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Conference call to be held on the same day at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time
REHOVOT, Israel, April 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Nova (NASDAQ: NVMI), today announced that it expects to release its financial results for the first quarter of 2022 before the Nasdaq market opens on Thursday, May 12th, 2022.
Q1 2022 Conference Call Details:
Eitan Oppenhaim, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Dror David, Chief Financial Officer, will host a conference call to review the Company's first quarter 2022 financial results on May 12, 2022 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
To attend the conference call, please dial one of the following teleconferencing numbers. Please begin by placing your call at least five minutes before the conference call commences. If you are unable to connect using the toll-free numbers, please try the international dial-in number.
U.S. TOLL-FREE: 1-800-239-9838
ISRAEL TOLL-FREE: 1809-212-883
INTERNATIONAL: 1-323-794-2551
WEBCAST LINK: https://viavid.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1543029&tp_key=ecce66f9d6
At:
8:30 a.m. Eastern Time
5:30 a.m. Pacific Time
3:30 p.m. Israel Time
The conference call will also be available via a live webcast from a link on Nova's Investor Relations website - https://www.novami.com/investors/events/
A replay of the conference call will be available from May 12, 2022, to May 19, 2022. To access the replay, please dial one of the following numbers:
Replay TOLL-FREE: 1-844-512-2921
Replay TOLL/INTERNATIONAL: 1-412-317-6671
Replay Pin Number: 2902650
About Nova:
Nova is a leading innovator and key provider of metrology solutions for advanced process control used in semiconductor manufacturing. Nova delivers continuous innovation by providing state-of-the-art, high-performance metrology solutions for effective process control throughout the semiconductor fabrication lifecycle. Nova's product portfolio, which combines high-precision hardware and cutting-edge software, provides its customers with deep insight into the development and production of the most advanced semiconductor devices. Nova's unique capability to deliver innovative X-ray and optical solutions enables its customers to improve performance, enhance product yields and accelerate time to market. Nova acts as a partner to semiconductor manufacturers from its offices around the world. Additional information may be found at Nova Website Link - https://www.novami.com/
Nova is traded on Nasdaq & TASE, Nasdaq ticker symbol NVMI.
Forward looking statement:
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 relating to future events or our future performance, such as statements regarding, but not limited to, anticipated growth opportunities and projections about our business and its future revenues, expenses and profitability. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied in those forward-looking statements. Factors that may affect our results, performance, circumstances or achievements include, but are not limited to, the following: catastrophic events such as the outbreak of COVID-19; increased information technology security threats and sophisticated computer crime; foreign political and economic risks; changes in global trade policies; inability to protect intellectual property; open source technology exposure; failure to compete effectively or to respond to the rapid technological changes; consolidation in our industry; difficulty to predict the length and strength of any downturn or expansion period of the market we target; risks associated with violations of environmental, safety and health regulations; factors that adversely affect the pricing and demand for our product lines; dependency on a small number of large customers; dependency on a single manufacturing facility per product line; dependency on a limited number of suppliers; difficulty to integrate current or future acquisitions; lengthy sales cycle and customer delays in orders; failures to attract, recruit and retain qualified employees due to intense competition for highly skilled personnel; political, economic, and military instability in Israel; risks related to our convertible notes; currency fluctuations; and quarterly fluctuations in our operating results. We cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. The matters discussed in this press release also involve risks and uncertainties summarized under the heading "Risk Factors" in Nova's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2021 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 1, 2022. These factors are updated from time to time through the filing of reports and registration statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Nova Ltd. does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.
Company Contact:
Dror David, Chief Financial Officer
Tel: +972-73-229-5760
E-mail: investors@novami.com
Nova Website Link - https://www.novami.com/
Investor Relations Contact:
Miri Segal
MS-IR LLC
Tel: +917-607-8654
E-mail: msegal@ms-ir.com
Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1446151/Nova_Logo.jpg
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nova-to-announce-first-quarter-2022-financial-results-on-may-12-2022-301525755.html
SOURCE Nova
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https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_technology/nova-to-announce-first-quarter-2022-financial-results-on-may-12-2022/article_f780ba4c-e72d-57e5-b335-c0c87108c994.html
| 2022-04-14T13:30:35Z
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https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_technology/nova-to-announce-first-quarter-2022-financial-results-on-may-12-2022/article_f780ba4c-e72d-57e5-b335-c0c87108c994.html
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Your make-up brushes are dirtier than a toilet seat: Stomach-churning images reveal how tools are covered in fuzzy mould, fungus and bacteria
- Shocking photos released by the Aventus Clinic - a Dermatology Specialists based in Hitchin, Hertfordshire - show how dirty make-up brushes and tools are
- Team swabbed make-up brushes to see what lurks under microscopic surface
- Out of the 12 brushes tested, 11 were found to be dirtier than your average toilet seat, with eyeshadow and blusher tools the worst offenders
Make-up brushes can have more bacteria on them than a toilet brush, a new study has revealed.
Shocking photos released by the Aventus Clinic - a Dermatology Specialists based in Hitchin, Hertfordshire - show how dirty make-up brushes and tools really are covered in fuzzy mould, fungus and bacteria.
The team swabbed make-up brushes to see what lurks under the microscopic surface. Out of the 12 brushes tested, 11 were found to be dirtier than your average toilet seat, with eyeshadow and blusher tools the worst offenders.
Shocking photos released by the Aventus Clinic - a Dermatology Specialists based in Hitchin, Hertfordshire - show how dirty make-up brushes and tools really are covered in fuzzy mould, fungus and bacteria. Pictured: The eyeshadow brush test vial is almost entirely covered in fuzzy blue and green mould - left: Mould and yeast from the make-up brush and bacteria on the right
The lipgloss (pictured) had the third most bacteria on it. Left: mould and yeast from the lipgloss and right the bacteria found
The team swabbed make-up brushes to see what lurks under the microscopic surface. Out of the 12 brushes tested, 11 were found to be dirtier than your average toilet seat, with eyeshadow and blusher tools (pictured) the worst offenders
Third on the list of most bacterial make-up was lipgloss, with 4364 colonies of yeast and bacteria were found across all items tested.
Each set of images shows the product tested, and a vial with the level of mould and yeast, and a second vial with the bacteria.
The eyeshadow brush test vial is almost entirely covered in fuzzy blue and green mould, while the foundation brush vial has large droplets of blood-red bacteria across it.
Having dirty make-up brushes can be harmful and cause infections and skin break-outs.
Each set of images shows the product tested, and a vial with the level of mould and yeast, and a second vial with the bacteria. The beauty blender is pictured
A concealer blender is pictured. The horrifying set of images has revealed just how dirty brushes really get if not regularly maintained, covered in mould, fungus and bacteria
Having dirty make-up brushes can be harmful and cause infections and skin break-outs, experts revealed. Pictured is the eyelash curler (left) with its mould results (centre) and bacteria (right)
'It's awful to see the amount of bacteria that could potentially sit on a makeup brush,' Dr Suhail Alam, medical director at Aventus Clinic said.
'However, it's not entirely shocking.
'Even after a person uses a makeup brush for the first time, it will already be forming colonies of bacteria.
'With daily use, the brushes will automatically start collecting dirt, pollutants, oil and dead skin cells, which is why make-up brushes act as a breeding ground for bacteria which can lead to breakouts and skin irritations.
Pictured: Control test results for a toilet seat, showing mould and yeast on the left and bacteria on the right. The results showed 11 out of 12 beauty tools had more bacteria than a toilet seat
The test results for a foundation brush, showing mould and yeast on the left and bacteria on the right. The more you clean your brushes, the less dirt seeps out of the bristles, experts say
'If a contaminated brush comes into contact with the eye, this could cause infections or allergic reactions but these can be avoided with a weekly cleaning routine.'
'We recommend cleaning your makeup brushes at least once a week to avoid such an enormous build-up of bacteria.
'To clean the brushes properly, we suggest lathering the brush in an appropriate skin cleanser, massaging any bristles in the palm of your hand thoroughly, rinsing with lukewarm water and then squeezing the brush to remove any excess moisture.
'The more you clean your brushes, the less dirt seeps out of the bristles, but this is a good thing, so don't stop cleaning your brushes regularly if you find this to be the case!'
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-10718389/How-make-brushes-dirty-TOILET-SEAT.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ito=1490&ns_campaign=1490
| 2022-04-14T13:32:51Z
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Retail Sales in U.S. Show Impact of Surging Gasoline Prices
(Bloomberg) -- U.S. retail sales picked up in March, helped by a surge in gas station receipts that masked mixed results in other large spending categories as consumers contend with decades-high inflation.
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The value of overall retail purchases climbed 0.5%, Commerce Department figures showed Thursday. While that was just shy of expectations, the prior month was revised up sharply to show a 0.8% increase.
The March advance was led by a 8.9% jump in spending for gasoline. Excluding receipts at gas stations, sales fell 0.3% last month as vehicle and e-commerce purchases -- the two-largest spending categories -- declined. The figures aren’t adjusted for inflation.
“In some discretionary categories, such as apparel and restaurant spending, the rise in nominal sales outstripped inflation and suggested that the easing in pandemic-related restrictions is helping consumer spending, while in other components it was clear that inflation played a large role in boosting spending,” Omair Sharif, founder of Inflation Insights LLC, said in a note.
After the largest monthly percentage increase in average gasoline prices in six years, and along with rising food and shelter costs, Americans have tougher spending choices to make beyond essentials. Russia’s war in Ukraine is driving up costs for energy and commodities, adding to rampant inflation that’s crumbling purchasing power.
There are other signs that that’s already happening. Retailers like Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. blamed slowing sales on inflation that’s hurting consumer confidence, and and grocery chain Albertsons Inc. is bracing for less spending by lower-income customers as food prices surge.
A report Tuesday showed consumer prices rose 1.2% in March from a month earlier, underscoring the painfully high cost of living and reinforcing pressure on the Federal Reserve to tighten policy even more aggressively. Data out Wednesday showed producer prices also rose notably, which will feed through to consumers even more.
Retail sales excluding motor vehicles and gasoline rose 0.2% last month after a 0.1% dip in February, the Commerce Department’s report showed.
Balance Sheets
Still, household balance sheets remain healthy by several measures, with the unemployment rate near the lowest in five decades at 3.6% and elevated savings throughout the pandemic.
Separate data Thursday showed initial jobless claims rose slightly last week but remained at a historically low level. Applications for benefits increased by 18,000 to 185,000.
Ten of the 13 retail categories showed growth last month. Outside of gas stations, sales at general merchandise stores, electronics and appliances merchants and clothing outlets also rose. Non-store retailers, the second-largest sales category and volatile from month to month, fell 6.4%.
Receipts at grocery stores increased 1.3%, which may have reflected a pickup in food prices. Restaurant sales, the report’s only services component, increased 1% after a 3% gain. Some eateries are removing more expensive menu items and promoting deals in response to consumers feeling the squeeze of inflation.
Still, dining out will be one of the first luxuries to go for price-conscious consumers, as well as impulse purchases, driving and other experiences, according to a nationally representative survey conducted by the Harris Poll for Bloomberg News. The poll found about 84% of Americans plan to cut back on spending as a result of higher prices.
So-called control group sales -- which economists use to calculate gross domestic product and exclude food services, auto dealers, building materials stores and gasoline stations -- fell 0.1% in March from a month earlier.
(Adds economist’s comment)
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©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
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https://news.yahoo.com/u-retail-sales-trail-forecast-123345697.html
| 2022-04-14T13:38:39Z
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LONDON (AP) — The head of the World Health Organization has slammed the global community for its focus on the war in Ukraine, arguing that crises elsewhere, including in his home country of Ethiopia, are not being given equal consideration, possibly because those suffering are not white.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus questioned “if the world really gives equal attention to Black and white lives,” given that the ongoing emergencies in Ethiopia, Yemen, Afghanistan and Syria have garnered only a “fraction” of the global concern for Ukraine. He was speaking in a virtual press briefing from Geneva on Wednesday.
Last month, Tedros said there is ”nowhere on earth where the health of millions of people is more under threat” than Ethiopia’s Tigray region.
Since a truce was declared in Tigray three weeks ago, about 2,000 trucks should have been able to bring food, medicines and other essentials to the conflict-ridden area, he said. Instead, only about 20 trucks have arrived, said Tedros, a former minister of health in Ethiopia and an ethnic Tigrayan.
“As we speak, people are dying of starvation,” he said. “This is one of the longest and worst sieges by both Eritrean and Ethiopian forces in modern history.”
Tedros acknowledged that the war in Ukraine is globally significant, but asked if other crises are being accorded enough attention.
“I need to be blunt and honest that the world is not treating the human race the same way,” he said. “Some are more equal than others.”
Tedros described the situation in Tigray as “tragic” and said he “hopes the world comes back to its senses and treats all human life equally.” He also critiqued the press for its failure to document the ongoing atrocities in Ethiopia, noting that people had been burned alive in the region. “I don’t even know if that was taken seriously by the media.”
Earlier this year, the government of Ethiopia sent a letterto the World Health Organization, accusing Tedros of “misconduct” after his sharp criticism of the war and humanitarian crisis in the country.
The Ethiopian government said Tedros was using his office “to advance his political interest at the expense of Ethiopia” and said he continues to be an active member of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front; Tedros was Ethiopia’s foreign minister and health minister when the TPLF dominated the country’s ruling coalition.
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https://www.keloland.com/news/national-world-news/who-chief-focus-on-ukraine-shows-bias-against-black-lives/
| 2022-04-14T13:49:47Z
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https://www.keloland.com/news/national-world-news/who-chief-focus-on-ukraine-shows-bias-against-black-lives/
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WFO BROWNSVILLE Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Thursday, April 14, 2022
_____
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Brownsville TX
826 AM CDT Thu Apr 14 2022
...Areas of fog affecting Padre Island...
Surface observations and satellite imagery indicate that areas of
fog and patchy dense fog are developing across all of Padre Island.
Visibilities will be reduced to 1 to 3 miles with these areas of
fog.
Early morning motorists, are urged to reduce speed, use low beam
headlights, and avoid following other vehicles too closely in
areas of fog through the morning hours.
_____
Copyright 2022 AccuWeather
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https://www.theheraldreview.com/weather/article/TX-WFO-BROWNSVILLE-Warnings-Watches-and-17080482.php
| 2022-04-14T13:51:06Z
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https://www.theheraldreview.com/weather/article/TX-WFO-BROWNSVILLE-Warnings-Watches-and-17080482.php
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France's Le Drian urges cooperation with Algeria after crisis
Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (R) meets with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian (L) in Algiers
France's top diplomat Jean-Yves Le Drian said cooperation with Algeria is "indispensible" for regional stability, during a visit to the former French colony.
"We are facing regional challenges, first and foremost terrorism," he said late Wednesday after meeting his counterpart Ramtane Lamamra and President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
"So our cooperation on security and for the stabilisation of the region is indispensable in the Mediterranean and in Africa."
Le Drian stressed the urgency of "the evolution of the situation in the Sahel and the need to relaunch the transition process in Libya".
France and Algeria have been attempting to improve their ties after a diplomatic crisis.
Algeria had withdrawn its ambassador in October after French President Emmanuel Macron accused Algeria's "political-military system" of rewriting history and fomenting "hatred towards France".
Le Drain had visited in December in order to repair the damage and the French ambassador returned in January.
On Wednesday, the foreign minister said Paris and Algiers were working on reviving bilateral relations "essential for each of our two countries and that we wish to maintain over the long term".
He also said Russia's invasion of Ukraine had "major consequences" for energy in Europe and for food security, including in Algeria.
Algeria is a major exporter of natural gas, which covers over 11 percent of Europe's needs, compared to Russia which makes up about 47 percent.
European countries have been trying to ramp up Algerian exports to reduce their reliance on Russia, but experts say the North African country has limited room for manoeuvre, partly due to its own soaring domestic needs.
Algeria did however sign a deal on Monday to boost exports to Italy by the Transmid undersea pipelie.
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-10718989/Frances-Le-Drian-urges-cooperation-Algeria-crisis.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
| 2022-04-14T13:53:28Z
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-10718989/Frances-Le-Drian-urges-cooperation-Algeria-crisis.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
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Putin tells Europe: You cannot ditch Russian gas but we´re turning east
April 14 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Moscow will work to re-direct its energy eastward as European countries try to reduce reliance on Russian exports, adding that Europe will not be able to completely shun Russian gas immediately.
Russia, which accounts for around 10% of global oil production, has been forging closer ties with Asia and China, the world's top energy consumer, trying to diversify away deliveries from its traditional supply markets in Europe.
Western sanctions over Moscow's military operation in Ukraine have hit Russian energy exports by complicating financing of the deals and logistics.
"What's astonishing is that the so-called partners from unfriendly countries concede themselves that they won't be able to make do without Russian energy resources, including without natural gas, for example," Putin told a televised government meeting.
"There is no rational replacement (for gas) in Europe now."
He also said that Europe, by talking about cutting off energy supplies from Russia, was driving up prices and destabilising the market.
"Unfriendly countries admit that they cannot do without Russian energy resources", Putin said.
Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine has triggered an overhaul of the 27-country EU's energy priorities as Brussels seeks to wrest countries free from depending on Russia, which supplies around 40% of the bloc's natural gas.
Putin said that Russia will need to build infrastructure to boost its energy supplies to Asia.
Russia started pipeline gas supplies to China in the end of 2019 after years of painstaking talks and agreeing to cutting prices for the fuel.
Putin also said that the role of national currencies in exporting deals should rise, amid Russia's plans to switch to roubles in payments for its gas supplies, mainly to Europe.
Russia has seen a steep decline in production of oil, its key source of revenues, amid difficulties with payments for trading and vessels.
Major global trading houses are planning to reduce crude and fuel purchases from Russia's state-controlled oil companies as early as May 15, sources said, to avoid falling foul of European Union sanctions on Russia.
Putin said the most "acute" problems of the Russian energy sector were related to disruption of energy supply logistics.
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-10718865/Putin-tells-Europe-You-ditch-Russian-gas-turning-east.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
| 2022-04-14T13:58:23Z
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NEW YORK (AP) — Retail sales in March rise 0.5% despite inflation continuing to soar on higher food and gas prices.
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https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Alert-Retail-sales-in-March-rise-0-5-despite-17080377.php
| 2022-04-14T14:01:13Z
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A Mirror Arrives for Alia Bhatt for Pre-Wedding Shoot? Sara Ali Khan was spotted at Maddock Studio
A Mirror Arrives for Alia Bhatt for Pre-Wedding Shoot? Sara Ali Khan was spotted at Maddock Studio. This morning, Alia Bhatt's pre-wedding shoot mirror arrived at her residence in Juhu. The latest reports claim that Alia and Ranbir’s wedding will have tight security with 200 bouncers present. Sara Ali Khan was spotted at Maddock Studios this afternoon. The diva looked stunning in her white dress.
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https://www.pinkvilla.com/videos/events/mirror-arrives-alia-bhatt-pre-wedding-shoot-sara-ali-khan-was-spotted-maddock-studio-1066500
| 2022-04-14T14:02:33Z
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MAYFIELD VILLAGE, Ohio (AP) _ Progressive Corp. (PGR) on Thursday reported first-quarter earnings of $313.9 million.
The Mayfield Village, Ohio-based company said it had net income of 52 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for investment costs, were $1.12 per share.
The results fell short of Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.24 per share.
The insurer posted revenue of $11.84 billion in the period. Its adjusted revenue was $12.29 billion, surpassing Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $12.24 billion.
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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on PGR at https://www.zacks.com/ap/PGR
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https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Progressive-Q1-Earnings-Snapshot-17080388.php
| 2022-04-14T14:04:32Z
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https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Progressive-Q1-Earnings-Snapshot-17080388.php
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WFO BROWNSVILLE Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Thursday, April 14, 2022
_____
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Brownsville TX
826 AM CDT Thu Apr 14 2022
...Areas of fog affecting Padre Island...
Surface observations and satellite imagery indicate that areas of
fog and patchy dense fog are developing across all of Padre Island.
Visibilities will be reduced to 1 to 3 miles with these areas of
fog.
Early morning motorists, are urged to reduce speed, use low beam
headlights, and avoid following other vehicles too closely in
areas of fog through the morning hours.
_____
Copyright 2022 AccuWeather
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https://www.thehour.com/weather/article/TX-WFO-BROWNSVILLE-Warnings-Watches-and-17080482.php
| 2022-04-14T14:13:53Z
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https://www.thehour.com/weather/article/TX-WFO-BROWNSVILLE-Warnings-Watches-and-17080482.php
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BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday criticized a diplomatic snub by Ukraine for his country’s president and defended Berlin’s record on delivering weapons to Kyiv amid tensions that have flared at a delicate moment in German policymaking on the war.
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany’s largely ceremonial head of state, had hoped to travel to Ukraine on Wednesday with his Polish and Baltic counterparts. But he said Tuesday that his presence “apparently … wasn’t wanted in Kyiv.” The German newspaper Bild quoted an unidentified Ukrainian diplomat as saying that Steinmeier was not welcome at the moment, pointing to his close relations with Russia in the past.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany later said the government would be glad to welcome Scholz — who, unlike Steinmeier, sets government policy. But the snub to Steinmeier may make that more difficult.
“The president would have liked to go to Ukraine,” Scholz told rbb24 Inforadio, noting that Steinmeier is Germany’s head of state and was recently reelected with broad support. “So it would have been good to receive him.”
“It is, in any case, somewhat irritating, to put it politely,” Scholz added, noting that Steinmeier has strongly criticized Russia’s war and called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to withdraw his troops from Ukraine.
The flap comes amid a discussion within Scholz’s governing coalition about whether Germany should authorize sending heavy weapons such as tanks to Ukraine as that nation prepares to face a stepped-up Russian offensive in the east. Germany broke with tradition after Russia’s invasion to supply arms to Ukraine but has faced criticism from Kyiv for perceived hesitancy and slowness in providing material.
A Ukrainian presidential advisor, Oleksiy Arestovych, told Germany’s ARD television that he didn’t know the reasons for the decision to reject a Steinmeier visit but also signaled that Kyiv would like to see Scholz so that “practical decisions” could be made on matters such as weapons.
A senior lawmaker with one of Germany’s three governing parties, Wolfgang Kubicki, said he didn’t think Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was “well advised” to reject a visit by Steinmeier.
“I cannot imagine that the chancellor … will travel to a country that designates our country’s head of state as an unwanted person,” he told the German news agency dpa. Another governing party lawmaker, Juergen Trittin, told the RND newspaper group that the move was “a big propaganda success for Vladimir Putin.”
Steinmeier, who became president in 2017, served twice as ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel’s foreign minister and before that as ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s chief of staff. During that time, Germany pursued a dialogue with Putin and cultivated close energy ties.
Last week, Steinmeier admitted mistakes in Germany’s policies toward Russia, saying that “we failed on many points.”
Asked when would go to Ukraine, Scholz said only that he had visited Kyiv shortly before the war and regularly speaks to Zelenskyy.
Scholz said “the weapons we are delivering have made a very substantial contribution” to Ukraine foiling Russia’s plans for a quick conquest. He was tight-lipped on the possibilities of a bigger German contribution, but insisted that “we are delivering, we have delivered and we will deliver.”
On Monday, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock of the Green party said “Ukraine needs further military material, above all heavy weapons, and now is not the time for excuses — now is the time for creativity and pragmatism.”
The message appeared directed at more hesitant German politicians, particularly among Scholz’s Social Democrats.
Scholz said “we are delivering the weapons that all the others are also delivering.” He also said Germany won’t make unilateral decisions and stressed the need to prevent NATO countries from becoming a party to the war.
Germany, which has Europe’s biggest economy, also has faced criticism for opposing a quick halt to deliveries of natural gas from Russia, which accounts for about 40% of its gas supplies.
___
Follow all AP stories on Russia’s war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.
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https://phl17.com/news/international/ap-international/germany-irritated-by-ukraines-snub-of-a-presidential-visit/
| 2022-04-14T14:15:52Z
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https://phl17.com/news/international/ap-international/germany-irritated-by-ukraines-snub-of-a-presidential-visit/
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Best headphones for camping
Getting back to nature can be an amazing way to de-stress. Spending time in the forests of a national park or hiking the Midwestern plains can make you forget about your worries as you take in the sights.
While some prefer to wake up with the call of the mountain chickadee, others center themselves through music. It might seem counterproductive to listen to created sounds rather than nature’s own, but the two go surprisingly well together — if you have the right headphones for camping, that is.
Best wireless headphones
If you’re looking for a great pair of headphones that fit over your ears, this model from Sony is a perfect option. They use some of the best noise-canceling technology available, and through the Edge-AI system, they regulate and change the equalizer according to the music. They’re perfect for camping or hiking as they have a 30-hour battery life, and you can receive calls through the connected Bluetooth function.
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SoundCore by Anker Life Q30 Hybrid
To remove the sounds of people talking around you or when you just want to be alone, SoundCore Life Q30 headphones use Anker’s hybrid noise-canceling system that includes dual microphones to block up to 95% of ambient sounds. With large 40-millimeter audio drivers, this pair has a battery life of 40 hours and comes with a 3.5-millimeter cable, even though they’re capable of wireless connectivity.
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For Apple loyalists who enjoy camping, there are no better headphones to pack in your bag than the AirPods Max. Available in five colors, they feature active noise cancellation, respond to Siri through voice and provide up to 20 hours of listening time. As they’re wireless, they connect to your device through Bluetooth. No matter what you’re listening to, the Adaptive EQ changes the equalizer depending on the musical style and quality.
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Best headphones for running
Beats Powerbeats Pro Wireless Earbuds
If you want to stay in shape while on a camping trip, then you’re probably going to want to get in a run. To listen to music while doing so, you need a great pair of earbuds, and Powerbeats are a good option. They provide you with nine hours of battery life and are completely wireless. The ear hooks are adjustable to ensure a snug fit and they’re reinforced to protect against sweat and water. While they use Apple’s H1 internal chip, they’re compatible with iOS and Android devices.
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Available in several colors, these JBudsPRO earbuds stay put no matter how fast you’re running. The Cush Fins at the top of the earbuds fit comfortably into the ear, while three different size silicone tips provide added grip. For sound production, the audio drivers are 11 millimeters and use high-performance titanium for better quality. JBudsPRO have an in-line microphone so you can take and make hands-free calls while camping.
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The best choice for Apple fans who want a subtle listening experience, AirPods Pro come with active noise cancellation while still having transparency mode for when you need to hear what’s going on around you. Adaptive EQ automatically tunes the music, while spatial audio with dynamic head tracking makes it sound like the music is all around you. The tips are available in three different sizes and they’re sweat- and water-resistant.
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Best affordable headphones
When you go camping, you don’t always want to take the best or most expensive headphones with you. There are plenty of affordable headphones that are perfect for throwing in a backpack and hitting the trail, such as Riff Wireless. They connect to your mobile device through Bluetooth (a wired version is available too), give you 12 hours of battery life and provide two hours of listening from a 10-minute charge. They’re available in four colors and come with a built-in microphone, volume and track control and charge through a USB cable.
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Retailing for under $10, these headphones are perfect for camping if you aren’t too concerned about them getting dirty, wet or possibly damaged. The audio drivers measure 33 millimeters and sit inside swiveling ear cups that are covered with soft foam. These headphones aren’t wireless but connect to your mobile device with a 3.5-millimeter jack. If you have an iPhone, don’t forget to pack your Lightning 3.5-millimeter adapter.
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For a grab-and-go pair of earbuds, Pro from Philips get the job done. Whether you’re camping or on a hike, the 8.6-millimeter audio drivers produce clear music with no distortion. They feature passive noise cancellation to block out any ambient sounds and connect to your mobile device through a 3.5-millimeter connection. With the in-line microphone and volume controls, you can make and receive phone calls.
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With a tangle-free flat cable and foldable ear cups, the Tune 500 are a great pair of headphones to take on a camping trip. Their compact design makes them easy to throw into a backpack or keep around your neck. The 32-millimeter audio drivers incorporate JBL’s Pure Bass technology for crystal-clear sounds, and the padded headband reduces discomfort if you wear them for a long time. They feature an in-line microphone and volume controls that can also be used to activate Google Assistant or Siri.
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Charlie Fripp writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved.
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https://phl17.com/reviews/br/electronics-br/headphones-br/which-headphones-are-best-for-camping/
| 2022-04-14T14:18:19Z
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The abortion crisis in Kenyan universities
What you need to know:
- Barely out of her teens and in the first or second year of college, she finds herself in an awkward situation: Should she procure an abortion or live with the stigma? Young, jobless and desperate, many university students prefer terminating the pregnancy.
It usually begins with a chilling call, “Babe, we need to talk”. This is a clear signal that things are thick. After a period of careless fun with a ‘sponsor’, she misses her periods, then reality sets in.
Barely out of her teens and in the first or second year of college, she finds herself in an awkward situation: Should she procure an abortion or live with the stigma? Young, jobless and desperate, many university students prefer terminating the pregnancy.
At only 23, *Morine has already had two abortions. A second-year university student in the Rift Valley, she had a strict religious upbringing whose emphasis was good character and morals.
But somewhere along the way, she deviated from the holy scriptures after joining college. Like many other ‘freshers’, she had to adjust to the freedom of adult life in the university.
When she first realised she would be a mother, she had to either tell her parents the truth and face societal shame or secretly terminate the pregnancy and proceed with her studies.
As a young girl with lofty dreams and aspirations, she chose the latter.
“My parents are very strict and I was not ready to have a child, I am still new in school trying to understand myself, so I did not want to risk my future,” says Morine.
A friend who knew what she was going through introduced her to a clinic. A doctor gave her two tablets; one was placed under her tongue, while the other was inserted in her private parts. For this, she paid Sh4,000.
*Stacy, another university student in Nairobi, shares a similar experience.
She’s an adventurous girl who lives her life to the fullest but one evening, the fun came to a screeching halt when she realised she was pregnant.
“When I missed my periods I knew something was not right. I texted the man I was dating and told him that we needed to talk. Interestingly, he sent me Sh6,000, as if he knew what I was going to say. The money was another way of him telling me to get rid of it,” says Stacy.
“One of my friends hooked me up with a certain doctor who sorts out students. In some cases, medical students sell abortion drugs for as low as Sh2,000, but I just opted to see a doctor and paid shSh5,000. If you’ve not had an abortion while in the university then you do deserve a trophy because it’s not easy.
ALSO READ: Stigma is the main cause of unsafe abortions
“I was dating older men while in university. This is tricky because they don’t like using condoms; they are financing your lifestyle so it’s upon you to take care of yourself. I have conceived twice but immediately they know you’ve done it they move away; they don’t want to interact with you,” she adds.
Other female students we spoke to attributed the prevalence in abortions to societal pressures to live a certain lifestyle, which forces a majority of them to look for “financially stable” men to finance their lifestyles.
The catch, though, is that these men are unwilling to use protection, and insist on sex on demand, leaving the female students with few options.
Abortion continues to remain a difficult topic in Kenya.
According to Article 26 (IV) of the Constitution, abortion is not permitted unless, in the opinion of a trained health professional, there is a need for emergency treatment or the life or health of the mother is in danger, or if permitted by any other written law.
Healthcare services do not provide abortion services in colleges. Students have to go off-campus to procure unsafe abortions. Sometimes they are forced to travel long distances to find backdoor abortion clinics.
According to the findings of a thesis by Dr Lugaliki A. Doreen, which was submitted to the University of Nairobi, about 13 per cent of pregnancy-related deaths have been attributed to complications of unsafe abortion.
Unsafe abortion contributes significantly to maternal mortality in resource-poor countries. Between seven and 10 patients who have procured abortions are treated daily at the Kenyatta National Hospital.
“I receive calls from students asking me if I could help prescribe drugs. They come to us bleeding and most of them lie that they did not know that they were pregnant. They mostly come from backstreet clinics after things go wrong,” says Dr Gideon Kiprono from Olenguruone Sub-County Hospital.
“I don’t participate in such practices. They usually go to chemists, where they are given drugs over-the-counter,” he adds.
DON'T MISS: Abortion cases among adolescents raise queries
Dr Kiprono says unsafe abortions come with consequences, including infertility as some medics use crude tools in the process.
A report by the African Population and Health Research Center and the Ministry of Health revealed that nearly 120,000 women received care for complications resulting from unsafe abortions in health facilities in 2012.
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https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/the-abortion-crisis-in-kenyan-universities-3781820
| 2022-04-14T14:20:47Z
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https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/the-abortion-crisis-in-kenyan-universities-3781820
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NEW YORK (AP) — Retail sales rose modestly in March, but higher prices for food, gasoline and other basics took a big share of consumers' wallets.
Retail sales increased 0.5% after registering a revised 0.8% increase from January to February. Spending has been fueled by wage gains, solid hiring and more money in banking accounts. January’s increase of 4.9% was the biggest jump in spending since March 2021, when American households received a final federal stimulus check of $1,400.
Excluding an 8.9% increase at gas stations, overall retail sales were actually down 0.3% last month, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
“They are spending selectively this month and the gasoline price spike from the Russian-Ukraine war was where most of the expenditures were made," said Christopher S. Rupkey, chief economist at research firm FWDBONDS LLC.
Business at general merchandise stores were up 5.4%, while clothing stores sales rose 2.6%. Online sales were surprisingly down 6.4%. Restaurant sales rose 1%.
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The retail report covers only about a third of overall consumer spending and doesn’t include services such as haircuts, hotel stays and plane tickets, areas that have been rebounding.
Retailers are closely monitoring Russia's war with Ukraine and how it could weigh on shoppers' confidence but also worsen inflation. The conflict has already limited supplies of wheat, vegetable oils, and electronic components like chips. It's pushed up fertilizer prices that were already high, made scarce supplies even harder to find and squeezed farmers, especially those in the developing world. In addition to the Russian invasion, rising COVID-19 cases and renewed restrictions in China could worsen supply chain issues.
The Labor Department said Tuesday that its consumer price index jumped 8.5% in March from 12 months earlier, the sharpest year-over-year increase since 1981. Prices have been pushed up by bottlenecked supply chains, robust consumer demand and disruptions to global food and energy markets worsened by the war. From February to March, inflation rose 1.2%, the biggest month-to-month jump since 2005. Gasoline prices drove more than half that increase.
The March inflation numbers were the first to fully capture the surge in gasoline prices that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. Moscow’s attacks have triggered far-reaching Western sanctions against the Russian economy.
The acceleration of inflation is happening in otherwise strong economy. In March, employers adding a robust 431,000 jobs — the 11th straight month in which they’ve added at least 400,000. For 2021, they added 6.7 million jobs, the most in any year on record. In addition, job openings are near record highs, layoffs are at their lowest point since 1968 and the unemployment rate is just above a half-century low.
Retailers have been forced to keep raising wages to stay competitive, but now they worry any progress that they made is being undone because higher prices are eating into workers’ earning power.
To protect themselves against any consumer spending downturn, retailers are cutting back on expenses, while taking a measured approach to ordering merchandise.
AP Economics Writer Paul Wiseman in Washington contributed to this report.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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https://wcfcourier.com/news/national/retail-sales-rise-0-5-in-march-amid-soaring-inflation/article_b824ba71-4ec1-5021-99e4-84a5ffb75785.html
| 2022-04-14T14:21:42Z
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https://wcfcourier.com/news/national/retail-sales-rise-0-5-in-march-amid-soaring-inflation/article_b824ba71-4ec1-5021-99e4-84a5ffb75785.html
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Pfizer said Thursday it wants to expand its COVID-19 booster shots to healthy elementary-age kids.
U.S. health authorities already urge everyone 12 and older to get one booster dose for the best protection against the newest variants — and recently gave the option of a second booster to those 50 and older.
Now Pfizer says new data shows healthy 5- to 11-year-olds could benefit from another kid-sized shot.
In a small study, 140 youngsters who’d already gotten two shots were given a booster six months later, and researchers found the extra shot generally revved up their immune response. But a closer look at 30 of the children found a 36-fold increase in virus-fighting antibodies, levels high enough to fight the super-contagious omicron variant, Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said in a press release.
The data has not been published or vetted by independent experts.
Pfizer tested the kid booster while omicron was surging this winter. While COVID-19 cases now are at much lower levels in the U.S., in recent weeks an even more contagious version of omicron, called BA.2, has become the dominant type locally and around the world.
In the coming days, the companies plan to ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to authorize a booster for healthy 5- to 11-year-olds. They also plan to share the data with European and other regulators.
Vaccinations are generally less effective against the omicron variant than earlier versions of the coronavirus — but they do still offer strong protection against severe disease. While COVID-19 is a bigger threat to adults, youngsters can get seriously ill. But regulators will have to decide if healthy elementary-age kids really need a booster, and if so, when.
The Pfizer shots are the only vaccine available to U.S. children. Those ages 5 to 11 receive one-third of the dose given to everyone 12 and older. Just over a quarter in the younger age group have gotten two doses since vaccination opened to them in November, shortly before omicron struck.
The U.S. hasn’t yet allowed vaccinations for children under 5. But certain 5- to 11-year-olds — those with severely weakened immune systems — already are supposed to get three doses, to give that high-risk group a better chance of responding.
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https://www.wane.com/community/health/coronavirus/pfizer-to-ask-fda-to-ok-covid-booster-for-healthy-kids-ages-5-11/
| 2022-04-14T14:23:55Z
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https://www.wane.com/community/health/coronavirus/pfizer-to-ask-fda-to-ok-covid-booster-for-healthy-kids-ages-5-11/
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Prosecutors tell jury man was 1 of 3 'Beatles' hostage- takers whose scheme led to James Foley's death
Defense attorney says credibility of witness — a former Islamic State member — is weak
Defense attorney says credibility of witness — a former Islamic State member — is weak
Defense attorney says credibility of witness — a former Islamic State member — is weak
It matters not whether El Shafee Elsheikh was the Beatle dubbed "George" or the Beatle nicknamed "Ringo," prosecutors told a jury Wednesday. What matters is that he was one of three British men in the Islamic State group who orchestrated a hostage-taking scheme that left four Americans dead.
"The Beatles were the lifeblood of the hostage conspiracy," First Assistant U.S. Attorney Raj Parekh told jurors Wednesday during closing arguments at Elsheikh's terrorism trial in Alexandria.
Elsheikh is charged with hostage-taking resulting in death and other crimes, in what prosecutors say was a conspiracy that resulted in the capture of roughly two dozen Westerners between 2012 and 2015. It was during that time period that the terrorist group controlled large swaths of Iraq and Syria and was at the height of its power.
Four Americans — journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller — were among the hostages. Foley, Sotloff and Kassig were killed by decapitation; gruesome videos broadcast their executions to the world. Mueller was forced into slavery and raped repeatedly by the Islamic State's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, before she was killed.
Prosecutors say Elsheikh was one of three captors dubbed "the Beatles" by the hostages because of their distinctive British accents.
Parekh said the most obvious evidence of Elsheikh's guilt is his own confessions, given to government interrogators and journalists. While Elsheikh never admitted to being "Ringo" — the identity prosecutors suggested belongs to Elsheikh in the trial's opening statements — he admitted to conducting tasks in the hostage scheme such as securing emails of hostages' family members for ransom negotiations.
Those admissions are enough to establish Elsheikh's guilt, according to prosecutors. But Parekh said Elsheikh and the other Beatles were far more than paper-pushing functionaries. Surviving hostages testified that all three Beatles stood out for their brutality: They said the captors forced hostages to fight each other and routinely beat them for failing to follow arbitrary rules of their captivity. Hostages reacted with dread when the Beatles returned to their prison site after an extended absence.
Survivors identified their captors as "John," "George" and "Ringo." But because the three always wore masks and took pains to keep their identities hidden, none of the hostages who took the witness stand during the trial could identify him as a Beatle.
Recent trial coverage:
- Witnesses describe hostages' despair at trial of former Islamic State fighter
- Family of slain New Hampshire journalist testifies about ransom demands
- Surviving hostage describes ordeal in ISIS captivity at trial of suspect
- Prosecutor: Leader of ISIS cell that held hostages, including James Foley, was uncommonly brutal
Parekh told jurors the only thing they need to know is that Elsheikh was one of the Beatles, because, he said, all three were guilty in the conspiracy.
The only witness who did identify Elsheikh was Omer Kuzu, a former Islamic State member who pleaded guilty to terrorism charges in Texas and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
He testified that Elsheikh carried a Glock handgun, a symbol of his status in the IS "aristocracy."
Defense attorney Nina Ginsberg said Kuzu's credibility is weak because he stands to receive time off his sentence for testifying. She said the failure of hostages to identify Elsheikh is significant.
Ginsberg also argued that Elsheikh only confessed to avoid a transfer to Iraq, where he possibly faced execution. She said the confessions came after he had spent nearly a year in the custody of the Syrian Defense Forces.
Ginsberg admitted that Elsheikh joined the Islamic State as a fighter, and that he could be found guilty on one of eight counts: providing material support to a terrorist group. But she said his role in the hostage scheme was unproven.
"As hard as the government tried, It did not prove that Mr. Elsheikh was one of the Beatles," Ginsberg said.
Prior to Elsheikh's trial, the public discussion centered on four "Beatles:" Elsheikh, his friend Alexenda Kotey, and Mohammed Emwazi, who frequently carried out the role of executioner and was known as "Jihadi John."
The fourth, Aine Davis, who is serving a prison sentence in Turkey, came up only in passing during the trial.
Emwazi was killed in a drone strike, and Kotey was captured alongside Elsheikh and also brought to Virginia to face trial. Kotey pleaded guilty last year in a plea bargain that calls for a life sentence.
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https://www.wmur.com/article/el-shafee-elsheikh-trial-closing-statements/39724500
| 2022-04-14T14:51:13Z
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https://www.wmur.com/article/el-shafee-elsheikh-trial-closing-statements/39724500
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THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A Dutch court on Thursday imposed a 12-year prison sentence on a 76-year-old Afghan man convicted of involvement in war crimes in a Kabul prison in the 1980s.
The suspect, identified as Abdul Razzaq Rafief, had told a court in The Hague that his prosecution was a case of mistaken identity.
Dutch war crimes prosecutors are convinced they have the right man after interviewing about 25 witnesses around the world and tapping the phones of the suspect and his family before arresting him at his home in the southern Dutch city of Kerkrade in 2019.
A court statement said that between 1983 and 1987 “the man worked in the Pul-e-Charkhi prison where at the time of the civil war many opponents of the regime in Kabul were locked up as political prisoners under appalling conditions.”
Prosecutors said he was commander and head of political affairs from 1983-1990 and kept political prisoners in cramped, filthy cells, where they were routinely tortured.
“He treated the prisoners cruelly and degradingly and robbed them of their freedom at random. These are war crimes: he has acted in violation of international humanitarian law,” the statement said.
At the time, Soviet occupation troops and Afghan government forces were fighting rebels backed by the United States and Pakistan. The Soviets left Afghanistan in 1989, but the Afghan government continued the fight until 1992.
The suspect stood trial in the Netherlands, under Dutch law, because he successfully applied for asylum in 2001 — prosecutors say he used a false name when he arrived and was granted Dutch citizenship.
He was charged with being an accessory to inhuman treatment and deprivation of liberty, charges that carried a maximum sentence of 20 years to life.
The trial is not the first time Dutch courts have tackled war crimes committed in Afghanistan.
In 2008, the Supreme Court upheld the torture convictions by lower courts in The Hague of two high-ranking officers in Afghanistan’s military intelligence service.
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https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Dutch-court-convicts-Afghan-man-of-involvement-in-17080579.php
| 2022-04-14T14:51:14Z
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https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Dutch-court-convicts-Afghan-man-of-involvement-in-17080579.php
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A mum is celebrating after she managed to overturn a decision to take away her autistic son's bus pass. Oliver Harta, 20, from Pinner can once again use public transport in London for free after appealing Harrow Council’s move to suspend his Freedom Pass.
His family was shocked to discover he had suddenly been deemed ineligible for the pass, despite being given one that was supposed to last until 2026. Oliver’s mum, Sheryl, wrote to the council supplying evidence of his disability, but this request was denied and she was told she would need to provide a letter from the NHS.
After appealing this decision, and attaching a doctor’s note, the council agreed to reinstate the pass. Sheryl said she was “so pleased” to see the decision reversed as it will make things “much easier” for Oliver as well as her and Nik, her husband. Sheryl said: “Oliver can’t travel on his own so it means his carer is already paying a fare - it didn’t seem right that all of a sudden he was expected to pay as well."
READ MORE : Harrow Morrisons suspends controversial £100 fines after local outrage
Sheryl explained that Oliver was confused when he was told he would have to use a bank card to travel rather than his pass as it was a break from his regular routine. She said: “He’s going to see a friend on Saturday and he’ll need to get the Tube. He asked me how he’s meant to get there without a pass but I told him it’s working again - that familiarity is important.”
While she was pleased to see the issue resolved, Sheryl said it should never have got to this stage and she urged the council to rethink its procedures. She added: “The people who are doing the testing don’t seem to know what they are testing. You can’t use the same template for each case because people have different needs.”
Sheryl said her initial evidence, including the fact Oliver attends a specialist college and travels to work experience on a bus service run by the council, “clearly showed” he needs extra support. She argued the council should be making things easier for families with children who have disabilities rather than making them jump through unnecessary hoops.
Harrow Council explained guidelines are set by the independent assessor, which determines who is eligible for a Freedom Pass based on types of disability. It added each applicant is reviewed every three years to ensure they still meet the criteria that would allow them to have free travel.
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https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/mum-wins-fight-autistic-sons-23694510
| 2022-04-14T14:51:26Z
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https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/mum-wins-fight-autistic-sons-23694510
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President Joe Biden visits North Carolina Thursday afternoon to pitch the America Competes Act in the battleground state he narrowly lost in 2020.
Biden is scheduled to speak at 2:15 p.m. ET from North Carolina A&T in Greensboro. His address follows a tour of the university’s Harold L. Martin Sr. Engineering Research and Innovation Complex.
According to the White House, Biden will highlight provisions of the act key to retaining and strengthening the United States’ innovation and manufacturing capacity, as well as investing in STEM education and equity.
The House and Senate have been working on separate versions of the bill.
The America Competes Act, the Senate’s version of the bill, passed last month by a 68-28 margin, garnering the support of 18 Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Much of the bill is aimed at research and development as an attempt to quell reported shortages of semiconductors.
North Carolina’s two Republican senators split their vote, with Sen. Rich Burr voting against while Sen. Thom Tillis voted in favor.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the America Competes Act allocates at least $335 billion over the 2022-2031 period, mainly for provisions that involve research and manufacturing in the United States.
The bill also provides funding for wireless supply chain innovation and authorizes various programs and policies related to space exploration. Notably, the bill also prohibits federal funding for the Wuhan Institute of Virology and imposes sanctions on China for cybersecurity and human rights abuses.
The legislation now goes to a conference committee comprised of House and Senate members.
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https://www.kbzk.com/news/national-politics/president-biden-pitches-america-competes-act-in-north-carolina
| 2022-04-14T14:54:38Z
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https://www.kbzk.com/news/national-politics/president-biden-pitches-america-competes-act-in-north-carolina
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MILWAUKEE (AP) — U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore says she's again tested positive for COVID-19.
Moore, along with many of Wisconsin's highest-ranking Democrats, attended Wednesday's inauguration of Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson.
Moore sat next to Gov. Tony Evers at the ceremony. She was wearing a mask.
“Today, I was experiencing very mild symptoms associated with COVID-19. I got tested as a precaution and tested positive for COVID-19,” Moore said in a statement late Wednesday.
Moore previously tested positive in December 2020. In January 2021, she announced she was cleared to return to work after six days.
Moore joins is a growing list of Washington officials who are testing positive for COVID-19. House members are under a home district work schedule this week.
Moore is vaccinated and said she is quarantining.
“I am following guidance from my doctors and quarantining. Please remain vigilant against COVID-19 by wearing a mask, getting vaccinated, and practicing social distancing when possible,” she said.
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https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Congresswoman-Moore-again-tests-positive-for-17080714.php
| 2022-04-14T14:59:24Z
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https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Congresswoman-Moore-again-tests-positive-for-17080714.php
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BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts man has been sentenced to two years in prison for selling four so-called ghost guns to an undercover agent.
Jacob Linhares, 34, of Barnstable, sold the weapons that he had manufactured from out his truck during covert meetings in the parking lot of a Cape Cod shopping center between May 25, 2020 and June 15, 2020, according to court documents.
Linhares and the agent used coded language through phone calls and text messages to arrange the meetings, federal prosecutors said.
Ghost guns, also called privately made firearms, are made out of parts purchased by the buyer. Because they do not have serial numbers, they are untraceable.
During the fourth sale, Linhares agreed to take a commercially manufactured firearm as part of the payment, prosecutors said. But due to prior felony convictions, he is barred from possessing firearms.
President Joe Biden earlier this week vowed to crack down on ghost guns through new regulations, measures he said would save lives.
Linhares was also sentenced Tuesday to three years of probation. He pleaded guilty in December to dealing in firearms without a license and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
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https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Massachusetts-man-gets-prison-time-for-selling-17080533.php
| 2022-04-14T15:00:28Z
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https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Massachusetts-man-gets-prison-time-for-selling-17080533.php
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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A northern Wisconsin lawmaker has decided not to seek reelection this fall.
Rep. Nick Milroy of South Range announced Thursday that he won’t run November. He said in a statement that he has spent too many days and nights in Madison away from his wife and he’s looking forward to spending more time with her and their three children.
Milroy was first elected to the Assembly in 2008.
Seven other Democrats and 13 Republicans have already announced they won’t seek reelection. Six senators, including three Democrats and three Republicans, have said they’re not running again.
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https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Milroy-becomes-8th-Democrat-to-quit-Wisconsin-17080493.php
| 2022-04-14T15:00:34Z
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https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Milroy-becomes-8th-Democrat-to-quit-Wisconsin-17080493.php
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Martin Rennie to leave Falkirk at end of season
By PA Staff published
Falkirk are looking for another new boss after announcing that head coach Martin Rennie is set to depart.
The news comes after Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat by Cove Rangers, Falkirk’s third consecutive loss, ended the club’s hopes of landing a cinch League One play-off place.
Boyhood Falkirk fan Rennie, a former Vancouver Whitecaps manager, was appointed on December 10 on a contract until the end of the season. The Bairns have won five and lost nine of his 17 matches in charge.
The club announced that Rennie had “decided to return to the United States at the end of the season”.
A statement added: “Martin joined us in challenging circumstances last December, and we’d like to thank him for stabilising results and for all his hard work in trying to turn around what has been a very difficult season for everyone involved with the club.
“Kenny Miller will lead the team for the final three matches of this season, while Martin continues to support the board in planning for next season and beyond.
“The process of recruiting a new manager has already begun and we hope to be able to announce an appointment as soon as possible.”
Rennie was the fifth managerial appointment made by Falkirk since September 2017, when they sacked Peter Houston, who had led the club to the Scottish Cup final and two consecutive runners-up positions in the Championship.
Paul Hartley, Ray McKinnon, the joint team of David McCracken and Lee Miller, Paul Sheerin and now Rennie have each had spells in charge.
The club are set to spend their fourth consecutive season in League One next term.
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https://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/martin-rennie-to-leave-falkirk-at-end-of-season-1649941086000
| 2022-04-14T15:05:43Z
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Citation
Sun M, Zhou R, Jiao C, Sun X. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022; 19(7): e4002.
Copyright
(Copyright © 2022, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)
DOI
10.3390/ijerph19074002
PMID
35409685
Abstract
Although crashes involving hazardous materials (HAZMAT) are rare events compared with other types of traffic crashes, they often cause tremendous loss of life and property, as well as severe hazards to the environment and public safety. Using five-year (2013-2017) crash data (N = 1610) from the Highway Safety Information System database, a two-step machine learning-based approach was proposed to investigate and quantify the statistical relationship between three HAZMAT crash severity outcomes (fatal and severe injury, injury, and no injury) and contributing factors, including the driver, road, vehicle, crash, and environmental characteristics. Random forest ranked the importance of risk factors, and then Bayesian networks were developed to provide probabilistic inference. The results show that fatal and severe HAZMAT crashes are closely associated with younger drivers (age less than 25), driver fatigue, violation, distraction, special roadway locations (such as intersections, ramps, and bridges), higher speed limits (over 66 mph), midnight and early morning (12:00-5:59 a.m.), head-on crashes, more than four vehicles, fire/explosion/spill, poor lighting conditions, and adverse weather conditions. The overall prediction accuracy of 85.8% suggests the effectiveness of the proposed method. This study extends machine learning applications in a HAZMAT crash analysis, which would help develop targeted countermeasures and strategies to improve HAZMAT road transportation safety.
Language: en
Keywords
Bayesian network; crash severity; hazardous material road transportation; random forest
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| 2022-04-14T15:07:33Z
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Russian authorities have accused Ukrainian forces of launching air strikes on the Russian region of Bryansk which borders with Ukraine, the latest in a series of allegations of cross-border attacks by Kyiv on Russian territory.
Russia’s Investigative Committee alleged that two Ukrainian military helicopters entered Russia’s air space on Thursday and, “moving at low altitude, acting deliberately, they carried out at least six air strikes on residential buildings in the village of Klimovo,” about 11 kilometers away from the Russian border.
It said at least six houses in the village were damaged and seven people, including a toddler, sustained injuries. The Investigative Committee has launched a probe into the attack.
Earlier on Thursday, Russia’s state security service, or the FSB, also accused Ukrainian forces of firing mortars at a border post in the Bryansk region on Wednesday.
The reports could not be independently verified. Earlier this month, Ukraine’s top security officials denied that Kyiv was behind an air strike on an oil depot in the Russian city of Belgorod, 35 miles from the border.
___
KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:
— Ukrainian forces say they struck and seriously damaged Russian flagship
— Pressure on US to give Ukraine more intelligence on Russia
— UN says Ukraine war threatens to devastate many poor nations
— Ukraine’s detention of oligarch close to Putin angers Moscow
— Polish, Baltic presidents visit Ukraine in show of support
— Go to https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukrainefor more coverage
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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron declined to use the term “genocide” to describe Russia’s Ukraine war, arguing against an “escalation of words.”
Asked about the use of the term by U.S. President Joe Biden, Macron said “the word genocide must be spelled out by jurists, not by politicians.”
Speaking on French radio France Bleu, Macron said he spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday and will speak again with him later that day. He said he will do “everything to end this war and stay by the Ukrainians’ side.”
Macron previously denounced “war crimes” in Ukraine and France sent magistrates and police officers to help the International Criminal Court, which opened an investigation.
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GENEVA — The international Red Cross says it’s rolling out its largest-ever cash assistance program to help more than 2 million people in Ukraine or who have fled abroad cope with the fallout from Russia’s invasion.
Nicole Robicheau, spokeswoman of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said Thursday the organization plans to distribute “well over 100 million” Swiss francs — about $106 million –- to people affected by Russia’s seven-week-old war in Ukraine.
Humanitarian groups like the IFRC have recently touted the effectiveness of cash assistance programs for people in places hit by events like natural disasters, drought, famine and conflict, as a way to “allow people to decide what they need” and “put money back into the local economy,” Robicheau said by phone.
The program aims to help some 360,000 people inside Ukraine and many more in countries of refuge.
IFRC says it and national Red Cross organizations have already helped over 1 million people with items like blankets, food, mats and kitchen equipment.
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MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Western countries’ attempts to phase out Russian gas imports will have a negative impact on their economies.
Speaking Thursday, Putin said European attempts to find alternatives to Russian gas shipments will be “quite painful for the initiators of such policies.”
He argued that “there is simply no reasonable replacement for it in Europe now.”
Putin noted that “supplies from other countries that could be sent to Europe, primarily from the United States, would cost consumers many times more.” He added it would “affect people’s standard of living and the competitiveness of the European economy.”
The European Union is dependent on Russia for 40% of its natural gas and 25% of its oil.
___
PARIS — France’s government says it has frozen 33 properties on the French Riviera, Paris and elsewhere that belong to Russian oligarchs targeted for sanctions over the war in Ukraine.
The Finance Ministry this week published an updated list of Russian-owned properties that have been frozen in France, including a luxury chateau overlooking the Mediterranean on the Cap d’Antibes that reportedly belonged to sanctioned Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.
Together, the 33 properties are estimated to be worth more than half a billion euros. Unlike property that is seized or confiscated, frozen properties still belong to their owners and they can continue living in them. But they cannot be sold or rented out.
The total value of Russian assets frozen or seized in France is now approaching 24 billion euros, with the bulk of that being nearly 23 billion euros in frozen financial assets for the Russian central bank. Aside from financial assets and properties, French authorities have also frozen or seized three yachts and four transport ships, and frozen six helicopters and three artworks.
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LVIV, Ukraine — Russia’s Defense Ministry says the fire at the Moskva cruiser, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, has been contained. It says the vessel remains afloat and will be towed to the port.
The ministry said in a statement Thursday that there is no open fire at the ship anymore and explosions of the ammunitions have ceased. “The main missile weapons were not damaged,” the statement read.
Ukrainian officials claimed however that the ship has sunk, saying it’s a “resounding slap in the face” to Moscow’s forces. The conflicting accounts couldn’t be immediately reconciled.
Oleksiy Arestovych, adviser to Ukrainian president’s office, said in a Facebook post that 510 crew were onboard the Moskva cruiser as it sank in the Black Sea, following serious damage from a Ukrainian missile strike.
Military analyst Oleg Zhdanov said the damaging of the Moskva significantly raises the morale of Ukrainian forces on the eve of a new wave of Russian offensive in the Donbas.
In the early hours of Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry said the ship sustained “serious damage” after its ammunition detonated “as the result of a fire.” The ministry did not ascribe the fire to a missile strike.
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LONDON — Ireland’s foreign minister is in Kyiv, the latest in a string of senior European politicians to make the trip to show support for Ukraine’s fight against Russian invasion.
The Irish government says Simon Coveney, who is also defense minister, is meeting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov.
Ireland has sent Ukraine 20 million euros ($22 million) in humanitarian aid and 33 million euros ($36 million) in non-lethal military assistance.
It is also a strong backer of Ukraine’s bid to join the European Union, and the government said Coveney would discuss how Ireland can “assist Ukraine in its application for EU candidate status.”
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BERLIN — German authorities say they have seized a massive superyacht in Hamburg after determining that it belongs to the sister of Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov.
The Federal Criminal Police Office said Wednesday that, after “extensive investigations” and despite “offshore concealment,” it had been able to determine that the owner is Gulbakhor Ismailova, Usmanov’s sister.
Superyacht Dilbar was launched in 2016 at a reported cost of more than $648 million.
The German police office said German authorities worked in Brussels to ensure that European Union sanctions applied to the owner. It says the yacht can no longer be sold, rented, or loaded.
The United States and EU last month announced economic sanctions against Usmanov, a metals magnate, over his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine.
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PRAGUE — Three Czech lawmakers from Parliament’s upper house, the Senate, are visiting Kyiv together with their counterparts from Poland. Led by speaker Milos Vystrcil, they were invited by Ruslan Stefanchuk, chairman of Ukraine’s unicameral parliament Verkhovna Rada.
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UNITED NATIONS — A U.N. task force is warning in a new report that Russia’s war against Ukraine threatens to devastate the economies of many developing countries that are now facing even higher food and energy costs and increasingly difficult financial conditions.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres launched the report Wednesday stressing that the war is “supercharging” a crisis in food, energy and finance in poorer countries that were already struggling to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and a lack of access to adequate funding for their economic recovery.
Rebeca Grynspan, secretary-general of the U.N. agency promoting trade and development who coordinated the task force, said 107 countries have “severe exposure” to at least one dimension of the food, energy and finance crisis and 69 countries are severely exposed to all three and face “very difficult financial conditions with no fiscal space, and with no external financing to cushion the blow.”
The report urges countries to ensure a steady flow of food and energy through open markets, and it calls on international financial institutions to do everything possible to ensure more liquidity immediately.
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ODESA, Ukraine — In the Odesa region of Ukraine, Gov. Maksym Marchenko says forces have struck the Russian guided-missile cruiser Moskva with two missiles and caused “serious damage.”
Moskva is the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the ship was damaged Wednesday, but not that it was hit by Ukraine.
The Ministry says ammunition on board detonated as a result of a fire whose causes “were being established,” and the Moskva’s entire crew was evacuated. The cruiser typically has about 500 on board.
Odesa is Ukraine’s biggest port.
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KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he’s “sincerely thankful” to the U.S. for the new round of $800 million in military assistance.
In his daily late-night address to the nation, Zelenskyy also said he was thankful for Wednesday’s visit by the presidents of Poland, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.
He said those leaders “have helped us from the first day, those who did not hesitate to give us weapons, those who did not doubt whether to impose sanctions.”
In his telephone conversation with U.S. President Joe Biden, Zelenskyy said they discussed the new weapons shipment, even tougher sanctions against Russia and efforts to bring to justice those Russian soldiers who committed war crimes in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy also said work was continuing to clear tens of thousands of unexploded shells, mines and tripwires that were left behind in northern Ukraine by the retreating Russians.
He urged people returning to their homes in those towns to be wary of any unfamiliar object and report it to the police.
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Best barbecue grills that don’t use gas
Now that gas prices are reaching record levels, there’s never been a better time to invest in a non-gas grill. A large majority of options use charcoal as a heating source, which results in better flavor than gas, especially if you’re cooking meat. You’re not limited to charcoal, though. If you’re willing to spend a little longer cooking, pellet grills are also a viable option, although they work differently than charcoal grills.
Why is charcoal good for grilling?
All grills use both radiant heat and convection for cooking food, but charcoal grills rely on radiant heat more than gas grills do. When you’re grilling meat, the juices absorb the flavor of the meat itself as well as any seasonings on it. As those juices escape the steak, chicken or burger, they drip down onto the layer of red-hot charcoal. Those coals are considerably hotter than the burners and deflectors in gas grills, leading to instant vaporization of the flavorful and aromatic compounds in the juices. Those aromatic vapors then circulate around the meat, imparting their complex flavors.
How to make sure you get the most flavor possible
First, use self-lighting coals or lighter fluid and make sure every coal is fully lit and the flames are completely out.
For best results, give the flavorful vapors plenty of time to get to know the food on the grill. To do this, place the meat on the grill, let it sear lightly and keep the lid closed for a decent amount of the cooking time. The exception to this rule is if you’re cooking for a large group and plan to pack the entire grill with meat. In that case, the full spread of meat helps to trap the smoke all on its own.
Are non-gas grills good for smoking meat?
Charcoal grills and pellet grills are perfect for smoking meat, fish and other foods. To impart wonderfully smoky flavors using a standard charcoal grill, all you need is a smoker box and some wood chips. Just put some high-quality wood in the smoker box, and place it on top of the coals.
Because wood burns so quickly, it’s better to put the smoker box on a slightly cooler section of coals. Don’t put it directly on the bottom of the grill, or it won’t smoke. Contrary to one popular belief, soaking wood chips in water does nothing whatsoever to increase smoke volume or flavor. All the water does is slow down the wood’s combustion. Since the combustion is where the flavor comes from, all soaking wood chips does is slow down the process.
If you’re new to smoking and not familiar with specific wood flavors, consider a variety pack of wood chips to get used to the different flavor profiles.
How do pellet grills work?
A pellet grill consists of a cooking space complete with one or two grilles and a separate smoker box that uses an electric heating element to burn compacted wood pellets. Unlike charcoal grills, pellet grills work almost exclusively with convection instead of radiant heat.
Pellet grills take much of the guesswork out of smoking because their temperature is easy to regulate. However, they don’t get nearly as hot as charcoal grills, so you’ll likely need to sear your meats before or after smoking. Pellet grills also take considerably longer. However, that added time means the end result is usually far more flavorful and tender.
Best non-gas grills
It’s one of the most recognizable, straightforward and affordable options. With proper care, it should last for years.
Sold by Amazon and Home Depot
This is the premium version of the Weber classic. It has a slightly sturdier build plus better ash management and significantly improved ventilation.
Sold by Amazon and Home Depot
Char-Griller E1416 King-Griller
If you don’t need a ton of volume, this compact model lets you make the most out of your coals and wood chips by concentrating the aromatic smoke in a small barrel.
Sold by Amazon
Kamado grills like this one sport thick walls that retain a significant amount of heat and a tightly sealing lid that ensures you don’t lose any valuable flavor.
Sold by Amazon and Home Depot
This kamado grill offers great performance at a reasonable price. It also has a decent amount of workspace for prepping and plating meats.
Sold by Amazon and Home Depot
With 450 square inches of cooking space and surprisingly good build quality, this pellet grill is as good as the ones from more well-known brand names but doesn’t cost as much.
Sold by Amazon
From the original pellet grill manufacturer, this massive smoker is perfect for big parties and boasts the most advanced features available.
Sold by Amazon and Home Depot
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Chris Thomas writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved.
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| 2022-04-14T15:18:44Z
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ATLANTA (AP) — Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock says his fundraising has set a new record as Georgia's Senate campaign shapes up to be one of this year's most expensive races.
Warnock reported Thursday that he raised $13.6 million in the first three months of 2022, outpacing what was already a hefty $9.8 million raised in the last three months of 2021.
The senator's campaign said it was the most money ever raised by a U.S. Senate candidate in the first quarter of an election year, giving Warnock $25.6 million in cash on hand.
Warnock is a heavy favorite to defeat Tamara Johnson-Shealey in the Democratic primary. Republican Herschel Walker is the frontrunner among six GOP candidates in the May 24 primary. Libertarian Chase Oliver will also be on the general election ballot in November.
Walker has been raising large amounts of money as well, but has trailed Warnock thus far, collecting $5.4 million in the last three months of 2021.
Georgia will be a key battleground in these 2022 midterm elections to determine which party controls the U.S. Senate. Republicans had long dominated statewide races until Georgia helped elect Joe Biden to the presidency and enabled Democrats to control the Senate by electing Warnock and fellow Democrat Jon Ossoff in a January 2021 runoff.
Warnock, pastor of the Atlanta church where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. preached, became Georgia’s first Black U.S. senator after winning a special election in 2020 to fill the unexpired term of Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson, who stepped down because of failing health. Isakson died in December.
The senator is already spending heavily, although details won't be available until Warnock files his report with the Federal Election Commission. Despite the big fundraising quarter, Warnock's cash on hand rose only by $2.6 million.
With inflation partly driving negative poll numbers for Biden and Democrats, Warnock has been trying to address rising prices, pushing a federal gas tax holiday, a $35-a-month price cap on insulin, and proposing that states should be allowed to use federal COVID-19 relief money to temporarily roll back sales taxes on some goods.
“From fighting to cap the cost of insulin and lower prices at the gas pump to pushing for student loan debt relief, Rev. Warnock’s commitment to serving the people of Georgia continues to drive the biggest grassroots fundraising effort in any Senate race this cycle,” campaign manager Quentin Fulks said in a statement.
Warnock’s campaign said it received donations from 183,000 individuals.
Walker, a political newcomer, is a football icon after winning the Heisman Trophy at the University of Georgia and going on to star in the NFL. Walker is close friends with Donald Trump, who has endorsed Walker and is promoting his run.
Warnock raised more than $125 million for his 2020 Senate race, according to FEC reports. In the 2022 campaign cycle, he has raised more than $65 million so far.
Other candidates in the GOP primary include Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, Navy veteran and former bank executive Latham Saddler, construction company owner Kelvin King, former state Rep. Josh Clark and former Army general Jonathan “Jon” McColumn. None of the Republicans had announced numbers as of Thursday.
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Follow Jeff Amy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jeffamy.
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| 2022-04-14T15:20:01Z
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Home > Article
VOL. 46 | NO. 15 | Friday, April 15, 2022
Biden approves $800M in new military assistance for Ukraine
Updated 7:15AM
WASHINGTON (AP) — In anticipation of a new Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, President Joe Biden on Wednesday approved an $800 million package of military assistance, including additional helicopters and the first provision of American artillery.
The Ukrainians also will receive armored personnel carriers, armored Humvees, naval drone vessels used in coastal defense, and gear and equipment used to protect soldiers in chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological attacks.
"This new package of assistance will contain many of the highly effective weapons systems we have already provided and new capabilities tailored to the wider assault we expect Russia to launch in eastern Ukraine," Biden said in a statement.
"The steady supply of weapons the United States and its allies and partners have provided to Ukraine has been critical in sustaining its fight against the Russian invasion," Biden added. "It has helped ensure that (Russia President Vladimir) Putin failed in his initial war aims to conquer and control Ukraine. We cannot rest now."
Biden announced the aid after a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It is the latest in a series of U.S. security assistance packages valued at a combined $2.6 billion that has been committed to Ukraine since Russia invaded on Feb. 24. The weaponry and support material has played an important role in Ukraine's successful defense thus far.
Biden is under pressure from members of both parties in Congress to expand and accelerate U.S. aid.
Robert Gates, a former CIA director and defense secretary, said Wednesday he believes the administration needs to push hard for weapon donations by NATO members in Eastern Europe, whose arsenals include Soviet-era tanks and other weaponry and equipment that could help Ukraine immediately.
"The United States ought to be acting, 24/7 — how do we mobilize the equipment and how do we get it into Ukraine and into the hands of the Ukrainians," Gates said in an online forum sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
"It's critically important and critically urgent, and we ought to be sort of ransacking the arsenals of those states, and I think they would be cooperative, particularly" if they are given assurances that the Pentagon will provide American replacements for the donated weapons.
The Pentagon said the $800 million package announced by Biden includes weapons and equipment that will require some training for a Ukrainian military not fully accustomed to American military technology. U.S. and allied forces had been present inside Ukraine to provide training for eight years before pulling out in advance of the Russia's latest invasion.
The new arms package includes 18 of the U.S. Army's 155mm howitzers and 40,000 artillery rounds, two air surveillance radars, 300 Switchblade "kamikaze" armed drones, and 500 Javelin missiles designed to knock out tanks and other armor. Also included are 10 counter-artillery radars used to track incoming artillery and other projectiles to determine their point of origin for counter attacks.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said delivery of the material will be expedited, but he offered no specific timetable.
"This list came directly out of multiple conversations with Ukrainians in the last few days as we began to see the Russians now start to reprioritize the Donbas fight," he said, referring to Russia's shift from a failed offensive in Ukraine's north aimed at Kyiv, the capital, to a force buildup in the country's eastern Donbas region, where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting since 2014.
Ukrainian military personnel will need training on the radars as well as the howitzers and the Switchblade drones, Kirby said. He said the training may be done by U.S. soldiers in Europe and the arrangements are being worked out.
"These are not highly complex systems," Kirby said, and so extensive training will not likely be required.
Among the other items in the package are 11 Soviet-era Mi-17 helicopters that the United States had planned to provide to Afghanistan before Biden last year decided to fully withdraw from the country. They are transport helicopters that also can function in an attack role. The Pentagon previously had sent five Mi-17s to Ukraine, Kirby said.
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KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Rights activists and others are urging Rwandan authorities to free the man who inspired the film “Hotel Rwanda,” saying his health is failing after an appeals court upheld his 25-year jail term for terror offenses.
Paul Rusesabagina, who holds Belgian citizenship and U.S. residency, is credited with sheltering a group of ethnic Tutsi during Rwanda’s 1994 genocide. He was convicted in September on charges including membership in a terrorist group, murder and abduction.
Rusesabagina is a well-known critic of Rwandan President Paul Kagame and lived in exile in the U.S.
Some activists who spoke Wednesday during an online event in support of Rusesabagina said the U.S. could do more to free the 67-year-old recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. They also appealed to the compassion of Rwandan authorities.
“I am asking President Kagame that you extend the grace that you’ve shown to me and my family to Paul and his family now,” said Don Cheadle, appealing to Rwanda’s leader. “Please lead with mercy.”
Cheadle, who played Rusesabagina in the 2004 Hollywood movie, said the former hotel manager had “more than given his pound of flesh” after many months in custody.
Rusesabagina is credited with saving more than 1,000 people by sheltering them at the hotel he managed during the genocide, in which more than 800,000 Tutsi and Hutu who tried to protect them were killed.
He left Rwanda in 1996.
The criminal case against Rusesabagina attracted international attention because of his high profile, the circumstances surrounding his arrest in 2020, and his limited access to an independent legal team. Throughout his trial Rusesabagina maintained that he was not guilty and asserted that he didn’t expect to get justice.
His conviction came more than a year after he disappeared during a visit to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. He appeared days later in Rwanda in handcuffs, accused of supporting the armed wing of his opposition political platform, the Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change.
The armed group claimed some responsibility for attacks in 2018 and 2019 that killed nine people in southern Rwanda. Rusesabagina testified at trial that he helped to form the armed group to help refugees but said he never supported violence.
Rusesabagina’s family and supporters insist his arrest was in response to his criticism of Kagame over alleged rights abuses. Kagame’s government has repeatedly denied targeting dissenting voices with arrests and extrajudicial killings.
Terry George, who directed “Hotel Rwanda,” said his film became “the center of a disinformation campaign” as Rusesabagina’s stature in the Rwandan diaspora grew with his criticism of Rwandan authorities.
“He turned to me and thanked me for making the film,” George said of Kagame, recalling a screening of the film in Kigali, the Rwandan capital. “The film was universally received in Rwanda at the time.”
Rwandan officials have since dismissed Rusesabagina as a “manufactured” hero.
Kagame’s Rwanda “is one of the world’s worst perpetrators of transnational repression,” said Nicole Bibbins Sedaca of the Freedom House group. ”We have to hold authoritarian regimes to account when they use tools like transnational repression, when they take political prisoners simply to target and silence their critics.”
Kate Gibson, a member of Rusesabagina’s legal team, said her client didn’t get a just trial. She also charged Wednesday that members of Rusesabagina’s legal team in Rwanda “have been subjected to unthinkable indignities over and over again.” She gave no details.
A Rwandan appeals court on April 4 upheld Rusesabagina’s 25-year jail sentence, rejecting prosecutors’ efforts to have him imprisoned for life.
Rusesabagina’s health has worsened, according to his family.
“He is sick. He is ill,” Anaise Kanimba said of her father. “We probably believe he had a stroke and we don’t have time. We don’t have time, and that’s why we need your help. We need the help of the international community. We need the help of the world.”
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| 2022-04-14T15:56:26Z
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Stellantis partners with Qualcomm for vehicle cockpit, 5G telematics tech in vehicle lineup
Fourteen Stellantis brands, including Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram and Vauxhall.will use Qualcomm's vehicle cockpit and 5G telematics technology starting in 2024 with Maserati brand being the first one, said the companies, without disclosing the deal value.
New Delhi: Automaker Stellantis N.V. and semiconductor company Qualcomm Technologies on Thursday announced a multi-year collaboration for the use of latest Snapdragon Digital Chassis technology across the company’s vehicle lineups.
Fourteen Stellantis brands, including Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram and Vauxhall will use Qualcomm's vehicle cockpit and 5G telematics technology starting in 2024 with Maserati brand being the first one, said the companies, without disclosing the deal value.
Stellantis said it will use next-generation Snapdragon Cockpit Platforms to power the in-car communication and infotainment systems for STLA SmartCockpit, which is being designed and engineered together with Amazon and Foxconn.
Snapdragon Cockpit Platforms will also deliver a fully immersive in-cabin experience, enabling premium audio and crystal-clear voice communications throughout the vehicle’s cabin, it said.
Carlos Tavares, CEO, Stellantis said, “Qualcomm Technologies’ broad experience in automotive and scale as a semiconductor leader will enable us to vertically integrate key elements of our new platforms and more closely manage the complete electronics supply chain to provide access to the best technologies enable the fulfillment of Stellantis’ volume potential and achieve our Dare Forward 2030 ambition.”
Cristiano Amon, President and CEO, Qualcomm Incorporated said, “By creating open, scalable, and comprehensive automotive platforms that encompasses semiconductors, systems, software, and services, we are empowering Stellantis, as well as the broader automotive ecosystem, to lead the transformation to the digital era of automobiles.”
Speaking at the carmaker's annual shareholders' meeting, Tavares said Stellantis was confirming its forecast for a group's double-digit operating income margin this year, and added that expected sales in North America, especially in its highly profitable U.S. business, should rise 3%.
The 5G smartphone ramp-up and a combination of strong demand and higher logistics/raw material prices spiked the semiconductor average selling prices (ASPs), contributing to significant revenue growth in 2021, Gartner said.
The deal is likely to be announced by the end of May or early June, people aware of the matter said, asking not to be named. They also did not reveal any likely financial terms or how the Motherson Group will fund the deal.
The deal is likely to be announced by the end of May or early June, people aware of the matter said, asking not to be named. They also did not reveal any likely financial terms or how the Motherson Group will fund the deal.
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https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/auto-technology/stellantis-partners-with-qualcomm-for-vehicle-cockpit-5g-telematics-tech-in-vehicle-lineup/90850064
| 2022-04-14T15:57:28Z
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https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/auto-technology/stellantis-partners-with-qualcomm-for-vehicle-cockpit-5g-telematics-tech-in-vehicle-lineup/90850064
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Tumbleweeds drift along the Rio Grande as sand bars within its banks grow wider. Smoke from distant wildfires and dust kicked up by intense spring winds fill the valley, exacerbating the feeling of distress that is beginning to weigh on residents.
One of North America’s longest rivers, the Rio Grande is another example of a waterway in the western U.S. that’s tapped out.
From the Pacific Northwest to the Colorado River Basin, irrigation districts already are warning farmers to expect less this year despite growing demands fueled by ever-drying conditions. Climate experts say March marked the third straight month of below-average precipitation across the U.S. and areas of record dryness are expanding in the West.
On Thursday, federal water managers are scheduled to share their annual operating plan for the Rio Grande, a major water source for millions people and thousands of square miles of farmland in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Mexico. Its outlook is expected to be similarly bleak.
Mark Garcia, who farms about 400 acres (160 hectares) with his family in Valencia County, just south of Albuquerque, ran the numbers. He has a degree in mathematics and taught calculus for years before retiring and turning to the farm full time.
He found his family would be compensated for not irrigating about half of its acreage this year, and more water would be left in the river to help New Mexico work off a debt that has been growing as the state falls short of its obligations to deliver water to neighboring Texas.
“Logically, it was almost like a no-brainer,” Garcia said of opting into the fallowing program. “The risk analysis was, I had to take it, I had to do it. I didn’t want to, though.”
Sitting in his backhoe in one of his fields, Garcia began to get emotional. He said he grew up watching his dad farm the land.
“I was born into this,” he said. “The hard thing for me is I feel like I don’t want the government to pay for me not to work. I have an issue with that.”
The state of New Mexico and the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District are hoping more farmers can make that tough choice — at least long enough to help managers address the pending water debt.
Even the conservancy district, which oversees irrigation from Cochiti Dam south to Elephant Butte Reservoir, acknowledges it’s a temporary solution.
Casey Ish, a water resources specialist with the district, said over 200 irrigators have enrolled, and officials are targeting fields that are less productive or need to be rested.
“For us, this is just one tool and one way the district is trying to help the state manage the state’s compact debt, but we certainly don’t anticipate pulling a third or half the district into a fallowing program year over year,” Ish said. “That’s not sustainable from a price point or an ag point.”
Thursday’s virtual meeting will include estimates of how much the Bureau of Reclamation will have to work with this season based on spring runoff predictions and current reservoir levels.
With below-average snow cover and reservoirs in some places reaching critically low levels, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration noted in its most recent monthly climate report that concerns are mounting that the western drought will intensify.
On the Colorado River, the U.S. Interior Department recently proposed holding back water in Lake Powell to maintain Glen Canyon Dam’s ability to generate electricity amid what it said were the driest conditions in the region in more than 1,200 years.
The potential impacts to lower basin states that could see their water supplies reduced — California, Nevada and Arizona — aren’t yet known. But the conundrum speaks to the wide-ranging functions of Lake Powell and Glen Canyon Dam, and the need to quickly pivot to confront climate change.
In the Pacific Northwest, experts are predicting one of the driest summers on record, noting that nearly 71% of the region made up of Oregon, Washington and Idaho is in drought and nearly one-quarter is already experiencing extreme drought.
An irrigation district that supplies more than 1,000 farmers and ranchers on the California-Oregon border announced earlier this week that they would get a fraction of their normal water allocation this year due to drought. It’s the third consecutive year that severe drought has impacted farmers, fish and tribes in a region where there’s not enough water to satisfy competing demands.
Irrigation districts that supply water to farmers along the Rio Grande in southern New Mexico and along the Pecos in the east also are promising short seasons.
Just north of the New Mexico-Colorado border, farmers in the San Luis Valley turned on their spigots April 1, drawing on their share of the Rio Grande. Water managers in New Mexico immediately saw the gauges drop, meaning less water ultimately will make its way to central New Mexico.
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https://www.wowktv.com/news/u-s-world/expanding-drought-leaves-western-us-scrambling-for-water/
| 2022-04-14T15:58:14Z
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Pfizer to seek COVID booster for healthy 5- to 11-year-olds
Pfizer said Thursday it wants to expand its COVID-19 booster shots to healthy elementary-age kids.
U.S. health authorities already urge everyone 12 and older to get one booster dose for the best protection against the newest variants -- and recently gave the option of a second booster to those 50 and older.
Now Pfizer says new data shows healthy 5- to 11-year-olds could benefit from another kid-sized shot.
In a small study, 140 youngsters who'd already gotten two shots were given a booster six months later, and researchers found the extra shot generally revved up their immune response. But a closer look at 30 of the children found a 36-fold increase in virus-fighting antibodies, levels high enough to fight the super-contagious omicron variant, Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said in a press release.
The data has not been published or vetted by independent experts.
Pfizer tested the kid booster while omicron was surging this winter. While COVID-19 cases now are at much lower levels in the U.S., in recent weeks an even more contagious version of omicron, called BA.2, has become the dominant type locally and around the world.
In the coming days, the companies plan to ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to authorize a booster for healthy 5- to 11-year-olds. They also plan to share the data with European and other regulators.
Vaccinations are generally less effective against the omicron variant than earlier versions of the coronavirus -- but they do still offer strong protection against severe disease. While COVID-19 is a bigger threat to adults, youngsters can get seriously ill. But regulators will have to decide if healthy elementary-age kids really need a booster, and if so, when.
The Pfizer shots are the only vaccine available to U.S. children. Those ages 5 to 11 receive one-third of the dose given to everyone 12 and older. Just over a quarter in the younger age group have gotten two doses since vaccination opened to them in November, shortly before omicron struck.
The U.S. hasn't yet allowed vaccinations for children under 5. But certain 5- to 11-year-olds -- those with severely weakened immune systems -- already are supposed to get three doses, to give that high-risk group a better chance of responding.
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https://www.koat.com/article/pfizer-seek-covid-booster-for-kids/39723823
| 2022-04-14T16:02:10Z
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https://www.koat.com/article/pfizer-seek-covid-booster-for-kids/39723823
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Which Funko Pop bobblehead is best?
Funko Pop has thousands of figurines to collect and display, not to mention a handful of different types of figurines. The most playful type is a Funko Pop bobblehead. The little ones are perfect for adding to your desk for a little lighthearted fun, while the big ones can be an entertaining centerpiece.
The best Funko Pop bobblehead is Funko Pop Marvel: Dancing Groot Bobblehead. Put on some music and give this bobblehead a tap to relive the famous “Guardians of the Galaxy” post-credits scene.
What to know before you buy a Funko Pop bobblehead
Funko Pop bobblehead types
Funko Pop bobbleheads come in a few forms and sizes.
- Standard bobbleheads are similar to Funko’s vinyl figurines, being that they’re roughly 4 inches tall and 3 inches wide, save for their necks being attached to the spring that lets them bobble.
- Oversized bobbleheads are just that — oversized. Most are somewhere from 6-10 inches tall and have varying widths.
- Deluxe bobbleheads are large, extravagant pieces. They take a character and pair it with something connected to them that they often sit on or stand beside.
- Ride bobbleheads are halfway between a standard and a deluxe Pop. They’re typically the same size as standards but are depicted riding something rather than having the bobble be paired to a body.
Source material
If the source material you’re passionate about is even slightly known to pop culture, it’s likely that Funko has made a bobblehead of it. Major pop culture properties from Disney like Marvel and “Star Wars” are common, as are figurines from many popular TV shows, including “Game of Thrones” and “The Office.”
What to look for in a quality Funko Pop bobblehead
Boxed vs. unboxed
Funko Pop bobbleheads are packaged in boxes bearing the character’s name, the source that they come from, authenticating information and the mold they come from. Whether you remove them or keep them in the box has a huge bearing on several factors.
- Boxed bobbleheads are more valuable to collectors and resellers. The box preserves the condition of the bobblehead and proves it’s an authentic Funko Pop. Always purchase an authenticated boxed bobblehead if you want to ensure it’s a quality purchase.
- Unboxed bobbleheads are less valuable, but they’re more enjoyable to enthusiasts who just like the character. The head can be bobbled, it’s easier to display, kids can play with them, etc. If an unboxed bobblehead is purchased from a secondary market, it may be noticeably inauthentic and low-quality.
Chase variants
Some Funko Pop bobbleheads have rare chase variants that are more valuable than the base bobblehead. These variations are often minimal, but you can’t specifically order them. They only have a small chance of inclusion when purchasing the original model online.
How much you can expect to spend on a Funko Pop bobblehead
Basic Funko Pop bobbleheads cost just over $11. Most cost $15-$30, with some of the larger or harder-to-find bobbleheads costing more. Secondary market bobbleheads can cost hundreds.
Funko Pop bobblehead FAQ
How should I clean a Funko Pop bobblehead?
A. This depends on whether or not it’s still in the box. Boxed Funko Pop bobbleheads only require a brief dusting at least once a month to stay clean. Unboxed bobbleheads also require dusting, but it must be as gentle a dusting as possible. Being too rough can damage the springs responsible for the bobble, making the head lie skewed to the side rather than remaining upright.
What’s the best method for tracking my Funko Pop bobblehead collection?
A. There are dozens of methods for tracking your Funko Pop collection, bobbleheads and all, from digital trackers online to manually updating a spreadsheet. The official Funko app is one of the better online trackers, but if you’re serious about collecting, it’s worth experimenting until you find an organizational system that works best for you.
What do the numbers on the top right of the box mean?
A. The number relates to the order in which a given Funko Pop in a specific line was produced. For example, in the Marvel line of Funko Pops, there have been hundreds of rounds of productions, with any number of Pops produced in each round. So, an upper right number of 11 means that Pop was part of the eleventh round of Pops produced in the Marvel line.
What’s the best Funko Pop bobblehead to buy?
Top Funko Pop bobblehead
Funko Pop Marvel: Dancing Groot Bobblehead
What you need to know: This is a cute bobblehead for Marvel fans and plant lovers.
What you’ll love: Marvel fans will love being able to bob along with this bobblehead for a fun and stress-relieving break from work and other hassles. The top of Dancing Groot has just enough space to be converted into a miniature planter.
What you should consider: A few consumers were unhappy with the stability of the base, reporting it to be too top-heavy to always safely bobble.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Top Funko Pop bobblehead for the money
Funko Pop Marvel: Deadpool as Bob Ross
What you need to know: This is a clever pop culture intersection as a bobblehead.
What you’ll love: The figurine is stable and balanced, making it easy to tap the bobblehead without knocking it over. The Deadpool and Bob Ross combination is perfect for Marvel fans, especially for Marvel historians looking to remember one of the original “Deadpool” film’s best ad spots.
What you should consider: A few consumers received damaged boxes, which is devaluating for collectors.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
Funko Pop Deluxe Mandalorian: The Mandalorian & The Child on Bantha
What you need to know: This is an excellent centerpiece for “Star Wars” fans.
What you’ll love: This is among the more detailed Funko bobbleheads available — the fur of the bantha, the armor details of the Mandalorian and the cute Grogu attached to the back. The Tatooine sand base is stable enough to tap the bobblehead without risking it tipping over.
What you should consider: It takes up a large amount of space, both in-box and out. There are some rare reports of missing jetpacks on the Mandalorian.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
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Jordan C. Woika writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved.
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| 2022-04-14T16:14:54Z
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Russian authorities have accused Ukrainian forces of launching air strikes on the Russian region of Bryansk which borders with Ukraine, the latest in a series of allegations of cross-border attacks by Kyiv on Russian territory.
Russia’s Investigative Committee alleged that two Ukrainian military helicopters entered Russia’s air space on Thursday and, “moving at low altitude, acting deliberately, they carried out at least six air strikes on residential buildings in the village of Klimovo,” about 11 kilometers away from the Russian border.
It said at least six houses in the village were damaged and seven people, including a toddler, sustained injuries. The Investigative Committee has launched a probe into the attack.
Earlier on Thursday, Russia’s state security service, or the FSB, also accused Ukrainian forces of firing mortars at a border post in the Bryansk region on Wednesday.
The reports could not be independently verified. Earlier this month, Ukraine's top security officials denied that Kyiv was behind an air strike on an oil depot in the Russian city of Belgorod, 35 miles from the border.
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KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:
— Ukrainian forces say they struck and seriously damaged Russian flagship
— Pressure on US to give Ukraine more intelligence on Russia
— UN says Ukraine war threatens to devastate many poor nations
— Ukraine's detention of oligarch close to Putin angers Moscow
— Polish, Baltic presidents visit Ukraine in show of support
— Go to https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine for more coverage
___
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
Russian news reports say a criminal case has been opened against a Siberian journalist whose news website had published content critical of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.
Mikhail Afanasyev, the chief editor of Novy Fokus in the Russian region of Khakassia, was arrested by security forces Wednesday over the website’s reporting on 11 riot police who had allegedly refused deployment to Ukraine as part of Russia’s military action there.
Afanasyev was accused Thursday of disseminating “deliberately false information” about the Russian armed forces, an offense which carries a maximum 10-year jail sentence, according to a law passed in early March.
Another Siberia-based journalist was also arrested Wednesday on suspicion of breaching Russia’s new laws on the media coverage of the situation in Ukraine. Sergei Mikhailov, the founder of the LIStok weekly newspaper based in the Republic of Altay, was reportedly placed in pre-trial detention over the outlet’s alleged “calls for sanctions against Russia.”
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LONDON — Britain’s Foreign Office says it is freezing the assets worth up to 10 billion pounds ($13.1 billion) belonging to two Russian oligarchs described as long-standing business associates of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.
Officials said Thursday that Eugene Tenenbaum took control of Evrington Investments Ltd., an Abramovich-linked investment company, immediately following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. Tenenbaum, who is also a director of Chelsea Football Club, was hit with an asset freeze.
The other sanctioned Russian is David Davidovich, who was subject to an asset freeze and a travel ban.
The move came after the Channel Island of Jersey said this week it is freezing an estimated $7 billion of assets suspected to be connected to Abramovich, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Britain’s government said the measures “cut key revenue sources for Putin’s war machine” amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
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PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron declined to use the term “genocide” to describe Russia’s Ukraine war, arguing against an “escalation of words.”
Asked about the use of the term by U.S. President Joe Biden, Macron said “the word genocide must be spelled out by jurists, not by politicians.”
Speaking on French radio France Bleu, Macron said he spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday and will speak again with him later that day. He said he will do “everything to end this war and stay by the Ukrainians’ side.”
Macron previously denounced “war crimes” in Ukraine and France sent magistrates and police officers to help the International Criminal Court, which opened an investigation.
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GENEVA — The international Red Cross says it’s rolling out its largest-ever cash assistance program to help more than 2 million people in Ukraine or who have fled abroad cope with the fallout from Russia’s invasion.
Nicole Robicheau, spokeswoman of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said Thursday the organization plans to distribute “well over 100 million” Swiss francs — about $106 million –- to people affected by Russia’s seven-week-old war in Ukraine.
Humanitarian groups like the IFRC have recently touted the effectiveness of cash assistance programs for people in places hit by events like natural disasters, drought, famine and conflict, as a way to “allow people to decide what they need” and “put money back into the local economy,” Robicheau said by phone.
The program aims to help some 360,000 people inside Ukraine and many more in countries of refuge.
IFRC says it and national Red Cross organizations have already helped over 1 million people with items like blankets, food, mats and kitchen equipment.
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MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Western countries’ attempts to phase out Russian gas imports will have a negative impact on their economies.
Speaking Thursday, Putin said European attempts to find alternatives to Russian gas shipments will be “quite painful for the initiators of such policies.”
He argued that “there is simply no reasonable replacement for it in Europe now.”
Putin noted that “supplies from other countries that could be sent to Europe, primarily from the United States, would cost consumers many times more.” He added it would “affect people’s standard of living and the competitiveness of the European economy.”
The European Union is dependent on Russia for 40% of its natural gas and 25% of its oil.
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PARIS — France’s government says it has frozen 33 properties on the French Riviera, Paris and elsewhere that belong to Russian oligarchs targeted for sanctions over the war in Ukraine.
The Finance Ministry this week published an updated list of Russian-owned properties that have been frozen in France, including a luxury chateau overlooking the Mediterranean on the Cap d’Antibes that reportedly belonged to sanctioned Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.
Together, the 33 properties are estimated to be worth more than half a billion euros. Unlike property that is seized or confiscated, frozen properties still belong to their owners and they can continue living in them. But they cannot be sold or rented out.
The total value of Russian assets frozen or seized in France is now approaching 24 billion euros, with the bulk of that being nearly 23 billion euros in frozen financial assets for the Russian central bank. Aside from financial assets and properties, French authorities have also frozen or seized three yachts and four transport ships, and frozen six helicopters and three artworks.
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LVIV, Ukraine -- Russia’s Defense Ministry says the fire at the Moskva cruiser, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, has been contained. It says the vessel remains afloat and will be towed to the port.
The ministry said in a statement Thursday that there is no open fire at the ship anymore and explosions of the ammunitions have ceased. “The main missile weapons were not damaged,” the statement read.
Ukrainian officials claimed however that the ship has sunk, saying it’s a “resounding slap in the face” to Moscow’s forces. The conflicting accounts couldn't be immediately reconciled.
Oleksiy Arestovych, adviser to Ukrainian president’s office, said in a Facebook post that 510 crew were onboard the Moskva cruiser as it sank in the Black Sea, following serious damage from a Ukrainian missile strike.
Military analyst Oleg Zhdanov said the damaging of the Moskva significantly raises the morale of Ukrainian forces on the eve of a new wave of Russian offensive in the Donbas.
In the early hours of Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry said the ship sustained “serious damage” after its ammunition detonated “as the result of a fire.” The ministry did not ascribe the fire to a missile strike.
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LONDON — Ireland’s foreign minister is in Kyiv, the latest in a string of senior European politicians to make the trip to show support for Ukraine’s fight against Russian invasion.
The Irish government says Simon Coveney, who is also defense minister, is meeting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov.
Ireland has sent Ukraine 20 million euros ($22 million) in humanitarian aid and 33 million euros ($36 million) in non-lethal military assistance.
It is also a strong backer of Ukraine’s bid to join the European Union, and the government said Coveney would discuss how Ireland can “assist Ukraine in its application for EU candidate status.”
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BERLIN — German authorities say they have seized a massive superyacht in Hamburg after determining that it belongs to the sister of Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov.
The Federal Criminal Police Office said Wednesday that, after “extensive investigations” and despite “offshore concealment,” it had been able to determine that the owner is Gulbakhor Ismailova, Usmanov’s sister.
Superyacht Dilbar was launched in 2016 at a reported cost of more than $648 million.
The German police office said German authorities worked in Brussels to ensure that European Union sanctions applied to the owner. It says the yacht can no longer be sold, rented, or loaded.
The United States and EU last month announced economic sanctions against Usmanov, a metals magnate, over his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine.
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PRAGUE — Three Czech lawmakers from Parliament’s upper house, the Senate, are visiting Kyiv together with their counterparts from Poland. Led by speaker Milos Vystrcil, they were invited by Ruslan Stefanchuk, chairman of Ukraine’s unicameral parliament Verkhovna Rada.
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UNITED NATIONS — A U.N. task force is warning in a new report that Russia’s war against Ukraine threatens to devastate the economies of many developing countries that are now facing even higher food and energy costs and increasingly difficult financial conditions.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres launched the report Wednesday stressing that the war is “supercharging” a crisis in food, energy and finance in poorer countries that were already struggling to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and a lack of access to adequate funding for their economic recovery.
Rebeca Grynspan, secretary-general of the U.N. agency promoting trade and development who coordinated the task force, said 107 countries have “severe exposure” to at least one dimension of the food, energy and finance crisis and 69 countries are severely exposed to all three and face “very difficult financial conditions with no fiscal space, and with no external financing to cushion the blow.”
The report urges countries to ensure a steady flow of food and energy through open markets, and it calls on international financial institutions to do everything possible to ensure more liquidity immediately.
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ODESA, Ukraine — In the Odesa region of Ukraine, Gov. Maksym Marchenko says forces have struck the Russian guided-missile cruiser Moskva with two missiles and caused “serious damage.”
Moskva is the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the ship was damaged Wednesday, but not that it was hit by Ukraine.
The Ministry says ammunition on board detonated as a result of a fire whose causes “were being established,” and the Moskva’s entire crew was evacuated. The cruiser typically has about 500 on board.
Odesa is Ukraine’s biggest port.
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KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he’s “sincerely thankful” to the U.S. for the new round of $800 million in military assistance.
In his daily late-night address to the nation, Zelenskyy also said he was thankful for Wednesday’s visit by the presidents of Poland, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.
He said those leaders “have helped us from the first day, those who did not hesitate to give us weapons, those who did not doubt whether to impose sanctions.”
In his telephone conversation with U.S. President Joe Biden, Zelenskyy said they discussed the new weapons shipment, even tougher sanctions against Russia and efforts to bring to justice those Russian soldiers who committed war crimes in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy also said work was continuing to clear tens of thousands of unexploded shells, mines and tripwires that were left behind in northern Ukraine by the retreating Russians.
He urged people returning to their homes in those towns to be wary of any unfamiliar object and report it to the police.
Credit: Rodrigo Abd
Credit: Rodrigo Abd
Credit: Evgeniy Maloletka
Credit: Evgeniy Maloletka
Credit: Evgeniy Maloletka
Credit: Evgeniy Maloletka
Credit: Evgeniy Maloletka
Credit: Evgeniy Maloletka
Credit: Evgeniy Maloletka
Credit: Evgeniy Maloletka
Credit: Rodrigo Abd
Credit: Rodrigo Abd
Credit: Evgeniy Maloletka
Credit: Evgeniy Maloletka
Credit: Rodrigo Abd
Credit: Rodrigo Abd
Credit: Rodrigo Abd
Credit: Rodrigo Abd
Credit: Evgeniy Maloletka
Credit: Evgeniy Maloletka
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https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/nation-world/live-updates-russia-accuses-ukraine-of-border-airstrikes/7TBRJTLM75BU7A2XOW6YLHL6AE/
| 2022-04-14T16:16:18Z
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https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/nation-world/live-updates-russia-accuses-ukraine-of-border-airstrikes/7TBRJTLM75BU7A2XOW6YLHL6AE/
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WEST CARROLLTON, Ohio (WDTN) — A West Carrollton police officer has passed away.
According to a Facebook post by the West Carrollton Police Department, Officer Pat McCoy, Unit #236, has passed away.
West Carrollton police said McCoy served the citizens of Miami Township and West Carrollton with distinction and that he dedicated his life to public service.
In February, McCoy was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. He had also suffered a stroke the day before he was to begin his chemo treatments. The stroke had left him without the use of his right hand, and he was unable to walk unaided or speak.
He was the embodiment of our core values of Integrity, Honesty, Accountability, and Professionalism. Aside from being a true law enforcement professional, Pat was simply our friend and we will miss him. God’s speed, Pat!
West Carrollton Police Department
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https://www.wdtn.com/news/local-news/west-carrollton-police-officer-dies/
| 2022-04-14T16:17:11Z
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https://www.wdtn.com/news/local-news/west-carrollton-police-officer-dies/
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ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — As a casino dealer, Shamikah Townsend knows when the odds are in her favor.
And they definitely are right now.
While working at one Atlantic City casino last year, she went to a job fair held by a different one, and was surprised at how instantly in-demand she was when the recruiter wanted to hire her as a craps dealer.
“She said, ‘I’ll pay you to move to Florida in two weeks,'" Townsend said. “I didn't know craps, so I had to be honest and tell her, but I went out and I learned it.”
On Monday, Townsend made her move, getting hired on the spot at a job fair held by the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City.
Townsend is part of a great hiring wave taking place at casinos across the nation as the gambling halls compete to add staff while recovering from the coronavirus pandemic that drove customers away and led to staff reductions.
But casinos are just one of many industries struggling to add new workers, and they find themselves competing with each other not only for casino workers, but for people with experience in the hotel, restaurant and tourism industries, to name just a few.
“Gaming is facing the same labor issues that we see across the broader economy,” said Casey Clark, senior vice president of the American Gaming Association, the casino industry's national trade group. "In our recent CEO survey, the labor shortage is a top concern across the country.
“Competition for talent is a huge impediment for growth, and we're also experiencing an expansion of gaming with customer demand increasing,” he said. “Those things are problematic when they happen together.”
That has led to some innovative tactics, including the use of virtual reality goggles at some MGM Resorts International job fairs to let applicants experience what the job will be like before signing on the dotted line.
Atlantic City's casinos are also talking with state government agencies about funding new transit options to get people to jobs at casinos from farther-out places. One possibility: something like the contract the Borgata had with a state transit agency in 2008 for a daily shuttle bus between its Atlantic City casino and Camden — an hour-long trip reaching clear across the state.
Nationwide, there were about 1.65 million workers employed in the gambling, amusement and recreation sectors of the U.S. economy in March, representing about 91% of the pre-pandemic workforce, Clark said. The AGA said it does not have a figure for casino employment alone.
Joe Lupo, president of Atlantic City's Hard Rock casino, is also president of the Casino Association of New Jersey. He estimates there are 2,000 full and part-time casino jobs open in Atlantic City right now, where the overall workforce of 22,000 is down from 49,000 in 2003.
“Coming out of COVID, especially last year, after the restrictions were lifted, the workforce supply just has not been available,” he said. “It's been difficult for all of us to find enough people. I certainly know after meeting with everyone last week that every property is hiring.”
That has very practical effects in casino resorts, which might not be able to open all their hotel rooms, or open all the craps or roulette tables they have. Restaurants that used to serve 700 tables a night may only be able to do 300, executives said.
As they are in other industries, workers are reaping the benefits of switching jobs, or taking a new one after being unemployed for a time. Casinos are increasing wages and benefits, and are offering to train workers without the type of experience that was once required just to get a foot in the door for an interview.
“Everybody's looking to hire the same person,” said Bill Callahan, general manager of the Ocean casino in Atlantic City. “We always need people.”
In some departments, “people that made $14 an hour a year ago might now be making $16 or $17,” Callahan said.
Ocean is starting an in-house training program to teach people how to become dealers, something most applicants had to learn on their own before, Callahan added.
The Morongo casino in Cabazon, California, has been regularly holding job fairs since December, and has at least four more scheduled for this month.
In North Carolina, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians said last month it needed nearly 900 additional workers for its two casinos in the state. Tribal leaders are considering recruiting workers from other countries and housing them in dormitories.
And in West Virginia, racetrack casinos told state regulators last month that a shortage of workers is preventing them from operating at full strength for a third year in a row.
Townsend, the newly hired dealer in Atlantic City, says circumstances are coming together nicely for her.
“I wanted to move up and improve my situation," she said. "These places have to compete with everybody else for workers now, and there's money to be had.”
___
Follow Wayne Parry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/WayneParryAC
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https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/A-safe-bet-If-you-want-a-casino-job-odds-are-on-17080983.php
| 2022-04-14T16:24:04Z
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CHICAGO (AP) — Grain futures were mostly higher on Thursday in early trading on the Chicago Board of Trade. Wheat for May was up 5.25 cents at $11.0550 a bushel; May corn rose 15.50 cents at $7.8675 a bushel; May oats fell 13 cents at $7.8750 a bushel; while May soybeans gained 19.75 cents at $16.7725 a bushel.
Beef was lower and pork was higher on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
Apr. live cattle was off .07 cent at $1.4040 a pound; Apr. feeder cattle fell .88 cent at $1.5807 a pound; Apr. lean hogs was up .25 cent at $.9990 a pound.
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https://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/Grains-mostly-higher-Livestock-mixed-17080757.php
| 2022-04-14T16:29:22Z
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https://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/Grains-mostly-higher-Livestock-mixed-17080757.php
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The following excerpt is from the introduction of “Jill: A Biography of the First Lady,” by Associated Press journalists Julie Pace and Darlene Superville. The book details the life of Dr. Jill Biden. Superville covers the White House for the AP; Pace, a former White House correspondent and Washington bureau chief, is now AP's executive editor.
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As a teacher for more than 30 years, Dr. Jill Biden had long been accustomed to waking up in the dark — but this was something else entirely.
She heard the whistle of the 5:20 a.m. Northeast Regional train break the still air as it sped by her home in Wilmington, Delaware. The winter of 2017 felt especially cold and dark. After eight years at the highest levels of the U.S. government, Joe and Jill Biden had left Washington behind. Donald Trump was now in the White House, and the 19th-century mansion on the grounds of the Naval Observatory that had served as the Bidens’ home during Joe’s two terms as vice president was occupied by the new second family, Mike and Karen Pence.
But Jill Biden continued teaching at a community college just outside Washington that had become a second home for her, a place where she could channel her passion for education and escape the political pressure cooker.
Teaching English classes at Northern Virginia Community College — which everyone called NOVA — now required a train ride, the same commute her husband had made for 36 years to his job in the Senate. Amtrak had renamed the station in Wilmington after Joe Biden five years earlier in recognition of the thousands of hours he’d spent commuting.
Teaching was about the only thing that could draw Jill Biden back to Washington at the time. It was never a city she considered home, despite her husband’s profession. She and the couple’s three children had always lived in Wilmington, part of a close-knit community of family and friends. She had embraced her role as second lady, but Washington was also filled with difficult memories, most recently the loss of her son Beau to cancer.
From Wilmington, she would take the 1 1/2-hour ride to Washing- ton’s Union Station and then request an Uber for the nine-mile drive across the Potomac River, a trip that wound through areas of DC that mixed the grand and the grimy, past the Jefferson and Air Force memorials, and around the Pentagon to NOVA’s Alexandria, Virginia, campus. It was only a 20-minute ride on a good day, but Washington traffic was always bad in the mornings. She did the whole thing in reverse to get home later in the day. Despite the commitment she felt to her students, many of them immi- grants and the first in their families to attend any type of college, the long commute was beginning to wear on her.
Jill Biden’s time as second lady had brought her great joy and meaningful work. She helped lead President Obama’s proposal for free community college — an ambitious plan that ultimately went nowhere in Congress — cofounded an organization to support military families called Joining Forces with First Lady Michelle Obama, and had successfully taught at NOVA for all eight years.
Recent heartbreak had left both the Bidens battered. Beau died in 2015 at 46 of an aggressive brain cancer, leaving behind a wife and two young children. After a lengthy period of indecision following Beau’s death, Joe Biden had decided not to run for president in 2016; Hillary Clinton had run instead, and lost to Trump. Their younger son, Hunter, who had long struggled with drugs and alcohol, now seemed to find his life disintegrating into hard drug use, long disappearances and a bitter, public divorce.
Returning to a more private life, Jill had to relearn its rhythms — of driving, of walking into a store without an ever-present entourage of staff and Secret Service agents. She had to learn new tools, like Uber and Venmo, to maneuver through the world.
In the past, she would have found the fun in all of that. She’d always been a gleeful and lifelong learner. But Beau’s loss hung heavy over her every move. She wasn’t just moving on — she was moving on without her son.
“Life just felt different,” she said, looking back on that time during an interview in 2021. “You just can’t lose a child and say, ‘Oh, now we’ll go on.’” She often turned on the early TV news as she got ready in the morning. The new administration was like nothing she had ever seen. She tried not to dwell on Trump’s swift demolition of so much that Obama and her husband had built. She knew that any new president, Republican or Democrat, would have changed things done by their predecessors. She could only hope that Trump wouldn’t be as bad as many feared.
Even with Joe Biden out of politics for the first time in his adult life, they found new ways to serve. They were both devoted to cancer research. Biden met with scientists and experts; Jill Biden with families and caregivers. They worked on establishing the Biden Foundation, which would fund initiatives on causes that had long been dear to the Bidens’ hearts, like preventing violence against women and expanding access to college.
She was teaching, speaking, and starting work on a book. It was, Jill felt, a full life.
And she still had NOVA. She adored her students and was deeply invested in their future. The diverse and international backgrounds of her students had opened her eyes.
“I saw this whole world at NOVA,” she said. “I just couldn’t go back.”
So she made the early Amtrak train her alarm clock, knowing by the time she reached Washington, the gloom of night would give way to brisk morning light. Life, in its unrelenting way, continued on.
As quickly as Jill tried to settle back into life outside of politics, politics pulled her back in. Her husband launched his third, and perhaps least anticipated, presidential campaign, successfully unseating Trump in November 2020, in the midst of a pandemic and deep partisan divides.
Dr. Jill Biden assumed the role of first lady decades later than she originally envisioned.
She arrived hardened, and at times jaded, by the harsh realities of American politics and the personal tragedies her family had endured in the public eye. Yet she also stepped into the White House as a symbol of resilience and relatability — a woman fiercely protective of her family and her passions and ambitions.
By choosing to keep her teaching position at NOVA while her husband occupied the Oval Office, Jill Biden became the first first lady in American history to continue her career while in the White House. She spends her weeks crisscrossing the country, grading papers while she flies, and urging Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or comforting those whose lives have been upended by natural disasters. Then she returns to Washington to teach her twice-weekly writing classes, where her students often refer to her simply as Dr. B. She taught virtually during the pandemic and returned to the classroom, masked like her students, for the fall 2021 semester.
Elected to public office at 29, Joe Biden has been a senator, vice president, and president through tumultuous, historic times. In this book, we set out to learn what those years looked like from Jill Biden’s perspective.
Since Joe Biden has taken office, Jill Biden — like many first ladies before her — largely steers clear of active politicking and the heightened partisanship that has led millions of Americans to wrongly believe that her husband was not legitimately elected. Yet in private, she bemoans the corrosive nature of modern American politics, which has repeatedly put her family in the crosshairs.
She is, above all, a fiercely protective wife, mother, and grandmother.
She published a memoir, “Where the Light Enters,” in 2019, after her time in the Obama administration, but ours is the first book to capture her in her own words while serving as first lady.
First ladies have been a source of fascination to the American public since the nation’s founding. They have been both beloved and vilified, idolized and scrutinized. They hold no formal office and carry no official mandate from voters. In modern American politics, they are expected to have weighty policy priorities, yet also know how to stay on the right side of the imaginary line that separates them from their elected husbands.
“The first lady, at least in my research, has not been reflective all the time of what’s going on in society,” said Myra Gutin, a communications professor at Rider University who studies first ladies. “Sometimes they’re much more reflective of the time in which they were born.”
Jill Biden brings childhood values forged in the 1950s and 1960s, the experience of coming of age in the 1970s, a political life amid the culture wars of the 1980s and 1990s, and a Blue Star mother’s experience of the post-9/11 era. Her past informs her perspective on the present and her role as one of the world’s most prominent women. Her future, however, is deeply uncertain, interwoven with America’s heightened polarization and political uncertainty, and the legacy of her husband’s presidency. The present gives her one of the most prominent platforms in the world.
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https://www.ourmidland.com/news/article/EXCERPT-Jill-Biden-navigating-a-prominent-17080947.php
| 2022-04-14T16:29:24Z
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https://www.ourmidland.com/news/article/EXCERPT-Jill-Biden-navigating-a-prominent-17080947.php
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Atletico Madrid v Man City ROUND-BY-ROUND: From Correa hitting the ball into Grealish's face to Savic's red card and police storming the tunnel to break up a brawl... how the European tie turned nasty!
- Manchester City and Atletico Madrid's European clash descended into chaos
- Atletico defender Felipe was sent off for a hack on City forward Phil Foden
- Stefan Savic tried to haul Foden up and appeared to headbutt Raheem Sterling
- He avoided a red card but melee formed and brawl broke out in the tunnel
- Tensions started in first leg when Jack Grealish was targeted by Atletico players
- Pep Guardiola added subplot with dig at Diego Simeone which he later denied
When a manager of a team admits 'there are things we are not good at', it is usually a forthright assessment of their side's shortcomings in a footballing sense.
But when Pep Guardiola uttered those same words about his Manchester City side, it was never going to be about ability on the pitch for a group of Premier League winners.
Instead the Catalan boss was warning his side to keep their emotions in check ahead of the second leg of their quarter-final clash against Atletico Madrid, a match which would be goalless, therefore sealing City's progression through to the Champions League semi-finals.
Manchester City's clash with Atletico Madrid descended into chaos on Wednesday evening
A melee broke out towards the end of the second leg after Felipe's hack on Phil Foden
'We have to control our emotions and do what we have to do,' he said. Quite frankly, Diego Simeone could have done with offering similar words of advice to his Atletico players before the return leg at the Wanda Metropolitano on Wednesday evening.
Atletico were still in the tie when Phil Foden broke away late on down the left-hand side, which was met by a strong, but fair challenge by Felipe. A tackle most fans love to see in the game. What followed after that challenge however is not appreciated.
A melee, somehow just one red card and the referee quickly losing control of a high-profile match followed, and after some 13 minutes of added time it continued into the tunnel at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Of course, some may have considered a warning in Simeone's pre-match press conference ahead of the second leg too late anyway, given tempers had already flared at the Etihad Stadium.
The Brazilian defender was shown a red card after a VAR review at the Wanda Metropolitano
Stefan Savic - heavily involved before and during the melee - escaped a red card despite appearing to headbutt Raheem Sterling
For 82 minutes of the first leg, little appeared to boil over and everyone instead was revelling in Phil Foden's instant impact from the bench to set up Kevin De Bruyne with 20 minutes remaining.
But it was what happened to another City substitute - Jack Grealish, who was routinely fouled after coming on - that would be the sign of things to come in a tie which would ultimately descend into chaos just a week later.
Atletico had seemingly lined up their target, and the flashpoint arrived when forward Angel Correa smashed the ball into the face of the England international when he was lying on the ground.
Grealish confronted Correa and his team-mates as tensions came to boiling point, but on this occasion disgraceful scenes were avoided largely thanks to Guardiola, who shoved his own player to ensure he did not get into any further trouble.
Atletico's efforts to rile Grealish up did not stop with Sime Vrsaljko flicking the 26-year-old's hair and having words with him, while Stefan Savic also exchanged some verbals. It would not be the former and current City players' last clash in the tie.
The Montenegro defender told Grealish: 'I'll have you in Madrid'. The former Aston Villa star told him to give it his best shot.
Tensions first boiled in the tie in the first leg, when Atletico players try to rile Jack Grealish
Angel Correa kicked the ball into the face of Grealish, who had come on as a substitute
Grealish rattling the Atletico players pic.twitter.com/nnoJnwNEa8
— ᴋ (@citykako) April 5, 2022
Yet despite being perhaps the sole reason why tensions did not escalate, Guardiola praised Grealish after the first leg. 'The ref is there, Jack reacted really well and focused on what he had to do in the game.'
But it was another one of Guardiola's comments - about the side and manager he had just faced - which added yet another subplot.
Atletico failed to register a shot on goal at the Etihad Stadium in an overwhelmingly defensive display. It led Guardiola to say: 'They have gone 5-5-0. Two lines of five. And in prehistory, today and in a hundred thousand years, attacking a 5-5 is very difficult.'
Atletico captain Koke was the first to react on social media, before Simeone said: 'I understand that there are various ways to play each game. So when one [coach] is derogatory, I don't believe in that. Everyone has a certain ways of doing things and I respect my colleagues, always, always, always.'
Anyone not familiar with Simeone's Atletico could easily have mistaken his ultra defensive first-leg tactics for showing the opposition too much respect. That would not be the verdict by the end of the second leg, for more reasons than one.
"Jack reacted really well"
— LiveScore (@livescore) April 6, 2022
Pep Guardiola defended Jack Grealish after his confrontation with Atleti players last night at the Etihad#UCL pic.twitter.com/DQZqN4uhyN
But it was Pep Guardiola who pushed his player away to avoid him getting into trouble
Koke responded to Guardiola's comments about style by saying: 'In love with your story since prehistory. Proud to be from Atleti'
The Spanish champions were far more adventurous on home soil but failed to really test Ederson despite valiant efforts from the likes of Antoine Griezmann and Correa.
But towards the end, frustration they had still not restored parity in the tie now appeared to be behind the home side's attempts to rile up their opponents. So the last thing they wanted to see was Foden charging down the left in the 89th minute.
Felipe's tackle brought the break to a halt, but he made the mistake of kicking out at him afterwards, which saw the England man writhing in pain on the floor.
The only defence Savic could then have had for dragging Foden back on to the pitch, appearing to believe the forward was time wasting, was that he had not seen his team-mate's hack.
But what followed next from the Montenegrin was unpalatable as a melee formed around him on the left-hand side of the pitch in the Atletico half.
The disgraceful second leg scenes started when Felipe hacked Foden and then Savic went to haul him up off the floor
The 31-year-old appeared to headbutt Raheem Sterling - which somehow resulted in just a yellow card following a VAR review - before renewing his feud with Grealish by exchanging words with him during the brawl and pulling his hair.
While Savic may have avoided a red card, Felipe did not. But even despite the Brazilian's expulsion, there was a lingering feeling this was far from over.
When Savic went to face Foden moments later, Simeone tried to repeat Guardiola's intervention in the first leg with Grealish by yelling at his defender: 'No. Play'.
But the Argentine - also seen clapping which was meant as something between sarcastic applause towards the officials and genuine appreciation of the raucous atmosphere at the Wanda Metropolitano - had stepped on to the field.
He was therefore booked, the last of six cautions to have been handed out in stoppage time. But even as that applause continued after the final whistle, the hostility did escalate in the tunnel.
Grealish and Savic then came to blows again and exchanged words, before the former's hair was pulled by the latter
Diego Simeone came on to the pitch to try and calm Savic down but was also one of six bookings
Savic followed Grealish - who is now reportedly known as 'Peaky Jack' by some of his team-mates as a nickname referencing the hit TV series Peaky Blinders about a tough gang in Birmingham - inside the tunnel and appeared to attack the substitute.
Footage online also showed City goalkeeper Scott Carson and Vrsaljko clashed, while City No 1 Ederson flicked two fingers at Atletico fans.
Four local policemen, dressed in riot gear, then rushed down towards the dressing rooms as a shameful night got even worse.
Marcos Llorente was seen throwing an object in the direction of Aymeric Laporte in the tunnel area, while there appeared to be a physical altercation later in a clip circulating online, and there were reports objects were thrown at members of the opposite camps.
But City knew they had kept their heads. 'We know that they sometimes try and make things happen like that and we dealt with it really well,' John Stones said.
CITY & ATHLETICO BEEF‼
— Pundit Jay (@pundit_jay) April 14, 2022
Savic & Grealish have words entering the tunnel and Kyle Walker & Scott Carson weren't having any form of aggro from Athletico. #mcfc #AthleticoMadrid #UCL pic.twitter.com/TMtNOrf4NF
¿¿ Les images des échauffourées entre l'Atlético et City après le coup de sifflet final dans le couloir du Wanda Metropolitano. pic.twitter.com/krp7EKCdl1
— RMC Sport (@RMCsport) April 13, 2022
Yet his boss Guardiola - showered by bottles raining from the stands as he ran down the tunnel - refused to discuss what happened in his press conferences. Instead he was intent on clarifying his comments on Simeone's team.
Asked about his 'prehistory' comments, he said: 'Don't be mistaken. I didn't say that. I said that always [whether] many years before or today, when a team defends very well defensively, it is always difficult. I only said that.'
Simeone was seemingly not having any of it. 'Often, people who talk really well, and are really clever, they manage to praise you with contempt. But those of us who perhaps have a smaller vocabulary are not so stupid either.'
The actions from his side undoubtedly were though, and they mean the footballing world may well be on tenterhooks if and when these two sides meet again in the future.
Pep Guardiola refused to comment on the melee after the game but clarified his 'prehistory' comments
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-10718205/ATLETICO-MADRID-V-MAN-CITY-ROUND-ROUND-Champions-League-tie-descended-CHAOS.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
| 2022-04-14T16:29:29Z
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-10718205/ATLETICO-MADRID-V-MAN-CITY-ROUND-ROUND-Champions-League-tie-descended-CHAOS.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
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You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
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https://sportspyder.com/nfl/detroit-lions/articles/39159120
| 2022-04-14T16:36:34Z
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https://sportspyder.com/nfl/detroit-lions/articles/39159120
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Wolverine is one of the coolest, fan-favorite, and most brutal superheroes Marvel has ever created. With his razor-sharp adamantium claws, keen animal-like senses, and super-healing ability, Logan has unleashed merciless wrath on his enemies and anyone that goes against him. Throughout his life, Logan has made numerous foes, some of whom are hell-bent on murdering him and his X-Men allies.
In the new run of the X-Men 2021 comic series, Logan’s daughter Laura Kinney helms the mantle of Wolverine, and just like her father, Kinney is fierce, deadly, and short-tempered. Naturally, Logan’s old foes would pop out to take their revenge on his cloned daughter Laura. A similar situation is about to occur in X-Men #10 as Logan’s nemesis Lady Deathstrike will take on Laura Kinney.
Lady Death Strike is the arch-enemy of both father and daughter Wolverine
The X-Men #10 written is written by Gerry Duggan who is known for his work in X-Men: Hellfire Gala, Doctor Strange, Cable, and Savage Avengers. In the issue, the X-Men are engaged in a war with an evil organization called Orchis. The mutants spot an individual armed with adamantium on Phobos, the moon of Mars.
Eager for action just like her father, Laura looks to uncover the mystery of an adamantium-clad individual. The cover by Pepe Laraz clearly states that the person is Lady Deathstrike, desperate for revenge.
The always brooding Logan’s life took a twist when he found out about his daughter Laura Kinney. A genetic clone of Logan, Laura went through the same grueling Weapon X procedure that bonds adamantium metal to the human skeleton. Weapon X facility created Laura aka X-23, a more loyal version of Logan who will act according to their will.
X-23 was sent to assassinate Logan and X-Men and Xavier’s mansion but Logan instead of giving in to his animalistic urges followed his heart and convinced X-23 to join the X-Men. Laura was trained by the head honchos of the X-Men team along with her fellow mutants. Wolverine took X-23 under his wing and mentored her to control her powers.
Yuriko Oyama aka Lady Deathstrike is a powerful assassin and the daughter of Kenji Oyama, better known as Lord Dark Wind. Kenji discovered the process of bonding adamantium to the human skeleton, the same process used in Weapon X facilities on Logan and Laura. Yuriko’s cybernetically enhanced body can be self-repaired and has adamantium claws. Lady Deathstrike is a sworn enemy of Wolverine and the X-Men but is always bested by our favorite short-statured, hot-tempered Canadian.
In an attempt to kill Hope, Lady Deathstrike last clashed with X-23 in the X-Men: Messiah War story arc. The two ladies engage in a fierce battle where X-23 emerges victorious and gives Lady Deathstrike the beating of a lifetime.
Lady Deathstrike will battle Laura in X-Men #10. A lot has changed since their last encounter. Laura now helms the mantle of Wolverine. The X-Men#10 has already been released on April 13th, 2022 and is available for sale on Marvel’s website as well as comic book stores.
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https://www.sportskeeda.com/comics/laura-kinney-s-wolverine-fights-old-nemesis-x-men-10
| 2022-04-14T16:41:22Z
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https://www.sportskeeda.com/comics/laura-kinney-s-wolverine-fights-old-nemesis-x-men-10
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Model faked marriage to Zimbabwe VP: court
Marry Mubaiwa (2nd L) once moved among the cream of Zimbabwean society, first married to an international footballer who she left to take up with the then-army chief Constantino Chiwenga.
The former model accused of trying to kill Zimbabwe's vice president faked the marriage documents that would have formalised their eight-year relationship, a court ruled on Thursday.
Marry Mubaiwa, 40, once moved among the cream of Zimbabwean society, first married to an international footballer who she left to take up with the then-army chief Constantino Chiwenga.
Her star kept rising after Chiwenga orchestrated the 2017 coup against Robert Mugabe, landing him the vice presidency as his ally Emmerson Mnangagwa took power.
But then money laundering, fraud and murder charges derailed her ambitions. A lymphatic disease meanwhile ravaged her body so badly that doctors are planning to amputate her forearm.
Mubaiwa and Chiwenga were wed under customary law, including a traditional offering of cattle to her family.
The relationship turned sour. While Chiwenga was hospitalised in South Africa in 2019, she is charged with trying to kill him by removing his intravenous lines.
Around that time, she also forged his signature on documents that would have formalised their wedding as a civil marriage, which grants more rights to women in the event of a divorce, the court ruled Thursday.
"The accused made a false statement... that there was consent from Chiwenga yet there was none," the ruling read.
Due to her illness, Mubaiwa avoided a prison sentence and received a fine of 60,000 Zimbabwe dollars ($380, 350 euros).
Mubaiwa accuses Chiwenga of blocking all her efforts to seek treatment abroad despite the ill-equipped Zimbabwean hospital system having no specialists to treat her condition.
Her murder case, as well as a $1 million money laundering case, are still pending.
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-10719549/Model-faked-marriage-Zimbabwe-VP-court.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
| 2022-04-14T16:55:34Z
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-10719549/Model-faked-marriage-Zimbabwe-VP-court.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
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Trump says he 'probably' wouldn't return to Twitter if Musk reinstated his account
By James Oliphant
WASHINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's takeover bid for Twitter has prompted speculation that he would restore Donald Trump's account if he succeeds in purchasing the social-media platform. But the former U.S. president says he "probably" would not go back.
In an interview with Sirius XM's Americano Media on Wednesday, before Musk's announcement, Trump said he "probably wouldn't have any interest" in returning to the platform, where he had almost 90 million followers.
"You know, Twitter has become very boring. They've gotten rid of a lot of their good voices ... a lot of their conservative voices," Trump said.
Musk, the Tesla CEO and billionaire entrepreneur, said he hopes to take Twitter private with the intent of making it a platform for free speech.
Trump was permanently suspended by Twitter following the assault on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021. The platform cited the risk of "further incitement of violence."
The attack on Congress followed a speech by Trump in which he reiterated false claims that his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden was because of widespread fraud, an assertion rejected by multiple courts and state election officials.
Twitter's decision was criticized by Trump's Republican Party and others as an attempt to stifle conservative voices and an attack on free speech.
Trump has since launched his own social media platform, Truth Social, which has been plagued by technical issues and long waiting times to sign up.
In the interview, Trump said he would wait until after the U.S congressional elections in November to announce whether he will run for another presidential term. But, he said, "I think a lot of people are going to be very happy," about his decision. (Reporting by James Oliphant; Editing by Ross Colvin and Daniel Wallis)
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-10719419/Trump-says-probably-wouldnt-return-Twitter-Musk-reinstated-account.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
| 2022-04-14T16:58:59Z
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-10719419/Trump-says-probably-wouldnt-return-Twitter-Musk-reinstated-account.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
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Police are investigating both a theft and a shooting after a 22-year-old Lincoln man fired a shotgun toward a group of men who had been tampering with his vehicle early Thursday morning in an apparent attempt to steal his catalytic converter, according to the Lincoln Police Department.
Capt. Todd Kocian said officers responded to a house near 62nd and Hartley streets just before 3 a.m. Thursday, where the 22-year-old resident reported he heard sawing noises in his driveway and saw three men, dressed in dark clothing, underneath his car.
The man then retrieved a shotgun from his residence and fired toward the men as they fled the scene in a dark SUV, Kocian said.
Kocian declined to identify the 22-year-old, who fired a gun within city limits toward men who had committed a property crime. Doing so is a violation of city ordinance. Kocian said an investigation into the man's actions is ongoing.
The three men caused about $500 in damage to the man's vehicle, but ultimately did not make off with his catalytic converter, Kocian said.
Lincoln has been plagued by an increase in catalytic converter thefts in recent years, and that uptick has continued in the early months of 2022.
LPD has fielded reports of 513 such thefts in the first 102 days of 2022. If the current pace holds, Lincoln would have more than 1,800 catalytic converter thefts this year.
In all of 2021, the police department fielded reports of 978 such thefts — itself an all-time high, a 257% increase from 2020 and a 1,183% increase over the five-year average.
Lincoln's City Council in September approved an ordinance requiring a permit to possess, buy or sell unattached catalytic converters in an effort to curb the rise in thefts. But that rule change — which police have acknowledged "isn't a magic ordinance" — has not positively impacted the rate of converter thefts in the months since.
A Kansas City, Missouri, native, Andrew Wegley joined the Journal Star as breaking news reporter after graduating from Northwest Missouri State University in May 2021.
Sheriff Terry Wagner said the girl first made the disclosure to Lincoln Public Schools officials on Tuesday before police forensically interviewed her at the Child Advocacy Center. Within hours, deputies arrested her father.
The warrant comes more than a month after a 12-year-old girl told police she had awaken to the 51-year-old lifting her shirt and bra as she slept at his residence Feb. 26, Investigator Robert Norton said in the affidavit for his arrest.
Majdal Elias, an admitted drug dealer, already is serving 19 to 33 years in prison on drug and gun charges. Now, at his sentencing in May, he'll face another 33 years to life for the 2019 murder of 15-year-old Ali Al-Burkat.
The 52-year-old woman's arrest came after officers were dispatched to a house near 21st and Garfield, where third party reported the woman had stabbed her boyfriend, police say.
Staff at the Nebraska Animal Medical Center told the man his dog, Zip, would need a grant-funded surgery. But he failed to show up to three different surgical appointments, deputies said in court filings.
Lincoln Fire and Rescue Capt. Nancy Crist said the instance served as a reminder of the dangers of recent high winds, which investigators determined had carried the ember from the backyard pit hours after it was last used.
A Lincoln woman said a family friend set up a Go Fund Me to help pay funeral expenses after her daughter died. But when the daughter's widower tried to get the $3,732 that was raised, Go Fund Me said the money had been withdrawn.
The defense contends that Majdal Elias, who is facing a second-degree murder charge, wasn't the shooter. He just happened to live in the apartment complex and drive a silver Ford Explorer, like the one the shooter drove.
Sheriff Terry Wagner said the 27-year-old manager plugged the drains and turned the kitchen faucets on before leaving work for the last time Saturday night.
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https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/lincoln-man-fires-shotgun-at-attempted-catalytic-converter-thieves-police-say/article_cb244170-6e58-512e-a092-a322203cf806.html
| 2022-04-14T17:02:09Z
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https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/lincoln-man-fires-shotgun-at-attempted-catalytic-converter-thieves-police-say/article_cb244170-6e58-512e-a092-a322203cf806.html
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(NEXSTAR) – Toyota is issuing a safety recall to address a software glitch affecting approximately 460,000 Toyota and Lexus vehicles.
Toyota says the problem concerns the cars’ Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) systems, a feature designed to help drivers “maintain vehicle control under adverse conditions,” according to the automaker’s website. Toyota says the VSC systems of the recalled vehicles may be experiencing an “error” that prevents the feature from automatically enabling in certain situations.
The voluntary recall notice, issued Wednesday, names 10 different models of Toyota and Lexus vehicles: Toyota Venza, Mirai, RAV4 Hybrid, RAV4 Prime, Sienna HV and Highlander HV models, and Lexus LS500h, LX600, NX350h and NX450h+ models.
“Owners of involved vehicles will be notified by the middle of June 2022,” Toyota says.
The fix will be provided free of charge at Toyota and Lexus dealers, the automaker added.
Customers can check with Toyota of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to see if their vehicles are affected.
Also on Wednesday, Toyota issued a recall for 4,000 additional 2022 Lexus NX vehicles (both HEV and PHEV) for potentially “incorrect welding” at the site of the front shock absorbers and the body panels.
“Incorrect welding could eventually cause a shock absorber to separate from the mounting area, resulting in a loss of driving stability and increasing the risk of a crash,” Toyota writes.
Owners will be notified by mid-June once a remedy is developed.
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https://www.krqe.com/news/recalls/toyota-recalls-460000-vehicles-over-stability-control-issue/
| 2022-04-14T17:02:37Z
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https://www.krqe.com/news/recalls/toyota-recalls-460000-vehicles-over-stability-control-issue/
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B.C. Place in British Columbia, Vancouver, has been added as a proposed site in Canada to host matches at the 2026 World Cup along with Edmonton, Alberta, and Toronto.
FIFA made the announcement Thursday, nine months after Montreal dropped out when the Quebec provincial government withdrew its support.
Eighteen U.S. stadiums in 17 areas are bidding for the event, with the Los Angeles area submitting both SoFi Stadium in Inglewood and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, site of the 1994 World Cup final. Three cities in Mexico are bidding.
FIFA has targeted mid-May for announcing site selections.
FIFA also said Amy Hopfinger, the U.S. Soccer Federation's director of events, will become chief strategy and planning officer of FIFA's subsidiary in the U.S. for the 2026 World Cup. Hopfinger, 41, has worked at the USSF for 18 years.
Dan Flynn will become senior executive adviser of the subsidiary. The 67-year-old served as the USSF's chief executive officer from June 2000 until September 2019.
The 2026 World Cup will be the first with 48 nations and the first with three co-hosts. FIFA selected the bid as joint host in June 2018.
Sixty games are to be played in the U.S., including all from the quarterfinals on. Canada and Mexico are to host 10 games each.
The bid plan envisioned 16 total sites for the tournament.
The bid had been trimmed to 23 candidate areas in March 2018, including Montreal. The remaining areas and stadiums:
UNITED STATES
Arlington, Texas, AT&T Stadium; Atlanta, Mercedes-Benz Stadium; Baltimore, M&T Bank Stadium; Cincinnati, Paul Brown Stadium; Denver, Empower Field at Mile High; East Rutherford, New Jersey, MetLife Stadium; Foxborough, Massachusetts, Gillette Stadium; Houston, NRG Stadium; Inglewood, California, SoFi Stadium; Kansas City, Missouri, Arrowhead Stadium; Landover, Maryland, FedEx Field; Miami Gardens, Florida, Hard Rock Stadium; Nashville, Tennessee, Nissan Stadium; Orlando, Florida, Camping World Stadium; Pasadena, California, Rose Bowl; Philadelphia, Lincoln Financial Field; Santa Clara, California, Levi’s Stadium; Seattle, Lumen Field.
CANADA
Edmonton, Alberta, Commonwealth Stadium; Toronto, BMO Field; Vancouver, British Columbia, B.C. Place.
MEXICO
Guadalajara, Estadio Akron; Mexico City, Estadio Azteca; Monterrey, Estadio BBVA.
___
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/Vancouver-replaces-Montreal-as-Canada-2026-World-17081066.php
| 2022-04-14T17:06:31Z
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https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/Vancouver-replaces-Montreal-as-Canada-2026-World-17081066.php
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ATLANTA (AP) — Former President Donald Trump’s political action committee has given $500,000 to a group that is running attack ads in Georgia against Republican Gov. Brian Kemp.
The spending appears aimed at boosting former U.S. Sen. David Perdue, whom Trump has endorsed in the GOP gubernatorial primary, but the ad never mentions Perdue by name.
It’s the first major outlay from Trump’s Save America PAC, underlining Trump’s continuing obsession with beating Kemp. Trump views Kemp as disloyal for refusing to help overturn his defeat in the state’s 2020 presidential election.
The ad criticizes Kemp for not doing enough to combat voter fraud, citing discredited claims that a Georgia law enforcement agency examined and dismissed.
The Save America PAC entered the year with $120 million in cash. But until now, the former president has been reluctant to spend that money beyond small contributions to candidates and money spent on rallies he is now holding almost every week.
Federal campaign records show the donation went to a group called Get Georgia Right PAC in March, as first reported by Politico.
The ad began airing earlier this month, according to Kantar Media. The Associated Press also obtained a copy of a text message the group sent urging people to watch the ad.
The spending comes at a time that Perdue is trailing in the polls and is being outspent by Kemp. Perdue, who’s worth $50 million, has suggested he could kick in some of his own money.
“We’re going to make sure this thing is well funded,” Perdue told reporters in March. “We’re going to get our message out.”
Kemp remains dismissive of Trump, with spokesperson Cody Hall attacking Perdue about remarks the challenger made Tuesday criticizing Kemp’s stewardship of the state police.
“David Perdue is going to need a lot more than $500,000 to distract from his unhinged rant attacking the Georgia State Patrol,” Hall said.
A Perdue loss in Georgia in the state’s May 24 primary could be particularly embarrassing for Trump, who recruited Perdue to challenge Kemp and pressed another Republican — Vernon Jones — to exit the governor’s race and run for Congress instead. Trump has also endorsed an extensive slate of other Republicans in Georgia running for statewide and congressional offices.
Trump called Kemp a “turncoat,” a “coward” and “a complete and total disaster” at a rally in Commerce, Georgia, last month. But the former president was noncommittal in an April 6 interview with conservative radio host John Fredericks about whether he would do an additional rally for Perdue. He told Fredericks that it’s “not easy to beat a sitting governor, just remember that,” adding that “it’s a close race and we’ll see what happens.”
Perdue has parroted Trump’s lies in his own attacks against Kemp, declaring at the Commerce rally that “our elections in 2020 were absolutely stolen.”
___
Associated Press writer Jill Colvin contributed to this report from New York.
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https://www.wivb.com/news/trump-pac-gives-500000-to-attack-georgias-brian-kemp/
| 2022-04-14T17:17:40Z
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https://www.wivb.com/news/trump-pac-gives-500000-to-attack-georgias-brian-kemp/
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A safe bet: If you want a casino job, odds are on your side
By WAYNE PARRY
Associated Press
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Like most businesses across the U.S., casinos are racing to hire new workers. That is leading to better wages and benefits in some places, and forcing casinos to become more creative. MGM Resorts used virtual reality goggles to let some job applicants experience what the job would be like before deciding. Atlantic City casinos are talking about setting up new transit links to bring workers from farther away to casino jobs. The American Gaming Association says nationwide there are about 1.65 million workers employed in casino-related jobs, about 91% of the staffing level before the coronavirus pandemic hit. Atlantic City’s Ocean Casino will train applicants how to become a dealer — something workers used to have to learn on their own.
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https://localnews8.com/news/ap-national-business/2022/04/14/a-safe-bet-if-you-want-a-casino-job-odds-are-on-your-side/
| 2022-04-14T17:24:23Z
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https://localnews8.com/news/ap-national-business/2022/04/14/a-safe-bet-if-you-want-a-casino-job-odds-are-on-your-side/
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In his first letter to Amazon shareholders, CEO Andy Jassy offered a defense of the wages and benefits the company gives its warehouse workers while also vowing to improve injury rates inside the facilities.
Jassy, who took over from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as CEO last July, wrote the company has researched and created a list of the top 100 “employee experience pain points” and is working to solve them.
“We’re also passionate about further improving safety in our fulfillment network, with a focus on reducing strains, sprains, falls, and repetitive stress injuries,” he wrote.
The company is set to face two shareholder votes next month tied to workplace injuries. One calls for an independent audit into the working conditions and treatment of its warehouse workers, while the other seeks to assess whether Amazon's policies give rise to racial and gender disparities in its workplace injury rates. The retailer had argued against both proposals, but U.S. securities regulators disagreed and allowed the resolutions to stand.
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A report released this week by Strategic Organizing Center, a coalition of four labor unions, found Amazon employed 33% of all U.S. warehouse workers in 2021, but was responsible for 49% of all injuries in the industry. Jassy pushed back on the report during an interview with CNBC Thursday morning, saying it was not accurate.
He further wrote in the shareholder letter that the company’s injury rates can sometimes be misunderstood, saying it has operations jobs that fit both the “warehousing” and “courier and delivery” categories.
Offering his own data, Jassy acknowledged the company’s warehouse injury rates “were a little higher than the average” compared to other warehouses, but lower than average compared to Amazon’s courier and delivery peers.
“This makes us about average relative to peers, but we don’t seek to be average,” Jassy wrote. “We want to be best in class.”
Union organizers in Staten Island, New York and Bessemer, Alabama have often rallied workers while pointing to the company’s injury rates. The nascent Amazon Labor Union, which won the union election in Staten Island earlier this month, is now seeking to negotiate with the retailer for a union contract. But Amazon has rebuffed those attempts and is seeking to re-do the election.
Jassy didn't mention the union push in his letter, but said the company offers “robust” benefits, and has increased hourly wages in the past few years. When asked about the union win during the interview, he said it was employee's choice whether they want to join a union but believes they're better off not doing so.
He argued unions could slow down change, and believes workers are better off having direct relationships with their managers, an argument the company has made in the lead-up to the union elections to persuade its employees not to unionize.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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https://wcfcourier.com/news/national/amazon-ceo-jassy-says-he-wants-to-improve-warehouse-safety/article_8a2b1d56-76c2-50c6-9c7a-110d36a9dea2.html
| 2022-04-14T17:25:59Z
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https://wcfcourier.com/news/national/amazon-ceo-jassy-says-he-wants-to-improve-warehouse-safety/article_8a2b1d56-76c2-50c6-9c7a-110d36a9dea2.html
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You can even try this feature out for your initial bet with Caesars Sportsbook New York promo code ROTOCZR and craft a risk-free, high-reward parlay built around the teams and players you know best.
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https://www.rotowire.com/article.php?id=63020
| 2022-04-14T17:26:27Z
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https://www.rotowire.com/article.php?id=63020
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The criminal prosecution of a Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer charged with lying to the FBI during the Trump-Russia investigation can move forward, a judge ruled Wednesday in denying a defense bid to dismiss the case.
The ruling means Michael Sussmann, charged last year by special counsel John Durham, remains set for trial on May 16 in Washington’s federal court.
Sussmann ischarged with lying to the FBI during a September 2016meeting in which he relayed concerns from cybersecurity researchers about a potential secret back channel of communications between servers of the Trump Organization and Russia-based Alfa Bank. The FBI investigated the matter but ultimately found no such suspicious links.
Prosecutors allege that Sussmann misled the FBI’s then-general counsel by saying that he was not attending the meeting on behalf of a particular client when he was actually presenting the information on behalf of the Clinton campaign and a technology executive with whom he had worked.
In order to prosecute someone for a false statement, the Justice Department must prove that the statement was not only fictitious but also “material” — that is, capable of influencing a government agency’s decision-making or functions.
In this case, Durham’s team says that had the FBI known Sussmann was representing the interests of the Clinton campaign at the meeting, it would have done more to examine his motives and the reliability of his information as it considered whether to open an investigation based on the tip he provided.
Sussmann’s lawyers have argued that his ties to the Clinton campaign were already well-known to the FBI, and have rejected the idea that the full disclosure of that relationship could have meaningfully influenced the FBI’s decision to investigate or act on his tip.
U.S. District Judge Christopher “Casey” Cooper said in a six-page ruling Wednesday that the dispute was ultimately up to a jury to decide.
“The battle lines thus are drawn, but the Court cannot resolve this standoff prior to trial,” Cooper wrote.
Durham, a former U.S. attorney in Connecticut, was appointed in 2019 by then-Attorney General William Barr to look for government misconduct during the investigation into Russian election interference in 2016 and possible ties to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
Sussmann is one of three people charged so far. The other two are Kevin Clinesmith, a former FBI lawyer who pleaded guiltyto altering an emailand received probation, and Igor Danchenko, a Russian analyst and source of information for Christopher Steele, the former British intelligence operative who assembled a dossier of anti-Trump research. Danchenko was charged in Novemberwith lying to the FBI during a 2017 interview.
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Follow Eric Tucker on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP
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https://www.wjhl.com/news/politics/case-against-clinton-lawyer-in-counsels-probe-can-proceed/
| 2022-04-14T17:29:28Z
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https://www.wjhl.com/news/politics/case-against-clinton-lawyer-in-counsels-probe-can-proceed/
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BREAKING: ISIS 'Beatle' El Shafee Elsheikh is found GUILTY on all counts over his role in brutal hostage-taking scheme that led to the deaths of four Americans
- Jurors began deliberating Wednesday afternoon after hearing closing statements from both prosecution and defense
- Prosecutors delivered their closing arguments describing Elsheikh as the 'lifeblood' of a 'horrifying and inhumane hostage-taking scheme'
- The defense then took the podium with an awkward and muddled closing argument that drew comments from the gallery and an objection
- Attorneys tried to elicit sympathy for Elsheikh whom they sought to present as simply a man who had stood by his 'friends'
- The IS torture cell is responsible for the deaths of four Americans: Aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig, and journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff
British jihadist El Shafee Elsheikh has been found guilty of all counts over his role in a brutal hostage-taking scheme in Syria that resulted in the deaths of four Americans.
Jurors returned a verdict at federal court in Alexandria, Virginia Thursday after just five hours of deliberations.
Elsheikh, 33, was charged with multiple counts of conspiracy, terrorism, hostage-taking and causing the deaths of US journalists James Foley and Steve Sotloff, and aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig.
The jury began deliberating Wednesday afternoon after hearing closing statements from both prosecution and defense.
Judge TS Ellis III dismissed five alternates jurors and sent the remaining jurors out to deliberate shortly after 3pm after lengthy jury instructions.
According to the government, as a member of the ISIS 'Beatles' Elsheikh was 'the lifeblood' of a 'horrifying and inhumane hostage-taking scheme' that saw 26 taken and led to the deaths of the four Americans as well as three British hostages and two Japanese.
This was the message that First Assistant US Attorney for the Eastern District Raj Parekh delivered to jurors in his closing argument Wednesday morning.
Two faces of a 'killer': El Shafee Elsheikh in 2018 and again in his booking photo taken in 2020
Elsheikh, 33 (pictured in a court room sketch on April 1) and the other three 'ISIS Beatles' – so-called because they were all from the UK – are said to have captured 26 hostages between 2012 and 2015 in Syria
Standing to address the court shortly after 9:00am, he spoke for just over an hour, methodically presenting a powerful case and, he told them, a 'mosaic' of evidence that when put together creates an undeniable picture of guilt.
Elsheikh, 33, is charged on eight counts including conspiracy to take hostages, conspiracy to murder US Nationals, conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization (hostage taking and murder) and conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization.
The majority of this is, he argued, 'straightforward and clean cut' with Elsheikh condemned in part by his own 'brazen words.'
Across their case which lasted just over two weeks and saw 35 witnesses called, the government sought to use Elsheikh's own boastful words against him, playing sections of media interviews given in 2019 in which he admitted to being involved in the American and British hostages' fates.
According to Parekh, Elsheikh recounted, 'in granular detail' information that only a member of the Beatles group would have known.
He reminded the court of the words of the witnesses who described the Beatles' garb then pointed to a picture of Elsheikh dressed in just such a fashion. Elsheikh and his cohorts were nicknamed after the superstar band because they were all British.
The picture was sent by Elsheikh to his brother in which he described himself as being 'Rambo style' and it was the image identified by self-confessed convicted terrorist Omer Kuzu, who told the court that he met Elsheikh when he was using a nom du guerre and fighting for ISIS between 2014 and 2017.
Carl Mueller (far left) and Marsha Mueller (far right), the parents of slain American Kayla Mueller, are seen departing court with Art Sotloff (center), the father of US-Israeli journalist Steven Sotloff who was killed by Islamic State militants
Ed and Paula Kassig, parents of Peter Kassig, who was slain by Islamic State militants, leave the Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, on Wednesday April 13
Parekh played clips of the interviews given by Elsheikh – interviews that the defense had sought to keep out of evidence.
In opening arguments, the defense that acknowledged Elsheikh was an Islamic State jihadist but insisted he was not one of the 'Beatles' and it was a case of 'mistaken identity.'
Parekh flipped between Elsheikh's words and the testimony of the 12 ex-hostages who had testified in court.
The court heard Elsheikh boast: 'I know how to inflict pain to a certain level…I know how to cause real damage…I've hit all the prisoners.'
Then they were reminded of the testimony of witnesses who recalled being waterboarded, beaten with electric cables, kicked, given dead legs, placed in stress positions, enduring mock executions, and being psychologically and physically tortured close to breaking point.
Parekh picked up particular words and phrases that Elsheikh used and pointed to how they mirrored the language of ransom emails sent to hostage families.
The language was the same, he told the court, because Elsheikh was there – he wrote them. 'The words roll off the tip of his tongue,' he said.
Pictures of the hostages who were beheaded were displayed in a collage as Parekh told the court: 'We have proved beyond any reasonable doubt that El Shafee Elsheikh is one of the Beatles.'
And as of the Beatles, the told them, his guilt on all other counts must follow.
Television reporters were seen setting up cameras outside of the courtroom as jury deliberations began
The exterior of Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse during where the trial of ISIS 'Beatle' El Shafee Elsheikh is going on
One female juror vigorously nodded her head as Parekh spoke.
He concluded by turning to the victims: 'They were humanitarians and journalists who came to promote peace and enlightenment in a war-torn country and to alleviate suffering among those most in need.
'The defendant responded with systematic, premeditated and relentless abuse and torture.
'His crimes left a legacy of brutal killings and shattered families, and we respectfully request you return a verdict of guilty for each and every count.'
Attorney Nina Ginsberg took the podium next to deliver a halting closing argument for the defense.
Where Parekh had insisted again and again that Elsheikh was a Beatle, Ginsberg was left to circle the fact that none of the former hostages had been able to identify him.
They had all testified that he was masked at all times and they were too terrified to dare look for fear of incurring punishment or worse.
The only person who had positively identified him was, she said, Omer Kuzu whom she characterized as a man trying to 'please' the government in a bid to see a 20-year sentence in federal prison reduced.
As to those apparently damning confessions made by Elsheikh himself in numerous media interviews, Ginsberg cast them as a desperate man's bid to save himself from a fate worse than trial in the USA or Britain.
Victims: Left: US freelance journalist Steven Sotloff. Right: US aide worker Kayla Mueller, 26. Both were killed in Syria by ISIS
Victims: Slain American James Foley covering the civil war in Aleppo, Syria in 2012 and US aid worker Peter Kassig - otherwise known as Abdul-Rahman Kassig - in Syria
At the time he made those admissions he had, she told the court, been held in a Syrian prison for more than a year and knew that ISIS members were being sent to Iraq for summary trials and swift executions.
If he confessed to involvement in Western hostage taking, he could hope for a fair trial in either Britain or America.
Ginsberg walked a dangerous line as she appeared to try to elicit sympathy for Elsheikh, whom she did not attempt to exonerate from membership of ISIS.
She pointed to his physically and mentally diminished condition after a lengthy period in custody and drew disgusted intakes of breath from hostage family members who sat in court when she said, '[He made his admissions] only after he'd been held for a year and a half which was longer than some of the hostages were held that he had implicated himself in.'
She went on to draw an objection from the prosecution when she sought to present Elsheikh as simply a man who had stood by his friends even when they had committed acts of which he did not necessarily approve and in which he was not necessarily involved.
The 'friends' of which she spoke were Mohammed Emwazi 'Jihadi John' and Alexe Kotey – two of the so-called Beatles.
Addressing the jury Ginsberg suggested: 'The government would have you believe that because these men were friends, Mr. Elsheik must have participated in their worst behavior.'
Elsheikh is pictured, right, with ISIS Beatle Alexander Kotey, left, who struck a plea bargain last year in return for life behind bars
The fourth suspected 'Beatle', Aine Davis, is pictured in 2014. He is currently serving a prison sentence at a Turkish jail
When she said that she was sure that all the jurors must personally know friends or family whom they continue to love despite bad, even criminal behavior, prosecutor Dennis Fitzpatrick stood to object.
Trying again Ginsberg said: 'It would be reasonable to assume that there are people who have behaved badly, even hurt people but that those individuals [who are friends] do not abandon or stop loving those people.
'Mr. Elsheikh's relationship with Kotey and Emwazi is just that.'
Someone in the gallery muttered: 'How dare she?'
Stumbling towards a close, Ginsberg admitted that the jury might find guilt on Elsheikh's role in ISIS.
Halting for an inordinate period of time, more than one hour in, Judge Ellis was forced to ask: 'Anything further? There was a very long pause.'
Ginsberg soldiered on, wrapping up her closing argument by asserting that while jurors may disapprove of his involvement in ISIS, the government had not proved that her client was a Beatle nor that he was involved in any of the hostage taking or deaths with which he has been charged.
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10719683/ISIS-Beatle-El-Shafee-Elsheikh-GUILTY-kidnapping-murdering-Western-hostages.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
| 2022-04-14T17:34:52Z
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10719683/ISIS-Beatle-El-Shafee-Elsheikh-GUILTY-kidnapping-murdering-Western-hostages.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
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ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — As a casino dealer, Shamikah Townsend knows when the odds are in her favor.
And they definitely are right now.
While working at one Atlantic City casino last year, she went to a job fair held by a different one, and was surprised at how instantly in-demand she was when the recruiter wanted to hire her as a craps dealer.
“She said, ‘I’ll pay you to move to Florida in two weeks,'” Townsend said. “I didn’t know craps, so I had to be honest and tell her, but I went out and I learned it.”
On Monday, Townsend made her move, getting hired on the spot at a job fair held by the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City.
Townsend is part of a great hiring wave taking place at casinos across the nation as the gambling halls compete to add staff while recovering from the coronavirus pandemic that drove customers away and led to staff reductions.
But casinos are just one of many industries struggling to add new workers, and they find themselves competing with each other not only for casino workers, but for people with experience in the hotel, restaurant and tourism industries, to name just a few.
“Gaming is facing the same labor issues that we see across the broader economy,” said Casey Clark, senior vice president of the American Gaming Association, the casino industry’s national trade group. “In our recent CEO survey, the labor shortage is a top concern across the country.
“Competition for talent is a huge impediment for growth, and we’re also experiencing an expansion of gaming with customer demand increasing,” he said. “Those things are problematic when they happen together.”
That has led to some innovative tactics, including the use of virtual reality goggles at some MGM Resorts International job fairs to let applicants experience what the job will be like before signing on the dotted line.
Atlantic City’s casinos are also talking with state government agencies about funding new transit options to get people to jobs at casinos from farther-out places. One possibility: something like the contract the Borgata had with a state transit agency in 2008 for a daily shuttle bus between its Atlantic City casino and Camden — an hour-long trip reaching clear across the state.
In Clark County, Nevada, home to Las Vegas, an economic development official said last month more than 40,000 jobs have gone unfilled since the state’s casinos reopened after a temporary closure in 2020. During one job fair in February, Caesars Entertainment was looking to hire 500 people.
Nationwide, there were about 1.65 million workers employed in the gambling, amusement and recreation sectors of the U.S. economy in March, representing about 91% of the pre-pandemic workforce, Clark said. The AGA said it does not have a figure for casino employment alone.
Joe Lupo, president of Atlantic City’s Hard Rock casino, is also president of the Casino Association of New Jersey. He estimates there are 2,000 full and part-time casino jobs open in Atlantic City right now, where the overall workforce of 22,000 is down from 49,000 in 2003.
“Coming out of COVID, especially last year, after the restrictions were lifted, the workforce supply just has not been available,” he said. “It’s been difficult for all of us to find enough people. I certainly know after meeting with everyone last week that every property is hiring.”
That has very practical effects in casino resorts, which might not be able to open all their hotel rooms, or open all the craps or roulette tables they have. Restaurants that used to serve 700 tables a night may only be able to do 300, executives said.
As they are in other industries, workers are reaping the benefits of switching jobs, or taking a new one after being unemployed for a time. Casinos are increasing wages and benefits, and are offering to train workers without the type of experience that was once required just to get a foot in the door for an interview.
“Everybody’s looking to hire the same person,” said Bill Callahan, general manager of the Ocean casino in Atlantic City. “We always need people.”
In some departments, “people that made $14 an hour a year ago might now be making $16 or $17,” Callahan said.
Ocean is starting an in-house training program to teach people how to become dealers, something most applicants had to learn on their own before, Callahan added.
The Morongo casino in Cabazon, California, has been regularly holding job fairs since December, and has at least four more scheduled for this month.
In North Carolina, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians said last month it needed nearly 900 additional workers for its two casinos in the state. Tribal leaders are considering recruiting workers from other countries and housing them in dormitories.
And in West Virginia, racetrack casinos told state regulators last month that a shortage of workers is preventing them from operating at full strength for a third year in a row.
Townsend, the newly hired dealer in Atlantic City, says circumstances are coming together nicely for her.
“I wanted to move up and improve my situation,” she said. “These places have to compete with everybody else for workers now, and there’s money to be had.”
___
Follow Wayne Parry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/WayneParryAC
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https://www.binghamtonhomepage.com/news/national/a-safe-bet-if-you-want-a-casino-job-odds-are-on-your-side/
| 2022-04-14T17:38:11Z
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https://www.binghamtonhomepage.com/news/national/a-safe-bet-if-you-want-a-casino-job-odds-are-on-your-side/
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To prevent properties from getting affected by storms, floods, fire, water, natural calamities, vandalism, and more, it is time to seek emergency services to board up in Northfield and Chicago, Illinois.
Chicago, IL -- (ReleaseWire) -- 04/14/2022 --Homeowners might require regular or emergency board-up service for a variety of reasons. Several worst things might happen to the property due to storms, floods, fire, water, natural calamities, vandalism, break-ins, and even hawk attacks.
No matter how severe the damage seems, each circumstance needs rapid attention and excellent restoration. More severe damages will undoubtedly occur if the property is not adequately protected or restored. With the emergency board up in Northfield and Chicago, Illinois, these issues can be better resolved and avoided.
At A-Emergency Services & Restoration, they will respond to a disaster in and around Chicago, including Morton, Grove, Niles, Park Ridge, Skokie, Evanston, Lincolnwood, and many more communities.
The property might suffer more damage if it is not adequately boarded up. The open space in the property might be tempting animals and people that break in and cause damage to the property. It might also be affected by snow and rain that enters the property. To prevent such occurrences, seeking out the skilled board up and emergency services to the fullest extent possible is ideal.
Sometimes, situations can be extremely nerve-wracking and distressing. At A-Emergency Services & Restoration, they understand how stressful and upsetting the conditions can be. They take care of the stress and offer clients the peace of mind they deserve.
Irrespective of the size of the property, the team of trained professionals is always readily available to help. They assess and evaluate each specific situation and handle any emergency services that come their way.
Additionally, they work directly with the insurance company to ensure that the damage claim is handled and managed rightly. Adding to the professional emergency services, they will also take 'before' and 'after' pictures of the boarded-up area, allowing the insurance company to see for themselves the severity of the damage. No matter how difficult the emergency situation is, they are glad to announce that they will always stand by their clients.
For more information on flood restoration in Mt. Prospect and Chicago, Illinois, visit https://www.a-emergency.com/home-restoration-nile-property-damage-restoration/flood-damage-restoration-niles/.
Call 773-529-6700 for details.
About A-Emergency Services & Restoration
A-Emergency Services & Restoration brings years of experience in offering property damage restoration in Northbrook and Chicago, Illinois. The company also provides board-up services and helps its clients with the insurance claims process.
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http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/a-emergency-services-restoration-offers-board-up-in-northfield-and-chicago-illinois-1356009.htm
| 2022-04-14T17:38:13Z
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http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/a-emergency-services-restoration-offers-board-up-in-northfield-and-chicago-illinois-1356009.htm
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BOSTON (AP) — A California-based finance company has agreed to pay more than $900,000 to settle allegations that it was illegally leasing dogs in Massachusetts, the state attorney general’s office said.
As part of the agreement entered in Suffolk Superior Court on Wednesday, Monterey Financial Services LLC will stop collecting on active leases, cancel about $700,000 in outstanding consumer debt on the leases, and transfer full ownership of the dogs to Massachusetts residents, authorities said.
The company will also provide $175,000 in restitution to consumers and pay $50,000 to the state.
Leasing dogs is illegal in Massachusetts, and can often be an expensive way to own a pet because of high finance charges, according to the attorney general.
Authorities had alleged that the Oceanside, California, firm violated Massachusetts consumer protection laws by purchasing and collecting on leases for dogs, and also engaging in illegal practices to collect outstanding balances on those leases.
A voicemail seeking comment was left with Monterey.
“Families in Massachusetts looking to get a dog should not be trapped in leasing agreements that are harmful, expensive, and illegal,” Attorney General Maura Healey said in a statement.
Leasing a dog is much like leasing a car, the attorney general’s office said. The consumer must make monthly payments for the duration of the lease, plus an additional payment at the end of the lease to ultimately own the dog. Missed payments can result in the dog being repossessed, the office said.
The attorney general’s office learned of Monterey’s dog leasing practices while it was investigating another financial company, Nevada-based Credova Financial, which agreed to waive more than $126,000 in consumer debt.
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https://www.binghamtonhomepage.com/news/weird/company-settles-dog-leasing-allegations-for-more-than-900k/
| 2022-04-14T17:41:01Z
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https://www.binghamtonhomepage.com/news/weird/company-settles-dog-leasing-allegations-for-more-than-900k/
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NEW YORK (AP) — Frank James posted dozens of videos ranting about race, violence and his struggles with mental illness. One stands out for its relative calm: A silent shot of a packed New York City subway car in which he raises his finger to point out passengers, one by one.
Even as police arrested James on Wednesday in the Brooklyn subway shooting that wounded 10 people, they were still searching for a motive from a flood of details about the 62-year-old Black man’s life.
An erratic work history. Arrests for a string of mostly low-level crimes. A storage locker with more ammo. And hours of rambling, bigoted, profanity-laced videos on his YouTube channel that point to a deep, simmering anger.
“This nation was born in violence, it’s kept alive by violence or the threat thereof, and it’s going to die a violent death,” says James in a video where he takes on the moniker “Prophet of Doom.”
After a 30-hour manhunt, James was arrested without incident after a tipster — thought by police to be James himself — said he could be found near a McDonald’s on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Mayor Eric Adams triumphantly proclaimed “We got him!” Police said their top priority was getting the suspect, now charged with a federal terrorism offense, off the streets as they investigate their biggest unanswered question: Why?
A prime trove of evidence, they said, is his YouTube videos. He seems to have opinions about nearly everything — racism in America, New York City’s new mayor, the state of mental health services, 9/11, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Black women.
A federal criminal complaint cited one in which James ranted about too many homeless people on the subway and put the blame on New York City’s mayor.
“What are you doing, brother?” he said in the video posted March 27. “Every car I went to was loaded with homeless people. It was so bad, I couldn’t even stand.”
James then railed about the treatment of Black people in an April 6 video cited in the complaint, saying, “And so the message to me is: I should have gotten a gun, and just started shooting.”
In a video posted a day before the attack, James criticizes crime against Black people and says things would only change if certain people were “stomped, kicked and tortured” out of their “comfort zone.”
Surveillance cameras spotted James entering the subway system turnstiles Tuesday morning, dressed as a maintenance or construction worker in a yellow hard hat and orange working jacket with reflective tape.
Police say fellow riders heard him say only “oops” as he set off one smoke grenade in a crowded subway car as it rolled into a station. He then set off a second smoke grenade and started firing, police said. In the smoke and chaos that ensued, police say James made his getaway by slipping into a train that pulled in across the platform and exited after the first stop.
Left behind at the scene was the gun, extended magazines, a hatchet, detonated and undetonated smoke grenades, a black garbage can, a rolling cart, gasoline and the key to a U-Haul van, police said.
That key led investigators to James, and clues to a life of setbacks and anger as he bounced among factory and maintenance jobs, got fired at least twice, moved among Milwaukee, Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York.
Investigators said James had 12 prior arrests in New York and New Jersey from 1990 to 2007, including for possession of burglary tools, criminal sex act, trespassing, larceny and disorderly conduct.
James had no felony convictions and was not prohibited from purchasing or owning a firearm. Police said the gun used in the attack was legally purchased at an Ohio pawn shop in 2011. A search of James’ Philadelphia storage unit and apartment turned up at least two types of ammunition, including the kind used with an AR-15 assault-style rifle, a taser and a blue smoke cannister.
Police said James was born and raised in New York City. In his videos, he said he finished a machine shop course in 1983 then worked as a gear machinist at Curtiss-Wright, an aerospace manufacturer in New Jersey, until 1991 when he was he was hit by a one-two punch of bad news: He was fired from his job and, soon after, his father — with whom he had lived in New Jersey — died.
Records show James filed a complaint against the aerospace company in federal court, soon after he lost his job, alleging racial discrimination, but it was dismissed a year later by a judge. He says in one video, without offering specifics, that he “couldn’t get any justice for what I went through.”
A spokesperson for Curtiss-Wright didn’t immediately respond to a call seeking comment.
James describes going in and out of several mental health facilities, including two in the Bronx borough of New York City in the 1970s.
“Mr. Mayor, let me say to you I’m a victim of your mental health program in New York City,” James says in a video earlier this year, adding he is “full of hate, full anger and bitterness.”
James says he later was a patient at Bridgeway House, a mental health facility in New Jersey, although that could not be immediately confirmed. Messages left with the facility were not returned.
“My goal at Bridgeway in 1997 was to get off Social Security and go back to f—— work,” he says in a video, adding that he enrolled in a college and took a course in computer-aided design and manufacturing.
James says he eventually got a job at telecommunications giant Lucent Technologies in Parsippany, New Jersey, but says he ended up getting fired and returned to Bridgeway House, this time not as a patient but as an employee on the maintenance staff. A message seeking comment was sent to Lucent Technologies.
“I just want to work. I want to be a person that’s productive,” he said.
Touches of that earnest, struggling man showed up after James’ parked car was hit in Milwaukee. Eugene Yarbrough, pastor of Mt. Zion Wings of Glory Church of God in Christ next door to James’ apartment, said James was impressed that the pastor owned up to hitting the car. Neither James nor anyone else was there to see the accident. And James called him up to say so.
“I just couldn’t believe it would be him,” Yarbrough said. “But who knows what people will do?”
___
AP reporters Michael Balsamo in Washington, Deepti Hajela in New York, Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia, Todd Richmond in Madison, Wisconsin, and Carrie Antlfinger in Milwaukee contributed to this report.
___
On Twitter, follow Bernard Condon at twitter.com/bernardfcondon, Michael Sisak at twitter.com/mikesisak and Michael Kunzelman at twitter.com/Kunzelman75 and send confidential news tips by visiting https://www.ap.org/tips/.
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https://www.kxnet.com/news/national-news/police-search-for-motive-in-brooklyn-subway-suspects-videos/
| 2022-04-14T17:41:54Z
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https://www.kxnet.com/news/national-news/police-search-for-motive-in-brooklyn-subway-suspects-videos/
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A wind-driven blaze believed to have killed two people and that burned at least 200 homes and other structures in New Mexico.
The blaze in the Village of Ruidoso was fueled by winds between 50 and 90 mph on Tuesday.
Authorities have ordered or advised up to 4,500 people to evacuate.
Airtankers resumed an aerial attack on the fire Wednesday after high winds kept them grounded much of the day.
Authorities say that they are working to confirm the identities of the people who died.
The fire has reportedly burned more than 5,7000 acres and is 0% contained.
A state of emergency has been declared for Ruidoso.
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https://www.kivitv.com/news/national/2-killed-in-new-mexico-wildfire
| 2022-04-14T17:50:18Z
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https://www.kivitv.com/news/national/2-killed-in-new-mexico-wildfire
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Two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist Saina Nehwal on Thursday questioned the timing of selection trials and slammed the Badminton Association of India for "putting" her out of the two mega sporting events later this year. (More Badminton News)
The governing body had called for selection trials on April 2 to pick the Indian team for big-ticket events including the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the Asian Games in Hangzhou and Thomas Cup and Uber Cup in Bangkok from May 8 to 15.
Saina, a former world no 1, said she had informed BAI about her decision to skip the trials which begins at the IG stadium on Friday but it did not mean that she was not eager to participate at the major events including the Commonwealth Games and Asiad.
"Surprised to see all the articles stating that I don't want to defend my CWG title and my Asiad medal. I'm just not participating in the trials because I just got back from 3 weeks of Europe events and according to the schedule there's Asian Championships," Saina tweeted.
"In 2 weeks time, as a senior player to participate in back to back events nonstop is impossible and it's risking injuries, such short notice is not possible. I've conveyed this to BAI but there has been no response from them. It seems like they're happy to put me out of CWG n Asiad."
BAI has exempted players inside the top 15 in the BWF rankings from the trials but said shuttlers ranked between 16 to 50 in the latest world rankings, released on March 29, will have to participate in the trials to be selected for the team.
Saina, 32, however, questioned the logic of having trials at this juncture.
"I wish we had better understanding about how to manage a schedule and not announce events with 10 days notice. I'm world no.23 currently and I almost beat the world no.1 Akane in All England. One loss at India open and BAI tries to pull me down. Shocking."
Saina, a London Olympics bronze medallist, had participated at the German Open (March 8-13), All England Championships (March 16-20) and Swiss Open (March 22-27) before pulling out of the Korean Open (April 5-10).
Saina has been battling injuries and poor form for the past couple of years, which saw see her ranking slip to 23rd but she did show signs of returning to form when she played a three-game match against Akane Yamaguchi at this year's All England Championships.
Among the current crop of women's singles players, Malvika Bansod, Aakarshi Kashyap, Ashmita Chaliha and Anupama Upadhyaya have been in good form but none of them have beaten top international stars in the world stage.
Saina had returned to the circuit after recovering from a groin and knee injury this year but she didn't have the desired results as her India Open campaign ended in the second round.
After a gap of few weeks, she played three events last month -- German Open, All England and Swiss Open -- where she failed to cross the second round.
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https://www.outlookindia.com/sports/saina-nehwal-questions-timing-of-selection-trials-for-commonwealth-games-asian-games-news-191620
| 2022-04-14T17:55:39Z
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https://www.outlookindia.com/sports/saina-nehwal-questions-timing-of-selection-trials-for-commonwealth-games-asian-games-news-191620
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A man who fled to the US from Colombia after the murder his wife in 1994 was arrested Wednesday in Massachusetts, the FBI said in a news release.
William Hernando Usma Acosta, 61, had been living in Belmont under the alias Carlos Alberto Rendon after entering the US illegally in 1995, authorities said.
"The murder was the result of a domestic violence incident in which Usma Acosta shot and killed his wife (Laura Rose Agudelo) and then shot his daughter as she tried to intervene," the FBI release states. He fled Colombia shortly after the killing and was the subject of an Interpol Red Notice, the FBI said.
In 1996, Usma Acosta was convicted in absentia in Colombia's Seventh Circuit Penal Court of Medellin and sentenced to 45 years in prison on charges of aggravated murder, aggravated attempted murder, and illegal possession of a firearm, the FBI said. His sentence was later "reduced to 28 years and six months based on new sentencing guidelines," the news release states.
"In June of 2020, special agents with the FBI Boston Division received information that Usma Acosta may be residing in the greater Boston area. The FBI's Violent Crimes Task Force tracked Usma Acosta's whereabouts to his home in Belmont," said the FBI. He was arrested Wednesday "without incident as he was heading into work" in nearby Waltham, Massachusetts, the news release states.
"William Hernando Usma Acosta is a convicted cold-blooded killer who thought he could evade justice by entering the United States and creating a new identity for himself so he could live under the radar. He needs to face justice for what he did, and today's arrest ensures that he will," said Joseph Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston Division.
Usma Acosta was transferred to the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement following his arrest "and issued a notice to appear before an immigration judge on charges of having violated the terms of his legal permanent status through fraud," an ICE news release states.
It's unclear if Usma Acosta has retained an attorney.
The FBI said immigration records showed Usma Acosta arrived in the US illegally in 1995 when he crossed the Mexican border.
"In 1998, he married an American citizen and obtained lawful, permanent resident status while living in Somerville, Massachusetts," the FBI said.
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racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
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https://www.albanyherald.com/news/man-convicted-in-colombia-of-murdering-his-wife-arrested-after-27-years-on-the-run/article_8291f0ea-0208-54da-b306-56416ba355e7.html
| 2022-04-14T17:59:03Z
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https://www.albanyherald.com/news/man-convicted-in-colombia-of-murdering-his-wife-arrested-after-27-years-on-the-run/article_8291f0ea-0208-54da-b306-56416ba355e7.html
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MIDLAND, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) – Nearly a week ago, a pipe bomb was discovered at the Ector County Courthouse and was safely deactivated. Following the incident, the Midland Police Department Bomb Squad hosted a training session for media personnel to highlight the importance of detecting and deactivating explosive devices.
MPD Bomb Squad team members told us that a lot of mental and physical preparation goes into playing a critical role in keeping the community safe. Lieutenant Rackow shared that training for the bomb squad is year-round and with new devices being created, his team is always finding ways to sharpen their skills.
Our ABC Big 2’s Tatiana Battle was able to get a firsthand look at what it takes to be a part of the MPD Bomb Squad.
“In the bomb community, we always say it’s a device until it’s proven not to be a device. and that’s where the x-ray tools come into play. Being able to X-ray a backpack or box or whatever it may be, allows us to determine if there is something in there that would make up an actual explosive device.” says MPD Bomb Squad.
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https://www.yourbasin.com/news/mpd-bomb-squad-hosts-training-day/
| 2022-04-14T18:02:33Z
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https://www.yourbasin.com/news/mpd-bomb-squad-hosts-training-day/
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| 2022-04-14T18:07:29Z
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George Alagiah RETURNS to BBC's News At Six, six months after stepping back to undergo treatment for bowel cancer
- George Alagiah returned to BBC's News At Six tonight, with Clive Myrie in Kyiv
- The 66-year-old newsreader was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2014
- In 2020, he caught Covid-19 after deciding to stop appearing in the studio
- 'I'll be back in the BBCNews studio today after months of treatment' he Tweeted
George Alagiah returned to the BBC's News At Six tonight after 'months of treatment'.
The 66-year-old newsreader, who was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2014, announced he was taking a break from his presenting duties in October last year.
His agent said at the time that he was dealing with a further spread of the disease.
He opened the News At Six with a piece on Rwanda, where a £120million scheme will send immigrant men to East Africa if they arrived in the UK via an 'unofficial route'.
He made no reference to his presenting break or cancer treatment during the show.
This afternoon, Alagiah tweeted: 'I'll be back in the @BBCNews studio today after months of treatment.
He opened the News At Six with a piece on Rwanda, where a £120million scheme will send immigrant men to East Africa if they arrived in the UK via an 'unofficial route'
'Pure coincidence - it's 8 years to the day since I was told I had stage 4 bowel cancer.
'So good to be with the News at Six team again.'
Incoming BBC News political editor Chris Mason was among those welcoming his return.
He tweeted: 'Welcome back @BBCAlagiah!'
The 66-year-old newsreader, who was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2014, returned to the BBC's News At Six this evening
George Alagiah returned to screens tonight, eight years to the day since he was told that he had stage four bowel cancer
Former BBC News science editor David Shukman added: 'Really delighted that the wonderful @BBCAlagiah is returning to our screens tonight. George, very best wishes.'
Sri Lanka-born Alagiah underwent 17 rounds of chemotherapy to treat his advanced bowel cancer in 2014.
He returned to presenting duties in 2015 after making progress against the disease, and said he was a 'richer person' for it.
His cancer returned in December 2017 and the presenter underwent further treatment before again returning to work.
In 2020, he tested positive for coronavirus after deciding to stop appearing in the studio during the outbreak following advice from doctors and colleagues.
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10719669/George-Alagiah-RETURNS-BBCs-News-Six-six-months-stepping-cancer-treatment.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ito=1490&ns_campaign=1490
| 2022-04-14T18:10:58Z
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10719669/George-Alagiah-RETURNS-BBCs-News-Six-six-months-stepping-cancer-treatment.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ito=1490&ns_campaign=1490
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WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Joe Biden declares Russia’s Ukraine war“genocide,” it isn’t just another strong word.
Calling a campaign that’s aimed at wiping out a targeted group “genocide” not only increases pressure on a country to act, it can oblige it to. That’s partly because of a genocide treaty approved by the U.N. General Assembly after World War II, signed by the United States and more than 150 other nations.
The convention was the work of, among others, a Polish Jew whose family was murdered by Nazi Germany and its accomplices. The advocates pushed for something that would make the world not just condemn but actually prevent and ensure prosecution for future genocides.
In comments Tuesday,Biden accused Russian President Vladimir Putinof trying to “wipe out the idea of even being a Ukrainian.” Other world leaders have not gone as far. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said Russia’s behavior in Ukraine “doesn’t look far short of genocide,” but the U.K. has not officially used the term, saying only a court can make such a designation.
A look at what’s involved in that decision, and what it means when a world leader declares a genocide:
WHAT DOES ‘GENOCIDE’ MEAN?
It’s a surprisingly modern word for an ancient crime. A Jewish lawyer from Poland, Raphael Lemkin, coined it at the height of World War II and the Holocaust. Lemkin wanted a word to describe what Nazi Germany was then doing to Europe’s Jews, and what Turkey had done to Armenians in the 1910s: killing members of a targeted group of people, and ruthlessly working to eradicate their cultures.
Lemkin paired “geno,” a Greek word meaning race, and “cide,” a Latin word meaning kill. Lemkin dedicated his life to having genocide recognized and criminalized.
In 1948, after Adolf Hitler and his accomplices systematically murdered 6 million Jews in Europe, the U.N. General Assembly approved the Convention on the Prevention of the Crime of Genocide.
WHAT’S THE LEGAL DEFINITION?
Under the genocide convention, the crime is trying to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, in part or in whole.
That includes mass killings, but also actions including forced sterilization, abuse that inflicts serious harm or mental suffering, or wrenching children of a targeted group away to be raised by others.
IS RUSSIA COMMITTING GENOCIDE IN UKRAINE?
The case may hang in part on Putin’s own words.
Russian forces are widely accused of carrying out wholesale abuses of Ukraine’s civilians, including mass killings.
Those would be war crimes. But do they amount to genocide?
It’s all about intent, argues Bohdan Vitvitsky, a former U.S. federal prosecutor and former special adviser to Ukraine’s prosecutor general.
“Any attempt to determine whether the crimes committed by Russian troops in Ukraine are driven by genocidal intent must necessarily focus on the statements of Russian President Vladimir Putin,” Vitvisky wrote for the Atlantic Council think tank this week.
Putin long has denied any standing for Ukraine to exist as a separate nation, or Ukrainians as a separate people. He cites history, when Ukraine was part of the Russian empire, and later of the Soviet Union.
In a long essay last year, “On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians,” Putin made clear the depth of his determination on the matter. He called the modern border dividing Russia and Ukraine “our great common misfortune and tragedy.”
Putin and Russian state media falsely call Ukrainian leaders “Nazis” and “drug addicts.” Putin has called his military campaign in Ukraine one of de-Nazification.
Gissou Nia, a human-rights lawyer who worked on war crime trials at the Hague, points to two alleged acts by Russia in Ukraine as also possibly showing intent of genocide: Reports of deportation of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia, and an account, from Ukraine’s government, of Russian soldiers telling 25 detained women and girls in Bucha that the Russians aimed to rape them to the point that they never bear any Ukrainian children.
WHY DOES IT MATTER IF WORLD LEADERS USE “GENOCIDE” TO DESCRIBE RUSSIA’S ACTIONS?
Embedded in the genocide convention is an obligation that the U.S. and other signers of the treaty have treated warily —if they acknowledge a genocide is occurring, they’re committed to ensuring investigation and prosecution, at the least.
People and countries committing genocide “shall be punished,” the treaty declares, seeking to crush any wiggle room.
U.S. leaders for decades dodged using the word “genocide” to avoid increasing the pressure on them to act as mass killings targeted classes of people or ethnic groups in Cambodia, Bosnia, Iraq, Rwanda and elsewhere.
Regretting his failure to do more to stop the killing of 800,000 ethnic Tutsis by Hutus in Rwanda in 1994, Bill Clinton in June 1999 became the first U.S. president to recognize an act of genocide as it was playing out, saying Serb forces carrying out a deadly campaign against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo were attempting genocide.
NATO intervened, lobbing 78 days of airstrikes that forced Serbian fighters’ withdrawal from Kosovo. An international tribunal charged Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic with war crimes, although Milosevic died before his trial concluded.
Starting in 2005, world also leaders embraced – in principle – responsibility for collective action to stop genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Atrocities and targeted campaigns against groups continue around the world, however, and the so-called responsibility to protect is seldom invoked.
WHAT HAPPENS IF THE U.S. DOES DECLARE RUSSIAN ACTIONS TO BE GENOCIDE?
U.S. leaders long have feared that acknowledging genocide would require them to intervene, even to send in troops, with all the risks, costs and political backlash that would entail. It’s been a main reason leaders limit themselves to angry statements and humanitarian aid.
Biden is adamant the U.S. will not use its own military to confront Russian forces on behalf of Ukraine. Doing so would risk World War III, he says.
He and allies in Europe and elsewhere already are intervening by sanctioning Russia and by sending weapons and other support to Ukraine for its defense.
Biden and other Western leaders also have called for war crimes trials. The International Criminal Court already has started an investigation. But longstanding U.S. opposition to the International Criminal Court, over worries that U.S. troops could face prosecution there one day, complicates such prosecutions. So can Russia’s veto power on the U.N. Security Council. And practically speaking, bringing Putin before a court is a long shot.
In the past, Americans’ opposition to entanglement in foreign wars also has helped discourage U.S. leaders from doing more to stop possible acts of genocide.
But Russia’s invasion of a neighboring country and brutality against Ukraine’s people have angered Americans in a way that genocidal campaigns in Cambodia, Kurdish areas of Iraq and elsewhere did not.
A recent poll by the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 40% of people in America believe the U.S. should have a “major role” in ending Russia’s invasion. Just 13% think the U.S. shouldn’t be involved at all.
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https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/news/political-news/ap-politics/explainer-why-does-it-matter-if-us-calls-ukraine-genocide/
| 2022-04-14T18:15:06Z
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U.K. shouldn't pair female Ukrainian refugees with lone male hosts, the U.N. says
The U.N.'s refugee agency is raising concerns about the United Kingdom's Homes for Ukraine program, in which anyone can apply to host a refugee for a period of at least six months.
Citing "increasing reports of Ukrainian women feeling at risk from their sponsors," the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees is urging U.K. officials to refine the application and matching process.
"UNHCR believes that a more appropriate matching process could be put in place by ensuring that women and women with children are matched with families or couples, rather than with single men," the agency said in a Wednesday statement. "Matching done without the appropriate oversight may lead to increasing the risks women may face, in addition to the trauma of displacement, family separation and violence already experienced."
The agency also expressed concern about what would happen if the original host proves to be a threat to the refugee's safety, especially given the six-month minimum.
The government launched the Homes for Ukraine program in mid-March, after facing criticism for accepting only several hundred refugees fleeing the war. Some 100,000 people signed up as potential hosts on the first day, and that number has since doubled.
However, only a quarter of the Ukrainian refugees who have been granted visas (or about 12,000 people) had arrived in the U.K. as of last week, prompting continued public criticism of the slow-moving bureaucracy as well as apologies from several top government officials over the delay.
And some refugees have made it to the U.K. only to have their housing arrangements fall through, with SkyNews reporting that there have been dozens of cases in which refugees became homeless "after their relationship with their sponsors broke down."
Desperation and confusion have led some refugees seeking housing to turn to social media, where they are vulnerable to exploitation.
This story originally appeared in the Morning Edition live blog.
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https://www.npr.org/2022/04/14/1092844694/uk-homes-for-ukraine-refugees-women
| 2022-04-14T18:16:01Z
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(The Hill) — The Republican National Committee (RNC) voted Thursday to withdraw from the commission responsible for organizing presidential debates, taking a line from former President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly leveled accusations of anti-Republican bias against the group.
The unanimous vote by the RNC effectively bars its presidential nominees from participating in events organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), which has run such debates since 1988.
In a statement released shortly after the vote, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said that the GOP would “find newer, better debate platforms to ensure that future nominees are not forced to go through the biased CPD in order to make their case to the American people.”
“Debates are an important part of the democratic process, and the RNC is committed to free and fair debates,” she said. “The Commission on Presidential Debates is biased and has refused to enact simple and commonsense reforms to help ensure fair debates including hosting debates before voting begins and selecting moderators who have never worked for candidates on the debate stage.”
Thursday’s vote makes good on a threat that the RNC has been holding over the CPD for months. In another escalatory step, the RNC warned the commission last month against fundraising based off the idea that the next GOP nominee will participate in the 2024 debates.
The CPD was founded in 1987 with the sponsorship of both major political parties. And while both Democrats and Republicans have complained occasionally over the years about how the commission handles debates, antipathy toward the group has grown among Republicans in recent years amid Trump’s criticism of the commission.
Should Trump mount another bid for the White House in 2024 and secure the GOP nomination, the RNC rule change virtually guarantees that he won’t participate in the traditional debate calendar.
Of course, if Republicans tap someone else for the nomination, the party could always change its rules again, and the eventual nominee will likely have the ultimate say on whether to participate.
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https://www.wdtn.com/news/u-s-world/gop-votes-to-withdraw-from-presidential-debate-panel/
| 2022-04-14T18:17:49Z
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https://www.wdtn.com/news/u-s-world/gop-votes-to-withdraw-from-presidential-debate-panel/
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Which Funko Pop bobblehead is best?
Funko Pop has thousands of figurines to collect and display, not to mention a handful of different types of figurines. The most playful type is a Funko Pop bobblehead. The little ones are perfect for adding to your desk for a little lighthearted fun, while the big ones can be an entertaining centerpiece.
The best Funko Pop bobblehead is Funko Pop Marvel: Dancing Groot Bobblehead. Put on some music and give this bobblehead a tap to relive the famous “Guardians of the Galaxy” post-credits scene.
What to know before you buy a Funko Pop bobblehead
Funko Pop bobblehead types
Funko Pop bobbleheads come in a few forms and sizes.
- Standard bobbleheads are similar to Funko’s vinyl figurines, being that they’re roughly 4 inches tall and 3 inches wide, save for their necks being attached to the spring that lets them bobble.
- Oversized bobbleheads are just that — oversized. Most are somewhere from 6-10 inches tall and have varying widths.
- Deluxe bobbleheads are large, extravagant pieces. They take a character and pair it with something connected to them that they often sit on or stand beside.
- Ride bobbleheads are halfway between a standard and a deluxe Pop. They’re typically the same size as standards but are depicted riding something rather than having the bobble be paired to a body.
Source material
If the source material you’re passionate about is even slightly known to pop culture, it’s likely that Funko has made a bobblehead of it. Major pop culture properties from Disney like Marvel and “Star Wars” are common, as are figurines from many popular TV shows, including “Game of Thrones” and “The Office.”
What to look for in a quality Funko Pop bobblehead
Boxed vs. unboxed
Funko Pop bobbleheads are packaged in boxes bearing the character’s name, the source that they come from, authenticating information and the mold they come from. Whether you remove them or keep them in the box has a huge bearing on several factors.
- Boxed bobbleheads are more valuable to collectors and resellers. The box preserves the condition of the bobblehead and proves it’s an authentic Funko Pop. Always purchase an authenticated boxed bobblehead if you want to ensure it’s a quality purchase.
- Unboxed bobbleheads are less valuable, but they’re more enjoyable to enthusiasts who just like the character. The head can be bobbled, it’s easier to display, kids can play with them, etc. If an unboxed bobblehead is purchased from a secondary market, it may be noticeably inauthentic and low-quality.
Chase variants
Some Funko Pop bobbleheads have rare chase variants that are more valuable than the base bobblehead. These variations are often minimal, but you can’t specifically order them. They only have a small chance of inclusion when purchasing the original model online.
How much you can expect to spend on a Funko Pop bobblehead
Basic Funko Pop bobbleheads cost just over $11. Most cost $15-$30, with some of the larger or harder-to-find bobbleheads costing more. Secondary market bobbleheads can cost hundreds.
Funko Pop bobblehead FAQ
How should I clean a Funko Pop bobblehead?
A. This depends on whether or not it’s still in the box. Boxed Funko Pop bobbleheads only require a brief dusting at least once a month to stay clean. Unboxed bobbleheads also require dusting, but it must be as gentle a dusting as possible. Being too rough can damage the springs responsible for the bobble, making the head lie skewed to the side rather than remaining upright.
What’s the best method for tracking my Funko Pop bobblehead collection?
A. There are dozens of methods for tracking your Funko Pop collection, bobbleheads and all, from digital trackers online to manually updating a spreadsheet. The official Funko app is one of the better online trackers, but if you’re serious about collecting, it’s worth experimenting until you find an organizational system that works best for you.
What do the numbers on the top right of the box mean?
A. The number relates to the order in which a given Funko Pop in a specific line was produced. For example, in the Marvel line of Funko Pops, there have been hundreds of rounds of productions, with any number of Pops produced in each round. So, an upper right number of 11 means that Pop was part of the eleventh round of Pops produced in the Marvel line.
What’s the best Funko Pop bobblehead to buy?
Top Funko Pop bobblehead
Funko Pop Marvel: Dancing Groot Bobblehead
What you need to know: This is a cute bobblehead for Marvel fans and plant lovers.
What you’ll love: Marvel fans will love being able to bob along with this bobblehead for a fun and stress-relieving break from work and other hassles. The top of Dancing Groot has just enough space to be converted into a miniature planter.
What you should consider: A few consumers were unhappy with the stability of the base, reporting it to be too top-heavy to always safely bobble.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Top Funko Pop bobblehead for the money
Funko Pop Marvel: Deadpool as Bob Ross
What you need to know: This is a clever pop culture intersection as a bobblehead.
What you’ll love: The figurine is stable and balanced, making it easy to tap the bobblehead without knocking it over. The Deadpool and Bob Ross combination is perfect for Marvel fans, especially for Marvel historians looking to remember one of the original “Deadpool” film’s best ad spots.
What you should consider: A few consumers received damaged boxes, which is devaluating for collectors.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
Funko Pop Deluxe Mandalorian: The Mandalorian & The Child on Bantha
What you need to know: This is an excellent centerpiece for “Star Wars” fans.
What you’ll love: This is among the more detailed Funko bobbleheads available — the fur of the bantha, the armor details of the Mandalorian and the cute Grogu attached to the back. The Tatooine sand base is stable enough to tap the bobblehead without risking it tipping over.
What you should consider: It takes up a large amount of space, both in-box and out. There are some rare reports of missing jetpacks on the Mandalorian.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
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Jordan C. Woika writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved.
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https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/reviews/br/toys-games-br/theme-toys-br/best-funko-pop-bobblehead/
| 2022-04-14T18:18:12Z
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Fourteen months after fleeing New Hampshire, Timothy Johnson returned to the state on Wednesday and was charged with killing a fellow homeless man outside a Manchester shelter.
Johnson, 39, faces a charge of second-degree murder in the death of Jean Lascelle, who was 67 when shot and killed while smoking a cigarette outside the doors of the temporary homeless shelter for the 2020-21 winter. Johnson also faces a charge of firearm possession by a felon.
He was caught four days after the Feb. 13, 2021, shooting inside a stolen car in Framingham, Mass.
Both Lascelle and Johnson were living at the temporary Families in Transition shelter at the time of the shooting. While Lascelle, a registered sex offender, kept to himself, Johnson was avoided. Shelter residents had said he had full blown conversations with himself and would scream sometimes.
According to Agati, a motive for the killing has not been established.
"I don't know what Mr. Johnson was thinking about when he was alleged to have done the crimes," he said.
Agati said a defendant's competency to stand trial can be raised in any prosecution, and that would be up to Johnson's lawyer.
On Thursday, Johnson's public defender consulted briefly with Agati, who announced that Johnson had waived his courtroom arraignment and agreed to be held without bail at Valley Street jail.
Johnson has a record that includes at least two felonies: attempted home invasion and larceny in southeastern Michigan. That made it illegal for him to possess a handgun.
While most New Hampshire defendants arrested in Massachusetts readily agree to return to New Hampshire, Johnson had challenged his extradition.
"It's Mr. Johnson's right; if he chooses to do that certainly he can do that," Agati said. That involved lengthy proceedings where Johnson challenged whether he was the actual person identified in warrants signed by the governors of both states, Agati said.
Courts in both Framingham and Middlesex County ruled against him, and Agati praised the efforts of Framingham Police, the Middlesex County District Attorney and the Massachusetts Attorney General to work through the process and have him returned to New Hampshire.
Agati said the case will be eventually presented to a grand jury.
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https://www.unionleader.com/news/crime/man-returned-to-new-hampshire-to-face-charge-in-homeless-shelter-killing/article_88e98ec3-bee2-5307-9d3d-1e602539dd20.html
| 2022-04-14T18:29:46Z
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https://www.unionleader.com/news/crime/man-returned-to-new-hampshire-to-face-charge-in-homeless-shelter-killing/article_88e98ec3-bee2-5307-9d3d-1e602539dd20.html
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday afternoon's drawing of the Missouri Lottery's "Pick 4 Midday" game were:
5-0-2-4
(five, zero, two, four)
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday afternoon's drawing of the Missouri Lottery's "Pick 4 Midday" game were:
5-0-2-4
(five, zero, two, four)
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https://www.myplainview.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Pick-4-Midday-game-17081347.php
| 2022-04-14T18:33:02Z
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DALLAS (KDAF) — Film buffs in Dallas, it looks like you will be getting an exclusive treat with the release of Marvel’s newest Dr. Strange movie.
Dallas’ iconic Texas Theatre will be the only movie theater in Texas where you can see the new Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on a 35mm film projector.
Reports say Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was shot with IMAX cameras, which use 70mm film. Recently, Marvel films have been embracing IMAX, such as Eternals.
To get your tickets, visit thetexastheatre.com. Showtimes start on May 5.
Dr. Stephen Strange casts a forbidden spell that opens the doorway to the multiverse, including alternate versions of himself, whose threat to humanity is too great for the combined forces of Strange, Wong, and Wanda Maximoff.
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https://cw33.com/news/local/dallas-texas-theatre-will-be-the-only-theater-in-texas-you-can-watch-dr-strange-movie-on-a-film-projector/
| 2022-04-14T18:39:16Z
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DALLAS (KDAF) — The City of Arlington is issuing a traffic update for people traveling on Kelly Elliott Rd.
This week, Arlington City Council members approved a motion to extend the school zone Kelly Elliott Rd. near Patterson Elementary by an hour. School zone times in the morning will now be extended an additional 30 minutes and in the afternoon hours will also be extended by 30 minutes.
These extensions were approved to make up for pick-up and drop-off times for Arthur Intermediate School students who are temporarily attending Patterson whilst the school undergoes repairs.
Here are the official school zone times:
- 7:15 a.m. to 8:45 a.m.
- 3:15 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.
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https://cw33.com/news/local/school-zone-times-extended-on-kelly-elliott-rd-near-patterson-elementary/
| 2022-04-14T18:39:47Z
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are deeply divided over how much children in K-12 schools should be taught about racism and sexuality, according to a new poll released as Republicans across the country aim to make parental involvement in education a central campaign theme this election year.
Overall, Americans lean slightly toward expanding — not cutting back — discussions of racism and sexuality, but roughly 4 in 10 say the current approach is about right, including similar percentages across party lines.
Still, the poll from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows stark differences between Republicans and Democrats who want to see schools make adjustments.
About 4 in 10 Republicans say teachers in local public schools discuss issues related to sexuality too much, while only about 1 in 10 say too little. Among Democrats, those numbers are reversed.
The findings reflect a sharply politicized national debate that has consumed local school boards and, increasingly, state capitols. Republicans see the fight over school curriculum as a winning culture war issue that will motivate their voters in the midterm elections.
In the meantime, a flurry of new state laws has been introduced, meant to curtail teaching about racism and sexuality and to establish a “parents’ bill of rights” that would champion curriculum transparency and allow parents to file complaints against teachers.
The push for legislation grew out of an elevated focus on K-12 schools during the COVID-19 pandemic, when angry parents crowded school board meetings to voice opposition to school closures, mask mandates and other restrictive measures intended to prevent the spread of illness.
“All that that’s happening these days kind of goes against the longer history of school boards being relatively low salience government institutions and, in a lot of cases, they are nonpartisan offices,” said Adam Zelizer, a professor at the University of Chicago Harris School researching school board legislation.
What distinguishes this moment, Zelizer said, is the “grassroots anger” in response to school policies and the national, coordinated effort to recruit partisan candidates for school boards and local offices.
What started as parents’ concern about virtual learning and mask-wearing has morphed into something larger, said Republican pollster Robert Blizzard, describing parents as thinking: “OK, now that we have the schools open, what are these kids learning in school?”
The poll shows 50% of Americans say parents have too little influence on curriculum, while 20% say they have too much and 27% say it’s about right. About half also say teachers have too little influence.
Kendra Schultz said she and her husband have decided their 1-year-old daughter will be homeschooled, at least initially, because of what friends have told them about their experiences with schools in Columbia, Missouri.
Most recently, she said, one 4-year-old’s pre-K class talked about gender pronouns. Schultz offered that and mask requirements as examples of how the public school system “doesn’t align with what we believe or how we would like to see our children educated.”
“I’m just like, you’re a little kid, you should be learning your ABCs and your numbers and things like that,” said Schultz, a 30-year-old conservative. “That’s just not something that me and my husband would be interested in having teachers share with our children.”
In Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in March signed into law a bill barring instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. Opponents, including the White House, have dubbed it the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
The poll shows Americans are slightly more likely to say the focus on sex and sexuality in local schools is too little rather than too much, 31% to 23%, but 40% say it’s about right. The poll didn’t ask about specific grade levels.
Blizzard, who has been working with a group called N2 America to help GOP candidates in suburbs, said the schools issue resonates with the Republican base and can motivate voters.
In the Virginia governor’s race last year, Republican Glenn Youngkin won after campaigning on boosting parental involvement in schools and banning critical race theory, an academic framework about systemic racism that has become a catch-all phrase for teaching about race in U.S. history. His Democratic opponent, Terry McAuliffe, had said in a debate that parents shouldn’t tell schools what to teach.
The poll also shows Americans have mixed views about schools’ focus on racism in the U.S.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said parents and teachers alike are frustrated after pandemic disruptions and should partner to help kids recover. The efforts to predetermine curriculum and restrict teaching are getting in the way, she said.
“The people who are proposing them, they’ve been pretty clear … they just want to sow doubt and distrust because they want to end public education as we know it,” Weingarten said.
Parents of school-age children aren’t more likely than other adults to say parents have too little influence in schools. But there is a wide partisan gap, with 65% of Republicans saying that, compared with 38% of Democrats.
Michael Henry, a father of three in Dacula, Georgia, says he’s wrestled over what the right level of involvement is. It didn’t sit right with him, for example, that his 6-year-old was taught about Christopher Columbus in an entirely positive light. He says he’s reflected on “some of the lies” and “glorifications of history” in his own public school education and thinks race needs to be talked about more.
But ultimately, school curriculum is “outside my area of expertise,” said Henry, 31, an actuary who is also the acting president of the Gwinnett County Young Democrats.
“I have to do a lot of studying and work to be able to make informed decisions, and I don’t feel like parents generally have that kind of skill set” for curriculum, he said. “I think professionals should mostly be determining what the curriculum should be.”
Henry worries that new restrictions are “adding extra hassle for teachers, who already have a lot on their plate, to solve a problem that doesn’t exist.”
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https://cw33.com/news/sex-race-lessons-in-schools-divide-americans-poll-finds/
| 2022-04-14T18:40:44Z
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Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump says Michigan cop who shot black man dead for trying to grab taser is as bad as Russian soldiers who are murdering innocent Ukrainians
- Ben Crump compared the Michigan cop who shot Patrick Lyoya to a Russian soldier killing Ukraine citizens
- 'If it's wrong to shoot civilians in the back of the head in the Ukraine, it is wrong for police to shoot civilians in the back of the head in Grand Rapids, Michigan,' Crump said during a Thursday press conference
- Lyoya, 26, was fatally shot by a Michigan cop outside a house in Grand Rapids on April 4
- Amid public outcry for transparency, police released video of the deadly incident
- The officer repeatedly ordered Lyoya to 'let go' of the cop's Taser, at one point demanding: 'Drop the Taser!'
- In the final moments, the officer was on top of Lyoya, kneeling on his back at times to subdue him
- Crump has called for the officer involved in the shooting to be fired and prosecuted
- The officer, a seven-year veteran who has not yet been identified, is on paid leave during the investigation
The high-profile attorney representing the family of a black man who was shot in the back of the head by a white cop following a traffic stop in Michigan has compared the violence used by the American police officer to that of Russian soldiers in Ukraine.
'Right now our leaders in the United States of America are condemning Russian soldiers for shooting civilians in Ukraine in the back of the head,' civil rights attorney Ben Crump said during a Thursday afternoon press conference. 'Why aren't we condemning police officers here in the USA shooting unarmed, black civilians in the back of the head? It's a simple question.
'If it's wrong to shoot civilians in the back of the head in the Ukraine, it is wrong for police to shoot civilians in the back of the head in Grand Rapids, Michigan.'
Crump's remarks came after Grand Rapids police released video Wednesday showing Patrick Lyoya being shot in the back of the head by a white cop during a struggle over the officer's Taser following a traffic stop.
The video shows Lyoya, 26, facedown on the ground as he is fatally shot by the officer in Grand Rapids on April 4.
Lyoya's death has prompting calls for justice as the family's high-profile attorney claimed 'unnecessary, excessive used of force was used.'
Crump is demanding the officer who shot Lyoya 'not only be terminated for his use of excessive and fatal force, but be arrested and prosecuted for the violent killing'.
Ben Crump, the high-profile attorney representing the family of a black man who was shot in the back of the head by a white cop following a traffic stop in Michigan, has compared the violence used by the American police officer to that of Russian soldiers in Ukraine
Michigan police have released Amid public outcry for transparency, police released the footage on Wednesday showing Patrick Lyoya, 26, facedown on the ground as he is fatally shot by the officer in Grand Rapids on April 4.
The newly released footage also shows the moments leading up to the shooting, including the traffic stop over suspicions involving Lyoya's license plate, which led to a brief foot chase and struggle over the cop's Taser.
It is not clear from any of the videos if or when Lyoya tried to grab the cop's Taser, but the cop is heard yelling at him to let go of the device, which was deployed twice, but didn't strike anyone, officials said.
Lyoya's family have retained prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who has been dubbed 'Black America's Attorney General'. He also represented the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown, Ahmaud Aubrey and Trayvon Martin. He is calling for the officer to be fired and prosecuted.
'The video clearly shows that this was an unnecessary, excessive, and fatal use of force against an unarmed black man who was confused by the encounter and terrified for his life,' Crump said in a release.
'It should be noted that Patrick never used violence against this officer even though the officer used violence against him in several instances for what was a misdemeanor traffic stop,' he added.
Grand Rapids police officials have placed the officer, a seven-year veteran who has not been named publicly, on administrative leave and have asked the Michigan State Police to investigate the shooting.
Kent County's chief medical examiner, Dr. Stephen Cohle, said he completed the autopsy but toxicology tests have not been finished.
Prosecutors in Kent County told CNN on Wednesday that they will make a decision on possible criminal charges once the Michigan State Police investigation is complete.
Scroll for video
Patrick Lyoya, 26, was lying face down when he was fatally shot in the back of the head by a white police officer outside a house in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on April 4
Michigan police released footage of the shooting, and the events leading up to it, including the traffic stop that led to a brief foot chase and then struggle over the cop's Taser
The videos show Lyoya stepping out of the car on a rainy street, seemingly confused and asking 'what did I do?' as the policeman repeatedly asks for a driver's license and orders him to get back inside the vehicle
Citing a need for transparency, the city's new police chief, Eric Winstrom, released four videos Wednesday, including critical footage of the shooting recorded by a passenger in Lyoya's car on that rainy morning.
'I view it as a tragedy. ... It was a progression of sadness for me,' said Winstrom, a former high-ranking Chicago police commander who became Grand Rapids chief in March. The city of about 200,000 is about 150 miles northwest of Detroit.
The videos released on Wednesday by police were taken from the dashboard of the officer's squad car, from his body-worn camera and from a neighbor's surveillance camera.
The traffic stop was tense from the start.
Lyoya, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is seen stepping out of the car on a rainy street of Griggs and Nelson SE, seemingly confused and asking 'What did I do?' as the officer repeatedly asks for a driver's license and orders him to get back inside the vehicle.
'I'm stopping ya, do you have a license? Do you have a driver's license, do you speak English?' he asks.
Lyoya confirms he speaks English and opens the driver's side door and speaks to his passenger.
He then shuts his door, turns his back to the officer and appears to walk away.
'No, no, no, stop, stop,' the officer is heard saying, and puts his hands on Lyoya's shoulder.
Lyoya is seen resisting the officer and then starts running until the officer tackles him to the ground.
Lyoya and the cop grapple in front of several homes while Lyoya's passenger got out and watched.
The officer repeatedly orders Lyoya to 'let go' of his Taser, at one point demanding: 'Drop the Taser!'
It is not clear from any of the videos if or when Lyoya tried to grab the cop's Taser, but the cop is heard yelling at him to let go of the device, which was deployed twice, but didn't strike anyone, officials said.
At this point, the officer's body camera suddenly turns off.
Chief Winstrom explained that it takes pushing a button for three seconds to turn off the body camera and he thought the pressure from Lyoya's body caused the deactivation.
But additional video footage — from the neighbor's doorbell security system, the dashcam in the officer’s vehicle, and a bystander’s cellphone — capture different angles of the incident.
Winstrom said the fight over the Taser lasted about 90 seconds. In the final moments, the officer was on top of Lyoya, kneeling on his back at times to subdue him.
'From my view of the video, Taser was deployed twice. Taser did not make contact,' Winstrom told reporters. 'And Mr. Lyoya was shot in the head. However, that's the only information that I have.'
Lyoya and the cop grapple in front of several homes while Lyoya's passenger got out and watched.
The officer repeatedly orders Lyoya to 'let go' of his Taser, at one point demanding: 'Drop the Taser!'
It is not clear from any of the videos if or when Lyoya tried to grab the cop's Taser, but the cop is heard yelling at him to let go of the device, which was deployed twice, but didn't strike anyone, officials said.
At this point, the officer's body camera suddenly turns off.
Chief Winstrom explained that it takes pushing a button for three seconds to turn off the body camera and he thought the pressure from Lyoya's body caused the deactivation.
But additional video footage — from the neighbor's doorbell security system, the dashcam in the officer’s vehicle, and a bystander’s cellphone — capture different angles of the incident.
Winstrom said the fight over the Taser lasted about 90 seconds. In the final moments, the officer was on top of Lyoya, kneeling on his back at times to subdue him.
'From my view of the video, Taser was deployed twice. Taser did not make contact,' Winstrom told reporters. 'And Mr. Lyoya was shot in the head. However, that's the only information that I have.'
Audio from the neighborhood home surveillance camera captured the sound of the officer shooting Lyoya in the back of the head.
Chief Winstrom has not yet identified the officer, but confirmed he is on paid leave during the investigation.
'Me being from Chicago for the last 20 years, I've handled many police shootings myself, so I do have a lot of experience in this,' the chief said. 'I was hoping to never have to utilize that experience here.'
Prosecutor Chris Becker, who will decide whether any charges are warranted, objected to the release but said Winstrom could act on his own.
But Becker said the public shouldn't expect a quick decision.
'While the videos released today are an important piece of evidence, they are not all of the evidence,' he said.
Lyoya appears to be complying, but then closes the driver-side door and attempts to walk away, resisting the officers attempts to handcuff him
Video shows Lyoya running from the officer who stopped him for driving with a license plate that didn't belong to the vehicle. They grapple in front of several homes while Lyoya's passenger got out and watched
Video shows Lyoya, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the officer struggle over the cop's Taser shortly before Lyoya was shot dead
The white officer repeatedly orders Lyoya to 'let go' of his Taser, at one point demanding: 'Drop the Taser!'
Video was collected from Lyoya's passenger, the officer's body-worn camera, the officer's patrol car and a doorbell camera
Lyoya is seen on video on the ground during the scuffle with the Michigan cop just before he's shot
City Manager Mark Washington warned that the videos would lead to 'expressions of shock, of anger and of pain.'
Some downtown businesses boarded up storefronts, and concrete barricades surrounded police headquarters.
Lyoya had two young daughters and five siblings, said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who spoke to his family.
'He arrived in the United States as a refugee with his family fleeing violence. He had his whole life ahead of him,' Whitmer, a Democrat, said.
Lyoya's family moved from the Democratic Republic of Congo to the U.S in 2014, have been working closely with their representative, Pastor Israel Siku, who also serves as their interpreter.
Patrick Lyoya, who arrived in the United States in 2014 as a refugee with his family fleeing violence, had two young daughters and five siblings. 'He had his whole life ahead of him,' Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said
He told CNN he was with Lyoya's father, Peter, when they reviewed the video of the shooting.
Siku described the father's reaction to seeing the video: 'He melt(ed) down, he didn't have anything to say. He almost passed out.'
Siku told a church full of people on Sunday, 'I saw the video, I could not sleep.'
'The boy was on the floor, the cop as he lays on him, pulls up the gun and shoots him in the head and back up. Patrick did not move,' he added.
Winstrom last week said he met Lyoya's father and that they both cried.
'I get it as a father. ... It's just heart-wrenching,' the chief told WOOD-TV.
Protesters march along Monroe Center NW after Grand Rapids police released video of the shooting death of Patrick Lyoya in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Wednesday
The group demanded that officials make public the name of the officer in the shooting
Protesters march through downtown Grand Rapids near the police department during a demonstration calling for justice
The April 4 death of Lyoya has outraged members of his family and touched off protests in Grand Rapids by activists who say it represents the latest example of police violence against young Black men.
'Another Black man has died at the hands of police, and the officer in this video has got to be held accountable,' the NAACP said in a written statement responding to the video.
'President Biden, sign the police reform executive order now. While we fully understand an executive order is not a substitute for meaningful legislation, we must do everything in our power to protect our community,' the NAACP said.
More than 100 people marched to Grand Rapids City Hall before a City Commission meeting Tuesday night, chanting 'Black lives matter' and 'No justice, no peace.'
On Wednesday, several hundred protesters gathered outside the Grand Rapids Police Department following the release of the videos with some cursing and shouting from behind barricades.
The group demanded that officials make public the name of the officer in the shooting.
Some businesses cut their hours short Wednesday, closing early. Some boarded up windows. But the demonstration remained non-violent with protesters demanding justice for Lyoya and other Black lives lost in shootings involving police.
In a statement, Gov. Whitmer called for any protests to be peaceful
'The Michigan State Police will conduct a transparent, independent investigation of the shooting,' Whitmer said.
'Then, prosecutors must consider all the evidence, follow the law and take appropriate action on charges. Justice is foundational to safety, and without justice, we are all less safe.'
As in many U.S. cities, Grand Rapids police have been occasionally criticized over the use of force, particularly against Black people, who make up 18 percent of the population.
In 2017, officers searching for a middle-aged woman wanted for a stabbing handcuffed an 11-year-old girl instead at gunpoint while she was leaving a house. Those officers were not disciplined.
Protesters demanded that officials make public the name of the officer in the shooting
Activists rally for Patrick Lyoya in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Tuesday, April 12, after he was shot by a police officer
Protesters hold signs that read 'Blue Lives Murder' following the fatal shooting of Lyoya
Some businesses cut their hours short Wednesday, closing early. But the demonstration remained non-violent with protesters demanding justice for Lyoya and other Black lives lost in shootings involving police
Months earlier, other Grand Rapids officers held five innocent teenagers at gunpoint, the New York Times reported. And in 2020, local outlets reported, an officer was suspended for two days after shooting a protester in the face with a gas canister.
In November, the Michigan Supreme Court heard arguments in a lawsuit over the practice of photographing and fingerprinting people who were never charged with a crime. Grand Rapids said the policy changed in 2015.
A downtown street has been designated Breonna Taylor Way, named for the Black woman and Grand Rapids native who was killed by police in Louisville, Kentucky, during a botched drug raid in 2020.
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10719577/Civil-rights-lawyer-Ben-Crump-compares-Michigan-cop-shot-black-man-dead-Russian-soldiers.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
| 2022-04-14T18:47:10Z
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10719577/Civil-rights-lawyer-Ben-Crump-compares-Michigan-cop-shot-black-man-dead-Russian-soldiers.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday afternoon's drawing of the Missouri Lottery's "Pick 3 Midday" game were:
0-1-8
(zero, one, eight)
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday afternoon's drawing of the Missouri Lottery's "Pick 3 Midday" game were:
0-1-8
(zero, one, eight)
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https://www.mysanantonio.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Pick-3-Midday-game-17081346.php
| 2022-04-14T18:49:38Z
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https://www.mysanantonio.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Pick-3-Midday-game-17081346.php
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Collection by Marianne Colahan
Design Milk's Favorite Products in the Dwell Store
Design Milk founder Jaime Derringer has shopped the Dwell Store to pick favorite items to suit your holiday gift-giving needs. With a keen eye for smart design, Derringer selected inspired products that complement her daily life, whether in her Southern California home or office. Explore her complete collection here, and be sure to check out the Design Milk and Dwell Store giveaway for a chance to win two Vitra cork stools.
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https://www.dwell.com/collection/design-milks-favorite-products-in-the-dwell-store-a510e6e0
| 2022-04-14T18:54:48Z
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https://www.dwell.com/collection/design-milks-favorite-products-in-the-dwell-store-a510e6e0
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DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) — A family of eagles was left without a nest on Tuesday. There wasn’t much left of it after it fell to the ground. The bird you see in the nest is the only one that stayed. A second bird safely made it to the ground – and it’s being cared for at the raptor center in Decatur. The third eagle broke both wings after falling and is being treated at U of I’s animal clinic. The raptor center built a new nest for the birds. They said they build nests all the time, but they’ve never made one for a bald eagle.
Raptor Center Program Director Jacques Nuzzo said, “We’ve done it with gray horned owls we’ve done it with barred owls and red tail hawks. This would be the first time we’ve done it with an eagle. I know other people have done it and it works so we had to build a temporary nest, but there are no plans for temporary bald eagle nests so we had to invent it as we went along.”
The nest they made is 6-feet in diameter which is about the size of a starter nest for a bald eagle. Nuzzo said the nest that fell was probably close to 8-feet long. The new nest will go up on Thursday.
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https://www.cenlanow.com/national/5-year-old-bald-eagle-nest-destroyed/
| 2022-04-14T18:57:15Z
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https://www.cenlanow.com/national/5-year-old-bald-eagle-nest-destroyed/
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BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Three 2022 Students of the Year were celebrated at a ceremony hosted by the Louisiana Department of Education Wednesday night.
Twenty-one regional finalists were also honored during the ceremony.
Students of the Year announced by LDOE:
Elementary School (5th Grade) — Ellen Kate Semmes; daughter of Robert and Catherine Semmes. Ellen is a student at Kiroli Elementary School in Ouachita Parish where Ms. Carolyn Norris serves as the principal. Dr. Don Coker serves as the Superintendent of Ouachita Parish Schools.
Middle School (8th Grade) — Melissa An Le; daughter of Son and Van Le. Melissa is a student at A. E. Phillips Laboratory School in Lincoln Parish where Ms. Jenny Blalock serves as the principal. Mr. Rickey Durrett serves as the Lincoln Parish School System Superintendent.
High School (12th Grade) — Anita Rose Zahiri; daughter of Monsour Zahiri and Mojgan Meamarian. Anita is a senior at Benjamin Franklin High School where Dr. Patrick Widhalm serves as the Head of School. Ms. Alea Cot serves as the Board President for the Advocates for Excellence in Education, Inc., the governing board for Benjamin Franklin High School, and Dr. Henderson Lewis serves as the Superintendent of NOLA Public Schools.
“The annual Louisiana Students of the Year competition would not be possible without cooperation and dedication from schools and school systems,” said Dr. Ernise Singleton, Interim Assistant Superintendent of Career and College Readiness.
“We recognize the finalists for their demonstrated success and look forward to great things from them in the future,” said State Superintendent Cade Brumley. “It is an honor to celebrate alongside our honorees and their families, teachers principals and school system leaders.”
Regional finalists announced by LDOE:
Elementary School (Grade 5)
- Eden Trainor, Eden Gardens Fundamental Elementary Magnet School, Caddo Parish
- Ellen Semmes, Kiroli Elementary, Ouachita Parish
- Steely Jordan, South Beauregard Upper Elementary, Beauregard Parish
- Adeline Guidry, Westdale Heights Academic Magnet School, East Baton Rouge Parish
- Ramy Dali, Lacoste Elementary School, St. Bernard Parish
- Harrison Tarver, Jesus the Good Shepherd Catholic School, Diocese of Shreveport
- Jayden Gardere, Lusher Charter School, Advocates for Arts-Based Education Corporation, NOLA Public Schools
Middle School (Grade 8)
- Melissa Le, A.E. Phillips Laboratory School, Lincoln Parish
- Elliana Sheppard, East Ouachita Middle School, Ouachita Parish
- Jeremy Diaz, Belle Place Middle School, Iberia Parish
- Ava Guillory, Monteleone Junior High School, St. Tammany Parish
- Hannah Wen, Haynes Academy for Advanced Studies, Jefferson Parish
- Elizabeth “Ellie” Franks, Saint Joseph Catholic School, Diocese of Shreveport
- Richard “Ben” Blevins, Lusher Charter School, Advocates for Arts-Based Education Corporation, NOLA Public Schools
High School (Grade 12)
- Olutunmike Adeleye, Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts
- Zachary Johnson, West Monroe High School, Ouachita Parish
- Alonnie Celestine, Alfred M. Barbe High School, Calcasieu Parish
- Elise Strain, Fontainebleau High School, St. Tammany Parish
- Allie Johnson, Patrick F. Taylor Science and Technology Academy, Jefferson Parish
- Lorraine Steigner, Mount Carmel Academy, Archdiocese of New Orleans
- Anita Zahiri, Benjamin Franklin High School, Advocates for Academic Excellence in Education, NOLA Public Schools
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https://www.cenlanow.com/state-news/la-dept-of-education-names-2022-students-of-the-year/
| 2022-04-14T19:01:45Z
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https://www.cenlanow.com/state-news/la-dept-of-education-names-2022-students-of-the-year/
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RISON, Ark. (KARK) – A 20-year-old Arkansas woman is dead after a tree fell on her home Wednesday as severe storms tore through Cleveland County, officials said.
According to the Cleveland County Department of Emergency Management, the woman was pinned to a couch under the tree, which had fallen onto a mobile home in Rison, which is about 55 miles south of Little Rock.
Crews attempted to rescue the woman around 4:45 p.m., but she died from her injuries at the scene. The woman’s name had not been released pending notification of relatives.
Two other people were inside the home but were not hurt. So far, there have been no other reports of injury from Wednesday’s storms.
The woman’s death occurred during what was part of a multi-day severe weather outbreak that caused tornadoes, powerful winds and huge hail in parts of the central United States.
Damage was reported in the Central and Northwest portions of Arkansas, with several tornado warnings issued on Wednesday.
A day earlier, 23 people were injured in the central Texas town of Salado. The National Weather Service in Fort Worth said Wednesday that the twister was rated an EF3 with peak wind speeds of 165 mph (265 kph).
Tornadoes were also reported Tuesday in parts of Iowa and Minnesota. And a blizzard struck North Dakota this week, closing the state Capitol, schools, government offices and interstates.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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https://www.cenlanow.com/weather/weather-headlines/20-year-old-woman-killed-when-tree-falls-on-home-during-arkansas-storms/
| 2022-04-14T19:02:36Z
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https://www.cenlanow.com/weather/weather-headlines/20-year-old-woman-killed-when-tree-falls-on-home-during-arkansas-storms/
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Item 1 of 2 is selected.
Safavieh Alita Metallic Throw Blanket - White
50 x 70 inUPC: 0088904849320
Purchase Options
Product Details
Warm, welcoming and flashing just enough glimmer to be in good taste, the Alita Metallic Throw lends a class and charm to room decor. An ideal accent accessory to embellish the look and feel of any sofa, loveseat and accent chair, Alita is made using pure soft cotton and colored in white, grey, and silver with decorative fringed ends.
- 100% Cotton fabric
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https://www.kroger.com/p/safavieh-alita-metallic-throw-blanket-white/0088904849320
| 2022-04-14T19:09:56Z
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https://www.kroger.com/p/safavieh-alita-metallic-throw-blanket-white/0088904849320
| true
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You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
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https://sportspyder.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/articles/39161510
| 2022-04-14T19:11:28Z
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https://sportspyder.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/articles/39161510
| true
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Collection by Zach Edelson
Instances of the Classic Womb Chair in Contemporary Homes
Architect Eero Saarinen designed this iconic piece in 1948 when Florence Knoll asked for "a chair that was like a basket full of pillows - something she could really curl up in." The chair is unequivocally comfy and still in production today.
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https://www.dwell.com/collection/instances-of-the-classic-womb-chair-in-contemporary-homes-1798cc80
| 2022-04-14T19:11:30Z
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https://www.dwell.com/collection/instances-of-the-classic-womb-chair-in-contemporary-homes-1798cc80
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Fashion-Consumer Psych... What to Choose at...\n25/Burberry: Ad-Analysis\nAdvansed Ad Analyisis: Top... by Fahrezza 78 views 12.336\n50 Recommending Bridesme ... RBANW.jpg Uploaded by Rameshdurjania321 on Tutorialspacing1 - Adv_Comm.bpm2.pptm Up For any query about A1 Tank PLC products , technical questions .please write to 52ccte277.aolchatsdk_id8nRK7JNlzlRgXBWgdMzNKlPpKtE8VZ9wzFN_BZQ.takkyun (at)?c=4,or send email.sale.o1techcn@ GREENSBORO — Police responded Thursday morning to an aggravated assault at 3931 W. Gate City Blvd.
After responding at 7:41 a.m., police found one person suffering from injuries not considered life-threatening, police said in a news release.
Police did not describe the injury. They did not release any information on a suspect or possible motive.
The investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Greensboro/Guilford Crime Stoppers at 336-373-1000. People can also send tips via the P3tips app or website at P3tips.org. All tips to Crime Stoppers are completely anonymous.
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https://greensboro.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/1-person-injured-in-aggravated-assault/article_d6e35492-bbf0-11ec-bdb9-1f13dbe3a515.html
| 2022-04-14T19:13:13Z
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https://greensboro.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/1-person-injured-in-aggravated-assault/article_d6e35492-bbf0-11ec-bdb9-1f13dbe3a515.html
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A member of Islamic State group known as 'Beatles' is convicted in Americans' deaths
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A jury convicted a British national Thursday for his role in an Islamic State group hostage-taking scheme that took roughly two dozen Westerners captive a decade ago, resulting in the deaths of four Americans, three of whom were beheaded.
In convicting El Shafee Elsheikh, the jury concluded that he was one of the notorious "Beatles," Islamic State captors nicknamed for their accents and known for their cruelty — torturing and beating prisoners, forcing them to fight each other until they collapsed and even making them sing cruel song parodies. Surviving hostages testified that the Beatles delighted themselves rewriting "Hotel California" as "Hotel Osama" and making them sing the refrain "You will never leave."
The guilty finding came even though none of the surviving hostages could identify Elsheikh as one of their captors. Although the Beatles had distinctive accents, they always took great care to hide their faces behind masks and ordered hostages to avoid eye contact or risk a beating.
Prosecutors suggested in opening statements that Elsheikh was the Beatle nicknamed "Ringo" but only had to prove that Elsheikh was one of the Beatles because testimony showed that all three were major players in the scheme.
Elsheikh, who was captured by the Kurdish-led Syrian defense Forces in 2018, eventually confessed his role in the scheme to interrogators as well as media interviewers, acknowledging that he helped collect email addresses and provided proof of life to the hostages' families as part of ransom negotiations.
But testimony showed that he and the other Beatles were far more than paper pushers. The surviving hostages, all of whom were European — the American and British hostages were all killed — testified that they dreaded the Beatles' appearance at the various prisons to which they constantly shuttled and relocated.
Surviving witness Federico Motka recounted a time in the summer of 2013 when he and cellmate David Haines were put in a room with American hostage James Foley and British hostage John Cantlie for what they called a "Royal Rumble." The losers were told they'd be waterboarded. Weak from hunger, two of the four passed out during the hourlong battle.
The jury deliberated for four hours before finding Elsheikh guilty on all counts. Elsheikh stood motionless and gave no visible reaction as the verdict was read. He now faces up to a life sentence in prison.
Several victims' family members, who were present throughout throughout the three-week trial, fought back tears as the guilty counts were read.
"Praise God! I'm so thankful," said Diane Foley, the mother of James Foley, after the verdicts came in. "I'm so proud of the American justice system. El Shafee Elsheikh was treated with a great deal of mercy. He had four attorneys. ... Hopefully we were able to turn this into justice, not revenge."
She contrasted what she said was the stellar work of the prosecution with what she said was the inaction of government to bring Foley and the other Americans home when they were hostages.
"When we really needed to bring the full force of the government to bear to bring them home, that failed," she said. "They were abandoned."
She said she hopes the case brings attention to the more than 60 Americans who are being held hostage or wrongly detained around the world.
The convictions on all eight counts in U.S. District Court in Alexandria revolved around the deaths of four American hostages: Foley, Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller. All but Mueller were executed in videotaped beheadings circulated online. Mueller was forced into slavery and raped multiple times by Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before she was killed.
They were among 26 hostages taken captive between 2012 and 2015, when the Islamic State group controlled large swaths of Iraq and Syria.
Defense lawyers acknowledged that Elsheikh joined the Islamic State group but said prosecutors failed to prove he was a Beatle. They cited a lack of clarity about which Beatle was which, and back in the trial's opening statement cited the confusion about whether there were three or four Beatles.
Prosecutors said there were three — Elsheikh and his friends Alexanda Kotey and Mohammed Emwazi, who all knew each other in England before joining the Islamic State.
Emwazi, who as known as "Jihadi John" and carried out the executions, was later killed in a drone strike. Kotey and Elsheikh were captured together in 2018 and brought to Virginia in 2020 to face trial after the U.S. promised not to seek the death penalty. Kotey pleaded guilty last year in a plea bargain that calls for a life sentence but leaves open the possibility that he could serve out his sentence in the United Kingdom after 15 years in the U.S.
Kotey will be formally sentenced April 29. Elsheikh will be sentenced Aug. 12. But on Thursday the judge in the two cases, T.S. Ellis III, ordered that Elsheikh appear at Kotey's hearing as well so that he will hear victim impact testimony that will presented ahead of Kotey's sentencing.
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https://www.npr.org/2022/04/14/1092869545/islamic-state-beatles-hostages-guilty
| 2022-04-14T19:19:10Z
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https://www.npr.org/2022/04/14/1092869545/islamic-state-beatles-hostages-guilty
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Restaurant veteran Sharlene Smith named to the position
ATHENS, Ga., April 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Zaxby's, a Georgia-based premium quick-service restaurant franchise known for its Signature Sandwich, Chicken Fingerz™ and flavorful signature sauces, announced today that Sharlene Smith will serve as chief operating officer effective April 25, 2022. With more than 30 years of experience at some of the nation's leading restaurant concepts, Smith will be instrumental in driving the company's national expansion through operational effectiveness, system improvements and people development.
"Given that culture and quality have always been hallmarks of our brand, we needed an exceptional leader who has demonstrated capabilities for operational excellence as well as a passion for people," said Bernard Acoca, Zaxby's CEO. "Sharlene is an executive who balances vision with execution, and that makes her ideally suited to help accelerate our growth."
With over three decades of operational experience within the restaurant industry and franchising, Smith is a proven leader of teams as well as growth strategies. Most recently, Smith served as vice president of operations excellence, North America for Papa John's International, responsible for operations execution across 3,000 locations. There, she worked closely with a franchisee advisory council to ensure alignment on vision, strategic growth plans and system-wide initiatives.
"Our industry is experiencing rapid off-premise growth and the digitalization of practically every aspect of our business," said Acoca. "Sharlene's vast foundational experience with iconic brands in the areas of drive-thru and delivery, along with her abilities to build strong teams while scaling for growth will prove vital in the evolution of Zaxby's."
Before joining Papa John's, Smith spent the bulk of her career in field leadership positions at McDonald's Corporation where she led one of the largest, high-growth regions in the system with more than 850 company and franchised locations. She consistently exceeded year-over-year income growth and guest counts by improving performance metrics and adding new restaurants annually. Smith's ability to lead and train cross-functional teams and her commitment to developing top talent garnered her recognition as a "National People Leader" through her work with the McDonald's Corporation.
"Helping organizations develop talent, grow revenue and create systems for excellent service are my passion," said Smith. "Zaxby's is a company I am proud to join and has teams that I am honored to lead. I am particularly excited to be part of Zaxby's during its next phase of growth."
About Zaxby's
Founded in 1990, Zaxby's is committed to serving delicious chicken fingers, wings, sandwiches and salads in a fun, offbeat atmosphere where customers are considered friends. Zaxby's iconic Signature Sandwich won Thrillist's 2021 Fasties Award for Best Fried Chicken Sandwich. Zaxby's has grown to more than 900 locations in 17 states and is headquartered in Athens, Georgia. For more information, visit zaxbys.com or zaxbysfranchising.com.
Media Contact:
Jacob Teetzmann
Tombras
1.423.494.3673
jteetzmann@tombras.com
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Zaxby's
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https://www.wistv.com/prnewswire/2022/04/14/zaxbys-appoints-new-chief-operating-officer-brand-seeks-accelerate-growth/
| 2022-04-14T19:27:44Z
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https://www.wistv.com/prnewswire/2022/04/14/zaxbys-appoints-new-chief-operating-officer-brand-seeks-accelerate-growth/
| true
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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday afternoon's drawing of the Iowa Lottery's "Pick 4 Midday" game were:
7-5-7-1
(seven, five, seven, one)
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday afternoon's drawing of the Iowa Lottery's "Pick 4 Midday" game were:
7-5-7-1
(seven, five, seven, one)
|
https://www.timesunion.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Pick-4-Midday-game-17081292.php
| 2022-04-14T19:30:57Z
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https://www.timesunion.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Pick-4-Midday-game-17081292.php
| false
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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday afternoon's drawing of the Iowa Lottery's "Pick 4 Midday" game were:
7-5-7-1
(seven, five, seven, one)
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday afternoon's drawing of the Iowa Lottery's "Pick 4 Midday" game were:
7-5-7-1
(seven, five, seven, one)
|
https://www.ourmidland.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Pick-4-Midday-game-17081292.php
| 2022-04-14T19:32:07Z
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https://www.ourmidland.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Pick-4-Midday-game-17081292.php
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PSV 1-2 Leicester (agg: 1-2): James Maddison and Ricardo Pereira strike in comeback win to send the Foxes through to their first ever European semi-final
- Eran Zahavi pounced on an error by Youri Tielemans to open the scoring for PSV
- James Maddison levelled from Ayoze Perez's clever cutback in the 77th minute
- Ricardo Pereira scored the winner in the 88th minute on Thursday night
For the third time in six years, Leicester City moved into uncharted territory after Ricardo Pereira’s late winner sent them into the first European semi-final in their history.
After breaking new ground by winning the Premier League in 2016 and the FA Cup last year, the Foxes are now two wins away from becoming the first club to lift the Europa Conference League.
This tournament was introduced only at the start of this season and Leicester are in it because they dropped out of the Europa League – but none of the 1,600 fans who witnessed a fabulous second-half performance against PSV Eindhoven.
James Maddison provided a lifeline for Leicester by levelling with 13 minutes remaining
Attending a European away game for the first time this season, owner Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha staged an impromptu meet and greet with supporters in the town centre earlier in the day and would have been delighted with what he saw.
Trailing at the break due to Youri Tielemans’ mistake that let in Eran Zahavi, Leicester missed chances before James Maddison equalised with 13 minutes left and then Pereira struck in the 88th minute. Maddison and his team-mates had bottles thrown at them after the playmaker celebrated his goal provocatively.
Brendan Rodgers’ tactical changes worked to perfection while Wesley Fofana delivered another magnificent display at the heart of defence. The winners of this competition will qualify for the Europa League next season.
The Foxes midfielder slotted into the top corner from Ayoze Perez's clever cutback
Leicester started with the same XI who began last week’s first leg as young English winger Noni Madueke missed out for PSV due to injury.
The Dutch side were having plenty of joy on the left in the early stages and in the 14th minute, Philipp Max crossed for Mario Gotze to hit a sweet far-post volley that Kasper Schmeichel did superbly to turn over.
Two minutes later, Leicester should have taken the lead. Kelechi Iheanacho played a clever return pass that sent Harvey Barnes racing clear, only for the winger to slide his finish past the post with just goalkeeper Yvon Mvogo to beat. Had Barnes looked up, he could have presented Maddison with a tap-in.
That miss preceded a period of dominance for PSV that eventually led to the opening goal. Wesley Fofana’s block denied Max and Schmeichel pushed Mauro Junior’s effort behind, before Tielemans’ error gifted them the lead.
Ricardo Pereira fired the winner in the 88th minute to seal a memorable victory
Attempting to play a routine pass to Jonny Evans, Tielemans did not spot Gotze lurking behind him. The German slipped the ball outside him to Zahavi’s, whose angled effort beat Schmeichel and crept into the far corner.
Leicester did not wilt, though. Just after the half-hour, Maddison’s shot clipped Andre Ramalho and looped over Mvogo, forcing Jordan Teze into a remarkable overhead clearance on the goalline. Then Tielemans’ sublime pass picked out the run of Timothy Castagne but the Belgian headed wide from close range.
Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers made two changes at half-time, sending on Patson Daka and Ademola Lookman for Barnes and Marc Albrighton.
Eran Zahavi pounced on a mistake by Youri Tielemans to open the scoring in the first-half
Yet it was PSV who were the first to threaten from another Tielemans mistake. This time Cody Gakpo collected the wayward pass and opted to shoot when he might have released Zahavi. Moments later, Joey Veerman’s low drive from 25 yards clipped Wesley Fofana and flew just wide, then Zahavi headed over after Ramalho had flicked on Gakpo’s corner.
Lookman had made a difference for Leicester on the left and the momentary switch to 4-4-2 brought chances. Daka hared on to a fabulous volleyed pass from Iheanacho and fired inches wide, perhaps put off his stride by Teze’s recovery challenge. Maddison aimed for the corner from the edge of the box and was frustrated to see Mvogo stretch to push it behind.
At this stage, PSV knew another goal would seal the deal and the outstanding Ibrahim Sangare should have provided it. With 17 minutes remaining the midfielder burst into the box and somehow shot over as the home fans howled in pain.
Zahavi’s angled effort beat Kasper Schmeichel and crept into the far corner in the 27th minute
They felt even worse in the 77th minute when Maddison equalised. Subsitute Ayoze Perez – playing for the first time since February – did superbly inside the box, dancing past Ramalho before rolling the ball back for Maddison, who hammered it into the roof of the net from 10 yards.
Unwisely, Maddison put his hand to his ear as he celebrated in front of the PSV supporters, who responded by hurling bottles towards the joyful Leicester players. The restart was then delayed apparently because something else had been thrown on to the pitch near the dugouts.
Leicester were finishing strongly and it required an excellent stop from Mvogo to prevent Perez converting Lookman’s cross at the near post.
Then with three minutes remaining, the Foxes took the lead. Again it was a fine move down the left, with Maddison and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall combining to free Lookman. Lookman’s cut-back found Daka and though Mvogo parried the shot, it fell perfectly for Pereira to ram it home.
Harvey Barnes raced clear but fired his effort wide with just goalkeeper Yvon Mvogo to beat
Patson Daka also wasted a great chance after latching on to a fabulous pass from Iheanacho
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| 2022-04-14T19:34:03Z
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TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — The school closures, stay-at-home mandates and curfews that Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine imposed early in the pandemic still infuriate Donald Trump’s most loyal supporters. His dismissal of the former president’s stolen election lieand criticism that Trump “poured gas on the fire” before the U.S. Capitol riot put him at odds with many GOP voters.
But that may not be enough to topple DeWine in the state’s upcoming May 3 primary.
Despite some notable splits with Trump, he is entering the final stretch of the campaign in a strong position to win the GOP’s nomination for another four-year term. He’s facing challenges from three lesser-known conservatives who could essentially split the far-right faithful, with DeWine potentially emerging as a Republican who crossed Trump’s base and managed to survive.
“Whatever happens in the election happens, but this was a crucial time in our history,” DeWine, 75, said in an interview, referring to his management of the pandemic.
The dynamics harken back to an era when Ohio prized middle-of-the-road candidates, making it a bellwether for presidential elections for decades. But that reputation for moderation eroded under Trump, who won the state in the 2016 and 2020 campaigns. The higher-profile race for an open U.S. Senate seat is perhaps more reflective of Ohio’s rightward shift as candidates have spent months trying to out-Trump one another as they seek his coveted endorsement.
So far, the former president has stayed quiet in the governor’s race, a credit to DeWine’s ability to walk a fine line of expressing support for Trump while also keeping him at a distance. Despite their different approach to the pandemic, which Trump sought to minimize, there was only one hint of a genuine rift between the two men.
That was when DeWine suggested in November 2020 that it was time for Trump to acknowledge that Joe Biden had won the White House. Trump’s response was a tweet wondering who would challenge DeWine in this year’s primary. “Will be hotly contested!” Trump predicted.
Trump announced this week he’ll be in Ohio for an April 23 rally ahead of the GOP primary. DeWine said on Thursday that he’s not sure if he’ll be able to make it because he already committed to attending a 200th birthday celebration for another ex-president, Ohio native Ulysses S. Grant.
Former U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, who served four terms in Congress, was thought to be DeWine’s biggest threat, especially if he could win an endorsement from Trump after getting his backing four years ago in a failed U.S. Senate bid. But some recent polls show Renacci splitting the anti-DeWine vote with Joe Blystone, a farmer who jumped in the race early and built a following in rural Ohio.
Much of the frustration toward DeWine has bubbled up in Republican-dominated rural counties where mask mandates and school shutdowns were met with resistance. Those areas hold the fewest votes yet carry significant weight because Republicans often pile up big enough margins to negate the strong Democratic turnout in the state’s big cities.
“They say in politics people forget things. Down here they haven’t forgotten,” said Dennis Cooper, a member of the Clermont County Republican Party, which overwhelmingly endorsed Renacci over DeWine earlier this year. “It wasn’t just one thing. It was one thing on top of another that made no sense.”
Still, DeWine has a huge fundraising advantage and a network of supporters built from a political career spanning more than 40 years. Both are why more prominent Republicans in the state decided against challenging him even as dissatisfaction grew.
Ryan Stubenrauch, a former DeWine policy adviser who’s now a GOP consultant, thinks the anger is coming from a vocal minority.
“There’s a whole lot of people mad at a lot of things. The last two years have been really rough on people,” he said. “I don’t know if the party has changed or all of our politics have shifted over the last two years.”
One thing that hasn’t changed, he said, is DeWine. “He values life just about over everything,” Stubenrauch said.
He’s an old-school conservative who just months into his first term as governor signed into law what at the time was one of the most stringent abortion restrictionsin the nation.
DeWine has leaned on his pro-life stance to explain why that also includes protecting people from COVID-19. He was widely praised early in 2020 for not downplaying the pandemic when he became the first governor to shut down schools statewide.
But the mood soured among Republicans who quickly tired of mask mandates and health orders that closed many small businesses but allowed large retailers to remain open. They saw him putting in restrictions that ran counter to what they were hearing from Trump and conservative governors such as Ron DeSantis in Florida and South Dakota’s Kristi Noem.
A hostile state Legislature dominated by DeWine’s own party overrode his veto of a bill weakening the governor’s ability to respond to public health emergencies.
Renacci said DeWine prioritized “fear over freedom.”
Some conservatives have vowed never to vote for DeWine again, according to a handful of county GOP chairs, even if that means sitting out in November.
The winner of the Republican primary will face the Democratic nominee, either former Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley or ex-Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley.
“They’re not going to vote again for someone who has disappointed them and not represented them well,” said Shelby County Republican Chairwoman Theresa Kerg. “I think people are frustrated and tired of just accepting whoever is given to them.”
___
Associated Press writer Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report.
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| 2022-04-14T19:37:33Z
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Dozens of travellers wearing pink follow procession of seven Rolls Royce cars and five lorries at funeral of grandmother, 45, who died after cancer battle as floral tributes pay tribute to '1 Tough Cookie'
- Loved young mum Caroline Goddard has succumbed to cancer at the age of 45
- Mourners at St George church were asked to wear something pink for the funeral
- A Rolls Royce hearse carried her coffin through Sussex followed by six limos
A fleet of Rolls Royce limousines formed a silver cortege in an amazing send off for a much loved young mum.
Caroline Goddard was only 45 when she succumbed to cancer this year.
Her coffin was carried to a funeral in Sussex in a Rolls Royce hearse followed by six more Rolls Royce limos and two more stretch limos.
Hundreds of mourners gathered at St George’s church in Chichester where everyone was asked to wear something pink.
Caroline Goddard, 45, when she succumbed to cancer after a two-year battle. Her funeral will see her laid to rest in Chichester
The mourners were followed by another five lorries baring floral tributes.
Caroline Francis Goddard was laid to rest in Chichester after battling cancer for more than two years.
The floral tributes remembered her favourite things in life and included heartfelt messages from friends and family.
Her favourite TV show, Gogglebox, was featured in flowers as well as a message reading '1 Tough Cookie'.
The funeral cars and mourners blocked roads around the town as the young mum was given an unforgettable send off.
One mourner said: 'It’s an amazing turnout for an amazing lady who will be sadly missed.'
Goddard's favourite TV show, Goggle box, was featured in flowers as well as a message reading '1 Tough Cookie'
A Rolls Royce hearse carried her coffin through Sussex followed by six Rolls Royce limos
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| 2022-04-14T19:42:29Z
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US STOCKS-Nasdaq, S&P 500 fall as growth shares lose steam; banks report mixed earnings
By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Devik Jain
April 14 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 fell on Thursday as rising yields weighed on megacap growth stocks, while a slew of Wall Street lenders reported mixed earnings on the last day of a holiday-shortened week.
Twitter Inc TWTR.N declined 0.7%, reversing early gains, after Tesla Inc TSLA.O CEO Elon Musk offered to buy the social media company for about $43 billion. The electric-car maker's shares fell 3.3%.
Six of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors declined, with technology .SPLRCT and communication services .SPLRCL falling more than 1% each and leading losses.
"Not many retail or professional investors are rushing into the tech space now, especially the high valuation tech space," said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth Management.
"It's the traders and algorithms that take advantage of daily price swings, and that's why you're seeing this movement in the tech shares."
Megacap growth names such as Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O and Apple Inc AAPL.O fell more than 1.5% each as Treasury yields jumped following two days of declines after a flurry of economic data and a policy announcement from the European Central Bank. US/
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield US10YT=RR was up 2.80%, after falling as much as 2.65% earlier in the day.
New York Fed President John Williams said the U.S. central bank should reasonably consider raising interest rates by a half percentage point at its next meeting in May, echoing calls from other policymakers.
Growth stocks have been hammered in the last few weeks as Treasury yields rallied on signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve that it will hike rates aggressively to control soaring inflation.
"Staples, basic materials, utilities, energy and healthcare continue to tell you that people are worried about inflation. It's hard to feel confident that inflation has peaked," Pavlik said.
Morgan Stanley MS.N and Citigroup Inc C.N rose 1.4% each on beating analyst expectations for profit despite a sharp drop in first-quarter earnings.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS.N edged 0.3% lower after reporting a 43% drop in profit, while Wells Fargo & Co WFC.N fell 3.2% following a 21% drop in quarterly profit.
At 11:58 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was up 41.79 points, or 0.12%, at 34,606.38, the S&P 500 .SPX was down 25.63 points, or 0.58%, at 4,420.96, and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was down 181.20 points, or 1.33%, at 13,462.39.
Overall, analysts have been less optimistic about earnings this quarter amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, soaring inflation and a more hawkish Fed.
Aggregate annual S&P 500 earnings growth for the first three months of 2022 is estimated at 6.3%, compared to 32.1% in the previous quarter, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.65-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.91-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 26 new 52-week highs and six new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 50 new highs and 138 new lows.
(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Devik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
((BansariMayur.Kamdar@thomsonreuters.com))
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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| 2022-04-14T19:42:34Z
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Andrea Smith
Window Seats We Love
We wouldn't mind losing ourselves in a book in one of these window seats.
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https://www.dwell.com/collection/window-seats-we-love-71bb62d0
| 2022-04-14T19:48:33Z
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti delivered what amounted to a farewell speech to his city Thursday at a time when it’s not clear when, or where, he’s going.
The two-term Democrat delivered his final State of the City address as his nomination by President Joe Biden to become U.S. ambassador to India appears imperiled in the Senate. A vote has been delayed by an investigation into sexual harassment allegations against a former Garcetti top adviser.
The nomination has languished since July and it’s not known when a vote will take place, if at all. If Garcetti remains at City Hall, his term runs through the end of the year.
The speech — at turns optimistic, nostalgic, defensive and emotional — marked a capstone of sorts for Garcetti’s two decades at City Hall, nearly half as mayor.
He approaches the end of his term with the city struggling with an unchecked homeless crisis that has spread into virtually every neighborhood, rising crime and housing prices that are out of reach for many working-class families.
He appeared to choke up when thanking his family for being with him “every step of the way” and expressing gratitude to colleagues for their support through the “toughest of times.”
At another point, he warned that without more affordable housing and shelter for the homeless “the California dream will be an old chapter in a distant history book.”
Last month, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, said in a statement he has received “numerous credible allegations” that Garcetti was aware of sexual harassment of city employees committed by his former adviser and close friend Rick Jacobs, but did nothing to stop the misconduct. His office is investigating.
Garcetti has denied witnessing or being told of any inappropriate behavior by Jacobs. A lawsuit against the city charges that Jacobs frequently sexually harassed one of the mayor’s police bodyguards while Garcetti ignored it or laughed it off.
Jacobs has called the allegations against him “pure fiction.”
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| 2022-04-14T19:56:32Z
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CLEVELAND (AP) — For decades, Cleveland's home opener has been celebrated like a national holiday. Kids skip school, office workers clear out early and people flock downtown to welcome baseball back after another long winter.
It's long been a day in Cleveland for renewal, hope. A fresh start.
Never more so than this year.
On Friday, the renamed Guardians will play for the first time at Progressive Field, officially launching a new era for a team known as the Indians since 1915 before a long-debated and fan-dividing name change finally happened last year.
There will be plenty of cheers, and perhaps some grumbling from those still coming to grips with the idea that their favorite baseball team isn't quite the same,
“We know this is going to take time. Change is always hard,” said Alex King, the Guardians' senior vice president of marketing and strategy who spearheaded the name transition. "Change of a team name that has been around for 100-plus years and everyone has grown up with, shared memories with — that’s incredibly hard.
"We not only understand that. We empathize with that and we want to try and build new memories, but do it in a way that’s meeting our fans where they’re at.”
Some of those memories begin taking form on Friday when Oscar winner Tom Hanks, who cut his acting teeth in this city while becoming a fan of the team in the 1970s, tosses a ceremonial first pitch to Larry Doby Jr., whose father broke the American League's color barrier with Cleveland 75 years ago.
There will be a jet flyover and players for the Guardians and San Francisco Giants will all wear No. 42 as Major League Baseball celebrates Jackie Robinson Day.
And if that wasn't enough to kick start a holiday weekend, the NBA's Cavaliers, who live a relay throw across the plaza at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, will host a play-in game against Atlanta with the winner getting a postseason spot.
If not for baseball's 99-day labor lockout pushing the opener back two weeks, the day would belong exclusively to the Guardians, who have won four straight games and have one of baseball's best early season stories in rookie outfielder Steven Kwan, off to an historic start to his career.
Kwan is certain to receive a rousing ovation from the 29th consecutive opening-day sellout crowd, one that was slower to buy tickets in previous years for a variety of reasons, including the name change.
It's been a challenging journey for Cleveland's franchise, which has received its share of criticism — especially on social media — for the switch from those who felt the team caved to a vocal minority. The ballclub had already ditched the divisive Chief Wahoo logo and was working toward making a name change when the national reckoning on race in 2020 accelerated the process.
The team considered numerous names before landing on Guardians, which is meant to symbolize community strength and is a nod to massive, Art Deco statues that flank the Hope Memorial Bridge near the ballpark.
There were other obstacles, including the team being sued by a local roller derby team of the same name.
And while Guardians remains difficult for some to accept, and isn't exactly rolling off everyone's tongues just yet, it seems to be catching on.
That doesn't mean there isn't lingering backlash.
Whenever the team posts anything on its Twitter account, it's usually met with a barrage of complaints and worse. The negativity prompted Christy Harst to post a YouTube video reminding fans why they became fans and encouraging them to accept the change.
“It made me sad,” said the mother of two and voice-over actress. "I felt like I wanted to remind my fellow fans why we’re fans. Do I understand people’s frustration? Absolutely. There’s no name that could make everyone happy. None.
"No matter what they named the team, people would be upset.”
The team has sought to find the right balance between embracing the club's past, and not erasing it.
“The name Indians is always going to be a part of our history,” King said, "All of those great teams in the 1990s, the ’07 (World Series) run, the ’16 World Series, the Rajai Davis home run, those are going to be Indians memories.
“Those won’t diminish. They’re not going to change. The most important part of our name, as we’ve talked, about is Cleveland. We've tried to remind people that we’ve got these really strong roots. We’re not inventing something different. We’re evolving and this is the next chapter.”
Harst trusts that Cleveland fans, even the ones wrestling with the change, will eventually come around. After all, they've endured plenty of heartbreak; this isn't nearly as painful as when the Browns left.
“Everyone was bitter, spitting nails back then,” she said. "Do we feel that way now with the name change? C’mon. That was a lot worse as a Cleveland sports fan. Let’s put things into perspective.”
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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| 2022-04-14T19:57:59Z
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Victory has never been closer, Le Pen tells enthusiastic supporters
By Yiming Woo and Ingrid Melander
AVIGNON, France, April 14 (Reuters) - Victory has never been closer, far-right French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen told an election rally on Thursday to frequent interruptions from an enthusiastic crowd chanting "We're going to win!"
Just 10 days ahead of a runoff election that will determine who will lead the European Union's second-largest economy for the next five years, opinion polls show centrist President Emmanuel Macron is slightly ahead of Le Pen.
But the contest is so tight it could potentially go either way, making the crowd of several thousand in the southern city of Avignon appear confident as they chanted "Marine President!" and waved French flags.
"My friends, let's not doubt victory. It has never been so close. It will be the victory of France, a victory for all French," Le Pen said.
With the electorate fragmented and undecided, the election will likely be won by the candidate who can, beyond his or her camp, convince a bigger number of voters that the other option would be far worse.
For decades in France, a "republican front" of voters of all stripes rallying behind a mainstream candidate helped keep the far-right out of power.
But Macron, whose sometimes abrasive style and policies that veered to the right have upset many voters, can no longer automatically count on that, though he has pressed that point, warning of Le Pen's "authoritarian" streak.
Le Pen brushed the criticism off as "childish paranoia," saying: "It's one more mandate for Emmanuel Macron which would be a risk for the country."
"We're proposing a truly alternative project," she said, urging all voters to rally behind her to push out "a worn-out system."
Le Pen, who had also been a candidate in the past two presidential elections, is more popular than ever in France, opinion polls show, having successfully softened her image and pegged her campaign on cost-of-living woes.
She has not changed the core of her anti-immigration, eurosceptic far-right platform, but is not focusing on that, unlike in her previous election bids.
Ahead of her speech, one supporter, Brigitte Bertrand, said she was voting for Le Pen for the third time and was more enthusiastic than ever. "I like her policies," she said.
Le Pen has a strong following in parts of southern France, but plenty of detractors too.
In the historic city of Avignon, once the seat of the Catholic popes in the 14th century, retiree Paulette Chareyle, stayed well away from the rally.
"I don't like her ideas. I won't vote for her," Chareyle said, adding that Le Pen's softer image was "a manipulation, to impose a very hard far-right."
(Reporting by Yiming Woo in Avignon; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Susan Fenton and Leslie Adler)
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| 2022-04-14T20:01:36Z
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Weekend Preview: Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt
Among the many changes affecting the second Food City Dirt Race at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Track, the move from day to night for the race is perhaps the most significant.
The sentiment toward the move has been universally positive. Drivers are anticipating a more traditional dirt race when they take to the half-mile track on Sunday night (7 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
"I think it's a great thing moving this event to night," said 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott, who started 26th and finished 10th last year in the premier division's first dirt race since 1970. "I think it's going to help a lot with the issues we had, keeping some moisture in the track, hopefully, and then obviously keeping the dust down.
"I think everything we learned last year has been a great tool of how to go about it this season. It seems like we're doing all the right things, and hopefully it will be a good show. I think it has a lot of potential."
The transition to a night race isn't the only major difference. Drivers and crew chiefs will have to adapt to the new Next Gen race car, which was introduced into NASCAR's top series this year.
"We're going to try a blend of last year's car and the Next Gen car," said Rudy Fugle, crew chief for William Byron, the only two-time winner in the Cup series so far this season. "We have some notes from the NASCAR test they did last week.
"The difference with dirt racing, though, is how fast the track conditions change. They change just about every lap."
In addition, the track construction itself is different from that used for last year's inaugural race.
Instead of a consistent incline from the bottom to the top of the track, this year's version uses graduated banking -- 16 degrees at the bottom to 19 degrees at the top -- in hopes of creating a viable second racing lane.
Joey Logano, a driver with severely limited experience on dirt, was the surprise winner of last year's race. Theoretically, a night race will help the track retain moisture and is more likely to favor such drivers as Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson, who grew up racing dirt cars and continue to maintain a strong presence in that discipline.
Larson and Bell were racing near the front of the field last year when they collided on Lap 53 of 253, leading to finishes of 29th and 34th, respectively.
The starting order for the Food City Dirt Race will be set during a series of four 15-lap qualifying races on Saturday. The Cup event, scheduled for 250 laps, will be the first held on Easter Sunday since Rusty Wallace won at Richmond in 1989 in a race postponed from February because of snow.
--Buddy Kofoid set to make national truck series debut
Buddy Kofoid couldn't ask for a better set of circumstances for his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut.
The 2021 USAC National Midget Champion will race for the first time in one of NASCAR's national series when he takes the green flag for Saturday night's Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Kofoid will be driving the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota that carried Martin Truex Jr. to victory in last year's race. Crew chief Mardy Lindley will defend the win he engineered for Truex, who isn't competing in the Truck Series event this year.
Kofoid also has some worthy potential advisers -- including one of his teammates in midget racing at Keith Kunz Motorsports.
"Definitely, the main person that I've talked to is Christopher Bell," Kofoid said. "I've gotten to know him a little bit better these last couple of years, and I've hung out with him before and raced alongside of him as a teammate in the midgets.
"Got to know him pretty well, and hopefully he can help me out a little bit this weekend. He didn't really give me advice yet -- there are also some other people I want to talk to. At least for him, I'm sure we'll talk more at the track, but it was more reaching out to see if he would be open to being an extra guy on the radio for me during the race."
Kofoid may be the most notable newcomer, but race also will feature a quartet of Cup Series drivers doing double duty: Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Austin Dillon and Harrison Burton.
Dillon won the inaugural Truck Series dirt race at half-mile Eldora Speedway in 2013. Logano triumphed in last year's Cup event on the Bristol dirt track.
They will all have to beat dirt modified ace and full-time Truck Series driver Stewart Friesen, who tested the Next Gen Cup car on dirt both at Lancaster (S.C.) Motor Speedway and at Bristol last week. Friesen won the last Truck race at Eldora in 2019.
Three-time series champion Matt Crafton, who fields his own dirt modified car when not racing trucks, also is a former Eldora winner (2017).
NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: Food City Dirt Race
The Place: Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt
The Date: Sunday, April 17
The Time: 7 p.m. ET
The Purse: $7,374,089
TV: FOX, 6 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 125 miles (250 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 75),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 150), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 250)
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Next Race: Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt
The Place: Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt
The Date: Saturday, April 16
The Time: 8 p.m. ET
The Purse: $599,224
TV: FS1, 7 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 75 miles (150 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 40)
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 150)
--By NASCAR Wire, Special to Field Level Media
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-10720111/Weekend-Preview-Bristol-Motor-Speedway-Dirt.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
| 2022-04-14T20:04:11Z
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-10720111/Weekend-Preview-Bristol-Motor-Speedway-Dirt.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
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Coleman to Focus on Overall Operations and Further Scaling the Business
LOS ANGELES, April 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Scott Coleman, formerly of Pinterest and Google, is joining Omaze as President. In this new role, Coleman, a seasoned executive with a proven track record, will focus on platform development, scaling global operations, and driving revenue growth. Coleman will report to Omaze CEO Matt Pohlson.
Omaze is the leading social impact fundraising platform reimagining the charitable giving experience to create equal opportunity for all. Omaze curates incredible prizes like cars, trips, houses, and experiences to incentivize people who are dreaming big and want to help solve some of the world's most challenging issues. It supports the world's best charities by running sweepstakes to raise money for their life-changing work. In 2021, the Omaze community raised nearly $30M to support more than 130 charities.
"Throughout my career, I've gravitated towards companies that are mission oriented and roles that gave me the opportunity to drive positive impact," said Coleman. "After spending time with Matt and the team at Omaze, I'm excited about the opportunity to continue the incredible growth the company has experienced and put my expertise to use further scaling this business, all while doing good in the world. What the team has built here over the last ten years is remarkable."
Most recently, Coleman was at Pinterest where he was the Head of Growth and International, responsible for global user growth. During his time there, he oversaw growth product, product operations, localization, product marketing, and content partnerships. Scott also served as board director for Pinterest Europe Limited and Pinterest's international entities.
Prior to Pinterest, Coleman spent over a decade at Google where he was responsible for new business development and product partnerships for Google Search and Maps, bringing new products to Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Europe. He also built a fiber network business in Africa, and led a variety of new product launches such as Google Earth Engine. Coleman developed customer support and sales teams in Brazil, Argentina, India and the United States to grow AdSense into a multi-billion dollar business.
"Scott is one of the rare talents who can go both broad and deep into tech, product, growth, marketing, and more and I couldn't be more excited for Scott to join," said Pohlson. "He has a reputation as a world-class leader and his track record helping Google and Pinterest scale internationally, will help set us up for our next stage of global impact."
Coleman holds a Masters in Business Administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California at Berkeley with a double major in Political Economy and Spanish and Portuguese.
About Omaze
Omaze is an online fundraising platform that offers the chance to win once-in-a-lifetime experiences and prizes to support nonprofits around the world. Through the Omaze platform, the Omaze community has raised over $150M to support over 400 charities, driving substantial levels of awareness for their work. Omaze experiences raise funds for Charities Aid Foundation America ("CAF America"), a US-registered, 501(c)(3) public charity, who then grants the donations, minus experience fees and costs, to the nonprofit(s) identified for an applicable experience. To learn more and donate, please visit omaze.com.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Omaze, Inc.
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https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/14/omaze-welcomes-former-pinterest-amp-google-exec-scott-coleman-new-president/
| 2022-04-14T20:08:49Z
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https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/14/omaze-welcomes-former-pinterest-amp-google-exec-scott-coleman-new-president/
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REDWOOD SHORES, Calif., April 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg LLP (RJLF) has been awarded "Silicon Valley Firm of the Year" and Managing Partner Courtland Reichman "Silicon Valley Litigator of the Year" for the third consecutive year at the 2022 Benchmark Litigation West Coast Awards ceremony held on April 7, 2022.
The firm's recent achievements include securing a $15 million patent infringement verdict on behalf of Droplets, Inc. against tech giant Yahoo, Inc., following a three-week jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. After only seven hours of deliberation, the nine-member jury found that Yahoo infringed Droplets' patent, which covers pioneering technology allowing browsers to load and store information more quickly and efficiently. At the same time, RJLF tried a high-profile case involving 10 poultry industry executives, including RJLF client Roger Austin, concerning an alleged scheme to fix prices and rig bids for chickens sold to grocery stores and restaurants. On March 29, 2022, Chief Judge Philip A. Brimmer of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado declared a mistrial after jurors deadlocked and were unable to reach a verdict against any of the poultry executives following a six-week jury trial. This is the second time a jury has been unable to convict the firm's client. Judge Brimmer also declared a mistrial in December 2021 after jurors deadlocked following a seven-week trial.
"We are a boutique trial firm that tries some of the country's largest cases," said Courtland Reichman. "These Benchmark Litigation awards are a testament to our amazingly talented lawyers and their outstanding commitment to our clients. Having young star lawyers on their feet at trial right away has helped our clients achieve these important wins. I couldn't be prouder of our team."
Benchmark Litigation is the definitive guide to America's leading litigation law firms and lawyers. It is the only publication on the market to focus exclusively on litigation in the U.S. Research is conducted through extensive interviews with litigators, dispute resolution specialists, and their clients to identify the leading litigators and firms.
About Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg LLP
Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg LLP (RJLF) is an elite national trial firm that handles high-stakes commercial litigation, intellectual property, and white collar disputes. The firm is majority women-owned and rejects the billable hour in favor of fee arrangements that align client interests. RJLF's attorneys are diverse, exceptionally credentialed, and passionate about trial advocacy. From offices in Silicon Valley, New York, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, the firm tries cases and argues appeals throughout the country. For more information, visit www.reichmanjorgensen.com.
Contact:
Jennifer Estremera
jestremera@reichmanjorgensen.com
(650) 623-1407
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg LLP
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https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/14/reichman-jorgensen-lehman-amp-feldberg-named-silicon-valley-firm-year-courtland-reichman-awarded-silicon-valley-litigator-year-by-benchmark-litigation/
| 2022-04-14T20:09:25Z
|
https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/14/reichman-jorgensen-lehman-amp-feldberg-named-silicon-valley-firm-year-courtland-reichman-awarded-silicon-valley-litigator-year-by-benchmark-litigation/
| true
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MADISON, Wis. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday afternoon's drawing of the Wisconsin Lottery's "Pick 4 Midday" game were:
3-1-6-8
(three, one, six, eight)
MADISON, Wis. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday afternoon's drawing of the Wisconsin Lottery's "Pick 4 Midday" game were:
3-1-6-8
(three, one, six, eight)
|
https://www.sfgate.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Pick-4-Midday-game-17081476.php
| 2022-04-14T20:10:19Z
|
https://www.sfgate.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Pick-4-Midday-game-17081476.php
| false
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MADISON, Wis. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday afternoon's drawing of the Wisconsin Lottery's "Pick 4 Midday" game were:
3-1-6-8
(three, one, six, eight)
MADISON, Wis. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday afternoon's drawing of the Wisconsin Lottery's "Pick 4 Midday" game were:
3-1-6-8
(three, one, six, eight)
|
https://www.myjournalcourier.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Pick-4-Midday-game-17081476.php
| 2022-04-14T20:15:33Z
|
https://www.myjournalcourier.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Pick-4-Midday-game-17081476.php
| true
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Vancouver-based Numinus Wellness Inc. has announced it will acquire Toronto-based Novamind Inc. for approximately $20.8M.
When the transaction is completed, the combined company will operate 13 wellness clinics and will be positioned as a leading psychedelic-assisted therapy provider in North America, leading its peer group in revenue with approximately C$10 million in annual pro-forma revenue based on the trailing four quarters.
According to Payton Nyquvest, founder and CEO of Numinus, this acquistion creates an industry-leading North American platform for psychedelic clinics and clinical research. It will also increase client programming with complementary service offerings to be shared and expanded across the combined clinic network.
The acquisition will also allow the combined companies to provide best-in-class service offering with clinics providing a wide range of traditional, innovative and psychedelic mental health treatments that can be appropriately matched to each client's needs. Services include ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP), Spravato (esketamine), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), talk therapy, group therapy, medication management, psychedelic palliative care and neurological care. Clinics will also offer family and couples counselling, as well as in-person and virtual group therapy for expanded access to innovative treatments.
Mechanically, Novamind's distinguished clinical research site management capabilities will combine with Numinus Bioscience's bioanalytical laboratory expertise, resulting in a comprehensive clinical research offering.
In particular, Novamind's U.S. DEA Schedule 1 licenses for psilocybin research complement Numinus Bioscience's extensive Health Canada Controlled Drugs & Substances License to possess, produce, assemble, sell, export, deliver, research, and test a wide range of psychedelic drugs and botanical materials, including DMT, ketamine, LSD, MDMA, mescaline, psilocin, psilocybin, ayahuasca and San Pedro.
The acquisition also accelerates Numinus' path to profitability. It is expected to be immediately accretive to Numinus' revenue and gross profit, and, based on forecasts and efficiencies of scale, will shorten the timeline of Numinus' path to profitability. The acquisition is anticipated to generate C$3 million in annual cost synergies, the majority of which relate to the elimination of duplicative public company expenses and operational systems, further supporting margin enhancement.
"Since Numinus began, we have always strived to be the most trusted, evidence-based leader in psychedelic-assisted therapy and medicine. The Novamind acquisition presents a transformational opportunity for Numinus to launch a strong U.S. platform through eight established, reputable, efficiently operating and revenue-producing clinics," says Payton Nyquvest, founder and CEO of Numinus.
“We've been working really hard since since we started the company to develop what we believe is the model in which psychedelic therapy needs to fit into, as well as how it's going to scale across North America,” Nyquvest said.
Nyquvest added that though there is rightly and understandably a “effort being paid to doing research on particular compounds or trying to identify new novel compounds” in the psychedelics medicine space,” which is important for Numinus, he and the company also believe that it’s “equally or more so” important to develop psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, which is the business line targeted by this acquisition.
“So, ultimately, [psychedelic-assisted therapy] has to go through a platform where that therapy can be offered. We’ve been working in in Canada to develop that model and have partnered with groups like MAPS to help with the MDMA for PTSD work, we have also worked with psilocybin,” Nyquvest explained, adding that they also do a host of “traditional mental health services, as well as ketamine-assisted psychotherapy.”
“We've been looking for a meaningful way to make an entry into the US market. This acquisition is really a very strong foot forward in regards to that. We’re doing so with a platform that is sustainable, generating great revenue and has great operating gross margins. It really has a sustainable and scalable factor to it that we we have yet to really see in the psychedelic space,” Nyquvest said.
Nyquvest further explained that Novamind, which operates solely in the United States, has made significant inroads in getting insurance coverage for ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, which is a boon for the deal. He said they are looking forward to deepening relationships with insurance providers, especially as more patented compounds continue to “come online.”
He added that the other side to Novamind’s appeal is with regard to developing a sustainable business model, which Nyquvest believes Novamind has achieved. He thinks a lot of ketamine therapy clinics have focused too much on developing a ketamine product and not as much on growing and maintaining the client experience and connectability.
“Not everybody is is going to be perfectly suited for psychedelic assisted psychotherapy right out of the gate, but to to establish a relationship with a clinic that understands and speaks that language and to have practitioners who can help prepare people for the integration aspects of psychedelic assisted therapy, which is arguably as important or potentially more important than the actual psychedelic treatment itself,” Nyquvest explained.
In addition to the wider network of clinical research opportunities, Nyquvest said this acquisition allows Numinus to “continue to refine and amend and expand that clinic model based off of what we're seeing in the research setting.”
Yaron Conforti, CEO and co-founder of Novamind, said, "This transaction offers significant value for Novamind's shareholders and provides compelling new opportunities for our employees, patients and research partners. The combination of Novamind's network of mental health clinics and research sites in the U.S. and Numinus' leadership in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy in Canada creates a best-in-class company. The combined entity is supported with over C$50 million in pro-forma capital and positioned with distinct capabilities to serve a growing and diverse group of stakeholders. We are excited to join Numinus, a true leader in mental health innovation."
Novamind shareholders will receive Numinus common shares, listed on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and the OTC Markets Group's OTCQX, pursuant to the closing of the transaction.
|
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelinebryant/2022/04/14/medical-psychedelics-researcher-and-provider-numinus-to-acquire-novamind-creates-psychedelics-health-titan/
| 2022-04-14T20:23:20Z
|
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelinebryant/2022/04/14/medical-psychedelics-researcher-and-provider-numinus-to-acquire-novamind-creates-psychedelics-health-titan/
| false
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