las Vegas and F1 is the “perfect marriage of speed and glamour”
Current CEO and president of Liberty Media (owners of Formula 1), Greg Maffei, said that the addition of a Las Vegas Grand Prix will take Formula 1 to the “next level”.
“Iconic Las Vegas and Formula 1, the pinnacle of motorsport, is the perfect marriage of speed and glamour. Our confidence in this unique opportunity is evident in our decision to assume the promoter role for the Las Vegas Grand Prix in partnership with Live Nation,” the boss states.
“We could not be more excited to work with our local partners to create a marquee event. The potential of Formula 1 has been well demonstrated over the last several seasons and the Las Vegas GP will only take it to the next level.”
Steve Hill – Las Vegas to become “one of the most iconic racetracks in the world”
“We eagerly anticipate the moment when the history, energy and momentum of Formula 1 will culminate in an unforgettable Saturday night on the Las Vegas Strip,” said Steve Hill, president and CEO of the LVCVA (Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority).
“Spectators will experience the unrivaled thrill of watching these world-class drivers race through what is sure to become one of the most iconic racetracks in the world.”
“Formula 1 and Liberty Media have been incredible partners, and we look forward to November 2023 when we once again showcase that Las Vegas is ‘The Greatest Arena on Earth,” the CEO explained.
With the total number of races starting to rapidly climb, fans of Formula 1 have many races and never-before-seen venues to look forward to, as the sport continues to grow bigger than ever before.
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https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2022/03/formula-1-reveals-las-vegas-grand-prix-starting-in-2023/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:18Z
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We need an early warning system to prevent the next COVID surge
Public health guidance should be based on leading, not lagging, scientific indicators. The recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines and the White House’s National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan represent steps in the right direction: It is time to move away from a one-size-fits-all COVID-19 response strategy and to right-sized responses for each community.
For example, the White House “One-Stop Test to Treat” plan is a great idea and should be rolled out immediately and equitably. We now have pharmaceutical tools to prevent the progression of COVID-19, but these don’t work unless the infection is diagnosed early. Only rapid access to both testing and treatment will assure that people can be treated promptly and equitably.
Yet the recent COVID-19 guidance doesn’t go far enough to provide communities, workers and students with the protections they need to prevent suffering and save lives in the next pandemic surge.
Public health guidance must include policies that leaders can implement before, during and after a COVID-19 surge. While politicians and opinion pieces flood the media with demands for “off-ramps,” the U.S. is still in the process of developing a strategy that will allow for the early identification of, and response to, the next surge.
After the omicron variant emerged and CDC forecasted its rapid spread, the U.S. could have responded immediately with stricter masking guidelines and other measures to protect public health. Such a rapid, decisive response would have benefited the economy and saved thousands of lives. We need a system that triggers COVID preparedness on the basis of new pandemic waves developing anywhere in the world.
Think of it this way: An early warning system for a tsunami does not wait until the waves reach the shore. These warning systems detect seismic activity and — with as much lead time as possible — warn people in high-risk areas to move to a safer place.
Since Nov. 24, when omicron was first reported, the U.S. has confirmed more than 30 million new infections and more than 155,000 deaths. The omicron surge has killed more Americans than delta, and the U.S. has recorded more COVID deaths per capita than other large, high-income countries.
The CDC’s latest guidance relies primarily on hospital data to determine community risk, but this data is limited in important ways. Certainly, hospital indicators are the most reliable and consistent COVID data that we have nationally. But hospitalizations occur weeks after infections; they are a lagging indicator of COVID transmission. Moreover, hospitalization rates in a specific county do not necessarily indicate COVID risk in that county, given that many sick people have to travel to nearby counties for advanced care. While hospitalization is very predictive of risk of death, it is too late to take effective preventive measures and is not a precise indicator of transmission in a specific county.
We need better, faster, and more data to allow for near real-time decision making. Two years into the pandemic, the U.S. still does not have enough sequencing data to identify new variants as they emerge. The new White House preparedness plan aims to improve data collection to quickly identify new variants, but further detail and funding are needed.
The nation has not invested in high-quality tracking data to monitor the prevalence of COVID. The increased availability of home-test kits is, of course helpful, but in this regard has made COVID tracking even murkier since most negative and even many positive results are not consistently reported to the local and national data systems. The One-Stop Test to Treat initiative, if implemented broadly and equitably, should be linked closely to CDC’s surveillance efforts. Extensive testing and reporting in real-time could provide a robust and credible early warning system for our communities about the risk of another surge and to provide the opportunity to save lives. We hope that plans are underway to link this important service to public health tracking efforts.
Here is what we need to be doing now. First, increase rates of immunization across the board with special attention to ensuring access to hesitant, underserved, or vulnerable communities. Vaccine equity is the right thing to do, and it’s good for public health.
Second, we now know what works to prevent the spread of COVID. However, we do need clear guidance so that we can take action at the first sign of the next surge. Public health interventions like masking and distancing can stop the spread of COVID when we act together. All of us, including children, need to have and use high-quality, well-fitted masks, like N-95s or K-95s. Masking shows respect for others; it is certainly NOT a “scarlet letter.”
Third, the CDC needs to establish an early warning system and better disease tracking tools that are useful nationally as well as locally. Linking such a system to monitoring global trends, intensive surveillance for variants and extensive test-and-treat efforts would be a much better strategy than the current reliance on hospital data and inconsistent and unreliable case tracking data.
As much as we would like to, it isn’t possible to wish the pandemic away. A premature declaration of victory will almost certainly prolong the crisis and make it more likely we are unprepared for the next wave.
Lynn Goldman is the dean of the George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health; Emily Smith is an assistant professor of global health at the George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public 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/opinion/healthcare/596879-we-need-an-early-warning-system-to-prevent-the-next-covid-surge/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:16Z
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The United States Department of Agriculture released an update to its Food Price Outlook for 2022 and found that nearly everything one might ingest – whether it comes from the grocery store or restaurant – is going up in price.
And yes, that's on top of the price increases consumers have already been forced to endure in the last year.
"All food prices are now predicted to increase between 4.5 and 5.5%," the USDA's Economic Research Service explained in the March report.
While the overall increase is alarming, a closer look at various food categories show just how expensive shoppers can expect items to get, according to the USDA:
As for take-out or dine-in menus, the USDA said those prices are predicted to go up between 5.5 and 6.5% for the remainder of this year.
Additionally, food prices climbed 7.9% for the year ending in February 2022.
This was "the largest 12-month advance since July 1981," according to the department.
The report also noted current global events that will only add to the uncertainty of food affordability, saying, "The impacts of the conflict in Ukraine and the recent increases in interest rates by the Federal Reserve are expected to put upward and downward pressures on food prices, respectively. The situations will be closely monitored to assess the net impacts of these concurrent events on food prices as they unfold."
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
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https://www.wrvo.org/2022-03-31/food-prices-are-going-up-and-at-levels-americans-havent-seen-in-decades
| 2022-04-01T00:39:18Z
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https://www.leafly.com/brands/katatonic/products/katatonic-deathstar-diamonds-1g-solvent
| 2022-04-01T00:39:18Z
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jeff Walz has had a lot of success getting players to transfer to Louisville over the last few years, including three starters on his Final Four team this season.
He's not the only coach in the Final Four who has bolstered the roster by using the transfer portal as both South Carolina and UConn have found supplemental players from it.
Still Walz, Dawn Staley and Geno Auriemma think the amount of players looking to change schools is getting out of control.
“I always like to say, ‘The grass is greener on the other side because it’s fertilized with a bunch of bull,’” Louisville coach Jeff Walz said. “I think there are a lot of players that will jump into the portal after one year that don’t really have a good grasp of why they’re doing it.”
Staley likened the portal to Twitter, Instagram or TikTok.
“It’s a big ol’ fad that just keeps continuing,” she said. “Is it out of hand? It absolutely is. I don’t know how you control it. But it’s their way. It’s their way of controlling their own destinies.”
Both Staley and Auriemma noted that there were currently more players seeking to transfer than there were scholarships available across the country.
“You know those 850 people in the portal? Three hundred of them are not going to find a school to go to because they’re going to realize it’s not the school they just left,” Auriemma said.
Despite the reservations, they're still playing along. Emily Engstler (Syracuse), Kianna Smith (California) and Chelsie Hall (Vanderbilt) have been key for Louisville. Engstler and Hall just joined the program this season.
When Engstler was considering the Cardinals, Walz went to Mykasa Robinson to discuss how her role would likely shrink if Engstler were to come and gauge her comfort level.
“She looked at me, and she’s like, ‘I’m tired of guarding her. If we can get her, yes, because she likes to win, and she wants to play with other good players,’” Walz said.
SOUTH CAROLINA SUPPORT
The Gamecocks have led the nation in average attendance for seven straight years, buoyed by a base of more than 10,000 season tickets. Despite the 1,200-mile distance from campus to downtown Minneapolis, there will be plenty of garnet-and-black-clad South Carolina fans voicing their support on Friday night when the Gamecocks take on Louisville.
“They’ve been with us when we weren’t a popular team or we weren’t a whole lot to cheer about,” Staley said. “This is my 14th year being at South Carolina, but the last probably 10, the fans have given us a ride that’s kind of irreplaceable.”
One of the catalysts for the attendance boom was giving fans as much as access to the program as they could, to build relationships and let the locals get to know the players as people.
“You really feel the love in the community,” guard Brea Beal said. “You can go to the store and run into somebody and they’re like, oh my gosh, just freaking out. It’s like a family.”
FOND MEMORY
Walz spent one season at Minnesota on his climb up the coaching ladder, serving as an assistant under current Maryland coach Brenda Frese.
That was 20 years ago, when Hall of Fame finalist Lindsay Whalen was a sophomore for the Gophers on a breakthrough team that reached the Final Four two seasons later. The women's team at that time played in a smaller gym, the Pavilion, next door to Williams Arena where the Minnesota men's team has played since 1928.
A water pipe burst that winter, moving the women's team into the bigger venue. The Gophers were on a roll, and the first game in the building known as “The Barn” was packed to the rafters.
“From that point on, we continued the rest of the season playing in the Barn in front of unbelievable crowds,” Walz said.
___
More AP coverage of March Madness: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
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https://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/article/Final-Four-coaches-feel-transfer-portal-is-out-17049755.php
| 2022-04-01T00:39:19Z
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By Ashley Benkarski
NASHVILLE, TN— You may be familiar with the phrase “with great power comes great responsibility.”
In so many words, Division II General Sessions Court Judge Melissa Blackburn agrees.
She said she hopes voters see “the genuine approach I bring to this work and the empathy I have for the clients we serve.”
Elected in 2014, Blackburn is a Nashville native and Lipscomb graduate.
“We don’t get the attention other courts do, but General Sessions is the most diverse court in Nashville,” Blackburn said. “I am very proud of the fact that we are leading the way when it comes to changing how our justice system works.”
Often, barriers to justice in the Court are due to the laws crafted by Congress, she said. “Many of the people who pass the laws we are required to use have never set foot into a criminal proceeding or seen the impact of their decisions up close,” Blackburn added. “In Nashville, we work to overcome many of these problematic laws through the use of specialty courts and restorative justice innovations. But we are one county often fighting an uphill fight.”
Judge Blackburn oversees Davidson County’s Mental Health and Veterans Specialty Courts.
“People who would otherwise sit in jail and not get the help they need are given a full wraparound of services that allow them to find their road back to full participation in the community,” she said.
Despite the upheaval throughout the pandemic Judge Blackburn said her courts never closed. “That is a tribute to the professionalism and commitment of our staff,” she remarked.
Mental health is an issue that’s affected Blackburn directly. “Having experienced a family tragedy resulting from mental challenges, I understand not only the difficulties our clients face, but the devastating impact it can have on their families,” she said. “With no compassionate assistance, these families are left to struggle in ways many people do not begin to understand. I do understand and it guides my work.”
Judge Blackburn said some in the criminal justice community have rallied to “recognize the system isn’t working either for people with very severe mental illness or for public safety” in light of an incident involving a man deemed incompetent attacking nurses at a local hospital. “I’m looking forward to sharing the results of our efforts,” she said of pending service expansion updates.
“By numbers, we measure success by determining if the person graduating from our program re-engages with the criminal justice system within a year of completion,” Blackburn explained, adding more than 80 percent of program graduates don’t end up in the system again, while the rearrest rate in the traditional system is over 50 percent. “That is something the system as a whole must address,” she said.
“Our program is successful, but not perfect,” Blackburn said. “There are times when we lose a client … The losses weigh on us when we ask along with their families what we could have done better or differently.”
“In my court, we answer that question by looking at the client at the end of their time with us and seeing if they are restored,” she continued. “Restoration can have a legal definition through the expungement of their cases and waiving of fines … [W]e have graduated nearly 400 Nashvillians, expunged hundreds of charges and waived hundreds of thousands of dollars in court fines.”
“Restoration for our graduates also has a personal meaning above the legal questions,” Blackburn said. “Is that person healed? Are they sober? Are they reunited with their friends and family? Are they able to get a steady job and good safe housing without worrying about ‘checking the box?’ Are they once again a full participant in their community? Do they have a promising future?
If we can answer those questions with a ‘yes,’ then we have made a difference.”
You can find more information on Judge Blackburn at gscourt.nashville.gov, on Facebook, Twitter (@JudgeBlackburn), and Instagram (@melissablackburn4judge).
For information on the Mental Health and Veterans Courts contact program director Mark Winslow at (615) 862-8320.
Voters must be registered by April 4, with early voting taking place April 13-28 and the primary is May 3.
Find voting information by visiting www.sos.tn.gov.
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https://tntribune.com/judge-blackburn-seeks-re-election-to-general-sessions-role/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:19Z
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DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The French medical charity Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, says that five of its employees have been released in Nigeria after being kidnapped last month in neighboring Cameroon.
Armed men kidnapped the MSF employees on Feb. 24 from the group’s base in Cameroon’s Far North region in Fotokol, which is near Nigeria and Chad. Those kidnapped and subsequently released include a Senegalese, Chadian and Franco-Ivorian along with their two Cameroon security guards.
The organization said the workers were released Wednesday in Nigeria and have been “taken to a safe place.”
“We are happy to find our colleagues safe and sound,” said the director general of the organization, Stephen Cornish. “We share the deep relief of their parents and loved ones, who were impatiently awaiting this news.”
The organization did not give details on the condition of the release.
Cheikh Ndiaye, the uncle of the Senegalese humanitarian who was taking hostages expressed his family’s relief.
”They are free. We were told they are in Nigeria. We rejoice and look forward with great relief to his return among us,” he said.
Islamic extremist groups Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province are known to carry out attacks in this region.
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https://www.mystateline.com/news/international/medical-charity-says-5-abducted-workers-are-freed-in-nigeria/
| 2022-04-01T00:39:18Z
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SCAPPOOSE, Ore. (AP) — Authorities say a man was shot and killed Thursday by two police officers in Scappoose, Oregon.
Columbia County officials confirmed the officer-involved shooting on social media. In a tweet, officials said that “no officers were injured and the incident is currently under investigation.”
A witness told KOIN-TV that he was dropping his wife off at work when he saw a man show up to the towing facility next door. The witness, Erik Tyler, said the man appeared angry and a fight escalated between the man and employees until the workers told him they would call the police.
Police arrived and Tyler said he heard them yell at the man to drop his weapon and the man didn’t comply.
Detective Shannon Wilde with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, which has taken over the investigation, told reporters police responded to the “disturbance” at Grumpy’s Towing just before 10 a.m. During the incident, Wilde said both a sheriff's deputy and an Oregon State Police trooper fired their weapons, killing the man.
Wilde did not identify the deceased man or specify whether he was armed at the time but said he was wanted for an unrelated “violent felony.”
Wilde also declined to comment on the circumstances that led up to the shooting.
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https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Police-Officers-shoot-kill-man-in-Scappoose-17049819.php
| 2022-04-01T00:39:19Z
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