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LIND, Wash. (AP) — A small town in Washington state was evacuated due to a fast-moving fire that burned a half-dozen homes, as crews in California made progress against the state’s deadliest and largest wildfire of the year.
In Washington, the Adams County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook early Thursday afternoon that residents of Lind needed to flee due to the encroaching flames.
“At this time all residents of the town of Lind need to evacuate immediately,” the sheriff’s office said in the post.
Later Thursday, Sheriff Dale Wagner said six homes had burned as well as eight other structures. With the help of state and local resources, Wagner said the fire was starting to calm down and by 8 p.m. all evacuation orders had been lifted.
“They will be fighting it through the night to make sure it doesn’t flare up anymore or get worse,” he said, adding that firefighters were dealing with high heat and windy conditions.
He said one firefighter suffered smoke inhalation and was flown to Spokane for treatment.
Lind is a community of about 500 people approximately 75 miles (121 kilometers) southwest of Spokane.
The State Fire Marshal’s office said the blaze had burned through about 3.9 square miles (10.1 square kilometers). Homes, infrastructure and crops were threatened. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
Meanwhile, in California, fire crews on Friday morning were working amid thunderstorms that brought light precipitation along with the possibility of dry lightning that could spark new blazes.
A separate set of firefighters in the area have been put on standby to jump on any new fires, according to Mike Lindbery, a spokesperson for the McKinney Fire in California’s Siskiyou County near the Oregon border.
The Smokey Fire, which ignited Thursday, was one such new fire. Crews have kept it to 34 acres (13.76 hectares) and hope to have it contained within the next day or two, Lindbery said.
Forecasters have also warned that spiking temperatures and plunging humidity levels could create conditions for further wildfire growth.
California and much of the rest of the West is in drought and wildfire danger is high, with the historically worst of the fire season still to come. Fires are burning throughout the region.
After five days of no containment, the nearly 60,000-acres (24,281.16-hectare) McKinney Fire remained 10% surrounded on Friday. Bulldozers and hand crews were making progress carving firebreaks around much of the rest of the blaze, fire officials said.
At the fire’s southeastern corner, evacuation orders for sections of Yreka, home to about 7,800 people, were downgraded to warnings, allowing residents to return home but with a caution that the situation remained dangerous.
About 1,300 people remained under evacuation orders, officials said at a community meeting Wednesday evening.
The fire didn’t advance much at midweek, following several days of brief but heavy rain from thunderstorms that provided cloudy, damp weather. But as the clouds clear and humidity levels drops in the coming days, the fire could roar again, authorities warned.
“This is a sleeping giant right now,” said Darryl Laws, a unified incident commander on the blaze.
Weekend temperatures could reach triple digits as the region dries out again, said meteorologist Brian Nieuwenhuis with the National Weather Service office in Medford, Oregon.
The blaze broke out July 29 and has charred nearly 92 square miles (238 square kilometers) of forestland, left tinder-dry by drought. More than 100 homes and other buildings have burned and four bodies have been found, including two in a burned car in a driveway.
The fire was driven at first by fierce winds ahead of a thunderstorm cell. More storms earlier this week proved a mixed blessing. A drenching rain Tuesday dumped up to 3 inches (7.6 cm) on some eastern sections of the blaze but most of the fire area got next to nothing, said Dennis Burns, a fire behavior analyst.
The latest storm also brought concerns about possible river flooding and mudslides. A private contractor in a pickup truck who was helping the firefighting effort was hurt when a bridge gave out and washed away the vehicle, Kreider said. The contractor’s injuries were not life-threatening.
The progress against the flames came too late for many people in the scenic hamlet of Klamath River, which was home to about 200 people before the fire reduced many of the homes to ashes, along with the post office, community center and other buildings.
Scientists say climate change has made the West warmer and drier over the last three decades and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive. California has seen its largest, most destructive and deadliest wildfires in the last five years.
In northwestern Montana, a fire that has destroyed at least four homes and forced the evacuation of about 150 residences west of Flathead Lake continued to be pushed north by winds on Wednesday, fire officials said.
The Moose Fire in Idaho has burned more than 85 square miles (220 square km) in the Salmon-Challis National Forest while threatening homes, mining operations and fisheries near the town of Salmon.
And a wildfire in northwestern Nebraska led to evacuations and destroyed or damaged several homes near the small city of Gering.
___
Associated Press reporters Christopher Weber in Los Angeles, Haven Daley in Klamath River, Calif., Lisa Baumann in Seattle, Amy Hanson in Helena, Montana, Margery Beck in Omaha, Nebraska, and Keith Ridler in Boise, Idaho, contributed to this report. | https://www.wowktv.com/news/u-s-world/washington-town-evacuated-some-homes-burned-in-wildfire/ | 2022-08-05 20:32:14 | 1 | https://www.wowktv.com/news/u-s-world/washington-town-evacuated-some-homes-burned-in-wildfire/ |
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Kevin Obanor scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, De’Vion Harmon had 19 points and six steals and Texas Tech held off Eastern Washington 77-70 on Tuesday night.
Texas Tech (7-2) extended its home winning streak to 27 games — with its last loss coming on Feb. 9, 2021.
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Steele Venters banked in a 3-pointer to pull EWU within 61-59 left but Texas Tech freshman Pop Isaacs answered with a 3-pointer and Harmon dunked it to rebuild a seven-point lead.
Harmon made a layup while being fouled and missed the free throw with two minutes left, but Texas Tech secured the rebound and Obanor made two free throws for a 72-65 lead.
Isaacs finished with 15 points for Texas Tech. Nicholls and Obanor led the way for the Red Raiders again, after combining for 44 points in a 78-71 win over Nicholls last Wednesday.
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The game was tied at 29-all at halftime. Eastern Washington made six of its first 13 3-pointers but ended the half with 11 turnovers to keep Texas Tech in it despite shooting just 32%.
Venters, the Big Sky player of the week, scored 26 points with five 3-pointers for EWU (4-7). The Eagles finished 11 of 28 from 3-point range, but turned it over 20 times.
Last season the Eagles scored just 46 points in an 32-point loss to Texas Tech.
___
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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25 | https://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/Obanor-s-double-double-leads-Texas-Tech-past-EWU-17652593.php | 2022-12-14 05:10:22 | 1 | https://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/Obanor-s-double-double-leads-Texas-Tech-past-EWU-17652593.php |
Burglars crash car into Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills, police say
A group of people drove a car through the front door of a Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills early Saturday to steal merchandise from the high-end store, police said.
The burglary took place around 4:45 a.m. at the store at Wilshire Boulevard and Roxbury Drive, according to the Beverly Hills Police Department. The suspects made off with undisclosed items, potentially handbags, police said.
Police described the vehicle used in the crime as a dark-colored Chevrolet sedan that was registered in Inglewood.
The burglary comes months after a series of smash-and-grabs and follow-home robberies in upscale parts of Los Angeles gained widespread attention, although the brazen crimes make up only a fraction of the city’s burglaries and robberies.
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There was a time, a haircut or two ago, when Cousin Greg had major reservations about ATN, the fictional right-wing news network and flagship operation of Waystar Royco, the media empire owned by the Roy family of HBO’s “Succession.”
“Your principles?” Tom purrs through an amused grin. “You don’t have principles.”
Actually, Greg explains, he’s against racism. Also? “Don’t lie. Like, if you’re the news.”
If you’ve talked to any “Succession” skeptics about why they can’t stomach the show, they might have argued that there’s no character worth rooting for. To which you might reply: What about Cousin Greg?
Callow, hapless Greg Hirsch. Born with a misshapen body (hence his family nickname, “Greg the Egg”) and a normal-shaped conscience, the gawky grandson of Logan Roy’s moralizing brother has been the closest thing viewers have to a proxy inside the Roy family.
It would be a stretch to call him the show’s moral center. When we first met Greg, he was lying to his mom about the circumstances of his getting fired from a gig as a mascot at one of the family-owned theme parks. (He got stoned before work and then vomited through the costume’s eye holes after being beaten up by some children.) His mother asked him why, to avoid losing the job, he didn’t pull rank as a member of the extended Roy family. Greg explained that he “didn’t want to be an a--hole.”
That, at least, distinguished Greg from his cousins and the other Waystar lifers. When Greg comes to New York and joins the family business (his mom’s idea), his attempts to work the angles of the corporate world are endearingly pathetic. Greg might not have been a good person, he wasn’t obviously a bad person. You mostly felt embarrassed for him, which was not quite the same as rooting for him. “Relatable” is not quite the word, but the fact that he appeared so ill at ease in Royworld put him on our side.
Four seasons in, Greg the Egg has hatched into something slimy. Lately we’ve seen him brag about his ability to fire people without feeling remorse. He’s been leaning so hard into a dirtbag persona that even Tom can’t stand it. As for those principles of his — Don’t be racist. Don’t lie if you’re the news — those fell away Sunday, when Greg hand-delivered a directive to ATN’s news producers to prematurely call a presidential race for a nativist creep who refers to Adolf Hitler as “H” and envisions an America that is “clean” and “pure.”
The corruption of Cousin Greg is a sneaky-poignant subplot of “Succession,” a show populated mostly by characters who were broken long before we met them. Greg arrived at the same time we did. His induction to the Roy inner circle was kind of a twisted “Truman Show” experiment: What would happen if a more or less decent guy spent several years ensconced in a world of decadence, surrounded by beguiling scoundrels and high-functioning depressives for whom everything is not nearly enough?
How long would it take for a guy like that to stop caring about whether he was being an a--hole?
Greg is splayed at the stern of the family yacht, sipping from a champagne flute at the angle that requires him to lift his head as little as possible.
“What are you drinking?” Tom asks him.
“Uh, this is — I’m not sure,” Greg says. “It’s a rosé, it’s not my favorite.”
“Oh, you got a favorite Champagne now?”
“Well, you can’t help noticing. It’s fine, I’ll drink it, it’s just not my favorite.”
It’s the Season 2 finale, and Cousin Greg is growing spoiled. When they boarded the yacht, Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) had been slightly surprised by his cousin’s blasé reaction — a contrast to earlier in the season, when Greg got the zoomies after Kendall gifted him a gigantic Manhattan apartment.
The yacht trip comes on the heels of Greg’s initiation into a different Roy family tradition: Trying to dodge government oversight. His performance before a congressional panel, where Greg and various Roys faced questions about seedy doings in Waystar’s cruises division, produced this memorable koan: “If it is to be said, so it be, so it is.” Later, Greg — no longer in the hot seat — laments that he did not stymie the watchdogs by answering every question with, “No woman, no cry.”
Greg, in his idiot way, learned the importance of fealty to family/corporate interests. He started to look the part, too, getting his shaggy hair shaped up in attempt to curb the stress of preserving shady company secrets (“I didn’t really need a haircut, I think I just wanted someone to touch my head — you know, soothing”). He hasn’t broken bad, but he is adjusting to his material and moral circumstances.
There is, to use the show’s vernacular, a lot of static. When Logan Roy (Brian Cox) makes Kendall his fall guy for abuses in the company’s cruises division, Greg suffers an attack of conscience and aligns himself with Kendalls’s rebellion. It doesn’t last. Unable to separate his interests from his anxiety, Greg spends much of the Roy civil war trying to figure out who his lawyer is. In the process he alienates his great-uncle, who disinherits him.
Having burned his final bridge back to life as a shiftless kid with a trust fund, Greg returns to the Waystar fold in time to watch Kendall’s insurgency collapse. The lesson is clear enough: Stay inside the compound.
You can’t really get into the moral dimensions of Greg without getting into Tom. He gets a lot of the blame for corrupting Greg, and deservedly so. As the old proverb says, You can’t make a Tomlette without breaking some Greggs. But while Greg has spent the final season reveling in the person he has been allowed to become by going full Roy, Tom has been retreating toward his inner Wambsgans.
After Logan’s midflight demise, serving as an ad hoc grief counselor to his estranged in-laws, talking them through the act of saying goodbye to their father while holding his phone to the dead man’s ear. He may not have principles, per se, but he has instincts. There’s a foundation down there, somewhere. Tom owns the rare distinction of being a character on “Succession” who definitely loves someone. That love is poorly directed, but at least we know he’s capable of it. He likes rich-people stuff, yet it’s his affection for Shiv that drives Tom to compromise.
Ah, well — no woman, no cry. Tom may be seeing the Roy family more clearly than ever, but as the head of ATN he’s still carrying their water. And Greg is still carrying his water, and also doing cocaine with him on election night.
Yes, the election! We’ll get to it in a moment. But first, let’s rewind one night earlier: Tom and Shiv’s pre-election party.
Greg is smoking a vape pen with Swedish tech bros, and telling them about the mass firings of ATN employees he has been conducting over videoconference.
“You said a hundred scalps, in three days?” says Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgard), the billionaire who is trying to buy the Roy’s company. He’s impressed, and wonders if Greg feels bad afterward.
“Honestly, not really,” Greg says. He is stoned, like when we met him years ago, only now he’s in a tailored suit instead of a dog costume. And, of course, he’s on the other end of the firing stick. “HR says I’m the right guy for the job because it looks like I care but I don’t.”
“Not a good person,” says the Swede.
“No, I am. It’s just — you gotta do what you gotta do, right?”
Matsson doesn’t let Greg off the hook. “Do you, though?”
Greg has learned how to swing an ax; on election night, he figures out how to wield a knife. His dalliance with the Swedes has yielded a lethal piece of intel about Shiv, which Greg tries to use to extort her. When she refuses, he uses it to cut her throat — swinging the Roy family vote, and therefore America’s, to the right. At the behest of the Roy brothers, Tom dispatches Greg to have ATN get ready to call the election for the neo-fascist.
“I should go,” Greg tells Jess, Kendall’s assistant. “I’ll get in trouble if I don’t go.”
Jess, famously taciturn, speaks up. “Okay dude, I mean ...”
“Yeah. I mean it’s not really my choice, right? So.” The rationalizations continue. “I’m not even pressing the button, I’m asking them to prepare to press the button.”
“Right, and, all that does is, just, like, launch a nuclear attack, so ...”
“It’s not going to change anything if I don’t go, so ...”
Greg did have a choice. The problem was, he made it a few seasons ago. “Succession” is a show about people who have learned to act as if they’re in a knife fight when really they’re just carving up a cake. You gotta do what you gotta do ... Do you, though?
Answered: If it is to be said, so it be. So it is. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/05/18/greg-succession-hbo-nicholas-braun/ | 2023-05-18 20:20:35 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/05/18/greg-succession-hbo-nicholas-braun/ |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Newsom plans to turn San Quentin State Prison, longtime home to death row, into rehabilitation facility.
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Bam Adebayo NBA Playoffs Player Prop Bets: Heat vs. Knicks - April 30
Bam Adebayo and his Miami Heat teammates take on the New York Knicks in the 2023 NBA Playoffs, at 1:00 PM ET on Sunday.
We're going to break down Adebayo's prop bets, using stats and trends to help you make good predictions.
Bam Adebayo Prop Bets vs. the Knicks
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Bam Adebayo Insights vs. the Knicks
- Adebayo is responsible for attempting 15.9% of his team's field goal attempts this season with 14.9 per game.
- Adebayo's opponents, the Knicks, have one of the NBA's slowest tempos with 101 possessions per game, while his Heat rank 29th in possessions per game with 99.2.
- The Knicks concede 113.1 points per game, 12th-ranked in the league.
- Allowing 42 rebounds per game, the Knicks are the seventh-ranked squad in the NBA.
- Looking at assists, the Knicks are ranked 13th in the league, giving up 25.1 per game.
Bam Adebayo vs. the Knicks
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.wbtv.com/sports/betting/2023/04/30/bam-adebayo-nba-playoffs-player-prop-bets-heat-vs-knicks/ | 2023-04-30 12:06:15 | 1 | https://www.wbtv.com/sports/betting/2023/04/30/bam-adebayo-nba-playoffs-player-prop-bets-heat-vs-knicks/ |
(The Hill) – Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) is stepping down from his committee assignments, he informed House GOP colleagues on Tuesday in a conference meeting.
The representative had faced a whirlwind of criticism over numerous fabrications and misrepresentations of his resume and personal history, as well as questions about his personal and campaign finances.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said that that Santos informed the Conference he would recuse himself from committees “temporarily” until “things get settled.”
“And then he asked that we all support him when everything settles down for him to serve on committees,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) told reporters after the meeting.
The House GOP Steering Committee, the panel of Republican leaders who assign committees, had assigned Santos to the Small Business Committee and the Science, Space, and Technology Committee earlier this month.
Santos’s move comes after he reportedly met with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Monday.
Greene said Santos also colleagues he was recusing himself amid the controversy surrounding him, and as Republican leadership works to shore up support to block Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from the Foreign Affairs Committee, which has drawn some opposition within the conference.
Some Democrats have pointed to Santos being seated on committees as a point of criticism for the effort against Omar.
“Just all the controversy surrounding him and then while we’re working to remove Ilhan Omar from Foreign Affairs,” Greene said. | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/national-news/santos-steps-down-from-committee-assignments/ | 2023-01-31 16:38:44 | 0 | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/national-news/santos-steps-down-from-committee-assignments/ |
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The European Union has agreed to slash Russian oil imports in a tough escalation of the bloc’s campaign of sanctions to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. It’s a landmark decision that will hit Russian coffers in the long term, but could also hurt consumers across the European continent.
The move agreed late Monday at an EU leaders’ summit in Brussels comes amid soaring energy prices in Europe and could spark more rises, particularly later this year as nations compete for natural gas supplies to heat homes and fire industries, analysts say.
Just hours before U.S. markets opened Wednesday, benchmark U.S. crude had climbed $1.25 to $115.92 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Analysts say that amid high oil prices, the sanctions are unlikely to hit Russia hard soon, but they deprive Moscow of one of its most important customers for oil — likely for a long time to come.
WHAT HAS THE EU DONE?
European Union leaders agreed to cut Russian oil imports by about 90% over the next six months, a dramatic move that was considered unthinkable just months ago. The 27-country bloc relies on Russia for 25% of its oil.
The ban applies to all Russian oil delivered by sea. It contains a temporary exemption for oil delivered by the Russian Druzhba pipeline to certain landlocked countries in Central Europe. Germany and Poland have agreed to stop using oil from the northern branch of the pipeline.
Russian oil delivered by sea accounts for two-thirds of the EU’s oil imports from Moscow.
WHAT ABOUT GAS?
Russia has the world’s largest natural gas reserves and is the biggest global exporter, according to the International Energy Agency.
But don’t expect the 27-nation bloc’s leaders to sign off on a ban on Russian gas imports any time soon. The bloc imports 40% of its gas — used for everything from generating electricity to heating homes — from Russia, and finding alternative supplies is tougher than for oil.
“Russian oil is much easier to compensate … gas is completely different, which is why a gas embargo will not be an issue in the next sanctions package,” said Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer.
That doesn’t mean gas is immune from the geopolitical tensions. Russia is flexing its economic muscle and retaliating to other sanctions by cutting off or restricting gas supplies to some European nations.
Russian state energy giant Gazprom said this week it is halting the flow of gas to Dutch trader GasTerra and Denmark’s Oersted company and is also stopping shipments to Shell Energy Europe that were bound for Germany. Germany has other suppliers, and GasTerra and Oersted said they were prepared for a shutoff. Gazprom previously stopped the flow to Bulgaria, Poland and Finland.
“Who’s next?” said Lucia van Geuns, an energy expert from The Hague Centre for Security Studies. She said the tightening of the net by Moscow could leave EU countries competing for gas supplies from other sources to fill up storage facilities over the summer and to use next winter — a move that would likely drive up prices even further.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR CONSUMERS?
In short: Higher prices. Amid concerns about the devastating war in Ukraine and moves to punish Russia invading its neighbor, energy bills and gasoline prices have been high for months and governments have been cutting taxes in a bid to spare their citizens.
Even so, energy consumers — that’s basically everybody who flicks a light switch, takes a shower, looks at their phone screen or fills their car’s fuel tank — are feeling the pinch and looking for ways to cut costs where they can.
As oil prices rose again Wednesday, motorists in the eastern Netherlands were crossing the border in droves to refuel in neighboring Germany, where government tax cuts have made a liter of gasoline much cheaper than in the Netherlands. Dutch broadcaster NOS showed lines of cars with Dutch license plates waiting outside German gasoline sellers.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR RUSSIA?
Moscow is waging a hugely expensive war in Ukraine. Oil and gas exports go a long way to footing the bill. Last year they accounted for 45% of the federal budget, the International Energy Agency says.
Europe is Russia’s main energy customer, and once the 27 countries have stopped using its supplies, they may not go back.
Short term, the oil ban will likely not hurt Russia too much amid high oil prices that mean Moscow can sell at a discount to clients in Asia and still make a profit, said Chris Weafer, CEO at Macro-Advisory Ltd., a consulting firm. “The financial pain for Russia probably will come more next year or over the next couple of years if it still has to offer discounts,” Weafer told the AP.
Van Geuns said Moscow’s decision to cut off gas to European customers also will likely hurt Russia in the long term “because they are going to lose a large client and of course Europe is their biggest client as far as gas is concerned.”
WILL THIS HASTEN TRANSITION TO RENEWABLE SOURCES?
In the long term, probably, but in the short term it could actually have the opposite effect. Some lawmakers in the Netherlands have already voiced support for cranking up output from the country’s remaining coal-fired power stations, which are being phased out in an attempt to rein in carbon emissions, so that consumption by gas-fired power stations can be reduced.
Mads Flarup Christensen, secretary-general of Greenpeace Norden, urged the EU to mitigate the effects of the oil sanctions by using less oil.
“If the ban is to have the maximum effect on Putin’s war and on the climate crisis, then there must be immediate reductions in our oil consumption,” Christensen said. “It will require changes in the way we transport ourselves, such as a ban on short-haul routes, lower motorway speeds and cheaper public transport.”
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the Ukraine war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine | https://www.seattletimes.com/business/explainer-effects-of-eu-russia-oil-ban-moscows-response/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all | 2022-06-01 15:31:38 | 0 | https://www.seattletimes.com/business/explainer-effects-of-eu-russia-oil-ban-moscows-response/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all |
SOTOGRANDE, Spain (AP) — Talor Gooch won his third LIV Golf League title of the year on Sunday when he made a curling 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole at Valderrama for a 4-under 67 and a one-shot victory over Bryson DeChambeau.
Gooch won $4 million for the victory in Spain. Along with victories in Australia and Singapore, the former Oklahoma State player now has earned $13,376,583 in eight LIV events this year.
He also becomes the first player with three victories in the Saudi-funded rival league. Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson have two wins apiece.
DeChambeau started the third and final round with a one-shot lead and twice expanded that to a two-shot margin, the last time as they made the turn. Gooch caught him with birdies on the 10th and 13th holes, setting up the big finish.
Both birdied the par-5 17th. And then on the final hole, Gooch rolled in a right-to-left breaking putt to deny DeChambeau, who closed with a 69.
Koepka closed with a 68. He started three shots behind and fell further off the pace quickly. Koepka, the PGA Championship winner, tried to keep in range until a bogey on the 13th hole all but ended his chances.
Gooch finished at 12-under 201.
He previously won by three shots in Australia, and then followed that up with a playoff victory over Sergio Garcia in Singapore. Gooch had not played in a month leading up to Valderrama because he was not exempt and did not enter the U.S. Open.
He is in the field for the British Open in three weeks. LIV Golf moves on to its next event outside London, where the series began a year ago.
On the team side, Joaquin Niemann and Sebastian Munoz each shot 68 to lead Torque to a comfortable victory.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.koin.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-gooch-birdies-final-hole-to-beat-dechambeau-and-win-his-3rd-liv-golf-title/ | 2023-07-03 07:54:09 | 0 | https://www.koin.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-gooch-birdies-final-hole-to-beat-dechambeau-and-win-his-3rd-liv-golf-title/ |
Kathy Whitworth, winningest golfer in history, dies at 83
(AP) - Kathy Whitworth set a benchmark in golf no one has ever touched, whether it was Sam Snead or Tiger Woods, Mickey Wright or Annika Sorenstam. Her 88 victories are the most by any player on a single professional tour.
Whitworth, whose LPGA Tour victories spanned nearly a quarter-century and who became the first woman to earn $1 million for her career on the LPGA, died on Christmas Eve, her longtime partner said. She was 83.
Bettye Odle did not disclose a cause of death, saying only that Whitworth died suddenly Saturday night while celebrating with family and friends.
“Kathy left this world the way she lived her life — loving, laugh and creating memories,” Odle said in a statement released by the LPGA Tour.
Whitworth won the first of her 88 titles in the Kelly Girls Opens in July 1962. She won six majors during her career and broke Mickey Wright’s record of 82 career wins when Whitworth captured the Lady Michelob in the summer of 1982.
Her final victory came in 1985 at the United Virginia Bank Classic.
“Winning never got old,” Whitworth once said.
All that was missing from her career was the U.S. Women’s Open, the biggest of the women’s majors. Upon being the first woman to surpass $1 million in career earnings in 1981, she said, “I would have swapped being the first to make a million for winning the Open, but it was a consolation which took some of the sting out of not winning.”
Sorenstam referred to her on Twitter as the LPGA’s all-time victory leader and a “total class act” who will be dearly missed.
“Thanks for setting the bar so high, Kathy,” she wrote.
Whitworth was the AP Female Athlete of the Year in 1965 and in 1967, when she easily beat out Wimbledon singles champion Billie Jean King. Whitworth was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1982.
She was the LPGA player of the year seven times in an eight-year span (1966 through 1973). She won the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average seven times and she was the leading money winner in eight seasons.
But she was identified by one number — 88.
Snead was credited with a record 82 wins on the PGA Tour, a total Woods has since matched. Wright won 82 times on the LPGA Tour, while Sorenstam had 72 wins when she retired after the 2006 season at age 36.
“I think Mickey had the best swing, and was probably the greatest golfer,” Betsy Rawls once told Golf Digest. “But Kathy was the best player of the game that I have ever seen.”
Whitworth was born in Monahans, a small West Texas town, and learned to play golf in New Mexico. She started at age 15 in Jal, New Mexico, on the nine-hole course built for the El Paso Natural Gas employees.
She soon was a two-time winner of the New Mexico State Amateur. After briefly attending Odessa (Texas) College, she turned pro at age 19 and joined the LPGA Tour in December 1958.
“I was really fortunate in that I knew what I wanted to do,” Whitworth once told Golf Digest. “Golf just grabbed me by the throat. I can’t tell you how much I loved it. I used to think everyone knew what they wanted to do when they were 15 years old.”
Wright had the more aesthetically pleasing swing. Whitworth was all about grinding, and about winning.
Whitworth won eight times in 1963 and 1965, and she had 11 victories in 1968. In none of those years did she earn more than $50,000. All these years later, the LPGA Tour total prize fund for 2023 will top $100 million.
Whitworth continued to conduct junior clinics and stay active in the game.
“I don’t think about the legacy of 88 tournaments,” she once said. “I did it because I wanted to win, not to set a record or a goal that no one else could surpass. I’m not some great oddity. I was just fortunate to be so successful. What I did in being a better player does not make me a better person.
“When I’m asked how I would like to be remembered, I feel that if people remember me at all, it will be good enough.”
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wymt.com/2022/12/26/kathy-whitworth-winningest-golfer-history-dies-83/ | 2022-12-26 04:16:25 | 1 | https://www.wymt.com/2022/12/26/kathy-whitworth-winningest-golfer-history-dies-83/ |
Hurricane Ian caused an estimated $1 billion in agricultural-production losses, with the biggest hits to the citrus industry, along with growers of vegetables and melons, according to a new University of Florida report.
The report from the UF-Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences also doesn’t include damage to such things as buildings and equipment, which would increase the economic effects of the Category 4 storm that swept across the state in late September.
“These are estimates and some of these crops are not at their final harvest stage,” Christa Court, director of the UF/IFAS Economic Impact Analysis Program, said in a conference call Thursday. “So, it might remain to be seen what actually happens when they get to that final harvest. How close these estimates are and were some of the producers --- that were maybe very early in their planting season --- able to replant or able to delay their planting and get some of that in the ground.”
The report estimated overall production losses at $1.03 billion, including $247.1 million for citrus growers, $204.6 million for vegetable and melon growers and $195.4 million for the nursery and greenhouse industry,
The citrus estimate does not include such things as downed trees, Court said.
“I believe that it typically takes a grove about two or three years --- from hearing people comment on what happened from Hurricane Irma --- to get back to what they were before the storm,” Court said. “And I know that this event was slightly less impactful in terms of tree losses, again, based on what I'm hearing from the industry.”
The Department of Citrus anticipates requesting federal aid between $387 million and $635 million, including trying to recoup money related to lost trees.
Florida faces the smallest orange harvest since the 1935-1936 season. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday released a revised forecast, which was 11 percent below an estimate released in January.
The UF report estimated that field and row crops sustained $130.2 million in production losses from Ian. Growers of non-citrus fruits took a $137.7 million hit, and losses of livestock and animal products were about $120 million.
A couple of weeks after Ian made landfall, the UF institute initially estimated industry losses at $786.6 million to $1.56 billion, with citrus losses between $146.9 million to $304.3 million.
The new report said estimated production losses topped $100 million in Hillsborough and Manatee counties and were between $50 million and $100 million in Polk, Hardee, DeSoto, Highlands, Hendry and Palm Beach counties.
In 2017, Hurricane Irma, which made landfall in the Florida Keys and moved up the state, inflicted an estimated $2.5 billion in agricultural losses, including $761 million in the citrus industry.
Court said it is difficult to compare the two storms, as university researchers changed the assessment process and Irma affected all but two counties in Florida. | https://www.wlrn.org/hurricane-coverage/2023-02-10/hurricane-ian-caused-one-billion-dollars-in-agriculture-losses | 2023-02-10 14:33:56 | 0 | https://www.wlrn.org/hurricane-coverage/2023-02-10/hurricane-ian-caused-one-billion-dollars-in-agriculture-losses |
National Trends in Disability Employment (nTIDE) – issued semi-monthly by Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire
EAST HANOVER, N.J., April 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- New data shows that Hispanics with disabilities in the United States rebounded to historic levels in the labor force following the first 12-month period of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the disparity between their non-Hispanic white counterparts remains, their recovery has narrowed this gap and surpassed that of their black/African American counterparts, according to experts speaking during last Friday's nTIDE Deeper Dive Lunch & Learn Webinar. To further improve employment opportunities for Hispanics with disabilities, experts also reviewed measures that address social determinants of health, education, and language barriers that disproportionately impact Hispanic communities.
Using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for persons ages 16-64, the monthly employment-to-population ratio averaged over the 12-month period, April 2022-March 2023, was 35.5 percent for Hispanic civilians with disabilities, compared to 38.0 percent for non-Hispanic white civilians with disabilities. However, estimates of 27.2 percent for non-Hispanic black/African Americans with disabilities indicate that this group has not rebounded as strongly as Hispanic and non-Hispanic white civilians with disabilities.
In contrast, the average monthly employment-to-population ratio was 71.8 percent for Hispanic civilians without disabilities, compared to 77.0 percent for non-Hispanic white civilians without disabilities in the same period. The monthly employment-to-population ratio, a key indicator, reflects the number of people in a population who are working, relative to the total number of people in that population. A 12-month average of this indicator is used to boost statistical precision. The 12-month period of April in one year to March in the next year is used to help examine employment trends before and after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown recession.
"Among people with disabilities, each group has recovered but not at the same rate. Breaking out segment estimates of Hispanic, non-Hispanic white, and non-Hispanic black/African Americans with disabilities shows a compelling story," summarized nTIDE expert Andrew Houtenville, PhD, professor of economics at the University of Hampshire (UNH) and research director of the UNH Institute on Disability. "Overall, we have seen a strong rebound in the job market for Hispanics with disabilities, reaching historic highs since bouncing back from the pandemic lockdown. Yet, there is still a substantial gap between Hispanic and non-Hispanic white civilians," he added. "Non-Hispanic black/African Americans with disabilities were slower to recover in April 2021-March 2022, but have since picked up ground over the past 12 months, he added.
Disparities Still Remain
Even with the latest employment-to-population ratio rally among Hispanics with disabilities, this group still faces barriers in accessing quality jobs due to language, cultural differences, and social determinants of health, according to Javier Robles, director of the Center for Disability Sports, Health and Wellness at Rutgers University and co-chair of the Rutgers University Disability Studies committee.
"We are talking about a varied population with many different cultures and languages," said Robles. Additional focus on providing tailored support and resources for Hispanic individuals with disabilities can help them access the programs and systems designed to reduce employment barriers, he added. These measures should emphasize promoting access to Spanish-language materials, addressing health disparities, and challenging societal attitudes towards disabilities in the Hispanic community.
"In addition, businesses need to understand the cultural aspects of hiring individuals from Latino cultures, particularly in the context of respect. In our culture, there is a deep respect for authority. A Latino with disabilities may not ask for an accommodation because they feel such a request questions that authority," Robles asserted. Addressing these underlying factors will help close the disability employment gap and create a more equitable workforce for all individuals.
Note on Data Collection and Language
When presenting information about race, nTIDE employs the terminology found in the survey that serves as the basis for BLS data, known as the Current Population Survey (CPS). Participants in the survey were asked to select one or multiple race categories from the following five options: White; Black or African American; American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian; and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander. Separately, participants are asked whether they are of Hispanic origin. The statistics presented in the nTIDE Deeper Dive represent participants who specifically indicated being of Hispanic origin; non-Hispanic origin and white only; and non-Hispanic origin and black/African American only. Respondents who chose more than one race category were not included in these calculations. Statistics for other categories are available upon request and may be the subject of future nTIDE Deeper Dives. The questionnaire may be found at the following link.
Live Webinar on Disability and Employment
In conjunction with each nTIDE report, experts host a 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM (ET) Lunch & Learn Webinar via Zoom featuring in-depth analyses, guest speakers, and news updates from the field. Webinars include invited panelists who discuss current disability-related findings and events. On May 5, 2023, a guest panelist joins Drs. O'Neill and Houtenville, and Denise Rozell, policy strategist from the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD). Register for our upcoming nTIDE webinars on May 5 and May 19, 2023, at ResearchonDisability.org/nTIDE, where you will also find the nTIDE archives.
About nTIDE Updates
National Trends in Disability Employment (nTIDE) is a joint project of Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire Institute on Disability. The nTIDE team closely monitors the job numbers, issuing semi-monthly reports that track the impact of economic shifts on employment for people with and without disabilities. As the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wane and inflation persistently rises, the nTIDE team has superseded its mid-month COVID Update to a "Deeper Dive" into the BLS data for people with disabilities.
About the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire
The Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire was established in 1987 to provide a university-based focus for the improvement of knowledge, policies, and practices related to the lives of persons with disabilities and their families. For information on the Institute's NIDILRR-funded Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Statistics and Demographics (StatsRRTC), visit ResearchOnDisability.org.
About Kessler Foundation
Kessler Foundation, a major nonprofit organization in the field of disability, is a global leader in rehabilitation research. Our scientists seek to improve cognition, mobility, and long-term outcomes, including employment, for adults and children with neurological and developmental disabilities of the brain and spinal cord including traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and autism. Kessler Foundation also leads the nation in funding innovative programs that expand opportunities for employment for people with disabilities. We help people regain independence to lead full and productive lives.
Stay Connected with Kessler Foundation
Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | SoundCloud
nTIDE is funded by Kessler Foundation and was initially funded, in part, with grants from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR, 90RTGE0001).
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SOURCE Kessler Foundation | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/04/26/ntide-april-2023-deeper-dive-hispanics-with-disabilities-making-historic-rebound-job-market-post-covid-19-shutdown/ | 2023-04-26 19:44:40 | 1 | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/04/26/ntide-april-2023-deeper-dive-hispanics-with-disabilities-making-historic-rebound-job-market-post-covid-19-shutdown/ |
Search continues for victim in collapsed NYC parking garage
NEW YORK (AP) — Crews used cranes to pluck cars, one by one, from the rubble of a New York City parking garage Wednesday as building inspectors sought to pinpoint a cause for the century-old structure’s deadly collapse.
Grim work also continued to recover the body of one garage worker presumed dead under tons of concrete and crumpled vehicles.
“Right now we’re transitioning to how we safely take down that building,” Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol said at a news conference, a day after the multilevel parking lot collapsed just as a stream of customers were returning from work to retrieve their cars.
It was a delicate operation to remove as many as 90 vehicles scattered on the structure’s buckled top deck and amid tons of shattered concrete.
A preliminary investigation found that all three floors of the garage partially or completely collapsed, according to the city’s Buildings Department. The garage’s rear wall partially collapsed, and the front façade bulged.
Officials said recovery efforts were made more difficult by the possibility that ongoing work could further destabilize the structure and make it more difficult to retrieve the victim.
Two decades ago, city building inspectors cited the property owner for failing to properly maintain the building, finding at the time that there were “cracks and defects” in the concrete. A more recent inspection, done in the fall of 2013, showed no further structural issues, according to an update the Building Department provided Wednesday afternoon.
Beginning last year, parking garages in parts of Manhattan were required to undergo structural inspections and file a report with the city by the end of 2023, with additional inspections at least once every six years. City officials said the garage’s owners had yet to comply.
“There’s an investigation into exactly what happened here and making sure there’s something we could put in place to prevent something like this from happening,” Mayor Eric Adams said.
Theories abounded, and officials said they would consider all potential explanations — including the possibility that the structural integrity of older parking structures might be undermined by today’s fleets of bigger, heavier SUVs.
The mayor said that could be a matter worthy of investigation.
“We are living in a new environment and we have to constantly analyze and upgrade everything from weight capacity to how many cars can be there,” Adams said.
The garage caved at around 4 p.m. Tuesday, a few blocks from City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge.
Pace University had evacuated an adjacent dormitory and a classroom building and canceled all evening classes as it assessed the buildings’ safety. City inspectors told the school it could resume use of the buildings, though the school said it would hold some classes online and have staff work remotely for the time being, said Jerry McKinstry, the university’s spokesperson.
In all, six nearby buildings were under evacuation orders pending inspections, according to city officials.
The Building Department said that in 2009, the garage’s owners had been cited for failing to maintain the building because of cracks and defects in concrete. Officials ordered the building owner to hire a professional engineer and correct the violations. The owners began complying in January 2010 and filed applications to make structural repairs and install 34 auto lifts in the building.
In November 2011, a city inspection found that the interior maintenance of the building was “in good condition.” But city officials said they never received the required certificates of correction for previous violations, even though the building owner paid all associated penalties.
The mayor said the body of the man killed in the collapse was discovered by a doglike robot deployed by the Fire Department to search the ruins.
“We did not want to send people inside there. We couldn’t even send a cadaver dog in there because that cadaver dog would have gone in there and could have potentially had a collapse and harmed someone,” Adams said.
The mayor used the tragedy to defend his decision last week to allow his Police Department to use the robotic canines after blowback from critics.
“If we didn’t have that robotic dog we would have placed those firefighters in jeopardy. That’s how we found the person who’s still there,” he said.
Some regular patrons of the parking facility returned to the building to see if their cars had been retrieved and to pay their respects to the killed worker, who they said was always friendly.
“Every morning I’d see him,” said Ahmed Scott, a regular customer at the parking garage. “When I was leaving that morning — the last time we saw each other — we smiled, waved at each other. We knew we’d see each other in the afternoon, same place, same time.”
Adam Cohen, who lives in a building near the parking structure, said his family has not been allowed to return to their home. A nearby hotel has also temporarily shuttered as a precaution.
Cohen showed a photo of the top deck of the parking garage and pointed to his Nissan Pathfinder, which had been swallowed by a huge fissure, its tail end pointing to the sky.
__________
Associated Press reporter Karen Matthews contributed to this report.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.kttc.com/2023/04/19/search-continues-victim-collapsed-nyc-parking-garage/ | 2023-04-19 23:59:59 | 1 | https://www.kttc.com/2023/04/19/search-continues-victim-collapsed-nyc-parking-garage/ |
Stash now operates a custom-built core platform and new banking experience to seamlessly serve millions of everyday Americans with its Stock-Back® Debit Mastercard®
Industry-leading partners for Stash Core include Stride Bank, N.A., Mastercard,
Marqeta, Mambu, and Alloy
NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Stash, the investing and banking app with more than 2M customers and nearly $3B in assets under management, announced today that it successfully built and launched Stash Core, its new, proprietary infrastructure platform that underpins the service for Americans who bank like investors. Stash Core is a world-class system that unlocks new innovation in banking, and, in the future, new capabilities in credit, savings, lending, and more. It will also allow the company to more easily welcome new subscribers and meet demand.
Stash's new banking account experience, built on Stash Core, includes access to an upgraded Stock-Back® Debit Mastercard®, enhanced customer support, and refreshed benefits including increased rewards. The patented Stock-Back® Debit Mastercard® is the first and only of its kind, allowing customers to earn stock and invest when they shop. To date, Stash has given away more than 59M stock rewards1; going forward, Stashers will be able to earn up to 4x more with the relaunched card.
"Stash Core gives us flexibility and ownership of every customer touchpoint. It's the future of inclusive finance and transformative to our business," says Stash co-founder and CEO, Brandon Krieg. "The entire Stash platform is for everyday Americans who want to build long-term wealth with a trusted partner. With Stash Core and the Stock-Back® Debit Mastercard®, we are able to deliver the very best in financial tooling, customer service, and AI-powered, personalized wealth-building for those who want to earn stock and invest as they spend."
Stash Core is the latest launch from the fintech leader, which in the past year achieved $125M in annualized revenue and continues to grow its customer base. Over the past two years, weekly contributions are up by 30%, as everyday Americans rely on Stash to invest and save in today's rapidly changing world. Stash Core is powered in part by integrations with industry-leading financial and technology partners Mastercard, Stride Bank, Marqeta, Mambu, Alloy, and nearly a dozen others that are top in their fields.
"Stride Bank is proud to partner with Stash on the development and ongoing support of Stash Core and in issuing Stash's Stock-Back® Debit Mastercard®," said Jimmy Stallings, President Payments, Stride Bank. "The consumer-friendly features of Stash's Stock-Back® Debit Mastercard®, which allow people to earn stock as they spend, is an extremely unique offering. Together with Stash's financial education, customers grow their knowledge and diverse investments. Stash's goal of empowering Americans to build better financial futures makes them an ideal partner for Stride Bank, as we are a leading fintech bank focused on driving financial innovation with integrity."
"Today's digital world requires payment solutions that give people choice, control and empowerment in their financial lives," said Sherri Haymond, executive vice president, Digital Partnerships at Mastercard. "Mastercard shares in Stash's vision of delivering an innovative and trusted experience, and we're excited to work closely as the exclusive network to bring Stash's Stock-Back® Debit Mastercard® to more people and support this next stage of growth."
"We're proud to enable Stash's new banking platform as they deliver seamless new financial services experiences for their customers," said Simon Khalaf, Chief Product Officer at Marqeta. "Our partnership with Stash showcases the range of innovative banking and money movement solutions made possible by Marqeta's APIs, and we look forward to supporting them as they grow and scale Stash Core and the Stock-Back® Debit Mastercard® across the globe."
"Stash and Mambu worked together to develop a new banking experience with savings goals that will make life easier for customers," said Robin Smith, Regional VP, North America, Mambu. "The Stash team brought strong technical experience and a collaborative mindset, and it was a pleasure to work with them to build something that will be so useful to millions of people beginning their investing and savings journeys."
"We are thrilled to support Stash on the launch of Stash Core both because we are fans of the platform and because it supports our vision to create a more dynamic and accessible financial industry," said Tommy Nicholas, co-founder and CEO at Alloy. "With Alloy's identity decisioning platform, new and existing Stash customers can feel confident in the security of their assets."
Benefits of the new banking account for every Stash customer include the Stash Stock-Back® Debit Mastercard®; Auto-Stash; zero overdraft fees2; direct deposit up to two days early3; saving and budgeting tools; advanced mobile wallet capabilities and contactless payments; easy access to more than 55,000 ATMs; FDIC insurance up to $250,000 through Stride Bank, N.A., Member FDIC, plus advanced security features including Mastercard Global Service™ and Mastercard Zero Liability Protection.
Stash+ Tier customers will also now get 1% Stock-Back on every Stash Stock-Back® Debit Mastercard® purchase.4
Stash is an investing and banking app with more than 2 million customers and nearly $3B in assets under management. Stash's plans—starting at just $3 a month—provide easy and affordable access to a suite of products including investing, banking, education, and advice. Regular, long-term investing is the foundation of the Stash platform—in direct response to the fact that only 56% of Americans invest in stocks; more than 30% don't have a retirement account; and 34% can't save any money. Stash members are 18% more financially literate than the average American and grow their financial literacy over time.
Stash Core, its custom-built backend technology, allows Stash to own the ledger, the money movement infrastructure, and every customer touchpoint for the millions of Americans who rely on Stash to bank like an investor and build wealth. Stash's banking solutions, including its new banking account and refreshed Stock-Back® Debit Mastercard®, integrate with Stash personal brokerage accounts by design, empowering customers to follow The Stash Way: regularly invest into a diversified portfolio, over the long-term. The Stash Stock-Back patent, U.S. Patent number 11,443,338, applies to the back-end technology that allows customers to earn specific securities and ETFs that are directly invested into their portfolio when they shop at thousands of retailers, in-person and online. To learn more and sign up for Stash's new banking product, visit Stash.com.
Originally chartered in 1913 as Central National Bank of Enid, Stride Bank N.A. has grown rapidly. OCC regulated and Oklahoma based, Stride Bank N.A. is a long-time innovator and has developed highly specialized payment solutions for some of the nation's largest corporations, including real-time payments; consumer and commercial lending; third-party issuer services for debit, prepaid, and credit; and network sponsorship to Visa, MasterCard, and Discover. Also offering broad spectrum mobile banking, wealth management, and treasury services to numerous industries. Stride Bank has branches throughout Oklahoma in Enid, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Bartlesville, Blackwell, Woodward, and Mooreland, as well as Salt Lake City, Utah. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender. Learn more at www.stridebank.com.
This content is for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing in this content should be construed as Investment, Tax, or Legal advice.
Stash Banking services provided by Stride Bank, N.A., Member FDIC. The Stash Stock-Back® Debit Mastercard® is issued by Stride Bank pursuant to license from Mastercard International. Mastercard and the circles design are registered trademarks of Mastercard International Incorporated. Any earned stock rewards will be held in your Stash Invest account. Investment products and services provided by Stash Investments LLC and are Not FDIC Insured, Not Bank Guaranteed, and May Lose Value.
All rewards earned through use of the Stash Stock-Back® Debit Mastercard® will be fulfilled by Stash Investments LLC and are subject to Terms and Conditions. You will bear the standard fees and expenses reflected in the pricing of the investments that you earn, plus fees for various ancillary services charged by Stash. In order to earn stock in the program, the Stash Stock-Back® Debit Mastercard® must be used to make a qualifying purchase. Stock rewards that are paid to participating customers via the Stash Stock Back program, are Not FDIC Insured, Not Bank Guaranteed, and May Lose Value.
1 Based on Stash internal data as of September 2022.
2 For a complete list of fees please see the Deposit Account Agreement for details.
3 Early access to direct deposit funds depends on when the payor sends the payment file. We generally make these funds available on the day the payment file is received, which may be up to 2 days earlier than the scheduled payment date.
41% Stock-Back® rewards available only on Stash+ ($9/mo) and only for client's first $1,000 of Qualifying Purchases in each calendar month program. See Terms and Conditions for details.
Media Contact:
Colton Moore
colton.moore@stash.com
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SOURCE Stash | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2022/09/21/fintech-pioneer-stash-unveils-stash-core/ | 2022-09-21 13:49:32 | 0 | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2022/09/21/fintech-pioneer-stash-unveils-stash-core/ |
COLUMBIA, Mo., Jan. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Interest rate hikes and all-cash offers made homebuying challenging for service members and Veterans in the market last year, but most are optimistic about buying in 2023, according to a new national survey by Veterans United Home Loans, the nation's largest VA lender.
Even with the rocky rate and affordability outlook, 30% of current service members and 15% of Veterans plan to buy a home in 2023. Looking further, nearly three quarters of current service members (71%) plan to buy a home in the next five years.
"Despite continuing challenges in the housing market, service members and Veterans feel they will be in a great position to buy this year," said Chris Birk, vice president of mortgage insight at Veterans United. "A major reason why is their hard-earned VA loan benefit. Nearly 80 years later, this transformational benefit is still helping Veterans get a foothold in the housing market and create generational wealth."
Key findings from the 2023 Service Member and Veteran Homebuyer Report include:
- Current service members are most optimistic about homebuying. About 1 in 3 current service members plan to buy a home in the next year, while only 15% of Veterans plan to buy. About 4 in 10 (43%) Reserve and National Guard military members expect to buy a home in the next 12 months.
- The VA loan levels the homebuying field for service members and Veterans. More than half of service members and Veterans (54%) currently have a VA home loan and about 28% have used one in the past. The share of VA loans grew more than 2.6% between January and December of 2022.
- The option to buy with no down payment remains the No. 1 reason service members and Veterans choose the VA loan. About 60% of service members and Veterans say zero down payment is the top reason for choosing their VA home loan benefit.
- About 90% of service members are aware of the VA home loan benefit. Awareness is lowest among Reserve and National Guard members. More than a third of active duty members are aware of the VA home loan program through another active service member. However, the further away currently serving members are from a military base, the lower their benefit awareness. About 94% of active duty service members living less than 30 minutes from a base are aware of the benefit compared to 69% for those living more than three hours away.
Click here to read the full 2023 Service Member and Veteran Homebuyer Report.
About Veterans United Home Loans
Based in Columbia, Missouri, the full-service national lender financed more than $26 billion in loans in Fiscal Year 2022 and is the country's largest VA lender, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs Lender Statistics. The company's mission is to help Veterans and service members take advantage of the home loan benefits earned by their service.
VeteransUnited.com | 1-800-884-5560 | 550 Veterans United Drive, Columbia, MO 65201 | Veterans United Home Loans NMLS # 1907 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org). A VA approved lender; Not endorsed or sponsored by the Dept. of Veterans Affairs or any government agency. Licensed in all 50 states. For State Licensing information, please visit http://www.veteransunited.com/licenses/. Equal Opportunity Lender.
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SOURCE Veterans United Home Loans | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/01/18/national-survey-shows-service-members-veterans-are-optimistic-about-homebuying-2023/ | 2023-01-18 19:20:43 | 1 | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/01/18/national-survey-shows-service-members-veterans-are-optimistic-about-homebuying-2023/ |
MORAGA, Calif. (AP) — Mitchell Saxen's 20 points helped Saint Mary's defeat San Diego 85-58 on Thursday night to open West Coast Conference play.
Saxen added 10 rebounds for the Gaels (11-4). Aidan Mahaney scored 15 points while going 7 of 11 from the field. Alex Ducas shot 5 for 10, including 3 for 6 from beyond the arc to finish with 13 points.
The Toreros (7-8) were led by Bendji Pierre, who recorded 14 points and two steals. Wayne McKinney III added 14 points for San Diego. Eric Williams Jr. also had 11 points and eight rebounds.
Saint Mary's took the lead with 17:39 remaining in the first half and never looked back. Saxen led his team in scoring with eight points in the first half to help put them up 42-26 at the break. Saint Mary's pulled away with a 10-0 run in the second half to extend a 21-point lead to 31 points. They outscored San Diego by 11 points in the final half, as Saxen led the way with a team-high 12 second-half points.
NEXT UP
Both teams next play Saturday. Saint Mary's visits Santa Clara and San Diego visits San Francisco.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. | https://www.mrt.com/sports/article/Saxen-scores-20-Saint-Mary-s-downs-San-Diego-17684739.php | 2022-12-30 06:15:19 | 1 | https://www.mrt.com/sports/article/Saxen-scores-20-Saint-Mary-s-downs-San-Diego-17684739.php |
A person who broke into the Dallas Museum of Art on Wednesday evening brought about roughly $5.153 million in injury, destroying property together with three historic Greek objects earlier than he was arrested, Dallas police mentioned.
Brian Hernandez, 21, approached the museum’s glass entrance doorways with a metallic chair at about 9:40 p.m. and started destroying objects as soon as inside, police mentioned.
Hernandez broke right into a glass show case and shattered a 6th-century B.C. Greek amphora — a sort of ceramic vase — and a Greek pot from 450 B.C. The items collectively had been valued at roughly $5 million, police mentioned, noting that estimates may change after a closing evaluation by a curator and the museum’s insurer.
He is also accused of destroying a 550–530 B.C. bowl that was valued at $100,000. Police mentioned he broke right into a show case, picked up a ceramic Caddo effigy bottle depicting an alligator gar and slammed it to the bottom, shattering it. The piece was valued at $10,000.
“This was an remoted incident perpetrated by one particular person appearing alone, whose intent was not theft of artwork or any objects on view,” museum officers mentioned in a press release Thursday. “Nevertheless, some artistic endeavors had been broken, and we’re nonetheless within the strategy of assessing the extent of the damages.”
The museum is open to the general public Thursday, together with its “Cartier and Islamic Artwork” exhibition. Some everlasting assortment galleries will likely be closed for the continuing investigation.
Hernandez was learn his rights and confessed to officers, police mentioned. He was charged with legal mischief of greater than or equal to $300,000. Bail has not been decided.
The museum famous that Hernandez was not armed.
A DMA safety guard discovered Hernandez on the museum’s concourse after a movement sensor went off and apprehended him earlier than calling police. Police mentioned Hernandez additionally referred to as 911 on himself from contained in the museum. Police responded at about 10:10 p.m.
Hernandez is being held within the Dallas County Jail, Dallas police mentioned Thursday.
The guard advised police that Hernandez mentioned “he bought mad at his lady so he broke in and began destroying property,” police mentioned.
Police mentioned Kenneth Bennett, director of DMA safety and operations, confirmed them video of the suspect damaging and destroying museum property.
“Whereas we’re devastated by this incident, we’re grateful that nobody was harmed. The protection of our employees and guests, together with the care and safety of the artwork in our stewardship, are our utmost priorities,” the museum mentioned.
Maggie Prosser contributed to this report. | https://blackchronicle.com/5-million-of-ancient-art-destroyed-at-dma-in-overnight-break-in/ | 2022-06-02 19:48:59 | 0 | https://blackchronicle.com/5-million-of-ancient-art-destroyed-at-dma-in-overnight-break-in/ |
Storm chances possible Fourth of July
Hot and humid conditions Monday & Tuesday
ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – It’s officially July and that means we’re recapping the past month. June 2023 was warmer and much drier than normal for Rochester, becoming the 6th driest June on record. Only 1.34″ of rain fell at RST, which was 4″ drier than normal. June is typically the wettest month of the year.
Tonight, conditions will be quiet and mild with mostly clear skies and light north winds at 5-10 mph. Overnight temperatures will be in the mid-60s.
The second half of the long holiday weekend will be hot and humid as afternoon temperatures soar into the low 90s Monday and Tuesday. Dew points are expected to be well into the 60s on both days, so be sure to stay cool. Mostly sunny skies are expected Monday with partly sunny skies Tuesday.
With all of the 4th of July holiday activities and events that will be happening around our area Tuesday, be sure to keep an eye on the forecast throughout the day as southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa have the chance to see isolated to scattered thunderstorms during the late afternoon and evening. There is a chance for a few storms to become strong to severe during that time with hail and wind being the main concerns.
Additional showers and storms are possible Wednesday with cooler, more seasonal temperatures in the mid-70s. Seasonably cool temperatures in the mid to upper 70s are expected to last through the late week into the weekend. We are also keeping an eye on the potential for a few other rain chances for the weekend.
Copyright 2023 KTTC. All rights reserved. | https://www.kttc.com/2023/07/02/storm-chances-possible-fourth-july/ | 2023-07-03 00:07:41 | 1 | https://www.kttc.com/2023/07/02/storm-chances-possible-fourth-july/ |
Adam Levine & Behati Prinsloo: A Timeline Of Their Decade-Long Relationship
CLIP 09/20/22
Main Content
Prince William and Prince Harry are walking side-by-side for their grandmother. The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex marched next to each other behind Her Royal Highness' coffin as they arrived for her funeral service on Monday. In an emotional show of support, the men stood together as family, heading through the streets of London to Westminster Abbey parallel to one another. William wore his military uniform, while Harry wore a morning suit. | https://www.nbc.com/access/video/prince-william-prince-harry-emotionally-walk-side-by-side-for-queen-elizabeths-funeral/ACCN756549684 | 2022-09-21 09:16:33 | 0 | https://www.nbc.com/access/video/prince-william-prince-harry-emotionally-walk-side-by-side-for-queen-elizabeths-funeral/ACCN756549684 |
The state of California plans to take action after a leaked draft opinion suggests that the Supreme Court could be poised to overturn Roe v. Wade.
That's according to a Politico report released Monday.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, along with Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, plan to propose an amendment in its state constitution to ensure permanent abortion protection.
“We know we can’t trust the Supreme Court to protect reproductive rights, so California will build a firewall around this right in our state constitution. Women will remain protected here,” the lawmakers wrote in a statement.
A supermajority vote in both of the state’s legislative houses would be required before the constitutional amendment can make its way to the November ballot.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to potentially overturn Roe v. Wade is due to a case concerning Mississippi’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks.
The law was blocked by lower courts because it directly conflicts with the Supreme Court’s decisions in 1973’s Roe v. Wade and 1992’s Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which reaffirmed the landmark abortion decision.
A decision to overrule Roe would lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states and could have huge ramifications for this year’s elections.
But it’s unclear if the draft represents the court’s final word on the matter — opinions often change in ways big and small in the drafting process.
A Supreme Court spokeswoman said the court had no comment. | https://www.abc15.com/news/national/california-lawmakers-ready-to-include-abortion-protections-in-state-constitution | 2022-05-03 14:02:55 | 1 | https://www.abc15.com/news/national/california-lawmakers-ready-to-include-abortion-protections-in-state-constitution |
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Ohioans who get someone pregnant unintentionally may have to reach deep into their pockets — and stand before a judge — if new legislation succeeds.
Weeks after Ohio’s six-week abortion ban took effect, state Sen. Tina Maharath (D-Columbus) introduced a bill Thursday to allow pregnant people to sue a sexual partner for causing an unintended pregnancy, ostensibly to level the playing field when it comes to the steep costs of pregnancy.
“Too often, this cost is solely the mother’s to bear, especially in the case of an unintended pregnancy,” Maharath said in a release. “However, the father shares equal responsibility for the pregnancy and it is only right that he pays equally for it.”
Under Senate Bill 262, pregnant Ohioans can file a civil suit no later than five years after conception against whoever caused them to have an unintended pregnancy — and anyone who “aids or abets” the impregnator — regardless of the circumstances.
A judge who finds by a preponderance of the evidence that pregnancy was indeed unintended must award the pregnant plaintiff at least $5,000, in addition to court costs and attorney’s fees.
Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis lambasted Maharath’s legislation as a waste of time and taxpayer money, calling on abortion rights advocates to find “actual solutions” to protect women and children.
If not, they should “simply walk away from the Statehouse,” he said in an email.
“As usual, pro-choice politicians only offer gimmicks and slapstick humor as solutions to women’s issues,” Gonidakis said. “This so-called legislation will not see the light of day and has a zero percent chance of even getting a committee vote.”
Julia Cattaneo, who told NBC4 in March about traveling to New York for an abortion she obtained at 14 years old, said Maharath’s bill could help strengthen child support laws while providing those impregnated by sexual violence an avenue to justice “other than just the criminal courts, which are usually just a slap in the hand.”
“This would give the victim a way to get financial support and hopefully more resources,” Cattaneo, 65, who is now living in Columbus and retired from a career in social work, said. “It also validated that the action of getting someone pregnant does not stop with that action.”
However, she expressed concern about the impregnator not having the financial means to face a civil suit or fork over at least $5,000 to the person they got pregnant.
The main issue she said SB 262 presents is the possibility that the burden of proving an unintended pregnancy — which could be tough to demonstrate in court — will fall on the pregnant plaintiff.
“What I would like to see is a bit more general,” Cattaneo said. “Any person who forces an individual to follow through with an unwanted pregnancy should have to take responsibility for that individual and the outcome of that forced birth.”
Lizzie Whitmarsh, a spokesperson for Ohio Right to Life, said in an email that SB 262 is offensive, as it implies that women “are too stupid” to make responsible choices with a sexual partner, instead shifting the blame on men.
“Isn’t this what feminist[s] have fought against for years?” she said. “Women are smarter than that. We are not helpless victims that have no say over the choices we make, including those choices in the bedroom.”
She added that Maharath’s bill denigrates a pregnancy by treating it as “something ugly and inconvenient, worthy to be sued over.”
Just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending 50 years of abortion rights, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost successfully petitioned a judge to lift an injunction against Ohio’s 2019 heartbeat bill, effectively outlawing abortion once fetal cardiac activity is detected.
Maharath called the six-week ban a “draconian” measure that prohibits abortion before many people even know they are pregnant.
During a press conference Thursday in which President Biden shared his plans to sign an executive order protecting abortion access in the U.S., he mentioned a case in Ohio that made national headlines where a 10-year-old girl was forced to travel to Indiana to receive an abortion, as state law barred her from receiving the procedure.
“This law is already having devastating effects, as we learned that a 10-year-old rape victim had to travel out of state to receive an abortion,” Maharath said. “While this situation is tragic and should never have happened, I am relieved that she had the resources to leave Ohio to have a necessary medical procedure.”
Pending in the Ohio Statehouse are two bills that would ban abortion outright, with no exceptions for rape or incest. While lawmakers are no longer in session, the Republican-dominated legislature could pass either bill as soon as their return in November. | https://www.wjhl.com/news/national/bill-would-let-ohioans-sue-over-unintended-pregnancies/ | 2022-07-08 22:59:51 | 0 | https://www.wjhl.com/news/national/bill-would-let-ohioans-sue-over-unintended-pregnancies/ |
WFO DALLAS / FT. WORTH Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Sunday, April 30, 2023
_____
FLOOD WARNING
Flood Statement
National Weather Service Fort Worth TX
239 PM CDT Fri Apr 28 2023
...The Flood Warning continues for the following rivers in Texas...
Cowleech Fork Sabine River At Greenville affecting Hunt County.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Do not drive cars through flooded areas.
Caution is urged when walking near riverbanks.
Additional information is available at www.weather.gov/fwd.
...FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY MORNING TO SUNDAY
MORNING...
* WHAT...Minor flooding is forecast.
* WHERE...Cowleech Fork Sabine River At Greenville.
* WHEN...From Saturday morning to Sunday morning.
* IMPACTS...At 15.0 feet, Caution should be exercised near the river
as water begins to flow out of the banks.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...
- At 8:45 AM CDT Friday the stage was 5.7 feet.
- Flood stage is 14.0 feet.
- Forecast...The river is expected to rise above flood stage
late tomorrow morning to a crest of 14.9 feet early tomorrow
afternoon. It will then fall below flood stage tomorrow
evening.
The National Weather Service in Fort Worth has issued a
* Tornado Warning for...
Central Coryell County in central Texas...
* Until 315 PM CDT.
* At 240 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado
was located 12 miles west of Gatesville, moving east at 40 mph.
HAZARD...Tornado and baseball size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated rotation.
IMPACT...Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without
shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed.
Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur. Tree
damage is likely.
* This dangerous storm will be near...
Fort Gates around 300 PM CDT.
Mother Neff State Park around 315 PM CDT.
Other locations impacted by this tornadic thunderstorm include South
Mountain, Oglesby, Purmela, Leon Junction, Arnett, Levita, South
Purmela, King, Mound and Flat.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
TAKE COVER NOW! Move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a
sturdy building. Avoid windows. If you are outdoors, in a mobile
home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and
protect yourself from flying debris.
...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of eastern Mason and
southern San Saba Counties through 330 PM CDT...
At 237 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking several strengthening
thunderstorms from southern San Saba County across eastern Mason
County on east to Colorado River. The storms were moving east at 45
mph.
HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 50 mph and nickel size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is
possible.
Locations impacted include...
San Saba, Mason, Cherokee, Art, Pontotoc, Loyal Valley, Fredonia,
Bend, Chappel, Hedwigs Hill, Hilda and Us-87 Near The Mason-
Gillespie County Line.
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
A Tornado Watch remains in effect until 800 PM CDT for west central
Texas.
LAT...LON 3092 9896 3050 9896 3050 9923 3093 9924
3094 9909 3123 9872 3127 9858 3120 9857
3116 9850 3112 9855 3109 9853 3112 9849
3111 9846 3108 9846 3106 9849 3103 9844
3096 9845 3093 9841
TIME...MOT...LOC 1937Z 252DEG 49KT 3118 9866
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.88 IN
MAX WIND GUST...50 MPH
...FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL TOMORROW AFTERNOON...
* WHERE...Trinity River At Trinidad.
* WHEN...Until tomorrow afternoon.
* IMPACTS...At 33.0 feet, Minor flooding occurs along the right bank
of the river. Low woodlands for one mile along right bank will
begin to flood.
- At 8:00 AM CDT Friday the stage was 31.7 feet.
- Flood stage is 33.0 feet.
late this morning to a crest of 34.8 feet this afternoon. It
will then fall below flood stage late tonight.
_____
Copyright 2023 AccuWeather | https://www.expressnews.com/weather/article/tx-wfo-dallas-ft-worth-warnings-watches-and-17925703.php | 2023-04-28 20:14:53 | 1 | https://www.expressnews.com/weather/article/tx-wfo-dallas-ft-worth-warnings-watches-and-17925703.php |
Prescription drug discount solution to help lower costs, improve experience for tens of millions of CVS Caremark clients' members
WOONSOCKET, R.I., and SANTA MONICA, Calif., July 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- CVS Caremark®, a CVS Health® (NYSE: CVS) company, and GoodRx (Nasdaq: GDRX), a leading resource for healthcare savings and information, today announced the launch of Caremark® Cost SaverTM to help lower pharmacy out-of-pocket drug costs for CVS Caremark clients' members. Through the new program, CVS Caremark's eligible members will have automatic access to GoodRx's prescription pricing to allow them to pay lower prices, when available, on generic medications in a seamless experience at the pharmacy counter.
The amount paid will automatically be applied to plan members' deductible and out-of-pocket thresholds. Plan members only need to utilize their existing benefit card at their preferred in-network pharmacy. No action is required by the plan member.
"We work every day to provide a more affordable drug benefit for our CVS Caremark clients and their plan members, and this collaborative prescription discount solution enables us to dynamically shop for the best price on their behalf," said David Joyner, Executive Vice President, CVS Health and President, CVS Caremark. "By lowering out-of-pocket costs for our clients' members, Caremark Cost Saver will help patients afford to take their medicine as directed."
"Healthcare only works when patients can afford it, which is why we are excited to work with CVS Caremark to combine their great value with automatic access to our low prices on prescriptions," said Scott Wagner, Interim CEO of GoodRx. "Through this program, patients don't have to choose between using their pharmacy benefit or using GoodRx to save on their prescriptions - now they can do both right at the counter so they have confidence they are always paying the lowest available price. This collaboration can make a meaningful difference for the tens of millions of Americans that CVS Caremark serves."
Members will continue to benefit from CVS Caremark's rigorous drug safety review, which includes thousands of health and safety checks that can alert the patient about any negative drug interactions.
This program will bring GoodRx discount pricing to commercially insured plan members filling many commonly prescribed generic prescriptions at in-network pharmacies, starting January 1, 2024.
Learn more about Caremark Cost Saver here.
About CVS Health
CVS Health® is the leading health solutions company, delivering care like no one else can. We reach more people and improve the health of communities across America through our local presence, digital channels and over 300,000 dedicated colleagues – including more than 40,000 physicians, pharmacists, nurses and nurse practitioners. Wherever and whenever people need us, we help them with their health – whether that's managing chronic diseases, staying compliant with their medications or accessing affordable health and wellness services in the most convenient ways. We help people navigate the health care system – and their personal health care – by improving access, lowering costs and being a trusted partner for every meaningful moment of health. And we do it all with heart, each and every day. Follow @CVSHealth on social media.
About GoodRx
GoodRx is a leading resource for healthcare savings and information that makes healthcare affordable and convenient for all Americans. We offer consumers free access to transparent and lower prices for brand and generic medications, affordable and convenient medical provider consultations via telehealth, and comprehensive healthcare research and information. Since 2011, we have helped consumers save over $55 billion and are one of the most downloaded medical apps over the past decade.
GoodRx periodically posts information that may be important to investors on its investor relations website at https://investors.goodrx.com. We intend to use our website as a means of disclosing material nonpublic information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Accordingly, investors and potential investors are encouraged to consult GoodRx's website regularly for important information, in addition to following GoodRx's press releases, filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and public conference calls and webcasts. The information contained on, or that may be accessed through, GoodRx's website is not incorporated by reference into, and is not a part of, this press release.
Forward-looking statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding the demand and success of Caremark Cost Saver or the benefits to consumers from such offering. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, risks relating to changes in medication pricing which are significantly impacted by pricing structures negotiated by industry participants and the important factors discussed in CVS Health's and GoodRx's respective filings with the SEC. These factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent current expectations and projections as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change.
Media contact
Phil Blando
202-258-4978
Phillip.Blando@CVSHealth.com
Lauren Casparis
415-847-1422
lcasparis@goodrx.com
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SOURCE CVS Health | https://www.kwch.com/prnewswire/2023/07/12/cvs-caremark-goodrx-launch-caremark-cost-saver-help-lower-out-of-pocket-drug-costs-cvs-caremark-clients-members/ | 2023-07-12 11:19:08 | 1 | https://www.kwch.com/prnewswire/2023/07/12/cvs-caremark-goodrx-launch-caremark-cost-saver-help-lower-out-of-pocket-drug-costs-cvs-caremark-clients-members/ |
5 shot on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street; 2 detained
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Police say five people were shot on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street, marring what had been a festive celebration on the weekend of the Bayou Classic football game.
New Orleans Police said the gunfire broke out around 1:49 a.m. Sunday in the 200 block of Bourbon Street, leaving multiple victims wounded in the French Quarter.
Two people have been detained for questioning in relation to the shooting, police said. Weapons were taken from both of them.
Police said the victims included three males and two females but did not disclose their ages, WVUE reports. NOPD spokesman Gary Scheets said none of the victims’ injuries are considered life-threatening.
NOPD Supt. Shaun Ferguson was among the officers who responded to the scene on a weekend when tens of thousands of additional visitors are in town for the annual Bayou Classic football game between Grambling State and Southern University.
The shooting was the second in the area in the span of five hours.
Police are also investigating the shooting of an 18-year-old man reported at 8:42 p.m. Saturday. That victim was shot multiple times in the 700 block of Canal Street, near the intersection with St. Charles Avenue.
The victim was hospitalized, but police have not provided information on his condition.
Police have not said whether the two shootings are related.
Copyright 2022 WVUE via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wistv.com/2022/11/27/5-shot-new-orleans-bourbon-street-suspects-detained/ | 2022-11-27 11:07:03 | 1 | https://www.wistv.com/2022/11/27/5-shot-new-orleans-bourbon-street-suspects-detained/ |
CARMEL, Ind. — Lightning is believed to be the cause of a fire at a church in Carmel Friday morning.
The Carmel Fire Department responded to the report of smoke coming from the roof at 3106 East Carmel Drive around 10 a.m.
Firefighters quickly located and contained the fire to one room at St. Peter’s United Church of Christ.
Crews reported the damage in the fire room as significant.
Smoke damage was reported in other parts of the church. No injuries were reported.
Crews marked the fire out around noon. | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/lightning-believed-to-have-caused-fire-at-carmel-church-st-peters-united-chirch-of-christ/531-5434257a-5781-42cf-a64e-d98f644e7f6d | 2023-07-28 18:10:40 | 1 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/lightning-believed-to-have-caused-fire-at-carmel-church-st-peters-united-chirch-of-christ/531-5434257a-5781-42cf-a64e-d98f644e7f6d |
--Just in time for Summer--
MONTEREY, Calif., May 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Whale-watching season is in full swing on Monterey Bay. Monterey Bay Inn offers its popular Whale Watching Package throughout the summer, which includes deluxe accommodations for two, Continental breakfast, and a boat tour. The package price starts at $345 per night on select dates.
Monterey Bay is one of the best places in the nation to view a variety of marine mammals and seabirds. Guests will cruise the waters of Monterey Bay to encounter majestic grey, blue, and humpback whales, orcas, and playful dolphins. The 4-hour tour is fully narrated by a seasoned marine biologist who shares information about the whales, their habitat, mating rituals, and migration paths. This whale watching trip is educationally oriented, so the biologist will happily answer quests. Guests capture an up-close view while whales migrate and fee just offshore.
Trips are provided by Monterey Bay Whale Watch and depart from Monterey's Fisherman's Wharf #1. Arrive at departure location 1/2 hr. before board time. A 24-hour cancellation is required.
The 49-room Monterey Bay Inn on historic Cannery Row is adjacent to San Carlos Beach, near the Coast Guard Pier, Cannery Row Shopping, and Monterey Bay Aquarium. Guestrooms have balconies with outdoor furniture to enjoy a sweeping view of Monterey Bay; amenities include a rooftop hot tub, easy access to the beach, and a complimentary continental breakfast. Monterey Bay Inn is perfect for family getaways and romantic escapes. Monterey Bay Inn at 242 Cannery Row, Monterey, California 93940, www.montereybayinn.com.
For reservations, call 1-800-424-6242 or visit reservations@innsofmonterey.com.
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SOURCE Monterey Bay Inn | https://www.wkyt.com/prnewswire/2022/05/25/monterey-bay-whale-watching-hotel-packages/ | 2022-05-25 23:05:41 | 1 | https://www.wkyt.com/prnewswire/2022/05/25/monterey-bay-whale-watching-hotel-packages/ |
Thumb Area Crash Kills Caro Driver
Friday evening (19th) at 19:32, Huron County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to Caseville Road and Stein Road in Windsor Township, which was the scene of a two vehicle crash. Preliminary investigation indicates that a 2002 Jeep Liberty was southbound on Caseville Road when a 2010 Dodge pickup was westbound on Stein Road and the driver disregarded the stop sign, causing the two vehicles to collide. Both vehicles then came to rest in a cornfield on the southwest corner of that intersection.
Authorities say the Jeep driver, David L. Caister, age 58 of Caro, died from injuries he received during the impact. He had to be freed from the wreckage by Winsor Firemen. Deputies say the pickup driver, Avery R. Kuhl, age 20 of Sebewaing, was transported to Scheurer Hospital for treatment. Both drivers were the only occupants.
Accident investigators from the Huron Sheriff’s office were called in to process the scene and the Huron County Medical Examiner’s Office responded as well. This investigation will continue. An autopsy has been scheduled for Monday.
Also assisting at the scene was the Pigeon Police, Elkton Police, and the Elkton Ambulance Service. | https://www.wsgw.com/thumb-area-crash-kills-caro-driver/ | 2022-08-20 19:04:45 | 0 | https://www.wsgw.com/thumb-area-crash-kills-caro-driver/ |
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CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Nevada's Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo called for unity at his inauguration ceremony on Tuesday while still pushing for conservative ideals such as school choice and repealing some recent criminal justice reforms that he called “soft on crime."
In front of just over 700 people at the Carson City Community Center, statewide officials took their oaths of office, pastors led the audience in prayer and five former governors sat behind Lombardo as he spoke for the first time as governor. That included Democrat Steve Sisolak, the incumbent whom Lombardo beat in one of the closest gubernatorial contests nationwide.
Lombardo said working together will be the “central covenant” of his administration.
“At the same time I will carry the cause of conservative ideals that are anchored by the personal responsibility, fiscal discipline and limited government interference,” he added.
Lombardo was officially sworn in Monday at a smaller inauguration to comply with a state deadline. Tuesday’s event was moved from the Nevada state Capitol to the community center as a days-long snowstorm battered the area.
Alongside Lombardo was a slate of elected officials who took the oath of office, representing Nevada’s split-ticket midterm outcome: Republican Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony and Controller Andy Matthews, as well as Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford, Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar and Treasurer Zach Conine.
Lombardo, who ran as a more moderate candidate compared to the rest of the Republican primary field, acknowledged political divisions across the state, adding “that in some places, we are needlessly polarized.”
“To everyone I say, we can either surrender ourselves to it, or we can strive to rise above it by acknowledging that we all have a responsibility to the future,” he said.
Much of Lombardo’s priorities may have to come from compromise as Democrats hold a majority in the state Senate and a supermajority in the state Assembly.
During his speech he repeated his campaign promise of no new taxes and reiterated his goal of diversifying Nevada’s economy to rely less on gaming and tourism.
Lombardo also repeatedly referenced the “Nevadan Way” — a concept of trust and grit for Nevadans to overcome adversity. He applied it to what he called difficult years during the COVID-19 pandemic and economic swings from Nevada’s tourist-based economy.
“Each time that we were forced to confront these setbacks, we reemerged more driven to succeed than ever before,” he said.
The career police officer-turned-elected sheriff was the only Republican challenger to unseat a Democrat governor in last year’s midterm cycle. The Nevada governor’s ticket was one of several razor-thin statewide races in Nevada that saw a split-ticket outcome.
___
Stern 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. Follow Stern on Twitter: @gabestern326. | https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Nevada-Gov-Lombardo-stresses-unity-in-inaugural-17692617.php | 2023-01-03 23:27:01 | 0 | https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Nevada-Gov-Lombardo-stresses-unity-in-inaugural-17692617.php |
HOUSTON, June 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- DarkPulse Inc. (OTC: DPLS) ("DPLS" or "the Company"), today announced that the Company's board of directors has approved several corporate actions that the Company's Board of Directors believe are in the best interest of its shareholders.
The Board of Directors approved corporate actions to investigate, initiate and effectuate a special dividend to record holders of the Company's securities in the form of a yet to be determined pro-rata number of shares from its wholly owned subsidiary, Optilan. The distribution is expected to be based on the number of shares held by the Company's holders on August 31, 2022. The Board has set July 15, 2022 to determine the final dividend ratio for the distribution per shareholder of record. Any such distribution may require the filing of a S-1 Registration Statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Company's Board of Directors has also approved the Company to take steps to seek listing of Optilan's securities on a national exchange, such as NASDAQ or the NYSE, and expects to engage several investment bankers over the next 60 days with a view to list Optilan by end of the calendar year.
The Board of Directors, with Dennis O'Leary, abstaining, also approved an Employment Agreement with Mr. O'Leary with a term commencing April 1, 2022 and continuing for three years, subject to extensions.
In connection with the Employment Agreement, the Company has also approved a new class of Preferred shares with super-majority voting rights designed to assist managements objectives. These shares are not convertible into the Company's shares of Common Stock and includes a sunset clause whereby the shares terminate five years from issuance, unless extended through a vote of a majority of the holders of the Company's Common Stock.
DarkPulse, Inc.'s CEO, Dennis O'Leary, stated "these corporate actions are consistent with our company philosophy that no shareholder be left behind. While we have made great strides in developing our businesses, we are also paying close attention to improving shareholder value and we believe this special dividend is part of a much bigger program going forward."
DarkPulse, Inc. uses advanced laser-based monitoring systems to provide rapid and accurate monitoring of temperatures, strains and stresses. The Company's technology excels when applied to live, dynamic critical infrastructure and structural monitoring, including pipeline monitoring, perimeter and structural surveillance, aircraft structural components and mining safety. The Company's fiber-based monitoring systems can assist markets that are not currently served, and its unique technology covers extended areas and any event that is translated into the detection of a change in strain or temperature. In addition to the Company's ongoing efforts with respect to the marketing and sales of its technology products and services to its customers, the Company also continues to explore potential strategic alliances through joint venture and licensing opportunities to further expand its global market position.
For more information, visit www.DarkPulse.com
Optilan is a leading independent security and communications systems integrator worldwide. With a 30-year pedigree, Optilan's customers trust it to keep the integrity of their assets safe and secure, by managing the life cycle delivery risk of its solutions. By fostering a collaborative design approach to complex problems, Optilan provides innovative solutions, custom fit to even the most demanding of sites and scale of projects. Importantly, Optilan's commitment to its safety culture remains unwavered, to ensure that everyone goes home safely every day.
Optilan orchestrates business resilience with a suite of end-to-end solutions, combined with connectivity and professional service at a global level. Today's business environment is more dynamic than ever. In response, businesses are urged to move at "internet speed" and evolve with continuous change and disruption accepted as the new normal. Optilan complements its tailored, integrated expertise with a curated ecosystem of leading manufacturers, to achieve both high quality and enduring results.
Optilan is proud to foster a unique culture full of talented individuals. Optilan's sector focus ensures that its account teams are fully accredited to their operational areas. Optilan;s professionals have the skill to adopt and embed its expertise into existing platforms, processes, and cultures, delivering exceptional value for its clients. Beyond Optilan's operational scope, it strives to consider the impact of its global footprint and mitigate associated environmental and sustainability risks. These factors combined set Optilan apart and establish why customers continue to trust and invest in its services.
For more information, visit: www.Optilan.com
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe our future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as "believe," "expect," "may," "should," "could," "seek," "intend," "plan," "goal," "estimate," "anticipate" or other comparable terms. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this news release regarding our strategies, prospects, financial condition, operations, costs, plans and objectives are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Our actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the following: our ability to successfully market our products and services; the acceptance of our products and services by customers; our continued ability to pay operating costs and ability to meet demand for our products and services; the amount and nature of competition from other security and telecom products and services; the effects of changes in the cybersecurity and telecom markets; our ability to successfully develop new products and services; our success establishing and maintaining collaborative, strategic alliance agreements, licensing and supplier arrangements; our ability to comply with applicable regulations; and the other risks and uncertainties described in our prior filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
Media contact:
DarkPulse Solutions, Inc.
media@DarkPulse.com
1.800.436.1436+
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SOURCE DarkPulse, Inc. | https://www.kfyrtv.com/prnewswire/2022/06/23/darkpulse-inc-announces-special-dividend-optilan-stock-ceo-employment-agreement/ | 2022-06-23 12:05:50 | 0 | https://www.kfyrtv.com/prnewswire/2022/06/23/darkpulse-inc-announces-special-dividend-optilan-stock-ceo-employment-agreement/ |
LODZ, Poland (AP) — The discovery in central Poland of hundreds of objects that were most likely hidden by their Jewish owners during World War II provided a rare and precious find, officials said Wednesday.
Around 400 items, including silver-plated menorahs, hanukkiahs, tableware and daily use items were uncovered in the city of Lodz last month during the renovation of a house and yard.
“Those residents who buried these items did so most likely thinking that they would one day return for them, that they would be able to retrieve them,” Lodz Deputy Mayor Adam Pustelnik said.
“Most likely, these people lost their lives” in the Holocaust, Pustelnik said. “Such stories are truly rare and precious and also are a great lesson for us all.”
The items were packed in a wooden box and wrapped up in newspapers, said Krzysztof Hejmanowski, a building inspector with the Warbud construction company, whose crew came across the stashed trove.
Officials said the recovered objects will be transferred to the city’s Archaeology Museum. Experts think the box was hidden early on in the war.
The address where the objects were found, at 23 Polnocna Street, was located just outside the perimeter of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto. The occupying Nazi Germans established the Jewish quarter in Lodz in February 1940, and until August 1944 and it held about 200,000 Jews from across Europe. Most died there or in concentration camps.
A Municipal Investment Administration official, Małgorzata Loeffler, said the items and their history stir “emotion and deep thought about the fact that we are not alone, that we leave something behind.” | https://www.koin.com/news/international/ap-polish-officials-say-wwii-trove-of-jewish-objects-rare-find/ | 2023-01-12 06:26:36 | 0 | https://www.koin.com/news/international/ap-polish-officials-say-wwii-trove-of-jewish-objects-rare-find/ |
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Alek Manoah pitched seven shutout innings, Whit Merrifield hit a three-run homer and the Toronto Blue Jays regained the top AL wild-card spot with a 3-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday night.
The Blue Jays lead Tampa Bay by one game. The top wild card finisher will host all games in their best-of-three opening-round series, while the other two wild cards play strictly on the road.
Manoah (15-7) scattered four hits, walked two and struck out eight while throwing a season-high 113 pitches. The righty worked out of a two-on, one-out jam in the sixth by striking out Randy Arozarena and getting a flyout from David Peralta.
Jordan Romano replaced Tim Mayza with two on and two outs in the eighth and allowed pinch-hitter Harold Ramirez's RBI infield single but avoided further damage by striking out Manuel Margot. Romano finished the game to get his 35th save in 41 chances.
Tampa Bay starter Drew Rasmussen (10-7) gave up one run, three hits and two walks in 6 1/3 innings. He struck out five.
The teams combined for 31 runs, with the Rays accounting for 20, in the first two games of the series that were both won by Tampa Bay.
Arozarena got the Rays' first hit off Manoah with a two-out double in the fourth. He became the first Tampa Bay player and 20th big leaguer to have 40 doubles, 20 homers and 30 stolen bases in a season.
Teoscar Hernández ended Rasmussen's night with a double in the seventh. Brooks Raley entered and, after a walk to pinch-hitter Danny Jansen, Merrifield made it 3-0 on his 10th homer of the season.
Merrifield homered twice in Thursday night's 10-5 loss to the Rays.
Alejandro Kirk opened the second with a single before Rasmussen retired 12 in a row until Merrifield's leadoff double in the sixth.
Plate umpire Corey Blaser took a hard foul ball by Margot on the mask in the eighth but remained in the game.
HONORING KK
The Rays posted a thank you on the message board for CF Kevin Kiermaier, who is out for the season following left hip surgery. Kiermaier is in the final season of a $53.5 million, six-year contract that includes a club option for 2023 that is expected to be declined.
TEAM AWARDS
Rays ace Shane McClanahan was voted the Don Zimmer MVP award winner by members of the Tampa Bay chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. CF Jose Siri was selected as the outstanding rookie. 3B Yandy Díaz received the Paul C. Smith Champions award as the player who best exemplifies the spirit of true professionalism on and off the field.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Blue Jays: RHP Nate Pearson (lat strain) allowed three runs and three hits over two-thirds of an inning for Triple-A Buffalo.
Rays: 2B Brandon Lowe (lower back) is done for the season.
UP NEXT
McClanahan (12-6), pulled from his start Tuesday in the fifth inning due to neck tightness, will face Blue Jays RHP Ross Stripling (8-4) on Sunday.
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/Manoah-Merrifield-lead-Blue-Jays-to-3-1-win-over-17464875.php | 2022-09-25 03:06:48 | 1 | https://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/Manoah-Merrifield-lead-Blue-Jays-to-3-1-win-over-17464875.php |
You Story Tell as You Watch and Create Video – All at The Same Time
TORONTO, Aug. 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- vidThat is on a mission to transform, simplify and inspire visual communication towards achieving better understood messaging with easy short videos made superfast on the iPhone. Turn any image(s) on the iPhone into instant video and quickly synchronize with a user's voice: then send the message on the vidThat instant messenger. Imagine video made with still images looking like it originally started as quality video.
Click here to download vidThat to an iPhone.
James Tran, Founder and CEO of vidThat says; "our system saves users vast amounts of time because storytelling, video creation, and video watching are all uniquely synchronized. And at the same time, the storytelling is very efficient, authentic, and dynamic."
Spontaneous Micro Storytelling
vidThat is currently free in the App Store, and vidThat will help everyone use visual and audio storytelling in the fastest and easiest way possible inside what is believed to be the world's first instant videoization messenger.
Voice-To-Text Transcription on All Video
Your voice is automatically shown as a text caption on any video you make with vidThat. If you choose, you can make slight or major changes to the sound of your recorded voice. To get the best representation of your video message inside the vidThat Video Messenger; you can quickly select from the many pre-set filters and apply to your video image thumbnail which is shown in the vidThat Video Messenger.
Fast Auto Reply to Any Video
Our proprietary video file system lets your friends and teammates, immediately video-reply to your video messages that you sent them through vidThat. This automatically deploys the same visual assets (still images and/or a variety of short video clips) from the video that you originally sent. Your contact can use these assets for their own instant video reply. This back-and-forth video sharing will inspire you and your friends to collaborate more easily on anything and in addition, effortlessly cocreate any video.
Quickly Automate Video Creation
Our save to draft system automates your video creation, where the same visual content is a requirement for multiple voice recordings. Your productivity will transform as you effortlessly scale your personal touch with all your contacts. vidThat iOS is grateful to be funded and supported by the Canada Media Fund.
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SOURCE vidThat | https://www.kfyrtv.com/prnewswire/2022/08/08/vidthat-video-storytelling-made-easy/ | 2022-08-08 18:46:20 | 1 | https://www.kfyrtv.com/prnewswire/2022/08/08/vidthat-video-storytelling-made-easy/ |
ONTONAGON, Mich. (WJMN) – Days of searching have come to a happy end as Michigan State Police (MSP) confirms that a missing 8-year-old boy has been found safe and reunited with his family.
The boy, from Hurley, Wisconsin, was camping with his family in the Porcupine Mountains, a group of small mountains in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, over the weekend.
Saturday afternoon, authorities were called to search for the boy when he didn’t return from collecting firewood.
MSP called in more than 150 search and rescue personnel from the State Police and other agencies. They canvassed a roughly 40-square-mile area from Saturday through early Monday afternoon.
According to MSP, a volunteer found the boy, who “had braved the elements by taking shelter under a log where he was ultimately found.” He had stayed in one place, about two miles from the family campsite, since he was reported missing on Saturday.
The Hurley School District shared photos of the boy with volunteers on Facebook, writing, “Words can not describe the emotions and joy the students and staff are experiencing at this moment!”
Nexstar’s WJMN was on the scene when the boy was brought out of the woods. MSP said he appears to be in good health.
The remote, hilly terrain and seasonal roads with remaining snow made the search difficult. Temperatures in the area had been mostly in the 40s and 50s, online data shows. | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/boy-missing-for-2-days-in-michigan-mountains-found-sheltering-under-log/ | 2023-05-09 13:48:34 | 1 | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/boy-missing-for-2-days-in-michigan-mountains-found-sheltering-under-log/ |
LONDON (AP) — Several people with autism and intellectual disabilities have been legally euthanized in the Netherlands in recent years because they said they could not lead normal lives, researchers have found.
The cases included five people younger than 30 who cited autism as either the only reason or a major contributing factor for euthanasia, setting an uneasy precedent that some experts say stretches the limits of what the law originally intended.
In 2002, the Netherlands became the first country to allow doctors to kill patients at their request if they met strict requirements, including having an incurable illness causing “unbearable” physical or mental suffering.
Between 2012 and 2021, nearly 60,000 people were killed at their own request, according to the Dutch government’s euthanasia review committee. To show how the rules are being applied and interpreted, the committee has released documents related to more than 900 of those people, most of whom were older and had conditions including cancer, Parkinson’s and ALS.
Irene Tuffrey-Wijne, a palliative care specialist at Britain’s Kingston University, and her colleagues reviewed the documents to see how Dutch doctors were dealing with euthanasia requests from people with autism or with lifelong mental impairments. They published their findings in the journal BJPsych Open in May.
Among the 900 people with publicly posted case files, 39 of them were autistic and/or intellectually disabled. A handful were elderly, but 18 of them were younger than 50.
Many of the patients cited different combinations of mental problems, physical ailments, diseases or aging-related difficulties as reasons for seeking euthanasia. Thirty included being lonely as one the causes of their unbearable pain. Eight said the only causes of their suffering were factors linked to their intellectual disability or autism — social isolation, a lack of coping strategies or an inability to adjust their thinking.
“There’s no doubt in my mind these people were suffering,” Tuffrey-Wijne said. “But is society really OK with sending this message, that there’s no other way to help them and it’s just better to be dead?”
Other countries, including Belgium, Canada and Colombia, have legal euthanasia, but the Netherlands is the only one that shares detailed information about potentially controversial deaths, providing the best window into emerging trends in assisted dying. Still, its records are limited to what doctors disclose. So there could be other factors that weren’t released or cases where the patient’s autism or intellectual disabilities weren’t noted.
Because the committee releases only select records, it’s also impossible to know the true number of people with autism or intellectual disabilities killed at their own request.
Among the eight patients cited by researchers were an autistic man in his 20s. His record said “the patient had felt unhappy since childhood,” was regularly bullied and “longed for social contacts but was unable to connect with others.” The man, who was not named, chose euthanasia after deciding that “having to live on this way for years was an abomination.”
The records also included an autistic woman in her 30s who also had borderline personality disorder. She was offered a spot in a supported living center, but her doctors said she could not maintain relationships and deemed contact with others “too difficult.”
In one-third of cases, Dutch doctors concluded autism and intellectual disabilities were untreatable and that there was “no prospect of improvement,” the researchers wrote.
Simon Baron-Cohen, director of Cambridge University’s Autism Research Centre, said it was “abhorrent” that people with autism were being euthanized without being offered further support.
He noted that many autistic people struggle with depression, which could compromise their ability to make a lawful request to die. He also said an autistic person asking to die might not grasp the complexity of the situation.
Dr. Bram Sizoo, a Dutch psychiatrist, was disturbed that young people with autism viewed euthanasia as a viable solution.
“Some of them are almost excited at the prospect of death,” Sizoo said. “They think this will be the end of their problems and the end of their family’s problems.”
A representative of the Royal Dutch Medical Association said it was up to doctors to decide if someone meets the criteria for euthanasia. The group said many cases involving patients with autism were “highly complex” and that “age itself is not a decisive factor to determine whether a person suffers unbearably.”
Kasper Raus, an ethicist and public health professor at Belgium’s Ghent University, said the kinds of people seeking euthanasia in both the Netherlands and Belgium have shifted in the past two decades. When euthanasia was legalized, he said, the debate was about people with cancer, not people with autism.
Tim Stainton, director of the Canadian Institute for Inclusion and Citizenship at the University of British Columbia, wonders if the same thing is happening in Canada, which arguably has the world’s most permissive euthanasia laws and which doesn’t keep the kinds of records that the Netherlands does.
“Helping people with autism and intellectual disabilities to die is essentially eugenics,” Stainton said.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/international/ap-international/some-dutch-people-seeking-euthanasia-cite-autism-or-intellectual-disabilities-researchers-say/ | 2023-06-29 00:06:34 | 0 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/international/ap-international/some-dutch-people-seeking-euthanasia-cite-autism-or-intellectual-disabilities-researchers-say/ |
A relentless heat wave is expanding across the South. Heat alerts are in effect from southeast Arizona through most of Texas to Mobile, Alabama and Pensacola, Florida.
Nearly 40 million people are under alerts total.
Temperatures could get as high as 113 degrees in Tucson, Arizona. In Mobile, Alabama, the heat index is up to 110 degrees. In Abilene, Texas, it's so hot cookies bake in the back of a car.
And the heat hazard is expected to expand as the Fourth of July approaches.
The first heat wave of the summer claimed at least two lives just days ago in Texas.
Officials say on June 23rd an emergency call came in for a 14-year-old in distress at Big Bend National Park in Texas.
The dad took off to find help while the other brother attempted to carry his little brother to the trailhead.
An hour and a half after the emergency call, rescue personnel found the teen dead on the Marufo Vega trail, about a mile from the trailhead.
30 minutes later, the boys' stepfather died in a car crash about half a mile away at a canyon overlook.
SEE MORE: Father, stepson die at Texas national park as temperature reached 119
Big Bend National Park Ranger Tom Vandenberg says an investigation is underway, but it's believed heat reaching 119 degrees at the park played a factor in the stepfather's death.
He says this year four visitors have died at the park, adding that the 14-mile trail the Florida family embarked on is dangerous in the summer, with rugged terrain and no cell service, shade or water.
Experts and officials say in temperatures like these, any strenuous activity should be done early in the morning or late in the evening once things cool off.
"The message is, don't think you can just push through the heat. Pay attention to your bodies and be aware and be very careful," said Kirk Watson, mayor of Austin, Texas.
SEE MORE: Why is Texas so hot right now? A heat dome — and it could grow
Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com | https://www.wrtv.com/deadly-heat-continues-in-southern-states-with-more-expected-this-week | 2023-06-27 03:46:42 | 0 | https://www.wrtv.com/deadly-heat-continues-in-southern-states-with-more-expected-this-week |
As voting experts cheered the losses of election conspiracy theorists in numerous high-profile races on Election Day, Paddy McGuire prepared to hand over his office to one of them.
McGuire, the auditor of Mason County in western Washington, lost his reelection bid to Steve Duenkel, a Republican who has echoed former President Donald Trump’s lies about the 2020 election. Duenkel, who invited a prominent election conspiracist to the area and led a door-to-door effort to find voter fraud, defeated McGuire by 100 votes in the conservative-leaning county of 60,000.
“There are all these stories about the election denier secretary of state candidates who lost in purple states,” said McGuire, referring to the state office that normally oversees voting. “But secretaries of state don’t count ballots. Those of us on the ground, whether we’re clerks or auditors or recorders, do.”
Republicans who supported Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election lost bids for statewide offices that play key roles in overseeing voting in the six states that decided the last presidential election, as well as in races across the country.
But an untold number won in local elections to control the positions that run on-the-ground election operations in counties, cities and townships across the country.
“Without a doubt, election denial is alive and well, and this is a continuing threat,” said Joanna Lydgate of States United, a group highlighting the risk of election conspiracy theorists trying to take over election administration.
Of the nine Republicans running for secretary of state who echoed Trump’s lies about the 2020 presidential election or supported his efforts to overturn its results, three won — all in Republican-dominated states.
In Alabama, state Rep. Wes Allen isn’t even waiting to take office before making waves. Last week, he announced that once he becomes secretary of state he will withdraw from ERIC, a multistate database of voter registrations. The system is designed to notify states when voters need to be removed because they’ve relocated, but it’s become a target of election conspiracy theorists.
Allen echoed those conspiracy theories during his campaign, but in a statement last week he instead said he was motivated by a desire to protect the privacy of Alabama voters. His call to exit ERIC drew a stark rebuke from the state’s outgoing secretary of state, John Merrill, a fellow Republican.
“So, if Wes Allen plans to remove Alabama from its relationship with ERIC, how does he intend to maintain election security without access to the necessary data, legal authority, or capability to conduct proper voter list maintenance?” Merrill’s office said in a statement, referencing how ERIC flags when a voter has moved out of state and can be removed from Alabama’s rolls.
In deeply conservative Wyoming, Republican Chuck Gray was the only candidate for secretary of state on the ballot. Once he won the GOP primary in August, his ascension was guaranteed.
In Indiana, Diego Morales ousted the incumbent secretary of state, a fellow Republican, during the party’s nominating convention by echoing Trump’s conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election. He reined in his rhetoric during his successful general election campaign.
Morales did not respond to a request for comment. He was the only one of 17 Republican election conspiracists in a group called the America First Secretary of State Coalition to win his general election race.
The record is far murkier at the local level, where elections are actually run and ballots are counted.
There are thousands of separate election offices in the U.S. In many states, elections are conducted by county offices overseen by clerks or auditors, though in some they are administered at the municipal level in cities or even townships.
No organization tracks local election offices. The Democratic group Run for Something, alarmed at the prospect of election conspiracists occupying these posts, started an initiative to support candidates it dubbed “defenders of democracy” this year. It estimated 1,700 separate elections were being held either for posts to run elections, or for bodies such as county commissions that appoint election directors.
Amanda Litman, co-founder of the organization, said the group was tracking 32 races where they supported candidates. Their candidate won in 17 races and lost in 12, while three have yet to be called. Most significantly, she said, they won eight races against election deniers, and lost only three.
“It’s generally a good sign that when you’re able to make the stakes of the race about democracy, you win,” Litman said.
Still, she added, it’s hard to track all the potential election conspiracy theorists who got into local office: “It’s a little bit unknowable.”
Some prominent election conspiracy theorists did win local posts.
In the Atlanta area, Bridget Thorne, who attended numerous meetings of the Fulton County Commission to talk about conspiracy theories revolving around the 2020 election, won a post on the commission. However, it’s dominated by Democrats, so she likely will have limited ability to bring pressure on the county’s elections department.
In Washoe County, the swing area in Nevada that includes Reno, Republican Mike Clark won one of the five county commission seats. He told a local newspaper that “I don’t have any personal knowledge” of whether President Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 election.
And in Mason County, Duenkel spread conspiracy theories about local and national elections. He helped lead a group of volunteers who went door-to-door checking for voters who didn’t live where they were registered, and claimed they had found thousands. A local television station retraced their steps and found numerous errors by the group.
Still, every Republican on the ballot won Mason County this election. McGuire said he called Duenkel to congratulate him and left him a voice mail, but never got a call back. Duenkel also did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
“He got more votes than me and he won,” McGuire said. “That’s what an election professional does — respect the will of the voters and stand behind the results, whether one is happy about the outcome or not.”
___
Learn more about the issues and factors at play in the midterms at https://apnews.com/hub/explaining-the-elections. And follow the AP’s election coverage of the 2022 elections at https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections.
___
Associated Press coverage of democracy receives support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | https://www.qcnews.com/news/politics/election/ap-election-conspiracists-claim-some-races-for-local-offices/ | 2022-11-20 12:05:25 | 1 | https://www.qcnews.com/news/politics/election/ap-election-conspiracists-claim-some-races-for-local-offices/ |
GARDENA, Calif., April 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Citizen Systems America Corporation, a leading manufacturer of world-class printing technology, announces the newest addition to its desktop barcode printer lineup with the release of the new CL-H300SV at NRF 2023 in New York City.
The new CL-H300SV barcode label printer provides outstanding value and more reliable printing options. Key vertical market segments require safer printing technology to better protect the wellness of their employees. The silver-ion infused plastics material, or "protective housing" used in the construction of the product, provides a "passive kill" to suppress growth of germs transmitted through human touch. The ability to disinfect the plastics also provides a potential layer of protection for employees and patients in healthcare applications that require printing.
"Healthcare requires products that help reduce contamination and add value to infection control within the hospital, clinic, pharmacy and beyond," said Tino Reis, Director of Healthcare Sales at Citizen Systems America. "We continue to provide core features, functionality and cost of ownership values our customers expect, but also options for more clean-ready products when they require them. We partner with key integrators, like Peripheral Resources Inc., to create even more value and support for our mutual end-user customers."
Peripheral Resources Inc. (PRI) is a long-time distribution partner and master systems integrator for Citizen Systems America. Specializing in healthcare industry installations, PRI is the primary partner for CL-H300SV integrations in the United States.
The CL-H300SV and other technology partner products with disinfectant ready and silver-ion infused passive germ-kill technology, will be on display at the company's booth (#121) co-hosted with Peripheral Resources Inc. (PRI) during the HIMSS tradeshow beginning April 18th, 2023.
Following strict guidelines published on the company's web page, https://www.citizen-systems.com/us/support/189/, Citizen products should only be cleaned and sanitized with specific chemical and cleaning agents that have passed the company's testing criteria of frequent sanitizing.
*The CL-H300SV, printer is not available for resell into Canada.
About Citizen Systems America
"Citizen Systems America" is the America subsidiary of Citizen Systems Japan - the electronic products affiliate of Citizen Watch Co. Ltd., the world-renowned manufacturer of fine watch timepieces. Citizen headquarters is located in the greater Los Angeles area, California.
Citizen develops and markets printers for point-of-sale, barcode and label, portable and general thermal technology usage applications. Citizen provides solutions that are used in a variety of industries including, retail, hospitality, manufacturing, food service, healthcare and many more.
For over four decades, Citizen products have set the standard for performance, reliability, and value in the marketplace. For more information, please visit Citizen Systems America's website at: www.citizen-systems.com/us.
Editorial Contact:
Austin Snowden
Citizen Systems America Corporation
Phone: (310) 781-1460
asnowden@citizen-systems.com
CITIZEN SYSTEMS AMERICA CORPORATION
1411 W. 190th Street, Suite 675
Gardena, CA 90248
(310) 781-1460 Fax (310) 781-9152
http://www.citizen-systems.com/us
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SOURCE Citizen Systems America | https://www.weau.com/prnewswire/2023/04/10/citizens-new-cl-h300sv-anti-microbial-disinfectant-ready-barcode-label-printer-featured-himss-2023/ | 2023-04-10 15:38:16 | 0 | https://www.weau.com/prnewswire/2023/04/10/citizens-new-cl-h300sv-anti-microbial-disinfectant-ready-barcode-label-printer-featured-himss-2023/ |
‘I felt helpless’: Kentucky family survives floods after stranded on hill for 16 hours
PERRY COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT/Gray News) - A woman in Kentucky is sharing her harrowing story of how she escaped rising floodwaters last week with her grandmother.
Naomie Williams told WKYT that she was with her 82-year-old grandmother, Carylon, when the flooding started in their southeastern Kentucky neighborhood.
“When we walked out in it, it hit us chest deep,” Williams said. “The whole time, I was saying, ‘please let me make it back home to my family.’”
Williams said the two were treading water for over an hour, trying to reach a hill behind their home.
“I can’t describe the feeling that I felt in the water. I felt helpless. It was so strong, but we made it out of there because of the Lord, honestly,” Williams said.
She said there wasn’t much to grab onto as she tried to keep herself and her grandmother, who can’t swim, above water.
“It was just a limb, not even a tree; a limb is what we held. Somehow, I managed to pull us both up out of the water,” Williams said. “We got onto the hill but couldn’t stay steady for more than a few minutes as the water kept rising. So, it was like a continuous climb up a steep mountain.”
She said their climb lasted 16 hours until emergency crews arrived.
“The next day, the rescue squad came and got to us. It was the best day of my life for sure,” Williams said.
According to Williams, the two suffered a few scratches and poison ivy in the ordeal but were both very happy to have survived the dangerous flooding.
Copyright 2022 WKYT via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.newschannel6now.com/2022/08/05/i-felt-helpless-kentucky-woman-survives-floods-after-16-hours-hill-with-grandmother/ | 2022-08-05 03:06:56 | 1 | https://www.newschannel6now.com/2022/08/05/i-felt-helpless-kentucky-woman-survives-floods-after-16-hours-hill-with-grandmother/ |
A brush fire in California spawned what appeared to be a smoke-nado.
The whirlwind of smoke rose from the brush fire below as large plumes billowed over the area.
More than 200 firefighters battled the blaze in Gorman.
The Sam Fire grew to 50 acres in just an hour and a half.
According to state officials, the fire, which began Wednesday, has burned almost 150 acres.
Officials say the fire is 80% contained.
No structures were damaged.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. | https://www.kgun9.com/news/national/video-california-brush-fire-creates-smokenado | 2022-08-11 16:04:58 | 1 | https://www.kgun9.com/news/national/video-california-brush-fire-creates-smokenado |
Facility part of global network of centers designed to accelerate development and adoption of aluminum solutions
NOVI, Mich., Sept. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Novelis Inc., a leading sustainable aluminum solutions provider and world leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, today celebrated the opening of its Customer Solution Center (CSC) for automotive in Novi, Michigan, a suburb of Metro Detroit. The $35 million facility is part of Novelis' global network of CSCs, which are designed to speed the development of aluminum solutions through collaboration between the company and its customers, as well as others in the value chain. Through the centers, Novelis partners with automakers and Tier 1 suppliers to maximize lightweight, high-strength aluminum in the next generation of vehicle design. In addition to the facility in Novi, Novelis operates automotive CSCs in Stuttgart, Germany, and Shanghai, China.
"Novelis' network of Customer Solution Centers is a centerpiece of our purpose, which is shaping a sustainable world together," said Philippe Meyer, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Novelis Inc. "As a leading automotive aluminum supplier, this investment will strengthen the partnerships we have with our customers and ensure that innovative, low-carbon aluminum adoption continues to grow across the world."
The company's 100 employees in Novi represent expertise in research and technology, technical development and commercial support. The center's high-tech equipment ranges from a hot stamping press to computer-aided design (CAD) software to visualization technologies that model vehicle safety scenarios. These capabilities enable Novelis to develop new aluminum solutions and demonstrate their benefits for current and future vehicle applications. Customers and Tier 1 suppliers are using the center to see these benefits firsthand, which include lighter designs, greener lifecycles, and simpler, more cost-effective solutions.
"Today marks an important milestone for our dedicated and talented team of automotive aluminum experts in Novi," said Olga Alavanou, Vice President Automotive, Novelis North America. "This facility perfectly represents who we are, and we are thrilled to use it to partner with our customers every step of the way as they design exciting, next generation vehicles."
Since launching the Customer Solution Centers in 2018, Novelis has made several advancements in automotive innovation. Examples include an aluminum intensive battery enclosure solution for electric vehicles; all-new high strength and heat-treatable alloys that are designed to compete with ultra-high strength, hot-formed steel solutions; and research proving out the benefits of aluminum use in doors and closures, one of the fastest growing aluminum applications in new vehicles. In addition, the company has worked to increase the amount of recycled aluminum in automotive alloys and expanded closed-loop recycling systems, which take back aluminum scrap from customers generated during the stamping process and recycle it back into the same product.
"In an era of increasing complexity in the global automotive marketplace, these centers confirm that Novelis is prepared to partner with our customers across the world," said Jamie Zinser, Vice President, Global Automotive, Novelis. "Whether it is aluminum door research in Novi or electrification advancements in Shanghai, Novelis aims to innovate alongside our customers every step of the way."
Novelis welcomed nearly 200 attendees to its ribbon cutting celebration, including customers, suppliers, local leaders from the City of Novi and Oakland County and representatives from State Senator Jim Runestad and U.S. Senator Gary Peters.
Aluminum is the fastest growing automotive material according to DuckerFrontier. For more than 40 years, Novelis has been a leading global supplier of aluminum sheet to the industry, with an automotive manufacturing footprint in Asia, North America and Europe. Its product portfolio includes high-performing alloys that are featured on more than 315 models on the road today, including the iconic Ford F-150, Jeep Wrangler and Jaguar Land Rover.
About Novelis
Novelis Inc. is driven by its purpose of shaping a sustainable world together. We are a global leader in the production of innovative aluminum products and solutions and the world's largest recycler of aluminum. Our ambition is to be the leading provider of low-carbon, sustainable aluminum solutions and to achieve a fully circular economy by partnering with our suppliers, as well as our customers in the aerospace, automotive, beverage can and specialties industries throughout North America, Europe, Asia and South America. Novelis had net sales of $17.1 billion in fiscal year 2022. Novelis is a subsidiary of Hindalco Industries Limited, an industry leader in aluminum and copper, and the metals flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, a multinational conglomerate based in Mumbai. For more information, visit novelis.com.
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SOURCE Novelis Inc. | https://www.wbtv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/15/novelis-celebrates-opening-35-million-customer-solution-center-automotive-market-michigan/ | 2022-09-15 19:20:43 | 0 | https://www.wbtv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/15/novelis-celebrates-opening-35-million-customer-solution-center-automotive-market-michigan/ |
ANNECY, France, Sept. 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- After four races in Europe, the Golden Trail Series has headed to the United States for two mythical races in just two weeks. An opportunity to bring together all the European athletes for an exceptional road trip and for them to compete with the best American trail runners.
Two races in two weeks
In order to enable as many European trail runners as possible to compete in the American races, the Golden Trail Series decided to schedule two mythical races over just two weeks. On the programme, Pikes Peak Ascent and its mythical peak at 4,300 metres altitude on 17 September, then Flagstaff Sky Peaks the following week. Both races were won by the same two athletes: Rémi Bonnet (team Salomon /Red Bull, Switzerland) for the men, and Nienke Brinkman (team Nike Trail, Netherlands) for the women. Two victories in two weeks, putting these athletes at the top of the general ranking before the final in Madeira.
A road trip for creating strong ties
But the Golden Trail Series isn't just about performance out on the trails. The aim of this global series is to create ties between athletes. And what better than a road trip through Colorado, Utah and Arizona to bring these trail runners together? For two weeks the athletes lived together as a community, sharing and getting to know each other. They were also able to explore Moab and its Arches National Park, the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, etc.
On track for the finale!
We now know which 30 men and which 30 women have qualified for the final in Madeira. As a reminder, the final consists of five days of trail running, during which each runner can earn extra points for the overall ranking (https://madeiragtwsfinal.com). So even at this stage, everything can still change! See you in Madeira on 26 October for the first stage!
Find the Golden Trail World Series 2022 general ranking here: https://goldentrailseries.com/series/gtws.htm.
Golden Trail TV: goldentrailseries.com/gttv/
Website: goldentrailseries.com
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SOURCE Golden Trail Series | https://www.kfyrtv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/29/golden-trail-series-sets-out-conquer-america/ | 2022-09-29 13:50:38 | 0 | https://www.kfyrtv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/29/golden-trail-series-sets-out-conquer-america/ |
Twitter Inc. is set to charge users $8 per month for the privilege of having the blue-tick honorific put on their account. We know this because Elon Musk said so, one of of many proposals the world’s richest man has put forth over the past year aimed at improving the social media platform and its profitability.
The key difference is that Musk is now the owner, chairman, and chief executive officer. What he says, goes. Unless he changes his mind, which he won’t do. Or he’s simply joking, which also happens. This feels pretty real, though, given that he’s talked about it quite regularly in the past.
The point of the blue tick is to confirm that the person or organization is whom they purport to be. Users generally want to know that the senator tweeting about tax policy is really an elected representative, or the sports star announcing their retirement is legitimate. This builds on the assumption that we don’t really care if Joe from across the street really is Joe from across the street — unless he becomes famous and influential, in which case a blue tick may follow.
Musk calls this delineation a “lords & peasants system.” Joe from across the street has just as much claim to legitimacy as POTUS44. He’s right. You and I may not care about Joe’s identity, but his neighbor may want to know whether a hoard of zombies really was seen marching down the street where they both live. And the blue tick not only brings authenticity, but also accountability. Musk’s own tweets were used against him in legal battles, and being able to confirm they truly were sent by the Tesla Inc. CEO was key to that process.
Yet Musk, in his desperation to introduce a subscription service instead of relying solely on ads, may be conflating the need to broaden verification with the desirability of a premium offering that caters to well-heeled users who want more from the platform.
Among the other benefits of Musk’s Twitter Blue service would be priority in replies, mentions and search, and a paywall bypass for publishers, he further tweeted. If this is indeed how the product rolls out, then what Twitter is building would be a pay-to-play platform that amplifies those with money and by definition diminishes those without. A current version of Twitter Blue, for $4.99 per month, offers a different set of features, including bookmark folders and an undo button but is not a prerequisite for the blue checkmark.
This faux-socialism is akin to Marie Antoinette suggesting that peasants who have no bread instead eat cake. It’s tone deaf, at best, possibly dangerous at worst.
Consider a human rights activist in a repressed nation who uses the platform to share videos of corruption and abuses. Beyond being unable to afford $96 per year,(1) they might not have access to the payments systems required to pony up, and may have legitimate reasons to not wish to share the personally-identifiable information that goes with paying a monthly fee. By contrast, a diplomat or information minister of that same nation is more than willing to foot the bill for the right to shout down critics and whitewash allegations of corruption.
And in some cases, it may not even be legal to charge for such authentication. India, for example, is set to require that all social media users get verified by the platform. While the rules don’t specifically ban charging for this process, it’s likely that complaints and legal challenges would ensue if a Western technology giant tried to extract $8 per month from Indian consumers for something legally mandated.
Then there’s the issue of value for money. This is not just some esoteric matter of those who find value will pay for it, and those who don’t will not. Twitter Blue is less than a third the price of LinkedIn Premium, the subscription service that gives job-seekers a leg up in the job market. It’s priced just under that of content services from Netflix Inc. and Spotify Technology SA, the success of which lends credence to the idea that Twitter too can get away with charging a monthly fee.
There’s a huge difference, though. Your enjoyment and value from Netflix or Spotify doesn’t come from how many other people are on the service, it comes from what the company itself provides. Twitter, being user-generated, benefits from the millions of users who flock to the site to share ideas and opinions. Deliberately or inadvertently cutting swathes of people out of the conversation lessens the platform without necessarily making it cleaner or safer.
While it may not sound very egalitarian, it does make sense to delineate users. What Barack Obama or Donald Trump write has more weight than the musings of Joe from across the street. It is also reasonable to try to recalibrate that balance in favor of Joe. Real-name verification is one solution, though problematic for those who truly need anonymity to preserve their safety.
Charging for the privilege, and giving free passes to select groups like politicians and journalists, isn’t the right approach. Blue, as it’s laid out, will succeed in dividing Twitter further between the haves and the have nots.
More From This Writer and Others at Bloomberg Opinion:
• Chief Twit Elon Musk Makes a Disastrous Start: Parmy Olson
• Musk Gutting Twitter Would Be a Threat to Us All: Tim Culpan
• Musk-Driven Dogecoin Jump Is Twitter Warning: Lionel Laurent
(1) Musk said the price would be adjusted by country proportional to purchasing power parity.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.
Tim Culpan is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering technology in Asia. Previously, he was a technology reporter for Bloomberg News.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion
©2022 Bloomberg L.P. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/elon-musks-pay-to-play-strategy-will-make-twitter-tooclubby/2022/11/02/bf863312-5ae9-11ed-bc40-b5a130f95ee7_story.html | 2022-11-03 06:23:35 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/elon-musks-pay-to-play-strategy-will-make-twitter-tooclubby/2022/11/02/bf863312-5ae9-11ed-bc40-b5a130f95ee7_story.html |
ROME (AP) — The executive director of the United Nations World Food Program, which won the Nobel Peace Prize two years ago, says he will step down at the end of a six-year term heading the world’s largest humanitarian organization.
David Beasley, a Republican, served one term as South Carolina’s governor from 1995 to 1999. In a statement Saturday, Beasley said he will exit his role at the conclusion of his term in April 2023.
“Serving in this capacity has been the greatest joy and deepest heartache of my life,” Beasley said. “Thanks to the generosity of governments and individuals, we have fed so many millions of people. But the reality is we have not been able to feed them all — and the tragedy of extreme hunger in a wealthy world persists.”
Beasley was appointed to the U.N. post in 2017 by then-U.S. President Donald Trump, and was recommended for the job by Nikki Haley, another former South Carolina governor. Haley also served as the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. during the Trump administration. Beasley succeeded Ertharin Cousin, an American lawyer and former U.S. ambassador.
The World Food Program won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020 for fighting hunger and seeking to end its use as “a weapon of war and conflict” at a time when the coronavirus pandemic threatened to exacerbate starvation.
In March 2022, Beasley’s term was extended under the Biden administration for an extra year. In September, he said that when he assumed his role in 2017, only 80 million people around the world were headed toward starvation. But climate problems, the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine increased that number to 135 million.
The Rome-based World Food Program was established in 1961 at the behest of U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower and has brought aid to multiple crises, including Ethiopia’s famine of 1984, the Asian tsunami of 2004 and the Haiti earthquake of 2010.
Beasley said the process to select his successor has already begun.
___
This story has been corrected to reflect that Beasley’s term was extended in March 2022, not March 2021. | https://www.wivb.com/news/ap-nobel-prize-winning-un-world-food-program-head-to-step-down/ | 2022-12-19 19:42:40 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/ap-nobel-prize-winning-un-world-food-program-head-to-step-down/ |
Continuing the rain chances
COLUMBUS, Mississippi (WCBI)- It is going to be a sticky week with high levels of humidity, as the rain continues to fall. Temperatures are also going to be above average for several more days.
TUESDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy to overcast sky conditions will continue through the night. There is a 20% chance of seeing some light showers tonight. Overnight low temperatures will fall into the middle 60s.
WEDNESDAY: Sky conditions will continue to be mostly cloudy, with a 40% chance of rain showers. High temperatures will make their way into the low to middle 70s. Overnight low temperatures will be in the upper 50s.
THURSDAY: The temperatures will reach the middle 70s. Cloud coverage will be a little lighter, partly to mostly cloudy. There will also be a little bit less of a rain chance on Thursday, 20%. Low temperatures will drop into the lower 60s.
FRIDAY: Rain chances and cloud coverage both increase. Cloud coverage will become mostly cloudy to overcast again. The rain chance will return to a 40% chance of seeing showers, mostly during the day. High temperatures will be in the lower 70s, and low temperatures will fall into the lower 50s. | https://www.wcbi.com/continuing-the-rain-chances/ | 2022-12-07 01:31:59 | 1 | https://www.wcbi.com/continuing-the-rain-chances/ |
Few teams draft better than the Ravens.
Since 2000, only the New England Patriots (17) have selected more players than Baltimore (16) who have gone on to be named first-team All-Pro. In the past five years, the Ravens are also the only team to have drafted an eventual NFL Most Valuable Player, which quarterback Lamar Jackson was in 2019.
Other notable players the Ravens have drafted in the past five years include All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowl tight end Mark Andrews and four-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr., both in the third round in 2018; All-Pro kick returner and wide receiver Devin Duvernay in the third round in 2020; and emerging linebacker Patrick Queen in the first round in 2020.
There have been plenty of other contributors, too. A pair of 2022 first-round picks, safety Kyle Hamilton and center Tyler Linderbaum, were among the league’s best rookies. J.K. Dobbins, drafted in the second round in 2020, rushed for nine touchdowns and led all NFL running backs in yards per carry (6.0) as a rookie before suffering a torn ACL the following year.
Just how good was Baltimore’s haul five years ago? Well, Pro Football Focus ranked the Ravens’ 2018 draft class as the third-best in the league over the past 15 years, behind only the 2010 Seattle Seahawks and 2017 New Orleans Saints.
There have been occasional misses by Baltimore — tight end Hayden Hurst with the 25th overall pick in 2018, seven spots before Jackson, would be among the biggest — but they’ve been rare.
Yet, there have also been few playoff wins of late. Since their 2012 Super Bowl title, the Ravens are just 2-5 in the postseason and have missed the playoffs four times.
Still, Baltimore enters this year’s draft with just five picks — Nos. 22 (first round), 86 (third round), 124 (fourth round), 157 (fifth round) and 199 (sixth round) — and a roster built to win now after finishing 10-7 last season and nearly knocking off the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC wild-card round despite being without Jackson for its final six games.
Since then, the Ravens have added to their wide receiver corps with the free agent signings of two-time All-Pro Odell Beckham Jr. and veteran Nelson Agholor. The Ravens are also returning their three-headed backfield of J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards and Justice Hill.
Jackson’s uncertain future, meanwhile, continues to loom over if not control the Ravens’ offseason. General manager Eric DeCosta and coach John Harbaugh have both said they love Jackson, want him to be their quarterback for the long term and are operating as if he will be under center next season. But they’ve also spoken about a need for contingency plans.
How will all of it shape their approach to this year’s draft? Here are five questions that could determine what the Ravens do.
Do the Ravens trade Lamar Jackson on draft night?
Most indications from draft insiders are that the Carolina Panthers will use the first overall pick on Alabama quarterback Bryce Young. The Houston Texans pick second, and there is not a consensus on what they will do — select a quarterback, trade back and take one, or go with another position altogether. The Arizona Cardinals pick third, and with a quarterback already in place in Kyler Murray and several holes on the roster, they are expected to entertain trade offers to stockpile picks or take a defensive player. Then there are the Indianapolis Colts with the No. 4 pick, which is where things could get interesting for the Ravens.
If the Cardinals trade the No. 3 pick to a quarterback-needy team, that could prevent the Colts from getting the signal-caller they want among the consensus top four of Young, C.J. Stroud of Ohio State, Anthony Richardson of Florida and Will Levis of Kentucky. Could they then turn to the city they once resided in to strike a deal for Jackson?
Indianapolis has the draft capital with nine picks this year, and Colts general manager Chris Ballard didn’t rule out the idea of signing Jackson during last month’s NFL owners meetings, saying, “I’m not gonna get into deep discussions on where it’s at or what we’re doing or what we might do, but what I’ll tell you is he’s a really good player, really special player. But you never know how any of this will work out.” Trading for Jackson as opposed to simply signing him to an offer sheet also avoids the possibility of the Ravens matching it.
The guy who writes the checks, however, seemed less bullish, with owner Jim Irsay saying last month that he does not believe in fully guaranteed contracts, which is something Jackson has reportedly long sought.
The Ravens trading Jackson on draft night would be the story of the draft, and it seems like an unlikely one, but after a two-year-long stalemate on contract negotiations, a trade demand and fatigue on both sides, it can’t be completely discounted. It would also set the organization in a new direction five years after the Ravens drafted Jackson to ultimately replace Joe Flacco.
Do the Ravens draft a cornerback or wide receiver in the first round?
Most mock drafts have the Ravens going after a cornerback or wide receiver with their first-round pick (No. 22 overall). Both are positions of need, and without another pick until the third round (No. 86), it will be critical for them to get this right. The cornerback class is a bit deeper than the receiver class — PFF ranked 28 corners among its top 200 prospects, compared to 24 receivers — but the far more pressing need is at corner after the Ravens added Beckham and Agholor in the offseason and let Marcus Peters hit free agency.
The Ravens have Marlon Humphrey on one side, while Brandon Stephens, Damarion “Pepe” Williams and Jalyn Armour-Davis struggled last season.
“We’re a team that always feels like you can never have enough good corners,” DeCosta said at the team’s season-ending news conference in January. In a division that includes the Cincinnati Bengals’ young duo of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins (both coming off 1,000-yard seasons) and Tyler Boyd, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Diontae Johnson, George Pickens and Allen Robinson, and the Browns’ Amari Cooper, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Elijah Moore, that’s an understatement.
The popular pick among draftniks is Maryland’s Deonte Banks, who grew up in Baltimore and said at the NFL scouting combine that the opportunity to play for the Ravens would be “a dream come true.” It might be for Baltimore, too, given that Banks compares favorably to Humphrey in size, style, and personality, according to ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid.
Taking a corner would then likely mean digging deeper when it comes to a receiver, a position Harbaugh said during the NFL owners meetings (before the Ravens acquired Beckham) the Ravens will add to during the draft. Two possibilities in the middle rounds, according to ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr.: Ole Miss’ Jonathan Mingo, who met with the Ravens recently, and Wake Forest’s A.T. Perry, who would fit well in the team’s run-pass option scheme.
Will the Ravens trade back to acquire more picks?
With their fewest picks since 1999 and tied for the second-fewest of any team in the NFL in the draft, there’s a good chance the Ravens will look to trade their No. 22 pick to move back and acquire an extra pick or two, something DeCosta said he has an interest in doing.
“Our goal would be to add picks if we can at some point,” he said at the team’s predraft news conference earlier this month. “In saying that, I think it’s important to note that we’ve had a lot of picks over the past four [to] five years. You get to a point where maybe having too many picks isn’t necessarily the right thing. You almost have to have a purge at some point because you have all these young players on the team, and they can’t all make the team if you just keep stacking these huge, massive draft classes.”
Still, the Ravens moving back not only wouldn’t be a surprise, it would be familiar territory.
Baltimore has traded back several times in recent drafts, including twice in the first round a year ago and in 2019. Last year, they moved from 23rd to 25th in a deal with the Buffalo Bills that also landed them a fourth-round pick. In 2019, they swapped with the Philadelphia Eagles, moving from No. 22 to No. 25, and got fourth- and sixth-round picks for doing so.
“I think the chances for us to be able to do it are pretty decent,” DeCosta said. “We have to look at the capital that we can get by trading back, and we’ll make the best decision that we can.”
Will they trade linebacker Patrick Queen during the draft?
Another way for the Ravens to acquire more picks in this year’s draft would be to deal one of their rising young players in Queen, who is coming off his third and most productive year in the league.
Why would Baltimore want to get rid of one of its best young defensive players who has seen his PFF grade go from 29.7 in 2020, to 43.5 in 2021, to 70 last season after a career-best 117 tackles? While the 23-year-old remains an inexpensive piece with a cap number of just over $3.8 million for 2023, the Ravens have until Monday to decide whether to pick up his fifth-year option, which will be worth $12.277 million, according to Over The Cap.
With five years and $100 million already tied up in fellow linebacker Roquan Smith, who will carry a $9 million cap hit this year, $13.5 million in 2024, $22.5 million in 2025 and $27.5 million in 2026 and 2027, that would be an awful lot of money for two linebackers, particularly with Jackson potentially carrying a big number if the Ravens are able to eventually sign him to a lucrative deal that he wants. The asking price for Queen won’t be cheap, though — likely a pick in the second or early third round — and the Ravens would also have to seek his replacement.
It’s worth noting the Ravens traded wide receiver Marquise Brown, who was also entering his fourth year and had yet to be awarded his fifth-year option, to the Cardinals during last year’s first round. So there is precedent here.
Monday is also noteworthy for another reason. After that, an unrestricted free agent signing doesn’t count toward the compensatory pick formula. The Ravens have a potential 2024 fourth-round compensatory pick for losing guard Ben Powers in free agency, and it’s unlikely they would deem it worthy to lose a fourth-rounder to sign a free agent. They could have several signings after Monday, though, and that would probably impact how they approach the draft.
What other positions will the Ravens look at?
Speaking of Powers, his departure means there will again be competition for the starting left guard spot. Ben Cleveland or John Simpson are two possibilities, but both have struggled at times. Patrick Mekari and Daniel Faalele are two others Harbaugh has mentioned. But teams can never have too much depth on the offensive line, and even if it’s not a deep class for interior offensive linemen, they could look there on Day 2 or 3 of the draft.
Likewise, the loss of Calais Campbell in free agency leaves the Ravens with a need to add depth along the defensive line, even with Justin Madubuike, Broderick Washington, Brent Urban, Michael Pierce and Travis Jones coming back. However, all but Jones are eligible for free agency after this season. Baltimore also has a history of drafting defensive linemen — the last time the Ravens didn’t select at least one was in 2008.
The Ravens have a long history of selecting running backs as well, having drafted one in three of the past four years and eight total over the past 10. Dobbins, Edwards and Hill are the only running backs under contract at the moment, though it’s possible they could bring back Kenyan Drake or add another veteran in free agency. But with each of their current trio entering the final year of their respective contracts, drafting one in what is widely considered a deep running back class would be a good option to fill another need.
NFL draft
Round 1: Thursday, 8 p.m.
Rounds 2-3: Friday, 7 p.m.
Rounds 4-7: Saturday, noon
TV: ESPN, NFL Network, Chs. 2, 7
() | https://www.twincities.com/2023/04/27/five-questions-that-could-shape-the-ravens-2023-draft/ | 2023-04-27 10:50:32 | 1 | https://www.twincities.com/2023/04/27/five-questions-that-could-shape-the-ravens-2023-draft/ |
Updated July 23, 2023 at 9:27 PM ET
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — The ruling party of Cambodia's longtime Prime Minister Hun Sen claimed a landslide victory in Sunday's general election, an outcome that was virtually assured after the suppression and intimidation of the opposition in a vote called a farce of democracy.
Hun Sen posted on his Telegram channel late Sunday that unofficial results compiled by authorities in each province showed the Cambodian People's Party won 120 seats and the royalist FUNCINPEC party won five.
The National Election Committee said 84.6% of eligible voters had cast ballots. CPP spokesperson Sok Eysan told The Associated Press he believed his party captured 78-80% of the total turnout.
The European Union, the United States and other Western countries had refused to send observers to the polls, saying the election lacked the conditions to be considered free and fair. That left international officials from Russia, China and Guinea-Bissau to watch as Hun Sun voted shortly after the polls opened in his home district outside of the capital, Phnom Penh.
He held his ballot high for all to see, before depositing it into the silver metal box and leaving the station, pausing to take selfies and shake hands with supporters outside.
The longest-serving leader in Asia, Hun Sen has steadily consolidated power with strong-arm tactics over the last 38 years. But, at age 70, he has suggested he will hand off the premiership during the upcoming five-year term to his oldest son, Hun Manet, perhaps as early as the first month after the elections.
Hun Manet, 45, is chief of Cambodia's army. He is a West Point graduate with a master's degree from New York University and a doctorate from Bristol University in Britain.
Despite his Western education, however, observers don't expect any immediate shifts in policy after his father steadily moved Cambodia closer to China in recent years.
"I don't think anyone expects Hun Sen to sort of disappear once Hun Manet is prime minister," said Astrid Norén-Nilsson, a Cambodia expert at Sweden's Lund University. "I think they will probably be working closely together and I don't think that there is a big difference in their political outlook, including foreign policy."
Hun Manet is part of an expected generational change in the ruling party, which plans to install younger leaders in most ministerial positions.
"That's going to be the big change of guard, that's what I'm watching," Norén-Nilsson said. "It's all about the transition, it's all about who's going to come in and in what positions they find themselves."
At the station where Hun Sen cast his ballot, voter Nan Sy, a former lawmaker himself with a smaller royalist party, said the main issue for him was stability.
"Without stability we cannot talk about education, we cannot talk about development," the 59-year-old said without saying who he voted for.
There were few reports of any protests against the elections, but Gen. Khieu Sopheak, Cambodia's national police spokesperson, said 27 people were being sought over allegations they called for voters to spoil their ballots in a Telegram chat channel. He said there had been two arrests at polling stations as well.
Hun Sen had been a middle-ranking commander in the radical communist Khmer Rouge responsible for genocide in the 1970s before defecting to Vietnam. When Vietnam ousted the Khmer Rouge from power in 1979, he quickly became a senior member of the new Cambodian government installed by Hanoi.
A wily and sometimes ruthless politician, Hun Sen has maintained power as an autocrat in a nominally democratic framework.
His party's stranglehold on power faltered in 2013 elections, in which the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party won 44% of the popular vote to CPP's 48%. Hun Sen responded by going after leaders of the opposition, primarily through sympathetic courts, which eventually dissolved the party after local elections in 2017 when it again fared well.
Ahead of Sunday's election, the Candlelight Party, the unofficial successor to the CNRP and only other contender capable of mounting a credible challenge, was barred on a technicality from contesting the polls by the National Election Committee.
The methods prompted widespread criticism from rights groups.
Human Rights Watch said the "election bears little resemblance to an actual democratic process," while the Asian Network for Free Elections, an umbrella organization of almost 20 regional NGOs, said the National Election Committee had showed a "clear bias" toward the CPP in barring the Candlelight Party.
"Such disqualification further exacerbates the imbalanced and unjust political environment, leaving minimal room for opposition voices to compete on equal footing with the ruling party," the group said in a joint statement.
"Moreover, the shrinking space available for civil society and the deliberate targeting of human rights defenders and activists raise serious alarm. The constriction of civic space undermines the active participation of civil society in the electoral process without fear of reprisal."
Compared to the way the opposition was neutralized in 2018, popular discontent this time did not seem widespread, Norén-Nilsson said, because Hun Sen and the CPP have been effective at building a sense among Cambodians that they are part of a new national project.
The strategy has involved careful messaging, with sweeping slogans like "small country, big heart," and little talk about policy, she said.
"It's really quite astonishing how the CPP has managed to gain at least acceptance for what we see now," she said. "If before people thought that the glass was half empty, now it's half full, so you focus more on what you have than don't have."
With the Candlelight Party out of the running, 18 parties participated and only two won seats.
FUNCINPEC is a French acronym for the National Front for an Independent, Neutral and Cooperative Cambodia. It was founded in 1981 by Cambodia's late King Norodom Sihanouk and defeated the CPP in U.N.-run elections in 1993, but his son, Norodom Ranariddh, ended up having to agree to a co-premiership with Hun Sen. The party has evolved into a tamed opposition force that rarely challenges the ruling party's actions.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wboi.org/npr-news/npr-news/2023-07-23/hun-sens-party-claims-a-win-in-cambodian-election-after-opposition-was-suppressed | 2023-07-24 02:19:08 | 1 | https://www.wboi.org/npr-news/npr-news/2023-07-23/hun-sens-party-claims-a-win-in-cambodian-election-after-opposition-was-suppressed |
WFO SPOKANE Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Sunday, June 5, 2022
_____
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
The National Weather Service in Spokane has issued a
* Flash Flood Warning for...
The Lick Creek Burn Scar in...
Northwestern Asotin County in southeastern Washington...
Southeastern Garfield County in southeastern Washington...
* Until 245 PM PDT.
* At 1245 PM PDT, Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms producing
heavy rain over the northern end of the Lick Creek Burn Scar.
Between 0.5 and 0.8 inches of rain have fallen. Flash flooding is
ongoing or expected to begin shortly.
HAZARD...Flash flooding caused by thunderstorms in and around
the Lick Creek Burn Scar.
SOURCE...Radar.
IMPACT...Flooding of areas in and around the Lick Creek Burn
Scar.
* Some locations that will experience flash flooding include...
mainly rural areas of Northwestern Asotin and Southeastern
Garfield Counties
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
The affected areas are in and below the Lick Creek burn scar west of
Asotin, including parts of Asotin Creek Road, Charley Creek Road,
Lickfork Road, and Smoothing Iron Road. Some drainage basins
impacted include steep drainages for Asotin Creek, Charley Creek and
Lick Creek. High intensity rainfall on the burned area may cause
flash flooding, mud slides and rock slides. Hikers, residents, and
motorists in and below the Lick Creek burned area should take
immediate precautions to protect life and property.
Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood
deaths occur in vehicles.
_____
Copyright 2022 AccuWeather | https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/weather/article/WA-WFO-SPOKANE-Warnings-Watches-and-Advisories-17220984.php | 2022-06-05 20:05:16 | 1 | https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/weather/article/WA-WFO-SPOKANE-Warnings-Watches-and-Advisories-17220984.php |
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — As Puerto Rico emerges from a drawn-out bankruptcy process, a federal control board that oversees the island’s finances announced Wednesday that it will focus on growing the U.S. territory’s economy.
The board’s new executive director, former New York state budget director Robert Mujica, unveiled a new fiscal plan that will serve as the island’s economic blueprint for the near future.
It demands that Puerto Rico overhaul its education, tax and infrastructure sectors and attract more investors by strengthening its fragile power grid and making it easier to do business on an island known for its clunky bureaucracy.
“There’s no time to waste,” Mujica said at a press conference.
In recent years, the U.S. government allocated more than $120 billion to help Puerto Rico offset the impact of the pandemic and natural disasters ranging from earthquakes to major hurricanes. But Mujica noted those were “one-time infusions that temporarily boosted output” and fueled economic recovery.
The island’s real GNP is declining, and economic growth is slowing as those funds evaporate, he added.
“Those funds mask underlying, persistent weaknesses in Puerto Rico’s long term economic outlook,” he said.
High inflation — plus a shrinking and aging population — also have contributed to the economic decline, the board noted.
Mujica said that to help improve the island’s economy, the board will meet with government officials, education leaders and nongovernment organizations to strengthen Puerto Rico’s education sector, which has long been lagging.
The board’s fiscal plan also seeks a comprehensive review of Puerto Rico’s tax system despite recent improvements.
“While much progress has been made, significant reform is still required because Puerto Rico’s current tax system has historically suffered from complexity, instability and inconsistency,” the board said in a statement.
The focus on economic growth comes after the board oversaw a bankruptcy-like process in which Puerto Rico’s debt dropped to $34 billion from more than $70 billion, an amount the government had said in 2015 that it could not pay. Two years later, it filed for the biggest U.S. municipal bankruptcy in history.
“That took all the oxygen of the room,” Mujica said, adding that the board is now targeting fiscal health and economic growth.
The board, which was created by U.S. Congress in 2016, will continue overseeing Puerto Rico’s finances until the U.S. territory approves four consecutive balanced budgets.
Mujica said it’s unclear if the first one has been approved because the government has yet to submit audited financial statements. | https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/as-bankruptcy-ends-board-seeks-to-boost-puerto-17880590.php | 2023-04-05 18:53:17 | 0 | https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/as-bankruptcy-ends-board-seeks-to-boost-puerto-17880590.php |
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — On the campaign trail, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva promised to sustain a massive welfare program, increase the minimum wage and boost health and education spending. Now, Brazil's president-elect is trying to make good on those pledges — and investors are showing concern.
Da Silva's transition team on Wednesday night presented Congress with an outline of a proposal to skirt a constitutionally imposed spending cap by creating a carve-out for welfare. Then, at the climate talks in Egypt on Thursday, he reiterated that he pays little heed to whether his plans to lead a socially responsibile government might cause jittery speculators to sell off.
When trading opened Thursday, Brazil's currency slid to its weakest level against the dollar since July and the benchmark Bovespa stock index fell more than 2.5%. Traders have begun pricing in interest-rate hikes next year rather than cuts, as da Silva’s proposal “confirmed (fiscal) risk that before was just a rumor,” said Sérgio Vale, chief economist at MB Associados.
Several times, da Silva has said market reactions appear overblown and claimed that investors are holding him to a different standard than incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro. He has pointed to his record of generating inclusive growth while adhering to fiscal responsibility during his prior two presidential terms, from 2003 to 2010.
But the current state of the Brazilian and global economies stands in stark contrast to the heady days of the commodities super cycle, and da Silva has much less room to maneuver. In his final year in office, more than 21% of his executive branch’s budget was discretionary, versus just 6.3% in 2023, according to a congressional report on next year’s budget.
Investors' skepticism of his leftist Workers’ Party's commitment to fiscal restraint has been reignited by the 2023 spending proposal, da Silva's comments and his possible finance minister picks, which have been floated in Brazilian news outlets.
“It’s hard to see any positive points; I only see problems,” Zeina Latif, an economist at consulting firm Gibraltar, said about the spending proposal. She added that she regrets technocrats weren’t involved in its development. “It’s a purely political conversation, without expertise, without commitment to pass any reforms, just asking to spend more,” Latif said.
The budget doesn't include funding to maintain the Brazil Aid welfare program at its monthly 600 reais ($110) level. Under the terms of the proposed constitutional amendment, the entirety of the program — estimated to cost 175 billion reais ($32 billion) — would be excluded from the spending cap. A further 18 billion reais would go to families with young children, who stand to receive an additional 150 reais a month.
The market had been anticipating a deficit next year, but at a level roughly half that which is being proposed, said Latif, who also criticized Bolsonaro's repeated use of constitutional ammendments to get around the cap.
Some of da Silva's comments have triggered wary investors. On Nov. 10, he delivered an impassioned speech in the capital, Brasilia, vowing to prioritize the fight against hunger regardless of market concerns.
“If when I finish this mandate, every Brazilian has had coffee, lunch and dinner again, I will have fulfilled the mission of my life,” he said, as his voice choked up. He then criticized the market's fixation on fiscal discipline, and said the time had come for a “new paradigm." That day, the currency shed nearly 4% of its value against the dollar.
“There is no point thinking only about fiscal responsibility, because we have to start thinking about social responsibility,” da Silva said Thursday. He added that the spending cap takes money away from health, education, technology and culture.
“Ah, but if I say that, the stock exchange is going to fall, the dollar will rise," he continued. "Have patience. Because the dollar doesn't rise and the stock exchange doesn't fall because of serious people, but rather because of speculators."
Da Silva's proposal will have to pass both chambers of Congress before year's end in order to go into effect in 2023. The Senate's president, Rodrigo Pacheco, who traveled to Egypt along with da Silva, has said he supports removing the welfare program from the spending cap.
Economists say da Silva's first term, from 2003 to 2006, was marked by fiscal responsibility, even as his policies lifted tens of millions of people from poverty. Spending increased in his second term, in response to the 2007-2008 global financial crisis.
Fears mostly stem from the tenure of his hand-picked successor, Dilma Rousseff, also from the Workers' Party. During her two terms as president, she continued and expanded da Silva's measures, and Latin America's biggest economy plunged into its worst recession in a century.
Rousseff was eventually impeached for breaking fiscal responsibility laws. The spending cap was introduced in 2016 by her successor to regain market confidence.
“People look at Lula as if he were Dilma," Brazilian economist and Johns Hopkins University professor Monica de Bolle remarked, referring to da Silva by his nickname. “But Dilma didn't listen to anyone. Lula is the exact opposite: He's a political animal, not a technocrat. More than anything, Lula is very pragmatic.”
Da Silva's pick for vice president speaks to this approach: Geraldo Alckmin, a center-right former rival, was a three-term governor of Sao Paulo state, Brazil's economic powerhouse.
Henrique Meirelles, a former central bank president and finance minister who was the most outspoken advocate for creating the spending cap, has also backed da Silva’s effort to secure permission for additional expenses to cover continued welfare aid.
“The new government faces the challenge of negotiating a budget that clearly does not reflect the real needs of the country," Meirelles said Tuesday on Twitter. | https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Lula-s-push-to-boost-spending-in-Brazil-rattles-17592499.php | 2022-11-17 18:38:52 | 0 | https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Lula-s-push-to-boost-spending-in-Brazil-rattles-17592499.php |
BANGKOK (AP) — A tornado that tore through two villages in central Myanmar near the capital Naypyitaw killed eight people and destroyed more than 200 houses, a rescue worker said Saturday.
The tornado hit Aung Myin Kone and Tadau villages on Naypyitaw’s southern outskirts at around 6:10 p.m. on Friday, Thet Paing Soe, a leading member of the Doh Lewe charity organization, told The Associated Press.
He said local charity organizations had transported 128 people to hospitals, and 232 houses in the two villages were destroyed.
“The tornado blew for approximately 40 minutes. Almost all the houses in the villages are quite badly damaged. The restoration will take months,” Thet Paing Soe said.
Major tornadoes are rare in Myanmar.
However, tornadoes of a size that rarely cause death and serious damage often occur in the summer and pre-monsoon periods when the temperature rises, said Kyaw Moe Oo, a director-general at the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology.
“During this period, there are frequent tornadoes in the lower parts of Myanmar, but there are few casualties. These kinds of fatalities in central Myanmar are rare,” he told AP.
Myanmar experiences extreme weather virtually every year during monsoon season. In 2008, Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 people.
State-run MRTV television reported that Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of Myanmar’s military-installed government, visited the disaster area on Saturday and provided aid to the residents. The report said that two Buddhist monasteries and a small clinic were among the structures destroyed. | https://www.ourmidland.com/news/world/article/rare-big-tornado-near-myanmar-capital-kills-8-17912361.php | 2023-04-22 14:05:15 | 0 | https://www.ourmidland.com/news/world/article/rare-big-tornado-near-myanmar-capital-kills-8-17912361.php |
In recent weeks, there have been efforts to outlaw what's known as "caste discrimination" in the U.S.
Seattle became the first city to ban caste discrimination in February. Now California may add caste as a protected category to its state law, becoming the first state to make discrimination based on caste explicitly illegal.
What exactly is this caste system?
Purnima Dhavan, a history professor at the University of Washington who specializes in the social and cultural history of early modern south Asia, can help explain the complex caste system.
"The simplest way to explain it is that it is an inherited system of privilege that is based on prescriptions laid down by the group that's at the very top end of this particular hierarchical system," Dhavan said.
The main concept comes from an ancient Indian religious text called the Rigveda, which says the origin of all life began with a Purusha, or "supreme being." From this supreme being, others were born into four categories, referred to as "varnas," which came from different parts of this supreme being's body, starting with the head.
"At the very top end of this particular hierarchical system [are] Brahmins, who were traditionally educators, priests, rich world specialists," Dhavan said.
After the head are the shoulders.
"The next step up are Kshatriyas, who are traditionally belonging to this warrior. Soldiers or often kings and rulers or village chiefs would come from that particular strata."
Next up in the hierarchical system: the thighs. This includes people engaged in trade, or merchants.
Lastly are the feet.
"The next down are peasants, people who do manual labor," Dhavan said. "These were called shudras in the Sanskrit texts and then beyond. These are groups that are considered to have occupations that are considered ritually polluting by the upper castes, the top three in the hierarchy, and therefore social interactions with them were often proscribed."
Discrimination within the caste system
Because these different castes are hierarchical, there's also been a history of discrimination between castes that's tied to social status and the concept of purity.
"The idea is that the system itself depends on a sort of separation... it's fundamentally a hierarchical system," said Ananya Chakravarti, an associate professor of history at Georgetown University. "It's a form of social hierarchy which has elements of — in the past, especially of heredity — specialization."
Caste is an oppressive system just like racism, but it's important not to conflate the two. While a person's race can be visually obvious, casteism relies on complex signifiers like family occupation, last name, location of residence and even dietary habits.
The so called "upper castes" historically got the better jobs and were usually vegetarian, which was considered a ritually pure diet. The so-called "lower castes" were relegated to menial and often dehumanizing labor. They were poor and often ate a diet of readily available meat. That's why they were often thought of as impure or dirty.
Because of this association with impurity, many of the Shudras were considered "untouchables." Other "upper" caste members would avoid socializing, touching or sharing items with people belonging to this caste, who are often called "Dalits."
"What is fundamental is that we have to remember that these were communities that were exploited for labor," Chakravarti said. "So untouchability is at least one of the ways that we must understand that these were communities from which labor was extracted on a communal basis often, and that exploitation was then, in some ways, justified on the grounds of their ritual status."
Experts told Scripps News that discrimination against "lower castes" in the U.S. manifests in ways like housing discrimination and fewer job opportunities for "lower castes," especially in fields that have a significant south Asian workforce, like among tech workers in Silicon Valley.
South Asians represent the fastest growing group of Asian Americans and make up just over 1% of Americans overall, per an analysis of census data. That might sound like a small percentage, but the community can be rather insular, which compounds the problem of caste discrimination. On top of that, this issue isn't limited to the South Asian community.
"It's not uncommon, for example, for tech workers of other ethnicities to start to imbibe these kinds of prejudices themselves, especially if they have experience working in India," Chakravarti said.
A 2018 survey by Equity Labs, a civil rights group, found two in three Dalit workers reported being treated unfairly in their U.S. workplaces.
Just last year, a former Cisco employee, whose name remains undisclosed, filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit against the company, alleging his supervisors at the tech giant's San Jose, California, headquarters excluded him from important meetings and passed on him for promotions due to his "Dalit" caste.
Because this is a religious system of hierarchy, bias often shows up in cultural practices and norms. Many South Asian communities also choose to only socialize with members of their own caste, and marriages tend to remain within caste systems, too.
SEE MORE: Biden pledges U.S. will work with southeast Asian nations
The issue has also increased as more South Asians immigrate to this country.
Back in 2021, BAPS, a prominent Hindu sect that runs several temples across America, faced accusations of luring hundreds of lower caste laborers from India to build temples near Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and in Robbinsville, New Jersey. These builders reportedly worked grueling hours and made menial pay — just about $450 a month.
And that's not the first time this issue of caste or caste discrimination came up during the process of immigration.
Back in 1923, an Indian immigrant named Bhagat Singh Thind categorized himself as a "high caste Hindu" and argued his high-caste status meant he should be counted as a "white person" and naturalized as a citizen. The Supreme Court disagreed, and noted that Thind's argument and underlying theories about "high caste" had been "discredited by most, if not all, modern writers on the subject of ethnology."
The Supreme Court still had its own work to do when it came to ethnology and social justice back then. For example, the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, which desegregated America's schools, didn't come until the 1950s. But the fact that Thind's case reached the highest court in the land shows how this issue of caste has been deeply prevalent in the South Asian community in America.
In some extreme cases, people of higher castes literally see those of lower castes as less than human. And that can lead to horrific exploitation.
Lakireddy Bali Reddy was a prominent Indian landlord in San Francisco in the late 80s and 90s. He owned more than 1,000 rental properties and was reportedly one of the richest property owners in the city.
But Reddy was convicted of sexually abusing nearly 25 women and girls from India between 1986 and 2001. These were women from poor, low-caste families who were trafficked to the U.S. on fraudulent visas. In addition to the abuse, many were forced to work at Reddy's properties for little or no pay. Reddy ultimately spent eight years in federal prison and had to register as a sex offender in California.
These cases highlight how caste, social stigma around caste and exploitation can still prevail.
Where the caste system is today
Caste systems can be found among Buddhists, Christians, Jains, Muslims and Sikhs — and other communities from South Asia as well.
Latest estimates suggest about 25% of India's 1.3 billion population are grouped under the country's legal category known as scheduled caste, including the Dalit community. Similarly oppressed are members of a scheduled tribe, or Adivasi group. These are India's indigenous tribes. Both these groups have faced the brunt of caste discrimination.
"Once you are born into that particular caste, you are never going to leave it," Dhavan said. "It is not possible to actually change your caste no matter how much education you have or if your income levels change, so the discrimination that is part of this system has existed for many centuries."
The caste system evolved over millennia, as the Indian subcontinent was led by different rulers, but was officially outlawed in 1948 — a year after India's independence from Britain.
Experts familiar with South Asia say the practice is still alive and prevalent in parts of the country.
"In 2023, we still have people who, from these supposedly low castes, who are sent down in India to do manual scavenging in and literally go down sewer holes and things," Chakravarti said. "So that's an example of the continued kind of occupational specialization that still operates and is somehow sort of legitimized by recourse to this ideology."
"We have ample evidence from social scientists and political tourists who have studied the system that discrimination, violence is still ongoing and often of a serious enough nature that the government has continued to retain several protective legal categories that protect not just the scheduled castes and tribes, but also other groups," Dhavan said.
Irrespective of its roots, caste can and has followed south Asian communities abroad, like here in the U.S.
Legislation surrounding the caste system
Legislation trying to stop caste discrimination here in the U.S. has received some backlash. Groups like the Hindu American Foundation and the Coalition of Hindus of North America oppose the latest moves, arguing they are Hindu-phobic and claiming they perpetuate harmful stereotypes about the Hindu community that came about during colonial rule in India.
But experts Scripps News spoke to don't support that argument. Remember, the caste system predates the colonization of India, and the Hindu-majority country itself legislates around the issue of caste.
"When the Indian constitution was put in place, nobody argued that it was Hindu-phobic or Hindumisia," Dhavan said. "I mean, think about what you're saying here: You are saying it is not possible to be a practicing Hindu without discriminating on that basis. That's a bit odd."
Other groups, like Hindus for Human Rights and Hindus for Caste Equity, support the legislation.
Because of the caste system's carryover here in the U.S., experts say the latest legislation and more awareness around the issue of caste and discrimination is much needed.
"I think it's an important advancement in the march of U.S. civil rights to explicitly recognize and prohibit this form of discrimination, which has so far sort of gone under the radar," Chakravarti said.
"Similarly, in an educational setting, we always have an eye to thinking about not just how to enforce protections, but also to create awareness and empathy," Dhavan said. "And I think that is part of the job that educators need to do in this country, particularly for those of us who are specialists in this field."
Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com | https://www.abc15.com/news/national/what-is-caste-discrimination-and-why-does-it-need-to-be-banned-in-the-us | 2023-04-13 02:48:14 | 1 | https://www.abc15.com/news/national/what-is-caste-discrimination-and-why-does-it-need-to-be-banned-in-the-us |
Customers invited to create a zero-compromise menu
CINCINNATI, April 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), America's grocer, today shared a zero-compromise fresh Easter menu to serve a family of ten--complete with every bunny's favorite candies—for less than $7.50 per person.
"At Kroger, we offer lower prices and more choices every day," said Stuart Aitken, senior vice president and chief merchant & marketing officer. "We promise our customers a zero-compromise Easter meal that is delicious and made affordable by our everyday low prices. Kroger is Fresh for Everyone no matter the day, year or holiday. This Easter is better than inflation free with the consistent value and savings we offer our customers every day, and we'll even take care of planning with an incredible family meal."
This Easter the grocer is suggesting a fresh menu to feed a crowd of ten that is delicious and affordable including:
- Kroger Spiral Ham
- Private Selection Wisconsin 5 Cheese Blend Macaroni & Cheese
- Kroger Ultimate Caesar Salad Kit Bag BIG Deal!
- Simple Truth Organic Whole Carrots served roasted
- Kroger Southern Style Potato Salad
- Kroger Brown and Serve Classic Enriched White Rolls
- Bakery Fresh Goodness Peach Pie
- Simple Truth Organic Blueberries and whipped cream for a fresh dessert option
Customers can also count on enjoying the most delectable Easter basket, teaming with sweet treats such as:
- Russell Stover Solid Milk Chocolate Bunnies
- Brach's Jellybeans
- Reese's Eggs
- Snickers, Twix and Starburst Assorted Easter Candy Bulk Variety Bag
Easter bunnies looking to stock their baskets with gift cards can earn 4X Fuel Points on all gift card purchases for a limited time.
This month, the grocer is offering more savings with the buy five, save $5 event now through April 11. Additionally, customers may redeem digital coupons up to five times with the Kroger 5x digital event running from April 12-25.
Customers can get their Easter favorites and more by shopping in-store, through Kroger Pickup or delivered using Boost by Kroger Plus, the annual grocery delivery membership that can save customers up to $1,000 per year on fuel and grocery delivery. Eligible customers can now try the Boost membership with a free 30-day trial and subscribe on a monthly basis for as little as $7.99 a month.
About Kroger
At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we are dedicated to our Purpose: To Feed the Human Spirit™. We are, across our family of companies nearly half a million associates who serve over 11 million customers daily through a seamless digital shopping experience and retail food stores under a variety of banner names, serving America through food inspiration and uplift, and creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities by 2025. To learn more about us, visit our newsroom and investor relations site.
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SOURCE The Kroger Co. | https://www.wkyt.com/prnewswire/2023/04/04/kroger-serves-hoppy-easter-less-than-750-per-person/ | 2023-04-04 16:25:45 | 0 | https://www.wkyt.com/prnewswire/2023/04/04/kroger-serves-hoppy-easter-less-than-750-per-person/ |
ALBUQUERQUE — For all intents and purposes, Ray Romero was happy with the way Los Alamos performed in its rematch against St. Pius X.
According to the Hilltoppers coach, they did everything they could to put themselves in the position to win. They just couldn’t quite finish the job.
If Abigail Martinez had converted a wide open 3 with less than a minute to go, or if the Hilltoppers’ inbounds play to GG Romero with 10.9 seconds left had gone as planned, perhaps Los Alamos would have lived to fight another day.
Instead, Martinez’s shot — her only field goal attempt of the game — was off the mark, while Romero was swarmed by the Sartans’ defense and forced into a turnover, leading to a gut-wrenching 40-36 loss in a girls Class 4A quarterfinal at The Pit on Tuesday afternoon.
“It was neck-and-neck, a good nail-biter. The ball didn’t bounce our way at the end. It could’ve went either way,” Romero said. “ ... We did everything, except we didn’t win the game. But everything that we came to do, strategy-wise and preparation-wise, we did it.”
After falling to the Sartans 38-33 in a February home game, Los Alamos changed up its defense from the first meeting and frustrated the Sartans into a 13-point first half behind a 1-3-1 zone. That effort included holding St. Pius star Alyssa Maes scoreless.
“We called her the head of the snake,” Ray Romero said. “That was our goal to slow her down, and hopefully nobody else gets off.”
In a grind-it-out game, offense came at a premium, but St. Pius did adjust. Maes scored all seven of her points in a strong third quarter that saw the Sartans lead by as many as eight. A switch to a 1-2-2 full court trap helped the Hilltoppers rally to tie it by the end of the third, setting the stage for a white-knuckle final stanza.
A Tara McDonald bucket brought Los Alamos to within 38-36 with 59.6 seconds to play, but the Hilltoppers wouldn’t score again. Catalina Anaya came up big for St. Pius down the stretch, first by stealing GG Romero’s pass and then with the game-clinching free throws to provide the final margin. In hindsight, Ray Romero wouldn’t have changed a thing about the final play call.
“We had two good plays,” he said. “We ran what we could, 10.9 seconds, I’ll take that again. The opportunity for either play, and I think we could score on it.”
It made sense to put the ball in the hands of GG Romero, who finished with a game-high 11 points.
“They gave me the ball and the goal was to fake opposite direction from the screen,” she said. “If I had baseline I was gonna take all the way baseline, but they ended up both jumping out on me for the double team.”
While the end result was disappointing, Los Alamos forged a strong bond throughout the season that was built on more than just basketball.
“I think just as a whole we all have really good chemistry,” said Carley Holland, one of the team’s six seniors. “I think that’s what’s helped us throughout the whole season. On and off the court.” | https://www.santafenewmexican.com/sports/los-alamos-falls-to-st-pius-x-40-36/article_e70314da-bd3d-11ed-bca4-b7a7bb59425b.html | 2023-03-08 07:15:53 | 1 | https://www.santafenewmexican.com/sports/los-alamos-falls-to-st-pius-x-40-36/article_e70314da-bd3d-11ed-bca4-b7a7bb59425b.html |
WASHINGTON -- The FBI investigators who searched Harold Martin's Maryland property in the fall of 2016 found classified documents - including material at the top secret level - strewn about his home, car and storage shed.
Unlike former President Donald Trump, the former National Security Agency contractor didn't contest the allegations, ultimately pleading guilty in 2019 and admitting his actions were "wrong, illegal and highly questionable." But his expressions of contrition and guilty plea to a single count of willful retention of national defense information didn't spare him the harsh punishment of nine years in prison.
The resolution of that case looms as an ominous guidepost for the legal jeopardy Trump could face as he confronts 37 felony counts - 31 under the same century-old Espionage Act statute used to prosecute Martin and other defendants alleged to have illegally retained classified documents. Even many like Martin who have pleaded guilty and accepted responsibility have nonetheless been socked with yearslong prison sentences.
"When they decide to pursue a willful mishandling case, it's to send a message: that we take these cases very seriously," said Michael Zweiback, a defense lawyer and former Justice Department prosecutor. "They almost always are seeking jail time."
How much prison time the former president could face in the event of a conviction is impossible to say, with such a decision ultimately up to the trial judge - in this case, a Trump appointee who has already demonstrated a willingness to rule in his favor. It's also hard to know the extent to which other factors - including the logistical and political complications of jailing a former president - might play a role.
The Espionage Act offense is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, though it's rare for first-time federal offenders to get close to the maximum. But beyond the retention, prosecutors have also identified multiple aggravating factors in Trump's alleged conduct, accusing him of seeking to enlist others - including a lawyer and aides - to hide the records from investigators and showing off some to visitors. Some of the other counts in the indictment, including conspiracy to obstruct justice, call for up to 20 years in prison.
Justice Department prosecutors in recent years have used the Espionage Act provision against a variety of defendants, including a West Virginia woman who retained an NSA document related to a foreign government's military and political issues. Elizabeth Jo Shirley pleaded guilty in 2020 to a willful retention count and was sentenced to eight years in prison.
This month, a retired Air Force intelligence officer named Robert Birchum was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to keeping classified files at his home, his overseas officer's quarters and a storage pod in his driveway.
Many defendants have pleaded guilty, rather than face trial, though not all have gone to prison. Trump - who also faces charges related to hush-money payments in New York state court - has shown no signs that he could be headed toward a plea deal, vigorously insisting he is innocent and personally attacking Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith hours after appearing in Miami federal court Tuesday.
Despite the details in the indictment, Trump does have some avenues to try to contest the charges.
For one thing, he's drawn Judge Aileen Cannon, who sided with Trump last year in the former president's bid to appoint a special master to conduct an independent review of the seized classified documents. Citing the "stigma" she said was associated with an FBI search of Trump's home, she said a "future indictment" based on items that should've been returned to Trump "would result in reputational harm of a decidedly different order of magnitude."
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit unanimously overturned her ruling, which was widely criticized by legal experts as extraordinary and unusually broad.
Over the next several months, Cannon will make decisions that will shape the trial, including how quickly it will happen and whether any evidence will be kept out.
Prosecutors also face the challenge in Florida - where Republicans have made steady inroads in recent years - of a jury pool likely to be more favorable to Trump than if the case were tried in overwhelmingly Democratic Washington, D.C.
Still, "I think that it might very well be that Jack Smith welcomes a Florida jury because if there is a conviction, it will be much harder to say, 'Well, that jury was somehow anti-Trump,'" said Stephen Saltzburg, a George Washington University law school professor and former Justice Department official.
Experts anticipate Trump's lawyers to echo the former president's public remarks in trying to get the case dismissed by arguing he was entitled to have the documents and is the victim of prosecutorial overreach. Trump could also try to block prosecutors from being able to use key evidence, such as notes from his lawyer detailing conversations with the former president.
If the case gets to trial, experts say Trump's attorneys may attempt what's called "jury nullification" or try to convince jurors that he should be acquitted even if they believe Trump broke the law because the violation wasn't serious enough to warrant charges and he is being singled out.
"The theme of the defense can be riddled with suggestions of unfairness and selective prosecution - basically trying to convince a jury that even if the former president did what the government says he did, none of this should have ever ended up in a criminal prosecution," said Robert Mintz, a defense attorney and former Justice Department prosecutor.
Robert Kelner, a Washington criminal defense lawyer, said while an outright acquittal seems unlikely given the volume of evidence, a pathway for a mistrial exists if Trump attorneys can persuade even one juror to acquit on grounds that the president enjoyed the absolute authority to declassify information.
That authority ended the moment Trump left the presidency, but even so, "some jurors will likely find it hard to rationalize convicting him for something that he previously had the absolute authority (to do) simply because he didn't file the right forms and do it at the right time," Kelner said.
In the end, facing a mountain of evidence and the prospect of years in prison, Trump's best hope may be a tactic he often pursues: Delay, delay, delay, said Cheryl Bader, a former federal prosecutor and head of Fordham University Law School's Criminal Defense Clinic.
"His best defense may be to try to ride out the election cycle, be elected as president and therefore be in charge of the Justice Department before the case goes to trial," she said.
Richer reported from Boston. | https://abc11.com/trump-classified-documents-indictment-mar-a-lago/13386729/ | 2023-06-15 20:05:18 | 0 | https://abc11.com/trump-classified-documents-indictment-mar-a-lago/13386729/ |
BERLIN (AP) — German police raided 15 properties linked to the Last Generation climate activist group Wednesday, seizing assets as part of an investigation into its finances in a sign of growing impatience with disruptive protest tactics also seen in other European countries.
Members of the group have repeatedly blocked roads across Germany in an effort to pressure the government to take more drastic action against climate change. In recent weeks, they have brought traffic to a halt on an almost daily basis in Berlin, gluing themselves to busy intersections and highways. Over the past year, they have also targeted various artworks and exhibits.
The raids, ordered by Munich prosecutors, come days after Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that he thought it was “completely nutty to somehow stick yourself to a painting or on the street.” Leading figures with the environmentalist Green party, part of his governing coalition, have also said the group’s actions are counterproductive.
A spokesperson for Last Generation said that the police searches had hit the group and its supporters hard, but that it wouldn’t let up its activities.
“They make us afraid, but we must not be frozen by fear,” Aimee van Baalen told reporters in Berlin.
“The German government is right now driving us toward climate hell with its eyes wide open. It is even stepping on the gas pedal,” she said. “We must continue to resist now, because we need to loudly demand that lives be protected.”
She called for the public to support upcoming protest marches in Berlin and other German cities.
Last Generation has acknowledged in the past that its protests are provocative, but argues that by stirring friction it can encourage debate within society about climate change and the policies necessary to stop it.
Germany’s top court ruled two years ago that the previous government was placing too much of the burden from global warming on young people, prompting then Chancellor Angela Merkel to sharpen climate targets. Experts say that while Germany now has some of the most ambitious targets for cutting emissions of planet-heating greenhouse gas, the country isn’t on track to meet them.
The investigation by Munich prosecutors is focused on seven people, ranging in age from 22 to 38, who are suspected of forming or supporting a criminal organization. The investigation was launched following numerous criminal complaints from the public over the past year, prosecutors said.
The Bavarian inquiry adds to an investigation launched last year by prosecutors in Neuruppin, outside Berlin, over actions against an oil refinery in eastern Germany. That investigation is also considering suspicions that Last Generation activists formed a criminal organization, a label that some conservative-leaning regional officials have backed.
Munich prosecutors said that the people under investigation are accused of organizing and promoting a campaign to “finance further criminal offenses” by the group, and collecting at least 1.4 million euros ($1.5 million). Two of them also are suspected of trying to sabotage an oil pipeline that connects the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt with the Italian port of Trieste in April 2022.
Wednesday’s searches, accompanied by orders to seize two bank accounts and other assets, aimed to secure evidence on the membership structure of Last Generation and on its financing. There were no arrests.
Another climate activist group, Extinction Rebellion, voiced solidarity with Last Generation. It contended in a tweet that the main aim of conducting raids on suspicion of forming a criminal organization was “to distract attention from the true criminals.”
But Germany’s top security official insisted that the raids were necessary.
“Legitimate protest always ends where crimes are committed and the rights of others are infringed,” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said, noting that police registered 1,600 criminal complaints in connection with climate protests in 2022, many of them during road blockades conducted by Last Generation.
Climate activists have received support from various corners, including some Christian groups. A Jesuit priest was fined earlier this month for taking part in road blockades, and Wednesday’s news conference by Last Generation was hosted by the Protestant Reformation Church in Berlin.
A representative of the congregation, Steve Rauhut, praised Last Generation for keeping its protests peaceful.
“The climate disaster and environmental destruction not only justify civil disobedience, they make it an imperative,” he said.
Similar nonviolent climate protests elsewhere in Europe have also met with crackdowns recently.
The U.K. government gave police in England and Wales new powers earlier this month to respond to the disruptive tactics used by climate activists. Protesters who lock themselves together or to buildings or objects can face up to six months in prison. Interfering with railways, airports and refineries could lead to a year behind bars.
Punishments of climate protesters in the U.K. have varied widely to date.
Activists from the group Just Stop Oil who stormed the racetrack at last year’s British Grand Prix Formula 1 race were spared jail sentences. But two men who scaled a highway bridge over the River Thames east of London and unfurled a huge banner, which led to the bridge being closed more than 40 hours, were each sentenced to more than two and a half years in prison.
In Italy, three members of the group Ultima Generazione face up to three years’ imprisonment and fines for gluing their hands to the base of a sculpture in the Vatican Museums and ignoring gendarmes’ orders to leave last year. This week the group staged other protests, including in front of the Italian Senate where two topless women poured mud over themselves in reference to the devastating recent floods in the country.
The Italian group is part of the international A22 activist network, which includes Last Generation in Germany and Britain’s Just Stop Oil, and which receives support from the U.S.-based Climate Emergency Fund.
The fund, which counts oil heiress Aileen Getty and ‘Don’t Look Up’ filmmaker Adam McKay on its board, says on its website that it gave more than $5.1 million to 44 organizations last year “that are leading the way, galvanizing progress on climate through disruptive nonviolent activism around the world.”
___
Nicole Winfield in Rome, and Pietro De Cristofaro in Berlin, contributed to this report. | https://www.fox16.com/news/world-news/ap-international/ap-germany-cracks-down-on-climate-activists-after-scholz-calls-protest-group-nutty/ | 2023-05-25 12:58:25 | 1 | https://www.fox16.com/news/world-news/ap-international/ap-germany-cracks-down-on-climate-activists-after-scholz-calls-protest-group-nutty/ |
THE HAGUE (AP) — The United Nations’ highest court found little to rule on Thursday in a long-running dispute over a small river which flows from Bolivia to Chile as the Latin American neighbors had mostly resolved their conflict during the 6-year proceedings.
The International Court of Justice spent most of the hour-long hearing announcing the legal claims over the Silala River – a short waterway in the Atacama Desert – were “without object” as both countries now agreed on how the water system should be managed.
“It is an international watercourse, as both parties now agree,” the court’s president, U.S. judge Joan E. Donoghue, said. Bolivia had initially rejected this designation, as international law requires international water resources to be managed cooperatively.
Chile brought the claim to The Hague-based court in 2016, arguing Bolivia was violating international water laws by blocking the flow of the river. During hearings in April, Bolivia claimed the waterway isn’t a river at all, but rather a series of underground springs forced above ground by Chilean construction.
A 1997 U.N. convention on water rights requires countries whose borders intersect major waterways to share the natural resource equally.
However, during the 6 intervening years, the two countries dramatically narrowed the scope of their disagreement via diplomatic means, eventually agreeing on all but several minor technical points. Chile demanded that Bolivia notify it before carrying out certain activities on the waterway, but the court rejected this request as having no basis in international law.
Santiago saw the court’s ruling as a victory. “The court is now only restating the fact that Bolivia has accepted all that Chile came for,” Ximean Fuentes, Chile’s vice-minister for foreign affairs, told reporters following the hearing. Bolivia’s legal team left without speaking to the media.
The court stressed that the two countries, who have not had diplomatic relations since 1978, needed to work together to manage the Silala waters. The countries should “conduct consultations on an ongoing basis, in a spirit of cooperation,” Donoghue said.
It isn’t the first time the neighbors have used the court to settle their disputes. In 2018, judges sided with Chile, finding the country was not legally obliged to give sea access to its landlocked neighbor. Bolivia was not always cut off from the ocean. It lost its only coastline to Chile in an 1879-1883 war and has been unhappy with the outcome ever since. | https://www.kxnet.com/ap-science/ap-world-court-bolivia-chile-close-together-in-river-dispute/ | 2022-12-01 19:55:27 | 0 | https://www.kxnet.com/ap-science/ap-world-court-bolivia-chile-close-together-in-river-dispute/ |
Woman gives birth hours after earning college degree
Plus more of the top Fox News Lifestyle stories and videos from the past week
Welcome to the Fox News Lifestyle Newsletter. If you don't already receive this newsletter in your email, please subscribe here.
‘FEELS UNREAL’ - New Orleans woman gives birth within hours of being handed bachelor's degree during a special hospital ceremony. Continue reading…
A QUEST FOR BABY FORMULA - How a Kentucky mom of twins who goes through multiple baby formula cans weekly, is helping others, too. Continue reading…
KINDNESS FROM A STRANGER - A New York man donated his kidney to a woman he doesn’t know. What he did next might surprise you. Continue reading…
VIDEO OF THE WEEK - Raymonde Sullivan, a former World War II nurse, took a huge leap on her 100th birthday – by going skydiving. Watch now…
ULTIMATE PAYBACK - A restaurant in South Carolina was using an illegal tip pool. Then it had to pay workers over $600,000 in back wages. Continue reading…
STARTLING REALITY - As the U.S. struggles with a baby formula shortage, see the photos of empty shelves. Continue reading…
HEARTWARMING HUG - Toddler ring bearer reacts to mom's wedding entrance in unforgettable way. Continue reading…
PUNY PATTIES? - Wendy’s and McDonald’s are being taken to court over the size of their beef patties. Attorney James C. Kelly says "there is no good reason" why both companies "should be allowed to use trickery in their advertising." Continue reading…
LATER ‘GATOR - Police in Florida remove a 6-foot alligator from outside an elementary school. Continue reading…
DEBT-BE-GONE - How an Ohio writer took control of her ‘freedom,' paying off $48K in student loans in 14 months. Continue reading…
WHAT'S COOKING? - BBQ chorizo potato salad is lip-smacking good: Try the recipe… | https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/woman-gives-birth-hours-earning-college-degree | 2022-05-19 15:21:03 | 0 | https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/woman-gives-birth-hours-earning-college-degree |
WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — Fifth and sixth grade students had the chance to practice social graces and interpersonal skills they have learned over six weeks.
The Manners Matter banquet and dance was held at First Christian Church.
Over a multi-course meal. Students demonstrated their knowledge about silverware placement and table manners. They also honed their conversational skills.
First Christian Church Director of Children’s Ministries Claire Baer said seeing the kids’ confidence grow over the past few weeks has been the best part, “It’s amazing just to see the confidence in the students you know week one you can tell they are really shy they don’t really know what to do or what to expect and this week I mean it’s fun to see them talking to each other talking to adults so just seeing their confidence grow has been really neat.”
The kids also got pointers on small talk, basic dance steps, proper social media usage, and first impressions. | https://www.texomashomepage.com/top-news/manner-matter-banquet-leaves-good-impression/ | 2023-02-17 06:11:52 | 0 | https://www.texomashomepage.com/top-news/manner-matter-banquet-leaves-good-impression/ |
SinglePoint Inc. to present on Oct. 26 at 2:30 PM
PHOENIX, Oct. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SinglePoint, Inc. (OTCQB: SING), a solar energy and sustainable solutions provider, announced today that Wil Ralston, CEO of SinglePoint, will present at the LD Micro Conference. SinglePoint, Inc. will present on Wed, Oct. 26, 2:30-2:55 PM PST at the Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel in Los Angeles, California. The in-person presentation will include recent corporate updates, including the Company's view on the impact of the recent extension of tax credits for solar energy, federal funding available to schools purchasing air purification systems, and the "hardening of schools'' funding allocation to SinglePoint's business plan.
LD Micro Main Event XV
Date: Wed, Oct. 26 - Thurs, Oct. 27
Presentation: Wed, Oct. 26 at 2:30-2:55 PM PST
Location: Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel in Los Angeles, California
Free registration to watch the virtual presentation here
The 2022 LD Micro Main Event XV will be held at the Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel in Los Angeles from Oct. 25 to Oct. 27.
The festivities will run from 7:30 AM PT - 5:30 PM PT on the 25th and 26th, with a half day on Thursday, the 27th.
This three-day investor conference will feature around 200+ companies, presenting in half-hour increments and private meetings.
For more info, please get in touch with Mr. Dean "The Dream" Summers. Dean@ldmicro.com
"15 years ago, we set out to create an event that could benefit our entire industry. It wasn't fast or easy, but we were honorable in our dealings and worked our tails off to ensure a wonderful time for everyone involved. Today, our community could not be larger, stronger, and more united as we go through these difficult and turbulent times together. The Main Event is about learning, connecting, and enjoying each other, and it is a hell of a lot more fun than sitting next to your computer." stated Chris Lahiji, Founder of LD Micro.
LD Micro aims to be the most crucial resource in the micro-cap world. Whether it is the index, comprehensive data, or hosting the most significant events on an annual basis, LD's sole mission is to serve as an invaluable asset for all those interested in finding the next generation of great companies. http://www.ldmicro.com
SinglePoint is a sustainable lifestyle Company in the solar energy and air purification markets. The Company plans to build the largest renewable energy solutions network and modernize the traditional solar energy and energy storage business model. SinglePoint has acquired five companies and continues to execute its acquisition strategy by exploring future growth opportunities in air purification, electric vehicle charging, solar as a subscription service, and additional energy efficiencies and appliances that enhance sustainability and healthier life. For more information, visit the Company's websites: www.singlepoint.com, www.bostonsolar.us, and www.boxpureair.com.
Certain statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information within Rule 175 under the Securities Act of 1933 and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are subject to the safe harbor created by those rules. All statements, besides statements of fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding revenue projections, financing opportunities, potential plans and objectives of the Company, anticipated growth, and future expansion, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.
Technical and other complications, which may arise, could prevent the prompt implementation of any strategically significant plan(s) outlined above. The Company undertakes no duty to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.
Investor Contact:
Tra-Digital IR
Investors@SinglePoint.com
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE SinglePoint Inc. | https://www.kold.com/prnewswire/2022/10/20/singlepoint-inc-present-ld-micro-main-event-xv/ | 2022-10-20 13:21:06 | 0 | https://www.kold.com/prnewswire/2022/10/20/singlepoint-inc-present-ld-micro-main-event-xv/ |
Court leaves dwindling paths for Biden’s climate mission
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 500 days into his presidency, Joe Biden’s hope for saving the Earth from the most devastating effects of climate change may not be dead.
But it’s not far from it.
A Supreme Court ruling Thursday not only limited the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate climate pollution by power plants, but also suggests the court is poised to block other efforts by Biden and federal agencies to limit the climate-wrecking fumes emitted by oil, gas and coal.
It’s a blow to Biden’s commitment to slash emissions in the few years scientists say are left to stave off worse and deadlier levels of global warming. And it’s a sign, to Democrats at home and allies abroad, of the dwindling options remaining for Biden to reverse the legacy of President Donald Trump, who mocked the science of climate change. Trump’s three Supreme Court appointees provided half of the affirmative votes in Thursday’s 6-3 ruling.
After the ruling, a veteran Democratic lawmaker acknowledged he saw no hope of Congress producing any meaningful climate legislation, either. The foreign allies whom Biden once spoke of leading to a global clean-power transformation are wondering if the United States can even lead itself.
And in a Houston neighborhood entering hurricane season, a man who had spent four decades advocating for the Black communities and other communities of color and poorer communities hit hardest by pollution and the record heat, cold, floods and storms of climate change reacted to the ruling like many others did Thursday — saying it was all up to Biden now to act – and act in a big way.
“This is real,” said Robert Bullard, an academic who became a pioneer in what became the U.S. environmental justice movement, of the multiplying natural disasters – the kind scientists say are increasingly influenced by the heating atmosphere -- wrecking cities on America’s vulnerable Gulf of Mexico.
“Those communities that have been flooded out...some of those communities still have blue tarps on their houses,” Bullard said. “So I don’t think the Supreme Court and and some of our elected officials are speaking about the urgency of where we are when it comes to our climate.”
The dismay at the ruling expressed by many among what is a majority of people in America who say they care deeply about climate change reflected this was only the latest setback to Biden’s early promises to slash emissions.
A narrowly divided Congress already handed Biden what’s been the worst climate defeat of his term so far when two Democrats, including coal-state lawmaker Joe Manchin, joined Senate Republicans in refusing to pass Biden’s Build Back Better package.
Climate parts of the legislation were meant to kickstart America’s transformation into a land of electric cars, clean industry and energy-efficient buildings. Biden was able to move forward some smaller parts of his proposal, including electric car chargers.
And this year, in a development as dangerous for Biden’s early climate hopes as the Supreme Court ruling, a global oil and gas supply crunch has sent gas prices pinging off record highs. It’s fueled inflation and voter anger against Biden, and potentially other Democrats.
The energy shortfall left Biden scrambling for additional oil and gas. It’s also left it unclear whether he still feels he has the political capital to lead the U.S. move to renewable energy as decisively as he promised as a candidate and in his first months in office.
The ruling left policy experts, lawmakers and ordinary people saying Biden, Democrats and climate-minded Republicans still have some routes left to push through climate efforts.
One is ambitious, shrewd executive action — if Biden dares — to push through carefully targeted emission-cutting steps.
A second is climate action by California and the other blue states that earlier swung into action to challenge Trump’s climate rollbacks in court.
A third option is a pitch that Biden and Democrats are throwing to voters more and more — elect enough Democrats in the midterms to allow Congress to pass laws thwarting rollbacks by conservatives, in Congress and on the Supreme Court.
Biden has pledged to cut the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions in half by the end of the decade and to have an emissions-free power sector by 2035.
Biden offered no guarantees of success in his comments after the court ruling.
“While this decision risks damaging our nation’s ability to keep our air clean and combat climate change, I will not relent in using my lawful authorities to protect public health and tackle the climate crisis,” he said in a statement.
His team would “find ways that we can, under federal law, continue protecting Americans” from pollution and climate change, he said.
The Biden administration can still do a strong rule on carbon emissions and greenhouse gas emissions generally, and it ought to do it fast, said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat.
As it is, “there’s no easy fix from Congress from this mess,” Whitehouse said, blaming past court rulings on political donations for “the big, dark polluter money” he said holds sway in politics now.
The Supreme Court ruling came as Biden was savoring a successful gathering with NATO allies, who have rallied behind the U.S. in confronting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. After Biden’s early proclamations in summits at the outset of his term that “America is back!,” the setback in the Supreme Court underscored to allies how vulnerable the U.S. president remains on the domestic front, including when it comes to fulfilling climate commitments.
As the ruling was released, Biden envoy John Kerry was flying out after an oceans conference in Portugal, still working for global and country-by-country commitments to cut emissions.
The domestic climate setbacks have helped slow early global momentum for climate breakthroughs. They’ve weakened U.S. leverage as Kerry presses countries including China to swing away from coal and other damaging fossil fuels — something Biden had pledged the U.S. would lead on by example.
Among allies abroad, the Supreme Court ruling could shock America’s transatlantic partners like few other developments, said Max Bergmann, director of the Europe program at the Center for Strategic and International studies.
The climate decision in some ways “may have broader impacts at least on the European populace that this is a country that, A: can’t get things done and B: is going in a really bizarre direction domestically,” Bergmann said.
—-
AP writers Nancy Benac and Jennifer McDermott contributed to this report.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wlbt.com/2022/07/01/court-leaves-dwindling-paths-bidens-climate-mission/ | 2022-07-01 05:14:27 | 1 | https://www.wlbt.com/2022/07/01/court-leaves-dwindling-paths-bidens-climate-mission/ |
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Organizations benefit from direct access to their own data and threat insights
DALLAS, Nov. 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global cybersecurity leader, is a launch partner of an innovative new security data lake technology from Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon Security Lake.
Many organizations struggle to unlock the value of log and event data sitting in disparate silos across cloud and on-premises tools. Trend Micro contributes the data feeds that help security teams drive greater visibility into threat data to minimize security risk, cost and complexity.
To read more about Trend Micro's support of AWS, please visit: www.trendmicro.com/aws.
Mike Milner, VP of cloud technology for Trend Micro: "Another critical customer challenge is now removed. This latest milestone alleviates critical security operation challenges in cloud environments by empowering security teams to maximize their efficiency in managing data at scale."
Amazon Security Lake puts the customer in control by removing these barriers and making critical data available to the third-party security and analytics solutions of their choice. Support for OCSF accelerates data ingestion and analysis work performed by these solutions.
"With Amazon Security Lake, analysts and engineers can now easily build and use a centralized data lake to drive the visibility into log and event data needed to enhance protection of critical workloads, applications and data," said Rod Wallace, General Manager for Amazon Security Lake. "It offers major new opportunities to optimize key security tasks. We're delighted to have Trend Micro on board right from the start."
Amazon Security Lake automatically centralizes an organization's security data from cloud and on-premises sources into a purpose-built data lake in a customer's AWS account. Security data in Amazon Security Lake can then be used to power third-party analytics tools for threat detection, investigation and incident response. It supports the Open Cybersecurity Schema Framework (OCSF) standard for seamless normalization and ingestion of threat data.*
MJ DiBerardino, CEO, Cloudnexa said: "Owning our own security data would be a massive leap forward and we're thrilled AWS and Trend Micro are enabling that progress. No organization is 100% breach-proof today, which puts tremendous pressure on us to enhance our threat detection and investigation capabilities. Vendors' 90-day data retention policies are a major roadblock to these efforts."
*The OCSF is a first of its kind open source initiative, which delivers a simplified and vendor-agnostic taxonomy to help all security teams realize better, faster data ingestion and analysis without time-consuming up-front normalization tasks.
About Trend Micro
Trend Micro, a global cybersecurity leader, helps make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Fueled by decades of security expertise, global threat research, and continuous innovation, Trend Micro's cybersecurity platform protects hundreds of thousands of organizations and millions of individuals across clouds, networks, devices, and endpoints. As a leader in cloud and enterprise cybersecurity, the platform delivers a powerful range of advanced threat defense techniques optimized for environments like AWS, Microsoft, and Google, and central visibility for better, faster detection and response. With 7,000 employees across 65 countries, Trend Micro enables organizations to simplify and secure their connected world. www.TrendMicro.com.
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Which baby bubble bath is best?
A good bubble bath can help to strike the perfect balance between a practical bathing moment and a playfully fun time. Finding the right bubble bath can be a complex mission since many factors are at play, such as skin sensitivity, bubbles, ingredients and more.
For a natural choice from a trusted brand, consider The Honest Company Tear-Free Bubble Bath. The product is gentle and tear-free, and the company has decided to err on the side of caution and make the best ingredient selection.
What to know before you buy a baby bubble bath
Picking out a bubble bath can be challenging, as you have to consider both what will be entertaining and fun for your baby and what will be healthy for them. However, there are bubble baths that can do both.
The bubble factor
A bubble bath would not have got its name if it were not for the bubbles, so it is important to consider the bubble factor. Bubbles are enhanced by ingredients called surfactants, which lower the surface tension between two liquids, allowing the bubbles to stay connected to the surface of the water. The most common surfactant, sodium laureth sulfate, is a fairly strong chemical, so it may not be included in most formulas designed to be gentle on the skin.
If you opt for a gentler bubble bath, you can help the bubbles by applying them to the baby tub near the warm running water as it fills up, as the movement will help the bubbles form. The stronger the water pressure, the more bubbles you will get. Running the bubble bath under the showerhead is effective for this reason.
Scent
Children can get pretty smelly, so it is important to find a bubble bath to get them clean and smelling fresh. Some children struggle with strong artificial scents, while others don’t seem to mind them. Some artificial scents used in bubble baths can be tough on sensitive skin, so it is important to keep an eye out for what causes the scent in a particular formula.
If a bubble bath just uses the word “fragrance” and does not specify the source, it would be best to avoid it. The chemicals are not specified for a purpose — there is a high chance there are fragrant chemicals you do not want on your baby’s skin. If you want a scented bubble bath, try opting for one that uses natural and plant-based fragrances. Essential oils can be a good scent creator, though some children also react poorly to those. It is always safest to read product reviews to see if a particular bubble bath works well for children like yours.
Plant-based and organic
Plant-based ingredients are becoming more common, which is great for parents and babies with sensitive skin. However, as these types of products are more sought after, companies can sometimes be misleading in the way they present that information. For example, if you see “plant-based” on a bottle of bubble bath, read more closely to see if the whole formula is plant-based or just has a few natural ingredients.
Skin sensitivity and hypoallergenic
Baby skin is particularly sensitive, and some babies have stronger reactions than others. General skin sensitivity is usually triggered by harsh chemicals in bubble baths, such as parabens and phthalates. If your child has sensitive skin, opt for a formula that avoids these and other harsh chemicals.
“Hypoallergenic” as a term is more specific. If a product is labeled hypoallergenic, that means it lacks ingredients that are common allergens. Unfortunately, there is no government-regulated definition for what hypoallergenic refers to exactly, so it can show up on two labels with vastly different ingredients. Additionally, allergies are specific to certain individuals. As a result, one baby will react to something with which another baby will have no issue.
The best way to avoid an allergic reaction is to know what you’re allergic to and avoid that specific ingredient, but it can be hard to know specific allergies for most babies. Therefore, most parents opt for formulas with as few ingredients as possible but rich in plant-based ingredients to minimize potential risks.
Tear-free
Babies splash and play, and bubble bath is likely to get in their eyes, so you must find a bubble bath that will not hurt tremendously when that happens. Like hypoallergenic, tear-free is not a certification that products can acquire, so it’s hard to know what exactly a product means when it says it is tear-free. In general, the more diluted a product is, the more balanced its pH level is. Hence, the fewer harsh chemicals a bubble bath has, the less likely it is to irritate the eyes. Reading reviews for a specific product can help identify how successful it is at being “tear-free.”
Cruelty-free
Unlike other terms, cruelty-free is an objective standard that can be regulated. Cruelty Free International is an independent company that regulates cosmetic products, certifying that a product is free from animal cruelty with a leaping bunny logo. Cruelty Free International is a European-based company, so it may be hard to find products certified in other parts of the world. However, if you can find a product with the leaping bunny logo, you can rest at ease knowing that this organization regulates both the finished product and the individual ingredients.
Outside of this certification, there are other private companies that claim to do cruelty-free approvals. Still, this term is not regulated either, so a company may say their product is “cruelty-free” or “never tested on animals” and only refer to the finished product rather than the ingredients that went into it. As with other terms, extra research into a specific product can help ease your mind regarding animal testing.
How much you can expect to spend on a baby bubble bath
Overall, you can expect to spend $5-$20 on a bottle of bubble bath. Those costing less than $10 are often made from cheaper ingredients and may not be great for sensitive skin. Most customers should feel comfortable spending between $8-$15, as these formulas are usually a good combination of quality and affordability. However, if your baby has very sensitive skin or other specific needs, you may need to opt for a bubble bath that costs more than $15.
Baby bubble bath FAQ
Will bubble bath increase your baby’s risk of urinary tract infections?
A. Research studies haven’t reached clear conclusions so far. To be safe, limit the amount of time your child spends soaking in the tub and encourage them to urinate after bath time is over. If your baby is too young to communicate, but seems uncomfortable, remove them from the bath and gently clean their genital area just in case. Other advice suggests waiting until your child is 3 years old to use bubble baths.
Is it better to make or buy a bubble bath?
A. Making cosmetic products by hand can be a hassle for some parents, but if you have the time and ingredients, it can be a good way to know exactly what ingredients will be touching your baby’s skin. There are a lot of DIY bubble bath recipes out there, many of which are primarily natural and work for sensitive skin.
What’s the best baby bubble bath to buy?
Top baby bubble bath
The Honest Company Tear-Free Bubble Bath
What you need to know: This quality bubble bath from a trusted brand is made from plant-based ingredients for a natural and gentle clean with a pleasant scent.
What you’ll love: This delicate formula of plant-based ingredients is combined with essential oils for a natural fragrance. With no harsh or artificial additives, this is a stress-free choice for any parent. Moreover, the product is not tested on animals and makes nice bubbles.
What you should consider: Although it is designed to be tear-free, it may cause stinging if it gets in babies’ eyes.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Top baby bubble bath for the money
Johnson’s Bedtime Baby Bubble Bath
What you need to know: Made by a popular baby brand, this bubble bath is designed to relax the baby during bath time, often resulting in better sleep.
What you’ll love: Made without parabens, phthalates, sulfates and dyes, this pleasant smelling bubble bath contains NaturalCalm essences derived from plants. It has a calming effect on babies, and it’s hypoallergenic and tear-free.
What you should consider: Bubbles don’t last as long as other brands. Also, the pump is a bit awkward.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
Babyganics Bubble Bath, Chamomile Verbena (2-Pack)
What you need to know: If you have a baby with sensitive skin, this bubble bath is for you.
What you’ll love: This plant-based formula does not contain any synthetic ingredients or harsh chemicals, is never tested on animals and is gentle even for babies prone to rashes and irritation. Even the fragrance is plant-based.
What you should consider: The scent is a bit faint, and the bubbles don’t last very long.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
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Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://www.wane.com/reviews/br/baby-kids-br/bath-potty-br/best-baby-bubble-bath/ | 2022-06-18 20:03:17 | 1 | https://www.wane.com/reviews/br/baby-kids-br/bath-potty-br/best-baby-bubble-bath/ |
FARMINGTON, Conn., July 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Otis Worldwide Corporation (NYSE: OTIS) Board of Directors today declared a quarterly dividend of $0.29 per share of Otis' common stock. The dividend will be payable on September 10, 2022, to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 19, 2022.
About Otis
Otis is the world's leading elevator and escalator manufacturing, installation and service company. We move 2 billion people a day and maintain more than 2.1 million customer units worldwide, the industry's largest Service portfolio. Headquartered in Connecticut, USA, Otis is 70,000 people strong, include 41,000 field professionals, all committed to meeting the diverse needs of our customers and passengers in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. To learn more, visit www.otis.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @OtisElevatorCo.
Cautionary Statement
This release includes statements related to anticipated earnings, cash flow and dividends that constitute "forward-looking statements" under the securities laws. All forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Past dividends provide no assurance as to future dividends. The payment and amount of future dividends could vary significantly from past amounts due to a number of risks and uncertainties. Risks and uncertainties include: (1) the effect of economic conditions in the industries and markets in which Otis and its businesses operate in the U.S. and globally and any changes therein, including financial market conditions, fluctuations in commodity prices, interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates, levels of end market demand in construction, pandemic health issues (including COVID-19 and variants thereof and the ongoing economic recovery therefrom and their effects on, among other things, global supply, demand and distribution), natural disasters and the financial condition of Otis' customers and suppliers; (2) risks associated with indebtedness; (3) challenges in the development and production of new products and services; and (4) the effect of changes in laws and regulations and political conditions in countries in which we operate, including the effect of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and other factors beyond our control. The above list of factors is not exhaustive or necessarily in order of importance. For additional information on identifying factors that may cause actual results to vary from those stated in forward-looking statements, see the reports of Otis on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K filed with or furnished to the SEC from time to time. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and Otis assumes no obligation to update or revise such statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.
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SOURCE Otis Worldwide Corporation | https://www.wsaz.com/prnewswire/2022/07/28/otis-declares-quarterly-dividend-029-per-share/ | 2022-07-28 22:16:36 | 1 | https://www.wsaz.com/prnewswire/2022/07/28/otis-declares-quarterly-dividend-029-per-share/ |
The BDN Editorial Board operates independently from the newsroom, and does not set policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com.
State officials must continue to identify and address problems in Maine’s child welfare system to better protect children and families.
The truth is that heartbreaking, infuriating failures have occurred in this system under both Republican and Democratic administrations for decades. We are confident in saying, despite some differing opinions about what to do about it, that officials across the political spectrum all want to prevent future tragedies.
That recognition must be front and center as the Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee gets set to meet Wednesday and discuss potential next steps in a disagreement with the administration of Gov. Janet Mills over access to certain child protective case files. The committee has sought the files from four recent child deaths with parents accused of killing their children. The Maine Department of Health and Human Services has denied that request, pointing to confidentiality issues and the risk of jeopardizing ongoing prosecutions.
The denial centers around advice provided by the Maine attorney general’s office in June, which said that DHHS could not share the confidential case files directly with the oversight committee but that they could be released to the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability, which the committee directs. OPEGA staff could then analyze and present information to the committee in a way that preserves confidentiality. A similar process has been used in other child death cases, before prosecution concluded.
Oversight committee members must now decide whether to flex their subpoena power and continue to seek the full case files. As some members have acknowledged, that would likely take up time and money in court.
If committee members believe they are not being granted access to documents and information they are legally entitled to in their oversight role, then this would not be an unreasonable path to assert legislative power as a coequal branch of government. Clarifying the authorities and limits under existing statute would be an important determination for this and other oversight matters. But that is a somewhat philosophical exercise compared with the more immediate need of learning from past failures and preventing future child deaths.
From a practical standpoint, we keep going back to the advice from Assistant Attorney General Ariel Gannon, and the fact that three months have now gone by since it was provided. Gannon advised DHHS to work with OPEGA “to define the information OPEGA needs to fulfill its directive from GOC; that DHHS and OPEGA negotiate and agree upon terms of disclosure and preservation of confidentiality; and that DHHS comply with OPEGA’s request for confidential protective information and records under these terms.”
The committee should begin that process, and begin it this week. They should also have a conversation about whether it is possible to subpoena the full case files at the same time. We’re not convinced that one would preclude the other, but we’ll leave that question to the lawyers.
From our place on the sidelines, given the current legal opinions and timing realities with only a few months left before a new Legislature is sworn in, it seems to us that moving forward with the process outlined in the assistant attorney general’s letter — which DHHS said in August they “stand ready” to engage in — is the most productive path forward in the short term in order to balance the oversight committee’s role, confidentiality and the integrity of ongoing prosecutions.
True justice for these child victims, we believe, must go further than convicting the individuals who are immediately responsible. It must also include ongoing work (and this is just one piece of it) to pinpoint and fix systemic issues that may have contributed to these tragedies.
For lawmakers to continue that work, they need access to as much information as possible, as soon as possible. The attorney general’s office suggested a way to achieve this in June, and at a minimum, it is past time for the oversight committee, OPEGA and DHHS to walk that path together. | https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/09/19/opinion/editorials/child-death-cases-info-editorial/ | 2022-09-20 09:36:45 | 0 | https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/09/19/opinion/editorials/child-death-cases-info-editorial/ |
By JOSH BOAK and CHRIS MEGERIAN
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday to improve accountability in policing —a meaningful but limited action on the second anniversary of George Floyd’s death that reflected the challenges in addressing racism, excessive use of force and public safety when Congress is deadlocked on stronger measures.
The event shaped by one tragedy occurred a day after a second one, a mass shooting at a Texas elementary school that killed 19 children and two teachers. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris gave remarks that tried to comfort those affected by the shooting as well those who have suffered from police brutality, promising them that change could come eventually despite the partisan divides on Capitol Hill.
“I know progress can be slow and frustrating,” Biden said. “Today we’re acting. We’re showing that speaking out matters. Being engaged matters. That the work of our time, healing the soul of this nation, is ongoing and unfinished and requires all of us never to give up.”
Floyd’s family was in the audience at the White House as the president declared that “what we do in their memory matters.” With lawmakers unable to reach agreement on how to reform police policies or on efforts to reduce mass shootings, the president has limited avenues for advancing his campaign promises. And as he tries to build consensus, Biden is also attempting to strike a balance between police and civil rights groups at a time when rising concerns about crime are eclipsing calls for reform.
Most of Biden’s order is focused on federal law enforcement agencies — for example, requiring them to review and revise policies on use of force. It will also create a database to help track officer misconduct, according to the White House.
Although the administration cannot require local police departments to participate in the database, which is intended to prevent problem officers from hopping from job to job, officials are looking for ways to use federal funding to encourage their cooperation.
In addition, the order is designed to restrict the flow of surplus military equipment to local police.
Many organizations and lawmakers said the order was an important but incomplete step forward.
“While this action does not have the long-term impact that we had hoped for,” Floyd family lawyer Ben Crump said in a statement, “it does represent incremental progress, and we need to commit ourselves to making progress every day.”
The International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Fraternal Order of Police both engaged with the Biden administration on the order. They said that they “see many components of the order as a blueprint for future congressional action.”
Yet not everyone was satisfied.
“President Biden’s executive order is a poor excuse for the transformation of public safety that he promised the Black voters who put him in office,” the Movement for Black Lives, a civil rights group, said in a statement.
Floyd’s killing by Minneapolis police sparked nationwide protests two years ago. It was the largest series of demonstrations in American history, occurring in the midst of coronavirus lockdowns and President Donald Trump’s divisive reelection campaign.
However, transforming the initial outcry into political change has proven difficult.
Last year, Biden urged Congress to pass legislation to reform police by the anniversary of his death.
The guilty verdict was “not enough,” he said, and “we can’t stop here.”
However, no legislation was passed, and bipartisan talks dragged on, and later broke down.
The White House eventually decided to move forward with executive actions rather than wait for Congress.
Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat who helped lead the talks, said the order will enhance transparency, accountability and policing standards. But he noted that additional efforts will be needed for the police to improve relationships with the people they are to protect and serve.
“Across the United States, there is a deficit of trust between law enforcement and the communities they are sworn to protect – particularly Black and brown communities,” Booker said.
In September, the Justice Department curtailed federal agents’ use of no-knock warrants — which allow law enforcement agents to enter a home without announcing their presence — and updated its policy to prohibit agents from using chokeholds in most circumstances.
But extending such rules to local police is more challenging, and White House officials have spent months in negotiations with civil rights groups and police organizations.
The resulting set of policies is less extensive than originally sought, not to mention delayed by a year.
“We know full well that an executive order cannot address America’s policing crisis the same way Congress has the ability to, but we’ve got to do everything we can,” said a statement from NAACP President Derrick Johnson.
The order goes beyond issues involving misconduct and use of force. It also assesses the impact of facial recognition software on civil liberties, looks for ways to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in federal correctional facilities and suggests better ways to collect data on police practices.
Biden is only the latest president to sign an executive order on police reform. His predecessor, Trump, signed a similar order less than a month after Floyd’s death in 2020 aimed at curbing police brutality. It provided federal dollars to departments that met certain credentialing standards on the use of force. One of the elements of the order called for the establishment of a database tracking terminations, criminal convictions and civil judgments against law enforcement officers for excessive use of force.
Former President Barack Obama also tried to push for police reform through a task force he formed in 2014. One of that task force’s recommendations was an expansion of an already existing database of officers who had been decertified.
___
Associated Press writer Fatima Hussein contributed to this report.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://wtmj.com/national/2022/05/26/biden-signs-policing-order-on-anniversary-of-floyds-death-4/ | 2022-05-26 11:24:36 | 0 | https://wtmj.com/national/2022/05/26/biden-signs-policing-order-on-anniversary-of-floyds-death-4/ |
Lawyer: Trump seeking to move criminal case to federal court
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s lawyer said Thursday the former president will seek to move his New York criminal case to federal court, a long-shot bid to avoid a trial in the state court where the indictment was brought.
Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, said at a hearing on an unrelated issue in the case that Trump’s defense team plans to file a motion Thursday asking to transfer the historic case from state court to federal court.
Such a move, while rare, would have significant advantages for Trump, including a broader, more politically diverse jury pool than in Manhattan, where voters have heavily favored his Democratic rivals.
Trump’s lawyers face a Thursday deadline to file paperwork listing their grounds for moving the case — 30 days after the April 4 state court arraignment where he pleaded not guilty a month ago to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
A federal judge would then have to rule whether the case can be moved.
Trump’s charges, brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, are related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign to bury allegations of extramarital sexual encounters.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan previously investigated those arrangements and only charged one person: Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty to violating federal campaign finance law in connection with the payments.
Trump, a Republican, has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty.
At Thursday’s hearing, regarding potential limitations on Trump’s access to certain evidence, Judge Juan Manuel Merchan asked Trump’s lawyers and the prosecution to confer and agree on a trial date in either February or March 2024.
Barring removal to federal court, that could land Trump, who’s currently making a comeback run for the White House, in court during next year’s party primaries.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.kfyrtv.com/2023/05/04/lawyer-trump-seeking-move-criminal-case-federal-court/ | 2023-05-04 16:58:21 | 0 | https://www.kfyrtv.com/2023/05/04/lawyer-trump-seeking-move-criminal-case-federal-court/ |
KNOXVILLE, Tenn., March 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian pro Jeff "Gussy" Gustafson's bass refused to play fair on the final day of the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Toyota on the Tennessee River.
But fortunately for him, the bulk of his work was already done.
Despite catching only two smallmouth bass that weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces on Championship Sunday and falling three fish short of the 15 he'd been counting down toward all week, Gustafson held on to win the most treasured title in professional fishing with a three-day total of 42-7.
As the first Canadian Classic champion ever, he takes home the Ray Scott Trophy and a $300,000 first-place check.
"I had an hour ride back to check-in, and it was horrible," said Gustafson, who now holds two-straight wire-to-wire victories on this fishery. "I thought I'd blown it for sure. I thought there was no way I'd even be in the mix.
"When I got back and looked at BassTrakk, I still wasn't sure. I knew I didn't have much more than what mine said and the guys behind me both had limits that might have been heavier than what they had entered."
As it turned out, Gustafson received hard charges from both Maryland pro Bryan Schmitt and Alabama pro Scott Canterbury, but neither could quite pull it off. Schmitt caught a five-bass limit that weighed 11-1 and finished less than 2 pounds shy of a win at 40-14, while Canterbury caught one of the biggest limits of the day at 12-1 and finished just over 2 pounds back at 40-1.
Gustafson spent the day in Tellico Lake doing the same thing that had worked for him six days in a row on the fishery — four during his 2021 regular-season Elite Series win and two to start this Classic — but something was different. Though plenty of smallmouth were still visible on his Humminbird MEGA Live electronics, they simply weren't as cooperative as they had been previously.
"I think it was a combination of they've been getting fished hard and there's some heat coming and they're ready to move up and spawn," Gustafson said. "I've been working them pretty hard, and you could tell they were lazy.
"The last couple of days, they would just skyrocket up to the bait when they saw it. But today it wasn't like that at all."
After catching 18-8 on Friday and 17-3 on Saturday, Gustafson didn't catch his first keeper until around 9:30 a.m. Sunday. Then it was another three hours before he caught his second and final keeper — and by then, he had unofficially lost the lead on BassTrakk.
But in the end, his "moping" tactic won out.
A technique that dates heavily back to his Canadian roots, Gustafson used a Z-Man Jerk ShadZ in the smelt color on a 3/8-ounce Smeltinator jighead with a 1/0 hook, fishing straight down for bass he could see on his Humminbird MEGA Live forward-facing sonar. He fished the rig on a G. Loomis NRX+ 872 rod — a 7-foot, 3-inch medium action rig — with a Shimano Stella 3000 spooled with 10-pound PowerPro and a 10-pound Shimano Mastiff fluorocarbon leader.
He said the angle of the bait was key to many of his bites.
"I use a knot called a San Diego Jam or a three tag-in knot," he said. "You can really tie whatever knot you want, but you want that bait to sit horizontal and natural in the water.
"I've been using that Z-Man Jerk ShadZ for years — long before they sponsored me — just because I feel really comfortable with them and they work."
As for the action he was imparting to the bait, he said every fish was different.
"There's no real jigging," he said. "It's more of a quiver. If they're kind of eyeballing it, coming slower toward it, I just give the bait a little bit of a quiver."
Sometimes Gustafson said he "plays games" with finicky fish.
"When they're coming slow, I pull it up away from them a little bit sometimes," he said. "You get a lot of bumps, too, where they hit it with their mouths closed. When they do that, I drop it back down and start the quiver like it's an injured baitfish."
Gustafson said he relied heavily on his Minn Kota Ultrex trolling motor to stay on top of the fish, especially on Day 2 when the winds topped 20 mph.
"Spot-Lock is one of the greatest things ever invented," he said. "Every time I'd catch a fish before I'd even put it in the livewell, I'd hit Spot-Lock because, a lot of times, there were other fish following it. So, Spot-Lock kept me on them."
Still, he said MEGA Live was the key to his event.
"I know everyone doesn't love the forward-facing sonar, but it's mandatory equipment if you want to compete with these guys. Everyone has it, and if you don't, you're not even gonna come close to competing."
The magnitude of being the first Canadian to win a Classic trophy was still dawning on Gustafson 30 minutes after the trophy was placed in his hands.
"It's insane," he said. "I'm kind of speechless. I wish I could have spoken a little better up there on stage. There are a lot of good anglers up there, a lot of people who love bass fishing in Canada.
"So, this is for everybody up there."
The 2023 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Toyota set a new record, welcoming a crowd of 163,914 fans to Classic Week activities.
Gustafson claimed the $7,000 Rapala Monster Bag of the Week with the 18-8 limit he caught on Day 1.
As a member of the Yamaha Power Pay program, Canterbury is bringing home an additional $20,000. He also earned the $1,000 BassTrakk contingency for the closest estimate of his weight throughout the first two days of the event.
Florida's Drew Benton took home an additional $7,500 for being the highest-placing entrant in the Toyota Bonus Bucks program, while John Cox earned $2,500 for being the second-highest placing entrant.
Kentucky pro Matt Robertson won $1,000 for the Mercury Big Bass of the Day with a 5-6. Oklahoma pro Luke Palmer claimed the $2,500 prize for Mercury Big Bass of the Week with a 5-13 he caught on Day 2.
The Bassmaster Classic is being hosted by Visit Knoxville.
2023 Bassmaster Classic Title Sponsor: Academy Sports + Outdoors
2023 Bassmaster Classic Presenting Sponsor: Toyota
2023 Bassmaster Classic Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2023 Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo Presenting Sponsor: U.S. Army
2023 Bassmaster Classic Local Partners: Calhoun's, Lithium Pros, Tennessee Tourism, TNT Fireworks, TVA
2023 Bassmaster Classic Host: Visit Knoxville
Connect with #Bassmaster and the #BassmasterClassic on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 515,000-member organization's fully integrated media platforms include the industry's leading magazines (Bassmaster
and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series, TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Strike King Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Team Championship, Yamaha Rightwaters Bassmaster Kayak Series powered by TourneyX, Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Toyota.
Media Contact:
Emily Harley, B.A.S.S.,
Communications Director,
eharley@bassmaster.com
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE B.A.S.S. | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/03/27/gustafson-struggles-final-day-holds-historic-bassmaster-classic-victory-tennessee-river/ | 2023-03-27 02:54:33 | 0 | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/03/27/gustafson-struggles-final-day-holds-historic-bassmaster-classic-victory-tennessee-river/ |
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The 2023 John Deere Classic Odds & Preview: Brendon Todd
Brendon Todd is in ninth place, at -5, after the first round of the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run.
Looking to wager on Brendon Todd at the John Deere Classic this week? Keep reading for the statistics you can use before you make your picks.
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Brendon Todd Insights
- Todd has finished below par on six occasions, completed his day without a bogey twice and finished six rounds with a better-than-average score over his last 12 rounds played.
- He has posted a top-five score in one of his last 12 rounds, while ranking among the top 10 scores of the day three times.
- Over his last 12 rounds, Todd has finished within three strokes of the best score of the round once, and within five strokes of the top score of the day on six occasions.
- Todd has finished in the top 10 once in his past five tournaments.
- The past five times he has played a tournament, he's made the cut three times.
- In his past five appearances, Todd has finished within five shots of the leader once. He posted a score that was better than average twice.
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John Deere Classic Insights and Stats
- Todd has two top-20 finishes, with one of them being top-10 finish, in his past eight appearances at this tournament. His average finishing position has been 23rd.
- In his past eight appearances at this event, he made it to the weekend three times.
- Todd finished ninth on the leaderboard in his previous appearance at this event, in 2023.
- Courses on the Tour in the past year have averaged 7,011 yards, a good bit shorter than the 7,289-yard length for this tournament.
- The average course Todd has played i the last year (7,270 yards) is 19 yards shorter than the course he'll be playing this week (7,289).
Todd's Last Time Out
- Todd finished in the 42nd percentile on the 16 par-3 holes at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, with an average of par.
- His 3.93-stroke average on the 40 par-4 holes at the Rocket Mortgage Classic was strong, putting him in the 67th percentile of the field.
- Todd was better than just 24% of the field at the Rocket Mortgage Classic on the tournament's 16 par-5 holes, averaging 4.69 strokes per hole compared to the field average, which was 4.51.
- Todd recorded a birdie or better on three of 16 par-3s at the Rocket Mortgage Classic (the other participants averaged 1.9).
- On the 16 par-3s at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Todd recorded three bogeys or worse (the field averaged 1.9).
- Todd had more birdies or better (eight) than the field average of 5.9 on the 40 par-4s at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
- At that last tournament, Todd's showing on the 40 par-4s included a bogey or worse five times (compared to the field's better average, 4.4).
- Todd ended the Rocket Mortgage Classic underperforming compared to the field average of birdies or better on par-5s (6.2), with six on the 16 par-5 holes.
- On the 16 par-5s at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Todd had more bogeys or worse (one) than the tournament average (0.8).
John Deere Classic Time and Date Info
- Date: July 6- 9, 2023
- Course: TPC Deere Run
- Location: Silvis, Illinois
- Par: 71 / 7,289 yards
- Todd Odds to Win: +2800 (Bet now with BetMGM!)
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All statistics in this article reflect Todd's performance prior to the 2023 John Deere Classic.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.wnem.com/sports/betting/2023/07/08/brendon-todd-john-deere-classic-pga-odds/ | 2023-07-07 06:33:04 | 0 | https://www.wnem.com/sports/betting/2023/07/08/brendon-todd-john-deere-classic-pga-odds/ |
Anthony Varvaro, a former Major League Baseball pitcher who retired in 2016 to become a police officer in the New York City area, was killed in a car crash Sunday morning on his way to work at the Sept. 11 memorial ceremony in Manhattan, according to police officials and his former teams.
Varvaro, 37, was an officer for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He played baseball at St. John’s University in New York City before a career in the majors as a relief pitcher with the Seattle Mariners, Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox from 2010 to 2015.
“We are deeply saddened on the passing of former Braves pitcher Anthony Varvaro,” the Braves said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and colleagues.”
The crash happened Sunday morning in New Jersey. Messages seeking details about the crash were left with New Jersey state police.
St. John’s head baseball coach Mike Hampton said he was “at a loss for words” over Varvaro’s death.
“Not only was he everything you could want out of a ball player, he was everything you could want in a person,” said Hampton, who was an assistant coach at St. John’s during all three of Varvaro’s seasons there. “My heart goes out to his family, friends, teammates and fellow officers.”
Port Authority officials said in a statement that Varvaro “represented the very best of this agency, and will be remembered for his courage and commitment to service.”
“On this solemn occasion as the Port Authority mourns the loss of 84 employees in the attacks on the World Trade Center — including 37 members of the Port Authority Police Department — our grief only deepens today with the passing of Officer Varvaro,” said the statement by Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole and Executive Director Rick Cotton.
Raised in Staten Island in New York City, Varvaro was drafted by Seattle in the 12th round in 2005. He played for the Mariners in 2010 and Atlanta from 2011 to 2014.
Varvaro was traded to the Red Sox in late 2014 and pitched 11 innings for Boston early in the 2015 season. In May 2015, the Chicago Cubs claimed him off waivers from Boston, but returned him to the Red Sox after testing showed he had a elbow injury in his right pitching arm, which resulted in season-ending surgery.
For his major league career, he pitched 183 innings in 166 games, compiling a 3.23 earned run average, 150 strikeouts and one save.
In 2016, he appeared in 18 games for Boston’s top minor league affiliate before retiring in June and beginning his police training.
Varvaro, who studied criminal justice at St. John’s and graduated in 2005, told the student newspaper, The Torch, in December 2016 that he inquired about police jobs at the Port Authority while pitching in the majors.
“I figured that I had a pretty successful career in baseball, I had played a number of seasons, and I was fine moving on to the next step of my life,” he told the newspaper.
Port Authority officials said Varvaro became a police officer in December 2016 and was assigned to patrol for nearly five years before transferring to the Port Authority Police Academy to become an instructor. | https://fox59.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-former-mlb-pitcher-turned-cop-varvaro-dies-in-car-crash/ | 2022-09-12 20:37:53 | 0 | https://fox59.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-former-mlb-pitcher-turned-cop-varvaro-dies-in-car-crash/ |
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland's defense minister said Tuesday that his country will accept a Patriot missile defense system which Germany offered to deploy to Poland last month.
The German offer was made after an errant missile fell in Poland near the border with Ukraine, killing two Polish men. Poland and NATO have said they believe it was a Ukrainian missile that misfired as the country protecting itself from a missile barrage on Nov. 15.
Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak had initially said that he accepted the offer with “satisfaction." But the leader of Poland's powerful ruling party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, said he thought the Patriot system should be placed in Ukraine, and Blaszczak and other Polish leaders followed his line.
What appeared to be Poland cold-shouldering Germany's offer created strains in the relationship between the two neighboring countries, which have a difficult history but today are important trade partners and allies in NATO.
Blaszczak said Tuesday on Twitter he was sorry Germany did not want to place the Patriot system in Ukraine.
“I was disappointed to accept the decision to reject the support of Ukraine,” he wrote. “Placing the Patriots in western Ukraine would increase the security of Poles and Ukrainians.”
Nonetheless, he said the two side were proceeding “with arrangements regarding the placement of the launchers in Poland and connecting them to our command system.”
Germany has said the Patriot system offered to Poland was part of NATO’s integrated air defense and only to be deployed on NATO territory.
Poland's ruling party faced significant criticism from politicians and commentators when it said it wanted the system to go to Ukraine, suggesting Poland wouldn't take it. Critics accused the party of risking the nation's security at a time of war in neighboring Ukraine by seeking to tap into anti-German sentiment.
An opinion poll published this week showed significant support by regular Poles for having the German rocket launcher located in Poland, where it will beef up defenses already enhanced by Polish and U.S. equipment since Russia's full invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.
Pawel Kowal, an opposition lawmaker, said the government's back and forth didn't look serious.
“How is Poland to be taken seriously with such a government? We take Patriots — we don’t take — we take ..." he wrote on Twitter after Blaszczak's announcement. “But pressure makes sense. So do the polls on German patriots. Poland will be safer with them.”
As Poland prepares for a national election next year, Law and Justice party leader Kaczynski has railed against Germany during his encounters with voters. Last weekend, Kaczynski accused Berlin of seeking to use peaceful means to achieve aims that “it once wanted to implement using military methods.”
___
Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine | https://www.mrt.com/news/article/Poland-says-it-will-accept-German-Patriot-air-17635280.php | 2022-12-06 19:53:18 | 0 | https://www.mrt.com/news/article/Poland-says-it-will-accept-German-Patriot-air-17635280.php |
TX Norman OK Zone Forecast for Wednesday, January 4, 2023
_____
277 FPUS54 KOUN 050801
ZFPOUN
Zone Forecast Product for Oklahoma
National Weather Service Norman OK
201 AM CST Thu Jan 5 2023
TXZ086-051600-
Wichita-
Including the cities of Sheppard AFB and Wichita Falls
201 AM CST Thu Jan 5 2023
.TODAY...Sunny. Highs around 60. West winds around 5 mph,
becoming south this afternoon.
.TONIGHT...Mostly clear in the evening, then becoming mostly
cloudy. Lows in the upper 30s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.
.FRIDAY...Partly sunny. Highs in the lower 70s. South winds 10 to
15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph.
.FRIDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy. Lows around 40. South winds 10 to
15 mph, becoming west after midnight.
.SATURDAY...Sunny. Highs in the upper 50s. North winds 10 to
15 mph.
.SATURDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy. Cold with lows in the lower 30s.
.SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Highs in the upper 50s.
Lows in the mid 30s.
.MONDAY...Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 60s.
.MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY...Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 30s.
Highs in the lower 60s.
.TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper
30s. Highs in the mid 60s.
$$
TXZ083-051600-
Hardeman-
Including the city of Quanah
201 AM CST Thu Jan 5 2023
.TODAY...Sunny. Highs in the upper 50s. West winds around 5 mph,
becoming south this afternoon.
.TONIGHT...Partly cloudy in the evening, then becoming mostly
cloudy. Lows in the upper 30s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.
.FRIDAY...Partly sunny. Highs in the lower 70s. South winds 10 to
15 mph.
.FRIDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy in the evening, then clearing. Lows
in the upper 30s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph, becoming west
after midnight.
.SATURDAY...Sunny. Highs in the upper 50s. North winds 5 to
10 mph.
.SATURDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy in the evening, then clearing.
Cold with lows in the lower 30s.
.SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Highs in the upper 50s.
Lows in the mid 30s.
.MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Highs in the mid 60s.
Lows in the mid 30s.
.TUESDAY...Sunny. Highs in the lower 60s.
.TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper
30s. Highs in the lower 60s.
$$
TXZ084-051600-
Foard-
Including the city of Crowell
201 AM CST Thu Jan 5 2023
.TODAY...Sunny. Highs around 60. West winds around 5 mph,
becoming south this afternoon.
.TONIGHT...Partly cloudy in the evening, then becoming mostly
cloudy. Lows around 40. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.
.FRIDAY...Partly sunny. Highs in the lower 70s. South winds 10 to
15 mph.
.FRIDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy in the evening, then becoming
mostly clear. Lows in the upper 30s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph,
becoming west after midnight.
.SATURDAY...Sunny, cooler with highs in the upper 50s. North
winds 5 to 10 mph.
.SATURDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy. Cold with lows in the lower 30s.
.SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Highs in the upper 50s.
Lows in the mid 30s.
.MONDAY...Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 60s.
.MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY...Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 30s.
Highs in the lower 60s.
.TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper
30s. Highs in the mid 60s.
$$
TXZ087-051600-
Knox-
Including the cities of Munday and Knox City
201 AM CST Thu Jan 5 2023
.TODAY...Sunny. Highs in the lower 60s. West winds around 5 mph,
becoming south this afternoon.
.TONIGHT...Partly cloudy. Lows around 40. South winds 5 to
10 mph.
.FRIDAY...Partly sunny. Highs in the lower 70s. South winds 10 to
15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph.
.FRIDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear in the evening, then becoming partly
cloudy. Lows around 40. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph.
.SATURDAY...Sunny, cooler with highs in the upper 50s. North
winds 5 to 10 mph.
.SATURDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 30s.
.SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Highs around 60. Lows in
the upper 30s.
.MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Highs in the upper 60s.
Lows in the upper 30s.
.TUESDAY...Sunny. Highs in the lower 60s.
.TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...Partly cloudy. Lows around 40.
Highs in the mid 60s.
$$
TXZ085-051600-
Wilbarger-
Including the city of Vernon
201 AM CST Thu Jan 5 2023
.TODAY...Sunny. Highs around 60. West winds around 5 mph,
becoming south this afternoon.
.TONIGHT...Partly cloudy in the evening, then becoming mostly
cloudy. Lows in the upper 30s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.
.FRIDAY...Partly sunny. Highs in the lower 70s. South winds 10 to
15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph.
.FRIDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 30s. Southwest
winds 5 to 10 mph, becoming west after midnight.
.SATURDAY...Sunny, cooler with highs in the upper 50s. North
winds 5 to 10 mph.
.SATURDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy. Cold with lows in the lower 30s.
.SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Highs in the upper 50s.
Lows in the mid 30s.
.MONDAY...Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 60s.
.MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY...Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 30s.
Highs in the lower 60s.
.TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper
30s. Highs in the mid 60s.
$$
TXZ088-051600-
Baylor-
Including the city of Seymour
201 AM CST Thu Jan 5 2023
.TODAY...Sunny. Highs in the lower 60s. West winds around 5 mph,
becoming south this afternoon.
.TONIGHT...Mostly clear in the evening, then becoming partly
cloudy. Lows around 40. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.
.FRIDAY...Partly sunny. Highs in the lower 70s. South winds 10 to
15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph.
.FRIDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear in the evening, then becoming partly
cloudy. Lows in the lower 40s. Southwest winds around 10 mph,
becoming west after midnight.
.SATURDAY...Sunny, cooler with highs in the upper 50s. North
winds 5 to 10 mph.
.SATURDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 30s.
.SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Highs in the upper 50s.
Lows in the upper 30s.
.MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Highs in the upper 60s.
Lows in the upper 30s.
.TUESDAY...Sunny. Highs in the lower 60s.
.TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...Partly cloudy. Lows around 40.
Highs in the mid 60s.
$$
TXZ089-051600-
Archer-
Including the cities of Archer City, Holliday, Lakeside City,
and Scotland
201 AM CST Thu Jan 5 2023
.TODAY...Sunny. Highs in the lower 60s. West winds around 5 mph,
becoming south this afternoon.
.TONIGHT...Mostly clear in the evening, then becoming partly
cloudy. Lows in the lower 40s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.
.FRIDAY...Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 70s. South winds 10 to
15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph.
.FRIDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 40s. South winds
around 10 mph, becoming southwest after midnight.
.SATURDAY...Sunny. Highs in the upper 50s. Northwest winds 5 to
10 mph.
.SATURDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 30s.
.SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Highs in the upper 50s.
Lows in the upper 30s.
.MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Highs in the upper 60s.
Lows in the upper 30s.
.TUESDAY...Sunny. Highs in the lower 60s.
.TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...Partly cloudy. Lows around 40.
Highs in the mid 60s.
$$
TXZ090-051600-
Clay-
Including the city of Henrietta
201 AM CST Thu Jan 5 2023
.TODAY...Sunny. Highs around 60. West winds around 5 mph,
becoming southwest this afternoon.
.TONIGHT...Mostly clear in the evening, then becoming partly
cloudy. Lows in the lower 40s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.
.FRIDAY...Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 70s. South winds 10 to
15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph.
.FRIDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 40s. South winds
10 to 15 mph, becoming southwest 5 to 10 mph after midnight.
.SATURDAY...Sunny. Highs in the upper 50s. Northwest winds 5 to
10 mph.
.SATURDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 30s.
.SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Highs in the upper 50s.
Lows in the upper 30s.
.MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Highs in the mid 60s.
Lows in the upper 30s.
.TUESDAY...Sunny. Highs in the lower 60s.
.TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...Partly cloudy. Lows around 40.
Highs in the mid 60s.
$$
_____
Copyright 2023 AccuWeather | https://www.sfgate.com/weather/article/TX-Norman-OK-Zone-Forecast-17695881.php | 2023-01-05 08:17:00 | 1 | https://www.sfgate.com/weather/article/TX-Norman-OK-Zone-Forecast-17695881.php |
BMW took the wraps off updated versions of the X5 and X6 earlier this month, and on Tuesday it revealed the high-performance versions of the mid-size SUVs.
Both the updated X5 M and X6 M are offered as standard in Competition grade, and they each deliver 617 hp, which is the same peak output for the current Competition grade. However, there’s a new V-8 under the hood. It’s still a twin-turbo 4.4-liter V-8 but it’s now paired to a mild-hybrid system, which is a first for a BMW M powertrain.
The mild-hybrid system delivers a 12-hp boost at times, for instance when accelerating off the line or during mid-range acceleration. According to BMW, that extra boost results in a noticeable improvement in power delivery. When it’s not aiding the engine, the electric motor can recover energy, as well as serve as the starter motor.
Performance estimates for both SUVs include 0-60 mph acceleration in 3.7 seconds and a top speed capped at 155 mph as standard or 177 mph with the available M Driver’s Package.
The 8-speed automatic also does some of the heavy lifting when it comes to performance. New on the updated X5 M Competition and X6 M Competition are shorter gear ratios in the first three gears, coupled with a wider ratio spread, to help efficiency. A revised design for the transmission’s hydraulic control is also said to result in sharper shifts.
When it comes to handling, the all-wheel-drive system has been improved with a new type of traction control system, referred to as near-actuator wheel slip limitation, which makes corrective inputs up to 10 times faster than the previous stability control system that the all-wheel drive relied on. There have also been refinements to the suspension and body to improve rigidity, including the addition of a shear panel and underfloor struts.
Other updates include modified toe-in values at the rear axle said to deliver improved agility at high speeds, as well as revised dampers that take into account body movement, road surface conditions, and steering inputs for their individual adjustment.
Stopping power in the updated X5 M Competition and X6 M Competition comes from six-piston calipers with 15.6-inch rotors up front and single-piston calipers with 15.0-inch rotors at the rear. The calipers come painted blue as standard but can be ordered in red or black. The standard wheels measure 21 inches up front and 22 at the rear.
Like the regular X5 and X6, the M versions receive plenty of styling tweaks with their update, including in the case of the M versions a front fascia design where the grille and central lower intake are finished in black and form an X-like shape. The X6 M Competition also features a unique lip spoiler. Out back sit BMW M’s signature quad-exhaust tips, which on both models are finished in black and measure four inches in diameter.
Inside, the traditional cowl over the digital instrument cluster is gone, leaving a 12.3-inch floating screen that connects with a similar 14.9-inch screen for the infotainment system. The rest of the dash has also been renewed, with fewer physical buttons as some controls have become digital. The central air vents have also been made very slim and are integrated within an ambient light bar lining the dash. Also fitted as standard is an M steering wheel with leather trim, as well as gearshift paddles in carbon fiber.
Production of the X5 M and X6 M takes place along with that of the X5 and X6 at BMW’s plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
The vehicles will be in showrooms later this year as 2024 models. The 2024 X5 M is priced at $123,295 and the 2024 X6 M at $128,195. Both figures include a $995 destination charge.
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- 2024 BMW 1-Series Hatchback spy shots | https://www.localsyr.com/automotive/internet-brands/2024-bmw-x5-m-and-x6-m-boast-new-v-8-competition-grade-as-standard/ | 2023-02-22 13:27:39 | 0 | https://www.localsyr.com/automotive/internet-brands/2024-bmw-x5-m-and-x6-m-boast-new-v-8-competition-grade-as-standard/ |
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla., Jan. 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Bill Walshe, CEO of Viceroy Hotel Group, opened the International Luxury Hotel Association's INSPIRE conference with Lodging Leadership 2.0 - Prepare to Pivot. He spoke about the luxury hotel industry's primary role as hosts and how Viceroy has incorporated diversity, equity and inclusion throughout their organization.
Bill talked about the impact on leadership in the hospitality industry as a result of things that have happened in recent years, which have seen leaders move from action to reaction, making split-second decisions in the moment.
"We are a purpose-driven industry," he said, "and my job is to create and curate environments that make people proud."
This concept builds on the essence of the hospitality industry, a business whose primary objective is to make other human beings happy. One of the ways it achieves this is by making people feel proud. Walshe told the audience the best way to do this is through an ideology, a platform upon which the organization's purpose is built with a cultural roadmap to activate and achieve business excellence.
Watch Bill Walshe's talk here to discover why he considers himself Viceroy's chief pride officer.
Patrick Huey, General Manager, We Care Spa, was the event emcee and the show's star, keeping the agenda on track with a wonderful energy that lasted all day until the raffle at the end.
David Goldstone, Executive Vice President & Chief Sales Officer of World Cinema, moderated Attracting the Luxury Traveler, with panelists Ron Pohl, President of World Hotels; Benoit Racle, Vice President Brand Management, W Hotels Worldwide; and Kris Singleton, Senior Vice President, Dish Business. The panel explored today's luxury traveler profile and how the luxury travel business has changed. Inclusivity, freedom of choice and purposeful travel were identified as important to today's guests, along with technology provided at each point in their stay so that guests can reach for what they want, when they want. Learn more about determining factors in selecting a location and how restaurants are the new nightclubs here
The high-powered conference included immersive and engaging elements to help elevate its programming even further. Encore served as the strategic production partner, enhancing the event's impact with a high level of execution. The team transformed the stage with a striking LED wall that reinforced the speakers' messaging and enabled greater audience engagement during each panel via its Chime Live app, which connected in-person and virtual participants with opportunities to network, watch sessions, and learn more about the featured speakers and products. Providing support before, during and after the conference, Encore ensured that all sessions were seamlessly delivered so that the speakers and their discussions took the spotlight on stage and beyond.
Imshan Jamal, Managing Director & Co-founder EQ Group, said, "From my perspective, the conference was excellent. The quality of the content and the caliber of the attendees were great and sparked some inspiring conversations and, hopefully, some lasting relationships too. Congratulations on putting it together!"
Sarah Khalifa, Vice President Mixed-Use Development Marriott International, told us, "I had a wonderful time at the conference and meeting you - I very much enjoyed the panel - the topics and selection of panelists were excellent!"
Rachael Rothman, Head of Hotels Research, CBRE Hotels Research; moderated the panel Predicting and Planning for a Recession, with Jonathan Falik, CEO of JF Capital Advisors; Dave Tessier Founder & CEO of Hospitality Gaming Advisors and Zach Demuth, Head of Americas Hotel Research, JLL. Panelists spoke through their own macroeconomic lens touching on the disconnect between strong hotel RevPAR and a slow-down in GDP growth, elevated CPI, rising interest rates, a slow return to the office, and a modest recovery in inbound international travel. They also gave insight on how to maximize margins as amenities reopen and demand fully recovers despite material inflation in labor, property taxes, Capex costs, insurance, etc. They finished with an overview of the deals market and their view to the future.
Avendra, one of the ILHA's official partners, kicked off the conference with a Welcome to Wellness cocktail reception at the Arizona Biltmore Spire Bar. Avendra also sponsored the session Reinventing Wellness Space to Drive Revenue, moderated by John Moore, Founder, The Spa Expert; with Chris King, Chief Development Officer, Salamander Hotels & Resorts; Rika Lisslö, Vice President – Hyatt Hotels Corporation; and Jessica Wadley, Vice President, Oakworks. Key takeaways included what wellness really means and exciting data to support the five-year growth in wellness and revenue opportunities. View the recording here
The INSPIRE Hub was the focus of the networking with roundtable discussions both days on topics around wellness, guest experience, brand storytelling, expansion in a time of uncertainty, sustainability, & DEI, how independents are staying competitive and the pros and cons of being public vs. private.
The first day ended with a cocktail event on the lawn followed by an intimate president's dinner at Renata's Hearth at the Arizona Biltmore, sponsored by Monoplex.
Recordings of all the sessions can be found on the ILHA's luxury hotel TV where you can view talks on Building a Brand Story, Innovation in a Disruptive Landscape, the Intersection between Experience and Technology, the Rising Trend of Luxury Hotel Residences, Industry Check-In: How have Hotels Adapted to Thrive and more.
The ILHA INSPIRE event is only possible with its sponsors, who add the sizzle to networking events, support thought-provoking sessions onstage and provide unique solutions to challenges hoteliers are facing. View ILHA 2022 sponsors here
About the International Luxury Hotel Association
The International Luxury Hotel Association is the luxury hospitality's preeminent association promoting, unifying and advancing the industry through insight, opinion and research.
ILHA reaches an audience of more than 500,000 hotel professionals in 90+ countries and produces LUXURY HOTELIERS Magazine, ILHA SmartBrief and the INSPIRE SUMMITS in Europe and North America. They also run LinkedIn's largest hospitality and travel group which ranks in the top 100 of the more than 10 million professional groups on LinkedIn. Connect with us on theilha.com, hospitality and travel forum, ILHA Facebook, ILHA Instagram, ILHA Twitter, ILHA YouTube
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SOURCE International Luxury Hotel Association | https://www.dakotanewsnow.com/prnewswire/2023/01/26/ilha-inspire-conference-report-back/ | 2023-01-26 14:53:32 | 0 | https://www.dakotanewsnow.com/prnewswire/2023/01/26/ilha-inspire-conference-report-back/ |
Harness STO Module Enables Developers to Deliver Highly Secure Applications, Accelerate Deployment Velocity and Minimize Rework
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Harness, the Modern Software Delivery Platform™ company, today announced the general availability of Harness Security Testing Orchestration (STO). The Harness STO module helps organizations deliver business value to their customers more quickly by increasing release velocity and security in deployments, reducing risk and bringing security to all aspects of the software delivery lifecycle (SDLC). Harness STO eases developer workload by automating security scanning and governance in software delivery. To get started with Harness STO, visit https://harness.io/products/security-testing-orchestration.
Standard application security testing practices were not necessarily built with either speed or transparency in mind. Organizations today recognize that increasing the velocity of software delivery through automation is critical to rapidly deliver value to customers. As DevOps continues to gain popularity for rapid software delivery, concerns regarding the speed to quickly identify and remediate application security vulnerabilities and associated risks have increased.
To address these concerns, leading organizations are adopting a DevSecOps approach, which encourages security automation throughout the entire release process and moves security earlier in the software delivery lifecycle (SDLC). While DevSecOps alleviates many late-stage security concerns and the related rework, it also 'shifts left' the work required by developers. As a result, developers need to balance the quality and speed at which they deliver features. Since there is significant time dedicated to running multiple security scanners, processing the large amounts of disparate data they create, and identifying, prioritizing and remediating the security vulnerabilities that are detected, this approach often slows down release velocity.
According to a recent Gartner® report on DevSecOps, "As DevOps continues to gain popularity for rapid delivery and innovation of IT-enabled capabilities, concerns about security increase. Security and risk management leaders must adapt security tools, processes and policies to the DevOps toolchain without slowing the development and release process. …DevOps practices encourage automation to achieve scale, but security has traditionally been manual, process-heavy and gate-driven — the antithesis of automation, transparency and speed."
* (Gartner Report ID # G00377293, "Integrating Security into the DevSecOps Toolchain")
The Harness STO module is fully integrated into the Harness Software Delivery Platform and is purpose-built to enable engineering and DevSecOps teams to deliver secure applications at high velocity. By automating the scanning, analysis, and prioritization that otherwise slows down the engineering team, Harness STO makes it possible to create and enforce application security policies for a single service or across the whole organization. Orchestrating application security scanners across software delivery and processing the output of the scanners to make it easy for engineers to remediate allows for both high application security and high delivery velocity. Harness STO integrates with leading open source and commercial security scanners and can be used with Harness CI/CD or other CI/CD tooling.
Harness STO eliminates the time consuming manual process of reviewing, synthesizing and acting on the volume of disparate data from multiple scanners. Harness STO normalizes, dedupes and correlates the security scanner data and provides a single dashboard with a prioritized list of actionable results to remediate potential code vulnerabilities. Additionally, Harness STO empowers teams to customize governance configuration and establish consistent policies and procedures using policy as code and the Open Policy Agent (OPA).
"As more organizations adopt a cloud-native approach, they must take steps to secure their SDLC. With Harness STO, entire organizations can embrace the DevSecOps approach without requiring developers to become security experts or slowing down deployments. Harness STO makes security a team sport by infusing security into all aspects of the SDLC," said Jyoti Bansal, CEO and founder of Harness.
Harness STO is generally available today and works seamlessly with Harness CI and CD as part of the Harness Software Delivery Platform or is available as a SaaS, on-prem or hybrid offering. For more information on Harness STO please visit https://harness.io/products/security-testing-orchestration.
*Gartner, Integrating Security Into the DevSecOps Toolchain, Mark Horvath, Neil MacDonald, Refreshed 4 March 2021, Published 15 November 2019
GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.
Harness, the Modern Software Delivery Platform™, provides a simple, safe and secure way for engineering and DevOps teams to rapidly release applications into production. Harness uses machine learning to detect the quality of deployments and automatically roll back failed ones, saving time and reducing the need for custom scripting and manual oversight, giving engineers their weekends back. Harness Inc. is based in San Francisco. More on Twitter @harnessio and at harness.io.
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SOURCE Harness | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2022/08/02/harness-accelerates-secure-software-delivery-with-general-availability-harness-security-testing-orchestration-sto/ | 2022-08-02 14:22:59 | 0 | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2022/08/02/harness-accelerates-secure-software-delivery-with-general-availability-harness-security-testing-orchestration-sto/ |
USDOT: No extra charge for children reseated next to parents on flights
WASHINGTON (Gray News) – The U.S. Department of Transportation announced a set of actions it has taken to help protect airline passengers.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said USDOT has published the first-ever Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights and issued a notice to airlines to seat young children with a parent free of extra charge.
“Today’s announcements are the latest steps toward ensuring an air travel system that works for everyone,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a release. “Whether you’re a parent expecting to sit together with your young children on a flight, a traveler with a disability navigating air travel, or a consumer traveling by air for the first time in a while, you deserve safe, accessible, affordable, and reliable airline service.”
The Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights is set to empower travelers with disabilities to understand their rights on flights, and to ensure U.S. and foreign airlines understand and uphold those rights.
The USDOT’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (OACP) also issued a notice urging U.S. airlines to allow children 13 years old and younger to be seated next to a guardian at no extra charge. The department said the announcement was made in response to complaints made about airlines separating children, some as young as 11 months old, from their parents during flights.
The department says that it will review airline policies and consumer complaints later this year and will seek potential actions if needed.
Recently, consumer complaints have risen more than 300% above pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest Air Travel Consumer Report.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wymt.com/2022/07/12/usdot-no-extra-charge-children-reseated-next-parents-flights/ | 2022-07-12 01:49:50 | 1 | https://www.wymt.com/2022/07/12/usdot-no-extra-charge-children-reseated-next-parents-flights/ |
As Florida State continues preparations for playing in its first bowl game since 2019, the Seminoles know they’ll have first-team All-ACC selections Jammie Robinson and Jared Verse.
Robinson and Verse committed to playing in the postseason rather than bypassing it to prepare for the NFL Draft in April. While they haven’t made any decisions on their futures, both are projected as picks.
“There’s been no debate. I love football. I love the game and that’s what I’m here for,” said Robinson, a safety. “I’m here to help the team get wins, and I’m a team guy. It’s another game for me to showcase what I do and what I love.”
Added Verse, “I plan on planning in the bowl game no matter what. I want to give my best effort and I’m still deciding what I’m going to do in the future.”
While the Seminoles’ postseason plans are unclear, projections have them anywhere from the Cheez-It Bowl in Orlando to the Holiday Bowl in San Diego. A decision won’t come until Sunday afternoon after the College Football Playoff selection show.
Players opting out of a bowl game, rather than risking injury before the NFL Combine in February, is a growing trend.
“Guys like that — they’re going to regret it in the end. You can’t take it for granted,” said Robinson, who led the team with 86 tackles, including 4 tackles for loss, an interception, 4 pass breakups and 5 quarterback hurries. “I’m going to miss college football, and I want to get every game in. I’m here for Florida State.”
Verse, a redshirt sophomore edge rusher, is projected as a first-round pick by ESPN’s Mel Kiper.
“I’m talking to people close to me, talking to people around me who have more information to try and know the best situation for me,” he said.
15 earn All-ACC: Florida State had 15 players earn All-ACC, with three players named to the first team, four to the second, one on the third and seven honorable mentions. It was the second-most in the conference behind Clemson’s 22 and the most by the Seminoles since 2015.
Senior offensive lineman Dillan Gibbons joined Robinson and Verse on the first team, while quarterback Jordan Travis led the second team with running back Trey Benson, receiver Johnny Wilson and offensive tackle Robert Scott Jr. Offensive guard D’Mitri Emmanuel made the third team.
Center Maurice Smith, running back Treshaun Ward, defensive tackles Fabien Lovett and Robert Cooper, linebacker Tatum Bethune, cornerback Renardo Green and punt returner Mycah Pittman earned honorable mention.
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Matt Murschel at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @osmattmurschel.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Bedding provider Tempur Sealy has agreed to acquire Mattress Firm in a cash-and stock-transaction valued at about $4 billion, the companies said Tuesday.
Mattress Firm operates more than 2,300 brick-and-mortar retail locations and an e-commerce platfom. After the Tempur Sealy acquistion is complete, the two companies will have a total of some 3,000 retail stores, 30 e-commerce platforms, 71 manufacturing facilities and four research and development facilities worldwide.
“This combination will accelerate our growth trajectory and enhance operating cash flow,” Tempur Sealy Chairman and CEO Scott Thompson said in a statement. “Mattress Firm has been a valued retail partner for more than 35 years, and we look forward to welcoming their talented workforce of more than 8,100 employees to the Tempur Sealy family.”
Mattress Firm CEO John Eck added that the transaction will increase the companies’ ability “to better address consumers’ needs and drive growth.”
Tempur Sealy will pay about $2.7 billion in cash and $1.3 billion in stock to Mattress Firm, which is partially owned by Steinhoff International Holdings NV. That reflects the issuance of 34.2 million common shares, based on Monday’s closing share price of $37.62.
After the transaction is complete, Mattress Firm shareholders will own about 16.6% of the combined company and Tempur Sealy shareholders will own the rest.
The companies expect to complete the transaction in the second half of 2024. After the acquistion is complete, Mattress Firm is set to operate as a separate business unit within Tempur Sealy.
Tempur Sealy received a request frm the Federal Trade Commission for additional information and documents related to the transaction. The company plans to “work cooperatively” with the FTC to complete the acquistion.
Piper Sandler said in a note Tuesday the prospect of Tempur Sealy acquiring Mattress Firm “has been discussed for many, many months within the industry.” The investment banking and research firm expects a long FTC review process, noting that the transaction marks a “seismic deal for the mattress industry.”
Neil Saunders, managing director of data analytics company GlobalData, said selling Mattress Firm has been a “priority” for Steinhoff as the parent company looks to pay down debt.
Saunders added that the deal will allow Tempur Sealy to expand its distribution and reach more consumers at a crucial time for increasing sales.
“Tempur Sealy will also hope that Mattress Firm helps them to buck the current slowdown in sales which is being caused by the cost-of-living crisis and many households having upgraded their mattresses during the pandemic,” Saunders said.
But the full impact of the acquistion is still unknown. Saunders points to the high purchase price and other challenges retailers like Mattress Firm face today — including the disruption from a “raft of specialist new entrants to the market, most of which sell directly to consumers” and “pressure from the expansion of home players like IKEA.”
While Mattress Firm and Tempur Sealy have a long history as retail partners, the two have had a rocky relationship in recent years. The companies temporarily ended their partnership in January 2017 — in a move that notably removed popular Tempur-Pedic beds from Mattress Firm stores.
The following year, in August 2018, Tempur-Pedic sued Mattress Firm for allegedly “selling confusingly similar products under the ‘Therapedic’ name, and copying the look and feel of the entire Tempur-Pedic brand and consumer experience.” Tempur-Pedic also accused Mattress Firm of continuing to sell Tempur-Pedic mattresses beyond the 2017 end of their partnership.
In October 2018, Mattress Firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and closed hundreds of stores. At the time, the Houston-based company pointed to years of overexpansion that resulted in “cannibalization” of sales. Mattress Firm’s then-CEO Steve Stagner later resigned in April 2019.
Months after Stagner’s resignation, Tempur Sealy and Mattress Firm reconciled with a new, long-term supply agreement.
In addition to announcing plans to acquire Mattress Firm on Tuesday, Tempur Sealy also reported a first-quarter profit of $85.3 million, or 48 cents per share. Ecluding one-time items, earnings were 53 cents per share.
The Kentucky-based mattress maker said revenue slipped 2.5% to $1.21 billion from $1.24 billion. | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/business/ap-business/tempur-sealy-to-buy-matress-firm-in-4-billion-deal/ | 2023-05-10 01:59:58 | 0 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/business/ap-business/tempur-sealy-to-buy-matress-firm-in-4-billion-deal/ |
French Bulldog wins top prize at National Dog Show
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Updated: 11:12 PM EST Nov 24, 2022
Well, it's my favorite day of the year. Uh, you gather around all of these dogs, as I mentioned, 2000 of them, more than 200 different breeds. They're all in the back uh, backstage area, uh, in their breed competitions. And you know, you'll see 75 of the best German shepherds you've ever seen All competing just to be the top Shepherd to go into the group competition to hopefully get into the best in show competition. So, it's *** very competitive day. It's uh, but the nice thing about it is when you put 30,000 people that are in there, in the arena, out there in oaks Pennsylvania, uh, and 2000 dogs in the same room. Everybody's having the best day of their lives, everybody's smiling, everybody's happy. And it underscores what dogs do for us in our lives. They round off the edges, they take the otherwise brittle ends of our lives and screw them out. It really, you know, it really is true and it's, it's, it's uh, they've adapted as we've adapted. Uh People, people just love the dogs and, and it carries on to the actual day that we uh share the event on thanksgiving day. Uh, we encourage people to send in videos to us and I gotta tell you, I am, I am *** laughingstock watching these dogs, some of them will sit on the sofa, they will watch the show intently, they will hop down, walk over to the television set in the corner of the room, sniff the television set and then walk around to the back of the tv set, looking for the actual dog because they know it's there. The perfect dog. My son asked *** question, as little boys do of me and my wisdom and all that I knew, is there *** dog that is perfect? He asked on *** whim. Well, I thought, and I thought about where to begin. He'd have ears that were floppy or cropped and alert and eyes that were sleepy, who are perky and Burt the, but they have been, there was one particular one where *** handler uh, looked the other way for *** moment and let slip the, the uh, the leash and this dog decided to make *** run for it and ran around the arena for four or five full laps. And it was hysterical because nobody could stop the dog. It was just, I'm sorry, I've had it, I've gotta make my run here. It's just too too slow for me. So anyway, the dog was finally back in the hands of the handler, went fine. But the funniest one was truly when one year in the best of show competition. Now, that's the seven best dogs and the great dane was chosen as one of those best dogs and they're all competing for best in show. So they had their, their moment of time to run through the arena and they're introduced individually. Well, the great dane comes by the NBC desk there, the where David and I are broadcasting from and stops and looks me right in the eye And squats down and leaves *** pile on the floor. That you wouldn't believe. It took *** hazmat team to come out and clean it up. It stopped the show for 20 minutes and it was, I had I died because that dog was looking me right in the eye. And just, I think it was an editorial comment. That's the way I took The dog that is perfect. Would be covered in spots or maybe one color and then have spots. Not it'd be small as *** teacup or big as *** house with *** nose that seemed flattened or wrong as *** mouse. It's women. He'd hunt with *** coat flying free or be dainty and delicate and he'd be *** she as I struggled to answer and not with *** clue. My son with *** smile set out of the blue with the wisdom of Children, but he already knew the dog that is perfect. Is the one next to you
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French Bulldog wins top prize at National Dog Show
Who's a good boy? This year, it's Winston.Winston the French Bulldog won Best in Show, the top spot, at this year's 21st Annual National Dog Show presented by Purina. Winston is the first French Bulldog to ever win the competition's top prize."They have cornered the market on energy, enthusiasm and just pure spunk," show host John O'Hurley said of Winston and his handler, Perry Payson.Winston beat out hundreds of dogs to win Thursday's prize. The Kennel Club of Philadelphia's dog show airs every Thanksgiving following the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and is the most-watched dog show in the country. The dogs sometimes train for years in an effort to win the national title.Last year, Claire -- a Scottish Deerhound -- made history as the first dog to win the top title two years in a row. Every year, the dogs compete against other dogs in their breed to determine the best in breed. Then, all those winners compete against each other at the group stage -- Sporting, Hound, Working, Terrier, Toy, Non-Sporting and Herding. The seven very best dogs in their group then compete to win best in show.This year is the first to feature the Mudi and Russian Toy, two newly recognized breeds. But this isn't Winston's first bout with fame: He also competed in the Westminster Dog show earlier this year.
Who's a good boy? This year, it's Winston.
Winston the French Bulldog won Best in Show, the top spot, at this year's 21st Annual National Dog Show presented by Purina. Winston is the first French Bulldog to ever win the competition's top prize.
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"They have cornered the market on energy, enthusiasm and just pure spunk," show host John O'Hurley said of Winston and his handler, Perry Payson.
Winston beat out hundreds of dogs to win Thursday's prize. The Kennel Club of Philadelphia's dog show airs every Thanksgiving following the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and is the most-watched dog show in the country. The dogs sometimes train for years in an effort to win the national title.
Last year, Claire -- a Scottish Deerhound -- made history as the first dog to win the top title two years in a row.
Every year, the dogs compete against other dogs in their breed to determine the best in breed. Then, all those winners compete against each other at the group stage -- Sporting, Hound, Working, Terrier, Toy, Non-Sporting and Herding. The seven very best dogs in their group then compete to win best in show.
This year is the first to feature the Mudi and Russian Toy, two newly recognized breeds.
But this isn't Winston's first bout with fame: He also competed in the Westminster Dog show earlier this year. | https://www.wtae.com/article/french-bulldog-wins-top-prize-national-dog-show/42063420 | 2022-11-25 05:00:48 | 0 | https://www.wtae.com/article/french-bulldog-wins-top-prize-national-dog-show/42063420 |
There are plenty of exciting activities to do at your favorite beach, including building sand sculptures, playing beach volleyball and taking a dip in the water. But while you may focus your attention on the shore, don’t forget the sky. That’s because flying an aerial toy or kite is especially fun at the beach.
Not all beach flying objects are the same. The right one will match the navigator’s age and skill set and be entertaining yet challenging. It will also sport an eye-catching design that is perfect for the beach.
Shop this article: Mint’s Colorful Life Devil Fish Kite, Prism Synapse Dual-Line Parafoil Kite and Hengda Kite Octopus Flyer Kite
Reasons to take an aerial toy or kite to the beach
The movement, warmth and elevation of the air at a beach make it ideal for flying a kite. That’s because the air warms and rises in many coastal regions. Additionally, minimal down and updrafts mean fewer kite crashes caused by gusts.
Most shorelines have large, open areas that are ideal for kite flying. So unless you are in the heart of a tourist area with lots of beach umbrellas on a busy beach day, chances are you’ll find a spot on shore to go fly a kite.
It’s also visually pleasing to fly a kit at the beach. Brightly-colored kites against the horizon of the sky and sea is a beautiful site.
Types of beach aerial toys and kites
Classic
Classic kites feature fairly basic construction and a single control line. They are easy to fly, so they are best for kids and families. Two classic kite designs include the delta that is flexible and has a triangular shape, and diamond that has a bridle that’s attached to points in the diamond design to retain its structure when being flown.
Parafoil
Parafoil kites get their name from the layers of fabric that puff up like a parachute when soaring in the air. Many kites in this category have two or more lines and are best flown by experienced kite enthusiasts. Large models are often referred to as traction kites and are useful for training purposes for those learning to kiteboard or parasail.
Stunt
Those who like to do more than just fly a kite need a stunt kite. These kites are structured to make awe-inspiring moves in the air but require a pilot who has a bit of experience to accomplish the aerial tricks.
Cellular
Flying objects with a three-dimensional design are often referred to as cellular or box kites.
Powerful air and confident control are required to keep these kites flying, but they are definitely fun to watch and maneuver.
Sled
The sled-like design of this kite gives it its name. Sled kites have vertical spars and material that opens up when the wind lifts them. They are relatively easy to fly.
Tips for a successful kite flight
Pick the right kite. Make sure the model you buy is suitable for the kite flyer’s age and experience level.
Choose the appropriate spot. Never fly a kite on a beach where it could get tangled in objects or trees or interfere with other beachgoers.
Make sure the weather is right. Bright, clear days with a breeze are ideal for beach kite-flying. Never fly a kite in extreme wind or when there’s lightning in the atmosphere.
Prepare your kite for takeoff. Spread out the kite body and tail, and make sure the bridle and string control line are secure.
Best beach aerial toys and kites
Mint’s Colorful Life Devil Fish Kite
In addition to being colorful and affordable, this kite earns high marks for being easy to fly. The fun yet simple design makes it perfect for novice kite enthusiasts.
Sold by Amazon
Prism Synapse Dual-Line Parafoil Kite
This parafoil kite features dual lines that make it easy to control while showing off pro-level flying skills. Its frameless design is lightweight, which offers optimal maneuverability.
Sold by Amazon
Hengda Kite Octopus Flyer Kite
A fun, colorful design that’s straightforward to control makes this adorable octopus kite a good pick for young kite flyers. Kids and the young-at-heart love to watch the tentacles flow in the sea breeze when it’s in the air high above the shoreline.
Sold by Amazon
In the Breeze Coloring Sled Kite
Young kite lovers will be enthused to customize this kite with the included crayons. Kids can easily control and fly the frameless sled design. It’s affordable too.
Sold by Amazon
Not only is this kite affordable and colorful, but it’s also easy to fly, thanks to the traditional delta design. The dual tails look great when it’s in flight.
Sold by Amazon
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Copyright 2023 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://www.qcnews.com/reviews/br/camping-outdoors-br/beach-br/have-fun-at-the-beach-with-these-awesome-aerial-toys-and-kites/ | 2023-06-30 09:56:42 | 0 | https://www.qcnews.com/reviews/br/camping-outdoors-br/beach-br/have-fun-at-the-beach-with-these-awesome-aerial-toys-and-kites/ |
Stay tuned for bio. Adoption fees for Cats is $45.00 Adoption fees for Kittens under 1 year of age is... View on PetFinder
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- ZTE held a Global Industrial Innovation Forum with the theme of "Shaping Digital Innovation" at MWC 2023
- The Forum gathered experts to deliver keynote speeches and discuss around the trending insights, business development strategies and technologies in specific areas
BARCELONA, Spain, March 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ZTE Corporation, a global leading provider of information and communication technology solutions, held a Global Industrial Innovation Forum with the theme of "Shaping Digital Innovation" at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona on February 27, 2023. The forum covers two sessions in terms of "Future Trends and Opportunities" and "Unleashing New Value", gathering experts from global telecom operators, leading consulting agencies, eco-partners and related industries to deliver keynote speeches and discuss around the trending insights, business development strategies and technologies in specific areas.
Guests attending and delivering speeches on the forum are including: Xu Ziyang, CEO of ZTE; John Hoffman, CEO of GSMA; George Held, Chief of Staff of VEON Group; Vikram Sinha, President Director and CEO of Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison; Peter Jarich, Head of GSMA Intelligence; Ni Fei, SVP of ZTE; Spas Velinov, CTO of Yettel Bulgaria EAD; Dr. Terje Jensen, SVP of Telenor Group; Ma Hongbing, GM of Science & Technology Innovation Department of China Unicom; Dr. Bi Qi, Chief Expert of China Telecom; Dr. Bai Gang, VP of ZTE; Hu Junjie, GM of Wireline Marketing of ZTE; Juan David Rodriguez, CTO of America Movil Peru S.A.C; Dr. Rizal Akbar, VP of Telkom Indonesia; Tanapong Ittisakulchai, CEBO of AIS; and Ovens Andrew John, Chief Director of Global Service of ZTE Europe.
Xu Ziyang, CEO of ZTE, delivered a welcome speech for the forum, said: "We are now facing the greatest digital wave ever, which will bring changes we have never seen before, and with these changes will come opportunities. To seize these opportunities, innovation will be crucial. That's why we named this session 'Shaping Digital Innovation'. The digital innovation essentially brings multiple benefits in terms of three aspects. First, it fundamentally boosts the development of the ICT industry, extends the boundaries of capacity, and safeguards sustainability. Second, it creates new values for verticals. By unleashing the power of digital innovation, we can drive massive increases in both efficiency and profitability. Third, it can unlock infinite possibilities beyond our imagination. With the continuous evolution of digital technologies, the real and digital worlds will converge and evolve faster, and finally reshape our entire society. ZTE remains open and committed to ensuring benefits for our customers and partners, and aims to build a digital and intelligent ecosystem for shared success."
During the session of "Future Trends and Opportunities", a number of guest speakers delivered keynote speeches on the trending insights of 2023 and future business development strategies, including George Held, Chief of Staff of VEON Group; Vikram Sinha, President Director and CEO of Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison; Peter Jarich, Head of GSMA Intelligence; Ni Fei, SVP of ZTE; Spas Velinov, CTO of Yettel Bulgaria EAD; and Dr. Terje Jensen, SVP of Telenor Group.
With the irreversible trend of digital transformation, the increasing demand for traffic and computing power cannot be ignored. The overarching trend of green development worldwide is imminent. Therefore, responding to the trends of times, exploring the new opportunities of growing digital intelligence, riding the waves of global technological and industrial evolution have become key enablers for enterprises clinching long-term victory.
During the session of "Unleashing New Value", Ma Hongbing, GM of Science & Technology Innovation Department of China Unicom; Dr. Bi Qi, Chief Expert of China Telecom; Dr. Bai Gang, VP of ZTE; Hu Junjie, GM of Wireline Marketing of ZTE; Juan David Rodriguez, CTO of America Movil Peru S.A.C; Dr. Rizal Akbar, VP of Telkom Indonesia; Tanapong Ittisakulchai, CEBO of AIS; and Ovens Andrew John, Chief Director of Global Service of ZTE Europe, delivered keynote speeches on 5G Growing, Brightening a New Optical Era, Intelligent New Operation and Maintenance, Digital Twin, and other technical fields.
As a digital native company, ZTE has been cooperating extensively with global partners in digital infrastructure construction and digital industry development, promoting digital intelligence and low-carbonization for industries with innovative ICT technologies. ZTE will always stick to the business philosophy of "Simplicity, Agility, and Openness for Win-Win", and is committed to serving as the "Driver of Digital Economy" to shape digital innovation.
MEDIA INQUIRIES:
ZTE Corporation
Communications
Email: ZTE.press.release@zte.com.cn
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SOURCE ZTE Corporation | https://www.wistv.com/prnewswire/2023/03/01/zte-holds-global-industrial-innovation-forum-mwc-2023-shaping-digital-innovation/ | 2023-03-01 10:21:53 | 1 | https://www.wistv.com/prnewswire/2023/03/01/zte-holds-global-industrial-innovation-forum-mwc-2023-shaping-digital-innovation/ |
Nov. 15
Yesterday's high was 66 degrees and the low was 38.
Nov. 14
Expect today to be sunny with a high near 66. Tonight should be partly cloudy with a low around 40.
Yesterday's high was 75 degrees, the low was 44 and there was a trace amount of rain..
Last year on this date the high was 88 degrees and the low was 50. Fifty years ago on this date the high was 71 degrees and the low was 41. One hundred years ago the high was 59 degrees and the low was 25.
The record high for 90 degrees, set in 1999. The record low is 24 degrees, set in 1916.
Nov. 13
Today is expected to be sunny with a high near 73 degrees and winds from the southeast at 5-10 mph. Winds will come from the west in the afternoon and increase to 13-18 mph with gusts up to 28 mph. Tonight should be mostly clear with a low around 38 degrees and winds will be somewhat calmer.
People are also reading…
Yesterday's high was 76 degrees and the low was 42.
Last year on this date the high was 88 degrees, setting a new record, and the low was 50. Fifty years ago on this date the high was 63 degrees and the low was 35. One hundred years ago the high was 63 degrees and the low was 27.
The record high for 88 degrees, set in 2021. The record low is 21 degrees, set in 1898. The normal high is 76 degrees.
Nov. 12
Yesterday's high was 68 degrees and the low was 39.
Nov. 11
Yesterday's high was 67 degrees and the low was 48.
Nov. 10
Yesterday's high was 76 degrees and the low was 54.
Nov. 9
Yesterday's high was 82 degrees and the low was 48.
Johanna Eubank is a digital producer for the Arizona Daily Star and tucson.com. She has been with the Star in various capacities since 1991. | https://tucson.com/news/weather/todays-tucson-weather-forecast-nov-15/article_2e3d7b54-64e4-11ed-8b02-137f73eceb37.html | 2022-11-15 13:57:14 | 1 | https://tucson.com/news/weather/todays-tucson-weather-forecast-nov-15/article_2e3d7b54-64e4-11ed-8b02-137f73eceb37.html |
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., June 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Independent Life Insurance Company was recognized by Life Annuity Specialist - https://www.lifeannuityspecialist.com/, an online industry news service, for increasing its annuity premium by 248% to $78 million in the 2023 First Quarter. In Life Annuity Specialist's June 15 article, "The 20 Fastest-Growing Smaller Annuity Issuers in the First Quarter," the publication analyzed annuity issuers with direct premiums and annuity considerations ranging from $20 million to $500 million.
The Life Annuity Specialist article highlighted the success of iStructure, Independent Life's index-linked structured settlement annuity, as an important factor in the firm's growth. iStructure is the first uncapped index-linked structured settlement annuity and provides individuals the opportunity for growth in payout amounts with the same flexibility and tax benefits of traditional structured settlements.
"iStructure has really gained traction over the last year and is now more than half our overall new production," said James Atkins, CEO of Independent Life Company. "We have been contributing to the growth of the market by raising awareness of structured settlements among key influencers, especially personal injury attorneys," he added.
Founded in 2018 by insurance industry experts, Independent Life Insurance Company is the underwriting division of Independent Group, a forward-thinking enterprise whose complementary product and service companies improve outcomes for all structured settlement stakeholders.
ABOUT INDEPENDENT LIFE
Independent Life is dedicated to providing structured settlement solutions, including annuities, to serve the needs of injured parties, their families and advocates.9 For more on what makes Independent Life different, visit www.independent.life.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Vicky Riley
Riley Communications
214.680-1712
Vicky@rileycommunications.com
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SOURCE Independent Insurance Group LLC | https://www.kold.com/prnewswire/2023/06/21/independent-life-recognized-fast-annuity-premium-growth/ | 2023-06-21 14:05:02 | 0 | https://www.kold.com/prnewswire/2023/06/21/independent-life-recognized-fast-annuity-premium-growth/ |
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Will Wilson enforce hard deadline with Seahawks?
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Close Ad | https://www.nbcsports.com/watch/nfl/profootballtalk/will-wilson-enforce-hard-deadline-with-seahawks | 2023-07-05 15:38:43 | 0 | https://www.nbcsports.com/watch/nfl/profootballtalk/will-wilson-enforce-hard-deadline-with-seahawks |
CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole in the death of his 9-year-old disabled son, who disappeared nearly 20 years ago.
Dawan Ferguson, of St. Louis, was sentenced Tuesday after being convicted in July of first-degree murder nearly two decades after his son, Christopher, disappeared. The boy's body has never been found.
Ferguson has always claimed the boy was inside his SUV when it was stolen after Ferguson stopped to make a phone call, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Christian had a disorder that prevented his body from processing protein. Without medication, he would have died within 24 to 72 hours. When he disappeared, Christian could not walk or talk.
The sentence will run consecutively to a life sentence plus 30 years that Ferguson was given last week for convictions of sexually abusing two children over several years.
Ferguson said in a statement Tuesday that he would appeal. | https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Father-sentenced-in-death-of-boy-who-disappeared-17470905.php | 2022-09-27 20:49:33 | 1 | https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Father-sentenced-in-death-of-boy-who-disappeared-17470905.php |
WFO NORMAN Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Saturday, April 30, 2022
_____
RED FLAG WARNING
URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Norman OK
954 AM CDT Fri Apr 29 2022
...Critical to Extreme Fire Weather Conditions Likely Friday...
A combination of very dry air, hot temperatures, and gusty
southwest winds will lead to the potential for dangerous fire
weather conditions on Friday.
...RED FLAG WARNING NOW IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO
MIDNIGHT CDT TONIGHT FOR VERY DRY, WINDY, AND HOT CONDITIONS FOR
WESTERN OKLAHOMA AND PARTS OF WESTERN NORTH TEXAS...
* TIMING... Friday afternoon through midnight.
* WINDS...Southwest 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 45 mph.
* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...As low as 5 percent.
* TEMPERATURES...Mid to upper 90s
* IMPACTS...Any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly.
Outdoor burning is not recommended.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions
are either occurring now, or will shortly. A combination of
strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures will
contribute to extreme fire behavior.
_____
Copyright 2022 AccuWeather | https://www.sfgate.com/weather/article/TX-WFO-NORMAN-Warnings-Watches-and-Advisories-17136480.php | 2022-04-29 16:30:06 | 1 | https://www.sfgate.com/weather/article/TX-WFO-NORMAN-Warnings-Watches-and-Advisories-17136480.php |
The singer's music speaks for self-love, women's empowerment and loving your figure, whatever shape or size it might be. Here's how she rose to fame.
https://p.dw.com/p/4OfRE
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If there was a ranking for singers preaching self-love, Lizzo would certainly be at the top. The 34-year-old unabashedly wears skin-tight glitter onesies, and celebrates her curvy figure on stage during her performances and in the media. Her message is simple: Love yourself — you're great just the way you are. With her anthems of self-empowerment, Lizzo is one of the most interesting — and sought-after — people in the music world today. On March 16 she will wrap up her European tour with a final gig in London.
Packaged with catchy beats and heartfelt lyrics, Lizzo has captivated listeners around the world in recent years. Her songs regularly go viral on TikTok and she wins awards left and right — she recently won her fourth Grammy. Lizzo is currently busy touring Europe with her mix of pop, rap and R&B tunes. She recently gave three concerts in Germany, which even included a techno-inspired performance of Rammstein's song "Du Hast." After a twerk dance routine, she made her message of love clear, telling the audience "I love you!" in German.
With her appeal for more self-love, Lizzo is an icon in an era in which beauty norms are being questioned and people of color and other marginalized groups are increasingly being represented in movies, TV and in the music world. Fans celebrate Lizzo for her confidence as a Black woman. "I love you, don't forget it, you beautiful black masterpiece!" She says in her song "Skin."
In an October 2022 interview in Vanity Fair magazine Lizzo said: "I'm a Black woman, I make music from my own Black experience. If I can help other people with that, then that's good. Because we're the most marginalized and neglected group in this country. We need self-love and self-love anthems more than anyone.”
Becoming a body positivity icon
Lizzo was born Melissa Viviane Jefferson in April 1988 and grew up in Detroit, Michigan and Houston, Texas. She studied classical flute performance at university in Texas before moving to Minneapolis, where she got involved in the rap and hip-hop scenearound 2011. She released her first album, "Lizzobangers," in 2013.
As a child, Lizzo was bullied because of her figure, and found solace in music. Today, Lizzo campaigns against body shaming, for many she is an icon of thebody positivity movement. While Lizzo has become a messenger for loving your own body, she was not always comfortable in hers, and her personal journey from shaming her body to embracing it began not with a glamorous photo shoot but with a traumatic accident.
Body positivity: Everyone is beautiful
In an interview with US public radio broadcaster NPR, Lizzo said she had been swinging on a rope into a river when the rope suddenly broke and she flew to the ground, severely scraping herself up. While she was healing, she realized then that her skin was her favorite thing about herself.
"It was in that moment where I realized I damaged my skin where I saw the value in it. And that was the first time I'd ever discovered my body love," she said. The revelation inspired her song "My Skin" about learning to love one's own body as it is.
Body positivity 'commercialized'
She describes herself as fat and says she wants to normalize and destigmatize larger bodies. Yet, in an interview with People magazine in 2022, she said she's gotten tired of people constantly talking about her body size. "I know I'm fat. It doesn't bother me. I like being fat, and I'm beautiful and I'm healthy. So can we move on?"
Yet Lizzo has consistently been a spokesperson or body positivity, and her influence hasn't diminished with her rising fame. In an interview with Vogue, she said the body positivity movement had become "commercialized" and "appropriated" in recent years and used mainly by slim, white women. As a result, those for whom the movement was actually intended no longer benefit from it, according to her.
Changing the narrative via various channels
Lizzo aims to change the narrative with projects like her reality TV show "Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls." In the series, which won an Emmy in 2022, she searches for backup dancers. Lizzo's performances are notorious for placing Black, trans or curvy dancers on stage alongside her.
The artist also has her own shapewear collection designed for all body types called "Yitty" which she released in 2022. It offers plus sizes up to 6XL. Contrary to what the term shapewear might suggest, customers should not be forced into a questionable ideal of beauty. "I got tired of seeing this sad, restrictive shapewear that literally nobody wanted to wear," Lizzo wrote in a press release. "I decided to take on the challenge of enabling women to feel uncompromisingly good again."
Critical voices could see it as the commercialization of body positivity that Lizzo herself denounces. But for the singer, the collection is another important step in her quest to celebrate all body shapes. | https://www.dw.com/en/why-lizzo-is-an-icon-of-body-positivity/a-64984508 | 2023-03-15 11:34:00 | 0 | https://www.dw.com/en/why-lizzo-is-an-icon-of-body-positivity/a-64984508 |
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — A key measure of German business optimism rose in April for the seventh month in a row amid lower natural gas prices and the reopening of the Chinese economy after COVID-19 restrictions.
The Munich-based IFO institute’s confidence index went up to 93.6 from 93.2 in March. Analysts said Monday that the move was positive but did not erase the headwinds facing Europe’s largest economy as it struggles to avoid sliding into recession.
Consumers are still holding back due to rampant inflation and energy prices still are high, even after utilities found new sources of gas after Russia cut off most of its supply to Europe after the invasion of Ukraine.
“Looking beyond the first quarter and particularly looking into the second half of the year, the German economy will continue its flirtation with recession,” Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING bank, said in an emailed analysis.
The International Monetary Fund forecasts a 0.1% decline in gross domestic product for Germany this year.
The end of drastic restrictions aimed at halting the spread of COVID-19 in China, a major market for German companies, has fueled “a short-lived industrial renaissance," Brzeski wrote.
He added that first-quarter economic output figures could land in positive territory when they are released Friday.
But once order backlogs are worked off, the rebound could run out of steam as the German economy faces long-term drag from the war in Ukraine and the transition away from fossil fuels toward renewable forms of energy.
The Ifo survey is based on responses from about 9,000 businesses across various business sectors. | https://www.ourmidland.com/news/world/article/china-boosts-german-business-optimism-but-17914541.php | 2023-04-24 10:21:56 | 1 | https://www.ourmidland.com/news/world/article/china-boosts-german-business-optimism-but-17914541.php |
HIGH SCHOOL
Concordia Lutheran thwarts Woodlan's quest
Indy Star Sports
Indianapolis Star
Concordia Lutheran had its hands full but finally brushed off Woodlan 58-48 at Woodlan High on March 4 in Indiana boys high school basketball action.
In recent action on Feb. 21, Woodlan faced off against Prairie Heights . For more, click here. Concordia Lutheran took on Columbia City on Feb. 24 at Concordia Lutheran High School. For a full recap, click here.
You're reading a news brief powered by ScoreStream, the world leader in fan-driven sports results and conversation. To see more game results from your favorite team, download the ScoreStream app and join over 10 million users nationwide who share the scores of their favorite teams with one another in real-time. | https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/high-school/2023/03/04/concordia-lutheran-thwarts-woodlans-quest/69972740007/ | 2023-03-05 03:51:40 | 0 | https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/high-school/2023/03/04/concordia-lutheran-thwarts-woodlans-quest/69972740007/ |
The federal government is investigating the deaths of three Amazon workers who died at facilities in New Jersey over several weeks this summer.
The first death occurred July 13 in Middlesex County at the company’s EWR9 fulfillment center in the 8000 block of Industrial Highway in Carteret, an Amazon official said. The man died during Prime Day, the company’s biggest sale event of the year.
Eleven days later, on July 24, a worker suffered fatal injuries at the PNE5 Amazon facility on Applegate Drive in Robbinsville, Mercer County. The worker died on July 27, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
On Aug. 4, there was a worker fatality at DEY6 delivery station facility on Farrington Boulevard in Monroe Township in Middlesex County, according to OSHA.
None of the workers have been identified and Amazon and OSHA have not provided additional details, including causes of each death.
“Because these are all under investigation, the information that can be released is limited,” Joanna P. Hawkins, deputy director of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Public Affairs, told NJ Advance Media.
Hawkins said the federal agency has up to six months to investigate each death.
Sam Stephenson, an Amazon spokesman, said Thursday “each of these tragic incidents have affected our teams greatly, and we are providing resources for families and employees who need them.”
Stephenson said Amazon is cooperating with OSHA with its investigation. Amazon said the Carteret death was “a personal medical condition” and not a work-related death.
Robbinsville Police Chief Michael Polaski told NJ Advance Media on Thursday that officers were called to the Applegate Drive warehouse shortly after 8 a.m. on July 24 on a report of a worker who fell off a three-foot ladder and struck his head in an open docking bay.
“When patrol arrived, the worker was conscious and alert,” Polaski said, adding that the victim’s co-workers performed CPR before police arrived.
The worker was taken to Capitol Health Regional Trauma Center and died three days later, according to police and OSHA.
Polaski said the police department notified OSHA of the incident the same day the man was injured.
Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook. | https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/news/2022/08/3-amazon-workers-died-on-the-job-in-nj-over-past-month-osha-says.html | 2022-08-11 18:27:28 | 0 | https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/news/2022/08/3-amazon-workers-died-on-the-job-in-nj-over-past-month-osha-says.html |
Elliott Awarded Approximately US $108.5 Million
Victory for Elliott Shows Harm Done to Investors by Corrupt Relationships between Government Officials, Chaebol
Precedent-Setting Decision Should Help Future Investors in Korea
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., June 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Elliott Investment Management L.P. ("Elliott"), today issued the following statement regarding the outcome of its arbitration case against the Republic of Korea regarding Elliott's investment in Samsung C&T:
We believe that the Tribunal's decision is solidly supported by the facts of this case – facts that have been proven and acknowledged widely over the past few years, including by the Republic of Korea's own courts and prosecutors.
To our knowledge, this is the first Investor-State Dispute case in Asia in which an investment firm engaged in shareholder activism has prevailed against a sovereign based on criminal corruption emanating from the head of state. Elliott was awarded approximately US $108.5 million, representing its damages, interest, and legal fees and costs. We are reviewing the award closely.
The decision shows the harm done to investors (both foreign investors and domestic Korean pension holders) by corrupt relationships between government officials and chaebol – the same kind of corrupt relationships that the current President and Minister of Justice have established in cases they have led in their careers as prosecutors. We hope the Republic will follow the directions of the Tribunal and pay the ultimate award rather than pursue baseless legal proceedings to challenge the Tribunal's decision, incurring further legal costs and interest at the public's expense.
We hope that the finding of clear liability on the part of the Republic under a previous administration will serve as an important event in the current administration's efforts to fight corruption. In addition, we hope that, as a result, Korea will become a more transparent and reliable destination for foreign investments.
More information regarding this matter can be found on the website of the Permanent Court of Arbitration by following the link below:
About Elliott
Elliott Investment Management L.P. manages approximately $55.2 billion of assets as of December 31, 2022. Founded in 1977, it is one of the oldest funds under continuous management. The Elliott funds' investors include pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, foundations, funds-of-funds, high net worth individuals and families, and employees of the firm.
Media Contact:
U.S.
Stephen Spruiell
Elliott Investment Management L.P.
T: +1 212 478 2017
sspruiell@elliottmgmt.com
London
Alice Best
Elliott Advisors (UK) Limited
T: +44 203 009 1715
abest@elliottadvisors.co.uk
Seoul
Jin Kim
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SOURCE Elliott Investment Management L.P. | https://www.wafb.com/prnewswire/2023/06/20/elliott-issues-statement-regarding-successful-outcome-republic-korea-arbitration-case/ | 2023-06-20 21:50:53 | 1 | https://www.wafb.com/prnewswire/2023/06/20/elliott-issues-statement-regarding-successful-outcome-republic-korea-arbitration-case/ |
Retiree Joyce Howard of Indianapolis wasn’t happy with the returns she was getting on her investments. So when her tax preparer said nearly a decade ago that he knew someone who might be able to help her do better, she was interested.
Howard, now 91 years old, said the tax preparer introduced her to Roger Dobrovodsky, who was selling what are called life settlements through an Indianapolis-based company known as EDU Financial Strategies LLC.
Howard invested $48,000 with Dobrovodsky in late 2013, and everything seemed fine for quite some time. Life settlements—in which an insured individual sells his or her life insurance policy to a third party in return for cash, a loan or other financial gain—don’t earn money for the investor until the insured person dies. So Howard didn’t expect to see immediate returns from her investment in other people’s policies..
Eventually, she said, “I was supposed to get 65% [returns] on this money that I invested.”
But so far, Howard hasn’t received any payouts, even though one of the insured parties died late last year.
And she appears not to be alone in her troubles with Dobrovodsky, who did not respond to IBJ’s repeated calls and emails as well as in-person visits to two of his offices. A business card at one of those offices identifies Dobrovodsky as managing partner of EDU Financial Strategies LLC.
The Indiana Secretary of State’s Securities Division is investigating multiple complaints it has received against Dobrovodsky and/or his business entities, which include EDU Financial Strategies, EDU Holding Trust, EDU Trust Services LLC and EDU Wealth Advisors LLC, said the office’s spokesperson, Lindsey Eaton.
The office, which regulates the securities industry in Indiana, “continues to work with several agencies, including at the federal level, in regard to this investigation,” Eaton told IBJ via email.
And a couple with a story similar to Howard’s filed a lawsuit last month in Hendricks County against Dobrovodsky. Richard and Mariann Pasch named Dobrovodsky individually and in his role as trustee of EDU Holding Trust, through which the Pasches made investments in life settlements. They say they have been unable to collect the returns they’re owed.
Howard also has been frustrated in her attempts to collect on her investment. She said she tried calling Dobrovodsky repeatedly, and when she finally reached him by phone, she said the conversation left her with more questions. Dobrovodsky didn’t have firm answers about when Howard would get her payout.
Instead, he seemed distraught, she said.
“He said he’s ruining his life and he’s ruined his children’s lives, and this and that and went on and on,” Howard recalled. “And I thought, ‘Well, I don’t want to push the man too hard because he may kill himself.’”
Regulatory troubles
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates the securities industry on the federal level, declined to say whether it is investigating Dobrovodsky. “The SEC does not comment on the existence or nonexistence of possible investigations,” an agency spokesperson told IBJ via email.
But the SEC has taken action against Dobrovodsky before. In December 2020, the SEC barred him from working in the securities industry, alleging that Dobrovodsky had sold securities associated with 1 Global Capital LLC, a Florida-based company the SEC described as a fraud. A federal judge also issued a $399,728 judgment against Dobrovodsky in connection with his sale of 1 Global Capital securities.
In August 2021, the SEC issued cease-and-desist orders against both Dobrovodsky and Michael P. Egan—the tax preparer who Howard said referred her to Dobrovodsky—in connection with their sale of securities associated with what the SEC described as an “offering fraud scheme perpetrated by George S. Blankenbaker.”
Blankenbaker, a Westfield resident, had been sentenced to prison the month before for what prosecutors said was a Ponzi-style fraud involving StarGrower Asset Management LLC and two of Blankenbaker’s other business entities. Neither Dobrovodsky nor Egan was charged with crimes in connection with that alleged scheme.
Despite the SEC regulatory actions, Dobrovodsky still appears to be working with customers, who were coming and going as recently as last week from EDU’s two Indianapolis offices, at 8355 Rockville Road and 7117 U.S. 31 South.
Indianapolis attorney Edward Bielski is representing Dobrovodsky in the civil suit brought by the Pasches. When asked why Dobrovodsky continues to operate after having been barred by the SEC, Bielski said, “I don’t know anything about that circumstance.”
Bielski said late last month that he had just recently been retained by Dobrovodsky and was still learning about the case. He declined to comment further.
“In any defense situation, it’s inappropriate to try and defend it to the press,” he said.
In their complaint, the Pasches say they met Dobrovodsky through their church. Dobrovodsky “started offering his financial adviser services to several individuals at the church where [the Pasches] attended,” the suit says.
The Pasches say they invested in life settlement investments through Dobrovodsky in 2012, with Richard investing $97,319 in four policies and Mariann investing $27,739 in those same four policies. The plaintiffs, like Howard, were promised they would receive $1.65 in death benefits for every $1 they invested in life settlements, according to paperwork filed as part of the Pasches’ lawsuit.
Since 2012, the complaint says, death benefits on two of the four policies have been paid to EDU Holding Trust. But there were “significant, unexplained delays in EDU Holding Trust distributing the proceeds of the policies to” the Pasches, the complaint says.
It also alleges that while Mariann received her full expected payout, Richard has received only $20,674 of the $23,346 he was due from one of those policies.
“Richard N. Pasch has contacted EDU Holding Trust regarding the remaining amount due but, to date, has received no explanation or additional payment in response to said demand,” the complaint says.
Dobrovodsky has not yet filed a response to the lawsuit.
On March 31, a man at EDU’s Rockville Road office said Dobrovodsky was in a meeting and unavailable. A written message left with that person for Dobrovodsky has not been returned. IBJ tried again to reach Dobrovodsky on Tuesday, but he did not respond to a message.
Egan did not respond to phone messages seeking comment, including one on Tuesday. On April 3, a person at Egan’s tax preparation business, EZ Tax Advisors, said that Egan was not in the office and that he has been in and out of the hospital with an illness for the past month. A written message left for Egan at his office had not been returned more than a week later.
‘Operating under a cloud’
Local attorneys who practice securities law said they are quite familiar with Dobrovodsky.
“I’ve represented clients against Roger and EDU going back a number of years,” said Keith Griffin of Griffin Law Firm LLC in Carmel.
Griffin said he’s won confidential settlements for some of his clients in cases against Dobrovodsky, the most recent of which wrapped up before the pandemic. Griffin also is representing some current clients against Dobrovodsky, though he said it’s too early to tell if they will be able to recover any of their investments.
Dobrovodsky “just seems like one of those guys that’s been operating under a cloud—but he’s still operating,” Griffin said.
Attorney Mark Maddox, founder of Fishers firm Maddox Hargett & Caruso PC, said he’s had seven or eight calls from disgruntled EDU investors within the past year.
The type of investment that Dobrovodsky sold to Howard and the Pasches, life settlements, are “extremely unsuitable products for most investors,” Griffin said.
In a nutshell, life settlements work like this: A life insurance policyholder who has an immediate need for cash can sell the policy, typically for some percentage of the policy’s death benefit. On the other end of the transaction, the new owner or owners of that policy become responsible for paying the premiums, and in return they receive the full death benefit when the originally insured person dies.
As an example, Maddox said, an investment firm might buy a life insurance policy for $250,000. They might then find six investors, each of whom contributes $50,000 for an ownership stake in the policy. The $300,000 from the investors covers the purchase of the policy, plus premium payments for some period.
The hitch is that no one can predict exactly when an insured person will die. If the insured lives long enough, the investment firm will run out of money to pay the premium. And if the investment firm doesn’t do sufficient due diligence on which policies it buys, it might end up losing money.
“Personally, I think it’s such a risky area to invest in,” Maddox said. “You’ve got to do the math with a good actuary.”
Also, some investors might find it morbid that they don’t benefit from the investment until someone dies. Griffin said his clients who invested in life settlements were uncertain about the specifics of how the investments worked. When he spelled it out for them, Griffin said, the clients didn’t like the dynamics of it.
“It made them feel weird,” he said. “It made them feel bad.”
In Howard’s case, it appears the insured individuals who had sold their life policies to her and other investors outlived the money set aside to pay the premiums.
In a letter Howard received in February, Dobrovodsky said three of her life settlement policies had lapsed for nonpayment of premiums and a fourth was in a grace period and in danger of lapsing for the same reason. A similar letter received by the Pasches said one of their policies had lapsed and another was in a grace period.
Pointing fingers, shifting blame
In both letters, Dobrovodsky pointed the finger at a third party, Capstone Capital Management LLC, for letting the policies lapse.
“Capstone was supposed to pay the premiums for you, but they didn’t,” Dobrovodsky said in both letters. Dobrovodsky also wrote that EDU Trust “believes it is in the best interest of all investors to focus any legal action against Capstone.”
In the letters, Dobrovodsky identifies himself as the trustee of EDU Holding Trust, taking over from the original trustee, a Noblesville attorney who died in July 2020.
Dobrovodsky wrote that EDU Holding Trust spent $35,000 on legal fees to investigate possible legal action against Capstone but that money had run out. The letter also floated the idea that investors might be willing to contribute additional money for legal action.
“There are perhaps 200 investors who have been affected by Capstone’s choices and negligence,” Dobrovosky wrote.
But Capstone, an Atlanta-based firm that specializes in life settlement investments, disputed the claims Dobrovodsky made in those letters. In response to an IBJ query, Capstone Managing Director Michael Bradburn emailed a detailed rebuttal of Dobrovodsky’s assertions.
In that response, Capstone said Dobrovodsky/EDU contracted with Capstone to make the premium payments on the life insurance policies EDU owned. Capstone said it made those premium payments using funds provided to it by EDU.
Capstone said that it notified Dobrovosky and EDU multiple times—starting as early as August 2020—that the funds to pay the premiums were likely to be depleted. If the funds ran out, Capstone said it told EDU, Capstone would not be able to continue to make premium payments unless EDU issued premium calls—essentially, asking investors for additional money for the premium payments. Capstone said it had no direct relationship with EDU’s investors and did not have the ability to issue a premium call to those investors.
“The policies lapsed as a result of EDU’s inaction in response to [Capstone’s] requests that EDU issue a premium call to receive additional funds,” Capstone said.
Lapsed policies are not uncommon in the industry, Capstone said. And so, insurers sometimes require as much as a full year’s worth of premium payments upfront to reinstate a lapsed policy.
Capstone said it had a “longstanding and positive working relationship” with EDU until the summer of 2022. But in an echo of Howard’s experience with Dobrovodsky, Capstone said that in the spring and summer of last year, the firm found Dobrovodsky’s behavior “to be challenging and at times erratic to such an extent that we believed Mr. Dobrovodsky was at risk of harming himself.”
Still, Capstone said it has worked with EDU in the past to resolve concerns about policies that were in danger of lapsing. And although EDU has terminated its relationship with Capstone, the latter “remains willing and able to assist EDU in reinstating lapsed policies,” the company said.
As for Howard, she said her Social Security payments and a pension cover her day-to-day expenses. But her condo needs new windows, and she worries she won’t have enough money to hire in-home help when she needs it.
She said she could really use the money that’s tied up with EDU, and she’s frustrated that she hasn’t been able to get firm answers about how much, if any, she can expect to get back.
“Mike and Roger must know that this is all the money I had,” she said. “I mean, I don’t have any more money besides this.”•
Please enable JavaScript to view this content. | https://www.ibj.com/articles/investors-say-they-are-owed-money-from-life-settlements | 2023-04-14 19:11:42 | 1 | https://www.ibj.com/articles/investors-say-they-are-owed-money-from-life-settlements |
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STRATFORD, N.J., Nov. 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Since announcing the creation of their historic academic health partnership in January, Rowan University and Virtua Health leaders have made significant strides toward their shared goal of establishing a health-and-education powerhouse that will impact the practice of medicine and promote good health for all.
Today, the top 100 public research university and the largest health system in South Jersey began sharing those plans publicly and launched a new website designed to attract prospective students, faculty and researchers to the new Virtua Health College of Medicine & Life Sciences of Rowan University.
Employing the combined strengths of both institutions, the new college and its schools are united in a vision to improve the quality, experience and capabilities of health care for all people and advancing research for the discovery of new treatments. Through diverse areas of clinical studies and distinct learning environments, the college is breaking down barriers of inequality and access to care, resulting in improved health and well-being of all.
"Rowan University and Virtua Health are creating something entirely new, an academic health partnership that will yield great benefits for patients, students and our communities," said Ali A. Houshmand, Ph.D., president of Rowan University. "Together, we will help meet critical regional and national demand for health professions education, patient care and innovation."
Supported through an $85 million gift from Virtua Health, the second largest endowment in Rowan's history, and $125 million dedicated by Rowan, the joint endeavor will attract and expand the University's roster of professionals and students, as well as build research facilities on Rowan's West Campus.
"Virtua Health and Rowan University work well together because of compatible values and a shared desire to advance the health and well-being of the South Jersey communities we serve," said Dennis W. Pullin, FACHE, president and CEO of Virtua Health. "Both Virtua and Rowan have histories of reinvention, and this next chapter is sure to be incredible."
U.S. Congressman Donald Norcross congratulated the institutions for their partnership and noted it stemmed from earlier state legislation that brought together Rowan University and the Stratford medical school.
"This is where great minds have come together to create the vision you have today," Norcross said, "and that is something that is incredibly special, this academic relationship."
New Jersey Assemblyman and Assembly Majority Leader Louis Greenwald said the combined investment from Rowan University and Virtua Health is "critically important."
"We've seen a rush of people leave the profession," Greenwald said. "This is an opportunity for us in New Jersey to attract a talented workforce from other states. This is a win-win for everyone across the board."
Virtua Health College of Medicine & Life Sciences of Rowan University
The new college encompasses three distinct schools, their research centers and institutes.
- Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine: New Jersey's only osteopathic medical school. With campuses in Stratford and Sewell, Rowan-Virtua SOM admitted 272 students in 2022, the largest entering class of any New Jersey medical school. The school received the highest level of accreditation awarded by the Commission on College Accreditation for both campuses. Focused on meeting critical needs in primary care, the school has earned national regard for programs in geriatrics and pain management, among others.
- Rowan-Virtua School of Nursing & Health Professions: Work is well underway to integrate the partners' well-established education programs: Rowan's nursing and health professions school (taught online and in Glassboro) and Virtua's Our Lady of Lourdes School of Nursing, now located on Rowan's Stratford campus. Once fully integrated, the expanded Rowan-Virtua School of Nursing & Health Professions will offer several degree pathways for prospective students and working health and wellness professionals. Students may pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees and specialized certificates for nurses, graduate degrees for health professionals, and undergraduate degrees in athletic training, exercise science, nutrition and dietetics, public health and wellness, and health promotion and wellness management.
- Rowan-Virtua School of Translational Biomedical Engineering & Sciences: Once fully developed, the school will serve as the college's focal point for research and innovation. The school is recruiting 25 fast-rising faculty and clinician researchers by 2025 and plans to double that number within a decade. Three new institutes will investigate vital concerns in cardiovascular disease, solid organ transplant and regenerative medicine, and health equity.
Benefits of the partnership
Rowan and Virtua are collaborating to:
- enhance patient care with a team-based approach that keeps health professionals at the leading edge of their vocation, here in South Jersey
- advance South Jersey as a hub for health care, discovery and research to improve health and well-being
- focus on person-centered, holistic care that treats people as individuals whose whole being matters more than a single diagnosis.
Future plans
Leadership teams from both institutions meet regularly to develop each element of the institutions' affiliation agreement.
"Since announcing our partnership, we've been fully focused on bringing together the best of both Rowan and Virtua," Houshmand said. "This has been a complex undertaking, but we're driven to raise the bar of excellence in health care, research and education."
Plans include:
- the alignment of Rowan Medicine clinical practices with Virtua Medical Group;
- construction of a five-story research and educational facility on Rowan's West Campus, near the intersection of routes 322 and 55;
- development of a four-year, residential Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program.
For information, visit vhc.rowan.edu
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SOURCE Rowan University | https://www.wbay.com/prnewswire/2022/11/07/rowan-virtua-reimagining-future-medicine/ | 2022-11-07 20:48:54 | 1 | https://www.wbay.com/prnewswire/2022/11/07/rowan-virtua-reimagining-future-medicine/ |
Delta-8, a hemp product designed to get users high, is sometimes made with other chemicals that have made people sick. States want it regulated. (Aired on Weekend Edition Sunday on 7/30/22.)
Copyright 2022 VPM
Delta-8, a hemp product designed to get users high, is sometimes made with other chemicals that have made people sick. States want it regulated. (Aired on Weekend Edition Sunday on 7/30/22.)
Copyright 2022 VPM | https://www.knau.org/2022-08-04/encore-states-aim-to-regulate-weed-alternatives-like-delta-8 | 2022-08-04 10:42:34 | 0 | https://www.knau.org/2022-08-04/encore-states-aim-to-regulate-weed-alternatives-like-delta-8 |
LONDON (AP) — U.K. Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank are expecting their second child this summer, Buckingham Palace said Tuesday.
Eugenie, 32, is the niece of King Charles III and the younger daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York. She gave birth to a son, August, in 2021.
“The family are delighted and August is very much looking forward to being a big brother,” the palace said in a statement.
Eugenie married Brooksbank, a businessman, in October 2018 at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. | https://www.localsyr.com/news/international/ap-uks-princess-eugenie-expecting-second-child-this-summer/ | 2023-01-24 14:58:06 | 1 | https://www.localsyr.com/news/international/ap-uks-princess-eugenie-expecting-second-child-this-summer/ |
Vestavia Hills small business payroll impacted by Silicon Valley Bank collapse
VESTAVIA HILLS, Ala. (WBRC) - The Silicon Valley Bank collapse is impacting businesses across the country, even right here in our own backyard.
A Vestavia Hills small business switched to paper checks after the collapse so their employees can get paid on time.
Rocky Ridge Hardware uses a company based in San Francisco for their payroll called Home Base, which uses Silicon Valley Bank. The owner says last week, employees couldn’t access their money for hours.
“So Friday morning, employee payroll was not available to the employees in their accounts so I started getting text messages and phone calls,” said Dan Moran, the owner of Rocky Ridge Hardware. “We really didn’t know it was related to the banking issue on Friday. It was just that their partner had an issue and that payroll would be landing sometime that day.”
They didn’t find out the issue was related to the SVB collapse until days later.
Fortunately, Moran says by 7 p.m. Friday all employees had their paychecks, but he doesn’t want his workers experiencing another delay on payday.
“If you’re not focused on what’s going on in front of you, if you’re concerned about rent not being paid or water being cut off or a spouse needing funds that she typically may count on being available, we need to make sure that all those concerns are out of the employees mind so they can focus on the customer that’s in front of them,” he explained.
So for now, Moran says they’re going old school.
“We’re using paper checks right now to make sure there’s not a disruption again this week,” said Moran. “They’ve assured us there won’t be any problem. However, just as a preventative measure, to prevent any problems, we’ve just paid everyone manually this week by paper check.”
Moran says they’ll continue using paper checks until he’s sure his employees won’t be impacted again, adding he’s looking for a new payroll company that’s more reliable. He plans on keeping Home Base for timekeeping, though.
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Copyright 2023 WBRC. All rights reserved. | https://www.wbrc.com/2023/03/16/vestavia-hills-small-business-payroll-impacted-by-silicon-valley-bank-collapse/ | 2023-03-16 01:55:15 | 0 | https://www.wbrc.com/2023/03/16/vestavia-hills-small-business-payroll-impacted-by-silicon-valley-bank-collapse/ |
The role of Belarus' Lukashenko in resolving the Russia-Wagner Group conflict By Charles Maynes Published June 28, 2023 at 1:20 PM PDT Facebook Flipboard Email Listen • 4:13 A major player in resolving the dispute between the Wagner Group and the Russian state over the weekend was Belarus' leader Alexander Lukashenko. Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.knkx.org/2023-06-28/the-role-of-belarus-lukashenko-in-resolving-the-russia-wagner-group-conflict | 2023-06-28 21:56:33 | 1 | https://www.knkx.org/2023-06-28/the-role-of-belarus-lukashenko-in-resolving-the-russia-wagner-group-conflict |
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. government said Wednesday it is appealing a court ruling that would lift asylum restrictions that have become the cornerstone of border enforcement in recent years.
But there was no indication that the appeal would scuttle a Dec. 21 deadline set by a federal judge to end asylum restrictions that have been used to expel asylum seekers.
The disputed enforcement rule first took effect in March 2020, denying migrants’ rights to seek asylum under U.S. and international law on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19.
The Homeland Security Department said it would file an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, challenging some aspects of the November ruling by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan that ordered President Joe Biden’s administration to lift the asylum restrictions.
Biden officials say the Department of Homeland Security continues to prepare for the Dec. 21 deadline set by Sullivan to lift restrictions.
The restrictions were put in place under former President Donald Trump at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The practice was authorized under Title 42 of a broader 1944 law covering public health, and has been used to expel migrants more than 2.4 million times.
Sullivan has called the expulsion of migrants under the rule “arbitrary and capricious.”
And immigrant rights’ groups have argued that the use of Title 42 unjustly harms people fleeing persecution and that the pandemic was a pretext used by the Trump administration to curb immigration.
A coalition of conservative-leaning states wants to keep in place the Trump-era public health rule that allows many asylum seekers to be turned away at the southern U.S. border.
The ban has been unevenly enforced by nationality, falling largely on migrants from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador — as well as Mexicans — because Mexico allows them to be returned from the United States. Last month, Mexico began accepting Venezuelans who are expelled from the United States under Title 42, causing a sharp drop in Venezuelans seeking asylum at the U.S. border.
The asylum rule has been used by the Biden administration to expel migrant families and single adults, though not children traveling alone. | https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/news/political-news/ap-politics/ap-us-appeals-ruling-that-would-lift-asylum-restrictions/ | 2022-12-08 15:22:26 | 1 | https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/news/political-news/ap-politics/ap-us-appeals-ruling-that-would-lift-asylum-restrictions/ |
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