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Authorities: 300 dogs seized on property were malnourished, suffered from injuries
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (KVVU/Gray News) - Nevada authorities recovered 300 dogs after making an arrest of two people Monday in an animal cruelty case.
The Nye County Sheriff’s Office said Oksana Higgins and Vasili Platunov were arrested after being accused of felony animal abuse and neglect.
Authorities said they obtained a search warrant for a property in Amargosa Valley as part of their investigation. The 300 dogs, of a variety of different breeds and ages, were found there.
Officials said they found the dogs in poor conditions. The kennels had dirt floors and were lined along the property. The dogs were in various states of malnutrition due to not being fed well, many dogs had injuries or untreated medical conditions.
The sheriff’s office said additional charges may be filed against the couple based on the determination of any other conditions for the dogs while being treated by a veterinarian.
The dogs will be kept on the property, KVVU reports, until Monday as nonprofits and shelters work with the authorities to develop a plan to adopt the dogs out.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/24/authorities-300-dogs-seized-property-were-malnourished-suffered-injuries/ | 2022-08-24T23:21:20Z |
Biden names new Secret Service director amid Jan. 6 scrutiny
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday named Kim Cheatle, a veteran Secret Service official, to be the agency’s next director as it faces controversy over missing text messages around the time thousands of supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol.
Cheatle, who left the Secret Service in 2021 for a job as a security executive at PepsiCo, takes the reins as multiple congressional committees and the Department of Homeland Security’s internal watchdog are investigating the missing text messages, which the Secret Service has said were purged during a technology transition.
Cheatle had served in the Secret Service for 27 years and was the first woman to be named assistant director of protective operations, the division that provides protection to the president and other dignitaries.
Cheatle had served on Biden’s protective detail when he was vice president. During that time, Biden “came to trust” her judgment and counsel, he said in a statement.
Biden said that her and first lady Jill Biden “know firsthand Kim’s commitment to her job and to the Secret Service’s people and mission.”
Cheatle replaces James Murray, who had announced his retirement to take a position with Snap, the social media company best known for its app, Snapchat. He announced last month that he would delay his retirement amid the investigations while Biden looked for a new director.
The Secret Service has faced increasing criticism after admitting that text messages from around the time of the attack of Jan. 6, 2021, on the Capitol were deleted.
The agency has said the messages were purged when its phones were migrated to a new system in the weeks after the 2021 attack. Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., a member of the House committee investigating the attack, has said the Secret Service told the committee that it left it up to individual agents to decide what electronic records to keep and what to delete during the process.
The committee has taken a recent, renewed interest in the Secret Service following the dramatic testimony of former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson about Trump’s actions on the day of the insurrection.
The Secret Service has said all procedures were followed and pledged “full cooperation” with all of the reviews and investigations, including a criminal investigation by the Homeland Security’s inspector general.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Cheatle “is a law enforcement veteran and served as the first female assistant director in charge of all protective operations for the agency before retiring.”
“We are ecstatic to welcome her back as the next Director of the United States Secret Service,” he said in a tweet.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/24/biden-names-new-secret-service-director-amid-jan-6-scrutiny/ | 2022-08-24T23:21:27Z |
Bridgewater picked 6th in ODAC Preseason Poll
Published: Aug. 24, 2022 at 6:14 PM EDT|Updated: 1 hour ago
HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - The Bridgewater College football team has been picked to finish in the bottom half of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference this season.
The Eagles were selected sixth in the league’s preseason poll, which was released Wednesday. Led by second-year head coach Scott Lemn, Bridgewater is looking to build off 4-6 overall record and 1-5 mark in the ODAC last fall.
Bridgewater opens the 2022 season with a road game at Gettysburg on Saturday, September 3.
2022 ODAC Football Preseason Poll
(First-place votes in parentheses)
1. Randolph-Macon (6)
2. Washington & Lee (2)
3. Hampden-Sydney
4. Shenandoah
5. Ferrum
6. Bridgewater
7. Averett
8. Guilford
Copyright 2022 WHSV. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/24/bridgewater-picked-6th-odac-preseason-poll/ | 2022-08-24T23:21:34Z |
Defense: Key government witness tried to extort R. Kelly
CHICAGO (AP) — Defense lawyers at R. Kelly’s child pornography trial in Chicago sought Wednesday to portray a key government witness as a liar and extortionist, contending the man first approached the R&B star in 2001 and demanded that Kelly pay $1 million or he’d go public with video that could put Kelly in serious legal peril.
Those assertions came during seven hours of often blistering cross-examination of Charles Freeman, a former merchandizing agent for Kelly who testified Tuesday that it was Kelly who first approached him, eventually offering Freeman $1 million to recover a VHS tape featuring Kelly.
“Your entire relationship with (Kelly) centered around stealing from him and lying to him,” lead Kelly attorney Jennifer Bonjean, raising her voice, told Freeman Wednesday. Minutes later, she added, “You were part of a shakedown scheme, right?” Freeman shot back, “No!” He also said, “I am not a thief.”
Federal prosecutors charged Kelly with production of child pornography based in part on that recording, which they say shows him sexually abusing a 14-year-old. He and co-defendant Derrel McDavid are also accused of successfully rigging Kelly’s 2008 state child pornography trial by threatening witnesses and concealing video evidence.
Freeman’s testimony at this trial helps buttress prosecutors’ claims that both Kelly and McDavid knew that videos Kelly had lost track of in the early 2000s were incriminating and could lead to his conviction at the 2008 trial.
McDavid’s lawyer, Beau Brindley, started the cross-examination Wednesday by pacing, waving grand jury transcripts at Freeman and several times telling the 52-year-old to “be quiet and listen” to his questions as he sought to tear down Freeman’s credibility.
“How many times have you told lies about videotapes connected to Robert Kelly?” Brindley asked, using Kelly’s full first name. “It’s multiple times right?”
Freeman agreed it was.
Freeman, who is testifying under an immunity agreement, also agreed when Brindley asked if it was difficult “to trust a person who lies … who will cheat and steal to get money.”
Kelly, 55, was handed a 30-year prison sentence by a federal judge in New York in June for convictions on racketeering and sex trafficking charges. If convicted in U.S. District Court in Chicago, he could see years added to that sentence.
Brindley also accused Freeman of lying when he testified that he found the video Kelly was looking for in Atlanta in 2001 and when he said he didn’t know its contents until he watched it later the same day. Brindley suggested Freeman never actually went to Atlanta and that he already possessed a potentially compromising video of Kelly, using it to extort Kelly.
“That’s how all this happened, isn’t it?” Brindley asked. Freeman said that wasn’t true.
Freeman said money wasn’t his only motivation for agreeing to hunt down the video, insisting he also wanted to help his friend, Kelly, whom he had known since around 1990.
Freeman conceded that he kept copies of videos for nearly 20 years. Not until a lawyer warned him in 2019 that police were poised to arrest Freeman for possession of child pornography did he finally turn them over to law enforcement, he testified.
After Freeman smiled as Brindley questioned him about holding onto child pornography for so long, Brindley asked: “Is this funny? Are you having a good time?” Freeman responded, “Yes, I am.”
“You aren’t upset with what you’ve done?” Brindley asked.
“I am not,” Freeman answered.
After acquitting Kelly in 2008, some jurors told reporters they had no choice because the girl — who then was in her 20s — did not take the witness stand to confirm it was her in the video that was at the heart of the state’s case. Last week, she testified at the federal trial in Chicago, saying she was the child in the video and Kelly was the adult man.
___
Follow Michael Tarm on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mtarm and find AP’s full coverage of the R. Kelly trial at https://apnews.com/hub/r-kelly.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/24/defense-key-government-witness-tried-extort-r-kelly/ | 2022-08-24T23:21:40Z |
Future JMU football non-conference games announced
HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - 12 future non-conference games for the James Madison football team were announced Wednesday.
The full non-conference schedules for 2023 & 2024 are now complete. The Sun Belt Conference schedule will be announced each year in early March. A few of the games listed below were previously announced prior to Wednesday.
James Madison Football Future Non-Conference Games
2023 Season
Sept. 2 – Bucknell – Bridgeforth Stadium
Sept. 9 – at Virginia – Charlottesville, Va.
Sept. 23 – at Miami (Ohio) – Oxford, Ohio
Nov. 11 – UConn – Bridgeforth Stadium
2024 Season
Aug. 31 – at Charlotte – Charlotte, N.C.
Sept. 7 – Gardner-Webb – Bridgeforth Stadium
Sept. 21 – at North Carolina – Chapel Hill, N.C.
Sept. 28 – Ball State – Bridgeforth Stadium
2025 Season
Aug. 30 – Norfolk State – Bridgeforth Stadium
Sept. 20 – at Virginia Tech – Blacksburg, Va.
2026 Season
Sept. 26 – Miami (Ohio) – Bridgeforth Stadium
Nov. 14 – at UConn – Storrs, Conn.
2027 Season
Sept. 4 – at Maryland – College Park, Md.
2028 Season
Sept. 23 – at North Carolina – Chapel Hill, N.C.
2029 Season
Sept. 22 – Charlotte – Bridgeforth Stadium
2033 Season
Sept. 17 – at Liberty – Lynchburg, Va.
2034 Season
Sept. 16 – Liberty – Bridgeforth Stadium
Copyright 2022 WHSV. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/24/future-jmu-football-non-conference-games-announced/ | 2022-08-24T23:21:46Z |
IRS to refund penalties for millions of taxpayers who filed late amid pandemic
(Gray News) - The Internal Revenue Service announced that it would be helping struggling taxpayers affected by the pandemic by sending select refunds to those who filed their taxes late.
On Wednesday, the IRS issued a notice that would provide penalty relief to most people and businesses who filed certain 2019 or 2020 returns late.
The agency said the relief applies to the failure to file penalty – a penalty that is typically assessed at a rate of 5% per month and up to 25% of the unpaid tax when a federal income tax return is filed after Tax Day.
“The penalty relief issued is yet another way the agency is supporting people during this unprecedented time. This penalty relief will be automatic for people or businesses who qualify,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig.
According to the IRS, the notice covers $1.2 billion in penalties for more than 1.6 million taxpayers.
The IRS said to qualify for late-penalty forgiveness, individual tax returns for 2019 or 2020 must be filed by Sept. 30, with taxpayers who already paid a fine automatically receiving the refund.
Most eligible taxpayers will receive their refunds by the end of September.
The IRS notice is also waiving specific late penalties for businesses and individuals who were required to report various international information returns.
According to the agency, these changes will help with the backlog of unprocessed tax returns as it looks to return to normal operations for the 2023 filing season.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/24/irs-refund-penalties-millions-taxpayers-who-filed-late-amid-pandemic/ | 2022-08-24T23:21:53Z |
Memo sheds light on decision to clear Trump in Russia probe
WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Department officials who evaluated then-President Donald Trump’s actions during the Russia investigation concluded that nothing he did, including firing the FBI director, rose to the level of obstruction of justice and that there was no precedent for a prosecution, according to a memo released Wednesday.
The nine-page memo, prepared for then-Attorney General William Barr by a pair of senior Justice Department officials, offered a legal analysis on whether Trump had criminally obstructed the investigation into potential ties between Russia and his 2016 presidential campaign. Barr agreed with the conclusions of the March 24, 2019, memo and announced that same day that he had concluded that Trump’s conduct did not break the law.
Though the decision to clear Trump of obstruction has been well-documented, the newly disclosed memo offers additional details about how two of the department’s senior-most leaders arrived at that conclusion. The department’s decision was notable because special counsel Robert Mueller, who led the Russia investigation, declined in his 448-page report to decide whether Trump had obstructed justice but pointedly did not absolve him either.
The Mueller report scrutinized 10 instances in which Trump lashed out or otherwise injected himself into the Russia investigation. Those include his May 2017 firing of then-FBI director James Comey; his request to Comey three months earlier to drop an investigation into his administration’s national security adviser Michael Flynn; and his subsequent efforts to have Mueller fired.
In their memo, the two officials, Edward O’Callaghan and Steven Engel, asserted that none of those acts amount to criminal obstruction of justice and said evidence suggested that Trump took the steps he did “not for an illegal purpose” but because he believed the investigation was politically motivated and hampering his ability to govern.
In the case of Comey’s firing, for instance, they wrote that the “driving force” was anger over Comey’s refusal to publicly declare that the FBI was not investigating Trump himself rather than an effort by Trump to derail the investigation.
And in other instances, they said, none of Trump’s requests or directives to “change the supervision of the investigation” — including telling his White House counsel to engineer Mueller’s firing — was ever actually carried out.
“After the President provided his direction, in each instance, the orders were not carried out,” the memo states. “Of course, it is true that an act may constitute an attempt or an endeavor, even if unsuccessful. But the facts that the President could have given these directions himself, and did not remove any subordinate for failing to convey his directions, weigh against finding an intent to obstruct justice.”
They argued that the facts in the Trump investigation did not match up with any other prior obstruction prosecutions. Most of the obstruction cases cited by Mueller, they said, involved instances in which there was an inherently wrongful effort to hide or destroy evidence or to thwart the investigation of an underlying crime. Those factors do not exist here, they wrote.
“The Report identifies no obstruction case that the Department has pursued under remotely similar circumstances, and we have not identified any either,” the lawyers wrote, referring to Mueller’s report.
The department released the memo on Wednesday following an appeals court ruling from last week that said the document had been improperly withheld from a government watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, that had sued for it.
In a statement Wednesday, the group criticized the memo as presenting a “breathtakingly generous view of the law and facts for Donald Trump.”
“It significantly twists the facts and the law to benefit Donald Trump and does not comport with a serious reading of the law of obstruction of justice or the facts as found by Special Counsel Mueller,” the statement said.
_____
Follow Eric Tucker on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/24/memo-sheds-light-decision-clear-trump-russia-probe/ | 2022-08-24T23:21:59Z |
Boomerang page plan, Aug. 25 Aug 24, 2022 Aug 24, 2022 Updated 1 hr ago Comments Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save BOOMERANG page plan for THURSDAY, Aug. 25 A1 (send color)Tease 1TODAY’S PICK Casper abortion clinic says it will offer free Plan B, Page A8Tease 2:Sports tease from JoshTease 3:TODAY’S PICK Continental Divide Trails gain in popularity with hikers and bikers, Page A6MAIN PACKAGE: Laramie moves ahead with road improvements, Kota (photos)TOP STORY: Reports: Sheriff candidates top local spending, Abby (photo) – strip across top plsRepublicans search for independent candidate to challenge Gray, WTE (file photos)Jumps to A3A2 (send color)Today/tomorrowWorth notingWhat’s happening?WeatherCorrection policy A3 (send color)Jumps from A1A4 (send B&W)Syndicated cartoonPrimary reveals much about politics in Wyoming, (Wyoming editorial)Simpson column (Wyoming voices)A5 (send color)Obits (I see 3)Around WyomingVol. 142 No. 173 A6-A7 – OUTDOORS (send 6 B&W, 7 color)Continental Divide Trails gain in popularity, Travsky column (photos)Toxic blooms again prompt health worries, warnings, WNE (file photos)Man found guilty of 13 felony charges in shooting of hunters, WNEHigh ranch prices show interest no longer limited to stewards, WNE – if you need it, can hold; also can cut to fit A8 (send color)Today’s pick: Casper abortion clinic offers free Plan B, WNE (file photo)Nonprofit’s new trainee is test case of new way to address poverty, WNE – can cut to fit if neededB SECTION B1-B2 SPORTS (send B1 color, B2 B&W) B3-B4 COMICS/PUZZLES (send B&W) B5-B7 CLASSIFIEDS (send color) B8 – FULL-PAGE AD (send B&W) Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Tags Clinic Abortion Transports Printing Politics Criminal Law Casper Color Plan B Continental Divide Wne Recommended for you Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. comments powered by Disqus Trending Now Hageman beats Cheney, will face Grey Bull in November Laramie County DA declines to charge woman arrested in stabbing death Wyoming Education Association sues state over education funding Kozak wins sheriff primary, Hackl presumptive DA First Wyoming case of monkeypox identified in Laramie County Latest Special Section Cheyenne Frontier Days To view our latest Special Section click the image on the left. Latest e-Edition Wyoming Tribune Eagle To view our latest e-Edition click the image on the left. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/boomerang-page-plan-aug-25/article_f7740016-23f2-11ed-92ae-fb4fe2c2a381.html | 2022-08-24T23:32:32Z |
Work to complete the new Slade Elementary School in Laramie has been fast and furious the past few weeks, as seen in this Aug. 6 photo. But with a Wednesday deadline to pass an inspection, unfinished Americans With Disabilities Act issues will keep the $17.8 million school closed for the first two days of the new school year.
The first day of classes for Slade Elementary School students won't begin Thursday morning as it will for other schools in Albany County School District 1.
The new $17.8 million school instead will open for the first time Monday, said ASD1 superintendent John Goldhardt.
While administrators originally had planned for the new school to receive its occupancy permit in time for Thursday, the permit was not approved because of a lack of tactile plates on the handicap parking sidewalk egress, an Americans with Disabilities Act requirement.
To complicate things, on Wednesday a worker hit a gas line at the school site at 1223 E. Shield St. in Laramie. While the Laramie Fire Department responded and fixed the line, the hiccup was one of many that has caused the school’s completion date to be pushed back multiple times.
“We’re highly disappointed that the building is not completely finished on time,” Goldhardt said. “We would rather have our kids there on the first day, but unfortunately we’re going to have to wait until Monday.
"But they will get the most beautiful elementary school in the state.”
Goldhardt clarified that the building is safe, but that school administrators want to be extra sure everything is ready for the students. While students are not allowed in the school without the occupancy permit, teachers have been allowed in to set up their classrooms, he said.
Classes at the other schools in Albany County School District will begin Thursday as planned. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/laramieboomerang/news/thursday-is-first-day-for-area-schools-except-slade-elementary/article_7dde0b2a-23fc-11ed-b0b3-d7dc3175dbd8.html | 2022-08-24T23:32:38Z |
CHEYENNE – The following people had filed with the Laramie County Clerk's Office to run for Laramie County School District 1, LCSD2 and Laramie County Community College Board of Trustees as of Wednesday, Aug. 24.
The filing period lasts until Monday, Aug. 29. Candidates will vie for nonpartisan positions in the Nov. 8 general election.
LCSD1 Area 1 (roughly South triad; one open seat): Susan Edgerton, Joseph Ramirez
LCSD1 Area 2 (roughly East triad; one open seat): Maurina Venturelli, Rich Wiederspahn
LCSD1 Area 3 (roughly Central triad; one open seat): Todd Reynolds, Michelle Tonacchio, Peter Zipp III
LCSD1 At-Large (one open seat): Henry (Hank) Bailey, Rene R. Hinkle, Lilia Olejnik, Jenefer Pasqua, Joe Plowman
LCSD2 Area D (one open seat):Billie Wilson
LCSD2 At-Large (three open seats):Michael Lerwick, Cody Nusbaum, Kendra Roeder
LCCC (three open seats):Joe Kelly, Janine Thompson
Applications for each position can be found online at elections.laramiecountyclerk.com/candidates-corner/. They can be filed in person at the county clerk’s office, located inside the Laramie County Governmental Complex, 309 W. 20th St. They can also be sent by email (PDF, minimum 300 DPI) to election@laramiecountywy.gov with the subject line "Candidate filing," or by fax to 307-633-4240. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/local_news/candidate-filings-as-of-8-24-22/article_383c7556-23fd-11ed-8783-5f57783b11c6.html | 2022-08-24T23:32:44Z |
ROCK SPRINGS – The Bittersweet Bombshells held a fundraiser at the American Legion Archie Hayes Post 24 on Saturday, Aug. 20, to raise money so the team can have a more permanent practice space.
“Right now, we’re trying to find a practice space. We’re trying to find a more stable practice place so that we can host more games in town. Right now, the rec center is the only place big enough to have games in, so if we can find a bigger place, we can have games all year long,” said Roxana Cheatwood.
“We always donate and half of our proceeds go back to the community every game that we have.”
Roller derby is a sport for everyone to enjoy. Most of the players on the Bittersweet Bombshells are moms and teachers from the community, Cheatwood said.
“We’re everywhere in the community.”
For those who don’t know much about roller derby, Cheatwood said it’s a “full-contact sport.”
“You’re pretty much playing offense and defense at the same time. You’re trying to get your jammer, the one with the star on the helmet, pass the other team. That’s four points. While you’re doing that, you have to prevent the other team’s jammer from getting through,” she said.
While the Bittersweet Bombshells have no plans of hosting any more events this year, they are actively recruiting new members to join their team and learn more about the sport.
The local roller derby squad is still looking to raise funding in order to provide more sporting events for the community.
For more information, visit the Bittersweet Bombshells Facebook page. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyomingbusinessreport/industry_news/economy_and_labor/bittersweet-bombshells-raising-money-for-new-practice-facility/article_1b3aa50e-23f8-11ed-b00c-27ef563dadc1.html | 2022-08-24T23:32:50Z |
Via Wyoming News Exchange
CASPER – A week after one of the most discussed elections in Wyoming’s history, a panel of lawmakers will consider changes to the state’s voting system.
The Legislature’s Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee will discuss a ranked-choice voting system and whether to implement special elections if one of the state’s top elected officials departs.
The committee will also consider two other important issues in Wyoming: housing and liquor licenses. The meeting, which is open to the public and will be streamed online, will take place in Casper on Thursday and Friday.
Election reform
As has become the norm over the last couple of years, the Corporations Committee will consider election reform legislation. That includes implementing a ranked-choice voting system similar to the one used last week in Alaska’s primary.
Ranked-choice usually work like this: The number of votes a candidate gets are determined by how many residents rank the candidate in the top spot. If no one candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, it will trigger the lowest vote-getter to be cut.
Then, on every ballot that had the lowest vote-getter ranked first, the No. 2 candidate will move into the No. 1 spot and earns more votes. This process continues until one candidate achieves a majority.
As the bill is currently written, it would permit voters to rank any candidate “without regard to political party affiliation.”
In other words, a voter could rank a Republican first and a Democrat second and not be bound by party.
But the current bill draft will likely be workshopped extensively, said Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, and Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne.
For example, it’s possible that a ranked-choice system could exist within partisan primaries, so voters would only be able to rank Democrats or Republicans, depending on their registration.
Ranked-choice opponents often point to the recent New York City mayoral race as an example of why Wyoming should not implement it – getting the results took days, as opposed to hours.
“I think [favorability for] ranked choice has dimmed a little bit,” Case said.
The committee will also be reviewing a bill that would trigger a special election if there’s a vacancy in some of the state’s elected offices.
As it stands, the state Republican or Democratic central committee (depending on the politician being replaced) is responsible for nominating three candidates. The governor then picks one of those three.
Case suspects the state GOP will lobby against this bill.
“They’ll come down with steel-toed boots,” he said.
In recent years, the state party and a large portion of its central committee has become increasingly hard-line and MAGA-minded, putting the group at odds with more traditional, big tent Republicans.
The central committee passed over Megan Degenfelder when choosing nominees for schools superintendent earlier this year, although she had administrative experience in the Wyoming Department of Education.
Instead, the group nominated three far-right candidates, including the eventual appointee, Brian Schroeder. Voters, however, picked Degenfelder in last week’s primary.
Sen. John Barrasso, who has since been reelected, also first assumed office through the nomination process.
Housing
As Wyoming grapples with housing shortages and rising prices, the committee will begin to look at remedies. The committee does not have any bill drafts slated on housing, but the group will review some memos from the Legislative Service Office, including one on housing trust funds.
Housing trust funds are earmarked pools of money for addressing community housing needs, which could include anything from affordable housing developments to home restoration projects.
Wyoming only has one such trust fund – located in Jackson. It is one of three states that does not have a state-run trust fund.
Zwonitzer said that the committee will mainly be asking questions about housing and listening to stakeholders.
“What is the government’s role? Can we be doing anything, and should we be doing anything?” Zwonitzer asked. “A lot of people want action on cheap housing and affordable housing.”
The Legislative Service Office, however, wrote that there may be some constitutional barriers to implementing a state-funded housing trust. The Wyoming Constitution currently has “prohibitions against the State or its political subdivisions loaning or giving credit or making donations to people or entities in certain situations, as well as a prohibition against legislative appropriations for charitable or industrial purposes unless the recipient is under the control of the State,” the LSO wrote.
Constitutional amendments are notoriously hard to pass in Wyoming.
“I’m always skeptical of the government getting involved in markets that, by and large, work pretty darn well,” said Case, who’s a libertarian-leaning Republican and an economist.
Liquor licenses
The committee will tackle the liquor license landscape in Wyoming this week, as well. The focus of the liquor license discussion will likely center around “tavern and entertainment liquor licenses.”
As it stands, venues that serve food and liquor must make at least 60% of the revenue off of food to satisfy the requirements of the liquor license.
The proposed bill would allow venues that don’t serve food – like arcades, for one – to serve alcohol while still collecting 60% of their revenue from the “entertainment” and no more than 40% from alcohol.
“Whether that 40% is the right number, I’m not sure,” Zwonitzer said.
Zwonitzer said he has concerns – and believes others do, as well – over how broad the term “entertainment” could be construed. He expects the committee to try to define it in statute.
One of the main pushes behind this bill was the advent of indoor sport simulation venues, like the SandTrap in Casper, where patrons can go play virtual golf.
“What if the other part of our business is not food? What if the other part of our business is video games?” Case explained.
If the tavern and entertainment bill passed, it would join a long list of different types of liquor licenses in the state covering everything from golf courses to airports.
“We just keep marching toward liquor freedom,” Zwonitzer said. “Every session, we have another [liquor license bill]. It never ends.” | https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyomingbusinessreport/industry_news/economy_and_labor/committee-to-address-liquor-laws-election-reform/article_c8f662b0-23f7-11ed-8d02-c7609bf97c57.html | 2022-08-24T23:32:56Z |
Monday morning felt normal for many students navigating their way through the first day of classes at University of Wyoming for the fall semester.
This normalcy was special in itself for the thousands of students returning to the Laramie campus because it’s something they hadn’t experienced in years.
After three years of virtual classes, COVID-19 testing, masking and quarantining, UW students are looking forward experiencing college with the ongoing pandemic finally pushed to the background. While the university began to dial back its masking and testing requirements last year, this semester shows an even more laid back approach with few COVID-19 related policies in place.
“I’m looking forward to having a normal school year,” said Grace Ann Choate. “This is my first year of having a normal college experience, and I’m a junior.”
Choate was one of many students who has yet to experience college life without the pandemic being a central concern. For the students who did get time in before spring 2020, this fall presents a chance to rebuild social connections that had been radically changed.
“The past few years have been strange,” said UW senior student Elena Nachbar. “To see everyone without masks changes the perspective.”
While the university lifted its mask mandate in 2021, the transition still is a point of excitement for students.
Nachbar said she’s looking forward to gathering with her peers in larger groups again and that she senses a difference in the feeling of connectedness on campus now that students can see each other’s faces.
While the university recommends students refer to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines on COVID-19 safety, it is no longer offering isolation housing for students living on-campus who test positive for the virus.
“The general feeling now is we’re going to treat it in a similar way if you had the influenza or something like that,” said UW spokesperson Chad Baldwin. “It’s not to the point that this particular infection requires isolation or quarantine or complete separation from everyone else.”
The CDC still recommends people quarantine for at least five days after testing positive for COVID-19. Those who are exposed to the virus are advised to wear a mask for at least 10 days after exposure and get tested on the fifth full day after their exposure.
COVID-19 tests are available for students at UW’s on-campus medical clinic, but only for those who have symptoms, according to the Student Health Service office. Routine COVID-19 testing will not be required or available on-campus this year.
Anyone in the United States can order a set of free at-home COVID-19 tests by entering their address online at covid.gov/tests.
COVID-19 vaccines also will not be available on-campus because of an abundance of vaccination options in the Laramie community, Baldwin said.
In terms of academics, students will not be penalized for missing school due to COVID-19, and full-time staff and faculty members have access to up to 80 hours of sick leave for that purpose, according to UW’s most recent pandemic policy released Friday.
As COVID-19 becomes a more normal fixture of university life, the threat of monkeypox also looms, with Wyoming’s first case of the virus reported Monday in Laramie County. While UW leadership does have monkeypox in mind, there is no specific plan or policy in place regarding the virus yet, Baldwin said.
Despite the concern, many UW students went through their first day focused on their future success rather than thinking about the challenges brought by the pandemic.
“I have one year left, so I’m trying to get everything done,” said Weylan Fluharty. “All the hard work is about to pay off.” | https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyomingbusinessreport/industry_news/education/university-begins-fall-term-with-relaxed-approach-to-covid-19/article_aa29a324-23f7-11ed-a38b-df32f138bada.html | 2022-08-24T23:33:03Z |
4 injured in drive-by shooting near Chicago high school
Published: Aug. 24, 2022 at 6:55 PM EDT|Updated: 51 minutes ago
CHICAGO (AP) — Authorities say three juveniles and one adult have been shot near a high school on Chicago’s Northwest Side.
Police say the victims between the ages of 15 and 18 were wounded on Wednesday afternoon outside an ice cream shop near Carl Schurz High School.
The police department says one 15-year-old is in critical condition, while the others are in good condition.
Chicago Public Schools issued a statement saying a shooting occurred just before a high school’s dismissal bell, but would not confirm the school name.
The school went on a lockdown while police responded.
That lockdown has since been lifted.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/24/4-injured-drive-by-shooting-near-chicago-high-school/ | 2022-08-24T23:46:47Z |
Authorities: 300 dogs seized on property were malnourished, suffered from injuries
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (KVVU/Gray News) - Nevada authorities recovered 300 dogs after making an arrest of two people Monday in an animal cruelty case.
The Nye County Sheriff’s Office said Oksana Higgins and Vasili Platunov were arrested after being accused of felony animal abuse and neglect.
Authorities said they obtained a search warrant for a property in Amargosa Valley as part of their investigation. The 300 dogs, of a variety of different breeds and ages, were found there.
Officials said they found the dogs in poor conditions. The kennels had dirt floors and were lined along the property. The dogs were in various states of malnutrition due to not being fed well, many dogs had injuries or untreated medical conditions.
The sheriff’s office said additional charges may be filed against the couple based on the determination of any other conditions for the dogs while being treated by a veterinarian.
The dogs will be kept on the property, KVVU reports, until Monday as nonprofits and shelters work with the authorities to develop a plan to adopt the dogs out.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/24/authorities-300-dogs-seized-property-were-malnourished-suffered-injuries/ | 2022-08-24T23:46:55Z |
Biden names new Secret Service director amid Jan. 6 scrutiny
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday named Kim Cheatle, a veteran Secret Service official, to be the agency’s next director as it faces controversy over missing text messages around the time thousands of supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol.
Cheatle, who left the Secret Service in 2021 for a job as a security executive at PepsiCo, takes the reins as multiple congressional committees and the Department of Homeland Security’s internal watchdog are investigating the missing text messages, which the Secret Service has said were purged during a technology transition.
Cheatle had served in the Secret Service for 27 years and was the first woman to be named assistant director of protective operations, the division that provides protection to the president and other dignitaries.
Cheatle had served on Biden’s protective detail when he was vice president. During that time, Biden “came to trust” her judgment and counsel, he said in a statement.
Biden said that her and first lady Jill Biden “know firsthand Kim’s commitment to her job and to the Secret Service’s people and mission.”
Cheatle replaces James Murray, who had announced his retirement to take a position with Snap, the social media company best known for its app, Snapchat. He announced last month that he would delay his retirement amid the investigations while Biden looked for a new director.
The Secret Service has faced increasing criticism after admitting that text messages from around the time of the attack of Jan. 6, 2021, on the Capitol were deleted.
The agency has said the messages were purged when its phones were migrated to a new system in the weeks after the 2021 attack. Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., a member of the House committee investigating the attack, has said the Secret Service told the committee that it left it up to individual agents to decide what electronic records to keep and what to delete during the process.
The committee has taken a recent, renewed interest in the Secret Service following the dramatic testimony of former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson about Trump’s actions on the day of the insurrection.
The Secret Service has said all procedures were followed and pledged “full cooperation” with all of the reviews and investigations, including a criminal investigation by the Homeland Security’s inspector general.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Cheatle “is a law enforcement veteran and served as the first female assistant director in charge of all protective operations for the agency before retiring.”
“We are ecstatic to welcome her back as the next Director of the United States Secret Service,” he said in a tweet.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/24/biden-names-new-secret-service-director-amid-jan-6-scrutiny/ | 2022-08-24T23:47:01Z |
Defense: Key government witness tried to extort R. Kelly
CHICAGO (AP) — Defense lawyers at R. Kelly’s child pornography trial in Chicago sought Wednesday to portray a key government witness as a liar and extortionist, contending the man first approached the R&B star in 2001 and demanded that Kelly pay $1 million or he’d go public with video that could put Kelly in serious legal peril.
Those assertions came during seven hours of often blistering cross-examination of Charles Freeman, a former merchandizing agent for Kelly who testified Tuesday that it was Kelly who first approached him, eventually offering Freeman $1 million to recover a VHS tape featuring Kelly.
“Your entire relationship with (Kelly) centered around stealing from him and lying to him,” lead Kelly attorney Jennifer Bonjean, raising her voice, told Freeman Wednesday. Minutes later, she added, “You were part of a shakedown scheme, right?” Freeman shot back, “No!” He also said, “I am not a thief.”
Federal prosecutors charged Kelly with production of child pornography based in part on that recording, which they say shows him sexually abusing a 14-year-old. He and co-defendant Derrel McDavid are also accused of successfully rigging Kelly’s 2008 state child pornography trial by threatening witnesses and concealing video evidence.
Freeman’s testimony at this trial helps buttress prosecutors’ claims that both Kelly and McDavid knew that videos Kelly had lost track of in the early 2000s were incriminating and could lead to his conviction at the 2008 trial.
McDavid’s lawyer, Beau Brindley, started the cross-examination Wednesday by pacing, waving grand jury transcripts at Freeman and several times telling the 52-year-old to “be quiet and listen” to his questions as he sought to tear down Freeman’s credibility.
“How many times have you told lies about videotapes connected to Robert Kelly?” Brindley asked, using Kelly’s full first name. “It’s multiple times right?”
Freeman agreed it was.
Freeman, who is testifying under an immunity agreement, also agreed when Brindley asked if it was difficult “to trust a person who lies … who will cheat and steal to get money.”
Kelly, 55, was handed a 30-year prison sentence by a federal judge in New York in June for convictions on racketeering and sex trafficking charges. If convicted in U.S. District Court in Chicago, he could see years added to that sentence.
Brindley also accused Freeman of lying when he testified that he found the video Kelly was looking for in Atlanta in 2001 and when he said he didn’t know its contents until he watched it later the same day. Brindley suggested Freeman never actually went to Atlanta and that he already possessed a potentially compromising video of Kelly, using it to extort Kelly.
“That’s how all this happened, isn’t it?” Brindley asked. Freeman said that wasn’t true.
Freeman said money wasn’t his only motivation for agreeing to hunt down the video, insisting he also wanted to help his friend, Kelly, whom he had known since around 1990.
Freeman conceded that he kept copies of videos for nearly 20 years. Not until a lawyer warned him in 2019 that police were poised to arrest Freeman for possession of child pornography did he finally turn them over to law enforcement, he testified.
After Freeman smiled as Brindley questioned him about holding onto child pornography for so long, Brindley asked: “Is this funny? Are you having a good time?” Freeman responded, “Yes, I am.”
“You aren’t upset with what you’ve done?” Brindley asked.
“I am not,” Freeman answered.
After acquitting Kelly in 2008, some jurors told reporters they had no choice because the girl — who then was in her 20s — did not take the witness stand to confirm it was her in the video that was at the heart of the state’s case. Last week, she testified at the federal trial in Chicago, saying she was the child in the video and Kelly was the adult man.
___
Follow Michael Tarm on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mtarm and find AP’s full coverage of the R. Kelly trial at https://apnews.com/hub/r-kelly.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/24/defense-key-government-witness-tried-extort-r-kelly/ | 2022-08-24T23:47:08Z |
IRS to refund penalties for millions of taxpayers who filed late amid pandemic
(Gray News) - The Internal Revenue Service announced that it would be helping struggling taxpayers affected by the pandemic by sending select refunds to those who filed their taxes late.
On Wednesday, the IRS issued a notice that would provide penalty relief to most people and businesses who filed certain 2019 or 2020 returns late.
The agency said the relief applies to the failure to file penalty – a penalty that is typically assessed at a rate of 5% per month and up to 25% of the unpaid tax when a federal income tax return is filed after Tax Day.
“The penalty relief issued is yet another way the agency is supporting people during this unprecedented time. This penalty relief will be automatic for people or businesses who qualify,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig.
According to the IRS, the notice covers $1.2 billion in penalties for more than 1.6 million taxpayers.
The IRS said to qualify for late-penalty forgiveness, individual tax returns for 2019 or 2020 must be filed by Sept. 30, with taxpayers who already paid a fine automatically receiving the refund.
Most eligible taxpayers will receive their refunds by the end of September.
The IRS notice is also waiving specific late penalties for businesses and individuals who were required to report various international information returns.
According to the agency, these changes will help with the backlog of unprocessed tax returns as it looks to return to normal operations for the 2023 filing season.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/24/irs-refund-penalties-millions-taxpayers-who-filed-late-amid-pandemic/ | 2022-08-24T23:47:14Z |
Kobe Bryant’s widow awarded $16M in trial over crash photos
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal jury found Wednesday that Los Angeles County must pay Kobe Bryant’s widow $16 million for emotional distress caused by deputies and firefighters sharing photos of the bodies of the NBA star and his daughter taken at the site of the 2020 helicopter crash that killed them.
The nine jurors who returned the unanimous verdict agreed with Vanessa Bryant and her attorneys that the photos of the remains of Kobe Bryant and their 13-year-old daughter Gianna invaded her privacy and brought her emotional distress.
The jury deliberated for 4 1/2 hours before reaching the verdict. Vanessa Bryant cried quietly as it was read.
An attorney for the county declined comment on the verdict outside the courtroom.
The pictures were shared mostly between employees of the LA County sheriff’s and fire departments including by some who were playing video games and attending an awards banquet. They were also seen by some of their spouses and in one case by a bartender at a bar where a deputy was drinking.
Vanessa Bryant tearfully testified during the 11-day trial that news of the photos compounded her still-raw grief a month after losing her husband and daughter, and that she still has panic attacks at the thought that they might still be out there.
“I live in fear every day of being on social media and these popping up,” she testified. “I live in fear of my daughters being on social media and these popping up.”
Her co-plaintiff Chris Chester, whose wife and daughter were also among the nine people killed in the crash, was awarded $15 million.
Vanessa Bryant’s attorneys did not give jurors a dollar amount they thought their client deserved, but Chester’s attorney gave them suggested guidelines that would have meant tens of millions for each plaintiff.
Vanessa Bryant’s lawyer Luis Li told jurors that the close-up photos had no official or investigative purpose, and were mere “visual gossip” shared out of a gruesome curiosity.
County attorney J. Mira Hashmall argued during the trial that the photos were a necessary tool for assessing the situation.
She acknowledged that they should not have been shared with everyone who saw them. But she emphasized that the photos had never appeared publicly, and had never even been seen by the plaintiffs. She said that meant that Sheriff Alex Villanueva and other officials had taken decisive and effective action when they ordered those who had the photos to delete them.
Kobe Bryant, the former Lakers star, five-time NBA champion and member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, was traveling with Gianna and seven others to a youth basketball game when the helicopter they were aboard crashed into hills in Calabasas west of Los Angeles on Jan. 26, 2020.
Federal safety officials blamed pilot error for the crash.
The jury returned its verdict on Kobe Bryant Day, which is celebrated on Aug. 24 because it uses both of his jersey numbers -- 8 and 24 -- and is the day after his birthday. Tuesday would have been Kobe’s 44th birthday.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/24/kobe-bryants-widow-awarded-16m-trial-over-crash-photos/ | 2022-08-24T23:47:21Z |
Memo sheds light on decision to clear Trump in Russia probe
WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Department officials who evaluated then-President Donald Trump’s actions during the Russia investigation concluded that nothing he did, including firing the FBI director, rose to the level of obstruction of justice and that there was no precedent for a prosecution, according to a memo released Wednesday.
The nine-page memo, prepared for then-Attorney General William Barr by a pair of senior Justice Department officials, offered a legal analysis on whether Trump had criminally obstructed the investigation into potential ties between Russia and his 2016 presidential campaign. Barr agreed with the conclusions of the March 24, 2019, memo and announced that same day that he had concluded that Trump’s conduct did not break the law.
Though the decision to clear Trump of obstruction has been well-documented, the newly disclosed memo offers additional details about how two of the department’s senior-most leaders arrived at that conclusion. The department’s decision was notable because special counsel Robert Mueller, who led the Russia investigation, declined in his 448-page report to decide whether Trump had obstructed justice but pointedly did not absolve him either.
The Mueller report scrutinized 10 instances in which Trump lashed out or otherwise injected himself into the Russia investigation. Those include his May 2017 firing of then-FBI director James Comey; his request to Comey three months earlier to drop an investigation into his administration’s national security adviser Michael Flynn; and his subsequent efforts to have Mueller fired.
In their memo, the two officials, Edward O’Callaghan and Steven Engel, asserted that none of those acts amount to criminal obstruction of justice and said evidence suggested that Trump took the steps he did “not for an illegal purpose” but because he believed the investigation was politically motivated and hampering his ability to govern.
In the case of Comey’s firing, for instance, they wrote that the “driving force” was anger over Comey’s refusal to publicly declare that the FBI was not investigating Trump himself rather than an effort by Trump to derail the investigation.
And in other instances, they said, none of Trump’s requests or directives to “change the supervision of the investigation” — including telling his White House counsel to engineer Mueller’s firing — was ever actually carried out.
“After the President provided his direction, in each instance, the orders were not carried out,” the memo states. “Of course, it is true that an act may constitute an attempt or an endeavor, even if unsuccessful. But the facts that the President could have given these directions himself, and did not remove any subordinate for failing to convey his directions, weigh against finding an intent to obstruct justice.”
They argued that the facts in the Trump investigation did not match up with any other prior obstruction prosecutions. Most of the obstruction cases cited by Mueller, they said, involved instances in which there was an inherently wrongful effort to hide or destroy evidence or to thwart the investigation of an underlying crime. Those factors do not exist here, they wrote.
“The Report identifies no obstruction case that the Department has pursued under remotely similar circumstances, and we have not identified any either,” the lawyers wrote, referring to Mueller’s report.
The department released the memo on Wednesday following an appeals court ruling from last week that said the document had been improperly withheld from a government watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, that had sued for it.
In a statement Wednesday, the group criticized the memo as presenting a “breathtakingly generous view of the law and facts for Donald Trump.”
“It significantly twists the facts and the law to benefit Donald Trump and does not comport with a serious reading of the law of obstruction of justice or the facts as found by Special Counsel Mueller,” the statement said.
_____
Follow Eric Tucker on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/24/memo-sheds-light-decision-clear-trump-russia-probe/ | 2022-08-24T23:47:27Z |
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Wednesday named Kim Cheatle, a veteran Secret Service official, to be the agency's next director as it faces controversy over missing text messages around the time thousands of supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol.
Cheatle, who left the Secret Service in 2021 for a job as a security executive at PepsiCo, takes the reins as multiple congressional committees and the Department of Homeland Security's internal watchdog are investigating the missing text messages, which the Secret Service has said were purged during a technology transition.
Cheatle had served in the Secret Service for 27 years and was the first woman to be named assistant director of protective operations, the division that provides protection to the president and other dignitaries.
Cheatle had served on Biden's protective detail when he was vice president. During that time, Biden "came to trust" her judgment and counsel, he said in a statement.
Biden said that her and first lady Jill Biden "know firsthand Kim's commitment to her job and to the Secret Service's people and mission."
Cheatle replaces James Murray, who had announced his retirement to take a position with Snap, the social media company best known for its app, Snapchat. He announced last month that he would delay his retirement amid the investigations while Biden looked for a new director.
The Secret Service has faced increasing criticism after admitting that text messages from around the time of the attack of Jan. 6, 2021, on the Capitol were deleted.
The agency has said the messages were purged when its phones were migrated to a new system in the weeks after the 2021 attack. Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., a member of the House committee investigating the attack, has said the Secret Service told the committee that it left it up to individual agents to decide what electronic records to keep and what to delete during the process.
The committee has taken a recent, renewed interest in the Secret Service following the dramatic testimony of former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson about Trump's actions on the day of the insurrection.
The Secret Service has said all procedures were followed and pledged "full cooperation" with all of the reviews and investigations, including a criminal investigation by the Homeland Security's inspector general.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Cheatle "is a law enforcement veteran and served as the first female assistant director in charge of all protective operations for the agency before retiring."
"We are ecstatic to welcome her back as the next Director of the United States Secret Service," he said in a tweet.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-24/biden-names-new-a-secret-service-director-as-the-agency-faces-controversy | 2022-08-25T00:05:59Z |
News Brief
Steamboat Springs, Colo., has been making headlines this summer for its crackdown on short-term rentals. Listing properties on sites such as Airbnb and VRBO has been banned in most of town, and voters will decide this November if they want to further tax vacation property owners.
City councilmember and 20-year Steamboat resident Heather Sloop said during a recent meeting that she supported the measures because of the sheer number of locals struggling to find a stable place to live.
“I see people that have worked here as long as I have, having to find alternative housing sources or leaving this valley because of the economic strain that is having on them,” Sloop said. “That is where I see the problem.”
Nearly 30 percent of Steamboat’s homes are vacation rentals, according to the analytics firm AirDNA and the U.S. Census Bureau, as reported by the AP.
Other mountain towns struggling with limited housing supply and affordability, including Jackson Hole, Crested Butte, and Breckenridge, are also debating new vacation rental regulations. Some, including Aspen, have even passed new development moratoriums in recent years to slow down growth.
A study commissioned by Airbnb this year found that short-term rentals support about 15 percent of the jobs in several popular Mountain West communities and added $1.5 billion to the economy. It also argues that short-term rental growth has had little impact on local housing markets.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West in Montana, KUNC in Colorado, KUNM in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/politics-government/2022-08-24/western-vacation-towns-look-to-limit-short-term-rentals | 2022-08-25T00:06:05Z |
Chick-fil-A's grilled nuggets and grilled filets have a dairy allergen due to an accidental contamination at its supplier, according to the company.
"A supplier notified us they had unintentionally added an undeclared dairy allergen in the recipe for our Grilled Filets and Grilled Nuggets," the company said in a statement, adding that when it learned about the contamination, "we took immediate steps to notify guests of this temporary issue."
A statement alerting consumers to the situation has been posted to the chicken chain's nutrition and allergens page, and a note about the dairy allergen has been added to the Grilled Nuggets page. The incident has impacted restaurants across the entire Chick-fil-A chain.
"We are actively working with the supplier so this doesn't happen again and to ensure the allergen is removed," the company said. "We understand and take seriously the trust our guests place in us to make sure their food is how they expect it, and we apologize for this situation. Our priority is that our impacted guests can enjoy these products again soon."
While the presence of dairy may not matter to some consumers, it can be dangerous to those with allergies.
Kids With Food Allergies, a division of the nonprofit Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, posted about the change on its Facebook page on Tuesday. Commenters on the Facebook post expressed dismay about the news, saying that it limited the food options for those with allergies even further. | https://www.kitv.com/news/business/chick-fil-a-grilled-nuggets-and-filet-contain-dairy-allergen-due-to-supplier-mishap/article_b07c7ea7-5dde-5abf-8003-f4ef9d1da423.html | 2022-08-25T00:06:31Z |
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The psychedelic compound psilocybin, commonly known as "shrooms" or magic mushrooms, may help people who struggle with alcohol dependence better manage their drinking, a new study found.
In what researchers are calling the first published randomized trial to examine the effects of psilocybin on any type of addiction, people who underwent two psychedelic mushroom "trips" with the help of a psychotherapist reduced "their days of heavy drinking by 83% over eight months," said senior study author and psychiatrist Dr. Michael Bogenschutz, director of the NYU Langone Center for Psychedelic Medicine, in a news conference.
People in the study, published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, consumed an average of seven drinks on the days when they drank, Bogenschutz said.
"I'd say (psilocybin) saved my life," said 32-year-old study participant Jon Kostas at the news conference. "My first AA meeting was at 16 years old. I was 25 when I found the clinical trial and by that time, I was 'treatment-resistant.' I had tried everything to no avail."
At the end of the eight-month trial, 48% of the patients who used psilocybin reported quitting alcohol use entirely, according to the researchers, who collected hair and fingernail samples to confirm reports of abstinence. That's twice as many as those in the placebo group who were able to abstain, Bogenschutz said.
"If these effects hold up in future trials, psilocybin will be a real breakthrough in the treatment of alcohol use disorder," said Bogenschutz, a professor of psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. He is also a paid consultant to several companies bringing psychedelics to market.
The need for new treatments for alcoholism is critical, experts say. Only three medications have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration since 1949 to treat the disease and all have limitations, according to studies.
However, while the treatment "seems to help a significant percentage of people," it is not a cure-all, said Dr. David Hellerstein, professor of clinical psychiatry at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center. He was not involved in the research.
"To me the most intriguing advance (of the study) is that it is a very different type of treatment than has been traditionally used for alcohol addiction," said Hellerstein, who conducts research on psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression.
"Therefore, it may open new avenues for significant progress with this devastating condition."
What's old is new again
This isn't the first time science has studied the use of psychedelics for alcohol use disorder, defined today as the inability to stop drinking even when it causes physical or emotional harm to the drinker or others.
UK psychiatrist Dr. Humphry Osmond began giving LSD to treatment-resistant alcoholics in the 1950s and found that 40% to 45% of those who took LSD were still sober after a year. Other researchers duplicated his results.
During the 1940s and early 1950s, tens of thousands of patients took LSD and other psychotropics to study their effects on cancer anxiety, alcoholism, opioid use disorder, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. Researchers began to see psychedelics as possible "new tools for shortening psychotherapy."
But when Harvard psychologists Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert were fired from the Harvard Psilocybin Project in 1962 after the university discovered they had been giving LSD to their students, the use of psychedelics for research began to lose its luster.
Leary began to speak out publicly, encouraging young people to take LSD recreationally. He quickly became the face of the drug counterculture movement with his signature message, "Turn on, tune in, drop out."
No longer administered solely in the relative safety of a lab or psychiatrist's office, LSD began to feature in horror stories of bad "acid" trips at colleges and concerts -- headlines that appeared alongside images of anti-Vietnam protests and Woodstock attendees.
In 1966, the United States outlawed LSD and research projects were shut down or forced underground. Then came the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, signed by President Richard Nixon. It classified all hallucinogenics, including psilocybin, as Schedule I drugs -- substances with "no currently accepted medical use" and a high probability of abuse.
"Studies come to a screeching halt," Hellerstein said. "We are now just beginning to make up for decades of lost time."
A worrisome rise in drinking
The new study enrolled 93 people with a diagnosed alcohol disorder who all had drunk heavily at least four days in the prior month. The researchers defined heavy drinking as five or more drinks in a day for men and four or more drinks a day for women.
Interestingly, that is also the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's definition of binge drinking, a problem studies show is on the rise in the US.
That is particularly true for women, who increased their heavy drinking days at the start of the pandemic by 41%. More young people are drinking alone as well, which can strongly increase the risk for alcohol use disorder later in life, according to a July 2022 study.
In the new study, one group of 48 people received two doses of psilocybin a month apart. A second group of 45 people twice received a placebo, diphenhydramine, a common antihistamine that is also a strong sedative. Each treatment session occurred in the presence of a therapist to help process and integrate thoughts or emotions over a two-day period.
Each person also underwent a series of psychotherapy sessions for 12 weeks that included motivational and cognitive behavioral techniques aimed at reducing drinking.
"Psychotherapy was an integral part of the treatment model, and so we can't make any statements about what the psilocybin would be doing in terms of therapeutic effects without that psychotherapeutic platform," Bogenschutz said.
In fact, the placebo group reduced their heavy drinking by 51% with only the therapy intervention, the study found, compared with an 83% reduction in those who received both psilocybin and therapy.
However, the study was not truly blinded: About 95% of those involved correctly guessed whether they were taking psilocybin or the antihistamine, the researchers said.
That's an issue, Hellerstein said, since people participating in such studies have a strong expectation that a "trip on a psychedelic will help them, so it is very difficult to separate medication effects from the expectation for major improvement."
Consequently, it can be challenging to "prove that the psychedelic experience and treatment are the cause of improvement," Hellerstein added.
One of the participants in the study, 60-year-old Paul Mavis of Wilton, Connecticut, was able to stop drinking even though he was part of the placebo group.
He credits that success to the intensive therapy he received during the study. "I haven't had a drink or even a craving -- it's weird. It was if I never drank in my life," Mavis said in a news conference about the research.
Mavis said he did take a dose of psilocybin, under supervision, toward the end of the study.
"This was a profound, deeply moving, mind-altering but still very, very exceptional experience," Mavis said, adding that it was not one he would rush to repeat, especially without the help of a therapist.
"No, this was this was a very profound thing that should be done under serious supervision in my humble opinion," he said.
As Mavis noted, the level of psychotherapy used in the study was intensive, which is common with studies involving hallucinogens. Future research should investigate whether similar results can be achieved with less therapy to make the intervention more scalable, Hellerstein said.
"Expert and time intensive psychotherapy is often not available in many locations and settings," he said. "If the psilocybin trip alone leads to decreased alcohol use, with very minimal psychotherapy support, that could make it possible to extend the treatment much more broadly."
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™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. | https://www.kitv.com/news/national/psilocybin-trips-combined-with-therapy-reduce-alcohol-use-study-finds/article_379e1ac9-855e-5aef-87cc-bae1b092806a.html | 2022-08-25T00:06:35Z |
A 17-year-old has become the youngest person to fly around the world solo in a small aircraft on Wednesday after first taking off on March 23, according to Guinness World Records (GWR).
British-Belgian national Mack Rutherford touched down earlier in the day in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, where his journey began, according to Rutherford's official website and GWR. He first set off when he was still 16.
Rutherford's route spanned 52 countries across five continents on a specially prepared ultralight Shark aircraft with cruising speed reaching 300 km/h, according to his website.
"I want to use the opportunity to meet young people on my route who do incredible things, making a difference to their communities or even to the world," he wrote before jetting off.
His journey was tracked on his website, which shows he set off from Bulgaria towards the Mediterranean then through the Sahara, onwards through the Middle East and then East Asia.
He smashed two world records, previously held by his older sister Zara Rutherford, as the youngest person to fly around the world solo and also the youngest person to do so in a microlight aircraft, the GWR website states.
He entered his last leg through the United States, Canada and Mexico before flying back through Europe and landing in Sofia.
Inspired to fly by his family, the teenager was just 15 years old when he received his first pilot's license, becoming the youngest pilot in the world.
"When I was 15, I got my license and was the youngest in the world at that point. And then when my sister flew around the world, I thought, well, there's something I can actually try to strive for and achieve," he told CNN earlier in August.
His journey even took him to a remote island in the North Pacific, after strong headwinds forced him to land during a flight from Japan to the United States.
"I had a few Oreos for supper and then went to bed in a small shed -- but that was definitely an amazing experience," he told CNN. | https://www.kitv.com/news/national/teenage-pilot-becomes-youngest-person-to-fly-solo-around-the-globe/article_2ddc1368-1e00-5a06-9f46-fb24dc537050.html | 2022-08-25T00:06:41Z |
President Joe Biden's student loan plan is a potential game changer for Americans drowning in debt. And yet the impact on the economy at large is likely to be so tiny that it will be hard to measure.
Biden announced Wednesday that his administration will forgive $10,000 for borrowers who make less than $125,000 per year. Low-income borrowers who went to college on Pell Grants will receive up to $20,000 in student loan forgiveness.
This debt relief will give tens of millions of borrowers some breathing room at a time when the cost of living has skyrocketed.
Critically, the cancellation of student debt is being paired with a plan to lift the freeze on federal student debt payments, beginning in January 2023. That means many Americans who haven't had to pay down student loans since March 2020 will have to begin doing so, eating into their cash flows.
Despite fears that Biden's student debt relief will fuel already-crippling inflation, economists say the combined impact will be minimal on the economy at large.
"The end of the moratorium will weigh on growth and inflation, while the debt forgiveness will support growth and inflation," Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi told CNN. "The net of these cross-currents is largely a wash."
Moody's estimates that the combined impact will reduce real GDP in 2023 by 0.05 percentage points, drive down unemployment by 0.02 percentage points and cut inflation by 0.03 percentage points. In other words, a very tiny effect.
"We're not talking about raising or lowering inflation by a percentage point or even a half a percentage point. We're talking about a really small impact," Dean Baker, co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, told CNN in a phone interview. "But for individuals this makes a big difference. It wipes out more than half the debt for more than half the borrowers. That's a big deal."
Tens of millions of borrowers impacted
The typical undergraduate student with loans graduates with nearly $25,000 in debt, according to a Department of Education analysis cited by the White House.
Up to 43 million borrowers will receive relief from Biden's student debt plan, including eliminating the full remaining balance for about 20 million borrowers, according to the White House.
The inflationary impact would have been larger if Biden did not impose an income threshold on the debt relief or if he heeded calls from some progressives to wipe out $50,000 in student debt.
Baker praised Biden's plan as a "good compromise" that avoided going to extremes.
"It's helping people out, but not giving away the store," he said.
Some groups, including the NAACP, argue Biden's debt relief doesn't go far enough given the mountain of student debt in America.
"Canceling just $10,000 of debt is like pouring a bucket of ice water on a forest fire," NAACP leaders wrote in a CNN Business opinion piece.
A $300 billion price tag
Of course, there is a cost to canceling student debt. And that cost will be picked up by taxpayers just when deficit reduction had suddenly become a bipartisan trend in Washington.
A one-time cancellation of $10,000 for each borrower earning less than $125,000 will cost the government approximately $300 billion, according to an estimate this week from the Penn Wharton Budget Model. (The Penn Wharton model did not include the cost of wiping out up to $20,000 in student debt for Pell Grant recipients).
Although $300 billion isn't massive for a $25 trillion economy, the cost of the student debt forgiveness would cancel out the projected federal budget deficit savings from the just-passed Inflation Reduction Act.
"All the deficit reduction will be wiped out," Marc Goldwein, senior vice president and senior policy director for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, told CNN's Poppy Harlow.
Note that the White House has hailed the deficit reduction aspect of the Inflation Reduction Act as an important inflation-fighting measure. And this marked a significant shift after years of both parties adding to America's mountain of debt to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
Even Jason Furman, head of the Council of Economic Advisers for former President Barack Obama, has doubts about Biden's plan.
"Pouring roughly half trillion dollars of gasoline on the inflationary fire that is already burning is reckless," Furman tweeted. "Doing it while going well beyond one campaign promise ($10K of student loan relief) and breaking another (all proposals paid for) is even worse."
Still, said Zandi of Moody's, this is a "big positive deal for probably close to 40 million, mostly lower and middle income, Americans, but [a] small negative deal for all American taxpayers."
'Sends the wrong message'
Beyond the economic impact, Biden's plan has sparked questions about fairness because it only helps people who were fortunate enough to go to college.
Rep. Tim Ryan, the Ohio Senate Democratic nominee, said Biden's decision on student debt "sends the wrong message to the millions of Ohioans without a degree working just as hard to make ends meet."
"Instead of forgiving student loans for six-figure earners, we should be working to level the playing field for all Americans," Ryan said.
Citing a Department of Education analysis, the White House said nearly 90% of relief dollars will go to those earning less than $75,000.
The student debt forgiveness comes too late for borrowers who worked for years to pay off their loans, only to now see others have their debt wiped away.
"I take that very seriously," Baker said of the fairness concerns. "We're relieving $10,000, not $50,000 or $100,000. That's why $10,000 is a good number."
The real problem continues
No matter the amount, wiping out student loan debt doesn't address the underlying problem: College tuition is way too expensive.
Between 2000 and 2021, the cost of college tuition increased at more than twice the pace of overall inflation, according to Moody's Analytics. That's despite a slowdown in tuition hikes during Covid.
The basket of goods measured in the Consumer Price Index cost 57% more in 2021 than it did in 2000, while the cost of college tuition soared by 167%, Moody's said.
It's hard to see how eliminating a chunk of student debt solves that issue. And some, including former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, have warned debt relief could also help raise tuitions.
"Costs are out of control. It's absurd people have to borrow large amounts and then struggle to pay it back," said Baker. "That problem is unsolved."
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. | https://www.kitv.com/news/national/what-bidens-student-debt-plan-will-do-to-the-us-economy/article_79ca0158-de44-5378-9665-6f30aed1110e.html | 2022-08-25T00:06:47Z |
BankPlus Announces Integration of First Bank and Trust
NEW ORLEANS (press release) – BankPlus has announced the successful combination of all First Bank and Trust accounts into the BankPlus system. Following the transfer, clients in both customer bases now have greater access across the Gulf Coast.
With the acquisition of First Bank and Trust, BankPlus becomes the seventh-largest bank by deposit share in the New Orleans market. The move further establishes BankPlus as a premier southeastern regional bank with over 90 branches located throughout Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida. BankPlus now has $6.6 billion in assets, deposits of $5.7 billion and gross loans of $5.2 billion.
“This weekend’s successful integration is the end of a long and deliberate process for our whole team, but it’s the very beginning of a bright new future for BankPlus and for our clients,” said Jeff Ehlinger, executive vice president and Louisiana president. “The scale and the scope of this transition increases what we can do for our clients exponentially and is a game-changer for the region. Our clients now have access to all of the products of a $6.6 billion bank with the service and culture of a community institution.”
The conversion will provide newly transitioned accounts access to upgraded technology and banking services, including commercial and retail banking, mortgage lending and a full-service wealth management division.
BankPlus has more than a century of service in the region. Founded in 1909 in Belzoni, Miss., BankPlus has grown to become a network of high performing banks devoted to enriching lives and building stronger communities. | https://www.bizneworleans.com/bankplus-announces-integration-of-first-bank-and-trust/ | 2022-08-25T00:28:03Z |
BGR Wins National Research Awards, Welcomes New Board Member
NEW ORLEANS — From the Bureau of Governmental Research:
BGR received two research awards from the Governmental Research Association at a national conference held last month in Philadelphia. In addition, BGR recently welcomed Melanie Bronfin as a new member of its board of directors.
National Awards
BGR received a Certificate of Merit for Distinguished Research on a Local Government Issue for its method of analyzing local tax propositions in its On the Ballot reports. BGR prepares these independent, nonpartisan reports to help voters understand the strengths and weaknesses of important tax proposals and make informed decisions at the polls. The GRA award honored the uniform framework that BGR innovated to apply a consistent, rigorous approach to analyzing the wide range of propositions that local voters have faced, including proposed taxes for education, infrastructure and public safety. BGR probes the quality of the government’s spending plan for the tax revenue, transparency and accountability measures, the appropriateness of the size of the tax and the form of taxation, and the potential benefits the public can expect in return. Each analysis advances BGR’s mission of promoting informed public policy making and the effective use of public resources for the improvement of government in the New Orleans area.
BGR also received a Certificate of Merit for Policy Achievement on a Local Government Issue for its recommendations that informed the 2021 search process for New Orleans’ new inspector general. BGR made its recommendations following the controversial departure of the previous inspector general in October 2020. BGR identified ways to strengthen the quality of the New Orleans Ethics Review Board’s search process and improve future board oversight of the new inspector general. During 2021, the board and the New Orleans City Council implemented BGR’s recommendations relative to the search process. These policy changes increased public transparency and accountability, avoided potential conflicts of interest, and enhanced engagement and diligence by the board itself.
“These awards recognize BGR’s daily work to provide high-quality research to help inform key decisions by the public and policymakers for the future good of our community,” said BGR President and CEO Rebecca Mowbray.
The GRA was established in 1914 as the national organization for governmental research professionals, and it has presented BGR with more than 40 awards since 1998. These awards have recognized BGR’s distinguished research, effective citizen education, distinguished service, research presentation and policy achievements. This is the 15th consecutive award competition in which the GRA has recognized BGR’s work.
New Board Member
In July 2022, BGR welcomed Melanie Bronfin as a new member of the its board of directors. Bronfin is the founder and former executive director of the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children, an independent source of data, research and policy proposals related to young children in Louisiana. She played a key role in reforming Louisiana’s system of early care and education and expanding access for low-income families. Bronfin is currently the president/CEO of Bronfin Policy Strategies. She also won BGR’s Excellence in Government Citizenship Award in 2020.
“We are excited to have Melanie join our board of directors and bring her expertise and perspective to our work,” Mowbray said. “We are grateful for our board’s commitment to BGR’s mission of exploring ways to improve local government in the New Orleans area.”
To learn more about BGR’s board members and their work in the New Orleans area, please visit our website at https://www.bgr.org/about-us/board-of-directors/. | https://www.bizneworleans.com/bgr-wins-national-research-awards-welcomes-new-board-member/ | 2022-08-25T00:28:09Z |
Children’s Hospital Partners with Cleveland Clinic Imaging Institute
NEW ORLEANS – Children’s Hospital New Orleans and Cleveland Clinic have announced a new affiliation to expand access to board-certified pediatric radiology experts for children and families of New Orleans and Louisiana. Through the partnership, a team of 16 Cleveland Clinic pediatric and neuro-radiologists will supplement the existing Children’s Hospital New Orleans pediatric radiology team. The Cleveland Clinic team will work in collaboration with Children’s New Orleans-based board-certified pediatric radiologists so that all Children’s Hospital New Orleans locations have 24/7 access to pediatric fellowship-trained radiologists.
“We are proud to launch our affiliation with Cleveland Clinic, one of the nation’s top healthcare institutions, to ensure that families throughout Louisiana and the Gulf South have access to the very best pediatric imaging expertise close to home through implementation of their innovative teleradiology platform,” said Jonathan Brouk, chief operating officer and chief strategy officer for Children’s Hospital New Orleans. “This means families will know their child’s imaging is read by pediatric experts at all Children’s Hospital New Orleans locations at any time of day, instead of having to rely on adult radiologists or waiting until the next day for a study to be read by a pediatric expert, as is the case at other pediatric facilities in our community.”
All of the Cleveland Clinic radiologists are board-certified and have advanced subspecialty training in pediatrics. The parties are also planning to expand the partnership to include an additional four specialists from Cleveland Clinic to read cardiac MRI images, bridging expertise between imaging and heart care and expanding Children’s New Orleans’ cardiac imaging capabilities.
“Our team is committed to ensuring that patients receiving care at Children’s Hospital New Orleans receive the highest quality imaging available,” said Michael Aquino, MD, medical director of Overnight Pediatric Radiology at Cleveland Clinic. “From the initial scan to the report results, we strive to deliver an uncompromising level of quality to each and every child and family we serve, along with the entire care team.”
Cleveland Clinic’s pediatric radiologists will provide a comprehensive imaging experience, from the development of exam protocols to rapid interpretation and physician consultation. Cleveland Clinic’s eRadiology service provides teleradiology services to hospitals, imaging centers and physician group practices by using high speed, secure internet connections, instant messaging and advanced RIS and PACS (Radiology Information System/Picture Archiving and Communication System) systems. This technology also allows referring physicians with electronic access to their patient’s images and reports via a secure web viewer.
The partnership also supports Children’s Hospital’s pediatric trauma program – the only pediatric trauma program in the region – that recently started accepting trauma patients directly from the scene of accidents. The Children’s trauma program is currently pursuing accreditation from the American College of Surgeons.
The new Imaging Center at Children’s Hospital New Orleans opened in April 2020 as part of the hospital’s $300 million campus expansion. The center combines top experts in pediatric radiology with advanced technology to provide precise and safe imaging for patients, in an environment that is child friendly at every level.
To learn more, visit www.chnola.org. | https://www.bizneworleans.com/childrens-hospital-partners-with-cleveland-clinic-imaging-institute/ | 2022-08-25T00:28:16Z |
Convention Center Board Approves Terms for River District Development
NEW ORLEANS — From the Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority Board:
The Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority Board moved to adopt a master development agreement with its development partner, River District Neighborhood Investors LLC.
At the Authority’s August meeting, the board voted to approve terms for a mixed-use development of 39-acres of land adjacent to the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Advancing a partnership many months in the making, today’s board action grants RDNI the permission to proceed with developing plans that will fulfill the authority’s vision to create new experiences for residents and visitors alike.
The developers have committed to a total of 900 mixed-income housing units, of which 450 will be affordable and workplace housing units.
According to experts, this agreement with RDNI provides a model for diversity and equity that may serve as a national model for public/private partnerships of this nature. The Authority created financial incentives for RDNI to distribute ownership of the eventual development to a diverse set of equity partners, while still meeting its fiduciary responsibilities.
The new development represents a generational opportunity to activate undeveloped urban riverfront land as a transformative asset for the New Orleans region and the state of Louisiana. Set to include new dining, retail, housing and entertainment options, the riverfront hub will make the Convention Center more competitive in the national event and meeting marketplace, further enhancing the facility’s reputation as being “Built to Host.”
“We are thrilled to partner with River District Neighborhood Investors as we work toward our shared vision of a vibrant riverfront neighborhood that will expand economic opportunities all around,” said Authority President Jerry Reyes. “This is a major milestone for all of us, as this partnership and project development plan will create hundreds of new jobs while providing additional business opportunities to small, emerging and disadvantaged businesses enterprises in our community.”
The project plan is expected to have elements of a traditional mixed-use development, incorporating the latest trends in urban planning with a focus on creating green spaces and community gathering places as opportunities for greater engagement among members of the community and visitors alike. In addition to various dining, retail and entertainment options, the abandoned former power plant on the adjacent property is expected to be transformed into a major anchor of activity.
“Our transformative project, the River District, is one step closer to reality today, thanks to the action of the Ernest N. Morial Exhibition Hall Authority,” said Louis Lauricella, co-managing member of RDNI. “We want to thank Jerry Reyes and the Authority board for embracing our bold vision of New Orleans rising at this one-of-its-kind development. Our project will bring people, culture and commerce together in a uniquely New Orleans, mixed-use neighborhood along the banks of the Mississippi River and contribute significantly to the local economy. We will continue to work intentionally on the project’s pre-construction and master planning, so we are able to break ground in 2023.”
Currently in the pre-development process, the NOENMCC and RDNI expect to commence construction of phase 1 of the development in Q3 of 2023. | https://www.bizneworleans.com/convention-center-board-approves-terms-for-river-district-development/ | 2022-08-25T00:28:22Z |
Fund 17, Propeller and Thrive Offer Financial Wellness Program
NEW ORLEANS — Fund 17, Propeller and Thrive New Orleans have announced the creation of the Financial Wellness Collaborative sponsored by JPMorgan Chase. This free program is designed to assist entrepreneurs and small business owners bolster their overall financial health through a series of workshops and one-on-one individualized support in areas such as assembling loan packages and financial statements, Quickbooks accounting, business tax filings and raising credit scores.
This collaboration between the three entrepreneurial support organizations represents a holistic approach for preparing more BIPOC entrepreneurs to access capital, according to a spokesperson. The collaborative targets specific needs and opportunities to prepare small businesses to approach lenders and access capital.
“The road back is a long one for local small businesses hit hard by the pandemic. To recover, grow and thrive, access to capital is critical,” said Jarrett Woods, Chase senior business consultant in New Orleans. “Chase is honored to be part of this collaboration with Propeller, Fund 17 and Thrive. Together, we will empower business owners to take control of the future.”
Free workshops and tailored individual assistance are set to begin August 2022 and will run through the first half of 2023 with focus areas including credit score improvements, certifications, financial and managerial accounting, Quickbooks, tax preparation, and loan application assistance. Each topic will also include available one-on-one technical assistance for workshop participants.
“We are excited about this ecosystem-wide collaboration with our partners Fund 17 and Thrive New Orleans. We know that inability to access capital can often be caused by many underlying factors which are also foundational for strong business health,” said Patrick Hernandez, Propeller senior capital access manager. | https://www.bizneworleans.com/fund-17-propeller-and-thrive-offer-financial-wellness-program/ | 2022-08-25T00:28:28Z |
IMTT Commits $1M to NOLA Coalition Efforts
NEW ORLEANS — International-Matex Tank Terminals, an 80-year-old New Orleans company, has announced a $1 million commitment to the NOLA Coalition, a new alliance focusing on community support for NOPD as well as youth services. IMTT’s donation – the largest to date for the NOLA Coalition – will support the second component, which is intended to drive positive generational change for young people in New Orleans. NOLA Coalition said it hopes to raise $15 million over the next three years for that purpose
“IMTT and its new ownership group are excited to launch this initiative that will primarily focus on lending our financial support and our employees’ talents and passion to help scale community groups so their missions can realize optimal impact,” said Carlin Conner, chairman and CEO of IMTT, in a press release. “Our hope is for the IMTT Community Impact Initiative to provide a blueprint for other New Orleans based companies to leverage their talents and financial positions to support the desperately needed community organizations in our great city. As a new member of the New Orleans community, I am personally invested in these efforts, and I am optimistic about what is possible when we rise up and pull together.”
$850,000 of the funds will help community nonprofits grow and scale their community impact via funding, mentorship, employee volunteerism, networking and technical assistance.
“Community nonprofits, and especially those that serve our youth, are the key to long-term success for New Orleans,” said Calvin Johnson, a retired judge, longtime civic leader and current interim executive director for NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) New Orleans. “This unprecedented investment from IMTT is not only a recognition of the importance of our community groups, but moreover helps ensure that these groups receive funding and technical support so as to grow and serve more of our young people.”
$50,000 per year for three years will be provided to Greater New Orleans Inc. to support the ongoing management of the NOLA Coalition. The group formed in June 2022, and now includes nearly 400 members, including over 160 nonprofits and more than 230 local businesses. The coalition supports near-term actions to reduce violence, paired with social services to drive generational change. IMTT has a long relationship with GNO Inc. and the company’s CFO Matt Rosenboom serves on its board of directors.
“IMTT’s investment in the NOLA Coalition is an extraordinary example of corporate leadership and strategic philanthropy,” said Michael Hecht of GNO Inc. “For decades, IMTT’s previous owners and leaders have been part of the bedrock of the corporate and philanthropic community of Greater New Orleans, and it is very encouraging that the new ownership and IMTT team is stepping up its efforts to impact New Orleans in a positive way. This unprecedented investment is an emphatic statement of IMTT’s commitment to New Orleans for years to come.”
IMTT is a provider of bulk liquid storage and handling services in the United States. | https://www.bizneworleans.com/imtt-commits-1m-to-nola-coalition-efforts/ | 2022-08-25T00:28:34Z |
NANO to Oversee $180M ‘Stage 2’ Renovation at Convention Center
NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority has selected NANO LLC to be the architect of record for the stage 2 renovations of the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center’s ongoing $557 million Capital Improvement Plan. NANO founders Terri and Ian Dreyer will lead a team of subcontractors to complete the $180 million project aiming for “modernization and sustainability” at the nearly 40-year-old facility.
The overall renovations will replace large portions of the facility’s pre-function space with “hospitality-focused design and trend-forward amenities,” according to a release. Planned renovations include new construction that will serve as the new main entrance to the convention center and a large ballroom on a newly created third level overlooking the Mississippi River. NANO will also add new design curves into the existing facility to create a larger exterior plaza.
A NANO spokesperson said the firm’s prime design directive is twofold: to “modernize interior and exterior spaces while incorporating the experience of New Orleans into the facility through art, lighting, textures, rhythms, movement and visitor interactions. By thoughtfully interpreting and incorporating into the renovations the patterns, urban archetypes and natural forces of the Mississippi River that shaped the Crescent City’s unique urban grid system, NANO’s designs reflect the indelible essence of New Orleans without leaning on overused symbolism.”
“As a woman-owned business and certified state-local disadvantaged business enterprise, being part of this transformative project has been game changing for our company,” said Terri Hogan Dreyer, managing partner of NANO Architecture. “By investing in local businesses like ours, the Convention Center is helping NANO — and other contractors and subcontractors — pave the way for more small businesses to start thinking bigger and growing faster.” | https://www.bizneworleans.com/nano-to-lead-180m-stage-2-renovation-at-convention-center/ | 2022-08-25T00:28:40Z |
Stennis Director: Mississippi Should Be Proud of NASA’s Artemis I Mission
STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. — On Aug. 29, more than 100,000 visitors are expected to dot Florida’s “space coast” to watch the maiden launch of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft on the Artemis I mission.
The flight is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions, providing a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrating NASA’s commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and eventually Mars. Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon, establish long-term lunar science and exploration capabilities, and inspire the next generation of explorers.
As the public views this historic launch in-person and via livestreams around the world, all of Mississippi can be proud of the frontline work conducted at NASA’s Stennis Space Center to help make the moment possible. Each one of the four RS-25 engines that will help launch Artemis I was fired and proven flightworthy on the Fred Haise Test Stand at Stennis. The center also tested the engines in unison during the full-duration, 500-second Green Run test of the Artemis I SLS core stage.
For Green Run, Stennis installed the 212-foot-tall core stage on the historic B-2 Test Stand and conducted a series of tests of its integrated systems. The Green Run campaign culminated with a hot fire of the stage and its four RS-25 engines – just as during an actual launch – in March 2021.
It represented the most powerful test conducted at Stennis in more than 50 years and demonstrated to all that SLS and Artemis I were ready to fly.
It also continued Stennis’ historic support in helping to power this nation’s human space exploration efforts. The center tested Saturn V stages that carried humans to the Moon during the Apollo Program. It also tested every main engine that powered 135 missions during the Space Shuttle Program.
As Stennis director, I feel blessed to lead such a talented and dedicated team. I am extremely proud of our workforce and the center’s continuing role in this new chapter of space exploration, which truly has been a national effort. In fact, Artemis I features contributions from all 50 states across America and will bring along commercial and international partners as it inspires the next generation of explorers. At Stennis alone, more than 120 companies, large and small, in 28 states, including the District of Columbia, contributed to our Green Run testing of the Artemis I core stage in some way.
The mission also marks an exciting return of a spacecraft built for humans – the Orion spacecraft – to the Moon as we check out systems without crew before astronauts fly on Artemis II. This is a critical first step in NASA’s journey to return astronauts, including the first woman and first person of color, to the Moon’s surface and to establish a sustainable lunar presence as we prepare for crewed missions to Mars.
At Stennis, we enjoy witnessing the “shake, rattle, and roar” of rocket engine tests. We also eagerly anticipate the upcoming roar of the fully integrated SLS, the most powerful rocket in the world and the only rocket capable of sending humans into deep space. With Artemis I and subsequent missions, we will do what has never been done before and ensure the U.S. maintains its leadership in exploration.
I began my journey with NASA when Neil Armstrong put the first human footprints on the Moon in 1969 and have been hooked ever since. Since that day when I was all of seven years old, I have dreamed of experiencing another Moon landing during my NASA career. No longer is a return to the Moon a distant dream. That moment is now. The Artemis Generation has arrived.
To watch the Artemis I launch, visit:
Artemis I Launch to the Moon (Official NASA Broadcast) – YouTube
For information about NASA Stennis Space Center, visit:
Dr. Rick Gilbrech is the director of NASA’s Stennis Space Center | https://www.bizneworleans.com/stennis-director-mississippi-should-be-proud-of-nasas-artemis-i-mission/ | 2022-08-25T00:28:47Z |
Treasurer Reports First UCP Trust Fund Deposit
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana Treasurer John Schroder reports the first deposit of $48.53 million into the state’s Unclaimed Property Permanent Trust Fund. The fund was created to “protect unclaimed property from government expenditure and ensure that the money is available for people and businesses to claim it,” he said in a press release. The fund is designed to generate interest income for the state general fund.
“This trust fund raises money without raising taxes,” Schroder said. “It gives people time to get back their rightful claims to property, and it builds a revenue stream for the state.”
In November 2020, citizens voted in support of a constitutional amendment that created the fund.
By law, money must be transferred into the trust fund account at the end of each fiscal year, with $4 million remaining in the Unclaimed Property escrow account to cover current claims. In previous years the excess funds were deposited into the State General Fund.
Louisiana collects unclaimed dollars from old savings accounts, payroll checks, stocks and dividends, rental deposits, insurance proceeds, unspent gift cards and utility deposits on behalf of residents. The treasurer’s office, designated as custodian of the property, works to connect people with the money they are owed.
“It’s great to know that these funds, which do not belong to the state, are now protected for citizens to claim,” Schroder said. “Plus, the interest earnings on the money in the fund will generate millions of dollars for the state budget. Everyone wins.”
Visit LaCashClaim.org for more information. | https://www.bizneworleans.com/treasurer-reports-first-ucp-trust-fund-deposit/ | 2022-08-25T00:28:53Z |
LOS ANGELES — A federal jury found Wednesday that Los Angeles County must pay Kobe Bryant's widow $16 million for emotional distress caused by deputies and firefighters sharing photos of the bodies of the NBA star and his daughter taken at the site of the 2020 helicopter crash that killed them.
The nine jurors who returned the unanimous verdict agreed with Vanessa Bryant and her attorneys that the photos of the remains of Kobe Bryant and their 13-year-old daughter Gianna invaded her privacy and brought her emotional distress.
The jury deliberated for 4 1/2 hours before reaching the verdict. Vanessa Bryant cried quietly as it was read.
An attorney for the county declined comment on the verdict outside the courtroom.
The pictures were shared mostly between employees of the LA County sheriff's and fire departments including by some who were playing video games and attending an awards banquet. They were also seen by some of their spouses and in one case by a bartender at a bar where a deputy was drinking.
Vanessa Bryant tearfully testified during the 11-day trial that news of the photos compounded her still-raw grief a month after losing her husband and daughter, and that she still has panic attacks at the thought that they might still be out there.
"I live in fear every day of being on social media and these popping up," she testified. "I live in fear of my daughters being on social media and these popping up."
Her co-plaintiff Chris Chester, whose wife and daughter were also among the nine people killed in the crash, was awarded $15 million.
Vanessa Bryant's attorneys did not give jurors a dollar amount they thought their client deserved, but Chester's attorney gave them suggested guidelines that would have meant tens of millions for each plaintiff.
Vanessa Bryant's lawyer Luis Li told jurors that the close-up photos had no official or investigative purpose, and were mere "visual gossip" shared out of a gruesome curiosity.
County attorney J. Mira Hashmall argued during the trial that the photos were a necessary tool for assessing the situation.
She acknowledged that they should not have been shared with everyone who saw them. But she emphasized that the photos had never appeared publicly, and had never even been seen by the plaintiffs. She said that meant that Sheriff Alex Villanueva and other officials had taken decisive and effective action when they ordered those who had the photos to delete them.
Kobe Bryant, the former Lakers star, five-time NBA champion and member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, was traveling with Gianna and seven others to a youth basketball game when the helicopter they were aboard crashed into hills in Calabasas west of Los Angeles on Jan. 26, 2020.
Federal safety officials blamed pilot error for the crash.
The jury returned its verdict on Kobe Bryant Day, which is celebrated on Aug. 24 because it uses both of his jersey numbers — 8 and 24 — and is the day after his birthday. Tuesday would have been Kobe's 44th birthday.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-24/kobe-bryant-widows-was-awarded-16-million-in-the-trial-over-crash-photos | 2022-08-25T00:40:26Z |
20-Yard Dash: East Hardy
HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - 2022 could be a special season for the East Hardy football team.
“We’re pretty excited,” said East Hardy head coach Devon Orndorff. “This team is shaping up to be one of the best teams we’ve had at East Hardy, ever. A lot of anticipation. A lot of build up. I feel like we’ve got some hype...but right now we are 0-0 just like everyone else around the state so everything we get this season we are going to have to earn.”
East Hardy is coming off a successful 2021 season that ended with a 10-2 overall record and an appearance in the Class A state quarterfinals. Mason Miller returns as a standout at quarterback and linebacker while Dawson Price is one of the best wide receivers in the state. The Cougars have 12 seniors, a large number for the Class A school.
“Most of us have been in class together since we have been in kindergarten,” said Miller. “We know each other by name. We know each other’s parents. Everyone is tight knit. We go into the weight room, it’s a brotherhood. Everybody is together. Everybody in the locker room, no one gets picked on, no one is left out. Everybody is together.”
The Cougars have posted only one losing season since 2010.
East Hardy - 2022 Schedule
August 25 - vs. Gilmer County
September 2 - vs. Clay Battelle
September 9 - at Tucker County
September 16 - at Tygarts Valley
September 30 - at Pocahontas County
October 7 - vs. Bath County (VA)
October 14 - at Moorefield
October 21 - vs. Pendleton County
October 28 - at Saint Mary’s
November 4 - vs. Petersburg
Copyright 2022 WHSV. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/24/20-yard-dash-east-hardy/ | 2022-08-25T00:56:32Z |
FBI: 5 militia members charged with storming Capitol
(AP) - Five Florida men affiliated with a militia group called “B Squad” have been arrested on charges that they joined a mob’s attack on the U.S. Capitol, disrupting Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory, federal authorities said Wednesday.
“B Squad” members stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, while wearing riot gear and armed with metal batons, knives, chemical spray and walking sticks, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit. Group members joined the mob in a “heave-ho” push against police officers trying to secure a tunnel on the Lower West Terrace, the affidavit says.
Officers ultimately repelled the mob after more than two hours of violence inside the tunnel. More than 100 police officers were injured at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
The FBI says the five defendants charged together are self-identified adherents to the “Three Percenters” militia movement, which refers to the myth that only 3% of Americans fought in the Revolutionary War against the British. The men are members of a group called Guardians of Freedom and a subgroup called “B Squad,” according to an FBI agent’s affidavit.
A criminal complaint charges four of the defendants with a felony count of interfering with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder. They are Benjamin Cole, 38, of Leesburg; John Edward Crowley, 50, of Windermere; Brian Preller, 33, of Mount Dora; and Jonathan Rockholt, 38, of Palm Coast.
They and a fifth defendant — Tyler Bensch, 20, of Casselberry — also are charged with misdemeanor counts of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds.
Crowley, Rockholt and Bensch were arrested in Florida, where a federal magistrate judge ordered them released after their initial court appearances Wednesday. Attorneys for the three men didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
Cole was arrested in Louisville, Kentucky. Court records didn’t immediately list an attorney for him.
Preller was arrested in Hardwick, Vermont, and ordered released after his initial court appearance in Rutland. A lawyer for Preller declined to comment on the charges.
A flier sent to “B Squad” members two weeks before the riot advertised a “March for Trump” bus trip to Washington for the “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6, according to the affidavit. It says the flier encouraged Guardians of Freedom members to “deploy” and help protect people at the rally, where then-President Donald Trump addressed a crowd of supporters.
A man identified by the FBI only as “B Leader” coordinated the group’s travel from Florida to Washington and reserved a block of rooms at a hotel near Capitol. He, the five defendants charged in the complaint and approximately 40 other “B Squad” members stayed on the same floor of the hotel on the eve of the riot, the FBI says. “B Leader,” who isn’t one of the five arrested defendants, also spoke at a rally at Washington’s Freedom Plaza on Jan. 5, 2021, according to the affidavit.
More than 850 people have been charged with federal crimes for their conduct on Jan. 6. The Justice Department says more than 260 defendants have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement at the Capitol.
Nearly 400 Capitol riot defendants have pleaded guilty or been convicted by a judge or jury after trials. More than 240 have been sentenced, with roughly half of them getting terms of incarceration ranging from seven days to over seven years.
___
For full coverage of the Capitol riot, go to https://www.apnews.com/capitol-siege
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/24/fbi-5-militia-members-charged-with-storming-capitol/ | 2022-08-25T00:56:34Z |
Kobe Bryant’s widow awarded $16M in trial over crash photos
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kobe Bryant’s widow was awarded $16 million as part of a $31 million jury verdict Wednesday against Los Angeles County for deputies and firefighters sharing grisly photos of the NBA star, his 13-year-old daughter and other victims killed in a 2020 helicopter crash.
The nine jurors unanimously agreed with Vanessa Bryant and her attorneys that the photos invaded her privacy and caused emotional distress. She cried quietly as it was read.
The jury deliberated 4 1/2 hours before reaching the verdict on Kobe Bryant Day, which is celebrated in LA on Aug. 24 because it represents his jersey numbers — 8 and 24 — and is the day after his birthday. Tuesday would have been Bryant’s 44th birthday.
An attorney for the county declined comment on the verdict outside the courtroom.
The pictures were shared mostly between employees of the LA County sheriff’s and fire departments including by some who were playing video games and attending an awards banquet. They were also seen by some of their spouses and in one case by a bartender at a bar where a deputy was drinking.
Vanessa Bryant tearfully testified during the 11-day trial that news of the photos compounded her still-raw grief a month after losing her husband and daughter, and that she still has panic attacks at the thought that they might still be out there.
“I live in fear every day of being on social media and these popping up,” she testified. “I live in fear of my daughters being on social media and these popping up.”
Her co-plaintiff Chris Chester, whose wife and daughter were also among the nine people killed in the crash, was awarded $15 million.
“We’re grateful for a jury and a judge who gave us a fair trial,” said Chester’s lawyer Jerry Jackson.
Vanessa Bryant’s attorneys did not give jurors a dollar amount they thought their client deserved, but Chester’s attorney gave them suggested guidelines that would have meant tens of millions for each plaintiff.
Vanessa Bryant and her attorney declined comment outside court Wednesday. Her face was still streaked with tears as she walked past TV cameras and dozens of reporters and climbed into an SUV.
Vanessa Bryant’s lawyer Luis Li told jurors that the close-up photos had no official or investigative purpose, and were mere “visual gossip” shared out of a gruesome curiosity.
County attorney J. Mira Hashmall argued during the trial that the photos were a necessary tool for assessing the situation.
She acknowledged that they should not have been shared with everyone who saw them. But she emphasized that the photos had never appeared publicly, and had never even been seen by the plaintiffs. She said that meant that Sheriff Alex Villanueva and other officials had taken decisive and effective action when they ordered those who had the photos to delete them.
Kobe Bryant, the former Lakers star, five-time NBA champion and member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, was traveling with Gianna and seven others to a youth basketball game when the helicopter they were aboard crashed into hills in Calabasas west of Los Angeles on Jan. 26, 2020.
Federal safety officials blamed pilot error for the crash.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/24/kobe-bryants-widow-awarded-16m-trial-over-crash-photos/ | 2022-08-25T00:56:35Z |
NY’s highest court to hear Weinstein conviction appeal
NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s highest court has agreed to hear an appeal from Harvey Weinstein over his 2020 rape conviction.
A spokesman for the Court of Appeals said Wednesday that oral arguments would likely be held sometime next year, after the decision to hear the case was granted Aug. 19.
Weinstein was convicted in February 2020 in New York of forcibly performing oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006 and raping an aspiring actress in 2013. The 70-year-old was sentenced to 23 years in prison and is currently in custody in California awaiting trial on other assault charges.
In June, an intermediate-level appeals court in New York upheld the conviction, rejecting the former movie mogul’s claim that the trial judge unfairly let in testimony about accusations outside of the case.
Weinstein’s publicist, Juda Engelmayer, said, “We are hopeful and grateful for this rare opportunity.”
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office declined to comment.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/24/nys-highest-court-hear-weinstein-conviction-appeal/ | 2022-08-25T00:56:42Z |
Biden seeks to bolster legal protection for DACA recipients
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Wednesday unveiled a regulation aimed at fending off legal challenges to a decade-old program that shields immigrants from deportation if they arrived as young children.
The rule isn’t scheduled to take effect until Oct. 31 and its fate is tied to a lawsuit by Texas and other Republican-led states. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program has been closed to new registrants since July 2021 while the case winds its way through the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Its 453 pages are largely technical and represent little substantive change from the 2012 memo that created DACA, but it was subject to public comments as part of a formal rule-making process intended to improve its chances of surviving legal muster.
President Joe Biden said he would do “everything within my power” to protect DACA recipients while renewing a call for legislation to provide them a pathway to citizenship.
“Dreamers are part of the fabric of this nation,” said Biden, using a common name for the young immigrants. “They’ve only ever known America as their home.”
The rule keeps eligibility criteria the same, disappointing some DACA advocates who wanted to allow more immigrants to qualify. Applicants must prove they arrived in the U.S. by age 16 before June 2007.
More than 600,000 immigrants were enrolled in DACA at the end of March, about 80% from Mexico and many of the rest from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, according to government figures.
In July, the New Orleans-based appeals court heard arguments that ending the Obama-era program would cruelly upend the lives of hundreds of thousands who have grown up to become tax-paying, productive drivers of the U.S. economy. Opponents argued that DACA has cost taxpayers for health care and other services.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/25/biden-seeks-bolster-legal-protection-daca-recipients/ | 2022-08-25T00:56:51Z |
Man sets state record with $20 million scratch-off ticket: ‘I’m a millionaire’
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Gray News) - A California man has set a new state record for a scratch-off lottery ticket thanks to a $20 million payday.
According to the California Lottery, Chad Fry recently used money from a side construction job to purchase the Set For Life Millionaire Edition scratcher ticket for $30 at a market in Auburn, California.
“I was waiting months for these people to pay me. I had a little extra money, and the game grabbed my eye when I was at the counter. So, I said, ‘Give me that $30 ticket,’” Fry said.
Lottery officials said Fry discovered he was a millionaire when he scratched the ticket in a grocery store parking lot.
“I was like, hold on, let me scratch this thing really quick. I scratched the first line, got halfway through the second (line) and saw (the word) ‘LIFE!’” Fry said.
According to the California Lottery, that is the word players need to uncover to win one of the six record-prize tickets in circulation.
Officials said Fry selected the lump sum payment option of $11.6 million and plans to buy a new pickup truck with his winnings.
“I’m sure it will hit me that I’m a millionaire,” Fry said.
The Set For Life Millionaire Edition scratcher game has a grand prize twice the amount of any other scratch ticket on the market, according to the lottery office.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/25/man-sets-state-record-with-20-million-scratch-off-ticket-im-millionaire/ | 2022-08-25T00:56:52Z |
FBI: 5 militia members charged with storming Capitol
(AP) - Five Florida men affiliated with a militia group called “B Squad” have been arrested on charges that they joined a mob’s attack on the U.S. Capitol, disrupting Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory, federal authorities said Wednesday.
“B Squad” members stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, while wearing riot gear and armed with metal batons, knives, chemical spray and walking sticks, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit. Group members joined the mob in a “heave-ho” push against police officers trying to secure a tunnel on the Lower West Terrace, the affidavit says.
Officers ultimately repelled the mob after more than two hours of violence inside the tunnel. More than 100 police officers were injured at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
The FBI says the five defendants charged together are self-identified adherents to the “Three Percenters” militia movement, which refers to the myth that only 3% of Americans fought in the Revolutionary War against the British. The men are members of a group called Guardians of Freedom and a subgroup called “B Squad,” according to an FBI agent’s affidavit.
A criminal complaint charges four of the defendants with a felony count of interfering with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder. They are Benjamin Cole, 38, of Leesburg; John Edward Crowley, 50, of Windermere; Brian Preller, 33, of Mount Dora; and Jonathan Rockholt, 38, of Palm Coast.
They and a fifth defendant — Tyler Bensch, 20, of Casselberry — also are charged with misdemeanor counts of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds.
Crowley, Rockholt and Bensch were arrested in Florida, where a federal magistrate judge ordered them released after their initial court appearances Wednesday. Attorneys for the three men didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
Cole was arrested in Louisville, Kentucky. Court records didn’t immediately list an attorney for him.
Preller was arrested in Hardwick, Vermont, and ordered released after his initial court appearance in Rutland. A lawyer for Preller declined to comment on the charges.
A flier sent to “B Squad” members two weeks before the riot advertised a “March for Trump” bus trip to Washington for the “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6, according to the affidavit. It says the flier encouraged Guardians of Freedom members to “deploy” and help protect people at the rally, where then-President Donald Trump addressed a crowd of supporters.
A man identified by the FBI only as “B Leader” coordinated the group’s travel from Florida to Washington and reserved a block of rooms at a hotel near Capitol. He, the five defendants charged in the complaint and approximately 40 other “B Squad” members stayed on the same floor of the hotel on the eve of the riot, the FBI says. “B Leader,” who isn’t one of the five arrested defendants, also spoke at a rally at Washington’s Freedom Plaza on Jan. 5, 2021, according to the affidavit.
More than 850 people have been charged with federal crimes for their conduct on Jan. 6. The Justice Department says more than 260 defendants have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement at the Capitol.
Nearly 400 Capitol riot defendants have pleaded guilty or been convicted by a judge or jury after trials. More than 240 have been sentenced, with roughly half of them getting terms of incarceration ranging from seven days to over seven years.
___
For full coverage of the Capitol riot, go to https://www.apnews.com/capitol-siege
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/24/fbi-5-militia-members-charged-with-storming-capitol/ | 2022-08-25T01:14:03Z |
NY’s highest court to hear Weinstein conviction appeal
NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s highest court has agreed to hear an appeal from Harvey Weinstein over his 2020 rape conviction.
A spokesman for the Court of Appeals said Wednesday that oral arguments would likely be held sometime next year, after the decision to hear the case was granted Aug. 19.
Weinstein was convicted in February 2020 in New York of forcibly performing oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006 and raping an aspiring actress in 2013. The 70-year-old was sentenced to 23 years in prison and is currently in custody in California awaiting trial on other assault charges.
In June, an intermediate-level appeals court in New York upheld the conviction, rejecting the former movie mogul’s claim that the trial judge unfairly let in testimony about accusations outside of the case.
Weinstein’s publicist, Juda Engelmayer, said, “We are hopeful and grateful for this rare opportunity.”
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office declined to comment.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/24/nys-highest-court-hear-weinstein-conviction-appeal/ | 2022-08-25T01:14:10Z |
Biden seeks to bolster legal protection for DACA recipients
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Wednesday unveiled a regulation aimed at fending off legal challenges to a decade-old program that shields immigrants from deportation if they arrived as young children.
The rule isn’t scheduled to take effect until Oct. 31 and its fate is tied to a lawsuit by Texas and other Republican-led states. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program has been closed to new registrants since July 2021 while the case winds its way through the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Its 453 pages are largely technical and represent little substantive change from the 2012 memo that created DACA, but it was subject to public comments as part of a formal rule-making process intended to improve its chances of surviving legal muster.
President Joe Biden said he would do “everything within my power” to protect DACA recipients while renewing a call for legislation to provide them a pathway to citizenship.
“Dreamers are part of the fabric of this nation,” said Biden, using a common name for the young immigrants. “They’ve only ever known America as their home.”
The rule keeps eligibility criteria the same, disappointing some DACA advocates who wanted to allow more immigrants to qualify. Applicants must prove they arrived in the U.S. by age 16 before June 2007.
More than 600,000 immigrants were enrolled in DACA at the end of March, about 80% from Mexico and many of the rest from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, according to government figures.
In July, the New Orleans-based appeals court heard arguments that ending the Obama-era program would cruelly upend the lives of hundreds of thousands who have grown up to become tax-paying, productive drivers of the U.S. economy. Opponents argued that DACA has cost taxpayers for health care and other services.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/25/biden-seeks-bolster-legal-protection-daca-recipients/ | 2022-08-25T01:14:16Z |
Man sets state record with $20 million scratch-off ticket: ‘I’m a millionaire’
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Gray News) - A California man has set a new state record for a scratch-off lottery ticket thanks to a $20 million payday.
According to the California Lottery, Chad Fry recently used money from a side construction job to purchase the Set For Life Millionaire Edition scratcher ticket for $30 at a market in Auburn, California.
“I was waiting months for these people to pay me. I had a little extra money, and the game grabbed my eye when I was at the counter. So, I said, ‘Give me that $30 ticket,’” Fry said.
Lottery officials said Fry discovered he was a millionaire when he scratched the ticket in a grocery store parking lot.
“I was like, hold on, let me scratch this thing really quick. I scratched the first line, got halfway through the second (line) and saw (the word) ‘LIFE!’” Fry said.
According to the California Lottery, that is the word players need to uncover to win one of the six record-prize tickets in circulation.
Officials said Fry selected the lump sum payment option of $11.6 million and plans to buy a new pickup truck with his winnings.
“I’m sure it will hit me that I’m a millionaire,” Fry said.
The Set For Life Millionaire Edition scratcher game has a grand prize twice the amount of any other scratch ticket on the market, according to the lottery office.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/25/man-sets-state-record-with-20-million-scratch-off-ticket-im-millionaire/ | 2022-08-25T01:14:23Z |
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Sgt. Tyler Holloway of the 115 Field Artillery Brigade in the Wyoming Army National Guard calls in a medical evacuation, as part of a round-robin set of events at the Volunteer Training Site in Milan, Tenn. Photo by Sgt. Kristina Kranz/U.S. Army National Guard
CHEYENNE – Legislators hope to provide state funding to the Wyoming Guard for future recruitment and retention efforts.
The Wyoming Military Department has reiterated its need for support in the wake of being seven percentage points below the strength goal of 102% in 2021, which members of the Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Committee heard Wednesday. Without funding for incentives from the state, it could be nearly a decade before the department meets the 100% threshold.
Even with this year being a large success in terms of accessions, officials said they are bracing for the impacts of COVID-19 vaccination requirements. Many are waiting for their religious accommodations, or other aspects of the process, and will no longer be able to serve if not approved.
“We anticipate that number may go down to as low as 85% of our end strength,” said Maj. Karen Hinkle. “So, you’ll see a pretty significant dip.”
In response to these concerns, leaders of the Transportation Committee asked the Legislative Service Office to draft two bills before its next meeting in early November. One is designed to temporarily fund incentive payments for successful referrals to the Guard, which would include a starting appropriation of $350,000 per biennium, and another bill would enhance existing state education and tuition benefits for Guard members.
The two bills are based on proposals put forward by a working group that identifies and studies opportunities to address recruiting and retention goals. Hinkle said the department has discovered it is a more complex issue than a lack of desire from candidates.
In fiscal year 2019, the Department of Defense as a whole attracted 565 candidates from Wyoming, and in 2022, it decreased to only 241 applicants.
“The Wyoming Army National Guard has captured 41% of the market of all new people in Wyoming who are joining in military service. The only thing that’s been kept out of that number is the Air National Guard,” said Hinkle, who didn't clarify why the Air Guard number wasn't included. “So, our recruiting team is doing a fantastic job when it comes to attracting applicants. The problem is the applicant pool has shrunk significantly.”
Other factors leading to a decline in accessions has been a lack of qualified applicant pool; low test scores; increased medical issues, criminal records and disqualifying mental health conditions; and deterrence due to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Wyoming military data also shows a decrease in retention. The top reasons for leaving include retirement, members rendered ineligible to serve due to medical issues, declining to re-enlist because of political concerns of benefits being used up and interstate transfer. They often stay for incentives, quality of life, military education and a sense of community.
Incentivizing service
Tapping into incentives is key for both military officials and lawmakers.
One of the more direct paths is providing a cash bonus of $500 to Guard members who make a successful referral. The appropriation would be included in an individual bill. Since it was recommended as a three-year program, the department would likely receive $525,000 from the Legislature. Several other states have adopted a similar program, and Hinkle said the department believes it will maximize peer-to-peer recruiting.
The second piece of legislation that will be considered at the next Transportation Committee meeting covers additions to the Wyoming National Guard tuition assistance program. It currently limits participation to one program for a degree, requires a six-year service commitment, and there is no option to transfer the benefit to spouse or dependents, unlike the GI Bill.
Hinkle said with additional funding from the state, the Wyoming Military Department could put it toward authorizing the transfer of unused benefit to a spouse or dependent, and authorize funding for individuals to obtain a second degree from the state. They would have to commit to additional years in the Guard in exchange.
“The goal here is to really incentivize them to stay past that first term of service,” she said.
Committee members also discussed other recruitment and retention measures that will not be developed into draft bills yet, but target members to relocate to Wyoming or incentivize out-of-state members to join Wyoming Guard units. Some of those included reduction in vehicle registration rates, property tax exemptions, as well as reduced costs for hunting, fishing and camping permits, preferential treatment for hunting tag draws and admission to state recreational facilities.
The working group made up of legislators and military recruitment officials will continue to deliberate on those topics, as well as returning the Combat Vets Tuition Program to its original benefit level.
Jasmine Hall is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle’s state government reporter. She can be reached by email at jhall@wyomingnews.com or by phone at 307-633-3167. Follow her on Twitter @jasminerhphotos and on Instagram @jhrose25. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/local_news/legislators-hope-to-provide-support-to-wyoming-guard-for-recruitment/article_aeb31448-23f7-11ed-965d-efc8bd164b23.html | 2022-08-25T01:18:21Z |
Updated August 24, 2022 at 9:11 PM ET
Pete Arredondo, the police chief in charge of the law enforcement response to the May 24 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, has been fired.
After a nearly 90-minute termination hearing held behind closed doors Wednesday evening, the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District's board voted unanimously to terminate Arredondo's contract effective immediately. They also found there was good cause for him not to receive pay for the time he was on unpaid administrative leave since July 19.
Arredondo's termination hearing was originally scheduled to take place a month ago, but that hearing was canceled at the request of Arredondo's attorney, who told the district the police chief was entitled to due process.
Arredondo was not present for Wednesday's meeting, saying he was concerned over his safety, but his attorney released a 17-page statement in response to the termination hearing.
"Chief Arredondo will not participate in his own illegal and unconstitutional public lynching and respectfully requests the Board immediately reinstate him, with all backpay and benefits and close the complaint as unfounded," read the statement.
The families of the 21 victims of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary have been demanding Arredondo be fired since news first broke in late May that the police chief was in charge of the law enforcement response during the shooting.
Hundreds of officers waited more than an hour to confront the gunman while children in the 4th grade classroom where he was holed up called 911.
A Texas House report found there were 376 law enforcement officers on the scene, including 150 U.S. Border Patrol Agents, 91 Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, 25 Uvalde police officers, 16 sheriff's deputies, and five Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District officers.
State lawmakers investigating the shooting found law enforcement failures at all levels. But the school district's active shooter plan — co-written by Arredondo — called for Arredondo to take command of all of the officers who responded that day. Yet, Arredondo maintains he did not know he was the incident commander.
Arredondo, a Uvalde native, was hired as the school district's police chief in 2020. Prior to that, he worked at the Webb County Sheriff's office in South Texas. The San Antonio Express News reported that Arredondo was demoted from a high-ranking position in 2014 because he had difficulty getting along with others in the department.
Despite growing calls for action following the shooting, Uvalde Superintendent Hal Harrell waited almost two months to recommend Arredondo's termination.
At a heated school board forum in July, Brett Cross, the uncle and guardian of Uziyah Garcia, even gave the board a deadline. Uziyah is one of the 19 children killed in the shooting.
"I'll tell you this. If he's not fired by noon tomorrow, then I want your resignation and every single one of you board members because y'all do not give a damn about our children or us," Cross said at the time. "Stand with us or against us, because we ain't going nowhere."
Cross said he doesn't buy Arredondo not showing up to his termination hearings out of fear for his safety, saying during Wednesday's public comments that Arredondo was not present "to face the consequences to his actions."
Copyright 2022 Texas Public Radio | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-24/uvalde-school-police-chief-fired-3-months-after-botched-response-to-school-shooting | 2022-08-25T01:37:19Z |
RISE to host 3rd Annual Community Stakeholders Conference
WAYNESBORO, Va. (WHSV) - RISE is a Waynesboro-based organization that works to uplift the Black community in the Shenandoah Valley and beyond.
On August 26 and 27, leaders of the organization will host their third annual Community Stakeholders Conference. The theme for 2022 is community.
“Community responsibility has three levels to it. The county, the city, the state and even federal levels of community, we have to participate in all aspects. Beyond just looking at the news, beyond talking to each other and beyond just voting, we have to participate,” Sharon Fitz, CEO of RISE, explained.
Fitz said anyone interested in doing the work to make their community better is welcome to attend. She says everyone that lives in the community is a community stakeholder.
“If you are just coming for curiosity, this conference is not for you,” Fitz explained. “Curiosity does not lead to commitment and right now we need those who are committed to the work of community building and planning.”
The event will involve participants working through systemic issues, defining community and collaborative planning on how to move forward for the rest of the year.
Wednesday is the last day to purchase tickets to the conference, for individuals it is $179 dollars and tickets can be purchased online. Fitz said this will not be your average conference.
“This conference is meant to build a coalition and create collaborative leadership and that is what we intend to achieve at the end of this conference,” Fitz said.
For more information on RISE, click here.
Copyright 2022 WHSV. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/25/rise-host-3rd-annual-community-stakeholders-conference/ | 2022-08-25T02:04:30Z |
Rocktown High School construction progressing on schedule
HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - Back in January 2020, ground was broken on the new Rocktown High School in Harrisonburg. The construction was put on hold for 15 months during the pandemic before resuming last June. Over a year later major progress has been made and the school is on track to open in the fall of 2024.
On Wednesday, WHSV got a look inside the building to check out the progress.
“It’s just remarkable to be able to go through the facility and see what we saw on architectural drawings coming to life,” said Dr. Andy Kohen, a member of the Harrisonburg School Board.
Construction of Rocktown High School is on schedule, many of its walls have been built and the roof is nearly complete.
“One of the things I’m most excited about is the way that we’re creating lots of ways for students to learn within the schools, so lots of teaching and learning modalities. Every space in a school should be for learning,” said Dr. Michael Richards, Superintendent of Harrisonburg City Public Schools.
The school will be state of the art and has a unique design that is very open and spacious.
“It’s very open, much more of a design that creates what I call intentional collisions, and that means that people working on different projects in different areas can come together,” said Richards.
Richards said the focus on intentional collisions will help better prepare students for the real world.
“Students need to learn that in this world that we live in things are interdisciplinary. You don’t go out into the workforce and only do English or only do math and so we need these intentional collisions and this interdisciplinary way of thinking,” he said.
Throughout the three-story building’s corridors, there are a number of collaborative workspaces that differ from traditional classrooms.
“The collaborative workspaces are really cool. We’re not talking about putting young people in a classroom, closing the door, and somebody lecturing to them. There’s a lot of interchange among students and interchange between students and teachers,” said Kohen.
The school’s design will also allow students and faculty to enjoy the beauty of the Shenandoah Valley.
“There are so many windows it’s absolutely spectacular. Now we don’t want to have people spending a lot of time looking out the window obviously, but it enhances the general experience. People feel better when they can enjoy nature and they’ll learn better,” said Kohen.
The new school will alleviate overcrowding at Harrisonburg High School and allow students to access facilities at both schools.
“A student who may be in an advanced class in the STEM field at HHS may be able to come over to this high school and do some work in a lab here that may not be available at HHS. But I do want to emphasize that both schools will have comprehensive programs for students,” said Richards.
Rocktown High School does not include a full service auditorium and fine arts students at the school will be able to use the auditorium at HHS when necessary.
Unlike the existing Harrisonburg High School, Rocktown High School is designed in a way that will allow for future expansions of the building if necessary. It is designed for around 1,250 students.
Copyright 2022 WHSV. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/25/rocktown-high-school-construction-progressing-schedule/ | 2022-08-25T02:04:36Z |
Senator Tim Kaine visits Harrisonburg for substance abuse prevention roundtable
HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - Virginia U.S. Senator Tim Kaine was in Harrisonburg on Wednesday, joining Mayor Deanna Reed for a roundtable discussion on substance abuse prevention at the Lucy Simms Continuing Education Center.
The discussion included Rockingham County Commonwealth’s Attorney Marsha Garst, city leaders, law enforcement, substance abuse prevention advocates, recovery organizations, and people who have experienced or lost someone to substance abuse.
“There were a lot of powerful stories about people sharing their experiences or their losses in their families that will stick with me,” said Kaine, a Democrat who represents Virginia in the U.S. Senate.
During the discussion, the group discussed challenges in dealing with substance abuse issues as well as possible solutions.
“I heard plenty of challenges. Not enough mental health services and usually substance use disorder begins with an underlying mental health issue. So not enough mental health services, I hear that everywhere, but I also heard some signs of hope,” said Kaine.
Kaine cited peer recovery programs like Strength in Peers in Harrisonburg as a great tool.
“Which has great promise, but our reimbursement methods at the federal level for Medicaid or private insurance don’t really support peer recovery. So can we have policies that will support it because peer recovery works I see it here, and I see it elsewhere,” said Kaine.
Kaine said there needs to be more access to these kinds of programs available.
“If we’re reimbursing for treatment can we create a model that will include peer recovery programs in it? We don’t right now so that’s a policy change that we need to think about and maybe try to accomplish. Even if we do it in some pilot projects and show that it works, then we may be able to do it more generally,” he said.
Kaine added that another key part of substance abuse prevention is building a community that can work together to provide resources for those in need.
“It can be hard to do in a metro area of millions and millions. This is a community that is close enough where building community ties, which is what you ultimately need to do to really prevent substance abuse disorder, Harrisonburg-Rockingham can do it,” he said.
Another prevention measure that was discussed was finding ways to use things like pop culture and social media to better reach younger people and educate them.
Copyright 2022 WHSV. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/25/senator-tim-kaine-visits-harrisonburg-substance-abuse-prevention-roundtable/ | 2022-08-25T02:04:42Z |
School district reinstates corporal punishment as discipline option for students
CASSVILLE, Mo. (KY3/Gray News) - A controversial school discipline method is returning to some schools in Missouri.
Cassville R-IV School District Superintendent Dr. Merlyn Johnson said the policy change is a result of a survey that was sent to staff, students and parents in May.
“One of the suggestions that came out was concerns about student discipline,” Johnson said. “So, we reacted by implementing several different strategies, corporal punishment being one of them.”
Johnson said the change would give principals one more disciplinary option before students receive more serious punishments such as suspensions.
According to school administrators, the option would be the last resort for parents and faculty members if other means of discipline do not work.
“It’s something we don’t anticipate using frequently,” Johnson said. “This is an opt-in-only option for parents. So, anyone who disagrees with corporal punishment can do nothing by not opting in.”
Johnson said he understands there will be different views on the decision, and the district respects the opinions of parents who choose not to opt-in.
“A school suspension would be fine with me,” said parent Kimberly Richardson. “Or even out-of-school suspensions. Those are just way better than corporal punishment.”
Another parent, Dylan Burns, said he didn’t see a problem with corporal punishment.
“Everyone at Cassville is not going to do anything you don’t want to be done to your child,” Burns said. “I think you must sit down with your kids and choose what’s best for you and your family.”
According to state officials, Missouri law authorizes corporal punishment as an option for local schools to consider if parents opt in.
Copyright 2022 KY3 via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/25/school-district-reinstates-corporal-punishment-discipline-option-students/ | 2022-08-25T02:30:16Z |
What’s a Pell grant? Recipients can get $20,000 in student loan forgiveness
NEW YORK (AP) - President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program announced on Wednesday aims to provide $10,000 in student debt cancellation for millions of Americans.
But for federal Pell grant recipients, that amount is even higher: $20,000.
So what exactly is a Pell grant? And why is there a special benefit for people who got one?
Created by the Higher Education Act in 1965 as a way to promote access to education, federal Pell grants are special scholarships reserved for undergraduates and certain other students with the most significant financial need. The grants generally don’t need to be paid back, but they often don’t cover the full cost of college — so recipients take out additional loans.
The Biden administration is targeting Pell grant recipients for additional forgiveness “to smooth the transition back to repayment and help borrowers at highest risk of delinquencies or default once payments resume,” according to the Department of Education.
Roughly 27 million recipients of Pell grants will now be eligible for loan forgiveness. But for some, the $20,000 will hardly make a dent.
Lynn Hunt, a data analyst in Portland, Oregon, is a Pell grant recipient who borrowed somewhere around $45,000 to $50,000 to attend the University of Wisconsin and has paid back about $15,000 but still owes $70,000 because of interest.
“I know (Biden) mentioned, you know, $20,000 for Pell grants, but the people that had Pell grants had to take out the most loans,” Hunt said. “So $20,000 isn’t helping most of those people in any substantial manner. And the thing that happens every time when we get one of these half measures is, the can gets kicked for another decade.”
For Yaneth Peña, however, the money will make a difference. Peña graduated from North Carolina State University in 2014. She obtained about $4,000 in grants and approximately $25,000 in federal loans. Under Biden’s forgiveness plan, her debt would be whittled down to $5,000.
Relieved of the financial burden, Peña said she could now seriously pursue a graduate degree — something she said she hesitated to consider in the past because of her loans.
“This could like really change everything,” Peña said.
Pell grant recipients typically experience more challenges repaying their debt, the Department of Education notes. In the academic year of 2020-21, around 30% of all students that enrolled in undergraduate programs in the United States were awarded Pell grants and nearly every recipient came from a family that made less than $60,000 a year.
Almost all Pell grant recipients are independent students or dependent students from the bottom half of the income distribution, according to a report from the Urban Institute on college affordability.
Through the program, lower-income Americans can currently receive up to $6,895 annually for roughly six years.
If you’re not sure if you received a federal Pell grant, review any financial aid award letters administered through the Office of Federal Student Aid.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/25/whats-pell-grant-recipients-can-get-20000-student-loan-forgiveness/ | 2022-08-25T02:30:18Z |
HONOLULU (KITV4) -- Family of a Virginia couple killed in a head-on collision on Kamehameha Highway describe the victims, Ron and Michelle Hartman, as "neighborhood grandparents" to all the kids living in their tight-knit community of Norfolk.
The crash happened just after 1 p.m. on Aug. 22 on Kamehameha Highway in the area of Gunstock Ranch and the Malaekahana State Recreation Area. According to Honolulu police, the driver of a Ford pickup was heading northbound on Kamehameha when they tried to pass the car in front of it and ended up hitting a Hyundai sedan head-on.
The Hartman’s leave behind three children, including daughter Holly, who's in critical condition in an Oahu hospital with multiple injuries including broken bones and internal bleeding.
That's according to her cousin, Tiffany Smith, who spoke with KITV4 Tuesday morning. She says the family's mourning the loss of her cousins who were active in their church and community.
"It's devastating. I don't think any of us still really believe it. It's so surreal. And for Holly and for her two other children, to lose both of your parents so tragically at the same time, it's awful. It's awful. And in such a way, it could have been avoided. I mean, nobody expects anything like this to happen, especially on vacation," Smith said.
Ron, 62, and Michelle, 55, were on Oahu for the first time to support their daughter Holly, who was participating in the Spartan race.
Smith has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for Holly's medical expenses and Ron and Michelle's funeral services. Tap here if you would like to donate.
The 27-year-old driver of the Ford truck was listed in critical condition at the hospital Tuesday morning. He has not yet been arrested or charged. However, HPD says it’s investigating this incident as a manslaughter and assault case. | https://www.kitv.com/news/local/family-devastated-by-loss-of-neighborhood-grandparents-killed-in-north-shore-crash/article_1f39f678-2411-11ed-b0b5-27785508fc78.html | 2022-08-25T02:38:38Z |
After more than three hours of deliberation, a federal jury awarded $31 million in damages after finding the Los Angeles County Sheriff and Fire Departments liable for infringing on the constitutional rights of Vanessa Bryant and co-plaintiff Christopher Chester, who each lost a spouse and daughter in the helicopter crash in January 2020.
Bryant was awarded $16 million in damages and Chris Chester was awarded $15 million.
Immediately after the verdict was read, Bryant hugged her attorneys. As she continued to cry, Bryant then tearfully embraced her daughter Natalia in the front row. She left the courthouse without making a statement, but did post a picture of her, Kobe Bryant and their daughter Gianna on Instagram with the caption: "All for you! I love you! JUSTICE for Kobe and Gigi!"
County attorney Mira Hashmall, who led outside counsel for L.A. County, released a statement shortly after the verdict.
"While we disagree with the jury's findings as to the County's liability, we believe the monetary award shows that jurors didn't believe the evidence supported the Plaintiffs' request of $75 million for emotional distress," Hashmall said. "We will be discussing next steps with our client. Meanwhile, we hope the Bryant and Chester families continue to heal from their tragic loss."
The federal jury found both the Sheriff's and Fire Departments lacked proper policies and training which caused the violation of rights. The only plaintiff claim not supported by jurors was in a finding that the county fire department was not liable for any long-standing widespread practice or custom of taking illicit photos. The sheriff's department was found liable for the same issue.
At issue in the trial were photos taken by L.A. County deputies and firefighters that included not just wreckage from the helicopter, but the mangled bodies of those killed including NBA star Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, Chester's wife Sarah, his daughter Payton and five others.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the helicopter pilot pushed the limits of bad weather flying rules before he crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, California.
Bryant and Chester argued that the photos of their loved ones caused emotional distress and violated their privacy. Each testified to living in fear the photos may surface, despite L.A. County's assertion each picture had been destroyed.
Jurors listened to 11 days worth of graphic testimony. Witnesses during the trial included a deputy who said he showed graphic images from the scene while at a bar, another deputy who said he shared photos while playing a video game, a deputy who sent dozens of photos to someone he didn't know, and a fire official who showed the images to other personnel during an awards ceremony cocktail hour.
In September 2020, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an invasion-of-privacy bill called the "Kobe Bryant Act" that makes it illegal for first responders to share photos of a dead person at a crime scene "for any purpose other than an official law enforcement purpose." The misdemeanor crime is punishable by up to $1,000 per violation.
Coincidentally, Los Angeles has named Wednesday, August 24, as "Kobe Bryant Day" to honor the Los Angeles Lakers star's two jersey numbers, 8 and 24, that he wore during his NBA career. The Lakers have retired both numbers.
Defense wanted to separate emotions from legality
Deliberations began Wednesday shortly after an attorney for Los Angeles County argued that the trial is a "pictures case with no pictures," noting that the gruesome photos of human remains have never actually been seen by the public -- or even the plaintiffs.
"No pictures is good. No pictures means no public dissemination ... no risk of other people making mistakes," Hashmall, the county attorney, said in closing arguments of the trial.
In an emotional rebuttal, Bryant's attorney Luis Li argued Wednesday the actions of the county in taking such photos were reckless and inhumane and caused emotional distress.
"They poured salt into an unhealable wound and that's why we're all here today," he said.
During closing arguments Wednesday, attorneys for Los Angeles County sought to separate Vanessa Bryant's emotional testimony from the legal issues the jury must consider.
Hashmall argued the county's actions to delete the photos resulted in them never being distributed publicly, and she argued further that first responders taking photos did not violate Bryant's rights.
She urged the jury to consider the law, which only allows for a verdict against the county if it can be proven county policies were deficient enough to prevent the spread of the photos or if there is a longstanding custom of such behavior within the sheriff and fire departments.
"If the county didn't take (the photo sharing) seriously, why is this whole case based on the county's investigation?" she said.
Jurors also wrestled with what constitutes "the public" in this case. The plaintiffs argued any deputy without an investigatory reason to have the photos should be considered the public. One of the deputies shared photos containing human remains with another deputy as they were playing the video game "Call of Duty," and another showed them to a bartender he considered a friend.
Hashmall agreed that was wrong, but asked the jury to consider whether it "shocked the conscience," a legal threshold the jury must consider in rendering its verdict.
"Does it shock the conscience that he needed to talk?" Hashmall asked. She also noted that the deputy was disciplined for his actions. "That's not a constitutional issue, that's a county issue," she said.
In their rebuttal, Bryant's attorneys argued the photos could still exist because one of the deputies AirDropped them to a firefighter that hasn't been identified. They also argued the county inadequately investigated the incident, which has allowed for photos of human remains to potentially surface.
The rebuttal evoked tears from Vanessa Bryant and Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka in the courtroom. Li, Bryant's attorney, said the jury's decision is "important to families throughout the United States who might suffer a tragedy someday."
Referring to testimony given by veteran law enforcement officials including Sheriff Alex Villanueva, Li reminded the jury of a practice of first responders keeping "death books" since the Polaroid was around. Li said to the jury: "This has been going on for decades. Make it stop."
Bryant cried audibly and grabbed tissues when Li stated that photos of family members' bodies torn apart are private and should not be shared with deputies just "because they're wearing a badge the next morning, to offer [the photos] to their wife."
In describing how deputies had to have gone out of their way to find Gianna Bryant's remains in a ravine to photograph her, Li asked, "Does that shock the conscience?"
Li said while there is no jury form to check a box for better training, better policies, or more discipline, there is only a box jurors can check for damages: "Whatever you put in that box will serve to shine a light on the legacy of Kobe and Gianna Bryant."
Li concluded with applauding the two whistleblowers, one of whom sat in the courtroom. Li was emotional as he said: "But for those people, we may never have heard of this."
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. | https://www.kitv.com/news/national/jury-awards-plaintiffs-31m-in-lawsuit-over-kobe-bryant-crash-photos/article_64b9480d-911b-5a03-b701-cccb6b6e2d51.html | 2022-08-25T02:38:44Z |
Monkeypox cases are increasing across America and around the world, with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting over 15,000 confirmed stateside cases as of August 23. The Biden Administration is accelerating vaccine distribution efforts and ramping up community outreach, including through community partnerships and education of clinicians and patients.
In the meantime, students are coming back to school. Parents, caregivers, teachers and students have a lot of questions. Can monkeypox be spread by sitting next to someone with the virus in a classroom or playing in the playground together? Could it be transmitted by sharing food or drinks? Are there certain activities for K-12 students that are higher risk? What about for college students? And what about the risk of other infectious diseases?
To help us with these questions, I spoke with CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. She is also author of "Lifelines: A Doctor's Journey in the Fight for Public Health" and the mother of two young children who are both starting school next week.
CNN: Can you remind us how monkeypox is spread and who is at high risk?
Dr. Leana Wen: Monkeypox is spread primarily through prolonged, direct, skin-to-skin contact with someone who is actively shedding virus. It is associated with intimate sexual activity but can be spread by other close contact, such as kissing and cuddling. The earliest groups affected have been gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. A study recently published by the CDC found that 99% of cases have been in men, with 94% reporting recent male-to-male sexual or close intimate contact.
This contrasts with another disease we've been talking about a lot over the past two years, Covid-19. Covid-19 is caused by an airborne virus that is extremely contagious. You could get Covid-19 from talking with someone or just from sharing the same air with someone who's in the same room as you. Monkeypox could be spread through some objects -- for example, bedding, towels, and utensils used by someone who is infected -- but that is a much less common route of transmission than direct contact.
CNN: Let's talk about some examples of common scenarios in school settings. Can monkeypox be spread by sitting next to someone in a classroom or riding the bus together?
Wen: That's extremely unlikely. Monkeypox is not transmitted just by sitting next to a person. Again, this is not Covid-19 -- this virus is not nearly as contagious.
CNN: What about kids playing closely on the playground together? Would touching the same objects put them at risk for monkeypox transmission?
Wen: In theory, it's possible that a child who has an exposed rash could touch another child while playing together. Small kids also put objects in their mouth that could then be touched by other kids, and transmission could occur that way.
I'm not worried about my two young kids, ages 2 and 5, getting monkeypox because, thus far, it has not been spreading in children in the United States. There are a couple of isolated reports of kids with monkeypox, but no reports of kids transmitting to each other. The incidence of monkeypox among kids is currently so low that I am not worried about spread while my kids are in their preschool and kindergarten.
This could change if outbreaks start happening in children, but that's not what we have seen thus far.
CNN: Could monkeypox be spread by sharing drinks or food?
Wen: Yes. Again, this is lower risk than the other close activities discussed earlier like sexual activity, but sharing drinks or food is a possible method of transmission. People infected with monkeypox should not be sharing utensils or food or drink with others.
CNN: You said earlier that it could be spread through bedsheets and towels. Should parents and caregivers worry about their kids trying on clothes and avoid travel in hotels?
Wen: I don't think so. If someone is infected with monkeypox, they could shed the virus onto their clothing and other things that touch their rash — for example, bedsheets, towels and other linen. If someone in your family has monkeypox, no one should share their clothes or bed.
But that's very different from going so far as to avoid trying on clothes at the mall or staying in hotels. Of course, there is a theoretical possibility that the person who just tried on the same clothes had monkeypox and left virus on the clothes, but the odds of that happening are very low. Same goes for hotels, where the sheets and towels should be replaced between guests anyway.
CNN: Are there certain activities for K-12 students that are higher risk?
Wen: Activities that involve prolonged skin-to-skin contact will be higher risk. Kids involved in wrestling or tackle football, for example, would be higher risk than if they did cross-country running or swimming.
That doesn't mean children shouldn't participate in contact sports. Again, the incidence of monkeypox in kids is currently so low that this shouldn't be a major concern.
Some students in school are sexually active. My concern would be for those students, especially those with multiple partners or engaging in sexual encounters with people they don't know well, as it's through such intimate activity that monkeypox is primarily spread.
CNN: That brings me to college students. What are high-risk activities for them, and what precautions should they be taking?
Wen: Let's go through activities by level of risk. Highest risk would be sexual intercourse with multiple partners. Intimate activity like kissing and cuddling with multiple people would also be high risk.
Sharing drinks, food and objects like cigarettes and vapes, could also result in monkeypox transmission, though that risk is lower. Monkeypox transmission has also been documented in individuals dancing for long periods of time in close quarters with numerous other people, especially if most individuals are not wearing clothes over parts of their body -- that results in more skin-to-skin contact.
Being platonic roommates with someone is lower risk, as is participating in most sports. Other day-to-day activities, like going to class, dining with peers and socializing with friends, are extremely low risk. Teaching staff, professors and other school and university staff are at extremely low risk if they are not engaging in skin-to-skin direct contact with students or one another.
CNN: What precautions would you advise college students to take?
Wen: Know the activities that have the highest risk and try to reduce your risk. Since sexual activity is highest risk, consider reducing the number of sex partners until you are vaccinated. Before engaging in intimate activity, ask if the other person has had new or unexpected rashes -- and, if possible, consider exchanging contact information with any new sexual partners in case you or they later develop symptoms. Try not to share drinks, food or cigarettes with multiple unknown people. If you're going to nightclubs or bars where you expect to be in very close quarters with many individuals, consider wearing long sleeves and pants to cover the areas that will be closely touching others.
I'd also urge everyone to know the signs and symptoms to watch out for. In most cases, monkeypox presents as fever, lymph node swelling and a rash that then results in blistering. However, fever and lymph node swelling may not always be present. You could also have just one or two small rashes anywhere on your body. Monkeypox can also present as sores in your mouth, on your genitals, or in your anus. If you have any of these symptoms, get tested.
This reminds me -- students should know where to go for testing. Many colleges will offer testing on-site. Others will recommend that you go to a nearby commercial laboratory. Colleges should all have isolation procedures set up. It would help to know what they are in advance so that you're not caught off-guard in case your test is positive.
Finally, those students who are eligible to be vaccinated should do so. The CDC has suggestions for eligibility. Inquire with your local health department and sexual health clinics in your area. The availability of vaccines and how to access them will differ depending on the part of the country. My strong advice to people who meet the CDC's eligibility suggestions is to get the vaccine if you can -- that will reduce your chance of getting infected and also of passing monkeypox onto others.
CNN: Big picture -- how should parents, caregivers, teachers and students consider the risk of monkeypox along with the risk of other infectious diseases?
Wen: This differs by age group. For anyone not yet engaged in any sexual activity, the risk is very low, given the populations affected by monkeypox thus far. The communal living environments in college, combined with higher-risk activities, makes monkeypox a much more significant concern for students in that age group.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. | https://www.kitv.com/news/national/school-is-in-session-should-you-worry-about-your-kid-catching-monkeypox/article_be46e07c-d886-5640-be6e-4bcf3d2bc4ee.html | 2022-08-25T02:38:50Z |
When I first came to Klamath Falls about three months ago, I decided that I wanted to do everything I could to experience the city and its culture through its bars and restaurants and by attending every evening and weekend event that I could fit into my schedule.
Despite that goal, I feel like I’m only beginning to gain an understanding of what makes Klamath so special and so beloved by the people who have built lives here. There are so many places I have yet to go, and so many corners of Klamath that are still foreign to me, waiting to be discovered.
I have a list of establishments that I want to visit, but there’s another side to Klamath too that I haven’t spoken much about, but that I have grown an appreciation for.
That is, the land itself.
The first time I approached the city from Highway 97, I remember seeing Upper Klamath Lake suddenly sprawl out before me for the first time. The music in my car hit an almost surreal crescendo; it felt like being inside a movie and having the panoramic view of unexplored wilderness displayed in front of me.
In trying to maintain the sense of wonder and appreciation for the land that Klamath is built upon, I have tried to discover little pockets of nature here and there, without being prompted by anything but my own sense of discovery.
There is a place that I go to walk, not too far from the office where I work, that has offered me moments of peace, away from the bustle of the city and the social expectations that accompany it. That little place lies on Foothills Boulevard across the street from Steen Sports Park. I don’t think it even has a name.
Here, there is a turnoff with room for a few cars to park. Beyond that, the road continues but is barricaded and in a state of extreme disrepair. Nature has begun to retake the road, which is available only to foot traffic. It extends for maybe a quarter of a mile before the pavement ends for good, leading to a makeshift no-trespassing sign and an expansive view of the hills.
People quietly walk here, sometimes with their dog, sometimes with their partners. Sometimes, I see nobody else, and that’s usually when I like it best.
A road such as this might not sound like a portal into nature, and in some ways, it’s not. There are trails around town that are more pristine and more idyllic. But few show the power of nature the way this little piece of Klamath Falls does, because it exhibits nature taking back the earth.
Cracks and crevices mark the road, and between the cracks grow bundles of wild grass. The roadside itself is hard to discern as soil and plants have encroached onto the pavement, stretching out over the surface with leaves and branches. Tall trees surround you as you hike up what remains of the broken pavement, and it becomes easy to forget that you’re still within the boundaries of a living, breathing city.
It’s not a conventionally beautiful spot, instead recalling the haunting imagery of an Earth a few years removed from the presence of humanity. I take comfort in exploring places like this, knowing that even if humans are damaging the planet with their actions, it still has some fight left in it. | https://www.heraldandnews.com/members/limelighter/new-guy-in-town-finding-some-peace-away-from-bustle-of-city/article_d5e041ca-23ee-11ed-97fc-5b5edd5f0201.html | 2022-08-25T02:49:18Z |
School district reinstates corporal punishment as discipline option for students
CASSVILLE, Mo. (KY3/Gray News) - A controversial school discipline method is returning to some schools in Missouri.
Cassville R-IV School District Superintendent Dr. Merlyn Johnson said the policy change is a result of a survey that was sent to staff, students and parents in May.
“One of the suggestions that came out was concerns about student discipline,” Johnson said. “So, we reacted by implementing several different strategies, corporal punishment being one of them.”
Johnson said the change would give principals one more disciplinary option before students receive more serious punishments such as suspensions.
According to school administrators, the option would be the last resort for parents and faculty members if other means of discipline do not work.
“It’s something we don’t anticipate using frequently,” Johnson said. “This is an opt-in-only option for parents. So, anyone who disagrees with corporal punishment can do nothing by not opting in.”
Johnson said he understands there will be different views on the decision, and the district respects the opinions of parents who choose not to opt-in.
“A school suspension would be fine with me,” said parent Kimberly Richardson. “Or even out-of-school suspensions. Those are just way better than corporal punishment.”
Another parent, Dylan Burns, said he didn’t see a problem with corporal punishment.
“Everyone at Cassville is not going to do anything you don’t want to be done to your child,” Burns said. “I think you must sit down with your kids and choose what’s best for you and your family.”
According to state officials, Missouri law authorizes corporal punishment as an option for local schools to consider if parents opt in.
Copyright 2022 KY3 via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/25/school-district-reinstates-corporal-punishment-discipline-option-students/ | 2022-08-25T02:49:18Z |
Sydni Nakamura made a career-high seven saves, including a crucial first-half stop, allowing Oregon Tech to play Simpson University to a season-opening scoreless draw at the SU Soccer Field in Redding, Calif.
Nakamura was active in the first half, stopping five shots, including a leaping one-handed save on a 25-yard Carolina Oropeza attempt in the 31st minute.
“Training on defensive shape, with the midfield dropping in was superb, though Simpson applied pressure and had chances,” OIT coach Tom Eichelkraut said. “Sydni was amazing and played huge today.”
The Lady Owls (0-0-1) had the run of play over the first 20 minutes – including an 18-yard strike from Sylvia Sloss that was stopped by Redhawks goalkeeper Kiah Gridley and a Maddie Miller drive than clanged off the crossbar.
Tech had opportunities in the second half to break through – as Kiah Wetzell was turned away on a pair of occasions and an angled 18-yard blast from Shalynai Naputi was corralled by Gridley.
Simpson (2-0-1) thought they took the lead in the 59th minute – getting a two-on-one counterattack off a misplayed OIT corner – but the offsides flag was raised before the potential go-ahead goal.
“Simpson definitely showed where we struggled and need to focus – final third creativity and game fitness,” Eichelkraut said. “Overall, the team played well for our first game and had some chances of our own. We know it is time to roll up the sleeves and get to work.”
OIT finished with a 12-9 edge in shots – including a 9-4 advantage in the final 45 minutes. Naputi led the Lady Owls with four shots, with both of Wetzell’s attacks on frame.
The match was the first draw decided by the new collegiate soccer rules – as overtime will not be played during the regular-season.
Tech will meet Shasta College in a scrimmage next Tuesday, prior to a Labor Day Weekend doubleheader – Friday vs. Jamestown in La Grande and Sunday at home vs. Menlo. | https://www.heraldandnews.com/members/limelighter/oregon-tech-womens-soccer-team-plays-to-0-0-draw-with-simpson-in-season-opener/article_695a2cf0-2402-11ed-a7c4-4be9db8f495f.html | 2022-08-25T02:49:24Z |
What’s a Pell grant? Recipients can get $20,000 in student loan forgiveness
NEW YORK (AP) - President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program announced on Wednesday aims to provide $10,000 in student debt cancellation for millions of Americans.
But for federal Pell grant recipients, that amount is even higher: $20,000.
So what exactly is a Pell grant? And why is there a special benefit for people who got one?
Created by the Higher Education Act in 1965 as a way to promote access to education, federal Pell grants are special scholarships reserved for undergraduates and certain other students with the most significant financial need. The grants generally don’t need to be paid back, but they often don’t cover the full cost of college — so recipients take out additional loans.
The Biden administration is targeting Pell grant recipients for additional forgiveness “to smooth the transition back to repayment and help borrowers at highest risk of delinquencies or default once payments resume,” according to the Department of Education.
Roughly 27 million recipients of Pell grants will now be eligible for loan forgiveness. But for some, the $20,000 will hardly make a dent.
Lynn Hunt, a data analyst in Portland, Oregon, is a Pell grant recipient who borrowed somewhere around $45,000 to $50,000 to attend the University of Wisconsin and has paid back about $15,000 but still owes $70,000 because of interest.
“I know (Biden) mentioned, you know, $20,000 for Pell grants, but the people that had Pell grants had to take out the most loans,” Hunt said. “So $20,000 isn’t helping most of those people in any substantial manner. And the thing that happens every time when we get one of these half measures is, the can gets kicked for another decade.”
For Yaneth Peña, however, the money will make a difference. Peña graduated from North Carolina State University in 2014. She obtained about $4,000 in grants and approximately $25,000 in federal loans. Under Biden’s forgiveness plan, her debt would be whittled down to $5,000.
Relieved of the financial burden, Peña said she could now seriously pursue a graduate degree — something she said she hesitated to consider in the past because of her loans.
“This could like really change everything,” Peña said.
Pell grant recipients typically experience more challenges repaying their debt, the Department of Education notes. In the academic year of 2020-21, around 30% of all students that enrolled in undergraduate programs in the United States were awarded Pell grants and nearly every recipient came from a family that made less than $60,000 a year.
Almost all Pell grant recipients are independent students or dependent students from the bottom half of the income distribution, according to a report from the Urban Institute on college affordability.
Through the program, lower-income Americans can currently receive up to $6,895 annually for roughly six years.
If you’re not sure if you received a federal Pell grant, review any financial aid award letters administered through the Office of Federal Student Aid.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/25/whats-pell-grant-recipients-can-get-20000-student-loan-forgiveness/ | 2022-08-25T02:49:25Z |
Urban League of Portland President Nkenge Harmon Johnson, Ashland Councilor Gina DuQuenne and Oregon Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director Nataki Garrett discuss living as people of color in Southern Oregon.
A panel of Black people in prominent Oregon leadership positions gathered Tuesday night in Ashland to discuss growing concerns about white nationalism in Southern Oregon.
Members of the Urban League of Portland traveled to Southern Oregon University to hear how many people of color feel living and working in the Rogue Valley.
Panelists discussed the death of Aidan Ellison, a 19-year-old Black man who was shot in Ashland in 2020. A white man will face trial in Ellison’s killing. Panelists said Ellison’s killing showed even a progressive town like Ashland isn’t immune to racial violence.
“Being in Oregon is being in a place where people that look like us have been excluded in every aspect of community,” said Vance Beach, the founder of BASE, or Black Alliance & Social Empowerment, one of the organizations featured for their work in the region. “So our work is all around how do we assist in building an inclusive community?”
Urban League President Nkenge Harmon Johnson discussed the economic implications of creating an unsafe community for Black actors coming to work at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
“When you have world-class talent asking, ‘Is it safe to come and work there?’ The folks who care about dollars and cents in your town really oughta be worried about that,” Harmon Johnson said. “The best of the best say ‘yeah, no, I don’t want any parts of that place.’ Then what do you get?”
Black people were legally prohibited from living in Oregon through much of the mid-1800s.
Harmon Johnson said Oregonians must recognize how minorities have been put at a disadvantage in the past, and that only then will the state be able to find ways to level the playing field for the future.
While she and the other panelists discussed threatening aspects of Black life in Oregon, she said there’s still lots of opportunity for change.
Despite its size, Harmon Johnson said Oregon’s small population makes it easier to reach out and have conversations about how the state can be made safer for people of color. | https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/discussing-how-white-nationalism-affects-black-people-in-southern-oregon/article_62aa9cfa-23df-11ed-b3e5-27c962817dcb.html | 2022-08-25T02:49:31Z |
After initially indicating it would defy the federal government’s order to shut off water to the Klamath Project, the Klamath Irrigation District has closed the A Canal under duress from officials threatening to withhold millions of dollars of drought assistance.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation manages the project, which includes KID and serves 170,000 acres of farmland straddling the Oregon-California border.
Only a limited allocation of water was allowed for irrigators from Upper Klamath Lake this year because of extreme drought.
On Aug. 19, Reclamation stated the project was out of water and ordered districts to immediately halt diversions. All remaining water in Upper Klamath Lake was needed to satisfy requirements for endangered salmon and sucker fish, according to the agency.
The KID Board of Directors met Aug. 22 and authorized the district’s manager, Gene Souza, to continue operations despite the order, arguing that Reclamation had not provided a legal justification for shutting down earlier than expected.
That prompted a letter later that day from Alan Heck, acting area manager for the bureau, warning that unless KID reversed course, it would disqualify all lands served by the district from receiving $20 million in emergency drought funding.
Such an action would not only impact KID, but also the Pine Grove Improvement District, Enterprise Irrigation District, Sunnyside Irrigation District, Malin Irrigation District, Shasta View Irrigation District, Klamath Basin Improvement District and Van Brimmer Ditch Company — along with land for almost 100 individuals who receive water via KID infrastructure.
The KID board held an emergency meeting Aug. 23 where it was decided to close the A Canal. Souza described Reclamation’s actions as “coercion” and “bully tactics.”
“(Our board’s) desire to do what’s right for our community put us in a really bad spot,” Souza said. “There was no good decision.”
Had aid only been threatened for KID, Souza said the district was prepared to hold firm. Earlier this year, KID members voted by an 83% margin to pursue water deliveries, knowing it would likely complicate their drought funding.
“When the federal government dragged in our neighbors that have done everything they’ve been asked to do ... they’re bullying them in forcing us to make decisions,” Souza said. “That’s not how the federal government is supposed to act.”
A spokesperson for Reclamation could not immediately be reached for comment. | https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/klamath-irrigation-district-complies-with-water-shutoff-after-feds-threaten-funding/article_9be1cc50-2317-11ed-bba5-13ad63b9d783.html | 2022-08-25T02:49:37Z |
On Tuesday, Aug. 23, police seized 2,154 live marijuana plants, and 1,900 pounds of processed pot in Myrtle Creek. No arrests were made, according to the Douglas Interagency Narcotics Team.
Cops in Oregon have been raiding alleged illegal marijuana grows throughout the southern part of the state seizing and destroy thousands of cannabis plants as well as processed pot.
That has raised questions to why the police cannot just resell the seized weed considering marijuana is legal for recreational use in Oregon.
Josephine County Sheriff Dave Daniel explained Aug. 22 why the police aren’t reselling seized pot after questions from a local public safety council. Daniel’s statements on the issue were also reposted on social media by the Klamath County Sheriff’s Office
“No, we cannot sell seized marijuana to fund law enforcement,” Daniel said.
“Illegal marijuana is very often tainted with toxic chemicals like ‘Raid foggers,” making the product dangerous to use and a public health concern. Legal marijuana and hemp cultivation operations are subject to inspection by the Oregon Department of Agriculture, Oregon Health Authority and Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission. Testing of the product is mandatory per license/permit regulations,” Daniel said
The Oregon sheriff said there could be conflicts of interest with police agencies using seized cannabis sales for operational revenue and potentially competing with legal, government-sanctioned marijuana.
Daniel said if police departments sold seized the weed it could flood the market and cut prices. Police raids on alleged illegal pot grows often result in few or zero arrests with operations empty or workers fleeing into the Oregon wilderness when cops arrive.
Taxes and fees on legal weed in California, Oregon and other states where marijuana is legal can make government-approved cannabis as much 30% to 40% more expensive than street prices.
Marijuana prohibitions at the federal level and other states — including Idaho, Texas and Florida — also continues to drive demand for clandestine cannabis. | https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/local_news/up-in-smoke-cops-say-they-can-t-resell-seized-marijuana/article_e474a734-23e5-11ed-8603-b735c6c573b7.html | 2022-08-25T02:49:43Z |
Oregon’s threatened fish, sage grouse and forests recovering from wildfires are among the beneficiaries of millions in federal dollars from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The agency announced Aug. 18 that four groups working on conservation projects across the state would receive $11 million to complete projects that will improve water quality, fish migration, grouse habitat and forest health. The groups are among 41 nationwide that were selected to receive funding.
Nearly half the money will go to the Portland-based nonprofit Sustainable Northwest, which is getting $5 million to propose solutions for reforestation and wildfire recovery in parts of the Cascades still impacted by the 2020 Labor Day fires.
The Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District is getting nearly $1.5 million to remove dams and culverts in the Gale Creek Watershed that are limiting salmon, steelhead and lamprey migration and threatening their future. Money will pay for re-establishing native plants and vegetation along stream banks to provide better shade for fish and improve water quality that’s been compromised by pesticide runoff and erosion.
In Harney County, the local Soil and Water Conservation District is getting more than $3 million to protect greater sage grouse, the largest grouse in North America.
The greater sage grouse lives in 11 western states, and the population has declined by nearly 80% during the last 50 years due to livestock grazing, wildfires and invasive plant species, according to a report from the U.S. Geological Survey. Half of the decline took place in the last 20 years.
Harney County’s conservation district has been collaborating with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service since 2013 to reduce wildfire risks and invasive grasses and weeds on grouse habitat on private lands. Since 2013, more than 70 landowners with 580,000 acres of sage grouse habitat have agreed to work with both the local conservation district and the federal agency to protect the greater sage-grouse.
The Deschutes River Conservancy is getting more than $1 million to help farmers and ranchers along McKay Creek switch to irrigation systems that use less water. The creek is 37 miles long and stretches from the Ochoco National Forest to the Crooked River northwest of Prineville. A six-mile stretch of the river often dries up in late summer due to farm and ranch over-irrigation. The area was once a breeding ground for steelhead, salmon and other fish but they’ve vanished from the creek due to water diversions and climate change. The conservancy hopes to restore those native fish populations in the creek. | https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/oregon-groups-get-11-million-boost-from-feds-to-protect-threatened-species-support-reforestation/article_285509da-23d7-11ed-bb71-cf9abf105f9f.html | 2022-08-25T02:49:49Z |
Oregonians in 57 cities and 26 of the state’s 36 counties will vote in November on banning or postponing psilocybin treatment centers and the production of psilocybin products in their areas.
Psilocybin was first approved by state voters in 2020 with almost 56% of the vote supporting Measure 109. The vote made Oregon the first state in the nation to legalize such treatment. The program will be launched by the Oregon Health Authority in January.
But the measure included a process for cities and counties to back out of legalization, allowing a vote on local bans or a two-year moratorium before joining the rest of the state. They had until Aug. 19 to file paperwork with the Secretary of State’s office to put it on the November ballot.
At least 27 cities have ensured access to psilocybin treatment, including 17 of the state’s most populous cities.
Psilocybin is a hallucinogenic substance found in some mushrooms that has been shown to effectively treat anxiety, depression and post traumatic stress disorder.
A slight majority of residents in Deschutes County, about 53%, voted to approve Measure 109 in 2020, helping to get it passed statewide. But the county’s commissioners recently opted to put the question on the November ballot by a 2-to-1 vote.
Commissioner Phil Chang was the lone dissenter.
At a news conference Tuesday, Chang said he did so because counties have a responsibility to make sure residents can get needed medical care. Counties “are the local public health authorities for their communities,” he said. “I want people in my community to have access to effective treatments.”
Sam Chapman, executive director of the nonprofit Healing Advocacy Fund, which is supporting the rollout of Measure 109, also said at the news conference medical centers offering psilocybin treatments and psilocybin manufacturers will be regulated by the Oregon Health Authority. A draft of the final rules will be ready in September, and will be finalized and adopted by the agency by Dec. 31. The health authority will begin taking applications for treatment centers and providers on Jan. 2.
Chapman estimates more than 2 million people could seek psilocybin therapy in Oregon if it’s implemented statewide.
“Oregon will become a destination of sorts for people who don’t want to leave the country for this treatment, which is currently the only option,” he said.
Cities that will vote on banning or postponing psilocybin treatment and production:
Coos Bay, Pendleton, Roseburg, Winston, Seaside, Prineville, Newberg, Sandy, Nyssa, Vale, Jordan Valley, Philomath, Toledo, St. Helens, Lebanon, La Grande, Cove City, Keizer, McMinnville, Redmond, Newberg, Prineville, Pendleton, Roseburg, Sheridan, Stayton, Silverton, Scotts Mills, Falls City, Cornelius, Metolius, Madras, Culver, Coquille, North Bend, Lakeside, La Pine, Canyonville, Oakland, Glendale, Eagle Point, Dunes City, Junction City, Harrisburg, Millersburg, Tangent, City of Umatilla, Myrtle Creek, Drain, Reedsport, Cascade Locks, Cottage Grove, Brownsville, Lyons, Irrigon, Boardman | https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/oregonians-in-dozens-of-counties-cities-will-vote-on-psilocybin-bans-in-november/article_e9319fba-23d7-11ed-8ec6-5b0b0a8d0fde.html | 2022-08-25T02:49:55Z |
Country
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CHEYENNE – The Research & Planning Section of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services reported this week that the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased from 3.1% in June to 3.0% in July.
Wyoming’s unemployment rate is lower than its July 2021 level of 4.5% and lower than the current U.S. rate of 3.5%.
From June to July, most county unemployment rates followed their normal seasonal pattern and decreased. Unemployment rates often fall in July as job gains are seen in leisure and hospitality, construction, and professional and business services, according to a news release. The largest unemployment rate decreases occurred in Lincoln (down from 3.7% to 2.7%), Sublette (down from 3.8% to 3.2%), Uinta (down from 3.8% to 3.3%) and Teton (down from 2.2% to 1.7%) counties.
In July, unemployment rates were lower than their year-ago levels in every county. The largest decreases were reported in Natrona (down from 5.8% to 3.7%), Campbell (down from 5.3% to 3.3%), Niobrara (down from 4.1% to 2.2%), Converse (down from 4.7% to 2.8%) and Sweetwater (down from 5.7% to 3.9%) counties. Unemployment rates were elevated in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Teton County, at 1.7%, had the lowest unemployment rate in July. It was followed by Crook County and Niobrara County, both at 2.2%, and Weston County at 2.3%. The highest rates were found in Sweetwater County at 3.9%, and Fremont County and Natrona County, both at 3.7%.
Total nonfarm employment in Wyoming (not seasonally adjusted and measured by place of work) rose from 284,500 in July 2021 to 291,600 in July 2022, an increase of 7,100 jobs (2.5%). Employment was unusually low in 2021 because of economic disruptions related to the pandemic. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/local_news/latest-report-wyoming-unemployment-falls-to-3-0-in-july-2022/article_65bfa4b4-2419-11ed-b05b-979621afd4a6.html | 2022-08-25T03:01:28Z |
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People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe | https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/local_news/mason-way-scheduled-to-close-monday-for-repair-work/article_5c4ebb72-2414-11ed-a8b8-d38785d4aa45.html | 2022-08-25T03:01:34Z |
RIVERTON – A new season of “Wyoming Chronicle” starts in September, with installments featuring a one-of-a-kind museum in Gillette, a scientist pivotal to the deployment of a groundbreaking scientific instrument, the renovation of Wyoming’s biggest airport and an Old West re-enactor dedicated to the tradition of oral history.
“Wyoming Chronicle” host Steve Peck signs on for his first full season with the show, kicking off Sept. 2 with a visit to the Gillette Auto and Relic Museum in Campbell County, described by the host as “a fabulous collection of old cars, gas pumps, neon signs and other memorabilia that’s unlike anything else in Wyoming – and perhaps the nation.”
Next up, on Sept. 9, is a return interview with Dr. Scott Acton, the wavefront sensing and control specialist for the James Webb Space Telescope, which deployed on Christmas Day to a point a million miles from Earth and began probing areas of deep space never seen before by human eyes.
Lifelong Wyoming resident Ray Maple brings the story of a largely forgotten outlaw, Tom O’Day, to “Wyoming Chronicle” on Sept. 23. O’Day rode with two much more famous cohorts, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and Maple uses O’Day as the basis for a colorful first-person narrative as part of a larger historical yarn about the closing days of the Old West era in Wyoming.
And on Sept. 30, a committed troupe of community theater devotees in Rock Springs celebrates 20 years of independent theater – doing it their way as they bring productions to the local stage in a labor-of-love undertaking that helps showcase their city as an unexpected center of culture and the arts in Wyoming.
Other “Wyoming Chronicle” shows in the fall season lineup include:
A farewell to longtime public radio newsman Bob Beck, who is retiring in October after more than 30 years at the microphone;
A visit to Jackson Hole Airport, which boards twice as many passengers as the other eight commercial airports in Wyoming combined, but which opted to shut down for two months just as the busy summer tourism season was beginning in order to take on a much-needed runway rebuild and terminal renovation;
A two-part installment with Uprising, a non-profit organization founded in Sheridan that has emerged as the Rocky Mountain regional leader in identifying and combatting human trafficking.
Also in production are programs featuring Wyoming’s school resource officers, the one-time director of the University of Wyoming’s school of environmental studies who now has the same job at Yale University, Wyoming Poet Laureate Gene Gagliano, and the 15-year effort in Laramie that culminated this year with the Great American Main Street Award – the only community west of the Mississippi to earn the honor.
New “Wyoming Chronicle” installments premiere Fridays at 7:30 p.m. on WyomingPBS, with repeats at 6:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. The show also is available online anytime at wyomingpbs.org. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/local_news/new-wyoming-chronicle-season-starts-in-september-on-wyomingpbs/article_323116da-241b-11ed-aa2c-d376b6be6ad8.html | 2022-08-25T03:01:41Z |
CHEYENNE – The Zonta Club of Cheyenne recently awarded Paige Ricketts its 2022 Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarship.
The $1,000 scholarship is awarded to a woman studying a major in the field of business who has demonstrated outstanding potential and high achievement in her specialty of study. As the recipient of this local Cheyenne Zonta scholarship, Ricketts will compete against scholarship recipients from other clubs for the Zonta District 12 Jane M. Klausman scholarship in the amount of $6,000.
Ricketts is starting her junior year at the University of Wyoming with a double major in marketing and sales, and a minor in graphic design. She has demonstrated academic excellence with her history of Advanced Placement classes and a 4.0 grade point average. This was accomplished while also working throughout high school and college, first as a student intern, then a paid intern, and now in various sales positions.
Upon graduation, she hopes to obtain a position in marketing, preferably in the field of entertainment or sports.
The Jane M. Klausman Women in Business scholarship was first offered in 1998, and is awarded annually at both the local and district level. It is intended to encourage women in undergraduate school to enter careers and seek leadership positions in business with the ultimate goal of increasing the number of women in executive positions in the field of business management. As of the end of 2020, less than 22% of the board of directors seats for S&P 500 companies were occupied by women and only 6% of the chief executive officer positions of these companies held by women. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/local_news/paige-ricketts-awarded-zonta-women-in-business-scholarship/article_5faa55d0-2417-11ed-952d-3792ef3a9041.html | 2022-08-25T03:01:47Z |
CHEYENNE – The city of Cheyenne will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 3 p.m. Sept. 6 for the new Carey Avenue/Kennedy Road greenway connector.
The event will take place near the Botanic Gardens, located in Lions Park, 710 S. Lions Park Drive. Parking is available in the Botanic Gardens’ lot.
The recently completed project connects to the existing greenway along Central Avenue and Sloans Lake, and will provide much-needed pedestrian and bike connectivity along Carey, according to a news release.
The new connector is funded by the 2017 voter-approved sixth-penny sales tax, and grants provided through the Wyoming Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.
Since voter approval on the sixth-penny sales tax ballot in 1991, the Greater Cheyenne Greenway has grown to encompass more than 45 miles of safe, separated bicycle and pedestrian paths in the Capital City. The 10-foot-wide concrete paths provide connectivity throughout Cheyenne for recreation and transportation.
The greenway snakes along Crow and Dry Creek, parks, schools, neighborhoods and commercial centers. It stretches from Four Mile Road at the Pointe subdivision to the north, Sweetgrass subdivision to the south, Interstate 25 to the west, and the expanding Saddle Ridge subdivision to the east. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/local_news/ribbon-cutting-ceremony-set-for-carey-kennedy-greenway-connector/article_04ec6f08-2416-11ed-b933-b3c673969e78.html | 2022-08-25T03:01:53Z |
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LOS ANGELES — A federal jury found Wednesday that Los Angeles County must pay Kobe Bryant's widow $16 million for emotional distress caused by deputies and firefighters sharing photos of the bodies of the NBA star and his daughter taken at the site of the 2020 helicopter crash that killed them.
The nine jurors who returned the unanimous verdict agreed with Vanessa Bryant and her attorneys that the photos of the remains of Kobe Bryant and their 13-year-old daughter Gianna invaded her privacy and brought her emotional distress.
The jury deliberated for 4 1/2 hours before reaching the verdict. Vanessa Bryant cried quietly as it was read.
An attorney for the county declined comment on the verdict outside the courtroom.
The pictures were shared mostly between employees of the LA County sheriff's and fire departments including by some who were playing video games and attending an awards banquet. They were also seen by some of their spouses and in one case by a bartender at a bar where a deputy was drinking.
Vanessa Bryant tearfully testified during the 11-day trial that news of the photos compounded her still-raw grief a month after losing her husband and daughter, and that she still has panic attacks at the thought that they might still be out there.
"I live in fear every day of being on social media and these popping up," she testified. "I live in fear of my daughters being on social media and these popping up."
Her co-plaintiff Chris Chester, whose wife and daughter were also among the nine people killed in the crash, was awarded $15 million.
Vanessa Bryant's attorneys did not give jurors a dollar amount they thought their client deserved, but Chester's attorney gave them suggested guidelines that would have meant tens of millions for each plaintiff.
Vanessa Bryant's lawyer Luis Li told jurors that the close-up photos had no official or investigative purpose, and were mere "visual gossip" shared out of a gruesome curiosity.
County attorney J. Mira Hashmall argued during the trial that the photos were a necessary tool for assessing the situation.
She acknowledged that they should not have been shared with everyone who saw them. But she emphasized that the photos had never appeared publicly, and had never even been seen by the plaintiffs. She said that meant that Sheriff Alex Villanueva and other officials had taken decisive and effective action when they ordered those who had the photos to delete them.
Kobe Bryant, the former Lakers star, five-time NBA champion and member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, was traveling with Gianna and seven others to a youth basketball game when the helicopter they were aboard crashed into hills in Calabasas west of Los Angeles on Jan. 26, 2020.
Federal safety officials blamed pilot error for the crash.
The jury returned its verdict on Kobe Bryant Day, which is celebrated on Aug. 24 because it uses both of his jersey numbers — 8 and 24 — and is the day after his birthday. Tuesday would have been Kobe's 44th birthday.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-24/kobe-bryants-widow-was-awarded-16-million-in-the-trial-over-crash-photos | 2022-08-25T03:09:57Z |
HONOLULU (KITV4) -- After years of controversy, Native Hawaiian activists are calling on the city to help protect ancient burials in East Oahu.
The grassroots group Pu'uhonua o Wailupe wants to steward a three-acre parcel on Kia'i Place. To do so, they're lobbying lawmakers to allocate nearly $7 million so the city can buy it.
Back in 2018, an unmarked burial was discovered at the hillside property along Wiliwilinui Ridge.
A published notice from the State Historic Preservation Division seeking potential descendants listed 28 family names historically associated with the area. Eight of them, Michael Hikalea said, are also in his family tree.
"We gotta understand that it's happening statewide yeah, damage and desecration to burials," Hikalea added. "Even in death, as Hawaiians, we face eviction."
Since the encounter with the remains, there has not been any construction on the property, until February 2022, when a group of activists halted grading work and ignited a movement to reclaim the land.
"If anyone should be taking care of those iwi (remains), it has to be kanaka maoli (Native Hawaiians). It has to be our own people," said Healani Sonoda-Pale, one of the lead organizers for Pu'uhonua o Wailupe.
City Council Chair Tommy Waters believes the property could qualify for a grant from the more than $46 million in the Clean Water and Natural Lands Fund, which the city uses to help groups buy or acquire itself, lands with historic value for preservation.
"In my mind, this would be a perfect, perfect use of these monies to preserve that Wailupe hillside," Waters said.
The proposal will need to go before the Department of Budget and Fiscal Services, as well as an advisory committee, before the full council can vote on it.
In the meantime, Waters and the activists point out the current landowner, Kent Untermann, supports the effort.
"We have a really good relationship with the landowner," Sonoda-Pale said.
Untermann could not be reached for comment Wednesday because he is out of the country.
'A'ali'i is a reporter with KITV. He was born and raised on the island of Maui and graduated from the University of Southern California with a bachelor's degree in Journalism. | https://www.kitv.com/news/local/activists-seek-stewardship-of-wailupe-property-to-protect-ancient-burials/article_2ed88546-2415-11ed-ac58-b385254374fb.html | 2022-08-25T04:57:42Z |
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Seen here is an aerial view of the Pentagon building in Washington, DC. One US service member is injured after several rockets were fired at coalition bases in Syria on August 24.
Several rockets were fired at coalition bases in Syria on Wednesday, injuring one US service member, according to a statement from US Central Command, in an apparent response to US airstrikes against Iranian-backed groups in the region.
The rockets struck two bases in northeast Syria that house US troops, Mission Support Sites Green Village and Conoco. One service member at one of the sites was treated for a minor injury, Central Command said. At least two more were being evaluated for minor injuries.
Following the rocket attack, US attack helicopters returned fire and destroyed three vehicles as well as the equipment used to launch the rockets, according to Central Command. Initial assessments indicate that two or three people involved in carrying out the attacks were killed.
"We have a total spectrum of capability to mitigate threats across the region, and we have every confidence in our ability to protect our troops and Coalition partners from attacks," said Gen. Michael "Erik" Kurilla, commander of US Central Command.
Earlier Wednesday, a senior Pentagon official said the US would work to defend its service members and capabilities in the region.
"We're not going to hesitate to defend ourselves," said Colin Kahl, the under secretary of defense for policy, at a briefing to reporters on Wednesday. "We're not going to tolerate attacks by Iran-backed forces on our forces anywhere in the world, to include in Syria, and we won't hesitate to protect ourselves and take additional measures as appropriate."
The military exchanges come at a critical time for US and Iranian relations, as there has been some progress on reviving the Iran nuclear deal, aimed at preventing Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. Still, the airstrikes appeared to send a clear signal that deal or not, the US will continue to respond to Iranian provocations.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday had ordered the airstrikes against Iranian-backed groups in Syria, a little over a week after a number of rockets struck close to the Green Village base near the Iraqi border.
The strike was intended to target 11 bunkers used for ammunition storage and logistics support by Iranian-backed groups in Syria, Col. Joe Buccino, a spokesman for US Central Command, said.
But shortly before CENTCOM carried out the strike, the military waved off two more of the bunkers because of a small group of people nearby. In the end, Buccino said the military struck nine bunkers in the complex in eastern Syria.
The US said the airstrikes were in response to attacks on US forces from one week ago, when the At-Tanf garrison in Syria came under a drone attack and a second base was attacked by rockets. Iran denied any involvement in the attacks, but they match the pattern of other such attacks the US has attributed to Iranian-backed proxies and militias in Syria.
At the time of last week's strikes, the coalition did not say who was responsible for either of the attacks
The US maintains approximately 900 troops in Syria, largely split between the At-Tanf base and the country's eastern oil fields. | https://www.kitv.com/news/national/us-service-member-injured-after-rockets-strike-coalition-bases-in-syria-us-official-says/article_3c5f5668-6365-5597-8aeb-ee649fe2d89d.html | 2022-08-25T04:57:43Z |
'We welcome everybody to come': The Blue Water Traditional Pow Wow is back
Mino-Bimaaduziwin.
It means "a good life," in the native language of the Ojibwe tribe, and there's not a better way to enjoy a full day of dancing and tasting some traditional Native American food than at this year's Blue Water Traditional Pow-Wow.
"It's a good community event that we're going to try to share our culture," said Joe Jacobs, an Ojibwe Native American and tribal member with the Aamjiwnaang First Nation.
He is one of the organizers at this year's pow-wow celebration.
"I think it's something the community will enjoy," Jacobs said.
The Blue Water Traditional Pow-wow will take place from 11 a.m., to 7 p.m., on Saturday at the Fort Gratiot Light Station at 2802 Omar St. Although the event is free, guests are encouraged to leave a donation.
A pow-wow is a social gathering of family and friends to celebrate Native American ancestral histories and culture. Pow-wow's often include a variety of activities including arts, singing, and many types of traditional dances.
At this year's Blue Water Traditional Pow-Wow, there will be many arts and crafts tents, raffles and giveaways, a princess pageant, and multiple local indigenous food vendors selling traditional Native American food such as corn soup and fried bread.
There will also be a tipi raised, in which storytelling will take place.
"We're trying to line up more things that will actually gear toward the general public," Jacobs said.
There will also be music, a big circle and exhibition dancing. The dancing will showcase different varieties with some nation tribes dancing clockwise, and others dancing counter-clockwise.
Toward the end of the celebration, there will be a big feast for everyone to join.
Guests can also go on guided tours of the Light Station buildings and climb the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse, Michigan's oldest Lighthouse. Guided tours are $10 for adults, and $7 for students and seniors.
"We try to have our pow-wows near the water," said Joan Tipkey Jacobs, the chairwoman for the Blue Water Indigenous Alliance.
Originally from Croswell, Joan is from Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians from Harbor Springs. She is an Ojibwe, Odawa, Lakota, and Cherokee Native American.
"We always try to keep them around the water because water is very sacred and we are water protectors," she said.
The Blue Water Indian Celebration started back in 1995 at Pine Grove Park. In past years, the pow-wows have been held near Wadhams Road adjacent to the Black River, at the Carnegie Center grounds right behind the Port Huron Museum, and at the Burtchville Township Park along Lake Huron.
This is the first year that the celebration is being held at the Fort Gratiot Light Station.
Typically, pow-wows can extend to three days, with many groups bringing their campers to stay in, but because the Lighthouse Station doesn't allow overnight stay, this year's celebration will be an all day event.
"The location is perfect, and we're looking forward to having it here," said Joe Jacobs. "I think it's a great area because a lot of the natives lived outside of the forts, so by us being into the area that has a historical value, I think this is a great area.
"By us having the community aware that we are still here, that we are still alive, I'm excited. There has been a lot of work into it, a lot of participation."
He added that everyone involved in helping put together this year's celebration, from committee members to everyone at the museum, have been awesome. He said that he wants the event to succeed and for future generations to come out.
Joan Tipkey Jacobs added that "it's going to be a fun time," and that she looks forward to seeing family, friends, and dancing, especially doing the crow-hop, her favorite dance.
"When all the races are together, that's when we say, 'our circle is complete,'" said Joan Tipkey Jacobs.
Contact Sergio Montanez at spoveda@gannett.com. | https://www.thetimesherald.com/story/news/2022/08/25/the-blue-water-traditional-pow-wow-is-back/65416476007/ | 2022-08-25T05:30:41Z |
Retired park ranger saves boy, 9, after family truck sinks
SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah (KSTU) - A 9-year-old boy is on the road to recovery after nearly drowning in a Utah reservoir, if not for a retired park ranger who rescued him.
Paxton, 9, was at Smith and Morehouse Reservoir near Oakley, Utah, on Monday with family members. As the family was unloading kayaks from their truck, the vehicle, with Paxton and two other kids inside, rolled into the water.
“We’re not sure what happened at that point. The truck started to roll down. They tried to get the kids out of the car,” said Paxton’s aunt, Kelley Carpenter.
Two of the kids, a 9-year-old boy and 2-year-old girl, got out safely, but Paxton was still in the truck when it sank.
Joe Donnell, a retired park ranger who was kayaking nearby, made several attempts to get to the boy before he was able to rescue him, according to Carpenter.
“We’ve heard that the gentleman had to dive down about seven times before he finally grabbed some clothing and was able to get Paxton out,” Carpenter said.
Paxton was underwater for more than 10 minutes. He was airlifted to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, where he was placed on life support in the intensive care unit. His aunt went to visit him Tuesday.
“The doctors say that he is doing well and is able to respond to some of their tasks. They did not think that he would survive,” Carpenter said. “Every time I spoke to him, he responded to me, whether that be squeezing my hand, shaking his head ‘yes’.”
Before the incident, Carpenter says Paxton had just started fourth grade at New Hope Academy in Lehi. She describes him as funny, energetic and loving.
“He’s very outgoing, loves to be around all his nieces and nephews, loves playing ‘Fortnite’ with us,” she said.
Carpenter is optimistic Paxton will continue making progress in his recovery.
“He’s going to keep fighting, as long as all of us,” she said.
The family is hoping that when Paxton feels up to it, he can be reunited with the retired park ranger who saved his life.
Copyright 2022 KSTU via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/25/retired-park-ranger-saves-boy-9-after-family-truck-sinks/ | 2022-08-25T05:30:41Z |
Skyline Literacy in need of volunteers for English Language Learning program
HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - For some community members, crossing language barriers can be difficult, and a Valley organization is looking for tutors to help ease that struggle.
“The English Language Learning Program is small groups of learners who learn to enhance their reading, writing, speaking, listening and survival skills,” Program Manager with Skyline Literacy Jyar Abdulla said.
Volunteers teach and provide assistance to participants, and tutors are still needed for the upcoming round of classes which start on August 29th and run until December 7th. Abdulla says she has seen firsthand the confidence that can arise from those who enroll in the program.
“Communication is very important among us, and as Kofi Annan said, ‘Literacy is the bridge from misery to hope’, so I think that this program is changing lives in the Shenandoah Valley,” Abdulla said.
Skyline also provides programs for individuals preparing for their GED, citizenship, and computer literacy.
If you are interested in becoming a tutor or enrolling in a program, you can do that by calling Skyline Literacy at 540-433-0505 or by sending an email.
Copyright 2022 WHSV. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/25/skyline-literacy-need-volunteers-english-language-learning-program/ | 2022-08-25T05:30:47Z |
Retired park ranger saves boy, 9, after family truck sinks
SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah (KSTU) - A 9-year-old boy is on the road to recovery after nearly drowning in a Utah reservoir, if not for a retired park ranger who rescued him.
Paxton, 9, was at Smith and Morehouse Reservoir near Oakley, Utah, on Monday with family members. As the family was unloading kayaks from their truck, the vehicle, with Paxton and two other kids inside, rolled into the water.
“We’re not sure what happened at that point. The truck started to roll down. They tried to get the kids out of the car,” said Paxton’s aunt, Kelley Carpenter.
Two of the kids, a 9-year-old boy and 2-year-old girl, got out safely, but Paxton was still in the truck when it sank.
Joe Donnell, a retired park ranger who was kayaking nearby, made several attempts to get to the boy before he was able to rescue him, according to Carpenter.
“We’ve heard that the gentleman had to dive down about seven times before he finally grabbed some clothing and was able to get Paxton out,” Carpenter said.
Paxton was underwater for more than 10 minutes. He was airlifted to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, where he was placed on life support in the intensive care unit. His aunt went to visit him Tuesday.
“The doctors say that he is doing well and is able to respond to some of their tasks. They did not think that he would survive,” Carpenter said. “Every time I spoke to him, he responded to me, whether that be squeezing my hand, shaking his head ‘yes’.”
Before the incident, Carpenter says Paxton had just started fourth grade at New Hope Academy in Lehi. She describes him as funny, energetic and loving.
“He’s very outgoing, loves to be around all his nieces and nephews, loves playing ‘Fortnite’ with us,” she said.
Carpenter is optimistic Paxton will continue making progress in his recovery.
“He’s going to keep fighting, as long as all of us,” she said.
The family is hoping that when Paxton feels up to it, he can be reunited with the retired park ranger who saved his life.
Copyright 2022 KSTU via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/25/retired-park-ranger-saves-boy-9-after-family-truck-sinks/ | 2022-08-25T05:48:26Z |
Fox Corp CEO Lachlan Murdoch is suing the owner of a small Australian political news site for defamation over a column that held him responsible for the rhetoric on Fox News ahead of the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol last year.
The lawsuit came just a day after the website, Crikey — in full page ads in The New York Times and Australia's Canberra Times — dared Murdoch to make good on his earlier threats to sue.
The offending opinion column on the site on June 29 argued that thanks to Fox News, Lachlan Murdoch and his father Rupert shared responsibility for the U.S. Capitol siege with former President Donald Trump.
In his lawsuit, Murdoch's lawyers said the CEO "has been gravely injured in his character, his personal reputation, and his professional reputation as a business person and company director" and has also suffered "substantial hurt, distress and embarrassment" from the article and its promotion.
In a post in response, Crikey's leadership said the site "stands by its story and we look forward to defending our independent public interest journalism in court against the considerable resources of Lachlan Murdoch."
Crikey's editor-in-chief Peter Fray tells NPR the site didn't mean he was literally responsible — but that the "buck has to stop somewhere."
"Lachlan Murdoch appears desperate to disassociate himself from the actions of Fox in inciting the January 6th insurrection," Fray told NPR previously. "And he's taking quite extraordinary steps to shut down public debate in this country."
Murdoch's attorneys filed in Australian federal court in Sydney on Tuesday. The case cites the article's circulation on Twitter and Crikey's claims of intimidation by Murdoch.
Crikey's leaders said they hoped the lawsuit would serve as a test case for Australia's defamation laws, which they argue are too restrictive.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., Murdoch and Fox are fending off a pair of defamation cases from election technology and voting machine companies in the U.S. The cases, involving false claims of fraud in the November 2020 elections, are seeking more than $4 billion combined.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-24/an-australian-news-site-dared-fox-ceo-lachlan-murdoch-to-sue-now-he-has | 2022-08-25T06:12:14Z |
Rockingham County Board of Supervisors holds public hearing and addresses Mauzy travel center
HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - There was standing room only at the Rockingham County Board of Supervisors meeting Wednesday.
There was a long list of items to address, but one item in particular, drew the crowd.
An application from Gas City, LLC to create a travel center in Mauzy, off Exit 257 was discussed.
Jeff Robb with Lee & Associates argued that adding this travel center would help take better care of truckers passing through the Valley, while also tackling the need for parking in the area.
“The Staunton district is 143 miles long,” Robb said. “In those 143 miles, we’re short 653 parking spots and that will grow almost 3 times by the year 2045 to almost 1,900 spaces.”
Robb also mentioned that illegally parked trucks face fines of around $200, forcing truckers to park on the shoulders of the interstate to rest, which poses potential safety threats for those driving.
“[Travel centers] give truckers a place to rest and eat a meal before heading back on the road,” he said.
Robb argued that the addition would bring jobs to the town, as well as revenue from people passing through.
“It just helps to serve truckers and people passing through with what they need,” he said.
No one in the audience spoke out in approval of the proposal, but many spoke against it. 35 people were signed up to share their perspectives or the thoughts of those who could not attend.
Drawing major concern from several Mauzy residents, was a lack of public water.
One shared how the overuse of water could directly impact her livelihood and her property.
”My biggest fear is that we will lose our well and if we do, we have no way to get water to our property,” she said. “Our property will be completely worthless. We’ve put our lives into that property to make it our retirement home.”
Others were concerned that the travel center would destroy the beauty and the farm land that the town’s 2020 Comprehensive Plan vowed to preserve.
“All of our drinking water is sourced from underground aquaphors in the immediate vicinity. That’s how we live there. The beauty of the farmland around our homes is why we live there,” she expressed.
Other concerns brought to attention were safety, traffic, and pollution in the air and in Smith’s Creek.
WHSV has not received official word on how the board plans to proceed with this item.
Other actions were taken at the meeting as well.
The board approved an amendment to the Rockingham County Code to enable the use of land for industrial purposes. The motion passed 4-1. Chairman Dewey Ritchie stood alone in opposition.
A motion to rezone land for the McGaheysville Volunteer Fire Department received unanimous approval.
The board also approved a motion to rezone land to the west of Bear Crossing, and south of Spotswood Trail. The plan is to build townhomes there to match the east side of Bear Crossing.
Supervisors voted in favor of rezoning land in Linville for a machinery and equipment Center.
The board decided to table an item that would give more land to Amy Sheppard with the Paws of Hope, a dog daycare and boarding facility. They said the ordinances on dog breeding need to be sorted out first.
WHSV has also not received official word on the American Rescue Plan Funds for next year’s budget decision.
Copyright 2022 WHSV. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/25/rockingham-county-board-supervisors-holds-public-hearing-addresses-mauzy-travel-center/ | 2022-08-25T07:04:04Z |
Virtual rapper dropped by record label after racism complaints
(CNN) - Major music label Capitol Records has dropped a newly-debuted “robot rapper” amid criticism that the virtual character was offensive to Black artists.
FN Meka, using the avatar of a Black male cyborg with a partly shaved head and green braids, debuted its first single under the record label earlier this month.
But Capitol Records said Tuesday that it has “severed ties with the FN Meka project, effective immediately” and called its decision to sign the project “insensitive.”
The label also apologized for “not asking enough questions about equity and the creative process behind it.”
The decision comes after industry professionals said the character was fashioned out of reductive stereotypes.
A nonprofit activist group posted an open letter to Capitol Records, calling on the label to drop the character and remove it from all platforms. The group also demanded that all funds spent on the project be directed toward causes that support young Black artists.
FN Meka is a project of the label Factory New, the first in what the company hoped would be a roster of virtual music artists. It is generated partly by artificial intelligence but voiced by a real human.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/25/virtual-rapper-dropped-by-record-label-after-racism-complaints/ | 2022-08-25T07:04:16Z |
Large trucks have hit the Gulick Avenue overpass in Kalihi many times, causing damage and snarling traffic. But this overpass is about to get some major work on it. Thanks to federal money -- to make it high enough so that oversized trucks won't hit it anymore.
HONOLULU-HI (KITV-4) Hawaii is expected to receive about $2.5 billion from the federal Infrastructure act that will spread out over the next five years. The largest share, about $1.2 billion, will go to improvements on state highways.
Large trucks have hit the Gulick Avenue overpass in Kalihi many times, causing damage and snarling traffic. But this overpass is about to get some major work on it. Thanks to that federal money to make it high enough so that oversized trucks won't hit it anymore. It's all part of a 3-point-6 million dollar project to rehab the H-1 freeway, from Salt Lake Boulevard to the airport viaduct.
But some residents says they are concerned about traffic and a pedestrian walk way planned for the overpass.
Cheryl has lived in Kalihi for 36 years.
Cheryl ,Concerned Kalihi Resident, “Now its going to be a concern for us have all these pedestrians crossing over this private property driveway. And that is our concern is it going to increase the problems from this big wide bridge to this narrow pedestrian bridge. And then the traffic right. How is the traffic going to be flowing with the school.”
Afioifo Pula-Faavale, Kalihi Waena Elementary School for 20 years, “It is a good thing for the Kalihi side, for our school we are near the bridge. Its for the safety of our keiki and our community.”
The Gulick Avenue overpass will be raised by 6 inches making it higher than the Kalihi Interchange Bridges, which never get hit.
Voice of Ed Sniffen, Dept. of Transportation, "When we start adjusting the length of this gulick overpass it allows us with these structural improvements to increase the height of this structure as well. At this time is about 14 feet 3 inches. And because of that the bottom inch or two of this bridge gets hit weekly by trucks that are a little bit high that are going through this area.”
The next step, is the DOT has to advertise for bids. Once a contractor is selected, the construction should take up to 6 months to complete. During that building, Gulick avenue will be closed for 3 months.
Do you have a story idea? Email news tips to Cyip@kitv.com
Cynthia is an award-winning journalist who returned to Hawaii as an Anchor/Reporter/MMJ from Houston. She is a graduate of the University of Hawaii with a B.A. and M.B.A. DM her on IG @CynthiaYipTV to share stories. | https://www.kitv.com/news/local/gulick-ave-overpass-to-be-raised/article_31e517ca-2430-11ed-b8af-a7e569e14d3a.html | 2022-08-25T07:08:05Z |
HONOLULU (KITV4) -- Thousands of dollars in student loan debt will be cancelled under a program unveiled by President Joe Biden -- just part of his plan to make college more affordable.
University of Hawaii student Madelief Schelbis is focused on her graduate studies in Marine Biology. But to get to this point, she's racked up sizeable student debt.
By COLLIN BINKLEY, SEUNG MIN KIM and CHRIS MEGERIAN - Associated Press
She welcomed the news from President Biden that up to $10,000 in debt could be cancelled for students, and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients.
"That would be a huge relief for me. I think I have a Pell Grant so that would be $20,000 out of $30,000. That would be significant relief for me," added Schelbis.
She is not alone. Nationally, the average student loan debt is $25,000 according to the Department of Education. Although, it is slightly lower at the University of Hawaii.
"At UH Manoa is it about $23,000. At Community Colleges it is lower, so it ranges from $10,000-23,000 depending on the campus," said University of Hawaii Vice President for Academic Strategy Deborah Halbert.
How many student end up with debt? In 2021, over 42% of graduates had debt -- primarily federal student loans.
In the past 5 years, that percentage has ranged from 41-47%.
While current college students are not required to immediately pay back their student loans, they tell KITV4 that debt adds to the pressures of college.
"It is very stressful. Every day I think, 'Should I drop out?' Because I am going to keep accumulating debt for something I may not be able to obtain - just because of how much it costs to go to college," said UH Junior Meygan Daugherty.
Meygan would like to become a nurse, and would have to pay back roughly $295 a month in student loan debt - once she started earning a nurse's salary.
But another part of the President's plan would drop the month re-payments down to 5% of discretionary funds. That could drop it all the way down to $61 a month for some nurses.
For borrowers with original loan balances of $12,000 or less, the debt would also be forgiven after 10 years of payments, instead of 20 years.
There are income limits on the loan relief. Those earning more than $125,000 would not be eligible for forgiveness, or $250,000 for a married couple. That also includes parents, if they pay tuition of their dependent child.
Meanwhile, federal student loan payments which have been paused during the pandemic will remain on hold through the end of the year as the federal government ramps up the loan relief program.
"They are working to put in an application process. Eight million students will be automatically qualified. As soon as they get the application process up and running, students will be able to go ahead and submit their applications so they can be awarded their relief," added Halbert. | https://www.kitv.com/news/local/hawaii-college-students-react-to-president-biden-s-plan-to-tackle-student-loan-debt/article_8113b06a-242e-11ed-bd9a-b343df3b7258.html | 2022-08-25T07:08:11Z |
This 1978 electron microscope image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Legionella pneumophila bacteria which are responsible for causing the pneumonic disease Legionnaires' disease. In a report released Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2019, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine said annual cases of Legionnaires’ jumped more than fivefold from 2000 to 2017, and that as many as 70,000 Americans get the disease every year. High-profile recent outbreaks occurred in Atlanta and Flint, Michigan. (Francis Chandler/CDC via AP)
HONOLULU (KITV4) -- Some residents at a Honolulu senior housing complex were recently notified of low levels of the Legionella bacteria found at the facility.
One Kalakaua senior living complex told owners and residents last week that the Legionella bacteria was found in water samples in two units.
Most healthy people exposed to Legionella won't likely develop Legionnaires' disease, which is a type of pneumonia.
But the problem comes when people with weakened immune systems -- those 50 and older, current or former smokers, or people with chronic lung disease, cancers, or other medical conditions are exposed.
"It's a bacterial pneumonia which can be very severe and actually deadly," said Epidemiologist DeWolfe Miller. "Especially older people that might have some respiratory lung problems, they might be more susceptible to infection."
Legionella, the bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease, occurs naturally in freshwater. It can be found in tap water when sediment builds up in the plumbing in places such as hospitals, hotels, clubs and sink faucets in your own home.
But the worse-case scenario can be prevented by keeping water systems clean in buildings and homes.
"And most people who have facilities that are like long-term care homes should always be paying attention to this," he said. "It's just normal housekeeping. In a public place, the long term care home it's more than just a housekeeping issue. It's important part of facility care."
According to the state Department of Health the bacteria can spread in showerheads, hot tubs and large plumbing systems.
And experts advise flushing your water system -- cold water for up to 5 minutes, followed by hot water for up to 10 minutes to clear out any standing bacteria.
The condo owners were also notified they are responsible for any additional testing of their units at a cost of $115.
So far this year, there's been seven cases of Legionnaires' disease reported in the islands.
Kristen joined KITV4 in March 2021 after working for the past two decades as a newspaper reporter. Kristen's goal is to produce meaningful journalism that educates, enlightens and inspires to affect positive change in society. | https://www.kitv.com/news/local/low-levels-of-legionella-found-at-senior-living-facility-in-honolulu/article_e02771b6-242b-11ed-b8bf-e7434586f8c6.html | 2022-08-25T07:08:17Z |
Virtual rapper dropped by record label after racism complaints
(CNN) - Major music label Capitol Records has dropped a newly-debuted “robot rapper” amid criticism that the virtual character was offensive to Black artists.
FN Meka, using the avatar of a Black male cyborg with a partly shaved head and green braids, debuted its first single under the record label earlier this month.
But Capitol Records said Tuesday that it has “severed ties with the FN Meka project, effective immediately” and called its decision to sign the project “insensitive.”
The label also apologized for “not asking enough questions about equity and the creative process behind it.”
The decision comes after industry professionals said the character was fashioned out of reductive stereotypes.
A nonprofit activist group posted an open letter to Capitol Records, calling on the label to drop the character and remove it from all platforms. The group also demanded that all funds spent on the project be directed toward causes that support young Black artists.
FN Meka is a project of the label Factory New, the first in what the company hoped would be a roster of virtual music artists. It is generated partly by artificial intelligence but voiced by a real human.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/25/virtual-rapper-dropped-by-record-label-after-racism-complaints/ | 2022-08-25T07:20:21Z |
Girl, 7, paralyzed when teen jumps on her back while swimming
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) - A Tennessee family is leaning on faith after a 7-year-old girl was paralyzed in a freak accident while swimming.
The Faulkner family believes 7-year-old Sarah Faulkner will walk again. She was hospitalized at Vanderbilt in Nashville with injuries that happened when a teenager jumped on her by accident from a 30-foot rock while she was swimming Aug. 6 at a campground in Waverly.
Sarah is paralyzed from the lower chest down. She also had to have 19 staples in her skull.
“She said when the girl landed on her back that her whole body froze, and she hit her head on the bottom of the creek and, evidently, drove her all the way to the bottom,” said Sarah’s father, Tre Faulkner.
Even after a frank conversation with Sarah’s doctor, the Faulkners, a very close, Christ-centric family, believe the little girl will walk again.
“I said, ‘Sir, man to man, just tell me the truth: will she ever walk again?’ He said, ‘No, I do not believe so…but there is something out there more powerful than me,’” Faulkner said.
The family knows this is a big request, falling under the word “miracle,” but that’s what they are counting on.
“I believe God can and will heal my daughter. I need a miracle. My wife needs a miracle. My children need a miracle. You need a miracle. Our country needs a miracle to show that God is real and God is alive,” Faulkner said.
The teenager who jumped on Sarah ran away in the confusion. The family says they prayed to ease her pain, as well, after Sarah said they should forgive her.
“I asked her what she thought we should do with the girl, and she said we should forgive her. So, we literally prayed for the girl. We can’t imagine what kind of pain she is going through right now,” Faulkner said.
Sarah’s condition has been improving while she’s been hospitalized, her family says.
“Last night, she moved her feet… just barely moving them. So, we’re believing that God is in the process of healing this girl for his glory and his honor,” Faulkner said. “Sarah will walk again.”
The Faulkners are encouraging others to pray for Sarah. In addition, a GoFundMe set up to help the family has raised more than $18,000.
According to the GoFundMe page, Sarah and her family are now in Atlanta to begin therapy.
Copyright 2022 WZTV via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. Gray News contributed to this report. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/25/girl-7-paralyzed-when-teen-jumps-her-back-while-swimming/ | 2022-08-25T08:37:47Z |
Girl, 7, paralyzed when teen jumps on her back while swimming
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) - A Tennessee family is leaning on faith after a 7-year-old girl was paralyzed in a freak accident while swimming.
The Faulkner family believes 7-year-old Sarah Faulkner will walk again. She was hospitalized at Vanderbilt in Nashville with injuries that happened when a teenager jumped on her by accident from a 30-foot rock while she was swimming Aug. 6 at a campground in Waverly.
Sarah is paralyzed from the lower chest down. She also had to have 19 staples in her skull.
“She said when the girl landed on her back that her whole body froze, and she hit her head on the bottom of the creek and, evidently, drove her all the way to the bottom,” said Sarah’s father, Tre Faulkner.
Even after a frank conversation with Sarah’s doctor, the Faulkners, a very close, Christ-centric family, believe the little girl will walk again.
“I said, ‘Sir, man to man, just tell me the truth: will she ever walk again?’ He said, ‘No, I do not believe so…but there is something out there more powerful than me,’” Faulkner said.
The family knows this is a big request, falling under the word “miracle,” but that’s what they are counting on.
“I believe God can and will heal my daughter. I need a miracle. My wife needs a miracle. My children need a miracle. You need a miracle. Our country needs a miracle to show that God is real and God is alive,” Faulkner said.
The teenager who jumped on Sarah ran away in the confusion. The family says they prayed to ease her pain, as well, after Sarah said they should forgive her.
“I asked her what she thought we should do with the girl, and she said we should forgive her. So, we literally prayed for the girl. We can’t imagine what kind of pain she is going through right now,” Faulkner said.
Sarah’s condition has been improving while she’s been hospitalized, her family says.
“Last night, she moved her feet… just barely moving them. So, we’re believing that God is in the process of healing this girl for his glory and his honor,” Faulkner said. “Sarah will walk again.”
The Faulkners are encouraging others to pray for Sarah. In addition, a GoFundMe set up to help the family has raised more than $18,000.
According to the GoFundMe page, Sarah and her family are now in Atlanta to begin therapy.
Copyright 2022 WZTV via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. Gray News contributed to this report. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/25/girl-7-paralyzed-when-teen-jumps-her-back-while-swimming/ | 2022-08-25T08:55:58Z |
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President Biden's announcement of a sweeping effort to forgive federal student loan debt – up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients, and up to $10,000 for others who qualify – leaves millions of borrowers with unanswered questions, and some of the details won't be clear for weeks or months.
Here are three big questions borrowers may have:
1. Who will get loan forgiveness?
Americans currently owe about $1.62 trillion in federal student loans. Biden's plan will provide relief to most of them – 43 million borrowers – and will completely erase the student debt of about 20 million.
But who qualifies?
Individuals with federal student loans who make under $125,000 per year, or couples earning less than $250,000, qualify for up to $10,000 in forgiveness.
That includes current students: Borrowers who are dependent students will be eligible for relief based on their parents' income. Parent PLUS loans, which are federal loans for parents of undergraduate students, are also eligible under the president's plan. (Loans taken out after June 30, 2022, will not qualify.)
Qualified borrowers who received Pell Grants are eligible for additional relief – up to $20,000.
Roughly 60% of federal student loan borrowers received Pell Grants, according to the White House. These grants are designed to help low-income students pay for higher education, and about a third of undergraduates with federal student loans receive Pell Grants every year.
2. Do I have to apply?
Many borrowers, while excited about the news, want to know what comes next. The White House said that, in order to benefit, most borrowers will have to submit an application to verify their income. The Education Department said nearly 8 million borrowers already have income information on file, and should qualify to have their debts canceled automatically.
For those 8 million borrowers, that relief may come very soon. And the timetable for those remaining borrowers – some 35 million of them?
"That's the million dollar question," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona told NPR's Mary Louise Kelly.
"We're improving a system that was broken and antiquated," he said, adding that it will take time to make the process run smoothly. Cardona urged borrowers to go to https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief-announcement/ for more information and to sign up for automated emails that will provide updates.
3. Will my monthly payments go down?
An unexpected part of Biden's announcement is a revised plan for what is known as income-driven repayment (IDR), which are designed to help people who cannot afford to make large monthly payments.
Biden's IDR plan will cut the amount borrowers have to contribute each month – from 10% of their discretionary income to 5%. It will also raise the amount of income that is considered non-discretionary, thus providing more assistance.
While Biden's loan forgiveness announcement brings immediate relief for many borrowers, Dominique Baker, an associate professor of education policy at Southern Methodist University, says these changes to IDR could bring benefits for years. "When we talk about needing large-scale reform of the student loan system, this would be one of those things," she said. "This is a good first step."
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/3-things-you-need-to-know-about-bidens-student-loan-announcement | 2022-08-25T09:19:50Z |
Three sisters set out to learn why many of the people in their family develop Alzheimer's disease in middle age — and what they can do about it.
Copyright 2022 NPR
Three sisters set out to learn why many of the people in their family develop Alzheimer's disease in middle age — and what they can do about it.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/a-family-looks-for-answers-into-why-so-many-of-them-develop-alzheimers-disease | 2022-08-25T09:19:54Z |
In January 2019, Sarah Risser was in the passenger seat as her son, Henry Zietlow, drove them from Minnesota to Michigan for a ski trip. They were on a Wisconsin highway when an oncoming pickup towing too much weight veered into their lane.
Sarah survived the collision. Henry did not. He was 18 years old.
It's a horrific story, but Risser knows it's also a common one. Traffic fatalities have been on the rise the past 16 years. In 2021, nearly 43,000 people died in motor vehicle crashes in the U.S. — a 10.5% increase from 2020.
Yet in some parts of the country, efforts born from both tragedy and political will have seen the numbers move in a different direction. And in Hoboken, NJ. there hasn't been a single traffic death in four years.
Simple measures
Hoboken is a city of about 60,000 people that sits within eyesight of Manhattan just across the Hudson River. Its achievement in stopping deaths on the road comes down to simple measures, according to city officials.
Hoboken director of transportation and parking, Ryan Sharp, said the city had deployed a number of initiatives to make certain intersections and roads safer — things he called quick implementation, high impact solutions.
"Things like trying to improve sightlines at corners by doing what we call daylighting," he said. "So that can be installing something as simple as what we call a vertical delineator post or a flexible bollard. These posts get installed within 25 feet of crosswalks, and they physically restrict cars from parking right up against a crosswalk."
These daylighting solutions eliminate blind spots for cars at intersections so they can see any cyclists, pedestrians, or other cars as they approach and drive through or turn.
"One thing that you won't see is something called a leading pedestrian interval," Sharp said. "And basically, what that means is we've programmed our traffic signals to give pedestrians a few-second head start when they get into the crosswalk during their pedestrian phase without having to worry about turning vehicles."
That allows for crossing pedestrians to take up space in the crosswalk before any eager drivers try to make a turn.
But while the practical solutions may be simple, the implementation of it can be much more complicated. Hoboken has several factors working in its favor that allow things like daylighting and a leading pedestrian interval to be effective.
The 2020 census measured 60,419 people in the city's roughly 2 square miles, making it one of the most densely populated cities in the country. A denser city means higher walkability, people drive less, and speed limits are lower.
Political will also plays a part. A director of transportation and parking can aim to install daylighting solutions, but it won't happen unless the government is willing to allocate the funds.
Many leaders have publicly committed to a Vision Zero pledge, which is based on the Swedish concept of road safety aimed at eliminating all traffic fatalities. Leah Shahum is executive director and founder of the nonprofit Vision Zero Network and says every city in America, even Hoboken, could be doing better.
"We need to make sure elected people, elected folks understand Vision Zero is not a slogan," she said. "It's not a tagline. It's not even just a program, you know, it's not something you put on top of things. It is literally a paradigm shift in how we're doing business when it comes to transportation."
Managing accountability
For a city to be included in the Vision Zero Network, Shahum said there was specific criteria.
"The city has commitment from its top elected leader, like the mayor or city manager, to set a goal of zero traffic deaths or severe injuries by a date, for instance," she said. "We make them have a date, that they have a plan, that the plan has timelines, actions, deliverables, that there's an equity component within there for racial and income equity."
Following up on that plan on a large enough scale is something few cities do, she said. And how accountability towards Vision Zero is measured varies. Cities like Denver, New York City, and San Francisco have done report cards. Then there are local organizations like Livable Streets in Boston, Washington Area Bicyclist Association in Washington, D.C., and WalkDenver in Denver that advocate for safer streets in their own cities.
Shahum said it was these local, grassroots efforts that were doing the work to make change.
That's why Sarah Risser has been working with Families for Safe Streets in her home of Saint Paul, Minn. There isn't a local chapter in Minnesota, or any of the Midwest states, so she does most of her activism solo, including holding vigils for victims of collisions, and getting people to submit comments to the local government for a car assessment program.
It's hard work, and Risser said after the loss of her son, "I didn't really do anything for a few months, even the better part of the first year." But the grief and frustration of Henry's death eventually led her to Families for Safe Streets and a network of cross-country support and advocacy.
"I felt so strongly that I didn't want my son to have lost his life for nothing. And it really felt that, and it still does to this day. It kind of feels like he lost his life for nothing," she said. "And I'm hoping that we can start seeing smart progress and making smart gains. And then I feel that I have contributed to a healthier world and a safer world on behalf of my son."
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/a-new-jersey-city-achieved-0-traffic-deaths-in-4-years-with-quick-high-impact-ideas | 2022-08-25T09:20:01Z |
By the early 1970s, the Greenwich Village folk scene had faded, and a new sound was wafting up from the street. New York Dolls frontman David Johansen says it found a home just north of Bleecker Street and east of Washington Square. "I was friends with Eric Emerson, who had a band called Magic Tramps, and he said that he was going to do a gig at this new place, Mercer Arts Center, and would my band want to come and open for him?"
By the summer of 1972, that gig turned into a weekly engagement, with the Dolls sharing the stage with guests including Jayne (then performing as Wayne) County and Ruby and the Rednecks. "A scene started kind of coming around us," Johansen explains. "And it was beautiful, a lot of people who would see each other on the street, and this gave them a chance to be in the same kind of place."
At the time, Chris Stein was a student at the School of Visual Arts. He saw the Dolls perform at Mercer Arts and befriended Emerson, who became his roommate and sometime bandmate. Debbie Harry performed in a band called the Stilettos that featured three female vocalists and a male backing band, eventually including Stein on guitar.
In August of 1973, Mercer Arts literally collapsed. But a few months later, CBGB opened blocks away, and that's where Stein and Harry's new band Blondie played its first gig in the spring of 1974. Roberta Bayley remembers working the door: "I would say for the first year of Blondie, you know, they were kind of looked at, quite frankly, as the band least likely to succeed. Everybody liked the people in the band, but they hadn't coalesced as a group really until [drummer] Clem Burke joined, then he brought in [bassist] Gary Valentine."
Bayley started taking photos of the bands that played at CBGB and soon became the chief photographer of a new magazine called Punk, named as much for an attitude as an emerging music scene. Blondie added Jimmy Destri on keys and got signed to a small label called Private Stock.
The band's self-titled 1976 debut album featured '60s pop sounds, such as girl groups and surf rock, filtered through a prism of glitter and grit. Blondie's look matched that sound. The guys wore shades, thrift store suits and skinny ties. Debbie Harry bleached her hair but let her dark roots show — putting a downtown spin on old Hollywood glam. "I was very fascinated by these women that had this kind of glowing image on film," Harry explains. "It seemed like something that I could do."
Despite these nods to the past, Blondie was always looking ahead, reinterpreting a vast catalog of influences. After parting ways with Private Stock and signing with Chrysalis Records in 1977, the band released its sophomore album Plastic Letters and toured extensively to promote it.
Blondie's gender-flipping cover of the 1963 doo-wop novelty song "Denise" by Randy & the Rainbows yielded a No. 2 hit on the British charts. But Chris Stein says American audiences were slower to warm to music that was neither strictly punk nor pop. "When we first went to the U.K. and everybody started flinging themselves around, it was kind of enlightening because in New York it just wasn't happening yet."
So for Blondie's next effort, producer Mike Chapman worked the band hard, squeezing hits from its eclectic influences as he had done for others such as Sweet and Suzi Quatro. As they were wrapping up their recording sessions, Stein and Harry shared a song with a funky groove that they had started sketching as early as 1974 — sometimes called "Once I Had a Love" and other times simply "The Disco Song."
Jimmy Destri's idea to bring in a Roland CompuRhythm CR-78 drum machine gave the song an entirely new vibe. Tucked away on the B-side of the 1978 album Parallel Lines, "Heart of Glass" became Blondie's first American No.1 hit.
Despite some pushback from the anti-disco crowd, the album spawned several other singles. Blondie became a global sensation with plenty of fans back home, such as Gretchen Green, then a stage manager at the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club.
Green was in the midst of a divorce when she and her 3-year-old daughter moved from the suburbs to a sprawling loft around the corner from CBGB. She says there was very little furniture, but she did have skates and her daughter had a scooter. They also had a turntable, she recalls. "So we put on Blondie and we would just carry on like we were at a roller-skating rink!"
Blondie put out three more studio records before taking an extended hiatus in 1982, each reflecting the adventurous spirit that had defined the band since its inception. Among its highest charting efforts was the 1980 single "Rapture," which combined new wave, disco, hip-hop and rap.
Stein and Harry had been introduced to the emerging hip-hop scene in 1978 by Fab 5 Freddy. He's featured in the now iconic music video for the song, which also includes cameos from visual artists Lee Quiñones and Jean-Michel Basquiat, and choreographer William Barnes, who appears as the top-hatted "man from Mars" referenced in the song's lyrics.
After Blondie re-formed in the late 1990s, the band scored a hit with the power pop single "Maria." Following its 2006 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Blondie's 2017 album Pollinator introduced a new generation of fans to its music, with collaborations from artists including Charli XCX and Dev Hynes.
Now, as the band works on its next studio album, it's also dropping Against The Odds: 1974-1982, a massive archival box set including unreleased music, ephemera and track-by-track commentary. A paperback edition of Debbie Harry's 2019 memoir Face It is planned for fall, and Chris Stein, who's already published two photo books, says he'll release his memoir in 2023.
Though Blondie's lineup has changed over the years, to date the band has sold more than 40 million records worldwide, making it the most commercially successful export of New York's 1970s underground scene. Roberta Bayley says what ultimately set the band apart was its open musical mind: "They didn't have rules for their sound. They were willing to experiment."
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/against-the-odds-how-blondie-shattered-the-conventions-of-punk-and-pop | 2022-08-25T09:20:06Z |
William Alexander was ecstatic when he read President Joe Biden's tweet on Wednesday, announcing the administration's student loan forgiveness plan.
"Literally life-changing," he says.
The news means that his wife will have $20,000 of her debt wiped, since she received Pell Grants in school and the couple makes less than $250,000 a year. Alexander, who lives in Jacksonville, FL, also had his own loans forgiven earlier this year under the borrower's defense rule — which allows borrowers to ask the Department of Education to erase their student debt if a school lied to them about things like job prospects or potential salaries.
In keeping with my campaign promise, my Administration is announcing a plan to give working and middle class families breathing room as they prepare to resume federal student loan payments in January 2023.
— President Biden (@POTUS) August 24, 2022
I'll have more details this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/kuZNqoMe4I
"The admissions advisor told me that there was a guaranteed career waiting for me," Alexander says of the for-profit college he applied to in 2015. "They told me that my total tuition would be about $8,000, and instead it turned out to be close to $50,000."
He struggled to make his payments, so he filed a borrower defense claim. This year, he got notice that the entire balance of his loans was being forgiven.
"I was blown away," he says, laughing. "I wasn't expecting this at all. It put a huge smile on my face, of course, when I got it. And, you know, I ran into the house telling everyone, 'Hey, my student loans are getting canceled, my student loans are getting canceled.' So yeah, I'm happy as a pig in mud."
Alexander says that after years of renting, he and his wife are looking at houses now. And he feels like he'll have more time to volunteer in his community.
But while families like the Alexanders are rejoicing over some newfound financial freedom, the move has critics on both sides of the issue. Some say it's not enough, while others say it shouldn't have happened at all.
Not everyone is celebrating
Wednesday's announcement joins the Biden Administration's portfolio of policies attempting to ease the burden of student debt. It also stated that monthly loan payments would be paused one final time, until the end of 2022.
But many borrowers are still hoping for more relief. Jayson Douglas, a 29-year-old in Commerce, TX, owes almost $90,000 in student loans. He's already working several jobs to offset the rising cost of living. So he's dreading the end of the payment pause.
"My monthly payments are at $835 a month," he says. "I really think that our government needs to cancel student loans altogether. Or at least cancel the interest and go back to the original borrowing principal."
He says while he understands how many families will be thrilled with the latest announcement, it wasn't what he was hoping for.
And he isn't alone in his disappointment. Pari, a 51-year-old paralegal who didn't give her last name for privacy reasons, wants to see all student debt canceled, too. And she feels angry when she sees it compared to other government debt forgiveness.
"PPP loans, plus interest, were forgiven without question or explanation," she says. "Millionaires and big corporations got yet another blank check."
Pari has student loans more than 20 years old. As a single mother with one source of income, she's had to pause the payments several times. Interest accumulated and she now owes more than she originally borrowed. Two of her kids are in college now, so she has also taken out two PLUS loans to pay their tuition and expenses. She says she never had a chance to build any savings, so she didn't have another choice.
Her debt currently totals more $200,000.
"The weight of the student loans bears on every other decision that I tried to make," she says. "Home ownership and all of that. The compound interest is just crippling. It just really feels like robbery. And I'm hoping that this nightmare ends."
At the root of a crisis
Pari's PLUS loans highlight the need for a longer view on higher education costs. What about the generation currently planning, applying and packing for college, signing promissory notes as a new school year looms? How can the root causes of the student debt crisis be addressed?
"I think that debt cancellation is the first step," says Jared Bass, senior director for higher education at the Center for American Progress. He says increasing access to grants and cutting overreliance on loans is key. "Loans are the No. 1 form of assistance that we provide to students. So it's no wonder that we have a student debt crisis."
He also wants to see the cost of college addressed immediately. And says there needs to be a way to hold colleges accountable when students don't get the promised education that helps them compete in the job market and become economically secure.
And speaking of promises, Bass also points out that debt forgiveness as a concept is not new.
"We have public service loan forgiveness. We have income-driven repayment, which are both repayment options that promise debt forgiveness or debt cancellation already within the higher education system," he says.
But, he said, the Government Accountability Office and other government watchdogs have found that those programs have not been working.
"There's a question of fairness to borrowers who were hoping to rely on those programs in order to see some debt relief," Bass says. "Those programs have not worked. So debt cancellation, especially one that's broad based, could be seen as, you know, making good on the government's promise to those borrowers."
The concept of fairness has also come up repeatedly among critics of student debt forgiveness. A common sentiment has been: What about those who already paid off their loans? Or didn't take out loans at all? How is this fair to them?
I paid off my loans, I put my kids through college by work hard. Why am I now paying for everyone else? Student loan Debt is their responsibility, not mine
— How Did We Get Here (@HowDidWeGetHe18) August 24, 2022
Pari thinks a lot of people who feel that way have no idea how expensive higher education really is these days. She says that avoiding loans is a privilege and likely means that someone either had other financial help or "went to school during a time when a college credit cost $30."
"The days of going to college and working a job part-time to pay for it? That's nonexistent now. And has been for the last 20 years," she says.
Pari also wants to remind people of "the added layer" of her experience as a Black woman.
"America has made it very clear that they really don't feel Black people all that much," she says.
Black college graduates owe $7,400 more on average than their white peers, according to a 2016 Brookings analysis. Because of higher interest rates and accrual on average, black graduates hold almost $53,000 in student loan debt four years after graduation — nearly twice as much as their white counterparts.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona told NPR after the announcement that the Pell Grant rule in the latest announcement considered those numbers.
"Black Americans are two times more likely to be Pell recipients," he says. "So, you know, they're more eligible now for the $20,000 versus the $10,000. And we know that 1 out of every 4 Black Americans will receive total debt cancellation after today's announcement."
Jayson Douglas, who is also Black, says this is ultimately a question of access and wants to see the government address that with more than a one-time fix.
"Not everyone was afforded the same opportunities. And we really need to be advancing the conversation around equity, predatory lending and education," he says. "However, today is still a day to celebrate and think about the impact that this decision has made for millions of families across our country."
As for when borrowers can expect that promised relief on their loans, Secretary Cardona called that "the million dollar question."
"It's really important that folks know that we're also improving a system that was broken and that was antiquated," he said. "The Federal Service Loan Administration has really gone through some overhauls to make the process smoother. So what we're asking folks to do is visit studentaid.gov/debtrelief and sign up for automated emails so that more information can come."
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/and-now-what-the-question-that-follows-bidens-student-loan-forgiveness-plan | 2022-08-25T09:20:11Z |
It's not often you find a bright side to drought, but in Texas, the heat and lack of rain have uncovered dinosaur tracks from 113 million years ago.
The tracks were unveiled at Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose, Texas — about an hour's drive from Fort Worth. The park is known for its dinosaur tracks, but these newer ones are usually covered with water from the Paluxy River and aren't visible.
"Due to the excessive drought conditions this past summer, the river dried up completely in most locations, allowing for more tracks to be uncovered here in the park," the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said in a statement. "Under normal river conditions, these newer tracks are under water and are commonly filled in with sediment, making them buried and not as visible."
Dinosaur tracks are not as rare as, say, dinosaur bones, according to professor Jerry Harris, the director of paleontology at Utah Tech University, but that's because dinosaurs left way more footprints throughout their lives and ultimately had only one skeleton to leave behind.
Dinosaur tracks reveal more about how the reptiles lived
Still, Harris said the newly exposed tracks present a valuable find for researchers because they were made by living animals and can tell those studying the fossils more about the dinosaurs' behavior and day-to-day lives.
"You can get a lot of information about the posture of the animal that would be more difficult to get from the skeleton, about the speed, the animal which was moving, how it was responding to the sediment when the sediment was loose before it was turned to rock," Harris said.
It's also possible to determine whether the dinosaur was moving in a certain direction, why it was going that way or whether multiple dinosaurs were moving together in a herd, Harris said, adding that all this is much more difficult to discern from studying skeletons alone.
As for the dinosaur that left the newly uncovered tracks, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said they belong to a theropod called Acrocanthosaurus — one of the two dinosaurs that make up the majority of tracks found around the state park.
"This was a dinosaur that would stand, as an adult, about 15 feet tall and [weigh] close to seven tons," the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said.
Water will cover the tracks again
Eventually, water will cover the tracks again, and they'll be filled with sediment that helps prevent them from eroding away. But before that happens, researchers are working on mapping the tracks and collecting data.
While the discovery of the tracks is exciting, it also presents an interesting juxtaposition, Harris said.
"There's some irony in the fact that dinosaurs, which were ultimately wiped out by very rapid climate change, now [the] evidence of their living animals was exposed because of human-made climate change today."
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/climate-change-led-to-dinosaurs-demise-now-drought-reveals-more-of-their-tracks | 2022-08-25T09:20:14Z |
The Justice Department faces a Thursday deadline in federal court in Florida to submit its proposed redactions to the affidavit used to get the warrant for searching ex-President Trump's Florida home.
Copyright 2022 NPR
The Justice Department faces a Thursday deadline in federal court in Florida to submit its proposed redactions to the affidavit used to get the warrant for searching ex-President Trump's Florida home.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/deadline-looms-for-doj-to-submit-a-redacted-affidavit-on-fbis-mar-a-lago-search | 2022-08-25T09:20:20Z |
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