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YLC Seeking Role Models and Board Members
NEW ORLEANS — The Young Leadership Council is seeking nominations for its 2023 Role Model Awards — and applications to join its board of directors.
The YLC is a “nonprofit, nonpartisan, civic organization that develops young professionals into leaders through community projects. It is composed of early- to mid-career adults (ages 21-42) interested in developing their leadership skills while bettering their community.” The organization provides leadership training and hands-on experience in volunteer-led community projects.
“The skills and lessons I’ve learned as a board member are invaluable, and this year I am excited to be in a leadership role for the Role Model program,” said board member and Role Model Awards Co-Chair Olivia Mertensmeyer in a press release. “The Role Models are individuals that we, as young leaders, can inspire to become, and YLC helps us become them for the next generation. Become a board member this year, and be a role model in the future.”
Submit a nomination for the 2023 YLC Role Model awards by filling out this form. Nominations are welcome until 5 p.m. on Oct. 10.
To apply for YLC’s Board, fill out this form. Submissions must be received by 11:59 p.m on Oct. 2. | https://www.bizneworleans.com/ylc-seeking-role-models-and-board-members/ | 2022-09-01T15:44:03Z |
A Fresh Perspective
During its almost 50-year history, few, if any, years have been as transformative for the Downtown Development District of New Orleans as this past year, which included turnover in four of the organization’s five top executive roles. Who are Downtown’s new champions and what are their goals for the future of the city?
Ask what New Orleans needs to be a successful, world-class destination for residents and visitors, and you’re likely to get a range of responses from lifetime locals, transplants, expatriates and visitors. But for a handful of New Orleanians, they not only get to propose ideas that could transform the city, they also work to implement them.
The Downtown Development District of New Orleans (DDD) is an assessment-based business improvement district (BID) with a mission to “drive the development of Downtown New Orleans and be the catalyst for a prosperous, stimulating, innovative heart of the Crescent City.”
Created by the Louisiana Legislature in 1974 as the nation’s first BID, the DDD services the area bounded by Iberville Street, the Pontchartrain Expressway, Claiborne Avenue and the Mississippi River and includes the Central Business District, Caesars Superdome and Smoothie King Arena, the Warehouse District, Canal Street and part of the French Quarter.
Since Hurricane Katrina, there has been an explosion of activity Downtown, including new apartments and condominiums, expanded museums, new hotels, renovated theaters, unprecedented retail expansion, and a revitalized Superdome and convention center. The DDD has invested $6.5 billion since 2005 and has seen its year-over-year operating revenues increase 16.65% from $7.34 million in 2021 to $8.55 million in 2022.
The organization has undergone many changes in the past year, including turnover in four of its top five executive positions. With new leadership has come a renewed focus on improving economic development, cleaning and safety in the Downtown area in hopes that it can be a catalyst for improving the entire city.
The DDD has a romantic vision for what the city could be: “Downtown New Orleans will be celebrated as the vibrant hub of America’s beloved city and the engine for the region’s economy. Historic and contemporary buildings glow with new residences and retail as streets bustle with neighbors and visitors alike participating in the arts, music, dining, shopping and daily business of downtown. People from around the world are drawn to a dynamic, seductive Downtown where the unique cultural mosaic of New Orleans comes into focus.”
Davon Barbour, the DDD’s president and CEO, joined the organization in January. He said he envisions “a world-class Downtown that leverages its assets to create prosperity in New Orleans.”
“We are focused mainly on growing the economy,” Barbour said. “We want Downtown to be a magnet for a population involved in industries of the mind, such as biosciences, the arts and digital media. Tourism certainly has been the bedrock for New Orleans’ economy, but we think there’s a real opportunity to grow our economy by leveraging emerging industries of the future, particularly healthcare and life sciences technology. The biomedical district within Downtown is a priority focus for us. We’ve got incredible assets throughout Downtown. That’s something that’s really exciting to me.”
While headline-making economic development is the goal, Barbour said he measures success by how the organization impacts small businesses, the backbone of the economy.
“Success, at the end of the day, is when someone is saying, ‘I opened a business in New Orleans and received stellar services’ or ‘I moved Downtown, and it’s been great. The DDD, the city — they were great to work with. They’re an incredible partner.’ That’s successful.”
To get there, he says the DDD is taking a renewed focus on fighting crime and blight to create an environment that is safe and attractive.
“It’s important to address the challenges so that we can maximize the opportunities,” he said. “We certainly understand that curb appeal is important. We’re making sure that we’re directing resources to tackle some of those impediments, because at the end of the day, we want people to be excited to be here. We don’t want tourists and businesses turned away by unsightly conditions, such as graffiti or crime. We have many programs to help our property owners. We have a solid track record, and we’re looking forward to growing these programs and deploying more resources.”
Biz New Orleans held a Q&A with each executive to learn more about their role with the DDD and their vision for New Orleans’ future.
DAVON BARBOUR
President & CEO
What work have you done that prepared you for your role with the DDD?
My entire career has been dedicated to improving quality of life and economic vitality in urban communities. Of relevance to New Orleans, I have led economic development in major tourism markets including Miami, Orlando and Hollywood.
What is your role with the DDD?
While my title is president and CEO, I’m really the biggest cheerleader for Downtown. I work with the public and private sector to untap our city’s great potential.
What attracted you to New Orleans?
I grew up in Baltimore, a city that shares similar socioeconomic challenges with New Orleans. Despite current challenges, New Orleans is an ideal location for economic growth that benefits all residents.
What was your opinion of New Orleans before you arrived?
I perceived the city as a place of “fun.” I have been an economic development practitioner for more than 20 years. Unfortunately, the city’s name did not appear among the ranks of other traditional business centers for corporate site selectors in a sustained manner.
After?
I have enjoyed learning more about the community. One lesson that was so enlightening was the discovery of the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans East. I had no idea that rockets were made here. As our friends at New Orleans Business Alliance say, “Come for the culture. Stay for the commerce.” We are so much more than fun.
What would you say if you were to give a “state of the city” address?
A key theme of my state of Downtown address is conveying the pillars for achieving economic development success in our community: 1) ensuring a safe environment, 2) providing an attractive realm, and 3) delivering consistent and reliable infrastructure. Achieving confidence in these pillars is paramount to attracting and sustaining investment in Downtown.
What strengths and opportunities does Downtown New Orleans have?
One of the biggest strengths is the residents and businesses who believe in it and only want its best. We must be willing to acknowledge what is not working and develop solutions that address these destabilizing influences in collaboration with these stakeholders.
I remain very bullish on the future of the biomedical district. “Eds and meds” is an economic development strategy based on leveraging higher education institutions and healthcare. Downtown is fortunate to be home to the New Orleans Bio Innovation Center, Tulane medical campus, Tulane Innovation Institute and more.
What weaknesses and threats does the area face?
I think our greatest threat is ourselves. We must fundamentally recognize that as a community we are competing for talent and must adapt accordingly. Great cities do not come to fruition by happenstance. They result from bold vision, sound public policy and accountability.
Where do you hope to see the city in 10 years?
In 10 years, I hope to experience a city with improved neighborhood connectivity. In the future, residents and visitors alike will experience a seamless journey characterized by thriving neighborhood retail commercial corridors, attractive public spaces, and a robust transit network that strengthens connections to employment centers throughout the region.
20?
In 20 years, New Orleans is a highly sought residential and business address. We are a city that supported its residents to create new companies that helped address community challenges. We are a city that embraced mixed-income housing that reflects the rich cultural diversity of our past.
What does the city need to have in place to get there?
Ongoing public/private partnerships; clear, economic-development-focused public policy, and a responsive business/regulatory climate.
Anthony G. Carter
Director of Finance & Administration
With four of the top five positions at the DDD held by relative newcomers, how does it feel to be the “veteran” of the team?
It has been a unique experience. As some are also new to New Orleans, one of my responsibilities is to assure that they are aware of the culture of New Orleans.
How has the DDD changed in your time with the organization?
The DDD has changed in very significant ways over the last 15-plus years. When I first arrived, we were still in the early stages of recovery from Hurricane Katrina. We have since gotten past recovery and moved into a growth mode.
What does the addition of new leaders bring to the DDD?
It has brought new ideas and new energy. The new leaders bring different experiences and how other BIDs have resolved similar situations.
What does the city need to have in place to succeed?
We will need much more emphasis on workforce development, quality education and opportunities for our youth and underserved population.
T. Trent Dang
Director of Marketing & Communications
What work have you done that prepared you for your role with the DDD?
I started my professional career as an opening team member at Harrah’s New Orleans in 1999 and have loved spending time Downtown ever since! I have worked my way up the ranks of various marketing teams since then, including managing the marketing departments of the Fair Grounds.
What attracted you to New Orleans?
I grew up in Bossier City but have had family and friends in New Orleans all my life. My grandmother worked at the Katz & Besthoff on Canal Street and their offices on Camp Street, so you could say Downtown even has a place in our family’s history!
What strengths and opportunities does Downtown New Orleans have?
Downtown is one of the few places in New Orleans where you can work, live and play, all within walking distance. Our opportunity is to further that message to make it even more vibrant than it already is.
What weaknesses and threats does the area face?
We need to diversify our industry base. We need to invest more time and money to help those in need. Turning a blind eye or simply complaining about things is not going to make them go away.
Where do you hope to see the city in 10 years?
A vibrant city on the brink of greatness, whose NFL team also has 10 more Super Bowl championships.
20?
The great city we all know New Orleans can be, who also has 20 more Super Bowl championships.
What does the city need to have in place to get there?
A solid infrastructure and diversified economy with New Orleanians continuing to believe in their great city.
Darren Harris
Director of Economic Development
What work have you done that prepared you for your role with the DDD?
I previously served as a business development specialist, city planner, senior economic development specialist for the cities of Las Vegas and Cleveland, focused on workforce development, business incubation, retention and expansion.
What is your role with the DDD?
I am responsible for new business development and business retention and expansion. I also lead the advancement of the master planning and implementation, facilitation of public policies, program development and advocacy of the DDD’s agenda.
What attracted you to New Orleans?
The culture and opportunity to make a positive impact and improvement in a city that deserves the investment.
If you were to give a “state of the city” address, what would you say?
New Orleans is a city ready to be “resurrected” for its greatness. It has great bones that are fractured but on the mend.
What strengths and opportunities does Downtown New Orleans have?
New Orleans has numerous anchoring institutions such as universities, healthcare systems and community stakeholders/organizations that we can partner with to continue positive growth and development of the overall city and well-being of its residents and visitors.
What weaknesses and threats does the area face?
Retaining residents and students who attend the local universities here. The goal is to strengthen and create better opportunities for succession with competitive and equitable pay and resources that would assist us with making New Orleans the best city ever.
Where do you hope to see the city in 10 years?
I see the city as a great place to live and work. Everything you need is here in some unique way, we just need to reveal those hidden treasures.
20?
The sky is the limit for New Orleans. It will be a draw for Millennials, Generation X and Z, Baby Boomers, corporate headquarters and entrepreneurs looking for a live/work balance that can be enjoyed day in and day out.
What does the city need to have in place to get there?
The city will have to have equitable changes in politics, education and wages. No longer can it be allowed that the few make changes for the masses without any substantial input.
Hunter Hebert
Director of Operations
What work have you done that prepared you for your role with the DDD?
I started my career in Lafayette as a city planner with Lafayette Consolidated Government, which consisted of zoning compliance inspection and commercial plan reviews. Most recently I held the position of operations manager with the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) in Lafayette.
What is your role with the DDD?
I’m tasked with working toward a safe, sanitary and sensational Downtown New Orleans. This includes working with our Public Safety Rangers, Downtown Clean Team, and stakeholders and government organizations on safety and beautification efforts.
What attracted you to New Orleans?
Like many others I couldn’t stay away for too long. So, this is my second time around in New Orleans. I was anxious to move back and be a part of the team working to improve the world-class city we all love.
It has been exciting to move back and see how much development has taken place over the last decade. Much more work had been taking place than I ever realized.
What strengths and opportunities does Downtown New Orleans have?
The strength of the entertainment and hospitality industry has long been the bedrock of local industry. I think we have the opportunity to add another professional sports franchise to the area, preferably a sport with a heavier schedule that can help sustain the local service industry.
What weaknesses and threats does the area face?
Affordable housing is a major challenge. People are spending a greater percentage of their income on rent than ever before.
What does the city need to do to improve?
It is going to take coordination across many public and private entities to get our problems addressed, but I believe the people of New Orleans share these desires and are willing to work toward solutions. | https://www.bizneworleans.com/a-fresh-perspective/ | 2022-09-01T15:44:09Z |
NOLA Coalition Announces Youth Master Plan Grants
NEW ORLEANS — The NOLA Coalition has announced the 2022 Youth Master Plan Grant opportunity to expand and deepen services for the city’s young people. The online application process will open on Sept. 7.
The coalition is a new group of nearly 400 nonprofits, civic organizations and businesses aligned to support public safety and invest in youth services. It has secured $756,300 in undesignated funding for the initial cycle of YMP grants via business and philanthropy to help local youth-serving nonprofits grow their impact and drive generational change. In June, members distributed $500,000 via Summer Impact Grants, bringing the coalition’s total grant awards to more than $1.25 million.
United Way of Southeast Louisiana will oversee the three-year competitive RFP process designed to fund long-standing programs and upstart nonprofits and smaller neighborhood organizations.
“In a city where the majority of our young people are struggling to survive, we’re fortunate to have a detailed, strategic plan which outlines exactly what’s needed to improve youth well-being and the future of our city,” said Michael Williamson, UWSELA president and CEO, in a press release. “Thanks to the NOLA Coalition, we finally have the resources to implement the Youth Master Plan Grants and see the results so many partners have worked years to realize.”
Eligible programs may focus on a wide variety of youth issues or be narrowly focused, but they must align with the YMP, a comprehensive roadmap for creating and sustaining a positive, youth-development-focused and results-oriented New Orleans that works for all our young people.
“The children and youth of New Orleans are worthy of investments that sees their greatness and value and intends to lift up ways to advance paths for their success and positive development, as framed through the Youth Master Plan, said Karen Evans, executive director, New Orleans Children & Youth Planning Board. “While it’s often said that children/youth are the future, we now have the awesome opportunity and challenge to align investments with that fact through this funding/grant process. I’m excited by this alignment and see it as an encouraging starting point in support of implementation of the Youth Master Plan.”
Interested programs must be headquartered and operate in Orleans Parish, align with the New Orleans Youth Master Plan, and focus on serving youth of color – birth to 24 – living at or below the ALICE Threshold. The first cycle will prioritize organizations with operating budgets below $500,000 and those that have not received dedicated NOLA Coalition funding.
The first round of grant applications must be submitted electronically by 4 p.m. on Sept. 22. Notification of grant awards – ranging from $25,000 to $75,000 – will be e-mailed the week of Oct. 17.
Review the complete list of requirements and apply online at UnitedWaySELA.org/YMPgrants. | https://www.bizneworleans.com/nola-coalition-announces-youth-master-plan-grants/ | 2022-09-01T15:44:16Z |
1-year-old dies after accidentally shooting himself in the head, police say
ST. LOUIS (KMOV/Gray News) – A toddler has died after shooting himself in north St. Louis City on Wednesday.
Officers with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said evidence showed the 1-year-old boy shot himself in the head inside a home.
Police initially said the boy was 2 years old but later clarified he was 1 year old.
The boy was barely conscious and barely breathing when paramedics rushed him to the hospital where he later died from his injuries.
“This is just a terrible tragedy that should have never happened. Guns are inherently dangerous,” Lt. Col. Michael Sack with the police department said. “There are a number of them in our community. All of us who own firearms or who have firearms must be responsible with their care and their use.”
The child abuse unit and crisis response teams were seen outside the house Wednesday afternoon.
No other information was released.
Copyright 2022 KMOV via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/09/01/1-year-old-dies-after-accidentally-shooting-himself-head-police-say/ | 2022-09-01T15:49:30Z |
Alligator found loitering in a Wendy’s parking lot in Florida
Published: Sep. 1, 2022 at 10:44 AM EDT|Updated: 1 hour ago
TAMPA, Fla. (CNN) – Lunchtime diners at a Wendy’s in Florida were treated to a meal and a show.
Hernando County Sheriff’s deputies were forced to do some alligator wrestling in the parking lot near Tampa on Wednesday.
Workers at the Wendy’s in Spring Hill were surprised to find a gator in the parking lot, possibly looking for a bite.
Florida Fish and Wildlife officers assisted deputies to take the 6-foot reptile into custody.
On Facebook, one Hernando County resident joked, “We are not called the nature coast for nothing.”
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/09/01/alligator-found-loitering-wendys-parking-lot-florida/ | 2022-09-01T15:49:37Z |
Biden’s prime-time speech to call out Trump, his loyalists
WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly two years after he defeated Donald Trump, President Joe Biden has some unfinished business he wants to settle with the restive forces of Trumpism.
Biden planned to use a prime-time speech Thursday night at Independence Hall in Philadelphia to frame the November elections, less than 10 weeks away, as part of an ongoing battle for the “soul of the nation.” It’s a reprise of his 2020 campaign theme that he is using now to cast the current stakes in as dire terms as those that sent him to the Oval Office two years ago.
Biden, who largely avoided even referring to “the former guy” by name during his first year in office, has grown increasingly vocal in calling out Trump personally. White House officials say that reflects the urgency with which he views the threat of Trump and his loyalists.
Feeling emboldened by a series of legislative wins, the president is sharpening his criticism of Republicans as the “ultra-MAGA” party — a reference to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan — that opposes his agenda, embraces conservative ideological proposals and spreads Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election.
“What we’re seeing now is either the beginning or the death knell of an extreme ‘MAGA’ philosophy,” Biden told Democrats at a Maryland fundraiser last week. “It’s not just Trump, it’s the entire philosophy that underpins the — I’m going to say something, it’s like semi-fascism.”
In Philadelphia, White House officials said, Biden intends to hark back to the 2017 white supremacist protest in Charlottesville, Virginia, which he says brought him out of political retirement to challenge Trump. Biden plans to argue that the country faces a similar crossroads in the coming months.
“The president thinks that there is an extremist threat to our democracy,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday. “It’s not stopping. It’s continuing.”
Biden’s allies stressed that he was not rejecting the entirety of the GOP and would use his remarks to call on traditional Republicans to join him in condemning Trump and his followers. It’s a balancing act, given that more than 74 million people voted for Trump in 2020.
“I respect conservative Republicans,” Biden said last week. “I don’t respect these MAGA Republicans.”
Larry Diamond, an expert on democracy and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, said calling Trump out for attacks on democracy “can be manipulated or framed as being partisan. And if you don’t call it out, you are shrinking from an important challenge in the defense of democracy.”
Even this week, Trump was posting on his beleaguered social media platform about overturning the 2020 election results and holding a new presidential election, which would violate the Constitution.
Timothy Naftali, a presidential historian at New York University, said it’s not unusual for there to be tension between a president and his successor, but it’s “unprecedented for a former president to be actively trying to undermine the U.S. Constitution.”
“The challenge that President Biden faces is to get on with his agenda while still doing what he needs to uphold the Constitution,” Naftali said. “That’s not easy.”
The White House has tried to keep Biden removed from the legal and political maelstrom surrounding the Department of Justice’s discovery of classified documents in Trump’s Florida home. Biden has taken advantage of some Republicans’ reflexive condemnation of federal law enforcement.
“You can’t be pro-law enforcement and pro-insurrection,” Biden said Tuesday in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania.
Biden’s appearance Thursday night was promoted as an official, taxpayer-funded event, a mark of how the president views defeating the Trump agenda as much as a policy aim as a political one. The major broadcast television networks were not expected to carry the address live.
House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy planned to speak Thursday afternoon in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where Biden was born, about “Biden’s assault on the soul of America,” accusing the president of planning to “continue to disparage hard-working Americans.” Previewing his remarks on Fox News, McCarthy, R-Calif., said Biden was “trying to distract from the disaster that he’s created in this country.”
Biden’s trip to Philadelphia will be one of three to the state within a week, a sign of Pennsylvania’s importance in the midterms, with competitive Senate and governor’s races. Trump plans a rally there this weekend.
The White House intended the speech to unite familiar themes: holding out bipartisan legislative wins on guns and infrastructure as evidence that democracies “can deliver,” pushing back on “extreme” GOP policies on guns and abortion that are out of step with most people’s views, and rejecting efforts to undermine confidence in the nation’s election or diminish its standing abroad.
The challenges to democracy have only multiplied since the tumult surrounding the 2020 presidential election.
Lies surrounding that race have triggered a wave of harassment and death threats against state and local election officials and new restrictions on mail voting in Republican-dominated states. County election officials have faced pressure to ban the use of voting equipment, efforts generated by conspiracy theories that voting machines were somehow manipulated to steal the election.
Candidates who dispute Trump’s loss have been inspired to run for state and local election posts, promising to restore integrity to a system that has been undermined by false claims and conspiracy theories. Some have claimed widespread fraud and supported efforts to decertify Biden’s win.
There is no evidence of any widespread fraud or manipulation of voting machines. Judges, including ones appointed by Trump, dismissed dozens of lawsuits filed after the election and Trump’s own attorney general has called the claims bogus. Yet Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research polling has shown about two-thirds of Republicans say they do not think Biden was legitimately elected president in 2020.
This year, election officials face not only the threat of foreign interference but also ransomware, politically motivated hackers and insider threats. Over the past year, security breaches have been reported at a small number of local election offices in which authorities are investigating whether office staff improperly accessed or provided improper access to sensitive voting technology.
___
Associated Press writer Christina A. Cassidy in Atlanta contributed to this report.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/09/01/bidens-prime-time-speech-call-out-trump-his-loyalists/ | 2022-09-01T15:49:44Z |
Circle K offers 40-cent discount in special event Thursday
(Gray News) – Many Circle K gas stations across the country are cutting fuel prices for drivers during a special three-hour event starting Thursday afternoon.
The gas station is offering a 40-cent discount from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at participating locations with Circle-K branded fuel. More than 3,600 pump locations offer the gas included in the promotion.
According to the company, there is no limit on the number of gallons that can be purchased.
“It’s been a challenging summer for travel, so we want to thank our customers for their loyalty by offering them additional savings ahead of the busy holiday weekend, ending the summer on a high note,” Nathan Woodland, head of North America Category Fuels at Circle K, said in a press release.
The company said the price on the pump will reflect the discounted price during that time.
Any customer in line for gas before 7 p.m. will receive the 40 cents off discount.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/09/01/circle-k-offers-40-cent-discount-special-event-thursday/ | 2022-09-01T15:49:50Z |
Dolly Parton launches ‘Doggy Parton’ pet apparel line
Published: Sep. 1, 2022 at 9:50 AM EDT|Updated: 2 hours ago
(CNN) - Dolly Parton seems to have the golden touch with singing, acting and writing. And now the superstar has launched an apparel line for pets.
The line is called “Doggy Parton.”
In collaboration with SportPet Designs, the line will feature shirts, dresses, squeaky toys and even a blonde wig inspired by Parton.
Parton said she was inspired to start it because of her love for animals.
Part of the proceeds will go to a rescue organization that provides homes for displaced animals.
Initially, the products will be available online through doggyparton.com and Amazon.
More retailers will be announced in the future.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/09/01/dolly-parton-launches-doggy-parton-pet-apparel-line/ | 2022-09-01T15:49:57Z |
House Intelligence Committee to receive “damage assessment” on seized Trump documents
WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - The House Intelligence Committee is requesting a “damage assessment” from top U.S. intelligence officials about the documents taken from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines confirmed to the committee this week she is working on a review.
Intelligence Committee member Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-TX, said, as a member of Congress with extensive access to top secret intelligence, he was shocked to see how many U.S. documents former President Donald Trump had taken home.
“If we walk out with anything, if we walk out with a piece of paper, we immediately become a suspect,” Castro said. “And there are punishments basically for doing those things.”
Rep. Greg Steube, R-FL, on the House Judiciary Committee believes the investigation is less about national security, and more about keeping Trump off the next presidential ballot.
“Well it’s definitely politically motivated,” Steube said. “We had a politically motivated DOJ that for two years, it was Russia, Russia, Russia, and the Trump campaign conspiring with Russia.”
An affidavit unsealed Friday revealed the FBI identified Trump possessed 92 documents marked secret and 25 marked top secret.
National security lawyer Kel McClanahan says top secret means a document can cause “grave danger” to the country if disclosed.
“What that is can range from being a list of assets, a list of agents that work overseas in foreign governments, to nuclear material, to technical material that would allow people to invade our surveillance,” said McClanahan, National Security Counselors Executive Director.
Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines wrote a letter to the Intelligence Committee confirming the administration is conducting a review.
Castro says a damage assessment should wait until lawmakers are physically in Washington.
“The Intelligence Committee, in a classified setting, needs to know what documents were at Mar-a-Lago that may have been compromised over there,” Castro said.
Trump is requesting a so called “special master” to determine if some of the documents seized are covered by attorney client privilege.
Copyright 2022 Gray DC. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/09/01/house-intelligence-committee-receive-damage-assessment-seized-trump-documents/ | 2022-09-01T15:50:04Z |
Man hit by truck while running across the country for a cause, not expected to survive
PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV/Gray News) - A Portland man running across the country to bring awareness to those impacted by the pandemic is expected to succumb to his injuries after being hit by a truck along a road in Texas earlier this week.
Grady Lambert’s parents, Mark and Julie, said their son was running from Cannon Beach, Oregon, to Hilton Head, South Carolina, a 4,000-mile journey, all for a good cause.
“He had always talked about running across cross-country,” Julie Lambert said. “So I kind of knew it was going to happen at some point. And of course, once again, he didn’t run it by us. He just said, ‘This is what I’m doing.’”
His parents were at Cannon Beach on March 16 when he set off on his journey. It was a moment that took a lot of preparation before heading east from Oregon.
“We wanted to make sure that he was sufficiently prepared because it was an enormous undertaking,” Mark said.
Along the way, Grady Lambert documented his journey on Instagram, making his way down to California, across Arizona and New Mexico, then into Texas. He raised thousands of dollars along the way for frontline workers and took pictures with nearly everyone he met.
“That was a hard day, watching your son leave on something that you knew was dangerous,” Julie Lambert said. “We recognized the danger of what he was doing.”
But hiss journey came to a tragic end in Amarillo, Texas, on Sunday. A truck hit him while he was running along a road in the city, leaving him with life-threatening injuries that his parents said he won’t survive. Mark and Julie Lambert will donate their son’s organs so he can help more people after he’s gone.
His parents said they are also setting up a scholarship in his name for students graduating from Lincoln Academy Alternative High School in his hometown of Stillwater, Oklahoma. The money will be awarded to a student who is going to pursue a career in nursing. A scholarship, Grady’s parents said, is aligned with his mission of the journey he couldn’t complete.
Though he couldn’t complete his run, Mark and Julie Lambert said they are going to do it for him. Before he left, Grady Lambert told his mother in the car that if anything bad happens to him, to finish his journey.
“He said, so I want you to take my ashes and spread them from where I stop to the end,” Julie said. “So Mark and I will have an epic road trip and spread Grady’s ashes along the way.”
Mark and Julie Lambert said they’ll remember their son the same way as everyone else he met throughout his life, a warm, compassionate, young man who was always thinking about others.
If you would like to donate to Grady Lambert’s scholarship fund, click here.
Copyright 2022 KPTV via Gray News. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/09/01/man-hit-by-truck-while-running-across-country-cause-not-expected-survive/ | 2022-09-01T15:50:10Z |
Pilot threatens to pull plane around if passengers continue sending nude photos
HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) – A nude photo nearly delayed a Southwest Airlines flight last week.
A passenger on the Aug. 24 flight said someone was using Apple’s AirDrop service to send the image of a naked man to other passengers.
The flight attendant and pilot were notified, and the pilot was not amused.
“If this continues while we’re on the ground, I’m going to have to pull back to the gate,” the pilot said.
The pilot explained if that happened, everyone would have to get off the plane and security would be involved – ruining many vacations.
“So, you folks, whatever that AirDrop thing is – quit sending naked pictures, and let’s get yourself to Cabo,” he said.
The flight was leaving Houston for Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
The passenger said she didn’t receive any additional unsolicited photos, and the flight continued to its destination.
Southwest issued a statement saying its employees were made aware of the problem and addressed it to “support the comfort of those traveling with us.”
A video of the pilot’s warning has gotten more than 2.7 million views on TikTok so far.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/09/01/pilot-threatens-pull-plane-around-if-passengers-continue-sending-nude-photos/ | 2022-09-01T15:50:19Z |
President Biden to address ‘soul of the nation’ Thursday in Philadelphia primetime speech
WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - The “soul of the nation” is what the White House says President Joe Biden plans to talk about during a primetime address in Philadelphia tonight.
“This is something that he talked about since the beginning of his deciding to run for president,” says Chris Meagher, White House Deputy Press Secretary.
Meagher says the president’s speech will stress what he believes are America’s core values like democracy, our standing in the world, a woman’s right to choose and equality.
“You know, we’ve made a lot of progress, but we have a lot of progress still to go,” Meagher said.
The White House says the speech is not political despite it taking place so close to the midterms. Either way, RNC Communications Director Danielle Alvarez says Democrats will have a tough time selling President Biden’s priorities.
“They will have to answer for rampant crime. They will have to answer for an open border. They will have to answer for a botched Afghanistan withdrawal. They will have to answer for all of these failures that they’re struggling with as a result of Joe Biden and Democrats poor leadership,” said Alvarez.
Navin Nayak with the progressive think tank Center for American Progress says President Biden’s message is vital because of what he calls an existential threat to democracy.
“The MAGA Republicans have nominated more than 100 candidates across the country that still continue to push the lies that led to the violence and death and chaos of January 6th,” said Nayak.
The Philadelphia trip is one of several visits President Biden has lined up. The White House says the president will be back in Pennsylvania on Monday in Pittsburgh. The president will also be traveling to Wisconsin, Ohio, and Massachusetts the next couple weeks.
Copyright 2022 Gray DC. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/09/01/president-biden-address-soul-nation-thursday-philadelphia-primetime-speech/ | 2022-09-01T15:50:26Z |
Student killed, another injured in stabbing at N.C. high school
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (WITN/Gray News) - A student at a North Carolina high school was killed in an apparent stabbing Thursday, police said.
Jacksonville Police Chief Mike Yaniero said in a news conference that a student resource officer requested assistance at 7:01 a.m. for a report of a fight at Northside High School. It was discovered that two students had been stabbed just inside a common area of the school.
The school resource officer responded quickly to the attack, and one student was taken into custody.
Two people, both minors, were found injured and taken to Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune. One of the victims succumbed to their injuries, police said.
Yaniero said the he believes one teacher was injured as well but was treated by EMS at the scene.
Identities of the people involved have not been released by authorities. Police said next of kin of the victim has been notified.
When asked about the weapon use in the stabbing, the police chief said that is part of the active investigation.
The school was briefly placed on lockdown, and students have since been released, a school official said. School was canceled for the remainder of the day, with classes going to virtual for Friday, and athletic events also have been canceled.
Copyright 2022 WITN via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/09/01/student-killed-another-injured-stabbing-nc-high-school/ | 2022-09-01T15:50:32Z |
Studies find link between processed foods and cancer
(CNN) - People may want to turn away from chips and choose a grilled chicken salad.
According to two studies published Wednesday in the British Medical Journal, those who eat pre-packaged food items like frozen pizzas and hot dogs are more likely to have major health problems.
The U.S.-based study, which was based on more than 200,000 people over nearly three decades discovered a link between those types of food and colorectal cancer in men.
The second study, based on 22,000 people in Italy found that ultra-processed and nutrient-poor foods both increased the risk of early death, especially from cardiovascular diseases.
Officials say ready-to-eat meals are often less healthy than natural food because of the addition of items like chemical additives, sugars and salts.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/09/01/studies-find-link-between-processed-foods-cancer/ | 2022-09-01T15:50:39Z |
Tropical Storm Danielle forms in the Atlantic
MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Danielle formed Thursday in the Atlantic and is expected to become the first hurricane of an unusually quiet storm season.
But the storm is not currently a threat to any land.
The storm’s maximum sustained winds were near 40 mph (65 kph). Additional strengthening is forecast and the storm is expected to become a hurricane in two days or so, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
The storm is centered about 960 miles (1,545 kilometers) west of the Azores and is moving east near 2 mph (4 kph). The hurricane center said the storm is expected to meander in the Atlantic over the next few days.
The tropical storm comes amid what had been a calm hurricane season. It is the first time since 1941 that the Atlantic has gone from July 3 to the end of August with no named storm, Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach had told The Associated Press earlier.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/09/01/tropical-storm-danielle-forms-atlantic/ | 2022-09-01T15:50:46Z |
Twitter tests ‘Edit Tweet’ feature
(Gray News) – Social media giant Twitter announced Thursday it is testing an edit feature for tweets.
“If you see an edited tweet it’s because we’re testing the edit button,” the company tweeted on its official account. “This is happening and you’ll be okay.”
In a blog post, Twitter stated the feature would allow users to edit a sent tweet “a few times” with a 30-minute window following its publication.
The edited version will be marked to let readers know that it has been changed from the original, and people will be able to click on the label and see the edit history.
Twitter said “Edit Tweet” is being tested internally first then it is expanding access later in the month to users of Twitter Blue – its paid subscription service that offers additional features.
Users have been calling for an edit button for years on Twitter. There has not been a way to make changes to remove typos or errors once a tweet is sent since the company’s start in 2006.
Twitter said in its blog post that it hopes the edit feature will help make tweeting “more approachable and less stressful.”
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/09/01/twitter-tests-edit-tweet-feature/ | 2022-09-01T15:50:53Z |
U.S. Secretary visits Lewisburg to discuss grant for water infrastructure
Grant to fix aging water systems
CALDWELL W.Va. (WVVA) -Lewisburg received a visit from a member of the president’s cabinet with water infrastructure topping the itinerary. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack, Senator Joe Manchin, and Governor Jim Justice, meet with Mayor Beverly White of Lewisburg to discuss updates coming to their area.
These improvements include replacing wastewater equipment; some of these systems have been in place for more than thirty years.
Secretary Vilsack hopes that, with some help from Washington, the changes will address problems many communities are facing.
“And essentially what this is, is a partnership with the USDA and the EPA. The EPA because of the senator’s work received resources in the infrastructure law to really begin to address the wastewater gap that really exists in many communities,” the Secretary said.
Lewisburg Mayor Beverly White says the impact of these resources will reach further beyond the water in Lewisburg.
“Well, we serve Ronceverte, Maxwelton, Caldwell, Route 60, the Retreat. What it means that our fire departments will be – they won’t have to worry when they go out on a call. It’s just a tremendous amount of... It’s just hard to describe really because it is such a great day and everything that has gone on to make this happen is just wonderful,” the mayor said.
Hopefully, these improvements to the water system are a sign of a better quality of life in this area for years to come.
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/09/01/us-secretary-visits-lewisburg-discuss-grant-water-infrastructure/ | 2022-09-01T15:50:59Z |
Serena Williams isn't ready to stop playing competitive tennis just yet. She sparkled in her second-round U.S. Open match against Kontaveit — defeating the No. 2 seed in three sets to advance.
Copyright 2022 NPR
Serena Williams isn't ready to stop playing competitive tennis just yet. She sparkled in her second-round U.S. Open match against Kontaveit — defeating the No. 2 seed in three sets to advance.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.keranews.org/2022-09-01/serena-williams-triumphs-against-anett-kontaveit-in-second-u-s-open-match | 2022-09-01T16:07:52Z |
Teachers’ groups, parents and Democratic members of the Texas State Board of Education are speaking out about Republican-led efforts to delay revisions to social studies standards.
The GOP-controlled board was scheduled to approve new guidelines in November. It would have marked the first time in over a decade that the board approved a new social studies curriculum.
But, when the board met Tuesday, it encountered an outpouring of opposition from conservative groups and activists. Republican board members then took a step toward pushing the revisions back until 2025, saying more time is needed to research changes and get feedback.
The Texas Freedom Network, a left-leaning organization, was among the groups that held a news conference Wednesday at the Texas Education Agency. Senior Political Director Carisa Lopez said misinformation derailed the process to approve social studies standards that are both accurate and more inclusive of the diverse communities who shape Texas and the U.S.
“It was appalling to see a toxic assortment of extremist groups, culture warriors, conspiracy theorists and even lawmakers portray teachers and scholars who worked on proposed new drafts for the standards as anti-American and anti-Christian,” she said.
The heads of the Texas State Teachers Association and the Texas American Federation of Teachers also blasted the board’s effort to postpone an overhaul of the curriculum. Ovidia Molina, the president of TSTA, said as an educator her goal is for students to love learning.
“Learning about identity is not indoctrination. Teaching empathy is not activism." Zeph Capo, the president of Texas AFT
“They can’t do that if they don’t see themselves in what they’re learning about,” she said. “As an educator all we want to do is make sure our students feel safe, feel seen, and want to be a part of our classrooms.”
Molina added that while the State Board of Education did hear from parents who do not support updates to the social studies curriculum, families who are in favor of change were not represented.
“We know that not every parent can come up here and testify,” she said. “So we did not hear from the majority of the parents in Texas that want to ensure that our students get an honest education.”
Zeph Capo, the president of Texas AFT, also criticized efforts to restrict what students learn.
Conservative groups and parents testified Tuesday that students should not learn about movements for LGBTQ+ rights and critical race theory — an academic concept that is not taught in K-12 public schools.
“Learning about identity is not indoctrination. Teaching empathy is not activism,” Capo said.
When he was growing up, Capo said, he felt deeply isolated at school. He said Wednesday he doesn't want kids today to be alienated because the curriculum is not reflective of their identities and experiences.
“Why would we continue to do that to any kid?” he asked.
Democratic school board member Marisa B. Pérez-Díaz said she and fellow board members were flooded with misinformation and form letters expressing opposition to the proposed social studies standards.
“Where I stand, I still want to see us move forward with approval of these standards at the end of this year. But I also stand in front of you recognizing that I don’t have the votes to get that done,” she said.
The State Board of Education is scheduled to take a final vote Friday on whether to delay the social studies overhaul for another three years.
Copyright 2022 KUT 90.5. To see more, visit KUT 90.5. | https://www.keranews.org/education/2022-09-01/texas-democrats-and-teachers-blast-plans-to-postpone-changes-to-social-studies-standards | 2022-09-01T16:07:58Z |
The signs had the right message, as required by law. One stated "In God We Trust" over a rainbow background. Another was in Arabic. But the Carroll school district in North Texas rejected the signs, saying it already has enough for its buildings.
"Why is more God not good?" came the retort from Srivan Krishna, a local resident who sought to donate the colorful signs at a school board meeting in Southlake, a city in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, earlier this week.
Board president Cameron Bryan did not take up that question, saying only that by accepting an earlier donation at its Aug. 15 meeting, the school district had enough signs for all 11 campuses and its office building.
The signs are part of pushback on a new Texas law
Krishna and others are testing the limits, and the logic, of SB 797, a recently adopted Texas law that requires public schools to display a poster bearing the U.S. motto, "In God We Trust." The law's main requirements are that the posters include the state and U.S. flags, and that schools don't pay for them.
"The statute does not contemplate requiring the district to display more than one copy at a time," Bryan said in a video recording of the meeting. But Krishna disagreed, saying the law doesn't refer to how many posters should be displayed.
"It doesn't say you have to stop at one," he said. "So that is your decision to stop at one."
"I think it's kind of un-American to reject posters of our national motto," Krishna told the board members.
That remark went unanswered, as the board didn't hold an open debate over whether to accept the signs. Instead, Bryan delivered a "statement of factual information" in which the board told Krishna and his allies that it wouldn't be accepting their signs.
Krishna and others who oppose the state law were only able to speak during the meeting's open comment section, since the signs weren't included on the board's official agenda.
Bryan twice sought to call for the next speaker before Krishna's three minutes had expired. But Krishna stood his ground, and in the end he stood in silence, displaying the four signs he brought.
Another speaker, Jennifer Schutter, later said the posters had been designed by current and former students in Southlake, adding that she was "very disappointed" the board didn't accept the signs.
"Additionally, I think it's important to know publicly that there was an attempt made to get onto the agenda tonight to present those with pomp and circumstance," Schutter said, "and this was refused."
Opponents will keep testing the new law
Efforts to test the new Texas law are being led in part by Florida activist Chaz Stevens, who says he's irked that the law requires inserting an overt religious message into schools.
"That should be irritating for you, regardless of what God or not-God you believe in," Stevens recently told NPR.
Stevens' fundraising campaign to pay for posters and signs putting "In God We Trust" in various languages, including Vulcan, and submit them to school districts in Texas has now raised more than $42,000.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.keranews.org/texas-news/2022-08-31/a-texas-school-board-rejects-in-god-we-trust-signs-in-arabic | 2022-09-01T16:08:04Z |
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1-year-old dies after accidentally shooting himself in the head, police say
ST. LOUIS (KMOV/Gray News) – A toddler has died after shooting himself in north St. Louis City on Wednesday.
Officers with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said evidence showed the 1-year-old boy shot himself in the head inside a home.
Police initially said the boy was 2 years old but later clarified he was 1 year old.
The boy was barely conscious and barely breathing when paramedics rushed him to the hospital where he later died from his injuries.
“This is just a terrible tragedy that should have never happened. Guns are inherently dangerous,” Lt. Col. Michael Sack with the police department said. “There are a number of them in our community. All of us who own firearms or who have firearms must be responsible with their care and their use.”
The child abuse unit and crisis response teams were seen outside the house Wednesday afternoon.
No other information was released.
Copyright 2022 KMOV via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/09/01/1-year-old-dies-after-accidentally-shooting-himself-head-police-say/ | 2022-09-01T17:01:29Z |
CDC advisers weigh who needs updated COVID booster and when
(AP) - COVID-19 boosters updated to match the newest omicron strains are about to roll out, and government advisers met Thursday to decide who should roll up their sleeves -- and when.
The tweaked shots made by Pfizer and rival Moderna promise Americans a chance at their most up-to-date protection at yet another critical period in the pandemic. The U.S. still is experiencing tens of thousands of coronavirus cases and about 500 deaths every day, and those numbers are expected to surge again in the fall.
The Food and Drug Administration authorized the new combination shots, half the original vaccine and half protection against the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron versions now responsible for nearly all COVID-19 infections.
Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began weighing how best to use them. The CDC’s ultimate decision is the final step before shots begin.
It’s important “to simplify our recommendations,” CDC’s Dr. Melinda Wharton cautioned the advisory panel.
The original COVID-19 vaccines still offer strong protection against severe illness and death, especially among younger and healthier people who’ve gotten at least one booster.
But those vaccines were designed to target the virus strain that circulated in early 2020. Effectiveness drops as new mutants emerge and the longer it’s been since someone’s last shot. Since April, hospitalization rates in people over age 65 have jumped, the CDC said.
The new updated shots are only for use as a booster for people who’ve had primary vaccinations regardless of brand or how many booster doses they’ve had until now. Pfizer’s option is for people 12 and older while Moderna’s is for adults only.
A big unknown: Exactly how much benefit people will get from one of those extra shots.
The FDA cleared the updated boosters based largely on clinical trials of prior tweaks to the vaccine recipe, including the companies’ testing of shots targeting an earlier omicron strain that was found safe and able to rev up virus-fighting antibodies. Rather than waiting another few months for more human testing of the BA.5 version, the agency accepted mouse testing showing it also sparked a good immune response.
Before this new booster update, people 50 and older already were urged to get a second booster of the original vaccine — and those who did saw some extra protection especially the longer it had been since their last shot, said CDC’s Dr. Ruth Link-Gelles.
The new combination booster “should provide at least similar or better protection against omicron since it’ll be a better match” to today’s virus strains, she told the panel.
Still, many scientists say to get the maximum benefit, people will need to wait longer between their last vaccination and the new booster than the two months that the FDA set as the minimum.
Waiting four to six months between vaccinations is commonly advised, said virologist Andrew Pekosz of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. If someone already has lots of antibodies in their bloodstream, another shot won’t rev up that many more, essentially wasting it.
“You usually want to space out a vaccine booster,” said Pekosz, who is closely watching where CDC draws that line. “Those recommendations are really going to be critical in terms of how good this vaccine is going to be.”
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/09/01/cdc-advisers-weigh-who-needs-updated-covid-booster-when/ | 2022-09-01T17:01:36Z |
Man hit by truck while running across the country for a cause, not expected to survive
PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV/Gray News) - A Portland man running across the country to bring awareness to those impacted by the pandemic is expected to succumb to his injuries after being hit by a truck along a road in Texas earlier this week.
Grady Lambert’s parents, Mark and Julie, said their son was running from Cannon Beach, Oregon, to Hilton Head, South Carolina, a 4,000-mile journey, all for a good cause.
“He had always talked about running across cross-country,” Julie Lambert said. “So I kind of knew it was going to happen at some point. And of course, once again, he didn’t run it by us. He just said, ‘This is what I’m doing.’”
His parents were at Cannon Beach on March 16 when he set off on his journey. It was a moment that took a lot of preparation before heading east from Oregon.
“We wanted to make sure that he was sufficiently prepared because it was an enormous undertaking,” Mark said.
Along the way, Grady Lambert documented his journey on Instagram, making his way down to California, across Arizona and New Mexico, then into Texas. He raised thousands of dollars along the way for frontline workers and took pictures with nearly everyone he met.
“That was a hard day, watching your son leave on something that you knew was dangerous,” Julie Lambert said. “We recognized the danger of what he was doing.”
But hiss journey came to a tragic end in Amarillo, Texas, on Sunday. A truck hit him while he was running along a road in the city, leaving him with life-threatening injuries that his parents said he won’t survive. Mark and Julie Lambert will donate their son’s organs so he can help more people after he’s gone.
His parents said they are also setting up a scholarship in his name for students graduating from Lincoln Academy Alternative High School in his hometown of Stillwater, Oklahoma. The money will be awarded to a student who is going to pursue a career in nursing. A scholarship, Grady’s parents said, is aligned with his mission of the journey he couldn’t complete.
Though he couldn’t complete his run, Mark and Julie Lambert said they are going to do it for him. Before he left, Grady Lambert told his mother in the car that if anything bad happens to him, to finish his journey.
“He said, so I want you to take my ashes and spread them from where I stop to the end,” Julie said. “So Mark and I will have an epic road trip and spread Grady’s ashes along the way.”
Mark and Julie Lambert said they’ll remember their son the same way as everyone else he met throughout his life, a warm, compassionate, young man who was always thinking about others.
If you would like to donate to Grady Lambert’s scholarship fund, click here.
Copyright 2022 KPTV via Gray News. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/09/01/man-hit-by-truck-while-running-across-country-cause-not-expected-survive/ | 2022-09-01T17:01:43Z |
Oath Keepers’ lawyer arrested in connection with Jan. 6
(AP) - A lawyer for the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group has been charged with conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol, authorities said Thursday.
Kellye SoRelle — general counsel for the antigovernment group — was arrested in Texas on charges including conspiracy to obstruct the certification of President Joe Biden’s electoral college victory, the Justice Department said.
SoRelle, 43, is a close associate of Stewart Rhodes, the Oath Keepers’ leader who is heading to trial later this month alongside other extremists on seditious conspiracy charges.
After Rhodes’ arrest in January, SoRelle told media outlets she was acting as the president of the Oath Keepers while he’s behind bars.
Prosecutors have accused Rhodes and his militia group of plotting for weeks to stop the transfer of power and keep former President Donald Trump in office, purchasing weapons, organizing military-style trainings and setting up battle plans.
SoRelle told The Associated Press last year — when FBI agents seized her phone as part of the Jan 6. investigation — that she had no knowledge of or involvement in the Capitol breach. She called the seizure of her phone “unethical” and the investigation “a witch hunt.”
She is expected to make an initial appearance in federal court in Austin, Texas, later Thursday and it wasn’t immediately clear if she has an attorney to speak on her behalf.
SoRelle was photographed with Rhodes outside the Capitol on Jan. 6 and was present at an underground garage meeting the night before the riot that’s been a focus for investigators.
The meeting included Rhodes and and Enrique Tarrio, the former chairman of the Proud Boys, who is charged separately with seditious conspiracy alongside other members of the extremist group that describes themselves as a politically incorrect men’s club for “Western chauvinists.”
Publicly released video of the meeting doesn’t reveal much about their discussion and prosecutors have said only that one of the meeting’s participants “referenced the Capitol.”
SoRelle was also on a call with Rhodes and other Oath Keepers days after the 2020 election during which Rhodes rallied his followers to prepare for violence, according to a transcript made public in court.
SoRelle is also charged with obstruction of an official proceeding, obstruction of justice for tampering with documents and a misdemeanor charge for entering Capitol grounds. The indictment says she persuaded others to destroy and conceal records sought by investigators.
SoRelle told the AP last September that agents seized her phone and provided her a search warrant that said it was related to an investigation into seditious conspiracy, among other crimes. The indictment against SoRelle made public Thursday does not include a charge of seditious conspiracy.
Rhodes and four co-defendants scheduled to go on trial starting Sept. 26 have said there was no plot to attack the Capitol and that their communications in the run up to Jan. 6 were about providing security for right-wing figures such as Roger Stone or preparing for attacks from left-wing antifa activists.
Rhodes, a former U.S. Army paratrooper, founded the Oath Keepers in 2009. The group recruits current and former military, police and first responders and pledges to “fulfill the oath all military and police take to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
A slew of its members have been charged in connection with Jan. 6. Three Oath Keepers have already pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy, a rare Civil War-era charge that’s historically been hard to prove. They are also cooperating with the Justice Department.
___
Associated Press reporter Mike Balsamo in Washington contributed to this report.
___
For full coverage of the Capitol riot, go to https://www.apnews.com/capitol-siege
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/09/01/oath-keepers-lawyer-arrested-connection-with-jan-6/ | 2022-09-01T17:01:50Z |
Serena Williams isn't ready to stop playing competitive tennis just yet. She sparkled in her second-round U.S. Open match against Kontaveit — defeating the No. 2 seed in three sets to advance.
Copyright 2022 NPR
Serena Williams isn't ready to stop playing competitive tennis just yet. She sparkled in her second-round U.S. Open match against Kontaveit — defeating the No. 2 seed in three sets to advance.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-01/serena-williams-triumphs-against-anett-kontaveit-in-second-u-s-open-match | 2022-09-01T17:07:26Z |
Bobbi Wilson is about to kick off her first farming season, prepping the soil to yield ripe tomatoes and potatoes next year. Her plan: to start a small farm market — which she hopes will also include other produce like onions, beans, strawberries and corn — and to eventually expand to grow flowers and raise poultry.
For Wilson, this has been 10 years in the making. The 32-year-old living in southern Oregon fell in love with farming during a year off from college, when she worked on a northern Arizona farm in exchange for housing and food.
Wilson does not come from a farming background, and she spent years trying to figure out how to access land. Ultimately, she opted to lease part of her mom and stepdad's property. If it wasn't for this, she said, she wouldn't have any options.
"I think there's kind of this phrase of like 'marry it or inherit it' kind of thing — like, that's the way that people access land, and that's not something that was previously accessible to me," she said.
Access to land and the ability to purchase it were rated as the top barriers to entering farming in a new survey released by the National Young Farmers Coalition and analyzed by the University of Wisconsin Survey Center. According to the survey, 59% of young farmers named finding affordable land to buy as very or extremely challenging, and 45% of young farmers named finding available land to buy as very or extremely challenging. The rates were higher — 68% — among farmers of color.
"No matter how you look at the data, land access is the top challenge that young people who are involved in agriculture are facing," said Holly Rippon-Butler, land campaign director at the National Young Farmers Coalition. "It is the No. 1 challenge for current farmers and ranchers. It's the top reason that young people report having left agriculture. It's the primary barrier to getting started regardless of the region of the country that you're in, whether or not you identify as a first-generation farmer or a rancher. It's also regardless of age or number of years of experience in farming. And it's an even greater challenge for young farmers of color who are experiencing much greater systemic oppression."
Those barriers have created a more dire situation as the average age of a farmer has been steadily increasing over the past few decades. Most recent ag census data shows farmers' average age is nearly 60 — and that is concerning lawmakers in Washington who say getting a younger generation involved in agriculture is key to building a sustainable food system.
The pandemic highlighted the need for local and regional food sources
The Agriculture Department defines a beginning farmer as one who has been in business for 10 years or less. In the 2017 Census of Agriculture — the last time the USDA collected the data — about 1 in 4 were classified as beginning farmers. That year, the number of young producers — defined as 35 and under — was 121,754, a small slice of 3.4 million total producers. New data is expected to come in 2023.
Congressional Democrats and Republicans say ensuring a younger generation of farmers can enter the business is key to upholding local and regional supply chains needed for emergencies, for general domestic food production and to meet the growing demand of local food.
As big distributors and producers faced supply chain snags during the pandemic, more people turned to their local markets and sellers to purchase foods they couldn't find at the grocery store. Even as many supply chain disruptions have eased, demand has stayed high, according to Heidi Noordijk, small farm coordinator at Oregon State University.
"During the pandemic, when food access was tight, people were like, 'We want to buy local food. We want to support our farmers and community-supported agriculture,'" Noordijk said. "There were waitlists happening and just a huge demand wanting to support their local farmers."
At a hearing in July, farmers and representatives of credit agencies and socially disadvantaged groups testified before the House Agriculture Committee about the barriers for young and beginning farmers.
Adam Brown, owner of B&B Farms in Illinois, told the panel that his biggest challenge was keeping up with the programs coming out of the USDA and being aware about his options.
"I think USDA, from my point of view, does a poor job educating on the programs that are out there and accessible. And with farm bills changing every several years, a lot of the times the programs go away or are new out there," he said. "We hear about them by word of mouth instead of direct FSA [Farm Service Agency] or county offices notifying us."
Zach Ducheneaux, administrator for USDA's Farm Service Agency, the lending arm of the department, told NPR that he knows loan applications can be so lengthy and complicated that prospective farmers can give up.
"There aren't less stringent collateral and security requirements for young and beginning farmers — they still have to qualify just as an established farmer would," Ducheneaux said. "We're working on streamlining access to all of these things across the board that I think will benefit our young and beginning producers."
Ducheneaux, who lives on the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation, said it's important that groups communicate to lawmakers what changes they want to see made to programs, especially after the pandemic.
"We saw in this pandemic how fragile our food system is and if we don't have producers that have the ability to develop capacity for internal economic resilience at an earlier stage, our food system is literally in jeopardy," Ducheneaux said. "We have roughly 40,000 cattle growing on my tribe's territory and during the pandemic, our grocery stores didn't have any meat on the shelves. So there's so much fragility built into this food system."
Advocates are calling for federal help and making recommendations
On Aug. 24, the USDA unveiled new pandemic aid dollars aimed at getting younger and more diverse people interested in jobs within agriculture — both farming and at the government level. About $300 million is now available to organizations that have projects for helping to increase access to land, capital and markets.
"We think there's a real opportunity here to expand the universe of people interested at all levels of farming and in food production — and we think it's important to maintain our country as a food-secure nation," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters.
But many changes are still in Congress' hands for the 2023 farm bill.
"What's happened time and time again over the last several farm bills is everyone goes in with [young farmers] being one of their priorities, but somehow it falls off the list as the farm bill gets created," said Rob Larew, president of the National Farmers Union, during a panel at the Minnesota Farmfest.
Groups like the Young Farmers Coalition are pushing for lawmakers to address land access and barriers to USDA programs in the upcoming farm bill. The farm bill, which gets negotiated every five years, is an avenue for Congress to change the way that federal loan and technical assistance programs work — something the USDA cannot do on its own.
"We're at this moment now where young people are in crisis in terms of land access, and we need our federal government to act," said Rippon-Butler of the Young Farmers Coalition, "and we need equity to be at the center of that so that we are creating policies that really center young farmers and ranchers of color and lifts up our whole next generation of young farmers as a whole."
Developing a preapproval process for farm lending, easing requirements for new producers and raising loan limits are just some of the recommendations.
"I would ask that we have some predictability going into the next farm bill," Brown told the House Agriculture Committee. "We have so much volatility throughout my operation, throughout the ag economy. If we know what we are dealing with we can plan better."
For now, those who want to get into farming can look to groups like land grant universities and nonprofits, which have created training programs to teach them how to stand up a successful business.
Wilson, the new vegetable farmer, helps train and advocate for prospective young farmers through her work with the National Farmers Union as well as Rogue Farm Corps, an Oregon-based program.
"We are helping to ensure that the future of farming is in good hands. The U.S. farming population is aging, and here in Oregon we expect two-thirds of our agricultural land to change ownership in the next 20 years," Wilson said. "Breaking down barriers to entry and ensuring that new farmers succeed is more important than ever if we want to make our food system more equitable, resilient and life-sustaining for generations to come."
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-01/there-arent-enough-young-farmers-congress-is-looking-to-change-that | 2022-09-01T17:07:32Z |
Jazz Night In America kicks off a new mini-series called Youngbloods, which will put the spotlight on five emerging artists who are carving new paths with their distinct points of view.
Our first Youngblood is the vocalist and songwriter Samara Joy, an artist now in full bloom who was nurtured as a seedling by her tight-knit family and community in the Bronx. Car rides to school were filled with the sounds and stories of her parents' childhoods — musicians like Heat Wave, The Sylvers and Aretha Franklin narrated a countless number of them. Joy's parents recognized her gift at a young age, supporting a childhood dream of becoming an actress. Stepping into different characters pushed her outside of her comfort zone and challenged her creatively; it was an early lesson on how to embody another and how to add color and complexity to a story that may not be your own.
Joy blurred the boundaries between theater and jazz as she took on the challenge of embodying vocalists like Sarah Vaughan and Carmen McRae, while creating a distinct style of her own. Her former professor, Jon Faddis, feels similarly. "If you can trade with an Ella Fitzgerald, you're fine. You're on your way. She took the baton and ran with it, she's like the Flo Jo of jazz."
In this episode we'll hear highlights of a live set at Dizzy's Club, an unreleased track from her forthcoming record, Linger Awhile, and Joy's perspective on how her musicianship has developed after releasing her debut album, Samara Joy.
"I'm looking forward to singing standards of a different era, but hopefully finding the work that will become standards. There are wonderful songwriters out there still doing it, and I hope to do that as well."
Musicians:
Samara Joy, vocals; Tardo Hammer, piano; Ari Roland, bass; Keith Balla, drums.
Set List:
Credits:
Writer and Producers: Alex Ariff, with Trevor Smith and Sarah Geledi; Assistant producer: Donelle Wedderburn; Host: Christian McBride; Consulting editor: Katie Simon; Concert engineer: Rob Macomber; Episode Mix: Ron Scalzo; Project Manager: Suraya Mohamed; Vice President of Visuals and Strategy at NPR Music: Keith Jenkins; Executive Producers: Anya Grundmann and Gabrielle Armand.
Special thanks to Taylor Perry, Chris Mees and Matt Peirson.
Copyright 2022 WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center. To see more, visit WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-01/youngbloods-vocalist-samara-joy | 2022-09-01T17:07:38Z |
Regional Overview
The weather for the rest of the week and into the Labor Day weekend holiday looks great for getting outdoors. Thunderstorms were expected by midweek, but that potential decreases and the chance for rain is low on through the weekend. Winds might increase daily by mid-day, but will still remain light. Temperatures will be warm and even hot at the lower elevations. That means the angling is best early and late in the day. Overnight temperatures are feeling fall-like at the higher elevations. If camping is your plan this weekend, plan for cool temperatures in the evenings and mornings.
Ranking Categories
H (One fish): to ensure fish dinner go to the local grocery store
HHHHH (Five fish): toss a line and get a fish; the fish aren’t picky
Granite, Crystal and North Crow reservoirs
HHH
The buzz: The fishing is good and is expected to take off even more when cooler weather arrives. It’s an excellent time of year to enjoy some late season camping with more elbowroom. There is a cyanobacterial bloom advisory at the west causeway of Granite Reservoir.
Suggested bait, lures and flies:
Nightcrawlers
Salmon eggs
Panther martin spinners
Renegades
Adams
Halfbacks
Midges
Ants
Sloans and Absarraca lakes
HH½
The buzz: The fishing is good but remains best early and late. Anglers report having some nice action in the middle of the day when there’s cloud cover.
Suggested bait, lures and flies:
Worms
Powerbait
Salmon eggs
Marshmallows
Adams
Copper Johns
Renegades
Pole Mountain
HHH
The buzz: The fishing action is fairly lively for the ponds that have good water levels. Plan to hike to the more remote ponds for the best action. The aspen are just starting to turn with a few patches of gold and red appearing already.
Suggested bait, lures and flies:
Nightcrawlers
Orange scuds
Lightning bugs
Bead head prince nymphs
Elk hair caddis
Grasshoppers
Renegade
Adams
Laramie Plains lakes
HH½
The buzz: The fishing is good across the basin. The action is best at Meebour while it’s also doing quite well at Twin Buttes where the brown trout are getting frisky as they head into the spawning season. There are good reports from Lake Hattie, too, with the best action out on boats. It might be best to avoid Leazenby Lake due to the cyanobacterial bloom advisory there.
Suggested bait, lures and flies:
Bead head prince nymphs
Bead head hare’s ears
Hot head leeches
Snapping craw
Gisha girl
Circus peanut
Laramie River
HH
The buzz: The river is running quite low by the time it gets to Laramie, but hunt for the deeper pools for some brown trout action.
Suggested bait, lures and flies:
Bead head prince nymphs
Girdle bugs
Drake bombs
Sparkle worms
Griffith’s gnat
Elk hair caddis
Thin mints
Snowy Range
HHH½
The buzz: The fishing is good to very good all across the Medicine Bow Mountains. Both Lake Owen and Rob Roy Reservoir are fishing well. Expect the brook trout to start moving into the shallows as temperatures continue to drop.
Suggested bait, lures and flies:
Nightcrawlers
Panther martins
Elk hair caddis
Miracle mile peanut
Vanilla buggers
Bead head zug bugs
North Platte River and Encampment River – Saratoga Valley
HH½
The buzz: The North Platte River is running quite low, as is the Encampment River. The fishing is good in the mornings, but slows by mid-day. The tricos are starting to dwindle but the blue-winged olives are increasing. Get out early or late in the day for the best results.
Suggested bait, lures and flies:
Tricos
Grasshoppers
Drowned tricos
Mayhems
Possie buggers
Goldies
UV leech
Barr emergers
Bead-head prince nymphs
North Platte River – Grey Reef
HHH½
The buzz: The action at Grey Reef is very good. Grasshoppers are the hot ticket. The flow is steady around 2,500 cubic feet per second and is coming into prime shape for fall angling.
Suggested bait, lures and flies:
San Juan worms
Copper Johns
Squirrel nymphs
Hare’s ears
Elk hair caddis
Parachute Adams
Trico spinners
Grasshoppers
North Platte River – Miracle Mile
HHH
The buzz: The Mile is fishing well, but is not as hot as Grey Reef. There is more elbowroom, though, so it is a great option to fish the North Platte with a little solitude. Flows are around 500 cubic feet per second, making for good wading conditions.
Suggested bait, lures and flies:
Pat’s rubber legs
Red and purple San Juan worms
Purple Q-tips
Flash bang midges
Hoppers
Tricos
Bread n’ butter buggers
Circus peanuts
Wheatland Reservoir No. 3
HH
The buzz: The fishing is on the slow side with the water level low. The boat ramp is still usable, though, and those out on boats are having the best luck. An algal bloom is reported at the reservoir and it is most prominent in protected areas. Just keep an eye out to avoid areas where the floating algae are present.
Suggest bait, lures and flies:
Nightcrawlers
Marshmallows
Woolly worms and buggers (brown, black or olive)
Adams
Halfbacks
Midges
Ants
Glendo
HH½
The buzz: The water level continues to drop at Glendo, as is typical this time of year. Usable boat ramps remain at Reno Cove low water, Whiskey Gulch low water, and the Marina ramps. An algal bloom advisory is still in place and is expected to remain until fall brings cooler temperatures. Be on the lookout, but if you don’t see any blooms the water is safe for people and pets.
Suggest bait, lures and flies:
Bottom bouncers
Nightcrawlers on worm harnesses
Shad raps in perch and shad
Crankbaits
Blood baits (for catfish in the liver and beef flavors)
Vertical jigging
Grayrocks Reservoir
HH½
The buzz: The walleye fishing is picking up, but remains on the slow side in the middle of the day. Those angling for catfish are having decent action using blood baits.
Suggest bait, lures and flies:
Worm harnesses with leeches
Nightcrawlers on worm harnesses (gold, silver, burnt orange blades)
Blood baits for catfish (chicken, liver, beef and cheese flavors)
Hawk Springs
HH½
The buzz: Both the walleye and catfish action continues to improve. Go early or late in the day for the best results.
Suggest bait, lures and flies:
Worm harnesses with leeches
Nightcrawlers with worm harnesses (gold, silver, burnt orange blades)
Blood baits (for catfish in the liver and beef flavors)
Cheese
Reservoir levels
Alcova: 98.0% full
Boysen: 90.3% full
Guernsey: 63.0% full
Glendo: 27.4% full
Grey Reef: 87.8% full
Keyhole: 64.6% full
Pathfinder: 33.4% full
Seminoe: 51.9% full
River flows
North Platte River at Northgate: 116 cubic feet per second
North Platte River above Seminoe Reservoir: 245 cfs
North Platte River near Miracle Mile: 542 cfs
North Platte River at Gray Reef: 2,499 cfs
Encampment River near town of Encampment: 28 cfs
Encampment River at Hog Park: 26 cfs
Laramie River near Laramie: 18 cfs
Boat ramp openings
Glendo Reservoir: The Marina, Reno Cove and Whiskey Gulch ramps are open.
Guernsey Reservoir: All ramps are open.
Boysen Reservoir: All ramps are open.
Seminoe Reservoir: All ramps are open. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/laramieboomerang/news/outdoors/fishing-report-for-sept-3-2022/article_c2fd615a-2a01-11ed-a3ed-9b95a1d325de.html | 2022-09-01T17:11:47Z |
ExxonMobil has received a federal permit to inject carbon dioxide for permanent underground storage below public Bureau of Land Management property in southwest Wyoming.
The company will inject up to 60 million cubic feet of CO2 per day from its Shute Creek natural gas processing facility near La Barge, according to the BLM. The greenhouse gas will be stored in a briny portion of the Madison Aquifer some 18,000 feet below the surface in an area that straddles the border between Lincoln and Sweetwater counties.
The permit is a first of its kind for the BLM. The agency issued new guidance in June authorizing underground CO2 storage on BLM-managed lands as part of the Biden administration’s initiatives to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
“This project is a prime example of how the BLM can work together with industry leaders to combat climate change,” Wyoming BLM State Director Andrew Archuleta said in a press release.
The permit is a significant step forward for ExxonMobil’s plans to expand its CO2 capture and sequestration program at Shute Creek, touted as one of the largest in the world. But the Shute Creek CO2 program is not without its critics.
About half the volume of CO2 that’s been captured or separated from the raw natural gas stream at the facility – approximately 120 million tons – has been vented into the atmosphere since it began operations in 1986, according to a March 2022 report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Finance Analysis. About 114 million tons of captured CO2 have been sold for enhanced oil recovery – the process of injecting CO2 into marginal oil fields to produce more oil.
Shute Creek emitted more than 3.4 million tons of CO2 in 2020, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data. If fully implemented, the plan to sequester an additional 60 million cubic feet of CO2 per day – or 1.2 million tons annually – would cut Shute Creek’s CO2 venting by about 35%.
Shute Creek
The Shute Creek gas plant was among the first facilities in the world to separate CO2 from an industrial process for permanent underground storage.
ExxonMobil began selling CO2 to oilfield operators in Colorado and Wyoming, including the Salt Creek oil field near Midwest, in the 1990s.
The company told state regulators it sold an average 207 million cubic feet of CO2 per day in 2007 for enhanced oil recovery but still vented about 200 million cubic per day. The Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in 2008 pressured ExxonMobil to market more CO2 for enhanced oil recovery as Wyoming oil producers were clamoring to take advantage of high oil prices.
The facility still vents into the atmosphere about half the CO2 it produces, according to IEEFA’s analysis. That’s because the economic model for the Shute Creek carbon capture and utilization relies on high oil prices to shore up demand for the CO2.
“The project has been unable to capture the volumes of CO2 it was designed for, not for technical reasons but for economic reasons,” according to the IEEFA report. “For CCUS projects to be economic, it requires a high oil price, and in several cases, government subsidies.”
The Shute Creek CCUS program qualifies under the “Section 45Q” tax credit for carbon sequestration, which historically allowed for about $50 per ton for geologic storage and $35 per ton for CO2 used in enhanced oil recovery. Provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act extend the 45Q tax credit and increase it to $85 per ton for geologic sequestration and $60 per ton for “utilization” of CO2, such as enhanced oil recovery.
The Shute Creek CO2 program remains anything but a climate-friendly endeavor, however, according to IEEFA. That’s because rather than capturing CO2 from industrial processes such as the combustion of fossil fuels, it’s simply moving naturally occurring CO2 from one geologic formation to another while about half is used to produce more oil resulting in human-made CO2 emissions.
“The (Shute Creek) CCUS model should mainly be seen as a subsidy harvesting scheme to prolong the life of the oil and gas industry, not an emission reduction investment,” IEEFA analysts wrote.
Some conservationists consider any additional volumes of CO2 diverted for geologic storage rather than for enhanced oil recovery or venting into the atmosphere as a positive.
“Moving from [enhanced oil recovery] to permanent geological storage on BLM lands is a pretty big shift,” said Wyoming Outdoor Council Conservation Advocate John Burrows.
WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/local_news/exxonmobil-to-store-co2-on-blm-lands/article_eda297ba-2964-11ed-837c-230562559e18.html | 2022-09-01T17:11:52Z |
Rawlins page plan, Sept. 3 Sep 1, 2022 Sep 1, 2022 Updated 16 min ago Comments Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save RAWLINS page plan for SATURDAY, Sept. 3 A1 (send color)Vol. 133, Issue 71Tease 1:9/11 ANNIVERSARY Firefighters recall ‘the darkest day’ in America, Page A5Tease 2:IN THE FIELD Road cycling is where all senses come into play, Page B1Tease 3:AT THE CAPITOL State lawmakers search for housing solutions, Page A7________________________________________________________MAIN PACKAGE: Breathing room: UW student loan borrowers react to debt relief, Abby (photos)Loan plan reactions mixed: Students happy, politicians not so much, WNE (photo)Buchanan confident in election process without him, WTE (mug, bug)Jumps to A2 and A3 (also to 5 if you need) A2 (send color)Worth noting briefsJumps from A1A3 (send color)Wyoming No.1 for borrowers whose student debt will be eliminated, WTE (file photo)Jumps from A1A4 OPINION (send B&W)Stroot cartoonState leaders ignored school funding, now the bill has come due (Wyoming editorial)Adler column (Other voices)Simpson column (Wyoming voices) A5 (send color)ObitsFirefighters recall ‘the darkest day’ in America, RMN (photo)ExxonMobil to store CO2 on BLM lands, WTEAround Wyoming briefs to fill A6 (send color)Students support peers affected by sexual assault, WNE (photo)Free overdose antidote available, WNELawmakers want support for Wyoming Guard recruitment, WTE (photo)Car seat rules could be returning to Legislature, WNE (file photo) – only if you need it A7 (send B&W)State lawmakers search for housing solutions, WTE (photos) A8 – FULL-PAGE AD B1-B4 OUTDOORS (B1 color, B2 B&W, B3-B4 color)NOTE: Use the Travsky column as main package, then whatever and however fits best.½ page fishing report PDF on B2MAIN: Road cycling, where all senses come into play, Travsky column (photos)Out and about briefsMysterious moth-eating grizzlies have a people problem, WNE (file photo)Federal money to help save forest infrastructure, WNEYellowstone volcano, earthquake monitoring plan updated, WNE (photo)Elk Refuge gets crematory for CWD-infected animals, WNE (photo)Game and Fish predicts good season for elk hunters, WNE (photo)B5-B6 COMICS/PUZZLES (send B&W)B7-B8 CLASSIFIEDS (send color) Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Tags Photo Borrower Finance Chemistry Politics Bank Cycling Lawmaker Student Loan Sens B&w Recommended for you Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. comments powered by Disqus Trending Now Highway Patrol trooper arrested Tuesday; charges unknown Crumbl Cookies opens location in Cheyenne Hoss Woodard is doing all he can to give Cheyenne a 'Little Taste of Texas' New Unitarian Universalist minister finds home in Cheyenne Police blotter 8-27-22 Latest Special Section 2022 UW Football Preview To view our latest Special Section click the image on the left. Latest e-Edition Wyoming Tribune Eagle To view our latest e-Edition click the image on the left. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/rawlins-page-plan-sept-3/article_20d89c80-2a12-11ed-8f37-737ed022228e.html | 2022-09-01T17:11:53Z |
A continuous gas-monitoring station operates near Yellowstone National Park’s Norris Geyser Basin. Expansion of continuous gas monitoring is part of a new volcano and earthquake monitoring plan for the Yellowstone caldera system.
The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, a consortium of nine regional scientific agencies, has released a new 10-year plan to improve monitoring and hazards assessment of volcanic, hydrothermal and earthquake activity in the Yellowstone Plateau region.
The University of Wyoming, led by Department of Geology and Geophysics professor Ken Sims, is one of the YVO partners along with the U.S. Geological Survey, the Wyoming State Geological Survey, Yellowstone National Park, the University of Utah, the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, the Idaho Geological Survey, Montana State University and the scientific organization UNAVCO.
The Yellowstone volcanic system, formed over the past 2.1 million years by three massive caldera-forming eruptions and many smaller eruptions, is one of the most dynamic parts of the world for volcanic, hydrothermal and earthquake activity.
Albeit quite improbable, the threat of another caldera-forming supereruption — an explosive eruption with a volume of more than 1,000 cubic kilometers, or 240 cubic miles — has serious implications for Earth’s habitability. Such an event would dump significant amounts of ash on large swaths of the United States and have a long-term negative impact on the global climate from ash and gas injected into the stratosphere.
The potential of another supereruption from Yellowstone has drawn media attention and even fear-mongering hype in recent years.
There is no indication that any such activity is imminent, and the magmatic system beneath Yellowstone is mostly solid. But there are still many geological hazards in the region that pose a threat to people and must be monitored.
In an assessment of the threat posed by potentially active volcanoes in the United States, the Yellowstone caldera ranked 21 of the 161 volcanoes considered, based on an assessment of volcanic histories, hazards and potential impacts on surrounding communities and air traffic.
Earthquakes are another hot topic, as the Yellowstone region is one of the most seismically active areas of the United States with an average of 1,500-2,500 temblors a year. Hydrothermal explosions are a concern as well, as they have created large craters inside the park, the most recent just 3,000 years ago.
Smaller hydrothermal explosions, akin to unexpectedly large or uncharacteristic geyser events, occur almost annually and could pose a hazard to anyone who is nearby if the event occurs in any of the thermal areas that are frequented by visitors.
“All of these geologic events have the potential to recur in the Yellowstone region and some, especially small hydrothermal explosions and strong earthquakes, are likely to take place within the coming decades,” the new monitoring plan says.
“The new Yellowstone volcano and earthquake monitoring plan builds upon improvements to monitoring systems in the region while also accounting for new insights into the dynamics of the area’s seismic, volcanic and hydrothermal activity,” said Sims, a National Geographic Explorer who researches volcanoes around the globe and has represented UW on YVO since 2013.
“As such, this new monitoring plan will significantly enhance YVO’s hazards forecasting capabilities, and it also will greatly facilitate scientific advances that will help geologists better understand how the Yellowstone system works,” Sims said.
The 2022-2032 Yellowstone monitoring plan, online at https://tinyurl.com/k2m6zzuh, includes detailed descriptions of existing and planned monitoring systems in the Yellowstone region. In detail, the new monitoring plan has identified two categories of monitoring goals: backbone monitoring and hydrothermal monitoring.
Backbone monitoring refers to the existing and already extensive regionwide surveillance network. While the existing backbone monitoring network is quite strong, over the next decade, YVO will further upgrade and augment both the continuous GPS and seismic monitoring network and the hydrological monitoring program, which tracks the chemistry, flow patterns and physical properties of groundwater, rivers and lakes.
Hydrothermal monitoring, which is a new part of the monitoring plan, refers to tracking hydrothermal activity associated with Yellowstone’s thermal and geyser basins.
To date, continuous monitoring has largely avoided the geyser basins because they are noisy and could obscure the ability to detect regional-scale changes, such as earthquakes and ground deformation.
The potential for hydrothermal explosions is another serious hazard in Yellowstone. Even small steam-driven outbursts, such as the 1989 explosion of Porkchop Geyser, could have serious impacts on anyone nearby.
Volcanologists still do not have a good understanding of whether hydrothermal explosions have measurable precursor signals; therefore, additional monitoring is essential to address this question and help mitigate the impact of such events.
Overall, the new plan calls for:
The addition of digital seismic sensors where only analog systems now exist.
The addition of permanent, continuously recording GPS stations in Norris Geyser Basin and other areas of recognized under-monitored activity.
Expansion of continuous gas monitoring.
Deployment of additional hydrological, environmental and lake monitoring stations.
Improved monitoring of Yellowstone’s hydrothermal systems to help scientists better understand the dynamics of thermal areas and their associated hazards. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/rawlinstimes/news/yellowstone-volcano-earthquake-monitoring-plan-updated/article_7d45a9a6-2a01-11ed-a003-2fd997e218a5.html | 2022-09-01T17:11:56Z |
ROCK SPRINGS — During the month of September, adoption fees for animals at the Red Desert Humane Society will be half off due to the Petfinder Foundation and a Kia grant.
The Red Desert Humane Society’s shelter manager Heidi Hernandez said that she discovered the grant through the Petfinder Foundation.
“Petfinder has different grants throughout the year and they send emails out about them. When the Kia grant came through, I applied for it,” Hernandez said. “It’s a grant for $2,000 toward reduced price adoption fees. So, we decided that for the month of September, we would do half off of adoption fees for all of our animals; until basically, we run out of that $2,000 grant.”
Hernandez said that the number of adoptions for shelter animals are low in many areas but they are hoping the grant will help with adoptions at the humane society.
“We are hoping it will maybe help people to adopt that might not have been able to afford the full price of the adoptions fees.”
She also said that the extra money not having to spent on the adoption fees may help people get their new cat fixed or possibly purchase the first bag of pet food.
The Red Desert Humane Society will be open to the public Thursday, Sept. 1, Friday, Sept. 2 and Saturday, Sept. 3 from 12 - 5 p.m.
For those in the community wanting to make monetary donations to the humane society can do so by mailing a cash or check or bringing it in during open hours. Hernandez said that donations can also be taken by credit card over the phone.
Those wanting to donate pet food can drop it in the donation bin outside of the humane society, which is located at 310 Yellowstone Rd.
“We have lost of lovable, furry faces waiting to be adopted.” | https://www.wyomingnews.com/rocketminer/a-pawsome-deal-red-desert-humane-society-adoption-fees-half-off-for-the-month-of/article_28d14f66-29fb-11ed-93c6-f7f66b2c1de3.html | 2022-09-01T17:11:57Z |
75 migrants bused from Texas arrive in Chicago
CHICAGO (AP) — Seventy-five immigrants bused from Texas by Gov. Greg Abbott have arrived in Chicago, the latest chapter of the bitter political battle over the immigration policy of President Joe Biden’s administration.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office confirmed that the group arrived on Wednesday night and said the city welcomes them. The immigrants are being bused from Texas as part of a strategy launched by Abbott this year to share the influx of people from outside the United States with liberal cities. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has also adopted this policy.
“Chicago is a welcoming city and as such has collaborated across various departments and agencies to ensure we greeted them with dignity and respect,” Ryan Johnson, a Lightfoot representative, said in a tweet after the migrants began arriving at Union Station.
Authorities did not specify the immigrants’ countries of origin or say when they arrived in the United States.
“As a city, we are doing everything we can to ensure these immigrants and their families can receive shelter, food, and most importantly protection,” Johnson said in his statement. “Unfortunately, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is without any shame or humanity. But ever since he put these racist practices of expulsion in place, we have been working with our community partners to ready the city to receive these individuals.”
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker offered his support for the new arrivals.
“Illinois welcomes refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants, and we are working with federal and city officials to ensure that these individuals are treated with respect and safety as they look to connect with their family and friends,” Pritzker said on Twitter.
The Democratic governor also drew on his family history in his welcome message.
“My great grandfather came to this country as an immigrant fleeing Ukraine in 1881. Immigrants just like my family seeking freedom and opportunity built this country,” he tweeted.
Abbott has now bused immigrants to Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C. — all three cities have Democratic mayors. He confirmed in a statement that the “first group” had been bused to Chicago, the Chicago Tribune reported.
And he suggested that more would be arriving, saying in his statement that Chicago has become a drop-off location as a solution to what he called Biden’s “open border policies overwhelming border communities in Texas.”
Abbott has been waging this battle for months and the mayors of New York and Washington have asked the Biden administration to help with what they describe as a surge of asylum-seeking migrants arriving from border states.
Earlier in the year, Abbott announced that state troopers would stop and inspect commercial vehicles crossing the U.S. Mexico border, a move he acknowledged would “dramatically slow” vehicle traffic near the U.S. ports of entry. He later eased that plan after massive gridlock at the border started to take an economic toll.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/09/01/75-migrants-bused-texas-arrive-chicago/ | 2022-09-01T17:42:34Z |
CDC advisers weigh who needs updated COVID booster and when
(AP) - COVID-19 boosters updated to match the newest omicron strains are about to roll out, and government advisers met Thursday to decide who should roll up their sleeves -- and when.
The tweaked shots made by Pfizer and rival Moderna promise Americans a chance at their most up-to-date protection at yet another critical period in the pandemic. The U.S. still is experiencing tens of thousands of coronavirus cases and about 500 deaths every day, and those numbers are expected to surge again in the fall.
The Food and Drug Administration authorized the new combination shots, half the original vaccine and half protection against the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron versions now responsible for nearly all COVID-19 infections.
Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began weighing how best to use them. The CDC’s ultimate decision is the final step before shots begin.
It’s important “to simplify our recommendations,” CDC’s Dr. Melinda Wharton cautioned the advisory panel.
The original COVID-19 vaccines still offer strong protection against severe illness and death, especially among younger and healthier people who’ve gotten at least one booster.
But those vaccines were designed to target the virus strain that circulated in early 2020. Effectiveness drops as new mutants emerge and the longer it’s been since someone’s last shot. Since April, hospitalization rates in people over age 65 have jumped, the CDC said.
The new updated shots are only for use as a booster for people who’ve had primary vaccinations regardless of brand or how many booster doses they’ve had until now. Pfizer’s option is for people 12 and older while Moderna’s is for adults only.
A big unknown: Exactly how much benefit people will get from one of those extra shots.
The FDA cleared the updated boosters based largely on clinical trials of prior tweaks to the vaccine recipe, including the companies’ testing of shots targeting an earlier omicron strain that was found safe and able to rev up virus-fighting antibodies. Rather than waiting another few months for more human testing of the BA.5 version, the agency accepted mouse testing showing it also sparked a good immune response.
Before this new booster update, people 50 and older already were urged to get a second booster of the original vaccine — and those who did saw some extra protection especially the longer it had been since their last shot, said CDC’s Dr. Ruth Link-Gelles.
The new combination booster “should provide at least similar or better protection against omicron since it’ll be a better match” to today’s virus strains, she told the panel.
Still, many scientists say to get the maximum benefit, people will need to wait longer between their last vaccination and the new booster than the two months that the FDA set as the minimum.
Waiting four to six months between vaccinations is commonly advised, said virologist Andrew Pekosz of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. If someone already has lots of antibodies in their bloodstream, another shot won’t rev up that many more, essentially wasting it.
“You usually want to space out a vaccine booster,” said Pekosz, who is closely watching where CDC draws that line. “Those recommendations are really going to be critical in terms of how good this vaccine is going to be.”
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/09/01/cdc-advisers-weigh-who-needs-updated-covid-booster-when/ | 2022-09-01T17:42:43Z |
Concord University and the U.S Department of Defense partner up for program
The university is the DODs only West Virginia partner.
ATHENS, W.Va. (WVVA) - The Concord Mountain Lions are partnering up with the U.S. Department of Defense for its SkillBrigde program.
According to the university, active duty service members will spend the last six months of their service commitment working in the civilian sector.
The 150-year old school is the Department of Defense’s only partner in the Mountain State.
According to Concord’s Lindsey Byars, the first serviceman chosen for the Concord partnership is no stranger to the area--it is Corporal VaShawn Wood.
Corporal Wood is currently serving in the United States Marine Corps. with MWSS-172 in Camp Foster, Japan.
With his return stateside he will be Program Intern for Concord University’s Center of Excellence for Veterans Student Success at Concord University.
Congratulations Corporal VaShawn Wood and thank you for your service to our county.
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/09/01/concord-university-us-department-defense-partner-up-program/ | 2022-09-01T17:42:45Z |
Customers line up in droves for opening of new Goodwill store in Sophia
SOPHIA, W.Va. (WVVA) - Goodwill opened a brand new location in Raleigh County on Thursday. The non-profit’s latest store is located in Lester Square in Sophia.
Before the Beckley-Raleigh County Chamber hosted a ribbon-cutting with the non-profit on Thursday morning, customers were lined up in droves to check out the new store.
“It’s bigger than the ones we’re used to,” said shopper Reba Walls.
Bobbi Chambers was another local who lined up early. “I think it’s beautiful and great!”
In the back of the store, people can donate items and receive a tax receipt for their contributions. As a non-profit, Goodwill puts back into the operation every penny it makes, working to lift up those who are struggling while at the same time providing employment opportunities for the area.
“Anytime you give someone an outfit, you give them a confidence boost,” said the non-profit’s Marketing Dir. Megan Diehl.
While there may be lucky finds throughout the store, she said there is also goodwill being generated behind the scenes.
“If there’s something that doesn’t meet the floor standard, we also recycle. We diverted four million tons out of the landfills just in West Virginia alone.”
Goodwill is presently hiring for all of its locations. The starting pay is $11.50 an hour.
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/09/01/customers-line-up-droves-opening-new-goodwill-store-sophia/ | 2022-09-01T17:42:48Z |
Lawyers in Trump White House to appear before 1/6 grand jury
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House counsel under former President Donald Trump and his top deputy are set to appear Friday before a federal grand jury investigating efforts to undo the 2020 presidential election, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday.
Pat Cipollone was the top White House lawyer at the end of the Trump administration as Trump and outside allies pressed for ways to overturn the results of the election, culminating in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Cipollone vigorously resisted efforts to undo the election and has said he did not believe there was sufficient fraud to have affected the outcome of the race won by Democrat Joe Biden.
He and Patrick Philbin, a deputy White House counsel also set to appear before the grand jury, have already cooperated with a separate House committee probe investigating the Jan. 6 attack and attempts to subvert the election.
The person who confirmed their appearance before the grand jury was not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. ABC News was first to report the appearance. Spokespeople for the Justice Department declined to comment.
The scheduled grand jury appearances underscore how Justice Department officials examining schemes to overturn the presidential contest have been seeking the cooperation of senior White House officials and advisers who opposed those efforts.
Federal prosecutors have been especially focused on a scheme by Trump allies to elevate fake electors in key battleground states won by Biden as a way to subvert the vote. They have issued subpoenas in recent weeks to multiple state Republican Party chairmen.
Portions of Cipollone’s private interview to the House Jan. 6 committee were featured prominently in hearings over the summer. Lawmakers aired video clips of him discussing a heated December 2020 meeting at the White House during which outside aides and advisers to Trump discussed a proposed executive order calling for the seizure of voting machines.
“To have the federal government seize voting machines? That’s a terrible idea for the country. That’s not how we do things in the United States,” Cipollone testified, adding, “I don’t understand why we even have to tell you why that’s a bad idea for the country.”
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Follow Eric Tucker on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/09/01/lawyers-trump-white-house-appear-before-16-grand-jury/ | 2022-09-01T17:42:59Z |
Oath Keepers’ lawyer arrested in connection with Jan. 6
(AP) - A lawyer for the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group has been charged with conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol, authorities said Thursday.
Kellye SoRelle — general counsel for the antigovernment group — was arrested in Texas on charges including conspiracy to obstruct the certification of President Joe Biden’s electoral college victory, the Justice Department said.
SoRelle, 43, is a close associate of Stewart Rhodes, the Oath Keepers’ leader who is heading to trial later this month alongside other extremists on seditious conspiracy charges.
After Rhodes’ arrest in January, SoRelle told media outlets she was acting as the president of the Oath Keepers while he’s behind bars.
Prosecutors have accused Rhodes and his militia group of plotting for weeks to stop the transfer of power and keep former President Donald Trump in office, purchasing weapons, organizing military-style trainings and setting up battle plans.
SoRelle told The Associated Press last year — when FBI agents seized her phone as part of the Jan 6. investigation — that she had no knowledge of or involvement in the Capitol breach. She called the seizure of her phone “unethical” and the investigation “a witch hunt.”
She is expected to make an initial appearance in federal court in Austin, Texas, later Thursday and it wasn’t immediately clear if she has an attorney to speak on her behalf.
SoRelle was photographed with Rhodes outside the Capitol on Jan. 6 and was present at an underground garage meeting the night before the riot that’s been a focus for investigators.
The meeting included Rhodes and and Enrique Tarrio, the former chairman of the Proud Boys, who is charged separately with seditious conspiracy alongside other members of the extremist group that describes themselves as a politically incorrect men’s club for “Western chauvinists.”
Publicly released video of the meeting doesn’t reveal much about their discussion and prosecutors have said only that one of the meeting’s participants “referenced the Capitol.”
SoRelle was also on a call with Rhodes and other Oath Keepers days after the 2020 election during which Rhodes rallied his followers to prepare for violence, according to a transcript made public in court.
SoRelle is also charged with obstruction of an official proceeding, obstruction of justice for tampering with documents and a misdemeanor charge for entering Capitol grounds. The indictment says she persuaded others to destroy and conceal records sought by investigators.
SoRelle told the AP last September that agents seized her phone and provided her a search warrant that said it was related to an investigation into seditious conspiracy, among other crimes. The indictment against SoRelle made public Thursday does not include a charge of seditious conspiracy.
Rhodes and four co-defendants scheduled to go on trial starting Sept. 26 have said there was no plot to attack the Capitol and that their communications in the run up to Jan. 6 were about providing security for right-wing figures such as Roger Stone or preparing for attacks from left-wing antifa activists.
Rhodes, a former U.S. Army paratrooper, founded the Oath Keepers in 2009. The group recruits current and former military, police and first responders and pledges to “fulfill the oath all military and police take to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
A slew of its members have been charged in connection with Jan. 6. Three Oath Keepers have already pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy, a rare Civil War-era charge that’s historically been hard to prove. They are also cooperating with the Justice Department.
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Associated Press reporter Mike Balsamo in Washington contributed to this report.
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For full coverage of the Capitol riot, go to https://www.apnews.com/capitol-siege
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/09/01/oath-keepers-lawyer-arrested-connection-with-jan-6/ | 2022-09-01T17:43:06Z |
R. Kelly tells judge he won’t testify at ongoing trial
CHICAGO (AP) — Singer R. Kelly told a federal judge Thursday that he won’t testify at his ongoing trial in Chicago on charges that accuse him of child pornography, enticement of minors for sex and fixing his 2008 state trial.
The judge raised the issue minutes before attorneys for Kelly and two co-defendants began calling their first witnesses, endeavoring to counter two weeks of government testimony, including from four women who accused Kelly of sexual abuse.
Addressing the Grammy Award-winner directly Thursday, Judge Harry Leinenweber asked if he had discussed with his lawyers whether to testify. Kelly, 55, responded calmly, “Yes, you honor.” Asked if he would testify, Kelly said he would not.
Co-defendant Derrel McDavid, a longtime Kelly business manager, is accused of helping Kelly rig the 2008 trial. McDavid said he will testify. Co-defendant Milton Brown is charged with receiving child pornography. Like Kelly, he said he wouldn’t testify.
Taking the witness stand is always risky, including because it subjects a defendant to cross-examination. There’s always a chance a defendant blurts out something incriminating under tough questioning.
Leinenweber on Thursday also denied a defense motion of acquittal, a common but rarely granted request for a judge to acquit before jurors get the case. Leinenweber said prosecutors presented sufficient evidence to leave the question of guilt to jurors.
McDavid’s legal team called the first defense witness Thursday, a McDavid friend and former police officer Christopher G. Wilson. He testified that McDavid told him in 2001 that someone was trying to blackmail Kelly with threats about videos.
A New York federal judge sentenced Kelly in June to 30 years in prison for convictions on racketeering and sex trafficking charges. A conviction on just one or two of the charges at the Chicago trial could add years to that sentence.
The highlight of prosecutors’ case came two weeks ago with the testimony of a 37-year-old woman who used the pseudonym “Jane.” She described Kelly sexually abusing her hundreds of times starting in 1998 when she was 14 and Kelly was around 30.
Federal prosecutors rested their case on Tuesday. Closing arguments are expected to happen in the middle of next week.
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Follow Michael Tarm on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mtarm. Find AP’s full coverage of the R. Kelly trial at https://apnews.com/hub/r-kelly.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/09/01/r-kelly-tells-judge-he-wont-testify-ongoing-trial/ | 2022-09-01T17:43:13Z |
HONOLULU (AP) — The last bits of ash and greenhouse gases from Hawaii’s only remaining coal-fired power plant slipped into the environment this week when the state’s dirtiest source of electricity burned its final pieces of fuel.
The last coal shipment arrived in the islands at the end of July, and the AES Corporation coal plant closed Thursday after 30 years in operation. The facility produced up to one-fifth of the electricity on Oahu — the most populous island in a state of nearly 1.5 million people.
“It really is about reducing greenhouse gases,” Hawaii Gov. David Ige said in an interview with The Associated Press. "And this coal facility is one of the largest emitters. Taking it offline means that we'll stop the 1.5 million metric tons of greenhouse gases that were emitted annually.”
Like other Pacific islands, the Hawaiian chain has suffered the cascading impacts of climate change. The state is experiencing the destruction of coral reefs from bleaching associated with increased ocean temperatures, rapid sea level rise, more intense storms and drought that is increasing the state's wildfire risk.
In 2020, Hawaii’s Legislature passed a law banning the use of coal for energy production at the start of 2023. Hawaii has mandated a transition to 100% renewable energy by 2045, and was the first state to set such a goal.
But critics say that while ending the state's dirtiest source of energy is ultimately a good move, doing so now is not. Renewable sources meant to replace coal energy are not yet on line because of permitting delays, contract issues and pandemic-related supply-chain problems. So the state will instead burn more costly oil that is only slightly less polluting than coal.
“If you are a believer that climate change is going to end because we shut down this coal plant, this is a great day for you," said Democratic state Sen. Glenn Wakai, chair of the Committee on Economic Development, Tourism and Technology. “But if you pay an electricity bill, this is a disastrous day for you.”
The end of coal and the additional cost of oil will translate to a 7% increase in electricity bills for consumers who already face the nation's highest energy and living costs.
“What we’re doing ... is transitioning from the cheapest fossil fuel to the most expensive fossil fuel,” Wakai said. "And we’re going to be subjected to geopolitical issues on pricing for oil as well as access to oil. ”
The AES coal plant closure means Hawaii joins 10 other states with no major coal-fired power facilities, according to data from Global Energy Monitor, a nonprofit advocating for a global transition to clean energy. Rhode Island and Vermont never had any coal-fired power plants.
While Hawaii is the first state to fully implement a ban on coal, a handful of others previously passed laws. The 2015 law in Oregon, the first state to pass a ban, isn't effective until 2035. Washington state's 2020 coal ban starts in 2025. California, Maine and Texas are among states that have restricted construction of new coal-fired plants.
The number of coal-burning units in the United States peaked in 2001 at about 1,100. More than half have stopped operating since then, with most switching to more cost-effective natural gas.
U.S. Energy Information Administration data shows oil generated about two-thirds of Hawaii's electricity in 2021. That makes Hawaii the most petroleum-dependent state, even as it tries to make a rapid transition to renewables.
Hawaii already gets about 40% of its power from sustainable sources including wind, solar, hydroelectric and geothermal.
State Sen. Kurt Fevella, a Republican and the Senate Minority Leader, suggested that Hawaiian Electric Company and other energy corporations should absorb the additional cost of shifting to renewables.
“The fact that Hawaii’s families are already doing what is necessary to reduce their energy uses while still paying the most in the nation for household electricity is unsustainable,” said Fevella. “While I believe utility companies like HECO can do more to reduce the energy burden passed on to Hawaii’s ratepayers, I also believe developers of renewal energy projects should also bear a greater portion of the transmission costs."
Hawaiian Electric Company, the state's sole distributor of electricity, said it can do little to change the prices to consumers.
“We’re a regulated monopoly,” said Vice President of Government and Community Relations and Corporate Communications Jim Kelly. ”So we don’t set the prices. We don’t make any money on the fuels that we use to generate electricity.”
AES, the operator of Hawaii's last coal plant, has transitioned to creating clean energy and is working on large solar farms across the state, including one in West Oahu that will replace some lost coal energy when completed next year.
“Renewables are getting cheaper by the day," said Leonardo Moreno, president of AES Corporation's clean energy division. “I envision a future where energy is very, very cheap, abundant and renewable."
Sustainable energy experts say getting rid of coal is critical in curbing climate change. While the current renewable landscape is not perfect, they say technologies are improving.
“This is the decade of climate action that we really need to be moving on right now,” said Makena Coffman, University of Hawaii professor and director for the Institute for Sustainability and Resilience. “And so these are available technologies and they might get incrementally better, but let’s not wait 10 years to do it.”
Profits from the increased electricity costs to Hawaii consumers will go mostly to overseas oil producers, said Hawaii's Chief Energy Officer Scott Glenn.
Hawaii’s petroleum is distributed by Par Pacific, a Houston-based company which has traditionally sourced the state's oil from Libya and Russia. But after the invasion of Ukraine, Hawaii halted oil shipments from Russia and replaced it with products from Argentina.
Extending the coal plant's operation would be complicated and costly, Glenn said, noting that the plant has been planning decommissioning for years and would now have to buy coal at market price.
“Coal is going up. It’s getting more expensive,” he said of the supply Hawaii gets from clearcut rainforests in Indonesia. "If we were using U.S. coal, it would not be the cheapest energy source on the grid.”
Why would Hawaii, a small U.S. state in the middle of the Pacific, try to lead the way in moving to sustainable energy?
“We are already feeling the effects of climate change,'" Glenn said. “It’s not fair or right to ask other nations or states to act on our behalf if we are not willing and able to do it ourselves. If we don’t, we drown.”
Associated Press data journalist Mary Katherine Wildeman in Hartford, Conn. contributed to this report.
Follow Caleb Jones on Twitter: @CalebAP. Follow AP’s climate and environment coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment
Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | https://www.kitv.com/news/local/hawaii-closes-last-coal-fired-power-plant-as-ban-begins/article_724e6eac-2a15-11ed-bf8a-2f43a4643612.html | 2022-09-01T18:32:05Z |
2 critically endangered birds hatch at Smithsonian’s National Zoo
WASHINGTON (Gray News) – A pair of critically endangered birds have recently hatched at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
In a release, the zoo said the hatchlings are both female blue-billed curassows.
Both of the chicks are being cared for off-exhibit, the zoo said. The first chick, Aluna, hatched Aug. 5, with her sister, Lulo, hatching on Aug. 28.
The bird’s keepers have described both of them as confident and curious.
The hatchlings were born to mother bird Jackie. Aluna’s egg was laid July 6 and Lulo’s July 27, according to the zoo.
Female curassows typically incubate their eggs for 29 to 31 days, but the zoo said Jackie showed no interest in incubating her eggs, so they were placed in an incubator. The team presiding over her said this meant that Jackie would not accept or bond with her chicks.
According to the zoo, there are a total of just 73 birds in the North American blue-billed curassow population, and there are more males than females, making the hatching of female birds in the species all the more critical.
Blue-billed curassows are native to Colombia and are considered critically endangered by the International Union of Conservation of Nature, with an estimated 1,000 to 2,500 birds remaining in the wild.
The zoo said the main threats to the bird species are habitat loss and fragmentation.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/09/01/2-critically-endangered-birds-hatch-smithsonians-national-zoo/ | 2022-09-01T18:34:52Z |
75 migrants bused from Texas arrive in Chicago
CHICAGO (AP) — Seventy-five immigrants bused from Texas by Gov. Greg Abbott have arrived in Chicago, the latest chapter of the bitter political battle over the immigration policy of President Joe Biden’s administration.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office confirmed that the group arrived on Wednesday night and said the city welcomes them. The immigrants are being bused from Texas as part of a strategy launched by Abbott this year to share the influx of people from outside the United States with liberal cities. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has also adopted this policy.
“Chicago is a welcoming city and as such has collaborated across various departments and agencies to ensure we greeted them with dignity and respect,” Ryan Johnson, a Lightfoot representative, said in a tweet after the migrants began arriving at Union Station.
Authorities did not specify the immigrants’ countries of origin or say when they arrived in the United States.
“As a city, we are doing everything we can to ensure these immigrants and their families can receive shelter, food, and most importantly protection,” Johnson said in his statement. “Unfortunately, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is without any shame or humanity. But ever since he put these racist practices of expulsion in place, we have been working with our community partners to ready the city to receive these individuals.”
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker offered his support for the new arrivals.
“Illinois welcomes refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants, and we are working with federal and city officials to ensure that these individuals are treated with respect and safety as they look to connect with their family and friends,” Pritzker said on Twitter.
The Democratic governor also drew on his family history in his welcome message.
“My great grandfather came to this country as an immigrant fleeing Ukraine in 1881. Immigrants just like my family seeking freedom and opportunity built this country,” he tweeted.
Abbott has now bused immigrants to Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C. — all three cities have Democratic mayors. He confirmed in a statement that the “first group” had been bused to Chicago, the Chicago Tribune reported.
And he suggested that more would be arriving, saying in his statement that Chicago has become a drop-off location as a solution to what he called Biden’s “open border policies overwhelming border communities in Texas.”
Abbott has been waging this battle for months and the mayors of New York and Washington have asked the Biden administration to help with what they describe as a surge of asylum-seeking migrants arriving from border states.
Earlier in the year, Abbott announced that state troopers would stop and inspect commercial vehicles crossing the U.S. Mexico border, a move he acknowledged would “dramatically slow” vehicle traffic near the U.S. ports of entry. He later eased that plan after massive gridlock at the border started to take an economic toll.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/09/01/75-migrants-bused-texas-arrive-chicago/ | 2022-09-01T18:34:59Z |
Amber Alert issued for 9-year-old girl last seen in Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS (WPTA/Gray News) - Indiana State Police (ISP) have issued an Amber Alert for a 9-year-old girl who was last seen Thursday morning in Indianapolis.
Police say they are looking for 9-year-old Delilah Jennings, who was last seen with her hair in a ponytail and wearing a gray “ILH” shirt with an emblem in the middle, sky-blue pants, and black and white shoes.
Authorities say she is believed to be in extreme danger.
Police believe she is with 32-year-old Monica Burdine, who is believed to be driving a blue 2015 Chevrolet Malibu with Indiana license plate 233BXA.
Burdine was last seen with her hair in long black braids and wearing a blue fitted hoodie, gray biker shorts and white shoes.
Detectives ask that anyone with information call the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department at 317-327-6540 or 911.
Copyright 2022 WPTA via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/09/01/amber-alert-issued-9-year-old-girl-last-seen-indianapolis/ | 2022-09-01T18:35:06Z |
Ginni Thomas emails urged new 2020 electors in Wisconsin
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The wife of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas contacted at least two Wisconsin state lawmakers, including the chair of the Senate elections committee, urging them to overturn President Joe Biden’s 2020 election win in the tightly contested state, emails obtained Thursday by The Associated Press show.
Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, a conservative activist, also had sent messages to more than two dozen lawmakers in Arizona.
In her communications with lawmakers in both states, Thomas urged Republicans to choose their own slate of electors after the election, arguing that results giving Biden a victory in the states were marred by fraud. Despite numerous reviews, lawsuits and recounts, no widespread fraud calling into question the results has been discovered in either state.
The emails received at the exact same time on Nov. 9, 2020, by Wisconsin state Sen. Kathy Bernier and state Rep. Gary Tauchen were first reported Thursday by The Washington Post. The AP obtained the email from Bernier, and the watchdog group Documented posted the email Tauchen received.
The emails were sent at almost the exact same time as the ones Thomas sent to lawmakers in Arizona.
Bernier, in a telephone interview with the AP, said she did not recall receiving the email from Thomas, which was one of thousands her office and other Wisconsin lawmakers received around that time. The message was sent over the FreeRoots platform that allows for mass mailing of prewritten emails. Bernier said she had no contact with Thomas aside from receiving the email.
“Please stand strong in the face of political and media pressure,” Thomas wrote in the emails received by the Wisconsin lawmakers. “Please reflect on the awesome authority granted to you by our Constitution. And then please take action to ensure that a clean slate of Electors is chosen for our state.”
Bernier said Thursday that she didn’t fault Thomas for sending the message, which she doesn’t recall reading at the time.
“Ginni is not a constituent, so therefore not top priority to respond to,” Bernier said. “And so I am sure we did not respond to her.”
Bernier, who has been outspoken in saying there was no widespread voter fraud in Wisconsin’s election that Biden fairly won, said she had no issue with Thomas contacting her about the election.
“I don’t believe this is hair-raising crazy stuff that everybody’s making it out to be,” she said of the Thomas email. “There were a lot of Republicans at the time that thought there was massive voter fraud. ... I’m sure she would have preferred taking it back, especially after all of the evidence.”
Tauchen declined comment through a spokesperson.
Clarence Thomas was the only member of the Supreme Court who voted against the court’s order allowing the U.S. House committee investigating the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, to obtain Trump records that were held by the National Archives and Records Administration. The court voted in January to allow the committee to get the documents.
Ginni Thomas’s role in the plot to overturn the 2020 election won by Biden is being looked at by members of the House committee investigating the riot. The committee asked her in June to sit for an interview.
___
For full coverage of the Jan. 6 hearings, go to https://www.apnews.com/capitol-siege
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/09/01/ginni-thomas-emails-urged-new-2020-electors-wisconsin/ | 2022-09-01T18:35:12Z |
House committee reaches deal to get Trump financial records
WASHINGTON (AP) — A House committee seeking financial records from former President Donald Trump has reached an agreement that ends litigation on the matter and requires an accounting firm to turn over some of the material, the panel’s leader announced Thursday.
The long-running case began in April 2019, when the House Committee on Oversight and Reform first subpoenaed a wealth of records from Trump’s then-accounting firm, Mazars USA. The committee cited testimony from Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, that it said raised questions about the president’s representation of his financial affairs when it came to seeking loans and paying taxes.
Under the agreement, Trump has agreed to end his legal challenges to the subpoena, and Mazars USA has agreed to produce responsive documents to the committee as expeditiously as possible, said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., who heads the committee.
“After numerous court victories, I am pleased that my committee has now reached an agreement to obtain key financial documents that former President Trump fought for years to hide from Congress,” Maloney said.
Trump is facing investigations on several fronts, including the storage of top-secret government information discovered at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home and whether the former president’s team criminally obstructed the inquiry. In Georgia, prosecutors are investigating whether he and allies illegally tried to interfere in the 2020 presidential election. Meanwhile, congressional committees are following through on investigations that began when he was president.
The settlement over Mazars follows a July decision by a federal appeals court in Washington that narrowed what records Congress is entitled to obtain. The court said the committee should be given records pertinent to financial ties between foreign countries and Trump or any of his businesses for 2017-18.
The appeals court also ordered Mazars to turn over documents between November 2016 and 2018 relating to the Trump company that held the lease granted by the federal government for the former Trump International Hotel, located between the White House and the Capitol.
In the decision, the court said Trump’s financial records would “advance the Committee’s consideration of ethics reform legislation across all three of its investigative tracks,” including on presidential ethics and conflicts of interest, presidential financial disclosures, and presidential adherence to Constitutional safeguards against foreign interference and undue influence.
The House investigation dates February 2019, when Trump’s former personal attorney, Cohen, testified to the committee that Trump had a history of misrepresenting the value of assets to gain favorable loan terms and tax benefits.
Cohen served time in federal prison after pleading guilty in 2018 to tax crimes, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations, some of which involved his role in orchestrating payments to two women to keep them from talking about alleged affairs with Trump.
But his testimony prompted the committee to seek key financial documents from Mazars, and in April 2019, the committee issued a subpoena to Mazars seeking four targeted categories of documents.
The following month, Trump sued to prevent Mazars from complying with the subpoena. The case has been winding its way through the court system since.
Mazars earlier this year said it had cut ties with Trump and warned that financial statements the firm had prepared for Trump “should no longer be relied upon” by anyone doing business with him.
Another House committee, the House Ways and Means Committee, has been seeking Trump’s tax returns and waging its own litigation. In that case, a three-judge appellate court panel agreed last month with a lower court’s decision in favor of Congress and that the Treasury Department should provide the tax returns to the committee.
The Justice Department, under the Trump administration, had defended a decision by then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to withhold the tax returns from Congress. Mnuchin argued that he could withhold the documents because he concluded they were being sought by Democrats for partisan reasons. A lawsuit ensued.
After Biden took office, the committee renewed the request, seeking Trump’s tax returns and additional information from 2015-2020. The White House took the position that the request was a valid one and that the Treasury Department had no choice but to comply. Trump then attempted to halt the handover in court.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/09/01/house-committee-reaches-deal-get-trump-financial-records/ | 2022-09-01T18:35:20Z |
Judge again denies Graham’s effort to skirt Georgia subpoena
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday ruled that constitutional protections don’t shield U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham from testifying before a special grand jury investigating possible illegal efforts to overturn then-President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss in Georgia.
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May rejected Graham’s argument that all his calls with Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, were protected under the U.S. Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause, which shields members of Congress from questioning about official legislative acts.
She did, however, agree with lawyers for the South Carolina Republican that legislative protection applies to parts of the calls specifically pertinent to “Georgia’s then-existing election procedures and allegations of voter fraud in the leadup to his certification vote” — portions she noted were “legislative fact-finding.”
Despite the decision, continuing appeals in the case mean the senator’s appearance is not imminent. The ruling does push Graham — one of Trump’s top congressional allies and a key figure in the former president’s postelection activities — one step closer to testifying before the special grand jury empaneled this year by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Willis has sought testimony from a number of other close Trump allies and advisers, including former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Trump-allied lawyer Sidney Powell and conservative lawyer L. Lin Wood Jr., who said this week he’s been told Willis wants him to appear.
On Wednesday, a judge ruled that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp must testify, while agreeing with the Republican’s request to delay that appearance until after the Nov. 8 election. Kemp faces a rematch with Democrat Stacey Abrams.
Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor and Trump lawyer who’s been told he may face criminal charges in the investigation, testified in mid-August.
Graham has asked for a partial quashing of the subpoena, which had initially instructed him to appear before the special grand jury last month. The judge had previously rejected Graham’s attempts to challenge the subpoena, but an appeals court sent the matter back to May to decide whether the subpoena should be partially quashed or modified because of the constitutional protections.
Graham is already challenging his possible appearance with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which will now consider his objections yet again, based on May’s order.
Prompted by a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call between Trump and Raffensperger, during which Trump suggested Raffensperger could “find” the votes needed to overturn his narrow loss in the state, Willis and her team have said they want to ask Graham about two phone calls they say he made to Raffensperger and his staff shortly after the 2020 general election.
During those calls, Graham asked about “reexamining certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump,” Willis wrote in a petition seeking to compel his testimony.
Graham also “made reference to allegations of widespread voter fraud in the November 2020 election in Georgia, consistent with public statements made by known affiliates of the Trump Campaign,” she wrote. She said in a hearing last month that Graham may be able to provide insight into the extent of any coordinated efforts to influence the results.
Republican and Democratic state election officials across the country, courts and even Trump’s attorney general found there was no evidence of voter fraud sufficient to affect the outcome of the election.
___
Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP.
___
More on Donald Trump-related investigations: https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/09/01/judge-again-denies-grahams-effort-skirt-georgia-subpoena/ | 2022-09-01T18:35:27Z |
Lawyers in Trump White House to appear before 1/6 grand jury
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House counsel under former President Donald Trump and his top deputy are set to appear Friday before a federal grand jury investigating efforts to undo the 2020 presidential election, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday.
Pat Cipollone was the top White House lawyer at the end of the Trump administration as Trump and outside allies pressed for ways to overturn the results of the election, culminating in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Cipollone vigorously resisted efforts to undo the election and has said he did not believe there was sufficient fraud to have affected the outcome of the race won by Democrat Joe Biden.
He and Patrick Philbin, a deputy White House counsel also set to appear before the grand jury, have already cooperated with a separate House committee probe investigating the Jan. 6 attack and attempts to subvert the election.
The person who confirmed their appearance before the grand jury was not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. ABC News was first to report the appearance. Spokespeople for the Justice Department declined to comment.
The scheduled grand jury appearances underscore how Justice Department officials examining schemes to overturn the presidential contest have been seeking the cooperation of senior White House officials and advisers who opposed those efforts.
Federal prosecutors have been especially focused on a scheme by Trump allies to elevate fake electors in key battleground states won by Biden as a way to subvert the vote. They have issued subpoenas in recent weeks to multiple state Republican Party chairmen.
Portions of Cipollone’s private interview to the House Jan. 6 committee were featured prominently in hearings over the summer. Lawmakers aired video clips of him discussing a heated December 2020 meeting at the White House during which outside aides and advisers to Trump discussed a proposed executive order calling for the seizure of voting machines.
“To have the federal government seize voting machines? That’s a terrible idea for the country. That’s not how we do things in the United States,” Cipollone testified, adding, “I don’t understand why we even have to tell you why that’s a bad idea for the country.”
____
Follow Eric Tucker on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/09/01/lawyers-trump-white-house-appear-before-16-grand-jury/ | 2022-09-01T18:35:34Z |
R. Kelly tells judge he won’t testify at ongoing trial
CHICAGO (AP) — Singer R. Kelly told a federal judge Thursday that he won’t testify at his ongoing trial in Chicago on charges that accuse him of child pornography, enticement of minors for sex and fixing his 2008 state trial.
The judge raised the issue minutes before attorneys for Kelly and two co-defendants began calling their first witnesses, endeavoring to counter two weeks of government testimony, including from four women who accused Kelly of sexual abuse
Addressing the Grammy Award-winner directly Thursday, Judge Harry Leinenweber asked if he had discussed with his lawyers whether to testify. Kelly, 55, responded that he had. Asked if he would testify, Kelly said he would not.
Co-defendant Derrel McDavid, a longtime Kelly business manager, is accused of helping Kelly rig the 2008 trial. McDavid said he will testify. Co-defendant Milton Brown is charged with receiving child pornography. Like Kelly, he said he wouldn’t testify.
Taking the witness stand is always risky, including because it subjects a defendant to cross-examination. There’s always a chance a defendant blurts out something incriminating under tough questioning.
Leinenweber on Thursday also denied a defense motion of acquittal, a common but rarely granted request for a judge to acquit before jurors get the case. Leinenweber said prosecutors presented sufficient evidence to leave the question of guilt to jurors.
McDavid’s legal team called the first defense witness Thursday, a McDavid friend and former police officer Christopher G. Wilson. He testified that McDavid told him in 2001 that someone was trying to blackmail Kelly with threats about videos.
A New York federal judge sentenced the Kelly in June to 30 years in prison for convictions on racketeering and sex trafficking charges. A conviction on just one or two of the charges at the Chicago trial could adds years to that sentence.
The highlight of prosecutors’ case came two weeks ago with the testimony of a 37-year-old woman who used the pseudonym “Jane.” She described Kelly sexually abusing her hundreds of times starting in 1998 when she was 14 and Kelly was around 30.
Federal prosecutors rested their case on Tuesday. Closing arguments are expected to happen in the middle of next week.
___
Follow Michael Tarm on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mtarm. Find AP’s full coverage of the R. Kelly trial at https://apnews.com/hub/r-kelly.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/09/01/r-kelly-tells-judge-he-wont-testify-ongoing-trial/ | 2022-09-01T18:35:41Z |
J.K. Rowling, who rose to fame as the author of the Harry Potter series, is known for writing about magical subjects and fantasy worlds. But her latest book bears more than a passing resemblance to reality — and, critics say, not in a good way.
The Ink Black Heart is the sixth installment of Rowling's thriller series Cormoran Strike, which she penned under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. The 1,024-page tome started raising eyebrows as soon as it hit stores on Tuesday.
Observers noted that the plot appears to mirror Rowling's own experience of taking heat and losing fans for expressing transphobic views in recent years. Rowling has said publicly that the book was not based on her own life, even though some of the events that take place in the story did in fact happen to her as she was writing it.
"Although I have to say when it did happen to me, those who had already read the book in manuscript form were [like] – are you clairvoyant?" Rowling wrote in a Q&A on Galbraith's website. "I wasn't clairvoyant, I just – yeah, it was just one of those weird twists. Sometimes life imitates art more than one would like."
In the book, a popular artist gets harassed for her opinions
The book centers the story of Edie Ledwell, a popular cartoonist who, according to the official description, is "persecuted by a mysterious online figure" — and ultimately found dead — after her cartoon was criticized for being racist, ableist and transphobic (at least partly over a bit involving "a hermaphrodite worm," Rolling Stone reports).
"The book takes a clear aim at 'social justice warriors' and suggests that Ledwell was a victim of a masterfully plotted, politically fueled hate campaign against her," the magazine continues, adding that the character gets doxxed — with "photos of her home plastered on the Internet" — and faces threats of rape and death because of her opinions.
Parts of the story seem to mirror Rowling's experience
Rowling has made her own opinions known, particularly in regards to the transgender community, over the last several years.
She faced backlash in 2019 for publicly supporting Maya Forstater, a researcher who had lost her job over transphobic tweets. The following year, Rowling posted several controversial tweets, including one opinion piece that mocked the term "people who menstruate" ("I'm sure there used to be a word for those people," she tweeted. "Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?"), and published a long statement expressing her concerns with "the consequences of the current trans activism."
Rowling said in November that she's received death threats. She also publicly accused three activists of doxxing her when they posted photos of themselves holding pro-trans rights signs outside of her house in Scotland, "carefully positioning themselves to ensure that our address was visible," she said.
The activists, who had been demonstrating in honor of International Transgender Day of Remembrance, later deleted the photo and deactivated their accounts because of the amount of transphobic backlash they had received online. Scottish police later investigated the so-called doxxing and determined no crimes had been committed (notably, Rowling's home is a popular tourist attraction, as Them points out).
Critics say the book is self-serving and "beyond parody"
News of Rowling's book release has taken Twitter by storm, even prompting dueling hashtags – #IStandWithJKRowling and #ICantStandJKRowling.
Critics have decried the book as "hilariously self-persecuting" and "beyond parody," with some drawing attention to the real-world problems facing transgender people, deriding its length ("500 pages longer than Dune, 300 pages longer than Infinite Jest and 100 pages longer than the Bible," wrote one) and calling for people to boycott her work.
Lark Malakai Grey, co-host of the queer Harry Potter podcast "The Gayly Prophet" told NPR over email that he finds the situation "deeply embarrassing" for Rowling.
"She has published a 1,000-page self-insert fanfiction where she's the victim—it's the kind of behavior that you'd expect from a petulant teenager, not a grown adult with immense wealth and power," he added. "I have no idea what she expected, but seeing the internet fill with jokes about the book has been an absolute joy after all the harm she has caused my community over the past several years."
Rowling's transphobic comments have lost her many fans
Rowling's stance has alienated many in her fanbase — which includes a large number of LGBTQ people — as well as a slew of prominent Harry Potter cast members: Actors Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint are among those who have condemned her comments and expressed their support for the trans community.
Rowling was noticeably absent from the Harry Potter 20th anniversary special, a de facto reunion for much of the franchise's cast and crew that aired on New Year's Day 2022. She told Graham Norton's "Radio Show" podcast on Saturday that she was invited to participate in the special but chose not to come because she saw it as "about the films more than the books."
In that same interview, she stressed that she had written her new book before the events of the past year.
"I said to my husband, 'I think everyone is going to see this as a response to what happened to me,' but it genuinely wasn't," she said. "The first draft of the book was finished at the point certain things happened."
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-08-31/j-k-rowlings-new-book-about-a-transphobe-who-faces-wrath-online-raises-eyebrows | 2022-09-01T18:41:06Z |
Last year, the Biden administration announced plans to replace all of the lead pipes across the U.S. But before states begin the work, they’ll have to figure out where they are.
Allison Kite of KCUR explains how this is playing out for Missouri and neighboring states.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-01/biden-wants-to-replace-millions-of-lead-pipes-but-water-utilities-dont-know-where-they-are | 2022-09-01T18:41:13Z |
TERRY GROSS, HOST:
This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. This week, we're featuring some of our favorite music interviews from our archive. Today, we'll hear an interview with singer and songwriter Rosanne Cash. She started out recording country music, had several No. 1 hits and won a Grammy but then left Nashville and established herself as a singer-songwriter in the world of indie rock. Since then, Cash has worked across many musical genres, including country, rock, folk, pop and American roots. She's won four Grammys and was nominated for 12 others. In 1973, when she was 18, her father, Johnny Cash, gave her a list of 100 essential country songs he thought she needed to know. At the time, she was more interested in writing her own songs than interpreting the songs of others. But in 2009, she returned to her father's list and recorded 12 of the songs on it. I spoke with her when that album, called "The List," was released. We started with a song from the album, a song called "Sea Of Heartbreak." Bruce Springsteen sings on this one.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SEA OF HEARTBREAK")
ROSANNE CASH: (Singing) The lights in the harbor don't shine for me. And I'm like a lost ship adrift on the sea...
ROSANNE CASH AND BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: (Singing) The sea of heartbreak, lost love and loneliness, memories of your caress, so divine, I wish you were mine again, my dear. I'm on the sea of tears, the sea of heartbreak
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
GROSS: Rosanne Cash, welcome back to FRESH AIR.
CASH: Well, thank you, Terry.
GROSS: Tell me why you wanted to record this record. We'll get to the whole list in a second. But of all the songs on "The List," why "Sea Of Heartbreak?"?
CASH: Why this - why "Sea Of Heartbreak"? It's kind of a perfectly constructed country song. And it was on the list, so, you know, that gave me permission. And it's - it embodies that longing that is in so much of country music really, really well. And beyond that, it takes a metaphor and carries it to the very end without breaking that narrative about the metaphor, without becoming kitschy, which a lot of songs do. And that's kind of perfect to me. And it's also - it makes it a bit of a period piece because you don't hear many modern songs that do that. And there's also some language in it that's not modern. You know, when he says divine and my dear, these are kind of old-school ways of talking, and I really enjoy that. So it was like stepping into a period piece. At the same time, it has the hallmark of every great song, which is that it transcends time. It has a timeless quality to it, and it feels very modern.
GROSS: It's amazing. The lyric was written by Hal David, who wrote the lyrics for so many Burt Bacharach songs. So he's not exactly Mr. Country Music, Mr. Nashville (laughter).
CASH: No. And, you know, I myself thought that Don Gibson had written it - because he had the early, definitive version of the song - and then found out that Hal David and Paul Hampton wrote it in New York. It was a huge surprise.
GROSS: Your father has a good recording of this.
CASH: He does. You know, not being disloyal, but I have to say, I still prefer the Don Gibson version. And, you know, my dad recorded his version with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on "Unchained," and he might have been a little too energized from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
(LAUGHTER)
GROSS: Now you have Bruce Springsteen singing with you on this one. Is he a friend?
CASH: No, I couldn't call him a friend. I've met him a few times over the years, but it would be presumptuous to say he's a friend.
GROSS: Why did you ask him to duet on this song?
CASH: Because he's just a dream date, Terry.
(LAUGHTER)
CASH: We knew we wanted to do a duet, so I did my part on "Sea Of Heartbreak." We go, God, who's the perfect person to ask to sing on this song? Who's, like, the embodiment of American romantic male voice? Well, that would be Bruce Springsteen. So we asked him.
GROSS: And he said yes.
CASH: He said yes. I thought, oh, there's a 50/50 chance Bruce will do it. And then, you know, he knew the song. He'd got the concept of the list. He's so steeped in country music, anyway, and roots music. So it was an easy thing for him, I think.
GROSS: So let's get the story of the list. Your album is called "The List," and there's a story behind it. So would you tell the story?
CASH: Yeah. When I was 18 years old, I went on the road with my dad after I graduated from high school. And we were riding on the tour bus one day, kind of rolling through the south, and he mentioned a song. We started talking about songs, and he mentioned one, and I said, I don't know that one. And he mentioned another. I said, I don't know that one either, Dad. And he became very alarmed that I didn't know what he considered my own musical genealogy. And I was very steeped in pop and rock music, and I grew up in Southern California. So he spent the rest of the afternoon making a list for me. And at the end of the day, he said, this is your education. And across the top of the page, he wrote 100 essential country songs. The list might have been better titled "100 Essential American Songs" because it was very comprehensive. He covered every critical point in Southern and American music, early folk songs, protest songs, Delta blues, Southern gospel, early country music, Appalachian. Everything that fed into modern country music was on that list. So his overview was really of a musicologist but formed by his instincts, you know, and just the rhythm in his own blood. So I realized when he gave me the list at the age of 18 that this was an important document, and I set about learning these songs. But it took me, I think, until now to realize that he was really giving me himself, a part of his heart and soul.
GROSS: When you say you went about learning those songs, did you get the sheet music or get the records? How did you learn them?
CASH: All I had to do was get my dad (laughter) because he had them all at his fingertips. You could say, well, how does this one go? And he'd pick up a guitar and sing it to me. And then some I knew the records, you know. Like, I had known Ray Charles' "Take These Chains From My Heart" since childhood. I had known Patsy Cline "She's Got You" since childhood. Others I found the records for.
GROSS: So you finally realized later in life that your father had given you a piece of himself and a piece of his own kind of genetic makeup when he gave you this list of 100 songs. But when he gave you that list, did you immediately think, thanks, Dad, or was it more like, thanks, Dad?
CASH: Like an 18-year-old would do?
GROSS: Yeah.
CASH: No, I - you know, if he had given it to me even a couple years earlier, I might have said, oh, yeah, eye roll, thanks, Dad. But I wanted this. I wanted him. You know, my parents were divorced. I was just socking in this great time with my dad, who was clean and sober. So I wanted that experience of loving what he loved and learning about his life. Also I was just starting to write songs, so this was a template for me. These are excellent songs. He wrote the list as a songwriter. So I had that template for great songwriting. It was exciting to me.
GROSS: Now, do you still have that piece of paper that the list was on?
CASH: I do. I found it again in 2000 - late 2005, when I was writing the narratives for my last record. It was "Black Cadillac," and I wrote narratives for the show. And I found the list in 2005, and I thought, well, this will make a nice subject for a narrative for the "Black Cadillac" show, never thinking anything more than that. And I wrote this narrative, and it started when I was 18 years old. My dad gave me this list. Well, everybody started coming up to me saying, where's that list? When are you going to record that list? It became funny.
GROSS: So what did you do with the piece of paper now? Is it, like, framed? Is it preserved? Where do you keep it?
CASH: I keep it in my files. It's not framed. It's not - you know, I want to do the right thing with the actual list at some point, but I don't want to just publish it on the internet or, you know, give it away yet partly because I want to do Volume 2.
(LAUGHTER)
CASH: And I don't want anyone else to do Volume 2.
GROSS: Well, I want to play another song from the list, and this is a great song. I love this song that Patsy Cline made famous. It's called "She's Got You." And of all the songs on the list, why did you want to do this one?
CASH: Well, it's a classic country song. Anyone who knows country music knows this song. Unfortunately, they also know Patsy Cline's version, which is so iconic that I had some trouble getting past that to actually record it myself. But you know, what's great about this song, too, is that it's a list. In the song is listed all the things that the other woman has. So it's a list within the list.
GROSS: Oh, right.
(LAUGHTER)
GROSS: Yeah. And, I guess, what do you do to put yourself in the mood to feel the song? I mean, you're married. You know what I mean? Like, you're not...
CASH: Yeah.
GROSS: You're not a teenager anymore. You're married, so - well, maybe that's a presumptuous question. Maybe I should just drop that 'cause...
CASH: No, I know what you're saying. But, you know, passion is not reserved for young people. And I think that my sensitivity to music has actually deepened and expanded as I've gotten older. You add more life experience. You know, the music gets filtered through all of that. And that's beautiful. When I started singing this song, like I said, I had to get Patsy Cline off my shoulder a bit to even approach the song. So once I started singing it, I - and it kind of dawned on me. Oh, this is why this song has been covered so many times. This is a great song.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SHE'S GOT YOU")
CASH: (Singing) I've got your picture that you gave to me. And it's signed with love just like it used to be. The only thing different, the only thing new - I've got your picture, she's got you. I've got the records that we used to share. And they still sound the same as when you were here. The only thing different, the only thing new - I've got the records, she's got you. I've got your memory. Or has it got me? I really don't know, but I know it won't let me be. I've got your class ring...
GROSS: That's my guest, Rosanne Cash, singing "She's Got You," a song made famous by Patsy Cline, a song featured on Rosanne Cash's CD called "The List," which is songs selected from the list of 100 essential songs that her father, Johnny Cash, gave to her when she was 18.
When your father gave you that list, when you were 18, how deep were you into country music?
CASH: Not very. I was, you know, president of my Beatles fan club when I was 11.
GROSS: (Laughter) Really?
CASH: (Laughter) Yes, I was, indeed. And I, like, you know...
GROSS: Is this where I ask who your favorite Beatle was?
CASH: Well, John (laughter).
GROSS: OK, good (laughter).
CASH: And I - you know, I grew up in Southern California. I was very well-versed in Southern California pop and rock and Buffalo Springfield and Neil Young and Elton John and Janis Joplin and then Joni Mitchell, which is the first time I realized that a woman could be a songwriter. So I had, of course, heard what my parents played around the house and heard the musicians my dad drug home off the road. And my mother listened to a lot of Ray Charles and Marty Robbins and Patsy Cline. So I got that in by osmosis as well. But as far as doing a serious immersion in it, like I had done with the Beatles, no, I had not done that.
GROSS: My guest is Rosanne Cash. We'll talk more after a break. This is FRESH AIR.
(SOUNDBITE OF ROSANNE CASH SONG, "MOTHERLESS CHILDREN")
GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. Let's get back to my interview with singer and songwriter Rosanne Cash. We spoke in 2009 when she released her album "The List." It featured 12 songs from the list of 100 essential country songs that her father, Johnny Cash, made for her.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
GROSS: You've had this list of 100 country music songs that your father gave you since you were 18. So you've had this since the early '70s.
CASH: '73.
GROSS: Why now? Why record them now?
CASH: Oh. That's a very good question. In fact, I resisted it for the first year that John started talking about it. Well, for a lot of reasons - one, I did have a chip on my shoulder when I was younger. I am going to do this my way. Nobody's ever going to be able to say that I traded on my dad's name. It was a large shadow. I wanted out of it. And I probably carried the chip longer than was gracious (laughter). It's OK when you're in your 20s. It's not OK when you're in your 40s. So it was partly that, my knee-jerk reaction against doing anything that traded on my dad's name. Then I started to realize, this is my list. He gave this to me. This was personal. This was like if he was a martial arts master and was passing on a secret to his child. You know, it belongs to me. So when I started to feel myself take possession of it, psychologically, then I started thinking about recording the songs. And the other part is, I don't think I could have done this until I lost my parents, until they died.
GROSS: I was thinking you might feel that way because - is it because they owned the songs?
CASH: Well, if they did, they passed them on. But it's also because you're not - well, I wasn't so interested in legacy until they were gone. I wasn't so interested in what they left me until they weren't here to tell me about it. And, you know, at this point, I had a really serious health problem myself, you know, a face-off with my own mortality. You start thinking about those things. What did my parents leave me? What's in my DNA? What am I going to leave my kids? And these songs are part of my cells in a way. They are part of my DNA. And they are what I want to leave my own kids.
GROSS: You mentioned that you had your own brush with mortality. And I know that you had brain surgery.
CASH: Right.
GROSS: How long ago was this?
CASH: It was November 27.
GROSS: Would you explain what the problem was that necessitated the surgery?
CASH: I had a structural abnormality in my brain I may have been born with. My neurosurgeon wasn't sure. And it just got worse as I got older until I was becoming debilitated by headaches. So they didn't really discover what it was until 2007, earlier in 2007. And then he said, you know, there's no advantage in waiting to fix this; you need to take care of this. So I had brain surgery. And, you know, it's not for the faint of heart, by the way (laughter).
GROSS: And any time somebody enters your brain for surgery, it's really, really risky.
CASH: Yeah.
GROSS: Were you terrified before the surgery?
CASH: I prepared myself psychologically. I - you know, I did hypnosis tapes, and I did just a lot of reflection and talking about it and getting prepared because I knew how scary it was. And in fact, that's why my neurosurgeon said to wait, you know, six weeks or something. He said, you need to prepare yourself psychologically. So I got it when he told me that it was going to be tough, and it was a long recovery. So, you know, I did my work enough beforehand that I walked into the OR laughing with my anesthesiologist, making jokes (laughter) and singing "If I Only Had A Brain."
(LAUGHTER)
CASH: My morbid sense of humor really got me through this, I have to say.
GROSS: What about the recovery on the other end? I mean, you're so steeped in your senses, in - you know, in writing, which you do a lot of, both songs and books. You're completing a memoir now.
CASH: Yeah.
GROSS: In listening, which you do a lot of. In singing. So, I mean, were your senses altered in a way that was either interesting or disturbing after the surgery, during the period of recovery?
CASH: Oh, that's a good question, and nobody has thought to ask me that question. And the truth is that they were. I had the hearing of a dog for about two months (laughter).
GROSS: Wait. What does that mean? That...
CASH: I mean, it was - my hearing was so sensitive that - you know, I live in Manhattan. I couldn't go outside for a month. It was so intense. But the thing I was afraid of didn't happen, which is my experience of music. And I had written this letter to Oliver Sacks before I went into surgery. I had met him at a party the year before. And so I wrote him, and I told him my problem. And I said, do you think that my experience of music is going to be altered? Will I lose my sensitivity to music or my ability to play it? And he wrote me back the most beautiful, typewritten letter that was hand-corrected in ink. And it basically said, my - he said, my expertise is with the cortex, and your problem is with the cerebellum, so I can't really help you, but I do have an inkling of how important this is to you.
(LAUGHTER)
CASH: I loved that. That's the letter I'm going to frame.
GROSS: Singer and songwriter Rosanne Cash, recorded in 2009. We'll hear more of our interview after a break, as we continue our weeklong series of some of our favorite interviews with musicians from the archive. I'm Terry Gross, and this is FRESH AIR.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MISS THE MISSISSIPPI AND YOU")
CASH: (Singing) I'm growing tired of the big-city lights, tired of the glamor and tired of the sights. In all of my dreams, I am roaming once more back to my home on the old river shore. I am sad and weary, far away from home. Miss the Mississippi and you, dear. Days are dark and dreary everywhere I roam. Miss the Mississippi and you. Roaming the wide...
GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross, back with more of my interview with singer and songwriter Rosanne Cash, known for her work in country indie rock, folk and American roots music. She's been awarded Grammys and Gold Records and has been inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. We spoke in 2009, when her album, "The List," was released. It featured 12 songs from the list of a hundred essential country songs that her father, Johnny Cash, compiled for her. He made it in 1973, when she was 18 and on the road with him. When we left off, we were talking about how she had recovered from brain surgery she had undergone to correct a structural abnormality. The surgery was in 2007, a couple of years before our interview was recorded.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
GROSS: You know, you mentioned that before the surgery, you had headaches, like, really severe headaches. I find that the one time when I can't enjoy music, when I want nothing to do with music is when I have a bad headache. And when I think of you going through - was it long period, right, when you had these bad headaches? How did you do music? Did you have any room in your head where it was pleasurable to make or listen to music?
CASH: That's interesting. I listened to a lot more classical music in the two years before the surgery because it seemed - it was more soothing to me. And, you know, I could digest it better. But a lot of times, singing, playing music myself, I would move out of the headache. You know, it would just dissolve. That's an interesting thing about music. You know, people say it's very healing. It is very healing, literally.
GROSS: Well, I think we should hear another song from your new CD, "The List." And I thought this might be a good spot to hear "500 Miles." And I have to say - I was telling you this before we started the interview - if I went through the rest of my life and every hearing this song again, I'd be fine, I thought, until I heard your version. You know, I think so many of us know the Peter, Paul and Mary version, which we heard so many times. And when I was learning folk guitar and doing a terrible job at it, this was one of the songs that I learned to massacre, which is part of the reason why I could go through the rest of my life not hearing it again. But you do this, like, desolate version of it. And...
CASH: Yeah. The lyrics are desolate.
GROSS: They are desolate, but - and your husband is playing organ behind you. And it's this really, like, eerie, lonely organ. It almost sounds like it's being played backwards. It's just so odd. And it's really just a haunting version.
CASH: Well, we wanted to get it very churchy, and we wanted to bring out all of the loneliness of the lyrics, because the lyrics are really sad. And I knew Bobby Bear's version better than I knew Peter, Paul and Mary's version. And Bobby Bear's version was much sadder, and I think we even took it a step further.
GROSS: OK. Well, let's hear it. And this is my guest, Rosanne Cash, singing "500 Miles." Her husband, John Leventhal, is playing organ behind, her and he plays a lot of the instruments and did the arranging for the CD. It's from the album "The List," which features songs from a list of a hundred essential American songs that her father, Johnny Cash, gave her when she was 18. So here's "500 Miles."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "500 MILES")
CASH: (Singing) If you miss the train I'm on, then you'll know that I have gone. You can hear the whistle blow - a hundred miles, a hundred miles, a hundred miles, a hundred miles, 100 miles. You can hear the whistle blow - a hundred miles. Teardrops fell on momma's note when I read the things she ruled. She said, we miss you, hon. We love you. Come on home. Well, I didn't have to pack. I had it all right on my back. Now I'm 500 miles away from home. But I'm one more down. Lord, I'm one. Lord, I'm two. Lord, I'm three. Lord, I'm four. Lord, I'm 500 miles away from home.
GROSS: That's Rosanne Cash from her CD, "The List," which features songs from a list of a hundred essential songs that her father, Johnny Cash, gave her. You know, before hearing that song, we were talking about the brain surgery that you had. And I was wondering what you've turned to in recent years to just kind of give you strength. And just to fill listeners in, it's been a difficult few years. You lost your mother. You lost your father. You lost your stepmother, June Carter Cash. There were three years where you could barely speak and couldn't sing because of polyps on your vocal cords. And then there was the brain surgery that we talked about.
It's been a rough period. And when people go through rough times, I mean, some people turn to religion. Some people turn to drugs or alcohol. Some people have nothing to turn to. Some people are lost. Some people find this inner strength. Looking at your father, I mean, there's been times and there were times in your father's life when he turned to drugs or pills. And - but through all his life, I think he had a sense of Jesus in his life. Your mother was, I think, a pretty devout Catholic.
CASH: She was.
GROSS: Yeah. So what about you? Like, what have you had that has kept you - got you through all of this?
CASH: Well, I adhere to the religion of art and music and small children (laughter) - the pronouncements of small children. I, you know, I'm not the type to turn to religion in that way. I'm not the type to turn to drugs and alcohol. But I do have a profound devotion to art and music and children. And those three things, as well as the love of my husband, who is an amazing partner. And, you know, if you ever have brain surgery, you want to call him up to do all of the vetting of the neurosurgeons and all of that business 'cause he makes a great patient advocate. So...
GROSS: Good. If I'm ever making an album, I'm going to call him, too.
(LAUGHTER)
CASH: Oh. That's cute.
GROSS: So you mentioned, you know, art and music as what you turn to as, like - how that's kind of your religion. So what were some of the things that you read or listened to or watched during the period of recovery when you needed that kind of nourishment?
CASH: Joan Didion's "Year Of Magical Thinking" was great. I read the book, and I went to see Vanessa Redgrave perform it. And that was...
GROSS: Oh, wait. Let me stop you right there.
CASH: OK.
GROSS: That is a - I love that book. It was so hard to read it 'cause it's all - it's a journal of the year she lost her husband. It is so painful. So when - what was healing about reading that really painful book?
CASH: Well, I loved it. I found - I know a lot of people found it really difficult and kind of depressing. But I loved her very meticulous documentation of the little moments of insanity that happened during grief. You know, that thing she said about, well, it's 3 hours earlier in California, is he dead in California yet? - I had that feeling and many others that you don't tell people because they will think you're nuts. And so to see it there on the page poetically written, I - it was really great for me. I loved that.
GROSS: What else?
CASH: What else? Oh, Picasso. Arvo Part, the Estonian musician. I went to see a show in Paris that just - it rearranged my whole life. It was so great. It was called "Melancolie," and it was 800 years of madness, despair and depression in art.
(LAUGHTER)
CASH: It was fantastic.
(LAUGHTER)
CASH: I loved it. I told you, I have a morbid sense of humor.
GROSS: (Laughter).
CASH: But it was just amazing, you know, because we used to express all of these things in art, you know? - the madness and the despair and the depression. And now we just medicate it away. But it was all there on the canvas, and I just loved it.
GROSS: Oh, wow. Did you - after grieving for your parents, did you go through a period feeling like you were grieving for yourself because your brain was being compromised, your life was in jeopardy, your ability to be who you are was in jeopardy?
CASH: Yeah. I was angry at my parents when I had to have brain surgery that they weren't still around. Because no matter how old you are, you want your parents when you're going through...
GROSS: Absolutely.
CASH: ...Something like that.
GROSS: Yeah.
CASH: And I - yeah. Did I grieve for myself? No. I kind of thought, well, why not me? I have good health insurance. You know, I don't have to show up to a 9-to-5 job. I - you know, it - I didn't have that feeling of, oh, why me? I never had that.
GROSS: You never had the feeling of being resentful or envious of everybody else who didn't have to go through the brain surgery that you were about to go through?
CASH: Mmm, no. I don't do that. I don't do comparisons 'cause I always lose.
(LAUGHTER)
CASH: That's...
GROSS: Is that how you feel?
CASH: Yes, that's exactly how I feel.
GROSS: So...
CASH: No, but not that I always lose. It's that if - the process of comparing yourself to someone else, you're setting yourself up to not feel good. So I don't bother.
GROSS: Getting back to the list of songs again that your father gave you, did you love the same songs on that list after the surgery that you loved before? Was there any - did your taste change?
CASH: Mmm. I love them more now. I love everything more now. I know that sounds like a cliche, but I do. But I love these songs so much, and they keep getting deeper and broader and more poetic and more full of life for me. Every time I hear them, every time I put on one of the original versions or I get to sing it myself, it's all new. It's amazing that it took this long for me to realize what was always there, you know? Like T.S. Eliot said, you return home and know it for the first time. I feel like that. I've returned home and known it for the first time.
GROSS: My guest is Rosanne Cash. We'll talk more after a break. This is FRESH AIR.
(SOUNDBITE OF ROSANNE CASH SONG, "CHANGE PARTNERS")
GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. Let's get back to my interview with Rosanne Cash. She's known for singing her own songs, but she released a CD called "The List" on which she sang some of the songs from the list of 100 essential songs that her father, Johnny Cash, made for her back in 1973 when she was 18. We spoke when the album "The List" was released in 2009.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
GROSS: I want to play another song from your new album, and I was thinking of "Girl From The North Country." I think you do a beautiful job of this. Bob Dylan wrote it. It was on his 1969 "Freewheelin'" album - 1962, I mean. What year is it? More like '62, probably. And...
CASH: Yeah, it's earlier than '69.
GROSS: Yeah, I think it's, like, '62.
CASH: 'Cause they did "Nashville Skyline" in '69.
GROSS: That was '69, yeah.
CASH: Yeah.
GROSS: So in '69, your father recorded it with Dylan on Dylan's "Nashville Skyline" album. So why did you choose this one for your own?
CASH: This was John's idea to do this song. And I know why it's on the list - because, you know, my dad made the list in 1973, and he had just recorded this four years earlier with Bob. So it was still kind of fresh to him. It's one of the newest songs on the list. And when John brought up that idea, I said, oh, gosh, I can't. I can't do it. It's almost sacrilegious. I - not only do I have my dad and Bob's recorded version in my head, I have images of that session in my head. I wasn't at that session, but there is footage of it. And it was just such a watershed record, too, you know? I became the coolest 14-year-old in the world when my dad recorded this song with Bob Dylan. And I said, I just can't do that. It's outside of my own realm.
And John said, let's listen to Bob's original version and approach it that way. And his original version is - it's in the tradition of a classic folk song that's rooted in Elizabethan music, even. And I got to do that old folk twist of a woman singing about another woman, which was great. I loved that. And once we listened to the original version and I could approach it like that, I went, oh, I get it. Yeah. This is gorgeous.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY")
CASH: (Singing) If you're traveling in the north country fair, where the winds hit heavy on the borderline, remember me to the one who lives there. She once was a true love of mine. If you go when the snowflakes fall, when the rivers freeze and summer ends, please, see if she has a coat so warm to keep her from the howling winds.
GROSS: That's Rosanne Cash singing Dylan's "Girl From The North Country," from her new CD "The List," which is songs from a list of 100 great American songs, essential country songs, that her father, Johnny Cash, gave her when she was 18 years old.
You know, I think it's really interesting that you're doing this album of songs by other people because you're best known as a singer-songwriter. You do your own songs. And this kind of frees you up to just be the singer and the interpreter and also to sing other people's melodies, which I think must be kind of refreshing in its own way.
CASH: Yeah, it is. It is. It was a little scary at first because I didn't ever want to put my voice front and center, you know? I was a songwriter. That was the torch I carried. This is an honorable profession. This is what I do. I'm a songwriter. My voice just serves what I'm writing about. So to let all that go - I mean, bringing the sensibilities of it, actually, to the song choices - but to just be the interpreter was incredibly liberating and really fun.
GROSS: You know, it's interesting that you've done this album of covers. John Doe did an album of classic country covers. Loudon Wainwright just did an album of Charlie Poole songs. So you know, the three of you are famous as songwriters. And within a period of months, you're turning to other people's songs. I just find that so interesting. And all of those albums I just mentioned are really good.
CASH: Well, there is a cannon of American music that maybe an entire generation doesn't know that well, you know, people who weren't around to hear Patsy Cline's version of "She's Got You" or a song like "Take These Chains", or never heard Ray Charles' "Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music" or Hank Snow or any of these people. So I always felt like, you can't imagine the Scots or the Irish without Celtic music. You can't imagine us, the Americans, without these songs. They are so important to us. And it would be a tragedy if they were just, you know, you had to - if they were just in a museum, if they were just archived somewhere, if they weren't still being performed.
GROSS: Oh, I really agree with you. When we last spoke, it was 2006, maybe. And this was after you had started singing again after your three-year bout of not being able to sing because of polyps on your vocal cords. And in that interview, you said that when you had the polyps, you vowed that if you recovered that you would give up all the anxiety that you had surrounding singing...
CASH: (Laughing).
GROSS: ...And just kind of enjoy singing and enjoy, you know, the talents that you had. So did that work out? Have you been able to just...
CASH: (Laughter).
GROSS: As you've released this album of you singing other people's songs, have you been able to just enjoy singing without the attendant anxieties?
CASH: I'm laughing because I did say that, didn't I (laughter)?
GROSS: You did.
(LAUGHTER)
CASH: I'm glad you reminded me (laughter).
GROSS: You're welcome.
CASH: Yeah. I did give up a lot of the anxiety. I'm not a person who will ever entirely give up anxiety. I mean, it kind of fuels my...
GROSS: (Laughter).
CASH: ...My everything (laughter). But I did stop the criticism. That's what I stopped, the self-criticism. You know, if I miss a note, if I can't sustain it as long as I want, you know, if my diaphragm gives away or something, I'd just go, well, that's OK. That's all right, you know? Human being here. But I enjoy it a lot more. I do. I did keep that part of the promise to myself, is that I got it back, and I enjoy it a lot more.
GROSS: My guest is Rosanne Cash. We'll talk more after a break. This is FRESH AIR.
(SOUNDBITE OF ROSANNE CASH SONG, "SEVEN YEAR ACHE")
GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. We're listening to an interview from our archive with singer and songwriter Rosanne Cash. We spoke in 2009 when she released her album "The List," featuring songs from the list of 100 essential country songs that her father, Johnny Cash, compiled for her. He made that list in 1973 when she was 18 and on the road with him. She's Cash's oldest child. Her mother was his first wife.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
GROSS: Your father lived his life onstage; your mother didn't. Where do you fit in in terms of comfort level onstage and in terms of, like, having a public component of your life?
CASH: That's something that I still struggle with. My daughter just made her first record, and it's coming out soon. She's 27 years old, and she has not asked me for any advice. She's wanted to do this on her own. It's history repeating itself. But she did call and say, Mom, how do I have a successful career as a musician without having a public life? And it kind of broke my heart because that was the exact question I asked at her age. And I said, I don't know because, you know, songs are not complete until they're heard. You know, you can't just do this for your living room. It's - part of doing it is putting it out there. And, of course, being a performer, that's a whole other thing. But I still do struggle with that. And I guess the - I'm more comfortable - you know how Malcolm Gladwell had that 10,000-hour rule - like, if you do something 10,000 hours, you become an expert at it? I feel like maybe I'm close to 10,000 hours.
(LAUGHTER)
CASH: So I'm a bit more comfortable. But you're right. My mother was very, very private, and my dad lived out his best self onstage. So I have both of those examples, you know? Don't tell anybody anything, keep to yourself, and take everything to the stage.
GROSS: Wow. That's really confusing, isn't it?
CASH: It is. So I've had to work it out for myself. And what I do is both. I have a great private life. I don't, you know, divulge everything. I find that incredibly distasteful. And I love performing.
GROSS: Well, I'm glad you found that comfort zone for yourself, that you found where the line is. I want to close with another track from "The List," but since I've chosen everything so far, I thought I'd be generous and let you choose one.
(LAUGHTER)
CASH: Do you want something sad and slow and ballad-y (ph) or something a little more up?
GROSS: I'm letting you choose.
CASH: OK. "Motherless Children" - this song is one of the oldest songs on "The List," and it was amazing how many people had done it, everyone from Billie Holiday to the Louvin Brothers to Eric Clapton. There are many different versions, many, many, many verses, too. So John and I had to sort through them and kind of make it more linear, you know, just pull four verses that would work together. And John had just lost his mother a couple of weeks before we recorded this. So I think we were both feeling that sense of loss and being motherless. And I can really hear it in John's guitar playing in this track.
GROSS: Rosanne Cash, it's just been wonderful to talk with you again. Thank you so much.
CASH: It's my pleasure, Terry. Thank you for having me.
GROSS: My interview with singer and songwriter Rosanne Cash was recorded in 2009.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MOTHERLESS CHILDREN")
CASH: (Singing) Motherless children have a hard time when the mother is gone. Motherless children have a hard time when the mother is gone. Motherless children have a hard time. There's all that weeping and all that crying. Motherless children have a hard time when the mother is gone. Father will do the best he can when the mother is gone. Father will do the best he can when the mother is gone. Father will do the best he can, but there's so many things he just don't understand. Motherless children have a hard time when the mother is gone.
GROSS: Tomorrow on FRESH AIR, more favorite music interviews from the FRESH AIR archive. We'll hear Smokey Robinson talking about writing hits like "Shop Around" and "You Really Got A Hold On Me" and starting Motown with Berry Gordy, and Isaac Hayes talking about writing the hit "Soul Man" for Sam & Dave and writing and performing the theme for "Shaft." I hope you'll join us. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Amy Salit, Phyllis Myers, Sam Briger, Lauren Krenzel, Heidi Saman, Therese Madden, Ann Marie Baldonado, Thea Chaloner, Seth Kelley and Susan Nyakundi. Our digital media producer is Molly Seavy-Nesper. I'm Terry Gross.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MOTHERLESS CHILDREN")
CASH: (Singing) People say a sister will do when the mother is gone. People say a sister will do when the mother is gone. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-01/fresh-airs-summer-music-interviews-singer-songwriter-rosanne-cash | 2022-09-01T18:41:19Z |
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This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-01/national-study-shows-student-test-scores-dropped-during-pandemic | 2022-09-01T18:41:51Z |
"You have to be, like, a beast. That's the only way they respect you." A shock of neon in an otherwise beige studio, it's 2010 and Nicki Minaj is ranting. She's noticed that when guys like her mentor, Lil Wayne, act like divas, it goes differently than when she does. "When I am assertive, I'm a bitch. When a man is assertive, he's a boss!" she goes on, her dopey boyfriend nodding along from the couch. Her theater-kid roots are showing as she performs an impression of "You're fired!"-era Donald Trump, a man who gets what he wants when he wants it. "But when you're a girl, you have to be, like... everything. You have to be dope at what you do, but you have to be super sweet, and you have to be sexy, and you have to be this, and you have to be that, and you have to be nice, and you have to..." But then, she's ashamed. There's a camera crew filming all this for a documentary, and the Nicki Minaj who looks like an acid-trip Barbie and just delivered the hardest rap verse of the past decade (on Kanye West's "Monster") isn't supposed to stress about this stuff. "Don't use this footage, please," she says. "It's just gonna make me look stupid."
If you'd asked me then what feminism meant to me, I'd have sent you a link to that video. This was the beginning of an era that often conflated female empowerment with female entrepreneurship, when people got very excited about concepts of female corporate supremacy repackaged as activist fantasies. Looking back at the supposedly uplifting pop culture artifacts of that time, there's a lot to cringe at. But that Minaj speech still gets to me, because it's clear how much the topic weighs on her, and because I know what happens next. With four platinum records and more Hot 100 hits than any woman in history other than Taylor Swift, she will become the most commercially successful and creatively influential female rapper of all time, and she will have earned it. For a few years, she'll have a legitimate claim to the title of best rapper alive; for a few more years, she'll blur the lines between rap and pop and performance art with such fearless panache that even her critical flops will feel like breakthroughs, her most tossed-off guest verses more interesting than some of her peers' entire catalogs. For the better part of a decade, Nicki simply existing as Nicki — an oddball perfectionist outworking everyone to shatter rap's glass ceiling — felt like a radical act. Along the way, things changed: rap, the internet, fandom, feminism. Maybe Minaj did, too.
Last month, Minaj achieved another milestone: her latest single, a fun Rick James flip called "Super Freaky Girl," debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard chart, the first time a female rapper's done so solo since Lauryn Hill's "Doo Wop (That Thing)" in 1998. That this was a first for Minaj seemed odd. Doesn't it feel like that ought to have happened years ago — maybe with 2014's super-viral "Anaconda," the new song's obvious predecessor? It could've been any number of the career-spanning hits she tore through Sunday night at the VMAs — the charmingly weird "Super Bass," the villainous "Chun-Li," the totally bugged-out "Roman's Revenge" — where she co-hosted with Jack Harlow and received this year's Video Vanguard Award. Accepting her trophy in pink sequins and ice-blue contacts that gave the effect of a sexy, scary baby, Minaj appeared almost shy. "I wrote this down, I don't know why, y'all, but this was in my spirit to say," she read breathlessly from her phone. "I wish that Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson were here. I wish people understood what they meant and what they were going through. I wish people took mental health seriously, even for the people you think have the perfect lives."
In her most revealing moments — that sad video from 2010, a weirdly contentious New York Times Magazine profile in 2015 that painted Minaj as a drama queen, or an anecdote about a near-death experience tucked into a 2014 BET Awards speech that felt like a cry for help — it has often seemed that Minaj is profoundly unhappy, even at the top of her game. I associate her career's peak with the years between Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (her most underrated record, with indescribably bonkers vocal performances on tracks like "Stupid Hoe" and "Come on a Cone" alongside some fun experiments in dance-pop) and 2014's emotionally raw The Pinkprint, an album with a startling number of references to pill popping, even for that moment. Those were contentious times, with culture wars waged over Nicki's duality. She spent the period effectively closing the case as far as her pandering to a teenybopper audience, or so said old heads like Hot 97's Peter Rosenberg. The radio personality, who had proclaimed that "Starships" was "not real hip-hop," later emphasized that the "Starships" chicks were being sidelined during Minaj's headlining set at the 2012 Summer Jam: "I'm not talking to y'all right now, f*** that bulls***. I'm here to talk about real hip-hop s***." She'd taken note of these assessments, too, dubbing The Pinkprint a return to her hip-hop roots. In between that performance and the album, there was the run of remixes, my favorite being her hysterically rude take on PTAF's "Boss Ass Bitch," during which no rapper's single was safe from Minaj sinking her claws in and claiming it as her own (in a mode mirroring Wayne).
Maybe Minaj had gone a tad commercial, loading her campy videos with spon-con and pumping out party-rock anthems for Bud Light, but she occasionally managed to make selling out look avant-garde, too. More importantly, her pen game never faltered. ("Bitches ain't got punchlines or flow / I have both, and an empire, also," she growled on the 2013 bonus track "Up In Flames.") Minaj never really needed to explain herself to anyone who found Mixtape Nicki and Pop Nicki at odds, like when she closed the deluxe edition of Roman Reloaded with a defensive twenty-minute "press conference": "These other bitches that only did rap and now they're washed, and they're living in low-income housing — is that winning? Just so that a n**** in the street can give me a f****** dap?... Get the f*** out of here!" It often seemed, in any case, that it was her visual presentation the Rosenbergs of the world were responding to: the candy-colored wigs, the burlesque outfits, the greased-up six-packs in the "Super Bass" video. Whether she was spitting like she did in her Smack DVD days or performing gonzo femininity over sparkly EDM beats, I mostly just liked it when she sounded like she was cracking herself up.
From the era I consider as Minaj's creative peak, the 2015 VMAs ceremony stands out as a moment of reckoning. Weeks beforehand, the nominations for Video of the Year had been announced; "Anaconda," the most talked-about music video of that summer, wasn't one of them. "If I was a different 'kind' of artist, Anaconda would be nominated for best choreo and vid of the year as well," Minaj had tweeted pointedly, punctuating her statements with sardonic smiley-faces. "Black women influence pop culture so much but are rarely rewarded for it." Her comments activated two of that moment's Main Pop Girls: Swift, America's sweetheart, who accused Minaj of not being a girl's girl, and Miley Cyrus, the Disney Channel star turned self-styled twerk queen, calling Minaj angry and "not too kind." Onstage to accept her award for Best Hip-Hop Video, Minaj turned to Cyrus, that year's host, with a glare that could wither houseplants, pressing her about her comments. A month later, in the aforementioned Times Magazine profile, Minaj clarified her position: "You're in videos with black men, and you're bringing out black women on your stages, but you don't want to know how black women feel about something that's so important?" she said, clearly still upset. "If you want to enjoy our culture and our lifestyle, bond with us, dance with us, have fun with us, twerk with us, rap with us, then you should also want to know what affects us, what is bothering us, what we feel is unfair to us." She was asking for Black women to be acknowledged as human beings rather than trends; commentary that remains prescient and is corroborated over and over in pop, most recently by the case of Megan Thee Stallion.
It's never not been a battle for Nicki Minaj, whether it's against hip-hop's gatekeeping boys' club, the racism thriving in pop music's upper echelons, the condescending press, or the catfighting with newer rivals after years of being lonely at the top. So it wasn't too surprising, during the lead-up to her fourth album, 2018's Queen, when Minaj rolled out a contemporary new marketing strategy: She'd become a s***poster. The day before her album's release, she debuted a new Beats 1 program, Queen Radio. In theory, it was a platform to connect with her fans in an era that prioritized engagement over art – in practice, it was a well-oiled controversy creation machine and a way to sic her loyal Barbz on enemies real and perceived. Upon learning that Queen had debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard albums chart, she let loose a stream of tweets that blamed everyone from Travis Scott (whose Astroworld album had taken the top spot) to Spotify, adamant that this could only be the result of sabotage. Citing her own streaming numbers like receipts, Minaj went off. "Do you know how many women get systematically blackballed out of their positions in an office building & can't fight back?????"
A month earlier, the 26-year old culture writer Wanna Thompson shared a thought: "You know how dope it would be if Nicki put out mature content?" she tweeted. "No silly s***. Just reflecting on past relationships, being a boss, hardships, etc. She's touching 40 soon, a new direction is needed." In response, Thompson received weeks of hate mail from Minaj's fans, and a message from Minaj herself: "Eat a d***, you hating ass hoe... Just say you jealous I'm rich, famous, intelligent, pretty, and go!" If Minaj meant what she'd tweeted about women being blackballed, apparently the sentiment didn't apply to the apparatus she'd built around herself as one of the most famous people alive, leveraging the might of her success against another woman's constructive criticism. As if to reiterate Thompson's point, that same month, a new Minaj song dropped: "FEFE," a collaboration with 6ix9ine, who raps in belligerent baby talk and was, at the time, awaiting sentencing for a conviction on the "use of a child in a sexual performance." Watching the two pal around in the video, sharing ice cream cones and singing about how they didn't need friends, I found myself cringing — not because I believe a man's sex crimes are Minaj's responsibility, but because the whole thing was embarrassing. It was obvious the duo were giddy at the song's potential to piss people off. Minaj, taking her cues from 6ix9ine's stylebook, sounded downright lobotomized. They've since collaborated twice more, most recently on a single called "Trollz" (it debuted at No. 1).
But it isn't Minaj's responsibility to be a feminist role model, either. It's not really my business whether or not she makes space for fellow female rappers at the top. (In recent years she has been, giving her blessing via guest verse to everyone from Megan to Doja Cat, the truest current heir to Minaj's pop-rap throne and with whom she now shares a manager.) Last year's lawsuit brought against Minaj and her husband, Kenneth Petty, is a bit more complicated: A woman, whom Petty assaulted in 1994, alleged a pattern of harassment by the couple and is suing for emotional distress and witness intimidation. Minaj was eventually dropped from the lawsuit; Petty was sentenced this summer to three years of probation and one year of home detention for failing to register as a sex offender. Some seem to hold her accountable for his actions. What people have come to expect from stars in the decade-plus since Minaj infiltrated the mainstream often feels unfair, or at least unrealistic — beyond all the requirements she exhaustedly listed in that studio 12 years ago, you must now be morally unimpeachable, too. Feminist conversation has shifted since then towards topics of intersectionality that often feel cursory, or used to ward off public scrutiny. (Cue Swift enthusiastically lip-syncing along to Minaj's performance at this year's VMAs.) It's no wonder that stars seem so desperate to control their own narratives, insisting they're the winner, or the victim.
It's been sad, though, to see Minaj's obsession with winning often come at the expense of her art — to see one of the most gifted, inventive voices of a generation caught up in engagement metrics that devalue music and make modernity feel lame. She has dulled her brilliance for a monochromatic streaming infrastructure built to reward mediocrity and punish idiosyncrasy. Listening back through a few of Minaj's recent collabs with a new generation of tough-girl rappers, it barely even seemed fair: the sleepy sing-song currently in vogue can sound like radio static when compared to the dynamism, the elasticity, the sheer spectacle of any given Minaj verse. Call me a hater, or old, or whatever, but you probably know it, too.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-01/nicki-minaj-shattered-raps-glass-ceiling-but-never-stopped-fighting | 2022-09-01T18:41:57Z |
Funerals for Ray Liotta, Paul Sorvino, James Caan and Tony Sirico took place all in one month. It’s the passing of a generation of Hollywood’s most celebrated “mobsters.”
NPR’s Bob Mondello reports.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-01/remembering-a-generation-of-movie-gangsters-ray-liotta-paul-sorvino-james-caan-and-tony-sirico | 2022-09-01T18:42:04Z |
Serena Willams is not quite ready to retire. Wednesday evening at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, NY, she beat Estonian champion Anett Kontaveit in 3 sets. Williams will face Australian player Ajla Tomljanovic next.
Here & Now‘s Celeste Headlee talks with New York Times tennis correspondent Christopher Clarey.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-01/tennis-champion-serena-williams-continues-through-to-the-next-round-of-u-s-open | 2022-09-01T18:42:11Z |
Here & Now‘s Peter O’Dowd gets the latest on the water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi. from Nsombi Lambright, the executive director of One Voice Mississippi, a group that’s been working on the ground to support the community for years.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-01/the-latest-on-jackson-mississippis-water-crisis | 2022-09-01T18:42:17Z |
Even though it's only September, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is sold out of season passes. According to the Jackson Hole News and Guide, this is the earliest they've been sold out., No more passes will be released because the resort wants people to be spending time on the slopes and not in lines. But anyone who wants to work for the mountain gets a free pass as part of their benefits.
The Sheridan VA Health Care System is now accepting virtual submissions for the annual National Creative Arts Competition. It showcases the creative endeavors of veterans in more than 100 categories in five divisions. All veterans can submit their work for a virtual art show, but only those enrolled in the VA for healthcare are eligible for the competition. Submissions are due September 16.
In celebration of National Honey Month, the Wyoming State Museum is hosting a Family Day in Cheyenne on September 10. According to a press release, there will be games, crafts, and educational talks about bees and honey.
And according to the Wyoming Almanac, the first Saratoga fish Fry was held on August 28 and 29 in 1907. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-01/thursday-september-1 | 2022-09-01T18:42:23Z |
Here & Now‘s Celeste Headlee speaks with bestselling young adult author Emiko Jean about her first book for adults, “Mika in Real Life.”
The novel centers around Mika, a directionless 35-year-old Japanese-American woman who’s contacted by the daughter she gave up for adoption.
Author Emiko Jean. (Susan Doupé Photography)
Book excerpt: ‘Mika in Real Life’
By Emiko Jean
“Penny called.”
“Ha!” Hana barked out a laugh. Then at Mika’s face, she said, “Holy s***. You’re serious.”
Mika could only nod. Her stomach flipped, thinking about it. She has new-baby smell, Hana had purred in the hospital as she held newborn Penny, rubbing her cheek against hers.
Hana sat back. “Whoa. Heavy.”
“You’re telling me.” Mika opened her mouth, but her phone beeped—an incoming text. Penny again?
“Is it her?” Hana leaned forward, reading Mika’s mind.
Mika glanced down. “No, it’s Charlie.” She checked the message. “She’s thinking of buying Tuan”—Charlie’s husband—“a life-size Lego portrait.”
Hana rolled her eyes. “Ignore her. How’d Penny find you?” Hana reached for a wooden box on the coffee table and flipped it open. Inside was a tiny plastic baggie full of weed and some papers. She set to rolling a joint between her long fingers.
Mika shrugged. “It’s the internet, Penny explained, you can find anyone these days.” But then again . . . how had Penny found her? Mika had chosen a closed adoption: her identity was kept private, and she received annual updates in exchange. Any more would have been too painful. She’d opted for scraps knowing she’d gorge herself otherwise. She guessed it didn’t matter whether Thomas Calvin told Penny Mika’s name or if Penny had stumbled upon the information snooping through her parents’ things. What mattered was the here and now. That Penny had called Mika. That Penny wanted to know Mika.
“True.” Hana licked the paper and sealed the joint. Out of anyone, Mika’s best friend would know how easy it was to find people online. A few years ago, she had tracked down her former elementary school teacher—the one who had called the color of her skin “half-and-half,” like coffee creamer. Hana was part Black, a quarter Vietnamese, and a quarter white—Hungarian and Irish. She trolled the woman into quitting social media.
Hana lit the joint, took a drag, and offered it to Mika. “What’s she like?”
Mika pinched the joint between her fingers and eyed the ceiling. There was a crack running through it that trailed down, splitting the wall. She was pretty sure they had foundation troubles. “I don’t know. The conversation was short. She’s young, hopeful, positive.” A force of nature. “She used her dad’s credit card to sign up for a free trial to find people.” Mika aimed a lopsided smile at Hana and put the joint to her lips. “She was going to cancel it before he found out.” Mika passed the joint back to Hana.
“Reminds me of us.” Hana smiled and took a drag. “So,” she said, exhaling, “what did she want?”
Mika chewed her bottom lip. Her bedroom door was open. The bed was a rumpled mess, the comforter pushed down to the end. No point in making it if she was going to slip back between the sheets a few hours later. On the floor was her favorite T-shirt featuring a Gudetama—a cartoon by the makers of Hello Kitty. What looked like a yellow blob was a lazy egg. “She wants to get to know me.” Her wheels started to turn. She took greater stock of her surroundings, her life, herself, and instantly regretted it.
What could she offer Penny? What had she accomplished? Her love life was anemic. A handful of boyfriends, one serious relationship with Leif that ended in a garbage fire. And her work life just as thin. A series of unfulfilling jobs. All of them placeholders. She had thought of herself as a stone skipping over murky water. Time passing without consequence, without thinking, staying the same, getting farther and farther from the shore. But a pebble never reaches the other side. Eventually, it sinks. When did I sink? Mika’s stomach bottomed out. “I said we could talk again, but now . . . I don’t know.” She felt as inadequate as that day in the hospital.
“Elaborate.” Hana stamped out the joint.
Mika tore her gaze from the house and focused on her lap. What were the stakes of connecting with Penny? “She might hate me. I might hate her,” Mika thought out loud. Although Mika couldn’t see herself ever hating Penny. Penny could murder someone, and Mika would bring her a shovel to bury the body. She’d always give Penny the benefit of the doubt. Believe her. “I’m sure she has questions. Lots of questions. She seems . . . persistent. She might want to know about her biological father. She wishes she had a Japanese name.”
Hana inhaled. She scooted down the couch, closer to Mika. “No doubt she’s curious. We all want to know where we come from. But she’s not entitled to that information until you’re ready.”
Under penalty of law, Mika had signed a form attesting she did not know anything about her baby’s biological father, such as his age or location, or that he had a birthmark shaped like the state of Maine on his chest. “What if she’s angry with me?” she asked in a slight voice.
Hana inhaled. “Can I give you some unsolicited advice?”
“Never stopped you before.”
“When Nicole cheated, Charlie sat me down and said: ‘There is strength in leaving and strength in staying.’ ” Hana flicked some ash from her knee. “I’m pretty sure she got it from one of those self-help gurus.”
Mika frowned. “I’m not following.”
“What I mean is there would have been strength in you keeping Penny, but there was also strength in relinquishing her. And if Penny is as smart as she seems to be, she won’t care what you’ve done; she’ll care about who you are.”
“And who am I?” Mika asked it like a dare. She thought about her unimpressive life resume. Unemployment enthusiast. Weed smoker. Biological mom.
Hana ticked off a list on her fingers. “First thing, you’re loyal. Second thing, you’re compassionate. Third thing, you have a beautiful heart. Fourth thing, you are an amazing artist who knows all sorts of things about art, especially really uninteresting things like which caves have paintings of cavemen dongs. Fifth thing—”
“That’s good.” Mika held up her hands, cutting Hana off. “I’m not exactly emotionally prepared for this.” Hana knew how messy this could get. Each year around Penny’s birthday, a package arrived. Mika would read the letter from Caroline or Thomas, stare at the photographs of Penny with her happy family, rub her thumbs over Penny’s crayon drawings, then spread it all around her in a suffocating hug. Mika would stay in bed all day. Hana would stay too. She would crawl in behind Mika, wordlessly wrap her arms around her in a mourning cocoon. Together they cried. Mika for Penny. And Hana for Mika.
“Are we ever prepared? That’s the whole point of emotions. The least you expect them, the more intense they are. That’s the beauty of feeling.”
“That’s dumb.” Mika lay her head back against the chair. The whole situation was overwhelming in every way. But Hana was there. Had always been there. “Love your face,” she said to her best friend. The three words had been their mantra since meeting as freshmen at the same alternative high school, the kind of place where students are put when folks don’t expect too much of them. Mika had taken one look at Hana and sensed a kindred spirit. Both of them, wayward branches growing from their family trees.
“Love your face too.”
Mika felt around the cushion for her phone. Right before hanging up, Penny had given Mika her number. Now, she messaged her. Excited to video chat. What time works for you?
There, done. She placed her phone away from herself. Drummed her fingers against her thighs. It will be okay. She flashed again to the hospital. To seeing Penny for the first time cradled in the doctor’s hands. Yes, it would be okay. How could it not? Penny and Mika had been a love story from the beginning.
From ‘Mika in Real Life’ by Emiko Jean, published by imprint. Copyright © 2022 by Emiko Jean. Reprinted courtesy of HarperCollinsPublisher
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-01/tokyo-ever-after-author-emiko-jean-makes-the-leap-to-adult-fiction-with-mika-in-real-life | 2022-09-01T18:42:29Z |
The U.S. government has imposed new restrictions on chip exports to China. The announcement came from chip maker Nvidia, who mentioned the restriction in a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The development comes as tensions between the two nations are high, following several high-profile U.S. political visits to Taiwan.
MSNBC anchor and economics correspondent Ali Velshi joins Here & Now‘s Celeste Headlee for more.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-01/u-s-government-restricts-chip-sales-to-china | 2022-09-01T18:42:36Z |
RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- 10 Federal is pleased to announce that on Wednesday, August 31, 2022 the firm's second equity offering, 10 Federal Self Storage Acquisition Company 2 ("10FSSAC2") sold 19 properties to a publicly traded investment firm. 10FSSAC2 sold 4 properties in February 2022 and presently has 5 properties remaining.
10 Federal has pioneered technologies and methods for operating self-storage facilities in an unmanned, autonomous manner. By leveraging this system, 10 Federal raised its first equity offering in 2018 in the amount of $10mm and achieved a successful liquidation in February 2022 with a fund level IRR of 31%.
10 Federal's second offering, 10FSSAC2 raised $32mm and has achieved a 2.0x multiple on the equity to date from the February and August property dispositions. There are 5 properties remaining in 10FSSAC2 to be liquidated.
10 Federal's third offering, 10FSSAC3 raised $45mm and is nearly fully deployed.
In Q4 2022, 10 Federal will launch 10FSSAC4 with the goal of raising $100mm.
10FSSAC1, 10FSSAC2 and 10FSSAC3's business plan is to acquire, renovate and convert self-storage properties to 10 Federal's unmanned, automated platform. Once converted, 10 Federal can efficiently and effectively operate the facilities using technology and remote support.
For more information on the offerings please visit- www.10federal.com
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SOURCE 10 Federal | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/10-federal-self-storage-sells-19-properties/ | 2022-09-01T18:53:16Z |
3Phase deepens its presence in Reno/Sparks, NV and the Lake Tahoe, CA areas by adding KOCH Elevator to Specialized Elevator's and 3Phase Elevator's west coast family of IUEC independents
RENO, Nev., Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- 3Phase Elevator, a leading independent elevator and escalator services provider, has merged with KOCH Elevator, a provider of top-tier maintenance, repair, modernization and testing services for all types and brands of commercial elevators and vertical conveyance systems in the Reno/Sparks, NV and Lake Tahoe, CA markets. The merger provides 3Phase a stronger regional presence in these markets where it already has a strong foothold with Specialized Elevator from San Francisco to San Diego.
KOCH Elevator, a locally owned independent elevator company, takes pride in providing quality service and making each customer a priority. The company has achieved growth by building long-term relationships with its customers and targeting specific modernization projects where it has expertise. The existing KOCH Elevator team, led by Mike Koch who will remain with the company through the initial transition, will continue to be managed by Jason Harrison going forward. KOCH Elevator will continue to operate under the KOCH Elevator brand with the same local people, providing the same hometown service.
"We have built a strong, local, and trustworthy business in the Northern NV and Lake Tahoe area since our inception in 2002. I am confident that our crews and leadership will remain some of the best around," said Mike Koch. "Our approach will continue to be focused on being agile, and fair, and having the best interest of the customer in mind. We feel that joining the 3Phase/Specialized Elevator family will not only allow Koch Elevator to retain its local identity, but also help propel us to the next level of service, being more resourceful and more powerful than ever before." Lisa Koch added, "We are proud of where we have come from and where things are headed. This is a great opportunity for our community and our loyal Koch Elevator customers."
"Deepening our presence in the Northern NV and Lake Tahoe, CA areas has been a strategic priority for 3Phase, and KOCH Elevator boasts a stellar reputation in this market that will complement the Specialized team. When we first met Lisa and Mike, we knew they were like- minded partners," said Mike Strachan, CEO of 3Phase Elevator. "This partnership further establishes our presence as a leading provider in the West."
About 3Phase Elevator
Founded in 1997, and headquartered in Canton, Mass., 3Phase Elevator is a leading independent provider of elevator and escalator maintenance, repair, modernization and new installation services in 20 states across the United States and the District of Columbia. The company has grown in part through 20 acquisitions of other leading independent elevator and escalator service providers. Today, 3Phase maintains more than 25,000 units for building owners and property managers at a wide variety of property types across the country.
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SOURCE 3Phase Elevator | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/3phase-elevator-koch-elevator-announce-merger/ | 2022-09-01T18:53:23Z |
WASHINGTON, Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- AACC has issued a new guidance document with expert recommendations for performing point-of-care tests for fertility and reproductive health. As the use of point-of-care testing rises in these fields, this guidance is intended to ensure that patients and their babies fully benefit from it.
Read the guidance document here: https://www.aacc.org/science-and-research/aacc-academy-guidance/use-of-point-of-care-testing-in-fertility-and-reproduction
Point-of-care tests are clinical tests that are performed near the patient instead of in a central lab. Due to their convenience and rapid turnaround times, these tests can help patients to get treatment much faster than traditional tests. As a result, the use of point-of-care testing has risen steadily in all areas of healthcare. In the fertility and reproductive health fields in particular, it is now used for everything from predicting ovulation and diagnosing pregnancy to managing premature rupture of membranes (PROM)—also known as a patient's water breaking—and high-risk deliveries. However, when point-of-care tests are used inappropriately or performed incorrectly, this can lead to unnecessary follow-up tests and procedures and can even put the patient's health at risk or lead to death. As just one example of this, FDA has reported infant deaths as a result of PROM test misuse.
AACC has updated guidance that it originally published in 2007 to inform healthcare professionals of the most current best practices for point-of-care testing in reproductive medicine. Highlights of the key recommendations from this document are as follows:
- Testing for PROM using commercial kits alone is not recommended without clinical signs that a patient's water has broken. Additionally, results from these tests must be interpreted in the context of a patient's clinical presentation to prevent patient harm.
- Urine luteinizing hormone tests are accurate and reliable predictors of ovulation. These tests can improve the likelihood of conception among healthy fertile women and can also be used to time certain assisted reproduction procedures. However, further study is still needed to determine the efficacy of at-home ovulation prediction kits that use saliva or measure basal body temperature.
- While blood laboratory pregnancy tests are the gold standard, healthcare providers should consider using pregnancy point-of-care tests in situations where rapid diagnosis of pregnancy is needed for treatment decisions. One such scenario is if a patient presents to the emergency department with unstable vital signs and symptoms indicative of a ruptured ectopic pregnancy that might require surgery.
"Point-of-care testing is growing in popularity as a means of delivering faster turnaround time of test results closer to the patient," said the guidance document authors Drs. James H. Nichols, Mahesheema Ali, John I. Anetor, Li-Sheng Chen, Yu Chen, Sean Collins, Saswati Das, Sridevi Devaraj, Lei Fu, Brad S. Karon, Heba Kary, Robert D. Nerenz, Alex J. Rai, Zahra Shajani-Yi, Vinita Thakur, Sihe Wang, Hoi-Ying Elsie Yu, and Lindsey E. Zamora. "Guidance is needed for optimizing the implementation of [point-of-care testing] in patient care. This guidance document revises previous recommendations and offers best practices for the use of [point-of-care testing] in fertility and reproductive health."
About AACC
Dedicated to achieving better health through laboratory medicine, AACC brings together more than 70,000 clinical laboratory professionals, physicians, research scientists, and business leaders from around the world focused on clinical chemistry, molecular diagnostics, mass spectrometry, translational medicine, lab management, and other areas of progressing laboratory science. Since 1948, AACC has worked to advance the common interests of the field, providing programs that advance scientific collaboration, knowledge, expertise, and innovation. For more information, visit www.aacc.org.
Christine DeLong
AACC
Senior Manager, Communications & PR
(p) 202.835.8722
cdelong@aacc.org
Molly Polen
AACC
Senior Director, Communications & PR
(p) 202.420.7612
(c) 703.598.0472
mpolen@aacc.org
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SOURCE AACC | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/aacc-releases-updated-guidance-improve-use-point-of-care-tests-fertility-reproductive-health/ | 2022-09-01T18:53:29Z |
MONTVALE, N.J., Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Inc. announced Accel Marketing Solutions inclusion on the annual Inc. 5000 list, the most distinguished ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in the country. Accel Marketing Solutions is a leading national marketing agency specializing in attorney and law firm marketing, and has seen a significant spike in growth (228%, to be exact) over the last few years. The Inc. 5000 list provides potential clients and prospective connections with defining insight into the country's most industrious privately-owned companies.
In fact, the Inc. 5000 list has been the definitive list for the country's up-and-coming businesses for over four decades, and in that time, they've recognized several now-distinguished companies such as Patagonia, Under Armour, and Microsoft.
For inclusion on this list, a company must meet several criteria. To start, the company must be based in the United States, privately owned, and on record of receiving revenue by March 31, 2018. Only companies that received at least $100,000 in revenue in the year 2018 and at least $2 million in revenue by 2021 will qualify. Of those companies, only those with the highest rate of growth between 2018-2021 will make the list.
Of the recent announcement, CEO of Accel Marketing Solutions, Inc. Elliot Stern said, "I am honored to learn of Accel Marketing Solutions' inclusion on this list of leading independently-owned businesses, but not necessarily surprised. Our national law firm marketing agency is committed to helping attorneys and law firms throughout the country maximize their potential, and we believe this inclusion serves as further proof of our unwavering dedication to our clients. We have a formula that works, and it gives me great pleasure to say that our clients see a return on their investment, time and time again."
The companies included on the 2022 Inc. 5000 list are not only successful, but have also shown great resilience through turbulent times and have ultimately benefited their communities, as they've added more than 68,394 jobs to the economy over the past three years. To learn more about the Inc. 5000 list or to view Accel Marketing Solution's inclusion on the 2022 listing, please visit inc.com. #lawyer #lawyers #attorney #attorneys #marketing
Media Contact:
David Brinen
201-597-9777
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SOURCE Accel Marketing Solutions, Inc | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/accel-marketing-solutions-appears-inc-5000-list-americas-fastest-growing-companies/ | 2022-09-01T18:53:36Z |
MILWAUKEE, Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ademi LLP is investigating possible securities fraud claims against Okta (Nasdaq:OKTA). The investigation results from inaccurate statements Okta may have made regarding its business operations and prospects.
Click here to learn more about the investigation: https://www.ademilaw.com/case/okta-inc or call Guri Ademi toll-free at 866-264-3995. There is no cost or obligation to you.
The investigation focuses on whether Okta properly disclosed a variety of challenges with the integration of Auth0, the customer identity software company it acquired early in 2021, which were impacting Okta's financial performance and projections.
If you wish to obtain additional information or have information about this investigation, please contact Guri Ademi either at gademi@ademilaw.com or toll-free: 866-264-3995, https://www.ademilaw.com/case/okta-inc.
We specialize in securities fraud and shareholder litigation. For more information, please feel free to call us. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
Contact:
Ademi LLP
Guri Ademi
3620 East Layton Ave.
Cudahy, WI 53110
Toll Free: (866) 264-3995
Fax: (414) 482-8001
www.ademilaw.com
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SOURCE Ademi LLP | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/ademi-llp-investigates-claims-securities-fraud-against-okta-inc/ | 2022-09-01T18:53:43Z |
WASHINGTON, Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN), today received a favorable decision from the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) presiding over the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) challenge of the GRAIL acquisition. In the decision, the ALJ ruled for Illumina and rejected the FTC's position that the deal would adversely affect competition in a putative market for multi-cancer early detection (MCED) tests.
"Reuniting Illumina and GRAIL will transform the detection and treatment of cancer by facilitating widespread, affordable access to GRAIL's life-saving Galleri test. This decision is a step toward making that vision a reality," said Francis deSouza, Chief Executive Officer of Illumina. "Too many of us have experienced or witnessed the devastating effects of cancer when it is diagnosed too late. Our mission in bringing Illumina and GRAIL back together is to save many thousands of lives by working to ensure that everyone can find and afford a Galleri test."
"As we've stated from the outset, this transaction is procompetitive, will advance innovation, lower healthcare costs and save lives. We are pleased that, after considering the evidence, the ALJ has reached the same conclusion," said Charles Dadswell, General Counsel of Illumina.
GRAIL was founded by Illumina seven years ago with the goal of developing an early screening test for multiple types of cancer. The transaction will reunite Illumina and GRAIL at a critical time. GRAIL needs Illumina's scale and expertise to overcome significant hurdles to the widespread adoption of Galleri, including obtaining regulatory approval and insurance reimbursement as well as scaling production and distribution of the test.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Among the important factors to which our business is subject that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in any forward-looking statements are: (i) the commercial success of the Galleri test; (ii) the risks and costs associated with the integration of, and our ability to integrate, GRAIL's business successfully to achieve anticipated synergies, including the restrictions on integration during any hold separate period or any delay in integration following any hold separate period; (iii) the risk that disruptions from the consummation of our acquisition of GRAIL or any associated legal or regulatory proceedings or obligations will harm our business, including current plans and operations; (iv) potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the consummation of our acquisition of GRAIL; (v) the risk of incurring fines associated with the consummation of our acquisition of GRAIL and the possibility that we may be required to divest all or a portion of the assets or equity interests of GRAIL on terms that could be materially worse than the terms on which we acquired GRAIL, together with other factors detailed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent filings on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, or in information disclosed in public conference calls, the date and time of which are released beforehand. We undertake no obligation, and do not intend, to update these forward-looking statements, to review or confirm analysts' expectations, or to provide interim reports or updates on the progress of the current quarter.
About Illumina
Illumina is improving human health by unlocking the power of the genome. Our focus on innovation has established us as a global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, serving customers in the research, clinical and applied markets. Our products are used for applications in the life sciences, oncology, reproductive health, agriculture, and other emerging segments. GRAIL, LLC, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Illumina, which is currently being held and operated separately in order to comply with the interim measures order imposed by the European Commission during the pendency of its ongoing merger review. To learn more, visit illumina.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.
Investors:
Salli Schwartz
858.291.6421
IR@illumina.com
Media:
Matt Bianco
619.490.6414
PR@illumina.com
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SOURCE Illumina, Inc. | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/administrative-law-judge-rules-favor-illumina-ftc-challenge-grail-deal/ | 2022-09-01T18:53:50Z |
The pending sale of 908-910 S. Broadway presents an opportunity to own a historically significant building in the heart of Los Angeles' Fashion District as well as its authenticated Banksy mural
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hilco Real Estate today announced the structured sale of a historic, newly renovated mixed-use mid-rise in the heart of Los Angeles' Fashion District known around the world for the authenticated Banksy mural, "Girl on a Swing," on its exterior. It is Banksy's only work in Los Angeles that remains undisturbed in its original location, and one of a handful of his pieces that remain preserved in their places of origin. Offers on this one-of-a-kind property are due October 20, 2022.
Challenges stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the building's owners to sell through a structured sale process, presenting a once-in-a-generation opportunity to own a cultural landmark and a priceless work of art in a prime area of Los Angeles. The impact of the mural's social commentary on the revitalization of Los Angeles' historic core is multiplied by its preservation on the side of the building.
The art nouveau/gothic revival mid-rise, centrally located on the border of Los Angeles' Historic Core and its Fashion District at 908-910 S Broadway, was built in 1914 and underwent an all-expenses paid effort to restore it to its original condition in 2018. Thanks to this, the building boasts seven floors and over 26,000 sq/ft of top-rate commercial real estate space, class-A first-floor retail space, and a unique basement space ideal for a speakeasy-type bar, all close to Los Angeles landmarks like the Ace Hotel, Crypto.com Arena and the Apple Tower Theatre. It also has deep ties to classic Hollywood, having been featured in the 1923 film Safety Last! in which silent film star Harold Lloyd scales its outer façade and dangles from the arms of a clock on its exterior, an iconic moment in cinematic history.
"This sale presents an unprecedented opportunity to own a treasured Banksy mural, a unique piece of Hollywood history and an icon of Los Angeles culture contained within a beautifully restored art nouveau landmark," said Jeff Azuse, Senior Vice President of Hilco Real Estate. "908-910 S Broadway's one-of-a-kind characteristics provide limitless potential for anyone interested in the prestige and functional capabilities that come with its ownership."
To learn more about 908-910 S Broadway and the sales process, please call Hilco Real Estate at 203.561.8737 or Miller Ink at 310-571-8264.
About Hilco Real Estate: Hilco Real Estate ("HRE"), a Hilco Global company (HilcoGlobal.com) headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois (USA), is a national provider of strategic real estate disposition services. Acting as an agent or principal, HRE uses its experience to advise and execute strategies to assist clients in deriving the maximum value from their real estate assets. By leveraging multi-faceted sales strategies and techniques, aggressive repositioning and restructuring experience, a vast and motivated network of buyers and sellers, and substantial access to capital, HRE exceeds expectations even in the most complex transactions.
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SOURCE Hilco Real Estate | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/an-iconic-artwork-that-comes-with-building-banksy-mural-amp-building-available-via-structured-sale-october-20th/ | 2022-09-01T18:53:56Z |
Company recognized by Atlanta Business Chronicle for creating an enjoyable workplace and thriving culture, while promoting healthy lifestyles
ATLANTA, Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Atlanta Gas Light has been named one of Atlanta's Best Places to Work and Healthiest Employers by the Atlanta Business Chronicle. The company received the award during the publication's 19th annual awards ceremony yesterday evening.
For 19 years, Atlanta Business Chronicle's Best Places to Work Awards program has been recognizing companies throughout the region that go above and beyond in creating an enjoyable workplace and a thriving culture for their employees. The rankings of the top workplaces in Atlanta are based on employee engagement surveys and were presented in four categories based on workforce size.
"There is nothing more important than the health and safety of our teammates and sustaining an inclusive culture that allows each of us to grow and prosper," said Pedro Cherry, President, and CEO of Atlanta Gas Light. "Providing the tools and resources necessary for our employees and their families to live healthier lifestyles has always been a top priority, and we remain committed to finding innovative ways to invest in the long-term health and well-being of our employees."
Atlanta Gas Light is committed to helping each employee improve and maintain their overall wellness through an expansive offering of benefits and resources offered by the company's SouthernLifeStyle wellness program.
The company's workplace health and wellness efforts were measured in a survey issued by the Atlanta Business Chronicle and its partner, Healthiest Employers, a data research company that collects, measures and compares corporate wellness data worldwide in six key categories: Leadership Commitment, Foundational Components, Strategic Planning, Communication and Marketing, Programming and Interventions, Reporting and Analytics.
For more information about Atlanta Gas Light, log on to our website or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
Atlanta Gas Light is one of four natural gas distribution companies of Southern Company Gas, a wholly owned subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO). Atlanta Gas Light provides natural gas delivery service to approximately 1.7 million customers in Georgia. In operation since 1856, the company is one of the oldest corporations in the state. For more information, visit atlantagaslight.com.
Southern Company Gas is a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE:SO), America's premier energy company. Southern Company Gas serves approximately 4.3 million natural gas customers through its regulated distribution companies in four states with approximately 666,000 retail customers through its companies that market natural gas. Other businesses include investments in interstate pipelines and ownership and operation of natural gas storage facilities. For more information, visit southerncompanygas.com.
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SOURCE Atlanta Gas Light | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/atlanta-gas-light-named-one-atlantas-best-places-work-healthiest-employers/ | 2022-09-01T18:54:02Z |
NEW YORK, Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Backcast Partners Management LLC ("Backcast"), a provider of debt and equity capital for both middle market private equity and non-private equity owned companies, is pleased to announce the most recent addition to its team.
Caelum Maloney has joined Backcast Partners as an Associate on the investment team. Prior to joining Backcast in 2022, Mr. Maloney was a Director in the Corporate Finance and Restructuring group at FTI Consulting, where he provided strategic and financial advice to companies, lenders, and other creditors in out-of-court and in-court restructurings. Mr. Maloney received a B.S. in Management from Boston College.
Mark Gudis, Managing Partner at Backcast, said: "Caelum brings nearly five years of experience working on complex lending transactions which will allow him to immediately contribute to the investment team. His strong business and financial analytics, thorough understanding of credit documentation, and diverse transaction experience will leverage and enhance our growing team. We look forward to significant contributions from Caelum."
Backcast Partners, formed in 2016 by three former Blackstone colleagues, manages value-additive, private credit investment funds providing capital to both private-equity backed and privately held management-owned companies. The Backcast team has been supporting traditional middle market companies ($7.5 million to $50 million of EBITDA) for decades. Backcast Partners has a very flexible capital mandate and seeks to invest from $10 million to $50 million per transaction. Backcast has invested approximately $500 million since inception and is currently raising its second fund. Backcast Partners operates out of offices in New York City, Millburn, NJ and Los Angeles, CA.
For more information for investors, please contact:
Amon Johnson, Managing Director of Investor Relations
ajohnson@backcastpartners.com
(973) 547-2447
www.backcastpartners.com
For more information for companies seeking investment, please contact:
Mark Gudis, Managing Partner
mgudis@backcastpartners.com
(973) 512-7487
www.backcastpartners.com
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SOURCE Backcast Partners | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/backcast-partners-announces-new-investment-associate/ | 2022-09-01T18:54:14Z |
Investment helps accelerate scale-up of Pajarito Powder's advanced catalysts
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. and ZWEVEGEM, Belgium, Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bekaert has made a Series-B investment into U.S.-based startup Pajarito Powder. The investment increases Bekaert's participation in the hydrogen industry and accelerates the growth of the hydrogen ecosystem.
Pajarito is a hydrogen and fuel cell catalyst maker whose backers include Hyundai Motor Company. Bekaert (Euronext Brussels: BEKB) is a global €5.9 billion wire and coating technologies company whose products include critical subcomponents for electrolyzers, which derive green hydrogen from water.
Bekaert's investment will aid Pajarito's work in improving the performance and cost-efficiency of fuel cell and electrolyzer stacks. Longer-lasting electrolyzers and fuel cells are critical to reducing their costs and improving the financial argument for increased global dependance on hydrogen as a key energy source.
"Demand for green hydrogen is increasing as more nations recognize it as a way to meet energy needs while slashing carbon emissions and reducing dependence on oil and gas," Pajarito Powder Chairman and CEO Thomas J. Stephenson said. "Bekaert is a highly regarded global company whose backing, combined with our existing backing from Hyundai, further augments the credibility of our work and accelerates our ability to deliver high-performance catalyst products to the rapidly expanding green-hydrogen market."
Bekaert VP Fiber Technologies, Inge Schildermans, said Bekaert is impressed by the work Pajarito Powder is doing to make more efficient and effective electrocatalysts for electrolyzers and fuel cells.
"Bekaert is committed to developing green and sustainable solutions for our customers, with a particular focus on improving the performance of components necessary for the electrolysis needs of the future," Inge Schildermans added. "We are committed to innovation and the scale-up of components and equipment that will make the vision of a global hydrogen economy a near-term reality, and we see Pajarito Powder as a key part of that reality."
Based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, Pajarito Powder, LLC is a world leader in the development and commercialization of advanced electrocatalysts for fuel cells and electrolyzers. Pajarito Powder manufactures a range of catalyst products using its own intellectual property as well as intellectual property licensed from the University of New Mexico,
Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique. Pajarito Powder manufacturers catalysts for use with proton-exchange membranes (PEM) and alkaline fuel cells and electrolyzers; it also manufactures a proprietary Precious-Metal-Free catalyst for fuel cells. Pajarito Powder materials more effectively use the platinum group metals (PGM) component of catalysts, resulting in higher performance, better stability and improved durability.
Pajarito Powder is a venture-backed startup funded by Hyundai Motor Company, Verge Fund, Omphalos Venture Partners and other private investors.
Bekaert (bekaert.com) is a world market and technology leader in steel wire transformation and coating technologies. Bekaert (Euronext Brussels: BEKB) is a global company with more than 27 000 employees worldwide, headquarters in Belgium and € 5.9 billion in combined revenue in 2021.
Bekaert has established a technology and market leadership position in porous transport layers for electrolysis technologies with the brandname Currento®. The company invests in the development of next generations innovative solutions for green hydrogen production as well as in expanding its production footprint to multiple GW capacity. The creativity of Bekaert Fiber Technologies goes beyond steel, with the development and production of fibers made of copper, aluminum, titanium and nickel and transforming them into porous media for a large variety of applications.
Contact: Zach Peterson
zach@fosgardpr.com
scottfosgard.com
+1.202.257.2750
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SOURCE Pajarito Powder | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/bekaert-makes-series-b-investment-electrocatalyst-maker-pajarito-powder/ | 2022-09-01T18:54:21Z |
NEEDHAM, Mass., Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Needham Bank announced that Blake Bamford has joined the Commercial & Industrial (C&I) Lending group as Senior Vice President Structured Finance Relationship Manager. Mr. Bamford has over 13 years of experience in financial services, with expertise in C&I lending and customer relationship management.
He will evaluate, authorize and recommend approval for commercial loans that are generally greater than $10 million in commitment size. He also will assist James Daley, Senior Vice President-Structured Finance with the build-out of the Bank's C&I Structured Finance segment.
From 2013 to 2022, Mr. Bamford worked at Customers Bank, in a variety of roles. Most recently, he was Senior Vice President, where he managed over $210 million in total commitments. Prior to that, he was the Vice President, Relationship Manager.
"I am thrilled to be joining a bank and a team that are experiencing such incredible growth," said Mr. Bamford. "I know the Structured Finance team has already closed some impressive renewable energy deals, and I am looking forward to using my knowledge to help expand the portfolio."
"I am incredibly pleased to welcome Blake to the Needham Bank," commented Mr. Daley. "Blake is bringing extensive industry experience and success, which will make him a great addition to the team and help us to continue to build out the Structured Finance practice."
In addition to his work experience, Mr. Bamford has a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from the University of Maine and an MBA from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. He also received his certificate in fundamentals of credit analysis from the Massachusetts Bankers Association. Mr. Bamford volunteers for the North Andover Soccer Association as a youth soccer head coach.
Needham Bank offers an array of tech-forward products and services that businesses and consumers use to manage their financial needs. We have the financial expertise typically found at much larger institutions and the local knowledge and commitment you can only find at a community bank. Known as the "Builder's Bank," Needham Bank has been helping individuals, businesses and non-profits build for their futures since 1892. For more information, please visit https://NeedhamBank.com. Needham Bank is a member of FDIC and DIF.
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SOURCE Needham Bank | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/blake-bamford-joins-needham-bank-senior-vice-president-structured-finance-relationship-manager/ | 2022-09-01T18:54:28Z |
Winners CarParts.com, italki, LendingTree, Malwarebytes, Slickdeals, Sweetwater, Udacity, Zumper, and 14 West recognized for success in customer-centric, AI-powered campaigns across marketing channels
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Blueshift, the leading Smart Hub platform for intelligent customer engagement, today announced the winners of its Omnies awards celebrating the innovative ways marketers are hyper-personalizing connections at scale. The 2022 Omnies award winners were announced at the company's annual Engage conference, held Aug. 31 in San Francisco.
"The Blueshift Omnies recognize impactful initiatives that create moments of wow for customers across every touchpoint using connected cross-channel campaigns, AI-powered personalization, rich customer data, and more," said Vijay Chittoor, CEO and co-founder of Blueshift. "The Omnies winners are marketing innovators, trailblazers, leaders, rising stars, and mentors. We are proud to celebrate their inspirational approaches to supercharge marketing."
The following organizations have driven change and value for their business by leveraging the power of intelligent customer engagement across channels and have been recognized as the 2022 Omnies award winners in their categories:
- Orchestration Category Winner: Zumper
Zumper's mission is to modernize the rental experience for renters and property owners by making renting an apartment as easy as booking a hotel. Zumper uses AI-powered recommendations to connect renters with the right listings. Even with millions of listings, Zumper caters to the unique preferences of each individual renter, orchestrating robust customer journeys across email, SMS, and push notifications. - Marketing with AI Category Winner: CarParts.com
Using the latest technologies and design principles, CarParts.com makes it easy for drivers to shop for the parts they need and get their vehicles back on the road. The company uses AI-powered recommendations to surface the right auto parts for each customer from over 800,000 SKUs. CarParts.com provides personalized product and content recommendations to each user based on their vehicle year, make, and model, as well as real-time website behaviors. - New Rising Star Category Winner: Sweetwater
Sweetwater is the #1 online retailer of pro audio and music instruments in the United States, serving over eight million music makers. As a new Blueshift customer, Sweetwater has set out to build a data-driven marketing strategy. Focused on engaging interactions across multiple touchpoints throughout the customer lifecycle (email, web, in-app, social), Sweetwater aims to provide personalized recommendations for each user. - New Rising Star Category Winner: Malwarebytes
Malwarebytes brings cyber-protection to everyone, helping to keep its customers free from online threats. Malwarebytes' strategy focuses on creating a unified experience for customers, resulting in improved engagement, retention, and adoption. Since onboarding with Blueshift, Malwarebytes has been able to increase its email-able customer base, email open rates, and engagement, as well enhance existing marketing campaigns and launch new campaigns. - Innovative Campaign Category Winner: italki
italki provides a comprehensive language experience for anyone who wants to learn a new language in a personalized and authentic way. One of italki's innovative marketing campaigns focuses on recommending compelling content to students based on their learning language and unique learning journey. By making improvements to the campaign's target audience, template, and recommendation scheme, the campaign resulted in a significant increase in revenue. - Engagement Category Winner: Slickdeals
Slickdeals is where 12 million savvy shoppers discover and share great deals. Slickdeals kicked off a marketing program to incentivize current and new users to engage with the community. Using segmentation, Slickdeals has been able to target power users and new users based on common behaviors and interest signals to create lookalike audiences. This program increased engagement and transactions by over 65%. - Engagement Category Winner: Udacity
Udacity is on a mission to upskill the world's workforce through the power of knowledge. By creating 1:1 personalized interactions and triggering real-time messages, Udacity has continued to increase student engagement. - Strategic First-Party Data Category Winner: 14 West
14 West is a business services firm with a global mindset. 14 West Tech & Media Solutions offers a range of products and services for publishing in the digital age. 14 West works with affiliate publishers to acquire first-party data across many brands. With this rich data, 14 West has gained a better understanding of their customers to personalize omnichannel journeys for increased engagement. - Strategic First-Party Data Category Winner: LendingTree
LendingTree is an online loan marketplace for various financial borrowing needs including auto loans, home loans, small business loans, personal loans, student loans, credit cards, and more. The company also empowers customers with expert guidance and financial health hints and tips. LendingTree uses first-party data to power a true omnichannel environment, leveraging orchestrated triggers across all touchpoints, including email, mobile, SMS, direct mail, and paid media audience syndications.
Each category had many impressive submissions. In addition to the winners, these chosen honorees demonstrated marketing excellence in their categories:
- Orchestration: ClearScore, Chatbooks, Stitch Fix
- Marketing with AI: discovery+, Tradera, Skillshare, vouchercloud
- New Rising Star: PRADCO, Zark
- Innovative Campaign: WayUp
- Engagement: James Allen
- Strategic First-Party Data: BIGGBY COFFEE
San Francisco-based Blueshift helps brands deliver relevant, connected experiences across every customer interaction. The Blueshift cross-channel marketing platform uses patented AI technology to unify, inform, and activate the fullness of customer data across all channels and applications. Through unified data, cross-channel orchestration, intelligent decisioning, and unmatched scale, Blueshift gives brands all the tools they need to seamlessly deliver 1:1 experiences in real-time across the entire customer journey. Blueshift has been recognized in the 2021 Deloitte Technology Fast 500™ list as one of the fastest growing technology companies in North America.
For more information visit blueshift.com.
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SOURCE Blueshift | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/blueshift-announces-2022-omnies-award-winners-honorees-marketing-excellence-innovation/ | 2022-09-01T18:54:35Z |
ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] Chief Financial Officer Brian West will speak at the Morgan Stanley Laguna Conference on September 15th at 9:55 a.m. PT.
Visit https://cc.webcasts.com/morg007/091422a_js/?entity=37_MTJ5WTS to access a link to the live broadcast of the conference. Individuals should check the website prior to the session to ensure access to the audio stream.
Contact
Investor Relations: 312-544-2140
Communications: media@boeing.com
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SOURCE Boeing | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/boeing-cfo-brian-west-speak-morgan-stanley-laguna-conference-september-15/ | 2022-09-01T18:54:42Z |
The Bollinger Class-4 Electric Chassis Cabs are the First of the Company's Commercial Lineup to Hit the Ground in Client Test Programs.
DETROIT, Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bollinger Motors announces its Class 4 all-electric fleet truck, the Bollinger B4, featuring a cab-forward design with industry-leading safety, cargo, and turn circle capabilities.
"The cab-forward design is a radical change from our previous concepts," says Robert Bollinger, founder and CEO of Bollinger Motors. "And that's on purpose. We listened to our commercial customers and developed what they need for ultimate efficiency."
The new Bollinger B4 incorporates years of feedback from dozens of major fleets looking to electrify their vehicles. The result is a cab-forward truck, designed from the ground up to offer maximum cargo volume, accommodate unlimited adaptation, and prioritize safety.
"The cab-forward design also increases both overall cargo space behind the cab and critical downward visibility in front," says Kent Harrison, chief product officer of Bollinger Motors. "The B4's 41-foot turning circle will be better than any comparable wheelbase truck -- which will improve driving dynamics in both rural and urban settings."
The Bollinger B4 is driven by a solid rear-axle e-drive to meet demand for higher payloads. High-voltage components operate on an 800-volt platform, with batteries consisting of LFP (lithium iron phosphate) chemistry, which ensures safety and reduces cost. Customers may outfit their B4s with either one or two battery packs to accommodate cost and range requirements. Range estimates exceed current customer need and offer roughly 100 miles per battery pack.
Bollinger Motors will track test B4 chassis cab trucks this fall with numerous fleet customers, upfitters, and charging companies to gather constructive feedback.
Bollinger B4 customers will benefit from the Inflation Reduction Act recently signed into law by President Joe Biden, with the B4 expected to be eligible for a 30% tax credit up to $40,000 under the newly created 45W Commercial EV Tax Credit.
"Commercial fleets need a cost-competitive alternative to traditional ICE vehicles, and these credits, along with Bollinger's aggressive efforts to deliver a quality product with a lower total cost of ownership, make EVs a more affordable and viable option than their ICE counterparts," said Ed Burke, commercial sales director. "These credits are a win for Bollinger, our customers, and our nation's sustainability agenda as we help accelerate the adoption of this clean technology across America's roadways."
"Bollinger Motors has been developing medium duty all-electric trucks since 2015," says Bryan Chambers, chief operating officer of Bollinger Motors. "Our extensive Class 4-6 engineering and supply-chain development means our commercial trucks are on the fast track to production."
Bollinger will begin production with Class 4 Chassis Cabs -- with Class 5 and Class 6 trucks to follow. Price and release date for the B4 chassis cabs will be announced at a later date.
Founded in 2015 by Robert Bollinger, Bollinger Motors is a U.S.-based company, headquartered in Oak Park, Michigan. Bollinger Motors will manufacture all-electric platforms and chassis cabs for commercial vehicles in Classes 4-6. www.BollingerMotors.com
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SOURCE BOLLINGER MOTORS | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/bollinger-reveals-b4-commercial-electric-truck/ | 2022-09-01T18:54:48Z |
The AdLibertas acquisition represents Branch's continued investment in building next-generation mobile measurement capabilities
PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Branch, the leader in mobile linking and measurement, has acquired AdLibertas, a predictive data platform built for mobile apps. The acquisition will allow Branch to extend its value as a mobile measurement partner (MMP) for companies driving growth, engagement and revenue across all marketing channels.
"The mobile advertising ecosystem is growing increasingly complex and privacy-focused, but AdLibertas has a head start in building toward the future where mobile marketers depend on data to remain effective," said Mike Molinet, COO and Co-founder of Branch. "We're thrilled to bring the AdLibertas team on board to leverage their deep expertise as we expand Branch's MMP offerings."
AdLibertas was founded in 2016 to help mobile app developers leverage their own first-party user data to monitor, grow and optimize their apps. By collecting and aggregating complex and disparate data sources, AdLibertas provides important insights about user behavior, which enables mobile developers to answer key questions that help their app grow.
"Mobile advertising and measurement are undergoing fundamental change which presents both an incredible challenge and opportunity for mobile marketers," said Adam Landis, CEO of AdLibertas. "We've long been fans of Branch and the company's vision for the future. We're excited to team up and build towards that future together."
The combination of Branch and AdLibertas will accelerate innovation and execution in building the next-generation MMP, allowing mobile marketers to continue effectively growing and scaling their apps in a privacy-centric ecosystem.
Branch provides the industry's leading mobile linking and measurement platforms, unifying user experience and attribution across devices and channels. Branch has been selected by over 100,000 apps since 2014 including Adobe, BuzzFeed, Yelp and many more, improving experiences for more than 3 billion monthly users across the globe.
AdLibertas helps mobile apps use data for growth. Their comprehensive data platform processes trillions of events for over 300 million monthly users, quickly and easily gaining insight to understand and influence user behavior. They've helped companies like Audiomack, Match Group, Game Show Network and Publishers Clearing House and app favorites like Crossy Road, Temple Run, Infinite Word Search, Flipaclip and Flow Free grow and thrive.
Media Contact: Paula Mantle, press@branch.io
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SOURCE Branch | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/branch-acquires-adlibertas-advance-data-first-platform-mobile-app-growth/ | 2022-09-01T18:54:55Z |
LAS VEGAS, Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The BSA-AML Compliance Group and Dowling Advisory Group are proud to announce a list of high-profile speakers for the annual BSA/AML Gaming Conference in Las Vegas. The conference— the largest and most comprehensive anti-money laundering compliance conference dedicated to the gaming industry —will take place at Caesars Palace Las Vegas, September 27-29.
This year's conference includes speakers from 12 federal and state law enforcement and regulatory agencies. Whitney Case, who leads the Enforcement Division at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), will kick off the event on Tuesday, September 27 at 9:30 a.m. PDT offering guidance on fostering a culture of compliance in the gaming industry.
On Wednesday, September 28, Jim Lee, the head of IRS-Criminal Investigation Division, will deliver the keynote and discuss how law enforcement uses critical BSA data. Julie Malec, Chief of Financial Sector Investigations at the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) leads the afternoon sessions beginning at 1:30 p.m.
On Thursday, September 28, Molly Moeser from the U.S. Department of Justice's Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section will deliver the keynote address, followed by a special panel discussion on "Women in Gaming".
"We are thrilled to welcome so many government officials and agencies who have agreed to share their expertise and insights with the compliance community," said James Dowling, CEO of BSA-AML Compliance Group and the Dowling Advisory Group. "Given the evolving regulatory demands, partnerships between regulators and the gaming industry are more important than ever. This conference is a critical bridge for that relationship."
Attendees will have a chance to meet face-to-face with IRS-BSA Examiners, state gaming regulators, and law enforcement to learn about money laundering, sanctions evasion, fraud, and cyber threats to their casinos.
The full conference agenda and registration can be found here.
The annual BSA/AML Gaming Conference is the largest and most comprehensive anti-money laundering compliance conference dedicated to the gaming industry. The conference brings together regulators, law enforcement officials, and subject matter experts to help the gaming industry comply with the Bank Secrecy Act and related regulations.
The BSA-AML Compliance Group provides FinTech, emerging payments companies, and the gaming industry with knowledge-based training related to anti-money laundering and other illicit finance issues.
More information about DAG can be found here.
Media Contact
Shellee Smith
(626) 319-1062
shellee@dowlingadvisory.com
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SOURCE Dowling Advisory Group | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/bsaaml-gaming-conference-announces-keynote-speakers/ | 2022-09-01T18:55:01Z |
- Boot Hill Casino & Resort will begin taking online bets through the sportsbook platform DraftKings -
OLATHE, Kan., Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Butler National Corporation (OTCQB: BUKS), through its wholly-owned subsidiary that manages Boot Hill Casino & Resort in Dodge City, Kansas, will launch online mobile sports betting through its online platform partner, DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ: DKNG), today.
Boot Hill Casino & Resort also plans to accept sports wagers onsite and anticipates unveiling its new on-site sportsbook soon.
Butler National previously announced sports wagering platform agreements with DraftKings, Bally's Corporation and most recently, Golden Nugget Online Gaming.
The launch will correspond with college football season and ahead of the start of the 2022 NFL season. "We're excited to be a part of the launch of sports betting in the State of Kansas. Kansans can now access the latest betting markets as well as bet on local teams like the Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Royals, Kansas Jayhawks, Kansas State Wildcats and Sporting KC," said Clark Stewart, President and CEO of Butler National Corporation. "We'd especially like to thank the Boot Hill Casino & Resort team, DraftKings, the Kansas Lottery and the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission for all their efforts. The outstanding teamwork of these groups has allowed Kansans the opportunity to wager on the upcoming football season."
Upon the launch of sports wagering in Kansas, anyone legally permitted within the geographical boundaries of Kansas will be able to place bets directly from their mobile devices or computers by accessing a participating sports book or visiting a lottery gaming facility.
"Today is an exciting day in the State of Kansas as we look to increase tourism and revenue for the State of Kansas and Dodge City," said Stewart.
About Butler National Corporation:
Butler National Corporation has been a recognized provider of professional management services in the gaming industry for more than 25 years. Following the enactment of the Kansas Expanded Lottery Act (KELA), Butler National competed for a contract to manage a Lottery Gaming Facility for the State of Kansas. In 2008, Butler National Service Corporation (a Butler National Corporation subsidiary) proposed and was awarded a contract to manage the Boot Hill Casino & Resort in Dodge City. When Boot Hill Casino opened in 2009, it was the first state-owned and operated casino in Kansas. In addition to its gaming division, Butler National manufactures, sells and services support systems for private, commercial and military aircraft.
About Boot Hill Casino & Resort:
Boot Hill Casino & Resort, managed by BHCMC, LLC and Butler National Service Corporation, wholly-owned subsidiaries of Butler National Corporation (OTCQB: BUKS), features over 500 electronic gaming machines, 14 table games, and a 150-seat casual dining restaurant known as Firesides at Boot Hill.
The $90 million Boot Hill Casino project opened in December 2009. The lottery facility games at Boot Hill Casino & Resort are owned and operated by the Kansas Lottery. The Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission provides regulatory oversight for the casino. Sports wagering is owned and operated by the Kansas Lottery. For more information about Boot Hill Casino & Resort, please visit us at www.boothillcasino.com, or call us at 1.877.906.0777.
Forward-Looking Information:
Statements made in this report, other reports and proxy statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, communications to stockholders, press releases, and oral statements made by representatives of the Company that are not historical in nature, or that state the Company or management intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations or predictions of the future, may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). Forward-looking statements can often be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as "could," "should," "will," "intended," "continue," "believe," "may," "expect," "hope," "anticipate," "goal," "forecast," "plan," "guidance" or "estimate" or the negative of these words, variations thereof or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or results. They involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. It is important to note that any such performance and actual results, financial condition or business, could differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in Item 1A of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, incorporated herein by reference. Risk Factors and elsewhere herein or in other reports filed with the SEC. Other unforeseen factors not identified herein could also have such an effect. We undertake no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes in future operating results, financial condition or business over time.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
THE WORLDWIDE WEB:
Please review www.butlernational.com for information about Butler National Corporation and its subsidiaries.
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SOURCE Butler National Corporation | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/butler-national-casino-subsidiary-announces-its-launch-mobile-sports-betting-kansas/ | 2022-09-01T18:55:08Z |
- Focus on what really matters, with Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), powered by the Qualcomm® QCC3050 Bluetooth SoC
- High-quality calls with 6-mic call technology and wind noise reduction
- Fine-tuned 6mm speakers for powerful sound
- Up to 7 hours play time, and up to 28 hours with Qi-certified wireless charging case
- Stay connected with 2 devices at once with Bluetooth® Multipoint connectivity and easy pairing with Google Fast Pair* and Microsoft Swift Pair*
- Access Alexa or Google Assistant completely hands free
- Compact fit designed for all-day comfort and IP55-rated durability against dust and water
BERLIN, Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- IFA -- Today, Jabra, leader in personal sound and office solutions, introduces the newest addition to its true wireless range, the Jabra Elite 5. The all-round hero is made for those needing to take calls anywhere and is perfect for enjoying media during leisure. These earbuds help people escape a busy day and immerse themselves into media or connect with friends and family on-the-go with the touch of a button.
The Jabra Elite 5 makes it possible for individuals to fully focus on the task at hand with new Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), powered by the Qualcomm QCC3050 Bluetooth chipset. The Hybrid ANC uses feedback microphones on the inside of the ear, and feedforward microphones on the outside. The ANC performance is therefore less sensitive to how you position the buds in the ear and it ensures a more reliable noise cancellation across a wider range of frequencies.
In addition, the Jabra Elite 5 enables individuals to take calls with confidence thanks to 6-microphone call technology with external mics that are active all the time, and internal ones giving your voice a helping hand when it's windy. When wearing the earbuds, you will experience excellent sound from 6mm speakers and Qualcomm® aptX™ Audio, AAC and SBC codecs. We've also teamed up with Spotify to offer users Spotify Tap Playback.
For those seeking a sleek, portable earbud design, they need to look no further than the Elite 5. The earbuds offer a discreet, comfortable, and compact fit. They provide not only a fashionable appearance, but also a seamless experience by connecting to devices and apps easily, facilitating work and play from anywhere. This enhanced connectivity is supported by Bluetooth Multipoint, Google Fast Pair*, Microsoft Swift pair*, Google Assistant**, and Alexa Built-In activated through voice.
Even after the 7hrs play time with ANC on (28hrs with case) these earbuds offer, they still provide an all-day wearing comfort. The Elite 5 doesn't stop there – the buds also deliver a customizable EQ, and can handle rain or shine, as they boast an IP55 durability rating.
Calum MacDougall, SVP at Jabra said: "Today's fast-paced society is decreasing attention spans whilst increasing the potential for distraction, making it more and more difficult to zone in on what's important. Jabra understands this need and has engineered the Jabra Elite 5, offering the chance to truly focus, connect and call with a clear mind. This all-rounder is perfect for those who want to immerse themselves in music, are socially oriented and virtually connected."
Jabra Elite 5 key features and specifications:
- Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) blocks more background noise, powered by the Qualcomm QCC3050 Bluetooth SoC
- 6-microphone call technology with wind noise suppression
- Powerful 6mm speakers for goosebump-inducing, heart-racing, soaring sound
- Customizable EQ and Spotify Tap Playback
- Up to 7 hours play time with ANC on (up to 28 hours with wireless charging case)
- Qualcomm® aptX™ Audio
- Google Assistant** and Alexa Built In for hands-free assistance on-the-go
- Easy pairing with Google Fast Pair* and Microsoft Swift Pair*
- Bluetooth Multipoint keeps you connected to two devices at once
- IP55-rated protection against dust and water
Elite 5 pricing and availability
The Jabra Elite 5 is available in selected retailers, MSRP ($149/£149/€149).
Find out more about Jabra Elite 5 at www.jabra.com/elite
* Google Fast Pair compatible with Android OS 6.0 or higher. Microsoft Swift Pair compatible with Windows 10 or higher.
**Android only
NOTES TO EDITORS
About Jabra
Jabra is a world leading brand in audio, video, and collaboration solutions – engineered to empower consumers and businesses. Proudly part of the GN Group, we are committed to letting people hear more, do more, and be more than they ever thought possible. Jabra engineering excellence leads the way, building on 150 years of pioneering work within GN. This allows us to create integrated tools for contact centers, offices, and collaboration that help professionals work more productively from anywhere; and true wireless headphones and earbuds that let consumers better enjoy calls, music, and media. GN, founded in 1869, operates in 100 countries and delivers innovation, reliability, and ease of use. GN employs more than 7,000 people and in 2021 reported annual revenue of DKK 15.8bn. GN Audio accounts for DKK 10.4bn. GN makes life sound better and is Nasdaq Copenhagen listed. www.jabra.com
© 2022 GN Audio A/S. All rights reserved. Jabra® is a registered trademark of GN Audio A/S. All other trademarks included herein are the property of their respective owners (design and specifications are subject to change without notice).
Qualcomm is a trademark or registered trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated. aptX and cVc are trademarks or registered trademarks of Qualcomm Technologies International, Ltd.
Qualcomm aptX, Qualcomm cVc, Qualcomm Hybrid ANC, and Qualcomm QCC3050 are products of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.
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SOURCE Jabra | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/call-connect-listen-music-confidence-with-new-jabra-elite-5/ | 2022-09-01T18:55:20Z |
With a complete anti-aging and wellness portfolio, Shaklee provides high-quality products
consumers need to live their healthiest lives at any age
PLEASANTON, Calif., Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- September is Healthy Aging Month – an annual occurrence to raise awareness about the positive aspects of growing older. This year, celebrate with Shaklee, a leading wellness company that creates high quality products to live your healthiest life at any age. Whether you're looking for nutrition from the inside to help support optimal foundational health or your goal is to "defy aging" on the outside, Shaklee has science-backed patented products aimed at supporting healthy living no matter your age.
"For the past 20 years, September has been recognized as Healthy Aging Month providing inspiration and practical ideas for all adults to improve their overall wellness," said Roger Barnett, Chairman and CEO, Shaklee Corporation. "At Shaklee, we believe it's never too late to take control of your health, and our products are backed by over 110 published clinical studies proving safety and efficacy to help you live your healthiest life at any age."
Healthy aging begins by supporting optimal nutrition within our bodies. It's important to fill any nutritional gaps in our diets with proven, safe, and effective products. Shaklee has a variety of products to support overall wellness, including these high-quality standouts:
- VIVIX®, available in liquid and liquid gel form, combines the power of muscadine grape polyphenols and resveratrol to slow aging at the cellular level*. This combination is 13x more powerful than resveratrol alone1 at slowing a key mechanism of cellular aging.*
- Collagen-9™: the most complete collagen product that includes all nine essential amino acids, 10 grams of collagen and a powerful combination of biotin and vitamin C, to promote healthy skin, hair, nails and joints.*
- MindWorks®: formulated with nutrients and extracts designed to help improve short term memory and focus and help protect against age relative cognitive decline.*‡§
After you feel younger, you also will want to look younger and see that glow even as you age. The key to beautiful, younger-looking skin is to accelerate skin cell renewal to a more youthful rate. Shaklee's YOUTHÒ Anti-Aging skincare collection addresses our age concerns in four simple steps:
- Luminous Gel Oil Cleanser: a 3-in-1, soap-free, pH-balanced cleanser that is suitable for all skin types that gently polishes and purifies and leaves you with radiant skin instantly.
- Perfecting Skin Toner: a patented blend of essential vitamins, polyphenols and botanicals to exfoliate, hydrate and nourish skin.
- Activating Serum: a powerful anti-aging treatment with vitamin A retinol and 10x the concentration of Shaklee's proprietary botanical complex to support collagen production and renewal at the cellular level.
- Restoring Eye Treatment: formulated with a potent peptide blend shown in a clinical study to reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles around the eyes in as few as seven days.**
The entire YOUTH product collection is 100% vegan and cruelty free. All Shaklee products are available to purchase on its website or through its more than 2 million ambassadors in North America and Asia.
Shaklee has been at the forefront of innovation in health & wellness as Dr. Shaklee invented the first multivitamin in the U.S. in 1915. And now today, healthy aging becomes that much easier with Shaklee's science-backed products. To learn more about Shaklee and its variety of clinically proven aging well products, visit: https://shaklee.com/.
Shaklee is a leading wellness company founded by Dr. Shaklee, who invented the first multivitamin in the U.S. more than 100 years ago. As a pioneer in sustainability, Shaklee was the first company in the world to fully offset its carbon emissions and have a net zero impact on our planet. Shaklee products are backed by over 110 published clinical studies proving safety and efficacy and are marketed through more than 2 million micro-influencers in North America and Asia. With a complete wellness portfolio, Shaklee is committed to providing consumers with the products and support they need to live their healthiest lives. For more information, visit us.shaklee.com, follow @shakleehq on Instagram, or like us on Facebook.
Roger Barnett is the Chairman and CEO of Shaklee Corporation, the first company in the world to become certified carbon neutral. A graduate of Yale College, Yale Law School, and Harvard Business School, Roger has spent the majority of his career as an impact investor. In 2004, he acquired control of Shaklee, the pioneer of nutritional supplements, and has since transformed this once analog business into a digital powerhouse with a network of 2 million ambassadors across the globe. He has been selected as a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum and is a member of the Harvard and Yale Schools of Public Health Leadership Councils, the University Council of Yale University, and the Yale University President's Council on International Activities.
1 Fisher, L., T. Ianiro, F. Lau, H. Wang and B. Daggy: Synergistic effects of phenolic mixtures in human cell models of aging. Experimental Biology 2015, Boston, Massachusetts, March 28-April 1, 2015. FASEB Journal 29:608.36, 2015.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
**As measured in a 28-day clinical study, 36 subjects, twice daily use.
†Clinically tested key ingredients.
§Based on a two-year study of 223 adults with mild cognitive impairment.
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SOURCE Shaklee Corporation | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/celebrate-healthy-aging-month-this-september-with-leading-wellness-company-shaklee/ | 2022-09-01T18:55:27Z |
Applying to become a sworn officer is easier, faster and more accessible
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) has strategically revised its application process to make it easier and more accessible for those interested in joining the agency as sworn officers. CMPD's entry requirements are still among the most selective in the state of North Carolina, ensuring that only the most committed, community-minded and talented officers are hired. However, the application process is now more streamlined, takes less time to complete and utilizes technology to help applicants prepare. For more information on how to apply, visit 6 ways applying to become a sworn officer is now easier and faster than ever.
"Our strategic review of our application process started two years ago," explains CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings. "Great candidates who were enthusiastic about serving our community were having to wait months, which sent the message that we weren't excited about bringing them on board. Today, joining CMPD is faster and simpler, and our $7,500 hiring bonus is competitive."
CMPD made applying faster by:
- Consolidating 13 steps to six
- Shortening the candidate review period from an up to six-month wait, to as few as eight weeks in some cases
- Offering combined testing (Nelson Denny Reading Assessment and fitness-related Job Related Physical Ability Test, or JRPAT) into a single day where both tests are offered to candidates each month
CMPD has leveraged technology:
- Candidates can now opt in to text notifications throughout the application process
- Making it possible for out-of-town candidates to complete standardized testing online
- Listing needed documentation online to make it easier to find
- Posting a JRPAT workout tutorial online with step-by-step instructions
CMPD is keeping candidates connected by:
- Hosting workout sessions at the Police Academy twice a month
- Offering educational support to assist trainees with the academic portion of the Academy
Online applications are accepted 24/7/365 and processed on rolling deadlines to maximize Academy enrollment. For recruitment and application information, please visit www.JoinCMPD.com.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, www.cmpd.org and www.JoinCMPD.com, is a progressive, technology-driven, metropolitan department that believes strongly in the principles of crime management, community collaboration, professional accountability and employee wellness. The department employs more than 1,900 sworn officers, 500 civilian employees and 500 volunteers. If the public has information about a crime, anonymous tips can be provided to Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or http://charlottecrimestoppers.com.
CONTACT: cmpdpio@cmpd.org
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SOURCE CMPD | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/charlotte-mecklenburg-police-department-overhauls-officer-recruitment/ | 2022-09-01T18:55:33Z |
CLMBR Connected 02 is available now for pre-order
DENVER, Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CLMBR, a leader in connected fitness technology, is off to a major start for the fall season. This month, the brand brings to market the second iteration of its vertical climbing machine available for pre-order today, September 1st, opens a second studio in Los Angeles, and launches a new Special Guest content series. This new generation of CLMBR boasts several updates, as well as upgrades to its technology, most notably, CLMBR Vision. CLMBR Vision gives users the ability to access live, dynamic coaching and feedback while they exercise, including off-machine strength rep counting, form adjustments, etc.
CLMBR, which counts Jay-Z, Odell Beckham Jr., Novak Djokovic, and Ryan Seacrest amongst its investors, is a disruptor in the at home fitness industry and continues to push the limits of connected fitness technology and design. Aside from CLMBR Vision, new features include a simplified center console, improved handles that let users adjust positioning for ease, optimized hardware for a more ergonomic experience and easier assembly, plus a new display with a thinner profile, crisper graphics, and high-quality optically bonded touch LED layer.
Additionally, users will have an even more efficient workout with enhanced resistance strength, giving the option for a more challenging routine. Improvements have also been made to the sound quality, giving the user a more robust sight and sound experience. A full list of all new features can be found below.
"We are thrilled to announce this new generation of CLMBR and push the boundaries of innovation within our category. Staying ahead of the curve and consistently improving is a vital part of our brand identity and we can't wait for our customers to enjoy this new experience with CLMBR." says CLMBR Co-Founder and CEO, Avrum Elmakis.
Elmakis founded CLMBR after he realized that climbing was a low-impact cardio workout that helped him feel strong, fast, and efficient without the wear and tear of traditional cardio exercise. He began working on a smarter, more dynamic climbing machine with high quality build and a low level of required maintenance. The machine works over 86% of the body's muscles without the strain caused by traditional workouts. A low-impact workout does not mean a low-quality workout, with CLMBR, users burn more calories in 30 minutes than with cycling, running, or rowing. It is truly a workout that works for almost all body types, ages, or fitness levels.
With the roll-out of 02, CLMBR introduces Special Guest Collections - a group of notable, fitness-inclined ambassadors from the world of sports, music, and entertainment that will co-lead classes for on-machine and off-machine workouts. The first group in this collective include Brooke Burke, DJ Ruckus and Chari Hawkins - with new faces announced each month. Content will be available exclusively through the CLMBR Premium Membership starting this September.
CLMBR 02 will be available on CLMBR.com and priced at $2,799 on November 1st, with special pre-order pricing of $2,295, launching September 1st through October 31st. Machines will begin shipping in December 2022. In-person, group fitness classes are available at CLMBR's studios in Denver and opening today in West Hollywood, LA.
About CLMBR
CLMBR is an innovative vertical climbing machine. It's the first vertical climber to feature a large-format touch display with on-demand, instructor-led classes. CLMBR's design is a high-quality build with a low level of required maintenance. It is easy to move – making it perfect for commercial or at-home use. The machine is beautiful with an open structural design that leaves the user's views unobstructed, supporting a natural athletic posture. It also offers the latest user interface technology and state-of-the-art companion app that provides on-demand climbing classes and displays key metrics to maximize the user's experience -- including vertical feet climbed, reach, and power. The integrated audio on CLMBR Connected can fill any space, making it feel just like an in-studio climbing class. Unlike many traditional fitness machines, CLMBR offers an efficient and effective full-body strength and cardio workout. With its low impact and ergonomic movement, CLMBR is safe for most ages and levels of ability. CLMBR is available directly to consumers on CLMBR.com, Amazon and Best Buy, as well as businesses, including gyms and fitness studios, hotels, and physical therapy facilities. The brand was also recently named a 2022 CES Innovation Award Honoree for CLMBR Connected.
PR CONTACT
clmbr@ledecompany.com
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SOURCE CLMBR | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/clmbr-revolutionary-ergonomic-vertical-climbing-machine-launches-second-generation-in-home-machine-opens-second-studio-launches-new-content-series/ | 2022-09-01T18:55:40Z |
CHICAGO, Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced that Chief Financial Officer John Pietrowicz, Deputy Chief Financial Officer Lynne Fitzpatrick and Senior Managing Director, Global Head of Commodities, Options & International Markets Derek Sammann will present a fireside chat at the Barclays Global Financial Services Conference in New York on Monday, September 12, 2022 at 2:45 p.m. (Eastern Time).
The presentation will be available for livestreaming via CME Group's investor website at http://investor.cmegroup.com. Please allow extra time prior to the presentation to visit the site and download the streaming media software required to listen to the online broadcast. An audio webcast will be available for replay at the same address approximately 24 hours following the conclusion of the conference.
About CME Group
As the world's leading derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) enables clients to trade futures, options, cash and OTC markets, optimize portfolios, and analyze data – empowering market participants worldwide to efficiently manage risk and capture opportunities. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals. The company offers futures and options on futures trading through the CME Globex platform, fixed income trading via BrokerTec and foreign exchange trading on the EBS platform. In addition, it operates one of the world's leading central counterparty clearing providers, CME Clearing.
CME Group, the Globe logo, CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Globex, and, E-mini are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. CBOT and Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc. NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange and ClearPort are trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange, Inc. BrokerTec and EBS are trademarks of BrokerTec Europe LTD and EBS Group LTD, respectively. Dow Jones, Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and S&P are service and/or trademarks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC, Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and S&P/Dow Jones Indices LLC, as the case may be, and have been licensed for use by Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
CME-G
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SOURCE CME Group | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/cme-group-executives-present-barclays-global-financial-services-conference/ | 2022-09-01T18:55:47Z |
KANSAS CITY, Mo., Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CUB Ventures is pioneering a partnership with Hot Seat Services, a veteran-owned leader in CDL driver recruiting, to advance the future of driver recruiting processes, products, and resources for carriers.
In a move that is set to revitalize recruiting in the trucking industry, CUB Ventures, parent company of CDLLife, Uhray, Bright Lights Media, and Veterans in Trucking, is excited to welcome Hot Seat Services, a leader in driver recruitment, to its family of brands, accelerating their expansion of industry-leading services within the CDL driver recruitment sector.
Working together, CUB Ventures and Hot Seat Services will transform carriers' ability to leverage CUB Ventures' advanced lead generation platforms and marketing capabilities, while maximizing the capacity of their recruitment through Hot Seat Services' range of product offerings. This partnership of services achieves greater agility for recruiting departments at trucking companies of any scale.
Hot Seat Services will continue to operate under the leadership of President, Charles Gracey alongside Travis Overton, President and Chief Executive Officer of CDLLife and member of the CUB Ventures board of directors. Hot Seat Services will be headquartered in Chattanooga, Tenn.
"I think that there is a shift within the transportation industry," said Travis Overton, "The carriers that recognize the need for seasoned and skilled recruiters are the ones getting ahead. I believe that the driver recruiter is the single most important piece of the recruiting puzzle. They have the ability to stretch your advertising budget further and ultimately decrease your marketing spend. At CUB Ventures, holistically, we know that we cannot achieve successful results for our clients without having deep insights and product offerings serving the driver recruitment process."
"Our combined efforts are something that this industry has never seen," said Charles Gracey, "Never before have carriers had the ability for a vendor to offer a full-service approach with industry-leading experience in both the lead generation and recruiting sectors of the driver-recruiting category. Whether it's lead generation management, technology development, or recruiting, we can cover it all, and all in one spot."
Combining the expert lead generation, brand management, and content creation offerings throughout CUB Ventures' existing subsidiaries with Hot Seat Services' deep experience in the recruiting realm will revolutionize driver recruitment strategy and performance throughout the trucking industry.
CUB Ventures connects companies with the nation's largest digital audience of truck drivers by creating engaging content and implementing industry-leading lead generation technology to increase carrier visibility to the workforce. The CUB Ventures family of brands includes CDLLife, Bright Lights Media, Uhray, and Veterans in Trucking.
Mission Statement: CUB Ventures innovates within the communities and technologies that drive connectedness, efficiency, and convenience for tomorrow's transportation sector.
For more information about CUB Ventures, please visit cub.ventures
Hot Seat Services is an industry leader in the CDL driver recruiting space. They serve carriers in the area of full-service 3rd-party driver recruiting and offer an array of additional services including rent-a-recruiter for carriers in need of turnkey recruiter capacity expansion.
Mission Statement: Hiring drivers is our jam!
For more information about Hot Seat Services, please visit hotseatservices.com
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SOURCE CUB Ventures | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/cub-ventures-hot-seat-services-team-up-power-expansion-driver-recruiting/ | 2022-09-01T18:55:53Z |
New East Coast Operation and Incremental Capabilities Added
SEATTLE, Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, DCG ONE, a Seattle-based marketing services organization, announces the acquisition of Corporate Communications Group (CCG) based in Upper Marlboro, MD, an integrated commercial print and direct marketing company, expanding the organization's high-volume direct mail, data, and fulfillment capabilities.
"As we grow our services, we are constantly seeking out ways to create more value for our clients all across the country. The addition of CCG provides us with key operations on the East Coast to complement our Seattle based headquarters" noted Brad Clarke, President of DCG ONE. "Additionally, their strategic direct marketing capabilities, specifically high-volume direct mail and fulfillment servicing a variety of verticals will be a great advantage for our current clients ongoing and future programs."
Founded in 1951, CCG has carved out a niche in the high-volume direct mail space and in addition has built a team of commercial print and fulfillment experts providing end to end solutions to help their clients realize their vision of creative, effective, and relevant communications across all media.
Michael Marcian, CEO of CCG added "As we analyzed different ways to grow and expand our expertise in the direct marketing space, making the decision to join the DCG ONE team became the clear and obvious choice. Their innovative approach to solving complex client problems, willingness to invest in new technologies and capabilities all tied together with a genuine culture and care for their people allowed us to feel great about the acquisition."
With roots in print production, DCG ONE has expanded in recent years in the areas of retail packaging and POS signage, branded merchandise, embedded technology solutions, customer experience, loyalty, and acquisition marketing. In addition, its full-service digital and brand agency division has provided their clients with a turn-key solution to marketing challenges – from concepts to final execution.
"It's a very exciting time to be at DCG ONE," says Tammy Peniston, DCG ONE's Chief Commercial Officer. "Throughout the years, we've worked tirelessly to do more than simply check boxes for our clients. We want to add value every day – and the addition of CCG and the talented team within will only further strengthen our ability to find the best solutions for our clients – anywhere in the country.
When big ideas, bold creative and brilliant delivery converge, business thrives. DCG ONE is a marketing, technology and print production powerhouse that helps companies expand opportunities, drive customer engagement and blow past their business goals. Our smart, seamless strategic approach always pushes what's possible. At DCG ONE, that's the whole idea.
Based in Seattle, WA, DCG ONE has grown to become one of the largest privately held marketing services providers in the country. With locations including Seattle and New York, NY, DCG ONE services a variety of Fortune 500 companies.
Contact:
Mandy DiCesare, Marketing Specialist
Mandy.DiCesare@dcgone.com
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SOURCE DCG ONE | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/dcg-one-acquires-corporate-communications-group-ccg/ | 2022-09-01T18:56:00Z |
BRENTWOOD, Tenn., Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Delek Logistics Partners, LP (NYSE: DKL) today announced that 2021 Schedule K-3 tax packages are now available on its website, www.deleklogistics.com. Unitholders may access their 2021 tax information by selecting the Tax Information link on the website.
Questions regarding the 2021 Tax Reporting Package can be addressed by contacting 1-855-301-4589 between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. CST Monday through Friday, or via email at DelekLogisticsK1Help@deloitte.com
About Delek Logistics Partners, LP
Delek Logistics Partners, LP is a midstream energy master limited partnership headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee. Through its owned assets and joint ventures located primarily in and around the Permian Basin, the Delaware Basin and other select areas in the Gulf Coast region, Delek Logistics Partners, LP provides gathering, pipeline and other transportation services primarily for crude oil and natural gas customers, storage, wholesale marketing and terminalling services primarily for intermediate and refined product customers, and water disposal and recycling services. Delek US Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: DK) ("Delek US") owns the general partner interest as well as a majority limited partner interest in Delek Logistics Partners, LP, and is also a significant customer.
Information about Delek Logistics Partners, LP can be found on its website (www.deleklogistics.com), investor relations webpage (https://www.deleklogistics.com/investor-relations), news webpage (https://www.deleklogistics.com/news-releases) and its Twitter account (@DelekLogistics).
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SOURCE Delek Logistics | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/delek-logistics-partners-lp-2021-k-3-tax-packages-available-website/ | 2022-09-01T18:56:06Z |
LAS VEGAS , Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- DemandScience, a global B2B data company that partners with customers to upgrade their sales pipelines, has become the Official Statistics Partner of the Shriners Children's Open. The new three-year relationship will begin with the 2022 tournament being held October 3 – 9 at TPC Summerlin In Las Vegas. As part of its activities in support of the annual charitable tournament, DemandScience will power live player statistics and analytics on new video boards throughout the course.
"We are excited to bring DemandScience on as our Official Statistics Partner at this year's Shriners Children's Open and are looking forward to working with them in 2022 and beyond. We are also thrilled to be providing fans with a new data-focused experience that underscores the important role that information and analytics play as the world's best golfers compete," remarked Patrick Lindsey, executive director of Shriners Children's Open, Las Vegas' only PGA TOUR event.
DemandScience is also the official B2B Sales Pipeline Generation Sponsor of the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions, which aligns perfectly with the company's mission to provide accurate data and predictive insights that enable their B2B sales and marketing customers to identify, activate, and convert the right buyers at the right time and achieve their growth goals.
Additionally, DemandScience has partnerships with 16 elite professional golfers from North America and Europe, including Matt Fitzpatrick, Cameron Young, Shane Lowry, Corey Conners, and Keegan Bradley. As brand ambassadors, each utilizes DemandScience-branded yardage books during play as they determine their best competitive moves.
"Becoming an official partner of the Shriners Children's Open and supporting the incredible work of the Shriners Children's health care system is one of the most important and rewarding steps DemandScience has taken as a company. Over the past 100 years Shriners has improved the lives of more than 1.5 million children and their families – nothing is more worthwhile," said Peter Cannone, Chair and CEO of DemandScience.
"We are also proud to be the Official Statistics Partner of the tournament because we believe in the power of data to help people succeed. Whether it is in a hospital, business or recreational setting, information and analytics can help people achieve better results, something we strive to do for our customers every day," Cannone added.
The 2022 Shriners Children's Open will bring the excitement of the FedExCup season to TPC Summerlin as the PGA TOUR brings the top professional golfers to the Las Vegas valley for the 39th consecutive year. Tickets for the 2022 Shriners Children's Open can be purchased online at shrinerschildrensopen.com.
The 2022 Shriners Children's Open brings the FedExCup to TPC Summerlin as the PGA TOUR returns to the Las Vegas valley for the 39th consecutive year in this weeklong charitable tournament. Defending champion, Sungjae Im will be one of the many top golfers in the world that will participate in the competition and help support the mission of Shriners Children's from Oct. 3 – 9 at TPC Summerlin. For more information, please visit www.shrinerschildrensopen.com.
Follow the Shriners Children's Open on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Link to Shriners Children's Open logo: https://spaces.hightail.com/space/EeDE7t9p9b
Shriners Children's is a health care system with locations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Our staff is dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing pediatric specialty care, conducting innovative research, and offering outstanding educational programs for medical professionals. Children up to age 18 with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate are eligible for care, regardless of the families' ability to pay. Within these broad service lines, many types of care are provided. For example, some locations offer reconstructive plastic surgery, treatment for craniofacial abnormalities or care for sports injuries. Generally, care is provided until age 18, although, in some cases, it may be extended to age 21. All services are provided in a compassionate, family-centered environment. For more information, please visit www.shrinerschildrens.org.
DemandScience is a global B2B data company that partners with customers to upgrade their sales pipelines. Our accurate data and predictive insights enable B2B sales and marketing professionals to identify, activate, and convert the right buyers at the right time and achieve their growth goals.
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SOURCE Shriners Children's Open | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/demandscience-becomes-official-partner-shriners-childrens-open/ | 2022-09-01T18:56:12Z |
THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minn., Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Digi-Key Electronics, which offers the world's largest selection of electronic components and automation products in stock for immediate shipment, announced that it has secured a distribution agreement in North America with Schneider Electric, one of the largest suppliers of electrical and automation and control products in the world.
As a result of this partnership, Digi-Key now offers a competitive selection of Schneider Electric's innovative, high quality and reliable power, automation and control, and sensor products.
"Together, Digi-Key and Schneider Electric are going the extra mile to provide the absolute best possible customer support," said Eric Wendt, director of automation, at Digi-Key. "Digi-Key customers can now access much of Schneider's portfolio of high-quality products for a wide range of applications and markets, ranging from industrial automation to power management, and many solutions in between."
"We are proud to grow our partnership with Digi-Key Electronics in expanding our offering to include industry-leading solutions from our Power, Industrial Automation and Sensor product lines across their eCommerce platform," said Emily Heitman, vice president of power products for Schneider Electric. "This partnership allows Schneider Electric to serve different types of customers and bring our solutions to new markets while providing innovative products and services they need, when and how they need them, to best support their business."
For more information about Schneider Electric and to order from their product portfolio, please visit the Digi-Key website.
About Schneider Electric
Schneider's purpose is to empower all to make the most of our energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability for all. We call this Life Is On. Our mission is to be your digital partner for Sustainability and Efficiency. We drive digital transformation by integrating world-leading process and energy technologies, end-point to cloud connecting products, controls, software and services, across the entire lifecycle, enabling integrated company management, for homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and industries. We are the most local of global companies. We are advocates of open standards and partnership ecosystems that are passionate about our shared Meaningful Purpose, Inclusive and Empowered values.
About Digi-Key Electronics
Digi-Key Electronics, headquartered in Thief River Falls, Minn., USA, is recognized as both the leader and continuous innovator in the high service distribution of electronic components and automation products worldwide. As the original pioneer in this space, Digi-Key provides more than 13.4 million components from over 2,300 quality name-brand manufacturers with an industry-leading breadth and depth of product in stock and available for immediate shipment. Beyond the products that drive technology innovation, Digi-Key also supports design engineers and procurement professionals with a wealth of digital solutions and tools to make their jobs more efficient. Additional information can be found at digikey.com and on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Editorial Contact
Megan Derkey
Bellmont Partners
+1 612-255-1115
digikey@bellmontpartners.com
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SOURCE Digi-Key Electronics | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/digi-key-announces-distribution-agreement-with-schneider-electric/ | 2022-09-01T18:56:18Z |
- Request reflects steps by the company to anticipate and keep pace with changes occurring in the Palmetto State to better serve customers
- Investments are improving resiliency, working toward an orderly transition to a secure energy future and improving the customer experience
- Proposal is the first by the company to increase base rates since 2018
GREENVILLE, S.C., Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy Progress today asked South Carolina regulators to review its rates as the company continues working to increase system reliability and resiliency, achieve a cleaner, smarter energy future, and enhance the customer experience for more than 172,000 customers in the Pee Dee region of South Carolina.
"We know how important electric service is for our customers and no one wants to see bills increase," said Mike Callahan, Duke Energy's South Carolina state president. "This is particularly true now as rising costs across most sectors of our economy impact consumers and businesses throughout South Carolina and the nation."
"These challenges affect the energy industry as a whole and – through smart investments – we're working hard to meet customers' expectations and build the foundation for a smarter energy future from which all South Carolinians can benefit. These investments in critical energy infrastructure are the main reason for the proposed rate increase," Callahan said.
To ease the impacts of these investments on its customers, the company's rate request before the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSCSC) proposes phasing in the proposed rate increases over two years.
If approved by the PSCSC, the total net impact of the proposed increase to residential customer bills is 14.7%. Commercial and industrial customers will see an average increase of around 7.8% (actual rates vary by customer class and size).
If approved, the charge for a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity beginning April 1, 2023, will increase $14.36 per month, from $133.01 to $147.37. Starting April 1, 2024, the total monthly impact for a typical residential customer using 1,000 kWh per month would increase an additional $4.40, for an average bill of $151.77 per month.
Customers struggling to pay their energy bills might qualify for assistance from various government and nonprofit programs for utility bills and other household expenses. Duke Energy also offers programs and resources to help customers manage their usage to mitigate the impact of rate changes as well as flexible payment arrangements to help customers experiencing uncertainty, to include flexible payment options including the Share the Light Fund, a Duke Energy program that provides energy assistance.
To learn more about these programs, details of the company's proposal and the rate review process, visit duke-energy.com/SCProgressRates.
Duke Energy Progress
Duke Energy Progress, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 12,500 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 1.7 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 29,000-square-mile service area in North Carolina and South Carolina.
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 50,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 28,000 people.
Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy transition to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business and at least a 50% carbon reduction from electric generation by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The 2050 net-zero goals also include Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 emissions. In addition, the company is investing in major electric grid enhancements and energy storage, and exploring zero-emission power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear.
Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2022 "World's Most Admired Companies" list and Forbes' "America's Best Employers" list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy's illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.
24-Hour media line: 800.559.3853
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SOURCE Duke Energy | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/duke-energy-progress-requests-rate-review-by-public-service-commission-south-carolina-build-cleaner-smarter-energy-future/ | 2022-09-01T18:56:25Z |
Equity Union's Matthew Karic and Andrew Dinsky, of The Dinsky Team secured the buyer in the significant real estate transaction.
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Equity Union announced its agents, Matthew Karic and Andrew Dinsky closed escrow on celebrity, Alyson Hannigan's home in Encino for a record $16 Million, representing the buyers. It's the most ever paid for a home on the market in Encino, California.
"The Sherman Residence" designed by famed architect Peter Tolkin sits on 3.26 acres south of Ventura Boulevard. The house is made up of series of board-formed concrete wood and glass pavilions connected by gallery spaces that together define a central courtyard.
"When my client's expressed interest in this property, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to show them this one-of-a-kind home. It's a true jewel in Los Angeles" – Matthew Karic. The Dinsky Team is one of the San Fernando Valley's most successful teams with sales of over $120 Million in 2021 and one of the top teams at Equity Union.
"I'm very proud of Matthew and Andrew on this incredible and record-breaking sale. This stunning property is unlike anything on the market in the San Fernando Valley and it's amazing to have their sale in the records under our Luxury Division at Equity Union," said Harma Hartouni, CEO of Equity Union.
About Equity Union: Founded by Harma Hartouni, groundbreaking REALTOR® and inspiring author of the memoir Getting Back Up, Equity Union was created to be a completely unique real estate company. With an unparalleled commitment to service, integrity and excellence, we're ready to both inspire your vision and help you bring it to life.
Contact:
Dan Stueve
+13105955875
dan@equityunion.com
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SOURCE Equity Union | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/equity-union-luxury-properties-celebrates-record-sale-alyson-hannigans-home/ | 2022-09-01T18:56:32Z |
SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Filevine, the leading legal work platform, announced today their continued focus on customers with the addition of an online user community. Filevine Innovators, a product-focused online forum, is the official community for Filevine users to connect. Innovators is open to Filevine's 25,000+ users, where they are encouraged to engage with each other and the company on all things Filevine.
As Filevine's customer base grows in number and diversity across organizations and legal practice areas, users are constantly seeking guidance on maximizing their use of the Filevine platform. Members of Innovators have access to categorized discussions on various topics, including upcoming events, product discussions, and a crowd-sourced best practices hub called "Ask a User." The community also hosts a public job board for members to post or browse current openings in the industry. The launch of Innovators further solidifies Filevine's focus on customers and comes shortly after the appointment of a leader for its Customers For Life team, Alison Holmlund, Chief Customer Officer.
"Filevine is a powerful and robust platform that is being used in a multitude of different ways across our vast user base. As a result, our customers are continuously seeking best practices and advice from others who use the platform similarly. Until now, there hasn't been a place to go to quickly and easily make those connections with other users," shares Holmlund. "Our hope is that Innovators becomes that place; where people learn, evolve and grow their use of Filevine through the connections they make with our user community and with us."
Along with categorized discussions, the community houses groups for members to connect based on commonalities like practice areas or geography. A private group inside Innovators serves as the primary communication channel for Filevine's Client Advisory Board (CAB). Members of Filevine CAB are highly engaged customers from diverse practice areas and locations. They meet quarterly with key team members to mastermind the product, corporate strategy, and other relevant topics. Between these highly individualized conversations and the new user community, Filevine is placing the voice of the customer as the top priority in everything it does.
"Filevine is constantly creating new ways for us to deliver legal services effectively," said Ryan McKeen of Connecticut Trial Firm, a CAB member. "Lawyers are generally closed off from sharing ideas. The Innovators community is an exception. There is a real hacker spirit to it. Where lawyers freely share their best ideas. It is refreshing."
Media Contact info
Aunalisa Arellano
Head of Customer Marketing
aunalisaarellano@filevine.com
(801) 657-5228
About Filevine
Filevine is changing the way legal work gets done for law practitioners and their clients. As the leading legal work platform, Filevine is dedicated to empowering all organizations with tools to simplify and elevate complex, high-stakes legal work. Powering everything from document management and client communication to contract lifecycle management and business analytics, over 25,000 legal professionals use Filevine daily to deliver excellence in every contract, deadline, and result. Filevine is the top legal software company on the Inc. 5000 list, has been named one of the Utah Business Fast 50, and is among the top 50 fastest-growing privately-owned software companies according to the 2021 Inc. 5000 list.
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SOURCE Filevine | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/filevine-invests-growing-customer-base-with-launch-innovators-its-official-user-community/ | 2022-09-01T18:56:39Z |
ATLANTA, Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Inc. magazine recently revealed that Herb'N Eden, an all-natural skincare company, is ranked No. 125 on its annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in America. The list represents a look at the most successful companies within the economy's independent businesses. Facebook, Under Armour, Microsoft, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000.
In addition to the national ranking, Herb'N Eden ranked No. 10 in Georgia and No. 12 in Consumer Products. "It has been nothing short of amazing to see the hard work we put in manifest into this type of recognition," says Terran Lewis, Co-Founder of Herb'N Eden. "We celebrate the growth we have been able to see in such a short amount of time, and we thank those who have supported us through their purchases, endorsements, likes and follows."
Quinton and Terran Lewis founded Herb'N Eden in 2015 to bring natural skincare products to the forefront of the market. Earlier this year, the husband and wife duo announced receiving a $1.2M investment to help grow and scale their business. Mercantile Venture Capital led the investment with participation from The Core Venture Studio, both stating that they were impressed with the Lewis' ability to sustain growth beyond the pandemic year while remaining risk-averse and prioritizing customer communications.
"The accomplishment of building one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S., in light of recent economic roadblocks, cannot be overstated," says Scott Omelianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc. "Inc. is thrilled to honor the companies that have established themselves through innovation, hard work, and rising to the challenges of today."
"We recognize how big of a feat it is to not only run a business amidst financial hardship but to grow as well. We're looking forward to continuing to reach new heights that will help pave a way for other Black entrepreneurs to to do the same," added Quinton Lewis.
To learn more about Herb N' Eden, visit www.herbneden.com.
Herb'N Eden's mission is to create holistic bath and body products that help maintain skin health. With products made from botanical ingredients and essential oils, Herb'N Eden strives to empower others with an alternative to the harsh chemicals found in today's market. For more information on Herb'N Eden, visit http://herbneden.com
Media Contact: Dorianne Kaboya, 678-451-7147, dorianne@medley-inc.com
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SOURCE Herb'N Eden | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/georgia-based-natural-skincare-brand-ranks-among-inc-500/ | 2022-09-01T18:56:46Z |
Severe weather, extended power outages and infrastructure failure are highlighting the need for standby power.
MILWAUKEE, Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- While you can't control severe weather, you can prepare for it. As we enter into National Preparedness Month, now is the time for families to create a power outage preparedness plan and take the steps necessary to keep their loved ones, home and property safe in the case of an outage.
Grid infrastructure failure and more frequent severe weather events are leading to longer power outages across the country. Data from the U.S. Department of Energy has found that the number of power outages from severe weather has doubled over the past two decades across the U.S and that 40 states are experiencing longer outages — with the problem most acute in regions seeing more extreme weather.
Power outages can be inconvenient, costly and, in some cases, even dangerous. As an outage extends on from hour to hour, so does the strain on a family's time, comfort and finances. However, solutions exist to help mitigate — and even avoid — the impacts of a home outage. Briggs & Stratton recommends investing in a backup power solution, such as a home standby generator.
Owning a home standby generator provides security and confidence that a family's life will continue uninterrupted, no matter the weather conditions outside. When the power goes out, day or night, a home standby generator takes over within seconds, keeping all of a household's important appliances running, including an HVAC system, sump pump, refrigerator and freezer —not to mention lights and other conveniences that are helpful during a storm.
Purchasing the right home standby home generator is an important part of being prepared for the unexpected. Home standby generators such as Briggs & Stratton Home Generators are permanently installed outside a home and connected to a natural gas or liquid propane fuel source. They're designed to supply power for an entire home and have an automatic transfer switch so that power comes on without any action needed from the owner.
"As we continue to see extreme weather events and outages from grid failure occur more frequently across the U.S., it's more important than ever for families to have a plan in place for when the unexpected happens," said Michelle Gross, Senior Director of Marketing — Energy Solutions at Briggs & Stratton. "Briggs & Stratton is here to help keep families powered when they need it most and to provide them with peace of mind with our cutting-edge standby power solutions."
Briggs & Stratton also offers scalable and versatile energy storage systems that help to create power resilience for home and business owners, on or off the grid. From providing comfort and protection during an outage to subsidizing daily utility costs, energy storage systems can give home and business owners true energy independence and security. Recent climate legislation passed in Congress is incentivizing the addition of energy storage systems to homes and businesses through cost-saving benefits, including a 30% federal tax credit for battery storage systems.
To learn more about preparing for weather emergencies and Briggs & Stratton standby power and energy storage solutions, visit BriggsAndStratton.com.
Briggs & Stratton, headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, provides innovative products and diverse power solutions to help people get work done. Briggs & Stratton is the world's largest producer of engines for outdoor power equipment, and is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of lithium-ion battery, standby generator, energy storage system, lawn and garden, turf care and job site products through its Briggs & Stratton®, Vanguard®, Ferris®, Simplicity®, Snapper®, Billy Goat®, Allmand®, SimpliPhi®, Branco® and Victa® brands. Briggs & Stratton products are designed, manufactured, marketed and serviced in more than 100 countries on six continents.
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SOURCE Briggs & Stratton | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/get-ready-national-preparedness-month-with-briggs-amp-stratton/ | 2022-09-01T18:56:53Z |
Eagle Eye Power Solutions celebrates new facility and battery lab with open house event
MEQUON, Wis., Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Having recently outgrown its nearby Milwaukee offices, Eagle Eye Power Solutions purchased and moved into a new 53,000-square-foot facility a few miles north in January. After months of renovating the new space, it was time to open its doors to out-of-town customers and partners in late July.
Some of the highlights of this two-day Open House event were:
- Hands-on training sessions with customers and rep groups in the battery lab
- A live podcast recording of a Q&A with resident battery experts
- Catered barbecue dinner with staff, friends, families, and business partners
Also in attendance was the Missouri-based Eagle Eye Services team, who worked together with the engineering team, to perform training workshops throughout the week. With everyone focused on collaboration, Eagle Eye CEO, Ryan Sberna, said the week was a worthwhile investment into the company.
"Having everyone here together in one place was an invaluable experience. Not only did it allow us to have in-person meetings about pressing business items, but we also had the chance to catch up with one another on a personal level as well."
With almost all COVID travel restrictions finally lifted across much of the country, this was the first time for many distant guests to visit the new facility.
"It's easy to get caught up with the day-to-day work and not take the time to meet up with people face-to-face. The Open House was a great opportunity to take a mid-year break, focus on relationships and talk to one another in-person about what needs to be accomplished in Q3 and Q4," said Service Manager, Erik Knudtson.
Drafting off the momentum of the Open House, Eagle Eye looks forward to hosting more training and relationship-building events with valued customers and partners in the future.
"We're excited to be in this new space where we have an opportunity to do so many things. We'll continue expanding our capabilities, adding more training stations to our battery lab and building out a podcast studio to allow us to take part in more conversations with industry experts. It's all about continuing to make our headquarters a hub for thought leadership in the industry," said Sberna.
Headquartered in Mequon, WI, Eagle Eye Power Solutions is the global leader in combining Critical Power Education, Solutions and Services. With a team of DC Power specialists to draw upon, Eagle Eye works with Utilities and other Critical Power clients to increase reliability, decrease costs, and meet compliance.
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SOURCE Eagle Eye Power Solutions | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/growing-critical-power-solutions-provider-unveils-new-headquarters/ | 2022-09-01T18:56:59Z |
STAMFORD, Conn., Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hedgeye Risk Management, a leading independent investment research and online financial media firm, announced today its 2nd annual simulated trading contest for traders and investors. Participants will compete against one another for a chance to win over $20,000 in cash prizes throughout the competition and over $100,000 in investing research.
The contest is called "HedgEye On The Prize." Registration is now open.
Trading officially begins on September 6th and ends on October 28th. Contestants can enter at any time. Once registered, contestants will receive $100,000 in fantasy trading funds deposited to their virtual portfolio. From there, contestants can trade a comprehensive list of Macro ETFs and stock ideas from Hedgeye's own research.
There are many ways to win. In addition to the $5,000 Grand Prize, Hedgeye will award:
- $3,000 for 2nd place
- $2,000 for 3rd place
- $1,500 for 4th place
- $1,000 for 5th place
Thousands of dollars will also be awarded to contestants with top-performing portfolios on a weekly and monthly basis.
"We are big believers in competition," said Hedgeye Founder Keith McCullough. "My teammates and I wake up every morning with the explicit goal of outworking our competition and delivering superior results to our subscribers. This contest is a natural extension of our competitive spirit and Hedgeye's core mission to help investors protect and grow their portfolio with math and data, instead of narratives."
In addition to over $20,000 in cash prizes, Hedgeye is giving away ten annual subscriptions to its most comprehensive investing research bundle, "Macro Pro." Top-10 finishers will receive access to "Macro Pro" ($10,000 value) for an entire year.
The contest's winner will receive an all-expenses paid trip to appear on HedgeyeTV in the firm's Stamford, Connecticut headquarters. The prize includes a two-night stay at a NYC Hotel, a $500 Visa gift card, one round-trip flight and an invitation to have lunch with Hedgeye Founder and CEO Keith McCullough.
All contestants will receive a series of complimentary online coaching sessions with McCullough, a successful hedge fund manager before launching Hedgeye in 2008. McCullough will review the leaderboard live on HedgeyeTV and analyze the trading set-up for top contestants' virtual holdings. Hedgeye will invite top contestants to join McCullough live on HedgeyeTV to discuss their virtual portfolio and decision-making.
"Our team is incredibly excited to host this trading contest again, particularly given the success of last year's competition," said Michael Blum, President of Hedgeye. "Wall Street continues to fail investors. That's a huge opportunity for us. As much as we're an independent investment research and online financial media company, we're also in the education business. At our core, Keith and our team of 40+ research analysts help investors stack the odds in their favor by learning a much better way to invest."
For more information (including contest rules and conditions) and to register visit: www.HedgEyeOnThePrize.com.
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SOURCE Hedgeye Risk Management | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/hedgeye-hosting-2nd-annual-simulated-trading-tournament-featuring-over-120000-cash-prizes/ | 2022-09-01T18:57:05Z |
Injective Pro rebrands to Helix with new features, advanced trading capabilities, and an intuitive convert interface
NEW YORK, Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Injective Pro, a decentralized derivatives exchange, has announced a rebrand to "Helix" while also introducing a wide array of new features and advanced trading capabilities.
Helix launches in pursuit of bringing a premier decentralized trading experience to the masses. Helix holds the record of becoming one of the fastest growing exchanges upon launch, reaching over $1 billion in cumulative trading volume in just one month. Since then Helix has catapulted to new heights, attaining over $7 billion in cumulative trading volume across spot and perpetual markets.
Helix launches with advanced trading capabilities such as stop-limit orders, which allow a position to be automatically closed upon the asset reaching a predetermined price. Helix is powered by Injective which, following the recent $40M funding announcement from Jump Crypto and Brevan Howard, has continued to push forward as a blockchain for finance. Injective's CosmWasm smart contract layer allows for a multitude of new applications, such as Helix, to be built on-chain.
Helix also introduces a new Convert interface for everyday users to swap digital assets on a simplified interface. Novice traders will now be able to place spot market orders easily on a decentralized order book exchange with this new Convert feature.
With the combination of advanced conditional orders and an intuitive Convert interface, Helix is aiming to break new ground with everyday and institutional traders alike.
"Helix has been meticulously designed to enable any user to seamlessly trade crypto assets across both spot and perpetual markets," said Eric Chen, co-founder and CEO of Injective Labs. "The trading environment is further helped by the institutional gateways we are able to open via our custom API that is built with top tier financial firms in mind."
Helix also features some of the lowest fees on any exchange, centralized or decentralized, with up to -1 bps maker fees on governance approved market listings. Over the coming months, Helix plans to introduce a series of upgrades to continue its ascent.
To learn more about Helix, follow @HelixApp_ on Twitter or visit www.helixapp.com.
About Helix
Helix is the premier fully-decentralized order book exchange for trading cryptoassets.
It features an easy-to-use interface for novice and native crypto traders alike, helping to bring DeFi trading to the masses. Helix offers best-in-class security with near zero fees, lightning fast speeds, and unmatched rebates to create the most vibrant trading environment.
About Injective
Injective is an open, interoperable, layer 1 blockchain built for finance applications.
It provides a powerful smart contracts platform tailored for DeFi developers to quickly build and launch dApps for widespread use. Injective uniquely provides traditional finance infrastructures, such as an order book module, on-chain and is highly interoperable with prominent layer 1s, including Ethereum and Cosmos.
Injective is built with the Cosmos SDK and utilizes a Tendermint proof-of-stake consensus for secure transactions with instant finality.
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SOURCE Injective | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/helix-launches-injective-bring-crypto-masses/ | 2022-09-01T18:57:11Z |
SALEM, Ore., Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hope Orthopedics of Oregon has announced the addition of fellowship-trained orthopedic hand surgeon, Dr. Allison Mitchell to their Salem, Oregon clinic, located at 1600 State Street. Dr. Mitchell will be joining Hope's hand/wrist service line on September 1, 2022.
Dr. Mitchell comes to Hope Orthopedics after completing a prestigious hand surgery fellowship at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. She completed her orthopedic residency at Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA and received her medical degree from David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA where she graduated with honors.
"We are excited to have Dr. Mitchell join our team!" said orthopedic hand surgeon, Dr. Jeffrey Knight. "She will enhance our capacity at Hope Orthopedics to serve patients as the largest and only team of surgeons in the Mid-Willamette Valley that have all completed advanced fellowship training specifically in conditions of the hand and wrist and that all dedicate their practice full-time to hand, wrist and elbow conditions."
Hope Orthopedics CEO, Lorissa Addabbo added, "In looking to expand our hand and wrist service line, Dr. Mitchell was the natural choice. Her exceptional training and passion for medicine will greatly enrich our already stellar line-up of orthopedic physicians."
Dr. Mitchell is new to the Pacific Northwest and looking forward to settling into the Salem community. She enjoys hiking, camping, fly fishing, and watching football in her spare time. To learn more about Allison Mitchell, MD, please call (503) 540-6300.
About Hope Orthopedics of Oregon:
Hope Orthopedics of Oregon is a full-service orthopedic practice devoted to the diagnosis and treatment of injuries and diseases of the musculoskeletal system, providing general orthopedic and sports medicine, as well as hand therapy and physical therapy. For more information visit www.HopeOrthopedics.com.
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SOURCE Hope Orthopedics of Oregon | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/hope-orthopedics-oregon-expands-handwrist-service-with-dr-allison-mitchell/ | 2022-09-01T18:57:18Z |
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