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Gen. John Abizaid, The Honorable Kari Bingen, Rep. Jim Cooper, and Dr. M. Sanjayan bring diverse experiences to HawkEye 360
HERNDON, Va., May 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- HawkEye 360 Inc., the world's leading defense technology company for space-based radio frequency (RF) data and analytics, announced today their Advisory Board Class of 2023: General John P. Abizaid, The Honorable Kari A. Bingen, The Honorable Jim Cooper, and Dr. M. Sanjayan.
"HawkEye 360 is proud to welcome an extraordinary class of advisory board leaders for 2023," said HawkEye 360 Chief Executive Officer John Serafini. "Their broad expertise across government and nonprofit sectors will be essential as we continue to expand our RF-sensing satellite constellation to equip the U.S. Government and our partners abroad with crucial, near real-time insights into illegal and illicit activities."
General John P. Abizaid is a retired U.S. Army four-star general, who most recently served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Previously, he served on the CIA's External Advisory Board and as the Distinguished Chair (Emeritus) of the Combating Terrorism Center at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He was also the first Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. In his thirty-four years of active service, he commanded units at every level, serving in Grenada, Lebanon, Kurdistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he has also studied at the University of Jordan in Amman, holds a master's degree in Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University, and has received Honorary Degrees from Dartmouth College and Norwich University. Currently, he is the Principal Partner of JPA Partners, LLC, a firm advising private business, government, and academic clients on leadership, national and international strategy, business, security, and military affairs. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves as a board member for the Middle East Institute.
"HawkEye 360's work is critical to fostering a safer and more secure world, including in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific regions," General John Abizaid said. "I look forward to joining this dynamic team who are demonstrating the critical role commercial defense technologies play in our national defense."
The Honorable Kari A. Bingen is the director of the Aerospace Security Project and a senior fellow in the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). She previously served as Chief Strategy Officer for HawkEye 360. Kari has also served as the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security for the U.S. Department of Defense, the policy director on the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) and staff lead for its Strategic Forces Subcommittee. Kari is an adjunct assistant professor at Georgetown University, a member of the U.S. Strategic Command Strategic Advisory Group, and serves on a number of corporate and nonprofit advisory boards. She graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a bachelor's degree in aeronautics and astronautics.
"I'm thrilled to be back with the HawkEye 360 team in this capacity and to be joining such a distinguished cohort of advisors," Kari Bingen said. "HawkEye 360 exemplifies the contribution that commercial space can make to national defense and global security."
The Honorable Jim Cooper is a recently retired congressman (D-TN) who served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 32 years, working on eight different committees including the Intelligence Committee. Jim helped found the U.S. Space Force as the former chairman of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee. In 2017, Jim worked with Representative Mike Rogers (R-AL) on a proposal to establish a space corps under the U.S. Department of the Air Force. The proposal passed the House and two years later a bill with very similar language was signed into law, creating the U.S. Space Force. Cooper received his J.D. from Harvard Law School, his M.A. as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, and his B.A. as a Morehead Scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is writing a book about the beginnings of the Space Force.
"I was impressed by HawkEye 360 and its excellent management team from the start and have been even more impressed by their work overseas this past year," Rep. Jim Cooper said. "They are a company with a great future and I look forward to being a part of it."
Dr. M. Sanjayan is a conservation scientist and CEO of Conservation International, an organization working primarily in the Global South to protect nature for humanity. Born in Sri Lanka and raised in West Africa, Sanjayan holds a master's degree from the University of Oregon and a Ph.D. in conservation biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He has previously served as a visiting researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles, a distinguished professor of practice at Arizona State University, and a fellow at the Aspen Institute. Sanjayan also serves as a trustee for The Earthshot Prize and a climate advisor for the Clinton Global Initiative.
"As a conservation scientist concerned with global climate change, including forest restoration and protecting ocean waters, I have built my career around humanitarian and environmental preservation initiatives," Sanjayan said. "I truly believe Hawkeye 360's technologies will benefit our society and our world."
"As HawkEye 360 continues to grow its signals collection and analysis capabilities, these distinguished advisors bring valuable knowledge and experience in how our data can support the national security, defense, space and environmental sectors," said HawkEye 360 Chief Strategy Officer Patrick Zeitouni. "HawkEye 360 is strengthened by their leadership."
These four individuals, forming HawkEye 360 Advisory Board's Class of 2023, will join the board's 18 current members:
- Letitia Long (Advisory Board Chair)
- Honorable Arthur L. Money
- David Deptula Lt. Gen., U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
- Stephanie O'Sullivan
- B. Lynn Wright
- Scott Swift, Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- Joan DempseySenator Norm Coleman
- Deborah Lee James
- John Mulholland, Lt. Gen., U.S. Army (Ret.)
- Essye Miller
- Representative Mac Thornberry
- Kevin Chilton, General, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
- James A. "Sandy" Winnefeld, Jr., Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- Marty Faga
- Terry McAuliffe
- Paul Zukunft, Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.)
- Mike Rogers, Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
For more information on the HawkEye 360 satellite constellation, please visit https://www.he360.com/.
About HawkEye 360
HawkEye 360 is a defense technology leader providing ubiquitous knowledge of human activity, behavior, and situational trends derived from revolutionary radio frequency (RF) geospatial intelligence. The company's innovative space-based technology was developed to detect, characterize, and geolocate a broad range of RF signals. These RF data and analytics provide an information advantage allowing analysts to detect the first glimpse of suspicious behavior, trace the first sign of enemy activity, and reveal the first sighting of ships attempting to vanish. HawkEye 360's RF intelligence presents a quicker grasp of critical events and patterns of life, providing early warnings to drive tip-and-cue efforts, and providing global leaders the insights needed to make decisions with confidence. HawkEye 360 is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia.
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SOURCE HawkEye 360 | https://www.wbay.com/prnewswire/2023/05/09/hawkeye-360-announces-advisory-board-class-2023/ | 2023-05-09 12:51:16 | 1 | https://www.wbay.com/prnewswire/2023/05/09/hawkeye-360-announces-advisory-board-class-2023/ |
Posted: Sep 9, 2022 / 02:53 PM CDT Updated: Sep 9, 2022 / 02:53 PM CDT SHARE NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball says it is prepared to voluntarily accept minor league union. | https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-major-league-baseball-says-it-is-prepared-to-voluntarily-accept-minor-league-union/ | 2022-09-10 06:14:04 | 0 | https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-major-league-baseball-says-it-is-prepared-to-voluntarily-accept-minor-league-union/ |
Strikes in France brought trains to a halt and protesters flooded the streets, clashing with police in some cities on Thursday, after President Emmanuel Macron pledged to implement legislation raising the retirement age.
Transport employees, teachers and workers around the country marched against the pension law, which raises the minimum retirement age by two years to 64. Riot police scuffled with protesters in cities including Bordeaux, Rennes and Nantes. Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched in Paris, largely peacefully, while some more radical activists lit fires and hurled tear gas bombs at police.
Labor unions are trying to raise the pressure on the government, a day after Macron gave a television interview that stoked their anger. The president doubled down on the pension overhaul as the best way to ensure the future of France's generous pension system, in part due to rising life expectancy, and said those opposed needed to face reality.
The government's use of executive powers to push the bill through has intensified a standoff with unions. The protests have drawn huge crowds since January but so far failed to get Macron to change course.
One of the main labor confederations, the CGT, which is at the heart of the strike, told Agence France-Presse an estimated 800,000 people took to the streets of Paris Thursday -- a number which, if confirmed, would be a record since the beginning of the movement against the pension reform.
The confederation's branch in Marseille said it estimated more than a quarter million people protested Thursday in the southern port city alone, while French media cited police as giving a far lower estimate of 16,000 protesters in Marseille.
Rail workers marched onto the tracks at Paris's Gare de Lyon on Thursday and at the train station in Marseille, where the local branch of a rail workers union vowed to block trains from running until the pension plan is withdrawn.
The country's civil aviation body warned of disruptions to flights into and out of airports for Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux and Lyon, urging passengers to delay their travel and contact airlines.
Outside Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport, protesters blocked a highway leading to one of the terminals of one of Europe's busiest airports. The blockade forced some travelers to reach the airport on foot, the French channel BFM TV reported.
As tourist attractions including the Eiffel Tower and the Versailles Palace closed, Transportation Minister Clement Beaune tweeted that officials were meeting at a crisis center to monitor public transport disruptions "hour by hour."
Rolling strikes have also disrupted access to refineries, causing shortages at the pump in gas stations in various parts of the country. The government on Thursday renewed a requisition order to force a fuel depot in southern France to operate at reduced capacity to ensure supplies for the region, Reuters reported. Striking oil workers tried to block access to the refinery on Thursday. In Paris, meanwhile, walkouts by trash collectors have left heaps of garbage bags spilling out onto the sidewalks this month.
Thursday's industrial action drew people of a variety of ages, backgrounds and professions, with young people marching shoulder-to-shoulder with older protesters closer to retirement age.
The Education Ministry estimated about a quarter of middle school teachers and roughly 15 percent of high school teachers went on strike. Students joined in cities including Nantes, where one protester held a sign that read "Sign-makers on strike." Another picket sign featured a drawing of a skeleton that said "Long live retirement."
Photos and videos from Nantes and Rennes in western France showed police using water cannons and tear gas, and protesters lighting trash on fire.
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has said he ordered the deployment of nearly 12,000 police officers, including 5,000 in Paris on Thursday. Police officers turned tear gas and batons on protesters in several cities Thursday, with footage on social media showing riot police using batons to hit a crowd of demonstrators in Paris, seemingly indiscriminately, as people watching from the sidelines booed.
Police violence toward protesters has received fresh scrutiny in recent weeks, after protesters reported online or in French media having been beaten or arbitrarily arrested by riot police. Claire Hédon, France's defender of rights, an official position focused on defending individual liberties and acting against discrimination, said in a statement Tuesday she was "worried about the testimonies she had received" and would continue to monitor the behavior of security forces to ensure they comply with ethical standards.
Police officers have also been injured in the demonstrations, with one appearing to fall unconscious after being hit in the head with a stone, according to BFM.
After the government passed the pension bill through the lower house of Parliament without a vote last week, the text now faces a review from the Constitutional Council. Still, Macron says the law should come into effect by the end of the year.
Since his government survived two no-confidence votes this week, the test now is whether Macron's determination can outlast the unions' ability to bring pressure to bear on the streets.
"Yesterday, the president of the Republic mocked us," said Marie Buisson, a senior official in the CGT.
"We will continue" even if the bill is adopted "because what we refuse is this reform that forces everyone to work for two extra years," she said on the radio. "You can clearly see the enormous anger out there."
The unrest comes at a diplomatically sensitive moment for Macron, who is preparing to host Britain's King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort, next week. The royal pair are scheduled to be in France from Sunday to Wednesday, before continuing on to Germany - the first state visit of Charles's reign. Their itinerary includes a state banquet with Macron at the Versailles Palace, according to a news release ahead of the visit. The choice of that venue, a symbol of the excesses and detachment of France's elite, has already lent itself to protest slogans portraying Macron as a 21st-century king, in better touch with actual monarchs than with ordinary citizens.
French authorities were contemplating Thursday moving the dinner to another location, possibly the Élysée Palace, French TV channel BFM reported, while unions signaled they would organize demonstrations around the visit. Disruptions to transportation networks could impact other parts of the official visit as well.
Labor Minister Olivier Dussopt said authorities were not in denial about the crisis but hoped to resolve it. "There are many subjects which could allow for renewing a dialogue," he said, including the way in which companies share profits with workers.
"I don't believe at all that from one day to the next, within 12 to 24 hours, that we could pass from a state of conflict to an entente," he added. "Things will be done gradually."
The national train company said Thursday evening it expected circulation to improve Friday, and the Paris public transit authority said traffic would return to normal. | https://www.unionleader.com/news/france-strikes-intensify-as-anger-mounts-against-raising-retirement-age/article_5cdf9f61-4aaf-52ac-8141-b2b9c599c560.html | 2023-03-23 20:28:01 | 0 | https://www.unionleader.com/news/france-strikes-intensify-as-anger-mounts-against-raising-retirement-age/article_5cdf9f61-4aaf-52ac-8141-b2b9c599c560.html |
By The Associated Press
MOSCOW — The Russian Defense Ministry reported the first launch of its new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile. President Vladimir Putin said this weapon is unique and will make those who threaten Russia “think twice.”
The ministry said the missile was launched Wednesday from the Plesetsk launch facility in northern Russia and its practice warheads hit designated targets at the Kura firing range on the far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula.
The Sarmat is a heavy missile, intended to replace the Soviet-made Voyevoda missile which was code-named Satan by the West. Putin said it can penetrate any prospective missile defense.
Putin called this “a big, significant event” for Russia’s defense industry. He said the Sarmat will ensure Russia’s security from external threats and “make those who, in the heat of frantic, aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country, think twice.”
Russia relies on land-based ICBMs as the core of its nuclear deterrent, and is counting on the Sarmat for decades to come. The U.S. has its own nuclear-capable ICBMs, but recently called off a test to avoid escalating tensions.
Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the state Roscosmos agency that oversees the missile factory building the Sarmat, described Wednesday’s test as a “present to NATO” in a comment on his messaging app channel.
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KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:
— Russia hits Ukrainian cities, pours more troops into war
— More than 5 million people have fled Ukraine, the UN says
— Japan formally revokes Russia’s ‘most favored nation’ status
— Russia’s Chernobyl seizure seen as nuclear risk ‘nightmare’
— China looks to learn from Russian failures in Ukraine
Follow all AP stories on Russia’s war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
MOSCOW — The Russian Defense Ministry reported the first launch of its new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile. President Vladimir Putin said this weapon is unique and will make those who threaten Russia “think twice.”
The ministry said the missile was launched Wednesday from the Plesetsk launch facility in northern Russia and its practice warheads hit designated targets at the Kura firing range on the far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula.
The Sarmat is a heavy missile, intended to replace the Soviet-made Voyevoda missile which was code-named Satan by the West. Putin said it can penetrate any prospective missile defense.
Putin called this “a big, significant event” for Russia’s defense industry. He said the Sarmat will ensure Russia’s security from external threats and “make those who, in the heat of frantic, aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country, think twice.”
Russia relies on land-based ICBMs as the core of its nuclear deterrent, and is counting on the Sarmat for decades to come. The U.S. has its own nuclear-capable ICBMs, but recently called off a test to avoid escalating tensions.
Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the state Roscosmos agency that oversees the missile factory building the Sarmat, described Wednesday’s test as a “present to NATO” in a comment on his messaging app channel.
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LONDON — Tennis players from Russia and Belarus will not be allowed to play at Wimbledon this year because of the war in Ukraine, the All England Club announced Wednesday.
Prominent players affected by the ban include reigning U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev, who recently reached No. 1 in the ATP rankings and is currently No. 2; men’s No. 8 Andrey Rublev; Aryna Sabalenka, who was a Wimbledon semifinalist in 2021 and is No. 4 in the WTA rankings; Victoria Azarenka, former women’s No. 1 who has won the Australian Open twice; and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the French Open runner-up last year.
Wimbledon begins on June 27.
Russian athletes have been banned from competing in many sports following their country’s invasion of Ukraine. Belarus has aided Russia in the war.
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SOFIA, Bulgaria — Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba asked Bulgaria to align with international efforts to support his country with military aid.
“The Bulgarian government and Parliament know very well what the Ukrainian requests are … When you fight a war, you need everything — from bullets to fighter jets. We gave the same list to all NATO member states,” Kuleba said Wednesday after meetings with Bulgarian officials.
“I hope the Bulgarian government will consider all kinds of aid opportunities for Ukraine,” he added.
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has warned against supplying weapons to Ukraine, citing the dangers of involving his country more directly in the war.
The ruling coalition in Sofia is blocked by the Socialist party which opposes any military aid to Ukraine, leaving Bulgaria as the only EU member, besides Hungary, that has so far been reluctant to send weapons to Kyiv.
“I have to have in mind the political situation in your country and leave the matter to the government of Bulgaria,” Kuleba said. He warned, however, that those who choose not to help Ukraine “in fact support the Russian aggression and the murder of our citizens.”
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HELSINKI — Estonia says it is prohibiting public meetings where people display Russian flags military symbols during the Victory Day celebrations on May 9, which is traditionally celebrated by the Baltic country’s sizable ethnic-Russian population to mark the end of World War II.
“The Estonian state has so far been tolerant of the events of May 9, but Russia’s current activities in Ukraine preclude public meetings in Estonia expressing support for the aggressor state and displaying war symbols,” Police and Border Guard chief Elmar Vaher said Wednesday.
Police said Wednesday that commemorating those killed in World War II wasn’t forbidden in the country but “it’s not to be used to incite violence and hatred between people.”
Among the banned symbols are the flags of the Soviet Union and Russia, USSR military uniforms and the black-orange Ribbon of Saint George worn in Russia to mark the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in WWII.
The ban is valid until May 10 and applies to the capital, Tallinn, and its surrounding areas.
Ethnic Russians make up about 25% of Estonia’s 1.3 million population and they traditionally gather to lay flowers on May 9 at Tallinn’s Bronze Soldier statue commemorating the fallen Red Army troops in WWII battles in Estonia.
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MOSCOW — Russia will “act consistently” to make sure that life in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland “normalizes,” President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday.
Speaking at a meeting with members of a state-funded non-profit group, Putin pledged that “we will act consistently and make sure (that) life in Donbas normalizes.”
Putin said that hostilities in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-backed rebels have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014, prompted Russia to launch a military operation.
“All these eight years, bombing, artillery strikes and hostilities continued there. And of course, it was very, very hard for people,” Putin said. “The goal of the operation is to help our people living in Donbas.”
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MOSCOW — The Kremlin’s spokesman says Russia has presented Ukraine with a draft document outlining its demands as part of peace talks and is now awaiting a response from Kyiv.
A Ukrainian presidential adviser said Kyiv was reviewing the proposals.
Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters Wednesday that Russia has passed on a draft document containing “absolutely clear, elaborate wording” to Ukraine and now “the ball is in their court, we’re waiting for a response.”
Peskov didn’t give further details. He blamed Ukraine for the slow progress, claiming Kyiv constantly deviates from confirmed agreements. “The Ukrainians do not show a great inclination to intensify the negotiation process,” he said.
Ukraine presented Russia with its own draft last month in Istanbul. Moscow has long demanded, among other things, that Ukraine drop any bid to join NATO. Ukraine has said it would agree to that in return for security guarantees from a number of other countries.
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BERLIN — The German government and military are rejecting an assertion by Ukraine’s ambassador that the country could spare armored fighting vehicles and deliver them to Kyiv.
Ambassador Andriy Melnyk, who has frequently criticized perceived German slowness on weapons deliveries and other issues, argued that Germany’s Bundeswehr uses about 100 Marder vehicles for training and they could be handed over to Ukraine immediately.
But Defense Ministry spokesman Arne Collatz said Wednesday that Germany needs the vehicles for deployments on NATO’s eastern flank and for training. He said that “a delivery from Bundeswehr stock of ‘heavy material’ … is not foreseen.”
He spoke after the German military’s deputy chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Markus Laubenthal, told ZDF television that the military has “wide commitments” and needs the weapons systems it has.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Tuesday that Germany is reaching the limits of possible weapons deliveries from its own stocks and will finance Ukrainian purchases of equipment from a list drawn up by the German defense industry. That didn’t satisfy critics who have called for direct German deliveries of heavy weapons such as tanks.
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BERLIN — The United Nations’ refugee agency says that more than 5 million people have now fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24.
The Geneva-based U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees on Wednesday put the total number of refugees at 5.01 million.
More than half of the total, over 2.8 million, fled at least at first to Poland. Although many have stayed there, an unknown number have traveled onward. There are few border checks within the European Union.
UNHCR said on March 30 that 4 million people had fled Ukraine. The exodus was somewhat slower in recent weeks than at the beginning of the war.
In addition to the refugees, the U.N. says that more than 7 million people have been displaced within Ukraine.
Ukraine had a pre-war population of 44 million.
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KYIV, Ukraine — Mariupol mayor Vadym Boychenko is urging residents to leave the city.
Boychenko appealed Wednesday to people who had already left Mariupol to contact relatives still in the city and urge them to evacuate. He said 200,000 people had already left the city, which had a pre-war population of more than 400,000.
“Do not be frightened and evacuate to Zaporizhzhia, where you can receive all the help you need — food, medicine, essentials — and the main thing is that you will be in safety,” he wrote in a statement issued by the city council.
Boychenko said buses would be used for the evacuation and there will be three pickup points, one of them near the Azovstal steel mill which has become Ukrainian forces’ last stronghold in the city. Many previous evacuation efforts relied on civilians being able to leave in private cars after efforts to bring buses from Ukraine-held territory into the city failed.
Mariupol, Ukraine’s tenth-largest city, came under attack from Russian forces almost immediately after the invasion began in late February. The port city has strategic value as a link between territories in the south and east of Ukraine which are held by Russian forces or Russia-backed separatists.
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COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Norway is donating about 100 air defense systems to Ukraine with the Scandinavian country’s defense minister saying that “the country is depending on international support to resist Russian aggression.”
Bjørn Arild Gram said Norway had donated French-made Mistral short-range missile systems which currently are being phased out by the Norwegian Armed Forces, “but it is still a modern and effective weapon that will be of great benefit to Ukraine,” Arild Gram said.
The weapons have already left Norway which previously has donated 4,000 anti-tank missiles, protective equipment and other military equipment to Ukraine, he added.
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LONDON — Britain’s defense ministry says the Russian military is expanding its presence on Ukraine’s eastern border as fighting in the Donbas region intensifies.
In an intelligence update released Wednesday morning, the ministry says Russian attacks on cities across Ukraine are an attempt to disrupt the movement of Ukrainian reinforcements and weapons to the east.
While Russian air operations in northern Ukraine are likely to remain at a low level following the withdrawal of forces from the Kyiv region, there is still a risk of “precision strikes against priority targets throughout Ukraine,” the ministry says.
In a briefing released late Tuesday, the ministry said Ukrainian forces had repelled “numerous attempted advances” by Russian troops as shelling and attacks increased along the line of control that has separated Ukrainian and Russian-backed forces in the Donbas region for the past eight years.
“Russia’s ability to progress continues to be impacted by the environmental, logistical and technical challenges that have beset them so far, combined with the resilience of the highly motivated Ukrainian armed forces,” the ministry said.
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BERLIN — Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany is criticizing Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s reluctance to commit to direct deliveries of heavy weapons such as tanks.
Scholz faces pressure from parts of his own coalition and Germany’s main opposition party to deliver such weapons. But he avoided a direct response Tuesday, pledging further weapons deliveries but not specifying any system and saying one possibility is for eastern NATO allies to supply Soviet-era equipment that could be delivered and used quickly.
Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Melnyk told German news agency dpa in comments published Wednesday that Scholz’s comments were greeted in Kyiv “with great disappointment and bitterness.”
Scholz said Germany is reaching the limits of its ability to supply Ukraine from its own stock and will finance Ukrainian purchases of equipment from a list drawn up by the German defense industry.
Melnyk, a frequent critic of German politicians in recent weeks, welcomed that readiness but said many questions remained and questioned the assertion that Germany’s military can’t deliver more.
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KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine says its evacuation efforts to bring some civilians out of the war-torn port city of Mariupol will resume Wednesday.
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Wednesday there is a “preliminary” agreement to operate a so-called humanitarian corridor route westward to the Ukraine-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia. It will apply to women, children and older people from Wednesday afternoon local time, she said in a statement on the messaging app Telegram.
She added that Mariupol was the focus of Ukrainian efforts to help civilians because of the “catastrophic humanitarian situation” in the city, which has seen intense fighting for weeks as Russian troops have pushed Ukrainian forces back and now have them encircled in a steel mill complex.
Vereshchuk previously said there would not be an agreed evacuation route out of Mariupol on each of the past three days, saying at the time that an agreement had not been reached with Russia. There was no immediate confirmation from the Russian side. Ukraine and Russia have frequently blamed each other for obstructing evacuations from Mariupol or firing along the agreed route, which has typically only been open to people traveling using private vehicles.
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KYIV, Ukraine — The Ukrainian General Staff said Wednesday in a statement on Facebook that Russia is continuing to mount offensives at various locations in the east as its forces probe for weak points in the Ukrainian lines. The General Staff adds that defeating the last resistance in the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol remains Russia’s top priority.
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UNITED NATIONS — U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres is calling for a four-day halt in fighting in Ukraine, starting Thursday to coincide with Orthodox Christians’ Holy Week observances.
Noting that Orthodox Easter is coming amid an intensifying Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, the U.N. chief said Tuesday that the need for a “humanitarian pause” is all the more urgent.
Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya called on Russia to heed Guterres’ call. But Russian deputy Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said Tuesday he was “a bit skeptical” about the idea.
Guterres said the goal is to allow for evacuating civilians from “current or expected areas of confrontation” and getting more humanitarian aid into desperately needy places such as Mariupol, Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson. More than four million people in those areas need assistance, Guterres said.
The proposal comes after the U.N. recently helped to foster a two-month truce in Yemen’s civil war, halting fighting as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began.
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WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is expected to announce a new security assistance package in the coming days that will include additional artillery and ammunition, according to a U.S. official.
The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said details of the latest package are being finalized.
Last week, in anticipation of Russia’s offensive in eastern Ukraine, Biden approved an $800 million package including additional helicopters and the first provision of American artillery. The U.S. has sent about $2.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded.
Asked by reporters whether he’d be sending more artillery, Biden said, “Yes.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said “providing more ammunition and security assistance to Ukraine” was discussed by Biden and other allied leaders during a video call on Tuesday.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italy Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson took part in the more than 80-minute call.
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Aamer Madhani contributed to this report from Washington.
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OTTAWA, Ontario — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will send heavy artillery to Ukraine.
Trudeau says he’s been in close contact with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Canada is very responsive to what Ukraine needs. He says there will be more details on the pledge in the days to come, and that Ukrainians have “fought like heroes.”
Canada’s government has also hit 14 more Russians with sanctions for their close ties with President Vladimir Putin, including his two adult daughters.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://wtmj.com/national/2022/04/20/live-updates-russia-tests-new-nuclear-capable-missile-2/ | 2022-04-20 17:43:43 | 0 | https://wtmj.com/national/2022/04/20/live-updates-russia-tests-new-nuclear-capable-missile-2/ |
PARIS (AP) — Colleagues of Arman Soldin, the Agence France-Presse journalist slain in Ukraine, gathered solemnly at the press agency’s Paris headquarters on Wednesday, a day after his death, to remember the 32-year old.
A widely broadcast photo of Soldin, pictured in protective gear and smiling broadly with a cat on his shoulder, has plucked at the heartstrings of the French nation.
“Arman was so enthusiastic, so energetic, so alive that it seems unreal to be here and talk about it this morning,” said Juliette Hollier-Larousse, the agency’s deputy news director.
Soldin, who was working as the Ukraine video coordinator, was killed in a Grad rocket attack near the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. He was with a team of AFP journalists traveling with Ukrainian soldiers when the group came under fire. The rest of the team escaped uninjured.
The Paris prosecutors’ office, which handles counterterrorism cases, said Wednesday evening that it was launching an inquiry into war crimes over the journalist’s death.
At the editorial meeting, AFP news director Phil Chetwynd said that the shock reverberated across the whole company, saying that “Arman was someone who is loved by his colleagues.”
“To lose him in these circumstances is incredibly painful for all of us,” Chetwynd said, even though ”we all know the risks.”
Chetwynd said the logistical priority now was to return Soldin’s body to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, so “we can safely take it out of the country and return it home to his family.”
He added: “It’s just something we never, ever want to have to contact the family about. It goes to some of our worst fears and concerns. So really, all our thoughts are with his family today.”
Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the eastern Donetsk region, said in a Telegram update that Soldin was killed near Chasiv Yar, a western suburb of the embattled city of Bakhmut.
Russian forces have been trying to capture the city for nine months, making Bakhmut the focus of the war’s longest battle.
“I sympathize with the family and friends of the journalist and thank all who, risking their own lives, continue to tell the truth about our war,” Kyrylenko said.
Tributes have come from far and wide for the Sarajevo-born journalist, who lived for many years in France. Denis Becirovic, a member of the Bosnian presidency, called him “a journalist dedicated to his profession” who “since the beginning of Russian aggression on Ukraine bravely reported to the public about events from this country.”
Becirovic also called Arman’s death “a painful reminder to dangers posed to journalists and media workers in areas caught up in war.”
In Paris, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna paid a brief but emotional tribute to Soldin while speaking to reporters Wednesday.
“I remember him…” she said, pausing before continuing. “I don’t want to say things that are too personal, but he notably covered my last visit to Kyiv. I want to pay homage not only to his courage, but to the work that you do, which is indispensable for us to know the reality of the facts, for us to know the truth of what is happening in Ukraine and elsewhere.”
Max Blain, spokesman for U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, paid tribute to Soldin’s work in Ukraine.
“Journalism continues to shine a light in the darkness of this war and Arman’s work was vital to that. Any death in this needless invasion is tragic and our thoughts remain with all those who have lost loved ones during this conflict,” he said.
In May 2022, French journalist Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff, who was working in Ukraine for BFM-TV, was killed near Sievierodonetsk in the east.
At least 10 media workers have been killed while covering the war in Ukraine, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists.
___
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine | https://www.pahomepage.com/news/international/tributes-pour-in-for-afp-journalist-killed-in-ukraine/ | 2023-05-11 00:00:14 | 1 | https://www.pahomepage.com/news/international/tributes-pour-in-for-afp-journalist-killed-in-ukraine/ |
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SYDNEY (AP) — Mourners as well as protesters carrying rainbow flags gathered at a Sydney cathedral on Thursday for the funeral and interment of polarizing Cardinal George Pell, who was once the most senior Roman Catholic convicted of sex abuse.
Pell, who died last month at age 81, spent more than a year in prison before his convictions were overturned in 2020.
Once the third-highest-ranking cleric in the Vatican, Pell returned to Australia in 2017 to fight child abuse allegations made by multiple complainants over decades in his home state of Victoria. Only charges that he abused two choirboys in his early months as archbishop of Melbourne in the late 1990s led to convictions. He spent 404 days in mostly solitary confinement before he was cleared. But his Vatican career by then had ended.
The staunchly conservative church leader will be interred at the St. Mary’s Cathedral crypt after a funeral Mass.
There was a heavy police presence at the cathedral in downtown Sydney as mourners began arriving hours before the funeral service.
Police aimed to maintain a separation between mourners and protesters, who gathered across a street from the cathedral in Hyde Park.
Former conservative Prime Ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott were expected to be among the mourners at the cathedral, while the current center-left Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was not expected to attend.
Tensions flared briefly early Thursday when several mourners tried to remove ribbons tied to the cathedral fence as a symbol of victims of clergy sex abuse.
Theresa Guzzo, a mourner who flew from New Zealand to attend the service, said she was against the presence of protesters. She felt Pell had become a “scapegoat” for animosity toward the Church.
“For me, it’s just inappropriate to do your protesting at the funeral where we’re saying goodbye to him, no matter what your belief is,” Guzzo said.
She said she initially “strongly” believed allegations of child abuse against Pell, but no longer did after he was cleared by the High Court and she reviewed the evidence.
Sydney-based gay rights group Community Action for Rainbow Rights had called for people to join what it calls its “Pell go to Hell!” protest outside the cathedral.
Pell had riled gay activists with views including: “Homosexual activity is a much greater health hazard than smoking.”
Pell was archbishop of Sydney from 2001 until 2014, when Pope Francis appointed him to be the first prefect of the newly created Secretariat for the Economy tasked with reforming the Vatican’s notoriously opaque finances.
Pell had been archbishop of Melbourne from 1996 to 2001, the period during which he was alleged to have sexually abused two choirboys in St. Patrick’s Cathedral. He was convicted then acquitted after a second appeal.
As church leader of Melbourne and later of Sydney, Pell repeatedly refused to give Communion to gay activists wearing rainbow-colored sashes.
“God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, and important consequences follow from this,” Pell told a St. Mary’s congregation in 2002 after he first refused Communion to a gay activist in Sydney.
Pell was also a lightning rod for disagreements over whether the Catholic Church has been properly held to account for past child sex abuse.
A national inquiry into institutional responses to child sex abuse found in 2017 that Pell knew of clergy molesting children in the 1970s and did not take adequate action to address it.
Pell later said he was “surprised” by the inquiry’s findings. “These views are not supported by evidence,” Pell’s statement said.
Pell and his supporters believed he was scapegoated for all the crimes of the Australian Catholic Church’s botched response to clergy sexual abuse.
He died on Jan. 10 in Rome from heart complications following hip surgery. Francis imparted a final blessing at Pell’s funeral Mass held at St. Peter’s Basilica on Jan. 14. | https://www.mrt.com/news/article/hundreds-gather-for-cardinal-george-pell-s-sydney-17758008.php | 2023-02-02 00:26:11 | 1 | https://www.mrt.com/news/article/hundreds-gather-for-cardinal-george-pell-s-sydney-17758008.php |
They are part of a small, vanishing group who lived at the epicenter of the struggle for voting rights six decades ago, an era driven by segregation, violence and the yearning for equality that eventually led to laws bringing the U.S. closer to its promise of democracy for all its citizens.
As the country awaits a Supreme Court decision on whether one of those laws, the Voting Rights Act, will be reinforced or further eroded, they reflect on the times and their struggles, and why they are certain it all was worth it. Ten years ago this month, the court halted what many consider the heart of that landmark law — the ability of the Justice Department to enforce it in states and counties with a history of voter suppression. The justices now will decide how strongly to protect minority groups when they challenge political boundaries drawn through states’ redistricting.
The stories from those on the front lines of history recount tragedy, racism, oppression and ultimately hope in seeing a president sign into law a measure designed to ensure equal access to the ballot and fair representation in the halls of political power — from city councils to statehouses to Congress.
Stephen Schwerner lost a brother, murdered in Mississippi trying to register Black people to vote. Nearly 60 years after the Voting Rights Act was signed, he remains immensely proud of his brother, Mickey Schwerner, but with a great sense of loss: “I don’t think anybody in our family has ever gotten over it.”
Andrew Young walked with Martin Luther King Jr., on the long road to equality and was with him when he died in Memphis in 1968. Seeing the continued attempts to chip away at voting rights, he knows there are more battles to be fought: “I never thought that the United States or anybody else would be perfect, but I thought we would be constantly getting better.”
Luci Johnson was a teenager when she witnessed “one of the most historic occasions of the 20th century” — her father, former President Lyndon Johnson, signing the law ensuring access to the ballot for people of color. If she could convey a message to Supreme Court justices as they consider another challenge to the Voting Rights Act, it would be for them to remember “what a privilege they all have with access to the voting booth. I would tell them to do all that they can to make liberty and justice a right for all Americans.”
Joel Finkelstein was a young lawyer helping draft the document that became the Voting Rights Act of 1965, overwhelmed to be an accidental witness at the signing and yet unaware of the measure’s magnitude. He remains hopeful, even as voting rights have been eroded over the past decade: “Somehow this country digs out of these messes with people who you never would expect would be there. Go look at 1860. We got Abraham Lincoln, a country lawyer, self-educated out of Illinois, and he became our greatest president, one of the wisest men we would ever have hold public office.”
Norman Hill moved from the protests over civil rights to the organization and political clout of the labor movement, where he helped build a groundswell for voting rights. Now in his ninth decade, Hill said the fight must continue, “not just today, not just tomorrow but as long as we live and breathe.”
Della Simpson Maynor was a teenager who pushed herself to the front of a protest in the small town of Marion, Alabama, and was terrified when police clubbed a pastor who was kneeling to pray. Police later struck her with a club as she tried to get away, and she would hear the gunshot from a state trooper that fatally wounded a young church deacon, Jimmie Lee Jackson. His death prompted a march starting in Selma, which would lead to one of the most violent days of the Civil Rights Movement, Bloody Sunday, when police beat protesters trying to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge: “Without Bloody Sunday, there would have been no voting rights. But without Jimmie Lee Jackson, there would have been no Bloody Sunday.”
Their voices echo across the past six decades, in searing debates over race, equal treatment and what it means to be an American citizen. The debate will be renewed in the weeks ahead when the Supreme Court issues its ruling in yet another case involving the Voting Rights Act, this time over Black political representation in Alabama.
___
The Associated Press coverage of race and voting receives support from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | https://www.yourbasin.com/news/national/voices-from-the-violent-civil-rights-era-see-attacks-on-voting-rights-as-part-of-ongoing-struggle/ | 2023-06-08 12:57:43 | 0 | https://www.yourbasin.com/news/national/voices-from-the-violent-civil-rights-era-see-attacks-on-voting-rights-as-part-of-ongoing-struggle/ |
- WCD (WEMIX Crypto Dollar) issuance service based on collateral assets
- Offering high usability and reliability as a means of exchange and store of value between various assets
- Increased synergy with other DeFi services supported on major multi-chains including Wemix 3.0, Ethereum and Klaytn
SEOUL, South Korea, March 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Wemade Co., Ltd. has announced the upcoming launch of Kurrency, a new Defi (decentralized finance) service designed to offer greater ease-of-use, transparency and reliability.
Kurrency is a service that issues cryptodollars through a collateralized debt position. Users can entrust the virtual assets supported by the service as collateral and issue WCD (WEMIX Crypto Dollar). WCD is a cryptocurrency that minimizes price fluctuations and is issued through the method in which the value of the deposited collateral is greater than the total amount of 'excess-collateralized' loans issued. This is similar to the process by which MakerDAO generates Dai, the world's first unbiased currency. By adopting this method, it will play a complementary role with WEMIX Dollar, which is 100% USDC fully collateralized.
Kurrency has been designed for ease of use, with easy-to-understand terms, intuitive on-screen interface and detailed tutorial videos that make it simple for even users new to DeFi to get started.
In addition, Kurrency offers key features that guarantee greater transparency and reliability without compromising security. This includes a dashboard where you can see the investment status at a glance, contract audits conducted by reputable professional blockchain audit companies, and monthly service trend reports published in official social media channels.
Wemade wants to make WCD the most reliable and widely used crypto dollar and currency service across major blockchains including Klaytn, Ethereum and Wemix 3.0. WCD will organically connect Wemade's KLEVA protocol, Wemade DeFi services such as DEX (scheduled to be released during 1H 2023) and various other DeFi services on multi-chains. This will enhance the capital efficiency and interconnectivity between services and produce stronger synergistic effects within the ecosystem. Kurrency not only creates synergy between its services by managing the collateral deposited by users in KLEVA, but also has the function of minimizing the user's fees according to the operating profit .
Learn more about Kurrency: https://teaser.kurrency.io/
About Wemade
Wemade is leading the trend in the metaverse and blockchain fields (NFT, DeFi) with an emphasis on gaming at its core. Wemade is the developer and owner of "The Legend of Mir" IP, a highly successful game with over 500 Million users. Its platform, WEMIX, is evolving into a global blockchain platform that can transform games of every genre into blockchain games. www.wemade.com
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SOURCE Wemade Co., Ltd | https://www.kalb.com/prnewswire/2023/03/03/kurrency-wemades-new-collateral-backed-defi-service/ | 2023-03-03 14:44:50 | 1 | https://www.kalb.com/prnewswire/2023/03/03/kurrency-wemades-new-collateral-backed-defi-service/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — The family of a man who was fatally struck by a vehicle driven by former Syracuse University basketball coach Jim Boeheim in 2019 has agreed to settle a lawsuit against Boeheim and the university, according to court documents.
Boeheim and the survivors of Jorge Jimenez, who died in the Feb. 20, 2019 crash on an icy highway in Syracuse, have agreed to settle and have requested that terms of the settlement remain sealed, “recognizing their mutual privacy interests and the desirability of avoiding publicity about their personal lives,” according to a March 24 affidavit filed in state Supreme Court by Abigail Dean, an attorney for Jimenez’s estate.
John Pfeifer, an attorney for Boeheim and the university, echoed the request for confidentiality in an April 14 affidavit. “The specific private resolution of the matter is of no public import,” Pfeifer said.
Jimenez, 51, was a passenger in a car that that skidded on Interstate 690 and hit a guardrail. Boeheim was driving home after a game when he swerved to avoid the car and hit Jimenez, who was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
A police report said Boeheim was not driving recklessly, and no charges were filed.
Jimenez’s family filed a lawsuit in 2020 alleging that Boeheim’s actions were “negligent, reckless and wanton.” The lawsuit was filed in Onondaga County Supreme Court and sought an unspecified amount of money.
It was not clear whether the court has approved settlement. Calls placed Wednesday to Dean and Pfeifer were not immediately returned.
Jimenez was an immigrant from Cuba and the father of two young sons. He had hoped to become a U.S. citizen, his friend Alberto Brinones, who was driving the car that hit the guardrail, told the Post-Standard of Syracuse.
Boeheim, 78, retired last month after serving as head basketball coach at Syracuse since 1976. Syracuse made 34 NCAA tournament appearances under his leadership and won the championship in 2003. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005. | https://www.wane.com/sports/ap-sports/family-of-man-fatally-struck-by-boeheim-agrees-to-settlement/ | 2023-04-27 02:44:54 | 0 | https://www.wane.com/sports/ap-sports/family-of-man-fatally-struck-by-boeheim-agrees-to-settlement/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Jan. 6 committee released its final report Thursday on the “unimaginable” 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, a mob assault by supporters of the defeated president, Donald Trump, that shook the nation and exposed the fragility of American democracy.
The 814-page account provides a gripping narrative of Trump’s monthslong effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election, and spells out 11 recommendations for Congress and others to consider to bolster the nation’s institutions against any future attempts to incite insurrection.
The panel set out to compile a record for history. Along with the report, it is releasing dozens of witness transcripts from its more than 1,000 interviews with startling new details. This week, it made an unprecedented criminal referral of a former U.S. president for prosecution.
Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., in the foreword, said “what if” questions remain.
“The President of the United States inciting a mob to march on the Capitol and impede the work of Congress is not a scenario our intelligence and law enforcement communities envisioned for this country,” he said. “Prior to January 6th, it was unimaginable.”
EIGHT CHAPTERS
From the “Big Lie” of Trump’s November 2020 election night claims of a stolen election to the bloody Jan. 6, 2021, siege, the report spells out the start and finish of the mob attack that played out for the world to see.
It details how Trump and his allies engaged in a “multi-part” scheme to overturn Joe Biden’s presidential election victory — first through court challenges, then, when those failed, by compiling slates of electors to challenge Joe Biden’s victory.
As Congress prepared to convene Jan. 6 to certify the election, Trump summoned a mob to Washington for his “Stop the Steal” rally at the White House.
“When Donald Trump pointed them toward the Capitol and told them to ‘fight like hell,’ that’s exactly what they did,” Thompson wrote. “Donald Trump lit that fire. But in the weeks beforehand, the kindling he ultimately ignited was amassed in plain sight.”
NEW DETAILS, PRESSURES
After blockbuster public hearings, the report and its accompanying materials are providing more detailed accounts of key aspects of the Trump team’s plan to overturn the election, join the mob at the Capitol and, once the committee began investigating, pressure those who would testify against him.
Among dozens of new witness transcripts was Thursday’s release of a previously unseen account from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson detailing a stunning campaign by Trump’s allies encouraging her to stay “loyal” as she testified before the panel.
The report said the committee estimates that in the two months between the November election and the Jan. 6 attack, “Trump or his inner circle engaged in at least 200 apparent acts of public or private outreach, pressure, or condemnation, targeting either State legislators or State or local election administrators, to overturn State election results.”
BEHIND THE SCENES
The report also details Trump’s inaction as his loyalists were violently storming the building.
One Secret Service employee testified to the committee that Trump’s determination to go to the Capitol put agents on high alert.
“(We) all knew … that this was going to move to something else if he physically walked to the Capitol,” a unidentified employee said. “I don’t know if you want to use the word ‘insurrection,’ ‘coup,’ whatever. We all knew that this would move from a normal democratic … public event into something else.”
Once the president arrived back at the White House after delivering a speech to his supporters, he asked an employee if they had seen his remarks on television.
“Sir, they cut it off because they’re rioting down at the Capitol,” the staffer said, according to the report.
Trump asked what that meant, and was given the same answer. “Oh really?” Trump then asked. “All right, let’s go see.”
SAFEGUARDING DEMOCRACY
The report makes 11 recommendations for Congress and others to safeguard American democracy and its tradition of the peaceful transfer of presidential power from one leader to the next.
The first, an overhaul of the Electoral Count Act, is on its way to becoming law in the year-end spending bill heading toward final passage this week in Congress.
The committee also made recommendations to the Justice Department to prosecute Trump and others for conspiracy to commit fraud on the public, and other potential charges. It also referred the former president for prosecution for “assisting and providing aid and comfort to an insurrection.”
Other changes may be within reach or prove more elusive. Among them, the report recommends beefing up security around key congressional events, overhauling oversight of the Capitol Police and enhancing federal penalties for certain types of threats against election workers.
One recommendation is for Congress to create a formal mechanism to consider barring individuals from public office if they engage in insurrection or rebellion under the Fourteenth Amendment. It holds that those who have taken an oath to support the Constitution can be disqualified from holding future federal or state office if they back an insurrection.
RECORD FOR HISTORY
The Jan. 6 committee was created after Congress rebuked an effort to form an independent 9/11-style commission to investigate the Capitol attack. Republicans blocked the idea.
Instead, Speaker Nancy Pelosi led the House to form the committee. In her foreword to the report, she said it “must be a clarion call to all Americans: to vigilantly guard our Democracy.”
Led by Thompson and Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the panel’s work is intended to stand as a record for history of what happened during the most serious attack on the Capitol since the War of 1812.
Five people died in the riot and its aftermath, including Ashli Babbitt, a Trump supporter shot and killed by police, and Brian Sicknick, a police officer who died the day after battling the mob.
Cheney noted the committee decided most of its witnesses needed to be Republicans — the president’s own team and allies. In the report’s foreword, she wrote that history will remember the “bravery of a handful of Americans” and those who withstood Trump’s “corrupt pressure.”
For all of them, the committee and report held personal weight.
Thompson, a Black leader in Congress, noted that the iconic U.S. Capitol, built with enslaved labor, “itself is a fixture in our country’s history, of both good and bad … a symbol of our journey toward a more perfect union.”
__
Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri, Mary Clare Jalonick, Eric Tucker and Nomaan Merchant contributed to this report.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the Capitol insurrection at https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege | https://www.pahomepage.com/news/politics/ap-jan-6-takeaways-from-trumps-lies-to-the-unimaginable/ | 2022-12-23 22:21:53 | 0 | https://www.pahomepage.com/news/politics/ap-jan-6-takeaways-from-trumps-lies-to-the-unimaginable/ |
ATLANTA — With Georgia winning a wild, unforgettable Peach Bowl on Saturday night, they're now due to face the TCU Horned Frogs in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
The game will mark the fifth time the two teams have met going back through the last 80 years.
According to TCU's website, their previous meetings were in 2016, 1988, 1980 and 1942. The Bulldogs have won all four.
These were those games:
- 2016 Liberty Bowl, Dec. 30, 2016, UGA 31-23: Nick Chubb ran for 142 yards and Sony Michel added 88, with Chubb scoring with 2:48 to go for the final score. This was actually a pretty competitive game, and at one point TCU led 16-7 and pulled ahead in the third 23-21 - it's not quite comparable to the Peach Bowl comeback Georgia needed against Ohio State, but there's a similar vibe there.
- Sept. 10, 1988, UGA 38-10: TCU was in the Southwest Conference at the time, smack dab in the middle of a stretch of six straight losing seasons. The Dawgs, meanwhile, were in their final season under Vince Dooley. The Dawgs opened this season with a win over Tennessee, and rose from No. 12 in the rankings to No. 6 after a subsequent win over Mississippi State, but their season mostly began to peter out the following week with a loss to South Carolina.
- Sept. 27, 1980, UGA 34-3: At this time, the Dawgs and Horned Frogs hadn't played in nearly 40 years. The reunion was unremarkable - TCU would win just one game that season, while Georgia was on the way to an undefeated season and the national championship. The score reflected those trajectories.
- 1942 Orange Bowl, Jan. 1, 1942, UGA 40-26: UGA went 9-1-1 this season and headed to Miami for their first ever bowl game, to face a TCU team that had gone 7-3, but were only a few years removed from what is their only national championship in 1938. According to the Orange Bowl's official history, Georgia quarterback Frankie Sinkwich (who'd win the Heisman the following season) "put on an offensive display still considered by many as the greatest in any bowl game" with 355 all-purpose yards, three passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. The final score makes the game seem closer than it was - UGA went into the fourth quarter with a 40-14 lead that was never truly threatened. | https://www.11alive.com/article/sports/college/georgia-bulldogs/georgia-tcu-football-history-national-championship-game/85-e2eacc9d-f369-44ad-ba97-8833ae181207 | 2023-01-01 21:14:53 | 0 | https://www.11alive.com/article/sports/college/georgia-bulldogs/georgia-tcu-football-history-national-championship-game/85-e2eacc9d-f369-44ad-ba97-8833ae181207 |
PITTSBURGH, Sept. 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Moonstone Nutrition, a Pittsburgh-based startup, has added Stone Stopper™ +Immunity gummy to its line of kidney health products. With clinically significant amounts of alkali citrate, Stone Stopper™ gummy is the world's first alkali citrate gummy that prevents kidney stones.
"Moonstone's new gummy offers consumers a delicious and easy way to add alkali citrate to their daily routine," said Salim Rayes, President and CEO of Moonstone Nutrition. "Alkali citrate is known to increase urine pH and urine citrate, making the kidneys inhospitable to the formation of kidney stones."
Moonstone Stone Stopper™ was developed by world-renowned kidney stone doctors and is scientifically proven to reduce the formation of kidney stones. Over 33 million people in the U.S. suffer from excruciating kidney stones and 49 million suffer from chronic kidney disease (CKD). Stone Stopper™ is the first effective kidney stone supplement and beverage on the market with true functional health benefits. It's available in supplement capsule, gummy, and ready-to-mix (RTM) beverage powders.
Moonstone products are currently available on Amazon, Walmart.com, Target.com, and CVS Health Hub stores nationwide.
For more information:
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SOURCE Moonstone Nutrition | https://www.wbay.com/prnewswire/2022/09/08/moonstone-stone-stopper-launches-worlds-first-kidney-stone-prevention-gummy/ | 2022-09-08 11:38:37 | 1 | https://www.wbay.com/prnewswire/2022/09/08/moonstone-stone-stopper-launches-worlds-first-kidney-stone-prevention-gummy/ |
LAS VEGAS (AP) — I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to put on the USA jersey every day.
It’s been a long road back after thinking my career was over after having spinal surgery in January of 2020.
I thought my life was going to change drastically and I wouldn’t ever be able to play again. Yet here I am 2 years later, hoping to earn a spot on the U.S. World Cup roster.
Thinking back to my time in the hospital bed to be now being back at the peak of competition, I’m just so grateful to be playing basketball at this level again. I can’t really discredit God at this point, I’m just really humbled to be here.
It’s a dream as a basketball player to play for the USA. It’s the one team that everyone wants to play for at some point and everyone knows is one of the hardest to make. To have the opportunity right now is a dream come true.
This isn’t my first time playing for USA, having won a gold medal at the World University Games when I was in college. That probably was the longest flight I ever took, well until now when we head off to Sydney.
One thing you can always count with USA Basketball is that they take you all over the world. Up next might be outer space.
This is my first time going to the Outback. I think I’m looking forward to learning more about the place. Experiencing the continent and just trying to get myself back on track. Ever since the Phoenix Mercury season ended I’ve been running and ripping across multiple states.
We had a good training week in Las Vegas. It’s a really good group and everybody carries the same energy and intensity as far as winning goes. Practices are really competitive and there are a lot of new faces which is nice. There’s also a lot of youth.
I’ve gotten to spend some time with Rhyne Howard. She and I are very similar in a lot of ways. It’s been great to pick her brain a little bit and take in this whole experience with her. At some point soon, we’ll have to have a conversation about SEC basketball.
As a group we’re still looking to build our team chemistry, but everyone’s bought in on the process and what the team will look like. We eat all our meals together and lift together. We’ve had some good recovery pool workouts too.
And now we’ll get a chance to bond for 15 hours on the flight to Australia. Catch you all soon.
___
Phoenix Mercury star Diamond DeShields is checking in periodically from USA Basketball training camp and the FIBA World Cup. | https://www.fox16.com/sports/ap-diamond-deshields-chronicles-usa-basketball-training-camp/ | 2022-09-13 21:14:24 | 1 | https://www.fox16.com/sports/ap-diamond-deshields-chronicles-usa-basketball-training-camp/ |
Funding for those athletes entering the 2023 NFL Draft is now available at Balanced Bridge
WAYNE, Pa., Nov. 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2023 NFL Draft is on the horizon. In the coming weeks, the nation's top football talent will begin signing with agents and embark on their pre-draft journey. These athletes will put aside campus life and become laser-focused on improving their draft stock. This entails mock interviews, specialized training at facilities, and workouts with teams. Some athletes will turn to the Reese's Senior Bowl in February to showcase their talents ahead of the NFL Combine in March. Others will put their skills on display at their respective college's pro-days.
Players put in a lifetime of work and commitment into the craft—ultimately culminating in hearing their names called on draft day. Some players with first-round grades choose to look stylish and sport some swag, walking the red carpet and inhabiting the notorious green room, before walking across the stage once their names are called. Others prefer to share the moment with their family members, fiancés, and closest friends—even renting out a private venue for the occasion.
Regardless of how each of the 250+ players elect to share their moment, there is one constant amongst all of them—namely that all will have to wait until late-July to receive their first professional paycheck from any one of the 32 NFL teams.
That is where Balanced Bridge continues to be a top resource for eligible pre-draft athletes and those professionals who represent them. Balanced Bridge provides advances of up to $500k to those pre-draft athletes who project to hear their names called in the first few rounds of the NFL Draft.
As the price of landing top talent, some agencies foot the players' costs of training, nutrition, traveling and professional coaching in the months leading up to the draft. Other agencies may only provide a small monthly stipend that covers the bare minimum costs of training and housing. A pre-draft advance from Balanced Bridge can also be used to cover training expenses and to secure the highest quality of preparation.
That being said, prior to that first professional paycheck, most pre-draft athletes are not financially supported by their agents for purchases and expenses that fall outside of the realm of general draft preparation. As an ESPN article suggests, players have a good idea of what they want to do with their first paychecks before even receiving them—taking care of their family and closest supporters, treating themselves to that one 'big ticket item' and then saving being some of the most common. But the reality is many of these athletes may not want to wait 6 months or longer from the time of declaring (for the NFL Draft) in order to make those financial positions a reality. And they do not have to.
To find out more about Balanced Bridge Funding's NFL Pre-Draft Advances visit the website, call 267-457-4540 or email info@balancedbridge.com. NFL Draft prospects or their representatives can fill out an application to start the process today.
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SOURCE Balanced Bridge Funding | https://www.kwch.com/prnewswire/2022/11/29/balanced-bridge-provides-financing-2023-nfl-draft-prospects/ | 2022-11-29 13:22:16 | 0 | https://www.kwch.com/prnewswire/2022/11/29/balanced-bridge-provides-financing-2023-nfl-draft-prospects/ |
SINGAPORE, Sept. 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Metaverse Blockchain company Coinllectibles™️, a fully owned subsidiary of Cosmos Group Holdings Inc. (OTC: COSG), is pleased to announce the launch of the "Magnificent Ceramic Series" which consists of 13 rare ceramics from the Qing Dynasty and more modern artworks. Collectively the 13 pieces are priced at US$3,883,000 with each collectible tagged with a Coinllectibles' signature Fusion Digital Ownership Token ("DOT") that will be made available for purchase on the CoinllectiblesTM MetaMall.
About Magnificent Ceramic Series
The Magnificent Ceramic Series features a collection of exquisite antique works from the Qing Dynasty, as well as ancient style artworks made by modern artists. The rare ceramics collectibles were all delicately created through an extremely high level of Chinese craftsmanship and artistic values.
During the Chinese dynasties, it was a widely accepted practice to paint individual Chinese Zodiac Sign on ceramics. However, it is unprecedented and rare to have all the twelve Chinese Zodiac Signs on a single piece of ceramic, as can be seen in the "Enameled and Gilded Twelve Chinese Zodiac Signs of Birthday Floral Decoration Plate", a rare piece within the Magnificent Ceramic Series.
The Plate features a full and dignified body embellished with each of the Twelve Chinese Zodiac Signs and is decorated with gilded patterns of the Chinese character for "Longevity" around the rim. The entire design is decorated in golden colour which creates a magnificent appearance. The bottom stamp of the Plate reads "Designed and Fired During the Reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty" and is embellished with the golden phoenix motif. Originally used to celebrate the birthday of the Queen, the enamel ceramic was first created during the Qing Dynasty, and stands out as the premiere of ancient Chinese painted ceramics.
Each distinct piece from the "Magnificent Ceramic Series" comes with a Coinllectibles™️ DOT that includes legal documentation addressing ownership, a valuation report and high resolution images of the piece that is minted on the Blockchain.
Commenting on the launch, Nancy Wong, Chief Assets Officer at Coinllectibles™️ said, "These magnificent series ceramics could have been a gift from China's Qing Dynasty. The enamel on the piece mentioned, the "Enameled and Gilded Twelve Chinese Zodiac Signs of Birthday Floral Decoration Plate", would have required a final firing in a special kiln, which is technically very difficult to achieve and only made possible if it were to be meant for the royals. We are very pleased to have acquired such rare items and offer them on our MetaMall for ceramic art enthusiasts and collectors."
Toby O'Connor, CEO of Coinllectibles™️ added, "We have really enjoyed seeing the strong market reception to the ceramics from our previous Bronze and Heritage launches. The Magnificent Ceramic Series pieces that we are bringing this week are each exceptional and with their own stories. We have sought to make more people aware of the ceramic art form, the cultural significance and rarity as a collectible through a range of initiatives incorporating the Digital Ownership Token with each piece, Fusing the Digital and Physical realms. We hope that these pieces can be enjoyed by a range of discerning collectors."
For more information on the Magnificent Ceramics Series, please visit www.coinllectibles.art.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, which are often indicated by terms such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "goal," "intend," "look forward to," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would" and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements regarding future business activities including the expansion into the decentralized financing space. These forward-looking statements are not promises or guarantees and involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described or projected herein include uncertainties associated with operating a business in Singapore and Hong Kong, risk of interference by the PRC government, ability to compete, that financial resources do not last for as long as anticipated, and that COSG is a holding company that may not realize the expected benefits of DOT's offered by Coinllectibles™️. A further list and description of these risks, uncertainties and other risks can be found in COSG's regulatory filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including in its current report on Form 8-K filed on September 17, 2021. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. COSG undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise.
For media queries, please contact:
About Cosmos Group Holdings Inc
Cosmos is a business group that operates in two business segments:
- Arts and Collectibles
- Financing
Through CoinllectiblesTM, the group provides authentication, valuation and certification (AVC) service, sale and purchase, hire purchase, financing, custody, security and exhibition (CSE) services to art buyers through traditional channels, as well as through leveraging blockchain technology through the creation of digital ownership tokens (DOTs).
With subsidiaries licensed under Hong Kong's Money Lenders Ordinance, the group currently primarily provides unsecured personal loan to private individuals, with a small portfolio of mortgage loans. The group is integrating the two business segments by offering secured financing services to prospective art and collectibles purchasers to provide a one-stop arts and collectibles purchasing and financing experience.
About the Company – Coinllectibles™️
Coinllectibles™️ is a technology company supporting the collectibles industry with a focus on rare memorabilia and artworks that exist and have intrinsic value in the real world, whether tangible or intangible in nature.
Coinllectibles™️ applies blockchain, marketplace, metaverse and DOT technologies as tools to disrupt and enhance the real world collectibles industry. The technology underpinning DOTs (digital ownership tokens) has multiple functional use cases that Coinllectibles™️ is applying to areas including art, sports, watches, numismatics, limited edition toys, limited edition fashion wear and sneakers. DOTs have the power to transform our societies and some areas may be subject to regulations. Coinllectibles™️ uses DOT technology solely to provide a legally-binding digital ownership token (DOT) to a tangible or intangible collectible, which our analysis suggests would functionally fall outside any regulatory parameter.
Website: www.coinllectibles.art
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Coinllectibles
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coinllectibles/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/coinllectibles
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/coinllectibles
Telegram: https://t.me/Coinllectibles
About Coinllectibles™️ Fusion DOT
Coinllectibles™️ prides the Fusion DOT as the industry "Gold Standard". Being a Gold Standard, a Fusion DOT contains the following on Arweave – (1) a sale and purchase agreement reflecting the purchase, by the person minting the Fusion DOT™️, of the underlying asset at a fair value with all rights and restrictions clearly detailed, (2) bailment terms governing the rights to possession whilst the underlying asset remains with Coinllectibles™️, (3) a transfer deed reflecting the transfer of the ownership of the underlying asset (together with all rights and restrictions) by the transferor to the holder of the Fusion DOT™️, (4) ownership title deed written into the description of the Fusion DOT™️ and (5) the unequivocal identification file of the underlying asset, whose ownership is reflected in the title deed represented by the Fusion DOT™️.
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SOURCE Cosmos Group Holdings Inc. | https://www.kbtx.com/prnewswire/2022/09/08/coinllectibles-launches-us38million-magnificent-ceramic-series-its-metamall-new-series-rare-ceramics-following-strong-reception-its-previous-series/ | 2022-09-08 14:11:39 | 1 | https://www.kbtx.com/prnewswire/2022/09/08/coinllectibles-launches-us38million-magnificent-ceramic-series-its-metamall-new-series-rare-ceramics-following-strong-reception-its-previous-series/ |
NEW YORK, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Klein Law Firm announces that a class action complaint has been filed on behalf of shareholders of Outset Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: OM) alleging that the Company violated federal securities laws.
This lawsuit is on behalf of all persons or entities who purchased Outset Medical common stock between September 15, 2020, and June 13, 2022.
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: September 6, 2022
No obligation or cost to you.
Learn more about your recoverable losses in OM:
https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/loss-submission-form-outset-medical-class-action?id=29935&from=4
Outset Medical, Inc. NEWS - OM NEWS
CLASS ACTION CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that Outset Medical, Inc. made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) the Company's flagship product, Tablo Hemodialysis System ("Tablo"), would require an additional 510(k) application to be filed with The United States Food and Drug Administration ("FDA"), as defendants had "continuously made improvements and updates to Tablo over time since its original clearance"; (2) as a result, the Company could not conduct a human factors study on a cleared device in accordance with FDA protocols; (3) the Company's inability to conduct the human factors study subjected the Company to the likelihood of the FDA imposing a "shipment hold" and marketing suspension, leaving the Company unable to sell Tablo for home use; and (4) as a result, defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially false and misleading and /or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU AS A SHAREHOLDER: If you have suffered a loss in Outset Medical you have until September 6, 2022 to petition the court for lead plaintiff status. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.
NO COST TO YOU: If you purchased Outset Medical securities during the relevant period, you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out-of-pocket fees.
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCIAL INTERESTS: For additional information about the OM lawsuit, please contact J. Klein, Esq. by telephone at 212-616-4899 or click this link: https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/loss-submission-form-outset-medical-class-action?id=29935&from=4.
ABOUT KLEIN LAW FIRM
J. Klein, Esq. represents investors and participates in securities litigations involving financial fraud throughout the nation. The Klein Law Firm is a boutique litigation firm with experience in a wide range of areas including securities law, corporate finance and commercial litigation. Since 2011, our experienced attorneys have achieved superior results for our clients with a personalized focus. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
CONTACT:
J. Klein, Esq.
Empire State Building
350 Fifth Avenue
59th Floor
New York, NY 10118
jk@kleinstocklaw.com
Telephone: (212) 616-4899
www.kleinstocklaw.com
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SOURCE The Klein Law Firm | https://www.kold.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/om-alert-klein-law-firm-announces-lead-plaintiff-deadline-september-6-2022-class-action-filed-behalf-outset-medical-inc-shareholders/ | 2022-07-19 10:48:49 | 1 | https://www.kold.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/om-alert-klein-law-firm-announces-lead-plaintiff-deadline-september-6-2022-class-action-filed-behalf-outset-medical-inc-shareholders/ |
A roundup of the week's most newsworthy auto and transport industry press releases from PR Newswire
NEW YORK, Oct. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on PR Newswire. To help journalists covering the auto and transportation industries stay on top of the week's most newsworthy and popular releases, here's a roundup of stories from the week that shouldn't be missed.
The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.
- SunPower and General Motors to Power Homes of the Future with Electric Vehicles
The collaboration enables bi-directional charging starting with the retail launch of the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV, helping homeowners take more control of their energy needs. - CARFAX: Hurricane Ian Damaged Hundreds of Thousands of Cars
Used-car shoppers need to be aware that these waterlogged vehicles could resurface anywhere around the country. Texas and Florida continue to lead the nation when it comes to the number of flood-damaged cars on the road, but CARFAX research shows these vehicles also show up in states where flooding might not be top of mind for car shoppers. - Boeing and Cargolux Finalize 777-8 Freighter Order
Europe's number one all-cargo airline has a long-standing engagement towards sound operations and the 777-8 Freighter offers reduced emissions, noise, as well as the lowest fuel use and operating costs per tonne of any large freighter. - Schneider Electric Announces First-of-its-Kind Vehicle-to-Building Resilience Hub Powered by Transit Buses
This groundbreaking project will leverage stored energy from zero-emission electric buses, owned and operated by AC Transit, to provide filtered air conditioning at the West Oakland Branch of the Oakland Public Library for local residents in the event of unhealthy heat or smoke conditions. - United Continues Transatlantic Leadership with Debut of 2023 Summer Schedule
United will fly to more destinations across the Atlantic than all other U.S. carriers combined and is adding new service to three cities - Malaga, Spain; Stockholm, Sweden; and Dubai, UAE – along with six more flights to popular European destinations. - Zeeba Signs Binding Agreement to Purchase 3,000 Canoo Electric Vehicles
Canoo vehicles are American-made Class 1 commercial electric vehicles built on the company's proprietary multi-purpose platform (MPP) architecture that integrates all critical components. Most of service, maintenance and updates will be done over the air, which decreases vehicle downtime. - Texas Cities Comprise Four of the Top Five Worst Cities for Drunk Driving, BuyAutoInsurance.com Analysis Shows
Many of the 10 worst cities for drunk driving are located in the country's south and west. BuyAutoInsurance.com points out that infrastructure and urban sprawl may play a role in these large cities' propensities for drunk driving. - Royal Caribbean Group to Open the World's First Zero-Energy Cruise Terminal
The new cruise terminal at the Port of Galveston will be the first in Texas to achieve LEED Gold certification, an industry-leading certification expected to be received within the first two quarters of 2023.
Read more of the latest auto- and transportation-related releases from PR Newswire and stay caught up on the top press releases by following @PRNtrnsp on Twitter.
These are just a few of the recent press releases that consumers and the media should know about. To be notified of releases relevant to their coverage area, journalists can set up a custom newsfeed with PR Newswire for Journalists.
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SOURCE PR Newswire | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2022/10/14/this-week-transportation-news-8-stories-you-need-see/ | 2022-10-14 12:12:40 | 0 | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2022/10/14/this-week-transportation-news-8-stories-you-need-see/ |
BEIJING (AP) — China’s exports fell 7.5% from a year earlier in May and imports were down 4.5%, adding to signs an economic rebound following the end of anti-virus controls is slowing as global demand weakens under pressure from higher interest rates.
Exports slid to $283.5 billion, reversing from April’s unexpectedly strong 8.5% growth, customs data showed Wednesday. Imports fell to $217.7 billion, moderating from the previous month’s 7.9% contraction. China’s global trade surplus narrowed by 16.1% to $65.8 billion.
Trade weakness adds to downward pressure on the world’s second-largest economy following lackluster factory and consumer activity and a surge in unemployment among young people.
Factory output and consumer spending revived after controls that cut off access to major cities for weeks at a time and blocked most international travel were lifted in December. But forecasters say the peak of that rebound probably has passed.
Retail spending is recovering more slowly than expected because jittery consumers worry about the economic outlook and possible job losses. A government survey in April found a record 1 in 5 young workers in cities were unemployed.
Factory activity is contracting and employers are cutting jobs after interest rate hikes to cool inflation in the United States and Europe depressed demand for Chinese exports.
Exports to the United States tumbled 18.2% from a year earlier to $42.5 billion after the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark lending rate to a 16-year high to curb surging inflation by slowing business and consumer activity.
Imports of American goods sank 9.9% to $14.3 billion. China’s politically volatile trade surplus with the United States narrowed by 21.9% to $28.1 billion.
China’s economic growth accelerated to 4.5% over a year earlier in the three months ending in March from the previous quarter’s 2.9%. It would need to accelerate further to reach the ruling Communist Party’s official growth target of “around 5%” for the year.
For the year to date, imports fell 6.7% from the same five-month period of 2022 to just over $1 trillion, while export growth fell close to zero. Exports edged up 0.3% to $1.4 trillion.
Imports from Russia, mostly oil and gas, rose 10% over a year ago to $11.3 billion. Exports to Russia surged 114% to $9.3 billion.
China is buying more Russian energy to take advantage of price cuts, helping to shore up the Kremlin’s cash flow after the United States, Europe and Japan cut off most purchases to punish Moscow for President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Beijing can buy Russian oil and gas without triggering Western sanctions. China has become Russia’s biggest export market and an important source of manufactured goods.
Also in May, China’s imports from the 27-nation European Union fell 38.6% to $24.5 billion. Exports to Europe fell 26.6% to $44.6 billion. Beijing’s trade surplus with Europe narrowed by 3% to $20.1 billion. | https://www.kark.com/news/ap-top-headlines/china-trade-tumbles-in-may-adding-to-signs-economic-recovery-is-slowing/ | 2023-06-07 07:08:47 | 1 | https://www.kark.com/news/ap-top-headlines/china-trade-tumbles-in-may-adding-to-signs-economic-recovery-is-slowing/ |
Uvalde, Texas school shooting: Slain teacher, deceased husband both laid to rest
UVALDE, Texas (AP) - Mourners gathered Wednesday at a Catholic church to say goodbye to Robb Elementary School teacher Irma Garcia — who died in the shooting at the Uvalde, Texas, grade school — and her husband, Joe — who died two days later from a heart attack.
Nineteen children and two teachers — Garcia and her co-teacher, 44-year-old Eva Mireles — were killed May 24 when an 18-year-old gunman burst into their classroom. The litany of visitations, funerals and burials began Monday and will continue into mid-June.
At Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Wednesday, twin black hearses carrying the coffins of the Garcias arrived in a procession led by police and civilian motorcycle riders. Covered by flowers, the two closed caskets were borne by pallbearers past a phalanx of police in uniforms and priests in white robes.
RELATED: Houston Texans donate $400K to Robb School Memorial Fund: 'Texans care about Texans'
Some sobbed throughout the service in which Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller offered thanks for Irma Garcia’s dedication. He listed the names of the slain schoolchildren several times throughout the homily.
"Because you were there with them," he said. "You did what you would have done with your own children. You took care of them until your last breath."
Irma, 48, was finishing up her 23rd year as a teacher at Robb Elementary. In a letter posted on the school’s website at the beginning of the school year, Garcia told her students that she and Joe had four children — a Marine, a college student, a high school student and a seventh grader.
RELATED: 'Very angry': Uvalde locals grapple with school chief's role
Most of the readings during Wednesday's service and the homily were in English, with García-Siller offering some words in Spanish.
"We are all hurting," he said. "In the midst of so much, please, please people need comfort, people need you. … Let us all foster a culture of peace."
Joe, 50, collapsed and died after dropping off flowers at his wife’s memorial. The couple would have been married 25 years on June 28 His obituary noted that he and Irma "began their relationship in high school and it flourished into a love that was beautiful and kind."
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, who attended the Garcias’ funeral, said in a statement that America "must unite as a country against this senseless cycle of violence, act immediately to protect our children, and make sure that every child and every educator feels safe in our schools."
Another funeral Wednesday was for 10-year-old Jose Flores Jr., also at Sacred Heart. He made the honor roll and received a certificate on May 24, hours before the shooting. His father told CNN that his son loved baseball and video games and "was always full of energy."
RELATED: Katy shop owner bringing happiness to Uvalde residents one slice at a time
On Tuesday afternoon, hundreds turned out to remember Amerie Jo Garza, a smiling fourth-grader whose funeral Mass was the first since the massacre. The funeral for 10-year-old Maite Rodriguez was Tuesday night.
At Amerie's funeral, mourner Erika Santiago, her husband and their two children wore purple shirts adorned with images of the victims. She described Amerie as "a nice little girl who smiled a lot," and who was "so humble and charismatic but full of life."
Investigators continue to seek answers about how police responded to the shooting, and the U.S. Department of Justice is reviewing law enforcement actions.
The blame for an excruciating delay in killing the gunman — even as parents outside begged police to rush in and panicked children called 911 from inside — was placed on the school district’s police chief, Pete Arredondo. The director of state police last week said Arredondo made the "wrong decision" not to breach the classroom, believing the gunman was barricaded inside and children weren’t at risk.
On Wednesday, Arredondo told CNN that he's talking regularly with investigators from the Texas Department of Public Safety, contradicting claims from state law enforcement that he’s stopped cooperating.
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Authorities have said the gunman, Salvador Ramos, legally purchased two guns not long before the school attack: an AR-15-style rifle on May 17 and a second rifle on May 20. He had just turned 18, permitting him to buy the weapons under federal law. Ramos was killed by law enforcement. | https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-slain-teacher-deceased-husband-both-laid-to-rest | 2022-06-01 23:35:01 | 1 | https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-slain-teacher-deceased-husband-both-laid-to-rest |
Nice weather today! How long will it stick around though? Find out when showers will try to make a comeback in our updated forecast video.
Watch now: Mostly sunny Wednesday in central Illinois. When will rain chances return?
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Nice weather expected Monday. Beginning late tonight though, showers will start to push back into the area. See when and where rain is most likely across central Illinois in our updated forecast.
No widespread rain, but some showers will be around both today and tomorrow. Find out when the best chance of needing the umbrella is going to be in our latest forecast.
Today's temperature in Bloomington will be warm. It should reach a moderate 79 degrees. A 66-degree low is forecasted. Partly cloudy skies are…
Bloomington folks should be prepared for high temperatures. It looks like it will be a warm 80 degrees. We'll see a low temperature of 60 degr…
Hot temperatures are predicted today. It should reach a warm 81 degrees. Today's forecasted low temperature is 61 degrees. Partly cloudy skies…
The forecast is showing warm temperatures for the Bloomington community. It looks to reach a moderate 75 degrees. Today's forecasted low tempe…
Hot temperatures are predicted today. It should reach a warm 81 degrees. Expect a drastic drop in temperatures though, with a low reaching 52 …
The forecast is showing a hot day in Bloomington. It should reach a warm 80 degrees. 56 degrees is today's low. Partly cloudy skies are in the…
Nationwide, the number of counties expected to reach a heat index of 125 degrees at least once a year will jump more than 20-fold from 50 in 2023 to 1,023 in 2053, according to the study.
This evening's outlook for Bloomington: Mostly cloudy. Low around 60F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Tuesday, Bloomington folks should be prepared … | https://pantagraph.com/weather/watch-now-mostly-sunny-wednesday-in-central-illinois-when-will-rain-chances-return/article_cb19afb0-1e17-11ed-8bb9-7f6d3ac47f9f.html | 2022-08-17 12:51:49 | 0 | https://pantagraph.com/weather/watch-now-mostly-sunny-wednesday-in-central-illinois-when-will-rain-chances-return/article_cb19afb0-1e17-11ed-8bb9-7f6d3ac47f9f.html |
PARIS (AP) — French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne is to unveil on Tuesday a highly sensitive pension overhaul aimed at pushing up the retirement age that has already prompted vigorous criticism and calls for protests from leftist opponents and worker unions.
The minimum retirement age to be entitled to a full pension is expected to be gradually increased from 62 to 64 or 65, in line with a longstanding pledge by President Emmanuel Macron. Details are to be released by Borne at a news conference.
The government argues that French people live longer than they used to and therefore need to work longer to make the pension system financially sustainable. All French workers receive a state pension.
Center-left and hard-left worker unions unanimously expressed their disapproval of the proposed changes after talks with Borne last week.
Some are in favor of an increase in payroll contributions paid by employers instead.
The country’s eight main worker unions are gathering on Tuesday to set the date of a first protest day against the pension changes.
A heated debate at parliament also is to be expected.
Macron’s centrist alliance lost its parliamentary majority last year — and most opposition parties are opposed to the changes.
Macron’s lawmakers hope to be able to ally with members of the conservative The Republicans party to pass the measure. Otherwise, the government may use a special power to force the law through parliament without a vote — at the price of much criticism.
The pension reform is an electoral promise from Macron, who failed to implement a similar measure during his first term. The proposal at that time sparked nationwide strikes and protests, before the COVID-19 crisis led the government to postpone the changes. Macron was reelected for a second term last year.
France’s Retirement Guidance Council issued a report last year showing that the pension system is expected to have a deficit over the next decade, with the government having to compensate.
The minimum retirement age applies to people who have worked enough years to qualify. Those who do not fulfil the conditions, like many women who interrupt their career to raise their children and people who did long studies and started their career late, must work until 67 to retire without penalty.
The average pension this year stands at 1,400 euros per month ($1,500 per month) once taxes are deducted. But that average masks differences across pension schemes depending on professions.
Over the past three decades, French governments have made numerous changes to the system but each reform has been met with massive demonstrations. | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/ap-french-pm-to-unveil-pension-changes-that-upset-many-workers/ | 2023-01-11 03:07:20 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/ap-french-pm-to-unveil-pension-changes-that-upset-many-workers/ |
Curve is upping its lending game through a major deal with Credit Suisse to fund loans issued in the UK, EEA and US
LONDON, Dec. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Curve, the fast-growing financial super app, today announced that the company has closed a deal to fund its first $1 billion in loans with a facility provided by Credit Suisse, enabling Curve to scale its lending business, Curve Flex, across the UK, the EU and the United States.
The Curve Flex product allows customers to split any transaction they've made with Curve – at any merchant, using any card, anywhere in the world – into monthly instalments. This uniquely flexible feature allows Curve's customers to be more responsible with their cash flow while reducing their borrowing costs. Flexing a Curve transaction smooths a larger payment over time, can put cash back in a bank account if needed, and provides a convenient way to pay off their credit card balance.
"We have ambitious plans for lending. We have launched and very successfully tested our unique Curve Flex product, and are delighted to be able to scale our lending capabilities with this new financing," said Paul Harrald, CIO of Curve Group and the Global Head of Curve Credit, Curve's consumer lending business. "Securing financing of this size during this period of economic uncertainty is a testament to the broad support of our bold expansion plans underpinned with now demonstrated expertise with data. We certainly are very pleased with the results of our lending to date, with our highly responsible approach encouraging responsible borrowing providing for excellent credit quality in a difficult market."
Curve, which launched to the public in 2018 and has amassed more than 4 million customers globally, is a one-of-a-kind digital wallet that combines all your money into one app with one card. In addition to the Flex product, Curve touts many unique features, including the ability to "Go Back in Time" to move past purchases between accounts and/or cards and allows customers to use their credit cards abroad. Curve's rewards offering also allows customers to "double dip" rewards – offering an additional ten percent cash back on purchases made with Curve on top of existing credit card rewards programs.
Curve's real-time access to valuable spend and behavioural data allows it to make highly responsible and timely lending offers across a variety of alternatives, thanks to a broad view across its customers' financial positions in real time. This, together with Curve being closest to the customer, means that Curve is best positioned to underwrite risk, and offer the customer the best available products – whether it's offered by Curve or one of its partners.
In the UK, Curve Flex launched with a product called Swipe Now to Pay Later ('SNPL') - enabling customers to split any transaction they make on the Curve card into three, six, nine or 12 monthly instalments. With funding secured, Curve now plans to expand its offering across markets into the EU and the US as well as with innovative new product offerings, such as the ability to access a direct line of credit before making a transaction and the ability to refinance existing credit lines. In 2023, the company also plans to launch a buy now pay later (BNPL)-style lending product for customers both in-app and in-browser.
To date, Curve has raised more than $180 million in equity investment and has reached over millions of customers around the world with its unique product and innovative partnerships with the likes of Samsung.
For more information on Curve, visit curve.com.
Curve is a financial super app. Its mission is to be a one-stop shop for all the financial needs of a consumer; a single point of access to a wide range of financial products and services, bundling together all your money into one smart card and an even smarter app. Unlike other services available in the market today, Curve allows customers to connect and supercharge their legacy banks to the 21st century, without leaving their bank or signing up to a new bank. Curve is live in 31 markets across the UK and European Economic Area (EEA).
Curve supports Mastercard, Visa and Diners Club networks. The Curve Card and e-money, related to cards issued in the UK, is issued by Curve OS Limited, authorised in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority to issue electronic money (firm reference number 900926). The Curve Card and e-money, related to cards issued in the EEA, is issued by Curve Europe UAB, authorised in Lithuania by the Bank of Lithuania (electronic money institution license No. 73 issued on 22 of October, 2020).
For more information go to www.curve.com, like our Facebook page and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter @imaginecurve and Instagram @imaginecurve.
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SOURCE Curve | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/12/06/curve-defies-market-secures-1-billion-deal-credit-suisse/ | 2022-12-06 10:19:37 | 0 | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/12/06/curve-defies-market-secures-1-billion-deal-credit-suisse/ |
Police arrest 18-year-old suspected of stalking, killing victims in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5/Gray News) - The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department gave details Thursday of an arrest that took place June 27.
The suspect, 18-year-old Alonzo “AJ” Brown, was booked for two cases of stalking and murdering in the past two months. The most recent alleged homicide occurred June 23, according to authorities.
Police received a call in May about a shooting near the intersection of Tropicana Avenue and Morris Street. LVMPD says they found the body of a man with gunshot wounds on a bus stop bench.
In June, patrolling officers heard gunshots on the 5300 block of E. Tropicana Avenue, a couple blocks away from the location of the previous incident. Officers found the body of a man with multiple gunshot wounds lying on the sidewalk, according to LVMPD.
In a press conference, LVMPD Captain Dori Koren addressed the investigation.
Koren said that LVMPD activated what is called a “Major Case Protocol,” which puts a variety of different police units on the case around the clock.
Through Major Case Protocol, police began searching the area near the shootings for evidence, according to Koren. Through the investigation, they identified Brown as the suspect.
Koren says during routine investigation, detectives saw a man that matched the description of Brown. A patrolman was called in to arrest him.
When officers arrived to the scene, the man began to flee. “It ended up being Alonzo, who we now know is responsible for these murders,” Koren said.
When officers arrested Brown, they found two guns, one in his waistband and the other in his backpack.
Koren says when Brown would allegedly commit the homicides, he would pick a target earlier in the night and follow them before shooting.
“These murders are very disturbing,” Koren said.
She urges the community to unite against these acts of senseless violence, but also stressed the fact that, “There’s no such thing as getting away in Las Vegas.”
According to Koren, the LVMPD homicide unit has as 95% success rate, the best in the country. Koren believes the LVMPD homicide unit is not only the best nationwide, but in the world.
Copyright 2022 KVVU via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wsaz.com/2022/07/01/police-arrest-18-year-old-suspected-stalking-killing-victims-las-vegas/ | 2022-07-01 06:15:51 | 1 | https://www.wsaz.com/2022/07/01/police-arrest-18-year-old-suspected-stalking-killing-victims-las-vegas/ |
Blonde and charismatic, 9-year-old Nastya, as she's known on YouTube, has a big grin and an even bigger social media presence. She has more than 100 million subscribers on YouTube, where she posts videos that show her engaged in activities like singing, imaginative role playing with friends or unboxing.
Nastya is part of a world of kid influencers, pint-sized social media stars who, like their adult counterparts, create digital content to generate views and engagement among their young followers. They are hugely popular: Research has found that 27% of 5-to-8-year-olds in the U.S. follow certain YouTube influencers.
But a study published this month finds that the YouTube videos these young influencers create frequently showcase junk food, which raises concerns that they are actually influencing kids' food choices in an unhealthy direction.
"Kids as young as age 3 are spending time on YouTube," notes Frances Fleming-Milici, the director of marketing initiatives at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health at the University of Connecticut.
Fleming-Milici and her colleagues wanted to know what kind of food and drink brands kids see when they watch these videos. So they analyzed hundreds of videos produced by some of the top kid influencers on YouTube. Turns out, food was often a co-star.
"Four out of every 10 videos that we viewed had food or beverage branded products, and most common were candy, sweet and salty snacks, sugary drinks and ice cream and branded toppings," she says of their findings, which appear in the journal Pediatric Obesity.
The study found that about a third of the time, the kids starring in these videos were shown eating junk foods and sugary drinks – those low in nutrition but densely packed with calories.
Often, the foods were woven into storylines. For example, one video – with 23 million views – from the Like Nastya Show features two young girls engaged in a wordless battle over who can bring the least healthy, most sugar-laden lunch.
Another video, from Kids Play, a channel with 16 million subscribers, featured two tiny kid influencers frantically searching for soda.
And Fleming-Milici says that's a problem, because prior research has found that, when young kids are exposed to food marketing — especially when they see someone they admire eating a product — it can strongly impact what they want to eat. And that in turn influences what they ask – and often convince – their parents to buy for them. It's a concept called "pester power."
"Most parents, or anyone who spent any time with a child, knows and has felt the pester power," Fleming-Milici says.
Dr. Jenny Radesky, a developmental behavioral pediatrician at the University of Michigan and a leading researcher on children and digital media, says young children are particularly susceptible to advertising because their executive functioning hasn't fully developed, and they have weaker impulse control than adults.
Kids also learn by watching others, including YouTube influencers, Radesky notes.
"By watching other people doing things, whether they're healthy things or unhealthy things, they're building norms or they're internalizing rules about how the world works and what they should do," says Radesky, who was the lead author of the the American Academy of Pediatrics' latest policy statement on digital advertising to children.
Now, YouTube actually banned all food advertising on channels with content made for kids back in 2020. But Fleming-Milici and her colleagues found that the prohibition hadn't stopped unhealthy foods from showing up quite frequently. The study didn't look at whether child influencers are actually being paid to feature these foods — and only one video out of hundreds acknowledged sponsorship. By law, such relationships must be disclosed.
"Perhaps these are unpaid, but it doesn't mean that the effect is different," Fleming-Milici says.
Radesky's research has found that YouTube videos often create an environment of what she calls "vicarious wish fulfillment," where kids can watch other kids live out their wishes.
"Content creators are kind of packing their videos with these highly desirable, highly pleasurable items – you know, huge pieces of candy and cake and M&Ms all over the place – because they know that that gets more engagement from child viewers," Radesky says.
A YouTube spokesperson told NPR that the company has put measures in place that make it harder for creators of kid content to profit from videos that focus on food brands. Those measures also include quality guidelines for creators.
Radesky says those measures are a step in the right direction, but her research has not found dramatic signs of improvement.
She says unlike the traditional TV and film industry, which has ratings boards that determine what content is appropriate for different age groups, the Internet has no real equivalent.
And that's why "it's a little bit riskier [for parents] to choose a free platform that has endless amounts of content, but with no guarantee that any human has ever reviewed that content to make sure that it's OK for your 3-year-old."
"It feels a bit more like the Wild West," she says.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.knau.org/npr-news/2023-02-16/kid-youtube-stars-make-sugary-junk-food-look-good-to-millions-of-young-viewers | 2023-02-16 12:15:43 | 0 | https://www.knau.org/npr-news/2023-02-16/kid-youtube-stars-make-sugary-junk-food-look-good-to-millions-of-young-viewers |
TORONTO and GATINEAU, QC, May 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Converge Technology Solutions Corp. ("Converge" or "the Company") (TSX: CTS) (FSE: 0ZB) (OTCQX: CTSDF) announced today that the Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board") has concluded the Company's strategic review process, first announced on November 22, 2022, which was overseen by a special committee of independent directors of the Board (the "Special Committee") with assistance from financial and legal advisors.
While the Company received a number of proposals for transactions involving the Company in the course of the strategic review process, following a thorough review and evaluation of the proposals and alternatives available to the Company, the Special Committee concluded that none of such proposals would be in the best interests of the Company. The Special Committee further recommended that the Board endorse the Company's continued execution of its business plans as an independent publicly held company under the leadership of its Group Chief Executive Officer Shaun Maine. The Special Committee's recommendation has been accepted and endorsed by the Board. Accordingly, the work of the Special Committee has been completed and the Special Committee has been dissolved.
This press release contains certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation regarding Converge and its business. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected" "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts". "estimates", "believes" or intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could, "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while the Company considers reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, Converge assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
For a detailed description of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its business and affairs, readers should refer to the Company's filings available on SEDAR under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com including its most recent Annual Information Form, its Management Discussion and Analysis and its Annual and Quarterly Financial Statements.
Converge Technology Solutions Corp. is a software-enabled IT & Cloud Solutions provider focused on delivering industry-leading solutions and services. Converge's global solution approach delivers advanced analytics, application modernization, cloud, cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, and digital workplace offerings to clients across various industries. The Company supports these solutions with advisory, implementation, and managed services expertise across all major IT vendors in the marketplace. This multi-faceted approach enables Converge to address the unique business and technology requirements for all clients in the public and private sectors. For more information, visit convergetp.com.
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SOURCE Converge Technology Solutions Corp. | https://www.kswo.com/prnewswire/2023/05/09/converge-announces-conclusion-strategic-review-process/ | 2023-05-09 21:02:25 | 0 | https://www.kswo.com/prnewswire/2023/05/09/converge-announces-conclusion-strategic-review-process/ |
The war in Ukraine is dominating this year's general assembly. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to address the world body about newly discovered graves in formerly Russian occupied territory.
Copyright 2022 NPR
The war in Ukraine is dominating this year's general assembly. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to address the world body about newly discovered graves in formerly Russian occupied territory.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.kbia.org/2022-09-21/president-biden-discussed-the-war-in-ukraine-china-and-climate-change-at-unga | 2022-09-21 21:20:05 | 0 | https://www.kbia.org/2022-09-21/president-biden-discussed-the-war-in-ukraine-china-and-climate-change-at-unga |
In January 2020, a long-running Gallup poll found 90 percent of American respondents broadly satisfied with their lives, the highest quotient of contentment in nearly a half-century of polling.
And then, the pandemic hit.
Much has been said about the pall of ennui that settled over the nation in the months after that midwinter poll as COVID-19 upended society. By the spring of 2020, a benchmark University of Chicago survey found American happiness at the lowest ebb in five decades.
Taken together, the two polls suggest a remarkable narrative: In the span of a few months, America’s collective happiness plummeted from a historic high to a record low.
“We were doing fairly well before the pandemic,” said Fallon Goodman, an assistant professor of psychology at George Washington University who studies human resilience. “We had the start of a new year. There was a renewed sense of hope … And then those things were taken away from us.”
The pandemic interrupted a half-decade run of remarkable contentedness in American life, according to Gallup polls, which have measured personal satisfaction since 1979.
Every year or two, pollsters ask Americans if they are satisfied or dissatisfied with “the way things are going” in their lives. The share of satisfied Americans sank below 80 percent after the Great Recession, rebounded to 85 percent in 2015 and rose to 90 percent at the turn of 2020.
And why was America so happy in January 2020?
All was not well in American society. Tensions simmered between the United States and Iran over the lingering U.S. presence in Iraq. The nation recoiled from several mass shootings amid an ongoing trend toward large-scale gun violence. On Jan. 21, health authorities announced the first domestic case of a new and potentially lethal virus.
Yet, to most Americans, those problems felt far away. By and large, at the start of 2020, life was good.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 29,000 in mid-January, an all-time high. Unemployment fell to 3.5 percent, the lowest rate in half a century. President Trump’s approval rating rose to 49 percent in Gallup polling, the highest it would ever go.
Trump ranked among the most divisive American presidents of modern times. But 2020 was an election year, and his fiercest detractors glimpsed a light at the end of the electoral tunnel.
“Just before the pandemic, I think there were a lot of people in the United States who were very satisfied with many aspects of their life,” said John Stuhr, distinguished professor of philosophy and American studies at Emory University. “And there were other people who were expecting changes for the good.”
No one, perhaps, could have predicted what 2020 held in store for the American public. COVID would kill 350,000 people that year, almost single-handedly lowering U.S. life expectancy by two years. Millions of Americans sheltered in their homes for months on end, canceling vacations and conferences and family gatherings, wearing masks in public for the first time since the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918.
The jobless rate spiked to nearly 15 percent in April, the worst since the Great Depression. The Dow plummeted below 20,000, shedding a third of its value.
In May, researchers at the University of Chicago’s NORC research organization found Americans’ happiness at its lowest level in 50 years of polling. The share of adults who termed themselves “very happy” plunged to 14 percent.
Researchers found parallels between COVID and two other crises of the modern age: the 9/11 terror attacks and the Kennedy assassination. In all three national tragedies, people reported trouble sleeping, forgetfulness, rapid heartbeats and flashes of temper. More than one-quarter of respondents told surveyors the pandemic made them feel like getting drunk.
But Americans bounced back quickly from the pandemic’s darkest hours. By January 2021, when Gallup conducted its next poll, 82 percent of respondents reported satisfied lives. The first COVID vaccines had rolled out, and the nation had a new president.
This January, 83 percent of American respondents reported satisfaction with their personal lives. That figure is about average across several decades of polling. The Gallup measure has dipped below 80 percent only on occasion — mostly during times of recession.
Happiness is a fairly stable commodity in American life, researchers say, a quality reflected in the NORC survey and others. That’s why the polls don’t generally make headlines.
“When you look since the ’50s, the percentage of Americans who say they’re happy barely budges,” said Anthony Ahrens, a psychology professor at American University.
“Humans adapt. So, just as with the weather, we get used to the cold or we get used to the warm. When our economic circumstances or political circumstances change, we usually figure out a way to make things work. Obviously, not everybody. Some people suffer.”
Happiness and satisfaction are not the same thing; the differences matter more to philosophers and psychologists and less to respondents in a survey, who tend to react to either term on an emotional level.
The Gallup satisfaction survey helpfully enumerates several facets of human contentment. In the 2023 survey, Gallup found 90 percent of Americans satisfied with their family life, 87 percent happy with their job, 84 percent pleased with their community.
Only 76 percent voiced satisfaction with their standard of living and 71 percent with their income, illustrating the toll of nagging inflation and rising interest rates.
One long-running study of human happiness, conducted by researchers at Harvard, found that genetics determine roughly half of one’s chances for happiness. Much of the rest depends on connections with family, friends and social networks.
Many of those relationships suffered during the pandemic. NORC researchers found that half of Americans felt isolated in the spring of 2020. Respondents reported feeling “left out” and lacking companionship at much higher levels than two years earlier.
Insecurity can breed unhappiness, Stuhr said, and the pandemic introduced a strong note of uncertainty into American life.
“People were vulnerable, obviously, in terms of their own health,” he said. “For many people, they were vulnerable in terms of their jobs. Many of them were vulnerable in terms of their housing. Before the vaccines, there was a lot of uncertainty about, ‘How will we deal with this?’”
Happiness is also relative. One reason Americans report broad satisfaction on surveys is their collective sense that things could always be worse. Among the global horrors of 2023: a lingering war in Ukraine and a catastrophic earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people in Turkey and Syria.
“People look around,” Stuhr said, “and they think, ‘There are many, many people in the world I wouldn’t want to trade places with.” | https://www.wane.com/news/top-picks/americans-were-happier-than-ever-in-2020-then-came-covid/ | 2023-03-10 12:29:21 | 1 | https://www.wane.com/news/top-picks/americans-were-happier-than-ever-in-2020-then-came-covid/ |
World War I Fast Facts
CNN Editorial Research
(CNN) — Here’s some background information about World War I, also known as the First World War and the Great War, which lasted from 1914 to 1918.
Causes of World War I
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb, led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia.
The Central Powers consisted of Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany and the Ottoman Empire (now Turkey).
The Allied Powers consisted of Belgium, France, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia and the United States.
The United States declared neutrality until German submarine warfare threatened American commercial shipping.
US Troop Statistics
(Source: Defense Casualty Analysis System)
Battle deaths: 53,402
Non-battle deaths: 63,114
Total deaths: 116,516
Total US soldiers wounded: 204,002
Total number of US troops that served in the conflict: 4,734,991
Other Military Casualties by Country
(Source: Encyclopedia Britannica)
Austria-Hungary: 1,200,000 dead; 3,620,000 wounded
Belgium: 13,716 dead; 44,686 wounded
Bulgaria: 87,500 dead; 152,390 wounded
France: 1,357,800 dead; 4,266,000 wounded
Germany: 1,773,700 dead; 4,216,058 wounded
Great Britain: 908,371 dead; 2,090,212 wounded
Greece: 5,000 dead; 21,000 wounded
Italy: 650,000 dead; 947,000 wounded
Japan: 300 dead; 907 wounded
Montenegro: 3,000 dead; 10,000 wounded
Ottoman Empire (Turkey): 325,000 dead; 400,000 wounded
Portugal: 7,222 dead; 13,751 wounded
Romania: 335,706 dead; 120,000 wounded
Russia: 1,700,000 dead; 4,950,000 wounded
Serbia: 45,000 dead; 133,148 wounded
Grand Total (including US): 8,528,831 dead; 21,189,154 wounded
Timeline
June 28, 1914 – Gavrilo Princip, who has ties to the Serbian terrorist-type group the Black Hand, assassinates Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary.
July 28, 1914 – Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
August 1, 1914 – Germany declares war on Russia.
August 2, 1914 – Ottoman Empire and Germany sign a secret treaty of alliance.
August 4, 1914 – Germany invades Belgium. President Woodrow Wilson declares that the United States is neutral. Britain declares war on Germany.
August 10, 1914 – Austria-Hungary invades Russia, opening the fighting on the Eastern Front.
August 26-30, 1914 – Battle of Tannenberg, Prussia.
September 12, 1914 – First battle of the Aisne in France begins, marking the beginning of trench warfare.
November 3, 1914 – Russia declares war on the Ottoman Empire.
November 5, 1914 – Great Britain and France declare war on the Ottoman Empire.
April 22-May 25, 1915 – Second Battle of Ypres, marking the first wide-scale use of poison gas by Germany.
May 7, 1915 – A German U-20 submarine sinks the British passenger ship, the Lusitania; 1,198 are killed, including 128 Americans.
June 1915-November 1917 – Battles of the Isonzo, Italy.
1915 – Battle of Krithia, Gallipoli peninsula, Ottoman Empire.
February 21–July 1916 – Battle of Verdun, France, the war’s longest battle, with almost a million casualties.
May 31-June 1, 1916 – Battle of Jutland, North Sea near Denmark – a sea battle between British and German navies.
July 1, 1916-November 1916 – First Battle of the Somme River, France. The British introduce the tank.
April 6, 1917 – The United States declares war against Germany after the interception and publication of the Zimmermann Telegram and the sinking of three US merchant ships by German U-boats.
June 26, 1917 – American troops begin landing in France.
November 20, 1917 – Battle of Cambrai, France.
December 3, 1917 – Russia signs an armistice with Germany.
March 3, 1918 – Russia signs the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, ending hostilities with the Central Powers and withdrawing Russia from this war.
March 21-April 5, 1918 – Second Battle of the Somme River.
September 29, 1918 – Bulgaria signs an armistice.
October 30, 1918 – Ottoman Empire signs an armistice.
November 3, 1918 – Austria-Hungary signs an armistice.
November 11, 1918 – Germany accepts the armistice terms demanded by the Allies, ending the war.
June 28, 1919 – The Treaty of Versailles is signed at the Palace of Versailles, France.
November 11, 2018 – Ceremonies take place around the world to mark 100 years to the day since the armistice that saw the end of World War I. French President Emmanuel Macron leads the international Armistice Day commemorations by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which lies at the foot of the Arc de Triomphe monument in Paris. US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump are among those in Paris for the commemorations, which coincide with Veterans Day in the United States.
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™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. | https://localnews8.com/news/2023/07/11/world-war-i-fast-facts/ | 2023-07-11 17:36:46 | 0 | https://localnews8.com/news/2023/07/11/world-war-i-fast-facts/ |
West Philly hopes to make program history, Imhotep Charter heads to another Public League Final
West Philly has a chance to win its first Philly Public League title since 1978. But it won’t be easy as they’ll take on defending champ Imhotep Charter.
West Philly freshman Jayden Mckie and senior Elijah Hester walked out of the opposing locker room with smiles on their faces.
They just helped their team defeat Constitution High School, 58-52, in the Public League semifinal doubleheader on Tuesday at the Liacouras Center, advancing West Philly to a final appearance for the first time since 1988 with a chance to win a title for the first time in more than 44 years.
“I owe it all to these kids,” West Philly head coach Adrian Burke said. “They worked hard all year long. We played a tough schedule. We played everybody.”
But it won’t be easy as they’ll take on defending champion Imhotep (23-3, 11-0), which features the nation’s top-ranked recruit, forward Justin Edwards, who has committed to Kentucky. (The Panthers rallied, 69-51 over Dobbins-Tech in the second game of the doubleheader.)
ESPN’s No. 1 recruit in the 2023 class, Edwards scored a team-high 18 points by attacking the glass.
“I feel when I attack the rim first, I feel like it opens up the whole game for me and my teammates, which it did [with] extra passes,” Edwards said.
After losing to Imhotep Charter by 18 points on Jan. 12, West Philly has won nine consecutive games, including Tuesday’s win.
The Speedboys (15-10, 9-2) started the season 3-7, but a road trip to Pittsburgh in December turned things around .
“They just started bonding together,” Burke said about the impact of the Pittsburgh trip. “Things started to be different. They started to trust each other. Once they started trusting each other, that’s when things started to get real, real easy.”
The Panthers, though, look poised to win again. Imhotep has won three Public League finals and head coach Andre Noble also led the program to three consecutive victories in the Philly Public League from 2009 to 2011.
“We are on the cusp of one of our goals,” Noble said. “Our goal is to be one of the best teams in the country. We can’t control that always, but the next one [to accomplish] is winning the Public [League], city, and state titles.”
Here’s a few takeaways from last night’s winners.
Special moment
In the fourth quarter, Imhotep Charter fans rose to their feet to celebrate senior guard Rahmir Barno eclipsing 1,000 career points, part of a 15-point performance.
“It felt good,” Barno said. “It’s a really big accomplishment of course, especially just missing some games throughout the COVID year, which kind of slowed down and took away from getting those 1,000 points. So it was a little tougher for the guys like us.”
West Philly’s defensive pressure
Mckie and Hester were defensive standouts.
Late in the fourth quarter, McKie snagged two consecutive steals to put away the Generals. McKie, a 5-foot-7 guard, also scored 14 points.
“He [is] a dog,” Burke said. “Once you put him in, I can’t take him out. He’s just got a knack for the ball.”
Hester scored a team-high 15 points, and his defensive impact made things difficult on his opponents. | https://www.inquirer.com/high-school-sports/west-philly-imhotep-charter-philly-public-league-final-liacouras-center-20230222.html | 2023-02-22 15:17:41 | 1 | https://www.inquirer.com/high-school-sports/west-philly-imhotep-charter-philly-public-league-final-liacouras-center-20230222.html |
ANN ARBOR, MI – The Ann Arbor Art Fair welcomed throngs of patrons Friday morning, with artists quickly recovering from Thursday’s storms to greet guests by the thousands at the annual downtown festival.
Recently-resurfaced streets and sidewalks were packed to the brim Friday morning as guests browsed paintings, ceramics and sculptures, engaging with the nearly 1,000 artists in attendance along the way.
READ MORE: Your guide to the 2023 Ann Arbor Art Fair
Illustrator Stephen Kade, who has attended each edition of Art Fair since 2011, was pleased with the turnout so far.
“This show, I literally get people from all over the world,” he said. “It’s really a joy to see the great crowds every year... it’s my favorite show of the year, actually.”
Artists were briefly forced to close up their tents Thursday afternoon as a severe thunderstorm brought high winds, rain and hail to the area. As in years past, Kade says the artists took the unpredictable weather in stride.
“We pre-plan for these things,” he said. “When you make a living on the street you have to abide by the weather.”
Art Fair will continue from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, with the forecast calling for clear skies and pleasant temperatures around 80 degrees.
Check out more Art Fair coverage:
Your guide to the 2023 Ann Arbor Art Fair
Crowds descend on downtown for start of 2023 Ann Arbor Art Fair
Ann Arbor Art Fair closing temporarily due to predicted thunderstorms
5 great things to check out at the Ann Arbor Art Fair
Where to park and how to navigate the 2023 Ann Arbor Art Fair
Here’s where to eat at the 2023 Ann Arbor Art Fair | https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2023/07/see-photos-as-ann-arbor-art-fair-heads-into-fair-weather-weekend.html | 2023-07-21 18:25:56 | 0 | https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2023/07/see-photos-as-ann-arbor-art-fair-heads-into-fair-weather-weekend.html |
Suspect accused of abandoning kidnapped baby charged with attempted murder
FORT WORTH, Texas - A suspect accused of abandoning a 6-month-old is now facing an attempted murder charge.
Elliott Reyes was initially charged with endangering a child, but that charge has since been upgraded.
Elliott Reyes (Source: Tarrant County Jail)
Police say Reyes stole a woman's car in Fort Worth on Monday night, with the baby boy inside.
Officers were able to locate the vehicle and Reyes about an hour later, but the baby was nowhere to be found.
Reyes allegedly led police back to a residential area where he abandoned the 6-month-old who was still in his car seat on a dead end street.
The 6-month-old was near a ravine surrounded by garbage and discarded furniture.
"The baby was hanging on by the straps of the car seat. It was barely hanging on," said Fort Worth Police Sergeant Ronnie Chau on Wednesday.
Reyes is being held in the Tarrant County Corrections Center. | https://www.fox4news.com/news/elliott-reyes-attempted-murder-fort-worth | 2023-05-19 16:59:29 | 0 | https://www.fox4news.com/news/elliott-reyes-attempted-murder-fort-worth |
HS HOOPS: 2A Division 4 highlights 1 hour ago Jon Sokoloff, WATCH: 2A Division 4 highlights https://cdn.field59.com/WCBI/1675831985-18548bf6d5e5c57bbafac14bfae97f04976f9cd1_fl9-720p.mp4 Categories: High School Sports, Local Sports, Sports FacebookPinterestTwitterLinkedin
AJ Brown on Mississippi's influence in the Super Bowl: 'The state of Mississippi is slept on'February 3, 2023 | https://www.wcbi.com/hs-hoops-2a-division-4-highlights/ | 2023-02-08 06:16:53 | 1 | https://www.wcbi.com/hs-hoops-2a-division-4-highlights/ |
President Biden has put Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in a difficult spot by approving a controversial Alaskan oil-drilling project that the former New Mexico lawmaker opposed when she served in Congress.
Biden’s decision to proceed with the Willow Project will allow ConocoPhillips to produce up to 180,00 barrels a day at its peak, which a ConocoPhillips spokesperson said should be within the first few years of startup. The project is expected to produce 576 million barrels of oil over 30 years.
The president and supporters of the project say Willow will create thousands of jobs in Alaska and help keep the U.S. energy independent, an increasingly important notion for Biden ahead of an expected 2024 reelection bid likely to take place against a backdrop of elevated gas prices aggravated by the Russia-Ukraine war.
But the project will also produce an estimated 239 million metric tons of carbon emissions over the next 30 years, which is equivalent to driving 51 million cars for a year.
That’s why Haaland, the first Native American to lead the Interior Department, opposed the project when she was a member of Congress.
And it’s why the decision to approve Willow undercuts her standing and puts her in a tough spot going forward — especially with groups opposed to the project, who believe their lead defender within the administration was just big-footed.
“It seems clear that the White House decided to override Secretary Haaland, as well as many other career staff who believe that this project should not have been approved throughout the department,” said Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity, which is suing the federal government over the approval. “I think the Biden White House is forcing them to take the blame and swallow a decision they did not agree with, for very political reasons.”
Haaland likely knew she could be in a tough spot with Willow as early as her confirmation hearing in 2021, when she was asked about her opposition to the project by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a prominent supporter.
Murkowski specifically asked Haaland if she would allow it to proceed as Interior secretary.
“I think being a [Cabinet] secretary is far different from being a member of Congress,” Haaland said at the time.
Murkowski was the only Republican on the Senate Energy Committee to vote against Haaland’s confirmation.
Interior did approve the Willow Project, but that approval does not show Haaland’s name.
Instead, the No. 2 official at Interior, Deputy Secretary Tommy Beaudreau, an Alaskan nominated for his post after Murkowski and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) signaled they would block his first choice, signed the approval.
Haaland made her first public comment on the approval Monday evening, saying in a video posted to Twitter that the decision was a “difficult and complex” one that Biden inherited from former President Trump.
The Interior Department’s public announcement of the signoff also pointedly deemphasized the approval itself. Instead, it focused on the department’s decision to reduce the area on which Conoco may drill — a battle won in a war that was lost.
Interior also announced new protections from drilling for a broad swathe of the Arctic over the weekend as rumors swirled that the Willow approval was imminent, an indication the department also senses the political minefield and is seeking to limit the damage.
Environmental groups aren’t publicly upset with Haaland and say they interpret the fact that Beaudreau signed the approval suggests their longtime ally wasn’t in favor of the decision.
The fact that Beaudreau signed it “tells, in my mind, that Deb Haaland was not on board with this decision to some extent,” Hartl said.
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), who, like Murkowski, has been a longtime backer of the Willow Project, suggested Wednesday that Haaland’s involvement in negotiations had been minimal.
“Deb Haaland was not in the loop on this at all,” Sullivan told reporters Wednesday. “She was the official in the federal government least involved. And in part, I’m sure, because she was so adamantly against it as a congresswoman. But whatever they’re saying, she had nothing to do with it.”
An Interior spokesperson declined to comment on Sullivan’s specific remarks but sharply contested the idea that Haaland had been removed from the decisionmaking process.
“The Secretary has been actively involved in Willow discussions from the beginning,” the spokesperson said. “In addition to traveling to Alaska and holding stakeholder meetings in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Utqiagvik, she has met with Alaska Native leaders on both sides of this issue multiple times in D.C. and virtually, as well as conservation and other groups, and members of Congress.”
Either way, the decision would appear to undercut Haaland, suggesting she was overruled and raising questions about her influence in the administration.
“[We’re] very much aware of the legal battles and the complexities that may have strong-armed those who do want to take more progressive actions on the climate,” Jade Begay, director of policy and advocacy at the Native American advocacy group NDN Collective, told The Hill in an interview.
There were influential groups pushing Biden to OK the project, including Alaska’s congressional delegation, the American-Canadian union Laborers’ International Union of North America and a group of Alaska Native state leaders who recently met with Haaland.
And with the 2024 election approaching, Biden has shown signs of tacking right, both with the Willow announcement and with his support of a bill to override changes to Washington, D.C.’s criminal code.
Supporters of Haaland say that while the Willow approval was a major loss and a blow to morale, they still think she can be an effective ally within the administration.
“Both things can be true: we still hold her in great regard but this Willow decision, they got it completely wrong and I think a lot of people at the agency know it,” said Athan Manuel, director of the Sierra Club’s Lands Protection Program.
“It’s the White House’s choice of how they want to proceed here,” Hartl said. “Do they want to keep handcuffing Interior because they feel like Lisa Murkowski is more important than the future of our planet? That’s their decision.”
Rachel Frazin contributed. | https://www.yourbasin.com/hill-politics/deb-haaland-in-difficult-spot-after-biden-approves-alaska-drilling/ | 2023-03-17 11:46:44 | 1 | https://www.yourbasin.com/hill-politics/deb-haaland-in-difficult-spot-after-biden-approves-alaska-drilling/ |
The Warriors have a literal champagne problem.
Fresh off their NBA Finals victory and champagne showers in Boston, Golden State finds itself in an enviable dilemma: They have too many good players.
The team’s ‘two-timelines’ plan worked. The old blended with the young and created a championship team.
And now everyone wants to get paid.
That’s where the trouble comes in for the Warriors.
Draymond Green is eligible for an extension on Thursday. He wants everything he can earn under the league’s collective bargaining agreement — $164 million — and he deserves it.
Andrew Wiggins is due a new contract, too, at roughly $40 million a year. He deserves it, too.
Jordan Poole is eligible for a massive pay raise as well. That deal is going to be over $100 million. That’s just.
The Warriors print money with Chase Center, but all these extensions — plus the luxury tax on top — would find the team’s payroll limit fast.
Winning now and later is expensive.
The Warriors can try to thread the needle — they can test fate and try to offload Poole or Wiggins or even Green — or they can solve the problem right here and now by committing to one timeline and trading for Kevin Durant.
The Warriors kicked around the idea of trading for Durant when the soon-to-be 34-year-old former Dub put in his trade request to the Brooklyn Nets a month ago. Every team in the NBA did.
But despite Durant being one of the NBA’s best players, there is zero momentum behind him on the trade front. There’s an occasional blip of interest, but the odds are increasingly likely that he will remain a Net at least for the start of the season.
Of course, I understand why the Warriors want to stick with the formula that won them the title. It was a big, bold experiment and it worked!
But either Warriors ownership becomes increasingly comfortable with the fat luxury tax checks it’s been sending the league office, or it commits to a single timeline. There’s no in-between here.
Despite a bit of trade fervor around Durant in the days following his request, no one has either been able or been willing to meet the Nets’ trade demands.
I think the Warriors can.
The Dubs have always had the best possible trade package for Durant. That hasn’t changed over the last month — it’s just become clearer how difficult it will be to keep the Warriors’ two timelines together.
But if the Dubs ship off their “middle class” — Poole and Wiggins — and one of their super young players — say, Jonathan Kuminga or James Wiseman — the Warriors can maintain (if not expand) their championship window in the present while keeping it open in the post-Curry future, which might be more than a half-decade away.
Yes, the Warriors would be offering the Nets a young star in Poole, the best two-way wing in the most recent NBA Finals, and a big man who still carries immense promise at age 21, but they would effectively be cutting payroll. Poole and Wiggins will assuredly be making more than $60 million a year, combined, under their new contracts. Durant has four years remaining on a $194 million extension — his last big-money contract.
The trade would require a few first-round picks, too, but I can’t imagine it’d take too many. Also, who cares about first-round picks when the Super Villains are back together?
Whatever weirdness there was at the end of Durant’s time in Oakland, it no longer seems associated with the Warriors players. His beef with the media — myself included — is overblown, especially in an NBA where media access is far more limited. And I hear from most fans that “we don’t want him back”, I am certain that stance would melt instantaneously if Durant were wearing No. 35 for the Warriors again.
Now, I don’t know if Golden State would be Durant’s top destination preference — reportedly, it’s Phoenix — but I’m guessing he wouldn’t veto a trade back to Basketball Nirvana, even though it carries the demerit that I hang around it sometimes.
This might just work.
With his trade request, Durant had the courage to admit that he made a mistake in going to Brooklyn. Good on him, no matter where he goes.
I’d like that destination to be Golden State. He can solve the Warriors’ two-timelines problem and augment a legacy that felt unfinished when he left.
I think this route is preferable to guessing which of the Warriors’ top players should be skimped or shipped. Once you reach that point, you’re effectively shaving your title chances.
Yes, one timeline is the way to go. The Warriors should dominate the present and trust their now-proven ability to identify, draft, and develop young players. They built an impressive young core before — they can do it again.
And in the meantime, the most impressive four-man lineup in NBA history — albeit a bit older than in their heyday — will be back together in the arena originally built for them. | https://www.chicoer.com/2022/08/04/kurtenbach-the-warriors-have-a-problem-trading-for-kevin-durant-would-solve-it/ | 2022-08-04 12:11:28 | 0 | https://www.chicoer.com/2022/08/04/kurtenbach-the-warriors-have-a-problem-trading-for-kevin-durant-would-solve-it/ |
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A legislative committee has finally advanced a bill to comply with a voter ID requirement approved by Nebraska voters last November, but with infighting among Republicans, it’s unclear whether lawmakers have time to pass the bill before the session ends early next month.
The bill, introduced by Republican Sen. Julie Slama, was advanced from the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee on Wednesday after being amended to focus on photo IDs. Slama had sought more far-reaching requirements, including verification of voters' citizenship, notarization of mail-in ballots and audits of witness signatures for mail-in ballots.
The amended version would allow a wide array of photo identification voters could present at the polls, such as passports, driver's licenses, military and tribal IDs and Nebraska college IDs. Even expired IDs would be allowed as long as they have the voter's name and photo. Residents of hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living centers would be able to use patient documents that include a photo.
Those voting by mail would be allowed to include the number from their driver’s license or state ID card or a copy of an accepted document. Voters who show up without a photo ID could cast a provisional ballot but would have to present a valid ID to election officials within a week for the vote to be counted. Some rare photo ID exceptions would also be made, such as for those with religious objections to being photographed.
The amended version drew sharp criticism from Slama, who labeled it “fraud-friendly” with “no real ID requirements.” She blamed Republican Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen, saying his office tipped “the scales in favor of his unconstitutional amendment.”
“Evnen's office obstructed this process every step of the way,” Slama said. “I'm going to fight on behalf of the voters to stop this abomination.”
She has introduced an amendment to restore much of her original proposal.
Evnen has been a popular target among those who believe persistent conspiracy theories that elections in 2020 were rigged.
Evnen, who has advocated for a voter photo ID law, defended his office's work on the bill. Nebraska already verifies citizenship of voters when they register to vote, and Slama's bill requiring further citizenship checks would violate federal law, he said.
“Senator Slama’s bill appears to have the effect of suppressing the votes of rural voters,” Evnen said in a written statement. “I have repeatedly said that I would not support a bill that suppresses voting. Senator Slama's bill also appears to violate the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution. Again, such provisions help no one."
The committee’s chair, Sen. Tom Brewer, of Gordon, said at the beginning of the legislative session that the committee would likely take parts from the various bills and craft its own bill to advance to the full Legislature. He said Wednesday that the committee moved ahead with a more moderate voter ID proposal with only 10 days left in this year's session and after weeks of being unable to reach a compromise with those who wanted to make more stringent requirements.
Voter ID measures have been approved in a number of Republican-controlled states nationwide. Nebraska Republicans’ previous efforts to do so in the officially nonpartisan Legislature were unable to overcome opponents who said such voter ID laws are meant to discourage voter turnout by minorities and others who are less likely to have appropriate identification and tend to vote for Democrats.
When efforts in the Legislature failed in 2021, a petition effort bankrolled by then-Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts’ mother was launched to get the measure on last November’s ballot.
Nebraska has no history of widespread voter fraud, but supporters of the voter ID requirement say it’s needed to prevent possible future problems. | https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/voter-id-bill-facing-republican-infighting-18107502.php | 2023-05-18 23:11:09 | 0 | https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/voter-id-bill-facing-republican-infighting-18107502.php |
A 17-year-old is in custody in connection with the shooting death earlier this month of Koko Da Doll, an Atlanta woman who gained notice in a documentary about transgender Black women and the dangers they face, police said Thursday.
The teenager faces charges of murder and aggravated assault in the death of the 35-year-old transgender woman, also known as Rasheeda Williams. The teenager surrendered to officers at a precinct in northwest Atlanta on Wednesday, identifying himself as the person of interest being sought in the case, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Police had previously released surveillance images of a man wearing a sports jersey walking up to the entrance of an apartment building. Authorities said detectives wanted to identify the person “to assist with the current investigation on the homicide.”
The teenager said he was the man in the photos, but he denied shooting anyone, according to an arrest warrant obtained by the newspaper.
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A witness said she saw Williams arguing with a man before hearing gunshots. The witness said she ran over to help.
In addition to the murder and assault charges, the teenager faces a count of possessing a gun during the commission of a felony. He is being held in the Fulton County Jail. It was unknown if he has an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
Koko had gained notice earlier this year when she and others appeared in the documentary “Kokomo City,” describing her life as a transgender woman, her interactions with Black men as a sex worker, and the threats of violence she sometimes faced.
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“Kokomo City” director D. Smith wrote in a statement on Instagram that she wanted to make a movie “to show the fun, humanized, natural side of Black trans women” and not focus on “trauma or the statistics of murder of transgender lives.”
“Kokomo City” won a NEXT Innovator Award and an audience award at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and also won an award at the 2023 Berlin Film Festival. It’ was presented earlier this month at the Atlanta Film Festival. Magnolia Pictures plans to release the film widely later this year.
Koko was the third Black trans woman to be killed in Atlanta. The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ rights group, tracked at least 38 transgender people nationwide who were killed in 2022. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/national-international/17-year-old-in-custody-for-murder-of-transgender-woman-featured-in-award-winning-documentary/3555055/ | 2023-04-28 01:09:54 | 0 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/national-international/17-year-old-in-custody-for-murder-of-transgender-woman-featured-in-award-winning-documentary/3555055/ |
Judge hears testimony in bid to strike Georgia abortion law
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s ban on abortion as early as six weeks into pregnancy is causing distress among women denied the procedure and confusion among doctors, an abortion provider testified Monday on the first day of a trial to determine whether the state can continue enforcing the restriction.
Carrie Cwiak, a plaintiff in a lawsuit that seeks to strike down the law, said women who have learned they are past the time period when abortion is allowed under state law have wondered out loud what they will do next.
“It’s upsetting,” Cwiak, a gynecology professor at the Emory University School of Medicine, said. “It’s emotional.”
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney has scheduled two days of testimony in the lawsuit, which argues the ban violates the Georgia Constitution’s right to privacy and liberty by “forcing pregnancy and childbirth upon countless Georgians.” He will then issue a ruling, though he said Monday that it will not happen until after Nov. 8.
Georgia’s law bans most abortions once a “detectable human heartbeat” is present. Cardiac activity can be detected by ultrasound in cells within an embryo that will eventually become the heart as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. That means most abortions in Georgia are effectively banned at a point before many women know they are pregnant.
The law includes exceptions for rape and incest, as long as a police report is filed, and allows for later abortions when the mother’s life is at risk or a serious medical condition renders a fetus unviable.
Cwiak said the law, however, does not provide clear guidance about when doctors can intervene. The potential penalty for an error is also chilling, she said.
“The fact that the bill has as the consequence criminal prosecution if you have a different interpretation than the legal interpretation, that’s very distressing to physicians,” she said.
Under questioning by Christopher Bartolomucci, an attorney representing the state, Cwiak acknowledged that she did not know of any doctors who had been prosecuted for performing an abortion for a medical emergency. Bartolomucci, in an effort to discredit Cwiak, also raised her previous tweets, including one in which she slammed conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court using an expletive in the context of their decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The state attorney general’s office said in a court filing that Georgia’s privacy protections do not extend to abortion because it affects another “human life.”
“There is a third party involved,” Georgia Solicitor General Stephen Petrany told McBurney.
McBurney pushed back on that argument by raising the hypothetical example of a young girl who is raped by her stepdad and becomes pregnant, but is too afraid to report the crime.
He said he wasn’t sure that the girl’s right to privacy would totally cease to exist.
But he also asked an attorney for the plaintiffs to address the state Legislature’s desire to treat the embryo as a person.
“That’s where I’m wrestling right now,” he said.
The judge heard from two more plaintiffs’ experts, including Whitney Rice, a public health researcher at Emory University who testified that she expects Georgia’s abortion ban to disproportionately harm Black women. The trial will continue Tuesday.
The doctors and advocacy groups that filed the lawsuit in July also argue the law was invalid from the start because it violated the U.S. Constitution and U.S. Supreme Court precedent when it was enacted.
Georgia’s law was passed by state lawmakers and signed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in 2019 but it had been blocked from taking effect until the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which had protected the right to an abortion for nearly 50 years. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowed Georgia to begin enforcing its abortion law just over three weeks after the high court’s decision in June.
The state has argued that the Roe decision itself was wrong and the Supreme Court ruling wiped it out of existence.
In August, McBurney rejected a request by the plaintiffs to immediately block the abortion law while the lawsuit was pending, though he stressed that decision did not touch on the merits of the case. Earlier this month, he denied a request by state officials to postpone the trial.mediately block the abortion law while the lawsuit was pending, though he stressed that decision did not touch on the merits of the case. Earlier this month, he denied a request by state officials to postpone the trial.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.kttc.com/2022/10/24/trial-over-georgias-restrictive-abortion-law-begin/ | 2022-10-26 13:54:25 | 1 | https://www.kttc.com/2022/10/24/trial-over-georgias-restrictive-abortion-law-begin/ |
Henry Martin and Luis Chaves each scored in Mexico’s furious attempt to stay alive at the World Cup, but the 2-1 victory Wednesday night over Saudi Arabia was not enough.
Because of Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Poland in a simultaneous match, Mexico failed to advance out of its group for the first time since 1978.
Mexico had reached the round of 16 at the last seven World Cups, which was tied with Brazil for the longest current streak.
El Tri went into the match at Lusail Stadium needing both a victory and help from Poland playing across town against Argentina to advance in Group C. Argentina’s victory meant goal difference came into play.
Martin scored in the 48th minute to give El Tri hope, and the team’s chances got even better with Luis Chavez’s goal on a free kick four minutes later.
Mexico tried desperately in the final 20 minutes to get another goal — including an effort by Uriel Antuna in the 87th minute that was ruled offside — but came up short. | https://www.capitalgazette.com/sports/ct-mexico-world-cup-elimination-20221130-ctq7kyqtmzgmzkqbnrrioagv5q-story.html | 2022-11-30 22:50:15 | 1 | https://www.capitalgazette.com/sports/ct-mexico-world-cup-elimination-20221130-ctq7kyqtmzgmzkqbnrrioagv5q-story.html |
Which white Nike shoes are best?
Nike has been a trusted brand known for making quality athletic shoes since it was founded in 1964. If you’re an athlete looking for sport-specific shoes or just want a pair to wear casually, Nike has plenty of options.
Athletic shoes are more colorful than ever, but white shoes have a classic look that never goes out of style and can be worn with almost anything. Finding the right pair for you depends on your size and how you plan to wear them, but the best are Nike Men’s Air Force 1 Basketball Shoes. They’re versatile, making them suitable for casual wear or athletic activity.
What to know before you buy white Nike shoes?
Benefits of white shoes
White shoes are trendy and affordable, but the true advantage of wearing them is their versatility. They are stylish and can be worn in both casual and semiformal settings, but they don’t draw attention, so they can help the rest of your outfit shine.
Types of shoes
The reason you’re buying shoes and when you plan to wear them help determine the best pair for you. Nike makes white shoes in the following categories:
- Running
- Basketball
- Tennis
- Walking
- Skateboarding
- Lifestyle
If you play sports and want more specialized athletic shoes, Nike also makes cleats for football, soccer, baseball, softball and golf.
What to look for in white Nike shoes
Style of shoes
You have three choices when selecting the style of Nike shoes.
- Low-top: These are cut below the ankle. They are common in running, tennis and some basketball shoes. If looking for shoes to wear with more formal attire, it’s best to go with low-tops.
- High-top: These ride higher up on the ankle to provide additional support, making them most common in basketball shoes.
- Mid-top: These are in between low and high. They provide some additional support, so basketball and lifestyle shoes are the most common mid-tops.
Shades
Even when selecting white shoes, you still have color options. You can choose all-white shoes, but many white Nike shoes add a splash of color to its swoosh logo or other small areas, such as the back logo. These are versatile and still go with almost anything, but have the added benefit of a touch of color to help your shoes stand out.
How much you can expect to spend on white Nike shoes
Most range from $80-$150 depending on size, model and availability. Limited edition, vintage or throwback Nike shoes can be collector items and sell for substantially more than the original retail price, with some costing upward of $500.
White Nike shoes FAQ
What is the best way to clean white Nike shoes?
A. There are home remedies to keep your white Nikes looking bright and clean. Try mixing two tablespoons of white vinegar, one tablespoon of baking soda and one cup of water. Dip a clean cloth or toothbrush into the mixture and scrub the dirty sections.
Why do white shoes turn yellow?
A. The main reason is oxidation. This isn’t an issue right away, but after a couple of months of extensive use or exposure to the sun, clean your shoes to prevent them from turning yellow.
What should I wear with my white Nike shoes?
A. White is a universal color, so you have many options. White shoes can be worn with casual attire or help create a more stylized look. They can be paired with shorts, jeans, slacks or more professional evening attire.
What are the best white Nike shoes to buy?
Top white Nike shoes
Nike Men’s Air Force 1 Basketball Shoe
What you need to know: If you’re a collector seeking a fashionable shoe or an athlete who strives for peak performance, this low-cut basketball shoe checks all the boxes.
What you’ll love: With a versatile design, the thick midsoles absorb shock and pressure during impact, while the flexible ankle offers a full range of motion, no matter what the activity. The leather upper and full-length rubber outsole are made with quality material and provide increased durability.
What you should consider: The toe box of this shoe is more narrow than other athletic shoes.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon and Dick’s Sporting Goods
Top white Nike shoes for the money
Nike Men’s Air Monarch IV Cross Trainer
What you need to know: This training shoe was created for both casual and high-impact athletics. It’s supported by an Air-Sole unit and a lightweight midsole.
What you’ll love: These easy-to-wear trainers are constructed with a soft fabric lining, encapsulated cushions, mesh tongue and perforations that provide breathability and comfort. The solid rubber soles give you an unmatched grip, whether on the court or the street, while the flex grooves provide remarkable flexibility.
What you should consider: These shoes have a wider fit than other designs, so unless you have a larger foot, you should size down.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon and Dick’s Sporting Goods
Worth checking out
Nike Women’s Court Vision Low Shoes
What you need to know: These street-style shoes are a throwback with ’80s nostalgia, but with a modern twist.
What you’ll love: The leather and synthetic upper make them durable and provide a secure fit, while the rubber cupsole increases traction. They are available in all white and white with a different color swoosh logo.
What you should consider: These shoes can crease more quickly than other styles after heavy-duty usage.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon and Dick’s Sporting Goods
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Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://pix11.com/reviews/br/shoes-br/casual-br/best-white-nike-shoes/ | 2022-06-20 23:03:50 | 0 | https://pix11.com/reviews/br/shoes-br/casual-br/best-white-nike-shoes/ |
Find Out If Anyone Has Died In Your House
October 26, 2022 6:25AM CDT
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Would it bother you if you found out that someone died in your house? For less than $12 you can find out! DiedInHouse.com is a search engine that allows you to put in your address for $11.99 and find out if there was. If you are looking for a new house, this might be another website to visit before you purchase.
More about: | https://www.kfrxfm.com/find-out-if-anyone-has-died-in-your-house/ | 2022-10-27 15:40:08 | 1 | https://www.kfrxfm.com/find-out-if-anyone-has-died-in-your-house/ |
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong is planning to overhaul its last major political representative body that is mostly comprised of popularly elected seats, its leader said Tuesday. The move ensures the municipal-level organization will be run by Beijing loyalists, quashing any future challenges.
Chief Executive John Lee said at a press briefing that the government will not allow the district councils to become a platform for advocating Hong Kong independence or intervening in its administration.
The race for the seats of the city’s district representatives usually gets little international attention as the councilors mainly handle municipal matters. But their election took on symbolic importance after the city’s pro-democracy camp won a landslide victory in the last poll at the height of the anti-government protests in 2019. In 2021, Hong Kong amended its electoral laws for its legislature, drastically reducing the public’s ability to vote and increasing the number of pro-Beijing lawmakers making decisions for the city.
Under the current electoral rules, most of the council’s seats are directly elected by voters. Lee said an ongoing review will help depoliticize the bodies.
“There will be multiple ways of entry and certain elements of election will be reserved,” Lee said. “This will allow patriots who have the ambition to serve in their districts to take part through multiple channels.” He did not further elaborate.
Many pro-democracy district councilors who were elected four years ago resigned in 2021 after the authorities introduced an oath-taking requirement to ask them to pledge allegiance to the city. Their mass resignations followed media reports that councilors may have to repay their wages if they are later disqualified from office, which the government had not confirmed or denied at the time.
The requirement was widely seen as part of a broader crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in the former British colony, which has seen an erosion of the freedoms it was promised it could maintain after being handed to Chinese control in 1997. | https://phl17.com/news/international/ap-international/hong-kong-plans-electoral-overhaul-for-district-councils/ | 2023-04-25 22:27:16 | 0 | https://phl17.com/news/international/ap-international/hong-kong-plans-electoral-overhaul-for-district-councils/ |
Hornets’ Bridges pleads not guilty to domestic violence
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges pleaded not guilty Wednesday to felony domestic violence charges filed by Los Angeles County prosecutors after he was accused of assaulting his girlfriend in front of their two children.
District Attorney George Gascón announced Tuesday that his office filed one felony count of injuring a child’s parent and two felony counts of child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death.
Bridges entered not guilty pleas during an arraignment, the DA’s office said.
Bridges was arrested on June 29 by Los Angeles police and was later released on $130,000 bond.
The Hornets and the NBA both said they were aware of the charges filed against Bridges.
“These are very serious charges that we will continue to monitor,” the Hornets said. “As this is a legal matter, we will have no further comment at this time.”
Mychelle Johnson, the mother of Bridges’ two young children, addressed the incident on Instagram on July 1, posting several pictures of injuries and a medical report that read “adult victim of physical abuse by male partner; Assault by strangulation, Brain concussion; Closed fracture of nasal bone; Contusion of rib; Multiple bruises; Strain of neck muscle.”
“I hate that it has come to this but I can’t be silent anymore. I’ve allowed someone to destroy my home, abuse me in every way possible and traumatize our kids for life,” Johnson wrote on Instagram. “I have nothing to prove to the world, but I won’t allow anyone who could do something so horrible to have no remorse and paint a picture of something I’m not. I won’t allow the people around him to continue to silence me and continue to lie to protect this person.”
The 24-year-old Bridges is a restricted free agent who was expected to command big money in the free agent market this summer following a breakout season.
The 6-foot-7, 225-pound Bridges was the Hornets’ leading scorer last season, averaging 20.2 points and seven rebounds in his fourth NBA season.
The Hornets have extended Bridges a qualifying offer allowing them a chance to match any offer sheet made by another team. The team had indicated prior to knowledge of Bridges’ arrest that it wanted to re-sign him.
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More AP NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://kion546.com/sports/ap-national-sports/2022/07/20/hornets-bridges-pleads-not-guilty-to-domestic-violence/ | 2022-07-22 18:23:25 | 0 | https://kion546.com/sports/ap-national-sports/2022/07/20/hornets-bridges-pleads-not-guilty-to-domestic-violence/ |
RALEIGH, N.C., Aug. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Farm Aid's deadline to make advance requests for credentials to attend this year's music and food festival is Monday, Sept. 5. After this date, media who request a credential will incur a $30 late fee.
All media attending the festival are required to obtain Farm Aid-issued press credentials, which will only be distributed to working reporters and photographers. The credentialing applications for Farm Aid 2022 should be completed online at www.farmaid.org/media. Festival media policies also are available for download.
Farm Aid 2022, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 24, at Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek in Raleigh, N.C., will bring together family farmers and musician activists, with performances by Willie Nelson & Family, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, and Margo Price, as well as Chris Stapleton, Sheryl Crow, Lukas Nelson, Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats, Allison Russell, Charley Crockett, Brittney Spencer and Particle Kid.
Members of the media who pre-register will receive credentials on the day of the festival at Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek. All freelance reporters and photographers must pre-register and provide proof of assignment. A limited number of credentials will be available at the venue for reporters only on the day of the show. Information about the time and location of media credentialing, as well as parking information and a schedule of events, will be made available to pre-registered media in September.
Venue and Farm Aid staff are following the latest CDC guidance and industry best practices to prevent the transmission of COVID-19, including various precautions across the festival operation. Based on the latest local guidelines, neither reporters nor attendees are required to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test and/or vaccination for entry into Farm Aid 2022. Farm Aid will monitor the situation closely and update protocols as warranted leading up to Sept. 24. Be sure to check FarmAid.org for the latest updates and guidelines as entry requirements are subject to change. No refunds will be offered due to changed requirements.
For event updates, follow Farm Aid on Twitter (@FarmAid), Facebook (facebook.com/farmaid) and Instagram (instagram.com/farmaid), and visit farmaid.org/festival. Festivalgoers are encouraged to use the hashtags #FarmAid2022 and #Road2FarmAid to join the conversation on social media around this year's festival.
Farm Aid's mission is to build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America. Farm Aid artists and board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and Margo Price host an annual festival to raise funds to support Farm Aid's work with family farmers and to inspire people to choose family farm food. For more than 35 years, Farm Aid, with the support of the artists who contribute their performances each year, has raised more than $64 million to support programs that help farmers thrive, expand the reach of the Good Food Movement, take action to change the dominant system of industrial agriculture and promote food from family farms.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Farm Aid | https://www.wkyt.com/prnewswire/2022/08/25/sept-5-deadline-approaches-for-farm-aid-2022-media-credentials/ | 2022-08-25 21:04:23 | 1 | https://www.wkyt.com/prnewswire/2022/08/25/sept-5-deadline-approaches-for-farm-aid-2022-media-credentials/ |
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This lovely lady is friendly and sweet ready to find her new home. 2 yrs Spayed, UTD vaccines and microchipped View on PetFinder
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Smoke from wildfires in western Canada is entering North Dakota, the National Weather Service reported Tuesday.
Authorities have charged a Robinson man with a felony sex crime after he allegedly communicated with young men by text and by giving them doll…
Bismarck firefighters early Thursday handled a vehicle fire inside a Valley Forge Street business.
A man is dead and another faces felony charges that could lead to a 15-year prison sentence following a weekend shooting at a Minot bar.
Thick smoke from wildfires raging in western Canada blanketed much of North Dakota on Wednesday, leading to unhealthy and in some places hazar… | https://bismarcktribune.com/maybel/article_38fc2c2a-940f-571e-9ec0-a4316ef4eeb3.html | 2023-05-20 11:29:13 | 1 | https://bismarcktribune.com/maybel/article_38fc2c2a-940f-571e-9ec0-a4316ef4eeb3.html |
‘Teen Wolf: The Movie’ and ‘Wolf Pack’ pack a pretty toothless one-two punch
Review by Brian Lowry, CNN
There aren’t many teen wolves in “Teen Wolf: The Movie,” but there is a pack of them in “Wolf Pack,” the series premiering the same day, from the same producer and on the same streaming service that is definitely not a spinoff of “Teen Wolf,” but rather adapted from a book series. If that sounds confusing, get in line, but either way, these two Paramount+ projects ultimately feel pretty toothless.
Having set its own course using the title of the 1985 Michael J. Fox movie, the series “Teen Wolf” took a more ambitious leap into a soap-opera-flavored world filled with assorted supernatural creatures — including werewolves, banshees, hellhounds and shapeshifters — running for six seasons on MTV, concluding in 2017.
“Teen Wolf: The Movie” brings back most of the characters, including the now-adult Tyler Posey, Crystal Reed and Tyler Hoechlin, who graduated from the supernatural to superhero as the star of “Superman & Lois” on the CW.
Directed by Russell Mulcahy and produced by Jeff Davis, “Teen Wolf” plunges back into the show’s mythology — including the fate of Allison (Reed), whose character died earlier in the series.
In an interview with SFX magazine, Davis likened the movie to a seventh season of the show, and at well over two hours, it feels that way. Yet the expansive format hasn’t appreciably improved the production values, which rely too much on stylized slow motion (and lots of glowing yellow eyes) in a way that deadens the action.
Any fans of the show howling for encore will likely welcome the “Fangs for the memories” nostalgia, as the characters reunite to face a new and mysterious threat. Even so, the executive falls flat, while the timing mostly feels calibrated to help launch Davis’ new venture, “Wolf Pack,” which awkwardly combines a young-adult sensibility with more explicit sex, language and violence.
In the strange set-up, a raging California wildfire snarls traffic, cutting off motorists that include a bus full of high-school students. During the ensuing chaos something feral and deadly emerges from the surrounding smoke, killing some of those unluckily trapped by the disaster and leaving two of the teens bitten.
Those teens, Everett (Armani Jackson) and Blake (Bella Shepard), begin to experience unexpected side effects from that encounter, ranging from new-found vitality to six-pack abs and a cure for acne. But they’re slow (very, very slow) to grasp what’s happening to them, which also involves a pair of siblings (Chloe Rose Robertson, Tyler Lawrence Gray) who hear the same call of the wild and know a lot more about what it means than Everett and Blake do.
The show also throws in a small supporting role for Sarah Michelle Gellar, who knows a little something about supernatural teen dramas, a means of garnering media attention with the added effect of making “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” aficionados feel middle aged. Gellar (who receives an executive producer credit) plays an arson investigator looking into the cause of the fire, convinced that Everett might know more than he’s letting on about who (or perhaps what) is responsible.
It’s hard to tell if Paramount has given “Wolf Pack” a dog-leg up or cursed it by pairing its arrival with “Teen Wolf,” but the mystery built into the new series doesn’t do much initially that would suggest a similarly lengthy run awaits it. Because based on the first few episodes, despite a lot of fire, the show doesn’t generate much heat.
“Teen Wolf: The Movie” and “Wolf Pack” both premiere January 26 on Paramount+.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. | https://kion546.com/entertainment/cnn-entertainment/2023/01/26/teen-wolf-the-movie-and-wolf-pack-pack-a-pretty-toothless-one-two-punch-2/ | 2023-01-27 12:20:48 | 1 | https://kion546.com/entertainment/cnn-entertainment/2023/01/26/teen-wolf-the-movie-and-wolf-pack-pack-a-pretty-toothless-one-two-punch-2/ |
Ukraine reports striking Russian ammunition depot in south
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian authorities said Tuesday that their forces targeted a Russian ammunition depot in southern Ukraine overnight, resulting in a massive explosion captured on social media.
The Ukrainian military’s southern command said a rocket strike targeted the depot in Russian-held Nova Kakhovka, about 35 miles (55 kilometers) east of the Black Sea port city of Kherson, which is also occupied by Russian forces.
The precision of the strike suggested Ukrainian forces used U.S-supplied multiple-launch High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, to hit the area. Ukraine indicated in recent days that it might launch a counteroffensive to reclaim territory in the country’s south as Russia devotes resources to capturing all of the eastern Donbas region.
Russia’s Tass news agency offered a different account of the blast in Nova Kakhovka, saying a mineral fertilizer storage facility exploded, and that a market, hospital and houses were damaged in the strike. Some of the ingredients in fertilizer can be used for ammunition.
A satellite photo taken Tuesday and analyzed by The Associated Press showed significant damage. A massive crater stood precisely where a large warehouse-like structure once stood in the city.
Ukraine now has eight of the HIMAR systems, a truck-mounted missile launcher with high accuracy, and Washington has promised to send another four.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russian shelling over the past 24 hours killed at least 16 civilians and wounded 48 more, Ukraine’s presidential office said in its Tuesday morning update. Cities and towns in five southeast regions came under Russian fire, the office said.
Nine civilians were killed and two more wounded in Donetsk province, which makes up half of the Donbas. Russian rocket attacks targeted the cities of Sloviansk and Toretsk, where a kindergarten was hit, the presidential office said.
The British military said Tuesday that Russia was continuing to make “small, incremental gains” in Donetsk, where heavy fighting led the province’s governor last week to urge its 350,000 remaining residents to move to safer places in western Ukraine.
Yet many in the Donbas, a fertile industrial region in eastern Ukraine made of the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, refuse — or are unable — to flee, despite scores of civilians being killed and wounded each week.
The death toll in a Russian rocket attack that struck an apartment building in Donetsk province on Saturday has risen to 34. The head of the Donetsk regional military administration, Pavlo Kyrylenko, made the announcement on social media, saying nine wounded people had been rescued from the building in Chasiv Yar.
In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, and its surrounding region, Russian strikes hit residential buildings, killing four civilians and wounding nine, Ukrainian officials said.
“The Russians continue their tactics of intimidating the peaceful population of the Kharkiv region,” Kharkiv Gov. Oleh Syniehubov wrote Tuesday on Telegram.
Ukrainian authorities also said that Russian fire struck the southern city of Mykolaiv on Tuesday morning, hitting residential buildings. Twelve people were wounded as the result of the Russian shelling, with some of the rockets hitting two medical facilities, regional governor Vitaliy Kim said on Telegram.
Air raid sirens sounded Tuesday in the western city of Lviv — the first daytime sirens there in over a week — and in other areas of Ukraine as Russian forces continued to make advances.
In eastern Luhansk, “fighting continues near the villages” on the administrative border with neighboring Donetsk, Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai told the Associated Press on Tuesday.
“The Russian army burns down everything in its way. The artillery barrage doesn’t stop and sometimes continues for four to six hours on end,” Haidai said.
The British Defense Ministry’s intelligence briefing said Russia had seized the Ukrainian town of Hryhorivka and continued to push toward the Donetsk province cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
“Russian forces are likely maintaining military pressure on Ukrainian forces whilst regrouping and reconstituting for further offensives in the near future,” the intelligence briefing said.
However, Russia may be relying more heavily on private military contractors, like the Wagner Group, to avoid a general mobilization, the British ministry said. Western officials have accused Wagner of using mercenaries to fight in Africa and elsewhere.
In other developments:
— The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin would visit Iran next week. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin will travel to Tehran next Tuesday to attend a trilateral meeting with the leaders of Iran and Turkey, a format for Syria-related talks. U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Monday that Russia was seeking hundreds of surveillance drones from Iran, including weapons-capable ones, for use in Ukraine.
— Russian and Turkish military representatives plan to meet in Istanbul on Wednesday to discuss the transport of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, a Russian Foreign Ministry official said. Pyotr Ilyichyov, head of the ministry’s department for international organizations, told Russian news agency Interfax that “representatives of Ukraine, as well as U.N. (officials) in the role of observers” are also expected to take part in the talks. Ilyichyov reiterated that Moscow was ready “to assist in ensuring the navigation of foreign commercial ships for the export of Ukrainian grain.”
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Jon Gambrell in Lviv, Ukraine, and Isabel DeBre in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
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Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.cleveland19.com/2022/07/12/ukrainian-rocket-strike-targets-russian-ammunition-depot/ | 2022-07-12 11:16:23 | 1 | https://www.cleveland19.com/2022/07/12/ukrainian-rocket-strike-targets-russian-ammunition-depot/ |
READING, Pa. – During its Committee of the Whole meeting Monday, Reading City Council discussed the potential sale of an 8-acre parcel of city-owned property adjacent to the Reading Regional Airport.
Attorney Edwin Stock said he has been negotiating with neighboring property owners, Colin and Connie Wyatt, who would like to purchase the property for $20,000.
Stock said the tract is located between the end of the airport runway and the Schuylkill River.
Because of its location and configuration, Stock explained the land is not developable.
The Wyatts own a property adjacent to the land and would use it for a driveway.
Stock said the Wyatts have agreed to grant an easement to the airport to allow it to enter the property and trim trees to prevent them from being obstructions to aircraft.
Councilwoman Melissa Ventura questioned how much the land is worth.
City Solicitor Fred Lachat said the land was appraised at $40,000, but he does not believe it was an appropriate appraisal since the land cannot be used to develop anything.
"The land would be sold at a discounted price, but it would be a win-win situation for the parcel owner, the city and the airport authority," Lachat said.
Stock said the airport authority did not have an objection to the sale.
City Council President Donna Reed said she had some concerns about the price.
"I can see a compromise between the appraisal of $40,000 and the $20,000 that's being noted here to $30,000," Reed said. “I don’t know how the administration feels, but I am not comfortable with $20,000."
"I think that with the price of property and the escalation we've seen in property values, we need to look out for our constituents," Reed added.
As the Committee of the Whole meeting progressed, Lachat said he contacted Colin Wyatt with the concern and he made a counteroffer of $25,000.
Ventura objected, saying she would have recommended the negotiating begin at $35,000.
Council decided to table the proposed sale during its regular voting meeting later on Monday night.
Both Lachat and City Council's solicitor said the negotiations for the sale should be discussed with Wyatt in a closed-door executive session.
Municipalities are permitted by the state Sunshine Act to meet in private to discuss real estate transactions.
However, any vote to sell has to be conducted at a public meeting. | https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/berks/reading-city-council-considers-sale-of-8-acre-tract-adjacent-to-airport/article_e09c5208-148d-11ee-b74f-4bb9e05dabd8.html | 2023-06-27 05:59:23 | 1 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/berks/reading-city-council-considers-sale-of-8-acre-tract-adjacent-to-airport/article_e09c5208-148d-11ee-b74f-4bb9e05dabd8.html |
Mamacita is 6 years old and 70 pounds. She was found as a stray that no one has claimed. View on PetFinder
Mamacita
Mamacita is 6 years old and 70 pounds. She was found as a stray that no one has claimed. View on PetFinder
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A second officer said he smelled a strong odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle and described the occupant as, "belligerently intoxicated."
A 72-year-old man went under the surface of the water in Lake Michigan at the Indiana Dunes National Park Sunday and had to be rescued by lifeguards.
Eleven region families were told to vacate their building Monday as an investigation revealed unsafe living conditions.
The former owner of Hometown Appliances agreed to pay a total of about $35,350 in restitution, with some of the money to be paid to his 18 victims upfront and some in installments during the next year.
The vehicle drove off the roadway for an unknown reason, police said.
A Walmart employee described seeing Conn groping himself over his pants in front of a customer, police said.
A Lake Criminal Court jury must decide whether 8-month-old Maci Moor was shaken to death by her 32-year-old babysitter, Trisha Woodworth, or died of a stroke from accidental falls.
"The Indiana State Police will be investigating the crash per Lake County's protocol," Gary police said.
The retail theft occurred Wednesday, according to police.
"The loss prevention officer also told the officer that the suspect shown in the surveillance images may have committed similar check frauds at other locations in Northwest Indiana," police said. | https://www.nwitimes.com/mamacita/article_81ce8a84-e1bd-5c98-9cbb-889d403c222b.html | 2022-07-15 10:35:30 | 1 | https://www.nwitimes.com/mamacita/article_81ce8a84-e1bd-5c98-9cbb-889d403c222b.html |
NPR's Juana Summers talks with culture reporter Jewel Wicker about the state of hip-hop in Atlanta after the death of rapper Takeoff, a member of the hip-hop group Migos.
Copyright 2022 NPR
NPR's Juana Summers talks with culture reporter Jewel Wicker about the state of hip-hop in Atlanta after the death of rapper Takeoff, a member of the hip-hop group Migos.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wlrn.org/2022-11-04/the-state-of-hip-hop-in-atlanta-after-the-death-of-rapper-takeoff | 2022-11-04 23:01:21 | 1 | https://www.wlrn.org/2022-11-04/the-state-of-hip-hop-in-atlanta-after-the-death-of-rapper-takeoff |
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Democrat Lamont Bagby and Republican Stephen Imholt are vying to fill a soon-to-be vacant Virginia Senate seat that won’t come with a heavy workload — besides a one-day “veto session” in April with far-reaching implications.
The winner of the March 28 special election will represent the 9th state Senate District, a seat Congresswoman-elect Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.) will vacate by Tuesday when she’s sworn in, until McClellan’s term ends in January 2024.
Unless Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) calls a special session, whoever comes out on top will have one main task while in the Virginia Senate: voting on the governor’s vetoes and amendments to bills during the annual “veto session” on April 12.
Bagby vs. Imholt
The race pits two candidates with different levels of political experience against each other.
Del. Bagby (D-Henrico), 46, has been in the House of Delegates since 2015 and is the chairman of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus. Imholt, 70, is a former IT project manager who unsuccessfully ran for a House seat as an independent.
Bagby is seen as a favorite in the blue-leaning Senate district after defeating fellow Democratic Del. Dawn Adams (Richmond) and 4th District Democratic Committee Chair Alexsis Rodgers for the party’s nomination.
“It’s an opportunity to serve more of the city of Richmond,” Bagby said about his decision to run, adding that he aims to help provide more services for people in the district.
Imholt, who now works as a Walmart sales associate, said he wasn’t expecting to be the Republican nominee, telling 8News he filed to open a dialogue with other candidates at the party’s canvass but quickly learned he was the only one to submit paperwork to run when he arrived.
The Virginia General Assembly, Imholt said, doesn’t do a great job of applying technology in the way it legislates. He called for more IT infrastructure upgrades and said Virginia should provide more ways to “give people a hands up, not a handout.”
Bagby told 8News he believed the legislature was in a good place when Democrats held the House, pointing to laws to make voting easier, address climate change and target predatory lenders. He called out Youngkin and Republicans for trying to “turn back the hands of time” by pushing efforts to roll back those laws.
“We handed this governor a surplus that no other governor has seen before,” Bagby said. “He has been irresponsible in funding our priorities,” which the delegate said were housing, education and health care.
Bagby criticized Youngkin’s proposed tax cuts for high-income earners and corporations, calling Democrats the “most fiscally responsible party.”
The General Assembly passed a stop-gap spending bill that doesn’t include the $1 billion in tax cuts Youngkin wanted, but budget negotiations are not over and the winner of the special election could have a key vote in the narrowly-divided Virginia Senate on future tax cuts.
“I haven’t seen a lot of compromise,” Imholt said when asked about Democrats and Republicans working together in the legislature.
The District
The 9th Virginia Senate District includes all of Charles City County and parts of Henrico, Hanover and the city of Richmond.
Most of the voters in the district come from Henrico, with nearly 37,000 in the county voting during the last general election in 2019. Democrats have easily won the district since 2011, twice unopposed and twice against Libertarian candidates.
The special election will be the last one in the current 9th District after the state’s political maps underwent a required redistricting process.
Del. Bagby is running in the new 14th Virginia Senate district, which is anchored in Richmond, and will have to win a Democratic primary before the November general election.
The Special Election
The special election for the 9th District seat will be on March 28. The deadline to vote or update an existing registration is March 21 — but Virginia has same-day voter registration — and the deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot is March 17.
Early voting for the special election is currently underway. | https://www.wric.com/news/politics/local-election-hq/bagby-and-imholt-face-off-for-mcclellans-virginia-senate-seat-a-look-at-the-march-28-special-election/ | 2023-03-06 20:49:41 | 1 | https://www.wric.com/news/politics/local-election-hq/bagby-and-imholt-face-off-for-mcclellans-virginia-senate-seat-a-look-at-the-march-28-special-election/ |
HAVANA (AP) — A strengthening Hurricane Ian’s rain and winds lashed Cuba’s western tip, where authorities have evacuated 50,000 people, as it became a major Category 3 storm early Tuesday and roared on a path that could see it hit Florida’s west coast as a Category 4 hurricane.
The storm made landfall early Tuesday in Cuba’s Pinar del Rio province, where officials set up 55 shelters, rushed in emergency personnel and took steps to protect crops in Cuba’s main tobacco-growing region. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the island’s west coast could see as much as 14 feet (4.3 meters) of storm surge.
“Cuba is expecting extreme hurricane-force winds, also life-threatening storm surge and heavy rainfall,” hurricane center senior specialist Daniel Brown told The Associated Press.
After passing over Cuba, Ian was forecast to strengthen further over warm Gulf of Mexico waters before reaching Florida as early as Wednesday as a Category 4 storm with top winds of 140 mph (225 km/h).
As of Monday, Tampa and St. Petersburg appeared to be the among the most likely targets for their first direct hit by a major hurricane since 1921.
“Please treat this storm seriously. It’s the real deal. This is not a drill,” Hillsborough County Emergency Management Director Timothy Dudley said Monday at a news conference on storm preparations in Tampa.
In Havana on Monday, fishermen were taking their boats out of the water along the famous Malecon seaside boulevard, and city workers were unclogging storm drains ahead of the expected rain.
Havana resident Adyz Ladron said the potential for rising water from the storm worries him.
“I am very scared because my house gets completely flooded, with water up to here,” he said, pointing to his chest.
In Havana’s El Fanguito, a poor neighborhood near the Almendares River, residents were packing up what they could to leave their homes.
“I hope we escape this one because it would be the end of us. We already have so little,” health worker Abel Rodrigues said.
The Hurricane Center said in a 4:30 a.m. EDT (0830 GMT) update that Ian made landfall in Cuba as it continued to strengthen, with sustained winds of 125 mph (205 km/h). The center defines a major hurricane as a Category 3 storm or higher, meaning maximum sustained winds of at least 111 mph (178 km/h), and Ian became a Category 3 hurricane earlier Tuesday.
The center said “significant wind and storm surge impacts” were expected Tuesday morning in western Cuba.
Ian won’t linger over Cuba but will slow down over the Gulf of Mexico, growing wider and stronger, “which will have the potential to produce significant wind and storm surge impacts along the west coast of Florida,” the hurricane center said.
A surge of up to 10 feet (3 meters) of ocean water and 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain was predicted across the Tampa Bay area, with as much as 15 inches (38 centimeters) inches in isolated areas. That’s enough water to inundate coastal communities.
As many as 300,000 people may be evacuated from low-lying areas in Hillsborough County alone, county administrator Bonnie Wise said. Some of those evacuations were beginning Monday afternoon in the most vulnerable areas, with schools and other locations opening as shelters.
“We must do everything we can to protect our residents. Time is of the essence,” Wise said.
Floridians lined up for hours in Tampa to collect bags of sand and cleared store shelves of bottled water. Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a statewide emergency and warned that Ian could lash large areas of the state, knocking out power and interrupting fuel supplies as it swirls northward off the state’s Gulf Coast.
“You have a significant storm that may end up being a Category 4 hurricane,” DeSantis said at a news conference. “That’s going to cause a huge amount of storm surge. You’re going to have flood events. You’re going to have a lot of different impacts.”
DeSantis said the state has suspended tolls around the Tampa Bay area and mobilized 5,000 Florida state national guard troops, with another 2,000 on standby in neighboring states.
President Joe Biden also declared an emergency, authorizing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief and provide assistance to protect lives and property. The president postponed a scheduled Tuesday trip to Florida because of the storm.
Playing it safe, NASA planned to slowly roll its moon rocket from the launch pad to its Kennedy Space Center hangar, adding weeks of delay to the test flight.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced Monday night that the football team was relocating football operations to the Miami area in preparation for next weekend’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Buccaneers said the team will leave Tampa on Tuesday.
Flash flooding was predicted for much of the Florida peninsula, and heavy rainfall was possible for the southeast United States later this week. With tropical storm force winds extending 115 miles (185 kilometers) from Ian’s center, watches covered the Florida Keys to Lake Okeechobee. | https://www.yourbasin.com/news/national-news/hurricane-ian-makes-landfall-in-cuba-en-route-to-florida/ | 2022-09-27 13:00:48 | 0 | https://www.yourbasin.com/news/national-news/hurricane-ian-makes-landfall-in-cuba-en-route-to-florida/ |
Anker Innovations Launches Best-in-Class Products
From Anker Charging, eufy Security, soundcore and Nebula Brands
NEW YORK, Sept. 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Anker Innovations, a global leader in charging technology, smart home, connected consumer devices and audio products, today unveiled new landmark products from the Anker charging, eufy Security, soundcore and Nebula brands during the Anker On Board event in New York City.
Anker, the world's #1 mobile charging brand, today launched the Anker 767 Portable Power Station (GaNPrime PowerHouse 2048Wh), a 2400W output portable power generator designed for emergency power, outdoor enthusiasts and adventurers alike. Power meets portability with the 767's new suitcase design with features sturdy wheels and an ergonomic extendable tow handle to easily transport the powerhouse from car to campsite.
The 767 PowerHouse is Anker's largest portable battery station yet, able to power 99.9% of home appliances like electric grills, refrigerators, space heaters, laptops, microwaves and more. Its 2048Wh capacity keeps these essentials powered for days with the optional 760 Expansion Battery capable of doubling the capacity to 4096Wh. Thanks to its 12 charging ports, the 767 PowerHouse is a multi-tasking must-have, and with a new TT-30R AC outlet, it can power almost all appliances in a traveler's RV.
Additionally, like the Anker 757 and 555, the Anker 767 features a safe and long-lasting Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) battery that fully recharges in just 2 hours when plugged into the wall. Alternatively, users can harness the power of the sun by connecting the 767 with up to 5 Anker 531 Solar Panels (200W) to recharge in just 2.5 hours.
More details in the US, UK and Germany can be found online and it is slated to be available for preorder on Anker.com in the US and Germany on November 14, 2022.
eufy Security, a global leader in DIY smart security devices, today announced the Edge Security System, the world's smartest, most accurate and most connected home security solution.
The Edge Security System is managed by the new HomeBase 3, which leverages eufy Security's proprietary BionicMind™, a self-learning A.I. that can deliver up to 99% accuracy in recognizing different people, pets and objects. BionicMind can automatically curate and catalogue video data utilizing HomeBase 3's free local storage. All of the data can be accessed anytime, anywhere from the eufy Security app.
HomeBase 3 comes with 16GB of free, 256-bit encrypted local storage. The data hub can support up to 16 TB of additional memory using an external hard drive (sold separately) for up to 60 years of local video storage without the need to clear space.
At launch, HomeBase 3 will come bundled with two of the new eufyCam 3 security cameras. eufyCam 3 is designed with 4K ultra-HD resolution and includes night vision, two-way audio, built-in spotlight, and a 13,400 mAh battery with built-in solar panel for non-stop power.
eufy's new Edge Security System will eventually be compatible with a number of other eufy Security devices including Video Smart Lock, Video Doorbell Dual and Floodlight Cam 2 Pro.
Details on pricing and availability for the Edge Security System are available at eufy.com.
soundcore, the premium audio brand of Anker Innovations', today launched the next generation of Liberty TWS earbuds, the Liberty 4, as well as a product in a new category for the brand, the Sleep A10 Sleep Earbuds.
Following the success of the Liberty 2 Pro and Liberty 3 Pro, the Liberty 4 will be the brand's first pair of "stick" earbuds that feature dual drivers in a coaxial architecture. The Liberty 4 will push the boundaries of sound performance, offering clarity across all frequencies for the best listening experience with all genres of music.
For the first time, soundcore has also added advanced features including spatial audio as well as health sensors that can track a person's heartbeat through the soundcore app.
The Liberty 4 will launch on soundcore.com as well as via pre-order on Amazon.com and Bestbuy.com starting today for $149.99 before expanding to other channels soon.
soundcore also introduced the Sleep A10 Sleep Earbuds, which were designed to help users fall asleep and be comfortable enough to wear all night long. With a four-point noise masking system, they can block up to 35 decibels (db) of noise – 15 db more than any other pair of sleep focused earbuds on the market today.
The Sleep A10 can also monitor user's sleep patterns and maintain a constant record in the app to help users identify and adjust their sleep conditions to achieve a better night's sleep.
The Sleep A10 Earbuds will be available on Amazon.com and soundcore.com beginning today and will be available at Best Buy in the coming weeks for $179.99 in the US.
Nebula, Anker's smart entertainment brand today introduced the next generation in portable entertainment, the Capsule 3 Laser portable projector. Following in the design of previous Capsule projectors, the Capsule 3 Laser is a laser projector that features Android TV 11 while offering a clear, bright, 300 ISO lumen image, advanced 360° sound and a built-in battery for a complete, portable movie theater experience.
The Nebula Capsule 3 Laser has the capabilities of a smart TV with 2.5 hours of movie playtime on a single charge. With AndroidTV 11, users have access to over 7,000 apps that can be downloaded over a Wi-Fi connection and offer hundreds of thousands of movies, TV shows and video content via streaming services like: YouTube, YouTubeTV, ESPN and Disney+. It also seamlessly connects to devices via Bluetooth, offers an HDMI connection as well as screen mirroring from a mobile phone using the built-in Chromecast function.
The Capsule 3 Laser will be sold via pre-sale beginning on today via Nebula's website in the US, UK, Germany and Canada. In the U.S., early buyers can save $120 before it becomes available for sale online in select retail locations on November 14 for $799.99. For more information on the Nebula Brand visit,www.seenebula.com.
Anker is the world's #1 mobile charging brand. It is known for making the world's best charging products for virtually all mobile devices. This includes fast charging accessories, solar and wireless charging, car charging, smart home plugs and an exciting, new class of battery generators called PowerHouse. Find out more about Anker at www.anker.com.
From laser-guided robotic vacuum cleaners to wireless security systems, eufy is focused on building easy-to-use smart home devices and appliances designed to enhance people's lives. More information can be found at eufy.com.
Nebula represents an exciting new class of smart, portable entertainment products. This includes Nebula's popular line of high-definition projectors. These devices are breathing new life into the projector space in 5 key ways: beautiful and portable designs, incredible sound, amazing battery life, rich content and smart A.I. For more information, please visit SeeNebula.com.
soundcore creates audio products that help spark emotions through music. This includes premium true wireless earbuds endorsed by Grammy-winning audio engineers and musicians, smart wearable audio devices as well as over-ear headphones and indoor and outdoor Bluetooth speakers designed to amplify the party. soundcore is part of the Anker Innovations' family of consumer brands. For more information, please visit soundcore.com.
Anker Innovations is a global leader in charging technology and a developer of unique, consumer electronic products that support premium audio, mobile entertainment and the emerging smart home space. This innovation is being led by its six key brands: Anker, AnkerWork, eufy, Nebula, soundcore and AnkerMake. More information on Anker Innovations and its various brands can be found at anker.com.
PR Contacts: For images or to request a review sample, please contact us at:
Mary Woodbury (Anker Charging) // Mary.Woodbury@anker.com
Brett White (eufy Security) // Brett.White@anker.com
Adam Weissman (soundcore & Nebula) // Adam.weissman@anker.com
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SOURCE Anker Innovations | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2022/09/29/anker-board-is-back-running-full-power-multi-brand-product-unveiling-event-nyc/ | 2022-09-29 23:46:43 | 1 | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2022/09/29/anker-board-is-back-running-full-power-multi-brand-product-unveiling-event-nyc/ |
(The Hill) – Country singer Jason Aldean defended his controversial song “Try That in a Small Town” in Massachusetts over the weekend, saying the message of the track was demonstrated by the city of Boston after the devastating marathon bombing 10 years ago.
Speaking to fans at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, about 40 miles from where the terrorist attack occurred, killing three and injuring hundreds, Aldean told fans the message of his song has been “overshadowed by all the bulls—.”
“I was lying in bed last night and I was thinking to myself, you guys would get this better than anybody, right,” Aldean said, according to NBC News. “Because I remember a time, I think it was April 2013, when the Boston Marathon bombings happened, you guys remember this right?” he asked the audience.
“The last time that happened was a whole, not a small town, a big-ass town came together, no matter your color, no matter anything,” he continued. “No matter if you’re anything. The whole country and especially Boston came together to find” the culprits.
Aldean has faced growing backlash for his song and the music video for what some consider racially charged lyrics and images. The song, which was released in May, tells protesters who “cuss out a cop, spit in his face, stomp on the flag and light it up” they could see retribution from small town residents.
Others expressed outrage over the location where the video was shot: outside a courthouse in Columbia, Tenn., where a Black man was lynched in the 1920s and which almost became the lynching spot of Thurgood Marshall, the Supreme Court’s first African American justice.
After some accused the song of glorifying sundown towns, or all-white neighborhoods where Black people were discouraged from being after dark through white violence, the music video pulled from CMT.
Republicans, however, have stood behind the song, with former President Trump, whom Aldean supported in 2020, defending the singer and calling him a “fantastic guy.”
Aldean has vehemently denied accusations that “Try That in a Small Town” carries racist undertones, and on Saturday he told concert-goers the song has nothing to do with race but about punishing those who threaten America, just as Bostonians would have if they had caught the 2013 bombers, brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
“And anybody, any of you guys that would’ve found those guys before the cops did, I know you guys from Boston, and you guys would’ve beat the s— outta them, either one of ‘em,” Aldean said. “And I’ve been trying to say, this is not about race, it’s about people getting their s— together and acting right, acting like you’ve got some common sense.” | https://who13.com/news/national-news/jason-aldean-boston-exemplified-try-that-in-a-small-town-response-after-marathon-bombing/ | 2023-07-31 19:37:55 | 0 | https://who13.com/news/national-news/jason-aldean-boston-exemplified-try-that-in-a-small-town-response-after-marathon-bombing/ |
Mississippi 3-year-old leads Louisiana deputies to mom, sisters who drowned in Gulf of Mexico
The drownings took place at Long Beach in Cameron Parish
A 3-year-old boy led sheriff's deputies to the scene where his mother and sisters drowned at a Louisiana beach, according to authorities.
Ethel, Mississippi resident Samantha Alexander took her four children to Long Beach in Cameron Parish on Sunday. The 28-year-old mother reportedly went into the water to save her children.
Her two daughters, ages 7 and 8, drowned. Her 9-year-old son survived and was able to wave for help.
Sheriff's deputies saw the 3-year-old boy walking near a road before he led them to the water.
NEW ORLEANS RESIDENTS WARN ‘DON’T SIT IN YOUR CAR' AS CARJACKINGS SPIKE A SHOCKING 165%
Sheriff Ron Johnson told NOLA.com that the dangerous conditions at the beach caused the drownings. The bodies of the mother and her daughters were found roughly 100 feet apart.
"You have waves crashing onto the rocks from the Gulf, and that energy goes back out," Johnson explained. The U.S. Coast Guard assisted sheriff's deputies at the scene.
"Those rocks are very hard to climb up on, they're covered with algae and they're slick," the sheriff continued, adding that deputies had to climb using their hands and feet.
Johnson also noted that the beach was very remote.
"There are very few camps there and not a lot of places to park," he said. "I don't blame anybody but as a sheriff, I wouldn't want anybody to go where other people couldn't see you."
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The 9-year-old son was taken to a local hospital and released after a short stay. His father works in the Cameron Beach area for a liquefied natural gas facility, Sheriff Johnson said. | https://www.foxnews.com/us/mississippi-year-old-leads-louisiana-deputies-mom-sisters-drowned-gulf-mexico | 2023-03-16 23:01:25 | 0 | https://www.foxnews.com/us/mississippi-year-old-leads-louisiana-deputies-mom-sisters-drowned-gulf-mexico |
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — When it comes to soccer, money can buy the world.
It can pay for the World Cup. And the world’s best players. And it can bundle them all up into a perfect package and present it to a global audience of millions.
The power of money was on full display in the Qatari city of Lusail on Sunday as Argentina beat France 4-2 on penalties to become world champion for the third time and end Lionel Messi’s pursuit of the one major trophy that had eluded him in his storied career.
One of the most thrilling finals in the tournament’s 92-year history finished 3-3 through extra time, with Messi scoring twice and Kylian Mbappé completing a hat trick.
“The match was completely insane,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said afterwards. “I know it’s just a football game, a World Cup, and we shouldn’t think any further, but in Argentina, football is not just football. We have to celebrate.”
In the end it was not a bad return for Qatar, which spent an estimated $200 billion on staging soccer’s most prestigious event.
Hundreds of millions more have been paid out to take superstars Messi and Mbappé to Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain.
And here, on the sport’s biggest stage of all, was the perfect finale as far as the oil-and-gas rich Emirate was concerned.
On a temporary stage in the middle of the field, Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, gave Messi a Qatari ceremonial robe to wear over his Argentina shirt for the traditional World Cup trophy lift.
Messi was beaming with pride as he tenderly kissed the cup of solid gold. But it is arguably the host country that could consider itself the biggest winner after a tournament that appeared to demonstrate the effectiveness of so-called sportswashing.
After widespread criticism about its human rights record and treatment of migrant workers leading up to the event, the focus switched to soccer as the tournament progressed. By Sunday’s final, the narrative was fixed on Messi’s mission to emulate Argentina great Diego Maradona by leading his country to a World Cup title.
The subplot was France’s bid to become the first team to win the trophy back-to-back since Brazil and Pele in 1958 and ’62.
“It was always inevitable that the conversation would increasingly turn to football once the tournament started, but human rights questions have never gone away and will continue to be raised long after the tournament,” Steve Cockburn, head of economic and social justice at Amnesty International, told The Associated Press.
Amnesty says thousands of migrant workers have died “suddenly and unexpectedly” in Qatar over the past decade.
Last month Hassan al-Thawadi, the secretary-general of Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, said between 400 and 500 had died during construction for the tournament. The committee later said he was referring to work-related deaths from 2014-2020, not specifically for the World Cup.
Soccer’s governing body FIFA has been pressured to provide answers on a proposed compensation fund for those affected and the concept of a migrant workers center to be created in Doha.
Progress on both of those issues remains unclear.
“Qatar wants to be a hub for global sporting and cultural events, and so should know that scrutiny will continue,” Cockburn said. “Hosting the World Cup has brought far more attention on the treatment of migrant workers in Qatar and the rest of the Gulf than would otherwise have been the case, as well as the responsibility of sporting bodies such as FIFA.”
Concerns were also raised over the safety and wellbeing of fans from the LGBTQ+ community ahead of the tournament because homosexuality is a criminal offense in Qatar.
Captains of seven European nations, including England and Germany, planned to wear multicolored “One Love” armbands to promote inclusion and diversity. But they ultimately backed down when FIFA threatened to issue yellow cards to the players involved, saying it was a contravention of its regulations.
It is unclear whether that decision was taken under pressure from the Qatari government, but it added to the sense that the conservative Muslim country was hosting the World Cup on its own terms.
There was also a sudden ban on beer sales at stadiums two days before the opening match, which was a U-turn on the deal Qatar made to secure the tournament.
The term sportswashing is widely used in reference to countries or organizations trying to use sports to repair reputational damage.
And the World Cup deflected attention from off-field issues by producing some remarkable stories on it.
Saudi Arabia provided arguably the biggest shock in the tournament’s 92-year history by beating Argentina in their opening group-stage match.
Morocco became the first African country to make it through to the semifinals and sparked an outpouring of pride across the Arab world.
“For me, football makes people dream and children in particular,” Morocco coach Walid Regragui said. “In Morocco and Africa, we have kept those dreams alive.”
Perhaps predictably, FIFA president Gianni Infantino described it as the “best World Cup ever.”
However, he is not the only one to speak about it in positive terms.
“Qatar have won a lot of friends because of this World Cup and the way it has been handled,” said David Dein, the international president of England’s bids for the 2018 and ’22 World Cups.
He attended more than 50 games during the tournament and believes the experience will inspire real change in Qatar.
“They’ve been very open-minded to it,” he added. “I think Qatar will benefit from this going forward. I hope so. That should be a legacy for them.”
It is certainly easy to see the immediate benefit.
Qatar will forever be associated with Messi after he finally won the World Cup and further strengthened his case to be considered the greatest player of all time.
“It took so long, but here it is,” Messi said. “Obviously, I wanted to complete my career with this, (I) can’t ask for more.”
At 35, Messi was the story of what is likely his last World Cup, and the narrative became more compelling with every win, every goal and every assist that provided flashes of the brilliance he produced with more regularity during his peak years.
That the final developed into a personal duel between him and PSG teammate Mbappé added another thread to a captivating contest.
Mbappé is the natural heir to Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as soccer’s next superstar and he scored the fist hat trick in a World Cup final in 56 years.
He was also the tournament’s leading scorer with eight goals, ensuring another of Qatar’s great investments was on the podium to collect a trophy in the end.
But the enduring image of a World Cup was one of the world’s greatest ever players, in traditional Qatari dress, lifting the sport’s biggest prize of all.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.binghamtonhomepage.com/sports/ap-messi-mbappe-give-qatar-the-perfect-world-cup-ending/ | 2022-12-19 19:07:14 | 0 | https://www.binghamtonhomepage.com/sports/ap-messi-mbappe-give-qatar-the-perfect-world-cup-ending/ |
Three-year Blue Zones Project initiative reports significant well-being gains
CORRY, Pa., May 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Sharecare (Nasdaq: SHCR) and Blue Zones, LLC, announced today that Corry, Pennsylvania, has been designated a certified Blue Zones Community, marking the first Blue Zones Community in the Northeast and the only one in the state of Pennsylvania. Certification recognizes Corry's well-being transformation through the successful implementation of Blue Zones Project by Sharecare, a pioneering population health initiative that brings evidence-based best practices in built environment, policy, and social connection to participating communities.
Brought to Corry through the collaborative efforts of Highmark/AHN Saint Vincent; Corry Memorial Hospital, an affiliate of LECOM Health; and UPMC, the well-being improvement initiative focuses on optimizing surroundings to make healthy choices easier so people live longer, healthier, and happier lives.
"Corry has, and continues, to achieve incredible outcomes as a result of the long-term vision, coordination, and commitment of partners, organizations, and residents. The sponsor collaboration for the Corry Blue Zones Project serves as a healthcare industry breakthrough case for 'collectively accountable' community change and improvement," said Ben Leedle, CEO of Blue Zones and co-founder of Blue Zones Project. "It is remarkable that the local integrated health systems that compete on traditional care every day, came together as partners for the community. Along with Erie County leadership, they should all be commended for their collaboration, without which the project would have never been possible."
Since February 2019, local leaders, volunteers, and community organizations in Corry have worked together to achieve certification status, and according to the Sharecare Community Well-Being Index, Corry's investment in well-being is paying off. The city's overall 2022 Index score rose to 60 out of 100, a gain of more than six points since 2019. Each point increase in well-being for a population leads to an approximately 2% reduction in ER visits and hospital utilization, and to an approximately 1% reduction in total health care costs.
Over the same three-year period, Corry has shown improvement in purpose, social, financial, community, and physical well-being — the five core elements of individual well-being measured by Sharecare's Index. Sixty-two percent of Corry residents now report they are thriving compared to 45% in 2019, 15% fewer Corry residents report high cholesterol, and tobacco use declined by nearly 27%.
"Corry's jump in well-being establishes it as a best practice example for Pennsylvania and the nation of what a community can achieve when it sustains a focused commitment to well-being. The work of Blue Zones Project in Corry is playing a significant role in expanding the community's well-being culture and improving its health outcomes," said Michael Acker, Sharecare's senior vice president and general manager of community and urban services.
As a result of its efforts, Corry has made it easier for residents to move naturally, eat better, develop healthy social circles, and live with purpose. Highlights include:
- Nearly 4,000 individuals involved. More than 15% of Corry residents have taken the Blue Zones Project personal pledge for better well-being or participated in a Blue Zones Project activity, such as a walking group, plant-based cooking demonstration, or Purpose Workshop. Community residents volunteered more than 460 hours of their time. In 2022, Corry experienced 11% fewer health risks than expected if the community had followed state trends since 2019. The risk avoidance in the most conservative analysis equates to $4 million in avoided medical and lost productivity costs over five years.
- Better well-being on the job. Ten employers (Corry Counseling Services, D&E Machining, Ltd., Corry Memorial Hospital, YMCA of Corry, Corry Area School District, FurHaven Pet Products, Corry Fabrication, Tonnard Manufacturing, Hensa STMP, and Viking Plastics) have implemented policies that improve well-being, such as designating a quiet place for colleagues to downshift, establishing well-being committee and employee gardens, and encouraging microbreaks for staff to stretch and move.
- Better well-being at school. All three buildings within the Corry Area School District, impacting more than 1,850 students, have taken steps to become Blue Zones Project Approved. Improvements include the establishment of youth well-being ambassador groups (Beaver Blue Crews), water refill system installations at the primary and intermediate buildings, and Wellness Wednesday Healthy Tip of the Day education in morning announcements by the Beaver Blue Crew members.
- Healthier choices at restaurants. Sixteen new Blue Zones-inspired dishes have been added to adult and children's menus at Ploss' Lunch Box and The Juice Shop, providing more healthy options for customers.
- Healthier options at the grocery store. Healthy choices are easier for shoppers at Sander's Market, which has highlighted Blue Zones-inspired foods through store tours and cooking demonstrations, distributed healthy recipes, and created a Blue Zones checkout lane that prominently features items like fruit, nuts, and water rather than unhealthy alternatives.
- Thirteen new healthier community policies. Notable community improvements include finalizing the city's Active Transportation strategic plan and Rails to Trails Master Plan to enable more natural movement throughout the community, leading to a seven-point increase in Corry's WalkScore and a 12-point increase in the city's BikeScore. Research shows living in walkable and bikeable areas is linked to lower cardiovascular and chronic disease rates compared to less walkable neighborhoods.
- Blue Zones Project worked alongside the City of Corry as it adopted tobacco policies making city-owned property and city-sponsored events smoke-free, contributing to a nearly 27% reduction in tobacco use since 2019. Additionally, Corry residents now have better access to fresh produce thanks to policies and programs that support Corry's Farmer's Market and local food bank.
- Greater economic investment. The Corry community saw nearly $4 million in grant funding to support healthy city policies. Overall grant dollars awarded to the City of Corry increased 37% over the first three years of the project and Impact Corry saw a 2,880% increase from $31,000 (2018) to $892,859 (2020) through the use of Blue Zones Project data and grant application assistance.
"At LECOM Health's Corry Memorial Hospital, caring for the health and well-being of our community has been our mission for more than 125 years. As one of the three sponsors of the Blue Zones Project Corry, we have witnessed many people getting involved in the Blue Zones activities and working together to make the Corry area a better place to live a longer, happier, and healthier lifestyle," said Barb Nichols, president and CEO of Corry Memorial Hospital.
Next Steps
Community leaders and volunteers continue to champion the work of Blue Zones Project by developing a sustainability plan to further Corry's progress toward optimal health and well-being.
"It is clear the community has much to be proud of, and the vision and passion of its leaders will continue to drive meaningful change. Many of the programs initiated by Blue Zones Project will continue through the support of local partners, including community cooking classes, walking groups, trail support, community cleanups, and city beautification," said Jennifer Eberlein, community manager for Blue Zones Project Corry. "The strong collaborative nature of our community partners ensures Corry will remain engaged in this transformative work to improve the well-being of its citizens. Our community champions are truly dedicated to seeing this community thrive."
For more information and updates please visit corry.bluezonesproject.com or follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/bzpcorry.
About Blue Zones Project
Blue Zones Project® is a community-led well-being improvement initiative designed to make healthy choices easier through permanent changes to a city's environment, policy, and social networks. Blue Zones Project is based on research by Dan Buettner, a National Geographic Fellow and New York Times best-selling author who identified five cultures of the world—or blue zones —with the highest concentration of people living to 100 years or older. Blue Zones Project incorporates Buettner's findings and works with cities to implement policies and programs which will move a community toward optimal health and well-being. Currently, 71 communities across North America have joined Blue Zones Project, impacting more than 4.5 million citizens. The population health solution includes two Health Districts in California; 15 cities in Iowa; Albert Lea, Minnesota; the city of Fort Worth, Texas; Corry, Pennsylvania; Brevard, North Carolina; and communities in Southwest Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Wisconsin. Blue Zones Project is a partnership between Blue Zones, LLC, and Sharecare, Inc. For more information, visit bluezonesproject.com.
Media Contact:
Sharecare PR Team
PR@sharecare.com
404.665.4305
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SOURCE Sharecare | https://www.kfyrtv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/23/corry-pennsylvania-becomes-first-certified-blue-zones-community-northeast/ | 2022-05-23 12:46:05 | 0 | https://www.kfyrtv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/23/corry-pennsylvania-becomes-first-certified-blue-zones-community-northeast/ |
You can learn a lot about the climates we live in by the buildings we construct.
The steep roofs of Thai temples and Norwegian stave churches are clues to the heavy loads of rain and snow that fall in those countries, which threaten to damage a structure if they don’t slide quickly to the ground.
The traditional mud brick architecture of Africa’s Sahel is a marker of an arid environment with hot days and cool nights, where thick adobe walls can keep the interior cooler than the outside air.
That parsimonious approach — adding only the features that are necessary for us to thrive in local conditions — applies across the world and throughout history. We’ve built our civilization on a series of local equilibria, paying the short-term cost of adapting to immediate conditions to avoid the long-term risks from extreme weather.
With each tenth of a degree that the planet warms, we are breaking those equilibria.
Climate records are falling on a daily basis right now. In Tokyo, which swelters in summer at the best of times, city center temperatures are currently running 9C (16F) above the seasonal average, with the mercury rising to 38.8C (101.8F) in one northern suburb. In Delhi, 25,000 people were evacuated to escape the worst floods in 45 years. Phoenix has seen an unprecedented number of consecutive days over 110F (43C), while temperatures breached 50C (122F) in California’s Death Valley and western China’s Xinjiang region and may soon do so in parts of Turkey.
Smoke from Canada’s forest fires recently descended on the north and eastern U.S. for the second time in a month, while Italy is forecast to experience its highest temperatures on record within days. Waters off the Pacific coast of South America that are already the warmest they’ve been in two decades have helped drive the world to the hottest month since records began. It’s likely the current El Nino — the multi-year climate cycle that tends to bring hotter conditions to the places where most people live — will persist into next year, and possibly worsen.
A common rejoinder to those who advocate action on climate is that human ingenuity will allow us to minimize the consequences of a warming planet. Such adaptation will have steep costs, however, at a time when a faster shift to renewable power, energy efficiency and electrified transport will save money compared to continuing on our current path. Worse, it assumes that such radical adaptation will even be possible. Human history suggests that, to the contrary, we’ve always been at the mercy of such shifts.
A drying climate millions of years ago may have led early hominids to leave the forests, shed their fur and walk on two legs to better stalk prey in the savannahs of eastern Africa. Cooler, drier conditions six millennia ago may have driven nomadic pastoralists into the valleys of the Nile, Tigris-Euphrates, Indus and Yellow rivers, the cradles of civilization outside of the Americas.
Humid conditions in Europe and western Asia between the 5th and 7th centuries may have led to the spread of rat-borne plague, devastating the Byzantine and Persian empires and aiding the Islamic conquests.
The warming caused by two centuries of industrial civilization has already put us well within the range of such epoch-making events, with current temperatures on a par with those 6,000 years ago that heralded the birth of urban civilization.
That is made more wrenching by how precisely we’ve adapted ourselves to current conditions.
Every storm-water channel and every building heating or cooling system has been built for a climate that is rapidly disappearing.
Patterns of trade and global supply chains are easily disrupted by ecological disasters.
Politics is built on geographic coalitions that may dissolve as climate change alters the trajectories of different regions, or sends refugees to seek homes elsewhere. By 2050, some 3.4 billion people will be living in countries facing ecological catastrophes.
The extreme weather of the past few years — from wildfire smoke in the U.S. and disappearing rivers in Europe and China — should be evidence that there are no places that will be spared from the coming upheaval. Relatively wealthy regions such as Germany, Benelux and the Beijing metropolitan are may be the most at risk of damaging urban heatwaves, according to one study last month.
Modern society is a sort of collective insurance policy protecting us against the worst external shocks. But insurance policies have a price that rises with the cost of disasters — and we don’t know the point at which they will break altogether, with unpredictable but dire consequences for all of us.
We do, however, know that disasters like those currently unfolding across the northern hemisphere will affect more and more of us.
To avoid that unpredictable future, the modest and often negative cost of a switch to cleaner energy and food systems seems a very small price to pay.
David Fickling is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering energy and commodities. Previously, he worked for Bloomberg News, the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times. | https://www.twincities.com/2023/07/23/david-fickling-our-civilization-was-built-for-a-climate-thats-vanishing/ | 2023-07-23 10:04:45 | 0 | https://www.twincities.com/2023/07/23/david-fickling-our-civilization-was-built-for-a-climate-thats-vanishing/ |
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Women who sued Texas after saying they were denied abortions despite serious risks to their health are headed to court Wednesday as legal challenges to abortion bans across the U.S. continue a year after the fall of Roe v. Wade.
The Texas case is believed to be the first brought by women who were denied abortions since the right to an abortion in the U.S. was overturned, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is representing them.
The case before a Texas judge in Austin does not seek to reverse the state’s abortion ban, which is one of the strictest in the country. It instead asks the court for clarity on when exceptions are allowed in Texas, where the women say they were told they could not end their pregnancies even though their lives and health were in danger.
One woman had to carry her baby, who was missing much of her skull, for months, knowing she’d bury her daughter soon after she was born. Others had to travel out of state to receive medical care for pregnancy-related complications after doctors recommended an abortion.
Texas doctors who perform abortions risk life in prison and fines of up to $100,000, leaving many women with providers who are unwilling to even discuss terminating a pregnancy.
“Even if they provide an abortion that they believe complies with the bans’ narrow exceptions, they still risk the laws being enforced against them,” the plaintiffs argued in court filings this month.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office, which is defending the state’s ban, has argued that the women lack standing to sue and pushed back on accounts by doctors who said they were confused over the law’s wording.
Sixteen states, including Texas, do not allow abortions when a fatal fetal anomaly is detected, while six do not allow exceptions for the mother’s health, according to an analysis by KFF, a health research organization.
The lawsuit in Texas comes as abortion restrictions elsewhere in the U.S. continue to face challenges. On Monday, an Iowa judge temporarily blocked the state’s new ban on most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, just days after Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the measure into law. | https://fox59.com/news/national-world/ap-us-news/ap-women-denied-abortions-in-texas-ask-court-for-clarity-over-states-exceptions-to-ban/ | 2023-07-19 19:45:24 | 1 | https://fox59.com/news/national-world/ap-us-news/ap-women-denied-abortions-in-texas-ask-court-for-clarity-over-states-exceptions-to-ban/ |
Scientists say there's a lot we can still do to slow the speed of climate change. But when it comes to "climate solutions", some are real, and some aren't, says Naomi Oreskes, historian of science at Harvard University. "This space has become really muddied," she says.
So how does someone figure out what's legit? We asked six climate scholars for the questions they ask themselves whenever they come across something claiming to be a climate solution.
A big climate solution is an obvious one
It may sound basic, but one big way to address climate change is to reduce the main human activity that caused it in the first place: burning fossil fuels.
Scientists say that means ultimately transitioning away from oil, coal and gas and becoming more energy efficient. We already have a lot of the technology we need to make this transition, like solar, wind, and batteries, Oreskes says.
"What we need to do right now is to mobilize the technologies that already exist, that work and are cost competitive, and that essentially means renewable energy and storage," she says.
Think about who's selling you the solution
It's important to think about both who's selling you the climate solution and what they say the problem is, says Melissa Aronczyk, professor of media at Rutgers University.
"People like to come up with solutions, but to do that, they usually have to interpret the problem in a way that works for them," she says.
Oreskes says pay attention when you see a "climate solution" that means increasing the use of fossil fuels. She says an example is natural gas, which has been sold as a "bridge fuel" from coal to renewable energy. But natural gas is still a fossil fuel, and its production, transport and use release methane, a greenhouse gas far more potent than carbon dioxide.
"I think we need to start by looking at what happens when the fossil fuel industry comes up with solutions, because here is the greatest potential for conflict of interest," Aronczyk says.
A solution may sound promising, but is it available and scalable now?
Sometimes you'll hear about new promising technology like carbon removal, which vacuums carbon dioxide out of the air and stores it underground, says David Ho, a professor of oceanography at University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Ho researches climate solutions and he says ask yourself: is this technology available, affordable, or scalable now?
"I think people who don't work in this space think we have all these technologies that are ready to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, for instance. And we're not there," Ho says.
If it's adding emissions, it's not a climate solution
These days all kinds of companies, from airlines to wedding dress companies, might offer to let you buy "carbon offsets" along with your purchase. That offset money could do something like build a new wind farm or plant trees that would - in theory - soak up and store the equivalent carbon dioxide emissions of taking a flight or making a new dress.
But there are often problems with regulation and verification of offsets, says Roberto Schaeffer, a professor of energy economics at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. "It's very dangerous, very dangerous indeed," he says.
He says with offsets from forests, it's hard to verify if the trees are really being protected, that those trees won't get cut down or burned in a wildfire.
"You cannot guarantee, 'Okay, you're gonna offset your dress by planting a tree.' You have no guarantee that in three years time that tree is gonna be there," he says.
If you make emissions thinking you're offsetting them, and the offset doesn't work, that's doubling the emissions, says Adrienne Buller, a climate finance researcher and director of research at Common Wealth, a think tank in the United Kingdom, "It's sort of like doubly bad."
If a solution sounds too easy, be skeptical
Many things sold as carbon offsets - like restoring or protecting forests - are, on their own, great climate solutions, Buller says. "We need things like trees," she says, "To draw carbon out of the atmosphere."
The problem is when carbon markets sell the idea that you can continue emitting as usual and everything will be fine if you just buy an offset, Buller says. "It's kind of a solution that implies that we don't have to do that much hard work. We can just kind of do some minor tweaks to the way that we currently do things," she says.
Schaeffer says there is a lot of hard work in our future to get off of fossil fuels and onto clean energy sources. "So people have to realize there is a price to pay here. No free lunch."
It's not all about business. Governments must play a role in solutions, too
We often think of businesses working on climate solutions on their own, but that's often not the case, says Oreskes. Government often plays a big role in funding and research support for new climate technology, says June Sekera, a visiting scholar at The New School who studies public policy and climate.
And governments will also have to play a big role in regulating emissions, says Schaeffer, who has been working with the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for 25 years.
That's why all the scholars NPR spoke with for this story say one big climate solution is to vote.
Schaeffer points to the recent election in Brazil, where climate change was a big campaign issue for candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Lula won, and has promised to address deforestation, a big source of Brazil's emissions.
There's no one solution to climate change - and no one can do it alone
Aronczyk wants to make one thing clear: there is no one solution to climate change.
"We're human beings. We encounter a problem, we wanna solve that problem," Aronczyk says, "But just as there is no one way to describe climate change, there's no one way to offer a solution."
Climate solutions will take different forms, Sekera says. Some solutions may slow climate change, some may offer us ways to adapt.
The key thing, Aronczyk says, is that climate solutions will involve governments, businesses, and individuals. She says: "It is an all hands on deck kind of a situation."
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wdiy.org/npr-news/npr-news/2023-03-05/climate-solutions-do-exist-these-6-experts-detail-what-they-look-like | 2023-03-06 23:14:59 | 0 | https://www.wdiy.org/npr-news/npr-news/2023-03-05/climate-solutions-do-exist-these-6-experts-detail-what-they-look-like |
Country music performer Morgan Wallen rescheduling 6 weeks of shows
(Gray News) - Citing continuing health problems, country music performer Morgan Wallen is rescheduling several shows.
Wallen in an Instagram post apologized to fans, saying he got “bad news” from the Vanderbilt Voice Center.
After 10 days of rest, he resumed singing but reinjured his vocal cords after three performances in Florida.
He said he’s had to postpone six weeks of shows for vocal rest “for the longevity of my career.” Those dates are in the process of being rescheduled.
Wallen also said he won’t be able to perform at the American Country Music events he had planned to.
Wallen’s earlier schedule changes due to his vocal issues devastated his fans.
An upset fan filed a lawsuit against Wallen over his canceled show last month in Oxford, Mississippi, but has since withdrawn it. Fans complained they spent thousands of dollars for a show that was nixed at the last minute.
Wallen also faced adversity back in 2021 after he was caught on tape uttering a racial slur, for which he apologized. The controversy briefly put his career in jeopardy, but he has since reached new heights of popularity.
Copyright 2023 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wibw.com/2023/05/09/country-music-performer-morgan-wallen-rescheduling-6-weeks-shows/ | 2023-05-09 19:02:40 | 0 | https://www.wibw.com/2023/05/09/country-music-performer-morgan-wallen-rescheduling-6-weeks-shows/ |
Maserati traces its Granturismo linage all the way back to the A6 1500 launched 75 years ago, and now it’s about to make a significant departure from the original script by throwing electrification into the mix.
The last Granturismo ended production in 2019, after a 12-year run, but a redesigned model, unveiled on Monday, is headed to showrooms next spring with the choice of gas or electric powertrains. It should arrive as 2024 model. Pricing has yet to be announced, but Maserati hinted at something close to $200,000.
The car will come in three variants: Modena, Trofeo, and Folgore (late arrival). The Granturismo convertible, or Grancabrio in some markets, is also due in 2023, though exact timing has yet to be announced. A special Primaserie 75th Anniversary model will also be available at launch.
The Modena is the most luxurious, lifestyle-oriented option, while the Trofeo is aimed at sporty types. The Folgore is the electric option, the name taken from the Italian word for “lightning.” Maserati will use Folgore on all of its EVs, including upcoming electric versions of the Grecale crossover and MC20 supercar.
The Modena and Trofeo versions come with Maserati’s twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6 shared with the MC20, albeit with less power and minus the dry-sump lubrication system. The Maserati-designed V-6 delivers 490 hp in the Modena and 550 hp in the Trofeo. In both cases, there’s an 8-speed automatic, all-wheel drive, and 0-62 mph times of less than four seconds.
Oddly, the Folgore doesn’t have the 1,200-hp headline figure that was previously touted by Maserati. That figure refers to the total output of the car’s three electric motors (one at the front and two at the rear), but peak output of the Folgore is actually 760 hp, limited by the discharge capacity of the car’s T-shaped battery. The battery is a 92.5-kwh unit that will deliver a competitive range, which points to something around 300 miles, with mixed driving. An 800-volt architecture means high-speed charging will be possible. Expect the ability to add 100 miles in around 10 minutes using a DC fast charger. Performance figures for the Folgore include 0-62 mph acceleration in 2.7 seconds and a top speed of 199 mph, and the car will also have a distinct, Maserati-tuned sound.
Both the gas and electric versions use the same modular platform that Maserati may provide to other brands in the Stellantis fold. It features multi-material construction (aluminum, magnesium, and steel), resulting in a relatively light weight of 3,957 lb for the gas versions and slightly above 4,850 lb for the electric version whose battery alone weighs about 1,322 lb. The suspension is a mutli-link design with air springs and adjustable dampers. Another key feature of the platform is the electronic architecture that Maserati calls Atlantis. The system is controlled by Maserati’s own software and enables over-the-air updates as well as a level of cyber-security.
Fans of Maserati will have to get used to electric power. Like most major automakers, Maserati is committed to an EV future. The Grecale Folgore has already been revealed. The MC20 Folgore should be next, after which Maserati will launch redesigned versions of the Quattroporte and Levante, possibly with electric power only. They will all arrive by 2025. The Ghibli won’t get a repeat, Maserati has confirmed, at least in its current form.
The previous Granturismo is still one of the most handsome large coupes around, so topping it was always going to be a challenge. Maserati’s design team decided to keep what works and modernize things through some of the details and surfaces. LEDs feature at both ends.
The proportions have been improved, though, with the car sitting almost an inch lower and measuring close to 0.8 in wider, providing the new Granturismo with an imposing stance. The lower height has also resulted in a lower seating position, which should translate to a sportier feel behind the wheel.
Maserati has yet to reveal the design of the 2+2 cabin but we know there will be digital screens, including a 12.2-inch instrument cluster, a 12.3-inch Android-based infotainment system, and an 8.8-inch climate screen. These screens will have different graphics depending on the variant. Physical controls will still be provided for key functions, including gear selection. One interesting element will be a digital watch that can swap between multiple faces, including a compass. The watch will also have a wave graphic designed to provide some visual feedback for the car’s voice activation. Other features will include an available head-up display, Sonus Faber audio (14 speakers standard and 19 available), and multiple trim options.
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- Everrati delivery time stretches to a year due to strong demand | https://www.myarklamiss.com/automotive/internet-brands/2024-maserati-granturismo-evolves-for-the-new-era/ | 2022-10-03 19:46:37 | 0 | https://www.myarklamiss.com/automotive/internet-brands/2024-maserati-granturismo-evolves-for-the-new-era/ |
Finance leaders can manage their organization's spend in new countries including Brazil, Canada, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa, the Philippines, 36 European countries, and more.
SAN FRANCISCO, May 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Brex today announced new global capabilities that significantly expand its ability to support US multinational businesses operating in Brazil, Canada, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa, the Philippines, 36 European countries, and more.
Companies using Brex now have the ability to issue cards and locally fund reimbursements in over 20 currencies across 45 countries. While Mastercard is accepted worldwide for transacting, customers need to fund transactions and reimbursements through their local bank in each country to avoid unnecessary internal adjustments and cross-border transactions that come with funding everything from US accounts. Brex allows customers to fund easily from their local banks, while keeping track of spend and reporting transactions in local currency - making it easy to monitor spend and reconcile transactions.
In addition to spending and paying in local currencies, Brex is launching VAT tracking and multi-currency expense policies. These capabilities ensure customers remain tax-compliant locally in all countries by making it easy for employees to follow local tax regulations.
"Our goal is to create an integrated global platform that enables all companies to spend globally and operate locally," said Henrique Dubugras, co-founder and co-CEO of Brex. "Not all businesses have the same needs when it comes to their global operations, but Brex is able to help solve for all use cases whether that be managing local spend and compliance for international subsidiaries, reimbursing employees overseas, or paying vendors across the world. Empower is the most comprehensive, global spend management platform."
In the last 6 months, Brex has seen a 5x increase in the share of spend management users outside the US, and nearly 50% of customers on the Empower platform have globally distributed teams.
"We've been able to consolidate multiple card providers across the US, Europe, and Israel into one," said Mike Duffy, Director, Assistant Controller at Lemonade, the digital insurance company built on social impact. "Now we're able to see and analyze spend across our entities in one dashboard."
"Along with improving the employee experience for our teams in India, we're also able to track their regional benefits right alongside our domestic teams' spend, including travel and procurement," said Albert Gonzales, Senior Accounting Manager at GoGuardian, the educational technology company.
Brex's multi-currency billing and local expense management are available to customers through the Empower platform. To learn more about Empower's new global capabilities, visit www.brex.com/global.
About Brex
Brex is the first fully unified global spend platform — with corporate cards, expense management, reimbursements, bill pay, and travel, all in one place. Brex makes it easy for finance teams and founders to manage every aspect of global spend at scale by empowering their employees anywhere to make better financial decisions. Brex proudly serves tens of thousands of businesses, from enterprises to startups.
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SOURCE Brex | https://www.kbtx.com/prnewswire/2023/05/04/brex-expands-empower-with-new-markets-global-capabilities/ | 2023-05-04 14:08:05 | 0 | https://www.kbtx.com/prnewswire/2023/05/04/brex-expands-empower-with-new-markets-global-capabilities/ |
Putin tells WWII event West is waging a 'real war' on Russia
President Vladimir Putin declared Tuesday that the West has unleashed “a real war” against Russia, reprising a familiar refrain at scaled-down Victory Day celebrations that may reflect the toll the Ukraine conflict is taking on his forces.
Putin’s remarks came just hours after Moscow fired its latest barrage of cruise missiles at targets in Ukraine, which Russia invaded more than 14 months ago. Ukrainian authorities said air defenses destroyed 23 of 25 missiles launched.
The Russian leader has repeatedly sought to paint his invasion of Ukraine as necessary to defend against a Western threat. Kyiv and its Western allies say they pose no such threat and that Moscow's war is meant to deter Western influence in a country that Russia considers part of its sphere of influence.
“Today civilization is once again at a decisive turning point,” Putin said at the annual commemorations celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. “A real war has been unleashed against our motherland.”
Putin has often used patriotic rhetoric that harkens back to the earlier war in an effort to rally his citizens and forces — and May 9 is one of the most important dates in the Russian political calendar. But this year's celebrations were markedly smaller, at least partially because of security concerns after several drone attacks have been reported inside Russia.
Some 8,000 troops took part in the parade in Moscow’s Red Square on Tuesday — the lowest number since 2008. Even the procession in 2020, the year of the COVID-19 pandemic, featured some 13,000 soldiers, and last year, 11,000 troops took part. There was no fly-over of military jets, and the event lasted less than the usual hour.
“This is weak. There are no tanks,” said Yelena Orlova, watching the vehicles rumble down Moscow's Novy Arbat avenue after leaving Red Square. “We’re upset, but that’s all right; it will be better in the future.”
The Kremlin’s forces deployed in Ukraine are defending a front line stretching more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles), presumably thinning the ranks of troops available for such displays.
“This is supposed to be a showpiece for Russian military might. But so much of that military might has already been mauled in Ukraine that Russia has very little to show on its parade in Red Square," said Keir Giles, a Russia expert at London’s Chatham House think tank.
Meanwhile, the traditional Immortal Regiment processions, in which crowds take to the streets holding portraits of relatives who died or served in World War II — a pillar of the holiday — were canceled in multiple cities.
“That seems to be for fear that those people who have lost their relatives in this current war on Ukraine might actually join the processions and show just the scale of the casualties that Russia has suffered in its current war," Giles said.
Russian media counted 24 cities that also scrapped military parades — another staple of the celebrations — for the first time in years. Regional officials blamed unspecified “security concerns” or vaguely referred to “the current situation” for the restrictions and cancelations. It wasn’t clear whether their decisions were taken in coordination with the Kremlin.
Last week, Russia claimed it foiled an attack by Ukrainian drones on the Kremlin that it called an unsuccessful assassination attempt against Putin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denied involvement.
There was no independent verification of the purported attack, which Russia authorities said occurred overnight but presented no evidence to support it.
On a tribune in Red Square, Putin praised soldiers taking part in the war in Ukraine and urged Russians to stand together.
“Our heroic ancestors proved that there is nothing stronger, more powerful and more reliable than our unity. There is nothing in the world stronger than our love for the motherland,” Putin said.
The guest list was also light amid Putin’s broad diplomatic isolation over the war. Initially, only one foreign leader was expected to attend this year’s parade — Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov. That was one more foreign guest than last year, when no leaders went.
At the last minute on Monday, officials announced that the leaders of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan would head to Moscow as well.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian air force said in a Telegram post that eight Kalibr cruise missiles were fired from carriers in the Black Sea toward the east and 17 from strategic aircraft.
The missiles came hours before European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Union’s executive branch, arrived in Kyiv.
Von der Leyen urged EU member nations to take measures to prevent countries from helping Russia to circumvent the bloc’s sanctions. The EU has noticed that certain products that have been banned to undermine Russia’s war effort are still getting through, she said.
Von der Leyen did not name the countries, but unusual trade flows through China and Turkey have been on the EU’s radar for some time.
Ukraine is keen to join the EU, but membership has many requirements and is still a long way off. Ukraine is also hoping to join NATO, after moving close to the Western military alliance during the war.
In the latest help from a NATO member, the U.S. was expected to announce Tuesday that it will provide $1.2 billion more in long-term military aid to Ukraine to further bolster its air defenses. | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/world/2023/05/09/russia-ukraine-war-putin/70198570007/ | 2023-05-09 15:24:56 | 1 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/world/2023/05/09/russia-ukraine-war-putin/70198570007/ |
ATLANTA — To feel underrepresented is, so often, to feel at a distance from the wider world: on the fringes of discussion, distilled into stereotypes and assumptions.
Aisha Yaqoob Mahmood is standing in the Kids Zone at an event called SouthEATS. It’s a celebration of Asian American culture in the heart of Midtown Atlanta, a city where, like in so many cities, that culture is often pushed to a distance.
“I think it's just so important for us to be able to build an identity for our communities that goes beyond just existing,” Mahmood said.
Each May brings Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. For the last three, it’s also brought the STAATUS Index, a survey from The Asian American Foundation about perceptions towards Asian Americans.
Norman Chen runs the foundation. This year they found nearly 80% of Asian Americans do not completely feel are accepted in America. More than half felt unsafe in America. And when non-Asian Americans were asked to name a famous Asian American figure, the top three responses were Bruce Lee, who died 50 years ago, Jackie Chan, who’s not American, and at the top, “I don’t know.”
“If you do research on hate and violence, a lot of times it starts with stereotypes of one group versus another and seeing them as others,” Chen said.
A separate survey from the Asian American Journalists Association found nearly a quarter of stations in the top 20 local TV markets had no AAPI individuals on the air. Nearly three quarters didn’t have enough AAPIs to represent the population of the market.
“The number one source of information about Asian Americans still remains news,” Chen said. “It’s mostly stories about trauma, about attacks. But there are more and more stories to celebrate, right? Over 50 ethnicities, over 100 cultures … that makes a wonderful kaleidoscope.”
Atlanta is an example of the kaleidoscope expanding. The foundation hosting SouthEATS is among those working to empower more AAPIs to vote. In the last decade, their voting share in Georgia has tripled.
Restaurants fill not just international corridors but the busiest neighborhoods. Jane Ewe, who spoke at the event, owns a restaurant and bakery in the heart of the city.
“Hopefully," Ewe said at the event, "my foreign cultural background won’t feel so foreign to people anymore.” | https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/two-americas/new-studies-show-lack-of-aapi-representation-belonging-in-american-culture | 2023-05-26 22:45:25 | 0 | https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/two-americas/new-studies-show-lack-of-aapi-representation-belonging-in-american-culture |
More than 40 nonprofit organizations from across the country were awarded millions of dollars in grants. HRDC was one of those groups which received $5 million, the largest grant in its 48-year history.
“Honored to have been in that club,” says CEO and President of HRDC Heather Grenier.
The grant is a part of the Day 1 Families Fund which was launched by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, who awarded $123.5 million dollars across the county. HRDC received $5 million of that money.
“Half of it will go to help build out a family-specific portion of our shelter that we're working on,” says Grenier.
The money will push them closer to their $15 million goal needed to kick off construction on phase two of their community commons which will feature a year-round shelter. Now they are just $1 million shy of their goal.
“Two and a half million dollars closer to that goal,” says Grenier.
Grenier says that the money comes at a time when the area is seeing an increase in need.
“One of the biggest needs we're seeing is increasing families experiencing homelessness,” says Grenier.
HRDC says the number of people that are experiencing homelessness has increased nearly 50% in the Gallatin Valley.
“We are working with over about 140 families that are living in cars or campers or RV’s,” says Grenier.
The other two and a half million will be used for other more basic needs which they provide on a daily basis.
“Whether we can help them with their rent or help them with their utilities or help them with their food, but housing is obviously the biggest,” says Grenier.
The money will be awarded to HRDC over a 5-year period. | https://www.kbzk.com/news/local-news/bezos-day-1-families-fund-awards-hrdc-5-million-grant-the-largest-in-its-48-year-history | 2022-11-23 15:14:28 | 0 | https://www.kbzk.com/news/local-news/bezos-day-1-families-fund-awards-hrdc-5-million-grant-the-largest-in-its-48-year-history |
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.
© 2022 Good Karma Brands Milwaukee, LLC. | https://wtmj.com/ap-news/2022/04/26/ap-top-business-news-at-854-a-m-edt-17/ | 2022-04-26 15:47:12 | 1 | https://wtmj.com/ap-news/2022/04/26/ap-top-business-news-at-854-a-m-edt-17/ |
California to vote on ambitious locomotive emission rule
By SOPHIE AUSTIN
Associated Press/Report for America
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Every day, locomotives pull rail cars filled with food, lumber, oil and other products through railyards near neighborhoods in Oakland, Commerce, San Bernadino and other California cities.
They run on diesel, a more powerful fuel than gasoline, and burning all that diesel produces pollution that is harmful for people who live nearby, as well as greenhouse gases. California’s Air Resources Board is trying to change that.
The agency votes Thursday on a rule that would ban the use of locomotive engines more than 23 years old by 2030 and increase the use of zero-emissions technology to transport freight from ports and throughout railyards. The rule would also ban locomotives in the state from idling longer than 30 minutes if they are equipped with an automatic shutoff.
The rule would be the most ambitious of its kind in the country.
“It’s going to be groundbreaking, and it’s going to address the diesel crisis that’s been poisoning communities near railyards for literal decades,” said Yasmine Agelidis, a lawyer with environmental nonprofit Earthjustice.
Diesel exhaust is a health hazard. According to California regulators, diesel emissions are responsible for some 70% of Californians’ cancer risk from toxic air pollution. The rule would curb emissions on a class of engines that annually release more than 640 tons of tiny pollutants that can enter deep into a person’s lungs and worsen asthma and nearly 30,000 tons of smog-forming emissions known as nitrogen oxides. The rule would also drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions from locomotives, by an amount akin to removing all heavy-duty trucks from the state by 2030.
For activists and residents who’ve lived in areas affected by heavy rail pollution, the fight for cleaner trains is decades in the making.
Jan Victor Andasan, an activist with East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, grew up in West Long Beach and now organizes residents there. It’s a neighborhood near the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach that is “surrounded by pollution” from trains, trucks and industry.
“We support rail, but we support rail if they’re doing all their best to mitigate their emissions,” Andasan said.
Some activists would like California to go further, for example to limit locomotive idling to 15 minutes. They are also concerned that increased demand from online shopping is causing more rail traffic that burdens communities.
But some say it’s too soon to implement the locomotive standards. Wayne Winegarden, a senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute, said the rule would be expensive for rail companies, and increased costs will mean higher prices for many goods that move by rail.
The Association of American Railroads said in a statement “there is no clear path to zero emissions locomotives.”
“Mandating that result ignores the complexity and interconnected nature of railroad operations and the reality of where zero emission locomotive technology and the supporting infrastructure stand,” the group wrote.
Freight railways are an efficient means to transport the roughly 1.6 billion tons of goods nationwide across nearly 140,000 miles, much cleaner than if those goods were trucked, it said.
Kristen South, a spokesperson for Union Pacific, said in a statement the rail company wants regulators to continue to work with them to come up with a more “balanced” solution that is not too ambitious for the current technology and infrastructure.
Union Pacific is working to cut greenhouse gas emissions in part by spending $1 billion to modernize locomotives and testing out engines powered by electric batteries, South wrote.
California would have to get authorization from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to move forward with the rule, which would be stricter than federal standards. Other states can sign on to try to adopt the California rule if it gets the OK from the Biden administration.
The EPA recently approved California rules aimed at reducing emissions from heavy trucks. The rules will require zero-emission trucks, depending on the type, to make up between 40% and 75% of sales by 2035.
Heidi Swillinger lives in a mobile home park in San Pablo, a small city in the San Francisco Bay Area, along the BNSF Railway. She estimates that her home is just 20 feet from the tracks. She said it’s not uncommon for diesel fumes to fill her house, resulting in a “thick, acrid, dirty smell.”
“Nobody wants to live next to a railroad track,” Swillinger said. “You move next to a railroad track because you don’t have other options.”
___
Sophie Austin is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Austin on Twitter: @sophieadanna | https://kion546.com/news/ap-california/2023/04/27/california-to-vote-on-ambitious-locomotive-emission-rule-2/ | 2023-04-27 11:37:36 | 1 | https://kion546.com/news/ap-california/2023/04/27/california-to-vote-on-ambitious-locomotive-emission-rule-2/ |
Yandy Díaz Player Prop Bets: Rays vs. Tigers - April 2
Published: Apr. 2, 2023 at 7:27 AM EDT|Updated: 2 hours ago
Yandy Diaz -- 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and three RBI in his most recent game -- will be in action for the Tampa Bay Rays against the Detroit Tigers, with Joey Wentz on the hill, on April 2 at 1:10 PM ET.
He collected two extra-base hits in his last game (3-for-4 with a double, a home run and three RBI) against the Tigers.
Yandy Díaz Game Info & Props vs. the Tigers
- Game Day: Sunday, April 2, 2023
- Game Time: 1:10 PM ET
- Stadium: Tropicana Field
- Live Stream: Watch this game on fuboTV!
- Tigers Starter: Joey Wentz
- TV Channel: BSSUN
- Hits Prop: Over/under 1.5 hits (Over odds: +195)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/under 0.5 home runs (Over odds: +475)
- RBI Prop: Over/under 0.5 RBI (Over odds: +200)
- Runs Prop: Over/under 0.5 runs (Over odds: -105)
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Yandy Díaz At The Plate (2022)
- Diaz had a .404 on-base percentage and batted .296.
- Among the qualifying hitters in MLB last year, he ranked 15th in batting average, sixth in on-base percentage, and 69th in slugging.
- Diaz picked up at least one hit 86 times last year in 139 games played (61.9%), including multiple hits on 43 occasions (30.9%).
- He hit a long ball in nine of 139 games in 2022 (6.5%), including 1.6% of his trips to the dish.
- Diaz drove in a run in 28.1% of his 139 games last season, with two or more RBIs in 9.4% of those contests (13). He drove in three or more runs in five games.
- He scored in 53 of 139 games last year, with multiple runs in 16 of those games.
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Yandy Díaz Home/Away Batting Splits (2022)
Tigers Pitching Rankings (2022)
- The 7.6 strikeouts per nine innings put together by the Tigers pitching staff last season ranked 25th in MLB.
- The Tigers had the 21st-ranked team ERA across all MLB pitching staffs (4.06).
- The Tigers surrendered the 10th-fewest home runs in baseball (167 total, one per game).
- Wentz will take the mound to start for the Tigers, his first this season.
- In his last appearance on Sunday, Oct. 2, the 25-year-old lefty, started and went 4 2/3 innings against the Minnesota Twins.
- Over his seven appearances last season he finished with a 3.03 ERA and a 1.102 WHIP, compiling a 2-2 record.
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.wcjb.com/sports/betting/2023/04/02/yandy-diaz-mlb-player-prop-bets/ | 2023-04-02 13:23:17 | 1 | https://www.wcjb.com/sports/betting/2023/04/02/yandy-diaz-mlb-player-prop-bets/ |
US will end COVID-19 testing requirement for air travelers entering the country
The Biden administration is expected to announce Friday that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will lift its requirement for travelers to test negative for COVID-19 before entering the U.S., according to a senior administration official.
Related video above: COVID-19 vaccines for children under 5 could be available as early as June 20
The move will go into effect for U.S.-bound air travelers at midnight on Sunday.
The CDC is lifting the restriction that the travel industry had lobbied against for months after determining it was no longer necessary "based on the science and data," the official said. The CDC will reassess its decision in 90 days and if officials decide they need to reinstate it, because of a concerning new variant, for example, will do so. The measure has been in place since January 2021.
The official said the Biden administration plans to work with airlines to ensure a smooth transition with the change, but it will likely be a welcome move for most in the industry.
Travel industry officials have been increasingly critical of the requirement in recent weeks and directly urged the Biden administration to end the measure, arguing it was having a chilling effect on an already fragile economy, according to Airlines for America chief Nick Calio, whose group met recently with White House officials.
The travel industry, and some scientific experts, said the policy had been out of date for months.
Lawmakers, including Democrats, had also advocated for lifting the requirement in recent weeks.
Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto said, "I'm glad CDC suspended the burdensome coronavirus testing requirement for international travelers, and I'll continue to do all I can to support the strong recovery of our hospitality industry." | https://www.koat.com/article/us-will-end-covid-19-testing-requirement-for-air-travelers/40253245 | 2022-06-10 14:30:52 | 1 | https://www.koat.com/article/us-will-end-covid-19-testing-requirement-for-air-travelers/40253245 |
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge in Florida has scheduled a trial date for next May for former President Donald Trump in a case charging him with illegally retaining hundreds of classified documents.
The May 20, 2024, trial date, set Friday by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, is a compromise between a request from prosecutors to set the trial for this December and a bid by defense lawyers to put it off indefinitely until sometime after the 2024 presidential election.
If the date holds, it would follow close on the heels of a separate New York trial for Trump on dozens of state charges of falsifying business records in connection with an alleged hush money payment to a porn actor. It also means the trial will not start until deep into the presidential nominating calendar and probably well after the Republican nominee is clear — though before that person is officially nominated at the Republican National Convention.
In pushing back the trial from the Dec. 11 start date that the Justice Department had asked for, Cannon wrote that “the Government’s proposed schedule is atypically accelerated and inconsistent with ensuring a fair trial.” She agreed with defense lawyers that the amount of evidence that would need to be sifted through before the trial, including classified information, was “voluminous.”
“The Court finds that the interests of justice served by this continuance outweigh the best interest of the public and Defendants in a speedy trial,” Cannon wrote.
Trump could yet face additional trials in the coming year. He revealed this week that he had received a letter informing him that he was a target of a separate Justice Department investigation into efforts to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election, an indication that charges could be coming soon. And prosecutors in Georgia plan to announce charging decisions within weeks in an investigation into attempts by Trump and his allies to subvert the vote in that state.
The trial before Cannon would take place in a federal courthouse in Fort Pierce.
It arises from a 38-count indictment last month, filed by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, that accused Trump of willfully hoarding classified documents, including top secret records, at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach and conspiring with his valet, Walt Nauta, to hide them from investigators who demanded them back.
Trump and Nauta have both pleaded not guilty.
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Associated Press writers Jill Colvin and Michael R. Sisak in New York contributed to this report. | https://who13.com/news/politics/ap-politics/ap-judge-sets-a-trial-date-for-next-may-in-trumps-classified-documents-case-in-florida/ | 2023-07-21 15:58:32 | 1 | https://who13.com/news/politics/ap-politics/ap-judge-sets-a-trial-date-for-next-may-in-trumps-classified-documents-case-in-florida/ |
‘Did not end well’: New Pence book details split with Trump
NEW YORK (AP) — Former Vice President Mike Pence blames Donald Trump for endangering his family “and all those serving at the Capitol” on Jan. 6 in a new memoir released Tuesday.
In “So Help Me God,” Pence recounts, for the first time in his own words, the Republican former president’s extraordinary effort to push him to overturn the results of the 2020 election and shares his account of the day thousands of rioters stormed the Capitol, with some chanting “Hang Mike Pence.”
“They had come to protest the result of the election and to prevent Congress from fulfilling its responsibility to open and count the Electoral College votes,” Pence writes. “And, as I later learned, many had come looking for me.”
The book, which traces Pence’s life in politics — from serving as youth coordinator for a local Democratic Party to watching then-Vice President Al Gore certify his election loss days after Pence had been sworn in as a member of Congress — largely defends Trump, glossing over and whitewashing many of his most contentious episodes. “I had always been loyal to President Donald Trump,” the book begins.
But Pence, who spent years refusing to publicly criticize his old boss, makes clear that Jan. 6, 2021, was a breaking point in which, he writes, Trump’s “reckless words had endangered my family and all those serving at the Capitol.”
“For four years, we had a close working relationship. It did not end well,” Pence writes, summing up their time in the White House. Still, he adds, “we parted amicably when our service to the nation drew to a close. In the months that followed, we spoke from time to time, but when the president returned to the rhetoric that he was using before that tragic day and began to publicly criticize those of us who defended the Constitution, I decided it would be best to go our separate ways.”
The book, published by Simon & Schuster, comes as Pence appears increasingly likely to run for president in 2024, a move that would put him in direct conflict with Trump, who is expected to formally launch his own reelection campaign in Florida on Tuesday night.
Pence, who in the book never directly states that Democrat Joe Biden won fairly, writes that when Trump first suggested holding a rally in Washington on Jan. 6, the day Pence was set to preside over the election’s certification, he thought it was a good idea. “My first thought was that a rally that day might be useful as a way to call even more attention to the proceedings on the floor of the House and Senate,” he writes.
Instead, Pence describes sitting in the Senate chamber and presiding over the certification when the Senate parliamentarian leaned over to inform him that rioters had breached the building and a member of his Secret Service detail rushing over to insist they leave. Pence refused to vacate the building and was instead ushered to a Senate loading dock, where he spent hours, surrounded by staff and family members, making calls to military and congressional leaders to coordinate the government’s response, as the president — who never bothered to check in on Pence’s safety — sat cloistered, watching TV.
“All around was a blur of motion and chaos: security and police officers directing people to safety, staffers shouting and running for shelter. I could see the intensity in the eyes of the Secret Service detail; it was audible, too, in the voices of the Capitol Police. I could hear the fall of footsteps and angry chanting,” Pence writes. Still, Pence insists he was “not afraid,” only angry at what was unfolding.
At 2:24 p.m., as Pence remained in hiding, Trump fired off that infamous tweet saying Pence “didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution.”
“I just shook my head,” Pence said he responded. “The truth was, as reckless as the president’s tweet was, I really didn’t have time for it. Rioters were ransacking the Capitol. ... The president had decided to be part of the problem. I was determined to be part of the solution. I ignored the tweet and got back to work.”
Pence also describes Trump’s campaign to pressure him to reject the results of the election by rejecting Electoral College votes or sending them back to the states, even though the Constitution makes clear that the vice president’s role is purely ceremonial.
During one lunch on Nov. 16, 2020, Pence said he told Trump that “if the legal challenges came up short and if he was unwilling to concede, he could simply accept the results of the elections, move forward with the transition, and start a political comeback, winning the Senate runoffs in Georgia, the governor’s race in Virginia in 2021, and the House and Senate in 2022.”
“That accomplished, I said, he could run for president in 2024 and win,” Pence writes. “He seemed unmoved, even weary, at the prospect.”
“‘I don’t know, 2024 is so far off,’” Pence writes that Trump told him “before returning to the status of election challenges in various states.”
At another lunch, Pence said he encouraged Trump “not to look at the election ‘as a loss — just an intermission’” and said if he “still came up short” after exhausting every legal option, Trump should “take a bow” and later run again.
“He nodded, pointed at me as if to say, ‘That’s worth considering,’ and walked into the back hallway,” Pence writes. “I will always wish he had.”
But as the lawsuits Trump’s legal team was pushing continued to fail, Pence writes that Trump’s mood darkened and he became increasingly irate. Pence says Trump berated him, telling him, “You’re too honest,” and predicting that “hundreds of thousands are gonna hate your guts” and “people are gonna think you’re stupid.”
“As the days wore on, it was becoming clear that there would be a real cost to me politically when I presided over the certification of the 2020 election,” Pence writes. “I always knew that I did not possess the authority to overturn the election. I knew it would be hurtful to my friend for me to participate in the certification. But my duty was clear.”
After the Capitol was cleared of the rioters, Congress reconvened and Pence presided over the certification of his and Trump’s loss. For several days the two men did not speak. But when they finally met, five days later, Pence said they spent more than 90 minutes together, alone.
“I told him that I had prayed for him for the past four and a half years, and I encouraged him to pray,” Pence said he told Trump. “‘Jesus can help you through this,’ I said. ‘Call on Him.’ He didn’t say anything.”
“With genuine sadness in his voice, the president then mused, ‘What if we hadn’t had the rally? What if they hadn’t gone to the Capitol?’ Then he said, ‘It’s too terrible to end like this.’”
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.weau.com/2022/11/15/did-not-end-well-new-pence-book-details-split-with-trump/ | 2022-11-15 13:44:47 | 0 | https://www.weau.com/2022/11/15/did-not-end-well-new-pence-book-details-split-with-trump/ |
CHICAGO (WGN-TV) — A couple says the City of Chicago is coercing them into paying a red light ticket for a car that isn’t theirs.
Steve Stallings and his wife, Celeste Galizia, received a $100 red light violation in the mail four months ago. The catch is that the car on camera isn’t theirs, and they say the camera misread the plate.
The license plate shown in the photo starts with the letters “CE.” Stallings and Galizia said their plate starts with “CL.”
“It’s clearly not ours,” Scalling said. “We weren’t there or nothing. It’s got a Kansas City Chiefs decal on it, and we wouldn’t own one of those.”
The couple, who live in a suburb outside Chicago, appealed the violation, but a judge ruled against them. After that, they sent the Department of Finance proof the car and plate isn’t theirs through the mail, but it was also refused and sent back.
“We’re completely innocent, yet they want us to jump through hoops,” Scalling said.
Where it stands today, the fine has doubled and gone to collections.
“We’ve proven to them that this was not the license plate, yet nobody’s responding,” Galizia said. “But this case should be closed, and we should not have to pay the fine.”
Nexstar’s WGN reached out to the Department of Finance for comment. The department said they would look into this but had not followed up as of Wednesday. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/couple-says-city-is-forcing-them-to-pay-red-light-violation-that-isnt-theirs/ | 2023-03-29 21:45:21 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/couple-says-city-is-forcing-them-to-pay-red-light-violation-that-isnt-theirs/ |
The Environmental Protection Agency proposed Tuesday to limit the use of the chemical ethylene oxide after finding higher than expected cancer risk at facilities that use it to sterilize billions of medical devices each year.
The EPA says its proposal will reduce ethylene oxide emissions by roughly 80% by targeting 86 medical sterilization facilities across the United States. The companies will also have to measure the antimicrobial chemical in the air.
“EPA’s number one priority is protecting people’s health and safety,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement. “Together they would significantly reduce worker and community exposure to harmful levels of ethylene oxide.”
Darya Minovi, a senior research analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists, called the action overdue by “almost a decade” and said it should have gone further to require monitoring at a facility property line so people know what is entering their neighborhoods.
“I’m relieved and pleased that the EPA has finally issued proposed standards that are based on their own scientists’ recommendations on an updated, higher cancer risk value,” said Minovi in a statement.
The tightened safeguards are driven by a better understanding by EPA that ethylene oxide’s threat can be severe. The chemical is classified as a pesticide. A medical sterilization worker over the course of a career could see their risk shoot up by as much as one extra case of cancer for every ten people exposed. The EPA’s generally acceptable increase in lifetime cancer risk is 1 in 10,000.
Ethylene oxide is a gas used to sterilize roughly half of all medical devices and is also used to ensure the safety of certain spices and other food products. It is used to clean everything from catheters to syringes, pacemakers and plastic surgical gowns. Brief exposure isn’t considered a danger, but breathing it long-term elevates the risk of breast cancer and lymphoma, according to the agency.
The EPA said many facilities have already sharply reduced emissions, but those that haven’t will now have to meet stricter requirements.
Scott Whitaker, president and CEO of Advanced Medical Technology Association, said that medical sterilizers provide a vital service and that many devices “cannot be sterilized by another method.” He said the EPA’s risk assessment overstates the threat employees face and the protections they are already provided.
He added that these facilities are already at capacity and the industry can’t afford shutdowns. The 18-month timeframe for installing technology to reduce emissions after the final rule is issued is “much too short.”
“It could take many months for abatement equipment to arrive. Supply chains and manufacturing are still recovering from the pandemic,” Whitaker said in a statement.
The agency is proposing two rules, one targeting emissions and another focused on worker safety. The emissions reductions aim to bring cancer risk within the EPA’s generally acceptable level. Medical sterilizers would also need to continuously monitor air pollution to make sure controls function properly.
The EPA also wants to require protective gear for people who work with ethylene oxide, and says some workplaces, including museums, should stop using it altogether because safer alternatives exist.
In recent years, concern over emissions from medical sterilizers has grown sharply. Sterigenics shuttered a medical sterilization plant in a Chicago Suburb after monitoring found emissions spikes in nearby neighborhoods and settled numerous lawsuits.
The proposal follows the EPA’s announcement last week to cut emissions from chemical plants in general to reduce cancer risk. In part, that rule targeted manufactures of ethylene oxide. Tuesday’s proposal targets those who use it.
___
The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment | https://www.seattletimes.com/business/epa-acts-finding-cancer-risk-from-sterilization-chemical/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all | 2023-04-11 17:57:53 | 0 | https://www.seattletimes.com/business/epa-acts-finding-cancer-risk-from-sterilization-chemical/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all |
BRACKENRIDGE, Pa. (AP) — The man suspected of fatally shooting a Pennsylvania police chief and wounding another officer in confrontations during a foot pursuit near Pittsburgh was killed by police after a chase later Monday, authorities said.
The officers were shot blocks apart in Brackenridge, an Allegheny County town northeast of Pittsburgh. The suspect carjacked a vehicle, and when Pittsburgh detectives later spotted it, he fled, Allegheny County Police Superintendent Christopher Kearns said.
The suspect crashed the vehicle after a car chase, ran into a wooded area and then toward a housing development, and fired at the pursuing detectives, who returned fire and killed him Monday evening, Kearns said.
State Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the governor-elect, identified the slain officer in a tweet as Brackenridge Police Chief Justin McIntire, saying he “ran towards danger to keep Pennsylvanians safe — and he made the ultimate sacrifice in service to community.”
Police say the second officer was wounded in the leg and is expected to survive.
Authorities had identified the suspect as Aaron Lamont Swan, 28, of the nearby city of Duquesne. Kearns told reporters that Swan had been sought for a parole violation involving a weapons charge.
Allegheny County Police will investigate the shooting of the suspect, Kearns said.
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This story has been corrected to reflect that the shootings occurred Monday. | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/officer-killed-2nd-wounded-in-pennsylvania-suspect-sought/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world | 2023-01-03 04:23:38 | 1 | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/officer-killed-2nd-wounded-in-pennsylvania-suspect-sought/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world |
LONDON (AP) — Virgin Orbit said Thursday its first attempt to launch satellites into orbit from the U.K. failed after its rocket’s upper stage prematurely shut down.
The U.S.-based company used a modified Boeing 747 plane to carry one of its rockets from Cornwall in southwestern England over the Atlantic Ocean on Monday. The plane released the rocket, which carried nine small satellites, but the rocket failed to reach orbit.
In a statement Thursday, Virgin Orbit said initial data indicated that the first stage of the rocket performed as expected. It said the rocket reached space altitudes, and that stage separation and ignition of the upper stage occurred in line with the mission plan.
But it said that later in the mission, at an altitude of approximately 180 kilometers (112 miles), “the upper stage experienced an anomaly. This anomaly prematurely ended the first burn of the upper stage,” the company said.
The plane, piloted by a Royal Air Force pilot, returned to Cornwall. The rocket components and the satellites were destroyed.
The launch failure was a disappointment to the company and U.K. space officials, who had high hopes that the mission — the first such one to be attempted from Europe — would be the beginning of more commercial space launch ventures.
Virgin Orbit, which was founded by British billionaire Richard Branson in 2017, began commercial launching services in 2021. It had previously successfully completed four similar launches from California, carrying payloads for businesses and governmental agencies into orbit.
The company has launched an investigation into the source of the second stage failure on Monday. It said it plans to carry out its next mission from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California, and that it is in talks with officials and businesses to return to the U.K. for another potential launch “as soon as later this year.” | https://www.ksn.com/news/business/ap-business/ap-virgin-orbit-premature-shutdown-behind-rocket-launch-fail/ | 2023-01-13 10:00:50 | 1 | https://www.ksn.com/news/business/ap-business/ap-virgin-orbit-premature-shutdown-behind-rocket-launch-fail/ |
Roberto Suro is a professor of journalism and public policy at the University of Southern California.
During the past two years, a multitude of options were available — some sweeping, some specific. Immigration is not in search of unknown cures. Yet nothing was done about the major maladies. That’s a bad outcome in ordinary times; it is a disaster when an immigration system, in crisis for more than a decade, is now imploding.
Don’t look to the future for hope. When Republicans take control of the House in a few weeks, a handful of hard-liners who countenance nothing but walls and deportations will control the agenda.
What happened during the two years that Democrats controlled Congress and the White House? Several sad tales with many authors.
Republicans told a simple story. No matter what kind of enforcement they touted or whatever legalization program they decried as “amnesty,” Republicans consistently fashioned rhetorical links to the “invasion” at the border. That framing drew jet fuel from the constant imagery of migrants at the Rio Grande and news of shattered Border Patrol records. It didn’t matter that U.S. law grants outsiders the right to seek asylum or that the same disorder prevailed under the Trump administration before the pandemic.
Proponents of expansive immigration policies never found a coherent narrative for the border. Faced with surges since he took office, President Biden has grasped Trump-era tools to block crossings, the advocacy groups cry betrayal and immigrant rights lawyers take him to court. Although Biden made important fixes in the asylum system, his big-picture pronouncements were often about distant, long-term matters such as root causes and regional cooperation. Meanwhile, the imagery transmitted urgency.
The advocates largely sidestepped the urgent need for asylum reform and instead concentrated their efforts on winning legalization for unauthorized immigrants already here. Biden, initially, and the advocates demanded a legalization process that would cover the entire unauthorized population of 11 million people. Then, messaging and strategy fractured.
A subset of the larger population, the “dreamers” — migrants who arrived as children, about 2 million total — were simultaneously protagonists in a more tangible and compelling narrative than the amorphous 11 million. Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), a potent champion for generous policies, focused relentlessly on dreamers, taking to the floor repeatedly to tell their stories, each innocent and accomplished and portrayed in a poster-sized photo.
The dreamers might have served as emblems for a broad legalization except that popular, long-standing bills proposed legalizing them alone. Still, other measures and messages sought legalization for a subset of dreamers, the 600,000 beneficiaries of a 2012 executive action known as DACA.
The immigration cause fragmented further by this past spring with stand-alone bills that would address labor needs in agriculture and high tech or were aimed at solving backlogs for green cards. When the chances for a big deal failed, it became every group for itself.
This was precisely the outcome advocates of legalization had long fought to avoid.
The 20-year-old strategy behind comprehensive immigration reform always assumed a bipartisan bargain in which extensive legalization is balanced by boosted enforcement with fixes to visa channels negotiated on the side. No one piece could be resolved separately, or the deal would fall apart. For years, proponents opposed stand-alone measures for dreamers because they were a high-value bargaining chip.
In 2013, a bipartisan majority of the Senate passed a massive, multipart reform. When House Speaker John A. Boehner proposed breaking the bill into pieces to get it through the Republican controlled house, Democrats said all or nothing, fearing enforcement would pass and legalization wouldn’t. That deal was set aside.
In 2014, the tea party rebels grabbed immigration as cudgel on the GOP establishment. That summer, the first big surge of Central American asylum seekers hit the border, flummoxing the Obama administration. Donald Trump learned the mantra “build the wall,” and here we are.
As this Congress ends, some will say immigration was too polarizing, too complex for slight Democratic majorities and recalcitrant Republicans in Congress — much less a White House preoccupied with the pandemic. Polls, however, showed consensus around legalization, a functioning asylum system and an orderly process at the border. In Washington, bipartisan majorities made new laws on climate, guns, marriage and passed big spending bills contrary to both MAGA and old Republican orthodoxies.
In each case, issue advocates and their Democratic allies narrowed their ambitions to get something done. Immigration advocates take note.
Now, the costs of paralysis will escalate. A border infrastructure meant to deter Mexican labor migrants and an asylum system designed for Soviet-era defectors puts the United States at risk. Competing for brains, the United States will present bureaucratic barriers while other nations recruit. Food producers will need to rely on unauthorized workers. And some of the millions in the green card backlog will die waiting in queue.
When Washington gets back to immigration, the challenges of 2022 will look easy. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/19/congress-immigration-reform-dead-end/ | 2022-12-19 23:32:00 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/19/congress-immigration-reform-dead-end/ |
Bringing threat insight to life in red teaming challenge and incident response
DALLAS, July 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Global cybersecurity leader Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704) announced today reinforced its commitment to educating the industry on emerging attack techniques and modern strategies, through experiential threat insights being shared at Black Hat USA 2023, August 7th – 11th. Attendees can visit Trend Micro at booth #932 to test their skills in an interactive cybersecurity challenge, see how threat intelligence fuels Trend Micro's platform and attend sessions with Trend Micro's industry experts.
"Events like BlackHat offer a fantastic opportunity for us to bring our research to life," said Eric Skinner, VP of Market Strategy at Trend. "We're looking to educate the industry not just on threats but also on the latest tools needed to mitigate them. Our threat intelligence is unmatched in the industry and allows us to develop prolific research alongside programs like the Zero Day Initiative that help us make the digital world more secure. We're looking forward to sharing our latest discoveries and continuing to push the industry forward."
With the world's most geographically diverse customer base and research team, Trend has been at the cutting edge of threat research for over three decades and brings this experience to BlackHat 2023 with a full schedule of activities. Going beyond delivering value to customers, Trend aims to improve knowledge and skills across the industry by bringing research to life through experiential learning opportunities.
At the top of the bill is an interactive Capture the Flag challenge, "Hack a Hospital," in which participants can play the role of a Red Teamer to help the fictitious St. Isidore Memorial hospital test its cybersecurity posture – and win prizes in the process. The event's kill chain follows the common Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTP) of the most active ransomware groups of 2023, including Blackbasta, CLOP, Lockbit, and Royal. At the end of the exercise, professional incident response engineers will deliver a threat hunting walkthrough of the kill chain that players executed to demonstrate how attacks can be detected and stopped at an early stage.
Trend experts will also take to the BlackHat 2023 stage to deconstruct a real-world attack that the Trend incident response team engaged in earlier this year where emerging attack techniques evaded traditional defenses and caused substantial damage. The clock will then rewind to walk through an alternative replay showcasing how integrating XDR and Attack Surface Risk Management (ASRM) tools can detect and disrupt even sophisticated threat actors early on. Trend researchers will also reveal new zero-days across various environments, from Apple OTA updates to Azure machine learning services.
As emerging technologies like generative AI undergo widespread adoption, the role of such researchers will become increasingly important to mitigating cyber risk.
Trend Micro's full schedule of BlackHat and DefCon 2023 sessions includes:
- [August 10th | 11:30am | Jasmine AE, Level 3] – Uncovering Azure's Silent Threats: A Journey into Cloud Vulnerabilities
- [August 10th |1:50pm | Mandalay Bay I] – Double Vision: Analyzing a Recent Incident Response Case from Two Perspectives
- [August 9th & 10th | 10am – 12:30pm & 2:30 – 5:00pm | Reef C Ballroom] – Cybersecurity Capture the Flag Challenge: Hack a Hospital
- [August 10th | 12:30 pm] – New Isn't Always Novel: Grep'ing Your Way to $20K at Pwn2Own, and How You Can Too
- [August 11th | 11am] – The Nightmare of Apple's OTA Update: Bypassing the Signature Verification and Pwning the Kernel
To schedule a meeting with a Trend Micro expert during BlackHat 2023, please visit: https://resources.trendmicro.com/BlackHat2023.html#meet
About Trend Micro
Trend Micro, a global cybersecurity leader, helps make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Fueled by decades of security expertise, global threat research, and continuous innovation, Trend Micro's cybersecurity platform protects hundreds of thousands of organizations and millions of individuals across clouds, networks, devices, and endpoints. As a leader in cloud and enterprise cybersecurity, the platform delivers a powerful range of advanced threat defense techniques optimized for environments like AWS, Microsoft, and Google, and central visibility for better, faster detection and response. With 7,000 employees across 65 countries, Trend Micro enables organizations to simplify and secure their connected world. www.TrendMicro.com
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SOURCE Trend Micro Incorporated | https://www.kfyrtv.com/prnewswire/2023/07/26/trend-micro-deconstructs-top-cyberthreats-blackhat-2023/ | 2023-07-26 13:11:38 | 1 | https://www.kfyrtv.com/prnewswire/2023/07/26/trend-micro-deconstructs-top-cyberthreats-blackhat-2023/ |
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Another week down in the run-up to the 2024 election, and former President Donald Trump’s federal indictment is no longer taking up all the oxygen.
Instead, he and his chief rival Gov. Ron DeSantis have started arguing over who hated COVID lockdowns more.
Both Republicans initially backed the pandemic mitigation method to slow the spread of the virus in April 2020. Yet, the former president has been hammering the governor hard this week, alleging he performed poorly during the outbreak via ads like this one and video statements.
"Florida was locked down," Trump said in a post online. "He locked it down like you wouldn't believe. Remember? He closed the highways; he closed the beaches. Florida was the third worst state in deaths by COVID. That's your scorecard. That's a sad scorecard."
DeSantis' campaign fired back, highlighting an archival video of Trump from 2020 in which the former president tells members of the press: "If some governor said-- has a lot of cases, a lot of death-- and they want to open early, we're not going to let it happen."
The governor also responded directly to Trump's attacks during a Thursday press event.
"When you are saying that Cuomo did better on COVID than Florida did, you are revealing yourself to just be full of it," DeSantis said in Tampa. "Nobody believes that."
Later, in South Carolina, DeSantis broke from the back and forth to talk policy at a town hall. He was asked about the prospect of decriminalizing marijuana, but the candidate considered it too dangerous.
"This stuff is very powerful now that they're putting on the street," said DeSantis. "When these kids do it-- it's really bad for the youth, and I just think we need to be united as a society. We want our kids to be clear of drugs, and we don't want to do policies that's going to make it so there's easier access."
The position is further evidence DeSantis is running a hard right GOP primary campaign. In polling, it's kept him at number two, but some GOP colleagues, like Maryland's former governor, said this week DeSantis' time is close to an end.
"I think it's close to being over..." Fmr. Gov. Larry Hogan told CBS. "He just doesn't connect with people. He's not a good campaigner. He's not a good debater."
Meanwhile, yet another Republican entered the crowded GOP field. Former Texas Congressman Will Hurd launched his effort on Thursday and hit the frontrunner right out of the gate.
"Donald Trump needs to be beat-- beaten in a Republican primary," Hurd told CNN. "That's what we should-- that's what I'm planning on doing."
Pundits believe further additions to the race will only further split the vote, potentially benefiting Trump. It's something to keep in mind as new reporting from the New York Times suggests US Senator Rick Scott (R-Florida) could become the fourth Florida man to run for president this cycle. The article cites "two people familiar with the discussions," though the senator's office dismissed the idea:
“It’s flattering that some have mentioned the possibility of Senator Scott running for President, but as he’s said many times, he’s running for re-election to the Senate,” said Chris Hartline, a senior adviser to the senator, in a statement. | https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/political/desantis-trump-spend-week-sparring-on-covid-lockdowns | 2023-06-23 23:41:12 | 0 | https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/political/desantis-trump-spend-week-sparring-on-covid-lockdowns |
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Under a white tent on the street outside Our Lady of the Angels on a recent Sunday, the Rev. Adrián Vázquez led parishioners seated in pews and plastic chairs in celebrating 10 o’clock Mass, flanked by piles of rubble from the sanctuary left there by a deadly earthquake nearly five years ago.
To the left stood the still-broken church, with deep cracks in the walls, its half-collapsed dome supported by scaffolding and a leaning column. Behind the priest was a wax painting of the Virgin Mary, a replica of the one on the wall inside the building and all but out of sight for the faithful.
But Vázquez’s excitement was so great that it couldn’t even be hidden by his pandemic facemask as he delivered the good news: Just weeks before the anniversary of the Sept. 19, 2017, quake, work was finally resuming on restoration of the Catholic temple, which houses the treasured Virgin considered miraculous for having survived floods and earthquakes.
He exhorted parishioners to support the church as the restoration progresses, saying, “The wait is not passive, and the temple is not going to be rebuilt on its own or only with the help of the government. How can we all help?”
Set in the working-class residential neighborhood of Guerrero and carrying one of Mary’s titles, Our Lady of the Angels has a history dating to the late 16th century.
In 1580 a painting of the Assumption of the Virgin arrived in the area floating on floodwaters and ended up in the mud on the property of an Indigenous cacique, or chief, known as Izayoque, according to a book about the church written by the Rev. José Berruecos about a century ago. The artwork depicts the Catholic belief that Mary, mother of Jesus, ascended into heaven, body and soul.
“In the midst of the floods, with all the evil they caused,” Berruecos wrote, “against that background of darkness and desolation, the image of Our Lady of the Angels appears in full light as a rainbow in the midst of the storm.”
Izayoque was so taken by the image on the badly damaged canvas that he had a chapel built in the Virgin’s honor with the painting reproduced on an adobe wall. The current sanctuary was finished some 200 years later, with the Virgin still gracing the oratory.
According to the National Institute of Anthropology and History, or INAH, Our Lady of the Angels is the second most important church in Mexico City after the internationally revered Basilica of Guadalupe, which is home to its own holy image of the Virgin and draws millions of pilgrims each year.
In an interview, parishioner María González’s voice cracked as she recalled the Sunday in 2017 when the dome caved in. As her cellphone lit up with text messages about the collapse, she and other neighbors rushed to the site to meet the Rev. Cirilo Colín, who at the time led the parish.
“It made a tremendous noise, like an explosion,” González said. “When we saw the dome, we all started to cry. … It was a miracle that no one died.”
The church had been damaged five days earlier by the quake, which killed about 360 people, collapsed dozens of buildings and left many more damaged and destined for demolition.
INAH, which is funding and carrying out the restoration project, began work on Our Lady of the Angels in September 2019. Phase one involved stabilizing the structure with steel supports to prevent further loss, and covering the collapsed dome to keep out rainwater.
That ended in December 2020, and since then it has been a long wait for phase two, which began Aug. 8. At this stage INAH is focusing on restoring a chamber behind the main altar that holds religious and historic artifacts, with the goal of protecting them and also rehabilitating a space that will be used to support the bigger restoration of the nave.
Antonio Mondragón, the project’s lead architect, said phase two is expected to end in December.
For now the image of the Virgin is hidden behind scaffolding, boxed off in a protective framework and covered by glass and wood panels that open and close like a book.
Only a handful of people get to see the Virgin up close, and sporadically so: Sometimes those who help the priest with services and daily chores place flowers before her, or he lets small groups in for a few minutes to look upon the image and pray.
The Virgin returns their gaze with a peaceful expression, draped in a blue cloak in front of a gold background, hands joined together in front of her chest.
Given the fragility of the adobe walls, she is unable to be moved, meaning her destiny is tied to that of the building.
“If we lose the parish,” Vázquez said, “we lose the Virgin.”
Vázquez was assigned to replace Colín in late 2019 and tasked with leading what he called a “comprehensive recovery” of the parish, both physically and as a spiritual community — since the building was damaged, many parishioners began attending other churches.
The 38-year-old priest is constantly urging his flock to invite others to the congregation, working to improve its social media presence and streaming Mass services via cellphone. He has also spent part of his own savings to pay for repairs to electrical wiring, touching up walls and other details.
While there’s still no fixed end date for the restoration, Vázquez said the church is already showing signs of rebirth: On Aug. 2, the feast day of Our Lady of the Angels, at least 900 people packed the celebrations on the street outside.
Parishioners are pitching in, too.
Rosa María Ordoñez, 76, who first attended as a child with her grandmother, is selling clothes and other donated goods to raise money for the church. Other parishioners are teaching catechism or doing chores like cleaning.
María Elena Corona, 85, also helps out however she can. Recently she wrote and illustrated signs explaining the Virgin’s history for display outside the church.
Corona, who first set foot in the sanctuary half a century ago, has moved several times since but always found herself drawn to return — including in 1985, when she moved back from the United States after an even more devastating quake that killed tens of thousands of people and first put cracks in the church’s walls. She settled in a nearby neighborhood and resumed attending Mass at Our Lady of the Angels.
The Virgin “does not let me go,” Corona said.
As the recent street Mass came to an end, Vázquez asked the faithful to turn to their left. That meant they were facing the Virgin’s perch inside the shattered temple, even if they couldn’t see her holy visage.
“Let us sing,” the priest beseeched them, “for the Virgin.”
___
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. | https://www.wane.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-quake-hit-mexico-church-with-iconic-virgin-image-gets-rehab/ | 2022-08-28 18:30:09 | 1 | https://www.wane.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-quake-hit-mexico-church-with-iconic-virgin-image-gets-rehab/ |
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The NCAA earned praise last year when it agreed to pay referees at its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments equally. The gesture only cost about $100,000, a tiny fraction of the roughly $900 million networks pay annually to broadcast March Madness.
Now, as the NCAA examines various disparities across men's and women's sports, pressure is rising to also pay referees equally during the regular season. Two Division 1 conferences told The Associated Press they plan to equalize pay, and another is considering it. Others are resisting change, even though the impact on their budgets would be negligible.
“The ones that are (equalizing pay) are reading the writing on the wall,” said Michael Lewis, a marketing professor at Emory University's Goizueta Business School.
The details of NCAA referee pay are closely guarded, but The Associated Press obtained data for the 2021-22 season that show 15 of the NCAA’s largest — and most profitable -- conferences paid veteran referees for men's basketball an average of 22% more per game.
That level of disparity is wider than the gender pay gap across the U.S. economy, where women earn 82 cents for every dollar a man earns, according to the 2020 census. And it is an overwhelming disadvantage for women, who make up less than 1% of the referees officiating men’s games.
Dawn Staley, the head coach for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks — the women’s national champions — said referees on the men's side should be “stepping up” and advocating for equal pay for women's referees. “They don't do anything different," she said. “Why should our officials get paid less for taking the (expletive) we give them?"
The people who provided AP with data for nearly half of the NCAA’s 32 Division I conferences have direct knowledge of pay scales, and they did so on condition of anonymity because the information is considered private.
The Northeast Conference had the widest per-game pay disparity among the NCAA leagues AP analyzed, with the most experienced referees for men's games earning 48% more. The Atlantic-10 paid veteran men's refs 44% more, while the Colonial Athletic Association paid them 38% more. (Only the Ivy League paid veteran officials equally in the data AP reviewed.)
Of the conferences with unequal pay contacted by AP, two -- the Pac-12 and the Northeast Conference — said they plan to level the playing field starting next season. A third, the Patriot League, which had a 33% pay gap last year, said it is reviewing equity for officials in all sports. “Pay is part of that,” commissioner Jennifer Heppel said.
The Pac-12 paid referees equally a decade ago, but allowed a disparity to build over time, according to associate commissioner Teresa Gould. She said returning to equal pay is “the right thing to do.”
NEC commissioner Noreen Morris said the decision to equalize pay was an easy one to make once it realized that basketball was the only sport where it was not compensating referees equally.
Relative to the amounts of money these leagues generate, the cost of bridging the pay gap can seem small.
For example, the SEC paid referees for men’s games 10%, or $350, more than those officiating women’s games. Over the course of a season, it would cost the SEC a couple hundred thousand dollars to pay them equally -- a sliver of the $3 billion deal it signed with ESPN to broadcast all of its sports starting in 2024.
The most experienced Division 1 referees — for men's or women's games — are well paid. Some earn more than $150,000 in a season, officiating dozens of games across multiple conferences. Newer referees earn far less, supplementing income from another job.
All NCAA referees are independent contractors, with no union representing their interests, and all have to cover their own travel expenses.
The busiest referees can work five or six games a week in different cities, running up and down the court for 40 minutes one night, getting a few hours of sleep, and then waking up at 4 a.m. to catch a flight to their next destination.
Dee Kantner, a veteran referee of women’s games who works for multiple conferences, finds it frustrating to have to justify equal pay.
“If I buy an airline ticket and tell them I’m doing a women’s basketball game they aren’t going to charge me less,” she said.
“Do you value women’s basketball that much less?” Kantner said. “How are we rationalizing this still?”
Several conference commissioners said the men’s and women’s games do not generate equal amounts of revenue, and that the level of play is not equal, and so referee salaries are set accordingly.
“Historically we have treated each referee pool as a separate market,” said Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman. “We paid rates that allow us to be competitive for services at our level. I think the leagues are entitled to look at different factors here. I don’t see it as an equity issue — I see it as a market issue.”
The Big East pays referee's working its men's games 22% more, and Ackerman said there is no imminent plan to make a change.
Atlantic-10 Commissioner Bernadette McGlade said the market-based approach is what enables her to offer some of the highest per-game rates across the NCAA. “We get the most experienced, most qualified officials in the country,” she said.
Veteran referees officiating in the Atlantic-10 are paid $3,300 for men’s games, compared with $2,300 for women’s games, according to data reviewed by AP. Seven other conferences had higher per-game rates — and narrower gender gaps — last year, the data show.
Of the roughly 800 referees officiating women's basketball this past season, 43% were female, a proportion that’s been relatively consistent over the past decade. But just six women officiated men’s games last year — a number that has slowly grown over the last few years.
Penny Davis, the NCAA’s supervisor of officials, said conferences are trying to recruit more women to officiate men's games, which is another way to help bridge the gender pay gap.
But Davis says she would hate to see even fewer women refereeing women's basketball. “We don't want to lose our best and brightest,” she said.
A decade ago, referees working the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournament were paid equally. But as the profitability of the men’s tournament skyrocketed, it’s budget grew too -- and so did pay for referees.
Both McGlade and Ackerman praised the NCAA for restoring equal pay at the March tournaments. “We’re mindful of the what the NCAA did for the tournament,” Ackerman said. “NCAA Tournament games are closer but not entirely a common officiating experience.”
Ivy League executive director Robin Harris disagrees. “We decided a while ago that it was the right thing to do to pay them the same amount. They are doing the same job.”
___
AP College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo contributed to this story.
___
More AP women’s basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/More-NCAA-leagues-to-pay-women-s-basketball-17353562.php | 2022-08-05 08:34:38 | 0 | https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/More-NCAA-leagues-to-pay-women-s-basketball-17353562.php |
A nine-figure bargain? Yup, that’s what outfielder Brandon Nimmo could be for whichever club gets him to sign on the dotted line.
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The Athletic’s Eno Harris put together his list of the best free-agent bargains on the open market. It includes Nimmo, despite his lofty price tag. Here’s why:
Injury risk. Even if you pro-rate out his 2020 season, he’s had just three years with more than 140 games (or the equivalent) played over his six full seasons in the big leagues. Injuries to his neck, hip, finger, knee, wrist, quad and recurring injuries to his hamstrings make him a risk when it comes to penciling him into the lineup every day.
If the 29-year-old Nimmo can stay healthy, he could blossom into the All-Star the Mets had been waiting to see. Nimmo played in a career-high 151 games this season, setting personal bests in doubles (30) and RBI (64). Landing Nimmo is the Mets’ top priority after the club re-signed closer Edwin Diaz on Sunday.
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The New York Post’s Jon Heyman, The Athletic’s Jim Bowden and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel have projected contracts for many of the top free agents. Here’s what they are expecting for Nimmo:
Heyman: 7 years, $145 million.
Bowden: 5 years, $80 million.
McDaniel: 5 years, $118 million.
Among the teams expected to chase Nimmo is the Colorado Rockies. But on Tuesday, Heyman reported the New York Yankees connected with Nimmo, who’s seen as a backup plan if Aaron Judge leaves the Bronx.
MORE MLB:
- Potential Yankees, Mets free-agent target is looking for a Max Scherzer deal
- Red Sox designate ex-Mets reliever for assignment
- Yankees’ Aaron Judge backup plan includes ‘several surprising’ free agents | Mets slugger contacted
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Mike Rosenstein may be reached at mrosenstein@njadvancemedia.com. | https://www.nj.com/sports/2022/11/mets-brandon-nimmo-could-be-a-free-agent-bargain-despite-100-million-price-tag.html | 2022-11-16 15:18:49 | 1 | https://www.nj.com/sports/2022/11/mets-brandon-nimmo-could-be-a-free-agent-bargain-despite-100-million-price-tag.html |
GREENWICH, Conn., March 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Valiabiz, LLC, the first and only all-inclusive business management and development service, is proud to announce its latest plans to revolutionize the industry, a nationwide series of 'storefront' Valiabiz business centers, creating a luxurious and exclusive in-person experience for all its members nationwide.
The planned expansion would transform Valiabiz's entirely online business model into one which focuses on a face-to-face experience. Expansion plans call for the opening of 31 locations in various states over the next 18 months, starting with Miami, Fla. (420 Lincoln Rd., Miami, FL 33139) in June 2023.
"Valiabiz locations will offer members a high-quality luxurious environment never seen elsewhere," said Valiabiz CEO and Founder Christian Braman. "Having in-person locations will benefit our members tremendously by providing them the ability to meet with our team in-person and obtain experience through networking with other Valiabiz professionals and members."
Valiabiz locations are currently planned for Connecticut, Massachusetts, Georgia, Nevada, Illinois, Ohio, Texas, New York, California, New Jersey, Arizona, North Carolina, Tennessee, Maine, Colorado, Washington, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Utah, Maryland, South Carolina, Kentucky, Vermont, Delaware, Arkansas, and Rhode Island. Other states will be added to this list as leases are signed.
"We are pursuing this expansion because we believe it will allow our company to establish a public existence," said Braman. "It will also allow people to obtain the experience of working with us in-person as opposed to strictly online."
For more information about Valiabiz, LLC, its expansion plans, or to schedule an interview, contact Valiabiz Public Relations Manager Greg Chandler at (713) 482-1789 or greg@valiabiz.com.
ABOUT VALIABIZ, LLC: Founded in 2021 by Christian Braman, Greenwich, Conn. based Valiabiz, LLC is the subscription-based provider of professional business management and development services. We provide entrepreneurs with all essential services to start, scale and manage businesses of all shapes and sizes nationwide. Our team works directly with businesses to develop and implement new strategies and solutions.
Contact: Greg Chandler (greg@valiabiz.com)
(713) 482-1789
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SOURCE Valiabiz, LLC | https://www.wbrc.com/prnewswire/2023/03/23/valiabiz-outlines-plans-massive-national-storefront-expansion/ | 2023-03-23 22:09:27 | 0 | https://www.wbrc.com/prnewswire/2023/03/23/valiabiz-outlines-plans-massive-national-storefront-expansion/ |
WFO NORMAN Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Saturday, July 30, 2022
_____
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Norman OK
506 PM CDT Sat Jul 30 2022
...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of southeastern Clay
County through 545 PM CDT...
At 505 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 4
miles north of Newport, moving north at 20 mph.
HAZARD...Wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph and pea size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is
possible.
Locations impacted include...
Bellevue, Newport and Vashti.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm.
Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a safe
shelter inside a building or vehicle.
LAT...LON 3347 9812 3374 9808 3373 9798 3347 9798
3346 9809
TIME...MOT...LOC 2205Z 192DEG 17KT 3353 9800
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.25 IN
MAX WIND GUST...55 MPH
_____
Copyright 2022 AccuWeather | https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/weather/article/TX-WFO-NORMAN-Warnings-Watches-and-Advisories-17340563.php | 2022-07-30 22:21:08 | 0 | https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/weather/article/TX-WFO-NORMAN-Warnings-Watches-and-Advisories-17340563.php |
TUPELO – The National Park Service is teaming up with the Historic Preservation Training Center to rehabilitate a pair of Civil War battlefield sites in Lee County, starting this week.
The work at the Brice's Crossroads and Tupelo national battlefield sites will not only clean the monuments and markers but will utilize gentle methods and products designed specifically to preserve the stone and bronze elements. Workers will also repair the joints of the monuments using material that will match the existing historic mortar.
“The original mortar holding the monuments together is beginning to fail,” said National Park Service Resource Management Chief Chris Smith, “but in order to maintain their historic integrity, we asked the NPS’s National Center for Preservation Technology and Training to analyze samples so we could match the new mortar with the exact material and consistency of the original.”
The work at Brice's Crossroads began Monday. When it is completed, the crews will start the rehabilitation of the Tupelo National Battlefield.
Both sites were established by Congress in 1929 and administered by the War Department until transferred to the Department of Interior in 1933. Each 1-acre site consists of a large central monument flanked by cannons and carriages along with small commemorative markers.
The sites are remnants of the larger Civil War battlefields they commemorate and are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
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Error! There was an error processing your request. | https://www.djournal.com/news/park-service-begins-rehabilitation-work-at-local-battlefield-sites/article_eac46e3a-1f61-11ee-a27b-77f81d165e21.html | 2023-07-10 22:28:36 | 1 | https://www.djournal.com/news/park-service-begins-rehabilitation-work-at-local-battlefield-sites/article_eac46e3a-1f61-11ee-a27b-77f81d165e21.html |
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been reaffirming ties with the United States in a key turnaround from the often-hostile demeanor his predecessor displayed toward Manila’s treaty ally.
Marcos Jr., who marks his 100th day in office Saturday, inherited daunting problems at home, including a coronavirus pandemic-battered economy, soaring inflation, unemployment and mounting foreign and domestic debt, in addition to longstanding poverty and decades-old insurgencies.
In terms of foreign policy, a key focus in his first months in office has been to rekindle U.S.-Philippines relations.
But Marcos Jr., 65, is the namesake son of the dictator who was ousted in a 1986 pro-democracy uprising amid widespread human rights atrocities and plunder. He has defended his father’s legacy. Given U.S. President Joe Biden’s high-profile advocacy for democracy and human rights, more than a few have been surprised over the goodwill that has unfolded between the leaders in recent months.
“It’s a quantum leap,” Manila-based analyst Richard Heydarian said. “Marcos Jr. is, ironically, seen as a breath of fresh air in the United States.”
America’s relations with the Philippines — its oldest treaty ally in Asia — entered a difficult period under former President Rodrigo Duterte. During his time at the country’s helm from 2016, he threatened to sever ties with Washington, kick visiting American forces out and once attempted to abrogate a major defense pact with the U.S. while nurturing cozy ties with China and Russia.
Duterte made five visits to China and two to Russia but vowed never to set foot in America. He had bristled at U.S. criticisms of his notoriously deadly crackdown against illegal drugs, including by then-President Barack Obama, whom he cursed and asked in a speech “to go to hell.”
But Duterte’s successor took a different approach.
Last month, Marcos Jr. flew to the U.S. to deliver a speech at the U.N. General Assembly and met Biden for the first time on the sidelines. Biden was the first world leader to call and congratulate Marcos Jr. after his landslide victory in the May 9 elections.
“We’ve had some rocky times, but the fact is, it’s a critical, critical relationship, from our perspective. I hope you feel the same way,” Biden told Marcos Jr. in a news conference.
“We continue to look to the United States for that continuing partnership and the maintenance of peace in our region,” Marcos Jr. told Biden. “We are your partners. We are your allies. We are your friends.”
Marcos Jr. brought key Cabinet members and a business delegation to meet potential American investors. At a New York Stock Exchange economic forum, he underscored Manila’s commitment to engage Washington: “I cannot see the Philippines in the future without having the United States as a partner.”
Investment pledges worth about $4 billion were secured in his U.S. visit, which could generate more than 100,000 jobs in the Philippines, officials said.
“After six years of destructive populism under Duterte, he suddenly came out as a kind of a much-welcome statesman in the eyes of many foreign partners,” analyst Heydarian said of Marcos Jr., adding that the Philippine leader was expected to continue fostering close ties with Beijing despite his overtures to the U.S.
Marcos Jr. has refused calls by opponents to apologize for the abuses under the dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980s. He has stayed away from controversies surrounding his late father and their family, especially during the electoral campaign. He and his running mate — now Vice President Sara Duterte — steadfastly stuck to a call for national unity despite the deep divisions the Marcos dictatorship and Rodrigo Duterte, her father, had caused.
In instances when the issues came up unexpectedly, however, Marcos Jr. has been defensive, saying in a recent Philippine TV interview that it was wrong for his father to be called a dictator.
In an interview with The Associated Press while he was in New York, Marcos Jr. said it was useless to go into endless debates about the past.
“I’m not about to change my political position,” he said. “They clearly are not about to change their political position either. So, what’s the point?”
“They put you there to help, to be of service and so, that’s what I will do.” Marcos Jr. said.
Still, Biden’s officials have said human rights were at the top of the agenda in each of their engagements with Marcos Jr. and his officials.
As Marcos Jr. rose to power, the U.S. was embarking on a strategy to considerably broaden American engagement by strengthening a web of security alliances and partnerships amid China’s growing influence and ambitions.
American officials have repeatedly assured the Philippines they would honor their treaty obligations if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under attack in the disputed South China Sea, where Beijing, Manila and four other governments have been locked in territorial rifts for decades.
The northern Philippines is strategically located across a strait from Taiwan and could serve as a crucial outpost in case tensions worsen between China and the self-governed island.
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Associated Press journalist Aaron Favila contributed to this report.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the Asia-Pacific region at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific | https://phl17.com/news/international/ap-international/ap-marcos-jr-reaffirms-us-ties-in-first-100-days-of-presidency/ | 2022-10-07 18:06:43 | 0 | https://phl17.com/news/international/ap-international/ap-marcos-jr-reaffirms-us-ties-in-first-100-days-of-presidency/ |
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Tight end Johnny Langan threw and caught a touchdown pass as Rutgers rolled to a 66-7 rout of Wagner on Saturday.
Highly-touted recruit Gavin Wimsatt made his first career start at quarterback, but Rutgers coach Greg Schiano continued to jockey the position between the redshirt freshman and third-year sophomore Evan Simon. Veteran signal caller Noah Vedral remained out with an upper-body injury.
After Wagner opened the game with a 31-yard pass play, Rutgers' defense tightened and stopped the Seahawks on fourth-and-4. Rutgers proceeded to go down the field on an 11-play, 62-yard drive spanning 4:27, capped by a Kyle Monangai 2-yard touchdown run to take an early lead.
Simon later threw a 40-yard touchdown pass, Wimsatt added a 41-yarder and Langan connected with Isaiah Washington on a 43-yard touchdown pass as the Scarlet Knights (2-0) scored on their first four possessions.
Nick Kargman found Jayvin Little in the back of the end zone for a 8-yard touchdown pass-and-catch to cap an eight-play, 75-yard drive early in the second quarter for Wagner (0-2).
Simon threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Langan late in the second quarter to stretch the Scarlet Knights' lead to 38-7 at halftime.
Rutgers finished with 585 yards of offense that included 323 yards on the ground. Simon threw for 156 yards on 10-of-13 passing. Wimsatt completed 4 of 11 passes for 63 yards. Samuel Brown had a pair of touchdown runs for the Scarlet Knights. Al-Shadee Salaam and Rashad Rochelle each ran for scores.
Wagner was held to just 19 yards rushing and 111 yards overall.
THE TAKEAWAY
Rutgers did what it was supposed to do against the overmatched team from the Northeast Conference. Traveling to Temple next week serves as a bit more of a test, but the Scarlet Knights have a chance to be 3-0 when they host Iowa on Sept. 24.
UP NEXT
Wagner: Hosts St. Francis (PA) on Saturday.
Rutgers: At Temple on Saturday.
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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/ap_top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://bit.ly/3pqZVaF | https://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/Rutgers-jumps-out-early-routs-Wagner-66-7-17433078.php | 2022-09-11 00:59:01 | 1 | https://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/Rutgers-jumps-out-early-routs-Wagner-66-7-17433078.php |
NEW YORK (PIX11) — Streets across the five boroughs are packed, but Mayor Eric Adams said Sunday he sees a way toward a car-free future in New York City.
He said he loves concept, noting it would help with the environment. Adams explained there’s a lot that would need to be done to get there.
“Number one, we have to have a safe, reliable, affordable public transportation system,” he said. “Buses, trains, and so much new technology and method of movement that we’re going to be rolling out.”
While Adams doubts a car-free NYC will happen when he’s in office, he said people will “see a more reliable transportation infrastructure, and you’re going to really minimize the amount of vehicles that are used on our streets.”
“I think that’s where we’re going. And when you look at other cities across the globe, they’re leaning in that direction as well,” Adams said. | https://pix11.com/news/local-news/adams-loves-idea-of-car-free-future-for-nyc/ | 2022-10-30 23:06:00 | 1 | https://pix11.com/news/local-news/adams-loves-idea-of-car-free-future-for-nyc/ |
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Domino's Pizza Inc. (DPZ) on Thursday reported first-quarter earnings of $104.8 million.
The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company said it had net income of $2.93 per share.
The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $2.66 per share.
The pizza chain posted revenue of $1.02 billion in the period, falling short of Street forecasts. Eight analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $1.03 billion.
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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on DPZ at https://www.zacks.com/ap/DPZ | https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/business/article/domino-s-pizza-q1-earnings-snapshot-17922061.php | 2023-04-27 12:17:57 | 0 | https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/business/article/domino-s-pizza-q1-earnings-snapshot-17922061.php |
Ellie Bridgman spent her Thursday night shift at a local gas station in Union, Missouri, planning for the day she’ll lose access to gender-affirming treatments the transgender and nonbinary 23-year-old credits with making “life worth living.”
A first-of-its-kind emergency rule introduced this week by Missouri’s Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey will impose numerous restrictions on both adults and children before they can receive puberty-blocking drugs, hormones or surgeries “for the purpose of transitioning gender.”
Transgender rights advocates have vowed to challenge the rule in court before it takes effect April 27. But promises of swift legal action have done little to ease the worries of trans Missourians like Bridgman who say it may be time to flee the state.
Before gender-affirming medical treatments can be provided by physicians, the regulation requires people to have experienced an “intense pattern” of documented gender dysphoria for three years and to have received at least 15 hourly sessions with a therapist over at least 18 months. Patients also would first have to be screened for autism and “social media addiction,” and any psychiatric symptoms from mental health issues would have to be treated and resolved.
Some individuals will be allowed to maintain their prescriptions while they promptly receive the required assessments.
Bridgman, who uses she/they pronouns, is autistic and has depression. She said she sees only two options: move across the country, away from all her friends and family, to a state that protects access to gender-affirming care, or accept the serious health risks that could come with illegally buying hormones online.
She headed to a pharmacy Friday afternoon to pay out of pocket for all her remaining refills.
“Placing restrictions on transitioning for people with depression is just a way for them to completely bar us from transitioning at all,” Bridgman said. “For lots of trans people, dysphoria is the cause of depression. You can’t treat the depression without treating the underlying dysphoria.”
Before Bridgman started hormone replacement therapy last summer, she said “life felt meaningless” and suicidal thoughts crowded her head. Gender-affirming care was her “last chance at life,” she said.
The regulation comes as Republican lawmakers across the country, including in Missouri, have advanced hundreds of measures aimed at nearly every facet of transgender existence, with a particular emphasis on health care.
At least 13 states have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming care for minors. Bills await action from governors in Montana, North Dakota and neighboring Kansas, and nearly two dozen other states are considering legislation to restrict or ban care.
National groups advocating for LGBTQ+ rights contend the Missouri regulation — based on a state law against deceptive and unfair business practices — goes further than most restrictions enacted elsewhere.
Three states have imposed restrictions on gender-affirming care via regulation or administrative order, but Missouri’s regulation is the only one that also limits treatments for adults.
Cathy Renna, a spokesperson for the National LGBTQ Task Force, said the rule demonstrates how Republicans are now successfully broadening the scope of gender-affirming care restrictions beyond minors, which advocates had been warning about for months.
“When they see one thing work in one state, they’ll try to replicate it in another,” Renna warned.
Bailey’s restriction comes after a former employee at a transgender youth clinic in St. Louis alleged that physicians at the Washington University Transgender Center were rushing to provide treatment without appropriate patient assessment.
Bailey said he is investigating the clinic but has not yet issued a report. The claims of mistreatment have been disputed by others, including another former employee and patients. Neither Bailey nor the university responded to phone and email messages seeking comment.
Dr. Meredithe McNamara, an assistant professor of pediatrics specializing in adolescent medicine at the Yale School of Medicine, said evidence widely supports maintaining access to hormone therapy and other gender-affirming care.
As part of a consent process, Bailey’s rule requires that patients be shown materials containing nearly two dozen specific statements raising concerns about gender-affirming treatments — a practice doctors like McNamara have denounced as a form of conversion therapy.
“There is no evidence that shows that psychotherapy as the only treatment is effective,” she said.
Stacy Cay, an autistic trans woman in Kansas City, has been stockpiling vials of injectable estrogen in anticipation of restrictions. The 30-year-old comedian and model realized she only required a small dose and has saved up enough estrogen to last about a year. When that runs out, she will have to travel across state lines to fill prescriptions or consider moving elsewhere.
Cay said her persistent depression will cut off her access to hormones under the regulation and that her autism diagnosis could complicate her path to receiving future care. While the regulation does not specify whether autism disqualifies a person for gender-affirming care, it does mandate an assessment.
A 2020 study from natural sciences journal Nature Communications estimated that transgender and gender-diverse people, or those whose gender expressions do not conform to gender norms, are 3-6 times more likely to be autistic compared to cisgender people. They were also more likely to have other developmental and psychiatric conditions, including depression.
“They know a lot of us are autistic, and it’s part of their strategy to paint us as unstable — that we can’t be trusted to make our own medical decisions,” Cay said.
Attorneys from Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union say they plan to challenge the new rule in court.
Missouri falls under the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — the same court that upheld a preliminary injunction last year preventing Arkansas from enforcing a first-in-the-nation ban on trans children receiving gender-affirming treatments. Federal judges have also blocked enforcement of a similar law in Alabama.
Republican legislators leading Missouri’s effort to ban gender-affirming treatments for minors said Friday that they have no plans to expand their legislation to include adults.
Separate bills passed by the Missouri House and Senate would ban treatments for children younger than 18 but would impose no restrictions for adults who are covered by private insurance or willing to pay for their own health care.
“I believe it is detrimental to a person’s body, probably even their psyche, to go through treatments like that,” said state Sen. Mike Moon, lead sponsor of the Senate legislation. “Adults have the opportunity to make decisions such as these.”
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Schoenbaum reported from Raleigh, North Carolina, and Lieb reported from Jefferson City. Associated Press editor Jeff McMillan contributed from Scranton, Pennsylvania. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/life-health/health/transgender-adults-brace-for-treatment-cutoffs-in-missouri/ | 2023-04-15 15:52:32 | 0 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/life-health/health/transgender-adults-brace-for-treatment-cutoffs-in-missouri/ |
Nudist camp closing in Vermont after 60 years
MILTON, Vt. (WCAX/Gray News) - As Vermont’s only nude resort is closing after nearly 60 years, former campers are remembering the good times.
Along the shores of Long Pond in Milton lies the Coventry Club, a 46-acre campground where people from across the world swap swimsuits for birthday suits.
“Our second day here, we fell in love with the place and the people. It’s a big family. You can’t find anyone better,” said Gentle Bear who, along with countless other campers, has celebrated the nude way of life.
Coventry bills itself as a family-oriented naturist club and campground, providing a fun and safe environment. Around 100 people would visit every year, embracing the great outdoors and body acceptance.
Gentle Bear has spent the last five summers there.
“We come in May and we leave in October. This is the end of it,” he said.
In a letter to members posted earlier this month, the owners announced the sale of the campground and said they’re looking forward to retirement.
They said they tried to find a buyer to keep Coventry as a nude resort. Instead, the land will be sold to a family.
“This is the only place like this in the northeast and maybe in the U.S.,” said Mark Ozenich.
He said Thanksgiving will mark 20 years since he first came to Coventry as a camper. He lives there year-round but said he will likely have to leave Vermont.
“Housing in Vermont is very scarce, and housing for a senior citizen is even scarcer, so it leaves me scrambling for a place to live,” Ozenich said.
The state of Vermont is a unique place when it comes to nudism. It’s fully legal to be naked in public, but it’s illegal to disrobe in public.
Statewide, there are several nude beaches and events, including the annual Montpelier Naked Bike Ride.
“I would say it’s a natural way of being,” said Erich Schuttauf with the American Association for Nude Recreation. He said spending time outdoors au naturel goes back hundreds of years to America’s founding.
“We all carry scars. We all carry a few pounds that we could use -- most of us. Once you realize people are people, it is a very freeing experience,” he said.
In Milton, there has been an outpouring of support from former campers young and old, saying Coventry gave them the space to live their best lives and be free.
Copyright 2022 WCAX via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.mysuncoast.com/2022/11/17/nudist-camp-closing-vermont-after-60-years/ | 2022-11-17 17:09:28 | 0 | https://www.mysuncoast.com/2022/11/17/nudist-camp-closing-vermont-after-60-years/ |
Studies have shown that there is a link between menopause and Alzheimer’s disease. Professor of Psychiatry, Dr. Julie Dumas, joined Gayle Guyardo, the host of the nationally syndicated health and wellness show, Bloom, to share more about the impact menopause has on the brain and its connection to Alzheimer’s disease.
You can watch Bloom in the Tampa Bay Market weekdays at 2pm on WFLA News Channel 8.
Bloom also airs in 40 markets across the country, with a reach of approximately 36 million households, and in Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and Madison, WI. | https://www.wfla.com/bloom/the-link-between-menopause-and-alzheimers/ | 2022-10-18 22:50:14 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/bloom/the-link-between-menopause-and-alzheimers/ |
MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) — Droughts, flooding and a shrinking Lake Chad caused in part by climate change is fueling conflict and migration in the region and needs to be better addressed, a report said Thursday.
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Human rights group Refugees International called for the issue to be central to a high-level international conference on the Lake Chad basin next week in Niamey, Niger's capital.
The report found that shrinking natural resources due to adverse weather are heightening tensions across communities and displacing people. It said that around 3 million people have been displaced and an additional 11 million were in need of humanitarian assistance.
“For too long, insufficient attention has been paid to how climate change fuels violence and displacement," report lead author Alexandra Lamarche told The Associated Press. "International responses to the Lake Chad basin crisis have singularly focused on the presence of armed groups.”
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A 13-year insurgency of the Boko Haram extremist group and other militant groups have destabilized the Lake Chad basin and the wider Sahel region. The basin is shared between Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria.
The Lake Chad region is facing “much more than a climate and ecological crisis,” said Mabingue Ngom, the senior advisor to the executive director of the United Nations population agency. "It is a humanitarian issue touching on peace and regional development.”
The United Nations weather agency warned that Lake Chad basin “is particularly vulnerable to climate change related extreme events such as floods and droughts” and issued alerts that “extreme events will likely become more abundant causing more frequent droughts and flooding with impacts on food security and general security in the region.”
Lamarche noted that the Logone Birni commune in northern Cameroon was particularly vulnerable to increasing violence as climate change worsens.
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“Fighting over access to natural resources (in Logone Birni) forced 60,000 people to seek refuge in neighboring Chad in late 2021,” Lamarche said.
The Lake Chad basin in west and central Africa covers 8% of the African continent and is home to 42 million people whose livelihoods revolve around pastoralism, fishing and farming, according to figures from the Lake Chad Basin Commission.
The U.N. environment agency notes that Lake Chad has shrunk 90% in 60 years, which climate change a significant contributor. Irrigation, the construction of dams and population increase were also to blame.
A provisional agenda of next week's summit seen by The Associated Press suggests that the “adverse impacts of climate change” will feature as part of peacebuilding and humanitarian efforts.
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Lamarche said the conference is “the perfect opportunity for international donors to commit to long-term solutions to address the nexus between climate change, violence, and displacement in the region.”
The meeting in Niamey will be the third high-level summit on the lake’s basin.
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Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Report-Climate-change-fueling-conflict-in-Lake-17727275.php | 2023-01-19 08:01:52 | 0 | https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Report-Climate-change-fueling-conflict-in-Lake-17727275.php |
Could Geno Smith really be the long-term answer for the Seahawks at quarterback?
That, and more, in this week’s Seahawks Twitter mailbag (with questions lightly edited for clarity).
We’ll start with two questions on the same Smith-related topic.
@noahdpeterson asked: “At what point is quarterback not the priority for the 2023 draft anymore… in other words is there any world where Geno plays his way into being THE guy going forward?’’
@wenfot asked: “Given how well Geno is doing and that (I believe) he is on a one-year contract, how difficult do you think it will be to re-sign him?’’
I’ll tackle these together since they each touch on what is a suddenly interesting point of discussion — what do the Seahawks do if Smith continues to play as he has (though it’s asking a lot to complete 77% of his passes for the season) and proves he can be a viable option for the future?
My answer to the first is that the Seahawks — if they are in position to do so — probably still take a quarterback on 2023.
Smith turns 32 on Oct. 10, so while he’s not old, age is a consideration.
And in the “Always Compete” world of the Seahawks, I don’t think there’d be any hesitation about bringing on a young QB to either compete with or to learn from Smith for a year or two. Remember, Seahawks GM John Schneider comes from Green Bay where the Packers famously drafted Aaron Rodgers when they had a then 35-year-old Brett Favre and were known for always having a full slate of talented QBs on its roster.
But the second question plays into the first — Smith is on just a one-year contract, so what each side would have to do first is decide if Smith comes back, and at what price. Recall that Smith didn’t sign this year until mid-April, admitting later he considered signing elsewhere.
Smith eventually agreed to a one-year deal — his fourth straight year signing a one-year contract with Seattle — for up to $3.5 million with only $500,000 guaranteed at the time of signing.
“Yeah, I was definitely thinking about some other offers,” Smith said in June. “I obviously wanted to be back here, but had a few teams interested. I was just kind of in the waiting period at that time. But I’m glad I’m here and I’m glad that it all worked out and I was able to get signed here.”
If Smith keeps playing like this, he’ll have more teams interested next year, and more leverage, so Seattle would first have to solve Smith’s future before thinking about the draft. Seattle can re-sign Smith at any time if it wants. But Smith might also want to see what his market might be.
Interestingly, Seattle has no money committed to quarterbacks beyond 2022 as Drew Lock is also in the last year of his contract.
There’s still a long way to go. But the topic of Smith’s future with Seattle is an increasingly interesting one.
@TerryGarrido asked: Should Pete (Carroll) be a bit more thoughtful when throwing out that challenge flag?
Carroll certainly took a flyer on two challenges Sunday that he predictably lost.
First, near the end of the first quarter, Carroll challenged the ruling of a completed pass on a Detroit fake punt from its own 35-yard line.
Then, with 2:08 remaining, he challenged the ruling of a completed pass on a first down that took the Lions from their own 25 to the their own 38.
Losing each meant Seattle had to give up a timeout.
Carroll explained the first as saying that “the magnitude” of what Seattle could have gotten — the ball at the Detroit 35 already holding a 14-6 lead — made it worth it. He also said Seattle coaches had not seen a replay when he had to decide whether to throw the challenge flag. “So I just said ‘screw it. I don’t care,’” Carroll said.
And indeed, one can argue that the value of one first-half timeout is maybe worth taking a shot such as that — Seattle ended up using only one other timeout.
As for the second, Seattle had two timeouts left and a 48-38 lead. Carroll called each “competitive moments” but said there can be value in simply slowing the game down — obviously meaning giving his defense a bit of a break. Seattle ended up not using its last time out of the second half.
“I don’t care about the fricking timeouts when I’m battling like that,” Carroll said.
The cost of a second-half timeout for such a challenge feels like more than one for the cost of a first-half timeout. But obviously time, score, situation also play into those decisions. Carroll was probably playing the odds that the timeout wouldn’t be needed.
Those were the first two challenges of the season for the Seahawks.
According to Pro Football Reference, Carroll challenged five last year, winning two and losing three.
According to PFR, he has challenged 107 calls in his NFL head coaching career, with 58 upheld and 49 overturned.
But Carroll said on his radio show the numbers don’t bother him.
“I’m not really worried about that percentage,” he said, saying the challenges Sunday were “total Pete seat of the pants” decisions.
@Jimthomsen asked: Do the Seahawks’ performance and outcome against the Lions have much predictive value, given the Lions’ injuries and the Lions’ Lions-ness?
The Seahawks have certainly played to their opposition so far.
It was just two weeks ago that Seattle was essentially shut out by the 49ers, scoring on a blocked field goal return, a game that raised lots of questions about the offense.
But proving what everyone thought going into the game, the 49ers appear to have one of the best — if not the best — defenses in the NFL.
As tweeted Tuesday by Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle, “the #49es are allowing just 3.81 yards per play, which would be the lowest figure in the NFL since 1977.”
The 49ers have also allowed just one offensive touchdown in their last three games. So, that game looks a little more explainable for Seattle now.
As for the offense exploding against Detroit, there’s precedent for that, too. The Lions have allowed 141 points, on pace for the most for a season in NFL history.
The Seahawks would counter that it was after the 49ers game that they opened up the offense more. But it’s also easier to open up an offense against a struggling defense. Seattle has scored 23 and 48 points the last two weeks against Atlanta and the Lions, which rank in the bottom eight in the NFL in points allowed, while behind held to 24 total, and 17 by the offense, against the 49ers and Denver, which rank among the top five in the NFL in fewest points allowed.
The good news there is that Seattle continues to play some struggling defenses the next three weeks — New Orleans, 20th in points allowed, Arizona (28th) and the Chargers (30th).
So maybe a better question to answer in three weeks. | https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/seahawks/can-geno-smith-play-his-way-into-a-permanent-role-with-the-seahawks/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_seahawks | 2022-10-04 23:03:10 | 0 | https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/seahawks/can-geno-smith-play-his-way-into-a-permanent-role-with-the-seahawks/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_seahawks |
President Biden on Wednesday will host South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol for an official state visit at the White House, putting the spotlight on the relationship between the U.S. and a key ally in Asia.
Biden and the first lady will welcome Yoon and his wife in a formal ceremony, followed by a bilateral meeting, a press conference and a formal state dinner with lawmakers, administration officials and special guests.
The visit will commemorate 70 years of the alliance between the U.S. and South Korea, officials said.
Here are the key items expected to be on the agenda.
Leaked documents
A trove of leaked government documents included multiple mentions of South Korea, frustrating some lawmakers in Seoul and forcing the Biden administration to do clean up.
The documents detailed U.S. requests for South Korea to provide ammunition to Ukraine in its war against Russia. Support for Ukraine is a thorny issue for South Korea, as it is hoping to garner support from Russia to reign in missile tests by North Korea.
Yoon and his top officials have downplayed the severity of the leak, arguing it would have no negative impact on the U.S.-South Korea relationship. Some South Korean lawmakers, however, have argued the leak was a breach of trust that called for an apology from the U.S., according to The New York Times.
“I believe that this matter is no reason to shake the ironclad trust that supports the U.S.-South Korea alliance, because it is based on shared values like freedom,” Yoon told NBC News on Monday.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday said U.S. officials are engaging with allies and partners, including in South Korea, to “reassure them of our commitment to safeguarding intelligence and fidelity to our security partnerships.”
“Our commitment to the [Republic of Korea] is ironclad and has been and will continue to be so,” she said.
North Korea
A central focus of the meeting will likely be how the two leaders can deal with North Korea, which has been more aggressively testing missiles in recent months.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Monday that Biden “will reinforce and enhance our extended deterrence commitments to South Korea with respect to the threat the DPRK poses.”
Administration officials said Biden and his team will underscore their commitment to diplomatic efforts on the peninsula, as well as the importance of human rights.
“We are ready to meet at any time, at any place to address serious concerns, and we are open to the possibility of humanitarian assistance with appropriate safeguards to help the people of the DPRK,” Sullivan said.
Tensions on the peninsula have been heightened over the past year in particular. North Korea has launched roughly 100 missiles since the start of 2022, putting South Korea and Japan in particular on high alert.
North Korea has also taken issue with joint military drills between the U.S. and South Korea, viewing it as a threat.
Biden administration officials have stressed that they are willing to keep diplomatic channels with North Korea open, though they have not had the same level of contact as the Trump administration, where then-President Trump and then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo both met with Kim Jong-Un.
Economic ties
Biden and Yoon are likely to highlight the growing economic ties between their two nations during Wednesday’s meetings and public statements.
The Biden administration announced earlier this year that Korean solar power company Hanwha Q Cells will spend more than $2.5 billion to expand its Dalton, Ga., facility, the largest one-time investment in solar manufacturing in U.S. history.
Ahead of this week’s visit, General Motors and South Korea’s Samsung SDI announced plans to invest more than $3 billion in a new electric vehicle battery cell plant in the United States, which would begin operations in 2026.
“Investment by ROK companies in the United States shows great confidence in the U.S. economy and where the United States is going,” a senior administration official told reporters Tuesday.
Indo-Pacific strategy
Officials framed this week’s state visit as part of a broader effort by the Biden administration to bolster its alliances in the Indo-Pacific to counter Chinese influence.
A senior administration official noted that the state visit will mark the fifth time Biden has met with the leader of South Korea since taking office. Biden will also travel to the region next month for the Group of Seven (G-7) summit, which is being held in Japan.
“It’s important to place this visit in the larger context of President biden taking the necessary steps to really step up our game fundamentally across the Indo-Pacific,” the official said..
The senior administration official noted the Biden administration has worked with South Korea to redirect some of its economic and technology investments that have previously gone to China so that they now go to the United States.
And Sullivan on Monday celebrated that Yoon “has also shown determination and courage in his moves to improve ties between the ROK and Japan, an issue that has long been of deep interest to President Biden.”
Press conference
Biden and Yoon will hold a joint press conference with reporters from both nations on Wednesday, which is common during state visits but has become less of a staple of foreign leader visits under the Biden administration.
White House reporters have pressed Jean-Pierre and other administration officials in recent weeks over the lack of formal press conferences with Biden, which have in the past been standard during foreign leader visits. Jean-Pierre has typically said it is a joint decision made with the visiting foreign leader.
Biden has in the past few months hosted foreign leaders from Brazil, Ireland and Colombia, but has not held a joint press conference with any of them. He also did not hold a press conference during a recent trip to the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
In some cases, such as when the Colombian president visited last week, foreign leaders have opted to speak to reporters solo outside the West Wing. | https://www.wivb.com/news/political-news/hill-politics/what-to-watch-for-as-biden-hosts-south-korean-leader-for-state-visit/ | 2023-04-26 11:52:38 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/political-news/hill-politics/what-to-watch-for-as-biden-hosts-south-korean-leader-for-state-visit/ |
Little Rock police on Monday said they were investigating a fatal shooting just north of Mabelvale Cutoff Road.
In a statement posted on Twitter at about noon, police said officers were dispatched at around 8:30 a.m. to the shooting at 10124 Whispering Pines Drive, west of Chicot Road.
Authorities said they found a man dead from an apparent gunshot wound. Officers secured the scene, according to the statement. The victim's name wasn't immediately released.
Preliminary information suggests this was an isolated shooting, police said. The investigation is ongoing.
Authorities asked anyone who has information about the shooting to call the department at (501) 371-4636. | https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2022/aug/01/one-person-dead-in-little-rock-police-advise-people-to-avoid-scene/ | 2022-08-01 19:43:13 | 0 | https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2022/aug/01/one-person-dead-in-little-rock-police-advise-people-to-avoid-scene/ |
One by one, several of Donald Trump’s former top advisers have told a special House committee investigating his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection that they didn’t believe his lies about the 2020 election, and that the former president knew he lost to Joe Biden.
But instead of convincing Trump’s most stalwart supporters, testimony from former attorney general Bill Barr and Trump’s daughter Ivanka about the election and the attack on the U.S. Capitol is prompting many of them to simply reassert their views that the former president was correct in his false claim of victory.
Barr’s testimony that Trump was repeatedly told there was no election fraud? He was paid off by a voting machine company, according to one false claim that went viral this week. Ivanka Trump saying she didn’t believe Trump either? It’s all part of Trump’s grand plan to confuse his enemies and save America.
The claims again demonstrate how deeply rooted Trump’s false narrative about the election has become.
“It’s cognitive dissonance,” said Jennifer Stromer-Galley, a Syracuse University professor who has studied how Trump used social media and advertising to mobilize his base. “If you believe what Trump says, and now Bill Barr and Trump’s own daughter are saying these other things, it creates a crack, and people have to fill it.”
The lawmakers leading the hearings into the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol said one of their goals is to show how Trump repeatedly lied to his supporters in an effort to hold onto power and subvert American democracy.
“President Trump invested millions of dollars of campaign funds purposely spreading false information, running ads he knew were false, and convincing millions of Americans that the election was corrupt and he was the true president,” said Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the panel’s vice chair. “As you will see, this misinformation campaign provoked the violence on January 6th.”
For those who accept Trump’s baseless claims, Barr’s testimony was especially jarring. In his interview with investigators, he detailed Trump’s many absurd allegations about the election 2020, calling them “bogus” and “idiotic.”
Barr told the committee when he talked with Trump, “there was never an indication of interest in what the actual facts were.”
“He’s become detached from reality if he really believes this stuff,” Barr said.
Following his testimony, many Trump supporters using sites like Reddit, GETTR and Telegram blasted Barr as a turncoat and noted that he’s disputed Trump’s election claims before.
But many others began grasping for alternative explanations for this testimony.
“I’m still hoping Barr is playing a role,” one poster said on a Telegram channel popular with Trump supporters.
One post that spread widely this week suggested Barr was paid by Dominion Voting Systems, a company targeted by Trump and his supporters with baseless claims of vote rigging. “From 2009 to 2018, DOMINION PAID BARR $1.2 million in cash and granted him another $1.1 million in stock awards, according to SEC filings. (No wonder Barr can’t find any voter fraud!),” the post read.
Wrong Dominion. Barr was paid by Dominion Energy, a publicly traded company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, that provides power and heat to customers in several mid-Atlantic states.
Unlike Barr, Ivanka Trump has remained intensely popular with many Trump supporters and is seen by many as her father’s potential successor. That may be why so many had to find an an alternative explanation for why she told Congress she didn’t accept her father’s claims.
Jordan Sather, a leading proponent of the QAnon theory, claims both Barr and Ivanka Trump lied during their testimony on Trump’s orders, part of an elaborate scheme to defeat Trump’s enemies by confusing Congress and the American public.
“I can just imagine Donald Trump telling Ivanka: ’Hey, go to this hearing, say these things. Screw with their heads,’” Sather said last week on his online show.
Some Trump supporters dismissed Ivanka Trump’s testimony entirely by questioning whether any of it was real. That’s another common refrain seen on far-right message boards. Many posters say they don’t even believe the hearings are happening, but are a Hollywood production starring stand-ins for the former president’s daughter and others.
“She looks different in a big way,” one poster asked on Telegram. “CGI?” | https://www.yourbasin.com/news/jan-6-witnesses-push-trump-stalwarts-back-to-rabbit-hole/ | 2022-06-18 20:15:33 | 0 | https://www.yourbasin.com/news/jan-6-witnesses-push-trump-stalwarts-back-to-rabbit-hole/ |
Execs: US casinos learned some useful lessons from pandemic
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — The COVID pandemic forced most U.S. casinos to close for months, causing payrolls, revenue and earnings to tumble.
But the forced shutdowns and highly regulated recoveries also taught the industry useful lessons that will endure even after the pandemic is a distant memory, panelists at a major casino conference said Thursday.
Speaking at the East Coast Gaming Congress, executives from several major regional gambling companies and one of the world’s largest said the changes they were forced to make because of the pandemic had some benefits.
“It forced us and gave us the ability to say to our guests that things that used to be viewed as an entitlement, maybe they don’t need them as much as they thought they did,” said Jim Allen, chairman of Hard Rock International. “Do you need a buffet? Should you have a buffet?”
The conference was held in the Hard Rock casino in Atlantic City, whose buffet is still operating. Some of Hard Rock’s casinos in other states, including Florida, offer buffets while others do not. States have differing rules and health guidance that the company follows, Allen said.
David Cordish, chairman of the Cordish Companies, which operates casinos in Pennsylvania, Florida and Maryland, said the pandemic offered his business an opportunity “to tighten the ship.”
“We have not gone back to buffets,” he said. “It certainly wasn’t fun. Being closed for months was horrendous for employees. But there were a lot of lessons learned.
“What we did — and we may need to do it again — is when we were shut, we put in every possible type of health and safety screening you could do,” including hand sanitizers and barriers between player positions at table games, measures that were commonly adapted at casinos across the country.
Cordish said those expenses paid off handsomely once the casinos were allowed to reopen in mid 2020.
“People were fed up with being cooped up and came pouring back to the casinos, particularly when we did these things,” he said. “Since we reopened, business has been terrific.”
Daily housekeeping of casino hotel rooms has become another casualty of the pandemic in some places. In June, Atlantic City’s main casino workers’ union filed a complaint with the state that four casinos were failing to clean guest hotel rooms daily as required by law, and one admitted it did not have enough housekeepers to clean every room every day.
Hospitality industry leaders say the combination of a shortage of housekeeping workers and the reluctance of some guests to allow hotel workers into their rooms during their stay has led to the abandonment of a daily room cleaning standard in resorts across the country.
One lingering effect of the pandemic is smaller payrolls. This is due both to workers who were let go during or shortly after the closures and have not been rehired, and a continuing difficulty in attracting new workers across the gambling industry, as with many others.
Jayson Guyot, president and CEO of Connecticut’s Foxwoods Resort Casino, said he ordered a complete restructuring of the business from top to bottom during the closure— something that would have been difficult to do had it still been operating.
“It enabled us to rebuild our margins from 10 to 13% to 18 to 20% now,” he said.
But he also voiced a common concern: Foxwoods has not yet returned to its pre-pandemic business levels.
That is a major preoccupation for Atlantic City’s casinos, which collectively have yet to return to 2019 revenue and profit levels for in-person gambling.
Second-quarter earnings, released in August, show that five of Atlantic City’s nine casinos failed to exceed their pre-pandemic profit levels, and the resort as a whole saw a decrease in profits of nearly 1%.
Atlantic City has thousands less casino workers than it did before the pandemic struck. It, like virtually every other casino market, has struggled to attract new workers and retain existing ones.
Hard Rock recently made headlines by spending $100 million to give big raises to 10,000 non-tipped workers, most of them in the U.S. Other companies have given smaller raises recently. Foxwoods has raised its hourly minimum wage from $10.50 two years ago to $14.50 now, Guyot said.
But the forced slimdown has enabled many casinos to learn to make do with fewer workers, whether by choice or not.
“We carried as many employees as we could (during the closure), but you can’t do 100% forever,” Cordish said.
___
Follow Wayne Parry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/WayneParryAC
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wymt.com/2022/09/22/execs-us-casinos-learned-some-useful-lessons-pandemic/ | 2022-09-22 20:36:13 | 1 | https://www.wymt.com/2022/09/22/execs-us-casinos-learned-some-useful-lessons-pandemic/ |
Continuing its focus on RPM reimbursement, HRS welcomes new Vice President of Revenue Cycle Management
HOBOKEN, N.J., June 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Health Recovery Solutions (HRS), the KLAS Leader in remote patient monitoring, is excited to announce that Charika Wilcox-Lee HFMA, CRCR, CHFP has joined the company as Vice President of Revenue Cycle Management. In her role, she will be responsible for developing and deploying the company's overall virtual care reimbursement strategy to its hundreds of provider and payer clients across the nation.
Wilcox-Lee joins HRS bringing over 25 years of experience in healthcare operations in a wide range of settings, mainly focused on revenue cycle management. Prior to joining the HRS team, Wilcox-Lee served in various leadership roles within the acute, ambulatory, long-term care, and vendor technology spaces.
"As our clients continue to navigate the ever-changing healthcare landscape, many of them are looking to our team for assistance with obtaining telehealth reimbursement. As a company, we are committed to providing a full wrap-around service approach that enables our clients to be successful. We are thrilled to have the experience and expertise that Charika brings to HRS, and the opportunity for our clients to tap into her incredible experience as they enable their virtual care programs," said Florence Kariuki, Chief Clinical Officer.
As the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) continues to expand reimbursement opportunities—including recently added remote therapeutic monitoring (RTM) codes—Wilcox-Lee will lead HRS' reimbursement strategy, education, and advocacy regarding Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code reimbursement.
Beyond traditional CPT code reimbursement, Wilcox-Lee will assist clients in establishing value-based arrangements with local and national payers. With the increased clinical validation and efficacy of virtual care and remote patient monitoring (RPM) services, many providers can obtain greater financial revenue on a per patient basis by entering into value-based arrangements. As the Vice President of Revenue Cycle Management, Wilcox-Lee will work directly alongside HRS' 400+ clients to train billing teams, create effective workflows, optimize clients' telehealth revenue, and ensure client awareness of new and updated billing regulations. In addition, Wilcox-Lee will leverage her experience with EMR revenue cycle platforms and automated bill capture to inform HRS' product innovations with the goal to develop streamlined and automated reimbursement and billing integrations.
"For years, limited telehealth and RPM reimbursement has been one of the major roadblocks preventing organizations from launching or expanding RPM Services," said Charika Wilcox-Lee, Vice President of Revenue Cycle Management. "I'm excited to join HRS and work directly with healthcare providers, to support payer partnerships and streamline billing efforts that create workflow efficiencies and enable providers to extend high-quality care to patients."
Health Recovery Solutions' (HRS) telehealth and remote patient monitoring solutions empower the nation's leading providers and payers to deliver care to patients across the continuum—reducing readmissions, optimizing clinician workflow, and improving patient satisfaction. HRS' disease-specific telehealth solutions are customized with educational videos, care plans, and medication reminders while also integrated with Bluetooth peripherals to engage patients in their self-management. HRS' mission is to create a new standard of care by providing advanced telehealth and remote patient monitoring solutions that facilitate behavior change and ultimately improve patient outcomes. To learn more about Health Recovery Solutions, visit healthrecoverysolutions.com or email marketing@healthrecoverysolutions.com.
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SOURCE Health Recovery Solutions | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2022/06/14/health-recovery-solutions-announces-charika-wilcox-lee-vice-president-revenue-cycle-management/ | 2022-06-14 12:40:49 | 0 | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2022/06/14/health-recovery-solutions-announces-charika-wilcox-lee-vice-president-revenue-cycle-management/ |
Community College Innovation Challenge invites community college students to create
STEM solutions to real-world problems
WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) in partnership with the National Science Foundation (NSF), has launched its platform to advance student innovation and impact in STEM through the Community College Innovation Challenge (CCIC). The competition seeks to foster the development of students' innovation, communication, and entrepreneurial skills. It also enables students to discover and demonstrate their capacity to use science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to make a difference in the world and translate that knowledge into positive action.
The CCIC is a national competition where community college student teams, working with a supportive faculty or administrator mentor, use STEM to produce potentially transformative and innovative solutions to real-world problems.
Teams of two to four students are invited to submit proposals, and up to 12 finalist teams will be selected to develop their proposal during an Innovation Boot Camp. Finalist teams will create and present an entrepreneurial pitch to a panel of professionals with a chance to win cash awards.
"The CCIC shines a spotlight on the incredible talent of the nation's community college students," said Walter G. Bumphus, president and CEO of AACC. "These students develop and present solutions to real-world issues that impact their communities. The CCIC allows us to provide resources and support specifically designed to prepare them to take these solutions from concept to reality. We are proud of the long-standing partnership with NSF to provide this platform and spotlight these talented future entrepreneurs."
Given the rapid pace of technological advancement and the requirement of new skill sets to prepare for the future of work, students of today must be prepared to compete in an increasingly competitive, technological, and global market.
The Innovation Boot Camp is held in-person in the Washington, D.C., metro area and provides professional development, mentoring, and coaching designed to build strategic communication and entrepreneurial skills to help students advance their innovations in both the private and public sectors. Students participate in sessions on commercializing ideas, using technology for social applications, communicating with stakeholders, refining a pitch and more. The Innovation Boot Camp culminates in a poster session and national engagement opportunity with STEM leaders and congressional stakeholders, and a pitch presentation in front of a panel of esteemed industry professionals to determine the first, second and third-place winning teams.
AACC's mission to build a nation of learners by advancing America's community colleges aligns with the goals of the NSF's Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program to prepare students for meaningful employment in the high-technology fields that drive our nation's economy. To further support this mission, the NSF funded the initial launch of the CCIC alongside AACC in 2015.
"Cultivating and recognizing STEM talent and creating opportunities for promising students to participate in the robust STEM enterprise are central to the efforts of the National Science Foundation," said James L. Moore III, NSF assistant director for the Directorate for STEM Education (EDU). "Investing in quality STEM education and other experiences, like this Challenge, is key to reaching the missing millions in STEM. EDU is proud to support CCIC as it widens pathways in STEM and reaches students across the country who have not always been extended such opportunities."
All team submissions are due by 11:59 pm PDT on March 30, 2023. To learn more and apply, visit www.aaccinnovationchallenge.com. For questions, email CCIC@aacc.nche.edu.
As the voice of the nation's community colleges, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), delivers educational and economic opportunity for nearly 12 million diverse students in search of the American Dream. Uniquely dedicated to access and success for all students, AACC's member colleges provide an on-ramp to degree attainment, skilled careers, and family-supporting wages. Located in Washington, D.C., AACC advocates for these not-for-profit, public-serving institutions to ensure they have the resources and support they need to deliver on the mission of increasing economic mobility for all. https://www.aacc.nche.edu/
The U.S. National Science Foundation propels the nation forward by advancing fundamental research in all fields of science and engineering. NSF supports research and people by providing facilities, instruments and funding to support their ingenuity and sustain the U.S. as a global leader in research and innovation. With a fiscal year 2023 budget of $9.5 billion, NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 40,000 competitive proposals and makes about 11,000 new awards. Those awards include support for cooperative research with industry, Arctic and Antarctic research and operations, and U.S. participation in international scientific efforts.
https://www.nsf.gov/
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SOURCE American Association of Community Colleges | https://www.1011now.com/prnewswire/2023/01/19/aacc-nsf-calls-all-community-college-student-innovators/ | 2023-01-19 15:58:42 | 0 | https://www.1011now.com/prnewswire/2023/01/19/aacc-nsf-calls-all-community-college-student-innovators/ |
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