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Ford recalls 737K vehicles to fix oil leaks, trailer brakes
Published: Apr. 1, 2022 at 8:39 AM EDT|Updated: 56 minutes ago
DETROIT (AP) — Ford is issuing two recalls covering over 737,000 vehicles to fix oil leaks and trailer braking systems that won’t work.
The oil leak recall includes the 2020 through 2022 Ford Escape SUV and the 2021 and 2022 Bronco Sport SUV with 1.5-Liter engines.
A housing can crack and oil can leak onto engine parts, possibly causing fires.
The trailer brake recall includes F-150 pickups from 2021 and 2022, as well as the 2022 F-250, 350, 450 and 550.
Also covered are the 2022 Maverick pickup, Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs.
A software error can stop trailers from braking.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/ford-recalls-737k-vehicles-fix-oil-leaks-trailer-brakes/
| 2022-04-01T13:36:14Z
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GM recalls nearly 682,000 SUVs; windshield wipers can fail
Published: Apr. 1, 2022 at 8:04 AM EDT|Updated: 1 hours ago
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors is recalling nearly 682,000 small SUVs because the windshield wipers can fail.
The recall covers the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain from the 2014 and 2015 model years.
Ball joints in the wiper module can rust, causing one or both wipers to fail, increasing the risk of a crash.
Dealers will inspect the module and repair or replace it. Owners will be notified by letter starting May 2.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/gm-recalls-nearly-682000-suvs-windshield-wipers-can-fail/
| 2022-04-01T13:36:21Z
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More than 7,000 complaints of moving scams reported in 2021; here are red flags to look for
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT/Gray News) – More than 7,000 complaints about moving scams were reported to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in the past year.
That number has significantly increased since the start of the pandemic, WECT reports.
The FMCSA is a civil agency that administers commercial regulations governing the interstate transportation of household goods.
Because moving is often a stressful experience, and something people might not do very often, consumers can be vulnerable to making mistakes hiring a mover that can have significant consequences.
The FMCSA provides resources to help people planning a move find a reputable moving company.
It is important to have everything in writing and to understand if you are in contact with a broker or a moving company. Oftentimes moving scams start with an unscrupulous broker.
“It underscores the need to do research. What scammers do is they will use a name very similar to another company that is familiar to you and me, and they try to prey on our sense of trust,” said N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein. “We urge people to do research and make sure that the company is legit, make sure that there aren’t a lot of complaints about them. Because you don’t want to hand over your life’s possessions to some scam artist.”
Tips When Choosing a Moving Company:
- Contact various reputable, long-standing moving companies to compare estimates and get a foundation of what the legitimate cost of your move will be.
- Ask the moving company if they will be conducting the move or if it is being brokered for fulfillment by another company.
- Keep all records of contracts, proof of payments, and communication with the moving company.
- Carefully examine the reviews on various online business rating websites to ensure they contain more than just recent glowing reviews.
- Use online street-view and satellite maps to research the moving company’s address to verify that the address is a business and not a residence.
If there are an extraordinary number of complaints about an individual company they are referred to the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) for possible federal prosecution.
Report Fraud
Contact FMCSA’s National Consumer Complaint Database online or toll-free at: 1-888-368-7238 to file a complaint against a household goods moving company, broker or other carrier.
You can also report an allegation of household goods fraud to the OIG’s Fraud Hotline using any of the following methods:
- Online OIG Hotline Complaint Form
- Call 1-800-424-9071 (toll free).
- E-mail to hotline@oig.dot.gov
- Mail to: DOT Inspector General, 1200 New Jersey Ave SE, West Bldg 7th Floor, Washington, DC 20590
Copyright 2022 WECT via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/more-than-7000-complaints-moving-scams-reported-2021-here-are-red-flags-look/
| 2022-04-01T13:36:29Z
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Parents’ ashes, personal belongings sold at auction after movers fail to deliver man’s things
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT/Gray News) – A man who had been living in Oregon for 25 years decided to move across the country to be closer to family during the pandemic.
Dan Zimmerman landed a physician’s assistant position in Wilmington, packed up everything he owned and started looking for a company to help him with his move in October.
Dismayed by the initial estimates he received, Zimmerman started selling everything he could, deciding only to keep sentimental and high-value items with which he couldn’t part.
By that point, he only had a week before he was supposed to be in Wilmington to start his new job.
He ended up choosing what he thought was Mayflower Transit, one of the most trusted names in the business. Eventually, he learned that was not the case, and he had actually hired another company with a copycat name – Mayflower Relocation Services.
“They scheduled it, I paid them $1,300 with instructions that I’d pay them three payments: $1,300 at the signing of the contract, $1,300 when they come up and pick up my stuff, and another $1,300 when they finally delivered my belongings,” Zimmerman told WECT.
Zimmerman arranged for the company to store his belongings at a storage facility in North Carolina while he tried to find a house.
By December, Zimmerman had purchased a home and called the moving company to schedule delivery, but that’s when he says the excuses started.
First, he was told the mover was having trouble with his truck. Then, the mover had come down with COVID-19 and would be out for two weeks.
Zimmerman said the company stopped talking to him altogether and wouldn’t answer his calls.
Eventually, he received a text saying his things were in a storage unit in Charlotte, but they wouldn’t disclose the address.
Upon further research, he learned Mayflower Relocation Services was not a full-service moving company, but a broker that has an “F” rating with the Better Business Bureau.
They have more than a dozen complaints against them on file, including some from consumers like Zimmerman who said they never received their belongings.
After countless phone calls, Zimmerman learned his move was contracted out to Efficient Moving and Storage, who informed him his things had been in a storage unit in Idaho but were sold in an auction.
“I called and sure enough, somebody had told them that I would be calling them looking for my belongings. And she said, ‘I’m so sorry, but your belongings have been auctioned.’ And sent me pictures. And it just ended my life. I mean, literally, it was unreal,” Zimmerman said of realizing everything he owned had been sold to a stranger without his knowledge.
Not only did his belongings include expensive sporting equipment, antique clocks his father made and a guitar worth over $30,000, but also his deceased parents’ ashes, jewelry and all his family photo albums.
With the help of a warrant obtained by the Eugene, Oregon, Police Department, authorities were able to make contact with the people who’d purchased Zimmerman’s belongings on StorageTreasures.com in mid-February for just under $5,000.
Central Self Storage in Idaho put the contents of the unit up for sale when the person who’d rented it failed to pay the storage bill.
The buyers had already thrown away many of Zimmerman’s pictures and personal effects by the time authorities contacted them.
They offered to mail Zimmerman the remaining photo albums they found, but they had not found his parents’ ashes.
The new owners declined to return any other valuables, saying they were trying to recover the money spent purchasing the contents of the storage unit.
Zimmerman said he remains devastated over the loss and disappointed that there is not a better system in place to police unscrupulous movers.
“I thought I was safe. I already had all my belongings packed. … All they had to do is come pick it up and then deliver it. I never ever, ever perceived that I would lose my entire family history, gone, everything,” Zimmerman said.
In addition to the complaints on file against Mayflower Relocation Services with the Better Business Bureau, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration lists dozens of complaints filed against the company.
Copyright 2022 WECT via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/parents-ashes-personal-belongings-sold-auction-after-movers-fail-deliver-mans-things/
| 2022-04-01T13:36:36Z
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Albany County Detention Center
Editor’s note: Those listed under Albany County Detention Center have been arrested. They are innocent until proven guilty. The following are included in the ACDC arrest record (arrests on warrants not included).
SUNDAY, MARCH 27
• Ethan Scriven, 22, Laramie, was arrested for possible driving under the influence, speeding
• Kevin Muela Solis, 24, Cheyenne, was arrested for possible driving under the influence, possession of controlled substance
To request an update on charge/arrest disposition, email news@boomerang.com and include documentation of the update.
The following calls were included in the Albany County Sheriff's Office responses:
FRIDAY, MARCH 25
• 12:51 a.m., intersection of S. 2nd St. and E. Ivinson Ave., possible impaired driving
• 1 p.m., 200 block of S. Fillmore St., possible possession of controlled substance
• 3:01 p.m., Roger Canyon Rd., accident
SATURDAY, MARCH 26
• 8:52 a.m., Interstate 80, accident
• 11:22 p.m., intersection of N. Cedar St. and W. Snowy Range Rd., assault and battery
SUNDAY, MARCH 27
• 8:21 p.m., 4000 block of Bobolink Ln., possible domestic disturbance
The following calls were included in the Laramie Police Department responses:
FRIDAY, MARCH 25
• 9:14 a.m., 1500 block of N. 6th St., possible identity theft
• 9:28 a.m., 1500 block of W. Snowy Range Rd., trespassing
• 11:19 a.m., 800 block of E. Boswell Dr., trespassing
• 11:42 a.m., 2100 block of E. Grand Ave., wildlife
• 11:44 a.m., 1600 block of E. Palmer Dr., theft
• 10:54 p.m., 2100 block of W. Snowy Range Rd., disturbance/harassment-threats
SATURDAY, MARCH 26
• 12:56 a.m., 100 block of S. 2nd St., false ID
• 2:42 a.m., intersection of S. 3rd St. and E. Grand Ave., possible impaired driving
• 2:45 a.m., 400 block of N. 3rd St., theft
• 3:19 a.m., 1500 block of Boswell Ct., emergency
• 6:25 p.m., 700 block of Downey St., possible child abuse
• 7:44 p.m., 2000 block of Harrison St., emergency
• 11:22 p.m., intersection of N. Cedar St. and W. Snowy Range Rd., assault and battery
SUNDAY, MARCH 27
• 1:08 a.m., 100 block of E. Ivinson Ave., assault and battery
• 1:13 a.m., intersection of N. 3rd St. and McConnell St., possible impaired driving
• 10:04 a.m., 1700 block of E. Fetterman Dr., possible domestic disturbance
• 11:06 a.m., 1900 block of E. Sheridan St., disturbance/harassment-threats
• 7:15 p.m., 2100 block of E. Rainbow Ave., possible child abuse
• 8:18 p.m., 1600 block of E. Palmer Dr., possible child abuse
• 8:21 p.m., 4000 block of Bobolink Ln., possible domestic disturbance
• 10:47 p.m., 1200 block of W. Baker St., accident
|
https://www.wyomingnews.com/laramieboomerang/news/local_news/arrest_record_and_police_calls/march-31-on-the-record/article_cc3f1e93-a78f-513b-ba69-c5097cb80fb0.html
| 2022-04-01T14:41:17Z
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New vehicles must average 40 mpg by 2026 under US standards
DETROIT (AP) — New vehicles sold in the United States will have to travel an average of at least 40 miles per gallon of gasoline in 2026 under new rules unveiled Friday by the government.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said its fuel economy requirements will undo a rollback of standards enacted under President Donald Trump. The new requirements increase gas mileage by 8% per year for model years 2024 and 2025 and 10% in the 2026 model year.
For the current model year, standards enacted under Trump require the fleet of new vehicles to get just over 24 miles per gallon in real-world driving.
Agency officials say the requirements are the maximum that the industry can achieve over the time period and will reduce gasoline consumption by more than 220 billion gallons over the life of vehicles, compared with the Trump standards.
Trump’s administration rolled back fuel economy requirements so they rose 1.5% per year, which environmental groups said was inadequate to limit planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions that fuel climate change.
But the new standards won’t immediately match those adopted through 2025 under President Barack Obama. NHTSA officials said they will equal the Obama standards by 2025 and slightly exceed them for the 2026 model year.
The Obama-era standards automatically adjusted for changes in the type of vehicles people are buying. When they were enacted in 2012, 51% of new vehicle sales were cars and 49% SUVs and trucks. Last year, 77% of new vehicle sales were SUVs and trucks, which generally are less efficient than cars.
Some environmental groups said the new requirements from NHTSA under President Joe Biden don’t go far enough to fight global warming.
“Climate change has gotten much worse, but these rules only require automakers to reduce gas-guzzling slightly more than they agreed to cut nine years ago,” said Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Transport Center at the Center for Biological Diversity.
He said the final rule is about 2 mpg short of the strongest alternative that NHTSA considered.
Officials said that under the new standards, owners would save about $1,400 in gasoline costs during the lifetime of a 2029 model year vehicle. Carbon dioxide emissions would drop by 2.5 billion metric tons by 2050 under the standards, the NHTSA said.
The agency did not give figures for how much the standards would increase the cost of vehicles. Auto dealers say more stringent requirements drive up prices and push people out of an already expensive new-car market.
The NHTSA sets fuel economy requirements, while the Environmental Protection Agency develops limits on greenhouse gas emissions. NHTSA officials said their requirements nearly match rules adopted in December by the EPA, so automakers don’t have to comply with two rules.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/new-vehicles-must-average-40-mpg-by-2026-under-us-standards/
| 2022-04-01T15:07:22Z
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Woman says naked intruder got in bed with her
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) - A woman is speaking out after a terrifying home invasion caught on camera.
Surveillance video shows a naked man opening Krista Brown’s front door Monday afternoon and walking in. She said the man then got into her bed while she was sleeping and tried to cuddle with her.
“This is one of the craziest things I have ever experienced,” she said.
After working the overnight shift, Krista Brown said she was taking a nap Monday afternoon when it happened.
Home surveillance footage captured the man going into her bedroom where she was sleeping.
“As soon as I saw it was not my boyfriend, I screamed and jumped and ran out of the house,” Krista Brown said.
She said her family was doing chores at the time and that the man opened the front door when her son was taking out the trash.
The police report identifies the naked man as Jason Kendrick and said upon leaving the first-floor home, he went up to the building’s third floor where her brother Justin lives.
“I kind of heard a couple big thuds, so I went to my door to answer it, and well, there was a naked man standing in front of my door. He seemed lost. He seemed scared,” Justin Brown said.
Krista Brown said Kendrick re-entered her home four or five more times before she and her family eventually got him to leave.
Providence police said they arrested Kendrick at the house next door, where they said he lives. He faces a breaking and entering charge.
“That doesn’t go away. It’s something I now have to be fearful for,” Krista Brown said.
Court records show the suspect is no stranger to the law, having been arrested more than 20 times on charges, including vandalism, assault and battery and disorderly conduct.
“It’s actually very scary,” Justin Brown said.
Krista Brown said the incident has her second-guessing leaving the house.
“I don’t want it to affect my work. I don’t want it to affect how my kids go outside and play, but yeah, I am …” she said.
Brown said she is looking to install an alarm system inside of her home.
She said her family has been keeping a closer eye on things since the incident, and she says she does not plan to move out of her family home.
Copyright 2022 WJAR via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/woman-says-naked-intruder-got-bed-with-her/
| 2022-04-01T15:07:36Z
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A Different Kind of Profit
Editor’s Note
I had been working in magazine publishing as a writer and editor for about six years when I decided I needed a change. My husband was about halfway through medical school at the time, and we were living in Omaha, Nebraska, where one of my favorite things to do was to go see live theater and music. When a job came up in marketing at the Omaha Performing Arts Society — which operated both the Orpheum Theater and the Holland Performing Arts Center, a stunning brand new $100 million-plus theater already renowned for its acoustics — I jumped at the chance for a change of scenery.
I loved it immediately.
It wasn’t just the perks — like the ability to sneak in and watch dress rehearsals for “Disney’s The Lion King” or spend my lunch hour watching Bobby McFerrin show off his incredible vocal range for school kids — it was the people. Everyone with whom I worked was there for the same reason; there was nowhere else they could see themselves.
It certainly wasn’t money that drove them. My friend, a lawyer, used to tease me about my old cell phone, calling it my “501c3 phone.” Everybody knows you don’t go into nonprofit work to get rich, but for me I profited in a different way. I could honestly say I loved my job and felt good about what I was doing with my skills every day. My friend couldn’t say the same. She did love her phone, though. Fair enough, it was a great phone.
After a few years, another opportunity popped up at a different nonprofit, the Nebraska Children’s Home Society — the last no-cost adoption agency left in the country — which was looking for a special events manager. I wanted to get out of my comfort zone of communications and do something really hands on, so I moved over there.
Again, it was the people that made the job, and again I found myself working my butt off. Any hope I may have had of taking a break from writing, however, disappeared the moment my boss looked at my resume. It had never been in the job description for the special events manager to write the appeal letters, but it was now! That was when I learned that if there’s another hat you can possibly wear at a nonprofit, it won’t be long until you’re wearing it.
For those reading this who work in the nonprofit sector I just want to say thank you for what you do. No matter what area you work in — social services, the arts, environment, education, animal welfare — whatever it is you do, I know it’s a labor of love, and I know our world is a better place because of how you choose to spend your days (and likely nights and weekends).
Keep up the good work and keep us posted!
Thanks for reading,
Kimberley Singletary
Managing Editor
Kimberley@BizNewOrleans.com
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https://www.bizneworleans.com/a-different-kind-of-profit/
| 2022-04-01T15:24:45Z
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A New Era of Fundrai$ing is Here
When event revenue disappeared two years ago, Torie Kranze made some major changes at her nonprofit that have led to record-breaking success.
When St. Louis, Missouri native Torie Kranze became CEO of the National Kidney Foundation of Louisiana in 2004, she was the youngest person, and one of the only females, to hold the title in the nonprofit’s 53-year history. Twenty-six years later, she’s not only led the Louisiana branch of the national nonprofit through a global pandemic, she’s done so in a way that has made the organization more profitable and more effective than ever before.
The National Kidney Foundation of Louisiana focuses on detection, awareness, prevention and treatment of kidney disease, a disease whose main causes include high blood pressure and diabetes. The organization, like many nonprofits, is tasked with trying to accomplish a lot with a small staff of four based out of New Orleans. Louisiana ranks No. 1 in kidney disease per capita in the country.
“We have over 16,000 people on dialysis, another 460,000 residents that have kidney disease, and about 1,800 waiting for a kidney transplant. So, we definitely have our work cut out for us,” said Kranze. “We are constantly looking for strategies to help us find the best ways to educate people about stopping the progression of kidney disease, which is kind of a tough sell. You know, try telling a person from Louisiana that red beans and rice are not allowed on a kidney diet. It doesn’t go over well at all.”
Like many nonprofits, the foundation scrambled early in the pandemic to make necessary changes to some of its programming. Due to the cost of treatment (dialysis costs about $78,000 per year, per person) much of the organization’s focus has switched to prevention, which starts at a young age. For over two decades the organization’s Kidneys in the Classroom program, for example, has been reaching out to area third- through sixth-graders to teach them healthy habits, including how to prepare meals without salt and healthy activities their families can do.
Before COVID-19, the program was conducted in a gymnasium setting for hundreds of kids at a time. When schools went virtual, the organization worked with the Louisiana Department of Education to bring it up to the necessary standards that allow teachers to insert it into their virtual lesson plans. It was also expanded to seventh- and eighth-graders. The new digital version was designed as an interactive PowerPoint, like an Xbox game that kids play on a big whiteboard or on their computers from home.
To meet new demands brought on by the pandemic, the organization also started a mental health program that helps patients — whether they’re dialysis, transplant or kidney patients — adjust to life after a disaster by managing depression and lowering stress. Another program, Safe Rides with Uber Health, provides emergency transportation for patients to and from dialysis.
But changing and adding programs wasn’t the only challenge of the pandemic. Again, like many nonprofits, the National Kidney Foundation of Louisiana received a majority of its funding (about 75%) from in-person events. With lockdowns and restrictions, that funding disappeared overnight.
Unlike many organizations, however, two years into the pandemic, the National Kidney Foundation of Louisiana is not only surviving, it’s thriving. In fact, Kranze reports that 2021 was financially the organization’s best year ever.
How is this possible? I sat down, virtually, of course, with Kranze recently to find out and ask her what advice she would give for other nonprofits right now.
Did You Know?
Dr. Alton Ochsner — founder of what would become Ochsner Medical Center — was an integral part of the creation of the Louisiana chapter of the National Kidney Foundation and served for a year as its first president.
How quickly were you affected in terms of event revenue when COVID-19 hit?
COVID hit in March and our annual big gala was scheduled for April. So cross that out. We had a walk scheduled for April, three golf tournaments in May and June, and bingo three times a week. All of that was suddenly gone. I had to really think, how are we going to keep this foundation running? How are we going to continue to make money and do programs, keep our stuff together and help the patients that we found out very early on that were most impacted by COVID? It really pushed me out of my comfort zone.
The first thing I did was get together with my board with other top leaders in the community and said, ‘OK, let’s look at this as an opportunity.’ I think ‘Don’t panic’ was the mantra of almost all nonprofit leaders at that time and honestly, I was surprised. There were so many new opportunities that just presented themselves. We dusted off our mental health program, a journaling program that patients do with their social worker and family members that was first introduced around Katrina. Our Safe Rides, Uber Health program came about because of all the patients we have that were using public transportation and were scared of the exposure risks from that or even riding with a family member.
On the funding side, I realized I get emails every week talking about grants, but I never had the time to look at them. It wasn’t a priority because all my thinking for the previous years was about special events.
Did you look at what kind of grants were out there and that helped spur ideas for programs, or was it the other way around, you had the set programs and were looking for grants to fund them?
We worked to find grants to support the programs we had or wanted to have, and luckily, we had the money to self-fund those programs, at least at the beginning. It wasn’t something where I threw spaghetti on the wall to see what stuck, it was very calculated how I did it. I would talk to the funders before we went through writing the grant, just making sure that it aligned with their giving priorities at the time, and then we would proceed.
What about the sponsors you already had? How did you handle that?
We went to our sponsors who had already given us money for events, and we just asked them, instead of refunding that money, if we could use it to fund a certain patient program. If they would continue to support the foundation, just in a different way.
Many businesses have been hit hard during the pandemic. Have you seen corporate sponsorship drop off at all?
No, we really haven’t.
What about your in-kind donors for events? How did you keep that relationship going?
Our in-kind donors were restaurants, hotels, shops — businesses that were definitely impacted by the pandemic, and I’m going to credit one of my colleagues for giving me this idea. When we were able to start doing some small events again, we gave them a stipend to come out and participate in the event. It was a way for us to pay it forward for the 20 years that they’ve been supporting us and giving back to the community.
Did You Know?
Kidney disease affects 37 million people in the United States and is one of the leading causes of death in the nation.
How have these two years compared to years past?
Last year we raised over $247,000 over the year before, and the year before that we were almost $70,000 ahead. Again, I’m going to say that’s because our organization has really looked at different funding opportunity entities. We’ve also increased our staff size, so our capacity for delivering programs and writing grants has increased. We capitalized on the fact that we weren’t doing events and shifted the duties of the staff and different strengths of our staff members and put that to work.
All in all, financially, patient- and program-wise, community involvement-wise, professional health- and education-wise, all those service services and programs have increased in the past two years because we haven’t had to focus on the color of napkins for our gala or signs on a walk route.
You moved so much toward grants. Any advice on how to do that?
Definitely. Look at the Greater New Orleans Foundation, and other similar community foundations. They’ll list their funding opportunities, their deadlines for applications, the review period, and then when the award is made. Look at TechSoup.org, which often offers discounts to nonprofits, on certain programs, like Grantwatch.com, for which nonprofits can purchase a yearly subscription. Also look to your city government. We were fortunate enough to have teamed up with NORD to do our Kidneys in the Classroom as part of their programming.
Do you ever see your organization going back to hosting events like before the pandemic?
I definitely think the hybrid event model is here to stay, there’s a couple things to that. One is to make sure that a person watching an event on a screen has the same experience as someone attending the event. On the flip side, that may mean — and this is how events will change — maybe eliminating award speeches and pre-recording events to watch or put into any part of your social media.
Auctions are going to online experiences, which actually helps an organization raise more money because technology allows you to share the auction with all of your supporters, not just those in a room attending the event. I think we’re going to see a lot of smaller events with a more targeted audience. Probably not the 500 people at a gala-style event, I don’t think we’ll see that for quite some time.
During the pandemic, we’ve really learned to have more individual conversations with our funders, our constituents and people that could be our contributors. These moments, for me, are more meaningful than mingling in a room full of 500 people trying to get my message across, or me standing at a podium trying to get everyone’s attention.
On the corporate side, I’ve found that sponsors that used to send employees to events they are sponsoring are changing their policies. They’ll continue to financially support the organization; however, they really have to assess what their liability and risk exposure is in sending employees to events. That’s one of the reasons you’re not going to see big galas again, for a while at least.
Basically, you’re going to have more targeted, smaller events. I’ve seen a lot of dinner parties, a lot of house parties, a lot of very small cocktail parties.
Did You Know?
High risk groups for chronic kidney disease include individuals with diabetes, hypertension and a family history of the disease. Seniors, Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanics and Pacific Islanders are also at increased risk.
If you’re thinking smaller with events, how do you entice sponsors?
Through the magic of the internet, and websites and social media, a sponsor’s ROI is so much stronger now than having a logo in a program book 500 people get on their chair at a gala. And usually, 410 of those people will leave that program there when they go home.
We’re now able to offer our corporate donors more exposure —highlighting them on certain days on social media, creating links to their company on our website. I’ve got 15,000 people on my mailing list, so if I’ve got an event that’s happening in New Orleans — like the give-back night Kendra Scott is going do in March in Baton Rouge — we don’t just have that as an in-person event at the store, people also have the option to purchase something online to support the organization and the business is receiving much more exposure, and revenue, than a traditional event.
What is your biggest advice going forward to other nonprofit leaders?
My biggest advice would be to look at COVID as an opportunity to retool, update and broaden the way you do events and the audiences you’re targeting for your events. Look to do more outdoor events for the younger population. Look at the leadership that’s in your organization and target certain people to reach out to smaller groups. If one of your board members works for XYZ company and they usually sponsor a table at your gala, ask them instead if they would host a small dinner party where someone from the organization — or themselves particularly — would like to talk about how the organization has changed and pivoted during these past two years, and how their gift is still meaningful and still needed.
Finally, invest and respect your staff. They are on your side. They want the organization to thrive. Use this as an opportunity for them to attend training sessions, learn a new skill, teach you a new skill. Recognize that they have fears. Reassure them by including them in planning for the future and you’ll build morale rather than fear.
Kidney Disease and COVID-19
A new link has the Kidney Foundation of Louisiana springing into action
Chronic kidney disease is the most common risk factor for death in patients with COVID-19 worldwide, but the relationship has also been found to work in the other direction. According to recent research published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, those who have had COVID-19 — even a mild case — have an increased risk of kidney damage.
The study found that those who had COVID-19 and did not require hospitalization had a 15% higher risk of suffering from a major adverse kidney event, such as chronic kidney disease, a 30% risk of an acute kidney injury and a 215% higher risk of suffering from end-stage kidney disease. For those who had to be treated in an intensive care unit, the risks of kidney problems increased to seven times greater for a major adverse kidney event, eight times greater for acute kidney injury and a 13 times greater risk of end-stage kidney disease.
“Anybody who gets COVID needs to have their kidneys checked,” said Torie Kranze, CEO of the National Kidney Foundation of Louisiana. “If that doesn’t happen, there’s going to be hundreds of thousands of more people who have no idea that their kidney function has declined due to the virus.”
Kranze said the foundation is currently conducting a targeted program focused on addressing vaccine hesitancy in kidney patients and reinforcing how important it is for kidney and transplant patients to get the vaccine to lessen risk of additional kidney damage.
“This is something we are monitoring closely with doing a lot of educational outreach to our healthcare professionals,” said Kranze, “so that they can educate their patients and encourage them to get vaccinated in the hopes that they do not end up needing access to our services.”
For more information on this, and all of the National Kidney Foundation of Louisiana’s services, visit KidneyLA.org.
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https://www.bizneworleans.com/a-new%E2%80%85era-of-fundraiing-is-here/
| 2022-04-01T15:24:51Z
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BACK AT IT
Half of this month’s respondents said they anticipate a rise in revenue with the return of festival season.
The latest New Orleans 500 survey shows that the imminent return of New Orleans’ “festival season” is cause for celebration among the city’s hospitality executives — and also welcome news for many CEOs in others sectors of the economy. Half of the leaders who responded to the survey said these gatherings increased their company’s bottom line.
It goes without saying that operators of hotels, tour companies, restaurants and other visitor-dependent businesses are optimistic about the return of Jazz Fest, Essence Fest, French Quarter Fest, the NCAA Men’s Final Four and other events that attract paying customers. For many executives, in fact, the tourist influx can’t come soon enough, especially after the city has endured two years with far fewer visitors than normal.
“Our businesses — the Steamboat Natchez, Riverboat City of New Orleans, Gray Line Tours and Café Beignet Restaurants — all thrive on tourism,” said Gordon Stevens, president of New Orleans Steamboat Company. “We are part of the hospitality industry, which has suffered more due to COVID than any other segment of our economy. The return of festivals and events is a godsend.”
Michael Sawaya, Morial Convention Center president, agrees. For him, New Orleans festivals and events are the ultimate sales tool.
“Our reputation as a dynamic destination is critical to our ability to attract conventions and conferences to New Orleans,” he said. “The festivals showcase the best of what our city has to offer and visitors contribute enormously to our local and regional economy.”
The positive effects of festivals and events extend beyond the hospitality industry, however. As Mimi Dossett, president of the Money Hill golf community in Abita Springs, said: “A rising tide lifts all boats.”
“The hospitality market is a contributing part of our overall construction portfolio,” said Benjamin Gootee, owner of Gootee Construction. “With the return of festivals and events is the return of cash flow for the whole hospitality market. The fortunate owners with cash reserves were able to take advantage of the slow period to catch up on much-needed capital projects, but now they need to start seeing a ROI on the work completed. The less fortunate, who were still able to hang on, are desperately needing this revenue to keep operations going and to start on the long due capital projects that have been neglected.”
“We are more than excited to ramp up our hospitality division, which began in 1998,” she said. “Event staffing is a great business for our company. It provides a continuous applicant flow that allows us to vet for other industries. The return of festival season represents more than a 30% increase in our bottom line. … Whether you are a vendor or a supplier, nothing compares to the energy festival season brings back to our city.”
Economic development execs, like World Trade Center New Orleans CEO J. Edwin Webb, said big events create more opportunities for face-to-face meetings with potential investors. Buisson Creative founder Greg Buisson said they help his local clients grow their brands and gain visibility. And public relations pro Betsie Gambel said this year’s events have special significance because they mark a new beginning.
“People are ready to move forward from the pandemic,” she said, “and companies should benefit from that optimism and sense of confidence in getting back to normal.”
Tulane business professor Peter Ricchiuti might have summed it best when he said that the return of festivals bring a “feeling that we can sell New Orleans again. … For a town built on fun, we looked too much like every other city for the past two years.”
New Orleans festivals and events are scheduled to return in a big way this spring. How do these events, and the visitors they bring, affect your organization’s revenue? (Chart shows result split among the approximately 50% of respondents that anticipated seeing a change).
News from the top
Each month, we ask the top business professionals featured in the New Orleans 500 to weigh in on issues impacting the New Orleans business community. Have an idea for a survey question for the New Orleans 500? Email rich@bizneworleans.com.
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https://www.bizneworleans.com/back-at-it-2/
| 2022-04-01T15:24:58Z
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Built to Serve
St. Joseph Rebuild Center is a tailor-made safe haven for New Orleans’ unhoused people
St. Joseph Rebuild Center // 1803 Gravier St. // harrytompsoncenter.org // Facebook: facebook.com/Harrytompsoncenter // Instagram: @theharrytompsoncenter
Quick Look
Date of opening
September 2007
Persons in Charge
Jessica Lovell, director of DePaul USA, New Orleans; Kenitha Grooms-Williams, executive director, Lantern Light Ministry; Emily Bussen Wain, executive director, Harry Tompson Center
Architect
The center was designed by The University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture Collaborative Design Center (UDM). The late Wayne Troyer was the New Orleans architect who oversaw the building of the center.
In 2007, the St. Joseph Rebuild Center opened to serve unhoused individuals in New Orleans. Three agencies comprise the center, which provides shelter, health, hygiene, hospitality and housing services. Recently, we visited with Mary Baudouin, Harry Tompson Center board president; Emily Bussen Wain, Harry Tompson Center executive director; Kenitha Grooms-Williams, executive director, Lantern Light Ministry; and Paisleigh Kelley, communications director for the Harry Tompson Center, to learn more about the center, its work and what it is striving to achieve in 2022.
Biz New Orleans: What were your goals for the design and why?
Mary Baudouin: Primarily, we wanted a structure which could be built quickly after Hurricane Katrina, that’s why it is built around trailers, which could be put in place quickly. Second, we didn’t want a “permanent” structure, even though it became permanent. At the time, we didn’t know if homeless people would return to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, so we didn’t want to invest a huge amount of money into a facility that might not be needed. Third, we wanted a space that was specifically built for the population we were serving, primarily “chronically homeless” people. The outdoor design was conceived to serve those who often have difficulty spending longer periods of time in enclosed spaces.
What was the biggest design challenge and how was it overcome?
Baudouin: One of the biggest challenges that we faced was the building timeline. Initially we wanted to use trailers so that we could get the center up and running as quickly as possible. We did not anticipate that it would take so long to get the permits, electrical work, plumbing and even the trailers themselves, so our initial goal of getting into operation within six months was not met. If we had known that it would take so long, we might have used more permanent and hurricane-proof designs that were still less expensive but that could be constructed quickly. Along those same lines, the price of building the center in the post-Katrina economy was about four times what we initially anticipated, even with the volunteer assistance provided by UDM and other groups. This price was high for what was designed to be a temporary facility. Our board and staff are concerned about how long the facility can actually last since it is built around trailers. At the rate that they are being used, the shower, laundry and bathroom trailers are showing wear, and we could be left with well-built decks leading to rotting trailers, especially if we have hurricanes in the future. With the amount of money that we spent (and the time that it took to build), we should have considered alternatives to trailers, such as the simple buildings (medical and multipurpose room) designed and built by UDM.
What is the standout feature of the design and why?
Emily Bussen Wain: Every person may have a different answer, which is an amazing thing about our center. I have heard people describe it as an oasis in the middle of the city. Although I love our whole courtyard space, personally, for me it is our jasmine wall and overhang. What started 15 years ago as a couple vines has planted its roots and makes for a beautiful wall and overhang. It is so thick now that it offers protection from the rain. In the spring, the smell can overtake your senses in the most wonderful way.
How would you describe St. Joseph Rebuild Center and its core clientele?
Jessica Lovell: I always have described the Rebuild Center as a magical place. It has been difficult in ways to adapt to operations since COVID-19 because a drastic shift was necessary to keep everyone safe. Pre-COVID, Rebuild was a community center, a home, a place filled with art, music, laughter, hugs, and people — lots of people. Guests of the center are our homeless brothers and sisters who visit for services. Many services are offered, but the most popular are showers, phones, case management, and meals. Sometimes at the center you might see someone talking to themselves or someone others can’t see; sometimes you might see someone sleeping under a shade of jasmine; sometimes you may see someone helping another shave or cut their hair; sometimes you might see someone having an overdose or getting revived with Narcan, or possible someone having an outburst. There are always people talking about life and love, and often chatter about baseball or football. It is a place where people come together, some in need of the services offered, and some blessed to be able to help provide the services. It is a place where people learn about resilience and survival, and God is present every day. Whether guest, volunteer, staff, or visitor, you will see people helping people — love in action.
How do you set yourselves apart from organizations doing similar work in the city?
Bussen: I think our design does help set us apart from other agencies. Many social service agencies have their mission and services and have to fit it into a space that already exists. We are fortunate enough to have a space that was built for our exact purpose. Something as simple as having the restrooms separate from the sinks separate from the showers, actually allows us to serve more people at any given time. I remember at the old HTC (located in the parish center of Immaculate Conception Church), people would have to wait for someone to finish shaving before they could use the restroom or vice versa. Also, our open-air concept has been extremely beneficial these past couple of years, offering the protection of being outside during COVID.
How do you promote a positive work atmosphere for the staff?
Kenitha Grooms-Williams: [We work] to promote a positive work atmosphere for staff by engaging them in the decision-making process of how services are provided. The organization fosters open communication in order that staff members understand how their roles contribute to the success of the agency, as well as the guests that receive services.
What are your biggest challenges?
Jessica Lovell: There are so many needed updates that will allow for better services and a safer work environment. We need to raise over a million dollars for this, and it has to happen while we all have to fundraise for our individual organizations in order to keep them operational. There is so much that happens in one day, fundraising alone is a gigantic task. Fundraising to improve the center will be monumental for us.
What goals do you hope to meet in the next 12 months?
Paisleigh Kelley: At present, Harry Tompson Center’s operations are still limited in capacity due to COVID-19. The center looks forward to increasing capacity for its guests in our courtyard and working to establish a new normal for operations as COVID-19 moves from a pandemic to endemic stage. We are excited to host our annual fundraising event at the Rebuild Center in April, welcoming back our supporters to mix, mingle and celebrate the good work we do for our unhoused neighbors. We are in the nascent stages of embarking on a capital campaign to work toward the eventual renovation of our facility.
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https://www.bizneworleans.com/built-to-serve/
| 2022-04-01T15:25:04Z
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Out of Your Backyard
Short-term rental companies shift focus to commercial areas
I think short-term rentals don’t belong in residential neighborhoods. That’s why all our buildings are located in the CBD with hotel permitting.
Andreas King-Geovanis, CEO and founder of Sextant Stays
If you’re looking for a surefire way to start an argument in New Orleans, try bringing up short-term rentals (STRs). If you’ve never heard of them, an STR is a furnished room or living space that’s available to rent for short periods of time (like for a Jazz Fest weekend or over Carnival).
For many residents, STRs can be a great source of extra income. By and large, most folks don’t have a problem with homeowners renting out the other side of their double shotgun or a spare room to tourists or visitors coming to town for a weekend. But when outside investors and companies scoop up properties in historic places like the French Quarter or historically Black neighborhoods like Treme, it can push out working families and residents, raise rents and property taxes, and alter the fabric of a neighborhood for the people who live there.
Until recently, Peter Bowen was the head of the city’s Office of Business and External Services and in charge of regulating short-term rentals. Before he was appointed to the role by Mayor LaToya Cantrell, Bowen was the general manager of the STR company Sonder New Orleans, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
In order to mitigate the concerns of residents, the New Orleans City Council and the mayor’s office enacted ordinances that aim to rein in bad actors and stop harmful practices in the local STR industry. For example, city law requires operators of STRs in residential districts to live onsite, places a cap on rentals in nonresidential districts, and requires short-term rental platforms like Airbnb and HomeAway to secure permits from the city in order to operate.
The ordinances and permitting process have led to STR companies shifting their focus away from residential neighborhoods to commercial zones like the CBD. A case in point is Heirloom, which owns more than 300 properties across the country. The company recently announced it would be relocating its headquarters to New Orleans. Heirloom also plans to invest $30 million in local development products and pledged to hire 30% more New Orleans-based employees.
Interestingly, Heirloom is part of the reason why STR regulations have become much more actively enforced. Back in 2019, the company allowed the short-term-rental permits of many of its properties in the city to expire while still operating them as STRs, violating the city’s rules. Heirloom says they’ve since addressed the problems, and the company has shifted to focusing on developing properties in commercial zones rather than neighborhoods. But some housing rights advocates are hesitant to trust companies with a history of flouting the rules and say that even their branding as a “luxury accommodations provider” is suspicious.
“If the current short-term rental permitting structure is working as designed, luxury short-term rental companies should not have a great impact in New Orleans’ residential neighborhoods since commercial short-term rental owner permits are only allowed in areas zoned commercial or mixed-use,” said Russell Moran, advocacy manager at Jane Place Neighborhood Sustainability Initiative, a community land trust that opposes STRs in residential neighborhoods
Some STR companies agree that STRs can negatively impact local communities and have exclusively focused on developing properties outside the residential zones.
“I think short-term rentals don’t belong in residential neighborhoods,” said Andreas King-Geovanis, CEO and founder of Sextant Stays, a company with more than 500 spaces across South Florida and New Orleans. “That’s why all our buildings are located in the CBD with hotel permitting.”
Rather than buying homes and operating them as STRs, Sextant purchases vacant, historic buildings and refurbishes them as STR units about four times the size of a typical hotel room, complete with amenities like a washer, dryer and fully stocked kitchen.
“Since we control the entire property, we eliminate the friction between long-term tenants who have work the next day and the revelers coming back from Bourbon Street,” King-Geovanis said.
King-Geovanis also points to Sextant’s history of stepping up during times of crises as evidence of the company’s commitment to the city. In the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, Sextant housed displaced families, as well as more than 1,000 volunteers and workers from Salvation Army, Cox and Amazon. The company also paid its employees four times their normal wage as hazard pay and provided free housing to their families while the company worked to get back online.
The truth is that New Orleans needs hospitality: The taxes that hotels, bars, and restaurants pay are what help pave our roads and improve our schools. But the city has a checkered past when it comes to STRs, which have created legitimate cause for concern, especially as new developers and companies are investing millions of dollars to expand the industry here. But as long as the current permitting process is followed and enforced, there’s plenty of room for everyone, tourists and residents alike.
DID YOU KNOW? Following New Orleans’ lead, on July 8, 2021 St. Tammany Parish essentially banned short-term rentals from single-family residential areas of the parish.
Photo Courtesy Sextant Stays; AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
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https://www.bizneworleans.com/out-of-your-backyard/
| 2022-04-01T15:25:10Z
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River Delta Royalty
NOMA mounts Queen Nefertari’s Egypt exhibition through July
Jennifer Gibson Schecter was once a tourist in New Orleans herself and is now proud to call NOLA home.
After years of planning, the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) opened the Queen Nefertari’s Egypt exhibit last month, which will be on view until July 17. Queen Nefertari was the first wife of Pharoah Ramses II (reigned 1279-13 BCE) and is regarded as one of the most powerful women of the New Kingdom period of Egypt (c. 1539-1075 BCE). The traveling collection of the renowned Museo Egizio in Turin, Italy features 230 objects that combine to tell the story of royal women, artisans and the afterlife, and includes a model of Nefertari’s tomb.
“The many exceptional objects in Queen Nefertari’s Egypt, drawn from the collection of the Museo Egizio in Turin, will bring to life the role of Nefertari and other powerful women in ancient Egypt,” said Susan Taylor, NOMA’s Montine McDaniel Freeman Director. “NOMA is delighted to be able to present some of the priceless creations from Queen Nefertari’s tomb, where visitors can appreciate their great history up close.”
To attract tourists to the exhibition, NOMA partnered with New Orleans & Company, the region’s destination marketing organization.
“We are happy to be partnering with New Orleans & Company to build excitement among culture seeking travelers around the arrival of Queen Nefertari’s Egypt, with the goal of converting interest to ticket and travel bookings,” said Margaux Krane, NOMA’s director of brand and communications.
“We know that locals and visitors alike are really excited about Queen Nefertari’s Egypt, and we expect that the visitation for this exhibition will surpass attendance records from the last ten years,” said Krane. “Due to the momentous nature of this exhibition and the anticipated increase in attendance, NOMA will be open seven days a week and will have special extended hours for Queen Nefertari’s Egypt. We highly recommend museum visitors book tickets in advance to guarantee entry at their preferred time.”
For many New Orleanians and longtime return tourists, the Queen Nefertari’s Egypt exhibit harkens back to a time when we were visited by another famous ancient Egyptian, Tutankhamun.
“Through the presentation of this exhibition, we hope to ignite the same sense of wonder that was sparked with NOMA’s 1977 exhibition Treasures of Tutankhamun, which visitors still reminisce about to this day,” said Taylor. “We look forward to welcoming longtime enthusiasts of this fascinating subject matter, as well as introducing the treasures of ancient Egypt to new generations of locals and visitors alike.”
The exhibit, which was most recently hosted at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, is organized into featured themes. Primarily, it tells the story of Queen Nefertari who was regarded as a significant diplomatic and religious figure in her era. According to NOMA, she had many roles including queen, divine consort, diplomat, and queen mother. As a result, her tomb was one of the most richly decorated tombs in the Valley of the Queens.
Nefertari was lesser known until 1904, when Italian archaeologist Ernesto Schiaparelli — the director of the Museo Egizio at the time — brought the pieces back to Italy with him.
Other themes explore the roles of women in Ancient Egypt, particularly those affiliated with the royal family and those workers who supported the royal and religious leadership.
The craftmanship of Ancient Egypt is revealed with artifacts from Deir el-Medina, a planned community for the workers who constructed and decorated the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. NOMA said it is believed that Amenhotep I (c. 1541-1520 BCE) planned the site, which was continually occupied until the collapse of the New Kingdom in 1069 BCE. Residents of Deir el-Medina included masons, draftsmen, painters and other craftsmen, as well as scribes, administrators and service workers, such as washermen and midwives.
Of particular interest is recreated model of Queen Nefertari’s tomb. It was made to scale in the early 20th century with accurate details and a sense of immersion into ancient Egyptian life
Special events are being planned during the next few months, including a lecture on June 24 by Kara Cooney, professor of Egyptian art and architecture and chair of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Culture, University of California at Los Angeles. Cooney will present “Women and Power in Ancient Egypt” based on the work she has done on social inequalities and how women negotiated their limited leadership roles.
The NOMA Museum Shop is working with local New Orleans artists and businesses to develop exclusive collections inspired by Queen Nefertari’s Egypt and the exhibition catalog is available for purchase with additional academic essays and details.
To purchase tickets in advance and for details on pricing, visit noma.org.
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https://www.bizneworleans.com/river-delta-royalty/
| 2022-04-01T15:25:16Z
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Spring Brings Renewal — And Celebrations
Publisher’s Note
In the print world, our creative team is always thinking about a redesign. Every year, our editors and art directors plan a fresh new approach to delivering you monthly content.
Over the past few months, our web team has also been working behind the scenes across all our digital platforms to bring you a fresh new way to read online. We have created two new lifestyle websites for our titles Louisiana Life and Acadiana Profile and have just finished a fresh look for BizNewOrleans.com.
I invite you to check out BizNewOrleans.com, as it features a reorganized flow of content to better serve the reader. As technology changes, our team finds better digital tools to make it easier for you to search for news and information. Make sure you check out the podcast link and listen to the region’s leaders talk about current issues facing New Orleans. And if you know someone we should include in the next edition of New Orleans 500, we are accepting nominations for the 2023 edition. Click on the Biz500 link; it has all the information you need to nominate someone.
This month, we also bring you a completely new look for MyNewOrleans.com, the website for New Orleans Magazine and its sister titles, Homes, Bride and St. Charles Avenue. I am so proud of what the team has accomplished. Here you will discover uplifting information and stories about New Orleans to make you feel inspired and in love with your city.
The team has done an excellent job.
On a personal note, I have two proud moments to share.
A bright moment occurred during the past year of the pandemic and that was the birth of my first grandchild. This month, my family is celebrating her first birthday. Penelope is such a blessing, and during the past couple of years everyone has needed blessings. It’s a great joy watching her grow and seeing my daughter and son-in-law become wonderful parents.
Secondly, our youngest daughter, Malayne, has completed all her tests and hours and is now a licensed architect. Malayne has always been goal oriented, and last year she set a goal to finish all of her tests by the end of 2021 and complete her required hours. Last month, she received her official AIA number just two days before her birthday. Since she lives out of town, we had already planned a trip to see her and this just gave us even more to celebrate.
Congratulations Penelope and Malayne. I hope you are celebrating your blessings.
Todd Matherne
CEO and Publisher
Renaissance Publishing
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https://www.bizneworleans.com/spring-brings-renewal-and-celebrations/
| 2022-04-01T15:25:22Z
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Struggling to Make Connections?
A new website launched by GNO Inc., aims to help entrepreneurs accelerate on the road to success.
Keith Twitchell spent 16 years running his own business before becoming president of the Committee for a Better New Orleans. He has observed, supported and participated in entrepreneurial ventures at the street, neighborhood, nonprofit, micro- and macro-business levels.
The entrepreneurial ecosystem has blossomed in the New Orleans region as trainings, mentorship programs, incubators and similar resources abound. Pitch contests, investors and financial institutions have provided a reasonable capital base and numerous national media have touted our area’s accomplishments and proclaimed us an entrepreneurial hotspot as last year bore the best fruit yet of these efforts, with major sales of local startups promising to infuse more capital into the ecosystem.
Still, knowing where to start, understanding the landscape, making those initial connections — especially for those with no inherent access — has remained a serious challenge. This is why GNO Inc., decided to launch a new website at the beginning of this year called StartUpNOLA.com. The site aims to address and improve connectivity issues.
“We thought, what if we could remove New Orleans Startup 101 from the conversation?” said Matt Wolfe, vice-president of communications for GNO Inc., “What if we could make the initial touchpoint more impactful? That would fast-forward that introductory process quite a bit.”
“It helps level the playing field,” added Grady Fitzpatrick, the organization’s senior vice-president of Business Development. “It’s not as much about who you know.”
StartUpNOLA.com targets three specific audiences within the entrepreneurial world. The first is startups, for whom the first step is simply registering with the system, getting on the map. From there, the site opens doorways toward funding opportunities, real estate and co-working spaces, and networking events and opportunities. The latter includes chances to interact with fellow entrepreneurs, as well as a wide range of support resources.
The second audience is investors, who are also offered the chance to register and connect with the system. Opportunities here include learning about potential investor tax credits, engaging with fellow investors, and of course identifying promising investment opportunities among the region’s startups.
A third audience is perhaps less obvious but equally vital: the startup workforce.
“Talent is so key,” Fitzpatrick emphasized, “retaining our talent and attracting new talent. Someone who knows how to work at a startup, that’s a skill that has developed over the last 20 years.”
“There are far more people that work for startups than have founded startups,” Wolfe observed. “People really have pride in working for them. You can work a different set of hours, have more flexibility in what work looks like. The last two years have made people rethink where home should be, and we’ve had a lot of people move to New Orleans. This helps them find jobs here.”
While StartUpNOLA.com is first and foremost a resource for the region, the GNO Inc., team is very intentional about reaching people from further afield. While the workforce is one example, Wolfe noted that “we’re asking people to buy into the notion that if you have an idea for a company, New Orleans is the place to do it. We’re also working to attract investment from outside the area that wouldn’t otherwise come here.”
In terms of where in the startup process a company should plug in, the answer is pretty much at any stage. As Wolfe put it, “It’s not about defining what stage you’re in, it’s about what type of company you are. We’re really looking for that rapid growth, scalable type of startup.”
While the emphasis is indeed on for-profit entities, Fitzpatrick pointed out that “a nonprofit startup can access a lot of support resources.”
Of course, many of the resource organizations are themselves nonprofits, and the site has proven useful in strengthening connections among these groups too.
Despite being in existence for only three months, StartUpNOLA.com has already served as a connecting force.
“We have been bombarded with people adding their information,” Fitzpatrick said.
“The entrepreneurial ecosystem here has had a lot to celebrate recently,” concluded Wolfe. “People are energized and wanting to do more.”
Writer Keith Twitchell’s blog, “Neighborhood Biz,” appears every Thursday on BizNewOrleans.com.
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https://www.bizneworleans.com/struggling-to-make-connections/
| 2022-04-01T15:25:28Z
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Walk the Walk
Are you serious about creating a diverse and equitable company? Thanks to a local nonprofit, there’s an app for that.
Connect with Awa by Beloved awabybeloved.com
More than ever before, companies are seeing the value of creating a diverse and equitable work environment isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s a solid business practice.
According to a February 2021 article in Forbes, diverse teams innovate faster, diverse cultures reach a wider audience, and inclusion can help combat work-from-home burnout. When it comes to ROI, according to a LinkedIn August 2021 report, “Research by McKinsey shows that companies that actively promote diversity and inclusion strategies are 35% more likely to achieve above-average returns — with business performance increased by 31%.
A separate 2018 Deloitte study found that businesses with an inclusive culture were twice as likely to meet or exceed their financial targets.
To help organizations of all types realize these benefits and more, New Orleans-based nonprofit Beloved Community — whose goal is to provide structural support in areas of diversity and inclusion to organizations across the area — launched their latest initiative last October, an innovative software program called Awa that offers “equity audits” via a free app.
“The equity audit is a tool to assess what is going on in your organization from an equity lens,” said Rhonda Broussard, founder and CEO of Beloved Community. “Once you create a profile on Awa, you are guided through a series of questions that examine the internal structure and culture of your organization. You should be prepared to dive deep. The Beloved Community Equity Audit is a practice-based self-study that measures DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) indicators across all functional areas of an organization’s operations and stakeholders.”
So far, nearly 300 organizations, schools and businesses have completed an equity audit and 2,766 employees have completed a professional development assessment. The new tool has also garnered the support of business and community leaders including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and Bridgespan.
According to Lesley Brown Rawlings, vice president of strategy, Beloved Community not only provides equity audits to companies of all sizes, it then provides the tools to make changes to a company’s culture, including workshops, leadership initiatives, equity planning and “train-the-trainer support.” The Awa app can help to streamline this process at all levels of a business, from small startups to corporations.
“If a company or organization is ready to make a DEI commitment, Awa will empower the organization to assess individual and organizational DEI capacity, set priorities, and build plans for sustainable, long-term change,” Broussard continued. “We support the organization in understanding the results of their assessment. When an organization requests personalized support, our team first determines if we are a good fit; if so, we provide full access to our team of equity experts to meet whatever goals and needs our client partner may have.”
Within Awa by Beloved, organizations can access additional reports and assessments, whose costs start at $1,000. Fees for trainings and facilitations begin at $5,000 and vary based upon topic, length and number of participants. Deep dive consulting services — which typically represent projects that span 12 or more months — are customized based upon organizational needs and goals and start at $75,000.
For Broussard, building the Awa app became a true team effort within her Beloved Community staff, now numbered at more than 25 members and growing.
“In transparency, I didn’t know the first thing about building a tech tool,” she said. “A few years ago, [our director of data and analysis] Lauren Young and I started building the equity audit in our free time with [no] funding behind us. I was fortunate to find a team of ‘Beloveds’ who answered my calls, told me what questions to ask and what foundational resources we would need — from staffing and timelines and legal representation and business model implications, [including] the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and more specifically our program officers Gabriela Lopez and Titilola Harley. We worked with a team of tech advisors to amplify our existing Equity Tools suite and we took our time to make sure it was done right.”
Beloved Community is committed to creating real change for companies that are serious about creating a truly equitable workplace.
“We designed Awa to make it easier for large, complex entities — from school districts to multinational companies — to diagnose their diversity, equity and inclusion needs,” said Broussard. “Awa is more than a measurement tool. It is an opportunity for leadership teams to deepen their community of practice and design a more equitable future.”
For Broussard, having a DEI policy and culture is not about what’s on paper in a company’s policies, it’s about the actions, intent and practice in the everyday culture throughout the business.
“There are many organizations that speak about equity and don’t live it,” she said. “…It’s easy to say you can be a more equitable company, but do you follow through on that? At Beloved, we’re honest about our own growth needs. We deeply believe that everyone has work to do, regardless of where you are on your professional or equity journey. We don’t trust people who struggle to name growth areas. This loops back to being self-aware. You’re going to get constant feedback from partners and teammates at Beloved. This collective awareness supports us in constantly getting closer to our ideal workplace.”
According to Broussard, New Orleans is the perfect birthplace for work of this kind.
“The depth of lived experiences in our New Orleans community informs a great deal of my work — there really is no better place for us to be,” she said. “We recently found a new home for our office in the Tate, Etienne, Prevost (TEP) Center, that is inside of the old McDonogh 19 school, integrated by the center’s founders. I’m proud to be leading in this work surrounded by the stories, places and people that helped raise me.”
“DEI” Defined
According to the Extension Foundation at Tuskegee University:
D
Diversity is the presence of differences that may include race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, nationality, socioeconomic status, language, (dis)ability, age, religious commitment, or political perspective.
E
Equity is promoting justice, impartiality and fairness within the procedures, processes and distribution of resources by institutions or systems. Tackling equity issues requires an understanding of the root causes of outcome disparities within our society.
I
Inclusion is an outcome to ensure those that are diverse feel and/or are welcomed. Inclusion outcomes are met when you, your institution and your program are truly inviting to all.
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https://www.bizneworleans.com/walk-the-walk/
| 2022-04-01T15:25:35Z
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Will We Build Better?
Billions in infrastructure funding is likely coming to Louisiana, but what will we do with it? Some local nonprofits say the answer is simple: We need to think green.
While specific amounts have not yet been determined, estimates suggest that Louisiana will soon be receiving between $6 and $9 billion to spend on infrastructure.
The federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) that passed through Congress and was signed by President Biden last year includes massive funding for state and local projects and programs. The legislation will send the funds to several different federal agencies, such as the departments of the Interior and Transportation, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, for distribution.
Some of this the state will spend itself, and some will flow to local jurisdictions. Local governments can also apply directly for funding. Approximately half the money will come in the form of outright grants, while the other half will be in the form of low-interest loans.
The allocation process has not been finalized, but not surprisingly, various interests are already lining up and making their case for how the dollars should be spent. In the Greater New Orleans area, a significant push is underway to make sure investing in “green infrastructure” is a top priority for local officials because this type of construction is an important tool used in service of the larger and ultimate objective.
“Green infrastructure is a main staple of water management,” explained Jessica Dandridge, executive director of the Water Collaborative, who cites other aspects such as pollution control, building codes and other government policies, levees and drainage, climate control measures, and preventing coastal erosion as additional components of water management. The collaborative is something of an umbrella organization in the water management field, bringing together a broad spectrum of people, businesses and organizations working in the sector to share best practices, collaborate on projects and programs, and develop and advocate for appropriate policies.
Green infrastructure takes many forms, on scales from large to very small. On the larger end of the spectrum there is the use of permeable paving of roads and parking lots (which allows water to seep through instead of runoff); the development of concave neutral grounds and rights-of-way, planted with native, water-absorbent plants and trees; the creation of low-lying areas in parks and other green spaces designed to hold rainwater; and the installation of green roofs and walls on buildings.
So, where does New Orleans stand in terms of obtaining these federal infrastructure dollars and applying them to green infrastructure?
While the process itself has yet to be fully defined, a guidance book from the federal government is on its way, and the fact that former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu will oversee the funding rollout on a national level should be helpful to Louisiana and New Orleans.
At the state level, Kim Doley, policy and advocacy coordinator for Water Wise, noted that “green infrastructure aligns with Gov. Edwards’ task force on controlling emissions,” which should bode well for drawing on state funds.
“The state will name an infrastructure czar,” said Rebecca Malpass, policy coordinator for the Water Collaborative, “and that person will create the allocation process. It’s really important who that person is.”
Dandridge expressed concern that the city’s efforts may be hampered because the Office of Resilience and Sustainability, which is the logical coordinator for the work, is presently not staffed.
“We will be starting behind,” she said.
On the plus side, according to Dana Eness, executive director of the Urban Conservancy, “We’ve given a lot of thought to this, after Katrina and in the Urban Stormwater Plan. We have a lot of shovel-ready projects. Hopefully we will see an acceleration of those projects that are already in the pipeline.”
What is clear is that obtaining as much funding as possible and allocating the greatest possible amount of that funding to green infrastructure will require a collaborative effort. These nonprofits are committed to engaging in, and even driving, that collaboration.
“We will be advocating with the city, talking to the Department of Public Works and Sewerage and Water Board, working to get those agencies to advocate for green infrastructure projects,” said Dandridge. “We all need to work together to get the mayor to understand and prioritize green infrastructure, because we will be competing with other priorities, like grey infrastructure, city operations and tourism.”
“This will require government, universities, industry, all the pieces coming together in a unified vision for our community,” concurred Ryan Mattingly, executive director of Louisiana Green Corps.
Also vital will be engaging the community in advocating for green infrastructure funding and in considering specific projects. This component is a major focus for Water Wise.
“We are training community members to engage and advocate with elected officials,” said Doley. “Our goals are aligned if we can just figure out how to come together and work together.”
“We have to create the spaces for these conversations,” added Eness, noting that the Urban Conservancy will be hosting briefings and similar gatherings for elected officials and the public. “We have to build this into something we are discussing regularly.”
What Business Can Do
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE-FOCUSED nonprofits see a vital role for the business community in their efforts.
“Businesses often set the tone for the community with their actions,” said Mattingly.
“[They] can invest their own money, be an example of what green infrastructure can do on their own properties,” agreed Raymond Sweet, a volunteer member of Water Wise’s Policy and Advocacy Committee, citing as an example several local businesses that have recently installed permeable parking lots.
In turn, observed Eness, “Business owners who incorporate green infrastructure on their properties can be voices in the advocacy work. Other businesses will hear what they have to say, understand the value of that in their business case.”
“They can be thinking sustainably in their business models,” echoed Dandridge, “recycling, reducing their carbon footprint. Business owners can volunteer in this work. They can support the nonprofits by providing products and services, helping with the education, co-hosting events that generate donations, and they can support elected officials that support these initiatives.”
There are business-to-business opportunities as well, said Eness.
“Putting green infrastructure on your property provides work opportunities for the companies that are doing the installations.”
Obtaining funding for green infrastructure in New Orleans on the federal level is going to be an all-hands-on-deck effort, but local industry professionals say the potential benefits are enormous, and the costs of failure could be catastrophic.
“I’ve never seen a problem whose solution is so beneficial in so many ways,” said Mattingly. “There is huge potential for economic growth and equity in our communities. But without a focus on green infrastructure, we don’t survive as a region. It’s a unique opportunity to build a more sustainable region. It would be shameful if we wasted it.”
Building for the Future
No matter the size of the effort, the goal is the same — to reap the benefits of green infrastructure, which include:
Reduced Flooding
The primary purpose of green infrastructure is to either store or slow the flow of rainwater during major rainfall events. Every single drop that avoids the drainage system or is held back until after the peak of the rainfall, reduces the likelihood of flooding.
“The benefits of green infrastructure start with having a city that doesn’t flood with every rainstorm,” said Ryan Mattingly, executive director of Louisiana Green Corps, a nonprofit whose largest focus is workforce development for the water management sector. “It gives us a preventive system instead of a reactive system.”
Not that green infrastructure eliminates the need for strong levees and robust drainage systems. “It’s not an either-or between [this kind of] grey infrastructure and green infrastructure,” said Dana Eness, executive director of the Urban Conservancy. “Both are essential, but green infrastructure slows down the water before it hits the grey infrastructure or holds it out completely. This is really critical in times of inundation.”
The Urban Conservancy serves local businesses, including many in the water sector, as well as offering programs like those that support removing unnecessary paving to reduce rainwater runoff.
Reduced Subsidence
Most of the soils in our area need water to stay moist and supple, or they dry out like a sponge. Decades of pumping rainwater out of the city as fast as possible is the major reason we have high levels of subsidence, which in turn causes streets, sidewalks and building foundations to crack and buckle (hello potholes!) and makes the city more vulnerable to flooding and climate change.
Economic Opportunity
The water management sector is a vital and growing economic engine in Southeast Louisiana. Many new businesses have emerged in this field, including entrepreneurial ventures based on innovative new technologies and processes that are applicable globally in places that face threats from water and flooding. Just as the Netherlands is the global leader in water management — exporting expertise, technologies and implementation around the world — our region has the opportunity to be the national leader in this field.
“Green infrastructure creates jobs — high wage, high demand jobs — that should be filled by local residents,” said Mattingly. “Many of these jobs fall into the ‘earn and learn’ model. People are getting paid a good wage while earning credentials and certifications. This eliminates the barriers that exist for many around the costs of accessing better jobs.”
Green Corps pays all participants in its workforce training programs, and trains them for what are considered to be sustainable jobs: most green infrastructure projects must be maintained over time.
“Ramping up the training and building up the sector in places where it is thin is critical,” added Eness, who anticipates that some of the IIJA funds that come to the region will be applied to workforce development. “The demand is there but the workforce resources are not.”
As an example, the Sewerage and Water Board currently faces ongoing challenges replacing its aging workforce, especially given the new skillsets required to enable employees to deal with updated technologies and equipment.
Reducing flooding comes with its own economic benefits, according to Kim Doley, policy and advocacy coordinator for Water Wise, a community organization working to connect people and neighborhoods to the issues and benefits of water management.
“Flood insurance costs for businesses are reduced when we have less flooding,” she noted. “Employee productivity goes up when they don’t have to deal with flooded homes or can’t get to work because of flooded streets. Businesses don’t have to close down because of floods or flood damage.”
In the course of its community work, Water Wise has trained more than 500 people in various aspects of green infrastructure and informed an additional 5,000 residents about related issues. In tandem with residents, the organization has implemented more than 150 green infrastructure projects in neighborhoods around the city, helping to manage over 100,000 gallons of rainwater.
Part of the work involved in this kind of infrastructure is educating homeowners on its benefits, which include the fact that property values go up where water management has been installed.
Reduced Urban “Heat Island”
Effect Dense, paved urban areas become considerably hotter than the countryside in summer, which leads to higher cooling bills and other expenses. Increased heat generation in cities also contributes to overall global warming. Green infrastructure installations can reduce this effect by up to 10%.
Recreation and Beautification
Creating green spaces makes for a more beautiful city, and also provides new places where people can exercise and play. Overall environmental quality is improved — “It creates more habitats for pollinators and birds,” explained Eness — and even adds to economic opportunities. Imagine turning some of the current grey infrastructure drainage ditches into Bayou St. John-like waterways, which could be lined by restaurants and coffee shops, and served by canoe and kayak companies. All water that is retained within green infrastructure installations instead of flowing over paved areas into the drainage system is water that does not gather pollutants that ultimately end up in Lake Pontchartrain.
Increased Mental Health
When people do not have to worry about their lives and property every time there is a major summer storm, or deal with the often-devastating consequences of flooding, their stress levels go down considerably. Spending more time outdoors amid beautiful landscaping also has calming effects.
“Also, you get a feeling of control over your environment,” noted Eness. “We are not at the mercy of whatever is falling out of the sky. We’re telling the water where we want it to go.”
Greater Equity
“Green infrastructure is a way that we can create safer, healthier, more sustainable living conditions for those living in communities that are most vulnerable to climate change,” Eness added. Those communities most often are populated by low-wealth people and people of color. In addition, the higher wages and accessible job training in this sector provide new wealth-building opportunities in such communities.
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https://www.bizneworleans.com/will-we-build-better/
| 2022-04-01T15:25:41Z
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NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are holding steady on Wall Street Friday while Treasury yields soar, after a healthy report on the U.S. job market strengthened expectations for coming interest-rate hikes.
The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in morning trading after flitting between small gains and losses. The index could clinch its first three-week winning streak since November, as the dizzying swings that earlier rocked markets worldwide ramp down. Still, worries remain about high inflation, higher interest rates from the Federal Reserve and the economic effects of the war in Ukraine.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 68 points, or 0.2%, at 34,610, as of 10:39 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% higher.
The sharpest action was again in the bond market, where the yield on the two-year Treasury approached its highest level in more than three years.
Yields jumped after a U.S. government report showed employers added 431,000 jobs last month. That was slightly below economists’ expectations for 477,500, but the report also revised earlier months’ data to reflect more strength. It showed raises for workers accelerated last month but at a slower pace than overall inflation, while the unemployment rate improved to 3.6% from 3.7%.
“This was a solid report,” said Brian Jacobsen, senior investment strategist at Allspring Global Investments.
“You can see the worries about COVID fading. Fewer people are working remotely. Fewer people are saying they can’t work due to the pandemic.”
A separate report showed that U.S. manufacturing is continuing to grow, though at a slower rate than in February.
A strong jobs market and economy give the Federal Reserve more leeway to raise interest rates sharply in order to beat down the high inflation that’s sweeping the country. The Fed has already raised its key overnight rate once, the first such increase since 2018. Following Friday’s jobs report, traders increased bets that the Fed will raise rates at its next meeting by double the usual amount.
Such expectations drive shorter-term Treasury yields in particular, and the two-year yield leaped to 2.45% from 2.28% late Thursday.
The two-year yield again rose slightly above the 10-year yield, which was also climbing but not as quickly. The 10-year yield rose to 2.42% from 2.33%. On Tuesday, the two-year yield briefly topped the 10-year yield for the first time since 2019, a potentially ominous sign.
Such a flip of the usual relationship between two- and 10-year yields has preceded many recessions in the past, though it hasn’t been a perfect predictor. Some market watchers caution the signal may be less accurate this time, because of distortions in yields caused by extraordinary measures by the Federal Reserve and other central banks to keep interest rates low.
Shares of GameStop rose 4.2% to top $173 after it said it plans to split its stock, pending approval from shareholders for an increase in the number of its authorized shares. Such splits can bring down the price of a share of stock, potentially putting it in reach of more smaller-pocketed investors.
GameStop’s stock has more than doubled since sitting at $78.11 in mid-March. But it’s still well below the $483 peak reached in early 2021 amid the “meme stock” craze. Then, bands of smaller-pocketed investors joined together to pump prices to levels seen as irrational by many professional investors.
Other meme stocks have also shown renewed strength in recent weeks, though AMC Entertainment fell 4.6% Friday.
In overseas markets, European stocks were modestly higher despite a report showing consumer prices in the 19 countries that use the euro currency rose by an annual rate of 7.5% in March, the fifth straight monthly record.
France’s CAC 40 rose 0.3%, Germany’s DAX returned 0.2% and the FTSE 100 in London added 0.3%.
Oil and gas prices had already been rising because of increasing demand from economies recovering from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic. They jumped higher after Russia, a major oil and gas producer, invaded Ukraine, on fears that sanctions and export restrictions could crimp supplies.
Crude prices slipped modestly on Friday, with a a barrel of U.S. oil dipping 0.4% to $99.91. Early last month, when disruptions to crude supplies were at their height, it briefly touched $130.
Brent crude, the international standard, fell 0.3% to $104.44 per barrel.
In Asia, stocks were mixed.
The Nikkei 225 fell 0.6% after the Bank of Japan’s closely watched quarterly gauge of business sector sentiment,the “tankan,” showed the benchmark indicator for large manufacturers dropped for the first time in seven quarters.
South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.6%, while stocks in Shanghai rose 0.9%.
Rising COVID-19 cases in China are adding to the worries of a regional slowdown. The lockdown in Shanghai entered its second phase of extended restrictions, while restrictions were lifted in hard-hit Jilin.
___
AP Business Writer Yuri Kageyama contributed.
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https://www.kitv.com/news/business/stocks-hold-steady-treasury-yields-soar-after-jobs-data/article_548652d8-b1cd-11ec-9e86-bbb3869cfb76.html
| 2022-04-01T15:47:45Z
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America’s employers extended a streak of robust hiring in March, adding 431,000 jobs in a sign of the economy’s resilience in the face of a still-destructive pandemic, Russia’s war against Ukraine and the highest inflation in 40 years.
The government’s report Friday showed that last month’s job growth helped shrink the unemployment rate to 3.6%. That’s the lowest rate since the pandemic erupted two years ago and just above the half-century low of 3.5% that was reached two years ago.
Despite the inflation surge, persistent supply bottlenecks, damage from COVID-19 and now a war in Europe, employers have added at least 400,000 jobs for 11 straight months. In its report Friday, the government also sharply revised up its estimate of hiring in January and February by a combined 95,000 jobs.
The March report sketched a bright picture of the job market, with steady hiring and rising wages in many industries. Average hourly pay has risen a strong 5.6% over the past 12 months, welcome news for employees across the economy.
Still, those pay raises aren’t keeping up with the spike in inflation that has put the Federal Reserve on track to raise rates multiple times, perhaps aggressively, in the coming months. Those rate hikes will result in costlier loans for many consumers and businesses. In the meantime, worker pay raises, a response in many cases to labor shortages, are themselves feeding the economy’s inflation pressures.
Since the pandemic struck in 2020, many people have remained on the sidelines of the job market, a trend that has contributed to the worker shortage in many industries. But in an encouraging sign for the economy, 418,000 people began looking for a job in March, and many found one.
Over the past year, 3.8 million people have rejoined the labor force, meaning they now either have a job or are looking for one. The size of the labor force is now just 174,000 shy of its level in February 2020, just before the pandemic slammed into the economy.
The job growth in March, though solid, was the lowest since September. Jason Pride, chief investment officer of private wealth at Glenmede, said it reflected the job market’s durability in the midst of numerous obstacles.
“The U.S. labor market remains a bright spot in an otherwise challenging economic environment beset by inflation and geopolitical risks,” Pride said, “taking meaningful strides in moving past the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Across the economy, hiring gains were widespread last month. Restaurants and bars added 61,000 jobs, retailers 49,000, manufacturers 38,000 and hotels 25,000. Construction jobs rose by 19,000 and have now returned to their pre-pandemic level.
Some economists sounded a note of caution, though, suggesting that the prospect of much higher borrowing rates engineered by the Fed will inevitably slow the job market and the overall economy.
“We continue to expect that the Federal Reserve will move rates up expeditiously to counter surging inflation, and that this report only adds more urgency to their plans to do so,” said Mike Fratantoni, chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association.
For now, the job market continues to rebound with unexpected speed from the coronavirus recession. Job openings are at a near-record level, and applications for unemployment benefits have dropped to near their lowest point since 1969.
Fueled by generous federal aid, savings amassed during the pandemic and ultra-low borrowing rates orchestrated by the Fed, U.S. consumers have spent so fast that many factories, warehouses, shipping companies and ports have failed to keep pace with their customer demand. Supply chains have snarled, forcing up prices.
As the pandemic has eased, consumers have been broadening their spending beyond goods to services, such as health care, travel and entertainment, which they had long avoided during the worst of the pandemic. The resulting high inflation is causing hardships for many lower-income households that face sharp price increases for such necessities as food, gasoline and rent.
It’s unclear how long the economy can maintain its momentum of the past year. The government relief checks are gone. The Fed raised its benchmark short-term interest rate two weeks ago and will likely keep raising it well into next year. Those rate hikes will result in more expensive loans for many consumers and businesses.
Inflation has also eroded consumers’ spending power: Hourly pay, adjusted for higher consumer prices, fell 2.6% in February from a year earlier — the 11th straight month in which inflation has outpaced year-over-year wage growth. According to AAA, average gasoline prices, at $4.23 a gallon, are up a dizzying 47% from a year ago.
Squeezed by inflation, some consumers are paring their spending. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that consumer spending rose just 0.2%% in February — and fell 0.4% when adjusted for inflation — down from a 2.7% increase in January.
Still, the job market has kept hurtling ahead. Employers posted a near-record 11.3 million positions in February. Nearly 4.4 million Americans quit their jobs, a sign of confidence that they could find something better.
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https://www.kitv.com/news/business/us-added-431-000-jobs-in-march-in-sign-of-economic-health/article_95f97f1a-b1cd-11ec-bed8-f35b0f0e47a6.html
| 2022-04-01T15:47:51Z
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...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM
HST SUNDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast to east winds 15 to 25 knots, and seas up to 12
feet.
* WHERE...Kauai Northwest Waters, Kauai Windward Waters, Kauai
Leeward Waters, Kauai Channel, Oahu Windward Waters, Oahu
Leeward Waters, Kaiwi Channel, Maui County Windward Waters,
Maui County Leeward Waters and Big Island Windward Waters.
* WHEN...From 6 PM this evening through Saturday night.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.
&&
HONOLULU (KITV4) - Sunny and breezy aloha Friday with scattered windward & mauka showers, isolated showers leeward. Highs 80 to 85. Northeast Winds 15 to 25 mph.
Tonight, Mostly cloudy and breezy. Lows 66 to 71. Northeast winds 15 to 25 mph.
Trade winds will continue to increase and become gusty through the weekend.
Showers will favor windward slopes and, aside from afternoon showers over the Kona slopes of the Big Island, leeward areas should see little rainfall.
Looking ahead, increasing moisture could enhance shower coverage early next week as another disturbance moves into the area.
A long-period northwest swell will spread down the island chain through this evening. Surf produced by this swell will likely peak later tonight and early Saturday, with surf likely reaching the High Surf Advisory criteria along exposed north and west facing shores of the smaller islands. This swell will gradually lower from late Saturday night through early next week. The strengthening trade winds will cause surf to become elevated and rough along east facing shores this weekend. By early next week, the weakening trade winds will cause the surf to gradually lower along east facing shores. Background south swell energy will maintain small. near seasonal surf heights along most south facing shores.
Do you have a story idea? Email news tips to news@kitv.com
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https://www.kitv.com/news/local/aloha-friday-weather-sunny-and-breezy-with-trade-wind-showers/article_e6d648c8-b1c8-11ec-8fcf-6b213ee2b365.html
| 2022-04-01T15:47:57Z
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CHEYENNE – Although this will be his first campaign for elected office, lifelong Cheyenne resident Ted Hanlon said he believes he has a chance at winning a state Senate seat as a Democrat.
This week, he announced his plan to run for the seat held by Sen. Lynn Hutchings, R-Cheyenne, in Senate District 5, which has gone uncontested by a Democrat for more than a decade. Hutchings defeated Republican incumbent Fred Emerich in the 2018 election cycle, and has not commented on whether she plans to run again in November.
But the opportunity Hanlon sees stems from the race previous to Hutchings. Democratic candidate Lori Millin ran against Emerich in 2010, and she only lost by 106 votes. He said he is confident he can close that gap.
Part of this self-assurance stems from his platform, which he said is based on understanding the needs of Wyomingites, a desire to manage the state in a more businesslike manner and making the government an ally of the people.
“No matter what side of the aisle you are on, you want the government to be for you,” he told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. “So, I think I have a very good chance.”
Hanlon said his advantage in connecting with residents of the district is his roots.
He spent his entire childhood in Cheyenne before attending the University of Wyoming. After school, he spent 42 years building a career in the state’s oil, gas and energy industry.
Deciding to run
He never had any desire to enter Wyoming's political landscape until this year.
“I’m running for office now because I love my home,” he said. “I want Wyoming to be a place where our kids and our grandkids can stay because they have great job opportunities, and want to stay because they have great quality of life.”
He felt this objective was ignored in the last budget session, where he said legislators lost their way and were doing their best to come up with creative ways to bully the people of Wyoming. Instead, he wants them to focus on infrastructure, the environment, new job opportunities, health care and other ways to address the demands of residents.
Hanlon also said he was disappointed with the time spent on issues such as attempting to ban transgender girls from sports, prohibiting abortions should the Supreme Court agree, and trying to ban the teaching of critical race theory. He considered them a distraction and a waste of time, especially when he said there were more important issues on the ground in Wyoming.
“The people that were pushing some of that legislation are not being truthful with us. You can look across the street at the Wyoming GOP headquarters, and there's a little sign on their window that says ‘Protect the innocent,’” he said. “Well, they don’t really believe that or they would have funded the expansion of Medicaid. Because human lives are lost every year. Infants that people wanted are lost every year because families can’t afford insurance.”
An estimated 24,000 residents would have been covered by Medicaid expansion, and Hanlon said it was the best option available. But it was never considered in the House, and the Senate voted down multiple amendments to the budget bill during the recent session.
“What the Republicans are actually telling you is that they wouldn’t save the life of an innocent if it didn’t cost them a dime,” he said.
Priorities for Wyomingites
Moving forward with his own priorities for Wyomingites, he said he has two clear initial goals.
The first is to diversify the economy and move away from relying on the mineral industry in Wyoming. Although he said he understands the state will never stop exporting oil, gas and coal in his lifetime, he does believe the state has the opportunity to further invest in renewable resources. And for those who push back against the proposal with concerns that the sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow, his argument is that it sets Wyoming up for energy storage projects.
But fears that renewable energy might not be reliable are not the only apprehensions of state politicians. Foreign relations and imports are being impacted by the war in Ukraine, and many are advocating for Wyoming to become an arsenal of natural gas and oil.
“This Ukrainian situation may result in a huge boom, and a huge number of jobs in the oil and gas industry. And I’ve been through those booms before, and they’re really exciting times when you’re working in the business,” Hanlon said. “But I also know they’re not going to last, because I’ve seen the other side of the boom every time it happens. So, we have to create jobs and a revenue stream that is consistent, regardless of what the oil and gas industry is doing.”
Another pillar of diversifying the economy was providing broadband for residents throughout the state. He said with a strong broadband connection, entrepreneurs and remote workers could choose to settle down in Wyoming and add to the local economy.
“If you’re a programmer, you can be just as effective sitting in Clearmont, Wyoming, as you can sitting in New York City.”
Finding ways to support the workforce played into his second goal as a state senator, which he said is to become an ally of people. From health care providers to educators, he said he wants to invest in their futures. He said this comes in many forms, such as access to health care, higher salaries, training opportunities and developing strong relationships.
Most of all, he said he wants to bring Wyoming values back into politics. Growing up in rural Wyoming, he said there wasn’t a focus on individualism, but rather helping a neighbor and building community. He said this was a matter of survival.
“Certainly, in the past, and something that I want to bring into the future, is that Wyomingites were kind to each other,” Hanlon said. “And I don’t see that kindness from a lot of people that claim to be representing me.”
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https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/local_news/democrat-set-to-run-for-seat-held-by-sen-lynn-hutchings/article_fa35be45-6eff-5e07-955c-c624bd30bcde.html
| 2022-04-01T16:08:14Z
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CASPER — Even as Rep. Liz Cheney breaks fundraising records in the midst of her toughest reelection campaign yet, some Wyoming-based megadonors who supported her in previous races are now pouring their fortunes into her challenger.
The Donald Trump-endorsed candidate Harriet Hageman, a Cheyenne and D.C.-based lawyer, has emerged as Cheney’s main challenger in a crowded field. The Trump-backed challenge comes as Cheney has angered many hard-line conservatives after she voted to impeach the former president and has rebuked him since.
She said last year that he’s “at war with the rule of law.”
In response, she has been censured and “unrecognized” as a Republican by the Wyoming GOP, censured by the Republican National Committee and lost her House Republican leadership position.
The list of wealthy Cheney-defects includes Jay and Karen Kemmerer, the owners of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort; Lynn Friess, the widow of the longtime GOP megadonor Foster Friess; Maggie Scarlett, one of Cheney family’s oldest friends and others, according to federal election filings.
What’s more, most of the megadonors who have abandoned the incumbent congresswoman hail from Jackson, the longtime home of the Cheney family.
Hageman herself has donated a total of $2,000 to Cheney in the past — $1,500 in 2016 and $500 in 2013 to her Senate campaign that got cut short when she withdrew from the race for family reasons.
Hageman was also an adviser to Cheney on that same campaign.
“Harriet, like most Wyoming voters, at one time supported Liz Cheney,” Hageman’s campaign manager Carly Miller said in a statement. “But that was before Cheney abandoned Wyoming and launched her personal war with President Trump.”
Donation options
In this race, these two candidates offer donors three pots into which they can put their money: a campaign fund, a joint fundraising committee and a leadership political action committee.
Money donated directly to candidates’ campaign funds have caps at $5,800 per individual.
Wealthier people are able to donate beyond the typical maximums through the alternative committees called joint fundraising committees and leadership PACs. These committees traditionally serve two main purposes: They make contributions easier for donors while providing the politician a pot of money in addition to campaign funds. Campaign funds are only legally allowed to be spent on campaign expenses (salaries, travel, consulting, advertising and expenditures like that). Money raised via a leadership PAC can never be spent on the campaign. Candidates can, for example, spend leadership money on personal expenses and donations to like-minded candidates.
Joint fundraising committees are a little different. These committees make it easier for donors to write one huge check that a candidate’s staff splits between the campaign, the leadership PAC or other politicians’ campaigns.
The Cheney camp has had a leadership PAC and a joint fundraising committee on the books for some time. The Hageman campaign opened its own versions of these two committees in early January.
Primary challengers in the U.S. and Wyoming rarely establish a leadership PAC and a joint fundraising committee, but this race is not normal.
Because Hageman set up her leadership PAC and joint fundraising committee during the current fundraising quarter, the numbers have not been reported yet. It’s likely the big-time donors supporting Hageman will pour even more money into those coffers.
Jay Kemmerer, the co-owner of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, and his wife, Karen Kemmerer, a retired Realtor, donated just shy of $50,000 to Cheney’s campaigns up until September 2020.
The bulk of this cash came from a $25,000 donation to Cheney’s joint fundraising committee, meaning that not all of this money went to Cheney’s efforts specifically.
Outside of Cheney, the Kemmerers donated more than $1 million to Trump, some Republican candidates and various GOP entities over a roughly two-year period.
If that spending is any indication, Hageman’s other fundraising committees are likely to see big infusions of cash from the Kemmerers.
The director of communications for the resort said he was “unable” to share the Star-Tribune’s request for comment with Jay Kemmerer, nor did he provide contact information for the owner. It’s unclear why.
The Kemmerers co-hosted an August fundraiser in Jackson Hole for the House Freedom Caucus, the group of some of the farthest-right House Republicans. Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Mark Meadows, Trump’s former White House chief of staff, were some of the big names in attendance. The price of admission was $2,000 per couple, the Jackson Hole News & Guide reported.
Greene has a history of spouting QAnon conspiracies, including calling George Soros a Nazi. Soros, a Holocaust survivor and Democratic megadonor, is a frequent target of anti-semitic conspiracies. Greene has also vehemently rejected Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. Most recently, she attended a fringe right-wing conference with ties to white nationalists.
“Liz will always be faithful to the oath she swore under God to the Constitution,” said Jeremy Adler, a Cheney spokesperson.
“The beauty of our system is that every Wyoming citizen can choose whether to embrace that or reject our Constitution in favor of a negative campaign spreading un-American lies and conspiracy theories,” Adler said.
Foster Friess, who died nearly a year ago at the age of 81 from a form of bone marrow cancer, gave over $500 million in his lifetime, according to a press release from his family office. He was a major donor to Republican political action committees, state Republican parties, and Republican candidates like Trump, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and, at one point, Cheney.
Between Friess and his wife, Lynn Friess, they donated $16,300 to Cheney’s efforts. Two other members of the Friess family are also Cheney donors, contributing $6,400 to her campaigns.
But now, Lynn Friess, who lives in Teton County, is taking the family fortune to Hageman’s effort. She has so far donated the maximum amount of $5,800 to Hageman’s campaign.
“Harriet Hageman has Wyoming in her DNA, and as our representative, she will always reflect the views and values of Wyomingites,” Lynn Friess said in a statement. “I’m excited to support Harriet, and I will be grateful to call her the congresswoman from Wyoming in November.”
Shifting allegiances
Longtime Cheney family friends have also jumped ship.
Maggie Scarlett, one of Liz Cheney’s mother’s oldest friends and a former Cheney adviser during her brief Senate campaign, gave the maximum amount of $5,800 to Hageman.
Scarlett and Lynne Cheney met at the Wyoming Girls State conference in the late 1950s. Maggie’s husband, Dick Scarlett, a Jackson banker, used to hang out with Dick Cheney on his vacations back west during his time as vice president. Neither Scarlett responded to requests for comment.
“I do think she has burned bridges with some of her Jackson supporters,” said Mary Martin, chairwoman of the Teton County GOP. “It’s a lot of longtime friends. They’re just so, so disappointed. I think they feel that Wyoming isn’t represented.”
Martin said she did not vote to censure Cheney when the state GOP central committee voted to do so following the congresswoman’s vote to impeach Trump.
“Our state doesn’t allow us to remove a public official, so I felt it was just a vote to humiliate her,” she said.
Another Jackson resident, former investment banker Nancy Donovan, gave $5,600 to Cheney in 2019. Less than a week after Hageman entered the race in mid-September, Donovan donated $23,200 to the lawyer’s effort (the money that exceeds the maximum of $5,800 will either be reallocated to other Hageman funds or refunded to Donovan).
“She was a Cheney, and she was Republican, and she talked a good game,” Donovan said. “For me, it was a default. I thought she was a good Republican, but all of the sudden she got this Trump derangement syndrome.”
A repeated complaint that Wyoming voters have told the Star-Tribune is that Cheney is too focused on fighting Trump and therefore is ignoring Wyoming issues.
“She shot herself in the foot,” Martin said.
Another Teton County-based couple, Dan and Carleen Brophy, have a similar donation history.
Both Brophys gave $2,600 to Cheney’s Senate race in 2013.
They have not donated to Cheney since, according to federal election filings. The couple is now taking their commodities trading fortune and putting it toward Hageman.
Carleen and Dan Brophy have each maxed out at $5,800, bringing the total donation to Hageman to $11,600.
The Brophys, like the Kemmerers, were one of the other couples who co-hosted the summer fundraiser for the House Freedom Caucus.
Brophy told the Jackson Hole News & Guide that labeling QAnon a conspiracy theory “is another label, with the flavor of a libel.” He also claimed that he did not know Greene’s stance on the conspiracy theory, “Nor do I care,” he added in an email to the Jackson news outlet.
One of the all-time top donors to President Trump’s reelection is Saratoga resident Timothy Mellon, heir to the Mellon banking fortune and chairman of Pan Am Systems, a transportation and freight holding company.
Before Trump came on the scene, he was a relatively minor political donor. Unlike the other wealthy Wyomingites, Timothy and his wife, Patricia Mellon, did not donate to Cheney in the past, but now the couple appears split over where to funnel their massive fortune.
Timothy Mellon donated $2,900 to candidate and state Sen. Anthony Bouchard, R-Cheyenne, before Hageman entered the race and $2,900 to Hageman in late September.
Patricia Mellon, on the other hand, donated $515 to Cheney’s reelection campaign after Hageman had already entered the race.
In a self-published autobiography, he wrote that Black Americans are “unwilling to pitch in to improve their own situations” and called people who receive government benefits “slaves of a new Master, Uncle Sam,” according to The Washington Post.
Dan Brophy and Timothy Mellon did not respond to requests for comment.
Where the money's coming from
Even as Hageman attracts big-time Wyoming donors, she still majorly trails Cheney in overall fundraising.
Repeatedly rebuking Trump continues to have consequences for Cheney, but it has also raised her profile nationally, and she’s received huge monetary support from critics of the former president.
The final fundraising quarter of 2021 was the highest yet for the Cheney campaign. It raked in $2.05 million in the quarter, compared with $1.5 million, $1.9 million and $1.7 million in each of the preceding quarters of the year.
At the end of 2021, the campaign had $4.7 million left to spend.
These numbers dwarf Hageman’s fundraising. Hageman brought in about $745,000 from the time of her campaign launch in September through the end of 2021. Roughly $443,000 came during the fourth quarter, and at the end of 2021, Hageman had roughly $381,000 in the bank.
The in-state contributions, however, flip the script.
In the fourth fundraising quarter of 2021, only 32 of Cheney’s itemized donations were from Wyoming residents, which totaled to $25,830. For Hageman, residents contributed $188,850 via 150 individual donors.
Put differently, Hageman raised $7 from Wyoming residents for every $1 Cheney took in, WyoFile reported.
“Money alone doesn’t guarantee electoral success,” Beckel said. “Voters are the ones who determine who wins and loses at the ballot box.”
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https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/local_news/former-cheney-donors-send-hageman-support/article_7ec7dbb2-bf59-5edc-a47f-af1995f4ddf0.html
| 2022-04-01T16:08:20Z
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ROCK SPRINGS -- The Sweetwater Events Complex is excited to bring Grammy® Award-winning superstar sibling trio The Band Perry to the stage at Wyoming’s Big Show. The Band Perry will wrap up the Wyoming’s Big Show concert series when they hit the stage on Saturday, August 6th at 8:30 p.m.
An unstoppable presence in modern music, The Band Perry has sold two and a half million albums, 13 million singles, and have racked up over 2 billion combined streams on their songs. Since releasing their groundbreaking crossover #1 single “If I Die Young” in 2010 (with its current septuple-platinum status and over 200 million video views), The Band Perry have forged a unique identity and built an international fanbase leading to sold-out world tours, five No.1 singles on the Billboard Country Chart, a No. 1 single on the Hot AC charts, six songs reaching gold or platinum status, and in 2015, bringing home their first Grammy® Award.
They’ve performed on TV’s biggest stages, from late night’s most influential (The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Late Late Show with James Corden, The Late Show with David Letterman) to daytime’s most popular (Ellen, Good Morning America, The Today Show), and their track “Live Forever” was the official theme song for Team USA at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. The story of Kimberly, Reid, and Neil is writing its next chapter with the release of their much anticipated third country album later this year.
Known for their boundary-pushing live performances, the band’s combination of music, fashion, and visual art has become a hallmark of their dialogue with their fans and with culture. Their creative efforts boast collaborations with artistic luminaries such as Steven Klein, Nicola Formichetti, and Neil Krug. Even with the extraordinary musical and visual concepts they’ve
introduced in their career thus far, the next era promises to see the band expanding these boundaries yet again.
Saturday of Wyoming’s Big Show is sponsored by Simplot with support from Explore Rock Springs & Green River. The Sweetwater Events Complex previously announced Mitchell Tenpenny on Tuesday, August 2nd and Little River Band for Wednesday, August 3rd. More concert announcements are coming up for 2022. Watch for announcements every Thursday for the next two weeks. For the most up to date information and a listing of all the family entertainment visit the website at www.SweetwaterEvents.com.
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https://www.wyomingnews.com/rocketminer/the-band-perry-will-entertain-wyoming-fans/article_58b05d4b-78ba-5769-8a3a-72fff8ed2ccb.html
| 2022-04-01T16:08:26Z
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Amazon workers in NYC vote to unionize, a first for company
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon workers in Staten Island, New York, voted to unionize on Friday, marking the first successful U.S. organizing effort in the retail giant’s history and handing an unexpected win to a nascent group that fueled the union drive.
Votes were still being tabulated, but union supporters secured a wide enough margin to give the fledgling Amazon Labor Union enough support to pull off a victory. The votes that were either voided or contested by either Amazon or the ALU did not appear to be enough to sway the outcome.
More than 8,300 eligible workers cast their ballots. Amazon provides the list of eligible workers to the National Labor Relations Board, which oversees the process. Organizers say a high attrition rate may have shrunk that pool since the election was scheduled.
The victory was an uphill battle for the independent group, made up of former and current workers who lacked official backing from an established union and were out-gunned by the deep-pocketed retail giant. Despite obstacles, organizers believed their grassroots approach was more relatable to workers and could help them overcome where established unions have failed in the past.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
(AP) - Labor organizers always knew it would be tough to convince Amazon workers to unionize. But a surprisingly strong early showing in a New York election and a still-uncertain outcome in an Alabama election are giving them hope.
In Staten Island, New York, 1,518 warehouse workers have so far voted “yes” to forming a union while 1,154 have voted “no,” according to an early tally Thursday evening by the National Labor Relations Board, which is overseeing both elections. Ballots continue to be counted Friday morning.
Meanwhile, Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama, appear to have rejected a union bid, but outstanding challenged ballots could change the outcome. The votes were 993-to-875 against the union. A hearing to review 416 challenged ballots is expected to begin in the next few days.
If a majority of Amazon workers ultimately votes yes in either Staten Island or Bessemer, it would mark the first successful U.S. organizing effort in the company’s history. Organizers have faced an uphill battle against the nation’s second-largest private employer, which is making every effort to keep unions out.
The union campaigns come at a time of widespread labor unrest at many corporations. Workers at more than 140 Starbucks locations around the country, for instance, have requested union elections and several of them have already been successful.
John Logan, director of labor and employment studies at San Francisco State University, said the early vote counts in New York have been “shocking.” The nascent Amazon Labor Union, which is leading the charge on Staten Island, has no backing from an established union and is powered by former and current warehouse workers.
“I don’t think that many people thought that the Amazon Labor Union had much of a chance of winning at all,” Logan said. “And I think we’re likely to see more of those (approaches) going forward.”
After a crushing defeat last year in Bessemer, when a majority of workers voted against forming a union, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union got a second chance to organize another campaign when the NLRB ordered a do-over after determining that Amazon tainted the first election.
Though RWDSU is currently lagging in the latest election, Logan said the early results were still remarkable because the union has made a good effort narrowing its margin from last year.
Stuart Appelbaum, president of the RWDSU, said on Thursday that the union would be filing objections to how Amazon handled the election in Bessemer but declined to specify. He also took the opportunity to lash out at current labor laws, which he believes are rigged against unions and favor corporations.
“It should not be so difficult to organize a union in the United States,” he said.
Chris Smalls, a fired Amazon employee who has been leading the ALU in its fight on Staten Island, remains hopeful of victory.
“To be leading in Day One and be up a couple hundred against a trillion dollar company, this is the best feeling in the world,” Smalls said after the conclusion of Thursday’s counting.
Amazon has pushed back hard in the lead-up to both elections. The retail giant held mandatory meetings, where workers were told unions are a bad idea. The company also launched an anti-union website targeting workers and placed English and Spanish posters across the Staten Island facility urging them to reject the union. In Bessemer, Amazon has made some changes to but still kept a controversial U.S. Postal Service mailbox that was key in the NLRB’s decision to invalidate last year’s vote.
In a filing released on Thursday, Amazon disclosed it spent about $4.2 million last year on labor consultants, which organizers say the retailer routinely solicits to persuade workers not to unionize. It’s unclear how much it spent on such services in 2022.
Both labor fights faced unique challenges. Alabama, for instance, is a right-to-work state that prohibits a company and a union from signing a contract that requires workers to pay dues to the union that represents them.
The union landscape in Alabama is also starkly different from New York. Last year, union members accounted for 22.2% of wage and salary workers in New York, ranked only behind Hawaii, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s more than double the national average of 10.3%. In Alabama, it’s 5.9%.
The mostly Black workforce at the Amazon facility, which opened in 2020, mirrors the Bessemer population of more than 70% Black residents, according to the latest U.S. Census data.
Pro-union workers say they want better working conditions, longer breaks and higher wages. Regular full-time employees at the Bessemer facility earn at least $15.80 an hour, higher than the estimated $14.55 per hour on average in the city. That figure is based on an analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual median household income for Bessemer of $30,284, which could include more than one worker.
The ALU said they don’t have a demographic breakdown of the warehouse workers on Staten Island and Amazon declined to provide the information to The Associated Press, citing the union vote. Internal records leaked to The New York Times from 2019 showed more than 60% of the hourly associates at the facility were Black or Latino, while most of managers were white or Asian.
Amazon workers there are seeking longer breaks, paid time off for injured employees and an hourly wage of $30, up from a minimum of just over $18 per hour offered by the company. The estimated average wage for the borough is $41 per hour, according to a similar U.S. Census Bureau analysis of Staten Island’s $85,381 median household income.
A spokesperson for Amazon said the company invests in wages and benefits, such as health care, 401(k) plans and a prepaid college tuition program to help grow workers’ careers.
“As a company, we don’t think unions are the best answer for our employees,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “Our focus remains on working directly with our team to continue making Amazon a great place to work.”
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Associated Press staff writers Tali Arbel and Bobby Caina Calvan in New York contributed to this report.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/amazon-workers-nyc-vote-unionize-first-company/
| 2022-04-01T16:41:22Z
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City of Princeton purchases new traffic cams
PRINCETON, W.Va. (WVVA) - Smile, you’re on camera! New equipment in Princeton is making it easier for police to apprehend suspects.
$8,000 in cellular camera equipment will be installed in the city soon, says Lieutenant Jeremy Halsey with the Princeton Police Department. Halsey shared that the cameras will provide critical information as incidents occur in the future. Two cameras can be classified as bullet cameras that will provide a live feed to the department. The rest are License Plate Recognition (LPR) cameras, which will have the ability to extract numbers and letters from plates, and be utilized to reference the information as it is needed to resolve investigations.
The cameras can be used to track down murder suspects, quickly resolve Amber Alerts and more- all in the hope of making the citizens of Princeton feel safe.
“We are always looking at ways to do better for the community,” Halsey said. “I’m really excited to get these because I feel like its going to make us just that much more effiective with our job.”
The department plans to install the cameras throughout the city and Halsey says more are to come in the following years.
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/city-princeton-purchases-new-traffic-cams/
| 2022-04-01T16:41:29Z
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FBI joins search for Florida mom missing since Sunday
PENSACOLA, Fla. (Gray News) – The FBI has now joined the search for a mom in Florida who has been missing since Sunday night.
Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson said in a press conference Thursday afternoon that Cassie Carli, 37, was last seen on Navarre Beach in Pensacola on Sunday evening near a restaurant called Juana’s Pagodas.
Johnson said that Carli was at the restaurant to meet with Marcus Spanevelo, the father of her 4-year-old daughter, Saylor, to “do a child exchange.”
Carli’s father reported her missing the following day.
On Tuesday, police located Carli’s vehicle behind the restaurant with her purse still inside the car. Her purse being left behind is a cause for concern, Johnson said.
Spanevelo was located in Birmingham, Alabama, on Wednesday with Saylor. He was interviewed by investigators, and Saylor was taken into the custody of Alabama Protective Services, Johnson said.
“The way she has gone missing concerns us greatly,” Johnson said.
Johnson said detectives plan to speak more with Spanevelo, as he was the last known person to see Carli.
Carli is 5′5″ and approximately 150 pounds with blonde hair.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office at 850-983-1190.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/fbi-joins-search-florida-mom-missing-since-sunday/
| 2022-04-01T16:41:35Z
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Man who parked weapons near Capitol on 1/6 gets nearly 4 years in prison
(AP) - An Alabama man who parked a pickup truck filled with weapons and Molotov cocktail components near the U.S. Capitol on the day of last year’s riot was sentenced Friday to nearly four years in prison.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said she still hasn’t heard an explanation for why Lonnie Leroy Coffman had “almost a small armory in his truck, ready to do battle.” She sentenced Coffman to three years and 10 months in prison, giving him credit for the more than one year he already has served since his arrest.
Coffman, 72, of Falkville, Alabama, said he never intended to hurt anybody or destroy any property. He said he drove to Washington alone “to try to discover just how true and secure was the (2020 presidential) election.”
“If I had any idea that things would turn out like they did, I would have stayed home,” he wrote in a handwritten letter to the judge.
More than 770 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riot, when supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump stormed the building in an effort to disrupt lawmakers’ formal certification of his reelection defeat. Five people died and scores of Capitol Police officers were seriously injured.
Over 240 participants in the attack have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanors punishable by a maximum of six months imprisonment. More than 130 have been sentenced. Coffman is one of nine defendants whose prison sentence exceeds one year.
Coffman, a Vietnam War veteran who served in the U.S. Army, pleaded guilty in November to possession of an unregistered firearm and carrying a pistol without a license. He was carrying a loaded handgun and revolver without a license as he walked in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, according to prosecutors. He isn’t accused of entering the Capitol or joining the mob during the riot that day.
When Coffman parked his truck a few blocks from the Capitol on the morning of Jan. 6, it contained a handgun, a rifle, a shotgun, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, a crossbow, machetes, a stun gun and a cooler containing eleven mason jars with holes punched in the lids, according to prosecutors. Each jar contained a mixture of gasoline and Styrofoam, which are components of the homemade incendiary devices called Molotov cocktails, prosecutors said.
Law enforcement officers found the cache of weapons and ammunition when they searched Coffman’s truck. They had been sweeping the area after pipe bombs were found near the headquarters of the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee. Later, investigators also found Molotov cocktail components at Coffman’s home in Alabama.
“Possession of so much dangerous weapons in our nation’s capital is uniquely offensive to our cherished, democratic political traditions,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Friedman said.
Handwritten notes found inside the vehicle included a quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln that said, “We The People Are The Rightful Masters Of Both The Congress And The Courts, Not To Overthrow The Constitution But To Overthrow The Men Who Pervert The Constitution.”
The notes included a list of “good guys” and “bad guys,” with a federal judge named in the latter category, and contact information for a member of a Texas militia group known as the “American Patriots,” prosecutors said.
“The handwritten notes also included an address for a reported gathering place in Texas called ‘Camp Lonestar,’ where militia groups had reportedly sought to patrol the border looking for illegal aliens,” prosecutors wrote.
Investigators had previously identified Coffman as an armed participant at Camp Lonestar, according to prosecutors.
Coffman, a retired machine operator, had traveled to Washington in December 2020 and tried to drive to the home of a U.S. senator who isn’t named in a court filing by prosecutors. He also called the senator’s office in an effort to “help with the election fraud he saw.”
“A staff member at the Senator’s office recorded that the defendant seemed ‘unbalanced’ or ‘not 100% there’ during the call, but did not seem threatening,” prosecutors wrote.
Prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of approximately three years and six months. Defense attorney Manuel Retureta said a prison term wouldn’t be appropriate given Coffman’s age and medical condition.
Coffman didn’t have a criminal record before this case.
“At my age, one of the most precious (things) we possess is time, and I have wasted almost a whole precious year,” he wrote in his letter to the judge.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/man-who-parked-weapons-near-capitol-16-gets-nearly-4-years-prison/
| 2022-04-01T16:41:41Z
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Oldest U.S. active park ranger retires at 100
RICHMOND, Calif. (AP) — The nation’s oldest active park ranger is hanging up her Smokey hat at the age of 100.
Betty Reid Soskin retired Thursday after more than 15 years at the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California, the National Park Service announced.
Soskin “spent her last day providing an interpretive program to the public and visiting with coworkers,” a Park Service statement said.
She led tours at the park and museum honoring the women who worked in factories during wartime and shared her own experience as a Black woman during the conflict. She worked for the U.S. Air Force in 1942 but quit after learning that “she was employed only because her superiors believed she was white,” according to a Park Service biography.
“Being a primary source in the sharing of that history – my history – and giving shape to a new national park has been exciting and fulfilling,” Soskin said in the Park Service statement. “It has proven to bring meaning to my final years.”
Soskin won a temporary Park Service position at the age of 84 and became a permanent Park Service employee in 2011. She celebrated her 100th birthday last September.
“Betty has made a profound impact on the National Park Service and the way we carry out our mission,” Director Chuck Sams said. “Her efforts remind us that we must seek out and give space for all perspectives so that we can tell a more full and inclusive history of our nation.”
Soskin was born Betty Charbonnet in Detroit in 1921 but recalled surviving the devastating Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 while living with her Creole family in New Orleans, according to the Park Service biography.
Her family then moved to Oakland, California, and Soskin remained in the San Francisco Bay Area, where in 1945 she and her first husband founded one of the first Black-owned record stores in the area, the biography said.
She also was a civil rights activist and took part in meetings to develop a general management plan for the Home Front park. She has received several honors.
She was named California Woman of the Year in 1995.
In 2015, Soskin received a presidential coin from President Barack Obama after she lit the National Christmas tree at the White House.
In June 2016, she was awakened in her home by a robber who punched her repeatedly in the face, dragged her out of her bedroom and beat her before making off with the coin and other items. Soskin, then 94, recovered and returned to work just weeks after the attack. The coin was replaced.
Soskin also was honored with entry into the Congressional Record. Glamour Magazine named her woman of the year in 2018.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/oldest-us-active-park-ranger-retires-100/
| 2022-04-01T16:41:48Z
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Psaki to leave White House for MSNBC job, reports say
Published: Apr. 1, 2022 at 11:49 AM EDT|Updated: 37 minutes ago
(Gray News) - White House press secretary Jen Psaki is finalizing plans to leave the Biden administration for a hosting job with MSNBC, according to multiple reports.
Axios reported she plans to leave in May and begin appearing on MSNBC programming as well as hosting a show on NBC’s streaming service, Peacock. She has not officially signed a contract with the network, but talks are in the advanced stages, sources told CNN.
No official announcement has been made by Psaki or the White House.
Psaki also served as the spokesperson for the State Department and the White House communications director during the Obama administration.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/psaki-leave-white-house-msnbc-job-reports-say/
| 2022-04-01T16:41:55Z
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US man abducted in Afghanistan appears in newly posted video
WASHINGTON (AP) — An American man kidnapped in Afghanistan two years ago is seen in a video pleading for his release so that he can be reunited with his family, according to a recording posted Friday by The New Yorker magazine.
Mark Frerichs, a Navy veteran and civilian contractor who is believed held by the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network, appears by himself in the video, sitting upright before a dark curtain.
In the video, which he says was recorded on Nov. 28, 2021, he says he has patiently awaited his release and adds: “I’d like to ask the leadership of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan: please release me. Release me so that I may be re-united with my family. Thank you.”
The video was posted Friday by The New Yorker, which says it obtained it from an unidentified individual in Afghanistan.
An FBI spokeswoman in Washington declined to comment on the video’s authenticity, but a sister of Frerichs, Charlene Cakora, said in a statement Friday that she was grateful to the Taliban for releasing the video and described it as “public confirmation of our family’s long-held belief that he is alive after more than two years in captivity.”
She appealed to President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to step up efforts to get Frerich released.
“We consider this to be an important indicator of the Taliban’s interest in seeking to arrange for Mark’s immediate release. President Biden and Secretary Blinken, we urge you to take bold and decisive action to bring Mark home,” she added.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/us-man-abducted-afghanistan-appears-newly-posted-video/
| 2022-04-01T16:42:02Z
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US sanctions North Korea firms over recent missile tests
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. imposed sanctions on five North Korean entities Friday in response to two ballistic missile tests the reclusive Asian country conducted in February and March.
The March launch was North Korea’s most provocative weapons test since President Joe Biden took office.
Authorized under an existing executive order targeting producers and supporters of weapons of mass destruction, the sanctions come after Japan issued its own penalties this week on four groups and nine individuals tied to missile development.
The U.S. government determined that the launches involved a new intercontinental ballistic missile which could be used in the future, potentially disguised as a space launch.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said Friday’s sanctions target the firms for providing support to North Korea’s “development of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, in violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions.”
Sanctioned entities include the Ministry of Rocket Industry, the Hapjanggang Trading Corporation, Korea Rounsan Trading Corp., Sungnisan Trading Corp., and Unchon Trading Corp.
“The DPRK’s provocative ballistic missile tests represent a clear threat to regional and global security and are in blatant violation of UN Security Council resolutions,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.
DPRK is an acronym for the country’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea
“The United States is committed to using our sanctions authorities to respond to the DPRK’s continued development of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles,” she said.
“I also commend Japan for their actions today against the DPRK, and stand ready to continue to work together to counter the DPRK’s continued threatening behavior.”
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/us-sanctions-north-korea-firms-over-recent-missile-tests/
| 2022-04-01T16:42:25Z
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3 Army soldiers, 9 others accused in gun trafficking ring
WASHINGTON (AP) — Twelve people, including three U.S. Army soldiers, are accused in a large-scale gun trafficking ring that prosecutors allege supplied nearly 100 guns to gang members in Chicago and led to at least two killings, the Justice Department said Friday.
The soldiers — Demarcus Adams, 21; Jarius Brunson, 22; and Brandon Miller, 22 — were enlisted in the Army and stationed at Fort Campbell in Tennessee, where they would legally purchase guns from local dealers in Tennessee and Kentucky, prosecutors charged. The soldiers are accused of selling them to members of the Gangster Disciples street gang in the Pocket Town neighborhood on Chicago’s south side, according to the 21-count indictment.
The indictment charges the group with conspiring to violate federal firearms laws, among other crimes. If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison.
The case is part of the Justice Department’s push to investigate and prosecute gun trafficking amid rising crime across the U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has vowed to prioritize prosecutions of firearms traffickers and so-called “straw purchasers,” who legally purchase firearms to sell them to people who can’t legally poses guns, often in states with more restrictive gun laws.
“The Justice Department will spare no resources to hold accountable criminal gun traffickers,” Garland said at a news conference Friday. “There is no hiding place for those who flood our communities with illegal guns. It does not matter where you are, or how far away you are. If you illegally traffic guns, we and our law enforcement partners nationwide will find you.”
Prosecutors allege Miller would receive orders from members of the Gangster Disciples in Chicago for specific guns to purchase and he, Brunson and Adams would then buy them from dealers in Clarksville, Tennessee and Oak Grove, Kentucky, and give them to gang members, who paid through money transfer apps, including Zelle and CashApp. Miller also advertised that he had 1,000 rounds of ammunition available for sale, prosecutors say.
Authorities believe the trio provided over 90 illegally obtained firearms to the gang “to facilitate the on-going violent disputes between the Pocket Town Gangster Disciples and their rival gangs,” the Justice Department said.
Investigators believe one of the guns was used in a shooting at a party in Chicago last March that left one man dead, and seven others wounded. Another was used in a killing at a Chicago barbershop in January 2021, according to officials.
The nine others charged in the indictment are: Blaise Smith, 29; Rahaeem Johnson, 24; Bryant Larkin, 33; Corey Curtis, 26; Elijah Tillman, 24; Lazarus Greenwood, 23; Dwight Lowry, 41; and Dreshion Parks, 25, all of Chicago; along with Terrell Mitchell, 27, of Davenport, Iowa. Two people who were alleged to be part of the conspiracy were killed “as a result of gang violence, which was facilitated by the firearms illegally transferred to individuals in the Chicago,” prosecutors say.
The indictment spells out how Miller would exchange messages with his associates in Chicago to negotiate the prices of the guns.
“The silver one a 380 u still want it it’s a steal,” Miller wrote to Lowry in December 2020, the indictment says. Lowry wrote back, “Yup can’t beat it,” according to court papers.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/3-army-soldiers-9-others-accused-gun-trafficking-ring/
| 2022-04-01T18:12:20Z
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Colon cancer screening tests distributed at PCH Bluefield Campus
Published: Apr. 1, 2022 at 1:07 PM EDT|Updated: 1 hour ago
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. (WVVA) - The Princeton Community Hospital’s Cancer Center will be handing out free, at home colon cancer screening test kits Friday, April 1.
They will be handed out at the PCH Bluefield Campus (formerly BRMC) from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., or until supplies last.
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/colon-cancer-screening-tests-distributed-pch-bluefield-campus/
| 2022-04-01T18:12:27Z
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COVID-19 asylum limits at US-Mexico border to end May 23
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday that it is ending a policy that limited asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The use of public health powers had been widely criticized by Democrats and immigration advocates as an excuse for the United States to shirk its obligations to provide haven to people fleeing persecution. The policy went into effect under President Donald Trump in March 2020. Since then, migrants trying to enter the U.S. have been expelled more than 1.7 million times.
The policy, known as the Title 42 authority, named for a 1944 public health law to prevent communicable disease, will end on paper, but it will not take effect until May 23, to allow border officials time to prepare. The Associated Press first reported the change earlier this week.
The policy was increasingly hard to justify scientifically as restrictions ended across the U.S.
The federal order says efforts by the Department of Homeland Security to provide vaccines to migrants at the border will step up in the next two months.
“After considering current public health conditions and an increased availability of tools to fight COVID-19 (such as highly effective vaccines and therapeutics), the CDC director has determined that an order suspending the right to introduce migrants into the United States is no longer necessary,” the CDC said in a statement.
The decision is expected to draw more migrants to the U.S.-Mexico border. Even before it was officially announced, more than a dozen migrants excitedly ran out of their dormitory at the Good Samaritan shelter in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, asking about it.
DHS said this week that about 7,100 migrants were coming daily, compared with an average of about 5,900 a day in February — on pace to match or exceed highs from last year, 2019 and other peak periods. But border officials said they are planning for as many as 18,000 arrivals daily, and that seems certain to cause challenges for border-region Democrats in tight reelection races — with some warning that the Biden administration is unprepared to handle the situation.
Homeland Security said it created a Southwest Border Coordinating Center to respond to any sharp increases, with MaryAnn Tierney, a regional director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as interim leader and a Border Patrol official as deputy.
Officials also are working on additional ground and air transportation options and tents to house the expected influx, and the Border Patrol has already hired on civilians.
Instead of conducting patrols and uncovering smuggling activity, its agents spend about 40% of their time caring for people already in custody and administrative tasks that are unrelated to border security.
The agency hoped to free up agents to go back into the field by hiring civilians for jobs such as making sure that microwaved burritos are served properly, checking holding cells and the time-consuming work of collecting information for immigration court papers.
Still, administration officials acknowledged the fixes are only temporary measures.
“The Biden-Harris administration is committed to pursuing every avenue within our authority to secure our borders, enforce our laws, and stay true to our values,” said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. “Yet a long-term solution can only come from comprehensive legislation that brings lasting reform to a fundamentally broken system.”
The limits went into place in March 2020 under the Trump administration as coronavirus cases soared. While officials said at the time that it was a way to keep COVID-19 out of the United States, there always has been criticism that the restrictions were used as an excuse to seal the border to migrants unwanted by then-President Donald Trump. It was perhaps the broadest of Trump’s actions to restrict crossings and crack down on migrants.
CDC officials lifted part of the order last month, ending the limits for children traveling to the border alone. In August, U.S. border authorities began testing children traveling alone in their busiest areas: Positives fell to 6% in the first week of March from a high of nearly 20% in early February.
Asylum limits have been applied unevenly by nationality, depending largely on costs and diplomatic relations with home countries. Many migrants have been spared from Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and, more recently, Ukraine. Homeland Security officials wrote border authorities this month that Ukrainians may be exempt, saying Russia’s invasion “created a humanitarian crisis.”
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/covid-19-asylum-limits-us-mexico-border-end-may-23/
| 2022-04-01T18:12:34Z
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EXPLAINER: Will Trump or associates be charged for Jan. 6? House committee suggests crimes
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate acquitted former President Donald Trump last year of inciting the Capitol insurrection. But neither Trump nor any of his top advisers have faced charges over the attack in a court of law, and it’s uncertain if they ever will.
But increasingly, lawmakers on the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 assault are pressing Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Trump and his associates. They’ve been laying out possible crimes in at least one court filing and openly discussing others, all related to that day’s violent attack by Trump supporters looking to disrupt Congress’ formal certification of his reelection defeat.
Here’s a look at some of the suggested crimes floated by the House panel:
CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD THE UNITED STATES
After floating possible crimes for several months, lawmakers on the panel put it on paper for the first time in a March court filing. The filing was in response to a lawsuit from John Eastman, a lawyer and law professor who was consulting with Trump while attempting to overturn the election and who tried to withhold documents from the committee.
The committee argued that it has evidence supporting the idea that Trump, Eastman and other allies of the former president “entered into an agreement to defraud the United States.” The panel says Trump and his allies interfered with the election certification process, disseminated misinformation about election fraud and pressured state and federal officials to assist in that effort.
OBSTRUCTION OF AN OFFICIAL PROCEEDING
Late last month, U.S. District Court Judge David Carter appeared somewhat swayed by the panel’s arguments. In ordering Eastman to turn over the materials, Carter wrote that the court “finds it more likely than not that President Trump corruptly attempted to obstruct the Joint Session of Congress on January 6, 2021.”
In the filing, the committee argued that Trump either attempted or succeeded at obstructing, influencing, or impeding the ceremonial process on Jan. 6 and “did so corruptly” by pressuring Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the results as he presided over the session. Pence declined to do so.
“President Trump and members of his campaign knew he had not won enough legitimate state electoral votes to be declared the winner of the 2020 Presidential election during the January 6 Joint Session of Congress, but the President nevertheless sought to use the Vice President to manipulate the results in his favor,” the committee wrote.
COMMON LAW FRAUD
The committee has also floated a charge of “common law fraud,” or falsely representing facts with the knowledge that they are false. Trump embarked on a wide-scale campaign to convince the public and federal judges that the 2020 election was fraudulent and that he, not Biden, won the Electoral College tally. Election officials and courts across the country, along with Trump’s attorney general, rejected those claims.
As an example of such fraud, the committee noted in the Eastman filing that a Justice Department official told Trump directly that a Facebook video posted by his campaign “purporting to show Georgia officials pulling suitcases of ballots from under a table” was false, yet the campaign continued to run it. Georgia officials also repeatedly denied the claim.
“The president continued to rely on this allegation in his efforts to overturn the results of the election,” the committee said.
DERELICTION OF DUTY
Though they didn’t lay it out in the Eastman filing, leaders of the House panel suggested earlier this year that they believe Trump could also be liable for “dereliction of duty,” or inaction as his supporters violently broke the windows and doors of the U.S. Capitol.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the committee chairman, said in January that “the harm that I see is the president of the United States seeing the Capitol of the United States under siege by people he sent to the Capitol and did nothing during that time.”
The committee’s vice chairwoman, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming, noted that same month that the panel knows from “firsthand testimony” that Trump watched the attack happen on television. “We know that he did not walk the very few steps to the White House briefing room, get on camera immediately, and tell the people to stop and go home,” she said.
Cheney said it was hard “imagine a more significant and more serious dereliction of duty” than Trump’s failure to quell the insurrection.
FINANCIAL CRIMES
While the committee hasn’t floated specifics, it has created an internal task force to investigate financing for the massive rally on the National Mall the morning of Jan. 6 and any donors who might have backed transportation or other costs that could have helped foster the violence.
Asked earlier this year on CNN if they have any evidence of financial fraud, Thompson said members of the committee “have some concerns, but we have not made those concerns public at this point.”
“We do think it’s highly concerning on our part that people raised monies for one activity, and we can’t find the money being spent for that particular activity,” Thompson said. “So, we will continue to look at it. And the financing is one of those things that we will continue to look at very closely.”
UNCERTAINTY AHEAD
More than 775 rioters have been arrested for crimes related to the insurrection. Yet legal consequences have been elusive for Trump and the other top officials who told lies about election fraud and laid the groundwork for their actions.
Congress has no authority to prosecute, but can send so-called criminal referrals to the Justice Department. Garland can then decide whether to act.
Justice Department action would be far from guaranteed. And it’s uncertain whether any charges against the oft-investigated president would hold up in court. It could be difficult for prosecutors to craft a winning case against Trump.
The president urged on his massive crowd of supporters that morning and returned to the White House and watched them break into the Capitol on television. The rioters beat police, sent lawmakers running and interrupted the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/explainer-will-trump-or-associates-be-charged-jan-6-house-committee-suggests-crimes/
| 2022-04-01T18:12:43Z
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Families facing higher prices for vacations
LOS ANGELES (CNN) - As the pandemic subsides, many American families feel they are in dire need of a vacation.
But just as coronavirus restrictions are lifting, travel prices are increasing.
Some families who haven’t traveled much in the last two to three years said they are determined to take a trip despite the sticker shock.
In California, tourists are paying some of the highest gas prices in the nation. Tourists are also paying higher airfares driven by unprecedented demand and higher hotel rates, like in Miami Beach, with an average price of more than $500 a night.
On the travel website Kayak, recent searches show the average domestic flight to Panama City, Florida, for example, costs $494. In March 2019, that would have averaged just over $300.
The Cabara family flew from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Los Angeles.
“Once we got out here we realized that things are very expensive right now,” one family member said.
They decided against a rental car, the average rental car in the U.S. averages $76 a day, more than $20 higher than two years ago, according to Kayak.
But even without a rental car, the family said they’re actually spending more money in Uber than they did flying out West.
That’s likely because regular gas is on average more than $4 a gallon this month, the highest of any month in history and up from $2.51 in March 2019.
That’s affecting Kami Farhadi, the chairman of Starline Tours, who said the company typically spends $100 a day on fuel for the buses and now they’re spending $200 every day.
“We’ve still maintained our prices at the moment, but we’re going to have to look at going to full summer pricing right now rather than waiting until the summer,” Farhadi said.
Kayak shows hotel rates averaging about $300 per night, up nearly $70 since March of 2019.
Even theme parks will cost you more, from paid express lines to pricier food.
“People are accepting it, and they’re going. Now maybe they’re making adjustments along the way,” travel agent Elaine Edwards said.
While the cheapest single-day Disney tickets stayed the same price since 2019, there are now fewer days priced at “value season.”
Meanwhile, a discount tracking website, Mousesavers, shows the most expensive types of tickets at Disneyland and Disney World during the busiest season jumped 11 or 12% from two years ago.
“Wherever they go, however much it costs, some families say they just need to get out of the house now. And they’ll scale back later,” Edwards said.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/families-facing-higher-prices-vacations/
| 2022-04-01T18:12:52Z
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House approves bill that would decriminalize marijuana
WASHINGTON (Gray News) - The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed a bill Friday that would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level.
If signed into law, it would remove marijuana from the controlled substances list and eliminate penalties for people who grow, distribute or possess it.
The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement, or MORE, Act bill passed by a 220-204 vote largely along party lines. Republican Reps. Tom McClintock, Brian Mast and Matt Gaetz joined most Democrats to vote in favor, while Democratic Reps. Henry Cuellar and Chris Pappas voted against it.
The bill also would allow the VA to recommend the use of medical marijuana to veterans with post-traumatic stress and other health issues. Federal agencies could no longer deny federal workers security clearance for marijuana use, and people convicted of non-violent marijuana offenses would have their records expunged, CNN reported.
In addition, taxes from marijuana production and sales would raise revenue.
Legislation would still likely need to get 60 votes in the Senate to overcome a filibuster.
A similar bill passed the House in December 2020 as well.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/house-approves-bill-that-would-decriminalize-marijuana/
| 2022-04-01T18:12:59Z
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Mother calls for end of TikTok challenge after son was injured
HARRIMAN, Tenn. (WVLT/Gray News) - A mother says her youngest son was riding home with a friend after playing in a high school baseball game when he became a victim of a challenge seen on TikTok.
Mary Cathers of Tennessee told WVLT a car pulled up beside the vehicle her son was in, and people shot at him with a pellet gun, in what many call the Orbeez Challenge, named after the water gel beads popular with children. Those beads are used as ammunition in the social media trend.
The mother said her son’s window was rolled down when he was hit several times on his shoulder and back, and the shots also left several dents on the friend’s vehicle.
“They were pretty shaken up. At that point in time, their adrenaline was high, but then they were so concerned about what if that was a real gun? How this could have ended a lot worse than what it was. As a parent, I wanted to make sure this wasn’t swept under the rug,” Cathers said.
The Harriman Police Department was working on the investigation. Detective Sgt. Kent Warren said they have had a few leads while working the case.
“I think that this is part of three separate incidents, but we haven’t been able to link them together yet,” Warren said. “We had three different reports within the same timeframe that night, so there’s a possibility that they’re connected.”
Cathers said she hadn’t heard of the TikTok Orbeez Challenge until this incident. She felt the challenge was to blame, and she wanted it to stop before it took someone’s life.
“This TikTok Challenge that’s going on everywhere in the United States, which kids think it’s funny, it’s not funny,” Cathers said. “This is a real deal. Someone is really going to get hurt. Someone is really going to get killed over it because someone is going to pull out a real gun thinking that they have a real gun.”
Knox County, Tennessee District Attorney General Charme Allen said people participating in the challenge could be charged with several crimes, from simple assault to felony assault, potentially facing years in prison.
Copyright 2022 WVLT via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/mother-calls-end-tiktok-challenge-after-son-was-injured/
| 2022-04-01T18:13:11Z
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Police: 5-year-old dies in high-speed pursuit of kidnapping suspect
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Gray News) - A 5-year-old girl is dead following a high-speed chase in Florida.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office received calls of a kidnapping in progress Thursday night. They reported that the suspect was armed at the time of the kidnapping.
The sheriff’s office reported that when an officer attempted to stop the suspect’s vehicle, the driver fled with the 5-year-old victim in the car.
The sheriff’s office said the suspect then led police on a 30-mile chase on Interstate 95 that reached about 90 mph.
The suspect then drove off a ramp and into a pond while attempting to exit the interstate, according to the sheriff’s office.
Officers went into the water and apprehended the suspect, but the child was not immediately found.
The fire department later found the child at the bottom of the pond.
The sheriff’s office reported the suspect is facing several charges, including traffic homicide. The child’s identity has not been released at this time.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. CNN Newsource contributed to this report.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/police-5-year-old-dies-high-speed-pursuit-kidnapping-suspect/
| 2022-04-01T18:13:20Z
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CHEYENNE – President Joe Biden’s latest moves to try to tamp down surging prices for gasoline were generally met with skepticism here in Wyoming.
The wholesale market for oil also did not react favorably Thursday. One such benchmark, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures, rose about 1% on the day to $101.29 per barrel (equivalent to about 40 gallons). Prices have been surging because of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
Consumers have been paying record prices for a gallon of gas – both locally and nationwide. The AAA motorists club reports that in Wyoming, a gallon of regular unleaded gas costs, on average, $4.12. That’s a fraction of a penny less than its all-time high reached Tuesday.
In a fact sheet about Biden’s “Plan to Respond to (Russia President Vladimir) Putin’s Price Hike at the Pump,” the White House noted that since the invasion of Ukraine, “gas prices have increased by nearly a dollar per gallon. Because of Putin’s war of choice, less oil is getting to market, and the reduction in supply is raising prices at the pump for Americans. President Biden is committed to doing everything in his power to help American families who are paying more.”
Under plans announced by the White House Thursday, the U.S. will release a record amount of oil from its gas reserve. The Biden administration also wants to try to increase pressure on the energy industry to actually produce oil by not letting sites where drilling could occur instead lie fallow.
Experts told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle that releasing supplies from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, as Biden envisions, could soon help to slightly reduce the price at the pump that drivers pay. But it won’t be a panacea.
And the oil industry, which the administration contends is not doing enough to increase production, disagreed with this allegation.
President’s plan
Biden’s new plan has a few aspects to it.
“The first part of the president’s plan is to immediately increase supply by doing everything we can to encourage domestic production now and through a historic release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to serve as a bridge to greater supply in the months ahead,” the White House said. Some 1 million barrels will enter the market a day on average for six months. As the American Petroleum Institute observed in Washington, that would be a release of 180 million barrels.
Among other actions, the White House said Biden is asking Congress to make “companies pay fees on wells from their leases that they haven’t used in years and on acres of public lands that they are hoarding without producing.”
Biden also issued a new directive OK’ing using the Defense Production Act of 1950 to boost American production of products that can help reduce emissions of pollutants into the air.
The goal is to “secure the supply of such materials through environmentally responsible domestic mining and processing; recycling and reuse; and recovery from unconventional and secondary sources, such as mine waste.” This includes initiatives toward “sustainable and responsible domestic mining, beneficiation, and value-added processing of strategic and critical materials for the production of large-capacity batteries for the automotive, e-mobility and stationary storage sectors.”
Criticism
The administration had pointed words for some in the energy industry, drawing some rebukes from that sector.
In the fact sheet about the oil actions, it was alleged that “too many companies aren’t doing their part and are choosing to make extraordinary profits and without making additional investment to help with supply.” Biden would like “companies that continue to sit on non-producing acres” to “have to choose whether to start producing or pay a fee for each idled well and unused acre.” This could involve federal land on which energy companies get leases to extract natural resources, paying for that right when their bid in a government auction is successful.
“Right now, the oil and gas industry is sitting on more than 12 million acres of non-producing federal land, with 9,000 unused, but already-approved permits for production,” the document observed.
The reality in Wyoming, and indeed nationally, does not reflect the administration’s comments, industry associations responded.
Nationwide, some two-thirds of such federal land leases are currently being drilled or production is occurring there, estimated the Petroleum Association of Wyoming’s Ryan McConnaughey. In Wyoming, some 60% of such land is considered productive, he added.
A company leasing such property must begin drilling within 10 years, or it could lose the rights to that land if the lease is not renewed, according to McConnaughey, the association’s vice president and director of communications. In addition to paying for such usage rights at auction, winning bidders must pay rental fees on the land, he said. Once production begins, the energy firm must pay a royalty, he noted.
The White House’s announcement “is just the Biden administration trying to make it look like they’re doing something” on gas prices, “rather than tackling the root causes, which is a failure to incentivize production here in the U.S.,” McConnaughey said. “It really does noting to address the long-term causes.”
Reaction
While the latest federal actions won’t drive down gas prices to where they were pre-invasion of Ukraine, experts do think they will help somewhat.
“The assumption is that it will decrease prices,” wrote AAA spokesperson Aldo Vazquez. Should the U.S. oil releases occur for the full six months mentioned by the administration, “the market would likely see downward pressure on oil prices,” AAA reported. “However, the global oil market remains highly volatile, so additional news that threatens supply could put upward pressure on oil prices.”
Here in Wyoming, AAA said that prices at the pump rose an average of 5 cents per gallon in the past week, among the biggest such increases in all U.S. states.
Should wholesale prices decline, it will take longer for what motorists pay at gas stations to also fall.
“It will take time for those lower prices to make it to retail, but it could start as early as this weekend,” wrote Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at gas research firm GasBuddy, in an email to the WTE. “If nothing changes with all the factors going into oil, we could see a slide of 10-25 cents per gallon” at the pump.
U.S. Sen John Barrasso, R-Wyo., echoed others when he said that “releasing more oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve doesn’t produce one more barrel of American oil.” He said that the Biden “administration has spent the last 14 months making it more difficult to produce and move American oil and natural gas. He needs to reverse course.”
Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., thinks “there is a very clear solution to rising gas prices – America needs to unleash our domestic energy production,” she said in a statement to the WTE. “In Wyoming and across the country, we have the resources and capabilities to increase production so we can regain American energy independence, provide crucial resources for our allies around the world, and reduce gas prices and energy costs hardworking families are facing.”
"This is not a solution," tweeted Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo. "If the President wants to get serious about addressing energy prices in our country, he needs to roll back the anti energy actions he has issued since day one. Tapping into our reserves just puts us at a disadvantage for a real crisis down the road."
While planning to release oil from the U.S. reserve “may provide some short-term relief, it is far from a long-term solution to the economic pain Americans are feeling at the pump,” said API CEO Mike Sommers.
The trade group reported that “the percentage of producing leases is at a two-decade high.” But there are “nearly 5,000 permits awaiting approval from the administration and thousands more tied up in litigation.”
API said its analysis showed that in the first 14 months of the Obama administration, the Department of the Interior had held 47 federal lease sales. At the same point in the Biden administration, there has been “only a single lease sale,” which “was later invalidated.”
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https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyomingbusinessreport/industry_news/agribusiness/bidens-moves-to-try-to-tamp-down-gas-prices-met-with-skepticism-in-wyoming/article_d3912ab8-b1d6-11ec-8366-2735c97d7a16.html
| 2022-04-01T18:53:27Z
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, has joined three other senators in introducing the National Opportunity to Restore Uranium Supply Services In America (NO RUSSIA) Act of 2022.
Co-sponsors of the NO RUSSIA Act include Sens. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo.; Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Kevin Cramer, R-North Dakota.
The legislation would authorize the Department of Energy to establish a national strategic uranium reserve, according to a Thursday news release from Barrasso's office. It would also increase domestic uranium production, conversion and enrichment to ensure existing U.S. nuclear reactors have sufficient fuel to continue operating.
“Having access to American produced uranium is critical to both our energy and national security,” Barrasso said in the release. “We cannot be reliant on our adversaries for fuel we have here at home. My legislation will jumpstart America’s nuclear fuel supply chain. It will increase demand for Wyoming uranium and ensure America will always have the fuel it needs to power our nuclear reactors.”
Barrasso's office expects that a House version of this bill could be introduced next week, according to a spokesperson. "This bill was developed with broad industry stakeholder support, including from the Uranium Producers of America," she wrote in an email to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. Barrasso "looks forward to working with industry and members in both chambers to make this a bipartisan effort."
This new legislation is connected to Barrasso’s bill, S-3856, according to his spokesperson. That earlier proposal would bar importing to the U.S. uranium from the Russian federation.
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https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyomingbusinessreport/industry_news/economy_and_labor/barrasso-leads-legislation-to-establish-national-strategic-uranium-reserve/article_eba25ad2-b1d6-11ec-b441-1bf9959ee807.html
| 2022-04-01T18:53:34Z
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A critical failure of the city of Rawlins water system that created an emergency that saw much of Rawlins and Sinclair without potable water for nearly a week in early March will take years to fully fix.
“We estimate it will take three to five years to make all the necessary repairs to our water infrastructure,” the city says in its “Water Infrastructure and 2022 Critical Water Even Report” released this week.
Customers were asked to limit their water usage to help recharge the city’s water tanks and reservoirs, while the low-pressure event resulted in a boil water advisory and plea for people to keep their water usage as low as possible. While the emergency has been contained, the city is asking residents to continue to practice water conservation for the foreseeable future.
“By pulling together, our community made it through the critical event, but we must stick together by conserving water for the long haul if we are to make it through the underlying problems,” the report says.
The city also thanks the many residents, volunteers and nonprofit groups that worked to help others during the crisis.
As city staff continue to search for answers and solutions to Rawlins’ water infrastructure problems, “We have heard from our community and we empathize with you as we navigate this frustrating and disappointing situation,” the report says.
It also says that pointing fingers won’t help fix the situation.
“It doesn’t matter who is at fault, knowing that wouldn’t help fix one leak,” Mayor Terry Weickum says in the report. “However, I do know that it is our responsibility to fix it.”
The Rawlins City Council and staff “are doing everything in our power to repair our springs collection system in the Sage Creek Basin and the 32-mile pipeline which brings our water into town,” according to the report.
Wintertime water use by customers in Rawlins and Sinclair averages about 900 gallons a minute, or about 1 million gallons a day. During summertime, even when conserving water, the communities consume about 2,800 to 4,000 gallons a minute, or 4 million to 6 million gallons a day.
That means the upcoming summer season will see demand on the city’s water system increase by at least four times.
As of now without repairs on the Sage Creek Basin’s 10,000 feet of woodstave pipeline, the city averages 1,500 gallons of flow between the springs and wells, the report says.
“Although flow will increase with the wood pipeline replacement and with the spring thaw, you can see that we are currently significantly short of meeting our lowest typical summer demands,” according to the report. “The reduced flow will be more problematic (later this year) as our reservoirs are not full due to our repairs this winter.”
Until the underlying infrastructure failures are addressed, Rawlins and Sinclair residents can expect their water supply will continue to be impacted. This also is likely to prompt the City Council to enact ordnance changes to require conservation.
Those rules could include water restrictions.
For the upcoming summer, the city says it’s important to know its water is safe and that the treatment plant is working.
“You can drink your water without concerns,” the report says, adding that “you can likely expect water restrictions this summer.”
The city reports a consequence of residents not following any restrictions imposed to curtail water usage while the system is being repaired would be the EPA “will likely require we build a $10-plus million chemical-heavy water treatment plant, which would be prohibitively costly.”
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https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyomingbusinessreport/industry_news/economy_and_labor/critical-response-water-failure-could-take-years-to-fix-city-says-to-expect-restrictions/article_05d9c46c-b1d7-11ec-865a-b3796e42364e.html
| 2022-04-01T18:53:40Z
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Corporate Realty Opens Baton Rouge Location with Pesnell at Helm
NEW ORLEANS — Commercial real estate agency Corporate Realty Inc. has announced that it is opening a full-service office in Baton Rouge. This new office will be located in One American Place at 301 Main Street and led by Branon W. Pesnell.
In 2001, Pesnell began his Baton Rouge commercial real estate career with a seven-year stint at NAI Latter & Blum and then spent 10 years with Beau Box Commercial Real Estate. He was a co-founder of Beau Box Property Management, where he helped build and run a property services division that included property management and leasing efforts for many Baton Rouge projects. He then moved to Houston and worked at Transwestern, where he first specialized in partnering with corporations to optimize real estate value and return on investment, then served as managing director for the company’s Houston Occupier Solutions group, specializing in tenant representation and real estate portfolio consulting for office and industrial real estate.
“I could not be more excited to have Branon join Corporate Realty and lead our new full-service office in Baton Rouge,” said Michael J. Siegel, SIOR, president of Corporate Realty, in a press release. “I have known Branon for years, respected his knowledge and his integrity, and I am confident that he will be an ideal partner in growing Corporate Realty’s presence and capabilities in and around Baton Rouge.”
Acquired in December 2021 by Benson Capital, Corporate Realty is a commercial real estate company that specializes in office and retail leasing and brokerage, property management, lease administration, investment brokerage and construction consulting. Clients in Baton Rouge include One American Place and Chase Operation Center. In addition, the company represented Tulane University in its recent 336,000-square-foot lease in Charity Hospital, the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in the planned redevelopment of its 47+ acre site, and Loyola University’s redevelopment of its Broadway campus. The company’s current retail representation includes Starbucks, Costco, Best Buy, Michaels, TJ Maxx, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and PetSmart, along with the grocery store chain ALDI in its rollout in Louisiana.
“I am excited for the opportunity to join Corporate Realty and to be a part of the Gayle Benson group,” said Pesnell. “I have a long history of working alongside Mike and the team at Corporate Realty and believe the combination of our experience and relationships in the Louisiana market will be a tremendous benefit to our current and future clients.”
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https://www.bizneworleans.com/corporate-realty-opens-baton-rouge-location-with-pesnell-at-helm/
| 2022-04-01T19:15:12Z
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PBS Station WYES Celebrates 65 Years of Service
NEW ORLEANS — Public broadcasting station WYES, which reaches television viewers in southeast Louisiana and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, is celebrating 65 years of service. The station first signed on the air on April 1, 1957.
Throughout 2022, WYES will highlight its 65th anniversary on air and online with a special promotional campaign. WYES invites viewers to share their memories on social media with the hashtag #wyes65. Beginning at 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 2, WYES will present nine hours of its most popular locally produced documentaries, some of which have not been aired in decades.
In 1957, WYES was founded by community leaders who believed in the power of the new medium as an educational tool. The letters Y, E and S in the station’s name stood for “Your Educational Station.” WYES signed on the air as Channel 8 and as the twelfth educational television station in the nation. It became Channel 12 in 1970 and has worked to “educate, enlighten, and entertain” for 65 years by offering national programs, award-winning local and cultural documentaries, and community outreach activities.
In 2017, the station opened its multimillion dollar Paulette and Frank Stewart Innovation Center for Educational Media, where its local and national productions originate. That includes three weekly series: “Steppin’ Out,” “Informed Sources” and “Wall Street Wrap-Up with Andre Laborde.”
For more than 40 years, WYES has been known for its locally produced documentaries. The station’s most recent co-production, “Irma: My Life in Music,” focusing on music legend Irma Thomas, aired on public television stations across the country.
Over the years, more than two dozen WYES cooking series have also aired nationally, including “Kitchen Queens: New Orleans” in June 2020 and “Kevin Belton’s Cookin’ Louisiana,” the fourth national cooking series for Chef Belton, which premiered on WYES and public television stations nationwide in 2021.
In 2021, WYES welcomed new leadership. Robin Cooper, a 32-year veteran of WYES, was appointed president CEO. Dominic Massa, a local broadcasting veteran and longtime freelance producer for WYES, was named executive vice president and COO.
“Our supporters’ efforts are what strengthens WYES and allows it to continue to grow and showcase our region,” said Cooper. “The best is yet to come, and with all of our continued involvement and support, WYES will be here, stronger than ever, for future generations to enjoy in new and creative ways. Thank you for making 65 years possible as we look forward to many exciting and wonderful years ahead.”
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https://www.bizneworleans.com/pbs-station-wyes-celebrates-65-years-of-service/
| 2022-04-01T19:15:18Z
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72-year-old woman loses home, memories and life savings in Tennessee fire
SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. (WVLT/Gray News) – A simple text of “is this your house?” quickly turned what had started as a normal day for Sue Barker into a grim reality.
When Barker left her home for work Wednesday morning, she didn’t know it would be the last time she would see it standing.
Barker had gotten word that mandatory evacuations were taking place near where she lived, but by the time she tried to return home, law enforcement told her it wasn’t safe and turned her away.
For a day and a half, Barker was left only with the clothes on her back. She questioned if her home was safe until she got a text with a picture of it burned to the ground Thursday afternoon.
“I wouldn’t have thought it was my house, but I have three wrought iron chairs with baskets of flowers in them, and I recognized the chairs. I never would have thought it was my house,” Barker told WVLT.
Inside were precious memories, like pictures of her children and grandchildren, along with jewelry and memories from her parents who have since passed away.
Along with her life savings in cash, Barker lost those moments in time that she says are more valuable than money.
Tubs of handwritten greeting cards from her grandchildren and children were likely destroyed in the flames.
“I was saving it for when I’m gone, then they can open it up and see, ‘Oh, Mom loved us enough to save the silly little drawings we did and stuff.’ I had a whole tub of those and I know they’re not there,” Barker said.
As many sought shelter from the fire that continued to burn, Barker stood strong in the face of adversity.
“I’m trying so hard to keep it together and stay calm because I’m alive. I thank God nobody has passed away in this. We made it through 2016, and we’ll make it through this,” Barker said.
For the next few days, Barker has a hotel room paid for her by family and friends. She will continue to figure out what the next steps are as she contemplates where she will live.
Copyright 2022 WVLT via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/72-year-old-woman-loses-home-memories-life-savings-tennessee-fire/
| 2022-04-01T19:44:18Z
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Alaska Airlines cancels dozens of flights as pilots picket
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Dozens of flights along the West Coast were canceled Friday as Alaska Airlines pilots picketed during ongoing contract negotiations with the airline.
More than 100 Alaska Airlines flights were canceled by the airline, including 66 in Seattle, 20 in Portland, Oregon, 10 in Los Angeles and seven in San Francisco, according to the flight tracking website flightaware.com. Flights were also expected to be affected in Anchorage, Alaska. Pilots planned to hold a rally and picket in all those cities on Friday, according to a union website.
Pilots with the Air Lines Pilots Association also protested last week in New York City outside the airline’s Investor Relations Day in a precursor of Friday’s picket.
The bargaining actions come as air travel rebounds to pre-pandemic levels and demand is surging as many Americans head off on spring break for long-delayed vacations. Frustrated travelers vented on social media about botched vacation plans and reported that there was a five-hour wait to speak with an airline representative about rescheduling flights.
Pilots have been in contract negotiations with the airline for nearly three years, and the two sides are at an impasse.
The union says Alaska Airlines did not adequately prepare for a return to air travel after the pandemic and didn’t take the necessary steps to retain or attract pilots as demand bounced back. Issues that still need to be resolved include job security, work rules and quality-of-life provisions that provide flexibility and reasonable schedules, it said in a statement, and the current pilot contract falls well behind those at comparable airlines in several key sections.
Alaska Airlines said Friday that it values its pilots and respects their right to picket, but it also needs to negotiate a deal that allows the airline to maintain growth and profitability. Alaska Airlines is working to recover $2.3 billion in losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, it said in a statement.
The airline said it currently offers competitive salaries for its pilots. For example, an Alaska Airlines captain’s average salary is currently $341,000 per year, the airline said.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/alaska-airlines-cancels-dozens-flights-pilots-picket/
| 2022-04-01T19:44:28Z
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Suspect in murder of Fayette County teen has hearing
HINTON, W.Va. (WVVA) - A status hearing was held on Friday for a man accused of murdering a Fayette County teen.
Shortly after Azareyiah Mitchell went missing in September of 2020, Steven Lawson and Jaleesa Bass were named as ‘persons of interest’ in her disappearance. The two were later discovered and arrested in Georgia and extradited to West Virginia. State Police were able to quickly locate Mitchell’s body out-of-state after their arrest.
Lawson was charged with First Degree Murder, Concealment of a Dead Body, and Conspiracy to Commit Concealment of a Dead Body. Bass was also charged for her role in covering up the murder and hiding the teen’s body out-of-state.
Lawson was originally set to go to trial in November of 2021, but the date was delayed due to two different changes in attorneys. Friday’s hearing was Lawson’s first court appearance with his latest attorney, Brandon Gray.
A second hearing for Bass was also scheduled for Friday, but later cancelled.
Lawson’s next status hearing is set for April, 22, 2022, in front of Judge Robert Irons.
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/hearing-held-suspect-murder-fayette-county-teen/
| 2022-04-01T19:44:38Z
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Local law enforcement officers selected for DRE training
MERCER COUNTY, W.Va. (WVVA) - Two officers from the Bluefield, West Virginia Police Department and one deputy from the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department have been selected to attend drug recognition expert training. Sgt. Adam Ballard helps teach the course and says the officers will learn add vital weapons to their arsenal in the fight against DUI.
“They’ll be able to speak to the individual that’s being evaluated to determine what type of impairment that they may be suffering from. If it’s a medical impairment, if it’s a drug impairment or if they’re not impaired at all. Then pretty much help with the investigation. They’re really an investigator for the DUI world” said Ballard.
Sgt. Ballard says the training totals 120 hours when completed, adding only 11 officers from West Virginia gained entry to this training. He says that getting more officers trained is crucial.
“We train people and those individuals cycle out whether they go to different employment. Whether they move to different positions within their law enforcement agencies or lose interest after that. The certifications good for two years after that they have to complete some additional training to continue their certification to get it renewed” said Ballard.
Chief Deputy Alan Christian with the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department says there is only one other officer in his department with this training. He says the addition of another deputy with the enhanced DUI recognition training helps in the effort to keep all impaired drivers off Mercer County’s roads, not just the drunk drivers.
“Nowadays we’re seeing a lot of drugged driving. So you’re normal officer is not trained in that aspect of it. So this is going to be another tool we’re going to utilize to make the roads and traffic safe here in mercer county” said Christian.
Christian says it takes the right person to do this training and search for impaired drivers.
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/local-law-enforcement-officers-selected-dre-training/
| 2022-04-01T19:44:44Z
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Teens poetry contest
New! Poetry Contest – entries due by midnight on Saturday, April 30th. Rap lyrics, an epic ballad or a minimalist haiku – prove you’re the best poet and win a $20 gift card to a local bookstore! For complete contest rules and entry instructions, visit klamathlibrary.org/teencontests.
For more information, call 541-882-8894 or visit the downtown library’s Youth Services desk. Complete list of contest rules, as well as the winners of previous teen writing contests, at klamathlibrary.org/teencontests.
Free file your taxes with AARP Tax-Aide - Ending soon
Final day to make an appointment: Thursday, April 7th.
File 2021 taxes for free with AARP Tax-Aide at the downtown Klamath County Library. Please stop by the Information & Reference desk at the downtown library branch and pick up an intake form and checklist of documentation to bring to your appointment.
Call to make an appointment: Donna G at 541-205-8545 on Wednesdays from 4 pm to 7 pm; Donna H at 541-882-4362 on Tuesdays through Thursdays from 2 pm to 5 pm.
There will also be a Spanish translator on hand each week to assist Spanish speakers with their tax filing.
For more information, please call 541-882-8894.
Board and card game nights for adults
Tuesday, April 5th at 5:30pm, and Tuesday, April 19th at 5:30pm
We offer a variety of card and board games, but feel free to bring your own favorite games. For more information, call 541-882-8894, or visit the downtown library’s Information & Reference desk.
April events for under 12
Pre-K Storytime – Fridays at 10:30 am. Build the skills to start kindergarten with stories, games, crafts and more! For ages 4 and 5.
Kids Wii Hour – Friday, April 1st and Friday, April 15th, at 3:45 pm. Play Nintendo Wii! Ages 6-12.
Baby and Toddler Storytime – Tuesdays at 10:30 am. Enjoy stories, songs and games. This event is aimed at newborns through about 3 years, but all are welcome.
Big Kid Storytime – Thursday, April 7th at 4 pm. Ages 6-12.
Kids Lego Challenge – Friday, April 8th and Friday, April 29th at 2 pm. Take on one of our Lego building challenges or make something awesome all on your own! For ages 4-12.
Fun with Spanish – Monday, April 11th. Join us for stories, songs, activities and crafts and more to develop your conversation skills en español: Spanish Playtime at 10am, ages 0-5; After-School Fun with Spanish at 4 pm, ages 6-12.
¡Vamos a Jugar! – El segundo lunes del mes (El 11 de abril). Disfrutaran de historias, canciones, actividades y manualidades, así como tiempo de juego libre para trabajar en sus habilidades de conversación en español: ¡Vamos a Jugar! a las 10 am, para niños desde el nacimiento hasta los 6 años; “Diviértete con español después de la escuela” a las 4 pm, para edades 6-12.
Kids Trivia Challenge – Wednesday, April 20th at 4 pm. Jeopardy!-style trivia game, ages 6 to 12.
Kids Drop-In Crafts – Thursday, April 21st, 3:30 pm to 7 pm; and Saturday, April 23rd, 10 am to 2 pm. Stop by for a project to work on at your own pace; ages 3 to 12.
Drop-In Baby & Toddler Playtime – Monday, April 25th, 10am to noon. We’ll provide stories and activities for you to enjoy at your own pace. Geared toward little ones 3 and under and their grownups.
Children under 10 must attend library events with a parent or guardian. Registration is not required.
Events for ages 12-18
Subscription Boxes – available while supplies last starting April 1st. Pick up a National Poetry Month subscription box and get a pile of swag to kickstart your own poetry writing - for free! Supplies are limited.
Anime and Embroidery Club – Tuesdays at 3:45 pm. Embroider an image of your choosing while watching dubbed anime. All supplies are provided.
Dungeons & Dragons – Players meet Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evenings, depending on their playgroup. New players welcome. Please contact Youth Services to sign up for waitlist.
Social Club – Wednesdays at 4 pm. Enjoy some snacks (and maybe some games) and hang out.
New! Pizza & Graphic Novels Club – Thursday, April 28th at 5 pm. Eat pizza and chat about graphic novels on the last Thursday of every month at 5pm! (We’ll be discussing Olivia Stephens’ Artie and the Wolf Moon at the first meeting— sign up and pick up your copy at Youth Services desk.)
New! After-Hours Murder Mystery – Friday, April 29th at 6 pm. The library’s arch-nemesis Dr. Diabolical is back with another scheme, and it’s up to you to stop it! Registration required!
For more information on any of these events, please call 541-882-8894 or stop by the downtown library’s Youth Services desk.
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https://www.heraldandnews.com/klamath/events-for-children-families-and-teens-at-the-klamath-county-library/article_0ce1165b-febf-59b8-aa02-5823ff560238.html
| 2022-04-01T21:04:55Z
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It’s not just the fish and the farmers.
A towering giant sequoia tree — its water-starved core, limbs and branches obviously dead and dying from the ongoing drought — tumbled to the ground Thursday at Kit Carson Park.
“Excellent,” Tom Ford, the arborist who carefully and deliberately felled the tree so that it landed between smaller trees, a play area and other potential obstacles, said of the process. It’s a process that began earlier this week when Ford, owner of Shasta View Tree Service, calculated a way to create a safe landing zone for the giant redwood, or Sequoiadendron giganteum, which he estimated was more than 80 feet tall.
The felling was done in cooperation with the City of Klamath Falls, which owns and manages the 288-acre park located alongside the Crater Lake Parkway. John Bellon, city parks manager and arborist, has been working with Ford over the years and was on hand to watch the felling.
“It’s been in decline for a couple of years,” Bellon said of the sequoia, one of about eight in the park. “This is a really, really stressful place for trees to grow. After repeated droughts I realized we were not going to have water allocations.”
Historically, surface water from the nearby A Canal has been used to irrigate trees in the park. But because of the ongoing drought, and because city parks have the lowest priority among water users, water deliveries have been sparse in recent years. The tree’s location, which Bellon and Ford described as a “wind tunnel,” was also a factor.
The fallen tree will find new uses. By Thursday afternoon, three large logs were delivered to Chris Cook of Cook Woods, who will eventually use the exotic wood for to-be determined purposes. Ford and his team — Ford’s wife Kathy Benson and J.R. Bradshaw — delimbed the grounded sequoia and immediately fed them into a chipper. The chips will be used in the park as mulch for other trees and plants. Ford said the wood is not good for firewood. The site where the tree was cleared and cleaned, with no evidence of the felling.
Bellon said the park, for many years with open fields that were sparsely used for soccer, baseball and softball, is being redeveloped as a more water resilient “forest park.” In recent years the park’s landscaping has been redesigned with more shade trees. Recreational facilities, including a zip line, rock climbing wall, slides, spider web, sand boxes, walking paths and an adjacent dog park, have made the park a popular, heavily-used family-friendly destination.
Avoiding those potential obstacles was something Ford prepared for. Ford, who like Bellon has watched the sequoia’s decline for several years, earlier in the week made carefully planned preliminary cuts to its trunk. While Ford directed operations, Benson and Bradshaw used a winch attached to a rope tied high up the tree to gradually force it to topple down.
The historic sequoia no longer stands tall. But in coming days and months it will find new life and new uses.
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https://www.heraldandnews.com/klamath/giant-sequoia-is-latest-victim-of-drought/article_d8a7c2fe-832c-5d37-b55b-69dc321e3b82.html
| 2022-04-01T21:05:01Z
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Oregon will use more than $400 million in new federal transportation money to finish some large highway projects and make roads more accessible to pedestrians, the Oregon Transportation Commission decided this week.
The state Transportation Department is set to receive about $1.2 billion over the next five years as part of the recent federal infrastructure law. Most of the state’s share comes with strings attached, but the state has broad leeway in how to spend $412 million.
The commission sought input from Oregonians throughout the winter on how to spend it, acknowledging that there isn’t enough money to fix all of Oregon’s transportation issues.
“This is a large amount of money, roughly $1.2 billion over six years, but the need is even larger,” Commission Chair Robert Van Brocklin said. “Funding to solve all the problems or even address all the problems is simply not there.”
Van Brocklin said public feedback guided the decision. Local elected officials and the public talked about needing active transportation, like walking and biking, reducing highway congestion and ensuring money is spent throughout the state.
When projects are done, more Oregon children could walk safely to school, drivers may see fewer bottlenecks on highways near Wilsonville and Bend and more people could walk or bike along main streets in their communities.
Most of the money will be spent by the Transportation Department, though tens of millions will be distributed as grants to local governments and community organizations. The commission will pick specific projects over the coming months.
A plan approved Wednesday would dedicate less than half of the available money to highways and state roads, with another large chunk for pedestrian needs. In total, commissioners allocated:
• $95 million for curb ramps and other accessibility improvements along state highways, as part of a 2017 settlement over violations of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act that requires the state to upgrade thousands of curb ramps. The state was already working on replacing curb ramps, and the federal funding frees state money to be used elsewhere.
• $75 million to fix and maintain highways.
• $50 million to make state highways that double as main streets in communities friendlier to walkers and cyclists.
• $50 million for other highway improvements that the Legislature didn’t fully fund, including the intersection of U.S. Highways 97 and 20 in Bend and an interchange along Interstate 5 that connects to the cities of Donald and Aurora.
• $40 million for the Transportation Department to use as matching funds for future federal grants.
• $40 million for other operations and maintenance costs.
• $30 million to create more safe walking or cycling routes for children to get to school. Starting in 2019, the state started providing $1 million annually for safe routes to school.
• $15 million to help local governments reduce greenhouse gas emissions through city planning that reduces the need for cars.
• $10 million for a new pilot program that would give grants to community organizations for bike helmets, bike racks, bike share programs and van pools intended to help low-income people get around.
• $7 million for business and workforce development, such as apprenticeship programs run through the Transportation Department and the Bureau of Labor and Industries that aim to get more women and people of color working in construction.
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https://www.heraldandnews.com/klamath/oregon-transportation-commission-will-spend-412-million-on-highway-repairs-pedestrian-safety/article_ce6c1a5a-4a77-5a62-8d2d-64e4628bd5a4.html
| 2022-04-01T21:05:07Z
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https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/local_news/man-drops-bag-of-crystal-meth-in-front-of-cops-k-9-in-walmart-parking/article_ad022535-3f2b-59de-9e3a-2aa7fc7880a8.html
| 2022-04-01T21:05:13Z
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My husband and I and our friend Linda were in the airport, planning to get dinner (I wanted calamari) before Linda’s flight left Monterey for Las Vegas. On our way into the restaurant we passed an elderly woman leaning on the arm of someone I assumed to be her daughter. Noticing a corsage (orchids?) pinned to the woman’s jacket, I said, “Beautiful flowers!”
And her daughter said, “It’s her birthday today! She’s 102!”
So while my husband and Linda waited to get a table, I got to know the birthday girl.
“It’s your birthday?” I said.
“Yes,” she said, laughing, “and I’m stuffed!”
Her name was Helen, and she didn’t look stuffed. She looked radiant, and not a day over 70.
I wish you could’ve seen her.
“Happy birthday!” I said. Then I added what I always say to loved ones and friends (even friends I’ve just met in the airport) on their birthdays: “I’m so glad you were born!”
“Thanks!” she said, beaming.
Helen and her daughter weren’t traveling. They are locals in an area known for great restaurants. But like many of their neighbors (including my husband and me) they like the food in the airport’s restaurant. Especially the calamari. So they chose it as the spot to celebrate Helen’s 102nd birthday.
We chatted a bit, then went our separate ways. Funny, how we can meet someone in passing and think of them as friends.
Friendship is always a gift, but it takes different forms. Some friends, like Helen and her daughter, come into our lives for only a moment. Others stay for years, in good times and bad, until one day, somehow, we lose touch. But if we’re lucky, we have one friend (or if we’re really lucky, a few) who show up and stick with us forever. Linda is one of my forever friends.
My husband and I were newlyweds years ago when his job changed and we moved 500 miles from family and friends on the Monterey Peninsula in California, to a town my mother called “Las Vegas of All Places.”
I’m a firm believer that home is where you make it. So we made Las Vegas our home. We loved the desert, having a pool and swimming at midnight. We loved the people we met, and especially the visits from our grown kids and others who were guests at our “hotel.”
But in our 12 years in Vegas, my only close friend (aside from my husband and a few checkers at Trader Joe’s) was Linda.
We were introduced by our husbands, who worked together at a newspaper. Thanks to similar backgrounds and senses of humor, Linda and I grew close right away. We could’ve been sisters. In some ways, we are. We would meet once a week or so to talk and laugh about everything and nothing. I called her my “oasis in the desert.”
Then my husband retired and we moved back to California, to be closer to our kids and all the grandkids they were giving us. Linda and I kept in touch with texts and phone calls. But four years passed without our seeing each other. Then last week, she flew to Monterey, for a face-to-face, heart-to-heart, real visit.
My husband left town and let us have the house. So for five days and four nights, Linda and I talked and laughed about everything and nothing and celebrated being forever friends.
Our farewell dinner at the airport was great. Especially the company. And the calamari. Then we walked to the check-in line for her flight, hugged long and hard and said our goodbyes.
Driving home, I thought of something I learned long ago: People leave, but love remains.
I’m not sure when I’ll see Linda again. If not in this life, then on the porch in heaven.
But if we’re blessed, like Helen, to live to 102, I hope we celebrate our forever friendship, along with all our loved ones and friends. Over dinner. At the airport. With calamari.
Sharon Randall is the author of “The World and Then Some.” She can be reached at P.O. Box 922, Carmel Valley CA 93924 or by email at randallbay@earthlin.net.
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https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/syndicated_columns/forever-friends/article_d24b727c-a4a1-5635-93eb-5098d2be344a.html
| 2022-04-01T21:05:19Z
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In Michael Kinsley’s immortal definition, “A gaffe is when a politician tells the truth — some obvious truth he isn’t supposed to say.” By that standard, the term would definitely apply to Joe Biden’s recent condemnation of Vladimir Putin.
“For God’s sake,” Biden blurted out, “this man cannot remain in power.”
An international coalition of Nervous Nellies and lunchroom monitors pronounced themselves aghast. You’d think the president had intentionally broken wind at a state dinner, or proclaimed a Supreme Court justice’s wife as crazy as an outhouse rat.
No sooner had he made the remark at the end of a powerful speech expressing the West’s determination to resist Russian aggression — Biden warned Putin not to advance “on one single inch of NATO territory” — than White House staff began walking it back. “Regime change” in Russia, they emphasized, is not American policy.
A hand-wringing Washington Post headline read: “Biden’s Putin remark pushes U.S.-Russia relations closer to collapse.”
Not Putin’s manifest crimes against humanity, mind you, but Biden’s outburst. Might it not push Putin’s imagined paranoia over the edge?
On the Sunday talk shows, Republican politicians competed with Kremlin spokesmen to express their shock. On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” GOP Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio worried that Biden’s indignation “plays into the hands of Russian propagandists and plays into the hands of Vladimir Putin.”
Kremlin mouthpiece Dmitry Peskov said it wasn’t up to Biden to decide who the Russian president should be. Somewhat laughably, he insisted that was up to the “Russian people,” whose say-so is entirely theoretical, given Putin’s practice of having political rivals jailed or murdered. Indeed, the Little Czar’s reign resembles nothing so much as a series of footnotes to Dostoyevsky’s prophetic 1872 novel “The Possessed.” Suffice it to say that Russia has never experienced democracy, instead lurching periodically from one form of dictatorship to another.
Even so, America’s imaginary determination to conquer Russia is a major feature of the Putin regime’s propaganda, despite the U.S. having restrained itself from trying since 1945. Anybody familiar with Russian suffering in World War II can understand a degree of national paranoia, although Biden was surely correct to say that Putin’s pledge to “de-Nazify” Ukraine is both “cynical” and “obscene.”
Nevertheless, to many Russians, it plays.
That said, and much to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s dismay, everything about President Biden’s strong but measured approach to Ukraine’s agony has demonstrated extreme U.S. reluctance to go to war in Russia’s backyard. First Napoleon and then Adolf Hitler long ago proved the futility of doing so.
And that was before Russia acquired nuclear weapons.
Even so, God forbid that the Russian dictator should get his little feelings hurt. Why, he might do something crazy, such as bomb Ukrainian apartment buildings, hospitals and orphanages.
War crimes, all.
Even French President Emmanuel Macron of France, a stalwart NATO ally, expressed a degree of concern with Biden’s outburst. “I wouldn’t use this kind of words,” Macron said in a television interview. He said that he hoped to broker a cease-fire and a Russian withdrawal by diplomatic means. “If we want to do this,” Macron added, “we mustn’t escalate, neither with words nor with actions.”
Down at the police station, this tactic is known as the good cop/bad cop approach to dealing with recalcitrant suspects. And cops use it because it works. Do you want to cut a deal with the very angry American president, or the more understanding French one?
Italy’s foreign minister, Luigi Di Maio, put it another way. President Biden, he said, had used words “that must make Putin clearly understand that he has to stop.” The American president, he added, made “a very clear speech, he used resolute words ... But let’s remember that on the other side, Putin uses bombs.”
Was Ronald Reagan wrong to call the Soviet Union an “Evil Empire”? Was it a terrible gaffe by a doddering old man to personalize the Cold War when Reagan urged “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall”? Many thought so at the time, but few would say so now.
In his Warsaw speech, Biden cast the Ukraine crisis as a new Cold War, a generational conflict: “a new great battle for freedom: a battle between democracy and autocracy, between liberty and repression, between a rules-based order and one governed by brute force.”
Like blogger Kevin Drum, I doubt Biden’s spontaneous remark will send Putin over the edge. “Quite the opposite,” Drum wrote: “The fact that Biden is obviously very sincere in his loathing of Putin makes it clear that the U.S. and NATO are unlikely to back down in Ukraine.” Putin would be well advised to find a pathway to retreat from a disaster of his own creation.
Good cop/bad cop.
Biden himself now says he never meant to endorse a policy of “regime change,” but had an emotional reaction to meeting with Ukrainian refugees in Poland.
That’s good enough for me.
Arkansas Times columnist Gene Lyons is a National Magazine Award winner and co-author of “The Hunting of the President” (St. Martin’s Press, 2000). You can email Lyons at eugenelyons2@yahoo.com.
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https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/syndicated_columns/someone-had-to-say-it/article_f21f17d6-0ca7-5a2d-8915-5c1d1caace55.html
| 2022-04-01T21:05:26Z
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Hope Solo arrested on DWI, child abuse charges
Published: Apr. 1, 2022 at 5:04 PM EDT|Updated: 13 minutes ago
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Former U.S. women’s national team goalkeeper Hope Solo has been arrested in North Carolina after police say she was found passed out behind the wheel of a vehicle with her two children inside.
A police report says Solo was arrested in a shopping center parking lot in Winston-Salem and charged with driving while impaired, resisting a public officer and misdemeanor child abuse.
She has been released from jail and has a court date of June 28.
Arrest reports say a passerby noticed Solo passed out behind the steering wheel for more than an hour with the vehicle’s engine running and two children in the backseat.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/hope-solo-arrested-dwi-child-abuse-charges/
| 2022-04-01T21:17:57Z
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Man found guilty of raping, impregnating 11-year-old girl
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Gray News) - A Tennessee man was convicted Thursday of raping and impregnating an 11-year-old girl in 2016.
According to the Shelby County District Attorney’s office, it took the jury less than 20 minutes to find Gregory Hickman, 29, guilty of raping a child.
According to testimony this week, the child’s mother said that in October 2016, she noticed her daughter’s stomach felt hard in a way that appeared to be a pregnancy. The girl then told her mom that Hickman had raped her earlier that year.
The girl said that Hickman, who was a family friend, was walking her home from a store and suggested they take a shortcut. When they got to a bushy area, Hickman then raped her, the girl said. She also said Hickman said he would kill her if she told anybody about the rape.
In December 2016, the young girl gave birth. DNA testing confirmed Hickman was the father.
Hickman will be sentenced on May 12. He remains in police custody and has another rape case pending involving a 13-year-old victim who was the daughter of his girlfriend.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/man-found-guilty-raping-impregnating-11-year-old-girl/
| 2022-04-01T21:18:04Z
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Man sentenced to 37 months in prison for role in multi-state dog fighting ring
(Gray News) - A Virginia man was sentenced to more than three years in prison for his role in a multi-state dog fighting conspiracy.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) said Raymond L. Johnson, 41, was sentenced Thursday to 37 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
According to court documents, Johnson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to participate in an animal fighting venture and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Johnson’s arrest was the result of a lengthy investigation, starting in November 2019 when police investigated a criminal organization involved in dog fighting based out of Richmond, Virginia, and extending into Baltimore, Maryland. In late 2020, police executed multiple search warrants and rescued numerous dogs that were being used for dog fighting.
The DOJ said Johnson hosted at least two dog fights at his residence, videos of which were found by police. Nine dogs were rescued from Johnson’s home, all with scarring consistent with dog fighting.
The DOJ said investigators also found Johnson communicating with his co-conspirators about breeding and fighting dogs, past dog fights, and upcoming dog fights.
Agents also found firearms and ammunition at Johnson’s home. As a convicted felon, it was illegal for Johnson to possess those items.
“Raymond Johnson actively participated in a multi-state criminal enterprise that caused the needless suffering of innocent animals,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Johnson’s sentence demonstrates that dog fighting is a serious crime, which deserves a substantial penalty.”
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/man-sentenced-37-months-prison-role-multi-state-dog-fighting-ring/
| 2022-04-01T21:18:11Z
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Number of COVID patients in US hospitals reaches record low
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — COVID-19 hospitalization numbers have plunged to their lowest levels since the early days of the pandemic, offering a much needed break to health care workers and patients alike following the omicron surge.
The number of patients hospitalized with the coronavirus has fallen more than 90% in more than two months, and some hospitals are going days without a single COVID-19 patient in the ICU for the first time since early 2020.
The freed-up beds are expected to help U.S. hospitals retain exhausted staff, treat non-COVID-19 patients more quickly and cut down on inflated costs. More family members can visit loved ones. And doctors hope to see a correction to the slide in pediatric visits, yearly checkups and cancer screenings.
“We should all be smiling that the number of people sitting in the hospital right now with COVID, and people in intensive care units with COVID, are at this low point,” said University of South Florida epidemiologist Jason Salemi.
But, he said, the nation “paid a steep price to get to this stage. ... A lot of people got sick and a lot of people died.”
The average number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the last week nationwide dropped to 11,860, the lowest since 2020 and a steep decline from the peak of more than 145,000 set in mid-January. The previous low was 12,041 last June, before the delta variant took hold. The optimistic trend is also clear in ICU patient numbers, which have dipped to fewer than 2,000, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“We’re beginning to be able to take a breath,” said Dr. Jeffrey Weinstein, the patient safety officer for the Kettering Health hospital system in western Ohio.
COVID-19 patients had filled 30% of Kettering Health’s nearly 1,600 hospital beds back in January, Weinstein said. Kettering’s eight hospitals now average two to three COVID-19 admissions a day — and sometimes zero.
And while Salemi agreed this is a good time for an exhausted health care system to take a breath, he warned that the public health community needs to keep an eye on the BA.2 subvariant of omicron. It’s driving increases in hospitalizations in Britain, and is now estimated to make up more than half of U.S. infections.
“We’re probably under-detecting true infections now more than at any other time during the pandemic,” Salemi said.
For now at least, many hospitals are noting the low numbers.
In California on Thursday, UC Davis Health tweeted that its intensive care unit had no COVID-19 patients for two consecutive days for the first time in two years.
“The first COVID-19 patient to arrive in our ICU did so in February 2020, and the unit treated at least one positive individual every day since, for at least 761 consecutive days,” the hospital system said.
Toby Marsh, the chief nursing and patient care services officer, said in a statement that they hope the numbers “are indicative of a sustained change.”
In Philadelphia, patients are spending less time in the Temple University Health System because there are no longer backlogs for MRIs, CT scans and lab tests, said Dr. Tony Reed, the chief medical officer.
Temple Health’s three hospitals had six adult COVID-19 patients on Thursday, likely its lowest patient count since March 2020, Reed said.
During the omicron surge, patients waited as long as 22 hours for a routine MRI, which is normally done within 12 hours. Longer waits affected those who came in with trouble walking — and in a lot of pain — for example, because of a herniated disc pinching their sciatic nerve.
“Nobody wants to stay in the hospital a day longer than they have to,” Reed said.
The emptying of beds is also helping patients in rural areas, said Jay Anderson, the chief operating officer for Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. During the surges, the hospital faced challenges accepting people from community hospitals who needed elevated care for brain tumors, advanced cancer and stroke. That burden is now being lifted.
Visitors also will return in higher numbers, starting Tuesday. Ohio State will no longer restrict patients to two designated guests, who could only stop by separately.
“Patients heal better when they have access to their family and loved ones,” Anderson said.
Doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists are also getting a much needed break in some areas.
In Colorado, Dr. Michelle Barron said the consistently low COVID-19 hospitalizations prompted smiles among staff, even as she double-checks the numbers to make sure they’re actually correct.
“I had one of these moments like, oh this is amazing,” said Barron, medical director of infection prevention and control at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital. “It feels unreal.”
UCHealth loosened some restrictions, including dropping testing requirements for anyone who entered a facility. And while that produced some anxiety among staffers, Barron says the numbers haven’t spiked.
“I think some people have started to take vacations and not feel guilty,” she said. “I had spring break with my kids and it was a level of happiness where I went, oh my god, this is actually normal.”
The omicron surge had stretched staff at work — but also at home, said Dr. Mike Hooper, chief medical officer for Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in southeastern Virginia.
“It was stressful to be at the store ... to visit your family,” Hooper said. “We’re all hoping that some ‘return to normalcy’ will help people deal with the inherent stresses of being part of the health care team.”
But just because hospitalizations are down does not mean hospitals are empty, said Dr. Frank Johnson, chief medical officer for St. Luke’s Health System in Idaho.
Some measures — like wearing masks in certain settings — will remain in place.
“I don’t know when we may go back to old practices regarding mask wearing in our clinical areas,” Johnson said. “We’ve seen some benefits of that in terms of reduction in the number of other viral infections.”
In the meantime, the public health community is keeping an eye on the BA.2 subvariant of omicron.
Salemi, the University of South Florida epidemiologist, said the increase in at-home testing means that more results are not being included in official coronavirus case counts. Therefore, wastewater surveillance will be the early warning signal to watch, he said.
“BA.2 is here,” he said. “We don’t have to look that far in the rear-view mirror to know things can change very rapidly. We saw what happened with delta. We saw what happened with omicron.... We don’t want to wait until we see a lot of people hospitalized before we take action.”
___
Kruesi reported from Nashville, Tennessee. AP Medical writer Carla K. Johnson in Washington state contributed to this report.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/number-covid-patients-us-hospitals-reaches-record-low/
| 2022-04-01T21:18:18Z
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Vanna White announces death of her father
Published: Apr. 1, 2022 at 3:46 PM EDT|Updated: 1 hours ago
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (Gray News) – “Wheel of Fortune” hostess Vanna White announced the death of her father on Twitter Friday.
She didn’t name her dad in the Tweet but described him as being “one of the kindest and most wonderful human beings of North Myrtle Beach.”
The South Carolina native said her 96-year-old father passed away peacefully Friday morning.
White and her co-host Pat Sajak have worked side by side for more than 7,000 episodes of “Wheel of Fortune and are nightly staples in millions of homes across America.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/vanna-white-announces-death-her-father/
| 2022-04-01T21:18:28Z
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VIDEO: Man escapes dog cage while detained in K-9 vehicle, deputies resign
PENDER COUNTY, N.C. (WECT/Gray News) - An investigation continues in North Carolina, where two deputies are out of a job after an arrest of a man that went wrong.
The Pender County Sheriff’s Office reports the incident in question occurred on Feb. 27 when officers responded to a situation where a couple was fighting in a supermarket parking lot.
WECT reports a female deputy detained the woman, and a male deputy detained the man involved in the fight once they arrived at the scene, according to the sheriff’s office.
However, the male deputy’s patrol car was being repaired, and he was driving a K-9 handler’s car as a substitute vehicle.
The K-9 vehicle was equipped with a dog cage in the back instead of space to detain and transport suspects.
Authorities said the man involved in the fight was highly combative and armed with a gun. Deputies had to wrestle him to the ground to get him in handcuffs. Deputies then needed a place to put him and said they were advised by a supervisor that “a cage is a cage” and put the suspect in the back of the K-9 unit.
The backseat of the vehicle had plenty of space, but it had no seat or seat belts as it was designed to hold a dog.
Typically, deputies would have left immediately for jail, but they could not legally transport the suspect without a seat belt for him.
Therefore, police waited for backup to arrive with the proper transport vehicle. However, this took about 30 minutes, and during this time, the suspect got loose. According to the sheriff’s office, he managed to remove the dog door inside the deputy’s car and crawled into the front seat of the K-9 vehicle before leaving the scene.
WECT obtained body camera video of the incident in question.
About 19 minutes into the video, additional deputies arrived at the scene and the four officers strategized on how they will move the detainee.
The video then shows them holding leg shackles, a Taser and a service weapon as they prepare for a potentially combative transfer from the K-9 vehicle.
However, when they turned back around, the driver’s side door of the K-9 vehicle was open, and the man was gone.
The sheriff’s office confirmed the suspect was able to retrieve his gun, money and drugs during the escape.
About two hours after the arrest, the sheriff’s office put out a news release asking for the public’s help finding the suspect who escaped. But authorities had mistakenly identified the incorrect person as the suspect.
So, the sheriff’s office corrected the release the next day, but 30 days later, the original man in question remains on the loose.
After the escape, the deputies involved in the arrest were placed on administrative leave while the sheriff’s office conducted an internal investigation.
The deputies said they were not given the proper equipment to do their job, putting them in a dangerous position - setting the stage for the detainee to escape.
Both deputies resigned in the weeks that followed, saying that they felt they were being forced out despite their previously excellent track records.
The two also released a joint statement:
“On February 27, we were both assigned to the most populated side of the county and were given improper equipment to perform our duties as Law Enforcement Officers. While responding to a domestic situation later that evening, we encountered an armed, combative subject.
After struggling for several minutes and placing the person in custody, we were forced to secure the arrestee who was still being combative in the K-9 vehicle as our only option. This was the safest option to protect ourselves and the community.
As deputies, we performed our duties with the equipment and resources given and did nothing wrong that evening. We were both truthful in all aspects of the internal investigation but sadly were forced to resign. This is an unfortunate situation and a devastating action toward two amazing deputies by Sheriff Alan Cutler.”
An internal investigation continues, and Sheriff Alan Cutler maintains that the vehicle used that night was not the issue.
“I have not seen a problem in this investigation with him actually placing that individual in the backseat of that car. But, obviously, we need to keep our eyes on an individual while they’re in there for their safety and for the law enforcement safety,” Cutler said.
While policy change may eventually result from this incident, Cutler said at this point the K-9 vehicle continues to be used for routine patrols as needed due to vehicle shortages at the department.
“Our deputies definitely could have done things better that night. And I acknowledge that I’m ultimately responsible for the actions of our deputies, whether I’m with them or not. We’ve always tried to be transparent, and we will continue to be. Basically, the only thing we can do now is trying to do the right thing in the aftermath,” Cutler said.
Copyright 2022 WECT via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/video-man-escapes-dog-cage-while-detained-k-9-vehicle-deputies-resign/
| 2022-04-01T21:18:36Z
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In Wyoming’s first major COVID-19 related fraud case, former Wyoming Catholic College chief financial officer Paul D. McCown pleaded guilty to all seven counts lodged against him by federal prosecutors.
Standing quietly before U.S. District Judge Scott W. Skavdahl and a handful of spectators in a Casper federal courtroom on Tuesday, McCown, 35, admitted duping the federal COVID-19 business relief program, the Wyoming Business Council that administered the program and a private New York investment company out of millions of dollars by posing as a wealthy entrepreneur with a $750 million fortune nestled in his account with the tiny Wyoming Community Bank in Lander.
Each of the seven wire fraud counts against him carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Judge Skavdahl set a sentencing hearing for June 17 in Casper before releasing McCown on a $10,000 signature bond.
To commit the fraud against the New York-based Ria R Squared private equity firm McCown admitted using phony email accounts, falsifying bank statements and posing as a bank vice president.
A once prominent figure in the Lander business community, he told friends at the tiny Catholic college that he had made a fortune by converting his newly formed gin distillery into hand sanitizer business that was capitalizing on the COVID-19 crisis through major contracts with NFL stadiums and national airports.
McCown, wearing a light blue sports coat, and his attorney Jason Tangeman stood at the lectern for about 50 minutes as Judge Skavdahl read details of the plea agreement, allegations and potential penalties.
The judge informed McCown of the rights he would forfeit by waiving an indictment and by agreeing to the plea agreement.
McCown answered only in the affirmative when addressed by the judge. When Judge Skavdahl asked McCown how he pleaded, as per the plea agreement, McCown answered “guilty” to each of the seven counts.
McCown’s attorney told the judge that McCown’s wife and four young children were planning to move to California before his sentencing and was granted permission by Judge Skavdahl to accompany them on the condition that he return to Wyoming once the move was completed.
WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.
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https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyomingbusinessreport/industry_news/banking_and_finance/former-wyoming-catholic-college-cfo-pleads-guilty-to-covid-fraud/article_682c4b0e-b1f9-11ec-9b8b-9beb33096a78.html
| 2022-04-01T21:21:17Z
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CASPER — As COVID-19 cases continue to plummet in Wyoming, the administration of second booster doses here promises to be easier than previous vaccine rollouts.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized on Tuesday second booster doses for individuals 50 years and older and for certain immunocompromised individuals.
The FDA only approved the mRNA Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for these second booster doses. Data suggests that these boosters are more effective at preventing severe illness in those at high risk compared with the Janssen booster shot.
All three vaccines are authorized for the first booster.
Evidence suggests that a second booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines is safe and improves protection from severe illness, according to the FDA.
Individuals must wait at least four months after their first booster dose before getting their second one. Some people under 50 could qualify for a second booster if they are at least 12 years old and immunocompromised.
The second booster is exactly the same as the first, according to Wyoming State Epidemiologist Alexia Harrist.
Wyoming residents can get a second booster at any location where first boosters are already administered.
Individuals who are immunocompromised have to check with their health care provider to see if they qualify for the second booster. Anyone over the age of 50 can get the second booster, although Harrist said she still recommends consulting with a medical professional before getting the second dose.
The health department doesn’t yet have data on the number of individuals who have gotten a second booster, Harrist said.
The authorization comes amid falling COVID cases in Wyoming. There were 55 confirmed active cases in Wyoming as of the health department’s latest update on Tuesday. That’s down by 206 cases from about a month ago.
The omicron subvariant BA.2 is currently responsible for about 55% of cases in the U.S., according to the CDC. In the region including Wyoming and surrounding states, about 37% of cases are caused by the subvariant. That percentage was around 21% in an update earlier this week.
But numbers overall in Wyoming are still declining even though the subvariant is responsible for a greater percentage of cases.
Harrist said she recommends that everyone who is eligible get at least the first booster shot.
“These vaccines have really shown to be quite effective against severe illness and death,” she said. “Data says the same about the vaccine against (the omicron subvariant) BA.2.”
Those with booster shots were 21 times less likely to die from COVID during the last surge compared to unvaccinated individuals, according to the CDC.
According to the health department’s latest update on Thursday, 112,324 Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna booster shots combined have been administered in the state so far. By comparison, just 1,554 Janssen booster shots have been administered in the state.
The authorization of second booster doses may point toward the transition to routine vaccination against COVID.
Immunity from COVID vaccines generally wanes after several months, according to the CDC. While some say this is reason for regular boosting, experts disagree on whether frequent boosters are really helpful in counteracting declining immunity, according to Kaiser Health News.
Some are also concerned about the potential financial incentives pharma companies have in pushing regular boosting.
This story was published on April 1, 2022.
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https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyomingbusinessreport/industry_news/health_care/second-covid-19-booster-rollout-begins/article_57445322-b1f9-11ec-9395-3bf8e0dd8fb7.html
| 2022-04-01T21:21:23Z
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The Barnes & Noble Booksellers location at 1851 Dell Range Blvd. in Cheyenne in seen in this screenshot taken from Google. Company officials said Thursday, March 31, 2022, they plan to temporarily relocate the store to Frontier Mall while they search for a new location. The current building will be redeveloped for Natural Grocers.
CHEYENNE – Barnes & Noble Booksellers announced Thursday that the local store at 1851 Dell Range Blvd. will close on May 15.
After 27 years, the building's landlord has decided to redevelop the space as the future location of Natural Grocers. Earlier this week, Natural Grocers told the Cheyenne City Council of its hopes to get a retail liquor license to sell alcohol at that coming location for its store.
The bookstore stands out locally for being the sole retailer that primarily sells new books in a bricks-and-mortar store.
The bookstore's closure doesn't mean the end of the national bookseller in Cheyenne. Barnes & Noble officials said in a news release that they plan to move to an interim store location at Frontier Mall, 1400 Dell Range Blvd., this spring.
"This will be while we search for our permanent home in the community," the release said. "We thank our wonderful Cheyenne booksellers for all their hard work and are pleased that they can continue bookselling in our temporary location. Book buyers can also shop with us 24 hours a day at bn.com."
The statement ended with, "We proudly serve America with more than 600 bookstores in every U.S. state and are actively opening newly designed stores in communities across the country. We expect that one will be back in this area before too long."
|
https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyomingbusinessreport/industry_news/retail/barnes-noble-to-move-to-mall-temporarily-searches-for-new-location/article_428cb9f6-b1f9-11ec-bb46-af2b62c3f312.html
| 2022-04-01T21:21:30Z
|
...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM
HST SUNDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast to east winds 15 to 25 knots, and seas up to 12
feet.
* WHERE...Kauai Northwest Waters, Kauai Windward Waters, Kauai
Leeward Waters, Kauai Channel, Oahu Windward Waters, Oahu
Leeward Waters, Kaiwi Channel, Maui County Windward Waters,
Maui County Leeward Waters and Big Island Windward Waters.
* WHEN...From 6 PM this evening through Saturday night.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.
&&
HONOLULU (KITV4) - More than 3,000 eager passengers, aboard the Ruby Princess docked in Honolulu Friday morning.
The incoming ship is the first to arrive to the islands since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dropped it's risk assessment for cruises on Wednesday.
Notice from the CDC coincides with the recent lifting of the state's Safe Travels program, as well as the indoor mask mandate.
Still, despite the most recent bout of changes, those in Hawaii's cruise industry note that an overnight switch to pre-pandemic conditions isn't realistic.
"Nothing really is changing, just yet. It maybe is a little too premature to see the impact of that changing. Even at the harbors we are going to be wearing masks and social distancing," admitted MC&A senior manager, Curtis Chee. "There might be just a few more guests than there were at the very start in January, but it's not like the numbers have tripled or doubled or they're coming at full capacity."
In addition to upholding some of those safety protocols onboard passengers explaining how the opportunity to get a fourth dose of the vaccine made them even more comfortable traveling and getting back on the water.
"I think we feel really comfortable. I do anyways," explained Oklahoma resident, Robert Prince. "Especially because we were able to receive our fourth vaccine, which a lot of people have not been able to do so."
Industry members emphasized visitor interest to the islands is still growing, but the state can most likely expect to reach more typical numbers by next season.
As of now, plans are to keep working with passengers and transportation management to ensure the transition back to normalcy is smooth sailing.
Erin found her passion in journalism from a young age, watching her dad on the news. He taught her the importance of meeting, learning, and sharing people's stories.
|
https://www.kitv.com/news/business/federal-reccomendations-could-mean-smooth-sailing-for-hawaii-cruise-industry/article_6976efc2-b1ff-11ec-a64e-13bc19ad010c.html
| 2022-04-01T22:25:54Z
|
...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM
HST SUNDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast to east winds 15 to 25 knots, and seas up to 12
feet.
* WHERE...Kauai Northwest Waters, Kauai Windward Waters, Kauai
Leeward Waters, Kauai Channel, Oahu Windward Waters, Oahu
Leeward Waters, Kaiwi Channel, Maui County Windward Waters,
Maui County Leeward Waters and Big Island Windward Waters.
* WHEN...From 6 PM this evening through Saturday night.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.
&&
Community First Hawaii launches statewide Access to Care campaign and survey.
Community First Hawaii announced Friday that they are launching the Access to Care healthcare campaign and statewide survey open to all Hawaii residents throughout April.
The Access to Care campaign aims to better understand healthcare gaps in communities to improve on and achieve healthier outcomes in Hawaii. The statewide campaign will work with half a dozen healthcare, government, and social services partners, while collecting information from the public about their experiences in accessing the care they need.
Hawaii residents are encouraged to complete the survey here. Those who complete the survey can enter to win $100 gas gift cards, which will be drawn weekly. Residents can also take the survey at pop-up events at some grocery stores and farmers markets across the islands through April 30.
“Everyone’s voice matters,” said Randy Kurohara, executive director of Community First. “When you fill out the survey, it’s a chance to call out the needs you see and the gaps you want fixed -- for yourself, your family and your community.”
The study is led by Community First in partnership with the Hawaii State Rural Health Association, DOH, Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, Hawaii Medical Association, HMSA, and Pacific Basin Telehealth Resource Center.
The Access to Care campaign specifically seeks to connect with underserved populations, specifically those in rural areas, ALICE families (Asset-limited, Income-constrained, Employed), and those who are limited English proficient (LEP).
Hawaii has the highest per capita rates of LEP persons in the nation, according to Christine Matsuda with Paakai Communications.
“Our focus is protecting and serving the health of our community,” said Lisa Rantz, president of the Hawaiʻi State Rural Health Association. “Beyond the medical and clinical needs of our community, what else do we need to be vibrant and thriving from a holistic health perspective? Creating more access to quality local care by informed data is the goal.”
Once the data is collected, the report will be made publicly available and delivered to leaders and providers in health, social services, and policy.
Do you have a story idea? Email news tips to news@kitv.com
|
https://www.kitv.com/news/local/community-first-hawaii-launches-statewide-survey-to-gather-public-feedback-on-healthcare-needs/article_9a227fee-b1fd-11ec-816d-cb9e33dbcc04.html
| 2022-04-01T22:26:00Z
|
...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM
HST SUNDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast to east winds 15 to 25 knots, and seas up to 12
feet.
* WHERE...Kauai Northwest Waters, Kauai Windward Waters, Kauai
Leeward Waters, Kauai Channel, Oahu Windward Waters, Oahu
Leeward Waters, Kaiwi Channel, Maui County Windward Waters,
Maui County Leeward Waters and Big Island Windward Waters.
* WHEN...From 6 PM this evening through Saturday night.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.
&&
HONOLULU (KITV4) -- According to the Hawaii Department of Transportation, traffic fatalities are up 45% from where they were this time last year.
With drivers taking to the roads more now that pandemic restrictions have lifted, the first three months of 2022 saw 35 traffic fatalities in the Aloha State as opposed to 24 in the first three months of 2021.
19 of the Hawaii's traffic deaths occurred in the month of March alone.
Kaleo Narvaez told KITV4 high gas prices are an added stress.
Narvaez is a mobile mechanic who thinks the day to day might be getting to drivers, "Take a breather and relax before you start driving erratically... and pressing the gas pedal harder than normal, you're just gonna end up wasting the gas real fast." Narvaez advised.
"We live in paradise. So you might want to drive like you live in paradise," Narvaez told KITV4.
Jeremy Lee joined KITV after over a decade & a half in broadcast news from coast to coast on the mainland. Jeremy most recently traveled the country documenting protests & civil unrest.
|
https://www.kitv.com/news/local/traffic-fatalities-on-the-rise-in-hawaii-in-2022/article_708fb08c-b196-11ec-9d63-cb3a3241c43b.html
| 2022-04-01T22:26:06Z
|
...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM
HST SUNDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast to east winds 15 to 25 knots, and seas up to 12
feet.
* WHERE...Kauai Northwest Waters, Kauai Windward Waters, Kauai
Leeward Waters, Kauai Channel, Oahu Windward Waters, Oahu
Leeward Waters, Kaiwi Channel, Maui County Windward Waters,
Maui County Leeward Waters and Big Island Windward Waters.
* WHEN...From 6 PM this evening through Saturday night.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.
&&
HONOLULU (KITV4) -- The Hawaiian Humane Society is looking for volunteers for a mass spay and neuter clinic.
It's teaming up with Greater Good Charities to host the free event, called "Good Fix" next week at Aloha Stadium.
"This event is really just the biggest bang for our buck, and in the shortest amount of time to make the greatest impact," explained Jessica Tronoski, communications manager at the Hawaiian Humane Society.
In an effort to control Hawaii's cat overpopulation, specially-trained surgical and trapping teams will target certain communities.
Volunteers are needed to sign up free-roaming cats for clinics.
"Our goal is to spay and neuter 300 cats per day through this program," explained Tronoski. "This clinic lasts for six days, so that's a total of 1,800 cats that we're planning on spaying and neutering."
The event runs next Tuesday, April 5, through Saturday, April 10. Supplies like towels, newspaper, and wet cat food are also needed.
For more information on how to volunteer or donate, click here.
Do you have a story idea? Email news tips to news@kitv.com
Mika is the co-anchor for KITV4 Island News at 5, 6, and 10 p.m.
Since joining KITV4 in 2016, Mika has also served as a multimedia journalist, weather, and traffic anchor.
|
https://www.kitv.com/news/local/volunteers-needed-for-mass-spay-and-neuter-event-at-aloha-stadium/article_2742632e-b18d-11ec-9399-5f0e8c6c8c96.html
| 2022-04-01T22:26:12Z
|
The temporary head of the Department of Homeland Security's intelligence division, John Cohen, is stepping down this month as President Joe Biden's appointee awaits confirmation, according to an internal memo sent to the workforce and obtained by CNN.
Cohen assumed the role last July after a series of controversies embroiled the office during the Trump administration, including coming under scrutiny for not producing a bulletin or warning about the potential for violence at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Under Cohen's leadership, the intelligence office has been trying to revamp its stature, putting more emphasis on analyzing online threats of violence and working to revive its state and local partner relationships.
The DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis also created an intelligence gathering unit to monitor the movement of migrants journeying to the US southern border and help inform law enforcement activities.
"I am writing to inform you that I will be leaving the Department effective April 8, 2022 in part so I can better attend to long-standing medical issues involving a member of my family," Cohen said in his memo. "Returning to the federal government on January 20, 2021 was a great honor. It has been among the greatest privileges of my career to work with all of you."
Melissa Smislova, a career official, will helm the agency on a temporary basis, which she has previously done, according to a source familiar with the situation.
In a memo to the Intelligence and Analysis workforce, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas commended Cohen for being "one of our nation's foremost national security experts."
Cohen is expected to start a new private center focused on combating disinformation by foreign intelligence services, terrorist groups, and criminal organizations, the source said.
Late last year, Biden nominated attorney and former Bush administration appointee Kenneth Wainstein to lead the DHS intelligence division. Wainstein served in federal government for years, including as a former assistant attorney general and chief of staff to former FBI Director Robert Mueller.
If confirmed, Wainstein will become the top intelligence official at DHS, taking the helm as Under Secretary of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis.
During the final year of the Trump administration, the Intelligence and Analysis Office became entangled in a series of public controversies, starting with a revelation that the office compiled "intelligence reports" about the work of two US journalists covering protests in Portland, Oregon, in 2020.
An internal review, released last fall, found that insufficient supervision, improper collection tradecraft and the deployment of "untrained, inexperienced" collectors to Portland was in part to blame for the issues at the time.
There was also a leadership shakeup, a scathing whistleblower report and accusations of retaliation.
The office has not had a Senate-confirmed leader since David Glawe's departure in May 2020.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.
|
https://www.kitv.com/news/national/acting-dhs-intelligence-chief-steps-down-as-biden-appointee-still-awaits-confirmation/article_12bd6efe-6cf0-58c6-b893-a45f5bf1e253.html
| 2022-04-01T22:26:18Z
|
...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM
HST SUNDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast to east winds 15 to 25 knots, and seas up to 12
feet.
* WHERE...Kauai Northwest Waters, Kauai Windward Waters, Kauai
Leeward Waters, Kauai Channel, Oahu Windward Waters, Oahu
Leeward Waters, Kaiwi Channel, Maui County Windward Waters,
Maui County Leeward Waters and Big Island Windward Waters.
* WHEN...From 6 PM this evening through Saturday night.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.
&&
The vote was 220 to 204. Republicans Tom McClintock of California, Brian Mast and Matt Gaetz, both of Florida, joined the majority of Democrats in supporting the bill, while Democrats Henry Cuellar of Texas and Chris Pappas of New Hampshire voted against.
The bill, sponsored by Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, will prevent federal agencies from denying federal workers security clearances for cannabis use, and will allow the Veterans' Administration to recommend medical marijuana to veterans living with posttraumatic stress disorder, plus gains revenue by authorizing a sales tax on marijuana sales.
The bill also expunges the record of people convicted of non-violent cannabis offenses, which House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said, "can haunt people of color and impact the trajectory of their lives and career indefinitely."
"It can result in difficulty finding employment, difficulty finding housing, denial of access of federal benefits, denial of financial aid at colleges and universities, and denial of the right to vote," Hoyer said. "That's why we're dealing with this."
Senate Democrats have a similar legalization bill in the upper chamber, but neither that bill nor the House-passed MORE Act is expected to clear the 60-vote threshold for passage in the Senate.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi praised the legislation during her weekly news conference Thursday, telling reporters the legislation is "consistent with what is happening in many states across the country."
"It also addresses the injustices of it because of what penalties had been before some of these, this decriminalization took place," she added. "So I'm all for it."
A similar bill was passed in December 2020, and was championed in the House by the late Rep. Don Young of Alaska, who was a co-founder of the House Cannabis Caucus, but died last month before the bill made it to the floor for another vote.
|
https://www.kitv.com/news/national/house-passes-bill-to-federally-decriminalize-marijuana/article_10d5a74a-5934-568d-a9ee-c4f539981e1e.html
| 2022-04-01T22:26:24Z
|
Russia accused Ukraine of mounting a helicopter attack on a fuel depot inside Russian territory Friday, as footage surfaced of the facility engulfed in flames.
In a statement, Russia's Ministry of Defense said that the helicopters "entered the airspace of the Russian Federation at extremely low altitude," at 5 a.m. Moscow time and "launched a missile attack on a civilian oil storage facility located on the outskirts of Belgorod."
As a result, "individual tanks were damaged and caught fire," spokesperson Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said, adding that the depot "has nothing to do with Russian armed forces."
CNN could not verify the Russian claims.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has neither confirmed nor denied the attack. Russia has hit fuel storage facilities around Ukraine in recent days.
"I would like to emphasize that Ukraine is performing a defensive operation against Russian aggression on the territory of Ukraine," Oleksandr Motuzyanyk, spokesman for Ukraine's defense ministry, said in a televised statement Friday.
"That doesn't mean Ukraine has to be responsible for every miscalculation or event or catastrophe that occurred on the territory of the Russian Federation. This is not the first time we are witnessing such accusations. Therefore, I will neither confirm nor deny this information."
CNN geolocated and verified social media videos showing two helicopters flying over the Russian city of Belgorod, near the Ukrainian border, but cannot confirm the helicopters are Ukrainian.
In one video, they are spotted during an attack on a fuel storage facility. The video, which was shot at a distance of about 1,800 feet (550 meters) from the facility, shows multiple strikes and a subsequent fire in the distance.
The Belgorod region -- which is on the road from Moscow to Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv -- has been a hub of fuel supplies that have powered Russia's invasion of of Ukraine.
The ensuing fire "engulfed fuel reservoirs" at the facility, Russian state media outlet TASS reported, citing the ministry of emergency situations.
About 16,000 cubic meters (3.52 million gallons) of fuel were on fire, encompassing eight tanks with 2,000 cubic meters of fuel each, Russian state media outlet Ria Novosti reported, citing emergency services, and there was the possibility that the fire could spread to another eight tanks.
Two employees of the depot were injured in the fire but their lives were not in danger, Belgorod's regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on his Telegram channel earlier Friday. Residents in the vicinity of the depot were being evacuated but there was no threat to the population of the city, he added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been informed about the alleged strike, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday, warning that the incident could hinder ongoing negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow.
"The president was informed about Belgorod," Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. "You know that the ministry of emergency situations was sent there. Steps are being taken to reorganize fuel supply points so that what happened in no case affects the level of supply of all necessary types of fuel."
The Russian military has claimed air superiority over Ukraine.
"Air superiority during an operation is an absolute fact," Peskov said. "And as for what happened, it probably should not be us giving out assessments, but our law enforcement agencies."
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.
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https://www.kitv.com/news/national/russia-accuses-ukraine-of-helicopter-strikes-on-fuel-depot-in-russian-territory/article_4a67673b-d7e8-51fc-bf07-e1be52a58694.html
| 2022-04-01T22:26:30Z
|
The Biden administration Friday rolled out final emissions rules that will require cars and trucks to have an average fuel economy of 49 miles per gallon in just a few years.
The rule comes as Americans are paying record prices for gas. Friday's reading for the national average price for a gallon of regular gas stood at $4.22 a gallon according to AAA, down about 11 cents from the record reached last month, but 11 cents a gallon more than the previous record.
The 49 mpg standard, a roughly 33% improvement from the current average of 36 mpg, applies to cars and light trucks, such as pickups and SUVs, in model year 2026, which will start hitting showrooms in late 2025.
At a press conference unveiling the new rules, which are close to those initially unveiled in December, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg portrayed them as a way to save drivers money and make America less dependent on foreign oil.
The increase to a 49 mpg standard "means if you're filling up four times a month, that would become three times a month by model year 2026," he said.
The recent rise in oil and gas prices follows the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, one of the world's leading exporters of oil before the war. Since then, its shipments of oil have been sharply reduced by a series of sanctions, sending the price of oil sharply higher on global markets.
"Better fuel economy is going to continue to reduce our reliance on foreign oil and protect families from future price spikes, which of course is top of mind today, as we deal with the impacts from Putin's war," Buttigieg said.
"Even if all of the oil we use in the USA were made in the USA, the price of it is still subject to powers and dynamics outside of the USA," he added. "Until we achieve a form of energy independence that is based on clean energy created here at home, American citizens will still be vulnerable to wild price hikes like we're seeing right now."
The fuel economy rules also are a linchpin to the administration's plans to battle climate change and cut carbon emissions by 50% to 52% below 2005 levels by 2030.
"The transportation sector in America is our largest source of climate pollution and a major contributor to local air quality challenges," said Buttigieg.
The Trump administration had rolled back similarly aggressive fuel economy standards that had been put in place during the Obama administration.
The auto industry today is much more committed to transitioning from traditional internal combustion engines to electric vehicles — to meet stricter environmental standards in the United States and other markets, such as Europe and China, and because electric vehicles have fewer moving parts and can be assembled without as much labor.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an industry trade group, estimated in December that automakers have committed to invest $330 billion by 2025 in the transition to EVs.
Automakers also are counting on financial support for that transition, such as increased tax credits for EV buyers. The Biden administration's proposals for that change were included in his Build Back Better legislation, which has so far been blocked in the Senate.
"Increased regulatory requirements for automakers will require supportive policies," said Alliance CEO John Bozzella.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.
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https://www.kitv.com/news/national/us-fuel-economy-rules-will-soon-require-49-mpg-average/article_295cfb6a-cd54-5ec4-bfc5-f6be7c11fc20.html
| 2022-04-01T22:26:37Z
|
Week in Review, March 28-April 1: Final Four, Big Healthcare Deal, Veto Override
NEW ORLEANS — The city’s hospitality industry is revving up to host the 2022 NCAA Men’s Final Four basketball tournament this weekend. The Kansas Jayhawks will play Villanova’s Wildcats on Saturday evening, followed later that night by a matchup between the University of North Carolina Tar Heels and the Duke University’s Blue Devils. The winners will meet in a championship game on Monday. The games take place at the Caesars Superdome. Ticket prices are the highest in tournament history, and local hotels, restaurants and attractions are looking forward to the surge in visitors.
Here, from staff and wire reports, are the week’s other top business stories:
UnitedHealth Group will spend $5.4 billion to acquire LHC Group and delve deeper into home health, an area of care expected to grow as baby boomers age. The health care giant said Tuesday that it will pay $170 in cash for each share of LHC’s stock in a deal expected to close later this year. UnitedHealth, which runs the nation’s largest health insurer, will add LHC Group Inc. to its Optum Health business, which operates primary care clinics and surgery centers around the country.
Both chambers of the Louisiana Legislature voted Wednesday mainly along party lines to override Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards’ veto of a congressional redistricting bill, marking the first time in nearly three decades that lawmakers refused to accept a governor’s refusal of a bill they had passed. The map was passed during a special legislative session called to redraw government district lines to account for population shifts reflected in the 2020 census. The new map is outlined in two identical bills sent to Edwards. The governor vetoed both, saying lawmakers should have included a second majority-Black district among the six districts they approved. Wednesday’s House vote was 72-31 — more than the two-thirds needed — to turn House Bill 1 into law over Edwards’ objections, The Advocate reported. State senators voted 27-11 in favor of the bill. … Civil rights groups and voting activists filed lawsuits challenging Louisiana’s new congressional redistricting map hours after lawmakers voted to override Gov. John Bel Edwards’ veto of the maps. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Louisiana and the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP filed a lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court on behalf of the Louisiana NAACP, Power Coalition for Equity and Justice and individual voters, claiming the map violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The 176-room Canopy by Hilton New Orleans Downtown is now open at 1100 Tulane Avenue in the Central Business District. In development since 2015, the 14-story hotel inhabits the former Oil and Gas Building, built in 1959 and designed by August Perez & Associates and Edward B. Silverstein & Associates. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014 after it had been vacant for more than a decade.
Public broadcasting station WYES, which reaches television viewers in southeast Louisiana and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, is celebrating 65 years of service. The station first signed on the air on April 1, 1957. Throughout 2022, WYES will highlight its 65th anniversary on air and online with a special promotional campaign. WYES invites viewers to share their memories on social media with the hashtag #wyes65. Beginning at 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 2, WYES will present nine hours of its most popular locally produced documentaries, some of which have not been aired in decades. In 1957, WYES was founded by community leaders who believed in the power of the new medium as an educational tool. The letters Y, E and S in the station’s name stood for “Your Educational Station.” WYES signed on the air as Channel 8 and as the twelfth educational television station in the nation. It became Channel 12 in 1970 and has worked to “educate, enlighten, and entertain” for 65 years by offering national programs, award-winning local and cultural documentaries, and community outreach activities.
Commercial real estate agency Corporate Realty Inc. has announced that it is opening a full-service office in Baton Rouge. This new office will be located in One American Place at 301 Main Street and led by Branon W. Pesnell. In 2001, Pesnell began his Baton Rouge commercial real estate career with a seven-year stint at NAI Latter & Blum and then spent 10 years with Beau Box Commercial Real Estate. He was a co-founder of Beau Box Property Management, where he helped build and run a property services division that included property management and leasing efforts for many Baton Rouge projects. He then moved to Houston and worked at Transwestern, where he first specialized in partnering with corporations to optimize real estate value and return on investment, then served as managing director for the company’s Houston Occupier Solutions group, specializing in tenant representation and real estate portfolio consulting for office and industrial real estate. “I could not be more excited to have Branon join Corporate Realty and lead our new full-service office in Baton Rouge,” said Michael J. Siegel, SIOR, president of Corporate Realty, in a press release. “I have known Branon for years, respected his knowledge and his integrity, and I am confident that he will be an ideal partner in growing Corporate Realty’s presence and capabilities in and around Baton Rouge.”
New Faces
The Orleans Parish School Board unanimously voted to make Avis Williams the new superintendent for the NOLA Public Schools’ (NOLA-PS) district. Williams is the first permanent female superintendent in New Orleans in more than 181 years. “This is an historic moment for our school system and for our city, and the board is excited to extend the superintendency to Dr. Avis Williams. As the first African-American woman appointed to lead our district in its more than 180-year history, her breadth of experience as a sergeant in the U.S. Army, a teacher, principal, assistant principal, principal, and superintendent will help take our students’ education to the next level,” said Olin Parker, OPSB president.
The Young Leadership Council announced Camille Kathleen Sumner as its next executive director. With both French and American citizenship, Sumner has spent her career building bridges between communities and leading the support of social and intercultural projects all over the world. “What I love about YLC is its capacity and ambition to embrace community involvement while enabling young professionals to acquire leadership skills and gain confidence in becoming leaders of the change: their own change plus a positive impact on others,” Sumner said. “The city needs leaders that can create links between communities and set an example for their peers.”
LCMC Health announced that JoAnn Kunkel has been named chief financial officer of the hospital system. Kunkel brings years of finance and healthcare experience to LCMC Health. For the bulk of her career, Kunkel held positions with Sanford Health in Sioux Falls, where she led the transformation of the finance organization together with a team of more than 3,000 finance, accounting, revenue cycle, and analytics professionals. Kunkel also oversaw operational and financial aspects of the $1 billion Sanford Health Plan, serving membership in commercial and individual products including multi-state exchange products, Medicare supplemental and Medicaid expansion lines of business. Immediately prior to joining LCMC Health, Kunkel led financial affairs at the University of South Dakota where she was responsible for leading and developing strategic growth opportunities for the university, including its expansion and enhancement of health care related objectives.
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https://www.bizneworleans.com/week-in-review-march-28-april-1-final-four-big-healthcare-deal-veto-override/
| 2022-04-01T22:39:33Z
|
After a cold night tonight, temps will warm again into Saturday
Most of the weekend is looking dry as well
High pressure will be gradually moving into the region overnight, drying us out. While we’ll still be breezy and cold tonight, any rain/snow showers should fade through sundown. We’ll end up clearing out overnight, and low temps will fall into the upper 20s and low 30s.
We can expect calmer winds, sunshine, and warmer temps in the upper 50s and low 60s Saturday afternoon. Saturday night, we’ll see increasing clouds late, but we should stay dry, with low temps in the upper 30s and low 40s.
Sunday. a weak cold front will pass through during the morning hours, but precip chances will stay low. We could see a few isolated rain/snow showers (mainly north of I-64) Sunday AM, but not everyone will see these. Most will stay dry, just cooler and breezy, with highs in the upper 40s-mid 50s and a bit more cloud cover to go around.
We’ll dry out again Sunday night, with low temps in the 30s for most.
Much of next week looks much warmer, with highs returning to the 60s and 70s!
Stay tuned!
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. (WVVA) -
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/after-cold-night-tonight-temps-will-warm-again-into-saturday/
| 2022-04-01T22:51:16Z
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Alex Jones loses bid to avoid fines in Sandy Hook case
WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut judge on Friday rejected Infowars host Alex Jones’ bid to avoid escalating daily fines for missing a deposition in a lawsuit by relatives of some victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, who sued the conspiracy theorist for saying the massacre was a hoax.
Judge Barbara Bellis in Waterbury kept in place her ruling that fines Jones $25,000 per weekday, beginning Friday, and increasing by $25,000 each weekday until he appears at a deposition.
Jones had asked Bellis to put her ruling on hold while he appeals the fines to the state Supreme Court. His lawyers said he plans to attend a deposition in Connecticut on April 11. If he does not appear until then, his fines would total $525,000.
Jones said he did not attend a deposition scheduled last week in Austin, Texas, where he lives, because he was too ill to attend. Bellis said there was not enough evidence Jones was too ill to appear at the deposition.
Twenty first graders and six educators were killed in the 2012 shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/alex-jones-loses-bid-avoid-fines-sandy-hook-case/
| 2022-04-01T22:51:22Z
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Federal tax probe into Biden’s son, Hunter, moves forward
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal grand jury has heard testimony in recent months about Hunter Biden’s income and payments he received while serving on the board of a Ukraine energy company, according to two people familiar with the probe.
It remains unclear whether he might be charged. But the grand jury activity underscores that a federal tax investigation into President Joe Biden’s son that began in 2018 remains active as prosecutors continue to examine foreign payments and other aspects of his finances.
A lawyer for Hunter Biden did not return a phone message and email seeking comment on Friday. A Justice Department spokesman deferred a request for comment to the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware, which is handling the investigation. A spokesperson for the office did not return a phone message seeking comment.
The people familiar with the investigation could not discuss details of the ongoing probe publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.
No matter how the investigation resolves, it has already presented a political headache for the Biden administration and could lead to an even bigger one, particularly if Republicans who have seized on the probe to attack the president retake control of the House in midterm elections later this year. Republicans would then control congressional committees and shape the focus of any investigations.
A White House that has sought to deflect questions about law enforcement matters to the Justice Department was asked this week whether it stood by the president’s assertion in a 2020 debate that his son had not had unethical business dealings with Ukraine or China. White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said yes.
The investigation could also force a delicate decision for the Justice Department, which has sought to assert its independence and has publicly stressed its willingness to let the facts and evidence, not political decisions, guide its investigative and charging decisions.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has not shed any light publicly on the investigation. But the Justice Department did leave in place the top federal prosecutor in Delaware — David Weiss, a Trump administration holdover — presumably as a way to ensure continuity.
Hunter Biden confirmed the existence of an investigation into his taxes in December 2020, one month after the presidential election. He said in a statement at the time that he was “confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisors.”
The Associated Press reported later that month that a subpoena served on the younger Biden sought information related to more than two dozen entities. One was Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company whose board he had joined when his father was vice president. That move sparked concerns about a potential conflict of interest given that elder Biden was deeply involved in U.S. policy toward Ukraine during the Obama administration.
The breadth of the subpoena highlighted the wide-ranging scope of the investigation into Hunter Biden, though there is no indication that the probe includes any scrutiny of the president himself. Biden has said he did not discuss his son’s international business dealings with him and has denied having ever taken money from a foreign country.
Witnesses in recent months have been questioned about payments Hunter Biden received while serving on the Burisma board, the people familiar with the probe said.
Republicans tried making Hunter Biden’s business dealings in Ukraine a prominent issue during the 2020 presidential election.
A year earlier, then-President Donald Trump tried pressuring his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to launch investigations into the Bidens at the same time Zelenskyy was seeking military aid from the U.S.
Trump was later impeached by the House over the phone call but was acquitted by the Senate.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/federal-tax-probe-into-bidens-son-hunter-moves-forward/
| 2022-04-01T22:51:33Z
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Judge upholds Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking conviction
NEW YORK (AP) — A U.S. judge refused to throw out Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking conviction Friday, despite a juror’s failure to disclose before the trial began that he’d been a victim of childhood sexual abuse.
Maxwell, a British socialite, was convicted in December of helping the millionaire Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse several teenage girls.
U.S. Judge Alison J. Nathan declined to order a new trial weeks after questioning the juror under oath in a New York courtroom about why he failed to disclose his personal history as an abuse survivor on a questionnaire during the jury selection process.
The juror had said he “skimmed way too fast” through the questionnaire and did not intentionally give the wrong answer to a question about sex abuse.
“I didn’t lie in order to get on this jury,” he said.
In her opinion, Nathan said the juror’s failure to disclose his prior sexual abuse during the jury selection process was highly unfortunate, but not deliberate.
The judge also concluded the juror “harbored no bias toward the defendant and could serve as a fair and impartial juror.”
Had the juror answered the questions correctly, Maxwell’s lawyers had said they potentially could have objected to the man’s presence on the jury on the grounds that he might not be fair to a person accused of a similar crime.
The U.S. attorney’s office declined comment Friday. Messages were left with Maxwell’s attorneys.
Maxwell, 60, was convicted of sex trafficking and other charges after a monthlong trial that featured testimony from four women who said she played a role in setting them up for abuse by Epstein.
Epstein killed himself in August 2019 as he awaited trial at a federal jail in New York on related sex trafficking charges.
Maxwell says she’s innocent.
After the trial’s conclusion, the juror, identified in court papers only as Juror No. 50, gave interviews with several media outlets describing deliberations, and disclosing that he’d been abused as a child. He said he persuaded some fellow jurors that a victim’s imperfect memory of abuse doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.
Potential jurors in the case had been were required to fill out a 50-page questionnaire including a question that asked: “Have you or a friend or family member ever been the victim of sexual harassment, sexual abuse, or sexual assault?”
The juror checked “No.”
The juror said in one of the interviews that he didn’t remember being asked that question, which was No. 48 on the form.
Defense lawyers for Maxwell asked the judge to immediately order a new trial, but she said she could not do so without questioning the juror.
After Nathan questioned the juror in early March, lawyers on both sides submitted written arguments. Prosecutors said the juror made an “honest mistake” and that it was “crystal clear” that Maxwell received a fair trial.
Maxwell’s lawyers disagreed.
“Excusing Juror 50′s false answers because he believes his concealed history of sexual abuse did not affect his ability to serve as a fair and impartial juror does not satisfy the appearance of justice,” they argued. “Only a new trial would.”
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/judge-upholds-ghislaine-maxwells-sex-trafficking-conviction/
| 2022-04-01T22:51:40Z
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Kansas father charged with murder in infant daughter’s death after child struck with object, police say
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW/Gray News) - A Kansas man was charged with first-degree murder in the death of his 6-month-old daughter.
WIBW reports Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay filed criminal charges against Tray’vonne Da’Mont Jones-McNeal, 21, after the death of the child on Wednesday.
Medics responded to a home in Topeka and found 6-month-old Brielle Jones not breathing. Police said the child was taken to the hospital after suffering blunt-force trauma, but she later died.
Police records note Brielle had been hit by a blunt force object.
Kagay said Jones-McNeal was identified as the child’s father and arrested at the scene.
Jones-McNeal is facing multiple charges including murder, child abuse and battery.
Records indicate Jones-McNeal is being held in the Shawnee County Jail on a $1 million bond.
Copyright 2022 WIBW via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/kansas-father-charged-with-murder-infant-daughters-death-after-child-struck-with-object-police-say/
| 2022-04-01T22:51:48Z
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Man in GoFundMe scam gets 27-month federal prison sentence
CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey man who conspired with his then-girlfriend to cook up a feel-good story about a helpful homeless man and then used the lie to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations online was sentenced in federal court Friday to more than two years in prison.
Mark D’Amico will also have to serve three years probation once he completes his 27-month term. He also must pay restitution and undergo gambling, drug and mental health counseling.
Before being sentenced, D’Amico told U.S. District Judge Noel Hillman that he was a changed man, devoted to his family.
“The person that did the things that led us here no longer exists,” D’Amico said.
He had pleaded guilty before Hillman in Camden in November to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. An indictment unsealed in January 2020 charged D’Amico with a total of 16 counts of conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering.
He had already pleaded guilty to charges in state court last year. His former girlfriend, Katelyn McClure, and homeless veteran Johnny Bobbitt Jr. previously pleaded guilty to state and federal charges. Bobbitt was sentenced to five years’ probation on state charges in 2019. Both are scheduled to be sentenced on the federal charges this year.
The trio made up a story in late 2017 about Bobbitt giving $20 to help McClure when her car ran out of gas in Philadelphia, according to prosecutors. D’Amico and McClure solicited donations through GoFundMe, purportedly to help Bobbitt, and conducted newspaper and television interviews. Investigators said D’Amico was the plot’s ringleader.
They eventually raised more than $400,000 in donations over about a month, according to investigators, who said almost no part of the tale was true. The group had met near a Philadelphia casino in October 2017 shortly before they told their story, prosecutors said.
Authorities began investigating after Bobbitt sued the couple, accusing them of not giving him the money. The federal criminal complaint alleged all of the money raised in the campaign was spent by March 2018, with large chunks spent by McClure and D’Amico on a recreational vehicle, a BMW and trips to casinos in Las Vegas and New Jersey.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/man-gofundme-scam-gets-27-month-federal-prison-sentence/
| 2022-04-01T22:51:55Z
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Mother attempts to kill ‘evil’ newborn baby on way to hospital, police say
LAS VEGAS (Gray News) - A mother in the Las Vegas area is accused of attempting to kill her newborn baby after she feared her child was “not good” and “probably evil,” according to police.
Officers with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department report they were called to the emergency room at Mountain View Hospital overnight on March 27 when a child’s father had brought his newborn baby into the hospital for medical treatment.
The father also notified the hospital that the child’s mother refused to come into the hospital, but she was bleeding profusely, according to police.
Ashley Hollingsworth, 22, was later identified as the child’s mother and officers said they were able to make contact with her at a nearby intersection a couple of hours later.
Investigators learned that Hollingsworth had given birth in a guest bathroom at a relative’s house, where the couple was staying, about an hour before the two went to the hospital with the child.
Hollingsworth told police that on the way to the hospital, something triggered her to make her think that the baby was “probably evil.” According to an arrest report, she attempted to kill the baby twice by wrapping a blanket around the baby’s head and pinching the baby’s nose tight.
The 22-year-old told police that she felt like the baby “would start doing things” and “start making people kill each other.”
The child’s father was also in the car with Hollingsworth when heading to the hospital. He took the baby away from her, according to police.
Once arriving at the hospital, doctors initially believed the newborn may have suffered a brain bleed, but staff later determined the child likely did not suffer any injuries, police said.
A relative spoke to police later that day and told them Hollingsworth was acting abnormally before giving birth and that she mentioned that a devil was inside of her and attempting to kill her baby.
According to an arrest report, Hollingsworth told police that the baby’s eyes were black, had an abnormal scent that wasn’t good and was grunting. After this, she decided to wrap the blanket around the baby’s head.
Police said Hollingsworth had self-inflicted injuries to her face when she was found. And she told them she hit herself several times with a rock in an attempt to kill herself after she left the hospital.
Hollingsworth is facing charges of attempted murder and child abuse or neglect. Her next court date is currently scheduled for April 4.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/mother-attempts-kill-evil-newborn-baby-way-hospital-police-say/
| 2022-04-01T22:52:03Z
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Shooting suspects set to be extradited back to Bluefield, W.Va.
Published: Apr. 1, 2022 at 5:28 PM EDT|Updated: 1 hour ago
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. (WVVA) - The two women captured in Delaware for shooting a 13-year-old girl in Bluefield, W.Va., are set to be extradited back to Bluefield on Monday, April 4.
Isis Wallace, 22, and Nichole Brooks, 46, will be arraigned Tuesday morning, April 5, by a Mercer County Circuit Judge.
You can read the full complaint below.
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/shooting-suspects-set-be-extradited-back-bluefield-wva/
| 2022-04-01T22:52:15Z
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ROCK SPRINGS -- The approval of a letter of intent addressed to the Ray Lovato Recycling Center to require garbage collectors to offer curbside recycling within the city of Rock Springs is on the agenda for the Rock Springs City Council meeting on Tuesday, April 5, at 7 p.m.
During a special city council meeting held on March 16, the Ray Lovato Recycling Center's board president Devon Brubaker gave a presentation in reference to the recycling services offered in Rock Springs.
A portion of the letter states the following:
"Having devoted a great deal of thought, deliberation and consideration to the matter, the city of Rock Springs would like to inform you of its intent to require garbage collectors to provide curbside recycling services within the city of Rock Springs. To that end, the city of Rock Springs intends to modify its current garbage collection ordinance to provide for and accommodate curbside recycling, and to require collectors to provide the service. At this time, the city intends to allow citizens to participate in the recycling program voluntarily."
The first reading of an ordinance amending Article 4-2 of the ordinances of the city of Rock Springs, "Garbage Collection," and establishing a citywide disposable waste recycling program will also be covered during the city council meeting.
Information pertaining to the additional items that will be covered during the meeting can be found on the agenda.
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https://www.wyomingnews.com/rocketminer/letter-of-intent-addressing-curbside-recycling-up-for-approval-from-city-council/article_a38c3067-1851-5588-9b99-f8a19b6ab058.html
| 2022-04-01T23:40:24Z
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Dispatchers recognized for being voice of calm in emergencies
Emergency dispatchers are seldom seen by residents, but they can be a vital lifeline for sending help in people's worst moments.
"I like being that nice voice of calm," said Katie Spanski, a Clay Township dispatcher.
St. Clair County Central Dispatch Authority Director Tina Bricker agreed dispatchers are the "calm in the storm" and deserve recognition for being the first point of contact in an emergency.
"They have the patience and compassion while being yelled at from someone upset over what just happened to them or a panicked caller that is unable to state their location," Bricker said in a written statement. "They begin the important work of obtaining essential information, remaining calm, calming others and sending the appropriate responders to the right location."
Dispatchers across the country will be recognized with National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week from April 10 through 16. Bricker said she won't require dispatchers to wear uniforms during the week. Clay Township Police Chief Michael Koach and Bricker said they also bring in small gifts for their employees as a way to show appreciation for them.
While the public can't physically visit the dispatchers, they can drop off or mail thank you cards or food to show their appreciation, Bricker said. Cards can be mailed to Central Dispatch, 1170 Michigan Road, Port Huron, MI 48060.
She also introduced a new office dog, Little Lady, on Monday to show her appreciation for employees. The hypoallergenic Goldendoodle puppy will most likely come to the office with Bricker daily as a stress relief for employees and give them a reason to move and get out of their chairs.
The puppy walked around the office Wednesday as dispatchers occasionally reached down to stroke her golden fur. Several large computer monitors sat at each desk while occasional chirps and beeps interrupted the dispatchers' conversation.
Dispatchers often work 12-hour shifts and non-traditional hours, such as nights, weekends and holidays, and deal with callers who are upset, angry, panicked or under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
St. Clair County Central Dispatch works with for 20 fire agencies, nine police agencies and three EMS agencies. They take about 11,000 non-emergency and between 12,000 and 15,000 emergency calls a month, Bricker said.
The Clay Township Dispatch receives about 3,000 non-emergency and 800 emergency calls a month, and dispatches for the Clay Township Police Department and four fire departments, Koach said. Clay Township dispatchers also do office work such as taking office complaints, fingerprinting and completing Freedom of Information Acts requests.
Koach said dispatchers are the connection between police, fire, EMS and the public and deserve to be recognized for all they done.
"At the end of the day, they're our lifeline," he said.
St. Clair County Sheriff Mat King agreed dispatchers are the vital connection between emergency services and the public. Dispatchers also keep law enforcement and other emergency workers safe by relaying information to first responders that c protect their safety.
“Their job is so important and undervalued. They don’t get the recognition of law enforcement or fire or EMS because they’re not out in the public where their faces are seen and their uniforms are seen," King said. "They are a voice on the other side of the phone.”
'I love helping people'
Kaylee Gerrow, a dispatcher for St. Clair County Central Dispatch, said despite the challenges of the job, it's rewarding to work together as a team to help people, a common sentiment among her colleagues.
"I love every minute of it. I love knowing what's going on, I love helping people," Gerrow said.
Gerrow and Dan Favre, another county dispatcher, said they enjoy the variety of the job and dealing with a broad range of situations.
Spanski said she enjoys the fact that she is never bored and she can use her computer skills. Her desk held several large computer monitors to help her keep track of calls, record and find callers' information and find and zoom into locations on computerized maps.
They have built a close-knit team that constantly works together and depends on each other to get the job done.
"When you're busy and everybody's going and we're all working as a team it actually is pretty satisfying," Favre said. "I've never worked a job were we rely on each other so much."
They also celebrate each other's wins. A large tree painted on a wall greets employees and dispatchers as they walk in the center. Different accomplishments — leaves for life-saving calls, storks for calls involving a birth and two clouds for two retirements — grace the tree's branches.
What dispatchers want residents to know
Favre and Gerrow said dispatchers always have help on the way as soon as possible, even if it doesn't seem like it because they are asking questions. Dispatchers are constantly multi-tasking to send help and get information to help first responders better respond to the scene.
It's always best to have as much information as possible to tell 911, such as addresses, phone numbers, and an explanation of the situation, several dispatchers said.
Spanski said Text 911 and Smart911 are valuable services that can help dispatchers better do their job. Available on most app stores, Smart911 allows users to enter information such as names, addresses, medical information and photos of children and pets, then displays that information on the screen for dispatchers when a 911 call is placed.
Text911 can be used by opening a phone's text messaging system and typing "911" as the recipient. Text911 can be used to place any emergency call.
Spanski said she cares about each and every caller as if they were her own family.
"I do feel everybody's pain. Everybody's emergency, I feel every bit of it, just like they do," Spanski said. "I do my best to do that and take it in as if they're my family and do my best to take care of them."
Contact Laura Fitzgerald at (810) 941-7072 at lfitzgeral@gannett.com
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https://www.thetimesherald.com/story/news/2022/04/01/emergency-dispatchers-recognized-being-voice-calm-emergencies/7222650001/
| 2022-04-02T00:16:15Z
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Port Huron Museum season with free admission kicks off this weekend
Occasionally, someone tries to enter the Port Huron Museum’s Carnegie Center from its historic entrance off Sixth Street.
It only takes a few moments to figure out it’s in the rear by the parking lot and not at the old library front. But Andrew Kercher, the museum’s community engagement manager, said he still enjoys the mix-up when it happens.
“Because it tells me you’ve never been here,” he said.
Now, he and other museum officials hope it happens more — or at least, the part about welcoming first-time visitors — when the museum’s regular season kicks off this weekend with free admission to its sites.
Earlier this year, Port Huron’s City Council approved attributing $50,000 in general funds to free admission at the Carnegie Center, Huron Lightship, and Thomas Edison Depot, which are all museum sites the city owns. The one-year arrangement starts Saturday.
“We hope to welcome many tourists this summer, as well as give our local residents a chance to come see our shared cultural heritage at the sites,” Kercher said in a separate statement. “If you haven’t been to the museums, this season is a great opportunity to stop in and see the history in your own backyard.”
But while the museum is emphasizing free admission to sites overall, including the grounds around the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse, there are a couple of exceptions. The lighthouse is on St. Clair County property, and the admission cost remains for tours up into the lighthouse itself and of the keeper’s duplex.
There’s also a charge to visit the Discovery City children’s exhibit in the Carnegie, where Kercher said they’re close to “north of 7,000” children having visited since the exhibit opened last September.
Originally intended to stay for a few months, the museum recently announced Discovery City wil stick around until March 31, 2023, because of the interest.
“Between the regular sessions, the scheduled birthday parties, and our popular Wednesday morning face painting and activity days,” Kercher said earlier this month, “there are very few times that the Carnegie Museum doesn’t echo with the sounds of children getting to experience a true hands-on museum.”
More information
When Port Huron officials signed off on supporting free admission at local museum sites, they pointed to goals to make them more accessible for residents, as well as to entice tourists to extend their stay.
Kercher didn’t put a number to what increased attendance may be expected, but he said they are still bracing for more. That means engaging more volunteers, he said, and hiring a new staffer at the beginning of the week.
“We have a new dedicated programs director,” he said.
In addition to the extension of Discovery City, the Carnegie will see a new local art exhibit entitled, “Perspectives,” opening in April. Visitors to the lighthouse, he said, will also see a newly restored lantern room, and repaired and replaced components to the Grand Trunk car at the depot.
Visitors may also get a new look at the Huron Lightship since flooding damage closed the museum site until after extensive repairs last year.
Tours at the lighthouse cost $10 for individuals and $25 for families. An ongoing grant from the James C. Acheson Foundation is also funding admission to qualifying families with an EBT or Bridge Card at Discovery City; otherwise, that exhibit’s admission is $5 per child.
Spring hours through Memorial Day are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the lighthouse, lightship, and depot museum and the same time Wednesday through Sunday at the Carnegie Center before the hours extend become daily until mid-September.
For more information, visit www.phmuseum.org.
Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jackie20Smith.
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https://www.thetimesherald.com/story/news/2022/04/01/port-huron-museum-season-free-admission-kicks-off-weekend/7231118001/
| 2022-04-02T00:16:21Z
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UPDATE: 'It affects everybody': Community coming together to support Avoca family following house fire
Editor's note: A previous version of this story misstated the number of victims that went to the hospital and the time of the fire.
The community is stepping up to help a family who lost everything in a house fire in Avoca Friday morning.
Rescue crews responded to a report of a house fire in the 8900 block of Avoca Road. When firefighters arrived, they found the side of the house on fire, Kenockee Assistant Fire Chief Jimmy Vincent said.
The fire occurred around 6 a.m., the fire department said in a press release. Two victims went to the hospital, but their conditions are unknown.
The home was a total loss. Shortly before 10 a.m., heavy equipment was demolishing the home to ensure the fire was completely extinguished.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Firefighters prevented the fire from spreading to the home next door, which was only a couple feet away, Vincent said.
Avoca Market owner Vicki Collins said she is collecting cash donations at the store for the next four or five days to help the family get back on their feet. She said three adults and one minor live in the home.
“They have nothing. They lost everything in the fire," Collins said. "And they’re good people.”
Located at 8808 Avoca Road, the store is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Collins, who has been friends with the family for more than a decade, said they and the community are in shock.
"We are a close little community here and it affects everybody," Collins said.
More eyewitness accounts
Collins said she was driving into work Friday morning when she saw the smoke. She drove to the store, but then she decided to turn back because there was so much smoke. She found the family standing in the yard, and they yelled at her to call 911.
Crystal Stamey, the neighbor whose home narrowly escaped the fire, said she heard noises and her dog barking when her neighbor knocked on her door and told her their house was on fire.
She called 911 and was terrified of the fire spreading to her home.
"I thought I was going to lose everything," she said.
Stamey said she is grateful for the fire departments and that her home was saved.
Several people said at one point, the home was completely engulfed in flames. Josie Bailey, a waitress at K's Restaurant, said she saw the flames from her own home, which is about 4 miles away.
Gerry Hawks, a Kenockee Township trustee, said he awoke to smoke in his home and was worried at first that his home was on fire. Then he looked out the window.
"The whole town was full of smoke," he said.
Hawks said he helped relay messages for the fire department and direct traffic. Avoca Road at Beech Street and Kilgore Road were still closed as of 10:30 a.m.
Brockway, Clyde, Kimball, Emmett, Burtchville, Grant and Mussey fire departments, as well as Tri-Hospital EMS and Michigan State Police also responded to the scene.
Contact Laura Fitzgerald at (810) 941-7072 of lfitzgeral@gannett.com.
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https://www.thetimesherald.com/story/news/2022/04/01/three-sent-hospital-following-avoca-house-fire/7243544001/
| 2022-04-02T00:16:27Z
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| 2022-04-02T00:20:16Z
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| 2022-04-02T00:20:22Z
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House passes bill to legalize marijuana
The bill would clear criminal penalties for the distribution and possession of cannabis.
WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - The House of Representatives has passed a bill to legalize marijuana nationwide, by a margin of 220 yeas to 204 nays.
The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, known as the MORE act, would expunge marijuana convictions and clear criminal penalties for anyone who distributes or possesses cannabis. It would also remove marijuana from the list of federally controlled substances. Members of the Congressional Cannibis Caucus held a press conference after the vote.
“We don’t have uniformity. We don’t have opportunities to have a uniformed tax provision. We don’t have banking systems. We don’t have research. And, we have a disjointed market that’s part legal and part illegal. We can’t be able to deal with the surplus production if we don’t have a national framework,” said Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.).
The bill requires a federal tax on marijuana sales that would start at 5 percent and eventually increase to 8 percent over five years.
The act passed largely along party lines. This is the second time this legislation has passed in the House. The first time was back in December of 2020. At the time, the Senate failed to take up the bill.
Congressman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) is among the lawmakers who voted against the bill as he claimed it disregards science and the nation’s drug abuse epidemic.
“Drug overdose death rates reached a historic high in America last year. This is no time to add fuel to the fire by opening the floodgates to this long-time gateway drug,” said Rogers in a statement. “Studies have long shown that marijuana directly affects memory and learning, and increases certain mental health disorders in some people. The federal government should not be investing Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars in marijuana and retroactively giving criminals a free pass.”
Marijuana is currently listed as a schedule I drug by the FDA. Schedule I drugs are defined as drugs with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.
Supporters claim legalizing marijuana will reduce mass incarcerations, expunge marijuana convictions, remove employment barriers, and generate new jobs.
The text of the bill notes, “37 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have adopted laws allowing legal access to cannabis, and 15 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam have adopted laws legalizing cannabis for adult recreational use. A total of 47 States have reformed their laws pertaining to cannabis despite the Schedule I status of marijuana and its Federal criminalization.”
The legislation now moves to the U.S. Senate for consideration. In a statement to some news outlets, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he’s working on a similar bill with Senators Booker and Wyden, saying, “the time has come for comprehensive reform of federal cannabis laws.”
Copyright 2022 Gray DC. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/house-passes-bill-legalize-marijuana/
| 2022-04-02T00:26:35Z
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PCH gives out at home Colorectal Cancer tests
Published: Apr. 1, 2022 at 7:26 PM EDT|Updated: 1 hour ago
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. (WVVA) - On Friday, Princeton Community Hospital was giving out free Colon Cancer tests.
Consumer health day reports, that colorectal cancer is the 2nd most deadly cancer behind lung cancer. The Nursing Director of the PCH Cancer Center said, if caught early, patients could see an increased chance of survival.
“It’s very important to get an early diagnosis so that you have the best outcome. You can come in to see us, I have my nursing staff that’s also here to explain things to you as you do the test.”
Princeton Community Hospital said that if you couldn’t get your free colon cancer test today, you can contact them at (304) 487-7000 to get your free colon cancer test.
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/pch-gives-out-home-colorectal-cancer-tests/
| 2022-04-02T00:26:41Z
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‘Timbi Talks Addiction’ explains the struggles of addiction to a younger audience
PRINCETON, W.Va. (WVVA) - It’s a children’s book you don’t come across every day. On Friday, authors Trish Luna and Janet Hellier were at Chuck Mathena center to talk about ‘Timbi Talks About Addiction.’ The book helps kids learn about substance abuse.
It’s a topic the two sisters have experience with. They said their parents had issues with alcohol. Co-Author Janet Hellier says children can write to Timbi on their website about their struggles to help them through tough times.
The books also come with a stuffed animal version of Timbi. The sisters hope the character can be used by first responders when dealing with substance abuse cases, to give children a book and a friend to comfort them when they need it most.
According to the West Virginia DHHR, nearly 58 out of every 100,000 deaths in the state are due to substance abuse.
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/timbi-talks-addiction-explains-struggles-addiction-younger-audience/
| 2022-04-02T00:26:48Z
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Will Smith resigns from film academy over Chris Rock slap
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Will Smith resigned Friday from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences following his Oscars night slap of Chris Rock and said he would accept any further punishment the organization imposed.
Smith in a statement released Friday afternoon said he will “fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct. My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable.”
Film academy president David Rubin said Smith’s resignation was accepted. “We will continue to move forward with our disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Smith for violations of the Academy’s Standards of Conduct, in advance of our next scheduled board meeting on April 18.”
“I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work,” his statement said. “I am heartbroken. I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film.
“Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason,” Smith concluded in the statement.
The resignation came two days after the academy’s leadership board met to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Smith for violations against the group’s standards of conduct.
On Sunday, Smith strode from his front-row Dolby Theatre seat on to the stage and smacked Rock, who had made a joke at the expense of Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Moments later, he went on to win the best actor award for his role in “King Richard.”
Rock, who was about to present Oscar for best documentary, declined to file charges when asked by police. He has only briefly addressed the attack publicly, saying at one comedy concert in Boston this week that he was still “kind of processing what happened.”
Smith stunned Rock, the theater crowd and viewers at home when he took the stage after Rock joked: “Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it.”
Pinkett Smith, who has spoken publicly about her hair loss condition, alopecia, had a closely shaved head similar to that of Demi Moore in the original movie.
After Smith’s attack, he returned to his seat and angrily twice shouted at Rock to “get my wife’s name out your (expletive) mouth.” When Smith took the stage again less than hour later to accept his Oscar, he tearfully apologized to the academy but notably omitted any mention of Rock.
The fallout was immediate and intense. Smith had supporters for coming to his wife’s defense, but he was widely condemned for responding with violence and for marring both his long-sought Oscar victory and overshadowing the night’s other winners.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wvva.com/2022/04/01/will-smith-resigns-academy-after-oscars-slap/
| 2022-04-02T00:26:55Z
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Woman arrested after 12-year-old killed by brother who found gun, police say
ST. LOUIS (KMOV/Gray News) – A woman was taken into custody after police say a 10-year-old child shot and killed his 12-year-old brother while playing with a gun they found inside a home in St. Louis.
The shooting happened just before 8 p.m. Tuesday at a home in the 5600 block of Summit Place, which is in the Walnut Park West neighborhood. Authorities tell KMOV that 12-year-old LaFrance Johnson and his brother were with a parent, who was getting a haircut at the home, when LaFrance was shot in the face.
A 36-year-old woman was arrested for endangering the welfare of a child resulting in death after she told police she owned the gun. Warrants are being applied at the Circuit Attorney’s Office.
LaFrance was a sixth-grader at Selvidge Middle School in the Rockwood School District, administrators confirmed. In a statement, the district said they were saddened to learn about his death.
“Our sincere thoughts and sympathies are with his family as well as the educators and friends who knew and loved LaFrance. We have assembled our crisis team at Selvidge Middle and will have counselors on hand this week for students and staff who will need assistance,” the district wrote.
This tragedy follows a series of shootings in St. Louis involving children handling guns. Major Ryan Cousins with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said these incidents are happening far too frequently.
The shooting comes days after a 12-year-old and 14-year-old were shot and killed in downtown St. Louis. Police are investigating that incident as a murder-suicide, though family members believe it was accidental.
In February, a 12-year-old girl was wounded in an accidental self-inflicted shooting.
“This is like the third incident in a week we’ve had so far. Prior to that, we have sent out information to the alderpersons about receiving gun locks,” Cousins said. “As an agency, we will come out and teach everyone how to use them. We do understand people are going to own guns; however, to protect these children, we want to ensure these guns are secured safely.”
Alderwoman Pamela Boyd, in whose ward the shooting on Summit Place happened, said irresponsible gun ownership and senseless killings must stop.
Last month, St. Louis Police launched the Lock it for Love gun lock initiative to provide free gun locks to the community with the goal to reduce gun violence, accidental shootings and suicides by firearm.
Through this initiative, responding officers will receive gun locks to provide to families impacted by gun violence, particularly when children are involved, or anyone identified with a firearm and children in the home.
Approximately 4,500 gun locks will be distributed by St. Louis City police, and officers will also come out and teach people how to use gun locks. Thirty engine houses in St. Louis City will also distribute free gun locks.
“As a mom, I know how important it is that we take every step we can to keep our babies safe,” said Mayor Tishaura O. Jones. “These recent shootings have devastated our entire city, and we need to take immediate action to protect our children. If you have a gun in the house, be a responsible gun owner; store firearms locked and unloaded and pick up a free gun lock to help you and your loved ones safe.”
Copyright 2022 KMOV via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/03/30/12-year-old-killed-by-younger-brother-who-found-gun-police-say/
| 2022-04-02T00:36:20Z
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Academy: Will Smith refused to leave Oscars after Rock slap
NEW YORK (AP) — The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences on Wednesday said that Will Smith was asked to leave Sunday’s Oscar ceremony after hitting Chris Rock but refused to do so.
The academy’s board of governors met Wednesday to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Smith for violations against the group’s standards of conduct. The academy said disciplinary action for Smith could include suspension, expulsion or other sanctions.
Many have focused on why Smith was allowed to remain seated front row in the Dolby Theatre after the incident. On Wednesday, the academy suggested that it attempted to remove the actor from the audience.
“Things unfolded in a way we could not have anticipated,” the academy said. “While we would like to clarify that Mr. Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused, we also recognize we could have handled the situation differently.”
A representative for the academy declined to give specifics on how it tried to removed Smith. After Smith struck Rock in response to a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, several stars including Denzel Washington, Bradley Cooper and Tyler Perry spoke with the 53-year-old Smith.
The academy said Smith has the opportunity to defend himself in a written response before the board meets again on April 18. The film academy earlier condemned Smith’s onstage assault of Rock, but it used stronger language Wednesday.
“Mr. Smith’s actions at the 94th Oscars were a deeply shocking, traumatic event to witness in-person and on television,” the academy said. “Mr. Rock, we apologize to you for what you experienced on our stage and thank you for your resilience in that moment. We also apologize to our nominees, guests and viewers for what transpired during what should have been a celebratory event.”
On Monday, Smith issued an apology to Rock, the academy and to viewers, saying “I was out of line and I was wrong.”
Rock, who had yet to respond publicly to the incident, performed stand-up Wednesday night in Boston. He was greeted by a thunderous standing ovation.
“How was your weekend?” began Rock who then cautioned the crowd that he didn’t have a lot to say yet about the Oscars, according to audio posted by the Hollywood trade outlet Variety. “I’m still kind of processing what happened”
A representative for Smith didn’t immediately respond to messages Wednesday regarding the academy’s latest moves.
Only a very small number of academy members have ever been expelled, including Harvey Weinstein, Roman Polanski, Bill Cosby and the actor Carmine Caridi, who was kicked out for sharing awards screeners.
Whoopi Goldberg, a member of the academy’s board of governors, said Monday on “The View,” “We’re not going to take that Oscar from him.” (Even Oscars won by expelled members haven’t previously been ordered to be returned.) Goldberg added that “nobody is OK with what happened”
Others from Sunday’s telecast also began speaking out. Co-host Wanda Sykes told Ellen DeGeneres in an interview to air April 7 that she felt physically ill after Smith slapped Rock. When he returned to his seat, Smith twice shouted at Rock to “keep my wife’s name out your (expletive) mouth.”
“I’m still a little traumatized by it,” said Sykes in a clip released Wednesday.
Within an hour, Smith was back on stage accepting the award for best actor for his performance in “King Richard.” Many in the Dolby Theatre gave him a standing ovation.
“I was like, how gross is this? This is the wrong message. You assault somebody and you get escorted out the building and that’s it. But for them to let him continue, I thought it was gross,” Sykes said. “I wanted to be able to run out (on stage) after he won and say, ‘Uh, unfortunately, Will couldn’t be here tonight.’”
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/03/30/academy-smith-refused-leave-oscars-broke-conduct-code/
| 2022-04-02T00:36:27Z
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Chris Rock takes to comedy mic, still processing Oscar slap
BOSTON (AP) — Chris Rock received several standing ovations before he told one joke Wednesday at his first comedy show since Will Smith slapped him in the face onstage at the Oscars.
Rock only briefly addressed the slap to the sold out crowd in Boston, saying he was “still kind of processing what happened.”
“Other than the weird thing, life is pretty good,” Rock said midway through his first of two sets. The nighttime performances came just three days after Smith smacked the comedian for making a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, while presenting an Academy Award.
Rock didn’t mention Smith or Pinkett Smith by name at his show in Boston. Wearing all white, he seemed to be almost embarrassed by the multiple ovations he received. As the applause carried on for minutes — with fans yelling “I love you, Chris!” — the comedian appeared to be getting emotional, a guest seated near the stage told The Associated Press.
“How was your weekend?” Rock joked before getting into his set.
Ticket prices skyrocketed after Smith took to the awards stage and slapped Rock on live TV, but the comedian made clear he wasn’t going to talk at length about it Wednesday.
“If you came to hear that, I’m not ... I had like a whole show I wrote before this weekend,” Rock said.
He spent much of the night skewering celebrities and politicians. Among them were the Duchess of Sussex, the Kardashians, as well as President Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and former President Donald Trump.
Outside the venue, a fan showed off a T-shirt featuring the “G.I. Jane” logo and Pinkett Smith’s face. Another had a shirt he made that showed Smith’s face and displayed a crude joke about the couple’s relationship.
At least one person yelled during the show that Rock should sue Smith.
Rock’s joke at the Oscars was about Jada Pinkett Smith’s buzzed haircut: “Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it,” Rock said, comparing Pinkett Smith to Demi Moore’s “G.I. Jane” character, who had a buzz cut in the 1997 film.
Smith promptly stood up from his seat at the front of the venue and took to the stage, slapping Rock across the face before sitting back down and yelling at Rock to keep his wife’s name out of his mouth.
Pinkett Smith has spoken publicly about her diagnosis of alopecia, which can cause baldness.
Within an hour, Smith won best actor, receiving a standing ovation. During his five-minute acceptance speech, Smith talked about defending his family and apologized to the academy. A day later, Smith issued an apology to the comedian, to the academy and to viewers at home, saying he was “out of line” and that his actions are “not indicative of the man I want to be.”
Pinkett Smith responded Tuesday with a graphic on Instagram that read: “This is a season of healing and I’m here for it.” She offered no further comment.
George Guay, a 24-year-old fan from Boston who grew up on “Everybody Hates Chris,” said he bought a ticket after Rock was slapped by Smith.
“He’s the most popular celebrity so I want to be here,” Guay said before the show, adding that he hoped Rock would open with a response to the situation. “I just want a good show.”
Afterward, some fans were a little disappointed he did not address the controversy more directly. But they also said they could see from his body language that he wasn’t sure how to do it.
“As soon as I saw him, his mood was a little bit shocked,” said Dave Henriquez, a 48-year-old musician from Newton, Massachusetts. “I got that it was weighing on him.”
Erin Ryan, a 33-year-old teacher also from Newton who was with Henriquez, said she felt Rock wanted to perform his act, “not make the standup about the one incident.”
Kathryn West-Hines, a 50-year-old Pilates instructor from Malden, Massachusetts, said she came away with even more respect for Rock. “I thought it was amazing, classy,” she said, adding that he wasn’t going to let “what happened Sunday” take away his shine.
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences condemned Smith striking Rock. Its board of governors met Wednesday to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Smith for violations of the group’s standards of conduct. The academy said it had asked Smith to leave the ceremony after hitting Rock, but he refused to do so.
This was not the first time Rock had made a joke at Pinkett Smith’s expense. When he hosted the 2016 Oscars, some people boycotted the ceremony over the #OscarsSoWhite group of nominees, including the Smiths. Said Rock then: “Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited.”
Wanda Sykes, who co-hosted the Oscars with Amy Schumer and Regina Hall, said she felt physically ill after Smith slapped Rock. In an interview with Ellen DeGeneres scheduled to air April 7, Sykes also said letting Smith stay and accept his award should not have happened.
The drama overshadowed some historical wins at an Oscars. The deaf family drama “CODA” became the first film with a largely deaf cast to win best picture. For the first time, a streaming service, Apple TV+, took Hollywood’s top honor, signaling a profound shift in Hollywood and in moviegoing. Wins for Ariana DeBose of “West Side Story, ”Troy Kotsur of “CODA” and Jane Campion, director of “The Power of the Dog,” all had made history.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/03/30/chris-rock-readies-1st-show-since-will-smith-slapped-him/
| 2022-04-02T00:36:37Z
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Russia bombards areas where it pledged to scale back
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces bombarded areas around Kyiv and another city just hours after pledging to scale back operations in those zones to promote trust between the two sides, Ukrainian authorities said Wednesday.
The shelling — and intensified Russian attacks on other parts of the country — tempered optimism about any progress in the talks aimed at ending the punishing war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he stressed in a conversation with U.S. President Joe Biden that the war is at a “turning point” and renewed his longstanding request for more help to resist the Russian invasion.
“If we really are fighting for freedom and in defense of democracy together, then we have a right to demand help in this difficult turning point. Tanks, aircraft, artillery systems. Freedom should be armed no worse than tyranny,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address to the nation, which he delivered standing in the dark outside the dimly lit presidential offices in Kyiv. He thanked the U.S. for an additional $500 million in aid that was announced Wednesday.
Meanwhile, talks between Ukraine and Russia were set to resume Friday by video, according to the head of the Ukrainian delegation, David Arakhamia. But there seemed to be little faith that a resolution would emerge anytime soon. The Russian military reneged on its pledge Tuesday to de-escalate near the capital and the northern city of Chernihiv in order to “increase mutual trust and create conditions for further negotiations.”
The announcement was met with deep suspicion from Zelenskyy and the West. And soon after, Ukrainian officials reported that Russian shelling hit homes, stores, libraries and other civilian sites in and around Chernihiv and on the outskirts of Kyiv. Russian troops also stepped up their attacks on the Donbas region in the east and around the city of Izyum, which lies on a key route to the Donbas, after redeploying units from other areas, the Ukrainian side said.
Olexander Lomako, secretary of the Chernihiv city council, said the Russian announcement turned out to be “a complete lie.”
“At night they didn’t decrease, but vice versa increased the intensity of military action,” Lomako said.
Five weeks into the invasion that has left thousands dead on both sides, the number of Ukrainians fleeing the country topped a staggering 4 million, half of them children, according to the United Nations.
“I do not know if we can still believe the Russians,” Nikolay Nazarov, a refugee from Ukraine, said as he pushed his father’s wheelchair at a border crossing into Poland. “I think more escalation will occur in eastern Ukraine. That is why we cannot go back to Kharkiv.”
Zelenskyy said the continuing negotiations with Russia were only “words without specifics.”
“We know that this is not a withdrawal but the consequences of being driven out,” Zelenskyy said of Russia’s pledge. “But we also are seeing that Russia is now concentrating its forces for new strikes on Donbas, and we are preparing for this.”
Zelenskyy also said he had recalled Ukraine’s ambassadors to Georgia and Morocco, suggesting they had not done enough to persuade those countries to support Ukraine and punish Russia for the invasion.
“With all due respect, if there won’t be weapons, won’t be sanctions, won’t be restrictions for Russian business, then please look for other work,” he said.
In other developments:
—U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin is being misinformed by his advisers about the poor performance of his military in Ukraine because they are too afraid to tell him the truth.
—The German government said it received assurances from Russia that European companies won’t have to pay for Russian gas in rubles. That prospect had raised fears that Russia could cut them off. Also, Poland announced steps to end all Russian oil imports by the end of the year.
— The U.N. is looking into allegations that some residents of the besieged and shattered southern city of Mariupol have been forcibly taken to areas controlled by Russian forces or to Russia itself.
At a round of talks held Tuesday in Istanbul, the faint outlines of a possible peace agreement seemed to emerge when the Ukrainian delegation offered a framework under which the country would declare itself neutral — dropping its bid to join NATO, as Moscow has long demanded — in return for security guarantees from a group of other nations.
Top Russian officials responded positively, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov saying Wednesday that Ukraine’s willingness to accept neutrality and look outside NATO for security represents “significant progress,” according to Russian news agencies.
But skepticism of statements from Russia by Zelenskyy and others seemed well-founded.
Oleksandr Pavliuk, head of the Kyiv region military administration, said Russian shells targeted residential areas and civilian infrastructure in the Bucha, Brovary and Vyshhorod regions around the capital.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said the military also targeted fuel depots in two towns in central Ukraine with air-launched long-range cruise missiles. And Russian forces hit a Ukrainian special forces headquarters in the southern Mykolaiv region, he said, and two ammunition depots in the Donetsk region, which is part of the Donbas.
In southern Ukraine, a Russian missile destroyed a fuel depot in Dnipro, the country’s fourth-largest city, regional officials said.
The U.S. said that over the last 24 hours, Russia had begun to reposition less than 20% of its troops that had been arrayed around Kyiv.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said that troops from there and some other zones have begun moving largely to the north, and some have gone into Belarus. Kirby said it appears Russia intends to resupply them and send them back into Ukraine, but it is not clear where.
The Ukrainian military said some Russian airborne units were recorded in neighboring Belarus and were believed to have withdrawn from Ukraine.
In northern Ukraine, Russian forces took no offensive actions Wednesday, focusing on reconnaissance and logistics, the general staff said in a statement. But Russia is expected to increase attacks soon on Ukrainian forces to protect its own troops as they are repositioned, it said.
The Russians also are expected to try to blockade Chernihiv.
Top Russian military officials have said in recent days that their main goal now is the “liberation” of Donbas, the predominantly Russian-speaking industrial heartland where Moscow-backed separatists have been battling Ukrainian forces since 2014. Western officials say Moscow is reinforcing its troops in the Donbas.
Some analysts have suggested that the focus on the Donbas and the pledge to de-escalate may merely be an effort to put a positive spin on reality: Moscow’s ground forces have been thwarted — and have taken heavy losses — in their bid to seize the capital and other cities.
Meanwhile, a missile destroyed part of an apartment block in the rebel-controlled city of Donetsk early Wednesday, and two people were reported killed. Separatists blamed Ukrainian forces for the attack.
“I was just sitting on the couch and — bang! — the window glass popped, the frames came off. I didn’t even understand what happened,” said resident Anna Gorda.
The U.N. food aid agency said it is providing emergency assistance to 1 million people in Ukraine. It said the food includes 330,000 freshly baked loaves of bread for families in the heavily bombarded eastern city of Kharkiv.
“Children are suffering, and our city, and everything,” Tetyana Parmynska, a 28-year-old from the Chernihiv region now at a refugee center in Poland, said as man played songs on a battered piano decorated with a peace emblem. “We have no strength anymore.”
___
Karmanau reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.
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Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/03/30/russian-pledge-scale-back-ukraine-draws-skepticism/
| 2022-04-02T00:36:45Z
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Soldier killed in helicopter crash at Georgia airfield
HINESVILLE, Ga. (WTOC/Gray News) - A 3rd Infantry Division soldier has died after a crash involving two UH-60 helicopters early Wednesday morning.
According to the the 3rd ID public affairs office, the incident happened at Fort Stewart’s Wright Army Airfield around 2 a.m. The solider has been identified as 26-year-old Capt. James T. Bellew, of Charlottesville, Virginia, WTOC reports.
Bellew entered the Army in 2017 as a medical service officer, became an Aeromedical Evacuation Officer in 2019, and has been assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division since March of 2020.
Bellew’s previous assignment was at Camp Casey in South Korea as a Field Medical Assistant from September 2017 to September 2018.
“James was a part of one of the noblest professions imaginable; he dedicated his life to serving our country and did so in a role where he was constantly helping and saving the lives of others,” said Col. Eric Vanek, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade commander.
Wright Army Airfield is closed until further notice while the incident is investigated.
Copyright 2022 WTOC via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/03/30/soldier-killed-helicopter-incident-georgia/
| 2022-04-02T00:36:56Z
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2 students seriously injured in Florida school bus crash with semi-truck
Published: Mar. 31, 2022 at 9:22 AM EDT
LEVY COUNTY, Fla. (WCTV/Gray News) – Five students in Florida were taken to the hospital Wednesday after a semi-truck crashed into a school bus, according to Florida Highway Patrol.
Two of those students were taken to the hospital in serious condition.
WCTV reports both vehicles were driving in the same direction on U.S. 19 in Levy County, Florida around 3:45 p.m. The school bus was in front of the truck.
Troopers said the bus was stopped to drop off a student when the truck slammed into the back of it.
The driver and 10 students were on board the bus at the time of the crash, according to troopers.
Copyright 2022 WCTV via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/03/31/2-students-seriously-injured-florida-school-bus-crash-with-semi-truck/
| 2022-04-02T00:37:03Z
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7 hurt in Arkansas tornado as storms move into Deep South
(AP) – Severe storms that included at least two confirmed tornadoes injured several people Wednesday, damaged homes and businesses and downed power lines in Mississippi and Tennessee after they spread damage in Arkansas, Missouri and Texas overnight before moving to the Deep South.
No deaths had been reported from the storms as of Wednesday evening, officials said.
But widespread damage was reported in the Jackson, Tennessee, area as a tornado warning was in effect. “Significant damage” occurred to a nursing home near Jackson-Madison County General Hospital and the Madison County Sheriff’s Office in Jackson, said Madison County Emergency Management Director Jason Moore.
In Nashville, Tennessee, paneling fell five stories from the side of a downtown hotel Wednesday evening and onto a roof of a building below. The fire department warned the debris could become airborne as high winds continued, and some hotel guests were moved to other parts of the building due to concerns that the roof would become unstable. No injuries were immediately associated with the collapse.
A warehouse roof collapsed as the storms moved through Southaven, Mississippi, near Memphis, police said. The building had been evacuated and no injuries were reported.
The Mississippi Senate suspended its work as weather sirens blared during a tornado watch in downtown Jackson. Some employees took shelter in the Capitol basement.
Rander P. Adams said his and his wife, Janice Delores Adams, were in their home near downtown Jackson when severe weather blew through during a tornado warning Wednesday afternoon. He said their lights flashed and they heard a loud whistling noise.
As his wife tried to open their front door, a large window exploded a few feet from her.
“The glass broke just as if someone threw a brick through it,” he said. “I advised her then, ‘Let’s go to the back of the house.’”
Adams said the storm toppled trees in a nearby park, and a large tree across the street from their house split in half. “We were blessed,” he said. “Instead of falling toward the house, it fell the other way.”
Earlier Wednesday, a tornado that struck Springdale, Arkansas, and the adjoining town of Johnson, about 145 miles (235 kilometers) northwest of Little Rock, about 4 a.m. injured seven people, two critically, said Washington County, Arkansas, Emergency Management Director John Luther. He had no additional information about them.
The National Weather Service said that tornado would be rated “at least EF-2,” which would mean wind speeds reached 111-135 mph (178-217 kph).
“Search and rescue teams have been deployed, as there are significant damages and injuries,” Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said.
In northwest Missouri, an EF-1 tornado with wind speeds around 90 mph (145 kph) struck St. Joseph on Tuesday night, according to the weather service. That tornado damaged two homes, but no injuries were reported there. Another EF-1 tornado with wind speeds around 100 mph (160 kph) touched down briefly before dawn Wednesday in a rural subdivision 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Dallas, damaging two roofs, the weather service reported.
The storms come a week after a tornado in a New Orleans-area neighborhood carved a path of destruction during the overnight hours and killed a man.
Damage was extensive in Springdale, including to an elementary school gymnasium and a warehouse, KFSM-TV reported. The Springdale School District, which is the largest in Arkansas, canceled all classes Wednesday.
“We have some commercial buildings and residences and everything in between ... with severe storm damage,” Luther said.
More than 8,000 power outages were reported in Arkansas, while outages totaled about 44,000 in Mississippi, 26,000 each in Louisiana and Alabama and 24,000 in Tennessee.
Strong winds in Louisiana overturned semitrailers, peeled the roof from a mobile home, sent a tree crashing into a home and knocked down power lines, according to weather service forecasters, who didn’t immediately confirm any tornadoes in the state.
Ahead of the storms, schools in Memphis and dozens in Mississippi closed early or conducted classes online as a precaution against having children in crowded buildings or on buses. Officials in various Mississippi counties opened safe locations for people worried about staying in their homes during the storm. And in Louisiana, officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency advised people living in temporary housing such as trailers after Hurricane Ida to be on the alert and know where to go in case they need to evacuate.
——-
This story corrects that significant damage occurred to a nursing home near a hospital, not to the hospital.
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Bleed reported from Little Rock, Ark., and Miller reported from Oklahoma City. Associated Press journalists Jay Reeves in Newnan, Ga.; Rebecca Santana in New Orleans; Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Ark.; Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tenn.; Margery Beck in Omaha, Neb.; Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee; Emily Wagner Pettus in Jackson, Mississippi; and Terry Wallace in Dallas contributed to this report.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/03/31/7-hurt-arkansas-tornado-storms-move-into-deep-south/
| 2022-04-02T00:37:13Z
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Accidents on the rise due to distracted driving
HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month and police say accidents due to distracted driving are becoming more common.
As technology continues to improve on a mobile level, there simply are more ways for us to be distracted with our cell phones, and unfortunately, law enforcement is seeing a concerning trend.
Sergeant Wayne Westfall of Harrisonburg Police said he’s noticed more accidents likely caused by distracted driving. He said one problem is that newer cars are coming out with more technology such as entertainment features to add to many distractions as is. There’s a common thing that helps police identify the cause of accidents due to distractions while driving.
“We look at crashes where someone is following too close. Most of the following too close crashes are related to distracted driving. You are doing something other than driving that’s why you didn’t see the car in front of you stop,” said Westfall.
Westfall said if you absolutely need to use your phone, pull over before you do so.
In the state of Virginia, it is illegal to have a cell phone in your hand while your vehicle is moving. Your first violation could cost you $125.
Copyright 2022 WHSV. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/03/31/accidents-rise-due-distracted-driving/
| 2022-04-02T00:37:21Z
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Alex Jones agrees to appear at deposition in Sandy Hook case
Published: Mar. 31, 2022 at 2:55 PM EDT
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Infowars host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has agreed to appear at a deposition in Connecticut to answer questions in a lawsuit by relatives of some of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims.
That’s according to new court filings by his lawyers Thursday, a day after a judge ordered fines against Jones for defying orders to attend a deposition last week despite his claim of illness.
Jones now says he can answer questions on April 11 and is asking the judge to put a hold on the fines.
There was no immediate ruling on Jones’ requests.
The families are suing him for calling the school massacre a hoax.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/03/31/alex-jones-agrees-appear-deposition-sandy-hook-case/
| 2022-04-02T00:37:31Z
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Arians retires as Bucs’ coach, Bowles promoted to top spot
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Bruce Arians unexpectedly retired as coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a stunning move Wednesday night that the 69-year-old who guided the team to its second Super Bowl title says is not related to health.
It’s the second major retirement announcement for the Bucs this offseason, following Tom Brady’s announcement in February that he was ending his career. Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback, returned 40 days later, saying he would return for a 23rd season and noting he had “unfinished business.”
But instead of Arians, Brady will be playing for Todd Bowles after the defensive coordinator was promoted as the coach’s successor.
Arians, a two-time cancer survivor, stepped down as coach of the Arizona Cardinals due to medical concerns in 2017, only to be lured back to the sideline by the then-struggling Bucs two years later. This time, he said, he exits feeling the best he has in “many years” and is looking forward to transitioning into a front-office position working with general manager Jason Licht.
“This team is in a much better place than it was three years ago due to Jason’s great work and the Glazer family’s commitment to winning,” Arians said in a lengthy statement issued by the team.
“I want to focus on what I can give back to this incredible game that has provided so much for me and my family,” Arians added. “I really began thinking about my personal transition plan earlier this offseason. I wanted to ensure when I walked away that Todd Bowles would have the best opportunity to succeed.”
Arians, who will turn 70 this coming season, coached the Bucs to the Super Bowl title in the 2020 season — Brady’s first with Tampa Bay. The Bucs were 31-18 in Arians’ three seasons there and he was 80-48-1 in eight years as a head coach overall when adding in five seasons with the Cardinals from 2013 to 2017.
NBC Sports and the Los Angeles Times first reported Arians’ decision and that Bowles would be replace him.
“I have spent most of the last 50 years of my life on the sidelines as a football coach in one form or another,” Arians said. “I love football. I love the relationships, the strategy, the competition — everything. It has been one hell of a ride, but I know this is the right time for me to make this transition.”
Bowles becomes the sixth minority head coach currently in the NFL, joining Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin, Washington’s Ron Rivera, the New York Jets’ Robert Saleh, Houston’s Lovie Smith and Miami’s Mike McDaniel. He also is the fourth Black coach in Bucs’ history, joining Tony Dungy, Raheem Morris and Smith.
Brady, in an Instagram post Wednesday night, said Arians was a major part of his decision to play for Tampa Bay and that he’ll be “forever grateful.”
“You are an incredible man and coach, and it was a privilege to play for you,” Brady wrote. “You are a true NFL legend and pioneer for all the work you have done to make the league more diverse and inclusive. Smart, tough, and loyal are a few of the words to describe your style. I will always remember the conversations we had when you recruited me two years ago and all of the things we discussed came true.”
There was no public indication at the NFL’s annual meetings on the Atlantic side of the state in Palm Beach, Florida, that such a move was coming. Arians was there, briefly, and did an interview with NFL Network about what the team would have done to replace Brady if the quarterback hadn’t changed his mind. Licht addressed reporters for a short time during the meetings, as did team co-owner Joel Glazer.
Arians did not do a group interview there, with the team saying he was leaving for personal reasons. He was also one of the four coaches who opted to not be part of the annual group photo of all NFL head coaches at the meetings.
Bowles was an interim head coach in Miami for three games in 2011, and went 24-40 in four seasons with the New York Jets from 2015 through 2018.
“I am appreciative of the Glazer family and Jason Licht for having faith in me to take on this role, and to Coach Arians for his support and guidance over the past four decades,” Bowles said. “Tampa has become home for my family, and we are excited to remain part of this community for years to come. ... I am eager to get started with our players, coaching staff, and front office in preparation for the 2022 season.”
Bowles was Arizona’s defensive coordinator for a portion of Arians’ tenure with the Cardinals. He reunited with his old boss in Tampa Bay after the Jets fired Bowles following the 2018 season.
Arians said timing of his decision to step away — along with’s Brady return — should serve Bowles well.
“So many head coaches come into situations where they are set up for failure, and I didn’t want that for Todd,” Arians said. “Tom’s decision to come back, along with Jason and his staff doing another great job of keeping the core of this team intact during free agency, confirmed for me that it was the right time to pass the torch.”
Licht said he’s excited to continue working with the former coach.
“Bruce established a culture here that set the foundation for a Super Bowl championship,” Licht said. “In my opinion, he is a Hall of Fame coach, so it is difficult for our football team to lose that type of leader. However, I am excited to have him continuing his contributions to our franchise in his new capacity.”
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More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://apnews.com/hub/pro-32 and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.whsv.com/2022/03/31/arians-retires-bucs-coach-bowles-promoted-top-spot/
| 2022-04-02T00:37:38Z
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