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BERLIN (AP) — About 250 police officers have raided two dozen properties across Germany linked to Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, in connection with alleged breaches of sanctions and money laundering rules, officials said Wednesday.
Prosecutors in Frankfurt and Munich said in separate statements that state and federal police were searching the 24 properties in Bavaria, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein.
The statement by Frankfurt prosecutors named the suspect only as a Russian businessman. But German weekly Der Spiegel, which first reported the raids, named him as Usmanov.
Two officials involved in the investigation, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to do so publicly, confirmed his identity to The Associated Press.
Usmanov is subject to sanctions in the United States and the European Union.
Frankfurt prosecutors said the suspect of their investigation is alleged to have conducted several transactions between 2017 and 2022 using a complex network of offshore companies to hide the origin of the payments, which amounted to millions of euros.
“There is a suspicion that the sums transferred resulted from crimes, in particular tax evasion,” prosecutors said.
Munich prosecutors said in a statement statement that their investigation centered on allegations of payments being made to security companies guarding the properties, in breach of sanctions rules.
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https://www.ktalnews.com/news/business/ap-germany-raids-24-properties-linked-to-putin-ally-usmanov/
| 2022-09-21T12:52:46Z
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LONDON (AP) — Britain’s government said Wednesday it will cap wholesale energy bills for businesses this winter to ensure companies don’t go bust amid soaring energy prices.
Authorities said the government will pick up nearly half of all business energy bills for six months starting Oct. 1 to ensure companies “are able to get through this winter.”
“We’re going to review it after six months. We’ll make sure that the most vulnerable businesses like pubs, like shops, continue to be supported after that,” said Prime Minister Liz Truss, who is in New York to attend the U.N. General Assembly.
Treasury chief Kwasi Kwarteng said the government measures would “stop businesses collapsing, protect jobs and limit inflation.”
Officials have not provided details on how much the support package will cost, but it is expected to run to billions of pounds (dollars).
The news followed similar measures announced earlier this month to cap domestic energy prices to help millions of people heat their homes amid a cost-of-living crisis.
Spiraling gas and electricity bills, together with steeply rising food costs, have driven inflation in the U.K. to its highest level in decades. The Bank of England expects the economy to go into a recession next year.
The consumer price index hit 10.1% in July, though it decreased slightly to 9.9% in August. Britons were accustomed for years to an average inflation rate of around 2%.
The government, which predicted the measures would cut the U.K.’s soaring inflation rate, is expected to push through emergency legislation for the relief plans once Parliament returns in October.
The British Beer and Pub Association said move announcement Wednesday would provide a “lifeline” for many businesses.
“This intervention is unprecedented, and it is extremely welcome that government has listened to hospitality businesses facing an uncertain winter,” Kate Nicholls, chief executive of trade body UK Hospitality, said.
Truss announced a two-year “energy price guarantee” for consumers on Sept. 8 that caps average household bills for heating and electricity at 2,500 pounds ($2,872) a year. The household average was expected to rise to 3,500 pounds ($4,000) a year beginning in October, an 80% jump from the current average annual bill of 1,971 pounds ($2,236).
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https://www.ktalnews.com/news/business/ap-uk-government-caps-energy-bills-for-businesses-for-6-months/
| 2022-09-21T12:53:02Z
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SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — As election season continues, another mayoral forum took place in downtown Shreveport Tuesday.
The crowd was small, and only five mayoral candidates were in attendance.
The topics ranged from early childhood education to pay raises for city employees. One attendee says these forums make a world of difference when she casts her vote.
“The reason why I think they make a huge difference is because a lot of times people just don’t know, and you don’t know what’s happened. You don’t know what this person’s platform is. Some people are not going to go read the literature themselves, so these forums are very important and very impactful, in my opinion.”
“Vote up or shut up,” she said. “That is the time that we are in. It’s so important that we not just talk about it, but your vote is your voice.”
The Power Coalition for Equity and Justice hosted Tuesday’s forum.
October 11 is the last day to vote in person, and the last day to register online is October 18.
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https://www.ktalnews.com/news/election/your-local-election-hq/downtown-shreveport-mayoral-forum-brings-small-crowd/
| 2022-09-21T12:53:23Z
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GEORGETOWN, Texas (Nexstar) — A Williamson County district judge tossed out a Texas State Bar Association lawsuit against a top deputy in the Texas Attorney General’s office over alleged misconduct in seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Judge John Youngblood dismissed the lawsuit, saying it lacked “subject-matter jurisdiction,” according to the court order, which was filed on Sept. 13. In a brief letter sent to the lawyers, the judge said the lawsuit violates the separation of powers doctrine by limiting the “Attorney General’s broad power to file lawsuits on the State’s behalf.”
The lawsuit was filed in May against Brent Edward Webster, the first assistant to the Attorney General, for his role in Texas’ challenge to overturn President Joe Biden’s electoral victories in four swing states — Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin and Michigan. The suit alleged Webster was dishonest in his reasons for contesting the 2020 election results to the United States Supreme Court.
“His allegations were not supported by any charge, indictment, judicial finding, and/or credible or admissible evidence, and failed to disclose to the Court that some of his representations and allegations had already been adjudicated and/or dismissed in a court of law,” the petition said.
Jim Harrington, who filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the State Bar, called the ruling a “legal charade” in a written statement.
“The logic of the judge’s decision is that, if a lawyer works for the Attorney General, there is no way to hold the lawyer accountable for ethical violations and professional misconduct. In other words, the Attorney General’s office is above the law. That is contrary to the principle of the Constitution, and we hope the State Bar will appeal the ruling. Key to the idea of a democratic society is that every person, no matter status or office, is accountable to the rule of law,” the statement reads.
In an emailed press release, Attorney General Ken Paxton said he will “not back down” from the “partisan activists at the Texas State Bar.” Paxton himself faces a similar lawsuit over the same issue and has sought to dismiss that one as well.
This isn’t the first time there have been allegations of misconduct against Paxton. In 2015, Paxton was indicted on felony securities fraud charges. Last year, seven of his top aides reported him to the FBI over bribery and abuse of office accusations. He is now facing wrongful termination and retaliation lawsuits from those former aids.
Last week, The Dallas Morning News reported a Collin County district judge ordered Paxton to sit in at a Nov. 28 deposition for his securities fraud accusations. The deposition will come after the election, where the Republican incumbent faces a challenge from Democrat Rochelle Garza.
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https://www.ktalnews.com/news/state-news/texas/texas-politics/judge-dismisses-texas-bar-lawsuit-against-attorney-generals-office/
| 2022-09-21T12:53:29Z
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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Nearly every single Alaskan got a financial windfall amounting to more than $3,000 Tuesday, the day the state began distributing payments from Alaska’s investment fund that has been seeded with money from the state’s oil riches.
The payments, officially called the Permanent Fund Dividend or the PFD locally, amounted to $2,622 — the highest amount ever. Alaska lawmakers added $662 as a one-time benefit to help residents with high energy costs.
A total of $1.6 billion in direct deposits began hitting bank accounts Tuesday, and checks will arrive later for those who opted for them.
Residents use the money in various ways, from buying big-screen TVs, vehicles or other goods, using it for vacations or putting it in savings or college funds. In rural Alaska, the money can help offset the enormous costs of fuel and food, like $14 for a 12-pack of soda, $4 for a celery bunch and $3 for a small container of Greek yogurt.
“We’re experiencing record high inflation that we haven’t seen since the first PFD was paid in 1982,” Gov. Mike Dunleavy said in a video. “Alaskans have been bearing the brunt of this inflation from the gas pump to the grocery store, and this year’s PFD will provide much needed relief as we head into winter.”
The timing of the checks couldn’t have come at a better time for those living on the state’s vast western coast, which was devastated last weekend by the remnants of Typhoon Merbok. Damage to homes and infrastructure was widespread along a 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers) of coastline.
Among the communities experiencing the greatest damage was Nome, the largest city on the coast with about 3,500 residents and known for being the end point of the world’s most famous sled dog race.
Howard Farley, now 90, helped secure Nome as the Iditarod’s finish line over 50 years ago. His century-old home was safe from the storm on high ground in Nome, but they did lose about 100 feet (30.48 meters) of frontage and one building at the family’s camp site about 5 miles (8 kilometers) east of town.
“The beach is a lot closer,” he said.
He said the payments — which would be more than $16,000 for a family of five — are much needed.
“Even people that didn’t have damage, with the inflation up here, that’s really, really hitting hard,” he said.
Farley said gas is $7 a gallon and will remain that way until the next shipment arrives next spring because barges can’t deliver once the Bering Sea freezes.
“The price won’t go down like it does in Anchorage and other places because you guys can get deliveries almost any time,” he said.
“What it will mean for a lot of families is that they can break even with the high prices we’re paying,” he said.
The oil-wealth check, which some in Alaska see as an entitlement, typically is derived from the earnings of the nest-egg investment account. The diversified fund was established during construction of the trans-Alaska pipeline in the 1970s and now is worth $73.6 billion.
There is a yearly application process and residency requirements to qualify for a dividend. Dividends traditionally have been paid using earnings from the Alaska Permanent Fund. Lawmakers in 2018 began using fund earnings to also help pay for government and sought to limit how much can be withdrawn from earnings for both purposes. The amount going to the dividend this year represents half the authorized draw.
Residents received the first check, $1,000, in 1982. Amounts have varied over the years, and traditionally were calculated on a five-year rolling average to buffer downturns in the economy.
The smallest check ever was $331 in 1983. The largest before this year’s check was $2,072 in 2015. If someone has collected every check since 1982, it would amount to $47,049.
Mildred Jonathan, 74, and her husband, Alfred, 79, live about 100 miles (161 kilometers) west of the Canadian border in the interior Alaska village of Tanacross.
There will be no frivolous spending when they receive their paper check in October. Instead, the Jonathans’ major purchase will be firewood.
“The wood I’m hoping to get is $1,600, and it’s a 10-cord load,” she said. “I’ll survive the winter if I buy that.”
Snow was already falling on nearby mountains, and temperatures in the Athabascan village during the winter are typically well below zero. “It’s cold, cold, cold,” she said.
Any money the couple have left over will go to a new hot water system, flooring for their home and Christmas gifts for their grandchildren, who want new phones.
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| 2022-09-21T12:53:35Z
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CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Indigenous traditional owners on Wednesday won a court challenge that prevents an energy company from drilling for gas off Australia’s north coast.
The Federal Court decision against Australian oil and gas company Santos Ltd. was a major win for Indigenous rights in the nation.
Dennis Murphy Tipakalippa, who was described in court documents as an elder, senior lawman and traditional owner of the Munupi clan on the Tiwi Islands, had challenged the regulator’s approval of Santos’ $3.6 billion plan to drill the Barossa Field beneath the Timor Sea.
Justice Mordy Bromberg quashed the February decision by the regulator, the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority, to allow the drilling.
The judge found the regulator should not have been satisfied that the project’s drilling plan met legal criteria.
Tipakalippa had argued that the regulator could not be “reasonably satisfied,” as required by law, that Santos had carried out necessary consultations about its drilling plans.
Santos had not consulted with his clan, Tipakalippa said, and he feared the project would harm the ocean environment.
Santos foreshadowed an appeal before three Federal Court judges.
“Given the significance of this decision to us, our international joint venture partners and customers, and the industry more broadly, we consider that it should be reviewed by the Full Federal Court on appeal,” the company said in a statement.
Santos described the ruling as a “disappointing outcome,” and said the company had engaged with Indigenous organizations on the Tiwi Islands and the Australian mainland about the proposed drilling.
Drilling has been suspended pending a successful appeal or a renewed application for the regulator’s approval, Santos said.
The Barossa Field is 265 kilometers (165 miles) north of the gas-hub city of Darwin on the Australian mainland and 138 kilometers (86 miles) north of the Tiwi Islands.
The plan is to pipe the gas past the islands to Darwin.
Munupi is one of eight Tiwi Islands clans and its traditional land is closest to the gas field.
Tipakalippa claims that he and other Tiwi Islanders hold “sea country” rights including and beyond the Barossa Field.
Santos, Australia’s second-largest independent gas producer, has already begun drilling the field.
Bromberg went to the Tiwi Islands last month and took evidence about the Munupi people’s connection to the land and sea from several witnesses in words, song and dance.
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https://www.ktalnews.com/news/u-s-world/ap-australian-indigenous-traditional-owners-halt-gas-drilling/
| 2022-09-21T12:53:42Z
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Protests have erupted across Iran in recent days after a 22-year-old woman died while being held by the morality police for violating the country’s strictly enforced Islamic dress code.
The death of Mahsa Amini, who had been picked up by Iran’s morality police for her allegedly loose headscarf, or hijab, has triggered daring displays of defiance, in the face of beatings and possible arrest.
In street protests, some women tore off their mandatory headscarves, demonstratively twirling them in the air. Videos online showed two women throwing their hijabs into a bonfire. Another woman is seen cutting off her hair in a show of protest.
Many Iranians, particularly the young, have come to see Amini’s death as part of the Islamic Republic’s heavy-handed policing of dissent and the morality police’s increasingly violent treatment of young women.
At some of the demonstrations, protesters clashed with police and thick clouds of tear gas were seen rising in the capital, Tehran. Protesters were also chased and beaten with clubs by the motorcycle-riding Basij, or volunteers in Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
The Basij have violently suppressed protests in the past, including over water rights and the country’s cratering economy.
Yet some demonstrators still chant “death to the dictator,” targeting both Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s rule and Iran’s theocracy, despite the threat of arrest, imprisonment and even the possibility of a death sentence.
Here’s a look at what sparked the protests and where they might lead.
WHAT CAUSED THE PROTESTS IN IRAN?
Iran’s morality police arrested Amini on Sept. 13 in Tehran, where she was visiting from her hometown in the country’s western Kurdish region. She collapsed at a police station and died three days later.
Police detained her over wearing her hijab too loosely. Iran requires women to wear the headscarf in a way that completely covers their hair when in public. Only Afghanistan under Taliban rule now actively enforces a similar law. Ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia dialed back its enforcement over recent years.
The police deny Amini was mistreated and say she died of a heart attack. President Ebrahim Raisi, who will speak at the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, has promised an investigation.
Amini’s family says she had no history of heart trouble and that they were prevented from seeing her body before she was buried. The demonstrations erupted after her funeral in the Kurdish city of Saqez on Saturday, and quickly spread to other parts of the country, including Tehran.
HOW ARE WOMEN TREATED IN IRAN?
Iranian women have full access to education, work outside the home and hold public office. But they are required to dress modestly in public, which includes wearing the hijab as well as long, loose-fitting robes. Unmarried men and women are barred from mingling.
The rules, which date back to the days after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, are enforced by the morality police. The force, officially known as the Guidance Patrol, is stationed across public areas. It is made up of men as well as women.
Enforcement was eased under former President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate who at one point accused the morality police of being overly aggressive. In 2017, the head of the force said it would no longer arrest women for violating the dress code.
But under Raisi, a hard-liner elected last year, agents of the morality police appear to have been unleashed. The U.N. human rights office says young women have been slapped in the face, beaten with batons and shoved into police vehicles in recent months.
HOW HAS IRAN RESPONDED TO THE PROTESTS?
Iranian leaders have vowed to investigate the circumstances of Amini’s death while accusing unnamed foreign countries and exiled opposition groups of seizing on it as a pretext to foment unrest. That’s been a common pattern in the protests that erupted in recent years.
Iran’s ruling clerics view the United States as a threat to the Islamic Republic and believe the adoption of Western customs undermines society. Khamenei himself has seized on so-called “color” protests in Europe and elsewhere as foreign interventions — and not as people demonstrating for more rights.
Tensions have been especially high since former President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and imposed crippling sanctions. The Biden administration has been working with European allies for the last two years to revive the accord, but negotiations appear deadlocked as nonproliferation experts warn Iran has enough highly enriched uranium for a nuclear bomb if it chose to build one. The Islamic Republic insists its program is peaceful.
The governor of Tehran said Wednesday that authorities arrested three foreign nationals at protests in the capital, without elaborating. Iranian security forces have arrested at least 25 people, and the governor of the Kurdistan province says three people have been killed by armed groups in unrest linked to the protests, without elaborating.
Activists and human rights groups have blamed Iranian security forces for killing protesters in other demonstrations, like those over gasoline prices in 2019.
COULD THE PROTESTS BRING DOWN IRAN’S GOVERNMENT?
Iran’s ruling clerics have weathered several waves of protests going back decades, eventually quashing them with brute force.
The most serious challenge to the clerics’ rule was the Green Movement that emerged after the country’s disputed presidential election in 2009 and called for far-reaching reforms; millions of Iranians took to the streets.
Authorities responded with a brutal crackdown, with the Revolutionary Guard and the Basij militia opening fire on protesters and launching waves of arrests. Opposition leaders were placed under house arrest.
Among those killed was Neda Agha Soltan, a 27-year-old woman who became an icon of the protest movement after she was shot and bled to death in a video seen by millions on social media.
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Follow Joseph Krauss on Twitter at www.twitter.com/josephkrauss.
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| 2022-09-21T12:53:54Z
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BERLIN (AP) — The German government said Wednesday that it has agreed to nationalize the country’s biggest natural gas importer, Uniper, expanding state intervention in the industry to prevent an energy shortage resulting from Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The deal with Uniper builds on a rescue package agreed to in July and features a capital increase of 8 billion euros (dollars) that Germany will finance. As part of the agreement, the government will gain a 99% stake in the energy supplier, which until now was controlled by Finland-based Fortum. The Finnish government has the largest stake in Fortum.
Germany’s economy minister, Robert Habeck, said the deal was necessary because of the significance that Uniper plays in the German gas market. It still needs to be approved by the European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm.
Uniper supplies about 40% of all gas customers in Germany, and before the war, it bought about half of its gas from Russia.
The company’s losses have mounted as Russia has reduced natural gas supplies to European countries supporting Ukraine. The cuts have contributed to high prices for the fuel needed to heat homes, generate electricity and power factories, raising fears of business closures, rationing and a recession as the weather turns cold. Uniper has been forced to buy gas at far higher prices on the market to fulfill its supply contracts.
European countries have scrambled to counter the price spiral and prioritized securing their energy supplies for winter, including by filling their natural gas storage. Just last week, Germany also moved to take control of three Russian-owned oil refineries before an embargo on Russian oil takes effect next year.
Habeck noted that Germany has managed to fill its gas storage facilities to over 90% capacity in preparation for the winter heating season despite Russia halting gas deliveries through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Wholesale prices for gas have almost halved since the summer, he said.
“This means that, as a whole, we have coped quite well with the situation,” Habeck said. “But for Uniper, the situation has become significantly more dramatic and significantly worse.”
Gas prices are still at a historically high level. Citing the importance of Uniper for the German gas market, Habeck said the government had chosen to nationalize the company “to ensure security of supply for Germany.” It is also holding onto plans for consumers to pay a gas surcharge, despite criticism from opposition parties.
Uniper supplies gas to some 200 municipal utility companies in Germany. It also holds stakes in power plants in Germany, Britain, Hungary, the Netherlands, Russia and Sweden.
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner made clear the government decision to nationalize Uniper was taken “in large part because of the enormous increase in economic risks there, which would no longer have been borne privately.”
“But that is not a decision that in the long term the German state will now be involved in the distribution and procurement of gas,” he said.
Lindner said he expected to see a normalization of gas prices next year, as Germany brings new liquefied natural gas terminals online.
“It won’t be as cheap as Russian pipeline gas anymore, but not as expensive as we currently see that in the markets processing the big shortage,” he said. “But we need to find a bridge to get to this normalized market. Because otherwise in the meantime too many livelihoods, too many businesses and jobs will be lost.”
Fortum’s chief executive said the company’s divestment of Uniper was “the right step to take.”
“The role of gas in Europe has fundamentally changed since Russia attacked Ukraine, and so has the outlook for a gas-heavy portfolio,” CEO Markus Rauramo said.
Tytti Tuppurainen, the Finnish minister responsible for government-controlled companies, said in a news conference that the Uniper deal was “inevitable” so that Fortum’s losses could be limited and the Finnish state would no longer have to capitalize the troubled Espoo, Finland-based energy group.
She made clear that the Finnish government wasn’t happy with the end result with Uniper, but acknowledged that Wednesday’s deal was “the unfortunate fact” Finland would have to deal with.
“This agreement secures Fortum’s position and the (Finnish) state now has no need to capitalize the company. Of course, no one can say this for sure,” Tuppurainen told reporters.
The Finnish government owns just over 50% in Fortum that is deemed a crucial company for the Nordic country’s energy security.
Uniper shares were down by a third on the Frankfurt exchange Wednesday compared with the previous day.
In a separate move last Friday, his government announced that German authorities were taking control of three Russian-owned oil refineries to ensure energy security. Two subsidiaries of Russian oil giant Rosneft are being put under the administration of the national network regulator.
Rosneft accounts for about 12% of Germany’s oil refining capacity, importing oil worth several hundred million euros (dollars) every month, according to the government, which said the trusteeship was initially due to last for six months.
The network regulator already was put in charge of Gazprom’s former German subsidiary in April, a decision that the government said was necessary to bring “order to the conditions” at the company after the Kremlin-controlled parent company abruptly cut ties with the unit.
Environmentalists said the nationalization of Uniper should prompt the government to steer the company away from fossil fuels.
“Uniper must say goodbye to coal and gas, and become a relevant actor in the energy transition,” Olaf Bandt, chairman of the German environmental group BUND.
___
Jari Tanner in Tallinn, Estonia, and Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, contributed to this report.
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| 2022-09-21T12:54:00Z
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THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The International Criminal Court chief prosecutor and European Union judicial cooperation agency Eurojust have launched a set of guidelines for nongovernmental organizations collecting evidence of atrocities in Ukraine and elsewhere around the world.
“With the war in Ukraine, peace and justice are under the most severe pressure, and accountability for core international crimes and violations of human rights is more than ever essential for international criminal justice,” Eurojust President Ladislav Hamran said in a statement Wednesday.
He said the guidelines will be “a key building block in efforts of authorities and civil society organisations to collect and preserve information and evidence that may become admissible in court.”
They include advice on approaching and interviewing vulnerable witnesses, dealing with documents, digital information and items that could be evidence as well as storing, analyzing and keeping the information and potential pieces of evidence secure.
Allegations of atrocities by Russian forces fighting in the nearly seven-month war in Ukraine have again come to the fore in recent days as Ukrainian forces have recaptured parts of their country and discovered mass graves and possible torture sites.
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan has opened an investigation in Ukraine and sent teams to gather evidence. Other nations also are supporting investigation efforts by sending experts. The prosecutor hasn’t yet announced any charges linked to the conflict.
In March, Eurojust helped set up a Joint Investigation Team with Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine. The ICC prosecution also agreed to participate in the team and in May it was broadened when Slovakia, Estonia and Latvia joined.
Khan said NGOs are “critical partners in our common goal to achieve accountability for international crimes. Now more than ever we must work together to strengthen our common work towards justice.”
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Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
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| 2022-09-21T12:54:06Z
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MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Militia members in central Somalia have helped kill scores of al-Shabab militants in an ongoing operation against the Islamic extremist rebels that is receiving air support from the United States, Somali authorities said.
Suspected Al-Shabab fighters are being hunted in the Hiran region areas of Yasoman and Aborey, and more than 100 had died as of Sunday, the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism said in a statement issued Tuesday.
Ali Abdulle, a community leader in the town of Beledweyne, told The Associated Press by phone that al-Shabab had made life for residents so miserable they had to fight back.
“Al-Shabab has burned our villages, blown up our wells and boreholes, destroyed telecommunication towers, planted IEDs and murdered civilians indiscriminately,” he said. “So there is no option left except to face them.”
After taking office in May, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud vowed an offensive against al-Shabab to dislodge the group from large parts of Somalia it has controlled for years. Mohamud then declared “total war” against the al-Qaida-linked rebels following a deadly attack on a hotel in Mogadishu last month.
Al-Shabab spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage acknowledged the government’s uncompromising stance in his comments during a ceremony to graduate militants that was filmed and released Saturday. But he insisted al-Shabab was undeterred.
“Stick to your oath and know that we will not back down. Stand by your words ,and we will stand by ours, and we shall see which one of us is left standing,” he said. “We ask Allah by his grace and mercy to grant us swift victory over the disbelievers and their allies.”
The government appears to be seeking, and receiving, help from one notable militia. The clan-based group known as Macawisley has for years clashed with al-Shabab. Its latest uprising was sparked by alleged al-Shabab brutality that includes the looting of livestock, said Samira Gaid, executive director of Hiraal Institute, a Mogadishu-based security think tank.
“It is always the people who bear the brunt of the excesses of rule under al-Shabab and they don’t enjoy popular support,” she said. “Some populations who aren’t as armed are not able sometimes to take up arms against the group. But others are better equipped and are stronger politically to stand up against (al-Shabab) rule.”
Gaid warned that for an uprising by locals to be effective, “government support logistically is critical.”
Omar Abdi Jimale, a Mogadishu-based political analyst, said the government supporting militias to fight al-Shabab could be decisive after the authorities’ previous reluctance.
“Clans were unable to carry on protracted fighting because of the absence of official government support. As a result, their uprisings ultimately were ending up in signing a peace deal with al-Shabab,” he said. “The previous administration had the chance of providing direct support to the revolting clan militias without directly equipping them, but by not doing so gave al-Shabab a chance to consolidate their control over revolting clans’ territories.”
Forced to retreat from Mogadishu in 2011, al-Shabab has slowly made a comeback from the rural areas to which it retreated, defying the presence of African Union peacekeepers as well as U.S. drone strikes targeting its fighters.
Al-Shabab, which opposes the federal government and the presence of peacekeepers and other foreigners on Somali territory, has seized more territory in recent years, taking advantage of rifts within the Somali security service and disagreements between federal authorities and regional leaders.
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| 2022-09-21T12:54:12Z
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(NEXSTAR) – Apple’s newest phone, the iPhone 14, hasn’t been on the market for long but users are already struggling to use some of its basic features.
Specifically, some users have been reporting problems with iMessage and FaceTime since unboxing their new iPhones.
Apple acknowledged the problems in a support document released last week, saying iMessage and FaceTime may “not complete activation on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro.”
If you have an iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro, Apple says you may notice that you can’t receive iMessage or FaceTime calls; your texts to other Apple devices appear in a green bubble rather than a blue bubble; conversations in Messages appear as two threads instead of one; or your messages may appear to come from your email address rather than your phone number on another person’s phone.
To resolve any of these issues, Apple recommends updating your phone to the latest version of iOS. Though Apple just released a major iOS update last week, iOS 16, Forbes reports Apple has rolled out an update – iOS 16.0.1 – specifically for iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro to address “important bug fixes.” Those include problems with iMessage and FaceTime, zooming in on certain photos, and single sign-on apps.
Unfortunately, some users may still have issues with Messages and FaceTime after updating to iOS 16.0.1, according to Apple.
In this case, users should ensure their phone line is turned on under Settings, then Cellular. If you have multiple SIMs, be sure to select the phone number you want to use, Apple explains. While in Settings, tap on Messages, then tap Send & Receive. From there, tap on the phone number you want to use for Messages. Back in Settings, you’ll want to tap on FaceTime and do the same process – select the number you want to use for FaceTime.
A second update specifically for the newest iPhones may be coming soon to address another major issue – troubles with the camera. Apple told Bloomberg on Monday the update, expected to be available next week, is aimed at fixing the rear camera, which users have reported will physically shake when used in some apps like Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
The 48-megapixel camera on the iPhone 14 has been one of the most highly touted features of the new model, surpassing the 12-megapixel cameras of the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max versions.
The iPhone 14 was launched on Friday, September 16. Customers were seen lining up outside Apple stores to get ahold of the newest iPhone, which is now expected to take weeks to arrive to customers buying it online through Apple, according to Bloomberg.
Apple has not yet responded to Nexstar’s request for comment regarding issues with the iPhone 14.
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| 2022-09-21T12:54:19Z
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HOBART, Australia (AP) — About 230 whales have been stranded on Tasmania’s west coast, just days after 14 sperm whales were found beached on an island off the southeastern coast.
The pod stranded on Ocean Beach appears to be pilot whales and at least half are presumed to still be alive, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania said Wednesday.
A team from the Marine Conservation Program was assembling whale rescue gear and heading to the area, the department said.
A resident told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that the whales were visible near the entrance to Macquarie Harbour and described the stranding as a “massive event.”
David Midson, general manager of the West Coast Council, urged people to stay clear.
“Whales are a protected species, even once deceased, and it is an offense to interfere with a carcass,” the environment department said.
Griffith University marine scientist Olaf Meynecke said it’s unusual for sperm whales to wash ashore. He said that warmer temperatures could also be changing the ocean currents and moving the whales’ traditional food.
“They will be going to different areas and searching for different food sources,” Meynecke said. “When they do this, they are not in the best physical condition because they might be starving so this can lead them to take more risks and maybe go closer to shore.”
Fourteen sperm whales were discovered Monday afternoon on King Island, part of the state of Tasmania in the Bass Strait between Melbourne and Tasmania’s northern coast. The department said it is not unusual for sperm whales to be sighted in Tasmania.
The pilot whale is notorious for stranding in mass numbers, for reasons that are not entirely understood.
Two years ago, about 470 long-finned pilot whales were found beached on sandbars off Tasmania’s west coast in the largest mass-stranding on record in Australia. After a weeklong effort, 111 of those whales were rescued but the rest died.
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| 2022-09-21T12:54:26Z
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(KTLA) — Rising interest rates coupled with crippling inflation has sent more Americans into debt using credit cards to pay for everyday necessities.
Credit card debt in the U.S. has surged over the past year as more Americans borrow money to keep spending. And with interest rates set to go up again, it might be even harder to break free of that crushing debt.
Swiping plastic has become more enticing than ever as high inflation digs deep into Americans’ pockets.
Many people are having to use credit to pay for everyday essentials such as groceries and gas — necessities that have gone up in cost much faster than average earnings.
Budgeting is also becoming critical as people buy what they need, not what they want.
According to LendingTree, an online lending marketplace, the typical consumer has racked up more than $6,500 in credit card debt.
Matt Schulz, LendingTree’s chief credit analyst, says it’s not the worst it’s ever been, but it’s on the way there. He says current conditions are leading to a troubling trend.
“The average rate on a new credit card offer today is a little over 21%, it’s as high as it’s ever been and the really unfortunate thing is that it’s only going to keep going higher,” Schults said.
Record high inflation has about two-thirds of consumers scaling back on discretionary spending. That’s hurting electronic and clothing retailers.
Growing debt could soon impact many credit scores, cutting into those able to qualify for cars or homes. This comes as home prices are starting to decrease, but mortgage rates are rising, with a 30-year fixed rate, now above 6%.
Cody Rice-Velasquez is a normal consumer who has recently tackled credit card debt.
“I don’t want to get back in that hole because we were paying about a thousand dollars a month in interest,” Rice Velasquez said.
So as more Americans are swiping that card, what’s the best way to break the cycle of debt? Experts say it’s important to have an emergency fund.
“Have a little bit of extra savings on hand so you don’t have to pull out the credit card the next time you have a flat tire or you have to take the dog to the vet,” Schultz said.
If you are taking out multiple credit cards, it’s critical that you keep a close eye on your balance and pay them off as soon as possible.
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| 2022-09-21T12:54:34Z
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NEW YORK (AP) — When Donald Trump sought the presidency in 2016, a California billionaire named Tom Barrack made sure to get in the mix.
The pair had been close friends for decades before Barrack emerged as an informal campaign advisor. He later became the chair of Trump’s inaugural committee.
The problem, federal prosecutors say, is that Barrack was also secretly working at the same time as an agent for the United Arab Emirates, an energy-rich U.S. ally. The allegation has landed the defendant in federal court in Brooklyn. The trial is expected to illuminate his relationship with Trump, and how Barrack sought to leverage that relationship to protect the interests of, and feed intelligence to, the UAE.
Before being indicted, Barrack drew attention by raising $107 million for Trump’s inaugural celebration following the 2016 election. The event was scrutinized both for its lavish spending and for attracting foreign officials and businesspeople looking to lobby the new administration.
U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan and lawyers are expected to complete jury selection on Wednesday morning. Opening statements would follow.
The judge has asked potential jurors who expressed anti-Trump sentiments if they could set them aside and remain neutral. Some were dismissed when they said they couldn’t.
During his questioning, the judge told prospective jurors that they may be hearing testimony from former Trump administration officials, and maybe even Trump himself.
The 75-year-old Barrack — who was arrested last year and released on $250 million bail — has pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government, obstruction of justice and making false statements.
The Los Angeles-based private equity manager was a key figure in UAE investments in a tech fund and real estate totaling $374 million. Prosecutors say that while he was nurturing those business deals, Barrack helped UAE leaders influence Trump during his campaign for president and after he was elected.
Those efforts included drafting a speech for Trump that praised a member of the country’s royal family, passing information back to the Emiratis about how senior U.S. officials felt about a boycott of Qatar, and promising to advance the interests of the UAE if he were appointed as an ambassador or envoy to the Middle East.
Such an appointment “would give ABU DHABI more power!” Barrack wrote in one message obtained by federal prosecutors, referring to the capital of UAE, which commands tens of billions of dollars in wealth funds from its oil and gas deposits.
The U.S. government is seeking to present evidence at trial that Barrack was in close communication with the UAE’s director of national intelligence, Ali al-Shamsi.
“Al Shamsi was one of the most important UAE government officials that the defendants communicated with as part of the charged scheme, particularly given his senior role in UAE intelligence operations, and testimony regarding his role and responsibilities is central to this case,” prosecutors wrote in court papers.
The defense has sought to exclude evidence of Barrack’s lavish lifestyle, arguing in court papers that it would invite the jury to convict Barrack “based on improper emotional appeals and creates a substantial risk of class bias.”
Barrack has denied any wrongdoing. His lawyers said his contacts with the Emirates were not a secret and had been disclosed to Trump’s campaign and administration. He told reporters as he left the courthouse on Tuesday that watching the jury selection process gave him faith he will be cleared.
“It’s an amazing system,” he said.
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| 2022-09-21T12:54:40Z
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THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The United States on Wednesday urged the International Court of Justice to throw out a case brought by Iran seeking to claw back around $2 billion worth of frozen Iranian assets that the U.S. Supreme Court awarded to victims of a 1983 bombing in Lebanon and other attacks linked to Tehran.
The leader of the U.S. legal team, Richard Visek, told the U.N. court that it should invoke, for the first time, a legal principle known as “unclean hands,” under which a nation can’t bring a case because of its own criminal actions linked to the case.
“Iran’s case should be dismissed in its entirety based on the principle of unclean hands,” Visek told the judges sitting in the court’s Great Hall of Justice.
“The essence of this threshold defense is that Iran’s own egregious conduct, its sponsorship of terrorist acts directed against the United States and U.S. nationals, lies at the very core of its claims,” Visek said.
The Hague-based court has never used the “unclean hands” defense as a reason to toss out a case, but it has been successfully cited in international arbitration cases, Visek said.
“The United States submits that if there was ever a case for application of the principle of unclean hands — one that we recognize should be considered only in narrow circumstances — it is this case,” Visek said.
On Monday, Iran said the U.S. asset confiscation was an attempt to destabilize the Tehran government and a violation of international law.
Iran took its claim to the world court in 2016 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that money held in Iran’s central bank could be used to compensate the 241 victims of a 1983 bombing — believed to be linked to Tehran — of a U.S. military base in Lebanon.
The world court ruled it had jurisdiction to hear the case in 2019, rejecting an argument from the U.S. that its national security interests superseded the 1955 Treaty of Amity, which promised friendship and cooperation between the two countries.
“The freedom of navigation and commerce guaranteed by the treaty have been gravely breached,” Tavakol Habibzadeh, head of international legal affairs for Iran, told the 14-judge panel on Monday.
At stake in the case being heard this week are $1.75 billion in bonds, plus accumulated interest, belonging to the Iranian state but held in a Citibank account in New York.
Visek also told judges that Iran’s claims should be rejected because the frozen assets are state holdings not covered by the treaty.
In 1983, a truck bomb detonated at a U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 241 American troops. Minutes later, a second blast nearby killed 58 French soldiers. Iran has denied involvement, but a U.S. District Court judge found Tehran responsible in 2003. That ruling said Iran’s ambassador to Syria at the time called “a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and instructed him to instigate the Marine barracks bombing.”
The United States terminated the 1955 Treaty of Amity in 2018 in response to an order by the International Court of Justice in a separate case to lift sanctions against Iran. Then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said withdrawing from the treaty was long overdue and followed Iran “groundlessly” bringing a complaint to the court alleging that U.S. sanctions were a violation of the pact.
Both the sanctions case and the asset confiscation case are continuing because they were filed before Washington scrapped the treaty.
The two countries have had no diplomatic relations since the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover by militant students in Tehran.
Judges are likely to take months to issue a ruling in the case. The court’s judgments are final and legally binding.
Wednesday’s hearing in The Hague came on the day that U.S. President Joe Biden and Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi will be giving speeches on the second day of the U.N. General Assembly ’s first fully in-person meeting since the coronavirus pandemic began.
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| 2022-09-21T12:54:47Z
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PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters have rescued a 13-year-old blind dog that fell into a hole at a California construction site.
According to KABC-TV, the dog, named Cesar, lives next to the site in Pasadena with his owner. The dog apparently wandered onto the site, said Cesar’s owner Mary, who declined to give her last name.
Cesar then fell into the hole, which was about 15 feet (4.5 meters) deep and 3 feet (0.91 meters) wide, around 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Mary was alerted by the barking of her other dog. Cesar responded and she could hear he was no longer in her own yard. A Pasadena search and rescue team soon responded to the scene.
Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustin said confined-space rescues present unique challenges for firefighters. “There’s lot of steps we need to do to make it as safe as possible. For not just the dog but also our rescuers,” Augustin said.
The team hooked up a series of ropes and pulleys to lower one team member into the hole. It took the team member about 12 minutes to reach the dog, secure him in a harness and bring him back to the surface.
Cesar appeared to be healthy and uninjured after he was brought out of the hole. He shook off a heavy coat of construction dirt and dust and was reunited with his owner at the scene.
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| 2022-09-21T12:54:55Z
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The downturn in offense from the first two weeks of the NFL season hasn’t touched all corners of the league with a handful of players and teams putting up staggering numbers.
Never was that more evident than from Miami’s comeback win at Baltimore last week.
Scoring and passing efficiency are down significantly from recent years and at their lowest level at this point of the season since 2017, with the 21.4 points per game average down from 24.0 last year at this point and the second-lowest since 2011 to the 20.1 points per game in 2017. The 90 passer rating across the league is also the lowest through two weeks since the 87.9 in 2017.
But there was plenty of offense on a record-setting day in Baltimore on Sunday.
Tua Tagovailoa threw for 469 yards and six TDs, becoming the ninth quarterback in NFL history to throw for at least 450 yards and six scores in the same game.
He joined Patrick Mahomes, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning, Matt Flynn, Joe Montana, Joe Namath and Y.A. Tittle.
He got most of his production throwing to speedsters Tyreek Hill (11 catches for 190 yards and two TDs) and Jaylen Waddle (11 catches for 171 yards and two TDs). They are the first set of teammates to each have at least 170 yards receiving and two touchdowns in the same game.
Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson also had a noteworthy day, becoming the first player in NFL history to have a TD pass and a TD run of at least 75 yards in the same game.
Jackson threw for 318 yards and three scores and ran for 119 yards and a TD. Jackson became the first player in NFL history to have multiple games with at least 100 yards rushing and 300 yards passing, also doing it in a playoff loss to Tennessee in the 2019 season.
The Ravens and Dolphins weren’t alone in putting up some prolific numbers.
Jared Goff and the Lions became the fifth team in the past 10 years to score at least 35 points in each of the first two games joining the 2020 Packers (Aaron Rodgers at QB), the 2020 Seahawks (Russell Wilson), the 2018 Chiefs (Patrick Mahomes) and 2013 Broncos (Peyton Manning).
Second-year receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown has played a big role in the success with 17 catches for 180 yards and three scores. St. Brown has tied an NFL record with eight straight games dating to last season with at least eight catches, joining Antonio Brown (2014) and Michael Thomas (2019).
Buffalo receiver Stefon Diggs had his third career game with at last three TD catches and 140 yards receiving. Only Hall of Famers Jerry Rice (seven) and Randy Moss (four) have more in the Super Bowl era.
Also on Monday night, Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts threw for 333 yards and ran for 57 for his third career game with at least 300 yards through the air and 50 on the ground.
Only Steve Young (eight), Josh Allen (five), Wilson (four), and Mike Vick (four) have more of those games in the Super Bowl era.
DIVISION DOINGS
It was a rough week in the AFC North with all four teams losing on Sunday. This was the ninth time since the start of the eight-division era in 2002 that all four teams in that division all lost in the same week. It last happened in Week 3 of the 2019 season.
The eight weeks with an 0-4 record for the AFC North are the second most for any division in that span, trailing only the 10 for the NFC West. It has happened five times each in the AFC South, NFC East and NFC North, three times in the NFC South, twice in the AFC West and never in the AFC East.
The AFC East was on the other side of the equation with all four teams winning, including three head-to-head matchups against the AFC North.
That was the eighth time all four AFC East teams won in the same week, trailing only the nine times it has happened in the AFC West. It has happened seven times in the NFC West, five times in the NFC South and NFC East, four times in the NFC North and three times in the AFC North and AFC South.
UNDER PRESSURE
The offseason upgrades to the offensive line in Cincinnati haven’t helped keep Joe Burrow clean so far this season.
Burrow has been sacked 13 times in the first two games of the season, tied for the fifth most by a player through two games since the merger. Only David Carr (15 in 2002 for Houston), Jeff George (15 in 1998 for Oakland), Dave Krieg (14 in 1982 for Seattle) and Joe Pisarcik (14 in 1979 for the Giants) had more.
Burrow has now been sacked at least five times in 11 of his 32 career starts including the playoffs. In comparison, Tom Brady has been sacked at least five times in 10 of his 367 starts.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
There hasn’t been much to cheer for when it comes to football in the New York City area the last few years with the Giants and Jets posting the worst records in the NFL since the start of 2017.
That’s what made Sunday so rare. The Jets rallied from 13 points down in the final two minutes for an improbable win at Cleveland and the Giants beat Carolina at home. That marked the fifth time in the past six seasons that the two teams won in the same week.
It also happened in Weeks 4 and 12 last year, Week 16 in 2019 and Week 14 in 2014.
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More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
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| 2022-09-21T12:55:01Z
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LONDON (AP) — Roger Federer says he now is at peace with his choice to retire from professional tennis and plans to close his career with one doubles match at the Laver Cup — perhaps with longtime rival Rafael Nadal by his side.
“I’m happy, because I know it’s the right decision” to walk away from the game, Federer said at a news conference Wednesday at the arena that will host the team competition founded by his management company.
Wearing a blue blazer with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a white polo shirt, Federer took questions for about a half-hour, occasionally smiling or chuckling at his own jokes.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion, who announced last week he’d be retiring, said it took him a bit to get used to the idea of stepping away from competition, but it was something he understood he needed to do after running into setbacks this July during his rehabilitation from what was his third surgery on his right knee in about 1 1/2 years.
“You’re sad in the very moment when you realize, ‘OK, this is it,’” Federer said.
The last operation came shortly after his last singles match — a quarterfinal loss to Hubert Hurkacz at Wimbledon in July 2021.
“You always want to play forever,” Federer said.
He said he will play doubles for Team Europe against Team World on Friday, Day 1 of the event, and then will give way to 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini for singles play over the weekend.
Federer, who is 41, would not say definitively who his doubles partner would be for the final match of his career — he said that’s up to team captain Bjorn Borg — but the expectation is that it will be Nadal, who holds the men’s record of 22 major championships.
“It’s been a great, great journey,” Federer said, “and for that, I’m very grateful.”
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More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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| 2022-09-21T12:55:08Z
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GENEVA (AP) — FIFA came under pressure Wednesday from several European soccer federations who want their captains to wear an armband with a rainbow heart design during World Cup games in Qatar to campaign against discrimination.
France and Germany, the last two World Cup champions, were among eight of the 13 European soccer teams going to Qatar who joined the “One Love” campaign, which started in the Netherlands. The Dutch team plays Qatar in Group A on Nov. 29.
FIFA rules prohibit teams from bringing their own armband designs to the World Cup and insist they must use equipment provided by the governing body.
Armbands are the latest battleground for players to push political messages linked to the World Cup hosted in Qatar, where homosexual acts are illegal and the treatment of migrant workers building projects for the tournament has been a decade-long controversy.
“Wearing the armband together on behalf of our teams will send a clear message when the world is watching,” England captain Harry Kane said in a statement.
The Swiss soccer federation said it wanted captain Granit Xhaka to wear an armband on which “you can see a heart with diverse colors which represent the diversity of humanity.”
Soccer players have embraced their platform to make statements in recent years. Taking a knee on the field was routine before Premier League games for two seasons after the death of George Floyd, a Black man killed by a police officer in the United States.
FIFA supported taking a knee and now has to decide whether to back some of its most influential member federations in a gesture that could embarrass Qatar.
“A request to FIFA has also been submitted asking that permission be provided for the armbands to be worn throughout the FIFA World Cup,” the Welsh soccer federation said in a statement.
FIFA did not immediately comment on the request.
The campaign for the armbands was launched one day after the Emir of Qatar spoke at the United Nations General Assembly in New York promising a World Cup without discrimination.
“The Qatari people will receive with open arms football fans from all walks of life,” Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said in a speech to other world leaders.
The eight European teams backing the “One Love” campaign for human rights also included Belgium and Denmark. The five European qualifiers for the World Cup not taking part Wednesday were Croatia, Poland, Portugal, Serbia and Spain.
However, Poland captain Robert Lewandowski — a two-time FIFA world player of the year — said this week he would take an armband in the blue and yellow colors of Ukraine’s flag to Qatar.
Poland refused to play Russia, the 2018 World Cup host, in a playoff match in March. Before the game, FIFA and European soccer body UEFA banned Russian teams from international competitions because the country invaded Ukraine.
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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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| 2022-09-21T12:55:15Z
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SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – We are halfway through the week and it is a busy weather update for you today. There are only a few days left of summer, and we will feel the heat today and tomorrow. A cold front will bring pleasant weather next week, but we are also monitoring the tropics as we could have a tropical storm or hurricane in the Gulf Of Mexico next week.
Scorching heat today: It’s too late in the year to be talking about near-record highs but here we are. Highs today will be in the mid to upper 90s, which will likely fall a degree or two short of the record high of 101 degrees in Shreveport as well as Texarkana.
There will be little relief today as we will have sunny skies throughout the day and stagnant winds out of the south at less than 5 miles per hour. The humidity will be thick, and when combined with highs in the upper 90s, we will feel a heat index of 100 to 103 degrees this afternoon.
Highs could reach 100 degrees tomorrow: Tomorrow is the first day of Fall, and it will be another blazing hot day. Temperatures could briefly reach the 100-degree mark during the afternoon. There is a weak front that will move through the ArkLaTex tomorrow, and this may drop our humidity somewhat. This means the heat index may be lower tomorrow, but you won’t feel that much of a difference until a stronger cold front arrives late in the weekend.
Heat relief is on the way next week: Our temperatures will drop a few degrees into the mid-90s Friday through Sunday. High pressure will continue to push down on the region keeping our days sunny and dry.
We can’t wait for our next cold front which will be very kind to us. The front is likely to move into the region on Sunday. We could see a few spotty showers and storms late Sunday into early Monday morning.
The front won’t bring much measurable rainfall but it will be packing some comfortable Fall air. Highs are expected to drop into the mid-80s for much of next week with humidity going away for much of the week. This will bring cooler nights and mornings in the 50s and 60s next week as well.
Possible tropical system in the Gulf next week: There is high confidence in the forecast through at least next Wednesday. Late next week we will be watching a tropical system moving into the Gulf Of Mexico. As of right now, this tropical wave has over a 70 percent chance of becoming Tropical Depression or Tropical Storm Hermine in the upcoming days.
The forecast models show it passing into the Gulf Of Mexico near Florida sometime late next week, possibly as a hurricane. Since we are 8 to 10 days away we are dealing with a large amount of uncertainty. The track could shift further west keeping the ArkLaTex on high alert. The potential track will become clearer as we move into the weekend and early next week.
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
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| 2022-09-21T12:55:23Z
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The 300-mile EV is finally becoming a mainstream commodity, with no fewer than 14 vehicles achieving that benchmark for the 2022 model year, according to the EPA.
As the United States Department of Energy points out, in model year 2016 there was a single model—the Tesla Model S—that achieved a 300-mile range.
Back then a 300-mile range was a holy grail for EV adoption—with half of car buyers in 2016 claiming that an electric car must have 300 miles of range. A 2017 survey suggested that less than 15% of general car shoppers thought 200 miles was enough in an EV.
Range can be a red herring. Those who have owned an EV understand that often, fitting one easily into a lifestyle is more about charging rate, infrastructure, and interface. Going for the biggest possible battery if its whole capacity is rarely used takes time, money, and natural resources.
Regardless, car shoppers are finally getting their wish. The list of model year 2022 EVs offering at least 300 miles of range is diverse, encompassing the BMW i4 and iX, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, and Lucid Air—which is the current range champ at 516 miles.
No all-electric pickup trucks or off-roaders were on sale in 2016, but now the Ford F-150 Lightning, as well as Rivian’s R1T pickup and R1S SUV, qualify for the 300-mile club.
The Model S is of course still around—now with a maximum range of 405 miles. The Tesla Model 3, Model X, and Model Y also achieve over 300 miles of range in at least one configuration.
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- SparkCharge expands its on-demand EV charging, reports new investment
- US-based Honda-LG battery venture will power future EVs from 2026 on
- Researchers find original USPS analysis on electric mail trucks “significantly flawed”
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| 2022-09-21T12:55:37Z
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The current Dodge Challenger and Charger are going away after the 2023 model year, and Dodge is sending them off with a series of Last Call special editions. Revealed Wednesday, the 2023 Dodge Charger Super Bee is the second of the seven planned specials.
Following the Challenger Shakedown introduced last week, the Charger Super Bee marks the return of the classic nameplate, which first appeared on a standalone muscle car in 1968 and has been used on different Charger models on and off since 1971 (plus a Rumble Bee version for the Dodge Ram 1500 pickup).
Styling highlights include a functional hood scoop adorned with the Super Bee mascot, color-coordinated graphics, a black Mopar hood-pin kit, black SRT exhaust tips, and Super Bee logos for the instrument panel and seat backs.
The Super Bee is based on the Charger Scat Pack and Scat Pack Widebody, which both use a 6.4-liter V-8 producing 485 hp and 475 lb-ft of torque. Super Bee models based on the standard-body Scat Pack get 20-inch by 9.5-inch knurled wheels with 275 drag radials, while Widebody versions get 18-inch by 11-inch wheels with 315 drag radials.
All versions also get adaptive suspension with Drag Mode and Brembo brakes with four-piston calipers, as well as the content from the Plus Group and Carbon/Suede Package.
Production is limited to 1,000 units, including 500 Scat Pack versions in B5 Blue and 500 Scat Pack Widebody versions in Plum Crazy. Order books open this fall, with pricing to be announced closer to that time.
The next Last Call model will be revealed September 7, with three more following between then and September 21. The seventh and final 2023 Dodge Last Call model—the last of the last—will be revealed at the 2022 SEMA show, scheduled for November 1-4 in Las Vegas.
Even if you miss out on the Last Call editions, all 2023 Challenger and Charger models will feature special goodies signifying them as the last of their kind. Exact content will vary by model, but all will come with a commemorative plaque under the hood bearing the texts “Last Call,” “Designed in Auburn Hills,” and “Assembled in Brampton.”
Dodge is culling the V-8 Challenger and Charger to prepare for an electrified future, which it recently inaugurated with the 2023 Hornet plug-in hybrid crossover and all-electric Charger Daytona SRT concept. The latter previews Dodge’s first production EV due in 2024, which will likely serve as a replacement for the internal-combustion Charger and Challenger.
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- 2023 Cadillac CT6 spy shots: Redesign planned for full-size sedan
- 2023 Genesis Electrified G80 priced from $80,920
- 2023 Dodge Challenger Shakedown arrives as first of 7 Last Call buzz models
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| 2022-09-21T12:55:44Z
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Honda on Wednesday revealed that the 2023 Honda Civic Type R will have 315 hp, making it the most powerful Honda-badged vehicle ever sold in the U.S.
Honda also detailed what upgrades led to the power increase, along with what tweaks were made to the transmission and suspension for the next-generation Type R.
More power, more cooling
To start, the Civic Type R’s 2.0-liter turbo-4 has been massaged to produce 315 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque. The power increase over the outgoing Type R’s 306 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque comes via three updates: a redesigned turbocharger, an increased air intake flow rate, and a new, more efficient exhaust system.
The turbocharger features an optimized shape, size, and number of turbine wheel blades, Honda explained. That together with a redesigned path for the air intake allows the turbo to more efficiently generate pressure in a wider range.
The larger grille opening on the 2023 Type R feeds a new, larger radiator and larger diameter fan aimed at improving engine cooling while ensuring sustained performance.
An active valve in the new exhaust system’s center pipe opens at a higher rpm than before, but Honda didn’t note at what rpm that magic door opens.
A lighter flywheel and newly optimized shift pattern for the 6-speed manual transmission round out the upgrades. Honda’s also installed a rev-matching system in the 2023 Type R like the one in the 2022 Civic Si.
Tweaked suspension, upgraded brakes
Based on the 11th-generation Civic, the new Type R is longer and wider than before. The 107.7-inch wheelbase has grown 1.4 inches versus the last Type R, and the track is 1.0 wider in the front and 0.75 inches in the rear.
To accommodate the longer and wider Type R Honda engineers retuned the front strut and rear multi-link suspension to improve straight-line stability. Honda said steering feel has improved.
Hauling the Type R down from speed are two-piece Brembo brake rotors up front, hooked to a retuned brake booster that enhances feel and controllability, according to Honda.
Honda hasn’t said how much the 2023 Civic Type R will cost when it goes on sale this fall, but it will be built at the automaker’s Yorii Plant in Japan.
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- Gunther Werks Project Tornado turns the 993 Porsche 911 into a 700-hp RWD monster
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| 2022-09-21T12:55:51Z
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Even the cheapest cars have gotten more expensive. The 2023 Mitsubishi Mirage hatchback and Mirage G4 sedan ditch the less expensive 5-speed manual transmission in favor of a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) that costs more. The price of the budget car goes up $1,600 as a result, Mitsubishi disclosed on Wednesday.
The 2023 Mirage hatch costs $17,290, including a destination fee of $1,045. The outgoing base 2022 Mirage with the manual cost $15,690. The 2023 Mirage G4 subcompact costs $18,290, and also experiences an increase of $1,600 from last year’s base G4 due to the new standard CVT. The 2023 base ES with the CVT represents an increase of only $250 from last year.
Not only does that make the manual transmission more endangered, it also forecasts an end of budget cars costing less than $20,000. With the Chevy Spark discontinued for 2023, the Mirage and the Nissan Versa vie for the title of least expensive new car for sale today. Pricing and feature set for the 2023 Nissan Versa hasn’t been announced yet but it may undercut the Mirage since it no longer came with a manual transmission.
Mitsubishi’s not quitting the Mirage. A special edition Ralliart model honoring the brand’s rally car wins will be offered early in 2023, with rally-inspired body graphics and white paint with a contrasting black roof. It’ll be offered on the hatchback only.
For the budget conscious, the Mirage offers an exceptionally low cost of ownership with an EPA estimated fuel economy that reaches 39 mpg combined. It’s also backed by Mitsubishi’s 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty that includes roadside assistance.
The 2023 Mirage hatch and Mirage G4 sedan go on sale later this year.
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- 2023 Mazda CX-9 price bumped nearly $1,000, starts at $40,025
- Genesis prices 2023 G80 electric car at $81,000, expands EVs to more states
- Ford increases price of 2023 Mustang Mach-E by up to $8,300
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| 2022-09-21T12:55:59Z
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Hypercar maker Ariel has offered a glimpse of what can be achieved with batteries and backup engines in the form of the new Hipercar.
The small British firm in 2017 announced plans for a high-performance extended-range electric vehicle code-named the Hipercar, one outfitted with a gas-turbine range extender. It seemed to be the trend back then as there were a handful of companies with similar concepts that year.
Hipercar, which stands for “High Performance Carbon Reduction,” is a fitting code name as the car should deliver hypercar-like performance. Things are still at the prototype stage but Ariel has already locked in some of the specs.
There will be multiple variants of the Hipercar, with the range-topper to feature a four-motor, all-wheel-drive powertrain consisting of two electric motors at each axle. Each motor drives a wheel via a single-speed transmission, and combined output of the system is 1,180 hp and 1,342 lb-ft of torque—impressive when you consider the targeted weight is 3,430 lb. A tamer rear-wheel-drive option with two electric motors at the rear axle and half the output will also be offered.
Powering the electric motors is a lithium-ion battery with a usable 56 kwh of capacity. The range on battery power alone is estimated at 150 miles but to boost this Ariel will offer the option of a gas-turbine range extender, which can use fuel to recharge or maintain battery charge—or augment it.
What does all of this translate to? According to Ariel, 0-60 mph acceleration in about two seconds, 0-100 mph in about 4.4 seconds, and a top speed of 155 mph. Figures claimed by Ariel are for the more powerful four-motor version.
As for the chassis, it consists of a bonded-aluminum monocoque structure with removable aluminum front and rear subframes. The Hipercar’s suspension features double wishbones at all four corners with dampers supplied by Bilstein. Forged or carbon-fiber composite wheels will be available, wrapped in beefy 265/35-size tires at the front and 325/30 at the rear. Ariel is also developing a new power steering system to provide superior feedback to the driver.
Ariel targets a start of production in 2024. Pricing information will be announced closer to that date.
Note, Ariel isn’t the only company working on an insane electric pocket rocket. There’s also fellow British firm McMurtry which plans a road-going version of its record-breaking Speirling track car.
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- Toyota BZ3 is a Corolla-size electric sedan coming to challenge the Model 3
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| 2022-09-21T12:56:07Z
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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season is heating up.
The National Hurricane Center is monitoring two named storms swirling about in the Atlantic along with three other areas of interest.
After hitting the Turks and Caicos, Hurricane Fiona, the first major hurricane of the season, became a Category 4 storm Wednesday morning, while Tropical Storm Gaston, the other named storm, grew stronger.
Forecasters are also keeping a close eye on a tropical wave moving west toward the Caribbean along with two other disturbances.
Here’s what you should know.
Hurricane Fiona
At 5 a.m. Wednesday, Fiona was about 170 miles north-northwest of Grand Turk Island with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph, making it a Category 4 hurricane. It was moving north at 8 mph with hurricane-force winds extending outward up to 45 miles from the storm’s center.
The forecast track shows the storm moving away from the Turks and Caicos on Wednesday and turning toward the north-northeast and approaching Bermuda late Thursday.
Forecasters say the storm may fluctuate in intensity Wednesday night and on Thursday, and tropical storm conditions could reach Bermuda by late Thursday.
The storm is expected to dump 1 to 4 inches of rain on parts of the Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos, Southeast Bahamas and Bermuda.
It’s not expected to threaten the U.S. mainland, but swells from the storm will continue to spread toward the Bahamas and the east coast of the U.S. and likely reach Bermuda on Thursday. The swells could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions in Bermuda, the NHC said.
A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for Bermuda.
Tropical Storm Gaston
At 5 a.m., Tropical Storm Gaston was about 850 miles west of the Azores with maximum sustained winds at 65 mph. It was moving northeast at 16 mph with tropical storm-force winds extending outward up to 70 miles from the storm’s center.
Gaston is forecast to turn to the northeast Wednesday, then toward the east on Thursday. It could grow stronger Wednesday, but is forecast to weaken later and is not expected to become a hurricane.
Swells from the storm could hit the Azores later in the week and cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions, the NHC said.
Tropical wave in the Atlantic
The NHC says a tropical wave in the western tropical Atlantic has a 70% chance of developing into a tropical depression sometime in the next two days.
The disturbance is currently located a few hundred miles east of the Windward Islands and has continued to show signs of organization, according to the center.
The system is expected to move toward the Caribbean later this week, and some forecast models show it reaching the Gulf of Mexico.
WFLA Meteorologist Rebecca Barry predicts there will be a system in the Gulf by the middle of next week, but said it was too soon to tell where it will make landfall.
Other areas to watch
The hurricane center is also monitoring a tropical wave located several hundred miles west-southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands. It has a low 20% chance of becoming a tropical depression or storm over the next five days.
There is another tropical wave that’s set to move off the west coast of Africa. It has a 50% chance of becoming a tropical depression or storm over the next five days.
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| 2022-09-21T12:56:09Z
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Pet of the Week: Candace
Published: Sep. 21, 2022 at 8:09 AM EDT|Updated: 45 minutes ago
GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) -WITN’s Pet of the Week for September 9 is Candace.
Candace is about nine months old. Caretakers say she has the best fun-loving energy.
The Humane Society of Eastern Carolina says she loves everyone and everything including younger and older kids.
Her temporary parents say she loves to cuddle and is looking for owners who can give her all the attention she wants.
They say she is super smart and if you’re a talker, she’s a great listener.
To take Candace home, visit the society’s website.
Do you see something needing a correction? Email us!
Copyright 2022 WITN. All rights reserved.
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| 2022-09-21T12:56:14Z
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Buick has unveiled the new Envista compact crossover for China.
It’s the second model to adopt Buick’s new design language which was previewed with the recent Wildcat EV and Electra-X concept vehicles, and has since appeared on the GL8 Century minivan sold in China.
Buick has yet to say whether the Envista or a vehicle like it will be sold in the U.S., though we know the Envista name has been registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
When asked for comment, Buick spokeswoman Paige Tatulli told Motor Authority, “We are excited about the reveal of the Buick Envista in China, but have nothing to announce in regards to new products coming to our North American portfolio at this time.”
Measuring 182.6 inches in length, the Envista is about an inch shorter than Buick’s Envision crossover and is differentiated by a coupe-like profile. It could join Buick’s U.S. lineup as an alternative to the Envision.
Key traits of Buick’s design language present on the Envista include the forward-leaning nose, slit-like lights, and revised tri-shield Buick badge. The interior features a simple design that is dominated by a curved panel integrating a pair of 10.3-inch screens for the instrument cluster and infotainment hub. Other technologies include a surround-view camera system, voice activation and navigation powered by Baidu, and Buick’s own Tune Melody-branded audio system developed with audio signal processing company Arkamys.
Buick said the Envista is based on a new platform for compact crossovers. The platform is likely to be a member of parent company General Motors’ VSS (Vehicle Strategy Set) portfolio of modular platforms designed for internal-combustion vehicles.
In China, the Envista will be offered with a 1.5-liter turbo-4 in combination with a continuously variably transmission (CVT). The engine delivers a peak 181 hp to the front wheels, or enough for 0-62 mph acceleration in 7.9 seconds. There isn’t a performance option, though buyers will be able to add a sportier look via an available GS pack which features a blacked-out grille, 18-inch wheels, and red brake calipers.
The Envista starts sales in China later this year priced from 150,000 renminbi (approximately $21,745).
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- 2023 BMW X5 M spy shots and video: Mid-cycle update in the works
- Bentley Batur, Bugatti Mistral, Koenigsegg CC850: This Week’s Top Photos
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| 2022-09-21T12:56:15Z
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Washington Monument vandalized
Published: Sep. 21, 2022 at 7:45 AM EDT|Updated: 1 hour ago
(CNN) - The Washington Monument is temporarily closed for cleaning and repairs after it was vandalized Tuesday night.
Police said a man, who is now in custody, splashed red paint on the monument and wrote a profane message on its base.
It’s unclear if the temporary closure will impact public visitation Wednesday morning.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.
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| 2022-09-21T12:56:20Z
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California’s more aggressive deadline for phasing out sales of new internal-combustion vehicles, culminating in a 2035 shift to all EVs, might seem a tough target to achieve to those in some parts of the U.S.
But it’s all about perspective. In the U.S. as a whole, EV sales accounted for 5.6% of the U.S. vehicle market in Q2 of 2022—up from 5.3% in Q1 and just 2.7% in Q1 2021. While that sounds like impressive growth, California is in another league. By the midpoint of 2022, fully electric vehicles made up an estimated 15.1% of new-vehicle sales in California.
That’s according to a Q2 California Auto Outlook released earlier this month by the California New Car Dealers Association, which also points out that the share of EVs, plug-in hybrids, and hybrids combined now nears 30% of the market in the Golden State. Hybrids and EVs have gained consistently since 2018, while plug-in hybrids are actually at a lower portion of the overall market now than they were then.
Once again, in this tally that uses registrations rather than reported sales to tease out what’s actually happening in the market, the Tesla Model Y was the top-selling vehicle in California, topping longtime sales champs like the Honda Accord and Toyota Corolla.
The sales dominance of the Model Y, which arrived in 2020, has been no fluke. The electric crossover outsold the Ford F-150 and Chevy Silverado combined. Model 3 sales also passed the bestselling pickup trucks. More Model Ys were sold in the first half of 2022 than all models from Nissan (or Hyundai, or Kia).
This report, interfaced with Tesla’s own sales totals, has shown that California has at times been about an eighth of Tesla’s global market. Tesla has topped 10% market share in the state for some time—and it sold about 78% of the EVs bought in California in Q1.
Expanding this out on a national basis, nearly a third of U.S. EV buyers in Q1 got a Tesla Model Y.
On a brand basis, Tesla is second only to Toyota in California. Tesla maintains a nearly 11% market share in California for the first half of 2022, versus just 3.3% for the U.S.
Teslas are not cheap, and it’s elbowed into the existing luxury market. Affordable electric vehicles remain scarce in California and the rest of the country, and the vast market-share gains expected by regulators there and nationwide may take more than a single brand’s success to achieve.
Related Articles
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- 2022 is the year of the 300-mile EV, EPA data highlights
- Rivian electric trucks will automatically level with new Camp Mode feature
- Tesla, Genesis top study of in-vehicle tech experience
- SparkCharge expands its on-demand EV charging, reports new investment
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| 2022-09-21T12:56:22Z
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Ford on Wednesday announced a sweeping recall of its heavy-duty trucks and Lincoln Continental sedans for a rearview camera that fails to meet safety regulations.
While many automakers have had to update rearview camera systems recently for various software issues, the latest Ford recall involves a hardware issue. An internal lens on the rearview camera can fog up due to a coating that degenerates from the sun’s rays. A foggy or cloudy image projection will only get worse, resulting in an opaque camera view.
The issue affects 277,040 vehicles equipped with a surround-view camera system. The bulk of the recall affects the 2017-2020 Ford Super Duty Series (F-250, F-350, and F-450). The 2017-2020 Lincoln Continental full-size sedan is also affected, and the recall encompasses about 13,000 Lincolns.
Ford acknowledged 7,625 warranty reports related to the issue on Super Duty trucks, and 1,236 reports on the Lincoln Continental. That camera system was replaced in 2020, which is why more recent Super Duty trucks aren’t affected. The Continental was discontinued.
Ford has led the automotive industry with recalls this year, issuing 50 recalls affecting 7.2 million vehicles, Automotive News reports. This is the second extensive recall of the Ford Super Duty this year. In February, Ford recalled the 2017-2022 Super Duty for a potential fractured driveshaft. It encompassed nearly 250,000 trucks equipped with gas engines.
Owners can expect notification by mail as early as Sept. 12, and they’ll be instructed to bring the vehicle in for a new rearview camera free of charge. Reimbursement will be provided to owners who have already had the work done. For more info, owners can contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332 or visit Ford’s recall site.
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- 2023 Kia Sportage crossover SUV qualifies for Top Safety Pick status
- Hyundai Palisade, Kia Telluride SUVs recalled for increased fire risk
- Ford Mustang Mach-E vs. Tesla Model 3: Compare Electric Cars
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| 2022-09-21T12:56:30Z
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The Mitsubishi Ralliart performance division will return to the United States in 2023, Mitsubishi confirmed Wednesday in a press release.
The automaker said it will launch limited-edition Ralliart versions of each of its models—including the Outlander, Outlander PHEV, Eclipse Cross, Outlander Sport, and Mirage—but it appears the changes for these new Ralliart models will be primarily cosmetic.
Ralliart models will receive “unique body effects, graphics, and other rally-inspired touches,” the release said, with White Diamond paint and a black roof. But there was no specific mention of performance upgrades.
It’s possible these models will echo the Outlander PHEV and Eclipse Cross Ralliart concepts Mitsubishi showed at the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon, which also featured cosmetic upgrades but no apparent mechanical changes.
Established in the 1980s, Ralliart was responsible for various Mitsubishi motorsports programs, including successful entries in the Dakar Rally and World Rally Championship. Mitsubishi also slapped the Ralliart name on road cars, such as the Lancer Ralliart.
Mitsubishi put Ralliart on ice in 2010 due to the fallout from the global financial crisis. It didn’t disband the division, however, describing the move at the time as a “scale down.” This left the door open for Ralliart’s revival, which Mitsubishi first confirmed in 2021 with teasers for a Ralliart version of the Triton pickup truck (also known as the L200) sold in other markets. Mitsubishi CEO Takao Kate said at the time to expect new performance accessories and a return to motorsports.
Related Articles
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- 2022 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport, 2024 Cadillac CT6, Toyota BZ3: Today’s Car News
- 2023 BMW X5 M, Zenvo’s next hypercar, Belgian Grand Prix: Today’s Car News
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| 2022-09-21T12:56:37Z
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As the 17.5-foot 5,855-lb Lincoln Navigator cruised up I-94 at 80 mph, both my hands were firmly affixed to the McDonald’s cheeseburger. Moments later, cheeseburger consumed, I asked my buddy Mark to pass me my fries. I was living my best American life in the leather- and wood-lined luxury liner, letting it cruise confidently while I paid less than strict attention.
Welcome to the future of driving.
The refreshed 2022 Lincoln Navigator is the automaker’s first model to receive its Level 2 hands-free driver assist system dubbed Activeglide It’s a rebranded version of Ford Bluecruise.
After spending a week cruising around town and road-tripping with family and friends, it’s clear Activeglide is in its infancy, and that will require updates to keep up with the competition.
What is Lincoln Activeglide?
The Activeglide system delivers on Lincoln’s promise of hands-free driving, but it’s an assist system for someone who is in the driver’s seat and bears the responsibility—French fries or no. The system takes over control of the throttle, brake, and steering inputs at speeds of up to 80 mph. In theory it could, or should, be able to aim the vehicle down the road for hours at a time both in traffic and while in the middle of nowhere. But it does not make the Navigator a self-driving car.
Today, the system works on 130,000 miles of divided highways that have been mapped via radar. It shouldn’t be used in construction zones. It won’t work when there’s cross-traffic or undefined exits. And it’s supposed to request assistance when it deems a curve in the road to be too much for it to handle safely.
It’s watching you vigilantly
Just like GM’s Super Cruise system, Activeglide has a driver attention monitoring device. An infrared camera system is mounted to the steering column and watches the driver’s eyes to ensure full attention is being paid to the road.
During multiple testing sessions it was clear Lincoln (and subsequently Ford) set an extremely short leash with a mere 4-second allowance before the system demands your eyes are back on the road. In the early days of Super Cruise the leash was about the same length, but GM’s eased up through multiple system updates now allowing eyes to wander for well over double that time period.
The hardware
Bluntly: Lincoln’s (and Ford’s) system is much simpler than that of General Motors and lacks a lot of what makes GM’s system so impressive.
Activeglide relies on the forward-facing camera mounted at the top of the windshield, five radar units around the exterior of the vehicle, a GPS receiver (not a high-definition GPS unit, a key detail), the vehicle’s control systems (though none specifically dedicated to Activeglide), the electric power steering system, a 4G modem, and a driver-facing camera.
There is no redundancy built into the hardware. The reason? Activeglide Chief Engineer Chris Billman told Motor Authority it’s not required because the driver is the fallback, and as such is expected to be ready to take over the vehicle at all times.
The system relies on radar map data that is downloaded to the vehicles once a quarter in totality (GM has over 200,000 miles and that’s about to double to 400,000 miles of mapped roads). The entire set of data lives on the vehicle at all times in its entirety and isn’t fed to the system live tile-by-tile like GM’s Super Cruise.
Seamless to use
Lincoln has set up Activeglide to be possibly one of the most seamless and easiest-to-use systems on the market. First, ensure adaptive cruise control and lane centering with hands-free systems are turned on in the Driver Assistance settings on the 13.2-inch touchscreen infotainment system.
Then, upon merging onto a freeway or entering a mapped zone, an alert will pop-up in the 12.0-inch digital gauge cluster alerting you that the vehicle’s in an Activeglide zone. Hit the cruise control button and the system will take a moment to read the road, understand its surroundings, and then the gauge cluster goes blue with a Navigator image in the center and a constant pulse of dots flowing out from it. A graphic of a steering wheel appears on the left and indicates the vehicle is now in hands-free mode.
Limitations
Activeglide and the Navigator can’t accurately determine which lane the vehicle is located in during certain situations. Without an HD GPS receiver the hardware can’t pinpoint the vehicle down to the specific lane on the road. Relying on the cameras to place the vehicle on the road can only work when the cameras can see the road. Cameras can’t see through metal and cars, so when the Navigator’s in the middle lane and there are vehicles on either side of it, seemingly it doesn’t actually know it’s in the middle lane of the road. This presented a challenge in certain situations as the Navigator attempted to read the lane markings at 70-plus-mph to keep the three-row SUV centered and in its lane consistently.
Like GM’s Super Cruise system, Lincoln Activeglide isn’t meant to work in construction zones. Though, unlike the GM system it doesn’t seem to actually know where active construction zones are. No alerts pop up, and the system didn’t disengage itself immediately. I manually turned it off for safety reasons.
Speeding is allowed with Activeglide, but I was told the system shuts off at over 80 mph. I was able to get the system working at 81 mph, but only twice despite my best efforts. It wouldn’t work at 82 mph. Super Cruise will go to 85 mph and even maintain steering duties, though it hands back control of the throttle and brake, up to 92 mph.
It also won’t work in tunnels. While GM’s Super Cruise system works in tunnels thanks to some fancy use of old-school technology Lincoln’s system says no. It will hand control back to the driver based upon map data and vehicle sensors readings upon entering the tunnel, though it will offer to take back control upon exiting the tunnel.
Currently the system will not execute a lane change automatically, but that functionality is “coming very soon” according to Billman. Super Cruise gained this feature earlier in the year.
Towing won’t work either, a new feature GM’s enabled with its system as it moves from cars into trucks. Lincoln’s system says no. Once a trailer’s hooked up and plugged into the Navigator, Activeglide is disabled and won’t come back online until the trailer’s unhooked from the vehicle. Billman wouldn’t comment on whether hands-free towing will come with a future update to Activeglide.
Real-world differences vs. Super Cruise
When Activeglide works it’s good. But the system falls short of greatness.
A key difference between Activeglide and its crosstown rival Super Cruise is how smooth the GM system is and how far out it’s reading the situation.
Activeglide can’t seem to pick a virtual center line and keep the vehicle on it 100% of the time. There’s slight sway back and forth with the steering wheel making constant corrections even when on a straight road.
The system also doesn’t seem to sense traffic building ahead as quickly as Super Cruise, nor does it apply the brake and throttle as smoothly in stop-and-go traffic. The latter was confirmed multiple times by my wife and daughter who are subject to motion sickness and consistently inform me (loudly) about when active safety systems aren’t acting in a smooth manner.
All of these issues stem from the Navigator trying to process a lot of its surroundings in real time while heavily relying on the camera systems. The throttle and braking issues could be corrected with an updated calibration should Lincoln choose in the future.
Stuck in the attention loop
The attention monitor’s short leash of a consistent 4.0 seconds makes it one of the most vigilant on the market in terms of ensuring the driver is paying attention to the road. The infrared cameras were able to read my eyes through polarized Ray-Ban sunglasses in most situations while cruising endlessly hands-free, until the sun began to set and the system started having issues detecting my eyes through my sunglasses.
At the time it seemed like the angle of the sun mixed with the reflection of the light on my sunglasses caused an issue for the camera system to see my eyes. Billman later told me that it’s human nature to unknowingly start to squint as direct sunlight at certain angles hits the eye regardless of sunglasses. The body partially shuts the eyelids to protect the eyes from the sun, and when this takes place the camera can’t see your eyes. Then the kickdown within the system begins.
The system threw a warning on the gauge cluster that I needed to pay attention. But I was paying attention. It started flashing a red warning in the gauge cluster demanding I pay attention. Then at over 70 mph the system started hitting the brakes intermittently to grab my attention, which it already had. Tugging at the steering wheel did nothing to tell the system I was indeed alert and paying attention. Turning off the system by disengaging cruise control seemingly was the only way to stop this loop.
After waiting a few moments I reengaged the system, but minutes later this entire process started again. I gave up as our exit from the mapped highway was only a few miles away. We had made it most of the way.
Billman told me that had the escalation continued the system would have completely stopped the Navigator on the highway, but in its current state it wouldn’t turn on the hazard lights or call 911.
Second place
Lincoln comes in second place, for now.
Activeglide is only the second truly hands-free driver-assist system on sale in the U.S. that works at highway speeds. It’s good, and fully capable under the right conditions of going for long periods of time without the driver needing to take over the steering wheel. The system’s at its best in the middle of nowhere on the open road.
But there are so many conditions it simply isn’t prepared for yet, like certain curves, tunnels, while towing, and simply the ability to know precisely where the vehicle is in regards to its surroundings on the road.
While Activeglide’s a full step behind GM’s fantastic Super Cruise system in the Escalade, it’s providing a glimpse into the serene future that will enable hands-free driving down the road in a leather-lined luxury liner where fast food can be eaten with both hands, at full speed.
Related Articles
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- 2023 Mercedes-Benz AMG C63 spy shots and video: Electrified 4-banger replaces V-8
- Review: 2022 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport hyperactivates the hypercar experience
- Rivian CEO previews new Camp Mode designed to automatically level vehicle at campsite
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| 2022-09-21T12:56:45Z
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Rivian has a new feature on the way that’s sure to be handy the next time you’re camping or perhaps using the vehicle at a worksite.
It’s called Camp Mode, and it will be available in the next over-the-air update for Rivian’s R1T and R1S electric pickup truck and SUV. Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe took to Twitter over the weekend to give a preview of just what Camp Mode entails.
Had help beta testing Camp Mode. Can’t wait for you to try it! Rolling out very soon in next OTA update… pic.twitter.com/JNoOAjWupr
— RJ Scaringe (@RJScaringe) August 27, 2022
The highlight is the ability to have the vehicle’s suspension automatically level itself if parked on a slope. For anyone who likes to sleep in their vehicle, it means no more nights where it feels like you’re sleeping on the side of the hill. Someone using the vehicle for work can also ensure that everything will be plumb; the vehicle can be evened out to level a cooking surface, something you can also do with Rivian’s available slide-out kitchen.
The mode also adjusts ambient settings like the noise level and switches off the displays, for example, if you want a quiet and dark atmosphere to sleep at night. And there’s the ability to dial down how much energy the vehicle is using while stationary, helping to preserve the battery, something Scaringe referred to as the “vehicle going into a deep sleep.” There’s also the ability to control exterior lights in case you want to light up certain parts of a campsite.
Rivian’s vehicles have already impressed us so much so that we awarded the R1T our Motor Authority Best Car To Buy 2022 award. However, the company continues to improve the vehicles with features like Camp Mode. In June it also added a Pet Comfort feature that allows drivers to control the interior climate while away so that a pet left behind for short stays will remain comfortable.
Following a price increase earlier in the year, Rivian’s R1T and R1S now start from $73,000 and $78,000 respectively. Those prices net a dual-motor all-wheel-drive system and standard battery good for about 260 miles of range.
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- Toyota BZ3 is a Corolla-size electric sedan coming to challenge the Model 3
- Zeekr taps CATL for promised 621-mile range Qilin battery
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| 2022-09-21T12:56:52Z
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Mitsubishi adds a plug-in version of the popular Outlander crossover SUV for the 2023 model year, while it keeps changes small to the rest of its compact lineup.
Despite a down year across the industry, the Mitsubishi Outlander three-row SUV continues to break sales records for the small but once esteemed import brand that launched in the U.S. in 1981.
The subcompact Mirage and Outlander Sport small crossover get minor updates for 2023 to try and stave off a sales slump, but even with record-high new car prices the brand’s budget vehicles aren’t carrying the same weight as in years past.
Mitsubishi will inject some life across the lineup by honoring its rally car roots with limited edition Ralliart models launching early in 2023. All five models except for the Mirage G4 sedan will sport rally-inspired body graphics and white paint with a contrasting black roof.
Here’s what else is popping for Mitsubishi in 2023.
2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV
– The plug-in hybrid variant of the seven-seat SUV gets redesigned to follow in the footsteps of the Outlander gas model. Redesigned for 2022, the value-oriented Outlander remains as one of the only affordable three-row SUVs with a plug.
– Riding on a gas platform shared with the Nissan Rogue, the 2023 Outlander PHEV employs a larger 20-kwh battery pack that gets an estimated 54 miles of electric range on the generous WLTP global emissions testing protocol (EPA estimates would peg it at about 47 miles). That nearly doubles the outgoing model’s electric range. Mitsubishi also claims it will have a larger gas tank.
– A dual-motor all-wheel-drive system comes standard but pricing and specs won’t be announced until September.
– Redesigned last year, the Outlander three-row SUV adds a 40th Anniversary limited edition model, as well as ES, SE, and SEL trims.
– Base SE models now get power-folding side mirrors.
– A black roof option can be ordered from the factory.
– AWD comes standard on every grade.
– New 18-inch wheel designs, and new headlight and fog light designs.
– Starting price of $26,840, including a $1,345 destination fee.
2023 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport
– AWD comes standard on every grade.
– Otherwise, the small crossover carries over.
2023 Mitsubishi Mirage hatchback and Mirage G4 sedan
– The efficient but coarse budget car ditches the 5-speed manual option for a CVT across the board.
– Prices increase to $17,290 for the Mirage hatch and $18,290 for the Mirage G4, including a destination fee of $1,045. That’s an increase of $250 from the 2022 Mirage ES with a CVT.
Related Articles
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- What’s New for 2023: Dodge
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| 2022-09-21T12:56:59Z
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ELLENSBURG — Not even the long line for Barto Hall’s elevator could lower Nicolette and Scott Carlson’s mood Friday, as they moved Nicolette into her dorm for her first year at Central Washington University.
The father and daughter team from Woodinville waited patiently and couldn’t help but smile as they talked about the handmade ice cream at student-favorite Winegars in Ellensburg.
Scott Carlson attended CWU and met Nicolette’s mother there. He always hoped his daughter would attend his alma mater.
Nicolette Carlson looked forward to not just ice cream during college, but also to making new friends and studying geology.
“I’m just looking forward to having fun and this new experience that I’m excited for,” she said.
She was one of the hundreds of students who settled in at CWU’s Ellensburg campus over the weekend, just in time for the fall quarter to begin Wednesday. As parents and students radiated with excitement during move-in, university officials looked ahead to a year dedicated to student inclusion as pandemic concerns fade.
Move-in day
Over a thousand first-year students moved into their dorms on Friday alone, according to Assistant Director of Housing Lindsey Myers.
This was the first year since the COVID-19 pandemic that student volunteers were allowed into the residence halls to help during move-in. About 250 members of various CWU clubs, organizations and sports teams pitched in over the weekend.
Sophomore psychology student Kylee Gregory said the women’s soccer team volunteered at the request of their coach. Gregory said she and her teammates moved in early so they could have additional practice time. She felt that made move-in less hectic.
She encouraged new students to branch out and meet new people.
“Everyone’s kind of in the same boat with living on their own for the first time, being a freshman, so don’t be afraid to meet new people, leave your door open … and get involved,” she said.
Jillian Ivers, a freshman Spanish student from Lake Stevens, said she’s looking forward to the social aspects of college, like making new friends. She also has her eye on a study abroad program in Barcelona.
Her mother Holly Ivers said she was excited about the opportunities her daughter will have in college, which outweighed not having her at home.
“Her excitement takes the sting out of our sadness,” she said.
Myers said parents are pretty good at holding their emotions in during move-in itself, but she knew of many who let the tears fall on the ride home.
COVID changes
Freshman music student Ace Gambale had independence, socializing and extracurriculars on his mind during move-in. COVID? Not so much.
During move-in at Barto Hall, few students or family members wore masks. Incoming freshmen expressed excitement over the social opportunities available at college after years of high school with remote learning.
COVID protocols at CWU are lighter this year compared to last fall. The mask and social distancing guidelines are no longer in place.
As the school year starts, all students and staff must be vaccinated against COVID, unless they receive a religious or medical exemption.
CWU President Jim Wohlpart said even if the requirement goes away at some point, he expects the university will continue to have high vaccination rates. Last school year, it was over 90% for students and staff. The university also offers on-campus vaccination clinics and regular COVID testing.
Wohlpart said he’s optimistic about the COVID situation this year, as the community transitions out of an emergency and learns to live with COVID.
“We ask everybody to have grace and show concern for each other in this kind of interesting transition,” he said.
University outlook
Like the incoming freshman class, Wohlpart said he has high expectations for this school year. The university has returned to pre-pandemic levels of in-person classes, with online options also available for students, he said.
The university saw an increase in first-year students, after an enrollment dip during the early pandemic, he said. About 1,700 freshmen are coming to CWU this year. That’s about 300 students shy of pre-pandemic numbers.
The university is pushing to bring in those students who could not make it to college due to the pandemic or other factors, Wohlpart said.
University officials reach out to build relationships with high schoolers to make the path to CWU a smooth one. But the pandemic hindered those efforts, Wohlpart said.
“There’s that big gap of time when we haven’t built those relationships,” he said. “That’ll take us a little while to build that back.”
Many of CWU’s students come from Washington’s west side, Wohlpart said. The university is looking to attract more local students and students of color.
The university is particularly interested in beefing up its student support programs for first-year students, he said. The Jump Start program allowed about 30 students to move in early and engrossed them in campus activities to ease the transition to college.
“So that we can increase the retention in the sense of belonging with all the students,” he said.
The university is also looking to entwine peer mentorship programs into the first-year experience so that all new students have an older student they can go to for advice. This is especially important for the university’s first-generation students, who would not have anyone in their families to go to for advice on how to navigate college, Wohlpart said.
Now entering his second year as president, Wohlpart said he is looking forward to continuing to steward the university forward.
“Last year was a good year as we transitioned out (of remote learning), but this year, I think it’ll just continue to get brighter and brighter,” he said.
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(WFLA) — An Alabama deputy faced an unusual obstacle last week when he found that his patrol car had been taken over by goats, and it was all caught on camera.
Deputy Casey Thrower in Madison County was serving civil papers Friday morning when some hungry goats decided to check to see if there was anything to eat in his vehicle.
“Get out of there!” Thrower said after finding the goats. “Are you kidding me?”
According to the sheriff’s office, Thrower sometimes leaves his patrol vehicle open in case he has to run from dogs.
This time instead of dogs, he found a couple of hungry goats munching on the paperwork in his vehicle.
“Quit eating that! Get out of here!” Thrower shouted as he tried to scare the goats. Video shows one goat inside the vehicle and a smaller one traipsing around on top of the car.
Eventually, he managed to get the goats off his vehicle. The sheriff’s office shared the video to make people laugh.
“Deputy Thrower has been serving the citizens of Madison County for about 40 years and is considered one of our G.O.A.T deputies,” the sheriff’s office said. “We got a huge kick out of this today and hope it brought a smile to your face as well.”
According to livescience.com, goats are herbivores, with grass being their favorite food. However, they typically feed on such things as shrubs, woody plants, weeds and briars as well.
“Many domestic goats will also eat trash, house plants or any other items they find lying around,” the publication stated.
Perhaps that’s how goats — with their four-compartment stomachs — got their reputation for eating any and everything.
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| 2022-09-21T12:57:07Z
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(NEXSTAR) – We’ve seen some stunning shots from space courtesy of NASA’s $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope since July. But have you heard them?
Yes, you read that right – you can actually listen to some of the images the Webb Telescope has captured.
Scientists and musicians have teamed up to offer a different view of the images and data from Webb. On Wednesday, NASA released two track maps of the landscapes of the Cosmic Cliffs in the Carina Nebula and two views of the Southern Ring Nebula. A third track was also released – it is comprised of notes of a transmission spectrum, graphing “the atmospheric characteristics of hot gas giant exoplanet WASP-96 b.”
These tracks – or sonifications – not only give space lovers a new view of these far-off sights but allows those who are blind or low-vision to experience the magic of Webb’s exploration.
“Similar to how written descriptions are unique translations of visual images, sonifications also translate the visual images by encoding information, like color, brightness, star locations, or water absorption signatures, as sounds,” said Quyen Hart, a senior education and outreach scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. “Our teams are committed to ensuring astronomy is accessible to all.”
It’s important to note: the sounds you’ll hear in these sonifications aren’t sounds recorded in space. Instead, according to NASA, Webb’s data is mapped to sound, with music carefully composed to represent details researchers want you to focus on.
The Chandra X-ray Center leads these data sonifications as a partner of NASA. According to the Center’s website, sounds in the sonifications represent the position and brightness of the source.
“In a way, these sonifications are like modern dance or abstract painting – they convert Webb’s images and data to a new medium to engage and inspire listeners,” NASA explained in a release.
That being said, NASA notes it’s a common misconception that there is no sound in space due to it being essentially a vacuum. Instead, NASA points to galaxy clusters that have gases that can produce a medium for sound waves to travel in.
You can listen to each sonification here: Cosmic Cliffs in the Carina Nebula, Southern Ring Nebula, and exoplanet WASP-96 b.
Earlier this year, NASA and the Chandra X-ray Center released a recording of sounds made by a black hole. More specifically, the sonification uses sound waves previously found by astronomers and makes them audible. To do this, the sound was scaled up 57 and 58 octaves above their original pitch, making it roughly 144 quadrillion to 288 quadrillion times louder than their original frequency.
Other sonifications, like those of supernova Cassiopeia A and the ‘Whirpool Galaxy’ of Messier 51, can be found on the Chandra X-ray Observatory’s website.
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| 2022-09-21T12:57:14Z
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PARIS (AP) — An elegant dinner at the Ritz in Paris. A post-midnight drive past the city’s floodlit treasures. And then, tragedy. The story of Princess Diana’s death at age 36 in that catastrophic crash in a Paris traffic tunnel continues to shock, even after a quarter-century.
Twenty-five years later, The Associated Press is making available this account of Diana’s final hours in the French capital, published on Sept. 5, 1997, a few days after the Aug. 31 crash. (The account, based on reporting, interviews and news reports available at the time, has been trimmed and edited lightly.)
___
Entering the Pont de l’Alma traffic tunnel at night, one of the last things you see is the floodlit Eiffel Tower.
Its iron latticework shimmering like lace against a black sky, it likely was one of the last things Princess Diana ever saw.
The tower’s lights go off every night at 1 a.m. By that time on Sunday, Aug. 31, a dying Diana lay trapped in a crumpled wreck of a Mercedes, with rescuers trying frantically to treat her while they cut through the metal roof.
The short ride to the tunnel from the Ritz Hotel had been a stunning one, with a view of the city’s other floodlit treasures: the obelisk at the Place de la Concorde, the Arc de Triomphe off to the right, the gold-domed Hotel des Invalides across the river to the left.
Four people were in the car: a driver and a bodyguard in front, the princess and her boyfriend in back. Behind them — it isn’t clear how far — were several motorcycles and perhaps two cars bearing paparazzi.
Approaching the tunnel along the Seine River, the shining tower was just to the left. Even through the tinted windows of a luxury car, it would’ve been hard not to look.
Seconds later, there was a huge crash — witnesses said it was like an explosion. It would soon reverberate around the world, but for a few minutes in the still night, there was only the insistent blare of a car horn set off by the driver’s slumped body, and then the clicking of camera shutters.
For the princess, after the spectacular city lights, there was only blackness.
___
10 p.m.: The evening begins for Diana and Dodi Fayed with dinner in the sitting room of the Imperial Suite at the Ritz. It is the best suite in the hotel, and no wonder: The hotel is owned by Fayed’s father, Mohamed Al Fayed.
The food comes from the hotel’s two-star restaurant, Espadon, which means swordfish. It’s known for its 100,000-bottle wine cellar.
Diana is reported to have ordered an appetizer of mushrooms and asparagus, and then sole; for Dodi, turbot.
Dodi may have carried a surprise in his pocket: News reports quote a Paris jeweler saying he’d sold him an “extraordinary” diamond solitaire ring for $205,000, and it is at the Ritz that Dodi may have given it to Diana.
Is it an engagement ring? No one will ever know for sure.
But the day has been tense. The couple has been having problems with paparazzi ever since their mid-afternoon arrival in Paris. First, they trailed Diana and Dodi from Le Bourget Airport outside Paris, on their way to see Villa Windsor — a mansion that once housed the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and that Dodi’s father has bought and renovated. Their driver managed to shake the photographers.
Then, an attempt to have a 9:30 p.m. dinner at the chic Paris bistro Chez Benoit failed, when paparazzi again picked up the trail. Giving up, Diana and Dodi decide to dine at the Ritz, where there is better security.
Hotel video shows the cars arriving back at the Ritz, flashes going off as Diana goes through a revolving door, eyes downcast, looking distressed.
They walk down the Ritz’s blue carpet bordered in gold toward the restaurant. Ten minutes later, they walk back down the hallway — “because of the attention in the restaurant,” Paul Handley-Greaves, head of Al Fayed’s security team, says later in London — and head up a spiral staircase to the Imperial Suite.
Inside, the plush hotel, with rust-colored marble columns and floors covered with Persian rugs, is calm and peaceful. But outside the entrance, on the elegant Place Vendome, paparazzi have again gathered.
___
10:08 p.m.: Henri Paul, the No. 2 security man at the Ritz, arrives at the hotel after having been summoned on his cell phone at 10 p.m. He parks his own car outside, chats with some people and shakes hands with a friend, the night duty manager and the concierge. Their accounts, Handley-Greaves says, “are that he was sober, he didn’t smell of alcohol, his gait was steady.”
Paul spends the next two hours in the lobby area. At one point, he goes into the hotel bar and sits with two other security people at a table on the edge of the bar area. There is no security camera in the bar, but both Handley-Greaves and Michael Cole, an Al Fayed family spokesman, said interviews with hotel personnel showed no evidence that Paul was drinking.
___
12:07 a.m.: After dinner, as they leave the Imperial Suite, Diana and Fayed stop to discuss the paparazzi “and the concern that the princess had that something would happen,” Handley-Greaves says. “Earlier on in the day,” he tells a London news conference, “she had expressed concern to bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones at the foolhardiness of the motorcycle riders, not for the safety of the vehicle she was traveling in. She expressed concern that the erratic manner in which they were driving might result in one of them falling under the wheels either of the lead car or the backup.”
Diana and Fayed are headed to an apartment he owns off the Champs-Elysees, just near the Arc de Triomphe. Knowing paparazzi are outside, they’ve decided to use two decoy vehicles — Range Rover and a Mercedes. They post the Range Rover outside the Ritz’s main entrance, with Fayed’s regular driver at the wheel.
They need a third car, so a rented Mercedes is called into service. The jet-black car, rented from the Etoile limousine company, is known for its silky-smooth ride, but because of its weight, it isn’t the best car for weaving in and out of traffic. “This isn’t the kind of car you do slalom in,” says Jean-Pierre Bretton, a limousine driver who often picks up well-heeled clients at the Ritz.
Diana and Dodi need a driver, too, and that’s why Paul has been called back in from home. Paul, 41, a native of France’s Brittany region, is reported to have received special training in Germany to drive the armored Mercedes. Police say Paul lacked the special license to drive the car; the Al Fayed family denies it.
Paris prosecutors say autopsy blood tests showed Paul was legally drunk, and judicial sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, put the blood-alcohol level at more than three times the legal limit, at least.
Despite reports that Paul was a heavy drinker, at least two bartenders who knew him told The Associated Press they never saw signs of that.
Tony Poer, a former bartender at Willi’s wine bar near the Ritz, says Paul was a regular there, but only drank beer.
“I never saw him extremely drunk,” says Poer, now manager of a San Francisco nightclub. “He even gave me a ride home a few times. I wasn’t worried or anything.”
And Alain Bousseau, owner of the Mazarin bar not far from the Ritz, says that although Paul was reported to be a regular there, he saw him only two or three times in the last few years. Once, he drank only a small glass of Cheverny wine; another time, he had a coffee.
___
12:19 a.m: Dodi and Diana stand in an area by the back entrance of the hotel, milling with security officers preparing their departure. A Ritz Hotel security camera video shows Dodi slipping his arm protectively around Diana’s waist.
___
12:20 a.m.: The couple leaves the Ritz from the back entrance, and climbs into the Mercedes. Diana is dressed in a black top, black jacket and belted white trousers. Her hair is carefully coiffed and she wears red lipstick.
Dodi looks more casual in a tan jacket and long gray shirt, open at the neck and hanging loosely over stone-washed jeans.
The hotel video shows no paparazzi outside the back entrance, but the decoy ruse clearly hasn’t worked.
With paparazzi in pursuit, the Mercedes travels down the Rue Cambon and turns right onto the colonnaded, boutique-lined Rue de Rivoli, with the Tuileries Gardens on the left. Arriving at the Place de la Concorde, it takes a left past the obelisk, allowing a view of the Champs-Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe on the right as it makes its way to the bank of the Seine.
Here, some photographers say, Paul already is driving dangerously. Jacques Langevin says he was told by fellow photographers that at the Place de la Concorde, when they were stopped at a red light, the Mercedes took off with a roar before the light turned green.
Already, the photographer told the Liberation daily, “the Mercedes was fishtailing dangerously and the driver didn’t seem to be in control.”
Neither Diana nor Fayed are wearing seat belts; only bodyguard Rees-Jones, sitting in the front passenger seat, is wearing one.
The Mercedes is heading along the river now, down the Cours de la Reine, then the Cours Albert 1st, where the approach to the tunnel lies.
__
About 12:25 a.m.: The Mercedes enters the 660-foot-long tunnel, probably to avoid traffic on the crowded Place de l’Alma. The tunnel is brightly lit, neon bulbs reflecting on the white-tiled walls.
The approach is dangerous at high speed. The road swerves slightly to the right, then to the left; then there is a quick dip.
The speed limit is 30 mph. A cab driver says he once tried the tunnel at 70 mph and was scared. “That thing is narrow and dangerous,” said Jacques Gaulthier. “You’d have to be crazy to take it fast.”
Just how fast does Paul take it?
Police officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, say the car’s speedometer was found frozen at 196 kilometers per hour, or 121 mph. They call it an almost certain indicator of its speed at impact, but the Al Fayed family disputes that, saying the speedometer was stuck instead at zero. A Mercedes expert says the speedometer moves automatically to 0 or to top speed when power cuts off.
Witnesses also have described the car as going well over 90 mph, perhaps close to 120 mph.
Also, police say the car, equipped with anti-lock brakes, left 53 feet of skid marks — another indication of high speed.
It isn’t clear how many paparazzi are tailing the car, and at what distance. A lawyer for Al Fayed says a “cortege” of paparazzi were “swarming” the car. But one photographer, Lazlo Veres, says they were at least 550 yards behind.
Seconds after the car enters the tunnel in the left westbound lane, it goes out of control, striking the 13th concrete pillar dividing the tunnel, rolls over and rebounds into the right wall. It then spins around. When the car stops, it is facing east — the direction it came from.
The driver’s body is slumped over the horn. The impact is so great that parts of the radiator are reportedly found embedded in his body. Fayed, behind him on the left side of the car, also is killed immediately.
Jack and Robin Firestone, tourists from Long Island in New York, are walking near the tunnel when they hear the awful noise. They run in. In interviews, they, too, describe photographers “swarming” the wreck.
Yet a doctor who says he was driving through the tunnel in the other direction just after the accident, arriving before rescuers did, says he wasn’t hindered by the photographers.
Dr. Frederic Mailliez says Diana “was unconscious, moaning and gesturing in every direction” as she fought for breath.
“There were 10 or 15 photographers around, and they were snapping photos nonstop, but I cannot say they hindered my work,” he says.
___
12:27 a.m.: Firefighters get the first call for help.
___
About 12:40 a.m.: Police and firefighters arrive. Diana and bodyguard Rees-Jones are still alive. The car is a crumpled mass of metal and glass.
Police arrest six photographers and one motorcyclist, confiscating their film and cellular phones.
Rescuers need to cut through the roof of the car to get the victims out. They finally extract Diana through the back. Meanwhile, emergency doctors have been trying to treat her at the scene.
___
2 a.m.: Diana is bleeding heavily from the chest when she arrives at Hospital La Pitié Salpêtrière, along with the bodyguard. She quickly goes into cardiac arrest.
Doctors close a wound to the left pulmonary vein, then try to revive her with two hours of chest massage — first externally and then directly to the heart. It fails.
___
4 a.m.: Diana is declared dead.
___
6 a.m.: “The death of the Princess of Wales,” says British ambassador Michael Jay, with doctors at a hospital news conference, “fills us all with shock and deep grief.”
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| 2022-09-21T12:57:22Z
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NEW YORK (AP) — The return of dragons on the small screen has been a huge hit. Now it’s time for the return of the elves and dwarves.
Amazon Studios is launching “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” an ambitious, years-in-the-making and very expensive salvo that will go head-to-head with another costly streaming fantasy epic: HBO’s “Game of Thrones” spinoff “House of the Dragon,” which recently became the most-watched series premiere in HBO history.
The series is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings and asides about Middle-earth’s Second Age, which preceded the Third Age’s “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” films and books. Tolkien’s grandson, Simon Tolkien, was a creative consultant.
“We say Tolkien sort of left a series of stars in the sky. Our job was to connect the dots and form the constellation and then sort of draw in between the constellations to give a little more specificity to it,” said J.D. Payne, a showrunner and executive producer.
Amazon Prime Video will debut both the first two “The Rings of Power” episodes on Friday. After that, the remaining six episodes arrive weekly on Friday.
The hour-long episodes are stuffed with action and humor but buckle up: Payne and his co-showrunner Patrick McKay plan to use a 50-hour canvas to explore their nuanced characters and complex histories. These first eight episodes are like an appetizer.
Early ones shift across the various regions of Middle-earth, our planet’s imagined mythological past. Here, some 4,000 years before “The Hobbit,” are elves involved with royal intrigue, dwarves who mine inside mountains, hobbitlike harfoots who are pastoral, humans who seem unusually prone to violence, and evil orcs.
Despite being set centuries before the books and films that make up the Tolkien’s canon, fans of “The Lord of the Rings” will notice some familiar characters, based on the long lifespan of some of the creatures, including Galadriel, Elrond and Isildur. Sauron, the evil force, is unseen in the first two episodes but a malevolent presence throughout.
Morfydd Clark grew up in Wales to parents who adored Tolkien’s epic book series and her dad read her “The Hobbit” when she was 9. The films came out when she was 11, accelerating the obsession. Now she finds herself playing a young Galadriel, a powerful elf played later in the films by Cate Blanchett.
“I think there’s a lot of hope in Tolkien’s world, and with hope comes bravery to stand up and have courage for what you think is valuable,” she said. “The world needs to be safe enough for the smallest and most vulnerable. And I think that’s something that’s important to remind yourself — just because something suits you, it doesn’t suit everybody.”
That sense of hope is something that distinguishes the series from “House of the Dragon,” which revels in a cynical, bloody view of mankind. McKay notes that Tolkien emerged from World War I with a complex fairy story, unlike many of his literary peers who were writing about wastelands and darkness.
“Middle-earth is a fundamentally optimistic and hopeful place. He was writing about positive values and friendship and brotherhood and underdogs,” McKay said. “He was telling you that in the darkest, deep of Mordor — in his wasteland — friendship could win the day and good could triumph over evil.”
The show’s tone shifts depending on which place is being visited. Harfoots, who have Irish accents, are whimsical, communal and clever, while dwarves have Scottish accents, are fond of a drink and are a little rough. Elves are elegant and elite, with upper English class accents and a fondness for billowing cloaks and long, elaborate ceremonies.
The cast — a massive ensemble of 22 actors — is multiethnic and composed of actors of different ages and fame, from Tony-nominated Benjamin Walker to up-and-coming Charlie Vickers, who graduated from drama school in 2017.
“It’s a very heterogenous world and if it wasn’t, we’d be dealing with dystopia,” said Trystan Gravelle, who plays a royal advisor in an Atlantis-like kingdom. “I think it’s very fitting as well in 2022 that we reflect that as well. And I think it enriches everything. The world’s a richer place for it.”
The cast filmed in New Zealand during the pandemic and were away from loved ones for almost two years. The actors rarely visited the sets of rival fictional races, but all gathered for potluck lunches and holidays, often at Walker’s house where a mean fried chicken was served. “I got a bunch of babysitters out of it,” he joked.
“What that did is it sort of forced us to to lean on each other and that is a bonding experience like no other,” said Nazanin Boniadi, who plays a human healer and single mother. “That fellowship that you see on screen was forged very much behind the scenes.”
The production — rated TV-14 for violence versus the “Game of Thrones” prequel which is TV-MA for violence, language, and nudity — is one of the most expensive in history, with Amazon spending at least $465 million on the first season in New Zealand, where the series employed 1,200 people directly and another 700 indirectly. In total, the season has reportedly cost $1 billion.
Choir music swells during breathtaking panoramas and the dialogue is thunderous and portentous. “There can be no friendship between hammer and rock. One will surely break,” one dwarf leader says. In another scene, an elf counsels another who is confused: “Sometimes we cannot know unless we touch the darkness.”
The new series debuts in the long shadow left by Peter Jackson, whose film trilogy adaptation of Tolkien’s books won critical and commercial praise in the early 2000s and claimed the best picture Oscar for “Return of the King.” For the series, there was more freedom to create as long as it was true to the author.
“We really tried to just go back to Tolkien. That was our mantra from the beginning: ‘Just go back to the books, go back to the books, go back to the books,’” said Payne. “We always have Tolkien at the base of what we’re doing.”
The new series has lots of big themes to chew on, including overcoming racial differences, environmentalism, the power of friendship, women’s strength and how even the smallest person can change the world.
“A show like this that has definitely dark themes — darkness within oneself, the fight to do what’s right, battling great forces greater than you — but it also just has themes of friendship and loyalty and love and hope,” said Sara Zwangobani, who plays the new character Marigold Brandyfoot.
The series will have to thread a careful needle by enchanting hard-core fans of Tolkien who will be searching for connections to the universe, attracting those who have hazy memories of the books and don’t want to be burdened with tons of new material, and young people whose perhaps last epic adventure series was “Harry Potter.”
“It’s kind of the gateway for new fans in that it’s kind of the first chapter, the adolescence of Middle-earth, where the films you could imagine are the adulthood of Middle-earth,” said Walker. “So we’re seeing all these characters we know and love — and some that we’re being introduced to — take the first steps on their journey in becoming their destined selves.”
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Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits
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For more AP entertainment news: https://apnews.com/hub/entertainment
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| 2022-09-21T12:57:29Z
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So many TV shows, so few nominees who will end up clutching trophies at the Primetime Emmy Awards.
A total of 25 awards will be presented during the Sept. 12 ceremony, including in the glamour categories of acting and best comedy, drama and limited series. Past winners Jean Smart (“Hacks”) and Bill Hader (“Barry”) are among the contenders.
The overall field is highly competitive, with an unprecedented twist: Netflix’s South Korean phenomenon “Squid Game” is the first non–English language drama to be nominated for an Emmy.
While predicting victors this year is like one of those daunting “Squid Game” contests, Associated Press Television Writer Lynn Elber and AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy foolishly soldier on.
DRAMA SERIES
Nominees: “Better Call Saul”; “Euphoria”; “Ozark”; “Severance”; “Squid Game”; “Stranger Things”; “Succession”; “Yellowjackets.”
KENNEDY:
Should win: “Severance,” the vicious satire of office culture could not have asked for better timing, just as many white-collar workers were making their first tentative steps back — and questioning why. It is just brilliant, unpredictable and haunting.
Will win: Although both my innie and my outie think it should be “Severance,” the winner will be “Succession.” Not a bad step, just an easy one.
ELBER:
Should win: “Severance” captures the zeitgeist of worker discontent, but let’s consider “Squid Game” and its take on soul-destroying poverty. It’s wholly original and, yes, gruesome. That didn’t hurt four-time winner “Game of Thrones.”
Will win: “Succession” won the last time it competed, in 2020, and the antics of the rich and scheming Roy family are as engrossing a peep show as ever.
COMEDY SERIES
Nominees: “Abbott Elementary”; “Barry”; “Curb Your Enthusiasm”; “Hacks”; “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”; “Only Murders in the Building”; “Ted Lasso”; “What We Do in the Shadows.”
KENNEDY:
Should win: The mockumentary “Abbott Elementary,″ a true workplace comedy in the vein of “The Office” or “Superstore.” How it is so specific to a group of underfunded teachers in Philadelphia and yet universal is the magic.
Will win: “Only Murders in the Building,” an uncontroversial and uninspired choice, as safe as an Upper West Side doorman building. Who can look at Martin Short, Steve Martin and Selena Gomez and tell them they get no Emmy?
ELBER:
Should win: Raise your hand if you know the answer. “Abbott Elementary” is the rare sitcom that clicked from the start, with its characters, stories and heart all in the right place.
Will win: “Abbott Elementary,” despite the odds against an old-school network entry winning against flashier cable and streaming rivals. It hasn’t happened since “Modern Family” won in 2014.
ACTRESS, DRAMA
Nominees: Jodie Comer, “Killing Eve”; Laura Linney, “Ozark”; Melanie Lynskey, “Yellowjackets”; Sandra Oh, “Killing Eve”; Reese Witherspoon, “The Morning Show”; Zendaya, “Euphoria.”
KENNEDY:
Should win: Linney hasn’t won for “Ozark” and she deserves it for going from dutiful wife to a cunning mastermind over the four seasons.
Will win: Oh, who richly deserves her first Emmy after four years of “Killing Eve.” Comer and Zendaya have their statuettes; TV academy voters will bid Oh goodbye with one, too.
ELBER:
Should win and will win: Versatile, long-admired actor Lynskey gets her first Emmy for her role as Shauna, who has umm, meaty secrets. Zendaya’s second win for her gutsy work in “Euphoria” is deserved, but voters favor change in this category.
ACTOR, DRAMA SERIES
Nominees: Jason Bateman, “Ozark”; Brian Cox, “Succession”; Lee Jung-jae, “Squid Game”; Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul”; Adam Scott, “Severance”; Jeremy Strong, “Succession.”
KENNEDY:
Should win: Scott for playing two roles on “Severance,” a worker bee and a grieving widow. The former “Parks and Recreation” star is here an everyman, just sputtering through his day, with damage lurking beneath the suit and tie.
Will win: Odenkirk, never nominated for “Breaking Bad,” should have at least one Emmy at home for “Better Call Saul.” Or Cox, who had a rip-roaring season on “Succession.”
ELBER:
Should win and will win: A category of heavyweights for sure, with all the above worthy. But Cox triumphs as the wily magnate scrabbling to control his empire and out-maneuver his equally venal brood.
ACTRESS, COMEDY SERIES
Nominees: Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”; Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”; Kaley Cuoco, “The Flight Attendant”; Elle Fanning, “The Great”; Issa Rae, “Insecure”; Jean Smart, “Hacks.”
ELBER:
Should win: Brunson’s idealistic young schoolteacher is endearing and, as she begins to learn how to survive bureaucracy, growing before our eyes. Plus, teachers deserve respect.
Will win: Smart. Back-to-back wins have become rare in the age of peak TV (read: unending stream of shows), but her portrayal of a veteran comedian refusing to say uncle reached new levels of vulnerability and grit.
KENNEDY:
Should win and will win: Smart, her character vicious in anger, driven in her career, but this season also sowing a maternal and soft side. Besides, her other Emmy for “Hacks” is lonely.
ACTOR, COMEDY SERIES
Nominees: Donald Glover, “Atlanta”; Bill Hader, “Barry”; Nicholas Hoult, “The Great”; Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso”; Steve Martin, “Only Murders in the Building”; Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building.”
ELBER:
Should win: Can we get a twofer for Martin and Short, whose chemistry and playfulness makes the series? (With a nod to co-star Selena Gomez; her droll tolerance of the pair adds the perfect note.)
Will win: Hader’s portrayal of a hitman-turned-actor who can’t escape his past is the core of a viciously satirical, addictive brew. A third Emmy is his reward.
KENNEDY:
Should win: Hoult, playing a vain, unpredictable, glass-breaking, headbutting and unethical Peter III of Russia in “The Great,” sucking the oxygen from every scene. It’s a frat-boy role but hard to nail like Hoult. “Let us hope my seed has found purchase,” he says after an encounter with the queen, and I agree.
Will win: Hader. Everyone loves Hader.
LIMITED SERIES
Nominees: “Dopesick”; “The Dropout”; “Inventing Anna”; “The White Lotus”; “Pam & Tommy.”
ELBER:
Should win: “Dopesick” is a granular dissection of the roots of America’s devastating opioid crisis focused on both its victims and villains. Television at its relevant best.
Will win: “The Dropout.” Let’s face it: Seeing a Silicon Valley’s high-flier brought down a peg or further is a guilty pleasure, and the story of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes’ spectacular fall is punchily told.
KENNEDY:
Should win: “The Dropout,” agreed, a rise and fall — as well as a trip back to her teenage years — so well told that viewers could almost feel sorry for Holmes, or at least understand how her fraud could happen.
Will win: “The White Lotus,” a satire of wealth, entitlement and privilege was this cycle’s lite “Big Little Lies,” and it was the splashiest show about rich white people being horrible, which weirdly all the nominees this time had elements of.
ACTOR, LIMITED SERIES
Nominees: Colin Firth, “The Staircase”; Andrew Garfield, “Under the Banner of Heaven”; Oscar Isaac, “Scenes from a Marriage”; Michael Keaton, “Dopesick”; Himesh Patel, “Station Eleven”; Sebastian Stan, “Pam & Tommy.”
ELBER:
Should win and will win: Michael Keaton, for his restrained portrayal of a small-town doctor who’s ensnared by opioids at incalculable cost, to him and his patients. The Oscar-winning star is a gift to the small screen.
KENNEDY:
Should win: Isaac, who in “Scenes from a Marriage” whipsaws from being tightly controlled to impulsive, a little befuddled, liable to snap and always human as his heart broke.
Will win: Keaton, who always it seems is an underestimated talent, shining in a role perfectly suited to him: a sweet local doctor gradually understanding the horror he has helped create. A little too perfect, but, hey.
ACTRESS, LIMITED SERIES
Nominees: Toni Collette, “The Staircase”; Julia Garner, “Inventing Anna”; Lily James, “Pam & Tommy”; Sarah Paulson, “Impeachment: American Crime Story”; Margaret Qualley, “Maid”; Amanda Seyfried, “The Dropout.”
ELBER:
Should win: Qualley did justice to a rarely seen screen character — a struggling, blue-collar single mom — with a nuanced, breakout performance in “Maid.”
Will win: Seyfried, whose portrayal of an ill-fated Silicon Valley whiz kid in “The Dropout” was a pull-out-the-stops barn burner.
KENNEDY:
Should win and will win: We’ll no doubt see all these actors again at the Emmys, but this year it is all about Seyfried, who played a fraudster with a Yoda-loving, Mandarin-speaking, munching-on-a-scorpion and dancing poorly essence.
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For more on this year’s Emmy Awards, visit: www.apnews.com/EmmyAwards
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| 2022-09-21T12:57:37Z
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VENICE, Italy (AP) — Noah Baumbach started re-reading Don DeLillo’s “White Noise” in the early days of the pandemic. The 1985 novel, a biting satire about a blended middle-class family in suburban America, didn’t feel like a period piece. It felt relevant and familiar.
So Baumbach, known for directing original films like “The Squid and the Whale” and “Marriage Story,” started working on his first-ever adaptation.
“White Noise” is opening the Venice International Film Festival on Wednesday night, where it is playing in competition.
The film stars Adam Driver as Jack Gladney, a college professor focused on the study of Adolf Hitler. He lives with his wife, Babette (Greta Gerwig) and their children and stepchildren, Heinrich (Sam Nivola), Denise (Raffey Cassidy) and Steffie (May Nivola).
Like the book, the film is divided into three sections, “Waves and Radiation,” “The Airborne Toxic Event” and “Dylarama,” and how the family deals with various dangers and threats on macro and micro levels.
“The movie is about life and death and how we have to acknowledge that they’re the same, rather than exist as two separate things,” Baumbach said in Venice on Wednesday. “The movie is about how we create these rituals and strategies to hold off danger and death … and sometimes it comes for us and we don’t know how to react.”
Driver, Gerwig and co-stars Jodie Turner-Smith and Don Cheadle, who play Jack’s colleagues at the university, joined Baumbach to discuss the film before its world premiere.
Gerwig, who shares a child with Baumbach and has starred in and co-written several films with him, said she started re-reading the book when he did.
“It makes you, while you’re reading it, want to look up and say ‘listen to this.’ It had a performative quality to it. It seemed to be emotional and intellectually exciting,” she said.
Long rehearsals, she added, helped make the characters become real people and less abstract.
Driver, who was reuniting with Baumbach after “Marriage Story,” said he liked getting to play a character who was “so stressed” but “pretending not to be stressed.”
The part of Jack also required some physical transformations, including a wig to simulate a receding hairline and some actual weight gain.
“I’m very satisfied where things are going,” Driver said about seeing himself on screen as Jack. “We had a backup stomach. We didn’t need the backup stomach.”
Some have already noted to Baumbach that the film is a departure for him, stylistically and tonally. He said the material had never called for it before, and DeLillo’s material did. The novel’s 1980s setting inspired the look, feel and sound of the film, which was shot on 35mm anamorphic film in Ohio.
The score was done by Danny Elfman, who Baumbach encouraged to revisit some of his own scores from the time period that he had long put to bed — like “Midnight Run” — to inform the music.
“White Noise” also features LCD Soundsystem’s first new song in five years, “New Body Rhumba.” Baumbach said he told the band’s front man James Murphy to “write a really catchy fun song about death” as though he were writing a song in the 80s. He wanted something to go with a dance in a supermarket.
“The story is the story of American culture and being surrounded by American culture,” Baumbach said.
The next stop for “White Noise” is the New York Film Festival, where it will also be the opening night film. Netflix is debuting the film in theaters first on Nov. 25, before it is streamlined on Dec. 30.
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Follow all AP stories on the Venice Film Festival at www.apnews.com/VeniceFilmFestival.
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“Don’t Worry Darling” has been in the spotlight since the beginning. And this was long before Harry Styles got involved.
It was a film everyone wanted to make — some 18 studios and streaming services were courting Wilde for the chance to partner with her on her sophomore feature as a director: A mid-century psychological thriller about a housewife, Alice (Florence Pugh), who starts to question her picture-perfect life and the mysterious company that her husband Jack (Styles) works for.
But it hasn’t stopped making headlines in two years, from Shia LaBeouf’s abrupt departure (he was replaced by Styles) to the paparazzi-stoked intrigue around Wilde and Styles’ off-camera relationship. Then there was the bizarre moment earlier this year when Wilde was served custody papers, from ex Jason Sudeikis with whom she shares two children, in the middle of a presentation to thousands of exhibitors in Las Vegas.
Even this past week, LaBeouf, who is heading to court next year on abuse allegations from hi ex, FKA twigs, decided to contest the two-year-old narrative that he’d been fired. He gave the entertainment trade Variety emails and texts to prove his case that he quit. It’s resulted in buzz you can’t buy, but also incessant tabloid and TikTok gossip — all for a film that isn’t even out yet.
But soon the conversation will go back to the film itself: “Don’t Worry Darling” will have a glamorous debut at the Venice International Film Festival on Sept. 5 before opening in theaters nationwide on Sept. 23. Besides, Wilde doesn’t care what gets people into the theater — as long as they go.
Wilde spoke to The Associated Press recently about her vision, her disagreement with the ratings board and why Alice is the heroine we need right now. Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity.
AP: What were some of the big ideas you wanted to explore?
WILDE: I wanted to make what (screenwriter) Katie (Silberman) and I always describe as a Trojan Horse movie: Something that on the outside is beautiful and entertaining but once you crawl inside, it is actually much more complex and potentially really interesting and challenging. I also just really understood that this would be an opportunity for an actress to really flex. It was a heroine I wanted to see on screen. I wanted to create a character with an actress that would represent the kind of woman that I feel like our society needs.
AP: You had originally intended to play the part of Alice. Were you glad about that decision to step back and take a supporting role?
WILDE: Oh yeah. There’s no part of me that would want it any other way. I think what Florence did with this role is singularly brilliant. This character is a heroine for the ages. And she, as an actress, is this rare combination of dramatically skillful, comedically brilliant and an action hero who can run like Tom Cruise. Like what actress can do stunts and pull off these incredible emotional acrobatics and do it so effortlessly in an accent that’s not even theirs? Like, come on. It’s like juggling upside down on the wing of an airplane.
AP: You’ve spoken about some of your stylistic influences, from the photography of Slim Aarons to the erotic thrillers of Adrian Lyne. What were some other touchstones?
WILDE: I am a big fan of the iconography of the 1950s and a lot of the art, architecture, cars, music. This was an opportunity to just really play in that world. The architectural influence of (Richard) Neutra is all over the film.(Cinematographer) Matty Libatique and I were really inspired by Alex Prager and her photography and the idea of creating anxiety through framing and this artificial world that would be incredibly alluring until you look very closely.
And I always make endless playlists and watch lists and reading lists. It was a really funny assortment of material. People were like, what is this movie? You want me to watch “Requiem for a Dream” and “The Truman Show” and “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” and you want me to read “The Feminine Mystique,” but also Jordan Peterson?
AP: “Booksmart” dealt with female sexuality in a very frank way and “Don’t Worry Darling” is already provoking conversations around some of the sex acts shown in the trailer. Was that a fight to even include that?
WILDE: Oh, yeah. There’s a lot that had to be taken out of the trailer. The MPA came down hard on me and the trailer at the last second and I had to cut some shots, which I was upset about because I thought they it took it up another notch. But of course we still live in a really puritanical society. I do think the lack of eroticism in American film is kind of new. Then when it comes to female pleasure, it’s something that we just don’t see very often unless you’re talking about queer cinema. You know, it’s interesting because in a lot of queer films, the female characters are allowed to have more pleasure. Audiences aren’t as puritanical as corporations think they are. And yet people get upset. I mean, people are upset with me already over this. I think it’s a testament to the film. We want to be provocative. The idea is not to make you feel safe.
AP: This is also a film that has had a spotlight on it from the beginning, resulting in both buzz and gossip. What has that been like for you as a filmmaker?
WILDE: Every filmmaker longs for people to see their film. That’s all you want is for people to see it. If people are excited about a film, for whatever reason, what you hope is that it gets them in the door. Whether you are a 1950s car fanatic and that’s what’s going to get you into this movie, or if you are simply going because you’re a fan of our incredible cast, all I care about is that you have the chance to see it, and I hope that people then have the instinct to share it. What I really hope is that people see it again. I think that it’s a real second watch film. There’s a lot of Easter eggs in there.
—-
Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr
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| 2022-09-21T12:58:15Z
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LONDON (AP) — In a first, Queen Elizabeth II will remain in Scotland, where she is taking her summer break, to receive Britain’s outgoing Prime Minster Boris Johnson and his successor next week, royal officials said Wednesday.
The 96-year-old monarch traditionally holds audiences with outgoing and incoming prime ministers at Buckingham Palace, her official London residence. This will be the first time in her 70-year reign the monarch appoints a new prime minister away from Buckingham Palace.
Officials said Johnson will travel to Balmoral Castle, the queen’s summer holiday home in the Scottish Highlands, to formally tender his resignation on Tuesday. His replacement — either Foreign Secretary Liz Truss or former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak, the two finalists in the Conservative Party leadership race — will also make the trip on the same day and be asked by the queen to form a new government.
The queen, who celebrated her Platinum Jubilee this year, has been having mobility problems and has cancelled some engagements in recent months. She now regularly uses a walking stick.
Palace officials didn’t explain the new arrangement, but British media reported that the decision to have her remain in Scotland was made to provide certainty for the political handover.
Asked about the announcement, Johnson told reporters Wednesday: “I don’t talk about my conversations with the queen, no prime minister ever does. But I can tell you that we will certainly make sure that the arrangements for the handover will fit totally around her and whatever she wants.”
The queen has been served by 14 prime ministers during her reign, from Winston Churchill in the 1950s to Johnson. Formally appointing the premier is part of her duties as head of state.
The monarch moved to Windsor Castle, west of London, at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and now spends most of her time there.
Johnson announced his resignation in early July after mounting ethics scandals toppled his government. He has remained in place as caretaker prime minister until his Conservative Party announces his successor on Monday.
___
Follow all AP stories on Britain’s royal family at https://apnews.com/hub/queen-elizabeth-ii.
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| 2022-09-21T12:58:22Z
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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea may conduct a public survey to help determine whether to grant exemptions to mandatory military service to members of the K-pop boyband BTS, officials said Wednesday.
The issue of active military service for the band’s seven members has been a hot-button topic in South Korea because its oldest member, Jin, faces enlistment in December, when he turns 30.
Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup told lawmakers that he ordered officials to implement a survey quickly. He said his ministry will also look into various other factors such as BTS’s economic impact, the importance of military service and overall national interest.
After his comments created a stir, his ministry clarified in a statement that Lee ordered officials to examine whether such a survey is needed, rather than launch it immediately.
It said officials were asked to study details including which agency would be responsible for a survey, how long would it take and who exactly would be surveyed. The statement said if the survey is carried out, it will be done by a third organization, not by the ministry or related authorities, to ensure fairness.
The ministry said the results would be only one of the many factors determining BTS members’ military status.
By law, all able-bodied men in South Korea must serve 18-21 months in the military under a conscription system established to deal with threats from rival North Korea. But the country gives exemption to athletes, classical and traditional musicians, and ballet and other dancers who win top places in certain competitions because they are considered to have enhanced national prestige.
Those exempted are released from the military after taking three weeks of basic training. But they are required to perform 544 hours of volunteer work and serve in their respective professional fields for 34 months.
Some politicians and others have called for expanding the scope of exemptions to include K-pop stars such as BTS because they have elevated South Korea’s international image significantly as well.
A private survey earlier this year showed about 60% of respondents supported military exemption for BTS members. But another private survey in 2020 showed 46% backed exemptions while 48% opposed them.
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| 2022-09-21T12:58:30Z
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BUNOL, Spain (AP) — People from around the world pasted each other with tomatoes Wednesday as Spain’s famous “Tomatina” street tomato fight took place once again Wednesday following a two-year suspension because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Workers on trucks unloaded 130 tons of over-ripe tomatoes along the main street of the eastern town of Bunol for participants to throw, leaving the area drenched in red pulp.
Up to 20,000 people were to take part in the festival, paying 12 euros ($12) a ticket for the privilege. The town’s streets are hosed down and the revelers showered off within minutes of the hour-long noon battle ending.
The event, held on the last Wednesday of August, was inspired by a food fight between local children in 1945 in the town, located in a tomato-producing region.
Media attention in the 1980s turned it into a national and international event, drawing participants from every corner of the world.
Local officials said they expected fewer foreign visitors this year mainly because of continuing fears over COVID-19 in Asian countries.
Participants don swimming goggles to protect their eyes while their clothes, typically T-shirts and shorts, are left covered in pulp.
Besides being the first battle since before the pandemic started in 2020 in Spain, this year’s celebration had the added incentive of being the event’s 75th anniversary and 20 years since the festival was declared by Spain as an international tourism attraction.
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| 2022-09-21T12:58:37Z
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(NEXSTAR) – Country music singer Luke Bell was found dead in Arizona, police confirmed Wednesday.
Bell was reported missing in Tucson on Aug. 20, according to the New York Post. Police told Nexstar he was found six days later, on Friday, in the midtown neighborhood of Tucson.
More specifically, the 32-year-old was found on 5500 block of E. Grant Rd., said Officer Frank Magos of the Tucson Police Department.
No cause of death has been released. Police said the investigation into Bell’s death is ongoing.
Bell, a Wyoming native, released three albums throughout his music career. His last single, “Jealous Guy,” was released in 2021.
“A little bit honky tonk and a little bit Texas, with healthy dashes of Bakersfield and vintage Nashville, singer/songwriter Luke Bell records in a throwback style, but writes from his own well-traveled experiences,” reads a biography of the singer.
His style at times made him sound like a singer of another era, fans said.
“I come from a traditional background. The things that I love are traditions, you know, cowboy culture and American culture,” Bell said in an interview with The Boot in 2016. “When I started digging back through records and listening to older music, I kind of became fascinated with all the techniques and flat-tire shuffles on the drums on Ray Price records or the George Jones boogie and guitars. … That’s kind of what my work has been, studying old music and using different techniques and experimenting a bit to make my own brand of sound.”
That style landed him spots playing alongside pioneer musicians of the genre such as Willie Nelson and Dwight Yoakam, according to The Boot.
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| 2022-09-21T12:58:45Z
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(KTLA) – Instagram is testing ways to make the popular social media platform more user-friendly.
The developers of the app are trying new methods for giving users more control over what appears on their feed, by providing tools allowing them to flag the kinds of posts they don’t want to see.
“We prioritize posts we think you’re most likely to enjoy, but we understand that we may not always get it right,” wrote Meta, Instagram’s parent company, in an announcement this week.
The first tool lets users mark multiple posts on their Explore Page as “not interested,” which automatically removes the post. The second tool lets users stop seeing suggested content with certain words and phrases by adding those words to a list in their account settings.
The test also includes the option to “snooze” suggested posts for 30 days.
“Whether you’re seeing something that’s not relevant or have moved on from something you used to like, you can use this feature to stop seeing content that’s not interesting to you,” announced Meta.
The change comes after some users expressed frustrations over updates that, they say, make the platform too similar to TikTok. Big names like Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner had recently slammed Instagram for trying to mimic its competitor by favoring its reels feature over photographs.
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| 2022-09-21T12:58:52Z
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Months after making abortions cheaper for women, California lawmakers have now voted to make vasectomies cheaper for men.
The bill passed Wednesday and now goes to Gov. Gavin Newsom. If he signs it, California would become the eighth state to do this for vasectomies — joining Washington, Oregon, New Mexico, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey and Vermont.
Earlier this year, California passed a law banning private insurance companies from charging people things like co-pays and deductibles for abortions. That makes it cheaper for women with private insurance to get an abortion — something Democrats wanted to do in advance of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade. Six states — California, Illinois, Oregon, New York, Maryland and Massachusetts — ban out-of-pocket costs for abortions.
State senators on Wednesday voted to do the same thing for a vasectomy — the medical procedure that sterilizes men. Starting in 2024, the bill would make sure men on private insurance plans could get vasectomies at no additional cost other than what they pay for their monthly premiums, saving an average of $341.
“Californians must be able to decide for themselves if and when they have children,” state Sen. Connie Leyva, the bill’s author, said in a statement after it passed. There was no debate on the Senate floor.
Some health care advocates have pushed to make vasectomies cheaper for years, but states have been slow to make the change. That could be shifting in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, calling into question long-held assumptions about access to reproductive care.
“Reproductive freedom is on the line and it’s not a guarantee anywhere. Anything you thought was a given is not, and should be codified into law,” said Liz McCaman Taylor, a senior attorney with the National Health Law Program, a group that supports abortion rights. “(This bill) is so important for making California a safe space and a place where reproductive freedom for all people and all genders is valued and baked into the system.”
Making vasectomies cheaper is just one part of the bill, which is aimed at making it easier for women to get contraceptives. The bill would require insurance companies to cover the costs of over-the-counter contraceptives for women. That means women could get male condoms at a pharmacy just by showing their insurance card. But the bill would not apply to men, because of a technicality with the federal Affordable Care Act.
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| 2022-09-21T12:58:59Z
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Mugginess lingers in Chicago ahead of cold front
CHICAGO - Transition day as we move from a hot air mass to a cool Canadian one. It will be warm and muggy this morning.
Chicago should hit 80 degrees with southern burbs a little warmer, and northern burbs a few ticks cooler. The cold front oozes in and temps will ease back a bit late this afternoon.
A shower or storm is possible with the southern viewing area favored.
Tonight temps drop into the 50s.
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Tomorrow will be much cooler with highs in the mid 60s under mostly sunny skies.
Similar temps on Friday with a bit more cloud cover. Showers are possible at night leading into a modest warmup on Saturday. Mid 70s with mostly sunny skies. Sunday will be a couple of degrees cooler with a few light showers around.
Fiona is a Cat 4 hurricane with 130mph sustained winds. It’s going to pass far enough west of Bermuda to deal those islands a glancing blow.
By Saturday, Fiona will slam into Newfoundland possibly as a Cat 3 hurricane.
Gaston is a tropical storm in the North Atlantic and could bring heavy rains to the Azores in coming days.
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| 2022-09-21T12:59:03Z
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California won’t allow teens age 15 and up to be vaccinated against the coronavirus without their parents’ consent.
State Sen. Scott Wiener, the bill’s author, announced Wednesday he won’t put the measure up for a vote in the state Assembly because it doesn’t have enough support to pass.
Minors age 12 to 17 in California already can receive vaccinations for hepatitis B and HPV, which prevent sexually transmitted diseases, without permission from their parents or guardians. The bill would have allowed teens 15 and older to receive any vaccine that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, even if their parents objected.
Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco, blamed the lack of support on “months of harassment and misinformation” by “a small but highly vocal and organized minority of anti-vaxxers.”
“The anti-vaxxers may have prevailed in this particular fight, but the broader fight for science and health continues,” he said in a statement.
A coalition of groups opposed to vaccine mandates called it a “blatant, dangerous trampling of California parents’ and guardians’ ability to protect and care for their children.”
A Voice for Choice Advocacy said minors may not know their full medical history and the potential risks. And if they don’t tell their parents that they obtained the vaccine on their own, the group said parents may not know what’s wrong if their child has an adverse reaction.
Vaccine consent ages vary across the country. Alabama allows children to consent to vaccines starting at age 14, Oregon at 15 and Rhode Island and South Carolina at 16. Cities including Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., allow children age 11 and up to consent to COVID-19 vaccines, and in San Francisco the age is 12 and older.
The teen consent bill was one several coronavirus-related bills that faced heavy opposition.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic Sen. Richard Pan both delayed until next year measures relating to school vaccinations, while Democratic Assemblymember Buffy Wicks withdrew her bill that would have forced all California businesses to require coronavirus vaccines for their employees.
Another Pan bill still moving forward would require schools create COVID-19 testing plans.
Also still under consideration are a bill by Democratic Assemblymember Evan Low that would make doctors spreading coronavirus misinformation or disinformation subject to discipline for professional misconduct, and one by Democratic Assemblymember Akilah Weber that would require health care providers, schools, child care facilities and others to disclose certain patient information to the California Department of Public Health and local health officials.
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| 2022-09-21T12:59:07Z
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NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) — The Coast Guard Academy is disenrolling seven cadets for failing to comply with the military’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate, after their requests for religious exemptions were denied and they were ordered to leave campus.
The academy in New London, Connecticut, confirmed the disenrollments Tuesday, The Day newspaper reported. A lawyer for several of the cadets said they were told on Aug. 18 that they had to leave campus by 4 p.m. the next day.
“They were escorted to the gate like they were criminals or something,” the lawyer, Michael Rose, told the newspaper.
“No one helped them with travel arrangements or gave them any money,” said Rose, based in Summerville, South Carolina. “One had to get to California, one to Alaska. One’s estranged from home and living out of his truck, according to an email I received describing his situation.”
Rose said two of the seven cadets had no homes to return to.
The cadets’ names have not been released. Rose said academy officials were “particularly mean-spirited” and could have waited until pending lawsuits challenging the military’s COVID-19 vaccination requirement were concluded.
In one of those lawsuits, Rose is representing more than 30 plaintiffs, including military personnel and service academy cadets, in litigation pending in federal court in South Carolina. Several of the cadets are from the Coast Guard Academy.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin last year made the COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for service members, including those at the military academies, saying the vaccine is critical to maintaining military readiness and the health of the force.
At least 98% of all active duty military members are either fully or partially vaccinated, according to the military branches. To date, about 5,700 service members have been discharged from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps for refusing to get vaccinated.
Earlier this year, three cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy who refused the vaccine were not commissioned as military officers but were allowed to graduate with bachelor’s degrees, while the other military academies said all their cadets were in compliance with the vaccine mandate.
A Coast Guard Academy spokesman, David Santos, said the seven cadets there were found to be in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for disobeying a superior officer and failing to obey an order or regulation. The cadets requested religious exemptions that were denied by school officials, he said.
Their disenrollments are in the process of being finalized, he said.
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| 2022-09-21T12:59:22Z
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. on Wednesday authorized its first update to COVID-19 vaccines, booster doses that target today’s most common omicron strain. Shots could begin within days.
The move by the Food and Drug Administration tweaks the recipe of shots made by Pfizer and rival Moderna that already have saved millions of lives. The hope is that the modified boosters will blunt yet another winter surge — and help tamp down the BA.5 omicron relative that continues to spread widely.
“These updated boosters present us with an opportunity to get ahead” of the next COVID-19 wave, said FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf.
Until now, COVID-19 vaccines have targeted the original coronavirus strain, even as wildly different mutants emerged. The new U.S. boosters are combination, or “bivalent,” shots. They contain half that original vaccine recipe and half protection against the newest omicron versions, BA.4 and BA.5, that are considered the most contagious yet.
The combination aims to increase cross-protection against multiple variants.
“It really provides the broadest opportunity for protection,” Pfizer vaccine chief Annaliesa Anderson told The Associated Press.
The updated boosters are only for people who have already had their primary vaccinations, using the original vaccines. Doses made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech are for anyone 12 and older while Moderna’s updated shots are for adults — if it has been at least two months since their last primary vaccination or their latest booster. They’re not to be used for initial vaccinations.
There’s one more step before a fall booster campaign begins: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must recommend who should get the additional shot. An influential CDC advisory panel will debate the evidence Thursday — including whether people at high risk from COVID-19 should go first.
The U.S. has purchased more than 170 million doses from the two companies. Pfizer said it could ship up to 15 million of those doses by the end of next week. Moderna didn’t immediately say how many doses are ready to ship but that some will be available “in the coming days.”
The big question is whether people weary of vaccinations will roll up their sleeves again. Just half of vaccinated Americans got the first recommended booster dose, and only a third of those 50 and older who were urged to get a second booster did so.
Here’s the rub: The original vaccines still offer strong protection against severe disease and death from COVID-19 for generally healthy people, especially if they got that important first booster dose. It’s not clear just how much more benefit an updated booster will bring — beyond a temporary jump in antibodies capable of fending off an omicron infection.
Still, “people have to realize this is a different kind of booster than was previously available. It will work better at protecting against omicron,” said virologist Andrew Pekosz of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Even people who had an earlier omicron version still can get reinfected so “you should definitely go for the booster even if you’ve been infected in the last year,” added Pekosz. He thinks “if we can get good buy-in to use this, we might really be able to make a dent” in COVID-19 cases.
The FDA cleared the modifications ahead of studies in people, a step toward eventually handling COVID-19 vaccine updates more like yearly changes to flu shots.
FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks stressed the agency considered “the totality” of evidence. Pfizer and Moderna have previously brewed vaccine doses updated to match earlier mutants — including the omicron strain named BA.1 that struck last winter — and tested them in people. Those earlier recipe changes were safe, and the BA.1 version substantially boosted virus-fighting antibodies — more than another dose of the original vaccine — although fewer that recognized today’s genetically distinct BA.4 and BA.5 strains.
But instead of using those BA.1 shots, FDA ordered the companies to brew even more up-to-date doses that target those newest omicron mutants, sparking a race to roll them out. Rather than waiting a few more months for additional human studies of that very similar recipe tweak, Marks said animal tests showed the latest update spurs “a very good immune response.”
“One needs to refresh the immune system with what is actually circulating,” Marks said. That’s why FDA also is no longer authorizing boosters made with the original recipe for those 12 and older.
The hope, Marks said, is that a vaccine matched to currently spreading variants might do a better job fighting infection, not just serious illness, at least for a while.
What’s next? Even as modified shots roll out, Moderna and Pfizer are conducting human studies to help assess their value, including how they hold up if a new mutant comes along.
And for children, Pfizer plans to ask FDA to allow updated boosters for 5- to 11-year-olds in early October.
It’s the first U.S. update to the COVID-19 vaccine recipe, an important but expected next step — like how flu vaccines get updated every year.
And the U.S. isn’t alone. Britain recently decided to offer adults over 50 a different booster option from Moderna, a combo shot targeting that initial BA.1 omicron strain. European regulators are considering whether to authorize one or both of the updated formulas.
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AP Health Writer Matthew Perrone contributed to this report.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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| 2022-09-21T12:59:30Z
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In an unfinished part of his basement, 95-year-old Richard Soller zips around a makeshift track encircling boxes full of medals he’s won for track and field and long-distance running.
Without a hint of breathlessness, he says: “I can put in miles down here.”
Steps away is an expensive leather recliner he bought when he retired from Procter & Gamble with visions of relaxing into old age. He proudly proclaims he’s never used it; he’s been too busy training for competitions, such as the National Senior Games.
Soller, who lives near Cincinnati, has achieved an enviable goal chased by humans since ancient times: Staying healthy and active in late life. It’s a goal that eludes so many that growing old is often associated with getting frail and sick. But scientists are trying to change that — and tackle one of humanity’s biggest challenges — through a little known but flourishing field of aging research called cellular senescence.
It’s built upon the idea that cells eventually stop dividing and enter a “senescent” state in response to various forms of damage. The body removes most of them. But others linger like zombies. They aren’t dead. But as the Mayo Clinic’s Nathan LeBrasseur puts it, they can harm nearby cells like moldy fruit corrupting a fruit bowl. They accumulate in older bodies, which mounting evidence links to an array of age-related conditions such as dementia, cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis.
But scientists wonder: Can the zombie cell buildup be stopped?
“The ability to understand aging – and the potential to intervene in the fundamental biology of aging – is truly the greatest opportunity we have had, maybe in history, to transform human health,” LeBrasseur says. Extending the span of healthy years impacts “quality of life, public health, socioeconomics, the whole shebang.”
With the number of people 65 or older expected to double globally by 2050, cellular senescence is “a very hot topic,” says Viviana Perez Montes of the National Institutes of Health. According to an Associated Press analysis of an NIH research database, there have been around 11,500 total projects involving cellular senescence since 1985, far more in recent years.
About 100 companies, plus academic teams, are exploring drugs to target senescent cells. And research offers tantalizing clues that people may be able to help tame senescence themselves using the strategy favored by Soller: exercise.
Although no one thinks senescence holds the key to super long life, Tufts University researcher Christopher Wiley hopes for a day when fewer people suffer fates like his late grandfather, who had Alzheimer’s and stared back at him as if he were a stranger.
“I’m not looking for the fountain of youth,” Wiley says. “I’m looking for the fountain of not being sick when I’m older.”
MORTAL CELLS
Leonard Hayflick, the scientist who discovered cellular senescence in 1960, is himself vital at 94. He’s a professor of anatomy at the University of California, San Francisco, and continues to write, present and speak on the topic.
At his seaside home in Sonoma County, he leafs through a binder filled with his research, including two early papers that have been cited an astonishing number of times by other researchers. Before him on the living room table are numerous copies of his seminal book, “How and Why We Age,” in various languages.
This scientific renown didn’t come easily. He discovered cellular senescence by accident, cultivating human fetal cells for a project on cancer biology and noticing they stopped dividing after about 50 population doublings. This wasn’t a big surprise; cell cultures often failed because of things like contamination. What was surprising was that others also stopped dividing at the same point. The phenomenon was later called “the Hayflick limit.”
The finding, Hayflick says, challenged “60-year-old dogma” that normal human cells could replicate forever. A paper he authored with colleague Paul Moorhead was rejected by a prominent scientific journal, and Hayflick faced a decade of ridicule after it was published in Experimental Cell Research in 1961.
“It followed the usual pattern of major discoveries in science, where the discoverer is first ridiculed and then somebody says, ‘Well, maybe it works’ … then it becomes accepted to some extent, then becomes more widely accepted.”
At this point, he says, “the field that I discovered has skyrocketed to an extent that’s beyond my ability to keep up with it.”
ZOMBIE BUILDUP
Scientists are careful to note that cell senescence can be useful. It likely evolved at least in part to suppress the development of cancer by limiting the capacity of cells to keep dividing. It happens throughout our lives, triggered by things like DNA damage and the shortening of telomeres, structures that cap and protect the ends of chromosomes. Senescent cells play a role in wound healing, embryonic development and childbirth.
Problems can arise when they build up.
“When you’re young, your immune system is able to recognize these senescent cells and eliminate them,” says Perez, who studies cell biology and aging. “But when we start getting old … the activity of our immune system also gets diminished, so we’re losing the capacity to eliminate them.”
Senescent cells resist apoptosis, or programmed cell death, and characteristically get big and flat, with enlarged nuclei. They release a blend of molecules, some of which can trigger inflammation and harm other cells — and paradoxically can also stimulate the growth of malignant cells and fuel cancer, LeBrasseur says.
Scientists link some disorders to buildups of senescent cells in certain spots. For example, research suggests certain senescent cells that accumulate in lungs exposed to cigarette smoke may contribute substantially to airway inflammation in COPD.
The idea that one process could be at the root of numerous diseases is powerful to many scientists.
It inspired Dr. James Kirkland to move on from geriatric medicine. “I got tired of prescribing better wheelchairs and incontinence devices,” says Kirkland, a professor of medicine at Mayo considered a pioneer of the senescence renaissance. “I wanted to do something more fundamental that could alleviate the suffering that I saw.”
DRUG TARGETS
That quest leads him and others to develop medicines.
Experimental drugs designed to selectively clear senescent cells have been dubbed “senolytics,” and Mayo holds patents on some. In mice, they’ve been shown to be effective at delaying, preventing or easing several age-related disorders.
Possible benefits for people are just emerging. Kirkland, LeBrasseur and colleagues did a pilot study providing initial evidence that patients with a serious lung disease might be helped by pairing a chemotherapy drug with a plant pigment. Another pilot study found the same combination reduced the burden of senescent cells in the fat tissue of people with diabetic kidney disease.
At least a dozen clinical trials with senolytics are now testing things like whether they can help control Alzheimer’s progression, improve joint health in osteoarthritis and improve skeletal health. Some teams are trying to develop “senomorphics” that can suppress detrimental effects of molecules emitted by senescent cells. And a Japanese team has tested a vaccine on mice specific to a protein found in senescent cells, allowing for their targeted elimination.
Scientists say serious work to improve human health could also bring fringe benefits – like reducing skin wrinkling.
“I tell my lab that if we find a drug that clears the bad senescent cells and not the good ones and we cure Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s and osteoporosis and macular degeneration, it would be wonderful,” says Judith Campisi, a biogerontology expert at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging. “But if we cure wrinkles, we’ll be rich, and I’ll never have to write another grant.”
Amid the buzz, some companies market dietary supplements as senolytics. But researchers warn they haven’t been shown to work or proven safe.
And there’s still much to learn about clinical trial drugs.
“We know that senolytics work pretty well in mice,” Wiley says. “We’re still really figuring out the basics with people.”
‘MOST PROMISING TOOL’
Today, LeBrasseur, who directs a center on aging at Mayo, says exercise is “the most promising tool that we have” for good functioning in late life, and its power extends to our cells.
Research suggests it counters the buildup of senescent ones, helping the immune system clear them and counteracting the molecular damage that can spark the senescence process.
A study LeBrasseur led last year provided the first evidence in humans that exercise can significantly reduce indicators, found in the bloodstream, of the burden of senescent cells in the body. After a 12-week aerobics, resistance and balance training program, researchers found that older adults had lowered indicators of senescence and better muscle strength, physical function and reported health. A recently-published research review collects even more evidence — in animals and humans — for exercise as a senescence-targeting therapy.
While such studies aren’t well-known outside scientific circles, many older adults intuitively equate exercise with youthfulness.
Rancher Mike Gale, 81, installed a track and field throwing circle on his sprawling property in Petaluma, California, so he and some friends could practice throwing the discus and other equipment. Against a backdrop of rolling green hills, they twist, step, throw and retrieve over and over again.
“I’d like to be competing in my 90s,” Gale says. “Why not?”
Soller asked himself a similar question long ago.
After a torn hamstring stopped him from running track in high school, he fell into an unhealthy lifestyle in early adulthood, smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. But he and his wife Jean quit cold turkey when their daughter Mary came along.
He started running again just before turning 50, and since then has run in races across the U.S., including two marathons, and participated in decades of Senior Games competitions. In May, Soller joined 12,000 like-minded athletes in Florida for the latest national games in the Fort Lauderdale area – winning five medals to add to his collection of 1,500 prizes.
His daughter filmed his first-place finish in the 200-meter dash from the stands, cheering: “Go, Dad, go!”
Soller says exercise keeps him fit enough to handle what comes his way – including an Alzheimer’s diagnosis for his wife of 62 years. They sometimes stroll neighborhood streets together, holding hands.
“Do as much as you can,” he says. “That should be the goal for anyone to stay healthy.”
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Video journalist Angie Wang contributed to this story.
——
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.
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| 2022-09-21T12:59:37Z
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(NewsNation) — As a new school year gets underway, COVID restrictions that once occupied classrooms for the past two years are noticeably absent, as no state in the country is planning to require student vaccinations.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about 75% of U.S. schools required them at the start of last school year.
Now, requirements of the like are rare: Only Washington, D.C. has a mandatory vaccine policy in place this year for adolescents 12 and up.
Masks, on the other hand, are optional almost everywhere.
Only four of the largest 500 school districts in the country will mandate masks when instruction begins.
Philadelphia schools will require them for the first ten days, but could drop the regulations after that. The other outliers are in Jefferson county, Kentucky; Prince George’s County in Maryland and Newark, New Jersey.
- JEFFERSON COUNTY, KY (97.9K)
- PHILADELPHIA CITY, PA (132.5K)
- PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, MD (132.7K)
- NEWARK PUBLIC SCHOOLS, NJ (40.4K)
The need to quarantine or isolate after exposure is also mostly gone — on par with the CDC’s latest recommendations.
Many school districts, including New York City, are scrapping their “test to stay” programs and dropping random testing.
Students who test positive in most places will still have to isolate and wear masks upon their return to the classroom. In New York, the new rule is five days away, and five days back with a mask.
All of these measures are designed to ensure more kids are in the classroom more often, which is overdue according to some administrators.
“Kids are actually slipping in their grade level, in their reading levels. They’re also slipping in their socio-emotional learning. And so it’s very important to have those kids in school, with their peers, with their teachers,” said Charles Patterson of Clark County schools to NewsNation’s “Rush Hour” Tuesday.
While it’s back to normal for most students, such is not the case for some teachers as some major school districts still require vaccinations, including New York.
In addition, those who were fired over the mandates or phony vaccine cards are still finding it difficult to find employment today.
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| 2022-09-21T12:59:45Z
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CLEVELAND (WJW) — The impact of the Supreme Court ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade continues to have an effect. A northeast Ohio woman was forced to travel out of state for an abortion that she says saved her life.
“We were on such a high with the pregnancy. We were buying clothes, we had the name picked out, we were planning a baby shower, parties and stuff,” said Justin George of Brook Park, referring to his wife, Tara’s, pregnancy.
However, their world came crashing down at Tara George’s 20-week ultrasound appointment.
“Our doctor did her own scan to look at everything, and she pretty much was like, ‘We need to have a serious conversation. We are noticing things with the baby that are extremely dangerous for him and for you,'” said Tara George.
Her OB-GYN said their baby would not likely survive once he was born, so they were left with two options.
“We could see if he could make it to a point to even have him at all and not have anything dangerous happen to me as far as my health since I have a blood clotting disorder,” she said. “Or the only other option would be to go through and terminate early.”
A difficult decision was made even more so by Ohio’s Heartbeat Bill, which bans abortions after six weeks of gestation.
Tara George said the Cleveland hospital told them they couldn’t terminate the pregnancy because she was past that time.
“Knowing Tara’s health was on the line and the baby’s chance of survival was slim, I really thought that in Ohio, everyone said that they were gonna do anything to protect the mother. I honestly never even thought twice that they would say no to us, and then when they did, we had to start finding other options,” said Justin George.
The couple contacted doctors in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Maryland before deciding on a hospital in Michigan.
“We got a call shortly after saying unfortunately they weren’t going to be able to help me. The next
morning, thankfully, they called back and said they worked it out,” said Tara George. “They were able to take us as long as we could get there by a certain time, which ended up happening.”
She is still recovering both mentally and physically, but she said there are other women going through similar situations.
“With everything going on in Ohio, unfortunately, there are a lot of women that are feeling very scared and very nervous to even try to have their own family because heaven forbid something happens to them,” she said.
The Georges want to try to get pregnant again but say they are hesitant due to talk of Republican leaders looking to further restrict access to abortion, including banning travel across state lines for the procedure.
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| 2022-09-21T12:59:57Z
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SHREVEPORT, La (KTAL/KMSS) – The Light Adjustable Lens is taking over the eye surgery world in the Arklatex.
Dr. Jeffery Lusk, with Lusk Eye Specialist located at 451 Ashley Ride, explained what this new procedure offers.
“It’s the first lens ever that, after cataract surgery that, we can adjust someone’s vision. We can refine someone’s vision after surgery rather than just before the surgery,“ said Lusk.
According to Dr. Lusk, this procedure does not take long following the initial cataract surgery.
“Well, they get their surgery done like ordinary cataract surgery. It’s a 15-minute outpatient surgery, and they come back in three weeks to refine their vision to get even sharper clearer vision.“
Dr. Lusk usually says most folks who receive cataract surgery are in their 50s and older. It is a procedure for replacing your natural lens with a synthetic intraocular lens. Recently, he has seen younger patients interested in cataract surgery and Adjustable Lens surgery.
“We have more people with visual demands that want to see better at different distances.“
Dr. Lusk says if anyone has questions, feel free to contact their office at (318) 284-5550 or your local eye care provider.
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| 2022-09-21T13:00:04Z
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NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. life expectancy dropped for the second consecutive year in 2021, falling by nearly a year from 2020, according to a government report being released Wednesday.
In the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the estimated American lifespan has shortened by nearly three years. The last comparable decrease happened in the early 1940s, during the height of World War II.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials blamed COVID-19 for about half the decline in 2021, a year when vaccinations became widely available but new coronavirus variants caused waves of hospitalizations and deaths. Other contributors to the decline are longstanding problems: drug overdoses, heart disease, suicide and chronic liver disease.
“It’s a dismal situation. It was bad before and it’s gotten worse,” said Samuel Preston, a University of Pennsylvania demographer.
Life expectancy is an estimate of the average number of years a baby born in a given year might expect to live, given death rates at that time. It is “the most fundamental indicator of population health in this country,” said Robert Hummer, a University of North Carolina researcher focused on population health patterns.
U.S. life expectancy rose for decades, but progress stalled before the pandemic.
It was 78 years, 10 months in 2019. In 2020, it dropped to 77 years. Last year, it fell to about 76 years, 1 month.
The last time it was that low was in 1996.
Declines during the pandemic were worse for some racial groups, and some gaps widened. For example, life expectancy for American Indian and Alaskan Native people saw a decline of more than 6 1/2 years since the pandemic began, and is at 65 years. In the same span, life expectancy for Asian Americans dropped by about two years, and stands at 83 1/2.
Experts say there are many possible reasons for such differences, including lack of access to quality health care, lower vaccination rates, and a greater share of the population in lower-paying jobs that required them to keep working when the pandemic was at its worst.
The new report is based on provisional data. Life expectancy estimates can change with the addition of more data and further analysis. For example, the CDC initially said life expectancy in 2020 declined by about 1 year 6 months. But after more death reports and analysis came in, it ended up being about 1 year 10 months.
But it’s likely the declines in 2020 and 2021 will stand as the first two consecutive years of declining life expectancy in the U.S. since the early 1960s, CDC officials said.
Findings in the report:
—Life expectancy for women in the United States dropped about 10 months, from just under 80 years in 2020 to slightly more than 79 in 2021. Life expectancy for men dropped a full year, from about 74 years to 73.
—COVID-19 deaths were the main reason for the decline. The second largest contributor was deaths from accidental injuries — primarily from drug overdoses, which killed a record-breaking 107,000 Americans last year.
—White people saw the second biggest drop among racial and ethnic groups, with life expectancy falling one year, to about 76 years, 5 months. Black Americans had the third largest decline, falling more than eight months, to 70 years, 10 months
—Hispanic Americans had seen a huge drop in life expectancy in 2020 — four years. But in 2021, life expectancy for them dropped by about two months, to about 77 years, 7 months. Preston thinks good vaccination rates among Hispanics played a role.
The report also suggests gains against suicide are being undone.
U.S. suicides rose from the early 2000s until 2018. But they fell a little in 2019 and then more in 2020, the first year of the pandemic. Experts had wondered if that may have been related to a phenomenon seen in the early stages of wars and national disasters in which people band together and support each other.
The new report said suicide contributed to the decline in life expectancy in 2021, but it did not provide detail. According to provisional numbers from a public CDC database, the number of U.S. suicides increased last year by about 2,000, to 48,000. The U.S. suicide rate rose as well, from 13.5 per 100,000 to 14.1 — bringing it back up to about where it was in 2018.
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| 2022-09-21T13:00:11Z
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(The Hill) — Democrats are seeing new glimmers of hope for their chances of ousting Sen. Marco Rubio (R) in Florida after months of hand-wringing over just how aggressively they should pursue his seat.
Until recently, the Senate race drew little attention from national Democrats who have grown increasingly skeptical that their candidates can remain competitive in the Sunshine State after a spate of narrow, though still painful, losses. Top party officials instead looked to Senate contests in states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — two states that President Joe Biden carried in 2020 — as safer bets.
But Rep. Val Demings (Fla.), a rising Democratic star who clinched the party’s Senate nomination in Florida last week, has so far shown herself to be a formidable challenger to Rubio.
She’s raised about $48 million to his $36 million and has already spent months blanketing airwaves with ads talking about her law enforcement credentials and hitting Rubio over everything from his attendance record in the Senate to his stance on abortion rights.
“The fundraising situation for Republicans seems pretty dire, and meanwhile Demings is continuing to raise millions of dollars and outraise Rubio. So I think the fundamentals are really encouraging,” said Joshua Karp, a top adviser to Demings’s campaign.
Demings’s allies also argue that many of the GOP’s standard attacks — most notably their claim that the Florida congresswoman favors defunding the police — have fallen flat, given her career in law enforcement and the years she spent as Orlando’s police chief.
“Republicans haven’t really been able to lay a glove on Demings,” Karp added. “She’s pretty Teflon when it comes to their usual basket of attacks. And this is not a candidate that they know how to define and target.”
But that’s not to say winning will be easy for Demings. Unlike Republican Senate nominees in several other battleground states — like Arizona, Pennsylvania and Georgia — Rubio is a seasoned politician with a track record of winning statewide by wide margins, and the vast majority of public polling in the race between him and Demings shows Rubio in the lead.
Rubio’s message, meanwhile, has focused on casting Demings as a “rubber stamp” for Democrats’ agenda in Washington, linking the three-term congresswoman to President Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), while also homing in on inflation and crime, two issues that have repeatedly dogged Democrats this year.
“When Floridians go to the ballot box in November, they’re going to hold Demings and Democrat-controlled Washington accountable for driving skyrocketing inflation, out of control crime, and a crisis at the border letting drugs flow into our communities,” said Elizabeth Gregory, a spokesperson for Rubio’s campaign.
There’s also a long list of structural challenges for Florida Democrats. For one, there are now more registered Republican voters in the state than Democrats, and the GOP’s advantage in the state has only continued to grow. And while Florida has a penchant for hosting ultra-close statewide races, Republicans have a tendency to come out on top more often than not.
Rubio himself also has a proven ability to outperform other statewide Republican candidates in Miami-Dade County, a Democratic stronghold, albeit one where the GOP has made gains in recent years. Rubio lost Miami-Dade by only about 11 percentage points the last time he was on the ballot in 2016. That same year, Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, won it by nearly 30 points.
“I think that Rubio’s strength in Miami-Dade is not to be underestimated. But it’s also never been stress-tested,” said one Democratic strategist who works in Florida politics.
In 2010, when Rubio first won his seat, his opposition was largely split in the general election between supporting Charlie Crist, the former Republican governor who challenged Rubio as an independent, and former Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.), giving Rubio an opening to win Miami-Dade County, the strategist argued.
Democrats also blame former Rep. Patrick Murphy, the party’s 2016 Senate nominee, for a lackluster effort to reach Florida’s vast and diverse Hispanic communities. Murphy’s campaign released its first Spanish-language ad little more than a month before Election Day.
But Democrats say there’s reason to believe that things will be different this year.
Demings’s campaign announced earlier this year that it would spend $3 million on a coordinated bilingual effort to boost Democrats up and down the ballot, while the Democratic National Committee moved to install a Spanish-language voter outreach program and a new organizing staff in Miami-Dade County.
Demings also began running Spanish-language digital ads in June, two months after launching “Todos Con Demings,” her Hispanic outreach campaign.
Demings has also buoyed her position in the race by seizing on the same issues lifting Democrats across the country.
The party’s candidates have seen a burst of momentum following the signing of a massive tax and climate law, arguing that it’s evidence that they can pass meaningful legislation. And then there’s the conservative-majority Supreme Court’s decision in June to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark abortion rights case — a ruling that has put reproductive rights back in the country’s political spotlight.
Meanwhile, inflation has shown signs of easing and gas prices have begun to tick downward, bolstering Democratic hopes of avoiding an electoral thrashing in November.
But Republicans argue that the problems for Democrats in Florida are apparent. While the national political environment has shifted, at least somewhat, in Democrats’ favor in recent weeks, there’s no guarantee that trend will hold over the next two months. Republicans also argue that the FBI’s search of former President Trump’s Palm Beach club and residence, Mar-a-Lago, could energize their voters at a time when GOP enthusiasm is already running high.
At the same time, many of the major donors and outside groups that have invested heavily in Florida in the past have stayed on the sidelines so far, fearing a repeat of recent election cycles that saw huge spending by Democrats followed by disappointing losses.
Priorities USA, the main Democratic super PAC, has yet to announce any spending plans in Florida this year. Neither has Senate Majority PAC, the super PAC aligned with Democratic Senate leadership. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, meanwhile, recently donated $1 million to the state Democratic Party, but has held off from making the kind of massive investments he made in the state in 2020.
“I think there’s a lot of skepticism about whether Florida is winnable. And I think that’s partially because Republicans have spent the last four years screaming at the top of their lungs that Florida is a red state,” one national Democratic consultant familiar with fundraising said. “There’s a lot of ‘don’t throw good money after bad results.’”
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| 2022-09-21T13:00:19Z
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(The Hill) – The government has delivered the latest dramatic twist in the saga of the FBI, former President Trump and the documents he was holding at Mar-a-Lago.
A new filing released late on Tuesday casts more light on a case that exploded into public view when the former president’s Florida estate was raided on Aug. 8.
The filing came in response to the Trump legal team’s request for the courts to appoint a so-called Special Master to review seized documents.
Trump’s lawyers argue investigators should not have unfettered access to everything that was taken, saying that some items may contain privileged information.
The government hit back hard. What are the main takeaways?
Alleged obstruction moves into sharper focus
It was already known that the Department of Justice believed three crimes might have been committed —potential violations of the Espionage Act, obstruction, and the wrongful destruction of official documents.
The new filing hammered hard on the obstruction element.
It notes that a May 2022 subpoena had required Trump to give up “any and all” documents that bore classified markings. The following month, Trump’s team produced records in supposed compliance with those terms.
But the government asserts in the new filing that “the FBI uncovered multiple sources of evidence” suggesting that cooperation with the earlier subpoena was “incomplete.”
Referring to the main storage room at Mar-a-Lago, the filing adds:
“In particular, the government developed evidence that a search limited to the Storage Room would not have uncovered all the classified documents at the Premises.”
“The government also developed evidence that government records were likely concealed and removed from the Storage Room and that efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government’s investigation.”
In simple terms, investigators are suggesting that documents were moved around at Mar-a-Lago to keep them out of the hands of the government — at a time when Team Trump knew there was a criminal investigation underway.
That, in itself, deepens the seriousness of the whole matter — and makes even more clear why a magistrate permitted the first-ever search of a former president’s home.
The filing also describes how the Aug. 8 search uncovered more than 100 documents marked as classified.
FBI agents, it notes, were able to find such documents “in a matter of hours” — something that it drily adds “calls into serious question” the Trump team’s assertion that it had previously conducted a “diligent search” and given up all such material.
A picture tells a thousand words
The heart of the government’s filing runs to 36 pages, with an additional 18 pages of attachments and appendices.
The most dramatic element comes on the very last page — a photo, described as a “redacted FBI photograph of certain documents and classified cover sheets recovered from a container in the ’45 office,’” referring to Trump’s office at Mar-a-Lago.
The photo, which immediately went into heavy circulation on cable news, is dramatic in part because of the messy scene it purports to capture.
It shows at least five folders or cover sheets, bearing bright yellow borders and the heading in bold red letters, “Top Secret/SCI.” That label, the latter half of which stands for “Sensitive Compartmented Information,” denotes one of the highest levels of secrecy.
The documents appear to be spread on a carpet. Beside them is an open cardboard box, in which only a framed, Trump-related Time magazine cover can be seen.
The suggestion is clear: that extraordinarily sensitive documents were kept alongside random mementoes of Trump’s White House days.
Perhaps because the photo is so arresting, and the implication so potent, some Trump allies have reacted with fury to its release.
Ric Grenell, who served as acting Director of National Intelligence under Trump, tweeted: “The staged photo was reckless and unprofessional. Whoever did it and whoever approved it for release should be fired.”
One of the most sensitive issues around the investigation is also one of the most intriguing: Are people within Trump’s circle cooperating with the Feds? And, if so, who?
Intrigue builds about secret sources
The DOJ previously resisted unsealing its affidavit in support of a search warrant, partly on the grounds that this could chill cooperation from current and future witnesses.
When the affidavit was released in redacted form last week under a judge’s orders, everything that could have provided clues in his regard was blacked out.
The new filing deepens the intrigue.
For example, the filing notes that at one point the FBI “developed evidence” that classified information was still at Mar-a-Lago and that the Trump team had not owned up to this fact.
A footnote adds that “of necessity…the government cannot publicly describe the sources of its evidence. particularly while the investigation remains ongoing.”
A later reference alludes to “multiple sources of evidence.”
Of course, such evidence isn’t necessarily coming from known names within Trump’s circle, and media speculation about a big “Mar-a-Lago mole” may prove hyperbolic.
But the Feds are clearly indicating they’re getting cooperation from someone, somewhere close to the president’s home.
Scathing response to claims of privilege
The filing is first and foremost a direct rebuttal to Team Trump’s claims on the need for a Special Master.
In short, the Trump view is that an independent expert should adjudicate whether anything seized was privileged.
But right off the bat, the government asserts that Trump lacks standing to ask for the return of presidential records “because those records do not belong to him.” It quotes the Presidential Records Act as saying that such documents are the property of the government.
Later, it also notes that investigators have their own “Privilege Review Team” — often known as a filter team. This is intended to serve a similar purpose to a Special Master, and it has already completed its work with the Mar-a-Lago docs.
The government is equally scathing of the idea that Trump can claim executive privilege — as opposed to attorney-client privilege — over any of the documents.
Doing so, it argues, would be tantamount to suggesting a former president can “validly assert executive privilege against the Executive Branch itself.”
Summing up its argument, it states that the appointment of a Special Master “would do little or nothing to protect any legitimate interests” Trump may have, while “impeding the government’s ongoing criminal investigation, as well as the Intelligence Community’s review of potential risks to national security.”
Trump fires back but with few specifics
The former president took to his favored social network, Truth Social, to hit out at the investigation, and the FBI generally, early Wednesday.
In one post, he objected to the photograph of classified documents, saying the FBI “threw documents haphazardly all over the floor (perhaps pretending it was me that did it!).”
He also repeated his contentious assertion that he had “declassified!” all the relevant records.
Trump’s claims will of course be amplified by his loyal supporters — but there are now questions about whether his support within the GOP will begin to fray, even as he mulls a 2024 presidential run.
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Nearly 140 at-risk dogs and cats will soon find forever homes after being airlifted from overcrowded shelters in Louisiana and Alabama early Tuesday morning.
More than 100 dogs and 25 cats will be taken to nine animal shelters in New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, and Virginia that will help pair the animals with new families.
The rescued animals aboard the plane include dogs who tested positive for heartworms, hard-to-place large dogs and homeless cats.
“Right now in Louisiana, we’re at critical capacity in the animal shelters,” said Rebecca Lirette, Iberville Parish Animal Shelter’s assistant director. “These Good Flight programs truly save lives.”
Lirette says that adoptions in the state are low and transporting animals from overcrowded shelters is crucial for their survival.
The First Lady of New Jersey, Tammy Murphy, helped to welcome the animals at the airport when they arrived in her state. Murphy was seen petting and playing with several of the animals, including Dobby, a hairless and scabby puppy who was dumped on the streets on Louisiana and left to fend for herself.
“It makes me want to cry,” Murphy said. “I’m really thrilled for these 140 [dogs and cats] who have been so carefully attended to and I think whoever adopts them obviously is going to take great care of them.”
The life-saving pet airlift is the second “Good Flights” mission in NBCUniversal Local’s eighth annual Clear The Shelters pet adoption and donation campaign. The first airlift mission transported 155 cats from South Florida to Massachusetts on August 2, which also helped kickoff the nationwide campaign.
Last year’s inaugural pet airlift flew more than 150 cats and dogs from Louisiana to New Jersey and Massachusetts, where they were adopted into new homes.
Greater Good Charities’ Good Flights program is funded by Hill’s Pet Nutrition and The Animal Rescue Site. Hill’s Pet Nutrition will also donate more than 6,000 pounds of pet food to participating shelters that helped send and receive the at-risk animals.
Since Clear The Shelters began in 2015, more than 700,000 pets found forever families in new homes across the United States.
To learn more about Clear The Shelters 2022 and search for adoptable pets in your area, visit cleartheshelters.com. You can also donate to your local animal shelters and rescue groups by visiting clearthesheltersfund.org.
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(Loving Living Local)- Louisiana Association for the Blind joined host Susan Kirton in the studio to demonstrate assistive technologies for the visually impaired.
Founded by the Lions Club as Shreveport Association for the Blind, Louisiana Association for the Blind (L.A.B.) has evolved from its original operation – training and employing the blind to make and sell brooms – to a multidimensional powerhouse for those with visual impairments. The association offers vision evaluations, children’s programs, independent living skills instruction, job training, and employment placement through their Community Services division.
Committed to reducing the 70 percent employment rate for those with visual impairments, Clients of L.A.B. are trained in marketable skills and matched with appropriate employers, allowing them to find satisfying work that leads to greater independence. L.A.B. also offers direct employment at their print shop, laser design and die division, copy paper division, and base supply stores at Barksdale Air Force Base and Fort Polk Army Base.
Advances in technology have greatly expanded the opportunities available and their Assistive Technology program is ever-evolving to meet changing workplace needs. Scanners, voice-to-text programs, electronic video magnifiers, and more enable clients to pursue a wide variety of careers.
Brian Patchett, president and CEO of the Louisiana Association for the Blind describes how the Closed Caption Television (CCTV) device helps those with decreased eyesight by projecting an enlarged copy of documents onto the television. Kirk Metzger, an assistive technology instructor for the Louisiana Association for the Blind, demonstrates how the OrCam increases independence for those with visual impairments. The OrCam can be seen in the video alerting Metzger of the presence of a woman in front of him and notifying him that his document was upside down as well as reading the document to him.
For 95 years, Louisiana Association for the Blind has worked tirelessly to help those with visual impairments achieve their best life. They couldn’t do it without the generous support of loyal donors. Please visit their website if you are interested in donating, would like to visit their online store, or looking to apply for an employment opportunity. You can also contact Louisiana Association for the Blind by calling (318) 635-6471 or emailing info@lablind.com.
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U.S. Air Force Airmen, all 169th Maintenance Squadron aerospace propulsion mechanics, pose for a photo in the 'Hush House' at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, South Carolina, September 16, 2022. The 'Hush House' is a facility where aerospace propulsion mechanics can openly observe a jet engine while it is running to ensure operational Safety and functionality. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Danielle Dawson, 169th Fighter Wing, Public Affairs)
This work, 169th Maintenance Squadron Propulsion Shop Performs Test Run on a F-16 Fighter Jet Engine [Image 5 of 5], by A1C Danielle Dawson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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(Loving Living Local)- Glenn Baucom, owner of Screenmobile discusses all the services that his company provides.
Screenmobile offers a wide variety of products complete with installation. Products and services include but are not limited to window and door screens, solar screens, security screens, storm windows, patio covers, motorized shades, custom awnings, shutter treatments, as well as pet solutions.
Baucom explains that solar screens are thick black screens mounted to the outside of the window that prevents the sun from reaching the glass and transmitting heat into the room often saving money on cooling the home. “It is amazing, every single customer says the heat reduction is almost instantaneous. It really makes the room a lot easier to live in,” Baucom stated.
Security screens are stainless steel mesh with structural aluminum framing on the outside of the window. Baucom shares that security screens offer a needed sense of protection to many of his clientele.
Screenmoblie technicians personally measure, manufacture, and install the screens for your location. Because there’s no such thing as a standard size in the screening world, almost all screens are custom-sized and installed correctly for best performance. With their mobile service, Screenmobile can customize hard-to-fit screens on-site, and make any necessary adjustments to ensure everything works just right.
Baucom emphasized the level of personal attention customers get when they contact Screenmobile by stating that when you call it rings directly to his phone, “When you call that number, I answer the phone.” To get a quote or to discuss products, customers can request an estimate on the website, email nwlouisiana@screenmobile.com, or call (318) 333-5300.
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SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – September is National Suicide Prevention Month, and the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs partnered with The Ad Council to create the “Don’t Wait. Reach Out” campaign.
It is a national PSA campaign encouraging veterans to seek help when facing life challenges before reaching a crisis point. This September, the campaign is highlighting new resources to help.
Dr. Lisa Kearny, the executive director for the Veterans Crisis Line, joined morning anchor Jezzamine Wolk to discuss.
Kearny mentioned the veteran’s crisis line at 247365. She also referred to the website VA.gov/reach. Kearny says the website has various benefits, such as education advice and partner counseling.
When asked how the community can be part of the solution, Dr. Kearny responded, “I think first remembering suicide is preventable. There is hope, and the care and concern that you show for any veteran in your life, for your next-door neighbor, for your loved one, make a difference.”
“We’re all a part of this together,” she continued.
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| 2022-09-21T13:00:57Z
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CLEVELAND (WJW) – Fill ‘er up! Circle K gas stations will be offering 40 cents off per gallon of fuel for three hours on one day only this week.
On Thursday, September 1, fuel will be available at a reduced price from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. local time.
“It’s been a challenging summer for travel, so we want to thank our customers for their loyalty by offering them additional savings ahead of the busy holiday weekend, ending the summer on a high note,” said Nathan Woodland, Head of North America Category Fuels at Circle K, in a Wednesday release.
The fuel sale will only be available at participating Circle K locations that sell Circle K-branded fuel.
Circle K has over 3,600 locations across the U.S. The company says more than half carry Circle K-branded fuel. You can find your nearest location here. About 26 locations in Shreveport-Bossier are listed as participating in the ‘Circle K Fuel Day’ promotion.
According to the company, the discount may be lower in some states “in accordance with applicable laws.” The price you see at the pump between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. local time is the discounted price.
As long as you are in line for gas before 7 p.m., you will be able to receive the discount.
The national average for a gallon of gas in the U.S. is $3.84 as of Wednesday night, AAA reports. Louisiana’s average cost for a gallon of gas is about $3.39.
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| 2022-09-21T13:01:05Z
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KIBBUTZ REVADIM, Israel (AP) — Israeli archaeologists recently unearthed the titanic tusk of a prehistoric elephant near a kibbutz in southern Israel, a remnant of a behemoth once hunted by early people around half a million years ago.
The Israel Antiquities Authority announced Wednesday that the 2.5-meter (yard) long fossil belonging to the long-extinct straight-tusked elephant was found during a joint excavation with researchers from Tel Aviv University and Ben-Gurion University.
Israel Antiquities Authority prehistorian Avi Levy, who headed the dig, said it was “the largest complete fossil tusk ever found at a prehistoric site in Israel or the Near East.”
The site was dated to the late lower paleolithic period, around 500,000 years ago, based on stone tools found in the vicinity, the antiquities authority said.
Omry Barzilai, an IAA archaeologist, said the find was “very puzzling, very enigmatic” because it was not clear whether ancient people hunted the behemoth on the spot or whether they brought the felled animal’s tusk to this spot.
The tusk was found near a kibbutz on the central plain running parallel to Israel’s Mediterranean coast. But half a million years ago, when the ancient elephant died, the now-arid terrain was likely a swamp or shallow lake, an ideal habitat for ancient hominids.
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GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. weather agency is predicting that the phenomenon known as La Nina is poised to last through the end of this year, a mysterious “triple dip” — the first this century — caused by three straight years of its effect on climate patterns like drought and flooding worldwide.
The World Meteorological Organization on Wednesday said La Nina conditions, which involve a large-scale cooling of ocean surface temperatures, have strengthened in the eastern and central equatorial Pacific with an increase in trade winds in recent weeks.
The agency’s top official was quick to caution that the “triple dip” doesn’t mean global warming is easing.
“It is exceptional to have three consecutive years with a La Nina event. Its cooling influence is temporarily slowing the rise in global temperatures, but it will not halt or reverse the long-term warming trend,” WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said.
La Nina is a natural and cyclical cooling of parts of the equatorial Pacific that changes weather patterns worldwide, as opposed to warming caused by the better-known El Nino — an opposite phenomenon. La Nina often leads to more Atlantic hurricanes, less rain and more wildfires in the western United States, and agricultural losses in the central U.S.
Studies have shown La Nina is more expensive to the United States than the El Nino.
Together El Nino, La Nina and the neutral condition are called ENSO, which stands for El Nino Southern Oscillation, and they have one of the largest natural effects on climate, at times augmenting and other times dampening the big effects of human-caused climate change from the burning of coal, oil and gas, scientists say.
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Follow AP’s climate coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment
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TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly lower Thursday, tracking the broad slide on Wall Street, as investors braced for higher interest rates and inflation worries for some time.
Benchmarks fell in Tokyo, Sydney, South Korea and Hong Kong in early trading, but edged up slightly in Shanghai.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 declined 1.5% in morning trading to 27,673.14. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.7% to 6,865.60. South Korea’s Kospi shed 1.7% to 2,429.75. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost nearly 0.8% to 19,799.92, while the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.3% to 3,212.96.
The slide in the Nikkei came despite signs of improvement in the Japanese economy. A study by the Finance Ministry on corporate financial statements for April-June showed a 17.6% improvement from the same period the previous year.
“At some point central banks will discover inflation is remaining high despite their interest rate hikes and they will stop. Unfortunately, for the economy on Main Street, that point is too far off in the distance. It is difficult to see any near-term end in sight for increased caution by consumers and businesses across Europe, China, and the U.S.A.,” said Clifford Bennett, chief economist at ACY Securities.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 31.16 points, 0r 0.8%, to 3,955, extending its losing streak to a fourth day. The index is down 17% so far this year. It ended the month with a 4.2.% loss after surging 9.1% in July.
The Nasdaq lost 66.93 points, or 0.6%, to 11,816.20, while the Dow gave up 280.44 points, or 0.9%, to close at 31,510.43. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 11.48 points, or 0.6%, to 1,844.12.
Technology stocks and big retailers were among the heaviest weights on the market. Only communications stocks eked out a slight gain.
The latest pullback for stocks came as Treasury yields rose broadly. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences interest rates on mortgages and other consumer loans, rose to 3.17% from 3.11% late Tuesday.
Bond yields have been rising along with expectations for higher interest rates, which the Federal Reserve has been increasing in a bid to squash the highest inflation in decades.
“You have the bond market now taking the Fed seriously,” said Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at All Star Charts. “And it’s not that stocks can’t overcome that, but so far they haven’t overcome that.”
The last time stocks mounted a big rally was in July and early August, when bond yields came off their highs as expectations for higher rates eased.
“If the underlying trend in stocks is lower, then higher bond yields weigh on that,” Delwiche said.
Wall Street is worried that the Fed could hit the brakes too hard on an already slowing economy and veer it into a recession. Higher interest rates also hurt investment prices, especially for pricier stocks like technology companies.
Traders are now trying to get a better sense of how far and how quickly the Fed’s rate hikes will go. The Fed has already raised interest rates four times this year and is expected to raise short-term rates by another 0.75 percentage points at its September meeting, according to CME Group.
Technology stocks and big retailers were among the heaviest weights on the market Wednesday. Chipmaker Nvidia fell 2.4% and Best Buy slid 5.6%. Energy companies fell as the price of U.S. crude oil dropped 2.3%. Occidental Petroleum slipped 1.4%.
Those losses kept gains in communications stocks and elsewhere in the market in check.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude fell 35 cents to $89.20 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, slipped $2.82, to $96.49 a barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar inched up to 139.56 Japanese yen from 139.04 yen. The euro cost $1.0026, down from $1.0054.
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Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California would add wine and distilled spirits containers to its struggling recycling program, while giving beverage dealers another option to collect empty bottles and cans, under a measure lawmakers approved Wednesday. But critics say the bill would also give hundreds of millions of dollars to corporations they say don’t need the incentives.
It’s “a huge opportunity” to divert hundreds of additional tons of waste from landfills, said Democratic Assemblyman Phil Ting, who carried the bill in the Assembly. “This bill will be a huge leap.”
In addition, dealers could form a cooperative organization to collect the containers as an alternative to the current law that requires stores to take back the empties, under the proposal by Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins.
Fewer people have been able to claim their deposit refunds in recent years as many neighborhood recycling centers closed. The advocacy group Consumer Watchdog has said many grocery stores have been refusing to take back empties in-store as required.
The measure cleared the Assembly 54-0 and the Senate 38-0. It will have an effective date of July 1, 2024, if Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the bill into law.
The bill doesn’t spell out how the cooperative would work, but would require dealers to submit their plan to state regulators for approval. It would also increase the penalty for violating the law from the current $1,000 to $5,000 per day and for intentional violations from $5,000 to $10,000 per day.
California consumers pay a nickel each time they buy a 12-ounce (355-milliliter) bottle or can, and a dime for containers over 24 ounces (709 milliliters).
They’re supposed to get that money back by returning the bottles and cans, an incentive so the containers don’t go into landfills but can be recycled into new products.
The proposal would include a 25-cent deposit and refund for wine and distilled spirits sold in a box, bag or pouch.
Hawaii, Iowa, Maine and Vermont already have deposit programs including those containers, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Adam Smith, Distilled Spirits Council of the United States’ vice president of state government relations, praised the bill’s passage in a statement.
“The spirits industry believes that sustainable environmental practices are critical to the continued production of the high-quality spirits that consumers enjoy,” he said.
Adding wine and spirits would bring nearly $18 million more annually to the state’s recycling fund starting in 2024, along with annual costs topping $6 million, projects the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, generally known as CalRecycle.
Newsom’s administration has proposed grants for automated recycling machines, also known as reverse vending machines, at high schools, colleges and retailers, and state-funded mobile recycling programs in rural areas and other places with few recycling options. It also has proposed temporarily doubling the refunds to encourage recycling and give back a portion of nearly $600 million in unclaimed deposits, but that double refund is not in the current proposal.
Consumer Watchdog, Container Recycling Institute and The Story of Stuff Project objected that Atkins’ proposal contains too much pork for corporations, costing nearly $400 million over the next five years for market development and quality incentives that the groups argue aren’t needed.
Of that, $300 million would go to glass container makers including E&J Gallo Winery’s Gallo Glass Company, the nation’s largest glass container plant, they said.
Consumers’ deposits “shouldn’t underwrite enormously profitable companies such as Gallo,” Liza Tucker of Consumer Watchdog said in a statement. “These grants do not help existing redemption centers that are dying on the vine, they only help manufacturers and the biggest recyclers.”
The recycling institute withdrew its support, saying the grants would put “a strain on the ability of the program to operate with financial sustainability.”
Consumer Watchdog backed the distributors’ cooperative portion of the bill, which is similar to previous legislative proposals. That option “could work to create better access if the rules are drafted correctly and enforced,” the group said.
“This is an issue done what I call the right way” with intensive negotiations over several years, said Democratic Assemblyman Adam Gray. “We’ve come to a solution … good for the industry, good for the state of California.”
Without addressing the grants, Atkins said her bill would “reduce consumer confusion” by adding wine and spirits containers, while potentially more than doubling the recycling of those containers from the current 30%. She said her bill also gives dealers “a new path to compliance” with the state’s recycling law.
A second bill heading to Newsom is designed to help reduce recycling fraud by barring cash payments from processors to recyclers.
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This story has been corrected to show that dealers, not distributors, can form cooperatives.
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NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus on Wednesday lifted the obligatory use of face masks in all indoor areas after the island nation’s top health official said epidemiological data amid the coronavirus pandemic have “significantly improved.”
Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantela told reporters after a Cabinet meeting that the mask rule still applies to hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, pharmacies and public transport.
It’s recommended that those with chronic ailments continue using face coverings.
All capacity limitations were also lifted as of Wednesday for restaurants, nightclubs, retail stores, shopping malls, casinos, sports stadiums and churches.
Primary school pupils will be supplied with five self-tests each on their return to classes on Sept. 12. Authorities recommend that teachers and students get either self-tested or undergo a rapid test before the start of classes.
The COVID-19 infection rate receded to 3.54%, with nine of 57 people receiving hospital treatment diagnosed as being in serious condition, for the week of Aug. 19-25, according to Health Ministry statistics.
About 16 people, ranging in age from 66 to 99, died from COVID-19 for the same week, bringing the overall total in Cyprus since the pandemic began to 1,168.
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Bird flu has returned to the Midwest earlier than authorities expected after a lull of several months, with the highly pathogenic disease being detected in two commercial turkey flocks in western Minnesota and a hobby flock in Indiana, officials said Wednesday.
The disease was detected after a farm in Meeker County reported an increase in mortality last weekend, the Minnesota Board of Animal Health said. The flock was euthanized to stop the spread. The board later reported that a second flock in the county tested positive Tuesday evening.
They were the first detections of avian influenza in Minnesota since May 31, when a backyard flock was struck in Becker County. Indiana’s case was its first since a backyard flock there tested positive June 8, which had been the last detection in the Midwest before this week.
However, there have been several detections in western states in July and August, including California, where a half-dozen commercial farms have had to kill more than 425,000 chickens and turkeys since last week. There have also been cases in Washington, Oregon and Utah, plus a few in some eastern states.
“While the timing of this detection is a bit sooner than we anticipated, we have been preparing for a resurgence of the avian influenza we dealt with this spring,” said Dr. Shauna Voss, the board’s senior veterinarian. “HPAI is here and biosecurity is the first line of defense to protect your birds.”
The Indiana State Board of Animal Health reported that a small hobby flock of chickens, ducks and geese in northern Indiana’s Elkhart County tested presumptively positive on Tuesday, though final confirmation from a federal lab was pending.
Across the country, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 414 flocks in 39 states have been affected since February, costing producers over 40 million birds, mostly commercial turkeys and chickens. The disease has struck 81 Minnesota flocks this year, requiring the killing of nearly 2.7 million birds.
Minnesota produces more turkeys annually than any other state.
This year’s outbreak contributed to a spike in egg and meat prices, and killed an alarming number of bald eagles and other wild birds. It also affected some zoos. It appeared to be waning in June, but officials warned then that another surge could take hold this fall.
The disease is typically carried by migrating birds. It only occasionally affects humans, such as farm workers, and the USDA keeps poultry from infected flocks out of the food supply. A widespread outbreak in 2015 killed 50 million birds across 15 states and cost the federal government nearly $1 billion.
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| 2022-09-21T13:01:58Z
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PARIS (AP) — Tourism came back with a vengeance to France this summer, sending revenues over pre-pandemic levels, according to government estimates released this week.
Crowds packed Paris landmarks and Riviera beaches, notably thanks to an influx of Americans benefiting from the weak euro, but also British and other European visitors reveling in the end of pandemic restrictions.
“It’s beautiful to go again to travel,” said Serena Veronese, a tourist from Lago Maggiore in Italy soaking in the view of the Eiffel Tower. She and her husband work for an airline and “suffered a lot” as the COVID-19 crisis grounded planes worldwide. “Now people have to go traveling again, they have to.”
The summer surge came despite exceptionally hot weather in France and around Europe, record drought and devastating wildfires. The season saw chaos in European airports and rising prices that hit tourists, too.
Spending on tourism in France reached pre-pandemic levels and has even surpassed it in some areas, Tourism Minister Olivia Gregoire told reporters.
According to the government’s preliminary estimates, tourism spending in France this summer was 10% higher than 2019, based on data from bank card use and lodging and restaurant revenues.
All that is important for an industry that accounts for 8% of the French economy and 2 million jobs.
Tourist visits are expected to ebb as autumn kicks in, but the summer influx was so big that the French government is considering ways to make tourism of the future more sustainable, such as imposing crowd limits in popular spots and drawing travelers to less-famous sites.
France saw 90 million tourists in 2019, and could eventually hit 100 million a year as tourism rebounds and as France hosts global events like next year’s Rugby World Cup and the 2024 Olympics, Gregoire said.
“We can’t necessarily follow the same practices in 10, 20 years, given the climate episodes we are facing,” Gregoire told reporters.
As concerns resurface about the impact of overtourism, Gregoire said France is aiming to “rethink tourism today and tomorrow” to provide better quality experiences, take climate and emissions into account and ensure that people of all incomes can enjoy tourist experiences.
About three out of every 10 French people didn’t take a summer vacation, mainly because they couldn’t afford to.
Of the foreigners who visited France this summer, there was a “big return” of British tourists and “the Americans came back in force,” along with Dutch, German and Belgian visitors, said Hugo Alvarez, head of French tourism development agency Atout France.
Overlooking the Seine River, Lucrecia Evans of Houston said: “Our dollar is a lot stronger for us. We have done a lot more shopping, I am taking out more euros to take home for my next trip, because the dollar is stronger to the euro right now which is normally not the case.”
American and European visitors made up for a notable absence of Asian tourists in France, kept home by continued virus restrictions in some countries. France has lifted nearly all COVID rules.
“We were here just before the COVID crisis the last time,” said Ainsley Taylor, visiting Paris from Banbury, England. “It’s great to be back.”
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Angela Charlton in Paris contributed.
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| 2022-09-21T13:02:05Z
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BERLIN (AP) — German prosecutors have raided the office of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Frankfurt as part of a broader tax evasion investigation targeting numerous banks in Germany and beyond.
Cologne prosecutors said Wednesday that dozens of investigators began searching the offices Tuesday of a Frankfurt-based financial institution and several auditing and tax firms.
The raids, which also targeted private apartments of four suspects, were linked to an investigation into so-called cum-ex share transactions and related tax evasion practices that are said to have cost the German government billions of euros, prosecutors said.
In a statement, JPMorgan confirmed that its Frankfurt offices were “visited” this week.
“We continue to cooperate with the German authorities on their ongoing investigation,” the bank said.
The offices of several rival institutions have already been searched by German authorities. Hundreds of bankers allegedly were involved in the cum-ex scheme that saw participants claim reimbursement for taxes they hadn’t paid.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has come under scrutiny for the way Hamburg authorities handled a related case while he was mayor of the city.
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| 2022-09-21T13:02:20Z
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NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s economy grew by 13.5% in the April-June quarter from a year earlier, pushed up by a boost in agriculture and manufacturing as pandemic curbs eased, official figures released Wednesday show.
The jump follows a 4.1% slump in the January-March quarter, but is lower than the 20.1% annual growth registered in the same quarter the previous year.
However, economists have cautioned that the growth this quarter may be followed by a slowdown. In July, the International Monetary Fund revised its growth forecast for India from 8.2% to 7.4% for the current fiscal year, which began in April.
Despite the revision, India would still be among the fastest-growing major economies in the world.
The double-digit growth in the April-June quarter comes at a time when the global economy is under strain, with major countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom facing high inflation. Prices have been rising as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, triggering increased prices for energy and food.
India’s economy, Asia’s third largest, had been recovering from a pandemic-induced slump when a surge in omicron-fueled coronavirus cases starting in January prompted authorities to bring back some virus-related restrictions.
Multiple waves of COVID-19 outbreaks have badly hit India’s large informal sector, with unemployment rising to nearly 8.5% in August, according to data from the think tank Center for Monitoring Indian Economy.
India’s central bank projected inflation at 6.7% this fiscal year and raised its key interest rate by 50 basis points to 5.4%, in its third such hike since May.
The economy expanded by 8.7% in the previous fiscal year after contracting by 6.6% in fiscal year 2020-21.
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| 2022-09-21T13:02:28Z
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LONDON (AP) — Inflation in the European countries using the euro currency hit another record in August, fueled by soaring energy prices mainly driven by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Annual inflation in the eurozone’s 19 countries rose to 9.1%, up from 8.9% in July, according to the latest figures released Wednesday by the European Union statistics agency Eurostat.
Inflation is at the highest levels since record-keeping for the euro began in 1997. The latest figures add pressure on European Central Bank officials to continue raising interest rates, which can tame inflation, but also stifle economic growth.
Prices are rising in many other countries as Russia’s war in Ukraine grinds on, triggering unprecedented increases for energy and food that are squeezing household finances. Disruptions to global manufacturing supply chains caused by the coronavirus pandemic have also played a role in pushing up prices. This summer has seen a wave of protests and strikes around the world by workers pushing for higher wages and people fed up with the high cost of living.
Inflation in Britain, Denmark and Norway, which have their own currencies, is also surging, according to official data released earlier this month. U.K. residents face an 80% jump in annual household energy bills, regulators warned last week.
Inflation is also high in the U.S., adding urgency for the Fed to keep raising interest rates. Prices were up 8.5% in July compared with a year earlier, thought that was lower than 9.1% in June.
In the euro zone, energy prices surged 38.3%, though the rate was slightly lower than the previous month, while food prices rose at a faster pace of 10.6%, according to Eurostat’s preliminary estimate. The agency’s final report, released about two weeks later, is usually unchanged.
“Specific European problems continue to push inflation higher,” ING Bank senior economist Bert Colijn wrote in an analyst note. “The gas supply crisis and droughts are adding to persisting supply-side pressures on inflation at the moment.”
Russia, a major energy producer, has been reducing the flow of gas to European countries that have sided with Ukraine in the war, a move that’s wreaked havoc with prices.
At the same time, nearly half of Europe has been afflicted by an unprecedented drought that’s hurting farm economies, crimping production of staple crops like corn, and driving up food prices.
Price rises for manufactured goods like clothing, appliances, cars, computers and books accelerated to 5%, and the cost of services rose 3.8%.
The euro’s weakness is another factor keeping prices high. The currency has slipped below parity with the dollar, which can make imported goods more costly, particularly oil, which is priced in dollars.
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| 2022-09-21T13:02:35Z
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A timeline of major events in the life of former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who has died at age 91.
March 2, 1931: Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev born in Privolnoye in southern Russia.
1950: Admitted to Moscow State University, the Soviet Union’s top university.
1971: Elected to the Communist Party’s powerful Central Committee.
1980: Becomes a full member of the ruling Politburo.
March 11, 1985: Appointed as general secretary of the Communist Party and the nation’s new leader following the death of Konstantin Chernenko.
October 1985: Launches his campaign to end the Soviet Union’s economic and political stagnation, using “glasnost,” or openness, to help achieve the goal of “perestroika,” or restructuring.
November 1985: Meets U.S. President Ronald Reagan in Geneva for the first of a series of summits with world leaders.
April 26, 1986: Reactor explodes at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. Soviet authorities acknowledge the blast only three days later.
October 11-12, 1986: Gorbachev and Reagan meet in Reykjavik, Iceland, in a summit that produces no agreements, but is widely hailed as a precursor to nuclear arms agreements.
December 1987: Signs the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces, or INF, Treaty with Reagan. The treaty banned the U.S. and Soviet Union from possessing, producing or test-flying a ground-launched cruise missile with a range of 300 to 3,400 miles.
February 1989: The last Soviet troops leave Afghanistan.
November 1989: The Berlin Wall falls as East Germany’s hard-line leadership opens its borders, a key moment in the collapse of communism in eastern Europe.
October 1990: Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
July 1991: Signs the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START, with U.S. President George H.W. Bush. The treaty resulted in the largest nuclear reductions in history, and included a mechanism allowing the two sides to inspect and verify each other’s arsenals.
August 1991: Attempted coup by the Communist old guard fails, but dramatically erodes Gorbachev’s authority.
Dec. 8, 1991: The leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus declare the Soviet Union dead and announce the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Dec. 25, 1991: Announces his resignation as Soviet leader. The Soviet red flag over the Kremlin is pulled down and replaced with Russia’s tricolor.
June 1996: Runs in Russia’s presidential election, winning less than 1% of the vote.
September 1999: His wife, Raisa, dies of leukemia.
Aug. 30, 2022: Dies at the Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow.
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More AP stories on Mikhail Gorbachev here: https://apnews.com/hub/mikhail-gorbachev
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| 2022-09-21T13:02:43Z
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BERLIN (AP) — Russia’s Gazprom halted the flow of natural gas through a major pipeline from Russia to Europe early Wednesday, a stoppage that it announced in advance and has said will last three days.
The Russian state-owned energy company announced the closure of Nord Stream 1 in mid-August, citing maintenance at a compressor station — an explanation that German officials have cast doubt on. Gazprom says that work is necessary on the only remaining functioning turbine at the Portovaya station, at the Russian end of the pipeline.
Gazprom started cutting supplies through Nord Stream 1 in mid-June. It cited technical problems that German authorities have dismissed as cover for a political power play. In recent weeks, Nord Stream 1 has been running at only 20% of capacity.
Russia, which before the reductions started accounted for a bit more than a third of Germany’s gas supplies, has also reduced the flow of gas to other European countries which have sided with Ukraine in the war.
Natural gas is used to power industry, heat homes and offices, and generate electricity. Increasing the amount in reserve has been a key focus of the German government since Russia invaded Ukraine, to avoid rationing for industry as demand rises in the winter.
In July, the government moved to tighten storage requirements. It introduced a requirement for storage to be 75% full by Sept. 1 — a target that already has been surpassed — and raised the targets for October and November to 85% and 95%, respectively, from 80% and 90%.
As of Wednesday, Germany’s storage facilities were over 83% full. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his government had done well to act early, when “not everyone was sure we might have a problem.”
While Germany looks to store gas and diversify its supplies, it also is among countries pushing for an urgent redesign of the European electricity market to decrease the influence of soaring gas prices on the cost of energy.
“The pressure is so great that I am really very confident that it will be done quickly,” he said Wednesday, without specifying whether changes will be in place this winter. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged reform on Monday.
The European Union’s energy commissioner, Kardi Simson, said Wednesday that the 27-nation bloc already had reached its goal of filling gas storage to 80% of capacity ahead of the winter months. The target date was Nov. 1.
EU member Hungary, which has been close to Russia and insisted on a temporary exemption from the bloc’s embargo on Russian oil, is getting more gas from Moscow.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Facebook Wednesday that Gazprom will deliver up to 5.8 million cubic meters per day in September and October on top of the amounts already outlined in a long-term agreement between the two countries, Hungarian news agency MTI reported.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
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| 2022-09-21T13:02:50Z
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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea says it plans to challenge a World Bank tribunal’s order to pay $216.5 million plus interest to Texas-based Lone Star Funds following a decade-long dispute over the private equity firm’s sale of the Korea Exchange Bank.
South Korean Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon said Wednesday that his government finds the ruling unacceptable because there is no fault in the way financial authorities handled the 2012 sale. He said the ministry is considering seeking an annulment of the order and other steps so that “not a penny of our nation’s blood-like taxpayer money is spilt.”
Han spoke hours after the Seoul government received the ruling from the World Bank’s International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes. The payment ordered by the tribunal represented only 4.6% of $4.68 billion Lone Star had demanded, according to Han’s ministry, which represents the government in legal cases.
Lone Star initiated the arbitration in 2012, claiming that South Korea’s financial regulator unfairly delayed its review process over the sale of KEB and effectively forced the buyout firm to sell the bank at a lower price.
Lone Star acquired a controlling stake in the KEB in 2003, when South Korea was slowly wiggling out of the shock unleashed by the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.
Lone Star had initially planned to sell its stakes to HSBC, but the British bank dropped its $6 billion bid in 2008, after South Korean authorities delayed their approval of the transaction. They cited legal concerns after a former Lone Star executive was found guilty of manipulating the stock price of a KEB credit-card unit.
Lone Star eventually sold its stake to South Korea’s Hana Financial Group for 3.9 trillion won ($2.9 billion) in 2012.
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| 2022-09-21T13:03:12Z
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LONDON (AP) — The two candidates vying to become Britain’s next prime minister were making their final push to win over Conservative Party members Wednesday, wrapping up a summer of campaigning ahead of a leadership announcement on Monday.
That decision — made by only about 180,000 party voters, not the country’s whole electorate — couldn’t come soon enough.
Britain has been rudderless for weeks as it endures a deepening cost-of-living crisis, the worst to hit the country for decades. Since Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his impending resignation on July 7, a cascade of workers’ strikes has disrupted ports, trains and multiple industrial sectors as energy and food costs skyrocket and unions demand better pay.
Households are facing an 80% jump in energy bills triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, prices are set to soar even higher in the coming months and the U.K. economy is heading into a potentially lengthy recession.
The Conservative government has faced increasingly urgent calls for action to ease the pain, but officials have insisted that no new policy will be decided until a new prime minister is in place on Tuesday.
Tim Bale, a politics professor at Queen Mary University of London, said this summer has seen the Conservative Party looking “inwards rather than outwards” at a time when millions of Britons have been plunged into uncertainty and financial hardship.
“There is a feeling in the country that the last few weeks have been, in some ways, a bit of a waste of time,” he said. “I think the country’s just wanting the government to get on with it and wanting the government to tell them what they’re going to do to help them through what looks like a really, really difficult autumn and winter.”
The two leadership finalists, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak, have been widely criticized for offering very little in the way of concrete policies to help households and businesses struggling to afford essentials.
Truss, the frontrunner, has spoken about tax cuts such as slashing sales taxes and is reportedly mulling more financial help targeting the most vulnerable households. But her supporters have said she will not finalize her plans to tackle spiralling costs before she becomes the leader –- a stance that seems tone deaf as charities, small businesses and even heads of schools plead for help and say they face closure unless there is significant government aid.
Neither Truss nor Sunak wanted to come forward with detailed plans, partly because they are reluctant to promise anything they couldn’t deliver as the economic outlook continues to worsen, Bale said.
Conservative ideology – and the way the new leader is chosen – also play a part in how the candidates have responded to the crisis.
“Conservative Party members probably don’t want to hear about having to increase the help to households from the state, since they believe that the state should do as little as possible,” Bale added.
Truss and Sunak, who have both declared their admiration for Margaret Thatcher and her ring-wing, small-government economics, are not campaigning for support from the wider U.K. public. Instead, they are seeking to win over the Conservative Party membership.
Only about 180,000 party members will have a vote in choosing the party leader, and that person will automatically become the next U.K. prime minister.
Meanwhile strikes or ballots for industrial action are being announced almost daily amid growing demands for pay rises to keep pace with inflation. Train drivers, postal and port workers, garbage collectors and lawyers have staged walkouts in recent weeks, and unions representing teachers, nurses and others are considering similar action.
An initial field of 11 Conservative candidates put their hats in the ring after Johnson quit in July, as his government was engulfed by ethics scandals. Revelations of pandemic lockdown-breaching parties in Downing Street, Johnson’s office and residence, eroded his authority for months, and Conservative lawmakers finally forced Johnson out over his appointment of a politician accused of sexual misconduct.
Johnson sought to strike an optimistic note Wednesday, highlighting positives during his term in office -– such as low unemployment and investments in rail and high-speed broadband –- and dodging questions about the cost-of-living crisis that his successor will inherit.
The U.K. has the “financial strength to get through” cost-of-living “pressures,” he told reporters. Asked whether Britain was broken in the final days of his leadership, he said: “Absolutely not. This country has got an incredible future and has everything going for it.”
Final campaigning was taking place later Wednesday in London, and the winner will be announced Monday. Johnson and his successor will then travel to Scotland to see Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday -– one to formally tender his resignation, and the other to be invited to form a government.
The queen’s meetings with prime ministers traditionally take place in London’s Buckingham Palace. But the 96-year-old monarch has suffered from mobility problems in recent months, and so the arrangements are being moved for the first time to the Scottish Highlands, where she traditionally spends her summers.
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Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report.
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Follow all AP stories on British politics at https://apnews.com/hub/boris-johnson.
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| 2022-09-21T13:03:20Z
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DETROIT (AP) — Ford is recalling more than 277,000 pickup trucks and cars in the U.S. because the rear view camera lens can get cloudy and reduce visibility for the driver.
The recall covers certain F-250, 350 and 450 trucks as well as the Lincoln Continental, all from the 2017 through 2020 model years. The recalled vehicles have a 360-degree camera system.
Ford says the anti-reflective lens on the cameras can degrade, causing a cloudy image. The company says it has more than 8,800 warranty reports in the U.S. due to the problem.
Dealers will replace the camera at no cost to owners. Ford will notify owners by letter starting Sept. 12.
Ford announced earlier this month that it plans to lay off thousands of workers.
The cuts will impact about 2,000 salaried employees and 1,000 agency personnel, according to a Ford spokesperson.
They represent about 6% of the 31,000 full-time salaried workforces in the U.S. and Canada. Ford’s 56,000 union factory workers are not affected. Some workers also will lose jobs in India.
WDAF’s Heidi Schmidt contributed to this report.
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| 2022-09-21T13:03:35Z
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SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Four teens are now facing felony charges in connection with a crime spree that ended after a shootout at a Shreveport apartment complex in Shreveport early Tuesday morning.
According to the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office, the spree started around 2 a.m. in Southern Hills when the teens stole a car from a home shortly after they stole a pickup truck in Blanchard. The two stolen vehicles were used to facilitate burglaries of vehicles in the area of North Forty Loop.
It all ended at the Grand Oaks apartments, where the teens were found rummaging through a resident’s vehicle. The resident confronted the juveniles who first lied about their actions and then pulled out a weapon which led to an exchange of gunfire between two of the four juveniles and the resident. The teens fled the scene on foot and were later captured by Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Deputies.
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CPSO says the four suspects, three 17-year-olds and a 16-year-old, are charged as follows:
- 16-year-old: theft of a motor vehicle, illegal possession of stolen things (for a vehicle stolen in Shreveport), (3) counts of simple burglary, aggravated assault with a firearm, (2) counts of aggravated property damage, juvenile in possession of a handgun, resisting an officer. The sheriff’s office says this juvenile also had an order to take into custody through Caddo Juvenile Probation and Parole for theft of a motor vehicle in a separate incident.
- 17-year-old: illegal possession of stolen things (vehicle stolen in Shreveport), (3) counts of simple burglary, aggravated assault with a firearm, two counts of aggravated property damage, juvenile in possession of a handgun, resisting an officer.
- 17-year-old: illegal possession of stolen things (vehicle stolen in Shreveport), (3) counts of simple burglary, resisting an officer.
- 17-year-old: illegal possession of stolen things (vehicle stolen in Shreveport), (3) counts of simple burglary, resisting an officer.
Caddo deputies recovered two stolen vehicles and four guns. Detectives say there were at least eight victims related to these charges.
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| 2022-09-21T13:03:42Z
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CADDO PARISH, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – The Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Cass County jail escapee Charles Spraberry was arrested Wednesday morning.
CPSO was contacted by Cass County Sheriff’s and informed that they had tracked a vehicle Spraberry was riding in with a female companion. Caddo deputies spotted Spraberry driving a Cadillac SUV that was taken from an unoccupied residence on Highway 8 between Linden and Red Hill, Texas.
The two were traveling on LA Highway 169 south of Mooringsport just after 8 a.m. and, after a short chase, Caddo deputies made the arrest.
Sprayberry Arrest in CPSO vehicle (Source: Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office) Spraberry arrest (Source: Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office)
A multiagency manhunt had been underway since Monday when Spraberry made his escape by stabbing a male guard with a knife he made in prison. He made his way to the intake area located near a front entrance and forced a female guard to let him out of a door leading outside, and fled on foot.
The Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Rangers, Texas Department of Public Safety, United States Marshals, and Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office collaborated to capture Spraberry.
Both were booked into Caddo Correctional Center. Spraberry will remain in custody at CCC until he is extradited to Texas.
In addition to his original charges of sexual assault, assault by strangulation, assault with a deadly weapon, felon in possession of a firearm, and kidnapping, Spraberry is the person of interest in a double homicide investigation in Cass County.
Spraberry is also charged with felony escape, burglary, theft of property, and assault on a public servant. Charges on the female who was traveling with him are pending investigation.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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HARVEY, La. (WGNO) — Dr. Orin Grant Sr. has always relied on the power of prayer to get him through life’s most difficult times.
But the Gretna pastor is using his faith to guide him through the greatest challenge he’s ever faced after losing his 20-year-old son.
“My life has changed drastically — it has brought a void in my life and a new journey. A journey that I will have for the rest of my life without my son,” said Dr. Grant.
Grant’s son, Orin Grant Jr. was gunned down while at his girlfriend’s house on Pailet Avenue on August 2, just minutes away from his father’s church.
“It was someone who was kin to his girlfriend, took him to the back yard, and back there allegedly there were some perpetrators — two gunmen — who shot my son in the back as he tried to run from them,” said Dr. Grant.
In honor of his son, Dr. Grant and other local leaders came together to address the ongoing violence in our communities.
Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joe Lopinto says we need more events like this to send a message to the young people who are often victims of violence.
“They never believe they’re going to be the next one, they never believe that they’re going to be the next person killed on the street. It’s not as easy as we always have the solution, sometimes we don’t, but we have to take the preventative measures in order to make sure there next generation is able to continue,” said Sheriff Lopinto.
Dr. Grant says he hopes the rally will serve as a starting point to get the community involved in eradicating violence from our communities.
“One of our messages going forward is collaboration, and effort all hands on deck. This problem is too big. We not only have a problem with killing with have a spirit of murder in this city and it’s demonic, it’s devilish and it’s diabolical,” said Dr. Grant.
Though nothing will bring back Dr. Grant’s son, those who attended this Harvey rally say they’re relying on their faith — and each other — to make a much needed change.
The Investigation into Grant’s death is ongoing and so far, no one has been charged with his murder. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with any information to come forward — you can remain anonymous.
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Disclaimer: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
CADDO PARISH, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – A Shreveport man is in jail in Ohio after police say he fled Caddo Parish to avoid prosecution on hundreds of child and animal sex charges.
According to the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office, 32-year-old Darren Drew was arrested Tuesday in Ohio by United States Marshals after a forensic investigation into Dew’s electronic devices found more than 1,000 images and videos of child pornography and animal sexual abuse.
Cyber Crimes Unit Detective Thomas Lites found that Dew downloaded, uploaded, and saved pornography involving students as young as three years old. Lites also found evidence of a dog being sexually abused.
The sheriff’s office says Dew fled to Ohio shortly after learning about the investigation into his activity. Now that he is in custody, Dew will be extradited to Caddo Parish Correctional Center and charged with 1,694 counts of child pornography and one count of animal sexual abuse.
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TEXARKANA, Texas (KTAL/KMSS) – Due to recent tragic events involving school shooters, the Texarkana Texas Police Department is ensuring officers are ready to respond if the need arises.
Over the next few weeks, the department is offering Active Shooter Training for local law enforcement. All TTPD officers, many from area school districts, and other police departments will attend the training.
TTPD’s best tactical instructors, Sgt. James Hargrave and Officer Cory Berry, are leading the training.
“This training is important for all officers to be involved with and to get this training because it is designed specifically for active shooters, and so the training that you go through teaches you how to handle those types of situations if you were ever involved in that,” said TTPD Sgt. Kimberly Weaver.
The training will occur at the old Pleasant Grove Elementary School building.
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(The Hill) – Former Alaska state Rep. Mary Peltola (D) was projected to defeat former Gov. Sarah Palin (R) to win the special election to fill the remainder of the late Rep. Don Young’s (R-Alaska) term in the House, a stunning upset that makes her the first Alaska Native in Congress.
Peltola, a Yup’ik Eskimo, will also be the first Democrat to hold the seat in decades. The last time a member of her party was elected to represent the state’s at-large congressional district was in 1971.
Her apparent victory came after votes were tabulated late Wednesday as part of the state’s new ranked-choice voting system.
Prior to her congressional run to fill Young’s seat, Peltola represented the southwestern Bethel region as a state lawmaker for a decade and has also served on the Bethel City Council and Orutsararmiut Native Council Tribal Court.
Peltola also ran in the primary for the same seat but whose term would begin in 2023. She advanced in the primary as she was one of the top four vote-getters in Alaska’s open primary system.
Other candidates who also advanced in that primary included not just Palin but also Nick Begich (R), the former co-chair for Young’s 2020 reelection campaign.
In the general election, which is slated for November, the state will also use ranked choice voting, where the candidate to receive more than 50 percent of the vote prevails in the election.
But if no one gets more than half of the votes, the candidate with the fewest votes gets knocked out, and any voters who chose that eliminated candidate as their first pick have their second choice votes applied to the applicable candidates. The process continues until one candidate receives more than half of the votes.
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SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – It is always a good idea to check your voter registration and update your name and address if needed before any election, but it is more important than ever this year because of redistricting.
Local, state, and national races are on the ballot in the upcoming November election, but some districts have changed, and that means some voters may need to go to different polling locations than they have before.
“What we tell all voters, if you’re registered, check your information because your precinct could’ve changed,” said Caddo-Bossier League of Women Voters President Gisele Probey Bryant. “The most important thing is to get this GeauxVote App so that you can have the information that has been approved by the State of Louisiana.”
Voter advocacy groups like the Caddo-Bossier League of Women Voters want to get the word out to ensure everyone who wants to vote can do so without running into any surprises at the ballot box, which is why you should also keep an eye on your mailbox.
“We also mail your district changes,” said Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office Commissioner of Elections Sherri Wharton Hadskey. “You receive a card in the mail, and it lists all of the districts that are on that card, so you should know ahead of time all the information that is necessary for the districts”
And if you do need to register or update your voter registration, Hadskey says it’s best to get it done sooner than later.
“If you register to vote right at the close of books, it takes a little while to have you verified, so it is very important that you register timely.”
Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin issued an advisory this week to ensure voters know that no one with the state or local Clerks of Court will be knocking on their doors, but independent third-party groups might come around with door-to-door surveys, petitions, or offers to help with voter registration.
“Louisiana residents are under no obligation to speak to or answer these groups’ questions. Cooperation or refusal to cooperate will have no bearing on a voter’s registration status,” the Secretary of State’s office said in a statement. “The Secretary of State’s office, in conjunction with local election officials, conducts an annual voter canvass via mail only.”
Bryant says the safest way to ensure you’ll be all set to vote on Nov. 8 is to go online or in person.
“The best way in our society with everything that is electronic is to go on the state website or the local parish.”
You can check your registration status or make updates to your registration by visiting geauxvote.com or downloading the free Geaux Vote mobile app, where you can also find ballot and election day information. You can also visit the Louisiana Voters’ Bill of Rights here.
The deadline to register to vote in person, by mail, or at the OMV Office is October 11. The deadline to register to vote through the GeauxVote Online Registration System is on October 18.
Early voting for the Nov. 8 election begins Oct. 25 and continues through Nov. 1, except for Sunday, Oct. 30, from 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
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SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – A boil advisory is in effect for all Shreveport water customers after a routine inspection found issues with the city’s water and sewerage system.
According to a statement released at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, the city’s Department of Water and Sewerage was required by the state to issue a boil advisory for the entire system after the Louisiana Department of Health identified areas needing repairs on top of several storage tanks at key points in the system during a routine inspection.
“Water Department officials do not believe that the northern portion of the city has been impacted but are issuing a system-wide boil advisory out of an abundance of caution,” the statement says. “The system is in compliance with microbiological testing, and the results haven’t given any indication of contamination.”
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The Louisiana Department of Health reports they discovered holes in some of the water tanks when they sent up a drone. They say the damage was found on the Linwood, St. Vincent, West Shreveport, 70th, and Pines Ground tanks.
It is recommended that water be disinfected before consuming it, making ice, brushing teeth, or using it for food preparation or rinsing of foods by the following means:
Boil water for one (1) full minute in a clean container. The one-minute starts after the water has been brought to a rolling boil. (The flat taste can be eliminated by shaking the water in a clean bottle or pouring it from one clean container to another)
City officials were not able to provide a timeline for repairs. Officials say they are in contact with contractors and do not expect the repairs to take long. The boil advisory is expected to be lifted once the repairs are made and tests show satisfactory results.
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EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, says he will continue busing migrants to “sanctuary cities” around the nation, and he appears to have the support of Texas voters and border agents.
The governor said that as of Friday, Texas had bused more than 11,000 migrants to New York City, Washington, D.C., and Chicago, adding that the “mission is providing much-needed relief to our overwhelmed border communities.”
The move has prompted Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey to follow suit, both of whom have implemented similar policies of busing or flying migrants awaiting asylum hearings to other parts of the country.
The policy has drawn praise and ire, with opponents calling it a cruel political stunt.
Abbott, however, says the Biden administration is ignoring what he calls a crisis at the border.
“Until the Biden-Harris Administration stops denying the border crisis they’ve created,” Abbott said. “Texas will continue bringing the border to their front door.”
Last week, Texas sent two buses of migrants to Washington, D.C., and had them dropped off outside of Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence at the United States Naval Observatory.
Abbott said he sent migrants to the Harris’ home in response to comments she made last week on “Meet the Press,” when she told Chuck Todd that the border was secure but that the U.S. immigration system was broken.
On Tuesday, Newsweek reported that Florida sent a plane of migrants from San Antonio to President Joe Biden’s home in Delaware.
Meanwhile, the majority of Texas voters recently polled said they support the state’s busing of migrants.
The Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas released a poll last week showing that 52% of Texas voters support the busing of migrants, while 35% expressed opposition and 14% are unsure.
On the other hand, Republicans overwhelmingly approve of the busing policy, with 80% expressing support and 62% expressing “strong support.” Most Democrats, 62%, oppose the busing of migrants, including 50% who “strongly oppose” it.
In a tweet Tuesday afternoon, Abbott said, “President Biden continues ignoring the historic crisis at our southern border caused by his open border policies, so we will bring the border to him. Texas will continue sending migrants to sanctuary cities like Washington, D.C. until President Biden and Border Czar Harris do their jobs and secure the border.”
Abbott on Monday received the endorsement of the National Border Patrol Council, the union representing some 18,000 border agents.
The Council announced the endorsement in a 30-second YouTube video, in which President Brandon Judd echoed Abbott’s criticism of Biden.
“Joe Biden refuses to secure our southern border, he’s crippled law enforcement and emboldened drug cartels, criminals and human traffickers,” Judd says as he stands next to Abbott near an unfinished portion of the border wall. “That’s why the National Border Patrol Council is proud to endorse Gov. Geg Abbott for reelection. He deployed new resources to assist law enforcement and he’s cracked down on criminal activity. No other governor has done more to secure our border than Greg Abbott. Joe Biden isn’t protecting America, but Texas and Gov. Abbott are stepping up.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre spoke to reporters Friday after DeSantis flew migrants to upscale Martha’s Vineyard before officials housed them at a military base on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Jean-Pierre said Abbott and DeSantis reportedly lured asylum seekers, including children, onto planes and buses under false premises and then abandoned them.
“These were children. They were moms. They were fleeing communism. And what did Gov. DeSantis and Gov. Abbott do to them? They used them as political pawns. Treated them like chattel in a cruel, premeditated political stunt,” Jean-Pierre said.
Jean-Pierre said DeSantis did not warn Massachusetts authorities that migrant children were about to land on their doorstep in need of food and shelter and misled migrants about going to Boston and getting refuge and benefits.
“These are the kinds of tactics we see from smugglers in places like Mexico and Guatemala,” Jean-Pierre said. “And for what? A photo-op. Because these governors care about creating political theater (rather) than creating actual solutions to help folks who are fleeing communism, to help children, to help families. Instead, they want to do political stunts.”
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A perfect storm of rising housing prices and the end of pandemic-response eviction moratoriums is leading to more Arkansas residents becoming concerned about eviction or foreclosure.
The numbers show good reason to be concerned. In a report by QuoteWizard, 13% of Arkansas residents are facing foreclosure, with 7% of the state behind on mortgage payments.
Renters facing eviction are an even higher number, with 32% of that group at risk, but then 15% of that same group are behind on rent.
Nationwide, the numbers show that 7% are worried about foreclosure and 4% are behind on their mortgage payments.
For renters nationally, 21% of people feel they will be evicted in the next two months. Like Arkansas, the national score is 15% of people behind on their rent.
Vermont, North Dakota, and Kansas have the highest number of people facing foreclosure. Georgia, Louisiana, and Vermont have the highest number facing eviction.
The study used data from the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Surveys.
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Federal officials approved a new plan to improve the broadband infrastructure in Arkansas, especially for rural communities.
The United States Department of Treasury announced Tuesday the approval of $47.5 million funding for Arkansas broadband infrastructure. The approval was of a state-submitted plan to provide broadband to rural communities or those without adequate service.
The money is from the federal Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund, put in place to address challenges which became visible during the pandemic, mainly in rural America.
“I appreciate the Treasury Department’s approval of this funding as we continue our work toward expanding broadband access in Arkansas,” Governor Asa Hutchinson said. “Ensuring access to high-speed internet presents a challenge in rural states, and this funding will provide us an opportunity to build on the work we’ve already done through the Arkansas Rural Connect Program.”
Estimates have the broadband improvement bringing or improving service to approximately 5,500 locations. It will provide internet connection of at least 100/20 Mbps with an emphasis on rural and disadvantaged locations.
Internet service providers funded by this program will participate in the FCC’s Affordably Connectivity Program, which has a $30 per month subsidy for low-income families.
The Tuesday announcement was part of a $408 million approval package. Connecticut, Indiana, Nebraska and North Dakota also received broadband funding.
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UPDATE, 2:17 p.m.: St. Landry Parish President Jessie Bellard confirmed the victim was attacked by five pit bulls at around 9:30 a.m. this morning while walking down Dynasty Lane in a rural area west of Sunset. Bellard has also confirmed that all five dogs have now been confiscated.
The victim has identified himself to News 10 as Johnathan Zenon, 59, and shared pictures of his wounds from his hospital bed.
WARNING: THE LINKS BELOW CONTAIN HIGHLY GRAPHIC IMAGES. DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
- Johnathan Zenon picture 1
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ORIGINAL POST, 11:33 a.m.: SUNSET, La. (KLFY) — A 59-year-old man was hospitalized after St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office and Animal Control officials confirmed he was attacked by dogs this morning, Aug. 31, on Dynasty Lane west of Sunset.
St. Landry Parish Animal Control officials confirmed that three dogs were confiscated this morning after the attack, though the investigation into the attack is still in the early stages and no charges have yet been filed.
St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Public Information Officer Dep. Chief Eddie Thibodeaux confirmed the man sustained bites to his arm and head, among other parts of his body. He was taken to a local hospital, and his condition has not been released.
The animals were reportedly loose from their home at the time of the attack, said Thibodeaux.
This is a breaking news story. News 10 crews are working to get further information, and this post will be updated as it becomes available.
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UPDATE: The employer of the woman who died from the incident released more information on Wednesday night. 26-year-old Jermani Thompson was removing luggage from a plane when her hair became entangled with the machinery of the belt loader said Mike Hough, the CEO of GAT Airline Ground Support. The woman was employed by GAT Airline Ground Support, which contracts with Frontier.
Here is a statement from Mike Hough, the CEO of GAT Airline Ground Support in response to the incident:
“Yesterday at approximately 10:20pm, we had a fatality in our New Orleans operation. One of our supervisory team members was injured and subsequently died while working to offload an inbound aircraft. What we know so far is that her hair became entangled with the machinery of the belt loader. We are heartbroken and are supporting her family and her friends as best as we are able. Please send your well wishes to our team member’s family and to everyone at our New Orleans station during this very difficult time.“
KENNER, La. (WGNO) — A baggage handler at Louis Armstrong International Airport has died after being injured on the job Tuesday night.
According to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, a 26-year-old Frontier Airlines employee was unloading luggage from a flight at the time of the accident. The incident happened around 10:30 p.m.
A JPSO spokesman said the woman was taken to a Kenner hospital to be treated but died a little while later from her injuries.
Frontier Airlines released a statement on the incident.
“We extend our deepest condolences following the tragic death of a team member of our ground handling business partner at Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans. Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones during this difficult time.”
Kevin Dolliole, Director of Aviation for Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport also released a statement on the incident.
“We are deeply saddened about the tragic loss of GAT Airline Ground Support team member, Jermani Thompson. The Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport extends its sincere condolences to her family and friends, and also to our partners at GAT and Frontier Airlines. Jermani was a part of our Airport family, and we will continue to support one another in any way we can during this trying time.”
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LAREDO, Texas (KXAN) — Beto O’Rourke will start campaigning again after taking a few days to recover at home from a bacterial infection, his campaign announced Wednesday.
The Democratic candidate for Texas governor will hold his first in-person event Friday evening with a fiesta in Laredo. His campaign shared the event will include prizes, music and free dinner for the first 200 attendees. The event will begin at 6 p.m. at the Laredo Firefighters Union Hall 872.
O’Rourke went to a San Antonio hospital on Aug. 26 for treatment after he said he started not to feel well. He later told his supporters on social media that his doctors recommended resting at home in El Paso, so the campaign postponed several events. He said he’d return to the campaign trail once he began feeling better.
The Texas gubernatorial election will happen in 69 days on Nov. 8, which will pit O’Rourke against Gov. Greg Abbott. A recent poll focusing on the governor’s race showed the Republican incumbent maintaining a seven-point led over O’Rourke.
Texans for Greg Abbott, the governor’s reelection campaign, shared he would appear at an event Wednesday in Allen to mark the 2 millionth door-knocking for this election cycle. Abbott is then expected to hold another event in Fairview with senior voters.
Voters may have noticed the first ads starting to run from the two major candidates’ campaigns, signaling a ramp-up that will only intensify ahead of Election Day.
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TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Thursday hailed economic and educational cooperation with Taiwan, marked by a $12 billion investment in his state by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp.
Ducey spoke during a meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, in the latest of a series of visits by U.S. political leaders that have stirred the ire of China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory and condemns all official contacts between Taipei and foreign governments that recognize Beijing.
Taiwan is a leader in the production of semiconductors, the critical chips that are used in everyday electronics and have become a battleground in the technology competition between the U.S. and China.
Arizona is also home to a base that trains Taiwan’s F-16 fighter pilots who are a major part in the island’s defenses against a threatened Chinese blockade or invasion. Arizona also plans to open a state representative office in Taipei and the sides have inked an agreement on cooperation in higher education. The TSMC investment is expected to create 2,000 jobs in Arizona, with the company taking numerous future workers for training in Taiwan.
“Arizona and Taiwan have many shared economic strengths specifically in technology and advanced manufacturing industries,” Ducey said.
“Both Arizona and Taiwan are global semiconductor leaders and it is in this industry where our partnership is the greatest. (The investment) has elevated the potential of what’s possible between Arizona and Taiwan,” the governor said.
Neither Tsai or Ducey directly mentioned China, although in her remarks, the president indicated current events were driving expanded economic links between the sides.
“In the face of authoritarian expansionism and the economic challenges of the post-pandemic era, Taiwan seeks to bolster cooperation with the United States in the semiconductor and other high-tech industries,” Tsai said.
“This would help build more secure and more resilient supply chains. We look forward to jointly producing democracy chips to safeguard the interests of our democratic partners and create greater prosperity,” she said.
Close links between Taiwan and Arizona date back to the state’s former senators Barry Goldwater and John McCain, conservatives who were strongly critical of Beijing.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan early last month made her the highest-ranking American official to visit in 25 years, prompting China to launch missiles over the island and send ships and planes across the midline of the Taiwan Strait.
The U.S. recently sent a pair of missile cruisers through the 180 kilometer (110 mile)-wide strait in a rejection of Chinese protests. Despite the lack of formal diplomatic relations, the U.S. remains Taiwan’s main source of political and military support and federal law requires it to ensure the island has the ability to defend itself against Chinese threats.
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PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — A rapid deployment team of FBI cyber experts is heading to Montenegro to investigate a massive, coordinated attack on the tiny Balkan nation’s government and its services, the country’s Ministry of Internal Affairs announced Wednesday.
The announcement came as the government’s main websites — including the ministries of defense, finance and interior — remained unreachable. Officials said they were offline “for security reasons.”
The ministry called the FBI assistance “another confirmation of the excellent cooperation between the United States of America and Montenegro and a proof that we can count on their support in any situation.”
Montenegro’s Agency for National Security blamed the attack, which began late last week, squarely on Russia, though without providing evidence. A combination of ransomware and distributed denial-of-service attacks, the onslaught disrupted government services and prompted the country’s electrical utility to switch to manual control.
A cybercriminal extortion gang claimed responsibility for at least part of the attack, infecting a parliamentary office with ransomware known as Cuba, which the cybersecurity firm Profero has found to include Russian speakers. Russian-speaking cybercriminals generally operate without Kremlin interference, as long as they don’t target friendly nations.
Officials said no ransom demand has been made.
Montenegrin officials said Russia has a strong motive for such an attack because the Balkan state, once considered a strong Russian ally, joined NATO in 2017 despite strong opposition from the Kremlin. It has also joined Western sanctions against Moscow because of its invasion of Ukraine in February.
On Friday, the U.S. Embassy in Podgorica issued a rare alert saying the attack could include “disruptions to the public utility, transportation (including border crossings and airport), and telecommunication sectors.”
Other Eastern European states deemed enemies of Russia have recently also sustained cyberattacks, mostly nuisance-level denial-of-service campaigns, which render websites unreachable by flooding them with junk data but don’t damage data. Targets have included networks in Moldova, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Albania.
But the attack against Montenegro’s infrastructure seemed more sustained and extensive, with targets including water supply systems, transportation services and online government services, among many others.
Government officials in the country of just over 600,000 people said certain government services remained temporarily disabled for security reasons and that the data of citizens and businesses were not endangered.
The Director of the Directorate for Information Security, Dusan Polovic, said 150 computers were infected with malware at a dozen state institutions and that the data of the Ministry of Public Administration was not permanently damaged. Polovic said some retail tax collection was affected.
“The infected stations have been removed from the network and hard drives have been removed from them for further forensics,” he said.
“A huge amount of money was invested in the attack on our system,” said Minister of Public Administration Maras Dukaj. He added that his ministry cannot determine the source of the attack, but there is “strong indication that it is coming from Russia.”
The U.S. military’s Cyber Command has recently worked with the Montenegrins, helping to bolster their cyber defenses. It sent a team to work with them to counteract foreign aggression ahead of the 2020 election.
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AP writer Dusan Stojanovic contributed from Belgrade, Serbia.
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DETROIT (AP) — General Motors said Wednesday that a new electric vehicle battery plant built in Ohio has started producing cells, which could help customers get federal tax credits.
The joint-venture plant near Warren, Ohio, is focused on training as it prepares to ramp up manufacturing. A spokeswoman for the venture said it is producing cells but they are not yet being shipped. They’ll go into vehicles with GM’s Ultium batteries, which currently include Hummer EVs, Chevrolet Silverado EV pickups and the Cadillac Lyriq electric SUV.
Eventually, though, the plant should help GM’s EVs meet requirements to qualify for a $7,500-per-vehicle federal tax credit.
Under the Inflation Reduction Act recently signed into law, electric vehicles and their batteries must be manufactured in North America to get the credit. Battery minerals must be mined or recycled on the continent as well, or half the tax credit would be lost. And the batteries can’t have any components from China, another difficult hurdle.
The requirements are designed to build a North American supply chain for EVs so the country isn’t reliant on China and other overseas countries.
GM says it’s working to meet the requirements. The Ohio plant built with battery maker LG Energy Solution is a step toward getting the credits, which are key to boosting electric vehicle sales. No automaker wants to put EVs on the market that cost $7,500 more than the competition.
The $2.3 billion, 2.8-million-square-foot battery plant now employs 800 people, and eventually it will have 1,300. The factory is near Lordstown, Ohio, where GM closed a huge small-car assembly plant.
GM has a goal of making only electric passenger vehicles by 2035, and CEO Mary Barra has pledged to unseat Tesla as the top seller of EVs by the middle of this decade.
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| 2022-09-21T13:05:58Z
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TOKYO (AP) — Toyota is investing 730 billion yen ($5.6 billion) in Japan and the U.S. to boost production of batteries for electric vehicles, the Japanese automaker said Wednesday.
Production is set to start between 2024 and 2026. In Japan, 400 billion yen ($3 billion) will go into the Himeji Plant of Prime Planet Energy & Solutions Co. in Japan, as well as in Toyota plants and property. In the U.S., about 325 billion yen ($2.5 billion) will be invested in Toyota Battery Manufacturing in North Carolina, Toyota Motor Corp. said.
Toyota has scored success with the Prius and other hybrid models, which have an engine as well as a battery-driven electric motor, and so the company has at times been seen as a laggard on electric vehicles. But the global demand for electric vehicles is expected to grow in coming years as gas prices rise and concerns grow about the environment.
Earlier this week, Japanese rival Honda Motor Co. announced with major South Korean battery maker LG that they were investing $4.4 billion in a joint venture in the United States to produce batteries for Honda electric vehicles in the North American market, with mass production of advanced lithium-ion battery cells to start by the end of 2025.
Toyota reiterated its position that “there is more than one option for achieving carbon neutrality,” highlighting how its efforts with hybrids and fuel cells run on hydrogen can also be solutions. The options may depend on where a customer lives, according to the manufacturer, based in the city of Toyota in central Japan.
“This investment is aimed at enabling Toyota to flexibly meet the needs of its various customers in all countries and regions by offering multiple powertrains and providing as many options as possible,” it said in a statement.
Other automakers, including Ford Motor Co., General Motors, Hyundai-Kia, Stellantis and VinFast have announced plans for U.S. battery plants.
A new U.S. law offers an incentive to build batteries in North America, including a tax credit of up to $7,500 that could be used to defray the cost of buying an electric vehicle. To qualify for the full credit, the electric vehicle must contain a battery built in North America with 40% of the metals mined or recycled on the continent.
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Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/yurikageyama
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BATON ROUGE (AP) — Another 15,000 Louisiana homes and businesses are in line to get faster and more affordable internet over the next two years.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards announced during Wednesday’s inaugural Broadband Solutions Summit that an additional $35 million in federal funds, received by the state last year under the American Rescue Plan, will be used to provide broadband in underserved areas.
“Some of us take access to broadband for granted, but there are still many people who do not have a reliable or affordable connection, especially in the rural parts of our state,” Edwards said. “If we can connect those communities, we will improve health outcomes, grow our economy, increase access to educational opportunities, and enhance quality of life for so many people.”
For thousands of Louisiana households and businesses, affordable high-speed internet is out of reach, making simple tasks of modern living difficult — such as online shopping, telehealth, looking up information on the internet, or simply streaming movies and shows.
The issue was exacerbated in 2020 when the pandemic forced students into virtual classrooms and people to work from home. Edwards said the lack of affordable high-speed internet was particularly problematic in Louisiana’s rural communities.
“In 2019, we set a goal to close Louisiana’s digital divide by 2029, and this announcement is another step in the right direction,” Edwards said Wednesday.
The $35 million, which Edwards did not expect to announce until October, is the second wave of funds being distributed by Louisiana’s Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities program. In July, Edwards announced the first wave of $130 million to provide broadband to more than 66,000 households and small businesses.
In addition, at Wednesday’s summit, it was announced that Louisiana would receive $3 million in planning grants to deploy high-speed Internet networks and develop digital skills training programs as a result of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill signed into law in November.
Edwards said that the “big dollars are yet to come” and believes Louisiana could receive a total of $1 billion from the law to expand broadband access in the state.
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