text
stringlengths 10
159k
| url
stringlengths 19
865
| crawl_date
timestamp[s]date 2022-02-01 01:02:23
2024-12-02 05:16:38
| lang
stringclasses 1
value | lang_conf
float64 0.65
1
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
The Biden administration has announced a breakthrough on nuclear fusion, fueling hopes of further progress toward clean energy.
Nuclear fusion — the process in which atoms are fused together to create energy — has long been studied as a potential power source.
But various hurdles have prevented the reaction from being a viable option for clean energy, and a commercial effort is still likely decades away.
Here’s what you should know about the Energy Department’s announcement:
1. It’s the first time a net energy gain has come from fusion
The crux of Tuesday’s news is that scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California were able to produce more energy via fusion than they put in. They put in 2.05 megajoules of energy and got out 3.15 megajoules.
This is the first time scientists in a lab were able to create a net energy output through fusion, demonstrating that it is possible to do so.
“It’s the first time it has ever been done in a laboratory anywhere in the world. Simply put, this is one of the most impressive scientific feats of the 21st century,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told reporters at a press conference.
While the technology isn’t ready to be commercialized yet, the successful experiment raises the prospects of larger-scale deployment of fusion energy.
Previously, the lab came relatively close to breaking even when it generated 70 percent of the energy it put into a fusion reaction last year.
2. It’s seen as another potential source of carbon-free energy
If fusion can become a large-scale power source, it will provide another way of generating carbon-free energy as the world looks to transition away from planet-warming fossil fuels.
U.S. officials have said they hope to broadly have an entirely clean electric grid by 2035 and commercially viable fusion power within a decade.
Like wind, solar and traditional nuclear energy — where an atom is split apart instead of fused together — nuclear fusion doesn’t emit any planet-warming gasses or air pollution.
“This milestone moves us one significant step closer to the possibility of zero-carbon, abundant fusion energy powering our society,” Granholm said.
“We can use it to produce clean electricity, transportation fuels, power heavy industry [and] so much more,” she added. “It would be like adding a power drill to our toolbox in building this clean energy economy.”
Unlike traditional nuclear energy, called fission, fusion doesn’t generate radioactive waste that requires long-term storage. And unlike traditional hydropower dams, it doesn’t require finding — and flooding — a new reservoir.
The main place that fusion power would be useful if plugged into the current American grid would be as what is called “base load” power: a stable constant amount of electricity that current grids rely on.
In the U.S., about 19 percent of electricity comes from nuclear power, while 60 percent comes from fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas and petroleum, and the rest is from renewables, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Carolyn Kuranz, associate professor of nuclear engineering and radiological sciences at the University of Michigan, told The Hill on Monday that nuclear fusion does create byproducts that have small amounts of radioactive material, but she said the material can stay on the power plant site and be used to fuel future fusion reaction instead of needing to go elsewhere.
Paul Dabbar, who was the Energy Department’s under secretary for science during the Trump administration, also pointed to some advantages that fusion could have over wind and solar in an interview with The Hill this week.
“It needs to be windy, it needs to be sunny, it takes a lot of land,” he said of the other energy sources, though he noted that battery technology could be used to improve on the intermittency issue.
However, fusion comes with its own drawbacks. A future fusion industry built around large, expensive individual plants would be dependent on an expanded, high-capacity electric grid to move power across the region or country — something that feels almost as far away at this point as commercial fusion power.
3. Breakthrough positions US as leader in global quest for fusion
The successful net power-producing experiment is a clear mark of success for America’s burgeoning public and private investment into fusion energy — particularly as the European Union, China and South Korea build out their own programs.
In January, China’s Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) sustained a record 17-minute fusion reaction, Smithsonian reported.
And the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in southern France will be the largest fusion facility in the world when it begins experiments in 2025, according to a statement.
In March, the Energy Department released a decadelong roadmap to bring commercial fusion to electricity markets.
That initiative touted the $2.5 billion that the private sector poured into fusion last year — about 3.5 times what the government spends directly.
An April White House summit also promoted the fact that two-thirds of private fusion companies and suppliers are based in the U.S. — and that American companies are the main recipients of international fusion funding.
But while it is tempting to think of fusion in terms of a “race” between countries, the drive for fusion power is highly international and collaborative.
U.S. companies built the central solenoid magnet for the ITER tokamak — necessary to create the magnetic fields that power and control the superheated plasma during a fusion reaction, according to the U.S. government.
And the Energy Department in November announced nearly $50 million for fusion research — of which part will go to support U.S. researchers at ITER and EAST, as The Hill reported.
4. Fusion still years off from becoming a mainstream energy source
The development was a major step toward fusion energy, but you’re not likely to be using this type of energy to turn on your lights anytime soon.
Granholm told reporters the administration hopes to see commercial fusion within a decade.
“The president has a decadal vision to get to a commercial fusion reactor within, obviously, 10 years, so we’ve got to get to work,” she told reporters.
Kim Budil, director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where the breakthrough occurred, said it could be even longer, taking “decades” before the technology is commercialized.
“There are very significant hurdles” in both science and technology, Budil said.
Dabbar told The Hill this week that he thinks the first commercial demonstration fusion reactors could crop up between 2030 and 2035 and that large-scale deployment could come a few years after that.
“It takes a long time for energy systems to go from testing to full-scale deployment,” he said.
5. It has military implications
The applications of this discovery — like the experiment itself — go well beyond peacetime.
While the ultimate implications of this test are a milestone on the road to clean energy, the “more immediate” implications were military, said Marvin Adams, deputy administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration.
So are the program’s roots: The National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory uses extremely powerful lasers to “ignite” hydrogen and cause a self-sustaining explosion — a system developed in part to test advanced nuclear weapons without having to detonate an entire bomb.
“You start with a little spark, and then the spark gets bigger and bigger and bigger, and then the burn propagates through,” physicist Riccardo Betti of University of Rochester told public radio station WBUR.
This is a tiny-scale version of the same process used to kick off a hydrogen or “thermonuclear” bomb — which uses fusion power to release 1,000 times as much energy as the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, Time reported.
Fusion reactors don’t contain nearly enough fuel to produce that kind of explosion — and a thermonuclear bomb requires a separate atomic explosion to trigger ignition, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
But U.S. officials hinted at military applications. Fusion is “an essential process in modern nuclear weapons” and a milestone like this one was a strong argument for American military power, Adams noted.
The successful test demonstrates America’s “world-leading expertise in weapons-relevant technologies” while continuing “to show our allies that we know what we’re doing,” Adams said.
|
https://www.ktsm.com/hill-politics/five-takeaways-from-the-fusion-energy-breakthrough/
| 2022-12-14T01:18:42
|
en
| 0.944404
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/cf/boston-college-eagles-football/articles/41845867
| 2022-12-14T01:18:43
|
en
| 0.738227
|
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Bitterly cold temperatures have settled into New Mexico behind a strong winter storm. Wind chills will be in the teens and single digits by Wednesday morning.
Drier air started moving back into New Mexico Tuesday. Spotty snow showers have still developed today though across the northern mountains, in western New Mexico, and down the central mountain chain from the Sandias to the Sacramento Mountains. All of the lingering snow will come to an end late tonight as skies clear and temperatures plummet to the coldest they’ve been this season. Winds will die down for some overnight, but remain breezy along and east of the central mountains into eastern New Mexico. This will bring bitterly cold wind chills Wednesday morning.
Weather Information
Temperatures are going to remain below average through the rest of this week and into the weekend. While the wind chill will remain very cold Wednesday afternoon, Lighter winds Thursday will bring some relief from the bitterly cold wind chills, however, air temperatures will still remain cool even with abundant sunshine.
Temperatures do start warming slowly this weekend. Highs will eventually make it back up to around average for the middle of December by Monday.
|
https://www.krqe.com/weather/video-forecast/bitterly-cold-weather-continues/
| 2022-12-14T01:18:43
|
en
| 0.93929
|
House GOP leadership is urging Republicans to vote against a short-term government funding bill lawmakers are hoping to quickly pass ahead of a looming shutdown deadline.
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise’s (R-La.) office sent out a notice to members on Tuesday evening recommending a “no” vote on the stopgap funding bill unveiled earlier Tuesday that leaders are expected to bring to the floor this week.
“Once again, House Democrats failed to meet the fundamental duty of funding the government despite spending most of the year passing trillions in wasteful spending that has fueled inflation and driven up our debt,” the notice said.
“This one-week continuing resolution is an attempt to buy additional time for a massive lame-duck spending bill in which House Republicans have had no seat at the negotiating table,” the notice added.
Funding runs out on Friday at midnight, and the stopgap bill would keep the government running through Dec. 23 while negotiators try to hash out funding for a larger omnibus spending package.
Republicans pushing for the shutdown deadline to be punted through next month say it’s necessary to allow the incoming GOP-led House more say in how the government should be funded. But other Republicans have pressed for an omnibus to be enacted sooner to ensure adequate funding for defense and national security.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters on Tuesday that lawmakers are “very close” to a bipartisan deal on an omnibus this month.
“I think we’re very close to getting an omnibus appropriations bill,” McConnell said while also setting the timeline for passage by Dec. 22.
|
https://www.ktsm.com/hill-politics/house-gop-pushes-members-to-vote-against-short-term-funding-bill/
| 2022-12-14T01:18:48
|
en
| 0.944331
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/nfl/miami-dolphins/articles/41862566
| 2022-12-14T01:18:49
|
en
| 0.738227
|
Online attacks against LGBTQ people have skyrocketed in recent months, rising in lockstep with proposed policies seeking to roll back LGBTQ rights and culminating in real-world violence. A House committee is set to investigate the connection on Wednesday in a first-of-its kind hearing.
“Violence against LGBTQ+ people is on the rise, and has been for years,” Olivia Hunt, policy director for the National Center for Transgender Equality, said in an emailed statement. “From bomb threats and intimidation tactics targeting hospitals and churches to attacks like the shooting at Club Q, LGBTQ+ people nationwide are living under the threat of violence.”
Last month, a 22-year-old carried a rifle into Club Q, an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colo., and opened fire, killing five people and injuring more than a dozen others. The alleged shooter, Anderson Lee Aldrich, is suspected to have ties to an extremist “free speech” website that aims to “cleanse” society, according to NBC News.
“You’re seeing that kind of hate speech becoming more and more prevalent online,” Colorado state Sen. Dominick Moreno (D) told The Hill. “Social media channels obviously make it easier to distribute, but I think they also intensify the vitriol because you can say anything you want behind the veneer of a computer screen.”
Hunt, who is scheduled to testify in Wednesday’s House and Reform Oversight Committee hearing, said it is critical for Congress to “shine a bright light” on rising violence against the LGBTQ community and make clear that recent attacks have been fueled by the harmful rhetoric and policies of right-wing leaders.
“I wish this hearing wasn’t necessary, but as long as extremists are targeting our community, we have to respond loudly with the truth and demonstrate how the dangerous environment for LGBTQ+ Americans is a consequence of their actions,” she said.
Inflammatory and false rhetoric
An August report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate and the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy group, found that inflammatory rhetoric aimed at LGBTQ people flourished during the first half of 2022 on mainstream social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter, which recently relaxed its hateful conduct policies under new owner Elon Musk and allowed scores of suspended users to return to the site.
The same report found that social media posts comparing LGBTQ people to “groomers” and “pedophiles” surged by more than 400 percent after a Florida education law barring teachers from engaging in classroom instruction related to sexual orientation or gender identity was passed.
In March, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) then-press secretary Christina Pushaw said in a tweet the measure — known to its critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill — would be more aptly described as the “Anti-Grooming Bill” and that anyone opposed to the legislation is “probably a groomer.”
Accusations of child “grooming” have been hurled online at prominent LGBTQ figures and elected officials in droves this year, though the consequences of claims made on a virtual plane are spilling into the real world.
San Francisco police earlier this month were dispatched to the home of California state Sen. Scott Wiener to investigate an emailed death threat that called Wiener, who is openly gay, a “pedophile” and a “groomer.”
Wiener in a statement said the threat, which police later determined to be meritless, was the result of false accusations made by GOP officials and conservative media personalities that he was “grooming” children for sexual exploitation.
Wiener is the author of several pro-LGBTQ bills, including one measure that blocks states from prosecuting or investigating the families of transgender youth that travel to California to obtain gender-affirming health care.
Attacks on gender-affirming care
Threats of violence similar to Wiener’s have been made against children’s hospitals that provide gender-affirming medical care to transgender minors. Lawmakers in more than a dozen states this year introduced measures to heavily restrict or ban such care for youth and young adults, accusing physicians of “mutilating” children.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) in August introduced federal legislation seeking to make providing gender-affirming medical care to transgender minors a felony, punishable by up 25 years in prison.
Greene during an appearance on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” where she announced her bill said gender-affirming care is “disgusting and appalling” and equated it to child abuse.
“This needs to be illegal,” she said.
Under standards set by the World Professional Association of Transgender Health and the Endocrine Society, gender-affirming treatment for minors that have already started puberty typically involves puberty blockers or hormones that have been prescribed by a licensed physician.
Surgery is not recommended for youth under 18, and the only acceptable treatment for prepubescent children is social transition. Gender-affirming health care for transgender people of all ages is supported by most accredited medical organizations.
During November’s midterm elections, Republican candidates funneled millions into campaign ads that propagated false or misleading information about gender-affirming health care for youth and targeted transgender athletes.
“The radical left will destroy children if we don’t stop them,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) says in one social media ad, which features footage of a Drag Queen Story Hour event. “They indoctrinate children; try to turn boys into girls.”
Anti-LBGTQ state legislation
Drag events for youth have recently drawn the ire of GOP leaders, and several bills seeking to ban them have already been pre-filed ahead of the 2023 legislative session by lawmakers in Tennessee, Texas and others.
In October, more than 30 House Republicans signed on to a measure seeking to block federal funds from being used to make “sexually-oriented” materials — including those that feature “any topic” related to sexual orientation or gender identity — available to children under the age of 10.
The measure’s primary sponsor, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), in a news release said the bill — titled the Stop the Sexualization of Children Act — will put an end to a “misguided crusade” led by Democrats to expose the nation’s children to “sexual imagery and radical gender ideology.”
Such language has galvanized far-right and extremist groups like the Proud Boys, whose members have led dozens of armed protests at family-friendly drag shows and other LGBTQ youth programs across the country, often in the name of protecting children from “groomers.”
In June, authorities in Northern California launched a hate crime investigation after a children’s story hour was disrupted by protesters that hurled anti-LGBTQ slurs at a drag performer. In November, an Oklahoma doughnut shop was firebombed after hosting a drag event. Organizers of an upcoming holiday-themed drag brunch in Jacksonville, Fla., say they are reconsidering holding the event at all after receiving multiple threats from Proud Boys members.
Moreno, the Colorado state senator, said he doesn’t engage much with his critics on social media anymore. Sometimes, he’ll extend an invitation for a cup of coffee. More often than not, he said, both parties are able to come to a point of mutual respect.
|
https://www.ktsm.com/hill-politics/house-panel-to-examine-links-between-anti-lgbtq-rhetoric-attacks-on-community/
| 2022-12-14T01:18:54
|
en
| 0.957348
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/nfl/miami-dolphins/articles/41862744
| 2022-12-14T01:18:55
|
en
| 0.738227
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/nfl/miami-dolphins/articles/41862749
| 2022-12-14T01:19:01
|
en
| 0.738227
|
The Biden administration is hosting a summit this week that brings together leaders of 49 African countries, as well as heads of the African Union, to collaborate on key policy across climate change, security and trade.
Vice President Harris opened the three-day summit on Tuesday at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, where she discussed the African diaspora and young African leaders.
President Biden is expected to join the summit on Wednesday and deliver remarks on the U.S.-Africa Business Forum.
While a significant majority of African nations joined the summit this week, five were not invited.
A senior White House official this week said four of those countries — Guinea, Sudan, Mali and Burkina Faso — have changed their governments unconstitutionally and were suspended from the African Union.
Here are the five African nations that weren’t invited to Biden’s summit:
Guinea
The ruling government in Guinea was seized by a military junta in September 2021 and is now led by Col. Mamady Doumbouya.
The military junta overthrew President Alpha Condé, who had won a controversial third term for office despite term limits, which he claimed did not apply to him.
Doumbouya agreed in October to hold new elections in about two years.
Sudan
Sudanese Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan toppled the government in October 2021, taking power during the northeast African nation’s transition to a democracy after three decades of authoritarian rule.
Sudan’s military leadership announced this month the first phase of an agreement to transition to a democracy, but some political groups have rejected the framework, and discussions are ongoing.
Millions of people in Sudan are in dire need of humanitarian assistance, a crisis that grew worse after the coup. Civilian demonstrators also frequently clash with security forces.
Mali
Col. Assimi Goïta seized power in Mali two years ago after leading a coup against the government.
He failed to transition the West African country into new democratic elections and has become a pariah to the international world.
Mali also recently rejected help from French humanitarian groups, affecting hundreds of thousands of Malians who are in need of emergency food and medical assistance.
Earlier this year, France, which had fought Islamic terrorist groups for nine years in Mali, completed a withdrawal of troops from the country.
Russian mercenaries in Mali have also been accused of murdering civilians in a growing concern for world leaders.
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso, located in West Africa, is in a dire humanitarian situation after suffering from two coups in less than nine months.
Troops in September ousted the ruling military leader, Lt. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who had won control of the country through a January coup.
A militia leader appointed to replace him said Damiba had not done enough to control violence in Burkina Faso.
More than 3,200 people have died in the African country from January to September, and nearly 5 million are in need of emergency assistance.
Some women and children have been eating leaves and salt for weeks, the United Nations said in October.
Eritrea
The U.S. does not have formal ties with Eritrea, a country located in the Horn of Africa in the eastern region of the continent, so the nation’s leaders were not invited.
Eritrea has also been providing military support to neighboring Ethiopia, which is in the midst of a civil war against an opposing political faction in the region of Tigray.
Eritrean troops are accused of the kidnapping, looting and murder of civilians in Tigray, and the U.S. has called for the Eritrean soldiers to withdraw from the conflict.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
|
https://www.ktsm.com/hill-politics/these-five-african-countries-were-not-invited-to-bidens-summit/
| 2022-12-14T01:19:00
|
en
| 0.977375
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/nfl/miami-dolphins/articles/41862842
| 2022-12-14T01:19:07
|
en
| 0.738227
|
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Court documents obtained by KXAN reveal new details related to the University of Texas men’s basketball coach Chris Beard’s arrest early Monday morning, including allegations that he choked his fiancée.
The woman told police after they arrived at a home on Vista Lane that she and Beard had been having relationship issues and had been upset with each other for several days. She said verbal arguments turned physical and that “he just snapped on me and became super violent,” per the court affidavit. KXAN reached out to Beard’s attorneys and asked for a statement as he left jail Monday, but he did not respond. We will update this story when we receive one.
The woman attributed a bite mark on her right forearm, a cut to her right eyebrow and temple, a scrape to her left leg and cut to her left thumb to Beard, per the documents.
The woman said Beard “choked me, threw me off the bed, bit me, bruises all over my leg, throwing me around, and going nuts,” per the affidavit. “I could not breathe,” she described later in the affidavit.
She said she couldn’t breathe, motioning and telling police he had allegedly laid an arm across her neck while behind her, the affidavit described.
His fiancée told police Beard had been mad at her and hadn’t been speaking to her. When she went to check in on him in their guest room, she found him sitting on the bed and twirling his reading glasses. She told police she became frustrated, took Beard’s glasses and broke them before returning to their bedroom.
She said Beard then came into their bedroom and was upset about his broken glasses, per the affidavit. She told police she offered to buy him a new pair before he allegedly slapped the glasses she was wearing off her face, according to court documents.
She tried finding her glasses and said she was thrown from the bed onto the floor, which injured her leg. She then said she was “attempting to gather her bearings because she was unable to see without her glasses” when Beard choked her with his arm for “probably like five seconds.”
His fiancée then said Beard threw her onto the bed and “moved his face within inches of her face” before letting go, per the affidavit. When the officer asked her what she thought made Beard stop, she said, “I don’t know, he just let go.”
When police interviewed Beard at their home, Beard said he had audio recordings of the incident that showed he wasn’t the “primary aggressor,” per court documents. When asked if he’d share those recordings with law enforcement, he declined.
|
https://www.ktsm.com/news/affidavit-details-ut-basketball-coach-chris-beards-alleged-assault-against-fiancee/
| 2022-12-14T01:19:07
|
en
| 0.991373
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/nfl/miami-dolphins/articles/41863057
| 2022-12-14T01:19:13
|
en
| 0.738227
|
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Patients at Providence Children’s Hospital in El Paso got to design their own piece of customized jewelry.
It was part of the Kendra Cares event from the Kendra Scott team.
Patients and families said they enjoyed the “magic” of making their own piece of designer jewelry and smiles were seen as they wore their colorful new bling.
“Kendra Scott was founded on family, fashion and philanthropy, and philanthropy being a huge part of who we are, we believe that the purest form of success is giving back and that is why we are here today,” Iliana Silva, marketing and philanthropic manager for Kendra Scott.
The Kendra Scott team hopes to continue this event for many years to come.
|
https://www.ktsm.com/news/hospital-patients-discover-magic-of-making-their-own-jewelry-during-kendra-scott-event/
| 2022-12-14T01:19:13
|
en
| 0.977731
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/nfl/miami-dolphins/articles/41863102
| 2022-12-14T01:19:19
|
en
| 0.738227
|
FOLSOM, La. (WGNO) — A family dog is being hailed a hero after he protected two young girls who had gotten lost in the woods behind their Louisiana home.
It happened Monday evening in the Village of Folsom, which is located north of Lake Pontchartrain and New Orleans.
Seven-year-old Abigail Bourg and her sister, 4-year-old Cecelia Bourg, were playing in their backyard when their Golden Retriever, Artemis, ran into the woods. The girls followed and eventually got lost.
“It’s feelings that no parent wants to go through, it was just a rollercoaster of emotions,” said the girls’ mother, Mary Bourg.
The community quickly rallied together. Over 100 volunteers searched the area as well as local law enforcement who deployed ATVs and helicopters.
“Everyone in this community dropped what they were doing and just on the spot – it didn’t matter, they were there for us,” said Mary.
In the end, it was Artemis barking, alerting anyone close by of where they were. The girls and dog were found around 9:30 p.m.
“He also tried to bark at the helicopter,” said Abigail. “He was trying to get help anywhere, let anyone know where y’all were!” added Mary.
It was a surreal moment the second the kids were reunited with their family.
“One thing I can say, the movies got right,” said the girls’ father, Justin Bourg.
As a token of their appreciation, Artemis was fed a special steak dinner. The family says they are holding on to each other – and their dog – a little tighter at night.
|
https://www.ktsm.com/news/national-news/family-dog-hailed-a-hero-after-protecting-two-young-girls-in-louisiana-woods/
| 2022-12-14T01:19:19
|
en
| 0.991584
|
KSNF/KODE — Each year, you decorate a gorgeous evergreen with lights, Christmas ornaments, ribbon, tinsel, and other items that bring on the holiday spirit. But have you ever stopped to wonder why you have a “baby’s first Christmas” ornament or “our first Christmas” ornament” displayed on your tree? More than likely, the answer is no. You’ve grown up with this tradition, and you hold it dear, but you’re not sure why it exists. Here’s a brief history of Christmas trees and the ornaments they hold.
The Origin of Christmas Trees
Before we can discuss ornaments, we must first address the modern Christmas tree tradition, which is thought to have originated in 16th-century Germany. Small evergreen trees would be decorated with candles, apples, nuts, and berries. In Church plays, they were often referred to as “paradise trees.”
-It wasn’t long before devout Christians began to integrate these trees into their homes during the Christmas season. This tradition became a Christian ritual, and it quickly spread from Germany alone to most of Europe. It took longer to catch on in America where Puritanical religious groups rejected the trees for their historically pagan connotations. Still, small communities of German-born settlers continued to carry this practice into the 1700s and 1800s.
In the 1840s, Americans finally began to adopt the tradition after seeing the favorable Queen Victoria and her family (including German-born Prince Albert) celebrating with a Christmas tree.
At this point, however, Christmas ornaments hadn’t caught on yet.
The Popularization of Christmas Ornaments
Like the Christmas tree, Christmas ornaments originated in Germany. Hans Greiner began to make glass Christmas ornaments called baubles during the 1800s. These were the first manufactured Christmas ornaments, and they were a huge commercial success. As soon as businesses saw how much potential commercial success Christmas ornaments had, a mass marketing campaign began.
In the 1890’s, Woolworth’s Department Store in the U.S. sold more than $25 million in German-imported ornaments made of lead and hand-blown glass each year. Soon, other countries wanted a piece of the pie. Japan and Eastern European countries were mass-producing glass Christmas ornaments to compete with Germany.
In 1973, Hallmark introduced a line of “Keepsake” ornaments that gave Christmas ornaments collectible value. Now, many people will use Christmas ornaments to mark time. For example, you may see ornaments for each year of marriage or a child’s first Christmas.
| Joplin Woman Has Collected Over 300 “Hallmark” Ornaments >
Today, Christmas ornaments may be woven, blown from glass or plastic, molded from porcelain or metal, or carved from wood or expanded polystyrene. They’re created to last and be used year after year. Most people’s collections contain a combination of commercially produced ornaments and items created by family members.
Today’s Favorite Christmas Ornaments
People collect Christmas ornaments all year long, throughout their entire lives to display at Christmas (and sometimes all year around). Whether you’re on vacation or looking for a baby gift, a Christmas ornament is a unique way to remember an event.
If you’re just starting to collect ornaments for your Christmas tree, you’ll find some great ideas, HERE, including everything from dazzling mouth-blown glass ornaments to elegant handmade porcelain collectible ornaments.
|
https://www.ktsm.com/news/the-evolution-of-christmas-trees-and-ornaments/
| 2022-12-14T01:19:25
|
en
| 0.944306
|
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KTSM) – One of the most legendary high school football figures in the state of New Mexico has decided to hang up the whistle.
Michael Bradley, who coached Mayfield to three state championships and four runner-up finishes in 17 seasons with the Trojans, retired on Tuesday in ceremony in Las Cruces attended by family and friends.
“I’ve ran the course. I’ve done all I can. I’ve coached a ton of young men and I think it’s time for me to bow out and for somebody else to come in and take over the reins, maybe someone who has more energy than me at this point,” Bradley said.
It’s an announcement that Bradley had been thinking about for the last few years and after wrapping up the 2022 season, Bradley decided the time was finally right.
Bradley, 59, compiled a record of 139-61 in his 17 seasons with the Trojans; he took over for his father, Jim Bradley, after the Trojans won it all in 2005 and promptly led Mayfield to state titles in 2006, 2007 and 2010. Bradley said at his retirement that the 2010 team was his favorite that he ever coached.
Between Michael and his father, Jim, the Bradley family has been in charge of the Mayfield football team for over 30 years.
Bradley was named the New Mexico Coach of the Year by KRQE in 2010 and was inducted into the New Mexico Hall of Honor in 2019.
“I’d like to have some free time, just like anybody that wants to retire and move forward. I’m always going to be around, but it’s time for someone else to take the reins,” Bradley said.
Mayfield went 5-7 in Bradley’s final season at the helm in 2022, losing to Piedra Vista in the Class 5A State Quarterfinals. Redistricting and the addition of other schools in Las Cruces has dramatically affected the Trojans’ success in the last decade.
Mayfield will conduct a coaching search to find the next man for the job, but it’s possible that a member of the Bradley family will stay in charge of the Trojans.
Michael’s brother, Gary, served as Mayfield’s offensive coordinator in 2022 after coming over from Carlsbad, where he was the head coach.
Bradley said he didn’t have any big plans yet, though he does hope to stay around the game in some capacity. Relaxation will also be a key.
“Where I’d really like to be is at the lake,” Bradley said with a laugh. “I picture going to some games next year and wean myself away eventually, but I’ve got to find something else to do.”
|
https://www.ktsm.com/sports/high-school-sports/michael-bradley-retires-after-17-seasons-as-mayfield-head-football-coach/
| 2022-12-14T01:19:31
|
en
| 0.984265
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/cf/lsu-tigers-football/articles/41851613
| 2022-12-14T01:19:37
|
en
| 0.738227
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/cf/lsu-tigers-football/articles/41861701
| 2022-12-14T01:19:43
|
en
| 0.738227
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/cf/lsu-tigers-football/articles/41862076
| 2022-12-14T01:19:49
|
en
| 0.738227
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/cf/lsu-tigers-football/articles/41862349
| 2022-12-14T01:19:55
|
en
| 0.738227
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/cf/lsu-tigers-football/articles/41862714
| 2022-12-14T01:20:01
|
en
| 0.738227
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/articles/41862462
| 2022-12-14T01:20:07
|
en
| 0.738227
|
Chulmleigh Table Tennis Club enjoying a friendly match to assist new and experienced members for North Devon league play. Kevin Davies, the coach and secretary said: "It's great to welcome players to our venue at the playing fields in Chulmleigh - the lighting is excellent, the underfloor heating works beautifully and we have a super break-out area with a well equipped kitchen to serve refreshments.
"The facility is proving so popular than a second hall is planned for construction shortly. The community have been busy raising funds and S106 monies from North Devon Council have been agreed. CTTC raised £260.85 at their coffee morning in the Town Hall and this has been handed to the CPFA chairman Andrew Mosedale. A big thank you to all our members for helping.
CTTC recently held their annual Christmas dinner, which included various presentations, a mini-ping tournament and auction, and also the 2022 Clarke Brothers Handicap Trophy. It raised £128.50 and Rob won the mini ping pong competition.
CTTC hold their club night on Monday evenings from 7 - 9pm at the Chulmleigh Playing Fields Pavilion. All ages and abilities are welcome. For those wishing to compete, we have three teams in the North Devon Table Tennis League. If you are interested in joining the club please contact the coach & secretary Kevin Davies Tel: 01769 581416 or 01769581765.
|
https://www.devonlive.com/sport/busy-christmas-chulmleigh-table-tennis-7927290
| 2022-12-14T01:20:51
|
en
| 0.962198
|
By JOHN RABY
Associated Press
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Three reporters from a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper in West Virginia say they have been fired after publicly criticizing an interview conducted by their company president with a former coal executive who was convicted of a safety violation in connection with the worst U.S. mine disaster in decades.
Charleston Gazette-Mail reporters Caity Coyne, Lacie Pierson and Ryan Quinn said Tuesday that they were fired due to their comments on Twitter about the video interview, now removed from the paper’s website, with former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship.
Quinn said no specific policy was cited. “The person who fired me said it was because I had publicly hurt the company on social media,” he said.
Pierson said she was told “it was insubordination that we committed on social media” and “that was something they couldn’t accept.”
In separate interviews, the three reporters said they did not receive invitations to a staff meeting with other reporters and editors Monday, several days after the interview was posted. Instead, they said they were diverted to an upstairs conference room, where they were fired one-by-one behind closed doors.
HD Media President Doug Skaff, who hosted the interview with Blankenship, did not return a telephone message or an email seeking comment Tuesday.
The “Outside The Echo Chamber” feature is posted regularly on the Gazette-Mail’s website and hosted by Skaff, who also is a Democratic member of the state House of Delegates and the chamber’s minority leader.
Last week the newspaper posted the interview with Blankenship, whose former company owned the Upper Big Branch mine where a 2010 explosion killed 29 men in southern West Virginia. Blankenship was convicted in 2015 of a misdemeanor for conspiring to violate mine safety laws and was sentenced to one year in federal prison.
In 2018, Blankenship ran for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Joe Manchin, portraying himself during the campaign as “Trumpier than Trump.” Blankenship lost in the Republican primary, and Manchin eventually won re-election.
In the interview, Skaff is joined by a former television reporter in asking Blankenship about the Republican-dominated legislature, the coal industry, the mine explosion and the 2018 and 2024 elections.
In response to a question about the dwindling coal industry, Blankenship calls climate change “an absolute hoax.” The comment goes unrebutted, even though scientists say their confidence in the fact that global temperatures are rising and that the increase is caused by human activity is equivalent to the scientific certainty that cigarette smoking is deadly.
Blankenship also is asked to promote his 2020 book about the mine disaster, in which he repeats his claims of innocence and blames the administration of then-President Barack Obama.
Investigations found that worn and broken cutting equipment created a spark that ignited accumulations of coal dust and methane gas. Broken and clogged water sprayers allowed what should have been a minor flare-up to become an inferno.
In concluding the interview, Skaff tells Blankenship: “Thanks for what you did for the community down there. I know your heart’s in the right place. And you want to see southern West Virginia built back to the best that they can.”
It’s unclear why the interview was removed from the website.
Quinn first fired out a series of tweets Dec. 8 that Pierson and Coyne supported in protest of giving Blankenship a podium without the chance for journalists to ask follow-up questions.
“Today I’m announcing my candidacy for any job in the world,” Pierson, the newspaper’s Statehouse and politics reporter, wrote on Twitter after her firing. “I’m joining Caity and Ryan as having spoken our principles and living to tell the tale after being fired for our tweets.”
“We understand the need to draw eyes to the website on the business end of news,” Pierson also wrote, “but stunts like this erode the integrity and credibility of the whole Gazette-Mail.
“This choice mostly hurts staff writers, who had no say in this decision, or a lot of decisions for that matter.”
In April 2017, then-Gazette-Mail reporter Eric Eyre won a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting on the opioid crisis. HD Media bought the paper at a bankruptcy auction in 2018, and Eyre no longer works there.
In addition to the opioid crisis, the Gazette-Mail extensively covered the mine explosion, its aftermath and the federal government’s prosecution of Blankenship.
“I don’t have the words for how screwed up this is,” Coyne, the paper’s now-former health reporter, said of the interview. “I’ve met families whose loved ones died in UBB. I’ve watched them cry as they remember their relatives and their fight for answers after the disaster. Who cares where Blankenship’s heart lies. What a slap in the face to them.”
Coyne had previously announced she was leaving the paper for a new job in January.
Quinn, who was the newspaper’s education reporter, had told management last month that he was planning to leave. Instead, he said, he was offered a raise to be an investigative reporter.
Then the Blankenship interview happened.
“I’m all for giving everyone a say etc. but there was no news value to this,” Quinn wrote. “Embarrassing.”
Kayla Young, another Democrat in the state House of Delegates, said Tuesday on Twitter that she doesn’t support giving Blankenship a chance to air his opinions. She also said there’s a conflict of interest for Skaff hosting a news media show and that she has spoken to him about her feelings.
“Something’s got to give,” Young said. “We as a community are worse off to lose reporters who sincerely care about their work and we will be less informed as a result.”
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
|
https://wtmj.com/ap-news/2022/12/13/3-wva-reporters-who-condemned-interview-of-ex-coal-ceo-fired-2/
| 2022-12-14T01:20:59
|
en
| 0.976994
|
By GRAHAM DUNBAR
AP Sports Writer
LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) — With surging runs and a striker’s instinct, Julián Álvarez carried Argentina into another World Cup final.
Lionel Messi and the 22-year-old Álvarez were a pair of 5-feet-6 (1.70-meter) predators in a partnership that put to rest any hopes Croatia had of reaching back-to-back finals.
The younger of the pair rose to the challenge on soccer’s biggest stage with a huge performance on Tuesday, earning a penalty kick converted by the 35-year-old Messi before scoring twice to maybe even outshine his teammate — one of the greatest players the game has ever seen — in a 3-0 victory at Lusail Stadium.
Álvarez became the youngest player to score twice in a World Cup semifinal match since a 17-year-old Pele scored a hat trick for Brazil in 1958.
No wonder Messi held Álvarez in a playful headlock after his first goal and hugged him hard after the second.
“The match from Julian was excellent, not only because he scored two goals, but because he helped our midfielders,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. ”He showcased an excellent game for his age.”
A tight-fought first half-hour was entirely turned upside down by Álvarez’s runs, barreling at speed into and through challenges in a devastating five-minute spell. When it was over, Croatia’s players had been left strewn behind him on the turf, trailing by two goals, with their hopes of another World Cup final in ruins.
Instead, Argentina gave Messi a second chance to play for a World Cup title. He and his teammates lost to Germany in the 2014 final.
Until Álvarez changed the game, Croatia controlled much of the play with its usual neat passing in and around midfield, leaving Argentina’s attack little to work with.
Álvarez was suddenly alert to creating danger when Croatia midfielder Luka Modrić got in a tangle and the ball came loose for Enzo Fernández to loop a high pass over the defense.
Álvarez was quickly clear and bearing down on goalkeeper Dominik Livaković, an imposing figure at any time and yet more so rushing from his goal. Although a deft shot past Livaković did not reach the goal, Álvarez drew a foul from the hard contact to earn the penalty which Messi converted.
Minutes later, Álvarez sparked to life when Argentina cleared a Croatia corner, took the ball in his stride just before halfway and ran directly at the defense. The surging run seemed to surprise Croatia’s fullbacks as first Josip Juranović and then Borna Sosa fell backwards while taking wild swipes at the ball as Álvarez ran through them and once more at Livaković.
This time, the Croatia keeper stayed back and Álvarez lashed his shot into the net from close range with a momentum that took him over Livaković’s body.
Álvarez ran toward the corner to celebrate and Messi chased him down, grabbing him a headlock like a playful big brother.
The pair teamed up again in the 69th minute, needing only each other to pass five defenders, mostly because of Messi’s intricate dribble to the endline for a pass into Álvarez’s path for a simple finish.
Messi joined Kylian Mbappé with a tournament-leading five goals. Mbappé will get a chance for more on Wednesday when France plays Morocco in the other semifinal match.
Álvarez now has four goals — not bad for a player who didn’t even make the starting lineup until Argentina’s third game in the group stage.
He will surely be by Messi’s side again on Sunday when they return to Lusail Stadium for the final.
___
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
|
https://wtmj.com/national/2022/12/13/alvarez-surges-scores-carries-argentina-to-world-cup-final-3/
| 2022-12-14T01:21:05
|
en
| 0.968418
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/articles/41862500
| 2022-12-14T01:21:10
|
en
| 0.738227
|
By GRAHAM DUNBAR
AP Sports Writer
LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) — With surging runs and a striker’s instinct, Julián Álvarez carried Argentina into another World Cup final.
Lionel Messi and the 22-year-old Álvarez were a pair of 5-feet-6 (1.70-meter) predators in a partnership that put to rest any hopes Croatia had of reaching back-to-back finals.
The younger of the pair rose to the challenge on soccer’s biggest stage with a huge performance on Tuesday, earning a penalty kick converted by the 35-year-old Messi before scoring twice to maybe even outshine his teammate — one of the greatest players the game has ever seen — in a 3-0 victory at Lusail Stadium.
Álvarez became the youngest player to score twice in a World Cup semifinal match since a 17-year-old Pele scored a hat trick for Brazil in 1958.
No wonder Messi held Álvarez in a playful headlock after his first goal and hugged him hard after the second.
“The match from Julian was excellent, not only because he scored two goals, but because he helped our midfielders,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. ”He showcased an excellent game for his age.”
A tight-fought first half-hour was entirely turned upside down by Álvarez’s runs, barreling at speed into and through challenges in a devastating five-minute spell. When it was over, Croatia’s players had been left strewn behind him on the turf, trailing by two goals, with their hopes of another World Cup final in ruins.
Instead, Argentina gave Messi a second chance to play for a World Cup title. He and his teammates lost to Germany in the 2014 final.
Until Álvarez changed the game, Croatia controlled much of the play with its usual neat passing in and around midfield, leaving Argentina’s attack little to work with.
Álvarez was suddenly alert to creating danger when Croatia midfielder Luka Modrić got in a tangle and the ball came loose for Enzo Fernández to loop a high pass over the defense.
Álvarez was quickly clear and bearing down on goalkeeper Dominik Livaković, an imposing figure at any time and yet more so rushing from his goal. Although a deft shot past Livaković did not reach the goal, Álvarez drew a foul from the hard contact to earn the penalty which Messi converted.
Minutes later, Álvarez sparked to life when Argentina cleared a Croatia corner, took the ball in his stride just before halfway and ran directly at the defense. The surging run seemed to surprise Croatia’s fullbacks as first Josip Juranović and then Borna Sosa fell backwards while taking wild swipes at the ball as Álvarez ran through them and once more at Livaković.
This time, the Croatia keeper stayed back and Álvarez lashed his shot into the net from close range with a momentum that took him over Livaković’s body.
Álvarez ran toward the corner to celebrate and Messi chased him down, grabbing him a headlock like a playful big brother.
The pair teamed up again in the 69th minute, needing only each other to pass five defenders, mostly because of Messi’s intricate dribble to the endline for a pass into Álvarez’s path for a simple finish.
Messi joined Kylian Mbappé with a tournament-leading five goals. Mbappé will get a chance for more on Wednesday when France plays Morocco in the other semifinal match.
Álvarez now has four goals — not bad for a player who didn’t even make the starting lineup until Argentina’s third game in the group stage.
He will surely be by Messi’s side again on Sunday when they return to Lusail Stadium for the final.
___
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
|
https://wtmj.com/sports/2022/12/13/alvarez-surges-scores-carries-argentina-to-world-cup-final-4/
| 2022-12-14T01:21:12
|
en
| 0.968418
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/articles/41862689
| 2022-12-14T01:21:16
|
en
| 0.738227
|
By GRAHAM DUNBAR
AP Sports Writer
LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) — With surging runs and a striker’s instinct, Julián Álvarez carried Argentina into another World Cup final.
Lionel Messi and the 22-year-old Álvarez were a pair of 5-feet-6 (1.70-meter) predators in a partnership that put to rest any hopes Croatia had of reaching back-to-back finals.
The younger of the pair rose to the challenge on soccer’s biggest stage with a huge performance on Tuesday, earning a penalty kick converted by the 35-year-old Messi before scoring twice to maybe even outshine his teammate — one of the greatest players the game has ever seen — in a 3-0 victory at Lusail Stadium.
Álvarez became the youngest player to score twice in a World Cup semifinal match since a 17-year-old Pele scored a hat trick for Brazil in 1958.
No wonder Messi held Álvarez in a playful headlock after his first goal and hugged him hard after the second.
“The match from Julian was excellent, not only because he scored two goals, but because he helped our midfielders,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. ”He showcased an excellent game for his age.”
A tight-fought first half-hour was entirely turned upside down by Álvarez’s runs, barreling at speed into and through challenges in a devastating five-minute spell. When it was over, Croatia’s players had been left strewn behind him on the turf, trailing by two goals, with their hopes of another World Cup final in ruins.
Instead, Argentina gave Messi a second chance to play for a World Cup title. He and his teammates lost to Germany in the 2014 final.
Until Álvarez changed the game, Croatia controlled much of the play with its usual neat passing in and around midfield, leaving Argentina’s attack little to work with.
Álvarez was suddenly alert to creating danger when Croatia midfielder Luka Modrić got in a tangle and the ball came loose for Enzo Fernández to loop a high pass over the defense.
Álvarez was quickly clear and bearing down on goalkeeper Dominik Livaković, an imposing figure at any time and yet more so rushing from his goal. Although a deft shot past Livaković did not reach the goal, Álvarez drew a foul from the hard contact to earn the penalty which Messi converted.
Minutes later, Álvarez sparked to life when Argentina cleared a Croatia corner, took the ball in his stride just before halfway and ran directly at the defense. The surging run seemed to surprise Croatia’s fullbacks as first Josip Juranović and then Borna Sosa fell backwards while taking wild swipes at the ball as Álvarez ran through them and once more at Livaković.
This time, the Croatia keeper stayed back and Álvarez lashed his shot into the net from close range with a momentum that took him over Livaković’s body.
“It was a nice goal,” Álvarez said. “I don’t usually run with the ball a lot but the situation presented itself.”
Álvarez ran toward the corner to celebrate and Messi chased him down, grabbing him a headlock like a playful big brother.
The pair teamed up again in the 69th minute, needing only each other to pass five defenders, mostly because of Messi’s intricate dribble to the endline for a pass into Álvarez’s path for a simple finish.
Messi joined Kylian Mbappé with a tournament-leading five goals. Mbappé will get a chance for more on Wednesday when France plays Morocco in the other semifinal match.
Álvarez now has four goals — not bad for a player who didn’t even make the starting lineup until Argentina’s third game in the group stage.
He will surely be by Messi’s side again on Sunday when they return to Lusail Stadium for the final.
___
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
|
https://wtmj.com/national/2022/12/13/alvarez-surges-scores-carries-argentina-to-world-cup-final-5/
| 2022-12-14T01:21:18
|
en
| 0.969377
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/articles/41862703
| 2022-12-14T01:21:22
|
en
| 0.738227
|
By GRAHAM DUNBAR
AP Sports Writer
LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) — With surging runs and a striker’s instinct, Julián Álvarez carried Argentina into another World Cup final.
Lionel Messi and the 22-year-old Álvarez were a pair of 5-feet-6 (1.70-meter) predators in a partnership that put to rest any hopes Croatia had of reaching back-to-back finals.
The younger of the pair rose to the challenge on soccer’s biggest stage with a huge performance on Tuesday, earning a penalty kick converted by the 35-year-old Messi before scoring twice to maybe even outshine his teammate — one of the greatest players the game has ever seen — in a 3-0 victory at Lusail Stadium.
Álvarez became the youngest player to score twice in a World Cup semifinal match since a 17-year-old Pele scored a hat trick for Brazil in 1958.
No wonder Messi held Álvarez in a playful headlock after his first goal and hugged him hard after the second.
“The match from Julian was excellent, not only because he scored two goals, but because he helped our midfielders,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. ”He showcased an excellent game for his age.”
A tight-fought first half-hour was entirely turned upside down by Álvarez’s runs, barreling at speed into and through challenges in a devastating five-minute spell. When it was over, Croatia’s players had been left strewn behind him on the turf, trailing by two goals, with their hopes of another World Cup final in ruins.
Instead, Argentina gave Messi a second chance to play for a World Cup title. He and his teammates lost to Germany in the 2014 final.
Until Álvarez changed the game, Croatia controlled much of the play with its usual neat passing in and around midfield, leaving Argentina’s attack little to work with.
Álvarez was suddenly alert to creating danger when Croatia midfielder Luka Modrić got in a tangle and the ball came loose for Enzo Fernández to loop a high pass over the defense.
Álvarez was quickly clear and bearing down on goalkeeper Dominik Livaković, an imposing figure at any time and yet more so rushing from his goal. Although a deft shot past Livaković did not reach the goal, Álvarez drew a foul from the hard contact to earn the penalty which Messi converted.
Minutes later, Álvarez sparked to life when Argentina cleared a Croatia corner, took the ball in his stride just before halfway and ran directly at the defense. The surging run seemed to surprise Croatia’s fullbacks as first Josip Juranović and then Borna Sosa fell backwards while taking wild swipes at the ball as Álvarez ran through them and once more at Livaković.
This time, the Croatia keeper stayed back and Álvarez lashed his shot into the net from close range with a momentum that took him over Livaković’s body.
“It was a nice goal,” Álvarez said. “I don’t usually run with the ball a lot but the situation presented itself.”
Álvarez ran toward the corner to celebrate and Messi chased him down, grabbing him a headlock like a playful big brother.
The pair teamed up again in the 69th minute, needing only each other to pass five defenders, mostly because of Messi’s intricate dribble to the endline for a pass into Álvarez’s path for a simple finish.
Messi joined Kylian Mbappé with a tournament-leading five goals. Mbappé will get a chance for more on Wednesday when France plays Morocco in the other semifinal match.
Álvarez now has four goals — not bad for a player who didn’t even make the starting lineup until Argentina’s third game in the group stage.
He will surely be by Messi’s side again on Sunday when they return to Lusail Stadium for the final.
___
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
|
https://wtmj.com/sports/2022/12/13/alvarez-surges-scores-carries-argentina-to-world-cup-final-6/
| 2022-12-14T01:21:24
|
en
| 0.969377
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/nfl/pittsburgh-steelers/articles/41862505
| 2022-12-14T01:21:28
|
en
| 0.738227
|
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
https://wtmj.com/ap-news/2022/12/13/ap-top-business-news-at-525-p-m-est/
| 2022-12-14T01:21:31
|
en
| 0.834297
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/nfl/pittsburgh-steelers/articles/41862562
| 2022-12-14T01:21:34
|
en
| 0.738227
|
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
https://wtmj.com/ap-news/2022/12/13/ap-top-business-news-at-528-p-m-est/
| 2022-12-14T01:21:37
|
en
| 0.834297
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/nfl/pittsburgh-steelers/articles/41862730
| 2022-12-14T01:21:38
|
en
| 0.738227
|
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
https://wtmj.com/ap-news/2022/12/13/ap-top-business-news-at-555-p-m-est-3/
| 2022-12-14T01:21:39
|
en
| 0.834297
|
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
https://wtmj.com/entertainment/2022/12/13/ap-top-entertainment-news-at-540-p-m-est/
| 2022-12-14T01:21:45
|
en
| 0.834297
|
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
https://wtmj.com/entertainment/2022/12/13/ap-top-entertainment-news-at-617-p-m-est/
| 2022-12-14T01:21:52
|
en
| 0.834297
|
COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah — Yet another snowy day across Utah kept residents and others working hard throughout the morning and afternoon.
WATCH: Winter Storm Advisory extended into Wednesday as more snow expected
For the most part, traffic has been smooth sailing, but residents and crews with the Utah Department of Transportation have kept busy.
Longtime Cottonwood Heights resident Gregg Wittwer was doing his part to help clear some of the snow from his neighbors' driveways in his own community.
"We've got some people here who are shut-ins and others who just had big families," said Wittwer.
Wittwer and others were happy to lend a hand to help people get around in the snowy conditions.
"We did the handwork and now it just keeps snowing, so we're trying to clean up a little bit here; make it easier for people to get in and out of their driveways," he said.
Many who were already out and about said they weren't having many problems getting to where they needed to go.
Snowplow drivers like Weston Fisher had plenty to do. He's been a UDOT driver for eight years and is responsible for making sure SR-190 through Big Cottonwood Canyon is safe for people to travel through.
"I'm running about 100 miles per round," Fisher explained. "There's certain areas that are trouble areas, so you've got to turn around and come back down and cover those areas a couple of times."
Fisher had made at least four trips up the canyon Tuesday afternoon.
"Once I get the roads cleared and they're looking [safe], I push the shoulders back more, kind of widen it out, give people a little bit more space."
Storms like yesterday's and this morning's make for longer hours for Fisher, whose 15-hour day started bright and early at 4:30 in the morning. But he says there is just something satisfying about clearing a snowy road.
"You're doing a service for the public, but you get to see immediate results from what you're doing." he said.
Fisher says if the weather keeps up, he expects to be pulling longer hours to keep his area of SR-190 clear over the next day or two.
And those close to the canyon, like Wittwer, are making sure to have a little fun mixed in with their hard work.
"The snow won't quit, but we like it here in Utah," he said.
|
https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/digging-out-after-utah-snowstorm-is-both-work-and-play
| 2022-12-14T01:21:53
|
en
| 0.987816
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/nfl/pittsburgh-steelers/articles/41862770
| 2022-12-14T01:21:58
|
en
| 0.738227
|
LITTLE COTTONWOOD CANYON, Utah — A skier was rescued after being injured during an avalanche in Little Cottonwood Canyon on Tuesday afternoon.
WATCH: Skier captures video of massive avalanche on Park City Ridgeline
The Unified Police Department's canyon patrol and Wasatch Backcountry Rescue responded to the call that came at 2:15 p.m. in the area known as Pink Pine.
The male skier, who was with a female skier in the area, was caught up in the avalanche, but not buried. The man, who officials said is in his 20s, was knocked unconscious and suffered a shoulder injury and possible broken ribs.
Rescue crews brought the man to a waiting ambulance and transported him to the hospital.
Officials said the avalanche was approximately 100 feet wide and 3-feet deep.
The female skier was not caught in the avalanche and was uninjured.
|
https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/skier-injured-in-little-cottonwood-canyon-avalanche
| 2022-12-14T01:21:59
|
en
| 0.985614
|
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
https://wtmj.com/entertainment/2022/12/13/ap-top-entertainment-news-at-619-p-m-est-2/
| 2022-12-14T01:21:59
|
en
| 0.834297
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/nfl/pittsburgh-steelers/articles/41862772
| 2022-12-14T01:22:04
|
en
| 0.738227
|
BOUNTIFUL, Utah — When thinking of gifts during the holiday season, pets are often top of mind. But local pet activists in Utah say you might want to think twice as shelters are already overrun with owner surrenders, which are pets that owners voluntarily give up.
"Surrendering can be a very complex topic," said Di Lewis, a board member with the Community of Animal Welfare Society, "Certainly, there are some people who maybe don't take animal ownership as seriously as we'd hope, but there are also a lot of reasons that people are struggling."
Lewis says with rising prices, pet owners sometimes take on more than they can afford as job, housing, or family situations change, causing them to no longer be in the position to care for a pet.
To help shelters provide for the overflow of animals, animal hospitals like Lakeview Animal Clinic holiday holiday donation drives for pets.
"We collect food, toys, anything enrichment and we are taking it to local pet shelters where dogs and cats are waiting for their forever homes or to go into foster care, so it just supplies shelters with extra supplies to have on hand," said Tess Vilchez, a vet technician at the clinic.
Donation drives can help shelters, but both Vilchez and Lewis say it's important for people to think intentionally when gifting a pet this holiday season.
"Just remember pets are a lifetime commitment," said Vilchez.
"We would really recommend you don't give a pet to somebody you don't know for sure wants a pet," Lewis added.
Those will still plan on getting a new furry family member, the experts say to think about what type of pet and breed will best fit your family's lifestyle and research on the breed you are adopting or purchasing.
"Maybe you really want a dog, and you love the way huskies look; but if you're more of a chill family, a husky is probably not a dog for you, they're really playful and really energetic. You might want a dog who's a little more low key," Lewis said.
And if you're on the receiving end of a gifted pet and find yourself struggling, Lewis suggests using a Rule of Threes.
"Three days for them to get over that immediate shock of moving homes or moving into a new environment, three weeks for them to start settling in, and then three months for them to feel fully acclimated," she explained.
Vilchez and Lewis both say anyone who plans on gifting or getting a pet should consider adopting from a local shelter.
The Lakeview Animal Clinic is collecting donations through Dec 23.
|
https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/why-utahns-should-think-twice-before-gifting-pets-as-holiday-presents
| 2022-12-14T01:22:05
|
en
| 0.977359
|
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
https://wtmj.com/entertainment/2022/12/13/ap-top-entertainment-news-at-704-p-m-est-3/
| 2022-12-14T01:22:05
|
en
| 0.834297
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/nfl/pittsburgh-steelers/articles/41862773
| 2022-12-14T01:22:10
|
en
| 0.738227
|
Queen Letizia of Spain made a trip to Los Angeles to open a center that will be dedicated to the growth and promotion of the Spanish language, along with the country's culture.
The branch in Los Angeles is the seventh location of the institute in the United States, the Associated Press reported. Spanish is the second-most common language spoken in the U.S. after the English language.
Letizia Ortíz opened this first branch of the Cervantes Institute on the U.S. West Coast recently.
The institute was founded by the Spanish government in 1991 to promote Hispanic culture.
As the Daily Mail reported, Spain's queen, 50, was there on a two day trip. This will be her second trip to the U.S. this year, after flying to New York in September, just after Queen Elizabeth's funeral, to visit the United Nations.
Letizia is better known in Spain as a progressive feminist which is seen as very different from the monarchist perception many may have.
She is said to have played a significant part in the royal family's decision to break ties with the palace’s corruption-linked past.
The King of Spain has a largely ceremonial role in the country with executive power belonging with elected parliamentary members.
|
https://www.fox13now.com/news/national/queen-letizia-of-spain-visits-us-to-promote-language
| 2022-12-14T01:22:11
|
en
| 0.972038
|
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
https://wtmj.com/sports/2022/12/13/ap-top-sports-news-at-617-p-m-est/
| 2022-12-14T01:22:12
|
en
| 0.834297
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/nfl/pittsburgh-steelers/articles/41862774
| 2022-12-14T01:22:16
|
en
| 0.738227
|
Recount confirms Lauren Boebert narrowly held her House seat
DENVER - An automatic recount confirmed Monday that Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert won her reelection bid against Democrat Adam Frisch. The nail-biter race showed the congresswoman's combative style is wearying voters in her conservative Colorado district.
Secretary of State Jena Griswold announced the results Monday evening. Frisch netted a total of four votes in the recount, far from enough to close a 500-plus vote gap with Boebert. An Aspen City Councilman, Frisch had already conceded the race last month after the first tally put him just under the state's margin for a mandatory recount.
PREVIOUS: Rep. Lauren Boebert's challenger, Adam Frisch, concedes in tight Colorado House race
Few expected the race to come down to such a narrow margin. In her first term in office, Boebert rocketed to national renown for her staunch support for former President Donald Trump, aggressive use of social media and willingness to engage in personal feuds with Democratic representatives.
Frisch ran against what her called her "angertainment," saying he wouldn't back U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as party leader and describing himself as a nonpartisan problem-solver. Few gave him much of a chance in the conservative 3rd Congressional District, which edges up against some famed, liberal ski towns but is dominated by vast, less glamorous and energy-rich swathes of rural Colorado.
|
https://www.fox35orlando.com/election/recount-confirms-lauren-boebert-narrowly-held-house-seat
| 2022-12-14T01:22:17
|
en
| 0.960843
|
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
https://wtmj.com/sports/2022/12/13/ap-top-sports-news-at-635-p-m-est-6/
| 2022-12-14T01:22:18
|
en
| 0.834297
|
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "All or Nothing Evening" game were:
02-03-05-06-08-13-14-15-18-20-21-22
(two, three, five, six, eight, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, eighteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two)
|
https://www.chron.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-All-or-Nothing-Evening-17652278.php
| 2022-12-14T01:22:18
|
en
| 0.85125
|
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Daily 3" game were:
5-1-2
(five, one, two)
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Daily 3" game were:
5-1-2
(five, one, two)
|
https://www.chron.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Daily-3-game-17652339.php
| 2022-12-14T01:22:19
|
en
| 0.940704
|
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "Daily 4 Evening" game were:
3-9-2-1, FIREBALL: 6
(three, nine, two, one; FIREBALL: six)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "Daily 4 Evening" game were:
3-9-2-1, FIREBALL: 6
(three, nine, two, one; FIREBALL: six)
|
https://www.chron.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Daily-4-Evening-game-17652277.php
| 2022-12-14T01:22:20
|
en
| 0.882018
|
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Daily 4" game were:
6-8-2-6
(six, eight, two, six)
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Daily 4" game were:
6-8-2-6
(six, eight, two, six)
|
https://www.chron.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Daily-4-game-17652340.php
| 2022-12-14T01:22:21
|
en
| 0.931733
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/nfl/pittsburgh-steelers/articles/41862775
| 2022-12-14T01:22:22
|
en
| 0.738227
|
Today’s 20-year mortgage rates dive below 6% | Dec. 13, 2022
Our goal here at Credible Operations, Inc., NMLS Number 1681276, referred to as "Credible" below, is to give you the tools and confidence you need to improve your finances. Although we do promote products from our partner lenders, all opinions are our own.
Check out the mortgage rates for Dec. 13, 2022, which are largely up from yesterday. (Credible)
Based on data compiled by Credible, mortgage rates for home purchases have risen for three key terms and fallen for one other term since yesterday.
- 30-year fixed mortgage rates: 6.500%, up from 6.000%, +0.500
- 20-year fixed mortgage rates: 5.875%, down from 6.125%, -0.250
- 15-year fixed mortgage rates: 5.875%, up from 5.490%, +0.385
- 10-year fixed mortgage rates: 5.750%, up from 5.625%, +0.125
Rates last updated on Dec. 13, 2022. These rates are based on the assumptions shown here. Actual rates may vary. Credible, a personal finance marketplace, has 5,000+ Trustpilot reviews with an average star rating of 4.7 (out of a possible 5.0).
What this means: Three key mortgage rates rose today, with 30-year rates surging half a percentage point and hitting 6.5%. Meanwhile, 20-year rates fell a quarter point. Rates for a 20-year mortgage are more than half a point lower than 30-year terms, and offer a desirable blend of a relatively low interest rate and manageable monthly payments. Comparing rates from multiple lenders can help buyers find the best possible deal for their unique financial situation.
To find great mortgage rates, start by using Credible’s secured website, which can show you current mortgage rates from multiple lenders without affecting your credit score. You can also use Credible’s mortgage calculator to estimate your monthly mortgage payments.
Based on data compiled by Credible, mortgage refinance rates have risen for three key terms and fallen for one other term since yesterday.
- 30-year fixed-rate refinance: 6.500%, up from 6.000%, +0.500
- 20-year fixed-rate refinance: 5.875%, down from 6.125%, -0.250
- 15-year fixed-rate refinance: 5.875%, up from 5.490%, +0.385
- 10-year fixed-rate refinance: 5.750%, up from 5.625%, +0.125
Rates last updated on Dec. 13, 2022. These rates are based on the assumptions shown here. Actual rates may vary. With 5,000 reviews, Credible maintains an "excellent" Trustpilot score.
What this means: Mortgage refinance rates rose today, except for 20-year rates, which fell a quarter point. With rates for a 30-year term at 6.5%, homeowners looking to refinance at the lowest available rates may want to consider 10-year terms, which are at 5.75%. But homeowners who want a longer repayment term may want to lock in a 20-year refinance while rates for this term are under 6%.
How mortgage rates have changed over time
Today’s mortgage interest rates are well below the highest annual average rate recorded by Freddie Mac — 16.63% in 1981. A year before the COVID-19 pandemic upended economies across the world, the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage for 2019 was 3.94%. The average rate for 2021 was 2.96%, the lowest annual average in 30 years.
The historic drop in interest rates means homeowners who have mortgages from 2019 and older could potentially realize significant interest savings by refinancing with one of today’s lower interest rates. When considering a mortgage refinance or purchase, it’s important to take into account closing costs such as appraisal, application, origination and attorney’s fees. These factors, in addition to the interest rate and loan amount, all contribute to the cost of a mortgage.
Are you looking to buy a home? Credible can help you compare current rates from multiple mortgage lenders at once in just a few minutes. Use Credible’s online tools to compare rates and get prequalified today.
Thousands of Trustpilot reviewers rate Credible "excellent."
How Credible mortgage rates are calculated
Changing economic conditions, central bank policy decisions, investor sentiment and other factors influence the movement of mortgage rates. Credible average mortgage rates and mortgage refinance rates reported in this article are calculated based on information provided by partner lenders who pay compensation to Credible.
The rates assume a borrower has a 740 credit score and is borrowing a conventional loan for a single-family home that will be their primary residence. The rates also assume no (or very low) discount points and a down payment of 20%.
Credible mortgage rates reported here will only give you an idea of current average rates. The rate you actually receive can vary based on a number of factors.
What is a good mortgage rate?
Generally, a good mortgage rate is one that’s the lowest you can qualify for based on your individual factors, such as credit history, income, other debts, down payment amount and more.
A rate that’s good for your financial situation should result in a monthly mortgage payment that you can manage, while leaving plenty of room in your monthly budget to put toward savings, investments and an emergency fund. And a good rate should be competitive with average rates in the geographic area where you’re looking to buy.
If you’re trying to find the right mortgage rate, consider using Credible. You can use Credible's free online tool to easily compare multiple lenders and see prequalified rates in just a few minutes.
Have a finance-related question, but don't know who to ask? Email The Credible Money Expert at moneyexpert@credible.com and your question might be answered by Credible in our Money Expert column.
As a Credible authority on mortgages and personal finance, Chris Jennings has covered topics that include mortgage loans, mortgage refinancing, and more. He’s been an editor and editorial assistant in the online personal finance space for four years. His work has been featured by MSN, AOL, Yahoo Finance, and more.
|
https://www.fox35orlando.com/money/todays-mortgage-rates-december-13-2022
| 2022-12-14T01:22:23
|
en
| 0.9515
|
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "All or Nothing Evening" game were:
02-03-05-06-08-13-14-15-18-20-21-22
(two, three, five, six, eight, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, eighteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two)
|
https://www.myjournalcourier.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-All-or-Nothing-Evening-17652278.php
| 2022-12-14T01:22:23
|
en
| 0.85125
|
By CHRIS MEGERIAN
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — A celebratory crowd of thousands bundled up on a chilly Tuesday afternoon to watch President Joe Biden sign gay marriage legislation into law, a joyful ceremony that was tempered by the backdrop of an ongoing conservative backlash over gender issues.
“This law and the love it defends strike a blow against hate in all its forms,” Biden said on the South Lawn of the White House. “And that’s why this law matters to every single American.”
Singers Sam Smith and Cyndi Lauper performed. Vice President Kamala Harris recalled officiating at a lesbian wedding in San Francisco. And the White House played a recording of Biden’s television interview from a decade ago, when he caused a political furor by unexpectedly disclosing his support for gay marriage. Biden was vice president at the time, and President Barack Obama had not yet endorsed the idea.
“I got in trouble,” Biden joked of that moment. Three days later, Obama himself publicly endorsed gay marriage.
Lawmakers from both parties attended Tuesday’s ceremony, reflecting the growing acceptance of same-sex unions, once among the country’s most contentious issues.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wore the same purple tie to the ceremony that he wore to his daughter Alison’s wedding. She and her wife are expecting their first child in the spring.
“Thanks to the millions out there who spent years pushing for change, and thanks to the dogged work of my colleagues, my grandchild will get to live in a world that respects and honors their mothers’ marriage,” he said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told the crowd that “inside maneuvering only takes us so far,” and she thanked activists adding impetus with “your impatience, your persistence and your patriotism.”
Despite Tuesday’s excitement, there was concern about the nationwide proliferation of conservative policies on gender issues at the state level.
Biden criticized the “callous, cynical laws introduced in the states targeting transgender children, terrifying families and criminalizing doctors who give children the care they need.”
“Racism, antisemitism, homophobia, transphobia, they’re all connected,” Biden said. “But the antidote to hate is love.”
Among the attendees were the owner of Club Q, a gay nightclub in Colorado where five people were killed in a shooting last month, and two survivors of the attack. The suspect has been charged with hate crimes.
“It’s not lost on me that our struggle for freedom hasn’t been achieved,” said Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign. “But this is a huge step forward, and we have to celebrate the victories we achieve and use that to fuel the future of the fight.”
Robinson attended the ceremony with her wife and 1-year-old child.
“Our kids are watching this moment,” she said. “It’s very special to have them here and show them that we’re on the right side of history.”
The new law is intended to safeguard gay marriages if the U.S. Supreme Court ever reverses Obergefell v. Hodges, its 2015 decision legalizing same-sex unions nationwide. The new law also protects interracial marriages. In 1967, the Supreme Court in Loving v. Virginia struck down laws in 16 states barring interracial marriage.
The signing marks the culmination of a monthslong bipartisan effort sparked by the Supreme Court’s decision in June to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that made abortion available across the country.
In a concurring opinion in the case that overturned Roe, Justice Clarence Thomas suggested revisiting other decisions, including the legalization of gay marriage, generating fear that more rights could be imperiled by the court’s conservative majority. Thomas did not reference interracial marriage with the other cases he said should be reconsidered.
Lawmakers crafted a compromise that was intended to assuage conservative concerns about religious liberty, such as ensuring churches could still refuse to perform gay marriages.
In addition, states would not be required to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples if the court overturns its 2015 ruling. But they will be required to recognize marriages conducted elsewhere in the country.
A majority of Republicans in Congress still voted against the legislation. However, enough supported it to sidestep a filibuster in the Senate and ensure its passage.
Tuesday’s ceremony marks another chapter in Biden’s legacy on gay rights, which includes his surprise endorsement of marriage equality in 2012.
“What this is all about is a simple proposition: Who do you love?” Biden said then on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Who do you love and will you be loyal to the person you love? And that is what people are finding out is what all marriages at their root are about.”
A Gallup poll showed only 27% of U.S. adults supported same-sex unions in 1996, when President Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act, which said the federal government would only recognize heterosexual marriages. Biden voted for the legislation.
By the time of Biden’s 2012 interview, gay marriage remained controversial, but support had expanded to roughly half of U.S. adults, according to Gallup. Earlier this year, 71% said same-sex unions should be recognized by law.
Biden has pushed to expand LGBT rights since taking office. He reversed President Donald Trump’s efforts to strip transgender people of anti-discrimination protections. His administration includes the first openly gay Cabinet member, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and the first transgender person to receive Senate confirmation, Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine.
__
Associated Press writer Seung Min Kim contributed to this report.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
|
https://wtmj.com/national/2022/12/13/biden-signs-gay-marriage-law-calls-it-a-blow-against-hate/
| 2022-12-14T01:22:24
|
en
| 0.957413
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/nfl/pittsburgh-steelers/articles/41862776
| 2022-12-14T01:22:28
|
en
| 0.738227
|
US alleges Bankman-Fried defrauded FTX cryptocurrency customers, investors
NEW YORK - The U.S. government charged Samuel Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, with a host of financial crimes on Tuesday, alleging he intentionally deceived customers and investors to enrich himself and others, while playing a central role in the company's multibillion-dollar collapse.
Federal prosecutors say that beginning in 2019 Bankman-Fried devised "a scheme and artifice to defraud" FTX's customers and investors. He illegally diverted their money to cover expenses, debts and risky trades at his crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research, and to make lavish real estate purchases and large political donations, prosecutors said in a 13-page indictment.
Bankman-Fried, 30, was arrested Monday in the Bahamas at the request of the U.S. government, which charged him with eight criminal violations, ranging from wire fraud to money laundering to conspiracy to commit fraud. If convicted of all the charges, Bankman-Fried — referred to by crypto enthusiasts as "SBF" — could face decades in jail.
RELATED: FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried arrested in Bahamas at request of US authorities
At a press conference on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams called it "one of the biggest frauds in American history," and said the investigation is ongoing and fast-moving. He urged anyone who believes they were victims of the alleged scheme to contact his office.
Bankman-Fried has fallen hard and fast from the top of the cryptocurrency industry he helped to evangelize. FTX filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11, when it ran out of money after the cryptocurrency equivalent of a bank run.
Before the bankruptcy, he was considered by many in Washington and on Wall Street as a wunderkind of digital currencies, someone who could help take them mainstream, in part by working with policymakers to bring more oversight and trust to the industry.
Bankman-Fried had been worth tens of billions of dollars -- at least on paper -- and was able to attract celebrities like Tom Brady or former politicians like Tony Blair and Bill Clinton to his conferences at luxury resorts in the Bahamas.
Sporting shorts and t-shirts to contrast himself with the buttoned-down world of Wall Street, he was the subject of fawning profiles in media, was considered a prominent advocate for a type of charitable giving known as "effective altruism," and commanded millions of followers on Twitter.
But since FTX’s implosion, Bankman-Fried and his company have been likened to other disgraced financiers and companies, such as Bernie Madoff and Enron.
The criminal indictment against Bankman-Fried and "others" at FTX is on top of civil charges announced Tuesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The SEC alleges Bankman-Fried defrauded investors and illegally used their money to buy real estate on behalf of himself and his family.
U.S. authorities said they will try to claw back any of Bankman-Fried’s financial gains from the alleged scheme.
A lawyer for Bankman-Fried, Mark S. Cohen, said Tuesday he is "reviewing the charges with his legal team and considering all of his legal options."
At a congressional hearing Tuesday that was scheduled before Bankman-Fried's arrest, the new CEO brought in to steer FTX through its bankruptcy proceedings leveled harsh criticism. He said there was scant oversight of customers' money and "very few rules" about how their funds could be used.
John Ray III told members of the House Financial Services Committee that the collapse of FTX, resulting in the loss of more than $7 billion, was the culmination of months, or even years, of bad decisions and poor financial controls.
"This is not something that happened overnight or in a context of a week," he said.
He added: "This is just plain, old-fashioned embezzlement, taking money from others and using it for your own purposes."
Before his arrest, Bankman-Fried had been holed up in his luxury compound in the Bahamas. U.S. authorities are expected to request his extradition to the U.S., although the timing of that request is unclear.
At a court hearing in the Bahamas on Tuesday, prosecutors argued that Bankman-Fried was a flight risk and should be held without bail, according to Our News, a broadcast news company based there. His lawyers said he is likely to request a formal extradition hearing.
Bankman-Fried's was previously one of the world’s wealthiest people on paper; at one point his net worth reached $26.5 billion, according to Forbes. He was a prominent personality in Washington, donating millions of dollars to Democrats and Republicans. U.S. Attorney Williams said Tuesday that Bankman-Fried made "tens of millions of dollars" in illegal campaign donations.
His wealth unraveled quickly last month, when reports called into question the strength of FTX’s balance sheet. As customers sought to withdraw billions of dollars, FTX could not satisfy the requests: their money was gone.
"We allege that Sam Bankman-Fried built a house of cards on a foundation of deception while telling investors that it was one of the safest buildings in crypto," said SEC Chair Gary Gensler.
The SEC complaint alleges that Bankman-Fried had raised more than $1.8 billion from investors since May 2019 by promoting FTX as a safe, responsible platform for trading crypto assets.
Instead, the complaint says, Bankman-Fried diverted customers' funds to Alameda Research without telling them.
"He then used Alameda as his personal piggy bank to buy luxury condominiums, support political campaigns, and make private investments, among other uses," the complaint reads.
In the weeks after FTX's collapse, but before his arrest, Bankman-Fried gave interviews to several news organizations in which he grasped for ways to explain what happened.
For example, Bankman-Fried said he did not "knowingly" misuse customers’ funds, and that he believes angry customers will eventually get their money back.
At Tuesday's congressional hearing, the new FTX CEO bluntly disputed those assertions: "We will never get all these assets back," Ray said.
Jack Sharman, an attorney at Lightfoot, Franklin & White, said Bankman-Fried's recent comments to the media could be damaging, admissible evidence in court. "Those statements in that speaking tour were in no way helpful to his cause," Sharman said.
In its complaint, the SEC challenged Bankman-Fried's recent statements that FTX and its customers were victims of a sudden market collapse that overwhelmed safeguards that had been in place.
"FTX operated behind a veneer of legitimacy," said Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC’s enforcement division. "That veneer wasn’t just thin, it was fraudulent."
The collapse of FTX — which followed other cryptocurrency debacles earlier this year — is adding urgency to efforts to regulate the industry.
Yesha Yadav, a law professor at Vanderbilt University who specializes in financial and securities regulation, said U.S. lawmakers and regulators have been too slow to act, but that is likely to change.
"Lawmakers are clearly under pressure to do something, given that so many people have lost their money," she said.
Hussein contributed to this report from Washington.
|
https://www.fox35orlando.com/money/us-alleges-bankman-fried-defrauded-ftx-cryptocurrency-customers-investors
| 2022-12-14T01:22:29
|
en
| 0.97953
|
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Daily 3" game were:
5-1-2
(five, one, two)
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Daily 3" game were:
5-1-2
(five, one, two)
|
https://www.myjournalcourier.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Daily-3-game-17652339.php
| 2022-12-14T01:22:29
|
en
| 0.940704
|
By JOHN HANNA and HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH
Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The company operating a pipeline that spilled about 14,000 bathtubs’ worth of oil into a Kansas creek during a test for potential problems is recovering at least a small portion of the crude.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday that Canada-based TC Energy has recovered 2,598 barrels of oil mixed with water from the 14,000-barrel spill on a creek running through rural pastureland in Washington County, Kansas, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northwest of Kansas City. Each barrel is enough to fill a household bathtub.
Last week’s rupture in Kansas forced the company to shut down the Keystone system, and it hasn’t said when it will come back online. The company said it is working around-the-clock to suck up spilled oil using trucks equipped with what essentially are large wet vacuums.
No one was evacuated, and officials said no drinking water was affected. The company has promised to fully comply with demands from regulators and to work until it has “fully remediated the site.”
Concerns that spills could pollute waterways spurred opposition to plans by TC Energy to build another crude oil pipeline in the same system, the 1,200-mile (1,900-kilometer) Keystone XL, across Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. President Joe Biden’s cancelation of a permit for the project led the company to pull the plug last year.
Last week’s spill was the largest on the Keystone system since it began operating in 2010 and the largest onshore spill since a Tesoro Corp. pipeline rupture in North Dakota leaked 20,600 barrels in September 2013, according to U.S. Department of Transportation data. The agency’s pipeline safety arm last week ordered TC Energy to take corrective action.
The order said TC Energy was running an in-line inspection using a device inside the pipeline that was some 80 miles (129 kilometers) past where the pipeline ruptured. Such devices are designed to fit tightly inside and are known as “pigs” because early wooden ones squeaked as they went through.
Three university petroleum engineering instructors who reviewed the regulators’ order ahead of Associated Press interviews pointed out the testing, which federal guidelines call for doing at least once every five years.
“That timing is definitely suspicious,” said Jennifer Miskimins, head of the Colorado School of Mines’ petroleum energy department. “It is like blowing a pea through a pod.”
She along with instructors from the University of Tulsa and Pennsylvania State University said moving a pig through the pipe would have required additional pressure. But Bill Caram, executive director of the advocacy Pipeline Safety Trust, saw the timing of the two events as “a weird coincidence.”
Local farmer Bill Pannbacker said the rupture occurred on his land at a point after the pipe goes under a creek and starts to ascend an 80-foot (24-meter) hill. Mike Stafford, the University of Tulsa instructor, said such a location is typical of where pipes tend to fail. That’s because oil contains a little water that tends to separate, and when oil is carried up hills that water flows back down, causing corrosion.
While Sanjay Srinivasan, the Penn State professor, was skeptical that corrosion was to blame because it is a slow process, he took note of the failure occurring in a section with a lot of bends.
“It’s not unusual for those kinds of locations to go through some severe stress that can cause these things,” he said. ”If there is any weak spot, that’s when it’ll show up.”
TC Energy used booms, or barriers, to contain the oil in the creek and built two earthen dams to prevent it from moving into larger waterways.
The regulators’ order said TC Energy cannot restart operations for the 96-mile (155-kilometer) Keystone segment from Steele City, Nebraska, south to Hope, Kansas, without their permission. It also said the company must reduce the operating pressure by 20% inside that segment of the pipeline.
The company also must identify the cause of the spill and submit a plan for finding similar problems elsewhere and conducting additional tests by early March.
“They need to excavate the pipe in such a way that it’s preserved just for the investigation, for that root-cause analysis, and that takes probably the most time,” Caram said. “But the actual repair can be pretty quick.”
___
Hollingsworth reported from Kansas City, Mo.
___
Follow John Hanna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apjdhanna
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
|
https://wtmj.com/ap-news/2022/12/13/company-starting-to-recover-oil-from-kansas-pipeline-spill/
| 2022-12-14T01:22:30
|
en
| 0.958631
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/nfl/pittsburgh-steelers/articles/41862777
| 2022-12-14T01:22:34
|
en
| 0.738227
|
Aaron Judge's record-setting home run ball auction ends Saturday
ARLINGTON, Texas - The auction for New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge's 62nd home run ball comes to an end this Saturday.
The current bid for the ball, which broke Roger Maris' American League record for homers in a season, sits at $1.2 million, according to Goldin Auctions.
So far 5 people have bid on the ball and more are expected before the final sale.
The auction ends on Saturday, December 17 at 9 p.m. central time.
Judge hit his record-breaking homer off Rangers pitcher Jesus Tinoco at Globe Life Field on Oct. 4.
Cory Youmans, from Dallas, was the lucky fan who caught the ball.
READ MORE: Who caught Aaron Judge's 62nd home run? Dallas baseball fan must make $2M decision
Youmans will provide a Letter of Provenance to verify he was actually the person who caught the ball.
The ball is stamped with the Rangers' 50th Anniversary logo and marked with a black C and the number 13.
The markings placed on the ball ahead of the game to verify the actual piece of history.
For comparison, Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball sold for $3 million in 1998.
|
https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/aaron-judges-record-setting-home-run-ball-auction-ends-saturday
| 2022-12-14T01:22:35
|
en
| 0.94781
|
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "Daily 4 Evening" game were:
3-9-2-1, FIREBALL: 6
(three, nine, two, one; FIREBALL: six)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "Daily 4 Evening" game were:
3-9-2-1, FIREBALL: 6
(three, nine, two, one; FIREBALL: six)
|
https://www.myjournalcourier.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Daily-4-Evening-game-17652277.php
| 2022-12-14T01:22:35
|
en
| 0.882018
|
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Fantasy 5 Double Play" game were:
17-19-22-25-39
(seventeen, nineteen, twenty-two, twenty-five, thirty-nine)
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Fantasy 5 Double Play" game were:
17-19-22-25-39
(seventeen, nineteen, twenty-two, twenty-five, thirty-nine)
|
https://www.chron.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Fantasy-5-Double-Play-17652342.php
| 2022-12-14T01:22:37
|
en
| 0.860308
|
By MATT O’BRIEN, BARBARA ORTUTAY and DAVID KLEPPER
The Associated Press
What you’re seeing in your feed on Twitter is changing. But how?
The social media platform’s new owner, Elon Musk, has been trying to prove through giving selected journalists access to some of the company’s internal communications dubbed “The Twitter Files” that officials from the previous leadership team allegedly suppressed right-wing voices.
This week, Musk disbanded a key advisory group, the Trust and Safety Council, made up of dozens of independent civil, human rights and other organizations. The company formed the council in 2016 to address hate speech, harassment, child exploitation, suicide, self-harm and other problems on the platform.
What do the developments mean for what shows up in your feed every day? For one, the moves show that Musk is prioritizing improving Twitter’s perception on the U.S. political right. He’s not promising unfettered free speech as much as a shift in what messages get amplified or hidden.
WHAT ARE THE TWITTER FILES?
Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion in late October and since then has partnered with a group of handpicked journalists including former Rolling Stone writer Matt Taibbi and opinion columnist Bari Weiss. Earlier this month, they began publishing — in the form of a series of tweets — about actions that Twitter previously took against accounts thought to have violated its content rules. They’ve included screenshots of emails and messaging board comments reflecting internal conversations within Twitter about those decisions.
Weiss wrote on Dec. 8 that the “authors have broad and expanding access to Twitter’s files. The only condition we agreed to was that the material would first be published on Twitter.”
Weiss published the fifth and most recent installment Monday about the conversations leading up to Twitter’s Jan. 8, 2021 decision to permanently suspend then-President Donald Trump’s account “due to the risk of further incitement of violence” following the deadly U.S. Capitol insurrection two days earlier. The internal communications show at least one unnamed staffer doubting that one of the tweets was an incitement of violence; it also reveals executives’ reaction to an advocacy campaign from some employees pushing for tougher action on Trump.
WHAT’S MISSING?
Musk’s Twitter Files reveal some of the internal decision-making process affecting mostly right-wing Twitter accounts that the company decided broke its rules against hateful conduct, as well as those that violated the platform’s rules against spreading harmful misinformation about COVID-19.
But the reports are largely based on anecdotes about a handful of high-profile accounts and the tweets don’t reveal numbers about the scale of suspensions and which views were more likely to be affected. The journalists appear to have unfettered access to the company’s Slack messaging board — visible to all employees — but have relied on Twitter executives to deliver other documents.
THE TWITTER FILES MENTION SHADOWBANNING. WHAT’S THAT?
In 2018, after then-CEO Jack Dorsey said Twitter would focus on the “health” of conversations on the platform, the company outlined a new approach intended to reduce the impact of disruptive users, or trolls, by reading “behavioral signals” that tend to indicate when users are more interested in blowing up conversations than in contributing.
Twitter has long said it used a technique described internally as “visibility filtering” to reduce the reach of some accounts that might violate its rules but don’t rise to the level of being suspended. But it rejected allegations it was secretly “shadowbanning” conservative viewpoints.
Screenshots showing an employee’s view of prominent user accounts disclosed through the Twitter Files show how that filtering works in practice. It’s also led Musk to call for changes to make that more transparent.
“Twitter is working on a software update that will show your true account status, so you know clearly if you’ve been shadowbanned, the reason why and how to appeal,” he tweeted.
WHO’S MONITORING POSTS ON TWITTER NOW?
Musk laid off about half of Twitter’s staff after he bought the platform and later eliminated an unknown number of contract workers who had focused on content moderation. Some workers who were kept on soon quit, including Yoel Roth, Twitter’s former head of trust and safety.
The departure of so many employees raised questions about how the platform could enforce its policies against harmful misinformation, hate speech and threats of violence, both within the U.S. and across the globe. Automated tools can help detect spam and some suspicious accounts, but others take more careful human review.
It’s likely the reductions will force Twitter to concentrate content moderation efforts on regions with stronger regulations governing social media platforms like Europe, where tech companies could face big fines under the new Digital Services Act if they don’t make an effort to combat misinformation and hate speech, according to Bhaskar Chakravorti, dean of global business at the Fletcher School at Tufts University.
“The staff has been decimated,” Chakravorti said. “The few content moderators left are going to be focused on Europe, because Europe is the squeakiest wheel.”
HAS THERE BEEN AN IMPACT?
Since Musk bought Twitter a number of researchers and advocacy groups have pointed to an increase in posts containing racial epithets or attacks on Jewish people, gays, lesbians and transgender people.
In many cases, the posts were written by users who said they were trying to test Twitter’s new boundaries.
According to Musk, Twitter acted quickly to reduce the overall visibility of the posts, and that overall engagement with hate speech is down since he purchased the company, a finding disputed by researchers.
The most obvious sign of change at Twitter are the formerly banned users whose accounts have been reinstated, a list that includes Trump, satire site The Babylon Bee, the comedian Kathy Griffin, Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson and, before he was kicked off again, Ye. Twitter has also reinstated accounts of neo-Nazis white supremacists including Andrew Anglin, the creator of the white supremacist website Daily Stormer — along with QAnon supporters whom Twitter’s old guard had been removing in masses to prevent hate and misinformation from spreading on the platform.
In addition, some high-profile tweeters like Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene who were previously banned for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 have resumed posting misleading claims about vaccine safety and sham cures.
Musk, who has spread false claims about COVID-19 himself, returned to the topic this with a tweet this week that mocked transgender pronouns while calling for criminal charges against Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert and one of the leaders of the country’s COVID response.
Calling himself a “free-speech absolutist,” Musk has said he wants to allow all content that’s legally permissible on Twitter but also that he wants to downgrade negative and hateful posts. Instead of removing toxic content, Musk’s call for “freedom of speech, not freedom of reach” suggests Twitter may leave such content up without recommending it or amplifying it to other users.
But after cutting out most of Twitter’s policy-making executives and outside advisers, Musk often appears to be the arbiter of what crosses the line. Last month, Musk himself announced that he was booting Ye after the rapper formerly known as Kanye West posted an image of a swastika merged with a Star of David, a post that was not illegal but deeply offensive. The move led to questions about what rules govern what can and can’t be posted on the platform.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
|
https://wtmj.com/ap-news/2022/12/13/explainer-how-elon-musk-is-changing-what-you-see-on-twitter-2/
| 2022-12-14T01:22:37
|
en
| 0.957592
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/nfl/pittsburgh-steelers/articles/41862779
| 2022-12-14T01:22:40
|
en
| 0.738227
|
Arizona prison worker arrested, accused of sexually exploiting minors
PHOENIX - Court documents show a prison worker in Arizona has been arrested for alleged sexual exploitation of minors.
According to the documents, police arrested 25-year-old Miguel Angel Dominguez on Dec. 12 in Waddell, a town located in the far western reaches of the Phoenix area.
According to a court affidavit, an investigation into Dominguez began in November, following a tip that was sent to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in regards to files uploaded to the internet in July 2022 on the messaging app Kik that were categorized as being either apparent child pornography or unconfirmed possible child pornography, otherwise known as Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).
Court documents included graphic descriptions of what some of the materials contain. Further investigation led officials to identify Dominguez as the suspect.
Dominguez, according to the documents, works at ASPC - Lewis, and was contacted by MCSO his workplace on Dec. 12.
"Post-Miranda Warnings, [Dominguez] admitted to accessing the messenger Kik on his phone around June or July. He recalled the approximate date due to the fact he was on Military Army Gard Training for approximately 1.5 months in California during that period," read a portion of the court documents.
According to investigators, Dominguez used Kik to send and receive CSAM. Dominguez claimed he shared CSAM to others in order to not get kicked out of an app room.
"MCSO knows from training and experience this is to help prove you are not undercover law enforcement," read a portion of court documents.
Dominguez, according to investigators, later said he was "curious" about children being sexually abused on image files.
Investigators say items were seized during search warrants that were served on Dominguez's car and his home. At the time the court document was drafted, 104 CSAM files have been discovered that are considered to be chargeable under Arizona law, and investigators said a forensic investigation is at the very beginning stages.
"While being transported from the residence/search warrant scene to the MCSO Major Crimes Division Building, [Dominguez] commented on how he screwed up his whole life with his choice to engage in CSAM," read a portion of the court documents. "[Dominguez] also commented that as a corrections officer, he mistreated people who were in prison. Now, he noted the irony of his situation."
According to court documents, Dominguez is accused of 10 counts of felony sexual exploitation of minors, A judge has set bond at $100,000 for Dominguez. Should he make bail, he will be subjected to electronic monitoring and house arrest. He is also barred from accessing the internet through any means, or have any contact with minors.
Read More Arizona Crime Stories
- Suspect arrested in deadly Chandler road-rage shooting: police
- Police use DNA to identify, arrest suspect accused of stabbing Mesa 7-Eleven employee
- Man arrested, accused of firing at officers during foot chase in downtown Phoenix
|
https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/arizona-prison-worker-arrested-accused-of-sexually-exploiting-minors
| 2022-12-14T01:22:41
|
en
| 0.979578
|
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Daily 4" game were:
6-8-2-6
(six, eight, two, six)
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Daily 4" game were:
6-8-2-6
(six, eight, two, six)
|
https://www.myjournalcourier.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Daily-4-game-17652340.php
| 2022-12-14T01:22:41
|
en
| 0.931733
|
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Fantasy 5" game were:
02-15-29-30-31
(two, fifteen, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one)
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Fantasy 5" game were:
02-15-29-30-31
(two, fifteen, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one)
|
https://www.chron.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Fantasy-5-game-17652341.php
| 2022-12-14T01:22:43
|
en
| 0.891828
|
By KEN SWEET and FATIMA HUSSEIN
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. government charged Samuel Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, with a host of financial crimes on Tuesday, alleging he intentionally deceived customers and investors to enrich himself and others, while playing a central role in the company’s multibillion-dollar collapse.
Federal prosecutors said Bankman-Fried devised “a scheme and artifice to defraud” FTX’s customers and investors beginning in 2019, the year it was founded. He illegally diverted their money to cover expenses, debts and risky trades at the crypto hedge fund he started in 2017, Alameda Research, and to make lavish real estate purchases and large political donations, prosecutors said in a 13-page indictment.
Bankman-Fried, 30, was arrested Monday in the Bahamas at the request of the U.S. government, and remains in custody after being denied bail.
He has been charged with eight criminal violations, ranging from wire fraud to money laundering to conspiracy to commit fraud. If convicted of all the charges, Bankman-Fried — referred to by crypto enthusiasts as “SBF” — could face decades in jail.
At a press conference on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in New York called it “one of the biggest frauds in American history,” and said the investigation is ongoing and fast-moving.
Bankman-Fried has fallen hard and fast from the top of the cryptocurrency industry he helped to evangelize. FTX filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11, when it ran out of money after the cryptocurrency equivalent of a bank run.
Before the bankruptcy, he was considered by many in Washington and on Wall Street as a wunderkind of digital currencies, someone who could help take them mainstream, in part by working with policymakers to bring more oversight and trust to the industry.
Bankman-Fried had been worth tens of billions of dollars — at least on paper — and was able to attract celebrities like Tom Brady or former politicians like Tony Blair and Bill Clinton to his conferences at luxury resorts in the Bahamas. One prominent Silicon Valley firm, Sequoia Capital, invested hundreds of millions of dollars in FTX.
Sporting shorts and t-shirts to contrast himself with the buttoned-down world of Wall Street, he was the subject of fawning media profiles, a vocal advocate for a type of charitable giving known as “effective altruism,” and garnered millions of Twitter followers.
But since FTX’s implosion, Bankman-Fried and his company have been likened to other disgraced financiers and companies, such as Bernie Madoff and Enron.
The criminal indictment against Bankman-Fried and “others” at FTX is on top of civil charges announced Tuesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The SEC alleges Bankman-Fried defrauded FTX customers by making loans to himself and other FTX executives, and illegally using investors’ money to buy real estate for himself and his family.
No other FTX executives were named in the indictment, nor was the CEO of Alameda Research, Caroline Ellison. Also not named in the indictment: Bankman-Fried’s father, Joseph Bankman, a Stanford University law professor who was considered an adviser to his son.
U.S. authorities said they will try to claw back any of Bankman-Fried’s financial gains from the alleged scheme.
A lawyer for Bankman-Fried, Mark S. Cohen, said Tuesday he is “reviewing the charges with his legal team and considering all of his legal options.”
At a congressional hearing Tuesday that was scheduled before Bankman-Fried’s arrest, the new CEO brought in to steer FTX through its bankruptcy proceedings leveled harsh criticism. He said there was scant oversight of customers’ money and “very few rules” about how their funds could be used.
John Ray III told members of the House Financial Services Committee that the collapse of FTX, resulting in the loss of more than $7 billion, was the culmination of months, or even years, of bad decisions and poor financial controls.
“This is not something that happened overnight or in a context of a week,” he said.
He added: “This is just plain, old-fashioned embezzlement, taking money from others and using it for your own purposes.”
Before his arrest, Bankman-Fried had been holed up in his luxury compound in the Bahamas. U.S. authorities are expected to request his extradition to the U.S.
Bankman-Fried was denied bail at a court hearing in the Bahamas on Tuesday after prosecutors argued he was a flight risk, according to Our News, a broadcast news company based there.
Bankman-Fried’s was previously one of the world’s wealthiest people on paper; at one point his net worth reached $26.5 billion, according to Forbes. He was a prominent personality in Washington, donating millions of dollars to Democrats and Republicans. U.S. Attorney Williams said Tuesday that Bankman-Fried made “tens of millions of dollars” in illegal campaign donations.
His wealth unraveled quickly last month, when reports called into question the strength of FTX’s balance sheet. As customers sought to withdraw billions of dollars, FTX could not satisfy the requests: their money was gone.
“We allege that Sam Bankman-Fried built a house of cards on a foundation of deception while telling investors that it was one of the safest buildings in crypto,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler.
The SEC complaint alleges that Bankman-Fried had raised more than $1.8 billion from investors since May 2019 by promoting FTX as a safe, responsible platform for trading crypto assets.
Instead, the complaint says, Bankman-Fried diverted customers’ funds to Alameda Research without telling them.
“He then used Alameda as his personal piggy bank to buy luxury condominiums, support political campaigns, and make private investments, among other uses,” the complaint reads.
In the weeks after FTX’s collapse, but before his arrest, Bankman-Fried gave interviews to several news organizations in which he grasped for ways to explain what happened.
For example, Bankman-Fried said he did not “knowingly” misuse customers’ funds, and that he believes angry customers will eventually get their money back.
At Tuesday’s congressional hearing, the new FTX CEO bluntly disputed those assertions: “We will never get all these assets back,” Ray said.
Jack Sharman, an attorney at Lightfoot, Franklin & White, said Bankman-Fried’s recent comments to the media could be damaging, admissible evidence in court. “Those statements in that speaking tour were in no way helpful to his cause,” Sharman said.
In its complaint, the SEC challenged Bankman-Fried’s recent statements that FTX and its customers were victims of a sudden market collapse that overwhelmed safeguards that had been in place.
“FTX operated behind a veneer of legitimacy,” said Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC’s enforcement division. “That veneer wasn’t just thin, it was fraudulent.”
The collapse of FTX — which followed other cryptocurrency debacles earlier this year — is adding urgency to efforts to regulate the industry.
Yesha Yadav, a law professor at Vanderbilt University who specializes in financial and securities regulation, said U.S. lawmakers and regulators have been too slow to act, but that is likely to change.
“Lawmakers are clearly under pressure to do something, given that so many people have lost their money,” she said.
______
Hussein contributed to this report from Washington.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
|
https://wtmj.com/ap-news/2022/12/13/ftx-founder-charged-in-scheme-to-defraud-crypto-investors-3/
| 2022-12-14T01:22:43
|
en
| 0.974687
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/nfl/pittsburgh-steelers/articles/41863053
| 2022-12-14T01:22:46
|
en
| 0.738227
|
HSI Baltimore seizes 55 websites illegally live-streaming World Cup matches
Federal agents seized 55 websites that illegally live-streamed World Cup matches, which violates FIFA copyright rules, according to a release from Homeland Security Investigations Baltimore.
Agents began an investigation in September after obtaining information from a FIFA representative who identified multiple websites that were sharing "copyright infringing content" from World Cup games.
The HSI later discovered domain names connected to these websites were streaming World Cup matches without FIFA’s permission.
People visiting the websites to watch World Cup matches saw a message from the federal government that these sites were seized.
RELATED: FBI teams up with FIFA to help protect the 2022 World Cup
Free access to live sports copyright-protected content brings in a lot of viewership online and websites offering this content can rake in a lot of money, the HSI explained.
"HSI Baltimore will continue to focus on removing websites that facilitate digital piracy, and other intellectual property violations, from the internet," James C. Harris III, special agent in charge of HSI Baltimore, said in a statement. "While many may believe that such websites do not constitute serious threats, the infringement upon rights holders of any intellectual property is a growing threat to our economic viability. The impact can be felt across multiple industries, and it can be the conduit to other forms of criminal activity."
RELATED: FIFA World Cup 2022 schedule: Here's when your favorite teams play
All 64 World Cup matches are live across FOX and FS1, with every match livestreaming on the FOX Sports App. The 2022 FIFA World Cup runs until Dec. 18.
This story was reported from Washington, D.C.
|
https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/authorities-seize-websites-illegally-live-streaming-world-cup
| 2022-12-14T01:22:47
|
en
| 0.928925
|
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Fantasy 5 Double Play" game were:
17-19-22-25-39
(seventeen, nineteen, twenty-two, twenty-five, thirty-nine)
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Fantasy 5 Double Play" game were:
17-19-22-25-39
(seventeen, nineteen, twenty-two, twenty-five, thirty-nine)
|
https://www.myjournalcourier.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Fantasy-5-Double-Play-17652342.php
| 2022-12-14T01:22:48
|
en
| 0.860308
|
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Keno" game were:
01-04-09-12-13-15-19-22-26-29-37-40-43-44-48-50-51-58-59-62-75-80
(one, four, nine, twelve, thirteen, fifteen, nineteen, twenty-two, twenty-six, twenty-nine, thirty-seven, forty, forty-three, forty-four, forty-eight, fifty, fifty-one, fifty-eight, fifty-nine, sixty-two, seventy-five, eighty)
|
https://www.chron.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Keno-game-17652350.php
| 2022-12-14T01:22:49
|
en
| 0.840725
|
By KEN SWEET and FATIMA HUSSEIN
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. government charged Samuel Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, with a host of financial crimes on Tuesday, alleging he intentionally deceived customers and investors to enrich himself and others, while playing a central role in the company’s multibillion-dollar collapse.
Federal prosecutors said Bankman-Fried devised “a scheme and artifice to defraud” FTX’s customers and investors beginning in 2019, the year it was founded. He illegally diverted their money to cover expenses, debts and risky trades at the crypto hedge fund he started in 2017, Alameda Research, and to make lavish real estate purchases and large political donations, prosecutors said in a 13-page indictment.
Bankman-Fried, 30, was arrested Monday in the Bahamas at the request of the U.S. government, and remains in custody after being denied bail.
He has been charged with eight criminal violations, ranging from wire fraud to money laundering to conspiracy to commit fraud. If convicted of all the charges, Bankman-Fried — referred to by crypto enthusiasts as “SBF” — could face decades in jail.
At a news conference on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in New York called it “one of the biggest frauds in American history,” and said the investigation is ongoing and fast-moving.
Bankman-Fried has fallen hard and fast from the top of the cryptocurrency industry he helped to evangelize. FTX filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11, when it ran out of money after the cryptocurrency equivalent of a bank run.
Before the bankruptcy, he was considered by many in Washington and on Wall Street as a wunderkind of digital currencies, someone who could help take them mainstream, in part by working with policymakers to bring more oversight and trust to the industry.
Bankman-Fried had been worth tens of billions of dollars — at least on paper — and was able to attract celebrities like Tom Brady or former politicians like Tony Blair and Bill Clinton to his conferences at luxury resorts in the Bahamas. One prominent Silicon Valley firm, Sequoia Capital, invested hundreds of millions of dollars in FTX.
Sporting shorts and t-shirts to contrast himself with the buttoned-down world of Wall Street, he was the subject of fawning media profiles, a vocal advocate for a type of charitable giving known as “effective altruism,” and garnered millions of Twitter followers.
But since FTX’s implosion, Bankman-Fried and his company have been likened to other disgraced financiers and companies, such as Bernie Madoff and Enron.
The criminal indictment against Bankman-Fried and “others” at FTX is on top of civil charges announced Tuesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The SEC alleges Bankman-Fried defrauded FTX customers by making loans to himself and other FTX executives, and illegally using investors’ money to buy real estate for himself and his family.
No other FTX executives were named in the indictment, nor was the CEO of Alameda Research, Caroline Ellison. Also not named in the indictment: Bankman-Fried’s father, Joseph Bankman, a Stanford University law professor who was considered an adviser to his son.
U.S. authorities said they will try to claw back any of Bankman-Fried’s financial gains from the alleged scheme.
A lawyer for Bankman-Fried, Mark S. Cohen, said Tuesday he is “reviewing the charges with his legal team and considering all of his legal options.”
At a congressional hearing Tuesday that was scheduled before Bankman-Fried’s arrest, the new CEO brought in to steer FTX through its bankruptcy proceedings leveled harsh criticism. He said there was scant oversight of customers’ money and “very few rules” about how their funds could be used.
John Ray III told members of the House Financial Services Committee that the collapse of FTX, resulting in the loss of more than $7 billion, was the culmination of months, or even years, of bad decisions and poor financial controls.
“This is not something that happened overnight or in a context of a week,” he said.
He added: “This is just plain, old-fashioned embezzlement, taking money from others and using it for your own purposes.”
Before his arrest, Bankman-Fried had been holed up in his luxury compound in the Bahamas. U.S. authorities are expected to request his extradition to the U.S.
Bankman-Fried was denied bail at a court hearing in the Bahamas on Tuesday after prosecutors argued he was a flight risk, according to Our News, a broadcast news company based there. He will remain in custody at the Bahamas department of corrections until Feb. 8, Our News reported.
Bankman-Fried’s was previously one of the world’s wealthiest people on paper; at one point his net worth reached $26.5 billion, according to Forbes. He was a prominent personality in Washington, donating millions of dollars to Democrats and Republicans. U.S. Attorney Williams said Tuesday that Bankman-Fried made “tens of millions of dollars” in illegal campaign donations.
His wealth unraveled quickly last month, when reports called into question the strength of FTX’s balance sheet. As customers sought to withdraw billions of dollars, FTX could not satisfy the requests: their money was gone.
“We allege that Sam Bankman-Fried built a house of cards on a foundation of deception while telling investors that it was one of the safest buildings in crypto,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler.
The SEC complaint alleges that Bankman-Fried had raised more than $1.8 billion from investors since May 2019 by promoting FTX as a safe, responsible platform for trading crypto assets.
Instead, the complaint says, Bankman-Fried diverted customers’ funds to Alameda Research without telling them.
“He then used Alameda as his personal piggy bank to buy luxury condominiums, support political campaigns, and make private investments, among other uses,” the complaint reads.
In the weeks after FTX’s collapse, but before his arrest, Bankman-Fried gave interviews to several news organizations in which he grasped for ways to explain what happened.
For example, Bankman-Fried said he did not “knowingly” misuse customers’ funds, and that he believes angry customers will eventually get their money back.
At Tuesday’s congressional hearing, the new FTX CEO bluntly disputed those assertions: “We will never get all these assets back,” Ray said.
Jack Sharman, an attorney at Lightfoot, Franklin & White, said Bankman-Fried’s recent comments to the media could be damaging, admissible evidence in court. “Those statements in that speaking tour were in no way helpful to his cause,” Sharman said.
In its complaint, the SEC challenged Bankman-Fried’s recent statements that FTX and its customers were victims of a sudden market collapse that overwhelmed safeguards that had been in place.
“FTX operated behind a veneer of legitimacy,” said Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC’s enforcement division. “That veneer wasn’t just thin, it was fraudulent.”
The collapse of FTX — which followed other cryptocurrency debacles earlier this year — is adding urgency to efforts to regulate the industry.
Yesha Yadav, a law professor at Vanderbilt University who specializes in financial and securities regulation, said U.S. lawmakers and regulators have been too slow to act, but that is likely to change.
“Lawmakers are clearly under pressure to do something, given that so many people have lost their money,” she said.
______
Hussein contributed to this report from Washington.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
|
https://wtmj.com/national/2022/12/13/ftx-founder-charged-in-scheme-to-defraud-crypto-investors-4/
| 2022-12-14T01:22:50
|
en
| 0.974416
|
Checkmarks and labels: How to navigate Twitter’s latest tools
Since Elon Musk took the helm of Twitter, the social media platform is going through a bit of a renaissance.
Musk recently re-launched Twitter Blue, a premium service costing $8 a month for web users and $11 a month for iPhone and iPad users.
It’s the latest tool offered to customers to have their accounts verified, an added protection against fraudulent accounts.
What is the blue checkmark?
Twitter’s coveted blue checkmark was originally given to companies, celebrities, government entities and journalists verified by the platform. After Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion in October, he launched a service granting blue checks to anyone willing to pay $8 a month.
RELATED: Twitter Blue launches again after previous failed attempt
But it was inundated by imposter accounts, including those impersonating Nintendo, pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Musk’s businesses Tesla and SpaceX, so Twitter suspended the service days after its launch.
A familiar blue check can now mean two things: either that an account was verified under the previous verification criteria (active and authentic), or that the account has an active subscription to Twitter Blue.
On some accounts with a blue checkmark, the message may read "This is a legacy verified account. It may or may not be notable."
RELATED: Elon Musk booed at Dave Chappelle show in San Francisco
Musk tweeted that legacy checkmarks will disappear in a few months.
According to the company, Twitter Blue also allows users to select features such as an edit button and different layouts.
What is the gold checkmark?
The gold checkmark is more of an "official" stamp on an account. It can be used for businesses with a social media presence.
What is the gray (official) label?
Another official label, displayed in gray, will verify governmental accounts (such as institutional accounts, elected or appointed officials, and multilateral organizations), certain political organizations such as political parties, commercial companies including business partners, major brands, media outlets and publishers, and some other public figures.
RELATED: Women file lawsuit against Twitter, allege discrimination in Musk's mass layoffs
What are the candidate labels?
Candidate labels, similar to the government ones, will verify accounts belonging for official national-level political candidates for some elections.
The label will contain information about the office the candidate is running for, the state the office is located in, and (when applicable) the district number.
What are the automated account labels?
Automated account labels, which are currently being tested, will help customers identify if the account is a bot or not. Accounts with such labels will let readers know that content is automatically generated from this account and not a human.
What are professional category labels?
Professional category labels are for Twitter users who want to convert their accounts into professional accounts. Twitter does not control the distribution of labels. Users can also change their professional category at any time.
This story was reported from Los Angeles. The Associated Press contributed.
|
https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/checkmarks-and-labels-how-to-navigate-twitters-latest-tools
| 2022-12-14T01:22:54
|
en
| 0.941529
|
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Fantasy 5" game were:
02-15-29-30-31
(two, fifteen, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one)
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Fantasy 5" game were:
02-15-29-30-31
(two, fifteen, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one)
|
https://www.myjournalcourier.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Fantasy-5-game-17652341.php
| 2022-12-14T01:22:54
|
en
| 0.891828
|
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "Pick 3 Evening" game were:
0-9-4, FIREBALL: 5
(zero, nine, four; FIREBALL: five)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "Pick 3 Evening" game were:
0-9-4, FIREBALL: 5
(zero, nine, four; FIREBALL: five)
|
https://www.chron.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Pick-3-Evening-game-17652279.php
| 2022-12-14T01:22:55
|
en
| 0.844122
|
By JAMIE STENGLE and STEPHEN GROVES
Associated Press
DALLAS (AP) — A massive storm blowing across the country has spawned tornadoes, wrecked homes and injured a handful of people in parts of Oklahoma and Texas, including the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Much of the central United States braced Tuesday for blizzard-like conditions, from the Rocky Mountains to the Midwest. Some tornado damage was reported in Oklahoma, and forecasters warned that Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi could also see flash flooding and tornadoes from the same weather system. Authorities in South Dakota and Nebraska shut down interstates due to freezing rain, drifting snow and high winds.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
|
https://wtmj.com/ap-news/2022/12/13/massive-us-storm-brings-tornadoes-to-south-blizzard-threat-14/
| 2022-12-14T01:22:56
|
en
| 0.932233
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/nfl/washington-commanders/articles/41862147
| 2022-12-14T01:22:58
|
en
| 0.738227
|
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Keno" game were:
01-04-09-12-13-15-19-22-26-29-37-40-43-44-48-50-51-58-59-62-75-80
(one, four, nine, twelve, thirteen, fifteen, nineteen, twenty-two, twenty-six, twenty-nine, thirty-seven, forty, forty-three, forty-four, forty-eight, fifty, fifty-one, fifty-eight, fifty-nine, sixty-two, seventy-five, eighty)
|
https://www.myjournalcourier.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Keno-game-17652350.php
| 2022-12-14T01:23:00
|
en
| 0.840725
|
Coast Guard: Missing men, dog aboard Atrevida II, destined for Florida, found alive and OK
The U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday night that two missing men and a dog aboard a boat destined for Florida were found safe more than 200 miles east of Delaware, and days after they were reported overdue.
In a news release, the Coast Guard said Kevin Hyde, 65, and Joe Ditomasso, 76, were found Tuesday afternoon and that both of them – and the dog -- appeared to be in good health with no immediate concerns.
The two men reportedly left Oregon Inlet, North Carolina on Dec. 3, and were planning to sail aboard the Atrevida II from Cape May, New Jersey to Marathon, Florida. On Sunday, Dec. 11, the two had not arrived in Florida and were reported overdue to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Their boat was out of fuel and had no power and the two were unable to use their radios or navigational tools to ask for help, the Coast Guard said. They caught the attention of another boat – Silver Muna – by waiving their arms and a flag, a news release said.
"This is an excellent example of the maritime community’s combined efforts to ensure safety of life at sea," said Cmdr. Daniel Schrader, spokesperson for Coast Guard Atlantic Area, in a prepared statement. "We are overjoyed with the outcome of the case and look forward to reuniting Mr. Hyde and Mr. Ditomasso with their family and friends."
The U.S. Coast Guard said it and its partners searched more than 21,000 square miles of water – spanning from northern Florida to New Jersey – hoping to find the missing men and boat.
|
https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/coast-guard-missing-men-dog-aboard-atrevida-ii-destined-for-florida-found-alive-and-ok
| 2022-12-14T01:23:00
|
en
| 0.981137
|
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Poker Lotto" game were:
JD-QD-QH-AS-2D
(JD, QD, QH, AS, 2D)
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Poker Lotto" game were:
JD-QD-QH-AS-2D
(JD, QD, QH, AS, 2D)
|
https://www.chron.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Poker-Lotto-game-17652351.php
| 2022-12-14T01:23:01
|
en
| 0.878443
|
By GLENN GAMBOA
AP Business Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and former CEO of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, helped 1,500 Bahamian investors remove $100 million from their accounts while other customers around the world were locked out of the exchange, according to the company’s new CEO, who testified before a House committee Tuesday
FTX CEO John Ray III, who has guided dozens of companies, including Enron, through bankruptcy restructuring, called FTX’s collapse one of the worst business failures he has seen — a “paperless bankruptcy,” fueled by an “unprecedented lack of documentation.”
For nearly four hours, without a break, Ray told lawmakers about the lack of oversight and financial controls that he discovered since taking over FTX a month ago. He found a loan where Bankman-Fried was both the issuer and the recipient. There were expenses approved by emoji. FTX didn’t have accountants. For record-keeping, employees used QuickBooks, pre-packaged software typically used by small and medium-sized businesses, to manage FTX’s finances.
“Nothing against QuickBooks,” Ray said. “It’s a very nice tool, just not for a multibillion-dollar company.”
At its peak, FTX’s market value topped $30 billion.
Notably absent from the hearing before the House Financial Services Committee was Bankman-Fried, who was arrested in the Bahamas just hours before he was scheduled to testify. The arrest was made at the request of the U.S. government, which on Tuesday announced criminal charges against Bankman-Fried including wire fraud and money laundering.
The timing of Bankman-Fried’s arrest frustrated many committee members. Republican Rep. William Timmons, of South Carolina, called the timing “bizarre” and added that, as a former prosecutor, he couldn’t imagine why any prosecutor wouldn’t want “hours of congressional grilling for the target of an investigation” to help make a case.
FTX filed for bankruptcy protection on Nov. 11, when the firm ran out of money after the cryptocurrency equivalent of a bank run. The collapse of crypto’s second-largest exchange has garnered worldwide attention, and prompted worries in the crypto industry that the pain could become widespread. Ray estimated that about $8 billion of customer funds are missing.
Some customers in the Bahamas, where FTX was based, were able to recover some money, Ray said. That’s because the Bahamian government and Bankman-Fried agreed to let them get their money out of FTX while customers in other countries were blocked from doing so, Ray said.
Ray, who took over FTX on Nov. 11, told the committee that the problems at FTX were a cumulation of months or even years of bad decisions and poor financial controls.
“This is not something that happened overnight or in a context of a week,” he said.
However, Ray didn’t answer numerous questions about what regulations could have stopped the collapse of FTX. Instead, he focused on how unusual FTX was — having no board of directors, having no real structure that prohibited money invested by consumers in FTX to be shifted to Bankman-Fried’s hedge fund Alameda Research for other investments or lavish purchases, without the original investors’ knowledge.
In his prepared remarks, Ray painted a picture of a company acting with little to no oversight.
“FTX Group’s collapse appears to stem from the absolute concentration of control in the hands of a very small group of grossly inexperienced and unsophisticated individuals who failed to implement virtually any of the systems or controls that are necessary for a company that is entrusted with other people’s money or assets,” Ray said.
In interviews since FTX filed for bankruptcy protection, Bankman-Fried acknowledged that the company lacked proper financial controls and corporate governance, but denied any fraud had been committed.
U.S. prosecutors and financial regulators disagreed with that assessment. An indictment unsealed Tuesday charged Bankman-Fried with a host of financial crimes and campaign finance violations, alleging he played a central role in the rapid collapse of FTX and hid its problems from the public and investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission said Bankman-Fried illegally used investors’ money to buy real estate on behalf of himself and family.
Ray’s comments supported those allegations.
“This is just old fashion embezzlement, taking money from others and using it for your own purposes,” he said. “This is not sophisticated at all.”
A lawyer for Bankman-Fried, Mark S. Cohen, said Tuesday he is “reviewing the charges with his legal team and considering all of his legal options.”
____
Reporter Ken Sweet contributed.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
|
https://wtmj.com/ap-news/2022/12/13/new-ftx-ceo-says-lax-oversight-bad-decisions-caused-failure-5/
| 2022-12-14T01:23:02
|
en
| 0.97088
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/nfl/washington-commanders/articles/41862340
| 2022-12-14T01:23:05
|
en
| 0.738227
|
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "Pick 3 Evening" game were:
0-9-4, FIREBALL: 5
(zero, nine, four; FIREBALL: five)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "Pick 3 Evening" game were:
0-9-4, FIREBALL: 5
(zero, nine, four; FIREBALL: five)
|
https://www.myjournalcourier.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Pick-3-Evening-game-17652279.php
| 2022-12-14T01:23:06
|
en
| 0.844122
|
Colorado River water users convening amid 'dire' drought concerns
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Living with less water in the U.S. Southwest is the focus this week for state and federal water administrators, tribal officials, farmers, academics and business representatives meeting about the drought-stricken and overpromised Colorado River.
The Colorado River Water Users Association conference, normally a largely academic three-day affair, comes at a time of growing concern about the river's future after more than two decades of record drought attributed to climate change.
"The Colorado River system is in a very dire condition," Dan Bunk, a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation water manager, declared during internet presentations streamed Nov. 29 and Dec. 2 that invited public comment about possible actions.
"Flows during the past 23-year period … are the lowest in the past 120 years and (among) the lowest in more than 1,200 years," Bunk told the webinar audience. The deadline for public submissions is Dec. 20 for a process expected to yield a final report by summer.
Bunk said the two largest reservoirs on the river — Lake Mead behind Hoover Dam on the Nevada-Arizona state line and Lake Powell formed by the Glen Canyon Dam on the Arizona-Utah line — are at unprecedented low levels. Lake Mead was at 100% capacity in mid-1999. Today it is 28% full. Lake Powell, last full in June 1980, is at 25%.
Scientists attribute extended drought to warmer and drier weather in the West to long-term, human-caused climate change. The effect has been dramatic on a vast river basin where the math never added up: The amount of water it receives doesn't meet the amount that is promised.
Lake Powell's drop last March to historically low water levels raised worries about losing the ability — perhaps within the next few months — to produce hydropower that today serves about 5 million customers in seven states. If power production ceases at Glen Canyon Dam, rural electric cooperatives, cities and tribal utilities would be forced to seek more expensive options.
Reclamation water managers responded with plans to hold back more water in Lake Powell but warned that Lake Mead water levels would drop.
Meanwhile, bodies have surfaced as Lake Mead's shoreline recedes, including the corpse of a man who authorities say was shot, maybe in the 1970s, and stuffed in a barrel. He remains unidentified. The gruesome discoveries renewed interest in the lore of organized crime and the early days of the Las Vegas Strip, just a 30-minute drive from the lake.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in June told the seven states that are part of the Colorado River Basin — Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — to determine how to use at least 15% less water next year, or have restrictions imposed on them. Despite deadlines, discussions have not resulted in agreements.
Bureau officials use the image of pouring tea from one cup to another to describe how water from Rocky Mountain snowmelt is captured in Lake Powell, then released downriver through the Grand Canyon to Lake Mead. About 70% is allocated for irrigation, sustaining a $15 billion-a-year agricultural industry that supplies 90% of U.S. winter vegetables.
The two lakes, combined, were at 92% capacity in 1999, Bunk noted. Today, they are at 26%.
"Due to critically low current reservoir conditions, and the potential for worsening drought which threatens critical infrastructure and public health and safety … operational strategies must be revisited," Bunk said.
This year’s meeting of water recipients begins Wednesday at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip. The event theme, "A New Century for the Colorado River Compact," marks 100 years since a 1922 interstate agreement divvied water shares among interests in the seven states now home to 40 million people and millions of farmed acres.
Agricultural interests got the biggest share. Native American tribes weren’t included and were referenced in one sentence: "Nothing in this compact shall be construed as affecting the obligations of the United States of America to Indian tribes."
It wasn’t until 1944 that a separate agreement promised a share of water to Mexico.
Today, tribes are at the table and a Mexico delegation is due to attend the conference. U.S. cities that receive river water include Denver, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Diego.
Many call conservation crucial. Among conference topic titles are "Messaging in a More Water-Challenged world" and "The Next 100 Years Begins Now."
"The ongoing drought is a stark reminder that water conservation is not just smart planning but an absolute necessity to save the life of the Colorado River," Amelia Flores, chairwoman of Colorado River Indian Tribes, said ahead of the event. The tribal reservation in western Arizona includes more than 110 miles (177 kilometers) of Colorado River shoreline.
"Whether it’s fallowing fields, upgrading irrigation canals, or modernizing farming methods," Flores said, "decisions made now will have lasting consequences."
Throughout the river basin, warnings have increased and measures have tightened markedly in 2022.
In April, water administrators in Southern California imposed a one-day-a-week outdoor watering limit on more than 6 million people.
Last month, 30 agencies that supply water to homes and businesses throughout the region joined the Las Vegas area in restricting the planting of decorative lawns that no one walks on.
Adel Hagekhalil, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California general manager, warned this month in a statement that another dry winter could force officials to make voluntary measures mandatory.
The four states at the headwaters of the river — Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — also recently announced they plan to ask Congress to let them use federal money through 2026 for a program dubbed "strategic conservation." It would resurrect a 2015 to 2018 pilot program that paid farmers to fallow land to cut water use.
Camille Touton, bureau commissioner, tempered a warning during the water webinars about federal intervention — she called it "moving forward on the initiation of administrative actions" — with a vow to "find a collective solution to the challenges that we face today."
Touton and two top Interior Department officials are scheduled to address the conference on Friday.
|
https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/colorado-river-water-drought-users-association-conference
| 2022-12-14T01:23:06
|
en
| 0.95383
|
LEESBURG, Va. (AP) — Three separate trials will be held next year to adjudicate charges against the former superintendent of a northern Virginia school system as well as the system's primary spokesman.
Ex-Superintendent Scott Ziegler and spokesman Wayde Byard made initial appearances Tuesday in Loudoun County Circuit Court after indictments against them were unsealed Monday.
The indictments came from a special grand jury commissioned by Attorney General Jason Miyares that investigated the system's response to two sexual assaults committed by a student last year.
Ziegler is facing three misdemeanor charges while Byard faces a single felony count of perjury.
Tuesday's hearings were short and largely procedural. At the request of Special Counsel Theo Stamos, Judge James Plowman set two separate trial dates, in May and July, to hear the charges against Ziegler. Byard's trial will be held at a date to be determined.
In a statement after Tuesday's hearing, Byard said he plans to plead not guilty.
“At this point, I can’t address any specific charges because neither my attorney nor myself have been given any indication of what I’ve been alleged to do,” Byard said.
Indeed, the indictments provide almost no details of the charges against the two. In Byard's case, the indictment simply accuses him of perjury on Aug. 2, 2022. School officials were being subpoenaed to testify before the special grand jury around that time.
Ziegler left the courthouse without speaking to reporters. The three misdemeanors against him include one count of false publication, one count of prohibited conduct related to alleged retaliation against a teacher, and one count of penalizing an employee for a court appearance.
Two of those counts relate not to the sexual assaults that prompted the special grand jury probe but instead to a lawsuit filed by a special education teacher, Erin Brooks, who alleged that the school system retaliated against her after she reported a special needs student at an elementary school had sexually assaulted her. That lawsuit is ongoing.
The false publication charge relates to a statement Ziegler made on June 22, 2021. That’s when Ziegler attended a school board meeting and told board members that there hadn’t been any assaults in school bathrooms.
In fact, the first assault had occurred a month earlier in a bathroom stall at Stone Bridge High School, and emails show Ziegler had been made aware of it, according to a scathing report issued last week by the grand jury.
The report concluded that Ziegler lied to the public to cover up what occurred, and accused authorities of ignoring multiple warning signs that could have prevented the second assault, which occurred at Broad Run High School in October 2021 after the student was transferred there.
The student was later convicted of both assaults in juvenile court.
|
https://www.chron.com/news/article/3-trials-to-be-held-against-Loudoun-school-17652257.php
| 2022-12-14T01:23:07
|
en
| 0.977561
|
By ANDREW SELSKY
Associated Press
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced Tuesday that she is commuting the sentences of the 17 inmates in Oregon who were sentenced to death, ordering each to spend life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Brown, who has less than a month remaining in office, said she is using her executive clemency powers to commute the sentences and that her order will take effect on Wednesday.
“I have long believed that justice is not advanced by taking a life, and the state should not be in the business of executing people — even if a terrible crime placed them in prison,” Brown said in a statement.
Oregon has not executed a prisoner since 1997. In Brown’s first news conference after she became governor in 2015, the Democrat announced she would continue a moratorium on the death penalty imposed by her predecessor, former Gov. John Kitzhaber.
So far, 17 people have been executed in the U.S. in 2022, all by lethal injection and all in Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Missouri and Alabama, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Like Oregon, some other states are moving away from the death penalty.
In California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom imposed a moratorium on executions in 2019 and shut down the state’s execution chamber at San Quentin. A year ago, he moved to dismantle America’s largest death row by moving all condemned inmates to other prisons within two years.
In Oregon, Brown is known for exercising her authority to grant clemency.
During the coronavirus pandemic, Brown granted clemency to nearly 1,000 people convicted of crimes. Two district attorneys, along with family members of crime victims, sued the governor and other state officials to stop the clemency actions. But the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled in August that she acted within her authority.
The prosecutors, in particular, objected to Brown’s decision to allow 73 people convicted of murder, assault, rape and manslaughter while they were younger than 18 to apply for early release.
Brown noted that previously she granted commutations “to individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary growth and rehabilitation” but said that assessment didn’t apply in her latest decision.
“This commutation is not based on any rehabilitative efforts by the individuals on death row,” Brown said. “Instead, it reflects the recognition that the death penalty is immoral. It is an irreversible punishment that does not allow for correction.”
The Oregon Department of Corrections announced in May 2020 it was phasing out its death row and reassigning those inmates to other special housing units or general population units at the state penitentiary in Salem and other state prisons.
A list of inmates with death sentences provided by the governor’s office had 17 names.
But the state Department of Corrections’ website lists 21 names. One of those prisoners, however, had his death sentence overturned by the Oregon Supreme Court in 2021 because the crime he committed was no longer eligible for the death penalty under a 2019 law.
Officials in the governor’s office and the corrections department did not immediately respond to an attempt to reconcile the lists.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
|
https://wtmj.com/national/2022/12/13/oregon-governor-commutes-death-sentences-to-life-in-prison/
| 2022-12-14T01:23:09
|
en
| 0.968592
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/nfl/washington-commanders/articles/41862364
| 2022-12-14T01:23:11
|
en
| 0.738227
|
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Poker Lotto" game were:
JD-QD-QH-AS-2D
(JD, QD, QH, AS, 2D)
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Poker Lotto" game were:
JD-QD-QH-AS-2D
(JD, QD, QH, AS, 2D)
|
https://www.myjournalcourier.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Poker-Lotto-game-17652351.php
| 2022-12-14T01:23:12
|
en
| 0.878443
|
Don't have your Christmas plane ticket yet? Here's what an expert says
As the Christmas holiday quickly approaches, many Americans may still be scrambling to book last-minute flights. But, when is the right time to book your plane tickets?
Fight booking company Hopper says "as soon as possible."
According to the company — known for flight and hotel deals — an estimated 53 million people are expected to depart from U.S airports over the holiday period, Sunday, Dec. 18 through Tuesday, Jan. 3.
"We’re expecting really high demand," Lindsay Schwimer, a consumer travel expert at Hopper, told FOX Television Stations. "People are excited to get back out there after missed holidays due to the pandemic."
Busiest flying days over Christmas holiday
According to AAA, an estimated 112.7 million people will travel 50 miles or more away from their homes during the holiday season. The agency said that's more than 3.6 million travelers than last year and close to pre-pandemic levels.
"This year, travel time will be extended due to Christmas Day and New Year’s Day falling on Sundays," Paula Twidale, AAA’s Senior Vice President of Travel, said in a news release. "With hybrid work schedules, we are seeing more people take long weekends to travel because they can work remotely at their destination and be more flexible with the days they depart and return."
A scenic view of aircraft flying overhead photographed on November 29, 2010 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Schwimer says the busiest days for traveling from the U.S. will likely be Thursday, Dec. 22, Friday, Dec. 23, Monday, Dec. 26 and Mon. Jan. 2.
"If you’re booking any of those days, those are going to be the busiest, as well as the most expensive," she added.
To land the best-priced deal, Shwimer suggests flying to your destination on the earliest day possible and coming back in the middle of the week.
Best flight deals over Christmas
Schwimer says that domestic prices for the Christmas holiday are currently averaging $350 round trip. However, she notes, those prices are likely to just continue to rise as the holiday approaches.
"We’re expecting prices to increase about 10 dollars per day in the coming weeks, so if you haven’t booked those holiday trips, you’re going to want to do it as soon as possible, as those prices are only going to surge from here on out," Schwimer explained.
RELATED: AAA estimates 112.7 million people will travel for winter holidays
AAA says the demand for flights this year has surged despite higher ticket prices.
"If the distance is not reasonable to drive, more people are taking to the air to maximize the time spent at their destination," Paula Twidale, AAA’s senior vice president of travel, added.
Clint Henderson, managing editor at The Points Guy, recommends using your reward points and miles if you have them to get their maximum value because cash prices are so high.
"I usually go home to the Bay Area for Christmas from New York," he said. "Flights that are normally $300, $400 are now $800, $1,200. So, you really got to shop around right now."
Tips to avoid travel delays during Christmas holiday
Booking direct flights or non-stop flights, which have no connecting flights to reach your final destination, will reduce your risk of interruptions, according to travel experts.
To avoid delays at the airport, Schwimer advises getting to the airport early to make sure you have ample time to get through security. She also recommends taking the earliest and first flight out, so it’s less likely to be delayed by later flights.
RELATED: Need a vacation? These were the most popular travel destinations in 2022
Whether it’s airplane issues, weather events or pilot disruptions, there is still no way to guarantee disruption-free air travel.
"Definitely pack your patience and get to the airport early this year, because it’s going to be busy out there," Schwimer concluded.
FOX Weather and LiveNOW from FOX contributed to this story.
|
https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/dont-have-your-christmas-plane-ticket-yet-heres-what-an-expert-says
| 2022-12-14T01:23:13
|
en
| 0.964884
|
WETUMPKA, Ala. (AP) — Two Alabama women have been convicted of misdemeanor crimes because of their efforts to feed and trap stray cats.
Local news outlets report that Wetumpka Municipal Judge Jeff Courtney on Tuesday found Beverly Roberts, 85, guilty of criminal trespassing and disorderly conduct. Mary Alston, 61, was found guilty of criminal trespassing and interfering with governmental operations.
Courtney sentenced both women to 2 years of unsupervised probation and 10 days in jail. The jail sentence was suspended, meaning the women will serve no time. Each woman was also fined $100 and ordered to pay court costs.
The verdicts followed a bench trial before Courtney in the town just north of Montgomery. Attorneys for the two women say they will appeal.
The women were arrested and taken to jail by police in Wetumpka in June. The police chief said the women had previously been warned not to feed stray animals.
Terry Luck, an attorney for one of the women, said earlier that the women were performing a public service by trapping stray cats and having them neutered and spayed.
Wetumpka Police Chief Greg Benton has said feeding the cats had created a nuisance because it attracted more animals to the area. He said both women had been “repeatedly” warned to stop prior to being arrested.
|
https://www.chron.com/news/article/Alabama-women-convicted-for-feeding-trapping-17652311.php
| 2022-12-14T01:23:13
|
en
| 0.983745
|
By REGINA GARCIA CANO
Associated Press
LIMA, Peru (AP) — A judge ordered ousted Peruvian President Pedro Castillo to remain in custody on Tuesday, denying his appeal as authorities build a rebellion case against him.
Supreme Court Judge Cesar San Martin Castro’s decision could further inflame violent protests across the country, where people have been demanding Castillo’s freedom, the resignation of his successor and the immediate scheduling of general elections to pick a new president and replace all members of Congress.
Castillo’s nationally televised announcement Wednesday that he had dissolved the Congress by presidential decree was “not a mere act of speech, but the concrete expression of a will to alter the constitutional system and the configuration of public powers,” the judge said.
Later this week, prosecutors plan to seek Castillo’s continued detention for up to three years.
Castillo claimed during his hearing earlier Tuesday that he is being “unjustly and arbitrarily detained” and thanked his supporters for their “effort and fight” since he was taken into custody.
The judge said evidence suggests Castillo was intercepted as he tried to reach the Mexican embassy to seek asylum. He was taken into custody shortly after he was ousted by lawmakers when he sought to dissolve Congress ahead of an impeachment vote.
“I will never renounce or abandon this popular cause that has brought me here,” Castillo said. Then, in apparent reference to the violent protests over his ouster, he urged the national police and armed forces to “lay down their arms and stop killing this people thirsty for justice.”
The protests have been particularly violent outside Peru’s capital, Lima. The Ombudsman’s Office of Peru on Tuesday decreased to six the death toll from the demonstrations that began Wednesday. The office in a statement said it eliminated one person from the list after the national records’ agency determined the individual “does not exist.”
All deaths happened in rural, impoverished communities — strongholds for Castillo, a political neophyte and former schoolteacher of peasant roots. Four of them occurred in Andahuaylas, a remote rural Andean community where the poor have struggled for years and where voters overwhelmingly supported Castillo during last year’s runoff election, which he won by 44,000 votes.
Many businesses in that community remained closed on Tuesday, with streets blocked by burned tires, rocks and tree branches. About 3,000 people, including peasants from nearby villages and teachers, again marched calling for Boluarte’s resignation.
A smaller group accompanied the coffin of a protester who died Monday of an apparent a gunshot wound.
Shoe store owner Vilma Zúñiga put up a sign that read “Congress is the worst virus. Out with Dina Boluarte,” referring to Castillo’s successor. She and other merchants decided to close their doors, losing potential sales ahead of the holidays.
Attorney Ronaldo Atencio, speaking for Castillo’s legal team, argued that he didn’t raise weapons or organize people capable of overturning the existing government, as Peruvian law requires for someone to be charged with rebellion. He also said Castillo doesn’t present a flight risk, and never sought asylum from Mexico, as confirmed by the Mexican ambassador.
Boluarte, Castillo’s running mate and vice president, was swiftly sworn in Wednesday after Congress dismissed Castillo for “permanent moral incapacity.”
On Monday, she acceded in part to protesters’ demands, announcing in a nationally televised address that she would send Congress a proposal to move up elections to April 2024. She had previously asserted that she aimed to remain president for the remaining 3 1/2 years of her predecessor’s term.
In the streets of Lima, officers have doused protesters with tear gas and repeatedly beat them. Outside the capital, demonstrators burned police stations, took over an airstrip used by the armed forces and invaded the runway of the international airport in Arequipa, which is a gateway to some of Peru’s tourist attractions.
The operator of the passenger train that transports visitors to Peru’s world-famous Machu Picchu site suspended service Tuesday. Meanwhile, trailer trucks remain stranded on the Pan-American Highway.
The national police reported that 130 officers have been injured in clashes with demonstrators, according to state media.
Boluarte on Tuesday begged protesters to calm down, explaining that she hadn’t sought the presidency.
“I want to make a call to my brothers and sisters in Andahuaylas, calm down, calm down, please,” she said. “I don’t understand why my brothers… rise up against their compatriot Dina Boluarte when I haven’t done anything for that situation to exist or occur.”
She spoke outside a hospital where a girl is being treated for an eye injury caused by a pellet fired during the protests. Boluarte said she had instructed the national police to not use any lethal weapons, “not even rubber bullets,” and that authorities are working to determine who used them to prosecute them.
Boluarte’s struggles are not only within Peru’s borders. Regional governments have also refused to recognize her as Peru’s president.
The governments of Colombia, Argentina, Mexico and Bolivia on Monday closed ranks in favor Castillo. In a joint statement, they expressed “deep concern” over his ouster and detention, said they still consider him Peru’s legitimate leader and requested that his human rights be respected and judicial protection guaranteed.
Peru’s prime minister, Pedro Angulo, in a statement rejected the four governments’ position, which he attributed to an “ignorance of reality.”
____
Associated Press writer Franklin Briceño contributed to this report from Andahuaylas, Peru.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
|
https://wtmj.com/national/2022/12/13/peru-judge-denies-ousted-leader-pedro-castillos-jail-appeal-3/
| 2022-12-14T01:23:15
|
en
| 0.966402
|
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
|
https://sportspyder.com/nfl/washington-commanders/articles/41862460
| 2022-12-14T01:23:17
|
en
| 0.738227
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.