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Our editorial board interviews candidates for public office with the goal of helping voters gain the greatest possible understanding of the offices, the issues and the options before them.
On rare occasions, it is important to communicate that the system has failed to produce an acceptable candidate for an office. We regret to say that this November, we cannot recommend a candidate for the office of insurance commissioner.
Insurance commissioner has been an elected office since voters passed Proposition 103, “The Insurance Rate Reduction and Reform Act of 1988.” Placed on the ballot as an initiative backed by consumer groups, Prop. 103 enacted various reforms, including making the office of insurance commissioner an elective position. The insurance industry spent lavishly to defeat Proposition 103, but voters narrowly approved it, 51% to 48%.
Of course, that was not the end of the insurance industry’s efforts to shape the regulations that control the California insurance market. Companies were free to lobby and also to make campaign contributions, an obvious avenue for influence over an elected official.
When in 2018 Ricardo Lara became the eighth elected insurance commissioner since 1988, he pledged that he would not accept campaign contributions from the industry he would be regulating. However, in 2019, individuals connected with workers’ compensation insurer Applied Underwriters and another company donated more than $53,000 to Lara’s re-election campaign fund. The president of Applied Underwriters asked Lara to intervene in department proceedings involving the company, and on four occasions, Lara overrode Administrative Law Judge orders.
The story became public and Lara apologized, pledging “transparency.” But then when Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit advocacy group, filed requests for communications and meeting records under the California Public Records Act, Lara’s “transparency” turned cloudy and Consumer Watchdog had to file a lawsuit to get the records. It went to trial in early September.
In January, Consumer Watchdog announced in a press release that evidence developed in the lawsuit showed that, “despite attempting to conceal it, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and top lieutenant Bryant Henley communicated with two former lawmakers representing a workers’ compensation insurer at the heart of a pay-to-play scandal.”
Consumer Watchdog has also raised concerns about a new regulation that Lara recently submitted to the Office of Administrative Law for final approval. It requires companies to provide fire insurance premium discounts for property owners who take measures to mitigate the risk of wildfire losses on their property, but the regulation troublingly allows insurers to simply refuse to write the policy at all.
Perhaps there are good reasons for that decision, but when a public official’s conduct raises questions of pay-to-play, and then the official fails to provide promised transparency, it’s impossible to have confidence that decisions are made solely in the public interest.
Lara’s opponent in this race is Robert Howell, the owner of a technology equipment manufacturing firm in the San Jose area who said he made the decision to run for insurance commissioner because he was “looking around for a place to throw my hat in the ring,” and it looked like a good opportunity. He said he knows little about insurance and would rely on others to tell him what needs to be done, and then he would expect the department’s employees to do it.
Given these choices, we regret that we cannot endorse a candidate for insurance commissioner.
Sourcing & Methodology
To help you make decisions about the numerous candidates, measures, propositions and other races on your ballot, our editorial board (made up of opinion writers and editors), makes recommendations every election. The process is completely separate from newsroom reporting and journalists. With the exception of our executive editor, the members of our editorial board are not news reporters or editors.
Sal Rodriguez, the opinion editor for the Southern California News Group’s 11 newspapers, heads the editorial board and guides our stances on public policy and political matters.
Every week, our team analyzes legislation, monitors political developments, interviews elected officials or policy advocates and writes editorials on the issues of the day. Unsigned editorials reflect the consensus of our editorial board, with the aim of offering arguments that are empirically sound and intellectually consistent.
We apply this same process when considering to endorse candidates.
As a practical matter, we are selective in which races we endorse in. We endorse on all statewide ballot measures, competitive congressional races, select races for the state legislature and select countywide and city elections.
We identify credible candidates through surveys and interviews, deliberate based on our editorial precedent and in light of contemporary realities, and issue endorsements accordingly.
Join the Conversation
We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.
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| 2022-09-21T15:20:05Z
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Six months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that he is sending $2.98 billion in new military aid to Ukraine that will provide longer-term weapons and training to enable forces there to fight for years to come.
In a statement, Biden said the aid will allow Ukraine to acquire air defense systems, artillery systems and munitions, drones and other equipment “to ensure it can continue to defend itself over the long term.”
The announcement comes as Ukraine is celebrating its 1991 declaration of independence from the Soviet Union.
“I know this independence day is bittersweet for many Ukrainians as thousands have been killed or wounded, millions have been displaced from their homes, and so many others have fallen victim to Russian atrocities and attacks,” Biden said. “But six months of relentless attacks have only strengthened Ukrainians’ pride in themselves, in their country, and in their thirty-one years of independence.”
The aid package is being provided under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which funds contracts to purchase weapons and equipment. It includes money for the small, hand-launched Puma drones, equipment for the longer-endurance Scan Eagle surveillance drones, which are launched by catapult, and, for the first time, the Vampire anti-drone system, which can be launched off ships.
In addition there is money for six advanced surface-to-air missile systems, known as NASAMS, munitions for them, 24 counter-artillery radars, precision rocket systems, and more than 300,000 rounds of artillery and mortar ammunition.
As Russia’s war on Ukraine drags on, U.S. security assistance is shifting to a longer-term campaign that also will likely keep more American military troops in Europe into the future, U.S. officials said.
Unlike most previous packages, the new funding is largely aimed at helping Ukraine secure its medium- to long-term defense posture, according to officials familiar with the matter. Earlier shipments, most of them done under presidential drawdown authority, have focused on Ukraine’s more immediate needs for weapons and ammunition and involved materiel that the Pentagon already has in stock that can be shipped in short order.
Besides providing longer-term assistance that Ukraine can use for potential future defense needs, the new package is intended to reassure Ukrainian officials that the United States intends to keep up its support, regardless of the day-to-day back and forth of the conflict.
“The United States of America is committed to supporting the people of Ukraine as they continue the fight to defend their sovereignty,” Biden said.
Detailing the package, Colin Kahl, the U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy, said the long-term focus of the contracting — which could be one to three years down the road — is a direct message to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“His theory of victory is that he can wait everybody out. He can wait the Ukrainians out because they will be exhausted and attritted. He can wait us out because we’ll turn our attention elsewhere. He can wait the Europeans out because of high energy prices or whatever,” said Kahl. “So packages like this are extraordinarily important, indirectly challenging Putin’s theory of the case, which is that we’re not in it for the long haul.”
Asked why there are no manned aircraft in the long-term package, Kahl said new fighter jets are not currently a priority. He said the Pentagon is concentrating on improving the capabilties of the Russian-made aircraft Ukraine already uses, such as installing high-speed anti-radiation missiles on them to better target enemy air defense systems. He added that providing fighter aircraft to Ukraine remains “on the table.”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg noted the more extended focus Tuesday as he reaffirmed the alliance’s support for the conflict-torn country.
“Winter is coming, and it will be hard, and what we see now is a grinding war of attrition. This is a battle of wills, and a battle of logistics. Therefore we must sustain our support for Ukraine for the long term, so that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent nation,” Stoltenberg said, speaking at a virtual conference about Crimea, organized by Ukraine.
Six months after Russia invaded, the war has slowed to a grind, as both sides trade combat strikes and small advances in the east and south. Both sides have seen thousands of troops killed and injured, as Russia’s bombardment of cities has killed countless innocent civilians.
There have been fears that Russia will intensify attacks on civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days because of the independence day holiday and the war hitting the six-month mark.
On Monday, the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine and the State Department issued a new security alert for Ukraine that repeated a call for Americans in the country to leave due to the danger.
Other NATO allies are also marking the independence day with new aid announcements.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his country is providing more than 500 million euros (nearly $500 million) in aid, including powerful anti-aircraft systems. The aid will include rocket launchers, ammunition, anti-drone equipment, a dozen armored recovery vehicles and and three additional IRIS-T long-range air defense systems, the German news agency dpa reported.
The funding must still be approved by parliament, and some of it won’t be delivered until next year.
And Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced $3.85 million for two Ukraine projects through the Peace and Stabilization Operations Program. It includes about $2.9 million in funding for ongoing development of Ukraine’s national police force and other emergency services, and about $950,000 to help advise Ukraine’s defense ministry.
Including this latest package, the U.S. has provided about $13.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration, including 19 packages of weapons taken directly from Defense Department stocks since August 2021.
U.S. defense leaders are also eyeing plans that will expand training for Ukrainian troops outside their country, and for militaries on Europe’s eastern and southern flanks that feel most threatened by Russia’s aggression.
___
Associated Press writers Lorne Cook in Brussels and Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.
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| 2022-09-21T15:20:03Z
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is expected to weigh in this week on Iran’s latest offer to resume its compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, but neither side is offering a definitive path to revive the agreement, which has been on life-support since former President Donald Trump withdrew from it in 2018.
U.S. officials say they expect to respond to Iran’s comments on a European draft proposal as early as Wednesday, after which there is expected to be another exchange of technical details followed by a meeting of the joint commission that oversees the deal. The new developments, including stepped-up public messaging campaigns by both Tehran and Washington, suggest that an agreement could be near.
Despite the forward movement, numerous hurdles remain. And key sticking points could still unravel efforts to bring back the 2015 deal under which Iran received billions of dollars in sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program intended to prevent it from developing an atomic weapon.
Even U.S. supporters of an agreement are no longer referring to the “longer and stronger” deal that they had initially set out to win when indirect negotiations with Iran began last spring. And, on the Iranian side, demands for greater U.S. sanctions relief than the administration appears willing or able to promise could undercut the push to revive the agreement.
In Washington, the Biden administration faces considerable political opposition to returning to the 2015 deal from both Democrats and Republicans in Congress who remain unconvinced that it is in U.S. national security interests.
“I intend to systematically fight the implementation of this catastrophic deal, and will work with my colleagues to ensure that it is blocked and eventually reversed in January 2025,” said Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.
The recent indictment of an Iranian for plotting to murder Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton and the attack by an apparent Iran sympathizer on the author Salman Rushdie have further contributed to doubts that Iran can be trusted.
The latest draft does not include Tehran’s demand that the U.S. lift the terrorism designation of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, and Iran has stepped back from a demand that the International Atomic Energy Agency close its investigation into unexplained traces of uranium at three undeclared sites, according to a senior administration official who requested anonymity to discuss ongoing efforts to resurrect the deal.
But, rescinding the terrorism designation imposed by Trump was never a realistic demand. Not only does it fall outside the scope of the nuclear deal, it was made virtually impossible since the Bolton plot indictment, ongoing Iranian threats to other former U.S. officials, and the Rushdie attack.
And, while Iran may have agreed to a mechanism to eventually return to the deal without the IAEA investigation being closed up front, it has said that its actual compliance with an agreement remains contingent on getting a clean bill of health from the agency.
The senior administration official said a “deal is closer than it was two weeks ago,” but cautioned that the outcome remains uncertain “as some gaps remain.”
And, Iranian officials on Tuesday bristled at the suggestion that they’ve stepped back from their demands to re-enter the deal.
Seyed Mohammad Marandi, an Iranian adviser to the indirect talks in Vienna, took to Twitter on Tuesday to assert that removing the IRGC from the State Department’s foreign terrorism list was never a precondition and insisted that “no deal will be implemented before the IAEA Board of Directors PERMANENTLY closes the false accusations file.”
Meanwhile, America’s top ally in the Middle East, Israel, has become increasingly alarmed at the apparent movement toward a deal. Israel’s alternate prime minister Naftali Bennett on Tuesday called on the Biden administration to resist forging ahead with a deal with the Iranians.
“I call on President Biden and the American administration to refrain, even now at this last minute, from signing the agreement with Iran,” Bennett said in a statement.
He noted that Israel is not party to the 2015 agreement signed by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security — the U.S., the United Kingdom, Russia, France, and China as well as Germany — but that Israel would be directly affected and reserved all rights to its self-defense.
“One way or another, the State of Israel is not a party to the agreement,” Bennett said. “Israel is not committed to any of the restrictions stemming from the agreement and will utilize all available tools to prevent the Iranian nuclear program from advancing.”
At the direction of current Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, Israel’s national security adviser Eyal Hulata is in Washington this week for talks with Biden administration officials, including a Tuesday meeting with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said Sullivan underscored Biden’s steadfast “commitment to ensure Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon” during his conversation with Hulata.
The White House insists that the terms under discussion include the key underpinnings of the 2015 deal. The U.S. would lift hundreds of sanctions the Trump administration re-imposed when it withdrew from the deal in 2018. And Iran would roll back its nuclear program to the limits set by the original nuclear deal, including caps on enrichment, how much material it can stockpile and the operation of advanced centrifuges needed to enrich.
However, it remains unclear what exactly would happen to Iran’s current stockpile of highly enriched uranium and what it would be required to do with the advanced centrifuges it has been spinning. The White House has said both would be “removed” but has not offered details.
As of the last public count, Iran has a stockpile of some 3,800 kilograms (8,370 pounds) of enriched uranium. Under the deal, Tehran could enrich uranium to 3.67% purity, while maintaining a stockpile of uranium of 300 kilograms (660 pounds) under constant scrutiny of surveillance cameras and international inspectors.
In terms of sanctions relief, Iran has been demanding that the administration pledge that a future president not be allowed to re-impose the lifted penalties as Trump did and promise that Congress will repeal statutory sanctions legislation passed initially to force Iran back to the negotiating table. The administration is in no position to guarantee either.
“Reports that we have accepted or are considering new concessions to Iran as part of reentering the 2015 nuclear deal are categorically false,” National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said.
—
Associated Press writer Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed reporting.
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Some of you may remember an event that occurred this summer, which consisted of my son in his car defying the elements and sailing down a 200-foot embankment in his Toyota Corolla while on the way home from a vacation in Zion National Park.
Miraculously, the kid managed to survive the accident just fine with only a couple of cracked vertebrae and a lot of bruises. The highway patrolman said he was lucky that all four airbags deployed and that he was wearing his seat belt.
The car was not so lucky, but in situations like this, you really don’t care. You’re just glad your kid is alive. He was able to come home two days later, after demanding 14 Burger King burgers in a row. I rented a car for a mere $380 for one day, and drove him home from lovely St. George, Utah.
Now, that was at the end of June. So, basically, it was two entire months before I got “the call” again. The call you really don’t want to get. The one that asks you if you are the mother of Cheetah Boy Fisher.
Trust me, this is never a good call. No one is ever calling to tell you he won the lottery. You get this call to inform you that your third-grader just used the hand dryer to blow up the school bathroom and you “would be responsible for all the damages.”
This is the call you get to inform you that your kid was out past curfew, and you have to get out of your nice cozy pajamas and go fetch him at the police station.
This is the call you get from the ER nurse when your kid has been in a terrible accident.
So, yeah, that happened. Again. At 10:30 at night.
After Cheetah Boy’s car was wrecked, I lent him the money to buy a motor scooter, so he could get to class and to work. This seemed like a good idea at the time, because, honestly, the kid has nine lives.
He was once hit by a car while riding one of those “fixie” bicycles — the ones with no brakes. He went sailing over the handlebars and the cops came, but he walked away, just fine.
But buying this scooter was a mistake. See, a few hours after he went to the Dodgers game with a friend and his friend’s mom, he was hit on the way home by a hit-and-run driver and pretty much left splattered all over the road. Thank heavens he had a full-face helmet on, so none of his brains were among the splattered items.
And get this: He broke nearly every bone in his body — but his iPhone was just fine.
Despite engaging in nearly every adventure sport known to man, from snowboarding to jumping out of airplanes, my son had never broken a single bone. I was starting to think he was a bionic man.
Um, no. Apparently, he just decided to break all his bones at once. OK, kidding, there were a few bones that were left intact. I think his little toe is OK.
But he’s been in the hospital for two weeks, and he’s not going anywhere any time soon. It’s difficult for Cheetah Boy to lie in a hospital bed all day long when he’s used to being out and about all the time.
Yesterday was his first attempt to transfer himself into a wheelchair and he succeeded, even though he has a broken shoulder on one side and a broken wrist on the other.
On a related note, please allow me to describe to you how to get records from the Long Beach Police Department:
You can call up the records department, as my son did, and be informed that you have to somehow magically be transported from your hospital bed in order to stand in line at the main police department, then sign paperwork and, then — after all that — they’ll mail you the police report for your accident.
No, you can’t just order it online, even though it is a public record subject to the state public records act. But you can cry, which is what my son did after getting that news. I called back and told the records clerk that my son was in the hospital and couldn’t come in person to get the police report. Well, then, apparently, I’m supposed to drive 10 miles to the hospital and stand in line there, to get a letter from the hospital stating that my son can’t come himself so I’m authorized to go to the police station and stand in line for him.
To get a public record that (and follow me here), by law, I should just be able to walk up and ask to look at any time I want.
I didn’t have to do that, though. Because we got a call from a lawyer. Who apparently already had the preliminary police incident report. Because apparently lawyers can get this information on their computers, whereas the actual victims cannot.
So the lawyer is giving us the police report, which he’s entitled by the city of Long Beach to get whenever he wants. Unlike the actual victims.
When we get the police report, we’ll have more of an idea of what happened. Meanwhile, feel free to send Cheetah Boy a burger. That’s all he ever wants to eat.
Join the Conversation
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| 2022-09-21T15:20:18Z
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The La Canada-South Pasadena girls volleyball showdown was much more than just a regular season Rio Hondo League match. South Pasadena entered on a 10-match winning streak while La Canada had won 13 of its last 14 contests.
Fans of both schools were well-aware as they created a fun and raucous environment that felt more like it was a CIF playoff match. It was played like one too but La Canada showed it’s now the favorite to win league thanks to a 3-1 (23-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-22) win on Tuesday night.
“It was so fun,” said La Canada player Ashby Zubchevich. “The student section was crazy. I knew there were going to be a lot of people here but I did not expect that. It was way better than I thought.”
La Canada coach Laura Browder said she lives for big matches like this.
“There’s something exciting when you wake up and you have a chance to lose,” she said. “That’s how I felt this morning. But I love that feeling. Let’s go. Do I think I am who I am under pressure? I love seeing that.”
La Canada (16-3, 3-0) was under pressure following the first set when the Tigers clawed their way to a 25-23 win. It was a set that saw the Spartans take an 18-15 lead following a Nikki Hughes kill. But South Pasadena (17-2, 2-1) kept its poise and took its first lead of the set, 22-21, when La Canada’s Haley Clark hit the ball into the net. The Tigers then captured the first set thanks to a smashing kill by Jenna Garner.
“We missed six serves in that set which almost killed me because that’s one of my least favorite errors,” Browder said. “But you let the nerves settle. Props to South Pasadena. They came out strong and had a solid game plan. They execute at a high level.”
La Canada recovered from the first set loss quickly and dominated the second set, winning 25-16. The Spartans were actually down 7-5 before taking a commanding 19-11 lead en route to tying the match at one set a piece.
The Spartans were locked into a tight third set with South Pasadena early with the score knotted at 14. La Canada took the lead for good thanks to a service error and then an attack error from South Pasadena when the ball was hit out of bounds.
A Tatum Purdy ace for La Canada followed by two consecutive blocks from Clark gave La Canada a 23-17 lead. Zubchevich then ended the set with a hard kill toward the back of the court to give the Spartans a 2-1 set lead.
South Pasadena roared back in the fourth set early, taking a 5-1 lead thanks to kills by both Ingrid Zahn and the hard-hitting Garner. South Pasadena later led 13-11 before La Canada scored seven straight points capped by a Clark block.
“Haley Clark is unbelievable,” Browder said. “Tonight she put on a showcase of how blocking works.”
Three consecutive kills though by South Pasadena from Zahn and Garner cut the La Canada lead to 19-17. La Canada led 20-18 before consecutive kills by Zubchevich and Clark put the Spartans up 22-18. South Pasadena scored four straight points to tie the set at 22. But La Canada scored the match’s final three points which ended with a block by Vani Tatoulian.
The loss was the first full defeat for the Tigers. South Pasadena’s first loss was only a one-set contest to Harvard-Westlake.
“We played well,” said South Pasadena coach Ivy Chew. “Obviously, there’s always improvement to be made but at the end of the day (the players) did the best that they could.”
Chew said she was impressed with the atmosphere.
“Honestly, we loved the tension,” she said. “Our South Pasadena students came out and did what they could. It was like a playoff feeling.”
South Pasadena will have another tough match on Thursday when the Tigers play Monrovia. La Canada will take on San Marino the same evening.
Join the Conversation
We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.
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| 2022-09-21T15:20:24Z
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WASHINGTON (AP) — As Russia’s war on Ukraine drags on, U.S. security assistance is shifting to a longer-term campaign that will likely keep more American military troops in Europe into the future, including imminent plans to announce an additional roughly $3 billion in aid to train and equip Ukrainian forces to fight for years to come, U.S. officials said.
U.S. officials told The Associated Press that the package is expected to be announced Wednesday, the day the war hits the six-month mark and Ukraine celebrates its independence day. The money will fund contracts for as many as three types of drones, and other weapons, ammunition and equipment that may not see the battlefront for a year or two, they said.
The total of the aid package — which is being provided under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and is the largest to date— could change a bit overnight, but not likely by much. Officials said that it will include money for the small, hand-launched Puma drones, the longer-endurance Scan Eagle surveillance drones, which are launched by catapult, and, for the first time, the British Vampire drone system, which can be launched off ships.
Several officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the aid before its public release.
Unlike most previous packages, the new funding is largely aimed at helping Ukraine secure its medium- to long-term defense posture, according to the officials familiar with the matter. Earlier shipments, most of them done under Presidential Drawdown Authority, have focused on Ukraine’s more immediate needs for weapons and ammunition and involved materiel that the Pentagon already has in stock that can be shipped in short order.
In addition to providing longer-term assistance that Ukraine can use for potential future defense needs, the new package is intended to reassure Ukrainian officials that the United States intends to keep up its support, regardless of the day-to-day back and forth of the conflict, the officials said.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg noted the more extended focus Tuesday as he reaffirmed the alliance’s support for the conflict-torn country.
“Winter is coming, and it will be hard, and what we see now is a grinding war of attrition. This is a battle of wills, and a battle of logistics. Therefore we must sustain our support for Ukraine for the long term, so that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent nation,” Stoltenberg said, speaking at a virtual conference about Crimea, organized by Ukraine.
Six months after Russia invaded, the war has slowed to a grind, as both sides trade combat strikes and small advances in the east and south. Both sides have seen thousands of troops killed and injured, as Russia’s bombardment of cities has killed countless innocent civilians.
There are fears that Russia will intensify attacks on civilian infrastructure and government facilities in Ukraine in the coming days because of the independence holiday and the six-month anniversary of the invasion.
Late Monday, the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine and the State Department issued a new security alert for Ukraine that repeated a call for Americans in the country to leave due to the danger.
“Given Russia’s track record in Ukraine, we are concerned about the continued threat that Russian strikes pose to civilians and civilian infrastructure,” it said.
Other NATO allies are also marking the independence day with new aid announcements.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his country is providing more than 500 million euros (nearly $500 million) in aid, including powerful anti-aircraft systems. The aid will also include rocket launchers, ammunition, anti-drone equipment, a dozen armored recovery vehicles and and three additional IRIS-T long-range air defense systems, the German news agency dpa reported.
The funding must still be approved by parliament, and some of it won’t be delivered until next year.
And Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced $3.85 million for two Ukraine projects through the Peace and Stabilization Operations Program. It includes about $2.9 million in funding for ongoing development of Ukraine’s national police force and other emergency services, and about $950,000 to help advise Ukraine’s defense ministry.
To date, the U.S. has provided about $10.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration, including 19 packages of weapons taken directly from Defense Department stocks since August 2021.
U.S. defense leaders are also eyeing plans that will expand training for Ukrainian troops outside their country, and for militaries on Europe’s eastern and southern flanks that feel most threatened by Russia’s aggression.
___
Associated Press writer Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.
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| 2022-09-21T15:20:26Z
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“Payment Pulse” looks at the budget-busting reality of Southern California homebuying. It’s really about the size of the monthly check to the lender, not the headline-grabbing median sales price.
Buzz: Southern California’s homebuying market collapsed this summer to the slowest sales pace on record. And it’s no stunner considering the typical house payment jumped by almost 50% in a year.
Source: My trusty spreadsheet looked at what’s become a market-icing mix: high home prices (monthly sales counts and median from DQNews dating to 1988) and rising mortgage rates (average 30-year deals from Freddie Mac). Those figures generate a hypothetical monthly home-loan payment, assuming a 20% downpayment. We didn’t account for property taxes, association dues or insurance.
Rate watch: The 30-year rate averaged 5.38% in the three months ended in August vs. 2.9% a year earlier. So a house hunter’s borrowing power has fallen 26% in a year.
The pain
From June through August, 54,416 residences were sold in the six-county region. That’s 20% below the same period in 2021, and the lowest count since at least 1988.
That’s even slower than the bubble-bursting days around the Great Recession, and it’s slower than the often-forgotten deep homebuying slump of the early 1990s.
The summer’s house hunters balked as the typical Southern California monthly payment rose by $1,055 in a year — a 47% jump — to $3,318 on the $740,000 median-priced residence. Please note that the median price, by itself, is up 9% over 12 months.
Buyers are holding the line on prices, too.
Looking at monthly changes in the region’s median, since April prices have been either been flat or fallen. Since 2009, four-month streaks without price appreciation happened only twice (October 2015 and January 2021).
And do not forget that this math assumes a buyer had a 20% downpayment of $148,000 — a financial hurdle that’s $12,000 higher over the year.
Locally speaking
The financially painful math within the counties …
Los Angeles: $3,677 hypothetical payment on the $820,000 median. The payment has risen $1,064 in a year, or 41%. The median price is up 4% over 12 months. August sales were the slowest for any August in 35 years.
Orange: $4,412 payment on the $984,000 median — up $1,417 or 47%. Prices are up 9% over 12 months. And 20% down is $196,800. August sales were the third-slowest since 1988.
Riverside: $2,607 payment on the $581,500 median — up $860 or 49%. Prices are up 11% over 12 months. August sales were the 10th-slowest in 35 years.
San Bernardino: $2,242 payment on the $500,000 median — up $694 or 45%. Prices are up 8% over 12 months. August sales were the fifth-slowest since 1988.
San Diego: $3,583 payment on the $799,000 median — up $1,170 or 48%. Prices are up 10% over 12 months. August sales were the fourth-slowest in 35 years.
Ventura: $3,508 payment on the $782,250 median — up $1,043 or 42%. Prices are up 6% over 12 months. August sales were the fifth-slowest since 1988.
Bottom line
Consider how the long-running trend of cheaper mortgages messed with home values.
The six-county median has risen at an average 5.2% annual pace from $133,500 in early 1988 — when mortgage rates ran 10.6% — to $740,000 today.
Meanwhile, the typical house payment for a buyer rose by only an average 3.6% yearly thanks to those cheaper financing rates.
That translates to the rate decline equaling $278,000 of the $606,500 price increase since 1988, or 45%.
It’s certain we won’t see rate drops like we’ve seen in the past 35 years any time soon. What’s uncertain is how high mortgages will go as the Federal Reserve uses rate hikes as its major weapon in the battle against the worst bout of inflation in four decades.
Think about how unaffordable housing was this summer — and the sharp sales slowdown. And then wonder what September’s mortgage rates — nearing a full percentage point higher — will do to this market.
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com
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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers proposed a $600 million annual tax cut on Tuesday — an election year proposal that Republican legislative leaders rejected as a “vote-buying ploy.
Evers announced the proposed cut at the same time as his Republican rival, Tim Michels, was touring Kenosha on the second anniversary of sometimes violent protests over a police shooting. Michels has made Evers’ reaction to the unrest in Kenosha a key plank of his campaign against the Democratic incumbent.
Michels and legislative leaders accused Evers of trying to divert attention from the anniversary of the Kenosha unrest. Evers said he was trying to help families struggling with high inflation.
The proposal from Evers, released less than three months before the November election, comes just five months after the Legislature rejected another tax cut he proposed that was nearly three times as large and included a $150 rebate to taxpayers. Evers cited the state’s projected $5 billion budget surplus as reason to enact his latest plan. Evers proposed similar tax cuts in each of the past three years that the Legislature rejected.
“Wisconsin families have been through a lot over the past few years, and we know that while our state and economy continue to recover, folks are still worried about rising costs and making ends meet,” Evers said in a statement.
Evers’ proposal would cap co-pays for insulin at $35, repeal the state’s minimum markup law in an attempt to lower gas prices, and cut income taxes by 10% for individuals earning less than $100,000 and families earning less than $150,000. Other proposed tax cuts would benefit seniors on fixed incomes, expand property tax relief for veterans with disabilities and attempt to lower the cost of caregiving and child care.
“Our state is in a strong fiscal position, and there is no reason these dollars should sit in state coffers when families need help now,” Evers said.
The state’s projected budget surplus by mid-2023 has steadily grown as tax collections have continued to exceed estimates. The latest projected surplus was $3.8 billion, but Evers said Tuesday that it is expected to grow to as much as $5 billion.
“We’re not going to jeopardize future budgets in the midst of a recession to fund a tax gimmick,” Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said in a statement rejecting the proposal. Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu joined Vos in rejecting the plan.
“If the projected surplus materializes, we will cut taxes for everyone,” Vos said. “We will not pick winners and losers like Tony Evers does with this vote-buying ploy.”
Republicans who control the Legislature are hoping to defeat Evers in November, which would give them the chance to enact tax cuts under a Republican governor. Last year, Evers signed into law a $2 billion middle class tax cut that the Legislature passed. Evers has been campaigning on that, which angers Republicans who say they should get the credit, especially since they rejected more than $1 billion in tax increases primarily on manufacturers and the wealthy that Evers had proposed.
In Kenosha, Michels was joined by Republican attorney general candidate Eric Toney and Republican U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil on a tour of property that was damaged during the protests two years ago. They then held a roundtable discussion with law enforcement officers.
Michels and other Republicans have faulted Evers’ reaction to the protests, which came after a white police officer shot Jacob Blake, a Black man, during a domestic disturbance. Blake survived but was left paralyzed from the waist down.
On the third night of the protests, Aug. 25, 2020, Kyle Rittenhouse shot three men on the streets, killing two of them. A jury acquitted him of multiple charges in November after he argued that he had fired in self-defense.
Michels released a video ahead of his Kenosha tour that included footage of Evers from 2020 saying he had “no regrets” about his response to the Kenosha violence and wouldn’t change anything he had done.
“Is it any wonder why Governor Evers desperately wants to change the subject and talk about anything other than Kenosha today?” Michels tweeted in reaction to Evers releasing his tax cut. “Does he still have no regrets?”
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Taco Bell is partnering with Beyond Meat on plant-based carne asada that diners in the Midwest will get to try next month.
Beyond Carne Asada Steak is Beyond Meat’s first steak product and it is exclusive to Taco Bell, according to the El Segundo-based company.
Taco Bell will be testing it in about 50 restaurants in the Dayton, Ohio, area, beginning Oct. 13. It will be served in quesadillas at $5.19, but it can be substituted in any item on the Taco Bell menu, according to Marissa Thiry, senior nutrition specialist for Irvine-based fast food chain. The tasting included the meat substitute in a soft taco.
“The thing I really love about this is that it’s price-comparative to steak, so it’s not an up-charge,” she said, speaking at a preview of the meat substitute at a 30-acre business park in El Segundo where Beyond Meat is setting up new headquarters. The tech company has leased 280,000 square feet in a property near the 105 Freeway that was formerly an aerospace manufacturing site. Its current offices are about 3 miles away in the same city.
Beyond Carne Asada Steak is certified vegan by the American Vegetarian Association, according to a news release.
It was created to have the same taste and texture as grilled, marinated steak using “a ton of plant-based ingredients,” including Vital Wheat Gluten and fava beans, plus Taco Bell seasonings, according to Thiry.
“I’m super happy where we landed using the ingredients that we chose, and I think you will be, too,” she said.
“We have been working on the Beyond Carne Asada Steak for a couple of years now. Good things come to those who wait, and this one took time.”
Founded in 2017, Beyond Meat makes hamburger patties, beef crumbles, meatballs, sausages, chicken tenders and jerky with proteins derived from plants. Its products are aimed at flexitarians, people who enjoy the taste of meat but want to cut back on consuming it for dietary or ethical reasons.
When restaurant chains partner with Beyond Meat or its competitor, Impossible Foods, they usually strive to create plant-free versions of items that are already on their menus and difficult to tell apart from the originals.
Beyond Meat is also partnering with Panda Express on Beyond the Original Orange Chicken, which became available nationally for the first time this month.
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| 2022-09-21T15:20:36Z
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WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – The new 988 hotline that went live about a month ago is aimed at making it easier for people to get help for mental health issues, but advocates and lawmakers say it needs more resources.
On July 16, 988 became the new number for the already-existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Within days, the amount of calls and texts to the number jumped.
Angela Kimball, a mental health advocate with Inseparable, says that’s significant.
“More people get help, more people get on a path to recovery. That’s exactly what we want to see out of this,” Kimball said.
The federal government put hundreds of millions of dollars into the transition. Rep. Tony Cardenas, D-Calif., now says there’s more to do.
“To make sure that we build that system like the system that has been going on for over 50 years which is now 911,” Cardenas.
He’s introduced legislation to boost funding for 988 crisis response and build out mental health services on three different levels.
“Where you have somewhere to call – someone will come and somewhere to go,” Cardenas said.
Advocates say that means making sure 988 call centers have the staff they need, communities have mobile crisis teams to respond and people have facilities where they can get longer term mental health support.
“We really need to speak up and asl our elected officials to create the kind of crisis response that gets everybody the help that they need,” Kimball said.
Getting lawmakers to approve more spending can be an uphill battle. But Rep. Cardenas says mental health is a topic where they can find common ground.
“Mental health is something that affects way too many families and every community equally and I’m seeing more and more of a bipartisan effort,” Cardenas said.
Kimball argues spending more on mental health could reduce spending on places like prisons and hospitals which often become a default catch-all for people in crisis.
“We need to use our resources better and that means reinvesting them into services that actually work,” Kimball said.
Both Cardenas and Kimball are also advocating for state and local resources to invest more funding into 988 services.
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WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, says he plans to step down from his government duties before the end of the year.
While he is stepping down from his government posts, Dr. Fauci said he is not retiring and is moving on to the next phase of his career.
On Monday, Dr. Fauci announced he is stepping down as both adviseradvisers to President Joe Biden and as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a position he held since 1984.
In a statement, Dr. Fauci called it the honor of his life to have served as head of that institution.
Dr. Fauci began building his health care legacy when he helped the country through the fight against AIDS in the 1980s. Four decades later, he led efforts to get the country through the Coronavirus pandemic — becoming the face of the COVID-19 response for the Trump administration.
But Dr. Fauci fell out of the former president’s favor, as Fauci’s medical advice clashed with Trump’s push to return to normalcy.
Fauci has also advised every U.S. president since Ronald Reagan.
In a statement, President Biden thanked Dr. Fauci for being a dedicated public servant.
Even before Dr. Fauci’s announcement, some speculated Fauci would step down before next year to avoid being drawn into any investigations if Republicans win control of the U.S. House in the midterm elections.
Dr. Fauci denies that has anything to do with his decision.
Meanwhile, Republican senator Rand Paul said in a statement that Fauci’s resignation will not prevent a full-throated investigation into the origins of the pandemic. He added that Fauci would be asked to testify about this in reference to the theory that the pandemic may have originated from a Chinese lab leak.
Dr. Fauci said he will spend the next few months preparing his department for his departure and that in his next role he hopes to inspire and mentor the next generation of scientific leaders.
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WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Voters are going to the polls Tuesday in New York, Florida and Oklahoma to weigh in on who they want to send to Congress.
There are a handful of key races in Tuesday’s primary, pinning Democrats against Democrats and Republicans against Republicans.
Political analyst Todd Belt, a professor and director of political management at George Washington University, said the results will indicate how progressive or moderate the Democrat part is leaning.
“We’re going to have a really interesting confluence of factors here,” Belt said. “There is sort of a struggle over the future of the Democratic party.”
In New York’s newly redrawn 12th district, voters will choose between Rep. Jerrold Nadler, who said he’s “a more principled progressive,” and Rep. Carolyn Maloney, also a self-proclaimed progressive. Both have been in Congress for nearly three decades.
“You usually don’t see two heavyweights going like this,” Belt said.
“It’s unfortunate,” Nadler said. “What else can you say about it?”
Another race to watch is the special election held in New York’s 19th district. Democrat Pat Ryan is up against Republican Marcus Molinaro. Results in the swing district could be a litmus test for the battle for Congress and could preview which party is more likely to control the House after November’s midterms.
“That buffer that democrats have right now is only five seats and so it’s going to be very close,” Belt said.
In Florida, State Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and former Republican governor turned Democrat Rep. Charlie Crist are duking it out to see who will take on Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“It will be interesting to see who’s going to go up against Ron DeSantis, who’s been a very polarizing figure,” Belt said.
These elections are happening later than normal and there is concern that there could be lower voter turnout as many Americans vacation around this time. It’s not known if that will help or hurt the parties.
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WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is back in the U.S after his trip to Asia. He says his recent trip to Taiwan was the right thing to do.
“We must continue to stand up for free speech, human rights, and political and civil rights,” Markey said.
Markey called the negative response from the Chinese government, which included increased military tests near the island, an overreaction.
“We made it very clear that our goal was to attempt to maintain peaceful relations between Taiwan and China to ensure that we put policies in place,” Markey said.
He says the U.S is focused on working with its partners in the region to promote clean energy and climate action, while also strengthening Taiwan.
“So that they can try to maintain this peaceful relationship across the straits,” Markey said.
Markey visited with leaders in not only Taiwan, but also in South Korea, Cambodia and the Philippines.
“I discussed with leaders how we can work together to champion universal values across the region,” Markey said.
State Department Spokesperson Ned Price says it’s a region the U.S. is closely monitoring.
“It is our goal to defend, to preserve stability across the Taiwan strait, to preserve the status quo,” Price said.
But both Markey and Price said that stability benefits everyone in the region.
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GRANDVIEW, Mo. (WFAF) — A Missouri woman says it has been almost three months since her husband was laid to rest and still there’s no headstone.
Colleen and Bennie Asberry prepaid for burial services at 12 Gates Memorial Gardens in Kansas City, Missouri. They wanted to be side-by-side, sharing a headstone.
But Colleen Asberry was told because of how the contracts were written, the cemetery cannot place the headstone there until she, too, dies.
“He was the light of my life,” Colleen Asberry said. “We’d been married 28 years. We’ve been together 35, and we did everything together.”
But in May, Bennie Asberry died.
“We all were there when he took his last breath, and it was just — It still hurts me to talk about, you know, to see him go like that,” Colleen Asberry said.
Less than two weeks later, Bennie Asberry was buried at 12 Gates.
“That’s when I was informed that the headstone would not be laid until after I died,” Colleen Asberry said. “That doesn’t make sense to me. When I took out the policy neither one of us knew who was going to go first.”
Each person had a prefunded funeral agreement done through insurance. Each was paid in full.
In Colleen Asberry’s contract, there is a $980.80 charge for a “gray grass marker.”
It’s not on Bennie Asberry’s, and that’s the problem.
Todd DeMint of Meyers Funeral Chapel, which is not involved in the Asberry case, said prepaid burials are beneficial. But he said items like the headstone should be paid for separately, perhaps put in a third contract with each of the two names.
“If they wrote separate contracts, which they have to do in the state of Missouri, if they put the headstone under one of them, then you’ve got to have the right person pass away first for that headstone to be completed,” DeMint said.
DeMint said people need to know specifically what they’re asking for and vocalize it when arranging prepaid services.
“When you’re purchasing something, and you have goods and services, it needs to be in black and white what those goods and services are, and you need to know what your expectations are once it’s time to fulfill that contract,” DeMint said.
Nexstar’s WDAF spoke with the cemetery Monday and was told Colleen Asberry could cash-surrender her policy and use some of that money to pay for a new headstone. The cemetery said the remainder of the cash would go back into the pre-need policy.
But Colleen Asberry fears cashing out will cost her money, and she’s not spending another dime out-of-pocket.
The cemetery declined to be interviewed.
“I just want the best for him,” she said.
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Which handheld carpet cleaner is best?
When most people think of carpet cleaning, they imagine an aching back, hours of drying time and a hefty appliance rental bill. However, most carpet cleaning tasks don’t require much hassle and can be taken care of quickly with the right tool for the job.
Handheld carpet cleaners let you economically and effectively treat minor spills and stains around your home as needed. The Bissell Pet Stain Eraser PowerBrush features scrubbing bristles and a detergent dispenser. Its powerful suction and small size make it the best choice for keeping your carpets looking like new.
What to know before you buy a handheld carpet cleaner
How much carpet you intend to clean
Handheld carpet cleaners are designed to eliminate small messes. If you have a carpet that needs extensive wall-to-wall cleaning, a handheld cleaner will not get the job done. A standard carpet cleaner is more appropriate for room-size jobs.
What kinds of messes you expect
Some handheld carpet cleaners are made with pet owners in mind. These specialize in preventing stains and vacuuming up liquids. Others feature powerful suction for cleaning up solid food spills. Consider the messes you regularly encounter and select a cleaner that will accommodate your typical cleaning jobs.
How handheld carpet cleaners work
Handheld carpet cleaners include two water tanks. One gets filled with clean water and is emptied onto your carpet as you use the appliance. The resulting soiled water is then vacuumed back up into the machine and stored in a second tank that gets emptied when you’re done.
Scrubbing brushes and detergents are also used during the process to work stains out from the fibers of your carpet and apply fragrances.
Handheld carpet cleaner benefits
Portable. Handheld carpet cleaners, unlike those that need to be pushed around your home, can be moved with ease. Whether you’re treating multiple rooms or need to clean an entirely different property, these appliances are great for life on the go. You can even use them in your car or RV.
Easy to store. Handheld carpet cleaners can be easily tucked away in a drawer, closet or cupboard.
Easy to maneuver. Because handheld carpet cleaners are small and light, they let you reach areas under tables and around furniture without having to move your decor around.
Quick cleaning. Handheld carpet cleaners are low maintenance and easy to clean, rinse and dry after use.
What to look for in a quality handheld carpet cleaner
Weight
Choose a light carpet cleaner, even when its tank is full. Heavy cleaners are challenging to navigate around furniture and potentially dangerous if used to clean stairs.
Cordless
Pulling a long cord around the house while cleaning is a hassle. Avoid tripping and dragging by selecting a handheld carpet cleaner powered by a rechargeable battery.
Maintenance
Some cleaners let you put their collection tank in the dishwasher for convenient cleaning. Select a model that disassembles easily so you can thoroughly rinse and dry it between uses to prevent odor or mold.
Scrub brush
Select a cleaner with a scrub brush to deep clean messes and reduce the risk of stains. A cleaner that features a motorized brush does the hard work for you.
Cleaning formulas
Many manufacturers offer formulas that deodorize your carpet and enhance the cleaning power of their appliances. If you want to freshen things up, select a handheld cleaner that lets you add formula to its clean water. Some also feature a tank specifically for a detergent that gets sprayed onto your carpet as you clean.
How much you can expect to spend on a handheld carpet cleaner
Depending on features and attachments, handheld carpet cleaners typically cost $100-$150.
Handheld carpet cleaner FAQ
Can I use a handheld carpet cleaner on upholstery?
A. In most cases, yes. However, some fragile or antique materials may be damaged by aggressive motorized brushes. Consult the manufacturer of your furniture for cleaning instructions.
Will a handheld carpet cleaner work on a hard surface?
A. No. Carpet cleaners are designed to clean fabrics and rug fibers. Wood or tile floors should be cleaned using a different appliance.
Do handheld carpet cleaners disinfect?
A. No. To disinfect your flooring, you will need a cleaner that uses hot steam.
What’s the best handheld carpet cleaner to buy?
Top handheld carpet cleaner
Bissell Pet Stain Eraser PowerBrush
What you need to know: This handheld carpet cleaner includes two formula samples and is specifically designed for pet messes.
What you’ll love: With its motorized PowerBrush and generous tank size, this carpet cleaner is a pet owner’s new best friend. Its cordless operation and ergonomic design make it great for cleaning carpeted stairs and soiled furniture.
What you should consider: Buyers note that you must hold this cleaner in a specific way to utilize its suction fully.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon and Kohl’s
Top handheld carpet cleaner for the money
What you need to know: For those who don’t need the PowerBrush feature, this alternative from Bissel lets you clean up on a budget.
What you’ll love: This cleaner has a stationary brush with bristles firm enough to scrub but gentle enough to be used on most furniture. It comes apart easily for hassle-free cleaning and includes two bottles of formula.
What you should consider: This cleaner only runs for 15 minutes on a full charge.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
What you need to know: You can throw this cleaner’s tank and nozzle in the dishwasher for easy disinfecting.
What you’ll love: This cleaner’s wide nozzle is great for chunky food spills such as cereal or pasta. Its powered scrub brush deep cleans your carpet, and its battery indicator light lets you know when it’s charged and ready.
What you should consider: This cleaner’s formula dispenser requires you to manually pull a trigger, which some buyers find to be inconvenient.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon, Chewy and Home Depot
Want to shop the best products at the best prices? Check out Daily Deals from BestReviews.
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
Derek Walborn writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved.
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Is it possible to wear your baby too much?
From grocery shopping to running errands, parents have a lot on their plate. Add in a new baby who doesn’t like to be put down, and suddenly doing things takes a lot longer. Parents have relied on babywearing for centuries. However, some worry that it may spoil a baby or hinder their motor development.
To figure out whether there’s such a thing as too much babywearing, we asked our baby and kid expert, Dr. Aimee Ketchum, a pediatric occupational therapist with 27 years of experience working in pediatrics.
Everything to know about babywearing
Can you wear your baby too much?
Ketchum said there’s no limit to babywearing and that it can be easier on a parent’s body than carrying a baby with your arms. The American Academy of Pediatrics agrees with Ketchum and adds, “babies who are picked up as soon as they begin to cry tend to cry less often and for shorter periods than do babies whose parents don’t respond quickly.” So, parents don’t need to worry about spoiling their baby, and no studies suggest that a baby’s development is affected by excess baby carrying. Ketchum also uses them personally. “It is the only way I was able to wash my floors when my daughters were babies. It’s also safer and more hygienic than placing a baby in a cart at the grocery store,” she said.
What is the proper way to wear a baby?
While experts agree that there’s no such thing as too much babywearing, Ketchum gave one caveat — ensuring your baby is positioned correctly. Ketchum advised, “The baby always needs to be positioned appropriately so their hips are not spread too wide. This can cause issues with the child’s developing hips. A baby’s legs should always be in the “M” shape, never hanging straight down or be in a “C” shape in the carrier.”
Ketchum referenced some recent studies that found that cultures that commonly wear their babies in the “M” shape have lower rates of hip dysplasia rates than other cultures that wear babies with their legs tightly swaddled together.
While babywearing is usually safe, parents also need to be careful. For example, if it’s hot outside, babies will overheat faster when they’re carried against a body. Also, caregivers must be vigilant if they’re working around a hot stove when wearing their baby on the front.
Types of baby carriers
The three main types of baby carriers are wraps, ring slings and soft-structured carriers. While Ketchum prefers wraps since they’re more versatile for all sizes of babies and allow parents to wear them on the front side or back. Any carrier is acceptable as long as the baby is in the correct position.
- Baby wrap carrier: Wrap carriers are generally a long piece of sturdy fabric that can be folded in many ways to accommodate the baby’s size and position.
- Baby ring sling carrier: A ring sling is similar to a wrap with the addition of rings to create a secure pouch without the hassle of wrapping.
- Soft-structured baby carrier: Soft-structured baby carriers look similar to a backpack, with padded straps and a pouch for a baby.
Babywearing benefits
According to Ketchum, “Babywearing helps with bonding and attachment. It helps the baby feel cared for and secure because their needs are met immediately as parents are usually more responsive to their baby’s needs. This helps to build confidence and self-esteem. Babywearing also helps prevent flat head syndrome, decrease colic, and best of all, mommy and daddy have free hands!”
When worn correctly, babywearing is also believed to actually improve hip development. Ketchum said, “Interestingly, braces and harnesses that are used to treat hip dysplasia in babies typically position the babies’ legs in the same flexed “M” position as many baby carriers.”
Best products for babywearing
Baby carrier
Lilliebaby Complete All Seasons Ergonomic 6-in-1 Baby Carrier
With six unique positions and a zip-down breathable mesh panel for hot days, parents can wear this carrier year round. It’s also suitable for newborns or toddlers with a transformational seat that can be folded small or expanded to a wider setting.
Sold by Amazon, Buy Buy Baby and Kohl’s
Ergobaby Omni 360 Cool Air Mesh
From newborn to toddler, this soft-structured carrier is suitable for all ages without the need for an additional newborn insert. For parents, it features lower back comfort with a padded lumbar support belt and padded shoulder straps.
Sold by Amazon and Buy Buy Baby
Diono Carus Complete 4-in-1 Baby Carrier
This carrier comes with a detachable backpack that caregivers can use to store the soft-structured carrier, a pack of wipes, snacks and more. The International Hip Dysplasia Institute also acknowledges it as a hip-healthy baby carrier.
Sold by Amazon, Buy Buy Baby and Diono
Baby wrap carrier
While it has the versatility of a baby wrap, it’s pre-wrapped with a double loop design that slips on and off as easily as a T-shirt. It’s made from 100 percent cotton and is breathable and soft against a baby’s skin.
Sold by Amazon and Buy Buy Baby
This stretchy and soft baby wrap is ideal for keeping infants close during their first few months. It’s completely customizable, allowing parents to create the perfect seat for their baby.
Sold by Amazon
From preemies to babies up to 25 pounds, this carrier offers a secure environment for babies right out of the womb. It’s designed to evenly distribute weight all over a parent’s upper body with no pressure points on the shoulders or back.
Sold by Amazon
Baby ring sling carrier
Moby Wrap Ring Sling Baby Carrier
This ring sling is easy to slip on and is designed for front or hip carrying positions. The material is breathable, durable and great at distributing weight.
Sold by Amazon, Buy Buy Baby and Kohl’s
Nalakai Ring Sling Baby Carrier
Not only is this ring sling made with eco-friendly bamboo and linen material, but the company also donates part of each purchase to low-income families. Plus, it comes in 20 stylish colors.
Sold by Amazon
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Bre Richey writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
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Which Harry Potter Hogwarts House backpack is best?
Another school year has arrived, and yet again, you haven’t received your owl-born invitation to Hogwarts. There isn’t much that can soothe that kind of disappointment. At the very least, you can represent the House you know you belong to in your heart at your boring muggle school with an appropriately themed Hogwarts House backpack. However, there’s more to choosing a good one than just finding a design you like. You also need to ensure it has the storage space to hold your wand, quills and parchment or whatever muggles use.
Backpack features to prioritize
Size and storage
The number one feature to check for when shopping for any backpack, Hogwarts House or not, is if it has enough space for what you need. Every grade and student has different needs, so there’s no one right size to recommend. That said, make sure it at least has space for writing supplies and a book or two.
Comfort
The second feature to prioritize is being comfortable. You or your child will be wearing it while likely filled with heavy books for hours a day. The wrong backpack can quickly make that unbearable.
At a minimum, make sure the straps are adjustable so you can make it easy to put on and take off and make it hang at a comfortable height behind you. Other comfort-minded benefits include the straps being made of soft materials or being at least padded.
What Hogwarts House do I belong to?
There are two main ways to discover which house is yours. The first, and the best, is just to pick. Like Harry did in “Harry Potter in the Sorcerer’s Stone,” you have control over where you belong. All you need to do is voice your desires.
However, If you want a true Hogwarts House Sorting Hat experience, you can take the official quiz created by J.K. Rowling herself on WizardingWorld.com. All you need to take it is a free Harry Potter Fan Club account.
Hogwarts House features
The students of each House are historically known to share common traits.
Slytherin
Slytherin students are known for being ambitious and cunning, and they are often mistrusted. If you seek to be greater than all those who’ve come before you and all those who come after you, this is your house.
Gryffindor
Gryffindor students are known for being courageous and determined, though as a consequence can be seen as brash or foolish. If you rise to every challenge, you’re likely a Gryffindor at heart.
Ravenclaw
Ravenclaw students are known for being wise and committed to pursuing knowledge, though they can come across as haughty or eccentric when discussing what they know. You’re likely a Ravenclaw if you’re top in your class.
Hufflepuff
Hufflepuff students are known for being hard-working, loyal and humble. If you stand behind your friends in their darkest hour, you are both a Hufflepuff and a treasure of a human being.
What’s the best Slytherin backpack to buy?
This backpack is perfect for keeping everything you need on you, from your books, pens and pencils to your laptop, power bank and even an umbrella. There are also multiple exterior pockets for keeping anything else you can think of on you. Sold by Amazon
Psylocke Slytherin Drawstring Bag
This small drawstring bag is perfect for gym class or for after-school practices and clubs. The polyester fabric is strong and the drawstrings are nice and thick to avoid breaking. Sold by Amazon
Iclub Slytherin Crossbody Backpack
This small bag is deceptively capable of hauling around whatever you need with an inner pocket, main compartment and several small compartments, including a front pocket. It also has mesh side pockets for keeping a water bottle with you. Sold by Amazon
What’s the best Gryffindor backpack to buy?
This is an excellent, classic backpack with a laptop pocket, one large main storage compartment and a roomy front pocket. The straps are padded and adjustable, or you can use the handle on top. Sold by Amazon
Harry Potter Gryffindor Lion Crest Drawstring Backpack
If you prefer the drawstring style of a backpack but need one with room to carry your books, make it this one. The woven polyester is durable enough to handle sharp book edges and the drawstrings are comfy cotton. It also has a zipper pouch for keys and other essential items. Sold by Amazon
Groovy Harry Potter Gryffindor Vintage Satchel Backpack
This backpack is large enough to carry everything you need while being a subdued black with only a Gryffindor crest. This way, you don’t have to be as in-your-face with your fandom as other backpacks. Sold by Amazon
What’s the best Ravenclaw backpack to buy?
Bioworld Ravenclaw Hogwarts House Harry Potter Backpack
This straightforward backpack focuses on the blue-and-black Ravenclaw House colors without being garish. It has a laptop pouch inside the main compartment, a large front pocket and it even comes with a Ravenclaw keychain. Sold by Amazon
Bioworld Harry Potter Ravenclaw Backpack
This is another excellent, simple backpack that has plenty of room for what you need. It has padded and adjustable straps, a roomy top handle and two side pockets; one for a water bottle and another for an umbrella. Sold by Amazon
Harry Potter Ravenclaw Varsity Knapsack Backpack
Backpacks, even Ravenclaw backpacks, can blur into each other with similar designs. This knapsack breaks the trends of most with a fun shape and the use of buckles to keep your supplies secured. There’s also a cute charm that says “learning.” Sold by Amazon
What’s the best Hufflepuff backpack to buy?
3BoyMomTee3 Hufflepuff Harry Potter Casual Shoulder Backpack
This backpack’s printed words remind every Hufflepuff, and every Harry Potter fan that makes jokes about them, what it truly means to be a Hufflepuff. The plentiful storage options and comfortable, adjustable straps are cherries on top. Sold by Etsy
Bioworld Hogwarts Hufflepuff Harry Potter Mini Backpack
Sometimes it’s hard to say what’s cute, but this bag makes it easy. The tasseled zipper, small size and badger-printed yellow faux leather are a delight for any Hufflepuff student. Don’t worry, there’s still space for your supplies. Sold by Amazon
Danielle Nicole Harry Potter Hufflepuff Mini Backpack
This mini backpack has all the flash of a designer bag with none of the cost. You don’t need to worry about the wind catching the flap either, thanks to a strong magnetic clasp. Sold by Amazon
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Jordan C. Woika writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
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| 2022-09-21T15:21:40Z
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What is the best Foreo product?
Foreo is a Swedish health and beauty brand founded by Filip Sedic in 2013. The brand creates beauty-tech skin solutions and products that transform your regular grooming routine into a luxurious at-home spa treatment that leaves you feeling revitalized and beautiful. The Foreo Luna Mini 3 Silicone Face Cleansing Brush is the best Foreo product, versatile and travel-friendly.
What to know before you buy a Foreo product
Skin type
Foreo products can be used on all skin types, and some are designed in different colors tailored to particular skin types. For example, the Luna 3 comes in pink for normal skin, purple for sensitive skin and blue for combination skin.
Connected to the app
To get the full experience of your Foreo device, you need to download the Foreo app to your phone and link it to the device. The app tells you how to use each product and is automated with a soothing, relaxing voice. While the products can be used without being connected to the app, you will not get all the features available and will have a less pleasurable, less optimized experience.
T-sonic technologies
Foreo makes use of its trademarked T-sonic pulsation technology. The “T” in “T-sonic” stands for transdermal, which means that the device’s pulsations travel through the outer layers of the skin to deeply cleanse it of debris that clogs the pores, such as dirt and makeup. The pulsations also help exfoliate the skin, getting rid of dead skin cells, making it easier for the skin to absorb active ingredients from skin care products.
Models and sizes
Most Foreo products are made in different models that differ in size. Some have a full-sized and a mini version; others have three sizes. If you’ll be traveling, a mini size will be the most portable.
What to look for in a quality Foreo product
Silicone bristles
According to Foreo, its classic Luna massagers were the world’s first cleansing massagers with silicone bristles. Foreo uses silicone and thermoplastic polymer instead of the more commonly used nylon. Silicone absorbs less water than nylon, making it dry faster. This discourages the growth of bacteria and makes Foreo massagers more hygienic.
Magnetic disc
All Foreo devices come with a magnetic silicone disc. This disc is a scratch card known as the authenticity card — it reveals a serial number or voucher code that helps you register the device with the app. This ensures that your device is authentic and will work correctly.
Long-lasting power
Some Foreo devices are equipped with USB rechargeable ports and come with USB cables. Other devices are battery operated and require a change of batteries after extended use. Regardless of whether they’re rechargeable or battery-operated, the devices are durable and have long-lasting power.
How much you can expect to spend on a Foreo product
Expect to spend about $10-$300 for most products, although some cost up to $8,800.
Foreo product FAQ
Can I use my Foreo device in the shower?
A. Yes, they are waterproof and safe to be used in the shower.
How often should I use my Foreo?
A. It can be used every day.
How often should I replace my Foreo batteries?
A. The batteries can last up to eight weeks.
What’s the best Foreo product to buy?
Top Foreo product
Foreo Luna Mini 3 Silicone Cleansing Brush
What you need to know: This USB rechargeable cleansing face brush is suitable for all skin types.
What you’ll love: Its sonic pulsations offer 12 intensities, letting you adjust it to your preferred level. Higher intensities are usually used for exfoliation while lower ones are used for anti-aging routines. It fits into the palm of your hand like a bar of soap, making it convenient to use and easy to travel with.
What you should consider: This mini version of the full-sized Luna 3 doesn’t offer different models for different skin types.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon, Sephora and Kohl’s
Top Foreo product for the money
Foreo Call It a Night Revitalizing and Nourishing Ufo Activated Mask
What you need to know: This revitalizing face mask is suitable for all skin types.
What you’ll love: It uses thermo therapy, which helps open up your pores, improving the level at which products are absorbed. Its olive oil and ginseng concentrates help lock in moisture on the skin surface and smooth out fine lines and wrinkles.
What you should consider: It is highly concentrated and might feel sticky on the skin. Also, it works best with the Foreo Ufo device, as it was made to be paired with it.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon and Sephora
Worth checking out
Foreo Bear Microcurrent Facial Device
What you need to know: This non-invasive facial sculpting tool is palm-sized and shaped like a bear.
What you’ll love: It uses microcurrent technology to ease tension around the face and neck area. This enhances the skin, giving it a firmer and more toned appearance. Its built-in anti-shock system automatically adjusts the microcurrents according to your skin’s needs, so it is always safe to use, with no chance of shock when used with water.
What you should consider: Because it uses microcurrents, it should not be used on bare skin, but with a conductive serum.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
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Nentapmun Gomwalk writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
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| 2022-09-21T15:21:48Z
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Which backpack beach chair is best?
Packing up everything for a trip to the beach isn’t always easy. Forgetting something essential could derail the day, but at the same time you don’t want to overpack and carry a bunch of things you don’t need. A backpack beach chair takes away some of that hassle by using a practical time- and space-saving design. It’s easy to carry and evenly distributes weight.
Check out the Oniva Picnic Time Fusion Folding Chair for a reliable chair with plenty of luxurious bonus features.
What to know before you buy a backpack beach chair
How it works
A standard beach chair requires a strap or storage bag for transportation. Getting the chair in and out of that bag is challenging and the single-strap carry method can make your shoulder hurt. A backpack beach chair eliminates the storage bag and more evenly distributes weight as you carry it.
The chair folds up with backpack straps that easily slip over each shoulder. These straps are usually adjustable and leave your hands free so you can carry beach toys, a cooler or anything else you might need.
Materials
Most backpack beach chairs are constructed from a metal such as aluminum to prevent rust and corrosion. The arms are made from plastic, so they don’t get too hot and burn your skin.
The metal frame is swathed in fabric, most likely a canvas polyester. This heavy polyester feels durable and strong without being uncomfortable against your skin. It’s breathable, dries quickly and doesn’t get too hot under the sun.
Reclining positions
A backpack beach chair can sit at a fixed position or recline at different levels, depending on the chair you select. The most versatile reclining chairs have up to five positions.
Chairs that don’t recline are more compact, but reclining chairs can adjust for a more comfortable sitting experience, especially if you are going to be seated for a long time. Some reclining chairs can lay completely flat, letting you lie on the beach with more structure than you’d get with a towel alone.
What to look for in a quality backpack beach chair
Sun canopy
If you don’t want to pack an umbrella separately or you’re traveling solo and don’t need a ton of coverage, a beach chair with a canopy is a great option. A sun canopy adjusts to shield you from the hot sun as you sit and folds back out of the way when not in use. It’s built into the chair, so it packs up easily as part of the backpack design when it’s time to go home .
Storage features
A great backpack beach chair comes with built-in storage that keeps your beach area well-organized. This can mean anything from a towel bar on the back for drying your wet towel or hanging armrest cupholders and pouches for your drinks, snacks, book or phone. Some chairs have a storage cooler attached to the back of the seat or the handle so you can carry your water without packing a separate bag.
Padded straps
The best beach chair backpack straps are adjustable, as this allows you to loosen or tighten the straps while you carry the chair, keeping it secure. The straps are also padded, which provides comfort and relief on your shoulders and back. Padding is important if the chair is heavy or you plan on carrying it a great distance.
How much you can expect to spend on a backpack beach chair
A single backpack beach chair costs $30-$200, while a set of two costs $100-$230.
Backpack beach chair FAQ
Are the backpack straps detachable?
A. Some beach chairs have straps built into the backing, but others have fasteners so you can take the straps off when the chair is in use and hook them back on when it’s time to carry the chair away.
What is lace-up seat suspension?
A. A chair with lace-up suspension has roped loops all the way up to attach the fabric seating to the metal frame. The design is supposed to contour more easily to support your body’s shape.
What’s the best backpack beach chair to buy?
Top backpack beach chair
Oniva Picnic Time Fusion Folding Chair
What you need to know: This collapsible chair has a powder-coated aluminum frame with a polyester canvas fabric and plenty of extra features. The weight capacity is 350 pounds.
What you’ll love: The seat and backrest are ribbed for comfort. There’s a detachable cooler for drinks, a shelf for books, an electronics pocket and a fold-out side table. The backpack straps are padded. The frame comes in black, red or blue.
What you should consider: It does not recline. There are fabric loops for an umbrella, but the umbrella is sold separately.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon and Macy’s
Top backpack beach chair for the money
Homevative Folding Backpack Beach Chair
What you need to know: This foldable chair has an aluminum frame with lace-up seat suspension and great extras. The weight capacity is 250 pounds.
What you’ll love: There is a towel bar on the back and a rear cooler pouch. The backpack straps are padded. There is a hanging cell phone and cup holder on the arm. It has a comfortable head rest and adjusts to accommodate five sitting positions, including one that lays completely flat. It comes in blue or multi-color fabric.
What you should consider: It can be difficult to fold up.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
GCI Outdoor Waterside SunShade Backpack Beach Chair
What you need to know: This foldable chair has an aluminum frame and a blue fabric design. The weight capacity is 250 pounds.
What you’ll love: It reclines to accommodate four sitting positions and has a built-in beverage holder. There’s a comfortable headrest. The sun canopy is a major asset, and it’s adjustable.
What you should consider: The fabric could be more durable.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
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Emily Verona writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
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| 2022-09-21T15:21:56Z
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Which fishing hat is best?
Anyone who spends a lot of time outdoors needs a hat. Baseball caps keep sun out of your eyes but have no protection for your neck, ears or the rest of your face. Bucket hats don’t provide much coverage, and cowboy hats don’t stay on your head when the wind blows.
People who fish are at higher risk because they are also exposed to the sun that reflects off the water, doubling their risk of harm from ultraviolet rays. If you’re looking for a fishing hat with a wide brim, vents and moisture-wicking technology, take a look at the Columbia Bora Bora Booney.
What to know before you buy a fishing hat
The best fishing hat is also a sun hat that not only provides protection from ultraviolet rays that burn your skin but is also comfortable to wear.
UVA and UVB rays
Sunlight is made up of visible and invisible rays. The ones that are the most damaging are called ultraviolet rays, named for their position on the color spectrum of light. There are two types of ultraviolet rays, named UVA and UVB.
- UVA rays penetrate deeply and are most responsible for premature aging and wrinkling of the skin.
- UVB rays are responsible for causing sunburn. They also are the rays most responsible for skin cancers, including malignant melanoma.
- The UV ray index is a scale you see in detailed weather reports online and on TV. It rates the strength of UV rays, your risk levels, suggested exposure times and precautions you should take.
Protection ratings
- SPF stands for sun protection factor. It refers to a hat’s ability to prevent your skin from turning red due ultraviolet B radiation. A hat with an SPF rating of 50 means exposed skin can stay in the sun 50 times longer before reddening.
- UPF stands for ultraviolet protection factor. Where SPF measures your hat’s ability to block ultraviolet B, a hat with UPF protection blocks both UVA and UVB rays.
The hat brim
Your hat’s brim is your primary defense against the sun.
- Width: The wider the brim, the more shade you get. The downside is that the wider the brim, the likelier it is to blow off your head in a stiff breeze.
- Coverage: Brims that go all the way around shade the back and sides as well as the front. Baseball hats provide shade only in front and bucket hats have only a narrow brim that provides minimal shade.
- Stiffness: Wide brims can be stiff or floppy. Stiff wide brims, like those on a cowboy hat, are unmanageable when the wind gets up. Floppy brims stay on your head, but may disturb you with the way they flap around in a breeze.
What to look for in a quality fishing hat
Breathability
Scientists say most of the heat from our bodies escapes through the top of our heads just as most of a fireplace’s heat goes right up the chimney. When we wear hats, we are capping our chimneys. Look for a fishing hat with vents that let the heat from your head escape.
Technology
Wicking moisture away produces a cooling effect. Look for a hat with a wicking band that absorbs the moisture from your skin and transfers it to the air, making your head feel cooler.
Flaps
Some fishing hats are made to provide extreme protection. Be aware that the more of these flaps you have, the more restricted your field of vision.
- Rear: These have long flaps that extend from the rear to provide complete protection for the back of your neck.
- Side: Some have side flaps to keep the sun off your cheeks and the sides of your neck and face.
- Front: A few fishing hats are made with breathable mesh flaps on the front that cover your face.
How much you can expect to spend on a fishing hat
Most wide-brimmed fishing hats cost from $10-$30, depending on materials and design features.
Fishing hat FAQ
If I buy a good hat, do I still need sunscreen?
A. Yes. Always wear sunscreen that blocks both UVA and UVB rays, and always remember to reapply it as your perspiration washes it away.
What colors are best for fishing hats?
A. Light colors reflect the sun’s rays more than dark colors do, deflecting some of the heat and keeping you cooler. But light colors also get dirty quicker, so if you want a hat that won’t show dirt and is easy to keep clean, choose a dark color.
What’s the best fishing hat to buy?
Top fishing hat
What you need to know: Moisture-wicking technology gives you a dry fit that keeps you cool and comfortable.
What you’ll love: This breathable, wide-brimmed mesh hat has a tight weave that’s great for yard work as well as fishing. It has built-in UPF shielding designed to block ultraviolet rays from every angle. Choose from 25 colors, all with adjustable chin straps and hat size adjustment cords.
What you should consider: Its brim is too floppy for some.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Top fishing hat for the money
Home Prefer UPF 50-plus Wide Brim Fishing Hat
What you need to know: This lightweight fishing hat blocks 98% of harmful ultraviolet rays.
What you’ll love: The mesh vents let cooling air through the crown and the kepi flap keeps your neck from being burned by the sun. The crown has a drawstring adjusting mechanism for a snug fit in breezy conditions,
What you should consider: It’s not waterproof and must be hand-washed only.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
Einskey Waterproof Wide Brim Boonie Hat
What you need to know: This fishing hat has one of the widest brims you can find.
What you’ll love: This polyester hat keeps the sun off while repelling water, too. The mesh panels allow air to circulate, the built-in sweatband keeps sweat out of your eyes and the elastic drawstring keeps your hat securely on your head on windy days.
What you should consider: Some buyers reported problems with the inner lining.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
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David Allan Van writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
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| 2022-09-21T15:22:03Z
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Which white gaming chair is best?
Once upon a time, you had to struggle to get comfortable in front of a computer. If you were lucky, you had a rigid office chair. But as computer components evolved, so did gaming chairs. There’s now a plethora of styles, models and brands, and many have additional functions akin to those of the seats in luxury vehicles.
If you want to look as elegant as ever and feel great while doing so, the Dowinx Gaming Chair With Massage Lumbar Support is an excellent choice.
What to know before you buy a white gaming chair
The color doesn’t improve your gaming
It shouldn’t come as a shock that a white gaming chair doesn’t improve your play. But there are other benefits that come with a white chair, such as blending in with neutral colors and making it easy to spot dirt. White is often paired with black or gold trimming, giving it an elegant look that won’t date quickly.
There’s a style for every gamer
The beautiful thing about gaming chairs is that there are types to suit most playing styles. You might be more of a traditionalist, with an upright office chair. Or if you generally play console games, you might find a recliner or rocker more comfortable. The best gaming chair for you is the one in which you feel at home and that won’t cause strain on your back.
Price should be a consideration
Gaming chairs vary wildly in price. Set yourself a budget and try to stick within the boundaries. Consider whether you really need leather trim, an added footrest or compatibility with vibration technology. Sure, it’s great to have the best, but at the end of the day, you’re just going to sit in it. And the most expensive chairs aren’t always the best.
What to look for in a quality white gaming chair
Padded upholstery
One of the most important aspects of any chair — not just those for gaming — is comfort. It could be the most expensive, elaborate chair in the world, but if it’s not comfortable, you won’t be satisfied. A good-quality gaming chair has thick padding on the seat and back support through a lumbar cushion. Most chairs tilt several degrees if you want to grab a quick nap, but the armrests are rarely more than hard foam.
Adjustability
Another sign of a good-quality gaming chair is adjustability. A rigid chair is uncomfortable, as you can’t adjust your backrest’s angle or the seat’s height. However, high-quality chairs can rotate 360 degrees, you can adjust the height and tilt angle, and you can lock them in place if you don’t want the rocking motion. The armrests can generally also swivel a few degrees, and slide forward and back.
Build quality
Not only do you want to be comfortable, you also don’t want to end up on the floor. It rarely happens, but gaming chairs can come apart and break due to inferior materials. Critical components such as the seating frame and backrest hinge are metal in good-quality gaming chairs. The fabric in these chairs also feels more luxurious and won’t peel after a while. This is a common issue with fake leather fabrics as the colored coating pulls loose.
How much you can expect to spend on a white gaming chair
The average price of a white gaming chair largely depends on the manufacturer. A basic model with the usual functions retails for $70-$80. However, a leather chair with elaborate trimming and thick foam padding sells for $200-$300.
White gaming chair FAQ
Are white gaming chairs shipped fully assembled?
A. No, they’re usually shipped in flat-pack boxes. While all the tools and screws are included, you must assemble them yourself. This isn’t as complex as it sounds, as instructions are included.
Do you get white gaming chairs with RGB lighting?
A. RGB lighting has become hugely popular with gaming accessories, but it hasn’t infiltrated gaming chairs as much. With that said, some white gaming chairs do have an RGB lighting strip down the sides, and you can sync music or gaming sounds.
What’s the best white gaming chair to buy?
Top white gaming chair
Dowinx Gaming Chair With Massage Lumbar Support
What you need to know: If you want to look incredibly stylish while playing your games, this creamy white chair with gold trims will be the envy of your opponents.
What you’ll love: Unlike other gaming chairs, this one has linkage armrests that lets you adjust the angle and height. The lumbar support has a massager built in, and the quilted seating area is stuffed with 5-inch-thick foam padding. The frame is a metal alloy and has five caster wheels.
What you should consider: The massager requires a USB cable to operate.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Top white gaming chair for the money
Edwell Gaming Chair With Massage Lumbar Support
What you need to know: Taking on the traditional form of a gaming chair, this white chair with black accents is the perfect choice for cash-strapped gamers.
What you’ll love: Its high back helps with your posture and the included lumbar cushion has a built-in massager. The chair has a retractable footrest, a 30-degree rocking motion and can carry a maximum weight of 300 pounds.
What you should consider: The adjustable armrests have no padding, so it might be a bit hard for some users.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
GTPlayer Gaming Chair With Footrest and Lumbar Support
What you need to know: With a comfortable head pillow and massaging lumbar cushion, you might find it difficult to stay awake in this white and black gaming chair.
What you’ll love: It uses the latest trend in armrests by featuring the linkage system. Instead of the armrests having the traditional T-bar design, the link connects the back piece with the seat. It also has a retractable footrest, thick padding on all surfaces and a chrome frame.
What you should consider: The massaging function requires a constant USB connection to operate.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
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Charlie Fripp writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved.
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| 2022-09-21T15:22:11Z
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What is the best slide projector?
Slide projectors have been around for well over a century, providing the opportunity to take images and display them on a bigger screen for clearer viewing.
Photography and film technology have advanced exponentially since they were invented, and nearly all of our pictures and videos today are digitized and captured with smartphones. But there are a lot of slides, negatives and 35-millimeter film stored in basements and attics that can be meaningful to look at and even digitize into a permanent format for future use.
For its high-quality resolution and transportability, the Rybozen LED Illuminated 35 mm Slide Viewer is the best.
What to know before you buy a slide projector
What type of slides do you have?
There are many types of 35 mm slides. Most have a mount size of 2 by 2 inches, but they have different sizes of film transparency. Knowing the kind you have leads to the best projector for you.
- Standard 35 mm slides are 2 by 2 inches and have a transparency film size of 24 by 36 millimeters.
- Half frame 35 mm slides are 2 by 2 inches but have a transparency film size of 18 by 24 millimeters, nearly half of the standard size. It looks much smaller than a standard slide but is easily displayed.
- 126 slides are 2 by 2 inches with a square transparency of 28 x 28 millimeters.
- 127 slides are 2 by 2 inches with a square transparency of 40 x 40 millimeters and fills up the mount more completely than a 126 slide.
- 127 super slides are uncommon, but the transparency is the full 2 x 2 inches of the slide with just the slightest border.
- There also are 110 slides that have a tiny 13 by 17 millimeter transparency. They come in both 2 by 2 and 1 by 1 inch mount sizes.
What can be done with 35 mm films?
Some slide projectors have a built-in scanner that digitizes 35 mm film. The film negatives are fed into the scanner a few frames at a time. The scanner saves the scanned images to a file or computer.
What is the difference between DLP, LCD and LED?
There are three main projection technologies.
- Digital light processing projectors display sharp images and don’t require filters. They also have 3-dimensional capabilities and a lamp life of 2,000 to 5,000 hours.
- Liquid crystal display projectors are quieter, less expensive, offer excellent color display and have no moving parts. They are excellent for movies, but they require regular monitoring of the filter.
- Light-emitting diode projectors produce little heat, use less energy, have low maintenance costs and run up to 20,000 hours. They do not offer the same brightness as DLP and LCD projectors.
What to look for in a quality slide projector
Mounting cartridge
Some slide projectors have cartridges that store multiple slide mounts for viewing in succession. Others have a single-loaded mount for viewing slides one at a time.
Adapters
More expensive projectors that also have scanners come with adapters for different types of negatives and film. These adapters attach to the machine, then feed that specific kind of transparency.
Focusing lens
Slide projectors include a focusing lens in addition to the display lens. This lens fine-tunes the image. It is most helpful when projecting images on a screen or wall.
How much you can expect to spend on a slide projector
Inexpensive slide projectors, which are small, portable and display one slide at a time, cost $20-$40. Middle-range slide projectors cost around $40-$75 and include multi-slide cartridges and some digitization capabilities. Expensive slide projectors run $75-$200. These include adapters for multiple types of negatives and film; they can digitize the images into multiple formats.
Slide projector FAQ
Will a microfiber cloth clean old negatives?
A. No. Using a microfiber cloth seems like a safe way to clean off old slides, but using one can smear or scratch the transparency. This leaves the slide permanently marred.
Should I wear gloves to handle negatives?
A. Yes, because they keep your fingers from touching film transparencies. Fingerprints on the emulsion side of the film can be difficult to remove and even cause degradation.
What’s the best slide projector to buy?
Top slide projector
Rybozen LED Lighted Illuminated 35 mm Slide Viewer
What you need to know: This compact slide viewer displays high-quality resolution and can be transported anywhere.
What you’ll love: Featuring a premium glass lens and 2x magnification, your 35-millimeter slides are viewed without blurriness. The viewer weighs just over 7 ounces and is easily carried to and from your home or studio. It comes with two AA batteries.
What you should consider: Some reviewers said the battery compartment can be difficult to open.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Top slide projector for the money
Porta Slide PS-E2 Illuminated Slide Viewer
What you need to know: This portable slide viewer is designed for both tabletop and handheld operation.
What you’ll love: It works with both 35 millimeter and 2- by 2-inch slides. Weighing less than 6 ounces, it’s is ideal for handheld use. It has a metal folding support for displaying on a table. It comes with two AA batteries and a limited one-year warranty.
What you should consider: Some consumers found the screen too small for viewing.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
Kodak Scanza Digital Film and Slide Scanner
What you need to know: From a leading brand, this scanner and viewer converts negatives and slides to JPEG files.
What you’ll love: It features a 3.5-inch high definition color display with adjustable brightness. The file conversion takes seconds. Multiple adapters and film inserts are included. It is compatible with both MAC and PC.
What you should consider: The picture quality of converted files varied.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
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Steve Ganger writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved.
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| 2022-09-21T15:22:18Z
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What is the best arnica gel?
Homeopathic remedies for joint and muscle pain are plentiful. There are dozens of herbs and plants with purported medicinal benefits, including those of an analgesic. Supplements made with arnica have excellent reputations for relieving arthritis pain, soothing sore muscles and accelerating healing for bruises and sprains. They are commonly used on the skin as a topical gel, ointment or cream since oral arnica remedies need to be diluted to offset dangerous side effects if ingested.
The herb, Arnica montana, has been used homeopathically for five centuries, but its modern use focuses on reducing inflammation and addressing overexertion and injuries. For its multiple uses and multi-ingredient formula, the best arnica gel is MediNatura T-Relief Extra Strength Pain Relief.
What to know before you buy an arnica gel
Arnica gel uses
The topical form of arnica treats a wide variety of conditions. Arthritis pain and sore muscles are the most common ailments that arnica gel is marketed to relieve. It also is used for bruising, joint pain, sprains, swelling and healing wounds. Its anti-inflammatory properties make it versatile for new applications, such as being applied to burns.
Topical gel vs. ointment vs. cream
Gels are made from water, cellulose and alcohol. They provide hydration without leaving a residue on your skin. People with oily skin may find gels take longer to evaporate. The cream is equal parts water and oil. It absorbs quickly through the skin and is ideal for covering large body areas. The ointment is closer to 80% oil. It remains on the skin longer and is commonly used for antibiotics or corticosteroids.
Safety concerns
Pure arnica taken orally in large doses is dangerous. That is why oral remedies are heavily diluted. Topical arnica gel has a small percentage of arnica mixed with other ingredients and is safe for use when following the dosing instructions.
According to WebMD, there is not enough clinical evidence to support arnica’s safety in children. It is recommended that it not be used for children or women that are pregnant or breastfeeding.
What to look for in an arnica gel
Odorless
Some arnica gels have a slight odor that dissipates when exposed to the air and rubbed into your skin. Many arnica gels are manufactured without an odor for easy application.
Purity
Look for arnica gels formulated without dyes, fragrances and parabens, which are chemical preservatives.
Dose
Topical arnica is typically used two to four times per day. Each arnica gel has a different recommended dose. Some are required, and others are based on the level and frequency of pain experienced. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to ensure maximum effect.
Container size
Arnica gel containers come in sizes that range from 1 to 5 ounces. There are some bulk packages that include two or three containers for a discounted price.
How much you can expect to spend on an arnica gel
Arnica gel has a wide range of prices based on container size, bulk packaging and additional ingredients. You can find arnica gels available in bulk packages or larger containers for as low as $1.50-$2.50 per ounce. Most arnica-only gels are priced between $2.50-$4 per ounce. For $4-$6 per ounce, you’ll find topicals commonly made with other ingredients, grease-free and odorless.
Arnica gel FAQ
What are the side effects of arnica gel?
A. Topical arnica gel can cause a mild allergic reaction in people that have allergies to the Asteraceae plant family. These plants include ragweed, daisies, marigolds and chrysanthemums.
Used in excess, arnica can increase blood pressure. It also should be used with caution in people taking prescription blood thinners, aspirin or NSAID products. Check with your health care professional before starting arnica use.
How quickly does arnica gel work?
A. When used for bruises or swelling, arnica gel can work within a few hours to two days. For pain relief, arnica gel may take one to two weeks to be effective. If your pain has not lessened after several weeks, stop using the product and consult your health care professional.
What else can naturally treat pain besides arnica?
A. Other natural ingredients also have reputations for relieving pain. Essential oils of peppermint, rosemary and lavender are well-known remedies. Turmeric and ginger are also popular supplements. Capsaicin, found in chili peppers, can treat mild pain. Some supplements incorporate echinacea and calendula with arnica.
What is the best arnica gel to buy?
Top arnica gel
MediNatura T-Relief Extra Strength Pain Relief
What you need to know: This potent arnica gel treats multiple types of soreness and incorporates 12 active ingredients.
What you’ll love: The gel treats nerve pain, sore muscles, bruises, back and joint pain, and arthritis pain. It is made with arnica and a variety of plant-based ingredients like echinacea and calendula.
What you should consider: The gel is oily and takes a while to absorb. The odor was unpleasant to some consumers.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Top arnica gel for the money
What you need to know: This popular pain gel is doctor recommended for arthritis pain and comes in a non-greasy, unscented form.
What you’ll love: Made with diclofenac sodium, Voltaren directly attacks arthritis pain with its nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory properties. It is clinically shown to reduce stiffness, improve mobility and relieve pain. It is free of dyes and parabens.
What you should consider: Some consumers reported drying and irritated skin.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
Boericke and Tafel Arniflora Arnica Gel
What you need to know: This arnica gel is fast-acting and made for pain from overexertion and sports injuries.
What you’ll love: It is made with a tincture of 8% Arnica montana in an easy-to-use application. It relieves pain, swelling and muscle stiffness from physical trauma and over exercising. It is odorless and quickly absorbs through your skin.
What you should consider: It doesn’t work for every consumer.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon and iHerb
Want to shop the best products at the best prices? Check out Daily Deals from BestReviews.
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Steve Ganger writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved.
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| 2022-09-21T15:22:26Z
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What is the best Zarbee’s supplement?
For nearly 15 years, Zarbee’s has been committed to making natural supplements that help fight symptoms of colds, keep our digestive systems healthy, assist with sound sleeping and strengthen our immune systems.
While they make products for all ages, the brand is probably best known among parents looking for a safe alternative to cold and sinus medications for their children. For its tasty honey-based formula that is the top recommended cough syrup by pediatricians for children under 10, the best Zarbee’s supplement is Zarbee’s Children’s Cough Syrup.
What to know before you buy a Zarbee’s supplement
Zarbee’s supplements are drug-free
Cough, throat and sinus symptoms can be aggravating. Many over-the-counter products contain alcohol and different pharmaceutical-grade drugs. Zarbee’s supplements pride themselves on being natural, using things like honey, elderberry and zinc to help treat the symptoms of common illnesses.
Zarbee’s is baby-friendly
There is a wide range of supplements made for babies. The natural ingredients and Zarbee’s commitment to not use drugs, alcohol and artificial fillers make them a favorite of parents. Zarbee’s offers cold remedies, probiotics, immune health, soothing balms and vitamins for the littlest members of your family.
Zarbee’s supports protections for bees
Zarbee’s partners with the Bee Conservancy, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting bees and strengthening their environment. One-third of the world’s food relies on bee pollination. Buying Zarbee’s products helps promote bee conservancy.
What to look for in a Zarbee’s supplement
Dark honey
Zarbee’s cough and throat supplements are based with dark honey. The color of honey comes from the flower source, but dark honey is known to have higher levels of minerals and antioxidants than lighter colored honey. Honey’s stickiness is a natural soother for irritated throats. The company began with its honey-based products and continues to build the supplement line.
Allergen-free
All Zarbee’s supplements are manufactured without common allergens for dairy, eggs, wheat, fish, peanuts, soybeans, shellfish and tree nuts.
Melatonin
Zarbee’s sleep supplements use 3 milligrams of melatonin that is not habit-forming and formulated to help occasional sleeplessness without drugs.
Chamomile
Chamomile is an herb extracted from the Asteraceae plant. It is has been recognized for its calming properties. Zarbee’s incorporates chamomile into its baby balms to help calm and soothe baby’s skin and dispositions.
Agave
For its infant products, Zarbee’s uses agave for cough relief instead of honey. Honey is risky to infants and should only be used in older children as directed. Agave coats the throat like honey but research shows that it is effective only as a placebo.
Ivy leaf and thyme
Ivy leaf extract is used in Zarbee’s products that also focus on mucus reduction. Ivy leaf is believed to thin mucus similar to the drug guaifenesin in over-the-counter products.
Thyme is a herb that contains thymol, which is a natural anti-spasmodic to help with coughs. In combination with ivy leaf, this combination can be very helpful for coughs and congestion.
How much you can expect to spend on a Zarbee’s supplement
Zarbee’s supplements are priced between $6-$20 per container. The prices vary based on product category and container size. For instance, cough medicine costs $7-$8, and cough medicine with mucus treatment costs between $13-$14. Their popular elderberry immune support products cost $10-$12.
Zarbee’s supplement FAQ
Are Zarbee’s supplements drugs?
A. Zarbee’s products are considered dietary supplements by the Food and Drug Administration. That means they are not meant to prevent, diagnose, cure or treat any illness. They use natural ingredients known to have healing properties.
Is it acceptable to give children probiotics?
A. There is clinical research supporting probiotic use by children. They positively impact the immune system and may lead to improved digestive health in adulthood.
Where are Zarbee’s products sold?
A. Zarbee’s products are available at most national drugstore chains and retail stores.
What is the best Zarbee’s supplement to buy?
Top Zarbee’s supplement
Zarbee’s Children’s Cough Syrup
What you need to know: The top recommended cough syrup by pediatricians for children under 10 with all natural ingredients.
What you’ll love: The dark honey is full of antioxidants and designed to soothe irritated throats, and this doesn’t contain any alcohol, drugs, dyes or artificial flavors. It can be used with children as young as one year old and comes in grape and cherry flavors.
What you should consider: The formula is thick for some toddlers and younger children to swallow. Also, make sure your child is one year old at minimum since it contains honey.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon and iHerb
Top Zarbee’s supplement for the money
Zarbee’s Baby Daily Bottom Balm
What you need to know: This balm is free of petroleum and designed to calm your baby’s diaper area skin.
What you’ll love: The balm is safe for babies and is free of fragrances, parabens and petroleum. Made from natural beeswax, it also incorporates aloe, calendula and chamomile. It can be used frequently to help soothe irritated skin.
What you should consider: Some parents noted the balm is very sticky and can be hard to work with.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon and iHerb
Worth checking out
Zarbee’s Elderberry Immune Support Gummy
What you need to know: These tasty gummies are designed to strengthen the immune system with vegetarian-friendly ingredients.
What you’ll love: Made from real elderberry extract for its antioxidant properties and good taste, these gummies include immune support with Vitamins A, C, D, E and zinc. They are made with fruit pectin for the soft texture.
What you should consider: The daily dose is three gummies which means the container only holds a 20-day supply for one person.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon and iHerb
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Steve Ganger writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved.
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| 2022-09-21T15:22:33Z
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Which herb drying rack is best?
Growing herbs is an easy way to save money and improve your cooking at the same time. They typically require less space than vegetables and can flourish in even shady conditions. But what do you do at the end of the growing season when you have an abundance of herbs? Some herbs can be pureed with olive oil and frozen into cubes, but the universal way to preserve herbs is by drying.
An herb drying rack lets you put up large quantities of herbs in a contained space. The Seropy Herb Drying Rack is a large mesh rack that also comes with harvesting tools.
What to know before you buy an herb drying rack
Style of herb drying rack
You have choices when it comes to the style of a drying rack.
- Hanging with clips: The simplest herb drying rack is a hanging structure with clips. This might be as simple as a piece of wood that hangs on the wall or a circle mounted from the ceiling.
- Hanging with mesh: Hanging mesh drying racks protect herbs from pests and allow air to circulate freely all around.
- Stackable: Stackable racks require counter space, which can be challenging depending on the number of racks you need.
Materials
Materials for an herb drying rack include:
- Wood
- Metal
- Mesh
- Plastic
Keep in mind that metal and wood are heavier and best reserved for stackable racks. If you are drying more substantial herbs such as rosemary, you might want a sturdier material. However, lightweight plastic and mesh drying racks work well for things like oregano, basil and thyme.
Size of the harvest
If you only dry a few handfuls of herbs per season, you won’t need a large rack and can go with something simple. However, if you routinely put up a year’s worth of herbs grown from herb seeds, you’ll need a larger rack.
What to look for in a quality herb drying rack
Mounting hardware
If you opt for a hanging rack, make sure it includes mounting hardware. This will be specific to the rack you select and rated for the weight it is designed to hold.
Fully enclosed
If you choose a mesh drying rack, you’ll want to make sure that it is fully enclosed. Some of these have a zipper, while others use overlapping fabric to do the job.
Collapsible
When your harvest is bountiful but your storage options are limited in the offseason, look for a collapsible herb drying rack. These require a minimum of space when not in use.
Accessories
Some drying racks come with accessories that make it easy to cut and process herbs. These can include:
- Gardening shears
- Gloves
- Storage case
How much you can expect to spend on an herb drying rack
The main variables in the price are the style of the rack and the number of herbs it holds. Expect to spend $10-$50
Herb drying rack FAQ
What’s the best way to dry herbs in a drying rack?
A. There are a few best practices when it comes to drying herbs without molding.
- Space herbs far enough apart so that they do not touch or that the overlap is minimal.
- Make sure the rack is in a cool, dry spot, out of sunlight.
- Consider adding a fan if there is not much air circulation.
- Check your herbs every few days.
- Herbs are dry when the stems no longer bend.
How long do dried herbs last?
A. Dried herbs will last forever, but they won’t keep their flavor that long. When stored in an airtight container in a dark, cool place, dried herbs stay fresh for one to three years.
Can you use an herb drying rack for anything else?
A. Yes! Depending on the size of your rack you can also use it for:
- Drying seeds and flowers
- Drying socks and underwear
- Drying small pieces of art
- Drying wool
Essentially, any small item that needs to be dried but cannot be left out on a counter can be dried in an herb drying rack.
What’s the best herb drying rack to buy?
Top herb drying rack
What you need to know: Choose this rack when you need to dry large quantities of herbs.
What you’ll love: This is a six-layer collapsible mesh drying rack. Each layer closes tightly with a zipper to prevent contamination from pests or dust. It is sturdy enough to dry clothes in, too. It comes with pruning shears, a hanging hook, a carrying case and gardening gloves.
What you should consider: Check your package carefully to make sure everything listed in the package arrives. Some people did not receive shears or gardening gloves.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Top herb drying rack for the money
What you need to know: This is a smaller drying rack that can be collapsed and stored in a compact case.
What you’ll love: Four levels of enclosed mesh hang from a steel hook. The total height is just over 2.5 feet. Each level accommodates nearly 8 inches of herbs. It comes with pruning shears and a storage bag. It is also available in two-, six- and eight-layer racks.
What you should consider: Be careful when you open this rack. It is coiled steel and springs out when it is released from its package.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
What you need to know: If you need a more stylish drying rack, this boho-chic macrame option is for you.
What you’ll love: It is 24 inches from the hanger to the 12-inch ring. Eight metal hooks are evenly spaced and accented with handcrafted macrame and sustainable mango wood beads. This is best for quick-drying herbs or flowers. It comes with a tote bag in a gift box.
What you should consider: This is more decorative, so if you routinely process large amounts of herbs, keep looking.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
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Suzannah Kolbeck writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
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| 2022-09-21T15:22:48Z
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Which gaming laptop is better?
Gaming laptops offer a customizable, portable alternative to consoles for both casual and competitive gamers. With a gaming laptop, you can create an experience catered to not only the games you want to enjoy, but where and how you enjoy them. In most cases, you can use a gaming laptop for work, school and streaming entertainment as well.
Two of the top computer companies are Dell and Acer, and each has a line of gaming laptops for casual enthusiasts and dedicated players alike. While Dell’s lineup is reliable and varied, Acer provides better value for gamers of all interests.
Dell gaming laptop
Dell offers two series of gaming laptops, depending on your level of commitment and needs. Alienware is a top-tier line for competitive players who want the best specs and performance, while the G-Series is for more casual gamers.
Alienware boasts the latest graphics cards, most powerful processors and a high price tag. Split-second real time rendering with high refresh rates and low response times suits those competing in online multiplayer games where you need every edge you can get. As video games grow larger and more detailed, Alienware laptops are able to handle the newest virtual worlds without losing fidelity; some like the X17 R2 are also VR ready.
What’s more, Alienware laptops feature up to 4K resolution, 32 gigabytes of RAM and 2 terabytes of storage, all of which are amongst the highest limits available in these important categories.
The G-Series offers a few Quad HD resolution laptops and no more than 8GB RAM and 1 TB of storage, which means they are better suited for more casual gamers who aren’t playing the newest titles. They are also not ideal for competitive online games, as there may be some shadowing or lag. However, they provide value for gamers who enjoy solo campaigns or offline adventures.
Dell laptops all feature Windows 11. Screen sizes range from 14 to 17 inches, and both Intel Core and AMD Ryzen processors are offered.
Dell gaming laptop pros
- Reliable: Whether for business or gaming, Dell’s laptops are long-lasting and dependable.
- Display: The top Alienware laptops offer stunning 4K resolution, up to a 360 hertz refresh rate and as low as 1-millisecond response time to make for a faithful and visually stunning experience.
- Style: The Alienware line boasts an iconic logo, sharp edges and eye-catching colors that make gaming sleek.
Dell gaming laptop cons
- Price: Dell’s laptops skew slightly more expensive, partly due to name recognition. Price increases significantly as you select the highest specs in key categories.
- Transport: Most gaming laptops, particularly those in the more powerful Alienware series, are heavy and bulky. This can make movement and setup tedious.
- Excess: 4K resolution doesn’t necessarily make online gaming better, since it requires more power, while high levels of storage may be hard to fill up. Some argue it’s hard to tell the difference with any refresh rate over 240 hertz.
Best Dell gaming laptops
This high-end Alienware laptop boasts an AMD Ryzen 9 processor with RTX graphics and 16GB of RAM for reliable performance in vast, online games.
Sold by Dell
For casual gamers, the midrange core and graphics card in this budget-friendly laptop provide value for older games and offline solo campaigns.
Sold by Dell
Acer gaming laptop
Acer offers a fairly stark contrast to Dell gaming laptops. While Dell boasts plenty of expensive, high-end computers as well as some low-end offerings for casual gamers, Acer’s selection is filled with value for most gamers in the middle. Only a handful boast the newest, most expensive technology, but the choice of Intel and AMD processors as well as RTX graphics means gamers can play old and new titles alike, online or off.
Acer’s Predator line is the top series, while its Nitro gaming laptops come in at a lower price. Still, the difference isn’t as large as the difference between Dell’s Alienware and G Series. The Predator line has some key aesthetic upgrades and a more durable build with better graphics; Nitro laptops sacrifice some longevity in materials and display quality to lower the price.
Acer laptops are either 15 or 17 inches, with most offering 1TB or less of storage. Most feature an Intel processor, such as the Predator Helios 300, with only a few laptops utilizing AMD Ryzen. Unlike Dell, most Acer gaming computers offer 16 GB of RAM, with a handful boasting 32 GB.
Acer gaming laptop pros
- Value: Both Acer’s top-tier and more budget-friendly laptops provide quality value for gamers due to their performance and cost.
- Versatility: Gamers will find Acer laptops suitable for streaming entertainment, school and some casual work.
- Graphics: Most Acer gaming laptops run the latest Nvidia RTX graphics card, which prevents lag and shadowing while quickly rendering the most elaborate, detailed environments.
Acer gaming laptop cons
- Battery: You should be able to play most games for up to six hours off the battery, but you may not make it much beyond that.
- Noise: As the laptop heats up during more involved games, the fans kick in, and their noise may be disruptive.
- Aesthetics: Acer laptops lack the stylish look of Alienware’s and don’t compare to other competitors who promote unique colors and branding.
Best Acer gaming laptops
This powerful 14-core gaming laptop is reserved for the most serious gamers seeking detailed graphics and fast rendering. With 32GB of RAM and RTX graphics, it caters to the latest, biggest games.
Sold by Acer
This budget-friendly gaming laptop provides versatility with a newer graphics card and 8GB of RAM.
Sold by Acer
Should you get a Dell or Acer gaming laptop?
For the most dedicated of competitive gamers seeking every detail and edge in their gameplay, Dell’s top-tier Alienware laptops are better. Still, this comes at a high price.
Most gamers will be better served by an Acer gaming laptop, which suit online and offline play for those enjoying new and old titles. Provided you don’t care too much about look and branding, Acer’s Predator and Nitro gaming laptops will immerse you in exciting virtual worlds.
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Anthony Marcusa writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved.
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| 2022-09-21T15:23:03Z
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Which headset is better, Logitech or Razer?
Razer and Logitech started roughly the same time in the late ’90s, on opposite ends of the world. And since their founding, both have been knee-deep in research and development to give gamers the best possible experience. But it hasn’t always been smooth sailing, with one company expanding its product offerings while the other honed in on specific peripherals.
Razer headset
Razer’s first product was a computer mouse, but it took eight years after its founding to introduce its first headset, the Barracuda HP-1. Razer has managed to release a new model almost every year and sticking to its naming convention, all headsets are named after aquatic predators.
Razer headset pros
When you buy a Razer headset, you that it incorporates technology that the company has spent many years developing. At the high end of its headsets, it often enables headsets to use THX Spatial Audio, a competitor to DTS Headphone X and Dolby.
Razer has a majority share in THX, making it easier to share innovations across products. Mostly used in gaming headsets, spatial audio differs from stereo in that you can accurately hear where a sound comes from, not just a vague direction.
Another aspect that only one other headset maker has is haptic feedback. Razer calls it Hypersense, which is essentially two pieces of metal in each ear cup that shake and rumble according to the on-screen action. So not only do you hear an explosion or earthquake — you can feel it, too.
Razer headset cons
The biggest disadvantage of Razer’s headsets is that they don’t have a wide selection for console players. If you play games on a computer, there are several models and variations to choose from, but you are severely limited for consoles.
Sure, almost all wired headsets are compatible with Xboxes or PlayStations, but wireless is a different story. Unless you use a Bluetooth adapter on your Xbox, you must use a headset that works through Xbox Wireless technology.
Generally, there aren’t too many overarching disadvantages to Razer headsets. When problems crop up, it’s usually against a specific model and not a commentary on all headsets. For example, some reviewers complain that the Kraken X’s ear cups can’t rotate. However, the ear cups on the Barracuda can.
Best Razer headsets
Razer BlackShark V2 Pro Wireless Gaming Headset
Few headsets look as intimidating as the BlackShark. The extra-thick padded headband is connected to the matte black ear cups with two metal rods, helping to reduce ambient sounds with the passive noise cancellation feature. The HyperClear super-cardioid microphone is detachable, and the drivers are a generous 50 millimeters.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Razer Barracuda Pro Wireless Gaming and Mobile Headset
This headset utilizes a built-in THX Achromatic audio amplifier to improve audio quality. Its adjustable headband and ear cups feature the same foam padding, covering the 50-millimeter audio drivers. It is compatible with Bluetooth and 2.4-gigahertz systems, and the battery lasts about 40 hours.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
The Kraken has a lightweight aluminum frame with ample padding, making it perfect for wearing for a long time. It has a retractable noise isolating microphone with audio controls on the 3.5-millimeter cable and gel-infused ear cups.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Logitech headset
Logitech is a Swiss company dating back to the early ’80s. It makes a wide range of electronics, notably computer peripherals, with its first gaming mouse released in 1999 and its first gaming keyboard coming out in 2005. It has taken a bit longer to develop gaming headsets, as the first model, the G230 Stereo, only went on shelves in 2013.
Logitech headset pros
Logitech has an immense selection of computer and console peripherals. In addition to the headsets, it has numerous keyboards, mice, controllers, microphones and joysticks. This is important as it borrows technology from its other subsidiaries, such as Astro, Ultimate Ears and Blue.
For example, the Pro X Gaming headset uses a Blue Voice microphone for crystal-clear communications suitable for esports tournaments. You can also buy a stand-alone Blue Icepop microphone for Logitech G Pro headsets.
Combining several technology companies under one entity lets it incorporate different aspects into its hardware. But not all Logitech headsets are afforded this luxury, so some models don’t live up to the company’s reputation.
Logitech headset cons
As is often seen with companies that heavily diversify their consumer offerings, there isn’t much technological progress in its headsets. Over the last five years, only three models out of eight were wireless, two had stereo outputs, and one had no in-line controls.
The advantage of working with Astro and Blue is lost when none of these entities invests in research and development. The combination might work initially, but it’s not enough to slap a third-party label on a headset and expect gamers to fawn over it.
Logitech also has an inconsistent release window, with no new headsets in 2021, only one in 2020, four in 2019 and then again only one in 2018. While that speaks to the headsets’ longevity, it’s easy for gamers to overlook a two-year-old headset in favor of a more recent gadget.
Best Logitech headsets
Logitech G Pro X Gaming Headset
This sleek all-black headset has large 50-millimeter audio drivers that provide 7.1 surround sound through DTS technology. The headband and ear cup forks are steel, while the ear cups are covered in memory foam and synthetic leather. The Blue Voice detachable microphone has noise-reducing and compressing capabilities for clearer spoken audio.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Logitech G733 Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Headset
This wireless headset is perfect for gaming consoles and on a computer. It connects to devices through a USB dongle, has 40-millimeter speakers, and has passive noise cancellation. The battery lasts 30 hours, and RGB lights are on each ear cup.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Logitech G935 Wireless DTS:X 7.1 Surround Sound
This wireless headset has large 50-millimeter audio drivers and a 6-millimeter microphone, while the battery lasts around 12 hours. Compatible with DTS technology, it gives you 7.1 surround sound.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Should you get a Razer or a Logitech headset?
If you want to splash out on gaming audio, Logitech has some beautifully crafted headsets. It has an enormous range that will appeal to most gamers. The G Series is aimed at the technologically savvy and flashy, while the Pro Series is a bit more traditional and stately.
This contrasts with Razer, which has three models as its flagship headsets. It doesn’t seem like much, but when you start digging into the specifications of each, you’ll notice that they cover virtually all the bases. Like the rotating ear cups mentioned earlier, each headset variation uses different technology to set itself apart.
It wasn’t always that way — Razer didn’t have a stellar reputation a decade or so ago, when many of its products had poor reliability and inferior components. But manufacturing shakeups and boardroom shuffles have dramatically improved quality.
Since Razer and Logitech use different components, designs and appeals to different segments, it’s easy to say that you should get whichever brand you prefer. But for a concise answer, Razer’s headsets are durable, look expensive at an affordable price, and the internal technology is amazing.
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Charlie Fripp writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved.
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| 2022-09-21T15:23:10Z
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WEST MONROE, La. (KTVE/KARD) — During a weather event that may include flooding, everyone is quick to tell you where to stock up on sandbags to protect your property. But has anyone ever told you how to use them correctly? Here is a guide on how you can utilize sandbagging to prevent flood waters from entering your home using traditional sandbags and self-inflating flood barriers.
Tools you’ll need for traditional sandbags:
- shovel(s)
- sandbags (if not provided already by sandbag locations)
- sand (if not provided already by sandbag locations)
- Tarp(s)
- Work Gloves
Traditional Sandbags:
STEP 1: Clear the area where you want to build your sandbag wall. Any debris, decor, furniture, etc. will get in the way. Don’t build on uneven ground or plan a design that has curves or sharp turns, sandbags need to settle flat to be effective.
STEP 2: Fill the sandbag: this is a two-person task, one person holds the bag, and the other person shovels sand into it. Only fill the bags till a little over halfway. Overfilling the bag will make it more difficult to carry, move, compact, and form when you lay it down. Tie off the sandbags if you plan to transport them, do so closer to the top of the bag to allow for sifting of the sand. This will create a good seal for the wall. If not, fold over the top flap of the bag, leaving room so that the sand can move around when you lay it down.
STEP 3: Place the sandbags lengthways/parallel to the direction of the water flow. Ensure the open end of the bag is folded under the filled portion of the bag. Tamping down or stepping on the top of the sandbags before placing the next row will help create a better seal.
STEP 4: When stacking second and third rows, stagger the bags on top of the previous bag by offsetting by half the length on top of the previous bag to the right or left, similar to the process for laying bricks.
STEP 5: For barriers that need to be over three layers tall, build in a pyramid shape, it should be three times wider than it is tall.
OPTIONAL STEP 6: For added protection, seal the wall with plastic sheeting on the wet side, the side with the water, and secure with a row of sandbags across the top and along the bottom edge.
Self-Inflating Flood Barriers
STEP 1: Self-inflating flood bags contain a super absorbent material that expands when activated by water. To activate, immerse the bag in a freshwater source, or a garden hose, to saturate it. After about five to 10 minutes, the bags will fully expand to create an instant water dam. Depending on the bag size, they’ll hold about 4, 8, or 13 1/2 gallons of water, make sure you are using the proper size for your property.
STEP 2: The process of stacking self-inflating flood bags is similar to stacking traditional sandbags. As each bag is activated, lay it flat, in place. The opening of the quick dams should face against the water flow and offset the next layers like bricks. They can be stacked up to three high, if you need to go higher, widen the base like a pyramid. The higher you need the wall height, the thicker the base should be. Stacking straight up will create an unstable base and they may slide off.
STEP 3: The self-inflating flood bags can last for six to 12 months, although it’s recommended to not use them that long. To reuse, allow the bags to dry out over several weeks, the bags will shrink as the water evaporates. Store in a dry place, such as a shed or garage, until they’re ready to reuse. To prevent mold and mildew make sure they are completely dry before storing.
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| 2022-09-21T15:23:17Z
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The NCAA women’s basketball title game will be broadcast this season on ABC for the first time.
The championship game, which usually airs in prime time, will be played at 3 p.m. Eastern on April 2. The women’s Final Four is in Dallas this year.
“Scheduling the Division I Women’s Basketball Championship on ABC has been a goal for quite some time in our ongoing efforts to maximize the exposure of women’s sports in collaboration with the NCAA,” said Burke Magnus, ESPN’S president for programming and original content. “Women’s NCAA Championships continue to generate strong audiences across the ABC/ESPN networks and this move represents yet another unique opportunity to showcase this marquee event and the student-athletes who are competing for a national championship.”
ESPN said it will have the 2023 and 2024 championship games on ABC and would look at moving the game back to prime time in the future but currently has commitments to entertainment shows the night of the game. Back in the 1980s when the women’s tournament first started, the Final Four and championship games aired in the afternoon on CBS. ESPN took over the entire tournament in 1996 and the title game aired in the evenings every since.
Last season’s championship game, in which South Carolina beat UConn, was the most viewed women’s title game in nearly two decades, drawing 4.85 million viewers. The national semifinals averaged 2.7 million viewers, up 21% year over year, and was the most viewed semifinals in a decade. The full tournament averaged 634,000 viewers, up 16% from the previous year’s coverage.
ESPN has the rights to broadcast the women’s tournament through 2024 as part of the NCAA championships package. The network has aired NCAA women’s tournament games on ABC for the past two seasons but not the title game.
“It’s a benchmark announcement for women’s basketball in being able to showcase the national championship game in Dallas for an expanded audience on ABC for the first time in 2023,” said Beth Goetz, chair of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee and athletic director at Ball State. “We are grateful to ABC/ESPN for the partnership in the continued growth of the game and championship.”
The NCAA Tournament expanded to 68 games last season and this season will have its regionals in two sites, with eight teams playing in Greenville, South Carolina, and the other eight in Seattle. The tournament will follow this format through 2027.
The Division II and Division III championship games also will take place in Dallas on the same weekend as the Division I Final Four. It’s the first time that the three championships have been played in the same city since 2016.
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More AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
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| 2022-09-21T15:23:25Z
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Alabama coach Nick Saban is getting a new eight-year contract worth at least $93.6 million, eclipsing the recent megadeal of Southeastern Conference rival Kirby Smart.
The University of Alabama trustees compensation committee on Tuesday approved a one-year extension through Feb. 28, 2030 for the 70-year old Saban, who has led the Crimson Tide to six national titles. Saban’s deal averages out to $11.7 million per year, topping Smart’s $11.25 million pay at defending national champion Georgia.
The announcement comes a month after Smart agreed to a 10-year deal worth more than $110 million. The Bulldogs beat Alabama in the national championship game in January.
The two join Ohio State’s Ryan Day, LSU’s Brian Kelly, Michigan State’s Mel Tucker and Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher as college football coaches who will make at least $9 million in 2022.
Saban’s deal includes a salary and talent fee of $9.9 million this year with $400,000 annual raises. Saban can receive an $800,000 completion bonus at the end of February in each of the next four years, plus other bonuses.
“(Wife) Terry and I are very appreciative of the unmatched commitment the university has shown to this football program and our family over the last 15-plus years,” Saban said in a statement. “This is our home, and we look forward to finishing our career at Alabama.”
His contract ensures his pay will remain at or near the top of the heap among college football coaches.
Saban would get a boost if his deal is less than the average total pay of the three highest paid Southeastern Conference coaches or the average of what the five paid coaches in college football are making. He’d receive the higher of the two averages.
Saban agreed to a three-year extension in June 2021 for $84.8 million over eight years.
Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne is receiving a three-year extension through June 30, 2029 with a 5 percent raise. He’ll make $1.49 million this year with raises pushing his salary to $1.91 million for 2028-29.
Byrne also secured a coach seeking his eighth national title — including one at LSU.
“We are incredibly fortunate to have the best football coach in the nation and one of the greatest coaches of all time, regardless of sport, here at Alabama in coach Saban,” Byrne said. “Not only have his teams been successful on the field, but they have also achieved greatly in the classroom and community.
“Beyond that, the impact he and Ms. Terry have had on The University, Tuscaloosa and the state of Alabama cannot be overlooked.”
The financial terms of the contracts become official upon the formal approval by the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees.
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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/ap_top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://bit.ly/3pqZVaF
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| 2022-09-21T15:23:33Z
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ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Chase Young will miss the Washington Commanders’ first four games of the season after landing on the reserve/physically unable to perform list.
The team put Young and backup center Tyler Larsen on the list Tuesday, also releasing receiver Kelvin Harmon and offensive tackle Rashod Hill and placing linebacker Nathan Gerry on injured reserve.
Young, the 2020 Defensive Rookie of the Year, is working back from surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee. That surgery involved grafting part of his left patellar tendon to fix the tear.
“As we go through this, it’s hard to predict on recovery time,” coach Ron Rivera said. “This injury is a little bit more severe than the average one is, and because of that, the timeline is a little bit longer. What is that timeline? I can’t tell you.”
Rivera had already ruled out Washington’s top pass-rusher for the season opener against Jacksonville and indicated Young could start the season on the PUP list. The first game Young is eligible to play is Oct. 9 against Tennessee, though there’s no guarantee he’s ready by then.
The team and Young have refused to set a timeframe on his return from what Rivera has repeatedly called a significant injury. Young injured the knee Nov. 14 against Tampa Bay, opening the door for young linemen such as Casey Toohill and Shaka Toney to take on bigger responsibilities.
“It was just dialing in my focus: doing the same thing I’d been doing but just now more of an opportunity, more plays,” Toohill said. “I think it’s the same now, just keeping that same focus as I had before and getting things going.”
Young is still sporting a brace on his right knee while out at practice. Despite not taking part, the 23-year-old is vocal during team drills and has helped teammates in quieter ways.
“He sees things very well in terms of the game of football,” Toohill said. “He’s out here and he’s coaching us. He’s not sulking. He’s not just saying things to say things. He is being very helpful with technique, he’s being very detailed with all of us and he coaches everybody.”
JURGENSEN TO BE HONORED
The Commanders will retire Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Sonny Jurgensen’s No. 9 in their regular-season finale against the rival Dallas Cowboys on Jan. 7 or 8. Jurgensen played 11 of his 18 NFL seasons for Washington and spent 38 more as a radio broadcaster, giving him a total of 55 years with the organization.
“No member of the Washington franchise will ever wear the No. 9 again, which is truly a nod to Sonny’s incredible accomplishments on and off the field,” co-owner Tanya Snyder said in a statement. “Dan and I are thankful for the 55 years Sonny dedicated to the franchise. People will remember him as one of the greatest quarterbacks in franchise history and the radio voice of the team for our three Super Bowl victories. He represents true excellence and professionalism and serves as a role model for future Washington players.”
The team announced the honor on Jurgensen’s 88th birthday.
“I am very humbled by this recognition,” he said. “It is an honor of a lifetime to have my jersey retired with a franchise I spent 55 years of my life with.”
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More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
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| 2022-09-21T15:23:55Z
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dodgers All-Star pitcher Walker Buehler underwent Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career on Tuesday, leaving Los Angeles to head into the postseason and likely next year without a key member of the rotation.
“There’s no sugarcoating it,” said Andrew Friedman, president of baseball operations. “It was a tough blow but we’ll get him back. I know he’s already itching.”
The team disclosed earlier this month that the 28-year-old right-hander would be having season-ending elbow surgery. At that time, the team did not say Buehler would have the Tommy John surgery. The typical recovery time for the ligament-replacement procedure is 12 to 18 months.
“It was kind of the worse-case scenario in our mind,” Friedman said.
Buehler was 6-3 with a 4.02 ERA this season. He had 58 strikeouts in 65 innings pitched over 12 starts.
He was shut down in June because of a flexor strain and also had a bone spur removed. The prognosis called for him to recover in 10 to 12 weeks, and the Dodgers were hopeful he would be back for the postseason.
Last week manager Dave Roberts said Buehler had soreness while playing catch, forcing him to be shut down.
“I don’t know when the time of return is,” Roberts said. “I think there’s a sense of relief for Walker and a sense of at least we have a course of action.”
In addition to having the ulnar collateral ligament replaced, Buehler had his flexor tendon repaired.
“The most important bit of information from today is that it went as well as it possibly could have,” said Friedman, who texted with Buehler in the morning.
“His maturity and kind of how he was internalizing all of this was extremely impressive,” Friedman said. “It’s easy to be frustrated, it’s easy to be mad, but that wasn’t his state of mind at all. It was much more kind of pragmatic and matter of fact, and whatever came out of it, he was going to attack it and do everything he could to get back as soon as possible.”
Buehler had his first Tommy John surgery shortly after being drafted by the Dodgers in the first round in June 2015. He made his professional baseball debut the following August.
He was a key contributor to the Dodgers’ 2020 World Series championship, their first since 1988. He has been considered the team’s heir apparent to veteran ace Clayton Kershaw.
Buehler has a career 3.02 ERA.
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More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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| 2022-09-21T15:24:02Z
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NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets plan to stay together after all, even after the All-Star forward asked to be traded earlier this summer.
The Nets said Tuesday that the team’s leadership met a day earlier with Durant and business partner Rich Kleiman in Los Angeles and “agreed to move forward with our partnership,” general manager Sean Marks said in a statement.
“We are focusing on basketball, with one collective goal in mind: build a lasting franchise to bring a championship to Brooklyn,” Marks added.
That is certainly more likely by keeping Durant, who remains one of the best scorers in the NBA. He is set to begin a four-year extension he signed last summer, and the possibility of him being traded had been the biggest story in the NBA this summer.
It’s unknown exactly why he sought a trade, which came at the end of a turbulent year in Brooklyn. A championship favorite before last season began, the Nets barely made the playoffs and then were bounced by Boston in four games in the first round.
The Nets then refused to give a contract extension to Kyrie Irving, Durant’s close friend, forcing him to pick up his option for next season, the final year of his deal.
The uncertainty around Durant’s future in Brooklyn likely contributed to the Nets being left off the five-game Christmas lineup and being scheduled to appear only eight times on ABC and ESPN.
But with Durant, the Nets can still be one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. He averaged a franchise-record 29.9 points last season, and the Nets were bidding for the top spot in the East before he suffered a knee injury that sidelined him for 21 games.
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More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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| 2022-09-21T15:24:10Z
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TROY, Ala. (AP) — A former Troy University football player has filed a lawsuit against an ex-teammate and three coaches, saying he was abused while on the team, including being sexually assaulted with a pool cue.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Montgomery, names former Troy punter Jack Dawson; special teams coordinators Brian Blackmon and Dayne Brown; and Jamaal Smith, the director of player development.
The Associated Press is not using the name of the player who sued because it typically does not name alleged victims of sexual assault.
The suit contends that the plaintiff was bullied because of the perception that he was homosexual.
The player was lying on his stomach on the floor of the players’ lounge watching a football game on his phone when he felt “excruciating pain” as a pool cue was shoved into his anus, the suit contends. A video circulated on social media showing the assault, which occurred as others watched and laughed, it says.
The complaint, filed July 25, alleges Title IX violations, sexual harassment, discrimination, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and harassment and “molestation and violence.” The former player is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
The three coaches knew about the abuse and did nothing to stop it, the suit contends. Only Smith remains on Troy’s staff. The alleged abuse occurred under the previous coaching staff.
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff reported the pool cue assault to Troy University police in December 2020. It says he left the university soon after and suffered from bleeding, lingering physical pain and depression.
Dawson’s attorney, Mary Ellen Bates, and Troy spokesman Matt Clower told al.com that Dawson and the university deny the allegations and will fight the suit in court.
Dawson was Jacksonville State’s starting punter last season. A message left at Jacksonville State’s public relations office on Tuesday wasn’t returned immediately.
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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25
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| 2022-09-21T15:24:17Z
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MADRID (AP) — Iñaki Williams is enjoying yet another season as a starter for Athletic Bilbao.
The only debate about his role in Basque Country is whether he should play more up front as a true striker or out on the wing.
Williams’ spot with Spain’s national team was never assured, though, so when the call to play for Ghana came, his decision wasn’t that hard to make.
Ahead of the World Cup, Ghana aggressively recruited players from abroad with connections to the African nation, and Williams fitted the bill.
The 28-year-old Williams was born in Spain to parents who are from Ghana. They moved to Spain several decades ago and, to be able to stay there, were advised by a charity worker to say they had fled a civil war in Liberia.
Now, with slim hopes of being called up again by Spain — he made one appearance in a friendly in 2016 — Williams became one of five players to accept a recent invitation to join Ghana’s national team and play at the World Cup.
“Even though I was born in Spain, my roots and my blood are African and Ghanese. This is the correct decision,” Williams said. “With my age, at my peak as an athlete, it is the right time to do this. The train will only come by once and I have to take it.”
His first appearance for Ghana could come in a friendly match against Brazil on Sept. 23, one of two World Cup warmup matches for the national team that month.
Williams said the support he received from his family and others in a recent trip back home helped him make the decision to switch to Ghana.
Williams is one of the few Black players to ever play for Athletic, the traditional Spanish club that has an internal code to only sign local-born players or those who have come through the soccer academies of teams in the Basque region.
Williams was a member of Spain’s youth squads and played in a friendly against Bosnia in 2016. He had not been called up recently by Luis Enrique and did not appear to be in the coach’s plan for the World Cup.
FIFA eligibility rules allow countries to recruit players from their global diaspora if the players meet the conditions related to their nationalities. Players are allowed to switch allegiance to a new national team if they never played a competitive game for the first country they were eligible to represent.
Ghana qualified for its fourth World Cup, and first since 2014, by eliminating Nigeria in a two-leg playoff in March. It is in Group H along with Portugal, South Korea and Uruguay.
WIJNALDUM INJURY
Dropped by the Netherlands because of his lack of game time at Paris Saint-Germain last season, Georginio Wijnaldum moved to Roma on loan partly in an attempt to revive his international career ahead of the World Cup.
It hasn’t gone to plan.
Wijnaldum broke the tibia in his right leg during practice on Sunday and might not be fit in time for the World Cup. He will undergo more tests this week.
In the 2020-21 season, Wijnaldum was a star of the Liverpool team and captained the Dutch in the absence of the injured Virgil van Dijk.
However, after being continually overlooked in his only season at PSG, Wijnaldum was dropped by Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal for his team’s four matches in June. He has made 86 international appearances, scoring 26 goals.
MARTINO’S PROBLEMS
Mexico coach Gerardo Martino was heavily criticized for his team´s attacking struggles in the last matches in World Cup qualification. Now, he’ll have to figure out how to improve the offense without one of his top players.
Sevilla forward Jesus “Tecatito” Corona broke his left fibula and ruptured ankle ligaments this week and will be out for four to five months, the Spanish club said. That is likely to rule him out of the World Cup, though Jaime Ordiales, the head of Mexico’s national teams, said Corona will be given until the last minute to have him on board for Qatar.
“It´s a serious injury,” Ordiales said, “but we have seen some impressive recoveries in the past, so we’re going to wait and hope for the best.”
Mexico, which finished second in the CONCACAF qualifiers behind Canada, scored just four goals in its last five qualifying matches. That was with Corona playing alongside Raul Jimenez and Hirving Lozano in Martino´s 4-3-3 formation.
Now Martino, who guided Paraguay to the World Cup quarterfinals in 2010, will have to try to awaken his offense without Corona and with Jimenez battling to rediscover his best form after fracturing his skull in 2020.
Jimenez came on as a substitute in Wolverhampton’s 1-0 loss to Tottenham in the Premier League on Saturday, having missed the start of the season with a knee injury.
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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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| 2022-09-21T15:24:24Z
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NEW YORK (AP) — If this is what the regular season Subway Series was like, imagine the Yankees and Mets meeting in October for baseball’s biggest prize.
“You’d like to think ahead a little bit, because of the pace they’re on and where we’re at, too,” Aaron Judge said, “but we got to get there first.”
Judge hit a 453-foot drive halfway up the bleachers for his major league-leading 48th home run and added an RBI single during a seventh-inning rally, boosting the New York Yankees past the Mets on Tuesday night for their second straight 4-2 win and a two-game sweep.
The Yankees turned a pair of sparkling 6-4-3 double plays, Andrew Benintendi came through with another big hit and rookie right fielder Oswaldo Cabrera made three key contributions. The go-ahead rally was boosted by a fluky popup that dropped for a single, and fans stood for nearly 20 minutes in the ninth inning anticipating the final out.
Francisco Lindor lofted Wandy Peralta’s changeup for a routine fly to center, stranding the bases loaded and ending as scintillating a regular-season game as you’ll see.
“We hope that we do the things it takes to get a chance to hopefully come back to this place,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said.
In a game full of crazy plays that included a pair of retro sacrifice bunts and a run-scoring mental gaffe by Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres, both teams fed off a boisterous crowd of 49,217, the most at Yankee Stadium in the regular season since the 2013 opener.
“The environment felt so alive and electric, even by Subway Series standards,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
The Yankees (76-48), seeking their first title since 2009, lead the AL East by eight games. The Mets (79-46) are two games ahead of Atlanta in the NL East. Their only World Series meeting was the Bronx Bombers’ five-game win in 2000.
Following their summer slide, the Yankees have won three straight games for the only the second time since the All-Star break.
“I think the swagger has always been there. I think it just took a little reminder of who we are and what type of baseball we play,” Judge said. “We got it back.”
Benintendi had his third straight big day at the plate, singling in the go-ahead run for a 3-2 lead in the seventh against Joely Rodríguez (0-3). The hit came after pinch-hitter Jose Trevino’s twisting popup fell just fair next to Pete Alonso down the right-field line.
“It’s a tough long run and also couldn’t get there,” Alonso said.
Judge followed with a two-out run-scoring single against Adam Ottavino for his big league-best 105th RBI.
Frankie Montas had the best of his four starts since the Yankees acquired him from Oakland, allowing two runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings. Clarke Schmidt (5-2) pitched three shutout innings of three-hit relief in his first big league appearance since July 30 before the Mets loaded the bases with two outs on a pair of walks around Brandon Nimmo’s infield hit.
Peralta threw five straight strikes for his second save.
“Joy,” Peralta recalled feeling. “Happy and excited.”
Judge homered for his fourth straight game against Taijuan Walker and his 10th time in 21 games against the Mets.
Cabrera took a 3-2 splitter for a bases-loaded walk in the two-run fourth for his first big league RBI, then preserved the lead in the fifth when his one-hop throw caught Brett Baty trying to score from second on Starling Marte’s RBI single. Cabrera also singled to start the seventh-inning rally.
Torres sprinted in a vain attempt to catch the trailing runner as Alonso scored the tying run unchallenged in the sixth on Jeff McNeil’s double. Torres also combined with shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa for double plays against Tomás Nido in the second and Daniel Vogelbach in the eighth. IKF started the first with a glove flip.
“It was kind of just an instinctive play,” Kiner-Falefa said as the Yankees relaxed ahead of their charter to California. “That was a huge step in the right direction for us.”
BROKEN BAT
Alonso snapped a bat over his left leg after striking out in the fourth. “Just really frustrated at chasing at that pitch,” he said.
BIG INTEREST
Monday’s game drew nearly 1.1 million viewers on television. The game was seen by 617,000 on YES, the second-most for a Subway Series and highest for any Yankees game on the network since Derek Jeter’s finale drew 1.2 million in 2014; 458,000 saw for the Mets’ broadcast on over-the-air WPIX.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mets: INF Eduardo Escobar (left oblique strain) took batting practice and is near a return. … RHP Carlos Carrasco (also left oblique strain) is on track to return during the first week of September.
Yankees: OF Giancarlo Stanton (left Achilles tendinitis) hit against RHP Luis Severino in a simulated game will be activated before Thursday’s opener at Oakland. OF Estevan Florial was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. … Severino threw 24 pitches, reaching 95-96 mph. … LHP Zack Britton is to start a minor league rehab assignment with Class A Tampa on Wednesday, another step in his return from Tommy John surgery last Sept. 8. Britton likely will face three batters and throw up to 15 pitches, Boone said. … RHP Domingo Germán was able to run, a day after taking a 104 mph comebacker off his left calf.
UP NEXT
Mets: RHP Jacob deGrom (2-1, 2.31) is to start Thursday’s homestand opener against Colorado on six days’ rest.
Yankees: RHP Jameson Taillion (11-4, 4.00) is lined up to start Thursday.
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More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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| 2022-09-21T15:24:32Z
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ATLANTA (AP) — Justin Lower lost his PGA Tour card in brutal fashion in the final tournament of the regular season. Needing a par on the final hole to finish among the top 125, Lower ran his 60-footer some 6 feet by and missed for a three-putt bogey.
He finished at No. 127 and was in tears when he said, “It sucks to come up this short.”
Thanks to Saudi-funded LIV Golf, Lower is among players who might get a reprieve.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan notified players in an Aug. 12 memo that the policy board decided eligibility for the next season (which starts Sept. 12) would not be finalized until after the Korn Ferry Tour Championship.
“Accordingly, the FedEx Cup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List will continue to update,” he said.
The Daily Telegraph reported that British Open champion Cameron Smith will join LIV Golf after the Tour Championship, and it is believed as many as six others could join him, all of whom finished in the top 125 of the FedEx Cup standings.
The next LIV Golf event starts Sept. 2 — two days before the Korn Ferry Tour ends — and the PGA Tour has suspended players as soon as they hit a tee shot for the rival series.
Depending on how many players sign with LIV Golf, that will move up the players who are outside the top 125. If three were to sign, that would mean Matt Wallace, Austin Smotherman (who had his own mishap on his last hole at the Wyndham Championship) and Lower would retain a full card and be exempt for The Players Championship.
They still would have gotten into tournaments, but top 125 means they keep their priority all year without going through a reshuffle.
It also would have an effect further up the eligibility list. The top 70 get into the invitational events like the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Memorial, which offer $15 million purses.
This wouldn’t be the first time Smotherman was helped by LIV Golf. He is listed at No. 137 in the official standings, but he is 10 spots higher because of the LIV players ahead of him who are suspended. And odds are there’s more to come.
PARADISE EXTENDED
Cameron Young and Sahith Theegala are among eight players who can make plans for Kapalua even if they don’t win this year.
Kapalua has been the winners-only start to the year on the PGA Tour since 1999, and Wisconsin-based Sentry Insurance has made sure it will stay that way for another decade. In the process, the field is expanding.
The PGA Tour announced Tuesday a contract extension with the Sentry Tournament of Champions that runs through 2035. It extends a 10-year partnership announced in 2020. Sentry’s first year as title sponsor was 2018, its first major sports marketing agreement.
Starting in January, the field will include all PGA Tour winners from the previous calendar year along with the 30 players who qualify for the Tour Championship. That was the same format used in 2021 because the previous year was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The change means a trip to paradise to start the year for Young, Theegala, Scott Stallings, Collin Morikawa, Corey Conners, Brian Harman, Adam Scott and Aaron Wise. All are at East Lake without having won this year.
Sentry already agreed to bump its purse to $15 million, nearly double from last year, as it becomes one of the elevated prize funds in the tour’s new schedule.
Sentry already has a big year in golf in 2023. Its course, SentryWorld, is hosting the U.S. Senior Open.
TIGER GAMES
Tiger Woods is the star attraction for the PGA Tour 2K23 video game coming out in October.
So is a guy who actually plays more golf than Woods — Michael Jordan.
2K announced Monday that gamers can play as Woods or against him in the 2023 edition. They also can buy a special edition of the game that will include the type of wedges used by Woods, a shirt and a “Tiger Woods Signature Sunday” pack with black pants, a red shirt, black hat, shoes and golf balls.
Woods is invested in other ways. He is an executive director advising the development.
“It’s not only great to be back on the cover of a video game, but the executive director role makes this a truly unique opportunity,” Woods said in a statement. “2K is the perfect partner for me and I am excited to continue impacting the game and culture of golf beyond my play on the PGA Tour.”
Woods is playing only occasionally now because of leg injuries from his February 2021 car crash. He made the cut in two of the three majors he played this year.
The game also will feature Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Tony Finau and Will Zalatoris, and LPGA major champions Lexi Thompson, Lydia Ko and Brooke Henderson.
LOVING THE PRESSURE
PGA Tour rookie Sahith Theegala knows all about nerves. He had a chance to win the Phoenix Open until a shot in the water on the 17th hole. He had a chance to win the Travelers Championship until a double bogey on the final hole.
More pressure found him at the BMW Championship, and he delivered with enough good golf to make it to the Tour Championship.
For Theegala, there is nothing better.
“Imagine not being nervous,” he said. “Obviously there’s a fine line between serious nervousness and anxiety and comfortability, and finding that line is tough. But yeah, just pressure is a privilege, and I sure felt that way today.”
ASCENSION AND APGA
The Ascension Charity Classic has created a spot in its PGA Tour Champions field for Tim O’Neal of the Advocates Professional Golf Association Tour.
Ascension previously announced a three-year deal to host an APGA Tour event in St. Louis. Now it is bringing an APGA Tour player to its 50-and-older event on Sept. 9-11 that features a $2 million purse. It will be O’Neal’s first Champions start. He turned 50 on Aug. 3.
“We’re thrilled to have Tim join this elite field,” said Nick Ragone, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Ascension. “By bringing the PGA Tour Champions and APGA Tour in closer alignment, we hope that other PGA TOUR properties will do likewise as we help make the game more diverse and inclusive.”
O’Neal, who twice missed earning a PGA Tour card in Q-school by one shot, has played eight times on the PGA Tour and has 156 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour. He is a nine-time winner on the APGA Tour, created to provide opportunities inside and outside the ropes for underrepresented players.
DIVOTS
Atlanta-based Southern Company has renewed its partnership at the Tour Championship. Along with Accenture and Coca-Cola, the PGA Tour plans to be at East Lake for the foreseeable future. It had been exploring the possibility of a rotation. … Eight years after Lucy Li played in the U.S. Women’s Open at age 11, she’s headed for the LPGA Tour. Li became the first player to clinch a spot on the LPGA Tour next year through the Epson Tour money list courtesy of two wins, a runner-up finish and a pair of top 5s. … Bobbi Stricker made it through the first stage of LPGA qualifying with a 69 on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills, the old home of the LPGA’s first major. She tied for seventh. She had for a caddie her father, Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker.
STAT OF THE WEEK
Xander Schauffele is 52-under par in his five years at the Tour Championship. He has been under par in 18 of his 20 rounds — the exceptions were an even-par 70. He has yet to win a trophy at East Lake.
FINAL WORD
“Maybe a Tiger injury.” — Patrick Cantlay, on why no one has repeated as FedEx Cup champion. Woods won in 2007 and 2009 and was recovering from season-ending knee surgery in 2008.
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More AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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| 2022-09-21T15:24:39Z
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SHREVEPORT, La (KMSS/KTAL) – Every week during the 2022 season, the KTAL Sports Team will release weekly power rankings for each state in our coverage area. Here’s the preseason power rankings for our Texas teams entering the season.
10. Marshall
2021: Lost to Crosby, 42-14, in 5A DII Area Round.
The Marshall Mavericks finished the 2021 season winners of five of their final six games. With long-time head coach Jack Alvarez taking over this off-season, the Mavericks gained a head coach with one state championship and two other appearances at two different programs. Alvarez will look to junior signal caller Collier Sloane to lead his offense this fall. Sloane started three games for the Mavs in ’21. The schedule won’t be easy for Marshall. Hosting the likes of long-time rival Tyler in week one and the perennial favorite to win the 5A Division I championship, Longview, in week two, Marshall will be tested early. The biggest question for the Mavs: can they upend district rival Texas High for the 8-5A Division II title? This district may come down to that week eight matchup in Texarkana. -Wesley Boone (WB)
9. Tatum
2021: Lost to Pottsboro, 56-55, in 3A DI Bi-District Round.
Old faces in new places. After 12 seasons at Waskom, leading the Wildcats to two state championships Whitney Keeling takes over an Eagle program looking to win it’s first state title since 2006. Joining him on the new journey is Junior quarterback Cole Watson, who led Waskom to a 24-4 record as a starter over the last two seasons. The Wildcats came up one game short of the state championship in both years. The Eagles have posted back-to-back 8-win seasons but haven’t been past the second round of the postseason since 2011. -John Sartori (JS)
8. Beckville
2021: Lost to Timpson, 42-21, in 2A DI Regional Round.
The Beckville Bearcats were simply unstoppable through their first 12 games last fall. The Bearcats averaged almost 55 points per contest, and were outscoring their opponents by an average of over 38 points per game. Then came the Timpson Bears. Timpson defeated Beckville for the second consecutive season in the 2A DI Regionals. It was still a historic season for the Bearcats: first district championship in 20 years and the best record in school history. This fall, the Bearcats will get a chance to exorcise some demons early. Week one offers up a rematch with Timpson in what may be the first of two meetings between the teams this season. Beckville returns one of the most exciting juniors in the state in running back J’kolby Williams. Williams amassed over 1,800 total yards and 29 touchdowns last fall. And while Beckville will look to fill the gap left by last season’s district MVP Ryan Harris at quarterback with freshman Aiden Brantley, the offensive line will return every starter. Williams and company might have the fire-power returning to knock-off Timpson and run the region. -WB
7. Timpson
2021: Lost to Shiner, 35-28, in 2A DI Semi-Finals.
The Timpson Bears continued their consistent dominance in 2021 with their second consecutive unbeaten regular season. Timpson averaged a staggering 53 points per game a year ago, and could be even more dangerous this year with 4-star athlete prospect Terry Bussey returning for his Junior campaign. –JS
6. Daingerfield
2021: Lost to Waskom, 34-8, in 3A DII Quarterfinals.
It’s been over a decade since one of the more storied programs in each Texas won a state championship. The Daingerfield Tigers feel poised to change that in 2022. With a trio of WR/DBs that have over 40 DI offers combined between them (Aeryn Hampton, Jakevian Rogders, and CJ Gilbert), offenses and defenses alike will have to figure out how to slow down the fast-paced Tigers. Replacing star QB Dee Lewis from a season ago is sophomore Chase Johnson. “We like what we’ve seen from Chase and are excited for his continued development,” said head coach Davin Nelson. With a mix of talent and experience returning to Daingerfield, the Tigers are ready for more than just a quarterfinal appearance this fall. -WB
5. Longview
2021: Lost to Ryan, 37-33, in 5A DI Area Round.
A 9-4 season for most programs would be considered a successful year, but at Longview, the Lobos may view 2021 as a down season. A loss in the Regional round is far from the ordinary for the Lobos, but with one of the nation’s top wide receiver prospects Jalen Hale returning on offense and rising junior defensive back Willie Nelson returning on defense, Longview will have the athletes to compete with anyone state-wide in 2022 and are the expected 5A Division II favorites this fall. –JS
4. Pleasant Grove
2021: Lost to Gilmer, 36-15, in 4A DII Quarterfinals.
The Pleasant Grove Hawks prove culture is everything. Entering 2021, outside expectations for Pleasant Grove were all over the place. The Hawks were young, not quite as experienced, and unproven at key positions. Well, that “young”, “unproven” bunch carried Pleasant Grove to a quarterfinal appearance. Every key piece returns from a season ago, including UTSA commit Vic Shaw and one of the most exciting young prospects in the state, Lance Jackson, across from him on the Hawks’ defensive line. With running back Jaylen Boardley continuing to rack up in-state offers and the dynamic Akhari Johnson returning at quarterback, the Hawks offense will force defenses to pick their poison. These Hawks are hungry and ready to leave their legacy at Pleasant Grove. Anything short of a state championship appearance won’t be enough this fall. -WB
3. Texas
2021: Lost to Crosby, 14-7, in 5A DII Quarterfinals.
The Texas Tigers have been dominant over the last two regular seasons. They haven’t lost a regular season contest since October of 2019 and carry a 23-game regular season winning streak into 2022. Crosby has eliminated the Tigers in back-to-back postseasons. Texas High will have to replace the production lost from current Baylor quarterback Brayson McHenry and New Mexico State running back Braylon Stewart. Cody Reese will call the signals after being named a First-Team All-District selection at wide receiver in 2021. –JS
2. Gilmer
2021: Lost to China Spring, 31-7, in 4A DII State Championship.
From one Tennison to another go the Buckeyes at the quarterback position. Cadon Tennison takes over at quarterback with his brother Brandon now at UTSA. Tennison will have some familiar targets returning in running back Ashton Haynes and TCU commit Rohan Fluellen. -JS
1. Carthage
2021: Lost to China Spring, 31-7, in 4A DII Quarterfinals.
The Carthage Bulldogs have been at the top of Texas High School Football for a decade with five state championships in ten years. Riding a 41 game winning streak heading into their third round game with China Spring last fall, the team felt unstoppable. “I think we thought people were just going to lay down because we’re Carthage, but it didn’t work like that,” said senior wideout Montrel Hatten. The Bulldogs fell to China Spring, losing their first game since 2018. Now, with Oregon State commit Hatten and UL-Lafayette baseball commit Connor Cuff returning, the Bulldogs return offensive firepower. Keyston Allison (12 DI offers) shores up the Bulldogs offensive line. The expectations aren’t going anywhere. This Carthage team knows what happened last fall and will be on a season-long mission to prove to the rest of the state that this dynasty isn’t going anywhere. -WB
Cody Reese will take over for Brayson McHenry at QB for the Texas Tigers. UTSA Vic Shaw was voted the lone team captain by his PG teammates for his senior season. ULL Baseball commit Connor Cuff returns for Carthage this fall.
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| 2022-09-21T15:24:47Z
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TEXARKANA, Tx (KMSS/KTAL) – Two years. Two undefeated regular seasons.
Texas High hasn’t lost a regular season matchup since October of 2019. Now, the Tigers will be tasked with replacing the senior class that led them to one of the most successful runs in school history.
“We’ve been fortunate to have the talent to make those runs the last couple of years, and I’m excited to continue to build on it,” said Head Coach Gerry Stanford.
With quarterback Brayson McHenry now at Baylor, it’s time for a new signal caller in Cody Reese to step up.
Reese has experience at the quarterback position and was a First-Team All-District Wide Receiver last season.
“It’s been fun. Our team believes in me so that’s the biggest thing,” said Reese. “It’s been a lot of pressure, I think about it late at night but you’ve just got to go in with the mindset that you can do it.”
“The quarterback run game will be a little different for us,” said Stanford. “That’s not because of what Brayson couldn’t do, it’s more because of what our O-Line can do.”
Defensively, the Tigers will return an important piece of the unit that allowed less than 12 points per game a year ago, Safety CJ Brown.
“We’ve got lockdown corners, lockdown safeties, everybody’s coming with their hat, we’re all coming down hill, it’s gonna be a crazy season,” said Brown.
“CJ’s kind of the calm before the storm back there,” said Stanford. “He communicates everything to our linebackers and to our secondary and he sets the tempo back there.”
It’s time for one final ride for one of Texas High’s most successful senior classes.
They’ve won district titles and playoff games, the only thing missing is a state championship.
“The expectation is there and they plan to keep meeting the expectation of what we want to accomplish this year,” said Stanford.
“You only get one last year of high school ball,” said Brown. “Might as well have fun while you do it.”
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| 2022-09-21T15:24:55Z
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SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle Mariners left-hander Robbie Ray lost his no-hit try when Washington’s Joey Meneses hit a home run leading off the seventh inning on Tuesday night.
Ray had faced just one batter over the minimum through six innings. But Meneses ended any chance of Ray’s first no-no with his sixth home run of the season out to deep center field. Julio Rodriguez made a leaping attempt at the wall but couldn’t reach the homer.
Ray, last year’s AL Cy Young winner with Toronto, had faced just one batter over the minimum through six innings. Ray issued a pair of walks but was able to pick off Alex Call at first base to end the fourth inning. Ray also walked Cesar Hernandez on four pitches in the fifth inning, but he was stranded at third after Riley Adams struck out.
Ray was pulled with two outs in the seventh inning after giving up an infield single to Lane Thomas. Ray struck out seven and threw 103 pitches.
Seattle leads 2-1.
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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| 2022-09-21T15:25:02Z
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NEW YORK (AP) — Candace Parker had 14 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Chicago Sky over the New York Liberty 90-72 Tuesday night in the deciding Game 3 to advance to the WNBA semifinals.
The defending champion Sky await the winner of the Connecticut-Dallas playoff series, with the deciding Game 3 on Wednesday night.
Allie Quigley and Kahleah Copper each added 15 points while Courtney Vandersloot had 14 points and 10 assists for the second-seeded Sky. Chicago has now won four consecutive elimination contests dating to back-to-back single-elimination games last year en route to the franchise’s first WNBA championship.
The seventh-seed Liberty shocked the Sky by winning Game 1. Chicago routed New York by a WNBA playoffs record 38 points in the second game, racing out to a 31-10 lead by the end of the first quarter and never looking back.
“We knew what we had to do. They were all on a mission and you could tell it was a collective mission,” Chicago coach James Wade said. “We decided it was go-time and show what we were made of and responded in Game 2 and built on it after that.”
This one was a lot more competitive. Chicago led 25-20 after one quarter and extended the advantage to 54-42 at the half as Parker had seven points, six assists and seven rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.
New York scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter, including a five-point possession by Sabrina Ionescu to get within 68-65 that brought the sold-out lower bowl of Barclays Center to its feet.
This was New York’s first home playoff game since 2017 when the Liberty lost in the second round to Washington. New York hadn’t made the semifinals since 2015.
That euphoria didn’t last long though as Chicago scored the next 16 points, including consecutive 3-pointers by Quigley to end the run and put the game away with just over 4 minutes left.
Betnijah Laney scored 15 points and Ionescu and Natasha Howard each had 14 for the Liberty.
“(Chicago) is a really good team, see the chemistry the have,” New York coach Sandy Brondello said. “They have poise and they made plays and we couldn’t. We rushed a few shots when they made some plays. Proud of these girls, proud of this team. The more experienced team won tonight.”
STAT STUFFERS
Parker fell just short of the fourth triple-double in WNBA playoff history. She was looking to join Vandersloot, Lisa Leslie and Margo Dydek.
BEING RECOGNIZED
Chicago Sky coach and general manager James Wade was chosen as the WNBA Executive of the Year on Monday. The voting panel is made up of one basketball executive from each WNBA team, with each representative submitting top three choices. Wade won by being named on the most ballots (11). … Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash and tennis great Billie Jean King were in attendance at the Barclays Center.
___
More WNBA playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-playoffs and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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| 2022-09-21T15:25:25Z
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ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — With two big swings, Bryce Harper looked primed to join the Phillies in a pennant race.
Harper homered to right-center field in his first at-bat, then went opposite field for a three-run shot in the eighth inning for Philadelphia’s Triple-A team Tuesday night to begin his rehabilitation assignment from a broken left thumb.
Harper was the designated hitter and hit second in the lineup for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs for the start of a six-game series against Gwinnett. He drilled the fifth pitch he saw from Atlanta Braves prospect Jared Shuster high over the wall at Coca-Cola Park in front of what was announced as a sellout crowd of 10,100 fans.
“I think any time you go out there and you’re able to put the bat on the ball and have good at-bats, see pitches, compete at a high level, it’s always good,” Harper said.
He walked against Shuster in his second at-bat to the boos of the crowd that wanted Harper to take another hefty hack. Harper was then caught stealing. He grounded out in his third plate appearance, and walked again and scored in the seventh to lead Lehigh Valley past Gwinnett 10-5.
Gwinnett had some fun after Harper’s solo homer cut the Stripers’ lead, tweeting “Phillies prospect Bryce Harper goes deep to cut the Stripers lead 3-1. Admittedly, he looks like one to watch in the future.”
And before Harper’s fifth time up, the scoreboard read: ““Today 1-2 Bryce Bomb.”
Make it two.
Harper, who won his second NL MVP award last year, hasn’t played for the Phillies since he broke his left thumb on June 25. He is expected to play in Lehigh Valley through Saturday and possibly return to the Philadelphia lineup on Monday when the playoff-contending Phillies begin a series at Arizona.
But with two homers in his first rehab game, why wait until Monday to add him to a team that very much needs him now?
“Tonight was great, right? But at the same time, I need the at-bats, I need to be able to see pitches, different guys, different angles, understanding how my body’s going to react, what my thumb’s going to be like,” Harper said.
The 29-year-old Harper, who signed a $330 million, 13-year deal with the Phillies in 2019, is hitting .318 with 15 home runs, 48 RBIs and a .985 OPS. Harper had already surrendered his spot in right field earlier this season because of because of a small tear in the ulnar collateral ligament of his throwing elbow. He last played the field at Miami on April 16.
Asked if he could play right field in September, Harper simply said, “no.”
The Phillies beat the Reds 7-6 on Tuesday night and remained in the thick of the NL wild-card race.
“Bring him up. He doesn’t need more games,” second baseman Jean Segura said with a smile after Philadelphia’s win. “What is he doing down there? He’s ready. Hopefully he comes back quick. If he hit two homers, bring him up.”
Harper was a smashing success for the fans that turned out in season-high numbers to catch a glimpse of one of baseball’s most popular players.
The IronPigs merchandise store and ticket phone lines were buzzing each of the last two days in anticipation of his arrival. Will he play? Will jerseys be on sale? What time do gates open? One cashier looked out the team store window and noted, “I’ve never seen at 5:12 just hundreds of people standing out there.”
Mike Luciano, director of merchandise, faced an early jam when Harper decided to change his uniform number for his minor league stint. While an attraction, Harper did not want to serve as a distraction for the IronPigs and allowed reliever Jonathan Hennigan to keep his No. 3 while the slugger bumped up one to No. 4.
“I ordered a lot of 3s,” Luciano said. “Luckily, the 4s came in.”
Harper T-shirts were truly hot off the press. About 90 minutes before first pitch, roughly 150 Harper shirts were still as warm as a ballpark hot dog as they quickly shuffled from print to merchandise store racks. The blue No. 4 shirts sold for $28 and a limited number of customized jerseys went for $110, sales sizzling at a better rate than the usual top sellers, which would be, Luciano said, “anything with bacon.”
“You put a bacon strip on a hat, people love it,” Luciano said.
Chris Philpott, of Allentown, bought two game tickets in the morning and clutched a Harper T-shirt in the store. He usually attends about 12 IronPigs games a year and just had to snag seats for Tuesday night.
“I got here early because my kid was hoping to catch him on BP,” he said. “We saw all the cameras when we came in. It’s going to be nuts tonight. You don’t normally see people lined up when there’s no giveaway this early before the game opens.”
Harper skipped hitting on the field but that didn’t keep fans from hanging over the railing near the IronPigs dugouts in hope of catching a peek at the two-time NL MVP. TV stations aired live remotes and the press box was full with media outlets normally reserved for covering the Phillies, playing at home down the turnpike against the Cincinnati Reds.
Two hours before gates opened, only 80 tickets remained, most down the right-field line. The stadium – home in the past to similar warm-up stints for Pedro Martinez and Chase Utley — was full on a night that went to the dogs. Yes, in a nod to a night dedicated to area efforts at dog adoption, Harper skipped the bacon-themed gear for an IronMutts jersey.
Oh, and 195 dogs wagged their tails at the ballpark —- 44 were adopted, and a few mutts can probably thank Harper’s cameo for the new homes.
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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| 2022-09-21T15:25:32Z
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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — With two teams playing in an empty stadium hundreds of miles away from their hometowns, the Ukrainian soccer league started its new season Tuesday after a poignant ceremony paying tribute to those fighting in the war with Russia.
The opening match at Kyiv’s 65,500-seat Olympic stadium — where spectators were not allowed in — saw two teams from the war-torn east of the country, Shakhtar Donetsk and Metalist 1925, play out a 0-0 draw. The result, though, was always going to be an afterthought.
It was the first top-level soccer match played in the country since Russia’s invasion in February, and the decision to restart the league has been hailed as a defiant sign that Ukrainians are ready to restore some sense of normal life. Although this game felt far from normal.
Ukraine remains under martial law and large public gatherings have been banned in the capital ahead of the Independence Day holiday Wednesday due to fears of potential Russian bombardment.
Police stood guard in front of the turnstiles, where weeds have grown after stadiums were closed six months ago, but no fans showed up to the arena. Three more league games were scheduled for later Tuesday.
“This is work … to show the world that life in Ukraine does not stop but continues,” Shakhtar coach Igor Jovicevic said before the opening game. “Football is something that can move the emotions of the whole country and the people who fight for all of us. So football is essential for us individually, as a team, not only for Shakhtar but also for the entire Ukrainian Premier League. It helps to continue living and shows the world that football goes on.”
Players from the two teams entered the field with blue and yellow Ukrainian national flags draped over their shoulders and observed a minute of silence while the names of Ukrainian cities where people had died in the war were displayed on a large screen.
Players raised a Ukrainian flag at the stadium that once belonged to Danylo Myhal, a Canadian of Ukrainian descent. At the Montreal Olympics in 1976, Myhal ran onto the field carrying the flag during a match between the Soviet Union and East Germany. Wearing an embroidered shirt, he danced a Ukrainian folk dance before being detained.
“(Myhal) always dreamed of bringing his flag to Ukraine and today it’s finally happened,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a televised address before kickoff. “It’s being raised today at the opening of the Ukrainian soccer championship.”
___
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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| 2022-09-21T15:25:46Z
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SAN DIEGO (AP) — Fernando Tatis Jr. apologized privately to his San Diego Padres teammates for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug, then publicly expressed remorse for the 80-game suspension that will keep him off the field well into next season.
“There’s no other one to blame than myself,” Tatis admitted Tuesday.
“I’m really sorry for my mistakes,” he said. “My dreams have turned into my worst nightmares.”
The star shortstop helped make baseball fun again in San Diego with a youthful swagger and flashy talent in his first three big league seasons. But his suspension just as he was about to return from a broken wrist has been a damper as the Padres scrap to hold onto a wild-card playoff spot, and has even led to some fans turning against him.
“It’s going to be a very long process to gain everybody’s trust again, to gain that love back that I have stabbed straight to the heart,” he said.
Looking and sounding downcast, Tatis spoke in the Padres’ dugout while sitting next to general manager A.J. Preller.
“Sorry fans, good baseball fans, and I’m learning. I’m maturing,” he said.
“I’m going to remember how this feels and I’m going to make myself never be in this position ever again,” said the 23-year-old Tatis, who was dressed in a red polo shirt and jeans.
Tatis also announced that he will have surgery as soon as possible on his troublesome left shoulder. He resisted getting the surgery in the offseason and then broke his left wrist in a motorcycle accident in his native Dominican Republic in December.
Tatis was suspended 80 games on Aug. 12 after MLB said he tested positive for Clostebol, an anabolic steroid. Tatis originally said he accidentally took a medication to treat ringworm that contained the banned substance.
Asked about the ringworm story, Tatis offered a clarification, saying he had been dealing with a skin infection for some time, took some medication and tested positive soon after.
“There’s no excuses. I need to do a way better job knowing what is going inside my body,” he said.
“I haven’t made the right decisions in these past two weeks, month, even the start of the year. I made a mistake and I regret every single step I have taken,” he said.
The son of a former major leaguer, Tatis said he has “let so many people down, mentioning owner Peter Seidler and Preller by name. “I have failed every fan, I have failed my country, I have failed my family, my parents.”
Some fans have taped over the “Tatis Jr.” on the back of jerseys they wear to games. The Padres have removed some large banners at Petco Park bearing Tatis’ image, edited him out of a hype video celebrating their City Connect alternate uniforms and scuttled a Tatis bobblehead night on Sept. 7 in favor of a Juan Soto T-shirt giveaway.
Tatis was getting close to making his season debut after rehabbing following surgery on his fractured left wrist in mid-March.
Tatis addressed his teammates in the clubhouse earlier Tuesday.
“He was sad,” said left fielder Jurickson Profar, who worked out with Tatis in the Dominican in the offseason.
“It’s not easy. You make a mistake and then you have to talk in front of your teammates because you let them down,” Profar said. “It’s not an easy situation but he stayed strong with it.”
Profar said Tatis “has a long way in front of him. For him, it’s going to take forever. He wants to play baseball again. I heard he’s going to do the surgery, too. It’s a long road back. … I know he’s going to work hard and come back and show people he can play great baseball.”
Profar said the Padres players “forgive him. He’s our teammate, he’s our brother, and we’re going to be behind him.”
Manny Machado, who has carried the Padres offensively all season, said Tatis said what his teammates wanted to hear.
“It’s a hard conversation you’ve got to have,” Machado said. “He came up here and spoke in front of a big group, which is not easy in the circumstances that it is. It was a first step. I’m glad he did it and now we can put this behind us, everyone in here as well, and continue to play baseball. He’s going to be cheering for us, rooting for us always, and we’re going to be here for him for whatever he needs.
“We’re all family here, we all back each other up,” Machado said. “He’s a generational talent and he’s going to have to learn from his mistakes. We’ve all made them. We all get forgiven and we move forward and we grow from it.”
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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| 2022-09-21T15:25:53Z
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YAKIMA, Wash.-
6 year old Maxwell Telles was named Entrepreneur of the Year at Yakima's Lemonade Day.
He created a business plan, sold lemonade and won with his stand called "urban legend."
Maxwell won $500 and a new bike.
"We're so proud of him. I was blown away. He's been pretty shy and to see him come out of his shell and do so well is awesome," said Hannah Telles, Maxwell's mother.
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| 2022-09-21T15:26:06Z
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OLYMPIA, Wash.-
"These numbers make clear what an enormous difference President Biden's student loan forgiveness plan will make for borrowers across Washington state," said U.S. Senator Patty Murray, (D-WA).
The estimated number of borrowers eligible for any amount of loan forgiveness in Washington state is 697,600.
It is estimated that 323,900 borrowers in Washington are eligible for full student loan forgiveness.
"This relief is lifting stress off people's shoulders and is going to help borrowers and their families make rent, put food on the table, and build a better future," said Murray.
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| 2022-09-21T15:26:12Z
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CADDO PARISH, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Officials say LA Highway 169 is reopened after a big rig rollover crash closed the road Tuesday afternoon.
The Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office says the rollover happened just before 2:30 p.m. in the 4100 block of LA 169 between Blanchard Furrh Road and Blanchard Latex Road. The highway was reopened just before 9:00 p.m.
The driver of the big rig was brought to the hospital to the hospital for treatment.
The crash is still under investigation, and one lane remains closed. When a tow truck arrives to remove the big rig, a section of LA 169 North will be completely closed.
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| 2022-09-21T15:26:15Z
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SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Flooding and heavy rains caused traffic hazards and felled trees in several areas across the ArkLaTex Monday night.
As of 2:30 a.m., officials reported hazards in these areas.:
Louisiana:
Caddo Parish
Shreveport
- The 8900 block of Kingston Rd. in the Brookwood neighborhood is flooded.
De Soto Parish
Stonewall
- Hwy 171 southbound at Hwy 3276 is reopened after a large tree blocked the roadway and downed power lines early Tuesday morning. The road is down to one lane only.
Mansfield
- Officials report the roadway near the 800 block of Grove St. is flooded.
- Hwy 346 near Hwy 513 is completely blocked due to an overturned load.
Texas:
Shelby County
Joaquin
- A fallen tree is blocking FM139.
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning late Monday night for southern Bossier Parish, southwestern Caddo Parish, and central De Soto Parish until 2:45 a.m. Locations expected to see flash floods include Shreveport, Bossier City, Mansfield, Haughton, Greenwood, Stonewall, Fosters, Eastwood, South Mansfield, Keachi, Grand Cane, Frierson, Forbing, Keithville, Robson, Kingston, Taylortown, Gloster, Reeds Store, and Kickapoo.
NOAA says six inches of fast-moving water can knock over and carry away an adult. Twelve can carry away a small car, and 18-24 inches can carry away most large SUVs, vans, and trucks.
The Shreveport Fire Department advises all drivers to stay away from flooded areas, even if the waters seem to be receding. They ask that the public use flashlights instead of candles to avoid fire hazards. SFD also says you should not try to walk, swim, or drive through moving water and be aware of potential flash flooding.
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| 2022-09-21T15:26:23Z
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SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – The weather has given us a wet start to the week! Heavy rainfall has resulted in many areas of the ArkLaTex picking up over 6 inches of rain. The heaviest rain has fallen over the I-20 corridor near Gilmer, Marshall, Shreveport/Bossier, and Minden.
Heavy rain threat shifting south today: The location of the heaviest rain today will likely be south of Interstate-20 in northwest Louisiana. A stalled cold front and an area of low pressure will be passing across the southern half of the ArkLaTex today.
The Weather Prediction Center indicates a ‘Moderate Risk’ of flash flooding in DeSoto, Red River, Bienville, Sabine, and Natchitoches parishes. This is where the heaviest rain will likely fall today.
The remainder of the ArkLaTex will dry out somewhat, but scattered showers and storms are expected to redevelop this afternoon across much of the region. Prolonged thunderstorms capable of heavy rain will be most likely across deep east Texas and northwest Louisiana. We may see a lull in rainfall between sunrise and noon, but there should be an uptick in the intensity and coverage of the rain through the afternoon and evening.
Rainfall accumulations will likely be in the 2 to 4-inch range across much of Louisiana and Texas, with lighter amounts, less than an inch across the northern ArkLaTex. There may be some spots today where the risk of flash flooding is higher that pick up 4 to 6 inches of rain. Expected accumulations through the end of the week are shown on the map below.
Temperatures to stay on the cool side for late August: During what has been one of our hottest Summer seasons on record, how nice was it to have highs in the 70s yesterday? Temperatures should come in well below average again today with highs in the upper 70s and low 80s. Wind will be light and out of the southeast at 10 miles per hour.
Slight drying trend with warmer temperatures late this week: The threat of heavy rain will end in most areas overnight, but we can’t rule out a few storms tomorrow across the Toledo Bend region that could produce some heavy rain.
The chance of scattered rain and clouds will hold highs in the 80s through Thursday, with drier air bringing more rain and highs near 90 Friday and Saturday. Looks like another chance for rain and storms will be arriving for several days early next week as well.
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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by: Todd Warren Posted: Aug 23, 2022 / 05:33 PM CDT Updated: Aug 23, 2022 / 05:34 PM CDT SHARE Youree Drive Middle Schooler Izabella Vowel joins Todd Warren and explains why you might need to keep the umbrella handy.
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THE HAGUE, Netherlands (CN) — The United States gave opening arguments to the United Nations' top court on Tuesday, claiming Iran’s involvement in terrorist attacks means it has “unclean hands” and asking judges to toss a complaint about $2 billion in confiscated assets.
Tehran filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice in 2016, contending Washington had violated a 1955 bilateral friendship treaty after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a seizure of billions in assets from Iran’s central bank as compensation for victims killed in a 1983 suicide bombing believed to have been orchestrated by the Iranian regime.
“The case is an attempt by Iran to invoke the now-terminated Treaty of Amity to avoid accountability for its role in acts of terrorism against U.S. citizens,” Richard Visek, legal adviser at the U.S. Department of State, told The Hague-based court in his opening statements.
The attack at the heart of the case involved a pair of suicide truck bombs detonated outside of barracks on a military base in Beirut, Lebanon, more than 40 years ago. The early morning explosions killed 307 people, mostly American and French military personnel serving as part of a peacekeeping mission during the Lebanese civil war.
Relatives filed civil suits against Iran and a U.S. court ultimately decided militant group Hezbollah, backed by the Iranian government, was responsible. The families were awarded billions in compensation and, in the 2016 decision Peterson v. Islamic Republic of Iran, the Supreme Court approved the handover of $1.75 billion in bonds plus accumulated interest held by Iran’s central bank, Bank Markazi, at Citibank in New York.
During its opening arguments on Monday, Tehran denied any involvement in the attack and argued that the Peterson ruling allowed hundreds of people to file claims against Iran as part of a campaign to destabilize the government.
The U.S. contends that Iran’s involvement in terrorism gives it “unclean hands,” and under that legal principle, Tehran should not be allowed to pursue a case before the U.N. court. It is a risky strategy, as the ICJ has never accepted the unclean hands doctrine before.
“The unclean hands principle has not before been adopted by the court. But nor has it been rejected,” Daniel Bethlehem from Twenty Essex Chambers told the 14-judge panel on behalf of the U.S. on Tuesday.
Bethlehem conceded, however, that this argument should only be used in exceptional circumstances and the U.S. wouldn’t use the argument to prevent Iran from defending itself in other proceedings. But, he argued, orchestrating terrorist acts qualified as exceptional.
“If not in this case, in which case?” he asked.
Washington also pushed back against Iranian allegations that the legal proceedings against it in the U.S. were unfair. Lisa Grosh, assistant legal adviser at the U.S. Department of State, described how the Supreme Court justices listened attentively during hearings in the Peterson case and two even wrote dissents in favor of Tehran’s arguments.
“In a case 'fixed' against Iran, none of this would have happened,” Grosh said.
The countries have had no diplomatic relations since 1979, when Iranian students stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took staff hostage. The U.S. terminated the Treaty of Amity in 2018, in direct response to another case filed by Iran over the reinstatement of nuclear sanctions.
After the ICJ ordered the U.S. to lift sanctions on humanitarian goods following an Iranian request for provisional measures, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. would terminate its participation in the treaty. The court heard arguments over jurisdiction in the sanctions case in 2020.
While the American and Iranian legal teams were arguing their case in The Hague on Tuesday, the countries' leaders - Presidents Joe Biden and Ebrahim Raisi - were preparing to address the U.N. General Assembly, which is holding its first in-person meeting since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Hearings at the ICJ will continue on Thursday with a response from Iran.
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| 2022-09-21T15:26:43Z
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The heaviest of the rain has shifted to the east of the ArkLaTex during the day Tuesday. We will continue to see periods of scattered showers and thundershowers with isolated areas of heavy rain. This wet and cooler pattern could stick around through next week.
Impressive rainfall totals: The ArkLaTex has witnessed some rather impressive rainfall totals for this time of year over the past few days. On average, Shreveport receives a little less than 3” of rain for the entire month of August and a little less than 6.5” of rain for the months of July and August combined. As of this writing, over 5 ½” of rain has fallen at the Shreveport Regional Airport since Sunday. A look at totals from the Cocorahs volunteer rainfall network shows amounts of over 8” in the southern part of the metro area. Radar shows that parts of the ArkLaTex have received over 10” of rain.
Rain to become more scattered: Most models including Futurecast show that the heaviest of the more widespread rain will shift to the east of the ArkLaTex. We will likely continue to see some scattered showers and thundershowers over the area Tuesday night. The chance for scattered areas of heavy rain will continue over mainly the southeast half of the area Wednesday, Wednesday night, and Thursday.
How much more rain? The good news is that the heaviest of the rain is now behind us. That doesn’t mean that we are out of the woods. Some scattered areas of heavy downpours will be possible Wednesday, especially over the southeastern third of the area in NW LA. The risk of any flooding will become more isolated Thursday. Most models show that rainfall totals over the northwest half of the area will likely be less than an inch for the next few days. It is possible that we could have a few scattered areas pick up an additional 3” of rain over parts of NW LA south and east of Shreveport.
Long-range outlook: It appears as if this rather wet and ‘cool’ weather pattern will continue through the rest of this week and possibly most of next week. We will continue to see at least some chance of rain each day during this period with our next best chance of rain possibly returning during the middle of next week. Daytime temperatures will stay rather comfortable for this time of year. Expect daytime highs to be in the mid to upper 80s. Overnight lows will likely remain in the low to middle 70s.
Get daily forecasts and 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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| 2022-09-21T15:26:46Z
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(CN) — Russian President Vladimir Putin, faced with the growing possibility of a military defeat in Ukraine following a disastrous retreat of his troops from Kharkiv, began a major escalation on Wednesday by ordering hundreds of thousands of Russians to prepare to fight in Ukraine.
This ominous military development comes as Putin also set in motion legal and political steps that allow him to declare war-ravaged territories his army occupies in Ukraine as Russian land that must be defended if attacked.
In a televised address on Wednesday, Putin announced the mobilization of some 300,000 reservists, citing the need for reinforcements in Ukraine because Russia's existence was threatened by the West. About 200,000 Russian soldiers have been fighting in Ukraine, but they have found themselves outnumbered by Ukraine's forces. Initially, the Kremlin said reservists with combat experience would be called up first.
“Russian citizens must be confident: the territorial integrity of our motherland, our independence and freedom will be ensured,” Putin said. “Let me stress it again: this will be ensured by all of our available means.”
He accused the United States and its NATO allies of scuttling ceasefire and peace deals with Ukraine because they allegedly want to use the fighting in Ukraine to attack and even dismantle Russia as a nation.
“NATO is conducting reconnaissance actually across the entire south of Russia in real time, using advanced systems, aircraft and ships, satellites and strategic drones,” he said, as reported by Tass, a Russian state news agency.
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu went further and said Russia was “at war” with “the collective West.” Until now, the Kremlin has refrained from calling combat in Ukraine a “war” and instead forced media outlets, officials and the general public to use the term “special military operation” to describe the conflict.
“I cannot but emphasize the fact that today we are at war not so much with Ukraine and the Ukrainian army as with the collective West,” Shoigu said. “At this point we are really at war with the collective West, with NATO, or vice versa – with NATO and with the collective West.”
In another ominous development, long-expected annexation referendums were announced Tuesday in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, four large Ukrainian regions that have mostly fallen under Russian control since Putin launched the invasion on Feb. 24.
“We will support the decision on their future that a majority of the residents of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions will make,” Putin said.
“A referendum is a necessity that is long overdue. It will definitely be held,” said Andrey Turchak, a Russian senator and first deputy speaker of the upper house of parliament, as reported by Tass.
“Joining Russia is what Donbas has been after for eight years,” he said, referring to the self-declared “people's republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk, which together are called Donbas.
These two regions were heavily Russianized and industrialized during the Soviet Union and lie at the heart of the war. They are resource-rich, retain huge economic importance for Ukraine and were once part of the Russian empire before Ukraine was established as a republic following the Russian Revolution.
The Donbas became the theater of a bloody civil war after pro-Western Ukrainian nationalists overthrew Viktor Yanukovych, a pro-Russian president from the Donbas region, during the 2014 Maidan revolution.
Eight years of civil war between Ukraine's army – often led by militia groups inspired by Ukrainian nationalism but also reverent of its links to Nazi history – and pro-Moscow separatist rebels – many of them Russian nationalists and Soviet admirers – left more than 14,000 people dead and forced some 2 million people to flee their homes.
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(CN) — 3D printing may sometimes be presented as a novelty for creating fun gadgets, but recent advances have made it useful for everything from food production to medical applications. Researchers look toward additive manufacturing for constructing structures large enough to live and work in.
Proposed by Mirko Kovac, director of the Aerial Robotics Laboratory at Imperial College London, and his colleagues Wednesday in the journal Nature, a new method for construction 3D printing looks to compensate for what ground-based robot construction cannot do. The new design, inspired by the builders of the animal kingdom, would consist of a team of drones that could fly to remote or hostile environments and construct collectively and autonomously without constraint to the scale and height of the project.
As in many instances where robots have been drafted into work, 3D printing — also known in the industry as additive manufacturing — is frequently utilized in situations where it may be difficult or dangerous for humans to access. Already, ground-based versions of additive manufacturing machines are used to build entire houses and even bridges.
The use of robotics in construction has been endorsed for the high level of flexibility it grants to designers, while also being an eco-friendly process that can reduce material waste and increase workplace safety. Construction businesses have also appreciated the potential for increased efficiency and lower production costs with the reduced amount of human involvement in the process.
But researchers point out that there are limitations to the ground-based, large-scale additive manufacturing machines that are in use.
“These technologies, however, necessitate scaling-up robot hardware to a larger dimension than the desired manufacturing envelope, rendering parallel operation or occupation of a building site by people or other machinery difficult and dangerous,” the study explained.
According to the research, these robots are usually tied to a stationary power source and require human intervention to set up in the first place, which may render them impractical for hard to access or treacherous locations, where it would be difficult to assemble and maintain the machines. Although some prior projects have investigated the use of a team of smaller robots, they were still constrained by operational height and the robots’ range of motion.
The aerial method proposed by Kovac and colleagues would instead allow for an “autonomous, scalable and flexible approach” to construction 3D printing. The method works as a network among two kinds of drone platforms: a “BuilDrone” outfitted with a nozzle to deposit the building material and a “ScanDrone” that supervises and assesses the BuilDrones’ work.
The drones would synchronously while in the air with “real-time trajectory adaptation and material extrusion by the BuilDrones and print verification through the ScanDrone and a human supervisor.”
The study cites natural builders, such as barn swallows, as influence for the multi-drone system. The birds cannot carry much material at once while constructing their nests, so they adjust by making multiple trips to compensate.
The researchers also looked toward social insects like wasps and termites, who work collectively to build their nests, working around each other and adapting to different landscapes. The researchers identify path optimization as a point of interest in developing the pattern of the drones.
The aerial system was then designed be able to build structures without constraints the structure’s height or location. Researchers needed to be able to accomplish this while offsetting the drones’ relatively small size and the limited amount of material that could be carried.
Researchers tested the system of robots by directing the drones to build several simple structures with foam and a cement-like material to demonstrate the system’s ability to build without height or payload constraints. One BuildDrone could construct a six-foot-tall tube of foam, while two could work cooperatively, going back and forth between depositing the cement material and refilling at a ground station.
The study also explores the system’s need for a more specialized cement, explaining that, “A cementitious Aerial-AM [additive manufacturing] material must be lightweight and less dense than traditional and ground-based AM study mortars, with higher water/binder ratios and lower fine aggregate/binder ratios required,” else they won’t be able to work successfully with the drones.
Simulations showed the potential to construct even larger and more complete structure with more than three robots in play at once.
Researchers intend to continue trials with the system before it is really able to begin full-scale construction.
“Scaling-up of the manufacturing volume will require automation of material and battery replenishment, and further means of assessment are needed to evaluate the efficiency of distributed manufacturing relative to the scale of the manufactured object and the robot platforms used,” the study reads.
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| 2022-09-21T15:26:49Z
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(Motor Authority) — Formula 1 aims to be carbon neutral by 2030 and will rely on 100% sustainable fuel as a key step in achieving the goal.
The sport is working with partners to develop the fuel to be introduced by the 2026 season when a new power unit design is to be introduced.
The transition has already started as the cars in the 2022 season are running on E10 fuel which is 10% renewable ethanol and the remainder traditional fossil fuel.
F1 Chief Technical Officer Pat Symonds is heading the team tasked with developing 100% sustainable fuel. Key partners include motorsports’ organizing body, the FIA, as well as Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s national oil company and a major sponsor of F1.
Crucially, the fuel is being developed with a view to having it eventually produced in quantities sufficient enough to supply most cars across the world.
But rather than rely on fuels like renewable ethanol, which require vast crops of plants like corn to be grown, F1 wants to develop a synthetic fuel, referred to in the industry as E-fuels. Potential sources for such fuels include biomass and newer carbon-capture technology.
Porsche is already testing the waters with carbon capture via a pilot plant in Punta Arenas, Chile. Here, a wind turbine generates electricity that is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen via electrolysis. The hydrogen is then combined with carbon dioxide from the air to produce synthetic, carbon-neutral methanol. This methanol can then be used to create synthetic versions of gasoline and diesel and also kerosene which is used in aviation. Aramco also plans the construction of two plants to produce synthetic fuel, one in Saudi Arabia and another in Spain.
Fuels produced in this way have the potential to keep internal combustion alive in a world of zero carbon emissions, as the emissions are offset when the fuel is produced. The German government is seeking an exception for sustainable fuel from the European Union’s plan to ban combustion engines from 2035.
“E-fuels offer such a wonderful opportunity,” Ross Brawn, F1’s managing director of motorsports, said in a statement. “We’re working on an E-fuel where the carbon circle is completely neutral so the carbon utilized to produce that fuel is the same quantity as the carbon emitted from the internal-combustion engine. It means that the engines do not add anything to the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.”
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| 2022-09-21T15:26:53Z
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The cost of Tesla’s controversially named premium driver-assistance system, Full Self-Driving, will rise to $15,000 as of September 5, CEO Elon Musk confirmed on Sunday via Twitter.
The automaker is also rolling out a version (10.69) of its Full Self-Driving beta software that essentially allows more drivers to become beta-testers, fine-tuning how the software works on public roads.
After wide release of FSD Beta 10.69.2, price of FSD will rise to $15k in North America on September 5th.
Current price will be honored for orders made before Sept 5th, but delivered later.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 21, 2022
The price has been $12,000 since this past January, and it jumped to $10,000 in October 2020. The system cost just $5,000 to add to new Teslas until May 2019, when Tesla started a series of price hikes toward its original limited beta launch for FSD functionality.
Musk has long suggested that one of the goals of Full Self-Driving is to create a fleet of Tesla tobotaxis. Under that idea, owners might be able to put their vehicle to work as robotaxis operating on a Tesla Network when they don’t need it.
That plan included Tesla’s removal of a purchase option at the end of leases—a scenario that did indeed eventually play out earlier this year, albeit for what appears to be market reasons instead, as the value of used Teslas had increased considerably.
In 2020, amid those incremental price increases, Musk claimed that by the time the system gets full regulatory approval its value might be “in excess of $100,000.”
Tesla’s Autopilot suite of driver-assistance features includes adaptive cruise control and active lane control, while Enhanced Autopilot adds Navigate on Autopilot and Auto Lane Change functionality that will effectively handle the driving on-ramp to off-ramp, provided the driver is ready to take control at any time, immediately. Full Self-Driving adds Autosteer functionality on city streets and automated traffic and stop-sign recognition. Both are beta systems, but it should be noted that as SAE Level 2 systems, liability and responsibility will remain with the driver at all times, and the driver is expected to provide constant supervision.
Other manufacturers, such as Mercedes and Genesis, have offered similar systems for several model years.
In recent months, the pressure has built for Tesla to present the system in a way that acknowledges its limitations—a shift that could start with a renaming of the system. In June, the NHTSA opened an Engineering Analysis on Autopilot and expanded to all U.S. Tesla models with Autopilot, with the agency suggesting that drivers were relying on the system for more than assistance. That move brings the system just short of a safety recall.
The system has also faced increased pushback from high-profile safety advocates, including Ralph Nader, who earlier this month called Tesla’s deployment “one of the most dangerous and irresponsible actions by a car company in decades.” And last year the head of the NTSB called the use of Full Self-Driving “misleading and irresponsible.”
The hike in the price of FSD adds to recent price hikes for Tesla vehicles—most recently in June adding another $3,000 to the base price of the popular Model Y.
In 2021 Tesla also introduced monthly subscription options for Full Self-Driving. Tesla hasn’t yet confirmed that those are being hiked as well, but that could be coming. At the current monthly rate of $199 (or $99 in some configurations), it will take more than six years for the up-front fee to make any sense.
Related Articles
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- Rivian drops most affordable versions of its electric trucks, hiking base prices up to $6,000
- Three-motor Lucid Air Sapphire bows as the most powerful sedan in the world—and it’s an EV
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(The Hill) – In Congress, where legislation is drafted, debated and enacted, clear and concise definitions are of paramount importance. As military aircrews increasingly encounter unidentified flying objects (UFOs), lawmakers recently made several striking revisions to the definition of “UFO.” Key among them: The explosive implication that some UFOs have non-human origins.
As first reported by researcher Douglas Johnson, a draft bill approved unanimously by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence rebrands UFOs as “unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena.” Expanding the definition to include objects in space and under the oceans significantly broadens the scope of a muscular new office tasked by Congress with investigating UFOs.
The revised definition of “UFO” also includes “transmedium” objects which, according to lawmakers, “transition between space and the atmosphere, or between the atmosphere and bodies of water.”
In short, members of a key national security-focused committee believe that objects of unknown origin are demonstrating remarkably advanced technology by moving seamlessly between space, air and water. A report accompanying the legislation notes that “transmedium threats to United States national security are expanding exponentially.”
It strains credulity to believe that lawmakers would include such extraordinary language in public legislation without compelling evidence. Perhaps members have seen the classified sensor data that prompted former President Trump’s director of national intelligence to state that UFOs exhibit “technologies that we don’t have [and] that we are not capable of defending against” (among several other eyebrow-raising comments).
Most strikingly, Congress’s new definition of “UFO” excludes “man-made” objects.
Over the last seven decades, most UFO sightings involved “man-made” objects, such as misidentified aircraft, balloons, satellites or drones. Yet now, according to Congress, “man-made” objects “should not be considered under the definition as unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena.”
Moreover, in a congressional directive, objects identified by the new UFO office “as man-made…will be passed to appropriate [Department of Defense and Intelligence Community] offices” for further analysis.
Congress, in short, is forcing the government to focus on objects that are not “man-made.”
Imagine that the new UFO office identifies a highly advanced drone flying in sensitive airspace. Under the draft legislation, regardless of the drone’s origin – be it Chinese, Russian or otherwise – the UFO office must immediately stop investigating and hand the case over to another government entity.
This implies that members of the Senate Intelligence Committee believe (on a unanimous, bipartisan basis) that some UFOs have non-human origins. After all, why would Congress establish and task a powerful new office with investigating non-“man-made” UFOs if such objects did not exist?
Make no mistake: One branch of the American government implying that UFOs have non-human origins is an explosive development.
It is also part of a remarkable shift in official attitudes towards UFOs.
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, many senior government officials believed that UFOs had “interplanetary” origins. But a series of still-unexplained encounters in the summer of 1952 sparked Cold War national security fears among defense and intelligence agencies. As a result, the U.S. government initiated a campaign to “debunk” and discredit all UFO sightings, no matter how credible. For decades, officials mocked any suggestion that UFOs had extraterrestrial origins.
Not anymore.
In discussions and interviews, NASA administrator Bill Nelson suggested that UFOs encountered by military aircrews in recent years have otherworldly origins. (NASA, it should be noted, is proceeding “full force” on an unprecedented scientific study of UFOs.)
Former CIA Director John Brennan stated that UFOs might “constitute a different form of life.” According to James Woolsey, a fellow ex-CIA director, “something is going on that is surprising to…experienced pilots.”
As Top Gun-trained aviators remain convinced that they observed objects “not of this world,” director of national intelligence Avril Haines – America’s top spy – has not ruled out extraterrestrial origins for UFOs.
Moreover, former President Clinton refers reflexively to the high likelihood of otherworldly life in the universe when asked about UFOs. For his part, former President Obama speculated openly about contact with extraterrestrial life when asked about recent military UFO encounters.
After the customary giggles and smirks that still accompany any mention of “UFO” died down, both Clinton and Obama adopted a serious, matter-of-fact demeanor when discussing the topic. Clinton, in particular, scolded a television audience for laughing when a host asked him about UFOs. Of note, former presidents continue receiving the government’s most sensitive intelligence briefings.
Unsurprisingly, this remarkable shift in attitudes towards UFOs is fostering a broader, richer discussion of the phenomenon.
Comedian and political commentator Bill Maher, for example, recently theorized that UFOs are intentionally revealing themselves to fighter pilots.
He may be on to something. The geometrically reconstructed flight path of a well-known 2015 UFO encounter off the U.S. East Coast indicates that the object reacted as a Navy fighter jet attempted to sneak up behind it. Importantly, the object’s movement did not suggest hostility as much as a desire to be observed by the aircrew, which ultimately “flew right up to the thing.”
A UFO involved in the now famous 2004 “Tic Tac” incidents appeared on radar at the precise location of a rendezvous point known only to a small group of aviators and radar operators. Ten years later, two fighter jets nearly collided with a UFO hovering at the exact location and altitude of an entrance point to a military training range.
To Maher’s point, some UFOs appear to move and position themselves in ways that make their presence obvious to nearby military aircrews.
With Congress openly suggesting that UFOs have non-human origins, this behavior is particularly intriguing.
Marik von Rennenkampff is an Opinion contributor for The Hill. The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the views of Hill or Nexstar. He served as an analyst with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, as well as an Obama administration appointee at the U.S. Department of Defense. Follow him on Twitter @MvonRen.
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CHICAGO (AP) — A mother whose daughter prosecutors say R. Kelly sexually abused starting when she was 14 told jurors Monday at the singer’s federal trial that she lied to a state grand jury 20 years ago, in part because she and her husband felt threatened by Kelly and feared for their lives if they told the truth.
The mom, who used the pseudonym, “Susan,” in court at the trial in Chicago, described how she, her husband and Kelly were crying when the parents confronted the Grammy-winner at a hotel in the early 2000s about whether he was abusing their daughter. She testified they were startled when Kelly told them, “You are with us or against us.”
She said she took those words to mean “that they were going to harm us if we didn’t do what they wanted us to do.” Among the directives from Kelly and an associate was that they had to lie that their daughter was not in a child pornography video and that they had to leave the country immediately for several weeks, she testified.
“We were very, very frightened,” she told jurors.
She added later that she lied to the grand jury “because we feared for our lives and we were intimidated.” She said she also feared for the well-being of her daughter, who warned her parents at the time that she might commit suicide if they refused to do what Kelly asked them to do.
Kelly, 55, is on trial in his hometown on charges that include production of child pornography, enticing minor girls for sex and obstruction justice by successfully rigging his 2008 child pornography trial in state court, at which he was acquitted.
Kelly is already staring at a 30-year prison sentence imposed by a federal judge in New York in June for his 2021 convictions on racketeering and sex trafficking charges.
Susan’s daughter, who went by the pseudonym “Jane,” was among the prosecution’s first witnesses as the trial began last week. Jane told jurors that she also lied to the same grand jury prior to 2008 trial when she said she was not the 14-year-old girl in a video with Kelly. Jane, now 37, told jurors last week that, in fact, she had been sexually abused hundreds of times by Kelly before she had turned at 18.
On Monday, in an often contentious cross-examination, Kelly attorney Jennifer Bonjean repeatedly questioned Susan about whether she truly felt her life was in any danger from Kelly or his associates.
“No one actually threatened you, did they?” Bonjean asked.
“Yes, they did,” Susan answered.
Bonjean also asked why, if Susan felt so threatened by Kelly, she and her family continued to mix with Kelly socially for the next 20 years. She answered that Kelly was their sole income for a period, paying her musician husband to work on Kelly recordings. She also said she worried about Jane’s welfare if they cut ties with Kelly.
The husband, Jane’s father, died last year, she told jurors.
During her cross, Bonjean highlighted Susan’s testimony that she lied to the Illinois grand jury, asking if she was “telling the truth now.” Susan said she was.
Prosecutors from the Cook County state’s attorney’s office chose in the mid-2000s to push ahead with charges and to take the case to trial in 2008 despite what they knew was a major hurdle: their inability to call the girl in the video to testify.
After acquitting Kelly in the 2008 trial, some jurors told reporters that that they had no choice but to find Kelly not guilty because the girl — who by then was in her 20s — did not take the witness stand to confirm it was, in fact, her in the video.
Federal prosecutors at the current trial played excerpts of that and other videos they say show Kelly when he was around 30 sexually abusing a 14-year-old Jane.
Kelly has been trailed for decades by allegations about his sexual behavior. The scrutiny intensified during the #MeToo era and following the 2019 release of the Lifetime television docuseries “Surviving R. Kelly.”
___
Follow Michael Tarm on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mtarm and find AP’s full coverage of the R. Kelly trial at https://apnews.com/hub/r-kelly.
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Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week.
MOVIES
— As an action star, Sylvester Stallone’s most iconic characters — Rocky Balboa, Rambo — have always relied on plain old brawn for his powers. (OK, and some human growth hormone.) But in “Samaritan,” the 76-year-old Stallone stars as aged superhero with superhuman strength living anonymously as a garbage collector. The film, which premieres Friday on Amazon Prime Video, was made by MGM but has seen its release delayed numerous times over the past two years before landing exclusively on the streaming platform.
— “Funny Pages,” which opens Friday in theaters and on video-on-demand, represents an even more winding path to release. Owen Kline (son of Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates) struggled to find attention for his directorial debut. But after “Uncut Gems” filmmakers Josh and Benny Safdie signed on as producers, A24 picked up the film and it premiered earlier this year in the Directors’ Fortnight section at the Cannes Film Festival. And the film — a grungy coming-of-age tale that channels a low-budget ’90s indie spirit — is one of the year’s standout debuts. Daniel Zolghardri stars as a teenage cartoonist who shirks his posh family life in Princeton, New Jersey, to live alone in Trenton and try to make it as an R. Crumb-like artist.
— In “Me Time,” Kevin Hart plays a stay-at home father whose wife (Regina Hall) and kids go away for the weekend, allowing him to reconnect with an old friend (Mark Wahlberg). A wild weekend ensues. Streaming Friday on Netflix.
— AP Film Writer Jake Coyle
MUSIC
— If 13 is an unlucky number, don’t tell DJ Khaled. His new album “God Did” is his 13th full-length set and he’s teased it with the banger “Staying Alive” alongside frequent collaborators Drake and Lil Baby. Another apparent combo on the Friday release is a song with Future and Lil Baby, at least according to an Instagram post. Khaled also confirmed that Future would be featured on the record two times, and in a third post shouted out his two rap peers for “believing” in him. “They don’t believe in us, Future did, Lil Baby did,” Khaled wrote. If that’s not enough to entice you, earlier in August he confirmed that Jay-Z would also feature on the record.
— Marcus King and his blistering guitar skills have once again teamed up with Black Keys frontman and Grammy-winning producer Dan Auerbach to create the album “Young Blood,” out Friday. “Young Blood” follows King’s Grammy-nominated album “El Dorado,” and features the bluesy, rocking “Blood on the Tracks.” Born into a musical family, King’s musical gifts earned him a following as a teenager and the album is soaked in ’70 rock ’n’ roll. One highlight is the Free-sounding “Good and Gone” with the opening line “Look out your window baby, here come your man/Looking suspicious with that gun in his hand.”
— Duncan Sheik returns with a clutch of his own music on Friday after working on theater musicals for a while. “Claptrap” is the singer-songwriter’s ninth studio album and first in seven years. It boasts the slinky “Experience,” the Peter Gabriel-ish ballad “Maybe” and the electronic-bouncy “There’s No Telling,” which includes a nod to his theatrical roots in the lyric, “Don’t cry for me, Argentina.” The “Barely Breathing” songwriter has made a second name for himself on the stage, including the Broadway shows “Spring Awakening” and “American Psycho” as well as the new “NOIR.”
— AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy
TELEVISION
— The nickname Canoe Man has a friendly ring to it. It was, however, what a British man was branded for faking his drowning death in an insurance scam. The quirkily titled miniseries “The Thief, His Wife & The Canoe” is based on the real-life story of a former prison officer whose scheme went far afield of what he promised his spouse. The couple, played by Eddie Marsan (“Sherlock,” “Ray Donovan”) and Monica Dolan (“A Very English Scandal”), left their sons in the dark and grieving over their still-alive dad, which didn’t endear them to the judge who ultimately presided over the case. The series debuts Tuesday on the BritBox streaming service.
— “Katrina Babies” reveals the hurricane’s unending toll on New Orleans. The HBO documentary is from first-time filmmaker and New Orleans native Edward Buckles Jr., who was 13 when the deadly hurricane hit in 2005. He’s spent the past half-dozen years collecting the memories of those who also endured the tragedy as youngsters. The film combines interviews, home movies, animation and archival footage to reveal the grief yet harbored by survivors and to probe the trauma of multigenerational racism. “Katrina Babies” debuts Wednesday on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max.
— Looking for something to tide you over until “The Crown” returns later this year? Try PBS’ “The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family,” a three-part docuseries debuting Sunday on PBS and PBS.org. Even casual royal followers may know that Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII, was beheaded for alleged crimes of adultery and treason. Turns out Anne’s fate was rooted not only in her lofty ambitions but those of her power-hungry family, as detailed in the series by rare original letters and documents from the 16th-century, the perspective of Tudor scholars and dramatic re-enactments.
— AP Television Writer Lynn Elber
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Catch up on AP’s entertainment coverage here: https://apnews.com/apf-entertainment.
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CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — Rapper Fetty Wap pleaded guilty Monday to a conspiracy drug charge that carries a mandatory five-year prison sentence, admitting that he participated in a massive drug trafficking racket that moved drugs from the West Coast to Long Island.
The plea in Central Islip came before U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven Locke, who had revoked his bond and sent him to jail two weeks ago. After the plea, he was returned to jail to await sentencing, though a date was not immediately set.
Locke revoked the rapper’s $500,000 bail, secured by property he owns in Georgia, after prosecutors said that Wap, whose real name is Willie Maxwell, threatened to kill a man during a FaceTime call in 2021, violating the terms of his pretrial release in his drug case.
The “Trap Queen” rapper was initially arrested last October on charges alleging he participated in a conspiracy to smuggle large amounts of heroin, fentanyl and other drugs into the New York City area.
He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess controlled substances, the top charge in an indictment against him, though the plea pertained only to cocaine. It carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison while federal sentencing guidelines are likely to recommend about two additional years in prison. The plea spared him from a potential life sentence if he had been convicted on all the charges he faced.
His lawyers did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Maxwell and five co-defendants were accused of conspiring to possess and distribute more than 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of heroin, fentanyl and crack cocaine between June 2019 and June 2020. Two codefendants also have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.
The scheme allegedly involved using the U.S. Postal Service and cars with hidden compartments to move drugs from the West Coast to Long Island, where they were stored for distribution to dealers on Long Island and in New Jersey, prosecutors said.
Maxwell rose to prominence after “Trap Queen,” his debut single, reached No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 2015.
The Long Island arrest was not his first. In 2019, he was arrested in Las Vegas for allegedly assaulting three employees at a hotel-casino. He was also arrested in November 2017 on a DUI charge after police said he was drag racing on a New York City highway.
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SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – It will be all about the 1980s at the upcoming 2022 Auction Against AIDS to benefit the Philadelphia Center.
The Philadelphia Center was created in the spring of 1990 as a response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Shreveport-Bossier area. The center has become the resource center for Region 7 NWLA, serving Caddo, Bossier, Webster, Claiborne, Bienville, Red River, DeSoto, Sabine, and Natchitoches Parishes.
The event will be Saturday, August 27, at Sam’s Town Casino from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Art from local artists as well as other items will be auctioned off.
Money raised during the event will fund programs that the Philadelphia Center provides to the community, which include education, testing, and treatment of many sexually transmitted infections.
Tickets for the Auction Against AIDS can be purchased by visiting www.pcauction.org. To learn more about programs and services provided by the Philadephia Center, please visit their website philadelphiacenter.org.
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AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas students will soon get a lesson on Taylor Swift.
This semester, the University of Texas at Austin will offer a course looking into the big discography of Swift. Just ask any T. Swift fan, and they’ll tell you her lyrism and songwriting is unmatched. Have you heard “All Too Well”?
The course is being taught to undergraduates in the Liberal Arts Honors program by English professor Elizabeth Scala.
Part of what makes Swift’s songs a good canvas for a literature course is that Swift is an autobiographical and topical songwriter, Scala said.
Students in the course will look at “literary traditions and forms through a distinctly contemporary lens,” according to the course announcement. They’ll also be comparing her work to Western literature like Shakespeare, Keats and Frost.
“I want to take what Swift fans can already do at a sophisticated level, tease it out for them a bit with a different vocabulary, and then show them how, in fact, Swift draws on richer literary traditions in her songwriting, both topically but also formally in terms of how she uses references, metaphors, and clever manipulations of words,” Scala said.
It’s not the only university course on a pop icon in the state. Texas State University will soon offer a course on Harry Styles starting in spring 2023.
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| 2022-09-21T15:27:45Z
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BENI, Congo (AP) — A new case of the Ebola virus has been confirmed in Congo’s eastern Beni city, Congo’s ministry of health announced Monday, saying it is linked to a previous outbreak.
Testing by a lab at the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Goma confirmed the case was the Ebola Zaire strain and was genetically linked to Congo’s 10th outbreak in Ituri and North Kivu provinces from 2018 to 2020 that killed more than 2,000 people, the ministry said.
The case involved a 46-year-old woman who was admitted to the Beni hospital in late July and died Aug. 15 after suffering symptoms associated with Ebola.
“Our team on site in Beni has carried out a dignified and secure burial and also decontaminated the hospital where the patient stayed,” the ministry said.
There are more than 130 high-risk contacts that have been identified, of which 71 have been seen. The others remain at large, the ministry said.
“We call on the population to calm down and to respect hygienic measures,” the ministry’s statement added.
Congo has recorded 14 Ebola outbreaks since the virus was discovered in the conflict-ridden country in 1976. The last outbreak from April to July took place in another region in Equateur province, killing five people.
Ebola is spread by contact with bodily fluids of an infected person or contaminated materials. However, the early symptoms of fever and muscle aches resemble those of other common diseases like malaria. In addition to vaccinations, there is now effective treatment available that, if received early, can improve chances of survival significantly.
This latest announcement in Beni comes as the region is under threat from various rebel groups, including the Allied Democratic Forces rebels who have killed more than 2,000 people in over a year, according to various rights groups.
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Serious pregnancy complications are rare in the United States but they still affect thousands of women each year.
They may endanger the health of the mother, fetus or both. Many are more common in Black patients and contribute to their disproportionately high maternal mortality rate.
Severe cases may force patients and their physicians to consider abortions, but laws enacted or proposed since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June have limited that option.
At least 19 states with abortion restrictions allow exemptions if the mother develops a condition with severe or life-threatening health consequences, but determining whether either situation exists can be a challenging judgment call. Physicians have said they feel new abortion limits are forcing them to let patients with complications deteriorate.
Here’s a look at some of the most common pregnancy complications that could lead a doctor to recommend an abortion:
PREECLAMPSIA
A serious high blood pressure condition that can develop suddenly in pregnancy, typically during the second half, is called preeclampsia.
It develops in about 1 in 25 pregnancies. Symptoms include swollen limbs, headaches and blurred vision.
In addition to elevated blood pressure, patients may develop kidney problems. In severe cases, fluid in the lungs, seizures or strokes may occur.
Treatment may include hospitalization, along with medicines to lower blood pressure and promote fetal lung development. Ending the pregnancy by inducing delivery or with an abortion may be recommended when the mother’s life is in danger.
PREMATURE RUPTURE OF MEMBRANES
Membranes in the fluid-filled amniotic sac that surrounds the fetus often rupture or break at the start of childbirth — commonly called water breaking. In at least 3% of pregnancies, the sac ruptures too early, often leading to preterm birth.
The condition increases chances for a uterine infection. Doctors may recommend ending the pregnancy, especially if water breaks before 24 weeks, when infant survival chances are slim.
Instead of abortion, doctors could monitor the patients and closely watch for signs of infection. But risks of severe maternal complications are greatly increased and chances of a successful birth are small, recent studies have shown.
ECTOPIC PREGNANCIES
Ectopic pregnancies are when a fertilized egg grows outside the womb, often in a fallopian tube. It happens in about 2% of U.S. pregnancies.
There is no chance for the embryo to survive, but it can cause the tube to burst, leading to dangerous internal bleeding.
Treatment for less severe cases may include medication that stops the embryo from growing, ending the pregnancy. Otherwise surgery is done, sometimes requiring removing the affected tube.
Doctors emphasize that treatment for ectopic pregnancies is not the same as an abortion.
Some politicians who oppose abortions have suggested that ectopic pregnancies could be reimplanted in the uterus, sometimes citing two unsubstantiated case reports published decades apart in medical journals. Experts say any such attempts would damage the embryo and could not result in a successful pregnancy.
PLACENTA ABRUPTION
The placenta is a crucial structure that develops in pregnancy and attaches to the uterine wall, connecting with the umbilical cord to help nourish the fetus.
In about 1 in 100 pregnancies, the placenta separates prematurely from the womb, after about 20 weeks of pregnancy. That can pose a life-threatening risk to the fetus and can cause dangerous maternal bleeding.
Inducing childbirth or ending the pregnancy may be recommended.
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Follow AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner at @LindseyTanner.
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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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LONDON (AP) — British health authorities will begin offering eligible people just a fraction of the normal monkeypox vaccine dose to stretch supplies by about five times, in line with similar decisions to extend available doses in Europe and the U.S.
In a statement Monday, Britain’s Health Security Agency said patients at clinics in Manchester and London would soon get just one fifth the regular monkeypox vaccine dose as part of ongoing research, citing earlier work suggesting the smaller dose provided as effective an immune response as a full dose.
Last week, the European Medicines Agency authorized the move for its 27 members across the continent, echoing the decision made by U.S. regulators earlier this month.
“Adopting this tried and tested technique will help to maximize the reach of our remaining stock,” said Dr. Mary Ramsay, head of immunization at Britain’s Health Security Agency. She said the lowered doses would enable health workers to vaccinate “many more thousands of people.”
Last week, British officials said there were early signs the monkeypox outbreak is slowing and that case numbers are declining. Nearly 3,200 cases have been reported in the U.K. since May, with 99% of infections among men who are gay, bisexual or have sex with other men. About 70% of cases are in London.
As of last week, U.K. authorities said more than 35,000 vaccines had been administered primarily to men who have sex with men, their close contacts, and health workers.
Globally, the supply of monkeypox vaccines is extremely limited. There is only one supplier — Denmark’s Bavarian Nordic —and most doses have already been bought by the U.S., Canada, Europe and other rich countries.
Bavarian Nordic estimated its production capacity for this year was about 30 million doses. No monkeypox vaccines have so far been allotted to Africa, which has reported more than 70 suspected deaths, the highest number anywhere.
To date, more than 41,000 cases of monkeypox have appeared worldwide in 94 countries. The World Health Organization and other health agencies do not recommend mass vaccination, but have advised countries to improve their monkeypox surveillance, testing and encouraged other measures to slow the disease’s spread.
WHO has recommended that men at high risk of the disease temporarily consider reducing their number of sex partners or refrain from group or anonymous sex.
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(The Hill) – Democrats’ campaign arms in the House and Senate have outpaced that of their Republican counterparts for the month of July, according to recent Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings.
While the House Republicans’ campaign arm said in filings last week they had raised $9.8 million last month, their Democratic counterpart said they had raised $13.5 million in July.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) said in filings that they had raised $10.1 million in contrast to the $8.1 million that was raised by the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm.
The development comes as Senate Republicans’ campaign arm reportedly slashed millions of dollars in spending for advertising in battleground states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin since Aug. 1. An NRSC spokesperson told The Washington Post that ad buys being shared with campaigns were being given more priority, arguing that they were not leaving those states.
Still, post-fundraising hauls in the last fundraising quarter showed a number of Democratic challengers in competitive Senate races posting better figures than their Republican contenders. Some Republicans have acknowledged that control of the Senate could prove tighter for Republicans, in what should be a more favorable environment for them, than previously thought.
“I think there’s probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate. Senate races are just different — they’re statewide, candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said last week.
But other Republican groups are posting better numbers than Democrats, including the Republican National Committee (RNC), which said it has raised $11.8 million for the month of July while $10.7 million had been raised by the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
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Almost eight weeks after the drawing in one of the largest-ever Mega Millions jackpots, two people -- who agreed to split the prize, if won -- have come forward to claim the $1.34 billion prize, the Illinois Lottery said.
The winning ticket was bought in late July at a Speedway gas station in Des Plaines, roughly a 20-mile drive northwest of downtown Chicago.
The jackpot is the third-largest in US history, according to the lottery.
The winners, who have spent the past few weeks working with professional legal and financial advisers on the claim process, wish to remain anonymous, the Illinois Lottery said. They have opted to take the lump sum payment of $780.5 million, the release said.
"I've been working for the Illinois Lottery for over five years and this is by far the largest prize I've ever had to process. When we met with the winners' lawyers there was a real buzz of excitement in the room," said Illinois Lottery Claims Manager Luis Rodriguez, who worked with the winners and their legal representatives through the prize claim process.
"It's a surreal feeling giving away this amount of money and knowing what a huge impact this is going to make on the winners' lives, and for others close to them as well. It was an incredible feeling just to be part of that process -- so I can only imagine how the winners themselves are feeling," Rodriguez added.
The winners' purchase of a Mega Millions ticket after stopping into the Speedway "turned out to be an absolutely life changing decision," Illinois Lottery Director Harold Mays said.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
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(The Hill) – Former Texas Rep. Will Hurd (R) said on CNN’s “New Day” on Monday that the U.S. “can do better” than having two “octogenarians” face off in the next presidential election, referring to President Biden, 79, and former President Trump, 76.
“Well, the fact that we’re talking about potentially two octogenarians as our choice in 2024, we’re better than that, America! We can do better!” said Hurd after being asked by “New Day” anchor John Berman how satisfied he was with the potential 2024 candidates.
“Candidates matter. Ideas matter,” said Hurd.
“And unfortunately right now, there’s this fight within the Republican Party between ideas and personalities. When we have a competition of ideas we can win and we can have conservative government for more than just one election cycle.”
Hurd, a 45-year-old Black man who represented the heavily Latino 23rd District of Texas but did not seek reelection in 2020, has been outspoken about increasing diversity within the GOP.
“If the Republican Party doesn’t start looking like the rest of the country, there won’t be a Republican Party in this country,” he said upon retiring from Congress, where he represented cities close to the U.S.-Mexico border, including San Antonio, El Paso and Uvalde.
Hurd, a former CIA officer, criticized Trump on “New Day,” arguing that the former president’s possession of classified materials at his Mar-a-Lago residence was inexcusable and that the FBI search of his home earlier this month was warranted.
“Saying that DOJ is being weaponized by going in and investigating a crime is like saying the fire department is being weaponized to stop a fire,” said Hurd.
However, Hurd claimed that the Department of Justice should be more transparent about its reasoning behind the Mar-a-Lago search due to the political sensitivity of searching a former president’s home.
“They had probable cause, they went through a judge, they went through the process, but because of the significance of this, because they are going into a former president’s residence, they should have a higher level of transparency,” he said.
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(The Hill) – A federal judge on Monday set a series of deadlines for Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and the Fulton County, Georgia, district attorney as she considers whether Graham must testify before a grand jury probing whether former President Trump and his allies attempted to interfere with the 2020 election.
A federal appeals court on Sunday temporarily blocked a subpoena ordering Graham to appear, sending the ruling back to the district court to determine whether Graham is entitled to a “partial quashal or modification” of the subpoena under the Constitution’s Speech and Debate Clause.
Graham has argued the clause, which shields congressional members from testifying about legislative matters related to their work, protects him from being forced to testify.
The district judge on Monday gave Graham until 9 a.m. on Wednesday to file a motion explaining what information or questions he wants the court to address in an order partially quashing the subpoena.
After Graham’s motion, the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office — which has been leading the probe — will have until Monday at 9 a.m. to file its response. Graham will subsequently have two days to reply to the district attorney’s response.
U.S. District Court Judge Leigh Martin May last week rejected Graham’s requests to quash or delay the subpoena, arguing that he did not have immunity from testifying under the Speech and Debate Clause.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) has expressed interested in phone conversations between Graham and election officials in Georgia.
The senator reportedly called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) to inquire about voter fraud shortly after Election Day in 2020.
Trump in a now-infamous call later pressured Raffensperger in January 2021 to “find” enough votes to flip the state in his favor after President Biden narrowly won Georgia’s electoral college votes.
Rudy Giuliani, who helped lead efforts to overturn the election, testified before the grand jury on Wednesday after attempting to delay his appearance. His lawyers said days before the appearance that prosecutors identified Giuliani as a target of the probe.
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Colorado state Sen. Kevin Priola announced on Monday he is switching to the Democratic Party, saying he could not “in good conscience” be silent about Republicans who baselessly cast doubt on the validity of the 2020 election and the existence of climate change.
Priola, a moderate who served four terms in the Colorado House before arriving in the state Senate in 2017, said the GOP has changed since the presidencies of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, and he had hoped the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol would cause Republicans to distance themselves from former President Trump.
“Our political affiliations have become too tribal and too much of a litmus test,” he wrote in an open letter posted to his Twitter account.
“I’ve almost been an independent thinker and sometimes buck the conventional wisdom of my party, and I don’t plan to change that,” he added. “I do not believe either party has a monopoly on the truth.”
Democrats previously held 20 of the state Senate’s 35 seats, meaning Priola’s party change won’t affect the control of the chamber and will only further cement Democrats’ majority.
But Priola said his ideological views hadn’t shifted, and he continues to hold conservative views on issues such as abortion, school choice and gun control.
“To be clear, I will not be changing the way I vote on legislation,” he wrote. “I just simply will now cast my votes with a D next to my name instead of an R.”
Priola said he no longer wants to be affiliated with the Republican Party after Jan. 6, also commending in his letter Republicans who have broken with Trump’s position on the riots, including former Vice President Pence, Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah) and Reps. Liz Cheney (Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (Ill.).
In the wake of the Capitol insurrection, Priola told Colorado Politics that he supported removing Trump from office through the 25th Amendment. He also was the sole Republican to vote with Democrats to call on Congress to pass federal voting rights legislation the same month, Denver7 News reported.
“I cannot continue to be a part of a political party that is okay with a violent attempt to overturn a free and fair election and continues to peddle claims that the 2020 election was stolen,” Priola said.
He also took aim at Republicans’ position on climate change, calling the issue a crisis and an existential threat. Priola noted that Nixon, a Republican, signed legislation as president establishing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“Today, my Republican colleagues would rather deny the existence of human-caused climate change than take action,” he said. “I increasingly believe this inaction is counter to our responsibility as political leaders.”
Colorado GOP Chairwoman Kristi Burton Brown said in a pair of tweets that Priola has “finally made the move to the party he’s consistently voted with.”
“After lying to his constituents, routinely voting for tax increases, & hurting the working families of his district, he’s now admitted his true affiliation: a pro tax-increase Democrat,” she continued. “It’s clear that Priola has selfishly chosen to make himself the story at the expense of Coloradans he was elected to fight for. He will regret this decision when he is in the minority come January 2023.”
Colorado state Senate President Steve Fenberg (D) celebrated Priola’s decision in a statement, saying the lawmaker chose his constituents over partisan politics.
“Where we’ve had disagreements with Senator Priola in the past, we have always maintained a respectful dialogue,” Fenberg said. “That conversation will continue, only now we will be engaging him as a member of the Democratic Party.”
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The former Minneapolis Police officer who held down George Floyd's legs in May 2020 was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday on a state charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in Floyd's death.
Thomas Lane, who is currently in federal prison for violating Floyd's civil rights during his fatal restraint, appeared to the hearing remotely wearing beige prison clothing. He began his federal 2.5-year sentence in a Bureau of Prisons facility in Colorado late last month.
The former officer did not address the court Wednesday. Lane received credit for 31 days already served. Prosecutors did not ask for restitution as part of the sentence.
Lane was one of three former officers to face state charges of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter and aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder related to Floyd's death. In June, Lane pleaded guilty to the manslaughter charge as part of a plea deal in which state and defense attorneys jointly recommended a sentence of three years to be served concurrently with his federal time, according to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's office.
A victim impact statement was read by prosecutors Wednesday on behalf of Floyd's family. "We want everyone here today to know we will never move on," prosecutor Matthew Frank read. "You will always show up for George Floyd, but never move on."
The sentence comes more than two years after former officers Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng were first arrested for their actions -- or lack thereof -- in May 2020 as their colleague Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into the neck and back of Floyd, who was handcuffed and lying on his stomach, for more than nine minutes.
Lane, a rookie officer in his fourth day on the job, held down Floyd's legs during the arrest, while Kueng restrained his torso and Thao stood nearby and held back a crowd of upset bystanders.
An ambulance eventually arrived and first responders lifted Floyd, who was limp at that point, into the vehicle. Lane joined them in the ambulance and performed CPR on Floyd.
Defense attorney Earl Gray said Lane agreed to plead guilty to the state charge because he faced a mandatory 12-year sentence if he were to be convicted of the most serious murder charge. He also noted that Minnesota law allows defendants to be released from custody after serving two-thirds of a sentence.
"My client did not want to risk losing the murder case so he decided to plead guilty to manslaughter with a 3-year sentence, to be released in 2 years, and the murder case dismissed," Gray said in June. "The sentence will be concurrent with his federal sentence and he will serve his time in a federal institution. He has a newborn baby and did not want to risk not being part of the child's life."
What has happened with the other former officers
Harrowing video taken by a bystander showed Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, desperately pleading for them to let him breathe and calling for his mother before he lost consciousness and died. Outrage over the incident led to an international protest movement against the ways that police treat Black citizens. All four officers were fired and charged after Floyd's death.
The city of Minneapolis agreed to pay Floyd's estate $27 million after the city council in March 2021 voted to settle a lawsuit with his family.
In federal court earlier this year, Lane testified that he asked Chauvin twice to reposition Floyd while restraining him but was denied both times.
Lane, Thao and Kueng were each convicted of violating Floyd's civil rights during the fatal restraint. Thao and Kueng were also found guilty of an additional federal charge earlier this year for failing to intervene to stop Chauvin. Thao and Kueng were sentenced to 3.5 years and 3 years in federal prison, respectively.
Thao and Kueng still face a state trial that is slated for late October on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. They have pleaded not guilty.
Chauvin was convicted in state court last year of murder in Floyd's death and was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison. As part of a plea agreement, Chauvin pleaded guilty in December to federal civil rights charges related to Floyd's death and the restraint of a teenager in a separate incident.
The-CNN-Wire
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| 2022-09-21T15:28:43Z
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(WTVO) — Space isn’t always silent, and a recording shared by NASA Sunday proves it.
The recording, or melody, if you will, is made from the soundwaves of a black hole that sits more than 200 million light-years from Earth. It was initially shared earlier this year but is generating new reactions on social media this week after NASA’s tweet.
Some described it as “creepy” or “haunted,” while another replied, “Am I the only one who finds this soothing?”
Though the recording may be a revelation for some, others noted it sounded “like every black hole in every science fiction film ever.”
The black hole sits in the center of the Perseus galaxy cluster, an 11 million light-year-wide cluster of galaxies surrounded by hot gas.
While it is commonly believed there is no sound in space due to it being essentially a vacuum, NASA says a galaxy cluster, like Perseus, has gases “that envelop the hundreds or even thousands of galaxies within it, providing a medium for the sound waves to travel.”
In this recording, NASA said it scaled the sound up 57 and 58 octaves above their original pitch so they would be audible to the human ear.
“They are being heard 144 quadrillion to 288 quadrillion times louder than their original frequency,” NASA said.
NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory captured the data used to create this sonification, which was released earlier this year during NASA’s Black Hole Week.
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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(Loving Living Local)- The Red River Revel is revving up for another year with a new executive director at the helm.
The Red River Revel is “a nine-day arts festival best described as our slogan, Music, Art, and Food” said the new Executive Director, Logan Lewis. The festival started in 1976 as the Junior League of Shreveport’s Bicentennial gift to the region’s citizens. At the time it was a small festival on the riverfront that has grown so large today, that even Festival Plaza can barely contain it. Festival Plaza is located at 101 Crockett Street in downtown Shreveport.
Lewis was eager to share plans for the upcoming event, stating “I’m excited to say we have a bigger revel than last year. This year, we have over eighty music and performing arts acts, more than seventy visual artists, and more than one hundred food menu options.”
Many people are familiar with the coupon system of The Revel, but Lewis says that is a system of the past. “We just announced last week, Revel Band, a wristband you can use instead of coupons to pay for food and beverage purchases to make that process a lot faster and efficient.”
In a press release found on The Revel’s website, Lewis further explained, “Instead of purchasing paper coupons to use as currency, Revelers can load the coupons on a stylish “Revel Band” that will maintain a balance and can be simply “tapped” to a device to purchase goods. Using a wristband also allows the user to request a refund for unspent coupons at the conclusion of the festival.”
Another new feature this year will be a downtown shuttle to assist Revelers with transportation from various parking locations around downtown to and from Festival Plaza.
In addition to the local acts based here in northwest Louisiana, The Revel will also be hosting national talent, and of course all of the vibrant art, vendors, and family programming that locals and tourists alike have come to expect. “A little bit of everything for everybody,” Lewis said.
The Red River Revel begins on October 1-9, the full schedule of dates, events, and activities can be found here.
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| 2022-09-21T15:29:00Z
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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Warren Buffett’s company has received clearance to boost its 20% stake in Occidental Petroleum to as much as 50%, but it’s not immediately clear how many more shares Berkshire Hathaway plans to buy or whether it will consider buying the entire company.
Shares of the of the oil producer soared nearly 12% Friday after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission revealed that it had approved Berkshire’s request to buy up to 50% of the Houston company.
Shares slid 3% to around $69 amid a broader sell-off Monday and as speculation cooled over the potential for Berkshire to buy the entire company.
Berkshire doesn’t typically comment on its stock investments beyond what it is required to disclose, and Buffett didn’t respond to questions about Occidental on Monday. But Buffett told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting in April that he started buying Occidental shares in late February because what the CEO was telling investors then “made nothing but sense” to him.
Berkshire’s Occidental purchases and a $20 billion investment in Chevron shares early this year allowed Buffett to capitalize on the surge in oil prices after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Edward Jones analyst Jim Shanahan said he thinks it’s likely that Berkshire will keep buying Occidental shares when the price drops below $60 again. The shares are up 13% in just the past 30 days, and up 130% this year. But he doesn’t think it’s likely that Berkshire will try to acquire the whole company unless Occidental shares fall significantly.
CFRA Research analyst Cathy Seifert said she also expects Berkshire to keep buying, but she noted that Berkshire has committed to use $11.6 billion of its roughly $105 billion in cash later this year to purchase the Alleghany insurance conglomerate.
In addition to Berkshire’s massive stake in Occidental’s common shares, it also holds $10 billion worth of preferred stock and warrants to buy another 83.9 million Occidental shares at $59.62 apiece. It picked up both of those in 2019 when it helped finance Occidental’s purchase of Anadarko.
Besides investments, the Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire owns more than 90 companies outright including Geico insurance, several major utilities, BNSF railroad and an assortment of manufacturing and retail companies including See’s Candy, Dairy Queen and Precision Castparts.
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SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria’s interim government signaled its readiness to negotiate with Russian energy company Gazprom on the resumption of natural gas deliveries, the caretaker energy minister said Monday.
Rosen Hristov didn’t set a date for talks with the firm, but said that the gas demands of the industry and heating companies were forcing the government to begin talks with Gazprom to renew supplies which he called “inevitable.”
Bulgaria’s contract with Gazprom expires at the end of 2022, but Russia halted deliveries in late April after the previous pro-Western government in Sofia refused Gazprom’s demand to pay for it in rubles.
“Obviously, we will have to hold negotiations with Gazprom, but those will be very difficult and hard talks,” Hristov told reporters.
Hristov said that Bulgaria has secured gas for October because of a liquefied natural gas shipment from U.S. company Cheniere, adding however that the government had rejected an option for further deliveries because “the rising costs for unloading would make the price of gas too high.”
Hristov didn’t say what price Gazprom would ask for, saying only that it would be “several times cheaper.”
Since coming to power on Aug. 1, the interim government appointed by President Rumen Radev has begun to revise deals made by the previous reformist coalition. The approach has sparked public anger, with people taking to the streets to demand that Bulgaria remains on the path toward gas independence from Russia.
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BEIJING (AP) — Brush fires have forced the evacuation of more than 1,500 people in southwest China and power rationing for factories has reportedly been extended as weeks of record heat and drought batter the region.
Some shopping malls in the megacity of Chongqing have been ordered closed for most of the day to reduce electricity demand, state broadcaster CCTV said, limiting opening hours to 4 to 9 p.m.
The drought and heat have wilted crops and caused rivers including the giant Yangtze to shrink, disrupting cargo traffic and reducing power supply from hydroelectric dams at a time of soaring demand for air conditioning. State media say the government will try to protect the autumn grain harvest, which is 75% of China’s annual total, by shooting chemicals into clouds to try to generate rain.
The disruption adds to challenges for the ruling Communist Party, which is trying to shore up sagging economic growth before a meeting this fall at which President Xi Jinping is expected to be given a third five-year term as party leader.
There was no public announcement of the extension of power rationing in Sichuan province into a second week, but it was detailed in a company statement and a government notice to companies that was reported by Chinese news outlets.
The “tense situation” of power supplies in Sichuan province “has further intensified,” Tencent News said Monday in a report that included a photo of the government notice.
LIER Chemical Co. said in an announcement through the stock exchange in the southern city of Shenzhen that its facilities in the cities of Jinyang and Guang’an in Sichuan received an order extending power rationing through Thursday.
Factories in Sichuan that make processor chips, solar panels, auto components and other industrial goods were required to shut down or reduce activity last week to conserve power for homes as air conditioning demand surged in temperatures as high as 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit). Air conditioning, elevators and lights were shut off in offices and shopping malls.
In Shanghai, a factory and shipping hub on China’s east coast, Tesla Ltd. and a major state-owned automaker suspended production last week due to disruption in supplies of components from Sichuan, the Shanghai city government said.
Sichuan, with 94 million people, is especially hard-hit because it gets 80% of its power from hydroelectric dams. Other provinces rely more on coal-fired power, which isn’t affected.
Economists say if Sichuan reopens relatively soon, the national impact should be limited because the province accounts for only 4% of China’s industrial output.
The Chinese government says this summer is China’s hottest and driest since it began keeping temperature and rainfall records in 1961. Temperatures have exceeded 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) for the past week and longer.
Brush fires in outlying areas of Chongqing, which borders Sichuan, are the latest scourge resulting from the heat and drought.
More than 1,500 residents had been moved to shelters, while around 5,000 civilian and military personnel had been mobilized to put out the blazes, the official Xinhua News Agency said Monday.
Helicopters have been sent to drop water on the fires, supporting crews on the ground who have in the past been left to their own resources.
In 2019, a wildfire in the mountains of Sichuan province killed 30 firefighters and volunteers.
No deaths have yet been reported as a result of the heat wave, Xinhua said, although that could not be independently verified.
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LONDON (AP) — Conditions are dimming at many movie theaters around the world.
Cineworld Group PLC, one of the industry’s biggest theater operators, confirmed Monday that it’s considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S., as it contends with billions of dollars in debt and more empty seats in front of its screens than expected.
The British company, which owns Regal Cinemas in the United States and operates in 10 countries, said its theaters remain “open for business as usual” as it considers options for relief from its debt load. Cineworld said it expects to continue operating even after any potential filing, though its stock investors could face steep or total losses on their holdings.
Cineworld faces challenges specific to itself after building up $4.8 billion in net debt, not including lease liabilities. But the entire industry is navigating a tenuous recovery after the pandemic shut theaters worldwide.
To be sure, moviegoers have streamed back into theaters this year to see blockbusters like “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Top Gun: Maverick,” and ”Jurassic Park: Dominion.” Industry giant Warner Discovery has said it’s doubling down on theaters and moving away from debuting films on its HBO Max streaming service.
But this summer’s $3.3 billion in ticket sales is still running nearly 20% behind the summer of 2019, before the pandemic, as of Sunday, according to data firm Comscore. And there don’t seem to be any big hits on the immediate horizon to make those numbers much better.
Cineworld said its admissions levels have recently been below expectations. And with a “limited film slate,” it expects the lower levels to continue until November. That would mean an additional crunch to its finances.
Cineworld said it’s holding talks with lenders and other major stakeholders as it reviews its financial options. It also said it expects “ultimately to continue its business over the longer term with no significant impact upon its employees.” It has about 28,000 workers, according to the company’s website.
Even if employees could make it through intact, shareholders may not. The company warned again Monday that a transaction to ease the debt on its balance sheet could hurt its stock investors.
The company’s stock in London tumbled 21.4% to the equivalent of roughly 3.8 U.S. cents. That followed a 58.3% plunge on Friday after The Wall Street Journal reported the company was preparing to file for bankruptcy protection within weeks.
Shares of other theater chains also stumbled Monday, but nowhere near as much as Cineworld. Cinemark Holdings fell 5.8% to $15.33, for example.
Its executives said earlier in August that the next two months will be challenged by a dip in new releases. But they also said they’re hopeful for a strong close of the year.
Rival AMC Entertainment has also called the upcoming film schedule relatively weak, though it’s optimistic about the end of the year and about 2023.
This year, about a third less wide-release films have been put into theaters as before the pandemic. Some of that has to do with residual delays in Hollywood’s production pipeline caused by earlier COVID-19 shutdowns and postponements. But it’s also because a lot of movies go straight to streaming.
One of the summer’s most-watched movies, the Ryan Gosling-Chris Evans action thriller “The Gray Man,” played on Netflix.
Unless films like Sony Pictures’ “Woman King,” with Viola Davis, or the buzzy Warner Bros. release “Don’t Worry Darling,” with Harry Styles and Florence Pugh, overperform expectations, the next month or two in theaters lack sure-things before “Halloween Ends” and “Black Adam” arrive in late October. Farther on the horizon, though, are a few sequels that could set box-office records: “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (Nov. 11) and “Avatar” (Dec. 16).
AMC’s stock fell to $10.46 from $18.02 on Friday, though it had other factors impacting the shares. Monday marked the first day of trading for the company’s new preferred equity units, which have the ticker symbol “APE.”
Investors received one share of APE for every AMC share they owned at the end of Friday. Analysts said it was similar to a two-for-one stock split, a deal that often sees a company’s share price drop by roughly half. Analysts said the new APE shares offer AMC a way to raise cash in the future, which it could use to reduce its debt.
The company last year tapped the stock market to raise cash, taking advantage of a huge run-up in its share price when it got caught up the frenzy surrounding so-called meme stocks.
Its shares rose sixfold in January 2021 and then more than doubled that May and again in June. The gains were driven by hordes of amateur investors, with some referring to themselves as “apes” willing to hold the stock regardless of whether professional Wall Street called it a bad buy.
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AP Film Writer Jake Coyle contributed.
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SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A company seeking to mine in Georgia near the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp’s vast wildlife refuge said Monday that its project is back on track after a federal agency reversed a June decision that had posed a big setback.
Twin Pines Minerals said the Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by the company by once again relinquishing the agency’s regulatory oversight of the proposed mine in southeast Georgia near the Okefenokee, home to the largest U.S. wildlife refuge east of the Mississippi River.
“We appreciate the Corps’ willingness to reverse itself and make things right,” Twin Pines President Steve Ingle said in a statement, calling the development “great news” for the project.
Scientists have warned that mining close to the swamp’s bowl-like rim could damage its ability to hold water. They urged the Army Corps of Engineers to deny the project a permit. But the agency declared in 2020 it no longer had that authority after regulatory rollbacks under then-President Donald Trump narrowed the types of waterways qualifying for protection under the Clean Water Act.
Trump’s rollbacks were later scrapped by federal courts. President Joe Biden’s administration has sought to restore federal oversight of development projects that under Trump had been allowed to sidestep regulations to prevent pollution of streams or draining of wetlands.
In June, the Army Corps notified Twin Pines that its prior decisions allowing the company to bypass federal regulators “are not valid” because a tribal government with ancestral ties to the proposed mining site had not been consulted. The agency said the Georgia project couldn’t move forward without consultation with the Muscogee Creek Nation.
Twin Pines quickly sued the Army Corps in U.S. District Court, arguing the agency was “asserting jurisdiction the federal government does not possess.” The company noted the Corps’ finding from October 2020 that it lacked jurisdiction over the mining project should be valid for five years.
A copy of the settlement, which Twin Pines provided to The Associated Press, says the Army Corps will honor that five-year span unless “new information” surfaces that causes the agency to revisit whether it should reclaim oversight of the project near the Okefenokee.
Cheri Pritchard, a spokesman for the Army Corps’ Savannah District, said she could not comment and referred a reporter to the Justice Department, which had attorneys represent the agency in the Twin Pines lawsuit. An email message to the Justice Department seeking comment Monday evening was not immediately returned.
Without oversight by the Army Corps, the only regulatory approval Alabama-based Twin Pines needs is from Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division. The proposed mining area includes more than 556 acres (225 hectares) of wetlands.
The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge covers nearly 630 square miles (1,630 square kilometers) in southeast Georgia and is home to alligators, bald eagles and other protected species. The swamp’s wildlife, cypress forests and flooded prairies draw roughly 600,000 visitors each year, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the refuge.
Two decades ago, chemical giant DuPont retreated from plans to mine outside the Okefenokee after meeting fierce resistance. Twin Pines wants permits to mine a small fraction of the acreage DuPont pursued. Ingle has insisted his company can mine the site without harming the swamp.
Government scientists have been skeptical. In February 2019, the Fish and Wildlife Service wrote that the proposed mine could pose “substantial risks” to the swamp, including its ability to hold water. Some impacts, it said, “may not be able to be reversed, repaired, or mitigated for.”
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| 2022-09-21T15:29:38Z
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NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A new natural gas discovery off Cyprus’ southern coast that is estimated to contain around 2.5 trillion cubic feet of the hydrocarbon bolsters Europe’s efforts to secure alternative energy sources, the Cypriot energy ministry said Monday, as a supply crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to trouble the continent.
The ministry said in a statement that the discovery by partners Eni of Italy and France’s Total was made at the Cronos-1 well 160 kilometers (100 miles) off the coast in 2,287 meters (7,500 feet) of water inside Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone and is the second deposit that the Eni-Total consortium has discovered there.
The consortium hasn’t provided any estimates regarding how much natural gas is contained in the initial “Calypso” field found in 2018. But Eni said in a statement Monday that the Cronos-1 discovery “can unlock additional potential in the area” and is part of the company’s “successful effort to provide further gas supply to Europe.”
The Cronos discovery brings the number of deposits found off Cyprus to four — two by Eni-Total, one by ExxonMobil and partners Qatar Petroleum estimated to hold 5-8 trillion cubic feet of gas and another by Chevron and partners Shell and Israeli NewMed Energy that contains up to 4.4 trillion cubic feet.
The Energy Ministry said the Eni-Total consortium’s drill ship Tungsten Explorer has now relocated to a new well target to “assess the quantities of gas with greater precision.”
The Cypriot government has said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine provided an additional impetus to the search for alternative fuel sources, especially after the European Union confirmed that natural gas could act as a bridge fuel until 2050 as part of the bloc’s transition to cleaner energy.
Energy Minister Natasa Pilides said the EU’s drive to wean itself off Russian gas further entrenches Cyprus’ inclusion into the 27-member bloc’s energy planning.
Pilides said the fact that the new discovery is in an area adjacent to where ExxonMobil is drilling could pave the way for cooperation with the Eni-Total consortium.
She added that the most likely scenario for getting gas to European markets remains conveying it through a pipeline to Egyptian processing plants for liquefaction and then transporting it by ship.
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DETROIT (AP) — About 3,000 white-collar workers at Ford Motor Co. will lose their jobs as the company cuts costs to help make the long transition from internal combustion vehicles to those powered by batteries.
Leaders of the Dearborn, Michigan, automaker made the announcement Monday in a companywide email, saying that 2,000 full-time salaried workers would be let go along with another 1,000 contract workers.
The cuts represent about 6% of the 31,000 full-time salaried work force in the the U.S. and Canada. Ford’s 56,000 union factory workers are not affected. Some workers also will lose jobs in India.
The job losses come at a time of unprecedented change in the auto industry that for more than 100 years has made a living by selling petroleum-powered vehicles. Governments across the globe are pushing to eliminate combustion automobiles to mitigate the impact of climate change. Companies like Ford are orchestrating the wind-down of their combustion businesses over multiple years, even though they are still generating the cash to fund electric vehicle development.
Ford has said it plans for half of its global production to be electric vehicles by 2030.
Executive Chairman Bill Ford and CEO Jim Farley said in the email to employees that Ford will provide severance benefits and significant help for the workers to find new jobs. They wrote that Ford has a chance to lead in the new era of connected and electric vehicles.
“Building on this future requires changing and reshaping virtually all aspects of the way we have operated for more than a century,” the email said. “It means redeploying resources and addressing our cost structure, which is uncompetitive versus traditional and new companies.”
Farley and Ford wrote that the company examined each team’s shifting work to decide where cuts would be made. The company determined that its cost structure wasn’t competitive with General Motors, Stellantis and Tesla. Ford has said previously that it has a target of cutting $3 billion in annual internal combustion vehicle structural costs by 2026.
“We are eliminating work, as well as reorganizing and simplifying functions throughout the business,” they wrote in the email.
Farley has said repeatedly that the company’s global work force of 182,000 is too large, and it needs to trim costs and simplify processes so it can move faster as it transitions to electric vehicles.
The company already has restructured in Europe, Asia and India.
The cuts may not be over. Company spokesman T.R. Reid said Ford will continue to change with the industry and more job losses are possible. He said it’s common for companies to continually add people where they need them and trim where fewer jobs are needed. “With the fast pace of this industry, we’re going to manage the business smartly for these rapidly evolving priorities,” he said.
Ford shares, already under pressure after a $1.7 billion verdict against the company related to a vehicle fatality in Georgia, slid almost 6% and led automakers lower amid a broad sell-off in markets Monday.
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A federal judge on Monday rejected a request by Ben & Jerry’s to block a plan by its corporate parent to allow its products to be sold in east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank against the wishes of the Vermont ice cream maker’s independent board of directors.
U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Carter said Ben & Jerry’s failed to show that the decision by London-based consumer goods conglomerate Unilever would hurt Ben and Jerry’s social mission or confuse its customers.
In his three-page decision, Carter said that the harm Ben & Jerry’s was claiming was “too speculative.”
“The products sold in Israel and the West Bank will use no English trademarks, instead displaying new Hebrew and Arabic language Ben & Jerry’s trademarks,” the decision said. “Thus, the products sold in Israel and the West Bank will be dissimilar from other Ben & Jerry’s products, mitigating, if not eliminating, the possibility of reputational harm.”
Ben & Jerry’s spokesman Sean Greenwood said Monday that the company had “no new position for us to share at this time.”
Ben & Jerry’s complaint in the case filed last month outlined the company’s tradition of social activism over its 44-year history, including opposition to U.S. nuclear weapons spending in the 1980s, and in the 1990s, supporting LGBTQ+ rights and farmers.
That activism continued after it was purchased by Unilever in 2000 with the focus on, among other issues, migrant justice and climate change. In the aftermath of the 2020 death of George Floyd, Ben & Jerry’s became an advocate for Black Lives Matter.
Last year Ben & Jerry’s independent board said it was going to stop selling its ice cream in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and contested east Jerusalem, saying the sales in the territories sought by the Palestinians are “inconsistent with our values.”
Earlier this year, Unilever announced that it was selling its business interest in Ben & Jerry’s in Israel to its Israeli licensee, which would market the products with Hebrew and Arabic labels.
In its suit, Ben & Jerry’s argued the move by Unilever “poses a risk” to the integrity of its brand. Ben & Jerry’s also claimed the deal violated the 2000 acquisition agreement that allowed Ben & Jerry’s to continue its progressive social mission independent of business decisions made by Unilever.
An email sent to Unilever was not immediately returned Monday, but the company has said in the past it did have the right to the sale and that, “The deal has already closed.”
While the 2000 acquisition agreement allowed the Ben & Jerry’s board to make decisions about the company’s social mission, it stipulated Unilever would have the final word on financial and operational decisions.
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(The Hill) — Roughly six in 10 Americans — 59 percent — say they are worried that forgiving student loan debt could make inflation worse, according to a new CNBC poll.
The survey also found that 34 percent of respondents say only those in need should have debt forgiven, 32 percent say all of those with student loan debt should be forgiven and 30 percent say no debt should be forgiven.
The news comes a day after Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said an announcement from the Biden administration is coming soon regarding student loan debt, just ahead of an Aug. 31 expiration date for a temporary pause on loan payments.
It’s unclear if officials will announce another extension of the student loan freeze or reveal the administration’s intent to cancel some debt per borrower.
President Joe Biden has faced calls to cancel up to $50,000 per borrower, although he has reportedly settled on a goal of forgiving $10,000 per borrower. Biden has previously said he would make a final decision by the end of August.
Just more than half of adults polled by CNBC — 53 percent — said any extra money from student loan forgiveness would go toward paying off other loans. Forty-five percent, meanwhile, said they would save the fund for retirement instead.
Any announcement of student loan forgiveness could come amid a period of economic uncertainty.
The inflation rate has reached a 40-year high and the economy shrank for two consecutive quarters, usually an indicator a country is in a recession.
Republicans have called canceling student debt “wildly inflationary” and have said it would benefit higher-income Americans who don’t need the relief.
GOP lawmakers have even introduced bills intended to curb any plan that would forgive student loan debt, although legislation faces an uphill battle in the Democrat-controlled Congress.
Laura Beamer, a lead researcher for higher education finance at the Jain Family Institute, told The Hill this month that forgiving $10,000 in student debt would have a “minimal” impact on inflation.
Beamer also noted it would assist Americans with “higher debt to income ratios.”
“Those people are disproportionately hailing from disadvantaged groups and low socioeconomic status groups,” Beamer said.
More than 44 million Americans collectively owe $1.7 trillion through student loans.
The Biden administration has already canceled $32 billion in student loan relief for more than 1.6 million borrowers, mostly among students who were defrauded or misled by schools.
Around $10 billion of that was forgiven through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which forgives debt for those who work in public service and other qualifying jobs after a certain amount of time.
The CNBC poll was conducted by Momentive among 5,142 adults from Aug. 4 to Aug. 15.
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- Prior was 4.81m
Details:
- Sales change -0.4% vs -5.7% m/m prior
- Inventory 1.28 million or 3.2 months vs 3.2 prior
- Median price $389.5K, up 7.7% y/y, down 2.4% m/m
- Prior price 399.2K
Here's a data point I prefer, which is the total inventory of US single family homes for sale from Altos Research. It shows that sellers aren't putting homes on the market, even with home prices falling.
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Pfizer asked U.S. regulators Monday to authorize its combination COVID-19 vaccine that adds protection against the newest omicron relatives — a key step toward opening a fall booster campaign.
The Food and Drug Administration ordered vaccine makers to tweak their shots to target BA.4 and BA.5 that are better than ever at dodging immunity from earlier vaccination or infection.
Pfizer and its partner BioNTech aim to offer updated boosters to people 12 and older, and shots could begin within weeks if the FDA quickly clears the modified vaccine — a step not expected to require waiting on new studies.
Moderna is expected to file a similar application soon for updated boosters for adults. The U.S. has a contract to buy 105 million of the Pfizer doses and 66 million Moderna ones, assuming FDA gives the green light.
“It’s going to be really important that people this fall and winter get the new shots. It’s designed for the virus that’s out there,” White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said last week.
For now at least. BA.5 currently is causing nearly all COVID-19 infections in the U.S. and much of the world. There’s no way to know if it still will be a threat this winter — or if another mutant will have replaced it.
The vaccines currently used in the U.S. still offer strong protection against severe disease and death, especially if people have gotten their recommended boosters. But those vaccines target the coronavirus strain that spread in early 2020 and their effectiveness against infection has dropped markedly as new mutants came along, particularly the super-contagious omicron family.
How would combo shots work? Sort of like a second-generation vaccine. Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines contain the genetic instructions for the spike protein that coats the coronavirus, to train the immune system to recognize the real virus. The new combo doses will contain instructions for both the original spike target and the spike mutations carried by BA.4 and BA.5.
The news comes after Britain a week ago became the first in the world to authorize a different update to Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines — shots that add protection against the original omicron that struck last winter.
European regulators also are considering the original omicron versions by Moderna and Pfizer. The U.S. opted not to use that earlier tweak — setting up a fall where different countries will be using different versions of booster shots to rev up protection against another possible winter surge.
In the U.S., the FDA will be relying heavily on scientific testing of prior tweaks to the vaccine recipe — rather than a study of the newest boosters that could take months — to decide whether to fast-track updated shots for fall.
Pfizer previously announced results from a study that found its earlier omicron tweak significantly revved up antibodies capable of fighting the first omicron version, called BA.1, and to a lesser degree the genetically distinct BA.4 and BA.5 omicron relatives. Its application to the FDA contains that data plus animal testing of the newest recipe update.
It’s similar to how flu vaccines are updated every year without having to undergo large studies.
Pfizer and BioNTech expect to start a trial using the BA.4 and BA.5 boosters in the coming weeks, to shed additional light on how well tweaked shots work. Moderna has begun a similar study although full results wouldn’t be available before a fall booster campaign.
“It’s clear that none of these vaccines are going to completely prevent infection,” said Dr. Rachel Presti of Washington University in St. Louis, a researcher with the Moderna trial.
But prior studies of variant booster candidates show “you still get a broader immune response giving a variant booster than giving the same booster” again, which should be helpful even if a newer omicron relative emerges, she added.
Pfizer and Moderna don’t make the only U.S. vaccine options. Novavax makes a more traditional, protein-based shot — and U.S. health authorities just expanded its use for people as young as 12. Novavax also plans to offer a variant update later in the year.
___
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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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Qatar recently arrested at least 60 foreign workers who protested going months without pay and deported some of them, an advocacy group said, just three months before Doha hosts the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The move comes as Qatar faces intense international scrutiny over its labor practices ahead of the tournament. Like other Gulf Arab nations, Qatar heavily relies on foreign labor. The workers’ protest a week ago — and Qatar’s reaction to it — could further fuel the concern.
The head of a labor consultancy investigating the incident said the detentions cast new doubt on Qatar’s pledges to improve the treatment of workers. “Is this really the reality coming out?” asked Mustafa Qadri, executive director of the group Equidem.
In a statement to The Associated Press on Sunday night, Qatar’s government acknowledged that “a number of protesters were detained for breaching public safety laws.” It declined to offer any information about the arrests or any deportations.
Video footage posted online showed some 60 workers angry about their salaries protesting on Aug. 14 outside of the Doha offices of Al Bandary International Group, a conglomerate that includes construction, real estate, hotels, food service and other ventures. Some of those demonstrating hadn’t received their salaries for as many as seven months, Equidem said.
The protesters blocked an intersection on Doha’s C Ring Road in front of the Al Shoumoukh Tower. The footage matched known details of the street, including it having several massive portraits of Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, looking down on passers-by.
Al Bandary International Group, which is privately owned, did not respond to requests for comment and a telephone number registered in its name did not connect on multiple attempts to call it.
The Qatari government acknowledged that the firm hadn’t paid salaries and that its Labor Ministry would pay “all delayed salaries and benefits” to those affected.
“The company was already under investigation by the authorities for nonpayment of wages before the incident, and now further action is being taken after a deadline to settle outstanding salary payments was missed,” the government said.
Qadri said police later arrested the protesters and held them in a detention center where some described being in a stifling heat without air conditioning. Doha’s temperature this week reached around 41 degrees Celsius (105.8 degrees Fahrenheit).
Qadri described police telling those held that if they can strike in hot weather, they can sleep without air conditioning.
One detained worker who called Equidem from the detention center described seeing as many as 300 of his colleagues there from Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Nepal and the Philippines. He said some had been paid salaries after the protest while others hadn’t. His comments could not be corroborated.
Qatar, like other Gulf Arab nations, has in the past deported demonstrating foreign workers, and tied residency visas to employment. The right to form unions remains tightly controlled and available only to Qataris, as is the country’s limited right to assembly, according to the Washington-based advocacy group Freedom House.
Qatar, a small, energy-rich nation on the Arabian Peninsula, is home to the state-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network. However, expression in the country remains tightly controlled. Last year, Qatar detained and later deported a Kenyan security guard who wrote and spoke publicly about the woes of the country’s migrant labor force.
Since FIFA awarded the tournament to Qatar in 2010, the country has taken some steps to overhaul the country’s employment practices. That includes eliminating its so-called kafala employment system, which tied workers to their employers, who had say over whether they could leave their jobs or even the country.
Qatar also has adopted a minimum monthly wage of 1,000 Qatari riyals ($275) for workers and required food and housing allowances for employees not receiving that directly from their employers.
Activists like Qadri have called on Doha to do more, particularly when it comes to ensuring workers receive their salaries on time and are protected from abusive employers.
“Have we all been duped by Qatar over the last several years?” Qadri asked, suggesting that recent reforms might have been “a cover” for authorities allowing prevailing labor practices to continue.
The World Cup will start this November in Qatar.
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Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.
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Follow Malak Harb on Twitter at www.twitter.com/malakharb.
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BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – Customers of banks that use a digital payment network called Zelle are being warned about a recent scam.
Financial experts say some banks are reporting an uptick in digital money movement fraud.
In these cases, scammers are contacting the bank’s customers and requesting payment via Zelle or a Wire Transfer. It’s likely these methods are utilized by criminals as they allow funds to be sent expediently and in a way that makes it difficult for the money to be traced and recovered.
For this reason, some banks are urging customers to keep the following precautions in mind:
- You should never wire money or send money using Zelle® to:
- Anyone who claims to be from a government agency
- Any stranger, no matter what reason they give
- A telemarketer trying to sell you something
- Anyone claiming your account is compromised
- Unauthorized, unverified cryptocurrency sites or salespeople
- Anyone asking you to send money to yourself
Click here for more information from the U.S. government’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on how to avoid becoming a victim of banking fraud.
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TEXARKANA, Ark. (KTAL/KMSS) — Police are investigating a shooting outside of a gas station in Texarkana, Ark. over the weekend that left one person wounded.
TAPD officers were called to the shooting at the Raceway on Stateline Ave. just after 4:00 a.m. Sunday. Police say they arrived to find the victim suffering a gunshot wound. That victim was taken to the hospital with injuries police described as non-life-threatening.
Investigators found multiple shell casings and several vehicles were struck by the gunfire. Detectives with the Criminal Investigation Division were notified. They began processing the scene and speaking with possible witnesses.
So far, there have been no arrests.
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| 2022-09-21T15:30:37Z
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Disclaimer: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — Eight people are charged in a human trafficking sting operation in Shreveport over the weekend that police say was prompted by a tip.
Undercover officers with the Shreveport Police Department’s Office of Special Investigations vice unit made the arrests Friday night, charging one person with human trafficking, another with prostitution, and six more with soliciting prostitution.
Officers arrested 19-year-old Tashia Sanstra on human trafficking charges and 28-year-old Marissa Bailey on prostitution charges.
The following individuals were arrested for allegedly soliciting a prostitute: Damien Pipkins, 41, Demichael Carroll, 28, Chris Gaudron. 26, Alvin Jones, 39, Ryan Edison, 33, and Paul Kennedy 53.
A study from the United Nations International Labor Organization estimated 3.8 million adults and 1 million children were victims of forced sexual exploitation in 2016 around the world. The majority of sex-trafficking victims are women or girls but men, boys, transgender, intersex, and nonbinary individuals can be victims of sexual exploitation. The International Labor Organization estimates that 99% of the adults and children forced into sexual exploitation in 2016 are female.
To report human trafficking, contact SPD at (318) 673-7300.
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| 2022-09-21T15:30:45Z
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CADDO PARISH, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — A Shreveport man who was set to go on trial for attempted murder died Monday morning by suicide hours before he was due in court, according to the Caddo Parish District Attorney’s Office.
The DA’s office says Brandon Richardson shot and killed himself on the riverfront in downtown Shreveport early Monday morning. The 32-year-old was set to stand trial for the attempted murder of his former partner in 2021.
Richardson shot his former partner in the chest during a child custody exchange in the presence of numerous witnesses, including young children.
Richardson was free on $100,000 bond for that charge when he was arrested again less than three months later on additional charges of false imprisonment with a dangerous weapon and aggravated assault with a firearm related to the January incident. Police say he pointed his gun at a man on the scene and held both the victim and the man at gunpoint before officers arrived.
He was released on bonds for those charges totaling $75,000 on April 8, 2021, and remained free on bond awaiting trial until his death Monday.
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Julius Onah, who directed the long-anticipated Captain America: New World Order, unveiled the new trailer at the D23 Expo. Onah shared the impact of Disney and what it meant to him growing up.
Julius Onah, who directed the long-anticipated Captain America: New World Order, unveiled the new trailer at the D23 Expo. Onah shared the impact of Disney and what it meant to him growing up.
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| 2022-09-21T15:30:57Z
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DE SOTO PARISH, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — The De Soto Parish Sheriff’s Office is reminding citizens to stay informed and stay safe in the wake of a disturbing story out of Houston in which a woman was reportedly poisoned by a napkin tucked into the door handle of her car.
“We have not received any similar reports of the story below in or around our parish, however Houston, TX is not that far away. So we do want to inform residents of DeSoto Parish, to be proactive,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post on Monday afternoon.
In the Houston case, the woman did not think much of the napkin and simply threw it away before opening her car door. Within minutes, she felt a tingling in her fingertips that spread to her arms, followed by numbness, lightheadedness, and trouble breathing. She ended up in the ER, where doctors confirmed acute poisoning but were unable to pinpoint the substance.
While some news outlets are reporting that other residents have seen a napkin or tissue in their car door handle, DPSO says there are no other reports of poisoning that they could find.
“We have seen many reports over the years where a foreign object was placed on a vehicle. This has sometimes been attributed to an attempted kidnapping, or it could be nothing at all. In this woman’s case, doctors believed this may have been a failed kidnapping attempt, but no one really knows.”
Still, DPSO says it’s worth taking precautions.
“We share this with you so that you are simply aware. If you are out and about and experience anything on your vehicle that had not been there before, do not remove it with your bare hand. Use caution. We would rather inform you now than be the next agency posting a press release after the fact.”
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| 2022-09-21T15:31:00Z
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LeBron James has finally polished off his dome, much to the delight of sports fans.
The Los Angeles Lakers superstar notified his 132 million Instagram followers on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, that he has cut off the few remaining follicles on his scalp that were hanging on for dear life.
James, 37, has been mocked and ridiculed for the past several years because of his hair struggles and his desperate attempt to cover up the bald patches with what appeared to be hair pieces.
One user, Lance Woods, delivered a hilarious comedy bit while congratulating LBJ for finally “coming out of the closet” with his sleek look.
#Lebron is living his truth! pic.twitter.com/USjX3miVmM
— Lance woods (@SirLanceWoods) September 20, 2022
Other users, however, expressed skepticism and insinuated that James is trolling his more than 200 million social media followers (he also has more than 50 million Twitter followers and another 30 million on Facebook).
Y’all know that bald Bron is fake, at least in the picture he took, right? You can see the filter on the screen lol. Now he may have done it but that picture is fake.
— Jeffrey Nairne (@Jeff_Nairne) September 20, 2022
Others pointed out how stubborn LeBron once was, and that he is now following in the footsteps of the legendary players he’s most often compared to.
Bald Bron is the last form of greatness….as a man that has been bald since 21yrs old we should have a #BaldAwarenessMonth 😆 pic.twitter.com/L5ESPnWKGj
— Matthew Smith (@smithmatthew81) September 20, 2022
BREAKING: LeBron James has shaved his head 👀
We now have LeBald James™️#NBATwitter #LeBron #LeBald @KingJames pic.twitter.com/CROYzunto4
— Happy Hour Hoops (@happyhourhoops1) September 20, 2022
#Lebron #lebronbaldhead #nbanews #celebritynews
Tyrese not feeling Lebron bald head pic.twitter.com/Y910gNNIyg— Big Facts Entertainment (@YoutubeBigFacts) September 20, 2022
Welcome to baldside my brother we have been waiting for you. @KingJames Some times we have to let go of our hairlines to find true peace and solace. Now your bead is going to be the star of the show let it shine ✨
— Glance_305 (@glanc3) September 20, 2022
Looks good! I know people are going to clown him for it. I don't understand why men hang on to something that's not there. He should have done this years ago.
— Willj (@Will313j) September 20, 2022
I kept saying it… Bald Bron is his final form…
This will be one of the greatest versions of Bron of all time. No one in the league will be able to stop him this year. May god have mercy on our souls. https://t.co/JXUJ26thpo
— Seth Walker (@_SethWalker) September 20, 2022
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| 2022-09-21T15:31:03Z
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Disclaimer: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
CADDO PARISH, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — A Shreveport man is in custody in Caddo Parish, facing dozens of counts of child pornography and sexual abuse of animals.
The Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office says investigators arrested 25-year-old Jacob Butler Monday after cyber crimes detectives found videos and images of child pornography and sexual animal abuse on his electronic devices.
In a statement announcing the arrest, Detective Thomas Lites said Butler downloaded, possessed, and uploaded numerous files of child pornography online. During the initial investigation, detectives say they found 70 illegal videos and images on his devices.
Butler is booked into Caddo Correctional Center on 29 counts of pornography involving juveniles and 41 counts of sexual abuse of animals.
CPSO says the investigation is ongoing and Bulter could face more charges.
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| 2022-09-21T15:31:07Z
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Minnesota Timberwolves and Atlanta native Anthony Edwards was fined $40,000 for making homophobic comments earlier this month.
On Sept. 20, the NBA wrote in a statement “Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards has been fined $40,000 for using offensive and derogatory language on social media. Edwards has acknowledged that his actions were inappropriate.”
Anthony Edwards is wild for this man 😭 pic.twitter.com/ccSkkDfe1E
— HaterMuse (@HaterMuse) September 11, 2022
On Sept. 11, Edwards posted a video on Instagram of a group of men standing outside shirtless. “Look at these queer a– n—–,” Edwards said in the video, with the caption saying “Dese n—– different.”
The basketball star must have caught wind of the backlash, and immediately apologized on Twitter for his actions.
“What I said was immature, hurtful, and disrespectful, and I’m incredibly sorry,” Edwards said. “It’s unacceptable for me or anyone to use that language in such a hurtful way, there’s no excuse for it, at all. I was raised better than that!”
What I said was immature, hurtful, and disrespectful, and I’m incredibly sorry. It’s unacceptable for me or anyone to use that language in such a hurtful way, there’s no excuse for it, at all. I was raised better than that!
— Anthony Edwards (@theantedwards_) September 11, 2022
Edwards is coming off his best season in the NBA. He averaged 21.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game.
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Tony Award-winner Lillias White discusses landing a starring role on Broadway, breaking barriers after four decades in the industry and the Black theatre organization formed after the death of George Floyd, and more.
Tony Award-winner Lillias White discusses landing a starring role on Broadway, breaking barriers after four decades in the industry and the Black theatre organization formed after the death of George Floyd, and more.
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https://rollingout.com/2022/09/21/tony-award-winner-lillias-white-on-landing-role-in-award-winning-broadway-show/
| 2022-09-21T15:31:15Z
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BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – Louisiana State Police (LSP) say State Representative Larry Selders of Baton Rouge was arrested early Sunday (August 21) morning on several DWI-related charges.
According to LSP, it was shortly after 2 a.m. when the incident occurred.
Police say they spotted Selders speeding behind the wheel of a 2018 Dodge Challenger on East Boyd Drive.
LSP reports that Selders was producing burnout with his vehicle before State Troopers pulled him over.
Authorities also say that while speaking with the 40-year-old State Rep., they began to suspect he was impaired, so they performed a series of sobriety tests.
The incident led to Selders’ arrest on charges of driving while impaired (first offense), reckless operation, and driving under suspension.
After Selders was brought to the nearby LSU Police Department, he consented to a chemical breath test, which confirmed he’d been drinking more than what the legal limit allows for.
In Louisiana, any driver with a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) above . 08 percent is considered intoxicated (drunk) under the law and this evidence is all that is necessary for someone to be convicted of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) or Driving While Intoxicated (DWI).
Police say Selders was eventually taken to East Baton Rouge Parish Prison where he was fingerprinted and then released on summons.
Selders shared a statement Monday following his arrest:
“On Saturday night, I was stopped by the Louisiana State Police and subsequently charged. I hold the trust of my family and constituency in high regard and remain committed to maintaining that trust. As a father and husband, I personally understand the importance of driving safely.
As a public servant, I take the responsibility to keep my community safe seriously. Let me be clear, I am committed to making better decisions and I also encourage the community at large to use this as an example to do the same.
I am humbled by the outpouring of support, and I ask for your prayers for myself and my family during this time.
State Representative Larry Selders
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Two-time 2022 Tony Award-winner Michael R. Jackson discusses his humble beginnings as a writer and getting through tough times, the process of getting a show to Broadway, bringing his next play to the stage, the nuances of writing, and more
Two-time 2022 Tony Award-winner Michael R. Jackson discusses his humble beginnings as a writer and getting through tough times, the process of getting a show to Broadway, bringing his next play to the stage, the nuances of writing, and more
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(KFOR) – An Oklahoma County Sheriff’s deputy is dead, and another is fighting for his life after both were shot by a suspect Monday afternoon while serving an eviction notice. The suspect, who was not named, has been taken into custody after leading authorities on a pursuit that ultimately ended near an Air Force base.
During a press conference shortly after 2:30 p.m. CT Monday, Sheriff Tommie Johnson said two deputies had been serving an eviction notice at an Oklahoma City home as part of a routine procedure by the sheriff’s office.
According to court documents obtained by Nexstar’s KFOR, the homeowner had tried to evict a family member who owed at least $1,500 in back rent. A judge granted that request within the past week.
While serving the eviction notice, deputies made contact with a person at the front door, according to Johnson. He said the deputies then went to the back door but did not explain why.
“They went around to the backdoor, and that’s when the shooting began,” Johnson said. “[The suspect] shot the first deputy. The second deputy tried to get that deputy out of the way of gunfire, and then he was struck as well.”
At least one of the two deputies was able to return fire at the suspect, Capt. Valerie Littlejohn of the Oklahoma City Police Department said during a separate news conference shortly after 3:30 p.m. CT at Tinker Air Force Base.
Following the shooting, authorities say the suspect fled in a pickup truck with a boat attached. Law enforcement personnel quickly located the suspect’s vehicle, not far from the scene of the shooting, and pursued him, according to Littlejohn.
Police radio traffic said officials spotted the suspect’s vehicle along I-35 and that the suspect had begun shooting out of a window at police.
“During the pursuit, the suspect was firing rounds at the officers, and we had officers returning fire at the suspect,” Littlejohn said.
Helicopter footage showed the suspect’s vehicle enter I-40, heading eastbound with about 20 law enforcement officers in pursuit. The suspect could be seen speeding and hitting multiple construction cones as he entered the construction area of I-40 near Del City.
The chase approached the area of nearby Tinker Air Force Base, and authorities were able to catch up to the suspect.
The pursuit came to an end at Tinker’s entrance.
Multiple agencies then assisted in taking the suspect into custody without further incident.
Littlejohn said it is currently unknown why the suspect surrendered at Tinker.
“At this time, we don’t know why he came here – if he purposefully came here or if he took a wrong turn,” she said.
Neither the suspect nor pursuing law enforcement personnel were struck by gunfire during the pursuit on the highway, according to Littlejohn.
“It’s fortunate that none of the other officers were struck by gunfire,” she said.
A type of rifle was found in the suspect’s possession, according to Littlejohn.
Oklahoma City police will handle the investigation into the shooting.
Both deputies, who were rushed to the hospital, were alive as Sheriff Johnson held his press conference after the suspect was taken into custody. He broke down in tears as he spoke about them.
“It’s a sad day for the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office,” Johnson said. He noted that agencies from around the state were sharing their support for his office. “Law enforcement is a tight community, and I’m so thankful … they were screaming across the state for my guys.”
Aaron Brilbeck, the Public Information Officer for the Sheriff’s Office, was also in tears as he discussed the shooting. He described both deputies as seasoned members of the Sheriff’s Office.
In a 4:30 p.m. CT post to social media, the Oklahoma City Sheriff’s Office confirmed one of the deputies, Sgt. Bobby Swartz had succumbed to his injuries.
The second deputy, who has not yet been identified, is listed as being in stable condition at OU Health in Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt called it a “heartbreaking day,” adding that “today and every day, Oklahoma stands with our law enforcement community.”
A procession of law enforcement members escorted Swartz’s body as it was being transported from OU Health to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
When asked what the community can do for the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office, Brilbeck simply said, “pray.”
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| 2022-09-21T15:31:22Z
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SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Jury selection began Monday in the trial of the Shreveport man charged in the 2018 deaths of a couple who gave him a ride from a local mall.
DeWayne Willie Watkins is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of 32-year-old Heather Angela King Jose and her husband, 43-year-old Kelly Dean Jose in November 2018. Police say he left their burning bodies inside a vehicle in the carport of a vacant home in Shreveport‘s Queensborough neighborhood.
Watkins was arrested two days later at his home just two blocks away, after a standoff that lasted nearly six hours. Shreveport police say the couple had given Watkins a ride from Mall St. Vincent on the night of the slayings, where they had eaten dinner with their children earlier in the evening.
Jury selection originally began June 26, but the trial was shut down three days later after a COVID outbreak and re-scheduled for August 22.
The case, which has been winding through Caddo District Court for more than three years, has been delayed multiple times, starting with the Caddo Parish grand jury upgrading Watkin’s original second-degree murder charges to first-degree murder in a Feb. 14, 2019 indictment. The trial had to be rescheduled in February 2022 under a court order issued in January postponing all jury trials until at least March 1 due to COVID concerns.
It has also been the subject of controversy after the Caddo Parish District Attorney initially moved to seek the death penalty in the case only to take the death penalty off the table in early 2021 in an effort to move the case along.
Jury selection is expected to continue Tuesday morning. If convicted, Watkins faces life in prison.
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SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — Police are searching for a man wanted as a material witness in the 2018 double murder of a local couple as the trial of the man accused in the killings gets underway in Caddo Parish.
Jury selection began Monday in Caddo Parish District Court in the first-degree murder trial of DeWayne Willie Watkins, accused of shooting 32-year-old Heather Angela King Jose and her husband, 43-year-old Kelly Dean Jose and burning their bodies inside a vehicle in the carport of a vacant home in Shreveport‘s Queensborough neighborhood.
Eric Dorch, 42, has been wanted as a material witness since a warrant was issued in June, but police say he has yet to turn up. Now, the Caddo Parish District Attorney’s Office is requesting assistance from the public in tracking him down.
There is no bond set on the warrant for Dorch at this time, and police say more warrants may be issued.
Tips on the location of Eric Dorch can be reported to Shreveport police at (318) 673-7300 ext. 3. Anonymous tips can be reported by contacting Caddo Crime Stoppers at (318) 673-7373.
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