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NEW YORK, Aug. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- InvestorsObserver issues critical PriceWatch Alerts for ENDP, VTGN, APDN, F, and MOBQ.
To see how InvestorsObserver's proprietary scoring system rates these stocks, view the InvestorsObserver's PriceWatch Alert by selecting the corresponding link.
- ENDP: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-stocks-lp-2/?symbol=ENDP&prnumber=081920226
- VTGN: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-stocks-lp-2/?symbol=VTGN&prnumber=081920226
- APDN: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-stocks-lp-2/?symbol=APDN&prnumber=081920226
- F: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-stocks-lp-2/?symbol=F&prnumber=081920226
- MOBQ: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-stocks-lp-2/?symbol=MOBQ&prnumber=081920226
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InvestorsObserver's PriceWatch Alerts are based on our proprietary scoring methodology. Each stock is evaluated based on short-term technical, long-term technical and fundamental factors. Each of those scores is then combined into an overall score that determines a stock's overall suitability for investment.
InvestorsObserver provides patented technology to some of the biggest names on Wall Street and creates world-class investing tools for the self-directed investor on Main Street. We have a wide range of tools to help investors make smarter decisions when investing in stocks or options.
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NEW YORK, Aug. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- InvestorsObserver issues critical PriceWatch Alerts for VLCN, AGLE, STNE, PRTY, and FCEL.
To see how InvestorsObserver's proprietary scoring system rates these stocks, view the InvestorsObserver's PriceWatch Alert by selecting the corresponding link.
- VLCN: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-stocks-lp-2/?symbol=VLCN&prnumber=081920225
- AGLE: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-stocks-lp-2/?symbol=AGLE&prnumber=081920225
- STNE: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-stocks-lp-2/?symbol=STNE&prnumber=081920225
- PRTY: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-stocks-lp-2/?symbol=PRTY&prnumber=081920225
- FCEL: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-stocks-lp-2/?symbol=FCEL&prnumber=081920225
(Note: You may have to copy this link into your browser then press the [ENTER] key.)
InvestorsObserver's PriceWatch Alerts are based on our proprietary scoring methodology. Each stock is evaluated based on short-term technical, long-term technical and fundamental factors. Each of those scores is then combined into an overall score that determines a stock's overall suitability for investment.
InvestorsObserver provides patented technology to some of the biggest names on Wall Street and creates world-class investing tools for the self-directed investor on Main Street. We have a wide range of tools to help investors make smarter decisions when investing in stocks or options.
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SOURCE InvestorsObserver | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/08/19/thinking-about-buying-stock-volcon-aeglea-bio-therapeutics-stoneco-party-city-or-fuelcell-energy/ | 2022-08-19T17:30:17Z |
NEW YORK, Aug. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- InvestorsObserver issues critical PriceWatch Alerts for GM, MMM, LLY, UNH, and GE.
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- GM: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-options-lp-2/?symbol=GM&prnumber=081920227
- MMM: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-options-lp-2/?symbol=MMM&prnumber=081920227
- LLY: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-options-lp-2/?symbol=LLY&prnumber=081920227
- UNH: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-options-lp-2/?symbol=UNH&prnumber=081920227
- GE: https://www.investorsobserver.com/lp/pr-options-lp-2/?symbol=GE&prnumber=081920227
(Note: You may have to copy this link into your browser then press the [ENTER] key.)
InvestorsObserver provides patented technology to some of the biggest names on Wall Street and creates world-class investing tools for the self-directed investor on Main Street. We have a wide range of tools to help investors make smarter decisions when investing in stocks or options.
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SOURCE InvestorsObserver | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/08/19/thinking-about-trading-options-or-stock-general-motors-3m-eli-lilly-unitedhealth-or-general-electric/ | 2022-08-19T17:30:24Z |
For the 4th Time, Vape Guys Appears on the Inc. 5000, Ranking No. 4,649 With Three-Year Revenue Growth of 93 Percent
RICHMOND, Va., Aug. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- This week, Inc. revealed that Vape Guys is No. 4,649 on its annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in America. The list represents a one-of-a-kind look at the most successful companies within the economy's most dynamic segment—its independent businesses. Facebook, Chobani, Under Armour, Microsoft, Patagonia, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000.
"We are proud to be recognized for the 4th year in a row on the annual Inc. 5000 list," shared Yan Gleyzer, CEO of Vape Guys. "Our strategic focus to prioritize a people-first mindset, for both clients and employees, and flexibility to quickly adapt to an evolving and heavily regulated industry has allowed us to accomplish exponential growth despite the challenging macro environment."
Amid a global crisis, Vape Guys took a strategic risk to scale inventory and double-down on providing personalized care and mentorship to ensure its clients remained successful. "While witnessing several clients and competitors enter preservation mode, we chose to take the risk to expand."
Consumers demand for healthier alternatives to smoking and pharmaceutical products is at an all time high. "We've taken considerable steps to align ourselves with key players driving change to regulatory laws across the country and evolve systems and procedures to ensure we are compliant and successful," says Gleyzer.
While honored to be recognized again for rapid growth, Gleyzer acknowledges his employees as the driving force behind the company's success. "This would not have been possible without our incredible team," he added. "My employees are my greatest investment and I have heavily invested in providing them an environment and experience where they are able to grow and succeed."
"I'm proud of what we have accomplished and excited for the future. Our company supports small businesses—farmers, consumer goods companies, retail sellers, and distributors. Their success is our success, and we're ready to continue to evolve and grow together."
Vape Guys joins companies on the 2022 Inc. 5000 that have not only been successful, but have also demonstrated resilience amid supply chain woes, labor shortages, and the ongoing impact of Covid-19.
Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000. The top 500 companies are featured in the September issue of Inc. magazine, which will be available on August 23.
"The accomplishment of building one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S., in light of recent economic roadblocks, cannot be overstated," says Scott Omelianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc. "Inc. is thrilled to honor the companies that have established themselves through innovation, hard work, and rising to the challenges of today."
About Vape Guys: Vape Guys is a world-wide distribution and manufacturing company for innovative vapor and hemp-derived products founded in 2014. Partnering with more than 2000 small businesses, we provide people healthier alternatives to smoking and pharmaceutical products.
Vape Guys is a four-time Inc. 5000 honoree,
More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000
Methodology
Companies on the 2022 Inc. 5000 are ranked according to percentage revenue growth from 2018 to 2021. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2018. They must be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independent—not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies—as of December 31, 2021. (Since then, some on the list may have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2018 is $100,000; the minimum for 2021 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Growth rates used to determine company rankings were calculated to four decimal places. The top 500 companies on the Inc. 5000 are featured in Inc. magazine's September issue.
About Inc.
The world's most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference & Gala is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit www.inc.com.
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SOURCE VGI Distribution | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/08/19/vape-guys-ranks-no-4649-2022-inc-5000-annual-list/ | 2022-08-19T17:30:30Z |
BENSALEM, Pa., Aug. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Law Offices of Howard G. Smith announces that investors with substantial losses have opportunity to lead the securities fraud class action lawsuit against Wells Fargo & Company ("Wells Fargo" or the "Company") (NYSE: WFC).
Class Period: February 24, 2021 – June 9, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 29, 2022
Investors suffering losses on their Wells Fargo investments are encouraged to contact the Law Offices of Howard G. Smith to discuss their legal rights in this class action at 888-638-4847 or by email to howardsmith@howardsmithlaw.com.
The complaint filed alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants failed to disclose to investors that: (1) Wells Fargo had misrepresented its commitment to diversity in the Company's workplace; (2) Wells Fargo conducted fake job interviews in order to meet its Diverse Search Requirement; (3) the foregoing conduct subjected Wells Fargo to an increased risk of regulatory and/or governmental scrutiny and enforcement action, including criminal charges; (4) all of the foregoing, once revealed, was likely to negatively impact Wells Fargo's reputation; and (5) as a result, Defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.
To be a member of the class action you need not take any action at this time; you may retain counsel of your choice or take no action and remain an absent member of the class action. If you wish to learn more about this class action, or if you have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to the pending class action lawsuit, please contact Howard G. Smith, Esquire, of Law Offices of Howard G. Smith, 3070 Bristol Pike, Suite 112, Bensalem, Pennsylvania 19020, by telephone at (215) 638-4847, toll-free at (888) 638-4847, or by email to howardsmith@howardsmithlaw.com, or visit our website at www.howardsmithlaw.com.
This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.
Contacts
Law Offices of Howard G. Smith
Howard G. Smith, Esquire
215-638-4847
888-638-4847
howardsmith@howardsmithlaw.com
www.howardsmithlaw.com
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SOURCE Law Offices of Howard G. Smith | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/08/19/wfc-investors-have-opportunity-lead-wells-fargo-amp-company-securities-fraud-lawsuit/ | 2022-08-19T17:30:36Z |
WASHINGTON, Aug. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Elsie Robinson was America's most-read woman for decades, reaching 20 million people with her weekly "Listen, World!" newspaper column. And yet most of us have never heard of her. A new book about her work and impact inspired this program on women's voices, lost and found, then and now.
Register to join the National Press Club Journalism Institute on Tuesday, September 13 at 11:30 a.m. ET for a wide-ranging conversation about how women's voices have been silenced and spotlighted in newsrooms and in the public square, and how we can ensure that journalism raises up a diversity of women's perspectives in the future.
The conversation will feature:
- Soraya Chemaly, award-winning author of "Rage Becomes Her," co-founder of the Women's Media Center Speech Project
- Deborah Douglas, co-editor-in-chief of The Emancipator
- Allison Gilbert, journalist and co-author of "Listen, World!"
- Dana Rubin, author of "Speaking While Female"
- Connie Schultz, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, novelist, professor
The conversation will be moderated by Julie Moos, the Institute's Executive Director, who can also answer any questions about this program at jmoos@press.org.
This program is made available at no cost thanks to a grant from the Gannett Foundation. The Institute depends on grants, foundation funds, and contributions from individuals like you to serve thousands of people daily with our newsletter, online programming, writing group, and other initiatives. Your donation matters. Any amount helps.
Soraya Chemaly is an award-winning author and activist. She writes and speaks frequently on topics related to gender norms, inclusivity, social justice, free speech, sexualized violence, and technology. The former Executive Director of The Representation Project and Director and co-founder of the Women's Media Center Speech Project, she has long been committed to expanding women's civic and political participation. Chemaly is also the author of "Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women's Anger," which was recognized as a Best Book of 2018 by the Washington Post, Fast Company, Psychology Today, and NPR and has been translated into multiple languages.
Deborah Douglas is co-editor in chief of The Emancipator, a collaboration between Boston University and The Boston Globe that centers critical voices, debates, and evidence-based opinion to reframe the national conversation on racial equity and hasten racially just outcomes. She has served as the Eugene S. Pulliam Distinguished Visiting Professor of Journalism at DePauw University and a senior leader with The OpEd Project, leading fellowships and programs that include the University of Texas at Austin, Dartmouth College, Columbia University, Urgent Action Fund in South Africa and Kenya, and Youth Narrating Our World (YNOW). While teaching at Northwestern University's Medill School, she created a graduate investigative journalism capstone on the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The founding managing editor of MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, Douglas worked on her book, "U.S. Civil Rights Trail: A Traveler's Guide to the People, Places and Events That Made the Movement." (Moon Travel, 2021).
Allison Gilbert is co-author of "Listen, World!: How the Intrepid Elsie Robinson Became America's Most-Read Woman," the first biography of Robinson, once the most influential newspaper columnist in the United States. The book will be published by Seal Press, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, September 27, 2022. She is host of "Women Journalists of 9/11: Their Stories," a 20-part documentary series produced in collaboration with Wondrium and the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. She is also co-executive producer of the companion 2-hour film that featured, among many others, Tom Brokaw, Rehema Ellis, Ann Thompson, Scott Pelley, Byron Pitts, Ann Compton, and Cynthia McFadden. Gilbert is the official narrator of the 9/11 Memorial Museum's historical exhibition audio tour, the only female journalist to be so honored. She writes regularly for the New York Times and other publications.
Dana Rubin is a consultant and speaker committed to women's speech, voice, and thought leadership. She created the Speaking While Female Speech Bank to set the record straight on who actually spoke in history, and because representation matters. Her consultancy is SPEECH STUDIO that helps organizations develop their diverse talent and underrepresented voices to become recognized experts, brand ambassadors, rainmakers, and role models for others coming up the pipeline. Rubin is a judge for the annual Cicero Speechwriting Awards, which recognizes outstanding contemporary speeches and speechwriters from around the world.
Connie Schultz is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for USA Today and author of the New York Times bestselling novel, "The Daughters of Erietown." She is also a Professional in Residence at Kent State University's School of Media & Journalism, where she teaches opinion writing, feature writing and ethics. Schultz was a reporter and columnist at The Plain Dealer for nearly 20 years, from 1993 to 2011, after working for a decade as a freelance writer. She was a nationally syndicated columnist with Creators Syndicate from 2007 until 2021, when she joined USA Today.
The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press, and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy. As the non-profit affiliate of the National Press Club, the Institute powers journalism in the public interest.
Contact — jmoos@press.org
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SOURCE National Press Club Journalism Institute | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/08/19/womens-voices-then-now-join-leading-authors-national-press-club-journalism-institute-program-looking-back-amp-ahead/ | 2022-08-19T17:30:42Z |
AMC re-releases ‘Grease’ in tribute to Olivia Newton-John
Published: Aug. 19, 2022 at 1:18 PM EDT|Updated: 16 minutes ago
(CNN) - Following Olivia Newton-John’s death earlier this month, AMC Theaters is re-releasing the classic film “Grease,” in which she starred with John Travolta.
This weekend, 135 theaters will show the 1978 film adaptation of the musical, with tickets costing just $5, and $1 from each ticket will go to breast cancer research.
Newton-John died Aug. 8 after several bouts with cancers over the years.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/19/amc-re-releases-grease-tribute-olivia-newton-john/ | 2022-08-19T17:35:05Z |
Islamic State ‘Beatle’ gets life term for US hostage deaths
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — British national El Shafee Elsheikh was sentenced to life in prison Friday for his role in an Islamic State scheme that took roughly two dozen Westerners hostage a decade ago.
Elsheikh’s hostages gave him a somewhat whimsical nickname — he was dubbed a “Beatle” along with other English-accented captors — but the moniker belied the viciousness of his conduct.
“This prosecution unmasked the vicious and sadistic ISIS Beatles,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Raj Parekh, noting that Elsheikh and the other Beatles always wore masks when they appeared in front of their hostages.
He is the most notorious and highest-ranking member of the Islamic State group to ever be convicted in a U.S. Court, prosecutors said Friday at his sentencing hearing in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. The life sentence was a foregone conclusion after a jury convicted him of hostage taking resulting in death and other crimes earlier this year.
The convictions revolved around the deaths of four American hostages: James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig, and Kayla Mueller. All but Mueller were executed in videotaped beheadings circulated online. Mueller was forced into slavery and raped multiple times by Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before she was killed.
They were among 26 hostages taken captive between 2012 and 2015, when the Islamic State group controlled large swaths of Iraq and Syria.
The convictions carried a mandatory life sentence. The U.S. agreed not to pursue death sentence as part of a deal that ensured extradition of Elsheikh and his friend, Alexanda Kotey, who has already been sentenced to life.
Parekh said it was difficult to convey the brutality of Elsheikh’s actions. “We lack the vocabulary of such pain,” he said, paraphrasing Dante’s Inferno.
Still, victims of Elsheikh and the Beatles testified at Friday’s hearing and gave voice to what they experienced. Danish photographer Daniel Rye Ottosen, who was released after paying a ransom, said the worst moments were times of silence during and after captivity when he was alone with his thoughts.
He said when Elsheikh and the Beatles beat him up, it was almost a relief.
“Now I knew I could only concentrate on my pain, which is much easier than being alone with your thoughts,” he said.
Ottosen was particularly close to Foley, and memorized a goodbye letter that Foley wrote to his family so he could dictate it to Foley’s parents when he was released.
Foley’s mother, Diane Foley, said holding Elsheikh accountable at trial sends a message of deterrence to other would-be hostage takers.
“Hatred truly overwhelmed your humanity,” she told Elsheikh on Friday, which was the eighth anniversary of James Foley’s beheading.
At trial, surviving hostages testified that they dreaded the Beatles’ appearance at the various prisons to which they were constantly shuttled and relocated. Elsheikh and the other Beatles played a key role in the hostage negotiations, getting hostages to email their families with demands for payments.
They also routinely beat and tortured the hostages, forcing them to fight each other to the point of passing out, threatening them with waterboarding and forcing them view images of slain hostages.
Elsheikh did not speak during Friday’s hearing. His lawyer, Zachary Deubler, said Elsheikh will appeal his conviction. Elsheikh’s lawyers had argued that his confessions should have been ruled inadmissible because of alleged mistreatment after he was captured by Kurdish-led Syrian Defense Forces in 2018.
At Friday’s hearing, Deubler confined his arguments to a request that Elsheikh not be sent to the supermax prison facility in Florence, Colorado, where he would face solitary confinement for the rest of his life. Deubler said a designation to Florence is almost a certainty unless the judge recommends otherwise.
Judge T.S. Ellis III declined to make any recommendation to the Bureau of Prisons.
“The behavior of this defendant and his co-defendant can only be described as horrific, barbaric, brutal, callous and, of course, criminal,” Ellis said.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/19/beatle-elsheikh-gets-life-term-deaths-us-hostages/ | 2022-08-19T17:35:07Z |
Defense rests after challenging agents in Whitmer plot trial
(AP) - Lawyers for two men charged with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called investigators to the witness stand Friday to try to raise questions about their tactics in 2020 and highlight scornful attitudes.
The defense rested its case on the ninth day of trial. Closing arguments were scheduled for Monday in federal court in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. declined to testify. They are on trial for a second time after a jury in April couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict but acquitted two other men.
John Penrod, a Delaware state trooper who worked on the case with the FBI, was confronted with text messages in which he called Croft a “coward” and other pejoratives.
What about “moron?” asked attorney Joshua Blanchard.
“It could be Mr. Croft or it could be anyone in the group,” Penrod replied.
Blanchard also played audio of FBI agent Hank Impola telling an informant, “A saying we have in my office is, ‘Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story.’”
But on cross-examination, agent Corey Baumgardner agreed with a prosecutor who said Impola’s remark two months after the arrests was actually a reference to how Croft and Fox would spin the kidnapping allegations.
The defense argues that Fox and Croft were entrapped by agents and informants who fed their wild anti-government views. Prosecutors say the group wanted to trigger a national revolt and was furious over COVID-19 restrictions imposed by Whitmer during the early stages of the pandemic.
Croft, 46, is from Bear, Delaware. Fox, 39, was living in the basement of a vacuum shop in the Grand Rapids area.
U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker gave instructions to jurors before sending them home for the weekend. He said the pair could be found guilty of conspiracy if jurors believe “there was a mutual understanding” to commit a kidnapping, among other factors, even if one wasn’t carried out.
But entrapment could apply if the jury believes agents and informants persuaded Fox and Croft to commit a crime that they weren’t willing to do before engaging them, the judge said.
“Ask yourself what the evidence shows about the defendants’ character and reputation. ... Let these things marinate in your own minds,” Jonker said.
Whitmer, a Democrat, has blamed then-President Donald Trump for stoking mistrust and fomenting anger over coronavirus restrictions and refusing to condemn hate groups and right-wing extremists like those charged in the plot.
Trump recently called the kidnapping plan a “fake deal.”
___
Find the AP’s full coverage of the kidnapping plot trial: https://apnews.com/hub/whitmer-kidnap-plot-trial
___
Follow Ed White at http://twitter.com/edwritez
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/19/defense-rests-after-challenging-agents-whitmer-plot-trial/ | 2022-08-19T17:35:08Z |
Food safety expert shares tips on protecting school lunches from foodborne illnesses
(CNN) - Everyone knows healthy meals are important, but as students return to school and lunches are being packed, parents need to protect against foodborne illnesses.
Many times, lunchboxes sit around for hours at school before kids eat.
A healthy meal is well balanced with members of all the food groups, but even a good lunch can go bad if it’s not properly packed.
“These children’s lunches aren’t going to be in a refrigerator,” said Karen Hunter, a U.S. Department of Agriculture food safety expert. “They won’t be able to pull them out right before they eat.”
Hunter said two of the most important back-to-school items you can buy are an insulated lunchbox and something to keep your child’s lunch cold.
She also recommended having two cold sources packed.
“One of those can be a re-freezable gel pack that you can use every day. And a second option would be to freeze their juice box or water bottle and put that in in the morning,” she said. “And that way, by the time lunchtime comes around that beverage is ready to drink, but it’s also served the purpose of keeping those lunch contents below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.”
As you prepare lunches, keep hands and surfaces clean to avoid cross-contamination.
If you pack lunches the night before, it’s recommended to leave the tops open when you put them in the refrigerator to allow the cold air to circulate and then add gel packs in the morning.
Make sure your child doesn’t open the insulated bag before lunch when items need to stay cold, or after lunch to eat things they didn’t finish.
“For example, if you have a meat sandwich that was cold at lunchtime, it probably won’t still be cold and in that safe temperature range by the time after school comes around,” Hunter said.
The USDA said if parents aren’t sure whether their child’s food is cold enough, they should do a trial run on the weekend. They can pack the bag as if it’s for a school day, place an appliance thermometer into the lunchbox and check it at lunchtime
For more information on temperatures to keep different foods safe, you can also check out foodsafety.gov.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/19/food-safety-expert-shares-tips-protecting-school-lunches-foodborne-illnesses/ | 2022-08-19T17:35:15Z |
Judge: Prosecutors cannot enforce Michigan’s abortion ban
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan judge on Friday blocked county prosecutors from enforcing the state’s 1931 ban on abortion for the foreseeable future after two days of witness testimony from abortion experts, providers and the state’s chief medical officer.
The ruling comes after the state Court of Appeals said earlier this month that county prosecutors were not covered by a May order and could enforce the prohibition following the fall of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“The harm to the body of women and people capable of pregnancy in not issuing the injunction could not be more real, clear, present and dangerous to the court,” Oakland County Judge Jacob Cunningham said during his ruling Friday.
David Kallman, an attorney representing two Republican county prosecutors, said an appeal is planned.
“The judge ignored all of the clear legal errors and problems in this case, it appears to me, simply because the issue is abortion,” Kallman told The Associated Press following the hearing.
Cunningham had filed a restraining order against county prosecutors hours after the Aug. 1 appeals court decision and following a request from attorneys representing Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
While a majority of prosecutors in counties where there are abortion clinics have said they will not enforce the ban, Republican prosecutors in Kent, Jackson and Macomb counties have said they should be able to enforce the 1931 law.
Cunningham listened to arguments Wednesday and Thursday in Pontiac before granting the preliminary injunction, which is expected to keep abortion legal throughout the state until the Michigan Supreme Court or voters could decide in the fall.
In his ruling, Cunningham found all three of the state’s witnesses “extremely credible” while dismissing testimony from the defense witnesses as “unhelpful and biased.”
The 1931 law in Michigan, which was triggered after the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, bans abortion in all instances except the life of the mother. The dormant ban was retroactively blocked from going into effect in May when Judge Elizabeth Gleicher issued a preliminary injunction.
The state Court of Appeals later said that the preliminary injunction only applied to the attorney general’s office, meaning that providers could get charged with a felony by some county prosecutors.
While Kallman said during closing arguments Thursday that granting a preliminary injunction isn’t how laws should be changed, attorneys representing Whitmer argued that allowing county prosecutors to decide whether to enforce the 1931 ban would cause confusion.
“I’m relieved that everyone in this state knows that it doesn’t matter what county you live in now, you are not as a provider going to be prosecuted,” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said following the ruling
A ballot initiative seeking to enshrine abortion rights into the state’s constitution turned in 753,759 signatures in July and is expected to ultimately decide the status abortion access in Michigan. The amendment awaits final approval for the November ballot by the state’s Board of Canvassers.
“This court finds it is overwhelmingly in the public’s best interest to let the people of the great state of Michigan decide this matter at the ballot box,” Cunningham said Friday.
The status of abortion in Michigan is expected to drastically impact the battleground state’s November general election, where Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel, also a Democrat, have made abortion rights a centerpiece of their reelection campaigns.
“Absent this preliminary injunction, physicians face a very real threat of prosecution depending on where they practice,” Nessel said in a statement issued following Friday’s ruling.
___
Joey Cappelletti is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/19/judge-prosecutors-cannot-enforce-michigans-abortion-ban/ | 2022-08-19T17:35:22Z |
Newborn found in bushes wrapped in a T-shirt outside Texas apartment complex, police say
Published: Aug. 19, 2022 at 11:36 AM EDT|Updated: 2 hours ago
WAXAHACHIE, Tx. (Gray News) – A newborn baby was found in the bushes outside an apartment complex in Texas on Thursday.
The Waxahachie Police Department said officers found the baby boy wrapped in a T-shirt around 8:30 a.m.
The infant was treated by medical staff and taken to a hospital where he is doing well, according to police.
Authorities said the newborn is in the custody of Child Protection Services.
The juvenile mother of the child has been identified but police have not released her name.
No charges have been filed at this time. The investigation is ongoing.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/19/newborn-found-bushes-wrapped-t-shirt-outside-texas-apartment-complex-police-say/ | 2022-08-19T17:35:25Z |
Panel rules Justice Dept. improperly withheld memo in Russia probe
(AP) - The Justice Department under Attorney General William Barr improperly withheld portions of an internal memorandum Barr cited in publicly announcing that then-President Donald Trump had not committed obstruction of justice in the Russia investigation, a federal appeals panel said Friday.
The department had argued that the 2019 memo represented the private deliberations of its own lawyers before any decision had been formalized and was therefore exempt from disclosure. A federal judge previously disagreed, ordering the Justice Department to provide it to a government transparency group that had sued for it, prompting an appeal last year by the Biden administration to a higher court.
Attorneys for the Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to an email message seeking comment on the ruling. The department can appeal the ruling to the full court.
At issue in the case is a March 24, 2019, memorandum from the head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, or OLC, and another senior department official that was prepared for Barr to evaluate whether evidence in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation could support an obstruction of justice prosecution of the president.
Barr has said that he looked to that opinion in concluding that Trump did not illegally obstruct the Russia probe.
The Justice Department turned over other documents to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington as part of the group’s lawsuit but declined to give it the memo. Government lawyers said they were entitled under public records law to withhold the memo because it reflected internal deliberations among lawyers before any formal decision had been reached on what Mueller’s evidence showed.
But U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said last year that those arguments were disingenuous because the memo was prepared for Barr at about the same time as a separate Justice Department letter informing Congress and the public that Barr and other senior department leaders concluded that Trump had not obstructed justice.
She said the memo could therefore not have been “predecisional” in nature if the Justice Department had already decided that there would be no obstruction case.
The government said it had indeed already concluded that there would be no obstruction prosecution since Justice Department legal opinions say a sitting president cannot be indicted. But it said the memo concerned a separate issue: whether the evidence Mueller had collected could support a conclusion that Trump had obstructed justice.
In its ruling Friday, the appellate panel wrote that, had Justice Department officials made clear to the court that the memo related to Barr’s decision on making a public statement about the report, rulings in the case may have been different.
“Because the Department did not tie the memorandum to deliberations about the relevant decision, the Department failed to justify its reliance on the deliberative-process privilege,” according to the ruling, by an unsigned panel of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Barr and other senior officials concluded that Trump’s actions didn’t amount to obstruction, and the attorney general shared that assessment with Congress soon after the memo was complete. Mueller’s team did not reach a conclusion on whether Trump had obstructed justice.
Appellate judges also noted that their ruling was “narrow,” saying that it should not be interpreted to “call into question any of our precedents permitting agencies to withhold draft documents related to public messaging.”
___
Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP.
___
Eric Tucker contributed to this report.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/19/panel-rules-justice-dept-improperly-withheld-memo-russia-probe/ | 2022-08-19T17:35:32Z |
Texas family of 5 expecting ‘1 more child’ surprised with quadruplets
HOUSTON (KHOU) – A Texas family of five was in for the surprise of a lifetime when they found out they would be adding quadruplets to the family.
After trying for just “one more child,” Gaby and Patrick Hagler discovered they would be having four.
The couple got married in 2018, each bringing in a child of their own from previous marriages, Paxton and Kalleigh. It didn’t take long to become a family of five with Sammy, their now almost-3-year-old son.
While Gaby Hagler said, “Life was already hectic,” the couple decided their family would feel complete with one more child.
She got pregnant but suffered a miscarriage. After healing from that loss, they wanted to try again.
With the help of fertility medication, Gaby Hagler got pregnant again. But at her 12-week ultrasound, they were shocked to find out she was carrying quadruplets.
For the next several months, the Haglers navigated the high-risk pregnancy.
“It became this beautiful group effort where everyone believed these boys could make it to that day, and we did,” Gaby Hagler said.
On June 22, at 34 weeks, Gaby Hagler gave birth to four sons – Adam, Bennett, Coby and Dane. Three weeks after their birth, they were able to head home.
“There are moments of chaos, but it’s not what I expected,” Gaby Hagler said. “The love in this house now is tangible.”
The family of nine is finally complete and ready for the journey ahead.
“We’re looking forward to what life has in store for these guys,” Patrick Hagler said.
Copyright 2022 KHOU via CNN. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/19/texas-family-5-expecting-1-more-child-surprised-with-quadruplets/ | 2022-08-19T17:35:39Z |
Utah’s ban on transgender kids in youth sports put on hold
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Transgender kids in Utah will be not be subjected to sports participation limits at the start of the upcoming school year after a judge delayed the implementation of a statewide ban passed earlier this year.
Judge Keith Kelly’s decision Friday to put the law on hold until a legal challenges is resolved came after he recently rejected a request by Utah state attorneys to dismiss the case. Most Utah schools students head back to classes this month.
Attorneys representing the families of three transgender student-athletes filed the lawsuit challenging the ban last May, contending it violates the Utah Constitution’s guarantees of equal rights and due process.
Similar cases are underway in states such as Idaho, West Virginia and Indiana.
The issue of whether transgender girls should be allowed to participate in female sports has become flashpoint across the U.S. with Republican lawmakers passing legislation to block them based on the premise it gives them an unfair competitive advantage.
Transgender rights advocates counter that the rules aren’t just about sports but another way to demean and attack transgender youth.
As of March, the Utah High School Activities Association knew of only one transgender girl playing in K-12 sports who would be affected by the ban.
The association, which organizes leagues for 85,000 students, has said there have been no publicly made allegations of competitive advantage concerning any of the state’s four transgender youth athletes.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/19/utahs-ban-transgender-kids-youth-sports-put-hold/ | 2022-08-19T17:35:46Z |
Woman celebrating 100th birthday still raises and sells cattle
SALINA, Kan. (KWCH/Gray News) – Age is no factor for 100-year-old Ethel Diehl. She still prefers to work, raising and selling cattle.
“I prefer working to just doing nothing, watching TV, you know, or reading books,” she told KWCH. “I want to do my work first and then I have my evenings for that.”
Diehl turned 100 on Aug. 4 but was treated to another birthday celebration this week while selling her cattle in Kansas.
Having lived on a dairy farm as a child, Diehl has been around livestock most of her life, and she’s been raising cattle for the better part of a century.
“I’ve always done it since I got married in 1944,” Diehl said. “Because I lived on a farm, married a farmer, always had cattle, still do.”
She said staying active helps her manage the farm, even after her husband’s death.
“Because I worked and got in and out of four-wheel-drive trucks and things like that, I had the muscular ability to continue,” she said. “Never spent a day where I didn’t work, unless I was ill.”
The working mentality is also what Diehl believes the younger generations should adopt to have long and prosperous lives.
“Work. It’s a great benefit,” she said. “You need to be active, be a participant in what you’re doing. And really, you have to enjoy it. There’s all kinds of jobs, and what suits one does not suit another.”
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/19/woman-celebrating-100th-birthday-still-raises-sells-cattle/ | 2022-08-19T17:35:53Z |
You really need to update your iPhone. Here’s how.
NEW YORK (AP) — Apple’s latest security update was easy to miss. But security experts are warning that everyone should update any Apple device they have immediately.
Apple said Wednesday that there are serious security vulnerabilities for iPhones, iPads and Macs that could potentially allow attackers to take complete control of these devices. The issue may already have been “actively exploited,” according to the company. Apple’s issues security updates multiple times a year.
Without the latest update, a hacker could wrest total control of Apple devices, allowing the intruder to impersonate the true owner and run any software in their name.
The good news? There’s an easy fix: just update your Apple phone, computer or tablet.
WHY IS UPDATING YOUR APPLE DEVICE SO URGENT?
Updates can be time consuming and sluggish. But they are necessary to keep your device safe from hackers who might run malicious code on your device.
WHY DOESN’T MY APPLE DEVICE DO THIS FOR ME?
Apple devices are set to automatic updates by default, but it can be quicker to check for the latest updates and do it manually.
WHAT APPLE DEVICES ARE AFFECTED?
The affected devices include the iPhone6S and later models; several models of the iPad, including the 5th generation and later, all iPad Pro models and the iPad Air 2; and Mac computers running MacOS Monterey. The flaw also affects some iPod models.
HOW DO I UPDATE MY DEVICE?
To update your Apple device to the latest operating system that includes the security patches on your phone go to “Settings,” click “General” and click “Software Update.” On the Mac, go to “System Preferences,” then “Software Update.”
HOW HIGH IS THE RISK THAT MY PHONE WAS COMPROMISED BEFORE I INSTALLED THE UPDATE?
Unless you are a journalist, political dissident or human rights activist the chances are extremely low. The kinds of spyware created to exploit vulnerabilities of the type patched by Apple are expensive and employed in targeted hacking.
—-
AP Business Writer Frank Bajak in Boston contributed to this report.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/19/you-really-need-update-your-iphone-heres-how/ | 2022-08-19T17:36:00Z |
Elegant film 'Three Minutes' shows Polish town before it was erased by the Holocaust By John Powers Published August 19, 2022 at 12:17 PM CDT Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Listen • 6:02 Bianca Stigter's documentary, Three Minutes: A Lengthening, brings the past to life with an almost archaeological gaze. Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.keranews.org/2022-08-19/elegant-film-three-minutes-shows-polish-town-before-it-was-erased-by-the-holocaust | 2022-08-19T17:42:13Z |
Heche died at age 53 from injuries she sustained in a car accident. She was best known for her roles on the soap opera Another World and films Donnie Brasco and Wag the Dog. Originally broadcast in 2000.
Copyright 2022 NPR
Heche died at age 53 from injuries she sustained in a car accident. She was best known for her roles on the soap opera Another World and films Donnie Brasco and Wag the Dog. Originally broadcast in 2000.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.keranews.org/2022-08-19/fresh-air-remembers-actor-anne-heche | 2022-08-19T17:42:19Z |
Updated August 19, 2022 at 1:09 PM ET
Sixty-four years ago Friday, 13 Black students sat at a whites-only lunch counter in downtown Oklahoma City, shaping the course of the civil rights movement.
Other sit-ins, like the Feb. 1, 1960, protest by four Black college at Woolworth in Greensboro, N.C., were better known in the fight to end segregation.
But 17 months earlier, on Aug. 19, 1958, Clara Luper, an Oklahoma City history teacher and NAACP Youth Council adviser led the group of younger students to a Katz Drug Store. Eleven-year-old Marilyn Luper Hildreth, her oldest daughter, was one of them. She spoke to NPR about the memories of that day.
"When we sat down they asked us what do we want, and we told them we wanted to be served and they informed us that they didn't serve coloreds," Hildreth said. "So, we just sat there until they decided to serve us."
Under Luper's advice, the students remained seated and quiet, even as white customers yelled, cursed and spit at them.
"When people would spit on us our responsibility was to turn our heads and keep our cool," Hildreth said.
After three consecutive days of action, Katz Drug Store served the 13 Black children and integrated its lunch counter.
An 11-year-old got the idea from her travels North
Hildreth didn't just participate in the sit-in — she initiated it. She got the idea from an eye-opening trip to New York City with her mother.
Luper was one year into her role as an NAACP Youth Council adviser when she took several students to New York City to perform a play she wrote, Brother President.
"In many ways I think my mother was a genius," Hildreth said. "She planned for us to go the northern route and you have to understand that Oklahoma had some of the most segregated laws on their books."
For many students, it was the first time they had left Oklahoma. In the South, because of Jim Crow laws, it was their first time experiencing restaurant and hotel service.
"As Harriet Tubman would say, 'A little bit of freedom is a dangerous thing,' " Hildreth said.
Hildreth wanted the same treatment in her home state.
"We were in a NAACP Youth Council meeting and I made the motion that we would go down to Katz Drug Store and sit down until they served us," she said.
That is what they did.
Oklahoma remembers Luper's legacy
Clara Luper's success ignited a series of sit-ins and marches across Oklahoma, and she quickly became a notable civil rights activist, ran for the U.S. Senate and continued to teach. State residents refer to her as the mother of Oklahoma's civil rights movement.
She advocated for human rights and racial equality until her death in 2011, but her contributions to the civil rights movement have rarely been credited or acknowledged — until now. Last year Oklahoma City launched Freedom Fiesta, an annual three-day celebration honoring Luper and the legacy of the Katz Drug Store sit-in.
"We're going to make sure that history reflects what we did here in Oklahoma City," Hildreth said.
Eleven of the 13 children who sat at the counter 64 years ago are alive today and continue to tell Luper's story. Hildreth said she is confident her mother will gain broader recognition one day.
"She would say all the time, 'I want you to believe in the sun when the sun didn't shine and to believe in the rain when the rain didn't fall and to believe in the God that we've never seen,' " she said. "That's the way that she would want to be remembered."
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.keranews.org/2022-08-19/how-a-history-teacher-and-13-black-students-shaped-the-civil-rights-movement | 2022-08-19T17:42:25Z |
The actor played the character of Mike Ehrmantraut for 13 years – first on the TV series Breaking Bad, then on its spinoff, Better Call Saul, which ended earlier this week. Originally broadcast in 2015.
Copyright 2022 NPR
The actor played the character of Mike Ehrmantraut for 13 years – first on the TV series Breaking Bad, then on its spinoff, Better Call Saul, which ended earlier this week. Originally broadcast in 2015.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.keranews.org/2022-08-19/jonathan-banks-embraces-not-being-very-pretty-as-breaking-bad-hitman | 2022-08-19T17:42:31Z |
Goodwill Industries of the Valleys hosts job fair
ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. (WVIR) - Goodwill Industries of the Valleys is helping people find a job.
Nearly two dozen companies took part in a job fair hosted by Goodwill Thursday, August 18.
“Our goal was to help find employment for the community, not only with Goodwill, but even many of our partner businesses,” Organizational Development Director Patrick Ward said.
“My goal is that individuals in our community will be able to find employment that will help them to better lives,” Napoleon Bailey said.
Ward says he has worked with Goodwill for about 15 years, while Bailey is with organization’s re-entry program.
“I’m here to serve people,” Bailey said. “Those trying to reel back into the society and have to crash out of place - housing though credentials, community colleges to help them get a certification. So we’re just here to help them meet their goals and help them get a stable life.”
A housing program is also available.
“We partnered with other landlords to find places for them,” Bailey said.
Goodwill hopes to host more job fairs in the future.
Do you have a story idea? Send us your news tip here.
Copyright 2022 WVIR. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/18/goodwill-industries-valleys-hosts-job-fair/ | 2022-08-19T17:42:35Z |
UVA students return for fall semester
Published: Aug. 18, 2022 at 5:06 PM EDT|Updated: 21 hours ago
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - If you haven’t noticed the traffic in Charlottesville, UVA first year students are streaming back to grounds.
“If you’re trying to find parking, definitely go early because there are gonna be a lot of people here. It’s going to be pretty busy and chaotic, but yeah, it’s just great to have like, so many new people moving in,” Second Year Avi Brybaker said.
Some traffic trouble spots will include Barracks Road Shopping Center, and of course, The Corner.
Most classes get underway this coming Tuesday.
Do you have a story idea? Send us your news tip here.
Copyright 2022 WVIR. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/18/uva-students-return-fall-semester/ | 2022-08-19T17:42:37Z |
The singer-songwriter is known for his intensely autobiographical writing. When Wainwright turned 75 recently, he decided to make an album about trying — and mostly failing — to age gracefully.
Copyright 2022 Fresh Air
The singer-songwriter is known for his intensely autobiographical writing. When Wainwright turned 75 recently, he decided to make an album about trying — and mostly failing — to age gracefully.
Copyright 2022 Fresh Air | https://www.keranews.org/2022-08-19/loudon-wainwright-iii-goes-back-to-the-basics-on-lifetime-achievement | 2022-08-19T17:42:37Z |
WPD arrests Afton man on alleged child pornography charges
WAYNESBORO, Va. (WHSV) - The Waynesboro Police Department arrested Matthew Edward Miller, 29, of Afton, on eight alleged counts of child pornography.
On Dec. 20, 2021, Waynesboro Police Detectives received a complaint from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force regarding an individual downloading child pornography images.
Based on the Waynesboro Police Department detective’s preliminary investigation, Waynesboro detectives identified an address in the 300 block of Windigrove Drive, and Miller was the alleged offender.
Evidence collected from the residence during the execution of search warrant by Waynesboro detectives provided details that allowed Waynesboro detectives to arrest Miller on the following alleged offenses:
--(4) Felony warrants -18.2-374.1:1(F)-Knowingly Posses Child Pornography
--(4) Felony warrants-18.2-374.1:1(F)-Produce, Distribute, Finance Child Pornography
Miller has since been released on a secured $2,500 bond.
Copyright 2022 WHSV. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/19/wpd-arrests-afton-man-alleged-child-pornography-charges/ | 2022-08-19T17:42:38Z |
Students at the Keller Independent School District outside Fort Worth, Texas, went back to school Wednesday. But instead of the focus being on their return, much of the attention has been heaped on an email that was sent out the day before, instructing school staff to pull all copies of a list of more than 40 books from classrooms and school libraries.
The books that were pulled include the graphic novel adaptation of Anne Frank's diary, all versions of the Bible and numerous books with LGBTQ+ themes or characters. The School Board did not say why the Bible and the Anne Frank book were removed, but parents had objected to them, according to the list.
The books on the list have been challenged at the district in the past and while some have been reviewed and put back on shelves, they must all undergo another review under new criteria set by the school board, the school district said in a statement to NPR.
"Right now, Keller ISD's administration is asking our campus staff and librarians to review books that were challenged last year to determine if they meet the requirements of the new policy," it said.
"All of the books included in Tuesday's email have been included on Keller ISD's Book Challenge list over the past year. Books that meet the new guidelines will be returned to the libraries as soon as it is confirmed they comply with the new policy."
Some of the school board's new members were backed by Patriot Mobile Action, a conservative Christian political action committee, the PAC said in a news release.
How the new policy will work is not completely clear to parents, they told NPR. The Texas Tribune reports that the new Keller ISD policies are based on a model from the Texas Education Agency, and that, ultimately, school board members have the ability to accept or reject any material.
Some parents worry about banning books for everyone
Laney Hawes is a parent to four children in the district ranging from first to ninth grade. She said she understands and agrees with parents who don't want their children to read material that is inappropriate for their age. But she doesn't think this is the right way to go about it.
"All of our children are capable and able and ready for different materials," Hawes said. "Not everyone is ready for the same. I agree with that, and I think that those decisions should be made by parents for their own children specifically. I don't think that certain materials that you don't feel like are appropriate for your children should be withheld from my children, too."
Hawes is one of a group of parents who have become more involved with the district in recent years. Hawes and another parent, Gretchen Veling, both volunteered to be part of the group that reviewed books when they were challenged.
Some of the books were already reviewed and put back on shelves under the old policy
Hawes was involved in the review of Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation, while Veling was in the group that reviewed Flamer, the semi-autobiographical graphic novel by Mike Curato.
Both books were discussed within the last year by parents, librarians and teachers who all chose to keep the books on the shelves. But with the books under review again, there are no guarantees they will made available to students.
Veling said she first got involved in the book review committee when she realized that many of the titles being challenged were LGBTQ+ books. She said both her sons are openly gay and when they want to read a book, she typically buys it for them. But her concern is for kids who might not have that same support at home.
"If they don't have access to a book that is reflective of who they are, does it just continue to make them feel like they're in a homophobic area? So I started speaking up because of that," Veling said. "It's to all the other kids that won't have access to it, who really do need access to it."
Keller ISD did not say if there was a timeline for when the book reviews would be completed. But in the meantime, Hawes said she thinks the school board will continue implementing conservative Christian policies.
"They really, really want to attack our curriculum and make sure that no social emotional learning ever enters our curriculum," Hawes said, adding that there are two other spots on the school board that will be up for election next May.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.keranews.org/education/2022-08-19/the-bible-is-among-dozens-of-books-removed-from-this-texas-school-district | 2022-08-19T17:42:44Z |
Texas teachers are feeling more pressure than ever as they start welcoming students back into their classrooms.
Not only do teachers have to deal with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and staff shortages, but they also have had to face the increasing political tension brought by activists in their communities, who have come after critical race theory and LGBTQ issues.
Steven Poole, the executive director of the United Educators Association, an organization that represents over 26,000 teachers and education staff across North Texas, said all of this is draining for educators.
“I’ve been with UEA for 22 years and this is the worst political environment for public schools and public school teachers that I’ve seen in a long time,” Poole told The Texas Newsroom.
He says public education is being scrutinized like never before.
Last month, for example, a group of community members and conservative activists flooded a school board meeting for the Fort Worth Independent School District.
They all spoke against the district’s Racial Equity Committee and critical race theory.
“When we talk about racial equity, we are transporting oppression from the past and replacing it on this generation,” Farryn Wright, a community member, told the board. “When we say anti-racism, are we not re-magnifying the concept of race?”
Valeria Nevares, who identified herself as a first generation American who is in college, said critical race theory “is killing grit and passion for hard work in this generation.”
Critical Race Theory, or CRT, is an intellectual movement that argues racism is inherent in the country’s systems and institutions.
Texas educators say they don’t teach CRT in K-12 schools. Still, conservatives — and the Texas legislature — have gone after discussions of race in the classroom.
Poole, with the United Educators Association, said teachers and educators are doing their work, and that parents and activists need to remember teachers do not make decisions on curriculum. That’s the responsibility of the state and school boards.
“Here we are … there’s so much excitement, and teachers are excited to have their students back, but you just hear all of this constant criticism and it weighs on them,” he said.
Rena Honea, the president of the Dallas-based teachers organization Alliance-AFT, said her members are “extremely frustrated with what’s happening.”
“What is very, very frustrating to them is that non-educators are the ones that are driving this, for what many of them believe are political reasons,” Honea said. “And while education is not a political entity, as such, we have been having to deal with political issues for the last probably 20 years.”
Teachers leaving the profession
This political climate could hamper recruitment efforts in Texas.
According to the Texas Education Agency, teachers are leaving the profession at higher rates than in previous years.
There are many examples of educators who have left their jobs over the pressure received from the public.
One of them is Dr. James Whitfield, the former principal — and first African American principal — at Colleyville Heritage High School in Tarrant County.
In 2020, during the protests following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, Whitfield sent an email to the school community, where he wrote that “Education is the key to stomping out ignorance, hate, and systemic racism.”
"It received positive praise when I sent it out,” Whitfield recalled. “People said, ‘Thank you for sending that you know, we feel seen,’ specifically that was from people of color.”
But a year later, in 2021, some community members started to complain and called for Whitfield’s firing.
One critic — a white man— said that Whitfield asking community members to be anti-racists was a signal to destroy the community and state.
“For these people they would love nothing more than for school to be for straight, white, Christian people,” Whitfield told the Texas Newsroom. “(People) that are just going to believe a romanticized history and just fall in line and not really think critically (and) just be about, as they say, reading, writing, arithmetic.”
The Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District ended up placing Whitfield on paid administrative leave until August 2023.
Whitfield says he also worries about LGBTQ students and teachers, who might not feel safe at school due to the anti-LGBT rhetoric pushed by conservative politicians, and activists.
“It's been sickening, it's been heartbreaking, because … education is the great disrupter of inequity,” Whitfield said. “And we've got people that are disrupting that disruptor and trying to create a system that is not for everybody.”
Copyright 2022 KUT 90.5. To see more, visit KUT 90.5. | https://www.keranews.org/politics/2022-08-19/the-worst-political-environment-for-public-schools-teachers-go-back-to-school-amid-rising-tension | 2022-08-19T17:42:50Z |
Waynesboro Registrar’s Office finds new home
Published: Aug. 19, 2022 at 1:42 PM EDT|Updated: 15 minutes ago
WAYNESBORO, Va. (WHSV) - Waynesboro’s registrar has a new place to call home.
Right now, the office of the General Registrar for the city is located at 250 S Wayne Ave., also known as the Gorsuch Building. As of Wednesday, Aug. 24, the registrar’s office will be located at 605 Market St., on the lower level of the Waynesboro library.
Questions may be directed to the Registrar’s Office at 540-942-6620 or JeffersLP@ci.waynesboro.va.us.
Copyright 2022 WHSV. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/19/waynesboro-registrars-office-finds-new-home/ | 2022-08-19T17:59:19Z |
YouTuber finds mummified body in abandoned building while filming video
MILWAUKEE (WTMJ) – Police in Milwaukee are asking for the public’s help in identifying a man whose body was found in an abandoned building last week.
Authorities said most of the body was mummified.
Investigators said a YouTuber found the body while filming a video in the building.
Amy Michalak, the lead forensic investigator at the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office, said the body had no identification on it.
“We’d like to be able to provide some type of closure to that family that we have here. We have found their loved one,” Michalak said.
Michalak said the person appears to be a Black male based on the features discovered in the autopsy. The body also had tattoos and five rings on the fingers.
One of the tattoos on the left arm says “king” and another on the right arm has the letters “S-A-V-A.” The body had further tattoos but were too hard for investigators to distinguish.
The man was also wearing a red allergy bracelet commonly used in hospitals. According to officials, the man had on multiple layers of clothing, including athletic pants and long underwear. He was also wearing what appeared to be two jackets.
According to the autopsy report, from what they could tell, the person did not appear to have any injuries, and there was no sign of drug use.
Investigators said they hope someone recognizes these features and helps solve the mystery.
Copyright 2022 WTMJ via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/19/youtuber-finds-mummified-body-abandoned-building-while-filming-video/ | 2022-08-19T17:59:25Z |
For many years, the Black Thought solo album felt like an imaginary object, long rumored yet never revealed. It went by several names — Masterpiece Theatre, The Talented Mr. Trotter — and had many soft launches. The Philly rapper born Tariq Trotter had of course already displayed his otherworldly dexterity as frontman and co-founder of The Roots, and, beginning in 2018, emerged as a willing and capable soloist with a series of freewheeling mini-releases. But for most rappers, a proper debut album is a statement of artistic purpose. For a rapper in a group, it is also a chance to establish a fully independent identity. Even as Black Thought the solo artist steadily took shape, his album — the album — remained elusive.
Cheat Codes, Trotter's new collaboration with the producer Danger Mouse, is that quintessential Black Thought album, the one long awaited by diehards, the first of his recent projects to transcend his supreme skill as a rhymer and define his music beyond his intense technique. As a soloist, Trotter has tended to write like a world traveler, making offhand references to the chupacabra or Bach, Amon-Ra or the hajj, his raps crowded but fluid as if he were sloshing on foot through a quagmire. Here, he finally locates himself within his songs: as a hometown hero who brought rap game theory to national TV yet remains cognizant of the Black struggle, who is trying to reconcile the world he's entered with the one he's from. If there are two Americas, Trotter has straddled both, and Cheat Codes shares lessons learned during his travels, with a clear frame of mind that is new ground even for one of rap's peerless performers.
As the voice of the legendary Roots crew, Trotter is both representative and accessory. The group is built around his indelible lyricism, but he has always been deferential to the collective, its ideas and organization. The Roots is also a live band, and moving through those arrangements requires a specific potency and stamina. Books on rapping have lauded his gifts as a performer: In How to Rap, Kool G Rap champions Trotter's breath control and execution in a Roots staging of his song "Men at Work." Watching the clip, you are immediately struck by the physicality of his recitation, how forcefully and consistently he rattles off phrases, like a boxer working a speed bag. Yet that asset can also be a strange kind of liability in hip-hop. "Sometimes MCs' flows can so dominate their styles that they overshadow other elements of craft," Adam Bradley writes of Trotter in Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip-Hop. "Set within the complex soundscapes offered up by the rest of the group, Black Thought's liquid flow at times nearly washes away his meaning."
The Roots released their last album in 2014 and followed Jimmy Fallon to The Tonight Show the same year, and a sense emerged that rapping might have become a secondary concern for Black Thought, admittedly a less ferocious presence at the head of a late-night house band. When Funk Flex invited him to participate in his ongoing freestyle series on Hot 97 in 2017, the rapper seemed to take the opportunity as a challenge — a way to reassert himself as not only an ambassador of the culture but a lethal technician. The performance was a viral moment that renewed conversations about barring out, and within the epic polemic were hints of a coming return: "Them brothers said, 'Don't go from written bars filled with rage / To primetime television and your gilded cage / Then forget there's people in the world still enslaved.'
Six months later came Streams of Thought Vol. 1, the first of a trio of single-producer collections that diverge sharply from The Roots' live instrumentation and conceptual arcs. As far back as 2001, Trotter seemed to already understand how he wanted his solo work to function: "The difference between a Black Thought album and a Roots album is the texture," he told MTV News, promising that his eventual debut would stick to samples. Streams of Thought delivered that vision via esteemed beatmakers 9th Wonder, Salaam Remi and Sean C, but mainly as a sparring exercise: Trotter's presence on them is raw and loose, and they're better understood as small monuments to his talent than for their substance.
There is immediately a greater focus and intent to Cheat Codes, beginning with the production. The flips are simple and elegant, the drums understated. There is enough space within the loops for Trotter's voice to probe through. Where Sean C compared the beats he made for Streams of Thought Vol. 3 to the '70s feel of Jay-Z's American Gangster, Cheat Codes curates soul, psych rock and funk samples from the same era into a weirder, more warped palette. Danger Mouse constructed these beats with Black Thought and his skill set specifically in mind, and the rapper moves through them deliberately, without compromising what are some of his most writerly verses. Together, the two cohere around a mission to build a classicist album fit for the form's elder statesmen.
Relentless motion is clearly in Trotter's DNA, a trait he traces back to childhood: "My birthplace taught me not to stop / I'm more advanced than my classmates / I came into the game on a fast break," he raps on "No Gold Teeth." Many songs on Cheat Codes are built around a single extended verse, though compared to his knotty Hot 97 filibuster they're compact and restrained, there to be not merely heeded but understood. Take the wavy "Identical Deaths," in which Black Thought is interviewed by God and keeps his cool, making gentle swoops from bar to bar as if trying to carefully pen a letter in cursive. On the title track, he works through the mindset of the "young gunners" running stickups in Philly, only to zoom out at the end and account for the larger systems that created them, using the mic like a bullhorn.
Virtuosity is too often presented as a shorthand for lyricism, and though some rappers have earned notoriety from the former, beneath the surface their verses are often empty. Trotter isn't immune to using technical hyper-proficiency to mask bombast, but even his most ill-defined rhymes carry a certain gravitas in their momentum, the deeply alliterative wordplay generating its own mystique. However, none of his previous releases have matched this novelistic charm with attentive storytelling the way Cheat Codes does. With "Because," he paints a vivid picture of the limited options that lead many into the carceral system. The winding verses of "Sometimes" and "Violas & Lupitas" are packed with little vignettes, and sometimes a bar will contain an entire scene: "Juke joint party lights lit the Harlem nights / Peas and rice made a Judas out of Garveyites."
There is still plenty of rapping about how great he is at rapping, but the verses more often turn on nuggets of personal discovery ("Richard Wright, Black Boy that grew into a Blacker man") and accumulated wisdom. Where Vol. 3 of Streams of Thought often felt aimlessly political, a concept record without a real agenda, the perspective here is tighter and more self-affirming. On "The Darkest Part," he mulls injustice, freedom, and the weight of the soul ("I came to take back that other two-fifths of a man"). Later, on "Saltwater," he distinguishes himself as a seasoned OG, not a lecturer; his rapping is surly but not disillusioned, observant but not sanctimonious. Even the songs that do fixate on the rap game as a sporting arena do so astutely: In the elongated verse of "Close to Famous," he measures the extent of his influence and the skill and experience gap between him as a veteran and rap's overnight sensations. Much of his case, like the album overall, is constructed around the idea that he can read any room and speak its language.
Trotter is not our only rapper-scholar, but his position in the culture is close to unique. "Bring the Cambridge, the Websters, the Oxfords ... Product of the Last Poets and the Watts Prophets," he raps on "Belize," presenting his career as a bridge between street intellectuals and academic authorities, rap as cipher and rap as literature. The notion of a full-length collaboration between Black Thought and Danger Mouse long predates his years on network television or the dynamic if arguably vain showcase of Streams of Thought, but the results are nonetheless a culmination of that history. Listening now, it can feel like all those years the album went unmade are what made it possible.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-18/cheat-codes-is-the-album-black-thought-couldnt-have-made-until-now | 2022-08-19T18:14:40Z |
SAN FRANCISCO — Apple disclosed serious security vulnerabilities for iPhones, iPads and Macs that could potentially allow attackers to take complete control of these devices.
Apple released two security reports about the issue on Wednesday, although they didn't receive wide attention outside of tech publications.
Apple's explanation of the vulnerability means a hacker could get "full admin access" to the device. That would allow intruders to impersonate the device's owner and subsequently run any software in their name, said Rachel Tobac, CEO of SocialProof Security.
Security experts have advised users to update affected devices — the iPhone6S and later models; several models of the iPad, including the 5th generation and later, all iPad Pro models and the iPad Air 2; and Mac computers running MacOS Monterey. The flaw also affects some iPod models.
Apple did not say in the reports how, where or by whom the vulnerabilities were discovered. In all cases, it cited an anonymous researcher.
Commercial spyware companies such as Israel's NSO Group are known for identifying and taking advantage of such flaws, exploiting them in malware that surreptitiously infects targets' smartphones, siphons their contents and surveils the targets in real time.
NSO Group has been blacklisted by the U.S. Commerce Department. Its spyware is known to have been used in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America against journalists, dissidents and human rights activists.
Security researcher Will Strafach said he had seen no technical analysis of the vulnerabilities that Apple has just patched. The company has previously acknowledged similarly serious flaws and, in what Strafach estimated to be perhaps a dozen occasions, has noted that it was aware of reports that such security holes had been exploited.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-19/apple-warns-of-security-flaws-in-iphones-ipads-and-macs | 2022-08-19T18:14:46Z |
Full the full story, click here.
We revisit Here & Now‘s Celeste Headlee’s conversation with Grammy-winning, world recording-holding jazz bassist Ron Carter from March. Carter celebrated his 85th birthday with a concert at Carnegie Hall in May.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Carter is the most recorded jazz bassist with over 2200 sessions.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-19/at-85-legendary-jazz-bassist-ron-carter-is-still-going-strong | 2022-08-19T18:14:53Z |
Boston Children’s Hospital has been the target of online threats after a conservative group posted a hospital’s video on social media and contended that the facility performs hysterectomies on young girls.
Hospital staff say that is false information, as their transgender surgery program performs hysterectomies only on patients 18 years and older.
Here & Now‘s Scott Tong talks with WBUR’s health care reporter Martha Bebinger.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-19/boston-childrens-hospital-refutes-false-claim-of-hysterectomies-on-underage-patients | 2022-08-19T18:14:59Z |
Here & Now‘s Celeste Headlee speaks with NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik about Brian Stelter’s departure from CNN after it was announced that the network would cancel his Sunday program, “Reliable Sources.”
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-19/brian-stelter-to-leave-cnn-after-network-cancels-reliable-sources-media-show | 2022-08-19T18:15:06Z |
Bianca Stigter's documentary, Three Minutes: A Lengthening, brings the past to life with an almost archaeological gaze.
Copyright 2022 NPR
Bianca Stigter's documentary, Three Minutes: A Lengthening, brings the past to life with an almost archaeological gaze.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-19/elegant-film-three-minutes-shows-polish-town-before-it-was-erased-by-the-holocaust | 2022-08-19T18:15:12Z |
Heche died at age 53 from injuries she sustained in a car accident. She was best known for her roles on the soap opera Another World and films Donnie Brasco and Wag the Dog. Originally broadcast in 2000.
Copyright 2022 NPR
Heche died at age 53 from injuries she sustained in a car accident. She was best known for her roles on the soap opera Another World and films Donnie Brasco and Wag the Dog. Originally broadcast in 2000.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-19/fresh-air-remembers-actor-anne-heche | 2022-08-19T18:15:18Z |
Updated August 19, 2022 at 1:09 PM ET
Sixty-four years ago Friday, 13 Black students sat at a whites-only lunch counter in downtown Oklahoma City, shaping the course of the civil rights movement.
Other sit-ins, like the Feb. 1, 1960, protest by four Black college at Woolworth in Greensboro, N.C., were better known in the fight to end segregation.
But 17 months earlier, on Aug. 19, 1958, Clara Luper, an Oklahoma City history teacher and NAACP Youth Council adviser led the group of younger students to a Katz Drug Store. Eleven-year-old Marilyn Luper Hildreth, her oldest daughter, was one of them. She spoke to NPR about the memories of that day.
"When we sat down they asked us what do we want, and we told them we wanted to be served and they informed us that they didn't serve coloreds," Hildreth said. "So, we just sat there until they decided to serve us."
Under Luper's advice, the students remained seated and quiet, even as white customers yelled, cursed and spit at them.
"When people would spit on us our responsibility was to turn our heads and keep our cool," Hildreth said.
After three consecutive days of action, Katz Drug Store served the 13 Black children and integrated its lunch counter.
An 11-year-old got the idea from her travels North
Hildreth didn't just participate in the sit-in — she initiated it. She got the idea from an eye-opening trip to New York City with her mother.
Luper was one year into her role as an NAACP Youth Council adviser when she took several students to New York City to perform a play she wrote, Brother President.
"In many ways I think my mother was a genius," Hildreth said. "She planned for us to go the northern route and you have to understand that Oklahoma had some of the most segregated laws on their books."
For many students, it was the first time they had left Oklahoma. In the South, because of Jim Crow laws, it was their first time experiencing restaurant and hotel service.
"As Harriet Tubman would say, 'A little bit of freedom is a dangerous thing,' " Hildreth said.
Hildreth wanted the same treatment in her home state.
"We were in a NAACP Youth Council meeting and I made the motion that we would go down to Katz Drug Store and sit down until they served us," she said.
That is what they did.
Oklahoma remembers Luper's legacy
Clara Luper's success ignited a series of sit-ins and marches across Oklahoma, and she quickly became a notable civil rights activist, ran for the U.S. Senate and continued to teach. State residents refer to her as the mother of Oklahoma's civil rights movement.
She advocated for human rights and racial equality until her death in 2011, but her contributions to the civil rights movement have rarely been credited or acknowledged — until now. Last year Oklahoma City launched Freedom Fiesta, an annual three-day celebration honoring Luper and the legacy of the Katz Drug Store sit-in.
"We're going to make sure that history reflects what we did here in Oklahoma City," Hildreth said.
Eleven of the 13 children who sat at the counter 64 years ago are alive today and continue to tell Luper's story. Hildreth said she is confident her mother will gain broader recognition one day.
"She would say all the time, 'I want you to believe in the sun when the sun didn't shine and to believe in the rain when the rain didn't fall and to believe in the God that we've never seen,' " she said. "That's the way that she would want to be remembered."
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-19/how-a-history-teacher-and-13-black-students-shaped-the-civil-rights-movement | 2022-08-19T18:15:25Z |
The actor played the character of Mike Ehrmantraut for 13 years – first on the TV series Breaking Bad, then on its spinoff, Better Call Saul, which ended earlier this week. Originally broadcast in 2015.
Copyright 2022 NPR
The actor played the character of Mike Ehrmantraut for 13 years – first on the TV series Breaking Bad, then on its spinoff, Better Call Saul, which ended earlier this week. Originally broadcast in 2015.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-19/jonathan-banks-embraces-not-being-very-pretty-as-breaking-bad-hitman | 2022-08-19T18:15:31Z |
The singer-songwriter is known for his intensely autobiographical writing. When Wainwright turned 75 recently, he decided to make an album about trying — and mostly failing — to age gracefully.
Copyright 2022 Fresh Air
The singer-songwriter is known for his intensely autobiographical writing. When Wainwright turned 75 recently, he decided to make an album about trying — and mostly failing — to age gracefully.
Copyright 2022 Fresh Air | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-19/loudon-wainwright-iii-goes-back-to-the-basics-on-lifetime-achievement | 2022-08-19T18:15:37Z |
LANSING, Mich. — A Michigan judge on Friday blocked county prosecutors from enforcing the state's 1931 ban on abortion for the foreseeable future after two days of witness testimony from abortion experts, providers and the state's chief medical officer.
The ruling comes after the state Court of Appeals said earlier this month that county prosecutors were not covered by a May order and could enforce the prohibition following the fall of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court.
"The harm to the body of women and people capable of pregnancy in not issuing the injunction could not be more real, clear, present and dangerous to the court," Oakland County Judge Jacob Cunningham said during his ruling Friday.
David Kallman, an attorney representing two Republican county prosecutors, said an appeal is planned.
"The judge ignored all of the clear legal errors and problems in this case, it appears to me, simply because the issue is abortion," Kallman told The Associated Press following the hearing.
Cunningham had filed a restraining order against county prosecutors hours after the Aug. 1 appeals court decision and following a request from attorneys representing Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
While a majority of prosecutors in counties where there are abortion clinics have said they will not enforce the ban, Republican prosecutors in Kent, Jackson and Macomb counties have said they should be able to enforce the 1931 law.
Cunningham listened to arguments Wednesday and Thursday in Pontiac before granting the preliminary injunction, which is expected to keep abortion legal throughout the state until the Michigan Supreme Court or voters could decide in the fall.
In his ruling, Cunningham found all three of the state's witnesses "extremely credible" while dismissing testimony from the defense witnesses as "unhelpful and biased."
The 1931 law in Michigan, which was triggered after the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, bans abortion in all instances except the life of the mother. The dormant ban was retroactively blocked from going into effect in May when Judge Elizabeth Gleicher issued a preliminary injunction.
The state Court of Appeals later said that the preliminary injunction only applied to the attorney general's office, meaning that providers could get charged with a felony by some county prosecutors.
While Kallman said during closing arguments Thursday that granting a preliminary injunction isn't how laws should be changed, attorneys representing Whitmer argued that allowing county prosecutors to decide whether to enforce the 1931 ban would cause confusion.
"I'm relieved that everyone in this state knows that it doesn't matter what county you live in now, you are not as a provider going to be prosecuted," Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said following the ruling
A ballot initiative seeking to enshrine abortion rights into the state's constitution turned in 753,759 signatures in July and is expected to ultimately decide the status abortion access in Michigan. The amendment awaits final approval for the November ballot by the state's Board of Canvassers.
"This court finds it is overwhelmingly in the public's best interest to let the people of the great state of Michigan decide this matter at the ballot box," Cunningham said Friday.
The status of abortion in Michigan is expected to drastically impact the battleground state's November general election, where Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel, also a Democrat, have made abortion rights a centerpiece of their reelection campaigns.
"Absent this preliminary injunction, physicians face a very real threat of prosecution depending on where they practice," Nessel said in a statement issued following Friday's ruling.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-19/michigans-abortion-ban-is-blocked-for-now | 2022-08-19T18:15:44Z |
Here & Now‘s Scott Tong talks with Craig Whitlock, investigative reporter for The Washington Post, about what went wrong in Afghanistan over the two decades the U.S. had troops there. His book is “The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War.“
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-19/the-afghanistan-papers-investigates-what-went-wrong-in-the-country | 2022-08-19T18:15:50Z |
The search of Mar-a-Lago was for highly classified information. So what might be revealed and what would be redacted in the affidavit of the search warrant after a judge has ordered it released? The Justice Department says it will be highly redacted to protect the investigation.
Here & Now‘s Celeste Headlee talks with former Watergate prosecutor Jill Wine Banks.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-19/what-the-search-warrant-affidavit-for-mar-a-lago-might-reveal | 2022-08-19T18:15:56Z |
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — It all began 20 years ago, when China loaned Sri Lanka more than $1 billion to build a fancy new port — what would become its second-largest — on its southern coast.
The Hambantota port, with its strategic location near busy Indian Ocean shipping routes, was touted as good for Sri Lankan commerce. But it wasn't profitable, and the government defaulted on those Chinese loans.
Then China foreclosed, taking over the port's operations in 2017 on a 99-year lease.
Beijing's critics have long offered up Hambantota as the classic example of what they call a Chinese debt trap. Now, with Sri Lanka bankrupt and politically unstable, they're flagging it as a worrying example of how China might use that infrastructure for military purposes.
Their fears grew this week, when a Chinese survey ship docked at Hambantota. Sri Lanka and China call it a scientific research vessel, which will stay through Aug. 22 to resupply. But foreign security experts call it a Chinese naval ship that's been used in the past to track satellites and missiles.
The ship's arrival on Tuesday set off alarm bells in the West and in neighboring India, which has tense relations with Beijing. Critics say whatever China does in Hambantota with this ship may signal what it eventually plans to do with all the ports, highways, bridges and other infrastructure it's built around the world in recent decades — in one of the biggest construction efforts in human history. They fear this colossal network of infrastructure could be converted into an unprecedented network of military bases, occupying parts of countries where China has never had overseas army bases before.
Sri Lanka has been transformed by Chinese construction
Chinese companies, most of them state-owned, have built ports, power stations, an airport — even a giant lotus-shaped tourist tower — across Sri Lanka.
At first, these projects were hailed as symbols of Sri Lanka's development, says Shreen Sarour, a human rights activist. Many of the projects now look like "white elephants," she says — useless to the now-bankrupt Sri Lankan government, but possibly useful to China. They could be used to interfere with or control global trade, or possibly even as launchpads for military aggression, Sarour believes.
Sri Lanka has been one of the countries hardest hit by inflation and rising energy prices this year. In May, the government defaulted on foreign debt payments. By July, inflation had shot up to 60%. There are rolling blackouts, food shortages and fuel rationing.
The economic crisis sparked a political one: Protesters filled the streets, calling for the ouster of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Last month, he fled the country and resigned. A new president is now in his place.
Many Sri Lankans accuse Rajapaksa and his brother, another former president, of running the economy into the ground. Protesters are calling for scrutiny of everything they did. One of the biggest things they did was to sign opaque investment deals with China, including oversight of the Chinese construction at Hambantota.
"This is economic colonialism," says W. Jude Namal Fernando, a Sri Lankan fisherman turned activist who successfully lobbied a Chinese construction company to compensate fishermen whose land was eroded because of Chinese dredging north of Colombo. "China exploits our country, but it's our leaders who let them do it."
China says its ship is on a scientific mission, not a military one
China and Sri Lanka have both sought to allay concerns of those like Fernando and Sarour, as well as foreign governments like India's, who worry this Chinese ship's arrival could signal the start of the militarization of Chinese infrastructure in Sri Lanka.
"I would like to reiterate that the marine scientific research conducted by the research ship Yuan Wang 5 conforms to international law and international common practice, and will not affect the security and economic interests of any country," China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said a briefing Monday.
When the ship docked Tuesday, the Chinese Embassy threw a welcome ceremony. Workers stood at attention, waving Chinese and Sri Lankan flags, and the Chinese ambassador extolled the two countries "outstanding friendship."
But Indian media reported that some senior Sri Lankan officials boycotted the ceremony.
The Chinese ship's arrival in Hambantota was reportedly delayed amid objections from India, which shares a more than 2,000-mile disputed border with China, where soldiers clashed two years ago.
On Tuesday, a Sri Lankan government spokesperson, Bandula Gunawardana, told reporters that lots of international ships dock in Sri Lanka and insisted this one is no different — but emphasized that the government is working to ensure there's no "friction" with friendly nations.
Worries about the fight for economic influence over Sri Lanka
On Monday, as the Chinese ship neared Hambantota, India donated a maritime reconnaissance aircraft to Sri Lanka.
As relations fray between China and the world's democracies, including India, Sri Lankans feel caught in the middle, says Sarour.
"People are very worried whether we will be the battlefield between and China's and India's tensions — whether Sri Lanka will be the point where the war will start," she says.
If not a war with weapons, Sarour says, then a war for economic influence.
China is one of Sri Lanka's biggest creditors. Most of the country's debt, however, is held by private banks in the United States and Europe.
India has also been a big lender. Over the past decade, it has extended nearly $2 billion in credit lines to its southern neighbor. But India can't afford to do more. It's dealing with its own inflation crisis.
So Sri Lanka is asking the International Monetary Fund for a bailout. The IMF has said the country's political instability could prolong its delivery.
"Meanwhile, we need money to survive. We need about $800 million per month. Somebody will have to finance it," says W.A. Wijewardena, former deputy governor of Sri Lanka's central bank. "Earlier, that somebody was the European Union, the USA, Japan or India — which has its own problems. So now that somebody? China."
China has deep pockets and is often willing to lend faster than the IMF, with fewer questions asked, Wijewardena says. He predicts his country will take out more Chinese loans and go deeper into debt to Beijing in order to stay afloat until an IMF bailout comes through — likely in January.
Learning Mandarin in Colombo
Not everyone in Sri Lanka sees China's presence as negative.
"The Chinese market is expanding in Sri Lanka! Like, hugely expanding," says Chamath Geethan Perera, a 27-year-old businessman in Colombo.
Perera is learning Mandarin and received a scholarship from the Chinese government to study for a master's degree in Chongquing. After three years there, he landed a job at a Chinese construction company in Colombo.
Sri Lankans need to learn how to communicate with Chinese officials, Perera says.
"If they develop our country with the port city or [other projects], we need to have a clear mind about what they are going to do," he says, referring to Port City Colombo, a Chinese-built complex in the capital. "So we don't need to blame anyone other than ourselves."
Perera says it's easy to blame China or the Rajapaksa brothers for all of Sri Lanka's current problems. It may be harder, he says, for the country's new leaders to avoid the same mistakes.
Susitha Fernando contributed to this story from Colombo.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-19/why-a-chinese-ships-arrival-in-sri-lanka-has-caused-alarm-in-india-and-the-west | 2022-08-19T18:16:03Z |
Starting practice at the hottest time of year, Georgia used to be one of the worst states for football player heat-related deaths. But high school heat rules turned the state into a national model.
WABE’s Molly Samuel reports.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-19/with-summer-get-hotter-georgia-leads-the-football-playbook-for-heat-prevention | 2022-08-19T18:16:09Z |
The past two election cycles have seen an explosion of attention given to “echo chambers,” or communities where a narrow set of views makes people less likely to challenge their own opinions. Much of this concern has focused on the rise of social media, which has radically transformed the information ecosystem.
However, when scientists investigated social media echo chambers, they found surprisingly little evidence of them on a large scale – or at least none on a scale large enough to warrant the growing concerns. And yet, selective exposure to news does increase polarization. This suggested that these studies missed part of the picture of Americans’ news consumption patterns. Crucially, they did not factor in a major component of the average American’s experience of news: television.
We first measured just how politically siloed American news consumers really are across TV and the web. Averaging over the four years of our observations, we found that roughly 17% of Americans are politically polarized – 8.7% to the left and 8.4% to the right – based on their TV news consumption. That’s three to four times higher than the average percentage of Americans polarized by online news.
Moreover, the percentage of Americans polarized via TV ranged as high as 23% at its peak in November 2016, the month in which Donald Trump was elected president. A second spike occurred in the months leading into December 2018, following the “blue wave” midterm elections in which a record number of Democratic campaign ads were aired on TV. The timing of these two spikes suggests a clear connection between content choices and events in the political arena.
Staying in TV echo chambers
Besides being more politically siloed on average, our research found that TV news consumers are much more likely than web consumers to maintain the same partisan news diets over time: after six months, left-leaning TV audiences are 10 times more likely to remain segregated than left-leaning online audiences, and right-leaning audiences are 4.5 times more likely than their online counterparts.
While these figures may seem intimidating, it is important to keep in mind that even among TV viewers, about 70% of right-leaning viewers and about 80% of left-leaning viewers do switch their news diets within six months. To the extent that long-lasting echo chambers do exist, then, they include only about 4% of the population.
Narrow TV diets
Partisan segregation among TV audiences goes even further than left- and right-leaning sources, we found. We identified seven broad buckets of TV news sources, then used these archetypes to determine what a typical unvaried TV news diet really looks like.
We found that, compared to online audiences, partisan TV news consumers tend not to stray too far from their narrow sets of preferred news sources. For example, most Americans who consume mostly MSNBC rarely consume news from any other source besides CNN. Similarly, most Americans who consume mostly Fox News Channel do not venture beyond that network at all. This finding contrasts with data from online news consumers, who still receive sizable amounts of news from outside their main archetype.
Distilling partisanship
Finally, we found an imbalance between partisan TV news channels and the broader TV news environment. Our observations revealed that Americans are turning away from national TV news generally in substantial numbers – and crucially, this exodus is more from centrist news buckets than from left- or right-leaning ones. Within the remaining TV news audience, we found movement from broadcast news to cable news, trending toward MSNBC and Fox News.
Together, these trends reveal a counterintuitive finding: Although the overall TV news audience is shrinking, the partisan TV news audience is growing. This means that the audience as a whole is in the process of being “distilled” – remaining TV viewers are growing increasingly partisan, and the partisan proportion of TV news consumers is on the rise.
Why it matters
Exposure to opposing views is critical for functional democratic processes. It allows for self-reflection and tempers hostility toward political outgroups, whereas only interacting with similar views in political echo chambers makes people more entrenched in their own opinions. If echo chambers truly are as widespread as recent attention has made them out to be, it can have major consequences for the health of democracy.
Our findings suggest that television – not the web – is the top driver of partisan audience segregation among Americans. It is important to note that the vast majority of Americans still consume relatively balanced news diets. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/laramieboomerang/opinion/guest_column/don-t-be-too-quick-to-blame-social-media-for-america-s-polarization/article_22a08d3c-1fd8-11ed-b742-371e8a5697e6.html | 2022-08-19T18:45:06Z |
GREEN RIVER -- Residents of Green River need to expect upcoming street repairs in various neighborhoods.
According to Steve Core, communications administrator, the third and final stage of the City of Green River’s cape seal project will begin Monday. The final stage is the placement of oil on top of the rock base. Residents are asked not to park on the street that is be oiled. Following the application, the street will be closed to traffic between four to six hours.
Below is the schedule for the Slurry Seal portion of the Cape Seal Project.
The third and final stage of the City of Green River’s cape seal project will begin Monday. The final stage is the placement of oil on top of the rock base. Residents are asked not to park on the street that is be oiled. Following the application, the street will be closed to traffic between four to sixhours.
Below is the schedule for the Slurry Seal portion of the Cape Seal Project.
MONDAY:
Trail Dr
Hackberry St
Mansface St
Roosevelt Dr
Northside of Shoshone Ave
TUESDAY:
Astle Ave
Southside of Shoshone Ave
Hitching Post Dr
WEDNESDAY:
Ironwood St
Hutton Circle
Hutton St
These door knockers will contain specific information regarding the treatment. The contractor will be handing out Door Knockers starting Friday and continuing into next week.
These door knockers will contain specific information regarding the treatment. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/rocketminer/city-of-green-river-announce-street-repair-plans/article_dc0412de-1fde-11ed-99c5-9f4d9d2af595.html | 2022-08-19T18:45:12Z |
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The Spring Creek Drainage became a river with its own set of rapids after a Saturday storms. It is pictured here looking east from just east of the 13th Street Bridge on Spring Creek Drive. The matted grass above the waterline shows how far the drainage had come down by early evening.
A worker assists the Albany County Sheriff’s Office in closing North Cedar Street just north of Snowy Range Road because of flooding Saturday evening. Carol Ryczek/For the Laramie Boomerang
The Spring Creek Drainage became a river with its own set of rapids after a Saturday storms. It is pictured here looking east from just east of the 13th Street Bridge on Spring Creek Drive. The matted grass above the waterline shows how far the drainage had come down by early evening.
Carol Ryczek/For the Boomerang
A worker assists the Albany County Sheriff’s Office in closing North Cedar Street just north of Snowy Range Road because of flooding Saturday evening. Carol Ryczek/For the Laramie Boomerang
After flash flooding hit Laramie on Saturday, the city is calculating losses caused by the storm as Albany County considers issuing a disaster declaration.
“We had very diverse rainfall amounts throughout the city,” said City Manager Janine Jordan said during this week’s Laramie City Council meeting. “Right through the middle of town between 30th Street to 3rd Street, then bounded by roughly Harney and Sheridan, that part of town actually received a lot more rainfall very quickly than did other areas even within the city.”
The National Weather Service reports the storm hit the region with about 2.75 inches of rain in less than an hour, causing storm drains to back up and overflow area creeks.
Jordan said parts of the city experienced flash flooding that impacted some homes and left debris across streets and sidewalks. In the days since, the Red Cross of Wyoming has twice announced it’s helping a pair of homeowners impacted by the high water.
“We did suffer a lightning strike here at the City Hall,” Jordan said of another issue from the storm. “That caused our internet service, phones and some other interruptions in our information technology internal function.”
Jordan said that most interruptions have been corrected, with IT professionals working to improve services while the city waits for a power climbing crew to respond and complete repairs.
“For the public, though, that rainfall amounted in a lot of interruption in our rights of way, with a lot of flash flooding down the streets and overwhelming of storm drains,” Jordan said.
Flooding also caused some manhole covers to be destroyed or lifted by the water and the city’s working to put together a report on the overall cost related to the storm. Jordan said city staff had likely put in an additional 50 hours of work to handle issues caused by Saturday’s flood.
Sunday, the city’s water treatment plant experienced some issues as debris filled Fox Creek, which runs into the Laramie River and near the plant.
The plant was shut down temporarily from 1 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. In the days since, intake has increased by around 3,000 nephelometric turbidity units, which means that liquids going into the plant had significantly more debris than usual.
The city also expects to lose between $5,000 and $6,000 to damage done to mosquito control equipment. Recreation areas lost dirt and grass, especially softball and baseball fields. The city plans to submit an insurance claim for the damages, and Jordan said the county may seek a disaster declaration because of the weather event. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyomingbusinessreport/industry_news/banking_and_finance/albany-county-mulls-disaster-declaration-for-flooding/article_57a4a598-1fe4-11ed-9a9b-f7c0ea722f40.html | 2022-08-19T18:45:25Z |
CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Education Association announced Thursday morning it has filed suit against the state for failing to fund education adequately.
It was filed in Laramie County District Court, and as of Thursday evening, it was unclear whether school districts will join as plaintiffs. Laramie County School District 1 trustees passed a resolution Monday night agreeing to consider authorizing legal action against the state to ensure funding, but officials didn’t confirm whether they plan to follow through.
WEA President Grady Hutcherson was joined by the association’s lawyer at a news conference in front of the state Capitol to assert that the state has violated the Wyoming Constitution, and the quality of education in the state has suffered for it. He said if the Legislature continues to withhold education funding, the learning environment will only continue to get worse.
He said students cannot wait, and they deserve better.
“Students are already being disadvantaged with increased class sizes,” Hutcherson said. “In some districts, we are seeing aging buildings and infrastructure. There’s also insufficient school security measures in our schools.”
He voiced his concern for the growing teacher shortage, and said districts are being robbed of the financial resources they need to hire and retain qualified professionals.
“Wyoming children and families are promised access to high quality and equitable education – in too many ways, that promise is going unfilled. Funding public education is not an option; it is a paramount duty of the Legislature,” said Hutcherson. “The Wyoming Education Association is committed to seeking justice for our students.”
Civil rights and employment lawyer Patrick Hacker will be one of the individuals representing the WEA. He was also the chief counsel for the WEA in the Wyoming Supreme Court "Campbell" cases, which defined what action the Legislature was supposed to take regarding education funding.
In the 71-page complaint, they lay out multiple ways they say the Wyoming Constitution is not being upheld.
Hacker pointed to the Declaration of Rights in the state Constitution, and the section containing the state’s protections for freedoms such as religion, speech and due process. The right to receive a proper education is listed even before the right to bear arms.
“I give that illustration so that you might understand the significance the founders put on education,” he said.
He said among other protections in the Constitution, there is an article that states the Legislature shall provide the necessary revenue for high-quality, proper education, and it has continued to be ignored by lawmakers.
State response
Gov. Mark Gordon’s spokesperson, Michael Pearlman, responded with a statement regarding the lawsuit Thursday evening, and said over the past few years, Wyoming has had to make record cuts to almost all services other than K-12 education. He said it is unfortunate that the lawsuit comes at this time, considering the work of the governor’s education initiative is in full swing.
The Reimagining and Innovating the Delivery of Education (RIDE) advisory group was launched in May of 2021 by Gordon to develop recommendations for elevating Wyoming’s K-12 education system. It has put effort into learning more about what the public expects for schools through surveys and listening sessions.
“It is his hope that this lawsuit will not distract from the important effort to determine exactly what the Wyoming people want their education system to deliver – a key element of school funding,” wrote Pearlman. “While the governor recognizes that a thorough examination of our K-12 funding system may be necessary, he would prefer to work on that outside of the courts.”
Nonetheless, he said Attorney General Bridget Hill will defend Wyoming’s interests in the courts.
Hacker will face the state’s defense, but presented many of the arguments he will make in the Wyoming Supreme Court to those at the press conference. He said he understands legislators are always reluctant to appropriate money, but education is different because it is a fundamental right.
“Lack of revenue is no excuse,” he reiterated from the court's opinion. “They also say that the public schools, elementary and secondary, must be funded ahead of all other interests not unconstitutional in nature. And the state cannot yield to those other things until they have fully and properly funded public education.”
One of the requirements is that the Legislature must evaluate what the specific components of education are, such as teachers, aides, principals and supplies. They must determine if there are any new additions necessary, and whether the amount of funding is equal to the actual cost that school districts are incurring. Hacker clarified it is not what lawmakers think it should cost, but the actual amount.
The other directive is that the Legislature must adjust the formula for inflation, also known as an external cost adjustment. Hacker said this has not been done consistently, and, in some cases, it has not been approved at all even in the wake of an 8.1% inflation rate going into the last legislative session.
He criticized the lack of salary increases in the finance model since it was created in the 2000s. The Cheyenne attorney said it has led to an inability to hire and retain quality employees, and often districts must hire anyone who applies. He said a school district’s faculty is 84% of the cost of running it, and this must be taken into account.
“The annual salary increase for teachers in Wyoming between 2010 and 2022, it was a grand total of $604 in 12 years,” he said.
Hacker said the Wyoming Legislature has failed to address education funding in many other ways, but there were lawmakers who fought on behalf of the Wyoming Education Association – just not enough. And he said, it is not because someone has failed to bring it to their attention.
“They don’t believe what the Supreme Court said, or they’ve chosen to disregard it,” he said. “Those are the only two options I know of.”
Lawmakers react
Legislators who spoke Thursday with the Wyoming Tribune Eagle agreed it was not the first time they heard calls for better education funding.
Many have been seeking solutions, including in the Joint Revenue Committee. Stakeholders have been asked to bring forth their recommendations for education revenue models before the next meeting on Sept. 14-15 in Casper.
Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson, sits on the committee, and said it has been a frustrating experience fighting to properly fund education in the state. He said there isn’t a lack of understanding regarding their constitutional duty, but rather a desire to skirt it. He said lawmakers should make it a point of pride instead of viewing it as an obligation.
He hopes the lawsuit will showcase they haven’t been meeting the needs of Wyoming students, and change the minds of legislators, or there will be consequences.
“People will continue to leave our state, and I think it will have a harmful effect on our economy, and the ability for people to run small businesses and hire the best employees,” he said. “There are a whole bunch of downstream effects for having a sustainable state when you lack a strong education system.”
Sen. Stephan Pappas, R-Cheyenne, a longtime member of the Joint Education Committee, and chairman of the Select Committee on School Facilities, said he has seen what the Legislature has been trying to do to correct the structural deficit. He said while the state can always reduce spending as revenue declines, he believes cuts to education are too deep.
“The only way to come up with new revenue to offset our loss of the money coming in from the extractive industries is to grow our population in the state. More taxpayers, more tax, without having to raise tax levels,” he said. “In order to do that, people won’t come to our state unless we have livable communities, great health care and great schools. That’s what they look for.”
Pappas said he expects the lawsuit will have to address the source of revenue, because he said education has been proven as one of the top priorities among lawmakers for years. He pointed to the portion of the budget that goes toward education, and said it’s huge.
Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie, is a member of both the education and school facilities committees. He said he was disappointed it had come to a lawsuit. However, he believes the Legislature is out of constitutional compliance, and it is appropriate for the education association and school districts to step up to file lawsuits.
“The Legislature fully understands what is necessary to comply with the Campbell decisions and our constitutional obligations to fully fund the K-12 education system in Wyoming,” he said. “We had been flirting with unconstitutionality over the past several years, and I think this past legislative session, we finally made it abundantly clear that we were no longer going to provide adequate (external cost adjustments), cost-of-living adjustments, in compliance with the decisions.”
He said during the first half of his tenure in the Legislature, there used to be a focus on compliance. He said the nature of the discussion has changed, and it is now about how legislators can provide the cheapest education.
Rothfuss further stated that there is an easy answer to the issue, but it is politically impossible to achieve at this point. He said the state has the lowest taxation in the country, and studies have proven that if the revenue structure were adjusted, it would satisfy the needs of the government.
“It's a lack of political will, and a fear by many legislators of doing the right thing, because they know they won’t get to come back to the Legislature if they vote to raise taxes,” he said. “And we saw in the election a couple of days ago that they’re probably not wrong.”
He said it places the state in a conundrum when the constituents elect more extremist, anti-tax, anti-education legislators, and they send them to Cheyenne to somehow try to comply with constitutional obligations for a high-quality education.
Local needs
Politicians in the Capitol aren’t the only ones recognizing the impacts.
LCSD1 trustees passed a resolution at their most recent board meeting stating the board, by a majority, agreed to consider authorizing legal action against the state.
“The Legislature has failed to adequately address historic inflation rates, and has further reduced education funding to a level below that, which is contrary to which consultants have determined is necessary to fund a proper education,” LCSD1 Trustee Rich Wiederspahn read from the resolution.
Following the WEA announcement, LCSD1 Superintendent Margaret Crespo said she wouldn’t confirm if the district would be joining as a plaintiff, but said officials have continued to see the negative effects of a funding deficit.
Prices for supplies, equipment and technology continue to rise, and the funding model doesn’t provide money directly for the security measures many stakeholders are asking for. She said they also aren’t able to provide a wage competitive with other schools in the region, and are below market value.
“You don’t want people leaving that have been with us, but we can’t keep up,” she said.
Marguerite Herman, an LCSD1 trustee and candidate for House District 11, told the WTE she hopes to be a voice for educators, and it is imperative that action is taken – although she is unsure if districts are prepared for costly litigation.
She said she can’t speak for other trustees as to the decision they will make, but she believes the Wyoming Legislature has fallen short of its responsibility to ensure a uniform education statewide.
“I see LCSD1 struggling to hire and retain staff, to meet the rising cost of everything, and provide an education in facilities that are safe and suitable,” she said. “I see districts around the state explain their predicament to lawmakers and provide the evidence to make their case. It will require rearranging revenue streams to keep the School Foundation Program in good fiscal shape.” | https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyomingbusinessreport/industry_news/banking_and_finance/wyoming-education-association-sues-wyoming-over-education-funding/article_37654fd0-1fe4-11ed-8245-a3ea7576c369.html | 2022-08-19T18:45:31Z |
The sign on top of the restored train depot on South Main Street in downtown Rock Springs is seen by many visitors in the area. It is currently a locally-owned coffee shop.
ROCK SPRINGS – Representatives from All Aboard Northwest (AANW) conducted a Train Trek presentation to Mayor Tim Kaumo on Wednesday, Aug. 17 in city chambers.
The stop in Rock Springs is part of a larger series of discussions happening in the western states to gather support for the return of passenger trains to Wyoming.
Dan Bilka, president and co-founder of AANW, and Charlie Hamilton, vice-president of AANW, explained how a returning passenger train service in Rock Springs could benefit the community.
“We know a lot of folks are interested in getting a passenger rail service to this region after many years,” said Hamilton. “About 30 percent of Americans don’t drive because of age – they're too young or too old or because of a disability. The weather makes it difficult at times too.
“If you’re driving to your destination, you might not get there until the next day.”
Bilka pointed out that passenger rail service is an ideal option for the economy, environment and equity.
“There is more to your community than just cars,” Hamilton mentioned.
According to Bilka and Hamilton, there is “unprecedented federal funding available for transportation alternatives.”
Hamilton informed Kaumo that they don’t insist on building new tracks.
“We’re focusing on tracks already in existence,” Hamilton said. “We believe we will create a situation that will benefit UP (Union Pacific) and the users.
“Our vision is more than lines on a map. It’s about seamless mobility from Point A to Point B.”
Bilka said, “2022 is just an amazing opportunity. There is $66 million available in funding. The federal government wants to see this happen.”
Hamilton added, “This opportunity may never come again so we’re encouraging everyone to think about how your community and your state can participate.”
They went on to explain that communities can apply for competitive grants and funding will require local support.
They pointed out that “there are a lot of college towns interested in this project.”
Bilka shared a conversation he had with a University of Wyoming student recently in regards to fostering that opportunity dynamic with passenger rail service.
“He (the student) said, ‘yeah, if we had a train here, we’d totally load it up with students and go to Denver or Salt Lake City.’”
Bilka also said that inclement weather would be a good reason for families to take advantage of passenger rail services to avoid long drives on bad roads.
“Those are the kind of things that would make money for everyone and get people excited about being on a train,” Hamilton said.
Kaumo told Bilka and Hamilton that he’s excited to know more about passenger rail service and that it has been discussed since he became mayor in 2003.
“It is safer and dependable and I had always wondered why passenger trains don’t stop in Wyoming communities,” said Kaumo. “Perhaps it’s the timing of freight trains.”
Bilka said that “Amtrak might be interested but there will also be a number of railroad providers that will be interested too.”
“There are still a lot of questions that need to be answered,” Kaumo noted.
Kaumo added, “I’d like to see it be successful someday but we, along with UP, need to see if infrastructure needs to be improved and discuss the cost.”
“There’s definitely interest in this but there are moving parts to deal with.” | https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyomingbusinessreport/industry_news/economy_and_labor/transforming-a-community-guest-speakers-share-benefits-of-passenger-rail-service/article_86ac3b1c-1fe4-11ed-9e03-f7df7016528c.html | 2022-08-19T18:45:37Z |
Climate Bill’s Unlikely Beneficiary: US Oil and Gas Industry
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The U.S. oil industry hit a legal roadblock in January when a judge struck down a $192 million oil and natural gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico over future global warming emissions from burning the fuels. It came at a pivotal time for Chevron, Exxon and other industry players: the Biden administration had curtailed opportunities for new offshore drilling, while raising climate change concerns.
The industry’s setback was short-lived, however. The climate measure President Joe Biden signed Tuesday bypasses the administration’s concerns about emissions and guarantees new drilling opportunities in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska. The legislation was crafted to secure backing from a top recipient of oil and gas donations, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, and was shaped in part by industry lobbyists.
While the Inflation Reduction Act concentrates on clean energy incentives that could drastically reduce overall U.S. emissions, it also buoys oil and gas interests by mandating leasing of vast areas of public lands and off the nation’s coasts. And it locks renewables and fossil fuels together: If the Biden administration wants solar and wind on public lands, it must offer new oil and gas leases first.
As a result, U.S. oil and gas production and emissions from burning fuels could keep growing, according to some industry analysts and climate experts. With domestic demand sliding, that means more fossil fuels exported to growing foreign markets, including from the Gulf where pollution from oil and gas activity plagues many poor and minority communities.
To the industry, the new law signals Democrats are willing to work with them and to abandon the notion fossil fuels could soon be rendered obsolete, said Andrew Gillick with Enverus, an energy analytics company whose data is used by industry and government agencies.
“The folks that think oil and gas will be gone in 10 years may not be thinking through what this means,” Gillick said. “Both supply and demand will increase over the next decade.”
The result would be more planet-warming carbon dioxide — up to 110 million tons (100 million metric tons) annually — from U.S.-produced oil and gas by 2030, with most coming from fuel burned after export, according to some economists and analysts.
A Department of Energy analysis obtained by The Associated Press Thursday said the law’s leasing provisions “may lead to some increase” in carbon pollution, but that other provisions would cut 35 tons of greenhouse gas for every new ton of fossil fuel pollution.
The law reinstates within 30 days the 2,700-square miles (6,950-square kilometers) of Gulf leases that had been withheld. It ensures companies like Chevron will have the chance to expand and overrides the concerns of U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras that the government was “barreling full-steam ahead” without adequately considering global emission increases.
The measure’s importance was underscored by Chevron executives during a recent earnings call, where they predicted continued growth in the Gulf and tied that directly to being able “to lease and acquire additional acreage.”
The fossil fuel industry’s ambitions are now directly linked to wind and solar development: The bill prohibits leasing of federal lands and waters for renewable energy unless the government has offered at least 2 million acres (810,000 hectares) of public land and 60 million acres (24 million hectares) in federal waters for oil and gas leasing during the prior year. The law does not require leases to be sold, only offered for sale.
The measure’s critics say that’s holding renewables hostage unless the fossil fuel industry gets its way. Some accuse Biden and Democrats of abandoning pledges to confront the industry.
“It’s 10 more years of mandatory leases,” said Brett Hartl with the Center for Biological Diversity. “We will do our damnedest but it’s hard to fight them all.”
Communities near polluting industrial plants will continue to suffer if the oil and gas industry remains vibrant, said Beverly Wright, executive director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice and a member of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council. She worries that incentives in the law for technology that captures carbon from industrial processes could also perpetuate harm to these poor, mostly minority residents.
In Louisiana’s St. James Parish, where petrochemical plants dominate the landscape, environmental justice activist Sharon Lavigne said the legislation will allow pollution from fossil fuels to keep harming her community.
“That’s just like saying they’re going to continue to poison us, going to continue to cause us cancer,” said Lavigne, a former high school teacher who founded the group Rising St. James.
The leasing provisions mark a failure in efforts by environmentalists and social justice advocates to impose a nationwide leasing ban. The movement’s high point came when Biden followed campaign pledges to end new drilling on federal lands with an order his first week in office suspending lease sales.
U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty in Lake Charles, Louisiana blocked Biden’s order nationwide last year. A federal appeals court Wednesday struck down Doughty’s ruling, then Thursday he issued a new injunction saying lease sales can’t be stopped in the 13 states that opposed Biden’s policy.
A stream of potential drilling sites is crucial for companies to maintain future production because wells can take years to develop and some yield nothing, said Jim Noe, an industry lobbyist who worked with Senate staff on the climate bill’s leasing provisions.
“The industry is in constant need — almost like a treadmill — of lease sales,” said Noe, an attorney at Holland & Knight who represented offshore oil and gas companies. Noe said demand for oil and gas won’t decline immediately and Gulf drilling brings jobs and more energy security.
A United Nations report before Biden took office warned that the U.S. and other nations need to sharply decrease investments in oil, gas and coal to keep temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times.
Other bill provisions that focus on renewable energy and capturing carbon dioxide from industrial plants would result in net emission reductions 10 to 50 times greater than emission increases from burning more oil and gas, analysts say.
The increase in oil and gas emissions still could be substantial — as much as 77 million to 110 million tons (70 to 100 million metric tons) of additional carbon dioxide annually by 2030 from new leasing, according to economist Brian Prest with the research group Resources for the Future.
Other experts had lower projections: The San Francisco-based climate research group Energy Innovation predicted up to 55 million tons (50 million metric tons) of additional carbon dioxide annually from new leasing. Researchers from Princeton and Dartmouth said the impact could be negligible or as much as 22 million tons (20 million metric tons) in the U.S., plus much more abroad.
Any increase hinges on global oil and natural gas prices staying high — and that in turn depends on a range of factors including the ongoing war in Ukraine, said Robbie Orvis with Energy Innovation.
“It may increase oil and gas production somewhat, but that is very much offset by all of the other pieces of the bill,” Orvis said.
Yet there’s uncertainty about how quickly other pieces of the bill could bring emission cuts. Wind and solar construction could run into the supply chain problems hindering many economic sectors. And technology to capture and store carbon dioxide is still being refined and is in limited use.
Other provisions could make it potentially more expensive to drill on public lands and waters. There are modest increases in royalty and rental rates and a new $5-per-acre fee when companies want particular parcels offered for lease. Another fee would require companies to pay for natural gas, or methane, that enters the atmosphere as a potent greenhouse gas.
The higher costs could dampen interest among companies, said Mark Squillace, a natural resources law professor at University of Colorado Law School.
“Even though the industry is going to be getting more oil and gas leasing if they want it, it’s an interesting question: Do they want it?” Squillace asked.
By AP reporters Matthew Brown and Michael Phillis | https://www.bizneworleans.com/climate-bills-unlikely-beneficiary-us-oil-and-gas-industry/ | 2022-08-19T18:49:27Z |
Fidelity Bank Helps Fund Repairs to Habitat Homes
NEW ORLEANS — On Aug. 16, Fidelity Bank and Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas toured the repairs they funded as part of their investment in New Orleans and affordable home ownership. The tour included presentations of giant, symbolic checks to New Orleans homeowners. Homeowner Valerie Thornton Bartholomew at 1115 N. Roman Street received a much-needed ramp for her home, and homeowner Betty Kennedy at 4818 Copernicus Street received a new roof after losing her previous roof in Hurricane Ida. The investment in both homes totaled more than $14,000.
“Because of this donation, we were able to provide crucial repairs to elderly homeowners in need,” said Marguerite Oestreicher of New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity. “We are grateful that both Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas and Fidelity recognize the importance of affordable home ownership and have made this investment in New Orleans.”
NOAHH is an independent nonprofit affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. Its mission is to “responsibly build communities where families can thrive, in homes they can afford.” | https://www.bizneworleans.com/fidelity-bank-helps-fund-repairs-to-habitat-homes/ | 2022-08-19T18:49:29Z |
Leaders Celebrate Deepening of the Mississippi River Ship Channel
NEW ORLEANS – Louisiana elected officials, federal partners and maritime stakeholders joined the Big River Coalition on Aug. 16 to celebrate the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ completion of the first two phases of the deepening of the Mississippi River Ship Channel, which now provides a maximum draft for vessels to the Port of New Orleans at 50 feet. The ship channel has been mechanically deepened for approximately 200 miles but additional efforts are required to open the deeper draft north of the Huey P. Long Bridge.
“The deepening of the Mississippi River Ship Channel is a transformational project that will bolster our economy, create and sustain jobs, and solidify Louisiana’s status as a global anchor for trade,” said Gov. John Bel Edwards at the event. “The economic growth from this project is expected to create several thousand new jobs, which comes on the heels of Louisiana reaching the lowest unemployment rate in state history. It’s an exciting time for our state, and I look forward to facilitating even more growth thanks to the partnerships we have forged.”
The increased draft is available through the Port of New Orleans to the Huey P. Long Bridge at Mile 106 Above Head of Passes (AHP). Expansion of the deeper draft above the Huey P. Long Bridge from 49 feet to 50 feet will require additional improvements although the dredging has been completed to Mile 175 AHP along with the additional 20 miles of Southwest Pass (195 miles total).
The Mississippi River Ship Channel is home to four of the Nation’s top 15 ports by annual tonnage (Port of Greater Baton Rouge, Port of South Louisiana, Port of New Orleans and the Plaquemines Port Harbor and Terminal District). The overall costs for the project were estimated at $250 million, the State of Louisiana committed $81 million to match the non-federal sponsor cost-share.
“Bigger ships carrying more cargo means more jobs and economic opportunity for Louisiana and the Nation,” said U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy. “This project is a top priority for Louisiana’s entire federal delegation.”
The M/V CAPRI loaded with a record 134,706 metric tons of coal was the first vessel to transit on the Ship Channel with a draft of 50 feet upon departure on Aug. 5, 2022 – almost 10 years to the day after the Big River Coalition revitalized efforts to deepen the Ship Channel. The CAPRI departed the Ship Channel with a Crescent River Port Pilot on board until the pilot exchange occurred at Pilottown when a Bar Pilot took over for the outbound voyage through Southwest Pass to the Gulf of Mexico. | https://www.bizneworleans.com/leaders-celebrate-deepening-of-the-mississippi-river-ship-channel/ | 2022-08-19T18:49:32Z |
Magic Seasoning Blends Celebrates 40 Years
NEW ORLEANS (press release) — Chef Paul Prudhomme, the celebrity chef who kicked off an international appetite for Louisiana cuisine, found a new creative outlet in 1982 when he launched his line of all natural seasonings, originally blended for restaurant use.
His “Good Cooking, Good Eating, Good Loving” philosophy brought Chef Paul from a farm in Opelousas, Louisiana, as the youngest of 13 children, to world renown for his ability to blend the right spices for the right taste.
Chef Paul’s appreciation for the magic of good food started during family meals. “I would watch my brothers and sisters sit down at the table. Everyone was talking and having a good time and I remember thinking food did that.”
With a desire to travel and learn the restaurant business Chef Paul left Opelousas, honing his skill in restaurants around the country where he was exposed to different cooking styles, techniques, and ingredients. Eventually he returned to Louisiana, becoming the first American-born executive chef at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. In 1979 he opened K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen with his wife Kay Hinrichs. The seeds of the seasoning company were soon planted in the 64-seat French Quarter restaurant.
When customers asked to purchase the intricately flavored seasonings that were the hallmark of the restaurant’s cuisine, the kitchen staff put together small foil packets filled with custom mixes. As demand grew Chef Paul moved the seasoning operation to a little warehouse and hired people to mix the spice blends. A new company was born.
Today at the 125,000-square-foot Magic Seasoning Blends plant in New Orleans, Chef Paul’s flavorful dry mixes, rubs, and Magic Pepper Sauce are blended from the best herbs and spices on the market and shipped to all 50 states and over 40 countries around the world.
Chef Paul was the creative force behind Magic Seasoning Blends, working in a research and development kitchen in the backyard of his home in New Orleans’ Bywater neighborhood. His innate taste for the perfect blend and an understanding about where flavor hits the tongue and how it travels through the mouth added magic to the company’s products.
“The thing that I love the most is doing seasoning formulas,” he said. “I want every seasoning blend that goes out to be the best it can be.”
Until his death in 2015, Chef Paul traveled the world sharing his passion for food and teaching people how to enjoy bold flavors. Forty years after the company’s humble beginnings, millions of customers still depend on Chef Paul’s Magic Seasoning Blends to bring excitement to their meals, continuing his mission to bring families together at the dinner table. | https://www.bizneworleans.com/magic-seasoning-blends-celebrates-40-years/ | 2022-08-19T18:49:33Z |
Nothing Bundt Cakes Celebrates 25 Years with Giveaway
NEW ORLEANS — Nothing Bundt Cakes is celebrating its 25th birthday with a cake giveaway at its three New Orleans-area locations and at all stores nationwide. On Thursday, Sept. 1, the first 250 guests at each bakery will receive a free Confetti Bundtlet, the brand’s individually packaged miniature cake. The bakery is also hosting an online contest. One fan will win a $25,000 birthday party planned by a celebrity party planning company. 25 runners up will each receive a $100 gift card.
“At Nothing Bundt Cakes, bringing joy is at the heart of everything we do,” said Nothing Bundt Cakes Chief Marketing Officer Angie Eckelkamp in a press release. “Our bakery-wide 25th birthday Confetti Bundtlet giveaway and $25,000 party contest is our way of thanking our guests for letting us be a part of their joyous moments over the years.” | https://www.bizneworleans.com/nothing-bundt-cakes-celebrates-25-years-with-giveaway/ | 2022-08-19T18:49:39Z |
Port of South Louisiana Dedicates 2 Cranes for Globalplex Dock
RESERVE, La. — On Aug. 18, the Port of South Louisiana officially dedicated and named the two Konecranes Gottwald Model 6 Portal Harbor Cranes to be used at the Globalplex Intermodal Terminal Dock along the Mississippi River. The cranes increase the Port’s capacity for handling bulk materials and will allow for the handling of containers and project cargo.
“These investments are not only increasing productivity and efficiencies but are also creating indirect jobs for Louisiana families,” said Paul Matthews, the port’s CEO. “Today we are making it clear that we will continue to invest in our infrastructure so that we can get the goods that families and businesses depend on every day, especially during these challenging times with supply chain issues.”
The purchase of the $12.6 million cranes was funded in part (90%) by $11.4 million from the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development’s Port Construction and Development Priority Program.
“There is no investment our state can make that has a bigger return than investing in our ports,” said Renee Lapeyrolerie, DOTD commissioner. “The Port of South Louisiana is literally feeding and fueling the world and our department is proud to have collaborated with the River Region’s legislative delegation and Port officials to make this project a reality.”
The two new cranes, named the Iris and the Cypress, have a maximum lifting capacity of 125 tons. They offer the potential for continuous-duty bulk material handling or heavy project cargo, but they’ll also include a boom-top cable reel to operate electric spreaders for container handling. Included are smart crane features such as cargo hold totalizer, hoisting height and working range assistants. Further, web reporting and remote desktop control utilize the latest technology that add ergonomics, efficiency, and safety to crane operation and performance | https://www.bizneworleans.com/port-of-south-louisiana-dedicates-2-cranes-for-globalplex-dock/ | 2022-08-19T18:49:47Z |
Sports Foundation to Pick Winner of Premier Season Ticket Raffle
NEW ORLEANS — The Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation will pick the winner of its Premier Season Ticket Raffle on Aug. 26. To raise funds for its initiatives, the foundation is handing over 380 event tickets in total to one winner.
The Sports Foundation is the 33-year-old nonprofit organization tasked with attracting and hosting the 2022 NCAA Men’s Final Four, the 2025 Super Bowl and other major sporting events.
Click here to buy a raffle ticket. Here’s what’s at stake:
- New Orleans Saints home games – Seats Located in Section 111
- New Orleans Pelicans home games – Seats Located in Section 103
- LSU Tigers Football (Seats Located in section 301) Baseball, Basketball (Seats located in section 316) home games
- Tulane Green Wave Football, Baseball, Basketball home games
- UNO Privateers Baseball and Basketball home games
- Allstate Sugar Bowl
- Zurich Classic – 4 day VIP Passes
- R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl – Premium Seating + VIP Passes
- NOLA Gold Rugby | https://www.bizneworleans.com/sports-foundation-to-pick-winner-of-premier-season-ticket-raffle/ | 2022-08-19T18:49:53Z |
Winn-Dixie Celebrates Remodeled Slidell Store
SLIDELL, La. — Winn-Dixie officially unveiled a newly remodeled store with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Aug. 17 at 3030 Pontchartrain Drive in Slidell. During the event, Winn-Dixie officials presented donations of $1,000 to Salmen High School and $500 to the Slidell Police Department.
The store now offers an expanded deli department, an updated produce department with organic varieties, an improved seafood department, an updated pharmacy with a consultation area, new self-checkout stations and more.
Winn-Dixie will host a community celebration with live entertainment and giveaways. On Aug. 20 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., there will be raffles for a $100 gift card every hour and a special drawing at 2 p.m. for a chance to win a seafood boiling rig. | https://www.bizneworleans.com/winn-dixie-celebrates-remodeled-slidell-store/ | 2022-08-19T18:49:59Z |
Buttigieg warns airlines to help travelers or face new rules
WASHINGTON (AP) — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has warned airlines that his department could draft new rules around passenger rights if the carriers don’t give more help to travelers trapped by flight cancellations and delays.
Buttigieg is asking airline CEOs to, at a minimum, provide lodging for passengers stranded overnight at an airport and give out meal vouchers for delays of three hours or longer when the disruption is caused by something in the airline’s control.
The Transportation Department on Friday released a copy of the letters, which it said were sent to CEOs of the major U.S. airlines, their regional affiliates, and budget carriers.
A spokeswoman for Airlines for America, a trade group whose members include American, United, Delta and Southwest, said airlines “strive to provide the highest level of customer service.” She said the airlines are committed to overcoming challenges including a tight labor market.
Buttigieg’s agency recently proposed rules around refunds for passengers whose flights are canceled or rescheduled. He told the CEOs the department is considering additional rules “that would further expand the rights of airline passengers who experience disruptions.”
Buttigieg has been sparring with the airlines since late spring over high numbers of canceled and delayed flights. In his latest salvo, he told airline CEOs he appreciates that airlines have stepped up hiring and trimmed schedules to better match the number of flights they can handle.
“Still, the level of disruption Americans have experienced this summer is unacceptable,” he wrote.
So far this year, airlines have canceled about 146,000 flights, or 2.6%, and nearly 1.3 million flights have been delayed, according to tracking service FlightAware. The rate of cancellations is up about one-third from the same period in 2019, before the pandemic, and the rate of delays is up nearly one-fourth.
Federal officials have blamed many of the disruptions on understaffing at airlines, which encouraged employees to quit after the pandemic started. The airlines have countered by blaming staffing problems at the Federal Aviation Administration, which hires air traffic controllers.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/19/buttigieg-warns-airlines-help-travelers-or-face-new-rules/ | 2022-08-19T18:59:25Z |
Love Like Adam Foundation set to start college hazing prevention presentations
This is all part of a new state law passed in memory of Adam Oakes
LYNCHBURG, Va. (WWBT) - On Saturday, the Love Like Adam Foundation is set to start their first in-person hazing prevention presentation in front of hundreds of students and parents at Lynchburg University.
The presentation is part of a new state law called “Adam’s Law,” which passed through this year’s General Assembly. Part of this new law requires colleges in Virginia to provide hazing prevention training to current, new and potential new members of student organizations about “hazing, the dangers of hazing, including alcohol intoxication.”
The law was passed in memory of Adam Oakes, who died from alcohol poisoning while he went through an underground pledging process for the Delta Chi chapter at Virginia Commonwealth University in Feb. 2021.
Courtney White, Adam Oakes’ cousin, said she pulled a group of educators with over 15 years of experience to help create the presentation for colleges across the Commonwealth.
“We created a large group presentation, which is what we’re doing in front of universities and then we also created a K-12 curriculum on hazing,” White said.
White said the K-12 unit is a curriculum they hope to implement in a local school division in the Northern Virginia area soon.
Before launching their presentation, White said they got feedback from a group of 10 students from various universities in Virginia along with parents and a local school division official.
“Some of the universities were interested in the resources, so I sent the resource out meaning the presentation out and then some want us to actually come and facilitate, which is what we want because we created it and we know the back story,” White said.
During the presentation, White said they not only want to emphasize Adam, but the other hazing victims in Virginia.
The presentation will also go over the definition of hazing and the reasons behind this.
“When it occurs, why it occurs, the psychological reason people haze, the psychological reasons you allow yourself to be hazed,” she said.
White also adds the presentation will go over bystander intervention, alcohol poisoning, and a video explaining what happened the night Adam died.
Towards the end of the presentation, there will be a panel with Eric Oakes, Adam Oakes’ father, and three of the Delta Chi members who pled guilty to their roles in connection to Adam’s death last February.
“It’s going to be an opportunity to Q and A with the audience, so parents and students in the audience will be able to ask the boys questions about how hazing has impacted them, how Adam’s passing has impacted them,” White said. “I think that truly is going to be impactful because that hasn’t been done anywhere else. You don’t hear of the hazers actually coming and sharing their stories, but these colleges and universities will get to hear first hand from the hazers in Adam’s passing.”
White hopes these presentations will shed more light on the dangers of hazing and provide more resources she said her cousin should’ve had.
“I hope they get exactly what Adam should’ve gotten, exactly what he needed when he was down there,” she said. “We’re teaching them the signs to identify this early, so that way you can intervene and get them help.”
For White, she hopes these presentations will honor her cousin’s legacy and keep his memory alive for generations to come.
“I truly think that if we can save at least one life, doing what we’re doing right now, then we’ve done what we came to do and we’ve helped people and we’ve helped other families not face the same things that we have,” White said.
Eric Oakes also said their goal is to highlight other Virginia students who were hazed, their situations, and how others can intervene and save a life.
“We also have other students that were hazed in Virginia and we also have information in our presentation about them, so it’s not just 100 percent about Adam, but about what he didn’t have that night, and what he needed and bringing awareness to your surroundings.”
Another piece of Adam’s Law will require colleges to maintain and publicly post hazing violations reported from student organizations online.
The Love Like Adam Foundation plans to do these presentations at Randolph College on Sunday and another at UVA Wise on Sept. 6.
The foundation also reached out to all the colleges across the Commonwealth to do this presentation.
Copyright 2022 WWBT. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/19/love-like-adam-foundation-set-start-college-hazing-prevention-presentations/ | 2022-08-19T18:59:27Z |
Uber driver hailed as hero for helping people escape burning building: ‘He was so brave’
NEW YORK (WCBS) - An Uber driver in New York is being called a hero after helping two people escape a fire in Brooklyn.
Fritz Sam said he was taking a passenger to LaGuardia Airport on Wednesday when he stopped his car to run into a burning building.
“When I thought there might be someone inside that building, there was something in me that couldn’t hold back, and I just had to go inside,” Sam said.
His passenger, Jemma Wei, was in awe of his heroism and the fact he even got her to the airport in time.
She snapped a photo of the flames pouring out of the second-floor window and said she and others on the street began yelling to alert residents of the fire.
“The fire looked pretty scary, so it looked like it might explode. I think he just thought it was very important to get everyone out,” Wei said.
Sam said firefighters arrived just as he was helping one of the tenants get outside.
“She [the tenant] told me she didn’t want to go, and I told her I am not leaving without you,” Sam said.
Firefighters responded to the scene at 8 a.m. and said crews had the flames under control within 30 minutes with no reports of injuries.
Wei said she believes if Sam had not selflessly run in to help, the outcome might have been much different.
“He managed to get people out, and he was so brave,” Wei said.
Uber released the following statement:
“We’re incredibly grateful to have such a heroic and thoughtful member of our community. He went above and beyond to keep his neighbors in New York safe and still managed to get his rider to the airport on time.”
Sam is married and a father of two. He said despite the risks of running into a burning building, he would do it again to save someone’s life.
Copyright 2022 WCBS via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/19/uber-driver-hailed-hero-helping-people-escape-burning-building-he-was-so-brave/ | 2022-08-19T18:59:28Z |
Allspring's Systematic Edge Investment Team to Continue Managing These Strategies Offering Continuity to Shareholders
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Aug. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Allspring Global Investments, a leading independent asset manager with more than US$476 billion in assets under management*, today announced that the boards of trustees of the Investment Managers Series Trust (IMST) and the Allspring Funds Trust have approved the reorganizations of the 361 Global Long/Short Equity Fund and the 361 Domestic Long/Short Equity Fund, both of which are advised by Hamilton Lane Advisors, L.L.C., into newly organized series of the Allspring Funds Trust. Allspring's Systematic Edge investment team, led by Portfolio Manager Harin de Silva, CFA, Ph.D., has managed each 361 fund since inception and will continue to manage the strategies following the proposed reorganizations. Allspring Funds Management, LLC is expected to serve as the primary investment manager to the reorganized funds.
Each proposed reorganization requires the approval of the respective 361 fund's shareholders. If approved by fund shareholders, the 361 Global Long/Short Equity Fund would reorganize into a new fund named Allspring Global Long/Short Equity Fund, and the 361 Domestic Long/Short Equity Fund would reorganize into a new fund named Allspring U.S. Long/Short Equity Fund.
Allspring's Systematic Edge investment team has managed the 361 funds' strategies from inception in 2009 as Analytic Investors, LLC and currently manage $26.6 billion in AUM across all strategies as of June 30, 2022. Both strategies are managed by going long securities with attractive factor exposures and shorting high beta securities with unattractive factor exposures in their respective markets. The funds' strategies normally maintain a consistent long/short ratio of 100% long, 30% short. The process is quantitative in nature and model driven.
It is expected that each of the newly organized Allspring Funds will have substantially similar investment objectives, investment strategies and risk profiles, offering similar share classes and fee structures as the current 361 funds.
"We are delighted to begin the journey to bring our long/short equity strategies to the Allspring Funds complex," said Harin de Silva, Portfolio Manager for the Systematic Edge investment team. "We have sub-advised these funds since their inception and have a high level of conviction in the underlying investment thesis. 361 has been a tremendous distribution partner and now we look forward to Allspring being the long-term home for these funds."
Josh Vail, Managing Director at Hamilton Lane, said, "Allspring's Systematic Edge investment team has been a terrific partner and an incredible steward of capital for the shareholders of the 361 Long/Short Equity Funds. We are pleased that, pending shareholder approval, the Funds will move permanently and fully to the Allspring Funds complex, and believe strongly that this is the best outcome for shareholders."
John Kenney, Head of Strategic Initiatives at Allspring, stated, "We are thankful to Hamilton Lane for their continued partnership, and the great care they have taken, since 2014, of the shareholders in these funds. If approved by 361 fund shareholders, we expect a seamless fund adoption process and are excited to transition these funds to Allspring and our growing client base."
If approved by shareholders of the current 361 funds, after the reorganizations are completed the funds will be offered as part of Allspring's growing product offerings via our industry-wide distribution platform.
To learn more about Allspring and our mission to elevate investing, please visit
www.allspringglobal.com.
Allspring Global Investments™ is an independent asset management company with more than US$476 billion in assets under management*, offices around the world and investment teams supported by 450 investment professionals. Allspring is committed to thoughtful investing, purposeful planning and inspiring a new era of investing that pursues both financial returns and positive outcomes.
*As of 30 June 2022, AUM includes US$93 billion from Galliard Capital Management, an investment advisor that is not part of the Allspring trade name/GIPS company.
CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are trademarks owned by CFA Institute.
All investing involves risks, including the possible loss of principal. There can be no assurance that any investment strategy will be successful. Investments fluctuate with changes in market and economic conditions and in different environments due to numerous factors, some of which may be unpredictable. Each asset class has its own risk and return characteristics.
Allspring Global Investments™ is the trade name for the asset management firms of Allspring Global Investments Holdings, LLC, a holding company indirectly owned by certain private funds of GTCR LLC and Reverence Capital Partners, L.P. These firms include but are not limited to Allspring Global Investments, LLC, and Allspring Funds Management, LLC. Certain products managed by Allspring entities are distributed by Allspring Funds Distributor, LLC (a broker-dealer and Member FINRA/SIPC).
This material is for general informational and educational purposes only and is NOT intended to provide investment advice or a recommendation of any kind—including a recommendation for any specific investment, strategy, or plan.
PAR-0822-00838
© 2022 Allspring Global Investments Holdings, LLC. All rights reserved.
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SOURCE Allspring Global Investments | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/08/19/allspring-global-investments-announces-plan-adopt-two-hamilton-lane-advised-long-short-equity-funds/ | 2022-08-19T18:59:28Z |
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Aug. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Inc. magazine announced this week that Anchor Health Properties (Anchor), a national full-service health care real estate development, management, and investment company focused exclusively on medical facilities, has been named to the Inc. 5000 list, the country's most prestigious ranking of its fastest growing private companies, for the second year in a row. The list represents a unique look at the country's most successful private businesses and is a key benchmark for entrepreneurial success.
For four decades, Inc. has celebrated the fastest-growing private companies in America, with companies such as Microsoft, Under Armour, and Patagonia gaining their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000. Joining Anchor, the companies on the 2022 Inc. 5000 represent a new cohort of fast-growing private businesses, all of which have demonstrated an ability to succeed amid supply chain challenges, labor shortages, and the ongoing impacts related to COVID-19. Among the top 500, the average median three-year revenue growth rate soared to 2,144 percent. Together, those companies added more than 68,394 jobs over the past three years.
"We are incredibly honored to be recognized alongside such an esteemed cohort of companies on this year's Inc. 5000 list," shared Ben Ochs, Chief Executive Officer of Anchor. "People and relationships are at the heart of what we do at Anchor and our continued growth is a testament to the steadfast commitment and dedication of our team in providing innovative, holistic solutions for our clients that respond to today's healthcare challenges. We are especially grateful that our growth as a company has provided us with the opportunity to support the communities in which we work and to provide stability during these tumultuous years. We are thrilled to be named to the Inc. 5000 list for the second year in a row and look forward to continuing our pursuit of better healthcare through real estate solutions."
Echoing Mr. Ochs's sentiments, James Schmid, Chief Investment Officer and Co-Managing Partner with Anchor noted, "This is a significant moment for Anchor as we continue to operate under a client-first commitment while investing in top-tier talent and delivering healthcare real estate solutions to ensure growth well into the future. We are so proud of this accomplishment and are elated to join Inc.'s prestigious roster of companies who are positively impacting the nation's economy. This recognition comes at a pivotal time for our dynamic growth as we fully anticipate 2022 to be another banner year for the company. We are excited to see what our team achieves in the coming years."
Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000.
Anchor Health Properties is a national, full-service healthcare real estate development, management, and investment firm serving investors and health systems. Leveraging our collective experience and resources, our nimble, and thoughtful team of professionals develop and deliver tailored, client-specific solutions to respond to today's healthcare challenges – thinking outside the "medical office box." With more than $1.5B of completed development projects, nearly 8M square feet under management, and nearly $3B invested in stabilized healthcare facilities, Anchor continues to create a better healthcare experience for patients and a competitive edge for our clients. Anchor maintains multiple offices nationwide and features more than 100 professionals in its ranks. Healthcare today calls not only for new and more efficient ways of delivering healthcare services, but also a different kind of healthcare real estate company. For more information, please visit: www.anchorhealthproperties.com.
Companies on the 2022 Inc. 5000 are ranked according to percentage revenue growth from 2018 to 2021. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2018. They must be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independent—not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies—as of December 31, 2021 (Since then, some on the list may have gone public or been acquired). The minimum revenue required for 2018 is $100,000; the minimum for 2021 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Growth rates used to determine company rankings were calculated to four decimal places. The top 500 companies on the Inc. 5000 are featured in Inc. magazine's September issue. The entire Inc. 5000 can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000.
The world's most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference & Gala is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com.
Contact:
Rachael Hall, Anchor Health Properties
rhall@anchorhealthproperties.com; 434-293-8004
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SOURCE Anchor Health Properties | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/08/19/anchor-health-properties-named-inc-5000s-list-nations-fastest-growing-private-us-companies-second-consecutive-year/ | 2022-08-19T18:59:35Z |
PITTSBURGH, Aug. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS), the nation's leader in advancing the quality of children's eye care, joins Safe Eyes America to strongly oppose legislation now under consideration in the California legislature which lowers the education and surgical training requirements necessary for licensure to perform eye surgery.
California bill AB2236 would if enacted authorize optometrists to perform laser and scalpel surgeries on children without any specific pediatric training. Christie Morse, MD, AAPOS, EVP a children's eye physician and surgeon said: "There is nothing more important than helping children successfully see their way into adulthood. It is this commitment and dedication to children that drives pediatric ophthalmologists – (medical physicians and surgeons) to deliver the highest standard of treatment and surgical care to our pediatric patients. The delivery of such care requires years of medical and surgical training. AB 2236 which is now under consideration in the California legislature poses a threat to this high standard of care for California's children."
The eye is one of the most delicate and complex human organs. For the child's eye, that delicacy and complexity is raised exponentially. AB 2236 assumes that a child's eye and the adult eye are one in the same. Nothing could be further from the truth. Children are not simply small adults. AAPOS stands in opposition to AB 2236 alongside Safe Eyes America.
It is imperative that Californians contact their state Senator NOW and urge them to Vote NO on AB 2236. To find your state Senator click on the following link (https://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/). The California legislature adjourns for the 2022 year on August 31
Safe Eyes America is a 501(c) 4 non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the delivery of the highest quality medical and surgical eye care to the American public. SafeEyesAmerica.org.
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SOURCE Safe Eyes America | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/08/19/childrens-eye-surgeons-team-up-with-safe-eyes-america-oppose-lowering-eye-surgery-licensing-requirements/ | 2022-08-19T18:59:45Z |
Crown Royal gives back to the Fearless Foundation as they support Black salons who serve communities through their Generosity Fund
ATLANTA, Aug. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- August is National Black Business Month and Crown Royal is raising a glass to those who help make Atlanta beautiful: Black beauty small business owners. Last night, Crown Royal teamed up with Atlanta entrepreneur Alicia Scott of Range Beauty and Grammy nominated duo EARTHGANG to celebrate and build connections between Black beauty small business owners during a special Generosity Hour event in Atlanta.
Experience the full interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/9078551-crown-royal-celebrates-black-owned-atlanta-beauty-businesses-generosity-hour-series/
The evening was emceed by Alicia Scott, owner and founder of Range Beauty, who surprised local Atlanta small business owners in attendance with a total of $40,000 in gifts on behalf of Crown Royal as a thank you for their dedication to the community. EARTHGANG, who partnered with Crown Royal last December as part of a giveback initiative designed to support local Atlanta artists (musicians, dancers, actors, etc.), performed, which was broadcasted via livestream from their Instagram page (@earthgang) for those who weren't in attendance to enjoy.
To further recognize those who champion self-expression, identity and culture in Atlanta, Crown Royal culminated its first year as a partner of the WNBA's Atlanta Dream, who as part of National Black Business Month had players visit local Atlanta salons and get services completed to thank them for their commitment to the community.
"Crown Royal Generosity Hours are designed to celebrate the true icons that are making an impact in their communities and provide support to help amplify their work," said Nicky Heckles, Vice President of Crown Royal. "As a brand, it's important for us to showcase our continued support of Black-owned businesses and we recognize the important role the beauty industry has in their communities. We look forward to continuing partnerships with these business owners and championing all they do to make those in their communities feel good inside and out."
In addition, Crown Royal will continue their support of Black small businesses and entrepreneurs by donating $25,000 to the Fearless Foundation, an Atlanta-based non-profit, from Fearless Fund, to educate and empower entrepreneurs of color.
"Through this partnership with Crown Royal, we are excited to provide local Atlanta small business owners with access to educational and monetary resources through various programming," said Arian Simone, CEO and Co-Founder, Fearless Fund and Fearless Foundation. "Last night's Generosity Hour gave Black beauty business owners the opportunity to network and celebrate their dedication to the Atlanta community."
Join Crown Royal in toasting to the people that matter most in our communities by visiting www.crownroyal.com/generosity-fund/.
About Crown Royal
Crown Royal Canadian Whisky is the number-one selling Canadian whisky brand in the world and has a tradition as long and distinctive as its taste. Specially blended to commemorate a grand tour of Canada made by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain in 1939, Crown Royal's smooth, elegant flavor and gift-worthy presentation reflect its regal origins – it is considered the epitome of Canadian whisky. For more information, visit crownroyal.com. Crown Royal encourages all consumers to please enjoy responsibly.
About Diageo North America
Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands including Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Bulleit and Buchanan's whiskies, Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Casamigos, DeLeon and Don Julio tequilas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Tanqueray and Guinness.
Diageo is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE: DGE) and their products are sold in more than 180 countries around the world.
For more information about Diageo, their people, brands, and performance, visit diageo.com. Visit Diageo's global responsible drinking resource, DRINKiQ.com, for information, initiatives, and ways to share best practice. Follow on Twitter and Instagram for news and information about Diageo North America: @Diageo_NA.
About Fearless Foundation
The Fearless Foundation, is a 501c3 organization with a mission to educate entrepreneurs through training, reduce racial inequities, and empower African-Americans to gain access to capital. We offer grant programs for businesses, educational entrepreneurial programs and college scholarships. For more information, please visit www.fearless.fund/foundation-2.
About EARTHGANG
EARTHGANG are the Grammy nominated, Platinum certified duo from Atlanta, GA comprised of Olu and Wowgr8. The pair debuted on the scene with a string of EPs and quickly garnered a reputation for their eclectic style and infectious live energy. Marrying lean, sharp-eyed lyricism with Southern-fried soul, every song arrives fully formed, hitting hard and landing jokes while also delving deep into political issues. Spotted by J.Cole at one of their live shows, the pair were promptly signed to his Interscope Records joint venture, Dreamville Records. Since the signing, EARTHGANG have become a force in the music space releasing bodies of critically acclaimed work like the "culturally significant record" (NPR) Ghetto Gods; debut album Mirrorland; collective earworm Spilligion, as well as the revered Dreamville compilation, Revenge of the Dreamers III— which earned the pair two Grammy nominations as well as their first #1 album status. In 2020, when the world stopped, EARTHGANG persevered with their social and community justice work by opening a community garden, teaming up with First Lady Michelle Obama and Stacey Abrams to turn out votes in their home state of Georgia. If this wasn't enough, EARTHGANG are known for their exciting collaboration that spans genres including works with Gorillaz, Brittany Howard, Louis The Child, Jon Batiste, Tokimonsta, Dermot Kennedy and many more. The pair are also one of live music's most revered performers, taking their dynamic live set to major festivals and sold out venues globally — playing to loyal fan bases meticulously built over the years.
About the Atlanta Dream
The Atlanta Dream is a professional women's basketball team based in Atlanta, Ga. that strives to build a place where our team, our fans and our city come together to represent the community we seek to serve. We enter our 15th year in 2022 with new ownership, new leadership, and a commitment to building the best franchise in the WNBA. We celebrate diversity, represent Atlanta, reward innovation and imagination, and aim to empower women both on and off the court. The team currently plays home games at the Gateway Center Arena @ College Park and has qualified for the WNBA Playoffs in nine of its first 14 seasons. To learn more about the Dream and purchase 2022 season tickets, mini plans and single game tickets, please visit www.dreamelitemembership.com or call 877-977-7729.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Kyra Zeller
DIAGEO
Kyra.zeller@diageo.com
TAYLOR
crownroyal@taylorstrategy.com
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SOURCE Crown Royal | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/08/19/crown-royal-celebrates-black-owned-atlanta-beauty-businesses-through-generosity-hour-series/ | 2022-08-19T18:59:52Z |
Decision Point Center, an addiction and dual-diagnosis treatment center in Prescott, Arizona is in-network with Shasta Insurance, which can significantly reduce or eliminate out-of-pocket costs for many patients.
PRESCOTT, Ariz., Aug. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Decision Point Center, one of the leading addiction and dual-diagnosis treatment centers in the Arizona region, is now in-network with Shasta Insurance. As an in-network addiction treatment provider, Decision Point Center can offer its treatments and programs to Shasta Insurance members at significantly reduced rates, which can result in no out-of-pocket costs for many patients. It is a great opportunity to get high-quality care that is also highly affordable.
Shasta is a third-party health insurance and health plan administrator that focuses on plan administration for Native Americans. Before Shasta was established in 2008, many health insurance plans specifically for Native American policyholders were notoriously difficult to administrate, which made matters more complicated for people who needed to use the plan to get healthcare. As Shasta has grown as a third-party administrator of self-funded benefit plans, more and more people in Native American communities have been able to use it to get the specialized treatment they have long needed.
As an addiction and dual-diagnosis treatment center, Decision Point Center is equipped to help patients who are struggling with substance addiction and/or mental health difficulties. Oftentimes, mental health difficulties can cause or exacerbate substance use disorders. By targeting both issues with specialized care, Decision Point Center offers effective treatment programs that few other rehab centers in Arizona can offer. The in-network status with Shasta Insurance further improves its treatment programs by reducing or completely removing out-of-pocket costs.
- Residential inpatient rehab
- Intensive outpatient program
- Individual Therapy & Family Therapy
- Trauma Therapy
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT)
- Relapse prevention therapy
For more information about Shasta Administrative Services and Insurance, inquiring parties can visit www.shastatpa.com. Anyone interested in using a Shasta insurance plan at Decision Point Center in Prescott, Arizona for addiction treatment or dual-diagnosis treatment should visit the rehab center's website at www.decisionpointcenter.com.
Dave Seymour
dseymour@decisionpointcenter.com
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SOURCE Decision Point Center | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/08/19/decision-point-center-is-in-network-with-shasta-insurance/ | 2022-08-19T18:59:58Z |
PITTSBURGH, Aug. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Certain industry reports, articles, websites, and speakers are making false claims that "missed subrogation is costing insurers $15B annually and 32% of recoverable claims are not pursued." These groups are falsely using the name of NASP (National Association of Subrogation Professionals) without permission and erroneously citing NASP as the source. The claims are untrue. The data is false and does not represent true metrics of the subrogation industry.
NASP Benchmarking reports are a trusted source of accurate and timely subrogation data. For more information, visit https://subrogation.org/benchmarking, or contact NASP's CEO, Leslie Wiernik, at 1-800-574-9961.
About NASP: www.subrogation.org
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SOURCE National Association of Subrogation Professionals (NASP) | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/08/19/nasp-verified-subrogation-data/ | 2022-08-19T19:00:05Z |
SAN DIEGO, Aug. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Neurelis and Little Angels Service Dogs are proud to present the "Barks 'n Blues Music & More" concert for epilepsy awareness at the Quartyard, 1301 Market St., San Diego, Thursday, Aug. 25 at 5 p.m. PT. Featured performers include five-time San Diego Music Award winner, Whitney Shay, San Diego Music Award nominee, Ron Houston & The Berry Pickers, and former American Idol finalist, Jessica Meuse.
The event kicks off a two-year partnership between Neurelis and Little Angels. Neurelis is sponsoring two puppies who will undergo extensive training to become seizure-response dogs that live and assist a person with epilepsy. Throughout their training process the puppies will appear at epilepsy-related events like Barks 'n Blues to drive awareness about the disorder along with the critical role of seizure management.
"Our partnership with Little Angels is an extension of our mission to improve the lives of people with epilepsy and empower them to effectively treat their seizures, return back to their daily lives, and reduce worry about when the next seizure will occur," said Craig Chambliss, CEO, and President. "We are committed to working with Little Angels to reduce fear and stigma associated with epilepsy and educate people with epilepsy and their care partners about the importance of having a seizure action plan in place."
Little Angels Executive Director Josh Drew, "Our partnership with Neurelis at the Barks 'n Blues concert is a great opportunity to educate the public about the critical role service dogs play in alerting and assisting people at the onset of, during, and after seizure episodes. We hope to improve the potential for positive outcomes for people with epilepsy, one seizure response dog at a time."
Barks 'n Blues will include service dog demonstrations, food and refreshments, and a silent auction featuring attractions, dining, trips, sports tickets, memorabilia, and a chance to meet and name a litter of future service dogs. Tickets can be purchased in advance for $25 on Eventbrite through Aug. 24, or for $30 on Aug. 25, based on availability.
Little Angels Service Dogs, with locations in Jamul, CA and Bartlett, NH, is an Assistance Dog International (ADI) accredited organization that specializes in training service dogs for mobility assistance, seizure alert, autism assistance, hearing alert, diabetic alert and psychiatric assistance for children and adults of all ages.
For more information, to buy tickets, or to find "Barks 'n Blues Music & More" on Eventbrite or Facebook, visit www.littleangelssd.org/events, or call 603-374-5156, option 4.
Neurelis, Inc., is a commercial-stage neuroscience company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for the treatment of epilepsy and orphan neurologic disorders characterized by high unmet medical need. In 2020, the FDA approved Neurelis's VALTOCO® (diazepam nasal spray) CIV as an acute treatment of intermittent, stereotypic episodes of frequent seizure activity (i.e., seizure clusters, acute repetitive seizures) that are distinct from an individual's usual seizure pattern in adult and pediatric patients 6 years of age and older. VALTOCO is a proprietary formulation of diazepam incorporating the science of INTRAVAIL®. Intravail's transmucosal absorption enhancement technology enables the noninvasive delivery of a broad range of protein, peptide and small-molecule drugs. In its approval of VALTOCO, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration also granted Neurelis Orphan Drug Exclusivity and recognized VALTOCO's intranasal route of administration as a clinically superior contribution to patient care over the previously approved standard-of-care treatment (a rectal gel formulation of diazepam). For more information on VALTOCO, please visit www.valtoco.com. In addition to VALTOCO, Neurelis is developing NRL-2 for intermittent use to control acute panic attacks, NRL-3 as a noninvasive acute therapy to stop seizures that have progressed to status epilepticus, and NRL-4 as a noninvasive rescue therapy to address the escalation of acute agitation symptoms associated with schizophrenia and bipolar 1 mania in adults. In addition, Neurelis is developing NRL-1049 (previously known as BA-1049), an investigational, pre-clinical stage small molecule Rho kinase (ROCK) inhibitor, for the treatment of cerebral cavernous malformations (CCMS), a rare disorder of the central nervous system (CNS). For more information on Neurelis, please visit www.neurelis.com. For the latest scientific information on VALTOCO, please visit www.neurelismedicalaffairs.com.
Indication
VALTOCO® (diazepam nasal spray) is indicated for the acute treatment of intermittent, stereotypic episodes of frequent seizure activity (i.e, seizure clusters, acute repetitive seizures) that are distinct from a patient's usual seizure pattern in patients with epilepsy 6 years of age and older.
WARNING: RISKS FROM CONCOMITANT USE WITH OPIOIDS; ABUSE, MISUSE, AND ADDICTION; and DEPENDENCE AND WITHDRAWAL REACTIONS
- Concomitant use of benzodiazepines and opioids may result in profound sedation, respiratory depression, coma, and death. Reserve concomitant prescribing of these drugs for patients for whom alternative treatment options are inadequate. Limit dosages and durations to the minimum required. Follow patients for signs and symptoms of respiratory depression and sedation.
- The use of benzodiazepines, including VALTOCO, exposes users to risks of abuse, misuse, and addiction, which can lead to overdose or death. Abuse and misuse of benzodiazepines commonly involve concomitant use of other medications, alcohol, and/or illicit substances, which is associated with an increased frequency of serious adverse outcomes. Before prescribing VALTOCO and throughout treatment, assess each patient's risk for abuse, misuse, and addiction.
- The continued use of benzodiazepines may lead to clinically significant physical dependence. The risks of dependence and withdrawal increase with longer treatment duration and higher daily dose. Although VALTOCO is indicated only for intermittent use, if used more frequently than recommended, abrupt discontinuation or rapid dosage reduction of VALTOCO may precipitate acute withdrawal reactions, which can be life-threatening. For patients using VALTOCO more frequently than recommended, to reduce the risk of withdrawal reactions, use a gradual taper to discontinue VALTOCO.
Contraindications: VALTOCO is contraindicated in patients with:
- Hypersensitivity to diazepam
- Acute narrow-angle glaucoma
Central Nervous System (CNS) Depression
Benzodiazepines, including VALTOCO, may produce CNS depression. Caution patients against engaging in hazardous activities requiring mental alertness, such as operating machinery, driving a motor vehicle, or riding a bicycle, until the effects of the drug, such as drowsiness, have subsided, and as their medical condition permits.
The potential for a synergistic CNS-depressant effect when VALTOCO is used with alcohol or other CNS depressants must be considered, and appropriate recommendations made to the patient and/or care partner.
Suicidal Behavior and Ideation
Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), including VALTOCO, increase the risk of suicidal ideation and behavior. Patients treated with any AED for any indication should be monitored for the emergence or worsening of depression, suicidal thoughts or behavior, and/or unusual changes in mood or behavior.
Glaucoma
Benzodiazepines, including VALTOCO, can increase intraocular pressure in patients with glaucoma. VALTOCO may only be used in patients with open-angle glaucoma only if they are receiving appropriate therapy. VALTOCO is contraindicated in patients with narrow-angle glaucoma.
Risk of Serious Adverse Reactions in Infants due to Benzyl Alcohol Preservative
VALTOCO is not approved for use in neonates or infants. Serious and fatal adverse reactions, including "gasping syndrome," can occur in neonates and low-birth-weight infants treated with benzyl alcohol-preserved drugs, including VALTOCO. The "gasping syndrome" is characterized by central nervous system depression, metabolic acidosis, and gasping respirations. The minimum amount of benzyl alcohol at which serious adverse reactions may occur is not known.
Adverse Reactions
The most common adverse reactions (at least 4%) were somnolence, headache, and nasal discomfort.
Diazepam, the active ingredient in VALTOCO, is a Schedule IV controlled substance.
To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Neurelis, Inc. at 1-866-696-3873 or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 (www.fda.gov/medwatch).
Please read full Prescribing Information, including Boxed Warning, for additional important safety information.
Contacts:
Little Angels Service Dogs
Melody Nestor, Little Angels Service Dogs, + 1 603-662-5672
Media:
Erich Sandoval, Finn Partners, + 1 917-497-2867
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SOURCE Neurelis, Inc. | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/08/19/neurelis-inc-little-angels-service-dogs-present-aug-25-barks-n-blues-music-amp-more-concert-build-epilepsy-awareness-local-community-event/ | 2022-08-19T19:00:12Z |
Also in This Edition: Media Industry News
NEW YORK, Aug. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network who are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area.
EXPERT ALERTS
- Sensor Systems, Aerospace and Defense Science and Technology
- Sensor Solutions that Rival Human Perception
- Automotive Electronics and the Supply Chain
- Go-to-Market Strategies for Technology Disruptors
- Automotive Technology and Business Models
- Business/Finance for High-Growth Companies
- Leadership in Times of Ambiguity/Change
MEDIA JOBS
- South China Morning Post: US Macroeconomy Correspondent (Washington D.C.)
- With Intelligence: US Editor, Hedge Funds (New York)
OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES
- We're Sold on These 5 Real Estate News Sites
- Back-to-School Must-Reads: Homeschool Blogs, Part 1
Sensor Systems, Aerospace and Defense Science and Technology
Dr. Allan Steinhardt
Chief Scientist
AEye, Inc.
"Biomimicry is the science of exploring how natural systems operate and seeking to mimic that in engineered systems. So, when you look at how the human eye operates, it's profoundly different from a camera. The human eye looks at certain regions, it gets cued off of certain motion shapes, and then the human brain will focus more attention on areas of interest."
Sensor systems, as well as Aerospace and Defense science and technology
https://www.linkedin.com/in/allan-steinhardt-a8a738b/
Website: https://www.aeye.ai/
Media contact: Andie Davis, andie@landispr.com
Sensor Solutions that Rival Human Perception
Luis Dussan
Founder, CTO, President
AEye, Inc.
"A lot of people think perception is a software problem, but I think of it as a total system problem. Software is only one part of the system. The other part is the sensor, the delivery of the data to a perception engine, and then, of course, the perception engine itself. Understanding this is critical to building better, safer perception."
Cutting-edge sensor solutions that rival human perception
https://www.linkedin.com/in/luis-dussan-3704516/
Website: https://www.aeye.ai/
Media contact: Andie Davis, andie@landispr.com
Automotive Electronics and the Supply Chain
Rick Tewell
COO
AEye, Inc.
"Over the last couple of years, we've learned that for items that are hard to make and single-sourced, like semiconductors, we have to modify our process from just-in-time inventory to allow buffer time. As an operations person in the lidar industry, it's important to ask the question, 'what do we need to do to balance long-lead time items?'"
Automotive electronics and the supply chain
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricktewell/
Website: https://www.aeye.ai/
Media contact: Andie Davis, andie@landispr.com
Go-to-Market Strategies for Technology Disruptors
Steve Lambright
CMO
AEye, Inc.
"Silicon Valley is built on the idea of being disruptive: disrupting technologies, disrupting markets, disrupting established companies and business models, and finding new ways of doing things. Sometimes it is appropriate. Sometimes it's better to leverage something that's existing in order to gain greater market momentum, faster."
Go-to-market strategies for technology disruptors
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenlambright/
Website: https://www.aeye.ai/
Media contact: Andie Davis, andie@landispr.com
Automotive Technology and Business Models
Jordan Greene
Co-founder, GM of Automotive, VP of Corporate Development
AEye, Inc.
"The market is rapidly evolving toward a new era of mobility and software-driven vehicles. This change is driven by the growing prevalence of software within cars and the ability to upgrade that software to add new features and functionality over time."
Automotive Technology and business models
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-greene-17614030/
Website: https://www.aeye.ai/
Media contact: Andie Davis, andie@landispr.com
Business/Finance for High-Growth Companies
Bob Brown
CFO
AEye, Inc.
"High-growth companies require nimbleness and aggressiveness married with a structure that enables you to retain speed and quick decision-making while putting processes in place that are critical to successful growth.
Business/finance for high-growth companies
https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-brown-65592/
Website: https://www.aeye.ai/
Media contact: Andie Davis, andie@landispr.com
Leadership in Times of Ambiguity/Change
Blair LaCorte
CEO
AEye, Inc.
"Great leaders are adaptive. Just having the right vision very rarely gets you to the outcome you want. It's having the ability to execute that vision in a thoughtful way through the eyes of the person you're partnering or working with. Adaptive leadership requires a willingness to redefine objectives to ensure you are constantly delivering value to your partners and customers."
Leadership in times of ambiguity/change
https://www.linkedin.com/in/blair-lacorte-68084/
Website: https://www.aeye.ai/
Media contact: Andie Davis, andie@landispr.com
****************
MEDIA JOBS:
Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers, editors and producers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: https://www.cisionjobs.com/jobs/united-states/
- South China Morning Post: US Macroeconomy Correspondent (Washington D.C.)
- With Intelligence: US Editor, Hedge Funds (New York)
****************
OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:
Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line at profnetalerts@cision.com
WE'RE SOLD ON THESE 5 REAL ESTATE NEWS SITES. Here is our list of some of the top real estate news sites for staying up to date on the current housing market.
BACK-TO-SCHOOL MUST-READS: HOMESCHOOL BLOGS, PART 1. If you're a homeschooler, considering the switch, or need help balancing parent and teacher roles, these homeschool blogs can help.
****************
PROFNET is an exclusive service of PR Newswire.
To contact ProfNet: profnet@profnet.com or 800-776-3638, ext. 1
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SOURCE ProfNet | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/08/19/profnet-expert-alerts-august-19-2022/ | 2022-08-19T19:00:19Z |
LOUISVILLE, Ky., Aug. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Rally House was introduced to Louisville earlier this year, and the company is proud to announce another new location in the area - Rally House Paddock Shops. Now, nearby fans have another trusted source of locally driven merchandise and sports apparel northeast of the downtown metro. Customers will find everything from a friendly staff to an expansive assortment of high-quality apparel, accessories, and gifts at this new Rally House store.
Louisville happily welcomed Rally House when the first store arrived, and now this connection can continue to blossom with Rally House Paddock Shops. "The team is pumped to open our doors to even more enthusiastic fans around Louisville," describes District Manager Teri Hauenschild. "And we're confident these customers will be equally excited to shop one of the best selections of team gear and localized products around the city!"
Kentucky is home to many successful pro and college teams, many of which are available at Rally House Paddock Shops. For instance, visitors can shop team gear for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Cincinnati Bengals, and several other clubs. Plus, all these team collections include the industry's most respected brand names, like New Era, Nike, and Mitchell & Ness, to name a few.
Rally House Paddock Shops is also here to help residents and tourists express their love for the city and state. With an ever-growing assortment of stylish and high-grade local merch, especially from the famous RALLY Brand™, patrons will have no trouble finding products to rep area icons and prominent Louisville themes.
The team working at this new Rally House store delivers unparalleled customer service for an out-of-this-world shopping experience. For added convenience, there are also numerous products that can be shipped to any state available online at www.rallyhouse.com.
Customers hoping to stay on top of store news can visit www.rallyhouse.com/rally-house-paddock-shops or follow the store on Facebook (@RallyPaddockShops) and Instagram (@rallypaddockshops).
Rally House and Sampler Stores Inc. is a family-owned specialty boutique that offers a large selection of apparel, hats, gifts and home décor representing local NCAA, NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, and MLS teams in addition to locally inspired apparel, gifts and food. Proudly based in Lenexa, Kansas, Rally House operates 125+ locations across 13 states.
CONTACT:
Teri Hauenschild, District Manager
thauenschild@rallyhouse.com
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SOURCE Rally House | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/08/19/rally-house-multiplies-louisville-market-with-new-store/ | 2022-08-19T19:00:25Z |
NEW YORK, Aug. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --
WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of Molecular Partners AG (NASDAQ: MOLN): (i) pursuant and/or traceable to the offering documents issued in connection with the Company's initial public offering conducted on or about June 16, 2021 (the "IPO"); and/or (ii) between June 16, 2021 and April 26, 2022, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important September 12, 2022 lead plaintiff deadline.
SO WHAT: If you purchased Molecular Partners securities you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.
WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Molecular Partners class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=7548 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than September 12, 2022. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.
WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually handle securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.
DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, the IPO documents were negligently prepared and, as a result, contained untrue statements of material fact or omitted to state other facts necessary to make the statements made not misleading and were not prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations governing their preparation. Additionally, the complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, the IPO documents and defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) ensovibep was less effective at treating COVID-19 than defendants had led investors to believe; (2) accordingly, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") was reasonably likely to require an additional Phase 3 study of ensovibep before granting the drug Emergency Use Authorization ("EUA"); (3) waning global rates of COVID-19 significantly reduced the Company's chances of securing EUA for ensovibep; (4) as a product candidate, MP0310 (AMG 506), in development for the treatment of certain types of cancer, was less attractive to Amgen Inc. ("Amgen") than defendants had led investors to believe; (5) accordingly, there was a significant likelihood that Amgen would return global rights of MP0310 to Molecular Partners; (6) as a result of all the foregoing, the clinical and commercial prospects of ensovibep and MP0310 were overstated; and (7) as a result, the IPO documents and defendants' public statements throughout the Class Period were materially false and/or misleading and failed to state information required to be stated therein. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.
To join the Molecular Partners class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=7548 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.
No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.
Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Contact Information:
Laurence Rosen, Esq.
Phillip Kim, Esq.
The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 686-1060
Toll Free: (866) 767-3653
Fax: (212) 202-3827
lrosen@rosenlegal.com
pkim@rosenlegal.com
cases@rosenlegal.com
www.rosenlegal.com
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SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A. | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/08/19/rosen-recognized-investor-counsel-encourages-molecular-partners-ag-investors-secure-counsel-before-important-deadline-securities-class-action-moln/ | 2022-08-19T19:00:32Z |
NEW YORK, Aug. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --
WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces the filing of a class action lawsuit on behalf of sellers of the stock of Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (NASDAQ: SVA) between April 11, 2016 and February 22, 2019, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period") against 1Globe Capital LLC and certain of its officers. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than October 17, 2022.
SO WHAT: If you sold Sinovac securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.
WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Sinovac class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=8179 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than October 17, 2022. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.
WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources or any meaningful peer recognition. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.
DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants' intentionally false statements and omissions concerning the true nature of 1Globe, a family investment office that is owned and controlled by defendant Jiaqiang Li, and Li's ownership of Sinovac stock caused the exchange, under the Rights Agreement of March 28, 2016 which included a "poison pill" limiting the number of Sinovac shares that a shareholder could acquire, to be delayed by several years. If Li had fully disclosed his ownership of Sinovac stock, as he was required to do under Section 13(d), it would have been clear that the Rights Agreement was triggered by May 2016, at the latest. While Sinovac knew enough information starting in 2016, largely based on private correspondence, to determine that 1Globe and Li triggered the Rights Agreement, defendants hid the full extent of their ownership of Sinovac stock and their agreements in connection with the battle for control of the Company. Defendants therefore also tortiously interfered with Sinovac's contractual obligations to its shareholders under the Rights Agreement.
Also according to the lawsuit, if 1Globe's and Li's actions were disclosed publicly, as they were required to be under Section 13(d), shareholders' rights would have been exercisable based on that public disclosure, and an exchange would have occurred based on that date. By misrepresenting the true nature of their ownership of Sinovac stock, defendants caused that date to be delayed almost three years, until February 22, 2019, resulting in the class losing their rights to acquire additional shares of Sinovac stock for all of their shares that they sold in the interim. While Sinovac should have implemented the Rights Agreement in 2016 based on the information available to it at the time, 1Globe and Li exacerbated the problem by violating their disclosure obligations under Section 13(d). Moreover, defendants caused the value of Sinovac stock to be artificially depressed by preventing the public from accounting for the value of defendants' stake in Sinovac and their efforts to take control of the Company.
To join the Sinovac class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=8179 mailto:or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.
No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.
Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Contact Information:
Laurence Rosen, Esq.
Phillip Kim, Esq.
The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 686-1060
Toll Free: (866) 767-3653
Fax: (212) 202-3827
lrosen@rosenlegal.com
pkim@rosenlegal.com
cases@rosenlegal.com
www.rosenlegal.com
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A. | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/08/19/rosen-respected-investor-counsel-encourages-sinovac-biotech-ltd-investors-with-losses-secure-counsel-before-important-deadline-securities-class-action-against-1globe-capital-llc-certain-its-officers-sva/ | 2022-08-19T19:00:39Z |
NEW YORK, Aug. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --
WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of Outset Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: OM) between September 15, 2020 and June 13, 2022, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important September 6, 2022 lead plaintiff deadline.
SO WHAT: If you purchased Outset Medical securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.
WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Outset Medical class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=6976 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than September 6, 2022. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.
WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually handle securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.
DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) defendants had "continuously made improvements and updates to Tablo over time since its original clearance" that required an additional 510(k) application; (2) as a result, Outset Medical could not conduct a human factors study on a cleared device in accordance with FDA protocols; (3) Outset Medical's inability to conduct the human factors study subjected Outset Medical to the likelihood of the FDA imposing a "shipment hold" and marketing suspension, leaving the Company unable to sell Tablo for home use; and (4) as a result, defendants' positive statements about Outset Medical's business, operations, and prospects were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.
To join the Outset Medical class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=6976 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.
No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.
Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Contact Information:
Laurence Rosen, Esq.
Phillip Kim, Esq.
The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 686-1060
Toll Free: (866) 767-3653
Fax: (212) 202-3827
lrosen@rosenlegal.com
pkim@rosenlegal.com
cases@rosenlegal.com
www.rosenlegal.com
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A. | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/08/19/rosen-top-ranked-firm-encourages-outset-medical-inc-investors-secure-counsel-before-important-deadline-securities-class-action-om/ | 2022-08-19T19:00:46Z |
Jollibee's much-anticipated arrival at "the crossroads of the world" on Thursday, August 18 was met with more than 2,500 customers eagerly lining up for their iconic Chickenjoy fried chicken, Chicken Sandwiches and Peach Mango Pie.
WEST COVINA, Calif., Aug. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On Thursday, August 18, global restaurant sensation, Jollibee, officially took its place at "the crossroads of the world" with the grand opening of its new flagship store in the heart of Times Square. The much-anticipated opening day celebration, just steps away from the iconic ball drop location, drew more than 2,500 customers – from local New Yorkers to visiting tourists – who wanted to be among the first in Times Square to get their hands on Jollibee's iconic Chickenjoy, Chicken Sandwiches and Peach Mango Pie in addition to the brand-new lineup of salads and sides. Located at 1500 Broadway in the center of Times Square's famed pedestrian plaza, the new restaurant not only marks Jollibee's 84th location in North America, but also symbolizes its arrival to the global stage alongside some of the world's most recognized brands.
"Opening the doors to welcome our excited, first customers, who waited for hours for this moment, today was truly a dream come true!", remarked Maribeth Dela Cruz, President, Jollibee Group North America, Philippine Brands. "We are so passionate about our mission to spread joy through great tasting food and are so lucky that we have fans and customers that are just as excited and dedicated as we are. This signified a huge milestone for us, and we cannot wait to introduce the joy and taste of Jollibee to more and more of New York and its visitors in this landmark location."
Jollibee's biggest fans began showing up at 1500 Broadway around 8:30PM Wednesday evening, where they camped out over 12 hours to be among the first in line for Thursday's 9AM grand opening. Among them was New York City resident and devoted Jollibee fan, Ernie Aguinaldo, who secured the coveted spot of being the store's first official customer.
"The brand has always had a special place in my heart," noted Aguinaldo. "My first job was at Jollibee in the Philippines, and they have the best fried chicken in the world. I love their passion to spread joy through food and I hope to do the same in my life. I even aspire to open my very own franchise store one day!"
By the early morning, the line snaked several times in front of the store and down Broadway and continued to grow as anticipation for the doors opening became even greater. Crowds continued to flock to the store and eagerly await their meals throughout the day as the beloved Jollibee mascot kept customers and newcomers energized, jolly and satisfied.
"We got the original Chickenjoy and oh my god! I was expecting good chicken, but this is just so flavorful, so juicy and so crunchy!" noted Jollibee first-timers Alexandra and Alison Port. "It's hard to get the right balance of all that with fried chicken and Jollibee hits it spot on."
By the time the doors finally closed at midnight, Jollibee Times Square had served up thousands of its signature menu items to hungry fans who came from near and far to be part of the brand's momentous grand-opening milestone.
"I tried the spicy chicken sandwich, and it is so delicious!" remarked first time Jollibee customer, Kiki. "It's really good. It's spicy, it's tasty. I can taste all the flavors"
For those who plan to visit Jollibee's new Times Square flagship location, here's what you need to know:
- Address: 1500 Broadway, New York, NY 10036 (between W. 43rd & W. 44th Streets)
- Hours of Operation: 9AM – 12AM, seven days a week.
- How To Order: At this time, the store is offering dine-in and take-out options only; online ordering/delivery channels will be available in the coming weeks.
- Must-try Menu Items:
Iconic Fan-Favorites
Jollibee has more than 1,500 restaurants across 17 countries and is quickly expanding across North America. Follow Jollibee at @jollibeeus on Facebook, @jollibeeus on Instagram, and @jollibeeusa on TikTok to get updates on Jollibee's upcoming store openings and other exciting announcements and events, including new product launches and special promotions.
Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC, also known as Jollibee Group) is one of the fastest-growing restaurant companies in the world. It operates in 34 countries, with over 6,200 stores globally with branches in the Philippines, United States, Canada, the People's Republic of China, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Vietnam, Brunei, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Indonesia, Costa Rica, Egypt, Panama, Malaysia, South Korea, India, and Australia.
Jollibee Group has eight wholly owned brands (Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon, Mang Inasal, Yonghe King, Hong Zhuang Yuan, Smashburger); six franchised brands (Burger King, Panda Express, PHO24, and Yoshinoya in the Philippines; Dunkin' and Tim Ho Wan in certain territories in China); 80% ownership of The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf; 60% ownership in the SuperFoods Group that owns Highlands Coffee and PHO24; and 51% ownership of Milksha, a popular Taiwanese bubble tea brand.
Jollibee Group, through its subsidiary Jollibee Worldwide Pte. Ltd. (JWPL) owns 90% participating interest in Titan Dining LP, a private equity fund that ultimately owns the Tim Ho Wan brand. It also has a joint venture with the THW Group to open and operate THW restaurants in Mainland China. Jollibee Group also has a business venture with award-winning Chef Rick Bayless for Tortazo, a Mexican fast-casual restaurant business in the United States.
Jollibee Group was named the Philippines' most admired company by the Asian Wall Street Journal for ten years. It was also honored as one of Asia's Fab 50 Companies and among the World's Best Employers and World's Top Female-Friendly Companies by Forbes. In 2020, Gallup awarded the Jollibee Group with the Exceptional Workplace Award, making it the first Philippine-based company to receive the distinction.
Jollibee Group has grown brands that bring delightful dining experiences to its customers worldwide, thus spreading the joy of eating to everyone. To learn more about Jollibee Group, visit www.jollibeegroup.com.
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SOURCE Jollibee | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/08/19/thousands-joyful-fans-celebrate-global-restaurant-sensation-jollibee-it-opens-its-doors-heart-times-square/ | 2022-08-19T19:00:53Z |
Sci-Fi Elevates Throwing in Upcoming NFT Release – Join TDSC Waitlist
TORONTO, Aug. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A revolutionary avatar profile NFT called Throwing Dude Space Camp (TDSC) is launching in the Fall. 10,000 NFTs will be available. TDSC features next level art, astonishing rarity, and a ground-breaking road map. Click here join the waitlist.
Gyro Plasmic (pseudonym), Founder of TDSC says; "on a gut level we felt it was time for something new in both sports and in sci-fi. A war story or winning and losing is the typical narrative. TDSC is about a universe where everyone lives the creative inspired life and pursues their passions for their own sake. Throwing is one such universal passion and TDSC takes on that exploration."
TDSC is about living the creative inspired life and pursuing the joy of throwing and the joy of exploring. Space and sports have these in common. No matter your skill level, or where you come from in our universe, Throwing Dude Space Camp galactically celebrates the comradery of Space Camp and throwing. TDSC will push the boundaries of what is possible for a PFP NFT and will have a lot of fun doing it.
We will also achieve greater rarity through the processes of constraining and information is randomly included with our Dudes. With over 70 throwing objects, rarity is deeper versus the other PFP NFT projects. Join our waitlist.
Since our Dudes are from across our Universe, some of their capabilities go way beyond just throwing mere earthly objects and include galactic and even mythical throwing. Click for TDSC waitlist.
We are in it for the long haul and as TDCS gets resourced through revenue, we plan to introduce many benefits to the Throwing Dude Space Camp membership, which may potentially include: our 57 planets art reveal, exclusive member merchandise, space camping festival under our aurora borealis, release of space camp song anthem and more.
Throwing Dude Space Camp (TDSC) is owned and operated by QaQaQ Inc.
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SOURCE Throwing Dude Space Camp | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/08/19/throwing-dude-space-camp-tdsc-brings-throwing-life/ | 2022-08-19T19:01:00Z |
With three-year revenue growth of 273% percent, UNFOLD ranks among America's fastest-growing private companies
NEW YORK, Aug. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Inc. revealed UNFOLD, a Conspiracy Theory partner, is No. 2171 on its annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in America. The list represents a one-of-a-kind look at the most successful companies within the economy's most dynamic segment—its independent businesses. Facebook, Chobani, Under Armour, Microsoft, Patagonia, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000.
Since its founding in 2012, UNFOLD has grown to more than 150 people, with full-service capabilities in media, digital advertising, social media, website development and production services. UNFOLD is a member of the Conspiracy Theory network of best-in-class specialist agencies that work together to grow brands and drive business.
"We launched UNFOLD 10 years ago and the world has changed dramatically in that time," said UNFOLD co-founder and CCO Brick Rucker. "Today, we are in the privileged position where our services are more in demand than ever. We've turbocharged our capabilities to meet these needs so we can continue to thrive for the next decade."
The companies on the 2022 Inc. 5000 have not only been successful, but have also demonstrated resilience amid supply chain woes, labor shortages, and the ongoing impact of Covid-19. Among the top 500, the average median three-year revenue growth rate soared to 2,144 percent. Together, those companies added more than 68,394 jobs over the past three years.
Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000. The top 500 companies are featured in the September issue of Inc. magazine, which will be available on August 23.
"The accomplishment of building one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S., in light of recent economic roadblocks, cannot be overstated," says Scott Omelianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc. "Inc. is thrilled to honor the companies that have established themselves through innovation, hard work, and rising to the challenges of today."
UNFOLD is a best-in-class digital creative agency for top brands and the largest entertainment companies in the world. Since its founding in 2012, the agency has grown to over 150 people with full-service capabilities in media, digital advertising, social media, website development and production services. For more information visit unfoldagency.com.
Conspiracy Theory, founded in 2021, is a solutions-oriented network of agencies and businesses that work together toward similar goals. Combined, Conspiracy Theory shops will bring together a robust suite of specialty services offered by best-in-class talent across disciplines. The group's motto: "Amazing alone. Powerful together." For more information visit conspiracytheory.co.
Companies on the 2022 Inc. 5000 are ranked according to percentage revenue growth from 2018 to 2021. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2018. They must be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independent—not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies—as of December 31, 2021. (Since then, some on the list may have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2018 is $100,000; the minimum for 2021 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Growth rates used to determine company rankings were calculated to four decimal places. The top 500 companies on the Inc. 5000 are featured in Inc. magazine's September issue. The entire Inc. 5000 can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000.
The world's most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference & Gala is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit www.inc.com.
For more information on the Inc. 5000 Conference & Gala, visit http://conference.inc.com/.
Contact: Steve Sapka, Steve@sapkacomm.com
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SOURCE UNFOLD | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/08/19/unfold-recognized-2022-inc-5000-annual-list/ | 2022-08-19T19:01:11Z |
Buttigieg warns airlines to help travelers or face new rules
WASHINGTON (AP) — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has warned airlines that his department could draft new rules around passenger rights if the carriers don’t give more help to travelers trapped by flight cancellations and delays.
Buttigieg is asking airline CEOs to, at a minimum, provide lodging for passengers stranded overnight at an airport and give out meal vouchers for delays of three hours or longer when the disruption is caused by something in the airline’s control.
The Transportation Department on Friday released a copy of the letters, which it said were sent to CEOs of the major U.S. airlines, their regional affiliates, and budget carriers.
A spokeswoman for Airlines for America, a trade group whose members include American, United, Delta and Southwest, said airlines “strive to provide the highest level of customer service.” She said the airlines are committed to overcoming challenges including a tight labor market.
Buttigieg’s agency recently proposed rules around refunds for passengers whose flights are canceled or rescheduled. He told the CEOs the department is considering additional rules “that would further expand the rights of airline passengers who experience disruptions.”
Buttigieg has been sparring with the airlines since late spring over high numbers of canceled and delayed flights. In his latest salvo, he told airline CEOs he appreciates that airlines have stepped up hiring and trimmed schedules to better match the number of flights they can handle.
“Still, the level of disruption Americans have experienced this summer is unacceptable,” he wrote.
So far this year, airlines have canceled about 146,000 flights, or 2.6%, and nearly 1.3 million flights have been delayed, according to tracking service FlightAware. The rate of cancellations is up about one-third from the same period in 2019, before the pandemic, and the rate of delays is up nearly one-fourth.
Federal officials have blamed many of the disruptions on understaffing at airlines, which encouraged employees to quit after the pandemic started. The airlines have countered by blaming staffing problems at the Federal Aviation Administration, which hires air traffic controllers.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/19/buttigieg-warns-airlines-help-travelers-or-face-new-rules/ | 2022-08-19T19:24:45Z |
Greenbrier East High School chosen to receive Friends with Paws therapy dog
LEWISBURG, W.Va. (WVVA) - Through First Lady Cathy Justice’s Friends With Paws program, an initiative through Communities in Schools (CIS), West Virginia schools have been able to use a non-traditional approach to connect with students.
On Thursday, August 18, it was announced that Greenbrier East High School is among the next seven schools to receive a certified therapy dog.
“It’s a wonderful school,” First Lady Justice said of Greenbrier East. “We’ve spoken with a couple of the teachers, the superintendent. Teachers here that are taking the dogs are in Special Ed, so it’s just going to be really good. We all have needs for these dogs, and just the entire school will benefit from this.”
Ben Routson, Head Principal for Greenbrier East, believes Marshal, a cream and white Labradoodle, will be a big help to all his students.
“I’m very excited and very grateful that we have this opportunity. You know, I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for our students, and that’s what we are here for. Our hopes and goals are that it will ease, you know, some of the social isolation of some students. It will help the student relax and, hopefully, make students feel more comfortable.”
During Thursday’s press conference, it was shared that the dogs already placed in schools have been helping students to reduce anxiety and increase attendance. Three dogs have already been placed in schools. This includes Coal, the state’s first therapy dog, assigned to Welch Elementary School earlier this year.
Gov. Jim Justice says, in today’s world, children need all the help they can get, especially when it comes to their education.
“Today, you’ve got hunger, and you’ve got kids that don’t have clothes and absolutely every challenge that you could possibly imagine,” he said. “When I was growing up, you know, there wasn’t any challenges compared to today. There wasn’t any social media. There wasn’t all this crazy bullying and everything else that goes with it...”
Greenbrier East and the other six schools chosen in this round will receive their dogs in September. Once these dogs are placed in their schools, Friends With Paws will have achieved its initial goal of placing ten dogs in schools across the state. Ten more dogs will be placed in 2023.
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/19/greenbrier-east-high-school-chosen-receive-friends-with-paws-therapy-dog/ | 2022-08-19T19:24:52Z |
Jobs’ Apple-1 computer prototype auctioned for nearly $700K
BOSTON (AP) — An authenticated Apple-1 Computer prototype from the mid-1970s has sold at auction for nearly $700,000.
The prototype was used by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 1976 to demonstrate the Apple-1 to Paul Terrell, owner of The Byte Shop in Mountain View, California, one of the first personal computer stores in the world, Boston-based RR Auction said in a statement.
A Bay Area collector who wishes to remain anonymous made the winning $677,196 bid on Thursday, the auctioneer said.
“There is no Apple-1 without this board — it’s the holy grail of Steve Jobs and Apple memorabilia,” said Bobby Livingston, RR’s executive vice president.
The board has been matched to Polaroid photographs taken by Terrell in 1976, showing the prototype in use. It was also examined and authenticated by Apple-1 expert Corey Cohen, whose notarized 13-page report accompanied the sale.
The prototype resided on the Apple Garage property for many years before being given by Jobs to the seller about 30 years ago.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/19/jobs-apple-1-computer-prototype-auctioned-nearly-700k/ | 2022-08-19T19:24:58Z |
Rain chances rise through the weekend
Scattered showers and storms become more likely into Saturday and Sunday
Low pressure aloft, along with a frontal boundary pushing in from the south will act together to bring us more unsettled weather through the weekend. A few spotty shower/storms will be possible through this evening, along with a bit more cloud cover, especially before sundown. Not everyone will be guaranteed to see rain, but a few heavy downpours could briefly be pop-up in spots. Otherwise, we’ll be partly cloudy overnight with areas of fog and low temps in the 50s and 60s.
Saturday will bring partly sunny skies, and the chance for scattered showers and rumbles of thunder, especially during the afternoon and evening. While not a wash-out, coverage of rain will be slightly enhanced across our area compared to the last couple of days. We’ll otherwise be a bit muggy with highs in the mid 70s to low 80s. Saturday night, we’ll see a few more isolated showers/storms with lingering clouds and lows in the 60s.
Wider-spread showers and thunderstorms then look likely Sunday and Monday into early next week. Highs will stay in the mid 70s to low 80s for most, and we’ll see more numerous pockets of heavier rain at times. While the flooding risk and severe risk right now are nil, that could change depending on any repetitive rainfall over the next few days, so stay weather aware!
Next week, we’ll start to dry out a bit more again by Tuesday, and temps look to hover just below normal for this time of year for a while...STAY TUNED!
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. (WVVA) -
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/19/rain-chances-rise-into-weekend/ | 2022-08-19T19:25:07Z |
Uber driver hailed as hero for helping people escape burning building: ‘He was so brave’
NEW YORK (WCBS) - An Uber driver in New York is being called a hero after helping two people escape a fire in Brooklyn.
Fritz Sam said he was taking a passenger to LaGuardia Airport on Wednesday when he stopped his car to run into a burning building.
“When I thought there might be someone inside that building, there was something in me that couldn’t hold back, and I just had to go inside,” Sam said.
His passenger, Jemma Wei, was in awe of his heroism and the fact he even got her to the airport in time.
She snapped a photo of the flames pouring out of the second-floor window and said she and others on the street began yelling to alert residents of the fire.
“The fire looked pretty scary, so it looked like it might explode. I think he just thought it was very important to get everyone out,” Wei said.
Sam said firefighters arrived just as he was helping one of the tenants get outside.
“She [the tenant] told me she didn’t want to go, and I told her I am not leaving without you,” Sam said.
Firefighters responded to the scene at 8 a.m. and said crews had the flames under control within 30 minutes with no reports of injuries.
Wei said she believes if Sam had not selflessly run in to help, the outcome might have been much different.
“He managed to get people out, and he was so brave,” Wei said.
Uber released the following statement:
“We’re incredibly grateful to have such a heroic and thoughtful member of our community. He went above and beyond to keep his neighbors in New York safe and still managed to get his rider to the airport on time.”
Sam is married and a father of two. He said despite the risks of running into a burning building, he would do it again to save someone’s life.
Copyright 2022 WCBS via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/19/uber-driver-hailed-hero-helping-people-escape-burning-building-he-was-so-brave/ | 2022-08-19T19:25:13Z |
Walmart expands abortion coverage for employees
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart, the nation’s largest employer, is expanding its abortion coverage for employees after staying largely mum on the issue for months following the Supreme Court ruling that scrapped a nationwide right to abortion.
In a memo sent to employees on Friday, the company said its health care plans will now cover abortion for employees “when there is a health risk to the mother, rape or incest, ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage or lack of fetal viability.”
The new policy will also offer “travel support” for workers and dependents covered under their health care plans so they can access services that are not available within 100 miles of their locations, Donna Morris, the retailer’s chief people officer, said in the memo.
Walmart employs nearly 1.6 million people in the U.S. In Arkansas, where the company is based, abortion is banned under all circumstances unless the procedure is needed to protect the life of the mother in a medical emergency. There are no exceptions for rape or incest.
A Walmart spokesperson did not immediately reply for a request for comment on whether the company’s health plan — or travel support — will cover elective abortions.
Previously, the company’s benefits plan had covered abortion only in cases “when the health of the mother would be in danger if the fetus were carried to term, the fetus could not survive the birthing process, or death would be imminent after birth,” according to a copy of the policy viewed by The Associated Press but not confirmed by Walmart.
Many companies — including Meta, American Express and Bank of America — have said they will cover travel costs for their employees in the aftermath of the high court ruling that tossed out Roe v. Wade. But dozens of others corporations, and organizations that represent some of the nation’s most powerful companies. have continued to stay quiet.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/19/walmart-expands-abortion-coverage-employees/ | 2022-08-19T19:25:20Z |
YouTuber finds mummified body in abandoned building while filming video
MILWAUKEE (WTMJ) – Police in Milwaukee are asking for the public’s help in identifying a man whose body was found in an abandoned building last week.
Authorities said most of the body was mummified.
Investigators said a YouTuber found the body while filming a video in the building.
Amy Michalak, the lead forensic investigator at the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office, said the body had no identification on it.
“We’d like to be able to provide some type of closure to that family that we have here. We have found their loved one,” Michalak said.
Michalak said the person appears to be a Black male based on the features discovered in the autopsy. The body also had tattoos and five rings on the fingers.
One of the tattoos on the left arm says “king” and another on the right arm has the letters “S-A-V-A.” The body had further tattoos but were too hard for investigators to distinguish.
The man was also wearing a red allergy bracelet commonly used in hospitals. According to officials, the man had on multiple layers of clothing, including athletic pants and long underwear. He was also wearing what appeared to be two jackets.
According to the autopsy report, from what they could tell, the person did not appear to have any injuries, and there was no sign of drug use.
Investigators said they hope someone recognizes these features and helps solve the mystery.
Copyright 2022 WTMJ via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/19/youtuber-finds-mummified-body-abandoned-building-while-filming-video/ | 2022-08-19T19:25:27Z |
Angi Burns established Ovation Academy of Performing Arts in 2018 as a conservatory focused on training young artists and designers in theater, dance and music. At its largest, Ovation had 43 full-time students, sixth through 12th grade. There were summer camps, workshops, stage performances and classes on profesional management. Many Ovation students earned scholarships to college.
But two years ago, COVID seriously reduced the enrollment. Burns and her staff moved to a smaller facility at 404 Power House Street in McKinney. With 8,800-square feet, the former office park had space for a black box theater, rehearsal rooms, offices, a dance studio and classrooms.
"It was really just a great space because we wanted to stay small," Burns said. "That was our goal - to individualize education for these aspiring artists. But our numbers didn't go back up because people were still afraid. We weren't able to grow as quickly as we wanted to."
The founder-director of Ovation could no longer afford staff to run the facility. Nor was she keen to do everything herself, especially now that her daughters were headed to college.
"I'm personally ready to take a step in a new direction," Burns said. "I've been in education for almost 20 years. And I'm just ready to move on and do a new chapter myself."
So the past two weeks, Burns has been emptying the academy's offices, selling furniture and electronic equipment. She's donating props and costumes to schools and arts groups.
Ovation will no longer have a permanent home. The facility was officially closed July 31st. And Angi Burns Consulting LLC will now be the independent producer of Shakespeare McKinney.
But by next spring, Burns plans to restructure Ovation "where we only offer the outreach programing and educational programing off campus."
It'll be a leaner, nimbler performing arts academy. | https://www.keranews.org/arts-culture/2022-08-19/covid-still-disrupts-arts-groups-plans-mckinneys-ovation-academy-is-downsizing | 2022-08-19T19:28:35Z |
Tom Perrotta wrote memorable female characters in his books “Little Children” and “Mrs. Fletcher” — but one leading lady stands out in his work: Tracy Flick.
First appearing in Perrotta’s 1998 novel “Election,” Tracy is an ambitious young woman whose path to winning her high school’s presidential election is jeopardized when one of her teachers, Mr. M., persuades a popular athlete to run against her.
In the 1999 movie adaptation, Tracy, portrayed by Reese Witherspoon, stamps out campaign buttons. Fast forward 23 years: The iconic Tracy is back in Perrotta’s newest novel. She’s now a high school assistant principal going after the top job. But as the title “Tracy Flick Can’t Win” implies, it’s another rough road for Tracy.
In the years since “Election” first hit shelves, Tracy has become a symbol of something beyond the book. To Perrotta, Tracy represents the first generation of girls whose feminist moms — and sometimes dads — raised them to believe they can achieve anything.
“Tracy — like a lot of women I taught when I was teaching college in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s — truly felt like there was going to be a woman president and it could possibly be me,” Perrotta said at a recent event at WBUR’s City Space. “I am focusing my life like a laser beam on achieving these goals. And I’m going to seize this power that’s now available to me.”
When the book and movie came out, stories about ambitious women hadn’t gone beyond the Lady Macbeth and Jane Austen characters — whose objectives are driven by men, Perrotta says. Mary Tyler Moore forged a path of her own using charm and vulnerability. In contrast, a young Tracy scared some of the adult men she encountered.
Back in 2016, people compared Hillary Clinton to Tracy during the former secretary of state’s presidential run. And it wasn’t a compliment. Like Clinton, Tracy has a quality many men find “threatening or unlikeable,” Perrotta says.
Writer Tom Perrotta. (Beowulf Sheehan)
At first, Perrotta felt flattered his character escaped the page and made her way into mainstream conversation. But people started projecting their abrasive, Machiavellian view of Tracy onto Clinton, he says.
Around the same time, feminist critics like Rebecca Traister pushed back against the opinion that Tracy — an intelligent 16-year-old girl driven to earn a college scholarship because her single mom can’t afford to send her — is unlikable or the villain of the story.
“I do think it has been both a little demoralizing to see my character become a kind of sexist trope, but then somewhat encouraging to see her redefined as the figure that she is,” Perrotta says, “which is an imperfect, determined, resilient, very ambitious young woman who may not be the most likable person in the world, but most ambitious people are actually probably not that likable.”
In the end, Tracy wins the election. The Tracy that readers meet years later in “Tracy Flick Can’t Win” displays the same ambition and need to succeed as she did initially — but also displays hurt and some more lovable, humanizing qualities.
Tracy’s sadness in the new book reflects something many middle-aged people experience, Perrotta says. In “Election,” Mr. M reacts to Tracy’s potential, which he sees as greater than his own. Now, readers get to see Tracy assume the same role as Mr. M — a good teacher who wanted more from his life.
“[Tracy’s] unlimited potential is now a very specific and limited reality,” Perrotta says. “Her expectations for herself were so high that even her perfectly successful and respectable life seems small to her.”
The title “Tracy Flick Can’t Win” speaks to how Tracy begins to recognize a pattern in her life, he says. Back in high school, her teacher’s vendetta against her felt personal. But looking back, her past experience feels systemic: Tracy is the most qualified person for the principal job at her school but still faces outside forces working against her.
Before he started creating iconic female characters, Perrotta wrote his first two books about young men in New Jersey. After getting pigeonholed and placed on the “lad lit” table at bookstores, he wanted to write bigger stories.
Writing “Election” required him to get into the minds of several characters, including women like Tracy, which made him worry he wasn’t skilled enough to do it justice. But ever since, women have approached Perrotta to say they were just like Tracy.
“What they meant was, ‘I was that girl with my hand in the air. I had big hopes and dreams and I worked really hard and maybe that was slightly ridiculous, but that was who I needed to be at that time,’” he says. “I think a lot of girls who were ambitious felt like they had to outshine the boys around them because it was hard to be taken seriously.”
Perrotta remembers attending college with optimistic women who believed their generation would reinvent marriage, career and family. While some things did change for the better, these women grew up to discover their utopian dream didn’t quite come true, he says.
“I think that redefinition of gender and family that has really marked my entire adult life has been my subject,” he says. “Feminism and the challenges it has posed to men, that cluster of issues is really at the heart of all of my work.”
Emiko Tamagawa produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Gabe Bullard. Allison Hagan adapted it for the web.
Book excerpt: ‘Tracy Flick Can’t Win’
By Tom Perrotta
Excerpted from Tracy Flick Can’t Win by Tom Perrotta. Copyright © 2022 by Tom Perrotta. Excerpted with permission by Scribner, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-19/election-author-tom-perrotta-brings-back-an-iconic-character-in-tracy-flick-cant-win | 2022-08-19T19:45:59Z |
A federal judge has ordered Starbucks to rehire seven baristas it fired at a store in Memphis. They were fired following a union organizing drive at the store.
Senior editor at Bloomberg News Mike Regan joins Here & Now‘s Celeste Headlee to talk about the victory for Starbucks employees.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-19/federal-judge-orders-starbucks-to-rehire-7-baristas-fired-over-union-organizing | 2022-08-19T19:46:05Z |
It’s been one year since a flood tore through Waverly, Tenn., and killed 20 people. There’s been a lot of effort to rebuild but it’s still unclear if the town will ever be the same.
WPLN’s Damon Mitchell reports.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-19/flooding-in-waverly-tenn-one-year-later | 2022-08-19T19:46:12Z |
A new fly-fishing program for youth anglers launched this summer in Jackson. According to the Buckrail, the bi-weekly fishing clinics will eventually be nationwide but started in Jackson. The program will help young anglers learn about fly fishing and the great outdoors, and conservation and environmental stewardship.
A figure skating group from Casper recently earned 10 gold and one silver medal at the biennial State Games of America. Oil City News reports only four skaters attended the national competition and most did multiple events, some up to seven.
The Nici Self Museum in Centennial has recently launched a new website. According to the Rawlins Times, the museum focuses on the lives of ranchers and loggers in the 20th century, along with the evolution of the Centennial Valley through the decades. The website offers information on the museum itself, a place to donate to the museum even when it's closed, and can be used for genealogical research.
Cody is looking for applicants for the fourth City of Cody's Citizen Academy. The Cody Enterprise reports the eight-week interactive program is designed to share how local government works. Applications are due by August 31. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-19/friday-august-19 | 2022-08-19T19:46:18Z |
Kay Henderson, News Director of Radio Iowa, and Sahil Kapur, Senior National Political Reporter at NBC News join Here & Now‘s Scott Tong and Celeste Headlee to talk about the week in politics.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-19/liz-cheney-senate-midterms-and-more-reflections-on-politics-this-week | 2022-08-19T19:46:24Z |
The majority of people likely infected with the omicron variant that causes COVID-19 were not aware they contracted the virus, which likely played a role in the rapid spread of omicron, according to a study published this week.
Researchers at Cedars-Sinai, a nonprofit health organization based in Los Angeles, examined the infectious status of individuals during the omicron surge in the U.S.
Omicron was first detected in November 2021 and has become the most dominant strain of COVID-19. Common symptoms are typically less severe than other variants and include cough, headache, fatigue, sore throat and a runny nose, according to the researchers.
What did researchers find?
The study analyzed 2,479 blood samples from adult employees and patients at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center around the time of the omicron variant surge.
Of the 210 people who likely contracted the omicron variant — based on antibodies in their blood — 56% percent did not know they had the virus, the researchers found.
They also found that only 10% of those who were unaware reported having any symptoms relating to a common cold or other type of infection.
"We hope people will read these findings and think, 'I was just at a gathering where someone tested positive,' or, 'I just started to feel a little under the weather. Maybe I should get a quick test,'" said Dr. Susan Cheng, one of the authors of the study.
"The better we understand our own risks, the better we will be at protecting the health of the public as well as ourselves," said Cheng, who directs the Institute for Research on Healthy Aging in the Department of Cardiology at Cedars-Sinai's Smidt Heart Institute.
The findings help us understand how omicron spreads
A lack of awareness could be a major factor in the rapid transmission of the virus between individuals, according to the study.
"Our study findings add to evidence that undiagnosed infections can increase transmission of the virus," said Dr. Sandy Y. Joung, first author of the study who serves as an investigator at Cedars-Sinai.
"A low level of infection awareness has likely contributed to the fast spread of Omicron," Young said.
Although awareness among health care employees was slightly higher, the researchers said it remained low overall.
Researchers say further studies are needed, "involving larger numbers of people from diverse ethnicities and communities ... to learn what specific factors are associated with a lack of infection awareness," according to the news release.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-19/over-half-of-people-infected-with-the-omicron-variant-didnt-know-it-a-study-finds | 2022-08-19T19:46:31Z |
Here & Now‘s Celeste Headlee talks with Femi Oke, host of Al Jazeera English’s “The Stream,” about threats of violence by right-wing actors on TikTok following the search of former President Donald Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-19/why-right-wing-actors-are-threatening-violence-on-tiktok | 2022-08-19T19:46:37Z |
The AMC show “Better Call Saul” found its own voice outside of “Breaking Bad.” But the spin-off wrapped up this week with its last episode drawing an average 1.8 million viewers.
With “Better Caul Saul” ending and AMC’s other big show “The Walking Dead” nearing its final season, what’s next for the network? Here & Now‘s Scott Tong asks NPR TV critic Eric Deggans.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-19/with-better-call-saul-and-the-walking-dead-leaving-the-network-whats-next-for-amc | 2022-08-19T19:46:44Z |
The decades-long debate continues regarding whether wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains should be federally protected.
According to several conservation groups, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) was supposed to decide whether wolves in the Northern Rockies should have endangered species protections or not by May 2022, due to a petition the groups filed. The groups are now suing the agency to force a decision.
The gray wolf has been listed as protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on and off since 1978. Earlier this year, the species regained federal protection everywhere except the Northern Rocky region, which includes Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, eastern Washington, eastern Oregon and northern Utah.
Conservation groups initially filed a petition in May 2021 requesting the USFWS to reconsider the status in the Northern Rockies, specifically highlighting wolf hunting regulations in Montana and Idaho.
“Both states implemented new mechanisms to kill wolves and increase the number of wolves that a single individual can kill,” Andrea Zaccardi, the legal director for the Center for Biological Diversity’s Carnivore Conservation Program, said. “In Idaho, that's actually completely unlimited now. So, if an individual stumbled upon a pack of wolves, they could theoretically wipe out the entire pack.”
In a report released last fall, the USFWS found that “the petitioners present substantial information that potential increases in human-caused mortality may pose a threat to the gray wolf in the western U.S. The Service also finds that new regulatory mechanisms in Idaho and Montana may be inadequate to address this threat.”
Wyoming, as well as Oregon, Utah and Washington, are involved because the Northern Rocky Mountain wolves roam these areas, as well.
Following the report, the USFWS did not issue a decision on the ESA protection for wolves in the region. So, conservation groups filed a lawsuit Aug. 9, because they argue that the USFWS missed the deadline for decision, which they said is one year after filing a petition.
Zaccardi said the case is time sensitive.
“Meanwhile, wolves are still being persecuted across the Northern Rockies in extremely large numbers and extremely cruel ways,” she said.
However, proponents of hunting wolves said the populations are too high in the region, and it is necessary for livestock protection. An estimated 314 wolves roam Wyoming, including Yellowstone National Park and the Wind River Reservation.
Wyoming’s Governor Mark Gordon is against changing the state’s wolf management program, which includes a hunting season in northwest Wyoming set at 47 wolves last year, and unregulated hunting in a “predator zone,” which includes about 85 percent of the state.
“Wyoming has managed wolves according to our plan, and that plan has been sufficient to satisfy wolf population targets while allowing producers to take appropriate measures to protect livestock,” Gordon said in a 2021 press release. “Ours was a hard-fought and careful process that resulted in a unique plan that works. If it’s not broken we don’t need to fix it.”
If wolves were relisted under the ESA, the wolf management plans in all six states would need to be redone.
Zaccardi said wolves should have priority over livestock.
“The livestock industry has a responsibility to protect their cattle when they're using public lands, killing wolves that are native species on the land should not be the answer,” Zaccardi said.
Wolves either killed or injured 109 head of livestock in Wyoming last year, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.
Zaccardi said the court case will likely take place over the winter, unless the USFWS issues a decision prior. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/natural-resources-energy/2022-08-19/lawsuit-filed-to-force-decision-on-federal-protection-of-northern-rocky-wolves | 2022-08-19T19:46:50Z |
The Aurora (northern Lights) and when it’s really most likely to see them in Virginia and West Virginia
HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - We are currently in solar cycle 25 and it is a more active period with the sun. You may see headlines at times claiming that the northern lights can be see further south, but that’s often not very realistic.
While during strong solar storms or geomatic storms that move toward Earth, it is possible to see the northern lights this far south, it is rare and does not happen often. It takes a strong solar storm to produce the aurora this far south.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Space weather prediction is incredibly challenging. Here is the main page of the NOAA Space Weather Prediction site:
To produce a strong aurora, you need a strong geomagnetic storm. When a G3 storm is forecast by NOAA, that may produce a very faight aurora along the horizon for parts of Virginia and West Virginia. At times, this may only be seen with a camera and possibly not even with the naked eye.
This photo below from Peter Forister was taken during a weaker geomagnetic storm and while he captured the aurora with the camera, he did state that it wasn’t exactly visible to the naked eye.
Ideally, to see the northern lights in our area you would want a G4 or a G5 solar storm. These are not weather types of storms, these are solar storms. The stronger the solar storm, the more likely radio blackouts or GPS issues.
If you look at the chart below, the Aurora with a G4 storm can be seen as far south as Alabama and with a G5 storm, the aurora can be seen as far south as Texas and Florida.
Kp Index
The Kp index is something you can use to gauge if the aurora will be visible in the mid-latitudes. While a G3 solar storm, or Kp index of 7 can at times produce a faint glow of the northern lights on the horizon, you would really be looking for a Kp index of 8 or 9 for better viewing in Virginia and West Virginia. The image below shows the map of the Kp index lines.
If you click the image that will take you to the current Kp index with past data for 3 days. If you want the Kp index forecast, the text data is accessible by clicking here:
Subscribe to solar storm forecasts
You can get an alert when a powerful solar storm is forecast. After you sign up you can click on the Geomagnetic Storm subscription option and then select a K-index of 8 or 9. Aurora viewing is possible locally with a K-index of 7 in the mid latitudes but it would be very faint and on the horizon.
LINKS AND RESOURCES
Current solar cycle
Copyright 2022 WHSV. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/19/aurora-northern-lights-when-its-really-most-likely-see-them-virginia-west-virginia/ | 2022-08-19T19:47:18Z |
Jobs’ Apple-1 computer prototype auctioned for nearly $700K
BOSTON (AP) — An authenticated Apple-1 Computer prototype from the mid-1970s has sold at auction for nearly $700,000.
The prototype was used by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 1976 to demonstrate the Apple-1 to Paul Terrell, owner of The Byte Shop in Mountain View, California, one of the first personal computer stores in the world, Boston-based RR Auction said in a statement.
A Bay Area collector who wishes to remain anonymous made the winning $677,196 bid on Thursday, the auctioneer said.
“There is no Apple-1 without this board — it’s the holy grail of Steve Jobs and Apple memorabilia,” said Bobby Livingston, RR’s executive vice president.
The board has been matched to Polaroid photographs taken by Terrell in 1976, showing the prototype in use. It was also examined and authenticated by Apple-1 expert Corey Cohen, whose notarized 13-page report accompanied the sale.
The prototype resided on the Apple Garage property for many years before being given by Jobs to the seller about 30 years ago.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/19/jobs-apple-1-computer-prototype-auctioned-nearly-700k/ | 2022-08-19T19:47:24Z |
Judge won’t let Graham delay testimony in election probe
ATLANTA (AP) — Sen. Lindsey Graham can’t put off his appearance before a special grand jury investigating whether then-President Donald Trump and others illegally tried to influence the 2020 election in Georgia, a federal judge said Friday.
Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May ordered Graham to honor his subpoena for the grand jury. Graham’s attorneys appealed that order to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and asked May to stay her ruling while that appeal plays out. May declined that request in her order on Friday.
Graham is currently scheduled to appear on Tuesday. But he still has another motion to stay May’s ruling pending before the 11th Circuit.
Representatives for Graham did not immediately respond to messages on Friday seeking comment.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis opened the investigation early last year and in July filed petitions seeking to compel testimony from seven Trump advisers and associates, including Graham.
Attorneys for the South Carolina Republican have argued that a provision of the U.S. Constitution provides absolute protection against a senator being questioned about legislative acts. But the judge found there are “considerable areas of potential grand jury inquiry” that fall outside that provision’s scope. The judge also rejected Graham’s argument that the principle of “sovereign immunity” protects a U.S. senator from being summoned by a state prosecutor.
Graham also argued that Willis, a Democrat, had not demonstrated extraordinary circumstances necessary to compel testimony from a high-ranking official. But the judge disagreed, finding that Willis had shown “extraordinary circumstances and a special need” for Graham’s testimony on issues related to an alleged attempt to influence or disrupt the election in Georgia.
Willis and her team have said they want to ask Graham about two phone calls they say he made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his staff shortly after the 2020 general election. During those calls, Graham asked about “reexamining certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump,” Willis wrote in a petition.
Graham also “made reference to allegations of widespread voter fraud in the November 2020 election in Georgia, consistent with public statements made by known affiliates of the Trump Campaign,” she wrote.
Republican and Democratic state election officials across the country, courts and even Trump’s attorney general found there was no evidence of voter fraud sufficient to affect the outcome of the election.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the Trump investigations at: https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/19/judge-wont-let-graham-delay-testimony-election-probe/ | 2022-08-19T19:47:30Z |
Three children safe after abduction attempt in Floyd County
Published: Aug. 19, 2022 at 5:15 AM EDT|Updated: 11 hours ago
FLOYD COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) - Three children are safe after an abduction attempt in Floyd County Thursday morning, according to the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office.
Thursday morning, two women interfered with a Floyd County School bus on its morning route, falsely claiming a family emergency, according to the sheriff’s office.
Three children who were taken by their mother and grandmother are the subject of a custody dispute in the Floyd County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.
The women were traveling south, where they were stopped in North Carolina.
Warrants for Abduction and Conspiracy to Abduct have been issued and served.
Copyright 2022 WDBJ. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/19/three-children-safe-after-abduction-attempt-floyd-county/ | 2022-08-19T19:47:37Z |
Walmart expands abortion coverage for employees
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart, the nation’s largest employer, is expanding its abortion coverage for employees after staying largely mum on the issue for months following the Supreme Court ruling that scrapped a nationwide right to abortion.
In a memo sent to employees on Friday, the company said its health care plans will now cover abortion for employees “when there is a health risk to the mother, rape or incest, ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage or lack of fetal viability.”
The new policy will also offer “travel support” for workers and dependents covered under their health care plans so they can access services that are not available within 100 miles of their locations, Donna Morris, the retailer’s chief people officer, said in the memo.
Walmart employs nearly 1.6 million people in the U.S. In Arkansas, where the company is based, abortion is banned under all circumstances unless the procedure is needed to protect the life of the mother in a medical emergency. There are no exceptions for rape or incest.
A Walmart spokesperson did not immediately reply for a request for comment on whether the company’s health plan — or travel support — will cover elective abortions.
Previously, the company’s benefits plan had covered abortion only in cases “when the health of the mother would be in danger if the fetus were carried to term, the fetus could not survive the birthing process, or death would be imminent after birth,” according to a copy of the policy viewed by The Associated Press but not confirmed by Walmart.
Many companies — including Meta, American Express and Bank of America — have said they will cover travel costs for their employees in the aftermath of the high court ruling that tossed out Roe v. Wade. But dozens of others corporations, and organizations that represent some of the nation’s most powerful companies. have continued to stay quiet.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/19/walmart-expands-abortion-coverage-employees/ | 2022-08-19T19:47:43Z |
Updated August 18, 2022 at 2:29 PM ET
Deshaun Watson, the controversial Cleveland Browns quarterback accused by dozens of women of sexual misconduct and assault, will be suspended for 11 regular-season games, the NFL announced Thursday.
Watson must also undergo a behavioral treatment program and pay a fine of $5 million, which will be used to establish a fund to support non-profit organizations across the U.S. that work to combat sexual assault and help survivors. The Cleveland Browns and the NFL will each contribute $1 million to the fund.
Dozens of women have accused Watson of sexual misconduct during massage therapy sessions. In total, he faced 24 lawsuits; all but one of those suits has since settled.
In a statement, Watson apologized for "any pain this situation has caused" and said he would take responsibility for his actions.
But in a news conference Thursday, Watson said he would "continue to stand on his innocence."
"I have to do what's best for Deshaun Watson at the end of the day. I know what happened. I was in those situations," he said. "Just because settlements and things like that happen doesn't mean that a person is guilty for anything."
Asked for whom he was apologizing if he believed he was innocent, Watson responded: "For everyone that was affected about the situation. There was a lot of people that was triggered."
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 18, 2022
A lengthy arbitration process between the NFL and its players' union had first resulted in a six-week suspension. But facing a wave of criticism that the punishment was too light, the NFL appealed the decision in pursuit of a longer suspension.
"Deshaun has committed to doing the hard work on himself that is necessary for his return to the NFL," the league's commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.
Watson's 11-game suspension will begin in Week 1 of the regular season, which begins next month. He will return to the field on Dec. 4, when the Browns play the Houston Texans, Watson's former team.
Read on for more about the accusations against Watson:
What is the deal with Deshaun Watson?
Here's the summary: Watson was an exciting young quarterback drafted in the first round in 2017 by the Houston Texans. As the Texans' starter, he helped lead the team to back-to-back playoff appearances in 2018 and 2019. His own performance peaked in 2020 with 33 touchdowns, just seven interceptions and a league-best 4,823 passing yards (though his team floundered at just 4-12 that season).
Then, in March 2021, a woman filed a lawsuit accusing Watson of sexually harassing her during a massage therapy session. Twenty-two more women filed subsequent lawsuits that spring, all accusing him of similar misconduct. (One lawsuit was dropped after a judge required the women to disclose their names.) Two additional suits were filed this summer.
Watson has denied all the claims.
The Texans chose to bench him for the 2021 season. During the off-season, he was traded to the Cleveland Browns even as the NFL's own investigation was ongoing. The 2022 preseason began earlier this month; the regular season begins in September.
What exactly is Watson accused of?
The lawsuits filed against Watson describe a strikingly similar pattern of behavior. Watson would hire a massage therapist for a massage session. The massages took place in a variety of locations, including spas, hotel rooms and Watson's home and office.
At some point during the massage, the lawsuits say, Watson would turn sexual: asking the women for sex, directing their hands to his groin, touching them with his penis. Two women say he orally penetrated them without their consent. Others say he ejaculated on them.
The number of massage therapists seen by Watson is much higher than the number represented by the lawsuits. The New York Times reported this summer that Watson had seen at least 66 massage therapists over a 17-month span from late 2019 to early 2021.
In addition to the 24 women who filed lawsuits, at least two filed criminal complaints. Other women hired by Watson during this period reported no issues during their sessions, and more than a dozen others filed statements of support for Watson.
"I never assaulted anyone," Watson said in June. "I never harassed anyone or I never disrespected anyone. I never forced anyone to do anything."
Where do things stand with the lawsuits? Were there any criminal charges?
There are no current criminal investigations against him. In March, a grand jury in Harris County, where Houston is located, declined to bring charges for nine criminal cases; a second grand jury in neighboring Brazoria County also declined charges in a tenth case.
In June, Watson agreed to settle 20 of the 24 suits against him. One of the lawsuits had also named the Texans as a defendant for enabling Watson's behavior, including by providing him with nondisclosure agreements for massage therapists to sign; the team reached a settlement in July that covered 30 total women. This month, three of the remaining lawsuits were settled.
That leaves one ongoing lawsuit. A trial is currently expected in the spring of 2023.
What's the story with the Browns signing him?
After the first grand jury declined to charge Watson, the Browns signed the quarterback to a lucrative five-year $230 million deal, structuring his contract to minimize lost pay in the case of a suspension this season (which is near certain).
The team reportedly did not speak to any of Watson's accusers before signing him.
The Browns have been without a steady franchise quarterback for decades. Their most recent hope, Baker Mayfield, helped the Browns return to the playoffs after a 17-year drought. But he had battled a shoulder injury and an apparently poor relationship with team officials, and the Browns traded him to the Carolina Panthers in July.
The acquisition of Watson was already controversial when the team signed him in March. (More than 2,000 people made donations to the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center as a way to charitably protest the signing.)
And the controversy hasn't let up over the months since: An HBO special that aired in May helped motivate two additional accusers to file lawsuits, and the Times investigation revealed that Watson's lawyer had been in regular contact with Harris County prosecutors in the months leading up to the grand juries.
As part of the suspension agreement, the Browns will contribute $1 million to the fund that will help support organizations that help survivors of sexual assault.
"I think in this country, and hopefully in the world, people deserve second chances, OK? I really think that. I struggle a little bit with, is he never supposed to play again? Is he never supposed to be part of society? Does he get no chance to rehabilitate himself?" said Jimmy Haslam, who owns the Browns with his wife Dee, in a news conference Thursday. "That's what we're going to do."
Will Watson play this season? How about in the future?
Yes, Watson will play this season. On Thursday, the NFL announced that it had reached an agreement with the NFL Players Association over Watson's punishment: He will be suspended for 11 regular-season games (along with the $5 million fine).
In other words, Watson will miss about two-thirds of the regular season.
The league and players union had agreed to use an arbitrator to decide on a punishment. This month, that arbitrator, a former federal judge, recommended a six-game suspension.
The NFL appealed that decision in an effort to suspend him for longer. League Commissioner Roger Goodell said the evidence called for a suspension of at least a year, calling Watson's conduct "predatory" and "egregious."
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-12/deshaun-watson-will-be-suspended-for-11-games-after-allegations-of-sexual-misconduct | 2022-08-19T20:29:28Z |
NIKOPOL, Ukraine — The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station sits a few miles across the river from this friendly, no-frills city of steel-pipe factories in south-central Ukraine. Tamara Korolkova, a 70-year-old grandmother, can see the plant's panorama on the horizon from the apartment building where she's lived for decades.
She used to admire its symbolism of a powerful independent Ukraine.
Now she says she has nightmares about the plant blowing up.
"All of us are just scared all the time," she says. "I'm old, I have diabetes. If anything happens, I will only have time to lie on the floor and close my eyes."
Russia occupied the nuclear power plant in March. But in the past few weeks, Russian forces have used the area around the plant to stage rocket and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities — including Nikopol. Locals say these rockets are hitting private homes practically every day. They're also worried that Russia might misfire artillery and instead strike a reactor or nuclear storage facilities at the plant, causing a meltdown and radiation poisoning.
"Our biggest challenge is that we can't predict what's going to happen tomorrow or even if there's going to be a tomorrow," says Nikopol's exhausted mayor, Oleksandr Sayuk. "We can't comprehend what Russia is trying to do there."
Ukrainian authorities accuse Russia of weaponizing the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, which is Europe's largest. They say Russia has turned it into a de facto military base. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address posted online Saturday that Russia is using the plant to "blackmail our state and the entire free world."
More than 40 countries have asked Russia to withdraw its forces immediately from the plant. The United States, the European Union and the head of the United Nations want to create a demilitarized zone there.
The director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency has also called to stop attacks around the site and says he wants to lead a mission of experts to assess any damage to the facilities.
Sayuk, the mayor, is hoping the U.N. and the IAEA can intervene. Meanwhile, he says, locals are either leaving the city or stocking up on potassium iodide pills to protect themselves against radiation.
"The plant used to be run by professionals, people we knew," says Natalia Horbolis, head of the executive committee of Nikopol's city council. "Now outsiders have taken it over, and we don't know what they are doing, and what it will lead to."
The increased shelling has hit private homes nearly every day, she says.
Dima Malichenko, 18, says he was sleeping in the hallway when a missile tore through his family's home — a house Malichenko's dad built himself.
"I sleep in the hallway so I can run downstairs to our homemade bomb shelter when an air raid siren goes off," he says. "But I slept right through the siren, and then the wall blocked the bomb shelter. I ran outside and didn't know what to do, so I huddled under a tree."
He received only a few cuts and bruises.
His grandfather, 60-year-old Oleksandr Pylypenko, says about a dozen neighbors are now helping to rebuild the house. "I didn't expect that," Pylypenko says, choking up, "but these days such acts feel very Ukrainian."
Across town, a crew is demolishing a partly collapsed apartment building that was recently hit. And at another apartment block, residents repair windows and doors damaged by a missile that left a huge crater on the street outside.
Halia Vasileva, 70, sweeps the broken glass from the sidewalks and the street. "We will clean up after every strike," she says, sighing. "But we can't clean up another Chernobyl."
As Vasileva sweeps, 35-year-old Anna Yaroshek arrives to check out the damage to her apartment. She says she and her husband rented a place a few miles out of the city when Russia invaded Ukraine.
"It was supposed to make us feel safer," she says. "We don't. I know what the consequences of nuclear accidents are."
Her father, Anatoliy, helped clean up nuclear waste after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, when Ukraine was still part of the Soviet Union. He suffered from various types of cancer for years until he died five years ago.
"This radiation has no mercy," she says. "No pill can really protect us."
Hanna Palamarenko contributed reporting from Nikopol, Ukraine.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
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