text stringlengths 65 123k | url stringlengths 25 420 | crawl_date timestamp[us, tz=UTC]date 2022-04-01 01:00:57 2022-09-19 04:34:04 |
|---|---|---|
With inflation running high, more people are driving for Uber and Lyft. Most of them say the cost of living is why they signed up. (Story first aired on All Things Considered on Aug. 8, 2022.)
Copyright 2022 NPR
With inflation running high, more people are driving for Uber and Lyft. Most of them say the cost of living is why they signed up. (Story first aired on All Things Considered on Aug. 8, 2022.)
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/encore-drivers-question-whether-its-worth-it-as-uber-and-lyft-cut-incentives | 2022-08-25T09:20:31Z |
Teachers in Florida are navigating new rules on how they teach topics involving sexual orientation, race and more. Some say the rules are stifling while others pledge they won't change how they teach.
Copyright 2022 WUSF Public Media - WUSF 89.7
Teachers in Florida are navigating new rules on how they teach topics involving sexual orientation, race and more. Some say the rules are stifling while others pledge they won't change how they teach.
Copyright 2022 WUSF Public Media - WUSF 89.7 | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/floridas-public-schools-open-this-year-under-a-slate-of-new-education-laws | 2022-08-25T09:20:37Z |
The California Air Resource Board is expected to approve a plan Thursday to ban the sale of new gas cars by 2035. The state will have interim goals of 35% zero emission cars by 2026 and 68% by 2030.
Copyright 2022 NPR
The California Air Resource Board is expected to approve a plan Thursday to ban the sale of new gas cars by 2035. The state will have interim goals of 35% zero emission cars by 2026 and 68% by 2030.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/largest-u-s-auto-market-is-moving-away-from-the-internal-combustion-engine | 2022-08-25T09:20:44Z |
President Biden announces plan to forgive some federal student loan debt. DOJ faces deadline to submit redacted Trump affidavit. The Pentagon ramps up support of Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Copyright 2022 NPR
President Biden announces plan to forgive some federal student loan debt. DOJ faces deadline to submit redacted Trump affidavit. The Pentagon ramps up support of Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/morning-news-brief | 2022-08-25T09:20:50Z |
KYIV, Ukraine — If you want to challenge that old expression "you can't fight city hall," you should probably pick someplace besides Ukraine's capital. That's because the mayor's previous job title was heavyweight champion of the world.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko held that title on and off from 1999 to 2013.
Now, he's fighting the Russians. Klitschko is quick to the scene when Russian airstrikes slam into the capital.
"They killed children, women, civilians, for what reason?" Klitschko said as he arrived at an apartment building that was attacked in March. "Where's the military target? Is this building a military target?"
The Russian invasion in February has transformed Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy from a leader with sagging popularity into one of the world's most famous political figures. Yet before the war, Klitschko was better known globally, at least to boxing fans.
The Russians reached the outskirts of the capital early in the war and had just retreated when Klitschko spoke to NPR in April.
"Kyiv is the largest city in Eastern Europe. Right now, we guess half of the population (of 3.5 million) has already left," Klitschko said. "The city's changed totally. In the springtime, this city has energy. And right now, the city is almost dead."
Now the capital is more relaxed
The war is still raging in eastern and southern Ukraine. But in the capital, many residents who initially fled have come back and the city has in many ways regained a sense of normalcy. There are still soldiers in the streets, checkpoints on the edge of the city, and frequent air raid sirens. But the streets are full of cars and pedestrians, shops and restaurants are open, and the day-to-day atmosphere is generally relaxed.
Even when the Russians were nearby, Klitschko never stopped working out of City Hall, a massive stone building in the center of Kyiv, surrounded by sandbags. He said in a recent interview with The Sunday Times that he's left the city just twice since the war began.
At age 51, Klitschko stands 6-foot-7 and still looks to be around his fighting weight of 250. When he retired nearly a decade ago, he'd won 45 professional bouts — 41 by knockout — and lost only twice. His nickname? Dr. Ironfist.
In politics, he did lose his first bid for mayor. But he won the post in 2014 and was easily reelected in 2020. He generally gets good marks from citizens.
"He's done a pretty good job and I'm very thankful for what he's done so far," said Dmytro Belov.
Belov gives toy car rides to children at a park that Klitschko upgraded. The park — one of several renovated by the mayor — now has an elevated walkway with a commanding view overlooking the Dnipro River , which bisects the city.
"These are beautiful parks. I think they're the new calling card of the city," Belov said. "These are historical places and they've been modernized."
Still, not everyone is a fan of the mayor.
"I think that he is essentially a sportsman and he should stick to sports," said Anya Hovenko, who was pushing her child in a stroller through the park.
"He is definitely not someone who is adept at governing. I'm not very sure that he's very good at his job."
Ukraine is poor compared to most of Europe. But there were signs of growing wealth in Kyiv — with Klitschko presiding over substantial development — until Russia invaded in February.
The city is now a mix of sleek glass towers that have risen in recent years, as well as stodgy apartment blocks from the Soviet era, and grand, ornate architectural gems that date back to czarist-era Russia.
Before the war, Klitschko did face critics who said he favored wealthy developers over ordinary residents.
"His reputation is someone who has greatly developed the city, but mostly private development," said Liubomyr Mysiv of the group Rating, a private polling organization. Klitschko, he said, is seen as a mayor who has supported "building condominiums and shopping malls, as opposed to the public services that employ people."
Also, Klitschko supported President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's opponent in the presidential election in 2019. But the war has unified Ukrainians and pushed most internal political differences to the side, at least for now.
Brothers made a promise to their mother
One of Klitschko's strongest supporters is his younger brother, Wladimir, who also held multiple world heavyweight titles, from 2006 to 2015. At times, both Klitschko brothers held title belts from rival boxing associations, an unprecedented domination of the heavyweight ranks by a pair of brothers.
Yet they never settled it in the ring, keeping a promise to their mother that they would never pummel each other the way they hammered most everyone else.
Their mother is Russian and their father is Ukrainian. Such marriages were quite common in the Soviet era. In addition, their father was a general in the Soviet air force. The brothers grew up on Soviet military bases in the 1970s and '80s.
In a recent interview with Britain's Sunday Times, Klitschko said his family was deeply loyal to the Soviet Union and viewed the U.S. as an enemy. But as his boxing career was taking off, he traveled to the U.S. in the late 1980s.
"I came back and told my father, 'I've been to Florida. I visited Disney World, so many places.' I told him, 'Sorry, everything you've heard about the United States is (nonsense). It's a great country. They are great people,'" he told the paper.
The Klitschko brothers say that given mixed Russian-Ukrainian heritage, they have nothing against the Russian people. But they're full-throated opponents of President Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine.
Mayor Klitschko made that point, as he has done repeatedly, at a deadly missile strike in June.
"This senseless war. We have to do everything to stop this war. Because thousands and thousands of civilians die," he said.
Greg Myre is a NPR national security correspondent. Follow him @gregmyre1.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/once-a-heavyweight-champion-kyivs-mayor-now-fights-the-russians | 2022-08-25T09:20:56Z |
The Pentagon is ramping up its support of Ukraine in its war against Russia. The Defense Department is sending another $3 billion to Ukraine. That brings total U.S. aid to more than $13 billion.
Copyright 2022 NPR
The Pentagon is ramping up its support of Ukraine in its war against Russia. The Defense Department is sending another $3 billion to Ukraine. That brings total U.S. aid to more than $13 billion.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/what-are-the-longterm-implications-of-the-u-s-sending-military-supplies-to-ukraine | 2022-08-25T09:21:02Z |
All summer, NPR's Science Desk has been looking at sweat. Humans are covered with millions of sweat glands, but it wasn't always that way. When did humans start to sweat?
Copyright 2022 NPR
All summer, NPR's Science Desk has been looking at sweat. Humans are covered with millions of sweat glands, but it wasn't always that way. When did humans start to sweat?
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/when-did-human-bodies-evolve-to-sweat-we-dont-know-exactly-when | 2022-08-25T09:21:09Z |
NPR's A Martinez talks to Los Angeles Times reporter Alene Tchekmedyian about the verdict in the trial over the sharing of photos of the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant.
Copyright 2022 NPR
NPR's A Martinez talks to Los Angeles Times reporter Alene Tchekmedyian about the verdict in the trial over the sharing of photos of the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/widow-of-kobe-bryant-was-awarded-16-million-in-the-trial-over-crash-photos | 2022-08-25T09:21:15Z |
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.keranews.org/2022-08-24/uvalde-school-police-chief-fired-3-months-after-botched-response-to-school-shooting | 2022-08-25T09:32:53Z |
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.keranews.org/2022-08-25/a-family-looks-for-answers-into-why-so-many-of-them-develop-alzheimers-disease | 2022-08-25T09:33:00Z |
A group of Hopi teenagers rallied together to bring a skate park to their village. When the pandemic began, the outdoor activity took on new life and the teens created what they called Skate264.
Copyright 2022 NPR
A group of Hopi teenagers rallied together to bring a skate park to their village. When the pandemic began, the outdoor activity took on new life and the teens created what they called Skate264.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.keranews.org/2022-08-25/a-skateboarding-destination-in-arizona-runs-through-the-hopi-reservation | 2022-08-25T09:33:06Z |
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.keranews.org/2022-08-25/deadline-looms-for-doj-to-submit-a-redacted-affidavit-on-fbis-mar-a-lago-search | 2022-08-25T09:33:12Z |
With inflation running high, more people are driving for Uber and Lyft. Most of them say the cost of living is why they signed up. (Story first aired on All Things Considered on Aug. 8, 2022.)
Copyright 2022 NPR
With inflation running high, more people are driving for Uber and Lyft. Most of them say the cost of living is why they signed up. (Story first aired on All Things Considered on Aug. 8, 2022.)
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.keranews.org/2022-08-25/encore-drivers-question-whether-its-worth-it-as-uber-and-lyft-cut-incentives | 2022-08-25T09:33:18Z |
There's a national shortage of 911 operators. In Washington state, the situation is so dire that it closed a rural dispatch center. (Story first aired on All Things Considered on Aug. 22, 2022.)
Copyright 2022 Northwest News Network
There's a national shortage of 911 operators. In Washington state, the situation is so dire that it closed a rural dispatch center. (Story first aired on All Things Considered on Aug. 22, 2022.)
Copyright 2022 Northwest News Network | https://www.keranews.org/2022-08-25/encore-rural-washington-911-center-closes-amid-lack-of-operators | 2022-08-25T09:33:24Z |
Teachers in Florida are navigating new rules on how they teach topics involving sexual orientation, race and more. Some say the rules are stifling while others pledge they won't change how they teach.
Copyright 2022 WUSF Public Media - WUSF 89.7
Teachers in Florida are navigating new rules on how they teach topics involving sexual orientation, race and more. Some say the rules are stifling while others pledge they won't change how they teach.
Copyright 2022 WUSF Public Media - WUSF 89.7 | https://www.keranews.org/2022-08-25/floridas-public-schools-open-this-year-under-a-slate-of-new-education-laws | 2022-08-25T09:33:30Z |
The California Air Resource Board is expected to approve a plan Thursday to ban the sale of new gas cars by 2035. The state will have interim goals of 35% zero emission cars by 2026 and 68% by 2030.
Copyright 2022 NPR
The California Air Resource Board is expected to approve a plan Thursday to ban the sale of new gas cars by 2035. The state will have interim goals of 35% zero emission cars by 2026 and 68% by 2030.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.keranews.org/2022-08-25/largest-u-s-auto-market-is-moving-away-from-the-internal-combustion-engine | 2022-08-25T09:33:36Z |
Morning news brief By A Martínez, Rachel Martin Published August 25, 2022 at 4:07 AM CDT Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Listen • 11:07 President Biden announces plan to forgive some federal student loan debt. DOJ faces deadline to submit redacted Trump affidavit. The Pentagon ramps up support of Ukraine in its war against Russia. Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.keranews.org/2022-08-25/morning-news-brief | 2022-08-25T09:33:42Z |
KYIV, Ukraine — If you want to challenge that old expression "you can't fight city hall," you should probably pick someplace besides Ukraine's capital. That's because the mayor's previous job title was heavyweight champion of the world.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko held that title on and off from 1999 to 2013.
Now, he's fighting the Russians. Klitschko is quick to the scene when Russian airstrikes slam into the capital.
"They killed children, women, civilians, for what reason?" Klitschko said as he arrived at an apartment building that was attacked in March. "Where's the military target? Is this building a military target?"
The Russian invasion in February has transformed Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy from a leader with sagging popularity into one of the world's most famous political figures. Yet before the war, Klitschko was better known globally, at least to boxing fans.
The Russians reached the outskirts of the capital early in the war and had just retreated when Klitschko spoke to NPR in April.
"Kyiv is the largest city in Eastern Europe. Right now, we guess half of the population (of 3.5 million) has already left," Klitschko said. "The city's changed totally. In the springtime, this city has energy. And right now, the city is almost dead."
Now the capital is more relaxed
The war is still raging in eastern and southern Ukraine. But in the capital, many residents who initially fled have come back and the city has in many ways regained a sense of normalcy. There are still soldiers in the streets, checkpoints on the edge of the city, and frequent air raid sirens. But the streets are full of cars and pedestrians, shops and restaurants are open, and the day-to-day atmosphere is generally relaxed.
Even when the Russians were nearby, Klitschko never stopped working out of City Hall, a massive stone building in the center of Kyiv, surrounded by sandbags. He said in a recent interview with The Sunday Times that he's left the city just twice since the war began.
At age 51, Klitschko stands 6-foot-7 and still looks to be around his fighting weight of 250. When he retired nearly a decade ago, he'd won 45 professional bouts — 41 by knockout — and lost only twice. His nickname? Dr. Ironfist.
In politics, he did lose his first bid for mayor. But he won the post in 2014 and was easily reelected in 2020. He generally gets good marks from citizens.
"He's done a pretty good job and I'm very thankful for what he's done so far," said Dmytro Belov.
Belov gives toy car rides to children at a park that Klitschko upgraded. The park — one of several renovated by the mayor — now has an elevated walkway with a commanding view overlooking the Dnipro River , which bisects the city.
"These are beautiful parks. I think they're the new calling card of the city," Belov said. "These are historical places and they've been modernized."
Still, not everyone is a fan of the mayor.
"I think that he is essentially a sportsman and he should stick to sports," said Anya Hovenko, who was pushing her child in a stroller through the park.
"He is definitely not someone who is adept at governing. I'm not very sure that he's very good at his job."
Ukraine is poor compared to most of Europe. But there were signs of growing wealth in Kyiv — with Klitschko presiding over substantial development — until Russia invaded in February.
The city is now a mix of sleek glass towers that have risen in recent years, as well as stodgy apartment blocks from the Soviet era, and grand, ornate architectural gems that date back to czarist-era Russia.
Before the war, Klitschko did face critics who said he favored wealthy developers over ordinary residents.
"His reputation is someone who has greatly developed the city, but mostly private development," said Liubomyr Mysiv of the group Rating, a private polling organization. Klitschko, he said, is seen as a mayor who has supported "building condominiums and shopping malls, as opposed to the public services that employ people."
Also, Klitschko supported President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's opponent in the presidential election in 2019. But the war has unified Ukrainians and pushed most internal political differences to the side, at least for now.
Brothers made a promise to their mother
One of Klitschko's strongest supporters is his younger brother, Wladimir, who also held multiple world heavyweight titles, from 2006 to 2015. At times, both Klitschko brothers held title belts from rival boxing associations, an unprecedented domination of the heavyweight ranks by a pair of brothers.
Yet they never settled it in the ring, keeping a promise to their mother that they would never pummel each other the way they hammered most everyone else.
Their mother is Russian and their father is Ukrainian. Such marriages were quite common in the Soviet era. In addition, their father was a general in the Soviet air force. The brothers grew up on Soviet military bases in the 1970s and '80s.
In a recent interview with Britain's Sunday Times, Klitschko said his family was deeply loyal to the Soviet Union and viewed the U.S. as an enemy. But as his boxing career was taking off, he traveled to the U.S. in the late 1980s.
"I came back and told my father, 'I've been to Florida. I visited Disney World, so many places.' I told him, 'Sorry, everything you've heard about the United States is (nonsense). It's a great country. They are great people,'" he told the paper.
The Klitschko brothers say that given mixed Russian-Ukrainian heritage, they have nothing against the Russian people. But they're full-throated opponents of President Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine.
Mayor Klitschko made that point, as he has done repeatedly, at a deadly missile strike in June.
"This senseless war. We have to do everything to stop this war. Because thousands and thousands of civilians die," he said.
Greg Myre is a NPR national security correspondent. Follow him @gregmyre1.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.keranews.org/2022-08-25/once-a-heavyweight-champion-kyivs-mayor-now-fights-the-russians | 2022-08-25T09:33:48Z |
Hong Kong is one of the planet's most densely packed urban areas. Not far from its concrete jungle is a real jungle with free-roaming wild cows and water buffalos. One woman is trying to save them.
Copyright 2022 NPR
Hong Kong is one of the planet's most densely packed urban areas. Not far from its concrete jungle is a real jungle with free-roaming wild cows and water buffalos. One woman is trying to save them.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.keranews.org/2022-08-25/outside-hong-kong-theres-something-unexpected-free-roaming-animals | 2022-08-25T09:33:54Z |
The markets are watching as the Federal Reserve holds its annual meeting in Wyoming. NPR's A Martinez talks to David Wessel of the Brookings Institution for a preview.
Copyright 2022 NPR
The markets are watching as the Federal Reserve holds its annual meeting in Wyoming. NPR's A Martinez talks to David Wessel of the Brookings Institution for a preview.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.keranews.org/2022-08-25/people-are-gathering-for-the-feds-annual-meeting-in-jackson-hole | 2022-08-25T09:34:00Z |
The Pentagon is ramping up its support of Ukraine in its war against Russia. The Defense Department is sending another $3 billion to Ukraine. That brings total U.S. aid to more than $13 billion.
Copyright 2022 NPR
The Pentagon is ramping up its support of Ukraine in its war against Russia. The Defense Department is sending another $3 billion to Ukraine. That brings total U.S. aid to more than $13 billion.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.keranews.org/2022-08-25/what-are-the-longterm-implications-of-the-u-s-sending-military-supplies-to-ukraine | 2022-08-25T09:34:06Z |
All summer, NPR's Science Desk has been looking at sweat. Humans are covered with millions of sweat glands, but it wasn't always that way. When did humans start to sweat?
Copyright 2022 NPR
All summer, NPR's Science Desk has been looking at sweat. Humans are covered with millions of sweat glands, but it wasn't always that way. When did humans start to sweat?
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.keranews.org/2022-08-25/when-did-human-bodies-evolve-to-sweat-we-dont-know-exactly-when | 2022-08-25T09:34:12Z |
NPR's A Martinez talks to Los Angeles Times reporter Alene Tchekmedyian about the verdict in the trial over the sharing of photos of the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant.
Copyright 2022 NPR
NPR's A Martinez talks to Los Angeles Times reporter Alene Tchekmedyian about the verdict in the trial over the sharing of photos of the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.keranews.org/2022-08-25/widow-of-kobe-bryant-was-awarded-16-million-in-the-trial-over-crash-photos | 2022-08-25T09:34:18Z |
California poised to phase out sale of new gas-powered cars
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California is poised to set a 2035 deadline for all new cars, trucks and SUVs sold in the state to be powered by electricity or hydrogen, an ambitious step that will reshape the U.S. car market by speeding the transition to more climate-friendly vehicles.
The California Air Resources Board will vote Thursday on the policy, which sets the most aggressive roadmap in the nation for moving away from gas-powered cars. It doesn’t eliminate such vehicles, however.
People can continue driving gas-fueled vehicles and purchasing used ones after 2035. The plan also allows for one-fifth of sales after 2035 to be plug-in hybrids that can run on batteries and gas.
But it sets a course for ultimately ending the era of filling up at the local gas station. The switch from gas to electric cars will drastically reduce emissions and air pollutants. The transition may be painful in parts of the state that are still dominated by oil; California remains the seventh-largest oil producing state, though its output it falling as the state pushes forward with its climate goals.
“The climate crisis is solvable if we focus on the big, bold steps necessary to stem the tide of carbon pollution,” Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday. He announced the 2035 goal two years ago and regulators have spent the time since then working out the details of what Newsom termed “the action we must take if we’re serious about leaving this planet better off for future generations.”
There are practical hurdles to overcome to reach the goal, notably enough reliable power and charging stations. California now has about 80,000 stations in public places, far short of the 250,000 it wants by 2025. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents many major car makers, flagged the lack of infrastructure, access to materials needed to make batteries, and supply chain issues among the challenges to meeting the state’s timeline.
“These are complex, intertwined and global issues well beyond the control of either (the California Air Resources Board) or the auto industry,” John Bozella, the group’s president, said in a statement.
Though the state makes up 10% of the U.S. car market, it’s home to 43% of the nation’s 2.6 million registered plug-in vehicles, according to the air board.
California climate officials say the state’s new policy will be the world’s most ambitious because it sets clear benchmarks for ramping up electric vehicle sales over the next dozen years. By 2026, for example, one-third of new cars sold must be electric. About 16% of cars sold in California in the first three months of this year were electric.
The European Parliament in June backed a plan to effectively prohibit the sale of gas and diesel cars in the 27-nation bloc by 2035, and Canada has mandated the sale of zero-emission cars by the same year. The Chinese province of Hainan said this week it would do the same by 2030.
In the U.S., Massachusetts, Washington and New York are among states that have set goals to transform their car markets or have already committed to following California’s new rules.
California has historically been granted permission by the U.S. Environmental Protection agency to set its own tailpipe emissions rules for cars, and 17 other states follow some or all of its policies.
The new electric vehicle rules will also require federal approval, which is considered likely with President Joe Biden in the White House. A future Republican president, though, could challenge California’s authority to set its own car standards, as the Trump administration did.
Indeed, the new commitment comes as California works to maintain reliable electricity while it moves away from gas-fired power plants in favor of solar, wind and other cleaner sources of energy. Earlier this year, top energy officials warned the state could run out of power during the hottest days of summer, which happened briefly in August 2020.
That hasn’t happened yet this year. But Newsom is pushing to keep open the state’s last-remaining nuclear plant beyond its planned closer in 2025, and the state may turn to diesel generators or natural gas plants as a backup when the grid is strained.
Adding more car chargers will put a higher demand on the energy grid.
Ensuring access to charging stations is also key to ramping up electric vehicle sales. The infrastructure bill passed by Congress last year provides $5 billion for states to build charges every 50 miles (80 kilometers) along interstate highways. Newsom, meanwhile, has pledged to spend billions to boost zero-emission vehicle sales, including by adding chargers in low-income neighborhoods.
Driving an electric vehicle long distances today, even in California, requires careful planning about where to stop and charge, said Mary Nichols, former chair of the California Air Resources Board. The money from the state and federal government will go along way to boosting that infrastructure and making electric cars a more convenient option, she said.
“This is going to be a transformative process and the mandate for vehicle sales is only one piece of it,” she said.
Though hydrogen is a fuel option under the new regulations, cars that run on fuel-cells have made up less than 1% of car sales in recent years.
Both the state and government have rebates for thousands of dollars to offset the cost of buying electric cars, and the rules have incentives for car makers to make used electric vehicles available to low- and middle-income people. Over the past 12 years, California has provided more than $1 billion in rebates for the sale of 478,000 electric, plug-in or hybrid vehicles, according to the air board.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/25/california-poised-phase-out-sale-new-gas-powered-cars/ | 2022-08-25T10:10:11Z |
California poised to phase out sale of new gas-powered cars
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California is poised to set a 2035 deadline for all new cars, trucks and SUVs sold in the state to be powered by electricity or hydrogen, an ambitious step that will reshape the U.S. car market by speeding the transition to more climate-friendly vehicles.
The California Air Resources Board will vote Thursday on the policy, which sets the most aggressive roadmap in the nation for moving away from gas-powered cars. It doesn’t eliminate such vehicles, however.
People can continue driving gas-fueled vehicles and purchasing used ones after 2035. The plan also allows for one-fifth of sales after 2035 to be plug-in hybrids that can run on batteries and gas.
But it sets a course for ultimately ending the era of filling up at the local gas station. The switch from gas to electric cars will drastically reduce emissions and air pollutants. The transition may be painful in parts of the state that are still dominated by oil; California remains the seventh-largest oil producing state, though its output it falling as the state pushes forward with its climate goals.
“The climate crisis is solvable if we focus on the big, bold steps necessary to stem the tide of carbon pollution,” Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday. He announced the 2035 goal two years ago and regulators have spent the time since then working out the details of what Newsom termed “the action we must take if we’re serious about leaving this planet better off for future generations.”
There are practical hurdles to overcome to reach the goal, notably enough reliable power and charging stations. California now has about 80,000 stations in public places, far short of the 250,000 it wants by 2025. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents many major car makers, flagged the lack of infrastructure, access to materials needed to make batteries, and supply chain issues among the challenges to meeting the state’s timeline.
“These are complex, intertwined and global issues well beyond the control of either (the California Air Resources Board) or the auto industry,” John Bozella, the group’s president, said in a statement.
Though the state makes up 10% of the U.S. car market, it’s home to 43% of the nation’s 2.6 million registered plug-in vehicles, according to the air board.
California climate officials say the state’s new policy will be the world’s most ambitious because it sets clear benchmarks for ramping up electric vehicle sales over the next dozen years. By 2026, for example, one-third of new cars sold must be electric. About 16% of cars sold in California in the first three months of this year were electric.
The European Parliament in June backed a plan to effectively prohibit the sale of gas and diesel cars in the 27-nation bloc by 2035, and Canada has mandated the sale of zero-emission cars by the same year. The Chinese province of Hainan said this week it would do the same by 2030.
In the U.S., Massachusetts, Washington and New York are among states that have set goals to transform their car markets or have already committed to following California’s new rules.
California has historically been granted permission by the U.S. Environmental Protection agency to set its own tailpipe emissions rules for cars, and 17 other states follow some or all of its policies.
The new electric vehicle rules will also require federal approval, which is considered likely with President Joe Biden in the White House. A future Republican president, though, could challenge California’s authority to set its own car standards, as the Trump administration did.
Indeed, the new commitment comes as California works to maintain reliable electricity while it moves away from gas-fired power plants in favor of solar, wind and other cleaner sources of energy. Earlier this year, top energy officials warned the state could run out of power during the hottest days of summer, which happened briefly in August 2020.
That hasn’t happened yet this year. But Newsom is pushing to keep open the state’s last-remaining nuclear plant beyond its planned closer in 2025, and the state may turn to diesel generators or natural gas plants as a backup when the grid is strained.
Adding more car chargers will put a higher demand on the energy grid.
Ensuring access to charging stations is also key to ramping up electric vehicle sales. The infrastructure bill passed by Congress last year provides $5 billion for states to build charges every 50 miles (80 kilometers) along interstate highways. Newsom, meanwhile, has pledged to spend billions to boost zero-emission vehicle sales, including by adding chargers in low-income neighborhoods.
Driving an electric vehicle long distances today, even in California, requires careful planning about where to stop and charge, said Mary Nichols, former chair of the California Air Resources Board. The money from the state and federal government will go along way to boosting that infrastructure and making electric cars a more convenient option, she said.
“This is going to be a transformative process and the mandate for vehicle sales is only one piece of it,” she said.
Though hydrogen is a fuel option under the new regulations, cars that run on fuel-cells have made up less than 1% of car sales in recent years.
Both the state and government have rebates for thousands of dollars to offset the cost of buying electric cars, and the rules have incentives for car makers to make used electric vehicles available to low- and middle-income people. Over the past 12 years, California has provided more than $1 billion in rebates for the sale of 478,000 electric, plug-in or hybrid vehicles, according to the air board.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/25/california-poised-phase-out-sale-new-gas-powered-cars/ | 2022-08-25T10:24:53Z |
Death toll from train station attack in Ukraine rises to 25
POKROVSK, Ukraine (AP) - The death toll from a Russian rocket attack as Ukraine observed its Independence Day has risen to 25, including an 11-year-old boy found under the rubble of a house and a 6-year-old killed in a car fire near a train station that took a hit, a Ukrainian official said Thursday.
The deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, provided the updated casualty figures from Wednesday’s attack. A total of 31 people sustained injuries, he said.
The strike served as a brutally painful reminder that Russia is capable of employing military force that causes civilians to suffer the most and tests Ukraine’s resilience after six months of a grinding war.
In Geneva on Thursday, the U.N.’s human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, decried the time since Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into the neighboring country as “unimaginably horrifying.” She called on Putin “to halt armed attacks against Ukraine.”
The lethal train station strike took place in Chaplyne, a town of about 3,500 people in the central Dnipropetrovsk region. It came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Moscow might attempt “something particularly cruel” this week as Ukraine marked both its 1991 declaration of independence from the Soviet Union and the six-month point of Russia’s invasion on Wednesday.
Hours before the train station attack, Russia insisted it was doing its best to spare civilians, even at a cost of slowing down its offensive in Ukraine.
GRAPHIC WARNING: Videos included in this story may contain disturbing content.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, speaking Wednesday at a meeting of his counterparts from a security organization dominated by Russia and China, said Russia was carrying out strikes with precision weapons against Ukrainian military targets, and “everything is done to avoid civilian casualties.”
“Undoubtedly, it slows down the pace of the offensive, but we do it deliberately,” he said.
It was the second time Shoigu has made such a claim; he said the same thing in late May.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, three people were killed in the eastern region of Donetsk on Wednesday and one more was wounded, Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Telegram.
Nikopol, a city across the river from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, came under more Russian shelling overnight, Valentyn Reznichenko, the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, said.
___
Follow all of AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/25/death-toll-train-station-attack-ukraine-rises-25/ | 2022-08-25T10:24:59Z |
Nila Zelinska holds a doll belonging to her granddaughter, she was able to find in her destroyed house in Potashnya outskirts Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Zelinska just returned to her home town after escaping war to find out she is homeless. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)
Ukrainian servicemen of "Fireflies" reconnaissance team jump from the trunk of pickup to take their position at the frontline in Mykolaiv region, Ukraine, Aug. 8, 2022. Six months ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in an unprovoked act of aggression, starting the largest military conflict in Europe since World War II. Putin expected a quick victory but it has turned into a grinding war of attrition. Russian offensive are largely stuck as Ukrainian forces increasingly target key facilities far behind the front lines. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)
Nila Zelinska holds a doll belonging to her granddaughter, she was able to find in her destroyed house in Potashnya outskirts Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Zelinska just returned to her home town after escaping war to find out she is homeless. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)
Natacha Pisarenko
Ukrainian servicemen of "Fireflies" reconnaissance team jump from the trunk of pickup to take their position at the frontline in Mykolaiv region, Ukraine, Aug. 8, 2022. Six months ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in an unprovoked act of aggression, starting the largest military conflict in Europe since World War II. Putin expected a quick victory but it has turned into a grinding war of attrition. Russian offensive are largely stuck as Ukrainian forces increasingly target key facilities far behind the front lines. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)
The U.S. sending another $3 billion in missile systems, drones and ammunition to Ukraine to back its fight against Russia.
The Pentagon announced the additional arms shipments to Ukrainian war zone Aug. 24.
The $3 billion brings total U.S. military and security spending in the Ukraine to $13.5 billion since January 2021, according to Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder.
The latest U.S. war shipments to Ukraine include surface-to-air missile systems, 310,000 artillery and mortar ammunition, drone systems and laser-guided rocket systems.
Russian forces invaded the Ukraine in February sparking U.S. military and intelligence support as well as economic sanctions against Moscow.
There have been more the 10,300 deaths and 24,400 injuries in the European conflict between Russia and the U.S.-backed Ukrainian government. | https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/nation_world/u-s-sends-another-3-billion-in-weapons-ammo-drones-to-ukraine-in-russian-war/article_25136cee-23dc-11ed-881c-a75e06600d22.html | 2022-08-25T10:37:55Z |
A group of Hopi teenagers rallied together to bring a skate park to their village. When the pandemic began, the outdoor activity took on new life and the teens created what they called Skate264.
Copyright 2022 NPR
A group of Hopi teenagers rallied together to bring a skate park to their village. When the pandemic began, the outdoor activity took on new life and the teens created what they called Skate264.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/a-skateboarding-destination-in-arizona-runs-through-the-hopi-reservation | 2022-08-25T10:51:10Z |
BOISE, Idaho — Lunchtime on the first day of school at Mountain View Elementary earlier this month brought the familiar bustle of students scurrying to find their assigned table in the cafeteria while administrators checked trays and lunch bags to make sure everyone had something to eat.
Many brought their own sack lunches this school year, because unlike the last two, not every child is eligible for free meals provided by the school.
During the pandemic, schools were able to provide meals for free to kids regardless of income as a part of COVID-19 assistance passed by Congress to reduce food insecurity. This meant that nationally, an estimated 10 million kids who would have previously paid for school meals were able to get them free. But Congress did not agree to provide universal free lunches for a third school year.
About 30 percent of the student population here qualifies for free or reduced lunch, mirroring data from the whole Boise School District system. But the other 70 percent are now responsible for paying their own way for breakfast and lunch.
"The biggest challenge is going to be on the children," said Christy Smith, supervisor of the Food and Nutrition Services at the Boise School District. "Regardless of income, there are children who are hungry because children face obstacles to accessing nourishing food at home and those are the kids that are going to suffer the most."
Nationwide, families across all income levels are feeling the strain of high food, gas, housing and utility costs. And Congress' decision to not extend a pandemic benefit that provided free meals to all students regardless of need will soon hit the pocketbooks of parents and provide new challenges for schools still grappling to return to normal.
"We are not on the edge, but our grocery budget could not afford $7.50 a day [for her kids' school lunches] five days a week," said Vanessa Gamma, a mother of three attending Mountain View. "It would just be not something that even not on the edge we could afford."
School meal prices challenge parents and educators
The Boise School District, like others across the country, is preparing to raise the prices of meals in its elementary schools by 10 cents this academic year in order to combat rising food and labor costs.
"Our families in Boise can't afford even a modest price increase," Smith said. "Boise's become a very expensive place to live and even 10 cents sounds modest, but that's a lot of money to families who can't pay their bills right now and don't qualify for free or reduced-price meals."
Across the country, school meals can cost parents upwards of $5 per meal.
In nearby West Ada – Idaho's largest school district, where only 14% of the student population fully qualifies for free and reduced-price meals – prices will increase by 30 cents.
Shannon McCarthy Beasley, West Ada's school nutrition supervisor, is on a mission to get as many kids as possible to buy the schools' hot, fresh and, most importantly she says, nutritious, meals.
"I have this challenge of convincing families my meals are better. My meals are better than what you can pack," said McCarthy Beasley. "And I am up for that challenge."
Advocates like McCarthy Beasley say school meals are often some of the healthiest that many students have access to because of the nutrition requirements behind every dish served. In order to streamline the process, West Ada has created a QR code families can scan and use to fill out the applications to see if they qualify for free or reduced-price meals. But that final bill is still a challenge.
"A mom and dad making $15 an hour with a family of three — they don't qualify," McCarthy Beasley said.
The challenges to pivot back to a pre-pandemic system are felt across the country as schools work to reach all parents, hire additional staff members to collect meal money in lunch lines and prepare to return to tracking the finances of each child.
"As much as we all would like to go back to normal into a pre-COVID world, we're just not there," said Lisa Davis, senior vice president of Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign. "Staffing shortages are impacting school nutrition departments across the country and the supply chain continues to be a mess. Food price inflation is increasing significantly, and so school meal programs continue to have to continue to face a lot of challenges and juggle a lot of different dynamics."
Federal rules add to the challenges
When Congress created the ability for schools to give universal free meals, it did so by allowing the Agriculture Department, the federal agency that governs what and how is served at school, to waive certain federal requirements. Lawmakers waived requirements for schools to provide free lunch based on need, nutrition requirements for the food served and requirements that meals needed to be served in congregate settings, like cafeterias.
All of those waivers were set to expire on June 30.
Two of them were recently extended. But Senate Republicans balked at the cost of providing universal free meals for another year, and as part of the final compromise, Democrats agreed to drop it from the package.
This means all schools will go back to requiring that families pay the full price for each meal if they do not qualify for free or reduced-price meals.
In order to qualify, families must meet income requirements that are the same across the country. For the 2022-2023 school year a family of four must make less than $51,338 to qualify for reduced-price meals and $36,075 to qualify for free meals.
But each school district sets its own school meal prices, and those can significantly vary, as can the cost of living – not just within states but from state to state, which the income requirements don't account for.
"I've already received an unprecedented number of requests from families to reconsider their denial for meal benefits after they submitted an application," said Smith of the Boise School District. "And of course, that's not something that we have control over. It is heart-wrenching."
In Colorado, some schools are raising their meal prices by 50 cents. For families with multiple kids, it adds up.
Sarah Kremmerling is a mother of two in Boulder, Colo., and her family has qualified for free lunches on and off over the years. For both kids, her monthly bill could total upwards of $200 if they were to eat at school every day.
"I fill out the application every year, but the only time I've been able to qualify for them is usually when I'm working like almost less than part-time — like I really can't be working at all to qualify for them," Kremmerling said. "I just think that's kind of crazy when you look at, like, the price of living."
Mary Rochelle, who works as the program, events and grant coordinator at the Food Services Department of the Boulder Valley School District, said her district is scrambling to hire employees to help students purchase the meals as opposed to just being able to hand them a tray for food.
Lawmakers waited until just days before all the waivers expired on June 30 to pass the bill that extended some waivers but left free school meals out. Congressional delay in extending, or not extending, pandemic school meal waivers also hindered schools' ability to plan.
"There was a lot of talk and a lot of hope that the universal meals would be extended and we weren't really sure how much we should tell parents free meals are definitely ending because we felt like we weren't given a clear answer until June and our school year ends the end of May," Rochelle said.
The universal school meal debate resumes
Even before the pandemic, progressives, food and nutrition advocates were pushing for a universal school meal system that would offer school meals to students regardless of income. Advocates said the existing system of having three categories of pricing results in burdensome application processes, stigmatizes students who receive free meals and can cause families to carry lunch debt.
"We also have seen kids who were eligible for free school meals kind of slipped through the cracks and not get certified either because they were missed in direct certification or there were literacy or language barriers to the school meal application," said Crystal FitzSimmons, director of school and out of school time programs at the Food Research and Action Center.
Some states have taken their own action. California, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada and Vermont have passed legislation or rules to allow all students in their states to receive free meals this upcoming school year. Others have legislation pending in statehouses.
"There's a lot of innovation happening in communities and at the state level. I think where the conversation gets stuck is at the federal level," said Davis. "And a big part of that is because the discussions again are all around price tags and offsets through that very narrow lens."
On the Hill, Democrats and Republicans are still divided. Some progressives have introduced legislation that would provide free meals, but GOP members argue the price tag would be too high and that free meals is an assistance program that should be targeted.
"Congress never intended to provide universal free breakfast and lunches to all K-12 students regardless of need," said Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-NY, during a floor speech debating the waiver extensions in June. She favored the bill because the free meals would be extended by only one year, not longer. "By returning these programs back to normal we can return our responsibility to taxpayers and the principle that aid should be targeted and temporary."
Many education, hunger and nutrition groups have asked the White House to recommend that Congress implement universal school meals as a part of the broader list of recommendations expected to come out of the conference on hunger, nutrition and health next month. But until then, schools will need to adjust for the foreseeable future — whether or not they or families are ready.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/as-students-go-back-to-school-many-face-a-lunch-bill-for-the-first-time-in-2-years | 2022-08-25T10:51:16Z |
There's a national shortage of 911 operators. In Washington state, the situation is so dire that it closed a rural dispatch center. (Story first aired on All Things Considered on Aug. 22, 2022.)
Copyright 2022 Northwest News Network
There's a national shortage of 911 operators. In Washington state, the situation is so dire that it closed a rural dispatch center. (Story first aired on All Things Considered on Aug. 22, 2022.)
Copyright 2022 Northwest News Network | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/encore-rural-washington-911-center-closes-amid-lack-of-operators | 2022-08-25T10:51:27Z |
LAME DEER, Mont. — The GI bill has near-mythic significance in American history — generations of veterans got an education and an easy home loan, the sort of thing that pulls families up into the middle class.
That benefit has never really been available, though, to one group of Americans who serve in the military in very high numbers — Native Americans living on tribal land. Which was the subject of a small gathering this summer at the Mennonite Church in Lame Deer, Mont.
Jeannie Beartusk, the veterans coordinator for the Northern Cheyenne Tribal government, set up snacks and refreshments for the vets in attendance, but that did nothing to change the fact that no bank will finance a GI bill home loan on tribal land.
"I tried to explain it as best as I could," she said, "You know, I can't bend the rules."
That's because the banks can't take back tribal land if the loan defaults. This isn't new — Congress tried to fix this problem 30 years ago. In 1992, the Native American Direct Loan (NADL) was created so the Department of Veterans Affairs can work directly with the tribes to finance a home loan.
"But the numbers are tiny," says Bill Shear with the federal Government Accountability Office.
Shear authored a recent report that found that in the continental United States, the VA has used this Direct Loan just 89 times in the past decade. Outreach by the VA gets to less than 1% of eligible Native vets, Shear says.
"This would be an example of ... how badly can a government program run," he says.
The GAO report found that the VA doesn't collect good data about the NADL's results, and uses manuals that are out of date and reference offices that don't exist anymore.
Another issue that hinders is that the VA can't legally make a loan until it has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with each tribe. That takes action from from the tribes, but also outreach from the VA.
Bryant Lacey, who oversees the Native American Direct Loan program at the VA, says there are MOUs with only a fraction of the nearly 600 tribes in the United States.
"Right now we're only capable of hitting nearly 20% of these federally recognized tribes with the VA program. So we are really focused on ... engaging with tribes that do not have these memorandums of understanding with us," he said.
Lacey has read the critical GAO report, and he says the VA is already working on solutions including a new NADL team created in October, 2021. Lacey also confirmed that the Northern Cheyenne Tribe that Jeannie Beartusk works for is one of the few that already has an MOU to use the Direct Loan program.
That was news to the veterans who gathered at the Menonite Church in Lame Deer.
"Never did hear of a direct loan," said Henry Speelman, a former U.S. Marine and member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council.
Speelman has a particular interest – he's been renting a house on the reservation, and he says the owner is willing to sell.
The house overlooks horses and cows grazing in a pasture and is framed by low hills and those other-worldly sandstone formations of Eastern Montana. Speelman could probably get a regular VA home loan — but only to buy a house off the reservation. He wants to stay here.
"It's our stronghold," he says. "We've been born and raised here, so it's just ... a sense of you feel safe here."
Deer visit the back yard almost every night, and occasionally a black bear. A few grandkids live with him, and one of them rides the quarter horses grazing out front.
"And as chaotic as it is, it's still home," he says. "It's just where I wanna be."
But he needs a loan.
Despite several government programs designed to make that happen, he can't seem to get one.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/federal-home-loan-program-is-still-failing-native-american-veterans-after-30-years | 2022-08-25T10:51:31Z |
President Biden announces a plan to forgive some federal student loan debt. DOJ faces deadline to submit redacted Trump affidavit. The Pentagon ramps up support of Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Copyright 2022 NPR
President Biden announces a plan to forgive some federal student loan debt. DOJ faces deadline to submit redacted Trump affidavit. The Pentagon ramps up support of Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/news-brief-student-debt-relief-trump-investigation-ukraine-military-aid | 2022-08-25T10:51:37Z |
Hong Kong is one of the planet's most densely packed urban areas. Not far from its concrete jungle is a real jungle with free-roaming wild cows and water buffalos. One woman is trying to save them.
Copyright 2022 NPR
Hong Kong is one of the planet's most densely packed urban areas. Not far from its concrete jungle is a real jungle with free-roaming wild cows and water buffalos. One woman is trying to save them.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/outside-hong-kong-theres-something-unexpected-free-roaming-animals | 2022-08-25T10:51:43Z |
The markets are watching as the Federal Reserve holds its annual meeting in Wyoming. NPR's A Martinez talks to David Wessel of the Brookings Institution for a preview.
Copyright 2022 NPR
The markets are watching as the Federal Reserve holds its annual meeting in Wyoming. NPR's A Martinez talks to David Wessel of the Brookings Institution for a preview.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/people-are-gathering-for-the-feds-annual-meeting-in-jackson-hole | 2022-08-25T10:51:51Z |
A tree is trending on Reddit — because it's no ordinary tree.
The most dangerous tree on the planet can be found in Mexico, the Caribbean and Southern Florida. One touch from the tree's sap causes blisters, and a single bite of its fruit can be fatal.
Seemingly every aspect of the manchineel tree is designed to cause extreme pain and even death. The Guinness Book of World Records crowned it the most dangerous tree in the world in 2011, but scientists have long known about the manchineels' toxins.
According to one researcher, Christopher Columbus referred to the tree's fruit as "manzanilla de la muerte"; the little apple of death.
The toxins are so strong that even standing under the tree during a rainstorm can cause excruciating pain and blisters. Even burning the wood releases the toxins, which can cause blindness for those standing too close to the smoke.
The tree can reach heights of 50 feet, with toothed leaves 2 to 4 inches long. The bark is shades of red, brown and gray, and like the fruit and leaves, is also poisonous.
Indigenous people in Florida and the Caribbean used to dip arrowheads in the tree's poisonous, milky sap to kill their enemies, according to the University of Florida, and even tied others to the tree to ensure a slow and painful death.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/sap-from-this-tree-will-give-you-blisters-eating-the-apple-like-fruit-can-kill-you | 2022-08-25T10:51:57Z |
The remote-proctored exam that colleges began using widely during the pandemic saw a first big legal test of its own — one that concluded in a ruling applauded by digital privacy advocates.
A federal judge this week sided with a student at Cleveland State University in Ohio, who alleged that a room scan taken before his online test as a proctoring measure was unconstitutional.
Aaron Ogletree, a chemistry student, sat for a test during his spring semester last year. Before starting the exam, he was asked to show the virtual proctor his bedroom. He complied, and the recording data was stored by one of the school's third-party proctoring tools, Honorlock, according to the ruling documents.
Ogletree then sued his university, alleging that the room scan violated his Fourth Amendment rights protecting U.S. citizens against "unreasonable searches and seizures." In its defense, Cleveland State argued that room scans are not "searches," because they are limited in scope, conducted to ensure academic fairness and exam integrity, and not coerced.
U.S. district court Judge J. Philip Calabrese on Monday decided in Ogletree's favor: Room scans are unconstitutional.
"Mr. Ogletree's privacy interest in his home outweighs Cleveland State's interests in scanning his room. Accordingly, the Court determines that Cleveland State's practice of conducting room scans is unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment," Judge Calbrese concluded.
Since 2020, COVID-19 restrictions have forced students to take remote exams, so universities have come to rely on browser plug-ins and other software from third-party proctor companies to prevent cheating on tests.
Civil rights attorney Matthew Besser, who represented Ogletree, described the decision as a landmark case in a post on his firm's blog: "The case appears to be the first in the nation to hold that the Fourth Amendment protects students from unreasonable video searches of their homes before taking a remote test."
Privacy advocates laud the ruling
Digital privacy advocates have raised red flags over online proctoring services' alleged civil liberty violations in recent years.
In December 2020, the Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a complaint against five popular proctoring services, including Honorlock, for their "invasive" and "deceptive" data collection practices. Fight for the Future, a nonprofit that created the website BanEproctoring.com, called the decision a "major victory."
The opinion documents state that the Ohio university is not aware of any data breaches related to remote exam recordings, and that access to the video is strictly controlled. Cleveland State University has not yet responded to NPR's request for comment.
The definition of a "search" is in question
The university contested the fact that remote virtual room scans constituted "searches." It argued that the scan was a regulatory process unrelated to criminality, with a goal of exam integrity.
The scan of Ogletree's room lasted no more than a minute, and as little as 10 seconds. The defense argued, according to court documents, that the scan was "brief, only revealed items in plain view, and the student controlled the inspection to the extent that the student chose where in the house to take the exam and where in the room to direct the camera."
The plaintiff was free to object to the scan, the defense added. A student who refused to perform the exam could still take the test, the school argued, even if opting out meant getting no credit for the exam.
The judge didn't agree.
"Rooms scans go where people otherwise would not, at least not without a warrant or an invitation. Nor does it follow that room scans are not searches because the technology is 'in general public use,'" Judge Calabrese said.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/scanning-students-rooms-during-remote-tests-is-unconstitutional-judge-rules | 2022-08-25T10:52:03Z |
The FBI Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force and local law enforcement are looking for a suspect who's robbed at least three banks in Colorado's Denver metropolitan area. They're calling him the "Empty Promise Bandit."
The FBI Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force said the suspect is a 5-foot-9 white male in his 30s, with a slender build and close-cut, light-colored hair. Photos of the suspect show him wearing a hat and a pair of sunglasses.
At least one of the robberies took place in August, FBI Public Affairs Specialist Vikki Migoya told NPR. Citing the sensitive nature of the ongoing investigation, the FBI declined to comment on specific dates and locations of the robberies.
Migoya said the bandit's nickname comes from his actions inside the bank.
"The robber presents demand notes, and in the demand notes he makes assertions that he will never be able to follow up on," she said. (The FBI would not specify what exactly those assertions were.)
Anyone who has details about the robbery or could possibly identify the suspect should contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867. Callers can remain anonymous and could earn up to $2,000 for their assistance.
The Empty Promise Bandit has robbed multiple banks in metro Denver. If you have information about the identity of this individual, please contact @DenverPolice @PoliceEnglewood or @CrimeStoppersCO pic.twitter.com/tneV3PJ5yi
— FBI Denver (@FBIDenver) August 23, 2022
The Empty Promise Bandit has robbed multiple banks in the Denver area, including one attempted robbery. And though a weapon hasn't been spotted in any of his crimes, according to the FBI, the suspect has threated the use of a weapon on at least one occasion.
Using or brandishing a weapon during a bank robbery increases the stakes for perpetrators, according to Gannon University Associate Professor and former FBI special agent Jerry Clark. He said bringing a firearm or weapon into the mix tacks years onto a perpetrator's sentence.
Clark said bank robberies overall have been on the decline across the country, in part because cyber criminals have found ways to steal people's money without setting foot in a bank. Advances in surveillance technology are another deterrent of would-be-robbers.
Most of the heists that happen now are crimes of desperation, Clark said, carried out by individuals to fund drug and alcohol addictions, as well as people in financially dire straits.
A small fraction of robbers hope to achieve a level of notoriety — or even do it for thrills, he said.
"There are these adrenaline junkies that are doing it for the intense rush you get from going into the bank and doing that. They're far less than the other people, but they exist," Clark said.
But robbing banks comes at a steep price, punishable by up to 20 years in prison for each federal offense, the FBI said.
"It's very challenging for someone to go into a bank and have the confidence that they won't get caught," Clark said. "... It's always going to be a bad outcome."
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/the-fbi-is-on-the-hunt-for-a-denver-bank-robber-dubbed-the-empty-promise-bandit | 2022-08-25T10:52:10Z |
Cities often get nicknames. Just don't call San Francisco "Frisco" or "San Fran" — locals generally despise that. Why then is the San Francisco Giants baseball team selling a "San Fran" T-shirt?
Copyright 2022 NPR
Cities often get nicknames. Just don't call San Francisco "Frisco" or "San Fran" — locals generally despise that. Why then is the San Francisco Giants baseball team selling a "San Fran" T-shirt?
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/why-are-the-giants-selling-gear-with-san-franciscos-most-hated-nickname | 2022-08-25T10:52:16Z |
Mack Rutherford got his pilot's license when he was 15. He was born into a family of aviators. His older sister has the record for youngest woman to fly around the world alone.
Copyright 2022 NPR
Mack Rutherford got his pilot's license when he was 15. He was born into a family of aviators. His older sister has the record for youngest woman to fly around the world alone.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.keranews.org/2022-08-25/mack-rutherford-17-becomes-the-youngest-person-to-fly-around-the-world-alone | 2022-08-25T11:04:13Z |
President Biden announces a plan to forgive some federal student loan debt. DOJ faces deadline to submit redacted Trump affidavit. The Pentagon ramps up support of Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Copyright 2022 NPR
President Biden announces a plan to forgive some federal student loan debt. DOJ faces deadline to submit redacted Trump affidavit. The Pentagon ramps up support of Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.keranews.org/2022-08-25/news-brief-student-debt-relief-trump-investigation-ukraine-military-aid | 2022-08-25T11:04:19Z |
Cities often get nicknames. Just don't call San Francisco "Frisco" or "San Fran" — locals generally despise that. Why then is the San Francisco Giants baseball team selling a "San Fran" T-shirt?
Copyright 2022 NPR
Cities often get nicknames. Just don't call San Francisco "Frisco" or "San Fran" — locals generally despise that. Why then is the San Francisco Giants baseball team selling a "San Fran" T-shirt?
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.keranews.org/2022-08-25/why-are-the-giants-selling-gear-with-san-franciscos-most-hated-nickname | 2022-08-25T11:04:26Z |
As Freshman Taylor Dixon walked into the dorm at Paul Quinn college, a stranger with big, funky black and beige eyeglasses was there to greet her. TeeJ Mercer had a little surprise for Dixon. All her dorm needs would now be taken care of. Dixon was dumbstruck. Her benefactor, Mercer, was ecstatic.
“Oooh look at your face! I’m so happy to meet you,” exclaimed Mercer, reading the shock in the student’s eyes. Mercer then delighted in quizzing the 18 year-old about her dorm needs.
“Do you have a refrigerator?” asked Mercer.
“Oh, no, I don't have that,” replied Dixon.
“You’ve got a refrigerator now!” Mercer said. She then continued the quiz, revealing that Dixon’s dorm would also be stocked with a microwave, television and more.
These two had never met before this day. TeeJ Mercer is the founder and creator of Move-in Day Mafia, or, as she said, “the Godfather.”
"There is an army, a whole Mafia, that has been working diligently for this day. We've been rooting for you. And we didn't even know who you are,” Mercer said. “So you have to know that you are starting this new journey with, already, a crew behind you and at your back. We are not going to let you fail."
Stunned by her big surprise, Dixon took a few minutes to gather herself.
“I almost burst into tears,” said Dixon. “It was honestly wonderful to get a surprise like that from people who give back to their community.”
Dixon’s mother, Sharonda Gray, a Dallas ISD fifth grade teacher, drove her daughter to Paul Quinn on her lunch break.
"None of this was expected, like, I am truly surprised,” Gray said. “Overwhelmed… it’s a blessing, I was planning to go get the rest of the things that she needed this weekend. So I just think I got one less thing, it's a lot of less things, that I have to worry about.”
Taking some of the money worries out of college was the motivation behind Mercer’s program. She's a philanthropist, motivational speaker, a former TV editor and producer, and self-described "Jesus Girl." She graduated from Howard University and had already done a lot of fundraising for HBCUs, or Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Then, she met a college freshman just out of foster care. Her foster family dropped her off at school, and disappeared. The student didn’t know what she needed or how to get help.
Mercer paused to hold back from crying before continuing the story.
"I had to think to myself, there are kids who have to actually show up and fend for themselves. And I remember when I was in college, I would call my mom like, ‘I know it's payday, so can I have $50 in my account?’ And these kids don't have that," Mercer said.
Now, TeeJ Mercer says they will--thanks to Move-in Day Mafia; even though she says colleagues originally questioned the name.
“I said, we're going to actually turn that term into something good because the Mafia takes care of its own. And that's what the Move-in Day Mafia does for these kids. We take care of their own. From this day forward, they will not have to be alone.”
Paul Quinn College is the inaugural beneficiary for Mercer’s program, which is intended for HBCU’s. Maurice West, Paul Quinn Dean of External Affairs, says 13 freshmen are getting help this semester.
“Either they were aged out of the foster care system,” West said, or “secondly, they might’ve had a need; resources, financials and all the like, and thirdly, just some good young people who just needed a little bit of inspiration or encouragement."
Mercer, who doesn't have kids of her own, calls these students her babies. She says she’ll spend the rest of her life helping them, and can't wait for the Move-in Day Mafia's family to grow. | https://www.keranews.org/education/2022-08-25/move-in-day-mafia-decks-out-dorm-rooms-for-surprised-paul-quinn-college-students | 2022-08-25T11:04:32Z |
HILO-- "Put the knife down," the officer warns, but the man approaches
"I will shoot you if you don't put the knife down," the officer continues to yell.
The man continues.
2 shots are fired, and the man falls to the ground screaming, several other officers arriving on scene.
The suspect would later be immobilized by an electric gun. Would an officer ever deploy the electric gun first in that situation?
Experts say training protocols address this.
"That gentleman had a knife in his hand. And was charging after the officers. That is deadly force. They can not respond with anything less at that moment. When they had other officers there. And they had officers with their firearms out. At that point, because it was safer, they could then utilize the taser," Raymond Craig told KITV.
Craig, a retired law enforcement officer who now runs Smartraining Hawaii, says the video shows officers working in step to disarm the suspect.
"Taser, Taser," one calls out.
Police chief Paul Ferreira said in a statement, "The suspect is identified as Jordan Cacatian, male 41. Who has had numerous police contacts prior to this incident." Chief Ferreira described the suspect as having lacerations to wrists and having shattered a bone in the lower part of his leg from the gunshot wounds.
The suspect was fortunate to be alive, in stable condition following surgery. But was the intent to shoot the suspect in the leg? Not per training, Craig says.
"It's never to go for that. It's always to go for center mass of the largest area which would be here (torso), that needs to stop the person and get them the help that they need."
So why the shot to the legs?
"Because he's moving backward, a little less control. So he was able to maintain control and still be accurate. I commend that restraint. But it did hit the leg, which worked. Nothing wrong with that at all. I commend their training," Craig concluded. | https://www.kitv.com/news/body-camera-shows-events-of-officer-involved-shooting-in-hilo/article_7798f306-245b-11ed-afea-1fb87ada16cf.html | 2022-08-25T11:07:09Z |
Death toll from train station attack in Ukraine rises to 25
POKROVSK, Ukraine (AP) — The death toll from a Russian rocket attack as Ukraine observed its Independence Day has risen to 25, including an 11-year-old boy found under the rubble of a house and a 6-year-old killed in a car fire near a train station that was the target, a Ukrainian official said Thursday.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces used an Iskander missile to strike a military train that was carrying Ukrainian troops and equipment to the front line in eastern Ukraine. The ministry claimed more than 200 reservists “were destroyed on their way to the combat zone.”
The deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, did not say if the 25 victims he reported from Wednesday’s attack all were civilians. A total of 31 people sustained injuries, he said.
The lethal strike in Chaplyne, a town of about 3,500 residents in the central Dnipropetrovsk region. nonetheless served as a brutally painful reminder that Russia’s military force is causing civilians to suffer and testing Ukraine’s resilience after six months of a grinding war.
In Geneva on Thursday, the U.N.’s human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, decried the time since Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into the neighboring country as “unimaginably horrifying.” She called on Putin “to halt armed attacks against Ukraine.”
The train station strike took place after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Moscow might attempt “something particularly cruel” this week as Ukraine marked both its 1991 declaration of independence from the Soviet Union and the six-month point of Russia’s invasion on Wednesday.
GRAPHIC WARNING: Videos included in this story may contain disturbing content.
Tetyana Kvitnytska, deputy head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional health department, said the people wounded in the attack suffered a range of injuries.
“There are craniocerebral injuries, limb fractures, many patients with explosive and shrapnel injuries, burns,” she said. “People were in a difficult condition, both physically and psychologically.”
“Now our efforts are focused on the children who suffered. We work with four children. Three children out of four are in serious condition. In addition to severe stress, they have blast and shrapnel injuries, burns, and fractures,” Kvitnytska said. “The children are in serious condition.”
The Russian government has repeatedly claimed following attacks in which civilians died that its forces only aimed at legitimate military targets. Hours before the train station attack, Russia insisted it was doing its best to spare civilians, even at a cost of slowing down its offensive in Ukraine.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, speaking Wednesday at a meeting of his counterparts from a security organization dominated by Russia and China, said Russia was carrying out strikes with precision weapons against Ukrainian military targets, and “everything is done to avoid civilian casualties.”
“Undoubtedly, it slows down the pace of the offensive, but we do it deliberately,” he said.
It was the second time Shoigu has made such a claim; he said the same thing in late May.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, three people were killed in the eastern region of Donetsk on Wednesday and one more was wounded, Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Telegram.
Nikopol, a city across the river from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, came under more Russian shelling overnight, Valentyn Reznichenko, the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, said.
___
Follow all of AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/25/death-toll-train-station-attack-ukraine-rises-25/ | 2022-08-25T11:40:56Z |
Four more GOP-led states to enact abortion ‘trigger laws’
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Four more Republican-led states will ban almost all abortions this week as yet another slate of laws severely limiting the procedure takes effect following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
To date, 13 states have passed so-called trigger laws that were designed to outlaw most abortions if the high court threw out the constitutional right to end a pregnancy. The majority of those states began enforcing their bans soon after the June 24 decision, but Idaho, Tennessee and Texas had to wait 30 days beyond when the justices formally entered the judgment, which happened several weeks after the ruling was announced.
That deadline is up Thursday. Meanwhile, North Dakota’s trigger law is scheduled to take effect Friday.
The change will not be dramatic. All of these states except North Dakota already had anti-abortion laws in place that largely blocked patients from accessing the procedure. And the majority of the clinics that provided abortions in those areas have either stopped offering those services or moved to other states where abortion remains legal.
Texas, the country’s second-largest state, has banned most abortions once fetal cardiac activity has been detected, which can be as early as six weeks into pregnancy, before many women know they’re pregnant. The ban has been in place for almost a year, since courts refused to stop the law last September.
While clinics were severely limited in the services they could provide during that time, they officially stopped offering abortions on the day of the Supreme Court ruling. Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton argued that state laws that banned abortion before Roe v. Wade could be enforced ahead of the implementation of the trigger law.
Much like Texas’ current abortion ban, the upcoming trigger law does not include exceptions for rape or incest. Instead it has a loophole if a woman’s life or health is in danger.
But the state challenged a legal interpretation put forth by the federal government that was aimed at requiring Texas hospitals to provide abortion services if the life of the mother is at risk. On Wednesday, a federal judge temporarily blocked the government from enforcing that interpretation.
Texas argued that the federal guidance would have required hospitals to provide abortions before the mother’s life is clearly at risk, which would have violated the state’s trigger law.
A similar situation played out in Idaho, but there a federal judge ruled Wednesday that the state’s abortion ban violated federal law. U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill said the state could not enforce its abortion ban in cases where the pregnant person was experiencing a medical emergency that seriously threatened their life or health. Idaho’s abortion ban makes all abortions felonies, but allows physicians to defend themselves in court by arguing that the procedure was necessary to save the life of the mother or done in cases of rape or incest.
In all, more than 40 states limit some abortions after a certain point in pregnancy, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights. Those state laws generally require a doctor to determine the gestational age before performing an abortion.
Over in Tennessee, just two of the six clinics that provide abortions have continued to offer the service since Roe was overturned. They are doing so even as Tennessee has enacted a “heartbeat law” similar to the one passed in Texas. Doctors who violate the law risk felony convictions and up to 15 years in prison.
Continuing to operate after the high court’s abortion ruling has been at times a “painful” experience, said Melissa Grant, chief operations officer of carafem, which has had a Nashville clinic since 2019. The legal environment has required difficult conversations between staffers and patients who may be unaware how early in pregnancy cardiac activity can be detected.
Because Tennessee requires patients to wait 48 hours before getting an abortion, Grant says her staff has seen some patients qualify for the procedure during an initial visit only to be turned away two days later because an ultrasound picked up fetal cardiac activity.
“When we find that we do ultimately have to turn somebody away, whether it’s the first visit, the second visit, the conversations can be very emotional. Primarily anger, fear, grief, sometimes disbelief, and it’s difficult for the staff,” she said.
The situation is similar in Memphis, where abortion providers at the region’s lone operating clinic say they’ve turned away nearly 100 patients who did not qualify for an abortion during their second visit, said Jennifer Pepper, chief executive officer of CHOICES: Memphis Center for Reproductive Health.
That stress continues to compound in the days leading up to the trigger law deadline. As the last appointments took place, the staff had to weigh each patient’s situation against the likelihood that they will qualify under Tennessee’s already sharp restrictions and their ability to travel out of state.
“These decisions are very difficult,” Grant said. “You can only see a finite number of people before you have to stop.”
CHOICES was the first abortion clinic to open in Memphis in 1974, and on Thursday it will become the last. The clinic is bracing for the change by increasing its midwife resources, expanding the birth center and offering gender-affirming care. It is also opening a second location in Carbondale, Illinois, a three-hour drive to the north.
The staff planned to gather Friday to “celebrate how we’ve served thousands of our patients. We’re starting a new chapter, but it is not our last chapter,” Pepper said.
In Idaho, 20 states and Washington, D.C., have since filed a friend-of-the-court brief siding with the federal government as it argues that Medicaid-funded hospitals must provide “stabilizing treatment” to patients experiencing medical emergencies despite its trigger law.
Separately, 16 states have sided with Idaho’s Republican leaders in support of the law.
Much of Idaho’s law will still go into effect Thursday, but Winmill ruled Wednesday the state cannot prosecute anyone who is performing an abortion in an emergency medical situation.
Most abortions in Idaho were effectively banned on Aug. 12, when the Idaho Supreme Court allowed a different law to go into effect allowing potential relatives of an embryo or fetus to sue abortion providers.
North Dakota is also waiting to see if its trigger law will be implemented. Lawyers for the state’s only abortion clinic, which recently moved a few miles to Minnesota, have asked for a delay as they pursue a lawsuit challenging the ban. A judge has promised to make a decision on the request by the end of this week.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/25/four-more-gop-led-states-enact-abortion-trigger-laws/ | 2022-08-25T11:41:02Z |
Gov. Brian Kemp fights subpoena in Georgia election probe
ATLANTA (AP) — The judge presiding over a special grand jury that’s investigating possible illegal attempts to influence the 2020 election in Georgia is wading into a fight over whether Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has to testify before the panel.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who’s supervising the special grand jury, scheduled a hearing for Thursday morning after a dispute between lawyers for the governor and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ team of prosecutors escalated from tense emails to court filings in recent weeks.
The increasingly heated rhetoric is playing out as the Republican governor, who is seeking reelection in the fall, seeks to avoid speaking to a special grand jury looking into whether former President Donald Trump and his allies broke any laws as they tried to overturn Trump’s narrow election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Kemp’s lawyers have accused Willis, a Democrat, of pursuing his testimony for “improper political purposes,” an allegation the district attorney strongly denies.
Willis’ investigation was prompted by a January 2021 phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger during which the then-president suggested the state’s top election official could “find” the votes needed to overturn his loss.
Raffensperger and some other state officials have already appeared before the special grand jury, but Kemp is one of a number of potential witnesses who are fighting orders to testify.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., whose telephone calls to Raffensperger and his staff in the weeks after the election are of interest to prosecutors, was supposed to testify earlier this week, but a federal appeals court put that on hold while he fights his subpoena.
A judge in Texas last week ordered Dallas-based lawyer and podcaster Jacki Pick to travel to Atlanta to testify, and her attempt to challenge that order was denied Tuesday by an appeals court. Pick, who’s also known as Jacki Deason, gave a presentation before a Georgia legislative committee in December 2020 in which she alleged fraud by election workers at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
Willis has said she’s considering summoning Trump himself to appear before the grand jury, a step that would surely set off a legal fight. The high-stakes investigation is one in a string of serious legal threats the former president is facing.
Willis told Kemp attorney Brian McEvoy in a June email that she and her team wanted to ask the governor, among other things, about the call between Trump and Raffensperger. Trump also called Kemp in December 2020 asking him to order a special legislative session to secure the state’s electoral votes for him.
After an agreement to have the governor sit for a recorded interview fell apart, the district attorney’s office got a subpoena to have the governor testify on Aug. 18, according to court filings. The day before he was to testify, Kemp’s lawyers filed a motion to quash that subpoena.
During Thursday’s hearing, McBurney will determine whether Kemp has to abide by the subpoena.
Kemp’s lawyers argue that he is protected from testifying about his official duties by “sovereign immunity,” a principle that says the state can’t be sued without its consent. They also cited executive privilege, saying any material related to the governor’s deliberative process and communications is protected. And they raised attorney-client privilege, saying the governor routinely sought advice from his office’s attorneys in relation to the 2020 election and shouldn’t have to testify about that.
Willis’ team has argued that sovereign immunity and executive privilege don’t apply in this case and that they would avoid any topic that may be subject to attorney-client privilege.
___
Associated Press writer Jamie Stengle in Dallas contributed to this report.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/25/gov-brian-kemp-fights-subpoena-georgia-election-probe/ | 2022-08-25T11:41:08Z |
Patient dies, paramedic critically hurt after ambulance fire, possible explosion outside Hawaii hospital
HONOLULU (KHNL/Gray News) - One patient has died and a paramedic is critically injured after an ambulance apparently exploded in Kailua, EMS officials confirmed Wednesday night.
Officials said the incident happened around 9 p.m. outside Adventist Health Castle, KHNL reported.
According to a press conference held Wednesday night, EMS Director Jim Ireland said the ambulance caught on fire before entering the hospital. He added that the patient in the back of the ambulance died during the fire.
Ireland said one paramedic was taken to Straub Hospital in critical condition and another EMT was also treated for injuries in stable condition.
“It’s something we’ve never seen before,” said Ireland. “We want to thank the Honolulu Fire Department for their assistance tonight, our other EMS crews who came to the scene to help, as well as Castle Hospital that helped our crew.”
“We ask for everyone’s prayers and thoughts for the family of the patient that’s deceased and for the paramedic that’s been injured in the line of duty,” EMS Acting Chief Chris Sloman said. “It’s been a very difficult night.”
The cause of the fire remains unclear. An investigation is ongoing.
Copyright 2022 KHNL via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/25/patient-dies-paramedic-critically-hurt-after-ambulance-fire-possible-explosion-outside-hawaii-hospital/ | 2022-08-25T11:41:15Z |
WHO: Monkeypox cases drop 21%, reversing month-long increase
GENEVA (AP) — The number of monkeypox cases reported globally dropped by 21% in the last week, reversing a month-long trend of rising infections and a possible signal the outbreak in Europe may be starting to decline, according to a World Health Organization report issued Thursday.
The U.N. health agency reported 5,907 new weekly cases and said two countries, Iran and Indonesia, reported their first cases. To date, more than 45,000 cases have been reported in 98 countries since late April.
Cases in the Americas accounted for 60% of cases in the past month, WHO said, while cases in Europe comprised about 38%. It said infections in the Americas showed “a continuing steep rise.”
In early July, just weeks before the agency declared the international spread of the disease to be a global emergency, WHO’s Europe director said countries in the region were responsible for 90% of all laboratory confirmed cases of monkeypox.
British health authorities said last week after seeing a decline in the number of new cases getting reported daily that there were “early signs” the country’s monkeypox outbreak was slowing.
The U.K.’s Health Security Agency downgraded the country’s monkeypox outbreak last month, saying there was no evidence the once rare disease was spreading beyond men who were gay, bisexual or had sex with other men.
Since monkeypox outbreaks in Europe and North America were identified in May, WHO and other health agencies have noted that its spread was almost exclusively in men who have sex with men.
Monkeypox has been endemic in parts of Africa for decades and experts suspect the outbreaks in Europe and North America were triggered after the disease started spreading via sex at two raves in Spain and Belgium.
WHO’s latest report said 98% of cases are in men and of those who reported sexual orientation, 96% are in men who have sex with men.
“Of all reported types of transmission, a sexual encounter was reported most commonly,” WHO said. “The majority of cases were likely exposed in a party with sexual contacts,” the agency said.
Among the monkeypox cases in which the HIV status of patients was known, 45% were infected with HIV.
WHO has recommended that men at high risk of the disease temporarily consider reducing their number of sex partners or refrain from group or anonymous sex.
Monkeypox typically requires skin-to-skin or skin-to-mouth contact with an infected patient’s lesions to spread. People can also become infected through contact with the clothing or bedsheets of someone who has monkeypox lesions.
With globally limited vaccine supplies, authorities in the U.S., Europe and the U.K. have all begun rationing doses to stretch supplies by up to five times.
WHO has advised countries that have vaccines to prioritize immunization for those at high risk of the disease, including gay and bisexual men with multiple sex partners, and for health workers, laboratory staff and outbreak responders.
While Africa has reported the most suspected deaths from monkeypox, the continent has no vaccine supplies apart from a very small stock being tested in a research study in Congo.
“As we know, the situation with monkeypox vaccine access is very topical, but there are not enough doses of vaccines,” Nigeria Center for Disease Control Director-General Ifedayo Adetifa said this week. Potentially, a lot more more doses will become available, but because of challenges with manufacturing factories and unexpected uptick in monkeypox cases, the vaccine may actually not be available until 2023.”
___
Chinedu Asadu in Abuja, Nigeria, contributed reporting.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of monkeypox at https://apnews.com/hub/monkeypox
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/25/who-monkeypox-cases-drop-21-reversing-month-long-increase/ | 2022-08-25T11:41:21Z |
Four more GOP-led states to enact abortion ‘trigger laws’
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Four more Republican-led states will ban almost all abortions this week as yet another slate of laws severely limiting the procedure takes effect following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
To date, 13 states have passed so-called trigger laws that were designed to outlaw most abortions if the high court threw out the constitutional right to end a pregnancy. The majority of those states began enforcing their bans soon after the June 24 decision, but Idaho, Tennessee and Texas had to wait 30 days beyond when the justices formally entered the judgment, which happened several weeks after the ruling was announced.
That deadline is up Thursday. Meanwhile, North Dakota’s trigger law is scheduled to take effect Friday.
The change will not be dramatic. All of these states except North Dakota already had anti-abortion laws in place that largely blocked patients from accessing the procedure. And the majority of the clinics that provided abortions in those areas have either stopped offering those services or moved to other states where abortion remains legal.
Texas, the country’s second-largest state, has banned most abortions once fetal cardiac activity has been detected, which can be as early as six weeks into pregnancy, before many women know they’re pregnant. The ban has been in place for almost a year, since courts refused to stop the law last September.
While clinics were severely limited in the services they could provide during that time, they officially stopped offering abortions on the day of the Supreme Court ruling. Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton argued that state laws that banned abortion before Roe v. Wade could be enforced ahead of the implementation of the trigger law.
Much like Texas’ current abortion ban, the upcoming trigger law does not include exceptions for rape or incest. Instead it has a loophole if a woman’s life or health is in danger.
But the state challenged a legal interpretation put forth by the federal government that was aimed at requiring Texas hospitals to provide abortion services if the life of the mother is at risk. On Wednesday, a federal judge temporarily blocked the government from enforcing that interpretation.
Texas argued that the federal guidance would have required hospitals to provide abortions before the mother’s life is clearly at risk, which would have violated the state’s trigger law.
A similar situation played out in Idaho, but there a federal judge ruled Wednesday that the state’s abortion ban violated federal law. U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill said the state could not enforce its abortion ban in cases where the pregnant person was experiencing a medical emergency that seriously threatened their life or health. Idaho’s abortion ban makes all abortions felonies, but allows physicians to defend themselves in court by arguing that the procedure was necessary to save the life of the mother or done in cases of rape or incest.
In all, more than 40 states limit some abortions after a certain point in pregnancy, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights. Those state laws generally require a doctor to determine the gestational age before performing an abortion.
Over in Tennessee, just two of the six clinics that provide abortions have continued to offer the service since Roe was overturned. They are doing so even as Tennessee has enacted a “heartbeat law” similar to the one passed in Texas. Doctors who violate the law risk felony convictions and up to 15 years in prison.
Continuing to operate after the high court’s abortion ruling has been at times a “painful” experience, said Melissa Grant, chief operations officer of carafem, which has had a Nashville clinic since 2019. The legal environment has required difficult conversations between staffers and patients who may be unaware how early in pregnancy cardiac activity can be detected.
Because Tennessee requires patients to wait 48 hours before getting an abortion, Grant says her staff has seen some patients qualify for the procedure during an initial visit only to be turned away two days later because an ultrasound picked up fetal cardiac activity.
“When we find that we do ultimately have to turn somebody away, whether it’s the first visit, the second visit, the conversations can be very emotional. Primarily anger, fear, grief, sometimes disbelief, and it’s difficult for the staff,” she said.
The situation is similar in Memphis, where abortion providers at the region’s lone operating clinic say they’ve turned away nearly 100 patients who did not qualify for an abortion during their second visit, said Jennifer Pepper, chief executive officer of CHOICES: Memphis Center for Reproductive Health.
That stress continues to compound in the days leading up to the trigger law deadline. As the last appointments took place, the staff had to weigh each patient’s situation against the likelihood that they will qualify under Tennessee’s already sharp restrictions and their ability to travel out of state.
“These decisions are very difficult,” Grant said. “You can only see a finite number of people before you have to stop.”
CHOICES was the first abortion clinic to open in Memphis in 1974, and on Thursday it will become the last. The clinic is bracing for the change by increasing its midwife resources, expanding the birth center and offering gender-affirming care. It is also opening a second location in Carbondale, Illinois, a three-hour drive to the north.
The staff planned to gather Friday to “celebrate how we’ve served thousands of our patients. We’re starting a new chapter, but it is not our last chapter,” Pepper said.
In Idaho, 20 states and Washington, D.C., have since filed a friend-of-the-court brief siding with the federal government as it argues that Medicaid-funded hospitals must provide “stabilizing treatment” to patients experiencing medical emergencies despite its trigger law.
Separately, 16 states have sided with Idaho’s Republican leaders in support of the law.
Much of Idaho’s law will still go into effect Thursday, but Winmill ruled Wednesday the state cannot prosecute anyone who is performing an abortion in an emergency medical situation.
Most abortions in Idaho were effectively banned on Aug. 12, when the Idaho Supreme Court allowed a different law to go into effect allowing potential relatives of an embryo or fetus to sue abortion providers.
North Dakota is also waiting to see if its trigger law will be implemented. Lawyers for the state’s only abortion clinic, which recently moved a few miles to Minnesota, have asked for a delay as they pursue a lawsuit challenging the ban. A judge has promised to make a decision on the request by the end of this week.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/25/four-more-gop-led-states-enact-abortion-trigger-laws/ | 2022-08-25T11:59:10Z |
Gov. Brian Kemp fights subpoena in Georgia election probe
ATLANTA (AP) — The judge presiding over a special grand jury that’s investigating possible illegal attempts to influence the 2020 election in Georgia is wading into a fight over whether Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has to testify before the panel.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who’s supervising the special grand jury, scheduled a hearing for Thursday morning after a dispute between lawyers for the governor and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ team of prosecutors escalated from tense emails to court filings in recent weeks.
The increasingly heated rhetoric is playing out as the Republican governor, who is seeking reelection in the fall, seeks to avoid speaking to a special grand jury looking into whether former President Donald Trump and his allies broke any laws as they tried to overturn Trump’s narrow election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Kemp’s lawyers have accused Willis, a Democrat, of pursuing his testimony for “improper political purposes,” an allegation the district attorney strongly denies.
Willis’ investigation was prompted by a January 2021 phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger during which the then-president suggested the state’s top election official could “find” the votes needed to overturn his loss.
Raffensperger and some other state officials have already appeared before the special grand jury, but Kemp is one of a number of potential witnesses who are fighting orders to testify.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., whose telephone calls to Raffensperger and his staff in the weeks after the election are of interest to prosecutors, was supposed to testify earlier this week, but a federal appeals court put that on hold while he fights his subpoena.
A judge in Texas last week ordered Dallas-based lawyer and podcaster Jacki Pick to travel to Atlanta to testify, and her attempt to challenge that order was denied Tuesday by an appeals court. Pick, who’s also known as Jacki Deason, gave a presentation before a Georgia legislative committee in December 2020 in which she alleged fraud by election workers at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
Willis has said she’s considering summoning Trump himself to appear before the grand jury, a step that would surely set off a legal fight. The high-stakes investigation is one in a string of serious legal threats the former president is facing.
Willis told Kemp attorney Brian McEvoy in a June email that she and her team wanted to ask the governor, among other things, about the call between Trump and Raffensperger. Trump also called Kemp in December 2020 asking him to order a special legislative session to secure the state’s electoral votes for him.
After an agreement to have the governor sit for a recorded interview fell apart, the district attorney’s office got a subpoena to have the governor testify on Aug. 18, according to court filings. The day before he was to testify, Kemp’s lawyers filed a motion to quash that subpoena.
During Thursday’s hearing, McBurney will determine whether Kemp has to abide by the subpoena.
Kemp’s lawyers argue that he is protected from testifying about his official duties by “sovereign immunity,” a principle that says the state can’t be sued without its consent. They also cited executive privilege, saying any material related to the governor’s deliberative process and communications is protected. And they raised attorney-client privilege, saying the governor routinely sought advice from his office’s attorneys in relation to the 2020 election and shouldn’t have to testify about that.
Willis’ team has argued that sovereign immunity and executive privilege don’t apply in this case and that they would avoid any topic that may be subject to attorney-client privilege.
___
Associated Press writer Jamie Stengle in Dallas contributed to this report.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/25/gov-brian-kemp-fights-subpoena-georgia-election-probe/ | 2022-08-25T11:59:17Z |
Patient dies, paramedic critically hurt after ambulance fire, possible explosion outside Hawaii hospital
HONOLULU (KHNL/Gray News) - One patient has died and a paramedic is critically injured after an ambulance apparently exploded in Kailua, EMS officials confirmed Wednesday night.
Officials said the incident happened around 9 p.m. outside Adventist Health Castle, KHNL reported.
According to a press conference held Wednesday night, EMS Director Jim Ireland said the ambulance caught on fire before entering the hospital. He added that the patient in the back of the ambulance died during the fire.
Ireland said one paramedic was taken to Straub Hospital in critical condition and another EMT was also treated for injuries in stable condition.
“It’s something we’ve never seen before,” said Ireland. “We want to thank the Honolulu Fire Department for their assistance tonight, our other EMS crews who came to the scene to help, as well as Castle Hospital that helped our crew.”
“We ask for everyone’s prayers and thoughts for the family of the patient that’s deceased and for the paramedic that’s been injured in the line of duty,” EMS Acting Chief Chris Sloman said. “It’s been a very difficult night.”
The cause of the fire remains unclear. An investigation is ongoing.
Copyright 2022 KHNL via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/25/patient-dies-paramedic-critically-hurt-after-ambulance-fire-possible-explosion-outside-hawaii-hospital/ | 2022-08-25T11:59:24Z |
Spotty showers and storms are possible through the end of the week
Most will stay dry with a mix of sun and clouds
We’ll see a mix of sun and clouds throughout the day today and we can’t rule out an isolated shower or thunderstorm later on this afternoon and evening. Temperatures will climb up into the upper 70s and low-mid 80s.
A few showers or thunderstorms are possible this evening, otherwise we will stay dry with partly cloudy skies. Lows will be in the 60s for most tonight.
Some spotty showers and storms will continue to pop-up through Saturday; however, a washout is not expected. Most should stay rain-free throughout the next several days. Any thunderstorms that do develop could produce some heavy rainfall.
Temperatures will continue to top off in the upper 70s and low-mid 80s for the next several days. A frontal system will move through for the middle of next week and will eventually bring a cool down. Make sure to stay tuned and catch the latest on WVVA.
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/25/spotty-showers-storms-are-possible-through-end-week/ | 2022-08-25T11:59:31Z |
WHO: Monkeypox cases drop 21%, reversing month-long increase
GENEVA (AP) — The number of monkeypox cases reported globally dropped by 21% in the last week, reversing a month-long trend of rising infections and a possible signal the outbreak in Europe may be starting to decline, according to a World Health Organization report issued Thursday.
The U.N. health agency reported 5,907 new weekly cases and said two countries, Iran and Indonesia, reported their first cases. To date, more than 45,000 cases have been reported in 98 countries since late April.
Cases in the Americas accounted for 60% of cases in the past month, WHO said, while cases in Europe comprised about 38%. It said infections in the Americas showed “a continuing steep rise.”
In early July, just weeks before the agency declared the international spread of the disease to be a global emergency, WHO’s Europe director said countries in the region were responsible for 90% of all laboratory confirmed cases of monkeypox.
British health authorities said last week after seeing a decline in the number of new cases getting reported daily that there were “early signs” the country’s monkeypox outbreak was slowing.
The U.K.’s Health Security Agency downgraded the country’s monkeypox outbreak last month, saying there was no evidence the once rare disease was spreading beyond men who were gay, bisexual or had sex with other men.
Since monkeypox outbreaks in Europe and North America were identified in May, WHO and other health agencies have noted that its spread was almost exclusively in men who have sex with men.
Monkeypox has been endemic in parts of Africa for decades and experts suspect the outbreaks in Europe and North America were triggered after the disease started spreading via sex at two raves in Spain and Belgium.
WHO’s latest report said 98% of cases are in men and of those who reported sexual orientation, 96% are in men who have sex with men.
“Of all reported types of transmission, a sexual encounter was reported most commonly,” WHO said. “The majority of cases were likely exposed in a party with sexual contacts,” the agency said.
Among the monkeypox cases in which the HIV status of patients was known, 45% were infected with HIV.
WHO has recommended that men at high risk of the disease temporarily consider reducing their number of sex partners or refrain from group or anonymous sex.
Monkeypox typically requires skin-to-skin or skin-to-mouth contact with an infected patient’s lesions to spread. People can also become infected through contact with the clothing or bedsheets of someone who has monkeypox lesions.
With globally limited vaccine supplies, authorities in the U.S., Europe and the U.K. have all begun rationing doses to stretch supplies by up to five times.
WHO has advised countries that have vaccines to prioritize immunization for those at high risk of the disease, including gay and bisexual men with multiple sex partners, and for health workers, laboratory staff and outbreak responders.
While Africa has reported the most suspected deaths from monkeypox, the continent has no vaccine supplies apart from a very small stock being tested in a research study in Congo.
“As we know, the situation with monkeypox vaccine access is very topical, but there are not enough doses of vaccines,” Nigeria Center for Disease Control Director-General Ifedayo Adetifa said this week. Potentially, a lot more more doses will become available, but because of challenges with manufacturing factories and unexpected uptick in monkeypox cases, the vaccine may actually not be available until 2023.”
___
Chinedu Asadu in Abuja, Nigeria, contributed reporting.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of monkeypox at https://apnews.com/hub/monkeypox
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/25/who-monkeypox-cases-drop-21-reversing-month-long-increase/ | 2022-08-25T11:59:37Z |
President Biden announced a sweeping student loan cancellation plan Wednesday. Some are rejoicing over newfound financial freedom, but there are critics on both sides.
Copyright 2022 NPR
President Biden announced a sweeping student loan cancellation plan Wednesday. Some are rejoicing over newfound financial freedom, but there are critics on both sides.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/biden-wants-to-erase-some-or-all-federal-student-loan-debt-for-millions-of-borrowers | 2022-08-25T12:21:50Z |
Mack Rutherford got his pilot's license when he was 15. He was born into a family of aviators. His older sister has the record for youngest woman to fly around the world alone.
Copyright 2022 NPR
Mack Rutherford got his pilot's license when he was 15. He was born into a family of aviators. His older sister has the record for youngest woman to fly around the world alone.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/mack-rutherford-17-becomes-the-youngest-person-to-fly-around-the-world-alone | 2022-08-25T12:21:56Z |
NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts about the Biden administration's plan to forgive some college debt owed by millions of American students.
Copyright 2022 NPR
NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts about the Biden administration's plan to forgive some college debt owed by millions of American students.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/sen-elizabeth-warren-has-been-pushing-for-student-loan-relief-for-years | 2022-08-25T12:22:03Z |
'We’re not trying to hide it': Cottrellville board looks into receipt for unpaid bill
A group of Cottrellville residents upset over a township board inquiry into a recent receipt issued for a utility bill that was never paid may have to wait a couple more weeks to get the whole story.
During a special meeting this week — originally posted to address “the actions of an elected official” — Township Trustee Carl Szabelski said they were trying to get to the bottom of a receipt signed off by the township’s supervisor for $650 in water application services that “apparently wasn’t paid” earlier this year.
The board’s discussion with Cottrellville Supervisor Mary Agnes Simons, citing personnel issues, happened in closed session Monday.
Now, after conversing with Simons to “get her side,” Szabelski said he hopes to dive into a formal report at a second special meeting set for Sept. 7. Despite the inquiry, however, some residents are pushing back, alleging proper steps weren’t taken to investigate the receipt, which was reportedly issued to a family member of a local building official.
“We were looking at fraud. Because if it was fraud, yeah, we have a serious problem. But you don’t want to have someone arrested and find out it was a mistake,” Szabelski said. “We were going on a caution. We didn’t want to get this blown out of the water. We wanted to get the whole story, get it all straightened out, get it in writing, and then, everybody can see it. We’re not trying to hide it.”
Is it OK for a township board to start its own inquiry?
Although township officials said they wanted to determine whether a fraud occurred, it wasn't yet clear what Simons' explanation was.
Either way, multiple township officials and third parties outside of Cottrellville said how investigations into allegations of potential fraud or basic accounting errors are handled at the local level are situational from case to case.
Szabelski said he and fellow Trustee Tom Kaufman had been mailed a letter from multiple township employees, including Clerk Cheri Quinn, bringing up the receipt issue.
Monday’s meeting was set after they began talking to township staff individually following the Aug. 2 primary election.
Bill Deater, Grant Township’s supervisor who was also named the Michigan Township Association president earlier this year, said he, personally, may consider reaching out to a third party prior if an issue was raised — something he referenced more broadly about transparency, checks and balances, and safeguards in local government than in just Cottrellville.
“I’d think so,” he said Wednesday. “If it was something like this, or if I suspected something, I’d talk to the sheriff’s or the prosecutor’s office.”
Still, there may be little that prevents local government boards from starting their own inquiry before reaching out to legal experts or law enforcement.
Greg Stremers, a local attorney who represents township governments, said other expertise could be tapped for officials “if it needs further review after you do your investigation.”
Cindy Dodge, information liaison for the MTA, also said it’s not uncommon for a local government to host its own investigation first.
“A lot of times, what we find, even if an official has handled an accounting procedure incorrectly, it’s not for fraudulent reasons,” she said. “It’s one (where) they didn’t understand what everybody’s roll is … or they thought they already had board approval to make an expenditure or pay a bill. There’s all kinds of nuances that could easily solve (alleged issues other than something being) fraudulent.”
If something that’s been mishandled is also found to be “embezzled or unlawful,” Dodge said, “Then, typically, they should contact the state police.”
Trustees say no money was exchanged, but residents clap back
After the board exited closed session Monday, a small crowd of attendees launched a long series of questions about the receipt, who was involved, and what was being done to address concerns. By the end of the meeting, a few residents convened outside the township hall, discussing who'd issue a Freedom of Information Act request to find out more, if possible, before Sept. 7.
Kathy Shew, a former township treasurer, was among the more vocal Cottrellville residents Monday.
She was also the first to question why an attorney or the Michigan State Police weren’t yet brought into the process, adding, “Why would you take a chance that another incident would occur or documents would disappear?”
There wasn’t an actual charge lodged at any township official this week, but around town, Shew said the “scuttlebutt is it was actual fraud."
Szabelski said they were trying to avoid a snap judgment that’d unfairly proliferate accusations around the community.
“I don’t want to make a misstatement, and then, you get it and you’re off running, starting all these little fires. I want to make sure the document is accurate,” he said, referencing the package of information expected by Sept. 7.
Kaufman said he didn’t think it’d risen to the level of needing the legal expertise and was, so far, “more of a common sense” issue.
“This is just my take on it. There was no money taken. No money came in. No money went out. There’s no money exchanged, period,” he said. “We just have to get all the stuff. There was a receipt made, but that’s about as far as I can go with it until we review the rest of this.”
Others like resident Dustin Roberts said the township board’s process seemed “backwards.”
“You guys are not law enforcement. You’re not attorneys. You’re explaining to me that you don’t understand the law,” he said. “… You did have a meeting, and you closed the damn door. You sent us all packing.”
Szabelski said residents were welcome to request the information once available. The next meeting is set for 5 p.m. on Sept. 7, though its notice was not yet posted on the township’s website as of Wednesday. The board regularly meetings at 7 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month.
Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jackie20Smith. | https://www.thetimesherald.com/story/news/2022/08/25/cottrellville-township-board-looks-into-receipt-for-unpaid-bill/65415582007/ | 2022-08-25T12:23:07Z |
President Biden announced a sweeping student loan cancellation plan Wednesday. Some are rejoicing over newfound financial freedom, but there are critics on both sides.
Copyright 2022 NPR
President Biden announced a sweeping student loan cancellation plan Wednesday. Some are rejoicing over newfound financial freedom, but there are critics on both sides.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.keranews.org/2022-08-25/biden-wants-to-erase-some-or-all-federal-student-loan-debt-for-millions-of-borrowers | 2022-08-25T12:34:52Z |
NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts about the Biden administration's plan to forgive some college debt owed by millions of American students.
Copyright 2022 NPR
NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts about the Biden administration's plan to forgive some college debt owed by millions of American students.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.keranews.org/2022-08-25/sen-elizabeth-warren-has-been-pushing-for-student-loan-relief-for-years | 2022-08-25T12:34:58Z |
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.keranews.org/news/2022-08-24/uvalde-school-police-chief-fired-3-months-after-botched-response-to-school-shooting | 2022-08-25T12:35:05Z |
Biden kicks off midterm rally in safely Democratic Maryland
WASHINGTON (AP) — Aiming to turn months of legislative accomplishments into political energy, President Joe Biden will hold a kickoff rally Thursday to boost Democrats’ fortunes 75 days out from the midterm elections.
The event, in the safely Democratic Washington suburb of Rockville, Maryland, is meant to ease Biden into what White House aides say will be an aggressive season of championing his policy victories and aiding his party’s candidates. It comes as Democrats have seen their political hopes rebound in recent months amid a legacy-defining burst of action by Biden and Congress.
From bipartisan action on gun control, infrastructure and domestic technology manufacturing to Democrats-only efforts to tackle climate change and health care costs, Biden is expected to highlight the achievements of the party’s unified but razor-thin control of Washington. And he will try to sharpen the contrast with Republicans, who once seemed poised for sizable victories in November.
Just months ago, as inflation soared, Biden’s poll numbers soured and his agenda stalled, Democrats braced for significant losses. But the intense voter reaction to the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade and a productive summer on issues of core concern to Democrats have the party feeling like it is finally on the offensive heading into the Nov. 8 vote, even as the president remains unpopular.
Democrats, said Biden pollster John Anzalone, are “in a better position to compete because Joe Biden put us there.”
“It doesn’t mean that the wind’s at our back,” he added. “But we have more of a breeze than what felt like a gale hurricane in our face.”
Biden’s Thursday event comes a day after the president moved to fulfill a long-delayed campaign pledge to forgive federal student loans for lower- and middle-income borrowers — a move that Democrats believe will animate younger and Black and Latino voters.
Republicans, though, saw their own political advantage in the move, casting it as an unfair giveaway to would-be Democratic voters.
“President Biden’s inflation is crushing working families, and his answer is to give away even more government money to elites with higher salaries,” said Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell. “Democrats are literally using working Americans’ money to try to buy themselves some enthusiasm from their political base.”
Biden aides said he would continue to paint Republicans as the “ultra-MAGA” party — a reference to former President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan — opposing his agenda and embracing conservative ideological proposals on abortion and Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election.
Since the June Supreme Court ruling, Democrats have seen a boost in donations, polling and performance in special elections for open congressional seats. The latest came Tuesday in a Hudson Valley swing district that, in a Republican wave year, should have been an easy GOP win. Instead, Democratic Ulster County executive Pat Ryan, who campaigned on a platform of standing up for abortion rights, defeated his Republican counterpart from Duchess County, Marc Molinaro.
Meanwhile, Democrats have benefited from Republican candidates who won primaries but are struggling in the general campaign. Trump-backed Senate candidates have complicated the GOP’s chances in battleground states like Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona, while several Trump-aligned candidates in House races were not always the party’s first choice.
Trump’s grip on the GOP remains strong and has perhaps even become tighter in the aftermath of the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago home.
JB Poersch, the president of Senate Majority Project, an outside group that is working to elect Democrats to the Senate, said the Republican candidates are “getting caught up in the Trump tornado once again — that is exactly what voters of both parties don’t want.”
Biden’s political event, sponsored by the Democratic National Committee, comes as the president and members of his Cabinet are set to embark on what the White House has billed as the “Building a Better America Tour” to promote “the benefits of the President’s accomplishments and the Inflation Reduction Act to the American people and highlight the contrast with Congressional Republicans’ vision.”
It comes as the White House has benefited from a steady decline in gasoline prices, which while still elevated have dropped daily since mid-June.
Months ago, Democratic lawmakers facing tough reelection fights sought to make themselves scarce when Biden came to town, though White House aides said Biden was still an asset to them by elevating issues that resonate with voters and sharpening the distinction with Republicans.
Now allies see the fortunes beginning to change and the president as more of a direct asset to campaigns.
In Maryland, Biden was set to be joined by gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore and a host of other officials on the ballot. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who is up for reelection, was missing it, according to a spokesperson, because of a long-planned wedding anniversary trip with his wife, but he recorded a video welcoming Biden to his state that would play at the rally.
Cedric Richmond, the former Louisiana congressman and Biden senior adviser who now advises the Democratic National Committee, said if he were a candidate, he’d rush to have Biden at his side.
“I’d get in front of the van and become the drum major and talk about all the accomplishments that have been happened under the leadership of Biden,” Richmond said Wednesday. “You have a president who just keeps his head down and gets the work done and I think voters, as we kick off this campaign season, will see and appreciate that.”
He acknowledged some Democrats might opt against “bringing Washington to their district.”
“There are probably a few cases where that may make sense when you don’t even want to be associated with Washington,” Richmond said. “That has nothing to do with the president. That has everything to do with the typical dysfunction of Washington.”
He added, “The important point to stress is you don’t have that dysfunction right now because of President Biden.”
___
AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro and AP writer Nicholas Riccardi contributed to this report.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the 2022 midterm elections at https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/25/biden-kicks-off-midterm-rally-safely-democratic-maryland/ | 2022-08-25T13:14:01Z |
George Foreman accused of sexual assault
Published: Aug. 25, 2022 at 8:36 AM EDT|Updated: 36 minutes ago
(CNN) - Two women are accusing former boxer George Foreman of sexually assaulting them in the 1970s, according to civil lawsuits filed Wednesday in Los Angeles.
Those court documents said the women were between the ages of 13 and 16 when the assaults took place.
They don’t name Foreman in the suits but supply sufficient information to identify him.
Foreman denies the accusation and said the women are trying to extort money from his family.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/25/george-foreman-accused-sexual-assault/ | 2022-08-25T13:14:08Z |
Government revision shows economy shrank 0.6% last quarter
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy shrank at a 0.6% annual rate from April through June, the government said Thursday in a slight upgrade from its initial estimate. It marked a second straight quarter of economic contraction, which meets one informal sign of a recession.
Most economists, though, have said they doubt the economy is in or on the verge of a recession, given that America’s job market remains robust, with strong hiring, low unemployment and widespread openings. Still, inflation is near a four-decade high and is punishing consumers and businesses. And the Federal Reserve’s aggressive efforts to tame inflation through steep interest rate hikes are raising the risk of an eventual recession.
In its revised estimate Thursday, the Commerce Department calculated that the nation’s gross domestic product — the broadest measure of economic output — contracted last quarter, though less than the 1.6% annual decline in the January-March period. In its previous estimate for the April-June quarter, the government had estimated that the economy had shrunk at a 0.9% rate.
Consumer spending, which accounts for nearly 70% of U.S. economic activity, grew last quarter, but at a slower 1.5% annual pace, down from 1.8% from January through March.
By contrast, government spending and business investment declined. And inventories tumbled as businesses slowed their restocking of shelves, shaving 1.8 percentage points from GDP.
Rising interest rates hammered the housing market. Home construction plunged 16.2%.
In its drive to curb inflation, the Fed has raised its benchmark interest rate four times this year by increasingly large increments. By raising borrowing rates, the central bank is making it costlier to take out a mortgage or an auto or business loan. The idea is that consumers and businesses will borrow and spend less, thereby helping cool the economy and slow inflation.
In the meantime, signs of economic weakness are growing. The rise in borrowing costs has weakened the housing market, in particular. Sales of both new and existing homes are down sharply, and the pace of home construction in July sank to its lowest point since early last year. Similarly, retail sales were flat last month, with inflation and higher loan rates forcing many households to spend more cautiously.
Under Chair Jerome Powell, the Fed is aiming for a “soft landing,” whereby the economy slows enough to reduce hiring and wage growth without causing a recession and lowers inflation back to the Fed’s 2% annual target. But by tightening credit even while the economy has slowed, the Fed is heightening the risk that its rate hikes will trigger a downturn. The surge in inflation and fear of a recession have eroded consumer confidence and fanned public anxiety about the economy.
In recent weeks, inflation pressures have begun to slow modestly, driven by a steady drop in gas prices from their lofty highs, along with lower measures of overall inflation. In July, consumer prices were 8.5% more than they were a year earlier, down from a 9.1% year-over-year jump in June. And on a monthly basis, prices were unchanged from June to July.
Still, the costs of many necessities, notably food and rent, have shown little sign of moderating and continue to squeeze millions of households.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/25/government-revision-shows-economy-shrank-06-last-quarter/ | 2022-08-25T13:14:14Z |
Report: National Archives asked for Trump records in 2021
(CNN) - Records from the Trump era in the White House were not returned to the government during the final days of the administration despite a determination that they should be, according to an email that National Archives and Records Administration sent to President Donald Trump’s lawyers in May 2021.
The contents of the email were first reported by The Washington Post.
The FBI executed a search warrant earlier this month at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida as part of an investigation into the handling of presidential documents, including classified documents.
On Thursday, lawyers from the Department of Justice are expected to submit their recommended redactions to the affidavit used to obtain the warrant to search Trump’s residence.
The affidavit describes why investigators believed they had probable cause that a crime was committed.
President Joe Biden told reporters Wednesday that he had no advance warning about the search of Trump’s home.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/25/report-national-archives-asked-trump-records-2021/ | 2022-08-25T13:14:21Z |
Biden kicks off midterm rally in safely Democratic Maryland
WASHINGTON (AP) — Aiming to turn months of legislative accomplishments into political energy, President Joe Biden will hold a kickoff rally Thursday to boost Democrats’ fortunes 75 days out from the midterm elections.
The event, in the safely Democratic Washington suburb of Rockville, Maryland, is meant to ease Biden into what White House aides say will be an aggressive season of championing his policy victories and aiding his party’s candidates. It comes as Democrats have seen their political hopes rebound in recent months amid a legacy-defining burst of action by Biden and Congress.
From bipartisan action on gun control, infrastructure and domestic technology manufacturing to Democrats-only efforts to tackle climate change and health care costs, Biden is expected to highlight the achievements of the party’s unified but razor-thin control of Washington. And he will try to sharpen the contrast with Republicans, who once seemed poised for sizable victories in November.
Just months ago, as inflation soared, Biden’s poll numbers soured and his agenda stalled, Democrats braced for significant losses. But the intense voter reaction to the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade and a productive summer on issues of core concern to Democrats have the party feeling like it is finally on the offensive heading into the Nov. 8 vote, even as the president remains unpopular.
Democrats, said Biden pollster John Anzalone, are “in a better position to compete because Joe Biden put us there.”
“It doesn’t mean that the wind’s at our back,” he added. “But we have more of a breeze than what felt like a gale hurricane in our face.”
Biden’s Thursday event comes a day after the president moved to fulfill a long-delayed campaign pledge to forgive federal student loans for lower- and middle-income borrowers — a move that Democrats believe will animate younger and Black and Latino voters.
Republicans, though, saw their own political advantage in the move, casting it as an unfair giveaway to would-be Democratic voters.
“President Biden’s inflation is crushing working families, and his answer is to give away even more government money to elites with higher salaries,” said Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell. “Democrats are literally using working Americans’ money to try to buy themselves some enthusiasm from their political base.”
Biden aides said he would continue to paint Republicans as the “ultra-MAGA” party — a reference to former President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan — opposing his agenda and embracing conservative ideological proposals on abortion and Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election.
Since the June Supreme Court ruling, Democrats have seen a boost in donations, polling and performance in special elections for open congressional seats. The latest came Tuesday in a Hudson Valley swing district that, in a Republican wave year, should have been an easy GOP win. Instead, Democratic Ulster County executive Pat Ryan, who campaigned on a platform of standing up for abortion rights, defeated his Republican counterpart from Duchess County, Marc Molinaro.
Meanwhile, Democrats have benefited from Republican candidates who won primaries but are struggling in the general campaign. Trump-backed Senate candidates have complicated the GOP’s chances in battleground states like Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona, while several Trump-aligned candidates in House races were not always the party’s first choice.
Trump’s grip on the GOP remains strong and has perhaps even become tighter in the aftermath of the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago home.
JB Poersch, the president of Senate Majority Project, an outside group that is working to elect Democrats to the Senate, said the Republican candidates are “getting caught up in the Trump tornado once again — that is exactly what voters of both parties don’t want.”
Biden’s political event, sponsored by the Democratic National Committee, comes as the president and members of his Cabinet are set to embark on what the White House has billed as the “Building a Better America Tour” to promote “the benefits of the President’s accomplishments and the Inflation Reduction Act to the American people and highlight the contrast with Congressional Republicans’ vision.”
It comes as the White House has benefited from a steady decline in gasoline prices, which while still elevated have dropped daily since mid-June.
Months ago, Democratic lawmakers facing tough reelection fights sought to make themselves scarce when Biden came to town, though White House aides said Biden was still an asset to them by elevating issues that resonate with voters and sharpening the distinction with Republicans.
Now allies see the fortunes beginning to change and the president as more of a direct asset to campaigns.
In Maryland, Biden was set to be joined by gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore and a host of other officials on the ballot. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who is up for reelection, was missing it, according to a spokesperson, because of a long-planned wedding anniversary trip with his wife, but he recorded a video welcoming Biden to his state that would play at the rally.
Cedric Richmond, the former Louisiana congressman and Biden senior adviser who now advises the Democratic National Committee, said if he were a candidate, he’d rush to have Biden at his side.
“I’d get in front of the van and become the drum major and talk about all the accomplishments that have been happened under the leadership of Biden,” Richmond said Wednesday. “You have a president who just keeps his head down and gets the work done and I think voters, as we kick off this campaign season, will see and appreciate that.”
He acknowledged some Democrats might opt against “bringing Washington to their district.”
“There are probably a few cases where that may make sense when you don’t even want to be associated with Washington,” Richmond said. “That has nothing to do with the president. That has everything to do with the typical dysfunction of Washington.”
He added, “The important point to stress is you don’t have that dysfunction right now because of President Biden.”
___
AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro and AP writer Nicholas Riccardi contributed to this report.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the 2022 midterm elections at https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/25/biden-kicks-off-midterm-rally-safely-democratic-maryland/ | 2022-08-25T13:30:27Z |
Cat gets kudos for killing rabid bat in home
OLYMPIA, Wash. (KING) - There are lot of stories about heroic dogs saving the day for their masters, but cats can be heroes, too.
Suzanne Featherstone is surrounded by nature in her home tucked in the woods above Olympia.
Her indoor housecat, named for her owl-like eyes, Me-owly, is the top-ranked animal around here these days.
“Our hero, Me-Owly, I like to say she’s the cat who knows how to say her name,” Suzanne Featherstone said.
She said last week she and her husband David left a bathroom window open “on the left up there, it was just open a little crack.”
At some point in the night, a brown bat made it inside and eventually into their bedroom.
“I heard the cat kind of running around, chasing something, and I thought maybe she was playing with a toy or something. And then when I got up in the morning, I looked down. I’m like, ‘That doesn’t look like a mouse,’” Suzanne Featherstone said.
Brown bats are common in the area, especially in the summer. They control bug populations and prevent the spread of diseases.
But the bat at the Featherstone home tested positive for rabies, and since the homeowners were sleeping in the same room with it, the county said the couple should get medical attention immediately.
“They told us if you have symptoms, it’s too late, that it’s a quiet disease, and that’s why there’s such precaution,” Suzanne Featherstone said.
Me-owly’s all caught up on her rabies shots, so she’s expected to be OK, so she can keep protecting her family from what may be lurking next.
“Who knows what would have happened,” Suzanne Featherstone said. “Good for the cat, she’s the hero.”
While Me-owly had already her rabies shots, her family had to go to the health department to get theirs.
The Featherstones had their first round of rabies shots themselves Wednesday morning.
Copyright 2022 KING via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/25/cat-gets-kudos-killing-rabid-bat-home/ | 2022-08-25T13:30:34Z |
George Foreman accused of sexual assault
Published: Aug. 25, 2022 at 8:36 AM EDT|Updated: 54 minutes ago
(CNN) - Two women are accusing former boxer George Foreman of sexually assaulting them in the 1970s, according to civil lawsuits filed Wednesday in Los Angeles.
Those court documents said the women were between the ages of 13 and 16 when the assaults took place.
They don’t name Foreman in the suits but supply sufficient information to identify him.
Foreman denies the accusation and said the women are trying to extort money from his family.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/25/george-foreman-accused-sexual-assault/ | 2022-08-25T13:30:40Z |
Government revision shows economy shrank 0.6% last quarter
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy shrank at a 0.6% annual rate from April through June, the government said Thursday in a slight upgrade from its initial estimate. It marked a second straight quarter of economic contraction, which meets one informal sign of a recession.
Most economists, though, have said they doubt the economy is in or on the verge of a recession, given that America’s job market remains robust, with strong hiring, low unemployment and widespread openings. Still, inflation is near a four-decade high and is punishing consumers and businesses. And the Federal Reserve’s aggressive efforts to tame inflation through steep interest rate hikes are raising the risk of an eventual recession.
In its revised estimate Thursday, the Commerce Department calculated that the nation’s gross domestic product — the broadest measure of economic output — contracted last quarter, though less than the 1.6% annual decline in the January-March period. In its previous estimate for the April-June quarter, the government had estimated that the economy had shrunk at a 0.9% rate.
Consumer spending, which accounts for nearly 70% of U.S. economic activity, grew last quarter, but at a slower 1.5% annual pace, down from 1.8% from January through March.
By contrast, government spending and business investment declined. And inventories tumbled as businesses slowed their restocking of shelves, shaving 1.8 percentage points from GDP.
Rising interest rates hammered the housing market. Home construction plunged 16.2%.
In its drive to curb inflation, the Fed has raised its benchmark interest rate four times this year by increasingly large increments. By raising borrowing rates, the central bank is making it costlier to take out a mortgage or an auto or business loan. The idea is that consumers and businesses will borrow and spend less, thereby helping cool the economy and slow inflation.
In the meantime, signs of economic weakness are growing. The rise in borrowing costs has weakened the housing market, in particular. Sales of both new and existing homes are down sharply, and the pace of home construction in July sank to its lowest point since early last year. Similarly, retail sales were flat last month, with inflation and higher loan rates forcing many households to spend more cautiously.
Under Chair Jerome Powell, the Fed is aiming for a “soft landing,” whereby the economy slows enough to reduce hiring and wage growth without causing a recession and lowers inflation back to the Fed’s 2% annual target. But by tightening credit even while the economy has slowed, the Fed is heightening the risk that its rate hikes will trigger a downturn. The surge in inflation and fear of a recession have eroded consumer confidence and fanned public anxiety about the economy.
In recent weeks, inflation pressures have begun to slow modestly, driven by a steady drop in gas prices from their lofty highs, along with lower measures of overall inflation. In July, consumer prices were 8.5% more than they were a year earlier, down from a 9.1% year-over-year jump in June. And on a monthly basis, prices were unchanged from June to July.
Still, the costs of many necessities, notably food and rent, have shown little sign of moderating and continue to squeeze millions of households.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/25/government-revision-shows-economy-shrank-06-last-quarter/ | 2022-08-25T13:30:46Z |
Report: National Archives asked for Trump records in 2021
(CNN) - Records from the Trump era in the White House were not returned to the government during the final days of the administration despite a determination that they should be, according to an email that National Archives and Records Administration sent to President Donald Trump’s lawyers in May 2021.
The contents of the email were first reported by The Washington Post.
The FBI executed a search warrant earlier this month at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida as part of an investigation into the handling of presidential documents, including classified documents.
On Thursday, lawyers from the Department of Justice are expected to submit their recommended redactions to the affidavit used to obtain the warrant to search Trump’s residence.
The affidavit describes why investigators believed they had probable cause that a crime was committed.
President Joe Biden told reporters Wednesday that he had no advance warning about the search of Trump’s home.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/25/report-national-archives-asked-trump-records-2021/ | 2022-08-25T13:30:58Z |
KYIV, Ukraine — Six months ago, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine. The half-year mark comes on the same day — Aug. 24 — as a national holiday celebrating Ukraine's independence from the Soviet Union, an event in 1991 noted for its lack of bloodshed. Today the holiday takes on new meaning for many Ukrainians, as the country continues to fight in what it calls a new "war for independence."
Over the course of six months, the war has captured the world's attention, disrupted the global distribution of food and fuel and left the country reeling. To understand some of the war's impact on Ukraine, here are six key numbers:
1. Over 13 million Ukrainians have been displaced
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has prompted Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. Since February, more than 13 million people have been forced to flee their homes, according to the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR. Nearly 6.7 million refugees have dispersed across Europe, with Poland taking in the largest share. Another 6.6 million people are internally displaced within Ukraine.
Most Ukrainians who have fled the country are women and children, as the government has barred men ages 18 to 60 from leaving. The European Union's migration department says almost 500,000 Ukrainian children have been integrated into schools in EU countries.
Meanwhile, as the war has stretched on and shifted course, many Ukrainians are going back home. According to a survey by the International Organization for Migration, 5.5 million previously displaced people have returned home.
2. Tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians may have lost their lives in the war
Both sides have reported losing military personnel since the invasion began in February. Exact figures are hard to come by, since each country is reluctant to admit losses and often inflates the number of enemy fighters they've killed.
Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhny, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed forces, said this week at a public forum that Ukraine has lost 9,000 military personnel. The Ukrainian military has also claimed to have killed or wounded 45,200 Russian military personnel, with the largest losses in the eastern Donetsk and southern Mykolaiv regions.
Meanwhile, the U.N. human rights office has documented nearly 5,600 civilians killed in Ukraine during the conflict but believes the actual toll is much higher.
Russia has been releasing scant information on military casualties. Officials there said 1,351 of their own soldiers died in the first weeks of the war, in March, but have not released updated data since. Independent Russian news outlet iStories says it counted (through open-source information) more than 5,000 Russian service members killed, but that the true number could be higher.
In March, Russian military officials estimated Ukrainian losses at around 14,000 killed and 16,000 out of action.
3. Russia occupies 20% of Ukrainian land
In 2014, Russia invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. Soon Russian-backed militants declared their intent to separate from Ukraine in the country's far east, launching a conflict that's been locked in a stalemate for nearly eight years.
In February, Russians controlled around 17,000 square miles of Ukrainian land, according to Ukraine's mission to the U.N. — Crimea being the size of Maryland and the self-proclaimed independent "republics" in Ukraine's east amounting to a territory about the size of New Jersey.
Six months into the full-scale invasion, Russia has expanded its territory in Ukraine almost threefold. In June, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia has occupied 20% of the country, or about 47,000 square miles. That's a territory about the size of New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware and much of Maryland combined.
The line of contact between Russian and Ukrainian forces extends 570 miles, as of Monday.
4. Dozens of countries have pledged billions of dollars in military aid since the war began
Dozens of countries have supplied Ukraine with military assistance, including weapons systems and training. The bulk of the aid has come from the U.S. With President Biden's announcement Wednesday of another $3 billion, Washington has now committed $10.6 billion in security aid since Russia's February invasion. Billions more will be coming from an aid package passed in May.
On Ukrainian battlefields, Australia has become synonymous with the 88 armored vehicles it's provided, Turkey is known for its roughly 80 combat drones, Britain for the 22,000 soldiers it trained. Other countries have offered logistical support, like the 3.2 million gallons of diesel and jet fuel Slovakia provided.
When it comes to economic warfare, EU member states plus another 18 countries have levied individual sanctions against Russia in the past six months. But experts warn the sanctions could have a limited effect on Russia's export potential, as two-thirds of the world's population is concentrated in the countries that have either stayed neutral or supported Russia, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.
5. Ukraine's economy could shrink by as much as 45% because of the invasion
The invasion has devastated Ukraine's economy across the board. The World Bank estimated in April that the Ukrainian economy could shrink by 45% this year. Last week, Ukraine's economy minister said the country's gross domestic product of $200.9 billion in 2021 is likely to contract between 35% and 40% by the end of the year.
The conflict has cost Ukraine over $113.5 billion in damage, the Kyiv School of Economics says, with housing and transportation infrastructure hit particularly hard. KSE says the country will need upwards of $200 billion to recover.
Meanwhile, Reuters reports that Ukraine's Agriculture Ministry says grain exports are down 46% from last year due to a five-month blockade of the country's Black Sea ports. And despite a U.N.-brokered deal reached in July to allow food shipments to depart Ukraine, the agriculture sector is still expected to take a huge hit. The country's steel industry has also taken a beating.
Ukraine has lots of friends throughout the world who are trying to help keep its economy afloat. The U.S. alone has already pledged $8.5 billion in financial assistance to Kyiv this year to keep government offices open and staffed and utilities working. Meanwhile, the European Union has given billions of euros to Ukraine since February, and has recently fashioned a package to give 8 billion euros more in financial aid over the next six months.
6. Bake sales, spare change and "St. Javelin" have raised over $500 million in private money to help Ukraine
In February, a Canadian-Ukrainian writer, Christian Borys, and California artist Chris Shaw created a meme of a woman appearing like the Virgin Mary holding a rocket launcher. Borys called it "St. Javelin," after the U.S.-supplied anti-tank missiles. Since then, he's formed the meme into a brand that has sold more than $3 million worth of stickers and other merchandise to help Ukraine.
Borys' initiative is one of hundreds like it.
In June, Ukrainian TV personality Serhiy Prytula asked his fans to buy him a Turkish-made drone priced at $5 million. He ended up raising $55 million. Baykar, the company that makes the drone, refused to take the money. Instead, the company donated three drones. In August, Prytula used the funds he raised to purchase a reconnaissance satellite for Ukrainian intelligence.
As of July, Ukraine's National Bank reports to have collected $530 million in donations for the Ukrainian military — mostly from people rounding up at shop cash registers and fundraisers in the country. On Tuesday, residents of the small western Ukrainian town of Dubno raised $866.55 at a bake sale and flea market for the military.
Julian Hayda reported from Kamianets-Podilskyi, Ashley Westerman from Lviv and Elissa Nadworny from Kyiv. Polina Lytvynova contributed to this report.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
Loading... | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-24/6-key-numbers-that-reveal-the-staggering-impact-of-russias-war-in-ukraine | 2022-08-25T13:50:49Z |
Tawonga Zakeyu is the oldest of 13 siblings. She grew up in Machinga District in the southern region of Malawi, the 12th-poorest country in the world.
Zakeyu is working for an organization called CAMFED – the Campaign for Female Education – on a key, often-overlooked strategy in the fight against the climate crisis: women's and girls' education.
And her own life story is an illustration of the many different benefits of this strategy. Thanks to CAMFED, she finished high school and college, studied abroad in Costa Rica and learned Spanish, and at the age of 24, she lives on her own, does work she loves, sends extra money back home and isn't thinking about getting married any time soon.
"It feels good that I'm contributing to someone's life," she says. "I can see the impact I'm making in a girl child's life."
Organizations like Drawdown and the Brookings Institution affirm that universal, high-quality education for all genders is key to tackling the climate crisis.
The most direct reason is that when girls are allowed to stay in school, they tend to wait longer to get married. This is especially important in countries like Malawi, where the average age of a woman at first birth was 19 in 2016, and women go on to have an average of four children. Educated girls, like Zakeyu, also become more economically empowered, which gives them more agency to access health-care services like birth control.
Unfortunately, the COVID pandemic was a major setback for girls' education in particular. Lockdowns shuttered schools around the world. Low-income countries suffered economically and on average took much longer to reopen schools. And girls were pushed to take on caregiving responsibilities and paid work. As a result, UNICEF calculated that over the next ten years, up to 10 million more girls are at the risk of becoming child brides.
The nexus between fertility and climate can be a tricky issue to talk about ethically. These organizations are clear that, first, rich countries are far more responsible for carbon emissions, and second, that coercive reproductive policies have no place in a climate agenda that respects human rights. Still, Drawdown, a nonprofit which focuses on solutions to the climate crisis, calculates that investment in voluntary – key word – family planning programs, together with universal high-quality education, could reduce global emissions of greenhouse gases by 68.90 gigatons between 2020 and 2050.
Education also helps women and their families survive climate disasters, which are becoming more frequent and more severe. Ruth Naylor, at the Education Development Trust, says that to take one striking example, in Bangladesh, girls weren't traditionally taught to swim. But by expanding access to swimming, the country "has really managed to turn the dial on how many women die in the floods." (In June, the country launched a massive new effort to offer swimming lessons to children 6-10).
"I don't want to put girls and women in a box as victims or as saviors," Naylor says.
"But if we think of vulnerabilities and agency, I think it's really important to think about girls education from that point of view, because ... we know that in climate-related disasters, it tends to be often a disproportionate number of girls and women who are impacted, who die, especially in flooding but also in droughts and and storms."
Climate resilience through women's education can take many other forms, like women learning to follow weather reports or choose more durable construction techniques for their homes. Or as Zakeyu is doing, to make farming more resilient and productive despite changing weather.
Zakeyu is training other girls to be a part of CAMFED's Agriculture Guides program. This program supports young women farmers, who tend to own small plots of land, to increase their yields and practice "climate-smart" agriculture. This includes techniques like drip irrigation, which uses water more efficiently; they teach a thrifty method, poking holes in reused plastic bottles. Women are also encouraged to switch to traditional crops like cassava that use less water, and to practice agroforestry, by planting trees to shade their crops, increasing yields while reducing water needs.
Zakeyu says the people she works with need no convincing of the reality of climate change. They can see it.
"I remember last year when I was talking to my mom ... and she was telling me that it hasn't started raining yet. And then in November it still wasn't raining, and the rain came around December. I was like, wow, because before, I would say, like 10 years ago, in October, November, people have already started planting, and by January, February, the maize is ready."
And when the rain does come, often it's in torrents. In February of this year, "It was raining, I think, for like four days and we didn't have electricity the entire four days and in some places we didn't have water. And right now, people at the lowest parts of Malawi, they are homeless because their houses, they fell down. Their animals, they're washed away." She says it's unfair that they are experiencing such severe effects from climate change, because people in Malawi are responsible for just 0.11 tons of carbon emissions per person; in the U.S. it's 15 tons per person.
Despite her frustrations, Zakeyu finds a lot of reward in her work, which she says has benefits at many different levels. "We want to restore our environment and then we want these women to have food at the same time, have enough to sell, to have money, to be economically empowered and not just for them, but also for their families, for their community." With her own life as an example, the young women she is training, and the young women farmers they are training, she is pushing back against a culture where families are more apt to pay school fees for a son than for a daughter. "With CAMFED, we are trying to teach the nation that when you educate a girl child, everything changes."
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-24/why-keeping-girls-in-school-is-a-good-strategy-to-cope-with-climate-change | 2022-08-25T13:50:56Z |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California is poised to set a 2035 deadline for all new cars, trucks and SUVs sold in the state to be powered by electricity or hydrogen, an ambitious step that will reshape the U.S. car market by speeding the transition to more climate-friendly vehicles.
The California Air Resources Board will vote Thursday on the policy, which sets the most aggressive roadmap in the nation for moving away from gas-powered cars. It doesn't eliminate such vehicles, however.
People can continue driving gas-fueled vehicles and purchasing used ones after 2035. The plan also allows for one-fifth of sales after 2035 to be plug-in hybrids that can run on batteries and gas.
But it sets a course for ultimately ending the era of filling up at the local gas station. The switch from gas to electric cars will drastically reduce emissions and air pollutants. The transition may be painful in parts of the state that are still dominated by oil; California remains the seventh-largest oil producing state, though its output it falling as the state pushes forward with its climate goals.
"The climate crisis is solvable if we focus on the big, bold steps necessary to stem the tide of carbon pollution," Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday. He announced the 2035 goal two years ago and regulators have spent the time since then working out the details of what Newsom termed "the action we must take if we're serious about leaving this planet better off for future generations."
There are practical hurdles to overcome to reach the goal, notably enough reliable power and charging stations. California now has about 80,000 stations in public places, far short of the 250,000 it wants by 2025. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents many major car makers, flagged the lack of infrastructure, access to materials needed to make batteries, and supply chain issues among the challenges to meeting the state's timeline.
"These are complex, intertwined and global issues well beyond the control of either (the California Air Resources Board) or the auto industry," John Bozella, the group's president, said in a statement.
Though the state makes up 10% of the U.S. car market, it's home to 43% of the nation's 2.6 million registered plug-in vehicles, according to the air board.
California climate officials say the state's new policy will be the world's most ambitious because it sets clear benchmarks for ramping up electric vehicle sales over the next dozen years. By 2026, for example, one-third of new cars sold must be electric. About 16% of cars sold in California in the first three months of this year were electric.
The European Parliament in June backed a plan to effectively prohibit the sale of gas and diesel cars in the 27-nation bloc by 2035, and Canada has mandated the sale of zero-emission cars by the same year. The Chinese province of Hainan said this week it would do the same by 2030.
In the U.S., Massachusetts, Washington and New York are among states that have set goals to transform their car markets or have already committed to following California's new rules.
California has historically been granted permission by the U.S. Environmental Protection agency to set its own tailpipe emissions rules for cars, and 17 other states follow some or all of its policies.
The new electric vehicle rules will also require federal approval, which is considered likely with President Joe Biden in the White House. A future Republican president, though, could challenge California's authority to set its own car standards, as the Trump administration did.
Indeed, the new commitment comes as California works to maintain reliable electricity while it moves away from gas-fired power plants in favor of solar, wind and other cleaner sources of energy. Earlier this year, top energy officials warned the state could run out of power during the hottest days of summer, which happened briefly in August 2020.
That hasn't happened yet this year. But Newsom is pushing to keep open the state's last-remaining nuclear plant beyond its planned closer in 2025, and the state may turn to diesel generators or natural gas plants as a backup when the grid is strained.
Adding more car chargers will put a higher demand on the energy grid.
Ensuring access to charging stations is also key to ramping up electric vehicle sales. The infrastructure bill passed by Congress last year provides $5 billion for states to build charges every 50 miles (80 kilometers) along interstate highways. Newsom, meanwhile, has pledged to spend billions to boost zero-emission vehicle sales, including by adding chargers in low-income neighborhoods.
Driving an electric vehicle long distances today, even in California, requires careful planning about where to stop and charge, said Mary Nichols, former chair of the California Air Resources Board. The money from the state and federal government will go along way to boosting that infrastructure and making electric cars a more convenient option, she said.
"This is going to be a transformative process and the mandate for vehicle sales is only one piece of it," she said.
Though hydrogen is a fuel option under the new regulations, cars that run on fuel-cells have made up less than 1% of car sales in recent years.
Both the state and government have rebates for thousands of dollars to offset the cost of buying electric cars, and the rules have incentives for car makers to make used electric vehicles available to low- and middle-income people. Over the past 12 years, California has provided more than $1 billion in rebates for the sale of 478,000 electric, plug-in or hybrid vehicles, according to the air board.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/california-is-poised-to-phase-out-sales-of-new-gas-powered-cars | 2022-08-25T13:51:02Z |
Charles Martinez asked himself: “What’s worse than a crisis?”
The dean of the College of Education at UT Austin, Martinez says the teacher shortage that Texas and the U.S. are facing is a chronic crisis that has only grown worse during the COVID-19 pandemic. So, he tried to find a term to describe it.
“I actually looked it up myself and found the better word to describe the moment is probably 'a brewing catastrophe,'” he said. “A crisis that has become much more challenging in the face of the pandemic and the aftermath of the pandemic and the sort of divisive moments that teachers are facing.”
According to the Texas Education Agency, the 2021-2022 school year saw nearly 43,000 teachers throughout the state leave the field, or about 12% of teachers. The year before, almost 34,000, or about 9% of Texas teachers, left the field.
When it comes to what is driving teachers out of the profession, Martinez said pay is a factor but so is a lack of support and limited professional development opportunities.
“Once you’ve endured those first few years, you’re beginning to ask, ‘Well, what’s next for me? Am I going to spend the next 20 years dealing with the same kind of headwinds that I’m experiencing now?'” he said.
Despite the challenges, Martinez said enrollment in UT’s College of Education has been growing and students are aware of the obstacles.
“They are not naive about the reality,” he said. “They know that the pay is lousy. They know that the challenges are great. But they also know there is a calling and a moment in which that calling to be in service to their communities matters, and that’s why they’re here.”
Soon-to-be teachers expect challenges
Annie Palmer and Melissa Leon, students in UT’s College of Education, are set to graduate in December. Both started out with different majors. Initially, Leon was a biology major, but she wasn’t enjoying it. She started thinking about what she would prefer to study and she kept coming back to the idea of being a teacher.
“Growing up, I was always pretending to play teacher with my younger sister,” she said. “So we’d print out addition worksheets and I’d be like, ‘You have a test,’ and I would be pretending to be a teacher. And it did bring a lot of joy.”
After changing majors, Leon was relieved.
“It really felt like this was what I was supposed to be doing when I switched,” she said.
Palmer’s interest in becoming a teacher stemmed from the great teachers she had growing up.
“I just feel so blessed and lucky to have those relationships,” she said. “So, giving that to another child is like a dream to me because I know it can totally change the course of your life if you know somebody cares about you in the way that teachers have the ability to.”
While being in the classroom is hard work, Palmer said seeing students’ growth makes the challenges worth it.
“All these tiny little moments throughout the day — when you leave and you get in your car, I want to go back,” she said. “So it’s like you’re struggling the whole day and you’re so stressed and you’re so tired. All you want is a minute alone, and then as soon as you’re alone, you’re like, ‘I miss them.'”
Palmer and Leon said it is concerning seeing so many teachers leave the field.
“That did make me really nervous and sometimes it did make me feel like why am I doing this if every current teacher is dreading their job?” Leon said. “But at the end of the day, being there with the students and seeing their growth from the beginning of the semester to the end is just worth every bit of it.”
Palmer said she is hopeful teaching will be a lifelong career, but the difficulties of the field are not lost on her.
“I am very aware of teacher burnout, and I’m very aware that it is a very tricky career to choose with finances and everything like that,” she said. “It’s going to be really hard, but I do see myself doing it forever.”
Keeping early career teachers in the field
In addition to graduating new teachers, the UT College of Education also supports and tries to retain early career teachers. The college has a partnership with the Austin Independent School District called Texas Education START that provides mentors to first through third-year teachers at 14 elementary schools.
Kelly Ocasio, who used to be a teacher, is one of the mentors, known as a teacher leader. When she was working on her master’s degree, she actually focused on teacher burnout because she felt it herself.
“I know that there was stress in the classroom,” she said. “The biggest stress is the fact that it’s a job that there is not a lot of gratitude for among society. We just treat our teachers like they’re babysitters.”
Ocasio added that as a teacher she was expected to work 12-hour days and still felt like she was behind.
“There just wasn’t work-life balance. ... Friday nights I was literally in bed by 6 p.m. Just totally physically [and] emotionally exhausted,” she said. “So, I think all of that just leads to a sense of this is not a sustainable career that I felt like I could do long term.”
But Ocasio wanted to find a way to make teaching more sustainable. Becoming a teacher leader with Texas Education START was one way to do that.
“We have to create a workforce where people can grow and become leaders and become the mentors themselves for future teachers," she said. "But that’s just not happening systemically because people are leaving too quickly."
"I have to do what’s best for me. And if I cannot live reasonably with being a teacher, I will have to leave this profession as others are right now.” Brandi Hartman, elementary school teacher
One of the early career teachers that Ocasio works with is Brandi Hartman, who just started her second year as an elementary school teacher in Austin ISD. She said when she decided to become a teacher, she did face some skepticism from family and friends who wondered how she would make a living on a teacher’s salary.
“I had told people, well I don’t want to work a 9 to 5 sitting at a desk, staring at a screen. I would go stir-crazy,” she said. “So with kids and students, I’m up and we’re all around the classroom.”
Hartman said she did have coworkers who left last year and she supports them making a change.
“But for me, just because I’m newer, I do feel like I do have more in me to keep going,” she said.
Hartman said she would love to be a teacher for her entire career, but she doesn’t know if that’s going to be possible.
“The pressures of what the state’s putting on us, the districts, the schools and just not asking teachers what we need right now,” she said. “I feel like they’re making all these decisions without actually asking the teachers.”
But, right now, Hartman’s students keep her in the classroom.
"My students and just seeing their growth and progress and them just coming to me and being like 'Oh, Ms. Hartman, I just did this, I spelled this word correctly,'" she said, "that's just what gets me through this. It's what I do with my students."
But, she says, she can barely afford to support herself on her current salary. She said increasing pay is one way to address the ongoing teacher shortage.
“For me, personally, I don’t know if I’ll be able to do this for 30 years. I’d really hope I can stick it out,” Hartman said. “But with just how things are going, I have to do what’s best for me. And if I cannot live reasonably with being a teacher, I will have to leave this profession as others are right now.”
Copyright 2022 KUT 90.5. To see more, visit KUT 90.5. | https://www.keranews.org/education/2022-08-25/they-are-not-naive-about-the-reality-new-texas-teachers-enter-a-field-in-crisis | 2022-08-25T14:06:53Z |
Cat gets kudos for killing rabid bat in home
OLYMPIA, Wash. (KING) - There are a lot of stories about heroic dogs saving the day for their masters, but cats can be heroes, too.
Suzanne Featherstone is surrounded by nature in her home tucked in the woods above Olympia.
Her indoor housecat, named for her owl-like eyes, Me-owly, is the top-ranked animal around here these days.
“Our hero, Me-Owly, I like to say she’s the cat who knows how to say her name,” Suzanne Featherstone said.
She said last week she and her husband David left a bathroom window open “on the left up there, it was just open a little crack.”
At some point in the night, a brown bat made it inside and eventually into their bedroom.
“I heard the cat kind of running around, chasing something, and I thought maybe she was playing with a toy or something. And then when I got up in the morning, I looked down. I’m like, ‘That doesn’t look like a mouse,’” Suzanne Featherstone said.
Brown bats are common in the area, especially in the summer. They control bug populations and prevent the spread of diseases.
But the bat at the Featherstone home tested positive for rabies, and since the homeowners were sleeping in the same room with it, the county said the couple should get medical attention immediately.
“They told us if you have symptoms, it’s too late, that it’s a quiet disease, and that’s why there’s such precaution,” Suzanne Featherstone said.
Me-owly’s all caught up on her rabies shots, so she’s expected to be OK, so she can keep protecting her family from what may be lurking next.
“Who knows what would have happened,” Suzanne Featherstone said. “Good for the cat, she’s the hero.”
While Me-owly had already her rabies shots, her family had to go to the health department to get theirs.
The Featherstones had their first round of rabies shots themselves Wednesday morning.
Copyright 2022 KING via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/25/cat-gets-kudos-killing-rabid-bat-home/ | 2022-08-25T14:44:47Z |
DHS shuts down disinformation board
WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Department of Homeland Security’s disinformation board has officially been disbanded.
The board was originally intended to coordinate the department’s activities related to fighting disinformation aimed at the U.S. public.
However, intense Republican-led backlash forced it to be put on hold back in May.
Nina Jankowicz, an expert on Russian disinformation, resigned at that time because the future of the board seemed uncertain.
GOP lawmakers accused her of being biased because of her past tweets on Hunter Biden’s laptop and the discredited Steele dossier.
Even though the board no longer exists, DHS officials said they will continue the fight against disinformation that undermines America’s security.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/25/dhs-shuts-down-disinformation-board/ | 2022-08-25T14:44:53Z |
Mystery illness is killing young dogs in Michigan
OSTEGO COUNTY, Mich. (WPBN) – Veterinarians in Michigan are investigating a mysterious illness that is killing young dogs.
The symptoms are similar to parvo, but the unvaccinated animals keep testing negative for the virus.
“Based on the cases that have been confirmed at the diagnostic lab, those animals were not adequately or vaccinated at all,” Michigan State Veterinarian Nora Wineland explained.
The symptoms include bloody stool, vomiting, acting lethargic and then dying several days later.
The negative parvo tests have veterinarians questioning what this illness could be.
“That is the question of the hour and something that we’re working on really hard to get an understanding of. We’ve done limited sequencing,” Director Kim Dodd said. “We’re going to do a little more additional sequencing to get a better sense of more specifics, the specific characteristics of this particular isolate.”
Dodd said they are in the early stages of the investigation and are encouraging veterinarians to send samples from animals they believe could have this illness.
“The more testing we can do, the more definitive we can be,” she explained.
Wineland suggests dog owners be vigilant in keeping up with vaccinations and being mindful of where their dogs go.
“If you have a dog, don’t take your dog places where they’re likely to encounter sick, or unvaccinated animals, if you can possibly avoid it,” Wineland said. “And practice good hygiene. Pick up after your dog, don’t let your dog be sniffing into fecal matter left behind by other dogs because that’s a great way to spread a disease that you don’t want.”
About 30 dogs in Michigan have died from this illness so far. No other states have reported a similar syndrome.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/25/mystery-illness-is-killing-young-dogs-michigan/ | 2022-08-25T14:45:00Z |
Walking, racket sports lower risk of early death, study says
Published: Aug. 25, 2022 at 10:19 AM EDT|Updated: 25 minutes ago
(CNN) - If you want to keep adding candles to your birthday cake, grab a pair of sneakers.
According to a study published Wednesday in the JAMA Network Open journal, regular physical activity appears to lessen a person’s risk of early death.
The findings are based on more than 272,000 people between 59 and 82 years old who self-reported their exercise levels.
Researchers followed these participants for over a decade and looked at their health records for the cause of death.
The study found racket sports, running and walking all helped decrease the risk of early death.
Medical officials advise American adults to do at least two and a half hours worth of moderate activity per week.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/25/walking-racket-sports-lower-risk-early-death-study-says/ | 2022-08-25T14:45:07Z |
4 charts that show what Biden’s student loan forgiveness means for America
(Stacker) - Like crumbling infrastructure or rising gas prices, student loan forgiveness is one of those far-reaching political issues that affect a huge swath of Americans. Close to 1 in 5 Americans have student loans. That’s some 45 million people with a combined $1.75 trillion in student loan debt.
The Biden administration’s forgiveness plan is expected to have far-reaching impact. It will relieve $10,000 in loan debt per federal borrower with an individual income under $125,000 and a household income under $250,000; it will provide $20,000 in relief for borrowers that attended college on income-based Pell Grants.
The announcement is welcomed news for many borrowers as the CARES Act—which paused student loan repayments for most people with federal debt—was set to expire on August 31, 2022. In addition to the debt relief, the administration’s plan extends that deadline to Dec. 31, 2022.
The plan is a long time coming: President Biden first promised to forgive at least $10,000 in student loan debt on the campaign trail in early 2020 and made the same promise after he won the election in November 2020.
Stacker compiled data from the College Board, the Office of Federal Financial Aid, the National Center for Education Statistics, and the Urban Institute to visualize how student debt has grown over the past 50 years and what $10,000 of loan forgiveness could mean for borrowers.
One-third of federal borrowers would see their debt completely forgiven
Even with $10,000 of student loan forgiveness per federal borrower, most Americans with student loans will still have some debt to repay. But effectively canceling most (or all) student loans for borrowers with the smallest amount of debt would target Americans who are most likely to miss payments.
Analysis from the Federal Reserve shows that people with the least amount of education debt often have more difficulty paying it off, likely because borrowers with more debt often have higher levels of education and increased earning power.
In fact, from 2020-2021, 21% of borrowers with less than $15,000 in outstanding debt were late on payments, compared to 17% of borrowers with more than $15,000 in debt.
The number of borrowers who fell behind on their loan payments temporarily decreased in the fall of 2021 due to COVID-19 relief efforts; however, for many, student loan payback is a long-term challenge: According to data from the Department of Education, it takes borrowers 17 years on average to pay off their student loans.
The rising cost of tuition has made it harder for students and families to pay for college
Over the past several decades, the cost of attending college in the U.S. has steadily risen largely due to a reduction of state funding, an increase in university amenities, and unprecedented demand from prospective students.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, average undergraduate tuition rose a full 20% between 2011 and 2021 alone. Tuition at private, nonprofit institutions increased more than tuition at public schools during this time period.
Loan balances rose right alongside tuition, too. Since 1990, the average loan balance at graduation has nearly quadrupled from just under $7,000 to $30,000 in 2020, according to the Education Data Initiative, which looked at averages across all colleges.
Average federal loan packages have grown faster than the average grant size
If a student doesn’t want to take on debt, federal grants—financial aid that doesn’t need to be repaid—are an attractive alternative. The problem? The amount of federal grant money available to students hasn’t kept up with continually increasing tuition or with the growth of federal loans.
Moreover, federal grants only cover up to a few thousand dollars per year per student. One of the most common types of grant, the Federal Pell Grant, awarded undergraduate students a maximum of $6,895 for the 2022-2023 school year.
The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant—which is also awarded to students with exceptional financial need—ranges from just $100 to $4,000 per year. And not all students who are eligible even secure federal grant funding: A recent study found that the high school class of 2021 left $3.7 billion in Pell Grants unclaimed by not filing the FAFSA, a federal form the government uses to determine student eligibility for grants.
Today, loans are one of the most widely distributed forms of federal aid
For students who don’t come from families that can cover the cost of an undergraduate education, navigating the financial aid application process can be challenging and confusing.
Not only do you need to apply to colleges and universities, but you also have to file the FAFSA and sometimes a supplemental form called the CSS Profile to see if you qualify for federal and institutional financial aid. Unless you earn a coveted academic or athletic scholarship, qualify for need-based aid like Federal Pell Grants, or attend a university with a no-loan financial aid policy, you might turn to some form of student loan to cover the cost of your college degree.
According to a survey conducted by Sallie Mae, 47% of families borrowed money to pay for college in 2021. About 40% of outstanding student loan debt is held by people who attended public schools. The rest is held by those who attended private nonprofit and private for-profit schools.
Copyright 2022 Stacker via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/25/4-charts-that-show-what-bidens-student-loan-forgiveness-means-america/ | 2022-08-25T15:01:45Z |
DHS shuts down disinformation board
WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Department of Homeland Security’s disinformation board has officially been disbanded.
The board was originally intended to coordinate the department’s activities related to fighting disinformation aimed at the U.S. public.
However, intense Republican-led backlash forced it to be put on hold back in May.
Nina Jankowicz, an expert on Russian disinformation, resigned at that time because the future of the board seemed uncertain.
GOP lawmakers accused her of being biased because of her past tweets on Hunter Biden’s laptop and the discredited Steele dossier.
Even though the board no longer exists, DHS officials said they will continue the fight against disinformation that undermines America’s security.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/25/dhs-shuts-down-disinformation-board/ | 2022-08-25T15:01:52Z |
Mystery illness is killing young dogs in Michigan
OSTEGO COUNTY, Mich. (WPBN) – Veterinarians in Michigan are investigating a mysterious illness that is killing young dogs.
The symptoms are similar to parvo, but the unvaccinated animals keep testing negative for the virus.
“Based on the cases that have been confirmed at the diagnostic lab, those animals were not adequately or vaccinated at all,” Michigan State Veterinarian Nora Wineland explained.
The symptoms include bloody stool, vomiting, acting lethargic and then dying several days later.
The negative parvo tests have veterinarians questioning what this illness could be.
“That is the question of the hour and something that we’re working on really hard to get an understanding of. We’ve done limited sequencing,” Director Kim Dodd said. “We’re going to do a little more additional sequencing to get a better sense of more specifics, the specific characteristics of this particular isolate.”
Dodd said they are in the early stages of the investigation and are encouraging veterinarians to send samples from animals they believe could have this illness.
“The more testing we can do, the more definitive we can be,” she explained.
Wineland suggests dog owners be vigilant in keeping up with vaccinations and being mindful of where their dogs go.
“If you have a dog, don’t take your dog places where they’re likely to encounter sick, or unvaccinated animals, if you can possibly avoid it,” Wineland said. “And practice good hygiene. Pick up after your dog, don’t let your dog be sniffing into fecal matter left behind by other dogs because that’s a great way to spread a disease that you don’t want.”
About 30 dogs in Michigan have died from this illness so far. No other states have reported a similar syndrome.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/25/mystery-illness-is-killing-young-dogs-michigan/ | 2022-08-25T15:01:58Z |
Unvaccinated Djokovic out of US Open; can’t travel to States
NEW YORK (AP) — Novak Djokovic will not play in the U.S. Open, as expected, because he is not vaccinated against COVID-19 and thus is not allowed to travel to the United States.
Djokovic announced his withdrawal from the year’s last Grand Slam tournament on Twitter on Thursday, hours before the draw for the event was revealed.
“Sadly, I will not be able to travel to NY this time for US Open,” Djokovic wrote, wishing luck to his fellow players, and said he would “keep in good shape and positive spirit and wait for an opportunity to compete again.”
Play is scheduled to begin at Flushing Meadows on Monday.
___
More AP coverage of U.S. Open tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/us-open-tennis-championships and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/25/unvaccinated-djokovic-out-us-open-cant-travel-states/ | 2022-08-25T15:02:05Z |
Walking, racket sports lower risk of early death, study says
Published: Aug. 25, 2022 at 10:19 AM EDT|Updated: 43 minutes ago
(CNN) - If you want to keep adding candles to your birthday cake, grab a pair of sneakers.
According to a study published Wednesday in the JAMA Network Open journal, regular physical activity appears to lessen a person’s risk of early death.
The findings are based on more than 272,000 people between 59 and 82 years old who self-reported their exercise levels.
Researchers followed these participants for over a decade and looked at their health records for the cause of death.
The study found racket sports, running and walking all helped decrease the risk of early death.
Medical officials advise American adults to do at least two and a half hours worth of moderate activity per week.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/08/25/walking-racket-sports-lower-risk-early-death-study-says/ | 2022-08-25T15:02:11Z |
The violence has continued in the Eastern regions of Ukraine as the 6-month mark of the invasion by Russia arrived. There were concerns about an intensifying of strikes by Russian forces this week as Ukraine marked its 31st year of independence.
John Hudson, national security reporter for our editorial partner the Washington Post, joins Here & Now‘s Celeste Headlee with more.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-24/attacks-continue-in-ukraine-6-months-into-russias-war-and-31-years-since-ukrainian-independence | 2022-08-25T15:22:29Z |
Here & Now‘s Scott Tong speaks with Cory Turner, senior editor and correspondent for the NPR education team, about President Biden’s decision to cancel up to $10,000 in student loans.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-24/biden-set-to-cancel-up-to-10-000-in-student-loans | 2022-08-25T15:22:36Z |
The day after the Twitter’s former head of security Peiter “Mudge” Zatko went public alleging “egregious deficiencies, negligence, willful ignorance and threats to national security and democracy,” lawmakers began investigating the alleged cybersecurity flaws . Zatko is represented by the same group that helped Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen last year.
Here & Now‘s Scott Tong speaks with CNN correspondent Donie O’Sullivan.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-24/congressional-committee-leaders-are-looking-into-cybersecurity-flaws-at-twitter | 2022-08-25T15:22:42Z |
The dog days of summer are almost behind us, but the heat remains in much of the country. It’s that time of year when days can still be humid and steamy, but nights begin to cool down. Cold soup still has huge appeal this time of year. And all three of these soups make for a simple, easy dinner or lunch and can be served cold or, if you find the weather turns, are equally good served hot.
The tomato soup takes its influence from Spain. It requires no cooking and is made from fresh tomatoes, garlic, bread, smoked paprika and vinegar. It’s a cousin of Spain’s other famed cold soup, gazpacho.
The zucchini soup uses up all those end-of-the-season squash you may find running amok in your garden. Zucchini, summer squash and patty pan squash are blended together in a simple soup.
And the third soup combines carrots and fennel in a thin broth that is light and thoroughly refreshing.
One of the best ways to elevate cold soup is to get creative about toppings and garnishes. All these soups can be topped with a simple squeeze of lemon and a grinding of pepper and coarse sea salt, or a swirl of heavy cream, yogurt or sour cream. Or, you can get a bit more ambitious and top with croutons or sauteed vegetables. For the carrot soup, I top each bowl with a simple carrot-fennel slaw to round out the flavors of the soup. The zucchini soup is garnished with thin slices of sauteed squash. And the tomato soup is finished off with chopped cucumber, basil leaves, and salted almonds. Think outside the box.
All the soups can be made a day ahead of time. Plan on letting them chill for at least three to four hours. If you choose to serve the soup hot simply reheat until simmering. Do not add the garnishes until just before serving — whether the soup is cold or hot.
A word on stocks: You can use boxed vegetable or chicken stock for these soups. If you want to make your own stock, here are a few recipes:
Cold carrot and fennel soup with carrot-fennel slaw
Cold carrot and fennel soup with carrot-fennel slaw (Kathy Gunst/Here & Now)
Bright and refreshing, this carrot and fennel soup is thinner than the others but bursting with flavor. Carrots and fennel are sauteed with onion and a potato and then simmered in vegetable broth before being pureed. The soup is then strained and topped with a simple carrot and fennel slaw and dollops of sour cream or Greek yogurt. You will use one large fennel bulb in this soup — the bulb is used to make the soup and the slaw garnish and the fennel fronds — the dill-like herb that grows above fennel root are used for flavor and garnish.
Serves 4 to 6.
Ingredients
The soup:
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons fennel fronds or fresh dill, chopped
- 14 ounces carrots — about 3 large or 4 to 6 medium — peeled and chopped
- ½ large fennel bulb, chopped
- 1 small potato, about 4 ounces, peeled and chopped
- 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
The carrot and fennel slaw and garnishes:
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and grated
- ½ fennel bulb, very thinly sliced or grated
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fennel fronds or fresh dill
- 1 ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
- About 1/3 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
Instructions
- Make the soup: In a medium soup pot heat the oil over low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 6 minutes. Add the salt and pepper and fennel fronds and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the carrot, fennel, and potato and cook for 4 minutes.
- Raise the heat to high and add the stock; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the vegetables are tender when tested with a small, sharp knife.
- Remove from the heat and cool for 5 minutes.
- Using a handheld immersion blender, a blender or food processor blend the soup until smooth; it will be quite thick.
- Place a fine sieve over a large bowl and stir the soup through the sieve. Discard the thick puree left in the sieve.
- Place the soup in the refrigerator until chilled, about 3 to 4 hours.
- Make the slaw: in a bowl mix all the slaw ingredients (not the sour cream) and season to taste.
- To serve: place the soup in the bowl, top with a tablespoon or two of the slaw and a dollop of sour cream.
Spanish-style smoky salmorejo
Spanish-style smoky salmorejo. (Kathy Gunst/Here & Now)
Salmorejo is similar to gazpacho but it’s made primarily with tomatoes and bread and then flavored with smoky paprika and vinegar. This is the soup for this time of year when days can still be hot and steamy and your energy for cooking and heating up the kitchen is low. Fresh garden tomatoes are grated on a cheese grater and then blended with garlic, bread, vinegar and smoky Spanish paprika. The mixture is whirled up and it’s done. Serve topped with cucumbers, almonds, lemon oil, or a wide variety of toppings. Cool, refreshing and made from start to finish in about 15 minutes.
Serves 2 as a main course and 4 as a first course.
Ingredients
The soup:
- 2 thick slices bread, about ½-inch each
- 1 ½ pound ripe tomatoes
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon red, white or sherry wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika or sweet paprika*
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Garnishes:
- 1 small cucumber, peeled and chopped
- ⅓ cup chopped Marcona or regular almonds
- Lemon oil
- Salt and pepper
- Dash smoked paprika or regular sweet paprika
- Sprigs of fresh basil or chopped chives
*Smoked paprika is slightly spicy and smoky. The peppers are smoked and dried. You can substitute regular sweet paprika with a touch of hot pepper sauce. Or you can mail order it here or here.
Instructions
- Place the bread in a small bowl and add ¼ cup of cold water. Soak for 5 minutes, making sure each slice soaks up the water. Squeeze out the water and place bread in the container of a blender or food processor.
- Working over a bowl, grate the tomatoes on a box cheese grater on the largest hole. Add the garlic, vinegar, paprika, salt and pepper to taste.
- Place the mixture into the blender or food processor with the bread and whirl until thick and smooth. Taste for seasoning.
- Chill for 3 to 4 hours, and serve cold topped with any or all of the garnishes.
Summer squash soup
You can use a variety of zucchini, summer squash and patty pan squash for this simple soup.
Serves 4 to 6.
Ingredients
Summer squash soup. (Kathy Gunst/Here & Now)
The soup:
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 leeks* or 1 large onion, chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried
- 2 pounds zucchini, summer squash and or patty pan squash, chopped into small pieces
- 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
Garnishes:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small zucchini, cut into small thin rounds
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup finely chopped scallions or chives
*To clean leeks, trim off the dark green part and save for stock. Slice the white and pale green sections lengthwise and clean under cold running water making sure to remove all dirt hidden in the layers. Let dry and then chop.
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, heat the oil and butter over low heat. When sizzling add the leeks or onion, stir, cover and cook for 10 minutes over low heat.
- Remove the lid and add salt, pepper, thyme and squash. Stir to coat everything well and then raise the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 minutes.
- Raise the heat to high and add the stock; bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low, partially cover and cook for 20 minutes. The squash should be tender.
- Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes or so.
- Puree in a blender, food processor, or use an immersion blender.
- Place in a large bowl or a tall pitcher and cool for at least 3 to 4 hours.
- To make the garnish: heat the oil in a large skillet over moderately high heat. Add zucchini and cook, without touching, for 3 minutes. Gently flip and cook for another 3 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper and top the soup with the cooked zucchini and scallions or chives.
More favorite soup and garnish recipes:
- Click here for winter soup and garnish recipes
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-24/cool-off-on-the-last-days-of-summer-with-3-cold-soup-recipes | 2022-08-25T15:22:48Z |
Ukraine is marking its Independence Day Wednesday at the same time civilians enter the sixth month of a deadly, destructive, unprovoked war with Russia.
Here & Now‘s Scott Tong talks about the U.S. pledging more support, with no end to the conflict in sight, with Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-24/deputy-secretary-sherman-tried-to-convince-russia-to-avoid-ukraine-war-she-weighs-in-6-months-later | 2022-08-25T15:22:55Z |
The Justice Department on Wednesday released a memo from 2019 laying out the case for not prosecuting former President Donald Trump for obstruction of justice in connection with then-special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.
The nine-page memo dated March 24, 2019 was written by two senior Trump Justice Department officials: Assistant Attorney General Steven Engel and Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Ed O'Callaghan.
They conclude that none of Trump's actions documented in the Mueller report — his firing of FBI Director James Comey; his directing the top White House lawyer to fire Mueller; his exhorting witnesses not to flip — should be viewed as obstruction.
"We conclude that the evidence described in Volume II of the Report is not, in our judgment, sufficient to support a conclusion beyond a reasonable doubt that the President violated the obstruction-of-justice statutes," the memo says. "In addition, we believe that certain of the conduct examined by the Special Counsel could not, as a matter of law, support an obstruction charge under the circumstances."
The watchdog group Citizens For Responsibility and Ethics in Washington sued under the Freedom of Information Act for the memo to be made public. The Justice Department long fought its release, arguing that the memo was part of the department's internal deliberative process.
A district court judge and a panel of circuit court judges disagreed and ordered its release.
Then-Attorney General William Barr ultimately declined to prosecute Trump for obstruction of justice stemming from Mueller's probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Trump and his supporters lauded the decision, but many legal experts questioned the reasoning and conclusion. More than 1,000 former federal prosecutors signed a letter in 2019 saying that the conduct described in Mueller's report would normally lead to multiple felony charges for obstruction of justice.
The memo concludes that there was not sufficient evidence to establish Trump obstructed justice during Mueller's probe. It says that obstruction cases usually are brought when a person prevents the investigation and prosecution of a separate crime, and that the Mueller probe did not establish an underlying crime or criminal conspiracy.
It also says that there is considerable evidence that Trump took official actions, such as asking the White House counsel to fire Mueller, "not for an illegal purpose, but rather because he believed the investigation was politically motivated and undermined his administration's efforts to govern."
The memo points out that none of Trump's requests to alter the investigation were carried out.
The document has been released as the former president faces both criminal and congressional investigations for other matters, including storing presidential documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-24/doj-releases-a-mueller-era-memo-to-barr-on-the-decision-not-to-prosecute-trump | 2022-08-25T15:23:01Z |
Here & Now political strategists Alice Stewart and Bill Press join hosts Scott Tong and Celeste Headlee to discuss who won races in New York and Florida, and what it means as candidates press on to election day in November.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-24/elections-results-in-new-york-and-florida-tell-us-which-party-has-momentum | 2022-08-25T15:23:08Z |
For the full story, click here.
We revisit Here & Now‘s Celeste Headlee’s conversation with Sara Alfageeh and Nadia Shammas co-authors of the fantasy graphic novel “Squire” about a young girl who dreams of becoming a knight.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-24/graphic-novel-squire-uses-fantasy-to-explore-themes-of-racism-and-oppression | 2022-08-25T15:23:14Z |
More than 100 military installations are in states where abortion is now banned. Troops seeking abortions may face long drives, privacy and career risks more than ever before.
Carson Frame of The American Homefront Project reports.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-24/military-personnel-seeking-abortions-face-growing-challenges | 2022-08-25T15:23:21Z |
As the fall semester begins at colleges across the country, the health care landscape has changed in many places since the spring, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in late June. University health centers now need to navigate new and still-changing abortion laws that may change how campus health care providers treat and talk to pregnant college students about their options.
Here & Now‘s Celeste Headlee speaks with Dr. Jessica Higgs, who is president of the American College Health Association, about the challenges college health care providers and students are facing.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-24/new-abortion-laws-bring-new-challenges-for-college-campus-health-care-providers | 2022-08-25T15:23:27Z |
We’re all familiar these days with rapid COVID tests, those over-the-counter swab tests that give us two lines if we’re infected with COVID-19, one line if we’re not. Now, researchers have come up with a different test that measures whether you’re protected from COVID, and not whether you have it.
The test works with a simple finger prick, and could answer the questions: “Am I protected today?” and “Do I need a booster?”
Edward Chen, a science writer with our editorial partner STAT News, talks to Here & Now‘s Scott Tong about the strengths and weaknesses of the new antibody test.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-24/new-covid-19-test-could-answer-the-question-am-i-protected-today | 2022-08-25T15:23:33Z |
Good vibrations are in the air as preparations begin for the Air Guitar World Championships this Friday in Finland.
Justin “Nordic Thunder” Howard was crowned the 2012 air guitar world champion and will judge this year’s competition. Howard plays the real guitar, or “there-guitar,” but asserts he’s better at air guitar. His favorite song to air jam to is “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath.
“It is ridiculous. It is as silly and absurd as it sounds,” Howard says. “In fact, that’s why I wanted to start being an air guitarist to begin with, because I saw that this thing existed and I’m like, ‘That is the stupidest thing ever. I want to be the best in the world at that.’”
Interview highlights
On whether air guitar is a sport
“It’s a sport. It’s a comedy show. It’s a lot of different things at once. But first and foremost, it is a competition. And what makes it a competition, which then falls in line with being a sport, is that competitors compete against one another to become the best in the world at doing nothing.
“There’s some criteria in which they’re judged upon. Technical merit: Does it look like you’re playing the notes that you’re hearing throughout the sound system? Stage presence: How does one fill the stage and feed in and out of the audience with the energy being exchanged? And last but not least, is ‘airness.’ Airness is the je ne sais quoi of this sport and the things in which the judges are looking for to score. You score a performer based upon the same scale that professional ice skaters use, which is a 4.0 to 6.0.”
Justin “Nordic Thunder” Howard plays the air guitar. (Courtesy of the World Air Guitar Championships)
On the technical skill required and what judges look for
“I’m right-handed, so I would I play my air guitar the same way in which I play the guitar. I’m going to strum with my right hand. That’s where I would hold my pick and my left hand would be the fingers on the fretboard that go up and down the neck of the guitar.
“High notes on a guitar are played very low on the neck of the guitar itself. So if you’re trying to emulate the actual sounds that a there-guitar makes, you’re going to play those high notes further down on the neck or the low notes further up on the neck. Those are the things that you want to take into consideration when looking for something technical.”
On the connection between air guitar and peace
“Air guitarists are some of the finest human beings I’ve met on Earth. We all get together in Finland for this competition. We spend about a week together, but the show itself is one night of that week. During that whole week you’re meeting people from all over the world and you get naked with strangers immediately and jump into a sauna and then jump into the river. And you’re singing karaoke until early hours in the morning and you’re eating pizza in the gutter and you’re doing all these amazing things with all these people, none of which speak the same language.
“But the language in which we all do speak is that of music. And as a spectator of the sport, you just get to see a bunch of freaks on stage in spandex and hairspray and glitter doing their thing. And it is that as well. But the more you become involved with the community as a whole, the people who are involved are really taking strides and efforts to make the world a better place.”
The Here & Now staff picked the song they would air guitar their hearts out to
- Producer Chris Bentley chose “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” by The Allman Brothers Band and Larry Carlton’s solo on “Kid Charlemagne” by Steely Dan.
- Senior editor Eileen Bolinsky chose “Redemption Song” by Bob Marley.
- Associate producer Julia Corcoran and assistant managing editor Tinku Ray chose Prince’s solo in “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”
- Associate producer Thomas Danielian chose “Carry On My Wayward Son” by Kansas.
- Digital producer Grace Griffin chose “The Story of Us” by Taylor Swift.
- Digital producer Allison Hagan chose “Ramblin’ Man” by The Allman Brothers Band.
- Guest host Celeste Headlee chose “Purple Rain” by Prince, Eddie Van Halen’s solo in “Beat It” by Michael Jackson and “All Along the Watchtower” by Jimi Hendrix.
- Producer Ashley Locke chose “Impossible Germany” by Wilco.
- Senior technical director Mike Moschetto chose “Play with Me” by Extreme.
- Senior editor Peter O’Dowd chose “Bathtub Gin” by Phish.
- Associate producer Kalyani Saxena chose “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen.
- Freelance producer Adele Sire chose “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin.
- Executive producer Carline Watson chose “Johnny B. Goode” by Peter Tosh.
Kalyani Saxena produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Catherine Welch. Grace Griffin adapted it for the web.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-24/performers-gear-up-to-strum-their-hearts-out-at-the-air-guitar-world-championships | 2022-08-25T15:23:40Z |
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg sent a letter to nine of the major U.S. air carriers last week, criticizing their role in the “unacceptable” travel chaos many have endured this summer.
Buttigieg called on airlines to provide meals and hotels for passengers caught out by cancellations and delays. He also added that the department was considering new regulations for the industry following the troubled summer for travelers.
Here & Now‘s transportation analyst Seth Kaplan joins host Scott Tong to discuss the summer of chaos and Buttigieg’s words of warning.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-24/pete-buttigieg-takes-aim-at-airlines-after-summer-of-travel-chaos | 2022-08-25T15:23:46Z |
From 1953 through the '90s the record producer Creed Taylor, who died Tuesday at the age of 93, brought a regal touch to jazz, showcasing its players like aristocrats. Employed at the Verve label in the '60s, Taylor backed pianist Bill Evans with a symphony orchestra; he took bossa nova, a music created by the Rio de Janeiro elite, and gave it to the world. He packaged his artists' work in stylishly illustrated gatefold jackets that bespoke class. His death was confirmed in a statement from Verve Records.
Taylor's productions sent numerous jazz stars, including saxophonist Stan Getz and organist Jimmy Smith, onto the pop charts. "He was a visionary," says trumpeter and A&M Records co-founder Herb Alpert, who along with the Snapshots Foundation is helping to finance a forthcoming Taylor documentary.
At his own company, CTI Records (Creed Taylor Incorporated) — whose daring and grandiosity defined jazz at its most extravagant — Taylor produced impactful work by George Benson, Herbie Hancock, Wes Montgomery, Stanley Turrentine, Hubert Laws, Airto Moreira and other masters.
"I credit my career to Creed," says keyboard player Bob James, a pillar of smooth jazz and fusion; Taylor had launched him on CTI with four albums and made him a house arranger. "Every time I go anyplace to tour," James says, "I have instant credibility because I was so involved with the CTI sound."
To Herb Alpert, Taylor looked "like an accountant"; his speech was measured and soft. "But he was hands-on," notes James, "with very definite ideas about how he wanted his projects to go."
Growing up in rural Virginia, Taylor sat by the radio, addicted to late-night broadcasts from Birdland. After earning a degree in psychology he headed to New York, eager to join the jazz scene. In 1954 he volunteered to produce records for a floundering label, Bethlehem.
From there, says jazz historian Dan Morgenstern, Taylor "proceeded according to his own taste."
He gave the company a lifesaving boost when he launched Chris Connor, a frosty-voiced ex-band singer, as Bethlehem's First Lady of cool jazz. After producing other budding greats, including Charles Mingus and Carmen McRae, he moved on to a startup company, ABC-Paramount. There he spotlighted Quincy Jones as a big-band arranger and launched a historic singing trio, Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. In 1960, ABC-Paramount allowed him to start a subsidiary, Impulse, where he signed John Coltrane and produced Ray Charles.
The next year, Taylor traded Impulse for Verve, where his love of Brazilian music burst forth. "Without Creed," says his colleague Arnaldo DeSouteiro, a Rio-based music producer, "the world would probably never have become aware of bossa nova." In 1962, Taylor produced Stan Getz and guitarist Charlie Byrd's Jazz Samba, America's breakthrough album of Brazilian jazz. Out of it came "Desafinado," a Grammy-winning single.
The next year, Taylor teamed the saxophonist with singer-guitarist João Gilberto, one of bossa's creators, on the album Getz/Gilberto. Taylor opted to release "The Girl from Ipanema," an unknown song in the U.S., as a single. It shot to No. 5, won a Record of the Year Grammy, and made Getz a household name. The track also brought global renown to its pianist and composer, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and to João and his wife Astrud Gilberto, whose languid, deadpan vocal epitomized the beach nymph in the song.
In 1967, Herb Alpert and his business partner, Jerry Moss, invited Taylor to launch CTI as an A&M subsidiary. Quickly he helped launch another Brazilian legend when he released Milton Nascimento's American debut, Courage.
CTI went independent in 1970, and the jazz that Taylor released there began to cross bridge after bridge. Bop trumpeter Freddie Hubbard made his fusion debut with the album Red Clay. Brazilian pianist Eumir Deodato's bombastic funk treatment of the Richard Strauss composition "Also Sprach Zarathustra" became a Grammy-winning No. 2 single. Yusef Lateef, who played world music on an array of wind instruments, recorded Autophysiopsychic — "a laid-back rap record," said Taylor. R&B/jazz singer Esther Phillips scored a disco hit with the Dinah Washington trademark "What a Difference a Day Makes." Jackie & Roy, a married jazz vocal duo whom Taylor had recorded for years, received the grandest production of their lives: Time and Love, a symphonic album whose arrangements, by Don Sebesky, quoted Debussy and Bach. But for all of its successes, CTI was hemorrhaging funds; in the late '70s the company went bankrupt and fell into messy litigation. Taylor revived the label for a few years in 1989; thereafter he devoted himself to reissues of its classics. Hip-hop artists have also brought Taylor into the present — recordings he produced have been sampled thousands of times.
Seen from a distance, Taylor's contribution becomes clearer: "He brought elegance to jazz," says Herb Alpert. "He was a soulful guy, caring about the musicians and wanting the best for them. Money wasn't the issue with him. He went with his gut."
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-25/creed-taylor-legendary-producer-who-guided-and-expanded-jazz-dead-at-93 | 2022-08-25T15:23:53Z |
Mo Amer’s character in the new Netflix series “Mo” has a lot going on.
Amer, an actor and comedian who grew up in Houston, plays a version of himself in the eight-episode series, which is out today. Like the real Mo, the one on TV is Palestinian, and is in the middle of a decades-long legal struggle for citizenship. Without a work visa, he has a hard time finding lawful work. His brother’s cat can’t seem to settle on a kibble she likes. And to cope, he’s started sipping lean – a mix of soda and codeine.
“The immigration process makes it very difficult for him to, you know, do things that are above board because he don’t have a work permit,” Amer said of his character. “And then you have, like, the spiritual implications of that, right: whenever you do something that you don’t want to do but have to do it out of necessity and giving away a little bit of your morals. And then you have the loss of his father, having to mourn him, being stateless and feeling less than. So this is really a story about belonging and feeling like an equal human being to the one next to you. And that’s a love letter to Houston as well.”
And making the show really feel like Houston was very important to the actor.
“There’s never been a narrative sitcom filmed out of Houston, out of Alief. Alief has been a great neighborhood in the Houston area that has been a phenomenal exporter of art, artists, music, from front of the camera to behind the camera. I think it’s just absolutely wild that it has never had a narrative sitcom,” he said. “So it was so important to me, like right out of the gate, boom, you’re in Houston. Paul Wall’s ‘The Peoples Champ’ comes on. I thought that was such a great touch. Everything was so well thought-out. And even when I would describe the show to VPs I’d be like, hey, I want it to be like an urban Western. I want the rich golf clouds to be seen. I want the blue skies, the bright sun, the hot sun. I want you to feel that, too.”
The show is autobiographical – but not down to every detail, Amer said.
“I can’t quantify it in like a percentage, but I can definitely tell you that it’s all based off of my life. I can tell you the stuff that’s not: I’m not addicted to codeine,” Amer laughed. “But it was a great complexity to the character that you can add, write into the show.”
Amer said he struggled initially with how the show would be received in his hometown but realized that those worries didn’t matter if he trusted the time and effort put into it – and a COVID delay gave him more time than expected.
“It caused me to dig even deeper into myself and go through my own growth,” he said. “And so it’s pretty incredible to have those opportunities, and it’s rare that you can put that much time into something before putting it all together. And in the end, I can’t control what people say, you know, like I can’t. You gotta trust the work.”
Amer, who has two comedy specials on Netflix, noted that while standup is a solo art form, implementing his storytelling into a scripted show has been very different.
“It requires a different type of thinking and thought process. You know, especially with this story, the complexities lie into, for instance, the flashbacks and the origin stories. The emotionality of that and then tracking it in present day,” he said. “And then you have like all the other characters that you’re surrounding your main character with – what they look like, what they feel like, what they say, how they talk, how they walk. It’s like creating a whole world.
“And also, to me, as an Arab American, like man, I’ve seen too many Arabs on television, they’re supposed to be a certain part of the world that sound nothing like it. I want to cast somebody that knows the dialect, speaks it, it’s been part of their life. You know, all these things factor into making a great show, a grounded show, an authentic show.”
If you found the reporting above valuable, please consider making a donation to support it here. Your gift helps pay for everything you find on texasstandard.org and KUT.org. Thanks for donating today.
Copyright 2022 KUT 90.5. To see more, visit KUT 90.5. | https://www.keranews.org/arts-culture/2022-08-25/houston-oozes-through-the-screen-in-mo-amers-new-netflix-series | 2022-08-25T15:39:53Z |
Performing an abortion is now a felony punishable by up to life in prison in Texas after the state’s trigger law, which has only narrow exceptions to save the life of a pregnant patient, went into effect Thursday.
The law was “triggered” when the U.S. Supreme Court issued its judgment in Dobbs v. Jackson, the case that overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed states to set their own laws about abortion.
Abortion clinics across Texas had already stopped performing the procedure, fearing prosecution under state laws that were on the books before Roe v. Wade.
Texas now has three significant abortion bans in place and several administrative regulations governing the procedure, setting up a potential conflict as the largest state to ban abortion navigates this new legal landscape.
The trigger law criminalizes performing an abortion from the moment of fertilization unless the pregnant patient is facing “a life-threatening physical condition aggravated by, caused by, or arising from a pregnancy.” The statute specifically prohibits prosecuting a pregnant patient who undergoes an abortion.
Violations of the law are punishable by up to life in prison. The statute also says that the Attorney General “shall” seek a civil penalty of not less than $100,000, plus attorney’s fees.
The Texas District and County Attorneys Association has raised concerns about this language.
“If this sends up a double jeopardy red flag for you, congratulations,” a memo on the group’s website reads, citing a 1994 case where the Supreme Court ruled that a defendant who is convicted and punished for a criminal offense cannot also have a non-remedial civil penalty imposed against them. Similarly, if a defendant pays a civil fine, they cannot be criminally prosecuted for the same offense.
“By requiring [the office of the Attorney General] to pursue a minimum six-figure civil penalty for the same conduct that potentially incurs a felony sentence of imprisonment and a criminal fine,” the memo reads, “the legislature has created a legal framework that could prevent a criminal conviction for certain violations of the new anti-abortion ‘trigger law’ crime if any of those civil fines are collected by OAG.”
Charles “Rocky” Rhodes, a law professor at the South Texas College of Law, said it’s not yet clear whether the $100,000 penalty would foreclose criminal prosecution.
“I might try [that defense] if I was representing somebody, but … I don’t think there’s a clear slam dunk there,” he said.
The civil fine, though, may prove to be an important piece of enforcement as more prosecutors come out publicly in opposition to the criminal laws. Several major cities are considering or have passed measures that prohibit the use of local funds to investigate or prosecute abortion-related crimes, and district attorneys in five large counties — Bexar, Dallas, Fort Bend, Nueces and Travis — have said they won’t bring criminal charges in these cases.
Already, conservative lawmakers have said they intend to propose legislation to allow prosecutors to bring abortion cases outside their own jurisdiction if the local district attorney won’t.
“That’s never been done in Texas, but the Legislature probably can at least start that ball rolling,” said Dallas attorney David Coale. “Then, you’ve got prosecutors with conflicting opinions about the same set of facts, and then you’ve really got a zoo.”
Other abortion laws
There are also looming legal questions about how these laws align with the state’s other abortion statutes. The pre-Roe statutes, which date back to Texas’ first criminal code in 1857, come with two to five years in prison, compared with the five years to life in the trigger ban.
“Each of the laws have a little bit different scope, different punishments and potential arguments about how far they extend,” Rhodes said. “The position of the Texas Legislature is going to be that these laws are complementary, rather than in conflict.”
The pre-Roe statutes are currently in effect, but the state Supreme Court has not issued a final ruling on whether they can be criminally enforced going forward. Coale said this legal limbo may push prosecutors to bring charges under the trigger law.
“If you’re a prosecutor, why on earth would you go anywhere near that?” he said. “You’re going to charge something under the new statute in the most limited way you can that clearly doesn’t conflict with anything in the old statutes.”
If a prosecutor brings a case under the trigger law, Coale said defendants will likely try to argue that the statutes conflict. But much of this will remain theoretical until a test case is identified and charged, which may not happen immediately.
“My expectation is what’s going to happen is exactly what happened in SB 8,” he said, referring to the civilly enforced ban on abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. “People are going to err on the side of caution and … the deterrent effect is going to be huge.”
One significant distinction between the two laws is that, while both statutes criminalize the person who performs the illegal abortion, the pre-Roe statutes also allow charges to be brought against anyone who “furnishes the means” for an abortion.
“The trigger law really is targeted at the abortion provider, while the old law … also has this additional basis of accomplice liability for the person who procures the means to be able to have an abortion,” said Rhodes. “The law is vague as to what that really means though.”
In the age of medication abortion, where people can get abortion-inducing pills mailed to their homes from overseas pharmacies or advocacy networks, identifying who performed or furnished the means for an illegal abortion will likely become more difficult.
Already, nonprofit abortion funds that help people travel out of state have stopped their work, fearing potential criminal prosecution under the pre-Roe statutes. Lawmakers in Texas and in other conservative states have discussed finding ways to prohibit interstate travel for abortion.
“People are saying some things in their zeal about abortion that are just not very democratic, and there’s no other polite way to say it,” Coale said.
Even in jurisdictions where police and prosecutors aren’t actively working to identify and charge these cases, the threat of civil action still looms. Texas remains under Senate Bill 8, which allows any private citizen to sue anyone who “aids or abets” in an abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy.
With $10,000 per abortion on the line, Coale said, there’s significant motivation for private citizens to try to identify people who have had an abortion — and, in the process, bring them into the criminal justice system.
“As long as we have SB 8, people are going to be out there … trying to get that $10,000 penalty,” he said. “Who else will have their hand in it will depend on who is in charge.” | https://www.keranews.org/texas-news/2022-08-25/texans-who-perform-abortions-now-face-up-to-life-in-prison-100-000-fine | 2022-08-25T15:39:59Z |
HONOLULU (KITV4) - Light winds continue with a mostly sunny start and isolated windward showers. Afternoon clouds will bring partly sunny conditions and scattered showers. Highs 86 to 91. Variable winds 5 to 15 mph with afternoon sea breezes.
Tonight, partly cloudy with scattered windward showers; isolated leeward showers. Lows 70 to 75. Trade winds 5 to 15 mph.
Light winds will continue today, with mostly sunny skies this morning giving way to some afternoon clouds and a few interior and leeward showers as sea breezes develop. Trade winds will gradually increase tonight through Friday, becoming locally breezy by Saturday. A trend toward lighter trade winds is expected late Sunday into next week. An area of increased moisture arriving tomorrow will fuel an increase in windward showers, but should clear the islands in time for the weekend, which should feature limited windward showers.
A new, small south swell is expected to roll through local waters today through Sunday. Also, the current small mid-period northwest swell will lower gradually through Friday. Short-period choppy surf along east facing shores will remain rather small through Friday, with a gradual uptick expected over the weekend as trade winds gradually strengthen. Overall, no significant swells are anticipated through the middle of next week.
Do you have a story idea? Email news tips to news@kitv.com | https://www.kitv.com/news/local/thursday-weather-light-winds-continue-trade-winds-build-later-tonight/article_52b0c3fe-2481-11ed-9103-976ffe45dba2.html | 2022-08-25T15:45:23Z |
4 charts that show what Biden’s student loan forgiveness means for America
(Stacker) - Like crumbling infrastructure or rising gas prices, student loan forgiveness is one of those far-reaching political issues that affect a huge swath of Americans. Close to 1 in 5 Americans have student loans. That’s some 45 million people with a combined $1.75 trillion in student loan debt.
The Biden administration’s forgiveness plan is expected to have far-reaching impact. It will relieve $10,000 in loan debt per federal borrower with an individual income under $125,000 and a household income under $250,000; it will provide $20,000 in relief for borrowers that attended college on income-based Pell Grants.
The announcement is welcomed news for many borrowers as the CARES Act—which paused student loan repayments for most people with federal debt—was set to expire on August 31, 2022. In addition to the debt relief, the administration’s plan extends that deadline to Dec. 31, 2022.
The plan is a long time coming: President Biden first promised to forgive at least $10,000 in student loan debt on the campaign trail in early 2020 and made the same promise after he won the election in November 2020.
Stacker compiled data from the College Board, the Office of Federal Financial Aid, the National Center for Education Statistics, and the Urban Institute to visualize how student debt has grown over the past 50 years and what $10,000 of loan forgiveness could mean for borrowers.
One-third of federal borrowers would see their debt completely forgiven
Even with $10,000 of student loan forgiveness per federal borrower, most Americans with student loans will still have some debt to repay. But effectively canceling most (or all) student loans for borrowers with the smallest amount of debt would target Americans who are most likely to miss payments.
Analysis from the Federal Reserve shows that people with the least amount of education debt often have more difficulty paying it off, likely because borrowers with more debt often have higher levels of education and increased earning power.
In fact, from 2020-2021, 21% of borrowers with less than $15,000 in outstanding debt were late on payments, compared to 17% of borrowers with more than $15,000 in debt.
The number of borrowers who fell behind on their loan payments temporarily decreased in the fall of 2021 due to COVID-19 relief efforts; however, for many, student loan payback is a long-term challenge: According to data from the Department of Education, it takes borrowers 17 years on average to pay off their student loans.
The rising cost of tuition has made it harder for students and families to pay for college
Over the past several decades, the cost of attending college in the U.S. has steadily risen largely due to a reduction of state funding, an increase in university amenities, and unprecedented demand from prospective students.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, average undergraduate tuition rose a full 20% between 2011 and 2021 alone. Tuition at private, nonprofit institutions increased more than tuition at public schools during this time period.
Loan balances rose right alongside tuition, too. Since 1990, the average loan balance at graduation has nearly quadrupled from just under $7,000 to $30,000 in 2020, according to the Education Data Initiative, which looked at averages across all colleges.
Average federal loan packages have grown faster than the average grant size
If a student doesn’t want to take on debt, federal grants—financial aid that doesn’t need to be repaid—are an attractive alternative. The problem? The amount of federal grant money available to students hasn’t kept up with continually increasing tuition or with the growth of federal loans.
Moreover, federal grants only cover up to a few thousand dollars per year per student. One of the most common types of grant, the Federal Pell Grant, awarded undergraduate students a maximum of $6,895 for the 2022-2023 school year.
The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant—which is also awarded to students with exceptional financial need—ranges from just $100 to $4,000 per year. And not all students who are eligible even secure federal grant funding: A recent study found that the high school class of 2021 left $3.7 billion in Pell Grants unclaimed by not filing the FAFSA, a federal form the government uses to determine student eligibility for grants.
Today, loans are one of the most widely distributed forms of federal aid
For students who don’t come from families that can cover the cost of an undergraduate education, navigating the financial aid application process can be challenging and confusing.
Not only do you need to apply to colleges and universities, but you also have to file the FAFSA and sometimes a supplemental form called the CSS Profile to see if you qualify for federal and institutional financial aid. Unless you earn a coveted academic or athletic scholarship, qualify for need-based aid like Federal Pell Grants, or attend a university with a no-loan financial aid policy, you might turn to some form of student loan to cover the cost of your college degree.
According to a survey conducted by Sallie Mae, 47% of families borrowed money to pay for college in 2021. About 40% of outstanding student loan debt is held by people who attended public schools. The rest is held by those who attended private nonprofit and private for-profit schools.
Copyright 2022 Stacker via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/08/25/4-charts-that-show-what-bidens-student-loan-forgiveness-means-america/ | 2022-08-25T16:17:52Z |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.