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https://www.mcall.com/news/police/mc-nws-ricin-sentencing-20220331-bui4mqa7lrchxanj5yznr4mnfq-story.html
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An Upper Macungie Township man was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Boston for obstructing an investigation into his efforts to acquire the deadly toxin ricin.
Ishtiaq Ali Saaem, a Bangladeshi national, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to three years of probation, six months of which will be served on home confinement.
Ali Saaem was also ordered to pay a fine of $5,500.
Saaem, 37, was living in Boston and working as the director of advanced research at a biotechnology firm in June 2015 when he bought 100 packets of castor bean seeds online, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston.
Inspired by his viewing of the TV series “Breaking Bad,” about a high school chemistry professor who begins cooking methamphetamine, Saaem planned to cook up an undetectable poison in his kitchen, prosecutors said.
After telling investigators the beans were for decorative purposes — and that he accidentally ordered 100 packets instead of one — Saaem searched the internet for tasteless poisons that could be made at home, according to court records.
During subsequent meetings with law enforcement, Saaem said his interest in buying castor beans related to an interest in gardening. He also made misleading statements about his knowledge of ricin.
Saaem pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice last April.
Saaem “showed callous disregard for public safety and federal authority,” U.S. Attorney Rachael S. Rollins said in a statement. “This prosecution sends a clear message that the attempted procurement of deadly weapons or toxins will be taken as a direct threat against the safety and security of American communities. Thanks to the swift action by authorities, no one was harmed.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kriss Basil prosecuted the case.
“Today’s sentence should be a warning to others that you can’t obstruct a federal investigation and get away with it,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston division.
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The 2021-22 boys basketball season just ended and already thoughts turn to next year.
The start of any high school season actually begins in the summer and this year the big news is the varsity basketball summer league is going inside to Whitehall High School.
“We were offered the gyms by Bob Hartman [Whitehall’s athletic director] and we accepted because at least 70% of the time last year we had to go inside to play our games,” said longtime summer basketball league and tournament director Glen Klein. “We have schools that have to travel a long distance to get here, schools like Pocono Mountain East, Reading, Quakertown and Warren Hills in New Jersey. So, when you’re coming that far, a decision has to be made early in the day. And even if there was just a 50% chance of rain I’d go inside because you didn’t want to take a chance. Sometimes it rained, sometimes it didn’t, but the coaches and kids needed to know early. So this makes it a lot easier.”
While the varsity league will be at Whitehall, the JV league will still be at Cedar Beach every Tuesday and Thursday night starting May 17.
Klein said the JV games will start at 5 p.m. and finish at 8 and the varsity games will be played at 6, 7 and 8 p.m.
“We’re going to stagger the schedule so if a kid is double-rostered that kid can play a 5 o’clock JV game at Cedar Beach and a 7 o’clock varsity game at Whitehall,” Klein said. “Or if he’s playing a JV game at 6, he will play a varsity game at 8 at Whitehall. Everything will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays so the coaches can have their weekends. I’ll miss Cedar Beach and I’m a big advocate of playing outside in the summer, but we’re doing this to keep things as simple as possible and the coaches like playing games indoors because that’s where they play in the winter.”
The league used to be called the Cedar Beach Summer Basketball League but now that the varsity league is no longer being held at the west Allentown park, Klein is not sure what the league will be called.
He said that 22 teams have committed to the league’s big-school division including newcomers Executive Education Charter and Muhlenberg Township, while eight would be in the small-school division. The JV league at the moment has 12 teams.
The Cedar Beach Basketball Showcase, a four-day double-elimination tournament, will remain at Cedar Beach. The tournament is set for June 23-26. Parkland won last year’s big-school title, beating Northampton in the championship game. Southern Lehigh beat Roberto Clemente for the tournament’s small-school crown.
The A-Town Throwdown tournament will also return this summer with its four-day event to run from July 28-31. Reading won last year’s boys title, beating Lincoln from the Philadelphia Public League in the finals, which were forced indoors to Muhlenberg College.
Scholar-athletes
The Lehigh Valley Senior All-Star Basketball Classic Sunday at Northampton Community College featured a lot of memorable moments that included top players from the past and present.
Perhaps the biggest winners were Freedom’s Kailey Turpening and Southern Lehigh’s Noah Denton who were selected as local basketball’s premier scholar-athletes and awarded $2000 in scholarships.
“It’s exciting and I feel really honored,” Turpening said. “It’s really difficult being a three-sport athlete but my parents and friends and other family have supported me all the way through. It’s not just me who accomplished this, but I had a lot of help.”
Turpening said she has been playing basketball literally since she could walk.
“My first steps were on a basketball court,” she said. “My dad [Steve[ owns In The Zone and I have been surrounded by basketball my entire life,” she said. “I grew up loving it. It has been in my heart forever.”
Turpening, a 1,000-point scorer, said she will be attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona, Florida, and will continue her career there at the Division II level.
“I will miss Lehigh Valley basketball since I played at Freedom for six years,” she said. ”But I am excited about my new career.”
Denton, however, is done with organized basketball as he pursues a career in the medical profession. He’s headed to the University of Pittsburgh’s honors college where he will major in pre-med.
“I will miss basketball and I didn’t think I’d miss it this much, but getting to play again in the all-star game with former teammates like Matt Tankred was a lot of fun,” said Denton. “I wish I could have one more year of high school.”
Denton said the scholar-athlete is a reward for his hard work.
“This really represents the hard work I put in over the years,” Denton said. “I enjoyed basketball, but I realize basketball can only take you so far. The things that you do in high school can help set you up your career after high school and that’s why I worked hard to attain my goals.”
Officials work state finals
No Lehigh Valley teams made it to Hershey for the state championships but District 11 officials Jack Keiter, Rod Strobl, and Johnny Hymans worked the 5A boys championship game between Imhotep Charter and New Castle. Imhotep won 54-39.
“We were honored to be selected and it was great to be on the floor with officials you are comfortable with,” Keiter said. “We were on the same page all game long. Evaluators said we were the best crew of the first two days of the finals. We had fun and enjoyed the experience.”
It was the second state title game for all three officials. All three worked previous championship games more than a decade ago when the finals were at Penn State — Keiter in 2010, Hymans had a girls title game in 2011, and Strobl worked a boys final in 2008.
We rely on the support of our subscribers to fund our journalism. If you’re not already signed up, we hope you will consider subscribing. Already a print subscriber? If you haven’t already, please activate your digital access.
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CLEARWATER, Fla. — Luis Severino was on the field Thursday playing catch like he usually would be on the day after a bullpen session. That is a good sign for the right-hander, who had his second spring training start pushed back because of general arm soreness.
“He’s really encouraged by what he was coming in with today and just going out to throw and normal catch play and in line for Saturday so kind of waiting for this morning,” Aaron Boone said. “It’s what we hope for at this point.”
Severino is scheduled to start Saturday against the Braves for his final outing of spring training.
Severino has been through the gamut with injuries over the past three years, beginning with shoulder inflammation that transformed into a lat tear. He had Tommy John surgery in March 2020 and a rehab that was stalled by a groin injury and shoulder issue.
CATCHING UP
Ben Rortvedt has progressed to hitting tossed baseballs Wednesday, meaning he is moving toward full swing and eventually playing in games. The catcher, who came to the Yankees with a strained right oblique in a trade earlier this spring, however, seems likely to begin the regular season on the injured list.
The Yankees will have to make some hard decisions to replace him because they do not have another catcher on their 40-man roster, which is full. They have catchers Rob Brantly, Max McDowell and David Freitas, who started against the Phillies Thursday, in camp.
“Some of that depends on where we determine Ben is. Is he going to need a week or two? ... Obviously you have to create a roster spot,” the Yankee manager said. “So, there’ll be a lot of things that kind of factor in.”
Brantly was with the Yankees last season. The 32-year-old veteran has played 133 games in the big leagues with the Marlins, White Sox, Phillies, Giants and Yankees. McDowell — a Brewers’ 13th-round pick in 2015 — played 45 games in Triple-A with the Yankees in 2021 and is earning the reputation of being an excellent defensive catcher. Freitas, who started Thursday, has played 59 games in the big leagues with the Braves, Mariners and Brewers.
THE ASTERISK
GM Brian Cashman told The Athletic he thinks the Yankees’ World Series drought — its been 12 years since the Bombers have been in one — should have an asterisk on it because the 2017 Astros cheated.
The Yankees have Marwin Gonzalez, a member of that Astros’ 2017 team, in camp, but Boone said within the clubhouse that scandal is ancient history they don’t need to rehash.
“I love the vibe of where guys are from that level of focus and we’re trying to go win a championship and that’s that’s our focus,” Boone said. “And I don’t see any issue.”
The Yankees have long been sore about the Astros, who electronically stole signs and relayed them in real-time to batters. The Astros beat the Yankees in Game 7 of the 2017 American League Championship Series.
That Astros team also beat the Dodgers and Red Sox in the 2017 playoffs, both who have since gone on to win a World Series. The Yankees had Robinson Chirinos, who was on the 2017 Astros team, on their roster last season and said they were interested in bringing in Carlos Correa as a free agent this year.
RELIEF
In his first game back from a pinched nerve in his neck, lefty reliever Joely Rodriguez looked back to normal Thursday.
“I was anxious to see and I thought he’s pretty sharp too. The lefty he got out to finish there was good,” Boone said of Joely. “I don’t think the velocity is all the way back there but it seemed like it was 92-93 [mph], which was probably in line. I thought it was a really good slider to finish off his outing for the strikeout. I thought he threw the ball well through a couple of good change ups in there also.
“So it’s good to see him be fairly sharp out there.”
Rodriguez raised flags in his last spring training outing when his velocity dipped. He was then diagnosed with a pinched nerve.
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LEBANON, PA. — A Pennsylvania police officer was killed and two others injured Thursday during a shooting that occurred while responding to a domestic disturbance call, Lebanon Mayor Sherry Capello said.
Police officers went to a home in the city at about 3:30 p.m. for the disturbance call. Nearly an hour later gunfire broke out and officers radioed in they were hit, Capello said at a brief news conference.
All three officers were taken to hospitals. One of them has been pronounced dead. A second was in critical condition, but stable, and a third was in stable condition, Capello said.
“This is an extremely difficult moment for everyone,” Capello said.
The suspect, a 34-year-old man from Lebanon, was killed in the shooting, Lebanon Police Chief Todd Breiner said.
“As one can imagine, it’s clearly a traumatic event,” Breiner said. “Our guys are strong, but we’re human and we have families.”
The slain officer’s name is being withheld pending notification of extended family members.
Police did not release further details.
This story will be updated.
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In all of two minutes and 47 seconds, Allentown City Council killed a controversial ordinance that would have imposed a list of requirements that could have eliminated many contractors from doing work for the city.
Known as the “responsible contractor ordinance,” council was slated to add an amendment to the measure at the Thursday night meeting which would have eliminated an apprenticeship requirement.
Council never discussed the amendment or the entire ordinance and instead, a motion was made to kill the entire ordinance, which passed in a 6-0 vote.
“It took us two minutes and 47 seconds. Justice was done today,’’ council president Cynthia Mota said after the meeting.
Mota said the bill would not come before council again unless a council member decides to sponsor it again.
The ordinance would have created stricter requirements for construction contractors, which could have meant many contractors would no longer qualify to work on city projects. According to a Finance Department analysis of 42 bids the city received on 17 recent construction projects before the ordinance passed, 25 contractors would no longer be eligible to work with the city under the new ordinance.
The measure, originally sponsored by Councilman Josh Siegel, would have impacted contractors and subcontractors performing work valued at more than $200,000.
The most controversial part of the ordinance required contractors to have a registered apprenticeship program. Advocates said the requirement would foster workforce development and better working conditions in Allentown, but opponents said the ordinance unfairly favors unions. Most unionized contractors have the required apprenticeship program, but only some nonunion shops do.
The amendment council was slated to discuss Thursday was one brought my city Councilman Ed Zucal which would have scraped the apprenticeship program requirement.
During a February council meeting, the ordinance gained preliminary approval in a 4-3 vote and generated pushback from several dozen contractors arguing for and against the measure.
Why the measure was killed and done without discussion was because “it was poorly written and unfair to contractors,’’ said Mota.
“It was pretty much a slap in the face to a lot of people who have worked for the city for years. They have done extraordinary work. This was the right thing to do,’’ she said.
In the audience Thursday night were several members of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Eastern Pennsylvania, an organization that represents non-union workers. Speaking about the council’s decision to kill the ordinance, member Chris Peirson said after the meeting, “I am very pleased.’’
Mota added that dismissing the ordinance was a victory or the city and one that shows,
“Things are going to get better. No doubt about it.”
Charles Malinchak is a freelance writer for The Morning Call.
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Cade Cunningham swung his arm in a circle to celebrate the Saddiq Bey bomb. And as a frustrated group of 76ers walked back to the bench for a desperation timeout while trailing by double digits with less than two minutes to play, the Pistons’ public-address announcer unleashed his textbook “DEEE-TROOOIT!”
The Sixers messed around with the lowly Pistons and then fumbled away the game in the fourth quarter, losing, 102-94, Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena.
The Pistons entered Thursday with just 20 wins, but have recently been putting scares into superior teams. Thursday night, they hung around all game until outscoring the Sixers, 29-15, in the final period.
A Braxton Key three-pointer followed by a Killian Hayes floater got Detroit within 85-84 with less than seven minutes to play, before a Cunningham layup gave the gave the Pistons their first lead of the game. Back-to-back three-pointers by Isaiah Livers and Bey snapped an 87-87 tie, giving Detroit a 93-87 lead about a minute later, igniting what had been a tepid home crowd while their team trailed for the bulk of the night.
Then the avalanche continued. When Olynyk got free for a breakaway layup, their lead had suddenly ballooned to 10 points. Then came the big shot by Bey, the former Villanova star, to put his team up 102-89 with less than two minutes to play.
Sixers star Joel Embiid scored 37 points on 11-of-19 from the field and 14-of-16 from the free-throw line and added 15 rebounds, but had seven turnovers. Harden added 18 points on 4-of-15 shooting, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists and quickly returned to the game after a painful fall. But the Sixers were sloppy with the ball, committing 15 turnovers that the Pistons parlayed into 16 points.
Cunningham, a contender for Rookie of the Year, was an impressive 12-of-20 from the field to finish with 27 points. Bey, the former Villanova star, added 20 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds.
The third consecutive loss is another hit to the Sixers’ playoff positioning. They entered Thursday in third place in the Eastern Conference standings, two games back of the first-place Miami Heat and one game behind the second-place Milwaukee Bucks. They next play a home-road back-to-back against the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday and at the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.
Flat start, awful finish
Both teams started cold offensively, spending the bulk of the first quarter shooting under 40%. What helped the Sixers build an 8-point lead: They went 7-of-7 from the free-throw line, while the Pistons did not attempt a shot from the stripe. Detroit also went 2-of-10 from the three-point arc in the period.
The Sixers’ shooting struggles dipped to 10-of-26 from the floor in the second quarter, helping the Pistons stay within striking distance when Kelly Olynyk hit two free throws to cut the Sixers’ lead to 36-35 with less than seven to play in the frame. But the Sixers answered with a 9-4 spurt to push their advantage back up to 47-39 on a Tobias Harris deep shot.
That foreshadowed the Sixers’ disastrous finish.
Bench struggles
A shaky Sixers bench unit struggled again Thursday, scoring just 8 points to Detroit’s 39 from its reserves.
Despite Rivers extending his rotation to 10 players, the Sixers bench were outscored 21-0 in the first half on 0-for-5 shooting. The only stats the reserves totaled before the break were one rebound by Shake Milton, one steal apiece by Georges Niang and Danny Green, and one block by DeAndre Jordan.
The Sixers’ reserves finally broke their scoring drought when Milton drained a three late in the third quarter. Milton finished with 3 assists and 2 rebounds in 19 minutes.
After Paul Millsap was the Sixers’ backup center in Tuesday’s loss to Milwaukee, Jordan was back in that role against the Pistons. The Sixers also went small, with Niang at center, for a stretch in the second quarter.
Furkan Korkmaz got his first game action since playing 11 minutes in last Friday’s win over the Clippers. He played five minutes and went 0-for-1 from the floor.
Olynyk (12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists) and Hayes (10 points on 5-of-8 shooting) were the Pistons’ primary bench contributors.
Braxton Key minutes
Key, a rookie who spent most of the season with the G League’s Delaware Blue Coats and was on a 10-day contract with the Sixers earlier this season, got playing time while on a 10-day contract with the Pistons.
He initially struggled against his former team, starting 1-of-6 from the floor, including a missed point-blank layup late in the third quarter. But he nailed a corner three-pointer about midway through the final period that cut the Sixers’ lead to 85-82. He also pulled down 4 rebounds to go with his 6 points in 16 minutes.
After his pregame warm-ups, Key chatted on the floor with Blue Coats assistant general manager Jameer Nelson, who made the trip to Detroit.
Gina Mizell is a reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer
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Today’s Lehigh Valley sports schedule and last night’s scores.
To report your school’s scores and stats, please complete this SPORTS SCORES FORM
FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE
Baseball and Softball
Catasauqua at Palisades 4 p.m.
Salisbury at Wilson 4 p.m.
Northern Lehigh at Pen Argyl 4 p.m.
Northwestern at Notre Dame G.P. 4 p.m.
Southern Lehigh at Bangor 4:15 p.m.
Moravian Academy at Saucon Valley 4:15 p.m.
Boys Tennis
Notre Dame Green Pond at Southern Lehigh 4 p.m.
TUESDAY SCORES
Boys Tennis
Pennridge 5, Quakertown 2
Max Arkans (Q) def. Tyler Parry (P0, 6-0, 6-2
Lance Parker (P) def. Darian Sawodski, 7-6 (4), 7-5
Isaaac Hartzell (P) def. Justin Kwityn, 6-4, 6-0
Doubles
Isaac Snyder/Will Robinson (Q) def. Jordan Ea/Josh Wurz, 6-3, 6-4
Kyle Motts/Carter Patterson (P) def. Ben Cole/Lucas Schwartz, 6-4, 6-4
Liam Rowling/Bailey Bishop (P) def. Josh Einolf/Dylan Aponte, 6-2, 6-0
Brendan Shwoak/Jonah Rabick (P) def. Gabe Roman/John Cressman, 2-6, 6-4, 10-5 (TB)
THURSDAY’S SCORES
Baseball
Lehighton 7, Pen Argyl 3
Pennridge 4, Upper Perkiomen 2
Liberty 14, Northampton 4
Emmaus 10, Dieruff 0
Methacton 8, Cheltenham 1
Southern Lehigh 17, Moravian Academy 0
Softball
Stroudsburg 13, East Stroudsburg North 1
Bethlehem Catholic 10, Central Catholic 0
Girls Lacrosse
Upper Perkiomen 20, Pottstown 0
Easton 10, Southern Lehigh 9
Freedom 15, Central Catholic 9
Boys Tennis
Northampton 4, Pen Argyl 1
Central Catholic 6. Easton 1
Boys Lacrosse
Easton 12, Southern Lehigh 4
Boys Track and Field
Northampton 101, East Stroudsburg South 48
Girls Track and Field
Northampton 120, East Stroudsburg South 30
Boys Volleyball
Southern Lehigh def. Kutztown 3-0 (25-8, 25-10, 25-13)
* GIVE US YOUR RESULTS
Coaches and scorekeepers can help ensure their student-athletes are recognized by promptly reporting scores, stats and summaries by using a form that can be found at themorningcall.com/submitascore
Have questions? Email sports@mcall.com
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Dear Amy: I met “Shari” through other friends. We got along well, and always had a great time. I thought we had an amazing bond.
However, once the pandemic hit, I started to see a different side of her.
She is very anti-vaxx and has refused to acknowledge the seriousness of the pandemic. She has ramped up the anti-vaxx posts on social media.
I did send her a message about one post, stating that it wasn’t true, and she sent a tirade back at me, rehashing a number of points about COVID-19 and the vaccine that are all untrue.
I don’t make friends easily. I have serious trust issues, but I don’t see being able to maintain a friendship with someone who is so diametrically opposed to my values and views.
I am willing to accept her being against vaccinations, but she is posting pure falsehoods, and is argumentative when called out with facts, stating that anyone who disagrees with her or counters her arguments is brainwashed by the government and media.
I keep thinking that once we get past the pandemic, maybe things will be better.
I try not to bring it up, but when I see some of the posts, and when we are together with other friends, it comes up.
I put my head down and keep quiet, but this is eating me up.
My challenge is – how do I end the friendship? I am afraid to end it, as we are part of a group of friends, and if I need to pull my friendship away from her, I will lose those friends, who are my only friends right now.
But I wonder if being alone would be better than this.
– Stuck
Dear Stuck: You see this as an “all or nothing” situation, where because of this person’s behavior, all of your other friendships are at risk, but she is not in charge of your other relationships. You are.
You should completely disengage from her on social media. She is not reasonable and does not want to engage in an exchange of ideas, so remove your access to her on this platform. Quietly “hide,” “block,” or “unfriend.”
Change the channel.
There is no need to abruptly end the friendship by declaring it to be over.
You simply need to back away from the relationship. Detach from her.
Don’t gossip about her with others. If she asks you why you are distant, you can truthfully tell her that you’ve become exhausted by her declarations and tirades, which run counter to your own values.
Dear Amy: My mother-in-law is a smoker. Her own house is permeated with the smell of cigarettes. Even though I don’t like it, I can handle this when we’re visiting.
I know it is her house and she has the right to do what she wants when she’s at home, but I cannot stand it when she lights up at our place.
We have a balcony, and I am fine with her smoking on the balcony if she wants to, but – please – not in our townhouse.
My husband doesn’t want to say anything to her, but I do.
Do you have any ideas?
– Puffed-Out
Dear Puffed-Out: Smoking anywhere indoors has become so rare that at this point it is almost taboo.
Many rental units and condo associations ban smoking – even inside units – because of the risks associated with second-hand smoke. You should check to see if there are any rules within your townhouse development, and if even smoking on a balcony is permitted (balconies are sometimes considered “common areas”).
If smoking is banned inside units where you live, you should notify your mother-in-law.
Otherwise, even if your husband won’t say anything to his mother, you should.
Keep your tone neutral, and simply say: “I hope you won’t mind standing outside to smoke.”
If she says, “Why yes, I do mind,” you’ll have to say – “Well, smoke really bothers me, so I’d appreciate it if you could do that for me.”
Dear Amy: The writer signing her question: “Just Say: Get Well Soon!” said she had shared the fact that she was getting surgery on Facebook, but she didn’t like the fact that one friend queried her about the details.
Thank you for pointing out the obvious: When you post personal news on social media, you don’t get to control how people respond!
– Aggravated
Dear Aggravated: My own life without a personal Facebook presence (I maintain a professional page) has been a little less colorful, but a lot less aggravating.
Got a question for Amy? Enter it here and we’ll send it to her.
Sign up here to receive the Ask Amy newsletter to get advice e-mailed to your inbox every morning, and for a limited time — get the book "Ask Amy: Essential Wisdom from America’s Favorite Advice Columnist" for $5.
©2021 Amy Dickinson.
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General Daily Insight for April 1, 2022
New beginnings can soothe our old wounds. The bold Aries New Moon gives us a fresh start to the month at 2:24 am EDT. The Moon then moves to sextile powerful Mars in Aquarius, sparking our drive to be creative with our everyday actions, while Luna sextile steadfast Saturn lends us the strength to commit to our innovations. Finally, the Moon conjoins The Wounded Healer, asteroid Chiron, encouraging us to move forward from our past emotional wounds. Let the healing in!
Aries
March 21-April 19
They're playing your song, Aries! You're no stranger to the power of being creative and thinking quickly on your feet, and today you can use your innate boldness to your benefit. You have cosmic permission to work energetically on your own or lead a team confidently, and you can find great success when you're being creative and original. Don't try to imitate when it's your turn to step up, because your best, most genuine self perfectly fits the energy of the day.
Taurus
April 20-May 20
Your stamina could be put to the test today. The tasks that you have to complete before the day is done may be piling up, even if you don't feel your peppiest. Whether you didn't get enough sleep last night or you're just not feeling it, don't try to do more than you're able. Overcommitting is an easy trap to fall into, and saying no won't make you a bad person. Being honest about what you can accomplish should make things easier for everyone.
Gemini
May 21-June 20
You can get by with a little help from your friends. An upcoming trip or project might be looming overwhelmingly in your mind, and asking a friend for advice or even calling someone up for their companionship can help. Once you hear yourself explaining your circumstances to another person, there's a good chance that you'll realize it's not as scary as you think. There's really no need to travel fast today, so if you want to go far, take time to go together!
Cancer
June 21-July 22
Now is not the time to let anyone hold you back! While you've likely got enough momentum to make a good-sized dent in the tasks that you have before you, you may also want to keep a few of your plans a secret. Letting everyone know your business could end up delaying you, and your plans are too good to share with everyone. Make sure that the most important business stays on a need-to-know basis. Not everyone needs to know!
Leo
July 23-August 22
Nature is calling your name! It may not feel like the right time to take a spontaneous break, but adventure is out there, even if it's only a little jaunt. Your routine may be creating stagnancy for you, and your heart probably wants to break out of the mold today. Whether you feel led to plan a trip on foreign shores or to drive out on a simple day trip, take some friends and catch up. Breathe the fresh air -- you deserve it!
Virgo
August 23-September 22
Transformation often doesn't happen overnight. You may feel a new burst of momentum toward improving your health or breaking a bad habit, but you could still feel like you aren't seeing enough of a result for your efforts. Progress is much easier said than done, and often, we don't immediately see the end product that we're dreaming of. Use your meticulous skills to figure out a plan of action, and once you're in a rhythm, you might not even notice the good habits naturally forming.
Libra
September 23-October 22
Creativity is currently at your doorstep, asking you to let it in! You have an opportunity to express yourself creatively now, and it's a bonus if you make something meaningful for someone that you love. Whether you want to get a jump on crafting a friend's birthday card DIYing a toy for a beloved pet, use your unique skills to tangibly show your appreciation of someone special in your life. You have a lot of love to give, and it should be fun!
Scorpio
October 23-November 21
Everyday life can be a chore sometimes, but it can also be comforting. Your routine is likely to go by faster and with fewer bumps in the road today, making productivity a smooth process. It may not be shiny and exciting, but your routine is reliable, and you could be coming out of a hectic time, making you particularly thankful that life is going back to normal. Don't be afraid to romanticize your daily life -- consider adding a fun treat to your day!
Sagittarius
November 22-December 21
It's time to let the sunshine in, literally and metaphorically. This is a great time to have fun, express yourself, and connect with your friends. A video chat with someone who really gets you might be all you need to fill the day with laughter and intrigue. However, you can be prone to distraction. If there's something that absolutely needs to get done, don't wait until the last second. Go ahead and get it out of the way early for future you!
Capricorn
December 22-January 19
Home is where your heart is, and your surroundings should reflect that. That room that you've been hesitating to clean or that decorating that you've been procrastinating? It's time to get into them. Even if you only have a few minutes to spare, reevaluating and refreshing the energy flow in your home can make all the difference in your mood. It's an atmosphere that you spend quite a bit of time in, so it's worth it to make it comfortable.
Aquarius
January 20-February 18
The electricity of today is palpable -- for better or for worse. You may be feeling extra excitable, and without providing an outlet for that energy, you could end up feeling anxious. Going for a run, cleaning your house, or just dancing in your room can help you release any jitters. Impatience could cause you to make mistakes that force you to go back and redo what you've already done, so take your time with decisions. Channel that energy and watch it carry you higher!
Pisces
February 19-March 20
An emotionally charged day might be in store for you. A loved one might be the cause of these strong feelings -- you can be their shoulder to cry on, the person celebrating a win with them, or someone who can laugh and cry as they tell you everything that's happened since they last saw you. Try not to attach yourself too strongly to your feelings! Just let them flow through you and be present for your friend. Your emotional intelligence can serve you well.
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The severe weather that rolled through the Lehigh Valley on Thursday shattered the area’s all-time rainfall record for March 31.
In the end, it wasn’t even close.
Allentown recorded 1.80 inches of precipitation on Thursday as severe thunderstorms unleashed torrential rain, sparking a flash flood warning just after 9 p.m. That topped the old record of 1.43 inches from 2017, and was 1.68 inches above normal rainfall for the date.
Around the same time, strong winds and a possible tornado reportedly toppled trees and damaged homes in central Bucks County near Perkasie and Bedminster Township.
A tornado warning was issued around 9:50 p.m., but the National Weather Service will need to send a survey team to determine whether the damage was from straight line winds or a twister that may have briefly touched down.
The weather service says scattered showers will continue Friday morning across the region, with an environment also favorable for small hail and/or graupel. Additionally, we’re likely to see widespread wind gusts around 30-40 mph during portions of the afternoon and early evening hours.
Attention will then turn to an active and unsettled week expected next week, with multiple periods of rain possible.
Temperatures should make it into the mid to upper 50s Monday, and the weather service says Tuesday “may even turn out as the pick of the week” with highs in the low to mid 60s are expected.
Things will change by mid-week, and the NWS forecast discussion notes that “deterministic guidance is in good agreement on periods of rain from Tuesday night through at least Thursday, though it will not be raining the entire time.”
Forecasters say temperatures are likely to be tricky through the end of the week, but are likely to be in the mid to upper 50s.
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As freshmen, the Jim Thorpe Class of 2022 girls basketball team won its first 26 games. This was a school record for consecutive victories.
As seniors, they won a school-record 28 games and won the first three PIAA state playoff games in school history.
Today, The Morning Call honors the Olympians as the 2021-22 Team of the Year.
“Everyone said we had potential as freshmen,” said senior forward Olivia Smelas. “But going into high school we didn’t know what to expect — being so young and playing all these great teams in our league. So, we had to step up to have a great year like we did, and then to carry it over to our last three years it’s all been amazing.”
Jim Thorpe became the first team in the area to produce three 1,000-point career scorers in the same class — Skyler Searfoss (1,178), Leila Hurley (1,459) and Smelas (1,252), who were all four-year starters. Classmate Leah Snisky joined her classmates as a starter as a sophomore while junior forward Makenzie Yuhas also joined the starting lineup in her sophomore season. Junior Hailey Smelas was the first player off the bench.
Coach Nadia Gauronsky, who took over the program before last season, said it was important for the team to buy into playing as a team.
“After all their success as freshmen and sophomores it may have been tough to hear that you have to do a little bit more or sacrifice a little bit more,” Gauronsky said. “Especially with so much emphasis on individual accolades. But my mentality for them has always been none of your individual accolades will mean anything if the team isn’t successful. Truly, if your team isn’t successful what does it matter?”
The Olympians compiled a 96-15 record the last four seasons while winning its first two Schuylkill League titles. They also made the program’s first four trips to a District 11 championship game before breaking through with its first title this season.
Add the first three trips to the PIAA state tournament to their resumes and reaching the Class 4A final four this season before a respectful 57-44 loss to powerful Archbishop Wood in the semifinals and that’s quite a haul for the Class of 2022.
“We knew when we came into high school we could do something great if we all stuck together,” said Hurley, who made 138 3-point field goals in her career. “We’ve been working together to get better since we were little kids. It’s been a dream for us to have this kind of success and we made it come to reality.”
So how long have the foursome been playing basketball together?
“Since second grade in the little O’s program,” said Smelas, the only Jim Thorpe player to snatch 1,000 rebounds in her career. “That was sponsored by the booster club. Then we kept playing through AAU and high school.”
For Hurley and Olivia Smelas it will continue at Kutztown University the next four seasons.
“I’m very excited to still be teammates with Leila,” Smelas said. “She’s been one of my best friends since third grade. To grow up with her and then experience my next level with her just feels great.”
“Olivia has always been there for me,” Hurley said. “When she told me she was going to Kutztown too it was like, we have to be roommates if we’re going to make this work.”
Searfoss will attend Holy Family University and Snisky will play at the next level at Georgian Court University.
“It was a great run and a great four years,” Snisky said. “It’s the end of an era and we’ve left quite a legacy.”
“Besides all the community support we’ve also gotten support from all the local schools,” Gauronsky said. “All the public school teams were standing with us. With the district defining borders this team has been pretty successful because they are all neighbors. And neighbors help each other in life. That’s what these small schools do.”
Jim Thorpe had to scale two mountains to attain this season’s success. First it had to beat an Eastern Pennsylvania Conference team in the District 11 championship game after failing to do just that the last three seasons.
Then it had to get past a Dunmore team that dealt them their only regular-season loss this season.
The Olympians beat Central Catholic 42-11 in the district final and Dunmore 40-39 in the PIAA quarterfinals on Searfoss’ clutch shot from the paint with two seconds to go in the game.
“The kids set their goals in the beginning of the season so we worked hard to achieve them,” Gauronsky said. “We focused on the things we needed to focus on. Some games were challenging for us but we grinded those wins out. The kids always had their eyes on the prize, so to speak, and that’s what we did.”
Tom Mugavero is a freelancer for The Morning Call.
The Morning Call 2021-22 All-Area Team
FIRST TEAM
F — Vataijah Davis, Pocono Mountain West Jr.
G — Leila Hurley, Jim Thorpe Sr.
F — Grace Lesko, Northampton Jr.
G — Kelly Leszcynski, Nazareth
G — Brianna Moore, Palmerton Sr.
F — Julia Roth, Central Catholic Sr.
G — Skyler Searfoss, Jim Thorpe Sr.
F — Paige Sevrain, Northwestern Jr.
F — Olivia Smelas, Jim Thorpe Sr.
G — Sara Tamoun, Easton Sr.
SECOND TEAM
G — Cici Hernandez, Bethlehem Catholic So.
G — Hailey Miller, Lehighton, Sr.
G — Emma Nielbell, Northern Lehigh Sr.
F — Brielle Reidinger, Wilson Sr.
F — Madi Siggins, Parkland So.
F — Ayne’ Staton, Easton Jr.
G — Kailey Turpening, Freedom Sr.
G — Shaylynn Waiters, Executive Education Sr.
G — Keyara Walters, Bethlehem Catholic Sr.
G — Talia Zurinskas, Parkland So.
HONORABLE MENTION
Bangor — Kaylee Holland, Sr. McCormick Karner, Sr. Avery Nelson Fr.; Bethlehem Catholic — Kendra Rigo, Jr., Akasha Santos, So., Cydney Stanton, Sr.; Catasauqua — Lailey Polanco, So., Sophia Becker, So.; Central Catholic — Molly Driscoll, So., Hanna Hoeing, Sr., Madi Szoke, Jr.; Dieruff — Jaydalise Cartagena, Sr.; Easton — Evalyse Cole, So., Kierra Smith, Sr., Makenna Zimmerman, Sr.; East Stroudsburg South — Kania Day, Sr., Layla Hernandez, So., Laneice Williams, Sr.; Emmaus — Paige Inman, Jr., Kameron Watkins, Sr.; Executive Education — Aubrey Pollard, So., T’nyah Riggins, Sr.; Freedom — Cianna Feliciano. Sr., Keturah Stewart, Jr.; Jim Thorpe — Leah Snisky, Sr., Mackenzie Yuhas, Jr.; Lehighton — Aaliyah Fisher, Sr., Charli McHugh, So.; Liberty — Tamia Bruce, Sr., Layla Orth, Jr., Emma Pukszyn, So.; Moravian Academy — Sofia Ettle, Jr.; Northern Lehigh — Katelynn Barthold, Fr.; Northwestern Lehigh — Brook Balliet, Fr., Cara Thomas, Fr.; Notre Dame GP — Carly Campbell, So., Raegan Cooper, Sr., Anna Micklos, Sr.; Palmerton — Megan Matsko, So., Bethie Morgan, Jr., Raegan Nemeth, Sr.; Parkland — Delaney Chilcote, Fr., Zoe Wilkinson, Sr.; Pen Argyl — Jill Morro, Jr., Ellie Wallbillich. So.; Pleasant Valley — Samantha Merklin, Sr., Aryn Stivala, So.; Pocono Mountain East — Anayah Williams, Jr.; Pocono Mountain West — Jayda Bowen, Sr., Alyssa Ford, So.; Quakertown — Katie Catalano, Jr., Carolyn Sipprell, Jr.; Salisbury — Quinn Wittman, Sr.; Saucon Valley — Allison Cort, Jr.; Southern Lehigh — Ashley Meinhold, Sr.; Stroudsburg — Kendal Card, Jr., Mckayla Strunk, Fr.; Tamaqua — Serena Jones, Sr., McKenna Meckes, Sr., Trenyce Wingler, Sr.; Whitehall — Olivia Hines, Sr., Ella Laky, Sr.; Wilson — Keyearah Volious, Jr.
Final Standings
EPC
(Overall, conference, division)
West Division
Northampton 23-7, 14-2, 9-1
Central Catholic 21-7, 13-3, 7-3
Parkland 19-9, 11-5, 7-3 — Won Class 6A District 11 title.
Whitehall 7-15, 7-9, 4-6
Emmaus 12-12, 8-8, 3-7
Allen 0-22, 0-16, 0-10
East Division
Easton 27-3, 16-0, 10-0
Bethlehem Catholic 19-8, 12-4, 7-3 — Won Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and Class 5A District 11 titles.
Nazareth 17-10, 10-6, 6-4
Freedom 11-12, 7-9, 4-6
Liberty 11-13, 5-10, 3-7
Dieruff 4-18, 1-15, 0-10
North Division
Pocono Mountain West 17-6, 14-2, 10-0
East Stroudsburg South 11-12, 8-8, 6-4
Pleasant Valley 11-12, 8-8, 5-5
Stroudsburg 7-15, 5-11, 5-5
Pocono Mountain East 6-15, 5-11, 4-6
East Stroudsburg North 1-21, 0-16, 0-10
Colonial League
(overall, league, division)
West Division
Palmerton 24-3, 18-0, 12-0 — Won Class 3A District 11 title.
Northwestern Lehigh 21-5, 16-2, 10-2 — Won Colonial League title.
Northern Lehigh 12-11, 10-8, 6-6
Catasauqua 8-14, 6-12, 5-7
Moravian Academy 9-14, 5-13, 5-7
Southern Lehigh 5-17, 5-13, 3-9
Salisbury 3-19, 2-16, 1-11
East Division
Bangor 19-9, 13-4, 7-3
Wilson 16-9, 11-6, 7-3
Notre Dame 14-9, 12-5, 7-3
Pen Argyl 13-11, 10-7, 6-4
Saucon Valley 6-16, 4-13, 2-8
Palisades 2-19, 1-16, 0-10
Others
Jim Thorpe 28-2 — Won Schuylkill League and Class 4A District 11 titles.
EEACS 16-9
Lehighton 12-13
Quakertown 8-14
Tamaqua 8-14
Lincoln 6-14
Notre Dame ES 3-14
Top 10 rankings
Jim Thorpe (28-2)
Bethlehem Catholic (19-8)
Parkland (19-9)
Easton (27-3)
Northampton (23-7)
Central Catholic (21-7)
Nazareth (17-10)
Pocono Mountain West (17-6)
Lehighton (12-13)
Northwestern Lehigh (21-5)
Top 10 scorers
Vataijah Davis, Pocono Mountain West Jr. 23.8
Brielle Reidinger, Wilson Sr. 20.2
Emma Niebell, Northern Lehigh Sr. 16.7
Grace Lesko, Northampton, Jr. 16.2
Shaylynn Waiters, EEACS Sr. 16.0
Paige Sevrain, Northwestern Lehigh Jr. 15.0
Brianna Moore, Palmerton Sr. 14.9
Jill Morro, Pen Argyl Jr. 14.8
Carolyn Sipprell, Quakertown Jr. 14.7
Talia Zurinskas, Parkland So. 14.5
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Celebrate the warmer weather with refreshing cocktails and mouthwatering eats during a Sip and Snack into Spring Cocktail Trail, 1-5 p.m. Saturday, May 7, in downtown Allentown.
Presented by the Downtown Allentown Business Alliance, the 21-and-over event will feature cocktail samples at a dozen Center City Allentown businesses — from shops such as grocery store Radish Republic and men’s fashion retailer Assembly88 to restaurants such as Bell Hall and Brü Daddy’s Brewing Co.
For $35, you can sample a specialty drink at all participating businesses, which also include Allentown Brew Works, Americus Hotel, Blended by Brü Daddy’s, Frutta Bowls, Strata, Split Pine Axe Throwing & VR, Sports & Social Allentown and Sterner Stems.
More than half of the participants also will provide snacks.
Guests will check in the day of the event on the ArtsWalk, 27 N. Seventh St. (across from Blended).
Your ticket gains you admission to the trail along with a 3.5-ounce commemorative tasting glass. To register, visit downtownallentown.ticketleap.com/sip-and-snack-into-spring-cocktail-trail.
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As Russia invaded Ukraine and millions of people fled the horror of war, Alexis Slavish knew she had to do something to help.
The Bethlehem resident with deep ties to Ukraine understood refugees would need assistance — immediately and on a massive scale — and it’s why she was among the first of a growing list of Lehigh Valley residents to sign up on the website Ukraine Take Shelter, which connects refugees with potential hosts around the world.
From living room couches to spare bedrooms, the site connects those offering a safe haven in the midst of a massive humanitarian crisis as Ukrainians scramble to begin new lives.
“The war in Ukraine has affected me very deeply,” Slavish said. “I’m American born and raised, but I have 100% Ukrainian roots. Both sets of grandparents emigrated. My mother is from Lviv and my father was a decorated war hero who served in World War II. Never in my lifetime did I think we’d be encountering something of this magnitude and these horrific events and what refugees are having to endure.”
As millions poured over the borders of their war-ravaged homeland, Slavish hung Ukrainian flags and tied blue and yellow ribbons around her property in northeast Bethlehem to show support. Signs in the windows of her home also direct neighbors and passersby to the website of Saint Mary Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Allentown, which is collecting supplies and medications to ship overseas.
“I’ve donated monetarily, through our church, and ordered medical supplies the church is collecting,” said Slavish. “Whatever I can do to help. I’m in a good position to be able to help and take refugees in. I realize it’s going to be a while before the immigration process and what they have to go through to be able to come here, and I wanted to put my name on a list.”
‘America must also do its part’
More than 4 million Ukrainians have fled the country since the Feb. 24 invasion, including about 2.3 million to Poland, according to the United Nations. Last week, President Joe Biden announced the U.S. would welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainians and others fleeing Russia’s aggression, noting that officials expect many will choose to remain in Europe, close to family and their homes.
“In particular, we are working to expand and develop new programs with a focus on welcoming Ukrainians who have family members in the U.S.,” according to a fact sheet from the Biden administration. “The U.S. and the European Union are also coordinating closely to ensure that these efforts, and other forms of humanitarian admission or transfers, are complementary and provide much-needed support to Ukraine’s neighbors.”
Biden has also pledged $1 billion in new funding towards humanitarian aid for food, shelter, clean water, medical supplies and other forms of assistance, as well as $320 million in democracy and human rights funding to Ukraine and its neighbors.
However, some lawmakers, including a handful from the Lehigh Valley, have argued the U.S. should raise the cap on refugees. U.S. representatives Susan Wild, D-7th District; Matt Cartwright, D-8th District, and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-1st District, all signed a letter sent to Biden last week, urging the administration to do more.
“Refugees who have fled Ukraine are currently housed in temporary shelters throughout European countries including Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova and Romania, many with no idea where they will go or what their lives will look like in the coming months and years,” according to the letter signed by more than 60 members of Congress. “For example, reporting has indicated that cities in Poland are struggling to house and feed these refugees, in which two Ukrainians enter Poland every three seconds, and the millions of Ukrainian refugees who have already arrived in Poland would create the country’s second-largest city.
“Indeed, these countries face immense burdens as a result, with Europe facing its worse refugee crisis since World War II. The burden of sheltering and settling refugees cannot fall solely on European countries. America must also do its part.”
For now, it remains to be seen if the U.S. will leave Ukrainian families scattered around the world, or if they will be welcomed expeditiously, and with open arms.
“Congressman Cartwright and his office are carefully monitoring the administration’s work to publish and commence the program, which we hope can move very quickly,” a spokesperson said via email Wednesday.
Cartwright’s office specifically highlighted part of the letter calling for the expedited relocation of Ukrainians with pending immigrant visa applications by creating a program similar to the Haitian Family Reunification Program from 2014, or the program created for Iraqi and Syrian beneficiaries of I-130 petitions in 2016.
Wild’s office did not respond to repeated requests for comment on whether she has made any further recommendations, or taken any actions to help expedite the refugee referral process or facilitate resettlement.
In the interim, Allentown resident Abdullahi Hamid waits and worries about the process to try and bring relatives to live with him in the Lehigh Valley.
Hamid said his brother, sister-in-law and niece fled Kyiv several weeks ago when the Russian invasion began. They crossed the border into Moldova and later ended up in Germany, but they are finding the process of leaving Europe a lot harder than they expected.
“They are having so many problems and I want them to come and stay with me,” said Hamid, who posted about his brother’s plight on Ukraine Take Shelter, noting he has a three-bedroom home on the city’s east side and “they can stay with me as long as they want.”
Hamid said he has “tried calling D.C.” and understands there are significant barriers to the formal refugee process. He hopes the government will speed up and simplify procedures for refugees to get to the U.S., and said what he wants most is the opportunity to be reunited with his family.
‘I feel like we have a lot to share’
With listings growing by the day, potential Lehigh Valley hosts are offering what they can by using Ukraine Take Shelter to enter a description of available accommodations and resources available such as childcare, transportation and first aid.
John and Christine Hong listed a private bath and bedrooms in their Palmer Township home, believing that the most basic of needs — a safe, clean place for a family ripped apart by the crisis — is the least they can offer.
“We don’t have any personal or direct relationship with the Ukraine or anything. But I feel like we have such a sort of privileged existence,” said John Hong, a trauma surgeon at Lehigh Valley Health Network. “In the United States, we are sort of removed from all the hardships that people around the world have. I feel like we have a lot to share, and it’s not our duty, but it would be the right thing to share some of the things that we have just living in the United States under comfortable circumstances.”
The Hongs say this is not just a European crisis, but an international crisis where volunteers and technology can meet the moment and have a lasting impact.
“There are so many great translation apps, that it’s not as big of a stumbling block as it may have been even 10 years ago,” said Christine Hong. “With our cell phones, we can speak into it and have it come out Ukrainian; they can speak into it and have it come out English. With technology, language barriers are so much easier to get past.”
Similarly, Cary Moritz is “offering peace, safety and more” for Ukrainian refugees at her home in Upper Milford Township “because sitting by and watching what’s going on is not adequate for me,” she said.
“From my perspective, a response to suffering like this needs to be compassionate action — obviously, compassion, but it needs to turn into compassionate action, not just sitting by and watching it happen,” she said, adding her grandparents were from Ukraine. " … I don’t know how many will actually make it to America. But if I didn’t try, then I will feel really horrible.”
For several weeks, Moritz has reserved “a smattering” of Airbnbs in Ukraine to provide income for the local owners, but still wants to do more. She posted the ad on Ukraine Take Shelter in mid-March, as soon as she heard about the site.
“It’s the need to do more than charity — it’s kind of an overwhelming guide of righteous behavior,” Moritz said. “It’s easy for people to give money when they can, and I think that’s extraordinary and laudable, but if I’m in a position to do a little bit more, I’m going to try.”
The site, also available through a mobile app, could also work as a tool to empower refugees, many of whom have limited choices, she said.
“Because they can actually take the matter into their own hands,” Moritz said. “It’s not that they’re being placed somewhere. They actually have a choice of where to go.”
Although he has no direct connections to Ukraine, Christopher DiGeorge said he and his family decided to open their North Whitehall Township home because it’s the right thing to do. His ad on Ukraine Take Shelter offers a private bedroom with its own bathroom for a mother and child.
“We decided to do it because we felt that everybody in the United States needs to step up to the plate to support the people of Ukraine,” he said. “People need to be aware of that this is not the same sort of thing that’s happened in the past. This is a magnitude different type of aggression, and it has to be stopped.
“I thought that the least we could do would be to offer any space we had to folks that eventually work their way to United States.”
Biden’s announcement capping refugees at 100,000 in the U.S. was “really kind of disappointing,” DiGeorge said, noting that it “seems like an awfully low number relative to the millions of millions of people that are going eventually need housing.”
Another reason he’s opening his home, he explained, is out of respect for the Ukrainian people, and the example they’ve set in defending their country, adding “we can all learn a valuable lesson about how hard people will fight to actually be made free.”
But there’s still more work to be done, he argued, especially at the federal level.
Latest Lehigh Valley News
“I’d like to see our government do more than it’s done,” DiGeorge said. “I think our government could do a lot more; I think it needs to do a lot more. I think that everybody who values their freedom has to pay close attention to what’s happening.”
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When I started my restaurant business, there were many things I did not know. I was in my 20s with a dream, tons of energy, a desire to be successful and an immense lack of experience as a business owner. Every possible mistake I could make when it came to running a restaurant company, I did, plus more.
What I did possess however, was the desire to keep getting better and better at my trade. As time went on, I kept seeking knowledge, I kept wanting to improve, and kept researching the industry, our processes, and how we wanted to continue to be better at what we do.
I remember one time, during our first year of operation, we had an extremely angry customer; her food took longer than usual on a busy Friday night. She came up to my face and screamed, “You should be ashamed of yourself as a restaurant owner, you will not last!” (Most customers will not give you that kind of feedback; they just don’t come back).
I took that feedback as a gift, even though my spirit was broken inside after the harsh comment, knowing we were giving it our all. I used it as an inspiration to fuel our drive to make the restaurant business work. At the time, I lacked the necessary experience as a 20-something year old in charge of a new venture. After regaining composure, my wife and I vouched for continuous improvement and never looked back.
One of the things that helped us gain momentum during that crucial startup time was asking ourselves two very important question consistently. To this day, we continue to ask ourselves these very important questions, two questions I consider to be a curse and a blessing for every entrepreneur who have achieve some level of success in their entrepreneurial journey:
- What more can we do?
- How can we do it better?
When you constantly ask yourself, what more can I do, you are forever getting out of your comfort zone looking for new ways to accomplish more and achieve more. It is part of an entrepreneur DNA, always expanding your level of capacity as a professional, your mind is always working (a curse).
Those of you who have been living the entrepreneurial life for a while understand that when you are running your own business, there is never off time, there is never “I get home and call it a day.” There is always a situation that needs to be addressed and resolved; even when you go away on vacation, you are never off, the mind is always thinking (at least those entrepreneurs that are truly committed to their craft) of ways to take on more capacity to keep the business moving forward (a blessing).
How can we do it better? It doesn’t matter what your industry is, committed entrepreneurs are always looking for ways to make things better and perfect their craft.
My father-in-law, Richard Reppert, a commercial ceiling and drywall contractor business owner for close to 50 years who is extremely good at what he does, every time we go inside any indoor structure together, I cannot help but notice him looking up and immediately checking out the ceiling with careful detail in his eye.
It doesn’t matter where we are, if we go into a building, he’s immediately looking up to check out the craftmanship.
Same when I visit any restaurant, I cannot help but notice the execution of the team. Is the staff using hospitality when dealing with the guests, do they greet the guests as soon they walk into their doors? Sometimes I feel like getting up and doing it myself even though I’m a guest myself (a curse). I wonder:
- Is the bathroom clean?
- Do they see that table needs help?
- Is the food fresh?
As an entrepreneur who cares, you instantly reflect on those experiences and look for ways to improve your own operations and deliver a better product or service (a blessing).
As you continue through your journey as an entrepreneur, always remember it is a lifestyle. For those of you who are thinking about taking the entrepreneurial path, let me make you aware, it will take you a tremendous amount of effort, mentally, physically, and emotionally.
The long hours, the blending of your personal and professional life — there is no “off” switch.
You will soon realize you have never worked that hard in your entire life as you are trying to get your company up and running in the early years (first three to five years). When things get rough, and it will, consistently ask yourself those two questions:
- What more can we do?
- How can we do it better?
You will be surprised at how resourceful your mind can get to help you move forward as an entrepreneur.
Eventually, if you can conquer the startup phase, people will say you are lucky. Let me just remind you there is nothing lucky about your efforts.
Personally, I don’t believe in luck. I believe in hard work, preparation and determination in order to take advantage when the opportunity presents itself, the ability to execute better than anyone else.
Much success.
Latest Business
Juan Martinez is owner of Don Juan Mex Grill, which has five locations in the Lehigh Valley. He can be reached at juan@donjuanmexgrill.com.
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BREWS, CLUES, AND RUNNING SHOES SCAVENGER HUNT: Teams of 2 to 4 compete in a series of challenges, noon, Saturday. It’s part-race, part-trivia, part-photo hunt and part-challenge. There is no set course but you can expect to go between 5 and 7 miles, by foot or public transportation. Registration is $50 as of Friday. Teams consist of 2 to 4 members, all 21 or older. Check in (at a location in Bethlehem) is 11-11:45 a.m., with a 15-minute briefing to follow. The course closes at 3;30 p.m. and the after party begins. 61 W. Lehigh St., Bethlehem. runlehighvalley.com/
VIETNAM VETERANS — MEMORIES OF WAR: Local Vietnam veterans return to Easton’s Sigal Museum John R. Austen Auditorium for the second year 1-3 p.m. Saturday. They will recount their experiences in the war and discuss memorabilia. Veterans will describe a day in the life of a soldier in Southeast Asia. Members of Vietnam Veterans of America Lehigh Valley Chapter 415 will be on hand to answer questions, and share memories and stories. Donation, $5. Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society members admitted free. Sigal Museum, 342 Northampton St., Easton. 610-253-1222. sigalmuseum.org/
IN MOTION: Muhlenberg College’s Theatre & Dance Department presents seven original works by seven celebrated choreographers in its “In Motion” concert, with performances at 8 p.m., Friday, and 2 and 8 p.m., Saturday in the college’s Empie Theatre. The performance includes “Running Spirits,” a piece by Fredrick Earl Mosley, this season’s Baker Artist-in-Residence. “In Motion” also features works by six Muhlenberg dance faculty: Heidi Cruz-Austin, Karen Dearborn, Megan Flynn, Natalie Gotter, Randall Anthony Smith, and Robyn Watson. Tickets, $15; youth, campus and LVAIC, and students, faculty and staff of Muhlenberg and other LVAIC colleges, $8. Empie Theatre, Baker Center for the Arts, Muhlenberg College, 2400 Chew St., Allentown. muhlenberg.edu/academics/theatre-dance/onstage/inmotion/
TRIBUTE TO THE BIG BANDS: The Allentown Band kicks off Jazz Appreciation Month at 3 p.m. Sunday by performing the music of Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, Harry James, Hoagy Carmichael, and more. Featured vocalist will be Chet Brown, with Allentown Band members Steve Reisteter, clarinet and Greg Seifert, trumpet, featured instrumental soloists. The Parkland High School Jazz Ensemble also will take part. Free. Springhouse Middle School, 1200 Springhouse Road, Allentown. allentownband.com.
AMERICA: The folk-rock group with six gold or platinum albums and numerous hits over 50 years takes the stage for its golden anniversary tour at Penn’s Peak at 8 p.m. Saturday. America’s founding members Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell (and the late Dan Peek) racked up the hits, especially in the 1970s, with “A Horse With No Name,” “Ventura Highway,” “Tin Man,” “Daisy Jane” and “Sister Golden Hair” just some of them. Tickets, $44-$52. Penn’s Peak, 325 Maury Road, Jim Thorpe. 866-605-PEAK. pennspeak.com/
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Two girls died Friday morning after a fire in a Hellertown home, borough police said.
Just before 1 a.m., officers responded to 630 Linden St. for a report of a structure fire, according to a news release from Hellertown police. When they arrived, the home was engulfed in flames.
A man, 36, and a woman, 42, were able to get out of the home, but the two girls,. ages 10 and 15, were trapped on the second floor, police said. Firefighters got the girls out of the home, and they were taken to local hospitals for treatment, but later died, police said.
Officials did not release the names of any of the residents.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by borough police, the Dewey Fire Company’s fire marshal and the state police fire marshal.
Morning Call reporter Molly Bilinski can be reached at mbilinski@mcall.com.
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Bob Hines knows the first the thing that he wants to do after riding a rocket into space.
“Once that engine cuts off, I want to unstrap and go look out the window,” Hines said. “That was part of what drove me to be a pilot. I love seeing things from a new perspective. And this is kind of the ultimate part of that: getting to look outside and see the Earth ... this wonderful creation that we get to live on — seeing it from a new perspective and the beauty that it displays every day.”
Hines, 47, a graduate of Crestwood High School in Luzerne County, and three other members of SpaceX Crew-4, are scheduled to travel to the International Space Station after launching from Kennedy Space Center as early as April 20.
His NASA biography says Hines, who was born in North Carolina, lived in State College, Lancaster, Pittsburgh, Mountaintop and Hershey/Harrisburg while growing up. His mother still lives in Harrisburg.
To prepare for his first space flight, Hines trained five years with NASA after earning a master’s degree in aerospace engineering and piloting fighter and experimental planes for more than 20 years.
Hines wanted to be pilot since he was 2 or 3, which motivated him in school.
To students back at Crestwood, he said it’s not necessary to focus on a career early or even grasp how specific lessons will help in the future.
“The important thing you’re learning is how to learn. Putting the effort in. Doing that is what really enables you to achieve great things later on,” he said Thursday during a telephone interview.
Eventually, Hines said, young people will find what they care about.
“If you’re passionate about it, you’ll naturally want to be good at it and continue to learn,” he said.
During his mission, Hines is scheduled to take a space walk to replace brackets for new solar power arrays, part of ongoing maintenance that keeps the space station in orbit.
Astronauts and cosmonauts have been living in the International Space Station since 2000, and plans call to keep it in service through 2030.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, however, disrupted relations between nations that operate the space station.
The director of the Russian space agency, replying to sanctions placed against his country, said the station might go into uncontrolled orbit without Russia’s cooperation.
But on Wednesday, U.S. astronaut Mark Vande Hei returned to Earth in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft with cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anton Shkaplerov. A contingent from the United States met Vande Hei, who set an American record by spending 355 days in space, at the landing site in Kazakhstan.
“We all understand the importance of the partnership, even in really, really tough times,” Kathryn Lueders, associate administrator of NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, said Thursday when asked about the war during a video news conference.
Hines, a lieutenant colonel who flew 76 combat missions, said any conflict that devolves into violence is a tragedy.
“My heart goes out to all of those that are involved,” he said.
But he said the station in space has functioned despite conflicts on Earth.
“One of the great things about the space station and the space program in general is that over history, we have been above the fray, literally and figuratively,” he said.
Hines, who learned to speak Russian as part of his training, said Russians and Americans rely on each other to operate the space station.
“I see us as a beacon of hope for what we can do when we all have a common goal,” he said.
Hines, nicknamed Farmer since his Air Force days, said when he in combat, he only could call his family once a week for 15 minutes.
Keeping in touch with his wife, Kelli, and their three daughters should be easier from the space station.
“We’re able to call our families pretty often; and then we get, roughly once a week, the opportunity to have a videoconference with our families back home, which I think is really, really important,” Hines said.
So that they don’t miss a video chat, Hines wants his daughters to carry an iPad with them when they’re doing other things, but “hopefully not swimming.”
Hines expects to spend 144 days aboard the space station.
During his stay, he’ll help with more than 200 experiments. For example, astronauts will raise food hydroponically, or in water, and aeroponically, in mist. By growing plants aboard the space station, the crew develops techniques that will allow space travelers to go to Mars or on other years-long missions.
Most of their food, however, gets shipped to the space station. Along with staples, NASA lets astronauts chose from a menu of 250 items.
Hines’ favorite are brownies.
“I am one of the rare astronauts that is not a health food junkie,” he said.
He will have ample time to work off calories.
Astronauts exercise 2½ hours a day to counteract the bone density decrease that befalls people in space.
Although objects in space are weightless, astronauts can do weightlifting exercises on an invention of NASA, which creates resistance with vacuum tubes.
On their journey, the crew will fly in a new Dragon space capsule made by SpaceX and nicknamed Freedom.
Kjell Lindgren, a physician and Air Force Academy graduate who was on the space station in 2015, is spacecraft commander, while Hines is the pilot.
The mission specialists are Jessica Watkins of NASA and Samantha Cristoforetti, an Italian from the European Space Agency.
Cristoforetti is making her second trip to the space station. While she is the only woman among the European agency’s astronauts, her popularity is credited with helping to spur interest. For the next class of astronauts in Europe, more than 20,000 people applied, and one-fourth of them were women.
Watkins, who has a doctorate in geology and hopes to someday pick up a rock from the moon, will be the first Black woman to reside on the space station.
“Growing up, it was important to me to have role models,” Watkins said during a news conference Thursday, “so to the extent that I’m able to do that, I am honored and grateful for the opportunity to return the favor.”
Hines called flying into space a boyhood dream and hopes his crew’s trip will inspire young people to extend their boundaries even if they fall short.
“Failure,” said Hines, quoting a friend, “is the launchpad for success.”
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Northampton and Whitehall met in a classic District 11 6A championship game last June and even though both programs lost key players from their 2021 squads they remain among the area’s elite.
Both the Konkrete Kids and Zephyrs remained unbeaten with wins on Thursday in games played before the thunderstorms rolled in.
Northampton’s Emma Fraley tossed a 5-hitter and struck out eight without a walk in a 4-1 win over Liberty and Whitehall got two hits apiece from four different players in a 10-5 victory over Easton in Eastern Pennsylvania Conference softball.
In improving to 3-0, the Zephyrs got a big day from Kate Yadush who went 2-for-2 with a double, two walks and three RBIs. Madison Lasko had two hits, including a home run and drove in three runs and Emma Bonshak had two hits and scored two runs. Winning pitcher Kassandra Aquino scattered six hits in the pitching circle and had two hits herself at the plate and knocked in a run.
In beating Liberty, Northampton had just three hits, two by Lily Stuhldreher who also scored two runs. Kaitlyn Renson had an RBI double as the K-Kids improved to 2-0.
Elsewhere in softball:
Freedom 14, Allen 1
Julia Griffith had three hits, including a home run, and knocked in three runs and Brianna Cole and Madelin Cooper had three RBIs apiece as the Patriots posted a 5-inning EPC win. Madison Glick had two hits and two RBIs, Julia Heineman doubled and scored a pair of runs while Taylor Pavolko added a triple as Freedom bounced back from a 15-13 season-opening loss to Bethlehem Catholic.
Baseball
Freedom 11, Allen 4
The Patriots and first-year coach John Bisco III stayed unbeaten as Ryan Endrick had two hits and three RBIs and Andres Squarez had two hits and two RBIs. Reed Coon and Kevin Kullman combined on a 6-hitter. Kullman worked 1⅓ innings in relief and struck out three.
Liberty 14, Northampton 4
The Hurricanes bounced back from a nine-error performance in an 8-3 loss to Nazareth with just one miscue and also collected 11 hits. Ayden Zabala hit a pair of home runs, including a first-inning grand slam and a two-run shot in the fifth, and Jacob Scheirer hit a two-run home run and had five RBIs overall. JC Spinosa added two runs, two hits, and two RBIs. Zabala was also the winning pitcher, scatttering eight hits and striking out five in five innings.
Emmaus 10, Dieruff 0
Colin Wilson had two hits, including a double, and knocked in three runs and Zach McEllroy had three hits, including a double as the Green Hornets improved to 4-0, 3-0 in the EPC. Tyler LePage contributed to Emmaus’ 15-hit attack with a pair of doubles, Anthony Viola had two hits including a triple and Alex Pion and Ryan Latchford combined on a 5-hitter. Latchford recorded three strikeouts in his two innings on the mound.
Saucon Valley 7, Pen Argyl 3
One day after being no-hitted by Southern Lehigh’s Matt Tankred in their season opener, the Panthers collected six hits in getting their first win of the spring. Jacob Albert had two hits and Ron Werkheiser tripled and knocked in two runs and Cole Hubert knocked in three runs. As a starting pitcher, Albert allowed just two hits in six innings and struck out eight in getting the win.
We rely on the support of our subscribers to fund our journalism. If you’re not already signed up, we hope you will consider subscribing. Already a print subscriber? If you haven’t already, please activate your digital access.
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America’s employers extended a streak of robust hiring in March, adding 431,000 jobs in a sign of the economy’s resilience in the face of a still-destructive pandemic and the highest inflation in 40 years.
The Labor Department’s report Friday showed that last month’s job growth helped reduce the unemployment rate to 3.6%, the lowest level since the pandemic erupted two years ago.
Despite the inflation surge, persistent supply bottlenecks, the damaging effects of COVID-19 and now a war in Europe, employers have added at least 400,000 jobs for 11 straight months.
Inflation may be starting to weaken consumer spending, the main driver of the economy. Americans increased their spending by just 0.2% in February, down from a much larger gain in January.
Still, the job market has continued to rebound with unexpected speed from the coronavirus recession. Job openings are at a near-record level, and applications for unemployment benefits have dropped to near their lowest point since 1969.
The still-solid U.S. job market reflects a robust rebound from the brief but devastating coronavirus recession, which wiped out 22 million jobs in March and April 2020 as businesses shut down or cut hours and Americans stayed home to avoid infection.
But the recovery has been swift. Fueled by generous federal aid, savings amassed during the pandemic and ultra-low borrowing rates engineered by the Federal Reserve, U.S. consumers have spent so fast that many factories, warehouses, shipping companies and ports have failed to keep pace with their customer demand. Supply chains have snarled, forcing up prices.
As the pandemic has eased, consumers have been broadening their spending beyond goods to services, such as health care, travel and entertainment, which they had long avoided during the worst of the pandemic. The result: Chronically high inflation is causing hardships for many lower-income households that face sharp price increases for such necessities as food, gasoline and rent.
It’s unclear whether the economy can maintain its momentum of the past year. The government relief checks are gone. The Fed raised its benchmark short-term interest rate two weeks ago and will likely keep raising it well into next year. Those rate hikes will result in more expensive loans for many consumers and businesses.
Inflation has also eroded consumers’ spending power: Hourly pay, adjusted for higher consumer prices, fell 2.6% in February from a year earlier — the 11th straight month in which inflation has outpaced year-over-year wage growth. According to AAA, average gasoline prices, at $4.23 a gallon, are up a dizzying 47% from a year ago.
Squeezed by inflation, some consumers are paring their spending. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that consumer spending rose just 0.2%% in February — and fell 0.4% when adjusted for inflation — down from a 2.7% increase in January.
Still, the job market has kept hurtling ahead. Employers posted a near-record 11.3 million positions in February. Nearly 4.4 million Americans quit their jobs, a sign of confidence that they could find something better.
Even so, so many jobs were lost in 2020 that the economy still remains more than 2 million shy of the number it had just before the pandemic struck. Over the past year, employers have added an average of 556,000 jobs a month. At that pace — no guarantee to continue — the nation would recover all the jobs lost to the pandemic by June. (That still wouldn’t include all the additional hiring that would have been done over the past two years under normal circumstances.)
Brighter job prospects are beginning to draw back into the labor force people who had remained on the sidelines because of health concerns, difficulty finding or affording daycare, generous unemployment benefits that have now expired or other reasons.
Latest Business
Over the past year, 3.6 million people have joined the U.S. labor force, meaning they now either have a job or are looking for one. But their ranks are still nearly 600,000 short of where they stood in February 2020, just before the pandemic slammed into the economy.
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LOS ANGELES — 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.
In the longer version on “Good Morning America,” Parker said he initially believed the slap was an orchestrated bit. “I thought it was part of something that Chris and Will were doing on their own. I thought it was a bit. I wasn’t concerned at all.”
Packer said he went up to Rock after the incident. “I said, ‘Did he really hit you?’” the producer asked Rock. “And he looked at me and he goes, ‘Yeah, I just took a punch from Muhammad Ali,’ as only Chris can. He was immediately in joke mode, but you could tell that he was very much still in shock.”
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.
Latest Entertainment
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.”
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NEW YORK — Labor organizers always knew it would be tough to convince Amazon workers to unionize. But a surprisingly strong early showing in a New York election and a still-uncertain outcome in an Alabama election are giving them hope.
In Staten Island, New York, 1,518 warehouse workers have so far voted “yes” to forming a union while 1,154 have voted “no,” according to an early tally Thursday evening by the National Labor Relations Board, which is overseeing both elections. Ballots continue to be counted Friday morning.
Meanwhile, Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama, appear to have rejected a union bid but outstanding challenged ballots could change the outcome. The votes were 993-to-875 against the union. A hearing to review 416 challenged ballots is expected to begin in the next few days.
If a majority of Amazon workers ultimately votes yes in either Staten Island or Bessemer, it would mark the first successful U.S. organizing effort in the company’s history. Organizers have faced an uphill battle against the nation’s second-largest private employer, which is making every effort to keep unions out.
The union campaigns come at a time of widespread labor unrest at many corporations. Workers at more than 140 Starbucks locations around the country, for instance, have requested union elections and several of them have already been successful.
John Logan, director of labor and employment studies at San Francisco State University, said the early vote counts in New York have been “shocking.” The nascent Amazon Labor Union, which is leading the charge on Staten Island, has no backing from an established union and is powered by former and current warehouse workers.
“I don’t think that many people thought that the Amazon Labor Union had much of a chance of winning at all,” Logan said. “And I think we’re likely to see more of those (approaches) going forward.”
After a crushing defeat last year in Bessemer, when a majority of workers voted against forming a union, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union got a second chance to organize another campaign when the NLRB ordered a do-over after determining that Amazon tainted the first election.
Though RWDSU is currently lagging in the latest election, Logan said the early results were still remarkable because the union has made a good effort narrowing its margin from last year.
Stuart Appelbaum, president of the RWDSU, said on Thursday that the union would be filing objections to how Amazon handled the election in Bessemer but declined to specify. He also took the opportunity to lash out at current labor laws, which he believes are rigged against unions and favor corporations.
“It should not be so difficult to organize a union in the United States,” he said.
Chris Smalls, a fired Amazon employee who has been leading the ALU in its fight on Staten Island, remains hopeful of victory.
“To be leading in Day One and be up a couple hundred against a trillion dollar company, this is the best feeling in the world,” Smalls said after the conclusion of Thursday’s counting.
Amazon has pushed back hard in the lead-up to both elections. The retail giant held mandatory meetings, where workers were told unions are a bad idea. The company also launched an anti-union website targeting workers and placed English and Spanish posters across the Staten Island facility urging them to reject the union. In Bessemer, Amazon has made some changes to but still kept a controversial U.S. Postal Service mailbox that was key in the NLRB’s decision to invalidate last year’s vote.
In a filing released on Thursday, Amazon disclosed it spent about $4.2 million last year on labor consultants, which organizers say the retailer routinely solicits to persuade workers not to unionize. It’s unclear how much it spent on such services in 2022.
Both labor fights faced unique challenges. Alabama, for instance, is a right-to-work state that prohibits a company and a union from signing a contract that requires workers to pay dues to the union that represents them.
The union landscape in Alabama is also starkly different from New York. Last year, union members accounted for 22.2% of wage and salary workers in New York, ranked only behind Hawaii, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s more than double the national average of 10.3%. In Alabama, it’s 5.9%.
The mostly Black workforce at the Amazon facility, which opened in 2020, mirrors the Bessemer population of more than 70% Black residents, according to the latest U.S. Census data.
Pro-union workers say they want better working conditions, longer breaks and higher wages. Regular full-time employees at the Bessemer facility earn at least $15.80 an hour, higher than the estimated $14.55 per hour on average in the city. That figure is based on an analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual median household income for Bessemer of $30,284, which could include more than one worker.
The ALU said they don’t have a demographic breakdown of the warehouse workers on Staten Island and Amazon declined to provide the information to The Associated Press, citing the union vote. Internal records leaked to The New York Times from 2019 showed more than 60% of the hourly associates at the facility were Black or Latino, while most of managers were white or Asian.
Amazon workers there are seeking longer breaks, paid time off for injured employees and an hourly wage of $30, up from a minimum of just over $18 per hour offered by the company. The estimated average wage for the borough is $41 per hour, according to a similar U.S. Census Bureau analysis of Staten Island’s $85,381 median household income.
A spokesperson for Amazon said the company invests in wages and benefits, such as health care, 401(k) plans and a prepaid college tuition program to help grow workers’ careers.
“As a company, we don’t think unions are the best answer for our employees,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “Our focus remains on working directly with our team to continue making Amazon a great place to work.”
Latest Nation/World
Associated Press staff writers Tali Arbel and Bobby Caina Calvan in New York contributed to this report.
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DETROIT — New vehicles sold in the United States will have to travel an average of at least 40 miles per gallon of gasoline in 2026 under new rules unveiled Friday by the government.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said its fuel economy requirements will undo a rollback of standards enacted under President Donald Trump. The new requirements increase gas mileage by 8% per year for model years 2024 and 2025 and 10% in the 2026 model year.
For the current model year, standards enacted under Trump require the fleet of new vehicles to get just over 24 miles per gallon in real-world driving.
Agency officials say the requirements are the maximum that the industry can achieve over the time period and will reduce gasoline consumption by more than 220 billion gallons over the life of vehicles, compared with the Trump standards.
Trump’s administration rolled back fuel economy requirements so they rose 1.5% per year, which environmental groups said was inadequate to limit planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions that fuel climate change.
But the new standards won’t immediately match those adopted through 2025 under President Barack Obama. NHTSA officials said they will equal the Obama standards by 2025 and slightly exceed them for the 2026 model year.
The Obama-era standards automatically adjusted for changes in the type of vehicles people are buying. When they were enacted in 2012, 51% of new vehicle sales were cars and 49% SUVs and trucks. Last year, 77% of new vehicle sales were SUVs and trucks, which generally are less efficient than cars.
Some environmental groups said the new requirements from NHTSA under President Joe Biden don’t go far enough to fight global warming.
“Climate change has gotten much worse, but these rules only require automakers to reduce gas-guzzling slightly more than they agreed to cut nine years ago,” said Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Transport Center at the Center for Biological Diversity.
He said the final rule is about 2 mpg short of the strongest alternative that NHTSA considered.
Officials said that under the new standards, owners would save about $1,400 in gasoline costs during the lifetime of a 2029 model year vehicle. Carbon dioxide emissions would drop by 2.5 billion metric tons by 2050 under the standards, the NHTSA said.
The agency did not give figures for how much the standards would increase the cost of vehicles. Auto dealers say more stringent requirements drive up prices and push people out of an already expensive new-car market.
Latest Nation/World
The NHTSA sets fuel economy requirements, while the Environmental Protection Agency develops limits on greenhouse gas emissions. NHTSA officials said their requirements nearly match rules adopted in December by the EPA, so automakers don’t have to comply with two rules.
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LINCOLN, NEB. — Harry’s Wonder Bar is a trusted old dive in Nebraska’s capital, frequented by office clerks, construction workers and graduate students alike: the sort of wood-paneled place with a pool table in the back where phones generally stay in pockets, second fiddle to casual conversation, and beer mugs come frosted regardless of the season.
As a half-dozen or so happy hour patrons gathered at the bar on a recent afternoon, most had something remarkable in common: Everybody seemed to know somebody who had earned a significant raise, or multiple raises, in the past year — and many, if not all, had received a jump in pay themselves.
That included the bartender on the early-evening shift, Nikki Paulk, an easygoing woman with a flash of pink hair. “I’m in hot demand, baby,” she said, mentioning “desperate” employers with a burst of a grin. “I’ve worked at like six bars in the last six months because I just keep getting better offers I can’t turn down.”
The unemployment rate in Nebraska was 2.1% in February, tied with Utah for the lowest in the nation and near the lowest on record for any state. In several counties, unemployment is below 1%. Even taking into account adults who have left the workforce, the share of the population 16 and older employed in Nebraska is around 68%, the nation’s highest figure.
After decades of wage and income stagnation, the seesaw of power between managers and their workers looks to at least temporarily be tilting in the direction of labor, with employers in competition for workers instead of the other way around. Unemployment in states including Indiana, Kansas, Montana and Oklahoma is almost as low as in Nebraska, testing the benefits and potential costs of an economy with exceptionally tight labor markets.
Paulk, 35, graduated from college with a graphic design degree during the Great Recession, when jobs were scarce. She remembers working 60-hour weeks near minimum wage in Illinois, “being excited to find a quarter” that could go toward laundry. In 2013, she moved to Nebraska and took a job in medical data entry for $12 an hour.
She started bartending in 2018, and since then, she says, her overall pay has more than doubled to $25 (and sometimes $30) an hour, including tips.
The nationwide jobless rate in February was 3.8%, nearly back to prepandemic levels that were the lowest in a half-century. The particularly low unemployment in Nebraska is partly attributable to its higher-than-average high school graduation rate, and the dominant role of industries like manufacturing and agriculture that are less volatile than the service or energy sectors during downturns. Even at the peak of COVID-19 lockdowns in the spring of 2020, the state unemployment rate was 7.4%, half the national number.
Yet the labor market in Nebraska may also be a harbinger for the country at large. Most economists expect overall unemployment to continue ticking downward this year. Job openings are near record highs, and jobless rates in January were lower than a year earlier in 388 of the 389 metropolitan areas evaluated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Many business analysts contend that if labor remains scarce, wages will grow too rapidly and employers will continually pass on that increased expense to consumers. At least for now, evidence of such a spiral is sparse: Federal Reserve data shows that median annual pay increases are well within the range — 3% to 7% — that prevailed from the 1980s until the 2007-09 recession.
The Fed, still concerned, has begun raising interest rates to cool off the economy and tame inflationary pressures. Supply chain challenges that arose during the pandemic have persisted, and the war in Ukraine is further complicating the outlook for inflation as well as overall economic growth. Consumer spending remains buoyant, yet surveys reflect dour economic sentiment among the public.
In the meantime, even as price increases nag household budgets, burying the value of some new wage gains, a noticeable mass of employees and job seekers are gaining more leverage regarding benefits and conditions.
During a virtual summit about the local economy held in February by the nonprofit group Leadership Lincoln, Eric Thompson, the director of the Bureau of Business Research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, argued that the labor market might be simply rebalancing.
“Obviously, it’s still always better to be the employer than the worker, or at least usually it is,” he said. But the current environment does enable some employees to switch jobs or more easily vie for higher-level positions. Local employers are dropping degree requirements for a range of midlevel and entry roles.
Many fast-food restaurants, struggling to staff locations near the $9 minimum wage in the state, have begun to offer starting wages of $14. Evidence of automation is just as rampant as Help Wanted signs: Some pharmacies dotting the main roads and highways appear to have more self-checkout kiosks than employees at a given hour.
Thompson said such moves were not necessarily ominous for the working class but rather a reflection of the need for businesses to adapt while workers find jobs that can “maximize their skills and potential.”
Tony Goins, a former senior vice president at JPMorgan Chase who was appointed by Gov. Pete Ricketts in 2019 as director of Nebraska’s Department of Economic Development, said the tight labor market could prompt managers to become more flexible and innovative.
“At the end of the day, the market is dictating that I have to pay employees more money,” said Goins, a small-business owner himself with a cigar lounge in Lincoln. “So, I mean, how are you going to offset that?” To stay competitive in hiring, he said, managers need to improve culture, leadership, employee retention and recruiting.
He spoke of his son, an assistant men’s basketball coach at Boston College — a position that he says requires continued outreach as well as the dual promise of “the chance to play for a winning program” and gaining personal development. “That’s not what CEOs are used to,” he said.
Businesses aiming to grow have begun to offer incentives beyond pay. The Japanese company Kawasaki Motors is spending $200 million to expand the 2.4-million-square-foot site in northern Lincoln where it makes Jet Skis, all-terrain vehicles and rail cars. It is increasing its 2,400-member workforce by more than 500 employees, with jobs primarily in fabrication, welding and assembly.
The company is becoming more flexible about hiring and work styles in order to pull it off. “It used to take a couple of weeks to get hired at Kawasaki,” said Bryan Seck, its chief talent management strategist in Lincoln. “Now, it’s down to four hours.”
With the knowledge that many parents remain on the sidelines of the workforce because of child care duties, Kawasaki recently created a 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. shift tailored for those who need to retrieve children from school and day care in the early afternoon. Starting wages are $18.10 an hour, Seck said, with benefits including health care and a 401(k) plan.
In addition to increasing wages to retain employees, Todd Heyne, the chief construction officer at Allo Communications, a cable company based in Lincoln, said management decided that easing in-person work requirements could expand the pool of available workers. That led the company to allow many of its customer service representatives and technical support employees to train and work farther afield as it prepares to expand beyond Nebraska and Colorado.
Not all problem-solving is easy. The added labor costs come on top of supply chain pressures that have increased the price of crucial materials like fiber optic cable by as much as 30%. Vendors are often charging 20% more for their contracted tasks. As a result, the company has taken steps like hiring its own trucking staff.
In the end, “combined with some automation efficiencies, our team will see sizable wage increases with less rudimentary work,” Heyne said, reducing manual paperwork, centralizing back-end systems and doing more to fix customers’ network issues remotely. So despite the cost challenges, “I’ve never been more optimistic about where we’re sitting, our position in the market, how we compete against our competitors, and our technology,” he added. “Which is strange.”
For many, the opportunity of this economic moment is tinged with worry. They include Ashlee Bridger, a 30-year-old student at the Lincoln campus of Southeast Community College who works in administration for the nearby firm Huffman Engineering after being recruited from a job fair.
Bridger left her job as a nurse to pursue a career in human resources because she felt confident enough to bet on herself: “Of course, it was a risk. Leaving any career is.” But in the current job market, she said, “I knew I would be able to work my way up easier.”
She has also had a series of life milestones fall into place. She will graduate in May with an associate degree and will start bachelor’s degree work in the fall at Nebraska Wesleyan University. The managers at Huffman have told her that she is welcome to continue working there when her schedule allows, and that they would like to hire her in a more senior role after she completes her studies.
Last year, she got married in the summer, then moved with her husband into a newly built house in Lincoln in August. Though they feel financially stable, she half-joked that they were lucky the home was mostly built before lumber prices soared. With prices up across the board now, “I’m more cautious about my spending,” she said.
Paulk, the bartender at Harry’s thriving off better pay, has friends and customers who are upset about recent inflation. “But it’s something controlled out of our hands anyway,” she said with a shrug.
“All I know,” she added, “is now I’m not broke anymore — it’s great. Life is good.”
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WASHINGTON — At 12:01 a.m. Eastern time, precisely 72 years after enumerators began knocking on the doors of some 46 million American houses and apartments, the federal government made public what they learned: the ages, incomes, addresses, ancestry and a trove of other facts about the 150.7 million people who were counted in the 1950 census.
Those millions of census forms, painstakingly filled out by hand in ink, were posted online by the National Archives and Records Administration, which by law has kept them private until now. The records, searchable by name and address, offer an intimate look at a nation on the cusp of the modern era — for the merely curious, a glimpse of the life parents or grandparents led, but for historians and genealogists, a once-in-a-decade bonanza of secrets unveiled.
“This is the Super Bowl and the Olympics combined, and it’s only every 10 years — it’s awesome stuff,” said Matt Menashes, the executive director of the National Genealogical Society. “What’s so great about these points of data is that it helps you paint a picture — not just relationships, but what society was like.”
The last release of similar data was in 2012, when the National Archives made details of the 1940 census public. The government has imposed a 72-year ban on the release of census records since 1952, when the Census Bureau turned over to the National Archives all the data it had collected since the first census in 1790.
The searchable data being released includes not just census forms, but also counts of Native Americans who were tallied on separate Indian Reservation Schedules.
The broad outlines of the 1950 census results have long been public, of course, reflecting the burst of economic and population expansion in a nation flush with optimism after victory in World War II. The United States had grown by nearly 15% in just one decade, and nearly 1 in 10 people lived in New York. Nevada, with just 160,000 residents, was the least populous state.
The baby boom was in full swing: 3.6 million children were born that year, some 18,000 more than in 2020, when the nation’s population was more than twice as large. The average family earned $3,300 — about $38,800 in 2022 dollars.
It was a time when gasoline cost 18 cents a gallon. Interstate highways were but a gleam in future President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s eye. Milton Berle’s “Texaco Star Theater” was such a runaway television hit that movie houses closed for lack of business during its Tuesday evening time slot, even though fewer than 1 in 10 households owned a television.
About 140,000 census-takers, or enumerators, fanned out across the country that April for what would be the last complete house-to-house canvass; the next census in 1960 was conducted largely by mail.
Compared to the nine questions asked in the 2020 head count, the 1950 list was exhaustive — up to 38 questions, from mundane queries about age, sex and race to deeper dives into people’s occupations, incomes, military status, education and ancestry. Married women were asked how many children they had borne, and children born between January and April of 1950 were tallied on special “infant cards” — another 17 questions long.
The infant cards were not retained. But answers from the census forms were coded onto punch cards and tabulated, for the first time, on a UNIVAC I computer, 16,000 pounds and 5,000 vacuum tubes of calculating muscle. Then the census forms were photographed, transferred to nearly 6,400 microfilm rolls and shipped to the National Archives for a 72-year rest.
The rolls contain only the front side of the census forms. The reverse, which held answers to a litany of questions about the condition of places where respondents lived, were not preserved.
The images being released Friday are digitized versions of the microfilm records that have been scanned with special optical character recognition software to locate and translate handwritten names and addresses into searchable text. Mistakes are inevitable, and the National Archives is asking those who view the forms to report errors.
Leading genealogical groups, however, are not waiting for corrections to trickle in. The for-profit genealogical firm Ancestry.com plans to immediately download and scan the census forms using its own character-recognition software. Then Family Search, a nonprofit group sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, intends to marshal volunteers to inspect and correct the results, a process that is likely to take several months.
“We have about 400,000 volunteers that index records all the time,” said David E. Rencher, chief genealogical officer at Family Search. “For a project like this, where we rally the community, we’ll get a bump, probably several hundred thousand, just to do this.”
That army is but one indicator of the national fascination with tracing family histories, a passion that Menashes traces to the 1977 television miniseries “Roots,” which explored the journey from enslavement to freedom of the ancestors of author Alex Haley. The program dovetailed with the dawn of the computer era and with it, the ability to search literally billions of genealogical records online.
Experts in the field call genealogical records an important window on history. But deep down, they say, the records scratch an itch among most people to learn about their predecessors, uncover surprises and locate the occasional black sheep.
“Everybody has a natural curiosity about family history,” Rencher said. “It doesn’t mean you want to become a family historian. But there needs to be a place where you can go when you’re curious and say, ‘I wonder what my family was doing in 1950?’”
Taneya Koonce, president of the Nashville, Tennessee, chapter of the Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society, said she would be online early Friday looking for records of her grandparents, who lived in North Carolina. But she said the 1950 records are likely to be of special interest to many African Americans because they help document the great migration of Black families from the rural South to the industrial cities of the North.
“The census is such an important foundational body of information to have when you’re doing family history,” she said. “You can explore what was going on in the neighborhood at the time, how much income the family was bringing in, where a person was born.”
Menashes said the records would provide his first look at his parents, who were young children in New York City in 1950. “For me, it’s interesting, first of all, to know their addresses,” he said. “New York’s archives have this wonderful imagery of streetscapes in the ‘40s and ‘50s. It’s amazing to be able to connect an address to what a place looked like.”
And Rencher, who was adopted, said he will try to fill in blank spots about his birth family in Pennsylvania.
“There are still things about the 1950s that are a mystery to me,” he said. “I have a half-sibling out there somewhere. Who knows?”
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VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Friday made a historic apology to Indigenous Peoples for the “deplorable” abuses they suffered in Canada’s Catholic-run residential schools and said he hoped to visit Canada in late July to deliver the apology in person to survivors of the church’s misguided missionary zeal.
Francis begged forgiveness during an audience with dozens of members of the Metis, Inuit and First Nations communities who came to Rome seeking a papal apology and a commitment from the Catholic Church to repair the damage. The first pope from the Americas said he hoped to visit Canada around the Feast of St. Anna, which falls on July 26.
More than 150,000 native children in Canada were forced to attend state-funded Christian schools from the 19th century until the 1970s in an effort to isolate them from the influence of their homes and culture. The aim was to Christianize and assimilate them into mainstream society, which previous Canadian governments considered superior.
The Canadian government has admitted that physical and sexual abuse was rampant at the schools, with students beaten for speaking their native languages. That legacy of that abuse and isolation from family has been cited by Indigenous leaders as a root cause of the epidemic rates of alcohol and drug addiction now on Canadian reservations.
After hearing their stories all week, Francis told the Indigenous that the colonial project ripped children from their families, cutting off roots, traditions and culture and provoking inter-generational trauma that is still being felt today. He said it was a “counter-witness” to the same Gospel that the residential school system purported to uphold.
“For the deplorable conduct of those members of the Catholic Church, I ask forgiveness of the Lord,” Francis said. “And I want to tell you from my heart, that I am greatly pained. And I unite myself with the Canadian bishops in apologizing.”
The trip to Rome by the Indigenous was years in the making but gained momentum last year after the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves outside some of the residential schools in Canada. The three groups of Indigenous met separately with Francis over several hours this week, telling him their stories, culminating with Friday’s audience.
Francis spoke in Italian and the Indigenous read his remarks in English translations. The president of the Metis National Council, Cassidy Caron, said the Metis elder sitting next her burst into tears upon hearing what she said was a long-overdue apology.
“The pope’s words today were historic, to be sure. They were necessary, and I appreciate them deeply,” Caron told reporters in St. Peter’s Square. “And I now look forward to the pope’s visit to Canada, where he can offer those sincere words of apology directly to our survivors and their families, whose acceptance and healing ultimately matters most.”
The spiritual adviser of the Assembly of First Nations’ delegation, Elder Fred Kelley, echoed the sentiment.
“Today is a day that we’ve been waiting for. And certainly one that will be uplifted in our history,” he said. “It’s a historical first step, however, only a first step.”
He and other Indigenous leaders said there was far more for the church to do on the path of reconciliation, but that for now Indigenous leaders insisted on being involved in organizing the papal visit to make sure Francis stops in places that hold spiritual importance to their people.
Natan Obed, president of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, thanked Francis for addressing all the issues the Indigenous had brought to him. “And he did so in a way that really showed his empathy towards the indigenous people of Canada,” he said.
Nearly three-quarters of Canada’s 130 residential schools were run by Catholic missionary congregations.
Last May, the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc Nation announced the discovery of 215 gravesites near Kamloops, British Columbia, that were found using ground-penetrating radar. It was Canada’s largest Indigenous residential school and the discovery of the graves was the first of numerous, similar grim sites across the country.
Even before the grave sites were discovered, Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission specifically called for a papal apology to be delivered on Canadian soil for the church’s role in the abuses.
In addition, as part of a settlement of a lawsuit involving the Canadian government, churches and the approximately 90,000 surviving students, Canada paid reparations that amounted to billions of dollars being transferred to Indigenous communities. The Catholic Church, for its part, has paid over $50 million and now intends to add $30 million more over the next five years.
Francis said he felt shame for the role that Catholic educators had played in the harm, “in the abuse and disrespect for your identity, your culture and even your spiritual values,” he said. “It is evident that the contents of the faith cannot be transmitted in a way that is extraneous to the faith itself.”
“It is chilling to think of determined efforts to instill a sense of inferiority, to rob people of their cultural identity, to sever their roots, and to consider all the personal and social effects that this continues to entail: unresolved traumas that have become inter-generational traumas,” he said.
After the papal apology, the audience continued with joyous performances of Indigenous prayers by drummers, dancers and fiddlers that Francis watched, applauded and gave a thumbs up to. The Indigenous then presented him with gifts, including snowshoes.
Francis’ apology went far beyond what Pope Benedict XVI had offered in 2009 when an Assembly of First Nations delegation visited. At the time, Benedict only expressed his “sorrow at the anguish caused by the deplorable conduct of some members of the church.” But he did not apologize.
The Argentine pope is no stranger to offering apologies for his own errors and for what he himself has termed the “crimes” of the institutional church. Most significantly, during a 2015 visit to Bolivia, he apologized for the sins, crimes and offenses committed by the church against Indigenous Peoples during the colonial-era conquest of the Americas.
He made clear those same colonial crimes occurred far more recently in Canada at the Catholic-run residential schools.
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“Your identity and culture has been wounded, many families separated, many children have become victims of this homogenization action, supported by the idea that progress occurs through ideological colonization, according to programs studied at the table rather than respecting the lives of peoples,” he said.
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KYIV, UKRAINE — Talks to stop the fighting in Ukraine resumed Friday, as another attempt to rescue civilians from the besieged port city of Mariupol broke down and Russia accused the Ukrainians of launching a cross-border helicopter attack on an oil depot.
The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region said the alleged airstrike by a pair of helicopter gunships caused multiple fires and injured two people. A Kremlin spokesman said the incident on Russia’s territory could undermine the negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian representatives.
“Certainly, this is not something that can be perceived as creating comfortable conditions for the continuation of the talks,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied when asked if the strike could be viewed as an escalation of the war in Ukraine.
It was not immediately possible to verify the claim that Ukrainian helicopters targeted the oil depot or several nearby businesses in Belgorod also reported hit. Russia has reported shelling from Ukraine before, including an incident last week that killed a military chaplain, but not an incursion of its airspace.
Asked if Ukraine had fired on the depot, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in Warsaw that he could “neither confirm nor nor reject the claim that Ukraine was involved in this simply because I do not possess all the military information.”
The latest negotiations, taking place by video link, follow a meeting in Turkey on Tuesday where Ukraine reiterated its willingness to abandon a bid to join NATO and offered proposals to have its neutral military status guaranteed by a range of foreign countries.
The head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, wrote on social media that Moscow’s positions on retaining control of the Crimean Peninsula and expanding the territory in eastern Ukraine held by Russia-backed separatists “are unchanged.”
The International Committee for the Red Cross said complex logistics were still being worked out for the operation to get emergency aid into Mariupol and civilians out of the city, which has suffered weeks of heavy fighting with dwindling water, food and medical supplies.
“We are running out of adjectives to describe the horrors that residents in Mariupol have suffered,” ICRC spokesperson Ewan Watson said Friday during a U.N. briefing in Geneva. “The situation is horrendous and deteriorating, and it’s now a humanitarian imperative that people be allowed to leave and aid supplies be allowed in.”
He said the group had sent three vehicles toward Mariupol and a frontline between Ukrainian and Russian forces but two trucks carrying supplies for the city were not accompanying them. Dozens of buses organized by Ukrainian authorities to take people out also had not started approaching the dividing line, Watson said.
City authorities said a little while later that the Russians were blocking access to Mariupol and it was too dangerous for people to leave it on their own.
“We do not see a real desire on the part of the Russians and their satellites to provide an opportunity for Mariupol residents to evacuate to territory controlled by Ukraine,” Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
He said Russian forces “are categorically not allowing any humanitarian cargo, even in small amounts, into the city”
On Thursday, Russian forces blocked a 45-bus convoy attempting to evacuate people from Mariupol after the Russian military agreed to a limited cease-fire in the area, and only 631 people were able to leave in private cars, the Ukrainian government said.
Russian forces also seized 14 tons of food and medical supplies trying to make it to Mariupol, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
The city has been the scene of some of the worst suffering of the war. Tens of thousands of residents managed to leave in the past few weeks through humanitarian corridors, reducing the population from a prewar 430,000 to an estimated 100,000 by last week. But continued Russian attacks have repeatedly thwarted aid and evacuation missions.
In the past few days, the Kremlin, in a seeming shift in its war aims, said that its “main goal” now is gaining complete control of the Donbas, where Mariupol is located. The Donbas is the predominantly Russian-speaking industrial region of eastern Ukraine where Moscow-backed separatists have been battling Ukrainian forces since 2014 and have declared two areas as independent republics.
Western officials said there were growing indications Russia was using its talk of de-escalation in Ukraine as cover to regroup, resupply and redeploy its forces for a stepped-up offensive in the east.
Russian forces have subjected both Chernihiv, a besieged city in northern Ukraine, and the capital of Kyiv to continued air and ground-launched missile strikes despite Moscow saying Tuesday it planned to reduce military activity in those areas.
Elsewhere, Ukrainian forces have retaken the villages of Sloboda and Lukashivka, south of Chernihiv and along one of the main supply routes between the city and Kyiv, according to Britain’s Defense Ministry.
Ukraine has also continued to make successful but limited counterattacks to the east and northeast of Kyiv, the ministry said.
Hours later, Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram early Friday that the fire at the oil depot “occurred as a result of an airstrike from two helicopters of the armed forces of Ukraine, which entered the territory of Russia at a low altitude.”
The depot run by Russian energy giant Rosneft is located about 21 miles north of the Ukraine-Russia border.
Separately, Ukraine’s state power company, Energoatom, said Russian troops pulled out of the heavily contaminated Chernobyl nuclear site in northern Ukraine early Friday after receiving “significant doses” of radiation from digging trenches in the exclusion zone around the closed plant.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said it could not independently confirm the exposure claim. Energoatom gave no details on the condition of the soldiers and did not say how many were affected. There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin.
The agency, which is the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, said it had been informed by Ukraine that Russian forces at Chernobyl had transferred control of the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster to the Ukrainians in writing.
IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi wrote on Twitter that he would visit the decommissioned plant as soon as possible and his agency’s “assistance and support” mission to Chernobyl “will be the first in a series of such nuclear safety and security missions to Ukraine.”
Grossi was in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad Friday for talks with senior officials about nuclear issues in Ukraine. Nine of Ukraine’s 15 operational reactors are currently in use, including two at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhya facility, the agency said.
Russian forces seized the Chernobyl site soon after invading Ukraine on Feb. 24, raising fears they would cause damage or disruption that could spread radiation. The workforce there oversees the safe storage of spent fuel rods and the concrete-entombed ruins of the reactor that exploded in 1986.
Five weeks and one day into a conflict that has left thousands dead and driven more than 4 million refugees from Ukraine, there seemed little faith that the two sides would find agreement on their respective demands any time soon.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said conditions weren’t yet “ripe” for a cease-fire and he wasn’t ready for a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy until the negotiators do more work, Italian Premier Mario Draghi said after a Thursday telephone conversation with the Russian leader.
In his nightly video address late Thursday, Zelenskyy doubted Moscow’s willingness to end the conflict. He warned that Russian withdrawals in the country’s north and center were just a military tactic to build up strength for new attacks in the southeast.
“We know their intentions,” 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.”
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Karmanau reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.
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A Pennsylvania task force devoted to protecting and improving the lives of children born to mothers and families struggling with drug addiction held its first meeting this week.
It will focus on things including making sure the foster care system adequately protects children from harm stemming from addiction while avoiding unnecessary separations of children and parents, helping pregnant women recover from addiction, and helping parents who have struggled with addiction safely raise their children.
Another key goal is to improve supports that can help children who were exposed to substances prior to birth to thrive and reach their full potential.
The task force is obligated by law to finish its work within a year.
Cathleen Palm, a veteran advocate for Pennsylvania children, said it’s critical lawmakers and other Pennsylvanians pay attention to the effort. Otherwise, she said, long-needed improvements to serve the best interests of Pennsylvania children might lose out to other priorities.
The 11-member task force includes two members who have first-hand experience with dealing with the foster care system as the result of addiction or children who have been impacted.
They are Robin Adams of Tioga County, whose adopted son was exposed to illegal drugs before birth, and April Lee of Philadelphia, who is recovering from addiction, and who for a time lost her children to the child welfare system.
Members of the task force were appointed by Gov. Tom Wolf and state lawmakers.
They include Meg Smith, the acting state secretary of human services; Jennifer Smith, the state secretary of drug and alcohol programs; Dr. Denise Johnson, the state physician general; Dr. Sheryl Ryan, a pediatrician at Penn State Children’s Hospital; and Dr. Kim Costello, a neonatologist with St. Luke’s University Health Network.
Palm said after six years of focus on the opioid addiction crisis and the impact on children, Pennsylvania still lacks clear data on things like how often babies are separated from their mothers at birth because of addiction and, for those who remain with their mothers, how often they end up needing abuse-related medical care or die.
Pennsylvania lawmakers created the task force following a six-year push by advocates including Palm, the founder of the Berks County-based Center for Children’s Justice.
People who want to obtain more information or interact with the task force can email RA-pw@2taskforce.pa.gov.
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A police lieutenant killed on duty in Pennsylvania was one month away from retirement when a man suspected of breaking into a family member’s home opened fire on responding officers, authorities said Friday.
Lebanon City Police Lt. William Lebo and three other uniformed officers were met with immediate gunfire when they entered the home on Forest Street, Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf said at a news conference.
Two other officers were injured and remain hospitalized. The suspect, 34-year-old Travis Shaud of Lebanon, was also killed in the exchange of gunfire.
Graf said Shaud had a record of domestic assaults as well as mental health issues.
“Family attempts to intervene, to provide assistance, were met with his utter resistance,” she said.
Shaud had previously lived in the home but not for some years, she said. A man listed as a co-owner of the home declined comment when reached by phone early Friday.
Lebanon Mayor Sherry Capello said the injured officers are Ryan Adams, 34, and Derek Underkoffler, 32, both with seven years on the force. Lebo, 63, had planned to retire May 1 after 40 years with the department.
A family member arrived home after work Thursday and realized Shaud had broken into the rear of his home, so he called police, Graf said.
“When police attempted to enter the residence, four officers encountered immediate gunfire,” Graf said. Shaud used a gun from the home to shoot at police, Graf said.
Officers returned fire and Shaud was pronounced dead at the scene.
A Shaud family friend, Susan Schott, told the Lebanon Daily News the Forest Street home was Travis Shaud’s childhood home.
“Travis was a wonderful person when he was OK,” Schott told the paper. “But as soon as I heard the address I knew what happened.”
Authorities have not said who shot who and did not take questions about what Graf called an ongoing investigation at news conferences Thursday and Friday.
“As one can imagine, it’s clearly a traumatic event,” Lebanon Police Chief Todd Breiner said Thursday night. “Our guys are strong, but we’re human and we have families.”
Lebanon resident Angelo Gonzalez, 17, was working at a pizzeria down the road from the shooting when he said he saw “cop car after cop car flying down the street.”
“Then we heard something and weren’t sure what it was and the street filled up with cops and ambulance in a matter of 15 min,” Gonzalez said in a text message.
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James Largay’s recent opinion piece (The Morning Call, March 26) focused on the value of government “conduct[ing] itself with regard to the feelings of the governed . . .” Largay then attempts to demonstrate how Biden, Hillary Clinton and Obama failed in that regard.
Conspicuously absent is the president between Obama and Biden. Donald Trump twice failed to win the popular vote, losing by 3 million in the first election and 7 million in the 2020 election.
Trump and the Republican Party do not try to expand their base to win — they do everything they can to prevent anyone not in their base from voting.
Trump and the Republican Party have tried to maintain a hold on power by ignoring the will of the people and spreading baseless lies about the 2020 election. Trump called people chanting Nazi slogans, “very fine people.” By not mentioning Trump, it seems the writer cares little about the “feelings of the governed” — he just wanted to bash Democrats.
Alan Canner
Allentown
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Every year American citizens, companies and especially our own government give billions of dollars to charities that are supposed to benefit poor and suffering people in other countries all over the world, now including aid to Ukraine.
I only have one question for everyone to ask themselves: When do you ever hear about these foreign countries sending charity to help poor and suffering people in America? The answer is never.
They say “charity begins at home,” so before anyone donates to a charity to help suffering people in another country please stop for just a moment and think hard. If even a portion of the money that is sent in charity to other countries was donated to help the poor and suffering people here in America we wouldn’t have the problems we have in America today like the homeless families, children and veterans starving in our streets.
Sadly common sense and logic seem to be endangered species these days.
Michael Walter
North Whitehall Township
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CLEARWATER — Mike King may have to thank a division rival for his spot on the roster. King said that his development last year, which had Aaron Boone all but saying King will make the Opening Day roster, was spurred on by former teammate Corey Kluber.
Kluber, who is now with the American League East rival Rays, taught King how to throw his “slider.”
It is categorized a slider, but it’s more of a hybrid so unique that scouts call it a “Kluber Ball.”
Kluber suggested it to King because he felt the Yankees’ young right-hander was similar to himself. King laughs when asked if the pitches are as similar.
“If it’s a carbon copy of Corey’s, it would be electric,” King said. “But honestly, anything close to it is what I’m looking for. He’s got two Cy Youngs because of that pitch. He can locate it wherever he wants. Just getting the command of it is huge.”
It made a noticeable difference in King’s performances.
“I think it’s going to be an important pitch for him,” Boone said. “When he’s got that, he’s pretty tough. If he can command that with what his heater and his two-seamer is, he’s pretty tough. I think it’s a real important pitch for him.”
And the friendship and mentorship King developed with the two-time Cy Young winner was just as big.
“Corey Kluber was huge for me,” King said. “He had confidence in me.”
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Unilever U.S. has announced that it is recalling some Suave brand antiperspirants due to “slightly elevated” levels of a cancer-causing chemical.
New Jersey-based Unilever said an internal review showed slightly elevated levels of benzene in some product samples. While benzene is not an ingredient in any of the recalled products, the review showed that unexpected levels of benzene came from the propellant that sprays the product out of the can.
The recall, announced this week by the Food and Drug Administration, includes all lots of Suave 24-Hour Protection Aerosol Antiperspirant Powder and Suave 24-Hour Protection Aerosol Antiperspirant Fresh with expiration dates through September 2023. The recall covers:
- Suave 24-Hour Protection Aerosol Antiperspirant Powder scent 4 oz. and 6 oz. cans UPC codes 079400751508 and 079400784902. Expiration date through September 2023.
- Suave 24-Hour Protection Aerosol Antiperspirant Fresh scent 6 oz. cans UPC code 079400785503. Expiration date through September 2023.
“While benzene is not an ingredient in any of the recalled products, the review showed that unexpected levels of benzene came from the propellant that sprays the product out of the can,” said a Unilever news release. “No other Unilever or Suave products are in the scope of this recall.”
Benzene is classified as a human carcinogen. Exposure to benzene can occur by inhalation, orally, and through the skin; it can result in cancers including leukemia and blood cancer of the bone marrow and blood disorders which can be life threatening.
According to Unilever’s news release, benzene is ubiquitous in the environment. Humans around the world have daily exposures to it indoors and outdoors from multiple sources. Based on an independent health hazard evaluation, daily exposure to benzene in the recalled products at the levels detected in testing would not be expected to cause adverse health consequences.
Retailers have been notified to remove the products from the store. Consumers who have the product are advised to throw it away.
Unilever will also offer reimbursement for consumers who have purchased products impacted by this recall.
Consumers with questions regarding this recall can contact Unilever by calling (866) 204-9756, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST. Visit www.suaverecall.comExternal Link Disclaimer for more information.
Latest Lehigh Valley News
Adverse reactions or quality problems experienced with the use of this product may be reported to the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either online, by regular mail or by fax.
- Complete and submit the report Online
- Regular Mail or Fax: Download form or call 1- 800-332-1088 to request a reporting form, then complete and return to the address on the pre-addressed form, or submit by fax to 1-800-FDA-0178
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The man accused of opening fire outside a cigar shop after being asked to wear a face mask, then shooting at police during a standoff, died after being found unresponsive Friday morning in his cell at Lehigh County Jail, officials said.
Adam Zaborowski, 37, died at St. Luke’s Hospital in Allentown at 7:26 a.m., about 50 minutes after staff found him and started cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
The Lehigh County District Attorney’s office and the Lehigh County Coroner’s office are investigating the death.
On July 31, 2020, police say, Zaborowski entered Cigars International in Bethlehem Township and was asked to leave because he wasn’t wearing a mask. Zaborowski was offered the chance to select his purchase and go outside to wait for it to be delivered, according to witnesses. Zaborowski ignored the offer, walked around the store, took two cigars and left, police say.
A store worker followed Zaborowski outside and told him he would need to pay for the items. That’s when police say Zaborowski went to his pickup truck, reached inside and pulled out a handgun. Police said he fired three shots — two at the store worker and another into the air. No one was injured.
Authorities learned that Zaborowski was holed up in his Slatington home. But when police assembled there the following day, Zaborowski allegedly refused to surrender.
Zaborowski had been stockpiling weapons and supplies over fears and stress fueled by the pandemic, according to his attorney, John Waldron. He allegedly fired dozens of rounds at police with an AK-47 rifle. The weapon was equipped with an illegal bump stock that allowed it to be fired rapidly, authorities said.
Latest Police & Courts
One police officer was injured in the shootout, and Zaborowski surrendered after being hit by police gunfire. District Attorney Jim Martin ruled the officers were justified in firing on Zaborowski.
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Sonny Sasso was well known in the high school wrestling circuit long before his first varsity match three years ago.
He was the younger brother of Sammy Sasso, Nazareth’s greatest wrestler and the storied program’s career wins, pins and takedown leader.
Sonny Sasso never let any unfair comparisons become distractions in his process to become the best wrestler he could be.
His work ethic, like his brother’s, is now legendary. His determination, like his brother’s, is unrivaled.
“I’m sure when [Sonny] was younger that he was under that shadow a little bit,” Nazareth coach Dave Crowell said. “He’s come out to be his own man, and that’s not always easy to do when you have an older sibling who is noteworthy. He’s his own man. It’s really good to see.”
The junior 189-pounder joined his older brother in March in accomplishing the most difficult task for a Pennsylvania wrestler: He became a PIAA champion.
Sonny Sasso wrecked the competition this season, winning 33 of his 47 matches by pin. Eight other victories were by bonus points. His most impressive victory came after he gave up two first-period takedowns in the state semifinals to fellow unbeaten Mac Stout of Mount Lebanon before dominating the final two periods for a 9-6 win. He finished up with a 5-0 victory of Central Bucks East’s Quinn Collins in the final.
For his dominance, leadership and work ethic, Sasso is The Morning Call all-area Class 3A wrestler of the year.
“He’s a guy who has put in an incredible amount of work and he’s turned into a great wrestler,” Crowell said. “That’s to his credit for sure.”
Sasso still gets pre-match pep talks from his older brother, a three-time NCAA medalist at Ohio State. The conversations have gotten shorter because he’s matured into an elite-level high school wrestler.
“I’ve just grown so much as a wrestler,” Sonny Sasso said. “Everything that he preaches to me, I got it down for the most part. He didn’t say anything but to just go be Sonny Sasso for six minutes and go make it happen.
“Everything he’s been preaching to me for the last 16 years of my life, now I’m trying to do to my teammates.”
Sasso, like his brother, is not the loudest voice the Blue Eagles room. But the eyes of every teammate know where to look when it comes to preparation.
There are no breaks at practice. There are no light workouts. There is one speed all the time.
“What he does, he does it hard,” Crowell said. “He doesn’t accept OK. He’s the hardest worker in our room. He sets the pace. He’s the model, the way I think kids should approach practice and competition.
“Some people are competitors in competition. He’s a competitor to prepare himself for competition. That’s what takes him to that next level. He’s got some talent, too.”
Unlike his brother, Sasso dedicates part of his year to being the starting quarterback on Nazareth’s football team. Wrestling takes a back seat while he plays for coach Tom Falzone, but the mentality is unchanged.
Sasso’s approach began to take shape after losing in the district final as a middle schooler. He realized that in order to be the best he could be he had to work as hard as he could.
“I did not wake up one morning and everything was going to be like that,” he said. “It took a lot of time. I’ve gotten a lot better, the best I’ve ever been by far.
“For eight, nine months a year it’s wrestling. The rest is football. For those eight, nine months, I work a lot harder than everybody else, I tell you that. I believe I’m the hardest worker in this arena. I come from the hardest training regimen in the country. I’ve got everything going for me. There was no reason I wasn’t able to [win a state title] as long as I did all I did in the practice room.
“I train like every practice is my last. It paid off.”
Sasso also has perspective. He acknowledges that high school wrestling in that important in the grand scheme of life.
The son of Rob and Lorraine Sasso is digesting all the lesson being presented to him by Crowell and his staff and preparing to use them in the future stages of his life.
He’ll be expected next season to equal his brother’s two state titles. He’ll be expected to pin most of his opponents. He’ll be expected to win every match.
Those external expectations, however, won’t seep into Sasso’s psyche.
“This wrestling thing, especially in high school, ain’t that big of a deal,” Sasso said. “You lose a couple matches; you win a couple. All in all, I’ve gotten way more out of this sport than winning wrestling matches.
“I try to keep that in the back of my head, the bigger picture. That what my coaches preach. That’s what Nazareth’s program is about.”
Right now, Sonny Sasso is the role model for that program.
Morning Call reporter Tom Housenick can be reached at 610-820-6651 or at thousenick@mcall.com
We rely on the support of our subscribers to fund our journalism. If you’re not already signed up, we hope you will consider subscribing. Already a print subscriber? If you haven’t already, please activate your digital access.
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My wife and I got married eight months ago. Whatever I suggest for the apartment — a paint color, a bathroom fixture — my wife immediately dismisses. For example, the living room couch she wanted was too huge for the space: a really awkward, uncomfortable fit. She kept ignoring objective facts about spatial relations — even after I pulled out a measuring tape and drew a schematic of the room. It occurred to me that her wanting it her way and ignoring my ideas are patterns in our relationship. This feels pretty bad.
— The Husband
There are those of us with special abilities in certain areas. Personally, I have a multi-decade track record in two areas: as a writer and as an automotive moron. (Lift your hood and I’ll identify all the parts: “There’s that round thingie and a bunch of intestine-esque tube-y thingies...”)
Hiring me to write something (ideally for dump trucks of money) suggests you have fabulous taste and superior intelligence. Hiring me to fix your car suggests you lack the mental firepower to pick your nose without assistance.
Men and women, in general, have different spatial abilities — in line with the sexual divisions of labor in the ancestral hunter-gatherer world: male hunters tracking and killing animals and female gatherers doing the “grocery shopping” 2 million-ish years before grocery stores.
Psychologists Irwin Silverman and Marion Eals find that women, across cultures, are vastly better than men — even 60 or 70% better — at “object location.” This is the ability to remember an array of objects in a setting, as well as their placement (relative to the other objects) — basically by pulling up a mental snapshot: “Those nice berries by the cliff; poison ivy near the river — by the dead tree where I found those yummo beetle appetizers.”
Men, on the other hand, are significantly better at “mental rotation”: turning a 3-D object around in their mind and predicting how the object would fit in a certain space — or hurtle through it. This skill allows the outfielder to catch the pop fly, but for Joe Loincloth, being ace at aiming his spear meant his family might dine on wildebeest mignon instead of mealymouthed excuses.
Granted, your wife — like most people — is probably not clued in to the wonders of evolved sex differences in spatial ability. However, you mention that her unwillingness to listen to you is a pattern in various areas of your relationship. And that’s a major problem.
Being ignored — especially by those who matter most to us — takes a bite out of our dignity. Contrast that with somebody giving us their attention — their full attention (meaning listening like we’re about to tip them off on tomorrow’s winning lotto numbers). They’re telling us they respect us. Whatever we have to say is important for them to hear.
That kind of listening doesn’t just come from the ears. Psychologist Carl Rogers, who used it with his therapy clients, described it as “active listening” and explained: “I hear the words, the thoughts, the feeling tones, the personal meaning, even the meaning that is below the conscious intent of the speaker.”
Listening deeply like this starts with setting aside the impulse to “win” — to hammer another person with what you believe. Admittedly, that can be a highly successful tactic — if you’re looking to persuade someone to bolt themselves even more tightly to their position.
Listening is a vital element of a healthy relationship — one in which spouses accept each other’s “influence,” explains marriage researcher John Gottman. This means each spouse makes the other a “partner” in their decision-making: respecting and honoring them and their opinions and feelings. For a marriage to thrive, spouses have to “share the driver’s seat.”
For your marriage to have a chance at thriving, your wife needs to see the benefit in acting as a “we” instead of pressing forward as a “me” (with a large piece of husband-shaped luggage). The direct approach — telling her she needs to change — is likely to be a fail, coming off as a threat to her getting her way and thus triggering not change but rebellion. Instead, tell her how you feel. (For example: hurt, disrespected, and embarrassed that your opinions seem of no interest to her.)
This should evoke her empathy — meaning make her feel bad that you feel bad — which could motivate her to take steps to change (which, by the way, would involve time, practice, and setbacks). Ultimately, she knows being a marital bully is way out of line — assuming her wedding vows didn’t include: “I promise to love, honor, support, blah, blah, blah — uh, providing my husband shuts his complainy yap about having to scale the Couch Alps whenever he wants to grab a beer out of the fridge.”
Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave., #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405, or email AdviceAmy@aol.com (www.advicegoddess.com). Follow her on Twitter @amyalkon. Order her latest “science-help” book, “Unf*ckology: A Field Guide to Living with Guts and Confidence.”
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A tornado toppled trees and damaged homes in central Bucks County on Thursday night, the National Weather Service confirmed.
“The storm survey team has determined that a tornado occurred generally in the area of the [Route] 113/313 intersection. Further details including rating and path length will be available later today,” said a tweet posted by NWS Mount Holly early Friday afternoon.
Videos posted to Twitter by Ray Leichner, a drone pilot for EPAWA Weather Consulting, showed uprooted trees and structural damage from the twister that touched down in Perkasie just before 10 p.m.
Last summer, tornadoes caused heavy damage throughout Bucks County, including near Solebury and in Bensalem.
In the Bensalem/Trevose area on July 29, 2021, an EF3 tornado had peak winds up to 140 mph. The most intense damage occurred at car dealerships and an adjacent mobile home park. It was the first EF3 tornado ever recorded in Bucks County, and the first in Pennsylvania since 2004.
The same storm system spawned eight other tornadoes that day, including an EF2 tornado near New Hope, Bucks County, which crossed the Delaware River into Mercer County, with peak winds up to 115 mph.
An EF1 tornado also touched down in Plumstead Township, Bucks County, with peak winds up to 90 mph.
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Just because a report is issued by a group with an official-sounding name, like the American Legislative Exchange Council, doesn’t mean its report is truthful or unbiased.
For example, the article “Pennsylvania Gov. Wolf ranks near bottom of ‘economic freedom’ scorecard; Republicans dominate top of list” (The Morning Call, March 26) The American Legislative Exchange Council is funded by corporations, not legislators, lobbying for legislation that keeps high prices for medical care and prescriptions, defunds unions, removes funding from public schools, allows pollution, and takes away voting rights.
Those are not our American values, and their reporting is worthless.
Dianne Wall-Gillikin
North Whitehall Township
Follow @McallOpinion on Twitter and The Morning Call on Facebook.
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Fans of Big Macs, Chicken McNuggets and Egg McMuffins will soon have a new restaurant to be “lovin’ it” in Upper Saucon Township.
A new McDonald’s eatery, featuring a two-lane drive-thru, self-ordering kiosks and seating capacity for 42 customers, is expected to open in mid-April at 6690 Short Drive, according to franchise owner James McIntyre.
The newly constructed restaurant will operate next to a new Wawa gas station and convenience store at the southwest corner of Route 309 and Passer Road.
A few homes, the former Truly Fine home furnishings store and the former Peppercorn Pub-turned apartment building were razed to make way for the new development.
The restaurant’s opening day will be announced on the business’ Facebook page, and the first 50 customers will receive a free Big Mac every week for a year, McIntyre said.
The new eatery will be the fifth area McDonald’s for McIntyre and his wife, Karen, who together operate under the Jamren McDonald’s business name. The couple also owns McDonald’s locations in Hellertown, Easton, Quakertown and Milford Township.
“I’m a second-generation McDonald’s operator,” James said. “My dad was in it before me. I started in 1996, and then I bought my first restaurant in 2008.”
The McIntyre family aims to support local communities, schools and charities through cooperative fundraising efforts.
At their newest restaurant, just north of Coopersburg, they’re already planning several fundraisers and partnerships, including a Southern Lehigh High School men’s lacrosse fundraiser, 4-8 p.m. April 27, where 20% of all sales go to the team; a National Superhero Day event, April 28, where local firefighters, police officers, EMTs, teachers and veterans receive a free combo meal; a Southern Lehigh Cross Country Booster Club fundraiser, 4-8 p.m. May 23, where 20% of all profits benefit the club; a Saucon Valley Youth Lacrosse fundraiser, 4-8 p.m. June 14, where 20% of sales go to the program; and a food drive partnership with Betty Lou’s Pantry, a ministry of Southern Lehigh area churches, where customers who bring in a designated food item will receive a free food item from McDonald’s.
“We are eager to work with Southern Lehigh School District, their teams, and organizations,” the McIntyres said in a press release last year. “We want to work with local organizations and become a partner in what they do in the community.”
Jamren McDonald’s, in coordination with the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce and Southern Lehigh Chamber of Commerce, broke ground on the new eatery in November.
Construction took about four months, and the restaurant has been hosting open interviews for approximately 60 full- and part-time positions on Wednesdays and Saturdays at the Hellertown and Quakertown locations.
New roadside signage is expected to be installed on Monday, and open interviews for prospective employees may switch to the new Upper Saucon restaurant beginning next week, McIntyre said. An announcement regarding upcoming hiring events will be made on the business’ Facebook page.
The Upper Saucon McDonald’s, which will be open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner, also will host a ribbon-cutting celebration with the Southern Lehigh Chamber of Commerce 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. April 26.
The ceremony will begin at 11:25 a.m., and the Southern Lehigh High School Marching Band is set to perform.
Additionally, the new McDonald’s restaurant is planning to offer $3 Big Macs during Southern Lehigh Restaurant Week, April 24-30.
“We love working with Jim and his team in other communities across the Lehigh Valley and have seen the tremendous impact he has had for various organizations through their fundraising efforts and partnerships,” said Jessica O’Donnell, executive vice president of Affiliated Chambers and Northern Tier for the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber. “Naturally we are excited to be bringing this community-centric organization into another close-knit municipality to see the dynamics grow and prosper.”
Latest Restaurants
McDonald’s, founded by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald in 1940 in San Bernardino, California, is the world’s leading global foodservice retailer with more than 39,000 locations in 119 countries, including more than two dozen locations throughout the Lehigh Valley region. Approximately 93% of McDonald’s restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local business owners.
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WASHINGTON — Lawmakers investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol are increasingly going public with critical statements, court filings and more to deliver a blunt message to Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice.
President Donald Trump and his allies likely committed crimes, they say. And it’s up to you to do something about it.
“Attorney General Garland, do your job so we can do ours,” prodded Rep. Elaine Luria of Virginia.
“We are upholding our responsibility. The Department of Justice must do the same,” echoed Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.
Their rhetoric, focused this week on two contempt of Congress referrals approved by the committee, is just the latest example of the pressure campaign the lawmakers are waging. It reflects a stark reality: While they can investigate Jan. 6 and issue subpoenas to gather information, only the Justice Department can bring criminal charges.
Committee members see the case they are building against Trump and his allies as a once-in-a-generation circumstance. If it’s not fully prosecuted, they say, it could set a dangerous precedent that threatens the foundations of American democracy.
The lawmakers seem nearly certain to send a criminal referral to the Justice Department once their work is through.
It all puts Garland, who has spent his tenure trying to shield the Justice Department from political pressure, in a precarious spot. Any criminal charges related to Jan. 6 would trigger a firestorm, thrusting prosecutors back into the partisan crossfire that proved so damaging during the Trump-Russia influence investigation and an email probe of Hillary Clinton.
Garland has given no public indication about whether prosecutors might be considering a case against the former president. He has, though, vowed to hold accountable “all January 6th perpetrators, at any level” and has said that would include those who were “present that day or were otherwise criminally responsible for the assault on our democracy.”
It’s already the largest criminal prosecution in the department’s history — for rioters who entered the Capitol building on Jan. 6 as well as members of extremist groups who are accused of planning the attack. More than 750 people have been charged with federal crimes. Over 220 riot defendants have pleaded guilty, more than 100 have been sentenced and at least 90 others have trial dates.
Parts of the department’s investigation have overlapped with the committee’s. One example is in late January when Justice announced it had opened a probe into a fake slate of electors who falsely tried to declare Trump the winner of the 2020 election in seven swing states that Joe Biden won. Three days later, lawmakers subpoenaed more than a dozen people involved in the effort.
But the Jan. 6 committee wants more. Their message was amplified this week when a federal judge in California — District Judge David Carter, a Bill Clinton appointee — wrote that it is “more likely than not” that Trump himself committed crimes in his attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 election.
The practical effect of that ruling was to order the release of more than 100 emails from Trump adviser John Eastman to the Jan. 6 Committee. But lawmakers zeroed in on a particular passage in the judge’s opinion that characterized Jan. 6 as a “coup.”
“Dr. Eastman and President Trump launched a campaign to overturn a democratic election, an action unprecedented in American history. Their campaign was not confined to the ivory tower—it was a coup in search of a legal theory,” Carter wrote.
But experts caution that Carter’s opinion was only in a civil case and does not meet the longstanding charging policy the Justice Department is required to meet. Justin Danilewitz, a Philadelphia-based attorney and former federal prosecutor, noted the department faces a higher burden of proof in court to show that presidential immunity should not apply. And he said the legal advice Trump received from Eastman “undermines an inference of corrupt or deceitful intent.”
The department will be guided by the evidence and law, he said, “but the social and political ramifications of a decision of this kind will not be far from the minds of Attorney General Garland and his staff.”
“A decision to bring or not bring criminal charges will have significant ripple effects,” he added.
Taylor Budowich, a Trump spokesperson, called the judge’s ruling an “absurd and baseless ruling by a Clinton-appointed Judge in California.” He called the House committee’s investigation a “circus of partisanship.”
Another point of friction with the Justice Department is the effort to enforce subpoenas through contempt of Congress charges.
The House approved a contempt referral against former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in December after he ceased cooperating with the Jan. 6 panel. While an earlier contempt referral against former Trump adviser Steve Bannon resulted in an indictment, the Department of Justice has been slower to decide whether to prosecute Meadows.
“The Department of Justice is entrusted with defending our Constitution,” Rep. Liz Cheney, the Republican committee chair, said at a hearing this week. “Department leadership should not apply any doctrine of immunity that might block Congress from fully uncovering and addressing the causes of the January 6 attack.”
A decision to pursue the contempt charges against Meadows would have to come from career prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington before senior Justice Department officials would weigh in and decide how to proceed.
Bringing a case against Meadows would be more challenging for prosecutors than the case against Bannon, in large part because Bannon wasn’t a White House official during the insurrection.
The Justice Department has long maintained that senior aides generally cannot be forced to testify if a president invokes executive privilege, as Trump has done. And bringing charges could risk undermining the longstanding principle that lets the executive branch of the government keep most discussions private.
While the majority of committee members have turned up the pressure on Garland, one member, Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, has not gone as far.
“I feel strongly that we restore the tradition of respect for the independence of the law enforcement function,” Raskin told reporters this week. “That was one of the things that got trashed during the Trump period. And so I think that Congress and the president should let the Department of Justice and attorney general do their job.”
Latest Nation/World
“Attorney General Garland is my constituent,” Raskin added, “and I don’t beat up on my constituents.”
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WASHINGTON — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday that it is ending a policy that limited asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The use of public health powers had been widely criticized by Democrats and immigration advocates as an excuse for the United States to shirk its obligations to provide haven to people fleeing persecution. The policy went into effect under President Donald Trump in March 2020. Since then, migrants trying to enter the U.S. have been expelled more than 1.7 million times.
The policy, known as the Title 42 authority, named for a 1944 public health law to prevent communicable disease, will end on paper, but it will not take effect until May 23, to allow border officials time to prepare. The Associated Press first reported the change earlier this week.
The policy was increasingly hard to justify scientifically as restrictions ended across the U.S.
The federal order says efforts by the Department of Homeland Security to provide vaccines to migrants at the border will step up in the next two months.
“After considering current public health conditions and an increased availability of tools to fight COVID-19 (such as highly effective vaccines and therapeutics), the CDC director has determined that an order suspending the right to introduce migrants into the United States is no longer necessary,” the CDC said in a statement.
The decision is expected to draw more migrants to the U.S.-Mexico border. Even before it was officially announced, more than a dozen migrants excitedly ran out of their dormitory at the Good Samaritan shelter in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, asking about it.
DHS said this week that about 7,100 migrants were coming daily, compared with an average of about 5,900 a day in February — on pace to match or exceed highs from last year, 2019 and other peak periods. But border officials said they are planning for as many as 18,000 arrivals daily, and that seems certain to cause challenges for border-region Democrats in tight reelection races — with some warning that the Biden administration is unprepared to handle the situation.
Homeland Security said it created a Southwest Border Coordinating Center to respond to any sharp increases, with MaryAnn Tierney, a regional director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as interim leader and a Border Patrol official as deputy.
Officials also are working on additional ground and air transportation options and tents to house the expected influx, and the Border Patrol has already hired on civilians.
Instead of conducting patrols and uncovering smuggling activity, its agents spend about 40% of their time caring for people already in custody and administrative tasks that are unrelated to border security.
The agency hoped to free up agents to go back into the field by hiring civilians for jobs such as making sure that microwaved burritos are served properly, checking holding cells and the time-consuming work of collecting information for immigration court papers.
Still, administration officials acknowledged the fixes are only temporary measures.
“The Biden-Harris administration is committed to pursuing every avenue within our authority to secure our borders, enforce our laws, and stay true to our values,” said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. “Yet a long-term solution can only come from comprehensive legislation that brings lasting reform to a fundamentally broken system.”
The limits went into place in March 2020 under the Trump administration as coronavirus cases soared. While officials said at the time that it was a way to keep COVID-19 out of the United States, there always has been criticism that the restrictions were used as an excuse to seal the border to migrants unwanted by then-President Donald Trump. It was perhaps the broadest of Trump’s actions to restrict crossings and crack down on migrants.
CDC officials lifted part of the order last month, ending the limits for children traveling to the border alone. In August, U.S. border authorities began testing children traveling alone in their busiest areas: Positives fell to 6% in the first week of March from a high of nearly 20% in early February.
Latest Nation/World
Asylum limits have been applied unevenly by nationality, depending largely on costs and diplomatic relations with home countries. Many migrants have been spared from Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and, more recently, Ukraine. Homeland Security officials wrote border authorities this month that Ukrainians may be exempt, saying Russia’s invasion “created a humanitarian crisis.”
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Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, is in advanced talks with MSNBC to join the network after she leaves the Biden administration, according to two people familiar with the negotiations.
Psaki could leave the White House as soon as next month, one of the people said.
While the details of her role are still being discussed, the negotiations have centered on an arrangement in which she could host shows both for MSNBC and for Peacock, the streaming platform of MSNBC’s parent, NBCUniversal. Psaki could also make regular appearances on other MSNBC shows as well as on NBC News, the people said.
Although a deal is not yet finalized and could still fall apart, Psaki is now only talking with NBCUniversal officials, the two people said. CNN had also been pursuing bringing Psaki aboard, one of them said.
Axios earlier reported the news of Psaki’s discussions with NBC.
In a statement, the White House said, “We don’t have anything to confirm about Jen’s length of planned service or any consideration about future plans. Jen is here and working hard every day on behalf of the president to get you the answers to the questions that you have, and that’s where her focus is.”
Psaki joined the Biden administration as the president’s first press secretary. She had previously worked as White House communications director during the Obama administration and had been the chief spokesperson for John Kerry when he was secretary of state.
Psaki revived the daily White House briefing, a tradition that mostly fell by the wayside in the Trump years, and has won praise for her adroit, if sometimes evasive, handling of reporters’ questions.
Her spiky exchanges with Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy are often shared widely on social media platforms. On TikTok, the phrase “Psaki Bomb” is invoked by liberals who enjoy seeing her rebukes to Doocy’s queries.
Earlier this year, NBC also hired Vice President Kamala Harris’ former spokesperson, Symone D. Sanders, to host a show for MSNBC and Peacock.
Latest Nation/World
c.2021 The New York Times Company
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The United States will open its return to the World Cup against the winner of a European playoff among Ukraine, Wales and Scotland, then face England and Iran in high-profile rematches of games played during tournaments of the past quarter-century.
The 15th-ranked Americans were drawn Friday to start against the European playoff winner on Nov. 21, the tournament’s opening day in Qatar. The U.S. plays No. 5 England on Nov. 25 and closes the group stage against No. 21 Iran on Nov. 29.
“It’s a good group,” U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter said.
No. 39 Scotland hosts 27th-ranked Ukraine in June in a playoff delayed from March because of Russia’s attack on Ukraine. A few days later, the winner goes to No. 18 Wales, which advanced last week with a 2-1 win over Austria.
“Three strong teams,” Berhalter said. “Two pretty similar with Wales and Scotland and then one different with Ukraine. So we’re going to have to be preparing for all three.”
European club matches are scheduled for Nov. 12 and 13, so Nov. 15 is likely the first day Berhalter will have his entire roster available ahead of the opener.
“That’s the negative, is that you have very little time to prepare,” Berhalter said. “Guys will come over. They will have been playing on the weekend, and we’ll get them literally a week before the World Cup, and that’s a challenge. On the positive side, if we advance, you get a little bit more rest as you head into the next phase.”
If the U.S. advances, it would play in the round of 16 on Dec. 3 or 4 against Ecuador, Netherlands, Qatar or Senegal.
In the group stage of the 1950 World Cup, the U.S. famously upset England 1-0 at Belo Horizonte, Brazil, behind Joe Gaetjens’ 38th-minute goal. The Americans opened the 2010 tournament with a 1-1 draw against the Three Lions in South Africa. Steven Gerrard put England ahead in the fourth minute at Rustenberg, but Clint Dempsey tied the score in the 40th when his 25-yard shot skipped off the grass twice and bounced in off Robert Green’s hand.
“With England, it’s always an exciting game. There’s always a lot of attention around that game,” Berhalter said. “We’re familiar with a lot of their players.”
Iran upset the U.S. 2-1 at the 1998 World Cup in France, eliminating the Americans after their second game of the tournament. Hamid Estili scored in the 40th minute and Mehdi Mahdavikia in the 84th at Lyon, and current U.S. men’s national team general manager Brian McBride scored in the 87th.
This year’s World Cup is the first to be moved from its traditional June/July period, a shift to get away from the summer heat in the desert. As a result, the tournament will be played in the middle of European club seasons and overlap with the NFL and college football seasons in the U.S.
Since losing to Germany in the 2002 quarterfinals, the U.S. was eliminated in the group stage in 2006 and the round of 16 in 2010, both times by Ghana, and the Americans exited the 2014 tournament with an extra-time loss to Belgium in the round of 16. The U.S. failed to qualify for the 2018 tournament.
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When Will Smith slapped Chris Rock over an Oscars ceremony punchline, other comedians felt the sting.
“I know Chris and I know what it’s like to be on a stage in front of an audience that doesn’t like your material,” said stand-up comedian Judy Gold. “But to be physically assaulted, that’s a whole other thing. It felt like every comedian was smacked across the face. It really felt like that.”
Smith’s act comes during a stressful time for comedy. While boundaries for humor constantly shift — think George Carlin’s 1972 monologue on seven so-called “dirty words” banned by TV — comics say they have felt increased pushback from audiences and society. Comedy great Dave Chappelle drew sharp criticism last year for what some deemed anti-transgender humor in his Netflix special “The Closer.” Kathy Griffin’s career was derailed in 2017 when she was photographed holding a mock-up of former President Donald Trump’s head.
Some comedians expressed concern that Smith’s behavior might embolden other displeased audience members.
“No one went up to Chris Rock and said, ‘Are you OK?’” Sheryl Underwood, co-host of “The Talk,” said on the show Tuesday. “I’m going to say this as a comic, I am afraid now to get on a stage, because in my third show, when everyone’s been drinking, if you don’t like my joke, do you now believe that you can get up and slap me? There’s got to be accountability quicker.”
Griffin tweeted that “now we all have to worry about who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theaters.”
“Which is the worst crime here?” veteran comedian Gilbert Gottfried said in an interview with The Associated Press. “Chris Rock being physically assaulted? Or Chris Rock making a joke? That’s it, pure and simple. He made a joke.”
Dean Obeidallah, a lawyer and stand-up comic who hosts a show on the SiriusXM Progress channel, said there is never “a place for a violent response to a joke” but doubted there would be copycat behavior. In his time in comedy clubs, he’s seen yelling, screaming and, once, a glass thrown at somebody. But he’s never seen a punch thrown, nor a comedian slapped.
“If someone were to strike a comedian, they’re going to be prosecuted criminally. They don’t have the privilege that Will Smith has,” Obeidallah said.
The Los Angeles Police Department said Sunday that it was aware of the incident, but Rock had declined to file a police report. Smith stayed through the rest of the ceremony Sunday and received the best-actor Oscar.
Gold said she’s been confronted but never struck, and she knows other female comedians have faced difficult circumstances. “People have been getting on stage, people have thrown things,” she said.
Comedian-actor Yamaneika Saunders calls Smith’s behavior upsetting and Sunday a sad day for “two beloved Black men in entertainment.” She also views what happened through the lens of a “Black woman in comedy.’’
“I’m constantly being threatened....by some man who doesn’t like some (expletive) I said about being a woman, some white guy who doesn’t like some (expletive) I said about being Black,” she said.
Insult humor isn’t new to high-profile ceremonies, which call on comics to liven up what can be tedious events. Ricky Gervais made a meal of celebrities at successive Golden Globe ceremonies, and they grin — or grimace — and bear it. The most famous bad sport: Trump at the 2011 White House correspondents’ dinner, where he sat stone-faced during then-President Barack Obama’s extended ribbing of him.
Rock wasn’t the first to tweak Smith or wife Jada Pinkett Smith at Sunday’s Oscars. Ceremony co-host Regina Hall made what appeared to be a veiled joke about their marriage in trying, unsuccessfully, to draw Smith into a comedy bit.
Rock’s wisecrack was targeted at Pinkett Smith. “Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it,” the comedian said to Pinkett Smith, whose close-shaven head looked similar to Demi Moore’s in the 1997 movie. Whether Rock was aware that she has a hair-loss condition, alopecia, is unknown, but Smith reacted with the smack and an angry warning to “keep my wife’s name out your (expletive) mouth!”
A tearful Smith later accepted the top acting award for “King Richard,” his somewhat remorseful speech eliciting a standing ovation from the Dolby Theatre crowd. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has since condemned Smith’s attack and said it’s reviewing the matter.
Whatever the result, his actions indelibly marred the ceremony and ignited discussions about violence, toxic masculinity and the advantages of fame. Smith, who’d conspicuously left Rock out of his remarks Sunday, apologized to the comic and decried “violence in all of its forms” in a statement the next day issued by his publicist and posted on Instagram.
Pinkett Smith’s first public comment came in an Instagram post in which she said, “This is a season for healing and I’m here for it.” Rock referred briefly to the slap at a comedy show Wednesday in Boston, saying he was “still kind of processing what happened.” He appeared to become emotional as the audience gave him several standing ovations.
Whatever pushback comedians may encounter on stage, verbal or physical, they have to guard against censoring themselves to avoid it — and they will, said Obeidallah: “They shouldn’t change, and there’s nothing about this that tells me that they will change.”
They can’t because their role goes beyond providing laughs, as comedians see it.
“We are the truth tellers. We speak truth to power,” said Gold, author of the 2020 book, “Yes, I Can Say That: When They Come for the Comedians, We Are All in Trouble.”
Gottfried cites a favorite Carlin quote — “It’s the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately” — and can’t resist serving up a punchline.
“If Will Smith is reading this, dear God, please don’t come to my shows,” he said.
AP Television Writer Lynn Elber reported from Los Angeles, AP Media Writer David Bauder from New York.
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NORFOLK, VA. — COVID-19 hospitalization numbers have plunged to their lowest levels since the early days of the pandemic, offering a much needed break to health care workers and patients alike following the omicron surge.
The number of patients hospitalized with the coronavirus has fallen more than 90% in more than two months, and some hospitals are going days without a single COVID-19 patient in the ICU for the first time since early 2020.
The freed up beds are expected to help U.S. hospitals retain exhausted staff, treat non-COVID-19 patients more quickly and cut down on inflated costs. More family members can visit loved ones. And doctors hope to see a correction to the slide in pediatric visits, yearly checkups and cancer screenings.
“We should all be smiling that the number of people sitting in the hospital right now with COVID, and people in intensive care units with COVID, are at this low point,” said University of South Florida epidemiologist Jason Salemi.
But, he said, the nation “paid a steep price to get to this stage. ... A lot of people got sick and a lot of people died.”
The average number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the last week nationwide dropped to 11,860, the lowest since 2020 and a steep decline from the peak of more than 145,000 set in mid-January. The previous low was 12,041 last June, before the delta variant took hold. The optimistic trend is also clear in ICU patient numbers, which have dipped to fewer than 2,000, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“We’re beginning to be able to take a breath,” said Dr. Jeffrey Weinstein, the patient safety officer for the Kettering Health hospital system in western Ohio.
COVID-19 patients had filled 30% of Kettering Health’s nearly 1,600 hospital beds back in January, Weinstein said. Kettering’s eight hospitals now average two to three COVID-19 admissions a day — and sometimes zero.
And while Salemi agreed this is a good time for an exhausted health care system to take a breath, he warned that the public health community needs to keep an eye on the BA.2 subvariant of omicron. It’s driving increases in hospitalizations in Britain, and is now estimated to make up more than half of U.S. infections.
“We’re probably under-detecting true infections now more than at any other time during the pandemic,” Salemi said.
For now at least, many hospitals are noting the low numbers.
In California on Thursday, UC Davis Health tweeted that its intensive care unit had no COVID-19 patients for two consecutive days for the first time in two years.
“The first COVID-19 patient to arrive in our ICU did so in February 2020, and the unit treated at least one positive individual every day since, for at least 761 consecutive days,” the hospital system said.
Toby Marsh, the chief nursing and patient care services officer, said in a statement that they hope the numbers “are indicative of a sustained change.”
In Philadelphia, patients are spending less time in the Temple University Health System because there are no longer backlogs for MRIs, CT scans and lab tests, said Dr. Tony Reed, the chief medical officer.
Temple Health’s three hospitals had six adult COVID-19 patients on Thursday, likely its lowest patient count since March 2020, Reed said.
During the omicron surge, patients waited as long as 22 hours for a routine MRI, which is normally done within 12 hours. Longer waits affected those who came in with trouble walking — and in a lot of pain — for example, because of a herniated disc pinching their sciatic nerve.
“Nobody wants to stay in the hospital a day longer than they have to,” Reed said.
The emptying of beds is also helping patients in rural areas, said Jay Anderson, the chief operating officer for Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. During the surges, the hospital faced challenges accepting people from community hospitals who needed elevated care for brain tumors, advanced cancer and stroke. That burden is now being lifted.
Visitors also will return in higher numbers, starting Tuesday. Ohio State will no longer restrict patients to two designated guests, who could only stop by separately.
“Patients heal better when they have access to their family and loved ones,” Anderson said.
Doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists are also getting a much needed break in some areas.
In Colorado, Dr. Michelle Barron said the consistently low COVID-19 hospitalizations prompted smiles among staff, even as she double-checks the numbers to make sure they’re actually correct.
“I had one of these moments like, oh this is amazing,” said Barron, medical director of infection prevention and control at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital. “It feels unreal.”
UCHealth loosened some restrictions, including dropping testing requirements for anyone who entered a facility. And while that produced some anxiety among staffers, Barron says the numbers haven’t spiked.
“I think some people have started to take vacations and not feel guilty,” she said. “I had spring break with my kids and it was a level of happiness where I went, oh my god, this is actually normal.”
The omicron surge had stretched staff at work — but also at home, said Dr. Mike Hooper, chief medical officer for Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in southeastern Virginia.
“It was stressful to be at the store ... to visit your family,” Hooper said. “We’re all hoping that some ‘return to normalcy’ will help people deal with the inherent stresses of being part of the health care team.”
But just because hospitalizations are down does not mean hospitals are empty, said Dr. Frank Johnson, chief medical officer for St. Luke’s Health System in Idaho.
Some measures — like wearing masks in certain settings — will remain in place.
“I don’t know when we may go back to old practices regarding mask wearing in our clinical areas,” Johnson said. “We’ve seen some benefits of that in terms of reduction in the number of other viral infections.”
In the meantime, the public health community is keeping an eye on the BA.2 subvariant of omicron.
Salemi, the University of South Florida epidemiologist, said the increase in at-home testing means that more results are not being included in official coronavirus case counts. Therefore, wastewater surveillance will be the early warning signal to watch, he said.
“BA.2 is here,” he said. “We don’t have to look that far in the rear-view mirror to know things can change very rapidly. We saw what happened with delta. We saw what happened with omicron.... We don’t want to wait until we see a lot of people hospitalized before we take action.”
Latest Nation/World
Kruesi reported from Nashville, Tennessee. AP Medical writer Carla K. Johnson in Washington state contributed to this report.
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