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CADDO PARISH, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – The Caddo Parish Clerk of Court is hiring election commissioners to ensure the upcoming November elections go smoothly.
Caddo Parish Clerk of Court Mike Spence says having adequately staffed polls is in everyone’s interest to help elections run more smoothly.
“I would like to see the parish come to arms on this, get boots on the ground. Don’t complain about elections; work the elections. Make it easier for everyone. That is very important to get people to work,” Spence said.
The qualifications to become an election worker are listed below:
- A registered voter in Louisiana
- A registered voter who does not need assistance
- Able to attend a 1-2 hour training course
- At least 17 years old and a high school senior or older
- Interested in earning a paycheck while serving the community
Caddo Parish has added about 100 new commissioners, but they need another 200 to ensure they are properly staffed on election day.
Anyone that would like to apply for part-time work at the polls on election day can apply on the Louisiana Secretary of State website. Election commissioners can make up to $200 on election day.
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https://www.ktalnews.com/news/election/your-local-election-hq/200-election-workers-needed-in-caddo-parish/
| 2022-09-21T10:46:16Z
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Montana Judge Strikes Down Trans College Sports Ban
A Montana judge has ruled that three state laws passed during the 2021 legislative session cannot be enforced on college campuses due to a constitutional conflict.
One law bars transgender athletes from competing in women’s collegiate sports, one prohibits groups from registering voters in university dorms or dining halls, and the third creates new guidelines for harassment and campus free speech policies.
The ruling, handed down last week, found that the trio of laws cannot be enforced because all three infringe upon the constitutional authority of the Montana Board of Regents to govern the state university system, Montana Public Radio reported.
The ruling came down from Gallatin County District Court Judge Rienne McElyea. Montana attorney general Austin Knudsen, a Republican, blasted the decision in a statement from his office and suggested that “most district court judges are little more than Democrat operatives in black robes.” Both Knudsen and Republican governor Greg Gianforte are reportedly reviewing last week’s ruling.
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- Blocks for building a stronger student community
- How professional practitioners help connect crime theory with real-world investigations
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https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2022/09/21/montana-judge-strikes-down-trans-college-sports-ban
| 2022-09-21T10:46:23Z
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SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Demolition is underway at Fair Grounds Field, but that is not stopping a new push to halt the destruction of the iconic Shreveport baseball stadium.
Work began this week to gut the inside of the stadium, and heavy equipment arrived Tuesday in preparation for the heavier deconstruction work that lies ahead.
Despite years of efforts to save the baseball stadium on the Louisiana State Fair Grounds, the city moved forward in August with plans to raze the former home of the Shreveport Swamp Dragons and Shreveport Captains. The city says the facility has become too run down, no longer meets building and sanitation codes, and is not handicap-accessible. It was also undersized for the city’s capacity and infested with bats.
The bats were removed last month.
Under the contract, the work of tearing down the stadium must be completed within 90 days, weather permitting. But if a group organized by Shreveport-based real estate company U.L. Coleman has its way, the work to tear it down would be stopped at least temporarily “until a legitimate land use and physical plant study has been completed.”
CEO Linc Coleman says the group is looking to halt the destruction until a comprehensive plan for the retention, renovation, and programming of Fairgrounds Field can be developed to determine if the structure could be saved or if it should be torn down.
KTAL/KMSS has reached out to the Shreveport Mayor’s Office for comment on the latest push to save the facility.
No official proposals for the property’s future have been announced. However, the city says it has been exploring options for development and working on several improvements in the area that are expected to raise property values, including applying for a federal grant to improve the nearby medical corridor.
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| 2022-09-21T10:46:31Z
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Report: Campus Police Use AI to Track Student Protests
A social media monitoring company allowed campus police to surveil student protests, The Dallas Morning News reported.
The newspaper investigated Social Sentinel, which has since been renamed Navigate360, for many months with the help of the Pulitzer Center’s AI Accountability Network and the investigative reporting program at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley. Through interviews and documents, the reporting team found that colleges have used the service to monitor students on social media.
For example, Kennesaw State University campus police used the tool to follow student protesters online before a 2017 town hall. Other emails show Social Sentinel representatives pitched officials at North Carolina A&T State University on using the service to monitor social media chatter after a cheerleader said she was raped and accused her coaches of failing to report the allegation.
“The investigation shows that, despite publicly saying its service was not a surveillance tool, Social Sentinel representatives promoted the tool to universities for ‘mitigating’ and ‘forestalling’ protests,” the article says. “The documents also show the company has been moving in a new and potentially more invasive direction—allowing schools to monitor student emails on university accounts.”
The company said the investigation was “inaccurate, speculative or by opinion in many instances and significantly outdated,” according to the article.
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- Linguistic racism can take a high toll on international students
- Blocks for building a stronger student community
- How professional practitioners help connect crime theory with real-world investigations
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https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2022/09/21/report-campus-police-use-ai-track-student-protests
| 2022-09-21T10:46:33Z
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Two sisters who survived the Holocaust as girls and moved to the United States afterward died just days apart in their adopted home of Alabama.
The Alabama Holocaust Education Center said Ruth Scheuer Siegler died Saturday at the age of 95. Her sister, Ilse Scheuer Nathan, died 10 days earlier at the age of 98.
The women were born in Germany and were girls when Adolf Hitler rose to power in the 1930s. After losing their parents and older brother in the Holocaust but surviving Nazi death camps themselves, the two women were inseparable, the center said in an announcement.
“They were always together,” Ann Mollengarden, education director for the Alabama Holocaust Education Center, told Al.com. “When Ilse died, I think Ruth was ready.”
In early 1944, the girls were selected as workers at the Birkenau camp and separated from their mother, who they never saw again, according to a biography of the women. They last saw their father at the camp, and their brother died at a camp in Germany.
“The girls worked carrying bricks from one end of the compound to the other for hours at a time. Ilse sewed gun covers and uniforms as well. Working close to the crematory ovens, they saw the mountains of shoes. For the first time, they realized that their fellow prisoners were being killed and cremated,” the biography said.
Each woman married fellow Holocaust survivors in 1949. Ruth and Walter Siegler moved to Birmingham in 1960 to be with Ilse and Walter Nathan, who already lived in the area.
The women, who taught lessons about the Holocaust, were both widows and remained best friends until the end, living within walking distance of each other for years.
In a 2011 interview with The Birmingham News, Ruth Siegler discussed the reasons for writing a memoir, “My Father’s Blessing,” which included papers and photographs that documented her journey surviving the Holocaust.
‘’I have all these memories,’’ she said. ‘’I remember everything.’’
During the interview, her sister Ilse came to visit. The sisters helped each other survive, and faith helped them through, they agreed.
‘’I always say have faith and hope,’’ Ilse Nathan said. ‘’We leaned on each other and prayed together.’’
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https://www.ktalnews.com/news/national/alabama-sisters-who-survived-holocaust-die-just-days-apart/
| 2022-09-21T10:46:38Z
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Samford U Students Protest Exclusion of Pro-LGBTQ Clergy
Dozens of Samford University students stood in silence for an hour Wednesday to protest the university’s exclusion of pro-LGBTQ churches.
About 250 people attended the demonstration, including students, current and retired faculty and staff, alumni, and local clergy, organizers said online. The protest comes a week after news reports that the Birmingham, Ala., university blocked two churches from participating in its annual campus ministry fair because of the churches’ support for LGBTQ rights.
Alumni have criticized the move in open letters and a video to university leaders. Some alumni have said the university’s actions indicate that the Baptist university is becoming more conservative. The university has so far defended its decision.
Leaders of SAFE Samford, an alumni organization that supports and advocates for LGBTQ students at Samford, initially said that the Episcopal Church and the Presbyterian Church (USA) were excluded from the event. But more recently, a pastor with the Baptist Church of the Covenant in Birmingham said her church was also not invited to the campus ministry fair. Pastor Erica Cooper shared the update with Baptist News Global, a news outlet focused on religion that’s been following the controversy.
“Since our church has had historic and continuing affiliations with Samford, and since a large portion of our congregants have strong personal ties to the university, we confess that we are hurt over our exclusion,” Cooper wrote.
Samford president Beck Taylor wrote in emails to some alumni that were obtained by Baptist News Global that the decisions about formal ministry partnerships were narrow and related to the university's religious mission.
“In that domain, I feel that it is imperative that we partner with those who subscribe to the university’s core commitments,” Taylor wrote. “In doing so, we exercise the same rights and responsibilities you discern and exercise as you govern your congregation … In a world that propagates the lie that one must completely agree with another on such issues to truly love them and want to serve them, I can assure you that in my heart of hearts, I love our LGBTQ students and employees, and I want to serve them well.”
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- How professional practitioners help connect crime theory with real-world investigations
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https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2022/09/21/samford-u-students-protest-exclusion-pro-lgbtq-clergy
| 2022-09-21T10:46:43Z
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WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – The Obamas were back in the White House as President Joe Biden and the First Lady hosted them on Wednesday to unveil their official White House portraits.
“There few people I’ve ever known with more integrity, decency and moral courage than Barack Obama,” Biden said. “With Barack as our president, we got up every day and went to work full of hope.”
Former President Barack Obama praised the artist for capturing him as he is, saying “presidents so often get airbrushed, even take on a mythical status.”
Obama also said the head-on portrait will help viewers feel a connection.
“What I want people to remember about Michelle and me, is that presidents and first ladies are human beings like everyone else,” Obama explained.
The portraits will be displayed in the White House alongside portraits of all former presidents and first ladies, but the Obamas’ portraits will stand out.
Michelle Obama noted “a portrait of a bi-racial kid with an unusual name and the daughter of a water pump operator and a stay-at-home mom.”
The Obamas said they hope their portraits on the White House walls send a powerful message.
“It is so important to believe that every young kid who is doubting themselves to believe that they can too,” said Michelle Obama.
The unveiling comes after former President Trump broke with tradition during his term and declined to host the event for his immediate predecessor.
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| 2022-09-21T10:46:46Z
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Terry Hartle, Higher Ed’s Top Lobbyist, to Retire
Terry Hartle, who has led the lobbying efforts of higher education’s most visible association for three decades, has announced that he will retire at the end of this year.
As senior vice president for government relations and public affairs at the American Council on Education since 1993, and before that as a key aide to former senator Edward M. Kennedy, Hartle has been a central player in just about every public policy issue involving colleges and universities since the Reagan administration.
A message to the ACE staff from President Ted Mitchell said, “We have never needed him more than in the last couple of years. During the pandemic, Terry and his team were instrumental in spearheading the work the higher education associations did together to ensure that roughly $78 billion in desperately needed COVID-relief funding was allocated by Congress to students and our institutions.”
Although Hartle worked for just one association, ACE, it strives to speak broadly for higher education. So Hartle’s role often entailed trying to represent the interests of sectors of colleges that were sometimes at odds. Hartle has also been a frequent explainer of higher education policy and national politics to people who work in higher education, through dozens of speeches a year trying to make sense of Washington.
Hartle has also been a source to many journalists, including those at Inside Higher Ed. He has appeared in more than 300 articles in these pages since 2005.
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- Blocks for building a stronger student community
- How professional practitioners help connect crime theory with real-world investigations
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https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2022/09/21/terry-hartle-higher-ed%E2%80%99s-top-lobbyist-retire
| 2022-09-21T10:46:53Z
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WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – The Obamas were back in the White House as President Joe Biden and the First Lady hosted them on Wednesday to unveil their official White House portraits.
“There few people I’ve ever known with more integrity, decency and moral courage than Barack Obama,” Biden said. “With Barack as our president, we got up every day and went to work full of hope.”
Former President Barack Obama praised the artist for capturing him as he is, saying “presidents so often get airbrushed, even take on a mythical status.”
Obama also said the head-on portrait will help viewers feel a connection.
“What I want people to remember about Michelle and me, is that presidents and first ladies are human beings like everyone else,” Obama explained.
The portraits will be displayed in the White House alongside portraits of all former presidents and first ladies, but the Obamas’ portraits will stand out.
Michelle Obama noted “a portrait of a bi-racial kid with an unusual name and the daughter of a water pump operator and a stay-at-home mom.”
The Obamas said they hope their portraits on the White House walls send a powerful message.
“It is so important to believe that every young kid who is doubting themselves to believe that they can too,” said Michelle Obama.
The unveiling comes after former President Trump broke with tradition during his term and declined to host the event for his immediate predecessor.
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| 2022-09-21T10:46:53Z
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AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Texas has spent more than $14 million sending buses of migrants to East Coast sanctuary cities, according to records obtained by Nexstar.
As of August 18, the state had paid a total of $14,116,303.33 to Wynne Transportation to bus more than 8,000 migrants from Texas border communities to Washington, D.C., and New York City, according to documents from the Texas Department of Emergency Management — the agency tasked with this initiative.
The program sends migrants to other U.S. cities as part of Gov. Greg Abbott’s “Operation Lone Star” — a multibillion-dollar initiative to slow down border crossings. The Republican governor began sending busloads of migrants outside of the state in April, saying it will ease the burden of immigration on Texas cities.
Last week, Abbott announced Chicago would become a new routine stop to send migrants after local officials awoke to a bus full of 75 immigrants arriving in the Windy City on Thursday. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said her city would help the migrants but joined criticism from other fellow Democratic mayors calling Abbott’s approach “racist and xenophobic” in a press conference after the migrants’ arrival.
“President Biden’s inaction at our southern border continues putting the lives of Texans — and Americans — at risk and is overwhelming our communities,” said Abbott in a statement. “Mayor Lightfoot loves to tout the responsibility of her city to welcome all regardless of legal status, and I look forward to seeing this responsibility in action as these migrants receive resources from a sanctuary city with the capacity to serve them.”
Cost breakdown of the buses
Migrants are being bused on a voluntary basis and do not pay the state to be transported. The documents show detailed invoices breaking down the amount charged to the state for bus mileage, driver pay and other assorted transportation costs, but not a price per passenger since migrants are not paying for their ticket.
The invoices Nexstar obtained through a public information request are dated up until August 18, so it does not include the costs of the latest buses sent to Chicago.
TDEM has chartered more than 200 buses through Wynne Transportation, an Irving-based company that has reviews describing it as a “first class service.”
According to the records, the most expensive part of these trips are security personnel. In one instance, Wynne charged TDEM $61,2000 for “security guards” on May 20 — a day when 19 migrants arrived at the nation’s capital.
A senior spokesperson with TDEM told Nexstar that the state saw security as a necessary precaution to take in order to protect “passengers and drivers as they make a cross-country trip,” noting that the immigrants could “easily become targets.”
The drivers also cost tens of thousands of dollars collectively, with costs varying from the hundreds range to thousands — depending on hours worked and mileage rate.
All of the state’s trips are being funded mostly by Texas taxpayer dollars, coming from money appropriated by the Texas Legislature for border security under Operation Lone Star.
The state is also pooling funds from the governor’s online donation portal for anyone to chip in to his initiative, which has been largely praised by conservatives. As of August 31, the border transportation fund had raised $303,481 — providing a little over 2/5 of the total cost of this initiative.
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https://www.ktalnews.com/news/records-abbotts-migrant-busing-has-cost-texas-14-million/
| 2022-09-21T10:46:59Z
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Virginia Commonwealth Pays $1M to Settle Hazing Suit
Virginia Commonwealth University will pay $995,000 to the family of Adam Oakes, who died last year in a hazing incident, the Associated Press reported.
The agreement also requires the university to make additional changes to its fraternity and sorority life to discourage hazing. In the future, VCU students must complete 12 credit hours before joining a fraternity or sorority.
“This is a blueprint to foster a safer and healthier community for students who are part of fraternities and sororities and to create a climate of respect and inclusion that is needed for academic success,” said a joint statement of the university and the family.
Oakes, 19, had received a bid to the Delta Chi fraternity and was told to drink a large bottle of whiskey in February 2021. The freshman was found dead the next morning.
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- Blocks for building a stronger student community
- How professional practitioners help connect crime theory with real-world investigations
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https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2022/09/21/virginia-commonwealth-pays-1m-settle-hazing-suit
| 2022-09-21T10:47:03Z
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas will receive more than $13 million in an agreement after an investigation into JUUL Labs marketing and sales practices.
According to Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, Arkansas is among 34 states and territories in a $438.5 million agreement with JUUL Labs. Arkansas will receive $13,553,391.88 over five years.
State officials suggest that the investigation came about after suspicions of the vaping company providing misinformation to customers and purposely marketing to the youth.
“It is the fault of companies like JUUL who spread misinformation and incentivized youth to buy vaping products that created this epidemic that continue to be a prevalent problem in our schools and neighborhoods,” Rutledge said.
State officials noted that the investigation found that JUUL became a dominant player in the vaping market by appealing to the youth. Officials also said that JUUL marketed to a younger crowd with a “technology-focused, sleek design” and with the use of social media posts and free samples.
The investigation also found that JUUL’s original packaging did not clearly disclose that it contained nicotine, state officials said. Officials also added that the company implied that it contained a lower concentration of nicotine than it did. State officials said that the company also misrepresented that its product helped with smoking cessation without FDA approval.
After two years of investigating, Rutledge said, “I am holding JUUL accountable for their actions with the assurance that they will comply with the law in the future because Arkansans deserve to be protective from deceptive business practices.”
As part of the settlement, JUUL has agreed to refrain from youth marketing, use of cartoons, representations about nicotine not approved by FDA and many other restrictions. The agreement will also restrict where the product will be displayed.
Along with Arkansas, other states involved in the settlement are Connecticut, Texas, Oregon, Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
State officials said that the states are in the process of finalizing and executing the settlement documents, which could take about three to four weeks.
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| 2022-09-21T10:47:07Z
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Create More 4-Year Community College Degrees
Opening up more baccalaureate degree programs at your neighborhood community college can play an important role in addressing income inequality, Sonya Christian writes.
It is an unfortunate reality that in America the gap between rich and poor has grown over the last 50 years. This increasing wealth gap has come at the expense of the middle class, once a defining characteristic of the American dream, now a sort of economic vanishing point on a horizon of distress and unrest.
Jobs demand education. The health and stability of the American economy depends on the innovation of its public educational system and, in particular, the innovation of its community colleges.
During historical periods of growth and industrialization, the American system of public education provided a common foundation. In particular, community college two-year degrees created uniquely American paths to innovation, specialization and worker mobility, an accessible bridge from high school education to employment and transfer to four-year institutions. Both pathways—technical education for employment and higher education transfer—remain key to increasing lifetime earnings for individuals and families, creating a strong middle class.
With new technologies changing the face of almost all industry sectors, there is now an urgent demand for higher-level skills that are associated with a baccalaureate degree. However, the traditional models of achieving a four-year education present cost and logistical obstacles to expanding at scale. The rising cost of obtaining a four-year degree can be a disincentive, even when the first two years can be completed at an affordable community college. Travel and housing costs can overly burden low-income families and students living in exurban and rural areas where the closest university may be hundreds of miles away. The strongly local character of community colleges can be difficult to recreate at universities that serve larger regional or even national needs.
Community college baccalaureate degrees have emerged as an innovative solution. In the 1980s, Parkersburg Community College in West Virginia became the first to establish a community college baccalaureate (CCB) program. Today, about half of the states allow community colleges to offer baccalaureate degrees, and there are hundreds of CCBs offered nationwide. As of 2019, an estimated 121 community colleges granted CCBs.
CCBs must now be leveraged to rebuild the middle class. We can skill up our nation in a rapidly developing technological environment by making baccalaureate programs available at the neighborhood community college.
Community colleges enroll large numbers of students of color and students from lower-income families. Having easy access to an affordable, high-quality baccalaureate degree is essential to economic and social mobility, making the American dream less elusive.
There are upwards of 1,000 community colleges in the United States located in every part of the country, including in remote areas where housing is affordable for low-income communities. Where CCBs already exist, baccalaureate degrees open pathways to quality jobs in high-demand industries like health care, as well as emerging industries like clean energy. Community college baccalaureate programs, governed by locally elected boards and serving local communities, are rigorous, accredited and have similar professional benefits as more costly regional options. Employment data from the New America Foundation show that graduates from CCB programs “enjoyed high rates of employment similar to those of university graduates,” suggesting that CCBs expand opportunities for students who may not have otherwise pursued a bachelor’s degree. The New America research also found that CCB graduates initially earned higher wages than their university counterparts, though university graduates tended to close that gap over three years.
CCB degrees are nimble in responding to local workforce needs. An example is a bachelor of science degree in industrial automation at Bakersfield College, which is one of the colleges in the Kern Community College District, where I am chancellor. The college leadership along with their local industry partners recognized the growing trend toward automation among key economic sectors in California’s Central Valley—agriculture, energy, aerospace and logistics. The program trains students in the skill sets required for the automation that is happening across industry in the region and has a 100 percent job placement rate.
The use of CCBs is expanding. According to researchers at New America, “An increasing number of states are introducing and expanding the authority for community colleges to confer bachelor’s degrees in applied fields.” In May 2021, Arizona governor Doug Ducey signed into law Senate Bill 1453, and in October 2021, California governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 927, in both cases allowing community colleges in their states to confer bachelor’s degrees. (California’s legislation enabled existing programs started on a pilot basis to become permanent and allowed the state’s community college system to offer up to 30 new bachelor’s programs per year.)
A good deal of progress on delivering greater educational access to low-income students has been achieved. While further closing the wealth gap will remain a generational challenge requiring the mobilization of various other parts of government and society, CCBs are well positioned to play a significant role in academia. Expanding the role of CCBs is an agile and scalable solution to four-year degree market demand, creating local availability blended with local demand and local governance.
More resources should become available to expand CCB programs. CCBs should be widely recognized as a vital tool for growing economic and social mobility of disinvested communities, and for the vitality of America’s middle class.
It’s a change that can’t happen too soon.
Sonya Christian is chancellor of Kern Community College District in California.
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- Classroom management techniques you don’t get taught
- Braiding creative threads through higher education using the arts
- Linguistic racism can take a high toll on international students
- Blocks for building a stronger student community
- How professional practitioners help connect crime theory with real-world investigations
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https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2022/09/21/community-college-four-year-degrees-widen-opportunity-opinion
| 2022-09-21T10:47:13Z
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BASTROP, La. (KTVE/KARD) — In the 2022 football season, Bastrop High School’s football team made history with their junior offensive guard, Zakejaia Wilson, becoming the first female football player in school history.
On September 9, 2022, the Rams will face Delhi Charter at 7 PM in Delhi, La.
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| 2022-09-21T10:47:13Z
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ASCENSION PARISH, La. (BRPROUD)- Louisiana native and well-known hip hop artist, Mystikal is scheduled to appear in court on the morning of Monday, September 19 and enter his plea.
The arraignment follows his appearance in court earlier this month, on September 7, when he was indicted by an Ascension Parish grand jury.
The 51-year-old entertainer, whose real name is Michael Lawrence Tyler, was arrested by Ascension Parish deputies back in July for an alleged sexual assault.
Tyler’s attorney, Joel Pearce, confirmed Wednesday that the rapper has been formally charged with first-degree rape, robbery, false imprisonment, and domestic abuse battery by strangulation.
The Shreveport-based attorney told BRProud, “This isn’t the first time a grand jury has gotten it wrong about Michael Tyler.”
Tyler was born and raised in New Orleans and became famous after his debut album, ‘Mystikal,’ was released in 1994.
The July incident is not his first run-in with the law.
In 2003, the rapper pleaded guilty to sexual battery and served six years in prison.
This July, an arrest warrant claims Tyler attacked a female victim by taking her keys, holding her against her will, throwing alcohol on her to cleanse her “bad spirits,” and then sexual assaulted her.
Ascension Parish detectives say their investigation included an interview with the woman who was raped as well as a search of Tyler’s Prairieville residence, which was where the incident occurred.
According to the detectives, the evidence they encountered substantiated the victim’s account of the attack and revealed that a variety of illegal narcotics were housed in Tyler’s residence.
In addition to the charges listed earlier in this article, BRProud later learned that Tyler was also charged with simple criminal damage to property, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a Schedule I controlled dangerous substance, possession of a schedule IV controlled dangerous substance, possession of a schedule II controlled dangerous substance, and possession of marijuana.
BRProud will continue to follow the case and update readers as it plays out.
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| 2022-09-21T10:47:20Z
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AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texans are among the hardest-working people in the country, according to a new study.
The state ranked fifth in the nation in a study by WalletHub.
North Dakota ranked first, with Alaska, Nebraska and South Dakota all outranking the Lone Star State.
The neighboring state New Mexico came in last in the ranking.
The study looked at several factors and gave each state a score out of 100.
Texas received a score of 57.91 points, compared to North Dakota’s 67.80 and New Mexico’s 31.26
The study looked at what it called direct and indirect work factors to determine each state’s score.
Direct factors include the average number of hours worked during the week, employment rates and the share of workers who leave vacation time unused. Direct factors combined for a total of 80 points.
The other 20 points came from indirect work factors, such as average commute times and average leisure time.
The metric that carried the most weight was the average number of hours worked during the week. Texas ranked fourth nationwide in that category, with Alaska ranking first.
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| 2022-09-21T10:47:43Z
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TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania cut diplomatic ties with Iran and expelled the country’s embassy staff over a major cyberattack nearly two months ago that was allegedly carried out by Tehran on Albanian government websites, the prime minister said Wednesday.
The move by NATO member Albania was the first known case of a country cutting diplomatic relations over a cyberattack.
The White House vowed unspecified retaliation Wednesday against Iran for what it called “a troubling precedent for cyberspace.”
In a statement, the White House said it has had experts on the ground for weeks helping Albania and had concluded Iran was behind the “reckless and irresponsible” attack and subsequent hack-and-leak operation.
The government’s decision was formally delivered to the Iranian Embassy in Tirana, the capital, in an official note, Prime Minister Edi Rama said. All embassy staff, including diplomatic and security personnel, were ordered to leave Albania within 24 hours.
On July 15, a cyberattack temporarily shut down numerous Albanian government digital services and websites.
Rama said an investigation determined that the cyberattack wasn’t carried out by individuals or independent groups, calling it “state aggression.”
“The deep investigation put at our disposal undeniable evidence that the cyberattack against our country was orchestrated and sponsored by the Islamic Republic of Iran which had involved four groups for the attack on Albania,” Rama said in a video statement.
Iran on Wednesday condemned the diplomats’ expulsion, calling the action ill-considered and short-sighted, according to Iranian state TV.
In a statement, the Iranian Foreign Ministry denied Tehran was behind any cyberattack on Albanian government websites, adding that it’s Iran which is a target of such attacks on its critical infrastructure.
Tirana said it was working with Microsoft and the FBI in an investigation into the cyberattack.
Mandiant, a leading U.S. cybersecurity firm, expressed “moderate confidence” last month that the attackers were acting in support of Tehran’s anti-dissident efforts.
A group calling itself “HomeLand Justice” claimed credit for the cyberattack that used ransomware to scramble data. Ransomware is best known for its use in for-profit criminal extortion, but is being increasingly wielded for political ends, particularly by Iran.
The claim by “HomeLand Justice” came on a Telegram channel in which documents purported to be Albanian residence permits of members of the Iranian opposition group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq group — best known as MEK — were posted, along with video of the ransomware being activated. The channel alleged corruption in the Albanian government and used hashtags including #Manez.
Albania, a NATO member since 2009, shelters about 3,000 Iranian MEK dissidents who live at Ashraf 3 camp in Manez, which is 30 kilometers (19 miles) west of Tirana.
“This activity poses an active threat to public and private organizations in other NATO member states,” Mandiant said. “As negotiations surrounding the Iran nuclear deal continue to stall, this activity indicates Iran may feel less restraint in conducting cyber network attack operations going forward.”
At the time, the Albanian government said the hackers’ methods was identical to attacks last year in other NATO countries, including Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Rama on Wednesday accused Tehran of recruiting one of the most notorious international cyberattack groups that was involved in similar attacks on Israel, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Kuwait and Cyprus. He said Tirana had shared the data and the investigation results with strategic partners and NATO countries.
The Biden administration said it supported the move by Albania to cut ties with Tehran.
“The United States strongly condemns Iran’s cyberattack,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement. “We join in Prime Minister Rama’s call for Iran to be held accountable for this unprecedented cyber incident.”
“The United States will take further action to hold Iran accountable for actions that threaten the security of a U.S. ally and set a troubling precedent for cyberspace,” Watson said.
Albanian Foreign Minister Olta Xhacka said Tirana “communicated closely with our partners, at NATO and the European Union, and also at the bilateral level, and asked for their support in Albania’s decision-making and, no doubt, for the future to address such kind of threats the best way possible.”
“The aggressiveness of the attack, the level of attack and moreover the fact that it was a fully unprovoked attack left no space for any other decision,” Xhacka said.
Mandiant Vice President John Hultquist told The Associated Press that the attacks on Albania and an earlier one on Montenegro show how “critical government systems in NATO countries are vulnerable and under attack.”
“The attack on Albania is a reminder that while the most aggressive Iranian cyber activity is generally focused in the Middle East region, it is by no means limited to it,” Hultquist said. “Iran will carry out disruptive and destructive cyberattacks as well as complex information operations globally.”
In July, MEK had planned to hold the Free Iran World Summit at the Manez camp with U.S. lawmakers among the invitees. The meeting was canceled “for security reasons and due to terrorist threats and conspiracies.”
In two separate instances in 2020 and 2018, Tirana expelled four Iranian diplomats for “threatening national security.”
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Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Frank Bajak in Boston, contributed to this report.
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Follow Llazar Semini at https://twitter.com/lsemini
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CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Apple’s latest line-up of iPhones will boast better cameras, faster processors, and a longer lasting battery — all at the same prices as last year’s models, despite inflationary pressure that has driven up the cost of many other everyday items.
That pricing decision, revealed Wednesday during Apple’s first in-person product event in three years, came as a mild surprise. Many analysts predicted Apple would ask its devout fans to pay as much as 15% more to help offset rising costs for many components.
The hoopla surrounding Apple’s new iPhone 14 models is part of a post-Labor Day ritual the company has staged annually for more than a decade. Wednesday’s event was held on the company’s Cupertino, California, campus at a theater named after company co-founder Steve Jobs. After Apple CEO Tim Cook strolled out on stage, most of the event consisted of pre-recorded video presentation that the company honed during previous events staged during the pandemic.
For several years, Apple’s new iPhones have mostly featured incremental upgrades to cameras and battery life, and this year’s models were no exception. Pricing for the standard iPhone 14 will start at $799; the deluxe iPhone 14 Pro Max will start at $1099.
Among the latest improvements is a 48-megapixel camera in the Pro and Pro Max models that the company said will produce especially crisp pictures. The iPhone 13 versions of the Pro and Pro Max have 12-megapixel cameras. This year’s high-end models will also have always-on displays that stay lit even when the device is locked, a feature that has long been available on many smartphones powered by Google’s Android software.
Beginning in November, all the iPhone 14 models will be able to send SOS messages via a new satellite feature — a safety measure intended to let users request help when in remote areas without a wireless connection.
All the iPhone 14 models also will include a motion senor capable of detecting serious car crashes and automatically connecting to emergency services.
With inflation still hovering at its highest level in 40 years, consumers have curbed their spending on many discretionary items. That’s likely contributing to a recent decline in smartphone sales, although the iPhone has fared far better than competing Android devices .
The dimming sales outlook prompted the research firm International Data Corp. to predict a worldwide decline in 2022 smartphone shipments of 6.5%, almost double the 3.5% decline it had estimated a few months ago. Despite that anticipated drop in sales, the average price for new smartphones is expected to finish this year about 6% higher than last year, IDC estimated.
By keeping iPhones prices the same, Apple faces the potential risk of undermining its profits if inflation drives up its own costs. It’s a hit that the company could easily afford, given it has reaped $44 billion in profits through the first half of this year.
Apple could also end up fatten its bottom line if more consumers looking upgrade their mobile devices gravitate to the high-end Pro and Pro Max models, which generate bigger profit margins than the cheaper models. And it appears Apple is anticipating a growing number of consumers will will be prepared to pay an additional $200 to $300 for deluxe versions of the iPhone 14, said Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives.
Apple’s stock price gained 1% Wednesday to close at $155.96.
Consumers have already been snapping up iPhones this year, even though Apple charges among the industry’s highest prices. Apple sold an estimated 106 million iPhones through the first half of this year, an 8% increase from the same time last year, according to Canalys, another research firm.
Forrester analyst Thomas Husson hailed the new lineup for its faster chips, improved design and “some incremental innovative features.”
The company’s Apple Watch Series 8, meanwhile, will include a new temperature sensor intended to help women retrospectively track their ovulation cycles in addition to the crash detection feature also debuting on the iPhone 14. The price for the latest Apple Watch, available in stores Sept. 16, will start at $399, the same as last year’s model.
In an effort to broaden the appeal of wearable technology, Apple is rolling out a Watch Ultra model designed to be more durable and offering a variety of special features tailored for hikers, scuba divers and other outdoor enthusiasts. The Watch Ultra, available in stores Sept. 23, will carry a premium price of $799.
CCI Insight analyst Leo Gebbie predicted that the Ultra will compete with existing sports watch brands like Garmin and some luxury Swiss watchmakers that market their products around extreme sports.
Apple also took the wraps off its next generation of wireless earbuds, the AirPods Pro 2, which will also maintain a starting price of $249.
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AP Business Writer Matt Ott contributed to this story from Washington, D.C.
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Elon Musk will be able to include new evidence from a Twitter whistleblower as he fights to get out of his $44 billion deal to buy the social media company, but Musk won’t be able to delay a high-stakes October trial over the dispute, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick, the head judge of Delaware’s Court of Chancery, denied Musk’s request to delay the trial by four weeks. But she allowed the billionaire Tesla CEO to add evidence related to whistleblower allegations by former Twitter security chief Peiter Zatko, who is scheduled to testify to Congress next week about the company’s poor cybersecurity practices.
Twitter has sued Musk, asking the Delaware court to force him to go through with the deal he made in April to buy the company. Musk has countersued and a trial is set to start the week of Oct. 17.
Musk’s legal team has argued that the allegations made by Zatko to U.S. officials may help bolster Musk’s claims that Twitter misled him and the public about the company’s problem with fake and “spam” accounts. Zatko, a well-known cybersecurity expert known by his hacker handle “ Mudge,” said he was fired in January after raising flags about Twitter’s negligence in protecting the security and privacy of its users.
The judge’s ruling followed an hours-long hearing Tuesday at which attorneys for Musk and Twitter argued with each other about the merits of Zatko’s claims and the pace at which both sides are producing evidence ahead of the trial.
Twitter’s attorneys sought to downplay the relevance of Zatko’s allegations to the merger dispute, arguing that an initial 27-page complaint he sent to Twitter and a later retaliation clam made no mention of the “spam bot” issues that Musk has given as a reason to terminate the deal. Zatko “never said a word about spam or bots” until his July whistleblower complaint, said Twitter attorney William Savitt.
Twitter has argued for weeks that Musk’s stated reasons for backing out were just a cover for buyer’s remorse after agreeing to pay 38% above Twitter’s stock price shortly before the stock market stumbled and shares of the electric-car maker Tesla, where most of Musk’s personal wealth resides, lost more than $100 billion of their value.
McCormick, the judge, said Wednesday the newly published whistleblower complaint gave Musk’s team grounds to amend its countersuit but she declined to weigh in on the details.
“I am reticent to say more concerning the merits of the counterclaims at this posture before they have been fully litigated,” she wrote. “The world will have to wait for the post-trial decision.”
McCormick, however, sided with Twitter’s concerns that delaying the trial would make it harder for the company to get back to business.
“I am convinced that even four weeks’ delay would risk further harm to Twitter too great to justify,” she wrote.
In afternoon trading, Twitter shares added 5.5% to $40.77.
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BATH, Maine (AP) — The U.S. Navy’s workhorse destroyer went into production more than 30 years ago, when Tom Stevens was a young welder.
Now, the Navy is getting ready to turn the page as it looks to a future ship brimming with lasers that can shoot down missiles and attack enemies with hypersonic missiles topping 3,800 mph.
Stevens, 52, said the warship provides an opportunity to build something new after a historic production run of the Arleigh Burke class.
“It will be an impressive destroyer that will absolutely launch us into the next generation of ships,” said Stevens, director of ground assembly at Navy shipbuilder Bath Iron Works.
The stakes are high when it comes to a replacement for the backbone of the fleet as the Navy faces a growing threat from China, whose numerical advantage becomes greater each year.
The first design contracts were awarded this summer to General Dynamics’ Bath Iron Works in Maine and Huntington Ingalls Industries in Mississippi for a large surface warship that would eventually follow production of the ubiquitous Burke destroyers.
All of that warfighting gear won’t come cheap. The average cost of each new vessel, dubbed DDG(X), is projected to be a third more expensive than Burkes, the latest of which cost of about $2.2 billion apiece, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The Navy has vowed that it won’t repeat recent shipbuilding debacles when it rushed production and crammed too much new tech into ships, leading to delays and added expense with littoral combat ships, stealthy Zumwalt-class destroyers, and the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier.
“Rather than tying the success of DDG(X) to developmental technology, we’re using known, mature technologies on a flexible platform that can be upgraded for decades to come, as the technology of tomorrow is matured and demonstrated,” said Jamie Koehler, a Navy spokesperson.
A shipyard in Wisconsin started construction last week of the first in a new class of frigates, which are smaller than destroyers. Those ships used an existing design, and there are no new weapon systems.
Still, there continues to be concern about the destroyer’s cost. A high price tag would reduce the number of ships the Navy can afford to build, said Bryan Clark, defense analyst at the Hudson Institute.
“You’ll end up with the surface fleet that, instead of growing, it would be shrinking,” Clark said.
Production of the new ship is still years away.
For now, shipyards continue to produce Burke-class destroyers, which earned a spot in the record book for a production run that has outlasted every other battleship, cruiser, destroyer and frigate in U.S. Navy history. By the time the last Burke is built, it could surpass even the Nimitz aircraft carrier, which had a four-decade production run.
At Bath Iron Works, shipbuilders have worked nearly exclusively on Burkes, save for the three Zumwalt-class destroyers, and they have a backlog that’ll carry through the end of the decade.
Shipfitter Tim Garland, 57, started work in 1988 on the first Arleigh Burke destroyer, making ballistic doors and hatches. Over the years, he’s worked on just about every component of the ship, during freezing winter days and steamy hot summer days.
The shipfitter never figured that the same ship — upgraded over the years — would enjoy such longevity.
“We figured there would be a replacement ship well before now. But if it ain’t broke. Don’t fix it,” he said.
The Navy originally wanted to replace Burkes with stealthy Zumwalt-class destroyers with electric propulsion, unusual tumblehome hull and angular shape to minimize radar signature. The program was ultimately truncated from 32 ships to three because of the high cost but supporters said the technological leaps could be useful for future ships.
Indeed, the new destroyers will draw on that ship’s electric power plant to energize lasers while using a conventional hull and a radar and weapon system that’s similar to what’s currently in use, the Navy said.
Matt Caris, an analyst with Avascent, said the Navy is going to great lengths to prevent spending from getting out of control, from its view on mature technology and overall acquisition process to timetable. The first in the class of ship wouldn’t be commissioned until the mid-2030s.
“The Navy is trying to thread the needle with some potentially revolutionary capabilities in as low risk and evolutionary process as possible,” he said.
Others worry that the cost will become a drain on the rest of the fleet.
It’s possible that the Navy could afford only one of the ships per year, compared to current destroyer build rates of two to three per year, shrinking the size of the fleet over time, Clark said.
“They want to pile every mission on the the DDG(X) to make it sort of death star. They’re putting all their eggs in one basket financially,” he said.
The new destroyer represents the high end of the Navy’s aspirations.
At the other end, the Navy is also speeding research into less expensive drone ships that would extend the Navy’s sensors and offensive capability, working in concert with crewed ships that would be kept farther from harm’s way. Such a networked fleet would be spread out and harder to destroy.
In Bath, there’s a new generation of shipbuilders — thousands of them including Tom Stevens’ son, Shane Stevens — who are eager for the new program and a long stretch of steady work.
Big contracts ensure workers are busy for years to come, but there’s also enthusiasm about trying something new, Shane Stevens said.
“I’m always excited when I get to learn about something new that’s high tech. That’s what I’m excited about,” the 29-year-old said.
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Follow David Sharp on Twitter at https://twitter.com/David_Sharp_AP
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(AP/NEXSTAR) — On Wednesday, Apple unveiled the 14th series of its iconic and ubiquitous iPhone during its first in-person product launch event since before the coronavirus pandemic began.
New features of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max include crash detection, which can sense motion of a vehicle crash and offer assistance, and something Apple is calling the “Dynamic Island,” a little capsule that is where the iPhone’s signature “notch” used to be.
The capsule adapts to whatever you’re doing on your phone at any given time and can be expanded to give you more information and options to help, Apple says.
Another new feature is the SOS feature — which allows iPhones to communicate with satellites for the first time, in the event of emergencies outside of cellular reception and WiFi.
Also new to the iPhone is the Always-On display, which keeps up certain information on the lock screen. Apple said the display “keeps essential information always available at a glance.”
The iPhone Pro’s camera features a quad-pixel sensor, “its largest ever,” according to Apple. It’s about 65% larger than previous models.
In April of 2020, just as the pandemic was crushing the U.S. economy, Apple released the second-generation iPhone SE with a price tag as low as $399, a 40% markdown from the most affordable iPhone 11 unveiled last year.
Now, with 9% inflation battering Americans’ household budgets, analysts wonder if consumers won’t wait a little longer to upgrade phones, or pass on the earphones that can cost as much as filling up their gas tanks each month.
“Pricing is a key watch-point in a tough macro which comprises inflationary pressures and pull back in consumer spending, but we believe it matters more for wearables which are considered more discretionary purchases relative to iPhone by consumers,” JPMorgan analysts wrote.
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MANHATTAN, N.Y. (WPIX) — Manhattan DA Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. announced the return of more than a dozen antiquities worth more than $4 million back to Egypt Wednesday.
In total, 16 antiquities were returned to Egypt during a repatriation ceremony attended by Egypt’s Consul General Howaida Essam Mohamed and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York Acting Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel.
“Today’s repatriation shows the breadth and prevalence of antiquities trafficking networks, but thanks to the work of our dedicated prosecutors and analysts, we have made tremendous progress in cracking down on this illegal activity,” said District Attorney Bragg. “We will not allow our borough to be used by dealers and traffickers to turn a profit off these stolen artifacts.”
The Manhattan DA’s office said it has been performing a multi-year, international criminal investigation into one of the world’s largest ancient art collectors and billionaire hedge fund manager, Michael Steinhardt. In total, 180 stolen antiquities were taken from Steinhardt with a value of over $70 million. The investigation resulted in a lifetime ban on having antiquities, a first-of-its-kind ban.
“Our cooperation with the New York District Attorney’s Office has been eventful and fruitful, to say the least, during the last few years,” said Mohamed. “It is safe to say that we can open an entire museum solely based on the artifacts repatriated via the support and efforts of the District Attorney of New York, and for that, we are eternally grateful.”
Nine pieces seized from Steinhardt were sent back to the people of Egypt. They were trafficked by Israeli antiquities dealers Rafi Brown and Gil Chaya. Brown would purchase antiquities from unlicensed diggers, middlemen, and smugglers, according to the DA. Chaya and his then-wife would buy illegal antiquities directly from looters.
Five of these pieces were described as an Egyptian Hoard made up of gold and silver ornaments and plaques dating to 1300-1101 B.C.E. The Egyptian Hoard first showed up on the international art market in 1999, when Steinhardt paid $70,000 for them from Brown with no prior documentation.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art had a total of six items taken. Five items taken from the Met, valued at $3.1 million, came from an investigation into the Dib-Simonian trafficking network. The pieces were looted from archaeological sites in Egypt, smuggled through Germany or the Netherlands to France, and sold by the Paris-based Pierre Bergé & Associés to the Met.
According to the DA’s office, this investigation resulted in the indictment or arrest of nine people in France, including former Louvre Director Jean-Luc Martinez. Two of these pieces were the Stele of a Singer, which was sold to the Met in 2015, and Fayum Mummy Portrait, which the Met purchased in 2013.
Another piece was seized from the Met as part of an investigation into trafficker Georges Lotfi. He was the subject of an international arrest warrant issued by this DA’s office in early September.
A bronze statuette called Kneeling Ruler or Priest is said to be from the 8th Century B.C.E. Lofti bought the statuette in 2005 and sold it in 2006 to the Met.
The final piece was seized as part of another ongoing investigation.
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(NewsNation) — On the day when Uvalde students went back to class for the first time since 21 people died in a massacre at their school, several officers were referred to a state watchdog for possible discipline.
The Office of the Inspector General will investigate five responding officers, the state’s public safety department confirmed to NewsNation. They did not provide any names, but did note two are on paid leave.
The law enforcement response has been under scrutiny since the hours after the community and country learned what happened on the morning of May 24 at Robb Elementary School. Nineteen students and two adults died as a shooter entered two classrooms before barricading himself.
In the days after the attack, police claimed a locked door prevented them from entering, but subsequent investigation found that door was open. All told the shooter was in a classroom for almost an hour while police stood outside.
There were no survivors in the classroom, but critics say law enforcement might have been able to get victims to hospitals sooner if they’d entered the room quicker.
After the shooting, police leaders said the situation was treated like a barricaded subject instead of an active shooter. In July, a memo went out emphasizing that all school shootings should be treated as active threats.
“DPS Officers responding to an active shooter at a school will be authorized to overcome any delay to neutralizing an attacker. When a subject fires a weapon at a school he remains an active shooter until he is neutralized and is not to be treated as a ‘barricaded subject,’ Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw wrote in a memo to his staff in July.
For the students’ first day back Tuesday, 30 state officers patrolled the district’s buildings.
Former Uvalde School police Chief Pete Arredondo has faced calls for accountability after his lawyer defended the police’s response in a scathing letter to the school board on the evening they fired him. The lawyer argued Arredondo was entitled to due process as a public employee, but the school board terminated his employment anyway.
Arredondo was elected to Uvalde’s City Council before the shooting, but resigned in July after being sworn in during a secret proceeding.
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who represents Uvalde’s district, criticized the state’s transparency in a statement Tuesday.
“We cannot stop here. True justice requires transparency, accountability, and a commitment to solutions. Greg Abbott and DPS need to fess up and take action to stop the plague of gun violence in our communities,” he wrote.
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ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A group of 61 migrants picked up by a cargo ship from a crippled vessel in the central Mediterranean have safely reached Crete hours after a severely ill child on the freighter died while being airlifted to the Greek island, authorities said Wednesday.
It was unclear whether these were the same people who had earlier been reported stranded for days without provisions on a leaking fishing boat near Malta, after trying to sail from Lebanon to Italy.
On Tuesday, a Greek navy helicopter had airlifted a 4-year-old girl with health problems and her mother off the BBC Pearl freighter, that had rescued the migrants, but the child was pronounced dead upon arrival at a hospital on Crete.
The coast guard said the remaining 33 men, seven women and 21 children disembarked from the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged ship early Wednesday at the port of Kali Limenes on southern Crete.
Two were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening health issues, while the rest were temporarily put up in a sports hall in the town of Moires.
The migrants told authorities they were Syrians, Lebanese and Palestinians.
It wasn’t immediately clear when they were picked up by the freighter, where they had set off from and where they had been heading.
The coast guard said in a statement late Tuesday that the BBC Pearl had rescued them inside Malta’s search and rescue area. It said Greece received a request around midday Tuesday from Maltese authorities, who had been contacted by the cargo ship’s captain, to airlift the mother and child to safety.
The ship then altered course towards Crete to facilitate the airlift, the coast guard statement said.
On Tuesday, activists and relatives of Lebanese and Syrian migrants on a fishing boat taking on water near Malta said they had lost contact with the vessel overnight.
The roughly 60 Lebanese and Syrian migrants on board had told their relatives and volunteer groups by satellite phone earlier that they have been without food, water and baby formula for days.
The vessel had left the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli about 10 days ago for Italy.
There has been an increase in migrants seeking to travel on unsafe boats from troubled Lebanon to Italy, and Greek authorities have performed several rescues in recent weeks.
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Follow AP’s global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration
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| 2022-09-21T10:48:35Z
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There's a new change this year for families across Tennessee when it comes to free meals.
Wednesday is the last day to apply for free meals and adjust to this change.
“Families are definitely feeling the effects of this now," said Hamilton County Schools Director of Nutrition Kristen Knauss.
During the pandemic, Knauss said free meals were provided automatically for families across Tennessee.
However this school year, that process is changing.
“The USDA provided schools with waivers in order to provide free meals to all students regardless of their income and this year was the first year we had to go back to the way things were pre-COVID," said Knauss.
Now, families will have to apply either in-person or online to get meal assistance for their child during school.
“Families were used to sending their kids to school without having to worry about lunch money and that definitely is a concern now because the cost of groceries has risen and the income thresholds are pretty low," said Knauss.
During the pandemic, Knauss said more than 12.5 million free meals were provided to students in Tennessee.
“There was a study that was done I believe in 2019 that shows school meals were the healthiest meals students were receiving, in school or out of school, so we know that it’s providing the nutrients that they need to be successful and grow," said Knauss.
She encourages families to apply as soon as possible with this deadline ending Wednesday night, as the pandemic's 'grace period' ends.
“There is a link for them to apply online for free reduced meals," said Knauss. "They can also get a paper application from their school if they prefer to do it on paper.”
For families that have applied, she said officials are working to process applications as quickly as possible.
“We try to process them within a day or so, but sometime it can take up to ten days depending on how many we’re processing at once," said Knauss.
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ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A group of 61 migrants picked up by a cargo ship from a crippled fishing boat in the central Mediterranean have safely reached the island of Crete hours after a severely ill child on the freighter died while being airlifted to Greece, Greek authorities said Wednesday.
The Syrian, Lebanese and Palestinian migrants had reportedly been stranded for days without provisions on a leaking fishing boat near Malta, after trying to sail from Lebanon to Italy about 10 days ago.
“We had tried pressing the Maltese, Italian, and Greek authorities for days to get them to authorize a ship in the vicinity of the migrants to rescue them,” Moroccan-Italian activist Nawal Soufy told the Associated Press. Soufy had been in contact with the migrants on board and rescue freighter, BBC Pearl, via satellite phone.
“We’re now waiting for the Greek authorities to respond to our queries about the migrants’ current situation.”
On Tuesday, a Greek navy helicopter had airlifted a 4-year-old girl with health problems and her mother off the BBC Pearl, but the child was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital on Crete.
The coast guard said the remaining 33 men, 7 women and 21 children disembarked from the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged ship early Wednesday at the port of Kali Limenes on southern Crete.
Two were taken to hospital with non life-threatening health issues, while the rest were temporarily put up in a sports hall in the town of Moires.
Greek authorities said it was not immediately clear when they were picked up by the freighter, where they had set off from and where they had been heading.
The coast guard said in a statement late Tuesday that the BBC Pearl had rescued them inside Malta’s search and rescue area. It said Greece received a request around midday Tuesday from Maltese authorities, who had been contacted by the cargo ship’s captain, to airlift the mother and child to safety.
The ship then altered course towards Crete to facilitate the airlift, the coast guard statement said.
The migrants on board had told their relatives and volunteer groups by satellite phone earlier that they have been without food, water, and baby formula for days.
A relative of one of the passengers, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, claimed the migrants were lost at sea, as their smuggler did not provide them with a navigation system, compass, or maps on the leaking, overcrowded boat.
The migrants also claimed that three children died due to dehydration before the group was rescued.
Once a country that received refugees, Lebanon has become a launching pad for dangerous migration by sea to Europe, as it struggles with an economic crisis over the past three years that has pulled three-quarters of its population into poverty.
There has been an increase in migrants seeking to travel on unsafe boats from troubled Lebanon to Italy, and Greek authorities have performed several rescues in recent weeks.
___
Chehayeb reported from Beirut, Lebanon.
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Follow AP’s global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration
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| 2022-09-21T10:48:42Z
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Eight people have been taken to hospitals from the scene of a building explosion in Chicago on Tuesday morning, according to Chicago Fire.
At least three of those people are listed in serious to critical condition, Chicago Fire said on Twitter. The source of the explosion is unknown at this time and remains under investigation, and the ATF and the Chicago Police bomb unit are on scene to assist.
Deputy Fire Commissioner Marc Ferman could not provide further details of the victims' conditions in a brief news conference but told reporters he'd heard the injuries range from "burns to traumatic injuries."
Fire companies were dispatched around 9 a.m. local time, Ferman said, and the first unit to arrive, a battalion chief, called for a collapse response after seeing "some sort of an explosion and a partial collapse of the upper floor of a residential building." The battalion chief also called for a hazardous materials response, Ferman said.
Authorities had to conduct a "technical sort of search" of the building due to its condition, Ferman said. The upper floor was "compromised," so technical experts were called in to support the structure with struts so rescue personnel could safely search for victims and remove debris.
The building has four stories and 35 units, Chicago Fire said on Twitter Tuesday afternoon, and investigators are looking at the top floor as the possible source.
Officials were "confident" they had gotten everyone out of the building, Ferman said, but the search remained ongoing. Residents have been displaced, he added, but it's not clear how many.
About 135 personnel from fire suppression, special operations and EMS responded to the scene, he said. Officials from gas, water and electric utilities were also on scene, Ferman said.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
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TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Another U.S. congressional delegation is visiting Taiwan as tensions with China remain high over its claims to the self-governed island.
A steady stream of U.S. visitors has come to meet with Taiwanese officials since U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited in early August. China in response has stepped up its military harassment of Taiwan, sending warships, warplanes and drones toward the island daily.
Led by Florida Democrat Stephanie Murphy, the delegation met Thursday with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, whose administration China has relentlessly sought to deprive of diplomatic recognition and participation in international organizations.
Referring to China’s military threats, Tsai said the delegation’s visit “conveys rock solid support for Taiwan from the U.S. Congress.”
“Taiwan will not bow to pressure or coercion,” Tsai said. “We will defend our democratic institutions and way of life. Taiwan will not back down.”
Murphy replied that Congress “should advocate for greater Taiwanese participation in international organizations.”
“Taiwan has shown itself to be a responsible member of the international community, especially in public health issues, and it deserves to participate in international fora when appropriate,” she said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on Thursday said China “strongly rejects and deplores” the congressional visit, saying it violates the U.S. commitment to the “one-China policy” that forbids formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
“We will continue to take strong measures to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Mao said at a daily briefing.
Under the U.S. system of separation of powers, the executive branch of government has no legal right to prevent members of Congress from visiting Taiwan. China has repeatedly refused to recognize that principle.
Mao also cautioned Japan not to allow a Taiwanese government official to attend an official funeral for ex-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. China strongly protested after Taiwanese Vice President Lai Ching-te paid his respects at Abe’s Tokyo residence following his assassination in July.
“Japan should … not provide the Taiwan independence force any platforms for political manipulation,” Mao said. Throughout his political career, Abe was a strong supporter of Taiwan, a Japanese colony for 50 years until the end of World War II which maintains close political, economic and social ties with Japan.
Murphy, who was born in Hanoi to Vietnamese parents, is among lawmakers who introduced a bill that would allow the U.S. to lend weapons to support Taiwan, similar to a bill that was passed to lend weapons to Ukraine. Last week, the Biden administration approved a $1 billion arms sale to Taiwan.
Murphy also said deepening economic relations with Taiwan was “one of the most important things Congress can do right now,” particularly by pushing for a “high-quality free trade agreement” between the sides. Negotiations are underway between the Biden and Tsai administrations on a trade pact.
The other American lawmakers visiting are Hawaii Democrat Kaiali’i Kahele and Republicans Scott Franklin of Florida, Joe Wilson of South Carolina, Andy Barr of Kentucky, Darrell Issa of California, Claudia Tenney of New York and Kat Cammack of Florida.
Pelosi was the highest-level member of the U.S. government to visit Taiwan in 25 years. China responded by holding extended military exercises that included firing missiles over the island and sending ships across the midline of the Taiwan Strait, which was long a buffer between the two sides. Some of the missiles landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
China sees high-level foreign visits to the island as interference in its affairs and de facto recognition of Taiwanese sovereignty. China’s recent military drills were seen by some as a rehearsal of future military action against the island, which U.S. military leaders say could come within the next few years.
In Beijing on Wednesday, Mao said China’s opposition to defense cooperation between Washington and Taipei is “consistent and clear.”
“We will resolutely respond to acts that undermine China’s sovereignty and security and interfere in our internal affairs,” Mao told reporters at a daily briefing, without giving details.
Following Pelosi’s trip, a U.S. senator and another congressional delegation visited Taiwan, as well as officials from Japan and Palau. Governors from Arizona and Indiana made visits with a focus on semiconductors, an industry which Taiwanese companies dominate.
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PARIS (AP) — Breaking the rules by taking a deep drag of his cigarette in a Paris airport washroom, the fugitive paratrooper rips his Russian passport in two and tosses it in the toilet, along with his military ID.
It is Pavel Filatiev’s last act of defiance before turning his back on his country forever.
Filatiev accuses the Russian military leadership of betraying their own troops out of sheer incompetence and corruption, chronicling what he’s seen in his online book “ZOV” — the three letters inscribed on many Russian trucks and tanks that also means “call” in Russian — as in a call to arms.
The 34 year-old said he harbored doubts even before his army unit took part in the invasion of Ukraine and helped capture Kherson in the first days of the war. The son of a soldier, he served in Chechnya when he was just out of his teens. He knew there wasn’t supposed to be any rust on his machine and that his uniform wouldn’t protect him much against the winter cold.
Filatiev said neither he nor the other soldiers alongside him had any idea that they would be part of an invasion force when they were ordered into trucks with their headlights off. They figured it out quickly enough.
After weeks of fighting, Filatiev was evacuated mid-April with an injury that nearly cost him an eye and left him with excruciating back and leg pain. He spent his last weeks on the battlefield promising himself that if he survived the next round of incoming artillery, he’d tell the truth no matter what it cost him.
For most of the winter, his unit had been training in the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014. On Feb. 23, the day before the invasion, his unit received ammunition and some paperwork that made little sense. Something was starting.
“But we had no idea that it would look like this. We were woken up by these blasts. And at that moment, we realized that something serious had started. Maybe, a full-scale war,” he told The Associated Press in Paris, where he has sought asylum. “But against whom? And why and how and what for – it wasn’t clear. That’s about how everything started for me.”
They learned their destination — Kherson — only when they were already on the move, he said. By then, he thought that it was a war against NATO. It took about a week before he realized that the only enemy was Ukraine.
“And then I understood that it was total trash and total insanity,” he said. “I don’t want to take part but I don’t want to leave.”
Kherson, located at the confluence of the Dnieper River and the Black Sea, was one of the first cities to fall to Russian forces in early March.
I n “Zov,” Filatiev described the da y his unit entered the port, saying he witnessed Russian soldiers looting food, electronics and even appliances, describing one particularly chaotic evening when his unit broke into an office and came across a bottle of champagne and a desk that he ended up using as a bed. He said he saw no human rights abuses.
Russia’s last official update on military losses in Ukraine came on March 25, when officials said 1,351 were killed and 3,825 were wounded.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace on Monday estimated Russian dead at over 25,000, with wounded, captured and deserters bringing the overall number of losses to more than 80,000.
Ukraine’s government has launched a counteroffensive in the area, and occupation forces have postponed plans to hold a referendum on whether the region should become part of Russia — which American and Ukrainian officials have denounced as a sham vote.
Filatiev’s account could not be independently verified but matches descriptions of the invasion being passed around Telegram and as recounted by families of Russian soldiers. His public denouncement that ordinary soldiers have been betrayed by their own government is highly unusual.
Filatiev published “Zov” on the Russian social network VK in early August. The human rights organization Gulagu helped him leave the country a few weeks later, moving him from one place to another until finally helping him reach France.
He spent two days inside the Charles de Gaulle airport, waiting to be approved for entry.
In Russia, he said, “I understood that no lawyer could defend me,” he said, a muscle in his jaw twitching. On his wrist, he wore a silver bracelet adorned with a crucifix.
Filatiev said Russia’s army is degrading by the day, unable to replace the soldiers who die, are wounded or who simply don’t want to fight. Gulagu, the aid organization that helped him leave, said the government has begun recruiting prison inmates.
Filatiev said the Russian military has dropped all standards on who’s fit to serve. “There’s a 55-year-old guy who was lying on his couch, drinking beer, and he’s filled up on watching propaganda on TV,” he said. “And they take this person, put him in the paratroopers, I mean in the elite, in our group. And they send him to the front without any preparation.”
He describes this as an open secret.
“It’s not because everyone was killed, as the Ukrainians say. It’s because no one wants to be there,” said Filatiev. “Unfortunately, it turned out that I’m the first one who says so out loud.”
___
Angela Charlton contributed from Paris.
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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A judge on Wednesday sentenced a former Puerto Rico legislator to more than four years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to bribery as part of a kickback scheme.
Nelson del Valle Colón, who was elected to Puerto Rico’s House of Representatives in 2004 and 2016, also was ordered to pay $190,000 in restitution.
He was accused of hiring two women to work in his office and demanding biweekly kickbacks from them ranging from about $500 to $1,300 for more than three years in exchange for their employment and salaries.
The two women have pleaded guilty and are scheduled to be sentenced later this month.
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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea is apparently moving to sell millions of rockets and artillery shells — many of them likely from its old stock — to its Cold War ally Russia.
Russia has called a U.S. intelligence report on the purchasing plan “fake.” But U.S. officials say it shows Russia’s desperation with the war in Ukraine and that Moscow could buy additional military hardware from North Korea.
The ammunitions North Korea reportedly intends to sell to Moscow are likely copies of Soviet-era weapons that can fit Russian launchers. But there are still questions over the quality of the supplies and how much they could actually help the Russian military.
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WHAT EXACTLY WILL NORTH KOREA SUPPLY TO RUSSIA?
Slapped by international sanctions and export controls, Russia in August bought Iranian-made drones that U.S. officials said had technical problems. For Russia, North Korea is likely another good option for its ammunitions supply, because the North keeps a significant stockpile of shells, many of them copies of Soviet-era ones.
North Korea “may represent the single biggest source of compatible legacy artillery ammunition outside of Russia, including domestic production facilities to further supplies,” said Joseph Dempsey, research associate for defense and military analysis at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
Lee Illwoo, an expert with the Korea Defense Network in South Korea, said both North and South Korea — split along the world’s most heavily fortified border for more than 70 years — keep tens of millions of artillery shells each. North Korea will likely sell older shells that it wants to replace with newer ones for multiple rocket launch systems or sophisticated missiles in its front-line army bases, he said.
North Korea’s greater reliance on nuclear weapons and guided missiles may also remove the need for many of its older, unguided artillery shells that once played a prominent role, said Ankit Panda, an expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
But Bruce Bennett, a senior security expert at the California-based Rand Corporation, said most of the artillery rounds to be sent to Russia are likely to be ammunition for small arms, such as AK-47 rifles or machine guns.
“It’s not millions of artillery shells and rockets – that’s more than the likely consumption. It could be millions of small arms rounds,” Bennett said.
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HOW GOOD ARE NORTH KOREAN WEAPONS?
According to an IISS assessment, North Korea has an estimated 20,000 artillery pieces including multiple rocket launchers in service, a number that Dempsey described as “significantly more than any other country in the world.”
North Korea’s state media have called its artillery guns “the first arm of the People’s Army and the most powerful arm in the world” that can reduce enemy position into “a sea of flames.”
But its old artillery systems, whose ammunitions will likely be supplied to Russia, have a reputation for poor accuracy.
During North Korea’s artillery bombardment of South Korea’s front-line Yeonpyeong Island in 2010 that killed four people, Bennett said that only 80 of the 300-400 weapons North Korea should have fired likely hit their target. In his assessment, Lee said about half of the North Korean shells launched ended up falling into waters before reaching the island.
“That is miserable artillery performance. The Russians may experience the same thing, which will not make them very happy,” Bennett said.
Observers doubt the usefulness of North Korean ammunition for the Russian campaign in Ukraine, which they say has depleted the military. There have been photos of barrel-busted Russian guns on social media.
It’s unclear how serious Russian shortage of ammunitions is. In July, a senior U.S. defense official told reporters that Russia was launching tens of thousands artillery rounds each day and couldn’t keep it up forever.
“While substantial stockpiles likely still exist, they may be increasingly infringing on those reserved for the contingency of a wider future conflict,” Dempsey said.
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NO NORTH KOREAN MISSILES EXPECTED
It’s unlikely for North Korea to provide Russia with ballistic missiles that it views as crucial in its military strategies toward Washington and Seoul, said Yang Uk, an analyst at Seoul’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies.
And if North Korea decides to supply missiles to Russia, it would need to send their launch platforms as well because Russia doesn’t have launchers for the North’s Scuds and other missiles. North Korea has developed a highly maneuverable, nuclear-cable ballistic missile that was likely modeled on Russia’s Iskander. But the two missiles are of different sizes, according to Shin Jongwoo, a military expert at the Seoul-based Korea Defense and Security Forum,
There would be a number of items that North Korea could provide to Russia, given that the two countries share weapons systems going back to Soviet times. But the type of ammunitions North Korea would provide to Russia “are likely to be old and somewhere close to expiring,” said Moon Seong Mook, an analyst at South Korea’s Korea Research Institute for National Strategy.
___
WHAT COULD NORTH KOREA GET IN RETURN?
In return for weapons, North Korea will likely want food, fuel and other materials from Russia because the North finds it difficult to buy such goods from abroad under U.N. sanctions imposed over its nuclear program.
Panda said North Korea is likely benefiting in the form of cash transfers from Russia, or perhaps greater Russian leniency in not enforcing other sanctions on Pyongyang, including the transfer of materials necessary for the growth of North Korea’s missile programs.
According to Bennett, North Korea would be willing to be compensated with fuel. For its more advanced arms, it could seek advanced weapons technologies from Russia, possibly including those it needs for its expected nuclear test, the first of its kind in five years, he said.
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BEIRUT (AP) — Dozens of relatives of the victims of Beirut’s massive port blast protested Wednesday against the judiciary’s plan to name a second investigative judge, calling the move an attempt by the country’s political class to prevent justice after one of the world’s largest non-nuclear explosions.
The investigation into the blast, which killed 218 people, injured thousands and caused billions of dollars in damage has been blocked since December by Lebanon’s political powers. That’s after three former Cabinet ministers filed legal challenges against investigative judge Tarek Bitar.
Now, Justice Minister Henri Khoury and the Higher Judicial Council, Lebanon’s top judicial body, are looking into naming a second judge to release some port and customs officials as well as workers who have been detained without charges since the blast.
“What is happening is an attempt to remove the case from judge Bitar,” Youssef Diab, a Lebanese journalist who covers legal affairs told The Associated Press during the protest outside the office of the justice minister. “By naming a second investigative judge to approve the releases, it means that judge Bitar has been ripped of his powers.”
Many blame the tragedy on the Lebanese government’s longtime corruption, but the elite’s decades-old lock on power has ensured they are untouchable. The Aug. 4, 2020 explosions occurred when hundreds of tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate, a material used in fertilizers, detonated at the port.
It later emerged that the ammonium nitrate had been shipped to Lebanon in 2013 and stored improperly at a port warehouse ever since. Senior political and security officials knew of its presence but did nothing.
Bitar has been the the subject of harsh criticism by Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Nasrallah called Bitar’s investigation a “big mistake” and said it was biased. He asked authorities to remove Bitar.
Bitar is the second judge to take the case. The first judge, Fadi Sawwan, was forced out after complaints of bias by two Cabinet ministers. if the same happens to Bitar, it could be the final blow to the investigation.
Lebanon’s factional political leaders, who have divvied up power among themselves for decades, closed ranks to thwart any accountability.
Diab, the journalist, said that Bitar should have been allowed to resume his work to issue the releases himself then continue the investigation.
Some independent legislators issued a statement calling the move by the justice minister to name a second judge “a fatal blow to the role of investigative judge Tarek Bitar.” The 13 legislators vowed not to give up and to use all means available to keep the investigation going.
Bitar charged four former senior government officials with intentional killing and negligence that led to the deaths of dozens of people. He also charged several top security officials in the case.
“Today this is a small part of this ridiculous scenario that started two years ago,” said Michael Awad whose 3-year-old granddaughter, Alexandra Naggear, was killed in the blast.
“We are with those people who are innocent inside the prison. But I think also as victims of the families, we are on the top of the list of justice,” Awad said. “They should start with us first and then they can proceed with that with whatever they want.”
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HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — The death toll from a fire at a karaoke parlor in southern Vietnam has risen to 32 and some parts of the building remain inaccessible more than a day later, state media reported.
The fire that began late Tuesday trapped workers and customers inside the multi-story venue in Thuan An city in Binh Duong province, state media said. The fire was brought under control quickly but smoldered into the next day.
Vietnam News Agency reported 32 deaths from the blaze as of late Wednesday and at least one karaoke room and one storage room have not been accessed because the temperature remained high.
Some people were injured from asphyxiation and others suffered broken limbs when they jumped from upper floors to try to escape the fire, reports said. Firefighters using ladders from their trucks managed to rescue others.
President Nguyen Xuan Phuc extended his condolences to families of the victims and asked government officials to support the families and quickly find the cause of the blaze. The preliminary finding was that it was caused by an electrical short circuit and started on the second or third floor.
Enforcement of safety standards at entertainment venues in many parts of Southeast Asia is sometimes lax and believed to contribute to multiple deaths in case of fires.
Police in Thailand said that a pub in the eastern province of Chonburi was presenting live entertainment without a license when a fire broke out in early August, trapping many people inside because exits were blocked or locked.
The toll from that fire has climbed to 23 dead, 13 of them on the night of the blaze and 10 in the month since then. Many had serious burns over most of their bodies, which are extremely difficult to guard against deadly infections. At least five other victims are believed to still be on ventilators.
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MADRID (AP) — Gibraltar authorities said Wednesday the Rock’s port would partially reopen later in the day following the removal of most of the oil from a stricken ship that collided in its bay area last week.
The government said in a statement that some operations at the port would resume Wednesday night, as part of a scaled re-opening.
The government says the emergency status of the ship incident has been lifted because most of the fuel from the ship has been extracted.
The ship ran aground in shallows after colliding Aug. 29 with another vessel, triggering fears of a major spillage.
An unknown quantity of fuel oil seeped from the ship last Thursday, causing a slick, and teams have been working to clean the area as well as remove the oil still on the ship.
Fishing in the area has been prohibited. Several Gibraltar beaches and one in Spain temporarily prohibited bathing.
The Gibraltar government said Wednesday there were no reports of significant amounts of oil reaching the coast.
Operations to remove the remaining fuel and other material from the ship are continuing. Authorities are still studying what to do with the ship structure once those operations are completed.
Gibraltar said the 178-meter (584-foot), Tuvalu-registered OS 35 was carrying 250 tons of diesel. After the initial spill it still had 183 tons of fuel oil and 27 tons of lubricant oil in its tanks.
The ship was carrying a cargo of steel bars when it collided with a liquefied natural gas carrier. The second ship sustained little damage. No one was injured in the collision.
Gibraltar, a British territory located on southern tip of the Iberian peninsula, is a busy shipping and fuel supply port.
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ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s government has written to the country’s NATO and European Union partners and the head of the United Nations, asking them to formally condemn increasingly aggressive talk by officials in neighboring Turkey and suggesting that current bilateral tensions could escalate into a second open conflict on European soil.
In the letters, copies of which were seen Wednesday by The Associated Press, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said the behavior of his country’s historic regional rival — and NATO ally — should be censured by the three bodies.
“By not doing so in time or by underestimating the seriousness of the matter, we risk witnessing again a situation similar to that currently unfolding in some other part of our continent,” he wrote, in an allusion to the war in Ukraine. “This is something none of us would really wish to see.”
The letters dated Monday and Tuesday come at a low point in relations between the two neighbors, who are separated by centuries-long enmity and contemporary disputes, including Aegean Sea boundaries and immigration. Greece and Turkey have come close to war three times in the last half-century.
On Tuesday Turkey’s president reiterated a thinly veiled invasion threat made over the weekend. Athens responded that it’s ready to defend its sovereignty.
In the letters to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, EU foreign policy head Josep Borrell and U.N. chief Antonio Guterres, Athens quoted Erdogan’s references to Greek “occupation” of Aegean Sea islands that have been part of Greece for decades, and to the Greek people as “vile.”
“The Turkish leadership has apparently chosen to present future aggression as already prepared and, more importantly, as a justified action,” he said. “Unless seen in its true dimensions and properly dealt with by the international community, this Turkish attitude risks destabilizing our wider region and causing consequences of which the gravity is hard to assess.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday that Turkey could “come all of a sudden one night” in response to perceived Greek threats, suggesting a Turkish attack cannot be ruled out.
Ankara says Greece is violating international agreements by keeping a military presence on islands close to Turkey’s Aegean coastline. It has also accused Greek air defenses of locking on to Turkish fighter jets during NATO exercises over the eastern Mediterranean.
Greece says it needs to defend its eastern islands — including tourist hotspots Rhodes and Kos, which are much closer to Turkey than to the Greek mainland — against its larger and militarily stronger neighbor.
Dendias on Tuesday accused Turkey of carrying out 6,100 Greek airspace violations this year, including 157 overflights of Greek territory.
Greece almost daily scrambles fighter aircraft to identify and intercept Turkish military planes and often simulated dogfights break out, which have led to several fatalities in the past decades.
“The Turkish attitude is a destabilizing factor for NATO’s unity and cohesion, weakening the southern flank of the alliance at a moment of crisis,” Dendias wrote to Stoltenberg.
Both Greece and Turkey face crucial elections next year.
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A record heat wave put California in a fossil fuel conundrum: The state has had to rely more heavily on natural gas to produce electricity and avoid power outages while Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration moves toward ending the use of oil and gas.
The heat wave that started more than a week ago has been hotter and longer than any other in the state, and it put unprecedented strain on power supplies. That prompted Newsom to plead with people to use less power to avoid rolling blackouts — a practice that involves cutting some people’s power to save energy so the lights can stay on for everyone else.
The effort worked, but meeting the state’s heightened energy demand also required activating generators fueled by natural gas, which is still a major part of the state’s power picture. The Democratic governor’s calls for conservation also drew criticism about new state policies governing electric vehicles and other measures that will only increase energy demand.
Newsom, speaking to reporters Wednesday, said the “pretty extreme” circumstances required the state to turn to more natural gas as a backup supply.
“We all want to accelerate the elimination of the gas, but it’s a sober reminder of reality,” he said.
Tuesday’s demand for 52,000 megawatts set a record, as triple-digit temperatures blanketed much of the state. Sacramento hit a record high of 116 degrees (47 degrees Celsius), and normally cooler places like San Francisco and San Diego also reached sizzling temperatures.
Demand will only climb in the years ahead. By 2045, when the state is mandated to get all of its electricity from non-carbon or renewable sources, demand is expected to be as high as 78,000 megawatts due to more electric home appliances and cars on the road, according California Energy Commission estimates.
To meet that demand, both the government and major utilities like Pacific Gas & Electric are working to scale up renewable sources such as solar and wind power, as well as large-scale batteries that can store that power for use at night. The California Public Utilities Commission last year ordered utilities to procure enough additional power for 2.5 million homes by 2026.
Newsom just signed legislation aimed at keeping the state’s last nuclear plant open for five years beyond its planned 2025 closure, and he suggested Wednesday that the plant could run even longer if needed.
The sun is typically the state’s biggest power source during the day. But as the hot weather arrived, natural gas surpassed renewables for more time over the past week, according to the California Independent System Operator, which is responsible for managing and maintaining reliability on the state’s power grid.
Gas was the primary energy source all day on Tuesday — the expected peak of the brutal temperatures.
Meanwhile, on Monday the state for the first time turned on four gas-powered generators to add more supply, enough to power 120,000 homes. It planned to rely on some diesel-powered generators as well.
But some of the state’s fossil-fuel plants have their own reliability problems. Several power plants, including aging gas-fired ones along California’s coast, partially broke down or produced less energy than planned, according to the ISO.
Four of the plants, which suck up ocean water to cool down their equipment, were slated to close in 2020, but the state has continually extended their lives to help stabilize the power supply. They now plan to stay open until at least 2023, but they could last even longer under legislation Newsom signed in June.
If the state wants to keep the old coastal gas-powered plants online beyond 2023, it needs to give the companies that own them more certainty about the future so they can decide whether to spend money to maintain them, said Siva Gunda, vice chairman of the California Energy Commission, the state’s energy planning agency.
“Everything has to be moved forward at full throttle” with the “ambitious aim” that cleaner energy sources make up most of the state’s power reserves, he said.
The intensity of the heat wave only emphasizes the need for California to move away from fossil fuels as quickly as possible, he said.
The grid challenges also provided plenty of fodder for Newsom’s political critics, who have argued that Democrats’ policies to move away from oil and gas don’t add up.
The state recently adopted new regulations aimed at ending the sale of most new gas-powered cars in the state by 2035. But during the heat wave, officials also urged people not to charge cars or use other large appliances at night. The state has not banned car charging, but instead urged people to do so during the day.
“Gavin Newsom — You have to buy an electric car. Also Gavin Newsom — But you can’t charge it,” Republican state Sen. Melissa Melendez tweeted Tuesday evening after the state sent out an emergency wireless alert urging people to reduce power use.
Environmental groups say planning failures led California to rely on natural gas — and even ramp up its use — during the heat wave. The state needs to set clearer goals and benchmarks to meet its clean energy targets and ensure that fossil fuels aren’t used as a backup, said Ari Eisenstadt, campaign manager for Regenerate California, a campaign aimed at ending fossil fuel use in the state.
“Folks have been talking about natural gas as a bridge for decades,” he said. “And if it were truly a bridge, we would have crossed it by now.”
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Associated Press journalist Michael R. Blood contributed reporting from Beverly Hills, Calif.
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| 2022-09-21T10:50:28Z
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JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli troops killed a Palestinian militant during a firefight Wednesday in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. The violence erupted after Israel carried out an arrest raid in a refugee camp near the city of Tubas.
The Israeli military said it carried out arrest raids across the West Bank as part of a monthslong crackdown on Palestinian militants. It said its soldiers came under fire during the arrest of a wanted person in the Faraa refugee camp in the northern West Bank.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said 21-year-old Younis Ghassan Tayeh died from a bullet wound to the chest. The Israeli military said Tayeh was shot while throwing firebombs at troops.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group issued a statement claiming Tayeh as one of “our martyrs.”
Israel has been conducting near-daily arrest raids in the West Bank for months, which were prompted by a spate of deadly attacks against Israelis earlier this year that killed 19 people.
Dozens of Palestinians have been killed during that time, many of them militants or people involved in clashes. But some civilians have also been killed, including one who inadvertently drove through a battle zone. A veteran Al Jazeera journalist covering the raids also was killed in May.
Israel on Monday said its investigation into the deadly shooting of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh found there was a “high probability” an Israeli soldier had mistakenly killed her during a raid. She had been wearing a helmet and a vest that clearly marked her as a member of the media.
Israel says the arrest raids are meant to dismantle militant networks that have embedded themselves. The Palestinians say the operations are aimed at maintaining Israel’s 55-year military occupation of territories they want for an independent state.
Israel captured the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast war and the Palestinians seek those territories for a future state.
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| 2022-09-21T10:50:35Z
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DETROIT (AP) — A judge on Wednesday struck down Michigan’s 1931 anti-abortion law, months after suspending it, the latest development over abortion rights in a state where the issue is being argued in courtrooms and, possibly, at the ballot box.
The law, which was long dormant before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, violates the Michigan Constitution, said Judge Elizabeth Gleicher.
“A law denying safe, routine medical care not only denies women of their ability to control their bodies and their lives — it denies them of their dignity,” Gleicher of the Court of Claims wrote. “Michigan’s Constitution forbids this violation of due process.”
The decision comes as the Michigan Supreme Court is considering whether to place a proposed amendment on the Nov. 8 ballot that would add abortion rights to the state constitution. A Friday deadline is looming.
Supporters submitted more than 700,000 signatures, easily clearing the threshold. But a tie vote by the Board of State Canvassers over spacing issues on the petition has kept it off the ballot so far.
In the case handled by Gleicher, the 1931 law makes it a crime to perform an abortion unless the mother’s life is in danger.
The judge said the law “compels motherhood” and prevents a woman from determining the “shape of her present and future life.”
The law “forces a pregnant woman to forgo her reproductive choices and to instead serve as `an involuntary vessel entitled to no more respect than other forms of collectively owned property,’” Gleicher wrote, quoting constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe.
The law was suspended in May with an injunction, following a lawsuit by Planned Parenthood of Michigan. Gleicher said her latest decision applies to all state and local prosecutors. An appeal by the Republican-controlled Legislature is possible.
“The House is reviewing the ruling,” spokesman Gideon D’Assandro said.
Gleicher acknowledged in July that she has been a regular donor to Planned Parenthood and gave $1,000 to the 2018 campaigns of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel, both Democrats who support abortion rights.
But that support wasn’t a reason to pass the case to another judge, said Gleicher, who also serves as chief judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals.
“Judges are presumed to be unbiased and impartial,” she said.
In a separate lawsuit, Whitmer has repeatedly asked the state Supreme Court to bypass lower courts and settle the status of the 1931 law. The court hasn’t decided whether to intervene.
“With our rights still hanging by a thread, the Michigan Supreme Court needs to provide certainty,” the governor said Wednesday.
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Follow Ed White at http://twitter.com/edwritez
___
Find more AP coverage of the abortion issue: https://apnews.com/hub/abortion
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The spelling of Laurence Tribe’s first name has been corrected.
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| 2022-09-21T10:50:43Z
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BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — The Malian military launched air strikes Wednesday near a village that witnesses said had been seized by extremists with ties to the Islamic State group.
Witnesses reported the takeover of Talataye, in Mali’s northern Gao region, on Tuesday. The development has renewed fears extremists would again expand their reach following the Aug. 15 departure of French troops last after nearly a decade of battling insurgents.
“Islamic State fighters attacked our position in the village of Talataye and our fighting unit finally withdrew from the village,” said Fahad Ag Almahmoud, secretary general of GATIA, an umbrella organization representing formerly armed groups that signed a peace agreement with the Malian government.
But Almahmoud said it’s unclear whether the militants control the village following the air strikes.
“Last we heard, the Islamic State fighters took control of the village all night, but this morning there were air strikes by the Malian army on the site. At this moment, we still don’t know if they are still in the village or if they have withdrawn,” he said.
Extremist groups have in the past briefly seized towns and vilages. In September 2016, al-Qaeda-linked fighters took control of the central town of Boni before abandoning the town a day after the attack. Last month Islamic State-linked militants briefly took control of the town of Tessit in the Menaka region.
But some observers fear that the Malian army and its U.N. allies will be unable to keep extremists from regaining power without French military support.
In 2012, extremists seized power in major towns across Mali’s north, implementing strict Islamic law known as Shariah that included amputating the hands of suspected thieves and publicly whipping women for wearing clothing deemed too revealing.
The extremists fled into the surrounding desert when former colonial power France launched a military intervention in 2013. They have spent the last decade attacking the Malian military and a U.N. peacekeeping force trying to stabilize the country.
Frustration with the attacks helped fuel support for coup leader Col. Assimi Goita, who overthrew Mali’s democratically elected president two years ago. Goita and his junta assured Malians that they would do a better job of beating back the insurgents. But spiraling tensions between Goita and France resulted in last month’s pullout of 2,400 French troops.
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Associated Press writer Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal contributed.
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee judge revoked bond Wednesday for a man charged with killing a Memphis woman who was abducted during a pre-dawn run near a university campus.
Cleotha Abston, who told a Shelby County judge he prefers to be referred to as Cleotha Henderson, will be held without bond on charges including first-degree murder in the kidnapping and slaying of Eliza Fletcher, 34.
General Sessions Judge Louis Montesi had ordered him held on $510,000 bond Tuesday on charges of especially aggravated kidnapping, tampering with evidence, theft and fraud.
Henderson had faced only those charges before police on Tuesday identified a body found a day earlier behind a vacant duplex as Fletcher. He was then charged with first-degree murder and made his first court appearance on that charge Wednesday. The judge said the name change to Henderson would be placed in the court record.
The suspect’s public defender has filed a sealed motion regarding his future representation. Details of the motion have not been disclosed. The public defender has not commented publicly on specifics of the charges against Henderson.
Memphis police said Fletcher, a wife, mother of two and a kindergarten teacher, was jogging near the University of Memphis campus when a man forced her into an SUV after a brief struggle about 4 a.m.
Fletcher was reported missing when she did not return home from her regular morning run, and her cellphone and water bottle were discovered in front of a house owned by the university, authorities said.
U.S. Marshals arrested Henderson, 38, on Saturday after police detected his DNA on a pair of sandals found near where Fletcher was last seen, an arrest affidavit showed.
After more than three days of searching, police found Fletcher’s body just after 5 p.m. Monday. Police did not publicly confirm that the body was Fletcher’s until Tuesday morning.
Memphis Police Director Cerelyn “CJ” Davis said it was too early in the investigation to determine how and where Fletcher was killed. Davis said her body was found behind a vacant duplex. A police affidavit said officers noticed vehicle tracks next to the duplex’s driveway and they “smelled an odor of decay.”
Purple running shorts consistent with those Fletcher was wearing were found in a discarded trash bag nearby, the affidavit said.
Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said Tuesday that Fletcher’s case was an “isolated attack by a stranger.” He stood by that comment Wednesday as he addressed the news media outside the courtroom.
The suspect previously kidnapped a prominent Memphis attorney in 2000, when he was 16 years old. He spent 20 years in prison for that crime, but he had been sentenced to 24. Some have questioned the release. Mulroy has noted Henderson served 85% of the sentence, which Mulroy said was “not unusual.”
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LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Las Vegas-area elected public official was arrested Wednesday as the suspect in the fatal stabbing of a veteran newspaper reporter whose investigations of the official’s work preceded his primary loss in June.
Clark County Public Administrator Robert “Rob” Telles, a Democrat, was taken into custody at his home by police SWAT officers hours after investigators served a search warrant and confiscated vehicles in the criminal probe of the killing of Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German, Sheriff Joe Lombardo told the newspaper.
Telles, 45, had been a focus of German’s reporting about turmoil including complaints of administrative bullying, favoritism and Telles’ relationship with a subordinate staffer in the county office that handles property of people who die without a will or family contacts.
The newspaper’s executive editor, Glenn Cook, said in a statement that “the arrest of Robert Telles is at once an enormous relief and an outrage for the Review-Journal newsroom.”
“We are relieved Robert Telles is in custody and outraged that a colleague appears to have been killed for reporting on an elected official,” Cook said.
Telles did not immediately respond Wednesday to telephone messages at his county office, and it was not immediately clear following his arrest if he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. The county administrator office was closed.
German joined the Review-Journal in 2010 after more than two decades at the Las Vegas Sun, where he was a columnist and reporter who covered courts, politics, labor, government and organized crime.
Telles, a lawyer who practiced probate and estate law, won his elected position in 2018, replacing a three-term public administrator. He lost his June party primary to Assistant Public Administrator Rita Reid. Telles’ term expires Dec. 31.
In the weeks before the election, German bylined reports about an office “mired in turmoil and internal dissension” between longtime employees and new hires under Telles’ leadership.
Telles blamed “old-timers” for exaggerating the extent of his relationship with a female staffer and falsely claiming that he mistreated them.
“All my new employees are super-happy and everyone’s productive and doing well,” he told the newspaper. “We’ve almost doubled the productivity in the office.”
Telles later posted Twitter complaints about German, the Review-Journal reported, including claims in June that German was a bully who was “obsessed” with him.
German, a reporter with a reputation for tenacity, was working on follow-up reports, the newspaper said Wednesday, and recently filed public records requests for emails and text messages between Telles and three other county officials including Reid and consultant Michael Murphy.
Murphy, the former Clark County coroner hired to address complaints about leadership in the public administrators’ office, did not immediately respond to a telephone message.
German’s body was found Saturday morning outside his home. Police said he apparently was killed Friday and characterized the attack as an isolated incident. The Clark County coroner ruled that German died of “multiple sharp force injuries” and ruled the case a homicide.
After police asked Monday for public help to identify a suspect, developments came quickly.
Police on Tuesday showed a brief video of a possible suspect walking on a sidewalk clad in bright orange “construction attire” and distributed a photo of a distinctive red or maroon GMC Yukon Denali SUV with chrome handles, a sunroof and a luggage rack, saying it may have been linked to the case.
Telles was seen in newspaper photos washing a similar vehicle parked in his driveway on Tuesday, and KTNV-TV reported the vehicle was towed away after police arrived on Wednesday.
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KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A landslide triggered by heavy rain in a remote part of southwestern Uganda has killed at least 15 people, according to the Uganda Red Cross.
The group reported Wednesday that most of the victims are “mothers and children,” calling the landslide in the hilly district of Kasese a disaster.
Kasese, which lies near the border with Congo, is prone to deadly mudslides during rainy seasons.
Ugandan police and other authorities didn’t immediately comment.
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| 2022-09-21T10:51:13Z
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SEATTLE (AP) — The first day of classes at Seattle Public Schools Wednesday was cancelled and teachers are on strike over issues that include pay, mental health support, and staffing ratios for special education and multilingual students.
“No one wants to strike,” Seattle Education Association President Jennifer Matter said. “But SPS has given us no choice. We can’t go back to the way things have been.”
Contract talks continued.
The district said in an email to parents that it was “optimistic the bargaining teams will come to a positive solution for students, staff, and families.”
Districts around the country have faced labor challenges as the pandemic put extraordinary stress on teachers and students alike. An infusion of federal stimulus money has helped stabilize school district budgets, and teachers unions have sought to improve pay, resources and and working conditions after a difficult few years.
High inflation, a national teacher shortage and the goodwill teachers earned from their pandemic-schooling efforts are all bolstering union efforts, said Bradley Marianno, an assistant professor of education policy at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
“By all measures, school budgets actually look pretty good right now,” Marianno said. “So as teachers union contracts are expiring, they’re looking for new deals that essentially send more funding to teachers and more funding to students.”
School in the Seattle suburb of Kent was supposed to start Aug. 25 but has been delayed as teachers there strike. Early Wednesday the union said it had reached a tentative agreement with the district.
Teachers in Columbus — Ohio’s largest school district — last week ended a brief strike, agreeing on a package that included 4% raises, includes plans for building improvements, reduced class sizes and innovative paid leave benefits.
In Denver, marathon bargaining sessions resulted last week in tentative agreement for an 8.7% raise for educators, a higher salary for first-year teachers, and more money from the district for health insurance costs.
Teachers in Minneapolis, Chicago and Sacramento walked out earlier this year before securing new contracts.
In Seattle, the school district has offered pay raises of an additional 1% above the 5.5% cost-of-living increase set by state lawmakers — far less than the union says it wants — plus one-time bonuses for certain teachers, including $2,000 for third-year Seattle teachers earning an English language or dual-language endorsement.
The union says it is opposing the district’s efforts to eliminate staffing ratios for special education students, saying that will mean more work for general education teachers and special education teachers alike. The union also says the district’s proposals would make general education teachers more responsible for supporting multilingual students.
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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s new government on Thursday proposed a meeting with North Korea to discuss a resumption of reunions of families separated since the 1950-53 Korean War, despite long-strained ties between the rivals over the North’s nuclear weapons program.
Family reunions are a highly emotional humanitarian issue because they involve people in their 80s and older who are desperate to see their long-lost relatives before they die. But North Korea, which often uses such reunions as a bargaining chip in dealings with South Korea, is unlikely to accept the offer because it has steadfastly rebuffed Seoul’s and Washington’s offers to resume talks on its nuclear program and other issues while focusing instead on developing its weapons technology.
“The South and the North should confront the painful parts of the reality. We must solve the matter before the term ‘separated families’ disappears,” Unification Minister Kwon Youngse said in a televised briefing. “We hope that responsible officials of the two sides will meet in person as soon as possible for a candid discussion.”
South Korea later tried several times to send a message about the dialogue offer via a cross-border communication channel, but North Korea didn’t accept the messages, according to the Unification Ministry, which is responsible for relations between the two countries.
The South Korean overture came two days before Chuseok, the Thanksgiving holiday celebrated in both Koreas.
Exchange programs between the Koreas have remained stalled since the 2019 collapse of broader U.S.-led diplomacy aimed at convincing North Korea to give up its nuclear program in return for economic and political benefits. Washington has urged North Korea to return to talks without any conditions, but the North has said it won’t do so unless the United States first drops its hostile policies toward it.
Since taking office in May, South Korea’s new conservative government led by President Yoon Suk Yeol has offered a massive support plan in return for denuclearization but impoverished North Korea has bluntly rejected it. Yoon has also offered the shipment of COVID-19 relief items, but North Korea has ignored them as well. Last month, North Korea blamed its recent COVID-19 outbreak on balloons flown from South Korea containing propaganda materials and warned of deadly retaliation.
North Korea is also continuing more than 2 1/2 years of pandemic-related border shutdowns, another possible obstacle for the revival of family reunions.
Some observers say South Korea may try to use talks on family reunions as a way to find a breakthrough in ties with North Korea. Kwon told reporters that he thinks an offer of dialogue for family reunions can help resolve other issues.
Since the Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty, the two Koreas have banned millions of people split by the war from visiting their relatives across the world’s most heavily fortified border. Decades later, most have had no word on whether their loved ones are still alive.
The Koreas have occasionally allowed separated families to meet temporarily, but such reunions haven’t happened since 2018. According to the Unification Ministry, about 133,650 people in South Korea have applied for reunions but nearly 70% of them have died.
During past reunions, participants were typically given three days to meet their relatives and none was given a chance to see them again. Those reunions brought together parents and children, brothers and sisters and others who sobbed, hugged and asked each other about their lives.
South Korea uses a computerized lottery system to pick participants. Observers say North Korea chooses citizens loyal to its authoritarian government and is reluctant to expand reunions because it worries its citizens’ contacts with more affluent South Koreans could weaken its rule.
During a previous “sunshine” era of inter-Korean détente in 1998-2008, liberal South Korean governments provided North Korea with rice and fertilizer to hold reunions. Kwon said the new government isn’t considering any similar incentives.
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| 2022-09-21T10:51:28Z
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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Thousands of people in Haiti’s capital and other major cities organized new protests on Wednesday to demand safer streets, more affordable goods and the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
The occasional crack of gunfire mixed with the shouting and clapping of protesters as they marched through streets blocked by rocks, trucks and burning tires.
“Ariel, you have to go! Go, Ariel! Go, Ariel!” a crowd in the capital of Port-au-Prince yelled.
One protester held up a sign that read, “DOWN WITH MISERY” while another yelled expletives at the government as he lamented a severe lack of jobs.
“We need money to survive!” said Ronald Jean.
Other protests paralyzed various coastal cities in Haiti’s northern regions and southern regions including Port-de-Paix, Petit-Goave and Jeremie with police firing tear gas to disburse the crowd.
Haitians have organized a growing number of protests amid an increase in gang-related kidnappings and killings, a spike in the prices of basic goods and a severe lack of fuel amid an inflation rate that has hit 30%.
On Tuesday, the prime minister’s office issued a statement saying that it was “aware of the seriousness of the situation,” and that Henry would take several measures including implementing social programs to alleviate extreme poverty and ensure that more fuel is available at gas stations. Henry called for calm and urged people not to give in to political manipulation.
Haiti has grown increasingly unstable ever since the July 7, 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, with gangs growing more powerful as Henry’s administration keeps pushing back the date for general elections scheduled to be held last year.
___
Associated Press videographer Pierre-Richard Luxama in Port-au-Prince, Haiti contributed.
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| 2022-09-21T10:51:35Z
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BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday pledged his country’s support in resolving long-standing disputes in the Balkans that continue to threaten stability in the troubled region.
Speaking in the Serbian capital Belgrade, Erdogan expressed hope that a recent agreement settling a travel document dispute between Serbia and Kosovo can help further bolster regional stability.
Tensions recently soared between Serbia and Kosovo over a mutual refusal to recognize each other’s travel documents. The dispute was resolved through Western mediation but other problems remain. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 which Belgrade won’t recognize.
“We are ready to extend our support and I hope that there is now a positive acceleration which will be sustained in the Balkans, because the Balkans can no longer tolerate these kind of problems,” Erdogan said at a joint press conference with Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic.
Erdogan’s stop in Belgrade was part of a tour of the Balkans. He visited Bosnia on Tuesday and on Thursday travels to Croatia where he will inaugurate a mosque.
Turkey has in recent years ramped up its presence in the Balkans, both politically and economically. Mainly Muslim Bosniak communities in Bosnia and Serbia have close relations with Ankara, while Turkish companies have increased investment in infrastructure projects throughout the region.
Erdogan also said Turkey would like to help three rival ethnic groups in Bosnia “find reconciliation.” Tensions there also have been simmering following the devastating 1992-95 war.
Erdogan and Vucic oversaw the signing of a string of cooperation agreements, including abolishing passports and simplifying travel between the two countries through the use of identity cards only. Serbia also asked for Turkey’s help to supply electricity from Azerbaijan through the coming winter amid a continent-wide energy crisis, Vucic said.
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| 2022-09-21T10:51:43Z
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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ukraine’s president says tons of grain from his country will arrive in the coming weeks in Somalia, where famine approaches and the global crises of food security and climate change put millions at risk.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s comment came as Russian President Vladimir Putin accuses the West of sending most of the grain from Ukraine’s reopened ports to Europe instead of poorer and hungrier parts of the world.
Speaking at an economic forum in Vladivostok on Wednesday, Putin suggested that Russia may talk with Turkey about revising the deal that lifted Russia’s blockade on Ukrainian ports and allowed ships safe passage. Russia has alleged this before, but this is the first time Putin has echoed it.
“With the exclusion of Turkey as a mediator, practically all the grain exported from Ukraine was sent to the (European Union) nations instead of the poorest countries,” Putin said, adding: “Maybe it’s worth thinking about restricting the exports of grain and other products on that route? I will certainly discuss the issue with the president of Turkey.”
The Russian president said of 87 ships loaded with grain from Ukraine, just two have carried grain for the U.N. World Food Program — 60,000 tons out of the total of about 2 million tons.
The first of those ships docked at the port of Djibouti last week with grain that WFP said would go to drought-affected Somalia and Ethiopia. It carried 23,000 metric tons of grain, which WFP called enough to feed 1.5 million people on full rations for a month.
Somalia especially needs help. The country had sourced 90% of its wheat from Ukraine and Russia before this year. It now suffers from a shortage of food and humanitarian aid as thousands of people die and the world largely focuses on Ukraine. On Monday, the U.N. cited “concrete indications” that famine will occur in part of the country, with over 850,000 people affected.
The Ukrainian president in a tweet Tuesday night said 28,600 tons of wheat will arrive in Somalia in the coming weeks and blamed the coming famine in that country on Russia’s actions this year.
“Ukraine continues to save the world with its grain,” Zelenskyy asserted.
African nations were at the center of Western efforts to reopen Ukraine’s ports as the United States and allies accused Russia of starving the world by denying exports from Ukraine, one of the world’s largest grain exporters. African leaders also visited Russia to meet with Putin over the issue.
But now, Russia is trying to turn the food security issue question against the West. “They cheated the public and partners in Africa and other regions who acutely need food,” Putin said. “They were claiming that they were acting in the interests of developing countries, but acted entirely in their own interests.”
The Joint Coordination Center, run by the U.N., Turkey, Russia and Ukraine, in an email to The Associated Press said 100 outbound ships, almost all of them commercial vessels, have left Ukrainian ports so far carrying more than 2.3 million metric tons.
Breaking down the shipments by continent, the JCC said 47% of the cargo has been sent from Ukraine to Asia, with 20% of that to Turkey — a popular destination as a major miller of wheat. The JCC said 36% of cargo has been sent to Europe and 17% to Africa, with 10% of that amount to Egypt alone. Smaller amounts have gone to Sudan, Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti.
“Ultimate destinations of vessels and their cargo is governed by commercial activity,” the JCC said. It added that a third WFP-chartered vessel was anchored at Istanbul on Wednesday with plans to collect more wheat from Ukraine.
Food security experts have said many of the shipments are deliveries on existing contracts that had been struck before Russia’s actions.
The JCC said the cargo from Ukraine breaks down as 57% corn, 22% wheat, 11% sunflower products, 7% barley and rapeseed, 1 % soya beans, and 4% “other.”
___
Isachenkov reported from Moscow. Aya Batrawy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed.
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| 2022-09-21T10:51:50Z
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CAIRO (AP) — Cowering in a bare corner, the 15-year-old boy begs for mercy and holds up his arms, trying to fend off the rifle pointed at his face. “Where is the money? Where is the money?” the holder of the rifle barks, over and over.
The unseen man pulls the trigger. “Click-click-click!” The magazine is empty, it seems. The man wants to scare him, and it works. The boy flinches with each click.
“Where is the money? Where is the money?” the man keeps shouting, swatting the boy on the head with the rifle muzzle. “I swear, I don’t have,” the boy cries.
The boy, Mazen Adam, a refugee in Libya from Sudan’s conflict-torn Darfur region, was kidnapped last week by unknown gunmen demanding ransom. Hours after the video depicting this scene spread on social media, the boy’s father was taken by gunmen from his home in western Libya.
Their saga is all too common in the chaotic, war-torn Mediterranean country, where powerful militias and traffickers have for years taken advantage of the desperation of migrants fleeing wars and poverty and trying to reach Europe. But the abuse is rarely caught on-camera, and the story of the boy and his father has raised concerns among regular Libyans and rights workers.
The video has underscored how abuses, torture, sexual violence and killings of migrants are rampant in Libya, where the European Union is using fragments of the broken-down state as an out-sourced policeman to block migrants from reaching its shores, trapping them there.
Libya has been in chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. The country has split into many factions, each supported by rogue militias and foreign governments.
Without a functioning government for most of the past decade, the country became a hub for migrants, with thousands coming in every year from Arab nations or sub-Saharan Africa, aiming to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.
A lucrative trafficking business has flourished and militias, most of which are on the government payroll, are involved at every stage. They sometimes receive payments from the smugglers who arrange the migrants’ journeys. Militias often kidnap migrants and torture them to extort money from them.
Militias are part of the official state forces tasked with intercepting migrants at sea, including in the coast guard. They also run state detention centers, where abuses of migrants are common. As a result, militias — some of them led by warlords the U.N. has sanctioned for abuses — benefit from millions in funds the European Union gives to Libya to stop the migrant flow to Europe.
U.N.-commissioned investigators said last year such practices may amount to crimes against humanity. The U.N.’s refugee agency has warned that Libya “isn’t a country of asylum, nor a place of safety.”
Fleeing Sudan’s Darfur, Mohamed Adam arrived in Libya with his four children in December 2017. A few months earlier, his wife died when their house was set on fire during a bout of tribal violence in Darfur.
Adam settled in Tripoli, waiting for the opportunity to reach Europe. He and his children were registered with the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, as asylum-seekers, according to a registration document shared with The Associated Press. Adam found work as a day laborer.
The AP spoke to Adam by phone. A few hours later, he was abducted by armed men in uniform, according to his 20-year-old daughter, Rehab Adam.
He described how in January, despite their recognized asylum-seeker status, the whole family was rounded up in a crackdown on migrants by Libyan authorities. They were held for over three months in a detention center in the town of Ain Zara, where guards abused them and burned their few belongings, he said.
They were released on April 25 after intervention by the UNHCR, he said. They then moved to Warshefana, a town on Tripoli’s southwestern outskirts where living expenses were cheaper.
The town is also home to militias that have been implicated in human trafficking, said Tarik Lamloum, a Libyan activist working with the Belaady Organization for Human Rights.
Mazen, the second oldest of the four siblings, worked also as a day laborer in farms and workshops to help the family survive. On Aug. 30, he left home in the morning for work as usual. But he did not return.
That afternoon, Adam received a call from another Sudanese woman in Libya, telling him that his son was likely kidnapped. The woman sent him the video of Mazen being abused, which she had seen on a WhatsApp group of Sudanese migrants. How the video made it there is unclear, but it’s highly likely that Mazen’s captors wanted it to reach his family to pressure them to send money. Migrants are regularly held for ransom inside Libya’s formal and informal detention centers, although they are usually told to contact family in a phone call.
In the video, Mazen’s captor demands 5,000 Libyan dinars, around $1,000, and tells the boy to call friends or family to get it.
“Is he still alive or dead?” his father, Adam said, speaking hours after the video emerged. “I don’t have the money to free him.”
In response to a request for comment, UNHCR said it was aware of the “distressing video … and is following up on it and in direct contact with the family.”
Lamloum, the activist, says the U.N. agency should have been able to do more to protect the family, whether providing them shelter or hurrying their resettlement abroad, arguing that Libyan authorities in practice don’t recognize the agency’s papers for asylum seekers.
The video was shared on social media by activists in Sudan and by other Libyans worried for the boy’s safety. A day after it appeared, three vehicles pulled in front of Adam’s house in Warshefana. Rehab said armed men got out and took her father away.
No group claimed responsibility for the child’s abduction nor his father’s detention. A spokesman for the Tripoli-based government did not answer phone calls or a message seeking comment.
Now Rehab and her younger sister and brother, 11-year-old Manasek and 9-year-old Mustafa, are at a U.N. refugee agency facility in Tripoli, waiting for news.
“We don’t know where our father and brother are,” she said. “God willing, we will reunite soon,” she said.
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| 2022-09-21T10:51:57Z
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(NewsNation) — A school district in northern California is asking community members to consider renting out spare rooms to teachers, citing the high cost of living in a county that is driving teachers to seek employment in neighboring communities.
Milpitas United School District, just outside San Jose in the Bay Area, recently passed a resolution in support of affordable housing initiatives, saying 10 teachers left the district last year because of living costs in Santa Clarita County. The school board said it continues to pursue housing opportunities for educators, including “private homeowners with rooms to rent.”
Nearly 50 people in the community have offered up a room, NewsNation affiliate KRON reported.
“This is evidence that our entire MUSD Team, which includes our teachers and classified support staff, is valued by our Milpitas community members, parents and caregivers,” the school district said in a statement as reported by KRON.
Those with an available room can submit their information through a form on the school district’s website.
The Bay Area has notoriously become one of the most expensive places in the United States to live, and San Jose is the second most expensive place in the country to rent, according to San Jose Spotlight.
“Many of the Milpitas Unified School District moderate-income employees are working families and are finding it increasingly difficult to purchase or rent a home within a 15 mile radius or close to the Milpitas Unified School District where they work,” the school district said in its resolution.
Teacher salaries have remained stagnant across the country since 1996, and a report from the Economic Policy Institute shows California teachers were paid 17% less than comparable college-educated workers last year.
A recent report by Airbnb found that 20% of hosts identified as an educator or lived with one in 2021. Teachers made nearly $280 million from hosting last year.
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| 2022-09-21T10:52:05Z
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DUBLIN, Calif. (KRON) – A California sheriff’s deputy was on the run for 12 hours after he allegedly shot two people in their home Wednesday morning, according to Dublin police.
It started when a husband and wife were shot inside their home in Dublin, California. Someone called 911 at 12:45 a.m. and told emergency dispatchers that the gunman fled in a vehicle.
Both victims, identified by police as a married couple, died at the crime scene.
“Witnesses on scene identified the shooter as 24-year-old Devin Williams Jr.,” the Dublin Police Department wrote.
Police officers quickly realized that Williams works as a deputy for the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, which is headquartered in Dublin.
Police were searching for Williams and warned he “should be considered armed and dangerous,” the department said.
The manhunt ended when Williams called law enforcement to turn himself in. Law enforcement officers were able to keep the deputy on the phone and trace his cellphone’s location.
Williams was arrested by California Highway Patrol officers in Coalinga, California, just before noon. Coalinga is about 150 miles south of Dublin, a wealthy suburb of the San Francisco Bay Area.
The 911 call came from a third person inside the home where the couple was killed.
“An intruder came into the house brandishing a firearm. It’s even more disheartening that it was one of our own who was the trigger person behind,” police said.
Williams knew the victims, Sheriff’s Lt. Ray Kelly said. The couple is survived by their teenage son.
“This was a very bizarre chain of events,” he added.
Police said Williams will be booked into Santa Rita Jail in Alameda County on homicide charges later this afternoon.
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| 2022-09-21T10:52:12Z
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JAMES SMITH CREE NATION, Saskatchewan (AP) — Canadian police arrested the second suspect in the stabbing deaths of 10 people in the province of Saskatchewan on Wednesday after a three-day manhunt during which they had found the body of his brother.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Myles Sanderson, 32, was located near the town of Rosthern in Saskatchewan at about 3:30 p.m. local time, an RCMP statement said.
An official familiar with the matter said Sanderson’s vehicle was rammed by police and he surrendered. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
The manhunt for the two brothers had entered its third day. The fugitive’s brother and fellow suspect, Damien Sanderson, 30, was found dead Monday near the stabbing sites. Police are investigating if Myles Sanderson, 32, killed his brother.
The stabbing rampage had raised questions of why Myles Sanderson — an ex-con with 59 convictions and a long history of shocking violence — was out on the streets in the first place.
He was released by a parole board in February while serving a sentence of over four years on charges that included assault and robbery. But he had been wanted by police since May, apparently for violating the terms of his release, though the details were not immediately clear.
His long and lurid rap sheet also showed that seven years ago, he attacked and stabbed one of the victims killed in the weekend rampage, according to court records.
Canadian Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said there will be an investigation into the parole board’s assessment of Sanderson.
“I want to know the reasons behind the decision” to release him, Mendicino said. “I’m extremely concerned with what occurred here. A community has been left reeling.”
Investigators have not given a motive for the bloodshed.
The Saskatchewan Coroner’s Service said nine of those killed were from the James Smith Cree Nation: Thomas Burns, 23; Carol Burns, 46; Gregory Burns, 28; Lydia Gloria Burns, 61; Bonnie Burns, 48; Earl Burns, 66; Lana Head, 49; Christian Head, 54; and Robert Sanderson, 49, One was from Weldon, 78-year-old Wesley Patterson. Authorities would not say how the victims might be related.
Mark Arcand said his half sister Bonnie and her son Gregory were killed.
“Her son was lying there already deceased. My sister went out and tried to help her son, and she was stabbed two times, and she died right beside him,” he said. “Right outside of her home she was killed by senseless acts. She was protecting her son. She was protecting three little boys. This is why she is a hero.”
Arcand rushed to the reserve the morning of the rampage. After that, he said, “I woke up in the middle of the night just screaming and yelling. What I saw that day I can’t get out of my head.”
As for what set off the violence, Arcand said: “We’re all looking for those same answers. We don’t know what happened. Maybe we’ll never know. That’s the hardest part of this.”
Court documents said Sanderson attacked his in-laws Earl Burns and Joyce Burns in 2015, knifing Earl Jones repeatedly and wounding Joyce Burns. He later pleaded guilty to assault and threatening Earl Burns’ life.
Many of Sanderson’s crimes were committed when he was intoxicated, according to court records. He told parole officials at one point that substance use made him out of his mind. Records showed he repeatedly violated court orders barring him from drinking or using drugs.
Canada’s Indigenous communities are plagued by drugs and alcohol.
“The drug problem and the alcohol problem on these reserves is way out of hand,” said Ivor Wayne Burns, whose sister was killed in the weekend attacks. “We have dead people and we asked before for something to be done.”
Myles Sanderson’s childhood was marked by violence, neglect and substance abuse, court records show. Sanderson, who is Indigenous and was raised on the Cree reserve, population 1,900, started drinking and smoking marijuana at around 12, and cocaine followed soon after.
In 2017, he barged into his ex-girlfriend’s home, punched a hole in the door of a bathroom while his two children were hiding in a bathtub and threw a cement block at a vehicle parked outside, according to parole documents.
He got into a fight a few days later at a store, threatening to kill an employee and burn down his parents’ home, documents said.
That November he threatened an accomplice into robbing a fast-food restaurant by clubbing him with a gun and stomping on his head. He then stood watch during the holdup.
In 2018, he stabbed two men with a fork while drinking and beat someone unconscious.
When he was released in February, the parole board set conditions on his contact with his partner and children and also said he should not enter into relationships with women without written permission from his parole officer.
In granting Sanderson “statutory release,” parole authorities said: “It is the Board’s opinion that you will not present an undue risk to society.”
Canadian law grants prisoners statutory release after they serve two-thirds of their sentence. But the parole board can impose conditions on that freedom, and inmates who violate them — as Sanderson did more than once — can be ordered back to prison.
Sharna Sugarman, who was organizing a GoFundMe for the victims, questioned the parole board for releasing him and wondered why Sanderson was still on the loose so many months after he was deemed “unlawfully at large.”
“That’s just egregious to me,” said Sugarman, a counselor who counted one of the stabbing victims as a client. “If they claim that they’ve been looking for him, well, you weren’t looking that hard.”
Mendicino, the public safety minister, said authorities have to make sure nothing like this happens again.
“It’s incredibly important that when someone is at large and there’s a warrant for their arrest, and they have an extensive criminal background, that all the resources are there to be able to apprehend that person as quickly as possible,” he said. “We do need to take a very careful look at what occurred.”
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| 2022-09-21T10:52:20Z
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(WXIN) — Disney+ fans will have plenty to watch this week! The streaming service will celebrate its second Disney+ Day on Thursday, Sept. 8 — with several big streaming releases and even some theater discounts.
Subscribers will find some big premieres, including the streaming debut of “Thor: Love and Thunder,” the latest big-screen entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The behind-the-scenes feature “Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Thor: Love and Thunder” will also debut Thursday.
“Star Wars” fans won’t be left out, either.
On the heels of the “Obi-Wan Kenobi” limited series, subscribers can get a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the series in “Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi’s Return.” The feature chronicles actor Ewan McGregor’s return to the role.
Meanwhile, “Frozen” fans will get a new way to experience the kingdom of Arendelle. Two sing-along editions of “Frozen” and “Frozen 2” arrive Thursday. Onscreen lyrics may help you get the words of “Let It Go” and “Into the Unknown” right, but there’s no feature to keep you on key just yet.
Disney+ Day will also see the release of “Pinocchio,” the live-action remake of Disney’s 1940 animated film of the same name. The movie reunites star Tom Hanks with Oscar-winning director Robert Zemeckis, who’s directed the actor in such films as “Forrest Gump,” “Cast Away” and “The Polar Express.”
If you prefer talking vehicles over talking puppets, the new series “Cars on the Road” follows “Cars” franchise characters Lightning McQueen and Mater on a cross-country road trip.
Also debuting Thursday are a new episode of “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” and “The Simpsons” short “Welcome to the Club.“
Other premieres include:
- “Dancing with the Stars: The Pros’ Most Memorable Dances”: A look at 20 of the most memorable routines from the hit show.
- “Tierra Incognita”: The original series produced in Latin America follows a teenager who discovers a “dark and unfamiliar world.”
- “Growing Up”: This docu-series follows the struggles of adolescence through 10 coming-of-age stories.
- “Epic Adventures with Bertie Gregory”: National Geographic explorer Bertie Gregory takes viewers on journeys around the world.
- “Remembering”: This short film starring “Captain Marvel” actor Brie Larson explores ideas, where they come from and what happens when we forget.
Disney+ Day’s perks will also extend beyond the living room.
Disney is also offering $5 screenings of some fan-favorite movies at select AMC Theatres from Sept. 8 through Sept. 19. Movies include “Cars,” “Encanto,” “Newsies,” “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” and “Thor: Ragnarok.”
Subscribers will get some additional perks on Sept. 8 at Disney theme parks, including meet-and-greets, photo opportunities, early park entry and more.
Disney+ Day leads into Disney’s D23 Expo on Friday, Sept. 9, in Anaheim, California. The event, which runs through Sunday, will give fans a sneak peek at several of Disney’s upcoming projects.
Disney+ Day was first held last year, about two years after the service itself debuted in November 2019.
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| 2022-09-21T10:52:27Z
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(The Hill) – FBI agents who searched former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home found a document detailing a foreign government’s nuclear capabilities and other military defenses, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
The document containing the nuclear information was found during the Aug. 8 search that was authorized by an FBI affidavit that has now been released with redactions. The sources did not disclose to the Post the identity of the foreign government.
The Post had reported in August that the FBI was searching in part for documents containing nuclear information, something Trump later dismissed as a “hoax.”
The search took place more than a year and a half after Trump’s departure from office and uncovered 100 classified documents.
Some of the documents seized by the FBI in its raid of Mar-a-Lago were reportedly cleared on a need-to-know basis rather than being open to specific members of the government with high-level security clearances, according to sources who spoke to the Post.
Documents at the same level of security as the ones flagged by the Post’s sources are normally locked in a secure facility where their location is able to be tracked.
The 100 found during the Mar-a-Lago search were added to a total of 300 classified documents that have been retrieved since Trump left office in 2020.
The others were found when boxes of records were sent to the National Archives and Records Administration and later in response to a further probe by investigators. A judge on Monday verified Trump’s request to appoint a special master to review the documents found in the Mar-a-Lago search, meaning that an independent person will look into the information being assessed by the courts.
The Hill has reached out to Trump, the FBI and the Justice Department for comment.
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| 2022-09-21T10:52:35Z
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NEW YORK (AP) — The 31,000-year-old skeleton of a young adult found in a cave in Indonesia that is missing its left foot and part of its left leg reveal the oldest known evidence of an amputation, according to a new study.
Scientists say the amputation was performed when the person was a child — and that the “patient” went on to live for years as an amputee. The prehistoric surgery could show that humans were making medical advances much earlier than previously thought, according to the study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
Researchers were exploring a cave in Borneo, in a rainforest region known for having some of the earliest rock art in the world, when they came across the grave, said Tim Maloney, an archaeologist at Griffith University in Australia and the study’s lead researcher.
Though much of the skeleton was intact, it was missing its left foot and the lower part of its left leg, he explained. After examining the remains, the researchers concluded the foot bones weren’t missing from the grave, or lost in an accident — they were carefully removed.
The remaining leg bone showed a clean, slanted cut that healed over, Maloney said. There were no signs of infection, which would be expected if the child had gotten its leg bitten off by a creature like a crocodile. And there were also no signs of a crushing fracture, which would have been expected if the leg had snapped off in an accident.
The person appears to have lived for around six to nine more years after losing the limb, eventually dying from unknown causes as a young adult, researchers say.
This shows that the prehistoric foragers knew enough about medicine to perform the surgery without fatal blood loss or infection, the authors concluded. Researchers don’t know what kind of tool was used to amputate the limb, or how infection was prevented — but they speculate that a sharp stone tool may have made the cut, and point out that some of the rich plant life in the region has medicinal properties.
Also, the community would have had to care for the child for years afterward, since surviving the rugged terrain as an amputee wouldn’t have been easy.
This early surgery “rewrites the history of human medical knowledge and developments,” Maloney said at a press briefing.
Before this find, the earliest example of amputation had been in a French farmer from 7,000 years ago, who had part of his forearm removed. Scientists had thought that advanced medical practices developed around 10,000 years ago, as humans settled down into agricultural societies, the study authors said.
But this study adds to growing evidence that humans started caring for each other’s health much earlier in their history, said Alecia Schrenk, an anthropologist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who was not involved with the study.
“It had long been assumed healthcare is a newer invention,” Schrenk said in an email. “Research like this article demonstrates that prehistoric peoples were not just left to fend for themselves.”
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| 2022-09-21T10:52:42Z
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The names of hundreds of U.S. law enforcement officers, elected officials and military members appear on the leaked membership rolls of a far-right extremist group that’s accused of playing a key role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, according to a report released Wednesday.
The Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism pored over more than 38,000 names on leaked Oath Keepers membership lists and identified more than 370 people it believes currently work in law enforcement agencies — including as police chiefs and sheriffs — and more than 100 people who are currently members of the military.
It also identified more than 80 people who were running for or served in public office as of early August. The membership information was compiled into a database published by the transparency collective Distributed Denial of Secrets.
The data raises fresh concerns about the presence of extremists in law enforcement and the military who are tasked with enforcing laws and protecting the U.S. It’s especially problematic for public servants to be associated with extremists at a time when lies about the 2020 election are fueling threats of violence against lawmakers and institutions.
“Even for those who claimed to have left the organization when it began to employ more aggressive tactics in 2014, it is important to remember that the Oath Keepers have espoused extremism since their founding, and this fact was not enough to deter these individuals from signing up,” the report says.
Appearing in the Oath Keepers’ database doesn’t prove that a person was ever an active member of the group or shares its ideology. Some people on the list contacted by The Associated Press said they were briefly members years ago and are no longer affiliated with the group. Some said they were never dues-paying members.
“Their views are far too extreme for me,” said Shawn Mobley, sheriff of Otero County, Colorado. Mobley told the AP in an email that he distanced himself from the Oath Keepers years ago over concerns about its involvement in the standoff against the federal government at Bundy Ranch in Bunkerville, Nevada, among other things.
The Oath Keepers, founded in 2009 by Stewart Rhodes, is a loosely organized conspiracy theory-fueled group that recruits current and former military, police and first responders. It asks its members to vow to defend the Constitution “against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” promotes the belief that the federal government is out to strip citizens of their civil liberties and paints its followers as defenders against tyranny.
More than two dozen people associated with the Oath Keepers — including Rhodes — have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack. Rhodes and four other Oath Keeper members or associates are heading to trial this month on seditious conspiracy charges for what prosecutors have described as a weekslong plot to keep then-President Donald Trump in power. Rhodes and the other Oath Keepers say that they are innocent and that there was no plan to attack the Capitol.
The Oath Keepers has grown quickly along with the wider anti-government movement and used the tools of the internet to spread their message during Barack Obama’s presidency, said Rachel Carroll Rivas, interim deputy director of research with the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project. But since Jan. 6 and Rhodes’ arrest, the group has struggled to keep members, she said.
That’s partly because Oath Keepers had been associated so strongly with Rhodes that the removal of the central figure had an outsized impact, and partly because many associated with the group were often those who wanted to be considered respectable in their communities, she said.
“The image of being associated with Jan. 6 was too much for many of those folks,” she said.
Among the elected officials whose name appears on the membership lists is South Dakota state Rep. Phil Jensen, who won a June Republican primary in his bid for reelection. Jensen told the AP he paid for a one-year membership in 2014 but never received any Oath Keepers’ literature, attended any meetings or renewed his membership.
Jensen said he felt compelled to join because he “believed in the oath that we took to support the US Constitution and to defend it against enemies foreign and domestic.” He wouldn’t say whether he now disavows the Oath Keepers, saying he doesn’t have enough information about the group today.
“Back in 2014, they appeared to be a pretty solid conservative group, I can’t speak to them now,” he said.
ADL said it found the names of at least 10 people who now work as police chiefs and 11 sheriffs. All of the police chiefs and sheriffs who responded to the AP said they no longer have any ties to the group.
“I don’t even know what they’re posting. I never get any updates,” said Mike Hollinshead, sheriff of Idaho’s Elmore County. “I’m not paying dues or membership fees or anything.”
Hollinshead, a Republican, said he was campaigning for sheriff several years ago when voters asked him if he was familiar with the Oath Keepers. Hollinshead said he wanted to learn about the group and recalls paying for access to content on the Oath Keepers’ website, but that was the extent of his involvement.
Benjamin Boeke, police chief in Oskaloosa, Iowa, recalled getting emails from the group years ago and said he believes a friend may have signed him up. But he said he never paid to become a member and doesn’t know anything about the group.
Eric Williams, police chief in Idalou, Texas, also said in an email that he hasn’t been a member or had any interaction with the Oath Keepers in over 10 years. He called the storming of the Capitol “terrible in every way.”
“I pray this country finds its way back to civility and peace in discourse with one another,” he said.
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| 2022-09-21T10:52:49Z
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — Hundreds of runners plan to meet early Friday morning to finish Eiza Fletcher’s run after the 34-year-old teacher and mother of two was abducted and killed.
Fletcher was on the University of Memphis campus during the halfway point of her 10-mile early morning run when she was forced into an SUV. Her body was found three days later behind an abandoned house in South Memphis.
Fellow runners and those impacted by her story plan to start at 4:20 a.m., the same time she was abducted, and run the entire route.
“Basically, I just started this to say, you know, we’re going to run at 4:20 in the morning because we have the right to run at 4:20 in the morning,” said Danielle Heineman. She and a fellow runner originally organized the event for women exclusively, but they’ve now invited men to come out and support them.
As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 1,200 people said on Facebook they would attend the event.
Heineman said they wanted to finish the run to address derogatory comments posted on social about the hour Fletcher was running and the clothes she was wearing.
“We are going to wear shorts and a sports bra and not be completely covered up because we have a right to run comfortably,” she said. “There shouldn’t be an expectation that you’re going to be abducted if you run at four in the morning in Memphis.”
Heineman said she never met Fletcher, but they ran in some of the same races. She said she felt like she had to do this as part of the coping process.
“I have a lot of friends who are training for long-distance runs and do run that early in the morning every day of the week, and so they run, get in the shower, and they go to work and take care of their families,” Heineman said.
U.S. Marshals arrested Cleotha Abston, 38, on Saturday after police detected his DNA on a pair of sandals found near to where Fletcher was last seen, according to an arrest affidavit.
Abston was released from prison in 2020 after serving 20 years for a previous kidnapping. On Tuesday morning, he made his first court appearance on charges of kidnapping, tampering with evidence, theft, identity theft, and fraudulent use of a credit card.
Memphis Police Director Cerelyn “CJ” Davis said it was too early in the investigation to determine how and where Fletcher was killed.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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| 2022-09-21T10:52:57Z
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LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – Las Vegas police have confirmed a search warrant was served Wednesday morning at the home of Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles who has been the focus of recent investigative stories by reporter Jeff German.
German, 69, was found stabbed to death outside of his home on the morning of Saturday, Sept. 3. Metro police said he was killed on Friday morning. They have released video and images of the suspect and the suspect’s possible vehicle, seen below.
German, who worked for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, had reported in May on the turmoil in Telles’ office that included “allegations of emotional stress, bullying and favoritism leading to secret videotaping of the boss and a co-worker outside the office,” according to German’s story on May 16.
Telles, a Democrat, lost his re-election bid in June’s primary after the stories were published.
On Telles’ Twitter feed, there are several posts where he refers to German. In one tweet on June 18, he wrote:
“Looking forward to lying smear piece #4 by @JGermanRJ. #onetrickpony I think he’s mad that I haven’t crawled into a hole and died. 😂 @LVRJ #LasVegas”
In another tweet on the same day, he wrote:
“Wife hears rustling in the trash* Her: ‘Honey, is there a wild animal in the trash?’ Me: ‘No, dear. Look like it’s @JGermanRJ going through our trash for his 4th story on me.’ Oh, Jeff… 😂 @LVRJ #LasVegas”
Wednesday’s warrant was served at Telles’s home near Charleston Boulevard and Hualapai Way. Police were still on the scene into Wednesday afternoon.
Details about the warrant and what authorities are searching for have not yet been released.
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| 2022-09-21T10:53:04Z
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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A man present at a shooting near an electric charging station last week has identified the gunman, who he said targeted the victim because he “probably had money due to possessing an electric vehicle,” court documents say.
The witness said he wasn’t aware Robert Pernell Roberts (whom he knows as “AWOL”) had a gun on him or was going to shoot anyone, say the reports released Tuesday morning.
Benny Alcala Jr. was shot and killed the night of Aug. 24 outside of a Target store in Bakersfield, California. Alcala worked within the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from 2006 to his death, according to a CDCR press secretary and Alcala’s family.
The 43-year-old was declared dead at the scene.
Roberts, 29, is charged with Alcala’s murder, attempted robbery and possession of a gun by a felon. He’s due in court Wednesday.
In addition to the witness’ statement, police retrieved call data records showing Roberts’ phone in the area before the shooting, and he was caught on surveillance cameras at nearby businesses, according to the reports.
Also, police say a text sent from a number linked to Roberts said, “I just killed somebody. Watch the news.”
Roberts was on post-release supervision. Court records show prior felony convictions for burglary and robbery.
Body found on sidewalk
Alcala left home about 7:45 pm. to charge his Hyundai IONIQ5, his wife told police. She became worried around 9 p.m. after receiving a notification the vehicle had been charging too long. Alcala didn’t answer the phone.
His wife drove to the shopping center and saw police activity.
The reports say police received a call at about 9:05 p.m. for a man lying on the sidewalk. There was a call reporting shots fired in the same area about 30 minutes earlier.
Firefighters provided medical care and declared Alcala dead at 9:20 p.m. A Target shopping bag containing drinks and a receipt were found nearby, and surveillance footage shows Alcala enter the store at 8:03 p.m. and leave at 8:20 p.m., according to the documents.
Witnesses contact police
On Aug. 26, a witness contacted police and said gunfire hit his vehicle two nights earlier as he drove west on Stockdale Highway past the charging stations. The witness told police three people were standing near the charging stations and he had believed a drug deal was taking place.
Another person who drove by the area around the time of the shooting also spoke to police. Both provided descriptions of those involved.
Days later, detectives located a man wearing the same clothing as seen in the video and detained him. He told them about “AWOL” and the events leading up to the shooting.
The man, whose name is was not released, said AWOL told him he needed money to get a ride back to the “hood,” according to the documents. He said AWOL saw a man charging a vehicle and figured he’d have money.
AWOL approached the man as he sat on a curb.
“(The detained man) stated as ‘AWOL’ was closing in (Alcala) stood up and began to back away,” an investigator wrote. “At this time (the detained man) was a distance away but saw the victim and ‘AWOL’ on sidewalk next to Stockdale Highway.
“He said he could not see either subject but heard one shot and he started to walk away from the area.”
A records check revealed “AWOL” as Roberts, police said, and the man identified him from a photo lineup.
Roberts was arrested the night of Sept. 1.
In 2011, Roberts was charged with robbery and harming an elderly adult after allegedly yanking a gold necklace from the neck of an 84-year-old man. He fled but was later identified by witnesses and the victim.
Roberts pleaded no contest to second-degree robbery and was sentenced to more than two years in jail.
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| 2022-09-21T10:53:12Z
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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — An animated horror comedy featuring Danny DeVito as the voice of Satan is “clearly evil,” says a Republican congressman from Louisiana whose Facebook post denouncing “Little Demon” had reached millions of people by Tuesday morning.
U.S. Rep Mike Johnson objected to the sitcom aired by FX Networks. Its website says the series is about a woman and her 13-year-old daughter who are trying to live normal lives even though Satan is the girl’s father and wants custody of her soul.
A trailer for the show, which airs its fourth episode late Thursday, played during Sunday night’s TV broadcast of Louisiana State University’s football opener against Florida State.
“I couldn’t get to the remote fast enough to shield my 11-year-old from the preview, and I wonder how many other children were exposed to it — and how many millions more will tune in to the new series, owned and marketed by DISNEY,” the congressman and vice chairman of the House Republican Conference wrote on Monday.
FX Networks and Hulu, where the show is streamed, are among entertainment assets that Disney bought from Fox in a stock deal worth about $52.4 billion in late 2017.
On the show, DeVito voices the role of Satan and his daughter, Lucy DeVito, plays Satan’s daughter, Chrissy the Antichrist. Aubrey Plaza plays the mother. New episodes are broadcast at 10 p.m. Thursdays on FXX.
Disney and FX Networks did not immediately respond on Tuesday to emails requesting comment.
Johnson posted on Tuesday that more than 6.1 million people have read his earlier post — more, he said, than watched Sunday’s game, “which the latest ratings say dominated Sunday night TV with 5.87 million total viewers.”
He had written online Monday: “Our job as parents is to guard the hearts and minds of our kids. This culture has become alarmingly dark and desensitized and this is not a game. Disney and FX have decided to embrace and market what is clearly evil. STAY FAR FROM IT.”
Although many people thanked Johnson for the post and talked about boycotting Disney, many others disagreed with Johnson’s assessment. Some noted that “Little Demon” was made for and marketed to adults. Children should be in bed by 10 p.m., some wrote. Others said people opposed to the show’s existence are trying to make networks shelter their children when that’s a job for parents.
Johnson responded on Tuesday in a Facebook message and tweet that also were linked to from his House webpage.
“Free speech is an important principle, and in this country, everyone can obviously make their own decisions about what media they and their families consume,” he wrote. ”But a corollary is that Christians have the freedom to fulfill our obligation to ‘speak the truth in love’ (Eph. 4:15), even — sometimes most importantly — when it may not be popular.”
Johnson was first elected in 2016 to the U.S. House district that covers a large swath of western Louisiana. He was reelected in July to a fourth term when nobody qualified to run against him.
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| 2022-09-21T10:53:19Z
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NEW YORK (AP) — Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, said Tuesday that he expects to be charged soon in a state criminal case in New York City.
Bannon, 68, plans to turn himself in on Thursday, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person insisted on anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
The Washington Post, citing anonymous sources, reported that the state criminal case would resemble an earlier attempted federal prosecution, in which Bannon was accused of duping donors who gave money to fund a wall on the U.S. southern border.
That federal case ended abruptly, before trial, when Trump pardoned Bannon.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined comment late Tuesday.
In a statement, Bannon said District Attorney Alvin Bragg “has now decided to pursue phony charges against me 60 days before the midterm election,” accusing the Democratic prosecutor of targeting him because he and his radio show are popular among Trump’s Republican supporters.
“The SDNY did the exact same thing in August 2020 to try to take me out of the election,” Bannon said, referring to his arrest months before Trump’s re-election loss.
Federal agents pulled Bannon from a luxury yacht off the Connecticut coast and arrested him on charges he pocketed more than $1 million in wall donations.
“It didn’t work then, it certainly won’t work now,” the former White House strategist said. “This is nothing more than a partisan political weaponization of the criminal justice system.”
Bannon, who had pleaded not guilty, was dropped from the federal case when Trump pardoned him on his last day in office in January 2021.
Two other men involved in the “We Build the Wall” project pleaded guilty in April. They had been scheduled to be sentenced this week, but that was recently postponed to December. A third defendant’s trial ended in a mistrial in June after jurors said they could not reach a unanimous verdict.
A president can only pardon federal crimes, not state offenses, but that doesn’t mean state-level prosecutors have carte blanche to try similar cases.
In 2019, then-Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. brought state mortgage fraud charges against Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort in what was widely seen as an attempt to hedge against a possible pardon.
But a judge threw the case out on double jeopardy grounds, finding that it was too similar to a federal case that resulted in Manafort’s conviction. (Manafort was later pardoned by Trump).
While Manafort’s New York case was pending, New York eased its double jeopardy protections, ensuring that state-level prosecutors could pursue charges against anyone granted a presidential pardon for similar federal crimes.
Bannon’s case differs because he was dropped from the federal case in its early stages. In most cases, double jeopardy is only a factor when a person has been convicted or acquitted of a crime.
In another case not covered by Trump’s pardon, Bannon was convicted in July on contempt charges for defying a congressional subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. He is scheduled to be sentenced in October and faces up to two years in federal prison.
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| 2022-09-21T10:53:26Z
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Target is dropping the mandatory retirement age for its CEO and extended its contract with Chief Executive Brian Cornell for three years.
Cornell would have passed the age of 65 in that span.
“In discussions about the company’s longer term plans, it was important to us as a board to assure our stakeholders that Brian intends to stay in his role beyond the traditional retirement age of 65,” said Monica Lozano, the lead independent director of Target’s board.
Sales have grown steadily since Cornell took the top job in 2014, and Target became a lifeline to millions of people trying to limit their exposure during the pandemic.
The company is trying to navigate tremendous shifts in consumer behavior with the worst of the pandemic in the rearview mirror while it wrestles with soaring prices and rising wages for workers.
The company also announced Wednesday that Arthur Valdez, executive vice president and chief supply chain and logistics officer, will retire. Valdez will be succeeded by Gretchen McCarthy, senior vice president, global inventory management.
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| 2022-09-21T10:53:34Z
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG)– Eliza Fletcher’s loved ones released a montage of videos showing the slain teacher playfully interacting with students at St. Mary’s Episcopal School during the pandemic.
The video is just under three minutes long, but it’s how her family members want the world to remember the 34-year-old runner and mother of two young boys.
Fletcher taught kindergarten at St. Mary’s Episcopal School in Memphis. Administrators at the school said they are dealing with the grief and providing counseling to help their students deal with the tragedy.
On Tuesday, police in Tennessee said they had found the body of a Memphis woman abducted during a pre-dawn run, confirming fears that Fletcher was killed after she was forced into an SUV on Friday morning.
After police identified Fletcher’s body, her family released this statement:
“We are heartbroken and devastated by this senseless loss. Liza was such a joy to so many – her family, friends, colleagues, students, parents, members of her Second Presbyterian Church congregation, and everyone who knew her. Now it’s time to remember and celebrate how special she was and to support those who cared so much for her. We appreciate all the expressions of love and concern we have received. We are grateful beyond measure to local, state, and federal law enforcement for their tireless efforts to find Liza and to bring justice to the person responsible for this horrible crime.”
They also acknowledged the “need for the family to grieve in privacy without outside intrusion during this painful time.”
U.S. Marshals arrested Cleotha Abston, 38, on Saturday after police detected his DNA on a pair of sandals found near where Fletcher was last seen, according to an arrest affidavit.
Police did not find Fletcher’s body until just after 5 p.m. on Monday and did not publicly confirm that the body was Fletcher’s until Tuesday morning.
Fletcher attended Baylor University and Belmont University, where she graduated in 2012 with a Master of Arts degree in teaching. In 2014, her lavish wedding to Richie Fletcher was featured in Memphis magazine.
Fletcher was the granddaughter of the late Joseph “Joe” Orgill III, who ran Orgill Inc., a hardware supply company. Forbes listed Orgill as the 143rd-largest private company in the country in 2021.
Fletcher’s case is the latest that reinforces the fears of many female athletes when it comes to working out alone, at night or in secluded places. Crime statistics show these types of attacks are exceedingly rare. Women out for a run face much greater dangers from traffic. But the fear they inspire is real, as are smaller-scale episodes of harassment or assaults on women, even in well-populated areas.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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| 2022-09-21T10:53:41Z
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MICHIANA SHORES, Ind. (WXIN) — Court documents reveal that in the last hour of his life, Denis Earley called his wife and told her that his nephew was trying to stab and kill him.
A frantic struggle occurred and Denis Earley lost control of his cellphone. For the next 48 minutes, his wife listened helplessly on the open line as her husband and his brother were chased around an Indiana residence by a knife-wielding suspect — later identified by police as 42-year-old Kyle Earley — leaving rooms splattered with blood.
On Sept. 1 at 9:21 a.m., Long Beach police and La Porte County Sheriff’s Department deputies were dispatched to Michiana Shores. There, inside a house on a quiet, wooded street in a neighborhood near the shores of Lake Michigan, deputies and officers found a grisly scene.
Despite the peaceful exterior, the inside of the home was in disarray, court documents said. Blood was seen throughout several rooms, including both bathrooms. Brothers Denis Earley, 64, and John Earley, 73, were found to have been stabbed and slashed numerous times throughout the house.
The suspect, Kyle Earley, is John Earley’s son.
Denis Earley was declared dead at the scene by the La Porte County Coroner, court documents reveal, while John Earley was rushed to a Michigan City hospital, then flown to South Bend Memorial Hospital.
Denis Earley’s wife was out of state when her husband called her. She arranged to quickly return and told police about her horrific phone call and the 48 minutes during which she could do nothing but listen to the attack.
Long Beach Marshall Mark Swistek was the first to respond to the scene, according to the court documents. When Swistek arrived, Kyle Earley had been trying to leave the residence with a backpack in hand, the documents state, and his clothing was said to be saturated with blood and a knife was found on his person.
After being taken to the Michigan City Police Department, blood was collected from Kyle Earley’s hands, legs and even his ears.
Court documents reveal that detectives tried to speak to Kyle Earley at the Michigan City Police Department, but he refused to do so without an attorney. Officers noted a visible cut on his right hand, scratches on his face and dried blood on various parts of his body.
Detectives said Kyle Earley had made multiple threats in the past to harm both his uncle and father. According to the documents, detectives were told that he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and that he was schizophrenic.
Kyle Earley was being held in the La Porte County Jail on a $1 million bond and is charged with one count of murder and another count of attempted murder.
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(NEXSTAR) — Millions of federal student loan borrowers will soon have much or all of their debt forgiven under a recently announced plan by the Biden administration. Relief will come sooner for some borrowers than others.
The Biden administration estimates up to 43 million borrowers qualify for this federal student loan forgiveness. While the majority will have to wait until October to begin the application process, roughly 8 million borrowers are expected to receive forgiveness automatically, according to the Department of Education.
How do you know if you’re one of those 8 million borrowers?
These borrowers already have the necessary income data on file with the Education Department through one of two ways: a recent Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or an income-driven repayment application that uses income data from tax years 2021 or 2020.
Officials explain this data will be used to identify borrowers that meet the income cap of $125,000 for individuals or $250,000 for married couples or heads of households.
If you are one of those borrowers that has submitted income data for both 2021 and 2020, the Education Department says it will use the year with the lower income.
Borrowers that are found to be eligible for automatic relief will be sent an email and a text message (if signed up for one via your FSA account).
If you’re among the roughly 35 million borrowers that don’t qualify for automatic relief, there isn’t much to do right now.
The Biden administration says it will launch an application for federal student loan forgiveness “in the coming weeks.” The application will be available before the student loan repayment pause ends on Dec. 31.
You can register to be notified when the application is available through the Department of Education by filling out this form.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden next week will highlight his plans for drastically reducing cancer deaths and boosting treatments for the disease in what he has called “this generation’s moonshot,” the White House announced Wednesday.
Biden’s speech at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston on Monday will come on the 60th anniversary of his predecessor’s speech outlining his vision for putting the first man on the moon. The White House said Biden will outline what his administration is doing to “end cancer as we know it.”
The issue is personal for Biden, whose son Beau Biden died in 2015 of brain cancer. Biden launched the cancer moonshot the following year when serving as President Barack Obama’s vice president.
In February, Biden, a Democrat, set more ambitious goals for the project, including cutting the rate of cancer deaths in half in the coming 25 years and improving treatments and quality of life for those with cancer and their caregivers.
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Follow AP’s coverage related to cancer at https://apnews.com/hub/cancer.
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HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman of Pennsylvania will participate in just one debate, his campaign said Wednesday, after weeks of his Republican rival, Dr. Mehmet Oz, pressuring Fetterman and aggressively questioning the severity of his lingering health problems from a stroke.
Fetterman’s campaign said he will participate in a televised debate in mid- to late October. The campaign gave no other details, including why he would agree to just one debate. Oz’s campaign immediately dubbed it a “secret debate,” with no details on when or where.
Politico was first to report that Fetterman had agreed to one debate.
As the general election grows closer, Oz, a celebrity heart surgeon and political novice, has begun stepping up his questioning of Fetterman’s fitness for office after he suffered the stroke in May. Fetterman’s campaign has said Oz was operating in bad faith by insisting on debates and said his motivations were really “about mocking John for having a stroke.”
Fetterman, the state’s lieutenant governor, and Oz are vying to replace retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey in a race Democrats see as one of their best chances nationally to flip a Republican-held seat. The winner in the battleground state could help decide the chamber’s partisan control next year.
Oz, who has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has accused Fetterman of lying about the seriousness of his stroke. Fetterman has said that he almost died after suffering the stroke just days before the Democratic primary.
Fetterman’s campaign had previously said he was willing to debate but wants a debate that can accommodate the lingering effects of his stroke, in particular his diminished auditory processing speed — he cannot always respond quickly to what he’s hearing. In brief public speaking events, Fetterman also has struggled to speak fluidly.
It was not immediately clear what accommodations Fetterman would be looking for in his debate appearance, but has used closed-captioning in video interviews with reporters.
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Follow Marc Levy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/timelywriter.
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Follow AP for full coverage of the midterms at https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections and on Twitter, https://twitter.com/ap_politics.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s request for more than $47 billion in emergency funding to help Ukraine and tackle COVID-19, monkeypox and natural disasters is encountering deep skepticism from Senate Republicans, signaling a showdown ahead.
The early resistance on the size and scope of the spending request points to the fraught negotiations to come as Congress labors to pass a stopgap spending bill that would keep the federal government running past Oct. 1 or risk a federal shutdown.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday that while Ukraine aid “is obviously a priority,” he downplayed the need for other funding — even in his Kentucky home state hit hard by devastating floods.
“It’s a big ask without much explanation,” said Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., a member of GOP leadership.
Lawmakers are eager to avoid another government shutdown just weeks before November’s midterm election when voters will decide which party controls Congress. But their plan to pass a short-term bill to keep government funded could run into trouble unless the parties can strike an agreement on what additional priorities, if any, should be included.
The budget showdown is fast emerging as a showcase for party priorities at home and abroad that will define the lawmakers as they face voters in the fall.
The White House request includes $11.7 billion for security and economic assistance for Ukraine, on top of some $40 billion Congress has already approved to help the country battle’s Russia’s invasion. Closer to home, the Biden administration is seeking $22 billion to respond to COVID-19, and additional funds for monkeypox and natural disasters.
Republicans object to much of it.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., endorsed Biden’s request and said “it’s disgraceful that Republicans are playing political games with this.”
“Ukraine needs more help. We want to give it to them,” Schumer said Wednesday. “And on monkeypox and on COVID relief, we need to be prepared.”
This latest round of proposed funding for Ukraine comes as the country depends on support from the U.S. and allies in battling the Russian invasion.
The White House says more than three-quarters of the money approved for Ukraine has already been dispersed or committed, creating an urgent need for more.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has struck up relationships with members of Congress this year, many of whom have traveled to the region and rallied to his aid. Zelenskyy and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke earlier this week.
Republicans said they still support Ukraine and are open to more funding, but want more details about how the earlier money has been spent.
“I would be interested in why they feel this is an emergency, why they need to do it now, but certainly, I would not slow down our support for what Ukraine is doing,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
But few Republicans seemed willing to even entertain Biden’s request for $22.4 billion in emergency funding to deal with COVID-19.
While the administration says the money is needed for additional COVID-19 vaccines, testing programs and research and development, Republicans say the federal spending on the virus needs to wind down, not ramp up.
Blunt said that people can pay for their vaccines like they pay for other aspects of their health care, and “there’s really no reason that the government should be paying for all of that.”
GOP lawmakers are sticking with the view that dedicating more money to the country’s COVID response should be paid for by cutting spending elsewhere.
“The problem is they want to keep spending more money and throw more gasoline on the inflation fire,” Cornyn said. “I think that’s a bad idea.”
The White House is also asking for $4.5 billion to bolster efforts to fight monkeypox. Officials said they have already depleted significant reserves from the national stockpile to provide over 1.1 million vials of vaccine.
On disaster relief, the Biden administration is seeking about $6.5 billion to help states such as Kentucky recover from recent flooding. Aid would also help residents of California, Louisiana and Texas rebuild from major disasters.
Schumer also indicated that he supports adding a measure from Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., that is designed to speed up the permitting process for energy infrastructure projects. But including it could trigger opposition from House Democrats who see it as rushing projects to approval before the environmental ramifications are clear.
Still, there’s wide agreement on both sides that even a temporary government shutdown before the election is out of the question.
Democrats want to keep the focus on legislative victories designed to bolster the country’s infrastructure, semiconductor production and address climate change and health care costs. Republicans want voters to focus on inflation, gas prices and crime.
“There might be a couple of emergencies we’re going to need to deal with, but my guess is that with an election coming, you won’t see a lot of interesting brinksmanship,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris will lead the U.S. delegation to the state funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe later this month, the White House announced Wednesday.
Harris will also visit South Korea on the Sept. 25-29 trip.
The White House said “her visit will honor the legacy of Prime Minister Abe and underscore the importance of his leadership in championing the alliance between the United States and Japan and advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
The trip marks Harris’ first official visits to both countries since taking office last year. Harris is set to meet with senior government officials and civil society leaders, and the White House said she will raise economic, trade and security interests during her trip.
Abe was shot to death in July on a street in western Japan by a gunman who opened fire on him from behind as he delivered a campaign speech. The 67-year-old Abe was Japan’s longest-serving leader when he resigned in 2020.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, returned to the White House Wednesday, unveiling official portraits with a modern vibe in an event that set humor and nostalgia over his presidency against the current harsh political talk about the survival of democracy.
While her husband cracked a few jokes about his gray hair, big ears and clothes in his portrait, Mrs. Obama, a descendant of slaves, said the occasion for her was more about the promise of America for people like herself.
“Barack and Michelle, welcome home,” declared President Joe Biden as the gathering cheered.
Biden, who was Obama’s vice president, praised his former boss’ leadership on health care, the economy and immigration and said nothing could have prepared him any better for being president than serving with Obama for those eight years.
“It was always about doing what was right,” he said.
The portrait of Obama, America’s 44th and first Black president, doesn’t look like any of his predecessors, nor does Michelle Obama’s look like any of the women who filled the role before her.
Obama stands expressionless against a white background, wearing a black suit and gray tie in the portrait by Robert McCurdy that looks more like a large photograph than an oil-on-canvas portrait. The former first lady, her lips pursed, is seated on a sofa in the Red Room in a strapless, light blue dress. She chose artist Sharon Sprung for her portrait.
Scores of former members of Obama’s administration were on hand for the big reveal.
Obama noted that some of them in the East Room audience had started families in the intervening years and feigned disappointment “that I haven’t heard of anyone naming a kid Barack or Michelle.”
He thanked McCurdy for his work, joking that the artist, who is known for his paintings of public figures from Nelson Mandela to the Dalai Lama, had ignored his pleas for fewer gray hairs and smaller ears. “He also talked me out of wearing a tan suit, by the way,” Obama quipped, referring to a widely panned appearance as president in the unflattering suit.
Obama went on to say his wife was the “best thing about living in the White House,” and he thanked Sprung for “capturing everything I love about Michelle, her grace, her intelligence — and the fact that she’s fine.”
Michelle Obama, when it was her turn, laughingly opened by saying she had to thank her husband for “such spicy remarks.” To which he retorted, by way of explanation, “I’m not running again.”
Then the former first lady turned serious, drawing a connection between unveiling the portraits and America’s promise for people with backgrounds like her own, a daughter of working-class parents from the South Side of Chicago.
“For me, this day is not just about what has happened,” she said. “It’s also about what could happen, because a girl like me, she was never supposed to be up there next to Jacqueline Kennedy and Dolley Madison. She was never supposed to live in this house, and she definitely wasn’t supposed to serve as first lady.”
Mrs. Obama said the portraits are a “reminder that there’s a place for everyone in this country.”
Tradition holds that the sitting president invites his immediate predecessor back to the White House to unveil his portrait, but Donald Trump broke with that custom and did not host Obama. So, Biden scheduled a ceremony for his former boss.
Mrs. Obama said the tradition matters “not just for those of us who hold these positions, but for everyone participating in and watching our democracy.”
In remarks that never mentioned Trump but made a point as he continues to challenge his 2020 reelection loss, she added: “You see the people, they make their voices heard with their vote. We hold an inauguration to ensure a peaceful transition of power … and once our time is up, we move on.”
McCurdy, meanwhile, said his “stripped down” style of portraiture helps create an “encounter” between the person in the painting and the person looking at it.
“They have plain white backgrounds, nobody gestures, nobody — there are no props because we’re not here to tell the story of the person that’s sitting for them,” McCurdy told the White House Historical Association during an interview for its “1600 Sessions” podcast.
“We’re here to create an encounter between the viewer and the sitter,” he said. “We’re telling as little about the sitter as possible so that the viewer can project onto them.”
He works from a photograph of his subject, selected from about 100 images, and spends at least a year on each portrait. Subjects have no say in how the painting looks. McCurdy said he knows he’s done “when it stops irritating me.”
Obama’s portrait went on display in the Grand Foyer, the traditional showcase for paintings of the two most recent presidents. His portrait replaced Bill Clinton’s near the stairway to the residence, the White House tweeted Wednesday night. George W. Bush’s portrait hangs on the wall opposite Obama’s in the foyer.
Mrs. Obama’s portrait was hung one floor below on the Ground Floor, joining predecessors Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush, according to the tweet.
Two spokespeople for Trump did not respond to emailed requests for comment on whether artists have begun work on White House portraits for Trump and former first lady Melania Trump. Work, however, is underway on a separate pair of Trump portraits bound for the collection held by the National Portrait Gallery, a Smithsonian museum.
The White House Historical Association, a nonprofit organization founded in 1961 by first lady Jacqueline Kennedy and funded through private donations and sales of books and an annual Christmas ornament, helps manage the White House portrait process. Since the 1960s, the association has paid for most of the portraits in the collection.
Congress bought the first painting in the collection, of George Washington. Other portraits of early presidents and first ladies often came to the White House as gifts.
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The high-profile seditious conspiracy trial for the leader of the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group will begin this month after a judge on Wednesday rejected a last-minute bid by Stewart Rhodes to replace his lawyers and delay his Capitol riot case.
Rhodes said in court papers this week there had been a “breakdown” in communication between him and his two lawyers, who he claimed weren’t defending him forcefully enough. Rhodes’ new lawyer argued that the Oath Keepers founder has not been given enough time to adequately prepare for trial and urged the judge to delay his trial at least 90 days.
But the obviously irritated judge called the claim that Rhodes is being denied a fair trial “simply false.”
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta said Rhodes’ suggestion that his lawyers are not providing effective counsel appeared to be “complete and utter nonsense” and questioned why concerns about his lawyers were surfacing for the first time just weeks before trial.
“The notion that you are going to create the kind of havoc that you will — and havoc is the only appropriate word I can think of — by moving Mr. Rhodes’ trial, not going to happen,” Mehta told Edward Tarpley, whom Rhodes wanted as his new lawyer.
Mehta said Tarpley is free to join Rhodes’ two other lawyers — James Lee Bright and Phillip Linder — but Mehta was not going to remove them from the case.
Tarpley told The Associated Press after the hearing that he’s disappointed but respects the court’s decision and remains willing to help Rhodes’ defense team at trial.
“He never went into the Capitol … he never told anybody to go into the Capitol,” Tarpley said. There’s a lot of things in his favor. And, you know, I just think that he’s been unfairly accused and wrongly prosecuted in this case.”
The case against Rhodes and four co-defendants starting Sept. 27 in federal court will be the most serious case to go to trial so far in the riot of Jan. 6, 2021, that delayed the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 president victory over Donald Trump.
It will also be a major test for the Department of Justice, which has brought rarely used and difficult-to-prove charges of seditious conspiracy against Oath Keepers members and those of another far-right extremist group, the Proud Boys.
Authorities say Rhodes was the ringleader of the Oath Keepers’ plot to violently stop the transfer of power. In the run-up to Jan. 6, authorities say the Oath Keepers recruited members, purchased weapons and set up a “quick reaction force” with guns on standby outside the capital with the goal of keeping President Donald Trump in office.
On Jan. 6, prosecutors say the Oath Keepers formed two teams, or “stacks,” that entered the Capitol. Rhodes is not accused of going inside the building, but was seen gathered outside the Capitol with several members after they did, authorities say.
Rhodes has said there was no plan to storm the Capitol and that the members who went inside the building went rogue. His lawyers have argued he believed Trump would invoke the Insurrection Act and call upon the Oath Keepers to support his bid to stay in power. When Trump did not do that, Rhodes took no action, his lawyers have said.
Three members of the Oath Keepers have already pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy, are cooperating with investigators and could testify against Rhodes at trial.
Rhodes claimed that his lawyers, Bright and Linder, were not answering his calls or visiting him enough and failed to file legal papers they promised to. The defense also argued its case would be hurt by the arrest this month of the the Oath Keepers’ general counsel — Kellye SoRelle — whom the defense was expecting to call to the stand.
Bright denied not answering calls from Rhodes or failing to discuss the defense strategy with him. He called some of the new legal papers Rhodes wants to file “frivolous.”
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Associated Press journalist Mike Pesoli contributed to this report from Washington.
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For full coverage of the Capitol riot, go to https://www.apnews.com/capitol-siege
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House said Wednesday it’s optimistic about a decline in monkeypox cases and an uptick in vaccinations against the infectious virus, despite worsening racial disparities in reported cases.
Promising to ramp up vaccination offerings at LGBTQ Pride festivals around the country in the coming weeks, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, the deputy coordinator of the White House national monkeypox response, said more than 460,000 doses have been given.
An end to the virus’ spread, however, is not in sight.
“Our goal is to control this outbreak in the U.S.,” Daskalakis said. “We’re seeing strong progress, really, getting shots into arms. Now that supply is less of an issue, we need to make sure we focus on maintaining demand.”
The U.S. leads the world with infections — as of Wednesday, 21,274 cases had been reported — with men accounting for about 98% of cases and men who said they had recent sexual contact with other men about 93% of cases.
Monkeypox, which can cause a rash, fever, body aches and chills, is spread through close skin-to-skin contact and prolonged exposure to respiratory droplets. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that men or transgender people who have had multiple male sex partners consider vaccination.
The number of infections is slowing after hitting a high of 870 cases in a single day on Aug. 22. But the decline has revealed deepening racial divides.
While cases in white men have dropped in recent weeks, Black people are making up a growing percentage of infections — nearly 38% during the final week of August, according to the latest data available. In the early weeks of the monkeypox outbreak, Black people made up less than a quarter of reported cases.
Latinos are also disproportionately infected, making up roughly a third of infections.
That trend means that public health messaging and vaccines are not effectively reaching those communities, said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
“That tells you there needs to be a major recalibration in your interventions,” Adalja said. “It’s not as impactful as it should be.”
The Biden administration has struggled since the beginning with its response to the outbreak when it was first identified in May. A million doses of the vaccine were awaiting use in the strategic national stockpile, but the U.S. only had 2,000 of those on hand. Shipping and regulatory delays forced a monthslong wait for most of the remaining supply, as men lined up for hours outside clinics in major cities hoping to get the shot.
White House officials said Wednesday they’ve rebounded from some of those early missteps, pointing to a recent decline in cases.
Daskalakis said the Biden administration worked to get vaccines directly into the hands of local organizations with ties to the LGBTQ community to increase uptake in Black and Latino communities. He pointed to efforts at recent Pride celebrations in Atlanta and New Orleans as evidence.
“Thousands of individuals are getting the protection against monkeypox that they may not have otherwise,” Daskalakis said. “These events demonstrate our strategy is working.”
In Louisville, Kentucky, 33-year-old Spencer Jenkins isn’t so sure.
Jenkins spent weeks this summer trying to get a vaccine by signing up for long waitlists in cities hours away, including Washington and Chicago. He got lucky when his doctor in Louisville was one of a few providers in the city to get doses of the shot early last month.
“You’d think they’d want to get the vaccines to everybody because it’s preventive,” he said. “All of the work came down on the queer people trying to get the vaccine.”
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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina Senate’s three Republican women all said Wednesday that they could not support an abortion ban that did not include exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest.
Two different attempts to get the exceptions back into the bill failed later in the day. Senators adjourned Wednesday evening without a final vote.
Republicans are facing off against one another over the ban. On one side is a core group that views any abortion as ending a life. On the other are conservatives who have digested developments elsewhere since Roe v. Wade was overturned and say they don’t want 14-year-old rape victims to have to give birth or force a mother to carry to term a fetus unable to live outside the womb.
Democrats are mostly letting them argue among themselves, refusing to help more moderate Republicans and keeping the bill as strict as possible to try to defeat it.
Senators have been told the proceedings could last days. If the legislation is approved and signed into law, South Carolina would join Indiana as states that have passed near-total abortion bans since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.
If the bill passes, it will return to the House, which approved a version last week with rape or incest exceptions up to the 12th week of pregnancies.
A first vote to try to add back the exceptions up to the 20th week of pregnancy was rejected 23-6. None of the Senate’s Democrats voted. A second attempt to allow abortions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest up to six weeks after conception failed 23-18 as many Democrats did finally vote, following their strategy to keep the ban as absolute as possible.
The three Republican women in the Senate rose early in the debate and spoke back-to-back, saying they can’t support it unless the rape and incest exceptions are restored.
“Are we simply baby machines? Are you pregnant with a dead baby? Too bad. Raped at 11 by your grandfather and got pregnant? That’s just too bad,” Sen. Penry Gustafson said.
Gustafson watched as the Senate’s longest-serving woman, Sen. Katrina Shealy, said the 41 men in the Senate would be better off listening to their wives, daughters, mothers, granddaughters and nieces.
“Yes, I’m pro-life. I’m also pro-life for the mother, the life she has with her children who are already born. I care about the children who are forced into adulthood, made up by a Legislature full of men so they can feel good about it,” Shealy said.
Senators who support the ban said the state needs to show it values all life by taking advantage of the opening created by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Sen. Richard Cash compared abortion to slavery Tuesday, asking if “the human being in the womb is nothing more than the property of a woman?”
“Does an unborn human being have the most fundamental civil right of all, which is the right to life?” said Cash, who has made ending abortion his chief focus in five years in the Senate.
The same bill without the exceptions appeared to fail in the more conservative state House last week before some Republicans maneuvered through a series of votes to allow abortions for rape and incest victims up to the 12th week of pregnancy.
Senators did agree to change the bill to allow abortions when a doctor determines a fetus has a serious medical problem and will not survive outside the womb, and to allow dependents to get birth control if their parents get insurance through the health plan for state employees.
The bill would ban all abortions in South Carolina except when the mother’s life is at risk. Before they were removed, the bill also included exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest, allowing abortions up to 12 weeks after conception. In those cases, the doctor would have had to tell the patient that the crime and the abortion will be reported, with her name given to the county sheriff within 24 hours of the procedure.
South Carolina currently has a ban on abortions once cardiac activity in a fetus is detectable, which is usually about six weeks. But that law has been suspended as the South Carolina Supreme Court reviews whether it violates the state’s constitutional right to privacy. That leaves South Carolina’s older 20-week abortion ban as the current benchmark.
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Follow Jeffrey Collins on Twitter at https://twitter.com/JSCollinsAP.
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There is just one significant one to take note, as highlighted in bold.
That said, with the euro coming under pressure after Putin's announcement on partial mobilisation earlier, the parity level isn't so much at play. But even if it was, it'll likely act as a cap on price action ahead of the Fed later in the day.
However, just take note that there will be a significantly large chunk rolling off tomorrow and on Friday as well at parity for EUR/USD - particularly the former. That might be a factor depending on the post-market reaction to the Fed.
For more information on how to use this data, you may refer to this post here.
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| 2022-09-21T10:55:19Z
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WASHINGTON (AP) — A gold judicial collar made of glass beads that belonged to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is being auctioned to benefit a charity, the first time any of the her signature neckwear will be available for purchase.
The piece is part of a collection of about 100 items being sold in an online auction that begins Wednesday. It concludes Sept. 16, just days before the two-year anniversary of the liberal icon’s death at 87.
In addition to the collar, the items being auctioned include a pair of Ginsburg’s opera glasses, a wooden gavel and artwork that hung in her Washington apartment.
There are quirky items too. Her son, James, said in an interview that in talking about the collection “it’s hard not to mention about the cake topper. ” The fondant sculpture was commissioned by friends for one of the justice’s birthdays and depicts her standing in a judicial robe with her arms outstretched on the bow of a battleship dubbed “The Notorious RBG,” the justice’s nickname. Ginsburg said it reminds him a little bit of a scene from the movie “Titanic.”
The auction also includes other Ginsburg fashion pieces: a white handbag, a shawl, scarves and two sets of fishnet lace gloves. She began wearing gloves in the the late 1990s after undergoing colon cancer treatment. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the Supreme Court’s first female justice, suggested them as a way to prevent illness while shaking hands, but Ginsburg liked gloves so much she just kept wearing them.
But it was Ginsburg’s collars — which she wore on the bench as an accessory to her black robe — that were her most notable fashion item. She had dozens, her son and daughter-in-law said. The family donated several to the Smithsonian, including a sparkly black one she wore on the bench when she dissented in a case. Speaking at an event in 2020, Ginsburg — who became a pop culture figure in later years — said that at the time she was getting a collar “at least once a week” from fans worldwide.
The auction had initially been planned to include two of Ginsburg’s collars. The other, made of fabric, was a gift from her law clerks. Stitched inside is a family motto: “It’s not sacrifice, it’s family.” But the family said in a statement Tuesday that they had decided to keep the collar and permanently loan it to “an appropriate institution where it can be displayed for all to see.” The family did not provide additional details.
The auction is the third this year of items owned by the justice, and her son said that it will be the last. In April, some 150 items — including art Ginsburg displayed in her home and office — raised more than $800,000 for Washington National Opera, one of the late justice’s passions.
Bonhams, which is conducting the latest auction, estimated the current group of objects as selling for a total of just under $50,000. In January, however, an online auction of her books also conducted by Bonhams brought in $2.3 million, almost 30 times the pre-sale estimate.
Bonhams said it expects the collar to sell for $3,000 to $5,000. In the earlier book auction, however, a copy of the Harvard Law Review from 1957-58 with Ginsburg’s annotations sold for more than $100,000, shattering Bonhams’ estimate of $2,500 to $3,500.
Proceeds from the current sale will fund an endowment in Ginsburg’s honor benefitting SOS Children’s Villages, a organization that supports vulnerable children around the world. Ginsburg’s daughter-in-law, Patrice Michaels, is on the organization’s advisory board. Michaels, a composer and singer, said the gavel being auctioned is one Ginsburg gave her to use while performing a composition she had written about Ginsburg’s dissents. The gold beaded collar was also one she chose from Ginsburg’s collection.
“I thought it was just literally so beautiful,” Michaels said. “The aesthetic of it and the feel of it being as elegant as my mother-in-law was appealed to me very much.”
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How Bisexual Erasure Undermines What It Means to Be Queer
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This week, rapper Cardi B had to defend herself from a Twitter user, who accused her of being one of few “[c]elebrities that came out as bisexual but never dated someone of the same gender.” In responding to this charge, Cardi B said she’d been with women before, even revealing that she’d had a girlfriend in high school. But the fact that she had to answer to this charge with details about her life at all speaks to a culture of bisexual erasure online and offline — where claiming any kind of queer identity necessitates performance or disclosure in order to be validated. Billie Eilish is similarly subject to intense scrutiny for possibly being bi — one that is guided by expected norms that doesn’t just undermine her privacy, but further contributes to bisexual erasure by subjecting it to misplaced assumptions. A confluence of celebrity culture, internet culture, and even the history of queer struggles have ended up failing bisexual people — in ways that harms the queer community itself.
Demanding that queer people make their entire dating histories, sex lives, and preferences publicly known is a form of bi erasure — one that an internet culture bent on being vocal about identity has fostered. It implicitly implies a sense of ownership and entitlement that the general public has over bisexual people’s bodies — and joins the ranks of other ways through which bisexual women are commodified, like unicorn hunting. Remember Obama famously admitting to reading Foucault and Virginia Woolf to pick up the “ethereal bisexual”? It’s an innocuous observation but it speaks to not just a vibe that bisexual people are presumed to have, but a gaze they’re subjected to, making them objects of scrutiny and surveillance both within straight and queer communities. And in the age of social media and hypervisibility, it makes coming out as bi messy, fraught, and harmful.
The critique of Cardi B, moreover, sounds a lot like an accusation of queerbaiting, but “…there’s something off about accusing a person of queerbaiting based on how they express themselves publicly,” as The Swaddle noted earlier, about how Harry Styles was accused of queer-baiting. Incidentally, Styles was among the other celebrities called out along with Cardi B for never publicly dating someone of the same gender.
But bisexuality isn’t easily slotted into existing forms of understanding queer culture, as a whole. Contrary to perceptions that bisexual people are “both straight and gay” or are merely “experimenting,” research found that bisexual individuals have a distinct, implicit bisexual identity that’s different from how gay, lesbian, or straight people perceive and identify themselves. This means that Internet culture demanding a certain performance of queerness from queer folk homogenizes very distinct identities under the same umbrella. But Internet culture merely inherited a culture of erasure from what preceded it: a cultural struggle to define queerness and mobilize against pain, marginalization, and harm. While it became necessary to draw clear boundaries, those who complicated those lines remained sidelined not just politically, but also culturally. But this doesn’t just harm bisexual people — it undermines queerness itself.
Related on The Swaddle:
What People Get Wrong About Bisexuality
“Unlike sexuality, that might seem to allow for clear distinctions of categorization, sex remains unruly… Unpacking queer, naming its constitutive parts and the ways these situate us in relation to social harms and privileges means being much more explicit about what, who, and why we do what we do sexually, as a way of investigating how sex functions as a regulatory force, and it means getting way more specific about what behaviors, communities, identities, and politics get subsumed, interrogated, or championed under the banner of queer,” notes gender studies scholar Juana María Rodríguez.
When we interrogate celebrities who’ve publicly already come out as bisexual, we impose sexuality as a regulatory force, demanding that they conform to a set of expected behaviors and rules, or risk being invalidated completely. By extension, anyone else who identifies as bisexual, too, is expected to conform to the same norms.
“Bisexuality is an often invisible identity. Heterosexual and homosexual communities contribute to bisexual erasure, acting in concert to protect a binary system that is complicated and disrupted by the possibility and presence of bisexuality,” notes another analysis on bisexual erasure — not only in mainstream media, but within queer communities too.
Over time, cultural anxieties around sexuality have culminated in a situation where a person is either presumed heterosexual, or homosexual, based on their overt behaviors and signifiers. “Bisexuals in relationships often blend into the sexual orientation dictated by that relationship, rather than retaining their status as bisexuals,” the study had noted. And this is the assumption implicit in social media call-outs of celebrities: if they’ve only been seen dating the “opposite” gender (itself a misnomer), they must be straight — and, of course, lying. But the argument goes the other way too: when celebrities signify queerness, they’re accused of straight-passing, or accessing the privilege of heterosexuality.
Scholars have noted that the insistence on maintaining the heterosexual-homosexual binary in this way is a social construct — if bisexual people aren’t visible, it’s not for a lack of numbers. Kenji Yoshino observed that an “epistemic contract” between people who are straight and gay ensures that sexual orientation remains a stable category, sex is still an axis of identity, and monogamy is upheld. The existence of bisexuality threatens all three assumptions, making its erasure in popular culture one that’s designed to maintain the status quo.
Related on The Swaddle:
NBC Premieres ‘A Little Late With Bisexual Woman Of Color’
As a result, bisexual people become an easy target for accusations of “fence-sitting” or “duplicity” by straight and gay people, both. “[Q]ueer identity politics has necessarily involved constructing definitions of queer identities whose content is characterized by the reversal of constructions of heterosexuality. While this has facilitated coherence among queers, and an oppositional stance toward heterosexism, it has also had the effect of closing off certain avenues of inquiry into queer sexuality,” notes scholar Stacy Young.
More troublingly, it speaks to a larger culture of disbelief around bisexual people’s experiences — and their own articulation of truth. “In publicly avowing one’s gender identity (or, on my view, their sexual orientation), they are staking a social claim — they are authorizing how they want to be seen and treated in the social domain… it is an ethical matter that bi-identified people and others have the ability to determine and disclose (or not) their sexual orientation. Being denied this constitutes a violation in a morally significant way, insofar as it amounts to a violation of autonomy, and a violation of their ability to determine how their sexuality will be understood in the social realm,” writes Heather Stewart, cutting to the heart of what makes bisexual erasure so harmful.
It not only disavows the truth of what an individual chooses to disclose — it also actively demands a performance that may not conform to their identity, and sacrifices privacy to “prove” the validity of their speech.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — In Orange County, California, where the typical house sells for $1 million, Rep. Katie Porter’s four-bedroom, three-bath residence in a leafy subdivision on the University of California Irvine campus is a bargain.
The progressive Democrat and law professor, who has lamented the cost of housing in her district, purchased it in 2011 for $523,000, a below-market price secured through a program the university uses to lure academics who couldn’t otherwise afford to live in the affluent area. The only eligibility requirement was that she continue working for the school.
For Porter, this version of subsidized housing has outlasted her time in the classroom, now extending nearly four years after she first took unpaid leave from her $258,000-a-year teaching job to serve in the U.S. House.
But the ties go deeper, with at least one law school administrator, who was also a donor to her campaign, helping secure extensions of her tenure while she remained in Congress, according to university emails obtained by The Associated Press.
That has allowed Porter, a rising Democratic star and fundraising powerhouse whose own net worth is valued at as much as $2 million, to retain her home even as her return to the school remains in doubt.
Porter’s housing situation does not violate U.S. House ethics rules. But it cuts against the profile she has sought to cultivate in Washington as an ardent critic of a political system that allows “the wealthy and well-connected” to “live in one reality while the rest of us live in another,” as she wrote in an online fundraising solicitation in 2020.
It also coincides with a growth in interest in the school’s housing program, which has resulted in a yearslong waitlist of more than 250 school academics and administrators, as a nationwide housing shortage sends prices for homes outside the on-campus development skyrocketing, university figures from 2021 show.
Whether voters care will be tested in November when Porter, who has amassed a $19.8 million campaign fund, seeks a third term to the once reliably Republican district that has become more competitive in recent years.
“It sounds like the sort of insider deal that really makes people mad at Congress,” said Bradley A. Smith, a professor at Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio, and a Republican former member of the Federal Election Commission was appointed by Bill Clinton.
In an interview, Porter declined to say whether her housing arrangement was appropriate. But she said she “followed the applicable (University of California) policies, as well as all applicable state and federal law.”
“I am always happy to be transparent with voters,” Porter said. “I take a lot of pride in my record on transparency and good governance and have been asked about this before by voters and have always been happy to give them full and complete information.”
Smith said the arrangement could run afoul of an FEC prohibition on third parties paying the living expenses of federal candidates. He cautioned, however, that the situation was nuanced and unique.
“Let’s suppose they were paying her mortgage? I think that would pretty clearly be a problem,” Smith said. “Here, it is a little different than that. They are just letting her keep a deal that she had previously. But it does seem to subsidize her income. If I were still serving on the commission and that complaint came in, I’d be very interested in seeing her response.”
Porter said Smith’s analysis “is interesting to think about” and his question about whether the prohibition could apply to her situation “is exactly right.” But she added,“ I don’t think he necessarily has all of the facts about how the housing is structured to be able to definitively answer that question,” citing her payment of property taxes, as well as homeownership fees and other expenses.
Smith responded that he is “not sure how the fact that she paid those fees changes anything.”
For decades, the cost of housing in Orange County has soared above the national average. The University of California Irvine’s solution was to build University Hills, their own exclusive academic community, where home values are capped to make them more affordable and favorable mortgage rates are offered to those approved to live there.
The pent-up demand to live in University Hills is understandable in light of Irvine’s $1.3 million median home price. Houses in the school’s subdivision have sold in recent years for about half of their regular market value, according to University of California figures from 2021. The community is a short drive from the Pacific Ocean and Laguna Beach. And the list of amenities includes a network of parks, walking paths, scenic vistas and community pools. It also feeds into some of the most sought-after schools in the area.
But for academics and administrators, the trade-off is that they are required to work full-time for the university, with an exception built in for retirees. For those no longer employed by the school, however, an enforcement provision kicks in, which in Porter’s case would require her to pay off her mortgage within months.
When Porter was recruited, school officials outlined their expectations in a letter informing her that they would sponsor her application to the housing program.
“Your primary duties, of course, will be to serve as a professor of law,” school officials wrote in the letter, which Porter signed in December 2010. “It is expected that you will teach two classes … you will be expected to hold office hours and be available to mentor students.”
Eight years later, after her 2018 election, Porter ceased to fulfill those obligations.
Initially, administrators signed off on two separate one-year periods of leave that enabled her to keep her house, documents show. But school officials voiced more concern about the arrangement in the run-up to Porter’s 2020 reelection, emails show.
“Is there any fixed limit on the number of years of leave without pay … One of our administrators mentioned that they seemed to recall a two-year limit,” law school Vice Dean Chris Whytock wrote in a April 2020 email. He added: “Some government service may, of course, last for a number of years.”
Whytock, who donated $500 to Porter’s campaign in 2018, wrote a memo outlining the case for extending Porter’s leave, while suggesting that there are no limits on how long such an arrangement could continue. The plan required the approval of the school’s vice provost, which was granted in 2020, according the the emails.
Whytock did not respond to an email seeking comment.
In a statement, UC Irvine spokesperson Tom Vasich said faculty “on approved leaves without pay remain UCI employees, and they can maintain their home in University Hills.”
Porter said she intends to win her election, but would resume teaching if she lost. She declined to say whether she would look for housing elsewhere if she won.
After the AP interviewed Porter, spokesperson Jordan Wong provided an additional comment, stating the congresswoman “had no knowledge of Vice Dean Chris Whytock’s role in researching her request for leave” and “at no point” was in contact with him about it.
Still, longtime government ethics watchdogs in Washington, including those with favorable opinions of the congresswoman, say it’s difficult squaring Porter’s housing situation with her crusading rhetoric.
“She has a reputation for being highly ethical and requiring others to live up to that standard,” said Craig Holman, a lobbyist for the Washington-based government watchdog group Public Citizen. “Let’s hope she is not running short of her own ethics with the university.”
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Associated Press writer Collin Binkley contributed to this report.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed Wednesday that the Senate will vote on legislation to protect same-sex marriage “in the coming weeks” as a bipartisan group backing the bill negotiates changes to gain more Republican support.
The vote, expected by the end of the month, comes as Democrats and a small group of Republicans are moving to safeguard same-sex marriage following the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and the federal right to an abortion. Lawmakers fear the court’s ruling, and a concurring opinion from Justice Clarence Thomas, indicate that an earlier high court decision protecting same-sex marriage could come under threat.
“We all want to pass this quickly,” Schumer said. “I hope there will be 10 Republicans to support it.”
A bipartisan group of senators, led by Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, is working to round up those ten GOP votes needed to overcome a filibuster and get the legislation through the 50-50 Senate.
“I think the momentum is going in the right direction,” Baldwin said after the bipartisan group met on Wednesday.
The Senate push for the historic vote — and the openness by some Republicans to back it in an election year — reflects a seismic shift on the issue since the Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision legalizing gay marriage nationwide. Some 70% of U.S. adults in a June Gallup poll said same-sex unions should be valid under the law.
The bill protecting same-sex marriage cleared the House in a July vote with the support of 47 Republicans – a larger than expected number that gave the measure a boost in the Senate.
To win over more Senate Republicans, negotiators are planning to introduce amendments aimed at addressing concerns from some about “religious liberty” – the rights of religious institutions or religious business owners to oppose same-sex marriage, for example. Supporters say such religious liberty is already enshrined in law, but new language would simply make that clear.
Another proposed tweak to the bill would make clear that a marriage is between two people, an effort to ward off some far-right criticism that the legislation could endorse polygamy.
Baldwin and two of the Republicans supporting the marriage bill, Maine Sen. Susan Collins and North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, said Wednesday that the group was drafting the amendments to address the concerns they’ve heard from their GOP colleagues.
“There’s no harm in doing it,” Tillis said, even though some Democrats have pointed out that those rights are already protected under law.
Collins said the amendment would “make crystal clear that it does not in any way infringe religious liberties” and allow Republicans to have input on the bill.
“I’m never confident until the roll is called but we’re making good progress,” Collins said.
The legislation would repeal the Clinton-era Defense of Marriage Act and require states to recognize all marriages that were legal where they were performed. The new Respect for Marriage Act would also protect interracial marriages by requiring states to recognize legal marriages regardless of “sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin.”
So far, three Republicans have said they will vote for the legislation and are working with Baldwin and others to pass it: Collins, Tillis and Ohio Sen. Rob Portman. A fourth GOP senator, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, has supported same-sex marriage in the past. Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, who is up for reelection this year, has said he doesn’t see a “reason to oppose it” but has talked on both sides of the issue in recent weeks.
Several other Republican senators have said they are undecided or have declined to comment.
“I don’t have anything for you on that at this point,” Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey said Wednesday, when asked if he would vote for the bill.
Indicative of the political shift, many of the Republicans who are opposing the bill aren’t arguing whether same-sex marriages should be recognized by the government. They say instead that they believe the Supreme Court is unlikely to overturn Obergefell.
“I don’t think that’s a pressing matter,” said Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who is up for re-election this year. “There’s no threat to same-sex marriage in America.”
Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said the effort is a “show vote” and Democrats are playing politics.
Baldwin, who is the first openly gay senator and has been working on gay rights issues since she first entered state politics in the 1980s, said she disagrees with that assessment.
“It’s not” just politics, Baldwin said. “It’s very real for a whole lot of people.”
___
Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri, Nomaan Merchant and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
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FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Former United Nations Ambassador Kelly Craft launched her long-anticipated campaign for Kentucky governor on Wednesday, saying the state’s “best days are ahead of us” as she joined a crowded lineup of Republicans competing to challenge Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear next year.
Craft quickly landed a key endorsement from U.S. Rep. James Comer, who represents a conservative western Kentucky district.
“I’m all in for her,” Comer told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “She has a work ethic that’s second to none. … And I’m pretty confident that within 30 days she’ll be at the top of the polling. And I feel like she’s got what it takes to close the deal and not just win the primary but become our next governor.”
Craft spent years cultivating connections within the GOP as she and her husband, coal magnate Joe Craft, donated millions of dollars to Republican candidates. That gives her advantages as she transitions from party activist to political candidate — she enters the fray with the ability to tap into her family’s wealth to finance her campaign and a resume from Republican Donald Trump’s presidency.
But Trump has already endorsed another GOP candidate in the race — Attorney General Daniel Cameron — and Beshear’s campaign portrayed Craft as “out-of-touch” with Kentucky’s voters while touting the governor’s economic stewardship and handling of tornado and flood disasters.
Craft pointed to her Kentucky roots in a campaign announcement that offered broad themes rather than policy positions.
“I’m running for governor because I know our best days are ahead of us,” Craft said in a news release. “This movement is for all of us who still believe that we can lead in education, that government doesn’t get a seat at our kitchen table and that our kids should grow up in safe neighborhoods.”
For more than a year, political insiders from both major parties in Kentucky had wondered if, or when, Craft would enter the hotly contested GOP primary for governor. The party votes are in May 2023 and the general election is in November 2023, but some of her GOP rivals have already secured dozens of endorsements.
While Craft is well-known in political circles, she’ll need to build name recognition with the Kentucky electorate. She began with an introductory video describing a rural upbringing that led to boardrooms and the United Nations.
“People said I was just some small-town girl, but my dad showed me that it’s where I’m from that got me to where I am today,” Craft, a veterinarian’s daughter, said in the video.
Beshear’s campaign quickly tried to shape its own narrative, casting Craft as an outsider.
“We welcome Kelly Craft to both Kentucky and to the governor’s race,” Beshear campaign strategist Eric Hyers said in a statement. “She’s an out-of-touch billionaire who … will likely spend millions and millions of dollars to try to convince Kentuckians she cares about them.”
Hyers said Craft was a leading financial backer for the campaign of Kentucky’s last Republican governor, Matt Bevin, who was narrowly ousted by Beshear in 2019.
Another GOP gubernatorial candidate, state Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles, didn’t name Craft in his response to her entry.
“All the candidates in this race are friends of mine and I expect a spirited primary,” Quarles said in a statement. “We are focused on building a grassroots, people-first campaign that unites Kentucky.”
Trump first appointed Craft as U.S. ambassador to Canada, where she played a role in facilitating the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, Trump’s long-sought revamp of the North American Free Trade Agreement. The updated trade deal has benefited workers, farmers and businesses in Kentucky and across the country, Craft’s campaign release said Wednesday.
In 2019, Trump appointed Craft to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
But her connections with Trump, who easily carried Kentucky in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, were neutralized by the former president’s endorsement this year of Cameron’s bid for governor in the Bluegrass State. Cameron’s campaign debuted a digital ad Wednesday touting the Trump endorsement.
Other GOP candidates for governor include state Auditor Mike Harmon and state Rep. Savannah Maddox. Maddox has been endorsed by Republican U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, who represents a northern Kentucky district.
Craft was born in Lexington — the state’s second-largest city — and was raised on her family’s farm near Glasgow in south-central Kentucky.
The Crafts have been major donors in supporting academic initiatives and institutions in the state, and she stressed her commitment to education in her campaign rollout. She pledged to direct “maximum financial resources” to support education, calling it the “most important duty” for government, while cautioning that it “has to be in partnership with parents.”
Kentucky has tilted decidedly toward the GOP in recent years, but Beshear has consistently received strong approval ratings from Kentuckians in polls.
The Democratic governor is expected to highlight his management of the state’s economy in asking voters for a second term. Kentucky has posted records for job creation and investments during his term and has recorded its lowest-ever unemployment rates.
Beshear also has won bipartisan praise for his administration’s responses to epic natural disasters — tornadoes that tore through western Kentucky last December and historic flooding that swamped parts of eastern Kentucky in late July.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters arrested dozens of Islamic State militants and rescued four women who were being held chained in tunnels at the massive al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria that houses IS families, the U.S. military said Wednesday.
The operation, which has gone on for two weeks, is part of an ongoing effort to dissolve a major IS network at the camp, which is widely seen as a breeding ground for the next generation of IS extremists.
According to U.S. Central Command, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces found the four women in the tunnels on Monday. They had been tortured by IS supporters, said U.S. Army Col. Joe Buccino, a spokesman for Central Command, which provided no other details.
U.S. and coalition forces have been advising and assisting the SDF, including training the fighters.
The al-Hol camp, in Syria’s Hassakeh Province, has long been viewed as a growing problem and there have been a number of military operations and raids there to root out IS threats.
Some 50,000 Syrians and Iraqis are crowded into tents in the fenced-in camp. Nearly 20,000 of them are children; most of the rest are women, the wives and widows of IS fighters. In a separate, heavily guarded section of the camp known as the annex are an additional 2,000 women from 57 other countries — they are considered the most die-hard IS supporters — along with their children, numbering about 8,000.
The camp was initially used to house the families of IS fighters in late 2018 as U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces recaptured territory in eastern Syria from the militants. In March 2019, they seized the last IS-held villages, ending the “caliphate” that the group declared over large parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014.
The U.S. and other nations have struggled to repatriate the families, but have had only very limited success.
Syrian Kurdish fighters have intensified their inspections at al-Hol in recent months, following a late January attack by IS on a prison in Hassakeh, where some 3,000 militants and juveniles are held.
That attack led to 10 days of fighting between the U.S.-backed fighters and IS militants that left nearly 500 dead before the situation was brought under control. It was the biggest attack by IS since the fall of the group in 2019, and it stoked fears that IS may be staging a comeback.
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| 2022-09-21T10:55:48Z
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EMERSON, Ga. (AP) — Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker may be getting closer to debating in the state’s U.S. Senate race.
Warnock said Wednesday that he will participate in the debate Walker prefers if Walker agrees to another forum Warnock wants, the latest turn in a monthslong debate over debates. But later Wednesday, Walker and a spokesperson wouldn’t answer direct questions about whether Walker would agree to any other matchups.
Georgia’s Senate race is one of the most closely watched in the country as Republicans try to wrest back control of Congress. Twin 2021 runoff victories by Warnock and Jon Ossoff gave Democrats control of the Senate thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris’ tiebreaking vote, but Warnock has to run again this November to win a full six-year term.
Walker refused to participate in debates during the Republican primary race, brushing off criticism from GOP rivals as he cruised to victory. But Walker also repeatedly proclaimed his eagerness to face off with Warnock in the fall. Warnock responded in June by challenging Walker to three debates, one each in Atlanta, Macon and Savannah.
Last month, Walker instead accepted an invitation to an Oct. 14 debate hosted by a different Savannah television station, WSAV-TV, owned by Nexstar Media Group. The contest would be shown on Nexstar and other stations across Georgia.
The Nexstar debate promised a live audience, which Walker said was key, and said candidates would get the question topics in advance. Warnock on Wednesday said he would do the Nexstar debate if Walker would agree to forgo knowing the topics in advance and launched a campaign ad criticizing Walker for dodging him.
“The job of a U.S. senator isn’t one where you know the topics ahead of time or get a cheat sheet, and Herschel Walker shouldn’t need one to find the courage to walk on a debate stage,” Warnock’s campaign manager, Quentin Fulks, said in a statement.
Warnock and Democrats have relentlessly attacked Walker as unqualified and untrustworthy after months of news stories questioning Walker’s past.
But Warnock also said he wants Walker to accept either an Oct. 13 debate sponsored by Mercer University and local news organizations in Macon or the Atlanta Press Club debate to be aired statewide on Georgia Public Broadcasting on Oct. 16.
Walker, who has attacked Warnock for dodging his chosen forum, said Wednesday that he accepts not knowing the topics in advance but did not immediately commit to a second debate.
“Let’s lock down Savannah Oct. 14th, Senator,” Walker tweeted. “I don’t care what the topics are. It’s a fair debate. Open to the public. Televised statewide. And it’s not run by your donors. You in? Let’s do this for the people.”
Walker spokesperson Will Kiley said that Walker never sought the advance information on topics or questions that organizers offered and he accepts Warnock’s terms for the Savannah event.
But responding to a question from a reporter after speaking at a campaign event in Emerson, in Atlanta’s far northwestern suburbs, Walker wouldn’t say whether he would do any forums.
“Oh, we’re going to debate — Oct. 14. He said, ‘I’m going to debate,'” Walker said of Warnock. “So I’m ready for him.”
Asked specifically whether that meant Walker would not consider any of the original three debates that Warnock agreed to attend, Kiley later repeated that Walker will debate Oct. 14 in Savannah.
___
Follow Jeff Amy on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jeffamy.
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| 2022-09-21T10:55:55Z
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(The Hill) – Former secretary of state and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Tuesday said she will not run for president again.
“No, no,” Clinton said when asked by CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell she would ever run for a second time.
“But I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that we have a president who respects our democracy and the rule of law and upholds our institutions,” Clinton continued.
Clinton said former President Trump would not fit in that category and that if he runs again “he should be soundly defeated.”
“It should start in the Republican Party,” Clinton said. “Grow a backbone, stand up to this guy.”
Trump, who defeated Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, has been teasing another run for president in 2024 and polls show he has a good shot of clinching the Republican nomination.
Clinton has said that she would endorse President Biden if he runs for reelection the same year — which has repeatedly said he plans to do — saying that he would be “the person most likely to win.”
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“Joe Biden beat in a huge landslide victory in the popular vote Donald Trump. I think that says a lot,” Clinton said in a conversation with NBC News anchor Yamiche Alcindor in late June.
On CBS, Clinton shot down any comparisons between her use of a private email server while serving as secretary of state and the recent discovery of classified materials at Trump’s Florida home, saying the two situations are “really different” from one another.
“I think it’s a really different comparison to what’s going on here,” Clinton said of her own skirmish with the FBI compared with Trump’s current situation. “When it appears that the justice department and the FBI have been incredibly patient, quiet, careful, until they finally apparently thought that national security was at stake.”
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| 2022-09-21T10:56:02Z
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NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)— A year later and neighbors of Uptown are still left with an unsolved mystery. How did the mysterious alligator, which became known as “Dumpster Gator,” end up in a Demo Diva dumpster in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida?
In the aftermath of Ida, there were fences down, damaged roofs, and garbage bags piled up, but a dead alligator in the dumpster is what really sent shock waves through the Uptown neighborhood on Perrier and Upperline Streets.
Uptown resident Naomi Gadinsky was one of the first to spot the creature in early September of 2021.
“I woke up, and it was business as usual, then my husband said there’s a large dead gator in the dumpster across the street from our house,” Gadinsky told WGNO’s Kenny Lopez.
Gadinsky along with other neighbors, were left wondering how it got there. Was it roaming the streets, and someone shot and killed it? Did someone have it from a fishing trip and then disposed of it in the dumpster?
“Normally, this is a gator-free zone, so this is pretty gross,” she added.
Demo Diva rented out the dumpster, and the owner of Demo Diva, Simone Bruni, said they were unaware of the gator, but the alligator would be taken to the landfill with all the other garbage and debris from Hurricane Ida. Bruni even placed a flower on the gator to pay her respects to the alligator.
What happened next is something no one could’ve predicted — “Dumpster Gator” became a social media and viral sensation. The popular gift store “Fleurty Girl” started selling “Dumpster Gator” stickers. Several people in the community painted art of the alligator, and a local woman even got a “Dumpster Gator” tattoo. This past Mardi Gras and Halloween, people dressed up like “Dumpster Gator,” and Mardi Gras floats were adorned with the image of the gator.
Still, neighbors are left wondering how did it get there in the first place? A year later with no answers, at least neighbors have a story that is not fiction but the strange truth.
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| 2022-09-21T10:56:09Z
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(NEXSTAR) — Footage of a $1.95-million property in Toronto, Ontario, has become a source of amusement for TikTok viewers across the globe, thanks largely to its super-skinny design and the unusual placement of its toilet.
The three-story house, located in Toronto’s Little Portugal neighborhood, has been on the market for only 13 days, according to real estate agent Keven Trudel of Real Estate Bay Realty in Ontario. But in that time, the listing has managed to leave quite the impression on TikTok.
“WHY IS THERE A TOILET IN THE BEDROOM?!” asked one user, understandably, after viewing a virtual tour of the property on TikTok.
Indeed, there is a toilet in the bedroom. But that’s not all: There’s also a shower in the other corner of the room, and a sink in the hallway.
“Who the hell made that design choice[?]” a viewer asked.
“I came here to know why there is a toilet just feet from the bed,” another TikTok user wrote. “Is this prison?”
Trudel, meanwhile, told Nexstar there’s a very simple explanation for the toilet, albeit one that probably raises more questions than it answers: The homeowner built the property for himself, and never got around to cordoning off the bathroom.
“Yes, the toilet in the bedroom is … the most [talked-about] topic of this house,” said Trudel. “The original plan was to separate the toilet with a wall. For such reason, the seller decided to leave it open since he lives alone and [hadn’t] built this property for resale at the time.
“That being said, the seller is open to build a wall if the new purchaser wants it,” Trudel added.
But that’s not the only issue viewers have with the property. The house, which actually comprises three units, was built on a lot measuring only 12.5-feet wide, making it quite skinny, for lack of a better word.
“I’ve always dreamed of living in a very narrow hallway,” one viewer remarked, while another joked that the house is in “2D.”
Trudel is well aware of their concerns.
“This house is not suitable for most people but does have a very unique look and investment opportunity that some people appreciate and would like in their real-estate portfolio,” Trudel said.
In fact, Trudel isn’t upset by any of the attention — negative or positive — that the listing is generating. After all, it was he who commissioned the TikTok influencer who ultimately shared the online tour, as his goal was to “get this listing viral.”
“As long as the most people possible see it, [that’s] key,” Trudel said.
As of Wednesday, Trudel claimed he had spoken to buyers across the globe, three of whom are “highly interested.”
“The exterior size of the house does not reflect … the feeling you have once you are inside,” Trudel claimed. “The second and third floors have lots of floor-to-ceiling windows, and [prospective buyers] viewing the property all agreed how comfortable it actually feels once you are inside — especially the main living room and the large kitchen areas.”
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| 2022-09-21T10:56:15Z
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Which ingrown hair products are best?
Unsightly ingrown hairs are more than just a pesky problem. They can itch and irritate your skin as well as affect your health if they get infected. While adopting a better shaving routine can help you address the issue, there are also myriad ingrown hair products on the market that can reduce occurrences.
A top pick is the Jack Black Bump Fix, which acts as a safe but effective ingrown hair exfoliant that also soothes your skin.
What to know before you buy ingrown hair products
What are ingrown hairs?
Ingrown hairs can occur when you shave, wax or pluck the hair on your body. Instead of growing up to the skin’s surface, the hair turns and grows back under your skin, where it causes a bump.
While this doesn’t typically require medical attention, the red, itchy bumps can get infected if you scratch them. If you believe that some of yours have become infected, see your dermatologist. Otherwise, you can treat them yourself at home.
Proper shaving routine for ingrown hairs
If you regularly struggle with ingrown hairs, your shaving routine should be aimed at helping you manage them. Using the Mayo Clinic’s shaving recommendations as a guide, there are four standard steps for reducing ingrown hairs.
- Exfoliate: Use an exfoliant to remove dead skin surrounding the ingrown hairs.
- Wash: Wash the area with a warm washcloth and let it sit on the affected area for a few minutes to soften the skin.
- Shave: Use a sharp razor and shave in the same direction your hair grows.
- Rinse: Rinse your skin thoroughly and apply a cool, wet washcloth for several minutes when you finish.
The Mayo Clinic also suggests three tips as you follow your shaving routine.
- Avoid shaving too closely — don’t pull your skin tight as you shave.
- Don’t let your shaving cream dry as you shave. Keep the area moist.
- Run your shaver under fresh water after each stroke.
Where do ingrown hairs occur?
While not everyone gets ingrown hairs in the same areas, they can occur in five commonly shaved regions.
- Face
- Armpits
- Legs
- Chest
- Groin
What to look for in quality ingrown hair products
Exfoliating
Exfoliants prevent dead skin cells from building up and promote new cell turnover. As a result, they release trapped hairs and prevent more from forming.
There are three types of exfoliants.
- Chemical: Enzymes and acid-based products enlist ingredients such as salicylic, lactic and glycolic acids to remove dead skin cells on the top layer of your skin.
- Physical: Typically seen in granular scrubs, they wear down the buildup of dead cells as you rub the solution into your skin.
- Mechanical: This is when a professional uses a device such as a laser to remove dead skin from affected areas.
Soothing
Because ingrown hairs irritate your skin, ingrown hair products can offer some relief with ingredients that reduce their menacing side effects.
There are six common ingredients that soothe your skin.
- Witch hazel
- Aloe
- Allantoin
- Green tea extract
- Chamomile extract
- Willow herb extract
Easy to use
The most effective ingrown hair products are the ones you can see yourself adopting into your regular skincare routine. So even if a product or system seems promising, ensure that it is easy to implement into your current routine. The only ingrown hair products that could work for you are the ones you will use, as the manufacturer recommends.
How much you can expect to spend on ingrown hair products
Depending on the brand and product’s details, you can expect to see prices of $20-$50 for most ingrown hair products. However, many highly rated solutions are between $20-$30.
Ingrown hair products FAQ
Should you pull your ingrown hairs out with a pair of tweezers?
A. No. According to the Mayo Clinic, you should insert a sterile needle under the ingrown hair’s loop and lift its tip to the surface of your skin.
Should you pop ingrown hair cysts?
A. No. Popping your ingrown hairs can increase the risk of getting an infection and could even leave a scar.
What are the best ingrown hair products to buy?
Top ingrown hair product
Jack Black Bump Fix Razor Bump and Ingrown Hair Solution
What you need to know: Its chemical exfoliants and soothing ingredients treat ingrown hairs and acne-prone skin.
What you’ll love: It enlists popular chemical exfoliants such as salicylic and lactic acids to rid the area of dead skin and decrease the occurrence of ingrown hairs. To soothe your red, itchy bumps, it uses aloe leaf, green tea extract, chamomile extract and willow herb, making it an ideal treatment.
What you should consider: Check with your doctor before using this product on your pubic area, as its chemicals might be too harsh.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon, Dermstore, Macy’s, Sephora and Ulta Beauty
Top ingrown hair product for the money
First Aid Beauty Ingrown Hair Pads
What you need to know: Don’t let the affordable price fool you — this highly rated product has all the right ingredients for an ideal ingrown hair treatment.
What you’ll love: These convenient single-use pads combine chemical exfoliants such as salicylic and glycolic acids with soothing ingredients such as witch hazel. They’re also gentle enough to use anywhere you get ingrown hairs, such as your bikini area and your face.
What you should consider: Limit sun exposure when using products that contain alpha hydroxy acids, such as glycolic acid. They increase your sensitivity to the sun.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon, Dermstore, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Sephora and Ulta Beauty
Worth checking out
Fur Ingrown Concentrate: Exfoliating Oil Kit for Your Hair and Skin
What you need to know: This is an excellent all-natural solution for those with sensitive skin.
What you’ll love: This product skips the chemical exfoliants by treating ingrown hairs with all-natural ingredients, such as coconut and tamanu oils to soften the skin. It also uses tea tree oil to promote healing and chamomile extract to calm inflamed areas.
What you should consider: If you have severe ingrown hairs, you might need chemical exfoliants, which this brand also sells.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon, Dermstore and Ulta Beauty
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Ella Scott writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved.
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| 2022-09-21T10:56:21Z
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What we learned at Apple’s “Far Out” Event
It’s that time of year again — time when Apple announces all the new tech that’s coming out before the holidays. While there has been much speculation in the weeks and months leading up to today’s news-making announcements, it’s only now that we know for certain what to expect. Here are the key takeaways from the September 2022 Apple Event.
In this article: MacBook Pro with M2 Chip, MacBook Air with M2 Chip and iPad Air with M1 Chip
What is an Apple Event?
An Apple Event is when the company announces soon-to-be-released products and upgrades via a video that can be streamed at apple.com or on the Apple TV app. The events usually last less than two hours and provide a concise rundown of everything that is expected to happen at Apple over the next few months. Typically, the company has three to four events each year: one in March, one in June, one in September and sometimes one in October.
What products and upgrades were featured at the Apple Event?
From new iPhones and Apple Watches to completely redesigned operating systems, here are the products and upgrades Apple talked about today.
Apple Watch Series 8
The first device Apple introduced at the Apple Event was the Apple Watch Series 8. This upgrade from the Series 7 has some incredible advances. The temperature sensors can be used to provide retrospective ovulation estimates and keep track of menstrual cycles to help monitor overall health. The new low-power mode gives the Apple Watch 8 up to 36 hours on a single charge. However, one of the revolutionary upgrades is Crash Detection. This enables your watch to detect if you have been in a serious motor vehicle accident by using a number of sensors and an algorithm. The watch then automatically alerts emergency services to get you help fast. The Apple Watch Series 8 starts at $399 and will be available on September 16.
Apple Watch Series SE
The Series SE is the affordable family-oriented Apple Watch that comes with all the essential core features. It’s made from recycled aluminum and comes in new colors. It’s 20% faster than the previous generation and has a family setup, so kids who don’t have iPhones can still take advantage of important functionality that keeps them safe. Like other Apple Watches, the new Series SE tracks workouts and activities, monitors health, is swim-proof and has the new Crash Detection feature. The Apple Watch Series SE starts at $249 and will be available on September 16.
Apple Watch Ultra
If adventure is your thing, the only watch you should consider is the new Apple Watch Ultra. This incredible device is made with aerospace-grade titanium and features a large, easy-to-read screen. It was built to endure extreme temperatures and designed so you can operate it wearing gloves. The Ultra has a heavy-duty band so it won’t fall off, even during high-speed water activities. The Oceanic Plus app and underwater mode turn the watch into a certified dive computer. Backtrack is a remarkable feature that ensures you can’t get lost, no matter how far you stray off the beaten path. The Apple Watch Ultra starts at $799 and will be available on September 23.
AirPods Pro (Second Generation)
Apple has stepped up its earbud game with the H2 chip. Besides everything you’ve come to expect from this essential device, AirPods Pro now have an intelligent transparency mode that can still protect your ears from high-decibel sounds while letting you engage with your environment. They offer two times the noise cancellation of the previous generation and have personalized spatial audio that is dependent on a profile of your preferences so you can have the best sound for you. Additionally, an extra-small ear tip is included and the devices work via quick touch-control gestures — for instance, you can swipe to raise or lower the volume. The second generation AirPods Pro Ultra start at $249 and will be available on September 23.
iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max
Apple’s iPhone 14 takes advantage of the A15 Bionic chip to offer some incredible new advances. The new camera system has a photonic engine to function better in both bright and low light. The Action Mode gives your videos a smooth look without the need for extra equipment such as a gimbal. There’s no longer a physical SIM card, as this phone takes advantage of the safer, more versatile eSIM, which allows for multiple plans. However, one of the best features on the new iPhone is the Emergency SOS via satellite plan. This innovative idea uses satellites and software to make sure you can send out messages, even if there is no cell service. The plan is free for the first two years that you own your phone. The iPhone 14 (6.1-inch screen) starts at $799 and will be available on September 16. The iPhone 14 Max (6.7-inch screen) starts at $899 and will be available on October 7.
iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max
The new flagship of the iPhone line is the iPhone 14 Pro. This phone uses the most advanced chip currently available, the A16 Bionic chip. This chip gives the phone increased performance as well as increased battery life. The first thing you’ll notice about this new iPhone is it has a convenient always-on display. Additionally, the Dynamic Island feature makes it easier to see and track alerts while you’re engaged in other apps. The camera system has been completely redesigned to have more lenses and better resolution — you can capture images with four times more digital information and shoot in 48MP RAW format. The iPhone Pro and Pro Max also have all-day battery life and crash detection. The iPhone 14 Pro (6.1-inch screen) starts at $999 and will be available on September 16. The iPhone 14 Pro Max (6.7-inch screen) starts at $1,099 and will also be available on September 16.
Best Apple products to get right now
If you can’t wait for the new products that were announced today to come out, you don’t have to. There are three Apple products that were already released this year: the MacBook Pro with M2 Chip, the MacBook Air with M2 Chip and the iPad Air with M1 Chip.
This MacBook has a next-generation 8-core CPU and a 10-core GPU. The power-efficient M2 chip helps this model last up to 20 hours on a single charge. The active cooling system means you can push this laptop to its limits for hours on end and not have to worry about it overheating.
Sold by Amazon
Impossibly thin yet rugged, this MacBook Air features the same M2 chip you’ll find in the MacBook Pro. The display has support for a billion colors and can produce brilliant images with magnificent detail. The four-speaker sound system features Spatial Audio for an unparalleled audio experience.
Sold by Amazon
The 10.9-inch iPad Air is the first iPad to use Apple’s M1 chip. It also features an anti-reflective coating, True Tone color, an ultra-wide front camera, stereo speakers, all-day battery life and Touch ID for security.
Sold by Amazon
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Allen Foster writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved.
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| 2022-09-21T10:56:29Z
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What is a healthy school lunch?
Cafeteria lunches in most schools aren’t the healthiest meals. They’re often ultra-processed and loaded with hidden sugars according to The Hill, not to mention just plain gross in the worst-case scenario. Packing your child’s lunch is the best way to ensure their health, happiness and ability to focus and succeed in class.
But what does a healthy school lunch look like? It’s easy to pack your child’s lunch bag with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, some chips and a juice box, but that has all the same issues as cafeteria food. Don’t stress. It’s surprisingly straightforward to pack a healthy lunch.
The six sections of a healthy lunch
According to the Cleveland Clinic, a healthy school lunch is made up of six sections.
Proteins
Protein can come from many foods, though it chiefly comes from meats and nuts. Don’t overload the meal with protein; include just enough to be satisfying, but not enough that your child can only eat the protein and skip the rest. Some examples of healthy proteins are:
- Grilled chicken
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Unsalted mixed seeds and nuts
Grains
Grains are typically included as something to eat the other sections of the meal with. Think crackers that go with cheese and pita bread for hummus. As with proteins, grains should be limited; you want them to run out of crackers and pita before they run out of cheese and hummus.
Fruits
Think of the fruit section as the dessert of the meal; just like dessert (and grains and proteins) don’t go too crazy here. That said, it doesn’t hurt to put in some extra now and then as a treat. Don’t forget about dried fruits either. They go especially well with nuts.
Vegetables
The vegetable section is the only section where it doesn’t hurt if you include a little extra. But don’t be that parent that only includes raw vegetables. Lightly roasting veggies, such as bell peppers and broccoli, makes them taste much better and doesn’t strip them of any nutrients.
Snacks
Kids can be ravenous creatures, especially when they’re taxing their minds to the limit. They’re going to get hungry before and after lunch, so it’s always wise to include a healthy snack. Some examples of healthy snacks are:
- Popcorn — it can be lightly buttered and salted, but don’t go crazy.
- Trail mix without candy
- Granola without sugar
Drinks
The best drink is always water. But water is boring, for adults and especially for kids, so packing the odd low-fat milk bottle or small juice box once or twice a week is acceptable.
What are the best lunch bags and boxes to buy?
This is the best lunch bag thanks to its insulated lining and huge 15-liter capacity that can hold up to 24 12-ounce soda cans. Two ways of carrying it, two mesh side pockets and a zippered front pocket for utensils don’t hurt either. Sold by Amazon
This is the best budget lunch bag thanks to its roomy and insulated interior that can hold up to 16 12-ounce soda cans. It also has large, comfortable handles, a zippered front pocket for utensils and comes in five colors. Sold by Amazon
This is the best lunch box due to its special closed-cell foam insulation and Thermosnap magnetic closure that keeps food secure and safe. It also weighs only 1.1 pounds and comes in 12 colors. Sold by Amazon and Dick’s Sporting Goods
Bentgo Kids Bento-Style Lunch Box
This is not only the best budget lunch box, but also the best way to carefully portion out the foods you pack. It’s also leakproof, dishwasher-safe and has a two-year warranty. It also comes in six bright colors. Sold by Amazon, Kohl’s and Macy’s
What are the best thermoses to buy?
Stanley Classic Wide-Mouth Bottle
This is the thermos you need if it’s a cold day and you want to make sure your child has the hottest of hot chocolates. It keeps liquids hot or cold for 24 hours and the lid doubles as a serving cup. Sold by Amazon
The brand that created the term “thermos” is also among the most affordable. It has a built-in straw that’s protected by the flipping lid and it can keep foods at temperature for up to 12 hours. Sold by Amazon and Home Depot
Solid foods and chunky soups need special thermoses with wide mouths to make eating easier and this is among the best. It can keep food hot or cold for up to 12 hours and comes with a foldable spoon that’s stored in the lid. Sold by Amazon
This small 9-ounce thermos is perfect for the youngest kids thanks to its leak-proof design and the sweat-free and matte exterior to keep it from slipping from their hands. If it does slip, the stainless steel body will take little to no damage. Sold by Amazon
What are the best sandwich bags to buy?
This two-pack of 4-ounce reusable bags is perfect for saving money and lessening your impact on the environment while ensuring your child has a healthy, nutritious and safely stored sandwich ready to go. Sold by Amazon, Buy Buy Baby and Kohl’s
Qinline Reusable Food Storage Bags
If you have several children or just like to keep foods individually packaged then grab this 10-pack of bags. You can grab five sandwich bags and five snack bags or four sandwich bags, four snack bags and two gallon-size bags. Sold by Amazon
Ziploc Easy-Open Sandwich Bags
Ziploc is among the most trusted brands in disposable storage bags for several reasons including the tight and stable seal, plus the extra-tough plastic that’s hard to tear. This contains 580 bags at 4 cents a pop. Sold by Amazon
Ri Pac Fold-Top Sandwich and Snack Bags
This package contains 1,000 bags that are even cheaper than the Ziplocs at only 1.8 cents per piece. Plus, the fold-top takes less effort to both seal and open, which is perfect for those with less dexterity. Sold by Amazon
What are the best food storage containers to buy?
Rubbermaid 60-Piece Food Storage Containers
Never worry about what to pack your children’s food in again with this massive set that includes six half-cup, six 1.25-cup, six 2-cup, five 3-cup, four 5-cup, two 7-cup and one 9-cup containers with matching vented lids. Sold by Amazon
Promoze 50-Pack Meal Prep Food Containers
This set of 28-ounce containers is an excellent budget purchase as they can hold just about any type of food, have leakproof lids and are reusable and dishwasher-safe. They’re also recyclable if you prefer not to wash them. Sold by Amazon
Popit! Food Storage Container Set
If you’re worried about your child’s food storage containers opening in transit, then grab these snap-sealing containers. There are eight included and each is a different size, plus they’re dishwasher-safe. Sold by Amazon
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Jordan C. Woika writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved.
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| 2022-09-21T10:56:36Z
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Which stump grinder is best?
When trees are removed to clear land or are knocked down by weather, the trunk, branches and leaves are taken away, but the stump and roots remain. Removing stumps and roots requires burning, lots of pulling power or strategically placed dynamite. An easier way is to grind the stump down and leave the roots in place to die.
When you grind the stump down to below the surface of the turf, you are able to reclaim open space that you can use for many different purposes. If you’re looking for a stump grinder with an electric starter, take a look at the DK2 14-Inch 14 Horsepower Gas-Powered Commercial Stump Grinder.
What to know before you buy a stump grinder
Stump grinders work by running a multi-tooth cutting wheel across the stump to cut a path with a defined width and depth. You cut row by row with strong, sharp teeth that spin around a horizontal axis, much like a rotary saw does when cutting through lumber.
Stump grinding is noisy and messy
Make sure you have sturdy work gloves, a good pair of safety glasses and noise-rated ear protection. You can bury your ground-up chips where the roots were or collect them and use them when you need to absorb spilled oils and fuels.
Commercial vs. consumer stump grinder
- Commercial stump grinders are usually far too large and powerful for a single person to operate safely and effectively.
- Consumer stump grinders are built to be operated by a single person, and so are limited in the size of stump they can manage.
Power
Grinding dense, hard woods requires enough power to drive the cutting wheel through the wood at high speeds. Most consumer-grade stump grinders are powered by gas engines in the 10-15 horsepower range. The more powerful your engine, the easier it is to grind stumps.
Size
Stump grinders can be as big as a truck or as small as a lawnmower. Bigger isn’t always better, though, so consider width and weight before deciding.
- Width: If you have an area that has lots of small trees, a small stump grinder will get you in and out of tight spots where a large one can’t go.
- Weight: The more powerful the stump grinder, the heavier it is. Some weigh more than 500 pounds, so check the weight before you buy.
What to look for in a quality stump grinder
Safety features
For added safety, look for a stump grinder with a one-touch control that lets you stop the cutting wheel quickly if you encounter a grinding problem or a safety issue.
Transporting your stump grinder
Most consumer-level stump grinders can’t propel themselves from place to place. You have to get your stump grinder to where the stumps are either by pushing it, towing it, or transporting it in the back of a pickup truck. Look for stump grinders with larger tires, a towbar and well-mounted lift handles for easier transporting.
Cutting blade
- Material: The harder the teeth, the better, so look for carbide steel.
- Number of teeth: The larger the diameter of the cutting blade, the larger the number of teeth, meaning the grinding is done more efficiently.
- Depth of cut: The deeper you can cut with your grinder, the more complete the stump removal.
Starting mechanism
Most stump grinders have a rope and handle you pull to start the engine, like an old outboard motor. Look for stump grinders with electric starters — a huge help, especially in cold weather.
How much you can expect to spend on a stump grinder
Consumer models cost $1,500-$3,000, determined mostly by the horsepower and the size of the cutting wheel.
Stump grinder FAQ
What type of oil do I use in my stump grinder?
A. Most call for 10W-30 motor oil, but always safeguard your investment by following the manufacturer’s instructions.
How long do the grinding teeth stay sharp?
A. The process of grinding stumps wears the teeth on the cutting wheel. Depending on conditions, they work for five to 15 hours before they need indexing, and can be indexed twice before being sharpened or replaced.
What’s the best stump grinder to buy?
Top stump grinder
DK2 14-Inch 14 Horsepower Gas-Powered Commercial Stump Grinder
What you need to know: The electric starter gets you going quickly and easily at the touch of a button.
What you’ll love: You can adjust the comfort bow handle to grind stumps up to 14 inches above ground and 10 inches below ground. The 12 high-speed carbide cutting teeth deliver 4-inch-wide cuts, the direct-drive belt eliminates clutch slippage and the wheel brake locks in place for pivot grinding.
What you should consider: At 285 pounds, this can be a real handful to operate.
Where to buy: Sold by Home Depot
Top stump grinder for the money
Power King 11-Inch 14 Horsepower Kohler Gas-Powered Stump Grinder with Bonus Kit
What you need to know: This stump grinder comes with a weatherproof cover, removable tow bar and one set of replacement teeth.
What you’ll love: Four lift handles make it easy for two people to get this stump grinder in and out of pickup-truck beds. The slap-stop button and shut-off latch provide two levels of safety. It has a locking throttle and a manual brake that assists when pivot cutting. This grinder powers nine tungsten blades to cut 11 inches above and 9 inches below ground.
What you should consider: Some buyers wished for a better brake.
Where to buy: Sold by Home Depot
Worth checking out
DK2 12-Inch 14 Horsepower Gas Powered Commercial Stump Grinder Package
What you need to know: This grinder comes with safety glasses, ear protection, work gloves, tools and an oil bottle.
What you’ll love: Direct drive powers the 12-inch, 50-pound carbide cutter head at 3,600 revolutions per minute. The heavy-duty steel frame and axle are reinforced to support a cutting height of 12 inches above ground and 9 inches below. It transports easily with dual locking wheels and has hitch pins for safe towing.
What you should consider: It doesn’t include a tow bar.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
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David Allan Van writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved.
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| 2022-09-21T10:56:44Z
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Which Adidas Predator cleats are best?
If you’re shopping for new soccer cleats, you might be wondering what the difference is between traditional Adidas cleats and those in the Predator line. Predators are engineered to give players superior ball control and efficient energy transfer for powerful shots.
There are many Predator cleats, but if you’re looking for a high-quality pair, the Adidas Predator Freak .1 FG Soccer Cleats are a top choice. They boast a sockfit collar for increased ankle support and have a rubber strike zone in the toe box and instep for improved power and control.
What to know before you buy Adidas Predator cleats
Size
Any cleats you wear should be comfortable enough to wear for an entire game without experiencing any soreness or developing blisters. Some cleats are inherently more comfortable than others, but you can maximize comfort by wearing the correct size.
Ideally, your cleats should have a snug fit so you can control the ball more easily, but they shouldn’t be too tight, as they might make you feel uncomfortable and hinder your performance. Avoid wearing too-large shoes, which can cause you to trip or fall.
Types of cleats
There are three types of soccer cleats: hard-ground, firm-ground and soft-ground.
- HG cleats are the most versatile, as they can be used on various surfaces, including turf and grass. They have several rubber nubs spread across the entire outsole for traction.
- FG cleats are the most common Predator cleats and have molded rubber or hard-plastic studs. They’re great for grass fields and all kinds of weather conditions.
- SG cleats have removable hard plastic or metal studs. They’re best suited for soft grass fields and wet or muddy conditions.
Predator evolution
Predators were first released in 1994 and are considered some of the best soccer cleats, but they go through a revision annually. All are excellent, but the Predator Edge and Freak cleats are made with the latest technology and are designed to provide unmatched comfort and ball control.
What to look for in quality Adidas Predator cleats
Zone Skin
Zone Skin is an intuitive feature found on the latest Predator cleats. It’s essentially an array of rubber grips or patches along the toe box and instep. These rubber ribs are designed to give players a smoother touch and help them get more spin and swerve behind the ball on powerful shots.
Facet Frame
Facet Frame is a design in which the forefoot is weighted, providing better traction and making agile movements easier to execute. This feature is convenient for speedy players and those who play on the wings, where quick bursts of speed are needed to outrun opponents.
Laceless design
Laced cleats are great as you can adjust their fit. Some players, though, prefer using laceless cleats, as they’re easier to put on and there’s less interference when dribbling the ball and executing powerful shots. Many Adidas Predator cleats are available in both laced and laceless designs, but the latter is usually slightly more expensive.
How much you can expect to spend on Adidas Predator cleats
The most expensive Predators, made with advanced technology and premium materials, cost $150-$300. However, if you’re a casual player, you can find a pair for $75-$150.
Adidas Predator cleats FAQ
How do I determine the correct size to wear?
A. Most soccer cleats have a slim build, but generally, it’s best to go a half size under or over your regular shoe size, depending on how snugly you want them to fit.
Are cleats with removable studs better than ones with molded cleats?
A. It’s a matter of preference, but cleats with removable studs let you customize them according to field conditions. However, molded cleats are generally more comfortable and affordable.
What are the best Adidas Predator cleats to buy?
Top Adidas Predator cleats
Adidas Predator Freak. 1 FG Soccer Cleats
What you need to know: These firm-ground cleats have an ultralight construction and offer superior traction and comfort.
What you’ll love: The upper runs from heel to toe for a responsive touch, and a two-piece collar provides extra ankle support and makes them easy to slip on. The laceless design offers a secure, locked-down fit, and they have a rubber strike zone for optimal ball control.
What you should consider: They have a slim build, and some customers complained about soreness before breaking them in.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon and Adidas
Top Adidas Predator cleats for the money
Adidas Predator Freak .3 FG Soccer Cleats
What you need to know: These are lightweight and designed for semi-competitive play, making them ideal for beginners and intermediate players.
What you’ll love: They have a coated mesh upper for improved breathability and a 3D Demonscale texture for superior ball touch and control. The mid-cut laced collar offers extra ankle support, and the durable thermoplastic polyurethane outsole provides excellent traction on dry grass.
What you should consider: They’re not as durable as other Predator cleats, and some reviewers found them difficult to put on.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Adidas
Worth checking out
Adidas Predator Edge.2 FG Soccer Cleats
What you need to know: These cleats are durable, have a stylish design and are suitable for players of all skill levels.
What you’ll love: The upper is made with soft-touch material, and the micro-texture provides superior touch. The mid-cut collar features four-way stretch material for a secure fit, and the rubber ribs along the toe box and in-step are designed to execute shots with greater power and control.
What you should consider: They have a wide-foot construction, so players with narrow feet may find them uncomfortable.
Where to buy: Sold by Dick’s Sporting Goods and Adidas
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Kevin Luna writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved.
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| 2022-09-21T10:56:49Z
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A’ja Wilson earned WNBA MVP honors for the second time in her young career Wednesday.
The 26-year-old Las Vegas Aces forward received 31 of 56 first-place votes from a media panel. Seattle forward Breanna Stewart was second, garnering 23 first-place votes and finishing 32 points behind Wilson, who had 478 points.
Wilson also won the award in 2020 and is the seventh player to win it more than once.
“I just did not imagine this. I called my parents last night, and I was like ‘You can’t tell anyone, but like, we did it,’ and they just started screaming like they did the first time,” Wilson said. “It was just a feeling that just never gets old. I’m so glad that they’re able to enjoy this moment with me … because without them, there’s no me. This was definitely a top-three exciting moment.”
She averaged 19.5 points and 9.4 rebounds this season while shooting 50% from the field and had 17 double-doubles. She led the league in blocks per game with 1.9.
The award was announced one day after Wilson helped the Aces reach the WNBA Finals by knocking out Stewart and the Storm. Wilson also earned Defensive Player of the Year honors this year. She’s the fifth player to win both awards in the same season; the last to do it was Lauren Jackson in 2007.
“Just to have my name on that list is truly a blessing,” Wilson said. “Hopefully I can add a couple more of course, but just to be there and so young … our league is hard. It’s full of elite and great players, so for my name to now be on it, I’m blessed and thankful.”
Wilson’s Las Vegas teammate Kelsey Plum finished third and Connecticut’s Alyssa Thomas and Chicago’s Candace Parker — a two-time MVP — rounded out the top five in the voting.
Wilson was the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft — the franchise’s first year in Las Vegas. She led the team to the WNBA Finals in 2020 where the Aces lost to Seattle when the season was played in Florida because of the coronavirus.
The Aces had the best record in the league this year and will host the WNBA Finals on Sunday against either Connecticut or Chicago. Those teams will play a decisive Game 5 on Thursday.
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More WNBA playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-playoffs and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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| 2022-09-21T10:57:04Z
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Sue Bird just knows how to win. That’s what she does. It’s what she has always done. Few in sports can rival the success the point guard has had in women’s basketball. Bill Russell and Serena Williams come to mind.
Still, despite decades of success the G-O-A-T narrative is relatively new.
The Greatest Of All Time chatter seemed to pick up traction about the time the 5-foot-8 unselfish floor general stepped out of the shadows and into the spotlight a few years ago.
“Sue to me in some ways is an example, or is an illustration of how the league has grown. she came in when it was just a few years old and there was no social media then and Sue was a much more private person then,” Storm owner Ginny Gilder said. “Sue really has found her voice in the last five or six years, and the league has found its voice.”
Bird’s career came to an end Tuesday night with the Seattle Storm’s 97-92 home loss to Las Vegas in Game 4 of the semifinal series. The 41-year-old Bird had eight points and eight assists.
Bird has been more outspoken off the court on various issues, including social justice, LGBTQ issues and women’s rights over the last few years since she started dating her fiancee, soccer great Megan Rapinoe.
“I felt like I was open. Everyone in my life knew. I just hadn’t had this conversation with a reporter,” Bird told The Associated Press in 2018 about her sexuality “I understand now by saying it publicly you can have an impact. That’s what we’re talking about right now.”
People have a history of listening to what champions have to say — Russell won 11 NBA titles and Williams has 23 grand slam tennis titles — particularly when they win the right way.
Bird captured two college national titles at UConn, four WNBA championships with the Seattle Storm and five Olympic gold medals with the U.S. That doesn’t include the countless titles she won while playing overseas in the Russian league during WNBA offseasons or the five FIBA World Cup championships she won.
One of the most beloved players in women’s basketball, the guard with the nerdy sense of humor doesn’t have the public swagger of her friend and fellow basketball superstar Diana Taurasi.
Bird also doesn’t have an MVP trophy, though her value has never been questioned. Her greatness comes from putting teammates in position to do great things. The Storm saw it and they drafted her No. 1 in 2002, and she has spent her entire WNBA career in Seattle.
Bird is part a rare club; a group of professional basketball players to play 20-plus years with the same organization, including Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki.
“The bond she has with Seattle, that is a very special thing,” said Dan Hughes, who coached Bird for a couple of seasons as well as on the Olympic team in 2021. “In a major league city that has football, had basketball, has baseball has all those kind of sports. has a university close, there’s nothing quite like what she’s created.
“In that community, there are people that all have their Sue Bird story. People identify with her in Seattle and that doesn’t happen very often. When it does it’s pretty special.”
Like other aging champions in Serena, who indicated she is done with competitive tennis, and Allyson Felix, the track star who also retired this year, Bird didn’t let her career end without putting up a fight.
She hit a 3-pointer in Game 3 that gave Seattle the lead with 0.8 seconds left only to see Las Vegas hit a shot at the buzzer to send the game to overtime where the Aces pulled away for the win.
Bird had a rough finale to her career scoring just eight points on 3 of 8 shooting.
The loss ended a ride she has shared with Taurasi, also a UConn alum.
“Looking back on it, it’s been incredible to be in a job with your best friend for 20 years,” Taurasi said. “You don’t get to do that, most people don’t get to do that in any job, let alone basketball. So, it’s been an incredible journey.”
One that has made Bird — the WNBA’s career assists leader — one of the most popular and respected players to ever play in the league.
After Bird announced this would be her final season, fans flocked to watch her play one last time. Storm road games routinely drew the largest crowds of the season for the host team, including 14,162 who came to see Bird’s final game in Phoenix against Taurasi.
It’s an admiration that carries over to her peers.
“When you play with her and are in her presence as a teammate, you have an appreciation of so much for what she brings,” said Jen Rizzotti, who coached her on the 2021 Olympic team. “She is so well respected, the players in the league talk so highly about her and look up to her.
And of course, the way Bird carries herself would make any parent proud.
“To see what she’s accomplished, I can’t say enough about her,” said Bird’s mother, Nancy. “It’s amazing, she’s always loved the sport.”
Bird has managed to literally share her love of the game with others.
“She’ treated people the right way and led the right way,” Rizzotti said. Bird “has been so unselfish in a way that made other players look really good, it’s hard for anyone to dislike her.”
___
AP Sports Writer Tim Booth contributed to this report.
___
More WNBA playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-playoffs and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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| 2022-09-21T10:57:11Z
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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The joy Dawson Knox experienced in signing a $53.6 million, four-year contract extension with the Buffalo Bills on Wednesday was undercut by the recent death of the tight end’s younger brother.
As a result, Knox couldn’t think of a better way to pay tribute to Luke Knox than by dedicating this season to him.
“I know that he’s up in heaven right now, and he’s smiling down, couldn’t be more excited, so this is for him, too,“ Knox said in a pool report released by the Bills, who are in Los Angeles preparing to open the NFL season on Thursday night against the Rams.
“I know he wanted me to give it my all in everything I did, so there’s a little extra motivation for me there this year, because I know he’ll be able to be watching,” he added. “He’s always been my biggest supporter and wants me to be the best player and be the best man I possibly can be.”
The signing comes three weeks after Luke Knox, a Florida International University player, died of unknown causes.
While the Bills announced the move, which locks up Knox through the 2026 season, a person with direct knowledge of the contract confirmed its value to The Associated Press after it was first reported by ESPN. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team did not reveal the figure, which currently ranks Knox as the NFL’s sixth-highest paid tight end.
The person said Knox is guaranteed $31 million, with the remainder made up in incentives and bonus money.
Knox, who has one year left on his rookie contract, is coming off a season in which he established himself as one of Josh Allen’s top red-zone targets. He finished second on the two-time defending AFC East champions with nine touchdown receptions, setting the franchise’s single-season record for tight ends while also tying for second in the NFL among players at his position.
“I knew I wanted to be here for as long as I possibly could be, so I couldn’t be more excited to lock this deal in,” Knox said. “I love the city of Buffalo. It couldn’t be a better football city.”
Knox was reminded of the Bills’ passionate fanbase after it donated more than $200,000 to Buffalo’s P.U.N.T. Pediatric Cancer Collaborative in his brother’s name.
“It’s more than I could have expected, but at the same time, it’s weirdly not surprising just because this is such an incredible city with such an incredible fanbase and people,” he said Monday. “It means the world to me. I love all the people in Buffalo.”
From Tennessee, the 25-year-old Knox was already anticipating the possibility of signing a long-term extension by purchasing a home in the Buffalo area this offseason.
Selected in the third round of the 2019 draft out of Mississippi, Knox is coming off a breakout season in posting career highs with 49 catches for 587 yards, while also becoming Buffalo’s first tight end to score in four consecutive games. He nearly doubled the production from his first two seasons in which he combined for 52 catches for 676 yards and five TDs.
At 6-foot-4 and 254 pounds, Knox’s emergence last year provided Buffalo’s pass-first offense a dependable and sizeable dimension particularly inside opponents’ 20, while taking advantage of opposing teams focusing their coverage on top receiver Stefon Diggs.
Locking up Knox ensures the Bills offense will have a semblance of continuity beyond this season, with Allen and Diggs already signed to long-term deals, and No. 2 receiver Gabe Davis still having two years left on his contract.
Knox was already looking ahead to building on his production this year.
“I’ve always just took the stance that I want to do whatever I can to help the team win games,” Knox said, noting he also needs to play a valuable role in blocking and pass-protection situations. “But I’d also love to continue contributing in the passing game as well, just because I know the weapon that I can be. And I kind of want to use last year as a foundation going forward.”
___
This story has been corrected to reflect Gabe Davis having two years remaining on his contract.
___
More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://apnews.com/hub/pro-32 and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
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| 2022-09-21T10:57:19Z
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Chelsea’s new American owners are proving to be just as ruthless as the man they replaced.
Thomas Tuchel was fired by the English club on Wednesday, only one month into the season and just days after Chelsea’s recently installed ownership — fronted by Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly — concluded a Europe-high spending spree of nearly $300 million in the transfer window.
Graham Potter, currently manager of Premier League team Brighton, was set to hold talks with Chelsea with a view to replacing Tuchel.
Chelsea was renowned for regularly changing managers in the 19-year tenure of Roman Abramovich, the Russian oligarch who had to sell the London club after being sanctioned by the British government for what it called his enabling of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “brutal and barbaric invasion” of Ukraine.
Boehly was the face of the consortium that bought Chelsea for 2.5 billion pounds ($3.1 billion) in May and, despite having little soccer experience, quickly made himself chairman as well as interim sporting director in charge of transfers.
Not only has he overseen a record splurge on new players, Boehly has now decided Tuchel — the coach who led Chelsea to the Champions League title last year — is no longer the right person to lead the team in the new era.
The decision to fire Tuchel, who was manager for 20 months, came a day after Chelsea surprisingly lost to Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 in its first group match of the Champions League. Chelsea has also lost two of its first six games — to Leeds and Southampton — in an underwhelming start to the Premier League that has seen the team’s new signings fail to gel. Chelsea is in sixth place.
Tuchel has been a frustrated and prickly figure after matches this season. In interviews after the loss to Dinamo, he said “everything is missing” when asked to sum up Chelsea’s performance and complained that his players “lacked hunger.”
In a feisty Premier League game against Tottenham, Tuchel was sent off — along with rival manager Antonio Conte — and later fined after they went head-to-head in a post-match scuffle because Tuchel failed to let go of his grip in the traditional handshake.
“As the new ownership group reaches 100 days since taking over the club, and as it continues its hard work to take the club forward, the new owners believe it is the right time to make this transition,” Chelsea said in a statement, which also said Tuchel “will rightly have a place” in the club’s history.
After all, the 49-year-old German guided Chelsea to the Champions League title less than six months after taking over as manager in January 2021, as the replacement for Frank Lampard. Tuchel only had one full season at the helm and that saw Chelsea eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Champions League — to eventual champion Real Madrid — before finishing third in the Premier League, 19 points behind champion Manchester City. Chelsea also reached both domestic cup finals, losing each of them to Liverpool in penalty shootouts.
Chelsea’s form dipped in the second half of last season because of the turbulence caused by the change of ownership. It was a wild offseason at Stamford Bridge, too, with dozens of players — including Cristiano Ronaldo — linked with a move to the London club as Boehly looked to make his presence felt in the transfer market.
Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella came in for big fees, before the final days of the transfer window saw Chelsea spend 75 million pounds ($87 million) on French center back Wesley Fofana and then bring in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Barcelona to plug a gap in its striker options after it sent Romelu Lukaku on loan to AC Milan.
Aubameyang cited playing under Tuchel before — at Borussia Dortmund — as a benefit of the move and was handed a debut against Dinamo. That proved to be Tuchel’s last game in charge, perhaps leaving Aubameyang’s long-term status uncertain.
That will depend who comes in to replace Tuchel and Potter is the favorite, having reportedly been granted the opportunity to speak to Chelsea at the start of his fourth season with Brighton, which is in fourth place in the Premier League.
The 47-year-old Potter has no real experience of handling a squad of star players but is highly regarded for his tactical astuteness and entertaining style of play and is widely viewed as one of the most talented young English coaches. He started his coaching career at unheralded Swedish club Ostersund, which he led from the country’s fourth tier into the Europa League where the team advanced to the knockout stage before losing over two legs to Arsenal despite winning the second game 2-1 at Emirates Stadium.
Former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino has also been linked. Pochettino has experience of overseeing a locker room of egos — he led a PSG team containing Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi and Neymar — and has been out of work since parting ways with the French champions in July.
“Chelsea’s coaching staff will take charge of the team for training and the preparation of our upcoming matches as the club moves swiftly to appoint a new head coach,” Chelsea said.
The team’s next game is at Fulham on Saturday.
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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80
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| 2022-09-21T10:57:26Z
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Joey Gallo blasted a go-ahead, three-run homer in the second inning, Max Muncy added a pair of solo shots and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Francisco Giants 6-3 on Tuesday night.
The NL West leaders reduced their magic number to seven and improved to 11-4 against their rival this season. All of the game’s runs came on homers.
Muncy, who came in hitting .186, went 3 for 4 and drove in three runs, satisfied at how the ball came off his bat.
“Home runs are obviously amazing and I’m happy I hit them, but just seeing the ball fly at the path is better,” he said. “I made a couple mechanical adjustments right before the game.”
Tyler Anderson (14-3) allowed three runs and eight hits in seven innings. The left-hander struck out three and walked two. Craig Kimbrel pitched the ninth to earn his 22nd save.
Muncy doubled leading off the second and Justin Turner walked before Gallo’s 408-foot shot to the right-field pavilion off Jarlin García (1-4) put the Dodgers ahead, 3-1.
Gallo’s bat had a small crack near the handle; he wasn’t sure if it was already broken or broke on the swing.
Gallo was acquired a month ago after a disastrous stint with the New York Yankees. The two-time All-Star’s homer was his fourth with the Dodgers and 16th overall. He made a nifty diving catch in left field that saved two potential runs and ended the second.
“I enjoy being here,” he said. “The lineup we have takes a lot of pressure off. I’m just kind of here. Anybody can take over a game.”
The Dodgers extended their lead to 5-1 on Muncy’s two-out, two-run homer to the right-field pavilion on the first pitch from García in the third.
García gave up five runs and four hits in 1 2/3 innings. He struck out three and walked one.
Muncy went deep to the left-field pavilion against Dominic Leone leading off the sixth.
Lewis Brinson homered on the first pitch of the game and Brandon Crawford added a two-run shot in the sixth for the Giants, who had their four-game winning streak snapped a night after hitting five homers in a 7-4 victory.
Right-hander John Brebbia opened the bullpen game for the Giants, allowing one hit in one inning.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Giants: Reinstated C Joey Bart from seven-day concussion list for his start behind the plate.
Dodgers: RHP Tony Gonsolin (forearm) played catch again but has residual soreness. Manager Dave Roberts remains optimistic the 16-game winner can be “fully ramped up” in time for the postseason. … INF-OF Gavin Lux (neck) won’t be going on the IL, Roberts said.
WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC
Dodgers left-hander Julio Urías says he’ll pitch for Mexico in next year’s World Baseball Classic.
He joins LA teammates Mookie Betts, Trea Turner and Will Smith who will represent the U.S. and Freddie Freeman, who’ll play for Canada, during the event in March.
Urías represented his country as a teenager, but the WBC will be the first time he does so as a professional. The Mexican left-hander hoped to pitch in the 2017 WBC, but the Dodgers wanted to limit their top prospect’s workload.
UP NEXT
Giants: RHP Alex Cobb (5-6, 3.58 ERA) is enjoying a strong second half. He struck out seven against the Phillies in his last start.
Dodgers: LHP Clayton Kershaw (7-3, 2.59) has a 1.99 ERA and 380 strikeouts in 55 career starts against the Giants.
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More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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| 2022-09-21T10:57:42Z
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NEW YORK (AP) — There was quite a hairy situation at the U.S. Open on Tuesday night.
Two men’s stay in the Arthur Ashe Stadium seats was, um, cut short after one buzzed the other’s head right there in the stands while Nick Kyrgios and Karen Khachanov played their quarterfinal.
They had clippers and the sort of cape a barber usually uses to keep a customer clean.
Soon enough, social media users were all excited about how a YouTuber known for his pranks had pulled this one off.
Tournament security removed the two from the match.
“When someone saw it, security went to the two individuals. They were escorted out of their seats and then off the grounds for disruption of play,” U.S. Tennis Association Brendan McIntyre said, adding: “There’s a first time time for anything.”
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More AP coverage of U.S. Open tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/us-open-tennis-championships and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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| 2022-09-21T10:57:57Z
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Billy Horschel finally made a U.S. team as one of six players added Wednesday to a stacked American team that will try to win the Presidents Cup for the ninth straight time.
Captain Davis Love III took two other newcomers to team competition with Max Homa, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour last season and Cameron Young, a 25-year-old who nearly won two majors as a rookie.
The other picks went to three-time major champion Jordan Spieth, two-time major champion Collin Morikawa and Kevin Kisner, who thrives in match play and contended at Quail Hollow in the 2017 PGA Championship.
The Presidents Cup is Sept. 22-25 at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina, and these matches would seem to be as lopsided as any since the event began in 1994 to give players from outside Europe a chance to play team competition like the Ryder Cup.
International captain Trevor Immelman filled out his 12-man team on Tuesday, picks that were delayed a week over uncertainty of who would leave the PGA Tour for Saudi-funded LIV Golf. Immelman lost four players who otherwise would have been on the team, including British Open champion Cameron Smith and Louis Oosthuizen.
Former Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama of Japan is the highest-ranked player on the International team at No. 16.
The Americans counter with nine players from the top 15 in the world, and no one ranked lower than Kisner at No. 26.
“These guys, this is their 12-man team that has never played together before,” Love said. “So they want to win for this team. So I don’t think we have to do too much messaging or motivation. Certainly you don’t want to be on a losing team ever. And we know we are up against it.
“Trevor is going to have a team that’s got a chip on their shoulder and that’s motivated and wants to prove that they can still be competitive. We have to be careful. Certainly these guys are not going to take it lying down.”
Horschel played in the Walker Cup when he was in college, renowned for his fiery matches with Rory McIlroy. But he never made it through qualifying or was picked for a Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup, usually a case of bad timing.
He won the FedEx Cup in 2014 with a runner-up finish and two wins. But the two wins came after the captain’s picks were decided. Horschel won the Dell Match Play a year ago but was outside the qualifying and was not selected as a Ryder Cup pick. He won the Memorial this year and finished 11th in the U.S. standings.
“I’ve been around Billy a lot over the years and I haven’t figured that out, how to rein him in. You ride his wave a little bit,” Love said. “He can certainly be over the top sometimes. But that’s what we want.”
Horschel is playing the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth this week, the European tour’s flagship event that he won last year.
Homa won his first PGA Tour title at Quail Hollow in the Wells Fargo Championship and made no secret that getting on the Presidents Cup was a chief goal this year.
The leading six qualifiers were Masters champion and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, PGA champion Justin Thomas, Sam Burns and Tony Finau. Thomas won his first PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in 2017.
Love went down the standings for all the picks except Kisner, who finished behind Tom Hoge and J.T. Poston, both of whom won this year, neither of whom have played in a cup. Kisner went 2-0-2 in the 2017 Presidents Cup at Liberty National.
“Kevin, again, adds some veteran leadership, a guy in the team room that everybody loves having around is really, really easy to pair,” Love said.
Cantlay, Schauffele, Thomas and Finau are the only four players from the 2019 team at Royal Melbourne that rallied on the final day to beat the International team.
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More AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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| 2022-09-21T10:58:04Z
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FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Joe Flacco will huddle up for the New York Jets against his former team. And likely a few more opponents after that.
Coach Robert Saleh announced Wednesday that Flacco will start at quarterback in the season opener Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens in place of the injured Zach Wilson — who likely will be out until Week 4 at Pittsburgh.
“Yeah, it’s frustrating, of course,” Wilson said. “You want to be healthy as much as possible.”
Flacco starting this week is not unexpected, as it appeared to be trending that way for a few weeks. But the announcement that the Oct. 2 game against the Steelers is likely “the earliest” Wilson will return from a knee injury was a surprise.
“Now, can it change? Sure, I’m always going to leave that door open,” Saleh said. “You guys know me, I’m the eternal optimist. But we are going to make sure both mind and body are 110% and make sure we do right by him.
“And we feel like, talking to the doctors and everyone, it’s going to be that Pittsburgh week.”
Wilson worked out on the field Monday and Tuesday while testing out his right knee, which was injured in the preseason opener at Philadelphia on Aug. 12. Saleh said Monday “it’s possible” Wilson could play against Baltimore but that the quarterback would be evaluated in the next few days. Saleh said the second-year QB had no setbacks while working out, but the Jets don’t want to rush him back to the field.
“He looks fantastic, he still looks good, he feels good,” Saleh said. “He’s not walking with a limp or anything.”
Despite Wilson missing at least the first three games, the Jets did not consider putting him injured reserve — which would sideline him for a minimum of four games — so that he can continue to practice with the team. Wilson will work with the training staff this week, Saleh said, and then slowly resume practice during the next few weeks. Wilson said he’s able to throw and drop back.
“For what the injury was,” he said, “I’m very optimistic to be able to get back and still play football the way I want to this year.”
Wilson said he won’t change the way he plays despite the injury.
“People can say, ‘He should’ve gone out of bounds, should’ve slid,’” Wilson said. “It was a non-contact injury. The guy didn’t tackle me. If the guy hit me and I got injured, that’s one thing. If I can’t run and cut without getting hurt, then what am I doing? I’ve got to take care of myself and put myself in a better situation there.”
Saleh also left no doubt that the starting job remains Wilson’s whenever he is fully ready to play.
“When Zach’s healthy, he’s rolling,” Saleh said.
Wilson suffered a bone bruise and torn meniscus, which was repaired via arthroscopic surgery in Los Angeles on Aug. 16. It’s the same knee in which he sprained a ligament last year and sidelined him for four games. He was initially expected to miss two to four weeks with the current injury, a timetable that turned out to be a bit overambitious.
Taking the cautious approach in Week 1, New York will turn to Flacco — who will take on his former team. And with the confidence of the Jets.
“Heck yeah, man, Cool Joe,” Saleh said. “He’s been preparing. He’s freakin’ awesome. I’m really excited for him for this opportunity.”
The 37-year-old quarterback spent his first 11 NFL seasons in Baltimore, helping lead the Ravens to a Super Bowl victory to cap the 2012 season. He was the MVP of that game and signed a six-year, $120.6 million contract a month later, becoming the highest-paid quarterback in NFL history at that time.
A hip injury midway through the 2018 season put Flacco on the sideline — and Lamar Jackson into the starting lineup. The following offseason, Flacco was traded to Denver, where he spent one season before signing with the Jets for his first stint in New York. Meanwhile, Jackson went on in 2019 to become the second player to win the AP NFL Most Valuable Player award unanimously.
This will mark Flacco’s first start against the Ravens, and he’ll take on the QB who replaced him.
“Obviously, there’s going to be some different emotions that I haven’t experienced before this one,” Flacco said. “I think at the end of the day, it is like every other game. Once kind of the dust settles and the game gets going, it’s a football game.”
Flacco is looking for his first win as a starter with the Jets, going 0-5 while filling in for Wilson in one game last season and four in place of Sam Darnold in 2020.
“Even at 37, I know that it’s in the back of his head, he’s getting a chance to play Baltimore and all these different things,” Saleh said. “Even at 37, he’s got to keep the main thing the main thing and just do his best, and trust his best is good enough.
“I think we’re all excited for Joe and his opportunity, and excited for Sunday.”
NOTES: Wilson and LT Duane Brown (shoulder) were the only players who didn’t practice Wednesday. … RT George Fant (knee), CB D.J. Reed (knee), CB/ST Justin Hardee (calf) and OL Conor McDermott (ankle) were limited.
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More AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
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| 2022-09-21T10:58:12Z
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NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge homered for the fourth straight game, hitting No. 55 of the year in Wednesday’s doubleheader opener against Minnesota to set the New York Yankees’ season record for right-handed hitters.
Louie Varland, a 24-year-old right-hander making his big league debut, allowed just one hit before Judge lined a 2-1 changeup 374 feet into the left-field seats in the fourth inning.
Judge surpassed the 54 homers hit by Alex Rodriguez in 2007. The Yankees’ season record of 61 was set by Roger Maris in 1961, one more than Babe Ruth’s season high of 60 in 1927.
Judge is one short of his career best of five straight games with home runs, set from July 29 to Aug. 2. He leads the major leagues in home runs and with 118 RBIs.
He has six homers in his last eight games and seven in his last 11.
Judge’s home run was his 114th at new Yankee Stadium, one more than Mark Teixeira’s previous record for the ballpark, which opened in 2009.
Only two players have hit more homers through a team’s first 136 games: the Chicago Cubs’ Sammy Sosa had 58 in 1999 and San Francisco’s Barry Bonds hit 57 in 2001.
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More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP—
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| 2022-09-21T10:58:27Z
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OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — The clock is ticking for Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens.
The star quarterback said Wednesday that Friday would be the cutoff point at which negotiations for a contract extension would need to be set aside before the start of the regular season. He’d indicated previously there could be some sort of deadline, and that he hoped to have a deal done before the season, but now he’s clarified the timetable he’s working with.
“The end of this week,” Jackson said when asked when his deadline is. “Friday. Friday.”
Jackson didn’t offer many more details about the status of contract talks, and that’s consistent with his posture on the topic this whole offseason. He’s entering his fifth-year option season, and after that, the Ravens can always use the franchise tag to keep him. So in theory it’s not a big deal if extension talks drag on to next offseason — unless something happens to him this year like a major injury.
Jackson, who is representing himself in contract talks, didn’t sound too concerned about that risk.
“It was a pretty big risk last season, the year before. I wasn’t thinking about contract negotiations around that time,” he said. “This season, it’s going to be the same thing.”
Jackson did go down with an ankle injury that caused him to miss the final four games of last season, but all indications are that the 2019 league MVP is at full strength entering Sunday’s opener on the road against the New York Jets. It sounds as if Jackson’s teammates are largely in the dark about how contract talks are progressing.
“He doesn’t really talk about it, so it hasn’t really been a distraction. I think it’s definitely interesting how it’s going, for sure, but nobody knows what’s going on,” cornerback Marlon Humphrey said. “Hopefully they can get done pretty soon here, but I have no doubt he’ll be here for his whole career, so I’m excited about that, being his teammate for a long time.”
While it may seem unlikely that the Ravens would lose Jackson after this season, it’s still noteworthy that these negotiations aren’t done yet, especially now that Kyler Murray — drafted a year after Jackson — has received his big new deal.
“It’s business, so it’s just been business the whole process,” Jackson said. “Just taking it a day at a time. Whenever we meet, we meet, stuff like that.”
Earlier this week, coach John Harbaugh sounded confident that this issue isn’t hurting Jackson’s focus.
“He’s hopeful to get a new contract. We’re hopeful to get him a new contract. But all the rest of it is business,” Harbaugh said.
“There’s nothing other than coming to something that’s mutually agreeable. That’s the way that all of these deals are done. So, obviously, I’m very hopeful, and I know everyone is really hopeful to get it done. But the focus remains on the football. Lamar’s that way, coaches and players are all that way.”
The Jets are planning to start former Baltimore standout Joe Flacco at quarterback this week, so if Jackson and the Ravens don’t agree on an extension, the spotlight could quickly turn to other storylines. At the very least, the suspense about his contract figures to go on pause for a little while.
“Kickoff, I will not be talking about a contract,” Jackson said. “I’m thinking straight Jets around kickoff time.”
NOTES: The Ravens listed RB J.K. Dobbins (knee), CB Marcus Peters (knee) and T Ronnie Stanley (ankle) as limited in practice Wednesday. DT Travis Jones (knee) did not practice. “I told (Dobbins) I want him to slow down, but he’s looking pretty good,” Jackson said. “Hopefully he’ll be out in a couple weeks. I’m looking forward to that guy, and he’s very eager to play.”
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Follow Noah Trister at https://twitter.com/noahtrister
___
More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
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| 2022-09-21T10:58:34Z
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Major League Baseball Players Association is joining the AFL-CIO in an effort to strengthen its position in the aftermath of one labor struggle and in the midst of another.
Executive director Tony Clark made the announcement Wednesday alongside AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler during an event at the National Press Club, discussing the MLBPA’s attempt to unionize minor leaguers following a nearly 100-day lockout that delayed the start of the season.
Clark cited lessons learned from 2020, when minor league baseball was not played, as a major impetus for this decision.
“Over the past couple of years, our experiences have suggested now is the right time to have that conversation,” he said. “We are in a world now where strengthening our organization, strengthening our player fraternity by bringing the minor leaguers under our umbrella, as well as joining the AFL-CIO and doing so alongside our brothers and sisters that are part of the labor movement, together we’re going to navigate that chaos, and together we’re going to work through it.”
Shuler called it “an incredible moment for the labor movement.” Clark said baseball players want to strengthen their organization by supporting minor leaguers and becoming part of the AFL-CIO.
The MLBPA is the 58th union to affiliate with the AFL-CIO, the largest labor federation in the U.S. with 12.5 million members. The AFL-CIO’s Sports Council already included players’ associations from the NFL, National Women’s Soccer League, United Soccer League and U.S. Women’s National Team.
The International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees, whose members are involved in broadcasting and staging major league games, voiced support for the move.
“Today’s announcement was a winning play by the players’ association,” president Matthew D. Loeb said in a statement. “We look forward to working in solidarity with the MLBPA to improve both the fan experience and the work lives of our members.”
The MLPBA on Tuesday asked management to voluntarily accept the union as the bargaining agent for minor leaguers. Bruce Meyer, the union’s deputy executive director, sent a letter to MLB Deputy Commissioner Dan Halem that claimed a majority of roughly 5,400 minor leaguers had signed authorization cards.
Clark repeated that assertion Wednesday, saying “thousands” of cards had been returned.
The MLBPA, which reached its first collective bargaining agreement for major leaguers in 1968, launched the minor league unionization drive Aug. 28. Players with minor league contracts, who earn as little as $400 weekly during the six-month season, would become their own bargaining unit within the MLBPA.
If MLB does not voluntarily accept the union, signed cards from 30% of the 5,000 to 6,500 minor leaguers in the bargaining unit would allow the union to file a petition to the National Labor Relations Board asking for a union authorization election. A majority vote in an election would authorize union representation.
“We support the MLBPA’s position, and so we’ll bring the full breadth and scope of the labor movement to back them up,” Shuler said. “And we hope that the league does the right thing.”
Baseball and the players settled on terms of a new collective bargaining agreement in March, ending the sport’s ninth work stoppage after 99 days and clearing the way for a full, 162-game regular season with opening day pushed back a week.
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More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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VIRGINIA WATER, England (AP) — When Rory McIlroy runs into some of his former Ryder Cup teammates at Wentworth this week, don’t expect them to spend much time reminiscing about fond memories.
European Ryder Cup stalwarts Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter are among the contingent of LIV Golf players who are competing at the BMW PGA Championship this week, much to the dismay of McIlroy and the others who have resisted the financial gains of joining the Saudi-backed breakaway series.
During a forgettable Ryder Cup for Europe last year at Whistling Straits, one of the most memorable moments came when McIlroy broke down in tears when talking about how much he loved his teammates. On Wednesday, he merely sighed when asked how what seemed like a tight-knit bond with Garcia, Westwood and Poulter can survive the fallout from LIV.
“I have no idea,” McIlroy said. “I wouldn’t say I’ve got much of a relationship with them at the minute. … But, like, I haven’t done anything different. They are the ones that have made that decision. So I can sit here and keep my head held high and say I haven’t done anything differently.”
Shane Lowry also said there could be some awkward meetings this week with players he used to be “good friends” with.
“Obviously I haven’t seen them in a long time now. Don’t hang out with them anymore,” Lowry said. “Probably won’t be going out for dinner because we haven’t seen each other. But yeah, there are certain lads that I shake hands with and certain hands I wouldn’t.”
So the rift between players created by LIV shows no sign of healing at Wentworth, where Billy Horschel and Jon Rahm both took aim at the LIV contingent on Tuesday.
The LIV golfers who are European Tour members are allowed to play at Wentworth while their suspension for playing in the inaugural event of the breakaway series is under appeal. Their Ryder Cup status is also subject to legal appeals.
U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick said he was “fed up with talking about” the whole situation, but acknowledged that the current tensions could make it difficult to include any LIV players on next year’s Ryder Cup team.
“There’s one person I would have, who I would be fine with playing with and have on the team,” Fitzpatrick said, declining to name the player. “But you know, next year is obviously a long way away, and there’s a lot of stuff to come with the whole situation. So that might change things, change attitudes even more, and then that probably makes it difficult.”
The European Ryder Cup team for next year was already affected by LIV Golf when Henrik Stenson was stripped of the captaincy for joining the breakaway series. When the Swede’s name came up at the end of McIlroy’s news conference as the only person to win both the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup and the European Tour’s Race to Dubai — a feat the Northern Irishman is trying to equal — McIlroy just quipped: “Who?”
McIlroy had said before the event that it would be “hard to stomach” playing alongside the LIV golfers this week, but said he had yet to see most of them at Wentworth.
“My opinion is they shouldn’t be here, but again that’s just my opinion,” McIlroy said, before taking a jab at LIV Golf’s format of only playing three rounds instead of four and starting on different holes. “But we are all going to tee it up on the first tee tomorrow and we are all going to go play 72 holes, which is a novelty for them at this point, and then we’ll go from there.”
McIlroy said he stayed away from a players’ meeting with European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley on Tuesday evening that included golfers from both factions.
“It wasn’t really a situation I wanted to get myself in knowing who was going to be in that room,” McIlroy said. “So I sort of removed myself from it and let them thrash it out.”
Pelley gave no details of what was said at the meeting at his own news conference, saying it was “very short and there were a couple of questions from LIV players that I think we answered.”
Pelley also launched a staunch defense of the financial viability of the European Tour — recently rebranded as the DP World Tour — and its ability to compete commercially.
“It is easy to get dragged down by the LIV propaganda machine, churning out negative news stories and misinformation about the poor state of the traditional golfing world, including our tour,” Pelley said. “It’s just not right.”
McIlroy, Fitzpatrick and Horschel all play in the same group on Thursday so they won’t have to share the course with any LIV players until the weekend at least.
When asked if it would give him added motivation to play in the final pairing on Sunday alongside a player who joined the Saudi-backed series, McIlroy couldn’t resist one more jibe.
“They are going to be pretty tired on Sunday,” he said, “it will be the fourth day.”
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More AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/ap-mcilroy-says-liv-has-strained-bond-with-ryder-cup-teammates/
| 2022-09-21T10:58:49Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/ap-mcilroy-says-liv-has-strained-bond-with-ryder-cup-teammates/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
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