text
string | url
string | crawl_date
timestamp[ns, tz=UTC] | source_domain
string | group
string | id
string | in_blocksbin
int64 | in_noblocksbin
int64 | tag
string | minhash_count
string |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets sank Monday as Europe faced a new squeeze on Russian gas supplies.
London and Frankfurt opened lower. Tokyo, Hong Kong and South Korea fell while Shanghai gained. Oil prices rose more than $2 per barrel while the euro edged lower.
Markets were roiled by Russian energy giant Gazprom’s announcement Friday that a suspension of gas supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline would be extended indefinitely. That adds to shortages in Germany and other economies.
In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London lost 1.1% to 7,198.73 and the DAX in Frankfurt tumbled 3.2% to 12,628.44., The CAC 40 in France fell 2% to 6,047.28.
Gazprom’s announcement puts European stocks under “heavy pressure,” said Chris Turner of ING in a report.
Also Friday, U.S. government data showed hiring slowed in August but wages rose sharply. Forecasters said the Federal Reserve might see that as evidence more interest rate hikes are needed to bring down inflation that is at a four-decade high.
“Markets relinquished early optimism for a sense of foreboding,” said Tan Boon Heng of Mizuho Bank in a report.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 future was off less than 0.1%. That for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained less than 0.1%.
The Dow also fell 1.1% on Friday after the Labor Department reported the U.S. economy added 315,000 jobs in August. That was down from July’s 526,000, but average hourly pay jumped by an unusually wide margin of 5.2% compared with a year earlier.
The Nasdaq composite lost 1.3%.
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.4% to 3,199.91 after the Chinese government tightened controls on movement in the southern business center of Shenzhen following virus outbreaks.
The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo lost 0.1% to 27,619.61 while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong tumbled 1.2% to 19,225.70.
The Kospi in Seoul lost 0.2% to 2,403.68 while Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 added 0.3% to 6,852.20.
New Zealand and Bangkok declined while Singapore and Jakarta advanced.
European economies face gas shortages after their governments agreed to wind down purchases from Russia to punish the Kremlin for invading Ukraine.
Last week, state-owned Gazprom announced a three-day suspension of gas supplies through Nord Stream 1 due to urgent maintenance work.
On Friday, the company said that would be extended indefinitely. Russia already has reduced supplies to countries that sided with Ukraine.
Meanwhile, traders are uneasily watching the Fed after chair Jerome Powell said Aug. 26 interest rates have to stay elevated to rein in surging inflation. That dashed hopes the Fed might back off due to signs U.S. economic activity is cooling.
The Fed has raised rates four times this year, twice by 0.75 percentage points, triple its usual margin.
Central banks in Europe and Asia also have hiked rates, fueling worries they might derail global economic growth.
The U.S. market has given up much of the gains made in July and August when traders hoped the Fed might ease up.
Traders expect another 0.75 percentage point rate hike at this month’s Fed meeting, according to CME Group.
In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude gained $2.18 to $89.05 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 26 cents to $86.87 on Friday. Brent crude, the price basis for international oil trading, added $2.54 to $95.56 per barrel in London. It advanced 66 cents the previous session to $93.02.
The dollar advanced to 140.50 yen from Friday’s 140.13 yen. The euro declined to 99.26 cents from 99.64 cents.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/business/ap-asian-stocks-follow-wall-street-lower-after-us-jobs-report-2/
| 2022-09-21T11:25:37Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/business/ap-asian-stocks-follow-wall-street-lower-after-us-jobs-report-2/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
LONDON (AP) — Liz Truss has been elected as the Conservative Party’s new leader, the party announced Monday, and she will take office Tuesday as Britain’s new prime minister to steer the country through an acute cost-of-living crisis.
The 47-year-old Truss, who is currently foreign secretary, beat former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak after a leadership contest in which only about 170,000 dues-paying members of the Conservative Party were allowed to vote. Truss received 81,326 votes, compared with Sunak’s 60,399.
She faces immediate pressure to deliver on her promises to tackle the cost-of-living crisis walloping the U.K. and an economy heading into a potentially lengthy recession.
Queen Elizabeth II is scheduled to formally appoint Truss as Britain’s prime minister on Tuesday. The ceremony will take place at the queen’s Balmoral estate in Scotland, where the monarch is spending her summer, rather than Buckingham Palace in London.
The two-month leadership contest left Britain with a power vacuum at a time of growing discontent amid spiraling energy and food costs. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has made no major policy decisions since he announced he was stepping down on July 7, and officials insisted that measures to address the energy cost crisis would be deferred until his successor is in place.
Meanwhile tens of thousands of workers have gone on strike to demand better pay to keep up with relentlessly rising costs. Inflation is above 10% for the first time since the 1980s, and the Bank of England has forecast that will reach a 42-year high of 13.3% in October. That’s largely driven by soaring energy bills, which will jump 80% for the average household starting next month.
“I will deliver a bold plan to cut taxes and grow our economy. I will deliver on the energy crisis, dealing with people’s energy bills, but also dealing with the long term issues we have on energy supply,” Truss told party members after she was elected.
“I know that our beliefs resonate with the British people: Our beliefs in freedom, in the ability to control your own life, in low taxes, in personal responsibility,” she added. “I know that’s why people voted for us in such numbers in 2019 and as your party leader I intend to deliver what we promised those voters right across our great country.”
Truss has won the support of many Conservatives with her zeal in rolling back state intervention and slashing taxes. Both she and her rival Sunak have spoken of their admiration for Margaret Thatcher, who was prime minister from 1979 to 1990, and her free-market, small-government economics.
But it’s not clear how Truss’s right-wing brand of conservatism, which played so well with party members — who represent far less than 1% of the U.K.’s adult population — will go down with the wider British public, especially those most in need of government relief to afford essentials like heating their homes this winter.
Truss has promised to act “immediately” to tackle soaring energy bills, but declined to give any details so far.
“The Conservative Party members wanted that message of tax cutting. The country, I would guess, less so,” said Bronwen Maddox, director of London’s Chatham House think tank.
“At the moment you’ve got people deeply rattled, many very, very afraid going into a year where all they can see are rising costs,” Maddox added. “Until she’s got an answer on that, she doesn’t have a claim to the popularity of the country, I think.”
While the economy is certain to dominate the first months of the new premier’s term, Truss will also have to steer the U.K. on the international stage in the face of Russia’s war in Ukraine, an increasingly assertive China and ongoing tensions with the European Union over the aftermath of Brexit — especially in Northern Ireland.
Australia, New Zealand and Japan issued congratulations to Truss early Tuesday and looked forward to strengthening their ties with the U.K. under her government. “She has been a staunch supporter of the UK’s ‘tilt’ to the Indo-Pacific and played a central role in advancing our historic Free Trade Agreement,” New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.
Truss will be the U.K.’s fourth Conservative prime minister in six years, entering Downing Street following Johnson, Theresa May and David Cameron.
Johnson was forced to resign after a series of ethics scandals that peaked in July, when dozens of cabinet ministers and lower-level officials quit in protest over his handling of allegations of sexual misconduct by a senior member of his government.
Both Truss and Sunak were key players within Johnson’s Cabinet, though Sunak resigned in the last days of Johnson’s time in office.
A Truss government may not sit well with many because it reminds voters too much of Johnson’s misdeeds, said Steven Fielding, a professor of political history at Nottingham University.
“She’s basically been elected as Boris Johnson 2.0 by Conservative members — she’s made it very clear that she is a loyal Boris Johnson supporter,” he said. “I think she’s going to find it very difficult to disentangle herself from the whole Johnson shadow.”
Truss and Sunak were the final two candidates whittled from an initial field of 11 leadership hopefuls.
Under Britain’s parliamentary system of government, the center-right Conservative Party was allowed to hold an internal election to select a new party leader and prime minister without going to the wider electorate. A new general election isn’t required until December 2024.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/business/ap-britain-to-learn-who-will-succeed-johnson-as-prime-minister/
| 2022-09-21T11:25:44Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/business/ap-britain-to-learn-who-will-succeed-johnson-as-prime-minister/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed a nation-leading measure giving more than a half-million fast food workers more power and protections, despite the objections of restaurant owners who warned it would drive up consumers’ costs.
The landmark law creates a 10-member Fast Food Council with equal numbers of workers’ delegates and employers’ representatives, along with two state officials, empowered to set minimum standards for wages, hours and working conditions in California.
Newsom said he was proud to sign the measure into law on Labor Day.
“California is committed to ensuring that the men and women who have helped build our world-class economy are able to share in the state’s prosperity,” he said in a statement. “Today’s action gives hardworking fast food workers a stronger voice and seat at the table to set fair wages and critical health and safety standards across the industry.”
The law caps minimum wage increases for fast food workers at chains with more than 100 restaurants at $22 an hour next year, compared to the statewide minimum of $15.50 an hour, with cost of living increases thereafter.
The state legislature approved the measure on Aug. 29. Debate split along party lines, with Republicans opposed.
Sen. Brian Dahle, the Republican nominee for governor in November, had called it “a steppingstone to unionize all these workers.”
Supporters had said they hoped the measure would inspire similar efforts elsewhere.
The measure’s author, Assemblyman Chris Holden, D-Pasadena, said it would “a new way to ensure marginalized workers have a voice in the workplace.”
Restaurant owners and franchisers opposed the law, citing an analysis they commissioned by the UC Riverside Center for Economic Forecast and Development saying that the legislation would increase consumers’ costs.
The International Franchise Association called it a “fork in the eye” of people who run restaurant franchises and said it could raise consumer prices as much as 20%.
“This bill has been built on a lie, and now small business owners, their employees, and their customers will have to pay the price,” IFA President and CEO Matthew Haller said in a statement. “Franchises already pay higher wages and offer more opportunity for advancement than their independent counterparts, and this bill unfairly targets one of the greatest models for achieving the American Dream and the millions of people it supports.”
However, Holden urged opponents to give the law a chance.
“Speaking as a former franchise owner, I would have welcomed this inclusive process, that in reality benefits not only the the worker but franchisee as well,” he said in a statement.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/business/ap-california-governor-signs-landmark-law-for-fast-food-workers/
| 2022-09-21T11:25:51Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/business/ap-california-governor-signs-landmark-law-for-fast-food-workers/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
LONDON (AP) — As a child, Liz Truss marched in demonstrations against Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. As an adult, she came to admire Britain’s first female leader — and now she is about to enter No. 10 Downing St. with a Thatcherite zeal to transform the U.K.
Truss, Britain’s foreign secretary, was named winner Monday in the contest to replace the scandal-plagued Boris Johnson as Conservative Party leader and the country’s prime minister. The party said Truss won the votes of around 57% of Conservative members, compared with about 43% for ex-Treasury chief Rishi Sunak.
Truss, 47, will become Britain’s third female prime minister, after Thatcher, who governed from 1979 to 1990, and Theresa May, who held office from 2016 to 2019.
Conservative Party members have embraced Truss’ vows to slash taxes and red tape and keep up Britain’s staunch support for Ukraine. Some see echoes of the Iron Lady — as Thatcher was known — in Truss’ vision of a “network of liberty” binding democracies around the world.
To critics, Truss is an inflexible ideologue whose right-wing policies won’t help Britain weather the economic turmoil set off by the pandemic, Brexit and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Mark Littlewood, a libertarian commentator who has known Truss since their university days, said Britain’s new leader is less a conservative than a “radical,” who — like Thatcher — wants to “roll back the intervention of the state” in people’s lives.
“I’m expecting a lot of fireworks and a lot of controversy and a lot of action,” he said.
Born in Oxford in 1975, Mary Elizabeth Truss is the daughter of a math professor and a nurse, who took her on anti-nuclear and anti-Thatcher protests as a child, where she recalled shouting: “Maggie, Maggie, Maggie — out, out, out!”
In a 2018 speech, she said she began developing her own political views early, “arguing against my socialist parents in our left-wing household.”
The family lived in Paisley, Scotland, before moving to Leeds in northern England, where Truss attended a public high school — something that sets her apart from her many privately educated Conservative colleagues.
During the leadership campaign, Truss emphasized her relatively modest background. But she riled some former classmates and teachers when she said students at her school were “let down by low expectations, poor educational standards and a lack of opportunity.” The school’s alumni include academics, judges and several other members of Parliament.
Truss went on to Oxford University, where she studied philosophy, politics and economics — the degree of choice for many aspiring politicians — and was president of the university branch of the Liberal Democratic Party. The economically centrist Lib Dems back constitutional reform and civil liberties, and Truss was an enthusiastic member, putting up “Free the Weed” posters that called for decriminalization of marijuana and arguing in a speech for the abolition of the monarchy.
Littlewood, who was a fellow member of the Oxford Lib Dems and now heads the Institute for Economic Affairs, a free market think tank, remembers Truss as “headstrong and determined and outspoken.”
“You were never in any doubt where she stood on an issue or a person,” he said.
After Oxford, Truss joined the Conservative Party — “when it was distinctly unfashionable,” she later said.
She worked as an economist for energy company Shell and telecommunications firm Cable and Wireless, and for a right-of-center think tank while becoming involved in Conservative politics and espousing free market Thatcherite views. She served as a local councilor in London and ran unsuccessfully for Parliament twice before being elected to represent the eastern England seat of Southwest Norfolk in 2010.
She won the safely Conservative seat after a bump on the way — some local Conservatives were outraged when it was revealed she had had an affair with another MP when both were married to other people. Truss won over her critics, and her marriage survived. She and husband Hugh O’Leary, an accountant, have two teenage daughters.
She founded the Free Enterprise group of Thatcherite Tory lawmakers who produced “Britannia Unchained,” a political treatise that notoriously included the claim that British workers are “among the worst idlers in the world.”
David Laws, a former Cabinet minister who worked with Truss in government a decade ago, recalled her as energetic and “mind-bogglingly ambitious,” comparing her in his memoir to “a young Margaret Thatcher on speed.”
Truss got her first Cabinet job as food and environment secretary in 2014, making her biggest impression with a much-mocked speech in which she thundered that it was “a disgrace” that Britain imports two-thirds of its cheese.
In Britain’s 2016 referendum on whether to leave the European Union, Truss backed the losing “remain” side, though she says she was always a natural euroskeptic. Since the vote, she has won over Brexiteers with her uncompromising approach to the EU.
She became justice secretary, but she was demoted to a more junior role in the Treasury by May in 2017. When May was toppled by her repeated failure to break a political deadlock over Brexit, Truss was an early backer of Boris Johnson to replace her. When he won, Johnson made Truss trade secretary, a role in which she Instagrammed her way around the world signing post-Brexit trade deals and raising her profile.
In September 2021, she was appointed foreign secretary, Britain’s top diplomat. Her performance has drawn mixed reviews. Many praise her firm response to the invasion of Ukraine, and she secured the release of two British citizens jailed in Iran, where her predecessors had failed.
But EU leaders and officials who hoped she would bring a softer tone to Britain’s relations with the bloc have been disappointed. Amid trade wrangling, Truss introduced legislation to rip up parts of the binding U.K.-EU divorce agreement signed by both sides. The 27-nation bloc is taking legal action against Britain in return.
Truss has sometimes suggested the frequent comparisons to Thatcher are sexist, but at other times she has encouraged them. She has posed in a British Army tank in Eastern Europe, evoking an image of Thatcher during the Cold War. In a televised leadership debate, Truss sported a pussy-bow blouse just like one Thatcher used to wear.
By stressing her modest background, she is evoking comparisons to grocer’s daughter Thatcher, said Victoria Honeyman, associate professor of British politics at the University of Leeds — “the working-class girl done good.”
Truss’ own personality is hidden behind a stern public persona. Friends say she has a fun-loving side rarely glimpsed in public, and enjoys karaoke and blasting out tunes by Taylor Swift, Whitney Houston and Destiny’s Child.
Truss’ perceived loyalty to Johnson, who remains popular with many Tories, also helped her win. Many party members cited Sunak’s decision to quit Johnson’s Cabinet in July as a mark against him. Truss didn’t resign, saying she was a “loyal person” — though she had been courting party members for months at “fizz with Liz” events to build support for a potential leadership bid.
Conservatives have embraced Truss’ optimistic message of liberation through less government, which is reminiscent of Ronald Reagan’s “morning in America” boosterism.
The wider British electorate is likely to prove a harder audience to win over. Times are tough and getting tougher as inflation soars and Britain’s cost-of-living crisis worsens. Truss’ focus on stimulating the economy through tax cuts is unlikely to provide much short-term relief.
Left-of-center commentator Will Hutton, writing in The Observer newspaper, said Truss’ economic ideas were “ruinous nonsense … persistently anti-Europe, obsessed with tax cuts, buying into the faith that nameless regulations are shackling business.”
Truss doesn’t have long to persuade voters that she is on the right track. The next national election must be held in two years.
“Is Liz going to be able to say in 2024, ‘Are you richer now than you were when I became prime minister?’ Possibly,” Littlewood said. “But it’s not an obvious slam dunk.”
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/business/ap-liz-truss-an-heir-to-thatcher-intent-on-shaking-up-britain/
| 2022-09-21T11:26:07Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/business/ap-liz-truss-an-heir-to-thatcher-intent-on-shaking-up-britain/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron is calling for a sharp 10% reduction in the country’s energy use in coming weeks and months to avoid the risk of rationing and cuts this winter, amid tensions with supplier Russia over the war in Ukraine.
Macron warned Monday that forced energy savings might have to be considered in coming months if voluntary efforts aren’t sufficient. He said energy rationing plans are being prepared “in case” they’re needed, and that “cuts will happen as a last resort.”
“The best energy is that which we don’t consume,” the French leader said at a news conference, where he urged French businesses and households to save energy, including by turning down heating and air conditioning.
France is among many European countries tightening their belts as energy costs soar. Russia’s main pipeline carrying natural gas to Germany remains shut down, and the European Commission president says the EU’s electricity market “is no longer operating” amid knock-on effects of the Ukraine war.
Macron did not explain how the 10% energy-saving goal would be policed or measured. Many French homes are already reining in gas and electricity use because of rising prices, but not everyone will heed Macron’s call. France’s prime minister last week raised the specter of two-hour household blackouts in the winter if solutions aren’t found.
Speaking after a videoconference Monday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Macron announced a plan to boost gas supplies to Germany from France to make up for a drop in Russian gas supplies from the east. In exchange, Macron said Germany will continue supplying electricity to France to compensate for shortages caused by maintenance underway on many French nuclear reactors.
The leaders spoke before an emergency European Union energy ministers meeting Friday about how the continent can coordinate to keep warm this winter if Russia cuts off gas supplies.
Macron said France and Germany support the idea of requiring energy companies that are making big profits on recent spikes in gas and oil prices to make a “contribution” to public coffers.
French activists and opposition politicians have been calling in recent days for a tax on oil and gas companies making “super-profits” amid Europe’s energy crisis.
Macron avoided using the word tax, instead saying he and Scholz support “a mechanism of European contribution sought from energy companies whose production costs are much lower than the market sale price.”
Macron also spoke in favor of a price cap on Russian gas, which EU leaders are also pushing.
The French leader reiterated his opposition, however, to boosting pipeline capacity from neighboring Spain to supply gas and eventually other energy sources to the rest of Europe. Macron argued that two existing gas pipelines between Spain and France are only used at 53% capacity.
“I don’t understand why we are jumping like Pyreneen goats on this subject to say this would solve the problem. It’s false,” he said. “We need more electrical interconnection. I’m not convinced we need more gas interconnections, whose consequences, particularly on the environment and ecosystems, are greater,” he said.
Iberia has several liquefied natural gas plants but little way of getting the gas to the rest of Europe, unless a new, much bigger pipeline is built. Meanwhile the EU is seeking to move away from gas altogether over the long term.
___
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/business/ap-macron-urges-french-to-save-energy-seeks-10-drop-in-use/
| 2022-09-21T11:26:15Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/business/ap-macron-urges-french-to-save-energy-seeks-10-drop-in-use/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — OPEC and allied oil-producing countries, including Russia, made a small trim in their supplies to the global economy Monday, underlining their unhappiness as recession fears help drive down crude prices — along with the cost of gasoline, to drivers’ delight.
The decision for October rolls back a mostly symbolic increase of 100,000 barrels per day in September. It follows a statement last month from Saudi Arabia’s energy minister that the OPEC+ coalition could reduce output at any time.
Oil producers such as Saudi Arabia have resisted calls from U.S. President Joe Biden to pump more oil to lower gasoline prices and the burden on consumers. OPEC+ has stuck with only cautious increases to make up for deep cuts made during the COVID-19 pandemic, which were finally restored in August.
Since then, growing worries about slumping future demand have helped send oil prices down from June peaks of over $120 per barrel, cutting into the windfall for OPEC+ countries’ coffers but proving a blessing for drivers in the U.S. as pump prices have eased.
The supply cut for October is only a small fraction of the 43.8 million barrels per day under OPEC+ production goals, but wrong-footed several analysts’ predictions of no change in output. Oil prices jumped after the announcement.
U.S. crude rose 3.3%, to $89.79 per barrel, while international benchmark Brent was up 3.7%, to $96.50, after the decision.
The amount of oil per day “may seem negligible, but the message from today’s cut is clear: OPEC+ thinks they’ve fallen enough,” Columbia University energy policy expert Jason Bordoff tweeted.
Oil prices have gyrated in recent months: Recession fears have pushed them down, while worries of a loss of Russian oil because of sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine pushed them up.
Recently, recession fears have taken the upper hand. Economists in Europe are penciling in a recession at the end of this year due to skyrocketing inflation fed by energy costs, while China’s severe restrictions aimed at halting the spread of the coronavirus have sapped growth in that major world economy.
Those falling oil prices have been a boon to U.S. drivers, sending gasoline prices down to $3.82 per gallon from record highs of over $5 in June and offering a potential boost to Biden as his Democratic Party heads into midterm elections.
“The President has been clear that energy supply should meet demand to support economic growth and lower prices for American consumers and consumers around the world,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “President Biden is determined to continue to take every step necessary to shore up energy supplies and lower energy prices.”
In June, fears that U.S. and European sanctions would take Russian oil off the market helped push Brent to over $123. Prices have fallen sharply in recent weeks as it became clear that Russia is still managing to sell significant amounts of oil in Asia, albeit at sharply discounted prices.
But concerns about the loss of Russian supply are still out there because European sanctions aimed at blocking most Russian oil imports won’t take effect until the end of the year.
Other factors are lurking that could influence the price of oil. For one, the Group of Seven wealthy democracies plan to impose a price cap on Russian oil aimed at battling high energy prices and reducing oil profits that Russia can use for its war in Ukraine.
That’s if the cap works as intended. Russia could refuse to supply oil to countries and companies observing the cap, which would take barrels off the market. The price cap has not been set, and its influence on the global price remains unclear.
Meanwhile, a deal between Western countries and Iran to limit Tehran’s nuclear program could ease sanctions and see more than 1 million barrels per day of Iranian oil return to the market in coming months. However, tensions between the U.S. and Iran appear to have risen in recent days: Iran seized two U.S. naval drones in the Red Sea, and U.S., Kuwaiti and Saudi warplanes flew over the Middle East on Sunday in a show of force.
OPEC+ countries’ energy ministers said their September increase of 100,000 barrels a day was only for that month and that the group could meet again at any time to address market developments.
___
Associated Press writer Will Weissert in Milwaukee contributed.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/business/ap-opec-faces-what-to-do-about-lower-oil-prices-drivers-cheer/
| 2022-09-21T11:26:22Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/business/ap-opec-faces-what-to-do-about-lower-oil-prices-drivers-cheer/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s annual inflation passed 80% in August, according to official data on Monday, further hitting consumers facing high energy, food and housing costs.
The Turkish Statistical Institute said consumer prices rose by 80.21% from a year earlier, up 0.6 percentage points from the previous month.
Independent experts say inflation is much higher than official statistics. The Inflation Research Group put the annual rate at 181%.
The central bank unexpectedly cut interest rates to 13% in August despite rising prices, a plunging lira and an unbalanced current account. The central bank slashed interest rates by 5 percentage points between September and December last year. The rate then stayed at 14% until last month.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the lira’s decline have stoked inflation. The lira has plunged over 50% against the U.S. dollar since the central bank began cutting rates.
Economists say rising inflation in Turkey is fuelled by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s unorthodox belief that high borrowing costs lead to higher prices — the opposite to established economic theory.
The government says it hopes to lower interest rates to boost production and exports in a bid to reach a current account surplus.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/business/ap-turkeys-annual-inflation-passes-80-after-interest-rate-cut/
| 2022-09-21T11:26:37Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/business/ap-turkeys-annual-inflation-passes-80-after-interest-rate-cut/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
BRUSSELS (AP) — Ukraine’s prime minister on Monday urged the European Union to stand firm against Russian energy “blackmail” and appealed for more weapons, including aircraft, for the war-ravaged country even as EU armament stocks run low.
“Russia wages a hybrid war in the European continent against the European Union. The gas blackmail, the oil blackmail, creation of the food crisis, migrant crisis, misinformation, cyberattacks,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
“But abandoning Ukraine alone against Russia — that would just be one of those steps for the further movement of Russia deeper into Europe. The only salvation is for Europe to be united,” he told reporters in Brussels after a meeting with senior EU officials.
The EU’s 27 member nations have been funneling weapons, ammunition and other assistance into Ukraine since Russia invaded the country on Feb. 24. The bloc has provided billions of euros in economic and refugee support. Sanctions are also gradually taking their toll on Russia’s economy, but concern is mounting that EU resolve may falter as inflation and energy prices rise.
However, Shmyhal insisted that Ukraine, which has been accepted as a candidate for future EU membership, still needs more help.
“Unfortunately, we see no signs that Russia is willing to stop the war. This is why we need more modern weapons, such as air defense, missile defense, anti-ship defense” as well as armored vehicles and aircraft, he said.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that “the European Union will continue supporting Ukraine, whatever threat, whatever blackmail Russia can put on us,” and that for “as long as it takes and as much as needed.”
But Borrell had warned earlier Monday that weapons stocks in the EU are running low and he urged member countries to better coordinate their spending on military materiel.
“The military stocks of most member states has been, I wouldn’t say exhausted, but depleted in a high proportion, because we have been providing a lot of capacity to the Ukrainians,” he said in a debate with European parliamentarians.
“It has to be refilled. The best way of refilling is doing that together. It will be cheaper,” he said.
At a meeting in the Czech Republic last week, EU defense ministers debated ways to better pool military materiel and resources, but also to bulk purchase ammunition and weapons like air defense systems which Ukraine continues to need.
Borrell warned Monday that if member countries keep expanding their military capabilities in the same way, “the result will be a big waste of money, because this is not a way of canceling our duplications — there are a lot of them — or filling our gaps.”
Borrell also rued what he believes was a missed opportunity for the EU to begin training the Ukrainian armed forces a year ago, many months before Russia launched its invasion more than six months ago, after several member countries requested such an operation.
“Unhappily we didn’t, and today we regret. We regret that last August we were not following this request, fulfilling this request,” he said. Had the EU responded at the time, Borrell said, “we would be in a better situation.”
___
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/business/ap-ukraines-prime-minister-appeals-for-eu-weapons-and-unity/
| 2022-09-21T11:26:44Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/business/ap-ukraines-prime-minister-appeals-for-eu-weapons-and-unity/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Medical marijuana patients spent $23.27 million across Arkansas’ 38 dispensaries in the month of August.
According to a release from the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, last month’s sales totaled 4,245 pounds of product. The Natural Relief Dispensary in Sherwood had the most sales for the month, with 423 pounds sold. The Releaf Center in Bentonville was second at 281 pounds.
“August was the largest month for pounds sold in 2022 as patients purchased more than 4,245 pounds of medical marijuana,” said Scott Hardin, spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration.
“Since January 1, 2022, patients have spent $181 million to obtain 32,027 pounds,” Hardin added. “With $2.7 million in state tax revenue collected from medical marijuana in August, a total of $78.68 million has been collected since the industry launched in mid-2019.”
The Arkansas Department of Health reports 89,983 active patient cards in the state. The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission will meet on September 8 at 4:30 p.m.
The meeting may be viewed via an Arkansas PBS live stream.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/business/ar-med-marijuana-patients-spent-over-23m-in-august/
| 2022-09-21T11:26:52Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/business/ar-med-marijuana-patients-spent-over-23m-in-august/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Police are investigating a shooting in North Shreveport that took the life of a Texas man.
Twenty-one-year-old Kendrick Dotie of Texas was taken to the hospital, where he died of his wounds 30 minutes later.
It happened at the Northside Villas just off of N. Market Street near N. Lakewood Drive just after 3:30 p.m., according to online dispatch records. At one point, ten SPD units and four Shreveport Fire Department EMS crews were on the scene, along with four Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office units.
📲 Download the KTAL NBC 6 News app to stay updated on the go.
📧 Sign up for KTAL Breaking News email alerts
💻 Find today’s top stories from Shreveport-Bossier and across the ArkLaTex on KTALNews.com.
Dotie was identified through fingerprint comparison. His death marks the 36th homicide in Caddo Parish this year and the first homicide since the death of Eli McKinney on July 6. An autopsy has been ordered.
The shooting remains under investigation.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/crime/1-wounded-in-n-shreveport-shooting/
| 2022-09-21T11:26:59Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/crime/1-wounded-in-n-shreveport-shooting/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Officers are investigating a shooting in the Anderson Island neighborhood Monday night that seriously wounded a man.
Police responded to the scene on the 1100 block of Knight St. just after 8:20 p.m., where they say three juvenile males stole a Jeep Liberty following an altercation. The owner gave chase, and one of the vehicles involved crashed.
Officers say the juveniles shot the adult male victim three times in the chest and once in the ankle. They say he returned fire, but it’s not yet known if he hit one of the suspects. The victim’s wounds are reported to be life-threatening.
Three people are in custody. Officials say there may be another female suspect involved.
This is a developing story. More information will be provided as it becomes available.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/crime/2-wounded-in-vehicle-theft-shootout-in-shreveport/
| 2022-09-21T11:27:07Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/crime/2-wounded-in-vehicle-theft-shootout-in-shreveport/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
SIBLEY, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – A Sibley man is facing terrorizing charges, and a local church is reviewing its security plans after a disturbing incident during Sunday services.
It happened toward the end of the sermon during the morning service at Sibley Missionary Baptist Church, according to church member and off-duty Minden police officer Jared McIver. What stood out immediately, McIver says, is that the man came in through the front door and slowly made his way down the aisle all the way to a front row seat.
“That is very odd in itself because most everyone that is late sits towards the rear of the building as to not disturb the rest of the program,” McIver recounted in a Facebook post early Sunday afternoon. “The pastor was preaching and the service was almost over. The man looked straight ahead, then downwards, and then started nervously fumbling with his hands. No one had ever seen this man and it was apparent very quickly that folks in the Congregation were on edge.”
On its own, that behavior might have been nothing more than a man “under conviction.” But what happened next prompted McIver to share it as an example of why it is so important for every church to have a security plan.
McIver, a 35-year member of Sibley MBC, says several men who are authorized to concealed carry inside the church began “signaling each other to start strategically, quietly and methodically position ourselves in a manner as to not draw any attention to the man.”
“As the invitation was given the man went to the front alter and began praying and holding his hands up in the air. Again no judgment here because it is a common thing to see folks worshipping God, praying, and holding their hands up. After the invitation was given the man started praying out loud. The things he was saying were in a very mad aggravated yelling voice. Growling with his words as if angry. The church service was now over and the man is still kneeling there. Everyone starts quickly nervously making their way out of the building and the men of the church are listening and monitoring what is transpiring. This man starts angrily saying things such as, ‘We need to kill off all of these so-called Christians and kill everything and crush them.'”
It was then that McIver called the sheriff’s office, which responded within minutes. Deputies slipped into the sanctuary and took the man into custody after seeing and hearing his behavior for themselves.
McIver says the way the man responded to deputies who asked him why he said what he said was just as disturbing as his violent prayers.
“He said, ‘Well, it’s not illegal to pray out loud,'” McIver recalled, noting that the man did not appear to be concerned about whether it was right or wrong to call for the deaths of others.
Deputies arrested the 47-year-old man on a charge of terrorizing and booked him into the Bayou Dorcheat Correctional Center. Bond has not been set.
Webster Parish Sheriff Jason Parker says the church did the right thing by calling law enforcement.
“We want to keep our citizens safe,” Parker said. “If anything looks out of sort, it’s okay to call us. Let us respond and see if it’s legitimate.”
“There are several different (what if) scenarios that could have taken place,” McIver said in his Facebook post. “It definitely has heightened our awareness and will cause us to tighten our security measures for the future.”
McIver, who is also running to become Minden’s next chief of police, tells KTAL NBC 6 News he is sharing the story to spread awareness.
“I believe all churches need security in place today. Churches can be considered a soft target to some criminals that wanna hurt people and hurt themselves. Just having that security gives the congregation peace of mind, gives the pastor peace of mind, and folks wanna to come here and worship peacefully.”
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/crime/terrorizing-arrest-at-sibley-church-why-church-security-is-so-important/
| 2022-09-21T11:27:22Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/crime/terrorizing-arrest-at-sibley-church-why-church-security-is-so-important/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
A Lockport man is accused of slashing another man with a knife in the Pine Street and La Grange Avenue area Tuesday morning.
According to Lockport police, the victim said Pedro J. Garcia, 32, 565 Walnut St., pulled out a black pocket knife with a 5.5-inch blade as he yelled at him Tuesday morning as he was walking on Pine Street.
The victim said he knew Garcia from previous incidents.
Police said Garcia jabbed at the victim with the knife, but only made contact with the victim’s hand, who raised it while getting out of the way. The blade subsequently struck the victim’s hand and cut him as he started to run.
LPD said Garcia initially chased the victim but lost him. The victim reached the Lockport Police Department at approximately 6:30 a.m. and reported the crime.
At 10:45 a.m. Tuesday, Garcia was found on La Grange Avenue and taken into custody. Garcia is facing assault and menacing charges. He was held for arraignment in city court at 1:30 p.m. and qualified for bail of $5,000 cash, $5,000 insurance and $50,000 partially secured. He was transported to Niagara County Jail.
The victim has also asked for a full-stay away order of protection from Garcia.
Garcia is set to appear in city court today.
|
https://www.lockportjournal.com/news/crime/victim-cut-in-alleged-assault/article_13f4afd4-3905-11ed-9aaf-5313dff2c995.html
| 2022-09-21T11:27:25Z
|
lockportjournal.com
|
control
|
https://www.lockportjournal.com/news/crime/victim-cut-in-alleged-assault/article_13f4afd4-3905-11ed-9aaf-5313dff2c995.html
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
UNION COUNTY, Ark. (KTVE/KARD)–School is back in session, and the thought of COVID-19 creeping back is a concern for parents.
The El Dorado School District is taking action and closely monitoring the Center for Disease Control’s guidelines as they welcome students back to the classrooms for the 2022-2023 school year.
“We currently follow the CDC guidelines,” explains El Dorado School District’s Wildcats Wellness Administrator Debbie McAdams.
As of last week, there were seventy-one confirmed COVID cases in Union County. Although that number is lower than what we saw earlier this year, ESD is taking every measure to ensure students can continue learning in the classroom.
McAdams said the pandemic two years ago encouraged ESD to strengthen its preventative measures.
“From two years ago, with the influx of the pandemic, we have a lot more preparedness in place to pivot virtually. A lot of the things are some of our students don’t have enough Wi-Fi or broadband, but we’ve got things in place to make that happen for them. We want every kid to have the best possibility to succeed,” said McAdams.
In addition to those basic health and hygiene practices, like handwashing, CDC recommends some prevention actions at all COVID-19 Community Levels, which include:
- Staying Up to Date with COVID-19 Vaccines
- Improving Ventilation
- Getting Tested for COVID-19 If Needed
- Following Recommendations for What to Do If You Have Been Exposed
- Staying Home If You Have Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19
- Seeking Treatment If You Have COVID-19 and Are at High Risk of Getting Very Sick
- Avoiding Contact with People Who Have Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/education/covid-numbers-on-the-rise-as-students-go-back-to-school/
| 2022-09-21T11:27:29Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/education/covid-numbers-on-the-rise-as-students-go-back-to-school/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
Kupu and Hawaii Youth Sustainability Challenge provides hands-on training in conservation, sustainability, and environmental education for youth and young adults. Applications are now open for the 2022-2023 school year.
Lindsay Todd (Environmental Education Program Specialist) shared, “Kupu is a non-profit organization that specializes in environmental education and conservation, as well as uplifting Native Hawaiian youth.”
A part of Kupu and Kōkua Hawaii Foundation is the Hawaii Youth Sustainability Challenge (HYSC). “It’s a program that empowers Hawaii’s high school students to come up with conservation and sustainability solutions to issues that they see in their communities.”
To be part of the program, “Hawaii high school students can apply with a solution to the conservation issue that they’ve identified in their school or community...we match them up with a coach, help them through the program, connect them to resources.” The applications are now open and will close on September 30th.
As a specialist and mentor, Lindsay has been able to work with youth in the program. “It’s been just so inspiring to see students be a part of the program—the passion that they come in with, the ideas that I’ve never even considered as solutions.”
HYSC Student, Ethan Kimura, has been a part of the program and created a project of his own. “It’s been so cool to see Ethan grow throughout the program. I was really fortunate to be his mentor...he went from just starting out with this idea to really putting it into action...," shared Lindsay.
Ethan shared his initiative, “Mālama Hawaii’s Animals is a game...its goal is to talk to tourists about the procedures to take when looking at or being around native animals of Hawaii.” In the future, “I would like to have it on the airlines...when you go through the terminals at the gate...having it at kiosks...”
Mālama Hawaii’s Animals is important because, “The monk seals and Hawaii’s native animals are important to both Hawaii’s ecosystem and Hawaii’s culture. If you were to take out a single species from the ecosystem, it could possibly cause environmental damage.” Ethan added, “HYSC and Kupu really helped me, they really guided me...”
As Miss Hawaii 2019 & 2020, Nikki was a representative for the Aloha State and was highly involved with the community as she promoted the importance of service. Nikki is the host of KITV's entertainment and culture platform, ISLAND LIFE.
|
https://www.kitv.com/island-life/hawaii-youth-sustainability-challenge-is-now-accepting-applications-for-the-upcoming-school-year/article_166e3ef2-388c-11ed-ad1a-2f74e25f5beb.html
| 2022-09-21T11:27:31Z
|
kitv.com
|
control
|
https://www.kitv.com/island-life/hawaii-youth-sustainability-challenge-is-now-accepting-applications-for-the-upcoming-school-year/article_166e3ef2-388c-11ed-ad1a-2f74e25f5beb.html
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
ALBANY — From his vantage point on New York’s northern border with Canada, veteran federal agent Brandon Budlong has concluded New York’s sanctuary policies have made it a magnet for those entering the country without authorization.
New York’s decision to make undocumented immigrants eligible for driver’s licenses and its status as a sanctuary state “totally incentivizes” the influx of undocumented immigrants into the state, said Budlong, a U.S. Border Patrol agent who is the president of the National Border Patrol Council Local 2724.
Budlong spoke to CNHI about the national debate over border security, one that has been heating up as conservative Republican governors have been steering migrants from the southern border to places such as New York City and Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.
“Because of the Green Light law (the New York statute that qualified undocumented immigrants for New York driver’s licenses) we can’t even access the motor vehicle database because we enforce immigration policies and laws,” Budlong said. “It makes it very hard for us to catch anyone after the fact.”
“New York is the perfect place to be if you want to abscond,” he added
Democrats are accusing Govs. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas, both Republicans, of trying to spread chaos and using immigrants for political theater by directing them to sanctuary states.
At the White House Tuesday, Karine Jean-Pierre, press secretary for President Joe Biden, said the administration is working with officials in Delaware after learning of a new plan to send migrants to Rehoboth Beach, a resort community where Biden has a summer home.
In Florida, DeSantis insisted the migrants moved to Martha’s Vineyard, where former President Barack Obama has a home, were sent there on a “clearly voluntary” basis, adding: “Why wouldn’t they want to go, given where they were?”
According to New York City officials, some 11,000 asylum seekers have arrived in New York City by bus from Arizona and Texas in just the past four months, leaving the shelter system strained.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has suggested using cruise ships as temporary shelters for the new arrivals.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, has voiced outrage that migrants getting off buses in New York City last month had been wearing bar-coded wristbands put on them in Texas. “Nobody deserves to be treated like an animal,” Hochul told WCBS.
At a New York City event Tuesday, Hochul told reporters she is encouraging federal officials to give migrants the ability to work legally while their applications for legal status are being processed.
Hochul also said the director of state operations, Kathryn Garcia, is working with local officials to locate housing for the migrants. She added that her administration is also asking the Biden administration to provide federal assistance for what she acknowledged is a “crisis.”
But Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Saratoga County, one of the top House Republicans, argued the crisis is one that has been fueled by Hochul’s support for sanctuary policies.
Stefanik argued the Green Light law be repealed, contending it has been an incentive for undocumented people to come to New York,
“Since April, I have been demanding that Hochul speak out against the transportation of illegal immigrants in the dead of night into New York by the Biden Administration, but she has remained silent,” the congresswoman said.
Hochul aides did not respond to Stefanik’s criticisms.
Michael Kink, director of Strong Economy for All, a progressive advocacy group backed by unions, said refugees who have resettled in upstate New York have enhanced the communities where they reside, citing Utica as an example.
“They have contributed to their communities’ health and economic revival,” said Kink, contending that state financial support for refugee populations would be an investment that pays dividends for those communities in the long term.
The New York Immigration Coalition, an advocacy organization that championed the Green Light law, has launched a “Welcoming New York Campaign.” The group says it is designed to “keep pressure on every level of government to ensure a quicker and more efficient response to the pressing needs of new arrivals” being sent to New York.
The Coalition is urging Hochul and the Legislature to provide additional funding for emergency legal support, to create “welcome centers” across the state, to fund temporary shelters and to set up a state program offering housing vouchers, job placement and funding for transportation outside of New York.
In Florida, DeSantis has signaled that sanctuary states should expect to see more unannounced planeloads of recently arrived migrants.
“These sanctuary jurisdictions can put their money where their mouth is, they can provide the resources, they can do all of that. and then once that happens, the chance of folks coming to Florida is probably very, very low,” DeSantis said last week.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, told Albany television station WRGB Tuesday she supports an investigation aimed at determining whether a criminal act occurred when migrants from Venezuela were sent from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard. DeSantis has acknowledged that the flight was funded by the state of Florida.
|
https://www.lockportjournal.com/news/local_news/debate-over-nys-sanctuary-status-heats-up-amid-new-migrant-surge/article_b72b4d34-394b-11ed-89b2-af7f0053a66f.html
| 2022-09-21T11:27:31Z
|
lockportjournal.com
|
control
|
https://www.lockportjournal.com/news/local_news/debate-over-nys-sanctuary-status-heats-up-amid-new-migrant-surge/article_b72b4d34-394b-11ed-89b2-af7f0053a66f.html
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WGHP) — A North Carolina school apologized after baptizing more than 100 children without their parent’s permission, according to the Fayetteville Observer.
Northwood Temple Academy, a private Christian school in Fayetteville, posted on Facebook on Thursday, “I feel it in my bones. You’re about to move! Today we had over 100 middle and high school students spontaneously declare their faith and get baptized today. We will have more pictures of these powerful moments posted over the next couple of days!”
That morning, three students had their scheduled baptisms at the school as part of Spiritual Emphasis Week. The offer was then extended to other students who had not been scheduled. More than 100 students in total were baptized.
Renee McLamb, the head of the school, sent families a letter to explain.
“The Spirit of the Lord moved, and the invitation to accept the Lord and be baptized was given, and the students just began to respond to the presence of the Lord,” McLamb said in the letter, which was obtained by the Observer.
The school says it typically notifies and invites parents to be present for any baptisms that happen on campus, and “it was not the intention of any faculty member to do anything behind a parent’s back or in any kind of secret way.”
“I do understand that parents would desire to be a part of something so wonderful happening in the lives of their children, and so I apologize that we did not take that into consideration in that moment,” McLamb said. “I pray that at the end of the day, we will all rejoice because God truly did a work in the lives of our students.”
McLamb told the paper that the school should have given students a chance to contact parents and ask permission. “We were not expecting such an overwhelming response to the message that was spoken, but as a mother, I certainly can empathize with why some parents were upset,” she said.
McLamb said that most of the parents that contacted her were glad, but some were unhappy with the move. Some of the children had already been baptized, and at least one family was concerned that a second baptism could undo the first.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/education/more-than-100-students-baptized-without-parents-permission-at-north-carolina-school/
| 2022-09-21T11:27:35Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/education/more-than-100-students-baptized-without-parents-permission-at-north-carolina-school/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
Country
United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary
People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
|
https://www.kitv.com/news/local/hawaii-man-wins-5-figure-prize-at-las-vegas-casino/article_fb58655c-3958-11ed-aac3-a3bb659c8c35.html
| 2022-09-21T11:27:37Z
|
kitv.com
|
control
|
https://www.kitv.com/news/local/hawaii-man-wins-5-figure-prize-at-las-vegas-casino/article_fb58655c-3958-11ed-aac3-a3bb659c8c35.html
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
Keah Brown, a journalist and disability rights activist residing in Lockport, recently had a children’s book published.
She describes “Sam’s Super Seats” as a love letter to the friend she wished she had when she was a child: “Someone who knows it’s all right to need help and to ask for help from the people who love you.”
The book is based on her memories of places and things like mall benches, which she would use as a child when she got too tired. Brown has cerebral palsy, and with this disability, for her, comes difficulty of motion. She got tired quickly and would often rest on benches — where her character, Sam, sits in her book.
When “Sam’s Super Seats” was about to be published, Brown’s publisher gave her a choice of illustrators and she chose Sharee Miller, whose work she adores.
“It’s really beautiful when you see the people you made up come to life,” Brown said.
Learning to live with cerebral palsy has been a process for Brown. She says she had an idyllic childhood in Lockport, but in her teen years and early 20s she faced challenges, many of them her own creation.
“I thought I had to tear myself down and be mean to myself to be ready for other people being mean to me,” she said in a Tuesday phone interview.
Through therapy and a daily exercise in which she would state four things she liked about herself, Brown gradually turned herself around.
In 2017 she made a hashtag #DisabledandCute that went viral. In 2019, “The Pretty One,” her book of essays was published. The book centered around living in Lockport with a non-disabled fraternal twin sister, the “pretty one,” and Brown’s own journey toward feeling valued as herself.
Recently Brown turned 31 and is happy being on the other side of those teen years; she says she wouldn’t go back to high school if they paid her.
“I like waking up every day, being excited about waking up and having the day,” she said.
Brown, who has a degree in journalism from SUNY Fredonia, has been published in places that surprise her, including Glamour, Allure and InStyle.
Brown writes about disability issues, as well as woman’s rights and gives her take on the issues of the day from her viewpoint as a Black, Queer woman living with a disability. She also has a Young Adult book coming out soon and is working on the screenplay of a musical.
She doesn’t credit herself for having the power to persist and succeed, though. The credit for that goes to the people who saw something in her before she saw it herself. When she was finally ready to go for it, they were waiting for her, she said.
“I am very grateful for people and places that Lockport has allowed me to know and have great relationships with great people,” Brown said. “Despite the hardships, if it wasn’t for the people around me, I wouldn’t be who I am. and a lot of them are people in Lockport.”
|
https://www.lockportjournal.com/news/local_news/lockport-author-discusses-new-book-sams-super-seats/article_1d396742-392d-11ed-9a2f-af71c4189abc.html
| 2022-09-21T11:27:38Z
|
lockportjournal.com
|
control
|
https://www.lockportjournal.com/news/local_news/lockport-author-discusses-new-book-sams-super-seats/article_1d396742-392d-11ed-9a2f-af71c4189abc.html
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
The family of a 12-year-old Little League World Series player who was critically injured after falling from a bunk bed is suing the league and the company that made the bed, according to court documents.
Easton Oliverson of Utah's Snow Canyon Little League suffered a fractured skull after falling from a bunk bed at the players' dormitory in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, while he was sleeping on August 15. He was placed in a medically induced coma and underwent multiple surgeries.
The suit was filed Friday in state court in Pennsylvania by Easton's parents, Jace and Nancy Oliverson, and it seeks at least $50,000 in compensatory and punitive damages on counts of negligence and liability.
According to the suit, bed maker Savoy Contract Furniture and the Little League were negligent for "failing to have rails on the bed," allowing Easton to fall.
"Savoy designed, manufactured, distributed, marketed, and/or sold the bunk beds in a dangerous and defective condition in that they did not contain every element necessary to make them safe for their intended use," the court filing reads.
The parents also allege their son suffered "significant and permanent injuries" as a result, according to the lawsuit.
Little League Baseball Inc. declined to comment on pending legal proceedings. CNN has been unable to reach Savoy for comment.
On August 17, shortly after the fall, Little League released a statement to CNN, saying the bunk beds at the players' dorms did not have safety rails.
"Since 1992, Little League has used institutional-style bunk beds to offer the most space for the players to enjoy their time in the dorms. While these beds do not have guard rails, Little League is unaware of any serious injuries ever occurring during that period of time," the league's statement read. "Out of an abundance of caution, Little League has made the decision to remove all bunks from within the dorms and have each bed frame individually on the floor."
Oliverson whose nickname is "Tank," was hospitalized in Pennsylvania for two weeks before transferring to a children's hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. On September 19, an Instagram account set up to provide updates on his recovery announced he had returned home.
Support for Oliverson came flooding in after news of his injury made national headlines.
The Brigham Young University football team and Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts submitted supportive videos through Instagram for Easton.
Oliverson thanked people for their prayers in a video posted to social media August 30.
|
https://www.kitv.com/news/national/family-of-little-leaguer-who-suffered-severe-injuries-after-falling-from-bunk-bed-is-suing/article_c6960786-f019-59df-937d-5522d6305bcf.html
| 2022-09-21T11:27:44Z
|
kitv.com
|
control
|
https://www.kitv.com/news/national/family-of-little-leaguer-who-suffered-severe-injuries-after-falling-from-bunk-bed-is-suing/article_c6960786-f019-59df-937d-5522d6305bcf.html
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
NEWFANE — The school district’s goal of a new sports complex is about to be realized. Superintendent Michael Baumann confirmed that the complex at Newfane High School, which has been officially named “Panther Field,” is in the final stages of construction.
Baumann said the few remaining tasks that need to be completed include installation of seven of 10 light poles, concrete laying and bench installation at the baseball dugouts, and a top coat of paint and electrical installation at the concession stand. Otherwise the complex is completely suitable to be played on now.
“The biggest difference from where we were a month ago was the laying of the turf itself,” Baumann explained. “It’s been graded and tested, and it’s playable. We could go out there and have a game of football or soccer right now if there wasn’t so much other work going on around us.”
It is anticipated that Panther Field will be fully opened by the second week of October, during which several afternoon contests will be waged: A girls soccer game on Oct. 11, a cheerleading competition on Oct. 12, a field hockey game on Oct. 13 and a boys soccer game on Oct. 14. This will all culminate in the official grand opening and first night game at the field at 7 p.m. Oct. 15, with the varsity football game against Lackawanna. A grand opening ceremony will be held beforehand at 6 p.m.
Opening of Panther Field will alleviate scheduling problems that have cropped up for Panther teams, especially weather-related problems, according to Baumann.
“Many times over the years, our athletes have had to cancel practices and games because it was too muddy, and there weren’t any facilities for them,” he said. “Here it’s never going to be a problem because of the drainage infrastructure in this field. This is an investment in the district’s future.”
The construction of Panther Field was a part of a larger, $30.5 million capital project, which included reconfiguration of the high school main office to increase security screening for visitors, renovation of high school interiors, and renovation of elementary school bathrooms. There were also new ceilings, retiled walls, graphics to help guide around schools and a repaving of the parking lot.
In addition, a new road has been laid out that will lead into the school parking lot from Transit Road.
“Prior to this project, this school only had one point of entry. From a standpoint of safety and security, that’s terrible,” Baumann said. “First responders would have a hard time getting in if there was an emergency.”
The new road will add an alternative exit from the property in case of an emergency and also help ease road congestion during dismissal, he said
As the current capital project nears completion, district administration is beginning to plan a new project to make improvements at Newfane Middle School, including renovating the auditorium, updating the track and field complex and installing new doors with up-to-date security locks. Repairs to the roof of the historically significant structure are being looked at as well. The front roof is slate tile and Baumann said “we want to make sure that we’re replacing it with a historically accurate piece of roofing.”
|
https://www.lockportjournal.com/news/local_news/panther-field-nears-opening/article_6f53fb12-3934-11ed-89a8-3f20ccf70ab8.html
| 2022-09-21T11:27:44Z
|
lockportjournal.com
|
control
|
https://www.lockportjournal.com/news/local_news/panther-field-nears-opening/article_6f53fb12-3934-11ed-89a8-3f20ccf70ab8.html
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — The Shreveport Fire Department is investigating a fire in Shreveport‘s Highland neighborhood Monday morning that claimed the life of one person.
Firefighters were called to the fire in the 1000 block of Blanchard Place in Shreveport just before 9:30 a.m and arrived to find light smoke and visible flames when they entered the one-story house. They were told someone was still in the house.
They were able to find Emiliano Rodriguez, 63, and bring him out. In spite of efforts to perform life-saving measures, Rodriguez was later pronounced dead at the hospital. The Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office says an autopsy has been authorized and the death remains under investigation.
It took more than two dozen firefighters to battle the flames. SFD says the fire was under control by 9:53 a.m. and there were no injuries to any firefighters or other citizens.
This fire is under investigation by Shreveport Fire Investigators and the La. State Fire Marshals Office.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/local-news/1-dead-in-highland-house-fire/
| 2022-09-21T11:27:43Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/local-news/1-dead-in-highland-house-fire/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
DALLAS (KDAF) — Whether it’s kicking back on the porch reading the newspaper, enjoying the outdoors or just being closer to the grandkids, post-career goals vary for people. But all states are not the same when it comes to retirement, a recent study from Bankrate found.
Bankrate conducted a study to find the best and worst states for retirement in 2022. “For this study, Bankrate looked at five broad categories: affordability, wellness, culture, weather and crime. We placed the heaviest weighting on affordability,” according to the study, whose authors acknowledged that some things, such as proximity to loved ones or personal dislike of the cold, were just too subjective to measure.
The Southeast dominated the top two spots followed by some Midwest states and others across the U.S. Florida, well known for its warm weather, abundant golf and retirement communities such as The Villages, unsurprisingly took the top spot.
Let’s check out the best and worst states:
Alaska was relegated to the last spot because of its poor scores for weather, crime and affordability. If avoiding taxes is your top goal, however, you may still want to consider Alaska, which beat out all other states in that category.
As for overall affordability, Michigan is your destination. Despite the frigid winters, The Great Lakes State broke the overall top five for 2022 thanks in large part to its cost of living.
Also in the top five were Georgia, for its mostly pleasant weather (outside of hurricane season) and affordability; Ohio for its affordability and lack of bad scores in other metrics; and Missouri, also for affordability and weather.
If it’s still too hard to pick, consider the advice of Laura Kovacs, former director of education at the Scottsdale Area Association of Realtors in Arizona who recently retired herself:
“Go to a variety of different places that you seem to be attracted to — places that have a lower cost of living and lower property taxes — and test them out for a while. If you’re interested in Florida or Arizona or California, stay there for a while and see if you like the climate at the time of year you’re going to be living there.”
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/national/these-are-the-10-best-states-to-retire-in-2022-study/
| 2022-09-21T11:27:57Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/national/these-are-the-10-best-states-to-retire-in-2022-study/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
BATON ROUGE (AP) — Louisiana will receive nearly $100 million in additional federal transportation aid that went unused by other states, officials say.
Gov. John Bel Edwards said the aid, which the state landed after successfully obligating the full amount of its federal assistance for 2021-2022, is the largest redistributed funds Louisiana has collected, The Advocate reports.
“This funding is another big step forward in our work to improve Louisiana’s infrastructure,” Edwards tweeted.
What the money will specifically be used for is unclear, but officials at the Department of Transportation and Development are hopeful the aid will allow work on certain projects to be accelerated.
“Our infrastructure has many needs, and the department will use the redistributed funds to address these needs on projects across the state,” Shawn Wilson, secretary for the Department of Transportation and Development, told The Advocate.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/politics/louisiana-lands-another-100-million-in-transportation-aid/
| 2022-09-21T11:28:05Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/politics/louisiana-lands-another-100-million-in-transportation-aid/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
ARKADELPHIA, Ark. (AP) — Ouachita Baptist defensive lineman Clark Yarbrough died Sunday after collapsing suddenly, the school said in a social media post.
The school did not provide more information on the cause of death.
Yarbrough, 21, had two tackles in Thursday’s 42-32 win at Oklahoma Baptist.
He was an All-Great American Conference honorable mention selection last year who had 27 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry.
Yarbrough was from Rowlett, Texas, and played for Sachse (Texas) High School. Ouachita Baptist is a Division II program in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/state-news/arkansas/ouachita-baptist-dl-clark-yarbrough-dies-at-21/
| 2022-09-21T11:28:12Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/state-news/arkansas/ouachita-baptist-dl-clark-yarbrough-dies-at-21/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)— It’s a sad day in Louisiana as we mourn the loss of former New Orleans mayor and voice for equality in Louisiana, Moon Landrieu. Upon the announcement of Landrieu’s passing, his legacy became even more known as leaders on both the city and state levels lamented the former political dynasty patriarch’s loss of life.
Here’s what leaders had to say about Landrieu’s passing:
“Moon Landrieu was a courageous and defining voice for Louisiana and his beloved hometown of New Orleans. As a newly-elected member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, he was the only member to vote against a 1960 bill that sought to defy federal integration orders. He served with unwavering integrity throughout his long and storied career of public service — especially as mayor of New Orleans, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and judge for the Louisiana Court of Appeal. Moon was never afraid to be the man in the arena, and it’s because of his bold vision that we and millions of annual visitors are able to enjoy the iconic landscape of New Orleans as we know it today. In addition to his many contributions to our state and nation, he leaves behind the most enduring legacy of all – a family that continues his fight for equality. Donna and I are praying for his wife of nearly sixty-eight years, Verna, and all of his loving children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.”
“The City of New Orleans mourns the passing of our former mayor Moon Landrieu. A civil rights trailblazer and dedicated public servant, Landrieu’s urban policy vision helped shape this City, and the racial coalitions he built in the face of division continues to inspire generations.
As intertwined with the City of New Orleans as anyone in her beloved history, Moon Landrieu has earned our most deepest gratitude, and we are comforted in the notion that his legacy will continue to live on. We are keeping the Landrieu family in our prayers.”
Council President Helena Moreno
“We lost Mayor Moon Landrieu today. He transformed civic & political life with his courageous fights on behalf of the people of New Orleans, particularly around racial and economic justice. He has left an indelible mark on our City & will be greatly missed.”
“May loving memories of former New Orleans Mayor Moon Landrieu comfort the Landrieu family in ther time of great sorrow. Prayers for strength and peace today always.”
“Praying for the Landrieu Family on the passing of former Mayor Moon Landrieu. A legendary statesman with a passion for justice, deep desire for a better, fairer New Orleans. He led with a heart to unite. His selfless service, courage and moral strength will forever be remembered.”
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/state-news/louisiana/he-was-a-courageous-and-defining-voice-for-louisiana-city-and-state-leaders-issue-statements-on-death-of-moon-landrieu/
| 2022-09-21T11:28:19Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/state-news/louisiana/he-was-a-courageous-and-defining-voice-for-louisiana-city-and-state-leaders-issue-statements-on-death-of-moon-landrieu/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — When Press Robinson registered to vote in South Carolina in 1963, he was handed a copy of the U.S. Constitution and told to read it aloud and interpret it.
Robinson, then a college sophomore, wasn’t surprised. He heard stories from others in the South’s Black community who faced Jim Crow-era methods to suppress Black votes – from literacy tests to poll taxes to the infamous “jellybean test” that required prospective voters to guess how many of the small candies were in a jar.
As Robinson began reading, he thought about the woman behind him who was also registering to vote for the first time: his 43-year-old mother, who had never fulfilled her constitutional right, partly out of fear that she would encounter this exact situation.
In 1965, the Voting Rights Act outlawed the discriminatory voting practices of many states in the South, where Jim Crow laws also restricted how and where Black people could live, work, eat and study.
Yet, nearly 60 years later, Robinson and civil rights activists say those gains are being eroded. In Alabama, Florida and Louisiana, new congressional maps that some judges have ruled dilute the power of Black voters are being used in upcoming elections.
Civil rights leaders worry the maps could diminish minority representation on Capitol Hill. The issue is especially contentious this year, when Democrats — traditionally favored by minority voters — are fighting to hang on to slim majorities in Congress in midterms that tend to reward the party not in the White House.
“I’m hurt. I’m shocked. I’m disappointed,” an 85-year-old Robinson said. “I’m also a little afraid, because I don’t know where all this is heading.”
Every 10 years, state lawmakers, armed with new U.S. Census Bureau information, redraw political maps for seats in the U.S. House, state Senate and state House. It is typically an extraordinarily partisan process, with each major party trying to scoop up enough of its voters to guarantee wins in the largest number of districts. The boundaries determine which political parties will make decisions that have a profound impact on people’s lives, such as abortion, gun control and how billions of tax dollars are spent.
Under the Voting Rights Act, mapmakers are required to draw districts with a plurality or majority of African Americans or other minority groups if they live in a relatively compact area with a white population that votes starkly differently from them.
Republican legislators have often used this to their advantage by packing one district with Democratic-leaning African American voters, leaving the remaining seats whiter and more Republican.
Both Alabama’s and Louisiana’s Republican-dominated legislatures produced such maps after receiving the latest numbers from the 2020 U.S. census. In both cases, Democrats and civil rights groups sued, and courts ordered new maps drawn.
In Alabama, the U.S. Supreme Court put the lower court’s ruling on hold, essentially saying there wasn’t enough time to redraw maps ahead of the election and that it would take up arguments in the fall. The court also delayed a ruling that would have allowed the creation of a second majority-Black district in Louisiana, until it can hear arguments in the Alabama case. Any ruling is unlikely to come before 2023.
In Florida, the GOP-led legislature approved — and an appeals court upheld — a map created by Republican governor and potential 2024 presidential contender Ron DeSantis that would dismantle at least one district where Blacks have a strong say at the polls.
“What this ultimately means is that (Black voters) will not have as big of a voice as they should if the districts were drawn more fairly,” said Robert Hogan, a professor and chair of Louisiana State University’s political science department.
In Alabama, GOP lawmakers packed most Black voters into only one of seven congressional districts, even though Blacks make up 27% of the state’s population.
In Louisiana, where nearly one-third of the state’s population is Black, GOP lawmakers approved a map containing five majority-white districts, all of which favor Republican incumbents. The 2nd Congressional District, held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, is the sole Black-majority district. It stretches from the New Orleans area along the Mississippi River up to the capital city of Baton Rouge.
Democrats and Black activists want two Black-majority districts instead of just the one.
“We want our seat at the table,” Louisiana state Rep. Denise Marcelle, a Democrat and Black caucus member, said during a recent legislative session. “It’s real simple. … Give us an opportunity to elect another Black seat so that we can fight for the issues that we believe our people want us to fight for.”
But Republican leaders say placing the state’s widely dispersed Black population in two districts would actually result in very narrow Black majorities that could diminish Black voter power.
There is also another reason why the GOP generally opposes — and Democrats support — additional majority-Black districts. For decades, Black voters have overwhelmingly voted Democratic. Adding Black-majority districts could boost the party’s representation in the House.
“(Republicans) want to use the Voting Rights Act to the extent that it helps put all the African Americans in one district and it creates very noncompetitive, heavily Republican districts around it,” Hogan said. “But, when you take the Voting Rights Act out too far and try to create a second district … you’re taking away from the Republicans.”
The way Robinson sees it, though, it’s not about more Democratic seats and fewer Republican ones; it’s about fundamental rights for which Blacks have fought too long and hard to let slip away.
“This is 2022. I thought that once we got past those initial hurdles in the ’60s that things would really just move forward and that we would be treated as regular Americans,” Robinson said. “But we are not.”
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/state-news/louisiana/new-congressional-maps-dilute-black-power-critics-say/
| 2022-09-21T11:28:26Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/state-news/louisiana/new-congressional-maps-dilute-black-power-critics-say/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
NEW ORLEANS, La. (AP) — Former New Orleans Mayor Moon Landrieu — whose early, lonely stand against segregationists in the Louisiana legislature launched a political career at the forefront of sweeping changes on race — died Monday, a family friend confirmed. He was 92.
Ryan Berni, a longtime friend of the family, confirmed that Landrieu passed away early Monday.
“He died peacefully this morning surrounded by family,” Berni told The Associated Press.
A progressive white Democrat whose demeanor could be combative at times, Landrieu came from a blue-collar Roman Catholic family, served in the Army and sat alongside the first Black students at the city’s Loyola law school before winning a statehouse seat in 1960.
By then, six years had passed since the U.S. Supreme Court ordered public schools to desegregate nationwide, and Landrieu couldn’t in good conscience go along when Gov. Jimmie Davis steamrolled legislation to keep students in New Orleans separated by race. They passed by lopsided margins with Landrieu, at least once, the lone “no” vote.
The white politicians who had a lock on power on Louisiana said he’d dug his political grave, but he held onto his House seat in 1963 and then won a city council seat in 1965 with strong support from Black voters, whose influence was beginning to be felt at the polls.
To win his first mayoral term, Landrieu assembled a coalition of white liberals and African Americans and campaigned to bring Black people into important positions in government.
Integrating City Hall had its costs: In a 2018 memoir, Mitch Landrieu wrote that death threats were phoned into his family home and his school. Moon Landrieu discussed the blowback over race in a 1977 speech to the National League of Cities convention.
“If you embark on a campaign to end racial discrimination in your hometown, you will need nerves of steel, a will of iron, skin like leather and testicles of brass to withstand the slings and arrows,” he said. “I have myself these past eight years been known in some quarters as ‘Moon the Coon,’ an epithet that has caused me some pain at times, but that is also a badge of honor that bears testimony to what we try to do.”
His mayoral legacy also includes the New Orleans Superdome, which finally opened in 1975. It’s a beloved fixture of the city landscape now, but cost overruns and a contract scandal caused headaches for its supporters, including Landrieu.
“There has been an unbelievable emphasis on the few things that have been wrong with it and total neglect of the many, many things that are right with it,” he said several years later.
As Black voters gained influence, the coalition that elected Landrieu to the maximum two terms helped make Ernest “Dutch″ Morial the city’s first Black mayor, in 1978.
Landrieu then became President Jimmy Carter’s secretary of housing and urban development, an agency whose programs came under attack when President Ronald Reagan took office on a platform to reduce the federal government’s size and power.
Landrieu criticized Reagan for “gutting” public aid programs, and briefly considered a presidential bid of his own. But he never sought national office. Instead, he became a judge — “I really wanted to get out of my kids’ way,” he said – serving on Louisiana’s 4th Circuit Court of Appeal from 1992 to 2000.
Several of Landrieu’s nine children continue his legacy in law and politics: Mitch, also a two-term New Orleans mayor, is now President Joe Biden’s infrastructure coordinator; Mary, who served three terms as a U.S. senator, is now a policy adviser with a Washington law firm. Madeleine became dean of the law school at Loyola University New Orleans, and Maurice is a federal prosecutor.
Born Maurice E. Landrieu on July 23, 1930, he was called Moon, a family nickname, throughout his life and eventually made that his legal first name. He served three years in the Army before opening a small, walk-up law office with law school classmate Pascal Calogero, later the chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court.
Landrieu credited his wife, Verna, with nudging him into politics, and his Black classmates, including Norman Francis, who would become Xavier University’s dean and president, for opening his eyes.
“It wasn’t just a question of racial justice, but from a practical standpoint, I recognized — as a politician, as a legislator and councilman — that we were wasting so much talent, wasting so much energy, by precluding Blacks from participation in all matters,” he recalled in a 2020 interview with the New Orleans weekly newspaper Gambit.
“And I was determined, as I became mayor, to revitalize this city and to bring about racial integration, so that the city could enjoy the full benefit of white and Black participants.”
Gov. John Bel Edwards called Landrieu a man of “bold vision.”
“Moon Landrieu was a courageous and defining voice for Louisiana and his beloved hometown of New Orleans,” Edwards said in a statement. “In addition to his many contributions to our state and nation, he leaves behind the most enduring legacy of all – a family that continues his fight for equality.”
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/state-news/louisiana/new-orleans-political-patriarch-moon-landrieu-has-died/
| 2022-09-21T11:28:34Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/state-news/louisiana/new-orleans-political-patriarch-moon-landrieu-has-died/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
BEIJING (AP) — China on Monday accused Washington of breaking into computers at a university that U.S. officials say does military research, adding to complaints by both governments of rampant online spying against each other.
Northwestern Polytechnical University reported computer break-ins in June, the National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center announced. It said the center, working with a commercial security provider, Qihoo 360 Technology Co., traced the attacks to the National Security Agency but didn’t say how that was done.
China and the United States are, along with Russia, regarded as global leaders in cyberwarfare research.
China accuses the United States of spying on universities, energy and internet companies and other targets. Washington accuses Beijing of stealing commercial secrets and has announced criminal charges against Chinese military officers.
The U.S. actions “seriously endanger China’s national security,” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning. She also accused Washington of eavesdropping on Chinese mobile phones and stealing text messages.
“China strongly condemns it,” Mao said. “The United States should immediately stop using its advantages to steal secrets and attack other countries.”
The American Embassy in Beijing didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Security experts say the ruling Communist Party’s military wing, the People’s Liberation Army, and the Ministry of State Security also sponsor hackers outside the government.
Northwestern Polytechnical University, in the western city of Xi’an, is on a U.S. government “entity list” that limits its access to American technology. Washington says the university helps the PLA develop aerial and underwater drones and missile technology.
Monday’s announcement accused the United States of taking information about the university’s network management and other “core technologies.” It said Chinese analysts found 41 “network attack” tools that it said were traced to the NSA.
Last year, a Chinese man, Shuren Qin, was sentenced to two years in prison by a federal court in Boston after he pleaded guilty to exporting underwater and marine technology to Northwestern Polytechnical University without required licenses.
The NSA, part of the Department of Defense, is responsible for “signals intelligence,” or obtaining communications and other data.
The Computer Virus Emergency Response Center, set up in 1996 by the police department of the eastern city of Tianjin, describes itself as the Chinese agency responsible for inspection and testing of anti-computer virus products.
A report by Qihoo 360 in 2020 said hacking tools used in attacks on Chinese companies and government agencies in 2008-19 were traced to the Central Intelligence Agency by comparing them with code in CIA tools disclosed by the Wikileaks group.
The virus center accused the NSA of carrying out other “malicious network attacks” in China but gave no details. It said 13 people involved in the attacks had been identified.
The hackers targeted a “zero day,” or previously unreported, vulnerability in the school’s security, the statement said. It said the break-ins were conducted from servers in 17 countries including Japan, South Korea, Sweden, Poland, Ukraine and Colombia.
The statement described what it said were NSA software tools with names such as “Second Date” and “Drinking Tea” but didn’t say which might have been used at the university.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/tech-news/ap-china-accuses-washington-of-cyber-spying-on-university/
| 2022-09-21T11:28:40Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/tech-news/ap-china-accuses-washington-of-cyber-spying-on-university/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
LONDON (AP) — Irish regulators are slapping Instagram with a big fine after an investigation found the social media platform mishandled teenagers’ personal information in violation of strict European Union data privacy rules.
Ireland’s Data Protection Commission said by email Monday that it made a final decision last week to fine the company 405 million euros ($402 million), though the full details won’t be released until next week.
The penalty is the second-biggest issued under the EU’s stringent privacy rules, after Luxembourg’s regulators fined Amazon 746 million euros last year.
Instagram parent Meta, which also owns Facebook, said that while it had “engaged fully” with regulators throughout the investigation, “we disagree with how this fine was calculated and intend to appeal it.”
The Irish watchdog’s investigation centered on how Instagram displayed the personal details of users ages 13 to 17, including email addresses and phone numbers. The minimum age for Instagram users is 13.
The investigation began after a data scientist found that users, including those under 18, were switching to business accounts and had their contact information displayed on their profiles. Users were apparently doing it to see statistics on how many likes their posts were getting after Instagram started removing the feature from personal accounts in some countries to help with mental health.
Instagram said the inquiry focused on “old settings” that were updated more than a year ago, and it has since released new privacy features for teens, including automatically setting their accounts to private when they join.
“We’re continuing to carefully review the rest of the decision,” the company said.
Under the EU’s data privacy rules, the Irish watchdog is the lead regulator for many U.S. tech companies with European headquarters in Dublin.
The watchdog has a raft of other inquiries into Meta-owned companies. Last year, it fined WhatsApp 225 million euros for breaching rules on transparency about sharing people’s data with other Meta companies.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/tech-news/ap-irish-regulators-fine-instagram-405m-euros-for-data-breach/
| 2022-09-21T11:28:46Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/tech-news/ap-irish-regulators-fine-instagram-405m-euros-for-data-breach/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — From the sky to the ground, a massive search is underway across Memphis for Eliza Fletcher, a missing mother of two last seen Friday when she was jogging.
Early Sunday morning, Memphis Police announced the arrest of 38-year-old Cleotha Abston. Investigators say he waited for Fletcher, a teacher at St. Mary’s Episcopal School, to run by him and forced her into a vehicle and then drove off.
Police said surveillance footage showed a man violently and quickly approach Fletcher before forcing her into the passenger side of a GMC Terrain with passenger-side tail light damage. The vehicle sat in the parking lot for four minutes before driving away, police records show.
A police report revealed that DNA from a pair of shoes left at the scene linked back to him. Despite being taken into custody, investigators say he did not provide information about Fletcher’s whereabouts.
“More than anything we want Liza returned home safely,” said Fletcher’s uncle Mike Keeney.
Investigators interviewed a woman who said after the abduction, Abston was behaving in an odd manner. The witness told investigators he was vigorously cleaning the interior of his car with carpet cleaner, as well as washing his clothes in the house’s sink.
Law enforcement spent much of Sunday searching in South Memphis. Police said they received a tip to check out Pine Hill Park, prompting dozens of officers to fill the area.
A mile away from the park officers were also seen removing a dumpster from Longview Garden Apartments, which is where a relative of Abston lives.
Officers later returned to the complex to conduct a manhunt, but did not provide specific details about who they were looking for.
Despite officers stopping at several other locations across the city, Fletcher has yet to be found.
“We believe someone knows what happened can help,” Keeney said. “If you have any information on this crime or Eliza’s location, call the police.”
The family is still offering a $50,000 reward for information about Fletcher’s whereabouts. If you know anything, call CrimeStoppers at (901) 528-CASH.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/top-stories/search-for-missing-teacher-eliza-fletcher-continues/
| 2022-09-21T11:28:52Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/top-stories/search-for-missing-teacher-eliza-fletcher-continues/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
WHIDBEY ISLAND, Wash. (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard suspended the search Monday afternoon for nine people, including a child, who were missing after a floatplane crashed in the waters of Puget Sound northwest of Seattle.
The body of a 10th person, an unidentified female, was recovered by a good Samaritan on Sunday after the crash was reported at 3:11 p.m., Scott Giard, director of the U.S. Coast Guard’s search and rescue for the Pacific Northwest, said at a new conference.
Just after noon on Monday, the Coast Guard said it was suspending the search for survivors after “saturating an area” of more than 2,100 square nautical miles (nearly 2,800 square miles or 7,250 square kilometers.
“All next of kin have been notified of this decision,” the Coast Guard said on Twitter. “Our hearts go out to the families, loved ones and friends of those who remain missing and the deceased.”
The Northwest Seaplanes flight left Friday Harbor, a popular tourist destination in the San Juan Islands, and was headed to Renton Municipal Airport, the company’s base, said Coast Guard spokesperson William Colclough.
The plane went down in Mutiny Bay off Whidbey Island, roughly 30 miles (50 kilometers) northwest of downtown Seattle and about halfway between Friday Harbor and Renton, a suburb south of Seattle.
The Coast Guard learned through the seaplane company’s owner that two Friday Harbor seaplanes took off Sunday afternoon and the owner was aboard one of the flights, Giard said. The owner told authorities he saw the other plane divert slightly off course and he tried to make radio contact but was unable to.
“Shortly after that, he noticed on his flight tracker that the flight had stopped tracking and notified authorities,” Giard said.
Officials received reports that “the aircraft dropped suddenly at a fair amount of speed and hit the water,” Giard said. “We don’t have any video or pictures of the incident as of this moment.”
There was no distress call or distress beacon from the crashing plane, he said. The aircraft has an electronic locating transmitter onboard, but they have not received any transmission, he said.
“That is very typical in times where there is either a hard landing or a crash of an aircraft,” he said.
Jon Gabelein of South Whidbey Fire/EMS told KOMO witnesses on the shore reported seeing the plane “nose dive into the water.”
Whidbey Island resident Jeff Brewny and his wife were walking their dog Sunday when they heard a loud boom.
“First thought was thunder. It was that loud,” he said. “There was no flash like you get with lightning. So, you know, I thought it was a boat exploded. It was that devastating. My dog went crazy.”
The National Transportation Safety Board said Monday that they’re sending a team of seven to investigate the crash of the DHC-3 Turbine Otter.
The cause of the crash is unknown, authorities said.
Coast Guard searchers found “minimal debris,” Giard said. By Monday afternoon, they had only found three to four long and narrow pieces of aluminum, very few personal items, a seat and some small pieces of foam, he said.
Without a clear picture of the actual crash, and not knowing whether it exploded on impact or immediately sank to the sea floor, 150 to 200 feet (45-60 meters) below, it’s difficult to know what happened to the plane, he said.
Four Coast Guard vessels, a rescue helicopter and an aircraft had been involved in the extensive search, along with nearby rescue and law enforcement agencies.
Northwest Seaplanes is a family owned business founded by Clyde Carlson, according to the company’s website. It has 24-years of “accident and incident free flying,” the website said.
The company’s business office next to the seaplane dock at the Renton Municipal Airport remained closed behind fencing on Monday. The only visible activity was two people hugging near the front door. The only floatplane at the dock appeared to be a small private Cessna.
A woman who answered the phone early Monday said they’re waiting to learn more and are devastated by the crash.
“It’s a small crew. Everyone’s close,” said the woman, who would only give her first name, Michelle. She declined to say more.
The company posted a message on Facebook late Monday saying they were heartbroken.
“We don’t know any details yet regarding the cause of the accident,” the post said. “We are working with the FAA, NTSB and Coastguard. We have been in communication with the families. We are praying for the families involved, including our pilot and his family.”
The Northwest Seaplanes website says its sister company Friday Harbor Seaplanes operates daily flights to and from their Renton base and the San Juan Islands, a scenic archipelago northwest of Seattle that draws tourists from around the world.
Floatplanes, which have pontoons allowing them to land on water, are a common sight around Puget Sound, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean. There are multiple, daily flights between the Seattle area and the San Juan Islands.
These aircraft, which also fly between Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia, frequently travel over Seattle and land on Lake Washington and on Lake Union, not far from the city’s iconic Space Needle.
The airport where the flight was headed Sunday is at the southern tip of Lake Washington, less than 5 miles (8 kilometers) from Seattle. It’s located next to a Boeing plant and is best known for where new 737s first hit the sky.
In July, 2020, a De Havilland Beaver operated by Brooke’s Seaplanes was on a scenic flight in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, with five passengers and a pilot when it collided with a Cessna 206. Eight people were killed.
In 2019, a midair crash in Alaska between two sightseeing planes killed six people. The Ketchikan-based floatplanes were carrying passengers from the same cruise ship, the Royal Princess, and were returning from tours of Misty Fjords National Monument.
___
Bellisle reported from Renton, Wash.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-1-dead-9-missing-after-floatplane-crashes-in-puget-sound/
| 2022-09-21T11:29:00Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-1-dead-9-missing-after-floatplane-crashes-in-puget-sound/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
UVALDE, Texas (AP) — Elsa Avila slid to her phone, terrified as she held the bleeding side of her abdomen and tried to stay calm for her students. In a text to her family that she meant to send to fellow Uvalde teachers, she wrote: “I’m shot.”
For the first time in 30 years, Avila will not be going back to school as classes resume Tuesday in the small, southwest Texas city. The start of school will look different for her, as for other survivors of the May 24 shooting at Robb Elementary School in which 21 people died, with an emphasis on healing, both physically and mentally. Some have opted for virtual education, others for private school. Many will return to Uvalde school district campuses, though Robb Elementary itself will never reopen.
“I’m trying to make sense of everything,” Avila said in an August interview, “but it is never going to make sense.”
A scar down her torso brings her to tears as a permanent reminder of the horror she endured with her 16 students as they waited in their classroom for an hour for help while a gunman slaughtered 19 children and two teachers in two adjoining classrooms nearby.
Minutes before she felt the sharp pain of the bullet piercing her intestine and colon, Avila was motioning students away from the walls and windows and closer to her. A student lined up by the door for recess had just told her something was going on outside: People were running — and screaming. As she slammed the classroom door so the lock would catch, her students took their well-practiced lockdown positions.
Moments later, a gunman stormed into their fourth-grade wing and began spraying bullets before ultimately making his way into rooms 111 and 112.
In room 109, Avila repeatedly texted for help, according to messages reviewed by The Associated Press. First at 11:35 a.m. in the text to her family that she says was meant for the teacher group chat. Then at 11:38 in a message to the school’s vice principal. At 11:45, she responded to a text from the school’s counselor asking if her classroom was on lockdown with: “I’m shot, send help.” And when the principal assured her that help was on the way, she replied simply: “Help.”
“Yes they are coming,” the principal wrote back at 11:48 a.m.
It’s unclear whether her messages were relayed to police. District officials did not respond to requests for comment on actions taken to communicate with law enforcement on May 24, and an attorney for then-Principal Mandy Gutierrez was not available for comment.
According to a legislative committee’s report that described a botched police response, nearly 400 local, state and federal officers stood in the hallway of the fourth-grade wing or outside the building for 77 minutes before some finally entered the adjoining classrooms and killed the gunman. Lawmakers also found a relaxed approach to lockdowns — which happened often — and security concerns, including issues with door locks. State and federal investigations into the shooting are ongoing.
The district is working to complete new security measures, and the school board in August fired the district’s police chief, Pete Arredondo. Residents say it remains unclear how — or even if — trust between the community and officials can be rebuilt, even as some call for more accountability, better police training and stricter gun safety laws.
Avila recalls hearing the ominous bursts of rapid fire, then silence, then the voices of officers in the hallway yelling, “Crossfire!” and later more officers standing nearby.
“But still nobody came to help us,” she said.
As Avila lay motionless, unable to speak loud enough to be heard, some of her students nudged and shook her. She wished for the strength to tell them she was still alive.
A light flashed into their window, but nobody identified themselves. Scared it might be the gunman, the students moved away.
“The little girls closest to me kept patting me and telling me, ‘It’s going to be OK miss. We love you miss,’” Avila said.
Finally, at 12:33 p.m. a window in her classroom broke. Officers arrived to evacuate her students — the last to be let out in the area, according to Avila.
With her remaining strength, Avila pulled herself up and helped usher students onto chairs and tables and through the window. Then, clutching her side, she told an officer she was too weak to jump herself. He came through the window to pull her out.
“I never saw my kids again. I know they climbed out the window and I could just hear them telling them, `Run, run, run!’” Avila said.
She remembers being taken to the airport, where a helicopter flew her to a San Antonio hospital. She was in and out of care until June 18.
Avila later learned that a student in her class was wounded by shrapnel to the nose and mouth but had since been released from medical care. She said other students helped their injured classmates until officers arrived.
“I am very proud of them because they were able to stay calm for a whole hour that we were in there terrified,” Avila said.
As her students prepare to return to school for the first time since that traumatic day, Avila is on the way to recovery, walking up to eight minutes at a time on the treadmill in physical therapy and going to counseling. She looks forward to teaching again someday.
Outside of a shuttered Robb Elementary, a memorial for the people killed overflows at the entrance gate. Teachers from across Texas stopped by this summer to pay their respects and reflect on what they would do in the same situation.
“If I survive, I have to make sure they survive first,” said Olga Oglin, an educator of 23 years from Dallas, her voice breaking.
“Whatever happens to a student at our school, it just happens to one of my kids,” Olgin said, adding that as the person to greet parents, students and staff at the door in the mornings, she likely would be the first person shot.
Ofelia Loyola, who teaches elementary school in San Antonio, visited with her husband, middle school teacher Raul Loyola. She was baffled at the delayed response from law enforcement, as seen on security and police video.
“They are all kids. It doesn’t matter how old they are, you protect them,” she said.
Last week, Avila and several of her students met for the end-of-year party they were unable to have in May. They played in the pool at a country club and she gave them each a bracelet with a little cross to remind them that “God was with us that day and they are not alone,” she said.
“We always talked about being kind, being respectful, taking care of each other — and they were able to do that on that day,” Avila said.
“They took care of each other. They took care of me.”
___
This story was updated to correct that Uvalde is in southwest Texas, not in the state’s southeast.
___
More on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-16-uvalde-fourth-graders-waited-an-hour-with-injured-teacher/
| 2022-09-21T11:29:08Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-16-uvalde-fourth-graders-waited-an-hour-with-injured-teacher/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani security forces raided a militant hideout in a former Taliban stronghold near the border with Afghanistan Monday, triggering a shootout that killed five soldiers and four insurgents.
Acting on intelligence, security forces launched the raid in North Waziristan, a district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to a military statement.
North Waziristan and other former tribal regions in northwestern Pakistan were a base for the Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups until the army claimed that it cleared the region of insurgents. Occasional attacks have continued, however, raising concerns the Pakistani Taliban are regrouping in the area.
The Pakistani Taliban are a separate group but allies of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan a year ago as the U.S. and NATO troops were in the final stages of their pullout.
The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan has emboldened the Pakistani Taliban, who are currently in peace talks with the government.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-5-pakistani-soldiers-4-militants-killed-in-shootout/
| 2022-09-21T11:29:15Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-5-pakistani-soldiers-4-militants-killed-in-shootout/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian authorities on Monday sought to arrest a property developer after a seven-story building under construction collapsed in an upscale area of Lagos, the country’s largest city, killing at least six people.
Meanwhile, the Lagos Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development submitted his resignation in the aftermath of Sunday’s tragedy, amid growing pressure and condemnation over the frequent building collapses in the state.
In a statement before stepping down, Salako said that the project’s developer was liable “having embarked on construction without a valid planning permit and ignoring official warnings against continuing.”
Sunday’s accident took place on Victoria Island, an upscale area of Lagos. No one has yet to be pulled out alive from the rubble as of Monday afternoon, according to Ibrahim Farinloye with the National Emergency Management Agency.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency initially reported that six people were trapped in the building, but authorities now fear the number could be higher.
At the Oba Abiodun Oniru road where the high rise stood before crumbling, residents watched as excavators combed through the rubble in search of life. Health workers remained on standby to offer treatment to possible survivors while security forces barricaded the area.
Nigeria has recorded more than 10 building collapses in the last year. Lagos, a city of more than 20 million people, is the worst hit, recording at least six such collapses including in November when more than 40 people died when a high rise still being constructed crumbled on workers.
Authorities in Nigeria have often been accused of either failing to enforce building safety regulations across the country or failing to act on the findings of investigative panels on such disasters.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-6-dead-after-building-collapses-in-nigerias-largest-city/
| 2022-09-21T11:29:22Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-6-dead-after-building-collapses-in-nigerias-largest-city/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A train collided with a vehicle on a railroad crossing in southern Hungary early Monday, killing seven people, authorities said.
Police said the crash occurred at a dirt road crossing around 6:45 a.m. near the village of Kunfeherto. Early police reports indicated that five people had died in the collision, but authorities later updated their figure, saying the driver of the vehicle and all six of its passengers had died at the scene.
Passengers on the train weren’t injured, but the train’s driver was transported to a hospital with minor injuries, according to a police statement.
There was no gate or electric signal at the rural railroad crossing, Hungary’s state railway company said, adding that the affected section of the railway line has been closed to train traffic.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-7-killed-in-hungary-after-train-collides-with-vehicle/
| 2022-09-21T11:29:30Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-7-killed-in-hungary-after-train-collides-with-vehicle/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
LOS ANGELES (AP) — California is facing its highest chance of blackouts this year as a brutal heat wave continues to blanket the state with triple-digit temperatures. State energy officials said the electrical load Tuesday afternoon could top 51,000 megawatts, the highest demand the state has ever seen.
As people crank up their air conditioners, the state forecasted record levels of energy use, said Elliot Mainzer, president of California Independent System Operators, which runs the state’s electrical grid. The state has additional energy capacity at the moment “but blackouts, rolling, rotating outages are a possibility,” Mainzer said, calling additional conservation “absolutely essential.”
The CAISO site Tuesday morning showed California could fall more than 5,000 megawatts short of its power supply at peak demand, forecasted for 5:30 pm.
The danger of wildfires was extreme as scorching heat and low humidity turned brush to tinder. Four deaths were reported over the Labor Day weekend as some 4,400 firefighters battled 14 large fires around the state, with 45 new blazes on Sunday alone, said Anale Burlew, a deputy chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
In Southern California, two people were killed and one injured by the Fairview Fire, which started Monday near the city of Hemet, the Riverside County Fire Department said. Roughly 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles, the fire had quickly spread to at least 2,400 acres (971 hectares), prompting evacuations, and was only 5% contained. Multiple residential structures burned.
The dead people were not immediately identified. Authorities said both were found in the same area but it was not known if they were from the same household. They were apparently trying to flee when they were overcome.
California’s energy grid runs on a mix of mostly solar and natural gas during the day, along with some imports of power from other states. But solar power begins to fall off during the late afternoon and into the evening, which is the hottest time of day in some parts of the state. And some of the aging natural gas plants California relies on for backup power aren’t as reliable in hot weather.
At CAISO’s request on Monday, four temporary emergency power generators deployed by the Department of Water Resources in Roseville and Yuba City were activated for the first time since they were installed last year, providing up to 120 megawatts, enough electricity for 120,000 homes.
CAISO also has issued a Flex Alert call for voluntary conservation between 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday, making seven alerts in as many days. Consumers were urged to keep air conditioners at 78 degrees (25.5 degrees C) or higher during the period and avoiding using major appliances such as ovens and dishwashers.
The efforts have worked to keep the lights on “but we have now entered the most intense phase of this heat wave” that could last into the week, and two to three times the level of conservation will be needed from people and businesses, Mainzer said.
CAISO also issued a Stage 2 Energy Emergency Alert from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday. The second of three emergency alert stages means taking emergency energy-saving measures “such as tapping backup generators, buying more power from other states and using so-called demand response programs,” according to a CAISO website. Stage 3 would be rolling blackouts.
Several hundred thousand Californians lost power in rolling blackouts in August 2020 amid hot weather, but the state avoided a similar scenario last summer. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation on Friday that could allow the state’s last remaining nuclear plant to stay open beyond its planned 2025 closure, to ensure more power.
The National Weather Service predicted highs between 100 and 115 degrees (37.7 C and 46.1 C) across inland California, with 80s to 90s (above 26.6 C and below 37.2 C) closer to the coast. Nighttime won’t bring much relief, with many places seeing lows in the 80s or even 90s (above 26.6 C and below 37.2 C).
Ironically, unsettled weather also brought the chance of thunderstorms over Southern California and into the Sierra Nevada, with a few isolated areas of rain but nothing widespread. The storms also could produce lightning, forecasters said, which can spark wildfires.
South of the Oregon state line, the Mill Fire was 55% contained Tuesday morning after killing two people, injuring others and destroying at least 88 homes and other buildings since it erupted last week, CalFire said. The bodies of the two women, 66 and 73, were found in the city of Weed on Friday, the Siskyou County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday. Details weren’t immediately released.
A few miles away, the Mountain Fire grew to nearly 18 square miles (29 square kilometers) square miles and only 20% contained, with winds threatening to renew its eastward spread in steep terrain, fire officials said.
Scientists say climate change has made the West warmer and drier over the last three decades and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-california-facing-chance-of-blackouts-amid-brutal-heat-wave/
| 2022-09-21T11:29:37Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-california-facing-chance-of-blackouts-amid-brutal-heat-wave/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
JAMES SMITH CREE FIRST NATION, Saskatchewan (AP) — Fears ran high Tuesday on an Indigenous reserve in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan after police warned that the suspect in a deadly stabbing rampage over the weekend might be nearby and officers surrounded a house with guns drawn.
Police later sent out an alert that it was a false alarm and they had determined the suspect was not in the community but people remained nervous with his whereabouts unknown and a province-wide alert still in effect.
People on the James Smith Cree First Nation reserve were earlier told to stay inside. An Associated Press reporter saw people running and screaming as police shut down roads.
The fugitive’s brother and fellow suspect, Damien Sanderson was found dead Monday near the stabbing sites. Police are investigating whether Myles Sanderson killed his brother. The brothers are accused of killing 10 people and wounding 18.
Leaders of the James Smith Cree Nation, where most of the stabbing attacks took place, blamed the killings on drug and alcohol abuse plaguing the community, which they said was a legacy of the colonization of Indigenous people.
James Smith Cree Nation resident Darryl Burns and his brother, Ivor Wayne Burns, said their sister, Gloria Lydia Burns, was a first responder who was killed while responding to a call. Burns said his 62-year-old sister was on a crisis response team.
“She went on a call to a house and she got caught up in the violence,” he said. “She was there to help. She was a hero.”
He blamed drugs and pointed to colonization for the rampant drug and alcohol use on reserves.
“We had a murder suicide here three years ago. My granddaughter and her boyfriend. Last year we had a double homicide. Now this year we have 10 more that have passed away and all because of drugs and alcohol,” Darryl Burns said.
Ivor Wayne Burns also blamed drugs for his sister’s death and said the suspect brothers should not be hated.
“We have to forgive them boys,” he said. “When you are doing hard drugs, when you are doing coke, and when you are doing heroin and crystal meth and those things, you are incapable of feeling. You stab somebody and you think it’s funny. You stab them again and you laugh.”
Blackmore said police were still determining the motive, but the chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations echoes suggestions the stabbings could be drug-related.
“This is the destruction we face when harmful illegal drugs invade our communities, and we demand all authorities to take direction from the chiefs and councils and their membership to create safer and healthier communities for our people,” said Chief Bobby Cameron.
Blackmore said the criminal record of Myles Sanderson dates back years and includes violence.
He was released from prison in August 2021, but then his release was suspended that November because he had lied about his ex-spouse and children living with him. At a hearing in February, the board canceled the suspension, while adding conditions to limit and monitor contact with the woman and his children.
Public Safety Minister Mendicino said he’s been told by the parole board there will be an investigation into its assessment of Myles Sanderson and his subsequent release.
“I want to know the reasons behind the decision and I want to know if any mistakes were made during the process,” Mendicino said. “It has to be an independent review.”
”I’m extremely concerned with what occurred here,” he said.
The stabbing attack was among the deadliest mass killings in Canada, where such crimes are less common than in the United States. The deadliest gun rampage in Canadian history happened in 2020, when a man disguised as a police officer shot people in their homes and set fires across the province of Nova Scotia, killing 22 people. In 2019, a man used a van to kill 10 pedestrians in Toronto.
Deadly mass stabbings are rarer than mass shootings, but have happened around the world. In 2014, 29 people were slashed and stabbed to death at a train station in China’s southwestern city of Kunming. In 2016, a mass stabbing at a facility for the mentally disabled in Sagamihara, Japan, left 19 people dead. A year later, three men killed eight people in a vehicle and stabbing attack at London Bridge.
Police in Saskatchewan got their first call about a stabbing at 5:40 a.m. on Sunday, and within minutes heard about several more. In all, dead or wounded people were found at 13 different locations on the sparsely populated reserve and in the town, Blackmore said. James Smith Cree Nation is about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from Weldon.
Weldon residents have identified one of the dead as Wes Petterson, a retired widower who made his coffee every morning at the senior center. He loved gardening, picking berries, canning, and making jam and cakes, recalled William Works, 47, and his mother, Sharon Works, 64.
“He would give you the shirt off his back if he could,” William Works said, describing his neighbor as a “gentle old fellow” and “community first.”
Sharon Works was baffled: “I don’t understand why they would target someone like him anyway, because he was just a poor, helpless little man, 100 pounds soaking wet. And he could hardly breathe because he had asthma and emphysema and everybody cared about him because that’s the way he was. He cared about everybody else. And they cared about him.”
Evan Bray, the police chief of provincial capital city of Regina, has been saying as recently as Monday that police thought Sanderson was in Regina, but said Tuesday they’ve received information that is leading them to believe that he may no longer be in the city.
“Although we don’t know his whereabouts we are still looking not only in the city of Regina but expanded into the province as well,” Bray said.
____
Gillies reported from Toronto.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-canada-police-hunt-remaining-suspect-in-stabbing-attacks/
| 2022-09-21T11:29:45Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-canada-police-hunt-remaining-suspect-in-stabbing-attacks/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago officials have asked the public for volunteers and donations to help immigrants being bused to the city from Texas amid the Republican-led state’s political battle over the immigration policies of President Joe Biden’s administration.
A busload of about 50 immigrants arrived Sunday in Chicago, days after the arrival of the first busload of about 75.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the city had not yet heard from any Texas officials and urged Texas’ Republican governor, Greg Abbott, to collaborate on a more humane treatment of the immigrants.
Abbott is busing migrants who are in the country illegally from Texas to U.S. cities with Democratic mayors as part of a strategy to share the influx of people who cross into his border state.
“He tries to send human beings, not cargo, not freight, but human beings across the country to an uncertain destination,” Lightfoot said. “He is manufacturing a human crisis and it makes no sense to me.”
The city of Chicago set up a website for members of the public who want to volunteer to help the migrants or donate to the cause.
Lightfoot said several organizations were already providing assistance.
“We’re a welcoming city, so we’re always gonna step up and do the right thing to make sure that migrants who are coming here to our city are well received.” Lightfoot said.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-chicago-mayor-seeks-help-for-immigrants-bused-from-texas/
| 2022-09-21T11:29:52Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-chicago-mayor-seeks-help-for-immigrants-bused-from-texas/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
NEW YORK (AP) — The steel bands and brightly colored costumes of Caribbean Carnival came back to the streets of New York City, with the West Indian American Day Parade taking place in person Monday after a pandemic-induced hiatus.
Throngs of people made their way to the streets of Brooklyn, where one of the world’s largest celebrations of Caribbean culture takes place, after two years of virtual events.
Brooklyn is where hundreds of thousands of Caribbean immigrants and their descendants have put down roots and turned the Labor Day celebration into a must-do event, with onlookers and participants carrying flags from a slew of countries.
The main parade started in the late morning and was expected to go into the early evening. A separate street party known as J’Ouvert, commemorating freedom from slavery, was held in the early morning hours before the larger parade started off.
Outbreaks of violence have occasionally marred both the early morning and main parade, with the most high-profile being the 2015 death of an aide to then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo from stray gunfire during the hours of J’Ouvert, which used to start even earlier and was more informal.
Since then, a formal start time for J’Ouvert was instituted, along with checkpoints for entry, as well as an increase in police presence on the day.
Police had not reported any incidents in connection with Monday’s events.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-colorful-west-indian-day-parade-returns-to-nyc-streets/
| 2022-09-21T11:29:59Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-colorful-west-indian-day-parade-returns-to-nyc-streets/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
BEIRUT (AP) — Dozens of Lebanese and Syrian migrants stranded for days on a sinking fishing boat in the Mediterranean Sea are urging European coast guards to save them, saying that two children have died.
The roughly 60 migrants told relatives and volunteer groups with a satellite phone that two young children have died, and that the group has been without food, water, and baby formula for the past three days. On board are Syrian refugees and Lebanese from its severely impoverished northern provinces trying to reach Italy for job opportunities. They left Lebanon off the coast of the northern city of Tripoli about 10 days ago.
“They’re trying to remove water leaking into the boat with buckets, that’s all they have,” the brother of one of the Syrian passengers told The Associated Press. He asked to not disclose their names for security reasons and because some of the migrants did not want to disclose the news to their families back home. “This is fishing boat is meant for five people, not 60.”
Lebanon has a population of 6 million, including 1 million Syrian refugees, and has been in the grip of a severe economic meltdown since late 2019 that has pulled over three-quarters of the population into poverty.
The migrants are reportedly stranded near the coasts of Malta and Italy. The authorities have not dispatched rescuers, according to families and activists in touch with the migrants. Lebanese parliamentarian Ashraf Rifi urged the Italian government, as well as the Lebanese Foreign Ministry and the Lebanese Embassy in Rome to take action.
According to families and Alarm Phone, an activist network that helps bring in rescuers to distressed migrants at sea, Malta has not yet authorized a rescue operation and has not given permission to a commercial cargo ship to rescue the stranded migrants.
Meanwhile, families fear the leaking boat could sink at any time.
“Whenever I call, you can hear the children screaming and crying in the background,” the relative said. “I don’t know why no governments have taken action to rescue them, is it because they’re poor people trying to make ends meet for their families?”
Once a country that received refugees, Lebanon has become a launching pad for dangerous migration by sea to Europe.
As the crisis deepened, more Lebanese, as well as Syrian and Palestinian refugees, set off to sea, with security agencies reporting foiled migration attempts almost weekly.
In April, a boat carrying dozens of Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians trying to migrate by sea to Italy went down more than five kilometers (three miles) from the port of Tripoli, following a confrontation with the Lebanese navy. Dozens were killed in the incident.
The circumstances of the vessel’s sinking are disputed. Survivors say their boat was rammed by the Lebanese navy, while the military claims the migrants’ boat collided with a navy vessel while trying to get away.
The April sinking was the greatest migrant tragedy for Lebanon in recent years and put the government further on the defensive at a time when the country is in economic free fall and public trust in the state and its institutions is rapidly crumbling.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-dozens-of-lebanese-and-syrian-migrants-trapped-at-sea/
| 2022-09-21T11:30:07Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-dozens-of-lebanese-and-syrian-migrants-trapped-at-sea/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Hundreds of flights were grounded and more than 200 people evacuated in South Korea on Monday as Typhoon Hinnamnor approached the southern region with heavy rains and winds of up to 170 kilometers (105 miles) per hour, putting the nation on alert for its worst storm in decades.
South Korea’s weather agency said the country will start to feel the full force of Hinnamnor, the strongest global storm this year, by early Tuesday when it is forecast to graze the southern resort island of Jeju before making landfall near the mainland city of Busan.
Government officials raised concern about potentially huge damage from flooding, landslides and tidal waves triggered by the typhoon, which comes just weeks after capital Seoul and nearby regions were hit with heavy rainfall that unleashed flashfloods and killed at least 14 people.
President Yoon Suk Yeol, who said he would stay at his office overnight to monitor the typhoon, urged maximum effort to prevent casualties during an emergency response meeting on Monday. Prime Minister Han Duk-soo called for proactive efforts to evacuate residents in areas vulnerable to flooding.
“This is forecast to be a historically strong typhoon that we never experienced before,” Han said.
Officials say Hinnamnor could bring more powerful winds than 2003 Typhoon Maemi, which left 117 people dead and was the strongest storm to make landfall in the country since the start of record keeping in 1904.
As of Monday evening, Hinnamnor was over the open sea 180 kilometers (112miles) southwest of Jeju. It has dumped more than 62 centimeters (24 inches) of rain in the central part of Jeju since Sunday, where winds were blowing at a maximum speed of 124 kph (77 mph) and were picking up.
South Korea’s Ministry of the Interior and Safety said there were no immediate reports of casualties. At least 11 homes and buildings were flooded in Jeju while more than 270 people were forced to evacuate in Busan and nearby cities because of safety concerns.
Around 370 domestic flights and 100 ferry services were grounded and hundreds of roads and bridges were closed nationwide as of Monday evening while more than 66,000 fishing boats returned to port.
Kindergartens and elementary schools in Seoul and all schools in Busan and nearby southern regions are scheduled to be closed or shift to online classes Tuesday, officials said.
North Korea was also bracing for Hinnamnor as it reported increasingly heavy rain in all parts of the country except for its border region with China. Agricultural workers across the country were engaged in “all-out efforts” to minimize damage to crops while officials were encouraged to take “double and triple emergency measures” to protect buildings and equipment from flooding and landslides, the North’s state media said.
South Korea’s military said North Korea also discharged water from a dam near its border with the South in an apparent preventive step without notifying its rival. South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, said the North has so far ignored Seoul’s request to give notification before it releases water from the Hwanggang Dam.
Cities in eastern China suspended ferry services and classes and more than 100 flights were canceled in Japan on Sunday as Hinnamnor passed through the region. The typhoon is on track to move closer to eastern China later in the week.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-flights-grounded-in-south-korea-as-typhoon-hinnamnor-nears/
| 2022-09-21T11:30:14Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-flights-grounded-in-south-korea-as-typhoon-hinnamnor-nears/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
SUMMERVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Flood watches were in effect in the U.S. southeast and much of the northeast on Monday as forecasters warned of the possibility of torrential downpours on Labor Day across already saturated ground.
Among the hardest-hit areas in this weekend’s storms was northwest Georgia, where 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain fell in some spots, forecasters said.
The flooding knocked out water service to parts of Georgia’s Chattooga County, where the school system called off classes for the next couple of days, authorities said.
“Our main thrust right now is getting our water situation back in hand,” said Earle Rainwater, who owns Rainwater Funeral Home in Summerville and serves as the Chattooga County coroner.
“Without water, you can’t do anything,” he said Monday. “We don’t have water except for bottled water and what’s in the creeks.”
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Sunday declared a state of emergency in Chattooga and Floyd counties. That directed all state resources to help with “preparation, response and recovery activities.”
In Chattooga County, several people had to be rescued from their homes on Sunday, especially in lower-lying areas of the county, Rainwater said. “They used Jon Boats, they used kayaks, they used anything that would float.”
Waves of showers and storms were expected to develop Monday in the region, as moisture from the Gulf of Mexico continues to stream across the South and into the Northeast, the National Weather Service said. Some training storms — storms that drop several inches of rain as they move over the same areas like train cars — were also possible, the weather service said.
The chance for flash flooding extended into the northeast, into Pennsylvania, parts of southern New England and the New York City area, the weather service said. Radar showed a strong band of storms traveling northeast just inland from Pennsylvania through Rhode Island and into Massachusetts.
Life threatening flash flooding was reported Monday in the Rhode Island cities of Providence and Cranston, the National Weather Service reported. While there had been no reports of injuries in the area, a number of roads were closed by Monday afternoon, including a section of Interstate 95, and Route 10 — one of the main arteries into and out of Providence.
Up to four inches (10 centimeters) of rain had already fallen in some areas by late afternoon and additional flooding was possible. The heavy rainfall left motorists stranded on Interstate 95 for hours and was responsible for the collapse of at least one building, according to local news reports.
In Connecticut, up to six inches (15 centimeters) of rain had fallen by early evening Monday with north New London County seeing upwards of five inches within an hour. Local forecasters said additional flooding is possible through Tuesday evening.
Parts of Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia were under flash flood watches through Monday evening. Rhode Island, Connecticut and parts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine remain under flash flood watches into Tuesday.
In Georgia, church pastors and volunteers planned to distribute water on Monday in the small towns of Summerville and Trion, according to the Chattooga County Emergency Management Agency.
“We’ve never had anything like this before,” Summerville Mayor Harry Harvey said.
After visiting the community’s flooded water treatment plant Monday morning, Harvey said, “Things are not as bad as we thought they were, or as bad as they could be.”
Workers were at the site Monday assessing the damage. By late Monday or early Tuesday, “we should have a much better assessment as to what needs to be done,” Harvey said.
The Chattooga County School System will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday due to the flooding, Superintendent Jared Hosmer said.
“Without water, we are unable to flush toilets, wash hands, drink from the fountains, or prepare lunches,” Hosmer said Monday in announcing the decision.
Chattooga County, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta, is home to about 25,000 people.
___
Associated Press writer Jeff Martin contributed from Woodstock, Georgia.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-flood-threat-continues-in-georgia-other-southern-states/
| 2022-09-21T11:30:21Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-flood-threat-continues-in-georgia-other-southern-states/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s president apologized Monday for multiple failures by his country before, during and after the 1972 attack on the Munich OIympics as he joined his Israeli counterpart and relatives of the 11 Israeli athletes killed by Palestinian militants at the games 50 years ago.
The anniversary ceremony at the Fuerstenfeldbruck airfield outside Munich — the scene of a botched rescue attempt that left nine of the Israeli athletes, a West German police officer and five of the assailants dead — came days after an agreement ended a long dispute over compensation. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Israeli President Isaac Herzog laid wreaths at the site.
Last week’s agreement headed off a threatened boycott of the anniversary event by relatives of the slain athletes. They will receive a total of 28 million euros (dollars) in compensation, a significant increase from the initial 10 million-euro offer.
As part of the agreement, Germany agreed to acknowledge failures by authorities at the time and to allow German and Israeli historians to review the events surrounding the attack.
“We are talking about a great tragedy and a triple failure,” German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said. “The first regards the preparation of the games and the security concept; the second the events of Sept. 5 and 6, 1972. The third failure begins the day after the attack: the silence, the denial, the forgetting.”
Ankie Spitzer, the widow of fencing coach Andre Spitzer, said in remarks addressed to her late husband that “although we have finally, after 50 years, reached our goal, at the end of the day you are still gone and nothing can change that.”
“Everybody is asking now if I finally feel closure,” she said. “They don’t understand that there will never be closure. The hole in my heart will never, ever heal.”
Before dawn on Sept. 5, 1972, eight members of a Palestinian group called Black September clambered over the unguarded fence of the Olympic village. They burst into the building where the Israeli team was staying, killing wrestling coach Moshe Weinberg and weightlifter Yossi Romano.
Some Israeli athletes managed to escape but nine were seized. The captors demanded the release of more than 200 Palestinians held by Israel and two German left-wing extremists in West German prisons.
The attackers demanded a plane and safe passage to Cairo. After a day of tense negotiations, the assailants and their hostages were allowed to leave aboard two helicopters for Fuerstenfeldbruck.
Sharpshooters at the airfield opened fire. The attackers threw a grenade into one of the helicopters carrying hostages, which exploded, and shot the hostages in the other helicopter.
The Olympics were put on hold for 34 hours but then resumed, with then International Olympic Committee chief Avery Brundage insisting that “the Games must go on.”
Steinmeier acknowledged that the politicians of the day also “did everything to return to business as usual as quickly as possible.”
“We cannot make up for what happened, or for what you experienced and suffered in the way of resistance, ignorance and injustice,” Steinmeier told the victims’ relatives. “That shames me.”
“As this country’s head of state and in the name of the Federal Republic of Germany, I seek your forgiveness for the inadequate protection of the Israeli athletes at the Olympic Games in Munich and for the inadequate resolution afterward; for the fact that what happened could happen,” he said.
The compensation settlement includes payments already made. Immediately after the attack, Germany made payments to relatives of the victims amounting to about 4.19 million marks (about 2 million euros or dollars), according to the country’s interior ministry. In 2002, the surviving relatives received an additional 3 million euros, Germany’s dpa news agency reported.
Steinmeier noted that the Palestinian militants and their Libyan helpers were directly responsible for the killings, and said it is “very bitter that no word of sympathy, no word of regret comes from political representatives of those countries today.”
During a recent visit to Berlin, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas caused outrage by refusing to condemn the 1972 attack and saying that he could point to “50 Holocausts” by Israel.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-germany-israel-mark-50th-anniversary-of-1972-olympic-attack/
| 2022-09-21T11:30:29Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-germany-israel-mark-50th-anniversary-of-1972-olympic-attack/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli authorities on Monday advanced a plan to build nearly 500 homes in a new Jewish settlement in Jerusalem that rights groups say will further sever it from the nearby Palestinian city of Bethlehem and the southern West Bank.
The planned Givat HaShaked settlement is part of a cluster of settlements on the southern edge of east Jerusalem, many of which have already been built up into full-fledged residential neighborhoods. Critics say they further undermine any hopes for a two-state solution.
Ir Amim, an Israeli rights group that closely follows developments in Jerusalem, said the plan for the settlement was approved on Monday to be deposited for objections, a key step in a bureaucratic process that could continue for months or years before construction begins.
There was no immediate comment from the Jerusalem municipality. City officials, who consider the settlements to be ordinary Jewish neighborhoods, have previously said they are committed to building in all areas of Jerusalem for the benefit of Jewish and Arab residents.
Israel captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and has built settlements across both territories that are now home to some 700,000 Jewish settlers. The Palestinians want both territories to form part of their future state and view the settlements as the biggest obstacle to peace. Most countries consider the settlements to be illegal.
Israel annexed east Jerusalem in a move not recognized by the international community and considers the entire city its unified capital. Palestinian residents of the city face systematic discrimination, especially when it comes to urban planning, making it extremely difficult for them to build new homes or expand existing ones.
The U.S. and other Western countries have pressed Israel to rein in settlements, with little success. Israel’s outgoing government, which included dovish parties and even an Arab faction, approved the construction of thousands of settler homes despite U.S. objections.
The latest settlement will be built adjacent to the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Safafa, which is already mostly encircled by settlements, further preventing its growth.
“While there’s constant investment, robust development for Israelis, there’s a complete suppression of urban planning (for Palestinians), which ultimately serves as a mechanism of displacement for Palestinians because it pushes them out of the city,” said Amy Cohen, the director of advocacy for Ir Amim. “They have no means to build or expand their neighborhoods.”
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-israel-advances-plans-for-another-east-jerusalem-settlement/
| 2022-09-21T11:30:36Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-israel-advances-plans-for-another-east-jerusalem-settlement/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military on Monday announced the long-awaited results of its investigation into the deadly shooting of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, saying there was a “high probability” an Israeli soldier had mistakenly killed her during a raid in the occupied West Bank last May.
It was the closest that Israel has come to accepting responsibility for the shooting. But in a report that seemed to raise as many questions as it sought to answer, the military revealed no new evidence to back its claim that the Palestinian-American journalist might have been killed by Palestinian fire during a battle between Palestinian gunmen and Israel troops. It also said that no one would be punished for the shooting.
The conclusions were unlikely to put to rest an issue that has worsened what already were badly strained relations between Israel and the Palestinians. Both Palestinian officials and Abu Akleh’s family accused the army of evading responsibility for her killing.
“Our family is not surprised by this outcome since it’s obvious to anyone that Israeli war criminals cannot investigate their own crimes. However, we remain deeply hurt, frustrated and disappointed,” her family said in a statement.
Abu Akleh, a 51-year-old Palestinian-American, was killed while covering an Israeli raid in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank on May 11. She had covered the West Bank for Al Jazeera for two decades and was a well-known face across the Arab world.
In a briefing with reporters, a senior Israeli military official said there was a “very high likelihood” that Abu Akleh was mistakenly shot by an Israeli soldier positioned inside an armored vehicle who thought he was aiming at a militant.
“He misidentified her,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity under military briefing guidelines. “His reports in real time… absolutely point to a misidentification.”
“We know that he fired, but it could very well be that this happened from other fire,” he added.
Jenin is known as a bastion of Palestinian militants, and Israel has carried out raids there almost nightly since a string of deadly attacks inside Israel earlier this year, some of which were carried out by assailants from the area.
Repeating previous Israeli claims, the military official said the soldiers had been under continuous fire for almost an hour from multiple directions before Abu Akleh was shot. The army released several videos showing Palestinian militants firing automatic weapons and soldiers coming under fire that day.
But the military provided no evidence to support its claim that a fierce gunbattle was under way at the time that Abu Akleh was shot. Amateur videos as well as witness accounts have shown no evidence of militants in the vicinity and the area appeared to be quiet for several minutes before she was shot.
It also was unclear how Abu Akleh, who was wearing a helmet and vest marked “press” at the time, could be mistaken for a militant. The official only said that the soldier’s vision from inside the vehicle was “very limited,” causing Abu Akleh to be misidentified in a split-second decision.
He said the findings of the investigation had been turned over to the chief military prosecutor, who was satisfied with them and decided against a criminal investigation. That means no one will be charged in her death.
Critics have long accused the military of doing a poor job of investigating wrongdoing by its troops. The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem accused the army of carrying out a “whitewash,” while Abu Akleh’s family and the Palestinian Authority both called for the case to be turned over to the International Criminal Court in the Hague. The ICC has opened an investigation into possible war crimes by Israel in both Gaza and the West Bank.
Nabil Abu Rdeneh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, dismissed the announcement as “another Israeli attempt to evade responsibility for her killing.”
He said all evidence proves that “Israel is the culprit, that it killed Shireen, and it must be held responsible for its crime.”
The PA, Abu Akleh’s family and Al Jazeera have accused Israel of intentionally killing Abu Akleh, while a series of investigations by international media organizations, including The Associated Press, have found that Israeli troops most likely fired the fatal bullet. The United States concluded that an Israeli soldier likely killed her by mistake, but it did not explain how it reached that conclusion.
Al Jazeera’s local bureau chief, Walid Al-Omari, said Monday’s report was “clearly an attempt to circumvent the opening of a criminal investigation.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists called the Israeli findings “late and incomplete.”
“They provided no name for Shireen Abu Akleh’s killer and no other information than his or her own testimony that the killing was a mistake,” said Sherif Mansour, the group’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. “That does not provide the answers — by any measure of transparency or accountability — that her family and colleagues deserve.”
Israel has previously said she was killed during a complex battle with Palestinian militants and that only a forensic analysis of the bullet could confirm whether it was fired by an Israeli soldier or a Palestinian militant. However, a U.S.-led analysis of the bullet last July was inconclusive as investigators said the bullet had been badly damaged.
U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said Monday, “We welcome Israel’s review of this tragic incident, and again underscore the importance of accountability in this case, such as policies and procedures to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.”
The AP reconstruction of Abu Akleh’s killing lent support to witness accounts that she was killed by Israeli forces. Subsequent investigations by CNN, the New York Times and the Washington Post reached similar conclusions, as did monitoring by the office of the U.N. human rights chief.
Abu Akleh rose to fame two decades ago during the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, against Israeli rule. She documented the harsh realities of life under Israeli military rule — now well into its sixth decade with no end in sight — for viewers across the Arab world.
Israeli police drew widespread criticism from around the world when they beat mourners and pallbearers at her funeral in Jerusalem. An Israeli newspaper reported that a police investigation found wrongdoing by some of its officers, but said those who supervised the event will not be seriously punished.
Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war and has built settlements where nearly 500,000 Israelis live alongside nearly 3 million Palestinians. The Palestinians want the territory to form the main part of a future state.
___
AP correspondents Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem, Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel and Joseph Krauss in Ottawa, Ontario, contributed to this report.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-israeli-army-says-soldier-likely-killed-al-jazeera-reporter/
| 2022-09-21T11:30:44Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-israeli-army-says-soldier-likely-killed-al-jazeera-reporter/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s Supreme Court on Monday unanimously rejected challenges to the official results of the presidential election and upheld Deputy President William Ruto’s narrow win in East Africa’s most stable democracy.
Ruto is expected to be sworn in on Sept. 13.
Opposition candidate Raila Odinga had alleged irregularities in the otherwise peaceful Aug. 9 election that was marked by last-minute drama when the electoral commission split and traded accusations of misconduct.
The court found little or no evidence for the various allegations and called some “nothing more than hot air.” It also expressed puzzlement why the four dissenting commissioners participated until the final minutes in a vote-tallying process they criticized as opaque.
The commission “needs far-reaching reforms,” the court acknowledged, “but are we to nullify an election on the basis of a last-minute boardroom rupture?”
The Supreme Court shocked Kenyans in the previous election in 2017 by overturning the results of the presidential election, a first in Africa, and ordered a new vote after Odinga filed a challenge. He then boycotted that new election.
This time, Odinga was backed by former rival and outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta in the latest example of shifting political alliances.
Odinga’s team had challenged the technology used by the electoral commission and alleged that voting results had been tampered with, and it argued that the electoral commission chair had essentially acted alone in declaring the winner.
The election had been seen as the country’s most transparent, with results from tens of thousands of polling stations posted online within hours of the vote for Kenyans to follow the tally themselves. Such reforms were in part the result of Odinga’s previous election challenge.
The outgoing president, Kenyatta, who bitterly split with his deputy Ruto after the 2017 election crisis, had remained publicly silent since casting his vote last month. In his first comments Monday night, he didn’t mention Ruto by name but said “it is my intention to oversee a smooth transition to the next administration.”
But Kenyatta appeared to question the court’s decision. “Can our institutions rule one way in one election and another way in another election without scrutiny?” he asked, and called on Kenyans for “constant scrutiny” of the government.
Kenyans now wait to see whether any anger over the election will be channeled into the streets in a country with a history of sometimes deadly political violence. The election had one of the lowest turnouts — under 65% — in Kenya’s history of multiparty democracy.
The 77-year-old Odinga, who has pursued the presidency for a quarter-century, said he respected the court’s opinion but found it “incredible” that it rejected all claims. He said he’ll announce plans later for the “struggle for transparency, accountability and democracy.”
The immediate reaction to the court’s decision appeared to be calm.
“It’s very painful. We have accepted the court ruling and congratulate William Ruto. We just ask him to be the president of all people,” said John Okoth, a resident of the capital, Nairobi. “For Raila, it’s time for him to rest after losing five times.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated Ruto, and praised Odinga and other candidates for abiding by the Supreme Court’s decision.
“We also congratulate the people of Kenya on the conclusion of a peaceful electoral process,” Blinken said in a statement Monday.
The 55-year-old Ruto had appealed to Kenyans by portraying himself as a “hustler” from humble beginnings against the “dynasties” of Kenyatta and Odinga, whose fathers were Kenya’s first president and vice president.
Speaking after the court’s ruling, and to the laughter of his supporters, Ruto said he would call “my good friend” the outgoing president, whom he said he hadn’t spoken with in months. He said Kenyatta would be given “the respect and dignity a former head of state deserves.”
But the split still stings. “This marks the end of the politics of deceit, of betrayal, of conmanship,” Ruto said. He also vowed a Kenya that will be “gentler to the vulnerable” and one in which “no one will be vilified” or punished for holding different views: “Our competitors have nothing to fear.”
Ruto now faces the challenge of finding the money to back up his campaign promises to the poor, as Kenya’s debt levels are now nearly 70% of its GDP. Already, he said, Kenyans were asking him when subsidized fertilizer and a credit program will be available.
___
AP journalist Brian Inganga in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-kenyas-supreme-court-to-rule-on-election-challenge/
| 2022-09-21T11:30:51Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-kenyas-supreme-court-to-rule-on-election-challenge/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
PARIS (AP) — A special French terrorism court on Monday opened the trial of eight people accused of helping a man who, on Bastille Day six years ago, plowed a heavy truck through crowds in a southern French resort town leaving 86 dead.
During the planned three and a half months of court proceedings in Paris, survivors and those mourning loved ones will recount the horrors inflicted along the beachfront of Nice on the night of July 14, 2016.
Veronique Marchand, whose husband was killed, said she’s still haunted by the attack.
“It’s this constant replay of the night in slow-motion, every detail of it,” she said in an interview at the courthouse. “I feel as if I’m watching this tape that was recorded and that it just keeps happening.”
Danielle Leechailler, who witnessed the attack, said she and other survivors want justice.
“The emotional damage has left a scar over the past 6 years but now we expect sanctions from the judicial system and to see the sentences enforced,” she said.
Seven of the eight accused were in court. The eighth is being tried in absentia. The chief judge told the court that he is in detention in Tunisia and that Tunisian authorities hadn’t responded to a French judicial request concerning him.
The verdict is expected in December. The proceedings will be broadcast live to the Acropolis Convention Center in Nice for those who don’t travel to Paris. Audio of the trial will also be available online, with a 30-minute delay.
Thousands of locals and tourists had packed Nice’s famed boardwalk on the Mediterranean coast that summer night to celebrate France’s national day, strolling along the Promenade des Anglais with friends and family members, laughing and dancing on the beach just below.
Shortly after the end of a fireworks display, the truck careered through the crowds for two kilometers (1¼ miles) like a snow plow, hitting person after person. The final death toll included 15 children and adolescents, while 450 other people were injured. Of the dead, 33 were foreign nationals.
The attacker, Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, was killed by police soon after.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the carnage. However, French prosecutors said that while Bouhlel had been inspired by the extremist group’s propaganda, investigators found no evidence that IS orchestrated the attack.
Investigators didn’t find evidence that any of the suspects in the current trial was directly involved in the carnage. Bouhlel, a 31-year-old Tunisian with French residency, is considered solely responsible for the deaths.
With the perpetrator dead, few expect to get justice.
“Our clients expect everything and nothing from the trial,” said Gerard Chelma, a lawyer for some victims’ families. “Some feel (the trial) will be useless. Other are hoping for convictions and as much attention as there was during the trial of the Paris attacks.”
Three suspects have been charged with terrorist conspiracy for alleged links to Bouhlel. Five others face other criminal charges, including for allegedly providing arms to the assailant. If convicted, they face sentences ranging from five years to life in prison.
____
Surk reported from Nice, France. AP journalist Alex Turnbull in Paris contributed.
___
This story has been corrected to show that the trial is expected to last 3 1/2 months, not 2 1/2.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-nice-bastille-day-attack-trial-begins-in-paris-terror-court/
| 2022-09-21T11:31:13Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-nice-bastille-day-attack-trial-begins-in-paris-terror-court/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — The partner of a man suspected of trying to assassinate Argentine Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has been arrested by police as investigators tried Monday to determine if the attacker was part of a wider plot.
Brenda Uliarte, the 23-year-old partner of Brazilian suspect Fernando André Sabag Montiel, was arrested Sunday night by Federal Police at a train station in the capital, Buenos Aires, according to images circulated by authorities.
She has not been charged, but officials were trying to determine if she had any role in the Sept. 1 incident in which a man pointed a Bersa 380 pistol at Fernández and pulled the trigger — though the loaded gun did not fire.
Officials also were trying to determine how and why data apparently had been wiped from a cellphone seized from Sabag Montiel when he was caught at the scene.
The apparent assassination attempt has shaken a nation where Fernández has been a central political figure for decades, serving as president from 2007 to 2015 following the term of her late husband, Nestor Kirchner, who took office in 2003.
A judicial source said Uliarte had been present in the area where the foiled attack took place, mixed among hundreds of Fernández’s sympathizers who had come to show support at a time she faces trial on corruption allegations. The source spoke on condition of anonymity due to rules governing case secrecy.
Sabag, 35, had lived in Argentina for more than two decades. Local news media have published images from his now-inactivated social media accounts showing him with arms tattooed with Nazi-like symbols.
Investigators say they are trying to determine why the gun did not fire and also to extract information from Sabag Montiel’s cellphone. Authorities say it came to Airport Security Police, who are in charge of trying to inspect it, reformatted, as if it had come from the factory.
An informatics investigator, Pablo Rodríguez told the Todo Noticias television channel that when a cellphone is confiscated, police should ensure it can’t be accessed externally by turning it off, removing the chip, putting it in airplane mode and leaving it in a bag that protects against external radiati9on.
“But if they didn’t do all that, the phone was active and it’s possible it could have been reset remotely.”
Security Minister Aníbal Fernández told reporters that police “did not manipulate” the phone. “What they did was collect it, put it in a (protective) Faraday bag and sent it to the court.”
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-police-detain-partner-of-argentina-attack-suspect/
| 2022-09-21T11:31:20Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-police-detain-partner-of-argentina-attack-suspect/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The military contractor who pleaded guilty to orchestrating the “Fat Leonard” corruption scandal and was under house arrest in San Diego is now on the run after cutting off his GPS monitoring ankle bracelet over the weekend, federal authorities said.
Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Omar Castillo said Leonard Glenn Francis removed the tracker Sunday, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
After police officers found Francis’ home empty, the San Diego Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service began a high-profile search, the newspaper reported.
Castillo said neighbors witnessed U-Haul moving trucks coming to and from Francis’ home in the days before his escape.
Francis was arrested in San Diego in 2013 and pleaded guilty in 2015 to offering $500,000 in bribes to Navy officers. In exchange, the officers passed him classified information and even went so far as redirecting military vessels to ports that were lucrative for his Singapore-based ship servicing company.
Prosecutors say Francis and his company overcharged the U.S. military by more than $35 million for its services.
Francis has been on house arrest since at least 2018 and under the supervision of a federal agency that monitors defendants who are out of custody until sentencing. He was set to be sentenced at the end of month.
Francis’ defense attorney, Devin Burstein, declined to comment to the Union-Tribune on Monday.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-police-fat-leonard-escapes-house-arrest-in-san-diego/
| 2022-09-21T11:31:28Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-police-fat-leonard-escapes-house-arrest-in-san-diego/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
MOSCOW (AP) — A former journalist was convicted of treason and handed a 22-year prison sentence on Monday after a trial that has been widely seen as politically motivated and marked a new step in a sweeping crackdown on the media and Kremlin critics.
The sentence handed to Ivan Safronov, who worked as a military affairs reporter for leading business daily Kommersant before becoming an adviser to the head of the Russian space corporation Roscosmos, has been harshly criticized by his colleagues as utterly unfounded.
A few friends and co-workers of Safronov who attended Monday’s hearing at the Moscow City Court chanted “Freedom!” and clapped after the verdict was read.
“I love you all!” Safronov told those who came to support him.
Safronov was accused of passing military secrets to Czech intelligence and a German national. He strongly insisted on his innocence, arguing that he collected all the information from open sources as part of his journalistic work and did nothing illegal.
In his final statement at the trial last week, Safronov rejected the charges as “absurd,” noting that he published all the information he gathered from his sources in government agencies and military industries.
He emphasized that he never had access to any classified documents and emphasized that investigators have failed to produce any witness testimony to back the espionage charges.
Safronov described the long sentence requested by prosecutors as “monstrous,” saying that it would stain the country’s image by showing that a journalist is sentenced simply for doing his job. His defense quickly appealed the sentence.
Many Russian journalists and human rights activists have pushed for Safronov’s release, maintaining that the authorities may have wanted to take revenge for his reporting that exposed Russian military incidents and shady arms deals.
Hours before the ruling was announced by the Moscow City Court, 15 independent Russian media outlets issued a joint statement demanding Safronov’s release.
“It is obvious to us that the reason for persecuting Ivan Safronov is not ‘treason,’ which hasn’t been substantiated … but his work as a journalist and stories he published without any regard for what the Defense Ministry or Russian authorities think,” the statement read.
Amnesty International denounced Safronov’s conviction and sentencing as a travesty of justice and demanded that Russian authorities quash them.
“The absurdly harsh sentence meted out to Ivan Safronov symbolizes the perilous reality faced by journalists in Russia today,” Natalia Prilutskaya, the group’s Russia researcher, said in a statement. “It also exposes the failings of the Russian justice system and the impunity enjoyed by state agencies, who routinely fabricate cases with little or no evidence to support them.”
She added that Safronov “was tried solely for his journalistic work,” adding that “his only ‘crime’ was collecting information from open sources and being acquainted with and befriending foreigners.”
The European Union on Monday also urged Russian authorities to drop all charges against Safronov and “release him without any conditions,” denouncing “systematic repressions of the regime against independent journalism.”
The Kremlin has remained unperturbed, with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, refusing to comment on the case in a conference call with reporters.
Safronov has been in custody since his July 2020 arrest in Moscow.
Rights activists, journalists, scientists and corporate officials who have faced treason accusations in Russia in recent years have found it difficult to defend themselves because of secrecy surrounding their cases and a lack of public access to information.
Safronov’s father also worked for Kommersant, covering military issues after retiring from the armed forces. In 2007, he died after falling from a window of his apartment building in Moscow.
Investigators concluded that he killed himself, but some Russian media outlets questioned the official version, pointing to his intent to publish a sensitive report about secret arms deliveries to Iran and Syria.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-russia-ex-reporter-jailed-for-22-years-on-treason-charges/
| 2022-09-21T11:31:36Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-russia-ex-reporter-jailed-for-22-years-on-treason-charges/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
MOSCOW (AP) — The number of people who died in an accident while climbing Eurasia’s tallest active volcano has risen to eight, Russian authorities said Monday.
A helicopter with a rescue team was on the way to the site of the accident, emergency officials said.
Russian media initially reported on Saturday that five climbers died while trying to ascend to the top of the Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano in Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka peninsula. The accident occurred about 500 meters below the 4,750-meter (15,884-foot) summit, the reports cited the prosecutor’s office of the Kamchatka region as saying.
All the climbers were Russians, the reports said.
Four people survived the accident and are waiting for the rescuers at different altitudes.
The Kamchatka peninsula in Russia’s far northeast is noted for its array of active and dormant volcanos, hot springs and abundant wildlife.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-russian-volcano-climb-death-toll-rises-to-8/
| 2022-09-21T11:31:43Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-russian-volcano-climb-death-toll-rises-to-8/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Police and local authorities in eastern Slovakia have urged residents to be cautious after a tiger that escaped from private hands in neighboring Ukraine was seen over the weekend in a border area.
The town of Ulic told citizens Sunday to limit their outdoors movements. Police warned people against taking any risks. They said they were informed about the escaped tiger by their Ukrainian counterparts.
Slovakian authorities urged people to immediately inform them if they see the tiger.
On Monday, Slovakia’s Environment Ministry said there had been no new sightings of the animal.
On Sunday, the Poloniny national park located in the area had said photo traps registered the animal’s presence near three Slovakian towns.
The park said in a statement that the young tiger escaped from a private breeder in the Ukrainian town of Strychava, just on the other side of the border.
Park director Miroslav Bural told the Slovak Tasr news agency the tiger was originally in an unspecified zoo in eastern Ukraine but was transported to the west of the country due to the Russian invasion.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-slovakia-on-alert-as-tiger-escaped-from-ukraine-seen-in-park/
| 2022-09-21T11:31:58Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-slovakia-on-alert-as-tiger-escaped-from-ukraine-seen-in-park/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
BEIJING (AP) — At least 46 people were reported killed and 16 missing in a 6.8 magnitude earthquake that shook China’s southwestern province of Sichuan on Monday, triggering landslides and shaking buildings in the provincial capital of Chengdu, whose 21 million residents are already under a COVID-19 lockdown.
The quake struck a mountainous area in Luding county shortly after noon, the China Earthquake Networks Center said.
Sichuan, which sits on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau where tectonic plates meet, is regularly hit by earthquakes. Two quakes in June killed at least four people.
Power was knocked out and buildings damaged in the historic town of Moxi in the Tibetan autonomous prefecture of Garze, where 29 people were killed. Tents had been erected for more than 50,000 people being moved from homes rendered unsafe by the quake, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday.
State broadcaster CCTV showed rescue crews pulling a woman who appeared uninjured from a collapsed home in Moxi, where many of the buildings are constructed from a mix of wood and brick. Around 150 people were reported with varying degrees of injuries.
Earlier, authorities had reported 7 deaths in Luding county and 14 more in neighboring Shimian county to the south. Three of the dead were workers at the Hailuogou Scenic Area, a glacier and forest nature reserve.
Along with the deaths, authorities reported stones and soil falling from mountainsides, causing damage to homes and power interruptions, CCTV said. One landslide blocked a rural highway, leaving it strewn with rocks, the Ministry of Emergency Management said.
Buildings shook in Chengdu, 200 kilometers (125 miles) away from the epicenter. Resident Jiang Danli said she hid under a desk for five minutes in her 31st floor apartment. Many of her neighbors rushed downstairs, wary of aftershocks.
“There was a strong earthquake in June, but it wasn’t very scary. This time I was really scared, because I live on a high floor and the shaking made me dizzy,” she told The Associated Press.
The earthquake and lockdown follow a heat wave and drought that led to water shortages and power cuts due to Sichuan’s reliance on hydropower. That comes on top of the latest major lockdown under China’s strict “zero-COVID” policy.
The past two months in Chengdu “have been weird,” Jiang said.
The U.S. Geological Survey recorded a magnitude of 6.6 for Monday’s quake at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles). Preliminary measurements by different agencies often differ slightly.
China’s deadliest earthquake in recent years was a 7.9 magnitude quake in 2008 that killed nearly 90,000 people in Sichuan. The temblor devastated towns, schools and rural communities outside Chengdu, leading to a years-long effort to rebuild with more resistant materials.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-strong-earthquake-shakes-southwestern-china/
| 2022-09-21T11:32:05Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-strong-earthquake-shakes-southwestern-china/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide bombing outside the Russian Embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul on Monday killed two members of the embassy staff and at least one Afghan civilian in a rare attack on a foreign diplomatic mission in Afghanistan.
The blast went off at the entrance to the embassy’s consular section, where Afghans were waiting for news about their visas, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry and the state news agency RIA Novosti. A Russian diplomat had emerged from the building to call out the names of candidates for visas when the explosion occurred, the agency said.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility late Monday, saying a militant wearing an explosive belt blew up at the embassy entrance.
It was the latest in a series of bombings and other attacks since the Taliban seized power a year ago, deposing a Western-backed government and capping their 20-year insurgency.
Monday’s bombing, however, appeared to the first to target a foreign diplomatic mission in Kabul since the Taliban takeover. The campaign of attacks has largely targeted Taliban positions or mosques of minority groups, particularly Shiites. They have largely been blamed on the Islamic State group’s affiliate in Afghanistan, which opposes the Taliban and harbors a virulent hatred of Shiites, considering them heretics.
It was not immediately clear why militants targeted the Russian Embassy in particular.
The Russian mission is one of only a couple of international missions still operating and performing consular services in Kabul — and the only European one. Most nations closed their embassies when the Taliban captured Kabul in August 2021 as the U.S. and NATO withdrew their troops. No country has recognized the Taliban government.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the explosion “a terrorist act, absolutely unacceptable.”
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the embassy enhanced its security after the attack and additional Taliban authorities, including intelligence agents, were brought in.
“Let’s hope that the organizers of this terrorist act and its perpetrators will be punished,” Lavrov said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said an unknown militant set off an explosive device right outside the consular section’s entrance. It said two members of the diplomatic mission were killed, “and there are also casualties among Afghan citizens.”
Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said at least one Afghan civilian was killed and 10 others wounded.
Zadran said security forces saw and shot the suicide bomber before he could get closer to the crowd outside the embassy. It was not immediately clear if the attacker was able to set off the blast before being shot, or if the gunfire detonated the explosives.
Attacks on embassies were rare even during the two-decade war between the Taliban and the Western-backed government. In 2017, the Taliban set off a massive truck bomb in a district where many government buildings and embassies were located, killing more than 90 Afghans and heavily damaging the nearby German Embassy. In 2015, a Taliban car bomb went off by the Spanish Embassy, killing a security guard.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in late June that Russia is trying to build relations with the Taliban and that Russia wants to see all the ethnic groups in Afghanistan take part in running the country.
Although Moscow has designated the Taliban as a terrorist group, the Taliban have representation in Russia and a delegation attended the recent St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
___
Litvinova reported from Tallinn, Estonia.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-suicide-attack-at-russia-embassy-in-kabul-kills-2-diplomats/
| 2022-09-21T11:32:13Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-suicide-attack-at-russia-embassy-in-kabul-kills-2-diplomats/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The most powerful typhoon to hit South Korea in years killed at least six people, dumped a meter (3 feet) of rain, destroyed roads and felled power lines on Tuesday. The death toll could have been higher if not for proactive evacuations and school closures, officials said.
There was also greater public awareness about the storm and its risks. Typhoon Hinnamnor made impact just weeks after heavy rain around the capital, Seoul, caused flooding that killed at least 14 people.
Government officials put the nation on high alert for days as Hinnamnor approached, warning of potentially historic destruction and putting in motion life-saving measures.
After grazing the resort island of Jeju and hitting the mainland near the port city of Busan, Hinnamnor weakened as it blew into waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
South Korea’s weather agency said Hinnamnor was over the open sea 400 kilometers (248 miles) northwest of the northern Japanese city of Sapporo as of 9 p.m. and had weakened to a tropical storm.
However, the damage was still severe in the southern city of Pohang, where five people were found dead and at least five others were missing after the storm submerged roads and buildings, triggered landslides and flooded a shopping mall.
Cars with smashed windows and trunks open lay scattered on roads like garbage. An entire two-story pool villa was uprooted from the ground and swept away by flash floods. Troops were deployed to assist with rescue and restoration efforts, moving in armored vehicles through streets turned into chocolate-colored rivers.
Firefighters navigated flooded neighborhoods in rubber boats, rescuing people and their pets. Merchants scrambled to salvage furniture and other belongings at the famous Guryongpo outdoor market, where workers deployed excavators to clear huge piles of debris.
The rain and flooding eroded the foundations of bridges and motorways, which were often broken in chunks or blocked by fallen trees and electricity poles. Factory buildings were tilted, while a shipping container blew away and landed above cars in a parking lot.
“I woke up at 5 a.m. at because of the explosive rain, and I got really concerned because the water rose right up to my doorway,” Kim Seong-chang, a Pohang resident, said in an interview with JTBC. “The water was still thigh-high at 7 a.m. and those who parked their cars in the streets were in panic because their vehicles were submerged. … Other residents were bucketing out water from their homes.”
The storm dumped more than 105 centimeters (41 inches) of rain in central Jeju since Sunday, where winds peaked at 155 kph (96 mph). Southern and eastern mainland regions also had damage — knocked-off signboards and roofing, toppled trees and traffic signs, and destroyed roads.
In Pohang, a woman in her 70s died after being swept away in flash floods, while four others were found dead in a submerged basement parking lot, where the search was continuing for five people.
Wading in the parking lot’s neck-high waters with ropes tied to their bodies, emergency workers on Tuesday night managed to pull out two people who had been trapped. President Yoon Suk Yeol issued a congratulatory message after the first survivor’s rescue, calling it a “miracle.”
In the neighboring city of Gyeongju, a woman in her 80s died after her home was buried in a landslide. In Ulsan, another southern city, a 25-year-old man was unaccounted for after falling into a rain-swollen stream, according to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
Also in Pohang, firefighters extinguished flames that damaged at least three facilities at a major steel plant operated by POSCO. A presidential official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in a background briefing, said officials were investigating the cause of the fires.
Local fire officials said the flames destroyed a building housing electricity equipment and damaged a separate office building and a coking factory before being put out.
The Safety Ministry said about 3,700 of 4,700 people who had been forced to evacuate returned home Tuesday afternoon. Thousands of homes, buildings and factories were flooded or destroyed, and hundreds of roads, bridges and facilities were damaged.
More than 600 schools were closed or converted to online classes. Workers had managed to restore electricity to most of the 89,203 households that had lost power.
In North Korea, state media reported “all-out efforts” to minimize damage from flooding and landslides. The state Korean Central News Agency reported that leader Kim Jong Un had issued “detailed tasks” at government meetings to improve the country’s disaster response capacity but didn’t elaborate on the plans.
North Korea sustained serious damage from heavy rains and floods in 2020 that destroyed buildings, roads and crops, hurting the country’s already-crippled economy.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-typhoon-leaves-20000-homes-without-power-in-south-korea/
| 2022-09-21T11:32:27Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-typhoon-leaves-20000-homes-without-power-in-south-korea/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
Cute Playful Cat Breeds 2022: 10 energy breeds of cat - including the bouncy Manx cat breed 🐱
These 10 beautiful cat breeds will love playtime with their owners.
A host of loved up cat owners will attest, once you have been in the company of these adorable creatures, it’s hard to understand why anyone wouldn’t be obsessed!
It is reported that the average cat owner actually own a minimum of two cats – though we are sure you may know some with many more.
And while it is indeed true – all cats are beautiful – if you are looking for a cat that will be energetic, playful and loving all at the same time, these 10 breeds of cat may just be your best bet.
So, if you are looking to add a new furry friend to your household, these are reported to be the most playful breeds of cat worldwide, that will enjoy chasing, hunting and entertaining daily.
*While cat breeds do share similar traits, we advise each cat do have their own personality and individual needs, which is of primary importance when taking a cat into your home. Please be aware of this if adopting a cat.
|
https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/family-and-parenting/cute-playful-cat-breeds-2022-10-energy-breeds-of-cat-including-the-bouncy-manx-cat-breed-3749003
| 2022-09-21T11:32:37Z
|
scotsman.com
|
control
|
https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/family-and-parenting/cute-playful-cat-breeds-2022-10-energy-breeds-of-cat-including-the-bouncy-manx-cat-breed-3749003
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Europe’s largest nuclear plant was knocked off Ukraine’s electricity grid Monday, its last transmission line disconnected because of a fire caused by shelling, the facility’s operator and the U.N. atomic watchdog said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said it was informed Monday by Ukrainian authorities that the reserve line “was deliberately disconnected in order to extinguish a fire.”
“The line itself is not damaged, and it will be reconnected once the fire is extinguished,” the IAEA said.
In the meantime, the plant’s only remaining operational reactor would “generate the power the plant needs for its safety and other functions,” the agency said.
Mycle Schneider, an independent analyst in Canada on nuclear energy, said that would mean the plant was likely functioning in “island mode,” producing electricity just for its own operations.
“Island mode is a very shaky, unstable, and unreliable way to provide continuous power supply to a nuclear plant,” Schneider said.
The incident fueled fears of a potential nuclear disaster at Zaporizhzhia, one of the 10 biggest nuclear plants in the world. Experts say its reactors are designed to protect against natural disasters and incidents such as aircraft crashes, but leaders around the world have appealed for it to be spared in the fighting because of the risk of a catastrophe.
Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of attacking the plant, which the Kremlin’s forces have held since early March. The plant’s Ukrainian staff continue to operate it.
The plant’s operator, Energoatom, said Monday that Russian forces have kept up “intensive shelling” around Zaporizhzhia in recent days despite the warnings. The Russian military accused Ukrainian forces of staging “provocations” there, including sending a drone, which was intercepted, and shelling the adjacent city of Enerhodar.
Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said on Facebook that fighting around the power station made it impossible to repair damaged power lines, putting the world “once again on the brink of a nuclear disaster.”
The developments at Zaporizhzhia came on the eve of a report to the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday by the IAEA inspectors about what they found on their visit. The IAEA still has two experts at the plant after a perilous inspection that required its inspectors to travel through the fighting last week.
Ukraine’s presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, applauded the IAEA’s decision to leave some experts at the plant.
“There are Russian troops now who don’t understand what’s happening, don’t assess the risks correctly,” Podolyak said. “There is a number of our workers there, who need some kind of protection, people from the international community standing by their side and telling (Russian troops): ‘Don’t touch these people, let them work.’”
Meanwhile, in some of Moscow’s bluntest comments yet on the standoff between it and Western Europe over energy supplies, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov blamed Western sanctions for stoppages in Russia’s supply of natural gas to Europe.
“Other reasons that would cause problems with the pumping don’t exist,” Peskov said.
The sanctions on Moscow and Russian oil companies have created problems with equipment maintenance, he said, a claim that has been refuted by Western governments and engineers.
German officials have said Russian complaints about technical problems are merely a political power play. Germany’s Siemens Energy, which manufactured turbines the Nord Stream 1 pipeline uses, said turbine leaks can be fixed while gas continues to flow through the pipeline.
Russian energy company Gazprom announced Friday that a suspension of gas supplies heading westwards through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline would be extended indefinitely because oil leaks in turbines need fixing. That move brought a surge in European natural gas prices and walloped global stock markets.
High energy prices and possible shortages this winter in Western Europe have set alarm bells ringing among governments, notably those in the European Union. French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday called for a 10% cut in his country’s energy use in coming weeks and months to avoid the risk of rationing and cuts this winter.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, the fighting raged on. The president’s office said at least four civilians were killed and seven others were wounded by new Russian shelling across several regions of Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there had been Russian shelling across much of southern and eastern Ukraine, including at Zelenodolsk, Nikopol, Chernihiv, and the Sumy and Kharkiv regions.
Russian rockets destroyed an oil depot in the Krivoy Rog region, sending up huge plumes of smoke, Ukrainian news reports said.
Amid increased Ukrainian strikes on the occupied Kherson region, Russian-installed authorities there said early Monday that for security reasons they were putting on hold their plans for a local referendum on whether the region should formally become part of Russia.
But by the afternoon, officials had a change of heart and said the ballot would go ahead as planned, though no date has been set.
In the eastern city of Sloviansk, workers with the Ukrainian Red Cross Society swept up debris Monday from a second rocket attack on its premises in a week. Nobody was hurt in either attack, said Taras Logginov, head of the agency’s rapid response unit. He blamed Russian forces and called the attacks war crimes.
In a row of apartment buildings across the road, the few residents who haven’t evacuated sawed sheets of plywood to board up their shattered windows.
Henadii Sydorenko sat on the porch of his apartment building for a break. He said he’s not sure whether to stay or leave, torn between his responsibility of taking care of three apartments whose owners have already evacuated and the increasing fear of the now frequent shelling.
“It’s frightening,” the 57-year-old said of the shelling. “I’m losing my mind, little by little.”
___
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-ukraine-says-4-civilians-killed-7-wounded-by-russian-shells/
| 2022-09-21T11:32:36Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-ukraine-says-4-civilians-killed-7-wounded-by-russian-shells/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The United Nations says “famine is at the door” in Somalia with “concrete indications” famine will occur later this year in the southern Bay region. This falls just short of a formal famine declaration as thousands are dying in a historic drought made worse by the effects of the war in Ukraine.
U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths told reporters he was “shocked to my core these past few days” on a visit to Somalia in which he saw starving babies too weak to cry. More than 850,000 people are in the affected areas, with tens of thousands more arriving in the months to come, according to U.N. experts.
A formal famine declaration is rare and a warning that too little help has come too late. At least 1 million people in Somalia have been displaced by the driest drought in decades, driven by climate change, that also affects the wider Horn of Africa including Ethiopia and Kenya.
Famine is the extreme lack of food and a significant death rate from outright starvation or malnutrition combined with diseases like cholera. A declaration means data shows more than a fifth of households have extreme food gaps, more than 30% of children are acutely malnourished and over two people out of 10,000 are dying every day.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been described as a disaster for Somalia, which has suffered from a shortage of humanitarian aid as international donors focus on Europe. Somalia sourced at least 90% of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine before the war and has been hit hard by scarcity and the sharp rise in food prices.
“Ukraine has occupied the narrative,” Griffiths said.
Hungry families in Somalia have been staggering for days or weeks through parched terrain in search of assistance. Many bury family members along the way. Even when they reach camps outside urban areas, they find little or no help.
At one camp outside the capital, Mogadishu, Fadumo Abdi Aliyow showed The Associated Press the graves of her two small sons next to their makeshift home. Disease had overwhelmed their weakened bodies. One was 4. The other was eight months old.
“I wanted to die before them so they could bury me,” Aliyow said. Another resident of the camp of 1,800 families, Samey Adan Mohamed, said the last meal she and her eight children had was rice a day ago. Today they had only tea.
Camps like theirs are ringed by death, bringing aid workers to tears. “I couldn’t get out of my head the tiny mounds of ground marking children’s graves,” UNICEF’s deputy regional director Rania Dagash said last week. “I’m from this region and I’ve never seen it so bad.”
A formal famine declaration might bring desperately needed funding. But “tragically, by the time a famine is declared, it’s already too late,” the U.N. World Food Program has said.
When famine was declared in parts of Somalia in 2011, the deaths of a quarter-million people were well underway.
“This is not a repeat of the 2011 famine. It is much worse,” the U.N. humanitarian agency said last week. At least 730 children have died in nutrition centers across Somalia, it said, and more than 213,000 people are at “imminent risk” of dying.
“You feel like you’re looking at the face of death,” Mercy Corps CEO Tjada McKenna told the AP after visiting the badly hit city of Baidoa. There is not enough therapeutic food to treat the acutely malnourished, said McKenna, who saw many young children and pregnant women. “For every one person I saw, imagine all the people who couldn’t get that far. And so many people were arriving each day.”
At the same time, aid funding has dropped more than 60% from the response to Somalia’s previous drought in 2017, USAID administrator Samantha Power said last week, noting a “degree of despair and devastation” not seen before in her career.
The Horn of Africa region has seen four straight failed rainy seasons for the first time in over half a century, endangering an estimated 20 million people in one of the world’s most impoverished and turbulent regions.
“Sadly, our models show with a high degree of confidence that we are entering the fifth consecutive failed rainy season,” the director of the regional climate prediction center, Guleid Artan, has said. “In Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, we are on the brink of an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.”
The rainfall in this year’s failed March-to-May season was the lowest in the last six decades, Artan told the AP. Next year’s March-to-May season doesn’t look good either, he said, worrying that “this could be the seven-year drought, the biblical one.”
Formal famine declarations are rare because data to meet the benchmarks often cannot be obtained because of conflict, poor infrastructure or politics. Governments can be wary of being associated with a term of such grim magnitude. Somalia’s recently elected president, however, appointed a drought envoy in one of his first acts, which Griffiths called “impressive.”
Because of the remote nature of Somalia’s drought, and with some hard-hit areas under the control of the al-Shabab extremist group which has been hostile to humanitarian efforts, no one knows how many people have died — or will in the months to come.
Hundreds of calls from across Somalia, including from al-Shabab-controlled areas, come in daily to the Somali-run Radio Ergo. Some say no aid is available in camps. Others say water sources have run dry or lament the loss of millions of livestock that are the foundation of their health and wealth.
“People don’t cry because they want their voice to be heard,” radio editor Leyla Mohamed told the AP. “But you can feel they are hurting, that they feel more than we can hear.”
___
Anna reported from Nairobi, Kenya.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-un-says-part-of-somalia-will-reach-famine-later-this-year/
| 2022-09-21T11:32:44Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-un-says-part-of-somalia-will-reach-famine-later-this-year/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
ISLAMABAD (AP) — The U.N. refugee agency rushed in more desperately needed aid Monday to flood-stricken Pakistan as the nation’s prime minister traveled to the south where rising waters of Lake Manchar pose a new threat.
Two UNHCR planes touched down in the southern port city of Karachi and two more were expected later in the day. A third plane, with aid from Turkmenistan also landed in Karachi. While the floods in recent weeks have touched much of Pakistan, the southern Sindh province, where Karachi is the capital, has been the most affected.
More than 1,300 people have been killed and millions have lost their homes in flooding caused by unusually heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan this year that many experts have blamed on climate change. In response to the unfolding disaster, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last week called on the world to stop “sleepwalking” through the crisis. He plans to visit flood-hit areas on Sept. 9.
On Sunday, engineers cut into an embankment in the sides of Lake Manchar in an effort to release rising floodwater to save the city of Sehwan and several nearby villages from possible destruction by flooding waters, which have damaged 1,6 million houses since mid-June.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif was met by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto in the city of Sukkur on the swelling Indus River, from where they toured the flood-hit areas by helicopter. licopter. Murad Ali Shah, the province’s chief minister, briefed Sharif about the damages caused by floods in Sindh.
Floods have affected more than 3.3 million in this Islamic nation of 220 million and the devastation has caused $10 billion in damage, according to government estimates. The provinces of Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been the most affected and the majority of people killed were women and children.
Last week, the United States announced $30 million in aid for Pakistani flood victims. On Monday, two members of Congress, Sheila Jackson and Tom Suzy, met with Pakistani officials and visited some of the stricken areas, the government said.
Flood waters were receding in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan provinces, but the situation was alarming across Sindh province. Hundreds were leaving the district of Jaffarabad after their homes were flooded.
“Our homes are right now inundated,” said Khadim Khoso, 45m, recounting how he waded through chest-high water. He said he and his family left their home once the floodwaters brought in the snakes.
“No government help has reached here,” he said. However, authorities say they are doing their best to deliver aid to flood victims.
Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan also visited some of the flood-hit areas in Sindh on Monday, including the city of Sukkur. Last week, he drew government criticism for addressing a series of anti-government rallies at a time of a flooding emergency for Pakistan.
Afghan refugees living in Pakistan have also been affected by the floods. Pakistan has hosted millions of Afghans fleeing the violence in their country over the past four decades and currently has about 1.3 million registered Afghan refugees.
More than 420,000 Afghan refugees are estimated to be in the worst-affected areas in Pakistan, living side by side with their host communities
Also Sunday, UNICEF delivered relief supplies, including medicines and water-purifying tablets, as part of the U.N. flash appeal for $160 million to support Pakistan’s flood response. UNICEF is also appealing for $37 million for children and families.
“The floods have left children and families out in the open with no access to the basic necessities of life,” said Abdullah Fadil, UNICEF’s representative in Pakistan.
Planes carrying aid from other countries are also expected later Monday in response to an appeal from Sharif, who has appealed to the international community to help Pakistan.
With the two UNHCR planes, 38 planes have brought in aid from countries including China, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan.
___
Associated Press writer Muhammad Farooq in Jaffarabad, Pakistan, contributed to this report.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-unhcr-rushes-in-aid-to-pakistan-amid-raging-floods-in-south/
| 2022-09-21T11:32:51Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-unhcr-rushes-in-aid-to-pakistan-amid-raging-floods-in-south/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
CHICAGO (WGN) — A man armed with an ax was shot and killed by a security guard in Chicago Sunday.
According to Chicago Fire Department officials, the incident took place at a marijuana dispensary at around 10 a.m. in the city’s Greektown neighborhood.
Chicago police said the man got into an argument with the guard, 37, outside of the business. The man began to swing the ax and hit the guard in the leg.
Police said the two men struggled and the guard fired shots, hitting the man with ax.
Fire officials said the man was 20 years old. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to police.
The security guard was also taken to the hospital in and is in good condition, according to police.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ax-wielding-man-fatally-shot-by-security-guard-at-chicago-dispensary/
| 2022-09-21T11:32:58Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ax-wielding-man-fatally-shot-by-security-guard-at-chicago-dispensary/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
(The Hill) – A boy who went viral for his effusive praise of corn was invited to South Dakota’s “Corn Palace” and named the state’s official “Corn-Bassador” over the weekend.
The state’s Department of Tourism welcomed “Corn Kid” Tariq — whose commentary on corn in a Recess Therapy video was turned into a viral TikTok audio — to “the World’s Only Corn Palace” in Mitchell, South Dakota.
In the viral video, 7-year-old Tariq says that when he tried corn with butter, “everything changed.”
He famously described the vegetable as “a big lump with knobs” and juice. “I can’t imagine a more beautiful thing,” Tariq said in the interview.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) issued a proclamation rife with puns and references to Tariq’s viral video — declaring Sept. 3 as “Official Corn-bassador Tariq Day.”
“South Dakota is one of the top corn producers in the nation, providing nourishment to people across the globe but especially to Tariq, a 7-year-old boy who recently discovered that corn was real,” Noem noted in her declaration.
“Since being told that corn was real, Tariq believes wholeheartedly it tastes good, especially with butter; and… Tariq’s determination that corn is “awesome” and “a big lump with knobs (and) juice” has led him to be unable to imagine a more beautiful thing.”
Per local media, Tariq will also receive a scholarship to learn about South Dakota’s agrotourism industry.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/south-dakota-names-viral-corn-kid-its-official-corn-bassador/
| 2022-09-21T11:33:49Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/south-dakota-names-viral-corn-kid-its-official-corn-bassador/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
(The Hill) – At least nine mass shootings have taken place nationwide so far during Labor Day weekend, leaving at least 10 people dead, according to Gun Violence Archive.
The mass shootings, which the organization defines as incidents in which four or more people were shot or killed, not including the shooter, took place in cities including Norfolk, Va., Charleston, S.C., and Chicago, among others.
The deadliest shooting of the weekend so far, according to the group, took place in Saint Paul, Minn., where three people died and two others were injured on Sunday in the city’s Payne-Phalen neighborhood.
The local police department said officers were called at about 4:30 p.m. and found two people outside a home suffering from apparent gunshot wounds, both of whom were sent to the hospital, KARE reported.
The officers also found three more people, who were later pronounced dead, shot inside the home, the outlet reported.
“This unthinkable crime will not only affect the crime victims and their families, but it will affect the neighborhood where it occurred and our city as a whole,” police spokesperson Sgt. Mike Ernster told KARE, adding that authorities had been called to the house at least 17 times in the last year.
Earlier on Sunday, authorities said a shooting in Norfolk, Va., near the campus of Old Dominion University and Norfolk State University left two people dead and seven others injured.
Authorities identified the victims as Zabre Miller, 25, and Angelia McKnight, 19, later died at the hospital as a result of their injuries, officials said.
Close to the same time, police responded to gunshots in downtown Charleston, S.C.
Five people were injured in that shooting, near the intersection of King and Morris streets, and were sent to hospitals for non-life-threatening injuries, CNN reported. Police arrested two suspects.
In the suburbs of Washington, D.C., on Saturday night, a 16-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy were shot outside an AMC movie theater and were hospitalized, WJLA reported. The shooting came hours after a nearby AMC theater in Alexandria, Va., closed after receiving a threat, according to the outlet.
Also on Saturday, Birmingham, Ala., police officers found three gunshot victims in the 100 Block of 3rd Avenue West. Police said two of the victims died, identified as Jalen Jamarcus Tolbert, 24, and Marquse Terrail Yarbrough, 25.
A shooting at Vick’s Supper Club in Palatka, Fla., on Saturday left two people dead and two others injured, police said. A fifth person was severely hurt after they were beaten with a “blunt object.”
In Canada, a series of stabbings left 10 people dead and 15 others injured. Authorities are searching for two suspects.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/spate-of-violence-across-us-mars-labor-day-weekend/
| 2022-09-21T11:33:57Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/spate-of-violence-across-us-mars-labor-day-weekend/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
(KTLA) – Tom Cruise is known for his performing his own stunts, and this may be one of the biggest yet.
Over the weekend, a daring stunt performed by Cruise earlier this year was leaked online.
The “Top Gun: Maverick” star was shooting scenes for the upcoming film “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning,” when he took a break to greet some big names in the movie business at CinemaCon in April.
The video showed Cruise perched on a World War II biplane over Blyde River Canyon in South Africa, clinging only to the camera rigging.
“Hi everyone. I’m sorry for the extra noise,” the 60-year-old actor hollered while he sat atop the plane.
Cruise is then interrupted by another crew member alerting them that they must finish filming the scenes before the sun sets and they run out of fuel.
Before Cruise flies away, he introduced the trailer for the upcoming “Mission: Impossible” film and a screening of “Top Gun: Maverick” in full.
After Cruise signs off, the pilot quickly turns and dives, with Cruise still clinging just to the camera equipment.
The 78-second clip was not seen by anyone outside the convention until recently.
“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning” won’t be in theaters until next July.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/tom-cruises-daring-airborne-stunt-leaked-online/
| 2022-09-21T11:34:20Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/tom-cruises-daring-airborne-stunt-leaked-online/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
CLEVELAND (WJW) — A wolf escaped its habitat at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo on Monday morning but is now secured, zoo officials confirmed.
The Mexican gray wolf was “secured by staff after briefly breaching its habitat,” the zoo said.
Guests at the zoo report being rushed into buildings for safety. The zoo said no guests or employees were harmed.
The zoo is home to several Mexican gray wolves, which can weigh up to 90 pounds. These are the smallest of the gray wolves and typically travel in packs. Their diet in the wild primarily consists of elk, deer, rabbit and other small mammals. At the zoo, they are fed Mazuri Exotic Canine diet, rabbits, horse meat and chicken.
The park is safe for guests and has resumed normal operations, the zoo said.
How the wolf managed to escape remains under investigation.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/wolf-secured-after-escaping-habitat-at-cleveland-zoo/
| 2022-09-21T11:34:27Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/wolf-secured-after-escaping-habitat-at-cleveland-zoo/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
Ancient Nutrition Founders, Jordan Rubin and Dr. Josh Axe's Farms are the First to Become Regenerative Organic Certified in the States of Tennessee and Missouri
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ancient Nutrition is proud to announce the achievement of Regenerative Organic Certified™ (ROC™) for the farming operations owned by their founders, Jordan Rubin and Dr. Josh Axe in Tennessee and Missouri. With this monumental certification, Ancient Nutrition, through the company's R.A.N.C.H ProjectSM, will direct the strategy and operations on the first ever ROC farms in their respective states. Ancient Nutrition and it's founders proudly join Gaia Herbs as two of the three dietary supplement brands to achieve this distinction.
ROC by the Regenerative Organic Alliance (ROA) is a revolutionary new certification for farms, food, fiber, and personal care ingredients that goes far beyond current organic standards and assures consumers that their purchase makes a positive impact at every level: environmental, ethical, and social. ROC is a holistic agriculture certification that ensures farms and products meet the highest standards in soil health, farming, animal welfare, and social fairness.
The Tennessee farm is named The Center for Regenerative Agriculture, which is dually headquarters for Ancient Nutrition and its R.A.N.C.H ProjectSM. This initiative focuses on the company's commitments to Regenerative Agriculture, Nutrition and Climate Health. The R.A.N.C.H ProjectSM supports the mission of Ancient Nutrition: to heal the earth, feed the world and transform the health of every individual on the planet with history's most powerful superfoods.
"The all-encompassing standards of being Regenerative Organic Certified represent the pinnacle of ecologically sound agricultural operations that, if broadly implemented, will take our food supply far beyond organic," said Jordan Rubin, Co-Founder and CEO of Ancient Nutrition. "As the operators of the first ROC farms in the states of Tennessee and Missouri, we aim to establish a legacy of health and hope for Ancient Nutrition team members, partners and customers. With our "open source" research projects, we aim to inspire dozens, if not hundreds, of farmers to follow suit."
Ancient Nutrition relies on organic farms for many ingredients used in their products, including ingredients grown on their farms, on over 130-acres in Tennessee and over 4,000 acres in Missouri. Now, the company is making strides towards creating supplements that can be fully Regenerative Organic Certified.
"When Gaia Herbs earned its Regenerative Organic Certified title for our 350 acre farm, we took our commitment to planetary health and organic farming to a new level. This certification signifies a commitment to the health of the earth as well as the health of the people who steward the herbs that we grow," said Alison E. Czeczuga, Director of Social Impact and Sustainability at Gaia Herbs. "We are thrilled to be advancing and promoting ROC principles with our friends at Ancient Nutrition, who have been pioneers in regenerative agriculture and are making a positive impact on the world."
At Ancient Nutrition, our mission is to transform the health of every individual on the planet with history's most powerful superfoods. Our belief in superfoods goes beyond supplements. We have a responsibility to care for the environment. That's why we dedicate 1% of all revenue to the R.A.N.C.H ProjectSM, our commitment to Regenerative Agriculture, Nutrition and Climate Health. We are partners with Rodale Institute to further our efforts to heal the planet, and we're certified CarbonNeutral®. For more information and to shop online, visit ancientnutrition.com.
Regenerative Organic Certified™ (ROC™) is a revolutionary new certification for food, fiber, and personal care ingredients that assures shoppers that their purchase makes a positive impact at every level: environmentally, ethically, and socially. ROC farms and products meet the highest standards in three pillars: soil health, animal welfare, and social fairness. ROC is overseen by the 501(c)3 nonprofit Regenerative Organic Alliance. https://regenorganic.org/
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Ancient Nutrition
|
https://www.wave3.com/prnewswire/2022/09/21/co-founders-superfood-supplement-brand-ancient-nutrition-achieve-regenerative-organic-certified-status-their-farms/
| 2022-09-21T11:34:32Z
|
wave3.com
|
control
|
https://www.wave3.com/prnewswire/2022/09/21/co-founders-superfood-supplement-brand-ancient-nutrition-achieve-regenerative-organic-certified-status-their-farms/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A car crash sent a sedan from a side street through a barrier and onto a precarious ledge on the side of an interstate in Richmond, Virginia, on Sunday afternoon.
Virginia State Police said officers attempted to stop a 2018 Acura MDX sedan in the area of St. James Street and W. Baker Street in around 4:30 p.m.
According to police, the driver of the car quickly accelerated, lost control, overcorrected and went through a fence. The car then rolled onto the shoulder of northbound I-95.
The driver, an 18-year-old woman from Richmond, was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. State police said she will be charged with felony eluding a police officer and unauthorized use of a vehicle.
There were two additional teenagers inside the vehicle at the time of the crash who were uninjured. State police said the crash remains under investigation.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/woman-charged-after-car-crashes-nearly-falls-onto-interstate/
| 2022-09-21T11:34:34Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/woman-charged-after-car-crashes-nearly-falls-onto-interstate/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
Soludo to implement FG’s whistleblowing policy in Anambra
Governor Chukwuma Soludo, of Anambra State, has promised to implement the Federal Government Whistleblowing Policy in the state.
He said the Policy will help his administration to promote transparency, accountability and good governance.
He also promised to reward any law abiding citizen, who evidently exposed any corrupt government officials, contractors and other elective leaders in the state.
He said the whistleblowers would also be given adequate government protection.
He noted that the reward will depends on the nature of the case.
Soludo, who disclosed this through the Transition Committee Chairman of Aguata Council Area of the State, Dr. Chibueze Ofobuike, during a one-day stepdown training/meeting on strengthening the capacity of stakeholders on the Whistleblowing Policy, held at the Council Secretariat conference hall, Ekwulobia, on Tuesday, in turn, warned them to be sure of what they are blowing the whistle on.
While describing the policy as a welcome development, Dr. Ofobuike, charged the participating stakeholders to be bold enough to exposed any corrupt public officeholders, contractors, politicians, community President Generals and other elective officers of any wrongdoing in their various Constituencies.
He informed the stakeholders that governor Soludo, is interested of the programme in the state, being a true Democrat. And that he has promised to implement the policy in his administration to help promote transparency, accountability and good governance.
In his address, the organiser and Coordinator of the African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL), Dr. Chidi Onuma, said AFRICMIL in collaboration with International Peace and Civil Responsibility Centre (IPCRC), said the aimed of the programme was to train people at the rural areas who would volunteer and bold enough to monitor Constituency and government projects and report any wrongdoing, if any, to anti-graft agencies; EFCC, ICPC, AFRICMIL or the State disgnated anti-graft agency for prompt action.
Dr. Onuma, who was represented at the training, by the Senior Programme Officer of AFRICMIL, Mr. Godwin Onyeacholem, told the trained whistleblowers that their reports should be true, factual and with evidents to back it up, to avoid reprisal.
He said they can equal report anonymously via www.partnersunited.org
He also assure them of 100 percent protection from AFRICMIL.
According to Onyeacholem, AFRICMIL, is a non-governmental organisation focusing on media, information research, advocacy and training. It aims to promote media and information Literacy as a key component in the enhancement of democracy and good governance, and the promotion of accountability and orderly society.
“Since 2017, AFRICMIL, has been working on a project tagged Corruption Anonymous (CORA), which is supported by The John D. and Catherine T. MacAthur Foundation. The project is designed to build public confidence and support for the whistleblowing policy of the government of Nigeria. And in a bid to ensure a successful implementation of the CORA project, AFRICMIL, has build strategic alliances with relevant stakeholders, like the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA), a unit in Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning that is charged with the responsibility of managing the Whistleblowing Policy, the anti-corruption agencies, civil society organisations, a coalition of public interest Lawyers and of course, the media, he added.
The Chairman, Anambra Civil Society Network (ACSONET), Prince Chris Azor, who also spoke at the event, while commending governor Soludo, for providing a conducive environment for the programme, noted that a lot needed to be done in terms of the protection of whistleblowers across the country.
“According to him, people are worried that whistleblowers don’t have adequate protection, not necessarily protection in terms of their lives, but also loss of jobs.
“We need to ensure that public servants and community volunteers are given adequate protection, especially in terms of job security because if people know that they will lose their jobs, they will not be inclined to whistle blowing policy”
“The whistle-blowing policy could be a powerful tool in the hands of Nigerians when the gaps were filled because government could not be everywhere.
“It is the individuals who know their communities, LGAs, State and the many wrongdoings going on there. So, we empower people through information, through creating a platform that they have confidence in.
“They need to know that if they report any case, their lives will be protected, their jobs will be secured and ultimately nobody is going to punish them for the action they have taken. And I strongly believe, it will help in creating confidence in the system, Azor explained.
The one-day training programme with the Theme; Community Based Organisations As Change Agents In Promoting Whistleblowing, attracted participants across the three Senatorial District of the State.
Nigerian Tribune gathered that the Whistleblowing Policy was introduce in 2016 by the Federal Government, aim to increase exposure of financial crimes; support the fight against financial crimes and corruption; improve level of public confidence in public entities and enhance transparency and accountability in the management of public funds.
|
https://tribuneonlineng.com/soludo-to-implement-fgs-whistleblowing-policy-in-anambra/
| 2022-09-21T11:34:41Z
|
tribuneonlineng.com
|
control
|
https://tribuneonlineng.com/soludo-to-implement-fgs-whistleblowing-policy-in-anambra/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
(NEXSTAR) – When you think of McDonald’s, one of the first things that come to mind is likely the Golden Arches. They are the iconic attribute of the fast food brand. The Golden Arches won’t guide you to a Big Mac and fries at one McDonald’s, though.
Nearly 70 years ago, arches were added to the restaurant’s new “Red and White” buildings to help the roof line feel less flat. The first location to have the “Golden Arches” was Downey, California, in 1953. It looks the same today.
According to McDonald’s, a sign maker used yellow neon into the arches, ultimately creating the “Golden Arches.” It wasn’t until roughly a decade later that the Golden Arches became the restaurant’s logo.
While the buildings have changed since the Downey location was built, the Golden Arches have remained a staple to help you identify a McDonald’s near you.
Except at one location.
The McDonald’s located on Highway 89A in Sedona, Arizona, can be found sporting teal arches. Sedona, roughly 115-mile drive north of Phoenix, is surrounded by the red rock formations common to the southwestern portion of the country.
Many of the buildings in the town, including this specific McDonald’s restaurant and its neighbors, are a nearly identical shade of red. This helps to not distract from the scenic vistas of the area.
Officials were concerned that the restaurant’s iconic Golden Arches may cause a distraction when McDonald’s moved to town in the early 1990s.
That’s when they decided to swap the gold for teal, creating the one-of-a-kind Teal Arches that have become a tourist attraction, an Instagram hot spot, and one of the most unique McDonald’s locations in the U.S.
While the drink cups and burger containers also have blue marks, according to a local news outlet, everything else is the same.
There are other McDonald’s locations that don’t have the traditional arches. At two California locations —Rocklin and Monterey — the arches are red and black, respectively. Some locations, like the mansion McDonald’s in Freeport, Maine, don’t have arches at all.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/you-wont-find-golden-arches-at-this-mcdonalds/
| 2022-09-21T11:34:41Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/you-wont-find-golden-arches-at-this-mcdonalds/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
BOSTON (AP) — Geoff Diehl, a former state representative endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has won the Republican nomination for Massachusetts governor over businessman Chris Doughty, who was considered the more moderate candidate in the race.
The victory for Diehl sets up a general election contest against Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey, who would be the first openly gay person and the first woman elected governor of Massachusetts if she wins in November. The state’s current governor, Republican Charlie Baker, decided against seeking a third term.
Republican voters made Massachusetts the latest blue state this midterm season to nominate a Trump loyalist in a high-profile race, potentially dooming the party’s chances of winning in November. Voters in Connecticut and Maryland, liberal states where centrist Republicans have found some success in previous elections, also selected far-right candidates to go up against a Democrat in the general election.
At a Wednesday news conference, Diehl vowed that, if elected, he would roll back vaccine mandates, repeal a new law allowing immigrants in the country illegally to obtain state driver’s licenses and work to let parents use state funds to send their children to private school or for home schooling materials.
Healey, whose only rival for the Democratic nomination dropped out of the race but remained on the ballot, will be the heavy favorite in November against Diehl in one of the most liberal states in the nation.
But Diehl got an unexpected boost Wednesday when Doughty and his pick for a running mate, former GOP state Rep. Kate Campanale, both called on Massachusetts Republicans to unite behind the Trump loyalist. “We are urging voters to support the GOP ticket in November,” Doughty said.
That’s a strikingly different tack than that taken in Maryland by Kelly Schulz, a moderate who lost the GOP gubernatorial primary to Dan Cox, a far-right state legislator endorsed by Trump. Schulz declined to back him, as did outgoing Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who has called Cox a “whack job.” In Massachusetts, Baker didn’t make a primary endorsement and has made no secret of his disdain for Diehl.
At her victory party Tuesday night before the GOP race was called for Diehl, Healey told cheering supporters that regardless of which candidate emerged as her opponent, “they’ll bring Trumpism to Massachusetts.”
Diehl, the favorite among state Republican Party delegates, has ties to Trump stretching to 2016, when he served as co-chair for Trump’s presidential campaign in Massachusetts. During a telerally Monday night, Trump said Diehl would “rule your state with an iron fist.”
Diehl has also opposed COVID-19 protocols and hailed the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.
Asked about his stand on abortion, Diehl said, “I want to protect life where I can, but also I understand that the Legislature makes the laws that govern this state. My job is to execute those laws.”
Doughty had said he supported some of Trump’s initiatives but wanted to focus on challenges facing Massachusetts, which he said is increasingly unaffordable.
Diehl has come to embrace Trump’s false claims that he won the 2020 election. Diehl said last year that he didn’t think it was a “stolen election” but later said the election was rigged, despite dozens of courts, local officials and Trump’s own attorney general saying the vote was legitimate. Doughty, meanwhile, said he believes President Joe Biden was legitimately elected.
The challenge for Diehl in the general election is that support of Trump may play well among the party’s conservative wing but could be a political albatross in a state where registered Republicans make up less than 10% of the electorate compared with about 31% for Democrats and about 57% for independents.
Diehl faced a similar struggle when he challenged Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren in 2018. He won a three-way Republican primary only to capture just over a third of the vote in the general election.
Massachusetts has a history of electing fiscally conservative, socially moderate Republican governors — including former Govs. William Weld and Mitt Romney — to provide a check on overwhelming Democratic legislative majorities. Baker, another Republican in that mold, has remained popular in the state.
Healey has said she would work to expand job training programs, make child care more affordable and modernize schools. Healey has also said she would protect “access to safe and legal abortion in Massachusetts” in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
But Healey does face an oddball hurdle in Massachusetts — the so-called curse of the attorney general. Since 1958, six former Massachusetts attorneys general have sought the governor’s office. All failed.
The state has previously had a female governor, though she was appointed to the position. Republican Jane Swift served as acting governor after Gov. Paul Cellucci stepped down in 2001 to become U.S. ambassador to Canada.
Tuesday’s election also featured several statewide contested Democratic primaries, including for attorney general and secretary of the commonwealth.
Former Boston City Councilor Andrea Campbell defeated workers’ rights attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan in the Democratic primary for attorney general. A week before the election, a third candidate, former assistant attorney general Quentin Palfrey, announced he was suspending his campaign and endorsed Campbell; he remained on the ballot.
Campbell would be the first Black woman to hold the office in Massachusetts if elected in November. She will face Republican Jay McMahon, a trial attorney who previously ran against Healey and lost.
Incumbent Democratic Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin, who is vying for an eighth term in office, defeated fellow Democrat Tanisha Sullivan, president of the Boston branch of the NAACP.
Galvin will face Republican Rayla Campbell in November. Campbell would be the first Black person to serve in the post if elected.
In the Democratic three-way race for lieutenant governor, Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll defeated state Rep. Tami Gouveia of Acton and state Sen. Eric Lesser of Longmeadow, while on the Republican side, Diehl’s new running mate, former state Rep. Leah Allen, beat Campanale, Doughty’s pick.
___
Follow AP for full coverage of the midterms at https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ap_politics.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/us-politics/ap-massachusetts-gop-voters-size-up-trump-loyalist-for-governor/
| 2022-09-21T11:34:50Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/us-politics/ap-massachusetts-gop-voters-size-up-trump-loyalist-for-governor/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
States around the country are making it easier for new moms to keep Medicaid in the year after childbirth, a time when depression and other health problems can develop.
But tight government budgets and the program’s low reimbursement may ultimately limit this push or make it hard for women with extended coverage to find doctors.
“A lot of things have changed since the pandemic,” said Venessa Aiken, a new mom in Orlando, Florida. “A lot of places no longer take Medicaid or if they do, you have to wait like two months before you can be seen.”
Many women enroll in government-funded Medicaid health insurance when they become pregnant, because qualifying income levels are higher than for women who aren’t pregnant. The federal government requires states to maintain that coverage for 60 days postpartum, or after the baby arrives. After that, moms in many states lose the coverage unless their income levels are extremely low.
Since the spring, 23 states and Washington, D.C., have said they will extend that coverage for a full year postpartum. Several more states are planning to do so.
These extensions will start helping people after the federal government’s COVID-19 public health emergency ends because states are required to keep patients enrolled during the emergency. It currently will extend at least into early next year.
The push to extend coverage has grown to include both conservative and liberal-leaning states. It also is endorsed by President Joe Biden’s administration as a way to improve equality: Postpartum mortality rates can be much higher among Black and American-Indian or Alaskan Native populations.
“There’s no reason why we should stop before we have every particular mother and baby (covered),” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra told The Associated Press. “Why wouldn’t you want to provide to a new mother and new baby a full year’s peace of mind?”
The state and federally funded Medicaid program covers prenatal doctor visits for moms and about 42% of births in the U.S.
Having that coverage eliminated some stress for Maureen Forman, who said she was already concerned about her pregnancy when she gave birth to her son last year.
“It was really nice not to worry,” the 41-year-old Bloomington, Indiana, resident said. “I just knew it was all going to be covered. I wish other pregnant women had that same experience.”
Care providers and researchers say that coverage should extend well beyond 60 days after the baby arrives.
They note that many new moms need more time to squeeze in doctor visits while they recover from childbirth and care for a newborn. Some also are juggling a return to work while doing this.
A coverage extension “matches the reality of the postpartum period,” said Usha Ranji of the non-profit Kaiser Family Foundation, which researches health care issues.
Issues like postpartum depression can develop months later, and some mothers might have lingering health problems that need care. Some also may need continued substance abuse treatment.
Those who lose coverage may not be able to afford another option like private insurance.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated last year that about 45% of women on Medicaid will become uninsured after the 60-day postpartum coverage period ends.
While nearly half the states have expanded the coverage, health economist Joe Antos said he thinks others will hesitate to add the expense to their budgets.
Mississippi lawmakers scuttled a bill earlier this year that would have extended postpartum coverage partly over concerns about expanding the program.
The coverage extensions, which last five years, are backed partly by funding from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act. States will have to pay some of the bill.
If the economy slides into a recession, “state enthusiasm for further expansions will also drop off as their own budgets tighten up,” said Antos, who’s with the American Enterprise Institute.
Extending the coverage does not automatically guarantee better care, because finding doctors can be difficult.
Jennie Joseph says the idea of trying to get a referral to a mental health specialist for a Medicaid patient is “laughable.” The Florida midwife said patients first have to find a doctor to provide that referral and then land a therapist who accepts Medicaid, which is even harder.
Joseph is the founder of Commonsense Childbirth, a nonprofit that operates a birth center and clinic in central Florida. She said low Medicaid reimbursement rates and payment hassles are challenging for care providers. She said the government program pays her clinic less than half of what a commercial insurer would pay for a prenatal visit. Medicaid reimbursement for postpartum visits is even less, as little as $34.
“It’s all about trying to get your claim paid, and they are more readily denied than they are paid,” she said. “Because of that, providers don’t make postpartum appointments for these mothers.”
Aiken, the Orlando newborn mom, gave birth at Joseph’s center in July. She has had a hard time getting a call back from her primary care doctor’s office, and she’s worried about getting a referral to a specialist.
“It’s pretty confusing,” she said. “Who do you turn to when you don’t have a (primary care physician)?”
Becerra said he knows that doctor access must be improved. But he sees the coverage extensions as a step toward making things better.
“Let’s get people through the door and let’s continue to work to increase the number of quality caregivers who will be there to meet those folks,” he said. “But today we have hundreds of thousands of women and babies who can’t even walk through the door. “
___
Follow Tom Murphy on Twitter: @thpmurphy
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/us-politics/ap-medicaid-extensions-for-new-moms-grow-may-run-into-limits/
| 2022-09-21T11:34:58Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/us-politics/ap-medicaid-extensions-for-new-moms-grow-may-run-into-limits/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
NEW ORLEANS, La. (AP) — Former New Orleans Mayor Moon Landrieu — whose early, lonely stand against segregationists in the Louisiana legislature launched a political career at the forefront of sweeping changes on race — died Monday, a family friend confirmed. He was 92.
Ryan Berni, a longtime friend of the family, confirmed that Landrieu passed away early Monday.
“He died peacefully this morning surrounded by family,” Berni told The Associated Press.
A progressive white Democrat whose demeanor could be combative at times, Landrieu came from a blue-collar Roman Catholic family, served in the Army and sat alongside the first Black students at the city’s Loyola law school before winning a statehouse seat in 1960.
By then, six years had passed since the U.S. Supreme Court ordered public schools to desegregate nationwide, and Landrieu couldn’t in good conscience go along when Gov. Jimmie Davis steamrolled legislation to keep students in New Orleans separated by race. They passed by lopsided margins with Landrieu, at least once, the lone “no” vote.
The white politicians who had a lock on power on Louisiana said he’d dug his political grave, but he held onto his House seat in 1963 and then won a city council seat in 1965 with strong support from Black voters, whose influence was beginning to be felt at the polls.
To win his first mayoral term, Landrieu assembled a coalition of white liberals and African Americans and campaigned to bring Black people into important positions in government.
Integrating City Hall had its costs: In a 2018 memoir, Mitch Landrieu wrote that death threats were phoned into his family home and his school. Moon Landrieu discussed the blowback over race in a 1977 speech to the National League of Cities convention.
“If you embark on a campaign to end racial discrimination in your hometown, you will need nerves of steel, a will of iron, skin like leather and testicles of brass to withstand the slings and arrows,” he said. “I have myself these past eight years been known in some quarters as ‘Moon the Coon,’ an epithet that has caused me some pain at times, but that is also a badge of honor that bears testimony to what we try to do.”
His mayoral legacy also includes his support for the state’s construction of the Louisiana Superdome, which finally opened in 1975. It’s a beloved fixture of the city landscape now, but cost overruns and a contract scandal caused headaches for its supporters, including Landrieu.
“There has been an unbelievable emphasis on the few things that have been wrong with it and total neglect of the many, many things that are right with it,” he said several years later.
As Black voters gained influence, the coalition that elected Landrieu to the maximum two terms helped make Ernest “Dutch″ Morial the city’s first Black mayor, in 1978.
Landrieu then became President Jimmy Carter’s secretary of housing and urban development, an agency whose programs came under attack when President Ronald Reagan took office on a platform to reduce the federal government’s size and power.
Landrieu criticized Reagan for “gutting” public aid programs, and briefly considered a presidential bid of his own. But he never sought national office. Instead, he became a judge — “I really wanted to get out of my kids’ way,” he said – serving on Louisiana’s 4th Circuit Court of Appeal from 1992 to 2000.
Several of Landrieu’s nine children continue his legacy in law and politics: Mitch, also a two-term New Orleans mayor, is now President Joe Biden’s infrastructure coordinator; Mary, who served three terms as a U.S. senator, is now a policy adviser with a Washington law firm. Madeleine became dean of the law school at Loyola University New Orleans, and Maurice is a federal prosecutor.
Born Maurice E. Landrieu on July 23, 1930, he was called Moon, a family nickname, throughout his life and eventually made that his legal first name. He served three years in the Army before opening a small, walk-up law office with law school classmate Pascal Calogero, later the chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court.
Landrieu credited his wife, Verna, with nudging him into politics, and his Black classmates, including Norman Francis, who would become Xavier University’s dean and president, for opening his eyes.
“It wasn’t just a question of racial justice, but from a practical standpoint, I recognized — as a politician, as a legislator and councilman — that we were wasting so much talent, wasting so much energy, by precluding Blacks from participation in all matters,” he recalled in a 2020 interview with the New Orleans weekly newspaper Gambit.
“And I was determined, as I became mayor, to revitalize this city and to bring about racial integration, so that the city could enjoy the full benefit of white and Black participants.”
Gov. John Bel Edwards called Landrieu a man of “bold vision.”
“Moon Landrieu was a courageous and defining voice for Louisiana and his beloved hometown of New Orleans,” Edwards said in a statement. “In addition to his many contributions to our state and nation, he leaves behind the most enduring legacy of all – a family that continues his fight for equality.”
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/us-politics/ap-new-orleans-political-patriarch-moon-landrieu-has-died/
| 2022-09-21T11:35:05Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/us-politics/ap-new-orleans-political-patriarch-moon-landrieu-has-died/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Russian Ministry of Defense is in the process of purchasing millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea for its ongoing fight in Ukraine, according to a newly downgraded U.S. intelligence finding.
Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said Tuesday that “the information that we have is that Russia has specifically asked for ammunition.” He said the U.S. has seen indications Russia approached North Korea, but said he had no other details, including whether money has changed hands or any shipments are in progress.
“It does demonstrate and is indicative of the situation that Russia finds itself in, in terms of its logistics and sustainment capabilities as it relates to Ukraine,” said Ryder, in the administration’s first public comments on the intelligence assessment. “We assess that things are not going well on that front for Russia.”
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said there were no indications that the arms purchase had actually occurred yet or that any North Korean munitions had made it onto the Ukrainian battlefield. Still, he said the talks alone were “just another indication of how desperate Putin’s becoming.”
“He was buying drones from Iran, now he’s going to buy artillery rounds from from North Korea. It’s an indication of how much his defense industrial establishment is suffering as a result of this war and the degree of desperation that he’s reaching out to countries like Iran and North Korea for assistance,” he told reporters Tuesday.
U.S. intelligence officials believe the Russians could look to purchase additional North Korean military equipment in the future. The intelligence finding was first reported by The New York Times.
Kirby said U.S. intelligence suggests that Russia is in the market for on “the scale of millions of rounds” of ammunition from North Korea, but offered no additional details.
Asked why the information was declassified, Ryder it’s relevant to illustrate the condition of Russia’s ongoing military campaign in Ukraine. And, he said, it shows ”they’re trying to reach out to international actors like Iran and North Korea that don’t have the best record when it comes to international stability.”
Russia’s United Nations Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia called the U.S. intelligence finding “another fake thing that’s been circulated.” Nebenzia later added, “I can only laugh about it.”
The Biden administration said last week that Russia has faced technical problems with Iranian-made drones acquired from Tehran in August for use in its war with Ukraine. Russia picked up Mohajer-6 and Shahed-series unmanned aerial vehicles over several days last month as part what the Biden administration says is likely part of a Russian plan to acquire hundreds of Iranian UAVs for use in Ukraine.
North Korea has sought to tighten relations with Russia as much of Europe and the West has pulled away, blaming the United States for the Ukraine crisis and decrying the West’s “hegemonic policy” as justifying military action by Russia in Ukraine to protect itself.
The North Koreans have hinted interest in sending construction workers to help rebuild Russian-occupied territories in the country’s east.
North Korea’s ambassador to Moscow recently met with envoys from two Russia-backed separatist territories in the Donbas region of Ukraine and expressed optimism about cooperation in the “field of labor migration,” citing his country’s easing pandemic border controls.
In July, North Korea became the only nation aside from Russia and Syria to recognize the independence of the territories, Donetsk and Luhansk, further aligning with Russia over the conflict in Ukraine.
The North’s arms export to Russia would be a violation of U.N. resolutions that ban the country from exporting to or importing weapons from other countries. Its possible dispatch of laborers to the Russian-held territories in Ukraine would also breach a U.N. resolution that required all member states to repatriate all North Korean workers from their soil by 2019.
There have been suspicions that China and Russia haven’t fully enforced U.N. sanctions on North Korea, complicating a U.S.-led attempt to deprive North Korea of its nuclear weapons.
The provocative move by North Korea comes as the Biden administration has become increasingly concerned about stepped-up activity by North Korea in pursuit of nuclear weapons.
North Korea has test-fired more than 30 ballistic missiles this year, including its first flights of intercontinental ballistic missiles since 2017, as leader Kim Jong Un pushes to advance his nuclear arsenal despite U.S.-led pressure and sanctions.
The U.S. has frequently downgraded and made public intelligence findings over the course of the grinding war in Ukraine to highlight plans for Russian misinformation operations or to throw attention on Moscow’s difficulties in prosecuting the war. Ukraine’s smaller military has put up a stiff resistance against the militarily superior Russian forces.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim have recently exchanged letters in which they both called for “comprehensive” and “strategic and tactical” cooperation between the countries. Moscow, for its part, has issued statements condemning the revival of large-scale military exercises between the United States and South Korea this year, which North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal.
Russia, along with China, has called for the easing of U.N. sanctions imposed on North Korea over its nuclear and missile tests. Both countries are members of the U.N. Security Council, which has approved a total of 11 rounds of sanctions on the North since 2006. In May, Russia and China vetoed a U.S.-led bid to impose new economic sanctions on North Korea over its high-profile missile tests this year.
Some experts say that Kim could likely bolster his resolve to retain his nuclear weapons because he may think the Russian attack happened because Ukraine had signed away its nuclear arsenal.
Relations between Moscow and Pyongyang go back to the 1948 foundation of North Korea, as Soviet officials installed young, ambitious nationalist Kim Il Sung, the late grandfather of Kim Jong Un, as the country’s first ruler. Since then, Soviet aid shipment had been crucial in keeping North Korea’s economy afloat for decades before the disintegration of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.
Moscow had since established formal diplomatic relations with Seoul as part of its hopes to draw South Korean investment and allowed its Soviet-era military alliance with North Korea to expire. But after his election in 2000, Putin actively sought to restore his country’s ties with North Korea in what was seen as an effort to regain its traditional domains of influence and secure more allies to better deal with the United States.
___
Associated Press writers Hyung-jin Kim and Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea; Lolita C. Baldor and Zeke Miller in Washington; and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/us-politics/ap-us-russia-to-buy-rockets-artillery-shells-from-north-korea/
| 2022-09-21T11:35:21Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/us-politics/ap-us-russia-to-buy-rockets-artillery-shells-from-north-korea/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
(The Hill) – A federal judge on Monday granted former President Trump’s request to appoint an independent special master to review materials the FBI seized from his Mar-a-Lago residence last month.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who is a Trump appointee, dismissed objections from the Department of Justice (DOJ), blocking prosecutors from further reviewing or using the seized documents in their investigation until the special master completes their review.
Cannon asked DOJ and Trump’s attorneys to submit a joint filing by Friday that includes a proposed special master candidate list.
Trump has accused the FBI and DOJ of executing the search for political purposes, also claiming that some of the documents were protected by attorney-client privilege and executive privilege.
The DOJ had argued in court that a special master appointment would stall its investigation of Trump and that he did not have the authority to claim executive privilege from his time in the White House since he is no longer in office.
“With respect to the Government’s ongoing criminal investigation, the Court does not find that a temporary special master review under the present circumstances would cause undue delay,” Cannon wrote in the ruling.
The FBI’s search at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence on Aug. 8 came as part of a federal investigation into whether Trump violated the Espionage Act and two other statutes. Agents recovered 33 boxes containing more than 100 classified records, although the potential violations do not rely on the documents being classified.
Raising concerns about privileged materials seized in the search, Trump demanded the appointment of a special master two weeks later. Cannon previously announced her preliminary intent to grant the request.
Trump’s demand came as he separately pushed for the release of the unredacted affidavit that led another federal judge to approve the search warrant. That judge released a redacted copy late last month.
Alongside his request for a special master, Trump also asked Cannon to order the return of the seized property from Mar-a-Lago. Cannon on Monday declined to make such a ruling.
“Plaintiff ultimately may not be entitled to return of much of the seized property or to prevail on his anticipated claims of privilege,” Cannon wrote. “That inquiry remains for another day.”
The Hill has reached out to a DOJ spokesperson for comment.
Although she temporarily blocked the DOJ from using the materials in its investigation, Cannon said the intelligence community’s ongoing damage assessment of the documents’ storage at Mar-a-Lago could continue.
DOJ had argued that Trump lacked standing to request a special master because his presidential records were owned by the government, not Trump himself. The judge dismissed the objection, arguing that although Trump may not have ownership of many of the materials, “genuine disputes” exist as to whether others constituted personal records.
Prosecutors also said Trump could not claim executive privilege as a former president against the current executive branch, but Cannon said DOJ’s position “arguably overstates the law.”
DOJ also argued that its filter team already examined the materials to separate privileged documents before handing them off to investigators, so a special master would be unnecessary and cause further delay.
Cannon called into question the accuracy of the filtering, noting that investigators on at least two occasions were given materials they believed were potentially privileged and handed them back to the filter team.
“These instances certainly are demonstrative of integrity on the part of the Investigative Team members who returned the potentially privileged material,” Cannon wrote. “But they also indicate that, on more than one occasion, the Privilege Review Team’s initial screening failed to identify potentially privileged material.”
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/us-politics/judge-grants-trumps-request-to-appoint-special-master-to-review-mar-a-lago-documents/
| 2022-09-21T11:35:28Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/us-politics/judge-grants-trumps-request-to-appoint-special-master-to-review-mar-a-lago-documents/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
The 8 best PS5 controller charging stations
Few managed to get their hands on a PS5 since the demand for the console exceeded supply by an unprecedented margin, but the good news is that Sony plans to release a revised version on September 15.
Getting a charging station is a good idea if you’re set on buying a new PS5. That way, you can juice up your controller when you’re not playing, so it’s ready to go when you are.
In this article: PlayStation DualSense Charging Station, Oivo PS5 Controller Charging Station and Razer Quick PS5 Controller Charging Stand.
What to know about PS5 controller charging stations
Clear the clutter
Your gaming area can be untidy if you have many accessories and peripherals. A charging station can help clear the clutter by eliminating charging cables running from your PS5 to the controller. It also gives you a place to hold your PS5 controller when you’re not using it, which makes it easy to find when the time comes for your next session. Additionally, it can help you avoid leaving your controllers on the couch, a chair or a table.
Fast charging
The only downside to a charging station is that most don’t let you comfortably use your controller while it’s docked and charging. However, many users find the minor inconvenience worth it since a charging station can charge a controller significantly faster than a USB-C cable connected to a PS5. Most charging stations can fully charge a dead PS5 controller in under two and a half hours, but the best ones can do it in one and a half.
Dual-controller charging
There are two types of charging stations single-controller and dual-controller.
-
Single-controller charging stations are compact and designed to charge or hold one controller.
-
Dual-controller charging stations have two connected docks for charging two controllers simultaneously.
A single-controller charging station is more affordable and ideal if you only own one PS5 controller, but those with multiple controllers may want to consider a dual-controller charging station.
However, it’s important to note that the power supply is usually split when two controllers are charging simultaneously, meaning it takes longer to get both controllers fully charged.
Horizontal vs. vertical design
Most charging stations have a horizontal design that lets you quickly click on controllers to cradle them. However, there are more sleek, vertical charging stations that look more stylish and save more space.
Features to look for in a quality PS5 controller charging station
Charging status indicators
The light bar on a PS5 controller pulsates with an orange light when charging and stops once it’s at 100%. Charging stations have LED indicators that make it easy to tell if your controller is charged. For example, some charging docks will glow red when a controller is charging and change to blue once fully powered.
Additional ports
Many charging stations draw power directly from a PS5, meaning it’ll use one USB port. This presents a problem for gamers who want to connect other accessories and peripherals to a USB port on their PS5. To solve this, some charging stations have two or three additional ports so users can still connect their accessories while the charging station draws power from the PS5 to charge controllers.
Built-in intelligent chip
Leaving any appliances or electronics charging when you’re not around can be dangerous. Mishaps such as over-charging, over-voltage, overheating and short-circuiting can occur. The risk is low, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. It’s best to look for a charging station with a built-in intelligent chip that helps prevent them.
The best PS5 controller charging stations
Most reliable PS5 controller charging stations
Oivo PS5 Controller Charging Station
This charging station can power up two controllers simultaneously in just two hours and has an on and off switch on the rear for power saving when it’s not in use. Plus, it has an LED light indicating the charging status.
Sold by Amazon
Mes Merry Black Charging Station
This dock features a click-in design and has a blue light bar with a touch on and off switch and control panel. It’s powered by a 5V/2A plug adapter and supports dual controller charging, getting each one to full power in less than two and a half hours.
Sold by Amazon
PlayStation DualSense Charging Station
Thanks to a click-in design, you can dock two controllers easily and leave them charging while you’re away from your PS5 console. It’s an authentic Sony PS5 controller charging stand, so it’s more durable and reliable than third-party charging docks.
Sold by Amazon
Razer Quick PS5 Controller Charging Stand
You don’t need to worry about this charging stand falling over as it has a sturdy curved cradle design that lets you easily mount your controller. It’s ergonomically designed for one-handed navigation, so players can use it even when a controller is docked.
Sold by Amazon
LVFan PS5 Controller Charging Station
Players looking for a fast way to charge their PS5 controllers will love this dock. It can charge one controller in under 90 minutes and has a drop-in slot design for quickly securing controllers in place. Plus, it has two LED light indicators that display charging status.
Sold by Amazon
Most affordable PS5 controller charging stations
Catzarmor PS5 Controller Charging Station
This charging station has a neat spaceship design and is ideal for those looking for an affordable way to charge their controllers. It has clear LED indicators that light up red or blue depending on whether the controllers are fully charged.
Sold by Amazon
Fegliea PS5 Controller Charging Station
This charging station has a 70.5-inch power adapter and can charge two controllers even when the console is powered off. It has a built-in chip that protects it from over-surging, and it takes less than two hours to charge a controller.
Sold by Amazon
NexiGo PS5 DualSense Controller Charging Station
This charging station has a more stylish design than other docks, but it’s still compact and has a built-in chip for overload protection. You can charge two controllers simultaneously, and it has LED lights that illuminate when they’re docked.
Sold by Amazon
Want to shop the best products at the best prices? Check out Daily Deals from BestReviews.
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
Kevin Luna writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/reviews/br/electronics-br/gaming-accessories-br/get-ready-for-the-newest-ps5-release-with-these-playstation-controller-charging-stations/
| 2022-09-21T11:35:36Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/reviews/br/electronics-br/gaming-accessories-br/get-ready-for-the-newest-ps5-release-with-these-playstation-controller-charging-stations/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
Fix your MacBook yourself from the comfort of your home
For anyone who’s needed to repair an electronic device, running out to a store to get assistance can feel like a big waste of time. However, Apple is expanding its Self-Service Repair Program so MacBook owners can repair their laptops themselves.
The service is still relatively new, and many users have questions about it. With the recent expansion introducing MacBook support, now is a great time to consider getting one if you want the option of fixing your laptop yourself if one day something isn’t working right. In this article: MacBook Air 13.3-inch, MacBook Pro 14.2-inch and MacBook Pro 16.2 inch.
What to know about the Self-Service Repair program
It started with the iPhone
The Apple Self-Service Repair program launched in April 2022 and lets iPhone owners repair their phones themselves. The program supports the most recent models in the iPhone 12 and 13 series and is intended to help tech-savvy iPhone owners avoid going to the Apple Store for repair services.
Introducing MacBook repairs
Apple expanded the program on August 23 to allow MacBook owners to use the service to repair their laptops. However, not all MacBooks are supported, but those with one of the following four models can look into fixing their notebook themselves should anything go awry:
- 2020 MacBook Air M1
- 2020 MacBook Pro 13-inch M1
- 2021 MacBook Pro 14-inch
- 2021 MacBook Pro 16-inch
Can you fix a laptop yourself?
Before looking into the Apple Self-Service Program, it’s best to ask yourself if you have the skills, knowledge and time to fix a laptop, as the program is intended for those with experience repairing electronic devices.
Although it may not seem overly complicated based on the instructions, it can be overwhelming if you’ve never done it before. Also, while you’ll save yourself a trip to the Apple Store, you may spend more time investigating your laptop’s issue, and it may take longer than you’d like to fix it yourself.
How the Apple Self-Service Program Works
Find the correct repair manual
If you’ve decided you want to fix your MacBook yourself, you first need to get the correct manual for your laptop, which you can find on Apple’s website. Read through the manual to identify what needs repairing and which parts and tools you’ll need to fix it.
Order the necessary parts and tools
Once you know what needs fixing on your MacBook, you’ll need to get the genuine parts, tools and materials directly from the Self-Service Repair Store to repair it. You’ll need the manual ID, your device’s serial number or International Mobile Equipment Identity to order parts and tools.
Fix your MacBook
After you receive the tools and parts in the mail, you can start repairing your MacBook. It’s crucial to follow the manual’s instructions closely to ensure a successful repair and, if necessary, initiate a system configuration at the end.
Return tools and replaced parts
Rather than tossing any replaced and damaged parts in the trash, it’s best to dispose of them by sending them back to Apple along with any rented tools or parts, where they can be recycled or refurbished. Also, Apple sometimes credits customers for returning certain replaced or damaged parts, but you’ll have to contact the Self-Service Repair Store for more information about your repair.
FAQ
Q. How does it cost to rent tools?
A. A rental kit costs $49 and lets users hold onto them for one week. Also, there are no additional shipping fees.
Q. Are there any penalty fees if a rental kit isn’t returned?
A. You could potentially be charged up to $1,000 for an active authorized fee of up to $1,000 if you don’t return the kit or if you send it back with any missing parts or tools.
Best Apple notebooks and accessories
Best MacBook Air notebooks
The MacBook Air with a 13.3-inch retina display is Apple’s most portable notebook and offers 18 hours of battery life. It has a fanless design for silent operation, a high-performance 8-core CPU and a 7-core GPU for super-fast integrated graphics.
Sold by Amazon
This MacBook Air has a slightly larger screen than the base model but has an even thinner and lightweight build. It has an M2 chip that significantly boosts speed and power efficiency over the M1 chip.
Sold by Amazon
Best MacBook Pro notebooks
This MacBook has a more robust build than the MacBook Air but offers improved battery life, lasting up to 20 hours on a full charge. It supports 24GB of unified memory and has an active cooling system for maintaining high performance.
Sold by Amazon
This MacBook has a stunning 14.2-inch liquid retina XDR display and is loaded with a fast M1 Pro or M1 Max chip. It offers advanced graphics performance up to 13 times faster than the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
Sold by Amazon
This high-end laptop lasts up to 21 hours on a full charge and is designed to run high-powered software with elite performance and speed. It has a 10-core CPU and a 16-core GPU offering four times faster performance for graphics-intensive programs.
Sold by Amazon
Best MacBook accessories
35W Dual USB-C Port Compact Power Adapter
This compact power adapter has folding prongs and lets you charge two devices simultaneously. It works best with the MacBook Air but can also be used to power up an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods.
Sold by Amazon
This wireless mouse has a smooth multi-touch surface that lets you swipe back and forth effortlessly between web pages and scroll through documents. It comes with a USB-C to Lightning charging cable, and the battery lasts up to a month on a full charge.
Sold by Amazon
LaCie Rugged Mini 2TB Portable External Hard Drive
This external hard drive is excellent for those looking for an affordable storage upgrade. It has built-in password protection and a rugged build that offers shock protection up to four feet and dust and water resistance.
Sold by Amazon
Want to shop the best products at the best prices? Check out Daily Deals from BestReviews.
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
Kevin Luna writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/reviews/br/electronics-br/laptop-computers-br/looking-for-a-laptop-you-can-fix-yourself-apple-to-expand-its-self-service-repair-program/
| 2022-09-21T11:35:43Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/reviews/br/electronics-br/laptop-computers-br/looking-for-a-laptop-you-can-fix-yourself-apple-to-expand-its-self-service-repair-program/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
Glutathione for your health
Glutathione is an antioxidant commonly found in animals, healthy bacteria, plants, fungi and the human body. It primarily consists of three essential amino acids, which are glycine, cysteine and glutamine. It has many health benefits for humans and can help repair and build healthy tissues, reduce inflammation and boost the immune system. Most people produce glutathione naturally in the liver, but some need to take supplements to ensure they get the right amount in their system.
Top benefits of glutathione
Reduce inflammation
Inflammation is one of the biggest causes of chronic health conditions and autoimmune disorders. It contributes to an increase in harmful free radicals, which weaken the immune system and lead to the progression of many chronic illnesses and autoimmune disorders.
According to one study, glutathione could reduce inflammation in the body and help fight against certain health conditions, including:
- Psoriasis
- Celiac disease
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Cancer
Decrease oxidative stress
Oxidative stress is what happens when you have an antioxidant deficiency and there are too many free radicals in the body. This can lead to chronic illnesses such as diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s and rheumatoid arthritis. It could also damage blood cells, DNA and essential proteins. Higher levels of glutathione could help reduce oxidative stress, boost the immune system and lower the risk of developing certain conditions.
Remove toxins
To function properly, the human body needs tiny amounts of heavy metals, such as iron, copper or zinc. However, too much can be harmful to your health. One PubMed study shows that long-term exposure to heavy metals could lead to things such as:
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Kidney disease or kidney failure
- Lung damage
With the help of key enzymes and transport proteins, glutathione can effectively bind to these toxins and remove them from your system.
Build or repair tissues
Along with helping against inflammation, high levels of glutathione can help repair and strengthen damaged tissues in the body. This is beneficial for athletes and for people who frequently experience an inflammatory response. This antioxidant could also improve strength and endurance, as well as aid in recovery after intensive exercise.
Promote liver health
Several things could lead to fatty liver disease, both alcohol and nonalcohol-related. One such cause of this condition, though, is a lack of antioxidants. When taken intravenously at a high enough dosage, glutathione could increase enzyme and protein levels and potentially boost liver health. A few studies have also found that it could also help successfully detoxify the liver.
Reduce signs of aging
Glutathione in the body could decrease the signs of aging. It primarily does this by:
- Helping the skin retain moisture
- Reducing the appearance of wrinkles on the face
- Boost skin elasticity
- Make the skin firmer and more supple
Recommended dosage
A single supplement of glutathione usually contains between 250 and 750 milligrams. This is generally considered sufficient for most adults. Everyone’s body and health needs are different, though. Consult a doctor before taking any health or dietary supplements to make sure it’s right for you.
Potential side effects
There are very few side effects to consuming a glutathione-rich diet. However, not everyone should take supplements or use topical treatments. Though uncommon, side effects of taking too much glutathione include:
- Bloating
- Allergic reaction (usually on the skin)
- Cramps (abdominal)
- Mild stomachache
Natural sources
A healthy human body can produce glutathione. However, you can also find this antioxidant in many foods, including:
- Vegetables — Broccoli, garlic, spinach, okra
- Proteins — Chicken, pork, fish, eggs
- Fruits — Avocados, citrus fruits, kiwis, strawberries
- Nuts — Brazil nuts
- Dairy — milk, cheese
Form
Aside from natural production, glutathione comes in the following forms:
- Topical: Topical application includes patches, serums and creams.
- Inhalant: This includes nasal and throat sprays.
- Supplement: Most supplements come in either gel or liquid forms. These are often capsules or tablets, though some are powders.
For those with a severe deficiency, a doctor might suggest taking it intravenously. This method is usually more concentrated and can be more effective than other options.
Reduced vs. liposomal glutathione
If you’re interested in glutathione supplements, here are the two main types to choose from:
- Liposomal: These supplements have a lipid coating that keeps them from breaking down during digestion and makes them easier to absorb. This could make them slightly more effective.
- Reduced: This type is slightly less effective as the digestive system breaks down and destroys some of this antioxidant. It can be easier on the body, though.
Best glutathione to buy
Aurora Nutrascience Mega-Liposomal Glutathione-Plus
These gluten-free supplements each contain 750 milligrams of glutathione plus 180 milligrams of vitamin C to help the body absorb the glutathione. They have a mild fruity flavor.
Where to buy: Sold by iHerb
Now Foods 500 Milligrams Glutathione
Available in 30-, 60- and 120-count containers, these vegan capsules can support a healthy immune system, detoxify the liver and neutralize free radicals. They also contain milk thistle extract and alpha lipoic acid to help with liver health.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon and iHerb
California Gold Nutrition Reduced L-Glutathione
These vegan tablets can promote a healthy body, reduce inflammation and boost cell growth and health. Each capsule contains 500 milligrams of glutathione.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon and iHerb
CCL Supplements Advanced Glutathione Spray
Formulated to boost the immune system and fight against free radicals, this mint-flavored spray is easy to take daily.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Glutathione Plus Topical Patch
With a 30-day supply, these topical patches are a convenient alternative for those who don’t like taking pills. They’re free from added sugars, gluten, lactose and latex.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Liposomal Glutathione by Core Med Science
This liquid supplement can help against chronic inflammation, improve immune system health and help with liver detoxification. You can take it once a day on an empty stomach.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Ultra-High-Strength Glutathione Capsules
At 500 milligrams a capsule, these reduced supplements are 98% pure glutathione. They’re flavorless, easy to absorb and non-GMO.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Want to shop the best products at the best prices? Check out Daily Deals from BestReviews.
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
Angela Watson 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.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/reviews/br/health-wellness-br/supplements-br/what-are-the-benefits-of-glutathione/
| 2022-09-21T11:35:50Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/reviews/br/health-wellness-br/supplements-br/what-are-the-benefits-of-glutathione/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
Which heated blanket is best?
When the weather turns cold, there’s nothing better than getting cozy with a heated blanket. Most offer a range of heat settings, so you can find the perfect temperature to keep you toasty all night long.
The best heated blanket is the Woomer Electric Heated Blanket. It comes in two throw blanket sizes and four bed-related sizes, so you don’t have to worry about being fully covered.
What to know before you buy a heated blanket
Power source
Heated blankets can be powered by a variety of sources.
- Outlets are the most common power source as heated blankets are typically used in the home. These shouldn’t be used for traveling purposes.
- 12-volt blankets are designed for use on the road, such as for backup emergency use or if your heater is broken. They are also commonly used in RVs.
- USB blankets are the best option for those who want to use them both at home and while traveling. USB ports are commonly found on planes and in cars, plus you can use a USB to outlet adapter for use at home and in the airport. Some USB heated blankets have an additional USB port that you can use to charge your phone while you warm up.
Temperature
Heated blankets all have different temperature settings and ranges. The cheapest blankets have neither and are instead just off or on, though most blankets at the very least have low, high and sometimes medium settings. Better blankets can have up to 10 settings or even let you choose a temperature from its available range.
Most will heat up to at least 80 degrees, but more powerful blankets can heat up past 100 degrees.
Size
Most heated blankets are roughly 50 by 60 inches to resemble a standard throw blanket. Some blankets may add or subtract 10 inches, give or take a few more.
There are also bed-sized blankets that match the dimensions of standard mattresses to help you sleep.
What to look for in a quality heated blanket
Battery
Some heated blankets have rechargeable batteries, either as the sole power source or for use in cases where you have no power. If you want a heated blanket for emergencies, make sure it has one.
Cord length
It’s no use having a heated blanket if the power cable is too short to reach your preferred place of rest. On the flip side, having a blanket with too long of a cord increases the odds of tangles. As such, it’s best to grab a cable that’s only a little longer than you need.
Cords can be as short or shorter than 5 feet or as long as 20 feet (sometimes longer).
How much you can expect to spend on a heated blanket
They can cost as little as $25 or as much as $150. Small-sized and low-temperature blankets shouldn’t cost more than $50, while the average blanket costs $50-$100. The largest bed-sized blankets typically cost $100-plus.
Heated blanket FAQ
How do I clean a heated blanket?
A. That depends whether it’s machine-safe or not. And despite the wiring, many are. Either way, always start the cleaning process by disconnecting all external wiring.
- If it isn’t machine-safe, the next step is to check your blanket’s care instructions. Some blankets can be soaked, others need to be carefully spot cleaned. After either situation, hang it up to dry.
- If it is machine-safe, double-check its washer and dryer temperature and cycle requirements and run it through them. Don’t wash or dry it with anything else, clean it alone.
Are heated blankets safe?
A. Like anything that draws power, it’s perfectly safe as long as it’s used appropriately. Appropriate use for heated blankets means:
- Making sure the power source isn’t loosely connected.
- Turning it off if it gets wet and not using it again until fully dry.
- Not leaving it on and unattended.
- Replacing it if it gets damaged or when it wears out.
- Not sitting on it, but under it.
- Storing it carefully.
- Not using one if you’re insensitive to heat.
What’s the best heated blanket to buy?
Top heated blanket
Woomer Electric Heated Blanket
What you need to know: This is packed with features to make finding the perfect temperature a dream.
What you’ll love: It has 10 heat levels with larger sizes having two zones so those sharing a bed can have a personalized temperature. The cord is 19 feet long. There’s a timed auto-off feature that can be set for up to 12 hours in 30-minute increments.
What you should consider: A few consumers noted it as being light and thin; it can slide off your bed at night and some could feel the internal wiring.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Top heated blanket for the money
Degrees of Comfort Electric Throw Blanket
What you need to know: This is a great budget option for those who only need a heated blanket occasionally.
What you’ll love: It comes in three sizes, two of which include pockets to slide your feet into, and in eight colors. There are three heat settings and an indicator light. The cord is 6 feet long and the blanket is machine-washable and -dryable.
What you should consider: It shouldn’t be used for travel as it’s only designed to handle house-based electrical sources. Some customers had theirs die quickly, but it has a five-year warranty.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
What you need to know: This is an excellent car-based blanket for daily comfort and emergencies.
What you’ll love: It has an indicator light and is made of polar fleece. The cord is 8 feet long.
What you should consider: It’s only available in solid black.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Want to shop the best products at the best prices? Check out Daily Deals from BestReviews.
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
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.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/reviews/br/home-br/decor-br/best-heated-blanket/
| 2022-09-21T11:35:58Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/reviews/br/home-br/decor-br/best-heated-blanket/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
Which watercolor paint set is best?
Whether you take up painting as a child or later in life as an adult, watercolors are a great place to start. They are not only the easiest paints to work with, but are inexpensive, too. Unlike oil and acrylic paints, watercolors need no canvases because they are made to paint on special paper designed to absorb just the right amount of moisture.
If you’re just starting out, take a look at the Sakura Koi Pocket Field Sketch Box, which packs 30 watercolors into an all-in-one kit that comes in its own plastic case.
What to know before you buy a watercolor paint set
Watercolor paint sets include paints and a brush. Beginning watercolorists want a simple set of paints and brushes. Students want more brushes, more colors and the right paper to paint on. Artists take great care in selecting their brushes and papers.
Quality
The three levels of painting skills are beginner, student and artist.
- Beginners are new to watercolors. Paint sets for beginning artists should be small, simple and inexpensive. If they find they enjoy painting with watercolors, they’ll soon want to move on to better paints and brushes. If they don’t, little has been lost.
- Students are actively seeking to learn more and improve their watercoloring skills. They want more colors, more brushes and drawing pads.
- Artists are skilled at painting with watercolors and likeliest to buy their paints and brushes separately to get exactly the materials and tools they need.
Colors
All painters mix colors to get the exact shade, tone and intensity they want in their paintings, and watercolor artists are no exception. The more paint you have, the more colors you can make by combining them. Think of watercolor paint sets like a box of crayons: bigger sets give you more artistic freedom and more ways to express what you see.
What to look for in a quality watercolor paint set
Cake pans vs. paint tubes
- Cake pans are the traditional way watercolor paints are made. Dried paints the size of pats of restaurant butter sit in shallow wells. They are difficult to mix and stir with your brushes. They are also runny, easy to cross-contaminate and often crack as they dry.
- Paint tubes are more expensive, but they are easier to use, easier to clean and come in more vibrant colors. They look like tiny toothpaste tubes with caps that seal so they don’t dry out.
Four things watercolorists want
Brushes
The quality of brushes that come in budget paint sets is as low as their prices. You can upgrade your watercoloring skills with professional-quality brushes.
Paper
Paper that’s too absorbent lets colors bleed together and turn muddy. Watercolors on paper that isn’t absorbent enough don’t stick to the paper. So look for premium paper.
Easel
When you have an easel to place your sketchpad upon, you can hold your brush with one hand and your palette with the other. Look for an easel that is lightweight but sturdy, adjusts to different heights and folds easily for taking along with you.
Palette
The idea behind a palette is that you don’t need all your colors all of the time. Choose a palette that is lightweight, easy to hold and has a snug-fitting lid.
How much you can expect to spend on a watercolor paint set
Depending upon the number of colors and brushes and any extras included, beginner sets cost $10-$20, student sets $20-$40 and artist sets $40-$100 or more.
Watercolor paint set FAQ
Can I mix cake pan and tube paints?
A. If you mean can you use them in the same painting, yes. Mixing tube paints with cake pan paints will only dull their vibrancy, so avoid mixing the two.
How do I take care of watercolor paint brushes?
A. Start by not grinding your paintbrush into your paint wells, the way most brushes get damaged. Rinse often while you’re painting. When you’re ready to put your brushes away, rinse them until the water is clear, pat them dry with a soft cloth and don’t put them away until they are completely dry.
What’s the best watercolor paint set to buy?
Top watercolor paint set
Sakura Koi Pocket Field Sketch Box
What you need to know: This set of 30 assorted non-toxic cake pan watercolors is organized into an all-in-one kit that comes in a plastic case.
What you’ll love: One of the inner compartments is removable so you can use it as a palette when you’re out in the field painting nature. The back has a pull-down ring for easy handling while you paint with the two-piece brush.
What you should consider: The case is too large to fit in a pocket.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Top watercolor paint set for the money
Winsor and Newton Watercolor Pocket Box
What you need to know: Twelve colors and a brush come in this compact case not much bigger than a paperback book.
What you’ll love: The mixing palette is built into the lid and the colors are spelled out in English, French and Spanish. The paints are made from earths, metals and petroleum distillates and come in cake pans. This is one of the few watercolor sets that includes white paint.
What you should consider: Some say the brush is too small.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
Risebrite Watercolor Paint Set for Adults
What you need to know: This artist-level set comes with 24 non-toxic colors and 12 high-quality nylon brushes.
What you’ll love: You also get a 9- by 12-inch sketchpad, a pencil with eraser and sharpener, a small roll of masking tape and a 20-well palette. The watercolors come in paint tubes with vibrant colors and the brushes have a dozen shapes for creating different effects.
What you should consider: Each tube contains less than half a fluid ounce of paint.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Want to shop the best products at the best prices? Check out Daily Deals from BestReviews.
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
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.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/reviews/br/lawn-garden-br/tools-br-lawn-garden-br/arts-crafts-br/best-watercolor-paint-set/
| 2022-09-21T11:36:05Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/reviews/br/lawn-garden-br/tools-br-lawn-garden-br/arts-crafts-br/best-watercolor-paint-set/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Colton Herta wants at least one more week to himself before he will begin to contemplate his 2023 plans.
He’s got an IndyCar contract with Andretti Autosport and an F1 testing contract with McLaren. But he’s also the subject of intense speculation that AlphaTauri wants him on the F1 grid next season, contingent on Herta receiving an exemption to receive the license needed to compete in the global series.
The very idea that the FIA, the governing body for Formula One and multiple other series around the world, would grant Herta a Super License without properly earning it ignited a debate during the Dutch Grand Prix weekend about the current licensing system.
McLaren on Sunday offered its public support of Herta receiving an exemption, noting that the 22-year-old had tested on its simulator and spent two days in the car in Portugal in July, making the team better positioned than anyone to rate him. But other team principals are against any sort of special waiver and said they’d instead be open to re-examining the Super License system.
“I don’t want to be sitting here and saying, ‘Oh, an IndyCar race, we know it’s as good as this.’ You cannot compare it,” Haas team principal Guenther Steiner said. “If we want to change the rule let’s discuss it and then fix it for the future if you think it’s wrong. But there needs to be an agreement between the stakeholders in it.”
The FIA puts very little value on United States motorsports series in its licensing system. A driver must accumulate 40 points based on their best three performances over the previous four seasons to obtain a Super License, and while winning an IndyCar championship is worth the full 40 points, the drop off from there is very steep.
Because the FIA does not govern IndyCar or NASCAR, it doesn’t give an equitable rating to the top racing series in America. For example, winning the IndyCar championship earns the same amount of points toward as Super License as winning the title in F2, the series right below F1. The drop off is significant, too, with a third-place finish worth 40 points in F2 but only 20 points in IndyCar.
A NASCAR Cup title, meanwhile, is only worth 15 points — same as an Indy Lights title. The winner of the W Series, a 10-race calendar for female drivers only, is worth the same amount of points as the champion of NASCAR’s 36-race schedule.
IndyCar and NASCAR drivers both tout their series as the most competitive and diverse in the world, and yet the FIA barely rates them equal to some of F1’s most junior categories.
It makes little sense for the FIA to show such little consideration to IndyCar, which races a car similar to F1 over a 17-race schedule that is far more diverse. IndyCar races on road and street courses, as well as ovals, and hit speeds over 240 mph in qualifying for this year’s Indianapolis 500.
There are currently four former F1 drivers in the IndyCar field in Romain Grosjean, Marcus Ericsson, Takuma Sato and Alexander Rossi, who in 2015 was the last American to race on the F1 grid. Ericsson, Sato and Rossi combine for four Indianapolis 500 wins.
The IndyCar field also boasts rookies Callum Ilott and Christian Lundgaard, who both came through the European system and Ilott is part of the Ferrari Driver Academy, and Felix Rosenqvist, who raced in Formula E before IndyCar.
The Super License system was designed in part to ensure drivers worked their way through the ranks and were qualified to compete in F1 by the time they got to that series rather than rich, unqualified drivers simply buying a seat.
But what it has done is kept drivers from the United States racing system out of F1. Herta tried to make a go of it in his early teens when he moved alone to England to move through Carlin’s development system. When he hit his ceiling, he returned to the America ahead of the 2017 Indy Lights season. He finished third and second in the Lights standings in two seasons before moving to IndyCar in 2019, when he became the series’ youngest race winner.
The highest Herta has ever finished in four IndyCar seasons was third in 2020, and despite seven career victories, he’s going to end this year with roughly 33 of the needed 40 points for a Super License.
Helmut Marko, an advisor for Red Bull, said after the Dutch Grand Prix that an agreement was in place to get Herta into an AlphaTauri seat next season if the FIA awards him the exemption. Marko said he expected a decision this weekend in Monza.
Herta and his father, manager Bryan Herta, have declined to comment on any speculation. Herta said he wants to focus on finishing the IndyCar season on Sunday at Laguna Seca and told his father to hold off bringing him any 2023 scenarios until the IndyCar season is over.
If Marko is correct, the FIA will rule on Herta’s eligibility before the checkered flag falls on his IndyCar season Sunday. But that it’s any debate — Herta has won on road and street courses and qualified on the front row for the 2021 Indy 500 — is an insult to IndyCar.
The championship that will be decided Sunday is the closest since 2003 and four drivers head to Laguna Seca with a mathematical chance to win the title. Will Power holds a 20-point lead over Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden in the IndyCar standings; Max Verstappen, meanwhile, has nine wins through 14 races and a 93-point lead in the standings.
Herta doesn’t need an exemption and has proven — like much of the IndyCar field — to be capable of competing in F1. What should happen is an overhauling of the Super License system in which the FIA shows respect beyond the series it controls.
___
More AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/ap-column-fia-license-system-needs-overhaul-for-u-s-racing/
| 2022-09-21T11:36:20Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/ap-column-fia-license-system-needs-overhaul-for-u-s-racing/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh hopes players get a cut of the money generated by an expanded College Football Playoff.
“I do believe the players should receive a revenue share from the massive TV deals that have been worked out,” Harbaugh said Monday at his weekly news conference before the eighth-ranked Wolverines host Hawaii.
The plan to expand the CFP from four teams was approved Friday, and the new-look tournament will begin as soon as 2024 and as late as 2026.
“Great,” Harbaugh said. “All for it.”
An 11-game championship bracket could be worth as much as $2 billion in media rights to the conferences that play major college football, starting in 2026. If the new format begins before the current 12-year contract with ESPN expires, the conferences could make an additional $450 million over the final two years. The current deal that ends after the 2025 season pays about $470 million per year.
CFP Executive Director Bill Hancock said ESPN would get the first bid on any new playoff inventory added in 2024 and 2025. After 2025, there is no TV contract for a playoff. The plan is to take the new format to the open market and possibly involve multiple TV partners instead of just ESPN.
In the new playoff format, six of the highest-ranked conference champions and six at-large, selection-committee selections will earn a spot. The top four seeds would be conference champions, receiving byes into the second round. First-round games would be played on campuses and the rest at bowl sites.
The CFP management committee, which includes conference commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick, are scheduled to meet Thursday in Dallas. Dates of games, host sites, available television windows and the impact on the regular-season schedule are among the topics they are expected to discuss.
___
More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/ap-harbaugh-hopes-players-get-a-revenue-share-from-12-team-cfp/
| 2022-09-21T11:36:28Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/ap-harbaugh-hopes-players-get-a-revenue-share-from-12-team-cfp/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge kept up his bruising pace and hit his major league-leading 54th home run, connecting for the third straight day and sending the New York Yankees over the Minnesota Twins 5-2 on Monday.
Judge has homered in five of his last seven games for the AL East leaders. He snapped a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning when he hit a 3-1 slider from Trevor Megill (3-2) into the second deck in left.
“It’s getting hard to put into words what he’s doing,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Just a special season he’s in the midst of.”
The All-Star slugger reached 54 homers in his 131st game. He is on pace to hit 65 homers, four more than Roger Maris’ AL record in 1961. Judge has continued to play down his pursuit of history.
“Just trying to do what I can every single day,” Judge said. “I show up to work, prepared ready to go and do whatever it takes to help our team what it takes to get a win today. Whether it’s moving a guy over, driving a guy in, making a play on defense, that’s what I’m focused on.”
Judge reached 54 homers in New York’s 135th game; Maris hit his 54th when he connected off Washington’s Tom Cheney in New York’s 139th game on Sept. 6, 1961.
“I’m paying close attention to it. How could you not?” Boone said, adding, “it’d be pretty amazing.”
It was the ninth time in his career Judge homered in three straight games and third time this season.
Judge also doubled. His latest homer came after Gary Sánchez hit a 473-foot, two-run drive into the left field bleachers off Jameson Taillon in the fifth that tied it at 2.
Judge ended the game 18 homers ahead of Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber for the major league lead. He is 23 ahead of Houston’s Yordan Alvarez in the AL.
“Right now, especially the season he’s having, he’s always been a very good player, better than that even,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “This season he’s been as good of a player as any us of have seen in a long time.”
Sánchez tied the game by hitting for his 14th homer since the Yankees traded him along with Gio Urshela to Minnesota for Josh Donaldson, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ben Rortvedt on March 13.
After connecting, Sánchez watched the ball soar into the stands, dropped his bat and ran around the bases as some of his teammates pounded on the dugout rail.
Marwin Gonzalez also homered for the Yankees, ending a 0-for-29 skid with his first hit since July 6. Kiner-Falefa added his second homer this year in the seventh.
“It’s hard for me to just hit one,” Kiner-Falefa said of Judge. “For him to do what he’s been doing but still have base hits and contribute in other ways with walks, especially when guys don’t want to pitch to him, I think that’s what makes it so impressive.”
Greg Weissert (2-0) pitched 1 1/3 innings.
Clay Holmes pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 19th save.
Judge scored in the first when he doubled and scored on Donaldson’s single off the base of the left field wall. Judge scored just before Donaldson was tagged out at second after appearing to think he had homered.
New York went up 2-0 when Gonzalez hit a slider into the right field seats in the third.
FOR STARTERS
Taillon allowed two runs and six hits in five innings. Three of those came in the fifth inning and he was aided by rookie RF Oswaldo Cabrera’s fourth career outfield assist when Miranda was thrown out trying to stretch his single in the fifth.
Taillon pitched for the first time since exiting in the second inning Tuesday against the Angels when he took a comebacker off the forearm.
Minnesota’s Chris Archer allowed two runs and four hits in five innings and is winless in his last 10 starts.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Twins: RF Max Kepler (hip tightness) was a late scratch. He struck out as a pinch-hitter in the ninth. …RHP Sonny Gray (right hamstring tightness) will throw his bullpen session Tuesday and his next start is being pushed back to Thursday’s series finale in New York
Yankees: DH Giancarlo Stanton was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the eighth after fouling a ball off his left foot in the sixth. Stanton grimaced and was unable to put any weight on his left foot. Boone said he’s not sure whether Stanton will be available for Tuesday night’s game. … LF Andrew Benintendi will have surgery on Tuesday after breaking a bone in his right wrist during a swing Friday night. Boone said Benintendi, acquired from Kansas City in late July, could play again this season. “I think the possibility of him returning is still in play,” Boone said. … 1B Anthony Rizzo (lower back) is expected to resume baseball activities Wednesday. Rizzo was originally scheduled to resume baseball activities Monday but experienced headaches as a side effect from an epidural shot. … LHP Aroldis Chapman (leg infection) may throw a bullpen session this week. … OF Harrison Bader (right foot plantar fasciitis) hit in the cage and could begin a rehab stint next week.
UP NEXT
Minnesota RHP Joe Ryan (10-7, 3.88 ERA) opposes New York RHP Gerrit Cole (10-7, 3.28) on Tuesday. Cole allowed a career-high five homers in 2 1/3 innings June 9 in Minnesota.
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/ap-judge-connects-again-hits-mlb-best-54th-hr-yanks-top-twins/
| 2022-09-21T11:36:43Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/ap-judge-connects-again-hits-mlb-best-54th-hr-yanks-top-twins/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. Open tennis tournament (all times local):
12:10 a.m.
Eleventh-seeded Jannik Sinner held off feisty Ilya Ivashka and won his U.S. Open match 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 to clinch a spot in all four Grand Slam quarterfinals this year.
Sinner, who turned 21 in August, became the youngest player to reach the quarterfinals of all four Grand Slam events in a season since Novak Djokovic was 20 in 2007. Sinner was down 3-1 in the fifth set but rallied to win five straight games to close out the unseeded Ivashka.
Sinner won 12 break points in the match and dug deep in the fifth, showcasing why the rising Italian is considered as a potential star. Sinner joins Matteo Berrettini as Italian men in the U.S. Open quarterfinals.
Sinner will play the winner of Monday night’s final match between 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic and No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz.
___
10:20 p.m.
Sixth-seeded Aryna Sabalenka bounced back from a slow start and visits from the trainer to beat No. 19 seed Danielle Collins 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 and reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals.
Sabalenka advanced to face No. 22 Karolina Pliskova.
Sabalenka continued her mastery at Flushing Meadows over Collins, beating her for the third time at the U.S Open (2018 and 2021). She led 4-3 in the second set when she needed a medical timeout. Sabalenka had a trainer massage her left thigh and it continued throughout breaks in the match. Sabalenka, an Open semifinalist in 2021, said at her on-court interview she was fine.
Sabalenka at one point complained to the chair umpire about fan noise — and again, there were plenty of them inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. The U.S. Open has attracted a record 549,657 fans since the main draw started last Monday. It’s the highest-ever attendance for the tournament through its first eight days. The previous record was 540,333, set in 2019.
She even changed her racket — which she said was “super loose” — in the midst of the second set. It didn’t bother her too much. She had 38 winners.
Sabalenka, who is from Belarus, was not allowed to play at Wimbledon this year after all players from her country and Russia were banned because of the invasion of Ukraine.
___
8 p.m.
No. 24 seed Karolina Pliskova has moved into the U.S. Open quarterfinals with a 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-2 win over 26th-seeded Victoria Azarenka.
Pliskova, a former world No. 1, was the runner-up at the U.S. Open in 2016 and at Wimbledon in 2021. Pliskova will play the winner of Monday night’s match at Arthur Ashe Stadium between No. 6 seed Aryna Sabalenka and 19th-seeded Danielle Collins.
The women’s field is guaranteed to have a first-time champion.
Pliskova has returned to form in Flushing Meadows after a broken right wrist forced her to miss the Australian Open and she struggled in her first few tournaments when she returned to action.
Azarenka lost for the fifth time in nine career meetings against Pliskova.
___
6:15 p.m.
Frances Tiafoe pulled off the biggest win of his career when the 22nd-ranked American beat second-seeded Rafael Nadal 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals.
Tiafoe buried his head in his hands and cried on the court after he shook hands with Nadal. He sat on the bench and buried his head in a towel as Nadal walked off and waved to the crowd.
The 24-year-old Tiafoe is the youngest American to reach the quarterfinals since Andy Roddick did so at 24 in 2006. Nadal, a four-time U.S. Open champion, was the highest-seeded player left after No. 1 Daniil Medvedev lost Sunday.
Tiafoe already was the first American man to reach the fourth round in three straight years since Mardy Fish in 2010-12.
Nadal entered 22-0 at Grand Slam events in 2022. He was 21-1 against Americans since October 2017, which included straight-set wins over Tiafoe in the 2019 Australian Open quarterfinals and 2019 Madrid third round.
The early edge was a boon for Tiafoe. Nadal has never come back from down 2-1 at the U.S. Open and fell to 0-7 overall at Flushing Meadows with that deficit.
___
4:35 p.m.
No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek survived a slow start to knock off unseeded Jule Niemeier 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 to reach the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open for the first time.
Swiatek, a two-time French Open champion, will play Jessica Pegula next. Pegula eliminated two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-2 to get to her third major quarterfinal of 2022.
Swiatek came into the U.S. Open just 4-4 in her last eight matches after winning 37 straight, but she hadn’t lost a set at Flushing Meadows until Monday. Niemeier got the early jump — as she exhorted the crowd to get louder — and gamely tried for another Grand Slam upset. She knocked out No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit in Wimbledon.
Swiatek steadied herself in the second set and hit 10 winners, and she turned the third set into a rout. Swiatek became the first Polish woman to reach the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open and is trying to become the first top-seeded woman to win it since Serena Williams in 2014.
___
2:15 p.m.
Jessica Pegula eliminated two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-2 to get to her third major quarterfinal of 2022 and reach that round for the first time at Flushing Meadows.
Play was held up for about 45 minutes at 1-1 in the first set while rain fell. There is a retractable roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium, but it wasn’t closed until after a downpour soaked the court.
The U.S. Tennis Association said in a statement that its “weather team” told U.S. Open organizers there was no rain expected. The statement added: “Unfortunately, a pop-up sunshower occurred.”
The No. 8-seeded Pegula is the highest-ranked American woman and the only player in the top 10 in both singles and doubles.
She reeled off the last three games of Monday’s opening set, which ended with a double-fault by No. 21 Kvitova, and then the last six games of the fourth-round match after trailing 2-0 in the second set.
Pegula is a 28-year-old who was born in New York. Her parents own the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and NHL’s Buffalo Sabres.
She is 0-3 in Grand Slam quarterfinals so far, including losses at that stage at the Australian Open in January and the French Open in June. The loss in Paris came against No. 1-ranked Iga Swiatek, who could be Pegula’s next opponent at Flushing Meadows.
___
1:40 p.m.
Andrey Rublev reached his sixth Grand Slam quarterfinal by beating Cam Norrie 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in a match delayed by about 25 minutes while the retractable roof at Louis Armstrong Stadium remained open during a downpour.
The No. 9-seeded Rublev is into his third quarterfinal at Flushing Meadows. But he is 0-2 at that stage in New York — and 0-5 at all majors.
Rublev next faces 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal or 24-year-old American Frances Tiafoe, who were scheduled to meet later Monday.
No. 7 Norrie was trying to reach the second Grand Slam quarterfinal of his career — and of this year. He lost in the Wimbledon semifinals to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in July.
___
1:15 p.m.
Play has resumed between two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and No. 8 seed Jessica Pegula in Arthur Ashe Stadium after a rain delay of 45 minutes while they waited for the retractable roof to close and the court to be dried.
The fourth-round match was halted in the middle of the third game with the score at 1-all.
Action also returned at Louis Armstrong Stadium between No. 7 Cam Norrie and No. 9 Andrey Rublev after a delay of just under 25 minutes.
Shortly after they picked back up, Rublev closed out the second set for a 6-4, 6-4 lead in their fourth-round contest.
No other courts at Flushing Meadows have a roof, so play is suspended in doubles and junior matches.
___
12:45 p.m.
Rain is delaying play in all matches at Flushing Meadows — even in the two arenas with retractable roofs, Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The courts were not covered when a little drizzle became a heavy downpour.
The match in Ashe between two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and No. 8 seed Jessica Pegula was in the middle of the third game with the score at 1-all.
The match in Armstrong between No. 7 Cam Norrie and No. 9 Andrey Rublev was in the third set with Rublev up a set and a break at 6-4, 4-3.
___
11:15 a.m.
Play has started on Day 8 at Flushing Meadows, with No. 7 seed Cam Norrie facing No. 9 Andrey Rublev in Louis Armstrong Stadium for a quarterfinal berth.
The winner of that matchup will face 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal or 24-year-old American Frances Tiafoe, who are scheduled to play in Arthur Ashe Stadium later Monday.
After a string of upsets, and Serena Williams’ loss in what is expected to be her final match, left no past U.S. Open women’s champions in the field, all eyes are now on No. 1 Iga Swiatek. The two-time French Open champion will try to make the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the first time when she plays unseeded Jule Niemeier.
The Ashe program begins at noon with two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova taking on the highest-ranked American woman, Jessica Pegula.
___
More AP coverage of U.S. Open tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/us-open-tennis-championships and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/ap-nadal-swiatek-try-to-reach-quarterfinals-us-open-updates/
| 2022-09-21T11:36:51Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/ap-nadal-swiatek-try-to-reach-quarterfinals-us-open-updates/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
NEW YORK (AP) — Frances Tiafoe’s vision was blurry from the tears. He was thrilled — overwhelmed, even — when the last point was over and it hit him that, yes, he had ended Rafael Nadal’s 22-match Grand Slam winning streak Monday and reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the first time.
“I felt like the world stopped,” Tiafoe said. “I couldn’t hear anything for a minute.”
Then Tiafoe found himself “losing it in the locker room” when he saw that NBA superstar LeBron James gave him a Twitter shoutout.
“Bro,” Tiafoe said, “I was going crazy.”
What meant the most to Tiafoe about his 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over 22-time major champion Nadal in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows, though, was looking up in his Arthur Ashe Stadium guest box and knowing his parents, Constant and Alphina, were there.
“To see them experience me beat Rafa Nadal — they’ve seen me have big wins, but to beat those ‘Mount Rushmore’ guys? For them, I can’t imagine what was going through their heads,” said Tiafoe, a 24-year-old American seeded 22nd at the U.S. Open. “I mean, they’re going to remember today for the rest of their lives.”
His parents both emigrated to the United States from Sierra Leone in West Africa amid its civil war in the 1990s. They ended up in Maryland, where Constant helped construct a tennis training center for juniors, then became a maintenance man there; Alphina, Frances said, was “a nurse, working two jobs, working overtime through the nights.” Frances and his twin brother, Franklin, were born in 1998, and soon would be spending hour upon hour where Dad’s job was, rackets in hand.
Maybe one day, went the dream, a college scholarship would come of it.
“It wasn’t anything supposed to be like this,” Tiafoe said Monday evening, hours after by far his biggest victory.
He is the youngest American man to get this far at the U.S. Open since Andy Roddick in 2006, but this was not a case of a one-sided crowd backing one of its own. Nadal is about as popular as it gets in tennis and heard plenty of support as the volume raised after the retractable roof was shut in the fourth set.
“It’s something to tell the kids, the grandkids: ‘Yeah, I beat Rafa,’” Tiafoe said with a big smile.
He served better than No. 2 seed Nadal. More surprisingly, he returned better, too. And he kept his cool, remained in the moment and never let the stakes or the opponent get to him. Nadal, a 36-year-old from Spain, had won both of their previous matches, and every set they played, too.
“Well, the difference is easy: I played a bad match and he played a good match,” Nadal said. “At the end that’s it.”
This surprise came a day after Tiafoe followed along on TV as his pal Nick Kyrgios “put on a show” and eliminated No. 1 seed and defending champion Daniil Medvedev. That makes this the first U.S. Open without either of the top two seeded men reaching the quarterfinals since 2000, when No. 1 Andre Agassi exited in the second round and No. 2 Gustavo Kuerten in the first.
That was before Nadal, Novak Djokovic, who has 21 Grand Slam titles, and Roger Federer, who has 20, began dominating men’s tennis. Djokovic, 35, did not enter this U.S. Open because he is not vaccinated against COVID-19 and was not allowed to enter the United States; Federer, 41, has undergone a series of operations on his right knee and last played at Wimbledon last year.
Now come the inevitable questions about whether their era of excellence is wrapping up.
“It signifies that the years go by,” Nadal said. “It’s the circle of life.”
Tiafoe now meets No. 9 Andrey Rublev, who beat No. 7 Cam Norrie 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 earlier Monday.
Late Monday turned into early Tuesday when third-seeded Carlos Alcaraz beat No. 15 seed Marin Cilic 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in a match that lasted 3 hours, 54 minutes and ended at 2:23 a.m.
No. 11 Jannik Sinner rallied from two games down in the fifth set to beat Ilya Ivashka 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
The No. 1 woman, Iga Swiatek, moved into her first quarterfinal at Flushing Meadows by coming back to beat Jule Neiemeier 2-6, 6-4, 6-0.
“I’m just proud,” Swiatek said, “that I didn’t lose hope.”
The 21-year-old from Poland will face another first-time U.S. Open quarterfinalist: No. 8 Jessica Pegula, the highest-ranked American woman, who advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova.
Another women’s quarterfinal will be two-time major finalist Karolina Pliskova against No. 6 Aryna Sabalenka.
Nadal won the Australian Open in January and the French Open in June. Then he made it to the semifinals at Wimbledon in July before withdrawing from that tournament because of a torn abdominal muscle.
Nadal competed only once in the 1 1/2 months between leaving the All England Club and arriving in New York, where he has won four trophies.
He tweaked his service motion, tossing the ball lower than he normally does so as not to put as much strain on his midsection. There were plenty of signs Monday that his serve was not in tip-top shape: nine double-faults, a first-serve percentage hovering around 50%, five breaks by Tiafoe.
Earlier in the tournament, he lost the first set of his first-round match. Did the same in the second round, when he also accidentally cut the bridge of his nose and made himself dizzy when the edge of his racket frame bounced off the court and caught him in the face.
Still, on Monday, Nadal appeared on the verge of turning things around when he broke early in the fourth set and went ahead 3-1.
Tiafoe told himself: “Stay in it. Stay with him.”
That’s tied to two key areas Tiafoe credits with helping make him a stronger player of late: an improved in-match mindset and a commitment to fitness.
“Rafa is there every point. I’ve been known to have some dips in my game at times, where it’s like you’re watching (and thinking), ‘What’s that?!’” Tiafoe said. “That was my thing, match intensity.”
No concern now: He grabbed the last five games. The next-to-last break came for a 4-3 edge in the fourth set, when Nadal put a backhand into the net, and Tiafoe skipped backward toward the sideline for the ensuing changeover, his fist raised.
Fifteen minutes later, Tiafoe broke again, and it was over. This represents the latest significant step forward for Tiafoe, whose only previous trip to a Grand Slam quarterfinal came at the 2019 Australian Open — and ended with a loss to Nadal.
When one last backhand by Nadal found the net, Tiafoe chucked his racket and put his hands on his head. He glanced into the stands — Mom, Dad, brother, girlfriend, Washington Wizards All-Star Bradley Beal, others — then sat in his sideline chair and buried his face in a towel.
“It was just wild. My heart is going a thousand miles an hour. I was so excited. I was like: Let me sit down,” Tiafoe said. “Yeah, I’ve never felt something like that in my life, honestly.”
___
More AP coverage of U.S. Open tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/us-open-tennis-championships and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/ap-no-1-swiatek-comes-back-at-us-open-faces-no-8-pegula-next/
| 2022-09-21T11:36:59Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/ap-no-1-swiatek-comes-back-at-us-open-faces-no-8-pegula-next/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Even when keeping No. 11 Oregon out of the end zone in a dominant opening win, No. 3 Georgia proved its offense is ready to lead.
Last week’s 49-3 rout of Oregon was a showcase for the Bulldogs’ depth — and its new attacking, pass-first style.
No one seems certain whether the opener was an indicator of what to expect in 2022, including in Saturday’s home game against Samford.
“We’re still trying to find our identity,” wide receiver Kearis Jackson said Monday. “That was just the first game. … It’s just one game. We just have to be able to be consistent. If we can keep being consistent, then maybe that will be our identity.”
Oregon was held to only a field goal, though Georgia allowed 21 first downs and 313 yards. The defense, which must replace five first-round picks from this year’s NFL draft, can’t be expected to dominate as it did during the national title run last season.
But a deep offense showed it can take some pressure off the defense during the transition. Georgia showed impressive depth at running back, wide receiver and tight end while quarterback Stetson Bennett accounted for three touchdowns.
For one game, at least, Georgia was content to rely on its passing game. Bennett completed 25 of 31 passes for a career-high 368 yards and two touchdowns. Backup Carson Beck also was efficient, passing for 71 yards with a score.
The Bulldogs passed for 439 yards and rushed for only 132.
“Who’s to say we don’t run it 40 times next week?” Bennett asked after the game.
Running back Kenny McIntosh was the team’s leading receiver with nine catches for 117 yards. He ran for only 18 yards but enjoyed being able to run after his catches.
“It was real fun,” McIntosh said. “I love catching the ball, not only running the ball but catching the ball. … It was real fun to be able to run with the ball in my hand like a receiver, a lot of fun.”
Kendall Milton led Georgia with 50 yards rushing. Daijun Edwards and freshman Branson Robinson also played behind McIntosh.
Georgia scored touchdowns on its first seven possessions and averaged 9.2 yards per play. The impressive win caused some to wonder if the Bulldogs should have been ranked higher in the preseason Top 25.
It was no surprise that coach Kirby Smart offered words of restraint Monday.
“You go to the tape to watch it and you think you played really good, and you see glaring mistakes and errors that you made that you got away with,” Smart said. “It brings you back to reality really quick on Saturday night and Sunday morning when you watch that tape.”
Smart and offensive coordinator Todd Monken will be challenged each week to use the depth chart at tight end. Starter Brock Bowers, who had a 29-yard gain on one of his two catches, is regarded as one of the nation’s top tight ends.
Massive Darnell Washington (6-foot-7, 270 pounds) showed his athleticism when he jumped over an Oregon defender following of his two catches. LSU transfer Arik Gilbert and freshman Oscar Delp also played behind Bowers.
“Certainly, they’ve got two good players playing in front of them,” Smart said when asked about Gilbert and Delp. “We think the sky’s the limit for both those guys.”
Seven players had two or more catches. Ladd McConkey and Adonai Mitchell combined for nine catches for 138 yards and two touchdowns.
“Having Stetson Bennett as our quarterback the whole fall camp really gave us confidence as a receiver group,” Jackson said. “Those two guys were able to showcase their abilities and especially how they make plays.”
___
More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/ap_top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://bit.ly/3pqZVaF
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/ap-no-3-georgia-shows-deep-offense-ready-to-play-new-lead-role/
| 2022-09-21T11:37:07Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/ap-no-3-georgia-shows-deep-offense-ready-to-play-new-lead-role/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
ATLANTA (AP) — After getting much of the blame for a disappointing season by Clemson standards, DJ Uiagalelei needed good things to happen in the season opener.
With one whirling dervish of a play, the quarterback showed why the Tigers still have plenty of faith in him.
Uiagalelei threw for one touchdown and ran for another, overcoming a sluggish start in the season opener as No. 4 Clemson pulled away for a 41-10 victory over Georgia Tech on Monday night.
Perhaps the biggest play of the game came in the third quarter, when Uiagalelei was cornered by two Georgia Tech defenders and appeared headed for a sack on third-and-4.
But he twisted around and managed to stay upright just long enough to flip a lateral to Shipley, who rumbled 10 yards to keep the Clemson offense on the field.
“I was trying to get out of the pocket, trying to buy some time to get the ball away,” Uiagalelei said. “As I was going to the ground I looked to my left and saw Shipley there. I just pitched it to him. He made a great run.”
For coach Dabo Swinney, that’s the kind of play the Tigers need to make to reclaim their place atop the Atlantic Coast Conference, as well as get back to the College Football Playoff.
“That was a play we didn’t make last year,” Swinney said. “That’s just his strength, his grit, where he’s at physically. Just find a way, man. He’s got some creativity to him.”
Sparked by that play, the Tigers drove 74 yards for a touchdown that finally buried the Yellow Jackets. Uiagalelei ran it in from 9 yards out to push Clemson’s lead to 24-10.
Uiagalelei completed 19 of 32 passes for 209 yards, including a 6-yard scoring play to Beaux Collins that gave the Tigers a two-touchdown lead in the first half.
Georgia Tech, looking to improve on three straight three-win seasons that have coach Geoff Collins on the hot seat, kept it closer than expected much of the way.
But the Yellow Jackets couldn’t overcome two blocked punts, both of which led to short touchdown runs by Will Shipley.
It was the first time since 2007 that Clemson has blocked two punts in a game.
“We’ve got to get that fixed. Those things cannot happen,” Collins said. “Very disappointing.”
Georgia Tech pulled to 14-10 with an impressive drive in the third quarter, culminating with Jeff Sims tossing a 13-yard TD pass to 6-foot-7 transfer E.J. Jenkins.
Both teams struggled offensively until Clemson got its first blocked punt.
Carson Donnelly broke through the line untouched and smothered the ball. Brannon Specter scooped up the ball at the Georgia Tech 18 and took it down the 5 before he was knocked out bounds, setting up Shipley’s 1-yard TD run on fourth-and-goal.
Sims threw an interception on Georgia Tech’s first play of the season, an ill-advised deep pass while under pressure that was picked off by Andrew Mukuba.
The Yellow Jackets’ third-year quarterback is considered a key to the team’s chances of a turnaround season, and he showed flashes both throwing and running
It wasn’t nearly enough to pull off the upset. Sims finished with 164 yards passing and led the team in rushing with 41 yards.
The second Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game of the Labor Day weekend was played before a crowd at 47,712 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where the upper deck was closed off to prevent it from looking like a Clemson home game.
As it was, at least half the crowd appeared to be decked out in orange.
CADE’S DEBUT
Highly touted freshman Cade Klubnik got a big cheer from what was left of the Clemson crowd when he came in at quarterback with the victory secured.
Klubnik led the Tigers to their final touchdown on his only possession, completing 4 of 6 passes 49 yards including a 3-yard score to Will Taylor.
“That’s the most important position in football,” Swinney said. “You’ve got to have guys who can go in.”
THE TAKEAWAY
Clemson: Coming off a 10-3 season, this team still appears to be a work in progress.
For the first time in Swinney’s 14 full seasons as coach, Clemson is breaking in two new coordinators, so it might take a while to get everyone on the same page.
The Tigers certainly don’t appear to be at the same level as Southeastern Conference powerhouses Alabama and Georgia.
Georgia Tech: Collins appears to have done little to correct some familiar problems that plagued his first three years in Atlanta.
There were far too many penalties, including a host of false starts, an unnecessary pass interference penalty that extended a drive when the Yellow Jackets had momentum, and a targeting call that led to the ejection of Charlie Thomas.
And, of course, two blocked punts are inexcusable.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Clemson will probably stay about where it is in The Associated Press rankings after pulling away to make the final score in the expected range.
UP NEXT
Clemson: Takes on Furman, a member of the FCS Southern Conference, in its home opener Saturday. It’s a short trip for the Paladins, whose campus is about 35 miles from Death Valley.
Georgia Tech: Plays its campus opener Saturday when another Southern Conference team, Western Carolina, visits Bobby Dodd Stadium.
___
Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at https://twitter.com/pnewberry1963
___
More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/ap_top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://bit.ly/3pqZVaF
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/ap-no-4-clemson-overcomes-sluggish-start-beats-ga-tech-41-10/
| 2022-09-21T11:37:14Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/ap-no-4-clemson-overcomes-sluggish-start-beats-ga-tech-41-10/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout are still putting on a show, even though the Los Angeles Angels are far out of postseason contention.
Ohtani had his sixth multi-homer game of the season and Trout also went deep as the Angels routed the skidding Detroit Tigers 10-0 Monday night.
Trout’s solo shot to left field in the fifth inning off Tyler Alexander (3-9) was his 30th home run of the season, marking the seventh time in his 12-year career he’s reached that plateau.
It marks the ninth time the Angels have had two players with at least 30 homers in a season — but the first time it’s been two AL MVPs.
Ohtani has 32 homers this year, but Trout still wants to catch his dynamic teammate over the final four weeks.
“That is a special player that is over there,” Trout said. “It’s going to be a crazy stretch but I think it is going to be fun to watch.”
It was the seventh time this year and 21st since 2018 that Ohtani and Trout homered in the same game. Ohtani has gone deep four times in his last seven games.
“Overall I’ve been able to look at the pitches and swing the bat pretty well, and I’d like to continue what I’ve been doing,” Ohtani said through a translator.
José Suarez (6-6) threw three-hit ball over seven innings. It was the 17th shutout by Angels pitchers this season, which ties them with the New York Mets for most in the majors.
Luis Rengifo had a career-high four hits and drove in a run for the Angels, who had their second-biggest offensive performance of the season with 16 hits.
Ohtani, who lined a two-run homer in the third, tied Troy Glaus’ franchise record for most multi-homer games in a season with a 416-foot solo drive in the seventh.
The two-way phenom from Japan — who had three hits and three RBIs — is second in the American League in home runs, 22 behind New York Yankees slugger and fellow AL MVP contender Aaron Judge.
“They’re tremendous players. As I said before the game, you can’t make mistakes today and then you can’t keep them down very long if you don’t make good pitches,” Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said of Ohtani and Trout.
Trout also had three hits and drove in a run. He is batting .302 (19 for 63) with six homers since missing 28 games with left ribcage inflammation.
“Just being out there with the guys and getting at-bats every day, I think that’s been big for me. I feel fine,” Trout said.
Suarez struck out seven and went seven innings for the second time in 17 starts this season. The left-hander won his second straight start and is 5-3 since the All-Star break.
“A lot of things went well tonight. José set the tone,” interim manager Phil Nevin said. “That was one of the better ones I’ve seen him throw. He was locating and had everything working. His velocity and changeup were really good.”
Detroit rookie Riley Greene had his 13-game hitting streak snapped.
Alexander went 4 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs (six earned) and 10 hits.
LATE RELIEF
Tigers rookie utility player Kody Clemens, the son of seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens, ended up pitching for the second time in three days with the game out of reach.
Clemens worked one inning and allowed one run on three hits. He struck out Ohtani looking with a 68 mph pitch on the outside corner and gave his own exuberant strike three call on the mound.
“I’m just trying to get outs, and for it to come like that is obviously super cool,” Clemens said. “He’s the best player in baseball. So it’s a pretty cool moment for me.”
Grinning ear to ear, Clemens threw the souvenir ball into the dugout for safe keeping and is hoping to get it signed by Ohtani during the final two days of the series.
Kody Clemens has pitched six times this year and has given up three runs on 10 hits in six innings. The strikeout of Ohtani was the first of his career.
“Yeah, I mean, obviously can’t do it slow enough for Ohtani. Maybe you can throw it slow and slow and slow and then maybe surprise him with a fastball,” Hinch said. “Big smile on Kody’s face, and Shohei tipped his cap.
“I don’t know how (Kody’s) father would have done against him, but he can always say he punched him out.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Tigers: INF Jonathan Schoop (right ankle sprain) will continue his rehab assignment at Triple-A Toledo after playing in two games over the weekend at Class A West Michigan. Hinch said Schoop is progressing toward being activated for this weekend’s series in Kansas City.
Angels: OF Mickey Moniak (left middle finger fracture) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Salt Lake on Tuesday.
UP NEXT
Tigers: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (3-4, 4.17 ERA) threw five innings of four-hit ball to beat the Angels on Aug. 21.
Angels: RHP Mike Mayers (1-1, 5.17 ERA) will make his 21st appearance and third start of the season.
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/ap-ohtani-trout-power-angels-to-10-0-win-over-tigers/
| 2022-09-21T11:37:22Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/ap-ohtani-trout-power-angels-to-10-0-win-over-tigers/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The memories are too fond, and the bonds formed too tight for Von Miller to say anything negative about the Los Angeles Rams even as the Buffalo Bills’ new pass rusher prepares to face his former team in the NFL’s season opener on Thursday night.
“They came and got me at a time when I really needed that. They refreshed me,” Miller said on Sunday, before listing the many friendships he made — from defensive tackle Aaron Donald to equipment director Brendan Burger — in his brief, successful stint with the Rams. “I can never hate L.A.”
What’s also true about the NFL’s active leader in sacks is how much he’s warmed to his new surroundings. Miller, after all, readily acknowledged second-guessing his decision to leave behind the bright lights of Hollywood and his second Super Bowl championship for Buffalo right up to the moment the 33-year-old signed a six-year contract in March.
“I still remember it like yesterday, coach McDermott saying, `It’s Buffalo. I know it doesn’t have the optics, but you will learn to love this place,‘” Miller said, referring to Bills coach Sean McDermott.
“When he said it, I thought it was part of the recruiting pitch,” he added. “But being here in western New York … I just feel at home. I’ve fallen in love with the place, and it just gets better and better each and every day.”
Perhaps, it’s the care packages of toilet paper that piled up at his dorm room door at training camp, and sent by Bills fans after Miller questioned the quality of the tissue players were issued. Maybe, it was the call he recently received from his new neighbor, alerting Miller that his garage door was open.
And it’s difficult for Miller to ignore Buffalo’s talent-laden roster, featuring a dynamic Josh Allen-led offense and a defense which led the NFL in numerous statistical categories last season to make him a true, ahem, Bill-iever.
“You’re watching clips of (defensive tackle) Ed Oliver and seeing the player he is. You see Josh Allen (receiver Stefon) Diggs and it definitely helps,” Miller said in April. “You know, being here for the start of OTAs, it’s definitely put me at peace. I’m excited to go. I’m ready to go win a Super Bowl for the Buffalo Bills.”
Expectations have been high in Buffalo since 2020, when the Bills won their first AFC East title in 25 years and reached the conference championship before losing to Kansas City. Miller’s addition raises the temperature further by muscling up what had been a middling pass rush.
“Von Miller, there’s only one in the league. Like there’s only one Aaron Donald in the league that can effectively change the game on a constant basis and something that we haven’t had for a long time,” Bills Hall of Fame defensive end and the NFL’s career sacks leader Bruce Smith told The Associated Press in June. “If he stays healthy, he will be the missing piece that we needed to complete this quest for a Super Bowl title.”
Miller’s presence alone could have made the difference last season when the Bills squandered a three-point lead in the final 13 seconds of an eventual 42-36 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round of the playoffs. Jerry Hughes, whom Miller replaces, was a half-step away from sacking Patrick Mahomes in what could have ended the Chiefs’ two-play, 44-yard drive which set up Harrison Butker’s 49-yard field goal as time expired.
Miller showed he hadn’t lost a step after being traded by Denver to the Rams in November. After getting five sacks in eight regular-season games with L.A., Miller added four more in the playoffs, including two in the Rams’ Super Bowl victory over Cincinnati.
“Von is 33, but that boy is 23. He moves better than anybody on the football field,” Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins said.
“The word I would use is an elastic band or a rubber band, because he’s just real springy and real slithery,” he added. “We’re all big and strong, so if I were to hit somebody, it would be ‘boom!′ When you hit Von, it’s more like ’voom,′ like how did that not hit like it’s supposed to hit?”
Bills center Mitch Morse said the prospect of the Bills lining up Miller and Oliver on the same side as being almost like “cheating” because of the mismatches they can create.
Miller’s impact has already extended into a leadership role with him being selected a defensive captain. He’s taken Buffalo’s young group of defensive ends under his wing, including having them attend his annual pass-rush summit in June, which brings together many of the NFL’s top threats.
For all he’s accomplished entering his 12th season, Miller is focused on the future, while acknowledging how “weird” it might be watching the Rams celebrate their — and his — Super Bowl title this week. Miller hasn’t flashed his new championship ring around Buffalo, and doesn’t plan to while keeping it locked up as he did with the ring he won with the Broncos in the 2015 season.
“Even though it is a special moment, I don’t want that to be my determining moment in my career,” Miller said. “I want to make other moments just like that.”
___
More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://apnews.com/hub/pro-32 and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/ap-von-miller-settles-in-with-bills-after-leaving-la-rams/
| 2022-09-21T11:37:52Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/ap-von-miller-settles-in-with-bills-after-leaving-la-rams/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — On the eve of Carson Wentz’s third training camp with three different teams in as many years, Ron Rivera welcomed the new Washington Commanders quarterback with a handshake and a message even an NFL veteran may have needed to hear.
“You were wanted here,” Rivera told Wentz.
Once wanted by Philadelphia as the second overall draft pick before eventually falling out of favor with the Eagles and with Indianapolis a year later, Wentz no longer seemed like a hot commodity after the Colts fell apart late last season and missed the playoffs.
But Rivera and Washington’s front office targeted the 29-year-old in hopes of solving the organization’s seemingly endless search for a starting QB. The Commanders are now Wentz’s team, with all the pluses and minuses that come with job security and belief from coaches to the pressure and expectations to reach the postseason.
“He has stabilized that position for us,” general manager Martin Mayhew said. “We’re excited about what he brings to the table in terms of his physical talent and also what he brings to the table as a person, as a leader.”
Wentz the leader already has emerged, from gathering receivers for private workouts to escape room outings he treated like a game situation. The physical talent that made him a highly touted prospect out of North Dakota State is still there, though some of the mistakes he made with Philadelphia and Indianapolis left him available.
Now with Washington, Wentz is eager to move past his journey from one NFC East rival to another and start over.
“I feel confident in myself,” he said. “I feel belief in myself from the people around me, which means a lot.”
The Colts believed in Wentz when they acquired him, and that faded to the point that team owner Jim Irsay called the move a “mistake” and blamed inconsistency in the passing games for causing them major problems. The same sort of belief evaporated in Philadelphia after Wentz threw a league-high 15 interceptions in 2020 and was replaced as the starter by Jalen Hurts.
Wentz revived his career with Indianapolis last season, throwing 27 touchdown passes and just seven picks, though a horrendous loss to Jacksonville in Week 18 that included two turnovers ended the Colts’ season — and his tenure with them — on a sour note.
Rivera and the Commanders saw the good in Wentz: a strong arm that could expand the offense’s reach downfield, a prototypical 6-foot-5 frame fit for the modern game and a seasoned leader who could take over a team that has had eight different quarterbacks over the past three years.
The hope is not to change Wentz but to get the most out of what he does well and try to limit some of the errors that derailed him at times.
“It’s just about making the right decision over and over again,” offensive coordinator Scott Turner said. “I just want him to be himself and just understand the game and understand situations. There’s a time and place to go for it and there’s a time and place where, hey, it’s not there.”
Practices and preseason action showed the good and the bad of Wentz. He completed 16 of 22 passes and led strong drives in limited exhibition game time, though at times in camp some inaccuracies stuck out.
Interceptions by teammates in 11-on-11 drills in August don’t count, and after a particularly rough practice day, Rivera put an emphasis on what Wentz and the other QBs on the roster could do to learn from their errors.
“It’s about decision-making at that point,” Rivera said. “As you go through the film with him, it is listening to the explanation of: ‘Why this read? Why that decision? Hey, did you see this? What got you to do that?’ That’s what it’s really about.”
Wentz already took command of the offense by gathering offensive playmakers for a bonding retreat and workouts in California before training camp. He learned plenty about his new teammates on and off the field, and back in the Washington area they learned plenty about Wentz’s competitive nature, even during double dates to local escape rooms.
“It’s just like he’s on the field,” punter Tress Way said. “He’s adamant on breaking the record, no hints. I tried to keep it light, but we got out of the room every time. He’s still undefeated.”
A 10-7 record, especially given a weak schedule, would likely be enough to get Washington into the playoffs in Rivera’s third season in charge. That also will require the defense bouncing back and the offensive line keeping Wentz upright.
But the onus is on Wentz to get the job done.
“I really like his aggressiveness,” top wide receiver Terry McLaurin said. “When he’s trying to give us chances down the field, I think that’s something that all of us, as an offense, know we want to improve on.”
Going into his seventh pro season, Wentz still has things to improve on. He seems to understand where those deficiencies are. Addressing them will go a long way toward determining whether the Commanders are playing in mid-January and, ultimately, if he’ll be back for a second season.
“I’m always trying to figure out, how can I get better?” Wentz said. “How can I look at myself first? Where can I get better? Where can I help the team be better? All of those things. And so, for me, it’s just coming in and distributing the ball to these guys and being efficient, being effective, being consistent.”
NOTES: Starting safety Kam Curl said he had surgery to repair a right thumb injury and hopes to play in the season opener Sunday against Jacksonville. Tight end Logan Thomas, who tore multiple ligaments in his left knee late last season, is still trying to figure out whether he’ll play against the Jaguars or wait for Week 2 at Detroit. … The Commanders named franchise sacks leader Ryan Kerrigan assistant defensive line coach. Kerrigan, who recently returned to Ashburn to announce his retirement, fills in after Jeff Zgonina was promoted to replaced fired D-line coach Sam Mills III.
___
More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/ap-wanted-wentz-expected-to-stabilize-commanders-qb-situation/
| 2022-09-21T11:37:59Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/ap-wanted-wentz-expected-to-stabilize-commanders-qb-situation/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Sarah Bettencourt was training to become a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter pilot when a neurological disorder forced her to retire.
She’s found a new mission in an entirely different arena.
Bettencourt, who played hockey in high school, recaptured her appreciation of the game and is now a member of the U.S. women’s national team in sled hockey, a game that originated about half a century ago in Sweden for players with various physical disabilities.
“The first time I got on the ice, I felt like I was flying,” Bettencourt said.
Players sit on specially designed sleds that sit atop two blades and propel themselves with two sticks with metal picks on the base. The three periods are 15 minutes long rather than 20.
Bettencourt fell in love with the game as soon as she started playing it.
“I was finally free of all the constraints on regular land,” Bettencourt said. “And I was hitting and checking and passing and shooting and scoring. It was amazing. I wanted to give that to other people as well and make sure everyone had that opportunity and feeling of freedom they don’t always feel on regular land.”
The long-term plan for Bettencourt and her teammates is to get a women’s sled hockey competition in the Paralympic Games, which has a mixed-gender division for sled hockey, though it’s essentially an all-male competition.
Only three women have ever been selected for these teams since sled hockey was added to the Paralympics in 1994: Norway’s Brit Mjaasund at Lillehammer in 1994, Norway’s Lena Schroeder at Pyeongchang in 2018 and China’s Yu Jing at Beijing in 2022.
“We deserve this as much as the men do,” said Raphaelle Tousignant, a Canadian sled hockey player. “We’re working hard, maybe even harder than the men because we need to grow the game and be good athletes, too.”
They took the initial step toward that goal by holding the first Para Ice Hockey Women’s World Challenge, held Aug. 26-28 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The U.S. team beat Canada 5-1 for the gold medal.
“It’s probably the greatest feeling in the world right now,” said Erica McKee, the captain of the U.S. team. “It’s as if we won the Stanley Cup.”
The tournament underscored the need to grow this game beyond North America, at least in the women’s division. The only three nations to field teams were the U.S., Canada and Great Britain.
The bronze medal went to a World team comprised of players from various nations, some of whom were just learning the sport.
“Our hope is the women who are part of the world team can go back to their countries and continue the work at the grass-roots level to get enough women to eventually have a national team (for their country) at the world championship,” said Michelle LaFlamme, the manager of World Para Ice Hockey, the sport’s international federation.
Laflamme said women’s sled hockey must have a sanctioned world’s championship event in order to get considered for the Paralympic Games. A target date of 2025 has been set for that first championship event, which could clear the way for a women’s sled hockey division to be added to the Paralympic Games by 2030.
“We’re so excited to see what all these other nations are going to bring,” Bettencourt said. “They’re going to watch this and say we want to be there next year, and they’re going to keep growing and pushing each other and this level of (play) is going to get better and better.”
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/ap-womens-sled-hockey-hoping-for-more-teams-paralympic-status/
| 2022-09-21T11:38:07Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/ap-womens-sled-hockey-hoping-for-more-teams-paralympic-status/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
NEW YORK (AP) — New York Yankees outfielder Andrew Benintendi will have surgery this week after breaking a bone in his right wrist, but the AL East leaders hope he can play again this season.
“I think the possibility of him returning is still in play,” manager Aaron Boone said after Monday’s 5-2 win over Minnesota.
The surgery is set for Tuesday.
Benintendi broke the hook hamate bone while taking a swing Friday night at Tampa Bay and was put on the 10-day injured list the next day.
An All-Star this season with Kansas City, the 28-year-old Benintendi was traded to the Yankees in late July. After a slow start with his new team, he recently began to produce more.
Benintendi is batting a combined .304 with 51 RBIs. He is hitting .254 with 12 RBIs in 33 games for the Yankees.
___
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/ap-yanks-benintendi-having-wrist-surgery-could-play-this-year/
| 2022-09-21T11:38:14Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/ap-yanks-benintendi-having-wrist-surgery-could-play-this-year/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
FRSICO, TX (Silver Star Nation) – A nine time Pro Bowler is the newest member of the Dallas Cowboys practice squad.
Longtime Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Jason Peters, who most recently played for the Chicago Bears, had his first workout with the team as regular season activities got underway on Monday at the Star in Frisco.
Cowboys insider Mickey Spagnola looks at Peters and how he will help the team.
The Cowboys open the regular season Sunday night September 11th at AT&T Stadium on Sunday Night Football.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/nfl/silver-star-nation/veteran-joins-cowboys-practice-squad/
| 2022-09-21T11:38:22Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/nfl/silver-star-nation/veteran-joins-cowboys-practice-squad/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – The chance of scattered thunderstorms will continue this week keeping our temperatures near or slightly below average throughout the week.
Scattered Labor Day storms: Rain and isolated thunderstorms will be ongoing this morning across the northern ArkLaTex. An area of low pressure and trailing stationary front will bring an increasing chance of storms as temperatures begin to rise. Warm and humid air will build across the ArkLaTex this afternoon triggering scattered thunderstorms between noon and sunset.
While a few storms did bring damaging wind gusts late Sunday, as of now, no severe weather is expected in the ArkLaTex today. That said, any thunderstorms are capable of damaging wind and frequent lightning. If you are enjoying our area lakes and rivers this Labor Day, you can receive nearby lightning and thunderstorm alerts from our weather app.
Get exclusive severe weather details on storms as they approach your area by downloading the Arklatex Weather Authority app, now available in the App Store and Google Play
We won’t feel a big change in temperatures today. It will feel great early in the morning with sunrise temperatures in the low 70s. The mix of sun and clouds thorugh the morning will warm our high temperatures to near 90 degrees today. Wind will be light and out of the southwest at 5 to 10 miles per hour.
Scattered storms continue Tuesday and Wednesday: The weather pattern will keep sending us a chance of thunderstorms each day through Wednesday. The lingering front will finally push through the region late Wednesday. Dry air will bring a slightly lower chance of rain Thursday and Friday, as humidity will drop a notch.
Rainfall accumulations this week will average .5 inches to 1.5 inches. While flash flooding isn’t expected to be an issue, a rogue storm might be capable of dropping heavier amounts so very localized flash flooding can’t be ruled out.
Temperatures will stay below average late this week and into the weekend with highs in the mid to upper 80s. Typical highs in early September are 90-92 degrees.
Get exclusive severe weather details on storms as they approach your area by downloading the Arklatex Weather Authority app, now available in the App Store and Google Play
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/weather/scattered-storms-stick-around-this-week/
| 2022-09-21T11:38:28Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/weather/scattered-storms-stick-around-this-week/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
The Ark La Tex is sandwiched between two upper-level high-pressure systems. One is to our west and the other to our east. In between those two upper-level highs is an upper trough of low pressure that is going nowhere soon.
The result is continued chances of scattered afternoon storms that could last into the early evening. While severe weather is not expected, a few storms could be capable of producing high thunderstorm wind gusts and small hail. In addition, there may be a few heavy rain producers due to our abundant moisture in the atmosphere.
By mid-week, a cold front will be nudged into, and maybe through, our area. As the cold front passes through parts of the Ark La Tex, you will notice some cooler temperatures. Morning lows should be in the mid-60s to near 70° followed by afternoon highs in the mid to upper 80s.
Over the next seven days, rainfall chances should not be more than daily chance variety. Do enjoy these cooler temperatures and scattered rain. It beats what we were used to for most of the summer. By the way, Fall starts in a couple of weeks. The Fall Equinox arrives September 22, 2022.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/weather/storms-decrease-by-mid-week-along-with-temperatures/
| 2022-09-21T11:38:35Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/weather/storms-decrease-by-mid-week-along-with-temperatures/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
Passengers in Kent are braced for further disruption next week after bus company Arriva failed to grasp the nettle and make an improved pay offer, in the dispute over pay. Six hundred bus drivers who are employed by Arriva and based in the county will take strike action on Friday, September 30.
The strike action will cause disruption throughout the county. The workers are seeking a pay rise in line with the current real inflation rate (RPI) of 12.3 per cent, following years of seeing their pay eroded in real terms.
The drivers took an initial day of strike action on September 5. Further strike action scheduled for September 16 and 20 was called off as a mark of respect to the Queen.
Read more: All you need to know about the train strikes taking place in September
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Arriva and its German parent company Deutsche Bahn are fully able to provide the workers with a fair pay rise but have chosen not to do so. Unite is solely focussed on defending the jobs, pay and conditions of its members. Our members working for Arriva in Kent will receive the union’s total support.”
The drivers operate from depots in Gillingham, Gravesend, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells.
Read next :
- GMB: Martin Lewis battles back tears as he relates to Prince Harry's grief
- Jet2, Ryanair, easyJet, BA: Dire warning to UK holidaymakers as EU roaming charges reach £1,000
- GMB: Former Buckingham Palace butler recalls Queen's amusing joke at Balmoral ball
- Ofgem: Savvy dad knocks £625 off energy bill by updating fridge freezer
- VISA, Mastercard, American Express: Brits travelling to Amsterdam warned of public transport cash ban
|
https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/kent-commuters-braced-more-disruption-7610180
| 2022-09-21T11:39:24Z
|
kentlive.news
|
control
|
https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/kent-commuters-braced-more-disruption-7610180
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
A popular seafront hotel in Dover is looking to expand after purchasing former office buildings next door. The proposed expansion of the Dover Marina Hotel and Spa will mean a refurbishment of neighbouring buildings, and will provide an extra 38 en-suite guest rooms, as well as bar, bistro and conference facilities.
The existing hotel's conference facilities are constantly over-booked and this expansion will greatly enhance the hotel's ability to host more conferences and public events, as well as accommodate the increased number of overnight guests to the hotel. It will also provide an additional 9 car parking spaces, making a total of 60 spaces for visitors.
Two applications have been submitted to Dover District Council, detailing refurbishment to take place at neighbouring Protea House and Waterloo Crescent House. The application for the refurbishment of Protea House will mean an additional 25 en-suite guest rooms on the first, second, third and fourth floors of the building, plus a bar/restaurant and function room.
Read more: Tributes pour in for 'amazing' Snodland man Jay Carr, 20, after tragic body discovery
The scope of the work at Waterloo Crescent House will see an additional 13 rooms spread across four floors. There are also plans to put a new metal/glazed canopy structure over the steps to the basement entrance to the Spa/Gym.
Waterloo Terrace, of which Protea House is a part of, is a long, slightly curved terrace-fronting the seafront within Dover Harbour. Protea House is located at the right hand end of the terrace.
The building directly connects to the Dover Marina Hotel, with the basement, fourth and roof rooms already in use as hotel rooms and other facilities attached to the hotel. The plans have been submitted in the name of the hotel managing director Kanagaratnam Rajaseelan, who said: "The proposed alterations will not affect the setting of the listed building, which are essentially connected with the external features.
"Some internal layout changes are required to allow the future use as part of the hotel. Alterations are proposed to the historic fabric and these have been carefully considered, and can be incorporated without compromising the building historic integrity.
"Previous planning permissions for the removal of dividing walls have been granted within the existing hotel to allow the function and flow of a hotel to work. The proposals reflect the historic character of the property and the surrounding area, and provide a wider public benefit of restoring and maintaining the listed building.
"The proposed refurbishment of Protea House is in line with a number of the council's core policies to enhance Dover town centres ability to attract business and the general public to the area and support should be given at to local businesses. The increase in hotel accommodation has a wider benefit to other local trades and business who would benefit from the increased footfall.
"It is therefore requested that the proposals be granted planning permission. We welcome the opportunity to discuss the application and planning conditions where needed."
Read next:
- RSPCA rescues 'biggest amount of cats' since COVID pandemic
- Body found in search for missing man, 20
- How to prevent electrical fire like one that devastated this Gravesend home
- The stunning Grade II listed UK home of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
- The exciting plans for Kent's former Debenhams department stores
|
https://www.kentlive.news/news/property/plans-expand-dover-marina-hotel-7609341
| 2022-09-21T11:39:34Z
|
kentlive.news
|
control
|
https://www.kentlive.news/news/property/plans-expand-dover-marina-hotel-7609341
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Below are the final election results from local and statewide primary races in Rhode Island on Sept. 13, 2022.
Stories Trending Now
COVID-19 TRACKING: Charts, Maps & Live Interactive Data
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Below are the final election results from local and statewide primary races in Rhode Island on Sept. 13, 2022.
COVID-19 TRACKING: Charts, Maps & Live Interactive Data
|
https://www.wpri.com/news/elections/results-rhode-island-primary-2022/
| 2022-09-21T11:41:09Z
|
wpri.com
|
control
|
https://www.wpri.com/news/elections/results-rhode-island-primary-2022/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
Small business focused insurtech raises sector's largest financing round of the year
DENVER, Sept. 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pie Insurance ("Pie"), a leading tech-enabled provider of workers' compensation insurance to small businesses, today announced it raised a $315 million Series D round of funding. The round was led by Centerbridge Partners and Allianz X, the digital investments arm of Allianz Group. White Mountains Insurance Group also joined as a new investor, and previous investors Gallatin Point Capital, Greycroft, Acrew Capital and others also participated in the round.
Today's Series D fundraise more than doubled Pie's total capital raised to over $615 million and is the largest round of financing for any U.S. based P&C insurtech company in 2022.
"This round of financing is monumental in more ways than one," said John Swigart, co-founder and CEO of Pie. "It's no secret that growth-stage startups, and specifically insurtechs, are facing a challenging fundraising environment. However, Pie's ability to grow rapidly while still focusing on delivering strong unit economics and sustainable loss ratios, is proving to be a key differentiator. Pie is disrupting the highly fragmented small business commercial insurance market through our proprietary technology which more accurately prices and underwrites insurance risks. We believe the insurtech 2.0 phase of this industry-wide transformation will be built by companies like Pie that leverage their technology to 'do the insurance better' and deliver superior traditional insurance metrics along with a delightful customer experience."
"Pie's demonstrated ability to grow across multiple distribution channels at impressive loss ratios truly distinguishes them within the insurtech space," said Eric Hoffman, Managing Director at Centerbridge Partners. "We're attracted to technology enablement in the small commercial insurance market, and Centerbridge is excited to partner with Pie on its journey to transform the industry."
"Since our founding in 2017, Pie's mission has been to empower small businesses to thrive by making commercial insurance affordable and as easy as pie," Swigart continued. "This fundraise allows us to strategically expand in a way that serves the long-term interests of our customers, partners, investors, and Pie-oneers. Pie has an exciting future ahead and this capital allows us to stay true to our values, execute on our vision, and build a lasting and sustainable business."
Pie's Series D enables the company to continue providing America's 32.5 million small businesses1 with access to simple and affordable commercial insurance. The company will use the funds to support Pie's growth initiatives that directly impact its small business customers, including expanding into new lines of business, fully transitioning to a full-stack carrier, further innovating upon its advanced proprietary pricing algorithms, and delivering world-class user and product experiences directly to small businesses and the partner agents who serve them.
"We've been continuously impressed by Pie's innovation and ability to deliver strong growth and underwriting results since our relationship began with co-leading the company's Series C round in early-2021," said Dr. Nazim Cetin, CEO of Allianz X. "We'll be there to support Pie every step of the way as the company continues its bold transformation to a full-stack insurer and expansion into new lines of business."
Today's fundraise follows an incredible period of growth for Pie, most recently the company announced it more than doubled its gross written premium, and doubled its number of policyholders and partners. In addition, Pie expanded its coverage area into two new states, increasing its total workers' comp coverage footprint to 89 percent of small businesses in the U.S.2
Ardea Partners served as an advisor on the Series D. Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as a legal advisor to Centerbridge Partners, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP acted as a legal advisor to Allianz X, and Cooley LLP acted as a legal advisor to Pie.
Pie Insurance is leveraging technology to transform how small businesses buy and experience commercial insurance, with the goal of making it affordable and as easy as pie. Pie's intense focus on granular, sophisticated pricing, and data-driven customer segmentation enables Pie to match price with risk accurately across a broad spectrum of small business types, which allows Pie to offer more affordable insurance to small business owners. Since 2017, Pie has received over $615 million in funding and partnered with over 2,800 agencies nationwide.
Allianz X invests in digital frontrunners in ecosystems relevant to insurance and asset management. In just a few years, it has grown to a portfolio of almost 30 companies and AuM of over 2 billion euros. Allianz X has counted 11 unicorns among its portfolio so far. The heart and brains behind it all is a talented team of around 40 people. As one of the pillars of the Allianz Group's digital transformation strategy, Allianz X provides an interface between Allianz Operating Entities and the broader digital ecosystem, enabling collaborative partnerships in insurtech, fintech, and beyond. As an investor, Allianz X supports mature digital growth companies to take the next bold leap and reach their full potential.
Centerbridge Partners, L.P. is a private investment management firm employing a flexible approach across investment disciplines — private equity, credit and real estate — in an effort to develop the most attractive opportunities for our investors. The Firm was founded in 2005 and as of June 30, 2022 has approximately $34 billion in capital under management with offices in New York and London. Centerbridge is dedicated to partnering with world-class management teams across targeted industry sectors and geographies. For more information, please visit www.centerbridge.com.
[1] U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, 2021 Small Business Profile, United States.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Pie Insurance
|
https://www.witn.com/prnewswire/2022/09/21/pie-insurance-announces-315-million-series-d-round-funding/
| 2022-09-21T11:41:21Z
|
witn.com
|
control
|
https://www.witn.com/prnewswire/2022/09/21/pie-insurance-announces-315-million-series-d-round-funding/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
(iSeeCars) – Electric cars have soared in popularity in the wake of high gasoline prices. While improvements in vehicle battery technology have led to increased battery range, consumers are still left wondering how long they can expect their vehicle battery to last. After all, the battery pack is the most expensive part of an electric car, with a new battery costing upwards of $20,000.
So what can you expect for an electric vehicle’s battery lifespan? We have the important answers.
What are EV Batteries?
Internal combustion engined cars are powered by gasoline, while EVs are powered by a battery pack driving one or more electric motors. The batteries that power electric cars are rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, which is the same type of battery found in cell phones and other consumer electronics. Lithium-ion batteries have a higher energy density than lead-acid or nickel-cadmium rechargeable batteries, which means they don’t take up as much space while providing an equivalent level of power. A vehicle’s battery capacity is measured in kilowatt hours (kWh), so a vehicle with a higher kWh rating means it has more range.
How Long Does an Electric Car Battery Last?
The lifespan of an EV battery depends on a number of factors. While battery life can vary, EV manufacturers are required to issue a warranty for at least 8 years or 10,000 miles. However, some manufacturers offer longer warranties. Kia offers a battery pack warranty for 10 years or 100,000 miles, and Hyundai provides warranty coverage on EV batteries for the vehicle’s entire lifetime. Battery warranties vary not only by time but also the nature of the coverage. Some automakers will only replace the battery if it completely dies, while other brands like BMW, Tesla, and Volkswagen will cover a battery if battery capacity falls below a certain percentage.
As battery technology continues to evolve, companies are creating larger batteries with increased range. For example, the first generation Nissan LEAF had a maximum range of 84 miles, while the newest LEAF has a maximum range of 212 miles. The advanced technology of these larger batteries also reduces their degradation. Even as they degrade, they will still maintain a long battery range. Moreover, a Tesla Model S only loses an estimated five percent of battery capacity over its first 50,000 miles.
This means that while every electric car battery pack will degrade over time, modern electric car batteries likely won’t require a battery replacement. And as engineering continues to evolve, batteries are designed to last the entire life of the vehicle.
An EV battery is expected to last 10-20 years depending on maintenance and care.
How to Prolong the Life of Your Electric Vehicle Battery
Just like there are preventative maintenance measures to extend the life of your gasoline vehicle, there are EV charging measures you can take to prolong your EV’s battery life.
1. Avoid parking in extreme temperatures
Lithium batteries have thermal management systems that will heat or cool themselves, which in turn uses energy and drains EV battery packs. Try to park in the shade if possible on hot days and inside in extreme cold temperatures to assist battery longevity.
2. Don’t Charge Your Car Too Much or Too Little
Modern electric cars are equipped with management systems that avoid charging and discharging at the maximum and minimum charging levels. You should avoid charging your vehicle above 80 percent or below 20 percent to extend EV battery life.
3. Minimize Use of Fast Charging Stations
DC fast charging stations can bring your battery level up to 80 percent in as little as 30 minutes. With this convenience comes a strain on your EV battery. For optimal battery life, you should limit how often you plug in to these fast charging stations for occasional scenarios, like road trips.
4. Maintain Optimal State of Charge While Vehicle is Stored
If you are planning on storing your vehicle for a long time, make sure that your battery does not have an empty or full charge. With a timed charger, you can set it to maintain the charging level between 25 and 75 percent.
Second Life of EV Batteries
When an automotive EV battery’s performance dips below 70 percent, it can have a second life when it is no longer useful to power a vehicle. There are many applications to repurpose EV batteries for renewable energy sources including home battery storage systems and powering manufacturing plants. In Japan, Toyota has installed EV batteries to store power generated from solar panels.
More from iSeeCars:
- How Long Does it Take to Charge an Electric Car?
- Electric Cars with the Longest Range
- Best Electric Cars
Bottom Line
While an electric car’s battery life can vary, advancements in technology have helped ensure that it typically lasts for the lifespan of a vehicle. The main factor for prolonging a battery’s lifespan is to limit the number of charging cycles each battery cell goes through. Battery cells die when a battery reaches its empty or full state of charge for too long, so make sure you charge your vehicle according to the manufacturer’s instructions to minimize battery degradation.
If you’re in the market for a new or used electric vehicle you can search over 4 million used electric cars, SUVs, and trucks with iSeeCars’ award-winning car search engine that helps shoppers find the best car deals by providing key insights and valuable resources, like the iSeeCars free VIN check report and Best Cars rankings. Filter by vehicle type, front or all-wheel drive, and other parameters in order to narrow down your car search.
This article, How Long Do Electric Car Batteries Last?, originally appeared on iSeeCars.com.
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/automotive/how-long-do-electric-car-batteries-last/
| 2022-09-21T11:42:11Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/automotive/how-long-do-electric-car-batteries-last/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
Enzo Ferrari had no desire to sell road cars with his company’s name on a badge throughout the company’s beginnings in the 1940s. However, he quickly found it was the best business case to fund his dream of a full-blown racing organization: Scuderia Ferrari.
With momentum building on the racetrack, the Ferrari 250 GT came to life in 1959 and built a reputation as the epitome of grand tourer and track car. It was meant to be the sports car for every activity and it marked an important step in the history of Ferrari road cars that took the best bits from race cars and wrapped them in a gorgeous, luxurious package.
At the time, Ferrari was only building vehicle chassis with a few coachbuilders designing the bodies. By this point, Pinin Farina was Mr. Ferrari’s preferred coachbuilder. Of the six chasses Ferrari engineered for the 250 GT, four were from Pinin Farina and two came from Bertone. No matter the coachbuilder, each of the 166 cars built were stunning creations and often tailored exclusively to a buyer’s desires.
The Pinin Farina bodies were particularly beautiful. Their fastback (berlinetta) body style cut just the right line and fit perfectly with the short 94.5-inch wheelbase and two-seat layout. The bodies used aluminum for the doors, hood, and trunk lid, but a few cars had all-aluminum bodies. Bertone also made factory-backed bodies, though those cars sported a very different look, especially up front.
The bodies rested on a development of Ferrari’s chassis. It used twin A-arms and coil springs up front and a live rear axle with semi-elliptical leaf springs and trailing arms. It also featured disc brakes at all four corners, which was quite advanced for the era. In keeping with the car’s road and track persona, buyers could choose axle ratios ranging from 3.44:1 to 4.57:1 and interiors that were stripped or clad in leather.
A Columbo overhead-cam 3.0-liter V-12 sat in the front of the car under the hood, and it was hooked to a 4-speed manual transmission. In Testa Rossa and GTO guises, the lightweight (for the time) engine made 296 hp, but it made 260-280 hp in the 250 GTs. The engine could launch the car from 0-60 mph in as little as 6.5 seconds and push it to a top speed around 150 mph. The V-12 took the 250 GT to the grandest races, and most importantly, to victory.
The 250 GT Ferrari cemented the company’s rightful place as a force to be reckoned with on race day. Subsequent cars would need to be developed specifically for the road or track as racing would become too competitive for the two-way car. The 250 GT also created a lineage that still exists today of front-engined V-12-powered Ferrari road cars.
The 250 GT did more than help define Ferrari in the decades to come. Famously, the car was Feruccio Lamborghini’s punching bag. When Lamborghini complained of reliability issues, the tractor maker decided to build his own car and he took some of Ferrari’s own engineers to help build them.
So, yes, we have much to give thanks for the 250 GT. Without it, the Ferrari grand tourer as we know it may not exist, and neither would the modern-day Lamborghini.
—Sean Szymkowski also contributed to this report
Related Articles
- Learn the story behind Ruf Automobile
- 2023 Volkswagen Golf R 20th Anniversary Edition revealed with sunroof delete
- 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06’s top speed is 195 mph, says chief engineer
- 1930 Cadillac V-16 thunders into Jay Leno’s Garage
- 2024 Maserati GranTurismo Folgore partially revealed, does 0-60 mph in 2.6 seconds
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/automotive/internet-brands/1959-1962-ferrari-250-gt-swb-berlinetta-100-cars-that-matter/
| 2022-09-21T11:42:19Z
|
ktalnews.com
|
control
|
https://www.ktalnews.com/automotive/internet-brands/1959-1962-ferrari-250-gt-swb-berlinetta-100-cars-that-matter/
| 1
| 0
|
green-iguana-35
| null |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.