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Gloomy conditions continue Wednesday
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Overcast skies, light showers, and isolated thunderstorms will stick around Middle Georgia Wednesday.
Today
We saw a number of small scattered showers around Middle Georgia during the early morning hours today, however many of them began to weaken and fade out as the sun rose. We are still seeing a handful of light showers as we push into the later morning hours, and one or two of them may stick around into the afternoon hours. The early rain along with cloudy conditions are once again keeping high temperatures on the cooler side around Middle Georgia as highs peak in the low to mid 80s. Ambient winds for today will blow out of the southwest at approximately 5 mph.
Later this afternoon a few isolated storms are likely to fire up, however much of Middle Georgia will likely stay dry. Any storms that do form, however, can bring heavy rain, frequent cloud to ground lightning, strong wind gusts, or some small hail. Storm activity will likely be limited to the afternoon and evening hours, and we should see them taper off shortly after sunset.
Overnight conditions will just be cloudy early on (once the evening storms have subsided), however rain will remain in the forecast. After midnight models are hinting at the potential for widespread stratiform rainfall to move into Middle Georgia between 2am and 4am ET Thursday morning. This rain will likely still be hanging around for many parts of Middle Georgia by the time the sunrise arrives in the region. There is, however, the off chance we get missed by all of this rain. Last Thursday morning we were forecast to receive an inch or more of rainfall across much of the region, but instead the widespread rain missed Middle Georgia to the south. Low temperatures will be in the lower 70s and upper 60s regardless of whether or not the widespread rain hits or misses the region.
Tomorrow
Following the heavy rain (or not) tomorrow morning, more rain is likely to continue ahead of lunchtime. This likely hinges on whether or not the first mass of rain impacts Middle Georgia. If the first mass of storms misses, more than likely the second one will too, resulting in just a cloudy and humid start to the day. Whether or not the rain arrives tomorrow will also impact our high temperatures. Early rain will keep things cooler, leading to highs mainly in the lower 80s with some in the upper 70s. If the rain misses, highs will be in the low to mid 80s.
Regardless of early rain or not isolated thunderstorms will be possible tomorrow afternoon. Similar to today any storm can bring heavy rain, hail, strong winds, or frequent lightning. Those who do not see storms in the afternoon or evening will continue to observe overcast skies.
Overcast skies will persist into tomorrow night, and a couple of isolated showers may hang around the area as well. Overnight rain activity should not be anywhere close to what comes through overnight Wednesday into Thursday, unless, of course, the mass of moderate to heavy rain misses the region once again. Lows will mainly be in the lower 70s.
Friday and Beyond
Friday should see the return of a few pockets of sunshine in the afternoon, however clouds will still dominate. Early showers and the abundant cloud cover will once again limit high temperatures to the mid 80s. Scattered storms will be likely throughout the afternoon and evening hours, however we shouldn’t see much rain overnight as the stationary front that has been over the southeastern US all week breaks down.
Saturday we will see a pretty even split of sun and clouds with a slight edge likely still going towards the clouds. Highs will warm into the upper 80s, and some isolated storms will populate the afternoon and evening skies. A handful of clouds will stick around into the overnight hours as well.
Sunday should also see a relatively even split of sun and clouds, however the edge should finally go to the sunshine, resulting in high temperatures reaching back above the 90° mark. Again a few isolated storms will be possible in the afternoon and evening.
Next week we will begin to see a lot more sunshine sticking around the area, bringing the summer heat back to Middle Georgia as highs stick in the upper 80s and lower 90s. Rain chances look to be pretty low as well, at least early on in the next work week.
The tropics are continuing to heat up as the NHC is watching a pair of potential threats. The first one is a disorganized cluster of showers off to the east-southeast of the Lesser Antilles and has a 20% chance for development in the next 5 days. The second one is a tropical wave coming off of the western coast of Africa and shows a bit more organization at this time. Still, the NHC is only giving it a 20% chance for development in the next 5 days at this time.
Follow Meteorologist Aaron Lowery on Facebook (Aaron Lowery 41NBC) and Twitter (@ALowWX) for weather updates throughout the day. Also, you can watch his forecasts Monday through Friday on 41NBC News at Daybreak (6-7 a.m.) and 41Today (11 a.m). | https://www.41nbc.com/gloomy-conditions-continue-wednesday/ | 2022-08-24T23:27:37Z | nbc.com | treatment | https://www.41nbc.com/gloomy-conditions-continue-wednesday/ | 1 | 0 | green-iguana-35 | 1 |
Panel details pressure campaign for unproven COVID treatment
WASHINGTON (AP) — Officials in the Trump White House tried to pressure U.S. health experts into reauthorizing a discredited COVID-19 treatment, according to a congressional investigation that provides new evidence of that administration’s efforts to override Food and Drug Administration decisions early in the pandemic.
The report Wednesday by the Democratic-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis also sheds new light on the role that television personalities played in bringing hydroxychloroquine to the attention of top White House officials. Investigators highlighted an email from Fox News’ Laura Ingraham and others from Dr. Mehmet Oz, the celebrity heart surgeon who had a daytime TV show and is now the Republican Senate nominee in Pennsylvania. Ingraham attended an Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump, who himself took the anti-malaria drug.
The FDA originally authorized use of hydroxychloroquine in late March 2020 based on small studies suggesting it could have some effectiveness against the coronavirus. At that time, many researchers hoped that existing antiviral drugs could be used to fight the virus. But by June, FDA officials had concluded the drug was likely ineffective and could cause potentially dangerous heart complications, revoking its emergency use.
Efforts by the Trump administration to control the release of COVID-19 guidance and install political operatives at public health agencies have been well documented.
The report by the House subcommittee investigating the government’s COVID-19 response focused on pressure at the FDA, which serves as gatekeeper for the drugs, vaccines and other countermeasures against the virus.
Much of the information comes from an interview with the agency’s former commissioner, Dr. Stephen Hahn, who was picked for the job by Trump in late 2019. Frustrated by the pace of FDA’s medical reviews, Trump repeatedly accused Hahn — without evidence — of delaying decisions on COVID-19 drugs and vaccines “for political reasons.”
Although FDA commissioners are politically appointed, the agency’s scientists are expected to conduct their reviews free from outside influence. Indeed, the FDA’s credibility largely stems from its reputation for scientific independence.
But Hahn told investigators that he felt “persistent” pressure from Trump aide Peter Navarro to reauthorize hydroxychloroquine after the FDA’s decision to pull its emergency use.
Much of the report focuses on actions taken by Navarro and Dr. Steven Hatfill, a virologist and outside adviser described by the subcommittee as a “full-time volunteer” on COVID-19 for the White House.
“Dr. Hatfill and Mr. Navarro devised multiple pressure schemes targeting FDA and federal officials who they contended were wrongly impeding widespread access to hydroxychloroquine,” according to the report.
In his response, Hatfill said: “We never wrongly pressured anyone. We simply followed the science and the overwhelming evidence as detailed in several studies available at the time.”
Navarro, in an emailed statement, said the subcommittee was “wrongly” perpetuating that hydroxychloroquine “was somehow dangerous.” He also said he has chronicled his battles with the FDA in his White House memoir.
Importantly, there’s no evidence that White House efforts ultimately changed the FDA’s decisions on hydroxychloroquine or any other therapies.
Investigators also cited a March 28, 2020, email from Oz to Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, stating that the drug “appears safe and results are better than expected.”
Birx forwarded the email to Hahn within the hour, saying “we should talk.”
A cancer specialist with no prior political experience, Hahn was widely criticized during the early COVID-19 response for decisions that appeared to cave to White House officials.
According to emails obtained by the committee, Hatfill described “constant fighting with (Dr. Anthony) Fauci and Dr. Hahn” over access to hydroxychloroquine during the summer. Fauci is the nation’s top infectious disease expert.
During this period Hatfill also urged Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., to request a federal investigation into the handling of hydroxychloroquine, according to a letter submitted for the Congressional Record.
There’s no indication such a request was made. But in mid-August, Johnson and fellow Republican Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Ted Cruz of Texas wrote the FDA seeking an explanation for the denial to reinstate hydroxychloroquine’s authorization. Johnson also chaired a Senate committee hearing in November 2020 on treatment options and complained that doctors who prescribed hydroxychloroquine for COVID had been “scorned.”
In the fall of 2020, the focus of both FDA and White House officials turned to the upcoming authorization of the first COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna.
As previously reported, the White House objected to an FDA requirement that vaccine makers gather two months of safety data before filing their applications, contending that condition would delay the launch of the shots. Trump had repeatedly stated the shots would be authorized before Election Day, despite government scientists signaling that timeline was unlikely.
The committee report suggested that the FDA’s guidance for vaccine manufacturers was delayed more than three weeks — from mid-September until early October — due to White House concerns.
Hahn told investigators the agency faced “pushback about the issue” from multiple officials, including Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, who told the FDA commissioner on Sept. 23, 2020, that the White House would not sign off on the two-month requirement.
On Oct. 6, the FDA quietly published its vaccine guidelines as part of a larger set of documents for drugmakers. After the materials posted online, Hahn said Meadows called him to indicate that the FDA guidelines were approved.
The online publication drew fury from the president on Twitter.
“New FDA rules make it more difficult for them to speed up vaccines for approval before Election Day. Just another political hit job!” Trump tweeted at his FDA commissioner. | https://www.41nbc.com/panel-details-pressure-campaign-for-unproven-covid-treatment/ | 2022-08-24T23:27:43Z | nbc.com | treatment | https://www.41nbc.com/panel-details-pressure-campaign-for-unproven-covid-treatment/ | 0 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | 26 |
Panel details pressure campaign for unproven COVID treatment
WASHINGTON (AP) — Officials in the Trump White House tried to pressure U.S. health experts into reauthorizing a discredited COVID-19 treatment, according to a congressional investigation that provides new evidence of that administration’s efforts to override Food and Drug Administration decisions early in the pandemic.
The report Wednesday by the Democratic-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis also sheds new light on the role that television personalities played in bringing hydroxychloroquine to the attention of top White House officials. Investigators highlighted an email from Fox News’ Laura Ingraham and others from Dr. Mehmet Oz, the celebrity heart surgeon who had a daytime TV show and is now the Republican Senate nominee in Pennsylvania. Ingraham attended an Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump, who himself took the anti-malaria drug.
The FDA originally authorized use of hydroxychloroquine in late March 2020 based on small studies suggesting it could have some effectiveness against the coronavirus. At that time, many researchers hoped that existing antiviral drugs could be used to fight the virus. But by June, FDA officials had concluded the drug was likely ineffective and could cause potentially dangerous heart complications, revoking its emergency use.
Efforts by the Trump administration to control the release of COVID-19 guidance and install political operatives at public health agencies have been well documented.
The report by the House subcommittee investigating the government’s COVID-19 response focused on pressure at the FDA, which serves as gatekeeper for the drugs, vaccines and other countermeasures against the virus.
Much of the information comes from an interview with the agency’s former commissioner, Dr. Stephen Hahn, who was picked for the job by Trump in late 2019. Frustrated by the pace of FDA’s medical reviews, Trump repeatedly accused Hahn — without evidence — of delaying decisions on COVID-19 drugs and vaccines “for political reasons.”
Although FDA commissioners are politically appointed, the agency’s scientists are expected to conduct their reviews free from outside influence. Indeed, the FDA’s credibility largely stems from its reputation for scientific independence.
But Hahn told investigators that he felt “persistent” pressure from Trump aide Peter Navarro to reauthorize hydroxychloroquine after the FDA’s decision to pull its emergency use.
Much of the report focuses on actions taken by Navarro and Dr. Steven Hatfill, a virologist and outside adviser described by the subcommittee as a “full-time volunteer” on COVID-19 for the White House.
“Dr. Hatfill and Mr. Navarro devised multiple pressure schemes targeting FDA and federal officials who they contended were wrongly impeding widespread access to hydroxychloroquine,” according to the report.
In his response, Hatfill said: “We never wrongly pressured anyone. We simply followed the science and the overwhelming evidence as detailed in several studies available at the time.”
Navarro, in an emailed statement, said the subcommittee was “wrongly” perpetuating that hydroxychloroquine “was somehow dangerous.” He also said he has chronicled his battles with the FDA in his White House memoir.
Importantly, there’s no evidence that White House efforts ultimately changed the FDA’s decisions on hydroxychloroquine or any other therapies.
Investigators also cited a March 28, 2020, email from Oz to Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, stating that the drug “appears safe and results are better than expected.”
Birx forwarded the email to Hahn within the hour, saying “we should talk.”
A cancer specialist with no prior political experience, Hahn was widely criticized during the early COVID-19 response for decisions that appeared to cave to White House officials.
According to emails obtained by the committee, Hatfill described “constant fighting with (Dr. Anthony) Fauci and Dr. Hahn” over access to hydroxychloroquine during the summer. Fauci is the nation’s top infectious disease expert.
During this period Hatfill also urged Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., to request a federal investigation into the handling of hydroxychloroquine, according to a letter submitted for the Congressional Record.
There’s no indication such a request was made. But in mid-August, Johnson and fellow Republican Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Ted Cruz of Texas wrote the FDA seeking an explanation for the denial to reinstate hydroxychloroquine’s authorization. Johnson also chaired a Senate committee hearing in November 2020 on treatment options and complained that doctors who prescribed hydroxychloroquine for COVID had been “scorned.”
In the fall of 2020, the focus of both FDA and White House officials turned to the upcoming authorization of the first COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna.
As previously reported, the White House objected to an FDA requirement that vaccine makers gather two months of safety data before filing their applications, contending that condition would delay the launch of the shots. Trump had repeatedly stated the shots would be authorized before Election Day, despite government scientists signaling that timeline was unlikely.
The committee report suggested that the FDA’s guidance for vaccine manufacturers was delayed more than three weeks — from mid-September until early October — due to White House concerns.
Hahn told investigators the agency faced “pushback about the issue” from multiple officials, including Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, who told the FDA commissioner on Sept. 23, 2020, that the White House would not sign off on the two-month requirement.
On Oct. 6, the FDA quietly published its vaccine guidelines as part of a larger set of documents for drugmakers. After the materials posted online, Hahn said Meadows called him to indicate that the FDA guidelines were approved.
The online publication drew fury from the president on Twitter.
“New FDA rules make it more difficult for them to speed up vaccines for approval before Election Day. Just another political hit job!” Trump tweeted at his FDA commissioner. | https://www.41nbc.com/panel-details-pressure-campaign-for-unproven-covid-treatment/ | 2022-08-24T23:27:43Z | nbc.com | treatment | https://www.41nbc.com/panel-details-pressure-campaign-for-unproven-covid-treatment/ | 1 | 0 | green-iguana-35 | 26 |
Second suspect arrested in connection to 2020 death investigation
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office is reporting a second arrest made in connection to the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Jamarion Lawrence, an incident that happened December 6th of 2020 on Center Street.
According to the BCSO, 18-year-old David Martin Jr. had been identified as one of the suspects in connection to the death of Lawrence, and warrants were issued for his arrest– U.S. Marshals found Martin in Pulaski County and took him into custody without incident.
Martin is being held at the Bibb County Law Enforcement Center without bond for Aggravated Assault and Murder.
Anyone with more information about this case is urged to call the Bibb County Law Enforcement Center at 478-751-7500 or Macon Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-877-68CRIME. | https://www.41nbc.com/second-suspect-arrested-in-2020-death-investigation/ | 2022-08-24T23:27:49Z | nbc.com | treatment | https://www.41nbc.com/second-suspect-arrested-in-2020-death-investigation/ | 0 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Second suspect arrested in connection to 2020 death investigation
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office is reporting a second arrest made in connection to the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Jamarion Lawrence, an incident that happened December 6th of 2020 on Center Street.
According to the BCSO, 18-year-old David Martin Jr. had been identified as one of the suspects in connection to the death of Lawrence, and warrants were issued for his arrest– U.S. Marshals found Martin in Pulaski County and took him into custody without incident.
Martin is being held at the Bibb County Law Enforcement Center without bond for Aggravated Assault and Murder.
Anyone with more information about this case is urged to call the Bibb County Law Enforcement Center at 478-751-7500 or Macon Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-877-68CRIME. | https://www.41nbc.com/second-suspect-arrested-in-2020-death-investigation/ | 2022-08-24T23:27:49Z | nbc.com | treatment | https://www.41nbc.com/second-suspect-arrested-in-2020-death-investigation/ | 1 | 0 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Ukraine girds for heavy attacks as it marks Independence Day
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine braced for what President Volodymr Zelenskyy warned could be especially brutal Russian attacks Wednesday as the country observed its Independence Day — and marked the war’s six-month point — under conditions considered too dangerous to allow any major public celebrations in the capital.
Residents of Kyiv woke up to air raid sirens, but there were no immediate strikes. The capital has been largely spared from attack in recent months, as a war that was widely expected to be a lightning conquest by Moscow turned into a grinding conflict fought mostly in the east and south.
Outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson marked the holiday with a visit to Kyiv — his third since the war started — and other European leaders used the occasion to pledge unwavering support for the country and pay tribute to the sacrifices of its people. The U.S. announced a major new military aid package totaling nearly $3 billion to help Ukrainian forces fight for years to come.
Independence Day commemorates Ukraine’s 1991 declaration of independence from the Soviet Union.
Kyiv authorities banned large gatherings in the capital through Thursday, fearing the national holiday might bring particularly heavy Russian missile strikes.
“Russian provocations and brutal strikes are a possibility,” Zelenskyy said in a statement. “Please strictly follow the safety rules. Please observe the curfew. Pay attention to the air sirens. Pay attention to official announcements. And remember: We must all achieve victory together.”
Nevertheless, a festive atmosphere prevailed at Kyiv’s Maidan square as thousands of Kyiv residents posed for pictures next to burned-out Russian tanks put on display. Folk singers set up, and many revelers — ignoring the sirens — were out and about in traditionally embroidered dresses and shirts.
Others were fearful.
“I can’t sleep at night because of what I see and hear about what is being done in Ukraine,” said a retiree who gave only her first name, Tetyana, her voice shaking with emotion. “This is not a war. It is the destruction of the Ukrainian people.”
In a holiday message to the country, Zelenskyy said: “Six months ago, Russia declared war on us. On Feb. 24, all of Ukraine heard explosions and gunshots. … On Feb. 24, we were told: You have no chance. On Aug. 24, we say: Happy Independence Day, Ukraine!”
Zelenskyy also addressed the U.N. Security Council via video over Russia’s objections and said the “security of the entire world” is at stake in Ukraine’s battle against Moscow’s “insane aggression.”
U.S. President Joe Biden said the latest American aid package will allow Ukraine to acquire air defense and artillery systems and other weapons.
“I know this Independence Day is bittersweet for many Ukrainians as thousands have been killed or wounded, millions have been displaced from their homes, and so many others have fallen victim to Russian atrocities and attacks,” Biden said. “But six months of relentless attacks have only strengthened Ukrainians’ pride in themselves, in their country, and in their 31 years of independence.”
Britain’s Johnson urged Western allies to maintain their support of Ukraine through the winter.
“This is not the time to put forward flimsy negotiating proposals,” he said. “You can’t negotiate with a bear when it’s eating your leg or with a street robber when he has you pinned to the floor.”
In Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz rebuked the Kremlin for its “backward imperialism” and declared that Ukraine “will drive away the dark shadow of war because it is strong and brave, because it has friends in Europe and all over the world.”
A car bombing outside Moscow that killed the 29-year-old daughter of right-wing Russian political theorist Alexander Dugin on Saturday also heightened fears that Russia might intensify attacks on Ukraine this week. Russian officials have blamed Ukraine for the death of Darya Dugina, a pro-Kremlin TV commentator. Ukraine has denied any involvement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces have encountered unexpectedly stiff Ukrainian resistance in their invasion and abandoned their effort to storm the capital in the spring. The fighting has turned into a war of attrition that has reduced neighborhoods to rubble and sent shock waves through the world economy.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, speaking Wednesday at a meeting of his counterparts from a security organization dominated by Russia and China, claimed the slow pace of Moscow’s military action was due to what he said was an effort to spare civilians.
Russian forces have repeatedly targeted civilian areas in cities, including hospitals and a Mariupol theater where hundreds of people were taking shelter.
But Shoigu said Russia is carrying out strikes with precision weapons against Ukrainian military targets, and “everything is done to avoid civilian casualties.”
“Undoubtedly, it slows down the pace of the offensive, but we do it deliberately,” he said.
He also criticized the U.S. and its allies for “continuing to pump weapons into Ukraine,” saying the aid is dragging out the conflict and increasing the number of victims.
On the battlefield, Russian forces struck several towns and villages in Donetsk province in the east over 24 hours, killing one person, authorities said. A building materials superstore in the city of Donetsk was hit by a shell and erupted in flames, the mayor said. There were no immediate reports of any injuries.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region on the southern front, the Russians again shelled the cities of Nikopol and Marhanets, damaging several buildings and wounding two people, authorities said. Russian troops also shelled the city of Zaporizhzhia, but no casualties were reported.
Also, Russian rockets struck unspecified targets in the Khmelnytskyi region, about 300 kilometers (180 miles) west of Kyiv, the regional governor said. Attacks there have been infrequent. | https://www.41nbc.com/ukraine-girds-for-heavy-attacks-as-it-marks-independence-day/ | 2022-08-24T23:27:55Z | nbc.com | treatment | https://www.41nbc.com/ukraine-girds-for-heavy-attacks-as-it-marks-independence-day/ | 0 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | 29 |
Ukraine girds for heavy attacks as it marks Independence Day
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine braced for what President Volodymr Zelenskyy warned could be especially brutal Russian attacks Wednesday as the country observed its Independence Day — and marked the war’s six-month point — under conditions considered too dangerous to allow any major public celebrations in the capital.
Residents of Kyiv woke up to air raid sirens, but there were no immediate strikes. The capital has been largely spared from attack in recent months, as a war that was widely expected to be a lightning conquest by Moscow turned into a grinding conflict fought mostly in the east and south.
Outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson marked the holiday with a visit to Kyiv — his third since the war started — and other European leaders used the occasion to pledge unwavering support for the country and pay tribute to the sacrifices of its people. The U.S. announced a major new military aid package totaling nearly $3 billion to help Ukrainian forces fight for years to come.
Independence Day commemorates Ukraine’s 1991 declaration of independence from the Soviet Union.
Kyiv authorities banned large gatherings in the capital through Thursday, fearing the national holiday might bring particularly heavy Russian missile strikes.
“Russian provocations and brutal strikes are a possibility,” Zelenskyy said in a statement. “Please strictly follow the safety rules. Please observe the curfew. Pay attention to the air sirens. Pay attention to official announcements. And remember: We must all achieve victory together.”
Nevertheless, a festive atmosphere prevailed at Kyiv’s Maidan square as thousands of Kyiv residents posed for pictures next to burned-out Russian tanks put on display. Folk singers set up, and many revelers — ignoring the sirens — were out and about in traditionally embroidered dresses and shirts.
Others were fearful.
“I can’t sleep at night because of what I see and hear about what is being done in Ukraine,” said a retiree who gave only her first name, Tetyana, her voice shaking with emotion. “This is not a war. It is the destruction of the Ukrainian people.”
In a holiday message to the country, Zelenskyy said: “Six months ago, Russia declared war on us. On Feb. 24, all of Ukraine heard explosions and gunshots. … On Feb. 24, we were told: You have no chance. On Aug. 24, we say: Happy Independence Day, Ukraine!”
Zelenskyy also addressed the U.N. Security Council via video over Russia’s objections and said the “security of the entire world” is at stake in Ukraine’s battle against Moscow’s “insane aggression.”
U.S. President Joe Biden said the latest American aid package will allow Ukraine to acquire air defense and artillery systems and other weapons.
“I know this Independence Day is bittersweet for many Ukrainians as thousands have been killed or wounded, millions have been displaced from their homes, and so many others have fallen victim to Russian atrocities and attacks,” Biden said. “But six months of relentless attacks have only strengthened Ukrainians’ pride in themselves, in their country, and in their 31 years of independence.”
Britain’s Johnson urged Western allies to maintain their support of Ukraine through the winter.
“This is not the time to put forward flimsy negotiating proposals,” he said. “You can’t negotiate with a bear when it’s eating your leg or with a street robber when he has you pinned to the floor.”
In Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz rebuked the Kremlin for its “backward imperialism” and declared that Ukraine “will drive away the dark shadow of war because it is strong and brave, because it has friends in Europe and all over the world.”
A car bombing outside Moscow that killed the 29-year-old daughter of right-wing Russian political theorist Alexander Dugin on Saturday also heightened fears that Russia might intensify attacks on Ukraine this week. Russian officials have blamed Ukraine for the death of Darya Dugina, a pro-Kremlin TV commentator. Ukraine has denied any involvement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces have encountered unexpectedly stiff Ukrainian resistance in their invasion and abandoned their effort to storm the capital in the spring. The fighting has turned into a war of attrition that has reduced neighborhoods to rubble and sent shock waves through the world economy.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, speaking Wednesday at a meeting of his counterparts from a security organization dominated by Russia and China, claimed the slow pace of Moscow’s military action was due to what he said was an effort to spare civilians.
Russian forces have repeatedly targeted civilian areas in cities, including hospitals and a Mariupol theater where hundreds of people were taking shelter.
But Shoigu said Russia is carrying out strikes with precision weapons against Ukrainian military targets, and “everything is done to avoid civilian casualties.”
“Undoubtedly, it slows down the pace of the offensive, but we do it deliberately,” he said.
He also criticized the U.S. and its allies for “continuing to pump weapons into Ukraine,” saying the aid is dragging out the conflict and increasing the number of victims.
On the battlefield, Russian forces struck several towns and villages in Donetsk province in the east over 24 hours, killing one person, authorities said. A building materials superstore in the city of Donetsk was hit by a shell and erupted in flames, the mayor said. There were no immediate reports of any injuries.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region on the southern front, the Russians again shelled the cities of Nikopol and Marhanets, damaging several buildings and wounding two people, authorities said. Russian troops also shelled the city of Zaporizhzhia, but no casualties were reported.
Also, Russian rockets struck unspecified targets in the Khmelnytskyi region, about 300 kilometers (180 miles) west of Kyiv, the regional governor said. Attacks there have been infrequent. | https://www.41nbc.com/ukraine-girds-for-heavy-attacks-as-it-marks-independence-day/ | 2022-08-24T23:27:55Z | nbc.com | treatment | https://www.41nbc.com/ukraine-girds-for-heavy-attacks-as-it-marks-independence-day/ | 1 | 0 | green-iguana-35 | 29 |
Work to complete the new Slade Elementary School in Laramie has been fast and furious the past few weeks, as seen in this Aug. 6 photo. But with a Wednesday deadline to pass an inspection, unfinished Americans With Disabilities Act issues will keep the $17.8 million school closed for the first two days of the new school year.
The first day of classes for Slade Elementary School students won't begin Thursday morning as it will for other schools in Albany County School District 1.
The new $17.8 million school instead will open for the first time Monday, said ASD1 superintendent John Goldhardt.
While administrators originally had planned for the new school to receive its occupancy permit in time for Thursday, the permit was not approved because of a lack of tactile plates on the handicap parking sidewalk egress, an Americans with Disabilities Act requirement.
To complicate things, on Wednesday a worker hit a gas line at the school site at 1223 E. Shield St. in Laramie. While the Laramie Fire Department responded and fixed the line, the hiccup was one of many that has caused the school’s completion date to be pushed back multiple times.
“We’re highly disappointed that the building is not completely finished on time,” Goldhardt said. “We would rather have our kids there on the first day, but unfortunately we’re going to have to wait until Monday.
"But they will get the most beautiful elementary school in the state.”
Goldhardt clarified that the building is safe, but that school administrators want to be extra sure everything is ready for the students. While students are not allowed in the school without the occupancy permit, teachers have been allowed in to set up their classrooms, he said.
Classes at the other schools in Albany County School District will begin Thursday as planned. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/laramieboomerang/news/thursday-is-first-day-for-area-schools-except-slade-elementary/article_7dde0b2a-23fc-11ed-b0b3-d7dc3175dbd8.html | 2022-08-24T23:32:38Z | wyomingnews.com | control | https://www.wyomingnews.com/laramieboomerang/news/thursday-is-first-day-for-area-schools-except-slade-elementary/article_7dde0b2a-23fc-11ed-b0b3-d7dc3175dbd8.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
CHEYENNE – The following people had filed with the Laramie County Clerk's Office to run for Laramie County School District 1, LCSD2 and Laramie County Community College Board of Trustees as of Wednesday, Aug. 24.
The filing period lasts until Monday, Aug. 29. Candidates will vie for nonpartisan positions in the Nov. 8 general election.
LCSD1 Area 1 (roughly South triad; one open seat): Susan Edgerton, Joseph Ramirez
LCSD1 Area 2 (roughly East triad; one open seat): Maurina Venturelli, Rich Wiederspahn
LCSD1 Area 3 (roughly Central triad; one open seat): Todd Reynolds, Michelle Tonacchio, Peter Zipp III
LCSD1 At-Large (one open seat): Henry (Hank) Bailey, Rene R. Hinkle, Lilia Olejnik, Jenefer Pasqua, Joe Plowman
LCSD2 Area D (one open seat):Billie Wilson
LCSD2 At-Large (three open seats):Michael Lerwick, Cody Nusbaum, Kendra Roeder
LCCC (three open seats):Joe Kelly, Janine Thompson
Applications for each position can be found online at elections.laramiecountyclerk.com/candidates-corner/. They can be filed in person at the county clerk’s office, located inside the Laramie County Governmental Complex, 309 W. 20th St. They can also be sent by email (PDF, minimum 300 DPI) to election@laramiecountywy.gov with the subject line "Candidate filing," or by fax to 307-633-4240. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/local_news/candidate-filings-as-of-8-24-22/article_383c7556-23fd-11ed-8783-5f57783b11c6.html | 2022-08-24T23:32:44Z | wyomingnews.com | control | https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/local_news/candidate-filings-as-of-8-24-22/article_383c7556-23fd-11ed-8783-5f57783b11c6.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
ROCK SPRINGS – The Bittersweet Bombshells held a fundraiser at the American Legion Archie Hayes Post 24 on Saturday, Aug. 20, to raise money so the team can have a more permanent practice space.
“Right now, we’re trying to find a practice space. We’re trying to find a more stable practice place so that we can host more games in town. Right now, the rec center is the only place big enough to have games in, so if we can find a bigger place, we can have games all year long,” said Roxana Cheatwood.
“We always donate and half of our proceeds go back to the community every game that we have.”
Roller derby is a sport for everyone to enjoy. Most of the players on the Bittersweet Bombshells are moms and teachers from the community, Cheatwood said.
“We’re everywhere in the community.”
For those who don’t know much about roller derby, Cheatwood said it’s a “full-contact sport.”
“You’re pretty much playing offense and defense at the same time. You’re trying to get your jammer, the one with the star on the helmet, pass the other team. That’s four points. While you’re doing that, you have to prevent the other team’s jammer from getting through,” she said.
While the Bittersweet Bombshells have no plans of hosting any more events this year, they are actively recruiting new members to join their team and learn more about the sport.
The local roller derby squad is still looking to raise funding in order to provide more sporting events for the community.
For more information, visit the Bittersweet Bombshells Facebook page. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyomingbusinessreport/industry_news/economy_and_labor/bittersweet-bombshells-raising-money-for-new-practice-facility/article_1b3aa50e-23f8-11ed-b00c-27ef563dadc1.html | 2022-08-24T23:32:50Z | wyomingnews.com | control | https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyomingbusinessreport/industry_news/economy_and_labor/bittersweet-bombshells-raising-money-for-new-practice-facility/article_1b3aa50e-23f8-11ed-b00c-27ef563dadc1.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Via Wyoming News Exchange
CASPER – A week after one of the most discussed elections in Wyoming’s history, a panel of lawmakers will consider changes to the state’s voting system.
The Legislature’s Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee will discuss a ranked-choice voting system and whether to implement special elections if one of the state’s top elected officials departs.
The committee will also consider two other important issues in Wyoming: housing and liquor licenses. The meeting, which is open to the public and will be streamed online, will take place in Casper on Thursday and Friday.
Election reform
As has become the norm over the last couple of years, the Corporations Committee will consider election reform legislation. That includes implementing a ranked-choice voting system similar to the one used last week in Alaska’s primary.
Ranked-choice usually work like this: The number of votes a candidate gets are determined by how many residents rank the candidate in the top spot. If no one candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, it will trigger the lowest vote-getter to be cut.
Then, on every ballot that had the lowest vote-getter ranked first, the No. 2 candidate will move into the No. 1 spot and earns more votes. This process continues until one candidate achieves a majority.
As the bill is currently written, it would permit voters to rank any candidate “without regard to political party affiliation.”
In other words, a voter could rank a Republican first and a Democrat second and not be bound by party.
But the current bill draft will likely be workshopped extensively, said Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, and Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne.
For example, it’s possible that a ranked-choice system could exist within partisan primaries, so voters would only be able to rank Democrats or Republicans, depending on their registration.
Ranked-choice opponents often point to the recent New York City mayoral race as an example of why Wyoming should not implement it – getting the results took days, as opposed to hours.
“I think [favorability for] ranked choice has dimmed a little bit,” Case said.
The committee will also be reviewing a bill that would trigger a special election if there’s a vacancy in some of the state’s elected offices.
As it stands, the state Republican or Democratic central committee (depending on the politician being replaced) is responsible for nominating three candidates. The governor then picks one of those three.
Case suspects the state GOP will lobby against this bill.
“They’ll come down with steel-toed boots,” he said.
In recent years, the state party and a large portion of its central committee has become increasingly hard-line and MAGA-minded, putting the group at odds with more traditional, big tent Republicans.
The central committee passed over Megan Degenfelder when choosing nominees for schools superintendent earlier this year, although she had administrative experience in the Wyoming Department of Education.
Instead, the group nominated three far-right candidates, including the eventual appointee, Brian Schroeder. Voters, however, picked Degenfelder in last week’s primary.
Sen. John Barrasso, who has since been reelected, also first assumed office through the nomination process.
Housing
As Wyoming grapples with housing shortages and rising prices, the committee will begin to look at remedies. The committee does not have any bill drafts slated on housing, but the group will review some memos from the Legislative Service Office, including one on housing trust funds.
Housing trust funds are earmarked pools of money for addressing community housing needs, which could include anything from affordable housing developments to home restoration projects.
Wyoming only has one such trust fund – located in Jackson. It is one of three states that does not have a state-run trust fund.
Zwonitzer said that the committee will mainly be asking questions about housing and listening to stakeholders.
“What is the government’s role? Can we be doing anything, and should we be doing anything?” Zwonitzer asked. “A lot of people want action on cheap housing and affordable housing.”
The Legislative Service Office, however, wrote that there may be some constitutional barriers to implementing a state-funded housing trust. The Wyoming Constitution currently has “prohibitions against the State or its political subdivisions loaning or giving credit or making donations to people or entities in certain situations, as well as a prohibition against legislative appropriations for charitable or industrial purposes unless the recipient is under the control of the State,” the LSO wrote.
Constitutional amendments are notoriously hard to pass in Wyoming.
“I’m always skeptical of the government getting involved in markets that, by and large, work pretty darn well,” said Case, who’s a libertarian-leaning Republican and an economist.
Liquor licenses
The committee will tackle the liquor license landscape in Wyoming this week, as well. The focus of the liquor license discussion will likely center around “tavern and entertainment liquor licenses.”
As it stands, venues that serve food and liquor must make at least 60% of the revenue off of food to satisfy the requirements of the liquor license.
The proposed bill would allow venues that don’t serve food – like arcades, for one – to serve alcohol while still collecting 60% of their revenue from the “entertainment” and no more than 40% from alcohol.
“Whether that 40% is the right number, I’m not sure,” Zwonitzer said.
Zwonitzer said he has concerns – and believes others do, as well – over how broad the term “entertainment” could be construed. He expects the committee to try to define it in statute.
One of the main pushes behind this bill was the advent of indoor sport simulation venues, like the SandTrap in Casper, where patrons can go play virtual golf.
“What if the other part of our business is not food? What if the other part of our business is video games?” Case explained.
If the tavern and entertainment bill passed, it would join a long list of different types of liquor licenses in the state covering everything from golf courses to airports.
“We just keep marching toward liquor freedom,” Zwonitzer said. “Every session, we have another [liquor license bill]. It never ends.” | https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyomingbusinessreport/industry_news/economy_and_labor/committee-to-address-liquor-laws-election-reform/article_c8f662b0-23f7-11ed-8d02-c7609bf97c57.html | 2022-08-24T23:32:56Z | wyomingnews.com | control | https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyomingbusinessreport/industry_news/economy_and_labor/committee-to-address-liquor-laws-election-reform/article_c8f662b0-23f7-11ed-8d02-c7609bf97c57.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Five Leon County races are headed to a runoff.
That happens when the minimum threshold of votes is not met, which is 50% plus 1.
When it comes to why those races have to go to November, Leon County Supervisor of Elections Mark Earley says it's just the law.
"It's state law, you know you have to win by a majority, unless it's the general election, then it's the top vote getter so I mean it's pretty well defined in statute and we follow statute," Earley said.
To get more insight on how those races end up in runoffs, ABC 27 spoke to Hans Hassell who is an associate professor of political science at Florida State University.
He says runoffs happen in order to ensure that the winning candidate is preferred by voters.
"This is sorta the concern that you don't end up splitting votes and this sort of allows the public a means of expressing their preference," Hassell said.
One race that is headed to a runoff election is mayor of Tallahassee.
Kristin Dozier and incumbent Mayor John Dailey were too close to call Tuesday night.
With their votes only separated by 153 votes according to the latest online data from the state board of elections.
Dailey says he knew this race would go until November and is ready to keep working.
"We'll put the team back together, we'll figure out what the strategy moving forward. We know our messaging is working. We know that people believe in my candidacy and we're going to do everything we can to get everybody out to vote," Dailey said.
Dozier and her team are taking the day to regroup and plan their next moves.
"What we're doing is really reorganizing our volunteers, again, bringing on some new team members, that's what we're going to focus on in the next few days and then we'll be right back out canvassing neighborhoods and doing everything we've been doing all summer and more," Dozier said. | https://www.wtxl.com/news/election-2022/what-is-next-for-local-non-partisan-races-set-for-runoffs | 2022-08-24T23:38:18Z | wtxl.com | control | https://www.wtxl.com/news/election-2022/what-is-next-for-local-non-partisan-races-set-for-runoffs | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
RUTHERFORD COUNTY, N.C. (WSPA) – Two people are accused of smuggling in and trading drugs which led to five overdoses at the Rutherford County Detention Center.
The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office said four inmates overdosed Monday, three of which had to be taken to Rutherford Regional Medical Center for treatment, and another overdosed Tuesday.
Narcan was administered to all five inmates.
Investigators said they learned that Dennis James Moore, II smuggled six fentanyl pills into the detention center in his rectal cavity.
Moore had been sentenced to six days in jail earlier that day, the sheriff’s office said.
Once inside the detention center, Rutherford County deputies said Moore conspired with Gary Wayne Terry, Jr. to trade the drugs for commissary.
The sheriff’s office said the overdoses began shortly after the drugs changed hands.
Moore and Terry are each charged with possession with intent to sell and deliver schedule I controlled substance, sell & deliver schedule I controlled substance, and possession of a controlled substance inside a confinement facility.
Moore and Terry were each given $75,000 bond, the sheriff’s office said.
The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office said their investigation is still ongoing and more charges are expected. | https://www.wspa.com/news/local-news/2-face-charges-after-5-overdose-in-rutherford-co-detention-center/ | 2022-08-24T23:38:24Z | wspa.com | control | https://www.wspa.com/news/local-news/2-face-charges-after-5-overdose-in-rutherford-co-detention-center/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
(NEXSTAR) – Millions of Americans will soon have some or all of their federal student loan debt forgiven following a Wednesday announcement by the Biden administration. But one big question remains: how will you receive your loan forgiveness if you qualify?
While the White House says 43 million borrowers can expect to receive relief – roughly 20 million of those are expected to have their remaining federal student loan balance completely erased – it’s not exactly clear how borrowers will apply for the forgiveness.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, nearly 8 million borrowers may qualify for relief automatically based on the income data the department already has.
If the Education Department doesn’t have your income data, or you’re unsure if the agency has it, there isn’t much to do right now.
Instead, you’ll need to wait for the Biden administration to launch an application process, which will be available “in the coming weeks.” The application will be available before the student loan repayment pause ends on December 31.
You can register to be notified when the application is available through the Department of Education by filling out this form.
On Wednesday, President Biden announced “targeted student debt cancellation” to help “borrowers at highest risk of delinquencies or default once payments resume.”
Forgiveness is restricted based on income. Borrowers “with annual income during the pandemic of under $125,000 (for individuals) or under $250,000 (for married couples or heads of households)” will be eligible for up to $10,000 in relief, according to the Department of Education.
Borrowers under the same income caps who received a Pell Grant in college will be eligible for up to $20,000 in debt cancellation. Not sure if you have a Pell Grant? Here’s how to find out.
In addition to student loan forgiveness, the Biden administration extended the payment pause on loans until the end of 2022, proposed a new rule to change to create a new income-driven repayment plan that will substantially reduce future monthly payments for lower- and middle-income borrowers, and proposed long-term changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. | https://www.wspa.com/news/national/what-we-know-about-applying-for-student-loan-forgiveness/ | 2022-08-24T23:38:42Z | wspa.com | control | https://www.wspa.com/news/national/what-we-know-about-applying-for-student-loan-forgiveness/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Are you ready for the Marquette volleyball season to start on Friday???
Hey, hold on now. The answer can not be “yes,” not quite yet! You haven’t read this article about three of the biggest questions facing Marquette this fall yet! Be sure to go back and read all of our season previewing, too!
Okay, on with the show!
QUESTION #1 — Who is going to hit for Marquette this season?
No, seriously, literally, who is going to do it?
Marquette has just two returning outside hitters from last season in Hannah Vanden Berg and Jenna Reitsma. That’s it. Amongst people listed as outside hitters on the roster, MU returns just 4.51 points per set. 3.70 kills per set, if you prefer to think of it that way. 306 total kills out of over 1,500 last season. So obviously, those two are your set in stone starters....... except Vanden Berg suffered a season ending knee injury last year in November and is not 100% right now. The literal phrasing talking about her in the official GoMarquette.com team preview: “will aid the lineup when she works her way back from injury.”
Not great!
The good news is that one of Marquette’s newcomers is a legitimate high major attacker. Aubrey Hamilton led Notre Dame in kills last season, so she should be mostly reliable to play a rotation piece this year. Anastasija Svetnik stepped in last season to play rotations after Vanden Berg and Hope Werch went down with injuries, so maybe she shifts over from middle blocker as listed on the roster to play on the outside. Or maybe Svetnik takes up Savannah Rennie’s spot in the middle and generates offense from there.
If that’s the case, then MU still needs at least one other outside hitter to be a viable option just for substitution reasons. The Golden Eagles will have to turn to one of three freshmen: Ella Holmstrom, Sienna Ifill, and Natalie Ring. They’re the only other hitters on the roster. It seems like, from head coach Ryan Theis’ own words in the team preview, that Ifill and Ring are the more likely options to step in, but given the situation that the Golden Eagles find themselves, as long as literally anyone can hit .250+ and average over two kills a set, they get to play as far as I’m concerned.
QUESTION #2 — Can Marquette seriously be a Big East title contender this year?
Marquette won their second ever conference title last fall, ending up in a tie with Creighton for the top spot in the Big East. Ties still count towards hoisting a championship trophy, so the 2021 trophy goes next to the 2013 trophy in the McGuire Center. With the loss of 66.1% of MU’s total points from last season — and that number skyrockets to 72% if you do the math by points per set thanks to injuries down the stretch — I didn’t think there was much chance at all of the Golden Eagles pulling off back-to-back conference titles for the first time in program history. Mix in a heavy dose of Ryan Theis replacing both of his assistant coaches this offseason, especially Megan Keck who had been with him since before arriving in Milwaukee, and that’s an awful lot of doubt on what’s going to happen this fall in general. That’s without even mentioning that Creighton, the other half of that conference title tie, brings back most of their key players from last season.
And then the results of the Big East coaches preseason poll came out.... and someone gave Marquette a first place vote. Technically two someones did, but we all know one of them is Creighton’s Kirsten Bernthal Booth because she’s not allowed to vote for her own team in that poll. One of the other nine coaches in the league thinks that Marquette is good enough to come out ahead of the Bluejays by the time Thanksgiving rolls around and it’s time for the conference tournament. Is that a ringing endorsement of Marquette or a stout criticism of the Bluejays. I lean towards the first because I don’t know how you look at that Jays roster and don’t vote them as the favorite. I can’t possibly see someone looking at what CU has and saying “pfffft, bunch of goofs, Marquette in a walk.”
Now it’s just one vote for Marquette that came from somewhere that isn’t the Creighton coach who can’t vote for her team. The other eight votes went to the Bluejays, as I expected they would. But someone does believe in the Golden Eagles this fall to be the best team in the league. That has to be worth something, right?
It also raises one final big time question.....
QUESTION #3 — How much trust and faith does head coach Ryan Theis deserve going forward, year in and year out?
I think the last time I doubted Ryan Theis was going into 2015, his second season as Marquette head coach. Bond Shymansky had won the program’s first ever Big East title in his final year before taking the Iowa job, and Theis came in with the charge of extending MU’s streak of the first three NCAA tournaments in program history. He did exactly that, putting the Golden Eagles into the NCAA field in his first year. Good stuff all around.
That offseason, Autumn Bailey, the 2014 Big East Player of the Year, transferred to Michigan State. Nele Barber, #2 on the team in kills that year, also transferred out, as did Gabby Benda who played the majority of sets as setter all season long. Lindsey Gosh, #3 on the team in kills in 2014, was a senior that year. The point of the story is that the guts of what made that NCAA team go were gone for various reasons. Theis appeared to be stapling a roster together to try to keep the best run in program history going, and when you literally have no idea who is going to lead the attack for a team going into the season (sound familiar?), it’s reasonable to wonder if it can all come together.
What happened in 2015? Taylor Louis was outstanding in her redshirt freshman year, and Jenna Rosenthal started doing Jenna Rosenthal Things as a redshirt freshman as well. New transfer Sara Blasier showed why she is now one of the most productive setters in MU history (#7 all time in assists in just two seasons), and after finishing as the #4 seed in the Big East tournament, the Golden Eagles still got an NCAA tournament invite and knocked off Northern Iowa in the first round for the third NCAA win in program history. A highly successful season all around, largely accomplished because Theis knew how to put unproven players into positions to succeed.
Since then, since Theis accomplished something that I wasn’t 100% certain could be accomplished, I’ve been a believer. It’s safe to say at this point that he’s the best coach in program history. The track record speaks for itself at this point, and yeah, it certainly looks like we can just say “expect Marquette to be an NCAA tournament team every year at worst because Ryan Theis is in charge of things.” That applies in particular to this season, where there are so many question marks hanging over the team. Maybe it’s not going to start particularly great with two top 11 teams on the road in the first three matches. But come Thanksgiving, when it’s conference tournament time, heading into the day the NCAA tournament bracket is revealed? I’m pretty sure things are going to be exactly where we’ve come to expect them to be. | https://www.anonymouseagle.com/2022/8/24/23317658/marquette-golden-eagles-volleyball-season-preview-questions-offense-ncaa-tournament-big-east-title | 2022-08-24T23:40:07Z | anonymouseagle.com | control | https://www.anonymouseagle.com/2022/8/24/23317658/marquette-golden-eagles-volleyball-season-preview-questions-offense-ncaa-tournament-big-east-title | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Though the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards are Sunday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, Bad Bunny will bring the heat from The Bronx.
The network will broadcast the Puerto Rican rapper’s performance from Yankee Stadium, where he’ll be as part of his “World’s Hottest Tour.”
This will be the first time the VMAs have gone live from Yankee Stadium. The segment will include never-before-seen choreography, though it is unknown what song or songs will be featured in the set.
The 28-year-old singer previously performed at the 2019 awards show alongside J Balvin.
This year, Bad Bunny — born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio — was nominated four times: Best Latin Album of the Year, Song of the Summer and Artist of the Year. If he wins the latter, he will be the first-ever non-English language artist do to so.
Nicki Minaj and Jack Harlow will emcee the show along with former Grammy host LL Cool J.
Minaj, Harlow, Blackpink, Lizzo, Måneskin, Kane Brown, Anitta, Panic! at the Disco and more are also slated to perform at the 2022 VMAs.
Plus, “Super Freaky Girl” rapper Minaj will also be presented the Video Vanguard Award to top off her busy night. The Red Hot Chili Peppers will receive the Global Icon Award.
A source close to the show confirmed to The Post on Wednesday that Johnny Depp will even make an appearance as a life-size Moon Person trophy.
Kendrick Lamar, Harlow, and Lil Nas X scored the most nominations with seven each. Doja Cat and Harry Styles are right behind them with six nods apiece.
The fivers club includes Billie Eilish, Drake, Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift and The Weeknd.
Swift, Styles, Doja, Sheeran, Harlow, Lil Nas X, Olivia Rodrigo and Drake will battle it out for the Video of the Year Award. | https://nypost.com/2022/08/24/bad-bunny-nabs-historic-first-with-vmas-performance-from-yankee-stadium/ | 2022-08-24T23:44:53Z | nypost.com | control | https://nypost.com/2022/08/24/bad-bunny-nabs-historic-first-with-vmas-performance-from-yankee-stadium/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
HKES delayed opening.
A Typhoon Signal 8 has been issued by the HK Observatory. If the signal remains in place at 9am local time (0100 GMT) the morning session will be cancelled
Tropical Storm Ma-on
I haven't been able to locate a time stamp for this graphic but I think its reasonably up to date. | https://www.forexlive.com/news/the-hong-kong-stock-exchange-morning-opening-time-has-been-delayed-due-to-storms-20220824/ | 2022-08-24T23:46:52Z | forexlive.com | control | https://www.forexlive.com/news/the-hong-kong-stock-exchange-morning-opening-time-has-been-delayed-due-to-storms-20220824/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
(NEXSTAR) – Millions of Americans will soon have some or all of their federal student loan debt forgiven following a Wednesday announcement by the Biden administration. But one big question remains: how will you receive your loan forgiveness if you qualify?
While the White House says 43 million borrowers can expect to receive relief – roughly 20 million of those are expected to have their remaining federal student loan balance completely erased – it’s not exactly clear how borrowers will apply for the forgiveness.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, nearly 8 million borrowers may qualify for relief automatically based on the income data the department already has.
If the Education Department doesn’t have your income data, or you’re unsure if the agency has it, there isn’t much to do right now.
Instead, you’ll need to wait for the Biden administration to launch an application process, which will be available “in the coming weeks.” The application will be available before the student loan repayment pause ends on December 31.
You can register to be notified when the application is available through the Department of Education by filling out this form.
On Wednesday, President Biden announced “targeted student debt cancellation” to help “borrowers at highest risk of delinquencies or default once payments resume.”
Forgiveness is restricted based on income. Borrowers “with annual income during the pandemic of under $125,000 (for individuals) or under $250,000 (for married couples or heads of households)” will be eligible for up to $10,000 in relief, according to the Department of Education.
Borrowers under the same income caps who received a Pell Grant in college will be eligible for up to $20,000 in debt cancellation. Not sure if you have a Pell Grant? Here’s how to find out.
In addition to student loan forgiveness, the Biden administration extended the payment pause on loans until the end of 2022, proposed a new rule to change to create a new income-driven repayment plan that will substantially reduce future monthly payments for lower- and middle-income borrowers, and proposed long-term changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. | https://www.siouxlandproud.com/news/national-news/what-we-know-about-applying-for-student-loan-forgiveness/ | 2022-08-24T23:50:01Z | siouxlandproud.com | control | https://www.siouxlandproud.com/news/national-news/what-we-know-about-applying-for-student-loan-forgiveness/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – The U.S. is sending its largest aid package yet to Ukraine, just as the country marks six months since the war began.
Wednesday was Independence Day in Ukraine – a country that has now spent half a year fighting for that independence.
“I don’t think anybody wanted, certainly, to get to this point where we’re six months into brutal fighting in Ukraine,” White House National Security Coordinator John Kirby said.
President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced a new $3 billion package of military aid for Ukraine. This is the largest single package yet.
“The president has been very clear that we’re going to continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes,” Kirby said.
The weapons in the new package will come from defense contractors instead of U.S. stockpiles. This could take some time and defense officials say this is intentionally part of a longer-term strategy.
“They will form the backbone of a robust future Ukrainian force capable of defending Ukraine for years to come,” Pentagon official Dr. Colin Kahl said.
George Washington Professor Robert Orttung predicts the new aid will be crucial to Ukraine’s efforts.
“The new weapons that the U.S. is sending are going to have a big impact as Ukraine organizes a counteroffensive,” Orttung said.
He doesn’t expect U.S. support to end any time soon.
“As Ukrainians continue to hold their own or make small advances, you know Americans like a scrappy underdog,” Orttung said.
Kirby says U.S. support extends beyond military efforts.
“We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that they succeed on the battlefield, but just as importantly that President Zelensky can succeed at the negotiating table if and when this ever gets to a diplomatic solution,” Kirby said. | https://www.siouxlandproud.com/washington/washington-dc/6-months-of-war-us-announces-largest-ukraine-aid-package-yet/ | 2022-08-24T23:50:25Z | siouxlandproud.com | control | https://www.siouxlandproud.com/washington/washington-dc/6-months-of-war-us-announces-largest-ukraine-aid-package-yet/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A federal ruling that gender dysphoria is covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act could help block conservative political efforts to restrict access to gender-affirming care, advocates and experts say.
A panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week became the first federal appellate court in the country to find that the 1990 landmark federal law protects transgender people who experience anguish and other symptoms as a result of the disparity between their assigned sex and their gender identity.
The ruling could become a powerful tool to challenge legislation restricting access to medical care and other accommodations for transgender people, including employment and government benefits, advocates said.
"It's a very important and positive ruling to increase people's access to gender-affirming care," said Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality.
The ruling is binding in the states covered by the Richmond-based 4th Circuit — Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia — but will inevitably be cited in cases in other states, said Kevin Barry, a law professor at Quinnipiac University.
The decision came in the case of a transgender woman who sued the Fairfax County sheriff in Virginia for housing her in a jail with men. The decision is not limited to transgender people challenging jail policies, but also applies broadly to all areas of society covered by disability rights law, including employment, government benefits and services and public accommodations, Barry said.
"This decision destigmatized a health condition — gender dysphoria — and it says that what Congress did in 1990 wasn't OK," Barry said.
The sheriff's office did not respond to phone messages seeking comment.
Some Republican leaders who have led efforts to limit access to transition treatment for youths have labeled it a form of child abuse. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott this year, for instance, ordered the state's child welfare agency to investigate reports of gender-affirming care for children as abuse.
A new rule in Florida restricts Medicaid coverage for gender dysphoria treatments for youths and adults. The state health agency previously released a report stating that puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and sex reassignment surgery have not been proven safe or effective in treating gender dysphoria.
And Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is widely touted as a potential 2024 Republican presidential candidate, recently tweeted that children should not be able to take puberty blockers "or mutilate their body by getting a sex change."
But leading medical entities contradict those positions, Heng-Lehtinen said.
"This health care is under attack politically in a lot of the country, but medically all of the credible professionals involved — the American Psychiatric Association, the American Medical Association and others — have all recognized for years that this is essentially primary care," Heng-Lehtinen said.
In the case before the 4th Circuit, Kesha Williams was initially assigned to live on the women's side of the Fairfax County jail when she arrived in 2018.
Williams told the nurse she is transgender, has gender dysphoria and received hormone treatments for the previous 15 years. But after she explained that she had not had genital surgery, she said, she was assigned to the men's section under a policy that inmates must be classified according to their genitals.
In her lawsuit, Williams said that she was harassed and that her prescribed hormone medication was repeatedly delayed or skipped. Deputies ignored her requests to refer to her as a woman and instead called her "mister," "sir," "he" or "gentleman," she said. Her requests to shower privately and for body searches to be conducted by a female deputy were denied, she said.
A federal judge granted a motion by the sheriff's office to dismiss the lawsuit, finding that because the Americans with Disabilities Act excluded "gender identity disorders not resulting from physical impairments," Williams could not sue under the law.
A three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit reversed that ruling, sending the case back to U.S. District Court.
The 4th Circuit panel said in its ruling Aug. 16 that there is a distinction between gender identity disorder and gender dysphoria. The court cited advances in medical understanding that led the American Psychiatric Association to remove gender identity disorder from the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and to add gender dysphoria, defined in the manual as the "clinically significant distress" felt by some transgender people. Symptoms can include intense anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation.
The modern diagnosis of gender dysphoria "affirms that a transgender person's medical needs are just as deserving of treatment and protection as anyone else's," Judge Diana Gribbon Motz wrote in the majority opinion.
Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr. dissented in part.
"Whether we focus on when Congress passed the ADA or look beyond to today, the distinction Williams attempts to draw between gender identity disorder and gender dysphoria fails," Quattlebaum wrote. | https://www.fox17online.com/news/national/gender-dysphoria-covered-by-disability-law-court-rules | 2022-08-24T23:52:48Z | fox17online.com | control | https://www.fox17online.com/news/national/gender-dysphoria-covered-by-disability-law-court-rules | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
COMSTOCK PARK, Mich. — Former Detroit Tigers slugger Cecil Fielder was in West Michigan on Wednesday to meet fans and sign autographs as a part of the Whitecaps 'Made in Michigan' series throughout the summer.
Before Fielder got to meet with fans, we asked him about his thoughts on the current state of the Tigers organization.
"That's baseball, things happen. You know you have to pick yourself up by the chinstrap and just go out there and go out there and do better. I've always looked at baseball that each season is different. You got a lot of things going on this year, a lot of new faces and sometimes that takes a while for the team to gel. So they're just going to have to gel with what they have now and hopefully come back next year and play better," said Fielder. | https://www.fox17online.com/sports/cecil-fielder-meets-fans-signs-autographs-at-lmcu | 2022-08-24T23:53:00Z | fox17online.com | control | https://www.fox17online.com/sports/cecil-fielder-meets-fans-signs-autographs-at-lmcu | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
SPOKANE, Wash. — The second annual Tacos & Tequila Festival is coming back to Spokane's Main Avenue for two days this weekend.
Just days before the kick-off of the beginning of the Heritage Month festivities, the festival will take place on 618 W Main Ave through Saturday, Aug. 27 from 1 p.m.-10 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 28 from 11 a.m.-7 p.m.,
People can enjoy local art vendors, community resources, taco trucks, restaurants, ice cream, as well a beer and tequila garden. During the event, many bands and cultural groups will also be performing. The groups include Mariachi Las Aguilas from Eastern Washington University, La Energia MX, Quiero Flamenco, Danza Azteca de Oro, Ballet Folklorico de Spokane and more.
All the festivities will be supporting a good cause.
The Tacos & Tequila Festival is a two days scholarship fundraising event. All the sales from drinks and food will go towards funding scholarships for local college students.
The event is organized by the Spokane Hispanic Business Professional Association (HBPA) and is sponsored by local businesses. Latinos Unidos eN Acción, (LUNA), is a student engagement program through HBPA that supports Hispanic/Latinx students through scholarships, mentorship and community engagement.
Fernanda Mazcot, HBPA executive director, said the event intends to bring the community together for a good cause.
"The goal is to share the richness of our Hispanic, Latino and Mexican cultures and support local businesses," Mazcot said.
The event will not only bring in locals, but it will also bring in people from outside Spokane.
The money raised for this event will be awarded at the Annual Hispanic Graduates & Young Scholars Recognition Ceremony in May 2023.
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To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com. | https://www.krem.com/article/entertainment/events/second-tacos-tequila-festival-happening-this-weekend/293-1ba8c181-3f40-4b59-9551-996ae572a0c9 | 2022-08-24T23:53:05Z | krem.com | control | https://www.krem.com/article/entertainment/events/second-tacos-tequila-festival-happening-this-weekend/293-1ba8c181-3f40-4b59-9551-996ae572a0c9 | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
NEW YORK — Three leaders of a multimillion-dollar national yoga network that promoted itself as “Yoga to the People” before closing down amid published reports that it operated like a cult were arrested Wednesday in Washington state for failing to pay federal taxes while they lived lavishly, authorities in New York announced.
A complaint unsealed in Manhattan federal court said the donation-based organization generated over $20 million in revenue for a decade while promising that its classes featured no-ego and no glorified teachers because “yoga is for everyone.”
The organization started in the East Village of Manhattan in 2006 before becoming “extremely popular” and spreading elsewhere, with about 20 yoga studios in San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland in California, Tempe, Arizona, Orlando, Florida, and cities in Colorado, Washington State, Spain and Israel, the complaint said.
Arrested on charges of tax evasion and conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service were Gregory Gumucio, 61, and Haven Soliman, 33, both of Cathlamet, Washington, along with Michael Anderson, 51, of Bellevue, Washington. It wasn't immediately clear who would represent them at a court appearance in Washington State. The complaint said Soliman had described herself as Gumucio's husband in a draft of a 2012 email, but it added that no marriage certificate has been located, though they "are long-term romantic partners."
Authorities described Gumucio as the founder, principal owner and functional chief executive officer of the organization while Anderson served as a chief financial officer and Soliman was its chief communications officer and director of its Teacher Training Program, which earned substantial income from aspiring yoga teachers.
They said all three claimed their annual incomes were six figures in loan or rental applications from 2013 to 2020, when they filed no individual tax returns.
They said the trio enjoyed extravagant lifestyles, including frequent foreign travel, NFL season tickets, horse lodging, along with expensive meals and clothing.
The complaint said the defendants evaded taxes by failing to create a corporate headquarters or keep corporate books and records and by accepting yoga students' payments in cash, sometimes collected in tissue boxes passed around during classes, and by paying yoga teachers in cash and “off the books.”
Gumucio, according to a government release, “targeted and groomed typically young women and others to become nominee ‘owners’ of studios, luring them with the title of studio owner when, in fact, he generally controlled business decisions, took a cut of their proceeds, and the nominees generally took on meaningful financial risk.”
The July 2020 yoga network's closing came just before VICE News published a lengthy investigative report saying interviews with more than 30 people who knew or worked with Gumucio since the mid-1990s “depict him as a predator with a penchant for controlling and sexually manipulating bright and often vulnerable young women.”
Less than two weeks later, New York magazine published its own piece, saying former employees had described the yoga group as cult-like, saying that “behind the company's shiny, friendly facade was a dark and dysfunctional workplace built on secrecy and manipulation.”
In a release, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said the investigation into the yoga network was continuing and he urged anyone who believes they were a victim “of any crimes” related to the organization or if they have information about the defendants in the case to reach out.
“As alleged, the defendants operated a lucrative nationwide yoga business, which brought in over $20 million and netted them each substantial sums, permitting them to live lavish lifestyles. Yet the defendants chose not to file tax returns, or pay income taxes, for at least seven consecutive years," he said.
Thomas Fattorusso, head of New York's IRS office, also hinted that the investigation was likely to result in more than tax charges.
"Today’s arrests and charges are the opening salvo against this years-long scam and the first step to holding these defendants accountable for their alleged crimes,” he said. | https://www.krem.com/article/news/crime/3-arrested-washington-state-yoga-tax-fraud-case/281-753da5a2-10f1-42ba-88c0-298df3cc0a28 | 2022-08-24T23:53:11Z | krem.com | control | https://www.krem.com/article/news/crime/3-arrested-washington-state-yoga-tax-fraud-case/281-753da5a2-10f1-42ba-88c0-298df3cc0a28 | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
A Texas church has apologized in a letter shared on Facebook for its "unauthorized production" of writer Lin-Manuel Miranda's stage play "Hamilton."
The church's production changed lyrics in the play to include Christian religious references and was finished off with a sermon comparing being gay to being addicted to alcohol and drugs.
In the unsigned letter from the church's pastor, Roman Gutierrez, he writes, "We respect the copyrights of Hamilton's author and contributors. These copyrights are protected by federal law. We acknowledge there are lawful avenues to obtain a license to state properties which we did not pursue."
The church pastor agreed that the church would "never stage the performance again and will destroy any and all video or sound recordings and images of the unauthorized performances or rehearsals." Pastor Gutierrez also said in his letter that he would direct his church members to do the same.
The Door Christian Fellowship Church in McAllen, Texas, also agreed to pay damages.
Miranda had previously expressed his gratitude to people who reached out to him to express concerns about the production, before lawyers became involved.
The Dramatists Guild released a statement condemning the production as well.
Representatives for Miranda said that all damages paid by the church would be donated to the South Texas Equality Project (STEP), NBC confirmed.
STEP is a partnership of LGBTQIA+ organizations and people who are advocates for promoting visibility for the LGBTQIA+ community.
You can also donate to STEP here to support their efforts. | https://www.katc.com/news/national/church-apologizes-profusely-for-its-unauthorized-production-of-lin-manuel-mirandas-hamilton | 2022-08-24T23:53:11Z | katc.com | control | https://www.katc.com/news/national/church-apologizes-profusely-for-its-unauthorized-production-of-lin-manuel-mirandas-hamilton | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
SPOKANE, Wash. — Vaping will be a hot topic in this evening’s Spokane School Board meeting.
Spokane Public Schools (SPS) will be voting this Wednesday evening on whether or not they will be installing vape sensors in the school bathrooms.
According to the school board’s agenda, with the increase in vaping by students, this recommendation provides for the purchase of vaping sensors to be installed in all secondary schools throughout the district.
If installed, the sensors will sense any vape detected in the bathrooms. An email and text alert will then go out to staff to check the situation. The sensors are also said to link with the school district’s camera system.
A study by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) showed that 2.06 million high school students and 470,000 middle school students report repeated use of tobacco products. Repeated use means a product has been consistently used for more than a month.
The school board will be hosting their meeting at 7 p.m. this evening. The in-person meeting will take place at 200 N. Bernard Street. There is also a Zoom option available.
For more details, visit the Spokane Public Schools website.
This is a developing story and will be updated when more information become available.
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To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com. | https://www.krem.com/article/news/education/spokane-public-schools-vape-sensors-meeting/293-0eb0dcf0-8d3b-45d9-86d6-868d3b800316 | 2022-08-24T23:53:17Z | krem.com | control | https://www.krem.com/article/news/education/spokane-public-schools-vape-sensors-meeting/293-0eb0dcf0-8d3b-45d9-86d6-868d3b800316 | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Westminster Christian of Lafayette is moving from eight-man football to 11-man this year.
The Chargers had their first season on the gridiron last season and are now joining the LHSAA.
WCA will have to sit out for two years because of LHSAA rules, yet the program has a full schedule of games that includes a week three matchup with St. Edmund.
The Chargers' roster consists of 37 varsity guys that are led by nine seniors, and each player is battling to build their program for the future.
“This is a great group of guys,” head coach Jim Stomps said. “They are really focused on playing hard for each other and not letting each other down. That's the main thing we've talked about the whole time: play for the guy next to you. If we do that, the scoreboards can take care of themselves.”
“We have kids that are undersized playing different positions when at other schools, they would be a receiver,” senior Nelson Goulas said. “They're bought in. They're giving everything they have just for the program to be great.”
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Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox. Select from these options: Breaking News, Evening News Headlines, Latest COVID-19 Headlines, Morning News Headlines, Special Offers | https://www.katc.com/sports/high-school-sports/wca-lafayette-to-play-11-man-football-in-2022 | 2022-08-24T23:53:23Z | katc.com | control | https://www.katc.com/sports/high-school-sports/wca-lafayette-to-play-11-man-football-in-2022 | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden's student debt relief program announced Wednesday delivers on a long-awaited campaign promise, offering up to $10,000 in loan cancellation for many Americans — and up to $10,000 more for those with the greatest financial need
But how is he able to do it, and most importantly what legal challenges could the program face?
The Justice Department released a legal opinion on Wednesday saying that the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act allows the Secretary of Education the “authority to reduce or eliminate the obligation to repay the principal balance of federal student loan debt.”
Also known as the HEROES act, the legislation is a post-9/11 law that provides the authority to grant relief from student loan requirements during specific periods, such as a war or national emergency.
According to the Biden administration's legal opinion, the Secretary of Education has used the authority granted by the HEROES act under every prior administration since its passage after the September 11 attacks.
The current payment pause on student loans enacted during March 2020 is allowed under this law.
Under this authority, the Biden administration said it is able to develop a program tackling categorical debt cancellation directed at "addressing the financial harms caused by the COVID-19 pandemic."
The legal opinion also upheld that a relief program wouldn't need to be "on a case-by-case basis," but rather can be applied on a "class-wide basis."
The White House is expected to face lawsuits over the plan, because Congress has never given the president the explicit authority to cancel debt. We don't know yet how that might impact the timetable for student loan forgiveness.
If his plan survives legal challenges that are almost certain to come, it could offer a windfall to many in the run-up to this fall's midterm elections. More than 43 million people have federal student debt, with an average balance of $37,667, according to federal data. Nearly a third of borrowers owe less than $10,000, and about half owe less than $20,000. The White House estimates that Biden's announcement would erase the federal student debt of about 20 million people.
The Associated Press contributed to this report | https://www.krem.com/article/news/nation-world/biden-forgive-student-loans/507-2711c383-1f78-4a43-8939-33a4f6687c2b | 2022-08-24T23:53:23Z | krem.com | control | https://www.krem.com/article/news/nation-world/biden-forgive-student-loans/507-2711c383-1f78-4a43-8939-33a4f6687c2b | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Trial Set for September 2nd
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumer Watchdog filed its final briefs in a California Public Records Act ("CPRA") lawsuit against Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and the Department of Insurance. The CPRA suit alleges that Lara and the Department failed to search for and produce records related to a pay-to-play scandal involving insurance companies with business pending before the agency.
The hearing will be held September 2, 2022. Download Consumer Watchdog's Reply Brief filed late last week.
Consumer Watchdog's CPRA requests sought records of communications and meetings with "any individuals employed by or representing" the companies involved in the scandal. However, the Department failed to search for the records.
According to Consumer Watchdog's Reply Brief,
"[Department Special Counsel] Bryant Henley personally met with Respondent Lara to search Lara's computer and devices . . ., yet during that meeting Henley failed to ask Respondent Lara about records reflecting 'any other individuals employed by or representing' the companies. . . . For example, did Respondent Lara communicate with his friend and mentor [former Assembly Speaker] Fabian Núñez, who Henley and Lara knew 'might be or [was] about to be representing Applied Underwriters and might reach out to [Lara] in the future in this regard'? That silence is deafening and ignores a 'red flag.'"
As explained in Consumer Watchdog's Opening Brief filed on July 5, 2022, Commissioner Lara had initially pledged not to accept insurance company contributions. However, in early 2019, individuals linked to workers' compensation insurer Applied Underwriters and another company, IHC, contributed $53,400 to Lara's 2022 re-election campaign fund. Some of the contributions were made in the name of relatives of insurance company executives, apparently to hide their true source in violation of campaign finance and money laundering laws. Shortly after, Applied's president, Steven Menzies, requested that Commissioner Lara intervene in proceedings at the Department involving Applied. Lara did so, overriding Administrative Law Judge orders in at least four proceedings. Menzies also stood to gain if Commissioner Lara approved his purchase of Applied's subsidiary, California Insurance Company ("CIC").
In the wake of statewide news reports, Commissioner Lara apologized and promised "transparency."
Consumer Watchdog then filed two CPRA requests with the Department, seeking communications and meeting records involving individuals "employed by or representing" the insurance companies involved in the scandal.
Several records the Department ultimately produced suggest that Menzies and others improperly discussed the sale of CIC with Commissioner Lara and Department staff simultaneously with campaign fundraising. The Department refused to produce other records and failed to provide an adequate explanation for withholding them.
Without other recourse, Consumer Watchdog filed a public records lawsuit, asking the court to require the Department to search for and produce all responsive records.
Consumer Watchdog contends that the Department failed to search for records it was on notice of involving individuals lobbying on behalf of Applied, CIC, and IHC. These individuals include a former New Mexico insurance regulator, Eric Serna, who resigned following a different pay-to-play scandal, Fabian Núñez, former-Assembly Member turned lobbyist Rusty Areias, and another individual involved in the sale of CIC, Jamie Sahara.
The lawsuit, Consumer Watchdog v. Ricardo Lara et al. Case No. 20STCP00664, is being litigated in Los Angeles Superior Court. Consumer Watchdog is represented by attorneys for the group and Kelly Aviles, esq.
Consumer Watchdog is a non-profit public interest organization. Visit us on the web at www.ConsumerWatchdog.org
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SOURCE Consumer Watchdog | https://www.wbko.com/prnewswire/2022/08/24/final-briefs-filed-lawsuit-against-insurance-commissioner-lara-amp-department-insurance-over-pay-to-play-records-says-consumer-watchdog/ | 2022-08-24T23:53:32Z | wbko.com | control | https://www.wbko.com/prnewswire/2022/08/24/final-briefs-filed-lawsuit-against-insurance-commissioner-lara-amp-department-insurance-over-pay-to-play-records-says-consumer-watchdog/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
On Aug. 24, President Joe Biden announced his administration would be forgiving some federal student debt. The Department of Education is set to forgive up to $10,000 for many students, and up to $20,000 for students who received Pell Grants while in school.
Pell Grants are need-based federal grants awarded to college students. Unlike loans, they do not need to be repaid, but many Pell Grant recipients also used student loans to help pay for school.
The additional forgiveness for Pell Grant recipients was unexpected for many, and top search questions after Biden’s announcement were about Pell Grants and how to check if someone received one.
THE QUESTION
Is there a way for people to check if they received a Pell Grant?
THE SOURCES
Jessica Thompson, vice president of The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS)
THE ANSWER
Yes, there is a way for people to check if they received a Pell Grant.
WHAT WE FOUND
Student borrowers can check their entire federal student aid history on the Federal Student Aid website run by the U.S. Department of Education. This includes their Pell Grant history.
You’ll find this information on your aid summary page once you’ve logged into studentaid.gov with your FSA ID.
Jessica Thompson, the vice president of The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS), says this is where you can confirm if you’ve ever received a Pell Grant.
“We've been encouraging folks to [log into studentaid.gov] as soon as possible because you may run into issues where you can't figure out how to get logged on and you need to troubleshoot and you need to make some calls or emails to get help,” Thompson said. “Which may prolong the time it takes to get that access to that account.”
Thompson added that you shouldn’t need to prove you’ve ever received a Pell Grant to the Department of Education.
“They should be able to identify, and certainly have the data to know, who has ever been disbursed a Pell Grant,” Thompson said.
What are Pell Grants?
Federal Pell Grants are usually only awarded to undergraduate students with exceptional financial need, the Department of Education says. A Pell Grant does not have to be repaid like a student loan would.
The maximum annual Pell Grant award you can receive for the 2022-2023 school year is $6,895, but not everyone receives the maximum award. The amount you receive is determined based on how much your family is expected to pay for your schooling, the cost of attendance at your school, your status as a full-time or part-time student and if you’re attending school for the full academic year or less.
According to the Education Data Initiative, the average Pell Grant award in 2019 was $4,491 a year. That’s a little more than it was 10 years prior, when the average award was $3,975.
Who receives Pell Grants?
The White House says 94% of Pell Grant recipients in the 2019-2020 school year came from families with annual incomes of $60,000 or less. The White House said 66% of Pell Grant recipients came from families with incomes of $30,000 or less.
According to the Education Data Initiative, 51% of all Pell Grant funding goes to people from families who earn less than $20,000 annually.
The White House and Education Data Initiative say that 34% of undergraduate students nationwide receive Pell Grants, and more than 60% of student borrowers received Pell Grants while in school.
Roughly 27 million borrowers will be eligible to receive up to $20,000 in relief, according to White House estimates. The White House believes it will provide debt relief to 43 million borrowers in total. | https://www.krem.com/article/news/verify/education-verify/student-loan-forgiveness-pell-grant-status-can-be-checked/536-dcfb239a-5909-4a99-9bd8-e2849dd6a206 | 2022-08-24T23:53:36Z | krem.com | control | https://www.krem.com/article/news/verify/education-verify/student-loan-forgiveness-pell-grant-status-can-be-checked/536-dcfb239a-5909-4a99-9bd8-e2849dd6a206 | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
DALLAS — Ryan Poles knew pretty quickly he was interested in the path that led to his hiring as general manager of the Chicago Bears, while Dallas Cowboys personnel man Will McClay toiled in arena football before scouting beckoned.
Both credit relationships built along the way for their spots in a promising trend of diversity hiring for the NFL, plagued for years by a poor record in opportunities for minorities in the coaching ranks.
Poles is among six minorities picked to fill the past 12 openings for general managers going back to early 2021, and McClay could have pushed the ratio past 50%. Instead, he has turned down several chances to take that title, choosing to stay as vice president of player personnel for Dallas owner, president and GM Jerry Jones.
Relationships are crucial to maintaining or expanding the roles of minorities in front offices, and the effort is never-ending, said C. Keith Harrison, lead author of the annual NFL Diversity and Inclusion Report.
“People say time is money. Trust is money, and people invest in relationships that they trust,” said Harrison, a sports business professor at UCF. “We have data that when you network and connect, engage with people that are different from you by gender and race, you have a better chance of being what we call upwardly mobile.”
McClay says ownership, which is overwhelmingly white in the NFL, has a role in getting to know promising minority candidates in organizations. McClay was head coach of an arena league team owned by Jones' Cowboys before becoming a scout, and has been with the club for 20 years.
“Jerry didn’t know me until I got to be able to spend time with him, talk to him, him to know how much I knew about football, how much I knew about relationships and trying to get that together,” McClay said. “He wouldn’t have known that if I didn’t get the opportunity.”
Poles was about to go into marketing after he was released by the Bears, but took a job as a graduate assistant at Boston College, his alma mater, instead. Conversations with visiting pro scouts sparked his interest in the personnel side.
The 36-year-old Poles credits former Kansas City GM Scott Pioli for making the advancement of minority candidates a priority.
“He’s always taken a lot of pride in making sure that there was a pipeline from scouting assistant to area pro scout to directors and then doing that the right way,” said Poles, who was with the Chiefs for 13 years before joining the Bears in January.
“So I was fortunate to have someone that was very aware of it, and my growth and development happened probably faster because of just mentors that wanted to spend time to develop me as a person and as a personnel person and a leader,” Poles said.
Five of the six recent minority additions among GMs are Black: Poles, Washington's Martin Mayhew, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah of Minnesota, Atlanta's Terry Fontenot and Brad Holmes in Detroit. Pittsburgh hired Omar Khan, an Indian American, in May. Overall, eight of the 32 GMs are minorities.
“It’s huge progress that’s been made,” Holmes said. “Hopefully that progress continues.”
Fontenot, hired by the Falcons in early 2021 after 18 seasons in New Orleans under longtime GM Mickey Loomis, said the goal should be to get to a point where race doesn't have to be a factor for head coaches or personnel chiefs.
At its recent spring meetings in Atlanta, the league conducted an accelerator program for minorities in coaching and the front office, with two members of the staff from each club participating.
“The league shouldn’t have to have accelerator programs,” Fontenot said. “We should be able to do that with everyone — not just people that are a certain color, a certain race, a certain sex. We should be inclusive in all of our processes.”
While Harrison said he is optimistic about minorities having opportunities in some aspects of management with NFL teams, that feeling doesn't carry over to head coaching.
In a league with 70% of rosters filled by Black players, five head coaches are minorities. In 2011, that number was eight. Whether a better hiring record with GMs can translate to head coaching is a tricky question, Harrison and Poles said.
First, it's difficult to know how much influence a GM will have with an owner, Harrison said, adding that a Black GM in charge of hiring a coach might have stronger ties to white candidates.
“It’s hard to oversimplify,” Harrison said. “There’s only 32 teams. So our sample sizes, they’re so small and these positions are so challenging and elite to come by. They’re just so competitive.”
Jones of the Cowboys made a similar point, while also saying he wasn't inclined to give up his GM title to keep McClay because he believes the role goes well beyond personnel. Jones said he values McClay, who runs the draft for a club with plenty of recent success in picking players, and doesn't want to minimize his role.
McClay said he has stayed because he believes his voice is important to Jones, and he has direct contact with the owner/GM. McClay also said he doesn't feel pressure to take a job as a general manager elsewhere because he is Black.
“I’m a grown man,” the 55-year-old said. “You've got to do your job first, so I’m doing my job to the best of my availability first. Then, if that opportunity comes and I’m comfortable with it, then that’s what it is.”
The uptick in minority hiring of GMs in the NFL will be meaningful only if it continues, McClay said.
“It will make that much of a difference if you continue the practices that are now being used because it's a hot topic,” McClay said. “Instead of reacting to it, planning for it and giving people the opportunity based on the quality of their work more so than just saying, ‘OK, we did it this time.’ It’s got to continue because it’s not just something you can do right now and say it’s solved.” | https://www.krem.com/article/sports/nfl/gm-hires-give-nfl-bright-spot-in-diversity-but-work-remains/535-d0b7bfde-8b4c-42bf-8453-beb062fbee0c | 2022-08-24T23:53:48Z | krem.com | control | https://www.krem.com/article/sports/nfl/gm-hires-give-nfl-bright-spot-in-diversity-but-work-remains/535-d0b7bfde-8b4c-42bf-8453-beb062fbee0c | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
NEW YORK, Aug. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --
WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of LifeStance Health Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: LFST) pursuant and/or traceable to the registration statement and related prospectus (collectively, the "Registration Statement") issued in connection with LifeStance Health's June 2021 initial public offering (the "IPO"), of the important October 11, 2022 lead plaintiff deadline.
SO WHAT: If you purchased LifeStance Health securities pursuant and/or traceable to the Registration Statement you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.
WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the LifeStance Health class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=8073 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than October 11, 2022. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.
WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually handle securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers..
DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, the IPO Registration Statement featured false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) the number of virtual visits clients were undertaking utilizing LifeStance Health was decreasing as the COVID-19 lockdowns were being lifted, thereby flatlining LifeStance Health's out-patient/virtual revenue growth; (2) the percentage of in-person visits clients were undertaking utilizing LifeStance Health was increasing as the COVID-19 lockdowns were being lifted, thereby causing LifeStance Health's operating expenses to increase substantially; (3) LifeStance Health had lost a large number of physicians due to burn-out and, as a result, its physician retention rate had fallen significantly below the 87% highlighted in the IPO's registration statement and LifeStance Health had been expending additional costs to onboard new physicians who were less productive than the outgoing physicians they were replacing; and (4) as a result, LifeStance Health's business metrics and financial prospects were not as strong as the IPO's registration statement represented. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.
To join the LifeStance Health class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=8073 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.
No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.
Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Contact Information:
Laurence Rosen, Esq.
Phillip Kim, Esq.
The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 686-1060
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SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A. | https://www.wbko.com/prnewswire/2022/08/24/rosen-leading-law-firm-encourages-lifestance-health-group-inc-investors-secure-counsel-before-important-deadline-securities-class-action-lfst/ | 2022-08-24T23:53:52Z | wbko.com | control | https://www.wbko.com/prnewswire/2022/08/24/rosen-leading-law-firm-encourages-lifestance-health-group-inc-investors-secure-counsel-before-important-deadline-securities-class-action-lfst/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Clear, calm warm night tonight low temps in the low to mid and upper 60s and light winds 5-8 mph.
Thursday and Friday sunny and hot with continued above average temperatures in the upper 80s and 90s lows in the upper 50s and 60s.
Heat relief on the way this weekend with daytime highs dropping into the mid and upper 80s. And lows in the mid to upper 50s.
Next week another warming trend on the way temperatures climb back to the mid to upper 90s and possible low 100s.
Tri-Cities
Thursday... Sunny and Hot... 96/69
Friday... Mostly Sunny, Windy... 96/64
Saturday... Mostly/Partly Sunny, Windy Cooler... 84/59
Sunday... Mostly Sunny... 85/59
Monday... Mostly Sunny... 91/62
Yakima
Thursday... Sunny and Hot... 95/65
Friday... Mostly Sunny, Windy... 94/59
Saturday... Mostly Sunny, Breezy, Cooler... 83/56
Sunday... Mostly Sunny... 85/57
Monday... Mostly Sunny... 89/62 | https://www.nbcrightnow.com/clear-calm-and-warm-tonight/article_58dbcf50-23f8-11ed-8462-43e685e6bbbb.html | 2022-08-24T23:55:25Z | nbcrightnow.com | control | https://www.nbcrightnow.com/clear-calm-and-warm-tonight/article_58dbcf50-23f8-11ed-8462-43e685e6bbbb.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
A few years ago, when actor Molly Ringwald suggested in an article for The New Yorker that some of her best-known 1980s films could be considered “racist, misogynistic, and, at times, homophobic,” Gen X was abuzz.
Here was an icon of 1980s teendom shining a harsh light on movies like “The Breakfast Club” and “Sixteen Candles” that had marked a generation of high-schoolers, myself included.
Revisiting films of the era with my own 15-year-old daughter has brought similar moments of awareness.
This awkward walk down memory lane got me thinking: Will today’s youth — my kids and college students included — question their generation’s on-screen portrayal in the future?
Will Netflix owe Gen Z an apology?
I can’t speak for Generation Z, the group born between the late 1990s and early 2010s, but I watch a lot of films and series about them. I’m a not-so-secret fan of the genre, no matter how many years separate me from high school. And though I’m obviously not the target demographic, I’m a parent, I work with college students and I’m paid to write about movies, so I watch closely and with a critical eye.
Lately I’ve noticed some commonalities in how Gen Z is being portrayed on screen. These feel increasingly like unchallenged clichés from older generations looking down. What follows is my top 5.
None of this is limited to Netflix, by the way. Nor to the U.S.: These are global platforms depicting a global generation.
1. Gen Z is social media obsessed
The most prevalent, and laziest, cliché about today’s “screenagers” is that they’re physically attached to their phones, more concerned with their online image than what happens IRL, and will do anything for followers and likes.
For example, the social media status of the French teens in the Netflix film “Dangerous Liaisons” is likened to the rankings of royalty in the court of Versailles. The lead character, initially above all this shallowness, finds social acceptance and happiness only after she starts sharing her life on Instagram.
“When the Wi-Fi goes out, it’s like they lose oxygen,” the Gen X director of the new Gen Z slasher satire “Bodies Bodies Bodies” told The New York Times of her characters. For good measure, the Times quoted a college professor who suggested that asking today’s youth to step back from the virtual world is “like asking them to imagine living without solid food.”
Sure, the stereotype itself is often what’s being exploited. In the film “Not Okay,” released stateside on Hulu, a fame-seeking young woman pretends to be the victim of a terrorist attack only to discover internet celebrity isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
But what’s missing is the critical take that questions whether these digital natives might actually be more skeptical of social media thanks to their fluency with it than we digital immigrants.
Twenty years from now, I suspect the portrayal will feel as out-of-date to them as “You’ve Got Mail” does to us today.
2. Gen Z parties … hard
If we trust what we see on screen, typical teen experimentation has gone ballistic.
Shows like “Sex Education” (Netflix) and “The Sex Lives of College Girls” (HBO Max) suggest teenagers are urgently, sometimes indiscriminately, seeking sex. At least this is now equal across genders and sexual orientations, unlike in hetero male-oriented ‘80s movies.
Today’s teens are also consuming a lot of drugs, judging by Netflix’s Spain-set murder mystery “Elite,” HBO’s dystopian suburban drama “Euphoria” and others. This isn’t Spicoli’s mellow stoner; we’re talking pills and powders.
The escalation is often portrayed as rooted in anxiety, discontent and cynicism. “The world’s coming to an end, and I haven’t even graduated high school yet,” the tormented Rue quips in episode one of “Euphoria.” The angst is intensified by global events and parental mistakes.
Which brings us to …
3. Gen Z’s parents are to blame
Last March, a tweet went viral suggesting “Millennial filmmakers are slowly creating an entire genre of fantasy films where parents apologize.” Media outlets picked up on the idea. Vox wrote about the “millennial parental apology fantasy,” involving “stories where the parent has to realize how badly they’ve treated their child.”
This trend has stretched beyond family dynamics. On screen, older generations are being taken to task for pretty much everything wrong with the world.
In the Netflix revamp of the Danish series “Borgen,” the former prime minister is accused on live TV by her Gen Z son of being part of a generation that “destroyed the world,” leaving their kids to clean up the mess. The 53-year-old mom responds: “And your generation has a bad habit of always playing the victim instead of creating some change.”
Ouch.
Of course, anyone paying attention knows this isn’t true. From climate advocacy group Fridays for Future to anti-gun violence March for Our Lives to Gen-Z for Change, activist groups comprising fed-up young people are taking matters into their own hands.
4. Gen Z is excessively ‘woke’
Which leads us to the next common Gen Z portrayal: that they’re all politically aware, active and on the “correct” side of history. The jerks of today rarely get the girl, like they did in ‘80s films — see the comeuppance of creeps in outwardly feminist movies like “Moxie,” for example.
Meanwhile, Broadway-quality high school musicals are replacing the patriarchal prom in much teen fare, and on-screen Gen Z inhabits an equity-conscious world where friend groups invariably fulfill a checklist of racial and sexual identities.
It’s a lot to live up to!
In the Netflix parody “Senior Year,” a 37-year-old woman wakes up from a coma and goes back to high school, discovering trophy cases have been replaced with pro-environment “art” made from tampons, popularity contests have been banned and the cheer squad performs chants about sexual consent and saving turtles.
“I’m just trying to build my most authentic, socially conscious, body-positive, environmentally aware, and economically compassionate brand,” the school’s top influencer explains through a stiff smile. Take that, “Mean Girls.”
The satire works because it’s based on a familiar representation. But is it reality?
5. Gen Z is entitled
Young people today were “born with hurt feelings,” are best friends with the internet (or their parents), and have way too much self-esteem, complain the 50-something characters of the Netflix comedy “Wine Country.”
Recent Paramount+ release “Honor Society” agrees. The tale’s protagonist is a top student who believes herself profoundly superior to her classmates, teachers and parents. She casually schemes to win a coveted Ivy League recommendation, only to find herself outmaneuvered by an even more devious and entitled senior.
Let it not go unnoticed that this blatantly cynical portrayal of Gen Z was written by a man born in 1962.
Like most of these depictions of teens, from “The Breakfast Club” on, what we’re seeing is an adult view of younger generations. Are they basing their ideas on what they see in teens today, or what they’ve already seen on screen?
Gen Z has a whole lot more to choose from, audio-visually speaking, than previous generations, but the view of them is surprisingly uniform. It’ll be interesting to watch how they reckon with this portrayal in the future — and who they’ll hold accountable.
• Jennifer Green is a film journalist and critic who specializes in international cinema and teaches journalism and film at Central Washington University. Links to her work can be found at filmsfromafar.com. | https://www.yakimaherald.com/commentary-will-netflix-hulu-and-others-owe-gen-z-an-apology/article_8cf5ea64-2402-11ed-90c2-93f77d675e18.html | 2022-08-24T23:55:29Z | yakimaherald.com | control | https://www.yakimaherald.com/commentary-will-netflix-hulu-and-others-owe-gen-z-an-apology/article_8cf5ea64-2402-11ed-90c2-93f77d675e18.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
WAPATO, Wash. - Multiple agencies are responding to a water rescue around the 1800 block of Donald Wapato Road.
Yakima County Sheriff's Office is looking for a woman who can't swim that got lost in the water, according to Public Information Officer Casey Schilperoort. Water Rescue is assisting, along with the Zillah Police Department, Wapato Police Department, Washington State Patrol and drone coverage.
Schilperoort says a man called in just after 3 p.m. reporting the woman was stuck in the water. Agencies are still searching for her.
While the search was underway, a second water rescue was called in the same area for a man who had been log-jammed. Schilperoort says it is his best guess that this man was the one who called in the original rescue.
The man was rescued and is being checked by medics for a potential broken wrist, dehydration and exhaustion.
Agencies are currently having trouble getting a boat in the water due to low levels. Schilperoort expects the agencies will be there for some time. | https://www.nbcrightnow.com/news/agencies-search-for-woman-missing-in-water-around-wapato/article_82b830b0-23fe-11ed-922f-53c2b530d2b0.html | 2022-08-24T23:55:32Z | nbcrightnow.com | control | https://www.nbcrightnow.com/news/agencies-search-for-woman-missing-in-water-around-wapato/article_82b830b0-23fe-11ed-922f-53c2b530d2b0.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
KENNEWICK, Wash. - Through investigating a shooting that happened August 19, the Kennewick Police Department has connected four gang-related shootings around the 1100 block of W 10th Avenue.
Detectives served two search warrants on the morning of August 24 with the Tri-City Regional SWAT team. They searched two apartments in the area and found multiple guns.
Two people were arrested during the search; a 19-year-old male for the unlawful discharge of a firearm and a 15-year-old for possession of a stolen firearm.
The case is still being investigated. | https://www.nbcrightnow.com/news/kennewick-police-connect-four-gang-related-shooting-this-month/article_e01ecd4c-23f7-11ed-a2e8-bbe7ea914984.html | 2022-08-24T23:55:38Z | nbcrightnow.com | control | https://www.nbcrightnow.com/news/kennewick-police-connect-four-gang-related-shooting-this-month/article_e01ecd4c-23f7-11ed-a2e8-bbe7ea914984.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
For a month now, new COVID cases and hospitalizations have continued to drop in Yakima County, according to the Yakima Health District.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week dropped the COVID-19 community level for Yakima County to “low” after more than a month at “medium.” The rating is based on new COVID-19 cases, hospital beds used by patients with COVID and hospital admissions for people with the disease.
At a “low” rating, CDC recommends avoiding contact with others who may have COVID-19. People with symptoms, those who test positive or those exposed to COVID-19 should wear a mask.
For the week ending Aug. 19, the health district reported 402 new cases of COVID-19 in the county. This is almost half the number of cases reported during the last week of July, which saw 748 reported cases.
Other measurements like the rate of infection per 100,000 people in the last 14 days also dropped from 579 in late July to 386 on Aug. 19.
The number of hospitalizations due to COVID has also continue to drop, with the health district reporting 10 individuals hospitalized. This is down five cases from the week before, and down 12 cases since the beginning of the month.
The only number that rose was new deaths due to COVID. The Health District reported nine new deaths since Aug. 12. The health district could not be immediately reached to provide more information about the number, though it has reported deaths in batches in the past.
YHD recommends visiting www.YakimaVaccines.org or www.YakimaVacunas.org for vaccine locations and availability.
Anyone 6 months or older is eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. Individuals 5 and older are eligible for booster shots.
UW Medicine and Yakima Valley Memorial have partnered to move the community COVID-19 testing site to a new location, at 1211 N. 16th Ave., the former Orthopedics Northwest Clinic site. The testing site had been at Yakima Valley College. It will operate 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. More information can be found on www.YakimaTesting.org or www.YakimaPruebas.org.
Residents of Yakima County can order free rapid tests to be delivered to their door from the federal government by visiting COVID.gov/tests or calling 1-800-232-0233. Washington state offers free tests at its sayyescovidhomestest.org website.
People who test positive for COVID-19 are advised to stay home and away from other people while they are contagious. People who used an at-home test can report positive results to Washington’s COVID-19 hotline at 1-800-525-0127.
If households need additional resources, they can call Care Connect Washington at 1-800-525-0127. Care Connect Washington can provide food and other necessities to people | https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/local/covid-numbers-in-yakima-county-decline-as-cdc-community-level-drops-to-low/article_ec542d32-230c-11ed-a615-5b09f60f0614.html | 2022-08-24T23:55:41Z | yakimaherald.com | control | https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/local/covid-numbers-in-yakima-county-decline-as-cdc-community-level-drops-to-low/article_ec542d32-230c-11ed-a615-5b09f60f0614.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
WASHINGTON, D.C.-
Today President Biden forgave student loan debts of up to $10,000 for individuals earning less than $125,000 a year.
Pell Grant recipients are eligible to have up to $20,000 of debt forgiven, and monthly payments were capped at %5 of monthly income.
The payment pause on student loans was also extended through the end of the year.
Today's announcement from the President was welcomed by those with outstanding student loans and several prominent regional legislators weighed in as well.
Do you agree with student loan forgiveness?
President Biden may soon announce forgiveness of $10,000 of student loans for individuals making less than $125,000
Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), released a statement saying, "Tonight, tens of millions of borrowers across the country who've been saddled with student debt can sleep easier knowing their balances will finally go down and millions will see their debt wiped out entirely."
Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-05) said, "Taking out loans to pursue a college degree is a personal choice. Part of making that decision is accepting responsibility for repaying the money you borrowed."
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), tweeted that "Pursuing an education shouldn't land you in financial handcuffs. This is great news for every American being forced to make hard decisions between paying off their student loans and putting food on the table. I'll continue pushing for student debt relief at every turn."
Governor Kate Brown (D-OR), tweeted in support of the announcement, "Everyone deserves access to quality higher education without the crushing weight of lifelong student debt. This is excellent news for Oregonians and will help ease the financial burdens of many low- and middle-income families."
NBC Right Now has not found reactions from Representative Dan Newhouse, Representative Kim Schrier, Senator Maria Cantwell or Governor Jay Inslee. | https://www.nbcrightnow.com/news/local-legislators-react-to-bidens-student-loan-forgiveness/article_0522068c-23ed-11ed-b596-37a5121d14c8.html | 2022-08-24T23:55:44Z | nbcrightnow.com | control | https://www.nbcrightnow.com/news/local-legislators-react-to-bidens-student-loan-forgiveness/article_0522068c-23ed-11ed-b596-37a5121d14c8.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
House GOP campaign chief dismisses NY-19 loss as “quirk”
The chair of House Republicans’ campaign arm on Wednesday sought to tamp down fears over the party’s loss in New York’s 19th district in a memo in which he called Democrat Pat Ryan's win a “quirk.”
Why it matters: The memo, obtained by Axios, comes as Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) faces criticism from inside his party that he's too distracted about what his role may be if the GOP takes power in November — and not focused enough on ensuring the party wins back the majority.
Driving the news: Ryan defeated Republican Marc Molinaro, a popular county executive and former gubernatorial nominee, in an upset. Molinaro was seen as Republicans' ideal candidate, and many expected him to cruise to victory Tuesday night.
- In the memo, titled "A Quick Note on What happened in NY-19," Emmer concedes that the election “didn’t deliver the result we hoped for” but defended the NRCC’s performance.
- He cites the fact that the special election was held simultaneously with New York’s regular primary election, arguing that New York’s closed primary system discourages independent voters from turning out.
- “As a historically blue state, the primary often serves as the general election for New York Democrats,” he wrote. “This means New York Democrats historically turn out at much higher rates for primaries.”
- He also argued that a series of polls, including those conducted by the Democratic National Campaign Committee, showing Molinaro ahead failed to predict “the structural advantage Democrats had” by using samples that look more like the November electorate.
The big picture: Republicans came into 2022 with unwavering confidence that inflation and President Biden’s poor poll numbers would carry them to a large majority in the House.
- But with several underwhelming special election performances in the aftermath of Roe v. Wade being overturned, that confidence is sagging.
What we're watching: Cook Political Report's Dave Wasserman tweeted that, based on recent elections, his group revised their outlook "to a 10-20 seat GOP gain, w/ Dems maintaining control not out of the question."
Between the lines: Several Republican members and strategists have complained that Emmer is distracted by a goal of becoming GOP whip after the election. He has already begun calling chairs of committees and other top House Republicans about his future race, GOP members told Axios.
The other side: Upon learning of the criticism, multiple House GOP members called Axios to defend Emmer.
- "As the only member of leadership from the state of New York, I will tell you that specials are special," GOP conference chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) told Axios. "Anyone who is criticizing leadership, whether it's Tom Emmer or anyone, for misplaying this race is criticizing from the sidelines."
- "There's a lot of potential candidates for leadership and the whip, myself included, and we need to stay focused on what the NRCC is doing," she added.
- "I've never worked alongside somebody more dedicated, more focused and more vigilant in our efforts to take back the House than Tom Emmer," Rep. Jodey Arrington, an NRCC deputy, told Axios. "In fact, I think he' s waited too long ... longer than any single person that has expressed an interest in leadership."
What they're saying: “It’s hard to credibly claim the NRCC was distracted when it was the single biggest spender in this race," NRCC spokesman Michael McAdams told Axios. “Chairman Emmer is completely focused on winning the majority and we’ll let the results in November speak for themselves."
- “The first stage of grief is denial and that’s where the MAGA NRCC finds itself today — unable to accept that voters from ruby-red Kansas to upstate New York have overwhelmingly rejected their extreme attempt to rip away women’s freedoms," said DCCC spokesperson Chris Taylor.
- "Republicans outspent Democrats 3-to-1 in the NY-19 special election race – they still lost. So essentially, the NRCC spent $1.3 million to perform worse than Trump in this district," Taylor said. "There are 222 House seats that are better than NY-19 by Biden 2020 performance." | https://www.axios.com/2022/08/24/tom-emmer-gop-ny-19-loss | 2022-08-24T23:56:43Z | axios.com | control | https://www.axios.com/2022/08/24/tom-emmer-gop-ny-19-loss | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
How student loan relief helps Virginians
Tens of thousands of Virginians will see relief from some of the collective $43 billion in student loan debt held by state residents.
Driving the news: The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it's canceling up to $20,000 in student debt for Pell Grant recipients and up to $10,000 for individual borrowers who make less than $125,000 per year.
Why it matters: The action will cut monthly payments owed by millions of borrowers.
- "The loan forgiveness provides a sense of relief in knowing I hopefully won't be paying my student loans off for the majority of my adult life," Lauren Howard, an urgent care nurse in Richmond, tells Axios.
- Howard, 25, has around $42,000 in federal student loans to pay off, with a monthly payment of around $250.
By the numbers: Roughly 60% of Virginia college students graduated with student loan debt over the last decade, per a report from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.
- The average cost of a degree from a Virginia university last year was $35,347 — $10,000 more than just a decade ago, SCHEV reports.
- Virginia students carry an average of more than $39,000 in student loan debt — the fourth-highest in the country, per Education Data Initiative.
Of note: Lower income students and students of color, particularly Black students, have been disproportionately affected by the increase in tuition and lack of grant money.
- Four years after college, Black students owe nearly double the amount of white students, per a 2021 study by Brookings Institution.
- The additional debt further exacerbates the Black-white wealth gap: white college graduates have seven times more wealth than Black graduates, per the report.
What they're saying: Derek Brooks, a VCU grad who works as a government procurement manager, tells Axios the debt relief is especially important for Black borrowers like him because it helps address generational racial wealth and education disparities.
- "I don't entirely understand people who have paid off their debt or never had it at all being mad at it," he says. "That's like beating cancer then getting mad if they find a cure."
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Get a free daily digest of the most important news in your backyard with Axios Richmond. | https://www.axios.com/local/richmond/2022/08/24/how-student-loan-relief-helps-virginia | 2022-08-24T23:56:55Z | axios.com | control | https://www.axios.com/local/richmond/2022/08/24/how-student-loan-relief-helps-virginia | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Despite calls from Democrats and policy groups to oust U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, the agency leader at the epicenter of controversies over postage rates, delivery times, mail-in ballots, electric fleet vehicles and alleged conflicts of interest, President Joe Biden cannot simply remove him.
This month, more than 80 public interest groups led by The Save The Post Office Coalition sent a letter to Biden, calling on his administration to nominate Postal Board of Governors candidates who will hold DeJoy accountable for his “destructive leadership” and advocate for the expansion of USPS services.
“Despite the passage of the Postal Service Reform Act, DeJoy still plans to raise postage prices at “‘uncomfortable rates’ around the country,” the groups said in the letter. “Additionally, numerous post office locations are set to be shuttered under his 10-year restructuring plan, potentially impacting thousands of employees during a time of economic crisis.”
Rep. Brian Higgins, a Democrat from New York, has led calls in Congress to remove DeJoy.
Is the Postmaster General a cabinet position?
In 1971, the United States Post Office Department was re-organized into the U.S. Postal Service, a special agency independent of the executive branch that is not funded by appropriations.
The Postmaster General is not a member of the Cabinet and is not in line to be president. The position is selected by the Board of Governors of the Postal Service, whose members are appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate. The serve seven year terms.
The Postmaster General’s office has no fixed term, meaning that DeJoy can serve as long as the Board of Governors approves.
“I was hired by a bipartisan Board of Governors to lead the Postal Service based on my extensive business and logistics background,” said DeJoy in a statement to Federal Times. “As such, my mission and full attention is on improving the efficient and reliable delivery of mail and packages to the American people and becoming financially self-sufficient as required by law.”
Who has authority over the Postmaster General?
The U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors has sole authority to hire and fire the postmaster general, the highest position in the organization. Though pressure mounts from Democrats and watchdogs to remove DeJoy from his seat at the top of the agency, Biden lacks the power to do so.
Most decisions are settled by majority vote, and at least six members must be present for a quorum. There are nine governors in total. Both the Postmaster General and Deputy Postmaster General are voting members of the board, though they they are barred from voting on certain issues like pricing.
No more than five of the nine governors may be from the same party.
Removing the Postmaster General requires an absolute majority vote of the governors in office.
Deputy Postmaster General Douglas Tulino was appointed last year.
Appointments are made when vacancies occur or for the remainder of unexpired terms.
Governors may continue to serve following expiration of their term or until a successor is appointed, but not for more than one year. No member may serve more than two terms as a governor.
What are the controversies surrounding DeJoy?
A number of criticisms have been levied against DeJoy since he became the fifth Postmaster General to join the institution from the private sector since 1971.
Last year, DeJoy unveiled “Delivering for America,” the USPS strategic plan to achieve longterm financial sustainability. In April of this year, Biden signed the Postal Service Reform Act, which lifted budget requirements imposed by Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act and required USPS to keep delivering mail six days a week.
In February, the White House Council on Environmental Quality sent DeJoy a letter urging USPS to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act after it had committed $480 million to begin engineering and factory construction of new postal vehicles before the agency started its review.
This month, USPS announced that at least half of Next Generation Delivery Vehicles will be battery electric. The Inflation Reduction Act, signed by Biden on Aug. 16, also allocates nearly $1.3 billion for the purchase of zero-emission delivery vehicles and another $1.7 billion for developing that infrastructure at USPS facilities.
Critics have also called out ethical concerns regarding DeJoy’s finances. Congress’ request for investigation alleged that DeJoy held tens of million of dollars in competitor and contractor assets.
In 2020, the USPS Office of Inspector General reported that DeJoy, a former logistics company CEO, met all ethics requirements for divestment and disclosures.
An OIG report found that DeJoy sold his Amazon and UPS holdings and recused himself from remaining conflicts. Still, Democrats and nonpartisan watchdog groups have wanted DeJoy out, especially as 2022 midterm elections loom.
“After two years of misconduct and ethical lapses on the part of the USPS’s leader, the public deserves to know the USPS’s rationale for keeping its leadership in place,” said an Aug. 9 letter submitted by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonprofit watchdog group.
What are the concerns about USPS and elections?
In the first year of the pandemic and after the 2020 election in which mail-in ballots become the subject of controversy, DeJoy came under fire for mail delays.
Experts warned that operational changes, which included elimination of late and extra trips to transport mail, a reorganization of field and headquarters operations, and a pilot to reduce overtime, could impair mail-in ballots.
USPS said the changes were developed to save on work hours after it predicted a $7.6 billion loss for fiscal year 2020. A follow-up report concluded that these initiatives, in part, contributed to delays during a year in which more than two-thirds of voters cast their ballot using nontraditional means.
USPS processed 135 million ballots in the general election, and about 99.9% of ballots were delivered to election officials within a week, consistent with the service’s expectations.
As of Aug. 12, the USPS has participated in 54 primaries, runoffs and special elections and delivered more than 40 million ballots to and from voters.
“Americans should be confident that the United States Postal Service is well-prepared and will provide extraordinary services in these coming November elections,” DeJoy said during a Board of Governors meeting on Aug. 9.
Future of DeJoy’s leadership
As the board stands during the annual summer recess for Congress, Biden’s appointees outnumber those by former President Donald Trump five to four.
The Senate confirmed Biden’s two nominees to the board back in May, adding a Democrat and Republican to the roster.
Two other board members’ terms will expire in December, one from each party.
With vacancies on the horizon, Biden may choose to replace at least one opening with a Democrat or independent.
Many have said that appointments create opportunities for a president or Senate to have an indirect influence on board decisions.
“It is a great honor to serve as the 75th Postmaster General of the United States,” DeJoy in the statement. “The Postal Service has a proud and ongoing history which I have, and will continue to uphold, of performing our vital work in an apolitical and nonpartisan fashion.”
Molly Weisner is a staff reporter for Federal Times where she covers labor, policy and contracting pertaining to the government workforce. She made previous stops at USA Today and McClatchy as a digital producer, and worked at The New York Times as a copy editor. Molly majored in journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. | https://www.federaltimes.com/federal-oversight/2022/08/24/can-biden-fire-us-postmaster-general-louis-dejoy/ | 2022-08-25T00:01:38Z | federaltimes.com | control | https://www.federaltimes.com/federal-oversight/2022/08/24/can-biden-fire-us-postmaster-general-louis-dejoy/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Chick-fil-A's grilled nuggets and grilled filets have a dairy allergen due to an accidental contamination at its supplier, according to the company.
"A supplier notified us they had unintentionally added an undeclared dairy allergen in the recipe for our Grilled Filets and Grilled Nuggets," the company said in a statement, adding that when it learned about the contamination, "we took immediate steps to notify guests of this temporary issue."
A statement alerting consumers to the situation has been posted to the chicken chain's nutrition and allergens page, and a note about the dairy allergen has been added to the Grilled Nuggets page. The incident has impacted restaurants across the entire Chick-fil-A chain.
"We are actively working with the supplier so this doesn't happen again and to ensure the allergen is removed," the company said. "We understand and take seriously the trust our guests place in us to make sure their food is how they expect it, and we apologize for this situation. Our priority is that our impacted guests can enjoy these products again soon."
While the presence of dairy may not matter to some consumers, it can be dangerous to those with allergies.
Kids With Food Allergies, a division of the nonprofit Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, posted about the change on its Facebook page on Tuesday. Commenters on the Facebook post expressed dismay about the news, saying that it limited the food options for those with allergies even further. | https://www.kitv.com/news/business/chick-fil-a-grilled-nuggets-and-filet-contain-dairy-allergen-due-to-supplier-mishap/article_b07c7ea7-5dde-5abf-8003-f4ef9d1da423.html | 2022-08-25T00:06:31Z | kitv.com | control | https://www.kitv.com/news/business/chick-fil-a-grilled-nuggets-and-filet-contain-dairy-allergen-due-to-supplier-mishap/article_b07c7ea7-5dde-5abf-8003-f4ef9d1da423.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
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The psychedelic compound psilocybin, commonly known as "shrooms" or magic mushrooms, may help people who struggle with alcohol dependence better manage their drinking, a new study found.
In what researchers are calling the first published randomized trial to examine the effects of psilocybin on any type of addiction, people who underwent two psychedelic mushroom "trips" with the help of a psychotherapist reduced "their days of heavy drinking by 83% over eight months," said senior study author and psychiatrist Dr. Michael Bogenschutz, director of the NYU Langone Center for Psychedelic Medicine, in a news conference.
People in the study, published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, consumed an average of seven drinks on the days when they drank, Bogenschutz said.
"I'd say (psilocybin) saved my life," said 32-year-old study participant Jon Kostas at the news conference. "My first AA meeting was at 16 years old. I was 25 when I found the clinical trial and by that time, I was 'treatment-resistant.' I had tried everything to no avail."
At the end of the eight-month trial, 48% of the patients who used psilocybin reported quitting alcohol use entirely, according to the researchers, who collected hair and fingernail samples to confirm reports of abstinence. That's twice as many as those in the placebo group who were able to abstain, Bogenschutz said.
"If these effects hold up in future trials, psilocybin will be a real breakthrough in the treatment of alcohol use disorder," said Bogenschutz, a professor of psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. He is also a paid consultant to several companies bringing psychedelics to market.
The need for new treatments for alcoholism is critical, experts say. Only three medications have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration since 1949 to treat the disease and all have limitations, according to studies.
However, while the treatment "seems to help a significant percentage of people," it is not a cure-all, said Dr. David Hellerstein, professor of clinical psychiatry at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center. He was not involved in the research.
"To me the most intriguing advance (of the study) is that it is a very different type of treatment than has been traditionally used for alcohol addiction," said Hellerstein, who conducts research on psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression.
"Therefore, it may open new avenues for significant progress with this devastating condition."
What's old is new again
This isn't the first time science has studied the use of psychedelics for alcohol use disorder, defined today as the inability to stop drinking even when it causes physical or emotional harm to the drinker or others.
UK psychiatrist Dr. Humphry Osmond began giving LSD to treatment-resistant alcoholics in the 1950s and found that 40% to 45% of those who took LSD were still sober after a year. Other researchers duplicated his results.
During the 1940s and early 1950s, tens of thousands of patients took LSD and other psychotropics to study their effects on cancer anxiety, alcoholism, opioid use disorder, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. Researchers began to see psychedelics as possible "new tools for shortening psychotherapy."
But when Harvard psychologists Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert were fired from the Harvard Psilocybin Project in 1962 after the university discovered they had been giving LSD to their students, the use of psychedelics for research began to lose its luster.
Leary began to speak out publicly, encouraging young people to take LSD recreationally. He quickly became the face of the drug counterculture movement with his signature message, "Turn on, tune in, drop out."
No longer administered solely in the relative safety of a lab or psychiatrist's office, LSD began to feature in horror stories of bad "acid" trips at colleges and concerts -- headlines that appeared alongside images of anti-Vietnam protests and Woodstock attendees.
In 1966, the United States outlawed LSD and research projects were shut down or forced underground. Then came the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, signed by President Richard Nixon. It classified all hallucinogenics, including psilocybin, as Schedule I drugs -- substances with "no currently accepted medical use" and a high probability of abuse.
"Studies come to a screeching halt," Hellerstein said. "We are now just beginning to make up for decades of lost time."
A worrisome rise in drinking
The new study enrolled 93 people with a diagnosed alcohol disorder who all had drunk heavily at least four days in the prior month. The researchers defined heavy drinking as five or more drinks in a day for men and four or more drinks a day for women.
Interestingly, that is also the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's definition of binge drinking, a problem studies show is on the rise in the US.
That is particularly true for women, who increased their heavy drinking days at the start of the pandemic by 41%. More young people are drinking alone as well, which can strongly increase the risk for alcohol use disorder later in life, according to a July 2022 study.
In the new study, one group of 48 people received two doses of psilocybin a month apart. A second group of 45 people twice received a placebo, diphenhydramine, a common antihistamine that is also a strong sedative. Each treatment session occurred in the presence of a therapist to help process and integrate thoughts or emotions over a two-day period.
Each person also underwent a series of psychotherapy sessions for 12 weeks that included motivational and cognitive behavioral techniques aimed at reducing drinking.
"Psychotherapy was an integral part of the treatment model, and so we can't make any statements about what the psilocybin would be doing in terms of therapeutic effects without that psychotherapeutic platform," Bogenschutz said.
In fact, the placebo group reduced their heavy drinking by 51% with only the therapy intervention, the study found, compared with an 83% reduction in those who received both psilocybin and therapy.
However, the study was not truly blinded: About 95% of those involved correctly guessed whether they were taking psilocybin or the antihistamine, the researchers said.
That's an issue, Hellerstein said, since people participating in such studies have a strong expectation that a "trip on a psychedelic will help them, so it is very difficult to separate medication effects from the expectation for major improvement."
Consequently, it can be challenging to "prove that the psychedelic experience and treatment are the cause of improvement," Hellerstein added.
One of the participants in the study, 60-year-old Paul Mavis of Wilton, Connecticut, was able to stop drinking even though he was part of the placebo group.
He credits that success to the intensive therapy he received during the study. "I haven't had a drink or even a craving -- it's weird. It was if I never drank in my life," Mavis said in a news conference about the research.
Mavis said he did take a dose of psilocybin, under supervision, toward the end of the study.
"This was a profound, deeply moving, mind-altering but still very, very exceptional experience," Mavis said, adding that it was not one he would rush to repeat, especially without the help of a therapist.
"No, this was this was a very profound thing that should be done under serious supervision in my humble opinion," he said.
As Mavis noted, the level of psychotherapy used in the study was intensive, which is common with studies involving hallucinogens. Future research should investigate whether similar results can be achieved with less therapy to make the intervention more scalable, Hellerstein said.
"Expert and time intensive psychotherapy is often not available in many locations and settings," he said. "If the psilocybin trip alone leads to decreased alcohol use, with very minimal psychotherapy support, that could make it possible to extend the treatment much more broadly."
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. | https://www.kitv.com/news/national/psilocybin-trips-combined-with-therapy-reduce-alcohol-use-study-finds/article_379e1ac9-855e-5aef-87cc-bae1b092806a.html | 2022-08-25T00:06:35Z | kitv.com | control | https://www.kitv.com/news/national/psilocybin-trips-combined-with-therapy-reduce-alcohol-use-study-finds/article_379e1ac9-855e-5aef-87cc-bae1b092806a.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
A 17-year-old has become the youngest person to fly around the world solo in a small aircraft on Wednesday after first taking off on March 23, according to Guinness World Records (GWR).
British-Belgian national Mack Rutherford touched down earlier in the day in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, where his journey began, according to Rutherford's official website and GWR. He first set off when he was still 16.
Rutherford's route spanned 52 countries across five continents on a specially prepared ultralight Shark aircraft with cruising speed reaching 300 km/h, according to his website.
"I want to use the opportunity to meet young people on my route who do incredible things, making a difference to their communities or even to the world," he wrote before jetting off.
His journey was tracked on his website, which shows he set off from Bulgaria towards the Mediterranean then through the Sahara, onwards through the Middle East and then East Asia.
He smashed two world records, previously held by his older sister Zara Rutherford, as the youngest person to fly around the world solo and also the youngest person to do so in a microlight aircraft, the GWR website states.
He entered his last leg through the United States, Canada and Mexico before flying back through Europe and landing in Sofia.
Inspired to fly by his family, the teenager was just 15 years old when he received his first pilot's license, becoming the youngest pilot in the world.
"When I was 15, I got my license and was the youngest in the world at that point. And then when my sister flew around the world, I thought, well, there's something I can actually try to strive for and achieve," he told CNN earlier in August.
His journey even took him to a remote island in the North Pacific, after strong headwinds forced him to land during a flight from Japan to the United States.
"I had a few Oreos for supper and then went to bed in a small shed -- but that was definitely an amazing experience," he told CNN. | https://www.kitv.com/news/national/teenage-pilot-becomes-youngest-person-to-fly-solo-around-the-globe/article_2ddc1368-1e00-5a06-9f46-fb24dc537050.html | 2022-08-25T00:06:41Z | kitv.com | control | https://www.kitv.com/news/national/teenage-pilot-becomes-youngest-person-to-fly-solo-around-the-globe/article_2ddc1368-1e00-5a06-9f46-fb24dc537050.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
President Joe Biden's student loan plan is a potential game changer for Americans drowning in debt. And yet the impact on the economy at large is likely to be so tiny that it will be hard to measure.
Biden announced Wednesday that his administration will forgive $10,000 for borrowers who make less than $125,000 per year. Low-income borrowers who went to college on Pell Grants will receive up to $20,000 in student loan forgiveness.
This debt relief will give tens of millions of borrowers some breathing room at a time when the cost of living has skyrocketed.
Critically, the cancellation of student debt is being paired with a plan to lift the freeze on federal student debt payments, beginning in January 2023. That means many Americans who haven't had to pay down student loans since March 2020 will have to begin doing so, eating into their cash flows.
Despite fears that Biden's student debt relief will fuel already-crippling inflation, economists say the combined impact will be minimal on the economy at large.
"The end of the moratorium will weigh on growth and inflation, while the debt forgiveness will support growth and inflation," Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi told CNN. "The net of these cross-currents is largely a wash."
Moody's estimates that the combined impact will reduce real GDP in 2023 by 0.05 percentage points, drive down unemployment by 0.02 percentage points and cut inflation by 0.03 percentage points. In other words, a very tiny effect.
"We're not talking about raising or lowering inflation by a percentage point or even a half a percentage point. We're talking about a really small impact," Dean Baker, co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, told CNN in a phone interview. "But for individuals this makes a big difference. It wipes out more than half the debt for more than half the borrowers. That's a big deal."
Tens of millions of borrowers impacted
The typical undergraduate student with loans graduates with nearly $25,000 in debt, according to a Department of Education analysis cited by the White House.
Up to 43 million borrowers will receive relief from Biden's student debt plan, including eliminating the full remaining balance for about 20 million borrowers, according to the White House.
The inflationary impact would have been larger if Biden did not impose an income threshold on the debt relief or if he heeded calls from some progressives to wipe out $50,000 in student debt.
Baker praised Biden's plan as a "good compromise" that avoided going to extremes.
"It's helping people out, but not giving away the store," he said.
Some groups, including the NAACP, argue Biden's debt relief doesn't go far enough given the mountain of student debt in America.
"Canceling just $10,000 of debt is like pouring a bucket of ice water on a forest fire," NAACP leaders wrote in a CNN Business opinion piece.
A $300 billion price tag
Of course, there is a cost to canceling student debt. And that cost will be picked up by taxpayers just when deficit reduction had suddenly become a bipartisan trend in Washington.
A one-time cancellation of $10,000 for each borrower earning less than $125,000 will cost the government approximately $300 billion, according to an estimate this week from the Penn Wharton Budget Model. (The Penn Wharton model did not include the cost of wiping out up to $20,000 in student debt for Pell Grant recipients).
Although $300 billion isn't massive for a $25 trillion economy, the cost of the student debt forgiveness would cancel out the projected federal budget deficit savings from the just-passed Inflation Reduction Act.
"All the deficit reduction will be wiped out," Marc Goldwein, senior vice president and senior policy director for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, told CNN's Poppy Harlow.
Note that the White House has hailed the deficit reduction aspect of the Inflation Reduction Act as an important inflation-fighting measure. And this marked a significant shift after years of both parties adding to America's mountain of debt to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
Even Jason Furman, head of the Council of Economic Advisers for former President Barack Obama, has doubts about Biden's plan.
"Pouring roughly half trillion dollars of gasoline on the inflationary fire that is already burning is reckless," Furman tweeted. "Doing it while going well beyond one campaign promise ($10K of student loan relief) and breaking another (all proposals paid for) is even worse."
Still, said Zandi of Moody's, this is a "big positive deal for probably close to 40 million, mostly lower and middle income, Americans, but [a] small negative deal for all American taxpayers."
'Sends the wrong message'
Beyond the economic impact, Biden's plan has sparked questions about fairness because it only helps people who were fortunate enough to go to college.
Rep. Tim Ryan, the Ohio Senate Democratic nominee, said Biden's decision on student debt "sends the wrong message to the millions of Ohioans without a degree working just as hard to make ends meet."
"Instead of forgiving student loans for six-figure earners, we should be working to level the playing field for all Americans," Ryan said.
Citing a Department of Education analysis, the White House said nearly 90% of relief dollars will go to those earning less than $75,000.
The student debt forgiveness comes too late for borrowers who worked for years to pay off their loans, only to now see others have their debt wiped away.
"I take that very seriously," Baker said of the fairness concerns. "We're relieving $10,000, not $50,000 or $100,000. That's why $10,000 is a good number."
The real problem continues
No matter the amount, wiping out student loan debt doesn't address the underlying problem: College tuition is way too expensive.
Between 2000 and 2021, the cost of college tuition increased at more than twice the pace of overall inflation, according to Moody's Analytics. That's despite a slowdown in tuition hikes during Covid.
The basket of goods measured in the Consumer Price Index cost 57% more in 2021 than it did in 2000, while the cost of college tuition soared by 167%, Moody's said.
It's hard to see how eliminating a chunk of student debt solves that issue. And some, including former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, have warned debt relief could also help raise tuitions.
"Costs are out of control. It's absurd people have to borrow large amounts and then struggle to pay it back," said Baker. "That problem is unsolved."
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. | https://www.kitv.com/news/national/what-bidens-student-debt-plan-will-do-to-the-us-economy/article_79ca0158-de44-5378-9665-6f30aed1110e.html | 2022-08-25T00:06:47Z | kitv.com | control | https://www.kitv.com/news/national/what-bidens-student-debt-plan-will-do-to-the-us-economy/article_79ca0158-de44-5378-9665-6f30aed1110e.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry TRD News and Notes:
- BELL AT DAYTONA: Christopher Bell will make his sixth NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) start at Daytona International Speedway (DIS) this weekend. Bell’s best finish of 13th came in 2020 in the fall race at DIS. Bell also has five NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) starts at DIS, earning two top-five and four top-10 finishes.
- WATKINS GLEN RECAP: Bell started at the back of the field after the team discovered an issue with the engine in practice and had to change it. Bell worked his way from the back of the field inside the top 10 with the help of pit strategy. The race started under rainy conditions and finished dry. Bell earned an eighth-place finish in his No. 20 Toyota TRD Camry.
- RHEEM GUESTS AT DAYTONA: Rheem will host over 160 guests at Daytona this weekend, including those from: Resideo, Gemaire Distributors, Raypak Commercial and Pool, and the Water Heater Division’s Commercial, Mountain, and Florida Regions.
- RHEEM’S 15th ANNIVERSARY: The No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry TRD will carry a commemorative logo to honor Rheem’s 15th anniversary as a NASCAR national-series sponsor. Rheem has been partnered with Bell since 2019 and was on the car for his first NCS victory in 2021 on the Daytona Road Course and his most recent win at Loudon.
- JGR AT DAYTONA: Joe Gibbs Racing owns eight NCS victories at DIS. In 159 combined starts, the organization has tallied 36 top-five finishes, 49 top-10s and 2.038 laps led.
- RACE INFO: The Coke Zero Sugar 400 at DIS begins at 7:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 27, 2022. The race will be broadcast live on NBC, Sirius XM 90, and MRN Radio.
From the Cockpit:
Christopher Bell: “The name of the game at Daytona is to be there at the end. I’ve had superspeedway races where I’ve been in position to win or run well at and it didn’t work out, trying to get to the end is very difficult but it is our goal this weekend.”
JGR PR | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/nascar-cup-series-news/72299-christopher-bell-no-20-rheem-toyota-camry-trd-preview-daytona-international-speedway | 2022-08-25T00:07:58Z | speedwaydigest.com | control | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/nascar-cup-series-news/72299-christopher-bell-no-20-rheem-toyota-camry-trd-preview-daytona-international-speedway | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Joey Logano, the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series Champion, and Team Penske have reached an agreement on a long-term contract extension that will keep the winning racer behind the wheel of the No. 22 Ford Mustang for years to come.
“Over the last 10 years Joey has become such an important part of Team Penske and we know he will continue to be a leader and a winner with the No. 22 Ford team well into the future,” said Roger Penske. “Joey is a great champion of our sport and we are proud of how he continues to produce for our team and represent all of our partners, including Shell, Pennzoil and Ford. He also brings veteran leadership to our program, serving as a great mentor and teammate to both Ryan (Blaney) and Austin (Cindric). With all he has achieved in his career, he still has a lot left to accomplish with Team Penske.”
Logano has emerged as one of the most consistent winners in the NASCAR Cup Series since he joined Team Penske prior to the start of the 2013 season. Over the course of his 10 years with the team, Logano has earned 27 Cup Series victories and produced many notable achievements, including winning the 2015 Daytona 500, the 2016 NASCAR All-Star race, the 2021 Bristol Dirt race and the first race in the Next Gen era – the 2022 Clash at the Coliseum.
He also delivered one of the most memorable championship performances in recent NASCAR history in 2018 when he won the final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway, to bring home Team Penske’s second-ever NASCAR Cup Series Championship.
“Since taking over the No. 22 car at Team Penske, I’ve had the opportunity to accomplish so many of my dreams both on and off the track.” said Logano. “For the last 10 years, Roger has provided me the resources to be competitive, a team that stands behind me and leadership that is second to none. I’m excited to be continuing our relationship together so we can keep focusing on winning races, more championships and doing what we do for many years to come.”
Since he joined Team Penske, Logano has qualified for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in all but one season. Logano has also reached the Championship Four in the Playoffs four times while competing for the team.
This season, Logano is currently fourth in the Cup Series point standings, with two wins, seven top-five results and 12 top-10 finishes, along with one pole, in 2022. Entering this weekend’s race at Daytona International Speedway, Logano is seeded fourth for the upcoming NASCAR Playoffs.
Team Penske PR | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/nascar-cup-series-news/72302-nascar-champion-joey-logano-and-team-penske-agree-to-contract-extension | 2022-08-25T00:08:04Z | speedwaydigest.com | control | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/nascar-cup-series-news/72302-nascar-champion-joey-logano-and-team-penske-agree-to-contract-extension | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Daniel Hemric, No. 16 Cirkul Camaro ZL1
- Daniel Hemric has three starts and has led one lap at Daytona in the NCS
- He has led one lap at Daytona in the NCS
- So far in the 2022 NCS season, Hemric has one top-10 finish and two top-15 finishes, with an average finish of 16.2 across five starts
“Heading to Daytona, I am excited to have a fresh start after Watkins Glen. Our guys at Kaulig Racing have been working super hard to prepare our superspeedway cars. I’m also excited to be back in the cup car with Kaulig Racing after a couple really good runs together earlier in the season, including the Daytona 500. Our awesome partner, Cirkul, will be onboard for both races, which is extremely special. Hopefully we can stay clean until the end with our teammates."
- Daniel Hemric on Daytona
Justin Haley, No. 31 Celsius Camaro ZL1
- Justin Haley has made four starts at Daytona, winning in only his first start in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in 2019
- Haley has two top-10s, has an average finish of 10.8 and has led one lap at Daytona
- He has earned one top five, two top 10s and and nine top-15 finishes in 2022
- Haley has led 20 laps in the 2022 season
"Daytona has always been a great track for me. It’s super special that Matt and Chris are letting me drive their race car. I always enjoy that Friday night Xfinity Race. It’s also cool to bring a new sponsor to the sport (DaaBIN Store), and it’s a huge deal for them to be at a big race like Daytona. Having a good team, strategy and spotter are vital. Everything just needs to sync up to be able to pull off a win at Daytona. It's a pretty cool opportunity for Matt to have four shots at getting a trophy. I am excited for it, as well as competing in the race on Saturday night in our No. 31 Celsius Camaro in a race that I have won in the past."
- Justin Haley on Daytona
Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola
Daytona International Speedway
NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS)
Friday, August 26 at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA
- Kaulig Racing has earned three wins, 15 top five and 37 top-10 finishes in the 2022 NXS season
- The team has led 344 laps in the 2022 NXS season so far
- Allmendinger: 274 laps
- Hemric: 53 laps
- Cassill: 17 Laps
Landon Cassill, No. 10 Voyager Chevrolet
- Landon Cassill has made 10 starts at Daytona in the NXS and has earned one top-five finish
- Landon Cassill has earned three top five and eight top-10 finishes in the 2022 NXS season
- He has led 17 laps so far in the 2022 NXS season
“I am looking forward to getting to Daytona, a place Kaulig Racing is always so strong at. We have such a great superspeedway program here, and now with the addition of Justin (Haley) to our Xfinity Series lineup, I’m super optimistic. If we can get all the Kaulig Chevrolets lined up and there at the end, we will be tough to beat.”
- Landon Cassill on Daytona
Daniel Hemric, No. 11 Cirkul Chevrolet
- Daniel Hemric has earned one top-five, three top 10s and has an average finish of 20.4 at Daytona across eight starts
- He has led 45 laps at Daytona in the NXS
- Hemric has earned two top fives, eight top-10 finishes and has led 53 laps in the 2022 NXS season
Justin Haley, No. 14 DaaBIN Store Chevrolet
- Justin Haley has earned two wins at Daytona in the NXS, the two, most recent Wawa 250 races
- Haley has earned three top fives, four top-10 finishes and has led 29 laps at Daytona in the NXS
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet
- Allmendinger has three top-five finishes at Daytona and an average finish of 12.4 across five starts
- Allmendinger has led 138 laps at Daytona in the NXS
- He has earned a win for Kaulig Racing in four-straight NXS seasons
- In 2022, Allmendinger has led 274 laps, recorded three wins, 10 top five and 19 top-10 finishes
- Allmendinger has an average finish of 6.7 in the 2022 NXS season
"Daytona is a fun place to go to being so rich with NASCAR history. Anything can happen at these superspeedways, which means we have to execute in every aspect. This is a track Matt Kaulig loves, and that makes us want to win that much more for him. I think we have a great opportunity with my teammate, Justin Haley, coming back to the Xfinity Series after winning this race last year."
- AJ Allmendinger on Daytona
Kaulig Racing PR | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/nascar-cup-series-news/72315-kaulig-racing-weekly-advance-daytona-international-speedway | 2022-08-25T00:08:24Z | speedwaydigest.com | control | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/nascar-cup-series-news/72315-kaulig-racing-weekly-advance-daytona-international-speedway | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Shining Bright in the ‘Sunshine State’
In 220 NCS starts at Daytona, RFK has recorded seven wins, 42 top-fives, 80 top-10s and has led 909 laps. Stenhouse earned the win in this race five years ago, the organizations most recent win overall. RFK also has five poles in the Cup series at Daytona, with the most recent coming in 2016 with Greg Biffle.
Two Trips to Victory Lane in 2017
Just two years after earning his first ever NASCAR win, Ryan Reed survived a wild kickoff to the 2017 season. He survived multiple on-track incidents after starting on the outside of the front row and led only nine laps, but the final two, en route to the win over a host of Cup regulars.
Then, in July of 2017, Stenhouse found himself in victory lane for the second time after leading 17 laps in his Fifth Third Ford. Stenhouse first led at lap 86, and from there survived a total of 14 cautions for 51 laps in what was his second win of the season.
Born in the USA
RFK has recorded five victories in the July event at Daytona, including the organization’s first at the high-banked oval with former driver Jeff Burton in 2000. Former RFK drivers Greg Biffle, Jamie McMurray and David Ragan earned victories in 2003, 2007 and 2011, respectively. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. earned the fifth in 2017.
RFK PR | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/nascar-cup-series-news/72318-rfk-weekly-advance-daytona-ii | 2022-08-25T00:08:36Z | speedwaydigest.com | control | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/nascar-cup-series-news/72318-rfk-weekly-advance-daytona-ii | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
J.D. McDuffie’s legacy lives on, through his fans.
Throughout his four decades racing against NASCAR's best, John Delphus "J.D." McDuffie proudly carried the name of his hometown on the side of his iconic No. 70 racecar.
Sanford, North Carolina will honor McDuffie with a mural on 329 Carthage Street. Spearheaded by the McDuffie family and funded by fans around the world, the J.D. McDuffie mural will recognize a driver who gave everything to the sport of stock car racing, right up to his untimely death during a race in Watkins Glen, New York in 1991. The mural will also honor the close-knit crew who helped keep the No. 70 car and driver on track. On Labor Day, the City of Sanford and its residents will come together once again on J.D. McDuffie Day to celebrate the NASCAR legend. This year’s festivities will include the mural unveiling, cruise in, music, face painting, food trucks, raffles, and vendors. All proceeds and donations from the event will benefit the J.D. McDuffie scholarship to Central Carolina Community College. The first J.D. McDuffie Day was held in 1966 and funds for the mural are still being raised through GoFundMe (https://go fund.me/73b8a8fb).
The mural will be just the latest in a series of efforts that have brought McDuffie's story back into the public consciousness. When author Brock Beard published McDuffie's biography in 2018 (https://www.amazon.com/J-D- Forgotten-NASCAR-Legend/dp/1643707957), the story of the soft-spoken racer rekindled memories of those who knew him and attracted the attention of a new generation of fans. Later that year, the International Motor Racing Research Center inducted McDuffie into their "Walk of Fame," located just down the road from the Watkins Glen International Speedway where his life ended. McDuffie is also a member of the Augusta International Raceway’s Preservation Society Hall of Fame. However, the biggest goal remains, an induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte.
There have also been efforts to honor McDuffie's memory through the vintage racing community. Two of McDuffie’s former race cars have been saved from the scrapyard and are in different phases of restoration. Charles Poindexter obtained the Chevrolet with which McDuffie earned his only pole position at Dover International Speedway in 1978. In Jackson, Michigan in 2019, the Bailey family who are longtime sponsors of McDuffie, rescued the last car McDuffie ran at Dover in 1991. The Bailey family also owns McDuffie's famous "Ol' Blue" transporter, which made an appearance during the NASCAR throwback weekend at Darlington Raceway during the 2017 season. Front Row Motorsports entered a car in the Southern 500 that resembled McDuffie's No. 70 Chevrolet, complete with sponsorship from the Bailey's company, Bailey Excavating, and longtime sponsor Rumple Furniture of Elkin, North Carolina.
J.D. McDuffie PR
J.D. McDuffie Day Mural Unveiling
Speedway Digest Staff
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- RFK Weekly Advance | Daytona II | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/racing-news/72294-j-d-mcduffie-day-mural-unveiling | 2022-08-25T00:08:55Z | speedwaydigest.com | control | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/racing-news/72294-j-d-mcduffie-day-mural-unveiling | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
SHANGHAI, Aug. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE: ZTO and SEHK: 2057), a leading and fast-growing express delivery company in China ("ZTO" or the "Company"), today announced the pricing of US$870 million in aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes due 2027 (the "Notes") (the "Notes Offering"). The Notes have been offered to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers in reliance on the exemption from registration provided by Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). In addition, the Company has granted the initial purchaser in the Notes Offering an option, exercisable for settlement within a 13-day period, beginning on and including the date of the Notes Offering, to purchase up to an additional US$130 million in aggregate principal amount of the Notes.
The Company plans to use a portion of the net proceeds from the Notes Offering to pay the cost of the capped call transactions as described below. The Company plans to use the remainder of the net proceeds from the Notes Offering for (i) enhancement of the scale and capability of our logistics operations; (ii) investment in the logistics ecosystem; and (iii) working capital and other general corporate purposes.
When issued, the Notes will be general senior unsecured obligations of ZTO. The Notes will mature on September 1, 2027, unless earlier redeemed, repurchased or converted in accordance with their terms prior to such date.
Holders may convert the Notes at any time prior to the close of business on the fifth scheduled trading day immediately preceding the maturity date. The initial conversion rate of the Notes is 31.6296 of the Company's American Depositary Shares ("ADSs"), each currently representing one Class A ordinary share of the Company, per US$1,000 principal amount of Notes (which is equivalent to an initial conversion price of approximately US$31.62 per ADS and represents a conversion premium of approximately 30% above the New York Stock Exchange closing price of the Company's ADSs on August 24, 2022, which was US$24.32 per ADS). The conversion rate for the Notes is subject to adjustment upon the occurrence of certain events.
The Company may redeem for cash all but not part of the Notes at any time if less than 10% of the aggregate principal amount of Notes originally issued remains outstanding at such time (the "Cleanup Redemption"). The Company may also redeem for cash all but not part of the Notes in the event of certain tax law changes (the "Tax Redemption").
In connection with the pricing of the Notes, the Company has entered into capped call transactions with an affiliate of the initial purchaser and another financial institution (the "Option Counterparties"). The capped call transactions are generally expected to reduce potential dilution to the ADSs and the Class A ordinary shares of the Company represented thereby upon conversion of the Notes, and/or offset any cash payments the Company is required to make in excess of the principal amount of converted Notes, with such reduction of potential dilution and/or offset of cash payments, as the case may be, subject to a cap, and subject to the Company's ability to elect, subject to certain conditions, to settle the capped call transactions in cash (in which case the Company would not receive any ADSs from the Option Counterparties upon settlement of the capped call transactions). If the initial purchaser exercises its option to purchase additional Notes, the Company expects to use a portion of the net proceeds from the sale of the additional Notes to enter into additional capped call transactions. The Company has been advised that, in connection with establishing their initial hedge positions with respect to the capped call transactions, the Option Counterparties or their respective affiliates expect to purchase the ADSs and/or enter into various derivative transactions with respect to the ADSs concurrently with, or shortly after, the pricing of the Notes. The effect, if any, of this activity, including the direction or magnitude, on the market price of the ADSs or the price of the Notes will depend on a variety of factors, including market conditions, and cannot be ascertained at this time.
In addition, the Option Counterparties or their respective affiliates may modify their hedge positions by entering into or unwinding various derivative transactions with respect to the ADSs, the Notes or other securities of the Company and/or purchasing or selling the ADSs, the Notes or other securities of the Company in secondary market transactions following the pricing of the Notes and prior to the maturity of the Notes (and are likely to do so following any conversion of the Notes or repurchase of the Notes by the Company on any fundamental change repurchase date, the repurchase date or otherwise, in each case, if the Company elects to unwind the relevant portion of the capped call transactions early). Any of this activity could cause or avoid an increase or a decrease in the market price of the ADSs, other securities of the Company or the price of the Notes, which could affect whether the holders convert their Notes and the value of the consideration that holders will receive upon conversion of their Notes.
The Notes will bear interest at a rate of 1.50% per year, payable semiannually in arrears on March 1 and September 1 of each year, beginning on March 1, 2023.
About ZTO
ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE: ZTO and SEHK:2057) ("ZTO" or the "Company") is a leading and fast-growing express delivery company in China. ZTO provides express delivery service as well as other value-added logistics services through its extensive and reliable nationwide network coverage in China.
ZTO operates a highly scalable network partner model, which the Company believes is best suited to support the significant growth of e-commerce in China. The Company leverages its network partners to provide pickup and last-mile delivery services, while controlling the mission-critical line-haul transportation and sorting network within the express delivery service value chain.
For more information, please visit http://zto.investorroom.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains statements that may constitute "forward-looking" statements pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. ZTO may also make forward-looking statements in the Company's periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), in its interim and annual reports to shareholders, in announcements, circulars or other publications made on the website of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the " Hong Kong Stock Exchange" ), in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology, such as " will," " expects," " anticipates," " future," " intends," " plans," " believes," " confidence," " estimates," "likely to" and similar statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Among other things, the terms of the Notes, and whether the Company will complete the Notes Offering, are forward-looking statements. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the development of the e-commerce industry in China, its significant reliance on the Alibaba ecosystem, risks associated with its network partners and their employees and personnel, intense competition which could adversely affect the Company's results of operations and market share, any service disruption of the Company's sorting hubs or the outlets operated by its network partners or its technology system. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in ZTO's annual report on Form 20-Fs and other filings with the SEC and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. All information provided in this press release is current as of the date hereof, and ZTO assumes no obligation to update such information, except as required under applicable law.
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SOURCE ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. | https://www.witn.com/prnewswire/2022/08/24/zto-prices-offering-us870-million-convertible-senior-notes/ | 2022-08-25T00:09:02Z | witn.com | control | https://www.witn.com/prnewswire/2022/08/24/zto-prices-offering-us870-million-convertible-senior-notes/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon will briefly step out of retirement to race in the IMSA-sanctioned Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands on Sept. 2-4 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
Highlighting the weekend for three-time Daytona 500 winner Gordon will be a reunion with longtime and storied crew chief Ray Evernham. It marks the first time the championship-winning combination has teamed together since 1999. Gordon joins an entry list of over 30 Porsche specialists all driving Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars in competition on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile, road course at the world’s most famous racetrack.
SEE: Porsche Sports Car Together Fest Tickets
“I’m looking forward to getting back in a race car and competing against a talented field of teams and drivers,” NASCAR Hall of Fame member Gordon said. “It’s always special when I get a chance to compete at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ray and I have always talked about running another race together, and we felt like Indy was the perfect place. It’ll be a fun way to spend the holiday weekend and make some new memories.”
Gordon will drive the No. 24 entry in the Invitational class of the premier Porsche one-make race series in North America as part of the second-annual Porsche Sports Car Together Fest.
The 93-time NASCAR Cup race winner is no stranger to either road courses or IMS. Gordon spent his teenage years in nearby Pittsboro, Indiana, is a record five-time Brickyard 400 winner at IMS and holds the NASCAR Cup Series record for most road course victories (nine). In 2017, Gordon won the Rolex 24 At Daytona overall in his second attempt, becoming one of only four drivers to win both the Daytona 500 and the Daytona 24-hour race. In 2003, he had his first taste of the Indy road course in a famous “seat swap” with Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya.
Opening practice for the two 40-minute Carrera Cup races will take place Friday, Sept. 2, followed by qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday, Sept. 3 and Race 2 scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 4. Visit here for ticket information and to buy tickets.
Live timing and scoring of each session can be found at www.PorscheCarreraCup.us. The races will be broadcast live on the official series web site – www.porschecarreracup.us – as well as on IMSA.TV. IMSA Radio will provide play-by-play commentary.
IMS PR | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/speedway-news/72301-brickyard-icon-gordon-to-race-labor-day-weekend-porsche-event-at-ims | 2022-08-25T00:09:14Z | speedwaydigest.com | control | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/speedway-news/72301-brickyard-icon-gordon-to-race-labor-day-weekend-porsche-event-at-ims | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Daytona International Speedway will unveil its two newly-updated, three-sided, LED trilon leaderboards, which will broadcast in over 281 trillion colors, during this weekend’s Wawa 250 Powered by Coca Cola and the Coke Zero Sugar 400.
The trilon leaderboards, which are located on opposite ends of the front stretch, have stood tall for years in the UNOH Fanzone near the NASCAR Cup Series garage and at pit road exit. Now featuring three crisp, colorful LED screens, they stand approximately 77-feet tall and 10-feet wide so fans in all sections of the venue can get a clear look at driver positions as they continuously swap throughout the races. With the ability to broadcast in more than 281 trillion colors, the newly skinned trilons will shine bright in the evening sky, as the sun sets throughout the two anticipated nighttime races (Aug 26 & Aug. 27).
Both scoring towers will now offer incredible and unique technological features, which include:
- Each leaderboard panel has 737.28 square-feet of LEDs
- Leaderboards will be integrated with live NASCAR Timing and Scoring feeds to allow for fans to track their favorite driver
- Color Capacity is 281 trillion colors
- Each leaderboard has a total of 2,211.84 square-feet of active LED
- Each LED module measures 14.4 x 14.4 inches
- Total number of LED modules for each side of the leaderboard is 512
- Each three-sided leaderboard has a total of 1,536 total LED modules
- LED Lifetime is 100,000 hours
- 256 levels of dimming capabilities
- Ability to play separate and/or different content on each side of any of the leaderboards simultaneously
- Total weight of the LED Panels per leaderboard is 19,968 lbs.
- Content can be displayed in static or motion formats
Connected to each of the scoring trilons is a jumbotron (26’ x 48’) where fans can catch additional replays of the most intense moments of the Wawa 250 and Coke Zero Sugar 400, as life-like as watching it in real time. The track has a total of four jumbotrons that line pit road, with two attached to the leaderboards and the others behind the middle sections of pit road. The two screens in that middle sector are larger in size (40’ x 80’), allowing fans to see the action LIVE from the mammoth grandstands, allowing fans to watch the video boards for even more content during the races on the iconic 2.5-mile tri-oval.
The giant video boards will also be used as a part of the #LightUpDAYTONA experience via the NASCAR Tracks App. Fans can download the app to become a part of the light show that will take place after the pre-race ceremonies on both Friday and Saturday, then again after the 2nd stage break in Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400. When prompted, fans will open the app, face their cameras towards the track, and after clicking “light show”, their phone flashlights will light up the grandstands in tune with the vibrant video display reflected on those video boards.
These latest electronic additions are part of a host of new amenities designed to enhance the fan experience at Daytona International Speedway, along with UNOH Fanzone and Kid’s VIP Experiences, the various entertainment performances, and so many more race weekend festivities.
The leaderboards and jumbo screens will be alive during pre-race activities and during the action of the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca Cola on Friday at 7:30 p.m., then again during the battle that will ensue in the final race of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season – the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday at 7 p.m.
For information regarding ticket purchasing or further details about the upcoming race weekend at the World Center of Racing, visit www.
Fans can also stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well as the all-new NASCAR Tracks App, for the latest speedway news.
DIS PR | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/speedway-news/72304-want-clear-colorful-informative-new-led-scoring-trilons-to-enhance-fan-experience-at-daytona-international-speedway-during-this-weekend-s-coke-zero-sugar-400-wawa-250 | 2022-08-25T00:09:21Z | speedwaydigest.com | control | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/speedway-news/72304-want-clear-colorful-informative-new-led-scoring-trilons-to-enhance-fan-experience-at-daytona-international-speedway-during-this-weekend-s-coke-zero-sugar-400-wawa-250 | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
To celebrate its 75th anniversary, Martinsville Speedway will welcome fans to the track for an evening of activities on Wednesday, Sept. 7 from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. To thank fans for their continuous support over 75 years, Martinsville Speedway will offer free Martinsville Hot Dogs, cold beverages, birthday cake, live music, iconic photo moments with the 75th anniversary logo and Martinsville Speedway grandfather clock, and track laps for fans in their personal vehicles. All activities are free to the public for the track’s iconic 75th anniversary.
“Martinsville Speedway is home to some of the most historic moments in NASCAR history and every memorable moment has been filled with the cheers of our loyal race fans,” said Clay Campbell, Martinsville Speedway President. “To share our gratitude, we are inviting the community and race fans across the country to celebrate with us on the anniversary of our first race.”
Founded by H. Clay Earles, Martinsville Speedway held its first race on Sept. 7, 1947, three months before the creation of NASCAR, with 9,013 fans and 750 seats ready on its original dirt track. On Sept. 25, 1949, future NASCAR Hall of Famer Red Byron won the first NASCAR race held at the Martinsville Speedway dirt track. Bill France Sr., founder of NASCAR and inaugural inductee to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, joined Earles as a 50 percent partner on the track in the early 1950’s.
Martinsville Speedway is the only NASCAR track to host NASCAR Cup Series races every year since its inception in 1949. The track was paved in 1955 and remains the shortest track on the Cup Series schedule at .526 miles. Its width is 55 feet with 800-foot asphalt straights and tight 588-foot concrete turns, banked at 12 degrees.
In 1964, Earles decided it was time for a “different” type of trophy for race winners, so the track introduced the Martinsville grandfather clock in Victory Lane. The grandfather clocks are manufactured by a local company, Ridgeway Clocks, as part of a historic tradition that continues to this day. Fred Lorenzen won the first Martinsville grandfather clock.
Earles remained chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Martinsville Speedway until his death on Nov. 16, 1999. In 2017, he was recognized with the NASCAR Hall of Fame Landmark Award. From Martinsville Speedway’s founding, Earles believed in offering fans an exceptional experience for a reasonable price.
“You’ll sell the fan a memory as much as you’ll sell them a ticket, and if the memory is good, they’ll come back,” shared Earles in 1998.
Clay Campbell carried on his grandfather’s legacy by joining Martinsville Speedway in 1978 and becoming track president in 1988. Campbell, the longest serving track president in NASCAR, has led Martinsville Speedway’s continued success at the track and the organization’s active role giving back to the local community.
After 70 years of racing, Martinsville Speedway became the first major motorsports facility in the nation to install LED lights in 2017. In the fall of that year, Martinsville’s Cup Series race was the first to finish under the lights at the track. On June 20, 2020, the first full Cup Series night race at Martinsville Speedway was won by Martin Truex Jr.
In April, the NASCAR Hall of Fame and Martinsville Speedway unveiled a year-long exhibit honoring the track’s historic 75th Anniversary season. The first-ever exhibit showcases many historic Martinsville Speedway artifacts including the first Martinsville Speedway grandfather clock that was awarded to Fred Lorenzen on Sept. 27, 1964, the last non-grandfather clock winner’s trophy awarded to Fred Lorenzen on April 26, 1964, Jeff Gordon Helmet from his 93rd and final career victory (and ninth at Martinsville) on Nov. 1, 2015, and more.
To plan a visit to the NASCAR Hall of Fame and view the Martinsville Speedway 75th anniversary exhibit, visit www.nascarhall.com/explore/
As Martinsville Speedway celebrates its 75th anniversary, the track will continue to recognize and honor its history throughout the year. For more information on Martinsville Speedway’s 75th anniversary season, visit www.martinsvillespeedway.com/
Martinsville Speedway PR | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/speedway-news/72312-martinsville-speedway-to-celebrate-75th-anniversary-of-first-race-with-martinsville-speedway-day-on-sept-7 | 2022-08-25T00:09:45Z | speedwaydigest.com | control | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/speedway-news/72312-martinsville-speedway-to-celebrate-75th-anniversary-of-first-race-with-martinsville-speedway-day-on-sept-7 | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Tickets for the 49th running of the NAPA Auto Parts Fall Final scheduled for Saturday, September 24th are now on sale. New for 2022, the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series will compete in an 80-lap, $15,000 to win feature. With 40+ teams expected to compete, just qualifying for the event will be a challenge. Expected drivers include 50th Spring Sizzler® winner Matt Hirschman, 2022 Open Modified winners Woody Pitkat and Ronnie Williams, 2014 NAPA Fall Final winner Ryan Preece, 2017 NAPA Fall Final winner Eric Goodale, and more.
Order NAPA Auto Parts Fall Final Tickets
Also on the card for Saturday, September 24th will be a 40-lap SK Modified® race with big points implications, the Vintage All-Stars, and the newly added SK Light Invitational non-points race. Invited to the SK Light Invitational will be any driver who has not won an SK Light Modified race at Stafford in 2022. All 5 of Stafford’s weekly divisions are also scheduled to run the night prior, Friday, September 23rd, under the lights to kick off NAPA Fall Final Weekend. The previously scheduled Open Street Stock race has been removed from the schedule.
“There are so many storylines heading into the NAPA Fall Final,” explained Stafford Speedway CEO Mark Arute. “$15,000 to win Modified race, two SK Modified® championship point races in two days, and a unique twist for some of our SK Light Modified competitors. We’re looking forward to a great weekend.”
Tickets are now available online at staffordspeedway.com/tickets. Visit the event page for more information, full event schedule, and up to date NAPA Fall Final entry-list to be released in the coming weeks.
Order NAPA Auto Parts Fall Final Tickets
For more information, visit www.staffordspeedway.com, checkout Stafford Speedway on Facebook or Twitter, or contact the track office at 860-684-2783.
Stafford Speedway PR | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/speedway-news/72313-napa-auto-parts-fall-final-tickets-now-on-sale-sk-light-invitational-added | 2022-08-25T00:09:52Z | speedwaydigest.com | control | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/speedway-news/72313-napa-auto-parts-fall-final-tickets-now-on-sale-sk-light-invitational-added | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
With only one spot remaining in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, the regular-season finale will be presented this Saturday in primetime at historic Daytona International Speedway at 7 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. NASCAR America post-race coverage will begin immediately following the checkered flag at 11 p.m. ET exclusively on Peacock. This will mark the third consecutive year that Daytona will host the final race of the regular season.
Kyle Larson won last weekend at Watkins Glen International for his second victory of the season. 15 drivers have won a race this season in the Cup Series, leaving a single open position for the playoffs with Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., and Bubba Wallace leading the list of drivers still looking to secure a spot in the playoffs. Blaney currently leads Truex Jr. by 25 points in the final playoff position.
Last weekend’s Cup Series race from Watkins Glen International averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 2.619 million viewers on USA Network, up 20% from last year’s race on NBCSN. Watkins Glen marked NBC Sports’ seventh consecutive Cup Series race and sixth consecutive USA Network Cup Series race with year-over-year viewership gains.
NASCAR race coverage from Daytona will begin Friday in primetime at 7 p.m. ET with Countdown to Green on USA Network, leading into the Xfinity Series Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network. Four races remain in the 2022 Xfinity Series regular season. NBC Sports digital platforms will live stream all television coverage this weekend.
Due to local programming, the Cup Series race on Saturday will air on WBAL 11.2 MeTV in Baltimore, WKCF in Orlando, KTVK in Phoenix and WMOR in Tampa. Check local listings in Lancaster/Harrisburg (Pa.), Philadelphia and Washington, DC. Viewers in all markets can live stream the race on Peacock, NBCSports.com or the NBC Sports app.
Two-time Daytona 500 Champion and NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., 21-time Cup Series race winner and “The Mayor” of NASCAR Jeff Burton, and Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte will serve as analysts for the Cup and Xfinity Series races this weekend from Daytona with lead NASCAR race announcer Rick Allen. Marty Snider, Parker Kligerman and Dave Burns will serve as pit reporters.
NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Dale Jarrett and Dale Earnhardt Jr., both four-time winners at Daytona International Speedway with five combined Daytona 500 victories, will appear together at the front of the grid during Saturday’s Countdown to Green pre-race coverage. JTG Daugherty Racing team owner Brad Daugherty will join Jeff Burton and host Marty Snider anchoring coverage from the Peacock Pit Box.
NBC Sports’ Rutledge Wood will serve as a “CityView” reporter and share stories from Daytona Beach and the Streamline Hotel, commonly referred to as the birthplace of NASCAR, on Friday and Saturday.
NASCAR Xfinity standings leader Ty Gibbs joins this week’s The Dale Jr. Download episode premiering Thursday at 5 p.m. ET on Peacock and on Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET on USA Network following NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying and leading into NASCAR Cup Series qualifying.
The official home of the NASCAR Championship and Playoffs, NBC Sports will once again present the final 20 NASCAR Cup Series races and 19 NASCAR Xfinity Series races in 2022 across NBC, Peacock and USA Network, culminating with the Championship at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 5-6. Click here for more information on NBC Sports’ 2022 NASCAR coverage.
NASCAR Pick ‘Em: NBC Sports’ free-to-play game, NASCAR Pick ‘Em, features a weekly contest for each NASCAR Cup Series race throughout the season. NASCAR Pick ‘Em is available for download now on the NBC Sports Predictor app powered by PointsBet (available in the App Store and Google Play Store).
Austin Dillon's Life in the Fast Lane airs each Thursday at 9:30 p.m. ET on USA Network. The half-hour unscripted series will follow the over-the-top NASCAR lifestyle of Daytona 500 Champion Austin Dillon, along with wife Whitney, adorable son Ace, and best friends Paul and Mariel Swan. Featuring high-stakes races, hilarious adventures and heartwarming moments at home, Austin leans on his loved ones both on and off the track as he trains and competes in the NASCAR season.
BROADCAST TEAM
- Analysts: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte
- Play by Play: Rick Allen
- Pit Reporters: Marty Snider, Parker Kligerman, Dave Burns
- “CityView” Reporter: Rutledge Wood
STUDIO COVERAGE TEAM
- Host: Marty Snider
- Analysts: Dale Jarrett, Brad Daugherty
HOW TO WATCH
- TV – NBC, USA Network
- Streaming – Peacock, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app
IMSA: MICHELIN GT CHALLENGE AT VIR
BROADCAST TEAM
- Play by Play: Leigh Diffey
- Analyst: Calvin Fish
- Pit Reporters: Kevin Lee, Matt Yocum
Live coverage of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Michelin GT Challenge at VIR in Alton, Vir., is presented this Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on CNBC and Peacock. The two hour and 40-minute race, which marks the penultimate event of the 2022 season, features two car classes in competition: GT Daytona (GTD) and GT Daytona Pro (GTD PRO).
MONSTER JAM
NBC Sports presents the 2022 Monster Jam World Finals this Saturday from Orlando, Fla., at noon ET on CNBC. The complete schedule can be found here.
NBC Sports PR | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/speedway-news/72316-nascar-cup-series-regular-season-finale-from-daytona-international-speedway-presented-this-saturday-at-7-p-m-et-on-nbc-peacock | 2022-08-25T00:09:58Z | speedwaydigest.com | control | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/speedway-news/72316-nascar-cup-series-regular-season-finale-from-daytona-international-speedway-presented-this-saturday-at-7-p-m-et-on-nbc-peacock | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Effective today, JR Motorsports and its director of competition, Ryan Pemberton, announced the decision to amicably part ways.
Pemberton has been with JRM since 2012, overseeing car research and development and managing competition and personnel for JRM’s four NASCAR Xfinity Series teams. Under his guidance the team has won three NXS championships (2014, 2017 and 2018) and 58 races, bringing the organization’s tally to 67 victories to date.
“Ryan has been essential to JRM’s success over the past decade,” said L.W. Miller, JRM’s director of motorsports. “We asked a lot of him when he came here in 2012, and he not only embraced the challenge, but he helped us right the ship. In the process, he laid the groundwork for a winning culture. Ryan’s given this organization a tremendous amount and I can’t thank him enough.”
In the 2014 season, Pemberton took on the additional responsibility of crew chief for JRM’s No. 7 team. He led then-driver Regan Smith to a season-opening win at Daytona International Speedway en route to a runner-up finish in the championship point standings.
“There are so many talented people at JR Motorsports and I’m fortunate to have been part of it,” said Pemberton. “We won a lot of races and a few championships, but more importantly we had fun doing it. I’m grateful to Dale, Kelley and L.W. for everything and so very proud of what we were able to accomplish together. I’m looking forward to spending some much-needed time with my family while I decide what the next chapter holds.”
In addition to his role as director of motorsports, Miller will serve as interim director of competition for the remainder of 2022.
JRM PR | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/xfinity-series-news/72298-jr-motorsports-and-director-of-competition-ryan-pemberton-part-ways | 2022-08-25T00:10:17Z | speedwaydigest.com | control | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/xfinity-series-news/72298-jr-motorsports-and-director-of-competition-ryan-pemberton-part-ways | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
JD Motorsports is excited to announce a continued sponsorship of the No. 4 car with Habana Brisa, Reef Friendly Suncare. Bayley Currey will head to Daytona this week paying tribute to the “Suntan King”, Ron Rice with a Habana Brisa decal on the lower quarter panel.
More than 50 years ago, Rice a former chemistry teacher, high school football coach, and Daytona Beach lifeguard became a global icon known as the “Suntan King”. It all started with Rice hand-mixing small batches of exotic ingredients in a galvanized trash can to create his legendary suncare formulas. With his special recipes, Ron founded Hawaiian Tropic and grew it to become an $8B global brand – No. 2 in the world, which was sold in 2007 to big industry.
Years later, Ron Rice did it again and launched Habana Brisa. With his focus on the environment, Ron had a vision to develop a full line of Reef Friendly Suncare products – he wanted to deliver sun protection made with the same exotic flora, fruit, and nut extracts he was famous for – but all made reef and inland waters friendly.
Rice who passed away May 19th at the age of 81, always had a love for NASCAR racing, dating back to his Hawaiian Tropic days where he made famous the red number No. 1 Hawaiian Tropic car driven by Bobby Allison. Ron had a fondness for Bayley Currey who he often compared racing styles to that of Bobby. “It’s an honor to carry his legacy on my car, he truly is a local legend in the Daytona area”, said Currey. “Daytona is such a great track with such a rich history. I am really looking forward to this weekend”.
Habana Brisa is now owned and led by CEO, Wendy Holly, a lifelong friend of Rice’s. “Anyone who met and knew Ron, their lives were enriched for the better. I’ve learned so much from him and I’m proud to carry the Habana Brisa brand forward in his honor. Ron was proud to be associated with Bayley Currey and Tony Priscaro of JD Motorsports and we’re thrilled that Ron’s memory will be honored this week at Daytona International Speedway. It’s a triple win to be part of a great race team, with great people and a great driver - at the birthplace of racing - in Ron’s hometown.”
Habana Brisa is now on Amazon and can also be purchased online at www.habanabrisa.com.
Currey, piloting the No. 4 Chevrolet, is currently 21st in the Xfinity Series Driver points standings. Next Race: Daytona International Speedway: Wawa 250; Qualifying Friday August 26, 2022 at 3:05pm (ET); Race 7pm (ET) 190 laps/250 miles.
JDM PR | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/xfinity-series-news/72300-bayley-currey-honoring-ron-rice-at-daytona | 2022-08-25T00:10:23Z | speedwaydigest.com | control | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/xfinity-series-news/72300-bayley-currey-honoring-ron-rice-at-daytona | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
No. 19 Menards/Patriot Lighting Toyota GR Supra News and Notes:
- JONES AT DAYTONA: Brandon Jones has 13 NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) starts at Daytona International Speedway (DIS). He has two top-five finishes, four top-10 finishes, one pole, and 12 laps led with an average start of 9.8 and an average finish of 19.3. Jones also has one K&N Pro Series East start at the track.
- FEATURED ON THE HOOD: The No. 19 Menards Toyota GR Supra will carry the Patriot Lighting logo on the hood this weekend at DIS. For more information, visit https://www.menards.com/.
- WATKINS GLEN XFINITY SERIES RECAP: Jones finished 24th in Saturday’s NXS race at Watkins Glen International. Jones was running solidly inside the top 10 during stage two before spinning after a bump from behind. He made his way back inside the top 15 in the closing laps before contact with a competitor sent the No. 19 Supra spinning in the final turn on the last lap.
- JGR AT DAYTONA: Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) drivers have combined for four wins in 111 starts at DIS. The team has won seven pole awards, finished in the top-five 28 times, the top-10 46 times, and has led a total of 700 laps.
- FOLLOW ALONG: Follow along for updates and a behind-the-scenes look at Jones 2022 NXS Season.
Twitter: @BrandonJonesRac I Facebook: Brandon Jones Racing I Instagram:@brandonjonesrac
- RACE INFO: The Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at DIS is scheduled for 7:30 PM EST on Friday, August 26. The race will be broadcasted on USA, MRN, Sirius XM and available to stream on the NBC Sports app.
From the Cockpit:
Brandon Jones: “Typically there is a lot more grip for this night race compared to the race during the day in February. The communication between me and Drew Herring (spotter) is the key to these superspeedways. It takes some really aggressive calls from him to maneuver where I need to be and then I have to trust those calls. Daytona is about mental strength and taking care of the car. The guys will bring a good car so it’ really on me and Drew to put us in the best position on the track to go out and get a good finish for the No. 19 Menards/Patriot Lighting GR Supra on Friday night.”
JGR PR | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/xfinity-series-news/72309-brandon-jones-no-19-menards-patriot-lighting-toyota-gr-supra-preview-wawa-250-powered-by-coca-cola-at-daytona-international-speedway | 2022-08-25T00:10:35Z | speedwaydigest.com | control | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/xfinity-series-news/72309-brandon-jones-no-19-menards-patriot-lighting-toyota-gr-supra-preview-wawa-250-powered-by-coca-cola-at-daytona-international-speedway | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
NASCAR driver Joey Gase, alongside McGruff the Crime Dog®, are spotlighting the harms of counterfeit products, at the WAWA 250 on August 26. With his #35 car displaying the Go For Real logo, Gase is promoting the successful anti-counterfeiting campaign, which is sponsored by the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to raise awareness of the importance of buying authentic products.
“I am extremely excited to be teaming up with McGruff the Crime Dog® this weekend in DAYTONA!” said Joey Gase. “I remember McGruff coming and visiting my class when I was in elementary school and how cool that was. I also know my boys will be so excited to meet McGruff at the track on Friday!”
This partnership is driven by NASCAR and Gase’s deep understanding of the harms that are caused by fakes. The Go For Real campaign educates fans and consumers on the dangers of dupes that permeate multiple industries, including professional sports.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has valued the counterfeit auto-part market at roughly $12 million annually, with 80% of these dupes coming from China.
“NASCAR drivers rely on the safety of real auto parts to compete in various races annually,” said Paul DelPonte, Executive Director of the NCPC home of McGruff the Crime Dog. “Whether on a track, or on the street, it is vital to choose real products that are tested for safety. Through this partnership we can reach millions of Americans with one message: You’re Smart. Buy Smart.”
“Buying smart and buying real is key to keeping our drivers, as well as our kids and loved ones, safe,” said Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO, and an amateur race car driver herself. “Counterfeit goods, which cross our borders into the U.S. at the rate of over $9 million in value per day, not only harm and cause death, they also take jobs away from American families. Whether it is car or video game components, make-up or prescription drugs, or purses and shoes, this pervasive criminal activity must be stopped. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and I are committed to cracking down on counterfeit goods for the benefit of every American and entrepreneur. I am thrilled that NASCAR – an iconic brand in and of itself – and driver Joey Gase are doing their part to change the narrative and shifting this import work into high gear.”
You can catch the crime fighters on the USA Network at 7:30EST.
For more information related to the Go For Real campaign, visit www.ncpc.org/goforreal or visit NCPC’s social media channels @McgruffatNCPC.
For more information related to Joey Gase, visit www.joeygaseracing.com or visit Joey’s social media channels @JoeyGaseRacing.
Joey Gase Racing PR | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/xfinity-series-news/72310-mcgruff-the-crime-dog-and-nascar-s-joey-gase-want-you-to-buy-smart | 2022-08-25T00:10:41Z | speedwaydigest.com | control | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/xfinity-series-news/72310-mcgruff-the-crime-dog-and-nascar-s-joey-gase-want-you-to-buy-smart | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
I loved a hardy breakfast back when I was growing up, with bacon, eggs, and hotcakes soaked in homemade maple syrup.
Or French toast cooked a golden brown with sausage on the side. And potatoes from the garden that were sliced, and butter fried.
...Thunderstorm outflow boundary will impact portions of northwestern Teton, southern Fremont, northwestern Jefferson, northern Madison and Clark Counties through 615 PM MDT... At 529 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a thunderstorm outflow boundary along a line extending from 9 miles northwest of Monteview to 9 miles northeast of Hamer to 10 miles east of Archer. Movement was northeast at 40 mph. HAZARD...Winds in excess of 40 mph and blowing dust. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects along iwht blowing dust reducing visibility. Locations impacted include... Rexburg, Ashton, Dubois, Idmon, Marysville, Sugar City, Teton, Parker, Spencer, Drummond, Egin, Kilgore, St Anthony, Chester, Ashton Reservoir, Plano, Warm River, Small, Humphrey and Newdale. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building. && MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN; MAX WIND GUST...40 MPH
I loved a hardy breakfast back when I was growing up, with bacon, eggs, and hotcakes soaked in homemade maple syrup.
Or French toast cooked a golden brown with sausage on the side. And potatoes from the garden that were sliced, and butter fried.
But Tuesdays and each Friday we’d have toast and steamed oatmeal. Back then I called it torture how it made my stomach feel.
To me there was no question why old timers called it gruel. If you really think about the name, it sounds a lot like cruel.
One day my father came to me and said, “Let’s make a deal. I’ll give you this old saddle if you’ll eat your danged oatmeal!
“You can have your pick of bridles or any tack in here. But you’ll have to eat your oatmeal, not complain for one full year.”
It sounded like a deal, but I was sure of dad’s intent. If I ate that goo for one full year, for certain I’d relent.
The day my long year started, Mom made oatmeal, just for fun. I gagged it with a smile. My stomach said, “Let’s cut and run!”
I conjured up so many ways to get the oatmeal down. I even added chocolate chips, which made my mother frown.
A glob of Karo syrup kept my gag reflex at bay. And it even helped pretending, I’m a horse whose eating hay.
For one full year I ate those oats. It seemed like every day. And never did I whine or cry. It was time to get my pay.
I told my dad our year was up but still I had concern. ‘Cuz the thought of eating steamed oatmeal still made my stomach churn.
My father looked at me and said, “I see you got it done. And you never even once complained. It didn’t look much fun.
“If the oatmeal tastes that bad to you, don’t eat it anymore. You can run this by your mother. I’ll let that be your chore.”
Well sixty years has come and gone. I still have my old saddle. But try and push oatmeal my way. You’ll have yourself a battle.
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A receipt was sent to your email. | https://www.tetonvalleynews.net/community/cowboy_poetry/i-hate-oatmeal/article_47c7d402-222c-11ed-8924-5b766b7e4730.html | 2022-08-25T00:23:34Z | tetonvalleynews.net | control | https://www.tetonvalleynews.net/community/cowboy_poetry/i-hate-oatmeal/article_47c7d402-222c-11ed-8924-5b766b7e4730.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Tentatively scheduled to open next year, East Idaho Credit Union is set to establish a new branch in Driggs.
While the project is currently in the permitting phases of development, chief marketing officer Steven Foster stated that “hopefully we’ll be able to break ground in the next month or two.”
A project rendering shows the location to be on the lot just north of the Basin Travel Stop located by the airport along Highway 33.
“Assuming we can get all the cement poured for the foundation before it gets too cold, we’ll be able to open this coming year,” said Foster.
EICU was founded in 1935 in Idaho Falls. The Driggs location would add to a regional presence that includes branches in Rexburg, St. Anthony, Ammon, Pocatello, and Idaho Falls. It would be the first credit union in Teton Valley.
“One of the things we were really looking for and was interesting about Driggs, is there are no credit unions in Driggs,” said Foster. “Our mission aligns nicely with the local culture in Driggs which is a lot different than most of Idaho. Your focus on small businesses and keeping things local fit really well into our mission.”
It would also make their services more accessible to EICU customers that live in Teton Valley.
“We realized gosh, there is a lot of good we could do in that market being the only credit union for starters and being able to put a financial resource in place for a lot of your residents that are already using us. We can be a lot more convenient for them,” said Foster.
Foster and EICU visited Driggs recently, talking with city officials including Driggs Mayor August Christensen. In those conversations, EICU touched on how their presence can assist the city in affordable housing efforts.
“I was meeting with the mayor this past Friday and one of the things that she, August, is focused on is affordable housing for residents of Driggs. That is something that we can actually help with. We are partnering with the city to help alleviate some of the struggles with affordable housing in the area as well as trying to keep the local aspects of your community and economy,” said Foster.
”EICU has shared they are interested in our community’s needs and are hoping to pitch in and make a difference,” said Christensen.
Credit unions differ from other financial institutions in that they are not-for-profit; the profits generated from interest fees and account fees go back to members through the products they offer. Traditional banks pass those profits on to their shareholders and investors.
“A lot of people when they hear credit union think oh, they’re nice people who do car loans. That is true, but what they probably don’t know is that we’re a full-service financial institution. Basically, anything that you need to do that you’re doing at one of the national banks that are living in Driggs you can do with us and we’re just as technically enabled,” said Foster.
EICU will also be a headline sponsor of the Teton Valley Block Party, set for Sept. 10 from 1-9 p.m. at Grand Teton Brewing Company in Victor.
“Because we are focused on the community we wanted to support the community in ways we felt are meaningful. When the brewery approached us with this event we felt this was a meaningful way we could support the Driggs area,” said Foster.
The event, meant to be a wide-ranging celebration of the community, will also feature a host of representatives from area nonprofits.
“I think it is good for the whole community and the nonprofits that are engaged with it. It is a really nice way to raise awareness for the different causes of these nonprofits and to be able to have a little fun while we’re at it,” said Foster.
Tickets for the Teton Valley Block Party can be purchased at grandtetonbrewing.com or on-site the day of the event. | https://www.tetonvalleynews.net/community/east-idaho-credit-union-to-open-branch-in-driggs/article_9417b9d0-14cf-5325-b527-6f56234766e3.html | 2022-08-25T00:23:40Z | tetonvalleynews.net | control | https://www.tetonvalleynews.net/community/east-idaho-credit-union-to-open-branch-in-driggs/article_9417b9d0-14cf-5325-b527-6f56234766e3.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
What is the most important role someone can have in local government?
There are a host of titles that come to mind. Each holds a responsibility that is crucial to our valley. These duties are intertwined with one another, and the job each person does correlates directly to the successes of Teton County, Idaho.
What holds all of us who live here together?
It isn’t any one public official or person. It’s the everyday tax-paying citizen.
Without them, we wouldn’t have essential services such as a sheriff’s office or a fire department. Roads would vanish, trash couldn’t be disposed of properly, and there wouldn’t be any leaders to govern this land.
Since 2001, Maureen Green’s livelihood has been funded by our people. Beginning in the clerk’s office, Green carved out a career of over 20 years of serving the people of our county. And she isn’t done yet.
Poking some jest at the current chief deputy treasurer, some in the courthouse asked her if this was going to be a farewell article.
“That is not what this is, I am still working and I hope to work a little bit longer,” said Green after a laugh.
The treasurer’s office is responsible for all of the county’s funds, reconciles accounts, collects and administers taxes, and keeps track of how much money the county has.
Green has been working in the treasury department since 2009 and has served under three different county treasurers. Her main duty is to assist the treasurer in the duties of the office. While each treasurer goes about the job a little differently, the same tasks remain.
“The same basic job has to be done. Everybody does it differently, they do their own procedures to reconcile and do different things. Everybody does things differently and I am kind of the old person there,” said Green with another laugh. “I was told once I have a hard time with change, and I do agree to that, but I am willing to change and do whatever the treasurer needs done or in the different ways they do it,” said Green.
A key to a successful department is easygoing and ideal working relationships, especially with each treasurer that comes and goes.
“We’re all friends and everyone wants everyone to succeed. I feel like with me, I am happy that someone else has that responsibility. I am happy that Liz (Card, county treasurer) is over me, she is very easy to work with and helpful and I am happy to teach her anything that I know. It all builds on that,” said Green.
Green has also worked with past treasurers Bev Palm and Bonnie Hatch. Green was in office for the end of the tenure of Hatch, who notably exemplified how important it is to have a great relationship with the public.
Remembering Hatch’s 28-year tenure as treasurer, Green recalled a moniker that a gentleman had greeted Hatch jokingly, but warmly with.
“She was friendly with everybody. She had a joke with a gentleman where he would come in and say, ‘Oh Bonnie, Death, and Taxes.’ That’s you.” said Green with a smile and a glisten in her eye. “She just really had a good relationship with people in the valley.”
Even though the growth the county has seen since Hatch’s time brings new and unfamiliar faces, the tradition of kindness lives on with Green.
“It used to be you knew everyone that came in, you still try to have that friendly face even though you don’t recognize all the names. You try to get to know the people but it has definitely changed. You still try to be friendly,” said Green.
Something both Green and Hatch disliked about the job is locating and working with delinquent taxpayers. Green learned from Hatch to be friendly and understanding while teaching them why taxes are important and where that money is applied.
“A lot of it is just to be friendly and to explain to them if they are delinquent or whatever the reason we can’t take it off or let me show you where your tax money is applied or anything that we can do to be their friend,” said Green.
Beyond dealing with delinquent taxpayers, that legacy of kindness has influenced every department in the courthouse.
“When you talk about my responsibility with elected officials, this thought, we rise by lifting others, I know my place and I try not to step on anyone’s toes and I am happy to teach and show different ways. I am happy to learn and do whatever I am asked to do,” said Green. “We have worked well together, especially with the different departments.”
Green shared a heartwarming anecdote of a note that was left on her car after a particularly tough day. She has kept the note in a special plastic bag since she found it.
“It is enjoyable to come to work, it really is,” said Green as she retrieved the note. “I haven’t been able to find out who in the courthouse wrote that note, and that’s just how it is. Everyone in here I feel like is my friend. I am happy to come to work.” said Green.
Green savors the values that come with public service.
“I think honesty, and you have to learn to keep things inside. You don’t always want to voice your opinion and some things you just have to put your head down. Like I was saying about change, I’d just have to realize that things are different now. Honesty, integrity, putting in a full day’s work for a full day’s pay, and doing my best,” said Green.
Those values are ultimately what enable Green to live in and give back to the beautiful place that is Teton Valley.
“I am very blessed and have really been blessed with good pay, good friends, and good work. I have had the people on my mind that I started with and what a difference they made in my life. Hopefully, I can make a difference in someone else’s life and make it easier for them to start anew,” Green concluded. | https://www.tetonvalleynews.net/community/green-reflects-on-20-years-working-for-county/article_8bd2466c-75aa-5c7f-aacd-9f486fa4d96a.html | 2022-08-25T00:23:46Z | tetonvalleynews.net | control | https://www.tetonvalleynews.net/community/green-reflects-on-20-years-working-for-county/article_8bd2466c-75aa-5c7f-aacd-9f486fa4d96a.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
...Thunderstorm outflow boundary will impact portions of
northwestern Teton, southern Fremont, northwestern Jefferson,
northern Madison and Clark Counties through 615 PM MDT...
At 529 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a thunderstorm outflow
boundary along a line extending from 9 miles northwest of Monteview
to 9 miles northeast of Hamer to 10 miles east of Archer. Movement
was northeast at 40 mph.
HAZARD...Winds in excess of 40 mph and blowing dust.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects along iwht blowing dust reducing
visibility.
Locations impacted include...
Rexburg, Ashton, Dubois, Idmon, Marysville, Sugar City, Teton,
Parker, Spencer, Drummond, Egin, Kilgore, St Anthony, Chester, Ashton
Reservoir, Plano, Warm River, Small, Humphrey and Newdale.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
&&
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN;
MAX WIND GUST...40 MPH
Aries (March 21- April 19): So much to do, so little time. Are you making lists? I hope so. Otherwise that really important thing you just have to do, might go undone. And then you’ll wake up in the night in a pool of sweat agonizing over how you dropped the ball. Let’s avoid that. Make a list.
Taurus (April 20- May 20): You’re a good egg. You mean well and try hard, which is more than I can say about some of the other signs. Keep being the wonderful and strong-willed human you are.
Gemini (May 21-June 20): You’re gonna make it. The cosmos are absolutely sending everyone awry right now, you included. Don’t panic. This too shall pass and then you’ll be back on the train to happy town before you know it.
Cancer (June 21-July 22): All good things must come to an end. And sometimes it’s so hard to see, and know, when that end has arrived. In your typical fashion you know it’s over, but you are avoiding it anyway. But listen kid, you gotta make room for something new and different. You’ll be glad you did.
Leo (July 23-Aug 22): I recently heard the term Angry August. Boy howdy did that resonate. Everyone is edgy, you included. But it’s not just anger that you are feeling, it’s also exhaustion, and stress. Let this be the sign from the universe telling you to pause, reboot your operating system, and evaluate what’s working and what’s not.
Virgo (Aug 23-Sept 22): Happy birthday Virgo! This year is going to be a weird one. Aren’t they all? But you, my darling, are going to navigate it with grace and style like you do. Walk tall into the future, lovely.
Libra (Sept 23-Oct 22): Keep calm and carry on, as they say. I reject that nonsense. Freak out. Have an existential crisis. Eat all the comfort foods. Go on a hero’s journey to find yourself. You just have one shot at this life, so make it what you want it to be.
Scorpio (Oct 23-Nov 21): Things can change fast. One minute you’re cruising along with the windows down and a nice breeze in your hair, next thing you know dark clouds roll in and biblical sized hail is breaking your windshield. Don’t panic. Well okay, panic a little. But this storm will pass. They always do.
Sagittarius (Nov 22-Dec 21): If you’re walking down the street and see a dog or cat and don’t talk to it, I don’t even know what you’re doing with your life. I meow at every cat I see just for good measure.
Capricorn (Dec 22-Jan 19): You need some raspberries in your life, stat! And they seem to be flourishing all over the valley right now. Find a friend with a raspberry patch and offer to buy them dinner. Eat ALL the raspberries. It’s medicine for the soul, I promise.
Aquarius (Jan 20-Feb 18): I see you walking down the aisles at Broulim’s trying to keep it together when your favorite jams come on. Friend, don’t hold it in! Let that freak flag fly and dance! Sing it loud and proud! You just might start the dance party we all want and need.
Pisces (Feb 19-Mar 20): You’re doing too much. Slow down. Quit putting things on your calendar for goodness sake. I know your daydreamy brain is all over the place, but you can’t get lost in it. You also have to be here now. It’s the worst, I know. | https://www.tetonvalleynews.net/freeaccess/miz-riv-s-horoscopes---august-24/article_95410d02-222c-11ed-9ad0-9702629a2078.html | 2022-08-25T00:23:59Z | tetonvalleynews.net | control | https://www.tetonvalleynews.net/freeaccess/miz-riv-s-horoscopes---august-24/article_95410d02-222c-11ed-9ad0-9702629a2078.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
A small child was raptly fingering a small colorful creature in the front of Little Deer Heart’s booth when I came by to chat with the artists, Rio who is ten, and Gauge seven.
“Dad took Gauge home,” mom Angie explained. “But Rio is here to give you their story.”
“Swell,” I said sitting down on the chair they proffered. Turning to Rio, I asked how the name, “Little Deer Heart”, came into being.
“Mom and Dad used to call me that when I was little,” Rio replied smiling at her mom.
“How did you get the idea to create all these special pieces?” I motioned to the horseshoes decorated with colorful beads or turquoise, copper wire, and charms. “I was intrigued when I saw them at your booth last summer at Mugler Plaza, but the season flew by – as summers around here do! — and I ran out of time for an interview.”
Mom stepped forward to give me a card with Rio’s picture standing next to a horse and holding one of her horseshoes. The card reads: “Rio’s love for horses has inspired her designs. Rio loves growing up in Teton Valley, riding horses and barrel racing. Along with her mom, they have created ‘Lucky Horseshoes’. Hang these horseshoes above your door or light switch to bring lots of luck.”
Rio picked up, telling me, “We started making the shoes about six months before the Artisans’ Market last year. We buy new horseshoes from local ranch stores and then use a wire brush to make them smooth. Then we spray them with a clear lacquer and let them dry overnight. I take a charm and some beads and come up with a pattern. I thread the beads on copper wire and wind it around the shoe. Then mom bends a heavier copper wire with a special tool before she gives it to me to pound with a hammer to give it texture. Then the wire becomes the silhouette of the Tetons. The charm is hung from that wire.”
“Amazing,” I responded as she and her mom helped a customer select a shoe to hang in their new house. Rio put it in a brightly colored bag and added a horseshoe nail to hang it on the wall. “Now, please tell me about Gauge’s ‘BeadMonsters’!” I said turning back to her.
“Gauge took some beads and laid them down on a piece of paper, telling mom he wanted to make BeadMonsters (his word). And mom said, ‘Let’s make them come to life. We’ll stand them up!’ He started with cardboard bases, but we realized we needed something sturdier so we switched to coins – pennies and dimes for the smaller ones, and quarters, half-dollars and dollars for the larger ones. Gauge does the design work and mom uses the hot glue to hold the beads together. They start at the base and work up. Then they dunk the finished pieces in hot resin that’s in a bowl before setting them on a plate to cure – about twelve hours.”
“Again, amazing,” I told Rio and her mom. “How long have you been in Teton Valley?”
“We lived in Las Vegas, NV until I was about two years old,” Rio responded. “My dad researched on the internet for a long time and came up with Teton Valley as the perfect place for us to live. He works in insurance and can work from home, so we moved to Driggs. About a year ago we moved to Swan Valley where we have land — and I can have horses!”
“Tell me about your horses, Rio…” I, too, had grown up with horses, and was keen to know more about hers.
“I have two – Pistol, a black quarter horse who is five and is learning how to be a mountain horse. Right now, he’s being trained to move cows up in the mountains. And Stardust is a grey thoroughbred who’s nine. She was shipped up from Arizona, but during the trip she injured her hock. So I can’t ride her right now. When I do, she’ll be my arena horse doing barrels and poles. But before I do, we hope she’ll have a foal – sometime next summer.”
Mom jumped in – “The money she makes from selling her horseshoes goes to taking care of her horses and competing in barrel races. Her dad and I feel it’s important for her to play an active role in providing for her passion.”
“Right now, I ride my friend’s bay horse, the one pictured on my card. His name is Eddie,” Rio adds.
“As for Gauge, his money goes for his keep,” mom adds, winking. “And buying materials for his BeadMonsters.”
As if on cue, a customer said, “Wow! I’m so wowed by all this!!” She had picked up one of Gauge’s original pieces and was admiring it with her husband as she listened in on our conversation. “This is so elaborate – look at this! Look at this!!” she exclaimed to her husband. “You are really on to something,” she continued smiling broadly at Rio and her mom. You can be sure mom took a picture of the BeadMonster before it left!
As it was the end of another happily busy Market, it was a good place to stop. Next week, and every Friday ‘til we close (September 30th), you’ll find Rio’s special lucky horseshoes and Gauge’s BeadMonsters at their booth, Little Deer Heart. You’ll also find the artists’ proud mom, Angie, full of smiles. | https://www.tetonvalleynews.net/freeaccess/this-week-at-the-teton-valley-farmers-market-little-deer-heart/article_6f67d9c8-2243-11ed-947b-9b255457e0c2.html | 2022-08-25T00:24:05Z | tetonvalleynews.net | control | https://www.tetonvalleynews.net/freeaccess/this-week-at-the-teton-valley-farmers-market-little-deer-heart/article_6f67d9c8-2243-11ed-947b-9b255457e0c2.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
...Thunderstorm outflow boundary will impact portions of
northwestern Teton, southern Fremont, northwestern Jefferson,
northern Madison and Clark Counties through 615 PM MDT...
At 529 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a thunderstorm outflow
boundary along a line extending from 9 miles northwest of Monteview
to 9 miles northeast of Hamer to 10 miles east of Archer. Movement
was northeast at 40 mph.
HAZARD...Winds in excess of 40 mph and blowing dust.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects along iwht blowing dust reducing
visibility.
Locations impacted include...
Rexburg, Ashton, Dubois, Idmon, Marysville, Sugar City, Teton,
Parker, Spencer, Drummond, Egin, Kilgore, St Anthony, Chester, Ashton
Reservoir, Plano, Warm River, Small, Humphrey and Newdale.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
&&
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN;
MAX WIND GUST...40 MPH
Dr. Maurice Brown, the Teton Valley Health chief of staff and orthopedic surgeon, passed away unexpectedly on Monday, Aug. 22.
Brown, known to most as Mo, was a familiar face to anyone who has torn an ACL, fractured an ankle, or broken a hip. The surgeon was constantly seeking new methods and technology to improve patients’ outcomes. He was also a golf fanatic and skier.
Brown grew up in nearby Sugar City. After graduating high school, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Zoology at the University of Utah before heading to George Washington University Medical School for his Doctor of Medicine. He then completed his orthopedic surgery residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He joined TVH as the chief of orthopedics in 2007.
"The sudden loss of our friend and colleague has been devastating. Dr. Brown was the model example of servant leadership and compassionate care. He was not only a gifted surgeon but a devoted husband and father to his children, and remarkable friend and neighbor," wrote TVH CEO Keith Gnagey in an email to the entire TVH staff. "We extend our deepest sympathies to the Brown family, particularly his wife and children, who meant the world to him. Please keep the Browns in your prayers as they go through this difficult time."
This story will be updated as more information is available. | https://www.tetonvalleynews.net/freeaccess/valley-rocked-by-loss-of-dr-mo-brown/article_a7955e78-2316-11ed-9c1e-6ffbb84171b0.html | 2022-08-25T00:24:11Z | tetonvalleynews.net | control | https://www.tetonvalleynews.net/freeaccess/valley-rocked-by-loss-of-dr-mo-brown/article_a7955e78-2316-11ed-9c1e-6ffbb84171b0.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
...Thunderstorm outflow boundary will impact portions of
northwestern Teton, southern Fremont, northwestern Jefferson,
northern Madison and Clark Counties through 615 PM MDT...
At 529 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a thunderstorm outflow
boundary along a line extending from 9 miles northwest of Monteview
to 9 miles northeast of Hamer to 10 miles east of Archer. Movement
was northeast at 40 mph.
HAZARD...Winds in excess of 40 mph and blowing dust.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects along iwht blowing dust reducing
visibility.
Locations impacted include...
Rexburg, Ashton, Dubois, Idmon, Marysville, Sugar City, Teton,
Parker, Spencer, Drummond, Egin, Kilgore, St Anthony, Chester, Ashton
Reservoir, Plano, Warm River, Small, Humphrey and Newdale.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
&&
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN;
MAX WIND GUST...40 MPH
1 of 2
Brian Mulvihill pours a pint at Refuge Taproom, a new bar in Victor.
Separated by less than a city block, two new businesses threw open their doors last Friday on Victor’s main drag: D.O.G., the beloved Jackson grab-and-go institution, and Refuge Taproom, a cozy spot to sip a beer.
D.O.G. has a long history in Jackson; the name, Down On Glen, refers to the eatery’s first location on Glenwood Street. D.O.G. West operated in Wilson for around a decade before being replaced by Rations inside Base Camp at the base of Teton Pass. Now D.O.G. (even more) West has opened in the Evergreen Mobil gas station in downtown Victor, taking the place of the on-again-off-again Subway franchise that struggled with staffing and ownership through the years.
Open at 6:30 a.m. to cater to commuters, D.O.G. is best known for its convenient breakfast burritos, but also serves up a mean Philly cheesesteak and burger at lunchtime.
Owner Tracy Long could not be reached in time for an interview, but plenty of customers in line for a burger on Friday expressed excitement at the new food option.
Just down the street, patrons flocked to the newly-opened Refuge Taproom.
Brian Mulvihill, husband of professional skier and coach Crystal Wright, started homebrewing before he was of legal age to purchase beer. He said he’s always been fascinated by the process and entranced by the many styles and flavors of beer. While he considered going to brewing school, he ended up seeking a degree in psychology and has since held the usual assortment of Jackson jobs, including videographer, guide, and trainer.
Since he and Wright moved over the pass to Teton Valley four years ago, he’s been helping out as she launched her new gym, Wright Training in Victor. But he had long dreamed of opening a small tapas bar or taproom where locals and visitors could have a pint of something interesting and enjoy a moment of respite. He decided to call the spot Refuge Taproom, harkening back to his travels through mountain huts in the Alps.
Refuge shares a wall with Mountain Standard Realty, on the northeast corner of the intersection of Main and Center; the former tenant of the space, Wispy Gypsy Salon, has moved across the street into the Crossroads Building.
Mulvihill said he wants to keep a simple, rotating tap list that highlights a range of beers, from European classics to regional stand-outs, as well as libations brewed in the Tetons. The line-up includes some packaged beer available to take home, and for oenophiles, Refuge has a small but thoughtfully curated wine list. Because the taproom primarily serves alcohol, state law does not allow patrons under the age of 21. While Mulvihill plans to bring in some locally-made snacks and charcuterie, customers are more than welcome to bring in their own food from one of the many restaurants nearby.
“When we moved here, I wanted to open a nice tavern or a good local bar, a small cozy space that felt like part of the community,” Mulvihill said. “This feels like a great way to get involved.” | https://www.tetonvalleynews.net/news/business/fresh-faces-on-victors-main-street/article_187b24ac-2000-11ed-9414-a73c4aa74155.html | 2022-08-25T00:24:17Z | tetonvalleynews.net | control | https://www.tetonvalleynews.net/news/business/fresh-faces-on-victors-main-street/article_187b24ac-2000-11ed-9414-a73c4aa74155.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
TSD 401’s first class of bilingual students head to sixth grade
In 2017 Teton School District 401 became one of the first districts in eastern Idaho to implement a dual Spanish-English language program for some of its youngest students. Now those kindergarteners who began the journey are entering sixth grade, with the program following in lockstep.
The TSD 401 board of trustees started pushing for an elementary school dual language program in 2016. At the time, board chair Delwyn Jensen told the Teton Valley News that they had sat down with educators and coordinators from Jackson and Rigby, where there are robust dual language programs, to discuss the benefits.
“Statistics don’t lie,” Jensen said in 2016. “The data that they are showing is that dual immersion shows significant increases in education levels, testing scores, things like that.”
The first dual class started for kindergarteners at Driggs Elementary in fall of 2017, and each year it grew to accommodate another grade. Those kindergarteners were taught to read, write, and speak in both languages, spending half of each day using only one language. The makeup of a school day does change some through the grades, TSD curriculum director Megan Bybee explained. In the higher grades there are two periods of Spanish, slightly less than half a day.
It can be frustrating for young children immersed in an unfamiliar language. Teton Valley News staff member Paul Fadden’s daughter, who has an advantage of being raised in a bilingual household, sometimes helps her dual classmates find the word or phrase they’re struggling with.
That kind of cooperation is the norm, says fifth grade dual teacher Ted Meyer.
“To see the dual kids and how they bond with the rest of the school—they’re more accepting,” Meyer said. “It helps break down racial and social barriers. language diversity opens their minds and helps them see other points of view.”
He said that dual classes are a safe place to make mistakes, which is inevitable in the process of learning a new language. He remembers one student who was frequently in tears at the beginning of last school year, but by the spring was easily flowing between languages.
Meyer taught high school English for 20 years in Los Angeles before moving to Teton Valley. He came here looking for new experiences and an improved quality of life, and brought a passion for educating rural kids, such a different demographic from the mostly-bilingual kids of LA, but also in many ways the same.
“Language has always been a passion of mine, and being here has given me the opportunity to learn and grow as a teacher,” Meyer said. “We also like to honor and celebrate every student’s culture, and show them how language is so intertwined with that.”
His fourth grade counterpart, Odette Gonzalez, is a native Spanish speaker from Chile, and cares deeply about helping students build literacy in both languages. Formerly an elementary school teacher in Chile, she had taken some basic English courses but mostly learned by studying with her daughter, who is now in school for medicine.
“I know my English isn’t good, but I’m not embarrassed about it,” Gonzalez said. “I’m on the same journey with the students.”
Bybee is bilingual and uses Spanish every single day, in and out of work. She said that while most of the English-speaking families who put their kids in dual are excited for the opportunity, some of the Spanish-speaking families are more hesitant.
“We still have some work to do in education on the native Spanish side,” Bybee said. “There’s a fear from the parents that if their children are in Spanish class, they won’t learn English. But studies show that having strong skills in your native language are beneficial to learning a second language.”
“We want the parents to understand that their kids can learn more without losing their mother language,” Gonzalez agreed. She did note that some Spanish-speaking parents she has talked to are happy that their children are learning academic Spanish to augment their informal spoken Spanish.
It’s hard to parse the exact numerical benefit for English language learners in dual because they make up a small sample size (and because Covid-related disruptions have impacted data collection), but generally Bybee has seen improved English proficiency from Spanish-speaking elementary school students enrolled in dual.
The dual program has not escaped the staffing crunch that is impacting the entire school district. Going into summer, each grade had its own dual teacher, but recently the first grade Spanish teacher moved to a different position within the district.
“We’ve had some interest in that position, but we’re always looking for Spanish speakers to work here—paras, subs, since the goal is to only speak Spanish in those classes,” Bybee said about staffing. “It’s definitely challenging to preserve what we’re trying to do.”
A few years ago, as the program evolved, Teton School District joined Jefferson and Jerome to receive a three-district, three-year consortium grant that funds a dual language consultant, Chad Ranstrom, who helped guide the Jackson program (which now includes its own entirely dual school at Munger Mountain Elementary).
“It’s been really good to have someone who is focusing on dual, helping us work on individual program goals and consortium goals, as well as helping to advocate for more support from the state,” Bybee said about Ranstrom. “Every year we’re growing, and we definitely need the state to help us.”
Earlier this month, eastern Idaho dual teachers and administrators attended the first annual dual language institute, an event that TSD helped to host in Rigby.
“It can be a little lonely in Idaho, feeling the struggles of running a program, having staffing challenges, making decisions based on the specific needs of a district. There isn’t a manual for this,” Bybee said. “It was awesome to attend the institute and create connections and build collegiality across the state.”
“We feel like we’re trailblazing here,” Meyer added. “Our numbers are skyrocketing, and what I like is that the data backs up what we’re doing.” | https://www.tetonvalleynews.net/news/education/dual-language-program-reaches-middle-school/article_a6796d6c-f327-57de-9978-c113fc8c00f8.html | 2022-08-25T00:24:24Z | tetonvalleynews.net | control | https://www.tetonvalleynews.net/news/education/dual-language-program-reaches-middle-school/article_a6796d6c-f327-57de-9978-c113fc8c00f8.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
This fall Victor Elementary School will join Alta School and Tetonia Elementary School in having a garden classroom on campus and outdoor-focused instruction from Mountain Roots Education.
Experiential outdoor education is a crucial component of the Mountain Roots mission. Originally known as Full Circle Education, the nonprofit started its first school garden program at Teton Science School’s Mountain Academy Teton Valley campus. As a result, the private school in Victor now has its own full-time garden educator.
Mountain Roots built on that success around 15 years ago with the beloved Tetonia Elementary garden, which includes a greenhouse, raised beds, an orchard, and a stage, thanks to grants, donations, staff time, and parent volunteers. The Alta School garden classroom soon followed. In the Mountain Roots-specific curriculum, students from each grade learn about growing plants, get their hands dirty, explore composting, do art projects, and even take field trips to snuggle goats and eat cheese at Winter Winds Farm. The kids have celebrations twice a year—a salad party in the spring semester and a harvest pizza party every fall, eating the fruits of their own labor, freshly prepared and then fired in the Mountain Roots mobile pizza oven.
“I love what we’re doing, the kids love it, the teachers love it, the parents love it,” said interim executive director Hayes Swinney. “I think it’s important in general and especially now, with everything else going on, this feels like a bright light. That feeling of self-sufficiency is valuable to impart on kids and plays into the themes of our adult workshops—using resources responsibly.”
Swinney had applied for an educator position at Mountain Roots last year while she was living in Seattle, but the timing didn’t line up. When she and her family moved back to Teton Valley, she inquired about becoming a board member, but at her first meeting in the summer of 2021, former executive director Haley Slone announced that she would be leaving the organization. It was a logical step to take the position, Swinney said, and added that she would be open to dropping the “interim” title.
At the beginning of the 2021 school year, Slone put a garden education program into place at Victor Elementary; with that addition, Mountain Roots worked with 300 students through the year. Now, with the help of grants from the Teton Springs Foundation, CHC Foundation, and Youth Philanthropy program, and support from the Teton Conservation District and Friends of the Teton River, Victor’s garden will come to fruition this fall. Designed and planned out by master volunteers Miranda Milligan and Judy Allen, the garden will be the biggest yet, in order to accommodate Victor’s much larger student body. There’s a work party tentatively scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 17 (depending on irrigation installation by Trail Creek Irrigation, which is donating to the effort). Sign up to help at mountainrootseducation.org.
TES and VES principal Megan Christiansen and Alta principal Jenna Beck have played a pivotal role in helping the gardens thrive, Swinney said. “They’ve both been huge advocates for the program and work hard to keep the gardens operating.”
In a letter of support for the Victor garden, Christiansen wrote, “It has been amazing to expand this program to Victor Elementary School because I have been able to see first-hand the benefits of such a meaningful learning experience.”
She later expanded on that idea in an email to the Teton Valley News.
“I just know what this kind of program can do for students and the community based on Tetonia’s example,” Christiansen said. “Children learn responsibility, respect, and hard work, and they also reap the benefits when they harvest the fruits of their labor. We are very lucky to have such great parents and staff support for our children to learn these values.”
Driggs Elementary doesn’t yet have a garden, mainly due to capacity issues, Swinney said. But it’s in the Mountain Roots strategic plan to get involved at DES as well. With more manpower and partnerships with other organizations like University of Idaho Extension and 4-H, the curriculum could be introduced to the valley’s other schools too.
“We’d love to expand and have a garden program in every school,” Swinney said. “There’s an awesome opportunity with older grades, and since there’s so much interest around here in smaller producers, to add a business element to the educational program.”
For now, she has heard a lot of excitement from Victor families about the new garden classroom, and expects to see an involved and enthusiastic garden community on the south end, not unlike the one that already exists in Tetonia.
“In Tetonia there are a lot of farmers and ranchers, and we see kids who are used to having their hands in the dirt and working hard,” Swinney said. “Megan joked that we should have the Tetonia kids come show the Victor kids how it’s done. There’s such a rich agricultural heritage in this valley, and this program fits really nicely with that and helps carry it on.” | https://www.tetonvalleynews.net/news/education/mountain-roots-brings-garden-classroom-to-victor/article_8c976c3d-ed6b-5334-b7e5-a9ff9d6499cf.html | 2022-08-25T00:24:30Z | tetonvalleynews.net | control | https://www.tetonvalleynews.net/news/education/mountain-roots-brings-garden-classroom-to-victor/article_8c976c3d-ed6b-5334-b7e5-a9ff9d6499cf.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
...Thunderstorm outflow boundary will impact portions of
northwestern Teton, southern Fremont, northwestern Jefferson,
northern Madison and Clark Counties through 615 PM MDT...
At 529 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a thunderstorm outflow
boundary along a line extending from 9 miles northwest of Monteview
to 9 miles northeast of Hamer to 10 miles east of Archer. Movement
was northeast at 40 mph.
HAZARD...Winds in excess of 40 mph and blowing dust.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects along iwht blowing dust reducing
visibility.
Locations impacted include...
Rexburg, Ashton, Dubois, Idmon, Marysville, Sugar City, Teton,
Parker, Spencer, Drummond, Egin, Kilgore, St Anthony, Chester, Ashton
Reservoir, Plano, Warm River, Small, Humphrey and Newdale.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
&&
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN;
MAX WIND GUST...40 MPH
If I could be anything when I grow up, I’d be a perpetual student. And in some ways I am. But I’ve always especially loved back to school time because of my incessant drive for learning. The fresh notebooks, yet to be sharpened pencils, and change in the air that signals classes are about to start. It’s my time of the year.
While school has always been something I’ve (mostly) enjoyed, for others not so much. Especially these days.
Did you know that 50% of all people who will have a mental health condition in the their lifetime start to experience symptoms by age 14? Or that the average age of onset for anxiety disorders is six years old. Six! Or that 27,000 Idaho youth met criteria for a mental health diagnosis last year. And that fewer than one in three get the care they need?
Even those of us who struggle with math can see these are grim statistics. And ones that can radically impact how school goes.
But what does that all mean? And how do we know if our children are the precious faces behind those statics?
In the therapy world we look for things that are “clinically significant” and cause “impairment across multiple domains.” Which means your child being afraid of going down the slide for the first time = not a problem and totally appropriate. Your child being so afraid of the slide they are having nightmares and refuse to meet their friends to play at the park anymore = maybe something you want to get checked out.
We also consider frequency, intensity, and duration of symptoms. My kid throwing a fit because we “ran out of peanut butter” and angrily stomping off when they haven’t had anything to eat all day despite being prompted 37 times = annoying but totally explainable. This is not a real life example, I have no idea what you are talking about.
However, if my child does this everyday for a month even when they’ve been fed and watered and it escalates into screaming and throwing things, I might want to tap in some professional support. Mainly, so I don’t start screaming and throwing things.
Other things we watch out for are:
● Difficulty concentrating, focusing, or remembering things
● Changes in appetite (eating more, eating less)
● Feeling sad, hopeless, or worthless
● No longer doing things they used to enjoy
● Worrying about things, like really worrying
● Being super cranky and irritable
● Changes in sleep (more, less, waking, nightmares, wanting to sleep somewhere else)
● Angry outbursts (with or without violence)
● Not wanting to be around certain people, places, or activities
● Mood swings
● Substance use
Basically, anything that’s out of the ordinary, can’t easily be explained by the HALT method (hungry, angry, lonely, or tired), persists over time, and causes difficulty with friends, family, or school.
For those of you with teenagers, I know I just described most days. Hang in there. It does get better I promise.
If in reading this list you checked off several items you’ve noticed in your child (or self), doing a screening can be a good next step. Mental Health America offers a quick, confidential one at screening.mhanational.org/screening-tools.
It’s one test you can’t fail because it’s all just information designed to help. Which is my kinda test. The answers may be just the thing you need to make the transition back to school easier. Too bad they can’t also find the peanut butter when it’s sitting right there on the shelf.
If you, or someone you know, needs parenting support, let us know. We’re also teaming up with Teton Valley Health to offer a series of webinars later this fall aimed at answering all your parenting questions. For more information or to get help, our offices are staffed Monday-Friday from 9am-4pm. Call or text 208-354-6198 or email info@tetonvalleymentalhealth.com.
Sara is the Executive Director of the Mental Health Coalition of Teton Valley whose mission is to empower the people of our community to enhance their mental wellness by providing advocacy, education, and access to resources. For more wellness tips and to see what the Coalition is up to, follow them on social media or visit their website www.tetonvalleymentalhealth.com. | https://www.tetonvalleynews.net/opinion/editorials/how-to-be-well-take-a-test/article_0d52147e-1feb-11ed-adf9-bb5b3d8f71e6.html | 2022-08-25T00:24:36Z | tetonvalleynews.net | control | https://www.tetonvalleynews.net/opinion/editorials/how-to-be-well-take-a-test/article_0d52147e-1feb-11ed-adf9-bb5b3d8f71e6.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
...Thunderstorm outflow boundary will impact portions of
northwestern Teton, southern Fremont, northwestern Jefferson,
northern Madison and Clark Counties through 615 PM MDT...
At 529 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a thunderstorm outflow
boundary along a line extending from 9 miles northwest of Monteview
to 9 miles northeast of Hamer to 10 miles east of Archer. Movement
was northeast at 40 mph.
HAZARD...Winds in excess of 40 mph and blowing dust.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects along iwht blowing dust reducing
visibility.
Locations impacted include...
Rexburg, Ashton, Dubois, Idmon, Marysville, Sugar City, Teton,
Parker, Spencer, Drummond, Egin, Kilgore, St Anthony, Chester, Ashton
Reservoir, Plano, Warm River, Small, Humphrey and Newdale.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
&&
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN;
MAX WIND GUST...40 MPH
There is good news for Idaho in this time of social and political discontent. Quite a bit of it, actually.
We get so accustomed to bad news that when the good stuff appears, it’s little noted and sometimes hard to believe. I know, I know: There are all kinds of bad and dangerous and ugly things going on in the world. But that’s not the whole story. And we should take note when some of the bad stuff is a less bad.
Consider forest fires.
Idaho, like other states, has some forest fires this summer, as it does every year. The Moose Fire in the Salmon area is proving particularly stubborn, and others spark with regularity.
But the numbers and size of the fires this year are much smaller than usual, and the damage relatively modest. Last week the National Interagency Fire Center listed five fires; except for the Moose, all were under 6,000 acres in size. A year ago, the same list contained 23 fires, six of them larger than 6,000 acres.
This year’s climate may have helped to a degree, and maybe other conditions, accidental or otherwise. But this year is better on the fire front than most in recent times.
Not to mention the masses of unhealthy and smelly smoke that in the last couple of years descended over most of Idaho for a lot of the summer and early fall, but this year has, not entirely but mostly, skipped the state. (Fewer big fires elsewhere around the west has contributed to that.)
That doesn’t mean next year will fare as well (or that we won’t see eruptions later this year). Think of this as a breather.
That brings to mind the drought situation — or the relative lack of one.
We’re not talking about a water utopia here, but: Several months ago water officials were warning of a hard drought around the state this summer. It hasn’t happened. Idaho has seen some water cutoffs this year, but at the moment, water levels are pretty good. Last week, federal monitors showed all of Idaho’s river basins were within 10% of the median for year-to-date precipitation — a remarkably steady picture few years see.
That said, southern Idaho remains technically in a moderate drought, partly “due to a multi-year drought cycle that’s likely to continue next year,” as reports have said.
On the health front we’re all breathing a little easier this summer as the Covid-19 and other pandemics (hello, monkeypox) ease their grip. We’re (mostly) not wearing masks and most of our traditional public activities have resumed, which is great.
Take it as a matter of degree and a cautionary note, though. The pandemic isn’t over, and health officials are still recommending great caution.
The biggest complaint of the last few months has been economic: Inflation. (The unemployment rate in Idaho and nationally has been registering essentially full employment for quite some time, and overall business indicators are positive.) Inflation has been the outlier, but even it is easing; latest estimates have shown the big increases have broken. Gas prices in Idaho and nationally have been falling dramatically in the last couple of months. One investor publication reported, “The CPI inflation rate finally pulled back from a 40-year peak in July, as the consumer price index came in cooler than expected.”
Idaho may have gotten a significant piece of big economic news in just the last couple of weeks of the passage of the technology funding bill (the CHIPS and Science Act, which passed over the objections of Idaho’s delegation): Micron Technology said that with its passage, the corporation is looking at expansions that could add 40,000 jobs. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Idaho pick up some of them.
It’s not that there’s no basis for discontent. There always is.
But in a number of ways, in the ways that hit lives directly, this seems like an easier-going summer than usual. Enjoy. | https://www.tetonvalleynews.net/opinion/editorials/there-is-good-news-for-idaho/article_f705b1b8-21c9-5f6a-8cfa-98c9c973b084.html | 2022-08-25T00:24:42Z | tetonvalleynews.net | control | https://www.tetonvalleynews.net/opinion/editorials/there-is-good-news-for-idaho/article_f705b1b8-21c9-5f6a-8cfa-98c9c973b084.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Hello there, Teton Valley community,
We hope this finds you enjoying the final days of a gorgeous summer with friends and family.
...Thunderstorm outflow boundary will impact portions of northwestern Teton, southern Fremont, northwestern Jefferson, northern Madison and Clark Counties through 615 PM MDT... At 529 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a thunderstorm outflow boundary along a line extending from 9 miles northwest of Monteview to 9 miles northeast of Hamer to 10 miles east of Archer. Movement was northeast at 40 mph. HAZARD...Winds in excess of 40 mph and blowing dust. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects along iwht blowing dust reducing visibility. Locations impacted include... Rexburg, Ashton, Dubois, Idmon, Marysville, Sugar City, Teton, Parker, Spencer, Drummond, Egin, Kilgore, St Anthony, Chester, Ashton Reservoir, Plano, Warm River, Small, Humphrey and Newdale. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building. && MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN; MAX WIND GUST...40 MPH
Hello there, Teton Valley community,
We hope this finds you enjoying the final days of a gorgeous summer with friends and family.
As we wrap up Phase 3: Participatory Visioning and Planning for the Sustainable Destination Management Plan, we invite the Teton community to submit actionable ideas to address eight themes identified as top priorities (please be assured that other issues with less overall consent have been identified and will be tagged for further exploration) by our consulting team via destination data analysis and public outreach.
Comments submitted through August 31 will be considered in September work sessions with our consultants from George Washington University and Confluence Sustainability, the SDMP steering committee, and stakeholders (government, land managers, community groups) already working on various initiatives such as housing and transportation. The goal of these sessions is to inform the strategy to ensure our destination is a great place to live, work, and visit for generations to come.
Visit Engage Teton County at engagetetoncountywy.com and navigate to “Share Your Voice.”
Note: If you already made public comments at the March or May/June community meetings and focus groups, these have been recorded.
Thank you for your continued engagement,
The Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board Team
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The U.S. Coast Guard and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands partners conclude a successful two-day search and rescue exercise (SAREX) in Saipan, Aug. 24, 2022. Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam holds SAREXs in Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Compact of Free Association States to evaluate notification and response procedures and identify shortfalls in communication and coordination of response during SAR incidents. Each agency holds individual capabilities that complement each other’s efforts and bolsters the overall success of the SAR system. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lt. j.g. Ed Oingerang)
This work, Responders conduct successful search and rescue exercise in Saipan [Image 10 of 10], must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright. | https://www.dvidshub.net/image/7386925/responders-conduct-successful-search-and-rescue-exercise-saipan | 2022-08-25T00:24:50Z | dvidshub.net | control | https://www.dvidshub.net/image/7386925/responders-conduct-successful-search-and-rescue-exercise-saipan | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of northeastern Teton
and southeastern Fremont Counties through 515 PM MDT...
At 442 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near
Felt, moving east at 20 mph.
HAZARD...Winds in excess of 30 mph and half inch hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is
possible.
Locations impacted include...
Felt and Tetonia.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
&&
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.50 IN;
MAX WIND GUST...30 MPH
The summer Aquatic program has been an amazing gift! We are grateful!
Vicki Sompayrac
This pool facility has been a great opportunity to get fit. The instructor is excellent. Sandy has made it so much fun and Stacey is a great instructor. Having this pool is a very well use of funds.
Phyllis Wilson
BIG TIME FUN!
Bob Fitzgerald
Thank you Teton Valley Aquatics for making summer pool activities and swim lessons available to Driggs residents. Stacey Nail Canedy made exercising very fun, never mind the lively music provided by Sandy Lieffring to help us all keep up the pace! And how great it was to see kids arrive for swimming lessons! Thank you to the Executive Director Stacy Stamm as well —good luck with your goal of providing year round water access to Teton Valley! | https://www.tetonvalleynews.net/opinion/letters_to_editor/thank-you-teton-valley-aquatics/article_db825772-222b-11ed-8d36-db2b978b6f1a.html | 2022-08-25T00:24:55Z | tetonvalleynews.net | control | https://www.tetonvalleynews.net/opinion/letters_to_editor/thank-you-teton-valley-aquatics/article_db825772-222b-11ed-8d36-db2b978b6f1a.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Dear Editor,
I have a list of people from Teton Valley I wish to thank for their thoughtfulness.
...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of northeastern Teton and southeastern Fremont Counties through 515 PM MDT... At 442 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near Felt, moving east at 20 mph. HAZARD...Winds in excess of 30 mph and half inch hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible. Locations impacted include... Felt and Tetonia. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building. && MAX HAIL SIZE...0.50 IN; MAX WIND GUST...30 MPH
Dear Editor,
I have a list of people from Teton Valley I wish to thank for their thoughtfulness.
1st: During a blizzard last winter, I managed to get stuck a couple times and some great guys helped me get back on the road.
2nd: To the wonderful paramedics who helped my mother and escorted us to the hospital.
3rd: Thank you to Teton Valley Hospital for their gentle and compassionate care of my mother. She enjoyed her stay!
4th: To the understanding deputy who reminded me to renew my tags. Which I did the next day.
5th: To all the special Meals on Wheels volunteers. Those few minutes of visiting about the Irish really brightened my mom's day!
6th: Back in July while my husband was working out of state we had a very high wind storm. Our business sign was blowing wildly. Some overworked and tired fireman came over late at night and tied down the sign for me.
7th: After Sunday morning church I stopped at the Post Office and fell. I was down for about 15 minutes before a very nice Hispanic couple came by and helped me to my car.
8th: Thank you to Tyson Clemons from Teton Funeral Home. He helped us immensely make arrangements back home in Iowa for my mother.
9th: To my neighbors and friends and husband, thank you for caring.
10th: Last one. During Friday August 12's torrential rainstorm, several of us were stranded in Broulim's entryway waiting for the rain to calm down. The young man who was working at the self checkout came out with a poncho for me and offered to drive my car to the entrance. I am so impressed with his courtesy!
I wish to thank everyone from my heart for all their acts of kindness. This is Teton Valley!
Connie Deraps
Driggs
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Why do meeting planners keep returning to mid-Michigan? Because when it comes to events, Greater Lansing is known for going the extra mile. Plus, the Greater Lansing Convention & Visitors Bureau (GLCVB) is always on hand to provide teams with their complimentary, dedicated support. Here are four reasons to add Greater Lansing to your shortlist:
- It’s Centrally Located
Set in the heart of the Midwest, Greater Lansing is located within 90 miles of 90 percent of the state’s population. Plus, with one-hour driving proximity to the region’s major metro areas and nonstop service to Chicago, Minneapolis and Washington, D.C. from Capital Region International Airport, you can be sure your meeting’s attendance will exceed expectations.
- One of The Midwest’s Most Affordable Cities
Memorable meetings don’t have to break your team’s bank. Greater Lansing’s average per-day cost including food, lodging and incidental expenses is among the most affordable in the Midwest. Including exciting attractions, dining, and nightlife that fit any budget.
- Proximity to Experts, Business Leaders, and More
Engaging, expert speakers draw big crowds. As Michigan’s capital and the home of Michigan State University, Greater Lansing offers a wealth of legislators, lobbyists, researchers, university experts, business leaders and trade association authorities who can give your sessions an added boost.
- Unique and Memorable Meeting Spaces
Greater Lansing meeting spaces are designed for meetings big and small. Whatever you can imagine, it’s likely this city can meet the moment – from The Lansing Center’s 23 meeting rooms to the smaller spaces of the city’s museums, breweries and distilleries. Or for a truly unique meeting space, plan a cruise for your team on the Michigan Princess Riverboat.
Time to take your Greater Lansing event to the next level? The expert team at the GLCVB will make sure your gathering is one to remember. | https://www.pcma.org/4-great-reasons-to-host-your-next-meeting-in-greater-lansing-2/ | 2022-08-25T00:25:57Z | pcma.org | control | https://www.pcma.org/4-great-reasons-to-host-your-next-meeting-in-greater-lansing-2/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Running digital events is hard. Updating the speaker agreement to incorporate all the new digital scenarios is not any easier.
Let PCMA’s speaker agreement template be your guide. Download our fillable speaker agreement template. Fill it out with your organization’s and speaker’s information, or incorporate it into your existing template. | https://www.pcma.org/speaker-agreement-template-digital-hybrid-events/ | 2022-08-25T00:26:03Z | pcma.org | control | https://www.pcma.org/speaker-agreement-template-digital-hybrid-events/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
After market close today, Salesforce (CRM) released its Fiscal Q2-2023 earnings results. Both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) beat analysts’ expectations. However, the company reduced its sales and earnings forecasts for the remainder of the year. As a result, the stock is trending lower in the after-hours session.
Salesforce’s revenue of $7.72 billion grew 26% on a constant-currency (CC) basis, narrowly beating the consensus estimate of $7.69 billion. Its non-GAAP EPS result was more impressive, as it came in at $1.19, easily beating the $1.03 estimate. However, this is much lower than last year’s EPS of $1.48.
Next, Salesforce’s Remaining Performance Obligation (RPO), calculated as a company’s backlog + deferred revenues, increased 19% on a CC basis, reaching $21.5 billion.
Salesforce Trims Its Q3 and Fiscal 2023 Outlook
What investors probably didn’t like, in particular, was its trimmed outlook. For Q3, CRM is projecting revenue of $7.82 billion to $7.83 billion (implying 18% growth on a CC basis) and non-GAAP EPS of $1.20 to $1.21 per share. Analysts were expecting those figures to come in at $8.07 billion and $1.29, respectively.
For Fiscal 2023, non-GAAP EPS is expected to be between $4.71 and $4.73, and revenue is projected to reach $30.9 billion to $31 billion (implying 20% growth). While this may sound good, it is less than the previous estimates of $4.74 to $4.76 in EPS and $31.7 billion to $31.8 billion in revenue.
What is CRM Stock’s Price Target?
Turning to Wall Street, Salesforce stocks earns a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 24 Buys, four Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months. The average CRM stock price target of $241.89 implies 34.4% upside potential.
Top TipRanks Investors are Bullish on CRM Stock
TipRanks currently tracks 557,672 investor portfolios that use the Smart Portfolio tool. The top investors, which amount to 111,534 portfolios, appear very bullish on CRM stock.
In the past 30 days, the number of top-performing TipRanks portfolios holding CRM increased by 3.3%, leading to 2.4% of portfolios holding the stock. In the past seven days, this number increased by 2.1%. Salesforce’s very positive investor sentiment is above the sector average, as shown in the image below:
Conclusion: Salesforce’s Mixed Q2 Leaves Investors Wanting More
While Salesforce beat Q2 estimates, it disappointed investors in terms of its forward guidance. This caused the stock to fall in the after-hours trading session. Nonetheless, CRM is still a highly-profitable company that has the backing of analysts and top TipRanks investors, making it worth a closer look. | https://www.tipranks.com/news/salesforces-nysecrm-q2-earnings-report-disappoints-investors-heres-why | 2022-08-25T00:30:12Z | tipranks.com | control | https://www.tipranks.com/news/salesforces-nysecrm-q2-earnings-report-disappoints-investors-heres-why | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Jason Momoa is a Dream True in Netflix’s Slumberland Teaser
As Netflix continues to bask in the success of The Sandman’s first season, the platform has just teased its plans to bring another vivid dreamworld to its streaming library later this year. And this one’s a lot more family-friendly than the one inspired by Neil Gaiman’s comic book series. With the movie’s premiere just three months away, the first trailer for Slumberland has finally arrived online, revealing an exciting new look at the epic adventure that lies ahead.
The film is based on Winsor McCay’s Little Nemo in Slumberland comic strips, which were originally published from 1905 to 1927 and, incidentally, were occasionally referenced in Gaiman’s early Sandman stories. But instead of a young boy, the story instead focuses on a girl named Nema (Marlow Barkley). Before bedtime, Nema’s father (Kyle Chandler) tells her of a magical place that can only be visited in dreams. Luckily, it isn’t long before Nema’s active imagination turns fantasy into reality.
RELATED: Netflix Drops a Bonus Episode of The Sandman
Guiding Nema on her journey through Slumberland is Flip, played by Jason Momoa. In the original comic strip, Flip usually appeared as a cigar-smoking circus clown. But leave it to the star of DC’s Aquaman films to put his own badass spin on the character. According to Flip, Slumberland gives Nema the power to do whatever she wants, even if it means jumping off a cliff, flying in a jet plane, or bringing her adorable stuffed animals to life.
Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire) directed Slumberland from a screenplay by David Guion and Michael Handelman. The supporting cast also includes Weruche Opia, India de Beaufort, and Chris O’Dowd.
Slumberland will debut on Netflix sometime in November.
What do you think of the film’s new trailer? Give us your impressions in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: The Sandman Book One by Neil Gaiman
We are also a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. This affiliate advertising program also provides a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. | https://www.superherohype.com/movies/518310-jason-momoa-is-a-dream-come-true-in-netflixs-slumberland-teaser | 2022-08-25T00:34:36Z | superherohype.com | control | https://www.superherohype.com/movies/518310-jason-momoa-is-a-dream-come-true-in-netflixs-slumberland-teaser | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom & Shazam! Fury of the Gods Are Delayed Again
There have been some choppy waters for DC projects this year, which led to most of the 2022 movie lineup getting pushed back into 2023. The one consolation prize that Warner Bros. offered was moving Shazam! Fury of the Gods into a December 2022 release. However, that was before new Warner Bros. Discovery regime took over. Now, WBD is pushing Fury of the Gods to March 17, 2023, the date formerly held by Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Unfortunately for DC fans, the Aquaman sequel has an even bigger delay. Its new release date is December 25, 2023.
On the surface, it does make sense to move Fury of the Gods away from Avatar: The Way of Water in December. If the Avatar sequel even comes near the success of its predecessor, it will overwhelm the holiday box office. The delay for The Lost Kingdom isn’t ideal either, but December 2023 is largely clear of big releases. Lucasfilm and Disney never got around to taking Star Wars: Rogue Squadron off of its December 2023 date. Regardless, that standalone movie isn’t heading to theaters any time soon. So Aquaman will largely be alone that month.
RELATED: Ben Affleck Will Appear In Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
For now, the DC films maintaining their dates are Joker: Folie à Deux on October 4, 2024, Black Adam on October 21, and The Flash on June 23, 2023. Warner Bros. informally floated the idea that The Flash could be cancelled if its star, Ezra Miller, didn’t seek treatment. Miller decided to take that option, but the actor remains a serious PR problem for the studio thanks to numerous allegations and even felony burglary charges.
Warner Bros. also took the Salem’s Lot remake off of its April 21, 2023 release date without scheduling a new date. The horror sequel, Evil Dead Rise, will now take over the April 21, 2023 slot. Evil Dead Rise was originally planned as a HBO Max exclusive before moving to the theatrical slate.
What do you think about the latest DC movie scheduling delays? Let us know in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: The Art and Making of Aquaman
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. This affiliate advertising program also provides a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. | https://www.superherohype.com/movies/518313-aquaman-and-the-lost-kingdom-shazam-fury-of-the-gods-are-delayed-again | 2022-08-25T00:34:42Z | superherohype.com | control | https://www.superherohype.com/movies/518313-aquaman-and-the-lost-kingdom-shazam-fury-of-the-gods-are-delayed-again | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
If Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who lost her House primary last week, decides to embark on a presidential run in 2024 as an independent, she could end up hurting President Biden’s chances of reelection more than Trump’s, according to a new Yahoo News/You Gov poll.
After Cheney lost her reelection bid for the House to Trump-backed GOP candidate Harriet Hageman, she said she has political ambitions that go past Congress.
“That’s a decision that I’m going to make in the coming months, and I’m not going to make any announcements here this morning. But it is something that I am thinking about, and I’ll make a decision in the coming months,” Cheney said after her loss when asked about a potential White House bid.
She later told Politico she is “not at all focused” on specifics of a 2024 run, keeping open the possibility she could run as an independent.
The poll found that in a standoff between Trump and Biden without Cheney, Biden would lead Trump by 4 points among registered voters.
However, if it is a race among Trump, Biden and Cheney, with Cheney running as an independent, the poll found she would end up pulling more votes away from Biden.
In a three-way matchup in the poll, Trump jumped to the lead, beating Biden by more than 8 points.
Cheney could also, of course, challenge Trump as a Republican and seek to damage him in a primary to the extent that he cannot survive a general election.
Cheney, the top Republican on the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, is Trump’s most vocal GOP critic on Capitol Hill.
She has said numerous times Trump is unfit for office, while he has painted Cheney as a “RINO,” Republican in name only, saying she has turned her back on her party. | https://www.wspa.com/hill-politics/cheney-independent-presidential-run-would-hurt-biden-more-than-trump-poll/ | 2022-08-25T00:35:01Z | wspa.com | control | https://www.wspa.com/hill-politics/cheney-independent-presidential-run-would-hurt-biden-more-than-trump-poll/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
The Alhambra City Council this week unanimously approved an agreement with the Alhambra Unified School District to continue the district’s school resource officer program.
The previous contract expired on June 30. But this week’s renewal states that the district will reimburse the city for services in an aggregate amount of $215,000 annually.
Under the agreement, the two armed SRO’s supplied by the Alhambra Police Department undergo special training after being selected from a pool of police candidates.
“The district’s invaluable relationship with the Alhambra Police Department, including our two APD Community Policing School Resource Officers, is foundational to AUSD student and staff safety,” district Superintendent Denise Jaramillo said. “We are enormously grateful to APD for this vital partnership.”
According to Jaramillo, SRO’s, other Alhambra police officers and Police Chief Kelley Fraser regularly visit AUSD schools as part of their community policing program to build positive relationships with students. Jaramillo said this often includes a game of pick-up basketball.
The district has a total of 38 campus supervisors — two for each of the 19 district campuses — and they along with AUSD head of security, Michael Barbara, work closely with the SRO’s and Alhambra PD as part of the district’s Prevent-Protect-Prepare school safety protocols.
Jaramillo said the district prefers not to disclose how the two SRO’s divide their time each day, but she did say that each campus is visited by an SRO every school day.
Alhambra Mayor Jeffrey Maloney spoke of the importance of the SRO Program.
“I know that our SRO’s can’t do everything, but it is crucial to ensuring the safety of our students at the schools and to be the eyes and ears of law enforcement on campus and to be there in the event of something terrible or violent happening on one of our campuses,” he said.
“Obviously, it can’t solve everything. It can’t address every problem under the sun. But it’s so important to have that cooperation between the city and the police department and the school district. And I know that it is an extremely popular program among our school communities and I think it’s a source of pride for our police department and our city to help provide those resources, those officers on campus.”
According to the Alhambra PD’s website, the resource officers work closely with the district, the department’s youth counselors and detectives on issues involving the prevention of delinquency, child abuse/neglect and domestic violence.
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NEW YORK (AP) — Peloton’s high-end exercise bikes and other gear will now be able to be bought on Amazon in the U.S., a partnership aimed at boosting the fitness company’s sales that have languished since the easing of pandemic lockdowns.
“We want to meet consumers where they are, and they are shopping on Amazon,” Kevin Cornils, Peloton’s chief commercial officer, said in a statement Wednesday.
The collaboration is Peloton’s first with another retailer. Before, its products were sold only through its website, physical showrooms and other channels.
And it comes after the company earlier this month said it was shedding jobs, shifting its delivery work to third-party vendors and significantly reducing the number of stores it has in North America.
The news of the Amazon deal sent shares of New York-based Peloton Interactive Inc. soaring 20% Wednesday. They are still down about 88% in the last 12 months.
Products available at the launch on Amazon will include Peloton’s original bike — listed at $1,445 — its strength-training “Guide” device, as well as its workout mat, dumbbells and glass water bottle.
The company best known for its interactive stationary bikes saw its sales boom during the pandemic, but it has struggled to maintain high demand as COVID-19 vaccines became more widely available and homebound consumers started to go back to the gym.
Amid those challenges, it sought to cut costs and reduce its operating footprint while ramping up prices on some of its popular products. Last month, it said it would outsource manufacturing for its stationary bikes and treadmills.
The company says bike delivery will be available to most of the U.S. As part of the partnership, customers can get an expert to assemble their bikes, the company said. | https://www.wpri.com/business-news/ap-business/ap-peloton-to-sell-its-bikes-on-amazon-in-bid-to-reverse-slump/ | 2022-08-25T00:35:20Z | wpri.com | control | https://www.wpri.com/business-news/ap-business/ap-peloton-to-sell-its-bikes-on-amazon-in-bid-to-reverse-slump/ | 0 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | 39 |
NEW YORK (AP) — Peloton’s high-end exercise bikes and other gear will now be able to be bought on Amazon in the U.S., a partnership aimed at boosting the fitness company’s sales that have languished since the easing of pandemic lockdowns.
“We want to meet consumers where they are, and they are shopping on Amazon,” Kevin Cornils, Peloton’s chief commercial officer, said in a statement Wednesday.
The collaboration is Peloton’s first with another retailer. Before, its products were sold only through its website, physical showrooms and other channels.
And it comes after the company earlier this month said it was shedding jobs, shifting its delivery work to third-party vendors and significantly reducing the number of stores it has in North America.
The news of the Amazon deal sent shares of New York-based Peloton Interactive Inc. soaring 20% Wednesday. They are still down about 88% in the last 12 months.
Products available at the launch on Amazon will include Peloton’s original bike — listed at $1,445 — its strength-training “Guide” device, as well as its workout mat, dumbbells and glass water bottle.
The company best known for its interactive stationary bikes saw its sales boom during the pandemic, but it has struggled to maintain high demand as COVID-19 vaccines became more widely available and homebound consumers started to go back to the gym.
Amid those challenges, it sought to cut costs and reduce its operating footprint while ramping up prices on some of its popular products. Last month, it said it would outsource manufacturing for its stationary bikes and treadmills.
The company says bike delivery will be available to most of the U.S. As part of the partnership, customers can get an expert to assemble their bikes, the company said. | https://www.wpri.com/business-news/ap-business/ap-peloton-to-sell-its-bikes-on-amazon-in-bid-to-reverse-slump/ | 2022-08-25T00:35:20Z | wpri.com | control | https://www.wpri.com/business-news/ap-business/ap-peloton-to-sell-its-bikes-on-amazon-in-bid-to-reverse-slump/ | 1 | 0 | green-iguana-35 | 39 |
PASADENA – A $23 million trust fund looking to boost the construction of affordable housing in Pasadena, Glendale and Burbank will be created following the approval of Senate Bill 1177 this week.
SB 1177 was authored by Sen. Anthony Portantino to address the insufficient local funding that prevents Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena from completing the nearly 3,000 affordable housing units that are in their “development pipeline,” Portantino said in a statement this week.
The bill creates a regional housing trust fund that will be administered by a joint-powers authority comprised of the cities of Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena.
The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Regional Housing Trust will be governed by a board of directors consisting of a minimum of three directors, who are elected officials representing the cities. Those directors would consist of members equally appointed by each of the three cities as part of a joint powers agreement.
Under the bill, the authority would be allowed to request and receive private and state funding allocations, as well as authorize and issue bonds, to help finance affordable housing projects for persons and families of extremely low-, very low-, low-, and moderate-income households.
“Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena have been at the forefront of meeting California’s housing needs,” Portantino said in a statement after the bill’s passage this week. However, the high cost of housing has had a devastating effect on Californians, “especially on lower income and workforce households in the Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena area.”
Glendale Mayor Ardashes Kassakhian said the city of Glendale is equally grateful to the governor “for recognizing the tri-cities’ creative approach to bringing more affordable housing to our region, and for signing SB 1177 into law.”
Kassakhian said in a news release that Glendale is ready to get to work with its neighboring cities to help meet the housing needs of vulnerable individuals and families in the region.
So is Burbank, according to Burbank Mayor Jess Talamantes.
“This bill along with the $23M in funding for our region will be extremely beneficial for Burbank and help us to add much needed affordable housing to our city,” Talamantes said. “The programs that come as a result of the bill coupled with the funding will change the lives of the residents who participate in our future affordable programs. We can’t thank Senator Portantino enough for carrying the bill all the way to completion.”
Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo said it’s “critical” that additional funding be made available to produce more housing, especially affordable housing, because increasing land prices, construction costs and interest rates have hampered cities ability to fund different projects.
“This is not a challenge that can be addressed by one city alone. It will take cities working together, because we are stronger together,” Gordo said, thanking Portantino and Newsom.
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Rams tight end Brycen Hopkins asked for patience from the screaming fans near the sideline as he walked off the field last week during the final minutes of the preseason game against the Houston Texans.
Hopkins was cleared from the concussion protocol and kept his word by returning to the field to sign autographs and take pictures.
“I had told one of them before,” Hopkins recalled, “because they would not stop yelling my name, ‘Brycen! Brycen!’ And I looked around and was like, ‘After the game.’ Then I went in there and they checked me out and was like, ‘Oh, yeah. I told them I’ll come back out.’”
Hopkins was also direct with a reporter this week after being asked to assess his blocking skills. First came the chuckle from Hopkins because that’s what many are wondering after the Rams surprisingly decided on Saturday to waive Kendall Blanton, who had the in-line tight end role.
Then came the honest self-evaluation from Hopkins.
“That’s something I’m trying to improve on,” Hopkins said Monday. “I wouldn’t just solely blame it on size or anything like that. I’m not the biggest tight end out there, but it definitely comes with fundamentals, footwork, technique, which is what we’re trying to do. Definitely, I’ll say I’ve made some strides out here during this training camp.”
The Rams also agree Hopkins has made strides as a blocking tight end and likely wouldn’t have waived Blanton last week if they didn’t believe that. Hopkins said he connected with Blanton after he was claimed on waivers by the Washington Commanders.
“Him always being around me,” Hopkins said about what he’ll miss from Blanton. “Being in my room and me always being around him, just annoying each other. Getting that good friendly competition out of every rep and I think the whole room and the whole team is sad to see him go, but at the end of the day, we understand it’s a business and people have better places to be.”
Hopkins’ place is with the Rams, but it didn’t appear that way until Super Bowl LVI when Hopkins filled in for the then-injured Blanton and Tyler Higbee and contributed four receptions for 47 yards, including two critical catches on the game-winning drive against the Cincinnati Bengals. Before his surprising heroics, Hopkins only had one career reception for nine yards in 10 regular-season appearances during his first two seasons in the NFL.
Hopkins likely didn’t catch the Bengals by surprise during the first of two joint scrimmages on Wednesday in Cincinnati.
“It was hard to stick to that process,” Hopkins said about not playing much in his first two seasons. “Not being certain what my future was … just being ready for something that you don’t know if it’s going to come. Literally, you don’t know at all.”
Hopkins capitalized on his Super Bowl opportunity and made the most of it by improving his blocking skills in the offseason and training camp. He’s a bit undersized as a 6-foot-4, 245-pound tight end, but his athleticism and pass-catching skills were worth betting on for the Rams.
The Rams will likely have only two tight ends on their 53-man roster with Higbee and Hopkins, but Coach Sean McVay said he doesn’t view it as a thin position because the wide receivers, offensive linemen and running backs are capable of handling tight-end duties.
“You’ve got receivers that really can do a lot of those things,” McVay said last week. “When you look at the way we’ve utilized (former Rams wide receiver) Robert (Woods) and Cooper (Kupp) since 2017, and even (former Rams wide receiver) Josh Reynolds. Those guys in some instances have taken on the role of … you look at the way the (San Francisco 49ers) use (fullback) Kyle Juszczyk. They can really be in a lot of different personnels, but you take it off as 21, but they’re running plays that you’d run out 12 personnel or 11 (personnel). That’s really kind of what we’ve been able to do with our receivers out of 11 (personnel).
“You look at last year, we were able to utilize (offensive tackle) Joe Noteboom and (offensive guard) Coleman Shelton as tight ends because we felt like that was the best way to add to our blocking surface going back to the Jacksonville game. So I feel really good about Tyler Higbee, been pleased with Brycen Hopkins’ progress.”
The Rams have a backup plan in case depth becomes an issue at tight end, but they have confidence in Hopkins developing into an all-around tight end. Hopkins has spent plenty of time with tight ends coach Thomas Brown to improve his blocking and he can always lean on his father, Brad, a former All-Pro left tackle for the Houston Oilers and Tennessee Titans.
“Blocking is one of the areas I actually have to put more work into,” Brycen Hopkins said. “Even though my dad was a tackle, I don’t really have the evidence going here (with size). But my dad was a tackle, just not as big as him. That’s something I gotta work on. Use my athleticism, translate it into that area (blocking).”
RAMSEY’S PRAISE FOR CHASE
It was nowhere near the magnitude of Super Bowl LVI, but Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey and Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase had another good battle Wednesday in the joint practice.
“Ja’Marr is a great player, but we already knew that,” Ramsey said. “It didn’t take us this practice to figure that out. We knew that already. It’s not just him though. They got a solid receiving corps. He’s obviously top dog, but they got a solid receiving corps.”
Ramsey had a late start to training camp after he underwent shoulder surgery in June, but he mentioned that his shoulder continues to get better and he expects it to be full speed come Sept. 8 for the regular-season opener against the Buffalo Bills.
“Not yet, but I will be when the time is right,” Ramsey said. “That’s what is important to me, honestly. I’m just being careful right now. I still haven’t been doing a lot of techniques, just to try and play a little light, not attacking at the top of the route like I usually would, just certain techniques. I won’t get into all of that. But I’ll be there when the time is right.”
A meeting of the nines.
Matthew Stafford 🤝 @JoeyB pic.twitter.com/iJ3ZGB6geM
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) August 24, 2022
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We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions. | https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/2022/08/24/rams-te-brycen-hopkins-builds-off-super-bowl-heroics/ | 2022-08-25T00:35:52Z | pasadenastarnews.com | control | https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/2022/08/24/rams-te-brycen-hopkins-builds-off-super-bowl-heroics/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
MILAN (AP) — Italy’s push to rapidly reduce its dependence on Russian natural gas has made the country less vulnerable to an interruption of supplies, Premier Mario Draghi said Wednesday, noting that gas storage is 80% full ahead of winter and on track to hit 90% by October.
Draghi told an annual summertime festival in the Adriatic seaside town of Rimini that Italy has reduced its reliance on Russian natural gas from 40% last year to half that by finding new sources in countries from Algeria to Azerbaijan. The fuel is used to heat and cool homes, generate electricity and run factories.
Italy could be completely independent of Russia by fall 2024 if it installs two new regasification plants, he added.
“Our goal of diversifying from Russian gas was fundamental to giving citizens and businesses greater certainly about the stability of supplies,” said Draghi, who resigned last month after key right-wing parties yanked support for his unity government.
He remains in office until a new government can be formed following Sept. 25 parliamentary elections.
Public resistance is growing to one of the planned offshore regasification plants near the industrial port city of Piombino, in Tuscany, and how plans proceed will be a key indicator of whether parties that win the Sept. 25 vote intend to continue Draghi’s path of reducing reliance on Russian energy.
Taking a swipe at right-wing parties that advocate sovereignty, Draghi said energy reliance on “a country that never stopped pursuing its imperial past is the exact opposite of sovereignty.”
His comments come as Russia’s war in Ukraine has driven natural gas prices to record highs, fueling inflation worldwide. Moscow has reduced gas flows to European countries as they try to bolster their reserves for the winter heating season, and fears are rising that deliveries could be cut off completely. That could lead to rationing by companies and push countries into recession.
Germany said Tuesday that its gas storage is 80% full but warned that Russia’s plan to halt flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline for three days next week “could temporarily dampen” the effort.
Patrick Graichen, Germany’s deputy economy and energy minister, said Wednesday that he believes gas markets are already pricing in the possibility that Nord Stream 1 won’t reopen. Russia’s state-controlled energy giant Gazprom said the scheduled downtime from Aug. 31 to Sept. 2 was for “routine maintenance.”
If gas doesn’t flow again through the pipeline, then current prices “are presumably the ones that market participants are already looking toward,” he said.
“And that probably reflects the shortage we are in,” Graichen added. “We’ll need to see how we respond to that appropriately.”
In Italy, Draghi again urged an European cap on natural gas prices, which has faced resistance among other EU member states. He told the audience in Rimini that fears Russia would cut off supplies in reprisal for any price cap were realized nonetheless this summer in periodic shutoffs to countries like Germany, which at the same time continued to pay “exorbitant prices.”
The prime minister also repeated his calls that the price of electricity generated by renewable energy no longer be tied to the higher price of natural gas.
“This relationship doesn’t make sense anymore,’’ he said.
___
AP reporter Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed. | https://www.wpri.com/business-news/ap-business/draghi-italy-has-stockpiled-80-of-natural-gas-reserves/ | 2022-08-25T00:35:56Z | wpri.com | control | https://www.wpri.com/business-news/ap-business/draghi-italy-has-stockpiled-80-of-natural-gas-reserves/ | 0 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | 34 |
MILAN (AP) — Italy’s push to rapidly reduce its dependence on Russian natural gas has made the country less vulnerable to an interruption of supplies, Premier Mario Draghi said Wednesday, noting that gas storage is 80% full ahead of winter and on track to hit 90% by October.
Draghi told an annual summertime festival in the Adriatic seaside town of Rimini that Italy has reduced its reliance on Russian natural gas from 40% last year to half that by finding new sources in countries from Algeria to Azerbaijan. The fuel is used to heat and cool homes, generate electricity and run factories.
Italy could be completely independent of Russia by fall 2024 if it installs two new regasification plants, he added.
“Our goal of diversifying from Russian gas was fundamental to giving citizens and businesses greater certainly about the stability of supplies,” said Draghi, who resigned last month after key right-wing parties yanked support for his unity government.
He remains in office until a new government can be formed following Sept. 25 parliamentary elections.
Public resistance is growing to one of the planned offshore regasification plants near the industrial port city of Piombino, in Tuscany, and how plans proceed will be a key indicator of whether parties that win the Sept. 25 vote intend to continue Draghi’s path of reducing reliance on Russian energy.
Taking a swipe at right-wing parties that advocate sovereignty, Draghi said energy reliance on “a country that never stopped pursuing its imperial past is the exact opposite of sovereignty.”
His comments come as Russia’s war in Ukraine has driven natural gas prices to record highs, fueling inflation worldwide. Moscow has reduced gas flows to European countries as they try to bolster their reserves for the winter heating season, and fears are rising that deliveries could be cut off completely. That could lead to rationing by companies and push countries into recession.
Germany said Tuesday that its gas storage is 80% full but warned that Russia’s plan to halt flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline for three days next week “could temporarily dampen” the effort.
Patrick Graichen, Germany’s deputy economy and energy minister, said Wednesday that he believes gas markets are already pricing in the possibility that Nord Stream 1 won’t reopen. Russia’s state-controlled energy giant Gazprom said the scheduled downtime from Aug. 31 to Sept. 2 was for “routine maintenance.”
If gas doesn’t flow again through the pipeline, then current prices “are presumably the ones that market participants are already looking toward,” he said.
“And that probably reflects the shortage we are in,” Graichen added. “We’ll need to see how we respond to that appropriately.”
In Italy, Draghi again urged an European cap on natural gas prices, which has faced resistance among other EU member states. He told the audience in Rimini that fears Russia would cut off supplies in reprisal for any price cap were realized nonetheless this summer in periodic shutoffs to countries like Germany, which at the same time continued to pay “exorbitant prices.”
The prime minister also repeated his calls that the price of electricity generated by renewable energy no longer be tied to the higher price of natural gas.
“This relationship doesn’t make sense anymore,’’ he said.
___
AP reporter Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed. | https://www.wpri.com/business-news/ap-business/draghi-italy-has-stockpiled-80-of-natural-gas-reserves/ | 2022-08-25T00:35:56Z | wpri.com | control | https://www.wpri.com/business-news/ap-business/draghi-italy-has-stockpiled-80-of-natural-gas-reserves/ | 1 | 0 | green-iguana-35 | 34 |
BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Cabinet approved legislation Wednesday that ensures basic protective measures against the coronavirus pandemic are continued during the fall and winter when more virus cases are expected.
The presentation of the rules — which also include the new obligation to wear N95-type face masks during all long-distance travel by train and bus as well as on planes — coincided with the publication of photos showing the chancellor and German Economy Minister Robert Habeck flying to Canada earlier this week without wearing masks.
The pictures triggered strong public criticism of an alleged double standard for politicians and regular people. Currently, medical face masks are mandatory on planes and public transport though N95-style masks are recommended.
Justice Minister Marco Buschmann and Health Minister Karl Lauterbach told reporters that the specific pandemic rules that apply to the German air force, which operates government flights, were met and that everyone on the flight, which also included German business leaders and reporters, took a PCR test before boarding the plane.
Still, the justice minister conceded that “politically, I would recommend to us as a federal government that we apply the same rules everywhere that apply elsewhere.”
“Because otherwise, of course, the feeling arises that you’re willing to impose something on the citizens that you don’t want to impose on yourself,” Buschmann added. “And that’s why I can also understand to some extent that there’s so much talk about it.”
In addition to the mandatory use of N95-type masks during long-distance travel, the new measures, which will apply from Oct. 1 to April 7, will also include a nationwide obligation to wear masks in and test before accessing hospitals, nursing homes and similar institutions with vulnerable people.
Beyond that, Germany’s 16 states will have the authority to adopt their own rules depending on how severely the virus affects their areas. State governments could decide to require masks on local public transportation, in schools for students in the fifth grade and up, and at public indoor events. If the virus spreads widely again, the number of people at public events can be limited and testing can be demanded.
The justice minister stressed that there would be no more lockdowns or school closures no matter how the pandemic develops during cold-weather seasons.
“Students were certainly the group that suffered the most in the pandemic … especially in terms of exercising their right to education, especially in terms of school closures,” Buschmann said. “And that’s why I’m also glad that we were able to quickly agree that the instrument of school closures is therefore completely disproportionate.”
The new regulations still need to go to Germany’s lower and upper house of parliament for approval, but they are expected to pass. | https://www.wpri.com/business-news/ap-business/germany-tightens-covid-rules-for-travel-during-fall-winter/ | 2022-08-25T00:36:10Z | wpri.com | control | https://www.wpri.com/business-news/ap-business/germany-tightens-covid-rules-for-travel-during-fall-winter/ | 0 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | 47 |
BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Cabinet approved legislation Wednesday that ensures basic protective measures against the coronavirus pandemic are continued during the fall and winter when more virus cases are expected.
The presentation of the rules — which also include the new obligation to wear N95-type face masks during all long-distance travel by train and bus as well as on planes — coincided with the publication of photos showing the chancellor and German Economy Minister Robert Habeck flying to Canada earlier this week without wearing masks.
The pictures triggered strong public criticism of an alleged double standard for politicians and regular people. Currently, medical face masks are mandatory on planes and public transport though N95-style masks are recommended.
Justice Minister Marco Buschmann and Health Minister Karl Lauterbach told reporters that the specific pandemic rules that apply to the German air force, which operates government flights, were met and that everyone on the flight, which also included German business leaders and reporters, took a PCR test before boarding the plane.
Still, the justice minister conceded that “politically, I would recommend to us as a federal government that we apply the same rules everywhere that apply elsewhere.”
“Because otherwise, of course, the feeling arises that you’re willing to impose something on the citizens that you don’t want to impose on yourself,” Buschmann added. “And that’s why I can also understand to some extent that there’s so much talk about it.”
In addition to the mandatory use of N95-type masks during long-distance travel, the new measures, which will apply from Oct. 1 to April 7, will also include a nationwide obligation to wear masks in and test before accessing hospitals, nursing homes and similar institutions with vulnerable people.
Beyond that, Germany’s 16 states will have the authority to adopt their own rules depending on how severely the virus affects their areas. State governments could decide to require masks on local public transportation, in schools for students in the fifth grade and up, and at public indoor events. If the virus spreads widely again, the number of people at public events can be limited and testing can be demanded.
The justice minister stressed that there would be no more lockdowns or school closures no matter how the pandemic develops during cold-weather seasons.
“Students were certainly the group that suffered the most in the pandemic … especially in terms of exercising their right to education, especially in terms of school closures,” Buschmann said. “And that’s why I’m also glad that we were able to quickly agree that the instrument of school closures is therefore completely disproportionate.”
The new regulations still need to go to Germany’s lower and upper house of parliament for approval, but they are expected to pass. | https://www.wpri.com/business-news/ap-business/germany-tightens-covid-rules-for-travel-during-fall-winter/ | 2022-08-25T00:36:10Z | wpri.com | control | https://www.wpri.com/business-news/ap-business/germany-tightens-covid-rules-for-travel-during-fall-winter/ | 1 | 0 | green-iguana-35 | 47 |
NEW YORK (AP) — Ani DiFranco has some life thoughts to share — for kids.
Rise x Penguin Workshop, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, announced Wednesday that the Grammy winning singer-songwriter’s debut picture book “The Knowing” is coming out March 7, 2023. The publisher calls the book an invitation for “young readers to ponder the distinction between outer forms of identity and the inner light of consciousness.”
“I always relish a new challenge and creative adventure in life,” DiFranco said in a statement. “Making a book for young readers was one such. I’m hoping that young people will connect with the message I am sending out in this book — that underneath all the labels and social and cultural signifiers, we are spirit, we are love incarnate, we are one.”
The book includes illustrations by Julia Mathew, who sets her work on “The Knowing” in her native India.
DiFranco, 51, is known for such albums as “Fellow Workers,” “Evolve” and “Educated Guess.” In 2019, she published the memoir “No Walls and the Recurring Dream.” | https://www.wpri.com/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/ap-ani-di-franco-picture-book-is-scheduled-for-march-2023/ | 2022-08-25T00:36:45Z | wpri.com | control | https://www.wpri.com/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/ap-ani-di-franco-picture-book-is-scheduled-for-march-2023/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
NEW YORK (AP) — Creed Taylor, a prolific and innovative force in the evolution of jazz who worked with John Coltrane, Ray Charles and many others and a popularizer of Brazilian music who oversaw the recording of such classics as “The Girl from Ipanema” that helped made bossa nova a worldwide phenomenon, has died. He was 93.
Taylor’s son John W. Taylor said he died Monday in Winkelhaid, Germany. The cause was heart failure, after he had suffered a stroke.
“Creed Taylor was one of the most incredible producers of our time,” George Benson said in a statement Wednesday. “Most of all, he was my friend and I will miss him.”
Creed Taylor was a white man raised in the Jim Crow South, Lynchburg, Virginia, who had a broad musical impact — as a packager who helped introduce laminated covers and gatefold sleeves for LPs, as a producer with an ear for emerging talent and new trends and as the founder of Impulse! and CTI Records. He helped discover Herbie Mann, produced early music by Benson, Quincy Jones and Grover Washington Jr. and produced or released albums by Coltrane, Charles, Bill Evans and Wes Montgomery among hundreds of artists.
Commercially, he had his greatest success recording bossa nova, the softened, upscale variation of samba which had emerged in Rio de Janeiro in the late 1950s. Taylor was lead producer at Verve Records when he got a phone call in 1961 from the jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd, who had been on tour in Brazil for the State Department and wanted Taylor to hear some tapes of the new sound. Taylor soon contacted his friend Stan Getz, the jazz saxophonist, and suggested he and Byrd work on an album together.
“I knew instantly that something new was happening there,” Taylor told Marc Myers of JazzWax in 2008.
Their collaboration became the landmark “Jazz Samba,” produced by Taylor and featuring two contributions from the gifted Brazilian songwriter and musician, Antonio Carlos Jobim: “Desafinado” (Off Key or Out of Tune) and “Samba de Uma Nota Só.” Recorded in a few hours at a Black church in Washington, D.C., the album came out in 1962 and kept gaining attention, topping the Billboard pop chart the following year and selling more than 1 million copies. Getz won a Grammy for best jazz performance on “Desafinado.”
In 1964, Taylor produced one of the decade’s most acclaimed and influential records, “Getz/Gilberto,” another million seller that stayed on the Billboard charts for nearly two years and confirmed bossa nova’s appeal. “Gilberto/Getz” featured Getz, Jobim and Brazilian guitarist João Gilberto, and included such bossa nova standards as “Só Danço Samba” and “Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars).” “Getz/Gilberto” received four Grammys, including album of the year and record of the year, for its most famous track, “The Girl from Ipanema,” the spare, wistful ballad featuring Jobim singing in Portuguese and a deadpan, English language cameo by a little known Brazilian performer, Astrud Gilberto, João Gilberto’s wife.
“Including her vocal on ‘The Girl from Ipanema’ was an afterthought by Stan,” Taylor told JazzWax. “No female vocal had been planned. I didn’t even know who she was until Jobim introduced me to her at the session. I think at the time, Jobim and Joao may have been against her singing. She was viewed simply as João’s wife and not a trained singer. I think they were afraid she was going to bring the session down or something. But Stan pushed.”
“Stan treated a lot of people not well,” he said of the troubled and unpredictable Getz, who died in 1991. ”(But) there was no tension in the studio that day whatsoever. At the end of the session, Stan said, ‘Astrud, you’re going to be famous.’”
A shortened version of “The Girl from Ipanema,” with only Astrud Gilberto’s vocals, became a top 10 hit. “The Girl from Ipanema” has since been covered by everyone from Frank Sinatra to Amy Winehouse and is often ranked just behind “Yesterday” as the world’s most recorded pop song.
Taylor worked with numerous labels, beginning with Bethlehem Records in the 1950s, and eventually formed his own. He started Impulse! in 1960 as a subsidiary of ABC-Paramount Records, and reached deals with Coltrane and Charles among others before leaving for Verve a year later. Impulse! would eventually release Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme,” one of the top selling jazz albums of all time.
In 1967, Taylor launched CTI, initially in partnership with A&M Records, then as an independent company. He released albums ranging from Freddie Hubbard’s soul-jazz favorite “Red Clay” to George Benson’s commercial breakthrough “Bad Benson,” and records by Jobim, Montgomery, Herbie Hancock, Nina Simone, Milt Jackson and Chet Baker. CTI was not only a leader in establishing “smooth jazz,” blending jazz with soul and funk and other sounds, but was recognizable for its album covers by photographer Peter Turner, often using silhouettes, moody closeups and stark color designs.
Taylor struggled after the mid-1970s, especially after a distribution deal with Motown ended with his filing for bankruptcy. He did resurrect the label in the late 1980s and had some success with Larry Coryell’s “Fallen Angel” album. More recently, he presided over the reissue of dozens of CTI albums, including releases by Benson, Ron Carter and Esther Phillips.
Jazz critic-musician Leonard Feather, writing in the Los Angeles Times in 1988, praised Taylor as “a man of unique vision, with an ear for great talent as well as for good sound quality.”
Taylor was married twice, most recently to Harriet Schmidt. He had four children.
A mill owner’s son, Taylor was a musician himself who joined his high school’s marching band and played trumpet in two jazz groups while majoring in psychology at Duke University. Upon graduation, in 1951, he was drafted into the Marines Corps and for a year served in combat as an artilleryman in the Korean War.
After the 1953 armistice in Korea, he initially returned to Virginia. His father wanted him to become a doctor, but he soon moved to what had become his home before he had even seen it — New York City — and pursued what had long been his passion — jazz. Even as he grew up around blue grass and country music, he was moved by the sounds he had discovered through listening to New York jazz DJ Sidney Torin, aka “Symphony Sid,” on WJZ (later WABC).
“Everything he talked about was so cool and clear in my head, not just about the music but also the social surroundings of the jazz players,” he told JazzWax. “All I could think of was, “Wow, this music is something else.” I couldn’t wait to get up to New York and start meeting the people Symphony Sid was talking about.” | https://www.wpri.com/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/ap-creed-taylor-the-girl-from-ipanema-producer-dead-at-93/ | 2022-08-25T00:36:52Z | wpri.com | control | https://www.wpri.com/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/ap-creed-taylor-the-girl-from-ipanema-producer-dead-at-93/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
As Arden Cho moved into the final stages of auditioning for the new Netflix series “Partner Track,” she had an especially good feeling about the job after a Zoom meeting with producers.
“I believe it was a more than an hour and a half producer session, which is quite on the long side. I remember when it ended, one of my best friends from Hawaii was visiting and waiting in the living room. She was like, ‘Oh, I can breathe now. I haven’t been breathing for the last hour and a half. I’m so nervous. How did it go?’ I looked at her and I was like, ‘I think I have a job. I think I’ve got this.’ Luckily, I was right.”
In “ Partner Track,” debuting Friday, Cho plays Ingrid Yun, an attorney whose goal is to make partner at the old boys club law firm she works for in New York. She excels at the job but must navigate microaggressions and favoritism shown toward her male, mostly white coworkers. The expectations of the job always come first for Ingrid, so her personal life takes a back seat. With family, friends and boyfriends she’s often behind and apologizing.
The series is based on a novel by Helen Wan.
Cho, who is best-known for her roles on MTV’s “Teen Wolf” and “Chicago Med,” says the more she researched the character, the more she realized they had a lot in common.
“Once I started prepping and really getting into it, I was like, ‘Wait, this is more about her being a 29-year-old woman at this very tough point in her life.’ And I’m like, ’Wait, I’ve done this. I’ve been there.’ I was like, ‘Oh, I know this girl. And I was like, I am this girl.’ There are very few times in my career where I’ve felt so connected to a project. The shoe fit.”
Creator and co-executive producer Georgia Lee believes Cho brings a relatability to the character.
“When we saw Arden’s audition, we were so excited to see this great blend of steely toughness with, at the same time, a sweet vulnerability as well,” Lee said. “I think it’s a combination many people may recognize and relate to.”
Besides Ingrid’s quest to succeed, she’s also making good money in the big city and has a great apartment and clothes, friends with their own interesting storylines, and two good looking guys vying for her attention, which make it fun to watch. Cho says people who’ve seen the show already are weighing in on her character’s love triangle.
“My agents and team are texting me, and everyone’s mad. I love how angry people get watching because I’m like, ‘Nice, we did it.’ It’s not a drama if we don’t have the drama.”
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Follow Alicia Rancilio at http://twitter.com/aliciar | https://www.wpri.com/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/arden-cho-steps-into-the-spotlight-as-partner-track-star/ | 2022-08-25T00:37:07Z | wpri.com | control | https://www.wpri.com/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/arden-cho-steps-into-the-spotlight-as-partner-track-star/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
MADRID (AP) — Spain’s assisted suicide law is in the spotlight after doctors allowed the death of a former security guard who faced trial for having stormed his former workplace a year ago, shooting and wounding three people and later a police officer.
Eugen Sabau, known in Spain as “the Tarragona gunman,” applied for euthanasia in June, six months after he was left with quadriplegia when police subdued him in a shootout following the attack Dec. 14 in the northeastern city.
Victims had argued that Sabau should not be helped to die before his trial, but two Spanish courts ruled that the accused’s right to seek assisted suicide prevailed. The man died Tuesday in a prison in northeastern Spain.
In March 2021, Spain became the fourth country in Europe to allow physician-assisted suicide for patients with incurable diseases and for people with unbearable permanent conditions.
A Tarragona court ruled that Sabau suffered unbearable pain with no possibility of relief and agreed with the medical commission to delay it until after the trial violated the accused’s dignity and rights.
José Antonio Bitos, a lawyer for the injured police officer, said Wednesday that Spain’s assisted suicide law had been rushed in and should be reformed to prevent similar cases in the future. He said the case set a precedent and could potentially be used by defendants who find themselves in similar circumstances and face lengthy sentences if convicted.
Ramón Riu, an expert in constitutional law, told Spanish National Television that the case “is a precedent and courts will certainly take it into account in the future but they will not be obliged to follow the same criteria.”
Bitos took the case to the European Human Rights Court but was unsuccessful in getting a stay. He said he hopes the court will study the case and urge Spain to make changes.
Sabau, a Romanian with Spanish residency, had problems with the private security firm he worked for and had warned several colleagues that he would take revenge. Bitos said he never apologized for what he had done.
The lawyer said it was now unclear how the four victims who sustained serious injuries may claim compensation given that there will be no trial. | https://www.wpri.com/health/ap-health/victims-irked-as-spain-lets-gunman-die-before-trial/ | 2022-08-25T00:37:43Z | wpri.com | control | https://www.wpri.com/health/ap-health/victims-irked-as-spain-lets-gunman-die-before-trial/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Years late and billions over budget, NASA’s new moon rocket makes its debut next week in a high-stakes test flight before astronauts get on top.
The 322-foot (98-meter) rocket will attempt to send an empty crew capsule into a far-flung lunar orbit, 50 years after NASA’s famed Apollo moonshots.
If all goes well, astronauts could strap in as soon as 2024 for a lap around the moon, with NASA aiming to land two people on the lunar surface by the end of 2025.
Liftoff is set for Monday morning from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
The six-week test flight is risky and could be cut short if something fails, NASA officials warn.
“We’re going to stress it and test it. We’re going make it do things that we would never do with a crew on it in order to try to make it as safe as possible,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The retired founder of George Washington University’s space policy institute said a lot is riding on this trial run. Spiraling costs and long gaps between missions will make for a tough comeback if things go south, he noted.
“It is supposed to be the first step in a sustained program of human exploration of the moon, Mars, and beyond,” said John Logsdon. “Will the United States have the will to push forward in the face of a major malfunction?”
The price tag for this single mission: more than $4 billion. Add everything up since the program’s inception a decade ago until a 2025 lunar landing, and there’s even more sticker shock: $93 billion.
Here’s a rundown of the first flight of the Artemis program, named after Apollo’s mythological twin sister.
ROCKET POWER
The new rocket is shorter and slimmer than the Saturn V rockets that hurled 24 Apollo astronauts to the moon a half-century ago. But it’s mightier, packing 8.8 million pounds (4 million kilograms) of thrust. It’s called the Space Launch System rocket, SLS for short, but a less clunky name is under discussion, according to Nelson. Unlike the streamlined Saturn V, the new rocket has a pair of strap-on boosters refashioned from NASA’s space shuttles. The boosters will peel away after two minutes, just like the shuttle boosters did, but won’t be fished from the Atlantic for reuse. The core stage will keep firing before separating and crashing into the Pacific in pieces. Two hours after liftoff, an upper stage will send the capsule, Orion, racing toward the moon.
MOONSHIP
NASA’s high-tech, automated Orion capsule is named after the constellation, among the night sky’s brightest. At 11 feet (3 meters) tall, it’s roomier than Apollo’s capsule, seating four astronauts instead of three. For this test flight, a full-size dummy in an orange flight suit will occupy the commander’s seat, rigged with vibration and acceleration sensors. Two other mannequins made of material simulating human tissue — heads and female torsos, but no limbs — will measure cosmic radiation, one of the biggest risks of spaceflight. One torso is testing a protective vest from Israel. Unlike the rocket, Orion has launched before, making two laps around Earth in 2014. This time, the European Space Agency’s service module will be attached for propulsion and solar power via four wings.
FLIGHT PLAN
Orion’s flight is supposed to last six weeks from its Florida liftoff to Pacific splashdown, twice as long as astronaut trips in order to tax the systems. It will take nearly a week to reach the moon, 240,000 miles (386,000 kilometers) away. After whipping closely around the moon, the capsule will enter a distant orbit with a far point of 38,000 miles (61,000 kilometers). That will put Orion 280,000 miles (450,000 kilometers) from Earth, farther than Apollo. The big test comes at mission’s end, as Orion hits the atmosphere at 25,000 mph (40,000 kph) on its way to a splashdown in the Pacific. The heat shield uses the same material as the Apollo capsules to withstand reentry temperatures of 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,750 degrees Celsius). But the advanced design anticipates the faster, hotter returns by future Mars crews.
HITCHHIKERS
Besides three test dummies, the flight has a slew of stowaways for deep space research. Ten shoebox-size satellites will pop off once Orion is hurtling toward the moon. The problem is these so-called CubeSats were installed in the rocket a year ago, and the batteries for half of them couldn’t be recharged as the launch kept getting delayed. NASA expects some to fail, given the low-cost, high-risk nature of these mini satellites. The radiation-measuring CubeSats should be OK. Also in the clear: a solar sail demo targeting an asteroid. In a back-to-the-future salute, Orion will carry a few slivers of moon rocks collected by Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969, and a bolt from one of their rocket engines, salvaged from the sea a decade ago. Aldrin isn’t attending the launch, according to NASA, but three of his former colleagues will be there: Apollo 7’s Walter Cunningham, Apollo 10’s Tom Stafford and Apollo 17’s Harrison Schmitt, the next-to-last man to walk on the moon.
APOLLO VS. ARTEMIS
More than 50 years later, Apollo still stands as NASA’s greatest achievement. Using 1960s technology, NASA took just eight years to go from launching its first astronaut, Alan Shepard, and landing Armstrong and Aldrin on the moon. By contrast, Artemis already has dragged on for more than a decade, despite building on the short-lived moon exploration program Constellation. Twelve Apollo astronauts walked on the moon from 1969 through 1972, staying no longer than three days at a time. For Artemis, NASA will be drawing from a diverse astronaut pool currently numbering 42 and is extending the time crews will spend on the moon to at least a week. The goal is to create a long-term lunar presence that will grease the skids for sending people to Mars. NASA’s Nelson, promises to announce the first Artemis moon crews once Orion is back on Earth.
WHAT’S NEXT
There’s a lot more to be done before astronauts step on the moon again. A second test flight will send four astronauts around the moon and back, perhaps as early as 2024. A year or so later, NASA aims to send another four up, with two of them touching down at the lunar south pole. Orion doesn’t come with its own lunar lander like the Apollo spacecraft did, so NASA has hired Elon Musk’s SpaceX to provide its Starship spacecraft for the first Artemis moon landing. Two other private companies are developing moonwalking suits. The sci-fi-looking Starship would link up with Orion at the moon and take a pair of astronauts to the surface and back to the capsule for the ride home. So far, Starship has only soared six miles (10 kilometers). Musk wants to launch Starship around Earth on SpaceX’s Super Heavy Booster before attempting a moon landing without a crew. One hitch: Starship will need a fill-up at an Earth-orbiting fuel depot, before heading to the moon.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | https://www.wpri.com/news/breaking-news/ap-top-news/ap-explainer-nasa-tests-new-moon-rocket-50-years-after-apollo/ | 2022-08-25T00:38:08Z | wpri.com | control | https://www.wpri.com/news/breaking-news/ap-top-news/ap-explainer-nasa-tests-new-moon-rocket-50-years-after-apollo/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas anti-abortion activist is suing for a complete hand recount of an election in which voters soundly rejected a proposal to remove abortion rights from the state’s constitution.
Mark Gietzen is representing himself in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Sedgwick County District Court after a nine-county hand recount that his supporters largely funded wrapped up over the weekend. Fewer than 100 votes changed out of more than 500,000 cast in those counties. The measure failed by about 165,000 votes statewide.
Republican Secretary of State Scott Schwab said in a news release that the recount results should “put to rest the unfounded claims of election fraud.”
In the lawsuit, Gietzen alleges without evidence that votes statewide might have been vulnerable to the same type of programming error that initially switched results in a county commission race. The suit also seeks a revote “where necessary.”
A judge quickly dismissed a lawsuit Gietzen filed before the election seeking to have ballot drop boxes removed across the state. | https://www.wpri.com/news/breaking-news/ap-top-news/kansas-activist-sues-for-a-statewide-abortion-recount/ | 2022-08-25T00:39:13Z | wpri.com | control | https://www.wpri.com/news/breaking-news/ap-top-news/kansas-activist-sues-for-a-statewide-abortion-recount/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Constitutional Court suspended the prime minister from his duties on Wednesday while it decides whether the man who led a military coup in 2014 has violated the country’s term limits.
It’s considered unlikely that the court will permanently force Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha out since it has generally ruled in the government’s favor in a slew of political cases.
But any decision to allow Prayuth to stay on would risk invigorating a protest movement that has long sought to oust him and reopening deep fissures in Thai politics that have sometimes led to violence. While Prayuth initially came to power in a coup, he won the job legally after a general election in 2019.
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, a close political ally of Prayuth and part of the same military clique that that staged the coup, will take over as acting prime minister, according to Anucha Burapachaisri, a spokesman for the prime minister’s office. Anucha added that Prayuth would respect the court’s decision and called on others to do the same.
The choice of Prawit, who is closely associated with Prayuth, is not likely to mollify critics.
Prayuth’s detractors contend he has violated a law that limits prime ministers to eight years in power — a threshold they say he hit Tuesday since he officially became prime minister on Aug. 24, 2014.
But his supporters contend his term should be counted from when the current constitution, which contains the term-limit provision, came into effect in 2017. Another interpretation would start the clock in 2019, following the election.
A group that is among the leaders of the main protest movement seeking to unseat Prayuth again demanded that he step down on Wednesday.
“No Prayuth. No Prawit. No military coup government,” the group known as Ratsadon, or The People, said while issuing a new call for protest. But only a small number of protesters came in Wednesday in response.
A earlier statement from the group called the last eight years “the darkest and most bitter times. A period under the rule of a tyrant who took power away from the people. A tyrant who inherits power through a mechanism without democratic legitimacy.”
The case — in which the court is deciding whether a coup-leader has stayed in power too long — highlighted Thailand’s unusual political culture. The country has been rocked by a series of coups, but often the soldiers who overthrow elected leaders then try to legitimize their rule and defuse opposition by holding elections and abiding by constitutional restrictions.
By a vote of 5 to 4 on Wednesday, the court agreed to suspend Prayuth from his duties while it considers a petition from opposition lawmakers. The court’s announcement said Prayuth must submit his defense within 15 days of receiving a copy of the complaint, but it did not say when it would rule.
Prayuth will remain in his other post of defense minister, according to Anucha, the spokesman.
Polls show Prayuth’s popularity is at a low ebb, with voters blaming him for mishandling the economy and botching Thailand’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I am very pleased. Gen. Prayuth has stayed for a long time and had no vision to develop the country at all,” Wuttichai Tayati, a 28-year-old who works in marketing, said while protesting outside of the government headquarters on Wednesday. “At least, taking him out for now might make Thailand move forward a bit.”
In 2020, tens of thousands of people took to the streets to demand that Prayuth and his Cabinet resign, while also calling for the constitution to be amended and the monarchy to be reformed.
Several confrontations between the student-driven protest movement and authorities became violent. A legal crackdown on activists further embittered Prayuth’s critics.
Small protests appealing again to Prayuth to step down and the Constitutional Court to force him to if he didn’t have been held daily since Sunday, but drawn only small crowds.
Even if he does, replacing him with Prawit will not resolve the standoff.
In addition to his close association with the military clique that seized power, Prawit, 77, was tainted by allegations he had illegally amassed a collection of luxury watches he couldn’t possibly afford on a government salary, though a court accepted his explanation they were gifts and cleared him of wrongdoing.
Whether Prawit would or could take the prime minister’s post if the court rules against Prayuth is not clear. He has publicly acknowledged his health is not good and is better known as a behind-the-scenes political organizer.
Also, some legal scholars think Prayuth’s replacement would have to come from the small pool of candidates that the country’s political parties nominated for the job after the 2019 general election. That list did not include Prawit, though it appears possible he could be nominated in case of a deadlock.
If he is not forced out of office, Prayuth must call a new election by March next year, though he has the option of calling one before that.
The eight-year term limit was meant to target former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a populist billionaire who was ousted by a 2006 military coup but whose political machine remains powerful. The 2014 coup ousted the government of Thaksin’s sister, Yingluck Shinawatra.
Court rulings have forced three prime ministers associated with Thaksin from office, including Yingluck.
Thailand’s traditional conservative ruling class, including the military, felt that Thaksin’s popularity posed a threat to the country’s monarchy as well as their own influence. The courts have been stalwart defenders of the established order and ruled consistently against Thaksin and other challengers.
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Associated Press writer Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul contributed to this report. | https://www.wpri.com/news/breaking-news/ap-top-news/thai-court-orders-prime-minister-suspended-from-duties/ | 2022-08-25T00:39:50Z | wpri.com | control | https://www.wpri.com/news/breaking-news/ap-top-news/thai-court-orders-prime-minister-suspended-from-duties/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
(KTLA) – A federal jury on Wednesday awarded Kobe Bryant’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, and another plaintiff $31 million in combined damages stemming from graphic photos taken and shared from the scene of the 2020 crash that killed the Los Angeles Lakers star, his daughter, and seven other people.
The nine jurors who returned the unanimous verdict agreed with Vanessa Bryant and her attorneys that deputies and firefighters taking and sharing photos of the remains of Kobe Bryant and their 13-year-old daughter Gianna invaded her privacy and brought her emotional distress.
“January 26th, 2020, was the worst day of Vanessa Bryant’s life. The county made it much worse,” Vanessa Bryant’s attorney Luis Li told jurors in his opening statement earlier this month. “They poured salt in an open wound and rubbed it in.”
The jury deliberated for 4 1/2 hours before reaching the verdict. Vanessa Bryant cried quietly as it was read.
Los Angeles County already agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle a similar case brought by two families whose relatives were killed in the crash.
Vanessa Bryant and Chris Chester, whose wife, Sara, and daughter Payton also died, declined to settle. Bryant will receive $16 million while Chester was awarded $15 million.
On Friday, Bryant tearfully testified that news of the photos compounded her still-raw grief a month after losing her husband and daughter, and that she still has panic attacks at the thought that they might still be out there.
“I live in fear every day of being on social media and these popping up,” she told jurors. “I live in fear of my daughters being on social media and these popping up.”
Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and other parents and players were flying to a girl’s basketball tournament when their chartered helicopter crashed in the Calabasas hills on January 26th, 2020.
Federal safety officials blamed pilot error.
During the trial, Li played jurors security video of an off-duty sheriff’s deputy drinking at a bar showing the photos to the bartender, who shakes his head in dismay. The lawyer then showed an image of the men laughing together later.
Li described firefighters looking at the phone photos two weeks later at an awards banquet, and showed the jury an animated chart documenting their spread to nearly 30 people.
An attorney for the county defended the taking of the photos as an essential tool for first responders seeking to share information when they thought they might still save lives at the chaotic, dangerous, and hard-to-reach crash scene.
It was not immediately known if L.A. County would appeal the verdict.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | https://www.wpri.com/news/national/vanessa-bryant-awarded-16-million-in-lawsuit-over-helicopter-crash-photos/ | 2022-08-25T00:40:24Z | wpri.com | control | https://www.wpri.com/news/national/vanessa-bryant-awarded-16-million-in-lawsuit-over-helicopter-crash-photos/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
LUANDA, Angola (AP) — Angolans are voting in an election in which President Joao Lourenco is seeking a second term and longtime opposition party UNITA is trying to unseat the ruling MPLA party which has held power for 47 years.
Some voters lined up at dawn Wednesday, two hours before polling stations opened at 7 a.m. local time.
Lourenco and opposition candidate Adalberto Costa Junior of the Union for the Total Independence of Angola, UNITA, cast their ballots in Luanda, the capital city on the Atlantic Ocean.
About 14 million of the country’s more than 33 million people have registered to vote. In the previous election in 2017, the turnout was 57% of those who registered.
Ordinarily busy marketplaces and street stalls have been closed to encourage people to go to the polls and the government has urged all employers to allow workers to have time to vote.
At the more than 26,400 polling stations across the country and abroad, the country’s ruling party, the Peoples Movement for the Liberation of Angola, has 53,000 representatives to monitor the voting and counting. UNITA has not announced how it will monitor results but it has called on its supporters to sit at polling stations after voting to observe the counting and posting of the tallies.
Official results are not expected for several days, as recent elections have seen delays in announcements by the National Electoral Commission, whose director is seen as partisan to the ruling party.
The election is being watched by about 2,000 international observers including from the European Union, the African Union, the Southern African Development Community and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.
As the threat of COVID-19 has reduced, people are permitted to vote without face masks. | https://www.wpri.com/news/us-and-world/angola-votes-as-ruling-party-seeks-to-extend-47-year-rule/ | 2022-08-25T00:40:44Z | wpri.com | control | https://www.wpri.com/news/us-and-world/angola-votes-as-ruling-party-seeks-to-extend-47-year-rule/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Bringing gourmet cookies made locally closer to more raving fans in the Inland Empire,
Cookie Co. will open in Beaumont August 26th
REDLANDS, Calif., Aug. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Cookie Co. is practically a household name in the Inland Empire, while raving fans are known to drive hours from various counties to stock up on their favorite cookies. The Beaumont location will open its doors Friday, August 26th to serve Cookie Co.'s signature cookies made with real eggs, real butter, and real sugar to loyal patrons from near or far. The Beaumont location is located at 1545 E. 2nd Street, Suite 500 within The Gateway shopping center, with the cookie line-up for the grand opening weekend to include Frosted Sugar, Raspberry Cheesecake, Pineapple Upside Down Cake, and Cookie Co.'s signature Chocolate Chip. This is the fourth location for Cookie Co. to open in Southern California, following the opening of their Temecula location earlier this month. The next Cookie Co. destination to open will be Yucaipa, California with details to be released in the upcoming weeks.
"We've been diligent about maintaining quality as we expand, which is of the utmost importance to us. There has been such high demand in the Beaumont area, so this was the right choice for us when it came to selecting our next Southern California location. " -Elise Thomas, Co-Founder, Cookie Co.
Gourmet cookies, made locally. Founded in 2020 during the height of the pandemic, Cookie Co. began as a labor of love, offering the simplest of comfort foods – fresh baked cookies. Baked right at home with curbside pick-up in their driveway, Founders Elise and Matt Thomas discovered peace in providing an experience that reminded them of hopeful childhood memories. Opening the first location in August 2020 in Redlands, California, Cookie Co. is known for its signature cookies which are proprietary to the company. Cookie Co. has thrived thanks to raving fans across the community and is now available as a franchise. Interested franchise partners can learn more by contacting: franchise@cookieco.com.
Learn More:
CookieCo.com | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok
Contact: Paula Steurer
Sterling Public Relations
Direct: 949. 200. 6566
Paula@SterlingPublicRelationsOC.com
View original content:
SOURCE Cookie Co. | https://www.wave3.com/prnewswire/2022/08/24/cookie-co-expands-southern-california-opening-beaumont-location/ | 2022-08-25T00:42:09Z | wave3.com | control | https://www.wave3.com/prnewswire/2022/08/24/cookie-co-expands-southern-california-opening-beaumont-location/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
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