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KHAR, Pakistan (AP) — An Afghan branch of Islamic State on Monday claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Pakistan that killed at least 54 people at a pro-Taliban party’s election rally, in one of the region’s worst attacks in recent years.
Islamic State in Khorasan Province made the claim in a statement posted on its Amaq website. It said the attacker detonated an explosive vest, and that the bombing in the northwestern town of Bajur was part of the group’s continuing war against forms of democracy it deems to be against Islam.
Hours earlier, hundreds of mourners in Bajur carried caskets draped in colorful cloths to burial sites following the previous day’s attack at the election rally for the Jamiat Ulema Islam party. Officials said Sunday’s bombing killed 54 people, including at least five children, and wounded nearly 200.
The attack appeared to reflect divisions between Islamist groups, which have a strong presence in the district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan. The Jamiat Ulema Islam party has ties to the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban.
At least 1,000 people were crowded into a tent near a market for the rally ahead of fall elections, according to police.
“People were chanting God is Great as the leaders arrived,” said Khan Mohammad, a local resident who said he was standing outside the tent, “and that was when I heard the deafening sound of the bomb.”
Mohammad said he heard people crying for help, and minutes later ambulances arrived and began taking the wounded away.
Police had suggested in their initial investigation that Islamic State in Khorasan Province was a suspect. The group is based in neighboring Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province and is a rival of the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaida.
Pakistan security analyst Mahmood Shah also previously had said that breakaway factions of the Pakistani Taliban could be possible suspects, though the group distanced itself from the attack.
The Pakistani military spent years fighting the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, in Bajur before declaring the district clear of militants in 2016. But the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, headed by hard-line cleric and politician Fazlur Rehman, has remained a potent political force.
On Monday, police recorded statements from some of the wounded at a hospital in Khar, the district’s principal town.
Female relatives and children wailed and beat their chests at family homes Monday as the dead were taken for funerals, following local customs. Hundreds of men followed the caskets to mosques and open areas for special funeral prayers and then into the hills for burial.
As condolences continued to pour in from across the country, dozens of people who had lesser injuries were discharged from hospital, while the critically wounded were taken to the provincial capital of Peshawar by army helicopters. The death toll continued to rise as some critically wounded people died in hospital, physician Gul Naseeb said.
Gul Akbar, the father of an 11-year-old boy who was wounded in the attack, told The Associated Press that his entire family was in a state of shock after hearing about the bombing Sunday. He said he first went to the scene of the attack, and later found his son Taslim Khan being treated in a hospital in Khar.
“What would I have done if he had also been martyred? Five children died in this barbaric attack, and we want to know what our children did wrong,” he said.
Rehman’s party is preparing to contest elections, which are expected in October or November. Abdul Rasheed, one of the party’s senior leaders, said the bombing was aimed at weakening the party but that “such attacks cannot deter our resolve.”
Rehman’s party is part of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition government, which came to power in April 2022 by ousting former Prime Minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence vote in the legislature.
Sharif called Rehman to express his condolences and assure the cleric that those who orchestrated the attack would be punished. Khan condemned the bombing Sunday, as did the U.S. and Russian embassies in Islamabad.
The Pakistani Taliban also distanced themselves from the bombing, saying that it was intended to set Islamists against each other. Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, wrote in a tweet that “such crimes cannot be justified in any way.”
The bombing came hours before Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng arrived in Islamabad, where he signed new agreements to boost trade and economic ties to mark a decade of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a sprawling package under which China has invested $10 billion in Pakistan over 10 years, according to Sharif.
“We will not tolerate any obstacles in the way of friendship with China,” Sharif said, as he stood next to He.
But the government canceled a cultural event that had been arranged in honor of He, according to Sharif, while the nation mourns.
Some Chinese nationals have also been targeted by militants in northwestern Pakistan and elsewhere.
Rehman, who has long supported Afghanistan’s Taliban government, survived at least two known bomb attacks in 2011 and 2014, when bombings damaged his car at rallies.
Sunday’s bombing was one of the worst in northwestern Pakistan in the last decade. In 2014, 147 people, mostly schoolchildren, were killed in a Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar.
In January, 74 people were killed in a bombing at a mosque in Peshawar. And in February, more than 100 people, mostly policemen, died in a bombing at a mosque inside a high-security compound housing Peshawar police headquarters.
___
Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed contributed to this story from Islamabad.
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https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/ap-pakistan-holds-funerals-as-government-vows-to-hunt-down-those-behind-the-weekends-suicide-bombing/
| 2023-07-31T21:07:21
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This article was written by a human.
That's worth mentioning because it's no longer something you can just assume. Artificial intelligence that can mimic conversation, whether written or spoken, has been in the news a lot this year, delighting some members of the public while worrying educators, politicians, the World Health Organization, and even some of the people developing AI technology.
Misuse of AI is part of what actors and writers are striking about in Hollywood, and the threat of AI is something Hollywood was imagining long before it was real.
In 1968, for instance, the year before humans first set foot on the moon — and a time when astronauts still used pencils and slide rules to calculate re-entry trajectories because their space capsules had less computing power than a digital watch has today — Stanley Kubrick introduced movie audiences to a sentient HAL-9000 computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
HAL (for Heuristically Programmed Algorithmic Computer) introduced itself early in the film by saying, "No 9000 computer has ever made a mistake or distorted information. We are all, by any practical definition of the words, foolproof and incapable of error."
'Open the pod bay door, HAL'
So why was HAL acting so strangely? He (it?) was responsible for maintaining all aspects of a months-long space flight, ferrying astronauts to the moons of Jupiter. Programmed to run the mission flawlessly, the computer's behavior had become alarming, and two of the astronauts had decided to shut down some of its functions. Their plan was short-circuited when HAL, lip-reading a conversation they'd managed to keep him from hearing, cast one of them adrift while he was outside the ship repairing an antenna and refused to let the other back on board.
"Open the pod bay door, HAL" became one of the most quoted film lines of the decade when the computer responded, "I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that. This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it."
It's hard to articulate what a genuine shock this was for 1960s movie audiences. There'd been films with, say, robots causing havoc, but they were generally robots doing someone else's bidding. Movie robots, at that point, were about brawn, not brain.
And anyway, malevolent robot stories were precisely the sort of B-movie silliness Kubrick was trying to avoid. So his intelligent machine simply observed (with an unblinking red eye) and, when addressed directly, spoke with a calm, modulated voice, not unlike the one that would be adopted four decades later by Siri and Alexa.
Darwin Among the Machines
Earlier literary notions of "artificial" intelligence — and there were not a lot of them at that point — hadn't really caught the public's imagination. Samuel Butler's 1863 article Darwin Among the Machines, is generally thought to be the origin of this species of writing, and it mostly just notes that while humankind invented machines to assist us — and remember, a really sophisticated machine in 1863 was the steam locomotive — we were increasingly assisting them: tending, fueling, repairing.
Over tens of thousands of years, Butler wondered, might humans not evolve in much the same way Darwin's study of natural selection had just established the rest of the plant and animal kingdoms do, to the point that we would become dependent on our devices?
But even when he incorporated that idea a decade later into a satirical novel called Erewhon, expounding for several chapters on self-replicating machines, Butler barely touched on the notion that those machines would develop consciousness. And neither did the influential 19th-century science fiction writers who followed him. H.G. Wells and Jules Verne invented plenty of unorthodox devices as they sent characters to the center of the Earth, and into space and the recesses of time, without ever considering that those devices might want to do things on their own.
The term "artificial intelligence" wasn't even coined (by American computer scientist John McCarthy) until about a dozen years before Kubrick made his Space Odyssey. But HAL made an impression on the public where scientists had not. Within just a couple of years, movie computers didn't just want spaceship domination; in Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970), they wanted to take over the world.
Malignant machines gone viral
And then this notion of technology-run-wild, ran wild. A high school student played by Matthew Broderick nearly started World War III in WarGames (1983) when he thought he was hacking a computer company's website but accidentally challenged the Pentagon's defense network to a quick game of "global thermonuclear war." The problem, it soon became clear, was that no one told the defense network they were just "playing."
Elsewhere, mechanical men stopped being all-brawn and got a new dispensation to think for themselves, something fiction had granted them before Hollywood got around to it.
In the 1940s, sci-fi novelist Isaac Asimov came up with "Three Laws of Robotics" that would theoretically keep "independent" machines in line. When Asimov's story I, Robot, was turned into a film a half-century or so later, those laws should have reassured Will Smith as he stared down thousands of bots. But he had good reason to be skeptical; he was fighting a robot rebellion.
The Terminator movies effectively put all these themes on steroids — cyborgs in the service of a computerized, sentient, civil-defense network called Skynet, designed to function without any human input. A "Nuclear Fire" and three billion human deaths later, what was left of humanity was engaged in a war against the machines that has so far consumed six films, a TV series, a pair of web series, and innumerable games.
And nuclear blasts weren't necessary to make machine intelligence alarming, a fact cyberpunk-noir established definitively in Blade Runner with its "replicants," and in a Matrix series that reduced all of humanity to a mere power source for machines.
Hollywood's still fighting that vision. Who knows what "The Entity" wants in Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning (presumably we'll find out next year in Part Two), but whatever it is, it won't bode well for humanity.
Hollywood concentrates on exploiting our fears — in the late 20th century, we worried about ceding control to technology. In the 21st century, we worry about losing control of technology.
It seems not to have occurred to Tinseltown that AI might do the things it's actually doing — make social media dangerous, or make undergrad writing courses unteachable, or screw up relationships by auto-completing incorrectly. None of those are terribly cinematic, so Hollywood concentrates on exploiting our fears — in the late 20th century, we worried about ceding control to technology. In the 21st century, we worry about losing control of technology.
Bring on the droids
Have there also been friendlier film visions of AI? Sure. George Lucas came up with lovable droids R2-D2 and C-3PO for Star Wars, and Pixar gave us Wall-E, a bot who was pluckily determined to clean up an entire planet we'd despoiled.
Spike Jonze's drama Her imagined a sentient, Siri-like personal assistant as a digital girlfriend. Star Trek's Data was not just a Next Generation android version of Mr. Spock, but also a sort of emotion-challenged Pinocchio.
And another Pinocchio — this one fashioned to stand the test of time — would have been Stanley Kubrick's own answer to the question he'd posed with HAL in 1968.
Kubrick labored for decades to hone the script for A.I. Artificial Intelligence, then just two years before he died, handed the project off to Steven Spielberg — the story of David, a robot child who has been programmed to love, and who ends up going beyond that programming.
"Until you were born," William Hurt's Professor Hobby told the bionic child he'd modeled on his own son, "robots didn't dream, robots didn't desire unless we told them what to want." The miracle, he went on, was that though David was engineered rather than born, he shared with humans "the ability to chase down our dreams...something no machine has ever done, until you."
That may not have been enough to make David a real boy, but it put a gentle face on what is perhaps our greatest fear about AI – that we are mortal, and it is not.
In the film, David outlives all of humanity, never growing up, never changing. And perhaps because he was played by Haley Joel Osment, or perhaps because Spielberg was calling the shots, or perhaps because the music swelled ... just so — it didn't feel the least bit threatening.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
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https://www.ctpublic.org/2023-07-31/open-the-pod-bay-door-hal-heres-how-ai-became-a-movie-villain
| 2023-07-31T21:07:21
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ENGLEWOOD, Colo., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- WOW! Internet, TV & Phone (NYSE: WOW), a leading broadband provider in the United States, announced today it will host a webcast and conference call on Tuesday, August 8, 2023, at 8:00 a.m. ET to discuss financial and operating results for the second quarter 2023. WOW! will issue a news release reporting its results earlier that morning.
The conference call will be broadcast live on the company's investor relations website at ir.wowway.com. Those parties interested in participating via telephone should dial (888) 330-3556 with the conference ID number 4844814. International callers should dial (646) 960-0826 and use the same conference ID number.
A replay of the call will be available August 8, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. ET, on the investor relations website or by telephone. To access the telephone replay, which will be available until August 22, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. ET, please dial (800) 770-2030 or (647) 362-9199 and use conference ID 4844814.
About WOW! Internet, TV & Phone
WOW! is one of the nation's leading broadband providers, with an efficient and high-performing network that passes nearly 2 million residential, business and wholesale consumers. WOW! provides services in 15 markets, primarily in the Midwest and Southeast, including Michigan, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, including the new all-fiber network in Central Florida. With an expansive portfolio of advanced services, including high-speed Internet services, cable TV, home phone, mobile phone, business data, voice, and cloud services, the company is dedicated to providing outstanding service at affordable prices. WOW! also serves as a leader in exceptional human resources practices, having been recognized 10 times by the National Association for Business Resources as a Best & Brightest Company to Work For in the Nation, winning the award for the last six consecutive years and making the 2022 Top 101 National Winners list. Visit wowway.com for more information.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE WideOpenWest, Inc.
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https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/wideopenwest-inc-announce-second-quarter-2023-financial-results/
| 2023-07-31T21:07:22
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https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/wideopenwest-inc-announce-second-quarter-2023-financial-results/
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DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Ford is recalling more than 870,000 newer F-150 pickup trucks in the U.S. because the electric parking brakes can turn on unexpectedly.
The recall covers certain pickups from the 2021 through 2023 model years with single exhaust systems. Ford’s F-Series pickups are the top-selling vehicles in the U.S.
The company says in documents posted by government safety regulators Friday that a rear wiring bundle can come in contact with the rear axle housing. That can chafe the wiring and cause a short circuit, which can turn on the parking brake without action from the driver, increasing the risk of a crash.
Drivers may see a parking brake warning light and a warning message on the dashboard.
Ford says in documents that it has 918 warranty claims and three field reports of wire chafing in North America. Of these, 299 indicated unexpected parking brake activation, and 19 of these happened while the trucks were being driven.
The company says it doesn’t know of any crashes or injuries caused by the problem.
Dealers will inspect the rear wiring harness. If protective tape is worn through, the harness will be replaced. If the tape isn’t worn, dealers will install a protective tie strap and tape wrap.
Owners will be notified by letter starting Sept. 11.
Owners with questions can call Ford customer service at (866) 436-7332.
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https://www.ksn.com/news/business/recalls/ford-recalling-870000-f-150-pickups-over-malfunctioning-parking-brakes/
| 2023-07-31T21:07:23
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https://www.ksn.com/news/business/recalls/ford-recalling-870000-f-150-pickups-over-malfunctioning-parking-brakes/
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Berry on Burrow's injury, Purdy's outlook with SF
July 31, 2023 02:09 PM
Matthew Berry, Jay Croucher, and Connor Rogers analyze the latest injury news around the NFL, including Joe Burrow's calf strain, how Brock Purdy's return affects the 49ers' QB room, Breece Hall's progress and more.
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https://www.nbcsports.com/watch/nfl/disconnect-between-taylor-irsay-past-present-rbs
| 2023-07-31T21:07:26
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https://www.nbcsports.com/watch/nfl/disconnect-between-taylor-irsay-past-present-rbs
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — DNA from a bloody knife and video footage are crucial pieces of evidence against a tech consultant charged with murder in the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee, who was found bleeding on a deserted San Francisco street in April, prosecutors argued Monday.
The San Francisco prosecutor’s office began laying out its case against Nima Momeni, 38, at a preliminary hearing in which a judge will decide if there’s enough evidence to go to trial.
Prosecutors say Momeni planned the attack, drove Lee to a secluded spot and stabbed him three times after a dispute related to Momeni’s younger sister.
They have not spelled out a motive, but previously offered a timeline in a case that has drawn outsized media attention, partly due to Lee’s status in the tech world. Lee created Cash App, a mobile payment service, and was the chief product officer of the cryptocurrency MobileCoin.
Momeni, who has been in jail since his arrest April 13, has pleaded not guilty. He faces 26 years to life if convicted.
The arrest came more than a week after Lee, 43, was found in a deserted part of downtown San Francisco early April 4. He later died at a hospital.
On Monday morning, Assistant District Attorney Omid Talai introduced evidence, including photos of a knife that prosecutors say Momeni used to stab Lee, a trail of blood left by Lee as he staggered for help, and video footage showing the two men leave Momeni’s sister’s condo building before the stabbing.
Talai said at a May hearing that the weapon was part of a unique kitchen set belonging to his sister and that analysis showed Momeni’s DNA on the weapon’s handle and Lee’s DNA on the bloody blade. Police recovered a knife with a 4-inch (10-centimeter) blade at the scene.
Saam Zangeneh, one of Momeni’s lawyers, suggested to reporters Monday during a break that the investigation conducted by the San Francisco police was far from thorough.
He questioned why the rubber handle of the knife was tested for only DNA and not fingerprints. SFPD crime scene investigator Rosalyn Check said that it is difficult to get prints off rubber.
“When you want to see if someone’s touching something, you do fingerprint analysis, right?” he said. “And they weren’t done on the handle, which is the most important, relevant portion of who, if any, was handling that item.”
Zangeneh has yet to elaborate on the defendant’s version of events.
Momeni brought in Zangeneh and Bradford Cohen, both based in Florida. His first attorney, Paula Canny, withdrew in late May, citing a conflict of interest that she declined to disclose.
At prosecutors’ urging, Momeni has been held without bail. In arguing for release pending trial, Canny said that Momeni was not a flight risk and would not leave the two people he loves most, his sister and mother. She said Momeni needs to fight the charges or face deportation to Iran, a country that his mother fled when the children were younger to escape a violent husband.
An unnamed friend of Lee told homicide investigators they had been hanging out and drinking with Momeni’s sister the day before the stabbing, prosecutors said in their motion to deny bail.
The friend said Momeni later questioned Lee about whether his sister was doing drugs or otherwise engaging in inappropriate behavior and Lee said she had not.
Surveillance video showed Lee later entering the posh Millennium Tower downtown, where Momeni’s sister Khazar lives with her husband, prominent San Francisco plastic surgeon Dino Elyassnia. Video footage then showed Lee and Momeni leaving the building together shortly after 2 a.m. and driving off in Momeni’s car.
Lee was found shortly after 2:30 a.m. in the Rincon Hill neighborhood, which has tech offices and condominiums but little activity in the early morning hours.
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https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/ap-san-francisco-prosecutors-to-lay-out-murder-case-against-consultant-in-death-of-cash-apps-bob-lee/
| 2023-07-31T21:07:27
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https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/ap-san-francisco-prosecutors-to-lay-out-murder-case-against-consultant-in-death-of-cash-apps-bob-lee/
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African leaders backed by the U.S. and France have given a week for coup leaders in Niger to step down and restore the democratically elected president.
Copyright 2023 NPR
African leaders backed by the U.S. and France have given a week for coup leaders in Niger to step down and restore the democratically elected president.
Copyright 2023 NPR
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https://www.ctpublic.org/2023-07-31/u-s-france-and-african-leaders-give-coup-leaders-in-niger-one-week-to-step-down
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https://www.ctpublic.org/2023-07-31/u-s-france-and-african-leaders-give-coup-leaders-in-niger-one-week-to-step-down
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Delivered record-breaking second quarter performance in Total Revenues, Operating Profit and net new adds
Total Revenues up 25%; System Sales grew 32% in constant currency; Operating Profit increased 216%
Store openings accelerated, 655 net new adds in the first half, on track for full-year net new store target
SHANGHAI, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Yum China Holdings, Inc. (the "Company" or "Yum China") (NYSE: YUMC and HKEX: 9987) today reported unaudited results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023.
Second Quarter Highlights
- Total revenues increased 25% year over year to $2.65 billion from $2.13 billion (a 32% increase excluding foreign currency translation ("F/X")).
- Total system sales increased 32% year over year, with increases of 32% at KFC and 30% at Pizza Hut, excluding F/X. Growth was mainly attributable to same-store sales, new unit contribution and lapping of temporary store closures in the prior year.
- Same-store sales increased 15% year over year, with increases of 15% at KFC and 13% at Pizza Hut, excluding F/X.
- Opened 422 net new stores during the quarter; total store count reached 13,602, as of June 30, 2023.
- Operating Profit increased 216% year over year to $257 million from $81 million (a 228% increase excluding F/X), primarily driven by sales leveraging and margin expansion.
- Adjusted Operating Profit increased 215% year over year to $259 million from $82 million (a 227% increase excluding F/X).
- Restaurant margin was 16.1%, compared with 12.1% in the prior year period.
- Effective tax rate was 24.7%.
- Net Income increased 138% to $197 million from $83 million in the prior year period, primarily due to the increase in Operating Profit.
- Adjusted Net Income increased 137% to $199 million from $84 million in the prior year period (a 207% increase excluding the net loss of $9 million in the second quarter of 2023 and net gain of $16 million in the second quarter of 2022, from the mark-to-market equity investment in Meituan; a 219% increase if further excluding F/X).
- Diluted EPS increased 135% to $0.47 from $0.20 in the prior year period.
- Adjusted Diluted EPS increased 135% to $0.47 from $0.20 in the prior year period (a 206% increase excluding the net loss from the mark-to-market equity investments in the second quarter of 2023 and net gain in the second quarter of 2022; a 219% increase if further excluding F/X).
Key Financial Results
CEO and CFO Comments
Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China, commented, "We achieved outstanding results, delivering substantial growth in the top-line and bottom-line, in the second quarter, thanks to our teams' dedication and creativity. This once again demonstrates our anti-fragile business model and ability to capture opportunities in good times and stay resilient in bad times. Our innovative products and compelling value captured customer demand and drove double-digit same-store sales growth. KFC's "K-zza" and Pizza Hut's new menu items were hugely popular. Our exciting campaign with Genshin Impact and fun toy offerings with Sanrio and Pokemon spurred strong demand and brought consumers moments of joy. We registered record daily transactions of 8.5 million on Children's Day. Our amazing operations team, robust end-to-end digital capabilities and agile supply chain enabled us to flexibly handle surges in customer traffic through holiday periods and special marketing campaigns, while maintaining consistent quality and customer service. As a result of these collective efforts, our operating profit for the first half of this year already exceeded the entire year of 2022."
Wat continued, "We accelerated the pace of new store openings in the second quarter and celebrated two milestones. Pizza Hut surpassed 3,000 stores in China and KFC exceeded 500 stores in Shanghai alone. With 655 net new stores in the first half of 2023, we are on track to meet our expansion goals for the year. Importantly, new store payback periods remain healthy. Furthermore, we see abundant white space in China. With a presence in 1,900 cities, we are still tracking over 800 cities without a KFC. Similarly, Pizza Hut has a great potential for expanding its footprint. With our flexible store formats, we continue to expand addressable markets across city tiers. By actively pursuing our RGM (Resilience-Growth-Moat) strategy and leveraging our industry-leading strengths, we are confident in our ability to capture long-term growth opportunities."
Andy Yeung, CFO of Yum China, added, "We delivered record second-quarter revenues and profits, despite challenging macro conditions and an uptick of COVID infections during the quarter. When customer demand softened in May, we adjusted nimbly to address consumer needs, captured holiday spending and successfully regained sales momentum. Sales growth and proactive cost structure rebasing helped us improve operating leverage, expanding restaurant margins and delivering record operating profit in the quarter. Even though same-store sales remained below 2019 levels, our revenue in the second quarter has increased by 25% and operating profits have risen by 26% compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019."
"As we move into the third quarter, driving sales remains our top priority. We have lined up exciting marketing campaigns and resources to seize sales opportunities in the peak summer season. Our efforts on efficiency improvement and cost structure rebasing should continue to benefit profitability in the long run. But, it is worth noting that last year's record third-quarter restaurant margins set a relatively high benchmark, due to austerity measures and temporary reliefs. We will continue to stay agile through evolving market conditions, expand our store network and fortify our competitive moat to drive sustainable long-term growth," Yeung concluded.
Share Repurchases and Dividends
- During the second quarter, the Company repurchased approximately 1 million shares of Yum China common stock for $62 million at an average price of $60.23 per share. As of June 30, 2023, approximately $1 billion remained available for future share repurchases under the current authorization.
- The Board declared a cash dividend of $0.13 per share on Yum China's common stock, payable on September 18, 2023 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on August 28, 2023.
Digital and Delivery
- The KFC and Pizza Hut loyalty programs exceeded 445 million members combined, as of quarter-end. Member sales accounted for approximately 66% of system sales in the second quarter of 2023.
- Delivery contributed approximately 35% of KFC and Pizza Hut's Company sales in the second quarter of 2023, a decrease of 3% compared with the prior year period.
- Digital orders, including delivery, mobile orders and kiosk orders, accounted for approximately 90% of KFC and Pizza Hut's Company sales in the second quarter of 2023.
New-Unit Development and Asset Upgrade
- The Company opened 422 net new stores in the second quarter of 2023, mainly driven by development of the KFC and Pizza Hut brands.
- The Company remodeled 171 stores in the second quarter of 2023.
Restaurant Margin
- Restaurant margin was 16.1% in the second quarter of 2023 compared with 12.1% in the prior year period, driven primarily by sales leveraging and ongoing benefits of cost structure rebasing efforts; partially offset by lapping austerity measures in the prior year, higher promotion costs, and wage inflation.
2023 Outlook
The Company's fiscal year 2023 targets remain unchanged:
- To open approximately 1,100 to 1,300 net new stores.
- To make capital expenditures in the range of approximately $700 million to $900 million.
Company Updates
- On July 17, 2023, the Company announced the appointment of Mr. David Hoffmann to the Board of the Directors. With this appointment, the Board is now comprised of 10 directors, nine of whom are independent.
Note on Non-GAAP Measures
Reported GAAP results include Special Items, which are excluded from non-GAAP adjusted measures. Special Items are not allocated to any segment and therefore only impact reported GAAP results of Yum China. See "Reconciliation of Reported GAAP Results to Non-GAAP Adjusted Measures" within this release. In addition, for the non-GAAP measures of Restaurant profit and Restaurant margin, see "Reconciliation of GAAP Operating Profit to Restaurant Profit" under "Segment Results" within this release.
Conference Call
Yum China's management will hold an earnings conference call at 8:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Monday, July 31, 2023 (8:00 a.m. Beijing/Hong Kong Time on Tuesday, August 1, 2023).
A live webcast of the call may be accessed at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/4rchbbk4/.
To join by phone, please register in advance of the conference through the link provided below. Upon registering, you will be provided with participant dial-in numbers, a passcode and a unique access PIN.
Pre-registration Link: https://s1.c-conf.com/diamondpass/10031360-wcv829.html
A replay of the conference call will be available one hour after the call ends until Tuesday, August 8, 2023 and may be accessed by phone at the following numbers:
Additionally, this earnings release, the accompanying slides, as well as the live and archived webcast of this conference call will be available at Yum China's Investor Relations website at http://ir.yumchina.com.
For important news and information regarding Yum China, including our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, visit Yum China's Investor Relations website at http://ir.yumchina.com. Yum China uses this website as a primary channel for disclosing key information to its investors, some of which may contain material and previously non-public information.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including under "2023 Outlook." We intend all forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and by the use of forward-looking words such as "expect," "expectation," "believe," "anticipate," "may," "could," "intend," "belief," "plan," "estimate," "target," "predict," "project," "likely," "will," "continue," "should," "forecast," "outlook," "commit" or similar terminology. These statements are based on current estimates and assumptions made by us in light of our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that we believe are appropriate and reasonable under the circumstances, but there can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the future strategies, growth, business plans, investment, dividend and share repurchase plans, earnings, performance and returns of Yum China, anticipated effects of population and macroeconomic trends, the expected impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, pace of recovery of Yum China's business, the anticipated effects of our innovation, digital and delivery capabilities and investments on growth and beliefs regarding the long-term drivers of Yum China's business. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance and are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and could cause our actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by those statements. We cannot assure you that any of our expectations, estimates or assumptions will be achieved. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are only made as of the date of this press release, and we disclaim any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law. Numerous factors could cause our actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: whether we are able to achieve development goals at the times and in the amounts currently anticipated, if at all, the success of our marketing campaigns and product innovation, our ability to maintain food safety and quality control systems, changes in public health conditions, including the COVID-19 pandemic, our ability to control costs and expenses, including tax costs, as well as changes in political, economic and regulatory conditions in China. In addition, other risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial could affect the accuracy of any such forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their inherent uncertainty. You should consult our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (including the information set forth under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q) for additional detail about factors that could affect our financial and other results.
About Yum China Holdings, Inc.
Yum China is the largest restaurant company in China with a mission to make every life taste beautiful. The Company has over 400,000 employees and operates over 13,000 restaurants under six brands across 1,900 cities in China. KFC and Pizza Hut are the leading brands in the quick-service and casual dining restaurant spaces in China, respectively. Taco Bell offers innovative Mexican-inspired food. Yum China has also partnered with Lavazza to develop the Lavazza coffee concept in China. Little Sheep and Huang Ji Huang specialize in Chinese cuisine. Yum China has a world-class, digitalized supply chain which includes an extensive network of logistics centers nationwide and an in-house supply chain management system. Its strong digital capabilities and loyalty program enable the Company to reach customers faster and serve them better. Yum China is a Fortune 500 company with the vision to be the world's most innovative pioneer in the restaurant industry. For more information, please visit http://ir.yumchina.com.
In this press release:
- The Company provides certain percentage changes excluding the impact of foreign currency translation ("F/X"). These amounts are derived by translating current year results at prior year average exchange rates. We believe the elimination of the F/X impact provides better year-to-year comparability without the distortion of foreign currency fluctuations.
- System sales growth reflects the results of all restaurants regardless of ownership, including Company-owned, franchise and unconsolidated affiliate restaurants that operate our restaurant concepts, except for non-Company-owned restaurants for which we do not receive a sales-based royalty. Sales of franchise and unconsolidated affiliate restaurants typically generate ongoing franchise fees for the Company at an average rate of approximately 6% of system sales. Franchise and unconsolidated affiliate restaurant sales are not included in Company sales in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income; however, the franchise fees are included in the Company's revenues. We believe system sales growth is useful to investors as a significant indicator of the overall strength of our business as it incorporates all of our revenue drivers, Company and franchise same-store sales as well as net unit growth.
- Effective January 1, 2018, the Company revised its definition of same-store sales growth to represent the estimated percentage change in sales of food of all restaurants in the Company system that have been open prior to the first day of our prior fiscal year, excluding the period during which stores are temporarily closed. We refer to these as our "base" stores. Previously, same-store sales growth represented the estimated percentage change in sales of all restaurants in the Company system that have been open for one year or more, including stores temporarily closed, and the base stores changed on a rolling basis from month to month. This revision was made to align with how management measures performance internally and focuses on trends of a more stable base of stores.
- Company sales represent revenues from Company-owned restaurants. Company Restaurant profit ("Restaurant profit") is defined as Company sales less expenses incurred directly by our Company-owned restaurants in generating Company sales, including cost of food and paper, restaurant-level payroll and employee benefits, rent, depreciation and amortization of restaurant-level assets, advertising expenses, and other operating expenses. Company restaurant margin percentage is defined as Restaurant profit divided by Company sales.
- Certain comparative items in the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been reclassified to conform to the current period's presentation to facilitate comparison.
Reconciliation of Reported GAAP Results to Non-GAAP Adjusted Measures
(in millions, except per share data)
(unaudited)
In addition to the results provided in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP") in this press release, the Company provides non-GAAP measures adjusted for Special Items, which include Adjusted Operating Profit, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Earnings Per Common Share ("EPS"), Adjusted Effective Tax Rate and Adjusted EBITDA, which we define as net income including noncontrolling interests adjusted for equity in net earnings (losses) from equity method investments, income tax, interest income, net, investment gain or loss, certain non-cash expenses, consisting of depreciation and amortization as well as store impairment charges, and Special Items. We also use Restaurant profit and Restaurant margin (as defined above) for the purposes of internally evaluating the performance of our Company-owned restaurants and we believe Restaurant profit and Restaurant margin provide useful information to investors as to the profitability of our Company-owned restaurants.
The following table set forth the reconciliation of the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures to the non-GAAP adjusted financial measures. The reconciliation of GAAP Operating Profit to Restaurant Profit is presented in Segment Results within this release.
Net income, along with the reconciliation to Adjusted EBITDA, is presented below:
Details of Special Items are presented below:
(1) In February 2020, the Company granted Partner PSU Awards to select employees who were deemed critical to the Company's execution of its strategic operating plan. These PSU awards will only vest if threshold performance goals are achieved over a four-year performance period, with the payout ranging from 0% to 200% of the target number of shares subject to the PSU awards. Partner PSU Awards were granted to address increased competition for executive talent, motivate transformational performance and encourage management retention. Given the unique nature of these grants, the Compensation Committee does not intend to grant similar, special grants to the same employees during the performance period. The impact from these special awards is excluded from metrics that management uses to assess the Company's performance.
(2) The tax expense was determined based upon the nature, as well as the jurisdiction, of each Special Item at the applicable tax rate.
The Company excludes impact from Special Items for the purpose of evaluating performance internally. Special Items are not included in any of our segment results. In addition, the Company provides Adjusted EBITDA because we believe that investors and analysts may find it useful in measuring operating performance without regard to items such as equity in net earnings (losses) from equity method investments, income tax, interest income, net, investment gain or loss, depreciation and amortization, store impairment charges, and Special Items. Store impairment charges included as an adjustment item in Adjusted EBITDA primarily resulted from our semi-annual impairment evaluation of long-lived assets of individual restaurants, and additional impairment evaluation whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the assets may not be recoverable. If these restaurant-level assets were not impaired, depreciation of the assets would have been recorded and included in EBITDA. Therefore, store impairment charges were a non-cash item similar to depreciation and amortization of our long-lived assets of restaurants. The Company believes that investors and analyst may find it useful in measuring operating performance without regard to such non-cash item.
These adjusted measures are not intended to replace the presentation of our financial results in accordance with GAAP. Rather, the Company believes that the presentation of these adjusted measures provides additional information to investors to facilitate the comparison of past and present results, excluding those items that the Company does not believe are indicative of our ongoing operations due to their nature.
View original content:
SOURCE Yum China Holdings, Inc.
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DNA analytics leads to discovery of dead Monterey woman’s true identity, age in “Mom-in-the-Box” case
MONTEREY, Calif. (KION-TV) -- The mystery surrounding the identity of a woman found dead in a Monterey home on Fourth Street back in February 2014 has been solved.
Monterey Police confirmed through DNA profiling the woman initially identified as Francesca Linda Jacobs, born in 1955, was actually Linda Rae Jacobs.
Linda was born in 1942, leading police to believe she led people to think she was 12 years older than she actually was.
The case drew intrigue initially in 2014 because Linda was found dead in a home where another body was found decomposing inside a box under a kitchen table.
Police weren't able to identify both individuals until 2023, announcing now that the woman in the box was Ida Florence Jacobs.
Monterey Police said some additional investigating found no foul play is suspected in the death of Ida Jacobs. There's also no foul play suspected in the death of who police now know as Linda Rae Jacobs.
The confusion began because police found a driver's license with Linda that identified her as "Francesca" and "Francesca" left a handwritten will identifying the woman in the box as her mother. The mother was identified in the note as "Florence Jacobs."
"The reasons Linda Rae Jacobs assumed a new name or why she would keep her mother's body in a box under the kitchen table will likely never be known," said Monterey Police.
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https://kion546.com/top-stories/2023/07/31/dna-analytics-leads-to-discovery-of-dead-monterey-womans-true-identity-age-in-mom-in-the-box-case/
| 2023-07-31T21:07:31
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(NEXSTAR) – It’s been a rough week for Trader Joe’s after the popular grocery store chain had to notify customers on Thursday and Friday about products potentially containing foreign matter.
On Friday, Trader Joe’s announced it was recalling frozen falafel balls (SKU# 93935) that may contain rocks.
The recalled falafel was sold in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin and Washington D.C.
One day earlier, Trader Joe’s warned customers that its “Unexpected Broccoli Cheddar Soup” may contain insects. Trader Joe’s says there have not been reported cases of illness from the soup.
The recalled soup (SKU# 68470) has the Use By dates of 07/18/23 – 09/15/23.
A third recall, updated Tuesday to include a sell by date, warns that there may be rocks in the company’s Almond Windmill Cookies and the Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies.
Those cookies have the following dates:
- Almond Windmill Cookies: SELL BY 10/02/23 and 10/19/23 through 10/21/23
- Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies: SELL BY 10/17/23 through 10/21/23
In all of the recalls, anyone who bought or received a donation containing one of the potentially tainted items is urged to throw it away or return it to Trader Joe’s for a refund.
Customers with questions may contact Trader Joe’s Customer Relations at (626) 599-3817 [Mondays-Fridays, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT] or send Trader Joe’s an email.
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https://www.ksn.com/news/business/recalls/trader-joes-recalls-falafel-and-broccoli-cheddar-soup-for-possible-rocks-insects/
| 2023-07-31T21:07:31
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Halle Bailey, of the hit sister duo Chlöe x Halle, announced she'll be dropping her new single, "Angels," Friday.
According to reports, "Angels" will serve as the debut solo single from the R&B singer, who has released two studio albums as part of Chlöe x Halle, by way of Beyoncé's creative brand and entertainment label, Parkwood.
Halle shared the news on Instagram with a short video montage of herself when she was younger.
"Angels make a way somehow. friday," she captioned the post, along with presave information.
The new single follows Halle's debut lead movie role as Ariel in Disney's live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.
"Angels" is expected to arrive Friday, August 4.
Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
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| 2023-07-31T21:07:33
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NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer catches up with professional soccer player Sam Mewis about the action going down at Women's World Cup. Mewis was a member of the U.S. team that won the World Cup in 2019.
Copyright 2023 NPR
NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer catches up with professional soccer player Sam Mewis about the action going down at Women's World Cup. Mewis was a member of the U.S. team that won the World Cup in 2019.
Copyright 2023 NPR
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Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are building a better—and more civil—Connecticut to live, work, and play.
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https://www.ctpublic.org/2023-07-31/unlikely-heroes-are-stepping-up-at-the-womens-world-cup
| 2023-07-31T21:07:34
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PYEONGTAEK, South Korea (AP) — The dogs bark and stare as Kim Jong-kil approaches the rusty cages housing the large, short-haired animals he sells for their meat. Kim opens a door and pets one dog’s neck and chest.
Kim says he’s proud of the dog meat farm that has supported his family for 27 years, but is upset over growing attempts by politicians and activists to outlaw the business, which he is turning over to his children.
“It’s more than just feeling bad. I absolutely oppose these moves, and we’ll mobilize all our means to resist it,” Kim, 57, said in an interview at his farm in Pyeongtaek city, just south of Seoul.
Dog meat consumption is a centuries-old practice on the Korean Peninsula and has long been viewed as a source of stamina on hot summer days. It’s neither explicitly banned nor legalized in South Korea, but more and more people want it prohibited. There’s increasing public awareness of animal rights and worries about South Korea’s international image.
The anti-dog meat campaign recently received a big boost when the country’s first lady expressed her support for a ban and two lawmakers submitted bills to eliminate the dog meat trade.
“Foreigners think South Korea is a cultural powerhouse. But the more K-culture increases its international standing, the bigger shock foreigners experience over our dog meat consumption,” said Han Jeoungae, an opposition lawmaker who submitted legislation to outlaw the dog meat industry last month.
Prospects for passage of an anti-dog meat law are unclear because of protests by farmers, restaurant owners and others involved in the dog meat industry. Surveys suggest that one in three South Koreans opposes such a ban, though most people don’t eat dog meat anymore.
Dogs are also eaten in China, Vietnam, Indonesia, North Korea and some African countries, including Ghana, Cameroon, Congo and Nigeria.
Earlier this month, Indonesian authorities announced the end of dog and cat slaughter at an animal market on the island of Sulawesi following a yearslong campaign by local activists and world celebrities. The Tomohon Extreme Market will become the first such market in Indonesia to go dog and cat meat-free, according to the anti-animal cruelty group Humane Society International.
South Korea’s dog meat industry receives more international attention because of its reputation as a wealthy, ultra-modern democracy. It is also the only nation with industrial-scale farms. Most farms in South Korea have more than 500 dogs, according to a dog farmers’ association.
During a recent visit, Kim’s farm, one of the country’s largest with 7,000 dogs, appeared relatively clean but there was a strong stench in some areas. All dogs are kept in elevated cages and are fed with food waste and ground chicken. They are rarely released for exercise and typically are sold for meat one year after they are born.
Kim said two of his children, age 29 and 31, are running the farm with him, and that business has been going pretty well. He said the dogs bred for their meat are different from pets, an idea opposed by activists.
It’s difficult now to find dog meat restaurants in Seoul’s bustling downtown, though many still exit in the countryside.
“I only earn one-third of the money I used to make. Young people don’t come here. Only ailing old people come for lunch,” said Yoon Chu-wol, 77, the owner of a dog meat restaurant in Seoul’s Kyungdong traditional market. “I tell my elderly customers to come and eat my food more frequently before it’s banned.”
Farmers also face growing scrutiny from officials and increasingly negative public opinion. They complain that officials visit them repeatedly in response to complaints filed by activists and citizens over alleged animal abuse and other wrongdoing. Kim said more than 90 such petitions were filed against his farm during a recent four-month span.
Son Won Hak, general secretary of the dog farmers’ association, said many farms have collapsed in recent years because of falling dog meat prices and weaker demand. He thinks that’s a result of activist campaigns and unfair media reports focusing on farms with inferior conditions. Some observers, however, say consumption of dog meat was already declining, with younger people staying away from it.
“Quite honestly, I’d like to quit my job (as a farmer) tomorrow. We can’t confidently tell our children that we’re raising dogs,” Son said. “When my friends called me, they said ‘Hey, are you still running a dog meat farm? Isn’t it illegal?’”
The number of farms across South Korea has dropped by half from a few years ago to about 3,000 to 4,000, and about 700,000 to 1 million dogs are slaughtered each year, a decline from several million 10 to 20 years ago, according to the dog farmers’ association. Some activists argue that the farmers’ estimates are an exaggeration meant to show their industry is too big to destroy.
In late 2021, South Korea launched a government-civilian task force to consider outlawing dog meat at the suggestion of then-President Moon Jae-in, a pet lover. The committee, whose members include farmers and animal rights activists, has met more than 20 times but hasn’t reached any agreement, apparently because of disputes over compensation issues.
Agriculture officials refused to disclose the discussions in the closed-door meetings. They said the government wants to end dog meat consumption based on a public consensus.
In April, first lady Kim Keon Hee, the wife of current President Yoon Suk Yeol, said in a meeting with activists that she hopes for an end to dog meat consumption. Famers responded with rallies and formal complaints against Kim for allegedly hurting their livelihoods.
Han, the lawmaker, said she “highly positively appraises” influential figures speaking out against dog meat consumption.
Han said her bill offers support programs for farmers who agree to close their farms. They would be entitled to money to dismantle their facilities, vocational training, employment assistance and other benefits, she said.
Ju Yeongbong, an official of the farmers’ association, said farmers want to continue for about 20 more years until older people, their main customers, die, allowing the industry to naturally disappear. Observers say most farmers are also in their 60s to 70s.
Borami Seo, a director of the South Korea office of the Humane Society International, said she opposes the continued killing of millions of dogs for such a prolonged period. “Letting this silent cruelty to (dogs) be committed in South Korea doesn’t make sense,” Seo said.
“(Dog meat consumption) is too anachronistic, has elements of cruelty to animals and hinders our national growth,” said Cheon JinKyung, head of Korea Animal Rights Advocates in Seoul.
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| 2023-07-31T21:07:33
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running as a Democrat against President Joe Biden, tells many stories on the campaign trail about himself, his life’s work and what he stands for that are the opposite of what his record actually shows.
The Associated Press found that Kennedy’s insistence that he is not anti-vaccine doesn’t square with his long record of opposition to vaccines. His claims that he is a true Democrat inheriting the mantle of his famous family are contradicted by his alignment with far right figures and support from Republicans. And despite listing the environment as a campaign priority, he has pushed bitcoin — a cryptocurrency that requires massive amounts of electricity from supercomputers to generate new coins, prompting most environmental advocates to loudly oppose it.
Kennedy’s campaign is widely considered a long shot, but it’s gained media attention due to his famous name and the possibility that his run could weaken Biden ahead of what is expected to be a close general election in 2024.
The campaign didn’t return emails seeking comment about the contradictions in his candidacy.
Here are the key takeaways from the AP’s reporting:
KENNEDY’S ANTI-VACCINE RECORD
Kennedy told a congressional committee this month: “I have never been anti-vaxx. I have never told the public to avoid vaccination.” But Kennedy has a long record of anti-vaccine comments and rose to public prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic through the work of his anti-vaccine group, Children’s Health Defense.
Just this month, Kennedy said in a podcast interview that “There’s no vaccine that is safe and effective” and told FOX News that he still believes in the long-ago debunked idea that vaccines can cause autism. In a 2021 podcast, he recalled telling people on hiking trails not to get their children vaccinated.
That same year, Kennedy appeared in a video promoting an anti-vaccine sticker campaign by his nonprofit. A sticker shown beside him declared “IF YOU’RE NOT AN ANTI-VAXXER YOU AREN’T PAYING ATTENTION.”
The AP found that anti-vaccine activists are at the heart of Kennedy’s campaign. FEC records show several people paid to work on the campaign previously worked for Children’s Health Defense.
Kennedy has also received substantial support from the anti-vaccine community.
Children’s Health Defense currently has a lawsuit pending against a number of news organizations, among them The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines.
ASSOCIATION WITH FAR RIGHT HAS RAISED KENNEDY’S PROFILE
Kennedy is running as a Democrat, yet he has aligned himself with far right figures who have worked to subvert American democracy.
He has appeared on Infowars, the channel run by Sandy Hook conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. He has granted interviews to former President Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson. After he headlined a stop on the ReAwaken America Tour, the Christian nationalist road show put together by former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, he was photographed backstage with Flynn and Trump ally Roger Stone.
Those appearances have led to goodwill on the right. Trump supporters have floated a Trump-Kennedy unity ticket.
Kennedy’s run is also getting financial support from the right. A super PAC supporting Kennedy’s presidential run, called Heal the Divide PAC, has deep ties to Republicans, Federal Election Commission records show.
Kennedy denied knowing the PAC when it came up at a recent congressional hearing, but video available online shows he was a guest speaker at a Heal the Divide event just two days earlier.
SUPPORT FOR BITCOIN RUNS COUNTER TO ENVIRONMENTAL STANCE
Kennedy lists the environment as one of six top priorities on his campaign website and has spent many years speaking against pollution and climate change as an environmental lawyer. Yet he has made supporting the energy-intensive cryptocurrency bitcoin a key part of his platform.
Bitcoin mining, the process of generating new coins, uses massive amounts of electricity — more than some entire countries, experts say.
Kennedy has acknowledged the environmental downsides, but says he wouldn’t let them hinder its use. He promotes the argument that demand for the cryptocurrency will boost investment in renewable energy projects.
Kennedy has invested between $100,001 and $250,000 in bitcoin, his financial disclosure documents show.
KENNEDY INVOKES HIS FAMOUS FAMILY, WHILE RELATIVES DENOUNCE HIM
Though Kennedy peppers his speeches, podcast appearances and campaign materials with invocations of the Democratic Party legacies of his uncle President John F. Kennedy and his father Robert F. Kennedy, his relatives have distanced themselves from him and even denounced him.
“He’s trading in on Camelot, celebrity, conspiracy theories and conflict for personal gain and fame,” Jack Schlossberg, President Kennedy’s grandson, said of his cousin in an Instagram video earlier this month. “I’ve listened to him. I know him. I have no idea why anyone thinks he should be president. What I do know is, his candidacy is an embarrassment.”
Kennedy’s recent comments that COVID-19 could have been “ethnically targeted” to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people — which he denies were antisemitic but concedes he should have worded more carefully — also drew a condemnation from his sister, Kerry Kennedy.
___ The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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| 2023-07-31T21:07:35
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Berry on Burrow's injury, Purdy's outlook with SF
July 31, 2023 02:09 PM
Matthew Berry, Jay Croucher, and Connor Rogers analyze the latest injury news around the NFL, including Joe Burrow's calf strain, how Brock Purdy's return affects the 49ers' QB room, Breece Hall's progress and more.
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https://www.nbcsports.com/watch/nfl/how-did-taylor-colts-arrive-at-this-stalemate
| 2023-07-31T21:07:36
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NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with actor Richard E. Grant about his memoir Pocketful of Happiness and how he has dealt with the grief of losing his wife to cancer after 38 years together.
Copyright 2023 NPR
NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with actor Richard E. Grant about his memoir Pocketful of Happiness and how he has dealt with the grief of losing his wife to cancer after 38 years together.
Copyright 2023 NPR
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https://www.wbaa.org/2023-07-31/after-losing-his-wife-richard-e-grant-has-found-a-daily-pocketful-of-happiness
| 2023-07-31T21:07:37
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https://www.wbaa.org/2023-07-31/after-losing-his-wife-richard-e-grant-has-found-a-daily-pocketful-of-happiness
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NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer talks to security and counter-terrorism Asfandyar Mir about how instability in the Taliban's Afghanistan has spilled into Pakistan, after a suicide bombing that killed dozens.
Copyright 2023 NPR
NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer talks to security and counter-terrorism Asfandyar Mir about how instability in the Taliban's Afghanistan has spilled into Pakistan, after a suicide bombing that killed dozens.
Copyright 2023 NPR
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https://www.wvasfm.org/politics/politics/2023-07-31/how-a-suicide-bombing-in-pakistan-shows-spillover-effect-from-talibans-afghanistan
| 2023-07-31T21:07:37
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GM reported on Monday that first shipments of the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV from its assembly plant in Mexico have started, with dealerships due to start getting initial Blazer EV RS AWD versions in August.
With the confirmation, GM rolled out more Blazer EV news including new price details, some confirmed EPA range ratings, and a confirmation that the high-performance SS won’t arrive until next year.
As detailed last year, the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV will be offered in LT, RS, and SS trims, with front-wheel-drive, rear-wheel-drive, and all-wheel-drive versions all part of the lineup. Three different battery packs are also planned for the Blazer EV.
Single-motor front-wheel-drive 2LT models are due to return a GM-estimated (EPA-cycle) 293 miles with a midsize battery, while the sportier-tuned RS with rear-wheel drive and the largest of the battery packs will go 320 miles, GM estimates.
While the previously mentioned range ratings all remain GM estimates, the automaker also this morning confirmed that all-wheel-drive versions of the Blazer EV 2LT and RS have been certified by the EPA at 279 miles of range.
The initial Blazer EV RS AWD versions being delivered in August start at $60,215 and include gloss-black trim, 21-inch wheels, cooled front seats, heated rear seats, and a head-up display. A rear-wheel-drive RS version will cost more, at $61,790, but it includes Bose audio.
The Blazer 2LT AWD set to arrive a bit later will cost $56,715 and include a 17.7-inch infotainment system, wireless phone charging, a power tailgate, adaptive cruise control, heated front seats, heated side mirrors, and a heated steering wheel.
The automaker also confirmed that the Blazer EV lineup will be eligible for the full $7,500 EV tax credit. Considering the Blazer EV’s base price of $44,995 including destination, that will make it available to some buyers for just $37,495.
Otherwise, GM has revealed few specs about what exactly distinguishes the models in the Blazer lineup on a technical basis—especially regarding its array of different motor units and its three battery packs.
The company on Monday also confirmed that the top-performance Blazer SS is being delayed until next year, with a production start expected for spring. The Blazer SS was due to start at $65,995 and with a 564-hp all-wheel-drive powertrain, independent front and rear suspension, adaptive damping, and more. Chevy estimates a 0-60 mph time in less than four seconds and performance that may challenge the likes of the Tesla Model Y Performance, Ford Mustang Mach-E GT, and Kia EV6 GT.
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| 2023-07-31T21:07:37
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OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — The end of the road has arrived for hundreds of Kansas City-area trucking employees.
Reports indicate Yellow Freight, one of the nation’s largest trucking firms, intends to file for bankruptcy protection, meaning at least 22,000 employees nationally will lose their jobs.
Yellow had been based for years in Overland Park, but the company moved its headquarters to Nashville last year. It still employs nearly 1,000 employees in the Kansas City metro, including at offices in Overland Park.
Yellow also employed 3,000-4,000 non-union workers, too. They’re also said to be out of a job. Yellow employees were officially notified during a Friday morning conference call, workers told FOX4.
The company operates two trucking terminals in the Kansas City metro — one off U.S. 40 Highway north of the Truman Sports Complex and another in Kansas City, Kansas, on State Avenue.
One trucker told FOX4 that office staffers from the 40 Highway location were being sent home, and drivers would be soon as well.
“The writing’s been on the wall,” said Taylor Ray, a former employee in the Overland Park office.
Ray said he hired on with the company fresh out of college two years ago. He became concerned with contract negotiations between the company and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters broke down, and some of Yellow’s 300,000 freight customers chose another road for their needs. Those decisions are said to have been affected by the ongoing labor dispute.
“It’s really poor timing, but we’re going to see where this thing takes us. I’m pretty confident I’ll be able to find something quickly with what I was doing here,” Ray said.
Reports weigh that Yellow failed to pay for employee healthcare benefits in July, and it wasn’t planning to do so in August.
Jessica Piscia, who also worked at the Overland Park offices, said she wishes the labor union and management had come to an agreement before it came to this.
“Everybody lost today. The union didn’t help the situation. Those drivers are looking for jobs. I’m looking for a job, and I’m not even a union member,” Piscia said.
FOX4 sent emails and left voicemails with Yellow’s corporate communications team on Friday, but no one replied.
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https://www.ksn.com/news/business/yellow-freight-begins-layoffs-in-kansas-city-area-preparing-for-bankruptcy/
| 2023-07-31T21:07:38
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https://www.ksn.com/news/business/yellow-freight-begins-layoffs-in-kansas-city-area-preparing-for-bankruptcy/
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Propelled by a rocket-fueled lineup that mixes star signings Corey Seager and Marcus Semien with younger ignitors such as Josh Jung, the Texas Rangers have been holding down first place in the AL West since April 9 and have led the stalking Houston Astros by as many as 6.5 games. But even after a massive offseason overhaul of the starting rotation, GM Chris Young has been spending the days leading up to the midnight hour that is Tuesday's MLB trade deadline pursuing more, more, more.
Specifically, more pitching. After acquiring Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Andrew Heaney and Jake Odorizzi and re-signing Martín Pérez over the winter, the Rangers have now added Max Scherzer and Jordan Montgomery in trades. That brings the count, if you weren't keeping track, to seven veteran starting pitchers added or retained since the end of the 2022 season. And incredibly, the Rangers' ethos of pitching abundance is necessary. They might even need more.
That’s the Astros effect.
As Young and manager Bruce Bochy knew coming into the season — and even after they leapt out to the pole position — stealing the division from the defending World Series champs and perennial contenders was never going to be easy. That explains Texas' heavy spending on a lacking starting rotation in the offseason and why they're aggressively retooling it now as one of the deadline's most obvious buyers.
Entering Monday, the Astros have closed the AL West gap — which reached its 6.5-game apex on June 23 — to just one game. Playoff odds from FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus chart the Astros, not the Rangers, as the favorites to win the division and seize one of the byes into the ALDS.
If Young and Bochy had their druthers, they would be lining up deGrom, Eovaldi and Jon Gray for the stretch run, which includes a three-game showdown with the Astros in Arlington in early September. But that vision went out the window a while ago. With deGrom out for the season after elbow surgery and Eovaldi at least temporarily on the injured list due to elbow issues that sapped his velocity, the Rangers are assembling a trade-deadline backup plan to buttress the offseason master plan.
They certainly hope Eovaldi — whose ace turn was a big reason for the Rangers' first-half surge — returns soon, but for now, Scherzer and Montgomery will step in atop a rotation that needs to stabilize if Texas is going to take advantage of a fully loaded lineup. The pitching has not been holding up its end of the bargain recently. The Rangers staff ranks eighth-worst by park-adjusted ERA- since June 1 and third-worst since June 23, the peak of their AL West dominance. Figuring out exactly how to apportion the incoming help — which includes earlier bullpen acquisition Aroldis Chapman and reliever Chris Stratton from the Montgomery deal — will be crucial.
Scherzer, taking flight from Queens amid the New York Mets' retrenchment, will reunite with pitching coach Mike Maddux after working with him in Washington and aim to find a consistent form that keeps him productive despite the pains of aging. Montgomery, meanwhile, has been a beacon of consistency, despite moving for the second straight trade deadline. Since the start of 2022, when he was with the New York Yankees, the 30-year-old lefty has a 3.46 ERA (good for a 117 ERA+) in 299 1/3 innings.
Pretty much everyone on the Texas staff is contributing to the recent stumbles, but Pérez (7.13 ERA since June 23) and Andrew Heaney (6.21 ERA in that time) have been particularly vulnerable to damaging home runs. One or both are likely to find themselves moving to the bullpen as Scherzer and Montgomery slot into the rotation, but this could be the start of a shuffle of competence. Dane Dunning, the 28-year-old righty-hander who has filled in admirably in deGrom’s absence, boasts a 3.28 ERA, but worrisome underlying numbers (such as a 15.5% strikeout rate) point to overperformance that might give way to something more like his 4.87 xERA or 4.26 FIP.
Scherzer has struggled with home runs himself. The 39-year-old has allowed 23 in 19 starts this season and might benefit from working in shorter bursts. His performance in the middle innings, by ERA (6.25) or wOBA allowed (.398), is bottom-five among qualified starters.
Montgomery, who will hit free agency at season’s end, has been steadier, even if he doesn’t come with Scherzer’s ceiling or pedigree. He has given up only 0.74 homers per nine innings and sports a 2.37 ERA since the beginning of June, despite the generalized chaos that was unfolding around him in St. Louis.
Scherzer, Montgomery and any other pre-deadline additions are walking into a high-stakes race. With the Los Angeles Angels' decision to add around Shohei Ohtani and the Seattle Mariners not yet moving in any direction, the AL West might be doling out some of the league's toughest schedules the rest of the way.
And, of course, the Astros loom. Buoyed by All-Star Kyle Tucker and breakout outfielder Chas McCormick, Houston made up much of the ground in the division without thumpers Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez, who recently returned from injuries. Now, the Astros earn projection systems’ benefit of the doubt by putting all those pieces together, along with José Abreu, who has rebounded from a brutal start to bat .282/.324/.473 the past two months.
Houston has pitching depth questions of its own, following injuries to Luis Garcia, Lance McCullers Jr. and Jose Urquidy, but it can point to a track record of developing solutions.
For now, the Rangers have decided their best tact is to buy solutions, with cash and with prospects. This lineup — best in the AL and second overall to the Atlanta Braves, by wRC+ — is World Series-level good. All the days spent in first, though, don't guarantee the Rangers passage to October glory or even to the playoffs. With the super-competent Astros and super-motivated Angels charging hard, the Rangers will need all the arms they can get to power this season to an ending as satisfying as its early trajectory.
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https://www.star945.com/news/national/2023-mlb-trade/DMU2I63PBZ7A4FTBGVXYPIY25M/
| 2023-07-31T21:07:39
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https://www.star945.com/news/national/2023-mlb-trade/DMU2I63PBZ7A4FTBGVXYPIY25M/
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WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A Sedgwick County jury has found a local man guilty of murder for a 2021 shooting that killed a 16-year-old in 2021.
Tyler Kelly was found guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated battery and aggravated assault on Friday.
The incident happened on July 17, 2021. Court documents show police responded to two different calls around 9:49 p.m. One call was a burglary in progress, and the other caller said they saw a male, later identified as Joseph Florence, 16, injured and lying in a driveway in the same area.
Police arrived and found Florence with a gunshot wound to the torso, and he was transported to a hospital, not breathing. He was later pronounced dead.
Court filings say an investigation found Kelly and another person drove to Florence’s house to scare Florence because of a problem over a girl. They went into Florence’s room, where an altercation occurred, and Florence was shot.
Kelly was later found at a local hospital with several gunshot wounds.
Kelly’s sentencing date has not yet been set.
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https://www.ksn.com/news/crime/jury-finds-local-man-guilty-of-murder-in-2021-shooting/
| 2023-07-31T21:07:41
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Connecticut U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro has stood out for years with her colorful clothing and hairstyle, but it took one of her six grandchildren to finally convince the 80-year-old lawmaker to complement her fashion-forward look with a tattoo.
The Democrat revealed in a statement Monday that she and her granddaughter, who is now old enough to legally get a tattoo in Connecticut, got inked together.
“For her 18th birthday, my granddaughter wanted to get a tattoo with me. So, we went together,” DeLauro said. “She’s off to college in the fall, and this strengthens our bond.”
The design of the tattoo on her left upper arm is personal for DeLauro. It depicts a rose, which represents her name Rosa. The petal in the center of flower forms the letter “D” to represent her last name, and the bottom left of the rose has a stylized version of Italy, an homage to the country where her father immigrated from, said Daniel Robillard, her press assistant.
DeLauro is far from the first member of Congress to sport body art. Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. John Fetterman's nine tattoos were often mentioned when he ran in 2022.
The dean of Connecticut's congressional delegation, DeLauro has represented the state’s 3rd Congressional District in the New Haven area since 1991. She now serves as ranking member of the House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee, which oversees federal investments in education, health, and employment.
This is DeLauro's first tattoo, Robillard said, but it likely won't be her last.
“I have four more grandkids who still haven’t turned 18 yet,” DeLauro said. "So be on the lookout for more new ink!”
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https://www.ctpublic.org/news/2023-07-31/connecticut-us-rep-rosa-delauro-gets-inked-at-age-80-alongside-her-18-year-old-granddaughter
| 2023-07-31T21:07:41
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https://www.ctpublic.org/news/2023-07-31/connecticut-us-rep-rosa-delauro-gets-inked-at-age-80-alongside-her-18-year-old-granddaughter
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A state-run oil giant in the United Arab Emirates said Monday it has moved up its target for achieving net zero emissions in its operations to 2045, as the country prepares to host U.N. climate talks later this year.
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, known as ADNOC, said it is also committed to acheiving zero methane emissions by 2030. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term.
Earlier this year, ADNOC earmarked $15 billion for an array of green initiatives, including the development of hydrogen power, carbon capture facilities and the planting of mangroves.
The company had previously committed to net zero — the balancing of greenhouse gas emissions to the point that the amount removed from the atmosphere is equal to the amount emitted — by 2050.
The UAE, an OPEC member that produces over 3 million barrels of crude oil a day, will host the global climate talks known as COP28 from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12 in Dubai. It has appointed Sultan al-Jaber, the head of ADNOC, to chair the meeting, a move that drew criticism from some environmentalists.
Al-Jaber has emphasized the need to cut emissions, rather than end fossil fuel use itself. It’s prompted fears that he might seek loopholes for untested carbon-capture technologies and so-called offsets that experts say distract from the need to end the release of greenhouse gases.
Governments agreed eight years ago in Paris to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) — ideally no more than 1.5C (2.7F). With average global temperatures already about 1.2C (2.2F) above pre-industrial levels, experts say the window to meet the more ambitious target is closing fast and even the less stringent goal would be missed if emissions aren’t slashed sharply soon.
The UAE, a global hub for business and tourism, has pledged to be carbon neutral by 2050 — a target that remains difficult to assess and one that authorities haven’t fully explained how they’ll reach. Analysts believe the Emirates is trying to maximize its profits as the world turns to renewables.
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https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/ap-uae-state-oil-firm-moves-up-net-zero-climate-target-to-2045/
| 2023-07-31T21:07:41
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Updated July 31, 2023 at 4:09 PM ET
Pee-wee Herman, the comic creation of actor/writer Paul Reubens, would often toss taunts of the schoolyard into his casual conversation. It was one of the character's go-to bits.
"Why don't you take a picture? It'll last longer!"
"That's my name! Don't wear it out!"
And, most iconically,
"I know you are, but what am I?"
Of course, when it came to Pee-wee himself, with his tight gray suit, red bow tie, crew cut, rouged cheekbones and ruby-red lips, "What am I?" was the real question – it was the one he posed merely by existing.
Reubens died Sunday of cancer at the age of 70. He was an actor – but for a long time, he tried to convince the public that Pee-wee was a real person, not a character.
Folks didn't know what to make of Reubens' petulant man-child at first. Created in 1977, while Reubens was a member of the Los Angeles sketch troupe The Groundlings, Pee-wee was part prop comic, part brat and part trickster spirit. There was something fearless in Pee-wee, something unapologetic and brash that took you a second to process. The character was very obviously and intentionally what folks used to call a sissy – but how could a sissy own the stage like he did? Bask in the spotlight like he did? How could a sissy so confidently and explicitly dictate the terms for his audience on how to experience him?
The Pee-wee Herman Show at The Groundlings Theatre soon had LA hipsters lining up around the block for a midnight show that mixed puppets and parody with archival educational films – the precise fuel mixture that powered Reubens' later CBS Saturday morning show, Pee-wee's Playhouse.
It was never Peter Pan, what he was doing. Yes, Pee-wee was a boy who never grew up, but he was more than that — he was one singular adult's remembrance of what it was like being a kid. Specifically, of those parts of childhood we pretend not to see in our own children — the narcissism, the selfishness, the utter lack of basic human empathy. The monstrous bits.
In Pee-wee's Big Adventure, it manifested in his hilariously obsessive drive to recover his stolen bike — a quest which would cause him to trample on the feelings of friends like Amazing Larry (Lou Cutell) and Dottie (E.G. Daily). On Pee-wee's Playhouse, it took the form of gleeful admonitions to his viewers to "scream real loud" whenever anyone said the week's secret word. (Spare a thought for the long-suffering parents who'd hoped that sitting their kids in front of the TV would allow them a moment's peace to finish their coffee.) On 1988's magnificent holiday staple Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special, Reubens zeroed in kids' ravenous greed for presents, turning Pee-wee into a monster who only reluctantly sees the light once guilted into it. (Like Scrooge, he's a lot more fun to hang around with before his last-minute epiphany.)
To watch Pee-wee was to re-experience childhood the way we'd forgotten it actually was – pure, concentrated, distilled to its essence, when riding your bike and playing with your toys and screaming real loud was all it took to fill a day. Pee-wee was a creature of impulse, anarchy and id – which is probably why Reubens' frequent appearances on Late Night with David Letterman helped launch him to stardom.
Reubens' silliness worked on a different frequency than Letterman's – Pee-wee was wilder and far less inhibited than Letterman could ever hope to be, and Letterman knew to play up his own tetchy, aggrieved discomfort at Pee-wee's hijinks for comedic effect. The two men vibrated at opposite ends of the comedic spectrum, but they worked together brilliantly. In those interview segments, which quickly devolved into Pee-wee's signature giggles, you laughed at Reubens' ability to take complete control of the experience, and at Letterman's entirely uncharacteristic willingness to give over the reins.
In the coming days, our social media feeds will fill up with a lot of Pee-wee's greatest hits – Large Marge; "Tequila!"; Jambi the Genie; Chairy; Reubens' extended and entirely improvised death scene in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie; "I'm a loner, Dot. A rebel."; and, of course, "Come on, Simone. Let's talk about your big 'but.'"
Me, though, I'll be putting on the aforementioned Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special, because it will remind me of one of Reubens' most overlooked talents – his ability to sneak an artisanal blend of fey subversiveness into the mainstream. That special injected a defiantly, yet matter-of-fact, queer sensibility into the CBS primetime airwaves of Reagan's America: The Del Rubio Triplets! Zsa Zsa Gabor! Little Richard! Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon! KD Lang! Charo! The LA Men's Chorus dressed up as a Marine choir! And, most indelibly, Grace Jones as green Gumby, drag singing a club mix of "The Little Drummer Boy."
Keep your "I meant to do that." Keep your dancing on the biker bar to "Tequila." The image of Reubens that I'll be holding closest to my heart over the next few days is of him rocking out in the background as Jones sings in the glare of the spotlight.
Because I swear you can see, in just the way he holds his body, the mischievous delight he's taking in what he's unleashing on an unsuspecting public: Grace Jones, ladies and gentlemen, delivered unto your living rooms, pulling up to the bumper of your cozy family holiday special, an entirely singular brand of weirdness served up to you hot and fresh, with a high, unselfconscious giggle.
Jennifer Vanasco contributed to earlier versions of this story.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
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https://www.wbaa.org/2023-07-31/but-what-am-i-pee-wee-herman-creator-paul-reubens-dies-at-70
| 2023-07-31T21:07:43
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Ford is working on a mid-cycle update for its current F-150, and it will be unveiled in September at the 2023 Detroit auto show.
The information was revealed by Ford CEO Jim Farley last week during a press conference for the company’s second quarter earnings results, according to Automotive News (subscription required).
The updated F-150 will likely arrive as a 2024 model. The current F-150 arrived for 2021, and the update will likely be the only notable improvements until the arrival of a next-generation model, likely for the 2027 model year.
Prototypes for the updated F-150 have been spotted. Camouflage gear on the test vehicles points to new designs for the lights at both ends, a revised grille, and possibly a multi-function tailgate. A revised dash with a portrait-oriented infotainment screen is also thought to be coming.
Updated versions of the F-150 Raptor and F-150 Raptor R should also be coming, though timing for the high-performance variants isn’t clear.
Ford may also place more focus on the hybrid F-150 this time around. Speaking during the conference, Farley said Ford has been “surprised” by the popularity of the hybrid F-150. He said more than 10% of F-150 buyers opt for the powertrain, which pairs a twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6 with a single electric motor for a combined 430 hp.
The updated F-150 is thought to be one of six debuts planned by the Detroit 3 automakers for this year’s Detroit auto show. Organizers have said double the number of brands will participate compared to last year.
The show runs Sept. 13-24 and will include new attractions, including a track dedicated to electric vehicles and other outdoor events. The bulk of the action will still take place at Detroit’s Huntington Place (previously the TCF Center; before that, Cobo), which has held the show since 1965.
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- Test drive: GMC Hummer EV resets peak pickup truck bar
- Review: 2024 Ford Mustang EcoBoost distills the pony-car essence
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https://www.pahomepage.com/automotive/internet-brands/2024-ford-f-150-set-for-2023-detroit-auto-show-debut/
| 2023-07-31T21:07:44
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https://www.pahomepage.com/automotive/internet-brands/2024-ford-f-150-set-for-2023-detroit-auto-show-debut/
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WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The Wichita man who is accused of killing two people in Riverside on Tuesday made his first appearance in court on Friday.
Charles Crawford was charged by a judge with capital murder; more than one victim.
Authorities were investigating the deaths of Vanessa Crawford, 50, and Donald Eckert, 58, around 7:30 a.m. in the 1100 block of N. Woodrow.
The investigation was prompted by a call from a woman who was going to drop her child off at a home day care and noticed the door was still locked. Police say she looked inside and found the two victims. She called a family member who then called 911.
Officers and EMS arrived and tried to perform lifesaving measures, but Crawford and Eckert were pronounced dead at the scene.
Around 10:15 a.m., police encountered Crawford, who they say arrived with a gun pointed at himself. SWAT and crisis negotiators were called. A standoff ensued and ended just before noon when Crawford surrendered.
Crawford’s bond has been set at $2 million. He is next due in court on Aug. 14 at 9:30 a.m.
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https://www.ksn.com/news/crime/man-charged-with-capital-murder-in-riverside-homicides/
| 2023-07-31T21:07:47
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https://www.ksn.com/news/crime/man-charged-with-capital-murder-in-riverside-homicides/
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The National Weather Service said it was unable to find any evidence of a tornado in eastern Connecticut during Saturday night's intense thunderstorms.
Meteorologists say videos showed a large funnel cloud forming over Manchester and traveling east, but the cloud never touched down.
“Our conclusion is that a funnel cloud traversed eastern Connecticut. It came dangerously close to touching down but never did so,” the agency said Monday in a statement.
During the storm, the weather service had issued a tornado warning in eastern Connecticut, and radar initially seemed to show tornado debris flying through the air. But a closer inspection found that it was not really flying debris, the agency said. Other measurements found little turbulence in the area, which makes a tornado unlikely.
Federal and state officials also did a damage walkthrough – and multiple flyovers of the area – to determine if a tornado touched down.
We have concluded our storm survey for central and eastern CT. Please find the details in our latest Public Information Statement. https://t.co/KaHKORn3Zx pic.twitter.com/7J3cGZ5jzY
— NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) July 31, 2023
Teams from the NWS, Connecticut Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security conducted a survey throughout the towns of Chaplin, Hampton, Brooklyn, Plainfield, and into Killingly, including the Wauregan and Danielson areas, the agency said.
“We scoured that region and were unable to find any damage consistent with a tornado,” the agency said.
A drone video and a later flyover from the Civil Air Patrol also yielded the same conclusion – no tornado.
“From the air, no damage was spotted anywhere along the entire route,” the agency said.
Numerous videos and photos on Saturday showed a large funnel cloud beginning in Manchester and moving east to Storrs and then to Killingly, near the Rhode Island border.
However, the National Weather Service does say that a microburst in Manchester brought straight line winds of up to 80 mph. It took down as many as 30 trees.
And the weather service confirmed that a tornado did strike southeastern Massachusetts Saturday night. The tornado, an EF-1, which is considered weak, had peak winds of 105 mph.
Connecticut Public Radio’s Patrick Skahill and Eric Aasen contributed to this report.
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https://www.ctpublic.org/news/2023-07-31/no-a-tornado-did-not-touch-down-in-ct-last-weekend-heres-what-meteorologists-have-to-say
| 2023-07-31T21:07:47
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https://www.ctpublic.org/news/2023-07-31/no-a-tornado-did-not-touch-down-in-ct-last-weekend-heres-what-meteorologists-have-to-say
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Berry on Burrow's injury, Purdy's outlook with SF
July 31, 2023 02:09 PM
Matthew Berry, Jay Croucher, and Connor Rogers analyze the latest injury news around the NFL, including Joe Burrow's calf strain, how Brock Purdy's return affects the 49ers' QB room, Breece Hall's progress and more.
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https://www.nbcsports.com/watch/nfl/matthew-berry/fantasy-football-happy-hour-with-matthew-berry/berry-eyes-huge-year-for-barkley-after-contract
| 2023-07-31T21:07:47
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https://www.nbcsports.com/watch/nfl/matthew-berry/fantasy-football-happy-hour-with-matthew-berry/berry-eyes-huge-year-for-barkley-after-contract
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Football is (un)officially back! This week, the 2023 NFL preseason opens with the Hall of Fame Game between the Cleveland Browns and the New York Jets, kicking off three weeks full of football that concludes with a nationally broadcast game between the Houston Texans and New Orleans Saints — and that's all before the 2023 NFL regular season even starts. Ready to watch some football? Here's everything you need to know about how to watch the 2023 NFL preseason, including the full preseason schedule, where to stream NFL games this year and more.
2023 NFL preseason full schedule:
All times Eastern
Hall of Fame Game
Thursday, August 3
Cleveland Browns at New York Jets, 8 p.m. (NBC)
Week 1
Thursday, August 10
Houston Texans at New England Patriots, 7 p.m.
Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks, 10 p.m.
Friday, August 11
Green Bay Packers at Cincinnati Bengals, 7 p.m.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 7 p.m.
New York Giants at Detroit Lions, 7 p.m.
Atlanta Falcons at Miami Dolphins, 7 p.m.
Washington Commanders at Cleveland Browns, 7:30 p.m.
Denver Broncos at Arizona Cardinals, 10 p.m.
Saturday, August 12
Tennessee Titans at Chicago Bears, 1 p.m.
Indianapolis Colts at Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m.
New York Jets at Carolina Panthers, 4 p.m.
Jacksonville Jaguars at Dallas Cowboys, 5 p.m.
Philadelphia Eagles at Baltimore Ravens, 7 p.m.
Los Angeles Chargers at Los Angeles Rams, 9 p.m.
Sunday, August 13
Kansas City Chiefs at New Orleans Saints, 1 p.m.
San Francisco 49ers at Las Vegas Raiders, 4 p.m.
Week 2
Thursday, August 17
Cleveland Browns at Philadelphia Eagles, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, August 18
Carolina Panthers at New York Giants, 7 p.m.
Cincinnati Bengals at Atlanta Falcons, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, August 19
Jacksonville Jaguars at Detroit Lions, 1 p.m.
Miami Dolphins at Houston Texans, 4 p.m.
Buffalo Bills at Pittsburgh Steelers, 6:30 p.m.
Chicago Bears at Indianapolis Colts, 7 p.m.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New York Jets, 7:30 p.m.
Tennessee Titans at Minnesota Vikings, 8 p.m.
Kansas City Chiefs at Arizona Cardinals, 8 p.m.
New England Patriots at Green Bay Packers, 8 p.m.
Denver Broncos at San Francisco 49ers, 8:30 p.m.
Las Vegas Raiders at Los Angeles Rams, 9 p.m.
Dallas Cowboys at Seattle Seahawks, 10 p.m.
Sunday, August 20
New Orleans Saints at Los Angeles Chargers, 7:05 p.m.
Monday, August 21
Baltimore Ravens at Washington Commanders, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Week 3
Thursday, August 24
Pittsburgh Steelers at Atlanta Falcons, 7:30 p.m.
Indianapolis Colts at Philadelphia Eagles, 8 p.m. (Prime Video)
Friday, August 25
Detroit Lions at Carolina Panthers, 8 p.m. (CBS)
New England Patriots at Tennessee Titans, 8:15 p.m.
Los Angeles Chargers at San Francisco 49ers, 10 p.m.
Saturday, August 26
Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers, 1 p.m.
Cleveland Browns at Kansas City Chiefs, 1 p.m.
Arizona Cardinals at Minnesota Vikings, 1 p.m.
Buffalo Bills at Chicago Bears, 1 p.m.
New York Jets at New York Giants, 6 p.m.
Cincinnati Bengals at Washington Commanders, 6:05 p.m.
Baltimore Ravens at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 7 p.m.
Miami Dolphins at Jacksonville Jaguars, 7 p.m.
Los Angeles Raiders at Dallas Cowboys, 8 p.m.
Los Angeles Rams at Denver Broncos, 9 p.m.
Sunday, August 27
Houston Texans at New Orleans Saints, 8 p.m (Fox)
How to watch NFL preseason games:
Many NFL preseason games are broadcast on local channels, so if you're looking to catch an in-market game, it may be as simple as turning on your TV (or setting up a digital TV antenna). If you want to watch out-of-market games, a $5 monthly subscription to NFL+ will get you access to every out-of-market-game in the season (and preseason). There will also be a few national broadcast NFL preseason games airing across NBC, ESPN, Fox and CBS (and one streaming on Amazon Prime Video) in the coming weeks. Here's how to watch every NFL preseason game in 2023.
When does football season start?
This year's NFL season, made up of 272 regular-season games, kicks off on Thursday, September 7, 2023 with a match between the Detroit Lions and the Kansas City Chiefs. The 2023 NFL season will see the first football game on Black Friday, as well as international games in London and Munich.
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NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with author C.K. Chau about her new book, Good Fortune — a Pride and Prejudice retelling with some delicious twists set in Chinatown in New York City during the early 2000s.
Copyright 2023 NPR
NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with author C.K. Chau about her new book, Good Fortune — a Pride and Prejudice retelling with some delicious twists set in Chinatown in New York City during the early 2000s.
Copyright 2023 NPR
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https://www.wbaa.org/2023-07-31/c-k-chaus-take-on-pride-and-prejudice-takes-readers-to-2000s-new-york-chinatown
| 2023-07-31T21:07:49
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https://www.wbaa.org/2023-07-31/c-k-chaus-take-on-pride-and-prejudice-takes-readers-to-2000s-new-york-chinatown
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Audi will equip its upcoming Q6 E-Tron with lights whose pattern changes depending on the situation or wishes of the owner, the automaker announced on Monday.
The electric compact crossover, which has been plagued by software development issues that have held back its launch by more than a year, will feature Audi’s second-generation OLEDs for the headlights and taillights, a technology the automaker said will enable the lights to act as intelligent displays that can communicate information to onlookers.
An example is what Audi refers to as a communication light that will feature in the taillights of the Q6 E-Tron. It will be able to warn other road users of accidents or breakdowns using cloud-based traffic information and the display of specific light signatures. It’s similar to a system Audi already launched in the headlights of the A8 flagship sedan in 2022.
Audi said the communication light could also be used to notify other road users for emergency assist, an imminent rear-end collision, emergency or roadside assistance calls, and more. Another application could be to warn approaching vehicles or cyclists that a door is about to be opened.
Another situation is using a specific light signature for when the Q6 E-Tron’s automated park assist feature is in operation. Of course, there is no accepted meaning for different light signatures, so the information the lights impart would be up to the interpretation of the onlookers.
Audi said Q6 E-Tron owners will also be able to change the light signatures for the daytime running lights for both the headlights and taillights. Owners will be able to install this feature on demand via the infotainment system or Audi app. Audi will offer multiple patterns to choose from, including some that feature an additional coming or leaving home sequence.
The lighting functions are controlled by a software module developed jointly by Audi and Volkswagen Group’s Cariad software development division.
The Q6 E-Tron is being developed alongside a related electric Porsche Macan. The Q6 E-Tron is set to debut later this year while the electric Macan will arrive in early 2024. Both models will use VW Group’s PPE platform for high-volume premium electric vehicles.
Related Articles
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- Lamborghini Revuelto already sold out for next 2 years
- Mercedes updates V-Class ahead of dedicated EV successor’s arrival
- First dedicated Porsche EV charging station opens
- VW taps Xpeng for EV platforms
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| 2023-07-31T21:07:50
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Eight months ago, Donald Trump's third presidential run was generating little enthusiasm — and plenty of mockery. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, meanwhile, was hailed as the GOP's newest star.
Now, with the first debate of the GOP primary less than a month away, Trump is the clear frontrunner for his party’s presidential nomination, while DeSantis has been fading in the polls — and the Republican establishment has been desperately looking for another candidate able to attract both MAGA voters and moderates.
Read more from our partners: George Will: Trump and DeSantis will be GOP primary losers
Trump isn’t going anywhere
The most recent New York Times/Siena poll of Republican voters finds Trump easily leading the Republican field, with 54% of respondents saying they were most likely to vote for him over other GOP contenders for the presidential nomination.
DeSantis is a distant second, at 17%.
Multiple indictments have done nothing to chip away at Trump’s support. If anything, they have solidified his popularity with the GOP base, which shares many of his grievances.
"If they can do it to Trump, where he can defend himself," one focus group respondent recently said, "I can only imagine how it would be if it was just a normal person. I feel like he stands for the small people."
Read more from Yahoo News: Trump faces more indictments, fines and possible jail time as legal troubles mount
Mounting legal troubles
Trump has already been indicted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on improprieties related to a payment he made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels; he also faces 37 counts related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents, boxes of which he removed from the White House after his presidential term concluded. Three more charges were added to the original 37-count indictment in a superseding indictment that describes, with added detail, extensive efforts at obstructing a federal investigation into the documents' whereabouts.
Special counsel Jack Smith is also expected to file more charges related to Trump's participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. In Atlanta, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is reportedly preparing to charge Trump with trying to meddle with Georgia's results in the 2020 presidential election.
A guilty verdict in any one of those cases could result in a lengthy prison sentence.
Read more from our partners: Fulton County DA says work is done in Trump probe and 'we're ready to go'
DeSantis continues to struggle
Ron DeSantis was supposed to be “DeFuture,” as the New York Post called him after the Florida governor defeated his Democratic competitor Charlie Crist by 19 points in last November’s election campaign.
But ever since he launched his campaign during a Twitter Spaces event full of technical malfunctions, DeSantis has struggled to convince voters that he is a superior candidate to Trump. His “electability” argument has been severely damaged by several mistakes, including a homophobic campaign ad, a video containing Nazi symbolism and an argument over slavery.
For now, however, DeSantis stands alone in second place in the primary field. His political action group, Never Back Down — which can boost his candidacy but cannot coordinate with the campaign — has more than $100 million it intends to spend in early-voting states like Iowa and New Hampshire. His supporters say he may be down but not out.
Read more from Yahoo News: DeSantis disappoints, and some Republicans seek new Trump-slaying savior
Republican alternatives
Donors and establishment Republicans are desperately looking for a candidate who can fulfill the promise they once thought DeSantis had.
With his optimistic personality and inspiring personal story, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina has drawn comparisons to Ronald Reagan. "He's the one guy running who's got some personality and charisma. His delivery is terrific," a top Republican donor told Politico earlier this month.
The problem for Scott is that he's stuck at 3% in the latest New York Times/Siena poll, well behind DeSantis.
Rupert Murdoch, whose conservative media empire helps set the national Republican agenda, is reportedly a fan of Glenn Youngkin. The primaries are still six months away, giving the Virginia governor time to build out a campaign, but he would be entering a crowded field dominated by Trump. He may thus conclude that it is safer to wait until 2028, as some believe DeSantis should have done.
Read more from our partners: Few Americans know Sen. Tim Scott, but some Democrats see him as a tough general election opponent
The case against Biden
Lost in the coverage of candidates’ jostling for donors and endorsements is the fact that whoever emerges from the Republican primary will have to make a pitch to general election voters who are, on the whole, much more moderate and less interested in culture war issues than the conservative GOP base.
So far, that pitch has not come into view.
Polls continue to show that Biden remains an unpopular president. Questions about his age are not going away. Neither are concerns about his vice president, Kamala Harris.
But the economy continues to recover from the pandemic, with fears of a recession starting to fade.
It is true that many Americans believe that the country is heading in the wrong direction, but they don’t yet know what direction Republicans would like to take.
Read more from Yahoo Finance: The Republican case against Biden is fizzling
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WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The continued days of extreme heat don’t just impact your physical health. It can have an impact on your mood.
It can be a stressor that adds to life’s hardships.
“You’ve been cruising along, just kind of barely containing it, but then you add extreme high heat onto it, and then it’s kind of like, oh alright, so now I’m not acting appropriate around other people because I don’t have anything left,” said licensed phycologist Dr. Molly Allen.
She says it is important to check on those who are working long hours outside. Also, it is important to drink plenty of water and give yourself breaks from the heat if you realize it is impacting your mood.
It is important to check on young children and older adults as well. They can be less aware of how the heat is impacting them.
Extreme heat can also cause an individual to become more irritable. It can impact how someone treats others. A simple gesture of checking up on someone can go a long way.
“Another person acknowledging that they see you, they see that you know, that you’re not in a great mood, you just don’t seem to be yourself, that helps them to feel like oh other people do care,” said Allen.
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https://www.ksn.com/news/local/extreme-heat-can-take-a-toll-on-your-mood/
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NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer talks to security and counter-terrorism Asfandyar Mir about how instability in the Taliban's Afghanistan has spilled into Pakistan, after a suicide bombing that killed dozens.
Copyright 2023 NPR
NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer talks to security and counter-terrorism Asfandyar Mir about how instability in the Taliban's Afghanistan has spilled into Pakistan, after a suicide bombing that killed dozens.
Copyright 2023 NPR
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https://www.wbaa.org/2023-07-31/how-a-suicide-bombing-in-pakistan-shows-spillover-effect-from-talibans-afghanistan
| 2023-07-31T21:07:55
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https://www.wbaa.org/2023-07-31/how-a-suicide-bombing-in-pakistan-shows-spillover-effect-from-talibans-afghanistan
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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian ballistic missiles slammed into an apartment complex and a university building in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown Monday, killing six people and wounding 75 others as the blasts trapped residents beneath rubble, Ukrainian officials said.
One of the two missiles that hit the central city of Kryvyi Rih destroyed part of an apartment building between the fourth and ninth floors, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. Video showed black smoke billowing from corner units and burned out or damaged cars on a tree-lined street.
The dead included a 10-year-old girl and her mother, according to Zelenskyy. More than 350 people were involved in the rescue operation, he said in a Telegram post.
The morning attack also destroyed part of a four-story university building.
The strike on Zelenskyy’s hometown, which has been hit in the past, happened a day after the Ukrainian president seemed to warn of more attacks inside Russia.
“Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia — to its symbolic centers and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process,” Zelenskyy said Sunday in his nightly video address.
It was not clear whether the missile strikes were in retaliation for his comments.
Meanwhile, a Ukrainian artillery strike on the partially occupied Donetsk province killed two people and wounded six others in the regional capital, according to Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed leader of the illegally annexed province.
A bus was also hit as Ukrainian forces shelled the city of Donetsk multiple times Monday, Pushilin said.
Elsewhere, in the Russian-held part of the Zaporizhzhia region, three people were killed and 15 were wounded in Ukrainian shelling that hit a store in the village of Basan, according to the Russia-backed acting regional governor, Yevgeny Balitsky.
Neither side’s claims could be independently verified.
The ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive, deploying weaponry supplied by Western allies and aimed at driving Russian forces out of occupied areas, intensified last week. At the same time, Ukraine has sought to take the war deep into Russia, reportedly using drones to hit targets as far away as Moscow.
Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia and Moscow-annexed territory, especially Crimea, have become more frequent. The latest strike, on Sunday, damaged two office buildings a few miles (kilometers) from the Kremlin. Ukrainian officials did not acknowledge the attack.
Russia tightened security in the aftermath of that attack, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday, describing the assault as an “act of desperation.”
“The Kyiv regime is in a very, very difficult situation,” Peskov said, “as the counteroffensive is not working out as planned.”
“It’s obvious that the multibillion-dollar resources that have been transferred by NATO countries to the Kyiv regime are actually being spent inefficiently,” Peskov said.
“This raises big questions in Western capitals and great discomfort among taxpayers in Western countries.”
Analysts say Russian President Vladimir Putin is wagering that Western support for Kyiv will wane as the war drags on and costs mount.
Another Ukrainian drone targeted a district police department early Monday in Russia’s Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, but there were no casualties, the local governor said.
Bombarding populated areas with missiles, artillery and drones has been a hallmark of Moscow’s military strategy throughout the war, and that approach has continued during the Ukrainian counteroffensive that started in June.
Russian officials insist they take aim only at legitimate military targets, but Ukraine and its supporters say mass civilian deaths during previous attacks are evidence of war crimes.
“In recent days, the enemy has been stubbornly attacking cities, city centers, shelling civilian objects and housing,” Zelenskyy said. “But this terror will not frighten us or break us.”
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Monday that his forces have increased the intensity of attacks on Ukrainian military facilities.
It was not immediately clear which military facilities he was referring to, as Russia’s recent missile strikes have hit civilian infrastructure.
In the southern city of Odesa, Russian strikes in recent weeks targeted port infrastructure and grain silos, after Moscow broke off an export agreement for Ukrainian grain. The Ukrainian foreign ministry estimated Monday that about 180,000 metric tons of grain have been destroyed by Russia in the past nine days.
Russian shelling Monday also killed four civilians and wounded 17 in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson. A 70-year-old woman was killed by shelling in her home in a Kharkiv province village near Izyum, authorities said.
In eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk province, one person was reported killed and seven people were wounded after Russia shelled 12 cities and villages, according to Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko.
In other developments Monday, China introduced restrictions on the export of long-range civilian drones. Authorities cited the war in Ukraine and concern that drones could be converted for military purposes.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government is friendly with Moscow, but says it’s neutral in the war. It has been stung by reports that both sides might be using Chinese-made drones for reconnaissance and possibly attacks.
Meanwhile, Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said Monday that his Wagner Group is not currently recruiting fighters.
In an audio message published on a Telegram channel associated with the Wagner chief, Prigozhin said the company had suspended recruitment as there is currently “no shortage of personnel.”
Prigozhin previously agreed with Western estimates that he lost more than 20,000 men in the long battle for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
Prigozhin last month led a short-lived mutiny against Moscow, demanding a leadership change in the Russian military. In an attempt to control him, Russian authorities insisted that Wagner fighters can only return to Ukraine if they join Russia’s regular army.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
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Ford announced a recall of the 2021-2023 Ford F-150 pickup truck for an unexpected engagement of the electric parking brake while driving, the NHTSA disclosed Monday.
The recall encompasses 870,701 trucks with a single exhaust system. Redesigned in 2021, most of this generation’s F-150 models have a single exhaust system from the factory, with dual pipes limited to special appearance packages and performance models such as the Tremor and Raptor.
The issue arises from bad wiring on the electric parking brake. Over time, the rear axle wiring harness bundle can rub against the rear axle housing, causing the tape and circuit insulation to degrade and expose the wiring. If this happens, the electric parking brake can be activated while driving, causing an apparent loss of power as well as an unintended braking event. This increases the risk of a crash.
Ford says drivers may be alerted to the problem via a parking brake warning light and message in the instrument cluster. Ford acknowledged 918 warranty claims in North America, with 299 instances of unintended activation and 19 instances of the parking brake activating while driving. No known injuries or crashes were reported by Ford.
Owners will be notified by mail by Sept. 15, and will be asked to have their F-150s inspected by a Ford or Lincoln service center. If there’s damage, the wiring harness will be replaced. If there’s no apparent damage, Ford will add some tape and a tie strap to the harness. There will be no charge to owners. Reimbursement will be provided for owners who have already had the repairs down, and that reimbursement period will be open for a year, ending on Sept. 11, 2024.
This is the 16th recall for the 2021 F-150. Other notable issues include a problem with the windshield wipers and a potential fractured driveshaft. A refreshed 2024 Ford F-150 is planned to debut at the Detroit auto show in mid-September.
For more info, contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332 or visit Ford’s recall site here.
Related Articles
- Mazda recalls 227,335 cars for rearview camera distortion
- Toyota, Lexus recall 110K new cars for airbag issue
- Honda recalls 124,077 newer cars for possible brake failure
- Jeep Grand Cherokee subject to 3 recalls, covering 366K SUVs
- Ford expands recall of Escape, Maverick, Corsair hybrids for engine failure
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| 2023-07-31T21:07:56
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Berry on Burrow's injury, Purdy's outlook with SF
July 31, 2023 02:09 PM
Matthew Berry, Jay Croucher, and Connor Rogers analyze the latest injury news around the NFL, including Joe Burrow's calf strain, how Brock Purdy's return affects the 49ers' QB room, Breece Hall's progress and more.
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https://www.nbcsports.com/watch/nfl/matthew-berry/fantasy-football-happy-hour-with-matthew-berry/berry-on-burrows-injury-purdys-outlook-with-sf
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Luke Combs Designs One-Of-A-Kind Tattoo For Philadelphia Fan
Country music fans packed themselves into Lincoln Financial Field over the weekend to get a chance to see the only and only Luke Combs over the weekend.
Luke Combs is a Grammy-nominated artist, who has taken the country and pop world by storm. So many fans packed themselves into all 67,594 seats at the Linc in Philly and had a ball.
One fan, in particular, had an experience they sure will never forget. A big trend at concerts lately is to hold posters that read “Design my next tattoo” in hopes the artist onstage will draw the fan a tattoo.
I did it at my Harry Styles concert, but obviously, nothing came out of it. This one Philly fan decided to give it a go and actually got Luke Combs’ attention. The fan held up a sign that read “Luke, will you draw my first tattoo?”
Luke asked the fan what he was supposed to draw, but after finding out that the dedicated fan was leaving the art up to him, he went off the rails a little bit.
Luke Combs handed the poster back to the fan where it was just a cartoon picture of boobs.
There’s no word if the fan is going to go through with getting this tattooed on them or not, but I think I would if it were me. Not many people can say they have original, one-of-a-kind Luke Combs artwork tattooed on them!
Only in Philadelphia…
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https://wpst.com/luke-combs-philadelphia-tattoo-fan/
| 2023-07-31T21:07:58
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WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Three Garden City firefighters are en route to Alaska.
The three departed from Wichita’s Eisenhower National Airport Friday. The Garden City Fire Department says they are headed to Tok, Alaska, where there have been 79 wildfires reported in the last three days caused by 30,000 lightning strikes.
The department says the three are members of the department’s Wildland Team and are part of a deployable team comprised of five Kansas Forest Service employees and three Olathe firefighters that respond to wildfires. The Kansas team was specifically requested by the State of Alaska, according to Garden City Fire.
The department says they plan to provide daily updates on the team as they help to bring the fires under control on their Facebook page. However, cell service may be spotty.
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| 2023-07-31T21:08:00
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Denver Broncos wide receiver K.J. Hamler was diagnosed with "mild heart irritation" called pericarditis, he announced via Instagram, Monday.
In light of the medical condition, the Broncos are reportedly planning to waive him on a non-football illness designation. The move is procedural, with hopes to bring him back, according to a report from NFL Network's Mike Garafolo.
He's reportedly expected to be to miss weeks, not months with the condition.
As noted by Garafalo, the move to waive Hamler allows for his return, whereas placing him on reserve or the non-football injury list could prevent him from playing for the entire season. The team also needs the roster spot with wide receiver Tim Patrick also sidelined with an Achilles injury.
This story will be updated with more information shortly.
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WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Beechcraft-Textron has a new plane. Some aviation analysts say the single-engine turboprop, Denali, checks all the right boxes.
“Economical and easier way of operating than a small twin-engine jet,” said aviation analyst Bruce McClelland with the Teal Aviation Group.
The Denali made its air show debut this week in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, at the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture.
McClelland says the Denali, still in development, is one more case of a plane that will add to the jobs base for Textron. He says that is good news for job security down the road with so many employed at places like Textron and Boeing.
“So the aviation business is still ramping up,” said McClelland. “We’re at about 95% of where we were in 2019. Business jet travel has done quite well.”
McClelland says the Denali will be a good option for someone who has considered a smaller twin-engine jet, a segment that thrived during the pandemic and is still going strong.
“For several plane makers, the problem they have is too much demand for what they can supply,” said McClelland.
He expects the Denali to be a hit for Beechcraft-Textron, especially considering Beechcraft has a long history in the marketplace.
“They’re a leader in this area. I think it’s a smart move on their part.”
McClelland says this is good news, and he also points to the need for bigger jets like the 737 Max, where Boeing wants to ramp up production. Spirit, in Wichita, is a large supplier of the Boeing 737 Max.
“Boeing’s backlog on the 737 is enormous,” said McClelland. “If they could build twice as many planes today, they would sell them.”
The Denali is also expected to incorporate an autoland system in conjunction with Garmin out of the Kansas City area. The plane is expected to have good range, and because there is a turbo on the prop, it will be a fast plane.
On Monday, Beechcraft-Textron’s Senior VP of sales and flight ops publicly talked about the new plane.
“The Denali’s clean-sheet and high-performance design is revolutionizing the single-engine turboprop market,” said Lannie O’Bannion, senior vice president, Sales & Flight Operations. “Beechcraft turboprops are renowned for their versatility and reliability, and I’m thrilled to unveil the newest member of the legendary product family to the world.”
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https://www.ksn.com/news/local/new-beechcraft-denali-makes-debut-at-air-show/
| 2023-07-31T21:08:01
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NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with trucker Alex Mai, who runs a YouTube Channel about trucking news, about how 30,000 workers are losing their jobs as the shipping company Yellow has shut down operations.
Copyright 2023 NPR
NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with trucker Alex Mai, who runs a YouTube Channel about trucking news, about how 30,000 workers are losing their jobs as the shipping company Yellow has shut down operations.
Copyright 2023 NPR
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https://www.wbaa.org/2023-07-31/how-the-shutdown-of-transport-company-yellow-could-have-ripple-effects-for-truckers
| 2023-07-31T21:08:01
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UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations chief on Monday welcomed Kenya’s offer to “positively consider” leading a multinational police force to help combat Haiti’s gangs and improve security in the violence-wracked Caribbean nation.
Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry sent an urgent appeal last October for “the immediate deployment of a specialized armed force, in sufficient quantity” to stop the gangs. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has been appealing unsuccessfully since then for a lead nation to help restore order to Latin America’s most impoverished country.
Kenya’s Foreign Ministry said Saturday said its offer includes a commitment to send 1,000 police to help train and assist the Haitian National Police “restore normalcy in the country and protect strategic installations.” The ministry said it was responding to a request from the Friends of Haiti group of nations.
“Kenya stands with persons of African descent across the world, including those in the Caribbean, and aligns with the African Union’s diaspora policy and our own commitment to Pan Africanism, and in this case to `reclaiming of the Atlantic crossing,’” the ministry said.
Haiti’s gangs have grown in power since the July 7, 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse and are now estimated to control up to 80% of the capital. The surge in killings, rapes and kidnappings has led to a violent uprising by civilian vigilante groups.
U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said Guterres “welcomes Kenya’s positive response to his call” and expresses gratitude to Kenya for its “solidarity.”
The secretary-general calls on the U.N. Security Council to support a non-U.N. multinational operation in Haiti “and encourages member states, particularly from the region, to join forces from Kenya” in supporting the country’s police, Haq said.
Kenya’s Foreign Ministry said its proposed deployment will crystalize once the Security Council adopts a resolution giving a mandate for the force, and other Kenyan constitutional processes are undertaken.
A Kenyan task force plans to undertake an assessment mission to Haiti within the next few weeks which “will inform and guide the mandate and operational requirements of the mission,” it said.
Guterres, who visited Haiti in early July, called afterward for a robust international force to help the Haitian National Police “defeat and dismantle the gangs.”
He said the estimate by the U.N. independent expert for Haiti, William O’Neill, that up to 2,000 additional anti-gang police officers are needed is no exaggeration. O’Neill, who concluded a 10-day trip to Haiti in July, is an American lawyer who has been working on Haiti for over 30 years and helped establish the Haitian National Police in 1995.
The Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on July 14 asking Guterres to come up with “a full range of options” within 30 days to help combat Haiti’s armed gangs, including a non-U.N. multinational force, a possible U.N. peacekeeping force, additional training for the Haitian National Police and providing support to combat illegal arms trafficking to the country.
Compounding the gang warfare, which has spread outside the capital, is the country’s political crisis: Haiti was stripped of all democratically elected institutions when the terms of the country’s remaining 10 senators expired in early January.
The Security Council resolution, co-sponsored by the United States and Ecuador, “strongly urges” all countries to prohibit the supply, sale or transfer of weapons to anyone supporting gang violence and criminal activities.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Kenyan President William Ruto on Monday including about Kenya’s positive consideration to leading a multinational force in Haiti, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
The United States takes over the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council for August on Tuesday, and Miller said the U.S. and Ecuador, as a first step, are going to introduce a resolution to authorize a non-U.N. multinational mission.
The second step is an assessment mission by Kenya, “which they plan to do in the coming days,” and then there will be talks with other countries about what additional assistance is needed, he said.
“We are committed to finding the resources to support this multinational force,” Miller said. “We’ve been a large humanitarian donor to relief efforts in Haiti for some time, and we have worked behind the scenes to find the lead nation to run this multinational force and are pleased that that has been successful.”
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Ellen Knickmeyer contributed to this report from Washington and Evelyne Musambi from Nairobi
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https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/ap-un-chief-welcomes-kenyas-offer-to-positively-consider-leading-police-force-to-combat-haiti-gangs/
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Mazda on Friday afternoon revealed that its MX-30 lineup will not be returning for U.S. sales after the 2023 model year.
For longtime Mazda fans, that piece of news also means that Mazda’s Wankel rotary engine won’t be coming back to America anytime soon.
The MX-30 EV arrived for first deliveries in late 2021, and with its 100-mile EPA range rating it’s been one of the lowest-driving-range EVs available in the U.S. market.
The single-motor, front-wheel-drive MX-30 was always intended to be just part of the lineup, though. Since the model’s 2021 introduction, Mazda teased an upcoming range-extended version enabled by a Wankel rotary engine—a Mazda signature—on board as a range extender.
That version, called the Mazda MX-30 e-Skyactiv R-EV, is on closer scrutiny a model that may be hard for American drivers to comprehend, let alone see advantages to in either by-the-numbers operating expenses or in sheer driving enjoyment. It features a smaller 17.8-kwh battery pack enabling a range that might likely land near 40 miles EPA (53 miles on the significantly more generous WLTP cycle). Its little 0.83-liter, single-rotor engine makes 73 hp and its only task is to drive a generator. Despite a boost at the drive motor of about 25 hp, a gain of more than 250 pounds doesn’t make it much quicker than the EV, and both dash to 60 mph in the nine-second range.
It’s unclear what kind of fuel economy the R-EV might have been able to deliver after running through a charge in American-style freeway driving, but rotary engines were never stellar for cruising efficiency, and neither is the series-hybrid layout.
In a statement, Mazda North American Operations emphasized that plug-in hybrids rather than EVs are in its immediate future for America. And it essentially cuts off any hope of the R-EV arriving in the U.S.
“Our current U.S. electrification efforts are focused on large platform PHEVs, such as the first-ever 2024 CX-90 PHEV and upcoming CX-70 PHEV, as well as introducing CX-50 Hybrid into our lineup to address the specific needs of the U.S. market,” it stated.
Mazda rotary nostalgia? Not for now, America
That said, Mazda reported that “mass production” of the R-EV had started, and the model appears to still be bound for Europe and the U.K., with deliveries due in the fall.
As a Mazda executive told Green Car Reports several years ago, before the project itself had been revealed, the automaker had pushed for the idea of a rotary range extender partly because of Americans’ nostalgia over the brand’s rotary-powered sports cars like the RX-7 and RX-8. America may have inspired the product but it appears to lose out in actually getting the product.
In a review of the Mazda MX-30 EV published earlier this year, we found this short-range EV to offer up a bewildering mix of limited compliance-car availability, compromised performance, slow road-trip charging, and an underwhelming exterior design contrasting with unique cabin appointments that felt as if Mazda were pulling out all the stops.
MX-30 EV has been exotic-car rare
The MX-30 has been a very slow-seller, which Mazda has only officially made available in California. Mazda delivered just 520 MX-30s for the 2022 model year, split between late calendar-year 2021 and the earlier part of 2022. Then with the 2022s gone, a 2023 Mazda MX-30 EV returned with only a slight price increase.
The 2023 model year may be the one for the collectors, as it’s looking rarer than some supercars. Mazda sold just 66 MX-30 EVs in the U.S. in the first half of 2023 (through June), and we’ve no reason to believe that the pace picked up appreciably in July.
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NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — The world is levying economic sanctions over a coup against one of the West’s last democratic partners against Islamic extremists in West Africa. Families in one of the world’s poorest nations could pay the price.
In the capital of Niger, many people live in makeshift shelters tied together with slats of wood, sheets and plastic tarps because they can’t pay rent, and they scramble daily to make enough money to feed their children.
Salou Hassan and his family live in a two-room hut on the side of the road, along with some 140 people. The family sleeps on wooden slats close to the floor, with no electricity or running water, and they bathe in public showers.
“The most difficult part is finding food for my children,“ said Hassan, 30, whose sons are 5 and 6 years old.
Hassan sells water door to door, earning about $6 a day when things go well. His wheelbarrow’s been broken and he doesn’t have nearly $70 he needs to fix it. His wife sweeps stalls at the central market making less than half what Hassan does.
Hassan has hardly been aware that the country’s president was overthrown.
“I’m looking for money for food for my family,” he said.
Meanwhile, Niger’s neighbors are threatening armed intervention against the junta run by the head of the presidential guard, although analysts say there is only a slim chance of the regional body successfully sending troops.
Both the United States and France have sent forces and hundreds of millions of military and humanitarian aid in recent years to Niger, which was a French colony until 1960. The French and the US train Nigerien forces, and the French military carries out joint operations in the north.
Since the coup that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, people have been toting Russian flags and praising that country in pro-junta demonstrations.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Niger in March to strengthen ties and announce $150 million in direct assistance, calling the country “a model of democracy.” France pulled out of Mali last year and has some 1,500 troops in Niger.
The West African regional body known as ECOWAS announced travel and economic sanctions against Niger on Sunday over the coup, and said they would use force if the coup leaders don’t reinstate him within one week.
Since the 1990s, the 15-nation bloc has unsuccessfully tried to protect democracies against the threat of coups, with mixed success.
Niger relies heavily on foreign aid and sanctions could further impoverish its more than 25 million people. ECOWAS suspended all commercial and financial transactions between its member states and Niger, as well as freezing Nigerien assets held in regional central banks.
The sanctions could be disastrous and Niger needs to find a solution to avoid them, the country’s Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou told French media outlet Radio France Internationale on Sunday.
“When people say there’s an embargo, land borders are closed, air borders are closed, it’s extremely difficult for people … Niger is a country that relies heavily on the international community,” he said.
Four nations are run by military governments in West and Central Africa, where there have been nine successful or attempted coups since 2020.
In the 1990s, ECOWAS intervened in Liberia during its civil war, one of the bloodiest conflicts in Africa and one that left many wary of intervening in internal conflicts. In 2017, ECOWAS intervened in The Gambia to prevent the new president’s predecessor, Yahya Jammeh, from disrupting the handover of power. Around 7,000 troops from Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal entered the country, according to the Global Observatory, which provides analysis on peace and security issues. The intervention was largely seen as accomplishing its mission.
If the regional bloc uses force, it could trigger violence not only between Niger and ECOWAS forces but also between civilians supporting the coup and those against it, Niger analysts say.
While unlikely, “the consequences on civilians of such an approach if putschists chose confrontation would be catastrophic,” said Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Morocco-based think tank.
Lyammouri does not see a “military intervention happening because of the violence that could trigger,” he said.
Blinken on Sunday commended the resolve of the ECOWAS leadership to “defend constitutional order in Niger” after the sanctions announcement, and joined the bloc in calling for the immediate release of Bazoum and his family.
The military junta, which seized power on Wednesday when members of the presidential guard surrounded Bazoum’s house and detained him, is already cracking down on the government and civil liberties.
On Sunday evening it arrested four government officials, including the minister of petroleum and son of a former president; the minister of education; the minister of mines; and the president of the ruling party. The arrests were recounted to The Associated Press by a person close to the president, who was not authorized to speak about the situation, and a Nigerien analyst who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal.
Also Sunday, junta spokesman Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane banned the use of social media to put out messages he describe as harmful to state security. He also claimed that Bazoum’s government had authorized the French to carry out strikes to free Bazoum, allegations that were not confirmed.
Observers believe Bazoum is being held at his house in the capital, Niamey. The first photos of him since the coup appeared Sunday evening, sitting on a couch smiling beside Chad’s President Mahamat Deby, who had flown in to mediate between the government and the junta.
In anticipation of the ECOWAS decision Sunday, thousands of pro-junta supporters took to the streets in Niamey, denouncing France, waving Russian flags ong with signs reading “Down with France” and supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin and telling the international community to stay away. Protesters also burned down a door and smashed windows of the French Embassy, before the Nigerien army dispersed them.
France said Monday that President Emmanuel Macron is closely monitoring the situation in Niger and has discussed the crisis with regional leaders and European and international partners.
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https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/ap-west-african-nations-threaten-to-use-force-if-nigers-president-isnt-reinstated-within-a-week/
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Indiana lawmakers passed a near-total abortion ban on Aug. 5, 2022, which Gov. Eric Holcomb signed into law quickly after. Two lawsuits temporarily halted the ban shortly after it took effect, until the Indiana Supreme Court ruled the ban did not violate the state’s constitution.
We asked members of the Indiana Two-Way for their questions about the ban. To join the Indiana Two-Way text “Indiana” to 73224.
What does the law do?
The law bans abortion in Indiana, with a few, narrow exceptions.
Abortions would only be allowed if the pregnant person’s serious health or life is at risk; if there’s a lethal fetal anomaly up to 20 weeks post-fertilization; and in cases of rape or incest, but only up to 10 weeks.
It also limits abortion to only hospitals and surgical centers owned by hospitals – and specifically bans abortion clinics.
What happened to the lawsuits challenging the ban?
The Indiana Supreme Court ruled June 30 that the state’s near-total abortion ban does not violate the Indiana Constitution.
The lawsuit brought by Indiana abortion care providers specifically challenged a provision of the law that banned abortion clinics outright, limiting the procedures to hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers owned by hospitals. However, that issue was not part of the appeal heard by the Indiana Supreme Court, and it sent the case back to the trial court to flesh out that challenge.
And that particular lawsuit did not give the Indiana Supreme Court the opportunity to more clearly define the circumstances when a pregnancy endangers someone's life or health – which could be the subject of future lawsuits.
There is also another lawsuit challenging the abortion ban. That suit argues that the ban violates the state's Religious Freedom Restoration Act by infringing on the rights of those whose religions accept and even encourage abortions in certain circumstances.
A Marion County judge temporarily halted the law from taking effect in that case, but only as it applies to the small handful of people who brought the suit. The judge later expanded the lawsuit to cover anyone whose religious beliefs clash with the abortion ban, but it's unclear how that now applies to enforcement of the ban.
Will there be more lawsuits challenging the ban?
Indiana’s near-total abortion ban is set to take effect Tuesday after the state Supreme Court OK'd its constitutionality in a recent ruling.
A law professor says that same ruling opened the door for more lawsuits around the ban.
The Supreme Court’s decision said the abortion ban doesn’t violate the state constitution’s guarantee of liberty. But Indiana University law professor Jody Madeira said the ruling almost explicitly invites other challenges to the ban.
“The court just felt that this challenge was too broad," Madeira said. "So, the court might be quite willing to entertain other litigation.”
Madeira said one of the few exceptions to the ban that the court said was constitutionally guaranteed was in cases where the life or serious health of the pregnant person is at risk.
Why weren’t abortion restrictions decided by a ballot question in Indiana?
A lot of Hoosiers wanted to know why there’s not a public question about abortion on the ballot this November – especially after a high-profile Kansas referendum in early August 2022.
Ballot questions (other than school funding referendums) are fairly rare in Indiana. There is no legal avenue for what’s known as a “citizen-led” initiative – for instance, gathering enough signatures to put a question on the ballot.
Still, there’s nothing in state law stopping legislators from creating one on abortion. But House and Senate Republicans rejected efforts from Democrats to do so.
Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray (R-Martinsville) said that crafting such a question is difficult.
“Could you say – should abortion be legal? Should it be legal for the first trimester?” Bray said. “Should abortion be illegal with exception of the life of the mother, or the life and health of the mother, or the life and health of the mother and rape and incest? And if you say rape and incest or life of the mother, how do you define life of the mother?”
Ohio voters will decide on two constitutional amendments in the next few months. One in August, which would raise the threshold for constitutional amendments to pass. And the second in November, which would codify a right to abortion care in the Ohio constitution.
Will the ban affect access to contraceptives and emergency contraceptives?
During testimony on the measure, Sen. Sue Glick (R-LaGrange) emphasized contraceptives and emergency contraceptives like Plan B would not be banned by this bill.
However, the legislation signed into law leaves much of this promise up in the air, said Jennifer Drobac, an Indiana University law professor.
She said that language in the law could “conceivably” outlaw certain forms of birth control, including IUDs, that can interfere with the implantation process.
“The problem with all of this is, how is a normal human being, person who's pregnant, supposed to know whether or not they're taking a medication or using a contraception that is actually prohibited – because they honestly think that what they're doing is OK, and, under the law, is not prohibited,” she said.
She added this vague language leaves room for interpretation. Drobac said the law does not go far enough in detailing what is acceptable, leaving contraceptive users potentially vulnerable to accidentally doing something illegal.
“So that's the problem with the Indiana law, is it's dealing in an area of science that is sophisticated, with law that is not sophisticated,” Drobac said.
What might the FDA’s expansion of abortion pill access mean for Hoosiers?
The Food and Drug Administration expanded access of abortion pills to more pharmacies, including large chains, mail-order companies and online pharmacies. But how this would affect Indiana’s ban is complicated and unclear.
Jennifer Drobac is a law professor at Indiana University. Drobac said this ruling could make it easier for pregnant people to get an abortion – as they would not have to do an in-person visit to get this prescription. However, Indiana’s abortion law requires abortion patients to be in the presence of a doctor.
READ MORE: Supreme Court blocks lower court decision in case on FDA approval of abortion pill
She said if Indiana’s abortion law is put back into effect, this FDA ruling could make abortions more accessible for pregnant Hoosiers.
“If a woman wants to avoid the law, it's easier for her to do so because she can get an electronic prescription,” Drobac said. “And she can get the medication through the mail. That doesn't make it legal, but it makes it easier.”
Drobac said Indiana’s current abortion law only permits the prosecution of the doctors providing abortions, not for the pregnant people receiving them.
How will Indiana’s abortion law affect medications that treat other conditions like lupus?
Jody Madeira is a law professor at Indiana University Bloomington. She said this new law may affect access to these medications.
“Pharmacists have to honor all prescriptions, but they are immune from criminal prosecution or civil liability if they refuse to honor prescriptions because in their professional judgment, it would be contrary to the law or a patient's health and safety are against the patient's best interests,” she said.
She said in some states, women have been refused medication treating conditions like arthritis.
In Indiana, pharmacists are typically expected to prescribe as the doctor ordered. But a 2019 law expanded protections for medical professionals who object to abortion on “ethical, moral, or religious grounds” to refuse to participate in abortions, to include pharmacists who refuse to dispense abortion-inducing drugs.
“There's nowhere in the abortion bill where it addresses pharmacists, refusals. Nor does it necessarily give pharmacists leave explicitly in the bill to sign off on prescriptions for abortion medication,” she said.
How are hospitals preparing for the law taking effect?
Dr. David Ingram is IU’s Health chief medical officer. He said IU Health, Indiana’s largest health care system, has spent the past few months deciding how to best provide support for health care providers.
“All of our sites are prepared for that and we’re determining what’s the best access point, based on a number of factors for our patients seeking care,” Ingram said.
Ingram said the cost of abortion in Indiana will increase due to the ban.
Maternal-fetal medicine specialist Dr. Caroline Rouse said IU Health has also created a 24-7 rapid response team that’s prepared to answer provider questions about what they are allowed to do under the ban.
“So, in the event that a health care provider has an urgent legal question related to provision of abortion services, the rapid response team can be called for an opinion and advice,” Rouse said.
The hospital will continue to provide legal abortion care through this response team, and by monitoring the impact of the abortion ban on infant and maternal mortality rates in the country.
Where do the majority of Hoosiers stand on abortion?
Laura Wilson is a University of Indianapolis associate professor of political science. She said getting an answer on abortion from polling is difficult as there’s often a disconnect between opinion and action when it comes to polling.
“Many people will say generally speaking, they support something," Wilson said. "Will they vote on the basis of that? Will they write their legislator on the basis of that? Will they go to protest on the basis of that?”
On abortion polling specifically, Wilson said it’s a particularly tricky issue to gauge public opinion on.
“Because there’s a lot of parameters and a lot of exceptions, explanations, context that you can add to it," Wilson said. "It’s not as simple as we often make it feel, where you’re either in support of it or against it.”
What little Indiana public polling about abortion there is available suggests a large majority of Hoosiers support at least some legal access to abortion – but exactly how much access is harder to gauge.
READ MORE: More abortion lawsuits likely as Indiana's near-total ban takes effect
Join the conversation and sign up for the Indiana Two-Way. Text "Indiana" to 73224. Your comments and questions in response to our weekly text help us find the answers you need on statewide issues.
Will the ban lead to more people and businesses leaving Indiana?
The morning after Governor Holcomb signed a near-total abortion ban into law, one of the state’s largest employers said the new restrictions will hinder its ability to attract talent.
“Given this new law, we will be forced to plan for more employment growth outside our home state,” pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, which is headquartered in Indianapolis, said in a statement.
The statement was the first comment Eli Lilly, which employs more than 10,400 people in Indianapolis, has made on the legislation.
Cummins spoke out the same day Eli Lilly issued its statement to oppose the ban. Both companies said the ban will make it hard to attract talent, and they will consider growth in other states.
“For Cummins to be successful it is critical that we have a safe and welcoming workplace, and communities where we embrace our differences and enable all employees to thrive,” the Cummins statement said. “As we continue to grow our footprint with a focus on selecting communities that align with our values and business goals, this law will be considered in our decision-making process.”
Unlike many smaller companies in Indiana, both Cummins and Eli Lilly were publicly silent until after the decision was passed.
ButHolcomb largely dismissed any impact Indiana’s near-total abortion ban will have on attracting and retaining businesses and talent to the state.
The governor insisted the state is well-positioned to continue adding jobs and investments.
“It’s because of access to talent,” Holcomb said. “And we have that access to talent – we had it yesterday, we have it today and we’ll have it tomorrow.”
During the special session last year, lawmakers also passed a measure to put more money toward adoption and family supports. Is that still there?
The package included more than $70 million to help address services and programs for pregnant Hoosiers, families and children. That includes increasing the state adoption tax credit to $2,500 per child (up from $1,000) and ensuring Hoosiers no longer have to pay sales tax on children's diapers.
During last year’s special session, critics of the legislation said the one-time allocation wasn’t enough to address Indiana’s poor maternal mortality and access to care.
One study through the Indiana University Richard Fairbanks School of Public Health titled “Ask the Women” included people in zip codes with high infant mortality rates in an effort to understand where they experienced gaps in care.
Erin Macy is a senior researcher for the Grassroots and Maternal Child Health Initiative, which oversaw the study. She said a vast majority of the participants in the study worked over the course of their pregnancy. Roughly half of the participants experienced “significant interruptions” in their ability to do work.
“Many of our participants were pushed out of work,” she said. “Either because they couldn’t receive really basic accommodations and have bathroom breaks or go to prenatal visits.”
Sen. Ryan Mishler (R-Bremen) called the bill “bridge funding” meant to help the state get through the next several months until lawmakers write a new state budget in 2023. The majority of that money went to the Hoosier Families First Fund.
The two-year budget passed by lawmakers does not appear to have any funding for the Hoosier Families First Fund – however, there is a line item in the state budget under the Indiana Department of Health for Maternal and Child Health Initiatives. In the previous two-year budget, it was allotted about $500,000 over two years. In the new budget, it’s getting nearly $16.5 million.
Most of the line items that received funding in the special session measure got boosts in the new two-year budget, including the Safety PIN Grant Fund and the Nurse Family Partnership Program. A widely criticized anti-abortion organization from Pennsylvania – Real Alternatives – also saw a significant increase in state funding. In the previous two-year budget, it received $500,000 over two years. In the new budget, it is getting $7 million.
The family supports law includes credits, exemptions for adoption. Will it affect the process?
Meg Sterchi is the executive director of Adoptions of Indiana, a nonprofit offering various education and support services for birth parents and adoptive families.
“I think that it's good that Indiana is increasing services, well, money, to provide more services to women who are pregnant. But I think we're just scratching the top of what is needed if we really want to help women who are pregnant,” she said.
One of the bill’s major changes was raising the adoption tax credit from $1,000 to $2,500.
Sterchi said this price change will “not make a big difference.” She said she feels the scope of this legislation should’ve gone further to support pregnant people.
Shannon Schumacher is the president and CEO of the Villages of Indiana, the state’s largest not-for-profit child and family services agency.
While she is hopeful that adoption tax credits could encourage others to adopt, she said other issues can arise post-adoption, including limited attention on the well-being of birth mothers.
“Oftentimes, with the birth mother, there's lots of attention on her during her pregnancy,” she said. “But once the child is adopted, we know that oftentimes the support for the birth mother wanes at that point. So to make sure that there's continued support for those birth mothers after the baby is adopted [is important].”
How will the ban affect doctors hoping to train or work in Indiana?
Indiana, like many Republican-led states, has a shortage of providers. A 2018 report from the March of Dimes found 27 percent of Indiana counties are considered maternal care deserts, with no or limited access to maternity care. The state has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country.
Dr. Wendy Tian, a third year resident, said lately she is scared and worried about her safety. Tian grew up and went to school in Chicago and chose to come to Indiana for residency because the program has a strong family planning focus. She was also open to practicing in Indiana once she completes her training.
“I always thought I wanted to do family planning. I'm now thinking about doing something else,” she said. “I know I still want to incorporate it. But I, for sure, don't know if I would be able to stay in Indiana postgraduation with what's going on.”
Still, she feels “guilty for giving up” on some of the most vulnerable patients in Indiana.
Even before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Tian said the medical climate in Indiana could be hostile and frustrating. Indiana, like other states with abortion restrictions, allows nearly all health care providers to opt-out of providing care for abortion patients.
Indiana Public Broadcasting's Brandon Smith contributed to this story.
Lauren is our digital editor. Contact her at lchapman@wfyi.org or follow her on Twitter at @laurenechapman_. Violet is our daily news reporter. Contact her at vcomberwilen@wfyi.org or follow her on Twitter at @ComberWilen.
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Berry on Burrow's injury, Purdy's outlook with SF
July 31, 2023 02:09 PM
Matthew Berry, Jay Croucher, and Connor Rogers analyze the latest injury news around the NFL, including Joe Burrow's calf strain, how Brock Purdy's return affects the 49ers' QB room, Breece Hall's progress and more.
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https://www.nbcsports.com/watch/nfl/matthew-berry/fantasy-football-happy-hour-with-matthew-berry/berry-revealing-2023-ride-or-die-during-hof-game
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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Friday issued a proposal to update Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for passenger cars and light-duty trucks, calling for a fleet average of 58 mpg, according to its methodology, by 2032—which will equate to a real-world fleet efficiency average of about 43.5 mpg.
The proposed rules, on which the NHTSA is now taking public comment, call for a 2% annual improvement in fuel efficiency for passenger cars, and a 4% improvement for light trucks, between model years 2027 and 2032. As is always the case with CAFE standards though, the 58-mpg figure in the framework itself represents an array of adjustments built into the rules, as well as the existence of emissions credits automakers can purchase to offset excess emissions.
The proposal also includes a 10% annual improvement in fuel efficiency for commercial pickup trucks and work vans with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) or more than 8,500 pounds and less than 14,001 pounds, beginning with the 2030 model year and continuing through the 2035 model year.
If enacted, these fuel-efficiency increases would eliminate the use of 88 billion gallons of gasoline through 2050 and prevent more than 900 million tons of CO2 emissions during that time, according to an NHTSA press release. The emissions reduction would be the equivalent of taking more than 233 million vehicles off the road from 2022 to 2050, according to the agency.
The proposed rules throttle back efficiency increases somewhat. As Reuters points out, NHTSA rules finalized in 2022 for model years 2024-2026 require a fleet average of 49 mpg by 2026, which calls for efficiency increases of 8% in 2024 and 2025 and 10% in 2026.
EPA rules might result in 67% EV sales by 2032. The current rules, EPA suggests, can be met with about 17% EV sales by 2026. The NHTSA and EPA share authority over emissions standards because they overlap in the EPA’s mandate to reduce pollution and the NHTSA’s mandate to administer rules governing new cars sold in the U.S.
How challenging the NHTSA proposal is to automakers, and how it stands versus proposed EPA rules announced earlier this year, depends on the outcome of a controversial factor that digs deep in rulemaking jargon but is especially important this time around. The NHTSA doesn’t directly consider the true efficiency of EVs, incorporating electricity generation, in its rule making, and the federal government is in the process of updating the Petroleum Equivalency Factor (PEF) that governs how EVs are taken into account.
The level of difficulty in meeting future emissions standards will depend to some level on the revised PEF and whether it becomes more representative of reality, which General Motors is opposing.
GM has also already taken issue with the EPA proposal for the next rule period and what the automaker views as an unrealistic acceleration of the EV market by the end of the decade. GM previously declared an “aspiration” to make all of its light-duty vehicles electric by 2035.
The Natural Resources Defense Council lauded the new standards and called them important to low-income drivers. But several other environmental groups, including the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Center for Biological Diversity spoke up on Friday to suggest that the NHTSA rules could be stronger to support the EPA rules recently released. Consumer Reports suggested that the new rules could go farther, and it pointed to a nationally representative survey it conducted in 2022 suggesting that fuel economy is “very important” or “extremely important” to 70% of American drivers. It also noted that strong CAFE rules will help assure that automakers make their EVs as efficient as possible.
After some negotiation, the NHTSA and EPA are usually in alignment on proposed emissions rules. In practice, if there’s more of a difference between them this time around, it might allow any remaining internal-combustion vehicles to be lower in their fuel efficiency than the EPA rules would permit—especially if EV volumes prove to be higher than assumed by rulemaking. But much is yet to be determined in the details and how this NHTSA proposal carries into a final rule.
with additional reporting by Bengt Halvorson
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- EPA tailpipe emissions rules for 2027-2032: EVs not mandated
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| 2023-07-31T21:08:08
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Dallas Cowboys running back Ronald Jones was suspended two games by the NFL on Monday for violating the league's performance-enhancing substances policy.
The league announced the ban in a statement. The statement did not specify what substance triggered the suspension. Jones will miss Cowboys games in Week 1 and Week 2 against the New York Giants and New York Jets. He'll be eligible to return in Week 3 against the Arizona Cardinals.
Cowboys RB Ronald Jones has been suspended first 2 games for violating policy on performance-enhancing substances pic.twitter.com/s0dDh9ORfR
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) July 31, 2023
The Cowboys signed Jones as a free agent in March for depth behind starter Tony Pollard. Pollard is recovering from a broken ankle sustained in the playoffs last season, but is participating in training camp in anticipation of being ready to play Week 1.
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| 2023-07-31T21:08:07
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WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Violent crimes in the city of Wichita are rapidly increasing.
Since June 23, Wichita has seen 15 homicides. In the first six months of the year, there were 13 total homicides in Wichita.
This week, Wichita had six homicide victims. Some of the cases were domestic violence, while others involved teens. The Wichita Police Department says nearly all of the incidents in the last month involved handguns, and the victims and suspects knew each other.
WPD met Friday afternoon to address the rise of homicides.
“We take ownership of crime in this city. I take things very personally when someone is victimized, especially when someone is killed,” said Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan.
Sullivan said he has seen too many examples where guns are used as a response to an argument.
“Someone decides, due to a minor disturbance or argument, to choose a permanent solution to what should be a temporary problem,” said Sullivan.
The police department says they are working to add patrol units in locations of high crime, including the parking garage in Old Town, where two people were found dead in their vehicle.
Police say community support and technology is a key role in helping find justice in each homicide case. Their current clearance rate for homicides is 92.8%.
“We want people to think before they act. We want people to take responsibility for themselves and their loved ones and try to prevent deescalate situations and intervene when you see that happening. Know where your children are, your family, your friends, if someone is having a mental health crisis, reach out and get them help,” said Sullivan.
Anti-violence leaders in the community agree that ending the violence is a shared responsibility between law enforcement and the people of Wichita.
“People are getting a hold of firearms real quick now. It seems like they’re solving everything with gun violence instead of just talking it out,” said David Gilkey, co-founder of Rise Up For Youth.
Gilkey says people need to keep youth from things that can change or end their lives and provide them with resources for success.
“Try to get a hold of the talents and gifts that they have and start using those to further their lives,” Gilkey added.
Pastor Roosevelt DeShazer from Progressive Missionary Baptist Church explains change starts in the home.
“I am not going to leave it just up to the police department to train my grandchildren or children to do better. I have to teach them,” DeShazer said.
He says there is too much anger in all cultural communities in Wichita, and we need to have faith in God and each other to bring peace.
“We need to turn jealousy into justice, and hostility into humility, and the bragging and boasting into belief, and I believe we will be a better people,” said DeShazer.
The Wichita Police Department encourages people to seek support for loved ones who are experiencing domestic violence or mental health crisis.
For mental health resources, click here.
For domestic violence resources, click here.
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https://www.ksn.com/news/local/wpd-and-anti-violence-advocates-address-rising-homicide-rates/
| 2023-07-31T21:08:07
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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Florida is seeing a rise in leprosy cases that could mean the disease has become endemic in the Sunshine State, according to a letter published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The letter, which was published in mid-July, said while leprosy is historically uncommon in the United States, cases more than doubled in the South over the last 10 years.
Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s Disease, is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae and is characterized by discolored patches of skin, ulcers, lumps and damage to the nerves.
The CDC said if untreated, the disease can progress to paralysis, blindness, the loss of one’s eyebrows, physical disfigurement, and even the “shortening of toes and fingers due to reabsorption.”
The Florida Department of Health said the disease first appeared in the state in 1921. The National Hansen’s Disease Program found that 159 cases of leprosy were reported in 2020. Florida was at the top of the list of states with the most new cases.
According to the Florida Health Charts, the state had 26 reported cases in 2019, 27 in 2020, and 14 in 2021.
“Central Florida, in particular, accounted for 81% of cases reported in Florida and almost one-fifth of nationally reported cases,” the letter said. “Whereas leprosy in the United States previously affected persons who had immigrated from leprosy-endemic areas, [about] 34% of new case-patients during 2015–2020 appeared to have locally acquired the disease.”
A disease becomes endemic when it occurs regularly within a certain community or area.
The CDC letter said multiple cases showed no sign of animal-to-human transmission or “traditionally known risk factors.”
One patient, a 54-year-old man in Central Florida, was treated at a dermatology clinic for a progressive rash caused by leprosy.
When asked, the man said he had lived in Central Florida his whole life, did not travel domestically or internationally, had no exposure to armadillos (which can carry the disease), had no contact with immigrants with endemic leprosy, and had no connection to someone with the disease.
Experts said there was some support for the theory that an increase in migration from other countries to the United States may have caused the disease to enter non-endemic areas. However, while leprosy cases are increasing in the U.S., the rate of new cases in people born outside of the U.S. had been on a decline since 2002.
“This information suggests that leprosy has become an endemic disease process in Florida, warranting further research into other methods of [local] transmission,” the letter said.
In the state of Florida, medical practitioners must report leprosy by the next business day so contact tracing can be done and reduce further infections.
“In our case, contact tracing was done by the National Hansen’s Disease Program and revealed no associated risk factors, including travel, zoonotic exposure, occupational association, or personal contacts,” the letter said. “The absence of traditional risk factors in many recent cases of leprosy in Florida, coupled with the high proportion of residents, like our patient, who spend a great deal of time outdoors, supports the investigation into environmental reservoirs as a potential source of transmission.”
The CDC said travel to Florida must now be considered when conducting contact tracing for leprosy in any state.
Leprosy, when contracted, can be treated by a combination of different antibiotics to prevent it from developing resistance to the medication, according to the CDC. Leprosy can be cured after one or two years of treatment.
However, even when cured, any nerve damage and disfigurement caused by the disease will be permanent.
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https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/leprosy-could-become-endemic-in-florida-as-cases-rise-cdc-says/
| 2023-07-31T21:08:13
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https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/leprosy-could-become-endemic-in-florida-as-cases-rise-cdc-says/
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This article was written by a human.
That's worth mentioning because it's no longer something you can just assume. Artificial intelligence that can mimic conversation, whether written or spoken, has been in the news a lot this year, delighting some members of the public while worrying educators, politicians, the World Health Organization, and even some of the people developing AI technology.
Misuse of AI is part of what actors and writers are striking about in Hollywood, and the threat of AI is something Hollywood was imagining long before it was real.
In 1968, for instance, the year before humans first set foot on the moon — and a time when astronauts still used pencils and slide rules to calculate re-entry trajectories because their space capsules had less computing power than a digital watch has today — Stanley Kubrick introduced movie audiences to a sentient HAL-9000 computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
HAL (for Heuristically Programmed Algorithmic Computer) introduced itself early in the film by saying, "No 9000 computer has ever made a mistake or distorted information. We are all, by any practical definition of the words, foolproof and incapable of error."
'Open the pod bay door, HAL'
So why was HAL acting so strangely? He (it?) was responsible for maintaining all aspects of a months-long space flight, ferrying astronauts to the moons of Jupiter. Programmed to run the mission flawlessly, the computer's behavior had become alarming, and two of the astronauts had decided to shut down some of its functions. Their plan was short-circuited when HAL, lip-reading a conversation they'd managed to keep him from hearing, cast one of them adrift while he was outside the ship repairing an antenna and refused to let the other back on board.
"Open the pod bay door, HAL" became one of the most quoted film lines of the decade when the computer responded, "I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that. This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it."
It's hard to articulate what a genuine shock this was for 1960s movie audiences. There'd been films with, say, robots causing havoc, but they were generally robots doing someone else's bidding. Movie robots, at that point, were about brawn, not brain.
And anyway, malevolent robot stories were precisely the sort of B-movie silliness Kubrick was trying to avoid. So his intelligent machine simply observed (with an unblinking red eye) and, when addressed directly, spoke with a calm, modulated voice, not unlike the one that would be adopted four decades later by Siri and Alexa.
Darwin Among the Machines
Earlier literary notions of "artificial" intelligence — and there were not a lot of them at that point — hadn't really caught the public's imagination. Samuel Butler's 1863 article Darwin Among the Machines, is generally thought to be the origin of this species of writing, and it mostly just notes that while humankind invented machines to assist us — and remember, a really sophisticated machine in 1863 was the steam locomotive — we were increasingly assisting them: tending, fueling, repairing.
Over tens of thousands of years, Butler wondered, might humans not evolve in much the same way Darwin's study of natural selection had just established the rest of the plant and animal kingdoms do, to the point that we would become dependent on our devices?
But even when he incorporated that idea a decade later into a satirical novel called Erewhon, expounding for several chapters on self-replicating machines, Butler barely touched on the notion that those machines would develop consciousness. And neither did the influential 19th-century science fiction writers who followed him. H.G. Wells and Jules Verne invented plenty of unorthodox devices as they sent characters to the center of the Earth, and into space and the recesses of time, without ever considering that those devices might want to do things on their own.
The term "artificial intelligence" wasn't even coined (by American computer scientist John McCarthy) until about a dozen years before Kubrick made his Space Odyssey. But HAL made an impression on the public where scientists had not. Within just a couple of years, movie computers didn't just want spaceship domination; in Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970), they wanted to take over the world.
Malignant machines gone viral
And then this notion of technology-run-wild, ran wild. A high school student played by Matthew Broderick nearly started World War III in WarGames (1983) when he thought he was hacking a computer company's website but accidentally challenged the Pentagon's defense network to a quick game of "global thermonuclear war." The problem, it soon became clear, was that no one told the defense network they were just "playing."
Elsewhere, mechanical men stopped being all-brawn and got a new dispensation to think for themselves, something fiction had granted them before Hollywood got around to it.
In the 1940s, sci-fi novelist Isaac Asimov came up with "Three Laws of Robotics" that would theoretically keep "independent" machines in line. When Asimov's story I, Robot, was turned into a film a half-century or so later, those laws should have reassured Will Smith as he stared down thousands of bots. But he had good reason to be skeptical; he was fighting a robot rebellion.
The Terminator movies effectively put all these themes on steroids — cyborgs in the service of a computerized, sentient, civil-defense network called Skynet, designed to function without any human input. A "Nuclear Fire" and three billion human deaths later, what was left of humanity was engaged in a war against the machines that has so far consumed six films, a TV series, a pair of web series, and innumerable games.
And nuclear blasts weren't necessary to make machine intelligence alarming, a fact cyberpunk-noir established definitively in Blade Runner with its "replicants," and in a Matrix series that reduced all of humanity to a mere power source for machines.
Hollywood's still fighting that vision. Who knows what "The Entity" wants in Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning (presumably we'll find out next year in Part Two), but whatever it is, it won't bode well for humanity.
Hollywood concentrates on exploiting our fears — in the late 20th century, we worried about ceding control to technology. In the 21st century, we worry about losing control of technology.
It seems not to have occurred to Tinseltown that AI might do the things it's actually doing — make social media dangerous, or make undergrad writing courses unteachable, or screw up relationships by auto-completing incorrectly. None of those are terribly cinematic, so Hollywood concentrates on exploiting our fears — in the late 20th century, we worried about ceding control to technology. In the 21st century, we worry about losing control of technology.
Bring on the droids
Have there also been friendlier film visions of AI? Sure. George Lucas came up with lovable droids R2-D2 and C-3PO for Star Wars, and Pixar gave us Wall-E, a bot who was pluckily determined to clean up an entire planet we'd despoiled.
Spike Jonze's drama Her imagined a sentient, Siri-like personal assistant as a digital girlfriend. Star Trek's Data was not just a Next Generation android version of Mr. Spock, but also a sort of emotion-challenged Pinocchio.
And another Pinocchio — this one fashioned to stand the test of time — would have been Stanley Kubrick's own answer to the question he'd posed with HAL in 1968.
Kubrick labored for decades to hone the script for A.I. Artificial Intelligence, then just two years before he died, handed the project off to Steven Spielberg — the story of David, a robot child who has been programmed to love, and who ends up going beyond that programming.
"Until you were born," William Hurt's Professor Hobby told the bionic child he'd modeled on his own son, "robots didn't dream, robots didn't desire unless we told them what to want." The miracle, he went on, was that though David was engineered rather than born, he shared with humans "the ability to chase down our dreams...something no machine has ever done, until you."
That may not have been enough to make David a real boy, but it put a gentle face on what is perhaps our greatest fear about AI – that we are mortal, and it is not.
In the film, David outlives all of humanity, never growing up, never changing. And perhaps because he was played by Haley Joel Osment, or perhaps because Spielberg was calling the shots, or perhaps because the music swelled ... just so — it didn't feel the least bit threatening.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
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| 2023-07-31T21:08:14
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Red Bull Racing scored a one-two finish during the past week’s Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix, which served as round 13 of the 2023 season and the final race before the summer break.
Fresh from his win at Saturday’s standalone Sprint race, Max Verstappen took home another win on Sunday at the main event after recovering from starting in the fifth position due to a grid penalty related to a gearbox change. Once again the rest of the field, including Verstappen teammate Sergio Perez, provided little in the way of competition.
Perez, who started the race second on the grid, finished 22 seconds after Verstappen to secure second place, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, the polesitter, finished 32 seconds behind the winner to secure the final podium spot.
There was plenty of action at the start, with Perez moving ahead of Leclerc on the first lap and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri making contact. The damage eventually led to both drivers retiring, with Piastri out at the start and Sainz around the midway point of the race.
Verstappen was able to take advantage of the clash and move up to fourth early on, behind Hamilton, who was in third behind Perez and Leclerc. Verstappen made a successful move on Hamilton on lap six and passed Leclerc to claim second just three laps later.
He overtook race leader Perez on lap 16. With a gap of just half a second between them, Verstappen used the DRS on the Kemmel straight to shoot past his teammate. From there, the reigning world champion cruised to the end of the race.
Hamilton finished in fourth place, and managed to set the fastest lap of the race fresh after changing to Medium tires on the penultimate lap. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso finished in fifth place ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, who worked a one-stop strategy to take sixth.
Following the weekend’s action, Verstappen leads the 2023 Drivers’ Championship with 314 points. Perez is a distant second with 189 points and Alonso is third with 149 points. In the Constructors’ Championship, Red Bull leads with 503 points, versus the 247 points of second-placed Mercedes and 196 points of third-placed Aston Martin. Teams now enjoy a three-week summer break before returning for the Dutch Grand Prix.
Below are the full results from the 2023 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix:
1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
2) Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing +22.305 seconds
3) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +32.259 seconds
4) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-Benz AMG +49.671 seconds
5) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin +56.184 seconds
6) George Russell, Mercedes-Benz AMG +63.101 seconds
7) Lando Norris, McLaren +73.719 seconds
8) Esteban Ocon, Alpine +74.719 seconds
9) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +79.340 seconds
10) Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri +80.221 seconds
11) Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri +83.084 seconds
12) Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo +85.191 seconds
13) Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo +95.441 seconds
14) Alexander Albon, Williams +96.184 seconds
15) Kevin Magnussen, Haas +101.754 seconds
16) Daniel Ricciardo, AlphaTauri +103.071 seconds
17) Logan Sargeant, Williams +104.476 seconds
18) Nico Hulkenberg, Haas +110.450 seconds
NC) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari – DNF
NC) Oscar Piastri, McLaren – DNF
Related Articles
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- Ford Mustang Dark Horse R ready to race in one-make series
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https://www.pahomepage.com/automotive/internet-brands/red-bull-secures-one-two-finish-at-2023-f1-belgian-grand-prix/
| 2023-07-31T21:08:14
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ESPN's ongoing talent shakeup is expected to produce a dramatically revamped A team for its NBA broadcasts.
Per the New York Post's Andrew Marchand, the network has laid off longtime analyst Mark Jackson and is planning to promote analyst Doris Burke to call games alongside lead play-by-play man Mike Breen. It's also expected to hire Doc Rivers to complete the three-person team that anchors the network's NBA Finals coverage.
Rivers has spent the last 24 seasons as an NBA head coach, but remains without work after being fired by the Philadelphia 76ers this offseason. He would join Burke in replacing Jeff Van Gundy, who was laid off last month amid a wave of high-profile talent cuts at the network.
Jackson worked alongside Breen and Van Gundy for 15 seasons across two stints starting in 2006.
The moves would mark a return for Rivers to the NBA Finals broadcast booth after a stint with ABC in 2004. Rivers called the Finals that year alongside Al Michaels after he was fired as the head coach of the Orlando Magic early that same season. His broadcast stint was brief, though. Rivers returned to NBA sidelines the following season as the head coach of the Boston Celtics, whom he coached to an NBA championship five seasons later.
The promotion of Burke would be a historic one. She's previously worked the NBA Finals as a sideline reporter and has long been a game analyst for ESPN, most recently alongside Jones on the network's B team. If promoted, she would be the first woman to call NBA Finals games on network TV.
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(The Hill) – A court in France sentenced a United Airlines pilot to a six-month suspended prison term and one-year suspended license for showing up to work intoxicated Tuesday, local media outlets reported.
The pilot, reportedly a 63-year-old American, referred to only as “Henry W.” in French media, showed up to work at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport with a blood alcohol content three times the legal limit for pilots in Europe. According to an emailed statement by United sent to The Hill, the flight was headed to Washington Dulles International Airport, despite other reports it was going to Dallas.
“The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority,” the United statement said. “We hold all our employees to the highest standards and have a strict no-tolerance policy for alcohol. This employee was immediately removed from service and we are fully cooperating with local authorities.”
According to a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, by the National Gendarmerie, a French national law enforcement organization, the pilot’s license is suspended for a year. The incident reportedly occurred at 3 p.m. Sunday.
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https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/united-airlines-pilot-has-license-suspended-after-turning-up-drunk-to-work/
| 2023-07-31T21:08:15
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https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/united-airlines-pilot-has-license-suspended-after-turning-up-drunk-to-work/
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Berry on Burrow's injury, Purdy's outlook with SF
July 31, 2023 02:09 PM
Matthew Berry, Jay Croucher, and Connor Rogers analyze the latest injury news around the NFL, including Joe Burrow's calf strain, how Brock Purdy's return affects the 49ers' QB room, Breece Hall's progress and more.
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https://www.nbcsports.com/watch/nfl/matthew-berry/fantasy-football-happy-hour-with-matthew-berry/berry-talks-gordon-beasley-as-late-round-fliers
| 2023-07-31T21:08:18
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https://www.nbcsports.com/watch/nfl/matthew-berry/fantasy-football-happy-hour-with-matthew-berry/berry-talks-gordon-beasley-as-late-round-fliers
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In 1998, Mercedes-Benz built the CLK LM to take on the FIA GT Championship in the premier GT1 class, as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
It dominated the series, though it failed to finish at Le Mans due to reliability issues.
Just four examples are thought to have been built in total, and now one of them is up for sale.
According to its listing on Piston Heads, the striking race car is available via London-based dealership JM Performance and was used purely as a test vehicle during its motorsports career. After that career ended, the car was sold into private hands, initially to a customer in Japan. It’s been with its current owner in the U.K. since 2017, who went through the process of making it road legal.
The CLK LM is the successor to the much more widely known Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR built a year prior. While that car required 25 road-going homologation specials to be built, the CLK LM needed just one.
That sole CLK LM homologation is currently in private hands and may eventually turn up for sale one day. Until that happens, anyone with a desire for a road-legal CLK LM can purchase this car from JM Performance. No price is mentioned in the listing.
For the CLK LM, Mercedes swapped out the CLK GTR’s V-12 engine in favor of a V-8 deemed to be better able to last when racing around the clock at Le Mans. The mid-mounted engine is a 5.0-liter unit rated at close to 600 hp. It’s paired with a 6-speed sequential transmission and spins the rear wheels only.
With the next season of the GT Championship adopting a prototype class for its premier class, Mercedes ended the CLK LM program, replacing it with the CLR prototype. That car had a disastrous outing at the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans, with aerodynamic issues causing multiple high-speed flips.
Related Articles
- 2023 F1 standings: Verstappen looks unbeatable
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- Nissan GT-R from “Gran Turismo” movie heads to auction
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https://www.pahomepage.com/automotive/internet-brands/road-legal-mercedes-benz-clk-lm-race-car-up-for-sale/
| 2023-07-31T21:08:20
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https://www.pahomepage.com/automotive/internet-brands/road-legal-mercedes-benz-clk-lm-race-car-up-for-sale/
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Let’s get building
Building sandcastles is the quintessential beach activity for kids of all ages and a cherished pastime for many adults. Kids run back and forth from the water to the beach, gathering their beach toys and dumping buckets of sand. It’s fun to watch the little ones attempt their masterpiece, but nothing’s better than them asking for help building the ultimate sandcastle.
Most adults have years of experience building sandcastles with a realistic tower and maybe even a moat. These skills honed from your own childhood and the right supplies are sure to impress the kids in your household today.
Shop this article: Hape Beach Essential Sand Toy Set, Matty’s Toy Stop 16.5″ Wooden Mini Sand Shovels and Top Race Collapsible Bucket.
Design your masterpiece
If you have a bit of a drive to get to the beach, start designing your sandcastle. Ask everyone about their favorite part of a castle and try to incorporate each element. Figure out if it will be a single structure or multiple buildings. Does everyone have their own job, or is everyone helping with all the components? Once you iron out the details, you can get started as soon as you arrive.
Find the perfect location
There’s nothing worse than a wave knocking down your nearly-finished sandcastle, so be sure to pick the perfect location. Find somewhere far enough away from the waves but close enough that you’re not transporting water too far. Also, keep the weather in mind. If it’s too hot and sunny, set up a beach tent or beach umbrella to avoid sunburns.
Create the foundation
The foundation, or base, of your sandcastle is the most crucial component since it supports the entire structure. To build a solid foundation, build up a mound of sand as tall as you want your castle. The key is to ensure your sand is saturated with water and that it’s tightly packed. So, add sand, dump water, pack it down and repeat until you reach your desired height.
Start from the top
Now it’s time to start carving out your basic structure with a plastic knife or putty knife. The key to this step is to start from the top since the sand will fall on everything below. A paintbrush makes a great tool if sand falls on a tight area. Also, carve away the sand in thin layers. You can always take away more sand, but it’s hard to add.
Add details
Once you have the main structure, start adding details such as stairs, a tower roof, windows or a brick pattern. During this final step, opt for smaller tools such as a tiny paintbrush or the thinnest putty knife.
Products you need to build next-level sandcastles
Hape Beach Essential Sand Toy Set
This set includes a smoother tool, a shaper tool and a digging paw. All pieces use high-quality plastic free of bisphenol A, polyvinyl chloride and phthalates. With an included mesh carrying bag, it’s a breeze to carry to the beach and clean up after a day of building.
Sold by Amazon
Matty’s Toy Stop 16.5″ Wooden Mini Sand Shovels
Sand is the most important part of a sandcastle, and these shovels help you gather more sand faster. It has four shovels in unique colors, so there’s no fighting over sharing. The 16.5-inch length is perfect for the beach, and the wooden handle is durable enough to handle big building jobs.
Sold by Amazon
Kids can’t haul huge buckets of water back and forth. These half-gallon pails are perfect for letting the little one enjoy the sandcastle building. They are collapsible and foldable into three unique sizes or to about 1 inch thick for storage. They’re also dishwasher-safe.
Sold by Amazon
Building sandcastles is about having fun and getting dirty, and this hand digger is the perfect way for kids to enjoy themselves. The deep scoop is great for digging deep holes or transporting water and is usable by kids as young as 1 year old. It’s made of child-safe materials and a nontoxic finish.
Sold by Amazon
If you’ve ever seen a professional sandcastle competition, you’ve probably noticed an array of supplies. This includes a paintbrush, which is a versatile and ideal tool for brushing off extra sand or adding a smooth finish to your castle. This set comes in five sizes to tackle any job.
Sold by Amazon
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Bre Richey writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2023 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wric.com/reviews/br/baby-kids-br/activity-br/5-best-items-for-building-next-level-sandcastles-with-your-kids/
| 2023-07-31T21:08:20
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ELKHART, Kan. (KSNW) — Heartland Tri-State Bank in Elkhart has been seized by the Kansas Bank Commissioner.
In a news release from the Commissioner’s office, an ongoing investigation of the bank determined that it was insolvent. The release says what happened to Heartland was an isolated event and will have no effect on other banks in Kansas.
The bank was seized Friday and the Commissioner appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to act as the receiver. It has been acquired by Dream First Bank in Syracuse and will reopen on July 31 as Dream First Bank.
In the meantime, Heartland customers can still use their ATM and debit cards, and use checks for their accounts, which will transition to Dream First Bank accounts on the 31st. Checks drawn on Heartland accounts will still process and loan customers will still need to make payments.
Heartland Tr-State Bank was located at 601 Morton Street, Elkhart, Kansas, with branch locations in Attica, Arlington, and Rolla. The Bank Commissioner’s office did not provide exact details as to why the bank became insolvent.
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| 2023-07-31T21:08:22
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Phoenix is expected to get another heatwave this week, after the city has already suffered under high temperatures that surpassed 110°F for a national-record of 31 consecutive days through Sunday.
While extreme heat affects everyone, the harms fall most on people experiencing homelessness and lower-income families who are more likely to lack access to air conditioning. Sitting or falling on the sidewalk is especially dangerous, because pavement absorbs heat and can reach temperatures of 180 in Phoenix, causing severe burns.
"Unhoused people accounted for about 40% of the 425 heat-associated deaths tallied last year in Maricopa County, home to Phoenix," the Associated Press recently reported.
"If this continues, we will see more heat-related deaths," Amy Schwabenlender, head of the Human Services Campus, a medical and social services center near "The Zone," an area where Phoenix's homeless population is clustered, told the news agency AFP earlier this month. "It is a life-and-death situation."
Unequal access to air conditioning is just one of the many ways that the growing effects of climate change have the biggest implications for the least advantaged. Here are some others.
Urban heat islands
More than 40 million Americans in cities are experiencing far more intense heat than those in rural areas thanks to urban "heat islands," according to an analysis released last week by the nonprofit research group Climate Central. Temperatures can be more than 8 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than in nearby rural environments.
Urban heat islands are created in cities where open land has been replaced with buildings, concrete sidewalks, paved parking lots and other materials that absorb and retain heat.
Due to fewer heat-reducing amenities like parks, yards and street trees, low-income neighborhoods and communities of color are more likely to be in severe heat islands. Baltimore's Franklin Square, a high-poverty, majority-Black neighborhood, is hotter than about two-thirds of the neighborhoods in the city and roughly 6 degrees hotter than Baltimore's coolest neighborhood, according to a 2019 investigation by NPR and the University of Maryland's Howard Center.
Outdoor work
Those in blue-collar occupations are far more likely to work outdoors in extreme heat. "Extreme heat poses a major health risk for outdoor workers, like UPS delivery people," Fortune reported last Friday. "Videos of drivers passing out have spread across social media."
As Voice of America noted last year, for many hourly workers, in the construction industry, even having the work day shortened in extreme heat has a downside, as it means lower earnings.
Wildfire smoke
Much of the northern United States has been dealing with air pollution caused by smoke drifting from hundreds of Canadian wildfires.
Low-income and communities of color have higher baseline rates of particle pollution because they are often near air pollution sources like highways and ports.
"Whether it's diesel trucks and buses in people's neighborhoods, commuter cars or power plants — there are a lot of communities that have already been impacted by air pollution," Sacoby Wilson, a public health professor at the University of Maryland, told Yahoo News last month. "This additional pollution from wildfires is making that situation worse."
This dangerous combination of brutal heat and wildfire smoke can lead to a variety of health effects ranging from asthma to reduced lung function, cardiovascular disease and death.
Flooding
Since warmer air holds more moisture, rainfall has been increasingly extreme in recent years, leading to flash floods like those that have recently killed residents of Pennsylvania, New Yorkand Vermont.
Due to lower-quality infrastructure, poorer communities are more vulnerable in floods. This is especially true in developing countries. Last September, flooding in Pakistan killed over 1,700 people, in part because buildings, roads and power lines are less fortified than in rich countries and weather tracking and emergency services are less advanced. (Flooding has already killed 55 Pakistanis this year.)
Last year, when flooding killed 13 New York City residents, 11 were in basement apartments. These often-cramped, illegal units are relatively affordable, due to their lack of light and air, but are more susceptible to flooding.
Sea-level rise caused by melting polar ice caps is also contributing to stronger hurricanes. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina the mortality rate among Black residents of Orleans Parish was up to 4 times as high as for white residents, according to the National Institute for Health, because many lower-income residents lacked the means to evacuate.
Solutions
Cities are beginning to address the threat from extreme heat. Eight cities around the world have appointed chief heat officers, including Miami, Los Angeles and Phoenix to coordinate heat preparedness and response.
Phoenix is opening air-conditioned cooling centers, arranging transportation to get the carless to them, and sending out volunteers with water bottles. It is also embarking on new strategies to reduce the urban heat island effect, such as painting pavement lighter colors that reflect heat instead of absorbing it.
To preserve access to air conditioning, some experts argue that utilities should be prevented from shutting electricity use for nonpayment in the summertime and that the federal government should subsidize electricity use for low-income households in the same way that it does home heating fuel.
"It's clear that we need to act now to develop a nationwide framework for climate adaptation to protect all vulnerable families from hotter summers, higher bills and more extreme weather events," Mark Wolfe and Cassandra Lovejoy, the co-directors of the Center on Energy Poverty, wrote last Thursday in CNN.
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| 2023-07-31T21:08:21
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Saving the lives of homeless animals is something many of us are passionate about, including us at NBCUniversal with our 9th annual “Clear The Shelters” nationwide pet adoption and donation campaign.
But for 16-year-old Sir Darius Brown, it’s become his life’s mission, or as he calls it, his PAW-SOME mission.
Sir Darius got his start after learning about hundreds of dogs displaced from their homes in Texas and Puerto Rico that were transferred to shelters in the northeast after hurricanes Harvey and Irma in 2017. He knew right then he needed to do something to help.
So he turned his passion for sewing, which he learned from his sister, to create bow ties for shelter pets. His creation quickly turned into a thriving company he founded called “Beaux & Paws,” where he is also CEO.
“Beaux & Paws” is the company where I handcraft bow ties for dogs and cats to help them be noticeable and adoptable and find everlasting homes,” Sir Darius said. “I believe a bow tie is a symbol. It gives them a form of importance. It’s going to attract people to want to adopt a dog or a cat.”
“What a wonderful young man,” said Liz Morgan, director of Montclair Township Animal Shelter in New Jersey. “People might walk past a dog that’s middle-aged, but with a bow tie, you have to look at her.”
For every bow tie that is purchased, Sir Darius donates a bow tie to a shelter pet.
“Every single bow tie that I make is personal,” Sir Darius said. “It’s not just any bow tie you can buy at a local store. When it’s handmade, it creates that bond.”
This year, Sir Darius was selected as an ambassador for Clear The Shelters to further his goal of finding loving, forever homes for every shelter pet. In fact, he’s so dedicated to his mission that he created a special bow tie just for Clear The Shelters.
“I created this bow tie for Clear the Shelters because not only is it really cute, but I wanted to spread the word,” he said.
Since its inception in 2015, Clear The Shelters has helped more than 860,000 pets find new homes. For 2023 Clear The Shelters, which runs Aug. 1 through Aug. 31, we want to reach a new milestone with the help of Sir Darius.
“For this year’s Clear the Shelters, we want to help adopt our one-millionth pet,” Sir Darius said. “People should want to come together to uplift and inspire others to adopt and to really help us reach our goal.”
To date, Sir Darius has donated over 5,000 bow ties and helped raise more than $800,000 for animal shelters.
“I don’t think any of us ever thought that it would get to the magnitude that it currently is,” sister and co-founder, Dazhai Brown said. “I’m so glad that it is Sir Darius that has been able to be an advocate for shelter animals and to promote adopting, not shopping.”
“My mom and my sister are very proud of me,” he said. “If it wasn’t for them, this initiative wouldn’t have come close to being possible.”
If you would like to purchase a “Clear The Shelters” bow tie, check out his website.
To learn more about Clear The Shelters 2023 and search for adoptable pets in your area, visit cleartheshelters.com. You can also donate to your local animal shelters and rescue groups by visiting clearthesheltersfund.org.
Follow Clear The Shelters on Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date on this year’s pet adoption and donation news:
- Twitter @ClearTheShelter
- Instagram: @cleartheshelters
- Hashtags: #ClearTheShelters & #DesocuparLosAlbergues
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https://www.pahomepage.com/clear-the-shelters/how-this-teen-is-saving-homeless-animals-one-bow-tie-at-a-time/
| 2023-07-31T21:08:26
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Hiking sunglasses
If you’re gearing up for some hiking this season, one thing you may not have considered is your sunglasses. As a vital and delicate part of your body, your eyes should be protected when out in the elements. Eyewear can make all the difference, and finding the right pair of sunglasses depends on the type of hiking you do and where you plan to do it.
Rough terrain, harsh climates, and glare from intense sun rays can significantly impact your vision. Plus, sunglasses should fit like a glove to avoid sliding down your nose — that’s never fun! Above all, comfort and reliability are essential.
Shop this article: Oakley Men’s FLAK 2.0 XL Sunglasses, Maui Jim Women’s Starfish Cat-Eye Sunglasses and Julbo Explorer 2.0 Mountaineering Glacier Sunglasses
Hiking sunglasses considerations
To find your hiking sunglasses match, ask yourself about the kind of hiking you’ll most likely be doing and what you value most. Are you a long-distance day hiker? A trail runner? Will you be dealing with snow? Are style and budget priorities?
With this in mind, consider the following factors that go into finding your next best pair of sunglasses for hiking. In no particular order, here’s a checklist of things to consider before making a purchase.
Hiking sunglasses weight
If you’re going on full-day hikes, you might notice a heavy pair of glasses on your face after a while. Choosing something lightweight but durable is key.
Hiking sunglasses comfort
For the same reason as the weight factor, you’ll want frames that are comfortable and fit your face right when you’re wearing them all day long. Behind your ears and on the bridge of your nose are vital spots to pay attention to.
Frame quality and construction
You need a robust and durable frame that can withstand wear and tear when you’re out in the wilderness. Look for metal frames or those made of newer materials like strong plastics and nylon alloys.
Lens quality and material
As with frames, your sunglasses’ lens quality is super important. Make sure your lenses are anti-scratch. Lenses come in all sorts of materials that offer different degrees of resistance to scratches and other impacts.
Polarized lenses
To avoid protection from direct sun rays and the glare from their reflection on snow or water, you’ll want to look for lenses that are polarized.
Hiking sunglasses UV protection
It’s pretty common knowledge that the sun’s UV rays are harmful and make it difficult to see what’s in front of you. If you’re hiking for more than a couple of hours, you’ll need UV protection on your eyes.
Hiking sunglasses price
Everyone has a budget. But, a cheap pair of fashion glasses won’t get you far on the trails, and you might be missing certain features before too long. You’re better off investing in a high-quality pair that will last for the long haul.
Hiking sunglasses brands
If you buy from a reputable, well-established and reliable brand of sunglasses, you’re sure to get a higher quality product. Ask around, read reviews and think about your own experience with a brand before pulling the trigger.
Hiking sunglasses styles
Some of us let style dictate our apparel purchases, and nothing says we must sacrifice function for it. Hiking sunglasses come in plenty of styles to choose from, so you won’t need to worry about compromising your taste.
Value adds
Some hiking sunglasses come with extra components that redirect sweat away from your eyes or guard your eyes against small bits of dirt and dust that you often find on trails.
Now that you know what features are important to you in hiking sunglasses, it’s time to shop! Here are our top picks for the best pairs, wherever your outdoor adventures take you.
Best sunglasses for hiking
Oakley Men’s FLAK 2.0 XL Sunglasses
You’ll see more clearly and sharply with these Oakley shades, featuring High Definition Optics that eliminates distortion. Comfortable, lightweight and durable, the lenses are optically aligned for the best fit and experience.
Sold by Amazon
Maui Jim Peahi Wrap Sunglasses
This scratch-resistant polarized Maui Jim sunglasses come with a UV protection coating. The neutral grey lenses enhance colors and are glare-free and light-reducing – perfect in direct and bright sunlight.
Sold by Amazon
Julbo Explorer 2.0 Mountaineering Glacier Sunglasses
These wide-coverage sunglasses from Julbo are perfect for the outdoors. Ergonomic, comfortable, ventilated, slim and stylish, they come with removable shields for sunlight protection, 360-degree adjustable temples and high-protection lenses — all designed for extreme conditions on or off the mountain.
Sold by Amazon
Oakley Gascan OO9014 Sunglasses For Men
These non-polarized, mirror-coated lenses are best for easier trails at lower elevations in mild conditions. They bring colors to life, so you can fully enjoy the world around you. The included accessory leash and cleaning kits are nice touches.
Sold by Amazon
Maui Jim Women’s Starfish Cat-Eye Sunglasses
Maui Jim’s Starfish polarized sunglasses stylishly and comfortably protect you from glare and UV rays while enhancing the colors and vibrancy of the great outdoors. Lightweight yet durable, these sunglasses come with skinny, neutral grey and scratch-resistant glass lenses that reduce light.
Sold by Amazon
Ray-Ban Outdoorsman Craft Aviator Sunglasses
If you’re a fan of the old-school aviator sunglass style, you’ll love this hiking version from Ray-Ban. Made with a metal frame and polarized crystal lenses that are prescription-ready, these shades offer UV protection and come with a case.
Sold by Amazon
Costa Del Mar Men’s Blackfin Sunglasses
If you’re looking for quality, durable sunglasses for hiking, this comfortable and lightweight pair from Costa has you covered. Their blue-mirrored polarized, scratch-resistant polycarbonate lenses are ideal for bright sunlight and reflection off the water. They’re UV-protected, too.
Sold by Amazon
Maui Jim Haleakala Wrap Sunglasses
Bring your hiking experience up a notch with the stylish Haleakala polarized sunglasses from Maui Jim. The glare-free lenses come with a UV protection coating and enhance the colors around you. Durable, lightweight and resistant to shatters and scratches, these comfortable shades are perfect for the trail.
Sold by Amazon
Oakley Men’s Twoface Sunglasses
Offering total UV protection, these light and comfy Oakley shades are made with a stress-resistant frame that lasts and resists deforming or shifting over time. The three-point lens fit means lenses are aligned in place. It comes with a handy micro bag for cleaning and storing.
Sold by Amazon
Native Eyewear Catamount Sunglasses
Native’s Catamount shades are perfect for the trails, with their polarized polycarbonate brown lenses that impeccably contrast detail. Your eyes will stay protected from harsh UV rays and glare from the sun. These glasses are super lightweight and shatter and scratch-resistant, too.
Sold by Amazon
Oakley Women’s Lowkey Round Sunglasses
These cute, round frames for women offer complete UV protection. Their lightweight, polarized plutonite lenses give maximum contrast, comfort and impact protection. You can choose from numerous frame and lens colors to stand out on the trails!
Sold by Amazon
Costa Del Mar Men’s Rincon Rectangular Sunglasses
If you’re a hiker with a simple and elegant style, this pair’s for you. The Rincon glasses feature comfort, clear optics and durability in their thin six-layer, scratch-resistant polarized lenses.
Sold by Amazon
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Emma Caplan writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2023 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved.
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| 2023-07-31T21:08:27
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Berry on Burrow's injury, Purdy's outlook with SF
July 31, 2023 02:09 PM
Matthew Berry, Jay Croucher, and Connor Rogers analyze the latest injury news around the NFL, including Joe Burrow's calf strain, how Brock Purdy's return affects the 49ers' QB room, Breece Hall's progress and more.
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https://www.nbcsports.com/watch/nfl/matthew-berry/fantasy-football-happy-hour-with-matthew-berry/would-berry-take-taylor-if-he-drafted-today
| 2023-07-31T21:08:28
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The NFL expanded the sexual assault portion of its personal conduct policy on Monday in the wake of Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson's 11-game suspension last season, according to The New York Times' Jenny Vrentas.
The NFL altered its personal conduct policy to include sexual assault “involving threats or coercion,” and included a “pattern of conduct” and “offenses that involve planning” as factors that can lead to more serious penalties. The changes came in response to a judgment that former federal judge Sue L. Robinson issued last year in regards to Watson, per the report.
"We annually review our policies and programs with an eye toward continuous improvement based off previous experiences," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told The New York Times.
The Browns traded for Watson last year despite more than 20 accusations that he had sexually harassed and assaulted massage therapists during his time with the Houston Texans. More specifically, many women who accused Watson said they felt threatened or intimidated by Watson both due to him being an NFL quarterback and due to the impact he could have, both positively and negatively, on their business.
Watson has denied the accusations, and two Texas grand juries declined to pursue criminal charges against him. He has since settled all but two lawsuits that were filed against him, too.
Despite the allegations, the Browns signed Watson to a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed deal. It marked the largest guaranteed money sum in NFL history.
Robinson oversaw the NFL’s investigation into Watson, and she initially suspended him for six games. In her decision, she cited the NFL’s guidelines as her reasoning for not pursuing a harsher punishment despite what she called “predatory” and “egregious” behavior from Watson. There was a clear difference in the NFL’s policy between physically violent and nonviolent offenses, and the policy called for a six-game suspension for first-time offenders who used physical violence.
The NFL and Watson eventually settled on an 11-game suspension. Watson was also fined $5 million and forced to enter a mandatory treatment program.
The new policy now includes sexual assault “involving threats or coercion” to the list of offenses that carry stricter punishment. A second violation, per the report, will result in banishment from the NFL. The revised policy also gives power to a third-party investigator to impose stricter penalties on players “for other types of prohibited conduct.” Including threats and coercion as means for sexual assault now brings the NFL’s policy in line with Major League Baseball and the NBA, as well as many states.
Watson appeared in the final six games of the season last year for the Browns, who went 7-10 and missed the playoffs for the 19th time in the last two decades. Watson threw for 1,102 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions.
"The whole situation changed me," Watson said of his suspension at training camp last week. "In a situation where I just had to lock in on myself, channel and really know who I'm surrounding myself with and just really who's going to be there and support me even when I'm at my lowest point and the last few years were definitely my lowest point in my life. But that's part of life. I just grow from it, I learn from it. I continue to move forward and push forward and continue to show my real character, my real personality and who I am."
The Browns will open their season against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 10.
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GENEVA (AP) — The IOC assured Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan on Friday that she will have a place at the Paris Olympics next year after she was disqualified from a key ranking event for refusing to shake hands with a Russian she had beaten.
In a letter to Kharlan, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said it would make a “unique exception” by allocating her an extra place to ensure she competes in Paris.
“It is admirable how you are managing this incredibly difficult situation,” wrote Bach, who like Kharlan is a former Olympic champion in a fencing team event.
Each Olympic sport has a strict quota for athletes within the IOC-imposed 10,500 overall total at the Summer Games in Paris.
A protected entry for the 32-year-old Kharlan, a four-time Olympic medalist, has now been found after controversy over her disqualification at the world championships on Thursday marred the event at Milan, Italy.
The incident between Kharlan and her Russian opponent — Anna Smirnova, who was competing as an approved neutral athlete — also cast doubt on the IOC’s hopes for athletes from the two countries to compete against each other without incident.
Kharlan comfortably beat Smirnova 15-7 in a first-round contest then refused a handshake, and instead pointed her sabre toward the Russian. Touching blades was used as an alternative to handshakes at fencing competitions during the coronavirus pandemic.
Smirnova stood facing Kharlan and did not raise her sabre. Kharlan then turned and left the piste and the Russian refused to leave for more than 50 minutes. Smirnova sat on a chair on the piste in an apparent protest over the handshake.
Kharlan was later disqualified by the International Fencing Federation (FIE) which denied her the chance to earn more ranking points that feed into Olympic qualification.
The IOC said Thursday that sports governing bodies should show “sensitivity” on issues involving Ukrainians and neutral athletes from Russia – an apparent suggestion that the FIE made an error.
One day later, Bach wrote to Kharlan acknowledging a “roller coaster of emotions and feelings” she must have.
The FIE changed course Friday by saying it would allow Kharlan to compete for Ukraine in the upcoming team sabre event, but still defended the decision to punish her. Kharlan had faced a suspension from the rest of the world championships and from other events.
Echoing the IOC, the FIE interim president Emmanuel Katsiadakis said the ruling “sends a message of sensitivity and understanding to our members and all sports federations, as the world faces tremendous challenges.” The FIE published a comment attributed to Kharlan saying she was ”thankful for this decision” and wanted to return to competition.
However, the FIE statement made no mention of allowing Ukrainians to avoid handshakes with Russian opponents in future — which could mean more disputes ahead of the Olympics — and the federation insisted it was right to punish Kharlan.
“The FIE stands fully behind the penalty, which, after a thorough review, is in complete accordance and compliance with its official rules and associated penalties,” it said.
___
AP coverage of the Paris Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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Football fans, get ready, your favorite sport is returns this week with the NFL preseason opener, the Hall of Fame Game. This year, The Cleveland Browns face the New York Jets. It's been well over 20 years since either of the teams played the Hall of Fame Game, which, as the name suggests, is scheduled just a few days before the 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame class is enshrined. New Jets player Aaron Rodgers will unfortunately not be making his debut at the preseason opener, leaving curious fans to look towards the preseason final game against the New York Giants.
Ready for football season to (un)officially start? Here's how to watch the 2023 Hall of Fame Game, what you need to know about the NFL preseason and more.
How to watch the 2023 NFL Hall of Fame Game: Browns vs. Jets
Date: August 3, 2023
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Canton, OH
Game: Cleveland Browns at New York Jets
Hall of Fame Game channel: NBC
Hall of Fame Game streaming: Peacock
When is the NFL Hall of Fame game?
The 2023 NFL preseason kicks off with the Hall of Fame Game on Thursday, August 3, 2023 at 8 p.m. ET.
Who is playing in the 2023 NFL Hall of Fame Game?
This year's Hall of Fame Game will feature the Cleveland Browns at New York Jets.
What channel is the 2023 NFL Hall of Fame Game on?
The Hall of Fame Game will be nationally broadcast on NBC (and stream live on Peacock). Coverage starts at 7 p.m. ET, and the game officially kicks off at 8 p.m.
Where to watch the Hall of Fame game 2023?
When does football season start?
This year's NFL season, made up of 272 regular-season games, kicks off on Thursday, September 7, 2023 with a match between the Detroit Lions and the Kansas City Chiefs. The 2023 NFL season will see the first football game on Black Friday, as well as international games in London and Munich. But first, it's time for the 2023 NFL preseason, which opens with the Hall of Fame Game on August 3, 2023.
2023 NFL preseason full schedule:
Hall of Fame Game
Thursday, August 3
Cleveland Browns at New York Jets, 8 p.m. (NBC)
Week 1
Thursday, August 10
Houston Texans at New England Patriots, 7 p.m.
Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks, 10 p.m.
Friday, August 11
Green Bay Packers at Cincinnati Bengals, 7 p.m.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 7 p.m.
New York Giants at Detroit Lions, 7 p.m.
Atlanta Falcons at Miami Dolphins, 7 p.m.
Washington Commanders at Cleveland Browns, 7:30 p.m.
Denver Broncos at Arizona Cardinals, 10 p.m.
Saturday, August 12
Tennessee Titans at Chicago Bears, 1 p.m.
Indianapolis Colts at Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m.
New York Jets at Carolina Panthers, 4 p.m.
Jacksonville Jaguars at Dallas Cowboys, 5 p.m.
Philadelphia Eagles at Baltimore Ravens, 7 p.m.
Los Angeles Chargers at Los Angeles Rams, 9 p.m.
Sunday, August 13
Kansas City Chiefs at New Orleans Saints, 1 p.m.
San Francisco 49ers at Las Vegas Raiders, 4 p.m.
Week 2
Thursday, August 17
Cleveland Browns at Philadelphia Eagles, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, August 18
Carolina Panthers at New York Giants, 7 p.m.
Cincinnati Bengals at Atlanta Falcons, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, August 19
Jacksonville Jaguars at Detroit Lions, 1 p.m.
Miami Dolphins at Houston Texans, 4 p.m.
Buffalo Bills at Pittsburgh Steelers, 6:30 p.m.
Chicago Bears at Indianapolis Colts, 7 p.m.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New York Jets, 7:30 p.m.
Tennessee Titans at Minnesota Vikings, 8 p.m.
Kansas City Chiefs at Arizona Cardinals, 8 p.m.
New England Patriots at Green Bay Packers, 8 p.m.
Denver Broncos at San Francisco 49ers, 8:30 p.m.
Las Vegas Raiders at Los Angeles Rams, 9 p.m.
Dallas Cowboys at Seattle Seahawks, 10 p.m.
Sunday, August 20
New Orleans Saints at Los Angeles Chargers, 7:05 p.m.
Monday, August 21
Baltimore Ravens at Washington Commanders, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Week 3
Thursday, August 24
Pittsburgh Steelers at Atlanta Falcons, 7:30 p.m.
Indianapolis Colts at Philadelphia Eagles, 8 p.m. (Prime Video)
Friday, August 25
Detroit Lions at Carolina Panthers, 8 p.m. (CBS)
New England Patriots at Tennessee Titans, 8:15 p.m.
Los Angeles Chargers at San Francisco 49ers, 10 p.m.
Saturday, August 26
Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers, 1 p.m.
Cleveland Browns at Kansas City Chiefs, 1 p.m.
Arizona Cardinals at Minnesota Vikings, 1 p.m.
Buffalo Bills at Chicago Bears, 1 p.m.
New York Jets at New York Giants, 6 p.m.
Cincinnati Bengals at Washington Commanders, 6:05 p.m.
Baltimore Ravens at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 7 p.m.
Miami Dolphins at Jacksonville Jaguars, 7 p.m.
Los Angeles Raiders at Dallas Cowboys, 8 p.m.
Los Angeles Rams at Denver Broncos, 9 p.m.
Sunday, August 27
Houston Texans at New Orleans Saints, 8 p.m (Fox)
How to watch all NFL preseason games:
Many NFL preseason games are broadcast on local channels, so if you're looking to catch an in-market game, it may be as simple as turning on your TV (or setting up a digital TV antenna). If you want to watch out-of-market games, a $5 monthly subscription to NFL+ will get you access to every out-of-market-game in the season (and preseason). There will also be a few national broadcast NFL preseason games airing across NBC, ESPN, Fox and CBS (and one streaming on Amazon Prime Video) in the coming weeks. Here's how to watch every NFL preseason game in 2023.
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WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — New Wichita State men’s basketball head coach Paul Mills has his nonconference opponents scheduled for his first season at the helm in Wichita.
Wichita State on Friday released the full nonconference slate for the upcoming basketball season.
The Shockers will have just one true nonconference road game next season against Missouri in Columbia. There are six matchups that will be played at neutral sites:
- Nov. 16-19 — Myrtle Beach Invitational, Conway, South Carolina
- Dec. 9 — South Dakota State, INTRUST Bank Arena, Wichita
- Dec. 21 — Kansas State, T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, Missouri
- Dec. 30 — Kansas, T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, Missouri
Only three nonconference teams will be coming to Charles Koch Arena this season: Norfolk State on Nov. 25, Richmond on Nov. 29 and Southern Illinois on Dec. 16.
The Shockers will also play in Greece in August. WSU will be going up against the Thessaloniki All-Stars on Aug. 4 and the University of Calgary — who they will play twice — on Aug. 4 and 9.
Prior to the start of the season, Charles Koch Arena will host two four exhibition matchups to prep the team before the season:
- Rogers State, Oct. 29
- Lipscomb, Nov. 6
- Western Kentucky, Nov. 9
- Friends University, Nov. 12
Start times and television assignments will be announced when the American Athletic Conference releases its 18-game league slate in September.
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A new school year is stressful but shopping for it shouldn’t be
The long summer break is a great time for kids to get their minds off the coming school year. But whether they stayed home or went to summer camp, there comes a time when you must start to plan ahead.
While they might be more concerned about a new wardrobe, parents know that they won’t pass the new year with just a bright smile. They’re going to need supplies, and it might seem like a daunting task if you don’t know where to start. Take the unnecessary stress out of back-to-school shopping by getting a supply kit packed with everything they’ll need.
Shop this article: Moda West 52-Piece Back to School Supply Kit for K-12, School Supply Boxes 32-Piece Back To School Supply Box Grades K-5 and School Supply Bundle Pack for High School, Middle School or College
Essential ingredients for a successful start
Being thoroughly prepared is an excellent way to start a new grade. Of course, different grades need different items in their kits, but some universal objects are great from kindergarten to senior high.
For basic note-taking and studying, it’s essential to have a few pens, a pencil, an eraser and a ruler. Some paperclips, file dividers or a pencil sharpener will also come in handy. All these items need to be stored somewhere, and a sturdy pencil case is the best for that.
To nail art projects or presentations, a couple of Sharpies, colored highlighters, scissors and a glue stick will do wonders. But naturally, you can’t expect your child to walk around school carrying their art supplies and pencil case by hand. Put everything into a sturdy backpack or shoulder bag, ensuring that it is big enough for their textbooks, too.
Age-appropriate supply kits
Generally, back-to-school supply kits are made up of items used by kindergarten, elementary or middle school students. But if you want to put your own kit together, you must ensure that the items are age-appropriate.
For example, for younger students, you should avoid sharp scissors in favor of blunt, safety scissors. High school students probably won’t use a glue stick but might prefer a contact adhesive for paper or cardboard. You’ll also get strange looks if you throw in a box of crayons, so rather include some durable highlighters or markers.
Don’t forget to review your kid’s recommended items for the upcoming year. You might be covering the essentials with a supply kit, but there could be other objects that they need, such as a protractor, a sturdy lunch box, different colored pens or a stapler.
Best back-to-school supply kits
Moda West 52-Piece Back to School Supply Kit for K-12
This massive selection of 52 pieces comes pre-packaged and has everything a child needs. It includes notebooks, folders, pens and pencils, highlighters, an eraser and a clear pencil case. For art projects, it includes a 5-inch scissor, two glue sticks and an 8-inch ruler.
Sold by Amazon
Trail Maker 20-Piece School Supplies for K-12
Suitable for all grades, this supply kit includes a spiral notebook, a pocket folder, a ruler, three ballpoint pens and two pencils. You can store everything in the canvas pencil case. While it doesn’t include scissors, there is a glue stick and crayons for projects.
Sold by Amazon
Trail Maker 45-Piece School Essentials
This 45-piece bulk pack of school supplies is perfect for students up to elementary school. In addition to the two spiral notebooks and four pocket folders, the supply kit includes several pens, pencils, highlighters and two glue sticks. There is also a box of crayons, a ruler and scissors.
Sold by Amazon
School Supply Boxes 32-Piece Back To School Supply Box Grades K-5
Perfect for elementary school students, this supply box comes with a clear plastic pencil case, 12 colored pencils and a 10-pack of regular pencils. For creative projects, there is a 10-pack of Crayola markers, a 24-pack of Crayola crayons, glue sticks and scissors.
Sold by Amazon
Moda West 17-Inch Backpacks with 52-Piece School Supply Kit
If there are a lot of kids in the neighborhood or the family, this bundle is an excellent choice. The kit includes eight 17-inch backpacks, each with its own 52-piece school supplies. This comprises two notebooks, several pens and pencils, highlighters and pocket folders.
Sold by Amazon
Bundles Galore Mega Back to School Supply Kit Bundle
This bundle is perfect for all grades and includes everything a student might need. The more than 90 pieces include 10 pocket folders, five notebooks, four glue sticks, several pens and pencils and five Sharpie chisel tip highlighters. And since returning to school is tough, it includes a 2-inch stress ball.
Sold by Amazon
Sharpie Expo Paper Mate Back 2 School Essentials 37-Piece Kit
Back to school is made easy with this bundle from Sharpie. The 37-piece kit includes a host of items for late-night studying, such as six mechanical pencils, six regular lead pencils, two fine-point Sharpie markers, and five highlighters. There are also two erasers, two glue sticks and a ruler.
Sold by Amazon
School Supply Bundle Pack for High School, Middle School or College
This bundle includes a ring binder, two spiral notebooks, a pack of dividers, five mechanical pencils and index cards. Perfect for middle school students through college.
Sold by Amazon
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Charlie Fripp writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
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Copyright 2023 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved.
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| 2023-07-31T21:08:36
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HONG KONG (AP) — Fans of singer and songwriter Coco Lee, who was known for her powerful voice and live performances, gathered with flowers to pay their respects to their idol at her funeral in Hong Kong on Monday.
The memorial service was attended by her family and friends, including singers Elva Hsiao and Jenny Tseng, as well as other supporters. Lee died July 5 at age 48.
She was born in Hong Kong and attended school in San Francisco before releasing her first album in 1994 at age 19. She began her career as a Mandopop singer but branched out to release albums in Cantonese and English.
She was the first Chinese singer to break into the American market, and her English song “Do You Want My Love” climbed to #4 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Breakouts chart in December 1999. In 2001, she sang “A Love Before Time” from Ang Lee’s movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” at the Academy Awards, becoming the first Chinese American to perform at the Oscars.
Lee was also the voice of heroine Fa Mulan in the Mandarin version of Disney’s “Mulan,” and sang the Mandarin version of the movie’s theme song “Reflection.”
Lee was married to Bruce Rockowitz, former CEO of Hong Kong supply chain company Li & Fung. She had two stepdaughters.
Her death had shocked fans. Her siblings posted on Facebook that she had depression for years and had attempted suicide at home on July 2. She died a few days later.
On Monday afternoon, more than 100 fans dressed in black were waiting outside the funeral home.
Lin Jing, a fan from Fujian province in the southeast, said she admired Lee’s smile and appearance, adding: “She was really talented. She always tried to improve and she inspired women to feel independent.”
Inside the funeral hall, three pink hearts made of flowers and other floral decorations were displayed below Lee’s photo.
Her close friend, Hsiao, said during the ceremony that she remembered watching Lee’s performances as a student and thinking of her as a perfect idol. After they became friends in the entertainment industry, Lee encouraged Hsiao when she was lost and treated her as “a little sister.”
“She brightened my life with her happiness and bravery. I will keep preserving her spirit,” Hsiao said in a quavering voice.
In a video for the memorial service, actors and singers from Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan recalled their memories with Lee and mourned her death.
Action star Jackie Chan said in the video that everyone was proud of her when she sang at the Oscars.
“To friends like us, Coco was a passionate and kind friend who showed care to us. She was really a good person. That’s why we are so reluctant to accept she has left us,” he said.
Award-winning director Ang Lee recalled his exchanges with the late singer before the Oscars and said it was a pity she died so young. “We miss her very much. Coco, rest in peace,” he said in the video.
Coco Lee had sounded notes of positivity in social media posts during the months before her death. In March, she posted about recuperating from surgery for an old leg injury.
“Successful surgery. Even though I’m in a lot of pain and I have to re-learn how to walk again, I know I can do it,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “Yes I can and I will!”
___
Associated Press video journalist Alice Fung and news assistant Annie Cheung contributed to this report.
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Bronny health update, Brown's 'Black Wall Street'
July 28, 2023 05:20 PM
Natalie and Zena provide a quick update in basketball, commending Jaylen Brown for pledging money to Boston's black community following his contract extension and the latest on Bronny James' health.
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World Wrestling Entertainment will stage its marquee mid-year event this Saturday as SummerSlam takes place at Ford Field, home of the NFL’s Detroit Lions. After WrestleMania, SummerSlam is the second-biggest show WWE produces in a calendar year and this year’s card is typically strong from top to bottom.
Brock Lesnar, who has headlined nine previous SummerSlams, faces Cody Rhodes in a match that figures to finish their trilogy, Logan Paul is back to square off with Ricochet after a series of viral moments between the two and Roman Reigns continues to battle with his own family, putting both his Universal Championship and the title of “Tribal Chief” up against his cousin Jey Uso.
Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s SummerSlam:
WWE SummerSlam 2023
Date: Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023Time: 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT (Pre-show starts at 7 p.m. ET)Site: Ford Field in Detroit
How to watch SummerSlam 2023
SummerSlam 2023 match card
• Logan Paul vs. Ricochet• Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler• Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes• SummerSlam Battle Royal (Sheamus, LA Knight, TBA)• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther (c) vs. Drew McIntyre• Women's Championship: Asuka (c) vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair• World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins (c) vs. Finn Bálor• Undisputed Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Jey Uso
WWE SummerSlam ‘go-home’ Monday Night Raw preview
Monday, July 31 | 8 p.m. ET on USA from the Toyota Center in Houston
Lesnar and Paul will appear and both likely cut in-ring promos to build their matches this weekend. Rollins will team with Sami Zayn in place of an injured Kevin Owens to face the Judgment Day duo of Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio to continue Priest’s “Money in the Bank” briefcase cash-in. In a non-SummerSlam related angle, Alpha Academy’s Maxxine Dupri will face Viking Raiders manager Valhalla after weeks of encounters between the factions.
• Brock Lesnar appears• Logan Paul appears• Maxxine Dupri vs. Valhalla• Seth Rollins and Sami Zayn vs. Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio
WWE SummerSlam ‘go-home’ SmackDown card
Friday, Aug. 4 | 8 p.m. ET on Fox from the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio
The only announced segment for Smackdown is a singles match between the only two confirmed competitors in the SummerSlam battle royal, LA Knight and Sheamus.
• LA Knight vs. Sheamus
Storylines for WWE SummerSlam
Logan Paul vs. RicochetThese two first crossed paths in January's Royal Rumble match, staging an incredible spot with each spring-boarding halfway across the ring and clotheslining each other in mid-air.
Then, last month at the Money in the Bank ladder match, they went for another high spot that didn’t quite come off as smooth as Ricochet attempted a Spanish Fly from the top rope and put Paul through two tables. Ever since the two have traded barbs on social media and in an in-ring segment setting up the SummerSlam blow-off.
Well, at least now he know how we all felt when he was added to the match 🤷🏽♂️ https://t.co/8S5vmRBOHF
— Ricochet (@KingRicochet) July 8, 2023
Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna BaszlerBaszler, who got Rousey into the professional wrestling world to begin with, turned on her longtime friend during a women's tag team title defense at Money in the Bank, costing them the belts. When Rousey demanded an explanation two days later on Monday Night Raw, Baszler delivered a blistering promo in which she (correctly) pointed out that Rousey has had championship opportunities handed to her since she set foot in the WWE, while she has had to work for every spot she's ever had. This feud has felt a bit rushed, likely because of Rousey's reported "hard out" date to exit the company.
Brock Lesnar vs. Cody RhodesLess than 24 hours after failing to capture the undisputed Universal championship from Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, Cody Rhodes was set to team with Brock Lesnar to face Reigns and Solo Sikoa on Raw. Before that match began, Lesnar attacked Rhodes and pummeled him for nearly 10 minutes until the show went off the air. Rhodes got a narrow win the following month at Backlash and then Lesnar (storyline) broke Cody's left arm during an attack on the May 22 episode of Raw. Five days later Lesnar beat Rhodes by technical submission after working over the arm most of the match. Rhodes has since spent weeks trying to get a third match and finally got it on the July 17 episode of Raw when Lesnar accepted and proceeded to pummel Cody in front of his family at ringside.
Intercontinental Championship: Gunther (c) vs. Drew McIntyreAt WrestleMania Gunther retained the Intercontinental title in a triple-threat match against McIntyre and Sheamus in one of the best matches of the weekend. Following another successful defense over Matt Riddle at Money in the Bank, Gunther was confronted by a returning McIntyre, who hadn't been seen on TV since that WrestleMania match. Gunther formally accepted McIntyre's challenge on the July 24 episode of Raw.
Women's Championship: Asuka (c) vs. Bianca Belair vs. Charlotte FlairAsuka unsuccessfully challenged Belair for the title at WrestleMania but managed to win it at Night of Champions on May 27 thanks to a rather creative application of the blue mist. On the June 9 episode of Smackdown, Flair returned for the first time since WrestleMania to challenge Asuka, enraging Belair, who was in line for a rematch. The Flair-Asuka title match took place on June 30, with Belair interfering and laying both other women out. To resolve the issue a triple-threat was set for SummerSlam.
World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins (c) vs. Finn BálorRollins won the newly introduced World Heavyweight Championship in a tournament final over AJ Styles. Soon thereafter Bálor began to stalk Rollins and demand a title match. There is history here as Bálor won the inaugural Universal Championship over Rollins at SummerSlam 2016, only to have to surrender it the next night on Raw due to an injury he suffered during the match. In promos to hype this match, Bálor has continually brought up that chapter as his motivation for targeting Rollins at this year's SummerSlam.
Undisputed Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Jey UsoThe Bloodline story involving members of the real-life Anoa'i wrestling family has been unfolding for more than three years at this point and has never been hotter. Since their tag-team championship loss at WrestleMania, Reigns has bullied and belittled his cousins, causing the Usos to turn on the "Tribal Chief" on the June 16 episode of SmackDown. In a tag-team match at Money in the Bank Jey became the first person to pin Reigns in nearly three years to win the match and set up a singles encounter for the undisputed Universal Championship at SummerSlam.
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Smart back-to-school shopping strategies
With inflation still rising, it is vital to have a shopping strategy mapped out to purchase back-to-school supplies this year. Especially for your high schooler, because they need more items. And those items tend to carry a higher price tag.
Buying school supplies, however, is a little different than shopping for other items. In most cases, you will have several lists created by each of your student’s teachers. Some items may be very specific, such as the exact model of a TI calculator, while others may be generic, such as a three-ring binder.
Getting the correct supplies at the best price requires time and planning. This guide will help you make smart purchasing decisions. It covers basic back-to-school shopping strategies and lists 12 products that will help prepare your kid for high school.
Shop this article: Hydro Flask Stainless Steel Reusable Water Bottle, JanSport Cool Student Backpack and Texas Instruments TI-84 Plus CE
What school supplies does a high school student need?
While it is essential that you first consider the lists that your student’s teachers provide, there are a few general categories for you to consider.
Essentials
These are the items that your student will use every day. You will find most of these on your student’s supply lists that they get from their teachers. They will include pens, pencils, erasers, markers, notebook paper, binders, composition books and more.
Organizational supplies
Organizational supplies are anything your student uses to organize, hold or transport the items they use every day. These products may include a pencil case, a backpack, an assignment book, a calendar or binder dividers.
Tech and tools
This category includes anything your student requires to complete their assignments or to solve a problem they might run into during the day, such as a torn notebook sheet. It can be a specific calculator, a tablet, a compass, a ruler, a protractor, hole reinforcements, tape or even white out.
Study supplies
If your child wants to spend a little extra time learning, you’ll need items to help them study. These could be post-it notes, page markers, index cards and highlighters.
Clothing
High school students are still growing. What fit last year might not fit this year. You may need comfortable shoes, casual clothing, clothing that displays school spirit, athletic wear for PE, sneakers, jackets, coats, specific gear for co-curricular activities and more.
Accessories
One category that students and parents may forget is the accessories that are essential to getting through each day. These will vary from student to student but may include a water bottle, a lunch bag, a case for glasses, contacts, combination locks for lockers, charging devices, towels, shower supplies for after PE, medications, an EpiPen and more.
Tips for back-to-school shopping
Strategy is the key when it comes time for back-to-school shopping. These tips can help you get everything you need for that first day.
Shop early
Even if the country wasn’t being plagued with supply chain issues, back-to-school products typically become unavailable by the end of summer. Do your shopping early so that your student has everything they need to start the school year off right.
Use school lists
Teachers make classroom lists for a reason: these are the items your student will need to succeed in the subject. The teacher’s supplies list is your starting point. Get those essentials first.
Don’t forget items that aren’t on the list
Classroom lists don’t always include products that will make your student’s life easier. After you check off all the items from their teachers’ lists, ensure you get the personal items they need daily.
Consider what you already have
If you have more than one student, the older child may already have what your younger child needs. Before buying a new item, check the items you already have at home.
Spend less on clothing
Clothing is important, but so is that expensive calculator. If it comes down to getting a $200 pair of sneaks or a $100 calculator, remember that the calculator will last longer.
Purchase quality items
School supplies need to be rugged. Notebooks are used daily, tossed in a backpack, thrown in a locker and mistreated. If you have a choice between getting a cheap budget item from a dollar store and paying a little more for a quality name-brand item, it is usually worth spending a little more on an item that will last the entire school year or longer.
Pay attention to sales
Back-to-school sales are a great way to get people to spend money on a specific retailer. Many stores will have deep discounts on a couple of key items that get you to their site. Take advantage of these sales, but consider if the other items that the retailer has on sale are worth it. If not, wait till the next sale or purchase from a different retailer to get the best deal.
It is also a good idea to download and install retailer apps, so you can track specific items and know when the best time to buy is.
Consider environmentally kind products
While this might not help you save money, it will help you save the earth. Always consider products that have been or can be recycled and purchased from companies with environmentally friendly manufacturing and business practices.
Budget-friendly products for your high schooler
Hydro Flask Stainless Steel Reusable Water Bottle
Hydration is essential to learning. It helps your student focus and feel revitalized. Sending your high schooler off for the day with 32 ounces of water in this vacuum-insulated option will help them stay hydrated throughout the day. Hydro Flask water bottles have a leakproof lid and a lifetime guarantee.
Sold by Amazon
JanSport Cool Student Backpack
Your high schooler needs to bring many items to and from school each day. A well-constructed backpack is the ideal tool to carry all of these. JanSport’s Cool Student Backpack is durable, washable and has many color options. It is designed with ergonomic shoulder straps and zippered compartments for organization and comes with a lifetime guarantee.
Sold by Amazon
Five Star Reinforced College Ruled Filler Paper
Reinforced notebook paper is a game-changer in the life of a student. This pack of 100 sheets of notebook paper is reinforced around the holes to resist tearing. It will prevent lost schoolwork and help keep all of your student’s pages organized.
Sold by Amazon
Gildan Heavy Blend Unisex Hooded Sweatshirt
A hoodie is essential school wear. This affordable offering from Gildan is made of 50% cotton and 50% polyester. It features a zipper closure and anti-pilling air jet yarn. The ribbed cuffs and waistband have spandex to help provide a more secure fit.
Sold by Amazon
Adidas Squad Insulated Lunch Bag
Teenagers need to refuel throughout the long day. Bringing lunch from home lets your student choose what they want to eat while saving you money. This durable lunch bag can keep their food at the perfect temperature and prevent it from getting broken or squished in transit.
Sold by Amazon
Texas Instruments TI-84 Plus CE
Graphing calculators are required by high school science and math teachers. Texas Instruments make a quality product that can accompany your teenager throughout their entire high school career, and possibly into college. This popular model has a 10-digit LCD display and 12 software applications. The graphic functions can handle polar, sequence, cobweb plot, zoom, parametric plot, histogram, scatter plot, and more.
Sold by Amazon
Belkin Boost Charge Wireless Charging Pad
Between classes, activities and part-time jobs, your high schooler may have a longer workday than you. To get through that day, they need a fully charged phone. Belkin is a trusted name in charging technology. This portable wireless charging pad is compatible with newer Android smartphones and iPhones.
Sold by Amazon
Oxford Color Coded Ruled Index Cards
Flash cards are a classic tool used for studying and improving memory. These cards are lined to allow for neatness, while the color-coded bar at the top lets the student organize the cards by subject or category.
Sold by Amazon
Prismacolor Premier Col-Erase Colored Pencils
A student can still use colored pencils at the high school level. Not only are they great for art class and doodling, but a student can use them for marking maps in history class, creating diagrams in science class and more.
Sold by Amazon
This set contains 10 essential tools often needed for geometry and drawing classes. Besides the typical items, such as a ruler and a protractor, you get a lettering guide, a pencil sharpener and more. The compass and divider have a short point for safety, and the set comes with a sturdy tin for organization.
Sold by Amazon
Avery Flexi-View 1-Inch 3-Ring View Binder
Avery’s flex binder has a clear window in the front, which is a handy place to store a class syllabus. It can hold 175 sheets of paper and has a flexible spine. The durable polypropylene cover means that you can use this binder over multiple school years.
Sold by Amazon
C-Line Top-Load Sheet Protector
Sheet protectors keep your student’s reference material unwrinkled and stain-free. The 50 standard-thickness polypropylene protectors are sealed on three sides. They are designed so students can add and remove materials while the protector remains secured in the binder.
Sold by Amazon
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https://www.wric.com/reviews/br/education-br/homeschooling-br/back-to-school-on-a-budget-these-12-products-will-have-your-kid-ready-for-high-school/
| 2023-07-31T21:08:43
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https://www.wric.com/reviews/br/education-br/homeschooling-br/back-to-school-on-a-budget-these-12-products-will-have-your-kid-ready-for-high-school/
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ATLANTA — Kaiser Permanente Georgia is offering Georgians the support they need on their weight loss and weight management journeys. Maintaining a healthy weight is more than just a cosmetic concern; it plays a vital role in promoting overall well-being and reducing the risk of various chronic diseases.
Reducing the Risk of Chronic Diseases:
Obesity and overweight are significant risk factors for a wide range of chronic health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, stroke, certain cancers, and respiratory disorders. Carrying excess weight puts additional strain on the body's organs and systems, leading to increased inflammation, insulin resistance, and compromised cardiovascular health. By maintaining a healthy weight, you can significantly reduce your risk of developing these life-threatening conditions.
Enhanced Physical Mobility and Function:
Maintaining a healthy weight enhances your physical mobility and reduces the risk of musculoskeletal problems. Extra weight can place excessive pressure on joints, leading to conditions such as osteoarthritis and chronic pain. By staying within a healthy weight, you can move more freely, participate in physical activities, and improve your overall quality of life.
Mental and Emotional Well-Being:
There is a strong connection between weight and mental health. Studies have shown that individuals struggling with obesity or being underweight are more susceptible to anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. By achieving and maintaining a healthy weight, you can boost your self-confidence, improve body image, and experience greater emotional well-being.
Improved Energy Levels and Sleep Quality:
Excess weight can lead to feelings of fatigue and decreased energy levels due to the strain it places on the body's systems. Additionally, obesity is associated with sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, which further disrupts restful sleep. By striving for a healthy weight, you can experience improved energy levels, increased productivity, and better sleep, leading to enhanced overall vitality.
While fad diets and quick fixes may offer temporary results, maintaining a healthy weight is a sustainable long-term approach to weight management. Adopting balanced eating habits and a regular exercise routine can help you achieve your weight goals and maintain them over time. Focusing on a holistic approach to health, rather than crash diets, sets the foundation for a lifelong commitment to well-being. Learn more about Kaiser Permanente Georgia and how their Weight Management Department can support you in your journey.
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https://www.11alive.com/article/entertainment/television/programs/atlanta-and-company/kaiser-permanente-helping-georgia-thrive/85-8be1332b-77e1-4dd2-8613-adf6b9f44e28
| 2023-07-31T21:08:45
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https://www.11alive.com/article/entertainment/television/programs/atlanta-and-company/kaiser-permanente-helping-georgia-thrive/85-8be1332b-77e1-4dd2-8613-adf6b9f44e28
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PHOENIXPhoenix couple celebrates wedding reception at Peter Piper PizzaArizona RepublicPizza-themed fondant cake toppers adorn Matt and Tori Laund's wedding cake at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicNapkins sit on the tables at Matt and Tori Laund's wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicA section of a Peter Piper Pizza is blocked off for Matt and Tori Laund's wedding reception in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicTheresa Varin, grandmother of groom Matt Laund, poses with funpasses at her grandson's wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicTori Laund is congratulated by Peter Piper Pizza employee Friyil Abdul Noor at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023. Laund was having her wedding reception there.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicTori Laund smiles with a fountain drink at her wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicPizzas lie on a buffet table at Matt and Tori Laund's wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicMatt Laund eats pepperoni pizza at his wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicMatt and Tori Laund cut the cake at their wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicMatt and Tori Laund cut the cake at their wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicMatt and Tori Laund pose with their cake at their wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicMatt and Tori Laund feed each other cake at their wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicFondant cake toppers rest on a table after being removed from Matt and Tori Laund's wedding cake at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023. The couple were gifted a reception at the pizza place after inviting staff to their actual wedding.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicCinnamon crunch desserts are served at Matt and Tori Laund's wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicGuests enjoy cake and cinnamon crunch desserts at Matt and Tori Laund's wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicA cake sits on a table at Matt and Tori Laund's wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023. The newlyweds have date nights at Peter Piper Pizza and received this wedding reception and free pizza, once a month, for a year as a gift from the restaurant.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicPizza boxes are stacked atop a table at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023. Matt and Tori Laund were gifted a wedding reception from the restaurant after inviting employees to their wedding.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicFunpasses are on display during Matt and Tori Laund's wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023. The couple and their guests were given free, preloaded passes.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicTables are set for Matt and Tori Laund's wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicMatt and Tori Laund hold their wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicMatt and Tori Laund pose for a photo at their wedding reception outside a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicTheresa Varin, grandmother of groom Matt Laund, hands out funpasses at her grandson's wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicMatt and Tori Laund interact with guests at their wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicMatt Laund shows photos of his and Tori Laund's actual wedding ceremony at the Disneyland Hotel in California. Their official wedding was held in May, but the couple received a complimentary wedding reception at one of their favorite restaurants, Peter Piper Pizza, in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicGuests attend Matt and Tori Laund's wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicMatt Laund talks to his friend Jacob Richardson at Laund's wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicMatt and Tori Laund cut the cake at their wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicTori Laund smiles at her wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicMatt and Tori Lund hold their wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicTori Laund's bejeweled jean jacket is draped over a booth at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023. Her jacket reads "Mrs. Laund" and also has her wedding date printed on the collar.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicJohn and Rachel Capite, aunt and uncle of bride Tori Laund, pose with their funpasses at their niece's wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicGuests attend Matt and Tori Laund's wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicA cake sits on a table at Matt and Tori Laund's wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicMatt and Tori Laund cut the cake at their wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicParty favors are given out at Matt and Tori Laund's wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicMatt and Tori Laund cut the cake at their wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicMatt and Tori Laund play arcade games at their wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicSelfie stick props sit on a table at Matt and Tori Laund's wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicMatt and Tori Laund play arcade games at their wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicMatt and Tori Laund play arcade games at their wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicMatt and Tori Laund play arcade games at their wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicTori Laund hugs a guest outside her wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicHeart-shaped pizzas lie on a buffet table at Matt and Tori Laund's wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicMatt and Tori Laund's wedding gifts sit on a table at their wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023.Olivia Gyapong/The RepublicCinnamon crunch desserts are arranged in a tower on a table at Matt and Tori Laund's wedding reception at a Peter Piper Pizza in Phoenix on July 30, 2023. The couple and their guests were given complimentary cinnamon crunch desserts as well as a pizza buffet, drinks and preloaded funpasses.Olivia Gyapong/The Republic
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https://www.azcentral.com/picture-gallery/news/local/phoenix/2023/07/31/phoenix-wedding-reception-peter-piper-pizza/70498999007/
| 2023-07-31T21:08:45
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https://www.azcentral.com/picture-gallery/news/local/phoenix/2023/07/31/phoenix-wedding-reception-peter-piper-pizza/70498999007/
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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A legal advocacy group for journalists wants to get involved in Disney’s free speech lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press says a win by the Florida governor could embolden other governments across the U.S. to take actions against journalists and other media when they exercise their First Amendment rights.
The group on Friday asked a judge for permission to file a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the claims brought by Disney against DeSantis, his appointees to a special district board governing Disney World and a state economic development agency. The lawsuit claims the Florida governor violated the company’s free speech rights by taking control over the district in retaliation for Disney’s public opposition to the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
The committee said that the impact of a DeSantis win would be felt beyond the 39 square miles (101 square kilometers) of the Disney World property governed by the new appointees picked by the Florida governor to the governing district’s board.
“If Defendants prevail in this case, those on whose behalf the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press advocates will be first in the line of fire given the nature of reporting and the press’s role in our constitutional system,” the committee said in its request to file the supporting brief in federal court in Tallahassee. “As such, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press’s proposed brief provides a voice to those not directly involved, but undoubtedly impacted by this case.”
DeSantis and Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity have argued that Disney’s case should be dismissed because of sovereign immunity protection against being sued for conducting government business, and that Disney hasn’t shown how it has been hurt so it lacks standing to sue the state government defendants.
DeSantis has used the fight with Disney to burnish his “anti-woke” credentials and demonstrate his ability to push a conservative agenda during his campaign for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
The DeSantis appointees took over the Disney World governing board earlier this year following a yearlong feud between the company and DeSantis. The fight began last year after Disney, beset by significant pressure internally and externally, publicly opposed a state law banning classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades, a policy critics call “Don’t Say Gay.”
As punishment, DeSantis took over the district through legislation passed by Florida lawmakers and appointed a new board of supervisors to oversee municipal services for the sprawling theme parks and hotels.
If the retaliatory actions by DeSantis and Republican lawmakers are left unchecked, it poses a threat to watchdog journalism and press coverage of public issues “to the detriment to the free flow of information on matters of public concern that has long been the hallmark of our democratic system of government,” the committee said.
Before the new board came in, Disney made agreements with previous oversight board members who were Disney supporters that stripped the new supervisors of their authority over design and development. The DeSantis-appointed members of the governing district have sued Disney in state court in a second lawsuit stemming from the district’s takeover, seeking to invalidate those agreements.
Disney had asked for the case be dismissed or delayed pending the outcome of the federal lawsuit. However, Circuit Judge Margaret Schreiber in Orlando on Friday refused to toss or postpone the case, saying among other reasons that to do so would have created “an undue delay” for the district, which still must continue governing. ___
Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at @MikeSchneiderAP
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https://www.pahomepage.com/entertainment-news/ap-group-desantis-win-in-disney-lawsuit-could-embolden-actions-against-journalists/
| 2023-07-31T21:08:44
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https://www.pahomepage.com/entertainment-news/ap-group-desantis-win-in-disney-lawsuit-could-embolden-actions-against-journalists/
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DADE CITY, Fla. — An 11-year-old dirt bike rider died on Sunday after he was struck by another rider at a Florida motocross track, authorities said.
According to the Dade City Police Department, the boy was riding an 85cc dirt bike at Dade City Motocross at about 10 a.m. EDT when he crashed after completing a jump over a hill, the Tampa Bay Times reported. The boy, whose name has not been released because he was a minor, got up and was picking up his bike, but then was struck by another rider who was jumping the same hill, according to the newspaper.
The boy was struck in the upper torso, Pasco News Online reported.
11-year-old killed after being struck by dirt bike at Dade City Motocross track, police sayhttps://t.co/PKuadh0vi1 pic.twitter.com/PotPuykjY3
— WFLA NEWS (@WFLA) July 30, 2023
First responders at the raceway went to the boy’s side and began assessing his injuries, WFLA-TV reported. Medical personnel called for Pasco County Fire Rescue due to the extent of the boy’s injuries in his shoulder area, according to the television station.
The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner notified Dade City police at about 2 p.m. EDT that the boy had died from his injuries, the Times reported.
An investigation is ongoing, according to WFLA.
Dade City, in Pasco County, is 38 miles northeast of Tampa and 63 miles west of Orlando.
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https://www.star945.com/news/trending/11-year-old-boy-fatally-injured-crash-motocross-track/4FZEGGTR5RCYDKF7AMIJ77CD7U/
| 2023-07-31T21:08:47
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https://www.star945.com/news/trending/11-year-old-boy-fatally-injured-crash-motocross-track/4FZEGGTR5RCYDKF7AMIJ77CD7U/
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Bronny health update, Brown's 'Black Wall Street'
July 28, 2023 05:20 PM
Natalie and Zena provide a quick update in basketball, commending Jaylen Brown for pledging money to Boston's black community following his contract extension and the latest on Bronny James' health.
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https://www.nbcsports.com/watch/podcasts/brother-from-another/saballys-case-for-wnba-most-improved-player
| 2023-07-31T21:08:49
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https://www.nbcsports.com/watch/podcasts/brother-from-another/saballys-case-for-wnba-most-improved-player
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Comparing the iRobot Roomba j7+ and s9+ models
Roomba is probably the first name that comes to mind when you think about robot vacuums — and for good reason. iRobot’s line of vacuums, around for more than 20 years, has certainly paved the way with innovative, intelligent designs. The Roomba j7+ and Roomba s9+ are the brand’s two most premium models, offering plenty of advanced features to make cleaning a snap, so choosing between the two robots isn’t easy.
In the BestReviews Testing Lab, we found that, while they are roughly the same size, have similar mapping abilities and both feature a convenient self-emptying base, the j7+ and s9+ differ in a few key areas. The j7+ offers superior obstacle avoidance, while the s9+ features significantly stronger suction power and more thorough corner and edge cleaning.
Ultimately, the j7+ is the best choice for pet owners who want a vacuum with above-average suction power that can avoid obstacles around the house, including pet waste. But if you want the most powerful robot vacuum to take care of nearly all the vacuuming in your home, look no further than the s9+.
Roomba j7+ vs. Roomba s9+ specs
The specs for the j7+ and s9+ are similar. However, some key difference between the two can affect their performance on hardwood and carpeting and in corners.
Roomba j7+ specs
Testing team checks the effectiveness of the Roomba j7+ as it navigates around furniture.
Product specifications
Battery life: 97 minutes | Dimensions: 13.3” L x 13.3” W x 3.4” H | Dustbin capacity: 0.4 L | Weight: 7.49 lb | Mapping: Yes | Self-emptying: Yes | Voice commands: Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri | Scheduling: Yes
The j7+ is a full inch wider than the s9+ and other Roomba models, but its profile is a tiny bit lower, which may allow it to fit beneath more furniture. With a battery that lasted nearly 100 minutes in our testing, it falls right in the middle of the pack with other robot vacuums. And while its dustbin is 100 milliliters smaller than the s9+’s, it is self-emptying, which means you don’t have to worry about it stopping in the middle of cleaning. If its bin is full, the j7+ automatically returns to its base to empty itself.
Like the s9+ and other advanced robot vacuums, the j7+ uses smart mapping and camera-based navigation to learn your home. It can identify specific rooms and zones, so you can send the robot to clean a certain area. It can even learn objects in your home and clean around furniture. It also supports Keep-Out Zones if there are areas in your home where you don’t want the robot to clean.
Released two years after the s9+, which came out in 2019, the j7+ is compatible with home assistants like Alexa and Siri, so you can use voice commands to control its cleaning. That makes it easy to clean messes as they happen because you can ask the j7+ to clean under your kitchen table when the kids get crumbs on the floor or vacuum the living room where your pets have been playing. Additionally, you can schedule regular vacuuming with the iRobot Home app. You can choose the day and time the j7+ vacuums and customize its cleaning preferences to ensure your floors are as pristine as possible.
Roomba s9+ specs
The testing team determines the battery life of the Roomba s9+.
Product specifications
Battery life: 107 minutes | Dimensions: 12.25” L x 12.25” W x 3.5” H | Dustbin capacity: 0.5 L | Weight: 8.15 lb | Mapping: Yes | Self-emptying: Yes | Voice commands: Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri | Scheduling: Yes
What stands out immediately about the s9+ is its unique D-shape design, which allows it to reach into corners far better than the average circular robot vacuum. Among the heavier options at 8.15 pounds, it has a medium-sized dustbin, but it’s self-emptying like the j7+, so it won’t stop in the middle of cleaning when it’s full. It also has a fairly long battery life, running for over 100 minutes on a single charge during our testing. If you want to empty the bin manually, it releases from the robot’s top and comes out easily. The bin itself opens from the bottom, too, so all of the debris inside falls out without any shaking.
Like the j7+, the s9+ creates smart maps of your home to learn rooms, zones and objects. That allows you to vacuum specific rooms or around certain furniture. For example, you can send the robot out to clean in front of the kitchen counter. It also allows you to create Keep-Out Zones to prevent the s9+ from cleaning in a certain area, such as where you keep your pet’s bowls.
You can use voice commands to control the s9+ via a home assistant, such as Alexa or Google Assistant. For more regular cleaning, you can use the iRobot Home app to create a cleaning schedule. Each scheduled cleaning session lets you select a day and time, as well as cleaning preferences, like the number of passes and suction power.
Suction comparison
The Roomba j7+ and s9+ are both advanced models, offering strong suction. However, the s9+ stands out for its superior power. While the j7+ has 10 times the suction power as the Roomba 600 series, the s9+ provides 40 times the suction for truly impressive performance on all types of flooring.
This top-notch suction power comes at a price, though — the s9+ is noticeably noisier than other robot vacuums, including the j7+. The j7+ tops out at about 64 decibels, while the s9+ can hit more than 74 decibels at maximum power.
Carpet comparison
Both the Roomba j7+ and s9+ performed well on carpeting. In fact, they were two of the top-performing models among those we tested. However, the s9+ did have the edge, offering suction power that came as close to a standard vacuum cleaner as any of the Roombas we tested.
On medium-pile carpet, the s9+ removed coarse kosher salt, cereal and kitty litter without leaving noticeable debris behind. When it missed a few particles of salt and kitty litter, it captured the remaining debris on its second pass. It pulled pet hair from the carpet without a single strand left behind, too. On low-pile area rugs and runners, we also found that it picked up all the debris in its path on these surfaces without any particles left behind.
During testing, the j7+ successfully handled most debris on medium-pile carpeting, but it wasn’t as impressive as the s9+. It missed several particles of kosher salt and crushed a piece of cereal into the carpet. However, it removed nearly all the remaining cereal crumbs when it did a second pass. It captured nearly all the kitty litter we placed in its path except a single piece and cleaned 100% of the pet hair in a single pass. Like the s9+, the j7+ handled debris on low-pile area rugs and runners with even greater success, so we didn’t observe any debris when it was done cleaning.
Hardwood comparison
The Roomba j7+ and s9+ offered even better suction on hardwood during testing. However, they both occasionally encountered the same problem that many robot vacuums do on hard flooring: Because the surface is usually smooth and slick, it’s easy for the robot to blow some particles of larger debris out of its path. Both the j7+ and s9+ did this in some cases, but the s9+ did it less frequently because of its superior suction power.
Both models cleaned pet hair from hardwood without any issues. The s9+ removed all the coarse kosher salt we placed in its path except for a granule or two, while the j7+ left behind just a few particles. Both successfully captured cereal on hardwood, though they did blow a couple of pieces out of their path. The s9+ picked up these pieces from the edge of the room, while the j7+ didn’t. We also found that both had success removing kitty litter from hardwood, but it took more than one pass to capture all of the particles.
Navigation comparison
The j7+ and s9+ both use a camera to aid their navigation. However, the j7+ has a front-facing camera, while the s9+ has a top-mounted camera. The j7+’s navigation sensor is also located at the front of the robot. Why does this matter? The placement of the cameras and sensors plays a significant role in how well they can navigate a space.
In particular, the front-facing camera and sensor mean the j7+ has obstacle avoidance, allowing it to move around objects without running over or bumping into them. In fact, iRobot is so confident in the j7’s ability to avoid obstacles that it’s backed by P.O.O.P., or the Pet Owner Official Promise, which affirms that you can count on the j7+ to avoid pet accidents and waste, or iRobot will replace your robot for free.
During our testing, the j7+ did an excellent job avoiding items in its path. We placed a handbag, a shoe and a stuffed pet toy in its way, and in all three cases, the robot seemed to sense the object and swerve around it.
On the other hand, the s9+ wasn’t as adept at avoiding items. It ran right over a book we placed in its path and bumped into a stuffed pet toy before moving around it. When we set a shoe in its path, it first tried to travel over it but then stopped and backed up to move around it.
When we stood in front of each robot, their reactions were also different. The j7+ pivoted away before touching us, while the s9+ lightly tapped our foot before moving away.
The advanced obstacle avoidance not only makes the j7+ an ideal model for a home with pets but also an excellent fit for a cluttered home. If you have children who leave toys scattered around, it can clean around the items without getting stuck. You might have less luck with the s9+.
Features comparison
Both the j7+ and s9+ have rubber brush rolls designed to loosen dirt and deal with hair more successfully than traditional bristle brushes. These rubber brushes are flexible, making them less likely to get tangled with hair. However, the s9+ features slightly wider brushes, which allow it to clean more efficiently than the j7+. During our testing, we were impressed by how quickly it worked — it cleaned 240 square feet in just 37 minutes. On the other hand, the j7+ needed 55 minutes to clean 260 square feet.
While the j7+ features the classic round shape that most robot vacuums have, the s9+ has a D-shaped frame — and this makes a big difference. Our testing found that the s9+’s flat edge allowed it to clean more thoroughly along walls. We placed kosher salt in corners with carpeting and hardwood, and it removed nearly all of the particles in a single pass on both surfaces. On the other hand, when we tested the j7+ in a carpeted corner, it only removed about three-quarters of the salt, leaving a noticeable line behind. It removed most of the salt on hardwood but blew several pieces away from the corner without picking them up.
Both the j7+ and s9+ come with a Clean Base that allows for self-emptying. However, the bases aren’t the same size. While they are roughly the same width, the s9+’s base is 19 inches tall, just over 3 inches taller than the j7+’s 15.8-inch tall base. We didn’t have trouble finding a spot for the s9+ in our testing area, but the j7+ can likely squeeze into more locations. Both bases can hold up to 60 days’ worth of dirt, and the j7+ even has a space in the top to hold an extra dirt-disposal bag.
If you don’t necessarily need a self-emptying robot, you can opt for non-emptying models of j7+ and s9+ that cost considerably less. The j7 and s9 are the same vacuums as the Plus models but don’t come with a Clean Base.
Cleaning and maintenance
The j7+ and s9+ require similar cleaning and maintenance to keep them running at peak performance. Even though the models are self-emptying, it’s a good idea to manually empty the dustbin once every week or so to remove any debris that the Clean Base didn’t remove. You can also rinse the bin with warm water, but let it dry thoroughly before returning it to the robot.
You also need to empty the Clean Base when you get a notification from the iRobot app that its bag is full. The bags are disposable, so you can toss a full one in the trash and replace it.
The area that requires the most care for these models is the brush roll since hair and other debris can accumulate around them. You can easily pop out the brushes by pressing the tab on the robot’s underside. When we cleaned these vacuums during testing, we found we could remove hair and other debris with just our fingers. You can also wipe the brush rollers down with a clean, dry cloth if you notice visible dirt.
The high-efficiency filter, edge-sweeping brush and brush rollers for the j7+ and s9+ also require periodic replacement. It’s simple to check their status in the iRobot app under the Product Health tab. There, you can see how many hours until the components require replacement.
Price
The Roomba j7+ regularly costs $799.99. It’s available on Amazon. The Roomba s9+ typically retails for $999.99. You can also find it on Amazon.
How we tested
To see just how well the Roomba j7+ and s9+ perform in real-world conditions, we not only sent them out to do regular cleaning but also put them through specific tests.
First, we measured stats like battery life, charging time, how long they could clean until their dustbins were full and how long they took to clean a given area. Next, we placed different types of debris, including kosher salt, kitty litter, cereal and pet hair, on both carpeting and hardwood and evaluated how well they handled the mess. We also tested how well each model cleaned in corners and around furniture.
Finally, we examined how well the iRobot app works with each model for scheduling, mapping and Keep-Out Zones and used voice commands to see how responsive both were.
Bottom line
It’s hard to go wrong with either the Roomba j7+ or the s9+ because they’re both advanced models that work well on carpeting and hard floors and offer many convenient features. But if you want the most powerful model that can eliminate the need for a standard vacuum, the s9+ gets the edge. It can handle all types of debris, including pet hair, on both carpeting and hard flooring, and its unique D-shape allows it to get into corners without leaving a mess behind.
However, if you have pets, you’ll prefer the j7+. It handles pet hair well, even on carpeting, and also avoids obstacles, so it won’t run into your pet’s waste and track it all over the house. The obstacle avoidance feature also makes it a good fit for cluttered homes.
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Jennifer Blair writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2023 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wric.com/reviews/br/home-br/vacuums-br/roomba-j7-vs-s9-which-is-best-for-you/
| 2023-07-31T21:08:50
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https://www.wric.com/reviews/br/home-br/vacuums-br/roomba-j7-vs-s9-which-is-best-for-you/
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DECATUR, Ga. — A 31-year-old man has now been convicted in a six-year-old shooting where he shot and killed a man he suspected was breaking into his car, the DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announced on Monday.
A DeKalb County jury returned the guilty verdict against Josiah Gilbert on Friday.
The shooting happened on June 23, 2017, at an apartment complex on Candler Road. DA Boston said that the police investigation determined that Gilbert told officers that he heard someone trying to break into his car and that's when he grabbed his gun.
He then shot the victim who was running away in the head.
Gilbert is being charged with voluntary manslaughter, felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
The 31-year-old will be sentenced on Friday, Aug. 24, according to the district attorney's office.
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https://www.11alive.com/article/news/crime/josiah-gilbert-convicted-after-shooting-man-suspected-car-break-in/85-111ad328-97b1-490b-b4f6-33e4590699e1
| 2023-07-31T21:08:51
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https://www.11alive.com/article/news/crime/josiah-gilbert-convicted-after-shooting-man-suspected-car-break-in/85-111ad328-97b1-490b-b4f6-33e4590699e1
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BAYREUTH, Germany (AP) — Two years after the debut of the Bayreuth Festival’s first female conductor, Nathalie Stutzmann became the second to lead a Richard Wagner opera in the Festpielhaus’ famous covered pit.
The 58-year-old former contralto, fresh off her first season as Atlanta Symphony Orchestra music director, drew a luminous performance of “Tannhäuser” on Friday night in a revival of the Tobias Kratzer 2019 production — the one featuring the title character in a clown suit and a murder in a Burger King parking lot.
“It’s good news to be second,” Stutzmann said. “It proves that things are moving.”
Launched by Richard Wagner in 1876 and currently run by great-granddaughter Katharina Wagner, the festival broke its conductor gender barrier when Oksana Lyniv led a new staging of “Der Fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman)” in 2021. The 45-year-old returned this summer to preside over the Dmitri Tcherniakov production for the third straight year.
“They are very highly accepted,” Katharina Wagner said. “I hope that this question would disappear with time, that we are just talking about good conductors and not female and male conductors anymore.”
Stutzmann’s year so far has also included debuts with the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera, where she provoked the orchestra when she alleged in a New York Times interview that musicians were bored playing while not being able to see onstage activity. The orchestra criticized her in a statement, prompting Stutzmann to apologize.
At Bayreuth, conductors must adjust to a pit Richard Wagner designed to keep the orchestra hidden from the audience, arranged in nine rows that descend toward the stage: violins in the first two, followed by violas, cellos, double basses, woodwinds, brass and percussion. The instrumental sound mixes with voices before traveling out to 30 rows of seats and three tiers of boxes.
“I had done a lot of research, so I knew the experience would be new and unexpected and tricky,” Stutzmann said in a response to an emailed question. “We hear the sound completely different from what the audience hears, that’s why we have to rely on our assistants. … You hardly hear the singers on stage and they sound always late even when we are perfectly together!”
Stutzmann’s performance, using the original Dresden score, featured unusual clarity when the overture slowed and the volume lowered during a pilgrims’ chorus repeat in the overture. She was greeted with boisterous applause and foot-stomping during 14 minutes of curtain calls.
Stutzmann has been invited back to conduct the 2024 revival of the sold-out “Tannhäuser” staging, notorious for the director adding the drag queen Le Gateau Chocolat and dwarf actor Manni Laudenbach, who combine with the title character and the goddess Venus to form a counterculture clique Richard Wagner never could have envisioned for a work that premiered in 1845.
During an interview in New York before heading to Germany, Stutzmann said “Tannhäuser” was the perfect vehicle for her Bayreuth debut, given her quarter-century as a contralto and the opera’s full title, which translates to “Tannhäuser and the Minstrels’ Contest at Wartburg.”
She winked.
“It’s a singer competition, after all,” she said with a laugh.
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https://www.pahomepage.com/entertainment-news/ap-nathalie-stutzmann-become-second-woman-to-conduct-at-bayreuth-2-years-after-gender-barrier-broken/
| 2023-07-31T21:08:52
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https://www.pahomepage.com/entertainment-news/ap-nathalie-stutzmann-become-second-woman-to-conduct-at-bayreuth-2-years-after-gender-barrier-broken/
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A man who made a name for himself climbing high rises and cranes across the globe has died.
Remi Lucidi was 30 years old.
Multiple media outlets are reporting that Lucidi, who went by the name Remi Enigma on Instagram, lost his footing on the Tregunter Tower in Hong Kong. The reports cite The South China Morning Post.
The Associated Press reported that there was no suicide note found and that initial investigations said he fell from a rooftop.
The Independent in its reporting of the incident called Lucidi a stuntman and daredevil.
Lucidi’s camera and his ID card were found at the scene. Police confirmed that a 30-year-old man’s body was found on a patio but did not release his name, saying that “a preliminary investigation suggested the man was an extreme sports enthusiast,” Sky News and The South China Morning Post reported.
Lucidi apparently got into the tower by telling a security guard he was there to visit a friend on the 40th floor but was seen on security footage leaving an elevator on the 49th floor and on staircases leading to the top of the building. Officials found a door forced open there, Sky News reported.
Lucidi had posted a shot from the top of a tower in Hong Kong’s Times Square on July 24, three days before his death.
Lucidi started climbing skyscrapers in 2016, The Independent reported.
Lucidi had become popular by climbing buildings all over the world, including perching on a bridge railing in Portugal, TMZ reported.
He posted a photo of himself on top of a tower near Chernobyl in Ukraine, calling it “My Comfort Zone,” People magazine reported. He also had images high above Bulgaria, Bangkok and Dubai.
One of his recent selfies had the caption “Life is too short to chase unicorns.”
©2023 Cox Media Group
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| 2023-07-31T21:08:53
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Written by Kevin Luna
The Testing Lab’s favorites from July
Our favorite tested products from July
As a consumer, before purchasing any product, it’s a good idea to research as much as you can about it. However, because brand and product claims can exaggerate performance and quality, the most reliable source for determining if a product is worth your time is to look up expert testing reviews.
The BestReviews Testing Lab consistently tests popular consumer products in an attempt to distinguish which ones are the best. For July, we tried many products, including robot vacuums, lawnmowers, golf clubs, hairstyling tools and smart speakers.
Shop this article: Roomba j7+ Self-Emptying Robot Vacuum, Cleveland Huntington Beach Soft 11 Putter and Apple HomePod.
What is the BestReviews Testing Lab?
The BestReviews Testing Lab aims to wade through all the marketing hype and see how well products perform in real-world situations. It consists of regular consumers searching for products that can enhance their lives. We consider items the same way shoppers do, focusing on factors like how easy they are to use, how effective they are and other features that distinguish them from similar products.
The testing lab is also committed to employing green testing practices and giving back to the community. As a result, we donate lightly used products from the testing process to organizations like Lighthouse Community Public Schools, an organization local to our main testing operation that educates students in grades K-12. We’ve recently contributed products like the Keurig K155 Office Pro Commerical Coffee Maker, a Kindle Paperwhite and the “National Geographic Pocket Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of North America” to support students and educators.
In July, the testing lab evaluated a broad range of products, but two categories, in particular, were a big hit: robot vacuums and putters. We tested many of them to see which ones are best for beginners and experts, and we curated a list of the ones we recommend.
Best Testing Lab products from July
Roomba j7+ Self-Emptying Robot Vacuum
This robot vacuum was a big hit in our testing lab because of its powerful suction that works great on carpet and hard floors, as well as its intuitive smart mapping function that lets you choose which rooms to clean and when. It responds to Alexa voice commands and operates quietly.
Sold by iRobot
Roomba i3+ Evo Self-Emptying Robot Vacuum
We love this robot vacuum for its long-lasting battery life, quick setup and efficiency at picking up small debris, pet hair and dirt particles. It travels in a uniform row pattern while cleaning, works with voice assistants and mapping takes only a few minutes to set up.
Sold by iRobot
This is one of the cheaper iRobot units, but our testing team liked it well enough to recommend it for those who want a solid bargain pick. The three-stage cleaning process is excellent, and Dirt Detect technology allows it to locate the dirtiest spots in your home and prioritize them.
Sold by Walmart
Roomba Combo j7+ Robot Vacuum and Mop
This robot vacuum cleaner offers a mopping function in addition to vacuuming, making it suitable for those with mostly hard floors throughout their homes. The app automatically recognized the unit, making it quick to set up. It’s adept at picking up dirt, pet hair, crumbs and even cat litter.
Sold by iRobot
Our testing team was pleased with this robot vacuum’s suction power and performance on hard floors and carpets. It’s simple to pair with voice assistants such as Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri, and although it doesn’t come with a self-emptying bin, doing it manually is quick and easy.
Sold by iRobot
This was one of the more popular robot vacuums in the testing lab because of its high-powered cleaning cycle and easy-to-use app. It’s highly responsive to basic voice commands such as “Stop Cleaning” through Alexa or Google Assistant, and the automatic dirt disposal works efficiently to empty the reservoir.
Sold by Best Buy
Roomba s9+ Self-Emptying Robot Vacuum
As one of the most powerful robot vacuums, our expert testers recommend it for medium to large homes. It can clean 140 square feet in 37 minutes, and mapping is straightforward to set up. You can give it specific cleaning commands, and it does well at avoiding objects.
Sold by iRobot
The testing lab appreciates this robot vacuum’s breezy setup and the fact that it works at lifting pet hair and dirt particles nearly as effectively as some of the more expensive units. It doesn’t struggle with floor-to-carpet transitions and is a convenient alternative for anyone who struggles with manual vacuuming.
Sold by iRobot
According to our testing team, this robot vacuum runs for 70 minutes on a full charge, and getting it up to full power only takes 1 hour and 45 minutes. Cleaning an apartment of roughly 800 square feet takes approximately 70 minutes, and the iHome app is visually clean and logical to navigate.
Sold by Amazon
The testing lab found it seamless to customize a floor plan for this robot vacuum to follow, and one of the best features is that it shows which areas it was able to clean once it’s finished. You can schedule specific cleaning times and zones, and it can handle corners and hard-to-reach areas.
Sold by Amazon
Cleveland Huntington Beach Soft 11 Putter
The right putter can make a difference on your score sheet at the end of the day, and our testing team can’t recommend this one enough. The grip allows for improved control over the putter head, and the soft face has a prominent sweet spot for more forgiveness on long putts.
Sold by Scheels
Scotty Cameron 2023 Super Select Newport 2.5 Plus Putter
This putter has an outstanding grip with increased tackiness for more control over the club head, and the face is advanced engineered to line up perfectly with the ball for precise putting. The weight is distributed correctly for an improved feel, and it has a large sweet spot.
Sold by Scheels
Scotty Cameron 2022 Phantom X 5.5 Putter
According to our testing team, the best thing about this putter is its large sweet spot that makes even the most off-center hits easier to pull off. The weight and putter face are expertly crafted to let the club do most of the work, making it suitable for low-handicap and mid-handicap players.
Sold by Scheels
TaylorMade TP Hydro Blast Bandon 3 Putter
Although this putter isn’t as forgiving as some of the other fan favorites from July, it’s still a solid choice for novice and intermediate golfers thanks to its mid-size grip and straightforward design. Distance control is manageable thanks to the balanced weighting, and the ball rolls nicely off the face.
Sold by Scheels
The testing lab found this smart speaker among the best when considering sound quality, and as with all Apple products, if you already own others, this speaker integrates seamlessly with them. Spatial audio and room sensing provide a surround sound effect in any room, and you can stream music via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.
The Fire Max 11 has everything you would expect from a high-quality tablet, including a crisp screen with a 2,000 by 1,200-pixel resolution, a powerful octa-core processor, Wi-Fi 6 support and a durable aluminum build. We love its versatility — it can handle gaming, web surfing and streaming.
Sold by Amazon
This hairstyling tool was a big hit in our testing lab because of its three rotating attachments designed to give you a specific look. The barrel has a button for spinning it on its own, making it more user-friendly than traditional curling irons, and the attachments are simple to pop and switch out.
Sold by Beachwaver
Kindle Scribe Essentials Bundle
The Kindle Scribe is a fantastic tool for avid readers who want something lightweight for reading on the go. The screen and brightness are optimized to make it possible to read under any lighting conditions, and setting up with an existing Amazon account takes less than a minute.
Sold by Amazon
Want to shop the best products at the best prices? Check out Daily Deals from BestReviews.
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
Kevin Luna writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2023 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wric.com/reviews/br/home-br/vacuums-br/the-testing-labs-favorites-from-july/
| 2023-07-31T21:08:57
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https://www.wric.com/reviews/br/home-br/vacuums-br/the-testing-labs-favorites-from-july/
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MACON, Ga. — With summer out and class back in session, the pressure may be there to perform well in the classroom, and for many students, anxiety may be front and center even on the first day of school.
The first day of school can be difficult for the parent or child.
"I'm going to have to make new friends and have new teachers," says Kyajah Nelson.
Nelson is also getting ready to embark on a new journey.
"Now I'm in high school," says Nelson.
"When we encounter something we don't know, there is this heightened sense of alertness and awareness," says licensed therapist Gloria Cisse.
Cisse says the fear of the unknown can frighten many. It's essential for kids and parents to be mindful of their emotions and identify how they're feeling. Often our anxiety overloads us, and we become our worst enemy, but knowing how we feel so we can take action can help win the battle against stress.
"It'll get easier when you get comfortable when you see who's in your classroom and where you'll sit," says Cisse.
Cisse says with the number of mass shootings we've seen in the country, many people have lost the sense of psychological safety we've had in public spaces. That includes schools.
"What we have to start thinking about is how can I prepare myself and my children to go in that environment every day," says Cisse.
Under the "Safe School Act," schools now have annual drills for responding to campus shooters involving teachers and students. It's an effort to keep schools safer, so parents' minds can be at ease.
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https://www.11alive.com/article/news/education/how-to-deal-with-back-to-school-stress/93-fa88fe70-157b-4f54-ac3b-aca1d40f1ed8
| 2023-07-31T21:08:57
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Bronny health update, Brown's 'Black Wall Street'
July 28, 2023 05:20 PM
Natalie and Zena provide a quick update in basketball, commending Jaylen Brown for pledging money to Boston's black community following his contract extension and the latest on Bronny James' health.
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https://www.nbcsports.com/watch/podcasts/brother-from-another/uswnt-womens-world-cup-3-peat-on-shaky-ground
| 2023-07-31T21:08:59
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https://www.nbcsports.com/watch/podcasts/brother-from-another/uswnt-womens-world-cup-3-peat-on-shaky-ground
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Paul Reubens, the actor and comedian whose Pee-wee Herman character — an overgrown child with a tight gray suit and an unforgettable laugh — became a 1980s pop cultural phenomenon, has died at 70.
Reubens, who’s character delighted fans in the film “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” and on the TV series “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” died Sunday night after a six-year struggle with cancer that he kept private, his publicist said in a statement.
“Please accept my apology for not going public with what I’ve been facing the last six years,” Reubens said in a statement released Monday with the announcement of his death. “I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.”
Created for the stage, Pee-wee with his white chunky loafers and red bow tie would become a cultural constant in both adult and children’s entertainment for much of the 1980s, though an indecent exposure arrest in 1991 would send the character into entertainment exile for years.
The laugh that punctuated every sentence, catch phrases like “I know you are but what am I” and a tabletop dance to the Champs’ song “Tequila” in a biker bar in “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” were often imitated by fans, to the joy of some and the annoyance of others.
Reubens created Pee-wee when he was part of the Los Angeles improv group The Groundlings in the late 1970s. The live “Pee-wee Herman Show” debuted at a Los Angeles theater in 1981 and was a success with both kids during matinees and adults at a midnight show.
The show closely resembled the format the Saturday morning TV “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” would follow years later, with Herman living in a wild and wacky home with a series of stock-character visitors, including one, Captain Karl, played by the late “Saturday Night Live” star Phil Hartman.
HBO would air the show as a special.
Reubens took Pee-wee to the big screen with 1985’s “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,” which takes the character outside for a nationwide escapade. The film, in which Pee-wee’s cherished bike is stolen, was said to be loosely based on Vittorio De Sica’s Italian neo-realist classic, “The Bicycle Thief.” Directed by Tim Burton and co-written by Hartman, the movie was a success, grossing $40 million, and continued to spawn a cult following for its oddball whimsy.
A sequel followed three years later in the less well-received “Big Top Pee-wee,” in which Pee-wee seeks to join a circus. Reubens’ character wouldn’t get another movie starring role until 2016’s Pee-wee’s Big Holiday,” for Netflix. Judd Apatow produced Pee-wee’s big-screen revival.
His television series, “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” ran for five seasons, earned 22 Emmys and attracted not only children but adults to Saturday-morning TV.
Jimmy Kimmel posted on Instagram that “Paul Reubens was like no one else — a brilliant and original comedian who made kids and their parents laugh at the same time. He never forgot a birthday and shared his genuine delight for silliness with everyone he met.”
Both silly and subversive and championing nonconformity, the Pee-wee universe was a trippy place, populated by things like a talking armchair and a friendly pterodactyl. The host, who is fond of secret words and loves fruit salad so much he once married it, is prone to lines like, “Why don’t you take a picture; it’ll last longer?” The act was a hit because it worked on multiple levels, even though Reubens insists that wasn’t the plan.
“It’s for kids,” Reubens told The Associated Press in 2010. “People have tried to get me for years to go, ‘It wasn’t really for kids, right?’ Even the original show was for kids. I always censored myself to have it be kid-friendly.
“The whole thing has been just a gut feeling from the beginning,” Reubens told the AP. “That’s all it ever is and I think always ever be. Much as people want me to dissect it and explain it, I can’t. One, I don’t know, and two, I don’t want to know, and three, I feel like I’ll hex myself if I know.”
Reubens’ career was derailed when he was arrested for indecent exposure in an adult movie theater in Sarasota, Florida, the city where he grew up. He was handed a small fine but the damage was incalculable.
He became the frequent butt of late-night talk show jokes and the perception of Reubens immediately changed.
“The moment that I realized my name was going to be said in the same sentence as children and sex, that’s really intense,” Reubens told NBC in 2004. “That’s something I knew from that very moment, whatever happens past that point, something’s out there in the air that is really bad.”
Reubens said he got plenty of offers to work, but told the AP that most of them wanted to take “advantage of the luridness of my situation”,” and he didn’t want to do them.
“It just changed,” he said. “Everything changed.”
He did take advantage of one chance to poke fun at his tarnished image. Just weeks after his arrest, he would open the MTV Video Music Awards, walking on to the stage alone and saying, “Heard any good jokes lately?” (Herman appearances on MTV had fueled Pee-wee’s popularity in the early 1980s.)
In 2001, Reubens was arrested and charged with misdemeanor possession of child pornography after police seized images from his computer and photography collection, but the allegation was reduced to an obscenity charge and he was given three years probation.
Born Paul Rubenfeld in Peekskill, New York, in 1952, the eldest of three kids, he grew up in Sarasota where his parents ran a lamp store and he put on comedy shows for neighbor kids.
After high school he sought to study acting. He spent a year at Boston University, and was then turned down by the Juilliard School and Carnegie-Mellon University. So he enrolled at the California Institute of the Arts. That would lead to appearances at local comedy clubs and theaters and joining the Groundlings.
After the 1991 arrest, he would spend the decade playing primarily non-Pee-wee characters, including roles in Burton’s 1992 movie “Batman Returns,” the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” film and a guest-star run on the TV series “Murphy Brown.”
He also appeared in the 1999 comedy film “Mystery Men” and Johnny Depp’s 2001 drug-dealer drama “Blow.”
Reubens — who never lost his boyish appearance even in his 60s, would slowly re-introduce Pee-wee, eventually doing a Broadway adaptation of “The Pee-wee Herman Show” in 2010, and the 2016 Netflix movie.
Reubens was beloved by his fellow comedians, and fans of Pee-wee spanned the culture.
Director Guillermo del Toro tweeted Monday that he was “one of the patron saints of all misfitted, weird, maladjusted, wonderful, miraculous oddities.”
___
Associated Press Writer Alicia Rancilio and Film Writer Jake Coyle contributed to this report.
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https://www.pahomepage.com/entertainment-news/ap-pee-wee-herman-actor-paul-reubens-dies-from-cancer-at-70/
| 2023-07-31T21:08:59
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OSHKOSH, Wis. — A pilot killed during an aircraft incident in Wisconsin on Saturday was the daughter of two-time Super Bowl champion Bruce Collie.
Devyn Reiley, 30, of Guadalupe, Texas, died when the World War II-era plane she was piloting crashed into Lake Winnebago near Oshkosh, WBAY-TV reported.
Reiley, who co-owned a New Braunfels-based flight school with her husband, was in Wisconsin for the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual fly-in convention, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
Also killed in the crash with Reiley was Zach Colliemoreno, 20, WBAY reported.
Reiley’s single-engine North American T-6 Texan aircraft crashed at about 9:07 a.m. CDT, according to the television station. The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the plane crashed shortly after taking off from Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, People reported.
According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the aircraft was reportedly maneuvering before rapidly descending from about 3,000 feet altitude, the Oshkosh Northwestern newspaper reported.
Reiley, the oldest of 13 siblings, was raised in Wimberley, Texas, the Express-News reported.
Pilot Devyn Reiley was passionate about sharing the history of female WWII aviators. https://t.co/VknLxMetbK
— San Antonio Express-News (@ExpressNews) July 30, 2023
“She was the older sister that was the one -- everybody looked up to her, everyone does look up to her,” her sister, Calyn Collie, 21, of Wimberley, told the newspaper.
Collie, 61, who is also a pilot, won two Super Bowl rings with the 49ers and was inducted into the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame in 2019. He posted a tribute to his daughter in a Facebook post.
Reiley became a certified private pilot in 2017 and was working toward becoming a certified commercial pilot, according to a Facebook post from Texas Warbird Museum, a nonprofit she co-founded with her husband, Hunter Reiley, and his family. The organization’s aim is to preserve retired WWII-era military aircraft known as warbirds, the Express-News reported.
Bruce Collie played in the NFL from 1985 to 1991, playing on the offensive line with the 49ers (1985-89) and the Philadelphia Eagles (1990-91).
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| 2023-07-31T21:09:01
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Whether you’re a fan of Food Network or someone who loves to spend time in the kitchen, you know Le Creuset. The French-made cookware brand is known for many things, coming in a wide range of colors. It’s got thick, heavy, enamel-coated cast iron and a lifetime warranty that has turned Le Creuset pieces into heirlooms.
There’s only one thing that’s stopping most of us from having a whole kitchen full of this stuff: the price tag. But now for the good news. We’re in the final week of Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale, so you still have a few more days to snag up to 45% off select Le Creuset pieces. And yes, that includes some of the iconic Dutch ovens.
Super-high quality … and prices to match (usually)
While the lifetime warranty means that a Le Creuset piece may very well be the last piece in its size and shape you ever need to buy, the prices also reflect that. A single Dutch oven will typically run you several hundred dollars.
However, people love them so much that the quality is worth the price. Celebrity chefs even belove Le Creuset pieces. Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa herself, once advised a fan who asked for a Le Creuset recommendation, “I use the Le Creuset #26 Dutch oven more often than everything else. It’s great for soups, stews and braising.” As further proof that you can’t beat the classics, Julia Child was also known to love her Le Creuset cookware.
5 Le Creuset deals you won’t want to miss at Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale
Le Creuset 4.5-Quart Oval Dutch Oven
Let’s start with a classic. This medium-sized Dutch oven is perfect for a family and can handle most main dishes and sides easily. It’s designed to go from the stovetop to the oven, and its oval shape makes it adaptable for larger cuts of meat, like leg of lamb. You can find it at Nordstrom in seven classic colors.
Sold by Nordstrom
Le Creuset Signature 2.75-Quart Enamel Dutch Oven
This smaller Dutch oven is great for singles, couples or those who need a second vessel for their sides and casseroles. It’s also great for baking and comes in eight colors to suit your kitchen’s aesthetic.
Sold by Nordstrom
Le Creuset 9-Inch Enamel Cast Iron Skillet
This versatile skillet can sear, saute and fry — and it can go from the stove to an oven up to 500 degrees. It comes pre-seasoned and is dishwasher-safe, making it a perfect choice for busy families who need a versatile staple to add to their kitchen.
Sold by Nordstrom
Le Creuset Signature 1.75-Quart Enameled Cast Iron Saucepan
This smaller pot is perfect for poaching eggs and fruit, making sauces and more. Its rounded base and curved interior make it easy to stir whatever’s inside and ensure nothing sticks — making cleanup a breeze.
Sold by Nordstrom
Le Creuset Heritage Rectangle Baking Dishes, Set of Three
For the baker in your family, this set of rectangle dishes — in 7.5, 10 and 12.5 inches — can accommodate any casserole, quiche or baked good. They can be used safely under the broiler or in the microwave, and you can even put them in the freezer.
Sold by Nordstrom
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Christina Marfice writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
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https://www.wric.com/reviews/br/kitchen-br/cookware-br/nordstrom-is-practically-giving-le-creuset-cookware-away-during-its-anniversary-sale/
| 2023-07-31T21:09:03
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https://www.wric.com/reviews/br/kitchen-br/cookware-br/nordstrom-is-practically-giving-le-creuset-cookware-away-during-its-anniversary-sale/
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ATLANTA — A metro Atlanta mother filled with grief after losing the life of her son painted a beloved picture of the 24-year-old man who was electrocuted near Lake Lanier last week.
Martha Millner clarified on Monday that her son, who was identified by medical examiners as Thomas Shepard Millner, actually went by his middle name.
In her statement, she added that she wanted to give life to her son's personality and tell viewers that he was more than just "the man who was electrocuted."
"Shepard touched many lives in many ways. Shep was an organ donor and will continue to live through many individuals," the grieving mother said.
She added that he was the youngest of three and lived with his oldest brother. He also owned a cat who he loved dearly.
Martha then added some background to her son's electrocution.
"We have owned our lake property for over 60 years. He grew up at the lake and was a strong swimmer and loved everything water," his mother added.
Her statement continued on to say that their dock was less than three years old and that a licensed electrician outfitted the dock.
Officials provided limited details on what precisely occurred in Shepard's death. Authorities did say that he entered the water from his family's dock and was heard screaming shortly after.
The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office said neighbors took a boat over to help Milner, jumped into the water, and described "a burning sensation he recognized as an electric shock."
That's when the neighbor swam ashore and turned off a power box before pulling Milner from the water, according to authorities.
Shepard was then taken to the hospital where he later died.
11Alive spoke to Steve Stanley, the public affairs officer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mobile District after Lake Lanier experienced a deadly weekend where Shepard and a 61-year-old died. Another person is still missing at the lake.
"It was a tough weekend. It was a sad weekend, so unfortunately, there were several accidents and fatalities at the Lake Lanier this weekend. We don't have all the details on every situation just yet," said Stanley.
He added that electrocutions in cases like these are very rare.
Stanley said some docks carry an amperage with electrical units attached to them. He added that the unit can charge the water.
Each dock is held to a federal standard by the National Electricians Commission, according the public affairs officer.
"We inspect every dock that we have that's permitted through us. And we simply check to make sure that it's signed off by a licensed electrician. That's that's all we can really say about it," said Stanley.
Stanley recommends that residents practice some safety tips around their dock to prevent tragedies:
- Residents should regularly direct questions about their electrical dock to a licensed electrician to make sure it aligns with federal and state standards.
- The public affairs officer also added that residents should not dive or swim off of their docks since they are for boats and other watercrafts.
- People should also regularly clean their dock area to make sure there are no tripping hazards, exposed wires and clear it of any obstructions that could cause injury.
- The U.S. Corps of Engineers also recommends that people wear a life jack to prevent tragedies.
Martha then added in her statement that her son was not on any drugs and rarely drank at the time of his death.
"Most every week he would spend his day off riding the jet ski, swimming or just snoozing on the dock to some music," Martha said. "Shepard loved his OneWheel and was a very talented rider."
Martha also added that he worked at Carraba's at the Collection for almost 10 years and started working there at the age of 16.
His mother added that Shepard was intelligent, gentle, kind, loving and accepting. He also had a varied taste in music, gaming and just being outdoors.
"He didn’t care what your beliefs were; politically, racially, sexually. Everyone was equal in his eyes. Shepard was known for his quirkiness, his humor and his dedication," said his mother.
A celebration of life will be held for Shepard on Saturday at the Reformation Brewery in Canton from 12:30 p.m. until 2:30 p.m., according to his mother.
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https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/shepard-milner-man-electrocuted-lake-lanier-family-speaks/85-648bb59b-209b-4ad3-9012-0c9bcda33e89
| 2023-07-31T21:09:07
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https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/shepard-milner-man-electrocuted-lake-lanier-family-speaks/85-648bb59b-209b-4ad3-9012-0c9bcda33e89
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — If you believe Janelle Monae ’s hyper-sexual expression is a front, think again.
These days, Monae is unapologetically living her truth in a bold manner while trying to avoid negativity. The star, once known for sporting custom-made suits, has shed that attire (at least for now) to nearly bare all, like on the cover of her latest studio album, “The Age of Pleasure,” where she’s seen swimming topless in a pool. It’s her first release since 2018’s “Dirty Computer,” which was nominated for album of the year at the Grammys.
In recent months, Monae hasn’t been afraid of risque looks and nudity. She revealed herself during an event celebrating the release of her single “Lipstick Lover” and again onstage at an Essence Music Festival set — which drew some social media criticism including from singer India Arie and rapper Uncle Luke. She also attended the 2023 Met Gala in a barely-there outfit.
For Monae, this is her time to be free.
Monae spoke recently with The Associated Press about her supportive mother, side-stepping criticism and teasing her upcoming North American tour, which kicks off Aug. 30 in Seattle. Other tour stops include New York and Nashville and she’ll wrap in Los Angeles in mid-October.
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AP: Since you haven’t toured since 2019, was your recent Essence Festival performance a tune up for your upcoming tour?
MONAE: Yeah, we’re testing out the songs. You‘re getting them in your body. Right now, we don’t have a lot of muscle memory with the new songs. We haven’t toured them. I know if you come into the show, you’ll love the songs. But hearing them live is a different experience, especially when you’re putting them with songs from previous work. We’re basically just putting a show together based on what we feel is good. Sometimes you just don’t know until you get on stage.
AP: What do you want people to take away from your show?
MONAE: Tap into your free (expletive) energy. That’s rooted in self-love — not arrogance. Tap into that space and then take care of each other. That’s what I hope. With the shows that I do, and when I look out, it’s an experience. It’s like our own church. You want to take care of each other.
Even if your freedom doesn’t look like that person’s freedom, you understand that we’re fighting against something much bigger than us. We’re systemically fighting against something much bigger than us, so we got to band together, we got to stick together. We have to make sure that we’re showing up for each other. If we have privilege in certain areas, making sure that we’re lending a hand, lending a voice, amplifying a message.
AP: How has it been to walk in your truth while facing criticism about your racy performances from people like Arie and Uncle Luke?
MONAE: That has absolutely nothing to do with me. I love everybody. I’m in the age of pleasure.
AP: When did you feel comfortable with living life the way you want without caring about others’ opinions?
MONAE: It’s not like I don’t care what people think. I care what some people think. I don’t care what everybody thinks. That’s the same when it comes to music. When you make a new song, I can’t go soliciting everybody’s opinions about the song. By the time I get back to the second pass of it, it’s all over the place. Everybody’s going to have an opinion. For me, it’s like, whose voice do I trust? Who do I know that loves me, cares about me, whose taste do I like, who actually is evolved enough to even understand what it is that I’m doing? Who understands nuance?
You shouldn’t care what anybody has to say. You just care what the right people have to say and everything else is muted.
AP: Who are those right people for you?
MONAE: Family. Close friends.
AP: In your journey, your mother has been a huge supporter. Whenever you have fallen under certain criticisms, how has she helped you navigate the critics?
MONAE: My mom is like ride or die. I have to tell her like “Mom, you don’t need to defend me. You don’t need to defend my life or my decisions.” For her, I’m her baby. Like any mama bear, you might get punched in the eye if you say something. You might. But I’ve calmed her down over the years. For the most part, we mostly respond to love. It’s a lot of people that love where I am and who I am and what I’m doing, and they feel really empowered and inspired by it, and that makes my mom proud, and it makes me happy.
AP: How do you avoid the naysayers?
MONAE: I’m too busy living life to be distracted. The positive things are always amazing too, but I also don’t go fishing for that. One of the things about being in the age of pleasure is being present and making sure that I’m dipping in on social media, saying what I need to say, showing love, saying “thank you,” putting up my art and leaving, going to go create more things and make more memories and more experiences.
I’m in the middle of putting together a tour for North America. We haven’t been on tour since 2019. For me, I have a lot of things that keep me busy. I’m practicing guitar. I’m having the best sex of my life. I’m happy. Even in the middle of all that’s going on in this world, I’m finding time to steal joy and to center joy and to stay surrounded by the people that bring me joy and that I can bring joy too.
AP: How did “Age of Pleasure” define where you are in life?
MONAE: I wanted to create a soundtrack to our lifestyle. I think this album like all my albums reflect exactly where I am at that time. Each album will let you know where I was in my evolution process, what things I had to unlearn, what things I learned. I love that. I love that you can always look at an artist working, sort of see what they were on at that time.
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https://www.pahomepage.com/entertainment-news/ap-qa-janelle-monae-talks-about-freedom-how-new-album-defines-her-and-getting-ready-to-tour-again/
| 2023-07-31T21:09:06
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SMYRNA, Ga. — Roughly seven months after an unusually deep freeze set over metro Atlanta, a Smyrna town fixture that was damaged has now been replaced.
The late-December chill last year froze over the fountain in the center of Smyrna Market Village, creating a rather attractive formation but also irreparably breaking the fountain.
Work had been ongoing for several months to set new piping and bring in a new fountain, and the city posted to Instagram on Monday that it was now up and running.
"The Smyrna Market Village fountain is back!" the post stated.
News happens fast. Download our 11Alive News app for all the latest breaking updates, and sign up for our Speed Feed newsletter to get a rundown of the latest headlines across north Georgia.
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https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/smyrna-new-fountain-december-freeze/85-8033838e-3d7d-426a-8bd5-336f57aed143
| 2023-07-31T21:09:08
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https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/smyrna-new-fountain-december-freeze/85-8033838e-3d7d-426a-8bd5-336f57aed143
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WASHINGTON — Paul Reubens, the actor and comedian best known for his character Pee-wee Herman, has died at 70 years old after a years-long battle with cancer that he did not make public. The Monday announcement of his death was met with an immediate outpouring of grief from his friends and colleagues in the entertainment industry.
"Russian Doll" star Natasha Lyonne, who made her acting debut at 6 years old on the first season of "Pee-wee's Playhouse," shared images from the hit television series on social media.
"Love you so much, Paul. One in all time. Thank you for my career & your forever friendship all these years & for teaching us what a true original is," she wrote, adding several heart emojis and one emoji of a broken heart.
Lyonne was one of many actors and comedians who described Reubens as a friend or mentor, sharing photos or personal stories.
"No tweet can capture the magic, generosity, artistry, and devout silliness of Paul Reubens. Everyone I know received countless nonsensical memes from Paul on their birthday, and I mean EVERYONE. His surreal comedy and unrelenting kindness were a gift to us all. Damn, this hurts.
"Paul Reubens was like no one else - a brilliant and original comedian who made kids and their parents laugh at the same time. He never forgot a birthday and shared his genuine delight for silliness with everyone he met. My family and I will miss him."
"Paul Reubens was a great, great friend. He gave me the muppets for my birthday and never forgot anyone’s birthday from our class. He was in my class at CalArts and we had the same business manager. He was always kind to me and to everyone. He will be missed."
"Paul Reubens was a gifted performer and a nice person. He brought so much joy to people over the years as Pee Wee, my sister and I loved that character. I was privileged to work with him in a film and he was as great in real life as he was on screen. Tough news here."
"This is devastating. Truly heartbreaking. Paul was such a comedy genius. From his Letterman appearances to his TV shows and movies, he was so original and hilarious. And such a sweet man too. This is a huge loss for comedy. Thanks for all the laughs, Paul."
"One of the patron saints of all misfitted, weird, maladjusted, wonderful, miraculous oddities."
"One of the greats is gone. It is a very sad day. Thank you for the joy, @peeweeherman. Chris and I were so proud to call you friend. You will live in our hearts forever, Paul.
"The greatest. No one ever like him ever."
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https://www.11alive.com/article/news/nation-world/paul-reubens-death-fellow-comedians-actors-react/507-a2fda3a4-b718-4ac5-b043-7e28c12e4296
| 2023-07-31T21:09:08
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Which kids bento boxes are best?
Bento boxes are of Japanese origin and have been used for centuries by adults and kids alike. They are becoming a popular choice for kids lunch boxes across the country due to their simplicity, aesthetic and convenience. You can definitely pack your kid a smile-inducing lunch consisting of all their favorite foods if you swap them over to one. We tested our top pick, the Bentgo Kids Lunch Box, and have all the insights you need below.
Shop this article: Bentgo Kids Lunch Box, Munchkin Bento Box and Kinsho Bento Box for Kids.
Kids bento boxes vs. bento boxes for adults
Like traditional lunch boxes, bento boxes for kids come in a variety of fun styles and colors. They are great for inspiring a sense of wonder or style in your child. Plus, kids’ bento boxes are extra convenient for parents because the compartments are smaller to help gauge food portions. Kids bento boxes are also often easier to clean and dishwasher-safe.
Number of compartments
When picking any bento box, look out for how many compartments it contains. Depending on how much food your child normally eats, you can pick a bento box with fewer or more compartments. Be on the lookout for bento boxes with versatile compartments too, such as a compartment for soup. A more versatile bento box can lead to a happier kid, as you can accommodate their favorite foods.
What to look for in a quality kids bento box
- Durability: As with buying anything for a child, make sure the bento box is durable. Most boxes for kids are drop-proof and come with rubber padding around the exterior.
- Leakproof: Most pack their kid’s bento box in a school bag. To do this without worrying, find a leakproof bento box. No matter what type of food you pack for your child’s lunch, a leakproof lid and a tight seal give you peace of mind.
- Separate compartments: Many kids are picky eaters that don’t appreciate their foods mingling together. Bento boxes, by nature, contain several compartments meant to keep food fresh and separate. However, some boxes have a bit of space between the walls of the compartments and the lid. This can allow food to slosh around a bit.
- Easy to clean: Kids are notoriously messy eaters, so you want a bento box that’s easy to clean. Most are dishwasher-safe, but some plastic bento boxes can stain and retain residual odors over time, or warp in the dishwasher.
- Cost: Kids bento boxes can range from $20-$35.
Kids bento box FAQ
Do kids bento boxes keep food warm?
A. Most bento boxes for kids don’t retain heat. If you want to ensure that your child has a warm lunch, consider buying a stainless steel bento box from a trusted bento brand such as Zojirushi.
Are kids bento boxes dishwasher-safe?
A. Most are, but check the manufacturer’s instructions before putting one in the dishwasher. Some are only top-rack safe. Others have attached parts that aren’t machine washable.
Best kids bento box
What you need to know: We tested this product and found it the top choice for parents of younger kids.
What you’ll love: Our tester found the seal to be strong enough to stay closed but not so strong that a toddler can’t get it opened. It has five compartments of varying sizes and our tester’s child loved the designs. It’s dishwasher-safe.
What you should consider: Our tester found some slight leakage when only water was inside. But, it’s leakproof against thicker liquids such as sauces.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Best kids bento box for the money
What you need to know: This plastic bento from Munchkin is great for kids aged 6-8.
What you’ll love: This bento box is durable and comes in a few different color options.
What you should consider: Some parents have said that this box is too heavy for younger toddlers to use.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
What you need to know: This bento box from Kinsho is a solid option for kids of all ages thanks to its handy, leakproof lid.
What you’ll love: This set includes two stackable bento boxes with three compartments each, so a grand total of six compartments for food. They are durable and the leakproof lid works well.
What you should consider: These are marketed as dishwasher safe, but should be hand washed. The lid’s seal is strong and may be difficult for younger kids to open on their own.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
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Addison Hoggard writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2023 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wric.com/reviews/br/kitchen-br/lunch-boxes-br/best-kids-bento-box/
| 2023-07-31T21:09:09
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https://www.wric.com/reviews/br/kitchen-br/lunch-boxes-br/best-kids-bento-box/
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NEW YORK (AP) — When actor Casey Likes watched “Back to the Future” growing up, his mom would always say he reminded her a lot of the film’s star, Michael J. Fox. Something in the universe agrees: He’s taken on Fox’s classic movie role on Broadway.
The rising stage star plays Marty McFly for a musical adaptation of the beloved 1985 sci-fi comedy about a time-traveling duo who go back to the 1950s in a souped-up, gull-winged DeLorean.
“I remember growing up and just really, really loving the film. It kind of sat in that realm of like ‘E.T.’ and ‘Close Encounters’ — movies that came at a time when film was magical,” says Likes, 21. “I hope we accomplish something kind of similar with Broadway.”
The show, which won the Olivier Award for best new musical last year in London, arrives at the Winter Garden Theatre this summer with a story by Bob Gale, who previously co-created and co-wrote the movie with Robert Zemeckis. It hews very closely to the original, including having a DeLorean onstage and the shout “Great Scott!”
Broadway veteran and Tony Award-winner Roger Bart takes on Christopher Lloyd’s role of Doc Brown, the oddball scientist with a knack for inventions. Bart recalls seeing “Back to the Future” in his early 20s when it first appeared in movie theaters. He watched with three friends from theater school and they were all secretly jealous of Fox.
“None of my friends — even knowing each other as well as we did — none of them, including my mother, ever nudged me and said, ‘No, no, kid. You’re Doc Brown. Just be patient,’” the Tony-winner says laughing.
Like the film, the musical centers on Marty McFly traveling back to his hometown in 1955. Once there, he gets caught up in the soap opera lives of his own teenage parents, including his mom, who develops a crush on her future son. He must reconnect mom and dad or he risks disappearing from history.
“We feel like it’s very important – I’m sure Casey would agree — for the public to come to the show and recognize that they are seeing that story in a different form but with all of its charms very deeply intact,” says Bart, whose Broadway credits include “The Producers,” “Disaster!” and “Young Frankenstein.”
New songs have been crafted by the film’s composer Alan Silvestri and songwriter and producer Glen Ballard. Some Huey Lewis and the News songs from the movie also have been included, like the theme tune “The Power of Love” and “Back in Time,” as well as Marty McFly’s futuristic rendition of “Johnny B. Goode.”
“We go back to the ‘50s, you get some songs that sound like ’Grease,’ like ‘Bye Bye Birdie.’ And then we have some ‘80s moments in there that are very ’Footloose,’” says Likes. “It feels kind of like the greatest hits of not only rock ‘n’ roll, but of musical theater.”
While both men are fans of the films — and both got to meet the original stars at a gala last week — neither Bart nor Likes want to straightjacket themselves into the way Fox and Lloyd performed their roles.
“I don’t want to impersonate the movie. I want to remind you of the movie,” says Likes, who made his Broadway debut last year as the Cameron Crowe-inspired lead character of the musical “Almost Famous.”
“There’s a lot of things that Roger is doing that are similar, and there’s a lot of things that I’m doing that hopefully are similar to Michael. But we’re really just reminding you of their brilliance. Hopefully, at the same time, you’re able to kind of go along the journey with our Marty and Doc.”
In addition to being a cultural touchstone, “Back to the Future” was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry and the American Film Institute listed it as the No. 10 best science-fiction film. Bart thinks the movie’s staying power is because it manages to straddle many worlds.
There’s a time travel story and one about getting to know your parents as peers. There’s a love story between Marty’s parents and there’s also a buddy movie — Marty and Doc putting their friendship on the line.
“Between all of these elements, it answers so many of the things that we love about that era of moviemaking and storytelling,” says Bart. “I think that’s one of the reasons why it is has sort of stuck around so long.”
Not to mention the fact that audiences can appreciate the story at different parts of their lives. Kids can enjoy the thrills and special effects; adults can be moved by the notion of meeting their own moms and dads. “Part of its sustaining power is the fact that it can mean one thing at one age and another at another,” says Bart.
Likes also adds another reason: Marty initially only wants to get back to his own time period to reconnect with his girlfriend. But his reasons start to change — save Doc, save his family, save the world.
“As the show goes on, there’s more stacked up reasons as to why he has to get back. And I think that’s a really interesting thing to think about in our own life,” he says. “What would be our reasons to to get back to our current life?”
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Mark Kennedy can be reached at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits
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https://www.pahomepage.com/entertainment-news/ap-the-stars-of-broadways-back-to-the-future-musical-happily-speed-into-the-past-every-night/
| 2023-07-31T21:09:14
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https://www.pahomepage.com/entertainment-news/ap-the-stars-of-broadways-back-to-the-future-musical-happily-speed-into-the-past-every-night/
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ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels reacquired slugger C.J. Cron and outfielder Randal Grichuk in a trade with the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, bolstering their injury-plagued roster with more veteran depth as they fight for a playoff spot.
Los Angeles sent minor league pitchers Mason Albright and Jake Madden to the Rockies in the deal that brought two former Angels first-round draft picks back to the team. Colorado also is sending $3,701,613 along with Cron and Grichuk, who are in the final years of their contracts before free agency. Cron is owed $2,540,323 in remaining salary and Grichuk $3,161,290, leaving the Angels in effect responsible for $2 million.
The Angels (55-51) are desperate to end their MLB-worst streaks of seven consecutive losing seasons and eight consecutive non-playoff seasons, but their efforts have been endangered by injuries that have seriously compromised their big league depth.
Los Angeles has a major league-leading 17 players on its injured lists after outfielder Taylor Ward joined the group Sunday before an extra-inning victory in Toronto. Ward was moved to the 60-day injured list later in the day, effectively ending his regular season, with facial fractures after Toronto’s Alek Manoah hit him in the face with a fastball on Saturday.
The 33-year-old Cron spent his first four major league seasons with Los Angeles, hitting 59 of his 186 career homers before getting traded to Tampa Bay in early 2018 for prospect Luis Rengifo, who is still a valuable contributor to the Angels. Cron is batting .260 with 11 homers and 32 RBIs this season for the Rockies as their power-hitting first baseman.
Grichuk was selected by the Angels one pick before Mike Trout in the 2009 draft. Los Angeles traded him to St. Louis before he reached the majors and began a 10-year career with the Cardinals, Toronto and Colorado.
Grichuk is batting .308 with an .861 OPS in 64 games this season for the Rockies. His positional flexibility in the outfield will be valuable for the Angels in the injury absences of Trout, Ward and Jo Adell, leaving Mickey Moniak and Hunter Renfroe as the only healthy outfielders on Los Angeles’ 40-man roster.
Grichuk is making just over $10.3 million this season, while Cron is earning $7.25 million. The moves continue the Rockies’ teardown for the final two months of what’s almost certain to be their fifth consecutive losing season.
The 20-year-old Albright is 11-8 with a 5.36 ERA in three seasons in the low minors. The 21-year-old Madden, a fourth-round pick in 2022, is 2-6 with a 5.46 ERA in 14 starts for Low-A Inland Empire this season.
The Angels have traded a significant amount of minor league talent in recent weeks in their determined effort to make the playoffs during the final season of Shohei Ohtani’s contract.
Los Angeles has acquired six veteran major leaguers — slugger Mike Moustakas, right-handed starter Lucas Giolito, reliever Reynaldo López and infielder Eduardo Escobar along with Cron and Grichuk — in four separate trades since late June.
Trout has been out since July 3 with a broken hand, and third baseman Anthony Rendon was sidelined one day later with a bone bruise after fouling a ball off his shin. Trout and Rendon are making roughly $75 million combined this season.
Ward and veteran infielder Gio Urshela are likely out for the season, while infielder Brandon Drury, rookie catcher Logan O’Hoppe and rookie shortstop Zach Neto have all missed significant time.
Los Angeles is in third place in the AL West, five games behind Texas. The Angels are four games behind Toronto for the final AL wild card, but the Red Sox and Yankees are also between them.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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https://www.wric.com/sports/sports-headlines/ap-angels-acquire-c-j-cron-randal-grichuk-in-trade-with-colorado-for-2-minor-leaguers/
| 2023-07-31T21:09:16
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https://www.wric.com/sports/sports-headlines/ap-angels-acquire-c-j-cron-randal-grichuk-in-trade-with-colorado-for-2-minor-leaguers/
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — This year Whitney Houston would have turned 60, and a special celebration to raise money for a good cause is being planned for her birthday.
Houston’s estate, Sony and Primary Wave Music will host the 2nd annual Whitney Houston Legacy of Love on Aug. 9, which will benefit the late singer’s foundation aimed at helping young people.
Houston’s close friends BeBe Winans and Kim Burrell will perform at the gala at Atlanta’s St. Regis Hotel, as will Whitney’s brother, Gary, who toured with her for three decades.
“When I turned 50, Whitney gave me two celebrations — one in Ireland and one in London. I always tell everyone now that one of them was for her,” says Pat Houston, Whitney Houston’s sister-in-law and the executor of her estate. Houston died in February 2012 at age 48. “This year is Whitney at 60 — we’re all looking forward to being a part of the power of love in that room.”
Houston found the Whitney Houston Foundation for Children in 1989 with the goal of empowering youth, providing resources to unhoused children, giving out college scholarships, and raising funds for charities like the Children’s Defense Fund and St. Jude Children’s Research.
A charity auction will raise money for the foundation, which is now called the Whitney E. Houston Legacy Foundation.
“We’re going to auction off a beautiful lavender dress Dolly Parton wore when she sang ‘I Will Always Love You’ at Country Music Television’s ‘100 Greatest Love Songs of Country Music’ special in 2004,” says Pat Houston. “This dress is particularly special because it’s lavender, and lavender is Whitney’s favorite color.”
The song, originally written by Parton, was recorded by Houston and became one of her great, everlasting hits. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it diamond early last year, which means the track has sold and streamed 10 million equivalent units in the United States. It became her first diamond single, and made Houston the third woman to ever achieve diamond-status with both a single and an album, following Mariah Carey and Taylor Swift.
Clive Davis will serve as honorary chairman. Recording Academy President Harvey Mason jr. is scheduled to attend. Also expected are Gamma’s Larry Jackson and Whitney Houston’s musical director Rickey Minor.
“I always tell people, Whitney is the star,” Pat Houston said. “Everybody in that room is royalty, but she’s loyalty — and she’s still showing that.”
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https://www.pahomepage.com/entertainment-news/ap-whitney-houstons-estate-announces-second-annual-legacy-of-love-gala-with-bebe-winans-kim-burrell/
| 2023-07-31T21:09:17
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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Broncos braced themselves for a second straight season without their steadiest wide receiver and locker room leader after Tim Patrick was carted off the field with a left Achilles injury Monday — almost a year after tearing his right ACL at training camp.
“It’s a tough break for us as a team when you see something like that, a great player, a great leader,” cornerback Patrick Surtain II said. “We wish him the best and just go on from there.”
With an energized crowd of 3,000 looking on as the Broncos practiced in full pads for the first time, Patrick hit the ground in pain just as he came out of his cut on a short route during a seven-on-seven passing drill. He threw his helmet as teammates including Courtland Sutton and Russell Wilson rushed to his side.
The injury happened right in front of head coach Sean Payton, who was watching Patrick make an adjustment from a previous route.
“It’s always difficult, especially a guy like that’s a leader who’s coming off an entire year of rehabilitation,” Payton said. ”It’s difficult for his teammates, for all of us. So, maybe, hopefully we get some good news. But it appears it’s his left Achilles.”
After being carted off, Patrick entered the Broncos facility on crutches, keeping weight off his left leg.
Patrick is known for his strong work ethic and no-nonsense approach. He was one of the more notable finds by the Broncos in recent years.
Undrafted out of Utah in 2017, Patrick bounced around the Ravens’ and 49ers’ practice squads before arriving in Denver later that year. He became a contributor in 2018 and ’19 before posting back-to-back productive seasons that earned him a three-year, $34.5 million contract extension in November 2021.
He was the team’s No. 1 receiver going into last season when he tore his right ACL in a noncontact drill on Aug. 2. Two months later the Broncos lost their top running back when Javonte Williams suffered a knee injury and Denver’s offense never recovered from the one-two punch, averaging a league-worst 16.9 points a game in Wilson’s first year in Denver.
Like Williams, Patrick was looking for a big comeback in 2023 atop the receiver rotation alongside Sutton and Jerry Jeudy.
“When I got hired here, he was one of the guys I saw every day because he was rehabbing last year’s injury,” Payton said. “So, that’s what makes it more difficult.”
The Broncos do appear to be in better position to weather the loss of Patrick this year if the injury proves to be as serious as suspected.
They bolstered their receiver room, chiefly by drafting speedster Marvin Mims Jr. out of Oklahoma in the second round and signing veterans Marquez Callaway and Lil’Jordan Humphrey in free agency.
“We’ve just got great guys all around the receiving room, so obviously next man up situation,” Surtain said. “But Tim is a big loss, a big blow, because he brings such a presence out there on the field that many people can’t compare to.”
Mims pulled a hamstring in June and suffered a setback before camp, but Monday marked his first practice of camp and Payton was encouraged: “He’s feeling good. You’re going to see him more and more this week. He’s ramping up and we’re encouraged.”
However, another receiver, KJ Hamler, who is on the mend from a torn chest muscle, posted on Instagram on Monday that he was diagnosed with the heart condition pericarditis “after feeling some chest pains while working out on the break before camp started.” He vowed to return to the field as soon as he could “better and stronger than ever.”
Notes: Payton had no comment about Aaron Rodgers’ spirited defense of Jets OC Nathaniel Hackett after Payton ripped him last week for his poor head coaching job in Denver last year. “No, we’re past it,” said Payton, who did a mea culpa last week, saying he regretted criticizing Hackett, the Jets and members of the Broncos’ front office in trying to spread the blame for Wilson’s career-worst season in 2022 during an interview with USA Today.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
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https://www.wric.com/sports/sports-headlines/ap-broncos-receiver-tim-patrick-carted-off-field-with-right-leg-injury/
| 2023-07-31T21:09:23
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https://www.wric.com/sports/sports-headlines/ap-broncos-receiver-tim-patrick-carted-off-field-with-right-leg-injury/
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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Health care providers in Alabama, where abortion is almost entirely illegal, filed a lawsuit Monday against the state’s attorney general that seeks to prevent him from prosecuting people who help women travel outside the state to receive an abortion.
The providers say Attorney General Steve Marshall has made statements suggesting that anti-conspiracy laws could be used against groups that provide assistance for Alabama women to travel to states where abortion is legal. The lawsuit, filed in federal court by two former abortion clinics and an obstetrician, seeks a legal ruling that state laws can’t be used to prosecute people who provide referrals and appointment help.
A similar lawsuit filed Monday by Yellowhammer Fund, a group that once provided financial assistance to women seeking abortions, seeks to clarify it can’t be prosecuted for providing monetary help.
“What the attorney general has tried to do via these threats is to effectively extend Alabama’s abortion ban outside of its borders for Alabama residents,” Meagan Burrows, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing the providers in the lawsuit.
The lawsuits seek to block Alabama from using prosecution, or the threat of it, to hinder efforts to help state residents obtain abortions where it remains legal. In a separate case, advocacy groups and an attorney sued Idaho earlier this month over a law that makes it illegal to help minors to travel to another state to get an abortion without their parents’ consent.
Marshall has not prosecuted anyone for providing abortion assistance, but he has made statements saying that his office would “look at” groups that provide help.
“Attorney General Marshall will continue to vigorously enforce Alabama laws protecting unborn life which include the Human Life Protection Act. That includes abortion providers conspiring to violate the Act,” Marshall’s office said in an emailed response to the lawsuit. His office did not respond to an email asking to clarify if actions such as providing financial assistance could be prosecuted.
Those statement have had a chilling effect on abortion rights advocates, who already feel like they live with a legal target on their back, providers said.
The suit was filed by the West Alabama Women’s Center in Tuscaloosa, the Alabama Women’s Center in Huntsville, and Dr. Yashica Robinson, an obstetrician. Robinson said she once made referrals for patients seeking abortions, coordinating health history information for medically complex patients, but no longer does so because of the fear of prosecution.
“Tragically, banning abortion in Alabama seems to not have been enough,” Robinson said in a statement. “Those in power want to muzzle providers like me to prevent us from sharing information with our pregnant patients about the options they have.”
The phone rings at least once a day at the former clinic in Tuscaloosa as women — sometimes crying and often desperate — try to find where they can go in other states to end an unwanted pregnancy, the clinic director said.
“We get a lot of the anger — and we know that it’s not us that they are angry at,” said Robin Marty, operations director for the West Alabama Women’s Center. “It’s the situation, but it is very, very hard for my staff. They want to be able to help them.”
After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and handed authority on abortion law to the states, the Deep South quickly became an area of limited abortion access.
Alabama bans abortion at any stage of pregnancy with no exceptions for rape and incest. The only exemption is if it’s needed because pregnancy seriously threatens the health of the woman. Nineteen states have enacted restrictions and many southern states have near complete bans. Marty said that means women often have to travel long distances to receive care, which can bring financial and logistical hardship.
Marty said most people who reach out to the clinic know “there is no abortion in Alabama. What they aren’t aware of is how far that extends.”
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https://www.pahomepage.com/health/ap-alabama-health-care-providers-sue-over-threat-of-prosecution-for-abortion-help/
| 2023-07-31T21:09:24
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https://www.pahomepage.com/health/ap-alabama-health-care-providers-sue-over-threat-of-prosecution-for-abortion-help/
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ATLANTA — Editor's note: The video above is from a previous story on another Georgia man arrested in connection to January 6.
Another Georgia man has been arrested on charges related to the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Zachariah Boulton was arrested on July 10 of this year in Villa Rica, Georgia. He is currently facing charges for:
- Entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds
- Disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds
- Disorderly conduct in a Capitol building
- Parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building
According to documents obtained by 11Alive, the FBI initially received an online tip about videos Boulton had posted to social media, primarily TikTok, admitting to going to D.C. and entering the Capitol on January 6.
Documents further indicate that Boulton, in one of the videos, stated "the tree of liberty from time to time needs to be watered with the blood of patriots and tyrants. Don’t come at me, oh, you lowered yourself by going into that Capitol building...We need to send them a message now that they will understand.”
In addition, videos showing Boulton inside the Capitol were also discovered, along with comments on other social media posts with him talking about taking part in the attack.
Boulton is one of more than two dozen people from Georgia who were arrested and charged in connection to the insurrection. According to an 11Alive report, several of those defendants are set to head to trial later this year. And a dozen others have been sentenced after accepting plea deals from federal prosecutors.
So far, the longest sentence issued by a judge was three years and 10 months in prison. The shortest sentence handed out was 21 days in jail.
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https://www.11alive.com/article/news/special-reports/capitol-insurrection/georgia-man-arrested-january-6-charges/85-ef144b1c-7a47-47d3-b0c1-dc38a89052ab
| 2023-07-31T21:09:26
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Orioles fans in the Baltimore region will soon be able to watch in person the best prospect the club has signed as an international free agent during the Mike Elias era.
The Orioles are promoting catcher Samuel Basallo, ranked by Baseball America as the organization’s fifth-best prospect, to High-A Aberdeen, a source with direct knowledge of the move confirmed to The Baltimore Sun.
Basallo, who the Orioles signed out of the Dominican Republic in January 2021, has been one of the most impressive prospects this season in a farm system ranked as the sport’s best. After posting solid numbers in rookie ball in 2021 and 2022, the 18-year-old backstop dominated Low-A competition in his first year of full-season ball. In 83 games with Delmarva, Basallo slashed .299/.384/.503 — good for an .887 OPS — with 19 doubles, 12 home runs and 60 RBIs.
His performance, combined with his plus power at the plate and arm behind it, has zoomed Basallo up prospect rankings. After opening the season as the organization’s 15th-best prospect, according to Baseball America, he has since leapfrogged several well-known Orioles youngsters, including Heston Kjerstad, Joey Ortiz and Connor Norby, all of whom are putting up good numbers in Triple-A. Basallo is also one of seven Orioles players on Baseball America’s top 100 list as the publication’s No. 58 prospect.
The only Orioles players still in the minor leagues who rank ahead of Basallo are Jackson Holliday, the overall top prospect in the sport, and Coby Mayo. Colton Cowser and Jordan Westburg are still considered prospects even though they’re in the major leagues.
Basallo’s success this season is an example of how the current Orioles regime, which began when Elias was hired as general manager in November 2018, differs from the previous one. After years of reluctance to spend money in the international market, Elias and company brought in a new philosophy that led to signing Basallo, just 16 at the time, for a then-organization record $1.3 million signing bonus.
Many Orioles prospects have struggled at Aberdeen, given the gap from Low-A to High-A is considered perhaps the biggest in the minor leagues. Basallo, who turns 19 in two weeks, will be the youngest player to appear at the level this season, according to FanGraphs.
“He’s still young and still growing up and still trying to mature, but the desire to be good or be great stands out,” Delmarva hitting coach Josh Bunselmeyer said in June. “It’s been really cool to see him from where he started to where he’s at now and the attention he’s starting to get as he’s played well.”
The Orioles are also promoting catching prospect Silas Ardoin from High-A to Double-A, a source confirmed. Ardoin, the Orioles’ fourth-round pick in 2022, slashed .215/.369/.336 in 68 games with the IronBirds.
MASNSports.com first reported the promotions.
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https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-sp-orioles-prospect-samuel-basallo-promoted-aberdeen-ironbirds-20230731-c2s37ld7zbd3ne7wkofj4tpoeq-story.html
| 2023-07-31T21:09:30
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https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-sp-orioles-prospect-samuel-basallo-promoted-aberdeen-ironbirds-20230731-c2s37ld7zbd3ne7wkofj4tpoeq-story.html
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ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs need look no further than last season’s playoffs, and the sight of Patrick Mahomes hobbling to the sideline against the Jacksonville Jaguars with a high ankle sprain, to understand the importance in protecting their quarterback.
Yet oddly enough, they were OK watching both of their starting offensive tackles leave in free agency.
The big blow was the departure of left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., for whom the Chiefs paid the Ravens handsomely in a trade, when the two sides failed to reach an agreement on a long-term deal.
But nearly as painful was the loss of right tackle Andrew Wylie, who had gone from an afterthought fighting for a job to one of the more reliable players along the offensive line.
Rarely do the Chiefs make such moves without a plan, though. General manager Brett Veach acted quickly to sign ex-Tampa Bay tackle Donovan Smith to handle the left side and former Jacksonville tackle Jawaan Taylor to handle the right, then Veach used a third-round pick on Oklahoma’s Wanya Morris to create instant competition at both positions.
So far, Chiefs coach Andy Reid — an old offensive line coach — has liked what he’s seen.
“You’re never sure exactly what you’re going to get there,” Reid said, “but they’re competing and that’s important. That’s an important part of this, that you’re able to push through these practices, run and pass. I like the way they work their game.”
The decision to put Mahomes’ health in the hands of Smith and Taylor is a gamble, though. Neither of them graded out particularly well last season, depending on the metric you use, though both of them have shown flashes of high-level play in the past.
Smith, for example, ranked No. 66 among 81 offensive tackles by Pro Football Focus. Taylor was just one spot better.
But the Chiefs have established a track record of unlocking the potential in relatively unheralded players, particularly along the offensive line, where assistant coach Andy Heck is among the best in the business.
Wylie is a prime example: He was undrafted out of Eastern Michigan and wound up earning two Super Bowl rings in Kansas City before signing with Washington.
“All of us have played a lot of football and a lot of big games, tough games,” Taylor said. “We’re all smart mentally, physically. It’s just more so we’re tying in each and every individual aspect of who we are and how we play and tying it together and figuring out what works, what meshes. You know, just the many things we bring to the table per guy I would say is our strength.”
Another strength is having one of the best interior offensive lines in the NFL. Left guard Joe Thuney is considered one of the top five in the league at his position, right guard Trey Smith is likewise considered a top-tier guard, and center Creed Humphrey was picked for the Pro Bowl in just his second season in the league.
It also helps having Mahomes calling out the signals.
“Just a great leader man. He brings that energy every day, you know? He holds everybody accountable,” Donovan Smith said. “You mess up, we are going to redo it. Even in the walk-throughs and the learning periods, we always slow it down and we get to learn the offense. That’s been helping me a lot with the walk-throughs and learning the things they like doing here.”
The Chiefs were fortunate to overcome Mahomes’ ankle injury in the playoffs. He returned in the second half to lead them past Jacksonville in the divisional round, and he hobbled through an AFC title game-thriller against Cincinnati, before hurting the ankle again in the Super Bowl — and then leading the Chiefs past Philadelphia for the Lombardi Trophy.
The pressure is on the Chiefs’ new offensive tackles to prevent the same such stress this season.
NOTES: RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire returned to practice Monday after missing the previous two with an illness. … TE Jody Fortson (shoulder), WR Kadarius Toney (knee) and DE Mike Danna (calf) were among those that remained out. P Tommy Townsend also spent time in the medical tent, though no reason was given by the Chiefs. … DT Chris Jones continued his holdout. He has been fined $50,000 for each day missed, which brings the total to $550,000. … The Chiefs had a short practice Monday after three consecutive workouts in pads. They are off Tuesday before resuming camp Wednesday.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
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https://www.wric.com/sports/sports-headlines/ap-chiefs-to-rely-on-new-offensive-tackles-to-protect-patrick-mahomes-this-season/
| 2023-07-31T21:09:29
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https://www.wric.com/sports/sports-headlines/ap-chiefs-to-rely-on-new-offensive-tackles-to-protect-patrick-mahomes-this-season/
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