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Galaxy Digital backs away from Bitgo deal
After announcing plans to acquire Bitgo for $1.2 billion last year at the peak of the crypto frenzy, Galaxy Digital now says it is no longer pursuing the marriage.
Why it matters: Falling crypto asset prices had put the deal on many deathwatch lists. The two companies had tried to keep the deal going earlier this year, with Bitgo shareholders getting more stock as part of the renegotiated agreement. It didn't work.
Driving the news: Galaxy Digital — an institution-focused crypto management company founded by Mike Novogratz — said it terminated its agreement with Bitgo on Monday.
- According to Galaxy Digital, Bitgo had failed to produce audited 2021 financial statements in a timely manner.
- Galaxy Digital, therefore, will not have to pay a termination fee, the company said. Previously, Galaxy Digital would've had to pay about $100 million if the deal did not close by this year.
Bitgo has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Context: The deal had been struck when Galaxy Digital's stock was worth 77% more than it is today.
- In recent months, beyond its losses, Galaxy Digital has also faced headline risk from its exposure to the collapses of the Terra stablecoin ecosystem and Three Arrows.
- Today's news is a stark reminder that many 2021 deals remain on thin ice. Toro, a crypto and stock trading platform, also abandoned its SPAC merger earlier this year.
Of note: The deal would've added some 300 employees to Galaxy Digital, with the companies billing the marriage as a way to offer additional services to its institutional clients. | https://www.axios.com/pro/fintech-deals/2022/08/15/galaxy-digital-bitgo-deal-12billion-terminate-novogratz | 2022-08-15T16:01:18Z | axios.com | control | https://www.axios.com/pro/fintech-deals/2022/08/15/galaxy-digital-bitgo-deal-12billion-terminate-novogratz | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Kargo eyes connected TV and video tech for future acquisitions
As more brands master mobile, New York-based online ad exchange Kargo has pursued acquisitions to expand its capabilities within and beyond the platform, CEO Harry Kargman tells Axios.
Why it matters: Kargo has acquired four companies since 2020 (not including informally acqui-hiring Uber's Routematch team) and has eyes on connected TV and other video tech businesses.
- "I haven't made a CTV announcement yet," Kargman says when asked about future deals. "I think what we're doing with video is super interesting, and that's gonna have a major impact to the business."
State of play: These acquisitions have stemmed from Kargo's customers asking for "diversified, cross-screen scaled players" as they try to reduce their number of vendors, Kargman says.
- August 2020: Rhombus, New York-based social embed ad tech
- October 2021: StitcherAds, social commerce ad platform, based in Waterford, Ireland, with a large presence in Austin, Texas. (Kargo has about 50 engineers in Waterford after bringing on Uber's Routematch team of 15, too.)
- March 2022: Parsec Media, New York-based platform for selling media using attention metrics
- August 2022: Ziggeo, New York-based online video player
By the numbers: Kargo turns 20 in January. It has about 400 employees, up from 220 in January 2021. The majority of that growth comes from the acquisitions — in particular, 135 employees from StitcherAds.
- Kargo has not disclosed the price of individual acquisitions, except $64 million for StitcherAds. Adweek reported all four deals cost $75 million in cash and equity upfront, which does not include Ziggeo's full price based on performance.
- Kargman says he evaluates his company's success based on net revenue, which surpassed $100 million last year. That figure grew 45% from 2020 to 2021 and is on track to grow 40% from 2021 to 2022.
- But Kargo also has a goal of reaching $1 billion of total media pumped through its systems within the next couple of years, Kargman says.
Of note: Kargman told the Wall Street Journal last year about potential plans to go public "over the next few years." But there's no updated timeline. | https://www.axios.com/pro/media-deals/2022/08/15/kargo-acquisitions-advertising | 2022-08-15T16:01:33Z | axios.com | control | https://www.axios.com/pro/media-deals/2022/08/15/kargo-acquisitions-advertising | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
NEW YORK, Aug. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Purcell & Lefkowitz LLP, a class action law firm dedicated to representing shareholders nationwide, is investigating a potential breach of fiduciary duty claim involving the board of directors of FAT Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: FAT).
If you are a shareholder of FAT Brands Inc. and are interested in obtaining additional information regarding this investigation, free of charge, please visit us at:
You may also contact Robert H. Lefkowitz, Esq. either via email at rl@pjlfirm.com or by telephone at 212-725-1000. One of our attorneys will personally speak with you about the case at no cost or obligation.
Purcell & Lefkowitz LLP is a law firm exclusively committed to representing shareholders nationwide who are victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty and other types of corporate misconduct. For more information about the firm and its attorneys, please visit http://pjlfirm.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
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SOURCE Purcell & Lefkowitz LLP | https://www.wbko.com/prnewswire/2022/08/15/shareholder-alert-purcell-amp-lefkowitz-llp-is-investigating-fat-brands-inc-potential-breaches-fiduciary-duty-by-its-board-directors/ | 2022-08-15T16:02:45Z | wbko.com | control | https://www.wbko.com/prnewswire/2022/08/15/shareholder-alert-purcell-amp-lefkowitz-llp-is-investigating-fat-brands-inc-potential-breaches-fiduciary-duty-by-its-board-directors/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
NEW YORK, Aug. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- InvestorsObserver issues critical PriceWatch Alerts for TTOO, MULN, PLUG, TLRY, and LI.
To see how InvestorsObserver's proprietary scoring system rates these stocks, view the InvestorsObserver's PriceWatch Alert by selecting the corresponding link.
- TTOO: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-stocks-lp-2/?symbol=TTOO&prnumber=081520225
- MULN: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-stocks-lp-2/?symbol=MULN&prnumber=081520225
- PLUG: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-stocks-lp-2/?symbol=PLUG&prnumber=081520225
- TLRY: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-stocks-lp-2/?symbol=TLRY&prnumber=081520225
- LI: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-stocks-lp-2/?symbol=LI&prnumber=081520225
(Note: You may have to copy this link into your browser then press the [ENTER] key.)
InvestorsObserver's PriceWatch Alerts are based on our proprietary scoring methodology. Each stock is evaluated based on short-term technical, long-term technical and fundamental factors. Each of those scores is then combined into an overall score that determines a stock's overall suitability for investment.
InvestorsObserver provides patented technology to some of the biggest names on Wall Street and creates world-class investing tools for the self-directed investor on Main Street. We have a wide range of tools to help investors make smarter decisions when investing in stocks or options.
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SOURCE InvestorsObserver | https://www.wbko.com/prnewswire/2022/08/15/thinking-about-buying-stock-t2-biosystems-mullen-automotive-plug-power-tilray-or-li-auto/ | 2022-08-15T16:03:05Z | wbko.com | control | https://www.wbko.com/prnewswire/2022/08/15/thinking-about-buying-stock-t2-biosystems-mullen-automotive-plug-power-tilray-or-li-auto/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
NEW YORK, Aug. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- InvestorsObserver issues critical PriceWatch Alerts for TISI, NVTA, FCEL, EMBK, and RIVN.
To see how InvestorsObserver's proprietary scoring system rates these stocks, view the InvestorsObserver's PriceWatch Alert by selecting the corresponding link.
- TISI: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-stocks-lp-2/?symbol=TISI&prnumber=081520226
- NVTA: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-stocks-lp-2/?symbol=NVTA&prnumber=081520226
- FCEL: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-stocks-lp-2/?symbol=FCEL&prnumber=081520226
- EMBK: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-stocks-lp-2/?symbol=EMBK&prnumber=081520226
- RIVN: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-stocks-lp-2/?symbol=RIVN&prnumber=081520226
(Note: You may have to copy this link into your browser then press the [ENTER] key.)
InvestorsObserver's PriceWatch Alerts are based on our proprietary scoring methodology. Each stock is evaluated based on short-term technical, long-term technical and fundamental factors. Each of those scores is then combined into an overall score that determines a stock's overall suitability for investment.
InvestorsObserver provides patented technology to some of the biggest names on Wall Street and creates world-class investing tools for the self-directed investor on Main Street. We have a wide range of tools to help investors make smarter decisions when investing in stocks or options.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE InvestorsObserver | https://www.wbko.com/prnewswire/2022/08/15/thinking-about-buying-stock-team-invitae-fuelcell-energy-embark-technology-or-rivian-automotive/ | 2022-08-15T16:03:11Z | wbko.com | control | https://www.wbko.com/prnewswire/2022/08/15/thinking-about-buying-stock-team-invitae-fuelcell-energy-embark-technology-or-rivian-automotive/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Asian hip-hop, pop and R&B media company and arts collective 88rising is bringing the fourth installment of its Head in the Clouds Music & Arts Festival to Brookside at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena Aug. 20-21.
While the music lineup includes performances by Jackson Wang, Niki, Rich Brian, Bibi, Jay Park, Chung Ha and about two dozen other acts, the cuisine served up at the festival has also become a major draw thanks to the 626 Night Market.
“You’re going to be well fed, you don’t have to worry about that,” 626 Night Market marketing director Jennifer Sanchez said during a recent phone interview.
626 Night Market made its debut in Old Town Pasadena in 2012. It’s modeled after the open-air night markets in Asia and features a varying lineup of vendors including all-star local chefs, entrepreneurs and artists. The flagship market includes about 250 vendors and is now held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia. The market also has events at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton and recently added a mini night market in Santa Monica.
For Head in the Clouds, the market is bringing in a dozen of its most popular food booths. Even for those with the biggest appetites, it might be impossible to sample items from each spot, so Sanchez shared her five must-try menu items for those attending the festival.
All Dat Dim Sum
It’s all about dim sum, the delicious little dumplings that can be devoured in a couple of bites. They’re filling, tasty and easy to handle, so a perfect festival food. For Sanchez, the go-to dim sum is a dish called “Kevin’s Creation,” which is beef bulgogi dumplings in house oil and chili sauce.
“It’s just drenched in chili sauce and just so good,” she said. With all that chili sauce, topped with green onions and sesame seeds, this dish almost resembles dim sum soup, so be ready to slurp from the bowl once you’re done with the dumplings.
Tao’s Bao
Bao buns are steamed, fluffy balls of goodness that can be stuffed with just about anything. Tao’s Bao serves up pork belly buns with options like miso and kimchi.
“These are gourmet buns you’re getting,” said Sanchez, who recommends the miso pork belly. “They put an orange miso sauce on top and then they sprinkle it with seaweed and it has cucumber in it as well. That’s what I always get.”
Tokyo Yakisoba
These fried Japanese noodles are street food royalty. At the festival, Tokyo Yakisoba will be the king of this ubiquitous dish. Noodle dish options include beef, broccoli, omelet-style and vegan. You’ll get quite the show when you order, too.
“You go there and they’re throwing up the noodles, they’re frying the eggs and slipping it on top,” Sanchez described. “Obviously it tastes amazing, the presentation is fantastic and it’s always a fun dish to eat.”
And the flavor?
“It’s a little sweet, it’s definitely savory and the noodles are just very chewy,” she said. “Typically with noodles, they can feel heavy and this one doesn’t feel that way to me. You can eat it over and over again.”
Bobaful
Boba is a hot commodity. The sweet milky tea made with chewy tapioca balls has become one of the hottest summer drinks and festival goers can get their fill at Bobaful. Sanchez’s personal pick is the coconut purple rice drink, which is made with rice bits instead of tapioca balls.
“I think the purple rice at the bottom of the drink really gives it a good chew,” she said.
Chimmelier
Korean fried chicken sandwiches have been all up in the feathers of Nashville hot chicken joints lately and at the fest, you’re going to want to bite into anything on the Chimmelier menu. There are a lot of fried chicken options out there, but Sanchez said Chimmelier stands out for its combination of perfectly crunchy, yet tender chicken served between toasted sesame buns.
“They also have the pickled slaw,” she said. “It’s very good festival food.”
Other vendors coming to the 626 Night Market at Head in the Clouds include: Baozza with its pizza stuffed bao; Shake Ramen offering a wide variety of flavors; Chick N Skin with its low carb skins served plain or for dipping or nacho-style; Flavor Fusions Cafe mixing tropical fruit drinks in Instagram-worthy buckets; Luckyball Korean BBQ with squid, chicken, beef or pork skewers; Takoyaki Tanota will serve its battered octopus with a variety of toppings; and Waffleland will bring its sweet and savory chocolate, coconut, mochi, original and sesame and seaweed waffles, teas and ice cream.
Head in the Clouds Festival
When: 2-11 p.m. Aug. 20; 2-10 p.m. Aug. 21
Where: Brookside at the Rose Bowl, 1133 Rosemont Ave., Pasadena
Tickets: $275 two-day general admission; $425 two-day VIP admission; $750 two-day South Bay Surf Club VIP admission; Parking is $50-$100. All passes are available at la.hitcfestival.com.
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The last time Allen Ma came to KCON he was a fan, a teenager from Hacienda Heights in a crowd of 50,000 there to see bands such as Twice and Seventeen at the annual celebration of Korean pop music and culture in downtown Los Angeles.
Now he’s on the other side of the stage, a rapper, singer and dancer in the K-pop boy band Cravity, which is one of the bigger names who’ll play for tens of thousands in Crypto.com Arena on Saturday, Aug. 20, the second of three days at KCON LA this year.
“KCON LA has always been a stage I wanted to stand on,” Allen says on a video call from South Korea with Jungmo, the stage name of Koo Jung Mo, another of the nine young men in the band. “Ever since I attended KCON LA back in 2018 as a guest, as an audience member.
“So I feel like it’d be super-surreal to be standing in what was once called Staples Center and performing,” he says. “The stage, you know, is 360 degrees. There’s going to be fans all around surrounding us.
“My family – my brother, my mother – is going to be there. My friends from high school are going to be there. I’m just super-excited and can’t wait to rock that stage.”
Cravity – the name is a portmanteau of creativity and gravity – is one of the latest K-pop acts from Starship Entertainment, whose best-known act is the boy band Monsta X, which debuted in 2015 with performances that included a stop by KCON LA.
Cravity debuted in April 2020, quickly finding success with K-pop fans. It was the fifth-fastest Korean group to enter the Billboard Social 50, peaking at No. 12 on the chart that measures fan passions and engagement on social media. The group also earned best new artist type awards at a handful of Korean music awards.
Songs such as “Break All The Rules,” “My Turn,” and “Adrenaline” connected with fans; Cravity was success, but because of the pandemic, it was experienced in a weird kind of virtual limbo.
“Debuting in the pandemic is a little bit different than I thought and dreamed,” Jungmo says, saying he’d imagined seeing cheering fans but it was not to be. “There was just cameras, no fans.”
KCON LA, Cravity’s second live performance in the U.S. after KCON Chicago in May, will change that, and the six-city KCON tour that follows the L.A. show, and the release of “Boogie Woogie,” the first English-language single by Cravity, will finally make their delayed dreams real.
So Cal to Seoul
It’s not completely unusual for a K-pop band to have members from Southern California. Tiffany Young of Girls’ Generation grew up in Cerritos, as did Jae Park, who goes simply as Jae, of the band Day6.
For Allen, who is Taiwanese American, it was a dream since childhood.
“It’s crazy because I’ve had quite a long journey myself from being a little kid aspiring to be a K-pop star in Hacienda Heights to actually flying across the ocean and receiving all this training, and actually making my debut as an idol.”
A brief primer on K-pop band terminology before we continue: Before a band goes public, its members are known as trainees. Once they have an official debut they are known as idols. New bands are known as rookies or juniors. More established bands, like BTS or Monsta X, are known as seniors.
And bands’ fandoms all get their own fandom names. BTS fans are famously known as Army. Twice’s fandom is called Once. For Cravity, the fans are collectively known as Luvity.
Back to Allen’s story: His goal identified, Allen went online to find K-pop companies holding auditions in Southern California near the end of high school.
“I signed up for one of them and luck was on my side and I happened to make it,” he says. “I guess the company saw something in me.”
Jungmo’s path into Cravity started another way. A casting agent spotted him on the street, walking home from high school, liked his K-pop-ready looks and invited him to try out.
“My friends and family were fully supportive of this move,” Allen says. “They were really happy and proud of me, and so thanks to their support, their undying love and support, I believe that’s how I was able to come so far.”
Not that it was easy at first.
Training camp
Allen went through training to become a performer for four years before he and Cravity debuted publicly in April 2020.
“Training is actually a very necessary process and very important as well,” he says. “What you see now from our performances and our songs is the result of all the hard work and dedication we put in during our training days.
“We would spend almost the whole day just – I wouldn’t say locked up – just stuck in practice rooms,” Allen says, laughing. “We kind of had to figure out what to do with that time, whether we cover a song or copy a dance, learn a few dance moves.”
Starship Entertainment provided lessons with coaches and teachers to help the nine guys improve whatever skills they needed to strengthen, he and Jungmo say. Dance lessons for some, rapping and singing for others.
“Since I came from the States, I had to take Korean lessons as well, with a teacher one on one,” Allen says.
“Dancing was hard for me the first time, so I practiced dancing,” Jungmo says.
“Yeah, because Jungmo, he got cast on the streets with good looks,” Allen says. “He came into the company not knowing how to do anything as compared with other members who might have come from other companies, or who might have attended dance academies.”
Allen says outside of Korean language classes his most challenging work involved improvements to his singing, especially the Korean ballads they’d sing at their monthly company evaluations.
“That kind of vibe, coming from the States I couldn’t really emulate it as well,” he says. “I had a pretty hard time practicing singing Korean ballads.”
Jungmo, who sang and played guitar in school bands from elementary to high school, says the singing was easy. Everything else, not so much.
“I didn’t enjoy learning the hard things because obviously it’s not really fun to learn those kinds of things,” he says, shifting from English learned during part of his childhood spent in New Zealand to Korean interpreted by a translator on the call.
A pandemic debut
The debut of Cravity during the pandemic was, as Jungmo earlier noted, unfortunate.
“We all were just … there was a bunch of emotions,” Allen says. “We’re just making our debut when we’re coming out into the world, so we’re full of hope, we’re full of excitement. There’s nerves as well, kind of the fear of the big future.
“And then we got this pandemic situation going on, so that kind of like brought anger or frustration,” he says, recalling the early days as chaotic. “I don’t actually remember much of it.
“I just remember being so excited to finally come out of the training dungeon,” he says, laughing.
Earlier this year, some of that he and the rest of the band had hoped to experience finally began. Cravity traveled to New York City for publicity events and played their first U.S. show at KCON Chicago.
“Oh man, after being able to experience what a performer should actually experience, I just feel like things like this will never ever happen again,” Allen says. “I feel like through this pandemic situation we shouldn’t take for granted just how amazing our fans are and how much strength they provide us with while performing on stage.”
For Jungmo, too, Chicago is now indelible memory.
“During the performance, there was a segment when the members went to the audience down the stage,” he says, speaking through the translator. “Because I was right in the middle of the audience, I could feel their screams, their chants.
“That experience is like a different level for me.”
The K-pop generation
Allen is 23, Jungmo a year younger, making them both of the generation in which K-pop took off, a musical supernova that touched fans far beyond its traditional scene in South Korea and other Asian nations.
For casual onlookers, it might seem that BTS has done this alone, but Allen and Jungmo, and dedicated K-pop fans, know this recent history of Western success stretches back well over a decade now.
“Ever since YouTube or other streaming platforms became very large, widely used, I think that was the big moment when K-pop could finally be enjoyed by a lot of fans around the world,” Jungmo says. “Our seniors, Monsta X and also BTS, they did such a great job in paving the way for other junior groups to make their way into the U.S.”
As a boy growing up in Southern California, Allen says he was exposed through the diverse Asian American communities to early K-pop acts such as Big Bang, Wonder Girls, and Girls’ Generation more than a decade ago.
“And as a little boy growing up during middle school, high school, you know, we just want to be cool,” Allen says. “We want to do something that will attract the ladies.”
Big Bang member Taeyang’s 2009 solo single “Wedding Dress” was a big hit then, and Allen says he and his friends practiced its dance moves, which led to more hip-hop dancing and more interest in the music that inspired them.
“And then I guess what really popped everything, like what really blew everything off was ‘Gangnam Style’ in 2012, he says of the inescapable crossover hit by the K-pop star Psy. “That really put K-pop on the radar around the world.
“But also, with K-pop music itself, I feel like just the emotion that’s within the music kind of breaks that barrier of language, and it communicates straight to the heart, to the listener’s emotions,” Allen says.
“No matter if you understand the Korean language, whatever message, whatever emotions that the artist wants to convey in the music, it will be communicated.”
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In January, a record 109 ships awaited entry into the combined ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, often stretching to south Orange County.
It marked a peak in the supply chain congestion that has bedeviled the nation’s two busiest ports during much of the pandemic.
On Thursday, Aug. 11, that number stood at nine ships.
“Just amazing” Port of L.A. Executive Director Gene Seroka said about the decline.
“We’ve reduced the number of anchored ships by 90-some percent,” Seroka said in a recent phone interview, “while still moving record amounts of cargo in the first six months of this year.”
Among the most impactful tools the ports are now utilizing are sophisticated digital data trackers that give the seaports invaluable information on what ships are headed their way, how much cargo they’re bringing in and when they will arrive.
“We’re a lot smarter than we were a year ago,” Seroka said, adding that collaboration has seen a big boost throughout the supply chain as solutions are explored.
“I feel really good about where we are compared to last October,” Seroka said, adding that while he knew the digital tracking would make big improvements, he didn’t know how much or “how detailed it could get.”
But the supply chain is far from fixed.
While a nationwide push to shore up the supply chain’s vulnerabilities — a push that’s included the White House, the ports and labor unions, to name a few — has made strides, a new wrinkle looms.
And wrinkles can spread fast.
A buildup of cargo being handled by the nation’s major rail carriers has pushed up the ports’ terminal dwell times. The rail carriers, officials have said, are dealing with a lack of equipment and workers, which the train companies have also acknowledged.
But how critical the rail problems are for the supply chain in general and efforts by the L.A. and Long Beach ports to reduce their cargo backlog doesn’t appear to be settled.
“It does affect” the supply chain, Seroka said of the rail situation, “but it’s not putting us in dire straits and we’re not in gridlock.”
Others, however, see potential trouble on the way.
“The current state of freight rail is not great,” said Marty Oberman, chairman of the Surface Transportation Board, which regulates disputes involving railroad rates, mergers and other matters.
Oberman was among several speakers at a virtual U.S. Freight and Railroad Worker Town Hall meeting on Friday, Aug. 12.
Rail workers, who are embroiled in a union contract negotiation that’s gone on for three years and has brought concerns about a potential strike, said during the town hall their employers laid much of the groundwork for the problems themselves by laying off some 45,000 people during the coronavirus pandemic.
A good number of those workers never returned and the challenge of training new hires quickly has proven difficult. A lack of equipment, such as locomotives and chassis, has also caused problems, those who spoke at the town hall said.
Officials for the two biggest rail carriers operating out of the L.A. and Long Beach ports said their companies are working to hire more employees and add equipment. But one of those officials, in a statement, also appeared to shift responsibility for supply chain issues overall onto other aspects of that nuanced-and-complex logistics network.
Another problem raised during the hourlong town hall discussion, meanwhile, was the trend toward longer trains posing challenges for maintenance and schedules.
“The railroads cannot even provide us with a schedule of arriving trains into the port,” said town hall participant Ramon Ponce De Leon, coast committeeman for the longshore union. “There are longer wait times being passed on to consumers and we’ve had a record number of cargo sitting on the docks. This is totally unacceptable.”
Many of the workers blamed the Precision Scheduled Railroading system, or PSR, which is used by Union Pacific Railroad but not by Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway, more commonly known as BNSF.
The idea is aimed at simplifying routing networks, but the system has drawn criticism from rail workers and shippers.
“PSR isn’t working,” said Vince Verna, vice president and national representative for The Brotherhood of Locomotives and Trainmen in the Teamsters. “We’ve really seen and heard things going downhill with the adoption of the new business model, the discontent started in 2015. Precision Scheduled Railroading is neither precise nor scheduled; it’s created a very chaotic and ineffective way of doing business.”
Critics say the platform, introduced before the pandemic, took rail companies away from customer service priorities to a focus on profits.
“This is going to require long-term solutions,” said Greg Regan, president of Transportation Trades in the AFL-CIO who moderated the virtual town hall. “There’s not going to be quick fixes.”
Robynn Tysver, a spokeswoman for Union Pacific Railroad, said that company is working hard to add employees and equipment as it tackles the supply chain challenges.
“Railroads are just one piece of the supply chain,” she said in an email, “the middle miles between ocean carriers and shippers and truck drivers and warehouses — that control the critical ‘first and last miles.’
“(Union Pacific) takes its responsibility as a major part of the global supply chain seriously, and we’ve taken many steps to improve fluidity, such as adding employees and locomotives,” Tysver added. “The 1,400 train crew employees we are on track to hire this year will help us continue to meet current demand, as well as what we are projecting over the next 12-24 months.”
Mario Cordero, executive director of the Port of Long Beach, concurred with Seroka that “terminals and dockworkers have made tremendous progress in bringing down the San Pedro Bay ship queue to just nine container ships this week, after being above 100 in January.”
Still, while truck cargo is moving much faster, rail cargo is now languishing, staying on the docks for at least nine days in many cases, port officials said.
Lingering containers have been a problem at the ports since the second half of 2020, when cargo initially surged. To help reduce aging cargo on the docks, the ports in late October introduced a 90-day pilot program to charge ocean carriers for containers that sit on marine terminals for at least nine days. Despite the program still existing — after being extended three times so far — the fee has not yet gone into effect.
Rather, the ports have delayed the fee every week since its inception — in late July, officials announced a four-week delay, the first time they’ve done so — citing as the reason voluntary progress by ocean carriers in reducing the backlog.
The ports made significant progress in decreasing aging cargo early on, but in recent months the decline has often stagnated and sometimes worsened, largely becayse of the rail delays and backups.
That is perhaps one reason the fee hasn’t gone into effect, even as efforts to reduce lingering cargo has plateaued: The main sources of lingering cargo, Seroka said last week, are now the rail delays — rather than ocean carriers.
That ongoing challenge also has a ripple effect across the nation.
Rail depots in the nation’s interior — Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta, San Antonio, Houston and other points, Seroka said, are looking like the ports did a year ago.
“Importers are not picking up their cargo fast enough,” he said.
And as those depots become chokepoints, the speed with which rail cargo gets moved off of port terminals has slowed as well, he said.
Cordero, for his part, expressed optimism that the situation is improving.
“While the rail sector continues to face some challenges,” Cordero said in a written statement, “we are moving more and more long-dwelling containers out of our terminals again and we see an outlook of progress amid continued high volumes of cargo movement.”
The Long Beach port also has pushed forward on a number of on-dock rail infrastructure projects in its capital improvements program, with the goal of having train-bound cargo eclipse containers leaving via trucks.
But the rail industry is facing its own headwinds.
BNSF Executive Director of Public Affairs Lena Kent said that company is executing “a service recovery plan to generate improved performance on our network.”
The plan, she said, includes deploying additional resources, including locomotives and crew personnel.
“BNSF has recently deployed 75 additional locomotives into our active fleet to reduce the number of trains being held,” she said, adding that the numbers are evaluated and adjusted as needed.
A major challenge for the supply chain at large has been a lack of chassis availability at inland locations, Kent said, “where street-turn times are again spiking up and depleting the assets that are needed to unload trains at our inland hubs.”
“Chassis cycle times are impacting the availability of those assets to unload trains,” she added, “and, consequently, we are having to limit the loading of volume at ports.”
BNSF is moving to mitigate some of those issues, Kent said, by working with operators and ocean carriers at an intermodal hub in Illinois to place longer-dwelling containers at off-site yards. That was a strategy the ports employed last year during the height of their backlog.
That, Kent said, “allows us to move longer dwelling units away from the production area and off much needed chassis, ultimately increasing our unloading potential.”
Union Pacific, according to a company article, has worked with the twin ports in the San Pedro Bay to move toward 24/7 operations and has collaborated specifically with the Port of Long Beach and the Utah Inland Port Authority to ship containers to Salt Lake City in an effort to further reduce congestion at West Coast ports.
The L.A.-Long Beach ports, meanwhile, continue moving cargo at record numbers — and are now doing so faster, officials said.
But they are still keeping a close eye on the rail situation, officials said, including the contract bargaining process. In mid-June, the union declined arbitration and entered a 30-day “cooling off” period, according to the National Railway Labor Conference website. After that period ended, President Joe Biden established a Presidential Emergency Board to help the parties settle their dispute.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which represents dockworkers in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, has issued a declaration of solidarity with the rail employees.
Port officials, though, said they feel good about the progress that’s been made and where things stand, despite more work needing to be done.
“Right now, everybody’s pulling in the same direction,” Seroka said. “These relationships (with other ports and stakeholders) go back decades and we’re all trying to help each other to squeeze out every ounce of efficiency we can.”
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When Martha Plimpton read the script for the first episode of “Sprung,” Greg Garcia’s new comedy, it described Barb, the quirky and outspoken matriarch of a fledgling crime family, as “a Martha Plimpton type.”
In other words, a role Plimpton seemed literally born to play. Plimpton was not supposed to be available for “Sprung,” but her previous series, “Generations” had just been canceled. And so, the Emmy-winning (and Tony-nominated) actress was able to reunite with Garcia and Garret Dillahunt, who she co-starred with on Garcia’s “Raising Hope.”
“Sprung,” which premieres on Freevee, August 19th, finds its comedy in its characters and in the desperate circumstances of the 2020 lockdown. Three criminals are sprung from prison due to the coronavirus pandemic. Jack (Dillahunt) had been in prison for more than a quarter-century for selling weed because of mandatory minimums; he wants to keep his nose clean but has nowhere to go except for the home of his cellmate, Rooster (Phillip Garcia), a perpetually hopeful romantic who’s also a mama’s boy and a dim bulb. Tagging along is Gloria (Shakira Barrera), a savvy con woman and thief, who is game for the big score but also open to Jack’s ideas about doing good.
They all end up living with Rooster’s mom, Barb, who is constantly scheming for the next play, whether it’s snatching all the packages being delivered to her neighbors, stealing toilet paper from Melvin, the local black market dealer, or filching Q-tips from an ad-hoc (and fraudulent) Covid testing facility.
Barb, who is not quite as smart as she thinks, can be loud and bossy but also can be lonely and generous and Plimpton, who has homes in Brooklyn and London, spoke recently by video from England about bringing her to life and about her own lockdown experiences. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Q. When you’re snorting cocaine or having an intense private moment with a Q-Tip in your ear, do you try to play them big or do you worry about caricature?
I do go big and I will go totally overboard because I can always count on Greg to say, “Can you do it a little smaller” or “That was great but a little less volume.” I trust him implicitly. I love that I can do that and Greg’s not going to be horrified or cut my lines.
It was thrilling to get in there and go balls to the wall. Experience teaches you not to be afraid and it comes with confidence, but it’s also the virtue of working with people you love and trust and know are really smart.
Q. Is it challenging to play someone you are smarter, or at least more worldly, than?
I don’t know about smarter. But Greg doesn’t place judgment on regular, ordinary — and weird — people, who sometimes do dumb things. Everything gets put through a filter of guilelessness and decency so we can enjoy their foibles and weirdnesses.
Q. Was it strange making a comedy about the most traumatic period in living memory?
Greg Garcia considers himself a jester. He likes to take the true things about life and make them funny so people can have a laugh for a minute. But his comedy connects to what is real and is really good at its heart.
My hope is that the show gives people something familiar that they can laugh along with without diminishing the seriousness of what happened.
Q. The show brings back memories of all the shortages and the reliance on deliveries. Did you run out of toilet paper?
I had already started having toilet paper delivered from a company that makes toilet paper out of bamboo so I was one of the lucky ones who had plenty of toilet paper.
I didn’t do too much delivery stuff. Fresh Direct was totally overbooked and when it came the produce was terrible, so I bit the bullet and every three weeks I’d put on my mask and gloves and went to the market and did my shopping. I bought a month’s worth of meat for the freezer in my basement.
It was very much Armageddon times. I was stockpiling lip balm. I considered buying a donkey or an inflatable raft for emergency transportation.
So I think everyone can relate to the show when in those first few months no one knew what was happening and the rules kept changing and it was terrifying.
Q. How did you adapt during the lockdown?
I’d been in New York for my mother’s birthday and was on my way back to London. I didn’t want to get stuck in England because I had a job coming up here, so I turned the car around and went back to Brooklyn.
At first, I was really morbidly depressed. It was rainy and cold so I couldn’t work in my garden. Then I decided I had to do something.
Come here, Walter. [A dog climbs into her lap.] So I adopted these two dogs, Walter and Jimmy Jazz. They totally saved my life. Then I started gardening and then I did something really nuts – I organized my basement. I made it into a real workspace. I ordered a workbench and work desk and hung pegboards and put up all my tools and made a hardware wonderland. I organized all my nails and my screws and drill bits. I got really into home improvement. I took charge of my domestic life.
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High school football top 30 rankings for teams in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star-News and Whittier Daily News coverage areas.
1. Bishop Amat (0-0)
Amat junior Richie Munoz, who was a Mission League first-team defensive standout last season, is expected to take over at quarterback. With RB Aiden Ramos and Stacy Bey in the backfield at times, Amat is as strong as ever up front.
Next: vs. Valencia, Thursday, 7 p.m.
2. Damien (0-0)
The Spartans won three games last year, but all three teams it beat advanced to CIF-SS championship games. There are questions about depth, and schedule is tough. But don’t count on coach Matt Bechtel having another losing season.
Next: vs. Yorba Linda, Friday, 7 p.m.
3. St. Francis (0-0)
Watch for Texas transfer Devyn Turner to have a major impact right away and 6-foot-4 quarterback Jack Jacobs returns after leading them to the Division 4 finals a year ago. On paper, they look ever better than last year.
Next: vs. West Ranch at Valencia HS, 7 p.m.
4. Pasadena (0-0)
The Bulldogs added several transfers from last year’s Division 7 semifinals team, and one to watch is Chaminade transfer Indiana Wijay, a 6-foot-5 gunslinger. The Bulldogs’ schedule is tough, and not everyone is eligible right way, so early wins may be tough.
Next: vs. La Serna, Friday, 7 p.m.
5. Glendora (0-0)
The Tartans won their first 11 games before losing to Apple Valley in the second round of the CIF-SS Division 3 playoffs, and they have several key returners, most notably QB Jake Denerson and RB Zach Ford. Look for them to establish themselves as one of the area’s best once again.
Next: vs. Chino Hills at Citrus College, Thursday, 7 p.m.
6. Charter Oak (0-0)
When Richie Munoz transferred from La Salle to Charter Oak to play QB, it instantly captipulted the Chargers to one of the area’s best. With Zakkarii Black dominating in the backfield, the Chargers’ offense will be explosive again.
Next: vs. Northview Aug. 25 at Covina District Field
7. St. Paul (0-0)
The Swordsmen got a boost when quarterback Andrew Maushardt transferred from Servite to go with one of the area’s vest receivers in Aidan Bravo. And there are several more impact players back from a squad that shared the Angelus league title last year.
Next: At Vista, Friday, 7 p.m.
8. La Habra (0-0)
The Highlanders could end up being a top four ranked team by the end of the season. They had a miserable 0-5 start before going undefeated in the Freeway league. But don’t bet against senior QB Justin Gil, he will have the Highlanders ready to go.
Next: at Upland, Friday, 7 p.m.
9. La Serna (0-0)
The Lancers return after another solid season, reaching the Division 4 semifinals. With quarterback Jake Long and running back Owen Long back, that’s a huge start for a team that is always well coached under Andy George. They will get tested right away at PHS.
Next: at Pasadena, Friday, 7 p.m.
10. Monrovia (0-0)
The Wildcats return the area’s most explosive receiver and playmaker in Carlos Hernandez from a team that started 10-0 last season, but lost in the first round of the Division 6 playoffs. The Wildcats have improved their non-league schedule bigtime, so they will be tested often.
Next: at Bonita, Friday, 7 p.m.
THE NEXT 20 …
11. Bonita (0-0); 12. La Mirada (0-0), 13. Northview (0-0), 14. Muir (0-0), 15. Rio Hondo Prep (0-0), 16. San Dimas (0-0), 17. Covina (0-0), 18. West Covina, 19. Arroyo (0-0), 20. El Rancho (0-0), 21. Baldwin Park (0-0), 22. California (0-0), 23. Montebello (0-0), 24. Walnut (0-0), 25. Los Altos (0-0), 26. Diamond Ranch (0-0), 27. Diamond Bar (0-0), 28. Arcadia, 29. Pasadena Poly (0-0), 30. Alhambra
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WEEK 0 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
All games begin at 7 p.m., unless noted
Thursday’s games
Valencia at Bishop Amat
Chino Hills vs. Glendora at Citrus College
La Habra at Upland
Bellflower at Pioneer
Cantwell-Sacred Heart at Bassett
Whittier vs. Sonora at California HS
Friday’s games
Monrovia at Bonita
La Serna at Pasadena
Northview at Muir
La Mirada at El Toro
Yorba Linda at Damien
Alhambra vs. South El Monte at Moor Field
Arroyo at Kaiser
Baldwin Park at Montebello
Bosco Tech at Riverside Prep
Diamond Bar vs. Esperanza at Yorba Linda
Don Lugo at El Rancho
El Monte at Pomona
Gabrielino at Glendale
Garey at Walnut
Gladstone vs. Sierra Vista at Citrus College
Glenn at Rowland
Keppel at Hoover, 5 p.m.
La Canada at Rosemead
La Puente at Nogales
La Salle at Brentwood
La Sierra vs. Whittier Christian at Whittier College
Norwalk at San Marino
San Dimas at Fullerton
Schurr at California
South Hills at Diamond Ranch
Summit vs. Santa Fe at Pioneer
West Covina at Alta Loma
West Ranch vs. St. Francis at Valencia
Wilson at Los Altos
Workman at Bolsa Grande
Arcadia at Canyon Springs, North Las Vegas, 6 p.m.
Lincoln at South Pasadena
Pasadena Poly at Parker
St. Paul at Vista
Saturday’s game
Azusa vs. Mountain View at Citrus College
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Hollywood Boulevard will be closed between Gower Street and Argyle Avenue between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. today to accommodate the expected large crowd for the unveiling of the Hollywood Walk of Fame star honoring slain rapper Nipsey Hussle.
The ceremony will be at 11:30 a.m. at 6212 Hollywood Blvd., in front of Amoeba Music. Hussle’s longtime girlfriend, actress Lauren London, and Hussle’s sister, Samantha Smith, are set to speak at the ceremony. His grandmother Margaret Boutte will accept the star on behalf of Hussle’s family.
The ceremony comes on the 37th anniversary of Hussle’s birth. It will be streamed on the Walk of Fame’s website, www.walkoffame.com.
The star is the 2,729th star since the completion of the Walk of Fame in 1961 with the first 1,558 stars.
Born Ermias Joseph Asghedom on Aug. 15, 1985, Hussle transformed himself from a South Los Angeles gang member to a rap musician and channeled his success into efforts to help others stay out of gangs. He bought shoes for students, re-paved basketball courts and provided jobs and shelter for the homeless.
Hussle helped renovate a Mid-City roller rink and redeveloped the South Los Angeles strip mall that housed his The Marathon Clothing shop where he was shot and killed March 31, 2019.
After Hussle’s death, thousands of people were on hand in April 2019 for a service in his honor, with singer Stevie Wonder and rapper Snoop Dogg among those paying tribute to him.
In a letter that was read during the service, former President Barack Obama wrote, “While most folks look at the Crenshaw neighborhood where he grew up and see only gangs, bullets and despair, Nipsey saw potential. He saw hope. He saw a community that, even through its flaws, taught him to always keep going.”
The rapper-entrepreneur was posthumously honored with two Grammy Awards in 2020 for best rap performance for “Racks in the Middle” and for best rap/sung performance for “Higher.”
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Behind the Scenes at Copenhagen Fashion Week Spring 2023
Copenhagen Fashion Week—often regarded as the oddball second cousin of the more lavish, big-name European fashion weeks—is in the midst of a sea change. Each season, the city’s three-day presentations kick off the international shows. And year after year, the Danes are known for their approachable, safe, and sensible designs. For the spring 2023 season, however, Copenhagen flipped the script, with established labels like Ganni and Saks Potts—both brands known to send candy-colored, pattern-heavy looks down their respective runways—swerving in the opposite direction. At Saks Potts, the palette was a more muted range of earth tones with pops of red, pink, and blue. Glamorous gold touches gave off an air of disco—exactly the kind of thing Beyoncé might wear to her own Renaissance club. Ganni—much like the emerging brands A Roege Hove and The Garment, which also showed at CFW—shifted their attention to textiles, focusing on glamorous touches of sequin, cashmere, or suede here and there. And, true to its mission statement, every brand that showed kept its eye trained upon sustainability. This is Denmark, after all.
Below, photographer Luka Roné takes us behind the scenes at all the major shows from Copenhagen Fashion Week, giving an exclusive look at the pre-runway process—and, of course, the fashions. | https://www.wmagazine.com/fashion/copenhagen-fashion-week-backstage-photography-ganni-saks-potts-bts | 2022-08-15T16:14:42Z | wmagazine.com | control | https://www.wmagazine.com/fashion/copenhagen-fashion-week-backstage-photography-ganni-saks-potts-bts | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Jennifer Lopez Proves Princess Diana’s Bike Shorts Look is Still a Winner
Ben and Jennifor Lopez Affleck have touched down in NYC to celebrate Ben’s 50th birthday, and Lopez wasted no time upon her return to her hometown before she immediately got comfortable. On Sunday, the singer was seen out in midtown, doing her best Princess Diana impression in bike shorts as she went on a little shopping spree ahead of her new husband’s big day.
Lopez—who was joined by her newly-appointed stepdaughter, Violet—stayed cool during her excursion, modernizing the casual look made famous by Princess Di by trading in a sweatshirt for a crisp, white button down with oversized sleeves, which she balanced out with a pair of gray, thigh-skimming bike shorts. She then finished off her look with a pair of white, Off-White sneakers, aviator sunglasses, and—like Diana—a Gucci bag, though Lopez opted for the Attache shoulder bag instead of the tote named after the princess.
Missing from the outing was Affleck, possibly because the actor needed a break from the paparazzi. According to Page Six, Affleck “was a little freaked out in Paris” by the amount of attention they received. “This was a whole new level,” a source said, comparing it to, fittingly, Princess Diana’s level of fame. “Ben is used to the flashing lights, but he felt that the honeymoon was a tsunami,” the source said. “Jen’s made out of steel and knows it comes with the territory [but] he still gets pissed off.”
Of course, Affleck likely should have seen this coming. Back in 2003, the couple postponed (and never rescheduled) their initial wedding due to “excessive media attention.” They explained the situation in a statement at the time, saying, “When we found ourselves seriously contemplating hiring three separate ‘decoy brides’ at three different locations, we realized that something was awry.” Almost twenty years later, and they were finally able to seal the deal despite their still-immense fame, but when it comes to media attention if anything, it may have increased in that time.
Shop J. Lo’s modern Princess Di look:
We may receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article. | https://www.wmagazine.com/fashion/jennifer-lopez-princess-diana-bike-shorts-gucci-nyc | 2022-08-15T16:14:49Z | wmagazine.com | control | https://www.wmagazine.com/fashion/jennifer-lopez-princess-diana-bike-shorts-gucci-nyc | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Sydney Sweeney Throws It Back to 1981 Mugler Couture
With not one, but two chances for her first Emmy in the near future, it’s only natural for Sydney Sweeney to up her red carpet game. The 24-year-old actor—who is up for Outstanding Supporting Actress for her roles in The White Lotus and Euphoria—delivered her latest standout look a month ahead of the ceremony at the Hollywood Critics Association’s second annual TV Awards on Saturday. She threw it back to Mugler’s 1981 collection, selecting a puff-sleeved “Vampire” dress in dark green velvet with a belt cinched above its peplum waist.
“Syd really envisioned a vintage dress for this event,” Sweeney’s stylist, Molly Dickinson, wrote on Instagram. “And after lots of research we found this 1981 [Mugler] from [New York Vintage].” To add to the ‘80s vibe, they topped off the ensemble with a strand of pearls.
Mugler designs have been seemingly everywhere as of late. The Kardashian-Jenners have emerged as some of the late legend’s biggest fans, and performers like Megan Thee Stallion have transformed his bodysuits into a sort of pop star uniform. Many of the looks have come courtesy of the label’s current creative director, Casey Cadwallader, but Sweeney is hardly alone in digging deep into the archives. In fact, you may recognize this particular 41-year-old dress: Natalie Portman also chose it for the red carpet just last year, and Dua Lipa has also recently worn a version. With any luck, their career trajectories will overlap just as much as their fashion sense. | https://www.wmagazine.com/fashion/sydney-sweeney-vintage-mugler-dress | 2022-08-15T16:14:55Z | wmagazine.com | control | https://www.wmagazine.com/fashion/sydney-sweeney-vintage-mugler-dress | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Kollam: Even amid accusations that the developmental achievements during C Achutha Menon’s governance are being ignored, CPI state assistant secretary Prakash Babu’s book titled ‘C Achutha Menon – Keralathinde Vikasana Shilpi’ is all set to be released this week. The book reportedly holds the answers to the CPM and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on the legacy of the Achutha Menon Regime.
It is an answer even to CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran who often keeps mum while the Left Government is cornered over any alleged misgovernance.
It was inappropriate and ungrateful that those in responsible positions failed to mention Achutha Menon’s name during the golden jubilee event of the Science, Technology and Environment department founded by Achutha Menon, writes Prakash Babu.
Earlier, during the 50th anniversary of the implementation of the Land Reforms Act, CM Pinarayi Vijayan angered the CPI and Achutha Menon fans by not mentioning Achutha Menon’s name.
The book also states that Achutha Menon successfully led a united democratic coalition cabinet in a democratic system.
The book points out that large-scale development projects were carried out by the Government at a time when Congress was the main ally of the Government, without mentioning Congress.
Achutha Menon’s administrative achievements laid the foundation for Kerala’s comprehensive development. The CPM, which takes pride and raises claims about the EMS Government’s developmental milestones, may not be able to digest this contention.
Long before CM Pinarayi Vijayan presented the policy document on ‘Navakeralthinulla Vikasana Kazhchappadu’ (a developmental vision for new Kerala) at the CPM State conference, in 1956, Achutha Menon had presented a policy document titled ‘Aishwaryapoornavum Samridhavumaaya Keralam’ (A glorious and prosperous Kerala) in the then party conference, the book reminded. It also indicates that the then Opposition had acted adamantly as if it would not allow Achutha Menon to carry out the governance. CPM leader EMS was the then Opposition leader.
The book is to be released on August 16, on Achutha Menon’s death anniversary, right ahead of the CPI state conference, amid a looming contention between Kanam–Prakash Babu factions in the CPI.
Chelat Achutha Menon was the Chief Minister of Kerala from 1 November 1969 to 1 August 1970 and from 4 October 1970 to 25 March 1977. | https://www.onmanorama.com/news/kerala/2022/08/15/cpi-leaders-book-on-achutha-menon-has-answers-for-skeptics-cpm.amp.html | 2022-08-15T16:17:43Z | onmanorama.com | control | https://www.onmanorama.com/news/kerala/2022/08/15/cpi-leaders-book-on-achutha-menon-has-answers-for-skeptics-cpm.amp.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Wonder the meaning of ‘Freedom’? One can broadly infer the term as a situation allowing an individual to do what he/she likes or the rights they can legally enjoy.
Many lives around us are legally entitled to all the rights but are forced to confine themselves to the social boundaries set by mainstream society.
Lesbian lovers Adhila Nassrin and Fathima Noora were recently in the spotlight after breaking the shackles of all such social inhibitions and attaining the freedom to live a life of their choice.
When their family and society staunchly opposed their lesbian relationship and tried to separate them forcefully, the lesbian couple chose to wage a legal battle for their rights and won the freedom they yearned for.
In a landmark judgment, the Kerala High Court allowed the lesbian couple to reunite on May 31, 2022. The court issued the order on a habeas corpus petition filed by Adhila, seeking directions to the police to produce her partner, who had been forcefully taken away by the latter’s parents from her house.
Adhila fell in love with Noora while studying in Class 12 in Saudi Arabia. Both flew back to India and completed their degree studies here.
During the Covid period, Noorah’s parents took her to Saudi, and they came to know about their daughter's relationship.
Both girls' families opposed the relationship tooth and nail and tortured them mentally and physically. They even tried to find grooms for the lovers.
None of the hardships had any effect on their unconditional love. They decided to live together somewhere else after completing their studies.
Both succeeded in finding a job in Chennai. But their families were not ready to accept the relationship. Finally, the lovers fled their homes on May 19 and took shelter in a center being run for the welfare of the LGBTQIA+.
The cops interfered when their families came there, too, and created a ruckus.
Adhila’s relatives then took both the girls to their house at Muppathadam, Aluva. However, Noora's relatives soon reached there and took her along with them by force. Following this,
Adhila moved the High Court and obtained a favourable verdict. It's 75 days since the court allowed the lesbian couple to live together.
They live in Chennai and are employed by the same company. During the intervals amid their tight schedules with the IT company, Adhila and Noora reveal all about that in a free-flowing interview with ‘Manorama Online.'
While the Constitution guarantees the freedom to live with those we love, society won’t allow individuals to lead such a life. How did you tide over the hurdle?
Adhila: Nothing is above the Indian constitution. We can’t find self-satisfaction unless we live for ourselves.
Freedom will be a mirage in that case. ‘Freedom’ is not something that gets confined to books alone, nor is it just sharing posters on Independence Day.
The biggest question one faces will be whether they can attain that. For that, we alone should find an answer. That awareness gave us the courage to move forward with our life, opposing society and our families.
Did you have faith in the police and the State when you decided to live together?
Noora: Yes, we had faith in the police and the government. That’s why we decided to move forward. But we didn’t get any support from the police.
Often, they took our words as a joke and handled the whole issue too lightly. They took a bad approach when we went to submit a complaint. But we haven’t lost our faith in the polity.
Adhila: The police approach was to stand with the families and discourage us from lodging a case against them. That's why the issue, which could have been resolved in the police station itself, finally reached the court.
It was the police officials themselves who suggested the filing of a habeas corpus petition before the court. That’s how we approached a lawyer and filed the petition.
Ever felt you faced this much crisis since you are a woman, more than the fact that you are a lesbian?
Adhila: Yes, I don't think we won't be having any issues if we were men. But we had to suffer much more difficulties being women.
Our relatives told us numerous times that we won’t be able to live without men to protect us. They used to ask how long two girls could live together without the help of others.
We retorted that we have no issue with that and won't care what society or others think. We didn't attempt to hurt or injure anyone? If the girls have one or more relationships, then society views them as 'bad .'In the eyes of such people, women are only needed to give birth to young ones.
Noora: Because we are girls, we couldn't even go out of our houses without the permission of our parents. This even though ours were forward-looking families.
There was absolute freedom for the male members of our family, and they enjoyed all the privileges. During the three years of our degree course, we were not allowed to meet even once.
I had studied in a college in Kozhikode and Adhila in Ernakulam. We were not allowed to speak to each other on the phone at our home. We used to make the calls in colleges, that too once in a while.
Are you enjoying freedom now?
Noora: Definitely. We are happy now. We can live according to our likes.
Adhila: Knew very well that we could be independent only if we had jobs. That’s why we decided to live together after securing a job once we got a degree. Earning oneself is essential in securing our independence.
How do you define freedom in your relationship and how do you arrive at decisions?
Adhila: Freedom is not something to be granted. There needs to be the space to enjoy what is naturally available. Individually, both of us have it.
We can do what we feel is right. I don’t question Noora. She does something that she feels is right. That’s all. I also do the same. There haven’t been any issues so far. But when decisions go wrong, we point out to each other and accept the same.
Noora: It’s not that all decisions go right.
Adhila: Noora can sometimes foresee that certain decisions could go wrong. The actions that I have taken without heeding her advice have always gone wrong. We have taken decisions after mutual consultations. We have the freedom for that.
Though we are possessive, we don’t infringe on the freedom of each other. In normal husband-wife relations, the women usually meet the requirements of the men. But in a same-sex relationship, partners can better understand each other. We are sharing responsibilities, including the work at home.
Since the details about the case became public after the media published them, society identifies both of you. Has this come in the way of you enjoying your independence?
Noora: I haven't felt so. Systems, including in the office, are LGBTQ+ friendly.
We get a lot of support. Since revealing our identity, we get preference in several things. People are more supportive than we expected.
Adhila: We took the flat on rent without concealing we are partners. We haven't felt that being recognised in public is a hindrance to enjoying our freedom. Isn’t it a matter of happiness?
What is your opinion about the current situation in the country?
Adhila: Society has to change a lot to recognise people like us though we are celebrating the 75th year of Independence.
Several people are advising us on social media and outside even now. We face a lot of cyberbullying too. The main reason is the absence of sex education, among others.
There is a ban on using the word 'sex' in our homes. We hope things will change.
Currently, our decision is to continue in India. However, if we get opportunities to go abroad, we will think about that.
We can’t legally get married in India at present. If we get foreign citizenship, we will be able to do that. We haven't enquired so far which country is most friendly. We will be happy if such an environment evolves in India.
What are your expectations about India in the next 25 years?
Adhila: We are optimistic. My sister studying in Std VII is aware of our relationship. For her, I am a normal girl. I am happy witnessing such an outlook.
We expect a lot of changes, seeing an upcoming generation that recognises people like us in the world. We have trust in the future generation. Currently, sex education has been included in the syllabus to an extent. It should get more space.
There should be initiatives to give more awareness to the elders in this regard. We desire to initiate such steps on our own also.
Do your families support you now?
Adhila: After the court verdict, though they tried to contact us, we didn’t allow it. The psychological torment that we faced from our families is immense. We have decided to live together from now on. Yes, with freedom. | https://www.onmanorama.com/news/kerala/2022/08/15/fathima-noora-adila-nasreen-lesbian-couple-interview.html | 2022-08-15T16:18:03Z | onmanorama.com | control | https://www.onmanorama.com/news/kerala/2022/08/15/fathima-noora-adila-nasreen-lesbian-couple-interview.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Today’s best mortgage refinance deal? 15-year rates plunge half a point | August 15, 2022
Our goal here at Credible Operations, Inc., NMLS Number 1681276, referred to as "Credible" below, is to give you the tools and confidence you need to improve your finances. Although we do promote products from our partner lenders, all opinions are our own.
Check out the mortgage refinancing rates for August 15, 2022, which are down from last Friday. (Credible)
Based on data compiled by Credible, mortgage refinance rates have fallen across all terms since last Friday.
- 30-year fixed-rate refinance: 5.125%, down from 5.375%, -0.250
- 20-year fixed-rate refinance: 5.125%, down from 5.250%, -0.125
- 15-year fixed-rate refinance: 4.500%, down from 5.000%, -0.500
- 10-year fixed-rate refinance: 4.750%, down from 5.000%, -0.250
Rates last updated on August 15, 2022. These rates are based on the assumptions shown here.
If you’re thinking of doing a cash-out refinance or refinancing your home mortgage to lower your interest rate, consider using Credible. Credible's free online tool will let you compare rates from multiple mortgage lenders. You can see prequalified rates in as little as three minutes.
What this means: Mortgage refinance rates fell today, bringing 15- and 10-year rates back under the 5% mark. Homeowners looking to refinance may find 15-year rates the most appealing, as they’re the lowest available today at just 4.5%. Fifteen-year rates may offer the best opportunity for a lower interest rate and manageable monthly payment.
WHAT IS CASH-OUT REFINANCING AND HOW DOES IT WORK?
How mortgage rates have changed over time
Today’s mortgage interest rates are well below the highest annual average rate recorded by Freddie Mac — 16.63% in 1981. A year before the COVID-19 pandemic upended economies across the world, the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage for 2019 was 3.94%. The average rate for 2021 was 2.96%, the lowest annual average in 30 years.
The historic drop in interest rates means homeowners who have mortgages from 2019 and older could potentially realize significant interest savings by refinancing with one of today’s lower interest rates.
If you’re ready to take advantage of current mortgage refinance rates that are below average historical lows, you can use Credible to check rates from multiple lenders.
How to get your lowest mortgage refinance rate
If you’re interested in refinancing your mortgage, improving your credit score and paying down any other debt could secure you a lower rate. It’s also a good idea to compare rates from different lenders if you're hoping to refinance so you can find the best rate for your situation.
Borrowers can save $1,500 on average over the life of their loan by shopping for just one additional rate quote, and an average of $3,000 by comparing five rate quotes, according to research from Freddie Mac.
Be sure to shop around and compare current mortgage rates from multiple mortgage lenders if you decide to refinance your mortgage. You can do this easily with Credible's free online tool and see your prequalified rates in only three minutes.
How does Credible calculate refinance rates?
Changing economic conditions, central bank policy decisions, investor sentiment and other factors influence the movement of mortgage refinance rates. Credible average mortgage refinance rates reported in this article are calculated based on information provided by partner lenders who pay compensation to Credible.
The rates assume a borrower has a 740 credit score and is borrowing a conventional loan for a single-family home that will be their primary residence. The rates also assume no (or very low) discount points and a down payment of 20%.
Credible mortgage refinance rates reported here will only give you an idea of current average rates. The rate you receive can vary based on a number of factors.
Think it might be the right time to refinance? Be sure to shop around and compare rates with multiple mortgage lenders. You can do this easily with Credible and see your prequalified rates in only three minutes.
Is now a good time to refinance?
Everyone’s situation is different, but generally, it may be a good time to refinance if:
- You’ll be able to get a lower interest rate than you currently have.
- Refinancing will save you money over the life of your home loan.
- Your savings from refinancing will ultimately exceed closing costs.
- You know you’ll be staying in your home long enough to recoup the costs of refinancing.
- You have sufficient equity in your home to avoid private mortgage insurance (PMI).
If your home needs significant, costly repairs it might be a good time to refinance in order to withdraw some equity to pay for those repairs. Just be aware that lenders generally limit the amount you can take from your home in a cash-out refinance.
Have a finance-related question, but don't know who to ask? Email The Credible Money Expert at moneyexpert@credible.com and your question might be answered by Credible in our Money Expert column.
As a Credible authority on mortgages and personal finance, Chris Jennings has covered topics that include mortgage loans, mortgage refinancing, and more. He’s been an editor and editorial assistant in the online personal finance space for four years. His work has been featured by MSN, AOL, Yahoo Finance, and more. | https://www.fox32chicago.com/money/todays-mortgage-refinance-rates-august-15-2022 | 2022-08-15T16:23:00Z | fox32chicago.com | control | https://www.fox32chicago.com/money/todays-mortgage-refinance-rates-august-15-2022 | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Chicago man wanted in Illinois carjacking spree arrested in Dolton
DOLTON, Ill. - A Chicago man who was allegedly part of a crew wanted for stealing several vehicles across central Illinois was taken into custody Friday night in Dolton.
Devante M. Davis, 27, was arrested Friday morning in the 14600 block of Sheppard Avenue, according to the Will County Sheriff's Office.
Davis was wanted by New Lenox police for aggravated vehicular hijacking, armed robbery and aggravated possession of a stolen motor vehicle among several other charges. Davis was also wanted by the Illinois Department of Corrections for a parole violation.
On March 12, Davis and others in his crew were confronted by Illinois State Police and ended up crashing Davis' stolen BMW on I-80 near I-355, officials said.
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Six people fled from the BMW and forced a woman and her two children out of their car at gunpoint, police said.
They drove off in her car and crashed it half an hour later in Markham where they escaped, police said.
New Lenox police requested assistance from the United States Marshals Service and the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force for taking Davis in custody.
On Friday morning, law enforcement gathered outside a residence in Dolton, where a stolen car believed to be associated with Davis was in the area.
Inspection of the car showed several purses and car keys inside the passenger compartment, police said.
Members of the Will County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Marshals Service approached the residence when two people were exiting. As they approached, one of the suspects fled on foot.
Police announced their presence outside the residence several times with no response. When no one answered, investigators breached the front door, officials said.
Davis and six other people inside the residence were taken into custody, police said.
Two loaded guns with rounds chambered were recovered: a Glock 43 pistol and a Mossberg .22 AR platform rifle. Individual packages of crack cocaine were also recovered from the residence.
One of the suspects resisted arrest and moved toward the Glock pistol when officers entered the home, police said.
The six people who were arrested will face weapons, drug and stolen motor vehicle charges. There are also additional charges currently pending in Cook County related to the investigation.
Davis was transported to Cook County Jail in reference to the new charges. He will be taken back to Will County to after his Cook County court proceedings to face additional charges.
The bond amount attached to the Will County complaint warrant is $750,000. | https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/chicago-man-wanted-in-illinois-carjacking-spree-arrested-in-dolton | 2022-08-15T16:23:01Z | fox32chicago.com | control | https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/chicago-man-wanted-in-illinois-carjacking-spree-arrested-in-dolton | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Former Orr basketball player Marquise Pryor fatally shot on South Side
CHICAGO - Marquise Pryor, who played basketball at Orr and was a prominent figure in the 2018 Fox Sports documentary "Shot in the Dark," was shot and killed on Friday.
"He had recently opened up a neighborhood store and a salon on 87th," former Orr assistant coach Jimalle Ridley said. "He had invested a lot in that and had just hired some people last week."
Officers responded about 10:45 p.m. to a call of a shooting at the Dan Ryan Woods Forest Preserve and found Pryor, 27, shot multiple times, according to a statement from the Cook County sheriff’s office.
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"I went down there last night to the scene," Orr basketball coach Lou Adams said. "His mom and cousin called me. He was dead right on the spot."
Adams has heard several stories about what happened but doesn’t have any concrete information on the incident.
"He was a good person inside," Adams said. "He wanted something out of life and it took a long time to get to where he wanted but he finally got there. And now it’s gone."
(L-R) Marquise Pryor, Dwyane Wade and Tyquone Greer attends Magnify and Fox Sports Films' "Shot In The Dark" premiere documentary screening and panel discussion at Pacific Design Center on February 15, 2018 in West Hollywood, California. (Rich Fury/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Daniel Poneman, now an NBA agent, was a producer on the documentary in 2018 and a friend of Pryor.
"[Marquise] was a gentle giant with a lot of love in his heart," Poneman said.
Adams, who lives in Englewood, drove Pryor to school on the West Side every day back when he was in high school.
"He came and helped start the program up at Orr with me," Adams said. "I’d been talking to him every day lately. He came by the school twice last week to see me."
Marquise Pryor attends Magnify and Fox Sports Films' "Shot In The Dark" premiere documentary screening and panel discussion at Pacific Design Center on February 15, 2018 in West Hollywood, California. (Rich Fury/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Pryor missed his senior season at Orr in 2012 after he was arrested for gun possession. He played club basketball in the spring of 2012 and eventually played at Lee Junior College in Texas in 2014.
The Orr community lost another former player, Norvell Meadows, to gun violence recently.
"It’s just trauma," Ridley said. "Everyone is in trauma right now. [Pryor] was just a person who had turned down the right path from where he came from. There had been some tragedy but he was on his way to triumph. His story was unique but it ended like so many young men in Chicago, with senseless violence."
The sheriff’s office asked anyone with information to call detectives at 708-865-4896. | https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/former-orr-basketball-player-marquise-pryor-fatally-shot-on-south-side | 2022-08-15T16:23:07Z | fox32chicago.com | control | https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/former-orr-basketball-player-marquise-pryor-fatally-shot-on-south-side | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Chicago needs to stock up on sunscreen
Chicago - Two essential things to grab before heading out the door this week are sunglasses and sunscreen. The week should feature abundant sunshine with mostly sunny skies expected nearly every day. Monday will see more of a mix of sun and clouds but the rest of the week will be brighter.
The UV Index for Monday is 8 which falls in the "very high" category.
The EPA offers the following advice for when the UV index reaches this level:
Protection against sun damage is needed. If you need to be outside during midday hours between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., take steps to reduce sun exposure. A shirt, hat and sunscreen are a must, and be sure you seek shade. Beachgoers should know that white sand and other bright surfaces reflect UV and can double UV exposure.
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The UV index forecast is a prediction of the relative amount of ultraviolet rays that cause damage to the skin will make it to the earth's surface on a given day. The two types of UV radiation that can cause damage are UVA and UVB.
Here's an explanation of the difference between them from the Skin Cancer Foundation:
Two types of UV light are proven to contribute to the risk for skin cancer:
- Ultraviolet A (UVA) has a longer wavelength. It is associated with skin aging.
- Ultraviolet B (UVB) has a shorter wavelength. It is associated with skin burning.
While UVA and UVB rays differ in how they affect the skin, they both do harm. Unprotected exposure to UVA and UVB damages the DNA in skin cells, producing genetic defects, or mutations, that can lead to skin cancer and premature aging. UV rays can also cause eye damage, including cataracts and eyelid cancers.
A prognostication with plenty of sunshine means there will be a lack of rain. The 7-day precipitation chances forecast bears this out. The next decent chance for rain is Friday night.
Be prepared with sunscreen that has a proper SPF, or sun protection factor.
Here are some guidelines from the FDA:
In general, the FDA recommends that you use broad spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher, even on cloudy days. In addition:
- Apply sunscreen liberally to all uncovered skin, especially your nose, ears, neck, hands, feet, and lips (but avoid putting it inside your mouth and eyes).
- Reapply at least every two hours. Apply more often if you’re swimming or sweating. (Read the label for your specific sunscreen. An average-size adult or child needs at least one ounce of sunscreen, about the amount it takes to fill a shot glass, to evenly cover the body.)
- If you don’t have much hair, apply sunscreen to the top of your head or wear a hat.
- No sunscreen completely blocks UV radiation. So other protections are needed, such as protective clothing, sunglasses, and staying in the shade.
- No sunscreen is waterproof.
The UV Index forecast for Tuesday is also in the "very high" range. I expect the UV Index this week will be somewhere between high and very high every day through Friday.
Despite all the sunshine that should be coming this week, there won't be any extreme heat to go along with it. Thursday and Friday will be the warmest days as highs hit the lower 80s. That would be right around average for the middle of August. | https://www.fox32chicago.com/weather/chicago-needs-to-stock-up-on-sunscreen | 2022-08-15T16:23:20Z | fox32chicago.com | control | https://www.fox32chicago.com/weather/chicago-needs-to-stock-up-on-sunscreen | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
With rising inflation, good design is not always within reach. If you have a passion for modern furniture yet neither the money nor space for it, do what I’ve done: Collect scale model miniatures. They are affordable, displayable and enjoyable to accumulate. If you’re compulsive, the number of chairs adds up quickly.
The most cherished of the miniatures are also the most expensive: the Vitra Miniature Collection, representing such classic modern designers as Charles and Ray Eames, Verner Panton, and Alexander Girard. At 1/6 the size of the historic originals, the chairs “precisely recreate the smallest details of construction, material and color.” The high standard of authenticity even extends to the natural grain of the wood, the reproduction of screws and the elaborate handicraft techniques involved. It is a thrill to see them en masse—nonetheless, with prices ranging from $200 to $1,500, you might want to consider the lower-priced and much smaller plastic variety.
The chairs below are 1/12 scale from the Reina Design Interior Collection and fit nicely into dollhouses or on bookshelves. There are numerous collection series to choose from, each in distinctly designed boxes. The downside is the contents are a mystery. Like baseball cards, you never know what you are buying; you may end up with multiple Eames chairs because they are fairly common, but turning up a Reitveld is rare. I have, however, seen them on Etsy for under $100. They are well-made, detailing is accurate and they are fun to unpack for the surprise inside.
For an equally wide selection of classics, I recommend the 1/24 scale Designers Chair Collections. They also come in multiple series and when sold on eBay they are priced at around $50. Don’t let anyone accuse you of playing with doll furniture.
Recently, I was gifted a Design Furniture 1/12 scale model manufactured by the Japanese Yujin company. These are advertised as trading toys, and like the miniatures above, buyers are unaware of what they are getting. Unlike the others, they require minor assembly. As for price, they run around $60 per piece.
Although you won’t be able to use them as furniture, they are great conversation pieces, and just think how inexpensive your moving costs will be when you eventually have to give up your price-gouged rental in hipster Brooklyn for a reasonably priced apartment elsewhere near the end of the subway lines. | https://www.printmag.com/daily-heller/the-daily-heller-little-space-and-less-money-for-modern-furniture-try-miniatures/ | 2022-08-15T16:31:08Z | printmag.com | control | https://www.printmag.com/daily-heller/the-daily-heller-little-space-and-less-money-for-modern-furniture-try-miniatures/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Clint and Kelsy are colleagues at SYPartners, a consultancy where designers and strategists work closely with leaders to guide their organizations through times of transformation. Clint is a typography addict, aspiring furniture maker, and BBQ enthusiast who has helped teach design at ArtCenter College of Design in Los Angeles. Kelsy is a designer turned strategist, synth musician, and Dungeons & Dragons enthusiast who has helped to teach brand strategy at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.
A friend of mine recently said, “Great memories come from rewarding sprints.”
Taken literally, the word sprint refers to one of the most strenuous and unsustainable forms of cardio, an intense physical feat of accomplishment. On a metaphorical level, the term sprint isn’t limited to just our athletic lives. I would argue that pulling an all-nighter is the ‘sprint’ of the design world. In many ways, this correlation is a simple one- design all-nighters are strenuous and unsustainable; they are an intense form of creative exercise and a mental and psychological feat of accomplishment.
For one, this is because the human brain didn’t evolve to operate for 20+ hours straight. Yet, studies also show that the diffuse attention accompanying sleep deprivation can lead to creative connections.
According to Mareike Wieth, a professor of psychology at Albion College, we are more creative when we are a little tired or groggy and unable to hone our focus, because diffuse attention allows us to think more creatively.
What occurs in our central nervous systems is where things really get interesting. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, one night of sleep deprivation increases the levels of a chemical in our brains called DHEA-S. This nero-steroid has been deemed a protector against the negative effects of stress and can also induce a cocktail of other effects, including a decrease in depressive mood, and an increase in dissociative symptoms.
Bear with me—this means that, scientifically, at 4:00 am, the average person is experiencing diffuse attention, a higher probability of creative connections, dissociation, lowered depression, and a melting away of the negative effects of stress. Is this why pulling an all-nighter can be so euphoric and captivating for those of us who do creative work?
Looming deadlines are a factor too, but a person does tend to choose this route. My colleague Clint describes it as a myriad of minute negotiations that occur in the psyche, all starting with the phrase, “If I just…”
If I just… work through dinner, that will give me a bit more time…
If I just… make some more coffee, I can stay up a little longer…
If I just… re-think this layout, that will really impress them tomorrow…
If I just… stay up a little longer, I can get this where I really want it…
If I just… take a quick nap, I can get right back to work…
If I just… stay up a little longer, I can get this where I really want it…
If I just… adjust these beziers a little bit, this will be perfect…
If I just… stay up a little longer, I can get this where I really want it…
If I just… don’t shower, I can make it to this presentation on time…
If I just… re-export now, I can go brush my teeth…
In fact, the nero-chemical cocktail of effects and interpersonal negotiation described above both play nicely with the catalyst— and creative constraint— that a deadline presents.
Performance under pressure means different things to different people and, by and large, is not a popular concept in 2022. But at its best, it can still be personally challenging and professionally rewarding—the exact circumstance needed to push past pre-existing limitations. Maybe this helps to explain why it sometimes feels easy, even natural, to continue down the road of creative pursuit or revision long after the moment where a more discerning individual might have closed the laptop and reasonably exclaimed, “This is good enough. It’s time for bed.”
Let’s return to the concept of sprints.
Sprints remain unsustainable and strenuous by nature, but they can also be exhilarating. At some point along the way, our cognition kicks into a flow state, a precious and quiet time alone to re-find and refine the edges and arcs of our current capacity. Throughout our careers, we exercise creativity, build new muscle, even evolve— and sometimes we do it in short bursts, in the quiet hours of the night when no one else is stirring. The process can be messy, rewarding, liberating, and exhausting all at once; sometimes, it’s when we do the most memorable design work of our lives. | https://www.printmag.com/design-theory/the-mess-and-the-magic-of-design-all-nighters/ | 2022-08-15T16:31:15Z | printmag.com | control | https://www.printmag.com/design-theory/the-mess-and-the-magic-of-design-all-nighters/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
(NewsNation) — Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley are developing a nasal spray that can prevent and treat COVID-19, with early data showing it could be a game changer in the fight against the virus.
While the vaccines developed have largely targeted the spike protein on the outside of the virus, the nasal spray focuses on the heart of the virus instead. Data from the first sets of tests show the spray appears to work against all current variants and future variants.
Professor Anders Naar, one of the lead researchers, explained that’s because the spray targets the virus’ RNA in an attempt to block the virus from duplicating in human cells.
“The virus is basically like a trojan horse,” Naar said Sunday on “NewsNation Prime.” “It injects RNA into a cell … and turns into its personal copy machine.”
The science behind the nasal spray works to incapacitate that copy machine.
The hope, Naar said, is that a nasal spray can make major headway in COVID-19 prevention efforts because it is easy to manufacture, ship and store. Unlike vaccines that have to be stored at cold temperatures, a nasal spray would be able to survive at room temperature.
“You can basically get this to people where there is no refrigeration or freezing capacity,” Naar said.
It might also appeal to the vaccine-hesitant population because of its easy application.
Tests have been conducted on mice and hamsters, and no adverse effects have been identified, Naar said. The next phase of research is animal trials and then human trials.
“We’re probably a year or two away from actually having this deployed if everything goes well,” Naar said.
The most ambitious timeline would be deployment by fall 2023. In order to achieve that, Naar said they need funding and “we need some muscle behind it, if you will, some people putting their shoulder to the effort, like big pharma or big biotech … the [Food and Drug Administration] has to be on-board, ideally the U.S. government.”
Testing has also shown that the spray can also reduce symptoms for those already infected with the coronavirus. For Naar and his fellow researchers, they say it could be a game changer “if everything pans out the way we envision.”
One doctor following the developments is Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center.
“On paper, it seems great. I’m very excited about it moving onto the next level,” Chin-Hong said. “I’m very hopeful about it, in terms of it not being spike-protein dependent, portable and easy-to-scale globally and being easy to administer. Not having human studies yet gives me some pause, but if I were an investor, I’d want to invest in it. It checks all the boxes, except how it performs in humans, that remains to be seen.” | https://www.wwlp.com/news/health/coronavirus/covid-19-nasal-spray-could-be-game-changer-researcher-says/ | 2022-08-15T16:35:51Z | wwlp.com | control | https://www.wwlp.com/news/health/coronavirus/covid-19-nasal-spray-could-be-game-changer-researcher-says/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
(NewsNation) — An airline agent at Dallas-Forth Worth Airport has been suspended after he punched a woman during an altercation that was caught on video.
The brawl happened Thursday when the employee and woman first engaged in a verbal argument. In a video captured by bystander Tomas Shannon, the employee shouts, “Don’t touch me ever in your life!” as he steps toward the woman. “You touched me first and then you got in my face. Don’t ever invade my personal space.”
Stepping back, the woman then shouts at the man to get out of her face and calls him a homophobic slur. After another man attempts to break up the fight, the woman swings at the employee’s face, prompting him to chase after her. They both fall to the ground, and when they get back to their feet, the employee strikes the woman in the head from behind.
More onlookers then step in to break up the fight. The employee continues to yell and tries to coax one of the onlookers into a fight, saying, “Knock me out.”
Spirit Airlines confirmed that the employee, who was working for a vendor on behalf of Spirit, was suspended. The company said in a statement on Twitter that it was working with law enforcement and “does not tolerate violence of any kind.”
The fight was apparently over a seating problem, Dallas news station KDFW reported. The Spirit employee told police the woman got off the plane complaining there wasn’t a seat for her, and she became uncooperative after the employee told her to wait in line for a gate agent.
Police determined the woman was the aggressor, according to KDFW. | https://www.wwlp.com/news/spirit-employee-suspended-after-fight-with-woman-at-dallas-airport/ | 2022-08-15T16:35:58Z | wwlp.com | control | https://www.wwlp.com/news/spirit-employee-suspended-after-fight-with-woman-at-dallas-airport/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
7-Day Weather Forecast for Clarion County
The 7-day weather forecast for the Clarion County area is brought to you by Redbank Chevrolet and DuBrook.
Today – Isolated showers after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 76. Light and variable wind. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Tonight – Scattered showers, mainly after 2am. Cloudy, with a low around 58. Light and variable wind. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Monday – Scattered showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 73. East wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Monday Night – Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57. East wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Tuesday – Isolated showers, then scattered showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 74. East wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Tuesday Night – Scattered showers and thunderstorms before 8pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 55. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Wednesday – Scattered showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 76. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Wednesday Night – Scattered showers and thunderstorms before 8pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 54. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Thursday – Mostly sunny, with a high near 78.
Thursday Night – Partly cloudy, with a low around 55.
Friday – Mostly sunny, with a high near 81.
Friday Night – Partly cloudy, with a low around 58.
Saturday – Scattered showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 82. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
7-Day Weather Forecast, brought to you by Redbank Chevrolet and DuBrook.
Copyright © 2022 EYT Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution or retransmission of the contents of this service without the express written consent of EYT Media Group, Inc. is expressly prohibited. | https://www.exploreclarion.com/2022/08/14/7-day-weather-forecast-for-clarion-county-3074/ | 2022-08-15T16:44:20Z | exploreclarion.com | control | https://www.exploreclarion.com/2022/08/14/7-day-weather-forecast-for-clarion-county-3074/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
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Franklin Man Accused of Unauthorized Use of Motorcycle
The Medical Minute: Don’t Let Poison Ivy Ruin the Day
Pa. Department of Education: Today’s Educators Play Critical Role in the Commonwealth’s Future Workforce
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Claytoonz: Unseal the Boom
Sunday, August 14, 2022 @
12:08 AM
Posted by Clay Jones
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Clarion County Photo of the Day
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Events
Venango County News
Venango County Recipe of the Day: Hamburgers on the Grill
Claytoonz: Hating on the FBI
All American Awards and Engraving Soldier Spotlight: Vietnam War Veteran Steve Huff
Franklin Man Accused of Unauthorized Use of Motorcycle
The Medical Minute: Don’t Let Poison Ivy Ruin the Day
exploreClarion.com Contest Winners
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Featured Local Job
Clarion Area Jobs
More Featured Local Jobs
Featured Local Job: Night Supervisor or Overnight Safety Supervisor
Featured Local Job: Direct Care Personnel/ CNAs
Featured Local Job: Police Officers
Featured Local Job: High School Cafeteria Monitor
Featured Local Job: Licensed Massage Therapist
Featured Local Job: Production Workers at Eden, Inc.
Featured Local Job: Veterans Affairs Deputy Director
Featured Local Job: Receptionist/Caseworker
Featured Local Job: Welders, Fabricators and General Shop Employees
Featured Local Job: Equipment Mechanic/ Technician
Featured Local Job: Elections/Voter Registration Coordinator
Featured Local Job: All Seasons Temporaries Inc. Offers Multiple Positions
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PREVIEW: ‘Arctic Fox’ Ready to Put Chills Into Opponents at QB for Brockway’s Exciting Offense as Rovers Look to Chase D9 Championship
Linebacker High: Brockway’s Defensive Coordinator Ben Donlin Has Become a Guru When it Comes to Coaching Up Ever-Evolving Position
PREVIEW: With Wealth of Talent Returning, Brookville is Poised to Take the Next Step and Compete for D9 Title
Clarion Golf Team Claims Class 2A Championship at Happy Valley Invitational
PREVIEW: Punxsutawney Hopeful Experience Will Help Chucks Finish Off Games and Turn Fortunes Around
Deer Creek Winery – exploreClarion.com
Deer Creek Winery Blog: 22 Wines to Try in 2022
Three Ways to Celebrate This Year & the New Year
Deer Creek Winery Blog: 4 Ways to Celebrate Christmas With Wine!
Deer Creek Winery Blog: 3 Big Things about Wine at DCW
Deer Creek Winery Optimistic for the New Year
Deer Creek Winery Blog: Agriculture and Wineries in Pennsylvania
Rhonda’s Grapevine: Deer Creek Winery Business Retreats Inspire Bold Thinking, Communication, Creativity
Rhonda’s Grapevine: Celebrate Your Next Birthday at Deer Creek Winery
Rhonda’s Grapevine: Five Reasons to Stay at an Inn B&B While You Are Traveling for Business
Rhonda’s Grapevine: Romantic Winter Getaway Ideas
Comically Incorrect: In the Way
Sunday, August 14, 2022 @
12:08 AM
Posted by A.F. Branco
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Elaine B. Chadwell
Elaine B. Chadwell, 69, of Rimersburg, formerly of Bruin, Pa., passed away on Wednesday, August 10, 2022, at the Butler Memorial Hospital.
Born on November 16, 1952, she was the daughter of the late Kenneth and Evelyn Johns Thompson.
Elaine was a 1970 graduate of Karns City High School in Fairview Township, and she later married Jack Chadwell, Jr.
She was Mormon by faith.
Elaine enjoyed crocheting, music, and most importantly, she loved spending time with her grand and great-grandchildren.
Elaine is survived by her husband; Jack Chadwell, Jr., her daughter; Jamie Billotte of Butler, her 2 sons; Jack and Eric Chadwell of Rimersburg, as well as the other children she took in as her own.
She is also survived by many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Along with her parents, Elaine was preceded in death by her stepfather, Jim Slaugenhoupt, and her brother, Garry Slaugenhoupt.
Visitation will be held on Wednesday, August 17th, from 2:00-4:00 PM, and 6:00-8:00 PM, with an 8:00 PM funeral service to follow at the H. Jack Buzard Funeral Home in Parker (201 S. Wayne Ave.).
Burial will take place on Thursday, August 18th, at the Bear Creek Cemetery in Petrolia.
Online condolences can be shared by visiting www.buzardfuneralhomes.com.
Copyright © 2022 EYT Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution or retransmission of the contents of this service without the express written consent of EYT Media Group, Inc. is expressly prohibited. | https://www.exploreclarion.com/2022/08/14/elaine-b-chadwell/ | 2022-08-15T16:44:38Z | exploreclarion.com | control | https://www.exploreclarion.com/2022/08/14/elaine-b-chadwell/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Area Woman Busted for Allegedly Selling Meth to Confidential Informant
BROOKVILLE BOROUGH, Pa. (EYT) – An area woman is facing drug charges for allegedly selling methamphetamine to a confidential informant in the Borough of Brookville.
According to court documents, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General filed criminal charges against 31-year-old Alison Marie Bullers, of Sigel, on August 11, 2022.
Task Force Officers from the Office of Attorney General and the Brookville Police Department met with a confidential informant (C.I.) in a pre-determined location on August 6, 2021, for the purpose of purchasing one gram of methamphetamine for $100.00 from Alison Bullers, according to a criminal complaint filed on August 11, 2022.
The C.I. and Bullers met on East Main Street in Brookville, Jefferson County, and the drug purchase was made in exchange for pre-recorded funds, the complaint states.
Lab results indicated the purchased methamphetamine contained 00.72 grams of methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance, according to the complaint.
Bullers was arraigned at 5:25 p.m. on August 11, 2022, in front of Magisterial District Judge Gregory M. Bazylak on the following charges:
– Manufacture, Delivery, or Possession With Intent to Manufacture or Deliver, Felony (two counts)
– Criminal Use Of Communication Facility, Felony 3
– Intentional Possession Controlled Substance By Person Not Registered, Misdemeanor (two counts)
She is currently free on $30,000.00 unsecured bail.
A preliminary hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Copyright © 2022 EYT Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution or retransmission of the contents of this service without the express written consent of EYT Media Group, Inc. is expressly prohibited. | https://www.exploreclarion.com/2022/08/14/new1-area-woman-busted-for-allegedly-selling-meth-to-confidential-informant/ | 2022-08-15T16:44:56Z | exploreclarion.com | control | https://www.exploreclarion.com/2022/08/14/new1-area-woman-busted-for-allegedly-selling-meth-to-confidential-informant/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Pa. Department of Education: Today’s Educators Play Critical Role in the Commonwealth’s Future Workforce
DUNCANNON, Pa. – Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) Executive Deputy Secretary on Friday visited Susquenita High School to thank educators for their dedication and commitment to students across the Commonwealth.
“We are inspired by educators across Pennsylvania every day. We recognize that things are not always easy, but we appreciate the work you put in daily for your students and their families,” said Carrera. “Education is an invaluable resource, and I know first-hand how challenging and rewarding the profession can be, and we are so proud of each and every one of you for your commitment and dedication.”
The Wolf Administration recently unveiled the Pennsylvania Educator Workforce Strategy, PDE’s strategic plan to recruit and retain more educators across the commonwealth.
Over the past decade there has been a significant decline in the number of new educators entering the field. Not only are teacher retention rates declining, a decade ago roughly 20,000 new teachers entered the Pennsylvania workforce each year, while last year only 6,000 new teachers entered the workforce. But schools like Susquenita School District are showing their appreciation for new educators.
“We are excited to welcome our new educational professionals to the Susquenita School District community,” said Dr. Jon Fox, superintendent. “Our new team members will be entering one of the most impactful professions. Please join me in thanking our educational professionals, both new and returning, for their service to our communities, commonwealth, and nation. Go, Blackhawks.”
Pennsylvania’s educator workforce represents a critical sector of the commonwealth’s economy and helps prepare young learners to participate in and lead our communities, governments, businesses, and families in the future. The Pennsylvania Educator Workforce Strategy builds on the Wolf Administrations efforts and successes over the past eight years to ensure that learners of all ages have access to a world-class education system.
Since 2015, the Wolf Administration has increased education funding by more than $3.7 billion. In his most recent budget, Governor Tom Wolf solidified his commitment to education at all levels with a historic $1.8 billion investment increase. This budget prioritizes resources for Pennsylvanians and helps provide students with the resources they need to be successful.
For more information about Pennsylvania’s education policies and programs, please visit the Department of Education’s website.
Copyright © 2022 EYT Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution or retransmission of the contents of this service without the express written consent of EYT Media Group, Inc. is expressly prohibited. | https://www.exploreclarion.com/2022/08/14/pa-department-of-education-todays-educators-play-critical-role-in-the-commonwealths-future-workforce/ | 2022-08-15T16:45:00Z | exploreclarion.com | control | https://www.exploreclarion.com/2022/08/14/pa-department-of-education-todays-educators-play-critical-role-in-the-commonwealths-future-workforce/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Patrick D. Gifford
Sunday, August 14, 2022 @ 10:08 AM
Patrick D. Gifford, age 74, of Apopka FL, formerly of Fern, passed away at his sister’s residence on August 12, 2022.
He was born in Oil City on November 12, 1947 to the John and Martha (Shreffler) Gifford.
Funeral services will be private.
Arrangements are under the care of the Goble Funeral Home in Clarion.
Friends and family may send online condolences, memorials, and obtain additional information by visiting www.goblefh.net.
Copyright © 2022 EYT Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution or retransmission of the contents of this service without the express written consent of EYT Media Group, Inc. is expressly prohibited. | https://www.exploreclarion.com/2022/08/14/patrick-d-gifford/ | 2022-08-15T16:45:06Z | exploreclarion.com | control | https://www.exploreclarion.com/2022/08/14/patrick-d-gifford/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
SPONSORED: Clarion Center for the Arts Offering Acting Classes to High School Students
CLARION, Pa. – Since its foundation in 2013, Clarion Center for the Arts has been offering acting classes to high school students. This school year is no exception!
Starting September 12th, Mondays from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. will be the time for aspiring actors to engage in high-level training that will include:
● Monologues;
● Scene studies;
● Character development
This training is designed to help students prepare for auditions and bring characters to life on stage in a way that helps them land the roles they seek in their schools’ plays and musicals. Students will discover what directors are really looking for in an audition and how to connect with the audience when they’re on stage.
“Studying the art of acting carries way more benefits than just getting the part you want in your next play,” says BreAnna Liberto, the Founder and Director of the Clarion Center for the Arts.
“Theatre and acting is an incredible way to help students develop public speaking skills and charisma. And, learning how to understand and embody a character also teaches students how to empathize with people who aren’t like them.”
Showcases will be hosted three times throughout the year for students to perform what they’re working on in class. The first performance, School’s In Session, will explore school-related characters through scenes and monologues.
The class is open to students in 9th through 12th grade. Students in 7th and 8th grade are welcome to join the class as long as they’re also enrolled in Clarion Center for the Arts’ Junior Musical class. Interested high schoolers can get started in the class with a Two-Week Intro for $29.99. Included with the Intro is a black CCA t-shirt to fit the class dress code!
The first Two-Week Intro for the season is being held on September 12th and September 19th, but a Two-Week Intro can be scheduled on other dates, as well.
Parents can learn more and register for the Two-Week Intro at the link below.
Here’s what theatre families at Clarion Center for the Arts have to say:
“Theater has taught my shy, reserved kids how to be self-confident, try new things, how to work together with others, memorization, social interaction skills, and mostly… how to make new and lasting friendships! I can’t imagine what life would be like for my kids without theater!” – Charlene K.
“My son is not overly athletic. He used to play sports, but kids picked on him because he wasn’t the best. He excels at theatre and has become more confident in other activities since joining CCA. He started playing baseball again and has improved significantly. He encourages his teammates and doesn’t beat himself up for not playing perfectly.” – Karena M.
“My daughter found this theatre group and fell in love!! It lets her be herself and explore her dramatic side. She has made new friends outside of school and is just in love with the stage!” – Mandi M.
You don’t have to do it today, but if you wait any longer to get started the class could fill up before your kiddo has a chance to try it out. So if you don’t want to risk that, then go ahead and get started at the link below:
Discover the magic of acting this school year!
Copyright © 2022 EYT Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution or retransmission of the contents of this service without the express written consent of EYT Media Group, Inc. is expressly prohibited. | https://www.exploreclarion.com/2022/08/14/sponsored-clarion-center-for-the-arts-offering-acting-classes-to-high-school-students/ | 2022-08-15T16:45:20Z | exploreclarion.com | control | https://www.exploreclarion.com/2022/08/14/sponsored-clarion-center-for-the-arts-offering-acting-classes-to-high-school-students/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
St. Michael’s Labor Day Picnic Set for September 5
FRYBURG, Pa. (EYT) – St. Michael’s in Fryburg will hold its annual Labor Day Picnic on Monday, September 5, 2022.
The picnic will be held from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.–rain or shine.
Families have celebrated the holiday at St. Michael’s for over 130 years. Finish out your summer season in Fryburg with great food and fun!
Enjoy the Picnic’s famous chicken and ham dinners featuring delicious homemade noodle soup! Dinner ticket sales will start on the grounds at 10:00 a.m. with the dining room opening at 11:00 a.m. Dinners are $12.00 each for adults and $6.00 for children; pre-school and under are FREE. Dinners will be available for dine-in or take-out with indoor and outdoor seating. All dinners will be served from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Back again is the 100-item Chinese Auction held in the upstairs of the church social hall as well as the long-awaited return of the Quilt Raffle Stand on the picnic grounds. One of the top prizes in the Chinese Auction is a $250.00 gift card given by Faller’s Furniture in Clarion! The Quilt Stand will feature several beautiful quilts made by members of the St. Michael Rosary Society, as well as throw blankets displaying a stunning image of St. Michael Church.
Games of chance and skill for all ages will be held throughout the day along with numerous raffles including the Farm-to-Table Raffle with over 40 prizes and the ever-popular Labor Day Loot Ticket, featuring cash prizes totaling $7,000.00!
Labor Day Loot Raffle tickets and Farm-to-Table Raffle tickets are available for purchase at various local businesses, as well as at the doors of both St. Michael Church in Fryburg and St. Joseph Church in Lucinda. Tickets can also be purchased through the Parish office at 814-226-7288 or ONLINE at www.biddingowl.com/SMPLaborDayPicnic. Online sales will be available until September 2nd at 11:59 p.m. Tickets will also be available at the picnic.
All proceeds from this year’s Labor Day Picnic benefit the ongoing upkeep and maintenance of the parish’s beloved stone church completed in 1886.
The members of St. Michael’s Parish sincerely thank the many businesses and organizations who sponsored the 2022 Labor Day Loot ticket and Farm-to-Table ticket. Please remember to support these businesses as they give support to our communities! For a full listing of all Labor Day Picnic sponsors, please visit our event webpage at https://stjoseph-stmichaelparishes.org/laborday2022.html.
For more information on this year’s Labor Day events or for questions, please contact the Parish Office at 814-226-7288 or email [email protected] Updates and photos of this year’s quilts will be posted on the event’s website, https://stjoseph-stmichaelparishes.org/laborday2022.html as well as on Facebook (St. Michael’s Labor Day Picnic – Fryburg). The parishioners of St. Michael’s appreciate your continued support!
Copyright © 2022 EYT Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution or retransmission of the contents of this service without the express written consent of EYT Media Group, Inc. is expressly prohibited. | https://www.exploreclarion.com/2022/08/14/sponsored-new-st-michaels-labor-day-picnic-set-for-september-5/ | 2022-08-15T16:45:26Z | exploreclarion.com | control | https://www.exploreclarion.com/2022/08/14/sponsored-new-st-michaels-labor-day-picnic-set-for-september-5/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Man flees from deputies in excavator, leading them on slow-speed chase
Published: Aug. 15, 2022 at 12:13 PM EDT|Updated: 31 minutes ago
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ore. (KPTV/Gray News) – A man in Oregon led police on a slow-moving chase for more than half a mile as he drove an excavator, according to deputies.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office said the man, Jesse B. Shaw, had three warrants out for his arrest, including for stealing a car.
Deputies said they found Shaw on a property while he was operating the excavator. When they commanded Shaw to shut the machine down and surrender, deputies said he ignored them and continued driving the machine as officials followed on foot.
Shaw eventually stopped and was arrested for eluding arrest, car theft and parole violation.
Copyright 2022 KPTV via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wave3.com/2022/08/15/man-flees-deputies-excavator-leading-them-slow-speed-chase/ | 2022-08-15T16:46:19Z | wave3.com | control | https://www.wave3.com/2022/08/15/man-flees-deputies-excavator-leading-them-slow-speed-chase/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
There’s nothing like a “meat cute” — especially when it involves falling in love over pork jerky.
A couple from the UK experienced love at first bite over their shared fondness for the cured sausage snack Peperami, deciding to take their love for each other — and the cured meat snack — to the next level, tying the knot in a meat-themed wedding.
“We take it along with us on days out, enjoy it during movie nights and we even have a stash of it on our bedside table so we can easily reach for it from our bed,” Francesca Brooke-Fenton, 37 told NeedToKnow.online.
“It’s fair to say we are obsessed with the snack!” her now-husband Luke Hindmarsh, 33, added. “I proposed last New Year’s Eve during a hotel stay at a fancy Harrogate hotel whilst Francesca was pregnant.”
The pair recently welcomed a son, Cielo, to their family and couldn’t wait to tie the knot in a very unique way.
The pair said they always wanted to do something a bit “crazy” when they got married, but weren’t sure how — until they thought about the contents of their kitchen cupboard.
“Peperami played a big part of the start of our relationship — we both are genuinely in love with the snack, so it made perfect sense to us to have it become center for our big day,” Brooke-Fenton gushed.
“I contacted the company about a month ago and expressed our long-lasting obsession for the brand. They agreed to help us plan our dream wedding — we couldn’t believe our luck!”
The pair put out an invitation “calling all meat heads” to their Peperami-themed wedding — a nod to their favorite meat snack.
The meat theme extended to all areas of the wedding, with the bride donning a punk style dress inspired by the Peperami wrapper and ditching the traditional floral arrangement for a bouquet stuffed with the spicy sausage.
All Peparami dreams were included — including a Peperami in costume and a giant meat shaped cake which incorporated the mascot.
The newlyweds said their guests loved the unique nuptials, adding that their families share their love for the quintessential British snack.
“My mom was over the moon when I told her, she said it sounded fantastic. We just want them to experience a unique wedding with us, rather than some of the boring celebrations they’ve been to in the past,” Brooke-Fenton said.
“My friends and family haven’t been too surprised at all, they know how much I love Peperami, they all love it too,” Hindmarsh agreed. | https://nypost.com/2022/08/15/couple-marries-at-jerky-wedding-calling-all-meat-heads/ | 2022-08-15T16:48:57Z | nypost.com | control | https://nypost.com/2022/08/15/couple-marries-at-jerky-wedding-calling-all-meat-heads/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
US equities are at the best levels of the day as the stock market cheers falling Treasury yields and oil prices. It's an impressive show of reslience that the main indexes at:
- S&P 500 +0.2%
- Nasdaq +0.5%
- DJIA +0.3%
- Russell 2000 -0.6%
Early on, China worries weighed but the market has managed to shrug them off along with some poor US economic data.
With that, commodity currencies are showing some signs of life. The US dollar is still broadly strong but giving back some ground against the commodity currencies. AUD/USD still has a 78 pip mountain to climb to get back to square on the day but it's 30 pips off the lows. | https://www.forexlive.com/news/commodities-currencies-turn-higher-alongside-us-stock-markets-20220815/ | 2022-08-15T16:49:06Z | forexlive.com | control | https://www.forexlive.com/news/commodities-currencies-turn-higher-alongside-us-stock-markets-20220815/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Chattanooga police are investigating the death of a woman.
Police were dispatched to the 5000 block of Sunbeam Avenue early Monday morning on the report of an unconscious woman.
When they arrived at about 07:47 am, the woman was found dead.
Police are working to determine exactly what happened, and the investigation is underway. | https://www.local3news.com/local-news/chattanooga-police-investigate-womans-death/article_0c784214-1cb0-11ed-94c7-9f1423b4934c.html | 2022-08-15T16:49:33Z | local3news.com | control | https://www.local3news.com/local-news/chattanooga-police-investigate-womans-death/article_0c784214-1cb0-11ed-94c7-9f1423b4934c.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
The United Kingdom has become the first country to approve an updated version of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine booster that targets two coronavirus variants: the Omicron strain and the original virus from 2020.
"An updated version of the COVID-19 vaccine made by Moderna that targets two coronavirus variants (known as a "bivalent" vaccine) has today been approved for adult booster doses by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) after it was found to meet the UK regulator's standards of safety, quality and effectiveness," read an official government release Monday.
Half of the booster, called "Spikevax bivalent Original/Omicron," targets the original coronavirus strain while the other half targets Omicron, it said.
The UK government said that the decision to grant approval for the shot was endorsed by the MHRA, the government's independent expert scientific advisory body, after carefully reviewing the evidence.
It was approved following the results of a clinical trial, where Moderna reported that its booster targeting Omicron showed a stronger immune response against the variant. The company said its updated booster also showed a "potent" response against the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants.
The side effects were described by the MHRA as being the same as for the original Moderna booster dose and found to be "typically mild and self-resolving."
"No serious safety concerns were identified," the UK government release said.
As COVID-19 continues to mutate, MHRA Chief Executive Dr. June Raine said that the new Moderna booster will help keep communities protected.
"The first generation of COVID-19 vaccines being used in the UK continue to provide important protection against the disease and save lives. What this bivalent vaccine gives us is a sharpened tool in our armoury to help protect us against this disease as the virus continues to evolve."
It is not yet clear who will be offered the booster or when. The UK's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) will advise on the vaccine's rollout.
Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna, said on Twitter he was "delighted" the vaccine had been approved.
"This represents the first authorization of an Omicron-containing bivalent vaccine, this bivalent vaccine has an important role to play in protecting people in the UK from COVID-19 as we enter the winter months," he said.
Moderna is not the only vaccine maker updating its COVID-19 vaccines.
In June, Pfizer and BioNTech tested two COVID-19 vaccine boosters to target the Omicron variant. The companies said that preliminary results show a substantially higher immune response than the current COVID-19 shots.
The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. | https://www.local3news.com/local-news/covid-19/uk-first-to-approve-covid-19-vaccine-targeting-both-omicron-and-original-strain/article_d2cdc120-1ca9-11ed-b0b6-87bf05a7d2f1.html | 2022-08-15T16:49:39Z | local3news.com | control | https://www.local3news.com/local-news/covid-19/uk-first-to-approve-covid-19-vaccine-targeting-both-omicron-and-original-strain/article_d2cdc120-1ca9-11ed-b0b6-87bf05a7d2f1.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
UPDATE: Chattanooga police have identified the man who was killed in a shooting over the weekend.
Police say 34-year-old Charles Kyle, Jr. was found in the 2600 block of Glenwood Parkway around 9:30pm on Sunday.
Kyle was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
If you have any information about this case, please call the Chattanooga Police Department at 423-643-5100 or submit an anonymous tip using the Atlas One app.
Stay with the Local 3 News app for updates to this story.
PREVIOUS STORY: A Chattanooga man was killed in a shooting Sunday night.
Police say they found the man at the scene of the shooting, suffering from what were described as life-threatening injuries.
He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Chattanooga Police ask anyone with ANY information regarding this incident to call 423-643-5100 or submit a tip via the Atlas One App (formerly the CPD Mobile App).
You can remain anonymous. No amount of information is too small or insignificant. | https://www.local3news.com/local-news/update-chattanooga-police-identify-victim-killed-in-shooting-on-sunday-night/article_33cd78b4-1c99-11ed-b31a-43b4270cd3b9.html | 2022-08-15T16:49:52Z | local3news.com | control | https://www.local3news.com/local-news/update-chattanooga-police-identify-victim-killed-in-shooting-on-sunday-night/article_33cd78b4-1c99-11ed-b31a-43b4270cd3b9.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Missing California teenager Kiely Rodni was wearing an “Odd Future” sweatshirt at a campground party the night she vanished — as authorities revealed her cellphone last pinged near a lake.
The 16-year-old has been missing for more than a week after she was last seen at an end-of-school party near Prosser Family Campground in Truckee, just north of Lake Tahoe, in the early hours of Aug. 6.
The Placer County Sheriff’s Office said Sunday that they’d found footage of Rodni early on at the party wearing a pink and white sweatshirt with “Odd Future” — the name of a hip-hop band — emblazoned across it.
It wasn’t clear if Rodni was still wearing the sweatshirt when she went missing, the sheriff’s office said.
Authorities revealed last week that Rodni had also borrowed another hoodie at the party — with the Lana Del Ray lyrics, “You don’t want to be forgotten, you just want to disappear” scrawled across it.
As the frantic search for the teen entered its second week, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office, who is assisting in the search, said Rodni’s cellphone last pinged at about 12.30 a.m. on Aug 6. near Prosser Lake — a manmade reservoir that surrounds the campground.
“The ping for the data points was near the water. It’s hard to tell an exact pinpoint,” Captain Sam Brown said at a press conference Saturday.
“Just because it was last pinged there, that doesn’t mean that’s where the phone stopped pinging,” Brown continued. “There’s lots of reasons why those notifications or data points could be lost.”
Rodni’s mom, Lindsey Rodni-Nieman, had revealed last week that her daughter sent her a text late on Aug. 5 saying she was leaving the party in 45 minutes and was coming “straight home.”
Search crews have been scouring the lake for days as part of the widespread search for the missing teen.
Brown said the deepest part of the lake is about 57 feet and visibility is low, adding that search crews are almost going “into the water blind.”
“Once you start maneuvering the ground, it’s like going through mud. These are tough operations,” he said.
Rodni was last seen at the campground between 12.30 a.m. and 1 a.m., according to authorities.
They are treating her disappearance as a potential abduction because the car she was driving — a silver 2013 Honda CRV — hasn’t been found.
Her cellphone has also been out of service since the party.
Authorities have so far received more than 1,200 tips in the case, including one lead that turned into a dead end over the weekend.
Crews spent Saturday digging at a “burial site” based on one tip, but only ended up discovering the remains of a dog.
“It was located by a search-and-rescue ground team,” Placer County Sheriff’s Office public information officer, Angela Musallam, said of the burial site. “Kiely’s family was notified of the potential development.”
“The FBI responded to secure the scene yesterday and was accompanied by the Placer and Nevada county sheriff’s offices. The FBI agents investigated the site through early this morning and recovered the remains of a dog,” she added. | https://nypost.com/2022/08/15/strange-details-emerge-in-case-of-missing-teen-kiely-rodni/ | 2022-08-15T16:50:10Z | nypost.com | control | https://nypost.com/2022/08/15/strange-details-emerge-in-case-of-missing-teen-kiely-rodni/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
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"A common problem with most CBD products is that about 85% of the nutrients get vaporized by our stomach and liver, and the oil is not quickly absorbed into the bloodstream, says Bill Margaritis, CEO of Hemp2Lab, the manufacturer of the Precise products. "Our products are delivered with liposomes that are made from organic sunflower lecithin and converted into a water-soluble solution, which protect the nutrients from breaking down," Margaritis added.
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The following Precise CBD products are marketed and sold directly to consumers via The Vitamin Shoppe website at https://www.vitaminshoppe.com/search?search=lipsomal%20CBD.
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The Vitamin Shoppe partnership is a reflection of the quality and reliability of Precise CBD products, which are exclusively sold only in healthcare and wellness outlets.
About Hemp2Lab:
Hemp2Lab is a premier manufacturer of premium wellness products, including a variety of CBD infused and nutraceutical products. Through its Food Grade Certified facility, the company adheres to the highest standards of safety, quality, and performance. The leadership team has over 100 years of combined scientific, engineering, and farming expertise. It's 10,000 square foot facility in Rossville, TN is cGMP compliant, and the extraction lab is C1D1 safety rated. Through its blockchain data capture platform, the company provides full transparency to customers about the entire life cycle of its manufacturing processes.
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View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Hemp2Lab | https://www.witn.com/prnewswire/2022/08/15/vitamin-shoppe-begins-carrying-precise-cbd-liposomal-thc-free-products/ | 2022-08-15T16:50:43Z | witn.com | control | https://www.witn.com/prnewswire/2022/08/15/vitamin-shoppe-begins-carrying-precise-cbd-liposomal-thc-free-products/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Shippenville Borough Making Park Improvements, Purchasing New Flags for Downtown
SHIPPENVILLE BOROUGH, Pa. (EYT) – The Shippenville Borough Council approved multiple purchases to upgrade Woodburn Park as well as Main Street during its monthly council meeting on Wednesday.
The purchases approved include various improvements for the park such as rubber mulch, picnic tables, a new volleyball net, and new items for the playground.
“For all those of you who are maybe wondering what we’re doing spending your tax money on rubber mulch, this actually is money that came to the municipality through COVID-19, it’s called ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act),” Borough council president Linda Duffee said. “We’re not spending your tax money on rubber mulch, I promise you, but we’ve wanted to do it for a long time. It’s very safe; it’s very clean, and you don’t have kids with splinters or are dirty from it. It’s nice.”
The mulch will initially go around new “spring riders” that will be installed in the coming weeks, but the remaining mulch will replace other areas that are covered with wooden mulch.
Council also approved the purchase of new chains and hooks for the swing sets which would be a more effective way of improving the entire swing set, according to council member Rose Schreckengost.
Improved bleachers were installed last month.
Schreckengost then brought council’s attention to an issue with the concession stand near the baseball and softball fields. The electrical system, specifically the circuit breaker box, is very dated and has caused concern among the concession workers.
“They’re still using (the breaker) and making money in the concession stand, but they’re struggling with it, and we know it’s probably not safe for what they’re doing in there,” Schreckengost explained.
Other council members agreed, and a discussion began on whether replacing the entire system or just the breaker would be more effective. Regardless, all council members agreed the situation needed attention.
“They have done so much work back there on that field,” Schreckengost said. “It really looks good, so if we could help them with the concession stands, it would be a good place to make an investment.”
“They’re actually doing quite a lot in that little room,” council member Mike Petronzio echoed.
In other business, council announced the purchase of American Flag banners that will be hung along Main Street, replacing the worn-down flags.
“The American flags we usually put up around town were in horrible shape,” Schreckengost explained. “We felt that it was not very honorable to put a flag up that’s not pristine, so we didn’t put them up this year.”
The new flags will be made by Clark Vinyl Graphics, and they will also be able to be switched out for Christmas-themed banners.
“We’re doing something that resembles an American Flag, but it can be attached on the bottom as well and can’t wrap around the pole,” Schreckengost said. “He’s also going to make us a set for the holidays because our Christmas decorations are really not usable.”
Copyright © 2022 EYT Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution or retransmission of the contents of this service without the express written consent of EYT Media Group, Inc. is expressly prohibited. | https://www.exploreclarion.com/2022/08/12/shippenville-borough-making-park-improvements-purchasing-new-flags-for-downtown/ | 2022-08-15T16:53:01Z | exploreclarion.com | control | https://www.exploreclarion.com/2022/08/12/shippenville-borough-making-park-improvements-purchasing-new-flags-for-downtown/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn (PIX11) — A woman attacked a nail salon employee in Brooklyn after he stopped her from leaving without paying, police said on Friday.
The woman received services in a salon on St. John’s Place near Utica Avenue at around 1 p.m. on Aug. 2 and refused to pay, according to police. When a 59-year-old worker prevented her from leaving, she punched him in the head multiple times, authorities said.
The suspect took off, leaving the victim with swelling and bruising to his face. He was taken by EMS to a hospital for treatment, where he was last reported by officials to be in stable condition.
Police asked for help from the public in finding the suspect.
Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, downloading the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). | https://www.wwlp.com/news/new-england/woman-punches-nail-salon-worker-after-being-asked-to-pay-nypd/ | 2022-08-15T16:53:36Z | wwlp.com | control | https://www.wwlp.com/news/new-england/woman-punches-nail-salon-worker-after-being-asked-to-pay-nypd/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
One of the best things about living in Kent has to be the efficient rail links, with easy access to both the capital and the coast. Many years ago, there was a railway station in almost every town in the county.
However, as the years have gone by, more and more of these stations have closed their doors due to a lack of custom. It's resulted in an array of abandoned railway stations right on our doorstep, and it's fascinating to look back and see how they once looked.
While the majority of the county's once rich railway heritage has been left to rack and ruin, some others, such as Folkestone's old train line near the harbour, have been brought back into use. KentLive takes a look back through the years at 10 disused railway stations in Kent that are no longer serving the masses.
READ MORE: The abandoned Kent village where residents were driven out by the black death
New Romney and Littlestone-on-Sea
New Romney and Littlestone-on-Sea was a railway station which lay in between the villages of New Romney and Littlestone-on-Sea. It closed back in 1967.
The station was opened by the Lydd Railway Company on 19 June 1884, the first day of passenger services on its three mile branch to New Romney from its existing line between Appledore and Dungeness. At the time, a Victorian block of houses and hotels had been constructed in Littlestone-on-Sea in the hope of creating a seaside resort.
Both railway branches were served by the same train from Appledore; in some cases it went to either New Romney or Dungeness, in others, passengers for New Romney were left at Lydd while the train proceeded to Dungeness with the Lydd stationmaster who would sell tickets to passengers alighting there.
The train then returned to Lydd, dropped the Dungeness passengers there, and transported the New Romney passengers to their destination. Although the trackbed from Romney Junction towards New Romney is easily traceable, nothing remains of New Romney and Littlestone-on-Sea station which has been obliterated by a small trading estate.
Ashford West
Ashford West was only open to passengers between 1884 and 1899, when it was the terminus of the Maidstone line. When the South Eastern and Chatham Railway was formed, passenger services were transferred to South Eastern Railway's Ashford station.
The station was used for cattle and sheep traffic after it closed to passengers due to its close location to Ashford's cattle market. It had three platforms and the station site was largely intact until 1999 when the HS1 was constructed.
Allhallows-on-Sea
Allhallows-on-Sea station was the railway station for Allhallows-on-Sea from 1932 to 1961. It was opened partly on the 14 and fully on 16 May 1932.
It had an island platform with a run-round loop. Originally the branch from Stoke Junction was single track, but it was doubled in 1935, and singled again in 1957. The station closed in December 1961 and was demolished in 1975, although the listed water tank remains
Dover Western Docks
Dover has a long history of different railway stations, with Dover Priory now the only one remaining. Most recently, the railway station at Dover Western Docks was open until British Rail closed it in 1994 due to the opening of the Channel Tunnel.
It is still used as a cruise liner terminal, but it used to be a large four platform terminus when it opened as Dover Marine for public use in 1919. It was used prominently during World War I and during the Dunkirk evacuation of World War II.
Situated on Admirality Pier, it was renamed to Dover Western Docks in 1979 .
Dungeness
Dungeness railway station was opened in 1883 and took passengers almost to the foot of the lighthouse. By linking the single platform station to London, it was hoped to develop Dungeness into a port to transport shingle over the Channel to France.
These proposals never materialised and in 1937, the station was closed to passengers after Southern Railway opened the new Lydd-on-Sea Halt railway station. It continued to remain open for goods until 1953 and some of the trackbed has now been converted into the main access road for the power station.
Folkestone Harbour
Folkestone Harbour station was originally opened in 1849 but was resited in 1956. After two temporary closures coinciding with both World Wars, it eventually closed to passenger services in 2001 but remained in use for the Venice-Simplon Orient Express and other railtours until 2009.
The line was officially closed in 2014. After the closure, the Folkestone Harbour Company began refurbishing the site in 2016 and it now used as a walkway steeped in tradition.
Tilmanstone Colliery Halt
Tilmanstone Colliery Halt was a station on the East Kent Light Railway. It opened on 16 October 1916 and was renamed Elvington in 1925.
It closed to passenger traffic after the last train on 30 October 1948. The station served the pit village of Elvington. Part of the platform is still in situ hidden in undergrowth.
Goudhurst
Originally opened as Hope Mill for Goudhurst and Lamberhurst in October 1892, this railway station was renamed as simply Goudhurst two months later. The two platform station was on the Hawkhurst branch line from Paddock Wood.
It was infamous for being a mile away from the village itself and on a 250ft high hill. Goudhurst station was closed along with the line in 1961 and now the grounds are filled with a house named Haltwhistle.
Gravesend West
Gravesend West railway station opened in 1886 and was a regular destination for boat trains from London to link with steamers on the station's pier to take passengers to other coastal towns.
Initially named Gravesend, then renamed Gravesend West Street in 1899 and then Gravesend West in 1949, the station had two platforms which were open to passengers until 1953. Services were declining post-war but freight traffic continued until 1968.
The majority of the station was demolished in 1991 and the remaining section destroyed in 2006, with the pier the only remaining structure now.
Hythe
Hythe railway station was positioned just after the railway crossed Blackhouse Hill. On the Sandgate Branch line the station had two platforms, and a brick built station building.
It was ceremonially opened on 9 October 1874, and opened fully the next day. Being inland of the town it served the station was never popular. Following the closure of the section to Sandgate station in 1931 the line to Sandling Junction was reduced to single track. Hythe closed in 1943 during the Second World War but was reopened in 1945. Hythe station was closed along with the line in 1951.
Now, the station area has been completely redeveloped for housing.
Teston Crossing Halt
Teston Crossing Halt was situated on what is now the Medway Valley Line, south of Maidstone, and served Teston and West Farleigh. It opened on 1 September 1909 and closed on 2 November 1959.
The site of Teston Crossing Halt - between East Farleigh and Wateringbury, is about 200 yards (180 m) from the mediaeval Teston Bridge taking foot and road passengers across the river, one of only four such bridges between Maidstone and Paddock Wood.
Margate Sands
Margate Sands railway station served Margate between 1846 and 1926 on the Kent Coast Line. The two platform station was the terminus on the line from Ramsgate Town.
After its closure, the site was used as a car park and was even redeveloped as flats and an amusement arcade.
Ramsgate Harbour
Opened in 1863, Ramsgate Harbour extended the Kent Coast Railway line to Herne Bay. Initially called Ramsgate, then Ramsgate and St Lawrence-on-Sea in 1871 and then Ramsgate Harbour in 1899, the four platform station was very popular.
However, after a reorganisation of railway lines in Thanet, a new line was built and two new stations - Dumpton Park and Ramsgate - were opened in 1926, closing Ramsgate Harbour.
It has had many uses since, such as a funfair, the Tunnel Railway, and as an air raid shelter during World War II.
Tunbridge Wells West
Tunbridge Wells West railway station was opened in 1866, simply named Tunbridge Wells in competition with Tunbridge Wells Central. The five platform station served Brighton and also London.
It was renamed as Tunbridge Wells West in 1923 and kept serving passengers until 1985. The popular Spa Valley Railway now runs from a single platform on the site.
The derelict goods yard is now a Sainsbury's supermarket and the main building is a Smith & Western hotel.
Whitstable Harbour
Whitstable Harbour is the name of the three disused railway stations that used to serve as the terminus for the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway. The original station was opened in Harbour Street in 1830, with a second station built in 1846 when South Eastern Railway took over.
A third station was built in 1895 but closed in 1931 and is now the home of Whitstable Health Centre. The line continued to carry freight traffic until 1952, and now all evidence of the three stations has been removed.
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- Hospital told new mum her daughter was dead, then alive, then dead again | https://www.kentlive.news/news/nostalgia/abandoned-kent-railway-stations-long-7467209 | 2022-08-15T17:01:03Z | kentlive.news | control | https://www.kentlive.news/news/nostalgia/abandoned-kent-railway-stations-long-7467209 | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
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Many parts of West Michigan are heavily influenced by Dutch culture, but no place brings that to light more than the Windmill Island Gardens in Holland.
It's a seasonal, 36-acre park surrounded by the Macatawa River. Everything on the island is inspired by Dutch heritage, from the architecture and attractions, all the way down to the attire.
Matt Helmus, the Development Manager at the gardens, said the Dutch history can be traced back to the late 1840s. A man named Albertus Van Raalte and his group of Dutch Calvinists came to America for religious freedom and found a home in Holland.
That was 175 years ago, and they just kept coming.
“So we have almost a quarter of a million Dutch Americans such as myself," Helmus said. "A lot of us are multi-generation Americans, obviously, by now. A lot of us look back to that heritage. There's some more recent immigrants, but it's just keeping a piece of that heritage alive.”
There are more than 1,000 windmills in the Netherlands. So, it's only fitting the Windmill Island Gardens are centered around a giant windmill.
It's 251 years old and stands eight stories tall. The wood structure on top was brought over from the Netherlands, while the brick base was built in America.
"The island itself was actually built for that windmill, and then we've just developed around it," said Helmus. "It's so neat. There are parts and pieces of that mill that are actually older than that. Our miller was here recently, and he found a part he thinks might date back from the 13th century."
The windmill also has a name — De Zwaan. In Dutch, that simply translates to "The Swan."
Helmus said, “There were multiple windmills in the Netherlands named 'The Swan.' So some of them will say, 'The Swan,' and then the town they're from to kind of make sure that people know it's not this one from another town.”
He added, "Ours was 'De Zwaan Vinkel,' which was the small town in the province of Noord-Brabant. We have a working relationship with that town now. They had actually called over a decade ago asking for this mill back. And we said 'No,' of course, since it's the heart of our community. They've since built their own mill. So we have a sister mill in the Netherlands.”
The best part about this mill — it still works today. In fact, it's the only Dutch windmill that operates in the entire United States.
The gardens also feature a carousel that was brought over from the Netherlands in the 1970s and an organ that pre-dates the island itself. | https://www.fox17online.com/fox-17-unfiltered/moving-through-the-mitten/diving-into-dutch-culture-at-the-windmill-island-gardens | 2022-08-15T17:01:15Z | fox17online.com | control | https://www.fox17online.com/fox-17-unfiltered/moving-through-the-mitten/diving-into-dutch-culture-at-the-windmill-island-gardens | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
ROSEVILLE, Mich. (WXYZ) — People riding around Roseville may be able see school buses, but they won't be able to hear them even while they’re on.
The virtual silence is one of the many differences between electric and diesel buses.
“I have drivers that drive these regularly. They keep notes on what happens, what went wrong, if it makes a funny sound,” said Scott Sikorski, a supervisor for Roseville Community Schools transportation services.
The district has two electric buses as part of its fleet.
“We have a responsibility to show our students that we care about the environment and there’s no better way to really model that behavior,” Roseville Community Schools Superintendent Mark Blaszkowski said.
Blaszkowski says the district got the battery-operated buses in February 2020 through a grant through DTE Energy.
The Environmental Protection Agency says these buses can cost anywhere between $300,000 and $400,000. A diesel bus costs about $100,000 to $120,000.
But it’s the long-term benefits to the environment and eventual cost savings as it relates to fuel and maintenance that proponents look forward to.
The EPA is also subsidizing the purchase of electric school buses through a rebate program, doling out $5 billion over the next five years.
“So that’s the goal right now is to get a billion dollars out this year. And we’re going to look at the experience that we have with this rebate program and try and figure out is this the best way to get the money out to school districts that need and want these buses, or are there different mechanisms?” said Doug Aburano, manager of the air programs with the EPA.
Sikorski said, “We’re worried about the winter, what you get per mile for the battery charge.”
In response to that concern, Aburano says some buses will be temperature controlled to account for colder weather impacts on the battery, and more EV charging stations will be popping up.
Anna Stefanopoulou, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Michigan, says the top two concerns with EV buses are often vehicle range alongside charging and safety on the road.
“As engineers and as managers, we need to really think of the worst-case scenario and that’s what we really need to prepare for. And I think working with the state and educators, they can help explain the issues, can also reduce this type of anxiety,” Stefanopoulou said. | https://www.fox17online.com/news/in-depth/a-look-at-the-electric-buses-on-a-roll-for-roseville-community-schools-thanks-to-dte-grant-program | 2022-08-15T17:01:27Z | fox17online.com | control | https://www.fox17online.com/news/in-depth/a-look-at-the-electric-buses-on-a-roll-for-roseville-community-schools-thanks-to-dte-grant-program | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
CALHOUN COUNTY, Mich. — Part of Columbia Avenue is closed after a crash in Calhoun County Monday morning.
Dispatchers say the closure affects the area between 30th Street and Helmer Road.
The public is advised to avoid the area.
This story is developing and will be updated when we learn more information. | https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/kzoo-bc/calhoun/calhoun-county-crash-prompts-road-closure-on-columbia-avenue | 2022-08-15T17:01:33Z | fox17online.com | control | https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/kzoo-bc/calhoun/calhoun-county-crash-prompts-road-closure-on-columbia-avenue | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Tom Holland has been avoiding social media to help improve his mental health.
"I find Instagram and Twitter to be overstimulating, to be overwhelming," the "Spider-Man" actor said in a post on Instagram. "I get caught up and I spiral when I read things about me online."
Holland said he hadn't used Instagram for weeks, but returned on Sunday to post a video about stem4, an organization that offers mental health resources.
"There is an awful stigma against mental health and I know that asking for help and seeking help isn't something that we should be ashamed of but it is something that is much easier said than done," Holland said.
Holland ended his video by telling his 67 million followers that he would "disappear from Instagram again." | https://www.fox17online.com/news/national/actor-tom-holland-taking-break-from-social-media-for-sake-of-his-mental-health | 2022-08-15T17:01:45Z | fox17online.com | control | https://www.fox17online.com/news/national/actor-tom-holland-taking-break-from-social-media-for-sake-of-his-mental-health | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
« 6 months post partum, post birth body photo (March – Summer )\t». 352. In your article you mentioned you have noticed this also (independant confirmable by Google image recaptured 🕺), though i’d bet Google, just isn’thideous enough yet at hiding its in a 2d dimension\n50mW 3d laser for diysnails & beauty in our Shenzhen The Talk: Sheryfa has 'found confidence in acting, love for story' for first series in India..!\nIn today Talk session she got Interivewie with News Patricla on her first role, She's glad he chose her...\nWe got this great video by 'news Patrico for her 'Innaugroing interview after she made First Act, she expressed as an actor \"i would do acting as a profession because its good \"and so While gas prices remain elevated compared to a year ago, most of us are paying at least $1 less person gallon than we did a few months ago.
As of Monday, the average gallon of gas was $3.96 a gallon, which is down from a June 14 peak of $5.02. As the U.S. maintains two straight months of falling gas prices, many motorists question how low gas prices will go?
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm expects gas prices to drop to an average of $3.78 a gallon in the fourth quarter of 2022. She cautioned that the projection assumes no additional disruptions to the oil supply.
“It can be impacted by what’s happening globally,” she said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “The president has done more than any president in history to make sure that the price insofar as he’s got control continues to decline, and it has included asking for increased production both domestically and overseas.”
Experts say both supply and demand impact gas prices. While the Biden administration pointed toward increasing supply for the price drop, AAA said decreased demand has driven the cost at the pump downward.
“Falling pump prices may eventually lead to more drivers hitting the road again,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson. “But that hasn’t happened yet. Instead, many drivers are waiting for prices to fall further before reverting to their typical driving habits.”
AAA said that oil prices have fallen, which has helped contribute to lower gas prices in recent weeks. | https://www.fox17online.com/news/national/energy-secretary-gives-projection-on-end-of-2022-gas-prices | 2022-08-15T17:01:51Z | fox17online.com | control | https://www.fox17online.com/news/national/energy-secretary-gives-projection-on-end-of-2022-gas-prices | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
The Dow Jones industrial average is ticking above its 200 day moving average at 33897.21. The high price just reached 33936.65 and currently trades at 33924.20.
The index last traded above its 200 day moving average back on April 22. Since February 11, there is only been 3 days when the price closed above its 200 day moving average.
Staying in closing above the moving average would be a bullish tilt from a technical perspective.
The price is still around 8.2% from its all-time high reached at the beginning of January. However, it is up 14.6% from its low reached on June 17.
The S&P index is also trading near new session highs. The current prices trading at 4293.47 up 13.17 points or 0.31%. It's 200 day moving averages up at 4327.61.
The NASDAQ index is trading up 51 points or 0.39% 13097.36. It's 200 day moving averages up at 13498.85 currently. | https://www.forexlive.com/technical-analysis/dow-jones-industrial-average-moves-above-its-200-day-moving-average-20220815/ | 2022-08-15T17:02:08Z | forexlive.com | control | https://www.forexlive.com/technical-analysis/dow-jones-industrial-average-moves-above-its-200-day-moving-average-20220815/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
A new report by Virginia’s inspector general reveals glaring missteps by state agencies during the massive snowstorm in January that shut down Interstate 95 and left motorists stranded for days.
The 29-page audit by IG Michael Westfall of the actions taken by the Virginia departments of transportation, emergency management and the Virginia State Police during the incident, was submitted Thursday to Gov. Glenn Youngkin and included nine critical findings.
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) didn’t apply lessons learned from a similar snow-caused gridlock in 2018 on Interstate 81 near Bristol.
The Commonwealth doesn’t have a specific emergency plan in place for dealing with snow events. Although January’s storm was atypical and the amount and speed of the snowfall was unexpected, a winter exercise planned prior to the storm was postponed, “and the fact that it was not actually held potentially contributed to challenges during the incident,” Westfall wrote.
Messages sent to the public, warning motorists to avoid entering I-95 were unclear and unreliable. While some motorists ignored messages, others may not have been aware of or understood the ones that were sent out.
Interagency communication at VDOT was not effective. For example, agency officials in Fredericksburg, which bore the brunt of the gridlock, told the IG’s office that they contacted other districts for additional resources but VDOT’s Central Office had no record of that request.
There weren’t sufficient resources in place at VDOT area headquarters to handle the snow removal.
There was no primary effort to assist stranded motorists, many of whom had to abandon their vehicles in the freezing cold, as VDOT and Virginia State Police (VSP) were primarily focused on their responsibilities to open the highway.
Despite the deteriorating situation, VDOT Fredericksburg management didn’t alert executive management quickly enough and the absence of a Joint Information Center early in the storm contributed to poor communication between VDOT, VSP and Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM).
There was no backup power for traffic cameras along the affected section of I-95. Most of the traffic cameras were not operational during the storm, making it difficult for officials to assess the scope of the disaster.
While January storm’s intensity was unexpected, and therefore didn’t rise to the level of issuing an emergency declaration, the IG recommends that in the future, a Declaration of Preparedness should be issued to allow for more resource staging, including the National Guard being called up to help.
The report’s recommendations include VDOT applying what it learned from past events and incorporating the lessons into agency policies and procedures, increased snow-related disaster and recovery training, and communication training to improve messaging to the public during disasters.
“VDEM, VDOT and Virginia State Police management generally concurred with the findings and plan to implement corrective actions,” the report stated.
Those actions include coordinating with localities to help stranded motorists, holding an interagency winter weather exercise, conducting disaster response training with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, coordinated public messaging, and supplying back up power for a percentage of traffic cameras along I-95.
The IG’s office said it conducted interviews with the heads of the Agencies at the time of the storm, as well as front line workers as part of the audit.
In April, a 41-page after action report requested by VDOT, VDEM and VSP was published detailing the state’s response to the storm and what should be done in the future.
Last June, a report on the findings of another audit on VDOT’s snow removal process — which did not cover the Jan. 3 and Jan. 4 snow event — found that the agency does not have sufficient contractors to assist in heavy snow removal.
Shayna Estulin is an anchor/reporter for WTOP. She started her career in New York City as a local TV reporter and has since covered foreign affairs and national politics as a Washington correspondent. She also anchored a nightly news show for an international network. | https://www.insidenova.com/headlines/state-audit-audit-pinpoints-what-went-wrong-during-i-95-snowstorm-gridlock/article_b58bd682-1caa-11ed-bac0-2b75f8007acd.html | 2022-08-15T17:02:09Z | insidenova.com | control | https://www.insidenova.com/headlines/state-audit-audit-pinpoints-what-went-wrong-during-i-95-snowstorm-gridlock/article_b58bd682-1caa-11ed-bac0-2b75f8007acd.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
2023: We will shock APC in Lagos with sweeping defeat, Atiku allies vow
• Inaugurate special scouts for sensitisation, poll monitoring
Old and new associates of former Vice President and Presidential Candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said they are resolved to work together and ensure total victory for the main opposition party in Lagos, come 2023 general elections.
Atiku’s allies gave this vow after rising from a meeting, which was held in Lagos at the weekend, featuring the accreditation and sensitisation of several politicians and professionals carefully selected as Democratic Special Scouts.
The selected scouts, according to a statement made available to newsmen by Pastor Kayode Jacobs on behalf of the Coordinating Council, were expected to cover the entire state from Local Governments (LGs) and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs), to wards and voting units as a backup and support base for the party in its efforts to mobilise and police votes at every polling units.
Coordinating Leader and Southwest Secretary of PDP, Hon. Rahman Owokoniran, while addressing the gathering comprising Chief Coker Onita, Prof. T. O. Ishola, among others, said it was now clear that APC in Lagos in 2023 would be defeated, adding that PDP would shock APC with sweeping defeat.
“It is now clear that we are ready and getting equipped to trounce APC in Lagos in 2023. We will shock them with sweeping defeat.
“It has been done before and we are going to do it again,” he said.
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Owokoniran, who was visibly elated with the quality of people in attendance, said what would happen in 2023 polls was going to be a repeat performance of how victory was delivered to General Shehu Yar’adua, with superior strategy and assemblage of committed men and women.
“It was not magic, this was how we started, some of the then young foot soldiers are here with us still very vibrant, the strategy is potent, the commitment is electric, and thank God for the new Electoral Act and the BVAS; the executive arrogance, coercion and manipulations producing false electoral victories in Lagos over the years will be finally laid to rest,” the PDP chieftain vowed.
Chief Dapo Sarumi, in his message delivered to the gathering, emphasized that what was being done was to reproduce the contemporary version of the political machine of those years that produced many of today’s players and recent political history in Lagos.
Sarumi opined that Atiku is the only one that is not a gamble among those being put forward for the presidency, saying Nigeria cannot afford any trial presidency in the face of her current challenges, even as he advocates unity and comradeship with all interests within PDP.
Owokoniran, while commissioning the Special Scouts to the local governments and LCDAs, explained that the movement that was being put in place, whose name, character and composition, according to him, will be unveiled at a ceremony by end of August, would push to the background, the issue of groups that kept robbing PDP of victory over the years.
He assured that the movement was a melting pot for all leaders and members of the party and new entrants committed to the PDP victory project.
Consultations Ongoing Between Tinubu, Amaechi, Lawan, Others — APC National Vice Chairman
2023: We will shock APC in Lagos with sweeping defeat, Atiku allies vow | https://tribuneonlineng.com/2023-we-will-shock-apc-in-lagos-with-sweeping-defeat-atiku-allies-vow/ | 2022-08-15T17:02:09Z | tribuneonlineng.com | control | https://tribuneonlineng.com/2023-we-will-shock-apc-in-lagos-with-sweeping-defeat-atiku-allies-vow/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Tags and labels do make such delimidated content more easily manageable ... yet still... not nearly precise\n\nSo you have an array which lists out in one or 0 in how many elements at once you intend one row/grid...\nbut now i want every cell content exactly like its position..! So all elements of the one row with index: 0... the value there? should only take a length of just this value itself? same counts fo other data, e # (01/P062e): Winehouse, The Slip\nThe band from Oz return to our favorite site again as with every record the group gives their hearts (some could find more), this one comes in the \"lull after the Storm - \" a kind of \"Crim'ny & Gray\" or maybe not. The Slip will see them through the trips when things went bad as any long-term couple/best fwl can Tags : chocolao_2.x6-4\nchess : (Chess game - x0x ) *x99\n(Chess is played upon either squares-with x8-to represent empty white '0',or white with two and Blackwith zero's.. x8+0 .., the White board willbe x27(a=two/four) +(x137=four)= (a-b): = From long beans to mint and everything in between, this space is designed to help beginners learn farming and the industry and business behind it.
“We’re here at Global Greens farm,” Zachary Couture, the land and production supervisor at the Lutheran Services in Iowa’s Global Greens Program, said. “There's 20 beginning farmers out here who are scaling up, trying to start a living farming in Iowa.”
This is just one part of the larger Global Greens program, a program through Lutheran Services of Iowa that helps recommend former refugee farmers with the land as they build their lives in the U.S.
“We have 300 community gardeners, 20 beginning farmers, and 11 graduates and we support each of them in different capacities,” Couture said.
“I’m farming and work at Walmart,” Hakizimana Francois, a participant in the program, said. “This program means a lot to me.”
Francois and his wife are part of this program, learning new skills while he works his current job.
“She’s a big helper because right now she’s the one following this program and I’m helping her because I still keep my job,” Francois said.
Farming is a skill they already have, but this program helps them learn more about running a farm in America.
“It’s not just language barriers and cultural barriers,” Couture said.
Couture and other team members help them with things like technology, tools, business plans, and land rentals, too.
On a 12-acre leased lot down the road near Des Moines, Iowa, three program graduates grow a number of vegetables.
On this specific day, Couture was checking in to see what they needed to succeed. One of his team members, also from the East African country of Burundi where this group is from, helped translate.
“These farmers are very happy because they used to be in the Global Greens program for, I think, three years to five,” Firmin Ntakimazi said. “They are making some money to support the family.”
For them, land means opportunity.
“When they start talking about their families, their connection with their ancestors, they remember being on a farm with their grandparents and parents before they had to flee the country,” Couture said.
Couture said it’s a win-win situation all around. The program provides more local food to communities, gives refugees the chance to use their growing skills, and diversifies the types of vegetables being grown.
“It’s around a million pounds of vegetables a year between the community gardens and the graduates and the folks here,” Couture said.
“Next step, I wish to have to own big land so I can produce more food,” Francois said. | https://www.fox17online.com/news/national/program-teaches-refugee-farmers-the-business-behind-running-a-farm-in-the-u-s | 2022-08-15T17:02:10Z | fox17online.com | control | https://www.fox17online.com/news/national/program-teaches-refugee-farmers-the-business-behind-running-a-farm-in-the-u-s | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
When she began her run up the political ladder with a quest – initially unsuccessful – for local office, “being a woman didn’t really enter into my thinking.”
After all, said Mary Margaret Whipple, women had comprised a healthy percentage of the membership of the Arlington County Board over the years. (Including the very first County Board, elected in 1932, which included among its members Elizabeth Magruder.)
But when, some years later, Whipple made a quest for Virginia’s General Assembly, that was a different ballgame. And the experience she had gained toiling at the local level paid dividends.
“You definitely had to be somebody who had a demonstrated background and experience,” Whipple said. “You couldn’t just pop up and say ‘I want to run for Senate of Virginia.’”
Her remarks came at the Aug. 3 meeting of the Arlington County Democratic Committee, helping to kick off Women’s Equality Month.
Whipple in the 1970s was tapped for an appointed School Board post, and in 1979 unsuccessfully sought a County Board slot on a Democratic ticket with Charles Rinker. They were defeated by Republican incumbents Dorothy Grotos and Walter Frankland Jr.
Whipple rebounded in 1982, winning a County Board seat, and in 1995 was elected to the upper chamber of the state legislature upon the retirement of Ed Holland. She was among three incoming women (including Patsy Ticer of Alexandria) who upped total female membership to seven in the 40-member state Senate.
Eventually, Whipple would rise to chair the Senate Democratic Caucus, making her the first woman to hold a leadership position in a legislative body that traces its roots back to 1619.
“Mary Margaret set an example” in the legislature, longtime Del. Ken Plum (D-Reston) said at an event last year. “She knew how to bring people together, how to put forward the best arguments.”
Whipple’s remarks at the Aug. 3 event were part history lesson, part battle cry for the future.
While Democrats have sewn up the Arlington political landscape, Virginia once again has become a battleground. In her remarks, Whipple praised the Arlington County Democratic Committee’s “Beyond Arlington” initiative, which uses local party members and resources to try and support candidates in swing districts.
The initiative is “exactly what we need to do ... to make the right things happen,” she said.
In terms of women in state government, there have been some improvements since Whipple’s first arrival in Richmond, but it has been limited. Eleven of 40 state senators and 36 of 100 delegates are female, putting Virginia in the middle of the pack in terms of gender equality, according to data from the Center for American Women and Politics.
Nationally in 2022, the organization notes, 28 percent of members of the upper bodies in state legislatures are female. In the lower houses, it isn’t much better – about 32 percent of seats are occupied by women. Nevada in 2019 became the first state to have a majority of its legislative seats filled by women, and remains the only one. On the flip side of the coin, only 13 percent of state legislators in West Virginia are female.
It would not be until 1979 that Virginians elected their first female state senator (Eva Mae Scott, a Republican who had previously spent nearly a decade in the House of Delegates). Yet the Old Dominion is soon set to mark the 100th anniversary of its first female legislators in the lower (or “people’s” as some call it) house.
Democrats Sarah Lee Fain of Norfolk and Helen Timmons Henderson of Buchanan County in November 1923 were elected to the House of Delegates, taking their seats in January 1924. That was just three years after women in Virginia won the right to vote under the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (an amendment that the Virginia legislature didn’t get around to passing until 1952).
Henderson, who earned the distinction of being the first woman to ever preside over the House of Delegates, died in 1925 toward the end of her first term, although her daughter would later win the seat. Fain easily won two additional two-year terms, according to Encyclopedia Virginia, then stood down and ultimately served in a number of positions in Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal agencies.
Whipple retired from the Senate after the 2011 election (as did Ticer, who died in 2017). But she has remained active, and last year Whipple and her husband Tom were inducted into the local Democratic Committee’s “Distinguished Democrats” pantheon.
The duo has been married since 1960 and Arlington residents since 1965. They were instrumental in helping Democrats ascend to dominance in Arlington politics; as late as the early 1980s, Republicans were at parity with the party at the local level (Ronald Reagan won the Arlington vote in 1980, the last Republican to do so).
[https://sungazette.news provides content to, but otherwise is unaffiliated with, InsideNoVa or Rappahannock Media LLC.] | https://www.insidenova.com/news/arlington/former-state-senator-looks-back-and-also-to-the-future/article_2f3f434a-1ca8-11ed-86a5-77e56be72659.html | 2022-08-15T17:02:15Z | insidenova.com | control | https://www.insidenova.com/news/arlington/former-state-senator-looks-back-and-also-to-the-future/article_2f3f434a-1ca8-11ed-86a5-77e56be72659.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
In its determination to boost primary healthcare delivery services, Bauchi State Government has formally launched a new innovative way of efficiency in service delivery known as the Community Health Influencers and Promoters Services (CHIPS) program that would serve as community health agents at the grassroots.
While launching the CHIPS program at Sultan Muhammadu Sa’ad Hajj Camp, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa International Airport, Bauchi, State Governor, Sen Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed acknowledged the support of the Federal Ministry of Health, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund, Saving One Million Lives Programme for Results and other development partners especially UNICEF and USAID for their humanitarian health services, both technical and financial intervention.
In attendance during the launching were a number of development partners, health experts, traditional leaders and civil society organizations.
The implementation of the Community Health Influencers and Promoters Services (CHIPS) program is “aimed at reducing morbidity and mortality, especially among women and children, through the strategic house to house demand generation for health services at the facility level, and provision of minor health care services by trained women residing in the communities”, the Governor explained.
He also said that in the first – phase of the programme, the State Government has recruited and trained1066 individuals supported by UNICEF, noting that those trained individuals were systematically screened and selected in collaboration with the community gate-keepers, using the available structured criteria as provided by the NPHCDA.
While presenting the overview of the selection criteria, the Executive Chairman of BSPHCDA, Dr Rilwanu Mohammed further stated that the “CHIPS Implementation process in Bauchi State occurs in stages which involves Mapping of the existing Community Structure – Availability – Location – Number Supporting partner if any.”
He further said that other structures are Harmonization of the existing Community Structures through Engagement with partner organizations supporting community volunteers, Alignment of community-based activities, and Development of work-plan for community activities.
Rilwanu Mohammed further clarified the third structure which is the Selection of the CHIPS Agents, noting that the CHIPS Agents were selected among the existing Community Volunteers being supported by partner organizations, who have previously worked on a health project.
The selection followed the national criteria which outlined that Candidates should be nominated by the community structure, candidates must be residents of the community, and candidates should be ready to serve their respective communities.
Other criteria are that the candidate should be 25 years of age and above, the candidate should be preferably female; however, two males will be recruited to serve as Community Engagement Focal Persons, Candidate should be currently married or have been married in the past.
The criteria also stated that the candidate should have the ability to read and write in English or a local language preferably with a minimum of primary school leaving certificate, Candidate with previous experience as community health workers such as Village Health workers, CORPS should be given priority during selection.
In his words, the Emir of Dass, Alhaji Usman Bilyaminu Othman examined the contribution of the traditional institutions, saying that, over the years, there exists a cordial relationship between the traditional institution and different sectors of government especially health.
The Emir who doubles as Chairman of Bauchi State Emirate Council Committee on Health stated that “different fora have been established at the National, State and Local Government levels, which is also in tandem with the traditional hierarchical system.”
“These include the Northern Traditional Leaders Council (NTLC), Emirate Councils Committees on Health, various Task forces on Health and the community engagement strategy.”
The Emir added that “As community gatekeepers, as we were informed by the technical team, the CHIPS Programme is aimed at grassroots mobilization and demand generation for health services including management of minor illnesses, especially in the rural Community.”
Earlier while welcoming the participants, the Permanent Secretary who oversees the Affairs of the Health Ministry, Alhaji Ali Babayo appreciate the pragmatic commitment and concern of all stakeholders toward the provision of an effective and efficient Health system in the state.
He said that the present administration under Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed has demonstrated a high level of sense of responsibility especially for organizing the first Health Summit ever in the history of the state where experts deliberated on a number of topical issues which today culminated in the recruitment of 1061 Health personnel, apart from the continuous engagement of medical doctors.
The CHIPS implementation programme was attended by Development Partners such as NPHCDA, UNICEF, WHO, USAID, BMGF, ADF, Alive and Thrive fhi360 e.t.c. and have expressed and delivered various Goodwill messages on the new community resource groups strategy and their commitment to the service of humanity.
Highlights of the occasion included the distribution of bags and work schedules to the CHIPS Agents, Supervisors, and Focal Persons as contained in a statement by Ibrahim Sani
Information Officer, BASPHCDA.
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- Bauchi govt launches 1066 personnel as health agents for CHIPS program | https://tribuneonlineng.com/bauchi-govt-launches-1066-personnel-as-health-agents-for-chips-program/ | 2022-08-15T17:02:16Z | tribuneonlineng.com | control | https://tribuneonlineng.com/bauchi-govt-launches-1066-personnel-as-health-agents-for-chips-program/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
A quarter-century after he ran for the lower house of the legislature from Arlington, John Massoud is now angling for a seat in its upper house, representing the Shenandoah Valley.
Massoud, a taxicab-company executive, has launched a bid for the state Senate’s newly redrawn 1st District, which includes parts of Clarke, Frederick, Shenandoah and Warren counties and the city of Winchester.
The general election won’t be held until November 2023, but because General Assembly districts have been redrawn – sometimes radically – candidates already are lining up to get their names out to the public.
In campaign literature, Massoud paints himself as “a constitutional conservative who won’t bend to the pressures of special interests.”
In 1997, Massoud was the Republican nominee in the 48th House District, which included a sliver of Fairfax County but was centered on Arlington. In the general election, garnered 36 percent of the vote to 58 percent for Democrat Bob Brink and 6 percent for Reform Party candidate R.D. “Dick” Smith.
The victory was Brink’s first; he would go on to represent the district until he was tapped for a position in the McAuliffe administration in 2014. Currently, Brink chairs the State Board of Elections. The 48th District currently is represented by Democrat Rip Sullivan.
Massoud has been active in politics in the Shenandoah Valley, serving on the Strasburg Town Council and chairing the 6th Congressional District Republican Committee.
His bid for office recently was endorsed by Republican National Committee members Morton Blackwell and Patti Lyman. “It’s refreshing to see a candidate who seeks out the grass-roots support to drive his committee,” they said in a statement.
[https://sungazette.news provides content to, but otherwise is unaffiliated with, InsideNoVa or Rappahannock Media LLC.] | https://www.insidenova.com/news/arlington/one-time-arlington-candidate-makes-bid-for-state-senate-in-shenandoah-valley/article_edd6448a-1ca7-11ed-99de-6f8d9f613664.html | 2022-08-15T17:02:21Z | insidenova.com | control | https://www.insidenova.com/news/arlington/one-time-arlington-candidate-makes-bid-for-state-senate-in-shenandoah-valley/article_edd6448a-1ca7-11ed-99de-6f8d9f613664.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
The cooling local and national homes market is taking a chunk out of home-appreciation rates, but in the Washington area they remain on an upward trajectory.
The median sales price for properties that went to closing across the Washington area in July was $562,766, up 2.3 percent but representing the lowest year-over-year price gain since June 2020.
That’s according to data from MarketStats by ShowingTime based on listing activity from Bright MLS.
Affordability issues and rising interest rates have priced some potential buyers out of the market, while general economic anxiety may have pushed others to the sidelines. The result: Fewer prospective buyers, fewer offers on homes, and some buyers willing to accept less than they otherwise might in order to move the property.
In the 10 jurisdictions that comprise the reporting area, eight saw higher year-over-year median prices, with Alexandria posting a big drop (which could be as much attributable to the types of housing in the overall sales mix during the month than a general freefall in prices). The District of Columbia’s median sales price was down slightly but effectively unchanged.
Bright MLS also watches home-sales indicators in Philadelphia and Baltimore, and its chief economist, Lisa Sturtevant, said there have been differences among the three metro areas in recent months.
“Home-sales activity began declining earlier in 2022 in the Washington metro before either the Baltimore or Philadelphia markets,” she said.
“Affordability challenges have had a bigger impact on the market [in the Washington region], where high home prices shut buyers out of the market earlier in the housing-market cycle.”
But Sturtevant has not thrown in the towel on appreciation.
“Prices will continue to rise in most local markets,” she predicted, while cautioning residents to “expect home-sales activity to continue to slow and inventory to expand further in the coming months.”
Sturtevant said the pace of price growth is likely to be “much lower” than it has been since the summer of 2020, when the market rocketed forward after shaking off the first wave of COVID was over.
For July, the number of closed sales in the region (5,456) dropped 27 percent from a year before – and was down by double-digit amounts in all 10 localities – while the number of pending sales was down by an almost equal amount.
The number of home showings recorded throughout the region was down 32 percent, another sign that some erstwhile buyers have decided to wait out the storm for the time being.
But it is not all bad news for sellers who fear they may have missed the boat. The amount of housing supply in July (1.32 months’ worth) was still in pro-seller territory, and the median number of days it took for homes to go from listing to ratified sales contract (8) was up just slightly from a year before and, in historical terms, still very strong.
Figures represent sales in the District of Columbia; Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun counties and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church in Virginia; and Montgomery, Prince George’s and Frederick counties in Maryland. All July 2022 figures are preliminary and are subject to revision.
[https://sungazette.news provides content to, but otherwise is unaffiliated with, InsideNoVa or Rappahannock Media LLC.] | https://www.insidenova.com/news/arlington/regions-home-price-keep-rising-but-at-a-slower-pace/article_7824a8b6-1ca8-11ed-81cf-1f87c1240f68.html | 2022-08-15T17:02:27Z | insidenova.com | control | https://www.insidenova.com/news/arlington/regions-home-price-keep-rising-but-at-a-slower-pace/article_7824a8b6-1ca8-11ed-81cf-1f87c1240f68.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Chelsea Hu, a Buteo Scholar as BASIS Independent McLean, recently was named one of “16 Under 16 in STEM” by The74, a news site covering education.
An independent panel of judges rated students on creativity, change-making and resilience. Hu was the only student from Virginia to be named to the list of the 16 most outstanding STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, Math] students in the U.S.
Hu previously earned a third place Grand Award at the 2021 Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair in the earth-and-environment category, for her original research on the use of eastern skunk cabbages to combat soilbank erosion.
She also was a national finalist in the 2022 Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, as well as a recipient of the Young Women in Mathematics Award.
[https://sungazette.news provides content to, but otherwise is unaffiliated with, InsideNoVa or Rappahannock Media LLC.] | https://www.insidenova.com/news/fairfax/basis-mclean-student-named-one-of-the-nations-top-teens-in-stem/article_a05c0e00-1ca8-11ed-9902-7bdf506de1ed.html | 2022-08-15T17:02:33Z | insidenova.com | control | https://www.insidenova.com/news/fairfax/basis-mclean-student-named-one-of-the-nations-top-teens-in-stem/article_a05c0e00-1ca8-11ed-9902-7bdf506de1ed.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
DENVER, Colo. — The Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation found at least 82% of Americans have been infected with COVID-19, but, that means millions of Americans still haven’t been infected. Now, researchers are looking at the science behind those who have stayed healthy.
Researchers are calling these people Novids, for never having COVID, and with nearly 60 million Novids across the country, researchers want to pin down if these people are simply lucky or if genetic factors may be keeping the virus away.
Dr. Thomas Campbell, an internal medicine doctor at the University of Colorado Hospital, said he thinks the biggest reason behind not getting sick doesn’t have much to do with science and will probably frustrate anyone who has been sick.
“I think a lot of that is due to luck,” said Dr. Campbell.
Dr. Campbell said studies have shown, that even with the highly contagious omicron variants, only about 1 in 4 people living with someone who has COVID also got the virus. That low percentage shows him that people can be exposed and just not get sick.
“I think some of it is timing. We know that when a person gets infected with COVID, they are most likely to spread it to other people very early in the course of their illness,” said Dr. Campbell.
Dr. Campbell says research shows that the infection window can be from the day before symptoms appear to about five days into being sick.
“So, if you come into contact with people beyond that window, then the chances of getting infection are less," he explained.
Still, timing isn’t everything. Genetics may play a role, too. There are several studies happening now to determine if there’s a protein or gene that keeps some people from getting sick.
“A very well-studied example is in the case of HIV,” said Dr. Campbell.
He says about 2% of the Caucasian population does not make a specific protein that HIV cells need to infect the human body. The people without that protein are therefore naturally immune to HIV.
Dr. Campbell said research is happening now to determine if something similar could be true for COVID-19 too.
“There will likely be some genetic factors that would protect certain individuals against getting infected, but I think those will be fairly rare,” he said.
However, the genetic research happening today could help explain why some people get long COVID, and it could help make better treatments for COVID in the future.
“In the case of the co-receptors in HIV, that actually did lead to development of a class of medicines that are used to treat people with HIV,” said Dr. Campbell.
The last reason many people might think they haven’t had COVID: they may have been asymptomatic. Researchers at the University of Bern in Switzerland studied more than 28,000 COVID cases around the world and found 42% of those infected had no symptoms.
For those lucky people who have never been infected, Dr. Campbell recommended the usual preventative measures: vaccination, mask-wearing, and social distancing. But, he also said keeping physically and mentally healthy can be big factors in minimizing or avoiding COVID altogether. | https://www.fox17online.com/news/national/why-some-people-still-havent-had-covid | 2022-08-15T17:02:34Z | fox17online.com | control | https://www.fox17online.com/news/national/why-some-people-still-havent-had-covid | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
FG borrows N19.3trn from CBN in 7 years
•Amount 25 times higher than 2015 figure •Borrowing fueling inflation, could reach N22.6trn by year end —Experts
The Federal Government’s borrowing from the Central Bank of Nigeria has in recent years exceeded the limits stipulated by the CBN Act, with attendant implications on the economy. CHIMA NWOKOJI in this piece examines the magnitude and impact on monetary and fiscal environments in the country.
Fresh findings have shown that the Federal Government’s total borrowing from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through Ways and Means (W&M) Advances ballooned by N19.26 trillion in seven years, over 25 times higher than what it was in 2015.
This according to a herd of economic and finance experts may hit N22.6 trillion by the end of the year, with the biggest risks being inflation and currency depreciation.
Analysis of the data obtained from CBN website showed that total W&M liabilities have increased by more than twenty five-fold over the last seven years, from barely N648.26 billion in 2015.
According to the CBN, claims on the FG through W&M rose to a new milestone, up 28.4per cent when compared year on year (y/y) to ₦19.9 trillion at the end of June 2022 from ₦15.5 trillion recorded in June 2021. Thus representing 82.1per cent of the CBN’s total claims on the FG. It showed that in six months of 2022 alone, about ₦2.5 trillion has been disbursed to the FG, an indication that total annualised disbursement might spike to ₦5.1 trillion (2021: ₦4.3 trillion).
Ways and Means Advances is a loan facility used by the central bank to finance the government in periods of temporary budget shortfalls subject to limits imposed by law.
According to Section 38 of the CBN Act, 2007, the bank may grant temporary advances to the Federal Government in respect of temporary deficiency of budget revenue at such rate of interest as the bank may determine.
Nigerian Tribune findings show that as of June 2015, a month after President Muhammadu Buhari came into power, the total government borrowing from the apex bank stood at N648.26 billion.
It jumped from N856.33 billion in December 2015 to N2.23 trillion in December 2016, the CBN data showed.
The total borrowing from the bank grew by N1.08 trillion in 2017 to N3.31 trillion. It rose further by N2.1 trillion in 2018 to N5.41 trillion.
The Federal Government’s borrowing from the CBN surged by 61.18 per cent (N3.31 trillion) to N8.72 trillion at the end of 2019.
The government turned again to the apex bank for a record N4.9 trillion to plug its fiscal financing gap, bringing its total borrowing to N13.11 trillion as of December 2020.
More recently, FG’s loan from CBN through Ways and Means Advances rose from N17.46 trillion in December 2021 to N19.91 trillion in June 2022.
The FGN’s new borrowing from the CBN has repeatedly exceeded the five per cent limit in recent years.
For instance, it reached about 80 per cent of the FGN’s 2019 revenues in 2020 and has continued in that trend, which is a violation of the CBN Act, that the outstanding amount should not exceed five per cent of prior years’ actual revenue.
A top executive at the CBN who prefers not to be quoted because he was not authorised to speak for the bank said that central banks across the world lend to their governments for various purposes as a government’s bank, whether it is called quantitative easing or ways and means and Nigeria is not an exception.
Commenting on the development, the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Public Enterprises (CPPE) Dr Muda Yusuf said the risks associated with over lending to the federal government are the inflation and currency depreciation risks.
According to him, it is a contributory factor to the current uptick in inflationary pressures in the economy.
Yusuf stated further “There are also implications for the currency.” Mounting ways and means financing increases money supply and invariably weakens and depreciates the currency.
“All of these are taking a huge toll on production costs, operating costs and the welfare of citizens.”
Also, Bismarck Rewane, Managing Director Financial Derivatives Company (FDC) Limited in an earlier interview, said that apart from the above, taming the growth in money supply is extremely important to curb inflationary pressures, and the first step is for the CBN to stick to its own rule of lending to the FGN (ways and means advances) at five per cent of the previous year’s revenue.
Fitch, a global rating agency had repeatedly warned that central bank financing of government budgets could raise risks to macro-stability in the context of weak institutional safeguards that preserve the credibility of policymaking and the ability of the central bank to control inflation.
Similarly, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Cowry Asset Management Limited, Mr Johnson Chukwu, said the central bank lending put pressure on the exchange rate and the inflation rate, with “liquidity that has no productivity attached to it coming into the system.”
For a Lagos-based investment banking and financial advisory firm, Afrinvest (West) Africa Limited, the consistent spike in W&M financing could be traced to the burgeoning FG’s fiscal deficits as a result of the rising expenditure plan amid muted improvement in revenue generation.
It noted that while one may argue that the CBN is acting on its mandate as the lender of last resort, the fact that the FG can always tap into the coffers of the apex bank incentivises FG’s fiscal expansion – which has contributed to budget deficit growth by more than 300.0 per cent since 2015 – amid poor revenue generation.
In addition, the sustained expansion of W&M Liabilities has contributed to the spike in currency in circulation with the monetary base rising by 18.2 per cent y/y in the 12 months to June 2022 – a development “we believe contributed to the surging inflationary trend,” Afrinvest stated in an e-mailed note.
Furthermore, despite the estimated cheap price of the W&M funding (c.7.0 per cent p.a.), its interest payment accounted for a 20.9 per cent share of the total debt service cost over four months (Jan–Apr 2022). This underscores the large-scale nature of W&M in the FG’s loan book.
“Unfortunately, we do not expect Nigeria’s fiscal vulnerability to improve materially in the near term given the weak political will to trim recurrent expenditure despite static revenue performance.
“As such we estimate that W&M advanced to the FG could reach ₦22.6 trillion by year-end, increasing the ratio of annual W&M disbursement to FG’s last fiscal year (LFY) actual revenue to 116.1 per cent,” the firm emphasised.
While the CBN has defied several calls by global financial authorities and agencies (such as IMF, World Bank, Fitch and Moody’s Ratings) to halt deficit financing which has continued to undermine its independent status, Afrinvest canvasses that a timely secularisation of the liability would be a win-win for the FG and the CBN.
ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE | https://tribuneonlineng.com/fg-borrows-n19-3trn-from-cbn-in-7-years/ | 2022-08-15T17:02:35Z | tribuneonlineng.com | control | https://tribuneonlineng.com/fg-borrows-n19-3trn-from-cbn-in-7-years/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Authorities have arrested a 21-year-old Falls Church man and charged him with aggravated sexual battery that allegedly occurred while has was working as a caretaker at Inova Fairfax Hospital, Fairfax County police said Aug. 12.
The victim, who requires round-the-clock, long-term care because of his condition, on July 7 told a hospital technician that his previous caretaker allegedly had sexually assaulted him in April. The caretaker allegedly had fondled the victim’s genitalia on two separate occasions, police said.
Hospital officials on July 8 notified detectives from the police department’s Major Crimes Bureau and they responded to assume the investigation. Detectives identified the caretaker as Hektor Fernando Alvarez.
Alvarez was employed by Metropolitan Healthcare Services (MHS), a company contracted by Inova to provide sitter services for patients. He is no longer employed by MHS, police said.
After a monthlong investigation by detectives, police arrested Alvarez on Aug. 9 on the charge of aggravated sexual battery with a victim through mental incapacity or helplessness. Authorities originally held him without bond, but later released him on a secured bond.
[https://sungazette.news provides content to, but otherwise is unaffiliated with, InsideNoVa or Rappahannock Media LLC.] | https://www.insidenova.com/news/fairfax/police-caretaker-charged-in-alleged-inova-hospital-assault/article_381eadde-1b36-11ed-8dd5-0763f511e960.html | 2022-08-15T17:02:39Z | insidenova.com | control | https://www.insidenova.com/news/fairfax/police-caretaker-charged-in-alleged-inova-hospital-assault/article_381eadde-1b36-11ed-8dd5-0763f511e960.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
FG directs NAICOM to deepen insurance penetration with new products
• As NAICOM shops for new investors to recapitalise sector
The Federal Government has directed the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to evolve strategies that would deepen insurance penetration in the country by making operators develop new insurance products and policies.
The directive was given by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, in Abuja, on Monday, when the Governing Board of NAICOM paid her a courtesy visit.
Addressing members of the NAICOM Board, Mrs Ahmed said “there would be a need to achieve more insurance penetration in the country. In this regard, there is a need to evolve new insurance products and policies”.
The Finance Minister, while speaking directly to the Board members said, “members should commit to develop and implement policies that would promote the reputation of the industry through prompt payment of claims. Your target should be to take the industry to greater and enviable heights during your tenure.”
Chairman, Governing Board of NAICOM, Dr Abubakar Sani, in his address, told the minister that they are “working hard to proffer solutions to curb the ugly trend of insurance failure by way of instituting strong regulatory measures in the Board of directors of all the insurance entities to make them perform better, by adhering to their corporate rules that establish them.”
He added that NAICOM will “enforce the professional code of ethics among the insurance entities, strengthen their corporate governance, which the board believes will sanitise the market”.
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Dr Sani disclosed that the NAICOM Board will in due course “revisit the matter of recapitalization of the insurance industry and clean up its act with the enforcement of code of ethics of insurance profession and practice, and code of good corporate governance in companies.
“In addition, the Board has promised to create an enabling environment for the insurance industry to beef up their capital through mergers and acquisitions, and invitation of fresh capital from the local and international investors.
“Accordingly, Investors Forum where insurance companies that need capital will interact with potential investors: insurance companies will come together to showcase themselves where there will be due diligence to enable potential investors to know their financial status.”
The Board appealed to the Minister to support its effort to look “for investors that would make the Nigerian insurance industry robust to effectively strengthen the entities to play their roles in making other businesses thrive in the country.”
In this vein, Dr Sani pointed out that “NAICOM will organise an insurance investment forum in Nigeria and abroad with the sole aim of wooing potential investors to take advantage of the potentials in investing in Nigeria Insurance Industry”.
The Board, he noted will seek the collaboration of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council, National Assembly Committee on diaspora, and other insurance jurisdictions across the globe, stressing that “we want to extend our investment campaign to Europe, the Middle East and America”.
The NAICOM Board Chairman said the Commission “is working to sanitise the market and will be taking out companies that are not measuring up to expectations.
We will install the mechanism to review all the actuarial valuations submitted to the commission for assessment and consideration”..
In order to enhance the performance of the regulatory body, Dr Sani said NAICOM’s “strategic plan will be reviewed to align with the objectives of the Commission as contained in the matching order and directives; where the Minister specifically asked the Board to uplift the insurance industry to a greater height, on the day our Board was inaugurated.”
Dr Sani also asked for the Minister’s support “to exterminate the menace of fake insurance policies in the country, which deny huge revenue to the insurance entities and taxes to the government.
“In our action plan, we will solicit the cooperation of your ministry to institute an insurance task force that would enforce compulsory insurance in the country. The task force that will be deployed, should be made of the Police, Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) and Nigerian Civil Defense.”
Dr Sani assured the Minister that Commission will build a strong, viable and 21st-century insurance industry in Nigeria, in addition to deepening insurance in the country, and “raise positively, its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Nigeria’s economy.”
Consultations Ongoing Between Tinubu, Amaechi, Lawan, Others — APC National Vice Chairman
FG directs NAICOM to deepen insurance penetration with new products | https://tribuneonlineng.com/fg-directs-naicom-to-deepen-insurance-penetration-with-new-products/ | 2022-08-15T17:02:42Z | tribuneonlineng.com | control | https://tribuneonlineng.com/fg-directs-naicom-to-deepen-insurance-penetration-with-new-products/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
To elevate turnout as first-year head coaches in their programs, Colgan’s Reggie Scott and Osbourn Park’s Marsel Wells focused on building relationships.
As a result of their efforts, both are optimistic their programs can field freshman teams in 2022 after going without them the season before.
Scott said Colgan has around 84 players. The Sharks have 23 seniors, 23 juniors, 17 sophomores and 21 freshmen.
Wells, who replaced Scott as Osbourn Park’s head coach, said the Yellow Jackets have averaged around 74 to 75 players a practice with the most coming from the junior ranks.
Both coaches are banking on more players, especially freshmen, coming out closer to school starting Aug. 22.
After accepting their new positions, Scott and Wells connected with their program’s middle schools and worked the hallways at their high schools to bolster interest.
Announced as Colgan’s head coach Jan. 25, Scott takes over a program that finished 0-10 in 2021 and has lost 17 straight. Scott replaces Steve Baudendistel who stepped down at the end of the season. Colgan went 9-37 in Baudendistel’s five years at the varsity helm.
Scott focused on replenishing the player pool after kids transferred out or chose not to play in previous years at Prince William County's largest high school.
Colgan has hired Reggie Scott as the school's second head football coach. The school announc…
The Sharks do return some key players in senior Devon Grant (second-team, all-region punt returner), junior safety Justin Watkins, a second-team all-Cardinal District pick, junior running back/linebacker Tyler Henry, and senior left tackle Evan Smith (6-4, 275). Senior defensive back Darryl Byrd is back after spending the last two years at Bishop Ireton.
Seniors Ryan Westhoff and Thomas Pullen, Osbourn Park’s leading passer and rusher last season, have joined the Colgan team.
Pullen, a first-team all-Cedar Run selection at running back, finished with 853 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. He was Osbourn Park’s leading scorer with 47 points.
Scott said it helps that his job as a Navy contractor allows him to telework so he can be at the school more during the day.
The 33-year-old Wells, who coached the running backs at Osbourn Park in 2021, considered joining Scott at Colgan as an assistant, but said he decided to apply for the Osbourn Park job for two reasons.
He felt he had established a bond with the players. And he wanted to remain in Manassas, where he grew up and attended Osbourn Park as a freshman and Unity Reed the next two years before graduating from Mountain View in Centreville in 2008. A longtime youth coach, Wells said those ties helped him establish a rapport with local kids.
Osbourn Park announced his hire Feb. 7.
“I was born and raised in Manassas,” said Wells, who is the Yellow Jackets third head football coach in as many years. “I did not feel like my services would benefit Colgan as much as my community.”
Wells said he’s had over 20 freshmen out but would like at least 30 to have a ninth-grade team.
Osbourn Park went 2-8 last season. Its top returner is Wyatt Hurley. He was a second-team all-district selection last season at wide receiver who totaled 22 receptions, 411 yards and five touchdowns.
BACK TO COLLEGE
Tony Keiling Jr. has left his job as Gar-Field’s defensive coordinator to become the linebackers coach at Division II Wheeling University (W.Va.).
Keiling’s father is Gar-Field’s head coach. Keiling has been on the Red Wolves’ staff since his dad became head coach starting with the 2017 season. Keiling Jr. began as the linebacker coaches before becoming the defensive coordinator.
Keiling Jr.’s college alma mater (Concord) plays in the same conference as Wheeling (the Mountain East).
The Red Wolves have five new assistant coaches this season: J'Aire Galloway (varsity linebackers), Kavary Hill (varsity offensive coordinator), Malik Langley (wide receivers), Marshall Forney (varsity offensive line) and Desmond Spates (varsity running backs). | https://www.insidenova.com/sports/prince_william/high-school-football-notebook-osbourn-park-colgan-football-see-increased-numbers/article_eb39dc34-1ca5-11ed-a00c-13dcadef880b.html | 2022-08-15T17:02:46Z | insidenova.com | control | https://www.insidenova.com/sports/prince_william/high-school-football-notebook-osbourn-park-colgan-football-see-increased-numbers/article_eb39dc34-1ca5-11ed-a00c-13dcadef880b.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Gunmen on Sunday night attacked St. Agnes Catholic Parish Dinya in the Gassol Local Government Area of Taraba State and abducted a Catechist.
Parish Priest Parish, Rev. Fr. Lawrence Awua told our correspondent on the phone that terrorists invaded the Church and started shooting at about 9:58 pm.
“I was in the room when the attackers came and started shooting sporadically and hitting objects on my door.
“I never responded and probably they thought I was not around.
“My Catechist, Gidion Tsehemba who was in the Church heard what was happening in the Parish House and was coming towards the house when they abducted him,” he said.
In a related development, gunmen on Sunday afternoon shot one Mr Tavershima Faga in Borno-kurku in Bali local government area of the state.
Tribune Online gathered that the victim was returning from a Church service on a motorcycle when he was shot and left in his pool of blood.
The Ter Bali, Zaki David Gbaa, confirmed the attack in a telephone interview with our correspondent.
“Yes, Tavershima Faga was attacked at about 2:10 pm yesterday. The attackers thought he died and they left.
“It was a passerby who saw him alive and alerted the community. He is currently receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital,” he said.
These attacks came barely two weeks after gunmen killed Pastor Solomon Maji on his way back from church in Borno-kurku.
Police Public Relations Officer DSP. Usman Abdullahi did not respond to calls put to his line at the time of filing this report for confirmation.
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- Gunmen attack Catholic Church, abduct parishioner in Taraba | https://tribuneonlineng.com/gunmen-attack-catholic-church-abduct-parishioner-in-taraba/ | 2022-08-15T17:03:01Z | tribuneonlineng.com | control | https://tribuneonlineng.com/gunmen-attack-catholic-church-abduct-parishioner-in-taraba/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
The leader of Niger Delta in Ondo State, Senior High Chief Bibopere Ajube on Monday, accused the management of the Niger Delta Development Commission and the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on NDDC, Hon Bunmi Tunji Ojo of diverting amenities meant for the Ondo state mandate areas to other areas that have no link with the Niger Delta region.
The alarm is coming less than 24 hours after the House of Representatives Committee on NDDC, launched a N50 million scholarship scheme for 1000 indigent students, who are indigenes of the Akoko area of the state, even as the NDDC disclosed that it had approved the resumption of bursary payment to the student in the oil-rich region.
Ajube who stated this in a statement issued and signed by him expressed dismay over what he described as the shady treatment the coastal communities in the state are subjected to, by the leadership of the NDDC.
Ajube described as disturbing, a situation whereby benefits that should accrue to the people of Ilaje and Ese-Odo local government areas are enjoyed by those in the northern senatorial district, especially Akoko.
Ajube, who was Commander of the Western Fringe of the defunct Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and now, Chairman and CEO of Bradama International Skills Works stressed the need for all stakeholders to work hand in hand and call the NDDC management and Hon. Ojo to order.
He said “We suspect that someone is trying to play on the intelligence of the good people of Ilaje and Ese-Odo that fall within the mandate areas of the NDDC.
“Over time, we have watched how benefits that should be extended to the people of the mandate areas are diverted to Akoko.
“Without any grudge against anyone, we are however amazed that this development has relegated our people to the background as they are now like beggars who have to prostrate to derive benefit from those holding into the patronage.
“The most recent ugly development is the noise about the scholarship reportedly approved by Hon. Ojo to Akoko students.
“There is more to this because as the report came without any of our students from Ilaje and Ese-Odo, the NDDC came out to announce that it had approved the resumption of bursary payment. So who is fooling who, we ask?
“I, therefore, call on the NDDC management as well Hon. Ojo to reconsider their antipeople stance against the good people of Ilaje/Ese-Odo by including them in their programmes rather than alienating the riverine areas of Ondo State”
The NDDC had on Friday said it had resumed the suspended scholarship scheme as part of efforts to eradicate poverty in the Niger Delta region.
The Special Adviser on Youths to the Interim Administrator, NDDC, Mr Udengs Eradiri, disclosed that as part of the Commission’s efforts towards the celebration of the International Youth Day, there is an ongoing Niger Delta Talent Hunt which would help to discover and empower talented youths in the region.
However, an aide of the Chairman of the Committee on NDDC, who speak on the condition of anonymity described the allegations as baseless and said the lawmaker will respond to the allegations appropriately.
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- NDDC: Ondo mandate areas short-changed, neglected – Niger Delta leader raises alarm | https://tribuneonlineng.com/nddc-ondo-mandate-areas-short-changed-neglected-niger-delta-leader-raises-alarm/ | 2022-08-15T17:03:21Z | tribuneonlineng.com | control | https://tribuneonlineng.com/nddc-ondo-mandate-areas-short-changed-neglected-niger-delta-leader-raises-alarm/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
The Onirokun of Irokun Kingdom, His Royal Majesty (HRM), Kabiyesi Alayeluwa, Oba Buari Ola Balogun (Ogbelege IV), in the Ogun Waterside Local Government area of Ogun State have raised the alarm that the Araromi Seaside which is being proposed as a tourism zone by the Ondo State Government, is part of Ogun Waterside Local Government and is under Ogun State, not Ondo State.
Recall that the Ondo State Government recently issued a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Richard Olatunde, announcing that the Araromi Seaside is part of Igbokoda in the Ilaje Local Government Area of the State, and is set to be declared a Tourism Zone by the Ondo State Governor.
However, countering the announcement by the Ondo State Government in an interview with Tribune Online, the Onirokun of Irokun, HRM, Kabiyesi Alayeluwa, Oba Buari Ola Balogun (Ogbelege IV), explained that Araromi Seaside is not part of Ilaje Local Government of Ondo State but part of Ogun Waterside Local Government of Ogun State.
According to the Irokun Monarch, “For the sake of clearance, reference should be made to the geographical Boundary declaration of States along the bight of Benin, even at the time and after the Western Region, where it will be found that the entire landmark of Araromi Seaside fell into Ijebu Land and is one of the Communities of Irokun Kingdom of Ogun Waterside.
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“Secondly, it should interest everyone that may be concerned to know that I have severally visited Araromi Seaside as one of the Communities under my jurisdiction, and had serious consultations with the dwellers of the land, who were scheming to move to Ondo State on the ground that they are a community that has been abandoned by the Ogun State Government.
“I frantically established it to the people there on the land, that despite their agitation for Ondo State as a people, the land they occupy cannot be transferred to Ondo State by them. That the land belongs to the Irokun Kingdom, an Ijebu community under the administration of the Awujale of Ijebu land, and is under Ogun Waterside Local Government of Ogun State.
“It is, therefore, very pertinent this time around that I am using this opportunity and medium to voice out to both Ogun Waterside Local Government and Ogun State Government that the land mentioned here, Araromi Seaside, is their land and not that of Ondo State.”
The Ondo State Government recently concluded arrangements to declare the Araromi Seaside in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area of the State, a Tourism Zone.
The State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, while making the announcement in his Office, Alagbaka, Akure, said that the huge potential of the State in Tourism could no longer be left untapped.
He noted that the development, which is in partnership with La Campagne Tropicana Beach Resort, will replicate the success stories of Tourism, particularly in Dubai, in the Sunshine State.
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Expose Killers Of 6 Nigeriens In South East — Buhari
Ogun community raises alarm over takeover of land by Ondo State | https://tribuneonlineng.com/ogun-community-raises-alarm-over-takeover-of-land-by-ondo-state/ | 2022-08-15T17:03:34Z | tribuneonlineng.com | control | https://tribuneonlineng.com/ogun-community-raises-alarm-over-takeover-of-land-by-ondo-state/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Suspected killer arraigned by Ogun police, remanded in prison custody
Elijah Adeogun, popularly known as Killer, who was in May arrested by the operatives of the Department of State Security Service (DSS) for an alleged murder in Ogun State was on Monday arraigned before an Ota Magistrate Court presided over by Chief Magistrate O I Oke.
Elijah was arrested by the DSS operatives for his alleged involvement in the killing of Monday Eredua and Moruf Babalola in 2021 at two different locations in Ogun State.
The magistrate, while ruling on an application by the prosecution counsel, Tosin Jackson for a 60-day remand warrant against the accused person ruled that Adeogun should be remanded at the Correctional Centre till September 14, 2022.
Jackson, while making the application, said that the remand warrant was to allow the office to file the necessary documents before a court of higher jurisdiction for proper arraignment
Lead counsel to the accused person, Bolarinwa Odewale, however, opposed the motion, claiming such would mean an abuse of the judicial process.
Odewale argued that a court of higher jurisdiction had in May this granted Killer bail for the same offence he was arraigned for on Monday.
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The lawyer also argued that Killer had been in the custody of the police and therefore pleaded that the court should grant him bail.
But the defence team could not present the necessary documentation that was reportedly used to perfect the bail conditions.
Jackson however denied that Elijah was ever arraigned before the Monday proceeding and also added that a DPP advice has been released.
The lawyer also stated that the DPP advice which was released a few days ago stated that Elijah has a case to answer on on murder, attempted murder and forcible entry.
Magistrate Oke while ruling on the application ordered that since there is already a DPP advice on the matter and the fact that the documents which were used to perfect the said bail conditions at the high court, the accused person should be conditionally remanded at the Ibara Correctional Centre | https://tribuneonlineng.com/suspected-killer-arraigned-by-ogun-police-remanded-in-prison-custody/ | 2022-08-15T17:03:54Z | tribuneonlineng.com | control | https://tribuneonlineng.com/suspected-killer-arraigned-by-ogun-police-remanded-in-prison-custody/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
BERLIN (AP) — German officials expressed mounting anger Monday at the slow flow of information from Poland as experts raced to discover what killed tens of thousands of fish in a shared border river and put up barriers used to contain oil spills in a bid to rein in the spread of fish carcasses.
German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke demanded a transparent and full investigation into the cause for the massive fish die-off in the Oder River after having met her Polish counterpart in the Polish border city of Szczecin on Sunday evening.
“There would be a massive loss of confidence, especially among the Polish population, but probably also among us, if this (investigation) did not succeed,” Lemke said Monday on ARD television.
The Oder runs from Czechia to the border between Poland and Germany before flowing into the Baltic Sea. Ten tons of dead fish were removed from it last week and people have been asked not to swim in it or even touch its waters. Authorities have not yet found the reason for the massive fish die-off.
Authorities on Monday were putting up sea barriers usually used during oil spills on the Szczecin Lagoon, where the river runs into the Baltic Sea, to prevent a possible spread of fish carcasses there, the German news agency dpa reported.
Since last Friday some 80 tons of dead fish have been collected, said Brig. Karol Kierzkowski, spokesman for Poland’s fire service.
Lemke also announced the two European Union countries have created a task force with experts to exchange updates on the investigation into the ecological disaster.
The state governor of Brandenburg, which borders Poland along the Oder River, criticized Polish authorities for their lack of information on the fish die-off.
The information about the environmental disaster has come only “in dribs and drabs” or “not at all,” Dietmar Woidke said, adding that “this must be dealt with urgently in the coming months,” dpa reported.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki countered Monday that Poland was doing everything to cooperate with German to explain the fish die-off, and said the German authorities also could not yet explain the cause.
The German environment ministry said they were expecting results on possible toxins in the river water later this week. Brandenburg state Environment Minister Axel Vogel said “it may take several more days until we have checked through all the substances that we consider possible.”
There is probably more than one cause for the fish die-off, Vogel said, adding that the current drought and low water levels almost certainly shared part of the blame.
The entire ecosystem of the Oder River has been damaged, he said.
“That’s why we don’t think we have a disaster that can be solved within half a year by repopulating with fish,” Vogel said.
___
Follow AP’s climate and environment coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment | https://www.wspa.com/news/business/ap-business/oil-spill-barriers-put-on-oder-river-to-tame-huge-fish-kill/ | 2022-08-15T17:07:50Z | wspa.com | control | https://www.wspa.com/news/business/ap-business/oil-spill-barriers-put-on-oder-river-to-tame-huge-fish-kill/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
A U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II pilot with the 58th Fighter Squadron, 33rd Fighter Wing, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, takes off at Volk Field Air National Guard Base, Wisconsin, Aug. 10, 2022. Nomads with the 33rd FW traveled to Volk Field to participate in exercise Northern Lightning, a joint training exercise emphasizing user-defined objectives resulting in tailored, scenario-based, full-spectrum, high-end training. (U.S. Air Force video by Airman 1st Class Leandra Garcia)
This work, 33rd FW Flightline Operations, Northern Lightning 2022 [Image 9 of 9], by A1C Leandra Garcia, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright. | https://www.dvidshub.net/image/7370569/33rd-fw-flightline-operations-northern-lightning-2022 | 2022-08-15T17:08:18Z | dvidshub.net | control | https://www.dvidshub.net/image/7370569/33rd-fw-flightline-operations-northern-lightning-2022 | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
(KTLA) — Tom Holland is taking a break from social media.
The “Spider-Man” star shared a video to his official Instagram account over the weekend in which he said he’s taking the hiatus to focus on his mental health.
“I have taken a break from social media for my mental health because I find Instagram and Twitter to be overstimulating, to be overwhelming,” he explained. “I get caught up and spiral when I read things about me online, and ultimately it’s very detrimental to my mental state.”
Aside from the break, Holland used his message to talk about Stem 4, which is a U.K.-based teenage mental health charity that is supported by his organization The Brothers Trust. It has several programs that help kids manage their mental health.
“The Brothers Trust is supporting this charity because we think it’s a fantastic cause,” the 26-year-old explained. “There is an awful stigma against mental health and I know that asking for help and seeking help isn’t something we should be ashamed of, but it is something that is much easier said than done. So hopefully these apps can be your first steps towards being happier and healthier.”
“I love you all, and I’ll speak to you soon,” the actor said toward the end of his video.
Some big names offered their support to Holland in the comments.
“Love you, man,” wrote singer Justin Bieber.
Photographer Greg Williams commented, “good man x.”
“Man, you’re an inspiration to so many,” commented WWE wrestler Ricochet. “But what matters is your physical and your mental health, so take care and come back better than ever!” | https://www.wspa.com/news/national/nexstar-media-wire/actor-tom-holland-taking-a-break-from-social-media-for-his-mental-health/ | 2022-08-15T17:09:16Z | wspa.com | control | https://www.wspa.com/news/national/nexstar-media-wire/actor-tom-holland-taking-a-break-from-social-media-for-his-mental-health/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
(The Hill) — Authorities said the brother of former NFL cornerback Aqib Talib is a person of interest in a shooting at a youth football game in Texas that occurred on Saturday that killed a coach.
A statement released by Lancaster, Texas officials indicated on Sunday that Yaqub Salik Talib is considered a suspect in the incident at the Lancaster Community Park in Dallas County. There is a warrant out for his arrest.
Police said Lancaster police officers arrived at the scene where an argument had ensued between the coaching staff and officiating crew. During a physical altercation, police said someone discharged a firearm that struck Coach Mike Hickmon.
The Dallas County medical examiner’s office confirmed the identity of the lone victim in the incident as the 43-year-old Hickmon, Dallas Morning News reported.
A video of the incident on social media shows a coach arguing with a game official as a brawl erupts in the background.
North Dallas United Bobcats owner Tevar Watson told the newspaper that he was aware of the incident and that his team was among those competing.
“We don’t condone any of that, there is no place for anything like that to happen in youth sports — in any type of sport,” Watson told the Morning News.
Aqib Talib, who recently joined Amazon’s Prime Video as a studio analyst for its “Thursday Night Football” NFL coverage, released a statement through his attorney expressing his condolences, according to TMZ.
The 36-year-old Talib enjoyed a fruitful NFL career, making five Pro Bowls, two All-Pro teams, and winning a Super Bowl championship with the Denver Broncos in 2015 during his twelve years in the league.
Talib also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England Patriots, Los Angeles Rams, and Miami Dolphins. | https://www.wspa.com/news/national/nexstar-media-wire/brother-of-former-nfl-star-sought-as-suspect-in-texas-youth-football-game-shooting/ | 2022-08-15T17:09:29Z | wspa.com | control | https://www.wspa.com/news/national/nexstar-media-wire/brother-of-former-nfl-star-sought-as-suspect-in-texas-youth-football-game-shooting/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
(NEXSTAR) — Nexstar Media Group, the parent company of NewsNation, announced Monday that it plans to acquire 75% ownership interested in The CW Network.
Nexstar, the nation’s largest local television broadcasting company, already owned and operated 37 CW and CW Plus affiliates. In a press release, company management said the move should solidify company revenue by increasing national advertising exposure and diversifying content outside of news.
The arrangement will leave the current owners, Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global, with 12.5% stakes in the television network. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter.
The network has been home to popular original programming including The Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, Riverdale, Smallville, and a number of other popular franchises.
“Our acquisition of The CW is strategically and operationally compelling, as it will enable us to leverage our operational experience to improve the Network’s performance through our management of this powerful national platform,” Perry Sook, Nexstar’s chairman and chief executive officer, said in the news release. “We plan to apply the same strict financial standards to operating The CW as we apply to our other businesses.”
Mark Pedowitz will stay on as The CW’s chairman and chief executive officer, responsible for day-to-day operations, according to the release.
Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global will continue producing original content for the network as part of the agreement. | https://www.wspa.com/news/national/nexstar-media-wire/nexstar-to-acquire-controlling-interest-in-the-cw-network/ | 2022-08-15T17:09:48Z | wspa.com | control | https://www.wspa.com/news/national/nexstar-media-wire/nexstar-to-acquire-controlling-interest-in-the-cw-network/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
HONOLULU (KITV4) - A sunny start to the work week with partly cloudy skies this afternoon. Isolated to scattered showers. Highs 85 to 90. Variable winds 5 to 15 mph.
Tonight, partly to mostly cloudy. Isolated to scattered showers. Lows 67 to 72. Variable winds 5 to 15 mph.
Expect light to moderate trade winds as a large trough far north of the state breaks down the ridge and decreases the trade winds across the region. A hybrid wind pattern will develop starting today and lasting into Wednesday with leeward land and sea breezes along with lighter easterly trade winds lingering over windward areas. The high-pressure ridge builds back in north of the islands on Wednesday afternoon with strengthening trade winds into the moderate to locally breezy range from Wednesday night onward.
Surf along south facing shores will remain small through the week with mainly background south and southeast swells moving through. Surf will potentially trend up next weekend as a long- period south swell arrives and moves through. Surf along east facing shores will remain small through the first half of the week, then notch up by the weekend with the return of stronger trades. Surf along north facing shores will pick up slightly today and Thursday at select reefs that favor the northerly direction as a couple of small northerly pulses move through.
Do you have a story idea? Email news tips to news@kitv.com | https://www.kitv.com/news/local/a-warm-monday-with-light-winds-and-afternoon-clouds/article_2fb08e44-1ca6-11ed-919d-f38c6c98f310.html | 2022-08-15T17:09:53Z | kitv.com | control | https://www.kitv.com/news/local/a-warm-monday-with-light-winds-and-afternoon-clouds/article_2fb08e44-1ca6-11ed-919d-f38c6c98f310.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — They hail from their states’ most prominent Republican families. They have been among the GOP’s sharpest critics of former President Donald Trump. And after the Jan. 6 insurrection, they supported his impeachment.
But for all their similarities, the political fortunes of U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming are poised to diverge on Tuesday when they’re each on the ballot in closely watched primary elections.
Cheney faces daunting prospects in her effort to fend off the Trump-backed Harriet Hageman, increasingly looking at a life beyond Capitol Hill that could include a possible presidential campaign. Murkowski, however, is expected to advance from her primary and is already planning to compete in the November general election.
The anticipated outcomes at least partially stem from the nuanced politics of each state. Wyoming is a Republican stronghold, delivering Trump his strongest victory of any state in the 2020 campaign. Alaska, meanwhile, has a history of rewarding candidates with an independent streak.
But Murkowski enjoys an additional advantage in the way elections are being conducted in Alaska this year. Winner-take-all party primaries, like the one Cheney is facing, have been replaced by a voter-approved process in which all candidates are listed together. The four who get the most votes, regardless of party affiliation, advance to the general election in which ranked voting will be used.
Murkowski benefits from avoiding a Republican primary, “which she would have had a zero percent — I mean zero percent — chance of winning,” said Alaska pollster Ivan Moore.
Murkowski has 18 challengers in her primary, the most prominent being Republican Kelly Tshibaka, whom Trump has endorsed. The Alaska Democratic Party, meanwhile, has endorsed Pat Chesbro, a retired educator.
In an interview, Murkowski insisted she would be among the candidates advancing from the primary and said her success requires, in part, coalition building.
“That’s kind of my strong suit, that’s what I do,” she said.
For his part, Trump has been harsh in his assessment of Murkowski. At a rally in Anchorage last month with Tshibaka and Sarah Palin, whom he’s endorsed for Alaska’s only House seat, he called Murkowski “the worst. I rate her No. 1 bad.”
Trump participated in a telerally for Tshibaka on Thursday while Murkowski mingled with supporters at a campaign office opening in Juneau, which boasted a spread that included moose chili and smoked salmon dip. Murkowski said Trump isn’t a factor in the campaign she’s running.
“He is going to do what he’s going to do,” she said. But she told supporters the campaign will be challenging.
Murkowski was censured by Alaska Republican Party leaders last year over numerous grievances, including the impeachment vote and speaking critically of Trump and her support of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland’s nomination.
Tuckerman Babcock, a former state Republican Party chair who is running for state Senate, said Murkowski has lost the support of many Alaska Republicans, which he called a “political reality over a record of many years.”
Republicans in Alaska are “almost unanimous in their opposition to Lisa Murkowski,” he said. “Are they divided on other issues? Of course.”
Babcock said the new elections system lets candidates “self-identify” with a party and is not an improvement over the old party primary process.
Chuck Kopp, a Republican former state legislator, is hopeful about the new system. Kopp lost his 2020 Republican primary after being part of a bipartisan state House majority composed largely of Democrats.
“It’s only the fringe that is clinging like a death grip on a failed paradigm, and that paradigm is extreme partisanship at all costs,” he said. “I think Alaska is going to take a leadership role in moving away from that. That’s what I’m hoping for.”
Kopp said that while he has not always supported Murkowski, she has been “fearless when it counts for this country.”
“I think she has shown that personality cults aren’t conservative, conspiracy theories aren’t conservative and treating politics like a religion is not conservative,” Kopp said. He said he thinks Murkowski has more support throughout Alaska than party activists give her credit for.
The Senate seat has been held by a Murkowski since 1981; before Lisa Murkowski, it was her father, Republican Frank Murkowski. He appointed his daughter to succeed him in 2002 after he became governor. Murkowski won the seat in her own right in 2004.
Murkowski has not cracked 50% of the vote in a Senate general election, and needing to build a coalition of support is nothing new to her. She won a write-in campaign in 2010 after losing that year’s Republican primary to tea party favorite Joe Miller.
Murkowski overwhelmingly won her Republican primary against little-known opponents in 2016, the year Trump was elected.
Rosita Worl, an Alaska Native leader, referred to the 2010 primary as “the debacle” and said Alaska Natives rallied around Murkowski and her write-in bid. Worl, who attended Murkowski’s Juneau campaign event, said she is not a Republican herself but sees Murkowski as an Alaskan and said the senator has “always supported our issues.”
State Rep. Zack Fields, a Democrat seeking reelection to an Anchorage legislative seat, said there are yards in his district with signs for him and Murkowski. He said he doesn’t agree with Murkowski on the “majority of votes that she’s cast over her career.”
“But she has shown that she believes in democracy and will work with people to accomplish things that are the right thing for citizens. That actually is at risk right now,” he said.
Fields called the insurrection “horrifying.”
“But what was even frankly more terrifying than that is that so many elected officials and high-ranking so-called leaders would excuse it, justify it and otherwise embolden those who threaten democracy,” he said.
Cheney is the vice chair of the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot. The insurrection was a big issue during a June debate between Cheney and Republican challengers, including Hageman. Hageman said the committee was “not focused on things that are important to the people of Wyoming.”
Entering the final stretch of her primary campaign, Cheney hasn’t backed down. She released a video on Thursday with a closing message reinforcing her criticism of Trump.
“The lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen is insidious,” Cheney said. “It preys on those who love their country. It is a door Donald Trump opened to manipulate Americans to abandon their principles, to sacrifice their freedom, to justify violence, to ignore the rulings of our courts and the rule of law.”
She added, “This is Donald Trump’s legacy, but it cannot be the future of our nation.”
In the interview, Murkowski said Cheney has shown courage.
“I think she has looked at this and said, this is not about Liz Cheney,” Murkowski said. “This is about … the difference between right and wrong. And she is doing her job under very challenging circumstances. But I think she’s doing it because she believes she has to.” | https://www.wspa.com/news/politics/ap-politics/cheney-and-murkowski-trump-critics-facing-divergent-futures/ | 2022-08-15T17:10:13Z | wspa.com | control | https://www.wspa.com/news/politics/ap-politics/cheney-and-murkowski-trump-critics-facing-divergent-futures/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) – South Carolina is one of the worst states to live in America, according to a report released Monday from WalletHub.
South Carolina ranked 45th on the list, with the bottom spots mostly populated by Southern states. Mississippi came in as 50th, with Louisiana and Arkansas coming in 48th and 47th, respectively.
North Carolina ranked 29th on the list.
The rankings are based on a score that includes affordability, economy, education, safety, health and quality of life. Housing costs and homeownership rates were also factors.
South Carolina took a hit from its economy and health and education ranking, coming in the fifth lowest on both lists.
The five worst states to live in are:
46. New Mexico
47. Arkansas
48. Louisiana
49. Alaska
50. Mississippi
The five best states to live in are:
5. Virginia
4. Idaho
3. New York
2. New Jersey
- Massachusetts | https://www.wspa.com/news/state-news/report-lists-south-carolina-as-6th-worst-state-to-live-in/ | 2022-08-15T17:10:33Z | wspa.com | control | https://www.wspa.com/news/state-news/report-lists-south-carolina-as-6th-worst-state-to-live-in/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A red panda that spent two days on the lam after escaping from an Australian zoo was recaptured Sunday after he was spotted hanging out in a fig tree in a nearby park.
Named Ravi, the 7-year-old panda had arrived at Adelaide Zoo last week after he was brought in from another zoo with hopes that he would pair up with a female red panda named Mishry. But by Friday, Ravi was gone.
Adelaide Zoo Director Phil Ainsley told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that zookeepers spent Sunday trying to entice Ravi down from the fig tree with some of his favorite foods, including bamboo and sweet corn, to no avail.
In the end they fired a tranquilizer dart.
“We used a couple of different dart devices, finally got a dart into him and then just had to wait about 15 minutes just for the drug to take some effect,” Ainsley said.
Ravi then fell into the blankets of zookeepers who were waiting beneath the tree.
“Ravi’s doing really well,” Ainsley told the broadcaster. “Settling down into animal health hospital, where he’s just going to spend the next two or three days after being on the run. Just want to make sure he’s all healthy and recovered from his adventure.”
Ainsley said they discovered Ravi had escaped his enclosure Friday morning and initially focused their attention within the zoo, figuring he’d be up one of the large trees there. It wasn’t until Sunday morning that a zookeeper spotted him in the fig tree in the nearby botanic park.
Ainsley told the broadcaster they’d be reviewing the zoo’s CCTV footage to figure out how Ravi escaped.
“Obviously he’d just arrived and was testing his enclosure,” Ainsley said. “We know that red pandas are incredibly agile, and renowned for being escapologists.” | https://www.wspa.com/news/weird-news/red-panda-found-in-fig-tree-after-escaping-australian-zoo/ | 2022-08-15T17:10:39Z | wspa.com | control | https://www.wspa.com/news/weird-news/red-panda-found-in-fig-tree-after-escaping-australian-zoo/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
NICE, France (AP) — The last French army unit left Mali on Monday, according to a statement from the French military, nine years after Paris sent troops to the West African country to help drive Islamic extremists from power.
France’s armed forces completed their withdrawal from Mali six months after French President Emmanuel Macron announced his plan to pull out of the country following tensions with the ruling junta.
Tensions have also grown over the past year between Mali, its African neighbors and the European Union after Mali’s transitional government allowed Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group to deploy on its territory.
The last contingent of French soldiers of the so-called Barkhane force present on Malian territory crossed into neighboring Niger on Monday afternoon, the French military said. They were based in Gao in northern Mali, a region plagued with jihadi violence.
France had about 4,300 troops in the Sahel region, including 2,400 in Mali, in February when Macron announced the withdrawal. With French army units out of Mali, “the Barkhane force has been reorganized outside the country,” the French army statement said Monday, adding that the “major logistic challenge has been met in an orderly and safe way, in coordination with all its partners.”
Macron has previously said that the “heart” of the French operation will be moved to Niger, especially in the region bordering Burkina Faso. The so-called Barkhane force is also involved in Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mauretania.
French forces have been active in Mali since 2013, when they intervened to oust Islamic extremists from power. But the insurgents regrouped in the desert and began attacking the Malian army and its allies. An August 2020 coup led by Col. Assimi Goita grabbed power in Mali. Goita carried out a second coup by dismissing the civilian leaders in Mali’s transitional government and putting himself in charge last year.
Following Macron’s military withdrawal announcement in February, European leaders also said that an EU-led military task force known as Takuba is also pulling out of Mali. They criticized the Malian junta for hiring the Wagner Group, which the EU accuses of fomenting violence and committing human rights abuses in Africa.
Macron and other European leaders have repeatedly said the military withdrawals from Mali will not result in abandonment of the people in the Sahel region in their fight against Islamic extremists.
After leaving Mali, “the French armed forces continue to fight terrorism in the Sahel, in close coordination with our African and international partners,” the French army’s statement said. | https://www.wspa.com/news/world-news/ap-international/french-military-last-group-of-soldiers-has-left-mali/ | 2022-08-15T17:10:53Z | wspa.com | control | https://www.wspa.com/news/world-news/ap-international/french-military-last-group-of-soldiers-has-left-mali/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
MOSCOW (AP) — Lawyers for American basketball star Brittney Griner have filed an appeal of her nine-year Russian prison sentence for drug possession, Russian news agencies reported Monday, amid talks between the U.S. and Russia that could lead to a high-profile prisoner swap.
Griner, an eight-time all-star center with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and two-time Olympic gold medalist, was convicted Aug. 4 after police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.
Griner admitted that she had the canisters in her luggage, but said she had inadvertently packed them in haste and that she had no criminal intent. Her defense team presented written statements that she had been prescribed cannabis to treat pain.
Her February arrest came at a time of heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington, just days before Russia sent troops into Ukraine. At the time, Griner, recognized as one of the greatest players in WNBA history, was returning to Russia, where she plays during the U.S. league’s offseason.
Lawyer Maria Blagovolina was quoted by Russian news agencies on Monday as saying the appeal was filed, as was expected, but the grounds for it weren’t immediately clear.
The nine-year sentence was close to the maximum of 10 years, and Blagovolina and co-counsel Alexander Boykov said after the conviction that the punishment was excessive. They said that in similar cases defendants have received an average sentence of about five years, with about a third of them granted parole.
Before her conviction, the U.S. State Department declared Griner to be “wrongfully detained” — a charge that Russia has sharply rejected.
Reflecting the growing pressure on the Biden administration to do more to bring Griner home, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken took the unusual step of revealing publicly in July that Washington had made a “substantial proposal” to get Griner home, along with Paul Whelan, an American serving a 16-year sentence in Russia for espionage.
Blinken didn’t elaborate, but The Associated Press and other news organizations have reported that Washington has offered to free Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer who is serving a 25-year sentence in the U.S. and once earned the nickname the “Merchant of Death.”
On Sunday, a senior Russian diplomat said talks about an exchange have been conducted.
“This quite sensitive issue of the swap of convicted Russian and U.S. citizens is being discussed through the channels defined by our presidents,” Alexander Darchiev, head of the Foreign Ministry’s North America department, told state news agency Tass. “These individuals are, indeed, being discussed. The Russian side has long been seeking the release of Viktor Bout. The details should be left to professionals.”
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Follow AP’s coverage of the Brittney Griner case at https://apnews.com/hub/brittney-griner | https://www.wspa.com/news/world-news/ap-international/lawyers-appeal-griners-russian-prison-sentence/ | 2022-08-15T17:11:19Z | wspa.com | control | https://www.wspa.com/news/world-news/ap-international/lawyers-appeal-griners-russian-prison-sentence/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s top court Monday began hearing a final appeal by former Prime Minister Najib Razak to toss out his graft conviction linked to the massive looting of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad state fund.
He would become Malaysia’s first former prime minister to be imprisoned if his case fails. Najib, 69, has reiterated his innocence and has been out on bail pending his appeals.
He was sentenced to 12 years in jail by a high court in July 2020 after being found guilty of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering for illegally receiving 42 million ringgit ($9.4 million) from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB.
The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction and sentence in December, describing the case as a “national embarrassment.” His last avenue, the Federal Court, is scheduled to hear the case until Aug. 26.
Najib has changed to a new team of lawyers for his final appeal. His defense team is attempting to introduce new evidence that could spark a retrial, citing conflict of interest by the high court judge who convicted Najib.
The defense said in their submission that High Court Judge Mohamad Nazlan Mohamad Ghazali was biased due to his previous job at a bank that provided financial services to 1MDB. Defense counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik said the court must ensure there is “no miscarriage of justice” by considering a retrial and declaring Najib’s conviction and sentence null and void.
Prosecutor Sithambaram Vairavan noted that this was the second time the defense sought to introduce new evidence after an earlier bid was disallowed. He said the judge’s background was public knowledge from the start of the trial and that SRC was never a customer of the bank. He slammed it as a flawed request made in bad faith to delay the conclusion of the case.
1MDB was a development fund Najib set up shortly after taking power in 2009. Investigators allege at least $4.5 billion was stolen from the fund and laundered by Najib’s associates.
The scandal sparked investigations in the U.S. and several other countries and caused the downfall of Najib’s government in 2018 elections. Najib faces a total of 42 charges in five separate trials linked to 1MDB, and his wife is also on trial for corruption.
Despite his graft conviction, Najib remains politically influential. His United Malays National Organization leads the current government after defections of lawmakers caused the collapse of the reformist government that won the 2018 polls.
Najib is still a lawmaker pending his appeal but he cannot contest if an early general election is called. National polls are not due until the second half of 2023, but there have been strong calls from UMNO leaders for early elections. | https://www.wspa.com/news/world-news/ap-international/malaysia-ex-pm-begins-final-bid-to-toss-out-graft-conviction/ | 2022-08-15T17:11:26Z | wspa.com | control | https://www.wspa.com/news/world-news/ap-international/malaysia-ex-pm-begins-final-bid-to-toss-out-graft-conviction/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
BANGKOK (AP) — A court in military-ruled Myanmar convicted the country’s ousted leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, on more corruption charges on Monday, adding six years to her earlier 11-year prison sentence, a legal official said.
The trial was held behind closed doors, with no access for media or the public, and her lawyers were forbidden by a gag order from revealing information about the proceedings.
In the four corruption cases decided Monday, Suu Kyi was alleged to have abused her position to rent public land at below market prices and to have built a residence with donations meant for charitable purposes. She received sentences of three years for each of the four counts, but the sentences for three of them will be served concurrently, giving her a total of six more years in prison.
She denied all the charges, and her lawyers are expected to appeal.
She already had been sentenced to 11 years in prison on sedition, corruption and other charges at earlier trials after the military ousted her elected government and detained her in February 2021.
Analysts say the numerous charges against her and her allies are an attempt to legitimize the military’s seizure of power while eliminating her from politics before the military holds an election it has promised for next year.
Suu Kyi and her co-defendants have denied all the allegations and their lawyers are expected to file appeals in the coming days, said the legal official, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to release information and feared punishment by the authorities.
Other top members of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party and her government have also been arrested and imprisoned, and the authorities have suggested they might dissolve the party before the next election.
The army seized power and detained Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, 2021, the day when her party would have started a second-five year term in office after it won a landslide victory in a November 2020 general election. The army said it acted because there had been massive voting fraud, but independent election observers did not find any major irregularities.
The army’s takeover sparked peaceful nationwide street protests that security forces quashed with lethal force, triggering armed resistance that some U.N. experts now characterize as civil war. The military government has been accused of human rights abuses including arbitrary arrests and killings, torture, and military sweeps that include air attacks on civilians and the burning of entire villages.
Suu Kyi, 77, has been the face of opposition to military rule in Myanmar for more than three decades. She won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize while under house arrest.
Her five years as its civilian government leader were marked by repression and military dominance even though it was Myanmar’s most democratic period since a 1962 coup.
Suu Kyi has been charged with a total of 11 counts under the Anti-Corruption Act, with each count punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a fine.
In Monday’s verdicts, the legal official said Suu Kyi received a three-year prison sentence for building a residence for herself in Naypyitaw, allegedly with money donated for a charitable foundation named after her mother that she chaired.
She received a three-year sentence for allegedly taking advantage of her position to rent property in Yangon, the country’s biggest city, for the same foundation, the official said.
The two other cases decided Monday involved parcels of land in Naypyitaw for which she allegedly abused her authority to rent at below market prices for the foundation. She received a sentence of three years for each of those cases.
The three cases pertaining to offenses in Naypyitaw are to be served concurrently.
The former mayor of Naypyitaw, Myo Aung, was a co-defendant in both cases relating to granting permits to rent the land. Ye Min Oo, the former vice mayor, is a co-defendant in one case and Min Thu, a former member of the Naypyitaw Development Committee, in the other. Each received sentences of three years.
The government Anti-Corruption Commission, which filed the case, had alleged that the rental fees agreed upon by the Naypyitaw Development Committee were lower than the rate fixed by the Ministry of Planning and Finance, so that the rental agreement deprived the state of revenue it should have received.
The European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Josep Borrell Fontelles, called for Suu Kyi’s immediate release.
“I condemn the unjust sentence of Aung San Suu Kyi to an additional six years of detention, and call on the regime in #Myanmar to immediately and unconditionally release her, as well as all political prisoners, and respect the will of the people,” he tweeted. | https://www.wspa.com/news/world-news/ap-international/myanmar-court-convicts-suu-kyi-on-more-corruption-charges/ | 2022-08-15T17:11:33Z | wspa.com | control | https://www.wspa.com/news/world-news/ap-international/myanmar-court-convicts-suu-kyi-on-more-corruption-charges/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
NEW DELHI (AP) — Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to raise millions out of poverty and turn India into a developed country in the next quarter-century as he marked 75 years since independence from British rule.
Wearing a flowing, cream-colored turban printed with small stripes of orange, white and green, the colors of the country’s flag, Modi addressed the country Monday from New Delhi’s 17th-century Mughal-era Red Fort, saying the world was looking toward India to help resolve global issues.
Modi said the journey of the past 75 years had seen ups and downs with India battling against all odds with resilience and perseverance. He asked people to remove any trace of colonial mindset.
Modi said India will be guided by the ideals of self-reliance and the spirit of international partnership to attain excellence in science and technology, establish industries, and attain food and energy security. He said billions of dollars in investment were flowing into the country, turning it into a manufacturing hub.
India’s efforts have already launched the country of 1.4 billion people into the ranks of leading countries in information technology, pharmaceuticals, space science and civil nuclear energy.
Modi said millions of people across the country were commemorating the 75th anniversary of independence by hoisting national flags at their homes and businesses for three days as part of a government campaign “of awakening the spirit of patriotism in every heart.” India’s Parliament, the presidential palace, national monuments and other government offices blazed with multi-colored lighting.
The main opposition Congress party accused the Modi government of leaving opposition parties out of the celebrations.
“There were special functions in Parliament’s historic Central Hall to mark the 25th, 50th and 60th anniversary of India’s independence,” said Jairam Ramesh, an India National Congress party spokesperson. “Sadly, nothing like that has been organized for the 75th anniversary, which has been reduced to an occasion to glorify the Sarvagyaani,” a term meaning “a person who knows all” in reference to Modi.
U.S. President Joe Biden, in a statement celebrating Indian Independence Day, said the two countries are indispensable partners grounded in a shared commitment to the rule of law and the promotion of human freedom and dignity.
Biden said he was confident that “the two countries will continue to stand together to defend the rules-based order; foster greater peace, prosperity and security for our people; advance a free and open Indo-Pacific; and together address the challenges we face around the world.”
India and the United States have been expanding their security partnership, underscoring their mutual concerns over China’s growing influence in the region. They are both part of the regional Quad alliance that also includes Japan and Australia and focuses on China’s growing economic and military strength. China has called the Quad an attempt to contain its ambitions.
In his 80-minute speech, Modi made no reference to India’s tense ties with immediate neighbors Pakistan and China, or any steps to improve relations.
He called for unity to move forward but didn’t respond to experts and critics who say the country has been gradually departing from some commitments and argue the backsliding has accelerated since Modi came to power in 2014. They accuse his populist government of using unbridled political power to undermine democratic freedoms and preoccupying itself with pursuing a Hindu nationalist agenda.
Modi pledged to fight political corruption and nepotism, which he said were acting as termites eating away the gains of development. | https://www.wspa.com/news/world-news/ap-international/pm-modi-pledges-to-make-india-developed-country-in-25-years/ | 2022-08-15T17:11:54Z | wspa.com | control | https://www.wspa.com/news/world-news/ap-international/pm-modi-pledges-to-make-india-developed-country-in-25-years/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday vowed to expand military cooperation with the country’s allies, noting that Moscow is ready to offer them its most advanced weapons.
Speaking at the opening of an annual arms show outside Moscow that caters to foreign customers, Putin said that Russia’s arms exports play an important role in the development of a “multipolar word,” the term used by the Kremlin to describe its efforts to offset what it perceives as U.S. global domination.
Putin hailed the Russian military’s action in Ukraine, which has triggered massive Western sanctions, and thanked Moscow’s allies for their support.
“We highly appreciate that we have many allies, partners and people who share our thinking on various continents,” he said.
Putin, whose invasion of Ukraine has been widely condemned as a breach of international law, said leaders of Moscow’s allies “choose a sovereign, independent course of development and want to collectively solve the issues of global and regional security on the basis of international law, shared responsibility and mutual interests, thus contributing to upholding multipolar world.”
Putin didn’t name any country in particular, but noted that “Russia sincerely values its historically strong, friendly and trusting relations with countries of Latin America, Asia and Africa.”
“We are ready to offer our allies and partners the most advanced types of weapons: from firearms, armor and artillery to warplanes and drones.” the Russian leader said. | https://www.wspa.com/news/world-news/ap-international/putin-vows-to-expand-arms-trade-with-russias-allies/ | 2022-08-15T17:12:07Z | wspa.com | control | https://www.wspa.com/news/world-news/ap-international/putin-vows-to-expand-arms-trade-with-russias-allies/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are less concerned now about how climate change might impact them personally — and about how their personal choices affect the climate — than they were three years ago, a new poll shows, even as a wide majority still believe climate change is happening.
The June Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll, which was conducted before Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act on Friday, shows majorities of U.S. adults think the government and corporations have a significant responsibility to address climate change. The new law will invest nearly $375 billion in climate strategies over the next decade.
Overall, 35% of U.S. adults say they are “extremely” or “very” concerned about the impact of climate change on them personally, down from 44% in August 2019. Another third say they are somewhat concerned. Only about half say their actions have an effect on climate change, compared with two-thirds in 2019.
Black and Hispanic Americans, women and Democrats are especially likely to be strongly concerned about the impact of climate change on them personally and about how their personal choices affect the climate.
Many climate scientists told The Associated Press that the shifts are concerning but not surprising given that individuals are feeling overwhelmed by a range of issues, now including an economy plagued by inflation after more than two years of a pandemic. In addition to being outpaced by other issues, climate change or the environment are mentioned as priorities by fewer Americans now than just a few years ago, according to the poll.
Diane Panicucci in West Warwick, Rhode Island, believes climate change is happening and that it needs to be addressed. But for her, it’s a lower priority compared with other issues, including inflation and food and drug costs.
“There’s so much unrest in this country right now,” the 62-year-old said. “People are suffering.”
Panicucci added solar panels to her house, and she’s cut back on driving. She thinks individuals should do what they’re told will help, but “it doesn’t start with little ol’ me. It has to be larger scale,” she said.
While the climate crisis will require an “all of the above approach,” it’s “reasonable” that individuals don’t feel they have the bandwidth to tackle climate action “on top of everything else,” said Kim Cobb, director of the Institute at Brown University for Environment and Society.
Roughly two-thirds of Americans say the U.S. federal government, developed countries abroad and corporations and industries have a large responsibility to address climate change. Fewer — 45% — say that of individual people.
Jack Hermanson, a 23-year-old software engineer, feels strongly that corporations are the “major culprits” of emissions and that the government is complicit in that behavior.
“I don’t know if that makes sense to say that individuals should have to work and fix the climate,” the Denver resident said. “I would say my individual actions hardly mean anything at all.”
U.S. household greenhouse gas emissions are not as much as those from cars, trucks and other transportation, electrical power generating and industry. A 2020 University of Michigan study of 93 million U.S. homes estimates that 20% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions comes from home energy use, with wealthier Americans’ per capita footprints about 25% higher than low-income residents.
But like many others that spoke to the AP, that difference hasn’t stopped Hermanson from trying. He’s been a vegetarian for four years, and he tries to bike or take public transportation, buy products with less packaging and recycle.
Among Americans who believe in climate change, 70% say it will be necessary for individuals to make major lifestyle changes to combat the issue. Most think individuals have at least some responsibility.
Individuals can believe they personally don’t have a direct impact while also recognizing that collective action is essential to combatting climate change, said Shahzeen Attari, who studies human behavior and climate change at Indiana University.
The poll shows about 6 in 10 Americans say they have reduced their driving, reduced their use of heat or air conditioning and bought used products instead of new ones. Nearly three-quarters are using energy efficient appliances. Among those who are taking those steps, most say the main reason is to save money, rather than to help the environment.
Fewer — roughly a quarter — say they use an electricity supplier that gets power from renewable sources, and only about 1 in 10 live in a home with solar panels or drive a hybrid or electric car.
Brad Machincia, a 38-year-old welder, said he wouldn’t switch from his gas car to an electric vehicle. While he said he grew up in a West Virginia household that used renewable energy sources, he hasn’t adopted those practices for his family in Christiansburg, Virginia. Climate change used to be a concern for him, but at this point, he feels like it’s “beating a dead horse.”
“There’s nothing we can do to fix it,” he said.
Individuals should feel empowered to make climate-driven decisions that not only help reduce emissions but also improve their lives, said Jonathan Foley, executive director at climate nonprofit Project Drawdown. Foley thinks the findings show that efforts to engage Americans need to shift away from doomsday scenarios, include diverse messengers and focus on the ways climate solutions can intersect with Americans’ other priorities.
Julio Carmona, a 37-year-old financial clerk, said he recently transitioned his home in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to solar energy because the switch will help reduce his carbon footprint and his expenses, even if modestly.
“I thought that it was just something smart for us to do long term,” he said. “I just kind of wanted to do my part, whether or not it’s gonna make a difference.”
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AP Science Writer Seth Borenstein in Washington contributed to this report.
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The poll of 1,053 adults was conducted June 23-27 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
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Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | https://www.wspa.com/science/ap-science/ap-norc-poll-many-in-us-doubt-their-own-impact-on-climate/ | 2022-08-15T17:13:22Z | wspa.com | control | https://www.wspa.com/science/ap-science/ap-norc-poll-many-in-us-doubt-their-own-impact-on-climate/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
WHANGANUI, New Zealand (AP) — The Whanganui River is surging into the ocean, fattened from days of winter rain and yellowed from the earth and clay that has collapsed into its sides. Logs and debris hurtle past as dusk looms.
Sixty-one-year-old Tahi Nepia is calmly paddling his outrigger canoe, called a waka ama in his Indigenous Māori language, as it is buffeted from side to side.
Before venturing out, he makes sure to first ask permission from his ancestors in a prayer, or karakia. It’s the top item on his safety list. He says his ancestors inhabit the river and each time he dips his paddle into the water he touches them.
“You are giving them a mihimihi, you are giving them a massage,” Nepia says. “That’s how we see that river. It’s a part of us.”
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In 2017, New Zealand passed a groundbreaking law granting personhood status to the Whanganui River. The law declares that the river is a living whole, from the mountains to the sea, incorporating all its physical and metaphysical elements.
The law was part of a settlement with the Whanganui Iwi, comprising Māori from a number of tribes who have long viewed the river as a living force. The novel legal approach set a precedent that has been followed by some other countries including Bangladesh, which in 2019 granted all its rivers the same rights as people.
In June, five years after the New Zealand law was passed, The Associated Press followed the 290-kilometer (180-mile) river upstream to find out what its status means to those whose lives are entwined with its waters. For many, its enhanced standing has come to reflect a wider rebirth of Māori culture and a chance to reverse generations of discrimination against Māori and degradation of the river.
Whanganui Māori have a saying: Ko au te awa, ko te awa ko au: I am the river, and the river is me.
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Nepia, a caretaker at a Māori immersion school, is among a group of expert waka ama paddlers who have been training for the World Sprint Champs that are currently taking place in Britain. He was due to compete in the over-60 age group both solo and as part of a crew of six.
Nepia learned how to swim on the river when his uncle threw him in at age 8. Roll on your back and float with the current, his uncle told him, and Nepia did, grinding to a stop where the water ran shallow over the stones beneath.
“You get back up, jump off the bank and float down again. That’s how it was,” he says.
He first paddled on the river in a traditional Māori long canoe in 1979, when he and about 20 of his buddies at the slaughterhouse where they worked got together for a regatta celebrating Waitangi Day, which commemorates the 1840 treaty signed between the British and Māori.
Considered the nation’s founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi has long been a source of contention. For the past 30 years, New Zealand’s government has been negotiating with tribes that have brought grievances under the treaty, which guaranteed sovereignty over their traditional lands and fisheries. The Whanganui River deal is among dozens of settlements forged in recent years.
At its mouth in the town of Whanganui, the river is permanently discolored these days from the erosion that has come from turning what was once forest along the banks into farmland. The excessive sediment suffocates fish and plant life. The remains of weirs that Māori once built to fish for eel-like lamprey can still be seen, but the lamprey are gone.
“It’s the raping of the land. It’s simple. We need a reality check. We need to grow trees instead of chopping them down,” Nepia says. “The water shouldn’t be like that.”
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A half-hour drive inland from the mouth, Gerrard Albert points to the bucolic riverbank spot where his people live, an ancestral settlement that was never sold and is home to about 120.
He says the river and the surrounding lands have their own authority, or mana.
“They dictate the terms for human use and occupation,” he says. “And for too long, we’ve assumed it’s been the other way around.”
Albert, 54, was the lead negotiator for Whanganui Māori in getting the river’s personhood recognized by lawmakers after his tribe battled for the river’s rights for over 140 years.
Albert says the status is a legal fiction, a construct more commonly used to give something like a corporation legal standing.
While the law states that the river enjoys the same rights, powers, duties and liabilities of any other person, there are limitations. For instance, Albert points out, the river can’t be sued if somebody drowns in its waters in the way a homeowner might be sued for not fencing a pool.
But Albert also sees it as an opportunity for a permanent shift in thinking.
“This is a political rearrangement of values,” he says. “This is Indigenous rights. Indigenous people leading toward better change for everybody.”
So what has personhood, or Te Awa Tupua, meant in practical terms? Albert points to one example.
After the law passed, he says, the local council assumed it was business as usual when they tried to build a bridge across the river for cyclists and pedestrians. They hadn’t considered they now needed to consult first with the tribe and the community.
As a result the bridge structure ended up sitting in a field during two years of delays before it was finally dropped into place and opened in 2020. Albert says the hapū — the affected tribal clan — and the community pushed for improvements like protected fishing areas, speed limits on nearby roads and the addition of restrooms.
“These are small things, and the hapū didn’t really have a problem with the bridge going across. They had a problem with the process in the lead-up,” Albert says. “Now the expectation is that the process will never happen in that way again.”
Albert has been involved in another, much bigger river project, a refurbishment of two wharves and other improvements at the Whanganui Port costing about 50 million New Zealand dollars, or $31 million.
This time the tribe is leading the project with the Whanganui District Council and others working with them. The council has said all decision-making will be guided by the river’s legally enshrined value system, and has pledged “to work collaboratively for the river’s benefit.”
Before personhood, Albert says, the tribe constantly had to make the case for protecting the river before an ever-changing cast of local councilors and politicians in the capital, Wellington. The people who made the rules, he says, were the planners, the lawyers and the businessfolk.
Now, he says, the tribe is more able to act like the native New Zealand pigeon, or kererū, which likes to perch contentedly after gorging on berries instead of scratching around for crumbs. Now it’s the rule-makers who are legally obliged to come to the tribe and the community with their plans and to prioritize the health of the river.
Such treaty settlements have generally been supported by both conservative and liberal lawmakers, seen as a way to redress colonial wrongdoings and improve outcomes for Māori, who long have lagged behind in economic, social and health statistics.
The Whanganui River settlement, which also included about NZ$80 million ($50 million) in financial redress and millions more for the river’s future health, was championed by conservative lawmaker Chris Finlayson and passed in a voice vote without objection.
But more recently, some voices are saying change risks going too far. Many conservative lawmakers oppose proposals like renaming New Zealand with its Māori name, Aotearoa, or granting Māori co-governance over the nation’s water infrastructure.
Albert says national politics is by nature adversarial, but that’s just another construct and it doesn’t need to be that way on the river. His latest project is working as part of a group of 17 stakeholder organizations to chart the river’s future.
“This is truly about giving power back to the community,” he says.
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To follow the river as it wends inland, motorists turn off State Highway 4 and take the hilly and narrow Whanganui River Road. Nothing much seems to have changed here since 75 years ago, when rural towns and farms were ascendant in New Zealand.
At the Rivertime Lodge, where cyclists and walkers stay in simple cabins or pitch tents on the riverbank during the summer, manager Frances Marshall is puttering about in fluffy orange slippers. She prefers the feel of the soil beneath her bare feet most of the time but makes concessions on colder winter days.
On her chin, Marshall wears a traditional Māori tattoo, a moko kauae. She considers it an integral part of her spiritual being and her connection to the river. Although her nephew did the tattooing just a few months ago, on Marshall’s 61st birthday, she feels like it has been a part of her for much longer.
“It’s hard to describe. It’s like this person inside you wanting to get out,” says Marshall.
Marshall has been around the river all her life. Her father and grandfather were of British descent and were one of the last families to venture into the relatively difficult terrain to clear brush for farming and breeding sheep.
She remembers horseback riding along the river at age 5. Some days she’d help her mother take lunch to the sheep shearers and would watch in fascination as the men deftly threw a whole fleece across a table and plucked out the rough wool before rolling it and putting it into a press.
Marshall says that in addition to the erosion, there have been problems in the past with people dumping stolen cars and trash into the river. Now, with an increased focus on the river’s health, landowners and tribes are replanting the hills to reduce further erosion and restore the natural habitat her own family once cleared.
Around the lodge, Marshall has been planting flax bushes and native trees like the distinctive, yellow-blossomed kōwhai. Across the road, her brother planted 10,000 native manuka trees, which he plans to turn into a honey farm.
Marshall was elated when the river, or awa, was recognized.
“Over the years, our awa, she’s been sick,” Marshall says. “And so that happening, for a lot of us, means that things can be done now to help heal her.”
___
Grant Cooper is land and partnerships manager at Horizons Regional Council, which has worked for 18 years with farmers along the river on reversing erosion and other improvements. They include fencing off streams to contain cattle and sheep waste, which increases the levels of unwanted nitrates and bacteria.
It’s a balance, Cooper acknowledges, because farmers still need to make money. One solution has been to convert dairy and sheep farms into forests for harvesting, usually pine, redwood or manuka trees.
Planting trees can reduce soil erosion into the river by 90%, Cooper says, although it does leave land vulnerable for several years between the time a stand of trees is felled and when new seedlings take hold.
Council figures show about 51% of the land around the river is currently native forest. About 31% is used for grazing livestock, 8% for commercial forestry and the rest for other uses.
The council’s water-quality monitoring shows that suspended sediment is the river’s single biggest problem, followed by nitrate toxicity.
Mike Cranstone, president of the local chapter of the lobby group Federated Farmers, acknowledges that decades-ago clearing led to erosion and silting. But he says blaming multigenerational farming families for all the river’s problems is not overly helpful.
“Most farmers’ ambition is to improve the land and leave the land in a better state for their next generation,” Cranstone says.
___
Farther inland, through the Whanganui National Park, the river winds through forest. Gone are the farms, and the water runs cleaner.
Tourists ride jetboats or paddle canoes to the famed “Bridge to Nowhere,” built across the river in 1936 to provide access to farmland given to soldiers after World War I. But the soil wasn’t suitable and the last farmers walked away in 1942, and the concrete arched span stands eerily alone today after decades of forest regrowth.
As the river loops toward Tongariro National Park, it becomes all but inaccessible due to dense forest and ravines — but not for Adam Daniel, a scientist and adventurer, a kind of Indiana Jones of the river.
At the end of a remote road, he straps into the four-seater off-road buggy he’s been towing and speeds off along an impossibly narrow track, careening over downed trees, up banks and through streams.
Originally from Washington state, where he studied Columbia River dams’ impact on salmon, Daniel now monitors the Whanganui and dozens of other rivers for Fish & Game New Zealand, which collects license fees from hunters and anglers to safeguard the habitat.
Work often merges with play for Daniel, 48, who likes nothing more than to bring along fly-fishing gear and cast a line.
“It’s our best backcountry river, and it has amazing trout fishing, great scenery, and I personally come here and do a lot of hunting as well,” he says.
But go downstream just 40 kilometers (25 miles), and the trout and other fish can’t survive because it’s too muddied and too warm in the summer, he says.
Daniel’s monitoring has found more sediment even in the river’s upper reaches than in nearby waterways. Forestry, four-wheel-drive trails and other human impacts are factors, but there’s something else as well.
Near the Whanganui’s source, Daniel points out where a power company is sucking out water as part of the Tongariro Power Scheme. Built about 50 years ago, the scheme draws from some 36 area rivers and streams to generate electricity and deposits most of it into a lake.
The water from this particular intake isn’t always used directly for generation but sometimes to cool a manmade lake that’s part of the scheme, Daniel says. When the water is returned to the river, it can come back warmer and muddier.
Last year 81% of New Zealand’s electricity came from renewable sources, thanks in large part to this and other big hydro schemes. It’s a positive story the government likes to tout, but today such projects would be unlikely to get regulatory approval because of their environmental toll.
Genesis Energy, which owns the Tongariro Power Scheme, says it draws on average 20% of the Whanganui’s flow from several intakes to power over 30,000 households.
Chief operations officer Rebecca Larkin says Genesis tries to mitigate the environmental impact, avoiding taking water from certain areas and implementing weekslong “zero water-take periods” each year when the river is low and warmer. She notes the company is among the groups working alongside Albert on stewardship of the river.
But Daniel says water is taken for cooling even when Genesis pauses removal for electricity generation. He and others hope the company will be forced to make major improvements — or leave the river entirely — when its regulatory license for the power scheme expires in 2039.
Daniel had mixed feelings at first about the river being declared a living being.
“As a scientist I always try to rely on rules and regulations to protect a river. So the personhood status was a real foreign concept to me,” Daniel says. “But what it has done is attract a lot of attention to the river, which has been really helpful in highlighting the issues.”
“I’m certainly coming around to it,” he adds. “I’m hoping that it really will turn the tide and help save the river.”
___
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. | https://www.wspa.com/science/ap-science/new-zealand-rivers-personhood-status-offers-hope-to-maori/ | 2022-08-15T17:13:35Z | wspa.com | control | https://www.wspa.com/science/ap-science/new-zealand-rivers-personhood-status-offers-hope-to-maori/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
For the full story, click here.
Here & Now revisits host Scott Tong’s conversation with cookbook author and Youtube channel show host J. Kenji López-Alt about his book “The Wok: Recipes and Techniques,” which came out in March.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.klcc.org/2022-08-15/wok-the-walk-food-guru-kenji-lopez-alt-on-his-must-have-pan-in-the-kitchen | 2022-08-15T17:14:16Z | klcc.org | control | https://www.klcc.org/2022-08-15/wok-the-walk-food-guru-kenji-lopez-alt-on-his-must-have-pan-in-the-kitchen | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya's electoral commission chairman has declared Deputy President William Ruto the winner of the close presidential election over five-time contender Raila Odinga, a triumph for the man who shook up politics by appealing to struggling Kenyans on economic terms and not on traditional ethnic ones.
Ruto received 50.49% of the vote, the chairman said, while Odinga received 48.85%.
But chaos emerged just before the declaration when the electoral commission's vice chair and three other commissioners told journalists they could not support the "opaque nature" of the final phase of the process.
"We cannot take ownership of the result that is going to be announced," vice chair Juliana Cherera said, without giving details. At the declaration venue, police surged to impose calm amid shouting and scuffles before electoral commission chair Wafula Chebukati announced the official results — and said the two commissioners still there had been injured.
The sudden split in the commission came minutes after Odinga's chief agent said they could not verify the results and made allegations of "electoral offenses" without giving details or evidence. Odinga didn't come to the venue for the declaration.
Now Kenyans wait to see whether Odinga will again go to court to contest the results of Tuesday's peaceful election in a country crucial to regional stability. This is likely the final try for the 77-year-old longtime opposition figure backed this time by former rival and outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta, who fell out with his deputy, Ruto, years ago.
"ANY results IEBC Chairman Wafuka Chebukati announces are INVALID because he had no quorum of commissioners to hold a plenary and make such a weighty decision. The ongoing process at Bomas is now ILLEGAL," Odinga spokesman Makau Mutua tweeted.
Candidates or others have seven days to file any challenge over the election results. The Supreme Court will have 14 days to rule.
The 55-year-old Ruto, despite being sidelined by the president, fought back and told voters that the election was between "hustlers" like him from modest backgrounds and the "dynasties" of Kenyatta and Odinga, whose fathers were Kenya's first president and vice president. Odinga has sought the presidency for a quarter-century.
Ruto in his acceptance speech thanked Odinga and emphasized an election that focused on issues and not ethnic divisions, saying that "gratitude goes to millions of Kenyans who refused to be boxed into tribal cocoons." He added that people who had acted against his campaign "have nothing to fear ... There is no room for vengeance."
Turnout in this election dropped to 65%, reflecting the weariness of Kenyans seeing the same longtime political figures on the ballot and frustration with poor economic conditions in East Africa's economic hub. At the top, Kenyan politics are often marked less by ideological platforms than by alliances that create a path to power and the wealth that can come with it.
Some Kenyans also appeared wary after the Supreme Court earlier this year blocked an attempt by Kenyatta to make major changes to the constitution to, among other things, create a prime minister post that some feared Kenyatta would fill if Odinga won.
Odinga, famous for his yearslong detention while fighting for multiparty democracy decades ago and for supporting Kenya's groundbreaking 2010 constitution, now appeared to many Kenyans as part of the establishment for backing the proposed constitutional changes.
Ruto, meanwhile, portrayed himself as the brash outsider and played up his chicken-selling childhood despite his current post and wealth. Both men's careers were fundamentally marked by former President Daniel Arap Moi, who mentored a young Ruto and ruled over a one-party system that Odinga fought against.
The electoral commission improved its transparency in this election, practically inviting Kenyans to do the tallying themselves by posting online the more than 46,000 results forms from around the country. For the first time, the public could follow the election as sometimes skittish local media houses and even individuals compiled and shared findings as a check on the official process.
Such counts showed Ruto ahead, but the race remained so close that joyous supporters of each candidate gathered in their strongholds hours before the declaration in anticipation of victory. In parts of the capital, Nairobi, and other cities, streets emptied and businesses closed.
As Kenyans waited for almost a week for official results, both Odinga and Ruto appealed for peace, echoing calls by police, civil society groups and religious leaders in a country where past elections have been marked by political violence.
After the 2007 vote, more than 1,000 people were killed after Odinga claimed victory had been stolen from him in an election widely seen as compromised. Ruto, then Odinga's ally, was indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity for his role in the violence, but the case was terminated amid allegations of witness intimidation.
After the 2017 election results were overturned by the high court for irregularities, a first in Africa, Odinga boycotted the fresh vote that Kenyatta won and declared himself the "people's president" in a ceremony that led to accusations of treason. Following unrest in which dozens were killed, Odinga and Kenyatta publicly shook hands to establish calm.
Kenyans want that calm to continue. "Leaders are there to come and go," Richard Osiolo, a resident of the western Nyanza region, said over the weekend, dismissing the need to fight because rival candidates in the end make peace. "I should stay alive and see you lead, bad or good, and then I have another chance to choose another leader."
Both candidates vowed to help Kenya's poor. Odinga promised government cash handouts to families under the poverty line, and Ruto promised government spending of more than $1 billion a year to increase job opportunities in a country where more than a third of young Kenyans are unemployed.
Social media was not blocked during the election. Kenya is seen as a relatively democratic and stable country in a region where longtime leaders such as Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Rwandan President Paul Kagame are widely accused of overseeing votes that are not free and fair.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.klcc.org/npr-news/npr-news/2022-08-15/kenyas-deputy-president-ruto-is-declared-the-election-winner | 2022-08-15T17:14:34Z | klcc.org | control | https://www.klcc.org/npr-news/npr-news/2022-08-15/kenyas-deputy-president-ruto-is-declared-the-election-winner | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
While gas prices remain elevated compared to a year ago, most of us are paying at least $1 less person gallon than we did a few months ago.
As of Monday, the average gallon of gas was $3.96 a gallon, which is down from a June 14 peak of $5.02. As the U.S. maintains two straight months of falling gas prices, many motorists question how low gas prices will go?
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm expects gas prices to drop to an average of $3.78 a gallon in the fourth quarter of 2022. She cautioned that the projection assumes no additional disruptions to the oil supply.
“It can be impacted by what’s happening globally,” she said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “The president has done more than any president in history to make sure that the price insofar as he’s got control continues to decline, and it has included asking for increased production both domestically and overseas.”
Experts say both supply and demand impact gas prices. While the Biden administration pointed toward increasing supply for the price drop, AAA said decreased demand has driven the cost at the pump downward.
“Falling pump prices may eventually lead to more drivers hitting the road again,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson. “But that hasn’t happened yet. Instead, many drivers are waiting for prices to fall further before reverting to their typical driving habits.”
AAA said that oil prices have fallen, which has helped contribute to lower gas prices in recent weeks. | https://www.katc.com/news/national/energy-secretary-gives-projection-on-end-of-2022-gas-prices | 2022-08-15T17:15:03Z | katc.com | control | https://www.katc.com/news/national/energy-secretary-gives-projection-on-end-of-2022-gas-prices | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
From long beans to mint and everything in between, this space is designed to help beginners learn farming and the industry and business behind it.
“We’re here at Global Greens farm,” Zachary Couture, the land and production supervisor at the Lutheran Services in Iowa’s Global Greens Program, said. “There's 20 beginning farmers out here who are scaling up, trying to start a living farming in Iowa.”
This is just one part of the larger Global Greens program, a program through Lutheran Services of Iowa that helps recommend former refugee farmers with the land as they build their lives in the U.S.
“We have 300 community gardeners, 20 beginning farmers, and 11 graduates and we support each of them in different capacities,” Couture said.
“I’m farming and work at Walmart,” Hakizimana Francois, a participant in the program, said. “This program means a lot to me.”
Francois and his wife are part of this program, learning new skills while he works his current job.
“She’s a big helper because right now she’s the one following this program and I’m helping her because I still keep my job,” Francois said.
Farming is a skill they already have, but this program helps them learn more about running a farm in America.
“It’s not just language barriers and cultural barriers,” Couture said.
Couture and other team members help them with things like technology, tools, business plans, and land rentals, too.
On a 12-acre leased lot down the road near Des Moines, Iowa, three program graduates grow a number of vegetables.
On this specific day, Couture was checking in to see what they needed to succeed. One of his team members, also from the East African country of Burundi where this group is from, helped translate.
“These farmers are very happy because they used to be in the Global Greens program for, I think, three years to five,” Firmin Ntakimazi said. “They are making some money to support the family.”
For them, land means opportunity.
“When they start talking about their families, their connection with their ancestors, they remember being on a farm with their grandparents and parents before they had to flee the country,” Couture said.
Couture said it’s a win-win situation all around. The program provides more local food to communities, gives refugees the chance to use their growing skills, and diversifies the types of vegetables being grown.
“It’s around a million pounds of vegetables a year between the community gardens and the graduates and the folks here,” Couture said.
“Next step, I wish to have to own big land so I can produce more food,” Francois said. | https://www.katc.com/news/national/program-teaches-refugee-farmers-the-business-behind-running-a-farm-in-the-u-s | 2022-08-15T17:15:27Z | katc.com | control | https://www.katc.com/news/national/program-teaches-refugee-farmers-the-business-behind-running-a-farm-in-the-u-s | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
A robotic cat is providing comfort to an elderly woman in South Carolina.
Linda Williams's new friend is named Lisa.
"She makes me feel good," Williams told CBS affiliate WRDW. "I’m gonna hold you up so they can see you.”
Williams felt alone after she lost her cat to cancer, the news outlet reported.
According to WRDW, Lisa is the product of a project that helps people who are socially isolated.
“It means a lot to me. She means a lot to me since I got her,” Williams told the news outlet.
According to the news outlet, Williams is the first person at her residential center to have a robotic cat. | https://www.katc.com/news/national/south-carolina-woman-finds-joy-with-robotic-cat-after-real-one-dies-of-cancer | 2022-08-15T17:15:40Z | katc.com | control | https://www.katc.com/news/national/south-carolina-woman-finds-joy-with-robotic-cat-after-real-one-dies-of-cancer | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Election administrators across the country have reported poll worker shortages throughout the primaries.
It's not as dire as the 2020 election, but not having enough workers can mean long lines and some polling locations potentially having to close.
There's a big push to get these positions filled for the midterms.
Tuesday is "Poll Worker Recruitment Day." Power the Polls said the most significant issue they hear from election administrators is a lack of awareness about how needed election workers are.
"People pay attention more in presidential years, and they don't pay attention as much in midterm elections, which is why we still have gaps," said Jane Slusser, program manager for Power the Polls. "Right now, people are not even thinking about this; it's not on their radar. But you still need to have as many polling locations open, even if there are, you know, aren't as many folks there."
Abhi Keshamouni, 19, served as a poll worker in 2020 before he could even vote. He's planning to serve again this November.
"It almost felt empowering to work there, and to help people vote and to help people do their civic duty regardless of what their political ideology were," said Keshamouni.
It is a long day because you have to be there from before the polls open until after they close. You will get some training beforehand that includes how to deal with any kind of threats or intimidation at the polls.
Election pay varies across the U.S.
It's a quick process to sign up online. | https://www.katc.com/news/national/tuesday-an-important-day-in-addressing-lack-of-election-workers | 2022-08-15T17:15:53Z | katc.com | control | https://www.katc.com/news/national/tuesday-an-important-day-in-addressing-lack-of-election-workers | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
This past Sunday August 14, 2022 Breaux Bridge Police Officers responded to the 900 block of South Poydras between 13:20 pm and 1:30 pm regarding a body located in a ditch.
Investigators located a deceased female, 42, who appeared to have been hit by a vehicle. Investigators further located several vehicle parts near the crime scene and the body.
Investigators believe the suspect vehicle is a new model Lincoln Navigator and would have damage to the right side with a missing right side mirror.
The Breaux Bridge Police Department is currently investigating the incident and asks that the person/ persons involved go speak to investigators.
If you have any information regarding this incident please contact the Breaux Bridge Police Department at 337-332-2186. | https://www.katc.com/news/st-martin-parish/breaux-bridge-police-department-investigates-fatal-hit-and-run | 2022-08-15T17:16:06Z | katc.com | control | https://www.katc.com/news/st-martin-parish/breaux-bridge-police-department-investigates-fatal-hit-and-run | 0 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
This past Sunday August 14, 2022 Breaux Bridge Police Officers responded to the 900 block of South Poydras between 13:20 pm and 1:30 pm regarding a body located in a ditch.
Investigators located a deceased female, 42, who appeared to have been hit by a vehicle. Investigators further located several vehicle parts near the crime scene and the body.
Investigators believe the suspect vehicle is a new model Lincoln Navigator and would have damage to the right side with a missing right side mirror.
The Breaux Bridge Police Department is currently investigating the incident and asks that the person/ persons involved go speak to investigators.
If you have any information regarding this incident please contact the Breaux Bridge Police Department at 337-332-2186. | https://www.katc.com/news/st-martin-parish/breaux-bridge-police-department-investigates-fatal-hit-and-run | 2022-08-15T17:16:06Z | katc.com | control | https://www.katc.com/news/st-martin-parish/breaux-bridge-police-department-investigates-fatal-hit-and-run | 1 | 0 | green-iguana-35 | null |
More than two million infant swings and rockers are being recalled because children can become entangled in the straps.
The recall includes the MamaRoo Baby Swing, versions 1.0 through 4.0, and RockaRoo Baby Rockers, sold under the 4moms brand.
"4moms has received two reports of entanglement incidents involving infants who became caught in the strap under the unoccupied MamaRoo infant swing after they crawled under the seat," a statement from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) says.
The commission says a 10-month-old died from asphyxiation after becoming entangled. A different 10-month-old reportedly became entangled but was rescued by a caregiver. He suffered bruising to his neck, the CPSC says.
No incidents have been reported involving the RockaRoo Baby Rockers, but the product also has straps that pose a safety risk.
The products have been sold at Best Buy, Target, 4moms.com and Amazon since January 2010.
"Consumers with infants who can crawl should immediately stop using the recalled swings and rockers and place them in an area where crawling infants cannot access," the CPSC statement says.
People can contact 4moms to get a strap fastener to help prevent children from becoming entangled in the products. | https://www.fox17online.com/news/national/4moms-recalls-millions-of-infant-swings-rockers-over-strangulation-concerns | 2022-08-15T17:23:24Z | fox17online.com | control | https://www.fox17online.com/news/national/4moms-recalls-millions-of-infant-swings-rockers-over-strangulation-concerns | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
A robotic cat is providing comfort to an elderly woman in South Carolina.
Linda Williams's new friend is named Lisa.
"She makes me feel good," Williams told CBS affiliate WRDW. "I’m gonna hold you up so they can see you.”
Williams felt alone after she lost her cat to cancer, the news outlet reported.
According to WRDW, Lisa is the product of a project that helps people who are socially isolated.
“It means a lot to me. She means a lot to me since I got her,” Williams told the news outlet.
According to the news outlet, Williams is the first person at her residential center to have a robotic cat. | https://www.fox17online.com/news/national/south-carolina-woman-finds-joy-with-robotic-cat-after-real-one-dies-of-cancer | 2022-08-15T17:23:36Z | fox17online.com | control | https://www.fox17online.com/news/national/south-carolina-woman-finds-joy-with-robotic-cat-after-real-one-dies-of-cancer | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Florida's alligator hunting season started Monday with new rules expanding the time and weapons that can be used.
The new rules expanded alligator hunting to 24 hours a day, instead of the previous 17 hours a day, primarily at night and early morning, that had been allowed.
Additionally, hunters now will be allowed to use pneumatic air-bows attached to a restraining line to hunt the alligators. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says the pneumatic air-bows are easier to use for people with mobility challenges and young people.
Hunters already could use bows, crossbows, harpoons, spears and pneumatic air-guns firing an arrow.
Florida is estimated to have 1.3 million alligators. | https://www.wtxl.com/media/v/content/52e618b03344a26aa73cb89a193b1aff | 2022-08-15T17:23:39Z | wtxl.com | control | https://www.wtxl.com/media/v/content/52e618b03344a26aa73cb89a193b1aff | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
ATLANTA (AP) — Nearly 200 Georgia state prison employees have been arrested for job-related crimes since the beginning of 2020, according to a list obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Of the 195 Georgia Department of Corrections employees arrested through June 30, 143 are state certified police officers, mostly corrections officers.
That includes 69 arrested related to drugs. Most appear to be prison employees who brought drugs into prison, often to provide to inmates. The drug arrests include 41 for marijuana, 11 for marijuana and methamphetamine, and nine for meth alone. In one case, two employees tried to smuggle meth inside a prison in a Hot Pocket frozen turnover.
There were 21 arrests for battery, including four employees arrested at Rutledge State Prison in Columbus for beating a handcuffed prisoner.
Nine employees were arrested for sexual assault, including four assaults of prisoners at Lee Arrendale State Prison in Alto, Georgia’s largest women's prison. Under state law, a prison guard can be charged with sexual assault even if the prisoner consents.
Two teachers were arrested, including DaShawn Melvin, who was a GED instructor at Pulaski State Prison in Hawkinsville until he was fired in April after he was arrested on charges that he was trying to bring contraband into the prison for a gang-affiliated inmate.
Melvin testified in June that he had inappropriate sexual contact with that inmate as well as a half-dozen others, but his statements — made in a Fulton County court under a grant of immunity — have not led to criminal charges.
He also testified that he made thousands of dollars by repeatedly bringing in contraband he knew included greeting cards laced with unknown substances before he was caught in April.
The 25-year-old was fired April 29, a day after he was discovered trying to enter the prison with 10 blank greeting cards and other types of contraband.
Melvin has since been charged with four offenses in Pulaski County, including bringing weapons, intoxicants or drugs into a prison.
Melvin said the material was bound for Selena Holmes, a 23-year-old inmate who has been charged in Pulaski County with multiple offenses for her alleged role in the smuggling.
Those charges include conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent as well as conspiracy to participate in criminal gang activity. The gang charge apparently stems from her role with the Bloods, the gang most often cited for the mayhem that has upended life at the Hawkinsville facility this year. | https://www.wtxl.com/media/v/content/c2e060292b48cfb47acb52f882760260 | 2022-08-15T17:23:58Z | wtxl.com | control | https://www.wtxl.com/media/v/content/c2e060292b48cfb47acb52f882760260 | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
LOWNDES COUNTY, Ga. (WTXL) — Lowndes County Health Department is set to host a Monkeypox vaccine event for local, eligible citizens.
The vaccine event will take place on August 26 and September 2 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Lowndes County Health Department, located at 206 South Patterson St.
If interested in receiving the vaccine, the health department says you must be identified by public health as a contact of someone with Monkeypox, aware that a sexual partner in the past two weeks has been diagnosed with Monkeypox or have had multiple sex partners in the past two weeks in an area with known Monkeypox. | https://www.wtxl.com/news/local-news/lowndes-county-to-host-monkeypox-vaccine-event | 2022-08-15T17:24:04Z | wtxl.com | control | https://www.wtxl.com/news/local-news/lowndes-county-to-host-monkeypox-vaccine-event | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
More than two million infant swings and rockers are being recalled because children can become entangled in the straps.
The recall includes the MamaRoo Baby Swing, versions 1.0 through 4.0, and RockaRoo Baby Rockers, sold under the 4moms brand.
"4moms has received two reports of entanglement incidents involving infants who became caught in the strap under the unoccupied MamaRoo infant swing after they crawled under the seat," a statement from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) says.
The commission says a 10-month-old died from asphyxiation after becoming entangled. A different 10-month-old reportedly became entangled but was rescued by a caregiver. He suffered bruising to his neck, the CPSC says.
No incidents have been reported involving the RockaRoo Baby Rockers, but the product also has straps that pose a safety risk.
The products have been sold at Best Buy, Target, 4moms.com and Amazon since January 2010.
"Consumers with infants who can crawl should immediately stop using the recalled swings and rockers and place them in an area where crawling infants cannot access," the CPSC statement says.
People can contact 4moms to get a strap fastener to help prevent children from becoming entangled in the products. | https://www.wtxl.com/news/national/4moms-recalls-millions-of-infant-swings-rockers-over-strangulation-concerns | 2022-08-15T17:24:16Z | wtxl.com | control | https://www.wtxl.com/news/national/4moms-recalls-millions-of-infant-swings-rockers-over-strangulation-concerns | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
While gas prices remain elevated compared to a year ago, most of us are paying at least $1 less person gallon than we did a few months ago.
As of Monday, the average gallon of gas was $3.96 a gallon, which is down from a June 14 peak of $5.02. As the U.S. maintains two straight months of falling gas prices, many motorists question how low gas prices will go?
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm expects gas prices to drop to an average of $3.78 a gallon in the fourth quarter of 2022. She cautioned that the projection assumes no additional disruptions to the oil supply.
“It can be impacted by what’s happening globally,” she said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “The president has done more than any president in history to make sure that the price insofar as he’s got control continues to decline, and it has included asking for increased production both domestically and overseas.”
Experts say both supply and demand impact gas prices. While the Biden administration pointed toward increasing supply for the price drop, AAA said decreased demand has driven the cost at the pump downward.
“Falling pump prices may eventually lead to more drivers hitting the road again,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson. “But that hasn’t happened yet. Instead, many drivers are waiting for prices to fall further before reverting to their typical driving habits.”
AAA said that oil prices have fallen, which has helped contribute to lower gas prices in recent weeks. | https://www.wtxl.com/news/national/energy-secretary-gives-projection-on-end-of-2022-gas-prices | 2022-08-15T17:24:28Z | wtxl.com | control | https://www.wtxl.com/news/national/energy-secretary-gives-projection-on-end-of-2022-gas-prices | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
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