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BALTIMORE (AP) — Two Maryland filmmakers known for helping expand commercial advertising and the film and television industry in the Baltimore-Washington area have died in a car accident in Delaware, according to authorities and an associate.
Martin Whittier, 37, and Nate Brubaker, 27, died Thursday night after a box truck collided with their car, which Delaware State Police said had become disabled in a lane on a stretch of Interstate 95 near Newark, The Baltimore Sun reported. The truck struck the car from behind — pushing it toward the shoulder — and then caught fire, pinning the men inside their vehicle, according to police. The truck driver wasn't injured.
Andrew Geraci, a filmmaker and friend of the men, said that Whittier and Brubaker were returning Thursday to Maryland from a production in Philadelphia.
Brubaker, of Halethorpe, was considered a pioneer in virtual production filming, and created the first large-scale LED wall in the Baltimore and Washington region, Geraci said. Whittier, of Havre de Grace, started and owned camera equipment companies in Baltimore, Philadelphia and Alexandria, Virginia, before selling his company recently, the newspaper reported. | https://www.ourmidland.com/news/article/2-Maryland-filmmakers-die-in-Delaware-interstate-17373089.php | 2022-08-14 23:20:27 | 1 | https://www.ourmidland.com/news/article/2-Maryland-filmmakers-die-in-Delaware-interstate-17373089.php |
If you’re tired of winter dishes, brighten them up with these fresh cooking ideas
According to the calendar, winter has only recently started, but the long weeks of cold, wet weather have us longing for brighter days and lighter fare. Luckily, winter gifts us one of the brightest, freshest flavors in a cook’s repertoire: citrus. By harnessing this tangy, mouthwatering seasonal flavor and mastering a few easy recipe swaps, you can enjoy summer flavors even on the darkest winter days.
In this article: OXO Good Grips 3-Piece Peeler Set, AeroGarden Bounty Basic Indoor Garden with LED Grow Light and Lodge Cast Iron Square Grill Pan.
Using citrus in winter recipes
Citrus is in season during winter, so lemon, grapefruit, orange, kumquat and more are now at their best and brightest. Along with starring in sweet and tangy desserts, citrus can brighten up heavy, rich dishes. Plus, many citrus fruits have a long shelf life if stored in your refrigerator’s crisper drawer. Some fruits can last up to three weeks.
To cook with citrus, use a microplane or vegetable peeler to shave off the zest, which contains the compounds that give citrus its distinctive aroma. Be careful to only remove the colorful part of the zest and avoid the white pith underneath, which can be bitter. Remember to wash the fruit thoroughly first to remove the waxy protective layer added for transport.
Summery flavors for winter cooking
A hearty salad made with fresh produce is an easy way to capture the feeling of summer in the depths of winter. Mix in-season ingredients with spinach, lettuce or other greens, or try using fresh-squeezed citrus juice in a homemade vinaigrette.
Other simple swaps and cooking techniques can give your go-to winter dishes a much-needed summer lift:
- Roast winter vegetables, such as cauliflower, Brussels sprouts or squash, to bring out their natural sweetness, then toss them in salads.
- Instead of summer berries such, as strawberries or raspberries, which are expensive and not as flavorful out of season, try pomegranate seeds in your favorite salad recipes.
- Flash-frozen veggies contain just as much nutrition as their fresh counterparts, so try frozen corn in salsa, cornbread or soups.
- Enjoy classic barbecue char indoors by searing kebabs, chicken pieces or burgers on a grill pan. Serve with a side of seasonal sweet potato rounds.
- An indoor herb garden can help you produce a crop of fresh herbs all winter long. You’ll have best results with herbs that don’t mind being indoors, such as parsley, chives, oregano and thyme.
Best products for summer flavor year-round
OXO Good Grips 3-Piece Peeler Set
Peel just about any produce with ease with these three peelers from a trusted brand. The set includes an all-purpose swivel peeler, a serrated peeler for soft fruits and a julienne peeler for thin, precise strips.
Sold by Amazon
The broad surface and non-slip components of this zester make grating effortless, not to mention safer. The etched metal cutting edges stay sharper for longer. It comes with a snap-on cover for safe storage.
Sold by Kohl’s
Zulay 2-in-1 Lemon and Lime Juicer
Easily extract juice from lemons and limes and filter out seeds at the same time with this juicer. It’s made from sturdy, rust-resistant industrial aluminum with a durable coating. Its ergonomic handles make squeezing citrus halves easy and fast.
Sold by Amazon
AeroGarden Bounty Basic Indoor Garden with LED Grow Light
Sold with everything you need to start growing up to nine plants indoors, this hydroponic kit lets your herb garden flourish up to five times faster than in soil. It comes with seed pods, a trellis and more.
Mindful Design Indoor Herb Garden Grow Light
This compact herb garden can fit three or four small pots of herbs under its full-spectrum LED light. It has a timer so you don’t have to remember to turn it on and off.
Sold by Amazon
Camp Chef Reversible Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Griddle
One side of this sturdy cooking surface has a flat griddle, while the other side has ridges to give food barbecued grill marks. It fits most standard stove burners so you can replicate barbecue flavors indoors.
Sold by Amazon
Lodge Cast Iron Square Grill Pan
This convenient pan is easier to store than a large griddle, while still allowing home cooks to enjoy seared barbecue from the comfort of their kitchen. It arrives pre-seasoned and can be used on all cooking surfaces.
Sold by Amazon
Nordic Ware Baker’s Delight 3-Piece Pan Set
These aluminum baking sheets are must-haves for everything from roasting vegetables to baking cookies. They conduct heat well and feature galvanized steel rims that resist warping. The set comes with half-sheet, quarter-sheet and jelly roll pans.
Sold by Kohl’s
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Copyright 2023 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://fox59.com/reviews/br/health-wellness-br/nutrition-br/trick-your-brain-into-thinking-its-summer-with-these-kitchen-items-and-tips/ | 2023-01-27 17:43:47 | 1 | https://fox59.com/reviews/br/health-wellness-br/nutrition-br/trick-your-brain-into-thinking-its-summer-with-these-kitchen-items-and-tips/ |
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JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Power outages are leaving Vietnamese homes and businesses without power for hours at a time, as a prolonged drought and high temperatures strain the fast-growing economy's capacity to keep up.
A long-anticipated plan meant to fix the energy crunch and help achieve ambitious climate change goals will offer some relief but may not go far enough in weaning the country off of fossil fuels, experts say.
The need for progress is evident.
Streetlights have been turned off in some major cities and businesses have been told to cut energy use. Amid severe drought, two out of the three largest hydroelectric reservoirs in Vietnam have almost completely stopped operating.
“It is a big headache for us," said Nguyen Thanh Tam, deputy director of Hoa Long printing company in Hanoi. “We need power to operate the machines.”
The national energy plan, called Power Development Plan 8 or PDP8, aims to more than double the maximum power Vietnam can generate to some 150 gigawatts by 2030. That's more than the capacity of developed countries like France and Italy, though well below Japan's 290 GW.
It calls for a drastic shift away from heavily-polluting coal, expanding use of domestic gas and imported liquefied natural gas or LNG, which will account for about 25% of total generating capacity, while hydropower, wind, solar and other renewable sources will account for nearly 50% by 2030.
“This plan showcases Vietnam’s macroeconomic growth ambitions — with robust plans to expand its generation capacity and the associated power sector infrastructure required to cater to the country’s growing energy demand,” said Kanika Chawla chief of staff at Sustainable Energy for All, the United Nations’ sustainable energy unit.
While Vietnam’s new energy plan mandates that no new coal-fired power plants will be built after 2030 as the country transitions to cleaner fuels, total generation capacity from coal power will still rise by 2030, contributing some 20% of total energy production — down from the current 30.8%.
By 2050, Vietnam will stop using coal for power generation, switching all coal plants to using biomass and ammonia, according to the plan.
The continued reliance on fossil fuels and burning biomass such as rice husk and residue from sugar cane farms, as well as the switch to build new infrastructure for gas-powered plants, has experts worried.
In July 2022, Vietnam enshrined in law a pledge to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Late last year the Group of Seven advanced economies promised to provide $15.5 billion to help it end its reliance on coal-fired power plants as a part of a Just Energy Transition Partnership or JETP. Such projects have offered similar incentives to South Africa and Indonesia. Vietnam pledged to phase out coal power by 2040 at the United Nations climate change conference in Glasgow in 2021
“While coal remains part of the energy mix, it is a marked shift from the coal dependence that Vietnam sees today," said Chawla. “A definite phase down in share of energy mix and future emissions, in line with the JETP, even as absolute quantities of thermal power are largely unchanged.”
Vietnam has also drawn criticism for cracking down on environmental campaigns. The German government has warned that the recent detention of prominent environmental campaigner Hoang Thi Minh Hong, the fifth activist to be arrested in the past two years, could endanger a recent multi-billion-dollar deal to help the country phase out coal use.
The gradual shift away from coal won't wean Vietnam from fossil fuels, given its goal of expanding use of LNG — cooled natural gas that is made predominantly of methane whose production and transportation leaks contribute to global warming.
Demand for LNG — itself viewed as a legacy industry to be phased out — has soared with disruptions to natural gas supplies from Russia due to the war in Ukraine. That means higher prices and less secure supplies.
“If implemented, it would make it one of the largest gas users in the region,” said Aditya Lolla, Asia program lead at independent energy think tank Ember. “Any disruption to gas supply, even if they emanate due to reasons outside of Vietnam’s control, may potentially push the country back to coal if alternate renewable energy capacity is not ramped up soon.”
Financing is another challenge since the plan calls for spending nearly $135 billion on new power plants and electricity grids from now until 2030.
Investors favor renewable energy sources, said Trang Nyguyen, leader of Climateworks Centre's Southeast Asia team.
"It’s good that the plan gives clarity for investors. However, a big risk is that LNG assets will become stranded, as it is happening now with coal. How to mobilize enough investments in something that may not be viable in the next decade or so is a challenge that I see,” she said.
Vietnam, which has rapidly industrialized and made electricity available to nearly its entire population, has made huge strides in expanding use of renewable energy. It fueled half of the country's electricity output in 2022, up from just a quarter a decade earlier. But upgrades to the power grid haven't kept up.
What's needed is a revamp of the entire power system, "with a plan to develop and integrate renewables into the power system holistically,” Lolla said, noting the plan will likely result in short-term electricity rate hikes, even though it will stabilize prices and the power supply in the longer term.
“PDP8’s emphasis on expansion and modernization of the grid also helps as it means fewer outages, enhanced grid stability and overall improved energy reliability for households and businesses,” he said. “First and foremost, it means increased access to clean energy and reduction in emissions for the consumers.”
___
Associated Press video journalist Hau Dinh contributed from Hanoi, Vietnam.
___
Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP's climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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Credit: AP | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/nation-world/long-awaited-vietnam-energy-plan-aims-to-boost-renewables-but-fossil-fuels-still-in-the-mix/BGD6LMZHAVGJXL75FNB35U2OYI/ | 2023-06-14 06:19:43 | 1 | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/nation-world/long-awaited-vietnam-energy-plan-aims-to-boost-renewables-but-fossil-fuels-still-in-the-mix/BGD6LMZHAVGJXL75FNB35U2OYI/ |
MAUMEE, Ohio, June 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pedego Electric Bikes, an award-winning electric bike company with sixteen unique models and over 200 brick and mortar stores, welcomes its newest store in Maumee, Ohio. The store is independently owned and operated by Jeff and Susan Neibler.
Photo download: http://www.kcomm.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/maumee.jpg
Image Caption: Owners Jeff and Susan Neibler with their daughter Sarah Neibler.
As gas prices continue to rise in Ohio, the state is exploring new ways to reduce its carbon footprint while becoming less dependent on fossil fuels. Recently, Cincinnati has pledged to electrify its municipal fleet, which includes fire trucks, police cars and other city vehicles by the year 2035.
Ohio's efforts are part of a national initiative to reduce dependency on petroleum-based products. The United States government has announced efforts to utilize green procurement practices and innovation to transform heavy-pollutant industries into industries that are low in carbon emissions. On an individual level, citizens are taking control and looking for ways to save at the pump by taking action to conserve their usage of fossil fuels and increasing the amount of walking and cycling in their daily lives.
Recently, electric bikes have become a popular mode of transportation in addition to walking and traditional cycling. Ohio is now home to seven Pedego Electric Bike stores, with one recently opening in the town of Maumee.
"Pedego is about so much more than selling electric bikes," said Jeff Neibler, Owner of Pedego Maumee. "E-biking is a recreational activity that also serves as an efficient mode of transportation. We are so excited to help the citizens of Maumee save on gas while contributing to the state's sustainability efforts."
Headquartered in Orange County, California, Pedego Electric Bikes has found great success in their non-franchise brick and mortar retail model over the past 13 years, and continues to hit the throttle on opening physical stores. Pedego has built a brand on a complete line of class-leading electric bikes, from cruisers to fat tire trail bikes, an industry leading 5-year warranty and a network of locally-owned dealers available for customization and regular on-site servicing. With Pedego's independent store growth, they are creating economic local growth in a profitable and booming industry.
Pedego has a unique culture of business leadership and has cultivated a massive community of Pedego enthusiasts. "Everything electric is just hot," says Don DiCostanzo, CEO of Pedego. "We are a lifestyle brand contributing to economic growth and entrepreneur opportunities. Whether it be a fun family activity, a serious sport, to reach personal health goals or for electric transportation, Pedego has an option for any activity that most everyone can enjoy - no matter the ability."
Pedego Maumee is located at 3100 Main Street Suite #1350 in The Shops at Fallen Timbers, Maumee, Ohio, and offers e-bikes for rental and purchase, as well as bike mechanic service and professional assembly to suit all Pedego e-biking needs. The Maumee store also offers access to a number of biking trails, including the Maumee River Trail and the Northwest Territory Trail.
To find a Pedego store near you please visit www.pedego.com/dealers.
Pedego Maumee is located at 3100 Main Street Suite #1350 in the Shops at Fallen Timbers, Maumee, Ohio, and offers e-bikes for rental and purchase, as well as bike mechanic service and professional assembly to suit all Pedego e-biking needs. Their business hours are 11am-7pm Monday through Sunday. To learn more about Pedego's full-range lineup of electric bikes and try one for free, contact info@pedegomaumee.com or call (567) 952-2155.
Founded in 2008, Pedego® is the leading brand of electric bikes in North America. Pedego is famous for premium quality, five-star local service, and an industry leading five year warranty. A complete line of 16 electric bike models are available at over 200 locally-owned Pedego stores that offer sales, rentals, tours, accessories, and service. Visit www.pedego.com to find a store and try a Pedego.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Rachel Devany
KCOMM
rachel@kcomm.com
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SOURCE Pedego Electric Bikes | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/06/14/americas-leading-e-bike-retailer-pedego-is-now-open-maumee-owner-committed-going-electric-with-ohio/ | 2022-06-14 18:52:22 | 0 | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/06/14/americas-leading-e-bike-retailer-pedego-is-now-open-maumee-owner-committed-going-electric-with-ohio/ |
WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — President Joe Biden delivered remarks Thursday on the “Inflation Reduction Act of 2022,” hours after the government reported the economy shrank for a second straight quarter, contracting at a 0.9% annual pace and raising fears that the nation may be approaching a recession.
“This bill will reduce inflationary pressures on the economy,” Biden said during his remarks from the White House. “The bill will lower health care costs for millions of Americans and it will be the most important investment, not hyperbole, the most important investment we’ve ever made in our energy security, and developing cost savings and job-creating clean energy solutions for the future.”
Watch President Biden’s full press conference in the video player at the top of the page.
The president’s address comes as the Commerce Department reported a decline in the gross domestic product — the broadest gauge of the economy — followed a 1.6% annual drop from January through March. Consecutive quarters of falling GDP constitute one informal, though not definitive, indicator of a recession.
The report comes at a critical time. Consumers and businesses have been struggling under the weight of punishing inflation and higher borrowing costs.
The latest NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ poll found that voters’ fears about inflation are rising, surpassing their concerns about unemployment. More than 62% of voters surveyed ranked inflation chief atop their concerns facing the country, rising above their worries about unemployment, COVID-19 and crime.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | https://www.binghamtonhomepage.com/news/biden-speaks-on-inflation-following-report-on-us-economy/ | 2022-07-28 18:30:02 | 0 | https://www.binghamtonhomepage.com/news/biden-speaks-on-inflation-following-report-on-us-economy/ |
First Period_1, N.Y. Rangers, Panarin 6 (Chytil, Miller), 1:20. 2, N.Y. Rangers, Zibanejad 11 (Trouba, Kreider), 3:01. 3, New Jersey, Tatar 6 (Hischier, Bratt), 7:33. 4, New Jersey, Sharangovich 7, 13:25. Penalties_New Jersey bench, served by Wood (Roughing), 15:13.
Second Period_5, New Jersey, Hughes 12 (Mercer), 5:44. 6, New Jersey, McLeod 3 (Wood, Zetterlund), 9:40. Penalties_Trouba, NYR (Interference), 9:52; Trocheck, NYR (Tripping), 16:34; New Jersey bench, served by Zetterlund (Too Many Men on the Ice), 19:37.
Third Period_7, N.Y. Rangers, Trocheck 8 (Fox, Kreider), 13:18 (pp). 8, New Jersey, Sharangovich 8 (Tatar), 19:44 (en). Penalties_Lafreniere, NYR (Tripping), 4:42; Mercer, NJ (Tripping), 5:43; Graves, NJ (Interference), 9:09; Tatar, NJ (High Sticking), 12:34.
Shots on Goal_New Jersey 13-20-5_38. N.Y. Rangers 11-10-17_38.
Power-play opportunities_New Jersey 0 of 3; N.Y. Rangers 1 of 5.
Goalies_New Jersey, Vanecek 11-2-0 (38 shots-35 saves). N.Y. Rangers, Shesterkin 10-4-3 (37-33).
A_17,928 (18,006). T_2:24.
Referees_Brandon Blandina, Wes McCauley. Linesmen_Travis Gawryletz, Andrew Smith. | https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/New-Jersey-5-N-Y-Rangers-3-17617035.php | 2022-11-29 03:42:46 | 1 | https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/New-Jersey-5-N-Y-Rangers-3-17617035.php |
By Assunta Ng
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
2022 has been quite a year for the Asian community—it has been unusual as the community has been hit with everything at once. We witnessed a mass exodus of businesses due to the pandemic and public safety issues, such as homeless camps and high crimes, leading to jobs lost and misery. But the number of business closures has been underreported.
Despite what happened in the Chinatown-International District (CID), we need to point out that there are still good things for us to celebrate, and to recognize those who have worked tirelessly to make our community better.
Top winners award
For a person who has never run for office before and had to cover her campaign in 39 cities of King County, Leesa Manion has proven to be a force to be reckoned with. Winning nearly 58% of the votes, Manion will be the first Asian and female King County prosecutor in 2023. Her list of endorsers were long and impressive, including former Gov. Gary Locke, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, King County Executive Dow Constantine, 28 legislators, 17 retired judges, 16 labor organizations, and many more prominent officials.
Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz won the top cop spot this year after serving as deputy and interim police chief of the Seattle Police Department (SPD). The interim period had not been easy for Diaz as the SPD faced and still faces staff shortages and internal challenges, such as culture change and morale. Diaz demonstrated his willingness to listen and work with the community.
Appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee, Steve Hobbs was appointed to be the first Asian and person of color as Washington state Secretary of State last year. The seat was formerly held by Republican Kim Wyman, who took a job with President Joe Biden’s administration. The seat has traditionally been held by Republicans for decades.
Yet, Hobbs demonstrated competency in the job and earned high marks. He was challenged by an independent in this year’s election. And Republicans declared that the seat should be a non-partisan one. Why didn’t the Republicans say so when five Republicans ran the Secretary of State office in our state since 1975!?
The mainstream media said Hobbs won the race “narrowly” by 49.8% of the votes out of over 2.5 million cast. Is “narrowly” a fair word? He won by over 100,000 votes. If you asked 100,000 voters to stand behind Hobbs, even Lumen Field couldn’t hold that many people.
The field’s maximum capacity is 72,000. So don’t just look at the percentage, look at the numbers as real people who voted.
Biggest loser award
The Republican Party in Washington state. In almost every major race, the Republican Party lost, from Senate to Congressional races. Democrats were able to flip District 3 seats from Republican to Democrat, thanks to former president Donald Trump, who supported election deniers.
The best game ever award
Argentina won the World Cup, beating France. I didn’t have time to watch the whole game. Just watching the highlights produced heart-stopping moments. It’s wonderful to see Argentina and France play such an exciting match. You couldn’t predict who the winner was going to be. Well done, Argentina and France!
Kickass duo award
Matt and Gei Chan, a remarkable couple, worked so hard to defeat King County’s mega SODO homeless shelter which bordered the CID. Though Matt has cancer, it didn’t stop him from fighting for justice. They met with County officials, organized protests, and engaged the community and supporters. In just 37 days, the County backed down from the shelter idea due to the community’s pressure.
Gei has been active in organizing the community to battle Sound Transit (ST)’s proposal to build a station in the CID, connecting Ballard and West Seattle, due to displacement and environmental impacts. At this point, we don’t know what ST will do. But it has shown willingness to listen more to the community’s concerns. That’s a big shift in attitude compared to when it first announced its plan.
Betty Lau and Brien Chow are also community activists who work side-by-side with the Chans—supporting the community and making our voices heard. Like the Chans, they attended time-consuming meetings, reported back to others, and invited input. Then, these activists came up with strategies to knock through every red tape.
The Chans, Lau, and Chow gave every bit of their energy and time to these causes. They rallied others to support and unify the base to combat these outside forces.
Relentless award
One of the youngest activist leaders voicing opposition to the ST and SODO projects is Tanya Woo. She organized and led all the senior protests and attended every single one of those meetings to share with the County the detailed impact on the community. She brought along senior protesters to the forefront of the Seattle City Council and King County meetings in their budget hearings to ask for mitigated funds to protect the community from projects that cause negative impacts.
Last year, she was also one of the organizers for the CID’s anti-Asian hate campaigns and rallies. Multi-talented, she is also a Chinese dance performer for many CID festivals such as Lunar New Year. An artist herself, she also designed an art mural with her sister for the Chong Wa Benevolent Association playground.
The rising star award
Mike Fong, Small Business Administration regional director for Washington state, Idaho, Oregon, and Alaska, is a rising star. In less than a year, Fong was able to mobilize resources for small businesses, especially people of color businesses. In October, Fong was asked to serve as acting regional administrator, which includes Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas. Biden’s team recognizes talent. We will not be surprised if Fong is asked to do more in the future.
Fong is the former senior deputy mayor of Seattle.
Unsung heroes award
The accomplishments of the CID to ward off the mega SODO homeless shelter and also make ST think twice about imposing their positions on the community—that credit belongs to many unsung heroes including many community members and seniors. Most of them didn’t say anything during protests, rallies, and meetings to the Seattle City Council and King County Council. But there’s no question that the power of their presence was felt. The lesson is important, don’t sit on the sidelines. They have to get involved. Politics is their business. When they show up, their message is clear. They would not let others push them around. They have had enough of all the nonsense over the past decades.
Many community leaders and members joined in the rallies and protests. Their participation showed a spirit of unity. That’s why the community was successful in turning back the tides.
Thumbs up! award
In celebration of its 50th Anniversary Friendship Gala, the Chinese Information and Service Center (CISC) raised over $540,000 at the Bellevue Westin Hotel in October, the highest amount for the agency in its history.
The number of early volunteers from the 1970s who showed up that evening was impressive. Former executive director Alaric Bien even donated $5,000.
To mark the 136th anniversary of 350 railroad workers, agriculture workers, and coal miners pushed out of Seattle in 1886, over 600 Asian Americans rallied in the CID on Feb. 12, 2022, and marched towards the waterfront where the Chinese were expelled. Organized by several Chinese American groups, the march led by several elected officials and community leaders raised the ills of racism and the awareness to stop it during the pandemic.
Voices of awakening award
When we first reported ST’s proposal of two alternative stations at 4th and 5th Avenue South, we didn’t know what to make of it. There was not much information about community impacts except that it was convenient for ST to have it located in the CID, close to downtown Seattle, and in the transportation hub being close to I-5, I-90, train station, buses, and ferries.
It was Larry Matsuda’s letter to the Asian Weekly that woke up many community members towards the ST proposal that CID would bear all the negative consequences to the point that it may destroy the entire CID when the station is built.
And the cry for unfairness was magnified by Bettie Luke, accusing ST of encroachment and all the past injustices we had encountered for the past century.
Patty Fong’s frequent gut-punching commentaries published in the Asian Weekly have reminded the authorities time after time how the CID will not be ignored or silenced.
Hero award
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is standing up to Russia and Vladmir Putin, mobilized all his countrymen to fight against tyranny and unjust invasion.
Courage award
When Russia invaded Ukraine, Putin thought there wouldn’t be much resistance and the people of Ukraine would just flee and hand over its territories ine by one. Putin has been so wrong. The Ukrainians fought like hell for their country. Battle after battle, Russians had underestimated the will of the Ukrainians, their toughness, and their resilience. Their courage is insurmountable.
The fact that one out of four Americans has donated funds to the Ukrainians for different needs, such as refugees relief and other means, is incredible. The Ukrainians are an inspiration to many. Whenever I want to complain, I just think of what the Ukrainians have gone through, and I feel grateful that my ordeal is truly minor in comparison to their trauma and pain.
Community spirit award
Viet Wah Supermarket closed after operating for 40 years in the CID. During its time in CID, it had been supportive of the community. When we asked for their support honoring first responders, they were most generous in donating gift certificates. They even doubled what we had requested of them, unbeknownst to us at that time that they were losing money and confronting homeless and crime issues during the pandemic. Thank you for your compassion and community support all these years.
Now that you’ve come to the end of this article, you will find that I haven’t figuratively called out many Worst Awards or “devils of the year.” I could have, but I decided not to. Enough of the negative news this year. So just focus on the positives of the community. After all, we celebrate that the community is able to unite together in 2022, and learn to support one another to forge forward in 2023.
Assunta can be reached at assunta@nwasianweekly.com. | https://nwasianweekly.com/2022/12/the-best-worst-awards-for-2022/ | 2022-12-31 11:40:56 | 1 | https://nwasianweekly.com/2022/12/the-best-worst-awards-for-2022/ |
PHILADELPHIA — San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler stood just outside the third base dugout at Citizens Bank Park for the national anthem on Monday, taking a break on Memorial Day from his protest against the direction of the nation.
“Today, I’ll be standing for the anthem,” Kapler wrote earlier Monday on his blog. “While I believe strongly in the right to protest and the importance of doing so, I also believe strongly in honoring and mourning our country’s service men and women who fought and died for that right. Those who serve in our military, and especially those who have paid the ultimate price for our rights and freedoms, deserve that acknowledgment and respect, and I am honored to stand on the line today to show mine.”
Kapler announced on Friday that he intended to remain in the clubhouse during the anthem to protest “the lack of delivery of the promise of what our national anthem represents” following the shootings that killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
“The way I see it is anything that sparks thoughtful conversation is good,” Kapler told reporters on Monday.
Kapler said he was not ready to announce whether his protest will resume on Tuesday night.
“The days move really fast,” he said. “We’re going to come out and talk about Giants and Phillies today and we’ll get into the game and then we’ll spend some time trying to get away from the game. Then the game starts the next day. I want to have my thoughts perfectly formulated. I will formulate them and I will share them. I just don’t have them right now.”
Joe Girardi replaced Kapler as Philadelphia’s manager following the 2019 season
“Everyone has a choice in this country, right?” Girardi said. “I mean that’s what America is founded on. It’s not the choice that I’ll make. But with all the choices we make in life there are consequences, no matter what you do, so you have to be prepared to explain why you do things in this world. And it’s not something that I would do.”
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mlb/giants-kapler-pauses-protest-stands-for-national-anthem/2022/05/30/f8f5592c-e05d-11ec-ae64-6b23e5155b62_story.html | 2022-05-30 21:26:02 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mlb/giants-kapler-pauses-protest-stands-for-national-anthem/2022/05/30/f8f5592c-e05d-11ec-ae64-6b23e5155b62_story.html |
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) – After a nice start to the weekend, we need to have the rain gear on hand for Sunday. Details on timing and how much to expect below…
The damper half of the weekend…
Unfortunately, for those that have outdoor plans the last half of the weekend we are going to have to deal with a return of some showers and a few storms. Why? The cold front that moved through Friday afternoon has stalled out not too far away and is acting as railroad tracks for a wave of low pressure to move up along it, just to the south and east of CNY.
It appears the bulk of the rain holds off until after 10 or 11 am, or after the Boilermaker is over for many, but could impact the end of the race for a few, spectators and the post party.
Showers and storms will expand in both coverage and intensity heading through the afternoon.
At this point it looks like the heaviest rain will fall southeast of Syracuse, across the Southern Tier and Eastern New York into New England. This is where we have a Flood Watch in effect, including the southern portions of CNY Sunday afternoon through Sunday evening due to the potential of flash flooding in these areas. Remember the saying, if you come across a flooded roadway, “Turn Around, Don’t Drown.”
In addition to the heavy rain threat, any thunderstorm that develops Sunday afternoon into early Sunday evening has the potential to be on the strong to severe side, bringing with it strong, damaging wind gusts.
Highs on Sunday given the clouds and showers will only manage to reach the 70s to around 80.
Brighter and warmer early this week
In the wake of Sunday’s system, Central New York begins to dry out. We think there is enough lingering moisture Monday for a few showers or storms to be around through at least the first part of Monday afternoon. Outside that threat, expect there to be a mix of sun and clouds and it certainly is a nicer day than Sunday.
Tuesday is a nice day with high pressure firmly in control of our weather. Along with a good deal of sunshine and some passing clouds, highs will rebound well into the 80s Tuesday afternoon.
Rain chances return mid to late week
We still look to reach the mid-80s on Wednesday, but there is an approaching cold front lurking to the north and west. It might be close enough to spark a couple showers and thunderstorms, but a lot of the day still looks to be dry.
It looks like our chance for showers and thunderstorms increases more so on Thursday. It will remain warm and humid with highs in the mid-80s.
Stay tuned for updates. | https://www.localsyr.com/weather/shower-storm-chances-increase-sunday/ | 2023-07-09 14:30:22 | 0 | https://www.localsyr.com/weather/shower-storm-chances-increase-sunday/ |
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Chance of Rain: 69%
Sunrise: 07:32:50 AM
Sunset: 05:01:33 PM
Humidity: 85%
Wind: SE @ 10 mph
UV Index: 0 Low
Periods of rain. Low 38F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Chance of Rain: 34%
Sunrise: 07:32:59 AM
Sunset: 05:02:20 PM
Humidity: 77%
Wind: SE @ 12 mph
UV Index: 1 Low
Rain showers early mixing with snow showers late. Low around 35F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precip 60%.
Chance of Rain: 63%
Sunrise: 07:33:06 AM
Sunset: 05:03:08 PM
Humidity: 82%
Wind: NNW @ 8 mph
UV Index: 1 Low
Variable clouds with snow showers. Low 29F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 40%.
Chance of Rain: 44%
Sunrise: 07:33:12 AM
Sunset: 05:03:59 PM
Humidity: 81%
Wind: N @ 5 mph
UV Index: 1 Low
Mainly cloudy. Low 26F. Winds light and variable.
Chance of Rain: 20%
Sunrise: 07:33:14 AM
Sunset: 05:04:50 PM
Humidity: 78%
Wind: NNE @ 4 mph
UV Index: 2 Low
A few clouds. Low 24F. Winds light and variable.
Chance of Rain: 7%
Sunrise: 07:33:15 AM
Sunset: 05:05:43 PM
Humidity: 69%
Wind: E @ 6 mph
UV Index: 2 Low
Mostly cloudy. Snow showers around after midnight. Low 31F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 50%.
Chance of Rain: 47%
Sunrise: 07:33:14 AM
Sunset: 05:06:37 PM
Humidity: 82%
Wind: NNW @ 5 mph
UV Index: 1 Low
Partly cloudy in the evening with more clouds for later at night. Low 29F. Winds light and variable.
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A receipt was sent to your email. | https://www.gjsentinel.com/lifestyle/you_saw_it/you-saw-it-jan-1/article_c9d5ab2a-8700-11ed-ba8c-0b7581d294d0.html | 2023-01-01 08:23:41 | 0 | https://www.gjsentinel.com/lifestyle/you_saw_it/you-saw-it-jan-1/article_c9d5ab2a-8700-11ed-ba8c-0b7581d294d0.html |
CARLSBAD, Calif., Nov. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Natural Alternatives International, Inc. ("NAI") (Nasdaq: NAII), a leading formulator, manufacturer, and marketer of customized nutritional supplements, today announced net income of $1.1 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, on net sales of $43.1 million for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 compared to net income of $3.3 million, or $0.51 per diluted share, in the first quarter of the prior fiscal year.
Net sales during the three months ended September 30, 2022 increased $4.8 million, or 12.5%, to $43.1 million as compared to $38.3 million recorded in the comparable prior year period. During the same period, private-label contract manufacturing sales increased $8.2 million, a 24.4% increase from the comparable quarter last year. Private-label contract manufacturing sales increased primarily due to higher sales to our two largest customers, partially offset by decreased sales to other smaller customers and lower average exchange rates applied to sales denominated in Euro as compared to the prior year period. Our foreign exchange rates as applied to sales denominated in Euro decreased to a weighted average of 1.12 EUR/USD in the first three months of fiscal 2023 compared to a weighted average of 1.18 EUR/USD during the first three months of fiscal 2022. Sales backlog for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, totaled approximately $8.0 million primarily related to supply chain and logistical constraints.
CarnoSyn® beta-alanine royalty, licensing and raw material sales revenue decreased 71.5% to $1.4 million during the first quarter of fiscal year 2023, as compared to $4.7 million for the first quarter of fiscal year 2022. The decrease in patent and trademark licensing revenue during the first quarter of fiscal 2022 was primarily due to a decrease in orders from existing customers as a result of market and inflationary factors along with a general slowdown in the Sports Nutrition sales channel. Included in the market factors is the fact that the first three months of fiscal 2022 benefited from a ramp up of Sports Nutrition sales activity due to easing COVID restrictions on athletic activities with no corresponding activity in the first three months of fiscal 2023.
Based on our current sales order volumes and forecasts we have received from our customers, we now anticipate our fiscal 2023 consolidated net sales will be slightly up as compared to fiscal 2022. While sales are expected to increase during fiscal 2023 when compared to fiscal 2022, we anticipate operating income will be negatively impacted by changes in sales mix, unfavorable foreign exchange rates, and inflationary factors including increased operational costs impacted by increased labor, raw material, freight and supply chain costs. We are working with both suppliers and customers to attempt to mitigate the expected negative impact on our fiscal 2023 financial results. There can be no assurances our expectations will result in the currently anticipated increase in net sales and expected operating income levels.
As of September 30, 2022, we had cash of $12.3 million and working capital of $47.6 million compared to $21.8 million and $53.5 million respectively, as of June 30, 2022. As of September 30, 2022, we owed $3.4 million and had $16.6 million available under our line of credit agreement.
Mark A. Le Doux, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NAI stated, "Despite persistent economic headwinds, we are encouraged by the growth in our contract manufacturing sales. However, the continued impact of inflation has and will continue to have a negative impact on our net financial results. We are actively evaluating a variety of cost savings programs in order to preserve margins as much as possible, but these challenges are likely to persist into the near future."
"Much like many other industries, we believe the dietary supplement industry has entered a period of constrained growth due to the effect inflation is having on consumer behaviors. This inflationary impact appears to have affected the Sports Nutrition Industry most significantly, but there are indications that other areas of the dietary supplement industry are experiencing the same economic pressures. We believe we have a strong core business and this foundation coupled with the strength of our balance sheet will help us weather this economic storm."
"Construction on our new powder manufacturing facility in Carlsbad, California continues to progress, and we still anticipate this state-of-the art powder plant will be operational by the middle of our fiscal year 2023."
"We remain committed to delivering value for our shareholders as we repurchased 46,795 shares of our common stock in the first quarter of fiscal 2023 and intend to continue to opportunistically buy back shares in the future. While we see macro challenges across the economy ahead, our team is working hard across all departments to navigate these obstacles, deliver superior service for our customers and drive sales growth and profitability."
An updated investor presentation will be posted to the investor relations page on our website later today (https://www.nai-online.com/our-company/investors/).
NAI, headquartered in Carlsbad, California, is a leading formulator, manufacturer and marketer of nutritional supplements and provides strategic partnering services to its customers. Our comprehensive partnership approach offers a wide range of innovative nutritional products and services to our clients including scientific research, clinical studies, proprietary ingredients, customer-specific nutritional product formulation, product testing and evaluation, marketing management and support, packaging and delivery system design, regulatory review and international product registration assistance. For more information about NAI, please see our website at http://www.nai-online.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are not historical facts and information. These statements represent our intentions, expectations and beliefs concerning future events, including, among other things, our ability to develop, maintain or increase sales to new and existing customers, our ability to attract and retain sufficient labor, COVID-19 and related impacts on the availability of raw materials, our future revenue profits and financial condition, as well as future economic conditions and the impact of such conditions on our business. We wish to caution readers these statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes for future periods to differ materially from any forward-looking statement or views expressed herein. NAI's financial performance and the forward-looking statements contained herein are further qualified by other risks, including those set forth from time to time in the documents filed by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K.
CONTACT – Michael Fortin, Chief Financial Officer, Natural Alternatives International, Inc., at 760-736-7700 or investor@nai-online.com.
Web site: http://www.nai-online.com
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SOURCE Natural Alternatives International, Inc. | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/11/09/natural-alternatives-international-inc-announces-2023-q1-results/ | 2022-11-09 23:17:51 | 0 | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/11/09/natural-alternatives-international-inc-announces-2023-q1-results/ |
Volunteering could get you a tax credit in Philly if a City Council bill becomes law
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Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles. | https://www.phillytrib.com/news/local_news/volunteering-could-get-you-a-tax-credit-in-philly-if-a-city-council-bill-becomes/article_bbe3dd7c-37a3-11ed-ad64-dbb97528b5c6.html | 2022-09-19 02:23:27 | 1 | https://www.phillytrib.com/news/local_news/volunteering-could-get-you-a-tax-credit-in-philly-if-a-city-council-bill-becomes/article_bbe3dd7c-37a3-11ed-ad64-dbb97528b5c6.html |
ATLANTA (AP) — Within hours of a U.S. Supreme Court decision dismantling a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, Texas lawmakers announced plans to implement a strict voter ID law that had been blocked by a federal court. Lawmakers in Alabama said they would press forward with a similar law that had been on hold.
The ruling continues to reverberate across the country a decade later, as Republican-led states pass voting restrictions that, in several cases, would have been subject to federal review had the conservative-leaning court left the provision intact. At the same time, the justices have continued to take other cases challenging elements of the landmark 1965 law that was born from the sometimes violent struggle for the right of Black Americans to cast ballots.
The justices are expected to rule in the coming weeks in a new case out of Alabama that could make it much more difficult for minority groups to sue over gerrymandered political maps that dilute their representation.
“At that point, you have to ask yourself what’s left of the Voting Rights Act?” said Franita Tolson, a constitutional and election law expert and co-dean of the University of Southern California School of Law.
Core parts of the law have been reauthorized with bipartisan support five times since it was signed by then-President Lyndon Johnson, the most recent in 2006. But congressional efforts to address the enforcement gap created by the June 2013 Supreme Court decision on what was known as preclearance — federal review of proposed election-related changes before they could take effect — have languished amid increasingly partisan battles over the ballot box.
The recent wave of voting changes have been pushed by Republican lawmakers who point to concerns over elections that have been fueled by former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
At least 104 restrictive voting laws have passed in 33 mostly GOP-controlled states since the 2020 election, according to an analysis by the Voting Rights Lab, which tracks voting legislation in the states.
Alabama, where two of the major challenges to the Voting Rights Act began, considered legislation this year that would have made it a crime to help a non-family member fill out or return an absentee ballot. Supporters argued the change was needed to boost security, though ultimately the bill failed to pass as the state’s legislature adjourned Tuesday without taking a final vote on it.
Critics said the proposal would have made it difficult for voters who are older, low-income, ill or who do not feel comfortable with the already cumbersome absentee ballot process, which includes a requirement to submit a copy of a photo ID.
Betty Shinn, a 72-year-old Black woman from Mobile testified against the bill, saying it was a vehicle for suppressing votes: “It’s no different from asking me how many jellybeans are in that jar or asking me to recite the Constitution from memory.”
It was such Jim Crow-era rules that the Voting Rights Act was designed to stop, relying on a formula to identify states, counties and towns with a history of imposing voting restrictions and with low voter registration or participation rates. They then were required to submit any proposed voting changes in advance, either to the U.S. Department of Justice or the federal court in Washington, D.C.
The law included ways for jurisdictions to exit the preclearance requirement after demonstrating specific improvements, and dozens had over the years. At the time of the 2013 decision, nine states and a few dozen counties and towns in six other states were on the list for federal review. That included a small number of counties in California and New York.
In the decade since the Supreme Court decision, which came in a case filed by Shelby County, Alabama, lawmakers in the nine states formerly covered by the preclearance requirement have passed at least 77 voting-related laws, according to an analysis by the Voting Rights Lab for The Associated Press.
Most improved voter access and likely would have sailed through federal review. But at least 14 laws – in Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia – added new voting restrictions, the Voting Rights Lab found. These include nine, high-profile bills passed in the aftermath of the 2020 election that would have almost certainly drawn significant scrutiny from the Justice Department.
In Georgia, Senate Bill 202 added ID requirements to mail voting, codified the use of ballot drop boxes in a way that reduced the number allowed in metro Atlanta — and restricted outside groups from providing water and food to voters standing in line. Republicans have said the changes were needed to boost security. Groups in the state have recalibrated their efforts to help voters.
Arizona passed two measures last year requiring voters who use state and federal voter registration forms to prove their citizenship and purging voters based on whether county election officials believe they might not be citizens or might not be qualified to vote.
Those could disproportionately affect Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities with cultural family names, said Alexa-Rio Osaki, political director of the Arizona Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander for Equity Coalition.
“If Shelby v. Holder didn’t exist, we wouldn’t have to worry about feeling as if we’re excluded yet again,” she said. “So, we’re talking about targeting our own communities within the state just based on what our name is and whether that looks American or not.”
In North Carolina, voting rights groups are bracing for the return of the state’s strict voter ID law, which the new GOP majority on the state Supreme Court has revived. They say the law will disproportionately affect younger voters. Several North Carolina counties, home to a handful of historically Black colleges and universities, were previously subject to federal review.
The Voting Rights Lab analysis identified three restrictive bills passed in North Carolina and two in Florida since the Shelby decision that would have been subject to federal review because they affected local governments covered by the preclearance requirement.
For groups such as Vote.org, which focuses on voter registration and education in the states, the evolving legal landscape has meant moving quickly to update website information, retrain volunteers and overhaul education material to include the latest voting rules and polling place information.
The group has filed legal challenges in Florida, Georgia and Texas over new rules for registration forms that prohibit digital signatures.
“People don’t realize or are fully aware of the rollback that has happened since the Shelby decision,” Vote.org CEO Andrea Hailey said. “It means programs like ours have to work double time, at increased expense to make sure everyone has the opportunity to vote.”
Without the preclearance process, the Justice Department and outside groups must rely on the courts to address potentially discriminatory legislation after it’s already taken effect. While remedies are built into the legal system to address harm that has been done, elections are unique, said Justin Levitt, who recently served as the White House senior policy adviser for democracy and voting rights.
“If a discriminatory election happens, you can’t undo that,” said Levitt, who was a top Justice Department official during the final years of the Obama administration. “The only way to get legal relief is to make the next election better. But in the meantime, the people who were elected in a discriminatory election are in office and making laws.”
In Texas, Republicans have enacted one of the nation’s strictest voter ID laws, limited the use of drop boxes and redrawn political district maps to fortify their dominant majority amid rapid demographic shifts.
Legal challenges to Texas’ new voting laws have persisted, but to little effect. When a federal court in 2019 ruled that Texas can continue to change district maps without supervision, it did so despite voicing “grave concerns” in the state where nearly 9 of every 10 new residents are Hispanic.
Two years later, Democratic lawmakers staged a 93-day walkout in protest of additional voting restrictions that included changes to mail ballot rules. The changes were rushed into place before the 2022 midterm elections and resulted in nearly 23,000 ballots being rejected.
“We’ve seen a drastic change in election policy,” said Texas Rep. John Bucy, a Democrat. “I think all of this stuff, if we had preclearance, would be protected. We should be working together to make sure access to the ballot box is the most important thing, and we don’t do that in this state.”
In addition to Texas, the Justice Department has filed legal challenges to new voting rules enacted in Georgia and Arizona since the 2020 election.
Supporters of such laws say the courts, even after the Shelby decision, remain an effective check to address any problematic measures.
“Shelby County did not alter the fact that state election rules that discriminate against protected groups like racial minorities are illegal,” said Derek Lyons, president and CEO of Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections, a group co-founded by Republican strategist Karl Rove. “And in the few instances when courts have identified violations, they have quickly remedied them.”
In its 2013 decision, the majority on the Supreme Court found the formula was outdated for determining which jurisdictions should be covered by the preclearance requirement and pointed to increased minority participation in voting.
It’s difficult to draw conclusions based on voter turnout data, especially since few states track it by race. Of the nine states where federal review had been required before the court ruling, all but one saw their statewide voter turnout decline for the 2022 midterm elections compared with the previous midterms four years earlier — but that also mirrored the trend nationally, according to an analysis of election and population data maintained by the AP.
Some of the states passing new restrictions also do have election policies that are voter-friendly, such as offering early voting and mail voting without needing an excuse.
“The Shelby opinion stands for the basic idea that if the federal government is going to take the drastic step of usurping the constitutionally endorsed power of states to govern their own elections, it must do so based on real and current data,” said Jason Snead, executive director of the Honest Elections Project. “By any objective measure, elections are free, fair, and accessible.”
Voting rights groups say that does not mean voting is easy, and they have been responding to the restrictions with fresh strategies. In Georgia, for instance, Common Cause set up mobile printing stations across the state so voters could comply with new voter registration rules that require an ink signature on a printed form.
“It’s only through the work of all these communities and groups on the ground that voters have access,” said Sylvia Albert, the group’s national director of voting and elections. “But doing this post-Shelby, courts are not recognizing the true damage those laws have had.”
The Supreme Court weakened another section of the Voting Rights Act two years ago with a ruling in a case from Arizona. It sided with the state in a challenge to new regulations that restricted who can return early ballots for another person and prohibited ballots cast in the wrong precinct from being counted. The conservative majority court could further erode voting rights that are intended to protect racial minorities in an Alabama case in which the plaintiffs argue the state diluted the power of Black voters.
Under Alabama’s Republican-drawn congressional map, just one of seven districts has a majority Black population in a state where more than one in four residents is Black. A broad ruling in the case would not only uphold that map, but also make it much harder to sustain claims of racial discrimination in redistricting across the country.
“If those kind of things happen, they’ve effectively closed the door on the Voting Rights Act,” said Evan Milligan, executive director of Alabama Forward and the lead plaintiff in the case.
___
Alexander reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Kim Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama; Acacia Coronado in Austin, Texas; and Aaron Kessler and Mark Sherman in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.
___
The Associated Press coverage of race and voting receives support from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | https://wgntv.com/politics-3/ap-politics/supreme-court-opened-the-door-to-states-voting-restrictions-now-a-new-ruling-could-widen-them/ | 2023-06-07 07:38:17 | 0 | https://wgntv.com/politics-3/ap-politics/supreme-court-opened-the-door-to-states-voting-restrictions-now-a-new-ruling-could-widen-them/ |
(NEXSTAR) – Walmart has confirmed it will be closing two more stores next month, adding to its list of more than half a dozen stores that have already closed or will close in the coming weeks.
Earlier this month, Walmart confirmed to Nexstar that five locations across three states were set to close. Last week, Walmart confirmed an additional two locations in two other states would be closing.
On Thursday, a company spokesperson confirmed two locations in Portland, Oregon, will close on March 24. According to the spokesperson, these stores weren’t meeting financial expectations but the decision to close both were based on “several factors.”
Roughly 580 employees will be laid off because of the Portland closures, Willamette Week reported Wednesday. As with other closures, employees are eligible to transfer to other Walmart locations.
Other recently-announced store closures have also been attributed to profitability concerns following a “thorough review process.”
Among those was a store in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that was described as “underperforming” in a statement to Nexstar’s KRQE. Two of the three stores closing in the Chicago area also did not meet financial expectations, Nexstar’s WGN reports.
Here’s the full list of Walmart closures confirmed this year:
- 3701 SE Dodson Road, Bentonville, Arkansas
- 6900 US Highway 19 North, Pinellas Park, Florida
- 17550 South Halsted Street, Homewood, Illinois
- 12690 South Route 59, Plainfield, Illinois
- 840 N. McCormick Boulevard, Lincolnwood, Illinois
- 301 San Mateo Boulevard SE, Albuquerque, New Mexico
- 1123 N. Hayden Meadows Drive, Portland, Oregon
- 4200 SE 82nd Avenue, Portland, Oregon
- 10330 W. Silver Spring Drive, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The locations in Lincolnwood and Bentonville closed last week, while locations in Albuquerque, Homewood, Milwaukee, Plainfield, and Pinellas Park are set to close by March 10.
“This decision was not made lightly and was reached only after a thorough review process,” a Walmart spokesperson previously told Nexstar. “We have nearly 5,000 stores across the U.S. and unfortunately some do not meet our financial expectations. While our underlying business is strong, these specific stores haven’t performed as well as we hoped.”
Walmart didn’t respond to Nexstar’s questions regarding whether additional stores were under review or if more closures could be announced. | https://www.wowktv.com/news/u-s-world/walmart-to-close-two-more-underperforming-stores-company-confirms/ | 2023-02-23 23:51:13 | 1 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/u-s-world/walmart-to-close-two-more-underperforming-stores-company-confirms/ |
Voicemail to former state vaccine official: ‘Get the f*** out of Tennessee, you pile of garbage’
By Jeremy Finley
Click here for updates on this story
NASHVILLE (WSMV) — Just after the story broke in July 2021 about her termination, Dr. Michelle Fiscus’s husband, Brad, received a voicemail.
“You know Brad,” a man began, “You and your fat, f****** c*** wife didn’t have to be so f******* worried about Covid if you hit the g****** gym once a week.”
The voicemail, from an anonymous male, played in federal court for the first time Friday as attorneys for Fiscus’ and the state both asked a judge to rule in their favor in a lawsuit seeking to clear the name of the former top vaccine expert.
The voicemail was played as proof of the hostility that Fiscus and her family faced after she was terminated by the state health department in 2021.
Adding to the controversy at the time was Fiscus’ claim that she was sent a muzzle in July 2021 from an anonymous sender to her state office before her termination.
While a series of reporting by WSMV4 Investigate proved that Fiscus did not send the muzzle to herself, Fiscus still faced scrutiny about her sharing of a memo about the state’s mature minor doctrine.
That policy states minors 14 and older can get medical care, including receiving a Covid shot, without parental consent.
The threatening voicemail referenced her sharing of the memo.
“Holy f***, what kind of authority do you fat f****** pigs have to try to tell people how to live their lives in a healthy fashion? Look at yourselves. You’re both morbidly obese f**** slobs,” the man said.
Fiscus was ultimately terminated after the state health department blamed her “unwillingness to consult with superiors.”
Her termination was also referenced in the voicemail to Brad Fiscus. “Eat s***, your dumb c*** wife got busted. You’re a f***** p***** because you can’t manage your dumb b**** wife with a strong pimp hand because you’re a fat soy boy f***,” the man said. “Eat s*** Brad! Get the f*** out of Tennessee you pile of garbage. F*** you.”
Fiscus told WSMV4 Investigates along the voicemail, the scrutiny in Williamson County they faced where Brad Fiscus was on the school board and additional hostility made them leave the state.
Fiscus’ lawsuit seeks to force the state to clear her name.
Her attorneys argued in court that the state stigmatized and defamed her by choosing not to simply terminate her but put the reasons in a memo that would become subject to open records requests.
Attorneys for the state health department argued that the voicemail was not “indicative of the community,” and that Fiscus’ termination did not harm her ability to get new employment, as she received multiple job offers.
Attorney for the state also said that Fiscus tried to funnel state money to her own non-profit.
Judge Waverly D Crenshaw, Jr. ultimately ruled that neither side had proven summary judgement, a term used to declare that one side of a lawsuit had such prevailing evidence and cause that they should immediately win the case.
Instead, he said that a jury will have to make that decision when the trial begins on May 16.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform. | https://localnews8.com/cnn-regional/2023/03/11/voicemail-to-former-state-vaccine-official-get-the-f-out-of-tennessee-you-pile-of-garbage/ | 2023-03-11 21:40:57 | 1 | https://localnews8.com/cnn-regional/2023/03/11/voicemail-to-former-state-vaccine-official-get-the-f-out-of-tennessee-you-pile-of-garbage/ |
JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — There’s a lot that Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara likes about Major League Baseball’s new rules, such as the limitation on infield shifts.
“Last year I got so mad sometimes because they move the position player and the ball was right there,” the NL Cy Young Award winner said.
One of the biggest ways the sport is addressing its slowly moving product is the introduction of a pitch clock. Pitchers now get 15 seconds between deliveries if there’s no runner on base, 20 seconds if someone is aboard. And it’s 30 seconds to resume play between batters.
The pitch clock will take some getting used to, Alcantara said, though he’s not too worried about the adjustment because he’s used to working pretty quickly. But working with the new pitch timer in spring training has taken more energy out of him than he expected.
“Especially when it’s hot like today,” Alcantara said after pitching two innings against the New York Mets in Jupiter, Florida, where temperatures were in the upper 80s. “I mean, I was trying to take my time because I was getting tired when I throw pitch by pitch by pitch.”
That’s an early adjustment that many pitchers are grappling with. Most have been pleased with the faster pace of play, which has dropped from 3 hours, 1 minute last spring to 2:39. The Mets beat the Marlins 8-4 Wednesday in 2:37.
But with less time between innings and pitches, players have expressed worries about rushing, as some are getting winded from running back and forth after certain plays.
“Kind of tough to get your breath after backing up third base and you know you only have 25, 30 seconds to get back on the mound,” Miami left-hander Jesús Luzardo said.
After about a week of spring training, pitch clock violations are being called at a rate of 1.63 per game.
Already, it’s become a new sign of the times in baseball — an umpire pointing to his wrist, indicating a pitcher dawdled too long.
Mets ace Max Scherzer, who is eagerly testing the range of what’s allowed, was called for a balk after going too quickly. New York Yankees reliever Wandy Peralta, meanwhile, recorded a three-pitch strikeout in a lightning-fast 20 seconds.
Marlins manager Skip Schumaker likened the new pace to conditioning in the weight room.
“You lift the most weight when you have a little bit of rest,” he said. “If you’re maxing out, you’re waiting a couple of minutes before your next rep. If you’re not conditioned, that next rep isn’t as good as the first rep. That goes with pitching, too. How sharp are you going to be if you’re not conditioned?
“Going behind home plate, backing up third, sprinting to first, all that is real. How about covering first base in St. Louis in July when it’s 110 degrees and it’s the sixth inning and you’re 85 pitches in?”
As for other instances when pitchers could be winded, Schumaker said it could come into play when relievers enter from the bullpen.
“Colorado is my concern,” he said. “It’s at altitude and it’s in right-center-field, and when you’re running in from there, you’re pretty tired. I wonder what that looks like.”
Miami reliever Matt Barnes wondered if the shorter time between innings will tempt pitchers to throw fewer warmup pitches.
“Say you’ve got a long run in in Chicago. It’s April 15 and it’s 30 degrees out, and you get out there,” Barnes said. “Are they going to say you have one more (warmup pitch) or you’re going to throw a ball, and you only get four pitches, and now you’re risking injury?”
Arizona left-hander Joe Mantiply was assessed an automatic ball in a game against the Cubs because he didn’t finish his warmup pitches quickly enough after entering as a reliever.
“We’re trying to train for it,” Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “Everything that we’re doing off the mound we are doing with a clock. So, bullpens, lives (live batting practice), obviously the games, we’re going to make sure that these guys get used to pitching at the pace in which they’re going to have to pitch.”
Cardinals reliever Jordan Hicks said he could see pitchers becoming winded in certain situations.
“When I ran in last year from the bullpen — that’s pretty far — and I’d throw all my (warmup) pitches, I’d be out of breath without the pitch clock.”
Known for his blazing fastball, Hicks said he has thought about ways of slowing things down this season.
One option, he said, is to back away and use one of his step-offs to catch his breath. Under the new rules, pitchers can disengage from the rubber — either to call timeout or to attempt a pickoff throw — twice per plate appearance.
“You could walk around the grass and grab the rosin. I’m sure if it gets too deliberate, where they say, ‘Oh, you’re avoiding the rules,’ then they’ll probably say something. But if you’re quick about, that’s an extra three seconds right there.”
___
AP freelance writers Mark Didtler and Rick Hummel contributed to this report.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.wdtn.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-mlb-pitchers-adjusting-to-quick-pace-of-new-pitch-clock/ | 2023-03-05 15:49:05 | 0 | https://www.wdtn.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-mlb-pitchers-adjusting-to-quick-pace-of-new-pitch-clock/ |
Evolving the perception and useability of shapewear for women everywhere, Popilush focuses on diversity, body positivity, and true functionality with quality, accessible pieces.
WILLIAMSBURG, Va., Feb. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Popilush, the fashion-forward shapewear brand that is pioneering the fusion of comfortable confidence and multifunctional style, reveals their game-changing range that is size inclusive and effortlessly modern. Made for every shape and skin tone, Popilush is proud to empower women with more freedom in movement, shape, and comfort with a category defining line of shapewear that is stylish and amazingly versatile.
Their Built-in Shaper Dress & Skirt is the ideal choice for lounging, traveling, or going out on the town. It boasts an elegant, trendy design in combination with a built-in "invisible" shaper, tummy control, butt lifting and an open gusset for easy trips to the lady's room. With light compression, the built-in shaper dress is the ideal everyday piece when a little 'help' is all you need.
Popilush's multifunctional bodysuits represent the ultimate outer shapewear option that can be paired with jeans, leggings, shorts, skirts, and beyond. With medium compression and a stylish, versatile design, these bodysuits are a best-seller for a reason. They are any outfit's confidence-boosting, hidden secret that will look amazing anytime, anywhere.
In addition to these Popilush favorites, their shapewear line is made of premium yet whisper-soft fabric and provides targeted compression from light to strong, offering the most snatched-waist capabilities while also enhancing the body's natural shape. As a classic go-to item in any woman's closet, Popilush shapewear is more versatile and comfortable than ever, empowering women to feel and look their best any day of the week.
Popilush has recently introduced the Built-in Shaper Modal Long Sleeve Lounge Dress, a total game changer shapewear piece that features a body-hugging fit with a square neckline that offers seamless tummy control, breast support, and sculpting technology for an incredibly flattering and slimming fit.
Popilush is thrilled to bring their shapewear products to women who deserve high-quality, affordable, and versatile solutions that empower and inspire confidence, no matter the occasion. In addition, Popilush is committed to reducing waste with earth-loving practices including the use of biodegradable textiles and less plastic packaging. In celebrating what makes women feel powerful and beautiful, Popilush applauds every shape and size, honoring the bodies that make up the diverse and beautiful community of women around the world.
To learn more about Popilush and discover their modern shapewear products for women of every size and color, visit www.popilush.com or engage with the Popilush community on Instagram @popilushofficial.
About Popilush
Popilush is an empowering, inviting, and fashion-forward shapewear line for women. Their mission is to highlight what women of all shapes and sizes love about their bodies and to promote comfortable confidence. Popilush gives all women the freedom and confidence to be themselves every single day with high-quality shapewear that comes in a diverse range of sizes and is exceptionally affordable for the high level of quality.
Media Contact
Phone: (757)206-6744
Email: eve@popilush.com
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SOURCE Popilush LLC | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2023/03/01/popilush-emerges-innovative-multifunctional-shapewear-brand-delivering-comfortable-confidence-every-size/ | 2023-03-01 05:19:12 | 0 | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2023/03/01/popilush-emerges-innovative-multifunctional-shapewear-brand-delivering-comfortable-confidence-every-size/ |
JERUSALEM (AP) — Cracks are emerging in Israel’s military.
The Middle East’s best equipped and most powerful force is under one of the worst assaults it has encountered — a battle within its own ranks.
A contentious government plan to overhaul the country’s judiciary has cleaved deep rifts within Israeli society. Those rifts have infiltrated the military, where reservists in key units have pledged not to show up for duty if the legislative changes are pushed through.
The letters, signed by thousands of reservists over the last seven months, have up to now mostly remained threats. But this week, 161 critical air force personnel announced they will stop their service, raising concerns about the military’s readiness in the face of similar refusals at a time of heightened violence and tensions on several fronts. On Wednesday, hundreds of reservists from various units joined a rally in Tel Aviv, declaring they would not report for duty anymore.
WHY ARE RESERVISTS REFUSING TO SHOW UP?
Israel’s military is compulsory for most Jewish men. After their three-year service is complete, many continue reserve duty well into their 40s or beyond.
Reservists make up a critical pool of soldiers who fill an important role in reinforcing the regular army. They cover a range of positions and forces, from air to land to sea to cyber.
As soon as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government announced the overhaul in January, reservist-led protest groups become central to the grassroots movement demonstrating against the overhaul.
The protesters say they do not want to serve a country that they think is moving toward dictatorship if the overhaul moves ahead. They say the government is violating an unwritten social contract where soldiers risk their lives with the understanding that they are defending a democracy.
Many also believe that loosening judicial oversight could expose Israeli forces to war crimes charges at international courts. One of Israel’s defenses against war crimes accusations is that it has an independent legal system capable of investigating any potential wrongdoing.
HOW IS THE MILITARY BEING AFFECTED?
The refusals have largely remained threats, having no immediate impact on the army’s readiness. But the declaration from the 161 air force personnel “immediately” halting their service has sent a shock through the establishment.
Israel relies on its air force to strike enemy targets in neighboring Syria. It also is an essential element of battles against militants in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, operations that have become more frequent in recent years. Unmanned aircraft have recently also been used in the West Bank. Israel also has threatened to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon — and a strike on Iran would almost certainly would require warplanes.
All of those fronts require Israel to maintain a highly trained roster of pilots who can be called at little notice to stage airstrikes. When a pilot refuses to show up for training for even just a couple of weeks, his readiness is affected. When ground personnel like those who signed this week’s letter, which include target identifiers or coordination experts, refuse to show up, the entire system is shaken.
“I need to maintain competency,” said Maj. S., one of the letter’s signatories, in an interview with Israeli Army Radio, saying that if he doesn’t stay abreast of system updates and operational plans, he can’t do his job. “There is no doubt that this harms the country.” He was not identified in line with military rules.
WHAT IS BEING DONE TO HALT THE REFUSALS?
Fears about the potential effect of refusals to serve on the military’s readiness pushed the country’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, to publicly criticize the overhaul in March. That prompted Netanyahu to fire him, setting off a burst of spontaneous protests and a labor strike that forced the Israeli leader to freeze the overhaul and reinstate Gallant.
But this time around, Gallant is silent and political leaders appear to be taking a harder line.
“Refusal to serve endangers the security of every citizen of Israel. The government will not accept refusal to serve,” Netanyahu told his Cabinet this week, promising unspecified action against the protest.
The military’s top brass have been caught in a balancing act over showing empathy to the concerns of their troops, protecting cohesion within the military despite the deepening societal divisions over the overhaul and ensuring the political dispute doesn’t affect the military’s performance.
But, in what appears to be a response to growing pressure from political ranks, military leaders have stiffened their tone against those who refuse.
“Whoever calls for refusal harms the army and the security of the state of Israel,” Israel’s military chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, told a parliamentary committee.
WHAT’S THE LONG TERM IMPACT?
If the government moves ahead with the legislation, more refusals are expected. If these take root, and especially in the air force, the military’s performance will take a hit, said Idit Shafran Gittleman, a senior researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies.
How big of a hit will depend on how widespread the refusals become and how the military responds to them, she added.
For the near term, if pilots don’t show up for training or service, strikes on Syria might be delayed or in the case of the refusenik air force ground personnel, need to be reorganized, Shafran Gittleman said.
The military will also need to think hard about whether taking harsh punitive steps against pilots is the right move, considering the time and expense to train others to fill in.
Perhaps most significantly, the ethnic, economic and religious divisions being torn open by the overhaul in civilian life are being carried over in the military, testing cohesions in an institution that often serves as a melting pot as Israel faces multiple external threats.
“It’s setting off a vibe of tensions between crews that are meant to work together,” said Shafran Gittleman. “That’s a catastrophe for the military.” | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/world/cracks-are-emerging-in-israels-military-reservists-threaten-not-to-serve-if-government-plan-passes/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all | 2023-07-19 16:41:28 | 0 | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/world/cracks-are-emerging-in-israels-military-reservists-threaten-not-to-serve-if-government-plan-passes/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all |
We independently selected these products because we love them, and we hope you do too at these prices. Shop with E! has affiliate relationships, so we may get a commission if you purchase something through our links. Prices are accurate as of publish time. Items are sold by the retailer, not E!.
Can we get an "Oooooooh"?
If you're like us and are completely obsessed with BaubleBar's gorgeous Disney Mickey bag charms, you're going to love what we have in store for you! Just in time for the release of Disney and Pixar's highly-anticipated Lightyear, BaubleBar added three brand new bag charms to their super popular Disney Pixar Toy Story Collection and chances are, these are going to sell out fast.
BaubleBar's brand new Toy Story bag charms come in three fan favorite characters: Woody, Buzz and an adorable Alien. Each bag charm is super luxe and feature hand-set stones and hand-applied enamel. Like the Mickey bag charms, you can also use these as key chains or collector's items. They are stunning so precious, we wouldn't blame you if you just wanted to keep it on display somewhere.
It's worth noting that BaubleBar's Toy Story collection is so popular among BaubleBar and Disney fans, several styles have already sold out over five times since they were first released. (Hello, Slinky Dog earrings!) The new Toy Story bag charms were quietly put on pre-order and they had a 500-person waitlist after just one day. We highly doubt these will stay in stock for too long.
We have a couple of the Disney Mickey bag charms and we absolutely adore them. They're just so well-made and get a ton of compliments every time we wear them out. So we don't doubt these Toy Story bag charms are going to be just as good.
To learn more and to snag one for yourself, check out the below.
BaubleBar Disney Pixar Toy Story Bag Charm
BaubleBar's Toy Story bag charms are truly obsession-worthy. The Buzz and Woody are about 3.5-inches in length, while the Alien is 2.5-inches. The beautiful Buzz Lightyear charm shown here even features over 5,400 hand-set stones. It's ultra-glam and will immediately take your go-to bag to the next level.
Looking for more great things to shop? Check out our Pixar gift guide. | https://www.eonline.com/ca/news/1333732/baublebar-just-released-new-toy-story-bag-charms-and-they-re-sure-to-sell-out-fast?cmpid=rss-000000-rssfeed-365-topstories&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_topstories | 2022-06-07 20:20:45 | 1 | https://www.eonline.com/ca/news/1333732/baublebar-just-released-new-toy-story-bag-charms-and-they-re-sure-to-sell-out-fast?cmpid=rss-000000-rssfeed-365-topstories&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_topstories |
On Thursday, June 2, a Broomfield elementary school will host a free COVID-19 vaccine clinic amid rising case counts and hospitalizations nationwide.
A mobile vaccine bus will provide first-time vaccines as well as boosters for people ages 5 and up at Emerald Elementary School, 275 Emerald St., Broomfield. Both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be available. Vaccines remain the safest and most effective form of protection against COVID-19, according to the CDC.
The mobile clinic will be open from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Appointments are not required but can be scheduled in advance at bit.ly/3GHzG7Z. The clinic can accommodate walk-in appointments, but pre-registration is encouraged where possible.
Mobile vaccine clinics make frequent stops at schools, libraries, markets and other public venues across Colorado. See covid19.colorado.gov/mobile-vaccination-clinics for a full list of upcoming clinic dates in Boulder County and beyond.
Informaciónes sobre estas clinicas móviles están también disponibles en español. | https://www.dailycamera.com/2022/06/01/broomfield-elementary-school-to-host-free-covid-19-vaccine-clinic-on-thursday/ | 2022-06-02 02:29:25 | 1 | https://www.dailycamera.com/2022/06/01/broomfield-elementary-school-to-host-free-covid-19-vaccine-clinic-on-thursday/ |
ENGLEWOOD, Colo., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE American: AMPE), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the advancement of immunomodulatory therapies for the treatment of pain resulting from osteoarthritis in the knee and potentially other articular joints, today announced the receipt of written responses from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pursuant to a Type C meeting request submitted by the Company earlier in the year regarding the AP-013 trial results.
As previously disclosed, the Company submitted its Type C meeting request to gain clarity from the FDA regarding the acceptability of the proposed modified intent-to-treat (mITT) population as the primary analysis population for evaluating efficacy in the AP-013 trial, and the acceptability of AP-013 as a second pivotal trial to support a biologics license application (BLA) for Ampion.
FDA responded that it did not agree with the Company's proposed change from the ITT population to the mITT population for the primary endpoint analysis, that mITT is a substantive and material change to the Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan that is not in accordance with the Special Protocol Assessment agreement, and that despite the COVID related impact on patients and trial centers, the Company should have sought FDA's agreement on these changes prior to analyzing and unblinding the data. FDA further stated that it did not agree that AP-013 could serve as a second pivotal trial for Ampion based on both the change in the analysis population and the analysis of pain only instead of the original prespecified co-primary endpoints.
"We are very disappointed in FDA's answer. Ampion has been in development for several years, and many shareholders have remained loyal to the company throughout the ups and downs of that development history. Severe osteoarthritis of the knee is an unmet medical need that affects nearly 17 million people in the United States, and we continue to believe that Ampion is a drug which can provide a safe and efficacious treatment for many of those patients. However, given the points in FDA's answer, it will be very difficult to salvage AP-013 itself as a pivotal trial. Nonetheless, we and our regulatory experts believe there may be ways to do that, and we will follow-up with the FDA in the near term to discuss those options," said Mike Martino Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Ampio. "However, I want to be clear. At this point, I believe the best path forward for Ampio and Ampion is likely conducting a new Phase 3 trial. This management team has learned a great deal from conducting and analyzing the prior trials, including AP-013, and believe we are positioned to design and execute a trial that can lead to BLA approval."
About Ampio Pharmaceuticals
Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the advancement of immunomodulatory therapies for the treatment of pain resulting from osteoarthritis in the knee and potentially other articular joints. Ampio's lead drug, Ampion™, is backed by an extensive patent portfolio with intellectual property protection extending through 2037 and may be eligible for 12-year FDA market exclusivity upon approval as a novel biologic under the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA).
Forward Looking Statements
Ampio's statements in this press release that are not historical fact, and including, but not limited to, statements that relate to future plans or events or are conditional in nature, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "believe,"" may", "will", "should", "forecast", "could", "expect", "suggest", "plan," "believe", "estimate", "continue", "anticipate"," and "intend", "ongoing", "opportunity", "potential", "predicts", "seek", "plan,", or similar expressions words. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding Ampio's expectations with respect to Ampion and its classification, as well as those associated with regulatory approvals and other FDA decisions, clinical trials (and FDA's decisions regarding such trials), results of safety profiles, and decisions and changes in business conditions and similar events and the likelihood and timing of Ampion's approval as a novel biologic under the BPCIA, all of which are inherently subject to various risks and uncertainties. The risks and uncertainties involved include those detailed from time to time in Ampio's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including without limitation, under Ampio's Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such risks include, but are not limited to: our ability to fund our operations, including our ability to access funding through our "at-the-market" equity offering or through other equity or debt offerings; our ability to retain key employees, consultants, and advisors and to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel; the progress and results of clinical trials for Ampion and additional costs or delays associated such trials, including with respect to AP-013; the significant competition in the search for a successful treatment for the novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 ("COVID-19"); our ability to enroll hospitalized patients in our Phase 1 and 2 trials of Ampion for the treatment of COVID-19 given the unplanned variability of the virus, vaccine rates and mutations in the virus in certain geographies; our ability to receive regulatory approval for and sell the products that we are developing for the treatment of COVID-19; our reliance on third parties to conduct our clinical trials resulting in costs or delays that prevent us from successfully commercializing Ampion; competition for patients in conducting clinical trials, delaying product development and straining our limited financial resources; the risk and costs associated with our decision to suspend enrollment in the Phase 3 clinical trial for treatment of severe Osteoarthritis of the Knee due to considerations relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the risk that generated by that clinical trial was adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic; our ability to navigate the regulatory approval process in the U.S. and other countries, and our success in obtaining required regulatory approvals for Ampion on a timely basis; commercial developments for products that compete with Ampion; the actual and perceived effectiveness of Ampion, and how Ampion compares to competitive products; adverse effects and the unpredictable nature of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; adverse developments in our research and development activities; potential liability if any of our product candidates cause illness, injury or death, or adverse publicity from any such events; our ability to operate our business efficiently, manage capital expenditures and costs (including general and administrative expenses) and obtain financing when required; and our expectations with respect to future licensing, partnering or other strategic activities. Ampio undertakes no obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Investor and Media Contacts:
Russo Partners
Tony Russo or Nic Johnson
info@ampiopharma.com
tony.russo@russopartnersllc.com
nic.johnson@russopartnersllc.com
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SOURCE Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/20/ampio-provides-regulatory-update/ | 2022-04-21 07:28:00 | 1 | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/20/ampio-provides-regulatory-update/ |
White House to encourage COVID boosters, flu shot this fall
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration hopes to make getting a COVID-19 booster as routine as going in for the yearly flu shot.
That’s at the heart of its campaign to sell the newly authorized shot to an American public that has widely rejected COVID-19 boosters since they first became available last fall.
Shots of the updated boosters, specifically designed by Pfizer and Moderna to respond to the omicron strain, could start within days. The U.S. government has purchased 170 million doses and is emphasizing that everyone will have free access to the booster.
White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said this latest round of shots will offer protection during the busy cold and flu season, with the hope of transitioning people to get the vaccine yearly. Typically, at least half of U.S. adults get a flu shot.
“We expect them to provide more durable protection over time,” Jha said in an interview Wednesday with The Associated Press. “The goal very much is to get to a point where people get their COVID shot on a regular basis, the way they do their flu shot.”
Community health workers in North Carolina, home to the country’s lowest COVID-19 booster rate, like the strategy, especially because of confusion among some people about vaccine schedules.
“I believe in keeping things simple,” said Marty Stamey, an outreach coordinator for the Mountain Area Health Education Center in western North Carolina. “I’ve heard a lot of people say, ‘I think I’ll just wait and try to do it like the flu shots.’”
The White House plan also relies in part of on local health departments, providers and community groups to reach out and encourage people to get the updated booster. Pharmacies, health providers and state or local health departments are preparing to send text messages to millions of people that will encourage them to get a booster this fall, White House officials said.
Jha said he recommends most Americans get the booster by the end of October.
Still, this latest vaccination campaign faces several challenges.
A majority of Americans got their first and second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine when it was released last year, but they’ve been more reluctant to get a booster jab, with less than half getting their first booster since it became available late last year.
Congress also has not moved forward on President Joe Biden’s $22.5 billion request earlier this year for the COVID-19 response. Republicans criticized the request, pointing to the $1.9 trillion already spent on responding to the pandemic. Running short on funds, the government announced it would stop shipping COVID-19 tests to people’s homes after Friday.
And COVID-19 funding is drying up for many of the community groups that received millions of federal tax dollars to hire workers who spent months reaching deep into neighborhoods with door knocks, mobile vaccine clinics and posters encouraging people to inoculate against COVID-19.
White House officials say those local leaders deserve a lot of credit for stamping out misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine and convincing many around the country that the shot will protect them.
“Those are the really critical messengers,” Jha said.
That on-the-ground work has been crucial to getting people vaccinated in the rural, Spanish- and Haitian-speaking communities that the Migrant Clinicians Network has reached throughout Texas, California and Maryland with its $8.5 million federal grant.
“Simply having the vaccines available is one thing, but getting the shots in the arms is another,” said Amy Liebman, a chief program officer for the nonprofit group.
Some of those local health organizations, too, are now stretched as they work to get low vaccination rates among children younger than 12 up. Only a third of 5- to 11-year-olds received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine since becoming eligible late last year. Meanwhile, just 7% of children younger 5 have gotten a first dose since it was made available this summer.
Dr. Niharika Khanna at the University of Maryland School of Medicine has just started making progress on convincing new mothers that the vaccine is safe and effective for their babies.
Her program, which has hired more than 269 health workers and administered more than 12,000 vaccinations and boosters across Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, isn’t quite ready to transition back to pushing COVID-19 boosters.
“All of these people, all of these relationships we’ve carefully cultivated are at risk for falling apart,” Khanna said. “Today if you were to say to me switch to booster, I’d say no. I need another two to three weeks to really get these people going.”
___
AP White House Correspondent Zeke Miller contributed to this report.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/09/01/white-house-encourage-covid-boosters-flu-shot-this-fall/ | 2022-09-01 13:16:23 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/09/01/white-house-encourage-covid-boosters-flu-shot-this-fall/ |
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jason Wingard, the first Black president at Temple University, is resigning after a tumultuous tenure of less than two years and amid a surge of violence that has affected the north Philadelphia campus.
The university announced Tuesday evening that the board of trustees had accepted Wingard's resignation, which takes effect Friday, and lauded him for what it called significant contributions to the university's mission.
“Given the urgent matters now facing the university, particularly campus safety, the board and the administration will ensure the highest level of focus on these serious issues,” the announcement said. “We understand that a concerted and sustained effort must be undertaken as we attempt to solve these problems."
Officials said “a small group of senior Temple leaders” would be designated to guide the university while another president is being sought.
“This group will have many years of experience at Temple and devotion to its mission,” the announcement said. “Each will have discrete responsibilities for the university’s essential functions and provide a stable foundation for us as we look toward the search for our next president.”
Wingard, 51, has led the 33,600-student university since July 2021.
The Temple Association of University Professionals was preparing to hold a no confidence vote next month regarding Wingard and two other officials, with members citing concerns over falling enrollment, financial issues, and labor disputes. During an emergency town hall meeting earlier this month, faculty members spoke of a reduction of faculty positions, non-renewal notices on contracts, and increasing class sizes, WHYY reported.
Wingard told a panel of state lawmakers last week that Philadelphia’s homicide rate has wrought a climate in which students, faculty, parents and staff are afraid.
A Temple University police officer was shot and killed near the north Philadelphia campus last month. Officer Christopher Fitzgerald, 31, was shot after pursing three people dressed in black and wearing masks in an area where there had been a series of robberies and carjackings. Two youths were arrested nearby, and an 18-year-old suspect was taken into custody the following morning in neighboring Bucks County.
Fitzgerald was the first Temple University officer killed in the line of duty, said Jennifer Griffin, the university’s public safety director. A father of five children, he joined the school’s police force in October 2021.
The university had also recently seen a six-week strike by graduate students who are teaching and research assistants. Union members earlier this month ratified a new contract after overwhelmingly rejecting an earlier agreement and extending their walkout. | https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/temple-s-1st-black-president-resigns-amid-safety-17865487.php | 2023-03-28 23:35:03 | 1 | https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/temple-s-1st-black-president-resigns-amid-safety-17865487.php |
Statement of Matthew L. Myers, President, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids:
WASHINGTON, Dec. 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Columbus City Council today took bold action to protect kids from tobacco addiction, save lives and advance health equity by voting to end the sale of flavored tobacco products – including flavored e-cigarettes, menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. The City Council deserves enormous credit for standing up to the tobacco industry and taking lifesaving action to end the industry's predatory targeting of kids, Black Americans and other communities with flavored tobacco products.
We also applaud the City Council for investing resources in an innovative, holistic approach to helping Columbus residents quit using tobacco products. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is committed to working with the City Council and our local partners to support these efforts.
We applaud City Council President Shannon Hardin, Councilmember Shayla Favor and all councilmembers who voted for the ordinance, as well as Mayor Andrew Ginther, for their leadership in protecting the health of Columbus' kids and promoting health equity. We also thank the Coalition to End Tobacco Targeting, made up of community groups, public health organizations and faith institutions, for their determined advocacy in support of this legislation.
Flavored products have fueled the current epidemic of youth e-cigarette use, with nearly 30% of Ohio high school currently using e-cigarettes. Nationally, more than 2.5 million kids use e-cigarettes, with a growing percentage of them using e-cigarettes frequently or daily – a sure sign of addiction. And 85% use flavored products.
Flavored products have also long been a favorite tobacco industry strategy for targeting kids, Black Americans, Latinos, the LGBTQ community and other communities. Half of all kids who ever try smoking start with menthol cigarettes. The evidence shows that menthol makes it easier for kids to start smoking and harder for smokers to quit. Because of the tobacco industry's predatory marketing, 85% of Black smokers now smoke menthol cigarettes, compared to less than 10% in the 1950s. Menthol cigarettes are a major reason why tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death among Black Americans – claiming 45,000 Black lives every year – and why Black Americans have a harder time quitting smoking and are more likely to die from tobacco-related diseases like lung cancer, heart disease and stroke.
In addition, cheap, flavored cigars – sold in hundreds of flavors like cherry dynamite, tropical twist and chocolate – have flooded the market in recent years and fueled the popularity of these products with kids. The 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey shows that cigars are the second most popular tobacco product (after e-cigarettes) among all high school students and are especially popular among Black high school students.
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SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2022/12/13/columbus-city-council-votes-end-sale-flavored-tobacco-products-delivering-huge-win-kids-over-big-tobacco/ | 2022-12-13 07:36:26 | 1 | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2022/12/13/columbus-city-council-votes-end-sale-flavored-tobacco-products-delivering-huge-win-kids-over-big-tobacco/ |
Voters in three states approved ballot measures that will change their state constitutions to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for crime, while those in a fourth state rejected the move. The measures approved Tuesday curtail the use of prison labor in Alabama, Tennessee and Vermont. In Oregon, "yes" was leading its anti-slavery ballot initiative, but the vote remained too early to call Wednesday morning.
In Louisiana, a former slave-holding state, voters rejected a ballot question known as Amendment 7 that asked whether they supported a constitutional amendment to prohibit the use of involuntary servitude in the criminal justice system.
The initiatives won't force immediate changes in the states' prisons, but they may invite legal challenges over the practice of coercing prisoners to work under threat of sanctions or loss of privileges if they refuse the work.
The results were celebrated among anti-slavery advocates, including those pushing to further amend the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits enslavement and involuntary servitude except as a form of criminal punishment. More than 150 years after enslaved Africans and their descendants were released from bondage through ratification of the 13th Amendment, the slavery exception continues to permit the exploitation of low-cost labor by incarcerated individuals.
"Voters in Oregon and other states have come together across party lines to say that this stain must be removed from state constitutions," Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat, told The Associated Press.
"Now, it is time for all Americans to come together and say that it must be struck from the U.S. Constitution. There should be no exceptions to a ban on slavery," he said.
Coinciding with the creation of the Juneteenth federal holiday last year, Merkley and Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Georgia, reintroduced legislation to revise the 13th Amendment to end the slavery exception. If it wins approval in Congress, the constitutional amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of U.S. states.
After Tuesday's vote, more than a dozen states still have constitutions that include language permitting slavery and involuntary servitude for prisoners. Several other states have no constitutional language for or against the use of forced prison labor.
Voters in Colorado became the first to approve removal of slavery exception language from the state constitution in 2018, followed by Nebraska and Utah two years later.
The movement to end or regulate the use of prison labor has existed for decades, since the time when former Confederate states sought ways to maintain the use of chattel slavery after the Civil War. Southern states used racist laws, referred to as "Black codes," to criminalize, imprison and re-enslave Black Americans over benign behavior.
Today, prison labor is a multibillion-dollar practice. By comparison, workers can make pennies on the dollar. And prisoners who refuse to work can be denied privileges such as phone calls and visits with family, as well as face solitary confinement, all punishments that are eerily similar to those used during antebellum slavery.
"The 13th Amendment didn't actually abolish slavery - what it did was make it invisible," Bianca Tylek, an anti-slavery advocate and the executive director of the criminal justice advocacy group Worth Rises, told the AP in an interview ahead of Election Day.
She said passage of the ballot initiatives, especially in red states like Alabama, "is a great signal for what's possible at the federal level."
"There is a big opportunity here, in this moment," Tylek said. | https://abc11.com/slavery-ballot-2022-election-results-louisiana-vote/12433353/ | 2022-11-09 14:37:22 | 0 | https://abc11.com/slavery-ballot-2022-election-results-louisiana-vote/12433353/ |
Did you lose money on investments in Twist Bioscience Corporation? If so, please visit Twist Bioscience Corporation Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or pallocco@bernlieb.com to discuss your rights.
NEW YORK, Jan. 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationally acclaimed investor rights law firm, reminds investors of the deadline to file a lead plaintiff motion in a securities class action lawsuit that has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased or acquired the common stock of Twist Bioscience Corporation ("Twist" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: TWST) between December 13, 2019 and November 14, 2022, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and alleges violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Twist is a biotechnology company that manufactures synthetic DNA and DNA products. Synthetic DNA products allow users to design and modify DNA for the purposes of academic research, enhancing specialty chemical production, and developing healthcare treatments among other uses.
Throughout the Class Period, Defendants repeatedly assured investors that the Company possessed innovative proprietary technology relating to its synthetic DNA products that positioned Twist for significant future growth. Indeed, Defendants claimed that the Company had already achieved substantial growth during the Class Period, growing from a customer base of approximately 1,300 diagnostic companies, hospitals, research institutions, and others at the end of fiscal year 2019, to approximately 2,900 customers at the end of fiscal year 2021.
Similarly, Defendants reported skyrocketing gross margins, which purportedly grew from 12.8% in fiscal year 2019, to 39.1% in fiscal year 2021, with margins projected to reach 40% for fiscal year 2022.
During the Class Period, Defendants also announced plans to build a "Factory of the Future" in Wilsonville, Oregon (the "Oregon Facility"), which would purportedly provide hundreds of jobs and occupy 110,000 square feet. By August 2022, when Twist reported its financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2022, Defendants projected annual capital expenditures between $95 million and $100 million, largely attributable to "building out" this new manufacturing facility.
Plaintiff and other members of the class learned the truth about the Company's actual financial health on November 15, 2022, when Scorpion Capital ("Scorpion") published a lengthy report (the "Scorpion Report") alleging that Twist is "a cash-burning inferno that is not a going concern." Specifically, Scorpion alleged that, among other things, Twist's purported DNA chip technology is a "farce" comparable to Theranos Inc.'s now infamous non-existent blood-testing technology, and that the Company's growth and revenues are unsustainable, among other issues.
According to the Scorpion Report, Twist is perpetuating its fraud through false reporting of capital expenditures and gross margins—which Scorpion claims are actually negative. Indeed, Scorpion's investigation of the forthcoming Oregon Facility revealed no evidence that the Company is preparing to begin manufacturing there, suggesting that the Company is using the facility to hide large operating expenses as fraudulent capital expenditures.
Scorpion further alleged that the Company's growth is dependent upon unsustainable pricing strategies, such as using below-cost prices to undercut competitors by as much as 70% to 85%. Ultimately, the Scorpion Report concluded that Twist is "operating a Ponzi-like scheme that will end in bankruptcy."
On this news, the price of Twist common stock fell $7.57 per share, or nearly 20%, to close at $30.43 per share on November 15, 2022.
If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than February 10, 2023. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as lead plaintiff. If you choose to take no action, you may remain an absent class member.
If you purchased or acquired Twist common stock, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit Twist Bioscience Corporation Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or pallocco@bernlieb.com.
Since 1993, Bernstein Liebhard LLP has recovered over $3.5 billion for its clients. In addition to representing individual investors, the Firm has been retained by some of the largest public and private pension funds in the country to monitor their assets and pursue litigation on their behalf. As a result of its success litigating hundreds of lawsuits and class actions, the Firm has been named to The National Law Journal's "Plaintiffs' Hot List" thirteen times and listed in The Legal 500 for ten consecutive years.
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING. © 2023 Bernstein Liebhard LLP. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Bernstein Liebhard LLP, 10 East 40th Street, New York, New York 10016, (212) 779-1414. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.
Contact Information:
Peter Allocco
Bernstein Liebhard LLP
https://www.bernlieb.com
(212) 951-2030
pallocco@bernlieb.com
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SOURCE Bernstein Liebhard LLP | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2023/01/12/twist-bioscience-corporation-nasdaq-twst-shareholder-class-action-alert-bernstein-liebhard-llp-reminds-investors-deadline-file-lead-plaintiff-motion-securities-class-action-lawsuit-against-twist-bioscience-corporation-nasdaq-twst/ | 2023-01-12 07:25:45 | 0 | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2023/01/12/twist-bioscience-corporation-nasdaq-twst-shareholder-class-action-alert-bernstein-liebhard-llp-reminds-investors-deadline-file-lead-plaintiff-motion-securities-class-action-lawsuit-against-twist-bioscience-corporation-nasdaq-twst/ |
Watch Now
Taylor wins Men's Freestyle 86kg semifinal
David Taylor defeats Gabe Dean in the semifinal of the Men's Freestyle 86kg and advances to the best-of-three finals against Bo Nickal. | https://www.nbcsports.com/watch/taylor-wins-mens-freestyle-86kg-semifinal | 2023-06-27 21:20:09 | 0 | https://www.nbcsports.com/watch/taylor-wins-mens-freestyle-86kg-semifinal |
MESA, AZ — Two people are in the hospital after they were shot at a donut shop in Mesa.
Mesa police say it happened around 3:15 a.m. Sunday at the Bosa Donuts location near Dobson Road and Rio Salado Parkway.
When police arrived, they found an employee and a customer with gunshot wounds.
They were both taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The suspect left the scene before officers arrived and is still at large.
No information has been released about the suspect.
Police are investigating what led up to the shooting. | https://www.abc15.com/news/crime/employee-customer-shot-at-donut-shop-near-dobson-road-and-rio-salado-parkway-in-mesa | 2023-04-02 16:46:54 | 1 | https://www.abc15.com/news/crime/employee-customer-shot-at-donut-shop-near-dobson-road-and-rio-salado-parkway-in-mesa |
SÃO PAULO, Jan. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. (NYSE: GOL and B3: GOLL4), ("GOL" or "Company"), Brazil's largest domestic airline, provides its preliminary financial outlook for 2023. GOL's guidance reflects expected passenger and loyalty program revenues, cash flow, interest expense, oil prices and exchange rates, and fleet and network plans. All information is presented in Brazilian Reais (R$). The information below is preliminary and unaudited.
The Company's guidance highlights key metrics which impact financial results. GOL provides forward-looking information that is focused on the main metrics the Company uses to measure business performance. These indicators are useful for investors and analysts who project GOL's results.
Highlights:
- To meet the expected domestic air travel demand for 2023 of approximately 100 billion RPKs, the Company plans to operate an average of 120 aircraft in its network during the year.
- GOL expects to end 2023 with 53 Boeing MAX aircraft in its fleet. The new and more efficient Boeing MAX will contribute to enhanced productivity, lower unit costs, and reduced carbon emissions.
- The Company's revenue for 2023 is expected to increase around 32% compared to 2022. GOL estimates that its 2023 results will include savings of R$450 million from the re-incorporation of Smiles and R$400 million from the additional MAX aircraft in the fleet. In 2023, GOL expects to generate approximately R$4.5 billion of operating cash flow and neutral free cash flow after net capex and debt service. Total liquidity and available cash are expected to remain stable when compared to end of 2022.
(1) Cargo. loyalty. buy-on-board and other ancillary revenues; (2) Recurring operating results, excluding cargo aircraft; (3) Excluding currency gains and losses and Unrealized losses on Exchangeable Senior Notes; (4) Capex, net is calculated as gross capex (capitalized aircraft maintenance) less financed capex (credit facilities to finance assets and capitalized maintenance costs) ; (5) Including 7x annual aircraft lease payments and excluding perpetual bonds; and (6) Includes stock option exercises that may be issued from the stock option program and related to Exchangeable Senior Notes.
The current guidance may be adjusted in order to incorporate the evolution of GOL's operating and financial performance and any eventual changes to the Brazilian economy and GOL's broader economic environment, including variations in economic growth, interest rates, exchange rates, and international oil price trends.
Investor Relations
ri@voegol.com.br
www.voegol.com.br/ir
+55(11) 2128-4700
About GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A.
GOL is the largest airline in Brazil, leader in the corporate and leisure segments. Since founded in 2001, the Company has the lowest unit cost in Latin America, thus democratizing air transportation. The Company has alliances with American Airlines and Air FranceKLM, besides several codeshare and interline agreements available to Customers, bringing more convenience and simple connections to any place served by these partnerships. With the purpose of "Being the First for All", GOL offers the best travel experience to its passengers, including: the largest number of seats and more space between seats; the greatest platform with internet, movies and live TV; and the best frequent-flyer program, SMILES. In cargo transportation, GOLLOG delivers orders to different regions in Brazil and abroad. The Company has a team of 13,700 highly qualified aviation professionals focused on Safety, GOL's #1 value, and operates a standardized fleet of 145 Boeing 737 aircraft. The Company's shares are traded on the NYSE (GOL) and the B3 (GOLL4). For further information, visit www.voegol.com.br/ri.
Disclaimer
The information contained in this press release has not been subject to any independent audit or review and contains "forward-looking" statements, estimates and projections that relate to future events, which are, by their nature, subject to significant risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release including, without limitation, those regarding GOL's future financial position and results of operations, strategy, plans, objectives, goals and targets, future developments in the markets in which GOL operates or is seeking to operate, and any statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words "believe", "expect", "aim", "intend", "will", "may", "project", "estimate", "anticipate", "predict", "seek", "should" or similar words or expressions, are forward-looking statements. The future events referred to in these forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other factors, many of which are beyond GOL's control, that may cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. These forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding GOL's present and future business strategies and the environment in which GOL will operate in the future and are not a guarantee of future performance. Such forward-looking statements speak only as at the date on which they are made. None of GOL or any of its affiliates, officers, directors, employees and agents undertakes any duty or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by law. None of GOL or any of its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, professional advisors and agents make any representation, warranty or prediction that the results anticipated by such forward-looking statements will be achieved, and such forward-looking statements represent, in each case, only one of many possible scenarios and should not be viewed as the most likely or standard scenario. Although GOL believes that the estimates and projections in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they may prove materially incorrect and actual results may materially differ. As a result, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements.
Non-GAAP Measures
To be consistent with industry practice, GOL discloses so-called non-GAAP financial measures which are not recognized under IFRS or U.S. GAAP, including "Net Debt", "Adjusted Net Debt", "total liquidity" and "EBITDA". The Company's management believes that disclosure of non-GAAP measures provides useful information to investors, financial analysts and the public in their review of its operating performance and their comparison of its operating performance to the operating performance of other companies in the same industry and other industries. However, these non-GAAP items do not have standardized meanings and may not be directly comparable to similarly-titled items adopted by other companies. Potential investors should not rely on information not recognized under IFRS as a substitute for the GAAP measures of earnings or liquidity in making an investment decision.
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SOURCE GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/01/04/gol-preliminary-financial-outlook-2023/ | 2023-01-04 13:47:35 | 1 | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/01/04/gol-preliminary-financial-outlook-2023/ |
- Achieved fiscal 2022 Net Sales, Adjusted Earnings Per Share and Adjusted EBITDA in line with our Outlook.1
- Net Sales for the fourth quarter up 3.2% to prior year, driven by organic growth of 7.4%, primarily due to pricing actions.1
- Free cash flow in the fourth quarter at 12% of Net Sales and net debt decreased by over $100 million.1
- Company expects to deliver low single digit organic revenue growth, Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $585 to $615 million and Adjusted earnings per share in the range of $3.00 to $3.30 for fiscal 2023.1
- Announces Project Momentum, a profit recovery program, with targeted annualized savings of $80 to $100 million over the next two fiscal years.
ST. LOUIS, Nov. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ENR) today announced results for the fourth fiscal quarter and full fiscal year, which ended September 30, 2022.
"We finished the year strong, delivering full year net sales, adjusted earnings per share and adjusted EBITDA in line with our outlook," said Mark LaVigne, Chief Executive Officer. "Despite a volatile operating environment and significant headwinds, we achieved our seventh consecutive year of net sales growth, driven by strong organic growth across both of our operating segments. We generated $95 million in free cash flow in the fourth quarter, paid down debt and reduced net leverage by 0.3X."
"We are making necessary adjustments to advance our strategy and position the business for long term success in a dynamic environment. As such, we are launching a profit recovery program, Project Momentum, which accelerates our efforts to restore margins, enhance free cash flow and strengthen the balance sheet. The benefits of Project Momentum are expected to be realized over a two year period and begin to restore both gross margin and earnings growth in fiscal 2023. I am confident the program will position the business to drive value creation for our key stakeholders – customers, consumers and shareholders alike."
Net sales were $790.4 million for the fourth fiscal quarter compared to $766.0 million in the prior year period and $3,050.1 million for the fiscal year compared to $3,021.5 million for the prior fiscal year.
For the fiscal quarter, organic net sales increased 7.4% due to the following items: 1
- Pricing executed in both battery and auto care drove an organic increase of approximately 13.3%;
- Partially offsetting increased pricing were volume declines in both battery and auto care related to those pricing actions, the lapping of elevated demand in the prior year and the impact of inflationary pressures on consumer demand, resulting in a 5.9% decrease to organic sales.
For the fiscal year, organic net sales increased 3.1% due to the following items: 1
- Pricing executed in both battery and auto care drove an organic increase of approximately 7.6%; and
- New distribution globally across both battery and auto care contributed approximately 0.8% to organic growth.
- Offsetting these increases was a net volume decrease of approximately 5.3% as a result of lapping the elevated battery demand in the prior year and declines in both battery and auto care related to the previously mentioned pricing actions.
Gross margin percentage on a reported basis for the fourth fiscal quarter was 36.1%, versus 36.5% in the prior year quarter, and was 36.7% for fiscal 2022, versus 38.4% in the prior year. Excluding the current year costs from the flooding of our Brazilian manufacturing facility and exiting the Russian market and the acquisition and integration costs in both years, the Gross margin was 36.2% for the fourth fiscal quarter, down 150 basis points from the prior year quarter, and was 37.3% for the fiscal year, down 230 basis points from prior year.1
The Gross margin decrease for the quarter and fiscal year was driven by higher operating costs, including transportation, material and labor costs, consistent with ongoing inflationary trends. The quarter was further impacted by operating inefficiencies related to reduced production volumes as we lowered overall inventory levels on hand. Partially offsetting these margin impacts was the positive impact of executed price increases in battery and auto care.
Additionally, the full year was positively impacted by the elimination of prior year COVID costs and synergies of approximately $6 million.
SG&A for the fourth fiscal quarter, excluding restructuring costs, was 15.1% of net sales, or $119.2 million, as compared to 14.3% of net sales, or $109.4 million, in the prior year excluding acquisition and integration costs and acquisition earn out. The increase was primarily driven by increased recycling fees, IT spending related to our investment in digital transformation and an increase in compensation costs year over year.1
SG&A for fiscal 2022, excluding restructuring costs, acquisition and integration costs, acquisition earn out and the exit of the Russian market was $467.3 million, or 15.3% of net sales, as compared to $443.8 million, or 14.7% of net sales, in the prior year when excluding acquisition and integration costs and the acquisition earn out. The increase was primarily driven by increased environmental costs related to a legacy facility that had been sold by the Company, recycling fees, travel and higher IT spending related to our investment in digital transformation.1
A&P was 3.5% of net sales for the fourth fiscal quarter and 4.5% of net sales for fiscal 2022. A&P spending in the prior year was 5.4% for both the fourth fiscal quarter and for fiscal 2021. For the quarter, this was a decrease of 190 basis points, or $14.0 million and for fiscal 2022 this was a decrease of 90 basis points or $25.0 million.
The net loss for the quarter and year are driven by the non-cash pre-tax impairment charge recorded of $541.9. For the fourth quarter, the improvement in Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted diluted net earnings per common share reflect the positive impact of price increases from both segments as well as the lower A&P investment spending. This improvement was partially offset by higher input costs, higher SG&A and overall unfavorable currency impacts. Adjusted diluted net earnings per common share further benefited from lower taxes partially offset by higher interest expense in the current quarter as well.
For the full year, Adjusted net earnings per share was significantly impacted by higher input costs throughout the year, which were only partially offset by the price increases. In addition, unfavorable currency movements significantly impacted the full year results. These headwinds were partially offset by the reduction in A&P spend, lower interest costs due to the refinancing over the past two years and lower taxes.
For the quarter, currency had an unfavorable pre-tax impact of $9.7 million, or $0.11 per share, and for fiscal 2022, currency had an unfavorable pre-tax impact of $25.9 million, or $0.29 per share.
- Operating cash flow for the fourth fiscal quarter was $107.2 million, and free cash flow was $95.3 million, or 12% of Net Sales, as the Company returned to more normalized working capital levels.
- Debt pay down in the quarter was $58.3 million and net debt decreased by $106.2 million. Net debt to Adjusted EBITDA was 5.8 times as of September 30, 2022.
- Subsequent to year-end, the Company paid down an additional $25 million of debt.
- The Company paid dividends in the quarter of approximately $21 million, or $0.30 per common share. Dividend payments for the year were $84.9 million, or $1.20 per common share.
- In January 2022, the mandatory convertible preferred stock automatically converted to approximately 4,700,000 shares of common stock. Prior to the conversion, dividend payments were $8.1 million for the year.
For fiscal 2022, we were able to deliver results on both the top and bottom line through pricing actions and consistent operational execution. As we worked through various initiatives to navigate the remaining impacts of the pandemic, persistent inflation on our input costs and a rapidly appreciating US dollar, we have identified a pipeline of incremental initiatives to support long-term growth and normalized working capital. These initiatives have now been built into a profit recovery program, Project Momentum, which includes an enterprise-wide restructuring component. Under Project Momentum, we will further leverage the foundation we built through the first phase of our fiscal 2022 transformation programs by implementing a set of initiatives intended to recover operating margins, cash flow and organizational efficiency. Project Momentum has targeted annualized pre-tax savings of approximately $80 million to $100 million, with approximately $30 million to $40 million of those savings to be recognized in fiscal 2023.
The restructuring component is estimated to generate annualized pre-tax savings of approximately $65 million to $80 million of the total savings, and anticipated one-time pre-tax costs of $40 million to $50 million over the next two years.
Looking specifically at our key metrics for our fiscal 2023 outlook:
- We expect organic revenue to increase low single digits, as continued pricing actions are partially offset by category volume declines across both the battery and auto care segments. We also expect low single digit declines for reported revenues when considering negative currency headwinds of approximately $90 million, based on September 2022 rates.
- Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $585 million to $615 million, up approximately 10% on a currency-neutral basis at the mid-point, and Adjusted earnings per share is expected to be in the range of $3.00 to $3.30, up approximately 12% on a currency-neutral basis at the mid-point. We anticipate negative currency headwinds on earnings of approximately $27 million and $0.30 per share based on September 2022 rates.
In conjunction with this announcement, the Company will hold an investor conference call beginning at 10:00 a.m. eastern time today. The call will focus on fourth quarter and fiscal 2022 financial results and the financial outlook for fiscal 2023. All interested parties may access a live webcast of this conference call at www.energizerholdings.com, under "Investors" and "Events and Presentations" tabs or by using the following link:
For those unable to participate during the live webcast, a replay will be available on www.energizerholdings.com, under "Investors," "Events and Presentations," and "Past Events" tabs.
This document contains both historical and forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but instead reflect our expectations, estimates or projections concerning future results or events, including, without limitation, the future sales, gross margins, costs, earnings, cash flows, tax rates and performance of the Company. These statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words or phrases such as "believe," "expect," "expectation," "anticipate," "may," "could," "intend," "belief," "estimate," "plan," "target," "predict," "likely," "should," "forecast," "outlook," or other similar words or phrases. These statements are not guarantees of performance and are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict and could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated by those statements. We cannot assure you that any of our expectations, estimates or projections will be achieved. The forward-looking statements included in this document are only made as of the date of this document and we disclaim any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. Numerous factors could cause our actual results and events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements, including, without limitation:
- Global economic and financial market conditions, including the conditions resulting from the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, and actions taken by our customers, suppliers, other business partners and governments in markets in which we compete might materially and negatively impact us.
- Competition in our product categories might hinder our ability to execute our business strategy, achieve profitability, or maintain relationships with existing customers.
- Changes in the retail environment and consumer preferences could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
- We must successfully manage the demand, supply, and operational challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and any other disease outbreak, including epidemics, pandemics, or similar widespread public health concerns.
- Loss or impairment of the reputation of our Company or our leading brands or failure of our marketing plans could have an adverse effect on our business.
- Loss of any of our principal customers could significantly decrease our sales and profitability.
- Our ability to meet our growth targets depends on successful product, marketing and operations innovation and successful responses to competitive innovation and changing consumer habits.
- We are subject to risks related to our international operations, including currency fluctuations, which could adversely affect our results of operations.
- If we fail to protect our intellectual property rights, competitors may manufacture and market similar products, which could adversely affect our market share and results of operations.
- Our reliance on certain significant suppliers subjects us to numerous risks, including possible interruptions in supply, which could adversely affect our business.
- Our business is vulnerable to the availability of raw materials, our ability to forecast customer demand and our ability to manage production capacity.
- Changes in production costs, including raw material prices, freight and labor, have adversely affected, and in the future could erode, our profit margins and negatively impact operating results.
- The manufacturing facilities, supply channels or other business operations of the Company and our suppliers may be subject to disruption from events beyond our control.
- We may be unable to generate anticipated cost savings (including from our restructuring programs), successfully implement our strategies, or efficiently manage our supply chain and manufacturing processes, and our profitability and cash flow could suffer as a result.
- Sales of certain of our products are seasonal and adverse weather conditions during our peak selling seasons for certain auto care products could have a material adverse effect.
- A failure of a key information technology system could adversely impact our ability to conduct business.
- We rely significantly on information technology and any inadequacy, interruption, theft or loss of data, malicious attack, integration failure, failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data residing on our systems or other security failure of that technology could harm our ability to effectively operate our business and damage the reputation of our brands.
- We have significant debt obligations that could adversely affect our business and our ability to meet our obligations.
- We may experience losses or be subject to increased funding and expenses related to our pension plans.
- The estimates and assumptions on which our financial projections are based may prove to be inaccurate, which may cause our actual results to materially differ from our projections, which may adversely affect our future profitability, cash flows and stock price.
- If we pursue strategic acquisitions, divestitures or joint ventures, we might experience operating difficulties, dilution, and other consequences that may harm our business, financial condition, and operating results, and we may not be able to successfully consummate favorable transactions or successfully integrate acquired businesses.
- The 2019 auto care and battery acquisitions may have liabilities that are not known to us and the acquisition agreements may not provide us with sufficient indemnification with respect to such liabilities.
- Our business involves the potential for claims of product liability, labeling claims, commercial claims and other legal claims against us, which could affect our results of operations and financial condition and result in product recalls or withdrawals.
- Our business is subject to increasing regulation in the U.S. and abroad, the uncertainty and cost of future compliance and consequence of non-compliance with which may have a material adverse effect on our business.
- Increased focus by governmental and non-governmental organizations, customers, consumers and shareholders on sustainability issues, including those related to climate change, may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and damage our reputation.
- We are subject to environmental laws and regulations that may expose us to significant liabilities and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
- We cannot guarantee that any share repurchase program will be fully consummated or that any share repurchase program will enhance long-term stockholder value, and share repurchases could increase the volatility of the price of our stock and diminish our cash reserves.
In addition, other risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we consider immaterial could affect the accuracy of any such forward-looking statements. The list of factors above is illustrative, but by no means exhaustive. All forward-looking statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their inherent uncertainty. Additional risks and uncertainties include those detailed from time to time in our publicly filed documents, including those described under the heading "Risk Factors" in our Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 16, 2021 and in our Form 10-Q filed August 8, 2022.
ENERGIZER HOLDINGS, INC.
Supplemental Schedules
Introduction to the Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Measures
For the Quarter and Twelve Months ended September 30, 2022
The Company reports its financial results in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. ("GAAP"). However, management believes that certain non-GAAP financial measures provide users with additional meaningful comparisons to the corresponding historical or future period. These non-GAAP financial measures exclude items that are not reflective of the Company's on-going operating performance, such as impairment of goodwill and intangible assets, acquisition and integration costs, restructuring costs, an acquisition earn out, the costs of the May 2022 flooding of our Brazilian manufacturing facility, the costs of exiting the Russian market, the gain on finance lease termination, the loss on extinguishment of debt and the one-time impact of Tax structuring. In addition, these measures help investors to analyze year over year comparability when excluding currency fluctuations as well as other Company initiatives that are not on-going. We believe these non-GAAP financial measures are an enhancement to assist investors in understanding our business and in performing analysis consistent with financial models developed by research analysts. Investors should consider non-GAAP measures in addition to, not as a substitute for, or superior to, the comparable GAAP measures. In addition, these non-GAAP measures may not be the same as similar measures used by other companies due to possible differences in methods and in the items being adjusted.
We provide the following non-GAAP measures and calculations, as well as the corresponding reconciliation to the closest GAAP measure in the following supplemental schedules:
Segment Profit. This amount represents the operations of our two reportable segments including allocations for shared support functions. General corporate and other expenses, amortization expense, impairment of goodwill and intangible assets, interest expense, loss on extinguishment of debt, the gain on finance lease termination, other items, net, the charges related to acquisition and integration costs, restructuring costs, an acquisition earn out, the costs of the flooding of our manufacturing facility in Brazil and the costs of exiting the Russian market have all been excluded from segment profit.
Adjusted Net Earnings and Adjusted Diluted Net Earnings Per Common Share (EPS). These measures exclude the impact of the impairment of goodwill and intangible assets, costs related to acquisition and integration, restructuring costs, an acquisition earn out, the costs of the flooding of our manufacturing facility in Brazil, the costs of exiting the Russian market, the gain on finance lease termination, the loss on extinguishment of debt and the one-time impact of Tax structuring.
Non-GAAP Tax Rate. This is the tax rate when excluding the pre-tax impact of impairment of goodwill and intangible assets, acquisition and integration costs, restructuring costs, an acquisition earn out, the costs of the flooding of our manufacturing facility in Brazil, the costs of exiting the Russian market, the gain on finance lease termination and the loss on extinguishment of debt, as well as the related tax impact for these items, calculated utilizing the statutory rate for where the impact was incurred, as well as the one-time impact of Tax structuring.
Organic. This is the non-GAAP financial measurement of the change in revenue or segment profit that excludes or otherwise adjusts for the change in Russia and Argentina operations and impact of currency from the changes in foreign currency exchange rates as defined below:
Change in Russia Operations. The Company exited the Russian market in the second quarter of fiscal 2022 due to the increased global and economic and political uncertainty resulting from the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. This adjusts for the change in Russian sales and segment profit from the prior year post exit.
Change in Argentina Operations. The Company is presenting separately all changes in sales and segment profit from our Argentina affiliate due to the designation of the economy as highly inflationary as of July 1, 2018.
Impact of currency. The Company evaluates the operating performance of our Company on a currency neutral basis. The impact of currency is the difference between the value of current year foreign operations at the current period ending USD exchange rate, compared to the value of the current year foreign operations at the prior period ending USD exchange rate, as well as the impact of hedging on the currency fluctuation.
Adjusted Comparisons. Detail for adjusted gross profit, adjusted gross margin, adjusted SG&A, adjusted SG&A as percent of sales and adjusted Other items, net are also supplemental non-GAAP measure disclosures. These measures exclude the impact of costs related to acquisition and integration, restructuring costs, an acquisition earn out, the costs of exiting the Russian market and the costs of the flooding of our manufacturing facility in Brazil.
EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA. EBITDA is defined as net earnings before income tax provision, interest, depreciation and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA further excludes the impact of the costs related to acquisition and integration, restructuring costs, acquisition earn out, the costs of the flooding of our manufacturing facility in Brazil, the costs of exiting the Russian market, the gain on finance lease termination, impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets, and share-based payments.
Free Cash Flow. Free Cash Flow is defined as net cash provided by operating activities reduced by capital expenditures, net of the proceeds from asset sales.
Net Debt. Net Debt is defined as total Company debt, less cash and cash equivalents.
Currency-neutral. Currency-neutral excludes the Impact of currency as defined above on key measures. Hyper inflationary markets are excluded from this calculation.
Energizer Holdings, Inc.
Supplemental Schedules - Segment Information and Supplemental Sales Data
For the Quarter and Twelve Months ended September 30, 2022
(In millions, except per share data - Unaudited)
As of October 1, 2021, the Company has changed its reportable segments from two geographical segments, previously Americas and International, to two product groupings, Battery & Lights and Auto Care. This change came with the completion of the Spectrum Holdings, Inc. Battery and Auto Care Acquisition integrations in the first fiscal quarter of 2022. The Company changed its reporting structure to better reflect what the chief operating decision maker is reviewing to make organizational decisions and resource allocations. The Company has recast the information for the quarter and twelve months ended September 30, 2021 to align with this presentation.
Energizer's operating model includes a combination of standalone and shared business functions between the product segments, varying by country and region of the world. Shared functions include the sales and marketing functions, as well as human resources, IT and finance shared service costs. Energizer applies a fully allocated cost basis, in which shared business functions are allocated between segments. Such allocations are estimates, and do not represent the costs of such services if performed on a standalone basis. Segment sales and profitability, as well as the reconciliation to earnings before income taxes for the quarters and twelve months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, are presented below:
Supplemental product information is presented below for depreciation and amortization:
For the quarter ended September 30, 2021, the diluted net earnings per common share is assuming the conversion of the mandatory convertible preferred stock to 4.7 million shares of common stock and excluding the mandatory preferred stock dividends from net earnings. For the year ended September 30, 2021, the Adjusted Weighted average shares of common stock - Diluted includes the dilutive impact of our outstanding performance shares and restricted stock as they are dilutive to the calculation.
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SOURCE Energizer Holdings, Inc. | https://www.kait8.com/prnewswire/2022/11/15/energizer-holdings-inc-announces-fiscal-2022-fourth-quarter-full-year-results-financial-outlook-fiscal-2023/ | 2022-11-15 13:02:52 | 0 | https://www.kait8.com/prnewswire/2022/11/15/energizer-holdings-inc-announces-fiscal-2022-fourth-quarter-full-year-results-financial-outlook-fiscal-2023/ |
While biking around D.C., Sam O’Brien and Naomi Field check for cross-traffic at stop signs, then often roll through without coming to the stop required by law.
It’s common practice among cyclists — treating the stop sign as a yield, commonly called the “Idaho Stop” after the state where it became legal in the 1980s — and though few people are ticketed for the practice, advocates say some have been. Soon, however, D.C. cyclists might not have to worry about breaking that law.
The D.C. Council’s transportation committee this month approved legislation that would allow people on bicycles and scooters to treat a stop sign as a yield sign. The bill also would ban right-on-red turns for cars beginning Jan. 1, 2025, except at intersections where the District Department of Transportation determines such right turns would be safer.
The measures are part of the Safer Streets Amendment Act of 2022, which incorporates language from several pieces of legislation aimed at making walking and cycling safer. D.C. Council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3), chairwoman of the council’s Committee on Transportation and the Environment, requested that the bill be included on the agenda for a vote when the council reconvenes in September.
“Despite the Vision Zero commitment, our streets remain far too dangerous,” Cheh said in a statement, referring to the traffic-safety program that aims to reduce traffic injuries and deaths. “This bill takes several important steps to reprioritize streets for people over cars and increase traffic safety for all, no matter how you get around the District.”
Treating stop signs as yield signs, according to a council transportation committee report on the bill, would move cyclists through intersections more quickly — making them less exposed, increasing their visibility to drivers and reducing their chances of being hit — and help cyclists maintain momentum.
“Stopping and starting can be hard on the bike in the neighborhood if it’s every block. It’s quite onerous,” said Ralph Buehler, a professor of urban affairs and the planning program chair at Virginia Tech’s School of Public and International Affairs. “The classical neighborhood has four-way stops every intersection.”
Adopting the Idaho Stop also decriminalizes what is a common biking behavior and, the committee report said, “eliminates cause for police stops that disproportionately impact people of color and divert law enforcement resources toward unnecessary activities.” The report adds that decriminalization would encourage ridership, which can lead to more bicyclists and safety in numbers.
A measure that would have allowed cyclists to treat red lights as a stop sign was removed from the legislation, although the bill does grant DDOT authority to post signs allowing riders to proceed through red lights.
“After meeting with DDOT safety experts and engineers and some members of the public, the committee was swayed that riders treating red light as stop signs may not be appropriate here in the District, given the many complicated intersections that we have,” Cheh said during a July 13 committee meeting.
For vehicles, right turns on a red light — legalized in D.C. in 1979 amid a nationwide push to allow the turns as a fuel-saving measure during a global oil crisis — has created a “hostile environment for people on our streets,” regularly leading to pedestrians “nearly being hit by cars carelessly turning against a red light,” the committee wrote.
It cited a 1981 study showing that after states in the mid-1970s legalized right on red, there was a significant increase in drivers making such turns and striking pedestrians and bicyclists, with the majority of incidents involving drivers looking left for a gap in traffic and hitting a pedestrian or cyclist to the right of the vehicle.
In 2019, D.C. ended right on red at about 100 intersections as part of the Vision Zero program of Mayor Muriel E Bowser (D). Nonetheless, city data shows the number of pedestrian and cyclist fatalities in traffic crashes has remained relatively steady since 2011, with a slight increase in pedestrian deaths in 2021.
Opponents of eliminating right turns on red lights ask whether the change actually would result in safer streets.
AAA Mid-Atlantic spokeswoman Ragina Ali said that a few years ago, the organization consulted traffic and civil engineers who were concerned “that prohibiting right turns on red would create more gridlock and would do little to improve traffic safety, and in fact could create even more dangerous intersections.”
“Our position ... continues to support comprehensive, ongoing traffic safety education to inform road users of all ages, and all modes of their responsibility in practicing safe traffic behaviors,” Ali said in a statement. “This includes respect and compliance for traffic laws so that all road users may share the road responsibly, predictably and safely.”
Advocates for bicyclists say they hope a right-on-red ban will make the District safer.
“It’s going to hopefully lead to less fatalities and crashes,” said Jeremiah Lowery, the advocacy director for the Washington Area Bicyclist Association. “At first we just banned right on red for a few intersections throughout the city, and I think that’s confusing for drivers. So I think we should just go ahead, just ban them all.”
About the stop-as-yield measure for cyclists, Lowery added: “Hopefully police will spend less time ticketing bicyclists and more time enforcing traffic laws that actually do keep us safe.”
For Field, 24, the effort to ban right turns on red evoked relief.
“I’ve just almost been hit by so many cars turning right on red because they don’t ever look. If there is a bike lane, if there isn’t a bike lane, they do not look,” Field said, pointing behind her to the corner of Sherman Avenue and Columbia Road in Northwest, where she said she was nearly struck by a car a year ago.
O’Brien, 24, said he doubts the no-right-on-red proposal will be popular among drivers, but as an occasional driver himself, he said he supports the measure.
“Saving a minute and a half, two minutes does nothing for me,” he said. “If it makes people safe, I’m all for it.” | https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2022/07/29/dc-right-red-idaho-stop/ | 2022-07-29 19:25:54 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2022/07/29/dc-right-red-idaho-stop/ |
MADRID (AP) — Farmers protested in Madrid on Wednesday against a governmental order to provide ecological protection for a river, a move they see as a threat to the water resources they need to irrigate their crops.
Several thousand protesters — bused in from the southeastern region impacted by the plan — rallied in front of Spain’s ministry for ecological transition, demanding the resignation of Minister Teresa Ribera.
“It is a joy to see all of you here because it means the agriculture of southeastern Spain is still alive and will remain so despite the politicians we come to visit today,” Lucas Jiménez, president of the Central Irrigation Union, told the crowd.
“Let them leave the water in the hands of those who understand water.”
Authorities estimated that around 7,000 people attended the protest.
The farmers are opposing a ministerial decision to establish a new minimum water level for the Tagus River based on maintaining its ecological health. They fear that will mean less water for their fields.
The dispute comes after the southern European country sweltered under its hottest year on record and an extended drought that devastated crops like one of its main staples, the olive.
The Tagus is the Iberian Peninsula’s longest river, running 1,007 kilometers (626 miles) from eastern Spain all the way into Portugal where it spills into the Atlantic Ocean. But relatively close to its source there is a manmade canal that reroutes some water southward to the Segura River. This southeastern coastal area relies on that water to irrigate the fruits and vegetables it exports to Europe and beyond.
Until now, the Tagus was the only river in Spain without an official “ecological threshold” that used environmental criteria to establish the minimum flow it needs to ensure its ecological health, the ministry argued in defense of its decision. The decision comes after five court orders that an ecological minimum be set for the Tagus.
The Tagus had until now a minimum of six cubic liters per second, according to a threshold that was established without taking into account ecological factors. That has increased to seven cubic liters this year and will progressively grow to 8.6 cubic liters per second in 2027.
To help offset any future reduction in water that passes through the canal to the Segura, the ministry is investing to modernize desalination plants and equip them with solar panels, with the intention of reducing the cost of the water they generate.
The ministry also argues that the Tagus has decreased by 12% since 1980 and only a stricter control will prevent episodes of it drying up completely, as occurred in 2017.
Ribera asked on Tuesday for this not to become a “water war,” insisting that Spain must adapt to climate change.
“We have to prepare for two types of excess, years with long cycles of extreme drought and periods of very intense flooding,” she said.
___
Joseph Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain. | https://www.pahomepage.com/news/business/ap-business/ap-spanish-farmers-protest-ecological-threshold-for-tagus-river/ | 2023-01-11 23:39:06 | 1 | https://www.pahomepage.com/news/business/ap-business/ap-spanish-farmers-protest-ecological-threshold-for-tagus-river/ |
Republicans are figuring out how to strengthen their recruitment efforts after a disappointing 2022 midterm cycle that many Republicans blamed on the poor quality of the party’s candidates.
GOP officials and strategists are still poring over the midterm results and debating what exactly went wrong. But there’s broad consensus that the GOP’s roster of untested — and in several cases, controversial — candidates were at least partially responsible for the party’s failed effort to recapture control of the Senate.
“One of the lessons from 2022 is that candidate quality matters a lot,” said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist and former adviser to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). “We came up short in a couple of key races because independent voters and some moderate Republicans didn’t like our nominees.”
“If we’re going to win back the Senate and keep the House, we have to have good candidates,” he added. “In 2022, that just wasn’t the case.”
Odd-numbered years are when the parties typically look to build out their roster of candidates. But 2021 and early 2022 proved difficult for Republicans, as top-tier recruits like New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey passed on Senate bids.
Democrats went on to win the Senate races in both New Hampshire and Arizona, beating out GOP opponents who were viewed by many as too far outside the political mainstream.
In other races, like the Senate contests in Georgia and Pennsylvania, Republican voters elevated political newcomers, largely at the behest of former President Trump, who didn’t hesitate to endorse in GOP primaries.
Those outcomes proved catastrophic for Republicans. In Georgia, Trump’s Senate pick, former NFL star Herschel Walker, found himself repeatedly beset by personal controversies. In Pennsylvania, Republican nominee Mehmet Oz, the celebrity physician, struggled to get his general election campaign off the ground and ultimately lost to Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.).
The end result was far from what the GOP had hoped. Despite running in an otherwise favorable political environment, Republicans failed to flip even a single Democratic Senate seat, while Democrats added one seat to their razor-thin majority.
“This past time we had Trump as a force in this. Trump was a big part of Herschel Walker. He was a big part of Blake Masters,” said Doug Heye, a Republican strategist, referring to the Republican venture capitalist who lost his 2022 Senate bid to Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.). “Those candidates who lost, you can draw a pretty straight line from them to Donald Trump.”
The GOP’s recruitment and candidate vetting efforts also emerged as a point of contention between Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), the now-former chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC).
Scott largely stayed out of Republican primaries, arguing that GOP voters — and not the NRSC — should determine the party’s Senate nominees. McConnell, meanwhile, criticized the quality of the GOP’s lineup of candidates, predicting early-on that the Senate would be harder for Republicans to flip than the House because of the caliber of hopefuls.
“I think there’s probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate. Senate races are just different — they’re statewide, candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome,” McConnell told reporters last summer.
Of course, 2024 may be different. Democrats are defending more than twice as many Senate seats as Republicans are and have few opportunities to go on the offensive.
Republicans also got a dose of good news on Thursday, when Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) announced that she would not seek reelection in 2024, opening up a seat in a state that the GOP sees as a prime pickup opportunity.
Multiple Republicans also expressed optimism about the party’s recruitment efforts ahead of 2024, saying that a more hands-on strategy combined with Trump’s waning influence within the GOP could help reassure top-tier recruits.
“You need people who can successfully navigate both the primary and the general. That’s the No. 1 threshold,” one Republican strategist said. “But what you have to be able to do is convince those types of candidates that, A, they’ll have the resources they need and, B, Donald Trump won’t swoop in and steal their thunder and their ability to win.”
“Again, the map is great for Republicans, but candidate recruitment is going to be critical,” the strategist added. “I think you’re already seeing the largest influencers saying that they very well may play a role in making those decisions.”
Another Republican operative familiar with Senate campaigns said that Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), the new chair of the NRSC, and the Senate Leadership Fund, the influential McConnell-aligned super PAC, have signaled a willingness to play a “more active and involved” role in open 2024 Senate primaries.
Mike Berg, the communications director for the NRSC, said that the committee has already been in touch with multiple potential candidates interested in running next year.
“Recruitment is one of Chairman Daines’ top priorities and we’ve already received outreach from a number of potential top-tier candidates who are excited to run,” Berg said in a statement to The Hill.
But some Republicans said that the GOP’s candidate recruitment strategy is only one piece of a larger puzzle that still needs to be solved. One GOP Senate campaign consultant said that without adequate support from establishment-aligned groups, top-tier Senate recruits will be at risk of falling to Trump loyalists in primaries, regardless of their qualifications.
“I think it’s incumbent upon the establishment wing to do a better job, not just recruiting, but winning,” the consultant said. “They’ve got to do a better job at actually winning and campaigning in the modern day in primaries.”
Heye, the Republican strategist, said there may be a bigger challenge for party leaders hoping to recruit high-profile candidates: dysfunction in Washington. In the House, for instance, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has tried and failed for days to win the Speakership amid a rebellion from hard-right members of his own party.
“If you’ve looked at Washington over the past two years, it’s an advertisement to not run,” Heye said. “Clearly what we’re seeing on the House floor right now speaks to that candidate recruitment issue.” | https://www.wowktv.com/hill-politics/gop-grapples-with-candidate-quality-problem-ahead-of-2024/ | 2023-01-08 18:35:56 | 0 | https://www.wowktv.com/hill-politics/gop-grapples-with-candidate-quality-problem-ahead-of-2024/ |
XIAMEN, China, June 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Qudian Inc. ("Qudian" or the "Company") (NYSE: QD), a consumer-oriented technology company in China, today announced that it is notifying holders of its 1.00% Convertible Senior Notes due 2026 (CUSIP No. 747798AB2) (the "Notes") that pursuant to the Indenture dated as of July 1, 2019 (the "Indenture") relating to the Notes by and between the Company and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as trustee, each holder has the right, at the option of such holder, to require the Company to repurchase all of such holder's Notes or any portion thereof that is an integral multiple of US$1,000 principal amount for cash on July 1, 2022 (the "Repurchase Right"). The Repurchase Right expires at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on Thursday, June 30, 2022.
The Repurchase Right entitles each holder of the Notes to require the Company to repurchase all of such holder's Notes or any portion thereof that is an integral multiple of US$1,000 principal amount. The repurchase price for such Notes will be equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Notes to be repurchased, plus any accrued and unpaid interest to, but excluding, July 1, 2022, which is the date specified for repurchase in the Indenture (the "Repurchase Date"), subject to the terms and conditions of the Indenture and the Notes. The Repurchase Date is an interest payment date under the terms of the Indenture and the Notes. Accordingly, on July 1, 2022, the Company will pay accrued and unpaid interest on all of the Notes through June 30, 2022 to all holders who were holders of record as of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, regardless of whether the Repurchase Right is exercised with respect to such Notes. On the Repurchase Date, there will be no accrued and unpaid interest on the Notes. As of May 31, 2022, there was US$47,500,000 in aggregate principal amount of the Notes outstanding. If all outstanding Notes are surrendered for repurchase through the exercise of the Repurchase Right, the aggregate cash purchase price will be US$47,500,000.
The opportunity for holders of the Notes to exercise the Repurchase Right commences at 9:00 a.m., New York City time, on Thursday, June 2, 2022, and will terminate at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on Thursday, June 30, 2022. In order to exercise the Repurchase Right, a holder must follow the procedures set forth in the Company's Notice of Optional Repurchase Right to holders (the "Repurchase Right Notice"), which is available through Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas. Holders may withdraw any previously surrendered Notes pursuant to the terms of the Repurchase Right Notice at any time prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on Thursday, June 30, 2022, or as otherwise provided by applicable law.
This press release is for information only and is not an offer to purchase, a solicitation of an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to sell the Notes or any other securities of the Company. The Notes may be repurchased only in accordance with the Company's Repurchase Right Notice dated June 2, 2022 and related documents. None of the Company, its board of directors or its employees has made or is making any representation or recommendation to any holder as to whether to exercise or refrain from exercising the Repurchase Right.
Holders of the Notes should refer to the Indenture for a complete description of repurchase procedures and direct any questions concerning the mechanics of repurchase to the trustee by contacting Reorganization Unit, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas (Email: db.reorg@db.com). Holders of Notes may request the Company's Repurchase Right Notice from the paying agent at 5022 Gate Parkway, Mail Stop: JCK01-0218, Jacksonville, Florida, 32256 USA, Attention: Reorganization Unit, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, or db.reorg@db.com.
HOLDERS OF NOTES AND OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES ARE URGED TO READ THE COMPANY'S REPURCHASE RIGHT NOTICE BECAUSE IT CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE REPURCHASE RIGHT.
About Qudian Inc.
Qudian Inc. ("Qudian") is a consumer-oriented technology company in China. The Company historically focused on providing credit solutions to consumers. The Company is exploring innovative consumer products and services to satisfy Chinese consumers' fundamental and daily needs by leveraging its technology capabilities. In March 2022, it launched a ready-to-cook meal business catering to working-class consumers in China.
For more information, please visit https://ir.qudian.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Among other things, the expectation of its collection efficiency and delinquency, contains forward-looking statements. Qudian may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the SEC, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Qudian's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: Qudian's goal and strategies; Qudian's expansion plans; Qudian's future business development, financial condition and results of operations; Qudian's expectations regarding demand for, and market acceptance of, its products; Qudian's expectations regarding keeping and strengthening its relationships with customers, business partners and other parties it collaborates with; general economic and business conditions; and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in Qudian's filings with the SEC. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and Qudian does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.
For investor and media inquiries, please contact:
In China:
Qudian Inc.
IR team
Tel: +86-592-596-8208
E-mail: ir@qudian.com
The Piacente Group, Inc.
Jenny Cai
Tel: +86 (10) 6508-0677
E-mail: qudian@tpg-ir.com
In the United States:
The Piacente Group, Inc.
Brandi Piacente
Tel: +1-212-481-2050
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VUHLEDAR, Ukraine (AP) — The murky water oh so slowly trickles from the filthy drainpipe into her grimy container — the ticking seconds ramping up the risk that Emilia Budskaya could lose life or limb to Russian artillery strikes torturing her front-line city in eastern Ukraine.
Gaping gashes from deadly shrapnel in the courtyard walls around her testify to the dangers of being outside — exposed and without the body armor that Ukrainian soldiers defending Vuhledar wear when they venture from their bunkers.
But Budskaya and her daughter need water to cling on and to survive, to eke out another day in the ruins.
And so they wait — tick, tick, tick — for the container to fill, for Budskaya to then pour the water into plastic bottles and — tick, tick, tick — for her to then start the process again until their bottles are filled.
Picking their way through the debris and mud, they carry their bounty back to the dark basement that now passes for their home.
“We have no water, nothing,” Budskaya says. "I’m getting rain water to wash dishes and hands.”
On the largely static front line between Ukrainian and Russian forces that stretches over hundreds of kilometers (miles) — from the Black Sea in the south to Ukraine's northeastern border with Russia — Vuhledar has become one of the deadliest hotspots. It has joined Bakhmut, Marinka and other cities and towns, particularly in the fiercely contested east, now synonymous with grinding and destructive attritional warfare and which have become symbols of Ukrainian resistance.
By defending their ruins, Ukrainian forces are slowing costly Russian offensive efforts to extend Moscow's control over the entirety of eastern Ukraine's industrial Donbas region. It became Russian President Vladimir Putin's revised target for conquest after his forces were beaten back from the capital, Kyiv, and northern Ukraine in the invasion's opening stage a year ago.
Ukrainian soldiers are paying a heavy price, too, but say their sacrifices are wearing down waves of troops and equipment that Moscow is throwing into battle.
In Bakhmut, a soldier who allowed himself to be identified only by his war name, “Expert,” said the pulverized city in the Donbas' Donetsk region “has become a stronghold " for Ukraine.
“See what they have done to it?" he said of Russian forces that have been pounding Bakhmut for months, slowly inching forward with heavy casualties to capture a prize that, if it falls, might allow Moscow to argue that the invasion is making progress.
“And this is not the only city,” the soldier who fights in a Ukrainian rapid response unit added. "I wish they would break their teeth trying to chew it.”
Battlefields around Vuhledar, southwest of Bakhmut and also in the Donetsk region, bear witness to the precious equipment and manpower that Russia is expending, with little territorial gain for now. Tanks and other armored fighting vehicles blown up by mines or stopped in their tracks by Ukrainian strikes are clumped together on the blasted, cratered terrain.
Although Russia has seized most of the Luhansk region that also forms part of the Donbas, the adjacent Donetsk region remains roughly divided between Ukrainian and Russian control.
Ukraine's military said Sunday in one of its regular updates on the fighting that Russian assaults in the east remain concentrated on Bakhmut and other objectives.
Russian forces being committed include mercenaries of the notorious Wagner Group, a private military company that has recruited fighters from prisons and tossed them into combat, with high casualty rates. Its millionaire owner with longtime links to Putin, former convicted felon Yevgeny Prigozhin, said Saturday that his fighters advanced into a settlement on Bakhmut's northern outskirts. The Ukrainian military disputed that claim, saying Russian forces were repelled.
Donetsk Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko on Sunday reported three civilians killed and four wounded in Russian strikes on Saturday. Vuhledar and its surrounds were also intensely shelled, he said. Further along the front line, in the southern Kherson region that also is split between Ukrainian and Russian control, Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin on Sunday reported two civilians killed and seven injured in 78 Russian strikes on the region on Saturday.
On patrol in Vuhledar's ruins, hurrying down muddy paths to take cover behind pockmarked walls, Ukrainian soldiers said their fight was larger than for control of the city.
“We fight for our children, for our fellow Ukrainians, for our nation,” said a marine with the war name “Moryak.”
“Because I think what Russia is doing now is genocide of Ukrainians. And Ukrainians don’t have another option but to win."
___
John Leicester in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Elise Morton in London contributed to this report.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine and of the invasion’s anniversary at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine-a-year-of-war | https://www.expressnews.com/news/world/article/on-ukraine-front-civilians-cling-on-as-troops-17806648.php | 2023-02-26 13:13:25 | 0 | https://www.expressnews.com/news/world/article/on-ukraine-front-civilians-cling-on-as-troops-17806648.php |
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Texas official Steven McCraw said that officers searched for a key that was not needed and waited an hour outside classrooms. Relatives of schoolchildren and staff are angry over how police responded to the shooting.
The police response to the Uvalde school shooting on May 24 was "an abject failure," Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) director Steven McCraw said on Tuesday.
Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in the shooting at Robb Elementary School in the southwestern town of Uvalde in the US state of Texas.
McCraw spoke at a Texas Senate hearing into the shooting, saying that the onsite commander made "terrible decisions." He added that officers on the scene lacked sufficient training.
"There is compelling evidence that the law enforcement response to the attack at Robb Elementary was an abject failure and antithetical to everything we've learned," McCraw said.
Many relatives of the schoolchildren and staff have expressed anger over police actions after the gunman entered the school.
McCraw said that officers spent time searching for the key to a door that was not locked.
"There's no way ... for the subject to lock the door from the inside," he said.
McCraw went on to say that officers waited over an hour in a hallway outside two classrooms before a Border Patrol-led tactical team made entry.
"The officers had weapons, the children had none. The officers had body armor, the children had none. The officers had training, the subject had none," McCraw said.
"The only thing stopping a hallway of dedicated officers from entering Room 111, and 112, was the on-scene commander, who decided to place the lives of officers before the lives of children," he concluded.
Meanwhile, Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin said that the Uvalde County district attorney had asked the city not to release records related to the district attorney's probe into the shooting. The statement added that the district attorney and the DPS have not provided the city with any information on the probe.
sdi/wd (AFP, Reuters) | https://www.dw.com/en/uvalde-shooting-texas-official-labels-police-response-abject-failure/a-62213136 | 2022-06-21 22:58:03 | 1 | https://www.dw.com/en/uvalde-shooting-texas-official-labels-police-response-abject-failure/a-62213136 |
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A few days before middle school teacher Shaun Nielsen joined a work group to develop South Dakota’s social studies standards, he got a thick package in the mail.
Sent from Hillsdale, Michigan, home to a conservative private college enjoying outsize influence among top Republicans, it contained materials that would ultimately form what the state’s public schools students could be expected to learn about American history and civics.
“Whoa — these are already written,” Nielsen remembers thinking as he opened the document this spring.
Hillsdale College, which has sought in recent years to “revive the American tradition of K-12 education” by fostering a nationwide network of schools, won new prominence when then-President Donald Trump tapped the school to help develop a “patriotic education” project. Now, in a sign of Hillsdale’s growing influence in public education, South Dakota has proposed statewide standards that contain distinct echoes of Hillsdale’s material.
While Republican governors such as Tennessee’s Bill Lee and Florida’s Ron DeSantis have embraced Hillsdale’s education for K-12 students, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has been perhaps the most enthusiastic. Larry Arrn, the school’s president, even said in a speech last year that Noem had “offered to build us an entire campus in South Dakota.”
That doesn’t appear to be in the works. But it was Noem, widely seen as a 2024 White House hopeful, who turned to former Hillsdale politics professor William Morrisey to develop the state’s social studies standards. The state paid him $200,000, and he tapped Hillsdale’s material, according to members of the standards commission.
The college played an integral part in Trump’s “1776 Report,” a conservative response to work like the New York Times’ “1619 Project,” which re-examined the founding of the United States with the institution of slavery at the center. Hillsdale followed up by producing “The Hillsdale 1776 Curriculum,” which offers nearly 2,400 pages of lesson plans on American history.
South Dakota’s proposed standards released in mid-August align with the “1776 Curriculum.” Both emphasize the ideals of the country’s founders as an argument for American exceptionalism — an idea popular in conservative circles that the U.S. is uniquely worthy of universal praise.
The documents both define patriotism similarly, as preserving the “good” of the country while correcting its flaws. They teach that progressivism conflicts with the nation’s founding ideals, and assert that most of the founders — including such slave owners as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison — wanted to end slavery.
Morrisey declined an interview, and Hillsdale did not grant a request to interview a member of its K-12 Education Office.
Noem’s administration referred questions to Ben Jones, who oversees the South Dakota Historical Society and worked on the commission to develop the standards. Jones defended the scholarship at Hillsdale as respected in higher education and said Morrisey brought the commission a “generic” version of U.S. history that could be found in most textbooks.
“Frankly, it’s a logical fallacy to say that something is bad because it’s associated with this group that I don’t agree with over this other thing,” he said of criticism of Hillsdale.
Jones pointed out that Morrisey’s draft included descriptions of how the first Africans were enslaved and brought to the colonies and how the U.S. broke treaties with Native American tribes.
“The good, the bad, the ugly was all there,” he said.
Jones added that the group discussed and debated the standards over several meetings and by the end, “my sense was that we all made this very much our own.”
When Noem’s administration formed the 15-person commission, it chose three people, including Nielsen, currently certified to teach in South Dakota public schools. The group decided which grade levels should learn the standards and added South Dakota and Native American components to the proposal, Nielsen said.
As the proposal became public last month, Nielsen said he felt conflicted. He said he is a conservative but is careful to separate his political opinions from his classroom teaching. He said he agreed with Noem’s desire to make South Dakota a national leader in social studies education and even with much of the content it covered.
Ultimately, he said, he decided to speak out against the standards because they didn’t originate with South Dakota educators.
“The ‘1776 curriculum’ — it’s pretty much close to that,” he said.
“When you’re handed a set of standards to approve, it’s not a collaborative process at all,” he added. The standards, he worried, were not written with the practical needs of a classroom in mind.
Prominent voices among South Dakota educators agree. The standards — which will be subjected to public hearings this fall before the governor-appointed Board of Education Standards decides whether to adopt them — have been greeted coolly by organizations representing teachers, school boards and school administrators.
“It’s coming from a private, out-of-state college,” said Tim Graf, the superintendent of Harrisburg School District outside Sioux Falls. “I just don’t want it to be political in any way.”
Jennifer Lowery, the superintendent at Tea Area School District, worried teachers for younger grade levels would have to spend more time on social studies at the expense of foundational skills like basic math and reading.
“We’re not stomping our feet because our feelings got hurt or our profession was disrespected,” she said. “You’re hearing the outcry because this isn’t what’s best for our kids.”
Several educators said the standards rely too much on memorization and too little on inquiry-based learning that teaches students to question and analyze. Jones, the state historian, countered that memorization at younger grade levels will pave the way for analysis later.
Stephen Jackson, a history professor at the University of Sioux Falls, said that runs counter to criteria for state standards from the American Historical Society, which says inquiry engages students and helps them connect historical events to modern contexts.
Jackson was part of a group that created social studies standards last year, only to have its work scrapped by the governor. As conservatives began pushing back against historical analyses that argued racism and U.S. history are inextricably intertwined, Noem called for teaching how the “U.S. is the most special nation in the history of the world.”
Noem said the new standards are the best in the nation, calling them “a true, honest, and balanced approach to American history that is not influenced by political agendas.” Hillsdale College used similar language when it launched its curriculum.
Jonathan Zimmerman, an education historian at the University of Pennsylvania, suggested high school students could benefit from analyzing the “1619 Project” alongside the Trump administration’s “1776 Report” and learning how to evaluate and debate them. That’s unlikely in South Dakota, since Noem has moved to block teachings like the “1619 Project” from public schools.
“People like Kristi Noem are correct when they say that the fundamental narrative of America is under challenge like never before,” Zimmerman said. “I just think it’s a good challenge.” | https://www.wjhl.com/news/national/ap-conservative-colleges-curriculum-gets-foothold-in-s-dakota/ | 2022-09-11 21:51:15 | 1 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/national/ap-conservative-colleges-curriculum-gets-foothold-in-s-dakota/ |
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NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The foreign minister of ethnically divided Cyprus offered a bleak outlook Thursday for resuming stalled peace talks any time soon even though a senior United Nations official affirmed the commitment of the world body’s chief to remain engaged in resolving one of Europe’s most intractable conflicts.
Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said the Cypriot government hopes the chances of restarting the talks do not “get any worse” over the next few months due to the actions of Turkey and breakaway Turkish Cypriots.
Greece and Cyprus have accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of engaging in hostile rhetoric and behavior in an effort to rally nationalist supporters ahead of Turkey's presidential election in April.
Kasoulides also cast doubt on the possibility of renewed talks facing better chances after the election.
The minister spoke after the U.N.'s assistant secretary-general for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, Miroslav Jenča, met with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades to scope out the chances for renewed negotiations. Jenča was scheduled to meet later Thursday with Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar.
“I just would like to underline the commitment of the secretary-general to stay engaged in the process searching for common ground and finding understanding to move forward the issue of settlement,” Jenča said.
Cyprus divided into ethnically Greek and ethnically Turkish sides in 1974, when Turkey invaded following a coup by supporters of union with Greece.
The government of Cyprus has strongly protested a bid by Turkey to earn recognition during an Organization of Turkic States summit this week for the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in the island nation's north.
The government also has objected to what it said were numerous military encroachments along the 180-kilometer-long (112-mile-long) U.N.-controlled buffer zone that splits the breakaway north from southern Cyprus, where the internationally recognized government is seated.
“I say (Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots) won’t succeed in any of those aims and they haven’t, despite all the Turkish propaganda,” Kasoulides said.
Despite a long-standing agreement that a peace deal would reunify Cyprus as a federation composed of two zones separately administered by Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, Turkey and Turkish Cypriot authorities insist that recognition of the breakaway state is a prerequisite for more talks. | https://www.mrt.com/news/article/Despite-UN-efforts-quick-Cyprus-peace-talks-17591676.php | 2022-11-17 14:38:00 | 1 | https://www.mrt.com/news/article/Despite-UN-efforts-quick-Cyprus-peace-talks-17591676.php |
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WASHINGTON — The Senate passed legislation Thursday to fund the government for an additional week as lawmakers race to finish work on a full-year spending package before they head home for the holidays and a new Congress is sworn in.
Congress in September passed a bill to keep the government running through midnight Friday. The latest extension, which now goes to President Joe Biden's desk to be signed into law, funds federal agencies through Dec. 23. It passed by a vote of 71-19.
“Negotiations keep trending in the right direction, but we still have a lot of work left to do and not enough time to do it, unless we extend government funding for another week," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in urging lawmakers to support the stopgap measure.
The roughly $1.7 trillion package being negotiated would finance the day-to-day operations of government agencies for the current fiscal year that began Oct. 1. Federal spending on programs such as Social Security and Medicare is not part of the annual appropriations process and is not included in the package.
House Republicans overwhelmingly have called for a longer-term extension into early next year so they could have a bigger role in setting spending levels for the agencies. Democrats in the House were able to advance the bill with little GOP support earlier this week.
But Sen. Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the Senate, has made the case that passing a full-year spending bill this Congress is better than the alternatives because it ensures a sizable increase in spending for defense.
“If a truly bipartisan full-year bill without poison pills is ready for final Senate passage by late next week, I’ll support it for our Armed Forces,” McConnell said Wednesday. “Otherwise, we’ll be passing a short-term continuing resolution into the new year.”
Some Senate Republicans disagreed with efforts to pass a spending bill before House Republicans could take charge. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah., said he supported providing a short-term extension into next year because that would mean “more Republican priorities" in the final package.
Sen. Richard Shelby, the lead Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, has said the two parties were about $25 billion apart on overall spending. But lawmakers announced Tuesday night that they had reached agreement on a “framework” that should allow negotiations to be completed by next week.
The final bill is also expected to include the Biden administration’s request for another $37 billion in aid to Ukraine as well as other bipartisan priorities, including an election measure designed to prevent another Jan. 6 insurrection. The bill would make it more difficult for lawmakers to object to a particular state’s electoral votes and make clear that the constitutional role of the vice president in the proceedings is solely ministerial. | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/nation-world/senate-passes-bill-avoiding-government-shutdown-through-dec-23/507-5c1acd73-d71b-495d-b088-71d0dd291cf6 | 2022-12-16 05:45:21 | 0 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/nation-world/senate-passes-bill-avoiding-government-shutdown-through-dec-23/507-5c1acd73-d71b-495d-b088-71d0dd291cf6 |
I don’t know about you, but I have been bombarded with seed catalogs this winter. Since about age 12, one of my favorite hobbies has been looking through catalogs at all the new plants.
Some new plants have forever changed the horticulture industry, while others disappear after just one season.
What varieties you grow directly impacts your gardening success. The sheer number of choices can be overwhelming, and recognizing reality among the marketing smoke and mirrors is important for picking the right seeds for your garden.
So, here are some things I’ve learned over the years to help me navigate the seed catalogs.
First, make a growing list of what you love, use or enjoy the most. Do this even before you look through the catalogs. Your garden probably needs to be bigger to hold everything you want, so making a list will help ensure you have room for your must-haves.
If you love Flavorburst peppers and Benary’s Giant zinnias, then put them on your must-have list. You’re in charge of your garden, not seed company marketing for different varieties. Having this list keeps you on track.
Next, look for key adjectives. Most companies use specific adjectives to describe flavor or disease resistance. For most people, plants with “good” flavor will not be as tasty as those rated “excellent.” The same goes for descriptions of disease resistance and yield.
Reputable companies use adjectives that are based on variety testing. For example, a panel of taste testers will rate tomatoes from poor to excellent, and the compiled results will determine what varieties taste the best. Rating scales are also used for disease resistance.
If the description of a variety you are interested in doesn’t include flavor, that is usually a red flag. So, if growing a tasty tomato is important to you, it is probably best to avoid varieties that don’t mention flavor.
Another item to pay attention to is disease resistance. I’ve gardened in several places in the U.S., but I’ve never gardened in a place with as many diseases and insects as Mississippi. These pests make it much harder to garden successfully.
Luckily for us, plant breeding is changing that situation by improving disease resistance.
You’ll notice that garden catalogs list disease resistance in the description. For example, squash with “PMR” is powdery mildew resistant. If you struggle with specific diseases, look for varieties that have “excellent” resistance to them.
If you don’t know what kind of diseases you struggle with in your garden, look for varieties that have the longest lists of disease resistance. Even better, take diseased plants to your local Extension agent and get a diagnosis so you can learn to manage the disease or find resistant varieties in the future.
Beware of the non-GMO label, which stands for genetically modified organism.
I was in a grocery store buying flour and noticed that most brands carried a non-GMO verified logo. What I find strange is that there is no GMO wheat on the market, so this label is just marketing smoke and mirrors.
The same is true for most seed companies. Only a few companies geared toward large-scale farmers sell GMO seeds, and these companies don’t keep that a secret. When you see companies touting that they sell only non-GMO seeds, realize that nearly everyone else does, too.
My last piece of advice is to order early so seed is on hand when you want to plant. When your seeds arrive, keep them in an airtight container in the fridge until you need them. Most seeds last for years under these conditions.
For information on how to grow high-quality starts, check out Extension Publication 3436, “Homegrown Flower, Herb and Vegetable Transplants.”
Happy planting!
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Four weeks after declaring his 2024 White House bid, former President Trump appears to be a candidate in name only.
Trump announced his third presidential campaign on Nov. 15 from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, giving a long-winded speech in which he said he is seeking a return to the Oval Office “to make America great and glorious again.”
Since then, Trump has not held any formal campaign events. He has not traveled to early voting states, made any major staffing announcements or done much of anything to scare off would-be rivals.
Instead, he’s been making headlines for controversies including dining with a white nationalist and calling to suspend the rules of the Constitution to redo the 2020 election.
The failure to launch has fueled chatter that Trump is as politically weak as he’s ever been — giving others weighing 2024 campaigns more food for thought.
“His announcement and post-announcement period went terribly,” one former Trump campaign adviser said, pointing to Republican Herschel Walker’s defeat in Tuesday’s Georgia Senate runoff as the latest negative development.
Trump plows ahead
Trump’s campaign launch itself came at a time when many Republicans, including some of his own advisers, were urging him to delay at least until after that vote.
Underwhelming midterm results for Republicans, due in part to key losses by Trump-backed candidates in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan, Wisconsin and now Georgia had led some in the former president’s orbit to call for holding off until there was a clearer argument for his candidacy.
Instead, Trump plowed ahead with his launch. Although there is still an abundance of time left on the calendar, what has followed has not resembled much of a campaign building momentum or clearing the field.
Trump has brought in a handful of staffers for the operation, including Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, but there is no clear campaign manager.
He has not left Florida for any campaign events. He addressed the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas virtually while several other possible 2024 candidates attended in person. Trump did not hold a rally in Georgia in support of Walker, instead doing a telerally amid concerns his presence would turn off independent voters.
There have been no major policy rollouts or campaign infrastructure announcements in the weeks since Trump launched his bid. His one impromptu speech came during a gala at Mar-a-Lago, when he took to a microphone to denounce the appointment of a Justice Department special counsel to handle investigations into his conduct now that he is formally a candidate for office.
The general lack of activity has only fueled speculation among some Trump critics that the early announcement was intended to potentially insulate the former president from a possible indictment over his handling of classified documents.
Meanwhile, Trump has generated an avalanche of bad headlines with his private meetings and social media commentary.
Republicans widely condemned his meeting with the rapper Ye and Nick Fuentes, both of whom have espoused virulently antisemitic rhetoric, and the latter of which is a Holocaust denier.
The former president drew condemnation from his own party again, though it was more muted, when he suggested the country should disregard the Constitution and redo the 2020 election or put him back in the White House because of internal communications that showed Twitter employees deciding to limit the spread of a story about President Biden’s son, Hunter, in the fall of 2020.
This past week, a New York jury found the Trump Organization guilty of tax fraud, and a federal appeals court ended the appointment of a special master to conduct an outside review of White House records seized from Mar-a-Lago that included top secret and classified government documents.
‘Ready to win’
Despite all this, Trump and his team believe the former president remains the candidate to beat in any GOP primary.
“President Trump entered the race three weeks ago ready to win and he is going to do exactly that — no amount of wishful thinking from the media or consultant class will change it,” said Taylor Budowich, head of MAGA Inc., a Trump-aligned super PAC. “He’s building one of the most talented teams in American politics, and he is the only person in the country who is ready and capable of reversing America’s decline.”
In the meantime, other possible candidates are building out their own infrastructure as they weigh a 2024 campaign.
Former Vice President Mike Pence has made multiple visits this year to New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina, the first three primary states. And Republican operatives have formed a super PAC in support of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who will reportedly meet with major donors in the coming weeks.
Republican strategists largely agree that Trump still has to be treated as the front-runner in any GOP primary given his devoted base of voters that give him a solid floor of support. Recent polling has also shown that Trump is still the preferred candidate of many voters, especially in a large, divided field.
A YouGov-Yahoo poll conducted Dec. 1-5 found 35 percent of voters would back Trump in a GOP primary in 2024, followed by 30 percent who said they’d support DeSantis. Twelve percent of respondents said they weren’t sure who they’d support, while 5 percent said they’d back Pence.
The same poll also found Trump losing a hypothetical rematch with President Biden, 45 percent to 42 percent, underscoring the fears many in the party have about nominating Trump a third time. The early weeks of Trump’s campaign have done little to dispel those concerns.
“It’s crystal, crystal, crystal clear,” former Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said in an interview with SiriusXM this week. “We lose with Trump if we stick with Trump. If we dump Trump, we start winning elections. So I think he has just shown himself to be who he is, and that is not a reflection on our democracy.” | https://wgntv.com/hill-politics/the-trump-campaign-that-isnt/ | 2022-12-11 14:22:43 | 1 | https://wgntv.com/hill-politics/the-trump-campaign-that-isnt/ |
WASHINGTON — Seeking a valid U.S. passport for that 2023 trip? Buckle up, wishful traveler, for a very different journey before you step anywhere near an airport.
A much-feared backup of U.S passport applications has smashed into a wall of government bureaucracy as worldwide travel rebounds toward record pre-pandemic levels — with too few humans to handle the load. The result, say aspiring travelers in the U.S. and around the world, is a maddening pre-travel purgatory defined, at best, by costly uncertainty.
With family dreams and big money on the line, passport seekers describe a slow-motion agony of waiting, worrying, holding the line, refreshing the screen, complaining to Congress, paying extra fees and following incorrect directions. Some applicants are buying additional plane tickets to snag in-process passports where they sit — in other cities — in time to make the flights they booked in the first place.
So grim is the outlook that U.S. officials aren't even denying the problem or predicting when it will ease. They're blaming the epic wait times on lingering pandemic -related staffing shortages and a pause of online processing this year. That’s left the passport agency flooded with a record-busting 500,000 applications a week. The deluge is on-track to top last year’s 22 million passports issued, the State Department says.
It was early March when Dallas-area florist Ginger Collier applied for four passports ahead of a family vacation at the end of June. The clerk, she said, estimated wait times at eight to 11 weeks. They'd have their passports a month before they needed them. "Plenty of time," Collier recalled thinking.
Then the State Department upped the wait time for a regular passport to as much as 13 weeks. “We'll still be okay,” she thought.
At two weeks to travel, this was Collier's assessment: “I can’t sleep." Failure to obtain the family’s passports would mean losing $4,000, she said, as well as the chance to meet one of her sons in Italy after a study-abroad semester. “My nerves are shot, because I may not be able to get to him,” she said. She calls the toll-free number every day, holds for as much as 90 minutes to be told — at best — that she might be able to get a required appointment at passport offices in other states.
“I can’t afford four more plane tickets anywhere in the United States to get a passport when I applied in plenty of time,” she said.
By March, concerned travelers began asking for answers and then demanding help, including from their representatives in the House and Senate, who widely reported at hearings this year that they were receiving more complaints from constituents on passport delays than any other issue.
The U.S. secretary of state had an answer, of a sort.
“With COVID, the bottom basically dropped out of the system,” Antony Blinken told a House subcommittee March 23. When demand for travel all but disappeared during the pandemic, he said, the government let contractors go and reassigned staff that had been dedicated to handling passports.
Around the same time, the government also halted an online renewal system "to make sure that we can fine tune it and improve it," Blinken said. He said the department is hiring agents as quickly as possible, opening more appointments and trying to address the crisis in other ways.
Passport applicants lit up social media groups, toll-free numbers and lawmakers' phone lines with questions, appeals for advice and cries for help.
At U.S. consulates overseas, the quest for U.S. visas and passports isn't much brighter.
On a day in June, people in New Delhi could expect to wait 451 days for a visa interview, according to the website. Those in Sao Paulo could plan on waiting more than 600 days. Aspiring travelers in Mexico City were waiting about 750 days; in Bogota, Colombia, it was 801 days.
In Israel, the need is especially acute. More than 200,000 people with citizenship in both countries live in Israel.
Batsheva Gutterman started looking for appointments immediately after she had a baby in December, with an eye toward attending her sister's wedding in July, in Raleigh, N.C. Her quest for three passports stretched from January to June, days before travel. And it only resolved after Gutterman payed a small fee to join a WhatsApp group that alerted her to new appointments, which stay available for only a few seconds.
She ultimately got three appointments on three consecutive days — bureaucracy embodied.
“This makes me incredibly uneasy having a baby in Israel as an American citizen, knowing there is no way I can fly with that baby until we get lucky with an appointment,” she said.
There appeared to be some progress. The wait for an appointment for a renewal on June 8 stood at 360 days. By July 2, the wait was 90 days, according to the web site.
Back in the U.S., Marni Larsen of Holladay, Utah, stood in line in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, in hopes of snagging her son's passport. That way, she hoped, the pair could meet the rest of their family, who had already left as scheduled for Europe, for a long-planned vacation.
She'd applied for her son's passport two months earlier and spent weeks checking for updates online or through a frustrating call system. As the mid-June vacation loomed, Larsen reached out to Sen. Mitt Romney ’s office, where one of four people he says is assigned full-time to passport issues were able to track down the document in New Orleans.
It was supposed to be shipped to Los Angeles, where she got an appointment to retrieve it. That meant Larsen had to buy new tickets for herself and her son to Los Angeles and reroute their trip from there to Rome. All on a bet that her son's passport was indeed shipped as promised.
“We are just waiting in this massive line of tons of people,” Larsen said. “It’s just been a nightmare.”
They succeeded. And Ginger Collier? She found her happy ending. “I just got my passports!” she texted. A seven-hour visit at the passport office in Dallas, plus a return the next day, produced the passports with four days to spare.
“What a ridiculous process,” Collier said. Nevertheless, the reunion with her son in Italy was sweet. She texted last week: “It was the best hug ever!” | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/nation-world/passport-wait-times-2023-travel/507-f0f4a9bb-bb52-4032-b7e9-1d1dde7ba860 | 2023-07-03 20:09:32 | 0 | https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/nation-world/passport-wait-times-2023-travel/507-f0f4a9bb-bb52-4032-b7e9-1d1dde7ba860 |
ALEXANDRIA, La. (WNTZ) – The Avoyelles Parish Sheriff’s Office (APSO) is requesting assistance from the public in finding 37-year-old Regis Simon (aka “Eddy Branch”) of Marksville, LA. Simon was reported missing in mid-March 2022. Information was received that he was likely the victim of a violent crime. Initially, APSO worked to assist the Mansura and Marksville Police Departments when it was initially believed his disappearance occurred within their jurisdictions. The case has now been turned over to the APSO Criminal Investigations Unit for further investigation. We are continuing to follow up on leads as they develop.
If you have any information pertaining to Regis Simon’s disappearance or crimes committed against him, please contact APSO by calling 318-253-4000. Any assistance or information pertaining to his disappearance, the identification of the person(s) involved, or any witnesses, would be greatly appreciated.
Strong relationships between our agency and the communities we serve are critical to maintaining public safety and effective policing. We rely on the cooperation of community members and concerned citizens to provide information about crime in their communities and neighborhoods. Remember, this could be your missing loved one. Working together we can make our Parish a better and safer place to live. | https://www.cenlanow.com/state-news/apso-seeking-missing-person-ask-for-publics-help/ | 2022-09-23 22:17:46 | 1 | https://www.cenlanow.com/state-news/apso-seeking-missing-person-ask-for-publics-help/ |
SERB Pharmaceuticals pursuing therapeutic treatment against ricin poisoning using Soligenix ricin antigen
PRINCETON, N.J., July 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Soligenix, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNGX) (Soligenix or the Company), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing products to treat rare diseases where there is an unmet medical need, announced today that it has signed a worldwide exclusive license to supply its ricin antigen to SERB Pharmaceuticals (SERB), for development of a novel therapeutic treatment against ricin toxin poisoning. There is an unmet need for protection against this highly potent toxin for which there is no vaccine or therapeutic intervention available.
"We are pleased to be partnering with Soligenix on the use of their antigen to accelerate our ricin therapeutic program. With no current therapeutic options, the threat of ricin represents a significant unmet need in the field of biodefense and medical countermeasures," said Anthony Higham, CEO of SERB Pharmaceuticals. "Our expertise in antibody development and the commercial scale manufacturing capabilities acquired with BTG together with SERB's track record of reliably providing a portfolio of high-quality Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) antidotes, uniquely positions us to successfully deliver a solution."
"Beyond our own development of a heat stable ricin vaccine (RiVax®) to protect against lethal ricin poisoning, which has been supported with more than $30 million dollars to date by the U.S. government, we felt it important to also partner with SERB in the development of its ricin therapeutic drug candidate," stated Christopher J. Schaber, PhD, President and CEO of Soligenix. "SERB is a leader in the field of medical countermeasures to protect the public and military forces. By supplying our novel ricin antigen as an important component of their formulation, we are hopeful that it will assist in accelerating development of this early-stage program."
In pursuit of a ricin antidote, SERB will leverage its unique broad-spectrum polyclonal antibody platform, gained in its acquisition of BTG Specialty Pharmaceuticals. This specialized manufacturing process generates binding fragments from antibodies that are specific to a given antigen, helping to ensure potency and purity. This platform is currently used to manufacture two of the company's currently marketed products, CroFab® and DigiFab®.
The antibodies will be generated using a modified form of the ricin toxin, developed by Soligenix. The modifications have removed the biological activity of the protein so that it is not toxic, while still retaining its shape to trigger an effective antibody response.
The specific licensing terms have not been disclosed at this time, but consist of a manufacturing supply agreement and small royalty percentage upon commercialization.
Ricin is a source of concern because it is a relatively easy to obtain, easy to weaponize and highly potent toxin. Ricin can be extracted from the seeds of the castor oil plant, Ricinus communis. Ricin is one of the most toxic biological agents known—a Category B bioterrorism agent and a Schedule number 1 chemical warfare agent.
Ricin has been a threat since governments began experimenting with it during World War I. Most famously used in the assassination of Bulgarian writer Georgi Markov in 1978, ricin has been developed and deployed with alarming frequency. Several ricin attacks have been prevented in Europe and the United States in recent years, ranging from a militant group in Germany prevented from launching a ricin attack by police in 2017 to the 2020 delivery of letters laced with ricin to the White House.
SERB is a growing pharmaceutical company and a dedicated ally to healthcare providers treating patients with critical conditions, focusing on emergency care and rare diseases. For over 30 years we have made treating these complex and life-threatening conditions possible, supporting clinicians, healthcare systems and governments while offering hope to patients and their families. As a fully integrated company, we have the experience and capabilities to acquire, develop, and manufacture our medicines to the highest standards, and make them available worldwide through our secure supply chain. SERB acquired BTG Specialty Pharmaceuticals in March of 2021.
Soligenix is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing products to treat rare diseases where there is an unmet medical need. Our Specialized BioTherapeutics business segment is developing and moving toward potential commercialization of HyBryte™ (SGX301 or synthetic hypericin) as a novel photodynamic therapy utilizing safe visible light for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). With a successful Phase 3 study completed, regulatory approval is being sought and commercialization activities for this product candidate are being advanced initially in the U.S. Development programs in this business segment also include our first-in-class innate defense regulator (IDR) technology, dusquetide (SGX942) for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, including oral mucositis in head and neck cancer, and proprietary formulations of oral beclomethasone 17,21-dipropionate (BDP) for the prevention/treatment of gastrointestinal (GI) disorders characterized by severe inflammation including pediatric Crohn's disease (SGX203).
Our Public Health Solutions business segment includes active development programs for RiVax®, our ricin toxin vaccine candidate, and SGX943, our therapeutic candidate for antibiotic resistant and emerging infectious disease, and our vaccine programs targeting filoviruses (such as Marburg and Ebola) and CiVax™, our vaccine candidate for the prevention of COVID-19 (caused by SARS-CoV-2). The development of our vaccine programs incorporates the use of our proprietary heat stabilization platform technology, known as ThermoVax®. To date, this business segment has been supported with government grant and contract funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
For further information regarding Soligenix, Inc., please visit the Company's website at https://www.soligenix.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter at @Soligenix_Inc.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements that reflect Soligenix, Inc.'s current expectations about its future results, performance, prospects and opportunities, including but not limited to, potential market sizes, patient populations and clinical trial enrollment. Statements that are not historical facts, such as "anticipates," "estimates," "believes," "hopes," "intends," "plans," "expects," "goal," "may," "suggest," "will," "potential," or similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results in future periods to differ materially from what is expressed in, or implied by, these statements, such as experienced with the COVID-19 outbreak. Soligenix cannot assure you that it will be able to successfully develop, achieve regulatory approval for or commercialize products based on its technologies, particularly in light of the significant uncertainty inherent in developing therapeutics and vaccines against bioterror threats, conducting preclinical and clinical trials of therapeutics and vaccines, obtaining regulatory approvals and manufacturing therapeutics and vaccines, that product development and commercialization efforts will not be reduced or discontinued due to difficulties or delays in clinical trials or due to lack of progress or positive results from research and development efforts, that it will be able to successfully obtain any further funding to support product development and commercialization efforts, including grants and awards, maintain its existing grants which are subject to performance requirements, enter into any biodefense procurement contracts with the U.S. Government or other countries, that it will be able to compete with larger and better financed competitors in the biotechnology industry, that changes in health care practice, third party reimbursement limitations and Federal and/or state health care reform initiatives will not negatively affect its business, or that the U.S. Congress may not pass any legislation that would provide additional funding for the Project BioShield program. In addition, there can be no assurance as to the timing or success of any of its clinical/preclinical trials. Despite the statistically significant result achieved in the HyBryte™ (SGX301) Phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, there can be no assurance that a marketing authorization from the FDA or EMA will be successful. Further, there can be no assurance that RiVax® will qualify for a biodefense Priority Review Voucher (PRV) or that the prior sales of PRVs will be indicative of any potential sales price for a PRV for RiVax®. Also, no assurance can be provided that the Company will receive or continue to receive non-dilutive government funding from grants and contracts that have been or may be awarded or for which the Company will apply in the future. These and other risk factors are described from time to time in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, Soligenix's reports on Forms 10-Q and 10-K. Unless required by law, Soligenix assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events.
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SOURCE Soligenix, Inc. | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2022/07/25/soligenix-announces-strategic-partnership-with-serb-pharmaceuticals-supply-its-novel-ricin-antigen/ | 2022-07-25 11:58:17 | 1 | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2022/07/25/soligenix-announces-strategic-partnership-with-serb-pharmaceuticals-supply-its-novel-ricin-antigen/ |
PROVIDENCE, R.I., Oct. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Nabsys, the pioneer in electronic whole-genome mapping, announced that Justin Bingham has joined the company as its Chief Commercial Officer.
"Justin brings highly relevant experience to Nabsys, both as a consumer of whole-genome technology and data and as a builder of commercial life sciences organizations," said Barrett Bready, MD, Nabsys Founder and CEO. "Retaining his leadership as our Chief Commercial Officer is a critical next step as we position electronic whole-genome mapping to address challenges in human health."
Prior to Nabsys, Justin served on the executive leadership team at CENTOGENE, GmbH as the Senior Vice President of Business Development. "It was during my tenure at CENTOGENE where I was exposed to the huge unmet need for higher resolution whole-genome mapping to better inform and improve clinical diagnostics," said Bingham. "Current technologies struggle to cost effectively analyze the genome for structural variation. I believe Nabsys is bringing forward technology that will dramatically improve our understanding of structural variants and provide new insights into the underlying causes of disease."
Justin also has experience launching instruments into the genomics space. He played a pivotal role in the commercialization of the world's first benchtop DNA assembly instrument, the BioXp system, while at SGI-DNA, Inc. where he was responsible for business development, global sales and marketing. "Nabsys will rely on Justin's understanding of how to efficiently build and scale a strong commercial organization that meets the needs of the company and our path to growth," said Kevin DeGeeter, CFO, Nabsys.
The Nabsys mission is to advance the understanding of disease, increase diagnostic yield, and improve patient outcomes by enabling routine, accurate, cost-effective analysis of genomic structural variation (SV). In the past decade, scientists have determined that SVs account for the majority of human genomic variation. However, SV research has been limited due to relatively high cost, high computational burden, and inadequate performance of current tools. By employing electronic detection, Nabsys' whole-genome mapping solution, HD-Mapping™, can offer cost-effective hardware and consumables while delivering high-resolution single-molecule measurements. Located in Providence, RI, Nabsys employs a growing interdisciplinary group of dedicated scientists, engineers, and other professionals committed to the advancement of genomic analysis.
Contact: info@nabsys.com
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SOURCE Nabsys 2.0 LLC | https://www.wsaz.com/prnewswire/2022/10/19/justin-bingham-joins-nabsys-chief-commercial-officer/ | 2022-10-19 15:33:38 | 1 | https://www.wsaz.com/prnewswire/2022/10/19/justin-bingham-joins-nabsys-chief-commercial-officer/ |
ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NATSO, representing truckstops and travel plazas, SIGMA: America's Leading Fuel Marketers, and the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to authorize the summertime sale of gasoline blended with up to 15 percent ethanol (E15) to ensure consistent gasoline supply and lower fuel prices for American consumers during the summer driving season.
NATSO, SIGMA and NACS, which collectively represent 90 percent of the motor fuel sales in the United States, said in a letter to EPA that high inflation coupled with lingering supply chain disruptions and continued geopolitical unrest have created a volatile fuel supply market that is unlikely to change in coming months.
"Total gasoline inventories are lower today than they were last year when EPA issued waivers to address the nation's fuel supply," the organizations told EPA. "None of these trends appear likely to dissipate in the coming months. This will result in continued, increasing pressure on transportation fuel markets that will make it challenging to ensure consistent gasoline supply across the nation."
EPA alleviated summertime fuel concerns in 2022, when fuel inventories were higher than they are today. Selling E15 during the summer months allows fuel retailers to diversify fuel options while lowering fuel prices for consumers and improving the carbon intensity of fuel.
While current fuel supplies are adequate to meet demand, summertime E15 sales will help to ensure the nation does not experience disruptions in the fuel supply or higher costs for consumers should unforeseen circumstances tighten supplies.
About NATSO, NACS, and SIGMA
NATSO is the trade association of America's travel centers, truckstops and off-highway transportation energy retailers. Founded in 1960, NATSO represents the industry on legislative and regulatory matters; serves as the official source of information on the diverse travel center, truckstop and transportation energy retail industry; provides education to its members; conducts an annual convention and trade show; and supports efforts to generally improve the business climate in which its members operate. Contact: Tiffany Wlazlowski Neuman, Vice President, Public Affairs. 202-365-9459
NACS advances the role of convenience stores as positive economic, social and philanthropic contributors to the communities they serve. The U.S. convenience store industry, with more than 153,000 stores nationwide selling fuel, food and merchandise, serves 165 million customers daily—half of the U.S. population—and has sales that are 10.8% of total U.S. retail and foodservice sales. NACS has 1,900 retailer and 1,800 supplier members from more than 50 countries.
SIGMA is the national trade association representing the most successful, progressive, and innovative fuel marketers and chain retailers in the United States and Canada. Founded in 1958 as the Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America (SIGMA), SIGMA has become a fixture in the motor fuel marketing industry. Representing a diverse membership of approximately 250 independent chain retailers and marketers of motor fuel, the association serves to further the interests of both the branded and unbranded segment of the industry while providing information and services to members. For more information visit SIGMA.org.
Contact: Tiffany Wlazlowski Neuman
Vice President, Public Affairs
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SOURCE NATSO, Inc. | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/04/04/fuel-retailers-urge-epa-authorize-summer-sales-e15/ | 2023-04-04 17:30:13 | 0 | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/04/04/fuel-retailers-urge-epa-authorize-summer-sales-e15/ |
A 13-foot smalltooth sawfish was caught and tagged by researchers and students off the Florida coast, marking the first time the endangered fish had been tagged in 30-40 years, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), population numbers for the smalltooth sawfish declined rapidly during the latter half of the 20th century, due largely to habitat loss from coastal development and getting accidentally caught in commercial fishing operations, thanks in part to their saw-like snouts which can easily become entangled in nets.
As a result, in 2003 NOAA designated the U.S. population of the smalltooth sawfish for listing as an endangered species under the federal Endangered Species Act. By 2014, the non-U.S. population had also been designated as endangered.
Sawfishes, while shaped like sharks, are actually rays. They once called the waters ranging from New York to Texas home, but now are largely limited to the areas off the Florida coast.
The museum says Florida researchers caught the sawfish off the coast of Cedar Key on June 6 during a shark field course being conducted by Dean Grubbs from Florida State University and Gavin Naylor, head of the museum’s shark research program.
“This is the furthest north an individual has been tagged by the sawfish recovery team in the last 30 to 40 years,” Naylor said in a release from the museum.
Naylor and Grubbs were ostensibly fishing for a juvenile shark for their students to inspect. To their surprise, they found the 13-foot sawfish at the end of the line. Grubbs said he initially thought he had hooked a nurse shark, which are large bottom feeders which share many of the same habitats as sawfish.
“I felt something heavy on the line, and my first thought was that it was likely a nurse shark,” said Grubbs.
But Grubbs quickly came to the realization what he had was not a nurse shark.
“I was pretty sure this was a sawfish, but I remained stone-faced because I didn’t want to disappoint the students if I was wrong,” he said. “I saw the tail before the rostrum, so I lost my calm at that point and screamed ‘Sawfish! It’s a sawfish!’”
Grubbs and his students got in the water and held on tight to the sawfish while others returned to shore to retrieve a tracking device, which they had not anticipated needing for their shark outing. The tag will record the sawfish’s movements for the next decade and will be used a part of wide-ranging partnership to monitor sawfish populations.
The museum also said the sawfish caught last month had mating scars on its fins and sides. While records of sawfish mating habits are few, rays and sharks exhibit similar mating behaviors in which the male bits the fins of the female prior to mating.
Smalltooth sawfish have a lengthy lifecycle, the museum said, in which females give birth to a small litter of seven to 14 juveniles, which take several years to reach reproductive maturity. Their slow development has limited the recovery of sawtooth populations, but mating scars are a positive sign that their numbers are continuing to rebound.
Naylor said catching and tagging the smalltooth sawfish was both an incredible experience for the students, as well as encouraging for the future of the species.
“I can’t think of a better way for a group of young people studying environmental and conservation biology to learn about this critically endangered and incredibly spectacular animal,” he said. “So much of the news about Earth’s climate and environment is doom and gloom, but this is a potent reminder that if you leave things alone, many species are capable of recovery.” | https://www.al.com/news/2023/07/endangered-sawfish-tagged-off-florida-coast-for-first-time-in-decades.html | 2023-07-11 18:04:27 | 0 | https://www.al.com/news/2023/07/endangered-sawfish-tagged-off-florida-coast-for-first-time-in-decades.html |
The top kitchen tongs
A good pair of tongs is integral to the cooking process. After all, you can’t grab a piping-hot chicken breast or remove pasta from boiling water with your bare hands. It’s also inconvenient to handle raw beef patties and then repeatedly wash your hands. Plus, some tasks, such as precision plating, simply require more than your bare fingers.
There are specific varieties of tongs that help with each of those tasks. Who knew that there were so many different kinds of tongs? Many are made from metal, but some have non-marking silicone tips and others are made entirely from wood. Before you make your decision, here are a few things to consider.
What to look for when buying tongs
Material
Steel tongs are the most resilient, and you’ll find a large collection of all-metal tongs in any restaurant kitchen. Restaurants use them because the metal construction can withstand repeated trips through a high-temperature commercial dishwasher.
Most cooks prefer metal tongs with silicone accents for home use because of the added grip. Aside from grip, many tongs have silicone tips that won’t scratch even the most delicate surfaces.
There are also some tongs made of wood. These aren’t usually used for cooking but for more delicate tasks such as removing waffles from waffle makers or toast from toasters because they can’t handle much heat.
Finally, you may run into some plastic buffet tongs in your search, but their low cost and minimal advantage aren’t worth worrying about unless you’re looking for budget-friendly options and aren’t as concerned with longevity.
Locking and spring-loaded hinges
You almost certainly want tongs with spring-loaded hinges. In fact, most cooks will toss a pair of tongs in the trash once the spring breaks. Manually reopening tongs every time you use them is basically an impossible task.
Some tongs consist of just a single piece of metal that acts as a combined hinge and spring. These are usually reserved for handling pasta and salads and aren’t that great for cooking hot food.
Locking hinges make it considerably easier to store tongs, whether in a drawer or hanging on the wall. They typically use a simple mechanism to lock in a closed position. All you have to do is push gently on the tongs’ hanging ring, and they should open smoothly.
Length
For most tasks, 9 to 12 inches is the right size of tongs. Longer is better if you’re barbecuing, and you can even find some great 16-inch options to ensure the grill doesn’t burn you.
You’ll also find some especially short tongs in the range of 4 to 5 inches long. These are usually meant for special purposes, such as waffles and toast.
Kitchen tongs FAQ
Why do cooks click tongs before using them?
A. Often referred to as a “test click,” this is a common phenomenon you can observe in likely every professional kitchen worldwide. No one really knows where this tradition started, but many seasoned cooks simply aren’t comfortable using a pair of tongs until they’ve clicked them together once or twice. Once you try it, you’ll understand.
Are metal tongs safe for cast iron?
A. As long as you use a little care, metal tongs shouldn’t scratch a properly seasoned cast-iron pan. In this context, seasoning doesn’t have anything to do with salt or herbs, but instead the layer of plasticized oil that gives cast iron its decent nonstick properties. A good seasoning layer will be resilient enough to resist minor scratches, so long as you don’t put too much force behind them. Nonetheless, it can’t hurt to use silicone-tipped tongs to ensure you preserve the cast iron’s seasoning.
Best kitchen tongs
They come in 9- and 12-inch versions, have silicone tips and grips and are about as sturdy as they get.
Sold by Amazon and Sur La Table
They measure 16 inches long with serrated and perforated tips that help you get a reliable hold on the juiciest burgers, hotdogs and more.
Sold by Amazon
They sport silicone grips and a reliable locking mechanism, in addition to standard metal jaws that make it easy to grab slippery foods.
Sold by Amazon
A little different than most, these have flat and somewhat flexible spatula-style jaws that are perfect for removing sandwiches from nonstick grills and flipping delicate foods such as fish fillets.
Sold by Amazon
These novel barbecue tongs have an angled section that lets them stand angled upward, so they don’t get dirty every time you put them down. There’s also a convenient cutting edge that lets you slice into meats on the grill to get an idea of how done they are.
Sold by Amazon
It’s a good habit to avoid using metal or silicone tongs around electric heating elements. These low-cost bamboo tongs are perfect for pulling delicate foods out of toasters and toaster ovens.
Sold by Amazon
This two-pack of silicone-tipped locking tongs comes in various colors to match your kitchen decor.
Sold by Amazon
The flat, rigid tips are great for grilling tasks such as flipping burgers without breaking them.
Sold by Amazon
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Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://www.kron4.com/reviews/the-8-best-tongs/ | 2022-07-11 18:25:29 | 0 | https://www.kron4.com/reviews/the-8-best-tongs/ |
BUTTE, Mont. (AP) — Republican Ryan Zinke is set to face Democrat Monica Tranel and Libertarian John Lamb in a Thursday night debate in the race for a new U.S. House seat covering western Montana.
Zinke, a former U.S. interior secretary and former congressman, narrowly won the June Republican primary. He left Trump’s cabinet while under investigation by federal officials who later concluded he had lied in cases involving a Connecticut casino proposal and a real estate development project in his hometown of Whitefish.
In both cases prosecutors declined to pursue criminal charges and Zinke has denied wrongdoing.
Tranel is an attorney and former Olympic rower. She cruised to victory in the Democratic primary, but faces in Zinke a well-financed opponent who has wide name recognition.
Lamb is a farmer from Norris who has not reported raising any money for his campaign.
The 2020 Census gave Montana a second congressional district for the first time in 30 years. The district is considered to lean Republican. Democrats are hoping to claim it as their first U.S. House seat in the state since 1997, when former Democratic Rep. Pat Williams left office.
The 7 p.m. debate at Montana Tech University in Butte is sponsored by Lee Newspapers, Montana Public Radio and Yellowstone Public Radio. | https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Zinke-Tranel-Lamb-face-off-in-debate-for-new-US-17475904.php | 2022-09-29 19:41:45 | 0 | https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Zinke-Tranel-Lamb-face-off-in-debate-for-new-US-17475904.php |
STORRS, Conn (AP) — The Big East game between No. 5 UConn and DePaul on Sunday at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut, has been postponed because the Huskies don’t have enough healthy players available to suit up, the conference said Friday.
The conference requires schools to suit up seven scholarship players for any game, and injuries have left the Huskies with just six active players, the school said.
UConn also was expected to be without head coach Geno Auriemma, who announced Thursday that he is taking some time off to recover from an illness.
Junior Aaliyah Edwards and freshman Ayanna Patterson were injured in UConn’s win at Xavier on Thursday. They join sophomore Caroline Ducharme, sophomore Azzi Fudd, junior Paige Bueckers and freshman Ice Brady on the inactive list.
Edwards sustained what was described alternately as a right foot or ankle injury in the first half of the Huskies 73-37 victory, diving over some courtside seats for a loose ball. It was not immediately clear when or how Patterson was hurt.
The school said it would not release any further details Friday night.
“At UConn, the health and wellbeing of our student-athletes will always be our top priority,” David Benedict, the school’s athletic director, said in a statement. “Our women’s basketball program has unfortunately been affected by an unprecedented number of injuries this season. While it’s unfortunate that we need to postpone Sunday’s game, it’s the right call to protect the safety of our student-athletes. We will work with the Big East and DePaul on options to reschedule the game.”
Bueckers and Brady are out for the season with knee injuries.
Fudd, the Huskies’ leading scorer, is expected to return shortly from a knee injury that has kept her on the bench since she was injured in a collision with Edwards during a Dec. 4 loss to Notre Dame. She has participated in warmups during the last three games as part of her rehab.
Guard Caroline Ducharme has missed two games while in concussion protocol after suffering an injury in practice.
The Huskies currently available to play include guards Nika Mühl, Lou Lopez Sénéchal, Inês Bettencourt and forwards Aubrey Griffin, Dorka Juhász and Amari DeBerry.
Auriemma has missed four games this season due to illness, and it is not clear when he might return.
“It’s been an extremely difficult month for me, and I’ve been feeling under the weather and run down,” Auriemma said in a statement Thursday. “I thought I was ready to return, but I need a little more time. I’m going to take a step back to focus on my health and will return when I feel ready.”
Despite the injuries, the Huskies have won six straight.
The school says those with tickets to Sunday’s game will be able to use them when the game is rescheduled.
UConn is next scheduled to play at St. John’s on Wednesday, while DePaul is scheduled to host Villanova that evening.
___
AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25 | https://www.kark.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-no-5-uconn-depaul-game-postponed-due-to-lack-of-players/ | 2023-01-07 02:47:21 | 0 | https://www.kark.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-no-5-uconn-depaul-game-postponed-due-to-lack-of-players/ |
Just as the summer weather kicks off, al fresco dining is finally returning to Federal Hill this Saturday.
One of Rhode Island’s most concentrated dining districts has been shutting down its main stretch of Atwells Avenue for the last few years. If you haven’t made it yet, mark it down for a Saturday this summer on your calendar — al fresco lasts through Labor Day weekend. They’ll have two stages of music this year in addition to performances from aerial artist group The Dancing Loon.
Rick Simone, the president of the Federal Hill Commerce Association said more than 30 restaurants and retail shops are participating in “Al Fresco on the Hill” this year. But if you’re traveling to the Hill for the first time in a while, you might not recognize some of the newest restaurants — here are a few.
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OPENINGS
The Patio on Broadway: From crispy duck meatballs with spicy chili jam to cocktails like the “Bee Sting” with jalapeño-infused honey, The Patio is now open in the old Grange restaurant space. It’s owned by Jason Winpenny, who operates The Patio on Main in East Greenwich. Here are the food and drink menus. 166 Broadway, 401-227-9366, thepatiori.com.
Saint: Tavolo Wine Bar & Tuscan Grille closed its Federal Hill location earlier this year, leaving a large restaurant and bar space vacant. Alex Tomasso, a former nightclub owner who currently owns The George on Washington Street in downtown, is opening Saint on Friday. They have two concepts in one: Heaven and Hell. “Heaven” has all the classics — from beef tenderloin to cioppino with octopus and blue crab. The “Hell” menu is meant to excite your palate with items like a pickled peach salad, muscovy duck breast with maple chili butter, and blue crab risotto with a Cajun wine butter. 289 Atwells Ave., 401-423-4911, saintfederalhill.com.
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Island House Grille & Bar: On Broad Street, the Island House Restaurant is known for preparing Jamaican plates like jerk chicken, patties, and oxtail, for diners and catering orders. On Thursday, Island House Grille & Bar will open on Federal Hill serving a variety of Caribbean and soul food classics. 32 Spruce St., islandhouserestaurantri.com.
COMING SOON
Two other restaurants are opening on the Hill in the next month, Simone said, bringing the number of empty storefronts directly on the Avenue to just two locations. Mona Lisa Restaurant at 145 Spruce St. is scheduled to open June 16 and Federal Hill Cafe at 226 Atwells Ave. is scheduled to open June 20.
Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz. | https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/05/25/metro/federal-hill-is-getting-some-new-culinary-faces/ | 2023-05-25 11:13:32 | 1 | https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/05/25/metro/federal-hill-is-getting-some-new-culinary-faces/ |
On August 30, 2021, three Starbucks stores in and around Buffalo, New York, filed union election petitions with the National Labor Relations Board.
In the eight months since, close to 250 other Starbucks stores have followed, driving a surge in union election petitions not seen since 2015. The NLRB reported that union election petitions were up 57% in the first half of the 2022 fiscal year, compared with the year before. Starbucks petitions account for nearly a quarter of all petitions filed since January.
The Starbucks unionizing effort is remarkable, not only because of the stunning speed at which it has spread — more than 40 Starbucks stores have voted to unionize — but also because food and drink establishments have traditionally been among the least unionized workplaces in the U.S. Only 1.2% of all workers in the sector were unionized in 2021, according to the Labor Department.
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An NPR analysis of union election petitions filed with the NLRB found that a decade ago, fewer than 4% of union election petitions came from the accommodations and food services industry — mostly hotel and cafeteria workers seeking representation. One notable exception was a Panera Bread shop in Michigan.
So far in 2022, the accommodations and food services industry makes up 27.5% of all union election petitions, with a small number of independently-owned coffeehouses in cities such as Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Nashville joining hundreds of Starbucks locations all around the country in seeking union representation.
"Organizing is contagious," says Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, noting the ease at which workers can now connect with each other over cell phones and social media platforms.
Other factors contributing to the recent wave of organizing: a labor-friendly administration in the White House, a Democratic majority on the NLRB, and a strong labor market. Job openings remain at record highs, leading some workers to cast aside fears over speaking out and demanding more from their employers.
NLRB elections are just one path to unionizing
Not all workers seeking to organize do so through the union election process. Under the National Labor Relations Act, private-sector workers may persuade an employer to voluntarily recognize a union after demonstrating that a majority of workers support unionizing. Bronfenbrenner has found that a far greater share of private-sector organizing, including among hotel staff and janitorial workers, happens outside union elections.
Also, the number of union election petitions filed is not indicative of how many workers overall are seeking representation. A Starbucks petition may seek a union election for 25 workers at a single store, whereas an Amazon petition may seek an election for thousands of workers at a single warehouse.
Still, an examination of who is filing election petitions with the NLRB reveals important shifts that are happening in worker organizing, even as union membership in the U.S. remains low, with just over 6% of private-sector workers unionized. (The National Labor Relations Act does not cover public-sector workers, about a third of whom are unionized. Their rights to organize vary widely from state to state.)
Organizing has moved away from manufacturing toward other industries
The number of union election petitions filed between January and April of this year is only slightly more than the number filed in the same period in 2012.
But since 2012, the share of petitions coming from manufacturing companies has fallen by about half, according to NPR's analysis. Bronfenbrenner says the drop has come as employers have moved or threatened to move jobs elsewhere to get away from unions.
"There's a 75% chance when you go to organize in manufacturing, that the employer will threaten to shift production out of the country," says Bronfenbrenner. So the manufacturing unions have shifted to other industries, including non-profits and health care, where it's easier to organize, she says.
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So far in 2022, there have been a sizable number of election petitions from industries where unions already have a foothold: security, waste management, transportation and health care.
But there are also groups of workers seeking union representation in 2022 that are nowhere to be seen in the 2012 data: Amazon warehouse workers, college students working as residential advisors, "budtenders" at more than a dozen cannabis shops.
"This has been evolving over time," says Bronfenbrenner. "The workforce is changing, and naturally, who's a union worker is changing."
The pandemic and other factors have spurred younger people to unionize
In 2021, according to the Labor Department, union membership was highest among middle-aged workers (ages 45 to 54) and lowest among younger workers (ages 16 to 24). But that could be changing, as unionizing successes at Starbucks and Amazon have garnered national attention.
The organizing at Starbucks stores has involved many baristas in their 20s. Chris Smalls, the president of the Amazon Labor Union and a former warehouse supervisor, is in his early 30s. At both companies, workers have cited the pandemic as a major impetus for organizing, saying their companies did not do enough to protect them from the risks of COVID or reward them for carrying on with the work that has made their companies highly profitable over the past two years.
As they seek to organize, the workers are finding a lot of support — from the White House, from their peers, and from the public. A Gallup survey from last summer found that 68% of Americans approve of labor unions, a number not seen since 1965.
Will Chase, Susie Cummings and Julia Wohl of NPR's Research, Archives and Data Strategy team contributed to this report.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.mainepublic.org/npr-news/2022-05-01/starbucks-workers-drive-nationwide-surge-in-union-organizing | 2022-05-01 13:08:47 | 1 | https://www.mainepublic.org/npr-news/2022-05-01/starbucks-workers-drive-nationwide-surge-in-union-organizing |
SUN RIVER/HIGHWOOD — Beef retailers in North Central Montana said they have seen an increase in demand despite inflation and rising costs, which has plagued the nation for the past couple of years.
89 Farm and Ranch LLC is a newly licensed beef retailer in Sun River. Owner Greg Thompson said he's noticed a high demand, specifically for burgers, steaks, and roasts.
Thompson said, "Just in the calf market, there's a high demand. Everything's shaping up to where I think next year, these big packers are going to end up having to hustle. I think there's going to be a shortage of beef going to market next year because of all the people who have had to sell out or cut back due to the drought. The market is shaping up to where there could be quite a high demand next year."
Thompson believes an increasing amount of people are encouraged to buy local.
Thompson said, "everybody that's came here expressed that it's really important to know where their beef is coming from. Some people want grass-fed, and some people don't like the taste of grass-fed, so I have 50 percent corn, and 50 percent grain-fed that I haul to the processing facility.
Malek Angus Ranch owner Ty Malek said he’s also seen a big surge in demand for local beef.
“I feel like the beef demand has been good, but you can see that prices are going up," Malek said. "We have to raise our prices all the time because our prices in our butcher point keeps going up. The processing and transportation of these cattle is just getting higher and higher with the fuel pricing. Everyone says it's down a dollar, but I say it's up three. Cost of doing business is so much more than it used to be, so the price of beef has to go up."
Malek said he believes people are eating out less and choosing chicken and pork as their go-to due to being a cheeper source of protein. Malek offers his products to various restaurants across Montana, adding that it's a challenge, especially providing steaks.
Malek said, "We’ve got way more ground beef business than steak business because an old-timer told me when I started this beef business ‘remember, you’re a burger company before you’re a steak company.’ Everyone sells their steak first, and that should be the thing you sell last because you’ve got to be able to get rid of that burnt ground beef because it’s what you get the most of off the cow.”
MTN also talked with Montana Farmers Union president Walter Schweitzer.
He stated, "Consumers right now are focused more than ever on where their food comes from. They'd really like to buy it locally from their neighbors if they can. This all really elevated during the Covid pandemic, when consumers went to the grocery store and found empty shelves. They started paying more attention. Even though Montana is a huge cattle producing state, we only have the processing capacity to process about 25 to 30-thousand head per year for sale. We found out during the pandemic that we struggled to feed ourselves in Montana. There really has been a high demand. The meat processors around the state are swamped. They're scheduled out a year in advance. The producers who market beef directly to consumers have to schedule an animal to be harvested the day it's born."
Malek Angus Ranch will also be hosting their annual bull sale on March 16th starting at 8am. It will be located at 22700 Highwood Rd, Highwood, MT 59450. For more information, contact: Ty Malek: 406-733-6200
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076057807110
89 Farm and Ranch - Greg Thompson; localranchbeef@outlook.com; 406-231-3574
Questions or comments about this story? Contact Cade by clicking here.
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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday afternoon's drawing of the Indiana Lottery's "Daily Four-Midday" game were:
0-2-9-3, SB: 8
(zero, two, nine, three; SB: eight)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday afternoon's drawing of the Indiana Lottery's "Daily Four-Midday" game were:
0-2-9-3, SB: 8
(zero, two, nine, three; SB: eight) | https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Daily-Four-Midday-game-17539074.php | 2022-10-27 18:56:26 | 1 | https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Daily-Four-Midday-game-17539074.php |
NEW YORK, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Halper Sadeh LLC, an investor rights law firm, is investigating the following companies for potential violations of the federal securities laws and/or breaches of fiduciary duties to shareholders relating to:
Evoqua Water Technologies Corp. (NYSE: AQUA)'s sale to Xylem Inc. for 0.480 shares of Xylem for each Evoqua share. If you are an Evoqua shareholder, click here to learn more about your rights and options.
Atlas Technical Consultants, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATCX)'s sale to GI Partners for $12.25 per share in cash. If you are an Atlas shareholder, click here to learn more about your rights and options.
AlerisLife Inc. (NASDAQ: ALR)'s sale to ABP Acquisition LLC for $1.31 per share in cash. If you are an AlerisLife shareholder, click here to learn more about your rights and options.
First Miami Bancorp, Inc. (OTC: FMIA)'s sale to United Community Banks, Inc. for 40.2685 shares of United common stock for each share of First Miami common stock. If you are a First Miami shareholder, click here to learn more about your rights and options.
Halper Sadeh LLC may seek increased consideration for shareholders, additional disclosures and information concerning the proposed transaction, or other relief and benefits on behalf of shareholders.
Shareholders are encouraged to contact the firm free of charge to discuss their legal rights and options. Please call Daniel Sadeh or Zachary Halper at (212) 763-0060 or email sadeh@halpersadeh.com or zhalper@halpersadeh.com.
Halper Sadeh LLC represents investors all over the world who have fallen victim to securities fraud and corporate misconduct. Our attorneys have been instrumental in implementing corporate reforms and recovering millions of dollars on behalf of defrauded investors.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Contact Information:
Halper Sadeh LLC
Daniel Sadeh, Esq.
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US disrupts North Korean hackers that targeted hospitals
NEW YORK (AP) — The FBI and Justice Department recently disrupted the activities of a hacking group that was sponsored by the North Korean government and that targeted U.S. hospitals with ransomware, ultimately recovering half a million dollars in ransom payments and cryptocurrency, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said Tuesday.
Monaco revealed new details of the attacks during a speech in which she encouraged organizations hit by ransomware to report the crime to law enforcement, both so that officials can investigate and so that they can help victim companies try to get ransom payments back.
In this case, Monaco said, a Kansas hospital that paid a ransom last year after being attacked by ransomware also contacted the FBI, which traced the payment and identified China-based money launderers who assisted the North Korean hackers in cashing out the illicit proceeds. The FBI was able to recover half a million dollars, including the entire ransom payment from the hospital.
“If you report that attack, if you report the ransom demand and payment, if you work with the FBI, we can take action,” Monaco said at the International Conference on Cyber Security, hosted by Fordham University. “We can follow the money and get it back; we can help prevent the next attack, the next victim; and we can hold cybercriminals accountable.”
U.S. officials in 2021 scrambled to confront a wave of high-profile ransomware attacks — in which hackers encrypt or lock up a victim’s data and demand exorbitant sums to return it — including against a crucial fuel pipeline on the East Coast. Though the pace of such large-scale, front-page attacks seems to have slowed, smaller targets — such as hospitals — continue to be affected.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said at the same conference that a particular challenge is that ransomware, once largely the province of garden-variety cyber criminals looking to extort cash, is now being increasingly deployed by hostile governments who are eager for destruction.
“The other thing we’re seeing more and more of is ransomware actors doing more than just locking up the system,” Wray said. “They’re exfiltrating the information, they’re threatening to release your proprietary information.”
This particular variant of ransomware, known as “Maui,” specifically targeted hospitals and public health organizations around the country.
Justice Department officials say the attack on the Kansas hospital, which they did not identify, took place in May 2021 when hackers encrypted the medical center’s files and servers. The hospital paid about $100,000 in Bitcoin to get its data back.
The department said that in addition to recovering the payment from the Kansas hospital, it also got back a payment from a health care provider in Colorado that was affected by the same Maui ransomware variant.
____
Follow Eric Tucker at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.mysuncoast.com/2022/07/19/us-disrupts-north-korean-hackers-that-targeted-hospitals/ | 2022-07-19 20:36:15 | 1 | https://www.mysuncoast.com/2022/07/19/us-disrupts-north-korean-hackers-that-targeted-hospitals/ |
A fifth grade teacher in Florida said she's being investigated for showing a Disney movie to her class.
Jenna Barbee said she allowed them to watch "Strange World" because of its themes on the environment and taking care of the planet, not because it features a gay character.
"I don’t think it’s a focal point at all," Barbee said.
The first-year teacher at Winding Waters K-8 in Weeki Wachee said the screening prompted an investigation by the Florida Department of Education after a parent reported her.
This year, Florida expanded its law to ban instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity to all grades.
Barbee got a letter saying the Department of Education is looking into her alleged misconduct to determine if disciplinary actions should be pursued.
"My students, they never noticed [the gay character]. I frankly did not notice at all," she said. "I had no idea it was going to be a big deal."
SEE MORE: DeSantis-created board files suit against Disney
Shannon Rodriguez is the parent who reported Barbee. She's a Hernando County school board member and her daughter was among the kids in attendance for the movie.
"You showed a movie that wasn't sanctioned school material. Thus stripping the innocence of my 10-year-old," Rodriguez said in a school board meeting May 9th.
Rodriguez added that it's not a teacher’s job to impose their beliefs on a child.
"As a parent, it’s my job to teach my child about the birds and the bees in relationships. And for me to decide at what age I want to embark on those conversations. But not following policy and procedure, Ms. Barbee stripped me of my right as a parent to have those conversations prematurely," she said.
Barbee said she apologized to Rodriguez because she doesn’t want any student to feel uncomfortable, but she stands by the film’s message and her reasoning for showing it.
"My whole point of showing this is I preach positivity and kindness to my students every day. I preach acceptance for everything and everyone just for who they are every day. So I guess that’s why I didn’t see this was going to be such a big deal," she said.
The Hernando County School District notified parents about the screening, saying it was "reviewing the matter to see if further corrective action is required."
The Department of Education would not comment on "pending investigations."
This story was originally published by Tim Kephart at Scripps News Tampa.
Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com | https://www.ksby.com/florida-teacher-who-showed-disney-movie-says-she-s-under-investigation | 2023-05-16 21:29:09 | 0 | https://www.ksby.com/florida-teacher-who-showed-disney-movie-says-she-s-under-investigation |
Los Angeles council censures members amid racism scandal
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles City Council formally rebuked two members and its former president Wednesday for their involvement in a racism scandal that has led to days of protests, police and state investigations and shaken public faith in City Hall.
The 12-0 vote to censure former council President Nury Martinez and Councilmen Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León represented the strongest step the council can take to publicly reprimand them for their participation in a secretly recorded 2021 meeting laced with crude, bigoted comments, in which the Latino Democrats schemed to protect their political clout in the redrawing of council districts at the expense of Blacks and renters.
The council cannot expel members — it can only suspend a member when criminal charges are pending. While a censure is largely symbolic, it adds new weight to the pressure coming from across the political spectrum for Cedillo and de León to resign.
Councilman Paul Koretz said he remained in shock from listening to the offensive remarks that he said had severely damaged trust in government. Like it or not, he lamented that the recording reflected on the entire council.
“It’s going to take us years to rebuild this trust,” Koretz said before the vote.
Councilman Curren Price called the censure a “crucial step in a long road to healing” and the harshest measure the council could take, lacking the ability to expel members.
Martinez resigned shortly after the release of the tape earlier this month, along with a powerful labor leader, Ron Herrera, who also attended the meeting.
However, Cedillo and de León have resisted widespread calls to step down, including from President Joe Biden, and have become political pariahs among their colleagues.
Anyone involved in the meeting “does not belong in elected office,” Koretz said.
Earlier, the council meeting was called into recess to allow police to clear chanting protesters. A small but noisy group crowded into the main aisle of an otherwise mostly empty chamber, banged water bottles on a lectern, whooped and shouted in what appeared to be an effort to shut down the meeting. They unrolled a large sign calling the council “illegitimate.”
“Justice now!” they bellowed. “Shut down!”
That led to a standoff in which about 20 protesters continued shouting as police officers watched over the group. Eventually, the room was cleared.
Council President Paul Krekorian warned the protesters they would not deter the council’s business. “We will continue to do the work of the people of Los Angeles,” he said.
It’s not known who made the tape, or why. It was released on the website Reddit just weeks before the November midterm elections.
In the course of the hourlong meeting, they also made offensive remarks about immigrants from the Mexican state of Oaxaca, Jews, Armenians and other groups.
Two investigations are underway stemming from the release of the tape.
The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating whether the recording was made illegally — under California law, all parties must consent to the recording of a private conversation or phone call.
Separately, the state is investigating how the council districts were drawn and whether the process was rigged. Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, has said his investigation could lead to civil liability or criminal charges, depending on what is found.
Bonta said Wednesday that his office notified the city of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, where the meeting took place, to preserve evidence, a routine step in an investigation.
Bonta would not speculate whether the union building was broadly wiretapped, or if the recording was an isolated event made by a single individual. He said he would largely defer to the police to investigate whether the recording was illegal.
The council appears headed into a long period of turmoil.
Cedillo and de León have not attended recent meetings.
Cedillo, whose term ends in December, has been out of public view. De León has two years left in his term and has appeared in a string of media interviews apologizing and saying he wants to continue his work on the council.
In an interview Tuesday with talk-show host Tavis Smiley on KBLA radio, de León reiterated that he was not resigning. “I’m not the person the folks have been painting me to be,” said de León, who previously has apologized.
Krekorian, the president, and other council members have said Cedillo and de León must resign.
“There is no realistic possibility that you can effectively continue to serve,” Krekorian recently told de León in a letter. “Every day you remain interferes with the council’s ability to function, delays the city’s healing process, hurts your constituents and reduces your chance of redeeming yourself.”
___
Associated Press writer Don Thompson in Sacramento contributed.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.azfamily.com/2022/10/26/los-angeles-council-censures-members-amid-racism-scandal/ | 2022-10-26 23:52:53 | 0 | https://www.azfamily.com/2022/10/26/los-angeles-council-censures-members-amid-racism-scandal/ |
City of Tacoma
Information Technology/Tacoma Power
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS IT22-0309F
Accela Electrical Permitting Transition and Enhancement
Submittal Deadline: 11:00 a.m., Pacific Time, Tuesday, October 11, 2022
Submittals must be received by the City’s Procurement and Payables Division prior to 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time.
For electronic submittals, the City of Tacoma will designate the time of receipt recorded by our email, bids@cityoftacoma.org, as the official time of receipt. This clock will be used as the official time of receipt of all parts of electronic bid submittals.
Submittal Delivery: Sealed submittals will be received as follows:
By Email:
bids@cityoftacoma.org
Maximum file size: 35 MB. Multiple emails may be sent for each submittal.
Bid Opening: Held virtually each Tuesday at 11AM. Attend via this link or call 1 (253) 215 8782.
Submittals in response to a RFP will be recorded as received. As soon as possible, after 1:00 PM, on the day of submittal deadline, preliminary results will be posted to www.TacomaPurchasing.org.
Solicitation Documents: An electronic copy of the complete solicitation documents may be viewed and obtained by accessing the City of Tacoma Purchasing website at www.TacomaPurchasing.org.
• Register for the Bid Holders List to receive notices of addenda, questions and answers and related updates.
• Click here to see a list of vendors registered for this solicitation.
Pre-Proposal Meeting: A pre-proposal meeting will be held. Please see the Pre-Proposal Meeting section.
Project Scope: Transition the City’s current electrical permitting to Accela.
Estimate: $185,000
Paid Sick Leave: The City of Tacoma requires all employers to provide paid sick leave as set forth in Title 18 of the Tacoma Municipal Code. For more information, visit our Minimum Employment Standards Paid Sick Leave webpage.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA Information: The City of Tacoma, in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504) and the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA), commits to nondiscrimination on the basis of disability, in all of its programs and activities. Specification materials can be made available in an alternate format by emailing Gail Himes at ghimes@cityoftacoma.org, or by calling her collect at 253-591-5785.
Title VI Information:
“The City of Tacoma” in accordance with provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, (78 Stat. 252, 42 U.S.C. sections 2000d to 2000d-4) and the Regulations, hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively ensure that in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, disadvantaged business enterprises will be afforded full and fair opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, national origin in consideration of award.
Additional Information: Requests for information regarding the specifications may be obtained by contacting Tad Carlson, Senior Buyer by email to tcarlson@cityoftacoma.org
Protest Policy: City of Tacoma protest policy, located at www.tacomapurchasing.org, specifies procedures for protests submitted prior to and after submittal deadline.
Meeting sites are accessible to persons with disabilities. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities can be arranged with 48 hours advance notice by calling 253-502-8468.
IDX-962745
September 12, 2022 | https://www.tacomadailyindex.com/blog/it22-0309f-request-for-proposals/2459932/ | 2022-09-12 16:30:59 | 0 | https://www.tacomadailyindex.com/blog/it22-0309f-request-for-proposals/2459932/ |
Mississippi Accepting Design Submissions for State’s Next Official Car Tag
JACKSON, Miss. (PRESS RELEASE) – Governor Tate Reeves today announced that the Mississippi License Tag Commission is accepting design submissions for the state’s next official car tag.
The submission process opened today, November 1, 2022. Proposed designs must be submitted by the end of the business day on November 30, 2022. All designs can be emailed to licenseplatedesign@dor.ms.gov for consideration.
“Mississippi is filled with talented artists and designers. We’re opening the submission process to take in inspiration from across Mississippi for our state’s next car tag,” said Governor Tate Reeves. “I look forward to seeing the range of submissions from Mississippians and finding a great-looking new plate that represents our state whether you’re going to work or taking a trip cross-country.”
The following are the requirements for design submissions:
- Proposed designs must be submitted by end of business day on November 30, 2022.
- Design must be emailed to licenseplatedesign@dor.ms.gov to be considered submitted.
- Design must be submitted in Adobe Illustrator (Ai) format.
- Design must be readable with a light-colored background design with dark-colored alphanumeric characteristics for plate numbering.
- Design must be limited to a maximum of 3 colors.
- Design cannot contain expressions that are considered obscene, slandering, insulting or vulgar.
- Design cannot contain any copyright images.
- Each submission is required to provide name, address, and phone number of designer.
- The designer selected will not receive any compensation.
- Participants must be Mississippi residents.
- Designer of the winning design must execute a release of any rights to the design.
- Changes to the design may be made to meet the required specifications and may contact interested parties for further information.
- Plate size will be 6” exact x 12” exact as it is today.
- All license plates will utilize an embossed (raised) alphanumeric character set which will be positioned as referenced immediately below:
- The upper region of the plate between the bolt holes is reserved for the jurisdictional name to be printed (Mississippi).
- The lower region of the plate between the bolt holes is reserved for the county name. In this example, LAUDERDALE.
- The lower right corner of the plate is reserved for the validation sticker.
The requirements for the submission and more information may be found here.
For 24/7 news and updates, follow us on Facebook and Twitter | https://www.wcbi.com/mississippi-accepting-design-submissions-for-states-next-official-car-tag/ | 2022-11-01 17:12:43 | 1 | https://www.wcbi.com/mississippi-accepting-design-submissions-for-states-next-official-car-tag/ |
National Newspaper Week begins Sunday. While this isn’t the typical holiday that most families celebrate, it does provide a good opportunity to take a moment and recognize all the ways that local newspapers make a difference in communities across America.
If you’re reading this, you probably already have a good understanding of why it is important to have a healthy newspaper in your town. By subscribing to or advertising in your local newspaper, you are providing much-needed support to keep trained, professional journalists covering the issues important to you. Your local newspaper is committed to being the local watchdog, covering city government, public utilities and school boards to make sure your tax dollars are being spent properly.
But there are many other ways newspapers serve their readers and communities, things even regular readers might not always consider.
Newspapers are reliable. Unlike content you can see on social media, or even from national publications or cable news channels, you can be sure that news from your local newspaper is professionally gathered, fact-checked and edited. Even the editorials and letters to the editor go through a rigorous process to get the facts correct. You might not always agree, but you can rely on the fact that what’s published has followed the highest journalistic standards. You may not agree with the positions on your newspaper’s editorial page, but you probably realize that their goal is to provide you with objective and impartial news coverage in the rest of the paper.
Newspapers protect your right to know. In addition to covering what’s going on in your local government, most newspapers serve another critical purpose by publishing public notices. A public notice is a notice issued by government agencies regarding proposed actions, zoning proposals, tax initiatives or other lawmaking proceedings. Most local governments are required to publish them in local newspapers, so all citizens have the opportunity to know what’s going on, and if necessary, take appropriate action.
Newspapers provide broad community distribution. Moving a public notice to a municipal website would be like hiding the notice. Newspapers help keep your government’s actions transparent.
Newspapers are more than print. Your local newspapers deliver high-quality information in the format that works best for you. Newspapers have dynamic websites, apps, social media channels and newsletters, and they have made significant advancements in digital platforms to make sure you get the news you need when you want it and how you want it. Newspaper audiences are bigger than ever thanks to the broad reach provided by the combined print and digital channels.
Newspapers are local. Your newspaper is local, produced by local citizens who drive the same streets, shop in the same stores and have children in the same schools as you. The local newspaper’s focus is on making the community stronger, safer and healthier. The publisher and staff share the same concerns as all the other residents.
Your local newspaper makes a difference in your community in many ways. That’s true every week, not just during National Newspaper Week.
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Dean Ridings is the CEO of America’s Newspapers, an organization serving more than 1,600 newspapers across the U.S. and Canada. Learn more at newspapers.org.
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accounts, the history behind an article. | https://www.albanyherald.com/opinion/dean-ridings-recognizing-how-newspapers-make-a-difference/article_244bb264-4121-11ed-b21b-473a64ba30cf.html | 2022-10-02 00:23:47 | 1 | https://www.albanyherald.com/opinion/dean-ridings-recognizing-how-newspapers-make-a-difference/article_244bb264-4121-11ed-b21b-473a64ba30cf.html |
Fast-casual Mexican Restaurant Emerges as a Leader in the Industry
FALLS CHURCH, Va., April 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- District Taco, a fast-casual Mexican restaurant serving fresh, healthy and authentic Yucatán-inspired creations, is continuing their expansion after signing development deals nationwide. District taco currently has 14 locations open throughout Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania. The company plans to open 10 to 15 franchised locations each year, hitting 80 locations by 2027.
Within the last six months, District Taco signed multi-unit development deals that will bring 40 locations to Central and West Florida, 10 to New Jersey, and 10 to the Virginia Beach, Hampton Roads, and Tidewater areas of Virginia.
District Taco is differentiated in the market by its Yucatán flavor profile, inspired by their co-founder's family recipes. They proudly serve breakfast and lunch tacos, burritos, bowls, salads, quesadillas, and more. Never wanting to compromise quality, the brand ensures freshness by preparing their food daily. Chiles and tomatoes are roasted on the premises, grilled meats are marinated with a secret combination of citrus and spices that are indigenous to the Yucatán region, and chips and salsa are made in-house daily. Their innovative menu items are fully customizable, with vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options.
"We're excited to expand District Taco's presence and have established a unique concept and franchising model to support our franchise partners," said Vice President of Franchise Development, Tina Gantz. "Fueling our expansion with motivated partners is just one way for us to continue our mission of providing customers with an experience that exceeds expectations, from our high-quality ingredients, to our outstanding customer service."
This brand was born of the ingenuity of Osiris Hoil and his neighbor, Marc Wallace and built on the American dream. Hoil moved to the United States from Mexico in the hopes of becoming an entrepreneur. When he lost his construction job due to the 2008 housing bubble, he combined his passion for Mexican cooking with his new American lifestyle. From its humble beginnings in 2009 as a food cart serving breakfast tacos, today District Taco has emerged as a leading multi-unit restaurant franchise.
Today, District Taco is at the forefront of innovation. Their tech stack is accessed through a proprietary portal to simplify operations for owners and to streamline the guest experience. This includes easy online ordering, a custom mobile app, an exciting new loyalty program for increased customer engagement, and more.
"District Taco began as a small dream and has now expanded across several states due to our commitment to serving fresh, authentic Mexican food and our focus on innovation," said Co-Founder Osiris Hoil. "This is an exciting step for our brand and we are making a name for ourselves as leaders in the industry."
District Taco is actively seeking franchise partners. Top candidates include multi-unit operators or senior restaurant professionals with experience operating five or more restaurants who are motivated to grow with an emerging franchise brand.
For more information about District Taco Franchising, please visit https://franchising.districttaco.com/
ABOUT DISTRICT TACO
In 2009, two neighbors got together over some homemade chips, salsa and guacamole and decided to launch a District Taco food cart. Since then, District Taco has grown to fourteen locations and employs more than 300 people in and around Washington D.C. and Philadelphia metro areas. Their mission is to serve quality - Yucatán style – Mexican food that is fresh, simple and healthful, with a fully customizable menu that includes vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. At District Taco, food is made fresh daily from the highest quality ingredients. They strive to limit their impact on the environment by serving in environmentally friendly packaging where possible. For more information about District Taco or their menu, and to download the app, visit districttaco.com or follow on Twitter @DistrictTaco, Instagram @DistrictTaco, and Facebook/districttaco.
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SOURCE District Taco | https://www.kswo.com/prnewswire/2023/04/11/district-taco-signs-multiple-franchise-deals-nationwide/ | 2023-04-11 19:27:09 | 1 | https://www.kswo.com/prnewswire/2023/04/11/district-taco-signs-multiple-franchise-deals-nationwide/ |
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3 Arkansas law enforcement officers suspended over arrest
MULBERRY, Ark. (AP) — Three Arkansas law enforcement officers were suspended Sunday following social media outrage over a video that seemingly showed two deputies and an officer striking a suspect under arrest.
Crawford County Sheriff Jimmy Damante issued a statement Sunday evening, stating two county deputies will be suspended during the course of the Arkansas state police’s investigation into the incident and the sheriff’s office’s internal investigation. A Mulberry police officer also was suspended.
“I hold all my employees accountable for their actions and will take appropriate measures in this matter,” Damante said.
In a statement released Sunday evening, Mulberry Police Chief Shannon Gregory said the officer involved in the incident is on leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
“The city of Mulberry and the Mulberry police department takes these investigations very seriously,” Gregory said.
According to police, a report indicated that a man was making threats to a convenience store employee in Mulberry on Sunday morning. Mulberry is located about 137 miles northwest of Little Rock.
Police said when the officers confronted the man, he pushed a deputy to the ground and punched the back of his head, leading to the arrest seen in the video. In the video, the three law enforcement officers are seen on top of the suspect, sometimes striking him with clenched fists.
The unidentified man was arrested and taken to a local hospital. He faces charges of terroristic threatening, resisting arrest and other assault charges, police said.
No further information was immediately available.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.cleveland19.com/2022/08/22/3-arkansas-law-enforcement-officers-suspended-over-arrest/ | 2022-08-22 02:03:38 | 1 | https://www.cleveland19.com/2022/08/22/3-arkansas-law-enforcement-officers-suspended-over-arrest/ |
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Transgender rights took center stage Tuesday in North Carolina as the GOP-controlled General Assembly advanced legislation to restrict gender-affirming health care and trans participation in sports.
The legislative push comes in the dwindling days of the North Carolina session and as many Republican-led state legislatures round out a record year of legislation targeting transgender residents.
Hours after the House Health Committee advanced a bill banning state facilities from treating trans minors with hormones and gender-affirming surgeries, the Senate voted 31-17 to ban trans girls from playing on school sports teams that align with their gender identity. One Democrat — Sen. Val Applewhite — and all Republicans voted yes.
Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has little power to block legislation now that Republicans hold veto-proof majorities in both chambers.
Sen. Kevin Corbin, a Macon County Republican and one of the primary sponsors, argued on the Senate floor that the bill “is not against anybody” and is a necessary precaution to protect female athletes. But Wake County Democratic Sen. Lisa Grafstein, the only out LGBTQ+ state senator, criticized him for advancing during Pride Month a bill she said targets a vulnerable minority group “because of a nationalized agenda to dehumanize them for political points.”
Applewhite told The Associated Press after the vote that she voted with Republicans after talking to sports coaches and umpires in her district. “I feel the compassion behind the argument,” she said, “but I’m representing I believe what is right for the people of Cumberland County.”
The bill prohibiting trans girls from playing on girls’ middle school, high school and college sports teams could return to the House floor for a final concurrence vote as early as Wednesday. Both chambers passed different versions before legislative leaders opted to proceed with the House bill.
House members gutted the Senate version Tuesday morning, using it as a vehicle to resurrect gender-affirming care restrictions that some trans minors, like 15-year-old Rowan Bilodeau of Pittsboro, said would limit their access to vital treatments.
“My access to gender-affirming care saved my life,” he said. “I want others to have that same opportunity. I’m tired of seeing my brothers and sisters die because they’re being denied their rights.”
Trans youth already experience higher rates of suicidal ideation than their cisgender peers, he told lawmakers, and this legislation could make that tragic situation even worse.
The proposal would prohibit public health care facilities, including public hospitals and University of North Carolina affiliates, from performing any surgical gender transition procedure on a minor or providing them with puberty-blocking drugs or cross-sex hormones. Beginning Oct. 1, it would also prohibit using state funds to pay for any gender transition procedure.
Gender-affirming treatments for gender dysphoria are considered safe and medically necessary by the leading professional health associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association and the Endocrine Society. While trans minors very rarely receive surgical interventions, they are commonly prescribed drugs to delay puberty and sometimes begin taking hormones before they reach adulthood.
Rep. Timothy Reeder, a Pitt County Republican, urged lawmakers to reject claims that gender-affirming care is safe and well-researched.
“The bill is not an attempt to limit treatment for children suffering from gender dysphoria or those struggling to form their identity,” he said. “Rather, it seeks to limit children from potentially life-altering treatments before they are truly able to understand and consent to these interventions.”
At least 20 states have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors. Earlier Tuesday, a federal judge struck down Arkansas’ first-in-the-nation ban on that care for children as unconstitutional, marking the first ruling to overturn such a prohibition as a growing number of GOP-led states adopt similar restrictions.
The North Carolina debate drew Prisha Mosley, a prominent advocate against gender-affirming care, who told legislators she “suffered severe and lasting injuries” from the gender-transition treatments she received as a minor growing up in North Carolina. Mosely, now 25, said a counselor convinced her at age 17 that she was actually a boy, leading her to take testosterone and receive surgery to remove her breasts at age 18.
She is now part of a small group of “detransitioners,” or people who have stopped or reversed their gender transition, who have traveled this year to statehouses nationwide to affirm Republican claims that procedures offered to minors are irreversible and that regret is common. In treatment guidelines issued last year, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health said evidence of later regret is scant.
A Senate committee will hear a different bill Wednesday morning that bans gender-affirming surgeries for transgender minors. That proposal passed the House last month. And after four months of inaction on the measure after it passed the Senate, a House committee will consider a bill Wednesday that requires public schools to alert parents before they call a student by a different name or pronoun.
D Sellars, a 40-year-old nonbinary parent from Fuquay-Varina, said the slew of bills targeting trans people in North Carolina and around the country “just marginalizes us more, just pushes us out of the mainstream more, and it gives bigots more ammunition.”
___
Hannah Schoenbaum is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. | https://www.wric.com/health/north-carolina-legislature-pushes-limits-on-transgender-youth-rights-in-final-days-of-session/ | 2023-06-21 14:16:10 | 1 | https://www.wric.com/health/north-carolina-legislature-pushes-limits-on-transgender-youth-rights-in-final-days-of-session/ |
New Mexico judge disqualifies Cowboys for Trump founder from public office
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico state district court judge has disqualified county commissioner and Cowboys for Trump cofounder Couy Griffin from holding public office for engaging in insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
State District Court Judge Francis Mathew issued a ruling Tuesday that permanently prohibits Griffin from holding or seeking local or federal office.
Griffin was previously convicted in federal court of a misdemeanor for entering Capitol grounds on Jan. 6. He was sentenced to 14 days and given credit for time served.
The new ruling immediately removes Griffin from his position as a commissioner in Otero County in southern New Mexico.
“Mr. Griffin aided the insurrection even though he did not personally engage in violence,” Mathew wrote. “By joining the mob and trespassing on restricted Capitol grounds, Mr. Griffin contributed to delaying Congress’s election-certification proceedings.”
___
This story has been corrected to show that Mathew is a New Mexico state district judge, not a U.S. federal judge.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.kalb.com/2022/09/06/new-mexico-judge-disqualifies-cowboys-trump-founder-public-office/ | 2022-09-06 17:13:53 | 1 | https://www.kalb.com/2022/09/06/new-mexico-judge-disqualifies-cowboys-trump-founder-public-office/ |
Navajo Nation Council speaker Seth Damon is facing disciplinary action for being intoxicated during a family vacation in Las Vegas.
A bill introduced Friday in the council would place Damon on leave without pay indefinitely.
The council can take action on it after a five-day public comment period ends. Damon heads the tribe's legislative branch.
He's running unopposed for a seat on the Tribal Council on Nov. 8.
Damon says he was on a private vacation in Las Vegas with his family in October when a photo was taken of him slumped in front of a gambling machine.
Damon informed the council that he was intoxicated and says he accepts responsibility for the incident. | https://www.knau.org/knau-and-arizona-news/2022-10-31/bill-would-put-navajo-legislative-leader-on-indefinite-leave | 2022-10-31 14:07:21 | 0 | https://www.knau.org/knau-and-arizona-news/2022-10-31/bill-would-put-navajo-legislative-leader-on-indefinite-leave |
GREEN BAY, Wisc. (WGBA) — The Green Bay Police Department has initiated a review of an incident between a police officer and Packers running back AJ Dillon after the altercation was caught on camera.
During a rain delay at the Manchester City vs. Bayern Munich soccer match held at Lambeau Field, Dillon was trying to entertain the crowd by attempting a "Lambeau Leap."
An officer then tried to stop Dillon by pulling on his jersey. The moment was captured by an attendee and posted to TikTok.
Green Bay Police Department said in a statement, that the incident was a clear miscommunication between the officer and Mr. Dillon.
Dillon also tweeted about the incident, agreeing that it was just a form of miscommunication.
Just miscommunication between parties, the @GBPolice are great people and I’m glad we have them down there for our games to keep us safe. Standing there in the pouring rain with all those people it’s hard to know what’s going on with just one. All good 🤝🫶🏽 https://t.co/xCKPhoJlWK
— AJ “Quadzilla” Dillon (@ajdillon7) July 24, 2022
This story was originally reported on nbc26.com. | https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/national/green-bay-police-reviewing-incident-involving-officer-packers-running-back | 2022-07-26 22:06:35 | 1 | https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/national/green-bay-police-reviewing-incident-involving-officer-packers-running-back |
Company raises quarterly payment to shareholders by 6%
NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Entergy's board of directors today declared a quarterly dividend payment of $1.07 per share, an increase of $0.06 per share, on the company's common stock. The dividend is payable Dec. 1, 2022, to shareholders of record as of Nov. 14, 2022.
Entergy has paid shareholders a cash dividend on its common stock continuously since 1988.
Entergy (NYSE: ETR), a Fortune 500 company headquartered in New Orleans, powers life for 3 million customers through its operating companies across Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy is creating a cleaner, more resilient energy future for everyone with our diverse power generation portfolio, including increasingly carbon-free energy sources. With roots in the Gulf South region for more than a century, Entergy is a recognized leader in corporate citizenship, delivering more than $100 million in economic benefits to local communities through philanthropy and advocacy efforts annually over the last several years. Our approximately 12,000 employees are dedicated to powering life today and for future generations. Learn more at entergy.com and follow @Entergy on social media. #WePowerLife
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SOURCE Entergy Corporation | https://www.kswo.com/prnewswire/2022/10/28/entergy-announces-increase-quarterly-dividend/ | 2022-10-28 18:40:46 | 0 | https://www.kswo.com/prnewswire/2022/10/28/entergy-announces-increase-quarterly-dividend/ |
How to stay safe in record low temperatures
(CNN) – More than 100 million people across the U.S. are under winter weather and wind chill alerts as a major, potential “once in a generation-type,” event sweeps across the country, bringing record low temperatures.
The weather outside is frightful, and will be getting even worse over the next few days.
It’s imperative that you are prepared to battle the cold.
With the National Weather Service warning of life-threatening wind chills in some parts of the country, the number one thing you can do to stay safe is to stay inside.
Kelly Serr, a warning coordination meteorologist with the weather service, said frostbite can happen faster than you might think in negative temperatures.
“We really tell people to limit their exposure outside,” she said. “The air temperature combined with the strong winds really create these hazardous conditions to humans. Then, it’s just a matter of minutes. It’s a matter of minutes. Five to 10 minutes and your skin can start freezing.”
Serr also said to avoid getting on the roads unless you have to.
“Make sure you have an emergency kit in your vehicle, and that emergency kit is going to keep things that are going to keep you warm in the event that you do get stranded or vehicle stalls,” she said. “You want to make sure you have the hat, the mittens, the gloves, your warm winter coat, blankets, some extra food, make sure your cell phone is with you, an extra battery, extra battery charger for your cell phone so that you can call for help when you need.”
Precautions should be taken when indoors too.
People are advised to dress in warm clothing, keep pets inside, and let your water taps drip slightly to prevent freezing pipes.
If the power goes out, make sure not to leave any lit candles unattended, and never use generators, grills, or camp stoves indoors or near windows.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.kxii.com/2022/12/22/how-stay-safe-record-low-temperatures/ | 2022-12-22 23:14:16 | 0 | https://www.kxii.com/2022/12/22/how-stay-safe-record-low-temperatures/ |
CONTESTS AND EVENTS
Win Tickets to see Rod Stewart!
May 8, 2023, 12:49 PM | Updated: 12:50 pm
KIRO Newsradio is giving you a chance to win two tickets to see Rod Stewart live at Climate Pledge Arena on August 11, 2023! Tickets for Live Nation’s Concert Week go on sale on May 10, 2023, and you can find them here.
Concert Week is May 10th to May 16th, 2023, and is the best time to get tickets to see all your favorite artists. With $25 All-In tickets, you can fill your year with shows! So, get your friends, and grab your $25 All-In tickets!
Enter below starting Tuesday, May 9, 2023 through Tuesday, May 16, 2023.
Sweepstakes winners are subject to venue safety requirements. Tickets will be sent digitally, and winners must provide a valid email address and have access to a smart phone. | https://mynorthwest.com/3886396/win-tickets-to-see-rod-stewart/ | 2023-05-08 22:58:23 | 0 | https://mynorthwest.com/3886396/win-tickets-to-see-rod-stewart/ |
SCHAUMBURG, Ill., May 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Actuarial Foundation is proud to announce the winners in this year's Hardest Math Problem Student Contest, a national middle school math competition designed to help students practice critical thinking and accurate computation, supported by detailed steps taken. The annual contest serves to challenge students in grades 6–8 to solve multistep, grade-specific math problems with real-world situations and engaging characters. It also aims to build confidence with math and establish important foundational math skills for students.
Competing for a chance to win a $5,000 grand prize, students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades completed extra challenging story problems combining reasoning skills with math. While aimed at middle school students, fifth graders can also compete, and students can challenge themselves by completing problems in grades above them. Grand prize winners receive a $5,000 deposit to a 529 savings plan and a laptop. Three runner-up winners receive a tablet computer. Winning teachers from each grade receive a $500 gift card. The contest is just one in a series of free middle school math resources produced through the partnership of The Actuarial Foundation, the New York Life Foundation, and Scholastic, the global children's publishing, education and media company.
Winners were required to complete an initial challenge to qualify for Challenge Two and the grand prize. This year, over 6,100 students participated in Challenge 1 of the contest, and 53% of the entries were correct and eligible for the second part of the contest. 1,867 entries were received for Challenge 2, 78% of which were answered correctly. From the correct submissions for the 6th grade question, Abhinav N. of Fort Settlement Middle School in Sugar Land, Texas, was selected as the grand prize winner of the question. Claire W. of Laurel School in Shaker Heights, Ohio, won the tablet. Ibrahim A., a sixth grader from McGlynn Middle School in Medford, Massachusetts was the seventh-grade grand prize winner. Andrew C., a seventh grader from Crossroads Christian School in Tyrone, Georgia won the seventh-grade first place prize. The winner of the grand prize for the eighth-grade question was Hannah C. of Crossroads Christian School in Tyrone, Georgia, and the first prize winner was Katie F., also of Crossroads Christian School in Tyrone, Georgia. It is notable that a sixth grader won the seventh-grade grand prize.
Generously sponsored by the New York Life Foundation, the Contest highlights the dexterity and talents of American middle school students. This year's Hardest Math Problem Student Contest, which focused on helping to resolve questions surrounding global climate change due to greenhouse gases and CO2 emissions from cars, was judged by a team of actuaries who evaluated students' answers on how well they communicated their mathematical argument, their mathematical precision and their attention to detail.
Abhinav N., the sixth-grade grand prize winner said, "I feel very honored for being recognized as one of the winners of the Hardest Math Problem. It made my year! …I take part in several math and science competitions, but the Hardest Math Problem contest was unique in that it focuses not only on the math but also gave importance to my reasoning. I really would like to thank you for your encouragement, recognition, the scholarship and of course the computer! It is an amazing feeling to be able to win something while doing math, which is a subject that I love."
"The Actuarial Foundation's The Hardest Math Problem contest is an excellent way to help middle school students establish important foundational skills," said Marlyn Torres, senior program officer, New York Life Foundation. "Our two-year $200,000 grant enables the organization to help students build their confidence with math while establishing important problem solving skills that will prepare them for real world work challenges and position them for a successful transition to high school."
About The Actuarial Foundation
The Actuarial Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, is the philanthropic institution for the actuarial industry in the United States. The mission of the Foundation is to enhance math education and financial literacy through the talents and resources of actuaries. The Foundation's vision is an educated public in pursuit of a secure financial future. Further information is available at: actuarialfoundation.org
CONTACT:
Holly Monahan
The Actuarial Foundation
(847) 706-3659
Holly.Monahan@actfnd.org
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SOURCE The Actuarial Foundation | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2022/05/25/actuarial-foundation-selects-middle-school-student-winners-hardest-math-problem-5000-award-prize/ | 2022-05-25 21:05:56 | 1 | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2022/05/25/actuarial-foundation-selects-middle-school-student-winners-hardest-math-problem-5000-award-prize/ |
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong lawmakers on Wednesday passed an amendment to a law granting the city’s leader the power to bar overseas lawyers from handling national security cases, following a high-profile row sparked by a pro-democracy Hong Kong publisher’s hiring of a British lawyer.
The changes will require overseas lawyers who do not generally practice in Hong Kong to obtain permission from the chief executive before submitting applications to represent clients in national security cases in court.
The city’s leader will only give approval if there are sufficient grounds to believe the lawyers’ involvement will not contradict the interests of national security, and the decision cannot be challenged.
The bill was passed by a majority in the city’s legislature, filled by mostly Beijing loyalists, with little opposition through a show-of-hands vote. Critics said the changes will leave defendants with even fewer choices when they look for legal representation in some of the city’s most controversial cases.
The legal changes were proposed this year after the city’s top court approved jailed pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai’s appointment of London-based lawyer Timothy Owen to represent him as he faces collusion charges under a Beijing-imposed national security law.
Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to China in 1997, uses the same common law jurisdiction as the U.K., and lawyers from other common law jurisdictions can generally work within the city’s legal system when their expertise is needed.
Hours after Hong Kong’s top court in November approved Lai’s choice of lawyer, city leader John Lee asked Beijing to decide whether foreign lawyers should be allowed to work on national security cases. While China’s top legislative body didn’t directly rule on whether these lawyers could handle such cases, it said the city’s leader and committee for safeguarding national security had the power to decide the matter.
In proposing the amendment, the government said the changes would “effectively implement the spirit of the interpretation” of the law and address potential national security risks associated with overseas lawyers handling such cases. The mechanism will apply to both criminal and civil cases related to national security, it said.
On Wednesday, Secretary for Justice Paul Lam defended the changes by arguing defendants can choose representation from more than 1,600 barristers in Hong Kong. But, in practice, defendants in national security cases are left with a small pool of lawyers who can handle such cases, said Kevin Yam, senior fellow at Georgetown Center for Asian Law.
“Pretty much almost all the barristers who are willing and able” to take up such cases are already handling an ongoing trial involving 47 activists who were charged under a national security law over an unofficial primary election, Yam said. That trial is expected to last for 90 days.
“We’re left with a situation where a type of case that very few lawyers are willing to take up are now going to lose yet another source from which you can get legal representation,” he said.
He also noted the definition of national security is vague, so it will be hard to determine when foreign lawyers will be turned away under the new mechanism.
“If you are a foreign lawyer … would you take the risks in going through the whole uncertainty about whether the case you’re going to take is going to involve national security elements?” he said.
The legal changes passed Wednesday are not retrospective.
Lai’s lawyers earlier learned that the committee for safeguarding national security had decided Owen’s representation of Lai would likely pose national security risks and advised the director of immigration to refuse any new work visa applications from Owen related to the case. The director of immigration said his department would act in accordance with that advice.
The lawyers last month filed an application for judicial review, asking the court to quash the committee and director’s decisions. The court is expected to hand down a decision later. | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/hong-kong-amends-law-to-limit-foreign-lawyers-in-some-cases/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world | 2023-05-10 12:45:37 | 1 | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/hong-kong-amends-law-to-limit-foreign-lawyers-in-some-cases/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world |
New partnership introduces Mobile Message Archive Solution, enabling government customers to securely archive and retrieve text messages from government-owned devices
GAITHERSBURG, Md., Aug. 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- AINS, LLC, the leader in low-code, specialized case management software for government, today announced a strategic partnership with IP DataSolutions, a services-led, value-added integrator of cloud solutions for file and email archival, e-discovery, and related specialties.
The integration of IP DataSolutions' technology within FOIAXpress, AINS' FOIA request tracking and management solution, will improve agencies' ability to comply with The Federal Records Act. In addition, by automatically capturing and archiving text message data, agencies can access securely stored text message data easily, completing records searches in minutes rather than weeks, avoiding lengthy discovery and ensuring that government data is not erased or misplaced.
"SMS and MMS text message archival is a prominent issue currently. With IP DataSolutions' decades-long expertise in the information management industry, AINS now offers fast, secure text message archival and retrieval as a part of our FOIAXpress solution. Our shared commitment to client satisfaction will help us continue building the best solutions to support federal government agencies and their efforts to improve transparency in the communities they serve," said Howard Langsam, chief executive officer, AINS.
IP DataSolutions is committed to helping customers overcome the business challenges associated with file and email archival processes, and associated legal and regulatory concerns.
"Since our company was founded, we have always focused on listening to our customers' needs and carrying out the best approach for them in file and email archival," said Gary Thompson, Managing Partner, IP DataSolutions.
This collaboration follows AINS' recent announcement of its partnership with Veritone, incorporating Veritone's technology into FOIAXpress to automate audio, video, and image redaction, further solidifying AINS' position as a leading FOIA solution.
About AINS
AINS is a leading provider of case management solutions and IT services for federal government. AINS's software enables organizations to streamline workflows across diverse lines of business. Founded in 1988, AINS is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland and has 161 employees in the DC Metro area.
About IP DataSolutions
IP DataSolutions is a services-led, value-added integrator of cloud solutions for file and email archival, e-discovery and related specialties. We help clients overcome the business challenges associated with rampant information growth, manual and semi-automated archival processes and associated legal and regulatory concerns.
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SOURCE AINS Inc. | https://www.kold.com/prnewswire/2022/08/30/ains-announces-strategic-partnership-with-ip-datasolutions/ | 2022-08-30 17:52:20 | 0 | https://www.kold.com/prnewswire/2022/08/30/ains-announces-strategic-partnership-with-ip-datasolutions/ |
Only 40% of new agents are confident about a long-term career in real estate
The no-cost coaching program gives real estate pros training, tools and mentorship to help them find early career success and build a lasting real estate business
SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With the number of real estate professionals nearly double that of homes currently for sale, agents may be getting squeezed out of potential transactions by their competitors just as often as their home buying clients. Realtor.com®'s newly launched #ThrivePastFive Coaching Program is designed to help new agents find business success and growth in a vigorously competitive market.
Far too many new real estate agents don't make it past year five. Last year, Realtor.com® surveyed more than 2,000 agents and discovered lead generation and conversion, marketing and advertising, and adequate hands-on training were among the top challenges for those early in their real estate careers. Given the early struggles to find success in the business, which are often heightened during a challenging market, only 4 in 10 new agents said they are confident about having a long-term career in real estate.
The #ThrivePastFive Coaching Program is designed specifically with new agents and their success in mind. Through blogs, workbooks, webinars and more, the no-cost coaching program dives into business critical areas that #ThrivePastFive survey participants highlighted as top pain points, including lead generation and conversion, personal branding, and marketing/budgets. With a new theme each quarter, the program is intended to provide agents with actionable takeaways that they can implement into their real estate business.
"Realtor.com® is a trusted partner to agents and brokers in building and sustaining their real estate business," said Donna August, vice president of B2B Marketing at Realtor.com®. "Our #ThrivePastFive Coaching Program is designed to give new agents access to intel, expertise and actionable strategies at a time when they likely need it most, so they can find success not only in today's challenging market but in the years to come."
To provide valuable support to new agents, Realtor.com® is teaming up with experienced agents from various regions of the country to bring the latest and greatest information and tried-and-true best practices to new agents through articles, webinars and live Q&As. With proven track records for finding business success, the 2023 #ThrivePastFive Coaches are:
- Lindsey Skye DellaSala, DJ & Lindsey Real Estate, St. Augustine, Fla.
- Jennie Gardner, Coldwell Banker Howard Perry and Walston Realty, Inc., Raleigh, N.C.
- Jeff Hoover, Realty ONE Group, Flagstaff, Ariz.
- Jeffery Sweet, Sweet Group Realty, Meridian, Idaho
- Allie Thomas, ERA Live Moore Real Estate, Charlotte, N.C.
- Stephen Votino, CENTURY 21 Triangle Group, Raleigh, N.C.
The #ThrivePastFive Coaching Program is available now and agents can learn more or access the free tools and resources by visiting www.realtor.com/marketing/resources/category/thrivepastfive/.
About Realtor.com®
Realtor.com® is an open real estate marketplace built for everyone. Realtor.com® pioneered the world of digital real estate more than 25 years ago. Today, through its website and mobile apps, Realtor.com® is a trusted guide for consumers, empowering more people to find their way home by breaking down barriers, helping them make the right connections, and creating confidence through expert insights and guidance. For professionals, Realtor.com® is a trusted partner for business growth, offering consumer connections and branding solutions that help them succeed in today's on-demand world. Realtor.com® is operated by News Corp [Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc. For more information, visit Realtor.com® .
Media Contact
sara.wiskerchen@move.com
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SOURCE Realtor.com | https://www.kswo.com/prnewswire/2023/07/13/realtorcom-launches-thrive-past-five-coaching-program-help-new-agents-succeed/ | 2023-07-13 13:00:15 | 1 | https://www.kswo.com/prnewswire/2023/07/13/realtorcom-launches-thrive-past-five-coaching-program-help-new-agents-succeed/ |
ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s coast guard says five people were found dead Friday after a migrant boat sank in the Aegean Sea.
The boat, carrying 20 people, sank off the coast of western Izmir province early Friday, according to the coast guard statement. Fourteen people were rescued. Rescue efforts for one missing person were continuing with four coast guard boats, a dive team and a helicopter.
Further south, the body of another migrant was recovered from the sea near the tourist destination of Bodrum in Mugla province. The Turkish Coast Guard said its units intercepted a rubber dinghy late Thursday and detained 12 migrants and a suspected smuggler. The migrants said four others had fallen into the sea as the dinghy tried to evade the coast guard. Rescuers found three survivors and the body of the fourth person.
Migrants try to enter the European Union by illegally leaving Turkey on boats and dinghies to make the dangerous journey to Greek islands in the Aegean Sea. | https://www.mrt.com/news/article/Turkey-6-migrants-dead-in-the-Aegean-Sea-in-2-17446090.php | 2022-09-16 14:54:44 | 0 | https://www.mrt.com/news/article/Turkey-6-migrants-dead-in-the-Aegean-Sea-in-2-17446090.php |
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Corpus Christi community is mourning the loss of a student athlete and young, future firefighter.
Loney Diaz, 17, died on Aug. 26 after suffering a heat stroke while playing football, according to a family member's post on social media.
Loney was a member of the Corpus Christi Fire Department Fire Explorer Program and had just completed Fire Academy at Del Mar College. He planned on joining the CCFD after serving the country in the U.S. Air Force.
CCFD Explorer Post 343 said they lost an "irreplaceable leader in Loney Diaz."
"At 17 years old, Loney was the Company Officer of Engine 2 and demonstrated the values and morals of outstanding leadership," the post said. "CCFD Post 343 asks everyone to offer prayers and condolences to the Diaz family in this troubling time."
Diaz was a senior at Harold T. Branch Academy. The principal, Dr. Tracie S. Rodriguez, said extra counselors are on campus Monday for anyone that needs to talk about the loss.
"A temporary memorial area will be set up at the school for any student or staff who wishes to contribute a personal memory and/or message," Rodriguez said in a letter to the school community. "These messages will be provided to the Diaz family with collective memories that will be cherished as we honor his life and service to our school and community."
Diaz's family has set up a GoFundMe account to help with the unexpected expenses.
Condolences for the teen have been pouring in on social media.
A prayer service for Monday at 6 p.m. at Annaville Baptist Church is open to all friends and classmates of Diaz.
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- Event featured talks by local football legends Siu Ki Chan and Wai Ho Chan, an exhibition of Manchester City-themed collectables, and interactive games
HONG KONG, July 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- OKX, a leading Web3 technology company and the Official Sleeve Partner of Manchester City Football Club, hosted a fans event in Hong Kong with the Official Manchester City Supporters Club, Hong Kong Branch, on July 22 in celebration of Manchester City's history-making 2022/23 season and treble win, as well as OKX Hong Kong's milestone of recording over 10,000 new local user registrations within a month of launching its enhanced app.
The event attracted more than 200 fans, and was one of the first events in Hong Kong bringing together football and Web3 in an interactive way. Attendees had the rare opportunity to admire an exhibition of Manchester City-themed collectibles and participate in interactive games with local football legends Siu Ki Chan and Wai Ho Chan.
Former Hong Kong Football Team Captain Wai Ho Chan said: "As a virtual asset investor myself, I'm very glad to see that OKX is making the best use of Web3 and innovative technologies to engage with people in Hong Kong and to enable more people to participate in football, which I believe will help promote the development of the local football scene as well."
Hong Kong Football Team's Top Scorer Siu Ki Chan said: "I'm honoured to take part in this event, which is one of the city's first Web3 and football crossovers. Combining these two seemingly disparate themes together is a special experience and allows us to interact more closely with football supporters. I look forward to seeing more events like this in Hong Kong!"
OKX Global Chief Commercial Officer Lennix Lai said: "OKX and Manchester City are partners because we believe in the power of Web3 technology to bring fans closer to their favorite players and teams, and experience the sport in new ways. This event is a celebration of significant milestone for both partners - Manchester City's treble win, and OKX Hong Kong's 10,000 new user registrations. As OKX Hong Kong continues to grow, we are looking forward to bringing more unique experiences for Manchester City fans and crypto enthusiasts in Hong Kong."
OKX's partnership with Manchester City began in March 2022. Building on the success as the Club's Official Training Kit Partner for the 2022/23 season, Manchester City and OKX announced the expansion of their partnership on June 30 this year, naming OKX as the Club's Official Sleeve Partner.
About OKX
OKX is a leading global crypto exchange and Web3 ecosystem. Trusted by more than 50 million global users, OKX is known for being the fastest and most reliable crypto trading app for traders everywhere.
As a top partner of English Premier League champions Manchester City FC, McLaren Formula 1, Olympian Scotty James, and F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo, OKX aims to supercharge the fan experience with new engagement opportunities. OKX is also the top partner of the Tribeca Festival as part of an initiative to bring more creators into Web3.
OKX also offers a full suite of Web3 products and services:
- OKX Wallet: One of the world's most powerful, secure and versatile crypto wallet which gives users access to over 50 blockchains while allowing them to take custody of their own funds. The wallet Includes MPC technology which allows users to easily recover access to their wallet independently, removing the need for traditional, 'written down' seed phrases
- DEX: A cross-chain decentralized exchange which aggregates nearly 200 other DEXs, with 200,000+ coins on more than 10 blockchains available.
- NFT Marketplace: A multi-chain, zero-fee NFT marketplace that gives users access to NFT listings across seven top-tier marketplaces including OpenSea, MagicEden, LooksRare and Blur.
- Web3 Earn: A powerful DeFi platform that supports earning and staking on 80 protocols across nine blockchains.
OKX is committed to transparency and security and publishes its Proof of Reserves on a monthly basis.
To learn more about OKX, download our app or visit: okx.com
Disclaimer
This announcement is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide any investment, tax, or legal advice, nor should it be considered an offer to purchase, sell, or hold digital assets. Digital assets, including stablecoins, involve a high degree of risk, can fluctuate greatly, and can even become worthless. You should carefully consider whether trading or holding digital assets is suitable for you in light of your financial condition. Please consult your legal/tax/investment professional for questions about your specific circumstances.
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SOURCE OKX | https://www.wbrc.com/prnewswire/2023/07/24/okx-hk-manchester-city-supporters-club-hk-host-citys-first-web3-meets-football-event-celebrating-clubs-historic-season-okx-hks-10000-new-users-milestone/ | 2023-07-24 13:49:29 | 0 | https://www.wbrc.com/prnewswire/2023/07/24/okx-hk-manchester-city-supporters-club-hk-host-citys-first-web3-meets-football-event-celebrating-clubs-historic-season-okx-hks-10000-new-users-milestone/ |
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) _ E.l.f. Beauty Inc. (ELF) on Wednesday reported fiscal first-quarter net income of $14.5 million.
The Oakland, California-based company said it had profit of 27 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for stock option expense and amortization costs, came to 39 cents per share.
The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 23 cents per share.
The cosmetics company posted revenue of $122.6 million in the period, which also topped Street forecasts. Nine analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $109.4 million.
E.l.f. Beauty expects full-year earnings in the range of 84 cents to 87 cents per share, with revenue in the range of $448 million to $456 million.
_____
This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on ELF at https://www.zacks.com/ap/ELF | https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/E-l-f-Beauty-Fiscal-Q1-Earnings-Snapshot-17349116.php | 2022-08-03 21:32:51 | 0 | https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/E-l-f-Beauty-Fiscal-Q1-Earnings-Snapshot-17349116.php |
SAN FRANCISCO, July 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- 3Degrees, a leading global climate solutions provider and Certified B Corporation, has added investment and risk professional Amy Wierenga to its Board of Directors. Wierenga brings 20 years of global private and public sector experience – including risk management, capital allocation, portfolio management, quantitative research, trade operations, and treasury management – to bear for 3Degrees, which offers a full suite of clean energy and scope 1, 2, and 3 decarbonization solutions that help global Fortune 500 companies, utilities, and other organizations achieve their climate goals.
"We are pleased to welcome Amy to our Board of Directors," said Dan Kalafatas, 3Degrees Board Chair. "3Degrees is entering a new phase of growth as we continue to expand our decarbonization services and products globally to combat the existential threat of climate change. Amy's expertise and contributions will help shape and refine our offerings and operations, better enabling us to help draw down global greenhouse gas emissions."
Wierenga currently serves as Managing Director, Investments and Investment Chief Risk Officer at GCM Grosvenor, a $75BN global alternative investment manager specializing in customized investment solutions across absolute return, alternative credit, private equity, infrastructure, and real estate markets. In her role, Wierenga leads global risk strategy, oversight, and quantitative research to enhance decision-making and risk management across investment underwriting, portfolio construction and portfolio management activities.
Prior to joining GCM Grosvenor, Amy spent over a decade at BlueMountain Capital Management, where she was Partner, Chief Risk Officer, and Head of Risk & Portfolio Construction. Amy's leadership was instrumental to enabling BlueMountain's soundly managed growth from an emerging credit and volatility arbitrage fund manager into a $20BN global multi-strategy, multi-fund manager known for its integrity, collaborative intellectual rigor, and strong internal control culture.
Before BlueMountain, she served at Merrill Lynch where she managed risk for one of the largest U.S. Government & Agency flow interest rate derivatives and exotics books on Wall Street. Wierenga started her career as a Bank Examiner and Risk Specialist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, where she led and participated in regulatory assessments of banking and trading book risk at small, regional and Large and Complex Banking Organizations across the U.S.
"I am enthused by the 3Degrees leadership team's vision and excited to help guide the organization's growth at this pivotal time," Wierenga said. "3Degrees' thriving climate action advisory and unmatched expertise in the origination, sales, and trading of the evolving renewable energy and climate markets uniquely position it to meet rapidly increasing sector demand. I have been impressed by the entire team's commitment to investing in institutional-quality trading risk process and systems, and to retaining the strong mission-centric culture that has characterized the firm's success to-date."
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SOURCE 3Degrees | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/13/3degrees-adds-amy-wierenga-board-director/ | 2023-07-13 12:41:29 | 1 | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/13/3degrees-adds-amy-wierenga-board-director/ |
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky state senator said Tuesday that her transgender son, a trans rights advocate on whom “a lack of acceptance took a toll,” has died by suicide. He was 24.
Democratic Sen. Karen Berg said her son Henry Berg-Brousseau “long struggled with mental illness, not because he was trans but born from his difficulty finding acceptance.” She said he died on Friday.
The Louisville lawmaker said her son had just received a big promotion working for the Human Rights Campaign, which advocates for LGBTQ rights. He had finally found a community, she said, “but that could not undo the brokenness that he already felt.”
Berg has talked about her son during legislative proceedings as she opposed Kentucky bills that take aim at transgender people, which have increasingly passed in Republican statehouses across the country. That includes a 2022 law that bars transgender girls and women from participating in school sports matching their gender identity from sixth grade through college.
“On a daily basis at his job Henry would be aware of the hateful and vile anti-trans messaging being circulated around this country and focused at his workplace,” Berg said in a news release. “This hate building across the country weighed on him. In one of our last conversations he wondered if he was safe walking down the street.”
Berg said her son spent his life “working to extend grace, compassion and understanding to everyone.” She said the “vitriol against trans people” has ”real-world implications for how transgender people view their place in the world and how they are treated as they just try to live their lives.”
“If I have one ask, it would be this: practice tolerance and grace,” Berg said. “Work on loving your neighbor.”
Berg is a physician and professor from Louisville who was first elected to the state Senate in 2020. | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/kentucky-senator-transgender-son-has-died-by-suicide/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all | 2022-12-21 01:49:17 | 0 | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/kentucky-senator-transgender-son-has-died-by-suicide/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all |
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft faced the camera during a video call, pointing to a small, sky-blue lapel pin on his blazer.
The pin is the symbol of a $25 million “Stand Up to Jewish Hate” campaign launched Monday by the 81-year-old billionaire through his Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, aiming to raise awareness nationwide about soaring incidents of antisemitism online and in person. The campaign will feature emotive ads to be introduced by stars of top television shows such as NBC’s “The Voice,” and the “Kelly Clarkson Show,” and Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.”
“This little blue square represents the Jewish population in the United States – 2.4%,” said Kraft, who was raised in Brookline, Massachusetts, in an observant Orthodox Jewish family. “But we’re the victims of 55% of the hate crimes in this country.”
The ads are intended to tug at the heartstrings of non-Jewish Americans, said Matthew Berger, the foundation’s executive director. One of the ads, set to premiere Monday, shows a non-Jewish neighbor painting over a garage door vandalized with the Nazi swastika and the words “No Jews,” concluding with the message: “Hate only wins if you let it.”
Another ad focuses on online hate: A Jewish teen is shown crestfallen as he is trolled after posting a video of his bar mitzvah. Soon after, he sees a Harlem choir tag him with their version of his worship song. He sings along with the choir as these words pop up on screen: “Voices of support are louder than words of hate.”
Berger said the foundation worked with its creative team to find scenarios “that would be specifically impactful and showcase what antisemitism looks like.” He said the ads will be featured during the NFL draft and the NBA and NHL playoffs, as well as on social media, promoted by prominent influencers.
The campaign’s launch follows last week’s release of a report by the Anti-Defamation League asserting that antisemitic incidents in the U.S. rose 36% in 2022. The report tracked 3,697 incidents of harassment, vandalism and assault aimed at Jewish people and communities last year. It’s the third time in five years that the annual total has been the highest ever recorded since the group began collecting data in 1979.
The Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, based at California State University, San Bernardino, reported last week that Jews were the most targeted of all U.S. religious groups in 2022 in 21 major cities, accounting for 78% of religious hate crimes.
Brian Levin, the center’s director, said he is concerned about brazen, public expressions of antisemitism, and the proliferation of antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories online. A campaign against antisemitism which solicits the support of non-Jewish people can help create awareness, he said.
“It is so important to show that antisemitism is un-American,” Levin said. “If we can show non-Jews as allies, that could be powerful.”
In October, Kraft’s foundation aired a 30-second ad during a Patriots-Jets game urging the public to speak out against antisemitism. That ad came after antisemitic comments made by the music mogul formerly known as Kanye West and basketball star Kyrie Irving’s apparent support for an antisemitic film.
“The rise of antisemitism, to me, is the real breakdown of what this society stands on,” Kraft said. “In my lifetime, I have never seen the way things are right now with this hatred against Jews.”
The mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh on Oct. 27, 2018, in which 11 people were killed in the nation’s deadliest antisemitic attack, was a catalytic moment in his life, said Kraft. Two months after the shooting, he attended a Shabbat service at the synagogue, the day before his team was to play the Steelers.
Kraft established the foundation a year later, after he received the $1 million Genesis Prize, awarded to Jews who have achieved significant professional success and are committed to Jewish values. The annual award is given by the Genesis Foundation in partnership with the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and the Jewish Agency for Israel.
Over the past decade, Kraft has encountered much turbulence in his personal and professional life.
In 2015, he and his team got caught up in the so-called “Deflategate” scandal. The NFL issued a 243-page report after an investigation found that Patriots employees violated the league’s rules covering game balls and that the team’s star quarterback, Tom Brady, was “at least generally aware” of plans to deflate the footballs to his liking. Kraft accepted the team penalty of a $1 million fine and loss of two draft picks.
In 2020, Florida prosecutors dropped a misdemeanor charge against Kraft after courts blocked their use of video that allegedly showed him paying for massage parlor sex. He issued a statement saying he “hurt and disappointed” his family, friends, co-workers, fans and others who hold him “to a higher standard.”
“I expect to be judged not by my words, but by my actions. And through those actions, I hope to regain your confidence and respect,” Kraft said at the time.
In recent months, he has become a powerful voice against antisemitism. Kraft says he treasures the spiritual values he inherited from his parents, especially his father who skipped television and other pastimes to read the Torah.
“I was privileged to receive that upbringing,” he said. “It gave me a spiritual core no amount of money can buy.”
Kraft hopes the ad campaign will help “educate and empower all Americans to stand up against Jewish hate” and the blue square he wears on his lapel will become “a unifying symbol of solidarity” in that quest.
“I hope this campaign calls out hate against all communities – Black people, the LGBTQ community – just anyone who is experiencing hate,” he said. “My hope is this will become an effort that builds bridges with all Americans.”
___
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/patriots-owner-robert-kraft-launches-antisemitism-campaign/ | 2023-03-28 06:51:31 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/patriots-owner-robert-kraft-launches-antisemitism-campaign/ |
World's preeminent energy conference to focus on 'Navigating a Turbulent World: Energy, Climate and Security.' Learn more at www.ceraweek.com
HOUSTON, Feb. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John F. Kerry, will address delegates at the 41st annual CERAWeek by S&P Global, March 6-10 in Houston.
The first-ever Principal to sit on the U.S. National Security Council entirely dedicated to climate change, Mr. Kerry previously served as the 68th U.S. Secretary of State and as a U.S. Senator representing Massachusetts.
"We are pleased again to welcome Secretary Kerry among the distinguished speakers at CERAWeek by S&P Global," said Daniel Yergin, Vice Chairman of S&P Global and conference chair. "At a time when geopolitics are reshaping the global energy landscape like never before and concerns for energy and climate security are at the forefront, his knowledge and experience at the epicenters of international politics and global climate diplomacy will be a timely and important contribution to the critical dialogues taking place at this year's conference."
Sec. Kerry will join the world's energy industry leaders, experts, government officials and policymakers, as well as leaders from the technology, financial and industrial communities addressing this year's conference.
CERAWeek 2023: Navigating a Turbulent World: Energy, Climate and Security will examine how a new era of global uncertainty and change is reshaping challenges and opportunities for the energy transition. The conference will explore strategies and solutions for reducing emissions while meeting growing energy demand—all as the world grapples with shifting geopolitics, economic uncertainty and the upheaval of war.
The CERAWeek 2023 conference program will explore key themes related to:
- The Energy Trilemma: Balancing security, transition and affordability
- Geopolitics and Geoeconomics: An era of volatility
- Competitive Landscape, Technology and Innovation
- Financing the Energy Future: The capital transition
- Supply Chains, Commodity Markets and Energy Transition
- Future Workforce: Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and next-generation skills
The week-long event will also include the CERAWeek Innovation Agora, serving as the center of technology and innovation programming at the conference. Featuring a community of thought leaders, technologists, start-ups, investors, academics, energy companies and government officials, the Innovation Agora will showcase transformational technology platforms in the energy space ranging from digitalization, AI, cybersecurity, analytics and connectivity, robotics, blockchain, additive manufacturing, mobility and decarbonization technologies. The 2023 program will also feature expanded "Agora Hubs"—dedicated areas focused on hydrogen, carbon and climate.
CERAWeek 2023 speakers will include (partial list):
- Jennifer Granholm – Secretary of Energy, U.S. Department of Energy
- Bernard Looney – CEO, bp
- Pedro Pizarro – President and CEO, Edison International
- Patrick Pouyanné – Chairman of the Board and CEO, TotalEnergies
- Vicki Hollub – CEO, Occidental Petroleum
- John Podesta – Senior Advisor for Clean Energy and Implementation and Chair of the National Climate Task Force, The White House
- Amin H. Nasser – President and CEO, Saudi Aramco
- Ryan Lance – Chairman and CEO, ConocoPhillips
- Hon. Lisa Murkowski – United States Senator, Alaska
- Mike Wirth – Chairman of the Board and CEO, Chevron
- Anders Opedal – President and CEO, Equinor
- Wael Sawan – CEO, Shell
- Hon. Joe Manchin – United States Senator, West Virginia
- Douglas Peterson – President and CEO, S&P Global
- Adam Selipsky – CEO, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- David M. Rubenstein – Co-Founder and Co-Chairman, The Carlyle Group
- H.E. Haitham Al Ghais – Secretary General, OPEC
- H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber – Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology; Special Envoy for Climate Change, United Arab Emirates; Group CEO and managing Director, ADNOC
- Meg O'Neil – CEO and Managing Director, Woodside Energy
- Dr. Fatih Birol – Executive Director, International Energy Agency
- Claudio Descalzi – CEO, Eni
- Josu Jon Imaz – CEO, Repsol
- Meg Gentle – Executive Director, HIF Global
- Hon. Andrew Sullivan – United States Senator, Alaska
- Ernie Thrasher – Founder and CEO, Xcoal Energy and Resources
- Jose W. Fernandez -- Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment, U.S. Department of State
- John Ketchum – Chairman, President and CEO, NextEra Energy
- Willie L. Phillips – Acting Chairman, U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
- Jean-Pascal Tricoire – Chairman and CEO, Schneider Electric
- Miguel Stilwell de Andrade – Chairman of the Executive Board of Directors, EDP
- Zoe Yujnovich – Upstream Director, Shell
- Barbara Burger – Senior Advisor, Lazard
- Christian Bruch – President and CEO, Siemens Energy
- Richard Adkerson – Chairman of the Board and CEO, Freeport-McMoRan
- Olivier Le Peuch – CEO, Schlumberger
- Michael Smith – Chairman, CEO and Founder, Freeport LNG
- Sunita Narain – Director General, Center for Science and Environment
- Hon. Michael S. Regan – Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Charif Souki – Executive Chairman of the Board, Tellurian
- Amos Hochstein – Special Presidential Coordinator, U.S. Department of State
- Dan Brouillette – President, Sempra Infrastructure, former U.S. Secretary of Energy
- Daniel Poneman – President and CEO, Centrus Energy
- Ernest Moniz – Founder and CEO, Energy Futures Initiative and former U.S. Secretary of Energy
- Felipe Bayón – CEO, Ecopetrol S.A.
- Walter Isaacson – Leonard Lauder Professor of American History and Values, Tulane University
Visit www.ceraweek.com for a complete list of speakers and the most up-to-date program information (subject to change).
Registration Information
CERAWeek by S&P Global 2023 will be held March 6-10 at the Hilton Americas—Houston. Further information and delegate registration is available at www.ceraweek.com.
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Media registration is now open. Members of the media interested in covering CERAWeek 2023 are required to apply for accreditation. Applications are subject to approval and can be submitted at the following link: https://reg.ceraweek.com/flow/spglobal/ceraweek2023/cw23registration/login. Select "Media" from the list of registration options to submit your application.
About S&P Global
S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) provides essential intelligence. We enable governments, businesses and individuals with the right data, expertise and connected technology so that they can make decisions with conviction. From helping our customers assess new investments to guiding them through ESG and energy transition across supply chains, we unlock new opportunities, solve challenges and accelerate progress for the world.
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SOURCE S&P Global | https://www.wbtv.com/prnewswire/2023/02/27/john-f-kerry-us-special-presidential-envoy-climate-address-ceraweek-by-sampp-global-2023-houston/ | 2023-02-27 18:41:11 | 0 | https://www.wbtv.com/prnewswire/2023/02/27/john-f-kerry-us-special-presidential-envoy-climate-address-ceraweek-by-sampp-global-2023-houston/ |
ROME — Swept away by Italian elections that are expected to see Giorgia Meloni soon form the nation’s first far-right-led government since World War II were veterans of successful battles for civil rights, including divorce and abortion, as well as lawmakers still struggling for freedoms like same-sex marriage.
Organizers said they feared Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party will launch “a triad of ‘God, homeland and family,’” policies — a reference to her political manifesto.
That could impose “rigid gender roles and assign women the task of reproduction and growth of a white, patriarchal and heterosexual nation,” organizers said in their announcement of the rallies against the agenda of Meloni, who would become Italy’s first far-right premier of the post-war period and its first woman in that office.
Perhaps Italy’s most celebrated living civil rights activist, Emma Bonino, lost her Senate seat to a Rome city councilwoman from Brothers of Italy, the party co-founded a decade ago by Meloni, who exalts motherhood and “traditional” families and who decries LGBTQ “lobbies.” Lavinia Munnino’s no. 1 campaign priority was growing Italy’s birthrate.
Bonino told the AP by phone she was too busy on Tuesday preparing an appeal for a recount in the close race to discuss worries about civil rights. “Anyway, I already said all that” in the campaign. While campaigning, Bonino voiced concerns that Meloni would make access to abortion difficult.
Italy allows abortion on request in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, or later if a woman’s health or life is endangered.
As a young woman, Bonino, now 74, spearheaded successful drives in the 1970s to legalize both abortion and divorce, two rights that were aggressively opposed by the Vatican, which wields political influence in Italy.
Before the Sept. 25 election for Parliament, Meloni said she would respect the 1978 law, but would push for measures, such as economic help, for women who decide to give birth instead of aborting.
The law allows for health personnel to register as conscientious objectors so they won’t have to perform abortions. In some regions, including one where Meloni’s party governs, the percentage of objectors is so high that women are forced to travel to other parts of Italy to obtain an abortion, Bonino has noted.
Among others defeated by right-wing candidates was Monica Cirinna, a Democratic Party lawmaker behind the passage of a 2016 law legalizing same-sex unions. Italy had been the last holdout in Western Europe on that recognition, but Cirinna was thwarted in efforts to permit adoption by same-sex couples.
Alessia Crocini, who heads the Rainbow Families group advocating rights for LBGTQ families, called Meloni’s victory “terrible news.” Rights activists had expected it, “but when something like this materializes it becomes real, it is pretty shocking,” she said.
“I have been an activist for a very long time and there are people who I do not know who are writing to me on Instagram, ‘I am afraid,’ ‘I don’t know what to do,’ ‘I am very worried, I want to cry.’”
Crocini claimed that Meloni’s objective is “to break the LGBTQ movement.”
Also defeated was Democratic Party Senator Emanuele Fiano. The son of a survivor from the Auschwitz death camp during World War II, Fiano has battled against the rise of neo-fascist political movements. The recipients of antisemitic threats, Fiano has a police escort.
Besting him in a Senate district race in a Milan suburb was Isabella Rauti, a Brothers of Italy senator whose late father, Pino Rauti, help found the Italian Social Movement, a party nostalgic for fascism formed just after the end of the war.
Meloni ignored a demand by Holocaust survivor Liliana Segre, who is a senator-for-life, to remove from her party’s symbol the flame in the three colors of the Italian flag that belonged to the Italian Social Movement. Meloni tweeted she was proud of her party’s symbol. She has decried the anti-Jewish laws of Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime.
Wednesday’s marches, taking place in cities across Italy, are being organized by civil rights groups under the banner “Ready? Furious!” They are demanding that abortion rights remain in place. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/lgbtq-advocates-women-worry-in-italy-after-melonis-win/2022/09/28/f8ca3d68-3f09-11ed-8c6e-9386bd7cd826_story.html | 2022-09-28 09:46:35 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/lgbtq-advocates-women-worry-in-italy-after-melonis-win/2022/09/28/f8ca3d68-3f09-11ed-8c6e-9386bd7cd826_story.html |
CHICAGO, Sept. 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hub International Limited (Hub), a leading global insurance brokerage and financial services firm, announced today that it has acquired the assets of Tilghman Insurance of Myrtle Beach, LLC (Tilghman Insurance of Myrtle Beach). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Headquartered in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Tilghman Insurance of Myrtle Beach has been providing commercial and personal insurance solutions to the heart of the Grand Strand for more than 10 years. Jeff Brice, Principal, and the Tilghman Insurance of Myrtle Beach team will join Hub Carolinas.
"We are thrilled that Tilghman Insurance of Myrtle Beach has joined Hub and our Carolinas region, especially because of their experienced and professional staff," said Tommy Suggs, President of Hub Carolinas. "Myrtle Beach is very important to Hub and becomes even more strategic and important now."
"Hub may be large and has tremendous resources, but they also are local and care about their employees, clients and communities. We made a good choice," said Brice.
Hub International Limited is committed to growing organically and through acquisitions to expand its geographic footprint and strengthen industry and product expertise. For more information on the Hub M&A experience, visit WeAreHub.com.
Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Hub International Limited is a leading full-service global insurance broker and financial services firm providing risk management, insurance, employee benefits, retirement and wealth management products and services. With more than 14,000 employees in offices located throughout North America, Hub's vast network of specialists brings clarity to a changing world with tailored solutions and unrelenting advocacy, so clients are ready for tomorrow. For more information, please visit www.hubinternational.com.
Media: Jessica Wiltse
Phone: 312-596-7573
jessica.wiltse@hubinternational.com
M&A: Clark Wormer
Phone: 312-279-4848
Clark.wormer@hubinternational.com
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SOURCE Hub International Limited | https://www.kbtx.com/prnewswire/2022/09/08/hub-international-strengthens-commercial-personal-insurance-capabilites-with-acquisition-assets-tilghman-insurance-myrtle-beach-llc-south-carolina/ | 2022-09-08 12:40:00 | 1 | https://www.kbtx.com/prnewswire/2022/09/08/hub-international-strengthens-commercial-personal-insurance-capabilites-with-acquisition-assets-tilghman-insurance-myrtle-beach-llc-south-carolina/ |
Pana flexed its muscle and floored Litchfield 54-34 at Pana High on January 19 in Illinois boys high school basketball action.
The last time Pana and Litchfield played in a 71-51 game on February 23, 2022. For more, click here.
In recent action on January 14, Pana faced off against Troy Triad and Litchfield took on Waverly South County on January 7 at Waverly South County High School. For results, click here.
You're reading a news brief powered by ScoreStream, a world leader in fan-driven sports results and conversation. Help us collect and deliver more game results from your favorite teams and players by downloading the ScoreStream app. Nearly a million users nationwide share team scores and player performance stats with this convenient free app. | https://pantagraph.com/sports/high-school/basketball/boys/pana-blitzes-litchfield-in-dominating-victory-54-34/article_abe260bd-d074-5923-8181-988851294957.html | 2023-01-20 06:04:38 | 0 | https://pantagraph.com/sports/high-school/basketball/boys/pana-blitzes-litchfield-in-dominating-victory-54-34/article_abe260bd-d074-5923-8181-988851294957.html |
NEW YORK, Sept. 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --
WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of Azure Power Global Limited (NYSE: AZRE) between June 15, 2021 and August 26, 2022, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important October 31, 2022 lead plaintiff deadline.
SO WHAT: If you purchased Azure Power securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.
WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Azure Power class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=8433 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than October 31, 2022. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.
WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually handle securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.
DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose material adverse facts about Azure Power's business operations and prospects. Specifically, defendants failed to disclose to investors that: (1) there were procedural irregularities, including deviations from safety and quality standards, at one of Azure Power's plants; (2) certain project data was manipulated; (3) as a result of the foregoing, Azure Power's internal controls and procedures were not effective; (4) Azure Power had received a credible whistleblower report alleging such misconduct; and (5) as a result of the foregoing, defendants' positive statements about Azure Power's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.
To join the Azure Power class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=8433 mailto:or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.
No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.
Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Contact Information:
Laurence Rosen, Esq.
Phillip Kim, Esq.
The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 686-1060
Toll Free: (866) 767-3653
Fax: (212) 202-3827
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pkim@rosenlegal.com
cases@rosenlegal.com
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SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A. | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/09/09/azre-notice-rosen-top-ranked-national-investor-attorneys-encourages-azure-power-global-limited-investors-secure-counsel-before-important-deadline-securities-class-action-azre/ | 2022-09-09 02:15:15 | 1 | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/09/09/azre-notice-rosen-top-ranked-national-investor-attorneys-encourages-azure-power-global-limited-investors-secure-counsel-before-important-deadline-securities-class-action-azre/ |
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Pope Francis has sent one of his top sex crimes investigators to Bolivia at a time when the Andean nation is being shaken by an escalating pedophilia scandal involving priests.
Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu, a leading member of the church’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, arrived in Bolivia on the same day as a former Jesuit seminarian landed in the country vowing to reveal more information about alleged cases of abuse.
The Bolivian Episcopal Conference said Bertomeu’s visit is not directly related to the recent sex abuse allegations but had been planned earlier to analyze “the progress made in the field of the culture of prevention” promoted by the Vatican.
Bertomeu arrived in Bolivia from Paraguay, where he had been investigating similar accusations against church officials and in 2018 he led the investigation into abuses committed by priests against minors in Chile.
The meetings in Bolivia “will be conducted in an atmosphere of profound closeness to all those who have been victims of the scourge of abuse in the Church,” the Episcopal Conference said in a statement.
Bertomeu “is a person of great trust to Pope Francis, who is responsible for addressing these issues, and he is coming to provide some guidance on how we can handle this issue, listen to and support the victims,” said Monsignor Giovani Arana, the Episcopal Conference’s secretary.
The visit comes soon after case of Spanish Jesuit Alfonso Pedrajas became public. According to a private diary accessed by the Spanish newspaper El País, Pedrajas allegedly abused about 85 minors in Catholic boarding schools in Bolivia in the 1970s and 1980s. He died of cancer in 2009.
The Prosecutor’s Office has initiated an investigation, which remains confidential, and has called on victims to file complaints.
The Jesuit Society in Bolivia has apologized to the victims and pledged to support the investigation while denouncing Pedrajas’ superiors for an alleged cover up. Many of the superiors are no longer in office or have died.
Pedro Lima, a former Bolivian Jesuit seminarian considered an important witness, has vowed to cooperate with the investigation. His arrival in Bolivia coincide with Bertomeu’s.
“I am not only a witness but also a victim of abuses of power, sexual abuse, and abuse of conscience by the Jesuit Society in Bolivia,” Lima said upon his arrival in the Bolivian capital of La Paz on Monday to testify before the Prosecutor’s Office.
During a news conference, Lima accused three Jesuits of covering up the alleged abuses.
“Apologies are not enough, these abuses cannot go unpunished. There must be reparation for the victims, and I am here to ensure that these painful events never happen again,” said Lima, who declined to provide details about the alleged abuses he suffered.
Lima’s assertions were questioned by the lawyer for the Jesuits, Audalia Zurita, who said Lima “held a position of power” to denounce the alleged abuses when in 2006 and 2007 he was a member of the Constituent Assembly that reformed Bolivia’s constitution and did not do so.
Lima left the Jesuit Society, where he was a teacher in schools and boarding houses, in 2001 and turned to politics. In 2012, he left the country claiming “political persecution” by the Movement Toward Socialism party, and sought refuge with the Jesuits in Paraguay, where he worked until recently.
“Of course, I worked with the Jesuits in Paraguay. Having worked with them does not mean that I should remain silent… when I wanted to denounce, they said there were no victims, no evidence,” he said.
Pedrajas’ case has brought other previously unresolved cases to light. Prosecutor Wilfredo Chávez stated that “there are 23 priests implicated in pedophilia in the country,” including one who was sent to pre-trial detention for three months last week.
There have been isolated protests in some churches and Catholic schools in Bolivia since the Pedrajas case came to light. | https://www.binghamtonhomepage.com/news/ap-pope-sends-vatican-official-to-bolivia-as-abuse-allegations-escalate/ | 2023-05-23 09:56:54 | 0 | https://www.binghamtonhomepage.com/news/ap-pope-sends-vatican-official-to-bolivia-as-abuse-allegations-escalate/ |
NEW YORK, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --
WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces an investigation of potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of UP Fintech Holding Limited (NASDAQ: TIGR) resulting from allegations that UP Fintech may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.
SO WHAT: If you purchased UP Fintech securities you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. The Rosen Law Firm is preparing a class action seeking recovery of investor losses.
WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the prospective class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=16262 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.
WHAT IS THIS ABOUT: On May 16, 2023, UP Fintech issued a press release responding to requirements of the China Securities Regulatory Commission ("CSRC"). The press release stated that "the Company will change its approach of updating user terminals for existing Chinese mainland clients and will remove its app "Tiger International" from the Chinese mainland application market starting on May 18, 2023, in order to complete the rectification work with satisfactory results.
On this news, UP Fintech's American depositary receipt ("ADR") price fell 7% to close at $2.64 per ADR on May 16, 2023.
WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.
Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Contact Information:
Laurence Rosen, Esq.
Phillip Kim, Esq.
The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 686-1060
Toll Free: (866) 767-3653
Fax: (212) 202-3827
lrosen@rosenlegal.com
pkim@rosenlegal.com
cases@rosenlegal.com
www.rosenlegal.com
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A. | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/05/20/rosen-global-leading-law-firm-encourages-up-fintech-holding-limited-investors-inquire-about-securities-class-action-investigation-tigr/ | 2023-05-20 04:54:16 | 1 | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/05/20/rosen-global-leading-law-firm-encourages-up-fintech-holding-limited-investors-inquire-about-securities-class-action-investigation-tigr/ |
Trump-backed candidate for Kentucky governor downplays jury verdict against former president
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron touted his endorsement from Donald Trump as an honor, reasserting his steadfast loyalty to the former president while campaigning for governor after a civil jury found the ex-president liable for sexually abusing an advice columnist nearly three decades ago.-
“He is a fighter and I am a fighter,” Cameron said during a televised debate Tuesday that didn’t include his main rival for the nomination, Kelly Craft.
With a narrow early voting window set to begin Thursday for the May 16 primary, Republican candidates campaigned all across the Bluegrass State, trying to set themselves apart in a race where the main contenders sound alike on core economic and social issues. Instead, most of the talk about issues was overshadowed by a barrage of attack ads between camps supporting Cameron or Craft. The heated tenor of the campaign may have exacerbated voter indifference, adding to the sense that the fiercest contest will come in November when the winner tries to knock off Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear.
“There doesn’t seem to be a lot of enthusiasm or interest in this primary,” said GOP political consultant T.J. Litafik. “I’m not seeing a particularly high level of engagement really anywhere in this state.”
Trump’s support for Cameron looms large in the 12-candidate GOP field. Trump easily carried Kentucky in his first two presidential runs and his coattails were long. When Trump won the White House in 2016, Kentucky Republicans gained control of the Kentucky House — achieving a decades-long dream as they cemented their dominance in the legislature.
Now Republicans are trying to wrest away the Democrats’ last bastion of statewide power.
The party’s nominee is expected to challenge Beshear, who is seeking reelection to a second term and faces nominal opposition in his party’s primary. The governor has received consistently high voter approval ratings while presiding over record economic development and managing a series of tragedies, from the pandemic to tornadoes and floods. The fall campaign is a test of whether Democrats — even one seemingly as popular as Beshear — can hold their own in red states.
The Republican campaign has spiraled into a bitter rivalry between Cameron and Craft, who served as U.S. ambassador to Canada and the United Nations during Trump’s presidency. The first-term attorney general has taken digs at Craft over his success in gaining Trump’s nod, and the endorsement is featured on his campaign website and in TV ads promoting Cameron.
But as Trump faces a swirl of legal risks, Kentucky’s chief law enforcement officer is likely to face continued questions about those cases if he emerges as the Republican nominee.
At the outset of the debate Tuesday night, Cameron was asked about the jury verdict and how he now feels about Trump’s endorsement. Hours earlier, a jury in New York found Trump liable for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll decades ago, awarding her $5 million.
“Well, I don’t know the specifics of the civil complaint, and I understand it was something that involved something 30 years ago,” Cameron said. “But I’m honored to have President Trump’s endorsement.”
Cameron then lashed out at a fellow prosecutor — the Manhattan district attorney at the forefront of a New York criminal case against Trump that’s related to hush money payments made to a porn actor. Cameron said the prosecutor has “weaponized” the judicial system “to try to destroy” Trump.
During the same debate, GOP gubernatorial candidate Eric Deters stoutly defended Trump and said he looked forward to Trump winning back the White House in 2024.
“I believe the verdict is a bunch of balderdash,” Deters said. “I believe the woman is lying.”
Trump is also contending with investigations into his possible mishandling of classified documents, his actions after the 2020 election and his activities during the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump denies wrongdoing in all of those matters.
Trump’s support remains solid in Kentucky despite his legal woes in New York, said Scott Jennings, a Kentucky-based Republican political commentator and former adviser to President George W. Bush.
“Obviously there’s more to come for the rest of the year, but primary voting Republicans don’t appear to be bothered by these New York City legal issues,” Jennings said.
Meanwhile, Craft has touted her endorsement from U.S. Rep. James Comer, the Kentucky Republican whose national profile among conservatives has surged as chairman of the House Oversight Committee. Craft also is scheduled to campaign alongside Texas Sen. Ted Cruz on Saturday.
Another Kentucky GOP gubernatorial hopeful, state Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles, says he has amassed more than 230 endorsements from elected Republicans statewide, including scores of county officials, saying it reflects strong grassroots support.
Beshear won the governorship in 2019, defeating then-Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, a Trump ally who couldn’t overcome the self-inflicted damage caused by his combative style. If Beshear follows his campaign formula from four years ago, he will avoid talking about Trump to risk further energizing his opponent’s conservative base.
Democrats have relished the GOP infighting, something one candidate acknowledged at the debate.
“All this mudslinging and fighting that’s going on right now only helps out one person, and that’s Andy Beshear,” Quarles said.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.kob.com/politics-news/trump-backed-candidate-for-kentucky-governor-downplays-jury-verdict-against-former-president/ | 2023-05-10 19:16:00 | 0 | https://www.kob.com/politics-news/trump-backed-candidate-for-kentucky-governor-downplays-jury-verdict-against-former-president/ |
The Medicine Park Aquarium and Natural Sciences Center is celebrating World Meteorological Day
Published: Mar. 25, 2023 at 5:00 PM CDT|Updated: 2 hours ago
LAWTON, Okla. (KSWO) - Abigail Sharpe, the Assistant Director of Education, and Kobe Louis, the Education Director at the Medicine Park Aquarium and Natural Sciences Center.
Copyright 2023 KSWO. All rights reserved. | https://www.kswo.com/2023/03/25/medicine-park-aquarium-natural-sciences-center-is-celebrating-world-meteorological-day/ | 2023-03-25 23:33:58 | 0 | https://www.kswo.com/2023/03/25/medicine-park-aquarium-natural-sciences-center-is-celebrating-world-meteorological-day/ |
SAS to soon start online booking for 2028 flights aboard electric-powered aircraft
STOCKHOLM (AP) — Scandinavian Airlines says travelers will soon be able to book flights on the carrier’s first commercial flights that are due to start five years from now in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark aboard electric-powered aircraft. The Stockholm-based SAS airline group said Wednesday there will be 30 seats available on each of the three flights and that the day and place of departure will be communicated to travelers by email once set. SAS CEO Anko van der Werff said it was “a significant step on our journey towards more sustainable aviation.” | https://localnews8.com/news/2023/05/31/sas-to-soon-start-online-booking-for-2028-flights-aboard-electric-powered-aircraft/ | 2023-05-31 15:42:27 | 1 | https://localnews8.com/news/2023/05/31/sas-to-soon-start-online-booking-for-2028-flights-aboard-electric-powered-aircraft/ |
Local Entrepreneurs Celebrate Grand Opening with Open House Event – Promos, Offers & More
CHARLESTON, S.C., Jan. 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Re-Bath, the nation's largest complete bathroom remodeling company, is marking the opening of its Charleston location with an official grand opening event on January 27 at its showroom located at 9581 Industrial Center Drive. Community members are encouraged to join in on the celebration, where they will receive various discounts and offers including coupons that will only be available at the event.
Re-Bath Charleston is owned and operated by former Re-Bath employee Megan Farnsworth. With over six years of experience with Re-Bath and multiple roles within the company, Farnsworth is thrilled to become a Re-Bath owner herself, alongside her husband. Their desire to meet consumer demand for effortless bathroom solutions was the driving force behind their decision to bring Re-Bath to the greater Charleston area.
"I am extremely excited to be servicing homeowners in the greater Charleston community by providing a best-in-class business to turn to for their remodeling needs," said Farnsworth. "Opening a Re-Bath franchise has been a dream of ours for a long time, and we are thrilled to offer quality bathroom solutions in the thriving Charleston market."
On Friday January 27, from 2:00-5:00 p.m., community members are invited to join the Re-Bath team at the new store for a grand opening celebration, complete with food, music, and prizes. Additionally, Re-Bath coupons will be given to those in attendance. "We can't wait to celebrate with the community at our grand opening event," added Farnsworth. "We have been looking forward to connecting with Charleston residents and showing them what we have to offer here at Re-Bath."
Re-Bath has grown into a trusted and respected brand known for providing expert, affordable, and effortless bathroom remodeling solutions that transform homeowners' bathrooms in days, not weeks. Whether seeking a tub or shower area update, better accessibility and safety in your bathroom or a complete bathroom remodel, Re-Bath makes bathroom remodeling easy. The company's exclusive remodel process removes old materials and fixtures and replaces them with beautiful new options in a wide variety of colors and styles.
"We're thrilled to have Megan in the Re-Bath family," said Re-Bath CEO Brad Hillier. "As we continue expansion throughout the country, it's so important that we partner with entrepreneurs who are passionate about the remodeling industry and are committed to going above and beyond to provide an unmatched customer service experience. Megan is 100% aligned with our core values and we are confident she will make a true impact in the community."
To learn more about Re-Bath for your bathroom remodeling needs, please visit https://www.rebath.com/location/charleston/.
About Re-Bath
Re-Bath is the nation's largest complete bathroom remodeling franchise that has grown to more than 100 locations across the country. The parent company's first entry in the bathroom remodeling industry occurred in 1978 and focused on the hospitality sector. In 1991, Re-Bath launched its first franchise location to focus on the residential market. The company offers complete bathroom remodels, tub and shower updates, plus aging and accessibility solutions. From simple bathtub replacements to complete bathroom redesigns, Re-Bath makes bathroom remodeling effortless, convenient and affordable, all with professional, friendly and factory-trained installers. Re-Bath is a one-stop service that covers the entire process – from design to done – in three easy steps: consultation, removal, and installation. Re-Bath assembles its own exclusive line of products at its headquarters located in Phoenix, Ariz., and offers best-in-class products from national brands for its customers. For more information, please visit www.rebath.com or www.rebathfranchise.com for more details on the franchise opportunity.
Media Contact: Sally Hamer, shamer@fishmanpr.com, (847) 945-1300
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SOURCE Re-Bath | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2023/01/25/re-bath-debuts-showroom-charleston-with-grand-opening-event-january-27th/ | 2023-01-25 17:36:03 | 1 | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2023/01/25/re-bath-debuts-showroom-charleston-with-grand-opening-event-january-27th/ |
Bed Bath & Beyond’s fiscal third-quarter sales fell by a third as the home goods company struggles to strike the right balance with its shoppers, a sign of its worsening outlook.
The company, which has already been cutting costs, said Tuesday it will slash an additional $80 million to $100 million across the company, including an unspecified number of layoffs.
Last week, Bed Bath & Beyond cautioned that it may need to file for bankruptcy protection as it struggles to attract shoppers. It then said that it’s considering options including selling assets or restructuring its business in bankruptcy court. But the chain acknowledged that even those efforts may not be successful.
Sales slid 33% to $1.26 billion for the three months ended Nov. 26 from $1.88 billion a year earlier. Sales at stores open at least a year, a key gauge of a retailer’s health, dropped 32%.
Analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research expected higher revenue of $1.43 billion.
The company is also burning through cash. It reported roughly $153 million in cash and cash equivalents in the latest quarter, a steep drop from $509 million in the year-ago period.
While the quarterly performance was not a surprise given Bed Bath & Beyond’s update on its results last week, Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, said in statement that it’s still a bit of a shock and only adds to concerns about Bed Bath & Beyond’s survival.
“A third of revenue has vanished, plunging an already beleaguered company into the depths of chaos,” he said.
President and CEO Sue Gove said in a prepared statement on Tuesday that the company is working on adjusting its merchandise and strategy, which has moved away from shoppers’ preferences.
“We want our customers to know that we hear them and are charging ahead every day to meet their needs,” she said.
The retailer lost $393 million, or $4.33 per share, in the quarter. That compares with a loss of $276.4 million, or $2.78 a year earlier.
Stripping out certain items, its adjusted loss was $3.65 per share. Wall Street was calling for a loss of $2.36 per share.
Bed Bath & Beyond announced in August that it would close stores and lay off workers in a bid to turn around its business. It announced it would close about 150 of its namesakes stores and slashed its workforce by 20%. The company said Tuesday that it was on track to close the stores.
Saunders is not optimistic about the future of the retailer.
“In our view, Bed Bath & Beyond has completely lost control and is in a tailspin; and with the ground fast approaching, survival now looks unlikely,” he said.
Shares of the Union, New Jersey-based company jumped 24% to $2.02 in afternoon trading. | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/ap-bed-bath-beyond-3q-results-miss-street-as-sales-slide-33/ | 2023-01-11 03:06:31 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/ap-bed-bath-beyond-3q-results-miss-street-as-sales-slide-33/ |
Former Theranos exec Ramesh Balwani convicted of fraud
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A jury on Thursday convicted former Theranos executive Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani of collaborating with disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes in a massive fraud involving the blood-testing company that once enthralled Silicon Valley.
The 12 jurors found Balwani guilty on all 12 felony counts of defrauding both Theranos investors and the patients who relied on wildly unreliable blood tests that could have jeopardized their health.
Balwani sat impassively as the verdicts were read, blinking frequently.
The outcome puts Balwani and Holmes in similar situations. Holmes was convicted on four counts of investor fraud and conspiracy earlier this year. During that trial, Holmes tearfully accused Balwani of sexually and emotionally abusing her while they were lovers. An attorney for Balwani has vehemently denied those charges.
Both Holmes, 38, and Balwani, 57, face up to 20 years in prison.
Holmes is scheduled to be sentenced in late September. The date of Balwani’s sentencing is expected to be set in the coming days.
The dual convictions represented a resounding victory for federal prosecutors, who seized on the Theranos case as a rare opportunity to hold ambitious entrepreneurs accountable for engaging in technological hyperbole while pursuing fame and fortune. In the process, they hoped to discourage the practice of making bold and unproven promises about still-nascent products -- a startup strategy known as “fake it until you make it.”
After the verdicts were read and the jury was dismissed, Balwani walked over to his two brothers who were sitting behind him for what appeared to be a solemn discussion. The three sat quietly, heads bowed.
While Holmes insinuated during her trial that Balwani manipulated her into making poor choices, Balwani’s lawyers explicitly sought to shift all the blame for any misconduct squarely on Holmes.
As part of Balwani’s defense, the lawyers pointed out that Holmes was not only CEO, but also a Silicon Valley star who persuaded investors to pour nearly $1 billion into Theranos. Holmes boasted that her company had found a way to scan for hundreds of potential diseases with a device called the Edison that could test just a few drops of blood taken with a finger prick. Such technology could potentially revolutionize healthcare.
But it turned out that the Edison never worked properly, providing faulty test results that Theranos conducted as part of a deal to set up mini labs in Walgreen’s pharmacies. The flaws in Theranos’ vaunted technology prompted Holmes and Balwani to shift their testing to conventional machines made by other vendors and while drawing vials of blood from patients’ veins — a far cry from Holmes’ promises.
After committing about $15 million of his own money to bolster Theranos and then becoming the company’s chief operating officer in 2010, Balwani eventually oversaw the blood-testing lab that was delivering inaccurate results and supervised the Walgreen’s deal.
Unlike Holmes, who spent seven days on the witness stand during her trial, Balwani didn’t testify in his own defense.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wibw.com/2022/07/07/former-theranos-exec-ramesh-balwani-convicted-fraud/ | 2022-07-07 19:35:41 | 0 | https://www.wibw.com/2022/07/07/former-theranos-exec-ramesh-balwani-convicted-fraud/ |
Fisher’s 4 TDs lead Gardner-Webb past Campbell, 42-35
BUIES CREEK, N.C. (AP) — Bailey Fisher threw three touchdown passes and ran for a fourth score, all in the first half, to lead Gardner-Webb to a 42-35 win over Campbell. The win sets up a showdown for the Big South Conference championship November 19 when the 4-0 Runnin’ Bulldogs host North Carolina A&T, which is 4-0 in conference after a 20-10 win over Charleston Southern Saturday. | https://localnews8.com/sports/ap-national-sports/2022/11/12/fishers-4-tds-lead-gardner-webb-past-campbell-42-35/ | 2022-11-13 00:37:27 | 1 | https://localnews8.com/sports/ap-national-sports/2022/11/12/fishers-4-tds-lead-gardner-webb-past-campbell-42-35/ |
Police searching for missing mom after blood found in home
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (CNN) - Authorities in California are searching for a single mother of two who disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
When Rachel Castillo’s mother and sister checked out her Simi Valley home Thursday, they found a significant amount of blood inside. The evidence makes police believe something happened to the 25-year-old Castillo and she may be at risk.
Her keys and phone were found inside her home, and her car was in her parking spot, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Castillo’s two young sons, ages 5 and 2, had been picked up from her home earlier Thursday morning by their father.
Authorities hope someone will recognize Castillo’s photo and provide information about her whereabouts.
She is described as 5 feet, 2 inches with a weight of 105 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes.
Police have not determined if a crime occurred in relation to her disappearance, the Times reports.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. Gray News contributed to this report. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/11/13/police-searching-missing-mom-after-blood-found-home/ | 2022-11-13 12:42:03 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/11/13/police-searching-missing-mom-after-blood-found-home/ |
Unionized HarperCollins Publishers employees have been striking for more than 50 days, with raising the base salary among their demands. The battle is testing the limits of worker power in publishing.
Copyright 2023 NPR
Unionized HarperCollins Publishers employees have been striking for more than 50 days, with raising the base salary among their demands. The battle is testing the limits of worker power in publishing.
Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.kasu.org/money-economy/money-economy/2023-01-23/encore-harpercollins-workers-have-spent-more-than-50-days-on-strike-is-it-working | 2023-01-23 23:29:43 | 1 | https://www.kasu.org/money-economy/money-economy/2023-01-23/encore-harpercollins-workers-have-spent-more-than-50-days-on-strike-is-it-working |
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