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Megan Fox stepped out in style on her way to watch Machine Gun Kelly perform in Los Angeles on Wednesday. The 36-year-old actress couldn't be missed in a neon green Jacquemus halter top and matching pants on the afternoon of her fiancé's Mainstream Sellout Tour held at the Kia Forum.
Fox has history with this particular shade of green -- last August, she showed off a bodysuit in the same color on her way to the grocery store and in February, she painted her nails to match.
MGK is also drawn to the neon look. In May, the 32-year-old singer debuted hot pink hair (and pants!) ahead of his Life in Pink documentary premiere. Meanwhile, Fox sported matching hair and nails earlier this week.
Wednesday night's concert seems to have been full of bright spots, wardrobe and otherwise. Travis Barker, on the mend from a pancreatitis hospitalization last month, gave a surprise performance alongside MGK's crew. It was his first on-stage appearance since the health scare.
"There's a person I grew up idolizing that I became friends with and he believed in me," MGK told the crowd. "And never more have I wanted to jam to a song that he and I created. L.A.'s own, Travis Barker! Make some noise for him tonight."
The Blink-182 drummer emerged to rapturous applause and settled in to play "Tickets to My Downfall" and "Bloody Valentine."
"You know, a fun fact is that Travis is not supposed to be playing drums right now, but guess what he's doing? Playing drums right now," Machine Gun Kelly teased.
RELATED CONTENT: | https://www.ktvb.com/article/entertainment/entertainment-tonight/megan-fox-stands-out-in-eye-catching-neon-green-outfit-at-machine-gun-kellys-concert/603-5f6b62bc-7e82-4556-beef-1235990f45ea | 2022-07-15 00:19:10 | 1 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/entertainment/entertainment-tonight/megan-fox-stands-out-in-eye-catching-neon-green-outfit-at-machine-gun-kellys-concert/603-5f6b62bc-7e82-4556-beef-1235990f45ea |
Alex Bregman Player Prop Bets: Astros vs. Dodgers - June 25
Published: Jun. 25, 2023 at 9:27 AM CDT|Updated: 27 minutes ago
Alex Bregman -- with a slugging percentage of .526 in his past 10 games, including two home runs -- will be in action for the Houston Astros against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with Tony Gonsolin on the hill, on June 25 at 7:10 PM ET.
In his most recent game, he racked up four RBI (going 2-for-5 with a double and a home run) against the Dodgers.
Alex Bregman Game Info & Props vs. the Dodgers
- Game Day: Sunday, June 25, 2023
- Game Time: 7:10 PM ET
- Stadium: Dodger Stadium
- Live Stream: Watch this game on Fubo!
- Dodgers Starter: Tony Gonsolin
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Hits Prop: Over/under 0.5 hits (Over odds: -208)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/under 0.5 home runs (Over odds: +450)
- RBI Prop: Over/under 0.5 RBI (Over odds: +200)
- Runs Prop: Over/under 0.5 runs (Over odds: +110)
Looking to place a prop bet on Alex Bregman? Check out what's available at BetMGM and use bonus code "GNPLAY" when you sign up with this link!
Read More About This Game
Alex Bregman At The Plate
- Bregman is batting .249 with 10 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs and 41 walks.
- Bregman has gotten at least one hit in 64.5% of his games this season (49 of 76), with multiple hits 19 times (25.0%).
- Looking at the 76 games he has played this year, he's hit a long ball in 11 of them (14.5%), and in 3.3% of his trips to the dish.
- In 30 games this season (39.5%), Bregman has picked up an RBI, and in 12 of those games (15.8%) he had more than one. He has also driven home three or more of his team's runs in four contests.
- In 35 of 76 games this season, he has scored, and seven of those games included multiple runs.
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Alex Bregman Home/Away Batting Splits
Dodgers Pitching Rankings
- The Dodgers pitching staff ranks 14th in the league with a collective 8.7 strikeouts per nine innings.
- The Dodgers have a 4.54 team ERA that ranks 24th among all league pitching staffs.
- Dodgers pitchers combine to surrender 94 total home runs at a rate of 1.2 per game (to rank 21st in the league).
- Gonsolin gets the start for the Dodgers, his 11th of the season. He is 4-2 with a 2.92 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 52 1/3 innings pitched.
- The right-hander last appeared on Sunday against the San Francisco Giants, when he tossed 5 2/3 innings, allowing seven earned runs while giving up six hits.
- The 29-year-old has put up an ERA of 2.92, with 7.4 strikeouts per nine innings, in 10 games this season. Opponents have a .168 batting average against him.
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.kalb.com/sports/betting/2023/06/25/alex-bregman-mlb-player-prop-bets/ | 2023-06-25 14:55:03 | 0 | https://www.kalb.com/sports/betting/2023/06/25/alex-bregman-mlb-player-prop-bets/ |
LinkedIn is probably the last place on the internet you would look for drugs. This social network is like the web's version of a store that only sells khaki pants, a place where Chad from accounting networks for his next job and influencers are “thought leaders” who post about how to bring more value to your next PowerPoint presentation.
Yet, remarkably, America’s potheads have fallen in love with LinkedIn.
Cannabis aficionados have flocked to the website, making Bay Area-headquartered LinkedIn the best place online to see experts talk about growing pot, making exotic cannabis hash or selling millions of dollars of weed. Last month, I even saw an interstate drug deal negotiated in public on the platform.
“If you’re on social media in cannabis, you’re on LinkedIn,” said Joyce Cenali, the CEO of Sonoma Hills Farm and a co-founder of the Cannabis Media Council. Cenali told SFGATE that LinkedIn is “the most important social media network for the cannabis industry.”
This green wave is hitting LinkedIn because the rest of social media is a minefield for cannabis companies. Pot’s federal illegality has led Instagram and TikTok to regularly delete cannabis accounts. Weed companies are told to avoid showing pictures of cannabis flowers or pot plants on Facebook. But LinkedIn, which is owned by Microsoft, rarely moderates cannabis content. This permissiveness has allowed a thriving cannabis community to grow on the network.
A LinkedIn drug deal
Dustin Hoxworth can still remember the moment he first learned LinkedIn was pot friendly. Last summer, Hoxworth was transitioning from a corporate career in Atlanta’s film industry to the cannabis industry when he opened LinkedIn and saw a photo of a massive cannabis flower. It shocked him.
“I was like, what the f—k is this doing on LinkedIn? That was my reaction. It opened a whole world of cannabis on LinkedIn that I had no idea existed,” Hoxworth told SFGATE. That inspired him to openly talk about cannabis on his profile, a move he called “coming out of the green closet.” Since then, he’s started a cannabis marketing company and a pot magazine, called Fat Nugs.
“Everything that we have done with this magazine is through word of mouth on LinkedIn,” Hoxworth told SFGATE. “It’s networking on steroids for cannabis. It’s the No. 1 place to be for social media when it comes to cannabis.”
A spokesperson for LinkedIn confirmed to SFGATE that the cannabis community is welcome to talk about the business of pot on the network.
“Members come to LinkedIn every day to share knowledge, insights, and perspectives around the world of work and their particular industries, which can include the cannabis industry,” the statement said.
This might seem like a mild corporate statement, but explicitly welcoming the pot industry makes LinkedIn unique compared to other major social networks.
The cannabis industry has always known the limits of internet speech. Long before Donald Trump lost access to Twitter, huge pot social media accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers were getting their accounts deleted and their content moderated. Cannabis influencers have resorted to paying secretive dealers to get their accounts back. And even the New York state government was blocked from posting cannabis information to TikTok. TikTok’s extreme bias against cannabis led one account to make videos of joints rolled with literal broccoli to avoid being moderated. The account still had many of its videos deleted.
LinkedIn, on the other hand, rarely moderates any cannabis content or shuts down pot accounts, according to cannabis marketing agencies. Although there does appear to be a limit to the network’s permissiveness.
Last month, Hoxworth posted a photo of a warehouse filled with cannabis. The photo’s caption began with “I could use some assistance please” and proceeded to ask if any of his 9,000 followers could help him negotiate a wholesale cannabis transaction in Illinois, where pot is legal. He had a buyer — a cannabis manufacturer in need of pot — so he went on LinkedIn to find a cannabis seller. Hoxworth was openly conducting an interstate drug deal on LinkedIn. I watched as comments piled in, people shared the post, and dozens of people interacted with the post.
LinkedIn deleted Hoxworth's post after I asked them about it, saying in a statement that “sharing content that facilitates the purchase or sale of illegal or regulated goods and services is a violation of our Professional Community Policies.”
Hoxworth said he still thinks LinkedIn is pot friendly even after the network deleted one of his posts. To his credit, LinkedIn only took action after I brought it to their attention. And by then, the drug deal was done.
‘Playing Whac-A-Mole with Facebook’
There are serious limits to what you can do with LinkedIn, even for the cannabis community. Its reach is considerably smaller than other networks, like TikTok or Instagram, which have more than twice the number of active users as LinkedIn. The network is specifically built around work, which keeps most of LinkedIn’s content insulated within individual industries.
That means LinkedIn isn’t giving pot companies direct access to their customers, in the ways that Instagram or TikTok do for traditional companies. You can’t buy pot on LinkedIn like you can purchase pottery on Instagram.
But LinkedIn has formed a natural fit with the developing pot industry’s professional class. Legal weed is a white-collar profession in the United States with all of the demands of an extremely competitive emerging market. Running a pot business requires you to stay on top of both a fast-moving scientific world — making a modern pot edible is a high-tech endeavor — and a rapidly changing legal environment. Weed executives have to lobby the government and act as industry champions in the news, mostly out of fear that their products could be made illegal overnight.
That’s made LinkedIn, a social network that turns your work into your personality, a natural fit for the pot industry.
Jessica Tonani, the founder of a Seattle cannabis bioscience startup, VerdaBio, said she started posting on the network six months ago after she realized some of the world’s smartest pot experts were on it.
“There’s a number of people I actively follow just because they help me look at things with a different perspective,” Tonani told SFGATE. “... I think there are a lot of people with really good things to say on the platform.”
These active scientific discussions have created a network that, to many people, encapsulates the rarely realized promise for all social media: a place where people can share new ideas that expand everyone’s world view. Tonani said that is wildly different from her experience on other networks. “Most of the interactions are actually active discussions going on on the platform,” she said.
Tonani said she’s had posts on other networks taken down.
“Traditional social media is really hard in this space. We’re constantly playing Whac-A-Mole with Facebook. Even if you post scientific articles they will block it,” Tonani said. “There’s really good content coming through LinkedIn and that content is not being blocked, so people are just moving to it.”
Cenali, the chief operating officer of Sonoma Hills Farms, said having a LinkedIn account has become required to work in the industry. She is also an executive at Big Rock Partners, a cannabis investing firm, and she said investors will hesitate to work with other companies if their founders aren’t on LinkedIn.
Hoxworth agreed, saying it’s one of the best ways to work your way into the industry.
“If you’re in cannabis and you’re not on LinkedIn, you’re screwing yourself,” Hoxworth said. | https://www.sfgate.com/cannabis/article/cannabis-industry-loves-linkedin-17683823.php | 2023-01-02 13:55:20 | 0 | https://www.sfgate.com/cannabis/article/cannabis-industry-loves-linkedin-17683823.php |
Homelessness remains on the rise in the U.S.
In fact, it has been on the rise since 2017, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. While signs of an increase are most present in major cities, many suburban communities are seeing increases too.
Affluent suburbs impacted
Loudoun, Virginia, is a suburban community about 45 minutes from Washington, D.C.
"This is the most amount of individuals that we have seen experiencing homelessness," said Ryan Harrison, an employee with family services in Loudoun County.
The county is known for its quaint, historic districts and for having former President Donald Trump’s country club. It includes one of the wealthiest ZIP codes in the entire country.
However, like so many suburban communities in recent years, homelessness is on the rise in Loudoun County.
In fact, government officials say it's up 30% since 2019.
SEE MORE: Portland homeless advocate says outreach is key to solving crisis
"One cannot overstate the ramifications or the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic," Harrison told Scripps News."One being the inflated cost of housing and rent," Harrison added. "Many of our working-class families are priced out of the units that they are currently occupying.”
Harrison said homelessness in suburbs sometimes isn't as visible as it is in cities, with more people often choosing to live in shelters as opposed to the streets, but not having a home is still the same.
"Ultimately, it is up to that individual to see how they want to face this dramatic event," Harrison said.
White House plan
The rise in homelessness in suburbs and cities has attracted the attention of the White House. Last month, the Biden administration announced a plan to reduce homelessness by 25% by 2025.
Specific metro areas are being targeted, including Phoenix. The plan also targets the entire state of California.
These areas and others will soon have dedicated federal officials working with local partners to identify ways to get everything from housing vouchers to Medicaid assistance to help those in need more efficiently.
Over $5 billion in federal taxpayer dollars have been spent to reduce homelessness in the last two years.
SEE MORE: Florida city clamps down on feeding homeless without permit
Help is needed
Thomas Barnett says the issue goes well beyond government and money.
"Government alone can't do it," Barnett, a housing coordinator in Fairfax County, Virginia, tells Scripps News.
Barnett says better coordination among nonprofits is needed, as are more affordable housing options.
Barnett says the biggest thing needed may just be a better-informed public, emphasizing just because you live in the suburbs doesn't mean homelessness isn't impacting your community.
"I think homelessness in the suburbs has always been somewhat hidden," Barnett said.
Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com | https://www.wptv.com/what-s-being-done-to-curb-homelessness-in-us-suburbs | 2023-06-05 18:20:43 | 0 | https://www.wptv.com/what-s-being-done-to-curb-homelessness-in-us-suburbs |
Sweeping up: Tower Hill sinks Saint Mark's in three sets for first DIAA Girls Volleyball crown
NEWARK – Leading as they had all night, with the points winding down in what could be the final set, the Tower Hill girls volleyball team knew they had to stay locked in.
“It’s really surreal, but you have to stay focused and play out the last few points,” junior Molly Pietlock said. “Because anything can happen, and it can change at any moment. But it’s a really good feeling.”
Nothing changed on Monday night at the Bob Carpenter Center. The Hillers kept hammering away and secured the school’s first DIAA Volleyball Tournament title with a 3-0 sweep of Saint Mark’s.
Ninth-seeded Tower Hill left no doubt, shaking off a flurry by the Spartans late in the first set and early in the second set to win 25-20, 26-24, 25-20.
“I honestly just think it was our confidence,” senior Chloe Sachs said. “We had such a solid game plan, and we really just stuck to it.”
BRACKETS SETSmyrna, Caravel, Laurel earn top seeds in Delaware high school football playoffs
Third-seeded Saint Mark’s (17-2) was trying to become the first team to win three straight championships since Ursuline in 2007-09. But the Hillers (18-2) took it to the Spartans from the start, jumping out to a 10-4 lead that prompted a Saint Mark’s timeout.
Then Tower Hill kept the momentum, building a 17-6 lead. But the Hillers knew Spartans coach Nancy Griskowitz would rally her team, and Saint Mark’s pulled within 23-17.
“After we made that run, I said, ‘Hey, our plan is working, but it’s not going to work this well the whole time,’” Tower Hill coach Michael Sachs said. “… They did make adjustments and really tighten it up.”
Tower Hill managed to close out the first set, but the fiery Spartans won the first seven points of the second set.
That’s when the Hillers’ previous tournament experience – falling behind both top-seeded Smyrna and Caravel in the previous two rounds before coming back – kept their confidence high.
TAKE YOUR PICKFree vote: Fall Week 10 Delaware Online Athlete of the Week nominees
“Honestly, I don’t think it shook us that much,” Chloe Sachs said. “We’ve let the other team get big leads in our semifinal and quarterfinal matches. So at this point, when it happens we just kind of brush it off and just pretend like it’s 0-0 again.”
Tower Hill methodically cut into the deficit. And when the Hillers had a chance to win, junior libero Meghan Mumford decisively ended the second set with an ace.
“That was amazing,” Mumford said. “It was probably the best feeling in the world.”
The third set was back and forth all the way, with the Hillers again winning the biggest points to finish the job.
“I’ve had kids all season long that have shared playing positions, that have said, ‘Look, I want to win, this other player is playing a little better than me, keep her in right now,’” Michael Sachs said. “They’ve just played totally selflessly.”
It was the second straight time a Tower Hill team had come to the Bob and left with a state championship. The Hillers’ boys basketball team romped past Salesianum 79-43 in the DIAA final last March, with many of the volleyball players cheering them on.
“Definitely seeing them have that amazing experience just made us want to have it even more,” Chloe Sachs said. “We were really motivated to get the same.”
Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ | https://www.delawareonline.com/story/sports/high-school/2022/11/15/delaware-high-school-volleyball-tower-hill-sweeps-st-marks-in-final/69647033007/ | 2022-11-15 11:48:30 | 0 | https://www.delawareonline.com/story/sports/high-school/2022/11/15/delaware-high-school-volleyball-tower-hill-sweeps-st-marks-in-final/69647033007/ |
A MARTINEZ, HOST:
The mayor of Kyiv says that Russia fired drones packed with explosives at the center of Ukraine's capital again today. Officials say at least three people were killed. Volodymyr Gryston (ph) was at a train station in central Kyiv when he spotted one of the drones overhead.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
VOLODYMYR GRYSTON: (Non-English language spoken).
MARTINEZ: Gryston says police fired at the drone with assault rifles when it suddenly turned toward them, and they ran underground. The deadly days-long Russian bombardment has knocked out power and water supplies in several cities. In response, the White House is speeding up shipments of air defense systems to Ukraine, part of an additional authorization of $725 million in arms and equipment for Ukraine. Now John Kirby is with us. He is the White House national security coordinator for strategic communications. Admiral, Russia is expected to hold its annual nuclear forces drills soon. And this year, it feels a lot more ominous considering Vladimir Putin's threat to use nuclear weapons. What will the U.S. be looking for to ensure that this isn't something more than just drills?
JOHN KIRBY: Well, we're certainly going to be monitoring this exercise, as we do every year, A. This is an exercise that the Russians perform annually to test and evaluate their strategic nuclear capabilities. And again, we'll watch it as closely as we can. Everything we have seen to date tells us that this is an exercise that will be conducted normally, within the bounds of the way Russia has done it in the past. And we do expect that, as a part of this exercise, they'll be moving some of these strategic assets around. But again, we see no indication that either this exercise or in other contexts President Putin has decided to move forward with the use of a nuclear weapon or weapon of mass destruction inside Ukraine.
MARTINEZ: Let's just remember - the last time Russia was running drills, that was right before they invaded Ukraine. So I think maybe that worries a lot of people, Admiral.
KIRBY: Yeah. No. Look; I understand that. And that's why I said we're going to be watching this exercise as close as we can. But the indications we have now are that this will be conducted within the normal bounds, very similar to exercises that they have had - that they had last year. I would like to just - the exercises we saw last year in advance of the invasion were not just these nuclear exercises. There were other, more conventional exercises, too, that did, you know, prepare their forces for the ultimate invasion.
MARTINEZ: How would the U.S. deter a dangerous nuclear power from further escalation? How would that work?
KIRBY: Well, there's a variety of means that we would use to try to deter that use. We have already made it very clear publicly and privately to the Russians that should they move forward with a weapon of mass destruction or a nuclear weapon of whatever size, that there would be severe consequences for Russia, for the Kremlin. And of course, there would be consequences across the region. Again, we're watching this very, very closely. We have seen nothing that would cause us to change our strategic deterrent posture. And a change in our posture would be another way of trying to help deter such use. But again, we've just not seen any indication that that decision has been taken or that they're even preparing for the possibility of that sort of a decision.
MARTINEZ: I know Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, keeps calling for more sanctions and more weapons, specifically long-range Patriot missiles. Is that something, Admiral, that the U.S. is prepared at any point to say yes to?
KIRBY: I don't want to get ahead of decisions that we haven't made yet with respect to capabilities to Ukraine. As you said just before we started talking, last week, we announced yet another package of security assistance, our 23rd. This brings to more than $17 billion, the kinds of security assistance that we've given to Ukraine just in the military front alone since the invasion. And that's significant. We're going to continue to do that. And we are doing it in lockstep with the Ukrainians, A. We talk to them almost every day about what their needs are.
As you heard when President Biden spoke to President Zelenskyy last week, he promised that we would continue to provide air defense capabilities to Ukraine. And we will do that. We've been doing it, quite frankly, since the very beginning of the war when we were starting to send Stinger missiles, and ultimately ended up - over 1,400 of them were provided to Ukraine, as well as helping them acquire an S-300 system and other long-range defense systems. In fact, just last week, Secretary Austin was in Brussels meeting with the contact group for Ukraine, 50-some-odd nations. And nations like Germany and Spain have agreed to now pony up various levels of air defense capabilities to the Ukrainians that they'll be able to use in relatively short fashion.
MARTINEZ: And is the Biden administration still committed to sending aid to Ukraine for as long as Russia is attacking or occupying Ukraine?
KIRBY: President Biden has been crystal clear. We're going to continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes.
MARTINEZ: And one last thing, Admiral. OPEC's decision to cut oil production seems to be a clear signal to the White House on where the Middle East stands in this conflicts. How will the U.S. respond to that?
KIRBY: The president wants to take a look at what his options are. You heard him say there will be consequences, and there will be. He wants to review this bilateral relationship and make sure that it's actually performing in the best interest of the American people and our national security. So he wants a wide-ranging, comprehensive review. He wants to include members of Congress in that. Again, I won't get ahead of the president's thinking, but he'll be presented options to consider.
MARTINEZ: White House national security coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby, thanks a lot.
KIRBY: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR. | https://www.wbaa.org/2022-10-17/u-s-to-send-ukraine-more-air-defense-systems-after-russia-stepped-up-missile-attacks | 2022-10-18 20:33:48 | 0 | https://www.wbaa.org/2022-10-17/u-s-to-send-ukraine-more-air-defense-systems-after-russia-stepped-up-missile-attacks |
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Some Washington lawmakers are on edge after a man violently attacked the husband of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., inside their San Francisco home with a hammer.
Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., who has known the Pelosi’s for decades, is calling the incident unacceptable.
“I hope this is a wake-up call,” Dingell said. “As someone who has men outside their homes with assault weapons who has had threats, I worry about my staff… and there are elected officials at all levels who are really becoming afraid.”
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are condemning the violence.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., tweeted that he’s disgusted and horrified. The White House said the president called the speaker directly to wish Paul Pelosi a full recovery.
San Francisco Police said they have not determined a motive for the attack. But the Associated Press is reporting that the 42-year-old suspect shouted “where is Nancy?” before the assault.
According to U.S. Capitol Police, the speaker was at her home in Washington with security at the time of the attack.
Capitol Police said threats against lawmakers surged after the January 6th riot and led to increased security.
This summer Democrats and Republicans passed legislation to boost the security detail for Supreme Court justices after an armed man targeted the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Dingell said that while more security is helpful there is a better solution.
“We all have a responsibility to help dial down the tone,” she said. | https://www.koin.com/news/washington-dc/lawmakers-on-edge-after-pelosis-husband-attacked/ | 2022-10-28 22:44:26 | 1 | https://www.koin.com/news/washington-dc/lawmakers-on-edge-after-pelosis-husband-attacked/ |
ROME (AP) — The Italian government on Monday declared a state of emergency for much of the rain-parched north amid a drought, freeing up 36.5 million euros (about $38 million) in funds for the heavily agricultural regions.
The aid was approved at a late evening Cabinet meeting.
The Po River, whose waters help irrigate rice paddies, farm fields and grazing land for cows, including some whose milk is used to make prized Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, is at its lowest level in about 70 years.
Emergency decrees were decided for five regions: Emilia Romagna, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, Piedmont and Veneto, reflecting droughts in the Po River and eastern Alpine basins.
Some cities and towns in the north, including Verona, in Veneto, have put restrictions on water use by citizens.
The drought also has started to affect south-central Italy.
On Rome’s Tiber River, plants growing on the riverbed can be seen on the surface and debris floats in the shallow waters.
“The Tiber, as I can say from my 40 years’ experience on the river, has never had a situation like this,” Giulio Bendandi, a boatman, told AP on Monday.
This year, Italy has received only half the average rainfall of the past 30 years, according to state-run research body CNR. | https://www.wowktv.com/news/u-s-world/drought-emergency-declared-for-northern-italy-frees-up-aid/ | 2022-07-05 15:42:50 | 0 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/u-s-world/drought-emergency-declared-for-northern-italy-frees-up-aid/ |
The government is settling a case that will grant billions in debt relief to students, many of them veterans, who say unscrupulous colleges cheated them into overpaying for useless degrees.
Copyright 2022 NPR
The government is settling a case that will grant billions in debt relief to students, many of them veterans, who say unscrupulous colleges cheated them into overpaying for useless degrees.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.kcbx.org/2022-06-27/debt-relief-for-veterans-who-say-they-were-cheated-by-for-profit-colleges | 2022-06-27 22:48:58 | 0 | https://www.kcbx.org/2022-06-27/debt-relief-for-veterans-who-say-they-were-cheated-by-for-profit-colleges |
DETROIT, Oct. 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Samaritas, one of Michigan's largest health and human service organizations, will host The Ripples Gala presented by Huntington Bank on Friday, Nov. 4, at the Westin Book Cadillac Detroit hotel. The gala will feature an inspiring keynote speech by Olympic gold medalist, best-selling author, and adoptive father Scott Hamilton. This fundraiser will raise critical funds for Samaritas programs that help Michigan's most vulnerable people.
"We're so grateful to have Scott Hamilton back as a keynote speaker for The Ripples Gala," said Sam Beals, CEO at Samaritas. "Scott's inspiring words about his personal adoption journey and experience as a father of four with two adopted children are encouraging. We hope it will touch the hearts of the people on the fence about adopting or fostering."
Samaritas is one of the best-known foster care agencies in Michigan. Its staff is working to find safe havens for the 231 foster children waiting for adults to care for them. Generally, these foster kids are in permanent or long-term foster care because their parents have lost custodial rights due to severe neglect or abuse.
Adults willing to take in children six years old and up are desperately needed by Samaritas. It's a sobering fact that these older kids will never find a forever home. Statistics show that foster kids who can't find a permanent home are more likely to become homeless, misuse substances, have an unwanted pregnancy, or become impoverished. Loving families willing to adopt or foster older children can break this cycle of instability and provide a place for them to heal and flourish. Samaritas Foster Care orientations are available for prospective parents to learn about the process.
Michele Calloway is a veteran foster parent who will be honored for fostering children through Samaritas for nearly 40 years. She will be honored alongside Dr. Sonia Hassan, First Lady of Detroit, for spearheading the Detroit Refugee Network (DRN) and Rocket Companies® for serving as a critical partner with boots-on-the-ground support and innovative and generous philanthropy.
Samaritas serves thousands throughout Michigan, including refugees, children in foster care, adults with developmental disabilities, people struggling with addiction, and those in need of affordable housing.
Visit samaritas.org/RipplesGala for Ripples Gala ticket information, including a special VIP reception with Scott Hamilton.
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SOURCE Samaritas | https://www.kwch.com/prnewswire/2022/10/12/olympic-gold-medalist-author-scott-hamilton-returns-samaritas-keynote-speaker-ripples-gala/ | 2022-10-12 17:31:51 | 0 | https://www.kwch.com/prnewswire/2022/10/12/olympic-gold-medalist-author-scott-hamilton-returns-samaritas-keynote-speaker-ripples-gala/ |
ARIZONA, USA — Election Day is today.
After months of primaries and campaign events, the midterm election that will determine the balance of power in our nation and right here in Arizona is finally here.
>> Live, local, breaking. Download the 12 News app
Live updates:
6 a.m.
Maricopa County announced that its 223 vote centers are now open. Find the closest location to you and see updated wait times at Locations.Maricopa.Vote.
"Election workers from our community have been preparing for today, to support and assist you in every way they can," said Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer. "No matter how you have decided to cast your ballot in this year’s midterm election, we celebrate your participation in our democracy.”
What to expect:
The race for governor has come down to a tight struggle between Republican Kari Lake and Democrat Katie Hobbs. Both candidates hit the road Monday in a final push to rally supporters across the state.
Control of the U.S. Senate and House could go directly through Arizona as Democratic candidate Sen. Mark Kelly tries to win a full term after taking on the last two years of the late Sen. John McCain’s seat in 2018. He faces a tough challenge from Republican Blake Masters.
There are more than 60 contested races in Arizona. U.S. Senate, governor, attorney general, secretary of state, and the Change Voter ID ballot proposal are of particular national interest.
When should results start coming in?
In the 2020 general election, the first results came in just after 8 p.m., with half of all precincts reporting by 10 p.m
Don't forget, if you haven't yet cast your vote, polls will be open from 6 a.m. - 7 p.m.
RELATED: Counting until 2023? New Arizona law on ballot recounts could prolong wait for midterm results
Updates:
Decision 2022
Track all of our current updates with the upcoming elections in Arizona on our 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe for updates on all of our new uploads. | https://www.12news.com/article/news/politics/elections/decision/live-updates-election-day-coverage-in-arizona/75-29998b10-1dea-4b9a-ba43-cd0cc48815be | 2022-11-08 13:58:45 | 1 | https://www.12news.com/article/news/politics/elections/decision/live-updates-election-day-coverage-in-arizona/75-29998b10-1dea-4b9a-ba43-cd0cc48815be |
BEIJING (AP) — The foreign minister of China, which has provided strong political backing for Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, said Tuesday his country wants to play a role in ending the conflict.
Qin Gang told participants at a security conference in Beijing that China was concerned the almost yearlong war could escalate further and spin “out of control.”
China would continue to urge peace talks and provide “Chinese wisdom” to bring about a political settlement, he said.
“At the same time, we urge relevant countries to immediately stop adding fuel to the fire, stop shifting blames to China, and stop hyping up the discourse of Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow,” Qin said in an apparent reference to military support provided to Ukraine by the United States and its allies, as well as concerns that China is preparing to make good on its threats to use force to assert its claim over Taiwan, a self-governing island democracy.
China has refused to condemn Russia’s invasion or atrocities against Ukrainian civilians and strongly criticized Western economic sanctions against Moscow. In deference to Moscow, it has yet to describe the conflict as an invasion.
China and Russia have aligned their foreign policies to oppose the U.S. and, weeks before the Ukraine invasion, their leaders declared a partnership with “no limits.” China also says Russia was provoked into using military force by NATO’s eastward expansion.
Despite that, Qin reiterated China’s claim that it has “always taken an objective and impartial stance based on the merits of the issue.”
“China is deeply worried about the escalation of the situation and even the possibility of it going out of control,” Qin said. He said Chinese President Xi Jinping had put forward proposals that have “played a responsible and constructive role in easing the situation and de-escalating the crisis,” without offering any details or evidence.
“We will continue to promote peace talks, provide Chinese wisdom for the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, and work with the international community to promote dialogue and consultation to address the concerns of all parties and seek common security,” Qin said.
China has opposed criticism of Russia at the United Nations, while insisting that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations be respected, a position that underpins its claim to Taiwan, which separated from the mainland amid civil war more than 70 years ago.
Russian President Vladimir Putin could meet with the Chinese Communist Party’s foreign policy chief Wang Yi in Moscow, the Kremlin said Monday.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov hailed Russia-China ties as “multidimensional and allied in nature.”
That statement coincided with U.S. President Joe Biden’s unannounced visit to Ukraine on Monday to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and show support for Kyiv days ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
Wang’s trip to Russia follows talks Saturday with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of an international security conference in Munich. Blinken said he reiterated to Wang that any Chinese material support for the Russian armed forces would trigger a strong response from Washington. Thus far, the U.S. says there are no indications that China is doing so, although its close economic ties with Russia have offered a lifeline to Putin’s regime.
Russia, in turn, has offered strong support for China and held a series of joint military drills amid tensions with the U.S. over Taiwan, trade, human rights and Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea.
China’s Foreign Ministry issued a lengthy statement Tuesday outlining Xi’s “Global Security Initiative,” which aims to “eliminate the root causes of international conflicts, improve global security governance, encourage joint international efforts to bring more stability and certainty to a volatile and changing era, and promote durable peace and development in the world.”
In its only reference to Russia’s invasion, it said the initiative would “support political settlement of hotspot issues such as the Ukraine crisis through dialogue and negotiation.”
At a daily briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin criticized military aid provided to Ukraine by the U.S. and its allies, saying that “the U.S. claims to maintain peace, but actually it is making money from the crisis.”
“There are enough facts to show the true nature of the U.S. as a source of trouble rather than a defender of peace for the world,” Wang said.
The U.S. has committed about $113 billion in aid to Ukraine since last year, while European allies have committed tens of billions of dollars more and welcomed millions of Ukrainian refugees who have fled the conflict. Such aid is funded by U.S. and other foreign taxpayers, with Ukraine under no obligation to provide repayment as it seeks to withstand renewed Russian attempts to regain territory it had earlier conquered.
Wang also defended China’s “comprehensive strategic partnership” with Russia as “based on non-alignment, non-confrontation and non-targeting of third parties, which is within the sovereignty of two independent countries.”
Wang gave no details on Wang Yi’s visit to Moscow, but called it “an opportunity to work with Russia to jointly promote steady progress of bilateral relations in the direction determined by the two leaders, safeguard each other’s legitimate rights and interests and contribute positively to world peace.” | https://www.koin.com/news/international/ap-china-says-its-seeking-role-in-ukraine-peace-settlement/ | 2023-02-22 02:45:21 | 1 | https://www.koin.com/news/international/ap-china-says-its-seeking-role-in-ukraine-peace-settlement/ |
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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The New York Giants are off to their best start since 2011, and there's no need to tell the team to stay focused.
While the 3-1 record is welcome with a new coach, Brian Daboll's team has injury concerns galore, starting at quarterback.
The Giants aren't sure who will be taking snaps as they begin preparing for a game in London against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.
Starter Daniel Jones has a sprained left ankle and backup Tyrod Taylor is in the concussion protocol. It could result in veteran Davis Webb as the starting QB at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. He's never thrown a pass in an NFL regular-season game.
Jones was hurt while being sacked in the third quarter of New York's 20-12 win over the Chicago Bears. Taylor suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter on his second series. It forced running back Saquon Barkley to run a wildcat offense during the final seven-plus minutes with Jones on the field to relay the play calls from the coaches.
Daboll said Jones was better Monday, but his status will depend on how he does in practice this week.
However, he is a quarterback who uses his legs to set up his running and passing. That's a big concern and might take away one of his best skills.
The positive for the Giants is Jones walked into the news conference after the game and spoke. Generally, when a player has a serious injury he doesn't talk to reporters.
The best guess is Jones plays. He will use his running skills on a limited basis while making more passes from the pocket.
WHAT'S WORKING
The running game. The Giants rushed for 262 yards Sunday, averaging 6.0 yards. It was their best rushing performance since they had 308 yards against Carolina in December 2008. They had 44 rushing attempts, a number inflated because they ran the wildcat after Jones and Taylor were hurt. Barkley finished with a career-high 31 carries for 146 yards.
WHAT NEEDS HELP
The wide receivers. The group is battered with Kadarius Toney (hamstring) and Wan'Dale Robinson (knee) sidelined the past two weeks and Sterling Shepard (knee) out for the season. Kenny Golladay hurt a knee Sunday. The wideouts had three catches Sunday, one apiece by Darius Slayton, David Sills and Richie James. The Giants completed nine passes overall for 71 yards, their lowest yardage total since 2007 in a win over Miami in London.
STOCK UP
DT Dexter Lawrence and veteran LB Jaylon Smith. Lawrence had five tackles, two sacks and three quarterback hits in helping to limit the Bears to four field goals. Smith was promoted from the practice squad and had seven tackles, including one for a loss in his first action of the season.
STOCK DOWN
Punter Jamie Gillen. While he averaged 54.6 yards on five punts, he had two touchbacks and a net average of 42.8 yards. Velus Jones Jr. also had a 19-yard return on a 55-yard punt that gave Chicago a drive starting at its 39.
INJURIES
Daboll said RT Evan Neal (neck), LB Jihad Ward (knee) and LB Kayvon Thibodeaux (back spasms) should all be good for Sunday. Golladay, CB Aaron Robinson (knee) and DL Henry Mondeaux (ankle) are less likely to play. Taylor and S Julian Love are in the concussion protocol. It's going to be a lot of wait and see this week.
KEY NUMBERS
3 — The number of consecutive games the Giants have not allowed a first-half touchdown. The defense is yielding an average of fewer than 18 points.
NEXT STEPS
The previous time the Giants were 3-1, the franchise won its fourth Super Bowl. This isn't the same type of team and even a playoff berth is far from certain. Their goal for now should be to continue to play hard, ride the defense and take it from there.
___
More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL | https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/Giants-off-to-best-start-since-2011-but-QB-17484546.php | 2022-10-03 23:44:27 | 0 | https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/Giants-off-to-best-start-since-2011-but-QB-17484546.php |
Updated September 2, 2022 at 12:45 PM ET
The first legal step that former President Donald Trump took after FBI agents executed a search warrant at his home last month was to ask a federal court to appoint a special master to review the documents they had seized.
That request spawned a whole new saga, with the Justice Department arguing that such an appointment is not only unnecessary but would "significantly harm important governmental interests, including national security interests."
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who has expressed openness to granting Trump's request, said on Thursday that she will rule on it later (though gave no indication of when that decision might come).
In the meantime, it's worth examining the question: What exactly is the role of a special master in general, and how could the potential appointment of one impact this case specifically?
"A special master really is kind of a fancy name for judge's helper," explains David Cohen, a special master who serves in federal cases including opioid litigation.
He tells Morning Edition's Rachel Martin that special masters, who are usually attorneys, can be appointed when judges get complex cases — and that Trump's is far from typical. Their conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Interview highlights
What counts as a complex case?
Obviously that's not going to happen when it's a simple car accident, but in a case where the subject matter is complicated — for example, an antitrust case or a patent case — or the case itself is just overwhelmingly large — like the BP oil spill case or national opioid litigation — or even just a case where the parties can't even really say hello to each other without getting into a fight and it just needs a lot of judicial supervision, what a federal judge will sometimes do is appoint a special master just to help the judge oversee the case because there's just a lot to do, and judges have limited judicial resources, limited time.
What qualifications does a special master need?
It's not always an attorney. For example, in a patent case what a judge might need most is somebody who is conversant in the technology at issue, but ... it's usually an attorney. I guess the primary qualification is somebody who can remain neutral, which isn't easy. It's kind of hard to refresh your neutrality every day. You can't come in and be a judge or a special master with an agenda or really kind of wanting one side to win, you need to look at all the facts and the evidence and what the parties are arguing, and apply the law to the facts and come out to what the right result is regardless of who is appearing before you.
Do special masters always try to draw conclusions?
It depends ... if I'm being asked by the judge to provide a report and recommendation on a motion then yes, I'm going to say, "Judge, this is how I think you should rule," and I'll draft an order or a proposed order, or I'll submit my opinion over my signature, which the parties can then accept or appeal to the judge. And in other cases, it's sometimes just being present so that while the parties are arguing you can referee it.
What role could a special master play in Trump's case?
In this case in front of Judge Cannon, it looks like the judge is going to be appointing — if that does happen — appointing somebody who is going to make calls — yes or no; this is privileged, this isn't — [and] submit a report to the parties. The parties would then have an opportunity to object, which is to say, to appeal to the judge, and she would then rule de novo, which means kind of start at the beginning. But everybody knows that for the most part, if the special master knows what they're doing, the judge is going to accept the recommendation.
What makes Trump's case unique?
This is such an unusual case. In most cases where I've been appointed, I'm being asked to oversee discovery, I'm being asked to rule on attorney-client privilege issues. There aren't really any cases where you have the ex-president of the United States having materials taken out of his house and citing not only attorney-client privilege — which is relatively easy, there's all kinds of case law about that — but executive privilege, which has not been the subject of a lot of case law.
Could appointing a special master slow down the Justice Department's investigation?
It's very likely that if Judge Cannon appoints a special master, that the special master's going to have to do a lot of legal research, come to a place of understanding of how to apply the law and look at some pretty unusual facts. So that does have the chance to slow things down. But on the other hand, the judge could provide for a kind of parallel processing, where the review continues by the Justice Department while the special master is reviewing the documents as well.
This interview was produced by Kaity Kline and edited by Simone Popperl.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wdiy.org/npr-news/npr-news/2022-09-02/what-a-special-master-does-as-told-by-a-special-master | 2022-09-02 17:53:33 | 1 | https://www.wdiy.org/npr-news/npr-news/2022-09-02/what-a-special-master-does-as-told-by-a-special-master |
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – Governor Tony Evers has signed the state budget, but not before making over 50 changes.
In a ceremony in Madison, Evers signed the two-year spending plan. He then traveled to Green Bay to highlight different aspects of the budget and explain why he had vetoed certain items.
When the Republican-controlled legislature presented Evers with the budget, the governor had the option to accept it as written, veto parts of it, or veto the entire document.
“Vetoing this entire budget would have meant abandoning priorities I’ve spent four years advocating for,” said Evers.
On his stop in Green Bay, Evers highlighted several parts of the budget including a bipartisan agreement that created historic investments in local municipalities through shared revenue. He also highlighted increased funding for K-12 schools as a win for Wisconsin although he noted the amount allocated to education in the final budget wasn’t as large as he had originally proposed.
“Any increase in spending authority for public schools is better than none, especially given that past budgets failed to provide that investment,” said State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly in a statement. “I am thankful that elected leaders in Wisconsin have recognized the need to better support our public schools.
The budget also gives all state employees a six percent pay raise and allocates $125 million to address PFAS contamination statewide.
Several budget items are Northeast Wisconsin specific including money for the southern bridge project over the Fox River, repairs to the Ray Nitschke bridge in Green Bay, expanded youth apprenticeship programs, and preserving the Potawatomi State Park observation tower in Door County.
“The tower carries historic significance as the first purpose-built recreational observation tower constructed in a Wisconsin State Park, State Forest, or State Recreational Area,” said republican state senator Andre Jacque said. “I’m happy the governor agreed with us and moved beyond his administration’s past efforts that would have essentially torn down this beloved and historic structure.”
The budget also includes funding for the Appleton International Airport terminal expansion project.
Evers also explained the reasoning behind some of the vetoes he had made including one that directs $15 million in fiscal year 2023-24 at the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to be used for grants to child care providers rather than loans.
He also announced that he will retain almost 200 diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) jobs at University of Wisconsin-System schools. Republicans had cut $32 million of funding to the University of Wisconsin-System schools in their budget proposal because they said this money was being used for DEI departments at the university.
“Republicans in the legislature might be perfectly okay with abdicating the duty we share, I’m not,” said Evers. “My focus is the people in the state who’ve I’ve pledged to always try to do the right thing for. We began this biannual budget process with historic opportunity and when this happens we have historic responsibility.”
Republican senator Eric Wimberger attended Governor Evers’ press conference in Green Bay and had this to say about the budget.
“It’s a good fiscally responsibility budget, I’m glad that there was an ability for the governor to agree with nearly everything that we came up with,” he said. Wimberger said that the two parties have philosophical differences that reflect in their priorities in the budget, but that he was pleasantly surprised by how much they could agree on.
Local Five News spoke with several republican legislators on Wednesday afternoon and two of the governor’s vetoes stuck out as the ones that made them the most upset.
The first was one was a cut that reduced the Republican-authored income tax cut from $3.5 billion dollars to $175 million. The tax cuts are now for the lowest two tax brackets in Wisconsin, so households earning less than $36,840 per year and individuals who make less than $27,630 per year. Evers said the Republicans plan benefited the state’s wealthiest people over the middle class while Republicans said Evers vetoes means the tax cuts don’t even apply to middle-class earners anymore.
“When you make the budget completely on the tax from billionaires, you make the state reliant on the billionaires and if they threaten to leave then you have big budget problems,” said Wimberger.
Republicans who spoke to Local Five News also said they were upset with a veto Evers made that will increase per pupil funding at public schools for the next 400 years. Republicans and Evers had struck a deal to do this for the next two years, but the governor changed the numbers on budget to extend the funding for the much longer period of time.
Republicans said this will increase people’s property taxes for years to come and erases promises made through months of careful negotiations between themselves and Evers.
“For him to violate our trust and our agreement with him, it’s going to have long-term damage for our ability to work with him moving forward,” said state representative David Steffen. “I think bipartisanship with this governor is now dead. The cuts that he made were absolutely inexplicable.”
Representative Steffen said he’d rate the budget a five out of 10. Several of his republican colleagues were also very critical of what Evers did with the budget.
“The Governor had a chance to sign the largest tax cut in Wisconsin’s history and provide a tax cut for every taxpayer in the state but instead, he chose to keep more than $2.7 billion in Madison rather than in the pockets of hardworking families,” said Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu.
‘Even as I’m glad that the legislature joined me in making critical investments in several key areas, the fact remains this budget remains imperfect and incomplete,” said Evers.
The budget also reflected some of Oneida Nation’s priorities including funding for a voluntary post-conviction program for adults that will provide various court, substance abuse treatment and community-based supports, money for their bird-monitoring program, and funding for their National Estuarine Research Reserve System among other programs.
“I wish to extend our appreciation to Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, Senator Rob Cowles (R-Green Bay), Representative Joy Goeben, and Representative John Macco, for authoring and advocating on state budget provisions that represented Oneida Nation priorities,” said a spokeswoman for Oneida Nation. “And, a special thank you to Senator Eric Wimberger who, as a committee member, helped support and shepherd the proposals through the budget committee process.” | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/republicans-democrats-react-to-state-budget/ | 2023-07-06 06:37:50 | 0 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/republicans-democrats-react-to-state-budget/ |
The Justice Department has launched a federal civil rights investigation into Georgia's Fulton County Jail — a facility described by the sheriff's office as "dilapidated and rapidly eroding" and where one inmate died covered in insects and filth.
Investigators have received "credible allegations" that inmates of the jail, one of Georgia's largest, are housed in a facility considered "structurally unsafe," that correctional officers are using excessive force and that violence is widespread, resulting in serious injuries and even murders, according to the DOJ.
The department's investigation, which is being done with the U.S. Attorney's office in the Northern District of Georgia, will examine those allegations as well as the inmates' access to mental and medical care and whether Fulton County and the Fulton County Sheriff's Office discriminate against inmates with psychiatric disabilities.
"People in prisons and jails are entitled to basic protections of their civil rights," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. "We launched this investigation into the Fulton County Jail based on serious allegations of unsafe, unsanitary living conditions at the jail, excessive force and violence within the jail, discrimination against incarcerated individuals with mental health issues, and failure to provide adequate medical care to incarcerated individuals."
The DOJ will determine whether there are systemic violations of federal law and how to correct them if that's the case, Garland said.
This inquiry into the Atlanta-based jail comes almost a year after the death of Lashawn Thompson, 35, who died last September in a bedbug-infested cell in Fulton County Jail's psychiatric wing.
Thompson was in Fulton County Jail in Atlanta for three months before dying. An independent autopsy said his cause of death was "Complications due to Severe Neglect," with "Untreated Decompensated Schizophrenia" as a contributing cause.
A medical examiner who examined Thompson has said that he didn't receive necessary medical care or adequate food, water or shelter.
Individuals housed in jails are frequently not yet convicted, can't afford bail, are awaiting hearings or are serving short punishments for misdemeanors, according to Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.
Clarke's office is leading the investigation.
A majority of inmates in the jail — around 87% — are Black making the alleged problems "a racial justice issue," she said.
She told reporters that she couldn't specify the length of the investigation, but said the issue is a priority for the department.
"The unconstitutional conditions that we see too often inside jails and prisons have no place in society today," Clarke said in a statement. "We are launching this investigation to determine whether Fulton County's treatment of people in the jail complies with constitutional standards. We are committed to ensuring jail and prison facilities provide constitutional conditions, in which all people can live safely and receive medical care. Incarceration should never include exposure to unconstitutional living conditions, including the risk of serious harm from violence."
Clarke's office is in the process of investigating a number of facilities including Georgia's state-run prisons and other institutions in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida and other states.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wboi.org/npr-news/2023-07-13/feds-to-investigate-georgias-fulton-county-jail-for-filthy-dangerous-conditions | 2023-07-13 19:47:22 | 1 | https://www.wboi.org/npr-news/2023-07-13/feds-to-investigate-georgias-fulton-county-jail-for-filthy-dangerous-conditions |
DUBAI, UAE, July 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The global cryptocurrency exchange, XT.com, is thrilled to announce its token offering expansion and list GRN (G) token with USDT on July 1, 2022, at 10:00 (UTC). The listing solidifies XT.com's position as a market leader by allowing everyone to trade the GRN token on its platform. Meanwhile, the GRN token is by far the newest token available for trading on XT.com.
GRN (G) Token is a peer-to-peer digital asset and native currency of the GRN Grid ecosystem. Moreover, the token uses a PoS consensus mechanism to operate. GRN token, like other XT token functions, can be used to pay for goods and services, trade, stake, and more.
To proactively ignite its users' trading experience, XT.com urges users to start depositing their crypto holdings before and even after June 30, 2022, at 10:00 (UTC) in preparation for trading. As a result, the deposit withdrawal section has been opened, allowing participants to do so hassle-free. As a follow up to the deposit, XT.com has added a GRN token withdrawal section, which will open for everyone on July 2, 2022, at 10:00 (UTC).
Moreover, the token's trading, deposit, and withdrawal services excite XT.com to encourage crypto believers, seasoned crypto enthusiasts, investors, and everyone to trade the GRN token on its platform. Meanwhile, apart from adding trading support for the GRN token, the XT.com team highlighted that more and more tokens are expected to be listed on the platform this year.
Besides making GRN tokens available for trading, Mo Mukarram, XT.com's Head of Marketing, states, "XT.com extends its position as a market leader by listing the GRN token. Our goal for this year is to champion the MENA region when it comes to token listing. We encourage everyone to trade, stake, swap, and execute transactions with GRN token on our platform."
About GRN (G) Token
GRN Grid is a layer 1 decentralised blockchain with a sustainable first approach. The project is initiated by the GRN Association, based in Zug, Swiss.
The project envisions reducing the carbon footprint of the current blockchain industry and expanding upon the decentralised library of tools for businesses and customers. The main goal of this project is to create a sustainable alternative for any company or individual looking forward to adopting blockchain and web3 Technology.
GRN (G) is the native token of GRN Grid and serves multiple use cases within Grid. These use cases include staking, fee payments, and validator incentives.
GRN Grid is an energy-efficient smart contract enabled chain with high performance and low costs. In addition to sustainability, GRN Grid also includes several important features, such as an integrated payment and escrow system, swapping pools, and an encrypted chat between users. GRN Grid actively supports decentralisation and safety due to its unique Proof of Stake v2 (POS2) algorithm.
Website: https://grngrid.com/
Telegram: www.t.me/GRNCommunity
About XT.com
Launched in 2018, XT.com is the world's first social infused digital assets trading platform, headquartered in Dubai. It has multiple operation centers across the globe including Singapore and Seoul. With 3+ million registered users, over 300,000+ monthly active users, and 30+ million users in the ecosystem, XT.com strives to cater to its large user base by providing a safe and easy trading experience. The platform currently supports 500+ high-quality currencies and 800+ trading pairs which are accessible to the entire global crypto market.
Website: https://www.xt.com/
Telegram: https://t.me/XTsupport_EN
Twitter: https://twitter.com/XTexchange
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SOURCE XT.com | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2022/07/01/grn-g-gets-listed-xtcom/ | 2022-07-01 11:48:00 | 0 | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2022/07/01/grn-g-gets-listed-xtcom/ |
LIFT Aesthetics Positions Itself To Make Confidence Look Good On Even More Clients With AMP's Growth Platform
DALLAS, Dec. 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Advanced MedAesthetic Partners (AMP) announces the addition of LIFT Aesthetics to the industry's leading support and growth platform. This outstanding business accompanies the accelerating number of practices partnering with AMP.
"AMP is proud to welcome LIFT Aesthetics into the family," shares Nicole Chiaramonte, AMP CEO. "I've successfully worked with Dr. Jonathan Sykes for years, and have followed him and Dr. Meaghan Noud's incredible practice with a simple patient philosophy, delivering individual amplified well-being through confidence from the inside out. The AMP platform and experts will help LIFT Aesthetics reach more patients, building market share while bolstering revenue and profit."
AMP focuses on genuine practice partnerships by selecting the highest quality clinicians to deliver an unparalleled level of care. The AMP model empowers practices to generate faster growth while staying true to the respective brand, by leveraging proven strategies that ensure success.
"The future begins today", shares Dr. Jonathan Sykes. "We are excited to join AMP and work with the talented team they have assembled to continue enhancing the natural beauty of all our patients."
This latest affiliation furthers AMP's continued expansion and leadership in the high growth medical aesthetics market.
ABOUT AMP
AMP is comprised of some of the most successful business and clinical leaders in the medical aesthetics industry. AMP support includes managerial, administrative, marketing, clinical training, information technology and numerous other elements to allow practices to focus on what they do best – serving their clients. Learn more at www.weramp.com
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SOURCE Advanced MedAesthetic Partners | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2022/12/21/lift-aesthetics-luxurious-napa-med-spa-joins-advanced-medaesthetic-partners-coast-coast-family/ | 2022-12-21 13:34:43 | 0 | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2022/12/21/lift-aesthetics-luxurious-napa-med-spa-joins-advanced-medaesthetic-partners-coast-coast-family/ |
Percentages: FG .440, FT .600.
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3-Point Goals: 4-17, .235 (Leffew 2-7, Tinsley 1-3, Benjamin 1-4, Cordilia 0-1, Thomas 0-2).
Team Rebounds: 2. Team Turnovers: None.
Blocked Shots: 2 (Leffew, Thomas).
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Turnovers: 11 (Tinsley 3, Leffew 2, Thomas 2, Barton, Benjamin, Cordilia, Lipscomb).
Steals: 2 (Benjamin, Lipscomb).
Technical Fouls: None.
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Percentages: FG .377, FT .444.
3-Point Goals: 4-16, .250 (Murray 2-5, Powell 1-2, James 1-4, Betrand 0-1, Benson 0-2, McKeithan 0-2).
Team Rebounds: 4. Team Turnovers: 1.
Blocked Shots: None.
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Turnovers: 4 (Betrand, Bladen, Murray, Ogemuno-Johnson).
Steals: 8 (Ogemuno-Johnson 4, McKeithan 2, Benson, Powell).
Technical Fouls: None.
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A_1,650 (1,950). | https://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/mount-st-mary-s-63-rider-58-17807107.php | 2023-02-26 23:11:18 | 0 | https://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/mount-st-mary-s-63-rider-58-17807107.php |
Amerigo opening third location in the Metro
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - A popular Italian restaurant is setting up shop in Fondren.
Amerigo Italian Restaurant is opening a location at the former Babalu restaurant at Duling School.
The restaurant currently has six locations, including Flowood and Ridgeland.
“We are thrilled to have Amerigo join the Fondren restaurant community,” said Rebecca Garrison, executive director of the Fondren Renaissance Foundation. “It’s a great fit with our other restaurant offerings.”
Amerigo is one of several new establishments that have recently opened, expanded or have announced they are coming to the Fondren Business District.
Zundo Ramen & Donburi opened recently at 3100 N. State Street.
“This really speaks to the resiliency of our Fondren Business District. It’s been a tough couple of years and we have lost several of our favorite spots,” Garrison said.
“But with Amerigo’s announcement, the recent commitment by Little Tokyo, the new Green Ghost location, a new outdoor pizza oven at Highball Station and the addition of Zundo, we are back to having 18 restaurants for dining in, or a total of 28 spots to eat and drink.”
Construction is expected to begin this week. Amerigo Fondren will hire around 60-70 employees.
They hope to open in the fall.
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Copyright 2023 WLBT. All rights reserved. | https://www.wlbt.com/2023/04/13/amerigo-opening-third-location-metro/ | 2023-04-18 17:45:42 | 1 | https://www.wlbt.com/2023/04/13/amerigo-opening-third-location-metro/ |
Trailing 5-0 in the third inning, the Phillies rallied to defeat the Houston Astros, 6-5, in 10 innings to take Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night.
It is the fourth consecutive series the Phillies won the opening game, and this might have been the most improbable as the Phillies trailed the Astros and likely future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander, who was perfect through three innings, 5-0. The Astros lost for the first time this postseason after sweeping seven games against the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees.
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J.T. Realmuto hit a solo home run off Luis Garcia leading off the 10th after right fielder Nick Castellanos’ sliding catch of Jeremy Pena’s bloop to right with two outs and Jose Altuve on second base saved the game in the ninth. It was retribution for Castellanos, who struck out against former Phillie Hector Neris with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson hit on every move, particularly managing his bullpen after starting pitcher Aaron Nola gave up five runs in 4 1/3 innings.
Thomson went to his high-leverage reliever Jose Alvarado in the fifth and for the second straight postseason game used likely Game 3 starter Ranger Suarez out of the builpen.
Seranthony Dominguez picked up the win with 1 2/3 innings of relief, and David Robertson put the potential game-tying and winning runs in scoring position before inducing a groundout from Aldemys Diaz to defensive replacement Edmundo Sosa at third for the final out.
The final out came two pitches after Diaz was hit by a pitch but he was sent back to the batter’s box for leaning into the pitch.
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Kyle Tucker hit two home runs off Nola, a solo shot in the second and three-run blast in the third, to help put the Phillies into a 5-0 hole.
Castellanos knocked in a run with a two-run single in the fourth, and Alec Bohm scored two runs with a double to make it 5-3. In the next inning, Realmuto ripped a two-run double into the left-center field gap to tie the game.
Verlander remains winless in World Series games. He is 0-6 with a 6.08 ERA in eight starts on the biggest stage.
Ace Zack Wheeler will take the ball for the Phillies in Game 2 against Framber Valdez before the series returns to Philadelphia for Game 3 on Monday.
Bill Evans can be reached at bevans@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BEvansSports | https://www.nj.com/phillies/2022/10/phillies-rally-from-five-runs-down-to-stun-astros-in-world-series-game-1.html | 2022-10-29 05:36:44 | 0 | https://www.nj.com/phillies/2022/10/phillies-rally-from-five-runs-down-to-stun-astros-in-world-series-game-1.html |
BEIJING (AP) — Former Houston Rockets star Yao Ming has stepped down as head of China’s struggling national basketball league.
An eight-time NBA All-Star, Yao had been leading efforts to commercialize the top-tier 20-team Chinese Basketball Association Management Company since his appointment in 2017.
A notice on the CBA’s website thanked Yao for his service. It gave no indication of the reason behind Yao’s departure other than that the board of directors had determined it was time for new leadership.
Yao was one of the first Chinese athletes to become an international household name when the Houston Rockets drafted him with the first pick in 2002. The 2.29-meter (7-foot-6) center played for eight seasons in the NBA before retiring in 2011, citing chronic injuries.
Allegations of corruption have dogged the league in recent years. Two teams, the Jiangsu Dragons and Shanghai Sharks, were ejected from the league finals last month after being found to have engaged in unsporting conduct over a series of turnovers that resulted in a come-from-behind win by the Sharks.
The outcome was judged as suspicious and resulted in a swift investigation and punishments for both teams. Managers and coaching staff from each team have been barred from the league for up to five years.
China’s basketball and football leagues have drawn foreign talent and commercial endorsements, but are weighted down by uncertain ownership lineups and the influence of government. Some officials have been placed under investigation for bribe taking and other forms of corruption.
Yao’s replacement is veteran sports journalist Xu Jicheng, who served on committees bidding for and overseeing management of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and last year’s Winter Games.
Basketball remains enormously popular in China, largely because of Yao’s storied NBA career. That’s despite a year-long ban on NBA games being shown in the country after a team executive angered Beijing with remarks supporting Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement.
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More AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports | https://fox59.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-chinese-basketball-legend-yao-ming-steps-down-as-head-of-national-league/ | 2023-05-25 14:48:10 | 0 | https://fox59.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-chinese-basketball-legend-yao-ming-steps-down-as-head-of-national-league/ |
Tom Gibbs was getting worried. He was deep in the remote woodland of South East England, anxiously searching for Female 2, a bison that had strayed from the herd.
A few days later, he heard tiny hoofs ambling around and noticed a tail swishing in the distance. Relief washed over him — followed by disbelief and delight.
“I didn’t even believe my own eyes,” he said.
Gibbs discovered that Female 2’s days-long departure from the herd was actually the best-case scenario: She had secluded herself to give birth to the first wild bison born in Britain in more than six millennia. “It was such a magical moment, and so iconic what it represents for conservation and wilding in this country,” said Gibbs, who first spotted the baby bison on Sept. 9.
“I saw this little face pop out from behind mom,” he said. Gibbs stood there for two hours, “just watching the calf and the mom,” he said, adding that bison naturally conceal signs of pregnancy to stave off predators, so the rangers had no clue she was expecting. “I wanted to scream it from the rooftops.”
The birth was a happy surprise for the team of rangers working on the Wilder Blean project, which brings grazing animals to the West Blean and Thornden Woods in Kent as a way to address climate and biodiversity crises.
“Bison are this amazing, versatile tool,” said Gibbs, adding that he hopes they will be one of the keys to help reverse troubling environmental trends in the area.
Bison serve as ecosystem engineers — a term used to describe species that can alter and maintain a habitat. The shaggy-haired animals, which have been described as “woolly bulldozers,” are seen by scientists as climate heroes.
“They are quite big and robust, so they can really shape and engineer the landscape around them,” said Gibbs explaining that their fur debarks trees, they mow grass with their mouths, their large bodies create pathways throughout the dense forest and their nutrient-rich manure helps other species flourish. “Everything they do has this positive impact and shapes the world around them.”
The project is run by two local conservation charities — Kent Wildlife Trust and Wildwood Trust — and is the first of its kind in Britain, though similar initiatives are underway in other parts of Europe and North America.
Three female bison were brought from wildlife parks in Scotland and Ireland to a 500-acre area in July and will eventually be joined by wild horses and pigs. While the goal is for the animals to fend for themselves in the wild, they are being closely monitored and slowly weaned off supplemental food — which is what they were fed previously in parks.
“We want to remain as hands-off as possible, but their welfare is at the absolute heart of what we do,” Gibbs said. The team is paying close attention to the calf — who is the fourth member of the herd.
The birth is a big deal for a number of reasons, including that bison were once on the brink of extinction. European bison were nearly driven to their demise in the early-20th century due to excessive hunting. Only a small number survived and were kept in wildlife parks and zoos.
In fact, according to Paul Whitfield, the director general of Wildwood Trust, all 9,000 bison living in Europe are descended from only 12 zoo animals. The calf’s recent birth, he said, is a major step toward growing the population. Bison have a life span of about 15 to 20 years in the wild.
“In the U.K., we’ve lost almost all our mammals,” said Whitfield, adding that it’s one of the most nature-depleted nations in the world. “We’ve just slowly eaten away at all the wild places. Over time, and through hundreds of years of hunting, we’ve basically just killed everything.”
The Wilder Blean project, Whitfield said, is an effort to reverse that damage — and it’s already working. “It’s very much putting back in place the missing ecosystem processes,” he said. “We’ve been intensely farming and managing the land for hundreds of years. There isn’t really much wilderness or wild left.”
Funds are being raised for Wilder Blean, all of which will go toward rewilding — a conservation effort intended to replenish land and restore it to its natural state.
“To me, rewilding is about working with nature and using nature’s natural processes to regenerate wildlife,” Whitfield said, explaining that the bison will accomplish that task “just by living and moving through the woodland.”
Traditional conservation methods managed by humans — such as woodland coppicing, a practice of cutting down trees to stimulate new growth — aren’t as effective, he said, “which is why we need rewilding approaches where we’re not trying to keep it as is, we’re trying to make it much, much better.”
Unlike humans, bison naturally nurture the land and work intuitively to create “niches for other species to move in and thrive,” Whitfield said. “It creates a far more complicated, rich, diverse habitat.”
In the short time since the bison arrived on the land, they have begun transforming the habitat for the better, by carving paths throughout the forest allowing the sunshine to pour in, and fertilizing the soil with their manure, encouraging the growth of herbs, fungi and other species.
“They create this little microhabitat for reptiles, lichens, rare herbs and fungi,” Whitfield said.
“I was really pleasantly surprised by how quickly you can see the changes,” said Whitfield, adding that more animals are expected to arrive shortly, including a bull to breed with the three female bison.
“We thought the earliest we’d have calves was autumn next year,” Whitfield said. As more animals join the mix, “we’re hoping for all sorts of surprises.” So far, the unexpected birth of the baby bison has been the highlight of the project.
“No one is saying this area of Kent is going to change the world, but what it is showing is that we can do it,” said Whitfield, who has been in communication with two other U.K. organizations that want to facilitate similar bison projects. “It’s already inspiring other people.”
More broadly, he said, when it comes to our climate, the world needs some positive developments.
“The vast majority of environmental news is incredibly bleak. It’s doom, it’s gloom, it’s statistics of how many species we’ve lost, and how terrible things are,” said Whitfield. “In a world that’s on fire, in this little corner of Kent, here’s this little ray of hope.”
Whitfield, Gibbs and the rest of the Wilder Blean team marvel at work each day, watching the wild calf grow and thrive — and the environment around her do the same. She enjoys playing in the rain, dust bathing and imitating her elders.
“To see her getting stronger every day and being really inquisitive and cheeky, to be able to share in that is so humbling,” Gibbs said. “We’re like proud bison dads.”
Above all, the calf has given the team hope for a healthier planet. “It’s a rare sunshine,” Gibbs said. “It’s the first step into a really exciting future.” | https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/10/27/baby-bison-uk-rewilding-wildlife/ | 2022-10-27 10:58:55 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/10/27/baby-bison-uk-rewilding-wildlife/ |
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — People across China reacted with relief and caution Thursday to the dramatic government decision to loosen some of the world’s most severe COVID-19 restrictions.
For the first time in months, Jenny Jian hit the gym in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou without being required to scan the “health code” on her smartphone, part of a nationwide system that tracks where hundreds of millions of people go.
Elsewhere, virus tests no longer were required to enter many public places under changes announced Wednesday that followed nationwide protests against restrictions that have confined millions of families to their homes. Schools in areas without outbreaks were ordered to reopen.
“It was implemented very quickly,” said Jian, a 28-year-old resident of the southern city of Guangzhou. “But policy is one thing. The main thing is to see what the experience is when I step out the door.”
The changes are in line with the government’s promise to make restrictions less burdensome while still trying to contain the virus. While it’s not clear if the new rules are a direct response to the protests, they address some of the most pressing issues that drove people on the streets.
The state crackdown on the demonstrations was swift, if largely out of sight, and the flash of public anger faded from view even before the changes were announced. For now, it’s unclear whether more protests will flare given a quickly changing situation.
Among the most significant changes announced was that people who test positive for COVID-19 but show mild or no symptoms can now stay at home — a 180-degree turn from the previous policy, which sent all infected people to government field hospitals that became notorious for overcrowding and poor food and hygiene.
Chinese officials who spent three years warning the public about COVID-19’s dangers have also begun to talk about it as less threatening — a possible effort to prepare for living with the virus, as many other nations have done. On Thursday, official messaging particularly emphasized the point, with several state media outlets sharing a lengthy explainer that noted the virus is here to stay.
“The past three years have made us not want to come in contact with the virus … but actually in human society, there are thousands of microorganisms,” a team working for prominent government doctor Zhang Wenhong wrote. “Inadvertently, every year we will get sick briefly because we’ve been infected by several of these.”
Still, experts were careful to underscore this was not the end of COVID-19 containment.
“It is not that we are going to lie flat. Precision prevention must be still adhered to,” said Yu Changping, a doctor in the department of respiratory medicine at the People’s Hospital of Wuhan University. “The opening is an irreversible trend in the future because most people have been vaccinated and there has been a lower number of serious illnesses.”
While outside experts have increasingly criticized China’s containment policy as unsustainable, they have also warned that the country will now face a challenging first wave, as the loosened measures will no doubt fuel an increase of cases. That could be particularly difficult because many elderly people are not vaccinated and the country’s strict policies have meant few people have natural immunity against the virus.
“Every country in experiencing their first wave will face chaos, especially in medical capacity, and a squeeze on medical resources,” said Wang Pi-sheng, Taiwan’s head of COVID-19 response. Wang said Taiwanese living in China could come home for medical treatment, especially if they’re elderly or at high risk.
Bracing for the possibility of getting infected, people in the southwestern city of Chongqing rushed to buy cold and fever medicine, in line with government advice. In Beijing, some pharmacies ran out of the drugs.
Even the possibility of buying such medicine was remarkable, as the new rules relaxed restrictions on them. During the height of the pandemic, such over-the-counter medications could only be purchased through a lengthy application process and just visiting a pharmacy risked triggering the health code smartphone app.
But after three years of continually changing restrictions, many were cautious about rejoicing too early, wondering how the new measures would be carried out.
“All the policies are there, but when it gets to the local level, when it gets to the sub-district level, your neighborhood, it’s a complete mess,” said 65-year-old Yang Guangwei, a retiree who lives in Beijing.
The new measures also mandate fewer PCR tests, noting they must be targeted at those in high-risk industries and not entire districts. At the height of some lockdowns, many cities carried out daily tests. In recent months, Beijing and Shanghai residents had to take one every two or three days just to be able to move around the city.
One Beijing resident who gave only his family name, Qian, out of concern for discussing government policy, noted that testing is still required to access some places.
“They say don’t test, but the workplace still requires it. That’s contradictory,” Qian said of his own experience.
Underneath the official announcement of rollbacks posted on social media by state broadcaster CCTV, users expressed skepticism and noted that uncertainties abound.
One user asked if universities, many of which had prevented students from entering and leaving freely in the past few years, would return to normal. Others wondered whether certain cities would get rid of their quarantine-upon-arrival measures, as mandated in the national policies announced Wednesday.
But some expressed hope that the measures would open up new possibilities, like travel, which has been severely curtailed.
___
Associated Press news assistant Caroline Chen in Guangzhou, China, researcher Yu Bing in Beijing and AP video journalist Johnson Lai in Taipei, Taiwan, contributed to this report. | https://www.wivb.com/news/ap-chinas-looser-anti-covid-measures-met-with-relief-caution/ | 2022-12-08 20:49:31 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/ap-chinas-looser-anti-covid-measures-met-with-relief-caution/ |
For-profit companies have long sought to tap into the fears of consumers, offering pricey medical scans they can access without a doctor’s recommendation, as long as they can pay the price out of pocket.
Now, some of these ventures are trumpeting scans assisted by artificial intelligence, essentially cutting-edge computer technology they say can reveal hidden health problems, from cancer to obscure bone disorders, and analyze the results more quickly than those typically ordered by doctors. Researchers say artificial intelligence, known as AI, holds the promise of more precise diagnosis and also the ability to shorten waiting times for results.
But are these new body scans for the “worried well” surging ahead of the current science on artificial intelligence? As the debate heats up, a California-based company is planning to open in Massachusetts.
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“There is certainly not enough known about the use of [artificial intelligence] in direct-to-consumer imaging services,” Dr. Catherine Livingston, associate professor of family medicine at Oregon Health Sciences University School of Medicine, said in an e-mail. Livingston is the lead author of a 2016 report by the American College of Preventative Medicine that recommended against whole-body scans for early tumor detection in patients who have no obvious symptoms.
“We don’t even know that the benefits outweigh harms for whole body scans in asymptomatic people. Adding in ... AI is a Pandora’s box,” she said.
Even before AI, many major medical groups warned against consumer-based body scans, saying there is little evidence they save lives or improve health. They warn that such scans have the potential for false-positive findings that can result in unnecessary testing and procedures with additional risks, such as exposure to radiation from follow-up testing, not to mention additional costs.
A California-based company, Prenuvo, which offers whole body scans with AI for $2,499, is slated to open in Massachusetts later this year. Prenuvo is already up and running in several areas, including Silicon Valley, Boca Raton, Dallas, and Minneapolis, and says other new sites this year will include Chicago, New York City, and Washington, DC.
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The company has provided “around 250,000 overall diagnoses and around five percent being quite serious and requiring immediate follow up,” Andrew Lacy, Prenuvo’s founder and chief executive, said in an interview.
Lacy declined to say how many people they’ve scanned since opening in 2018, but he said one customer might have several diagnoses.
Lacy said the types of clinically significant issues they’ve found include stage one liver, kidney, pancreatic and brain cancer, as well as herniated discs and arthritis.
Still, Dr. Jennifer Haas, a primary care physician who specializes in health care disparities and cancer screening and prevention at Massachusetts General Hospital, is skeptical about commercialized whole body scans. She said the procedure for people who don’t have obvious health risks may place further stress on a swamped health care system, when people who receive whole body scans need evaluations for “incidental findings” that don’t ultimately wind up being a problem.
“You will have people with an unproven test who are going to need follow-up, and who are going to push people away who need evidence-based care,” she said.
That describes what just happened to Johanna Beyer,, a 52-year-old Silicon Valley executive coach who recently had a Prenuvo body scan because a friend of a friend said his scan found an early brain tumor.
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“I’ve been going through menopause and have had some friends recently die of breast cancer, all these crazy things happening,” she said. “And I thought, why not?”
The results showed an “abnormality” — a tiny brain aneurysm. Beyer, panicked, texted her friend, Dr. Christopher Hess, a professor and chair of radiology and biomedical imaging at the University of California San Francisco.
Hess’s take? “Even if it is an aneurysm, such small aneurysms are unlikely to rupture and most experts would not treat.”
Still, all her friends want a scan now, Beyer said. “But after this experience, I would say not to.”
Hess, in an interview, said AI is playing a vital role in helping radiologists more quickly sort through mountains of scans to prioritize which ones need urgent attention. The technology is also helping radiologists detect subtle changes they might have missed.
Researchers have developed AIs that can help diagnose illnesses by training computers with thousands of scans until they learn to distinguish healthy from, say, cancerous tissue. It’s similar to how scientists have trained computers to recognize patterns in a consumer’s online shopping history and then recommend additional products the consumer may want to buy.
But Hess, who directs a UCSF center on AI and medical imaging, said that aside from routinely recommended cancer screenings for such things as breast and colon cancer, preventative screening only makes sense if a patient has a known higher risk, such as a smoker screening for lung cancer.
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“There are a number of very good modalities, even coronary heart screening, for heart disease patients with a family history, but all of this is based on family risk,” he said.
In Massachusetts, whole body screening companies can fall into a gray area for regulatory oversight. Prenuvo does not meet the Massachusetts definition of a clinic, which would be overseen by the state health department, according to the agency. Any health professional working at the company, however, would have to meet state licensing requirements.
The state’s Radiation Control Program regulates medical device machines that emit ionizing radiation, such as x-rays, CAT scans, and bone densitometry machines. Machines that do not use ionizing radiation, including MRIs as well as ultrasounds and EKGs, are not regulated by the program. So Prenuvo, which offers MRI scans, would not fall under this regulation, either.
Lacy, Prenuvo’s chief executive, said the company hopes to team up with local researchers in Massachusetts after they open to study the efficacy of its whole body screening. He said the company has produced several research papers about its artificial intelligence-assisted scans, but they are all under embargo until they are presented next month at an American Academy of Neurology conference and later in June at an MRI industry gathering.
Livingston, the professor from Oregon Health Sciences University School of Medicine, said artificial intelligence-assisted scans will likely have an important role to play in many areas of medicine, but that it still needs to be “exhaustively tested to make sure that it is accurate, reliable and, most importantly, that the use of AI actually improves patient outcomes and does not cause harm.”
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“We are a long way from that right now in medical imaging screening in asymptomatic disease,” she said. “And the stakes in medicine are high. We are talking about people’s lives.”
Kay Lazar can be reached at kay.lazar@globe.com Follow her on Twitter @GlobeKayLazar. | https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/03/20/metro/new-ai-body-scan/ | 2023-03-20 18:22:25 | 1 | https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/03/20/metro/new-ai-body-scan/ |
Oracle Announces Fiscal 2023 First Quarter Financial Results
Published: Sep. 12, 2022 at 3:05 PM CDT|Updated: 12 minutes ago
- Q1 GAAP Earnings per Share $0.56, Non-GAAP Earnings per Share $1.03
- Q1 Total Revenue $11.4 billion, up 18% in USD, up 23% in constant currency
- Q1 Cloud Revenue (IaaS plus SaaS) $3.6 billion, up 45% in USD, up 50% in constant currency
- Q1 Cloud Infrastructure (IaaS) Revenue $0.9 billion, up 52% in USD, up 58% in constant currency
- Q1 Cloud Application (SaaS) Revenue $2.7 billion, up 43% in USD, up 48% in constant currency
- Fusion ERP Cloud (SaaS) Revenue, up 33% in USD, up 38% in constant currency
- NetSuite ERP Cloud (SaaS) Revenue, up 27% in USD, up 30% in constant currency
AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) today announced fiscal 2023 Q1 results. Total quarterly revenues were up 18% year-over-year in USD and up 23% in constant currency to $11.4 billion. Cloud services and license support revenues were up 14% in USD and up 20% in constant currency to $8.4 billion. Cloud license and on-premise license revenues were up 11% in USD and up 19% in constant currency to $0.9 billion. For the first quarter of fiscal 2023, Cerner contributed $1.4 billion to total revenues.
Q1 GAAP operating income was $2.6 billion, down 23% in USD and down 17% in constant currency. Non-GAAP operating income was $4.5 billion, up 3% in USD and up 10% in constant currency. GAAP operating margin was 23%, and non-GAAP operating margin was 39%. GAAP net income was $1.5 billion, and non-GAAP net income was $2.8 billion. Q1 GAAP earnings per share was $0.56 while non-GAAP earnings per share was $1.03.
Short-term deferred revenues were $10.5 billion. Operating cash flow was $10.5 billion during the trailing twelve months.
The strengthening of the U.S. dollar compared to foreign currencies had a significant impact on results in the quarter. Without the impact of the U.S. dollar strengthening compared to foreign currencies, Oracle's reported Q1 GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per share would have been 8 cents higher.
"In Q1, total revenue grew 23% in constant currency beating guidance by $200 million," said Oracle CEO, Safra Catz. "Even without Cerner, our total revenue grew 8% in constant currency driven by Oracle's rapidly growing applications and infrastructure cloud businesses. These two cloud businesses now account for more than 30% of our total revenue. As our cloud businesses become a larger-and-larger percentage of our overall business, we expect our constant currency organic revenue growth rate to hit double-digits with a corresponding increase in earnings per share. Cerner will also positively impact revenue and earnings per share growth in the coming quarters as we fully integrate Cerner into Oracle and benefit from the resulting cost efficiencies. This is the first quarter we owned Cerner and they just delivered the best revenue quarter in their history. We expect Cerner to do even better in the coming quarters as we develop an all-new suite of healthcare cloud services."
"Multi-Cloud access to the Oracle Database and Oracle's MySQL HeatWave database will make the world's two most popular databases even more popular," said Oracle Chairman and CTO, Larry Ellison. "In Q1 we expanded our relationship with Microsoft by providing all versions of the Oracle database directly to Microsoft Azure customers. Now all Microsoft customers can directly access the Oracle Exadata Cloud Service, the Oracle Autonomous Database and every other Oracle Database version directly from the Azure Cloud. Today we are also announcing that Amazon Web Services customers can directly access Oracle's MySQL HeatWave database running in the Amazon Cloud. This enables AWS users to run transaction processing, real-time analytics, and machine learning on the single unified MySQL service. MySQL HeatWave delivers 7X better price performance compared to Amazon Redshift and 10X better than Snowflake, 25X faster than Redshift ML, and up to 10X higher throughput than Aurora. See today's MySQL HeatWave press release for customer performance benchmark verification."
The board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.32 per share of outstanding common stock. This dividend will be paid to stockholders of record as of the close of business on October 12, 2022, with a payment date of October 25, 2022.
- A sample list of customers which purchased Oracle Cloud services during the quarter will be available at www.oracle.com/customers/earnings/.
- A list of recent technical innovations and announcements is available at www.oracle.com/news/.
- To learn what industry analysts have been saying about Oracle's products and services see www.oracle.com/corporate/analyst-reports.html.
Earnings Conference Call and Webcast
Oracle will hold a conference call and webcast today to discuss these results at 4:00 p.m. Central. A live and replay webcast will be available on the Oracle Investor Relations website at www.oracle.com/investor/.
About Oracle
Oracle offers integrated suites of applications plus secure, autonomous infrastructure in the Oracle Cloud. For more information about Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), please visit us at www.oracle.com.
Trademarks
Oracle, Java, and MySQL are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation.
"Safe Harbor" Statement: Statements in this press release relating to Oracle's future plans, expectations, beliefs, intentions and prospects, including statements regarding the size of our cloud businesses, our organic revenue and earnings per share growth rates, Cerner's impact on our financial results, Cerner's future performance and the development of new healthcare cloud services, the popularity of the Oracle Database and Oracle MySQL HeatWave, and the impact of access to the Oracle Database and Oracle's MySQL HeatWave database by Microsoft Azure customers and Amazon Web Services customers, are "forward-looking statements" and are subject to material risks and uncertainties. Risks and uncertainties that could affect our current expectations and our actual results, include, among others: our ability to develop new products and services, integrate acquired products and services and enhance our existing products and services; supply chain constraints and third-party manufacturing and logistics delays; significant coding, manufacturing or configuration errors in our offerings; risks associated with acquisitions; the COVID-19 pandemic; economic, political and market conditions; information technology system failures, privacy concerns and cybersecurity breaches; unfavorable legal proceedings, government investigations, and complex and changing laws and regulations. A detailed discussion of these factors and other risks that affect our business is contained in our SEC filings, including our most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, particularly under the heading "Risk Factors." Copies of these filings are available online from the SEC or by contacting Oracle's Investor Relations Department at (650) 506-4073 or by clicking on SEC Filings on the Oracle Investor Relations website at www.oracle.com/investor/. All information set forth in this press release is current as of September 12, 2022. Oracle undertakes no duty to update any statement in light of new information or future events.
APPENDIX A
ORACLE CORPORATION
Q1 FISCAL 2023 FINANCIAL RESULTS
EXPLANATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES
To supplement our financial results presented on a GAAP basis, we use the non-GAAP measures indicated in the tables, which exclude certain business combination accounting entries and expenses related to acquisitions, as well as other significant expenses including stock-based compensation, that we believe are helpful in understanding our past financial performance and our future results. Our non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for comparable GAAP measures and should be read only in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. Our management regularly uses our supplemental non-GAAP financial measures internally to understand, manage and evaluate our business and make operating decisions. These non-GAAP measures are among the primary factors management uses in planning for and forecasting future periods. Compensation of our executives is based in part on the performance of our business based on these non-GAAP measures. Our non-GAAP financial measures reflect adjustments based on the following items, as well as the related income tax effects:
• Stock-based compensation expenses: We have excluded the effect of stock-based compensation expenses from our non-GAAP operating expenses, income tax effects and net income measures. Although stock-based compensation is a key incentive offered to our employees, and we believe such compensation contributed to the revenues earned during the periods presented and also believe it will contribute to the generation of future period revenues, we continue to evaluate our business performance excluding stock-based compensation expenses. Stock-based compensation expenses will recur in future periods.
• Amortization of intangible assets: We have excluded the effect of amortization of intangible assets from our non-GAAP operating expenses, income tax effects and net income measures. Amortization of intangible assets is inconsistent in amount and frequency and is significantly affected by the timing and size of our acquisitions. Investors should note that the use of intangible assets contributed to our revenues earned during the periods presented and will contribute to our future period revenues as well. Amortization of intangible assets will recur in future periods.
• Acquisition related and other expenses; and restructuring expenses: We have excluded the effect of acquisition related and other expenses and the effect of restructuring expenses from our non-GAAP operating expenses, income tax effects and net income measures. We incurred expenses in connection with our acquisitions and also incurred certain other operating expenses or income, which we generally would not have otherwise incurred in the periods presented as a part of our continuing operations. Acquisition related and other expenses consisted of personnel related costs for transitional and certain other employees, certain business combination adjustments including certain adjustments after the measurement period has ended, and certain other operating items, net. Restructuring expenses consisted of employee severance and other exit costs. We believe it is useful for investors to understand the effects of these items on our total operating expenses. Although acquisition related and other expenses and restructuring expenses may diminish over time with respect to past acquisitions and/or strategic initiatives, we generally will incur certain of these expenses in connection with any future acquisitions and/or strategic initiatives.
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The above press release was provided courtesy of PRNewswire. The views, opinions and statements in the press release are not endorsed by Gray Media Group nor do they necessarily state or reflect those of Gray Media Group, Inc. | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/09/12/oracle-announces-fiscal-2023-first-quarter-financial-results/ | 2022-09-12 20:18:42 | 0 | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/09/12/oracle-announces-fiscal-2023-first-quarter-financial-results/ |
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Georgia Tech named interim coach Brent Key to the full-time position on Tuesday after he led the team to a 4-4 finish.
Key, 44, was in his fourth season as assistant head coach, run game coordinator and offensive line coach before Geoff Collins was fired on Sept. 26, two days after the Yellow Jackets lost 27-10 to Central Florida and dropped to 1-3.
Georgia Tech's improvement under Key, who played for the Yellow Jackets and graduated in 2001, convinced Institute President Dr. Ángel Cabrera and athletic director J Batt to make Key the full-time coach instead of looking outside the program for the hire.
“I am so proud and grateful to be the head coach at my alma mater, Georgia Tech,” Key said in a statement released by the school. “Like I’ve said many times over the past two months, I love this team, and I couldn’t be more excited to be their head coach. We will work unbelievably hard to make our fans, alumni and former players very proud of this program.”
Cabrera said Key's history with Georgia Tech as a student, player and assistant coach was important.
“As an alum, he understands and cares deeply about this place and our extraordinary student-athletes," Cabrera said. "He’s not only incredibly competitive but will do everything he can to make sure students grow as athletes, professionals and human beings.”
Georgia Tech had interest in Tulane coach Willie Fritz before choosing to promote Key.
“There was strong interest from across the country to be the next head coach at Georgia Tech, and we conducted an exhaustive national search,” Batt said. “At the beginning and end of the search, it was clear that the best choice for Georgia Tech is Brent Key.”
ESPN was first to report Georgia Tech had focused its search on Key.
Collins was 10-28 in his fourth season. When announcing the move with Collins, Georgia Tech also fired athletic director Todd Stansbury, who hired Collins. The school hired Batt, a former deputy athletic director at Alabama, as its athletic director on Oct. 14.
After Key was named interim coach, the Yellow Jackets beat two ranked teams, Pittsburgh and North Carolina, on the road. Georgia Tech finished 5-7 overall following Saturday’s 37-14 loss at No. 1 Georgia.
Even in the loss, Georgia Tech's improvement showed. The Yellow Jackets trailed Georgia only 10-7 at halftime.
Key was Alabama's offensive line coach from 2016-18 following 11 seasons at UCF. At UCF, Key coached under George O'Leary, who was his coach at Georgia Tech.
O'Leary said Georgia Tech made “a great decision” in promoting Key.
“I watched very closely this season as Brent took over and saw things move in the right direction,” O'Leary said. “It was clear that the team responded to the changes he made and played hard for him.”
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AP Sports Writer Charles Odum in Atlanta contributed to this report.
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Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at http://www.appodcasts.com
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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.mrt.com/sports/article/Georgia-Tech-promotes-Brent-Key-from-interim-to-17619543.php | 2022-11-30 01:16:26 | 0 | https://www.mrt.com/sports/article/Georgia-Tech-promotes-Brent-Key-from-interim-to-17619543.php |
RICHMOND, Va., Aug. 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Capital Square, one of the nation's leading sponsors of tax-advantaged real estate investments and a developer of mixed-use multifamily communities, announced today that their inaugural development project, an 80-unit Class A multifamily property in Richmond, Virginia, has secured long-term financing from USAA Life Insurance Company after achieving property stabilization.
As a result, investors in the project-specific CSRA Opportunity Zone Fund I, LLC will receive a special distribution that represents a 53% return of equity.
Dubbed "INK," the 80,000-square-foot property, which includes 1,939 square feet of ground-level retail space, was built in a qualified opportunity zone in the emerging Richmond neighborhood of Scott's Addition. INK is the first of three Capital Square development projects that comprise Scott's Collection, a group of boutique multifamily communities within Scott's Addition. Construction on INK began in the second quarter of 2020 and was completed in January 2022. The property achieved 100% occupancy just over five months after the completion of construction.
"The Scott's Addition neighborhood of Richmond is quickly emerging as one of the city's most popular neighborhoods, with soaring demand for quality multifamily communities like INK and one of the area's highest occupancy rates," said Whit Huffman, chief strategy and investment officer. "The success of INK and its related opportunity fund comes as no surprise, and we are extremely pleased to have delivered this high-caliber development property to its residents while also providing an early distribution to investors that far exceeds our pro forma projections."
The private placement memorandum provided to CSRA Opportunity Fund I investors had anticipated a special distribution totaling a 36% return of equity upon securing long-term financing at the conclusion of property construction and lease-up. The special distribution is intended to provide investors with funds to pay the tax due on their deferred gains, which are taxable as a part of investors' 2026 tax returns. Due to the exceptional performance of the property, the special distribution increased to 53%, far in excess of the 36% that was projected.
"In just three years, Capital Square has planned, constructed, permanently financed and leased 100% of the apartments in Ink at Scott's Collection," said Louis Rogers, founder and chief executive officer. "The project has been delivered on time, on budget and has been exceptionally well received in the market despite construction cost volatility and procurement challenges. This is a phenomenal result for investors in spite of a global pandemic that shut down major portions of the economy, along with unprecedented inflation and shortages of labor and material. Renter demand for this exceptional property has exceeded expectations and it is helping to transform Richmond's Scott's Addition into one of the city's most vibrant and exciting neighborhoods."
Capital Square currently has three other multifamily developments under construction in the Scott's Addition opportunity zone that will deliver a total of 559 luxury apartment homes by 2023, with another 350 units planned for the neighborhood. These projects include VIV and GEM, the remaining two Scott's Collection multifamily projects. Construction on VIV was completed in July and is currently welcoming residents, while GEM is currently pre-leasing and opening to residents in the fall. Also included is The Otis, a 350-unit joint development with Greystar that is expected to complete its first phase of construction during the fourth quarter of 2022.
Since 2019, Capital Square has initiated over $440 million in total development value across seven opportunity zone developments in fast growing markets in the Southeast. Among these is CSRA Opportunity Zone Fund VII, LLC, which seeks to raise $41.4 million from accredited investors to fund the development of an additional luxury multifamily development in the Scott's Addition neighborhood.
Opportunity zones were created to stimulate long-term private investments in low-income urban and rural communities nationwide. Conceived as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, opportunity zone funds are intended to help foster economic growth by providing tax benefits to incentivize private investments in designated opportunity zones.
About Capital Square
Capital Square is a national real estate firm specializing in tax-advantaged real estate investments, including Delaware statutory trusts for Section 1031 exchanges, qualified opportunity zone funds for tax deferral and exclusion and a real estate investment trust (REIT). In recent years the company has become an active developer of mixed-use multifamily properties in the southeastern US, with eight current projects totaling approximately 2,000 apartment units with a total development cost in excess of $600 million. Since 2012, Capital Square has completed more than $6.0 billion in transaction volume. Capital Square's related entities provide a range of services, including due diligence, acquisition, loan sourcing, property/asset management, and disposition, for a growing number of high-net-worth investors, private equity firms, family offices and institutional investors. Since 2017, Capital Square has been recognized by Inc. 5000 as one of the fastest growing companies in the nation for six consecutive years. In 2017, 2018 and 2020, the company was also ranked on Richmond BizSense's list of fastest growing companies. Additionally, Capital Square was listed by Virginia Business on their "Best Places to Work in Virginia" report in 2019 and their "Fantastic 50" reports in 2019 and 2020. To learn more, visit www.CapitalSq.com.
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SOURCE Capital Square | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2022/08/29/capital-squares-first-opportunity-zone-fund-development-secures-long-term-financing-issues-special-distribution-investors/ | 2022-08-29 13:59:37 | 0 | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2022/08/29/capital-squares-first-opportunity-zone-fund-development-secures-long-term-financing-issues-special-distribution-investors/ |
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Jacksonville Jaguars could not have imagined a better situation than the one they faced late in the first half of Saturday’s divisional-round playoff game against the mighty Kansas City Chiefs.
The upstart AFC South champions, who had to rally from a 27-point deficit against the Chargers last week just to make it to Arrowhead Stadium, found themselves within 10-7 in a hostile environment — and with Patrick Mahomes, a contender for league MVP, hobbling up the tunnel to the Kansas City locker room.
Then they kept squandering chances to reach the AFC championship game, eventually falling 27-20 on a cold, snowy night at Arrowhead Stadium.
First, one of the league’s best defenses allowed 37-year-old journeyman Chad Henne to lead the Chiefs on a 12-play, 98-yard touchdown drive, putting the Jaguars in a 17-7 hole in the waning minutes of the first half.
Then, once Mahomes returned from the second-half locker room, their defense failed to get much pressure on the suddenly immobile quarterback.
And with time in the pocket to look downfield, Mahomes shredded Jacksonville on a 75-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter that made it 27-17 with just over 7 minutes left in the game.
Their defense having failed them, the Jaguars turned to their offense to mount another comeback.
That let them down, too.
Trevor Lawrence, whose responded to four interceptions against the Chargers by throwing four touchdown passes in a comeback, gamely drove Jacksonville downfield in the fourth quarter. But after completing a pass to Jamal Agnew, who had hurt the Chiefs on special teams, the wide receiver had the ball popped loose for a turnover.
The Jaguars defense quickly forced a punt, but Lawrence was almost immediately picked off by rookie cornerback Jaylen Watson, whose leaping, one-handed interception occurred right in front of the Jacksonville sideline.
The Jaguars eventually got a field goal from Riley Patterson with 25 seconds to go, giving them a chance to try an onside kick. But the Chiefs, whose special teams have been a mess most of the season, pounced on it to put the game away.
Travis Etienne ran for 62 yards a score, and the Jaguars averaged better than 7 1/2 yards per carry. But they were unable to keep drives going, and Lawrence finished with just 217 yards passing with a touchdown and that lone interception.
It was a disappointing ending to what had become a dream run by the Jaguars, who matched a Super Bowl-era record by winning eight games as underdogs and engineering the third-largest playoff comeback in NFL history. In doing so, they also became the first team to win a playoff game after having the worst, or tied for worst, record the previous season.
All of which portends good things for the Jaguars and coach Doug Pederson, the longtime disciple of Chiefs counterpart Andy Reid, who delivered a Super Bowl championship to Philadelphia but will have to wait to do the same for Jacksonville.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL | https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/jaguars-rue-missed-chances-in-playoff-loss-to-kansas-city/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all | 2023-01-22 01:30:55 | 1 | https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/jaguars-rue-missed-chances-in-playoff-loss-to-kansas-city/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all |
LG Electronics Tennessee Plant is Selected as Industry's First U.S. Home Appliance Lighthouse Factory by World Economic Forum
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., Jan. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- LG Electronics'(LG) home appliance manufacturing plant in the United States has been selected as a world-leading Lighthouse Factory by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
The million-square-foot factory in Clarksville, Tennessee – the U.S. production base for LG's award-winning washers and dryers – is the industry's first home appliance plant in the United States to join the WEF's global network. It also is the company's second Lighthouse Factory, following the LG Smart Park in Changwon, South Korea, which was selected by the WEF last year.
A "Lighthouse Factory" is recognized by the WEF for its role in shaping the future of manufacturing through the integration of Internet of Things (IoT), big data, artificial intelligence (AI), robots and other Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies. Since 2018, the WEF has selected and added global factories to its network twice a year.
LG's world-class autonomous factory in Tennessee utilizes advanced digital technologies from AI and big data to IoT and robots. Completed at the end of 2018, the facility now operates three production lines for front-load and top-load washing machines and dryers. With an annual production capacity of 1.2 million washers and 600,000 dryers, the plant proactively responds to changing North American demand through local production. More than 900 people work at the LG home appliance factory in Montgomery County, Tenn.
Featuring a completely integrated production system and streamlined process, each line carries out the entire manufacturing process of new models, from making the parts to assembly and packaging. In addition, strict quality conditions are applied to all assembly lines to heighten quality across the board, from parts to finished products.
The LG Tennessee factory boasts a fully autonomous logistics system with 166 automated guided vehicles (AGVs) that transport parts around the plant. With three times more AGVs than the LG Smart Park in South Korea, these robots improve overall productivity by freeing up people for other tasks.
With the integration of parts production such as metal press processing, plastic injection molding, and painting -- including LG's own intelligent injection molding system -- the company has increased component productivity by 21 percent.1 In addition, the plant recognizes and responds in advance to potential productivity issues through an advanced detection system. By applying data-based AI technology that accurately predicts washing machine performance, the number of tests and energy consumed during testing are reduced by 22 percent, while the defect rate has been reduced by more than 61 percent via quality optimization.2
The plant is also maximizing workplace safety and operational efficiency by using robots for complicated, potentially dangerous tasks, such as assembling and lifting heavy parts and welding.
To further improve efficiency, LG plans to establish a 5G connectivity network across the facility in the second half of this year, creating an environment where its many AGVs can transport materials faster and more accurately based on stable, uninterrupted communication. LG will also introduce Autonomous Mobile Robots that navigate the expansive facility with ease to enhance its logistics system.
LG's commitment to sustainability can be seen throughout the Tennessee factory, which transitioned to renewable energy completely in 2022. The plant also uses a high-efficiency utility infrastructure, which supplies the power, steam and heat necessary to produce LG's home appliance products with the help of the company's advanced Building Energy Control (BECON) solution.
"Along with the LG Smart Park, LG's Tennessee factory represents our unmatched leadership in transforming manufacturing facilities into advanced, futuristic hubs utilizing the most revolutionary technologies," said Lyu Jae-cheol, president of the LG Electronics Home Appliance & Air Solution Company. "Lighthouse Factory status exemplifies how LG continues to strive for providing differentiated customer experiences through customized manufacturing innovations."
1 Comparing the overall equipment effectiveness rate from the year 2020 to 2022 according to the lighthouse site visit report by World Economic Forum.
2 Comparing the number of the test conduction and the field defect rate from the year 2020 to 2022 according to the lighthouse site visit report by World Economic Forum.
About LG Electronics Home Appliance & Air Solution Company
LG Electronics USA, Inc., based in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., is the North American subsidiary of LG Electronics, Inc., a $63 billion global innovator in technology and manufacturing. In the United States, LG sells a wide range of innovative home appliances, home entertainment products, commercial displays, air conditioning systems, solar energy solutions and vehicle components. LG is a seven-time ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year. The company's commitment to environmental sustainability and its "Life's Good" marketing theme encompass how LG is dedicated to people's happiness by exceeding expectations today and tomorrow. www.LG.com.
Media Contacts:
JL Lavina
JL.Lavina@lge.com
917 386 4213
Devyn Doyle
Devyn.Doyle@lg-one.com
770 653 7239
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Walter Cunningham, last surviving astronaut from 1968 Apollo 7 mission, dies at 90
Walter Cunningham, the last surviving astronaut from the first successful crewed space mission in NASA's Apollo program, died Tuesday in Houston. He was 90.
NASA confirmed Cunningham’s death in a statement but did not include the cause. Spokespersons for the agency and Cunningham’s wife, Dot Cunningham, did not immediately respond to questions.
Cunningham was one of three astronauts aboard the 1968 Apollo 7 mission, an 11-day spaceflight that beamed live television broadcasts as they orbited Earth, paving the way for the moon landing less than a year later.
Cunningham, then a civilian, crewed the mission with Navy Capt. Walter M. Schirra and Donn F. Eisele, an Air Force major. Cunningham was the lunar module pilot on the space flight, which launched from Cape Kennedy Air Force Station, Florida, on Oct. 11 and splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean south of Bermuda.
NASA said Cunningham, Eisele and Schirra' flew a near perfect mission. Their spacecraft performed so well that the agency sent the next crew, Apollo 8, to orbit the moon as a prelude to the Apollo 11 moon landing in July 1969.
FILE - R. Walter Cunningham, astronaut on the first manned Apollo mission (Apollo 7) with Walter M. Schirra, Jr., and Donn F. Eisele. (Getty Images)
The Apollo 7 astronauts also won a special Emmy award for their daily television reports from orbit, during which they clowned around, held up humorous signs and educated earthlings about space flight.
It was NASA's first crewed space mission since the deaths of the three Apollo 1 astronauts in a launch pad fire Jan. 27, 1967.
Cunningham recalled Apollo 7 during a 2017 event at the Kennedy Space Center, saying it "enabled us to overcome all the obstacles we had after the Apollo 1 fire and it became the longest, most successful test flight of any flying machine ever."
FILE - Prime crew of the first manned Apollo space mission, Apollo 7 (Spacecraft 101Saturn 205), L to R are Donn F. Eisele, Walter M. Schirra Jr. and Walter Cunningh. (HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Cunningham was born in Creston, Iowa, and attended high school in California before enlisting with the Navy in 1951 and serving as a Marine Corps. pilot in Korea, according to NASA. He later obtained bachelor's and master's degrees in physics from the University of California at Los Angeles, where he also did doctoral studies, and worked as scientist for the Rand Corporation before joining NASA.
In an interview the year before his death, Cunningham recalled growing up poor and dreaming of flying airplanes, not spacecraft.
FILE - Pictured left to right, in the Apollo 7 Crew Portrait, are astronauts R. Walter Cunningham, Lunar Module pilot; Walter M. Schirra, Jr., commander; and Donn F. Eisele, Command Module Pilot. (HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
"We never even knew that there were astronauts when I was growing up," Cunningham told The Spokesman-Review.
After retiring from NASA in 1971, Cunningham worked in engineering, business and investing, and became a public speaker and radio host. He wrote a memoir about his career and time as an astronaut, "The All-American Boys." He also expressed skepticism in his later years about human activity contributing to climate change, bucking the scientific consensus in writing and public talks, while acknowledging that he was not a climate scientist.
Although Cunningham never crewed another space mission after Apollo 7, he remained a proponent of space exploration. He told the Spokane, Washington, paper last year, "I think that humans need to continue expanding and pushing out the levels at which they’re surviving in space."
Cunningham is survived by his wife, his sister Cathy Cunningham, and his children Brian and Kimberly. | https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/walter-cunningham-last-surviving-apollo-7-astronaut-from-1968-mission-dies-at-90 | 2023-01-04 12:42:46 | 1 | https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/walter-cunningham-last-surviving-apollo-7-astronaut-from-1968-mission-dies-at-90 |
NEW YORK, Dec. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Rackspace Technology, Inc. ("Rackspace" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: RXT). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980.
The investigation concerns whether Rackspace and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.
On December 3, 2022, Rackspace disclosed that it proactively powered down its Hosted Exchange environment after discovering a security incident. On December 5, 2022, Rackspace provided an update, stating that it had "successfully restored email services to thousands of customers on Microsoft 365 and continue[s] to make progress on restoring email service to every affected customer."
Following these disclosures, Rackspace's stock price fell $0.75 per share, or 15.46%, to close at $4.10 per share on December 5, 2022.
Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com.
CONTACT:
Robert S. Willoughby
Pomerantz LLP
rswilloughby@pomlaw.com
888-476-6529 ext. 7980
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SOURCE Pomerantz LLP | https://www.kmvt.com/prnewswire/2022/12/27/shareholder-alert-pomerantz-law-firm-investigates-claims-behalf-investors-rackspace-technology-inc-rxt/ | 2022-12-27 05:43:31 | 1 | https://www.kmvt.com/prnewswire/2022/12/27/shareholder-alert-pomerantz-law-firm-investigates-claims-behalf-investors-rackspace-technology-inc-rxt/ |
NEWARK, Del. (AP) — Nolan Henderson threw for 368 yards, the Delaware defense allowed just 159 total yards and the Blue Hens defeated Towson 24-10 on Saturday.
Henderson completed 25 of 41 passes with touchdown throws of 74 yards to Chandler Harvin and 4 yards to Khory Spruill. Harvin finished with three receptions for 105 yards.
Kyron Cumby had a 65-yard touchdown run among his 100 yards rushing and the No. 7 FCS Blue Hens (5-0, 3-0 Colonial Athletic Association) churned out 166 yards on the ground.
Towson's only touchdown came on a 97-yard interception return by Robert Javier with about three minutes left in the game. Tyrrell Pigrome completed just 9 of 23 passes for 62 yards and the Tigers (2-3, 0-2) had 99 yards rushing, led by Joachim Bangda with 53 yards on 12 carries.
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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://tinyurl.com/mrxhe6f2 | https://www.expressnews.com/sports/article/Henderson-defense-shine-in-Delaware-s-24-10-win-17480901.php | 2022-10-02 02:48:51 | 0 | https://www.expressnews.com/sports/article/Henderson-defense-shine-in-Delaware-s-24-10-win-17480901.php |
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MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — injured his left hip flexor during and could need about six to eight weeks to fully recover, his manager said Thursday.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion had an MRI exam at a hospital in Melbourne under his doctor’s supervision on Thursday, a day after being injured during a straight-set exit against Mackenzie McDonald in the second round at Melbourne Park.
Nadal was the defending champion and seeded No. 1 in Australia.
The 36-year-old now will head home to Spain to rest.
Nadal has lost seven of his past nine matches, dating to a fourth-round defeat at the U.S. Open in September.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.timesleader.com/wire/nation-world/1597142/nadal-mri-shows-hurt-left-hip-flexor-recovery-of-6-8-weeks | 2023-01-19 07:45:12 | 1 | https://www.timesleader.com/wire/nation-world/1597142/nadal-mri-shows-hurt-left-hip-flexor-recovery-of-6-8-weeks |
PITTSBURGH, Dec. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- "We wanted to create a new razor to increase the safety conditions in any correctional facility," said one of two inventors, from Astoria, N.Y., "so we invented the SECURITY SHAVE. Our design would prevent the blade from being used to pick a lock or cause bodily injury."
The patent-pending invention provides an improved razor for use in any jail, prison, juvenile hall, or mental health facility. In doing so, it prevents individuals from using the razor as a weapon or to pick locks. As a result, it enhances safety conditions and it provides added peace of mind. The invention features an effective disposable design that is easy to use so it is ideal for jails, prisons, juvenile halls, and mental health facilities. Additionally, it is producible in design variations and a prototype is available.
The original design was submitted to the Manhattan sales office of InventHelp. It is currently available for licensing or sale to manufacturers or marketers. For more information, write Dept. 21-MBQ-236, InventHelp, 217 Ninth Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, or call (412) 288-1300 ext. 1368. Learn more about InventHelp's Invention Submission Services at http://www.InventHelp.com.
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JUSTIN, Texas, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Canoo (Nasdaq: GOEV), a high-tech advanced mobility company, today announced that it will report its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2023 after market close on Monday, August 14, 2023. The Company will host a conference call and live webcast at 5:00 pm ET to discuss the results, followed by a question-and-answer period.
Those interested are invited to listen to the live webcast online here. A replay of the webcast will be available shortly afterwards here.
Date: Monday, August 14, 2023
Time: 5:00 pm ET
U.S. Dial-in: 877-407-9169
International Dial-in: 201-493-6755
Access ID: 13740414
An audio replay of the call will be available shortly after its conclusion through August 28, 2023.
Toll-free Replay Number: 877-660-6853
International Replay Number: 201-612-7415
Replay ID: 13740414
About Canoo
Canoo's mission is to bring EVs to Everyone. The company has developed breakthrough electric vehicles that are reinventing the automotive landscape with bold innovations in design, pioneering technologies, and a unique business model that spans the full lifecycle of the vehicle. Distinguished by its experienced team from leading technology and automotive companies – Canoo has designed a modular electric platform purpose-built to deliver maximum vehicle interior space that is customizable across all owners in the vehicle lifecycle to support a wide range of vehicle applications for consumers and businesses.
Canoo has teams in California, Texas, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. For more information, please visit www.canoo.com. For Canoo press materials, including photos, please visit press.canoo.com. For investors, please visit www.investors.canoo.com.
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SOURCE Canoo | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/canoo-announce-second-quarter-2023-financial-results/ | 2023-07-31 22:18:33 | 0 | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/canoo-announce-second-quarter-2023-financial-results/ |
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger calls for a special election so voters can consider his far-reaching proposals on reshaping the state's government. The move bypasses the legislature in favor of a state-wide special vote.
At the heart of the vote will be three initiatives: one requiring public school teachers to work five years instead of two to get tenure; another ending the practice of lawmakers drawing their own legislative districts; and a spending cap that would eliminate the minimum education funding requirement known as Proposition 98.
John Myers of member station KQED reports.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.ijpr.org/npr-news/2005-06-12/schwarzenegger-calls-for-vote-on-plans | 2022-06-01 16:21:43 | 0 | https://www.ijpr.org/npr-news/2005-06-12/schwarzenegger-calls-for-vote-on-plans |
NEW YORK (AP) — The long-awaited new novel by Abraham Verghese, “The Covenant of Water,” is Oprah Winfrey’s latest book club pick.
“The Covenant of Water,” published Tuesday, is Verghese’s first work of fiction since his million-selling “Cutting for Stone” came out in 2009. Verghese’s current book is a multigenerational saga set in India from 1900-1977.
“This is one of the top five books I’ve read in my lifetime. And I’ve been reading since I was 3,” Winfrey said in a statement. “It’s epic. It’s transportive. Many moments during the read I had to stop and remember to breathe. I couldn’t put the book down until the very last page — it was unputdownable!”
Verghese said in a statement that receiving the call from Winfrey, the dream of countless authors, felt like a “miracle.”
“My thoughts were racing back through the decade-plus of writing ‘The Covenant of Water,’ during which time my mother died, and Covid had descended on us,” he said. “After we hung up I realized that I’d reflexively risen to my feet and stayed that way throughout our long chat.”
Verghese, 67, is an Ethiopian-born physician who has also written two memoirs. He received a National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama in 2015, and was praised during the White House ceremony for a “range of proficiency” that extends from “his efforts to emphasize empathy in medicine, to his imaginative renderings of the human drama.” | https://phl17.com/national-news/oprah-winfrey-chooses-new-verghese-novel-for-her-book-club/ | 2023-05-02 13:40:02 | 1 | https://phl17.com/national-news/oprah-winfrey-chooses-new-verghese-novel-for-her-book-club/ |
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Covering politics in the Lone Star State. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/politics/texas-politics/special-session-of-texas-legislature-ends-tuesday-with-no-deal-in-place/3285017/ | 2023-06-27 15:15:24 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/politics/texas-politics/special-session-of-texas-legislature-ends-tuesday-with-no-deal-in-place/3285017/ |
Goya President Bob Unanue donates 30,000 pounds of food to support Buffalo blizzard recovery efforts.
BUFFALO, N.Y., Dec. 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Goya Foods is taking action as first responders deliver 30,000 pounds of food to support the people of Buffalo as the city bands together to dig out of the snow and recover from the devastating effects of the blizzard.
The donation is part of Goya's ongoing commitment to providing disaster relief and humanitarian aid through the Goya Gives initiative. In New York alone, Goya has donated millions of pounds of food to help feed thousands of families in times of need since the company's inception in 1936.
"Our hearts go out to our neighbors in Western New York. As a company, we have always prioritized relief for those in need. It's part of our DNA. Beyond mass food donations and distribution efforts, we continue to provide extra support when communities need it most," said Bob Unanue, President and CEO of Goya Foods.
Goya's distribution facility in Angola, NY is mobilizing to deliver the donation to community centers throughout the city of Buffalo, with the local support of the Puerto Rican and Hispanic Day Parade of WNY and Hispanic Heritage Council of WNY.
This local facility has remained open 24 hours a day through the severe weather conditions and continues to provide essential food deliveries to its surrounding cities. Through the coordinated effort of local Goya leaders Steve Schunk leading production and Carlos Pereira overseeing distribution, Goya's food deliveries remain uninterrupted.
"We are committed to getting food delivered to places where others can't during a blizzard. As an essential service we are all hands on deck to deliver to every supermarket in need," said Carlos Pereira, General Manager of Goya Foods Great Lakes.
"We are grateful for this generous donation, and we appreciate the support Goya Foods has shown the city of Buffalo during our time of need," said Mayor Byron W. Brown. "Our city has been greatly impacted by this historic once-in-a-generation blizzard. As the cleanup process continues, we appreciate all the help and support we continue to receive from organizations like Goya Foods and from state and other municipalities."
For more information about Goya Gives, please visit www.goya.com.
About Goya Foods: Founded in 1936, Goya Foods, Inc. is America's largest Hispanic-owned food company, and has established itself as the leader in Latin American food and condiments. Goya manufactures, packages, and distributes over 2,500 high-quality food products from Spain, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central, and South America. Goya products have their roots in the culinary traditions of Hispanic communities around the world. The combination of authentic ingredients, robust seasonings, and convenient preparation makes Goya products ideal for every taste and every table. For more information on Goya Foods, please visit www.goya.com.
For more information, contact:
Natalie Maniscalco
(845) 659-6506 / natalie@retromedianyc.com
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SOURCE Goya Foods | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2022/12/30/goya-foods-comes-aid-buffalo-following-blizzard/ | 2022-12-30 23:29:27 | 1 | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2022/12/30/goya-foods-comes-aid-buffalo-following-blizzard/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Schumer: Senate parliamentarian leaves Dems' drug price curbs largely intact, party moves toward votes on economic bill.
- Calif. county south of Tahoe gets 2.2 inches of rain in an hour
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MOST POPULAR | https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Alert-Schumer-Senate-parliamentarian-leaves-17356290.php | 2022-08-06 14:59:49 | 0 | https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Alert-Schumer-Senate-parliamentarian-leaves-17356290.php |
Virginia Tech vs. Chattanooga Women's Basketball Predictions & Picks - NCAA Tournament First Round
Published: Mar. 16, 2023 at 12:38 AM MST|Updated: 2 hours ago
Friday's contest that pits the Virginia Tech Hokies (27-4) against the Chattanooga Lady Mocs (20-12) at Cassell Coliseum has a good chance to be a lopsided matchup based on our computer prediction, which projects a final score of 74-48 in favor of Virginia Tech, who is heavy favorites by our model. Tipoff is at 5:30 PM ET on March 17.
The Hokies took care of business in their most recent matchup 75-67 against Louisville on Sunday.
Virginia Tech vs. Chattanooga Game Info
- When: Friday, March 17, 2023 at 5:30 PM ET
- Where: Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Virginia
- How to Watch on TV: ESPNU
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Virginia Tech vs. Chattanooga Score Prediction
- Prediction: Virginia Tech 74, Chattanooga 48
Virginia Tech Schedule Analysis
- The Hokies' best victory this season came against the Duke Blue Devils, a squad ranked inside the AP's Top 25 (No. 13). The Hokies took home the 58-37 win at a neutral site on March 4.
- Against Quadrant 1 teams, the Hokies are 10-4 (.714%) -- tied for the sixth-most victories.
- Virginia Tech has nine wins over Quadrant 2 opponents, tied for the second-most in the country.
Virginia Tech 2022-23 Best Wins
- 58-37 over Duke (No. 13/AP Poll) on March 4
- 61-45 at home over Duke (No. 13/AP Poll) on February 16
- 59-56 on the road over Tennessee (No. 24/AP Poll) on December 4
- 75-67 over Louisville (No. 19) on March 5
- 81-79 at home over Louisville (No. 19) on January 12
Chattanooga Schedule Analysis
- In terms of their best win this season, the Lady Mocs defeated the East Tennessee State Buccaneers on March 3 by a score of 69-40.
Chattanooga 2022-23 Best Wins
- 69-40 over East Tennessee State (No. 162) on March 3
- 53-50 on the road over East Tennessee State (No. 162) on January 5
- 73-62 at home over East Tennessee State (No. 162) on February 4
- 63-53 over Wofford (No. 163) on March 5
- 78-70 at home over Mercer (No. 173) on January 14
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Virginia Tech Performance Insights
- The Hokies are outscoring opponents by 15.4 points per game with a +479 scoring differential overall. They put up 72.5 points per game (53rd in college basketball) and allow 57.1 per outing (28th in college basketball).
- On offense, Virginia Tech is scoring 68.9 points per game this season in conference action. To compare, its season average (72.5 points per game) is 3.6 PPG higher.
- Offensively, the Hokies have played better when playing at home this year, averaging 76.9 points per game, compared to 67.1 per game in road games.
- Virginia Tech is surrendering 54.1 points per game this season at home, which is 7.8 fewer points than it is allowing when playing on the road (61.9).
- The Hokies' offense has been less effective over their last 10 games, racking up 69.8 points a contest compared to the 72.5 they've averaged this season.
Chattanooga Performance Insights
- The Lady Mocs outscore opponents by 4.9 points per game (posting 59.6 points per game, 286th in college basketball, and allowing 54.7 per outing, 16th in college basketball) and have a +157 scoring differential.
- Chattanooga has averaged 0.2 more points in SoCon games (59.8) than overall (59.6).
- The Lady Mocs score 61.9 points per game at home, and 56.8 away.
- At home, Chattanooga gives up 55.4 points per game. Away, it allows the same number.
- The Lady Mocs are scoring 63.1 points per game over their last 10 games, which is 3.5 more than their average for the season (59.6).
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.kold.com/sports/betting/2023/03/17/virginia-tech-chattanooga-womens-college-basketball-picks-predictions-ncaa-tournament-first-round/ | 2023-03-17 00:05:49 | 1 | https://www.kold.com/sports/betting/2023/03/17/virginia-tech-chattanooga-womens-college-basketball-picks-predictions-ncaa-tournament-first-round/ |
LONDON — Anointed with holy oil and enthroned on St. Edward’s chair, King Charles III was crowned Saturday in a solemn ritual that stretches back more than a millennium but unfolded with multiple concessions to the modern age.
The coronation, the first since Queen Elizabeth II’s in 1953, was a royal spectacle of the kind that only Britain still stages: four hours of pageantry that began with the clip-clop of horses’ hoofs on Pall Mall and ended with the vaporous trails of acrobatic jets streaking above Buckingham Palace, as Charles watched from the balcony with Queen Camilla, who had been crowned shortly after him.
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Yet this was a coronation for a very different country than when Elizabeth first wore the crown. Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Sikh leaders greeted Charles as he left Westminster Abbey, and there were various attempts — not always successful — to make a medieval ritual more inclusive and democratic.
Female bishops from the Church of England took part in the liturgy; hymns were sung in Welsh, Scottish and Irish Gaelic; and when Charles, 74, took a sacred oath to defend the Protestant faith, he also offered a personal prayer, in which he promised to be a pluralistic monarch for a diverse society.
“I come not to be served, but to serve,” Charles said, moving gingerly in a velvet and gold lace robe first worn by his grandfather, King George VI. “Grant that I may be a blessing to all thy children, of every faith and belief.”
At the invitation of the archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Justin Welby, who presided over the service, the congregation chanted, “God save King Charles,” their voices echoing in the abbey’s vaulted nave.
Among those in the audience of 2,200 were heads of state, including President Emmanuel Macron of France; entertainment figures like singer Lionel Richie; and first lady Jill Biden, although not President Joe Biden, who posted his congratulations to Charles on Twitter from the White House.
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Outside, thousands of spectators lined the streets under a steady drizzle. There was little of the excitement that has electrified crowds during royal weddings or the sadness that suffused mourners during the queen’s funeral in September. But there was a collective sense of history in the making, and even a tingle or two as the newly crowned king and queen passed in their gold stagecoach.
If Elizabeth’s coronation was one of the world’s first mass media events, its black-and-white images transmitted globally by the BBC, this was the first coronation of the digital age, shared by spectators on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook.
“I am just intrigued,” Zoë Boyce, 24, said as she waited in a park with a friend, Sarah Chappell, 23. Boyce insisted she was “not a big fan” of the monarchy but said, “I think you can appreciate it without supporting it.”
“It’s just a day in history isn’t it?” Chappell added.
There were discordant notes. Hours before the service began, police arrested the head of Britain’s most prominent republican movement, Graham Smith, and others who had planned to protest in Trafalgar Square, along the procession route.
Smith said this past week that the anti-monarchists would chant and brandish placards saying, “Not My King,” but would not disrupt the proceedings. Yet police, armed with a much-disputed new law that allows them to crack down on demonstrations, rounded up Smith and others, apparently before they had uttered a word.
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As word of the arrests spread, other protesters milled restively outside the cordoned-off area around Trafalgar Square.
“I think it’s disgusting,” said Charlie Willis, 20. “To have a giant party about having a crown put on your head when you have people dying of starvation and poverty. I mean would you do that?”
One misstep in the days leading up to the ceremony was the archbishop’s plan to “call upon” millions of people across the United Kingdom and its realms to pay homage to the king, a modification that he framed as a democratizing step because that ritual had traditionally been reserved for the hereditary aristocracy.
But after a backlash from critics, Welby softened the wording. “I now invite those who wish to offer their support do so, with a moment of private reflection, by joining in saying, ‘God save King Charles,’” he said a touch tentatively.
For many, however, the coronation was an excuse to cheer, wave Union Jacks and take part in the quintessentially English experience of getting wet together. “Congratulations for braving the weather,” a voice from a loudspeaker near Buckingham Palace said. “May the damp in our clothes not dampen our spirit.”
“It’s rather festive, and the scene is very stoic of the British,” said Rupert Birch, 56, an entrepreneur, who was sheltering from the downpour under one of the plane trees that line Hyde Park.
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Sarah Briscoe, 44, who works in financial services, credited the king with being ahead of his time on important issues like environmental sustainability. But she acknowledged the burden he had in succeeding Elizabeth, Britain’s longest-serving monarch who became a revered figure and an anchor for the country.
“His mother was so brilliant,” Briscoe said. “It’s impossible for him to live up to her, isn’t it? Charles is just an interim. Everyone’s waiting for William to take the throne because he’s young, and he and Kate are friendly and modern.”
The royal family’s awkward dynamics were on display in the ceremony. Prince Harry, the king’s estranged younger son, arrived alone with a gaggle of his cousins. Harry’s wife, Meghan, stayed home in Montecito, California, with the couple’s children, Lilibet and Archie, who celebrated his fourth birthday Saturday.
Harry was seated in the third row, between the husband of his cousin, Princess Eugenie, and Princess Alexandra, an 86-year-old cousin of the queen who is 56th in line to throne. He did not appear in the lineup on the balcony of the palace, with British papers reporting that he planned to return quickly to California.
By contrast, Harry’s brother, Prince William, his wife, Kate, and their children played a central role in the proceedings. Prince George, 9, their eldest son, held the king’s robe as one of the pages. Their 8-year-old daughter, Princess Charlotte, beguiled onlookers in an ivory silk crepe dress and cape by designer Alexander McQueen. It was a miniature version of the ensemble worn by her mother.
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For Camilla, 75, now elevated from queen consort to queen, the coronation represented the end of a decadeslong rehabilitation project that began with her marriage to Charles in 2005, after the messy dissolution of his marriage to Princess Diana.
Among other prominent women at the ceremony were Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the House of Commons, who stood, ramrod straight, bearing the jewel-encrusted Sword of State during one of the longest parts of the service.
And while most members of the royal family rode in carriages or cars during the grand procession back to the palace, Princess Anne, the king’s younger sister, rode on horseback. An accomplished equestrian and a colonel of the Blues and Royals, a cavalry regiment of the British army, she had the status of Gold Stick-in-Waiting, an honorary bodyguard to the sovereign.
Even in a country used to royal spectacle, that parade beggared description: 19 military bands and 4,000 troops, stretching a full mile from the palace gates along the mall and around the corner into Whitehall.
After saluting the troops in the garden behind the palace, Charles and his family appeared on the balcony to watch the aerial flyby, which was cut back by the low clouds. In place of the 60 aircraft originally planned, a flotilla of helicopters and Red Arrow acrobatic jets roared overhead.
The day’s main focus, however, was on Charles, who looked at times like a man feeling the weight of the crown — in his case, an imperial one set with 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and 269 pearls.
In the ceremony’s most intimate moment, Charles was anointed with holy oil, harvested from the Mount of Olives and consecrated in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. The archbishop conducted the ritual behind a screen — concealing the king and symbolizing the extreme privacy of what is intended as almost a divine encounter between the sovereign and God.
Like other elements of the ceremony, the anointment dates to the coronation of King Edgar in A.D. 973 in the Roman city of Bath. That it has survived, unchanged, until the 21st century has intrigued historians.
But the antique — some would say anachronistic — nature of the ceremony posed a challenge to the organizers, including the king himself, who has spoken of his determination to make the monarchy more forward-looking, relevant and inclusive.
As part of his oath, Charles swore to uphold the Church of England, reaffirmed his Protestant faith and promised that all future monarchs would be Protestant. Seeking to put those words in a modern context, Welby encouraged the king to “foster an environment in which people of all faiths and beliefs can live freely.”
In his sermon, the archbishop saluted Charles’ commitment to charity and his lifetime of service to the people of his country. “We are here to crown a king,” he said, “and we crown a king to serve.” | https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/05/06/world/charles-is-crowned-king-ancient-ceremony-with-modern-twists/ | 2023-05-06 20:23:15 | 0 | https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/05/06/world/charles-is-crowned-king-ancient-ceremony-with-modern-twists/ |
WASHINGTON — While millions of people will be cheering on the Chiefs and the Eagles during the Super Bowl on Sunday, it's important to remember that there's an even bigger sports event happening on the same day. That's right, it's time for the Puppy Bowl!
Puppy Bowl XIX is set for Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 12, at 2 p.m. Eastern.
The three-hour showcase match will feature 122 of the cutest rescue pups you can imagine competing for Team Ruff or their bitter rivals, Team Fluff.
And as cute as the players are, they're equally adoptable. The dogs in the Puppy Bowl — and the cats performing at halftime — are from 67 shelters across 34 states. The entire program is designed to raise awareness about adopting pets from shelters and rescuing abandoned animals.
For the 12th year in a row, Dan Schachner will be refereeing (or, Ruff-ereeing) the Puppy Bowl, calling puppy penalties, tumbles and touchdowns.
PHOTOS: Puppy Bowl 2023 lineup
Also returning are live commentators Steve Levy and Taylor Rooks, who will give play-by-play coverage of the adorable matchup.
The matchup will also feature fan-favorite camera angles like the water-bowl cam, slo-mo cam and end zone pylon cameras.
How to watch 2023 Puppy Bowl
The Puppy Bowl XIX Pre-Game show begins at 1 p.m. Eastern on Animal Planet and on the Discovery+ streaming service.
During that pre-show, watchers can learn about the breeds participating in the Puppy Bowl, and will get to see the results of a dog DNA test that could reveal if any players have a leg up on the competition.
The Puppy Bowl simulcast kicks off at 2 p.m. Eastern (11 a.m. Pacific), right after the Pre-Game show on Animal Planet, Dsicovery Channel, TBS, HBO Max and Discovery+.
Puppy Bowl MVP vote
Before the excitement kicks off Sunday, you still have a chance to vote online for the "Most Pupular Player." Moocow and Josh Allenhound are facing off in the final. The winner will be revealed on Sunday, Feb. 12.
All of the puppies and kittens that have participated in Puppy Bowl previously have wound up being adopted. Hopefully this year's roster will find their forever families, too! | https://www.ktvb.com/article/sports/nfl/superbowl/puppy-bowl-2023-animal-planet-adoptable-dogs/507-e8559736-559d-48b1-bed9-d49669208dad | 2023-02-10 18:42:37 | 1 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/sports/nfl/superbowl/puppy-bowl-2023-animal-planet-adoptable-dogs/507-e8559736-559d-48b1-bed9-d49669208dad |
Katie Volynets 2023 Wimbledon Odds
Katie Volynets will begin Wimbledon versus Caroline Garcia in the round of 128. She was knocked off by Evgeniya Rodina in the round of 32 of Bad Homburg Open presented by Engel & Voelkers (her last tournament). Volynets is +50000 to win at AELTC Wimbledon Qualifying and Community Sports Ground.
Find all the latest odds for 2023 Wimbledon and place your bets with a new user bonus from BetMGM.
Volynets at 2023 Wimbledon
- Next Round: Round of 128
- Tournament Dates: June 25 - July 16
- Venue: AELTC Wimbledon Qualifying and Community Sports Ground
- Court Surface: Grass
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Volynets' Next Match
Volynets will open up at Wimbledon by matching up with Garcia in the round of 128 on Monday, July 3 (at 5:00 AM ET).
Katie Volynets Grand Slam Odds
- Wimbeldon odds to win: +50000
- Wimbledon odds to win: +50000
Want to bet on Volynets? Head to BetMGM using our link for a bonus bet special offer for new players!
Volynets Stats
- In her most recent tournament, Bad Homburg Open presented by Engel & Voelkers, Volynets was defeated in the Round of 32 by No. 328-ranked Rodina, 0-6, 4-6.
- In 16 tournaments over the past 12 months, Volynets is yet to win a title, and her overall record is 13-17.
- In three tournaments on grass over the past 12 months, Volynets has gone 0-4.
- Through 30 matches over the past 12 months (across all court surfaces), Volynets has played 22.3 games per match. She won 47.8% of them.
- Volynets, over the past year, has played four matches on grass, and 18.5 games per match.
- Volynets has won 36.7% of her return games and 59.2% of her service games over the past 12 months.
- On grass over the past year, Volynets has claimed 25.0% of her service games and 20.0% of her return games.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.kwch.com/sports/betting/2023/06/25/katie-volynets-wimbledon-betting-odds/ | 2023-06-30 11:39:35 | 0 | https://www.kwch.com/sports/betting/2023/06/25/katie-volynets-wimbledon-betting-odds/ |
Coast Guard seizes $158 million in cocaine and marijuana
SAN DIEGO (CNN) - Officials say crews with the U.S. Coast Guard have taken away more than 5 tons of illegal drugs worth an estimated $158 million in the last few months.
The Coast Guard offloaded the narcotics on Monday in San Diego that included more than 11,000 pounds of cocaine and 5,500 pounds of marijuana.
Coast Guard crews from three ships seized the drugs in the eastern Pacific from May to July.
Authorities said It’s part of their efforts to combat organized crime and disrupt drug flow to the U.S.
Several other agencies have also helped, including Customs and Border Protection, the FBI, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Additionally, the Coast Guard said the Mexican Navy has also assisted.
Copyright 2023 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wbtv.com/2023/07/18/coast-guard-seizes-158-million-cocaine-marijuana/ | 2023-07-18 23:34:47 | 1 | https://www.wbtv.com/2023/07/18/coast-guard-seizes-158-million-cocaine-marijuana/ |
Heavy snow, mix and wind eyed in possible Nor'Easter to hit New Hampshire early next week
Storm gets underway late Monday afternoon
Storm gets underway late Monday afternoon
Storm gets underway late Monday afternoon
Light snow is winding down in far southern New Hampshire Saturday morning as all eyes shift to a possible major Nor'Easter early next week.
The rest of the Saturday will be dry and seasonable, with highs in the 30s to lower 40s. Clouds for most, but some breaks of sun are possible to the north.
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A bit breezy for Sunday, but brighter and warmer. Afternoon temperatures will climb well into the 40s.
STORM POSSIBLE EARLY NEXT WEEK
A long-duration nor’easter is possible early next week.
The storm gets underway late Monday afternoon. Snow for many, but warmer air near the coast will mean a period of rain or mix. By early Tuesday, colder air will change any leftover rain and mix over to snow. The snow will fall heavily at times throughout Tuesday, before wrapping up early on Wednesday. Difficult travel conditions are expected throughout the duration of the storm.
Strong wind gusts are also a big concern as the storm intensifies over New England. Gusts over 30 MPH are possible, with higher gusts along the coast. Some splashover is possible with the strong onshore winds. We’ll keep an eye on two high tides Tuesday – one around 4 AM, another around 5 PM.
The snow’s consistency is expected to be heavy and wet. This, combined with gusty winds, could lead to the potential for power outages in spots.
The Storm Watch 9 team will have more updates throughout the weekend, including a more detailed look at expected snow totals.
Be weather aware: Download the WMUR app for Apple or Android devices and turn on push notifications. You can choose to receive weather alerts for your geolocation and/or up to three ZIP codes. In addition, you can receive word when precipitation is coming to your area.
Follow the Storm Watch 9 team on social media: | https://www.wmur.com/article/new-hampshire-snow-noreaster-weather-forecast-3112023/43279432 | 2023-03-11 16:33:56 | 0 | https://www.wmur.com/article/new-hampshire-snow-noreaster-weather-forecast-3112023/43279432 |
QAnon — the baseless conspiracy theory that claims that a cabal of Satan-worshipping, blood-drinking elites control politics and media — is closely identified in political circles with some supporters of former President Donald Trump. But it also has a toehold in yoga and wellness circles.
Themes like everything is connected, nothing happens without a purpose, and nothing is what it seems are central to both yoga philosophy and conspiratorial thinking.
"If you've been practicing yoga, these are going to be very familiar ideas to you," said Matthew Remski, a former yoga teacher and journalist who hosts a podcast about conspiracies, wellness and cults called Conspirituality.
During the pandemic, many yoga teachers began to speak more openly about their belief in conspiracies, to the point that there is now a term to describe this phenomenon: the "wellness to QAnon pipeline."
To understand what wellness and conspiracy theories have in common, I decided to follow the radicalization journey of a Los Angeles-based Kundalini yoga teacher named Guru Jagat (to hear the full story, subscribe to the LAist Studios podcast Imperfect Paradise: Yoga's "Queen of Conspiracy Theories," which publishes on Jan. 3).
An LA yoga teacher with celebrity followers
Guru Jagat was born as Katie Griggs but used her "spiritual name" professionally.
She ran a Kundalini yoga studio in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles called the RA MA Institute for Applied Yogic Science and Technology, where she taught celebrities like Alicia Keys and Kate Hudson. Part of why she was so popular was that she was something of a contradiction: She wore white flowing clothes, wrapped her hair in a turban, and could chant in Sanskrit, but she also swore profusely and talked about sex and fashion in class.
Jaclyn Gelb first took a class with Guru Jagat in 2013 and was immediately drawn in.
"A yoga teacher that talked like that, that was real. That was grounded," she recalled. "I knew instantly. This is my teacher."
Soon, Gelb was practicing four to six hours a day, taking cold showers (which is a Kundalini yoga thing), and trying to get friends and family to join.
Gelb always liked that Guru Jagat was an edgy disruptor, unafraid of speaking her mind. Before the pandemic, she spoke about conspiracies occasionally, but that seemed like part of her schtick. But after the pandemic started, Gelb noticed her teacher beginning to speak more openly in class and in her podcast, Reality Riffing.
Guru Jagat shared her belief that the government wanted everyone at home for reasons other than public health. She suggested that the coronavirus was being sprayed in airplane chemtrails. She said that artificial intelligence was controlling our minds and suggested meditation as a way to take back control.
"And she said, 'This is what you get for spending the weekend on YouTube, watching alien videos,'" Gelb recalled. "That caught my attention, because it was like, 'Oh, she's, she's falling into rabbit holes.'"
Soon, Guru Jagat was defying local stay-at-home orders to practice maskless and in-person. On her podcast, she began to interview controversial people with fringe beliefs, like Arthur Firstenberg, a New Mexico-based writer and activist who believes 5G wireless internet caused the coronavirus pandemic.
Gelb said it was hard for her to watch her teacher change, but she also couldn't look away. She began to wish someone close to Guru Jagat would "figure out a way to wake her up, a way to snap her out of it."
But in December 2020, Gelb reached her limit. That's when Guru Jagat invited David Icke to speak at the studio and on her podcast.
"That just was not something that the woman I knew before would do," Gelb said. "That was so deeply offensive."
Icke is a well-known conspiracy theorist and antisemite who claims that reptilian extraterrestrials control the world. By the time Guru Jagat interviewed him in January 2021, he'd been banned from Twitter for spreading falsehoods about COVID.
Their conversation ranged from the lockdown to other far-right talking points.
"The wellness industry, it's been hijacked by all of this, this kind of woke agenda," she said.
Guru Jagat wasn't the only yoga teacher to plunge down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole during the pandemic.
From yoga philosophy to conspiratorial thinking
Remski, the host of Conspirituality, noticed a number of yoga teachers flirting with QAnon during the early months of the pandemic. At first, he suspected it was a marketing ploy. With yoga studios around the country suddenly closed, teachers were forced to compete for the same online audience. But as the pandemic progressed, some teachers, like Guru Jagat, did not walk back their rhetoric.
Of course, many people practice yoga without believing in conspiracy theories. However, yoga philosophy and conspiratorial thinking have a lot in common, Remski said, making it easy to slide from the former into the latter.
In both circles, there is an emphasis on "doing your own research" and "finding your own truth." And many people who practice and teach yoga distrust Western medicine, preferring to find alternative solutions or try to let their body heal itself.
"The relativism around truth, which has so long been a part of wellness culture, really reared its head in the pandemic," said Natalia Petrzela, an author and historian at The New School. "This idea that 'truth is just in the eye of the beholder' is something which can feel kind of empowering when you're sitting in yoga class, but when it's the pandemic, and that kind of language is being deployed to kind of foment, like, vaccine denial or COVID denialism, it has the same power, because we're all steeped in this culture ... it can be used for real harm."
QAnon, in particular, may have a particular resonance for yoga practitioners, according to Ben Lorber, a researcher at Political Research Associates, a think tank that monitors right-wing movements, because both communities share the idea of a higher truth accessible to a select few.
The secret truth that QAnon followers believe is that the world is controlled by "the Deep State," an evil cabal of elites who worship Satan and sexually assault children. In yoga, it's more nuanced, but could include ideas like enlightenment or spiritual awakening.
One follower leaves, but others remain
Jaclyn Gelb stopped taking classes with Guru Jagat; she was angry with her former teacher.
"She was so intelligent. She had so much power," she said. "She could have done so much good."
But as Guru Jagat radicalized, she kept many of her followers.
Nancy Lucas is another one of Guru Jagat's long-time students who said she liked hearing what she called "every side of the story" in her class and on her podcast.
"I think she was giving people from all walks of life that opportunity to come there and speak and give their point of view," she said. "I do think she felt that the press was being biased, and I think I do too. I mean, if you're banning people's comments from Twitter and Facebook, we don't have an open forum for dialogue."
Guru Jagat's story came to a sudden, unexpected end on Aug. 1, 2021, when she died of a pulmonary embolism. She was 41.
Since her death, her yoga studio, the RA MA Institute, initiated an elaborate period of mourning, including two weeks of continuous chanting, a gong ceremony, and a 13-day-long "Mayan ceremony for clarity and direction."
Since then, Guru Jagat has become a saint-like figure to many of her followers.
In a YouTube tribute, student Angela Sumner described her this way: "Even if you think that she's a scam artist, even if you think she's a conspiracy theorist, you can't look at her eloquence and her teachings and deny that she is one of the greatest teachers that's ever lived during our time."
To hear the full story, listen to Imperfect Paradise: Yoga's "Queen of Conspiracy Theories" from LAist Studios beginning Jan. 3.
Copyright 2023 KPCC | https://www.wvasfm.org/politics/politics/2023-01-02/she-was-a-popular-yoga-guru-then-she-embraced-qanon-conspiracy-theories | 2023-01-02 17:53:14 | 1 | https://www.wvasfm.org/politics/politics/2023-01-02/she-was-a-popular-yoga-guru-then-she-embraced-qanon-conspiracy-theories |
SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s government announced Friday that a U.N. Latin America regional group has endorsed a Brazilian city in the Amazon region to host the 2025 U.N. climate change conference, though the world body has not yet publicly confirmed the venue.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva initially said Brazil will hold the conference, known as COP 30, in the city of Belem, state of Para, in the heart of the Brazilian rainforest, reflecting his intention to bring attention to the Amazon.
A statement from the Brazilian government later clarified that the region’s support was merely a step in the selection process. The “support for the Brazilian candidacy demonstrates the region’s confidence in Brazil’s capacity to advance the agenda in the fight against climate change,” the statement read.
The latest U.N. climate conference was hosted by Egypt in Sharm el-Sheikh, and this year’s will take place in Dubai.
The U.N. has not yet announced the 2024 venue, let alone the 2025 one, but the locations tend to rotate among regions, and the Brazilian government statement Friday indicated that a Latin American working group was choosing the 2025 venue, and had endorsed Belem. The final decision won’t be made until COP 29 next year.
“It will be a honor for Brazil to welcome representatives from all over the world in a state in our Amazon,” Lula said in a video posted on his social media channels. “I went to COPs in Egypt, in Paris, in Copenhagen, and all people talk about is the Amazon. So I said, ‘Why don’t we go there so you see what the Amazon is like?’”
Brazil’s foreign minister, Mauro Vieira, says in the video that the decision was made at the U.N. on May 18. The U.N. has yet to confirm the venue.
Brazil’s announcement comes in a week that Lula’s administration’s environmental governance has faced headwinds from Brazil’s congress. Lawmakers by a large majority approved a measure that eroded the environment ministry’s authority over construction in forested and coastal areas, as well as other development.
Also this week, the congress is debating whether the state-run oil giant should be allowed to drill off the coast in the Amazon states of Amapa and Para. | https://www.yourbasin.com/science/ap-brazil-un-regional-group-has-endorsed-amazon-city-to-host-2025-climate-conference/ | 2023-05-27 12:30:15 | 1 | https://www.yourbasin.com/science/ap-brazil-un-regional-group-has-endorsed-amazon-city-to-host-2025-climate-conference/ |
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We've placed cookies on your device to improve your browsing experience. They're safe and don't contain sensitive information. | https://tj.news/times-and-transcript/101997814 | 2022-10-28 20:29:31 | 0 | https://tj.news/times-and-transcript/101997814 |
SELMA, Ala. (AP) — A massive storm system whipping up severe winds and spawning tornadoes cut a path across the U.S. South, killing at least seven people in Georgia and Alabama, where a twister damaged buildings and tossed cars in the streets of historic downtown Selma.
Authorities said a clearer picture of the extent of the damage and a search for additional victims would come Friday, when conditions were expected to clear. After the storm began easing Thursday night, tens of thousands of customers were without power across the two states.
In Selma, a city etched in the history of the civil rights movement, the city council used lights from cellphones as they held a meeting on the sidewalk to declare a state of emergency.
Six of the deaths were recorded Autauga County, Alabama, 41 miles (66 kilometers) northeast of Selma, where an estimated 40 homes were damaged or destroyed by a tornado that cut a 20-mile (32-kilometer) path across two rural communities, said Ernie Baggett, the county’s emergency management director.
At least 12 people were injured severely enough to be taken to hospitals by emergency responders, Baggett told The Associated Press. He said crews were focused Thursday night on cutting through downed trees to look for people who may need help.
“This is the worst that I’ve seen here in this county,” Baggett said of the damage.
In Georgia, a passenger died when a tree fell on a vehicle in Jackson, Butts County Coroner Lacey Prue said. In the same county southeast of Atlanta, the storm appeared to have knocked a freight train off its tracks, officials said.
Officials in Griffin, south of Atlanta, told local news outlets that multiple people had been trapped inside an apartment complex after trees fell on it. A Hobby Lobby store in the city partially lost its roof, while elsewhere in town firefighters cut a man loose who had been pinned for hours under a tree that fell on his house. The city imposed a curfew from 10 p.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday.
Nationwide, there were 33 separate tornado reports from the National Weather Service on Thursday, and Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina and North Carolina all saw tornado warnings for a time. The tornado reports were not yet confirmed and some of them could later be classified as wind damage after assessments are done in coming days.
The tornado that hit Selma cut a wide path through the downtown area, where brick buildings collapsed, oak trees were uprooted, cars were on their side and power lines were left dangling. Plumes of thick, black smoke rose over the city from a fire burning. It wasn’t immediately known whether the storm caused the blaze.
Selma Mayor James Perkins said no fatalities have been reported, but several people were seriously injured. First responders were continuing to assess the damage and officials hoped to get an aerial view of the city Friday morning.
“We have a lot of downed power lines,” he said. “There is a lot of danger on the streets.”
Mattie Moore was among Selma residents who picked up boxed meals offered by a charity downtown.
“Thank God that we’re here. It’s like something you see on TV,” Moore said of all the destruction.
A city of about 18,000 people, Selma is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Montgomery, the Alabama capital. It was a flashpoint of the civil rights movement and where Alabama state troopers viciously attacked Black people advocating for voting rights as they marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on March 7, 1965.
Malesha McVay took video of the giant twister, which would turn black as it swept away home after home.
“It would hit a house, and black smoke would swirl up,” she said. “It was very terrifying.”
About 40,000 customers were without power in Alabama on Thursday night, according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages nationwide. In Georgia, about 86,000 customers were without electricity after the storm system carved a path across a tier of counties just south of Atlanta.
School systems in at least six Georgia counties canceled classes on Friday. Those systems enroll a total of 90,000 students.
In Kentucky, the National Weather Service in Louisville confirmed that an EF-1 tornado struck Mercer County and said crews were surveying damage in a handful of other counties.
Three factors — a natural La Nina weather cycle, warming of the Gulf of Mexico likely related to climate change and a decades-long shift of tornadoes from the west to east — came together to make Thursday’s tornado outbreak unusual and damaging, said Victor Gensini, a meteorology professor at Northern Illinois University who studies tornado trends.
The La Nina, a cooling of parts of the Pacific that changes weather worldwide, was a factor in making a wavy jet stream that brought a cold front through, Gensini said. But that’s not enough for a tornado outbreak. What’s needed is moisture.
Normally the air in the Southeast is fairly dry this time of year but the dew point was twice what is normal, likely because of unusually warm water in the Gulf of Mexico, which is likely influenced by climate change. That moisture hit the cold front and everything was in place, Gensini said.
——
Associated Press writers Alina Hartounian in Phoenix, Arizona; Jeff Amy in Atlanta; Seth Borenstein in Denver; Rebecca Reynolds in Louisville, Kentucky; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and photographer Butch Dill in Selma, Alabama, contributed to this report. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/ap-at-least-7-dead-as-severe-winds-tornadoes-hammer-us-south/ | 2023-01-13 08:19:58 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/ap-at-least-7-dead-as-severe-winds-tornadoes-hammer-us-south/ |
NORMAL — More roadwork is about to hit Normal as street resurfacing projects pick up speed for the year.
The Normal Town Council on Monday approved a contract for over $1 million for road improvement projects with H.J. Eppel & Co. Inc. This is the third of three separate contracts proposed for the 2023 street resurfacing projects approved by the council on March 6 in the 2023-34 budget.
Trustees Kathleen Lorenz and Scott Preston were not in attendance. Everyone else voted for the contract.
The East College Avenue resurfacing contract was awarded by the council on May 15 and the 2023 general street resurfacing contract was awarded by the council on June 5.
The street resurfacing project will repair street segments needing milling and resurfacing with a hot mix asphalt overlay along with other work, including concrete curb and gutter replacement and pavement patching. There also will be adjustments and replacement of various water and sewer structures.
Work is expected to begin in June or July with anticipated competition date of Oct. 16.
The list of street segments includes the following:
- Ruston Avenue
- Orlando Avenue from Main to School streets
- Miles Lane
- Aurora Way from Miles Lane to Alden Drive
- Gregory Street from School Street to Fell Avenue
- North Fell Avenue from Sycamore to Lincoln streets
- Norwood Avenue from Fell Avenue to Lincoln Street
- Dial Court
- Douglas Street from Cole Street to Oglesby Avenue
- Lincoln Avenue from Cole Street to Oglesby Avenue
- Oglesby Avenue from Beech Street to Lincoln Avenue
The total cost of the project is $1,093,516 and was one of two bids received by the town. The second bid was from Rowe Construction for $1,242,119.
City Manager Pam Reese said the funding used for this project will be pulled from the motor fuel tax fund. Across all three resurfacing projects the town will be contracting out 4.5 miles of roads to be resurfaced across town.
Trustee Karyn Smith did ask if the town will address the roads and alleys in the Savannah Green neighborhood, which Reese said was still under design by town staff but will be voted on later this year by council.
"We have other projects happening as well, intersection work and things (like that), so there'll be more road projects coming down the pike, but in terms of resurfacing this is our third and final contract for the year," Reese said.
Housing navigator
The council approved funding for a housing navigator at Mid Central Community Action with the use of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
The housing navigator would guide individuals and families looking for housing assistance programs, which could include funds toward mortgage down payments and rent, housing rehabilitation, Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility modifications and more.
According to town documents, some of the housing navigator duties include creating databases that would be shared among partnering agencies, coordinating housing coalition activities, working with landlords to establish affordable rental units, and identifying additional grant opportunities.
Reese said the housing navigator would be an employee of and housed at Mid-Central Community Action for two years and the costs of the position would be shared by both Normal and Bloomington, with the town paying a total of $55,000 and the city paying $71,000.
"We have not gone beyond any conversations except for ARPA funding for these two years, for this current and next year," Reese said. "If the position is proving to be as valuable as the community needs, then I'm certain Mid Central Community Action will talk to all the stakeholders and work out a plan on how to fund it in the future."
Smith said the role is a critical need at all income levels and could provide that support needed to navigate the housing market.
"It can be very complicated to try to navigate when something comes on market and it so quickly disappears before someone can sign a lease and make a valid housing decision," Smith said. "I'm fully supporting this."
To date, the town has used ARPA funds for many projects and initiatives, including support for a mobile health clinic, investment in public infrastructure, and a grant program for small businesses, according to council documents.
Trustee Chemberly Harris recused herself from the vote because she sits on Mid Central Community Action's board of directors.
In other action, the council also approved a sixth addition to the Heather Ridge subdivision, which is part of the North Bridge development located at the southwest corner of Ziebarth and Pipeline roads on the town's north side.
The addition will pertain to almost 12 acres on the west side of Heather Ridge and would connect Corrigan Way to Stanfield Lane and include 44 lots for detached, single-family homes, according to town documents.
Town Planner Mercy Davidson said there is still enough space in the area for another addition, assuming the housing demand keeps up.
"There's a lot of demand but I think the higher interest rates are still discouraging some people," Davidson said. "The pace of construction is not quite matching the pace of final platting. Maybe that will change but right now they're not evenly matched."
According to town documents, the original preliminary plan for the land was approved in 2000 and consisted of three areas: the North Bridge subdivision, the Heather Ride subdivision and the Northfields subdivision.
The most recent final plat within Heather Ridge was the fifth addition, which was approved in 2016. | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/government-politics/normal-oks-over-1-million-in-street-resurfacing-housing-navigator-role/article_e89e8258-0f03-11ee-95f0-c7ea917f739a.html | 2023-06-20 03:37:19 | 1 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/government-politics/normal-oks-over-1-million-in-street-resurfacing-housing-navigator-role/article_e89e8258-0f03-11ee-95f0-c7ea917f739a.html |
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah man pleaded guilty Tuesday to fatally shooting his mother and three siblings when he was a teenager in 2020.
Colin “CJ” Haynie, now 19, killed his his mother and one of his sisters as they returned from her school pickup, then waited for two more siblings to arrive home and killed them, prosecutors said.
His father came back to the home later that evening and was shot in the leg but survived after wrestling the gun away from his son.
After the father subdued him, the then 16-year-old said that he had planned to kill everyone in his family at their home in the small town of Grantsville, near Salt Lake City, authorities said.
Authorities have said they don’t know his motive.
CJ Haynie pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated murder and one count of attempted murder on Tuesday. Several other weapons charges were dismissed in the plea agreement, court documents show.
He had been charged as an adult by prosecutors because of the seriousness of the Jan. 17, 2020 crime.
The victims were his mother, Consuelo Alejandra Haynie, 52; his sisters Milan and Alexis, ages 12 and 15; and his 14-year-old brother Matthew.
The family’s oldest child, Danny Haynie, was not home at the time of the shootings. At a funeral for the family members in 2020 at their local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ congregation, Danny Haynie said that CJ Haynes was still loved and part of the family.
Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 7. Aggravated murder in Utah typically carries the possibility of the death penalty, but state prosecutors cannot seek it for people convicted of crimes that happened when they were under 18 even if their their cases are moved to adult court.
So Haynie faces a prison sentence of 25 years to life for each aggravated murder conviction under state law. | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-us-news/utah-man-pleads-guilty-to-killing-mother-3-siblings/ | 2022-07-19 23:22:12 | 0 | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-us-news/utah-man-pleads-guilty-to-killing-mother-3-siblings/ |
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Graduates of Penn State Hazleton’s practical nursing program marked the successful completion of the program during a ceremony on Friday, Dec. 19, in the Dr. Thomas M. Caccese Gymnasium in the Physical Education Building.
The class of 22 students completed the requirements to earn a certificate in practical nursing and will be eligible to test for the National Council Licensure Examination-Practical Nurses (NCLEX-PN).
The class began their studies in August 2021 for the 18-month program that was held in the evenings and on weekends in the classroom and laboratory in the Slusser/Bayzick Building. Students took classes at Penn State Hazleton and attended clinical studies at area partner facilities.
Chancellor Elizabeth J. Wright presided over the ceremony along with Interim Director of Academic Affairs Albert Lozano-Nieto and Practical Nursing Program Coordinator Andrea C. Shook.
During the ceremony, graduates received their certificates and pins to signify successful completion of the program.
Graduates and their hometowns included: Christina Marie Brehm, Hazleton; Shereina Latara Bryant, Freeland; Jennifer Caraballo, Hazleton; Brendaly Trinidad Coplin, Wilkes-Barre; Jose Fernando Cuevas; McAdoo; Brittany Cunnington, McAdoo; Mary Grace DaCunha, Freeland; Andrew DeJesus, Hazleton.
Also, Skylar Rebecca Duffy, Sugarloaf; Jessica Miguelina Hernandez Diaz, Hazleton; Alexis Paige Hinckley, Berwick; Hayley Desire Hoffman, Long Pond; Katherine Jimenez Badia, Tamaqua; Alisa Erin Milnes, Freeland; Jenny I. Mordan Diaz, Hazle Township.
Also, Leydy Mordan Pimentel, Hazleton; Shakinah Quaisha Moultrie, Kingston; Abigail Santos, Hazleton; Hilary Marie Shershen, Hazleton; Trinity Michaela Sockriter, Berwick; and Arianna Renae Welch, Muncy.
A practical nursing certificate was also presented posthumously to the family of Amanda Rose Miller of Nescopeck.
Several members of the graduating class also earned special recognition with an award. The awards and winners included:
– Excellence in Clinical Practice, an award presented to the nursing student who best displays a high regard for clinical care and clinical aptitude. This year’s recipient was Hayley Desire Hoffman.
– Award for Leadership and Professionalism, which recognizes outstanding leadership and professionalism during the nursing education process. Hilary Marie Shershen was this year’s recipient.
– Most Compassionate, an award presented to the student who displays exceptional emotional capacities of empathy and sympathy for others. This year’s recipient was Jose Fernando Cuevas.
– Community Service, which is presented to the student who displays the initiative to reach out to those in need within the community. This year’s recipient was Andrew DeJesus.
– Spirit of Nursing Award, which recognizes the student who shows excitement, motivation and enthusiasm toward the nursing profession. This year’s recipient was Brittany Cunnington.
– Patricia D. Kelly, R.N. Academic Award in Practical Nursing, an award presented to the student earning the highest overall grade-point average. Skylar Rebecca Duffy was this year’s recipient. | https://www.timesleader.com/features/1597825/practical-nurses-graduate-from-penn-state-hazleton-3 | 2023-01-26 00:16:05 | 0 | https://www.timesleader.com/features/1597825/practical-nurses-graduate-from-penn-state-hazleton-3 |
CVS and Rite Aid are limiting purchases of emergency contraception
Some large drug store chains are limiting purchases of emergency contraception to three pills per customer, company representatives confirmed to CNN.
"Due to increased demand, at this time we are limiting purchases of Plan B contraceptive pills to three per customer," Alicja Wojczyk, senior manager of external communications for Rite Aid told CNN in an email.
Though CVS has "ample supply" of Plan B and Aftera, two types of emergency contraception, the company is limiting purchases to three per customer "to ensure equitable access and consistent supply on store shelves," Matt Blanchette, senior manager of retail communications at CVS Pharmacy told CNN in an email.
Emergency contraception reduces the chance of pregnancy after unprotected sex, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Common situations when it is used include after forgetting to take several birth control pills or when a condom breaks or falls off.
The purchasing limits for emergency contraception come after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday. Several states immediately moved to effectively prohibit abortions.
"Using (emergency contraception) does not cause an abortion. An abortion ends an existing pregnancy. EC prevents pregnancy from occurring. EC must be used soon after unprotected sexual intercourse to be effective. It does not work if pregnancy has already occurred," ACOG said.
Pills, such as Plan B and Aftera, are one type of emergency contraception. Some can be bought over the counter and others require a prescription.
Copper intrauterine devices, or IUDs, can also be used as emergency contraception if inserted within about five days of intercourse. | https://www.kcra.com/article/cvs-and-rite-aid-emergency-contraception/40446515 | 2022-06-28 19:06:20 | 1 | https://www.kcra.com/article/cvs-and-rite-aid-emergency-contraception/40446515 |
Ukraine fears repeat of Mariupol horrors elsewhere in Donbas
KRAMATORSK, Ukraine (AP) — Moscow-backed separatists pounded eastern Ukraine’s industrial Donbas region Friday, claiming to capture a railway hub, as Ukrainian officials pleaded for the sophisticated Western weapons they say they need to stop the onslaught.
The advance of Russian forces raised fears that cities in the region would undergo the same horrors inflicted on the people of the port city Mariupol in the weeks before it fell.
The fighting Friday focused on two key cities: Sievierodonetsk and nearby Lysychansk. They are the last areas under Ukrainian control in Luhansk, one of two provinces that make up the Donbas and where Russia-backed separatists have already controlled some territory for eight years. Authorities say 1,500 people in Sievierodonetsk have already died since the war’s start three months ago. Russia-backed rebels also said they’d taken the railway hub of Lyman.
The governor of Luhansk warned that Ukrainian soldiers may have to retreat from Sievierodonetsk to avoid being surrounded. But he predicted an ultimate Ukrainian victory. “The Russians will not be able to capture Luhansk region in the coming days, as analysts predict,’’ Serhiy Haidai wrote on Telegram on Friday. “We will have enough forces and means to defend ourselves.’’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelesnskyy also struck a defiant tone. In his nightly video address Friday, he said: “If the occupiers think that Lyman or Sievierodonetsk will be theirs, they are wrong. Donbas will be Ukrainian.’’
For now, Sievierodonetsk Mayor Oleksandr Striuk told The Associated Press that “the city is being systematically destroyed — 90% of the buildings in the city are damaged.”
Striuk described conditions in Sievierodonetsk reminiscent of the battle for Mariupol, located in the Donbas’ other province, Donetsk. Now in ruins, the port city was constantly barraged by Russian forces in a nearly three-month siege that ended last week when Russia claimed its capture. More than 20,000 of its civilians are feared dead.
Before the war, Sievierodonetsk was home to around 100,000 people. About 12,000 to 13,000 remain in the city, Striuk said, huddled in shelters and largely cut off from the rest of Ukraine. At least 1,500 people have died there because of the war, now in its 93rd day. The figure includes people killed by shelling or in fires caused by Russian missile strikes, as well as those who died from shrapnel wounds, untreated diseases, a lack of medicine or being trapped under rubble, the mayor said.
In the city’s northeastern quarter, Russian reconnaissance and sabotage groups tried to capture the Mir Hotel and the area around it, Striuk said.
Hints of Russia’s strategy for the Donbas can be found in Mariupol, where Moscow is consolidating its control through measures including state-controlled broadcast programming and overhauled school curricula, according to an analysis from the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank.
Gen. Phillip Breedlove, former head of U.S. European Command for NATO, said Friday during a panel mounted by the Washington-based Middle East Institute that Russia appears to have “once again adjusted its objectives, and fearfully now it seems that they are trying to consolidate and enforce the land that they have rather than focus on expanding it.”
That aggressive push could backfire, however, by seriously depleting Russia’s arsenal. Echoing an assessment from the British Defense Ministry, military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said Russia was deploying 50-year-old T-62 tanks, “which means that the second army of the world has run out of modernized equipment.”
Russia-backed rebels said Friday that they had taken over Lyman, Donetsk’s large railway hub north of two more key cities still under Ukrainian control. Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych acknowledged the loss Thursday night, though a Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesperson reported Friday that its soldiers countered Russian attempts to completely push them out.
As Ukraine’s hopes of stopping the Russian advance faded, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba pleaded with Western nations for heavy weapons, saying it was the one area in which Russia had a clear advantage.
“Without artillery, without multiple launch rocket systems we won’t be able to push them back,” he said.
The U.S. Defense Department would not confirm a CNN report that the Biden administration was preparing to send long-range rocket systems to Ukraine, perhaps as early as next week. “Certainly we’re mindful and aware of Ukrainian asks, privately and publicly, for what is known as a multiple launch rocket system. And I won’t get ahead of decisions that haven’t been made yet,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that providing rockets that could reach his country would represent “a most serious step toward unacceptable escalation.” He spoke in an interview with RT Arabic that aired Friday.
Just south of Sievierodonetsk, volunteers hoped to evacuate 100 people from a smaller town. It was a painstaking process: Many of the evacuees from Bakhmut were elderly or infirm and needed to be carried out of apartment buildings in soft stretchers and wheelchairs.
Minibuses and vans zipped through the city, picking up dozens for the first leg of a long journey west.
“Bakhmut is a high-risk area right now,” said Mark Poppert, an American volunteer working with British charity RefugEase. “We’re trying to get as many people out as we can.”
To the north, neighboring Belarus — used by Russia as a staging ground before the invasion — announced Friday that it was sending troops toward the Ukrainian border.
In Russia’s Far East, a legislative deputy offered a rare display of opposition to the war in Ukraine, demanding the end of the military operation and the withdrawal of Russian troops. “We understand that if our country doesn’t stop the military operation, we’ll have more orphans in our country,” Leonid Vasyukevich of the Communist Party said Friday at a meeting of the Primorsk regional Legislative Assembly in the Pacific port of Vladivostok.
His comments, which he addressed to President Vladimir Putin, were shown in a video posted on a Telegram. Another deputy followed to support Vasyukevich’s views. But the legislative assembly’s chairman issued a statement afterward calling the remarks a “political provocation” not supported by the majority of lawmakers.
___
Karmanau reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Andrea Rosa in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Andrew Katell in New York and AP journalists around the world contributed.
___
This story has been edited to correct that 1,500 people have died in Sievierodonetsk alone, not the Donbas region as a whole.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the Ukraine war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.kswo.com/2022/05/28/ukraine-fears-repeat-mariupol-horrors-elsewhere-donbas/ | 2022-05-28 04:53:40 | 0 | https://www.kswo.com/2022/05/28/ukraine-fears-repeat-mariupol-horrors-elsewhere-donbas/ |
BEIJING (AP) — China has denounced a long-delayed U.N. report that was released over its protest and that says the government’s arbitrary detention of Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups in the western region of Xinjiang may constitute crimes against humanity.
Human rights groups and the Japanese government welcomed the report, which had become caught up in a tug-of-war between China and others, who were critical of the delay and lobbying for its release.
The assessment released late Wednesday by the U.N. human rights office in Geneva concluded that China has committed serious human rights violations under its anti-terrorism and anti-extremism policies and calls for “urgent attention” from the U.N., the world community and China itself to address them.
The report largely corroborates earlier reporting by researchers, advocacy groups and the news media, while carefully steering away from estimates and other findings that cannot be definitively proven. It adds the weight of the U.N. to the conclusions, though China showed no sign of backing off its blanket denials and portraying the criticism as a politicized Western smear campaign.
In a sternly worded protest that the U.N. posted with its report, China’s diplomatic mission in Geneva said it firmly opposed the release of the U.N. assessment, which it said ignores human rights achievements made in Xinjiang and the damage caused by terrorism and extremism to the population.
“Based on the disinformation and lies fabricated by anti-China forces and out of presumption of guilt, the so-called ‘assessment’ distorts China’s laws, wantonly smears and slanders China, and interferes in China’s internal affairs,” the protest read in part.
Japan was one of the first foreign governments to comment on the report, which was released early Thursday morning in Asia. Its top government spokesperson urged China to improve transparency and human rights conditions in the Xinjiang region.
“Japan is highly concerned about human rights conditions in Xinjiang, and we believe that it is important that universal values such as freedom, basic human rights and rule of law are also guaranteed in China,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International called on the U.N. and governments to set up an independent investigation into the human rights abuses.
“Never has it been so important for the U.N. system to stand up to Beijing, and to stand with victims,” said John Fisher, the deputy director of global advocacy for the group.
The U.N. report made no mention of genocide, which some countries, including the United States, have accused China of committing in Xinjiang.
The report was drawn in part from interviews with former detainees and others familiar with conditions at eight detention centers.
It said that descriptions of the detentions were marked by patterns of torture and other cruel and inhuman treatment and said that allegations of rape and other sexual violence appear credible.
“The extent of arbitrary and discriminatory detention of members of Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim groups … in (the) context of restrictions and deprivation more generally of fundamental rights … may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity,” the report said.
The rights office said it could not confirm estimates that a million or more people were detained in the internment camps in Xinjiang, but added it was “reasonable to conclude that a pattern of large-scale arbitrary detention occurred” at least between 2017 and 2019.
Beijing has closed many of the camps, which it called vocational training and education centers, but hundreds of thousands of people continue to languish in prison, many on vague, secret charges.
The U.N. assessment said that reports of sharp increases in arrests and lengthy prison sentences in the region strongly suggested a shift toward formal incarceration instead of the use of the camps.
The report called on China to release all individuals arbitrarily detained and to clarify the whereabouts of those who have disappeared and whose families are seeking information about them.
That the report was released was in some ways as important as its contents.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said she received pressure from both sides to publish — or not publish — and resisted it all, while noting her experience with political squeeze during her two terms as president of Chile.
Her announcement in June that the report would be released by end of her 4-year term on Aug. 31 triggered a swell in back-channel campaigns — including letters from civil society, civilians and governments on both sides of the issue.
“To be perfectly honest, the politicization of these serious human rights issues by some states did not help,” said Bachelet, who early on staked out a desire to cooperate with governments.
Critics had said a failure to publish the report would have been a glaring black mark on her tenure.
Agnès Callamard, the secretary general of Amnesty International, said, “The inexcusable delay in releasing this report casts a stain” on the record of the U.N. human rights office, “but this should not deflect from its significance.”
___
Keaten reported from Geneva. Associated Press journalists Chisato Tanaka in Tokyo and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report. | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/international/ap-international/ap-china-rejects-un-report-on-uyghur-rights-abuses-in-xinjiang/ | 2022-09-01 11:10:28 | 1 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/international/ap-international/ap-china-rejects-un-report-on-uyghur-rights-abuses-in-xinjiang/ |
Cooling D&O Market, ESG Impacts, Fewer Securities Lawsuits but Higher Settlements
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Woodruff Sawyer, one of the largest independent insurance brokerages in the US, announced today the release of the 2023 D&O Looking Ahead Guide. For the last 10 years the Guide has provided a trusted roadmap for clients to help them make sense of the current Directors and Officers liability insurance environment and to plan for their upcoming renewal.
In 2021, Woodruff Sawyer's Looking Ahead Guide correctly predicted D&O pricing would moderate as new capacity and new competition entered the market. In the first half of 2022, 69% of clients saw their premium decrease vs. 12% in 2021. Woodruff Sawyer predicts this will persist well into 2023.
A significant area of interest for public company directors and officers is the securities litigation landscape. While filings are down 7% year over year, settlement amounts are not. So far this year, 48 settlements have been reached totaling $1.4 billion, exceeding the 10-year average and median. Today, 476 cases, many of which have been open for several years, remain on the docket. The trend of longer-duration cases generating even larger settlements is an ongoing cause for concern for D&O underwriters.
While ESG or Environmental, Social and Governance issues have been a flashpoint for boards over the last few years, 2022 has proven particularly challenging. The SEC's proposed climate rules will add an extra regulatory burden to companies just as the economy is going through a downturn. In addition, the Supreme Court's June 2022 decision overturning Dobbs v. Jackson has created chaos in the world of employee benefits, not to mention potential personal liability threats for boards of directors. 2023 will likely bring some clarification but right now companies are making decisions that could place them at risk. For more insights into the impact of Dobbs liability on your company and board, read Woodruff Sawyer's Post Roe: Dobbs v. Jackson FAQ.
Priya Huskins, Senior Vice President, Management Liability and editor of the "D&O Notebook" blog series notes, "2022 has been an impactful year - throwing former norms into disarray and creating uncertainty in the D&O market. We're pleased about the softer D&O market but the societal and economic challenges ahead are daunting. Over the last 10 years, our D&O Looking Ahead Guide has provided a touchstone for clients and the curious alike, helping them make sense of their D&O environment and the challenges that impact them while guiding them to the next right move."
Want to learn more? Sign up to attend Woodruff Sawyer's 2023 D&O Looking Ahead Guide Webinar on September 28, 2022 from 10 AM-11 AM PDT.
As one of the largest insurance brokerage and consulting firms in the US, Woodruff Sawyer protects the people and assets of more than 4,000 companies. We provide expert counsel and fierce advocacy to protect clients against their most critical risks in property and casualty, management liability, cyber liability, employee benefits, and personal wealth management. An active partner of Assurex Global and International Benefits Network, we provide expertise and customized solutions where clients need it, with headquarters in San Francisco, offices throughout the US, and global reach on six continents. For more information, call 844.972.6326, or visit woodruffsawyer.com.
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SOURCE Woodruff Sawyer | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/09/20/woodruff-sawyer-releases-10th-annual-dampo-looking-ahead-guide/ | 2022-09-20 18:48:16 | 0 | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/09/20/woodruff-sawyer-releases-10th-annual-dampo-looking-ahead-guide/ |
Part burger. Part quesadilla. 100% Taco Bueno®
DALLAS, June 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The all-new Quesadilla Burrrger from Taco Bueno® combines two things you love into something you'll love more.
This unique handcrafted creation, part Tex (burger), part Mex (quesadilla) is made with Nolan Ryan Beef® and piled high with house-made Pico de Gallo, guacamole, shredded lettuce, queso, Cholula® chipotle ranch dressing and smashed to perfection between two crisp, warm cheese quesadillas.
Offered at $6.99* a la carte or $8.99* when paired with chips, queso and a refreshing small drink, Taco Bueno's new Quesadilla Burrrger is everything you ever wanted. But it won't last long. Get yours today!
To find your local Taco Bueno, and to order online, visit TacoBueno.com.
For exclusive deals and specials, become a Buenohead® and receive a FREE Beef Muchaco®. Text "Bueno" to 72829 or go to tacobueno.com/buenoheads for email signup.
*Price may vary. Offer available for a Limited Time. At participating locations. While supplies last.
©Nolan Ryan Brands, All Rights Reserved. Cholula® and the Cholula logo are registered trademarks of Spicy Liquid, LLC., licensed to Taco Bueno®. "Coke" is a registered trademark of The Coca-Cola Company."
About Taco Bueno®
Taco Bueno is committed to providing an authentic, better-tasting Tex-Mex experience through made-fresh-daily preparations, hand-selected ingredients, and genuine friendly hospitality. Founded in 1967 in Abilene, TX, Taco Bueno is a privately held company that operates nearly 145 restaurants throughout the American South and Southwest – including Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. To learn more about Taco Bueno, please visit www.TacoBueno.com or www.facebook.com/BuenoHeadquarters.
About Sun Holdings, Inc. Sun Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1997 by Guillermo Perales, funded by an SBA loan. Sun's portfolio has been ranked as the second-largest franchisee group in the U.S. by Mega 99, 2021 Rankings. Mr. Perales has developed a portfolio that includes companies that own and operate more than 1,300 locations in 12 states, creating more than 28,000 jobs. He has also overseen the development of over 200 new stores and completed 200 store remodels in the last three years. Today, his companies own and operate Taco Bueno and also operate Burger King, Popeyes, Arby's, Applebee's, T-Mobile, McAlister's, IHOP, GNC and several airport restaurant locations. Mr. Perales' organization has been awarded the MUFSO Golden Chain Award and Nation's Restaurant News' Top 10 Power List. He has also been named Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year, IFA's Entrepreneur of the Year, Dealmaker of the Year and Latino Executive of the Year by D CEO Magazine and Nation's Restaurant News' Most Influential CEO for 2021, as well as appearing on Latino Leaders Magazine's 101 Most Influential Latinos for several consecutive years.
Sun Holdings, Inc. is a growing company that is always seeking new opportunities. For more information about Sun Holdings, visit www.sunholdings.net.
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SOURCE Taco Bueno | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/06/14/all-new-quesadilla-burrrger/ | 2022-06-14 16:17:38 | 1 | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/06/14/all-new-quesadilla-burrrger/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Wednesday that the federal government improperly lowered drug reimbursement payments to hospitals and clinics that serve low-income communities, a reduction that cost the facilities billions of dollars.
The high court ruled unanimously in a case involving payments for drugs, largely for cancer, that are used by Medicare patients in hospital outpatient departments. The Biden administration had stood by a Trump administration decision to reduce the payments.
The government had said that the hospitals and clinics, because of their special status serving low-income communities, are able to buy the drugs at a deep discount. The government said reimbursing the hospitals, called 340B hospitals, at the same rate as other hospitals that pay more created an incentive for the hospitals to overprescribe the drugs or prescribe more expensive drugs. It said that lowering the reimbursement would also save Medicare beneficiaries money in co-payments because those are linked to reimbursement rates.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote for the court that “absent a survey of hospitals’ acquisition costs” the Department of Health and Human Services “may not vary the reimbursement rates for 340B hospitals. HHS’s 2018 and 2019 reimbursement rates for 340B hospitals were therefore contrary to the statute and unlawful.”
In a statement, the American Hospital Association and other groups involved in the case called the decision a “decisive victory for vulnerable communities and the hospitals on which so many patients depend.” They hope to work with the administration and the courts on a reimbursement plan.
The case before the justices involved Medicare, which provides health insurance for nearly 60 million people age 65 and older or people with certain disabilities. Under Medicare, health care providers get reimbursed by the government for expenses including drugs used in hospital outpatient departments.
Hospitals had been getting reimbursed at a rate based on the average price of the drugs. But in 2018 the Trump administration said that 340B hospitals and clinics, which serve low-income communities, would be reimbursed at a lower rate. That’s because 340B hospitals and clinics are entitled to discounts from drug manufacturers that let them buy drugs at a lower cost. The administration cut the reimbursement rate by nearly 30%, an annual decrease to 340B hospitals and clinics of about $1.6 billion.
Affected hospitals sued and a federal judge initially ruled for them, but that decision was reversed by an appeals court.
The case is American Hospital Association v. Becerra, 20-1114. | https://www.krqe.com/news/politics/high-court-rules-against-government-on-drug-reimbursement/ | 2022-06-15 18:51:56 | 1 | https://www.krqe.com/news/politics/high-court-rules-against-government-on-drug-reimbursement/ |
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — Brooke Henderson eagled the first playoff hole and beat Lindsey Weaver-Wright to capture the ShopRite LPGA Classic on Sunday for her 11th win on tour.
Henderson shot a bogey-free, final-round 7-under 64 at Seaview Hotel and Golf Club to win for the first time in a year. The 24-year-old Canadian rallied from a four-shot deficit entering the final round of the 54-hole tournament to finish at 12-under 201.
Weaver-Wright, a 28-year-old American still looking for her first tour win, forced the playoff with birdies on four of the last six holes, including a long one at No. 17 and a 10-footer at the par-5 final hole for a 65.
The playoff started at the reachable par-5 No. 18, and both found the fairway. Henderson got within 10 feet of the cup with her second shot while Weaver-Wright was short of the green. Her third shot landed around the same distance from the hole as Henderson, but she was away. She missed her birdie putt and Henderson, ranked No. 11 in the world, had no pressure making the eagle to win to pocket $262,500.
Henderson, whose last victory was in Los Angeles in 2021, moved into the lead with a short birdie at No. 12. She stayed there until Weaver-Wright birdied the 17th.
Playing in the group in front of her, Henderson reached the par-5 final hole in two and lagged her eagle putt to tap-in birdie range.
Weaver-Wright missed the fairway with her tee shot at No. 18. Her second was played into the fairway and her third to roughly 10 feet for a clutch birdie.
Jodi Eward Shadoff of England made an eagle on the final hole to finish a shot behind the leaders at 11 under. The 34-year-old has never won on the tour.
No. 4 Lydia Ko also made a birdie on the final hole and finished tied for fourth with Albane Valenzuela, a Swiss resident and former Stanford star looking for her first LPGA win. They both shot 67s.
Brittany Lincicome, who is due to give birth to her second child in September, was tied for sixth with New Jersey native Marina Alex and Nasa Hataoka, who both won recently in California. Lincicome and Alex shot 67s, a stroke better than Hataoka, who opened with four birdies on the first five holes to take an early two-shot lead.
Defending champion Celine Boutier of France shot a 63 to finish in a group at 8 under.
Frida Kinhult of Sweden started the final round at 9 under with a one-shot lead over fellow non-winner Lauren Coughlin. Both struggled, with Coughlin shooting a 72 to finish at 7 under and Kinhult finishing at 5 under after a 75.
Overnight rain drenched the course close to Atlantic City and made the greens very receptive, helping the scoring.
___
More AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://wtmj.com/national/2022/06/12/henderson-beats-weaver-wright-in-playoff-in-shoprite-lpga/ | 2022-06-12 21:47:35 | 1 | https://wtmj.com/national/2022/06/12/henderson-beats-weaver-wright-in-playoff-in-shoprite-lpga/ |
Michigan's Blake Corum, Jake Moody garner honors as Big Ten players of the week
The Detroit News
Two Michigan players are getting individual recognition after the Wolverines' 29-7 win over Michigan State on Saturday.
On Monday, the Big Ten name running back Blake Corum the offensive player of the week and kicker Jake Moody the special-teams player of the week.
Corum, a junior from Marshall, Va., finished with 177 yards — his fifth straight game over 100 yards — and a pair of touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving. It's the second time this season that Corum has earned the honor, following his Sept. 26 selection.
Moody converted five field goals, including a career-long 54-yarder and moved into the top five of single-season scoring in school history, with 282 points. Moody also was named special-teams player of the week on Oct. 17. | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/wolverines/2022/10/31/michigan-blake-corum-jake-moody-garner-honors-as-big-ten-players-of-the-week/69606282007/ | 2022-10-31 17:01:59 | 0 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/wolverines/2022/10/31/michigan-blake-corum-jake-moody-garner-honors-as-big-ten-players-of-the-week/69606282007/ |
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Shares of Tesla rose slightly Thursday despite news that CEO Elon Musk sold another $3.58 billion worth of the electric vehicle maker’s stock this week.
The stock closed at $157.67, up less than 1% but still close to its two-year lows. Tesla did fare better than the broader U.S. stock market, where concerns about rising interest rates led to a 2.5% drop in the S&P 500 index.
Musk, the new owner of Twitter, sold the Tesla shares from Monday through Wednesday, according to a filing posted Wednesday night with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It wasn’t clear where the proceeds of the sales were being spent.
Musk has sold nearly $23 billion worth of Tesla stock since April, with much of the money likely going to help fund his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter. Early last month, he sold nearly $4 billion worth of Tesla shares, according to regulatory filings.
The sale comes as shares of the electric vehicle and solar panel maker have collapsed, losing over half their value since Musk first disclosed in April that he was buying up Twitter stock.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a client note that Musk seems to be changing the Tesla narrative from the fundamental electric vehicle transformation story to becoming a source of funds to finance his Twitter acquisition.
“The Twitter nightmare continues as Musk uses Tesla as his own ATM machine to keep funding the red ink at Twitter which gets worse by the day as more advertisers flee the platform with controversy increasingly driven by Musk,” Ives wrote.
The falling shares of Tesla have bumped Musk from his status as the world’s wealthiest person, with his net worth falling to $174 billion, according to Forbes. He was passed last week by French fashion and cosmetics magnate Bernard Arnault. Most of Musk’s wealth is tied up in shares of Tesla Inc., which is based in Austin, Texas.
The takeover of San Francisco-based Twitter has not been smooth, and some big companies have halted advertising on the social media platform. Musk has said that Twitter had “a massive drop in revenue” due to the advertiser losses.
Investors have been punishing Tesla stock of late while Musk has spent much of his time running Twitter, raising concerns that he’s distracted from the car company.
Just this week Twitter dissolved its Trust and Safety Council, the advisory group of around 100 independent civil, human rights and other organizations that the company formed in 2016 to address hate speech, child exploitation, suicide, self-harm and other problems on the platform.
A message was left with Tesla seeking comment on the stock sale.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://wtmj.com/ap-news/2022/12/15/tesla-closes-up-despite-musk-selling-3-58b-of-its-shares-2/ | 2022-12-16 00:49:36 | 1 | https://wtmj.com/ap-news/2022/12/15/tesla-closes-up-despite-musk-selling-3-58b-of-its-shares-2/ |
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Louisiana Lottery's "Pick 4" game were:
3-1-9-0
(three, one, nine, zero)
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Louisiana Lottery's "Pick 4" game were:
3-1-9-0
(three, one, nine, zero) | https://www.seattlepi.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Pick-4-game-17226644.php | 2022-06-08 13:33:42 | 0 | https://www.seattlepi.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Pick-4-game-17226644.php |
WATERLOO — A Waterloo man has been arrested after he was found with two firearms following a police chase over the weekend.
Waterloo police arrested Terrell Emanuel Hopkins, 26, for eluding and two counts of felon in possession of a firearm. Bond was set at $50,000.
According to court records, a patrol officer noticed a Pontiac Grand Prix chasing another vehicle on Broadway Street around 7:15 p.m. on Saturday.
The officer attempted to pull over the Pontiac, but the driver refused to stop for about seven minutes. The driver then pulled over and police found a 5.56 mm Ruger AR-15 pistol loaded with a drum magazine and a loaded 9 mm Glock 17 handgun with an additional 31-round magazine for the Glock, records state.
Hopkins is prohibited from handling firearms because of a 2019 felony conviction in Illinois.
Community leaders and law enforcement officials address the topic of gun violence on June 1, 2022, following multiple weekend shootings.
Jeff Reinitz
Photos: Guns in Northeast Iowa crime cases
Evidence photo of the Ruger 9mm pistol used to kill Jada Young-Mills in Waterloo in November 2020.
Contributed
Evidence photo of the .44-caliber revolver used to shoot Jean Smith at her Dundee home in March 2009.
Contributed photo
Evidence photo shows a 9mm Taurus PT92F handgun found in a couch during the search of 122 W. Wellington St. in January 2021.
contributed photo
Hi-Point C9 9mm handgun police seized from Marcus DeShawn Harmon-Wright in April 2020.
Contributed photo
Court exhibit photo shows a shortened .22-caliber Mossberg Plinkster rifle seized in May 2019 that had the fingerprints of Devonner Coleman.
contributed photo
Court exhibit photo shows a shortened .22-caliber Mossberg Plinkster rifle and bags of marijuana seized in May 2019 that had the fingerprints of Devonner Coleman.
Contributed photo
A SIG Sauer pistol investigators found near a truck parked at Dan Niebuhr’s Fairbank home in March 2019.
A SIG Sauer pistol investigators found near a truck parked at Dan Niebuhr’s Fairbank home in March 2019.
Jeff Reinitz
Police seized four handguns in connection with an investigation into three shootings on Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Contributed photo
Court exhibit photo shows military-style rifles, a handgun and ammo found in a trunk during a March 12, 2016, traffic stop in Charles City.
COURTESY PHOTO
Prosecutors allege Kyle Hattrup pointed this Mossberg shotgun at an officer who went to his home after Hattrup allegedly started a fire in his parents’ garage in 2015.
JEFF REINITZ
Courier staff writer
Prosecutors allege Kyle Hattrup pointed this Mossberg shotgun at an officer who went to his home after Hattrup allegedly started a fire in his parents’ garage in 2015.
JEFF REINITZ
One of five shotgun shells found in the street near where Gary Lee Wilson collapsed after being shot in the early morning hours of Aug. 2, 2014.
Police found a shotgun shell after responding to a report of gunfire in the area of Linn and Cottage streets on Thursday, June 4, 2015.
JEFF REINITZ
Police seized a .40-caliber Glock pistol found in Steve William Fordyce’s pickup truck shortly after Donald Harrington was shot on Locust Street in August 2015.
JEFF REINITZ
A pistol and magazine sit in a squad car after police found the weapon in the backyard of a home following gunfire on West Parker Street on Sunday.
JEFF REINITZ
Evidence photo shows a .40-caliber Smith and Wesson pistol ATF agents found in an Elma home were Michael Duane Strain was living in 2011.
contributed photo
Court exhibit of a .50-caliber Desert Eagle pistol found while searching Damon Montano’s RV in July 2018.
Contributed photo
Exhibit from government's sentencing memo shows photo of three pistols found on Wayne Jones' phone.
Contributed photo
This .22-caliber Sig Sauer pistol was stolen during an April 2011 burglary to a home on William Drive. Police recovered it when they stopped Queshandis Seals in July 2014. Seals was found guilty of firearm and drug charges following trial in August 2015.
Contributed photo
A .22-caliber Chiappas Firearms pistol found during a May 2014 traffic accident in Dunkerton had been stolen from a New Franken, Wis., gun shop in May 2013.
COURTESY PHOTO
Police seized a .25-caliber Raven Arms pistol following a shooting at the former Rumors Bar on July 22, 2012.
Contributed photo
Waterloo police seized a 9mm Tec-9 handgun, left, and a .380-caliber Lorcin pistol while searching a home at 525 Locust St. on Wednesday, June 19, 2013. (COURTESY PHOTO)
COURTESY PHOTO
Evidence photo shows an AR-7 takedown rifle ATF agents found in an Elma home were Michael Duane Strain was living in 2011.
Jeff Reinitz
Evidence photo of a refurbished Mosin Nagant, a Russian bolt-action surplus rifle ATF agents found when searching Michael Duane Strain’s Elma home in 2011.
\
Authorities found this Ruger rifle during a June 6, 2017, search in Ossian while investigating opioid sales. The same gun had been seized in October 2012 during an investigation into a shooting in Calmar.
Contributed photo
Evidence photo showing a rifle seized during a search of an Ossian home during the investigation into furanyl fentanyl and heroin distribution on June 6, 2017.
Contributed photo
Police found a handgun, sawed-off shotgun and a shortened rifle in a Lehman Circle mobile home following a shooting Nov. 23, 2013.
COURTESY PHOTO
Authorities recovered an AK-47 style rifle, a 45-caliber handgun and a .40-caliber Glock handgun from Jeremiah Mumford and William Clayton following a bank robbery, chase and shootout that spanned two counties in October. A second rifle was found in the getaway vehicle. (Contributed photos)
Authorities recovered an AK-47 style rifle, a 45-caliber handgun and a .40-caliber Glock handgun from Jeremiah Mumford and William Clayton following a bank robbery, chase and shootout that spanned two counties in October. A second rifle was found in the getaway vehicle. (Contributed photos)
Authorities recovered an AK-47 style rifle, a 45-caliber handgun and a .40-caliber Glock handgun from Jeremiah Mumford and William Clayton following a bank robbery, chase and shootout that spanned two counties in October. A second rifle was found in the getaway vehicle. (Contributed photos)
Evidence photo shows a shotgun that ATF agents found in an Elma home were Michael Duane Strain was living in 2011.
contributed photo
Authorities found this Remington shotgun during a June 6, 2017, search in Ossian while investigating opioid sales. The same gun had been seized in October 2012 after it was used in a shooting in Calmar.
Contributed photo
Police found this altered Mossburg shotgun in the back of a parked car in August 2013. On Dec. 31, 2013, jurors found Patrelle Green-Bowman guilty of felon in possession of a firearm and unauthorized possession of a sawed-off shotgun following trial.
Courtesy Photo
Police found this altered Mossburg shotgun in the back of a parked car in August 2013. On Dec. 31, 2013, jurors found Patrelle Green-Bowman guilty of felon in possession of a firearm and unauthorized possession of a sawed-off shotgun following trial.
Courtesy Photo
Authorities said a resident found this Smith & Wesson handgun in an alley in April 2014 a few blocks from a June 2013 fatal shooting. It was entered as evidence in the trial of Antonio Hutchins on Monday, Jan. 12, 2015.
JEFF REINITZ
Waterloo police said they found this .22-caliber Beretta handgun in an alley behind Travon Jones’ Iowa Street home in Cedar Falls in January 2015.
JEFF REINITZ / Courier Staff Writer
Police photo of a .45-caliber handgun and a .22-caliber handgun recovered during the investigation into the death of Ronald Randall.
Waterloo police said they seized this H&R revolver in September 2017. The weapon was an exhibit in the trial of Davionte Dashawn Barksdale in February 2018.
JEFF REINITZ
An AR-15 rifle recovered by police in a traffic stop following a July 2018 shooting in Waterloo.
JEFF REINITZ
An AR-15 rifle recovered by police in a traffic stop following a July 2018 shooting in Waterloo.
JEFF REINITZ
The .38-caliber revolver that Vickie Butler was shot with during an argument with Michael Fristo in October 2016. Fristo was acquitted of charges in the shooting following trial on Nov. 30, 2017.
JEFF REINITZ
A photograph of the .357-magnum revolver prosecutors said was used to kill Robert Shannon as he sat in a car on Dec. 14, 2011. Introduced as evidence in the trial of Montez Caples on Oct. 31, 2012. (JEFF REINITZ/ Courier Staff Writer)
Police found a sawed-off Ithaca .410-bore shotgun in the back of Adrian Zarate’s girlfriend’s SUV when it was parked at the Isle Casino Hotel parking lot in October 2018.
Contributed photo
Police found a Jimenez Arms .380-caliber handgun with an obliterated seriall number in Adrian Zarate’s hotel room in October 2018.
Contributed photo
Savage Model 67F 20-gauge shotgun found while searching Levi Farren Miller’s West Mullan Avenue in Waterloo in February 2019.
Contributed
Crime scene photo shows were police found a shotgun resting in a cat dish while searching a Waterloo apartment on Feb. 2, 2019.
Police found this Ruger handgun under Delvonn Battles’ seat during a traffic stop in Waterloo in January 2013. The weapon was used in a Des Moines shooting in December 2012. (Contributed photo)
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Monroeville EMT accused of falsifying time sheets to steal more than $30,000
Samuel Levy, 33, charged with theft by unlawful taking and other offenses
Samuel Levy, 33, charged with theft by unlawful taking and other offenses
Samuel Levy, 33, charged with theft by unlawful taking and other offenses
A Monroeville EMT is accused of falsifying time sheets to steal more than $30,000.
Samuel Levy, 33, is charged with theft by unlawful taking and other offenses.
Levy is employed as an EMT at Monroeville fire stations 1 and 5.
According to a criminal complaint, back in 2019, Levy forged time sheets to show he worked more than 1,000 hours he actually did not work.
Police said, upon questions, Levy admitted to getting paid for EMT shifts from both stations for times that he did and did not work.
Court paperwork said Levy also told police he wanted to “make it right” and offered to pay back the money.
As of early Thursday morning, Levy had not yet been arraigned on the charges. | https://www.wtae.com/article/monroeville-emt-accused-of-falsifying-time-sheets-to-steal-more-than-dollar30000/43037408 | 2023-02-23 12:47:14 | 0 | https://www.wtae.com/article/monroeville-emt-accused-of-falsifying-time-sheets-to-steal-more-than-dollar30000/43037408 |
Gary Rossington, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s last surviving original member who also helped to found the group, died Sunday at the age of 71. No cause of death was given.
“It is with our deepest sympathy and sadness that we have to advise, that we lost our brother, friend, family member, songwriter and guitarist, Gary Rossington, today,” the band wrote on Facebook. “Gary is now with his Skynyrd brothers and family in heaven and playing it pretty, like he always does. Please keep Dale, Mary, Annie and the entire Rossington family in your prayers and respect the family’s privacy at this difficult time.”
Rossington cheated death more than once, Rolling Stone reported. He survived a car accident in 1976 in which he drove his Ford Torino into a tree, inspiring the band’s cautionary song “That Smell.” A year later, he emerged from the 1977 plane crash that killed singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and backing vocalist Cassie Gaines, with two broken arms, a broken leg, and a punctured stomach and liver.
“It was a devastating thing,” he told Rolling Stone in 2006. “You can’t just talk about it real casual and not have feelings about it.”
In later years, Rossington underwent quintuple bypass surgery in 2003, suffered a heart attack in 2015, and had numerous subsequent heart surgeries, most recently leaving Lynyrd Skynyrd in July 2021 to recover from another procedure. At recent shows, Rossington would perform portions of the concert and sometimes sat out full gigs.
Rossington was born Dec. 4, 1951, in Jacksonville, Florida, and raised by his mother after his father died. Upon meeting drummer Bob Burns and bassist Larry Junstrom, Rossington and his new friends formed a band, which they tried to juggle amid their love of baseball.
According to Rolling Stone, it was during a fateful Little League game, Ronnie Van Zant hit a line drive into the shoulder blades of opposing player Bob Burns and met his future bandmates. Rossington, Burns, Van Zant, and guitarist Allen Collins gathered that afternoon at Burns’ Jacksonville home to jam the Rolling Stone’s “Time Is on My Side.”
Adopting Lynyrd Skynyrd as the group’s name — both a reference to a similarly named sports coach at Rossington’s high school and to a character in the 1963 novelty hit “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh” — the band released their debut album (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-’nérd) in 1973. A collection of country-tinged blues-rock and Southern soul, the album included now-classics like “Tuesday’s Gone,” “Simple Man” and “Gimme Three Steps,” but it was the closing track, the nearly 10-minute “Free Bird,” that became the group’s calling card, due in no small part to Rossington’s evocative slide playing on his Gibson SG.
Rossington told Rolling Stone that he never considered Skynyrd to be a tragic band, despite all the band’s drama and death. “I don’t think of it as tragedy — I think of it as life,” he said upon the group’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2006. “I think the good outweighs the bad.” | https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/lynyrd-skynyrd-founding-guitarist-gary-rossington-has-died/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all | 2023-03-06 05:51:51 | 0 | https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/lynyrd-skynyrd-founding-guitarist-gary-rossington-has-died/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all |
MADRID (AP) — Spain’s prime minister is defending the way Moroccan and Spanish police repelled migrants last week as they tried to cross the shared border into the north African enclave of Melilla, depicting the attempt in which at least 23 people died as “an attack on Spain’s borders.”
“We must remember that many of these migrants attacked Spain’s borders with axes and hooks,” Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said during an interview Monday with The Associated Press. “We are talking about an attempt to assault the fence that was evidently carried out in an aggressive way, and therefore what Spain’s state security forces and Moroccan guards did was defend Spain’s borders.”
Authorities in Morocco have blamed the deaths on a “stampede” of people that formed early Friday as hundreds attempted to scale or break through the 12-meter (29-feet) iron double fence.
The barrier surrounds Melilla, a town of 85,000 separated from the Spanish mainland by the Strait of Gibraltar.
Nonprofits working in northern Africa and human rights organizations have deplored the treatment the migrants received from police on both sides. But they have also directed their blame at Spanish and European Union officials who they say have essentially outsourced border controls to Morocco and other states.
Sánchez, whose left-to-center government is trying to improve ties with Morocco following an acrimonious diplomatic dispute over Western Sahara, has refused to criticize the crackdown.
Speaking at the palace on the outskirts of Madrid that hosts his office and residence, Sánchez told AP that his thoughts were with the families of those who died. But he blamed the tragedy on “international human trafficking rings who are profiting from the suffering of human beings who only want to seek a better life.”
“I insist, these are international mafia groups that are not only damaging the territorial integrity of Spain but also that of Morocco, which is a country suffering that irregular migration.”
Sánchez spoke to AP on the eve of hosting NATO leaders in a summit that aims to redraw the defense alliance’s strategy for the next decade. While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will take center stage at the Wednesday and Thursday meeting, the group will also debate its posture on Africa, where Russian mercenaries are adding to concerns about migration, extremism and the impacts of poverty and climate change.
Footage uploaded to social media shows how a large number of migrants approached a section of the fence and began scaling it. Some of the migrants hurled rocks at Moroccan anti-riot police trying to stop them. At one point, the fence collapses, sending many of the migrants to the ground from a height of several meters.
In at least one video released by Spanish online news website eldiario.es, Spanish guards can also be seen escorting migrants back to the Moroccan side, a practice that human rights activists say denies the right of refugees to apply for asylum on European soil.
More gruesome videos and photos posted online appear to show the aftermath of the crossing attempt, with scores of young men, some of them motionless and others barely moving and bleeding as Moroccan security forces stood over them.
At least 76 civilians and 140 security officers on the Moroccan side, and 60 National Police and Civil Guard officers on the Spanish side, were injured, according to their respective governments. A small group of African men who did make it across the fence were taken to a migrant holding center in Melilla.
Moussa Faki Mahamat, head of the continent’s largest grouping of countries, the African Union, has called for an investigation into the deaths. In a tweet, Mahamat said he wanted to “express my deep shock and concern at the violent and degrading treatment of African migrants,” adding that all countries have “obligations under international law to treat all migrants with dignity and to prioritize their safety and human rights while refraining from the use of excessive force.”
While Moroccan authorities say 23 people died in addition to scores of injuries both among the migrants and border guards, activists claim that the death toll is higher and denounce the EU’s policy of striking deals with Morocco and other states like Turkey to control migration flows.
A group of 51 human rights groups said Monday in a joint statement distributed by Spanish NGO Walking Borders that the deaths “are the tragic example of the European Union’s policies of externalizing its borders, with the complicity of a southern country, Morocco.”
“The death of these young Africans at the borders of ‘Fortress Europe’ is a warning of the deadly nature of the security cooperation on immigration between Morocco and Spain,” the statement added.
Spanish authorities in Melilla, meanwhile, are using the most recent attempt by migrants to cross over in mass numbers to make an appeal for even greater guarantees on their territorial security. Last year, when relations between Spain and Morocco were frayed, Moroccan border guard let thousands of people cross in a few hours in Ceuta, Spain’s other enclave city in Africa.
Since then, the Spanish media has been rife with debate about whether NATO would help Spain out if its hold of Melilla and Ceuta was ever in jeopardy.
“Melilla is Europe’s southern frontier, and that is why Europe must look to the south,” Melilla chief Eduardo de Castro said Monday.
___
Follow more AP migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration | https://www.wfla.com/news/international/ap-international/spanish-pm-blames-traffickers-migrants-for-deaths-at-border/ | 2022-06-29 02:56:34 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/news/international/ap-international/spanish-pm-blames-traffickers-migrants-for-deaths-at-border/ |
Aflac invests additional dollars for advertising and activations in women's basketball this March
COLUMBUS, Ga., Dec. 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Aflac Incorporated, a leading provider of supplemental health insurance in the U.S., announced plans to boost its support for the upcoming NCAA® Division 1 Women's Basketball Championship in an effort to draw attention to funding gaps that exist in women's athletics. As part of its 2023 March Madness® spend, Aflac is allocating a larger portion of its on-site activation and advertising budget specifically to focus on women's basketball.
The brand will also work with women's college basketball 2022 National Championship head coach, Dawn Staley, to determine how to best distribute the increased funding to drive impact for players and fans during the tournament. Coach Staley will also co-star in Aflac's March Madness advertising spot that debuts ahead of the tournament that will also feature another soon-to-be-announced coaching legend. Advertising will continue to focus on reminding Americans that Aflac is committed to helping close the medical debt gap.
"I've always said that equity in sports is more than swag bags, branding and signage. It's about working with partners and advertisers like Aflac that use their dollars to truly close the gap," said Staley. "Change is long overdue, and I'm proud to partner with Aflac and show the power of investing in women's basketball."
Aflac has been an official NCAA Corporate Partner since 2021 and has committed to a third year. For the 2023 tournament, Aflac's plan includes bolstering brand visibility with a diverse audience by advertising during women's basketball with more than 30 spots — that's in addition to running 10 spots during the men's tournament.
"Aflac is proud to help shine a bright light on some of the best female athletes in the world as they compete for a chance to fulfill their dreams of a national championship," said Garth Knutson, Head of Marketing, Aflac. "With the help of Coach Staley, the NCAA and other influential individuals interested in growing women's sports, for 2023, we made the call to distribute additional advertising and marketing dollars to help support and advocate for a better player and fan experience in the women's tournament."
Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) is a Fortune 500 company helping provide protection to more than 50 million people through its subsidiaries in Japan and the U.S., paying cash fast when policyholders get sick or injured. For more than six decades, the insurance policies of Aflac Incorporated's subsidiaries have given policyholders the opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial stress. In the U.S., Aflac is the number one provider of supplemental health insurance products.1 Aflac Life Insurance Japan is the leading provider of medical and cancer insurance in Japan, where it insures 1 in 4 households. In 2021, the company was included in the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index and became a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). In 2022, Aflac Incorporated was proud to be included as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere for the 16th consecutive year, Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies for the 21st time and Bloomberg's Gender-Equality Index for the third consecutive year. To find out how to get help with expenses health insurance doesn't cover, get to know us at aflac.com or aflac.com/español. Investors may learn more about Aflac Incorporated and its commitment to ESG and social responsibility at investors.aflac.com under "Sustainability."
1LIMRA 2021 US Supplemental Health Insurance Total Market Report
Media contact: Amy Persons, apersons@aflac.com
Analyst and investor contact: David A. Young, 706-596-3264, 800-235-2667 or dyoung@aflac.com
Aflac | Aflac New York | WWHQ | 1932 Wynnton Road | Columbus, GA 31999
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SOURCE Aflac | https://www.wistv.com/prnewswire/2022/12/07/aflac-partners-with-championship-coach-dawn-staley-bolster-player-fan-experience-during-ncaa-division-1-womens-basketball-championship/ | 2022-12-07 14:04:05 | 0 | https://www.wistv.com/prnewswire/2022/12/07/aflac-partners-with-championship-coach-dawn-staley-bolster-player-fan-experience-during-ncaa-division-1-womens-basketball-championship/ |
R Kelly trial on whether he fixed 2008 trial set to start
CHICAGO (AP) — Jury selection begins Monday at R. Kelly’s federal trial in his hometown of Chicago, where the R&B singer faces charges that he rigged his 2008 state child pornography trial by threatening and paying off a girl who he allegedly filmed himself having sex with when he was around 30 and she was no older than 14.
Jurors acquitted Kelly on all charges in that 2008 trial, some explaining later that they felt they had no choice because the girl did not testify. The woman, now in her 30s and referred to in filings only as “Minor 1,” will be the government’s star witness in the upcoming federal trial.
Kelly, 55, goes into Chicago federal court Monday already sentenced by a New York federal judge to a 30-year prison term for a 2021 conviction on charges he used his fame to sexually abuse other young fans.
Kelly, who rose from poverty on Chicago’s South Side to become a star singer, songwriter and producer, faces multiple charges at the federal trial. They include four counts of enticement of minors for sex — one each for four other accusers. They, too, are slated to testify.
Convictions in Chicago could add decades to Kelly’s New York sentence, which he is appealing. With the New York sentence alone, Kelly will be around 80 before qualifying for early release.
Two Kelly associates, Derrel McDavid and Milton Brown, are co-defendants at the Chicago trial. McDavid is accused of helping Kelly fix the 2008 trial, while Brown is charged with receiving child pornography. Like Kelly, they have also denied any wrongdoing.
Two state cases are also still pending. One is a multiple count sex-abuse case out of Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago. The other is a solicitation case in Minnesota. No trial dates are set for either.
Minor 1 is expected to testify that she was on video having sex with Kelly. The recording was at the heart of the monthlong 2008 trial and was played for jurors almost every day.
Minor 1 first met Kelly in the late 1990s when she was in junior high school. She had tagged along to Kelly’s Chicago recording studio with her aunt, a professional singer working with Kelly. Soon after, Minor 1 told her parents Kelly was going to become her godfather.
Prosecutors say Kelly later threatened and sought to pay off Minor 1 and her parents so they wouldn’t testify at the 2008 trial. None of them did.
Double jeopardy rules bar the prosecution of someone for the same crimes they were acquitted of earlier. That doesn’t apply to the Chicago federal trial because prosecutors are alleging different crimes related to Minor 1, including obstruction of justice.
___
Follow Michael Tarm on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mtarm
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wlbt.com/2022/08/15/r-kelly-trial-whether-he-fixed-2008-trial-set-start/ | 2022-08-15 11:20:39 | 1 | https://www.wlbt.com/2022/08/15/r-kelly-trial-whether-he-fixed-2008-trial-set-start/ |
The Oscars: The moment when Hollywood's most famous and glamorous gather to accept awards and show off their couture.
"Everybody looks great," remarked host Jimmy Kimmel, walking around the stage a few weeks ago, looking at all the famous faces.
"When I look around this room, I can't help but wonder: Is Ozempic right for me?"
There was some scattered laughter, but it seemed like maybe the joke hit a little too close to home. After all, Ozempic has been called "the worst-kept secret in Hollywood."
"The worst-kept secret in Hollywood"
In the last several months, Ozempic has exploded onto the scene, with everyone from Elon Musk to Chelsea Handler talking about taking versions of the drug.
"My doctor ... just hands it out to anybody," comedian Chelsea Handler said on a podcast.
But Ozempic's rise to superstardom status was not something most people predicted. In fact, the drug was created by Novo Nordisk to help diabetes patients control their blood sugar.
But the drug's side effect of rapid weight loss quickly stole headlines and made Ozempic a very hot commodity. So hot, it caused some problems for the people it was originally intended to help.
"I was willing to try anything"
Five years ago, ShantaQuilette Develle Carter-Williams had a health crisis. She had a stroke at age 39 and temporarily lost the use of her left side.
Carter-Williams is a stand-up comedian, writer and producer in Los Angeles and she couldn't work at all after her stroke.
"I was eating and gaining weight and I was just really concerned that if I do continue to keep this weight on, the possibilities of having another stroke are very high."
Her doctor suggested she try Ozempic to bring down her blood sugar and also help her lose weight and avoid another stroke.
"I had never heard of Ozempic," she recalls. "But, you know, I was willing to try anything."
"You actually forget to eat"
Ozempic and a similar drug, Wegovy, are weekly shots you give yourself that cause the body to produce insulin. Insulin lowers blood sugar, slows digestion and makes people feel full. Carter-Williams tried it and was amazed.
"You are not hungry," she says. "Like, I actually have to set timers to make sure that I do eat, because otherwise you actually forget to eat."
Carter-Williams' weight started to drop right away and her cholesterol and blood sugar levels started coming down. She and her doctor were thrilled. But almost as soon as she started seeing results, she ran into trouble.
"I was going to renew my dosage and they were like, 'Oh, we don't have it.'"
Carter-Williams started calling all over, but the only pharmacy she could find that had any in stock wouldn't take her insurance (this is reportedly a common issue with the drug). So instead of costing her $25 a month, the Ozempic prescription was going to cost $1,600 a month.
That was when Carter-Williams realized Ozempic was having a major moment.
"It was so popular," she recalls. "It was all over social media." Carter-Williams could not afford the high price, so she reluctantly went off of the drug. The weight she had lost came back and her blood sugar and cholesterol started climbing.
"That was hard," says Carter-Williams. "I mean, I wasn't using it to try and fit into my Oscar dress. I really needed it for my health. But I went a while without getting it."
Ozempic's popularity has a price
Dr. Jorge Rodriguez is a gastroenterologist in LA. He knew of Ozempic for diabetes treatment, but up until about a year ago had never heard of it being used for weight loss.
"I actually first heard about this use for Ozempic from a patient of mine who wanted me to prescribe it," he says.
Since that moment, Rodriguez has been asked to write prescriptions for the drug almost every week.
It is legal for doctors to prescribe a drug like Ozempic for an unofficial use, but Rodriguez sees Ozempic's popularity as a problem, especially since it can be really hard to find in a lot of places and insurance often won't cover it, meaning only people who can afford to pay $1,600 a month can get it.
"I won't prescribe it for weight loss," he says. "Using it in any other way restricts and harms the people that really benefit from it, which are the diabetics."
Rodriguez points out that Wegovy, another Novo Nordisk drug, has the same active ingredient as Ozempic and is FDA-approved for weight loss. Still, he says, it is meant for people who are in a life-threatening situation and he won't prescribe it in other cases.
Psst ... need some Ozempic?
This is especially true because any lost weight reportedly comes right back if you don't take Ozempic every week. That means people who start a prescription typically don't stop taking it, even when they reach the weight they want.
Also, since supplies have been low in some places, people have started paying exorbitant prices and going to extremes to get it, such as traveling to Canada and Mexico.
That wild demand has also sparked a whole new crop of businesses.
A bunch of telehealth companies have cropped up that offer pricey monthly subscriptions to weight loss services, which include access to Ozempic or a similar drug (though the drug is usually paid for separately).
One such service, Sequence, charges subscribers $100 a month. It was just purchased by Weight Watchers for more than $100 million, a sign that the multibillion-dollar weight loss industry is also getting in on the Ozempic game.
Side effects include ...?
Rodriguez says another concern he has revolves around health issues. He points out that Ozempic is a pretty new drug. The known side effects, such as extreme nausea, dehydration and headaches, might not be the whole story.
Rodriguez points to fen-phen, a wildly popular weight loss drug from the 1990s. "When fen-phen was available, almost everybody was on it," he recalls. "And one of the 'phens' is basically methamphetamine, which is, which is speed."
Fen-phen caused long-term health effects for some users, including serious heart problems.
Still, Rodriguez says for diabetic patients, Ozempic is truly a very promising drug.
"It really is life-changing"
With the help of her doctor, Carter-Williams eventually managed to lock down a reliable supply of Ozempic, covered by insurance. And she saw what the fuss was about.
In the last 6 months, she has lost more than 60 pounds.
"I can tell that my body is operating differently," she says. "My blood pressure is better, my cholesterol is better. It really is life-changing."
Carter-Williams says people have noticed her weight loss and often ask her what her secret is. And when she tells them it's Ozempic? "They're like, oh my God, I've been trying to get that!" she says, laughing. "Can you tell me how you got it?"
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.kunm.org/npr-news/2023-04-01/you-forget-to-eat-how-ozempic-went-from-diabetes-medicine-to-blockbuster-diet-drug | 2023-04-01 18:24:43 | 0 | https://www.kunm.org/npr-news/2023-04-01/you-forget-to-eat-how-ozempic-went-from-diabetes-medicine-to-blockbuster-diet-drug |
Hodapp, Mark A.
Age 68, of Dayton, OH, passed away June 16, 2023. Visitation 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. Monday, June 26, 2023 at the Tobias Funeral Home. Tobias Funeral Home, Beavercreek, OH.
View the obituary on Legacy.com
Funeral Home Information
Tobias Funeral Home - Beavercreek Chapel
3970 Dayton-Xenia Rd
Dayton, OH
45432 | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/obituaries/hodapp-mark/OKAE245ONVGFNMDSUSN77KIO7I/ | 2023-06-23 05:30:57 | 1 | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/obituaries/hodapp-mark/OKAE245ONVGFNMDSUSN77KIO7I/ |
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — February 24, 2023, is a sad day for Ukrainians worldwide, as it marks one year since the Russian invasion began.
"Today is a terrible day because it's the same day all Ukrainians woke up terrified and like life is done," said Dmytro Bozhko, who is Ukrainian and helped organize a rally in Downtown West Palm Beach.
"In terms of emotions, anger, fear, it is still there for sure," said Bozhko.
The event was filled with posters, each with a message of why Ukraine must win the war, fundraising items, and a petition for more help in Ukraine.
"We left everything one year ago, and I miss my home. I miss everything we left everything, my photos," said Iryna Ivanovska, who says she fled Ukraine with her children six months ago, mainly packing Ukrainian books for her kids to read.
"It was difficult at the beginning because everything is very different. It's very different from Ukraine. A lot of people help us. It's very supportive," said Ivanovska.
She says she left behind her parents and the rest of her family and is now staying with her sister, Olena Chokaa, in Palm Beach County.
"They don't have driver's licenses, they don't have social security, a million things that they don't have, but they have to work. They have to do something. The kids have to go to school," said Chokaa.
The rally is one of the hundreds happening throughout us calling on leaders to continue the supporting Ukraine overseas in what they call a fight for democracy.
"Since the first day of the war, the first thing I do when I wake up every morning I call them to hear they are okay. I'm still doing that today," said local Ukrainian Yuliia Dryhyvka, with family still in Ukraine.
She says she moved to the U.S. in 2015 for work and that the war has significantly damaged infrastructure in Ukraine, leaving many without power and water.
"Even now, I'm hopeful that this year the war will end, and Ukraine will win and defeat the enemy," said Dryhyvka. "What world do we want our kids, children, and grandchildren to live in? We want them to live in a secure safe war.
Organizers also had petitions for people to sign, calling for Russia to be removed from the United Nations. | https://www.wptv.com/news/region-c-palm-beach-county/west-palm-beach/rally-held-to-mark-one-year-of-war-in-ukraine | 2023-02-25 04:08:32 | 0 | https://www.wptv.com/news/region-c-palm-beach-county/west-palm-beach/rally-held-to-mark-one-year-of-war-in-ukraine |
BOSTON (AP) — Reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid will play and start in Game 2 of the 76ers’ second-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics.
Embiid was cleared to play after a successful morning shootaround on Wednesday and a follow-up workout once the team arrived at TD Garden in the afternoon.
Embiid said during a morning news conference to discuss winning the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award that he would need to see how his sprained right knee felt before the game on Wednesday night, when the Sixers will try to take a 2-0 lead over the Celtics. He was just waiting for the OK from doctors and the team training staff.
The Philadelphia center picked up a pricey gift on Wednesday when teammate James Harden presented him with a Rolex watch to celebrate his MVP honor.
Embiid will now get a chance to reciprocate by joining Harden on the court for Game 2 against the Celtics.
76ers coach Doc Rivers said the coaching staff went into Wednesday with plans for Embiid being available and sitting out again.
Rivers also acknowledged that there was a school of thought that was “logical” to err on the side of resting his big man with the 76ers having already gained home-court advantage with their Game 1 victory.
“Players when they are healthy they should play. When they’re not, they shouldn’t play,” Rivers said. “But we’re not going to risk him for anything.”
The oft-injured Embiid led the NBA in scoring for the second straight season, playing in 66 games — the second-most in his career. He missed the last game of Philadelphia’s first-round sweep of the Brooklyn Nets and the first game of the second round, when the Sixers beat Boston to steal the home-court advantage in the series.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.pahomepage.com/sports/ap-sports/new-mvp-embiid-will-start-for-76ers-in-game-2-vs-celtics/ | 2023-05-04 17:15:08 | 1 | https://www.pahomepage.com/sports/ap-sports/new-mvp-embiid-will-start-for-76ers-in-game-2-vs-celtics/ |
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Dec. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Axon Enterprise, Inc. (NASDAQ: AXON) ("Axon") today announced that it intends to offer, subject to market and other conditions, $500 million aggregate principal amount of Convertible Senior Notes due 2027 (the "Notes") in a private offering to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). Axon also expects to grant to the initial purchasers of the Notes an option to purchase up to an additional $75 million aggregate principal amount of the Notes, for settlement within a 13-day period beginning on, and including, the first date on which the Notes are issued.
The Notes will be Axon's senior unsecured obligations. The Notes will mature on December 15, 2027, unless earlier converted, redeemed or repurchased.
Axon will satisfy its conversion obligations by paying cash up to the aggregate principal amount of Notes to be converted and paying or delivering, as the case may be, cash, shares of its common stock or a combination of cash and shares of its common stock, at its election, in respect of the remainder, if any, of its conversion obligation in excess of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes being converted, based on the then applicable conversion rate. The maturity date, the interest rate, the initial conversion rate and the other terms of Notes will be determined upon pricing of the offering.
Axon intends to use a portion of the net proceeds from the offering to pay the cost of certain convertible note hedge transactions described below (after such cost is partially offset by the proceeds to Axon from the sale of warrants in certain warrant transactions described below).
Axon intends to use the remaining net proceeds of the offering for general corporate purposes, which may include, among other things, providing capital to support its growth and to acquire or invest in product lines, products, services or technologies. However, Axon has no current agreements with respect to any specific acquisition and has not exercised any outstanding warrants or call options with respect to its strategic investments since September 30, 2022.
In connection with the pricing of the Notes, Axon expects to enter into convertible note hedge transactions with one or more of the initial purchasers of the Notes or their respective affiliates and/or other financial institutions (the "option counterparties"). Axon also expects to enter into warrant transactions with the option counterparties. The convertible note hedge transactions are expected generally to reduce potential dilution to Axon's common stock upon any conversion of Notes and/or offset any cash payments Axon is required to make in excess of the principal amount of converted Notes, as the case may be. However, the warrant transactions could separately have a dilutive effect on Axon's common stock to the extent that the market price per share of Axon's common stock exceeds the strike price of the warrants. If the initial purchasers exercise their option to purchase additional Notes, Axon expects to sell additional warrants to the option counterparties and expects to use a portion of the net proceeds from the sale of additional Notes, together with the proceeds from the additional warrants, to enter into additional convertible note hedge transactions with the option counterparties.
In connection with establishing their initial hedges of the convertible note hedge and warrant transactions, Axon is advised by the option counterparties or their respective affiliates that they expect to enter into various derivative transactions with respect to Axon's common stock and/or purchase shares of Axon's common stock concurrently with or shortly after the pricing of the Notes. This activity could increase (or reduce the size of any decrease in) the market price of Axon's common stock or the Notes at that time.
In addition, the option counterparties or their respective affiliates may modify their hedge positions by entering into or unwinding various derivatives with respect to Axon's common stock and/or purchasing or selling Axon's common stock or other securities of Axon in secondary market transactions following the pricing of the Notes and prior to the maturity of the Notes (and are likely to do so in connection with any conversion of the Notes or redemption or repurchase of the Notes). This activity could also cause or avoid an increase or a decrease in the market price of Axon's common stock or the Notes, which could affect the ability of noteholders to convert the Notes and, to the extent the activity occurs during any observation period related to a conversion of the Notes, it could affect the number of shares, if any, and value of the consideration that noteholders will receive upon conversion of the Notes.
As stated above, the Notes will be offered and sold only to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act. The Notes and any shares of Axon's common stock issuable upon conversion of the Notes have not been registered under the Securities Act, or any state securities law, and the Notes and any such shares may not be offered or sold in the United States or to any U.S. persons absent registration under, or pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the Notes or any shares of Axon's common stock issuable upon conversion of the Notes, nor shall there be any offer, solicitation or sale of any Notes or any such shares of Axon's common stock issuable upon conversion of the Notes in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.
Axon is a technology leader in global public safety. Axon is building the public safety operating system of the future by integrating a suite of hardware devices and cloud software solutions that lead modern policing. Axon's suite includes TASER energy devices, body-worn cameras, in-car cameras, cloud-hosted digital evidence management solutions, productivity software and real-time operations capabilities. Axon's growing global customer base includes first responders across international, federal, state and local law enforcement, fire, corrections and emergency medical services, as well as the justice sector, commercial enterprises and consumers.
Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the completion, timing and size of the proposed offering, the intended use of proceeds, the terms of the Notes being offered, the anticipated terms of, and the effects of entering into, the convertible note hedge and warrant transactions and the actions of the option counterparties and their respective affiliates. Words such as "may," "will," "should," "could," "would," "predict," "potential," "continue," "expect," "anticipate," "future," "intend," "plan," "believe," "estimate," and similar expressions, as well as statements in future tense, identify forward-looking statements. However, not all forward-looking statements contain these words.
We cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will be realized, although we believe we have been prudent in our plans and assumptions. Achievement of future results is subject to risks, uncertainties and potentially inaccurate assumptions. The following important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements: market conditions, including market interest rates, the trading price and volatility of Axon's common stock; the potential global impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic; our exposure to cancellations of government contracts due to appropriation clauses, exercise of a cancellation clause, or non-exercise of contractually optional periods; our ability to design, introduce and sell new products or features; our ability to defend against litigation and protect our intellectual property, and the resulting costs of this activity; our ability to manage our supply chain and avoid production delays, shortages, and impacts to expected gross margins; the impact of stock-based compensation expense, impairment expense, and income tax expense on our financial results; customer purchase behavior, including adoption of our software as a service delivery model; negative media publicity regarding our products; the impact of product mix on projected gross margins; defects in our products; changes in the costs of product components and labor; loss of customer data, a breach of security, or an extended outage, including by our third party cloud-based storage providers; exposure to international operational risks; delayed cash collections and possible credit losses due to our subscription model; changes in government regulations in the U.S. and in foreign markets, especially related to the classification of our products by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; our ability to integrate acquired businesses; our ability to attract and retain key personnel; and counter-party risks relating to cash balances held in excess of FDIC insurance limits. Many events beyond our control may determine whether results we anticipate will be achieved. Should known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove inaccurate, actual results could differ materially from past results and those anticipated, estimated or projected. You should bear this in mind as you consider forward-looking statements. The Annual Report on Form 10–K that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on February 25, 2022 lists various important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected and historical results. These factors are intended as cautionary statements for investors within the meaning of Section 21E of the Exchange Act and Section 27A of the Securities Act. Readers can find them under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Report on Form 10–K, and investors should refer to them, as well as the Company's subsequent filings with the Exchange Act where such risk factors have been amended or supplemented since such filing. You should understand that it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors. Consequently, you should not consider any such list to be a complete set of all potential risks or uncertainties.
Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You are advised, however, to consult any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our Form 10-Q, 8-K and 10-K reports to the SEC.
Axon may not consummate the proposed offering described in this press release and, if the proposed offering is consummated, cannot provide any assurances regarding the final terms of the offer or the Notes or its ability to effectively apply the net proceeds as described above.
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Rising sea levels to flood nearly 650,000 oceanfront properties across US by 2050, study finds
Nearly 650,000 parcels of oceanfront property in the U.S. that currently sit on dry land will be at least partially submerged within 30 years due to rising sea levels from climate change, according to a sobering research study released Thursday by Climate Central.
The effects will strain the pocketbooks of not only the property owners who eventually find themselves under the constant threat of coastal flooding, but also the cities and counties who rely on those property taxes to help fund schools, emergency services and utilities.
Sea levels are forecast to rise through the century as the planet warms. Warmer water occupies more space than cooler water, and melting glaciers only add to the rising tides.
Home collapses into the surf in Rodanthe along North Carolina's Outer Banks(Cape Hatteras National Seashore / National Park Service)
"As a result, properties and buildings that experienced floods in the past are likely to experience more severe floods in the future," the report stated. "It also means higher flood waters are reaching further inland, flooding properties and buildings that have never flooded before."
Climate Central analyzed more than 51 million properties vulnerable to a rising sea level and found that by 2050, some 649,000 parcels may have lost some property below the tidal boundary line -- where waters are expected to reach during high tide -- relative to water levels in 2000.
The research found Florida to have the most properties vulnerable to at least partial submersion by 2050, with more than 130,000 at risk. Louisiana was second with more than 106,000 and Texas was third at just under 65,000.
Chart showing parcels partially below the tideline boundary by 2050.
Of those, more than 48,000 properties may be completely submerged during high tides by 2050.
Properties by state forecast to be below the boundary tide lines by 2050. (Climate Central)
"Many of these parcels are owned by families or individuals -- people who will experience the consequences as the sea encroaches on their property," the report said.
Homeowners may not only face more flooding in their homes, but also a reduction in property values as the oceans reclaim more land, exposing homeowners to financial risk.
PLAN, PREPARE, PROTECT: HOW TO BEST COVER YOUR PROPERTY AGAINST FLOODS
The boundary between what is considered state-owned waters and private property along the shores varies by state, but is based on certain tidal boundary levels, as compiled by NOAA data.
Most states, including all along the West Coast, use the mean high tide mark to set the private-public property boundary. Three states – Texas, Louisiana and Hawaii – use the mean of the two highest daily high tides each day. Six states, including Massachusetts, Maine and Virginia, use the mean low tide water line.
(Climate Central)
"Essentially, each state designated a land elevation based on different average tidal levels, such as average high tide or low tide lines, to set the boundaries," according to the study.
HOW DO CLOUDS AFFECT THE CLIMATE ON EARTH?
Using the latest research on climate change from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that assumes the continuation of current carbon emission trends, Climate Central study authors pored over tax assessment data and parcel acreage for 250 waterfront counties, accounting for each state's relevant boundary definitions, to determine potential risk and loss due to rising sea levels.
All told, at least $108 billion of assessed value is at risk by 2100, and due to incomplete value data for some regions, that tally is likely far higher, the study stated. Even by 2050, Florida is expected to have just over $7 billion worth of property affected by rising sea levels.
Major coastal flooding in Charleston, South Carolina (FOX Weather)
But while the research calculates the potential losses through the year 2100, the authors focused on the anticipated effects by 2050 for the report as the date falls within the range of new 30-year mortgages "to emphasize the imminent risks for homeowners and coastal communities."
4.4 million acres lost in 30 years
Climate Central found that an additional 4.4 million acres may be below the tidal boundary by 2050 -- roughly 3/4 the size of New Jersey -- with Louisiana making up half the lost acreage. Florida, Texas and North Carolina combine with Louisiana to make up 87% of the expected acreage loss.
Chart showing land area in millions of acres affected by sea level rise by 2050. (Climate Central)
For Louisiana, 8.7% of state land could be affected by rising sea levels by 2050, with Florida at nearly 2%. By 2100, acreage lost more than doubles to 9.1 million, the study found.
Some counties and parishes are predicted to be hit particularly hard by rising sea levels. Of the 250 studied, researchers found that 30 counties/parishes across seven states are at the greatest risk of having at least 10% of their land area affected by rising sea levels in 2050, with Louisiana again hit particularly hard.
Eleven parishes are expected to have 40% or more of their land affected by 2050, with Terrebonne Parish at over 76.6% and Lafourche Parish at 60.9%.
Percent of county land area lost in by 2050
By 2050, 30 counties/parishes will have more than 10% of their land area affected, totaling more than 3 million acres.
Some of the more populated counties and parishes on the list include Orleans Parish, home to New Orleans; Galveston County, home to Galveston, Texas; Miami-Dade and Monroe counties in Florida that include the Miami shores, and New Jersey's Hudson County in the New York City metro area.
HERE’S WHAT TO DO AFTER YOUR CAR IS FLOODED
If you expand the impact to 5% of the area affected, 54 counties and parishes make up 83% of all affected areas. Climate Central has produced an individual report of each county and parish included in the study, which you can find at this link.
"The seas are rising and we are getting used to this concept of coastal flooding, but now we’re seeing permanent flooding," Climate Central Project Lead Don Bain told FOX Weather. "And one of the consequences of that is that the lines we use to divide between private popery and public waters and public tide lands is shifting. So we are going to have to get used to the idea that we are losing something to the sea and that is not only devastating to property owners, but it's rough on our local commutes who depend upon property taxes to fund their operations and to fund our schools."
'Where flooding was once the exception is now the rule'
The report warned of an impending reality where thousands of oceanfront buildings nestled as close to the shore as possible while maintaining what has been a safe distance from the water line eventually find themselves below the water line.
The report outlines about 84,500 homes and buildings will be in the flood zone by 2050.
Waves break over the sea wall at Middle Beach in Kennebunk as a car drives along Beach Avenue during high tide on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. (Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald / Getty Images)
"People have historically built as close to the ocean as possible while remaining above the observed tides -- an outdated strategy based on the assumption that the sea level remains stable," the study's authors wrote. "Once rapidly rising seas breach a certain threshold, these densely-developed landscapes reach a tipping point where flooding was once the exception is now the rule."
A downward spiral for city and county budgets
The impacts of rising sea levels go far beyond the direct costs of damaging floods to buildings. Cities and counties will face ever-increasing costs related to increased flooding, such as:
- Significant taxpayer costs to removing structures, septic systems and underground storage tanks or toxic sources before a property becomes underwater.
- Properties abandoned as they succumb to the sea become a drain on local government to handle, plus depreciating nearby property values if left unattended.
- As waters encroach, cities face increased expenses with street repair, stormwater alterations and sewer and water utility interventions. Some locales face expenses for sand and beach replenishment. Landscaping and crops also face damage.
Meanwhile, just as expenses increase, cities may be losing tax revenue. As waterfront residents lose land to sea, they will object to being taxed on property no longer owned, reducing tax revenue to the city and county. Sea-flooded businesses can also petition for a reduction in property taxes due to flood-related devaluations of property.
"So just at the time (cities) are spending more, they’re losing revenue, which is a terrible combination," Bain said.
A car and truck pass through a flooded Beach Avenue in Kennebunk during high tide on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. (Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald / Getty Images)
Those fights over how, when and whether legal boundaries will be adjusted in response to tidal changes is "very much an open question," the study noted. It is already a complex process to determine land-sea boundaries, and rising sea levels and their implications on tax revenue and infrastructure maintenance will only become more exacerbated.
Any lower tax revenue not only hamstrings municipalities dealing with the added flooding, but also reduces funds available for schools, emergency services, transportation and other crucial taxpayer-funded services.
As cities lose services, property values decrease, leading to a downward spiral in tax revenue.
How cities respond – or fail to respond – may also impact their ability to repay debt and suffer lower credit ratings, the report warned.
HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER ON TV
"This pattern sends a critical warning: while change might seem relatively slow and manageable in many places today, we are soon headed for a very different world," the study stated. "Planning, preparation and prevention will be required to avoid a lot of pain."
What can be done?
The study offers four options for government entities to reduce the risk of rising sea levels.
First, they suggest adjusting land policies to encourage development outside new risk zones and limit growth in areas where sea levels are expected to rise. Second, cities and counties should invest in improving stormwater systems, raising roads, building levees or improving coastal wetlands, "that will, at least for a time, help protect the tax base," the authors wrote.
They encourage participation in the National Flood Insurance Program and Community Rating Systems incentives to provide financial resilience for residents and educate local residents, so they can help adapt their local economy and tax base to rising seas.
There is one primary way to prevent impacts from rising sea levels, according to the study – ultimately, reducing and eventually eliminating carbon pollution.
"We have a choice between some better outcomes and some worse outcomes," Bain said. "And we’re hoping that we get a hold of this problem and get to some lower emissions rates so that we have a chance to adapt. If we don’t, we run the risk of creating rising seas that are rising faster than our capacity to adapt to them." | https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/rising-sea-levels-to-flood-nearly-650000-oceanfront-properties-across-us-by-2050-study-finds | 2022-09-08 23:07:37 | 1 | https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/rising-sea-levels-to-flood-nearly-650000-oceanfront-properties-across-us-by-2050-study-finds |
TOKYO and CENTER VALLEY, Pa., Sept. 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Olympus Corporation (Olympus), a global medtech company committed to making people's lives healthier, safer, and more fulfilling, today announced the release of the THUNDERBEAT™ Open Fine Jaw Type X surgical energy devices for open surgery. With a new thermal shield, the THUNDERBEAT Open Fine Jaw Type X surgical energy device is designed to support safer procedures.i The device is available commercially in Japan. The commercial launch of the product in Europe, the U.S., and South Korea is expected in October 2022, with continued launches in other countries and regions following.
This device is part of Olympus' THUNDERBEAT portfolio of hybrid energy devices that deliver both ultrasonic and bipolar energy simultaneously for tissue management, including hemostatic cutting and dissection, in laparoscopic surgery and open surgery. The THUNDERBEAT hybrid devices eliminate the need for multiple instruments during the surgery, contributing to efficiency in the operating room and reduced operation time.ii
"This latest addition to our differentiated THUNDERBEAT line of products continues to deliver on Olympus' commitment to offering hospitals a full portfolio of Advanced Energy devices providing best-in-class functionality for numerous procedures and specialties in minimally invasive and open surgery," said Phil Roy, Global Vice President and General Manager of the Surgical Devices Business Unit.
The THUNDERBEAT™ Open Fine Jaw Type X device is designed for open surgical procedures that require delicate and fine tissue dissection, such as in thyroidectomy or radical neck dissection. The new thermal shield improves the thermal profile on the grasping surface, which reduces the risk of unintended heat damage to nearby tissue, nerves and other structures.i The jaw design maintains a finely curved tip for precise dissection and enhanced visibility during use.i
- New Thermal Shield Supports Safer Procedures
The newly developed thermal shield at the distal tip slows heat transfer from the probe to the exterior surface of the jaw and reduces the risk of unintended heat damage to surrounding tissue and vessels.i - Fine Shape of Distal Tip Supports Precise Procedures
The slim shape of the distal tip supports precise tissue management capabilities including fine dissection and firm grasping force, cutting and sealing to the tip of the device, and blunt dissection.i - Simultaneous Output of Two Energies Enables a Variety of Operations with One Device
Delivering simultaneous bipolar and ultrasonic energy enables fast, hemostatic cutting, easy dissection, and reliable vessel sealing and division. A separate advanced bipolari function enables vessel sealing and spot coagulation without cutting, when desired.
The THUNDERBEAT™ Open Fine Jaw Type X device is a single use hybrid ultrasonic and bipolar electrosurgical instrument intended for use in open surgery. This device should not be used for tubal sterilization or tubal coagulation for sterilization procedures. Use with caution in patients with electronic implants, such as a cardiac pacemaker, or nerve simulators, to avoid possible hazard to patients due to interference. Before use, thoroughly review the product manual and use the equipment as instructed.
The THUNDERBEAT Open Fine Jaw Type X device is manufactured by Olympus Medical Systems Corporation.
About Olympus
Olympus is passionate about creating customer-driven solutions for the medical, life sciences, and industrial equipment industries. For more than 100 years, Olympus has focused on making people's lives healthier, safer and more fulfilling by helping to detect, prevent, and treat disease; furthering scientific research; and ensuring public safety.
In its Therapeutic Solutions business, Olympus uses innovative capabilities in medical technology, therapeutic intervention, and precision manufacturing to help healthcare professionals deliver diagnostic, therapeutic, and minimally invasive procedures to improve clinical outcomes, reduce overall costs, and enhance the quality of life for patients. Starting with its early contributions to the development of the polypectomy snare, Olympus' Therapeutic Solutions portfolio has grown to include a wide range of medical devices to help prevent, detect, and treat disease. For more information, visit www.olympusamerica.com.
i Data on file with Olympus as of May 11, 2020
ii Data on file with Olympus as of June 26, 2015
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SOURCE Olympus Corporation | https://www.kold.com/prnewswire/2022/09/28/olympus-launches-thunderbeat-energy-device-open-surgery/ | 2022-09-28 06:32:56 | 1 | https://www.kold.com/prnewswire/2022/09/28/olympus-launches-thunderbeat-energy-device-open-surgery/ |
Active cases of COVID-19 hit their highest levels in West Virginia in five months Thursday.
There were at least 3,221 ongoing cases in the state, the highest since 3,339 on Feb. 24, according to the Department of Health and Human Resources’ COVID-19 dashboard. Active cases statewide had plunged to 263 on April 4 after surpassing 21,000 in January.
Confirmed daily cases in West Virginia surpassed 480 on Tuesday and Wednesday after falling below 400 on each of the previous four days.
The increase occurred as President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, underscoring the persistence of the highly contagious virus as new variants challenge the nation’s efforts to resume normalcy after two and a half years of pandemic disruptions.
The number of people hospitalized for the virus in West Virginia has risen steadily since bottoming out at 77 in mid-April. It was at 299 Thursday. The pandemic record of 1,097 was set on Feb. 2. The National Guard ended its staffing assistance to hospitals on March 11.
There have been 7,121 virus deaths in West Virginia since the start of the pandemic. | https://www.wvpublic.org/health-science/2022-07-21/active-covid-19-cases-hit-5-month-high-in-w-va | 2022-07-21 18:18:36 | 0 | https://www.wvpublic.org/health-science/2022-07-21/active-covid-19-cases-hit-5-month-high-in-w-va |
SAN FRANCISCO and VALLETTA, Malta, Oct. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Trevolution Group, which operates International Travel Network, ASAP Tickets, Skylux Travel, Aviajet, and other travel brands, reports that during the first nine months of 2022, the group's gross bookings have increased 250% compared to the same period in 2021.
Peter Vazan, CEO at Trevolution Group, commented, "Our sales in the US market are increasing, and our team continues to provide excellent customer service to an ever-growing number of clients. Notably, Trevolution has been growing at a faster pace than the market and has issued already more than 500,000 tickets in the three quarters of 2022."
"As much of the world has reopened for tourism, this year more customers are opting to purchase international flights, either for leisure or visiting friends and relatives. The recent US dollar surge may prompt more Americans to travel internationally over the upcoming winter season."
Compared to the first nine months of 2019, the company's gross bookings have increased by 63%. The top countries, to which flights have been booked by Trevolution customers, are the Philippines, India, Nigeria, Italy and the United Kingdom. During the same period, the proportion of international flights booked among all flights has increased by 35%.
Trevolution Group has established itself as the market leader in the travel business, specializing in the visiting friends and relatives segment. Over 70,000 air tickets are sold by Trevolution monthly, which makes it the fifth-largest consolidator in the US. It is part of the Dyninno Group, which provides products and services in the travel, finance, entertainment, and technology sectors in 50 countries. It was founded in 2004 in San Francisco by Alex Weinstein. Today, 3,900 professionals work for the group globally.
For further details, please contact pr@dyninno.com.
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SOURCE Trevolution Group | https://www.wbtv.com/prnewswire/2022/10/27/trevolution-gross-bookings-grow-25-times-three-quarters-2022/ | 2022-10-27 14:46:08 | 1 | https://www.wbtv.com/prnewswire/2022/10/27/trevolution-gross-bookings-grow-25-times-three-quarters-2022/ |
SAN MATEO COUNTY, Calif. -- A 5-year-old boy is now home from the hospital after a terrifying mountain lion attack Tuesday night in an unincorporated area of the Bay Area's San Mateo County.
Wildlife wardens spent Wednesday searching for signs of the mountain lion that attacked the young boy.
"We are doing our best to try and capture the mountain lion and remove it so it can't threaten anyone else," said Capt. Patrick Foy.
Five-year-old Jack was walking with his mom and grandpa near Tunitas Creek Road when he was attacked by a mountain lion just before 7 p.m.
"Jack, being the little ball of energy that he is, got a little ahead of his mom and grandparents and must have frightened the mountain lion. Fortunately, (the animal) was a juvenile," said Amie Wagner, Jack's aunt.
"It was a pretty vicious attack. It took him to the ground and apparently was described as biting into this young child. The mom lunged at the mountain lion and before making contact with it, the lion let her son go," said Foy.
Neighbors in the area say they have seen mountain lions before but the Department of Fish and Wildlife says it's very rare that the animals attack humans.
In the hours that followed, San Francisco's KGO-TV met a resident who lives on the neighboring property from where the incident happened. He says he was the first one on scene.
"They were pretty calm when I pulled up, they're my neighbors so I asked them if they were okay. They were very... they were good. They said everybody's fine, but they had to talk to fish and game, and a warden pulled up right as I pulled out," neighbor Chad Conover said. "Typically the mountain lions avoid people, so it's not often you hear about an attack on a human."
Jack's family thinks the mountain lion was probably surprised by the boy.
According to his family, Jack was pretty bruised and beaten up overall. The sheriff says the boy has puncture wounds and the Department of Fish and Wildlife says the cougar was chewing on him.
"He has a lot of lacerations, bruising especially on his face. He has one fracture near his eye. His eye is really swollen. He's all stitched up," said Wagner.
Jack's aunt set up a GoFundMe page to help the family with medical bills.
She says Jack's parents manage an organic farm and everything they produce goes to serve people who are experiencing homelessness.
"I know it takes both of Jack's parents working very hard every day to keep the farm running. And they're going to need some extra support as they focus on his recovery," said Wagner.
Loved ones are grateful things weren't worse for Jack.
"He's a brave courageous little boy and he's going to come out of it with his spirit intact," said Wagner.
On Tuesday night, the sheriff's office released the following statement in response to the incident: "Our coastal community has endured so much these past few weeks. Our entire agency is saddened of this news and sends many warm wishes to the child for a speedy and full recovery. Our thoughts are with the family at this time." | https://abc30.com/mountain-lion-attack-child-injured-san-mateo-county-sheriffs-office/12762918/ | 2023-02-02 22:22:58 | 1 | https://abc30.com/mountain-lion-attack-child-injured-san-mateo-county-sheriffs-office/12762918/ |
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LONDON (AP) — Britain’s inflation rate rose to a 41-year high in October, fueling demands for the government to do more to ease the nation’s cost-of-living crisis when it releases new tax and spending plans Thursday.
Consumer prices jumped 11.1% in the 12 months through October, compared with 10.1% in September, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday. The new figure exceeded economists' expectations of 10.7%.
Higher prices for food and energy drove Britain’s inflation rate to the highest since October 1981, the ONS said. It exceeds the record 10.7% inflation seen last month in the 19 European countries using the euro currency and the U.S. rate of 7.7%, which slowed in October.
The figures come a day before Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt is scheduled to unveil a new budget amid growing calls for higher wages, increased benefits and more spending on health and education as raging inflation erodes the spending power of people across the country.
Those demands are complicating Hunt’s efforts to close an estimated 50 billion-pound ($59 billion) budget shortfall and restore the government’s financial credibility after former Prime Minister Liz Truss’ disastrous economic policies undermined investor confidence and sparked turmoil on financial markets.
“We cannot have long-term, sustainable growth with high inflation," Hunt said after the inflation figures were released. “Tomorrow I will set out a plan to get debt falling, deliver stability, and drive down inflation while protecting the most vulnerable.”
Governments and central banks around the world are struggling to contain widespread inflation that began to accelerate as the global economy recovered from the coronavirus pandemic, then soared after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine restricted supplies of natural gas, oil, grain and cooking oil. While there is little policymakers can do to combat such external shocks, those price increases are becoming embedded as producers pass their costs on to consumers and workers demand higher wages, posing a longer term threat to economic growth.
The Bank of England earlier this month forecast that U.K. inflation would peak at around 11% in the fourth quarter and begin falling early next year. The bank has approved eight consecutive interest rate increases, pushing its key rate to 3%, as policymakers try to bring inflation back in line with their 2% target.
Hunt said the government had a duty to help the Bank of England control inflation and act responsibly with the nation’s finances. The comment was a stark contrast to the message from Truss, who said it was the government’s responsibility to spur growth, setting up a tug-of-war between a government with its foot on the economic gas pedal and a central bank attempting to cool the economy with higher borrowing costs.
The European and U.S. central banks also have been hiking rates aggressively, though the Federal Reserve is expected to temper them going forward after inflation slowed to 7.7% last month from 8.2% in September.
But U.K. inflation has yet to peak.
Food prices rose 16.4% in the 12 months through October — the biggest jump since September 1977 — as supermarkets passed on rising costs to consumers, the statistic office said. The cost of electricity and natural gas jumped 24%, even after the government capped energy prices to shield consumers from the impact of the energy crisis tied to the war in Ukraine.
Shona Lowe, a financial planning expert at the fund manager abrdn, said that understandably, inflation was a top concern for most households.
“Unfortunately, the U.K. is not yet following in the footsteps of the U.S. when it comes to inflation easing," she said. ”In fact, the Bank of England announced last week that it does not expect inflation to fall until the middle of next year, so consumers need to prepare for further pressure on their finances." | https://www.sfgate.com/living/article/UK-inflation-rises-to-41-year-high-at-11-1-17588398.php | 2022-11-16 12:16:56 | 0 | https://www.sfgate.com/living/article/UK-inflation-rises-to-41-year-high-at-11-1-17588398.php |
BALTIMORE — Baltimore City Council unanimously approved a resolution Monday to create a fund that would support local reproductive health organizations.
The resolution is in response to the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion suggesting the court is poised to repeal Roe v. Wade—the landmark 1973 decision that established a constitutional right to abortion.
“We will not allow [Supreme Court justices] to takeaway voice and choice here in Baltimore,” said City Councilman Zeke Cohen. “Now more than ever, we need each other.”
The fund would look to contribute to community based reproductive health organizations. It will help them expand their capacity to provide access to abortions and other services.
“Let’s be clear, for some women, this is about life or death,” said City Councilwoman Phylicia Porter, who co-sponsored the resolution.
Porsha Pinder, who is with the Baltimore Abortion Fund, said the funding from the city comes during a "moment of crisis."
She said no matter what happens next, her organization and others will be ready to help women from across the country.
“We will continue to fight for a world where abortion is not only legal, but accessible, affordable and de-stigmatized," Pinder said.
The resolution also is calling on Governor Larry Hogan to release 3.5 million dollars, which would pay to train medical professionals other than physicians to perform abortions. | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/local-news/baltimore-city-council-unanimously-approves-resolution-supporting-abortion-rights | 2022-05-17 02:02:40 | 0 | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/local-news/baltimore-city-council-unanimously-approves-resolution-supporting-abortion-rights |
FRISCO, Texas — Officials in Texas have released the official cause of death of former NFL running back Marion Barber III.
On Monday, a report by the Collin County Medical Examiner's Office said he died of heatstroke, stating his death was an accident, USA Today and NBC News reported.
Last month, the Associated Press reported that Frisco Police made a welfare check at an apartment “believed to be leased” to Barber and discovered his body.
When they arrived, the Fort Worth-Star Telegram reported that police found the thermostat inside the apartment was set to 91 degrees.
In the autopsy report, the coroner wrote that the former NFL player was “known to exercise in sauna-like conditions," The Washington Post reported.
Barber was 38, the news outlets reported.
The AP reported that the former NFL player spent six seasons with the Cowboys before ending his career in 2011 with the Chicago Bears. | https://www.kbzk.com/sports/officials-former-cowboys-player-marion-barber-iii-died-from-heatstroke | 2022-07-12 22:20:38 | 1 | https://www.kbzk.com/sports/officials-former-cowboys-player-marion-barber-iii-died-from-heatstroke |
Free event on Oct. 15 to Feature Olympian Turned Entrepreneur Dominique Dawes
COLLEGE PARK, Md., Sept. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business will showcase its graduate degree programs, via UMD Smith Summit: Reimagine Your Career, from 9:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022, in Van Munching Hall on UMD's College Park campus.
Admissions counselors and industry-focused panel discussions will give insights into a range of degree programs in an in-person only event designed for prospective students -- from current undergrads to working professionals considering a career pivot or seeking advancement opportunities.
Attendees will also hear from UMD alumna, Olympic Gold Medalist and entrepreneur Dominique Dawes '02, who will speak about her transition from a three-time Olympic gymnast to founding and operating the Dominique Dawes Gymnastics & Ninja Academy in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Dean Prabhudev Konana will open the event with welcoming remarks and introduce Dawes as the keynote speaker. Subsequent panel discussions will involve Smith alums giving insights into how to thrive in their industries and the layers of knowledge needed to succeed in the workplace.
In addition, participants will have the opportunity to receive individual guidance from Smith's admissions counselors on degree opportunities in the following programs:
- Full-Time MBA, ranked No. 26 by Fortune and internationally recognized for preparing leaders and entrepreneurs with sophisticated analytical skills and a deep understanding of the way business functions like marketing, finance and operations interact.
- Flex MBA, No. 25 in U.S. News & World Report's ranking for part-time programs and designed for working professionals to select the best pace for their studies as well as the best satellite campus site (Baltimore, D.C., or Rockville) … Students can start the program in August or January and flexibility further includes elective courses entirely online and opportunities for global learning experiences.
- Executive MBA, ranked No. 20 by Fortune with classes beginning in January and emphasizing personalized executive coaching to hone leadership skills and help professionals rise through the ranks or transition their careers.
- Online MBA, ranked No. 4 among U.S.-based programs by Fortune and serving professionals who average eight years of work experience in business, government, science, engineering and more.
- Online MS in Business Analytics, with its focus on leveraging big data for forecasting, prediction and managerial decision making.
- Business Master's, encompassing multiple specialty master's degrees for the new business landscape in a range of fields, including MS degrees in Accounting, Business Analytics, Business and Management, Information Systems, Marketing Analytics and Supply Chain Management, plus Master of Quantitative Finance and Master of Finance degrees.
- Plus 1, a program that allows UMD undergraduates to take graduate-level business master's courses as they pursue their bachelor's degree, helping them earn a business master's degree faster and more affordably than a traditional graduate student.
For more information, go to the UMD Smith Summit homepage.
The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research. One of 12 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and flex MBA, executive MBA, online MBA, business master's, PhD and executive education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning locations in North America and Asia.
Contact: Greg Muraski at gmuraski@umd.edu
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SOURCE University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2022/09/20/umd-smith-summit-showcase-business-graduate-program-opportunities/ | 2022-09-20 21:10:08 | 0 | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2022/09/20/umd-smith-summit-showcase-business-graduate-program-opportunities/ |
After a COVID cancellation in 2020 and a pivot to an attenuated version last year, the Newport Folk Festival is back in full swing this weekend. The festival has even added two new stages this year, which will feature banjo wunderkind Nora Brown and other newcomers and festival mainstays like J.P. Harris. As has been its wont for many years now, over its three days the festival offers a lineup that mixes folk and roots (however understood) and non-folk artists. This year, the offerings stretch from Dinosaur Jr., Japanese Breakfast, and the Roots at one end of the spectrum to Béla Fleck, Valerie June, and the Ballroom Thieves at the other. Here are 10 artists to watch this weekend who, collectively, represent the festival’s free-flowing aesthetic.
THE A’S (Friday)
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The A’s brings together Amelia Meath from Sylvan Esso (who play Sunday) and Alexandra Sauser-Monnig from Daughter of Swords (the two are also members of Mountain Man) with yodeling mode fully engaged. They’ve been playing together in this configuration for a while, but just got around to recording what they do as “Fruit,” which features marvelous, delicate, harmony-laden renditions of songs from Shelley Duvall to the DeZurik Sisters. It’s whimsical, and zany, too; as Sauser-Monnig puts it, “If it doesn’t make you cackle or cry, it doesn’t belong.” They’re debuting the album at Newport.
AROOJ AFTAB (Friday)
The word that appears again and again in discussions of Arooj Aftab’s music is “minimalist,” and for good reason. There’s a restraint, an abiding, echoing stillness to her music, which draws on where she came from (she was born to Pakistani parents and sings mostly in Urdu) and where she came to (she emigrated to the United States in 2005, earned a degree in jazz composition at Berklee, and moved to Brooklyn after graduation). One of the songs you can expect to hear her perform, “Mohabbat,” won the inaugural Grammy for best global music performance.
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BENDIGO FLETCHER (Sunday)
This rising Louisville, Ky., outfit comes to Fort Adams with its first full-length album under its belt. “Fits of Laughter” shows a band skating across genres — a little folk here, a little R&B there, a little rock ‘n’ roll over there. (In a recent interview, singer Ryan Anderson described the band’s music as “bubblegum elf rock,” which it decidedly is not.) A prediction: When the band plays the massively trippy, shapeshifting song “Evergreen” Sunday (and here’s hoping they play it really loud), the crowd will go wild.
BLACK OPRY REVUE (Saturday)
Birthed by a website dedicated to rectifying the lack of presence of Black artists in country music, the Black Opry Revue takes to the road with various aggregations of such artists, which means that you’ll likely get something different every time you attend a BOR show. The lineup for Newport is full-to-bustin’, with Buffalo Nichols, Julia Cannan, the Kentucky Gentlemen, Lizzie No, Autumn Nicholas, Chris Pierce, Leon Timbo, and Joy Oladokun scheduled to take part. Nichols and Oladokun will also play solo sets at the festival.
BONNY LIGHT HORSEMAN (Saturday)
The trio of Eric D. Johnson, Josh Kaufman, and Anaïs Mitchell have a new album coming out in the fall, but that is not going to be the focus of their set at Newport (at least, not of their announced set). Instead, they’re going to gather “friends” — Natalie Merchant, and others yet to be revealed — to perform “Mermaid Avenue, Vol. 1,″ the ghostly collaboration of Wilco and Billy Bragg with Woody Guthrie, in its entirety. Why that record? Says Kaufman, “24 years ago this album was released and planted seeds in us collectively that folk music can and should be remade/reharmonized and recontextualized to shadow the times as they evolve.” It sounds like the sort of moment that Newport is famous for.
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DAKHABRAKHA (Sunday)
As their name suggests (“give/take” is a rough translation), DakhaBrakha gives and DakhaBrakha takes; the taking is from the folk traditions of old Ukraine, and the giving is the transformation they make to those forms, injecting the “rhythms of the surrounding world” via the instruments that produce them. They’re the only band I’ve ever come across that lists an “ideologist” as one of its members. They are playing with a particular urgency at present, heeding Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s call: “Fill the silence with your music! Fill it today to tell our story.”
PHIL COOK/THE BRANCHETTES (Sunday)
Singer-songwriter Phil Cook (Megafaun, Hiss Golden Messenger) wanted to preserve and celebrate the gospel music tradition of North Carolina, the state where he makes his home. So he started record label Spiritual Helpline to do it, and for the label’s debut release produced a live record with the Branchettes, a regional gospel group that has been singing for half a century. On Sunday, Cook and the Branchettes will join together onstage as “A Spiritual Helpline Gospel Revue.”
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THE DEAD TONGUES (Friday)
Ryan Gustafson contemplated walking away from music in the early days of the pandemic. Instead, he discovered new ways of relating to making music, and a new Dead Tongues record, “Dust,” was the result. Its songs are a bit more electric than previous endeavors (both guitar and pedal steel are much in evidence), and it shows Gustafson continuing to make folk music of rare intensity and weight. He’ll be highlighting songs from the new record at Newport.
HERMANOS GUTIÉRREZ (Sunday)
Hermanos Gutiérrez comes as advertised as far as the name goes: The group is brothers Alejandro and Estevan Gutiérrez. And when you hear the music they make — an all-instrumental western-Latin mashup produced by the pair, one on guitar, one on lap steel — you might think that it comes as advertised as well, that they hail from somewhere south of the border. In fact, the Gutiérrez brothers are from Switzerland, the sons of a Swiss father and Ecuadorian mother, and their cross-cultural excursions were pollinated by the music their maternal grandfather loved. Wherever they’re from, a commenter on one of their YouTube videos captured perfectly where they end up: “They’re just a vibe.”
TAJ MAHAL (Friday)
The bluesman has been here on several occasions — he performed at Newport Folk for the first time in 1968 — but it’s been a long 34-year while since the last time. His inaugural appearance came hard on the heels of his self-titled debut record; since then, he’s released a couple dozen records that have taken him to electric as well as acoustic blues, ragtime, reggae, zydeco, Caribbean, Hawaiian, and more, a body of work that led the Encyclopedia of the Blues to aptly label him “the most eclectic and international of bluesmen.” Consider him this year’s festival elder statesman.
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Stuart Munro can be reached at sj.munro@verizon.net.
NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL
At Fort Adams State Park, Newport, R.I. July 22-24. newportfolk.org | https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/07/19/arts/newport-medley-10-must-see-artists-this-years-folk-festival/ | 2022-07-19 17:35:26 | 1 | https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/07/19/arts/newport-medley-10-must-see-artists-this-years-folk-festival/ |
Is “Saturday Night Live” new tonight? Who will host?
No, there will not be a new episode of “Saturday Night Live” airing this week. Instead, a replay of Season 48′s season premiere with actor Miles Teller as host and musical guest Kendrick Lamar will air instead.
How can I watch “Saturday Night Live” Season 48?
You can watch the 48th season of “Saturday Night Live” on NBC.
If you’re a cord-cutter or don’t have cable, you can live stream “SNL” on Fubo TV. It will also be available on Peacock, NBC’s streaming service. Both offer free trials.
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Katherine Rodriguez can be reached at krodriguez@njadvancemedia.com. Have a tip? Tell us at nj.com/tips. | https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/entertainment/2022/10/is-snl-new-tonight-who-is-hosting-102222.html | 2022-10-22 14:26:30 | 1 | https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/entertainment/2022/10/is-snl-new-tonight-who-is-hosting-102222.html |
Alaska Airlines is celebrating its 90th anniversary by giving all employees the gift of travel.
SEATTLE, July 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- While many of us were instructed to stay home during the pandemic, airline employees were part of the essential workforce who remained on the front lines. Each day brought new challenges, regulations and precautions that our people had to carefully navigate while continuing to care for our guests, communities and each other.
As we inch our way to a new normal—happily seeing travelers' pent-up desire to hop on a plane—Alaska is taking a moment to thank each employee for their relentless commitment to caring for our guests for 90 years & counting by giving them 90,000 miles to fly anywhere in the world.
"As we celebrate 90 years of flying, we wouldn't be where we are today without our incredible people who work nonstop to keep things moving, even throughout a global pandemic," said CEO Ben Minicucci. "When you think about how many airlines have come and gone since 1932, it's an amazing achievement that we're still here and stronger than ever—it's because of the genuine care and hard work our people bring to our operation every day."
The great thing about miles is they never expire and offer flexibility to travel not just on Alaska, but also on our oneworld partners like British Airways, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Finnair and our other airline partners. Travel awards begin at just 5,000 miles, and can be used to book First Class tickets, a relaxing stay at a hotel or tickets to an anticipated event—there are so many ways to use airline miles!
With 90,000 miles, you can plan a trip to almost anywhere in the world:
- For instance, a roundtrip flight from Seattle up and down the West Coast starts at just 10,000 roundtrip, which means you can get you up to nine roundtrip flights!
- Roundtrips from Seattle to New York start at 25,000 miles, or even visit Hawaii from San Francisco starting at 30,000 miles roundtrip.
- Want to travel internationally? A roundtrip flight to Europe from the West Coast starts at 60,000 miles through our oneworld partners. Mileage prices do vary so search for your travel dates to see the prices for the dates and cabins you want to travel in.
Media assets:
- More info: https://bit.ly/3Rr386R
- Dropbox to high-res photos: https://bit.ly/3yALk0q - Photos by Ingrid Barrentine
- Video of CEO Ben Minicucci message to employees: https://vimeo.com/728976630/cf60e4a7e8
- TikTok featuring COO Constance von Muehlen: https://bit.ly/3yXHiAX (download video)
With oneworld and our additional airline partners, our guests can earn and redeem miles with our highly acclaimed Mileage Plan program to fly on more than 20 oneworld and partner airlines all around the globe.
About Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines and our regional partners serve more than 120 destinations across the United States, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica and Mexico. We emphasize providing low fares for our guests, award-winning customer service and sustainability efforts. Alaska is a member of the oneworld global alliance. With the alliance and our additional airline partners, guests can travel to more than 1,000 destinations on more than 20 airlines while earning and redeeming miles on flights to locations around the world. Learn more about Alaska at news.alaskaair.com. Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK).
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SOURCE Alaska Airlines | https://www.wbtv.com/prnewswire/2022/07/11/alaska-airlines-surprises-employees-with-90000-miles-travel-globe/ | 2022-07-12 00:59:30 | 0 | https://www.wbtv.com/prnewswire/2022/07/11/alaska-airlines-surprises-employees-with-90000-miles-travel-globe/ |
Packers Odds to Make Playoffs and Win Super Bowl
At the moment the Green Bay Packers are 19th in the league in terms of odds to win the Super Bowl, listed at +6600.
Watch the Packers this season on Fubo!
Packers Super Bowl Odds
- Odds to Win the NFC North: +400
- Odds to Win the Super Bowl: +6600
Looking to place a futures bet on the Packers to win the Super Bowl this season? Head to BetMGM using our link and enter the bonus code "GNPLAY" for special offers!
Green Bay Betting Insights
- Green Bay covered eight times in 17 chances against the spread last season.
- Packers games hit the over eight out of 17 times last season.
- From an offensive standpoint, Green Bay ranked 17th in the NFL with 337.9 yards per game last season. Meanwhile, it ranked 17th in total defense (336.5 yards allowed per contest).
- The Packers put up a 5-4 record at home and were 3-5 on the road last season.
- Green Bay put up a 5-6 record as the favored team, and posted a 3-3 record as underdogs.
- In the NFC North the Packers were 3-3, and in the conference as a whole they went 6-6.
Packers Impact Players
- On the ground, Aaron Jones had two touchdowns and 1,121 yards (65.9 per game) last year.
- In the passing game, Jones scored five touchdowns, with 59 receptions for 395 yards.
- A.J. Dillon rushed for 770 yards (45.3 per game) and seven touchdowns in 17 games.
- Dillon also had 28 catches for 206 yards and zero TDs.
- In the passing game a season ago, Christian Watson scored seven TDs, catching 41 balls for 611 yards (43.6 per game).
- Romeo Doubs had 42 catches for 425 yards (32.7 per game) and three touchdowns in 13 games.
- Quay Walker posted 119 tackles, 5.0 TFL, 1.5 sacks, and seven passes defended in 17 games last year.
Bet on Packers to win the Super Bowl and plenty more with BetMGM. Head to BetMGM using our link and enter the bonus code "GNPLAY" for special offers!
2023-24 Packers NFL Schedule
Odds are current as of July 11 at 5:29 AM ET. Not all offers available in all states, please visit BetMGM for the latest promotions for your area. Must be 21+ to gamble, please wager responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, contact 1-800-GAMBLER.
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.wbay.com/sports/betting/2023/07/11/packers-nfl-playoffs-super-bowl-odds/ | 2023-07-11 10:27:31 | 1 | https://www.wbay.com/sports/betting/2023/07/11/packers-nfl-playoffs-super-bowl-odds/ |
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian drone hit an ammunition depot in central Crimea on Saturday, sparking an explosion, less than a week after a predawn strike on a key bridge linking the peninsula to Russia prompted Moscow to exit a landmark grain export deal and pound Ukraine’s seaports with drones and missiles.
Sergey Aksyonov, the Kremlin-appointed head of the territory that Moscow illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, said in a Telegram post that there were no immediate reports of casualties but that authorities were evacuating civilians within a five-kilometer (three-radius) of the blast site.
The Ukrainian military appeared to confirm it had launched the drone strike, claiming through its press service that it had destroyed an oil depot and Russian arms warehouses in the Krasnohvardiiske area, although without specifying what weapons were used.
Social media posts circulating on Saturday had earlier referenced unconfirmed reports of “several” drones targeting an oil depot and airstrip, as well as a loud blast resembling the sound of detonating shells.
The explosion in Krasnohvardiiske came less than a week after a Ukrainian strike Monday on the crucial Kerch bridge linking Crimea with Russia, which killed two people and left a section of the roadway hanging perilously.
Moscow on the same day ended its participation in a wartime deal that allowed Ukrainian grain to be exported through the Black Sea and later pounded Ukraine’s seaports with drones and missiles after vowing “retribution” for the attack on the bridge, a key supply route for Russian forces in Ukraine.
On Wednesday, a fire broke out within military training grounds in eastern Crimea that forced the evacuation of more than 2,000 people and the closure of a nearby highway, according to Aksyonov. Neither Moscow nor local Kremlin-appointed authorities gave reasons for the blaze, and Ukraine did not comment.
The Russian company operating the Kerch bridge announced on Saturday morning that it was temporarily halting all traffic across it, without giving reasons. Traffic was later allowed to resume crossing.
Ukraine previously successfully struck the bridge in October, when a truck bomb blew up two of its sections and required months of repair. Moscow decried that assault as an act of terrorism and retaliated by bombarding Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, targeting the country’s power grid over the winter.
The Kerch Bridge is a conspicuous symbol of Moscow’s claims on Crimea and an essential land link to the peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. The $3.6 billion bridge is the longest in Europe and is crucial for Russia’s military operations in southern Ukraine in the nearly 17-month-old war.
Also on Saturday, Ukrainian authorities reported that Russian attacks on 11 regions across the country over the previous day killed at least eight civilians and wounded others, as fierce fighting continues in Kyiv’s attempts to dislodge Russian forces from territory they have occupied.
The regional prosecutor’s office in the eastern Donetsk region said that at least four people, including a married couple, were killed as Russian forces on Friday night shelled the settlement of Niu-York, south of the city of Bakhmut — the site of the war’s longest and bloodiest battle until it fell to Moscow in May. Three other Niu-York residents were hospitalized.
Also on Saturday morning, Ukraine’s interior ministry said that two civilians died as Russian forces Friday struck Kostiantynivka, a city in the Donetsk region, from multiple rocket launchers. In a post on its official Telegram channel, the ministry said that another civilian was wounded in the same attack, which also destroyed 20 private homes, cars and a gas pipeline.
Two people were also killed near the northern city of Chernihiv, some 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the Russian border, as Russian cruise missiles destroyed the local cultural center and damaged apartment blocks, the regional military administration reported on Saturday morning. It did not specify the exact time of the attack, saying only it took place within the previous 24 hours.
Three civilians were wounded as Russian troops overnight shelled a town neighboring the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, local Gov. Serhiy Lysak reported Saturday.
Ukrainian officials have regularly accused Moscow of using the Zaporizhzhia plant, which Russian forces captured early in the war, as a base for firing on Ukrainian-held territory nearby. Fears have also mounted that Russia might sabotage the plant — Europe’s largest — in an attempt to stymie Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive, which has focused on the Zaporizhzhia region as well as the country’s industrial east
The night passed quietly in the Ukrainian capital, with AP journalists in Kyiv witnessing no air raid alerts.
The Ukrainian air force on Saturday morning said that it had overnight brought down 14 Russian drones, including five Iranian-made ones, over the country’s southeast, where battles are raging. In a regular social media update, the air force said that all Iranian-made Shahed exploding drones launched by Russian troops during the night were brought down, pointing to Ukraine’s increasing success rate in neutralizing them.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine | https://www.pahomepage.com/news/international/ap-russian-strikes-kill-at-least-8-civilians-as-fierce-fighting-continues-in-ukraines-south-and-east/ | 2023-07-22 13:13:41 | 1 | https://www.pahomepage.com/news/international/ap-russian-strikes-kill-at-least-8-civilians-as-fierce-fighting-continues-in-ukraines-south-and-east/ |
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says a deal to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines will be the nation’s biggest leap in defense capability in its history, adding the United States and Britain also plan to benefit from the partnership.
A decision will be announced in March on how a fleet of Australian submarines powered with U.S. nuclear technology will be delivered under the AUKUS tripartite pact.
Options include a next-generation U.S. Virginia-class sub, a British Astute-class or a new hybrid design.
Critics argue that neither the United States nor Britain has the capacity to start delivering the subs by 2040, while Australia lacks the shipbuilding capability to take a lead role.
Albanese said Tuesday the technology sharing among the AUKUS partners would bring benefits beyond submarines.
“Now, this will be the single biggest leap in our defense capability in our history,” Albanese told the National Press Club, referring to Australia’s advance from Australian-built Collins-class diesel-electric submarines that went into service more than 20 years ago.
“AUKUS is about much more than nuclear submarines or even technological interoperability. AUKUS is about the future. It further formalizes the common values and the shared interests that our three nations have,” Albanese added.
Albanese said the three governments were focused on how their countries would benefit from spinoffs from the submarine-building cooperation.
“It’s a focus that recognizes that it’s not a zero-sum game. This is one of those times when one plus one plus one equals more than three because there’s a multiplier effect and a benefit from sharing some of the science and innovation,” Albanese said.
“All three countries want the sum to be a benefit for all of the three nations,” he added.
Critics argue Australia’s lack of nuclear expertise will leave it heavily reliant on its nuclear-armed partners. Australia’s only atomic reactor is in the Sydney suburb of Lucas Heights where it produces nuclear isotopes for medical use.
Unlike Australia’s current homemade fleet, critics argue that Australia might not be able to use its nuclear submarines in circumstances that the United States or Britain disagree with.
But Albanese said Australia would maintain authority, or sovereignty, to decide how the subs are deployed.
“Australia will maintain our sovereignty. That’s a decision for Australia as a sovereign nation, just as the United States will maintain its sovereignty and the United Kingdom will maintain its” sovereignty, Albanese said.
Australia has reassured regional neighbors who fear an arms race that while the Australian subs will be nuclear powered, they will never be nuclear armed.
Australia currently spends 2.1% of its GDP on defense, above the 2% minimum that former President Donald Trump demanded of U.S. allies.
Albanese said defense spending would increase in the years ahead. | https://www.binghamtonhomepage.com/news/international/ap-albanese-says-australian-nuclear-subs-benefit-us-uk/ | 2023-02-23 06:19:08 | 1 | https://www.binghamtonhomepage.com/news/international/ap-albanese-says-australian-nuclear-subs-benefit-us-uk/ |
WHL
All Times Local
Eastern Conference
Central Division
East Division
Western Conference
B.C. Division
U.S. Division
Note: x - clinched playoff berth; y - clinched division; Two points for a team winning in overtime or shootout; the team losing in overtime or shootout receives one which is registered in the OTL or SOL columns.
Saturday's results
Saskatoon 5 Lethbridge 1
Regina 6 Red Deer 5 (OT)
Moose Jaw 5 Prince Albert 3
Spokane 5 Prince George 4 (OT)
Tri-City 4 Portland 3 (OT)
Swift Current 8 Edmonton 0
Seattle 5 Everett 0
Vancouver 4 Victoria 2
Kamloops 7 Kelowna 2
Sunday's results
Calgary 4 Swift Current 3
Saskatoon 5 Regina 2
Portland 3 Everett 1
Seattle 4 Tri-City 2
Tuesday's results
Brandon at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Medicine Hat at Winnipeg, 7:05 p.m.
Kamloops at Seattle, 7:05 p.m.
Wednesday's games
Swift Current at Saskatoon, 7 p.m.
Edmonton at Regina, 7 p.m.
Medicine Hat at Brandon, 7 p.m.
Lethbridge at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
Prince George at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Kamloops at Everett, 7:05 p.m.
Friday's games
Moose Jaw at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
Saskatoon at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Edmonton at Winnipeg, 7:05 p.m.
Regina at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Calgary at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
Everett at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Vancouver at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Prince George at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
Portland at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Tri-City at Seattle, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday's games
Red Deer at Calgary, 2 p.m.
Swift Current at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Edmonton at Brandon, 7 p.m.
Regina at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.
Prince George at Victoria, 6:05 p.m.
Portland at Tri-City, 6:05 p.m.
Everett at Seattle, 6:05 p.m.
Vancouver at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Kelowna at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Sunday's games
Prince Albert at Saskatoon, 4 p.m.
Brandon at Winnipeg, 5:05 p.m.
Prince George at Vancouver, 4 p.m.
Kelowna at Tri-City, 4:05 p.m.
Spokane at Everett, 4:05 p.m. | https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/hko-whl-standings-17825994.php | 2023-03-08 03:19:08 | 0 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/hko-whl-standings-17825994.php |
President Joe Biden tests positive for Covid-19 again
By Kevin Liptak and Donald Judd, CNN
President Joe Biden tested positive for Covid-19 again Saturday morning, per a letter from presidential physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor, in what is likely a “rebound” Covid-19 positivity that the doctor noted is “observed in a small percentage of patients treated with Paxlovid.”
Biden has experienced “no reemergence of symptoms, and continues to feel quite well” and will, as a result, not resume treatment, the White House said. O’Connor said the President tested negative on Tuesday evening, Wednesday morning, Thursday morning and Friday morning before testing positive on Saturday morning.
“However, given his positive antigen test, he will reinitiate strict isolation procedures,” the doctor noted. Biden ceased isolating on Wednesday after testing negative on successive antigen tests, celebrating his return in remarks from the White House Rose Garden.
Biden’s physician said the President is not experiencing any symptoms but that he will isolate at the White House. He canceled plans to travel to his home in Delaware Sunday and to Michigan, where he was expected on Tuesday to tout the recently passed bill aimed at boosting US semiconductor production, the White House said Saturday.
“Folks, today I tested positive for COVID again,” Biden wrote on Twitter. “This happens with a small minority of folks. I’ve got no symptoms but I am going to isolate for the safety of everyone around me. I’m still at work, and will be back on the road soon.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre wrote Biden is “asymptomatic, feeling fine, and working in isolation from the Residence to protect others.”
A White House official said contact tracing efforts were underway Saturday after Biden’s positive Covid-19 test.
The President had resumed events at the White House after testing negative this week, though he was seen wearing a mask more regularly. White House officials said they worked to ensure there was social distancing at the public events he held at the White House.
Biden, 79, first tested positive on July 21. During his first bout with the disease, he experienced mild symptoms, including runny nose, fatigue, high temperature and a cough, according to his doctor. The President completed a five-day course of Paxlovid, which requires a doctor’s prescription and is available via emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration for treatment of mild to moderate Covid-19 in people 12 and older who are at high risk of severe illness.
When Biden first tested positive last week, the White House said he’d had 17 close contacts, none of whom ended up testing positive themselves.
First lady Jill Biden remains in Delaware, where she has been since the President first tested positive for Covid-19, a White House official told CNN. She has not been back to the White House.
The first lady had been scheduled to join the President when he traveled to Wilmington on Sunday.
Rebound cases
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health alert to doctors on May 24 advising that Covid-19 symptoms sometimes come back, and that may just be how the infection plays out in some people, regardless of whether they’re vaccinated or treated with medications like Paxlovid. The CDC said most cases of rebound involve mild disease and that there have been no reports of serious illness.
Biden is fully vaccinated and received two booster shots. He received his first two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine ahead of his inauguration in January 2021, his first booster shot in September and his second booster vaccination in March.
White House officials had previously suggested a rebound case of Covid was unlikely, based on reports of cases around the country. However, Biden continued to be tested and monitored.
Infectious disease experts have been calling on the government to study instances of rebound more systematically, saying the phenomenon needs to be better characterized to understand who is most at risk and whether the standard five-day course of treatment with the drug should be lengthened to prevent it. Studies have shown that people can pass the infection to others during a rebound, which is another reason to better understand it.
Pfizer, the company that makes Paxlovid, has said its studies show rebounds are rare and happen in people who take the drug as well as those who took a placebo pill. Because investigators noted the phenomenon in both groups, the company doesn’t believe it is tied to the medication.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci also experienced rebound Covid-19. His symptoms got worse when they returned after treatment, and his doctors prescribed another course of Paxlovid.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.
CNN’s Kate Bennett, Brenda Goodman, Virginia Langmaid and Jamie Gumbrecht contributed to this report. | https://kion546.com/politics/cnn-us-politics/2022/07/30/president-joe-biden-tests-positive-for-covid-19-again-2/ | 2022-07-30 21:45:15 | 1 | https://kion546.com/politics/cnn-us-politics/2022/07/30/president-joe-biden-tests-positive-for-covid-19-again-2/ |
NEW YORK, Aug. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- InvestorsObserver issues critical PriceWatch Alerts for NVTA, TMBR, MTTR, NIO, and BBBY.
To see how InvestorsObserver's proprietary scoring system rates these stocks, view the InvestorsObserver's PriceWatch Alert by selecting the corresponding link.
- NVTA: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-stocks-lp-2/?symbol=NVTA&prnumber=081120225
- TMBR: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-stocks-lp-2/?symbol=TMBR&prnumber=081120225
- MTTR: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-stocks-lp-2/?symbol=MTTR&prnumber=081120225
- NIO: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-stocks-lp-2/?symbol=NIO&prnumber=081120225
- BBBY: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-stocks-lp-2/?symbol=BBBY&prnumber=081120225
(Note: You may have to copy this link into your browser then press the [ENTER] key.)
InvestorsObserver's PriceWatch Alerts are based on our proprietary scoring methodology. Each stock is evaluated based on short-term technical, long-term technical and fundamental factors. Each of those scores is then combined into an overall score that determines a stock's overall suitability for investment.
InvestorsObserver provides patented technology to some of the biggest names on Wall Street and creates world-class investing tools for the self-directed investor on Main Street. We have a wide range of tools to help investors make smarter decisions when investing in stocks or options.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE InvestorsObserver | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2022/08/11/thinking-about-buying-stock-invitae-timber-pharmaceuticals-matterport-nio-or-bed-bath-amp-beyond/ | 2022-08-11 15:56:39 | 0 | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2022/08/11/thinking-about-buying-stock-invitae-timber-pharmaceuticals-matterport-nio-or-bed-bath-amp-beyond/ |
In her first week on the job at a Philadelphia abortion clinic, Amanda Kifferly was taught how to search for bombs. About a year later, protesters blocked the entrances and exits of the The Women’s Centers, at one point pulling Kifferly into something resembling a mosh pit, where they surrounded her and shoved her around.
And on the night of last winter’s arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that could end the nationwide right to abortion, people gathered outside a clinic in New Jersey with lawn chairs, a cooler and a flaming torch — a sight that brought to mind lynchings and other horrors of the country’s racist past, says Kifferly, who now serves as vice president for abortion access.
Such scenes have become familiar for providers and patients across the country over the decades since the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing abortion. At times the violence has been far more severe, including bombings, arson and murders — from the 1993 killing of Dr. David Gunn outside a Florida abortion clinic to the 2015 fatal shooting of three people inside a Colorado Planned Parenthood.
Now providers and some in law enforcement worry what will come next. They’re preparing for an increase in violence once the Supreme Court rules, saying there has historically been a spike when the issue of abortion gets widespread public attention, such as after a state approves new restrictions. If the decision ends Roe v. Wade — as a leaked draft opinion indicates may happen — they also anticipate protests, harassment and other violence to be more concentrated and intensify in states where abortion remains legal.
“We know from experience, it’s not like the people protesting clinics in banned states just pack up and go home,” said Melissa Fowler, chief program officer for the National Abortion Federation.
The group and the hundreds of abortion clinics it represents have been on “heightened alert” since the opinion leaked, Fowler said. The organization has staff who specialize in security on call around the clock. They go out to clinics to do drills with employees and volunteers on scenarios such as bomb threats or active shooters and advise them on things like where to position security cameras. They also conduct safety assessments at the homes of physicians, monitor online threats and consult with local law enforcement.
In some places, local police are working with clinics to try to tamp down potential for violence. In Jacksonville, Florida, the sheriff’s office said last month they would station an officer outside the clinic, and police in Little Rock, Arkansas, installed a camera atop a crane near an abortion clinic that has been the site of protests, hoping to deter bad actors.
Immediately following the leak and for days afterward, police in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, initiated extra patrols around The Women’s Center location, Kifferly said.
But the relationship between clinics and local police isn’t always a positive one, and clinics must weigh whether having a heavy police presence will frighten patients, Fowler said. In Kifferly’s experience, how well clinics and police departments work together varies by city and state. She recalled asking an officer for help as she was assaulted outside the Philadelphia clinic, and the officer responding that she should “call 911.”
NAF, which collects monthly data from its over 500 members on harassment and violence, reported a spike in incidents in 2020, the most recent year for which the group has published data. The number of death threats or threats of harm and of assault and battery both increased by more than double, and providers reported more than 24,000 incidents of hate email or internet harassment.
Abortion providers reported an uptick after Donald Trump became president, and “extremists felt like it was OK for them not to be in the shadows,” Fowler said. The coronavirus pandemic seemed to exacerbate things, Kifferly said, and in all four states where The Women’s Centers operates — New Jersey, Connecticut, Georgia and Pennsylvania — “we were besieged by protesters” angry that abortion clinics were open while their churches or businesses were closed.
Abortion opponents also have been targets of violence, and say they’ve also seen an increase in incidents since the draft opinion leaked, though the FBI in a 2020 memo described the incidents as historically “rare.”
Shortly after the draft opinion became public, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis said the draft had made extremist violence — by people on either side of the issue — more likely.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America said those were among more than 40 incidents of violence, intimidation and vandalism at pregnancy centers and churches in recent weeks.
In early June, a man with a gun, knife, zip ties and other items was arrested near Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home in the middle of the night. He told police he wanted to kill the justice because he was upset about the draft opinion as well as the fatal mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
The court is expected to issue its ruling in the coming days or weeks.
As for what might occur next for abortion providers, much focus has been on how to provide care to people seeking it, should abortion be banned in more states. But Fowler said another concern is also front of mind: “We also need to focus on safety.” | https://www.wfla.com/nextstar-news-wire/heightened-alert-abortion-providers-brace-for-supreme-court-ruling/ | 2022-06-22 14:19:28 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/nextstar-news-wire/heightened-alert-abortion-providers-brace-for-supreme-court-ruling/ |
Ft. LAUDERALE, Fla., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- EMUAID® continues to lead in natural First Aid as the #1 selling homeopathic First Aid brand* in retail. Following the mega-successful 2020 launch of the 0.5 oz. EmuaidMAX® First Aid Ointment in national distribution in First Aid at Walgreens stores, the larger 2oz size of EmuaidMAX® has hit the shelves in nearly 4000 Walgreens stores this year. Speer Laboratories, maker of EMUAID® products, and Walgreens will continue to bring this wonder ointment to shelves across the nation, now with the larger size.
EMUAIDMAX® First Aid Ointment is a scientifically tested Homeopathic Drug and is manufactured in an FDA-registered Over-the-Counter Drug and Homeopathic Medicine facility. Homeopathy is the 2nd largest system of medicine in the world today. EMUAID® combines the active homeopathic ingredient Silver (Argentum Metallicum) with 11 key natural ingredients to restore skin's function and healthy appearance.
On shelves now in both 0.5 oz and 2 oz sizes, EmuaidMAX® is everyone's medicine cabinet must-have. This Maximum Strength multi-purpose ointment, quickly quiets inflammation, eliminates infection, and decreases itching, irritation, redness and swelling for more than 100 troublesome, and often medically underserved, skin and nail conditions. Loaded with bio-dynamic healing and infection fighting ingredients, as well as a transdermal delivery system, EmuaidMAX® begins to repair harmed skin upon application. As an antibacterial and antifungal balm, EmuaidMAX® kills some of the most pervasive bacteria and fungi on contact**. As an anti-inflammatory, anti-itch, and intensive moisturizing ointment, it soothes even the worst dry, cracked, and itchy skin. One jar of EmuaidMAX® addresses multiple skin afflictions consolidating a fast-growing condition-specific first aid category into one brand offering.
Speer Laboratories was founded by the late Richard Nicolo as a cutting-edge research and development consortium structured around a holistic approach to health and wellness through natural products. Led by Richard's children and co-founders, Amy Nicolo, President and Chief Operating Officer, and Matthew Nicolo, Chief Information Officer, Speer Laboratories remains passionately committed to designing safe, yet highly effective treatments that help others. "Our vision has always been to develop and deliver the most effective, natural products to treat pervasive, yet underserved conditions," says Amy Nicolo.
The brand ranked #18 on the Women Presidents' Organization (WPO) and JPMorgan Chase's, 14th Annual 50 Fastest Growing Women-Owned/Led Companies. With laser-focused marketing, strategic partnerships, and an unprecedented cult-like following, it looks like they have no intention of slowing down.
*Source: IRI year total 2021 data.
**source: EMUAID® time kill study
Contact:
press@emuaid.com
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SOURCE Speer Laboratories, LLC | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/07/26/speer-laboratories-makers-1-homeopathic-first-aid-ointment-emuaidmax-expands-into-4000-walgreens-stores-nationwide/ | 2022-07-26 15:11:21 | 1 | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/07/26/speer-laboratories-makers-1-homeopathic-first-aid-ointment-emuaidmax-expands-into-4000-walgreens-stores-nationwide/ |
SAN DIEGO — Home run milestones continue to be the talk of Major League baseball as the regular season winds down.
In New York yesterday, Yankees slugger Aaron Judge became the sixth player in history to hit 60 home runs in a season.
Meanwhile, the St. Louis Cardinals' Albert Pujols is two shy of joining the rarified air of 700 career home runs. Only three others have done that – all legends. Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds.
As of Wednesday, the Cardinals have 13 regular season games left for Pujols to join baseball's 700 club.
Not that he really cares.
Not chasing a number
Want to get on Albert Pujols's bad side?
Mention to him, as sports writers constantly do, that he's chasing 700.
"I'm not chasing anything buddy," Pujols said at a packed dugout press conference before Tuesday's game against the San Diego Padres. "I mean, that's something that you guys are playing with it. I just, never chase any numbers and I accomplished so much. So, 22 years later I definitely [am not] going to chase anything."
Actually, Pujols does use his least favorite word-of-the-moment when he talks about chasing another World Series title. He helped St. Louis win championships in 2006 and 2011. And he wants another, before he retires after this season and ends a two-decade plus career that'll easily land him in the Hall of Fame.
A sedate affair turns electric
That ending always was going to be a fond but fairly sedate affair, with teams on the road honoring Pujols. The Padres did their part with a very San Diego gift of surfboards for Pujols and fellow retiree-to-be, St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina.
But Pujols has turned an easy going retirement tour into something electric, thanks to a home run barrage that ignited a somewhat sleepy final season.
He's hit a dozen since August 10th, and it's prompted reporters to use another phrase Pujols doesn't like (– we just can't get it right!! –) "power surge."
"My power surge?" Pujols asked in the dugout with a wry grin, "Ok I guess I didn't have any power – I had to surge for some."
The assembled reporters laughed.
"Just taking the same swing that I start taking in spring training for a week that I was there, and carry that into the season," Pujols continued, "and hopefully knowing that if I trust my process like I always have as a professional, sooner or later it's going to come around. And I think that it took this long, I don't know why. I think God has his ways to turn things around. But for me it was just [trying to] repeat the same swing that I've been doing for 21 years in my career."
Pujols acknowledges his swing speed is better now than years past. He's also been feasting on left-handed pitchers, who've given up nine of his last twelve homers. Tuesday the Padres offered up only right-handed pitchers. They held Pujols to two singles and a walk that drew boos from the homer-hungry fans at Petco Park.
A chance souvenir....
There'd be no lucky ones in the bleachers snagging a Pujols home run.
But high above the first base line, 36-year-old San Diegan Chris Wooldridge found himself perfectly positioned to catch the closest thing to history Tuesday night – an Albert Pujols foul ball.
"I just saw it pop up and it looked like it was coming right at me," Wooldridge laughed, "and it was just so perfect. I didn't have to move or anything."
Wooldridge said he hadn't been to a Major League game in maybe 15 years. He'll remember this one, and a chance souvenir from a 42-year-old player finishing with a bang.
"It's impressive," he said. "I mean, you're not supposed to be, y'know hitting as many home runs and playing at that caliber at that age. It's just really, really special."
And an absence of suspicion
There was a time, not too long ago, when a home run barrage by a 42-year-old would raise questions.
Not unreasonable questions to ask in San Diego, where Padres star Fernando Tatis, Jr. currently is serving a lengthy suspension after testing positive for a performance enhancing drug.
"Pujols has never had an issue ever in his entire career with anything," Wooldridge said, "[he's] been a stand-up player and role model and that's just something to applaud."
There've been no credible allegations against Pujols nor has he had the outlier performances – he never hit 50 home runs in a season. His major league career began in 2001, during the so-called steroid era and the same year Barry Bonds' 73 home runs set the single-season record but cast doubt on that and other records.
But Pujols has played most of his baseball since the game's become a standard-bearer in the fight against sports doping.
"The light switch went on in baseball," said U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart. "And they put in a policy that protects clean athletes."
Indeed, it's striking to note the absence of suspicion, among fans and sports journalists, about both Pujols's march toward 700, and Judge's single season home run exploits.
Tygart says baseball has earned people's trust with its wide-ranging efforts to combat doping.
"Testing is critically important," he said, "both in competition, out of competition, blood, urine. Having a good list [of prohibited substances], doing research to ensure the science stays ahead, or at least [in] lock step with those who might want to gain an advantage, and then the investigations and the intelligence – using information that comes to them."
Tygart believes baseball has put in place an "outstanding policy that really knocks it out of the park" on the elements that he says create a "Matrix of Effectiveness."
According to MLB, there were more than 1,400 Major League drug tests in 2003 and approximately 12,000 this year. All players now are tested, and randomly.
Unencumbered by suspicion, San Diego fans cheered all four of Pujols's at-bats Tuesday. Many stood, with cell phones recording hoped-for history.
It didn't happen, but fans on the road, and certainly in St. Louis, will keep turning out to watch one of baseball's great late season chases.
Or whatever Albert Pujols wants people to call it.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.kcbx.org/npr-top-news/2022-09-21/st-louis-cardinals-slugger-albert-pujols-chases-baseball-history-700-home-runs | 2022-09-22 01:03:09 | 1 | https://www.kcbx.org/npr-top-news/2022-09-21/st-louis-cardinals-slugger-albert-pujols-chases-baseball-history-700-home-runs |
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet is starting to offer rewards for information that could help sailors intercept weapons, drugs and other illicit shipments across the region amid tensions over Iran’s nuclear program and Tehran’s arming of Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
While avoiding directly mentioning Iran, the 5th Fleet’s decision to offer cash and other goods for actionable intelligence in the Persian Gulf and other strategic waterways may increase pressure on the flow of weapons to the Houthis as a shaky cease-fire still holds in Yemen.
Already, the Houthis have threatened a new allied task force organized by the 5th Fleet in the Red Sea, though there’s been no attack by the Iranian-backed forces on the Navy in the time since.
Meanwhile, the 5th Fleet says it and its partners seized $500 million in drugs alone in 2021 — more than the four prior years combined. The 5th Fleet also intercepted 9,000 weapons in the same period, three times the number seized in 2020.
“Any destabilizing activity has our attention,” Cmdr. Timothy Hawkins, a 5th Fleet spokesman, told The Associated Press. “Definitely we have seen in the last year skyrocketing success in seizing both illegal narcotics and illicit weapons. This represents another step in our effort to enhance regional maritime security.”
The 5th Fleet’s new initiative launches on Tuesday through the Department of Defense Rewards Program, which saw troops offer cash and goods for tips on the battlefields in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere after al-Qaida launched the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Since ground fighting has largely halted across the region, the 5th Fleet decided to try to use the program as it patrols the waterways of the Middle East.
Hawkins said operators fluent in Arabic, English and Farsi would man a hotline, while the Navy also would take tips additionally online, in Dari and Pashto. Payouts can be as high as $100,000 or the equivalent in vehicles, boats or food for tips that also include information on planned attacks targeting Americans, Hawkins said.
It’s unclear if the 5th Fleet’s uptick in seizures represents a return to shipping after the coronavirus pandemic or an increase overall in the number of illicit shipments in the region. Traffickers typically use stateless dhows, traditional wooden sailing craft common in the Mideast, to transport drugs and weapons.
One destination for weapons appears to be Yemen. The Houthis seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in September 2014 and forced the internationally recognized government into exile. A Saudi-led coalition armed with U.S. weaponry and intelligence entered the war on the side of Yemen’s exiled government in March 2015. Years of inconclusive fighting has pushed the Arab world’s poorest nation to the brink of famine. A truce that began around the holy Muslim month of Ramadan appears for now to still be holding.
Despite a United Nations Security Council arms embargo on Yemen, Iran long has been transferring rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, missiles and other weaponry to the Houthis. Though Iran denies arming the Houthis, independent experts, Western nations and U.N. experts have traced components back to Iran.
Asked about whether new seizures could increase tensions with Iran, Hawkins listed the weapons and drugs the Navy hoped to intercept under the program.
“That’s what we’re after,” the commander said. “That’s not in the interest of regional stability and security.”
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment. The U.S. Navy and Iran continue to have tense encounters in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil traded passes.
The rewards program marks the latest initiative under 5th Fleet Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, who also launched a drone task force last year amid tensions with Iran.
Cooper’s other effort, the Red Sea task force, has drawn criticism from the Houthis in the past. The rebel group, which has repeatedly denied being armed by Iran, did not respond to a request for comment on the new Navy program.
However, Ali al-Qahom, a Houthi official, tweeted last week that the rebels are monitoring increased U.S. activity in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf waters.
“Because of this, defense and confrontation options are open,” he said. “They and their diabolical projects have no place” in the region.
___
Associated Press writer Ahmed Al-Haj in Sanaa, Yemen, contributed to this report.
___
Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP. | https://pix11.com/news/ap-general/us-navy-offers-cash-for-tips-to-seize-mideast-drugs-weapons/ | 2022-07-04 09:25:28 | 0 | https://pix11.com/news/ap-general/us-navy-offers-cash-for-tips-to-seize-mideast-drugs-weapons/ |
WHL
All Times Local
Eastern Conference
Central Division
East Division
Western Conference
B.C. Division
U.S. Division
Note: x - clinched playoff berth; Two points for a team winning in overtime or shootout; the team losing in overtime or shootout receives one which is registered in the OTL or SOL columns.
Friday's results
Prince Albert 6 Regina 5
Winnipeg 7 Moose Jaw 1
Kamloops 7 Red Deer 4
Lethbridge 3 Brandon 1
Seattle 4 Tri-City 3 (OT)
Saskatoon 6 Victoria 4
Spokane 4 Everett 3 (SO)
Saturday's results
Brandon 3 Swift Current 1
Winnipeg 7 Regina 4
Prince Albert 5 Moose Jaw 2
Red Deer 5 Medicine Hat 4 (OT)
Calgary 7 Edmonton 2
Seattle 8 Victoria 1
Tri-City 3 Spokane 0
Saskatoon 2 Vancouver 1
Kelowna 3 Portland 1
Sunday's results
Kamloops 4 Calgary 1
Monday's results
Lethbridge at Regina, 2 p.m.
Prince Albert at Brandon, 2:30 p.m.
Medicine Hat at Red Deer, 2 p.m.
Kamloops at Edmonton, 2 p.m.
Spokane at Vancouver, 2 p.m.
Winnipeg at Swift Current, 4 p.m.
Portland at Prince George, 2 p.m.
Seattle at Victoria, 2:05 p.m.
Tri-City at Kelowna, 2:05 p.m.
Tuesday's games
Lethbridge at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Portland at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Seattle at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
Wednesday's games
Winnipeg at Calgary, 11 a.m.
Kamloops at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
Medicine Hat at Regina, 7 p.m.
Everett at Tri-City, 7:05 p.m.
Friday's games
Prince Albert at Saskatoon, 7 p.m.
Swift Current at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Regina at Brandon, 7 p.m.
Winnipeg at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
Kamloops at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Kelowna at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Portland at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Tri-City at Seattle, 7:05 p.m.
Prince George at Vancouver, 7:30 p.m. | https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/hko-whl-standings-17794486.php | 2023-02-20 09:00:05 | 0 | https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/hko-whl-standings-17794486.php |
Man blames loss of both legs on personal care assistant shortage
STILLWATER, Minn. (WCCO) - A double amputee from Minnesota says that if it weren’t for a shortage of personal care assistants in the in-home healthcare industry, he’d still have his legs.
Dennis Prothero, a veteran, is often alone in his apartment in Stillwater, except for his dog, Summer. But she can’t help him get in and out of bed.
“I didn’t have anybody at night Monday through Friday and then, nobody at all on the weekend,” Prothero said.
Since a car accident left him a quadriplegic nearly 20 years ago, Prothero has needed personal care assistants, who are lifelines to the clients they serve.
“Putting them in bed, getting them up, changing their clothes, giving them a shower, feeding them, et cetera,” Prothero said.
It’s hard work for low pay, and finding PCAs has become more difficult for Prothero. Labor shortages have affected multiple industries in the United States, and in-home healthcare is an impacted area that doesn’t get a lot of attention.
This summer, without the help of a PCA, Prothero found himself sleeping in his wheelchair night after night. Sores developed on his feet and got infected. Doctors were forced to amputate both his legs below the knee.
“If I’d been sleeping in bed, with the help of a PCA to get in and out of bed in the evenings, I wouldn’t have had this,” Prothero said.
Some PCA providers have stopped taking on new clients because they can’t find enough PCAs to help.
“It’s so heartbreaking to keep saying no, but it’s no from everybody. It’s a hard job, so it sometimes burns people out,” said Dena Belisle, the president of the Minnesota First Provider Alliance.
Minnesota had more than 7,000 vacancies in the personal care industry at the end of 2021. The median wage was $14 an hour.
“I’ve had other people that I had for quite a while, but they all left for jobs that paid more. And you can’t blame them for that. This is a very real problem,” Prothero said.
Prothero’s family is helping him at night for the time being, but that is just a temporary solution.
Leaders in the in-home care industry say to help with the shortage, Minnesota lawmakers need to allow PCAs to be paid more by reimbursements from the state.
Copyright 2022 WCCO via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.kwch.com/2022/11/16/man-blames-loss-both-legs-personal-care-assistant-shortage/ | 2022-11-16 10:05:03 | 0 | https://www.kwch.com/2022/11/16/man-blames-loss-both-legs-personal-care-assistant-shortage/ |
AI-generated paintings that move. Don’t believe me? Take a look for yourself this weekend
Last weekend was quite the whirlwind: Frieze Los Angeles, the British Academy Film Awards and rumors of Kendall Jenner on a secret date with Bad Bunny (gasp). I can handle only so much! I’m Steven Vargas, your L.A. Goes Out host, and as the Script famously put it, “I’m still alive but I’m barely breathing.” While I catch my breath, let’s bring you this week’s top recs from the crew:
Weekly Countdown
1. ‘Refik Anadol: Living Paintings’
In Refik Anadol’s first major solo exhibition in Los Angeles, the digital artist creates flowing works of art that constantly move right in front of you with the power of AI. How does it do this? Anadol’s work pulls from data and images from California urban life and nature to reinterpret the world around us. The outcome can be as literal as an ever-changing landscape or as abstract as hypnotic colors. For more info, check out The Times’ Deborah Vankin’s interview with Anadol. The show is free and runs until April 8 at Jeffrey Deitch in Hollywood. The gallery is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; more details can be found online.
2. ‘Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord’
The COVID-19-induced quarantine brought whipped coffee, sourdough bread recipes and the origins of Kristina Wong’s latest show, “Sweatshop Overlord.” The show, which is co-produced by Center Theatre Group and East West Players, documents how she spent quarantine sewing masks out of old bed sheets and leading what would become the Auntie Sewing Squad. The group of mostly Asian women connected via Facebook to sew masks for at-risk and vulnerable communities. The Times’ Charles McNulty describes it as a “must-see show” in his review. If you’re interested in taking a peek behind the curtain, check out The Times’ Jessica Gelt’s feature with the comedian. The show at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City runs until March 12 and tickets range from $30 to $79. More details can be found on Center Theatre Group’s website.
3. ‘Treelogy’
Get a deeper look at how art can create social change with “Treeology” at the Soraya in Northridge. The Soraya and CSUN partnered with three California State University campuses, musicians, visual artists and advocacy organizations for a night dedicated to climate change awareness. Billy Childs, Steven Mackey and Gabriella Smith have composed a three-part concert on Thursday that responds to wildfires in California and environmental destruction. The show also partners with TreePeople and 11:11 Creative Collective to provide further discussion on climate change issues through art and public campaigns. The event starts at 8 p.m. and tickets range from $41 to $94. Details can be found on the Soraya’s website.
4. ‘Danielle De Jesus: Street Kind‘
Artist and activist Danielle De Jesus’ latest solo show at François Ghebaly in downtown Los Angeles displays the lives and perspectives of street vendors. With paint, thread and textiles, De Jesus creates vibrant images of the underrepresented community on dollar bills. Alongside the works on American currency is a work on canvas, “Los churros de Maria,” another depiction of the food and goods provided by street vendors. The series beautifully depicts the families and culture behind a central part of the community, especially for the neighborhood in New York where De Jesus grew up. The exhibition is free and open to the public 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
5. ‘Etta and Ella on the Upper West Side’
The world premiere of Adrienne Kennedy‘s latest play will be presented by CalArts’ Center for New Performance at REDCAT Thursday through Saturday. “Etta and Ella on the Upper West Side” follows two sisters whose propensity for competition leads to each other’s destruction. Director Monty Cole provides a cinematic approach to Kennedy’s latest work depicting the Black experience in 20th century America, combining monologues, voice-overs, dialogues and prose in this experimental thriller. Tickets are $25 and can be found on REDCAT’s website.
Bonus round: ‘For the Love of a Glove’
Michael Jackson’s complicated upbringing and controversies are explored from the perspective of his signature glove in this show at the Carl Sagan & Ann Druyan Theater. The absurd musical “For the Love of a Glove” utilizes puppetry for a new look at the forces that shaped Jackson’s career and reputation. The show is produced by Jackson 5 tour manager and Motown executive Tony Jones and includes original music by Coco Morier, Drew Erickson and Max Townsley. The show is a wild ride full of comedic jabs at the Jackson biography, exploring issues of race, religion and sexuality. Fair warning: The show is expletive-laden and packs a punch. For a deeper look at the show, check out The Times’ Ashley Lee’s story on “For the Love ofa Glove” when it opened in 2020 before being interrupted by COVID-19. The show opens Saturday and runs until April 1. Tickets range from $50 to $80 and can be found on the show’s website.
Your L.A. weekend, all mapped out
For a more comprehensive roundup of exhibitions, concerts, screenings, festivals and other events, check out Matt Cooper’s Culture Guide. The mapped list is a go-to for those who make plans based on the commute, and it also can be filtered by event type and price.
On my mind
This past week, I broke away from L.A. art fairs to watch two performances from A.I.M by Kyle Abraham: “An Untitled Love” at USC’s Bovard Auditorium and “Requiem: Fire in the Air of the Earth” at CSUN’s the Soraya.
“Untitled Love,” set to music from R&B legend D’Angelo, explored self-love and Black love with vignettes of relationships. Although it looked improvised, Abraham made it clear in the post-show discussion that every bit was choreographed, all the way down to the subtle social interactions — at one point, two dancers dabbed each other. Seamlessly combining street dances like house and whacking with traditional ballet movement, Abraham created a work that highlighted intimate relationships and the joys of community.
The group of dancers congregated on a couch at the corner of the stage to gossip and flirt with their love interests. In a poignant portion of the show, four women sat side-by-side on the couch, moving in unison. They slowly rolled their shoulders, turned their heads and crossed their legs. While these movements were simple and pedestrian, they packed a punch. It was a moment that depicted Black womanhood and friendship, combining sensual movement with vulnerable tableax of introspection.
The final duet between Martell Ruffin and Catherine Kirk was a breathtaking portrait of emotional intimacy. They held on to each other for support while falling from one side of the stage to the other. When left alone on stage, Ruffin’s movement’s grew more frantic as he quivered and shook his limbs, shifting from body isolations to full-body grooves that took up the stage.
On Saturday, I went to see A.I.M’s “Requiem: Fire in the Air of the Earth.” The performance, exploring life, death and rebirth, was innovative in every aspect — from the music by producer Jlin to the costume design by Giles Deacon. There was a dichotomy in the performance, which began with Mozart’s Requiem in D minor, then evolved into Jlin’s deconstruction of Mozart’s piece. The choreography was also deconstructed, pulling from the movement we saw during the first section and giving it new life.
Keerati Jinakunwiphat and Jae Neal stood out during their duet, flowing through each step with impressive speed. Jinakunwiphat spun and landed like a feather with her leg in Neal’s hand as if it snapped in place. Meanwhile, Neal moved with powerful isolation, shifting from whacking to a turn of their own. Ruffin’s solo was just as poignant in this performance, as he fully immersed himself in the flow and emotion.
The choreography shifted as dancers depicted death, shaking their entire bodies. When these moments happened, others came to bring them back to life. Just like “An Untitled Love,” the work combined street dance with ballet as performers incorporated litefeet and even twerking for a brief moment.
Coined the “original recipe,” Abraham consistently delivers a beautifully balanced meal with his choreography. “An Untitled Love” and “Requiem: Fire in the Air of the Earth” are no exception.
Insights
Here’s everything you need to known in advance about Greater L.A. Theatre Week from March 13 to 26. This two-week celebration offers lowered prices, starting at $20, to the biggest shows. More than 75 productions are involved, and you can start purchasing early-access tickets on Monday. Ahmanson Theatre, Dolby Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse and Geffen Playhouse are among the participating venues. The theaters are located all over L.A., and if you want to make the most of the celebration, you’ll need a plan to get from place to place. I’ve got all my public transportation commuters covered with this rundown of the trains and buses that connect you from one art hub to another:
- Lines from Pasadena to DTLA: Catch the Gold Line nearest the Pasadena theater you are visiting and take it down to Union Station. From Union Station, take the Red Line or Purple Line to Civic Center, where the hub of theaters is located, including Ahmanson Theatre and the Mark Taper Forum.
- From DTLA to Hollywood: Catch the Red Line nearest the DTLA venue you are visiting and go toward North Hollywood. Then stop closest to the Hollywood theater you are hopping to (usually off Hollywood/Highland or above). Some venues may require an extra bus ride or a short walk off the train.
- From Hollywood to Westwood: Catch the 2 bus at a stop nearest you all the way down to Westwood. This line is a direct route out of Hollywood and goes straight to UCLA, where the Geffen Playhouse is located.
- From Westwood to Beverly Hills or Santa Monica: From Westwood, you have two options to get to Santa Monica: the Big Blue Bus 2 or 1, or the 720 bus. Both will take you straight to the Broad Stage. And to get to Beverly Hills, which is home to the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, your best bet is the 720 bus going east toward DTLA.
- If you’re going to the venues in Orange County or the Inland Empire, try Metrolink out of Los Angeles.
These lines hit some of the largest theaters in Southern California. There are plenty more taking part in the initiative that you’ll need to plan ahead for beyond what’s listed above. Nevertheless, I hope this offers a great place to start. So fill up those TAP cards and get ready to see some theater!
Go out speed round
Go out before it closes: “The Dreamer Examines His Pillow” is coming to the end of its run at the Odyssey Theatre in Sawtelle. The comedy by John Patrick Shanley, a Pulitzer Prize- and Tony-winning playwright for “Doubt,” follows Tommy and Donna’s situation after the two break up and go down a new path, with influences from a widowed father and a younger sister. For more details on how the relationship unfolds, check out the Odyssey Theatre’s production before it ends on Sunday. Tickets are $35 and can be found on the theater’s website.
Go out for free: Hope Studios and $NP Designs are bringing a free augmented reality and digital art show, sponsored by Moore National Facility Service, 9B Collective and Saga Entertainment, to Inglewood from Friday to Sunday. “A Decade of Dimensions” features six Black artists who transform traditional works of art into futuristic experiences. Opening night is 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday, and the exhibition is open for regular hours 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday. You can RSVP for the show on its website.
Go out and learn: If you’re looking to get your body moving, Volta Collective is having a Volta Co-Lab workshop that brings together movers and dancers for a series of classes with Annalise Gehling, Ryan Ruiz, and Megan Paradowski and Mamie Green of Volta. Tickets are on a sliding scale from $25 to $50, and workshops run 2 to 5 p.m. on Saturday at Brockus Project Dance in Lincoln Heights. More details can be found on the collective’s website.
Go out with the kids: Now that Jurassic World: The Ride has reopened at Universal Studios Hollywood, what a perfect time to take the kids for a visit to the beloved theme park. And while you’re there, don’t forget to check out the new Super Nintendo World.
Go out on a date: Interested in livening your date night with a drag performance? Look no further than Ada Vox’s evening of song at Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood. Chris Isaacson presents “An Evening With Ada Vox,” which is full of music and comedy. Tickets for the 8:30 p.m. Thursday event range from $25 to $60 and can be found on Ticketweb.
Go out all night: Out of Mind music and arts festival in Los Angeles includes performances from artists Grouptherapy, Rituals of Mine and Jackie Lipson. The all-day festival at the Echo in Echo Park is dedicated to the LGBTQ and BIPOC communities. The festival is at 7 p.m. Saturday and tickets cost $20. Details can be found on Live Nation and the event’s social media.
Go out and wander: Barbara T. Smith has a new exhibition that opens Tuesday, providing the perfect opportunity to see art and venture through the Getty Center. Smith’s work explores subjects such as sexuality, technology and death to dissect the first 50 years of her life. The exhibition is free and tickets can be found on Getty’s website.
Go out and laugh: I often find myself on TikTok watching clip after clip of stand-up comics. Don’t cramp your thumb from endlessly scrolling like me and instead see them in person on Tuesday. Jam in the Van and Long Time No See present a comedy show with Danny Jolles, Mike Turner and Matt Rife (you know, that comic everyone thirsts for on the video app). Need I say more? Tickets to the 8 p.m. event range from $25 to $45 and can be found on Jam in the Van’s website.
Go out and see art for social change: UCLA debuts a series of events titled Music and Justice at Royce Hall in Westwood, which starts with a concert on Sunday. The program includes works by contemporary composers addressing social justice and a performance of the landmark 1969 cantata “The Gates of Justice” by Dave Brubeck. The night also includes world premieres for Diane White-Clayton and Grammy winner Arturo O’Farrill. The performance at 4 p.m. is free, with details and RSVP information on UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music’s website.
More from the crew here
Cold weather and rain are ahead for Southern California, so let me remind you of 16 supremely fun things to do in L.A. when it rains.”
Need a new spot to meet up with friends? Here are 12 reasons why Sycamore Avenue is L.A.’s coolest new hangout.
If you do venture outdoors, look up at the Hollywood sign and consider these 9 little-known ways to see the Los Angeles staple.
For a more relaxed day with nature, here are 9 gardens hidden in unexpected places around L.A.
I’m all ears!
That’s all I’ve got for this week. Follow our feed of recommendations and itineraries on Instagram and Twitter, and if you have recs of your own, send them to steven.vargas@latimes.com.
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